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diff --git a/16974.txt b/16974.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0ef0a26 --- /dev/null +++ b/16974.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4113 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Story of the "9th King's" in France +by Enos Herbert Glynne Roberts + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Story of the "9th King's" in France + +Author: Enos Herbert Glynne Roberts + +Release Date: October 31, 2005 [EBook #16974] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF THE "9TH *** + + + + +Produced by Irma Spehar, Christine D and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) + + + + + + +[Transcriber's note: Punctuation normalised, spelling normalised.] + + + The Story of the "9th King's" in France. + + BY ENOS HERBERT GLYNNE ROBERTS. + + + LIVERPOOL: + THE NORTHERN PUBLISHING CO. LTD., 17 GOREE PIAZZAS, + AND 11, BRUNSWICK STREET. + 1922. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +CHAPTER I. ENGLAND. + +CHAPTER II. THE 1ST DIVISION. + +CHAPTER III. THE 55TH DIVISION. + +CHAPTER IV. THE 57TH DIVISION. + +APPENDIX LIST OF DECORATIONS. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +ENGLAND. + + +Shortly after the commencement of the Volunteer Movement in 1859, many +members of the newspaper and printing trades in Liverpool were desirous of +forming a regiment composed of men connected with those businesses. A +meeting was held in the Liverpool Town Hall, and the scheme was so well +received that steps were taken towards the formation of a corps. Sanction +was obtained, and on the 21st February, 1861, the officers and men of the +new unit took the oath of allegiance at St. George's Hall. Thus came into +being the 80th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers, and on the 2nd April, 1863, +the 73rd Battalion of the Lancashire Rifle Volunteers was amalgamated with +it. In the early days of its existence the new unit attended reviews and +inspections at Mount Vernon, Newton-le-Willows and Aintree. Some time +afterwards it was renumbered the 19th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers. +Later--in 1888--it became the 6th Volunteer Battalion of The King's +(Liverpool Regiment). + +The early parades of the Regiment took place at Rose Hill Police Station, +and the Corn Exchange, Brunswick Street, until Headquarters were +established at 16, Soho Street. + +To those who took part in these parades great credit and thanks are due. +Through their efforts an organised battalion came into being, men were +trained for the bearing of arms and the defence of their country should +the occasion ever arise, and the soldierly spirit was inculcated in many +who followed a civilian occupation. Those who survived until the Great +War, though not privileged to lead on the battlefield, had at any rate the +satisfaction of realising that their work was not in vain. Directly +attributable to the efforts of the early volunteers is the fact that in +1915 the Territorial Force was ready for the reinforcement of the Regular +Army in the Western Theatre of the War, and this afforded the New Armies +which Lord Kitchener had formed ample time for the completion of their +training. + +In 1884 the Headquarters in Soho Street were changed for more commodious +and better equipped premises at 59, Everton Road, where the Battalion +remained domiciled until 1914. During the South African War the Battalion +sent out a company, and the experience the men gained there proved very +useful at the annual camps. Several of the men who went to South Africa +were privileged to serve in the next war. On the formation of the +Territorial Force the Battalion was once again renumbered and henceforth +it was known as the 9th Battalion of The King's (Liverpool Regiment) +Territorial Force. + +The recruiting area of the Battalion embraced the Everton district of +Liverpool, a locality inhabited chiefly by members of the tradesmen and +artisan classes, which furnished the Regiment with the bulk of its +recruits. There was a detachment located in the country at Ormskirk, from +which the Battalion drew some of its finest fighting material. +Agriculturalists make good soldiers, and this was evidenced on many +occasions later by the behaviour and ability of the men from this town. In +the ranks there was a sprinkling of sailors and miners, whose several +callings equipped them with knowledge which proved useful in their new +profession. The officers for the most part were drawn from the +professional class and business houses of the city. + +There came on the 4th August, 1914, a telegram to Headquarters containing +only the one word "Mobilize." On that day Great Britain declared war on +Germany. Notices were sent out ordering the men to report, and at 2-0 p.m. +on the 6th there was only one man unaccounted for. The mobilization was +satisfactory. + +Difficulties immediately presented themselves, for the men had to be +housed and fed. The first night the men spent in the Hippodrome Theatre, +where the artists gave them a special performance in addition to the +public performances. Afterwards sleeping accommodation was found in the +Liverpool College. Through the kindness of the committee of the Newsboys' +Home in Everton Road arrangements were made to feed the men. There were +too many for them to be fed all at once, so that meals had to be taken in +relays. At Headquarters there was a certain amount of congestion, for +equipment, picks, shovels and other mobilization stores took up a +considerable amount of room. Besides this there were collected at +Headquarters civilian milk floats, lorries, spring carts and other +vehicles which had been pressed into service as regimental transport. +Horses with patched civilian harness gave the transport the appearance of +a "haywire outfit." After the officers had gone to the trouble of +collecting this transport it was taken away by the Higher Command and +given to another unit. The same fate befell the second set of horses and +waggons. The third was retained. + +According to orders the Battalion entrained under the command of +Lieutenant-Colonel Luther Watts, V.D., on the 13th August, at Lime Street +Station, Liverpool. It was not known at the time whither the Battalion was +bound. In the afternoon Edinburgh was reached, where there was +considerable bustle on account of the departure of some regular regiments +for the front. Crossing the Firth of Forth, the men saw with what +activities the Naval Authorities were preparing for the reception of +further warships. Dunfermline proved to be the destination of the +Regiment, and on arrival supper was provided by some ladies of the town. +The men were accommodated first in tents at Transy, and afterwards in +billets in the Carnegie Institute, St. Leonard's and the Technical Schools +and the Workhouse. The inhabitants of Dunfermline and district were +extremely kind to all members of the Battalion, and almost every man had +an invitation to visit newly formed friends nightly. + +There were at this time not enough blankets in the possession of the +authorities, so that an appeal was made which brought forth an ample +supply of civilian blankets. Colonel Hall Walker, T.D., the Honorary +Colonel, gave the Battalion L500 when it was at Dunfermline, which was +expended on extra clothing and other comforts for the men. It was a very +generous sum and proved of great value. + +The usual training took place, and considering the circumstances a high +standard of efficiency was attained. In October the Regiment proceeded by +train to Tunbridge Wells, where it remained until it proceeded overseas. + +The training here consisted of an early morning run followed later by a +Battalion route march or field practice. Judged from later standards the +training was not as intensive as it might have been owing chiefly to the +facts that, unfortunately, no parade ground was available, and little, if +any, assistance was afforded by higher formations. An occasional night +alarm also ordered by higher authorities discomforted everyone and did +little good. Recruits were sent to Sandwich for musketry, and the +Battalion assisted in digging trenches, machine gun emplacements and other +defensive works on the inland side of the canal, originally constructed by +French prisoners during the Napoleonic Wars, and which skirted Romney +Marsh. Half the Battalion--that is four companies--was sent to assist with +the London Defences near Ashford, where the men learnt to construct what +the Royal Engineers were pleased to call "Low Command Redoubts," and which +were badly sited on forward slopes. The experience gained, however, proved +very useful afterwards in France. + +Parades at Tunbridge Wells finished early in the afternoon which afforded +ample time for recreation. The townspeople were very hospitable and +extended cordial invitations to the men, who availed themselves freely of +them. At Christmas time the men fared sumptuously through the generosity +and kindness of their hosts. + +In January a company was sent to guard cables and vulnerable points at +Birling Gap, Cuckmere Haven and Dungeness. Several other similar duties +afforded diversions from the usual training programme. + +While at Tunbridge Wells the greatest keenness was displayed by all. +Officers were jealous of anyone who was lucky enough to be sent on a +course of instruction. There were voluntary classes for the study of +tactics at which the younger officers sedulously studied the principles of +out-posts, advance guards, rear guards and so on. Everyone wanted to know +more of his new profession. The thirst for knowledge was not adequately +quenched as there were unfortunately, too few courses and too few +instructors available. + +Such an ardour possessed the men for the fight that in some it reached the +pitch of fear lest they should arrive too late upon the battlefield and +receive only a barless medal. Some actually wished to transfer to another +unit so as to ensure getting out at once. When at last the anxiously +awaited order came that the Battalion was to go "over there" one officer +was overcome with exultation. His intense joy at being allowed to serve +his King and country on fields more stricken than parade grounds was +clearly marked. After many months of distinguished service in the field, +he now rests peacefully at Montauban. + +The few days immediately preceding the exodus of the Regiment were days of +great activity and preparation. The affairs of the Battalion had to be +completely wound up. The mysterious pay and mess books were completed and +company cash accounts closed. New equipment was given out to officers and +men, as well as wirecutters, revolvers and other necessities of active +service. Field dressings were handed out--dark omens of what was now to be +anticipated. The transport section received its full complement of waggons +and limbers, together with its full number of mules, which proved to be +equal to any which proceeded to France. + +Under the impression that active service meant the end of the comforts of +civilisation, officers provided themselves with supplies of patent +medicine, bought small first-aid outfits and elaborate pannikins +containing numerous small receptacles, which did not prove useful and were +ultimately lost. Spare kit including Sam Browne belts was packed and +consigned to the Depot. In anticipation of an early death many of the +officers and men made their wills. This was encouraged by a rumour that +the War Office had ordered a further 76,000 hospital beds to be prepared. + +At the end of December, 1914, Lieut.-Colonel Luther Watts, V.D. took over +the command of the Reserve Battalion at Blackpool, which had been formed +late in 1914, and Lieut.-Colonel J.E. Lloyd, V.D., was gazetted to the +foreign service Battalion. + +Mention should here be made of the fact that shortly before leaving +England the old eight company organisation was abandoned, and the new four +company organisation adopted, and each new company was divided into four +platoons. The change was exceedingly beneficial, as it would have been +difficult in the field for a battalion commander to give orders to eight +company commanders. More responsibility was thrown on the company +commanders, who were at the time senior enough to assume it, and for the +first time the subaltern was given a command. For the future he had his +platoon which carried much greater responsibility than that previously +attached to a half company. It was a fighting unit, and a separate body in +which was reflected the work of a good commander. + +The 12th March, 1915, was the day destined for the departure from +Tunbridge Wells. One by one the companies, headed by a band kindly lent by +one of the other units quartered in the town, marched through the streets +for the last time. The greatest excitement prevailed when "D" Company, +which was the last, passed through the streets just as the shops were +opening. Farewells were waved, the troops were cheered, and for many this +was their last look at the town which had afforded them every hospitality +for the past few months. + +Arrived at the station, the men entrained for an unknown destination, and +there was some speculation as to which seaport it would be. It proved to +be Southampton, from whence the men embarked later in the day for France. +The excitement had to some extent worn off in the cool of the evening, and +as the men had their last glimpse of England by means of the beam of the +search-light, many thought of the happy homes they were leaving behind to +which they would perhaps never return. The journey to France was +uneventful, which circumstance was due largely to the protection afforded +by the torpedo-boat destroyers and other units of the Navy. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE 1ST DIVISION. + + +Next morning the Battalion disembarked at Le Havre and marched to a camp +at Sanvic. It was not to remain here long, and on the 14th the Battalion +entrained to join the First Army. The train journey was long, and the men +experienced for the first time the inconveniences of travelling in French +troop trains, being crowded fifty-six at a time into trucks labelled +"Hommes 48: Chevaux en long 8." Chocques was reached on the 15th and the +men marched therefrom to billets in a village close by called Oblinghem. +The Battalion was soon incorporated in the 2nd Infantry Brigade of the 1st +Division, a mixed brigade consisting of four Regular battalions reinforced +by two Territorial battalions. A few days were spent in Divisional Reserve +at Oblinghem during which time all the officers and several +non-commissioned officers were sent to the trenches at Festubert or +Richebourg for instruction by the Regular battalions which were holding +the line. + +At Oblinghem the men learnt for the first time what French billets were +like and experienced the insanitary conditions prevailing on the small +farms and the draughty and dirty barns. Looking around the countryside all +seemed quiet and peaceful. The ploughman ploughed the fields, others sowed +and the miners went to their daily tasks as usual. At times it was +difficult to realise that the firing line was within a few miles, but the +boom of the distant guns and the laden Red Cross motors indicated the +proximity of the fighting. A lot of old ideas as to the rigours of a +campaign were lost, and warfare in some respects was found not to be so +bad as had been expected. Wine and beer at any rate were plentiful, though +the potency of the beer was not quite sufficient for the taste of the +older men. Other regiments, lent officers to give a helping hand in +organisation and training. Company messes for officers were formed, as +anything in the nature of a battalion mess was impracticable. + +The men soon learnt that the estaminets were the equivalent in France of +the public houses at home, and thither they repaired in the evening to +spend their time. Many good young men who had never taken a drop of the +more invigorating liquors learnt that soldiers drank them, and the cause +of teetotalism began to wane. + +On the 24th a move was made to Les Facons, a straggling village outside +Bethune. Here on quiet nights one could easily hear the fusillade in the +trenches while the distant gun flashes lit up the night sky. The terrors +of the trenches were coming nearer. + +Early in April the various companies were attached each in turn to another +battalion in the Brigade, and went into the line for instruction in trench +duty at Port Arthur by Neuve Chapelle, and it was here that the first +casualties were sustained. It is claimed that the first shot fired by the +Battalion killed an enemy sniper. The men soon learnt the duties that fell +upon them as a consequence of trench warfare: the early morning stand-to, +the constant vigil of the neutral ground between the lines, and the +imperative necessity of keeping one's head low. Hitherto the men knew +little of the nature or use of guns, but now glimmerings of the mystery +surrounding artillery fire soon dawned. The men learnt the natures of +German shell, and the difference between shrapnel and high explosives and +what targets the enemy generally selected. Facts like these were explained +to them by the "real soldiers" of the Regular units to which they were +attached. On relief the Battalion marched back to Oblinghem once more, +where it stayed a week or two, and later in the month took over a portion +of the line at Richebourg St. Vaast where it was subjected to a very heavy +artillery bombardment on the 1st May. + +The military training of the men can be said to have been complete as +regards pre-war standard, but the war had introduced the use of two new +instruments of death. One was gas, the other the bomb. A primitive form of +respirator was given out in consequence of the use by the Germans of +chlorine at the Second Battle of Ypres. Instruction was given in the use +of bombs, of which the men had hitherto no knowledge. In those days the +bomb first in use was the jam-tin bomb. The men were taught how to cut +fuses, fix them into the detonator, attach the lighter and wire the whole +together preparatory for use against the enemy. Jam-tin bombs were soon +discarded for the Bethune bomb, and there was no regular bomb until much +later, when the use of the Mills bomb became universal. The Hairbrush and +Hales bombs were also studied in addition to the Bethune. A few also +received some instruction in a rather primitive form of trench mortar. + +In April, Lieut.-Colonel Lloyd, V.D., was invalided home, and in his stead +Major T.J. Bolland took over the command of the Battalion. + + +THE BATTLE OF AUBERS RIDGE + +The disastrous enterprise of the 9th May was the first major action of the +war in which the "Ninth" took part. Shattered at its inception, the whole +attack soon came to an end. The lack of high explosive shells and the +consequent failure of the British artillery to destroy the enemy wire +entanglements were probably the main causes of the holocaust that took +place on that day. Though one of the biggest disasters the British arms +sustained throughout the war, it was scarcely noted in the newspapers, and +would seem to a casual observer quite insignificant compared with the +sinking of the "Lusitania," which had taken place some days before, +although in the battle it is believed that the 2nd Infantry Brigade lost a +bigger proportion of men than had ever been previously known in warfare. + +On the 8th May, the Battalion took up its battle position in rear of the +Rue du Bois at Richebourg l'Avoue, and there awaited the attack on the +morrow. The detail that obtained in battle orders of later dates was +wanting, in view of the fact that greater responsibility was in the early +days placed upon Commanding Officers. The Battalion was to support the +attack as the third wave. The flanks were given and in the event of an +advance the Battalion was to keep Chocolat Menier Corner on its immediate +right. The fight commenced with an ordinary bombardment of forty minutes +chiefly by field pieces, which according to the text book are primarily +intended not for bombardment but for use against personnel. A battery of +heavy howitzers was also in action. The ordinary bombardment was followed +by an intense bombardment of ten minutes. + +At 5-30 a.m. the Battalion advanced to the third line of trenches +immediately in rear of the Rue du Bois, and several losses attributable to +machine guns and shells were sustained. At 6-0 a.m. the Battalion was +continuing the advance to the support line when the 2nd King's Royal +Rifles asked for immediate support in the attack. The Battalion therefore +passed over the support line and quickly reached the front line. The +advent of a fresh unit made confusion the worse confounded. The trenches +which afforded little shelter were filled with men, and the enemy was +using his artillery freely. Machine guns in profusion were disgorging +their several streams of bullets. Communication trenches had been blotted +out. Despite the lessons of Neuve Chapelle there was no effective liaison +between artillery and infantry as the telephone wires were soon cut, and +as a consequence the inferno was intensified by the short firing of the +British artillery, a battery of 6-inch howitzers being the chief offender. + +Numerous casualties had been suffered, and among them was the Commanding +Officer, who was killed. The command then passed to Major J.W.B. Hunt, who +decided that it was useless to attempt to assault the enemy position +without further artillery preparation, as the enemy's barbed wire was +practically intact, and the only two gaps that were available were covered +by enemy machine guns. A report on the situation was made to +Brigadier-General Thesiger, and instructions were received that on no +account was the Battalion to leave the front line, and it was to hold the +same against a possible and probable counter attack by the enemy. + +At 10-0 a.m. the Battalion was ordered to prepare to take part in a second +attack to be launched at 11-15 a.m. Half an hour later a further order +postponed the second attack until 12-30 p.m. Thousands had failed to take +the objectives in the early morning, and it was unlikely that hundreds +would succeed in the afternoon. This attack was ultimately cancelled, and +at 4-0 p.m. the Battalion was withdrawn. A further attack was delivered in +vain at 4-30 p.m. by other regiments in the Division. Though the Battalion +unfortunately accomplished little, it sustained almost a hundred +casualties, but it was fortunate in that it escaped the same fate as +befell four of the Battalions in the Brigade which were almost +annihilated. The battle from almost every point of view was a dismal +failure, and the rate of casualties was perhaps the highest then recorded. +It was during the 4-30 p.m. attack that the men were privileged to witness +one of the most magnificent episodes of the war, which was the advance +made by the 1st Battalion Black Watch and the 1st Battalion Cameron +Highlanders. This was carried out with parade-like precision in face of a +most withering rifle and machine-gun fire, out of which scarcely half a +dozen of those brave fellows returned. + +Relieved in the evening, the "Ninth" marched to Essars and the next day to +billets at Bethune, and it was not until the 20th day of the month that +the Battalion was again in line, this time at Cambrin. It had now come +under the command of Major F.W. Ramsay, a regular officer from the +Middlesex Regiment. The remainder of the month of May and the month of +June were spent at Cambrin and Cuinchy, this latter place being renowned +even in those days for its minenwerfer activity. The Cambrin sector had +good deep trenches made by the French pioneers, which were strong, well +timbered and comfortable. This was the first occasion the Battalion +occupied trenches as distinguished from breast-works. Hitherto the nature +of the ground had made trenches impossible. The trenches at Cuinchy were +in front of a row of brickstacks, and in consequence of the water-logged +nature of a portion of the front were only dug three feet down, and a +sand-bag parapet was built; the trenches were not duckboarded, and were in +consequence wet. Around each brickstack was built a keep, and this was +garrisoned by a platoon in each case. Every time an enemy projectile hit a +brickstack large quantities of broken bricks were scattered as splinters +which multiplied the killing effect of the shell. In this sector there was +considerable mining activity. The mine shafts, of which there were about +three per company frontage, were each manned by two men who acted as +listeners. As the front lines were only about twenty-five yards apart +there was a considerable exchange of grenades. + +No cooking was allowed in the trenches, as the smoke which would have been +occasioned by cooking would only have encouraged enemy fire. Therefore +ration and hot food parties had to go four times a day along a +communication trench called Boyau Maison Rouge, one and a half miles long, +and which was not duckboarded. After heavy rain it became very muddy, and +the men cut down their trousers which led to the adoption of shorts +throughout. Hosetops were improvised by cutting the feet off socks and +later they were bought. The colour ranged at first from light heliotrope +to flatman's blue, but later was standardized as salmon pink. The expense +of providing these hosetops was a heavy drain on any available funds, but +fortunately friends of the Battalion came to the rescue. + +On relief from the Cambrin trenches on the 7th July the Battalion spent a +little over a fortnight in Brigade and Divisional Reserves at Sailly +Labourse and the Faubourg d'Arras in Bethune respectively. On the 25th it +was in line at Vermelles. This sector was quiet except in that portion +which was opposite the Hohenzollern Redoubt, from which huge aerial +torpedoes were fired. + +August was spent doing tours of duty in Annequin and Vermelles. During the +last tour in Vermelles the whole Battalion assembled every night in no +man's land and successfully dug under fire jumping-off trenches for the +forthcoming operations, the casualties being comparatively few, owing to +the speed with which the men dug. + +During the first three weeks in September, the Battalion was out of the +line and spent most of the time at Burbure, a quiet little village outside +Lillers, where the men enjoyed a period of peace well removed from the +battle zone. The training was devoted almost entirely to the practice of +the attack preparatory to the impending fight. + +During the summer a horse show took place in the First Division, and the +"Ninth" secured all the prizes for mules, the first prize for a field +kitchen and two jumping prizes, thus obtaining the second place in the +Division for the total number of marks gained. This was a signal honour +for a Territorial unit, and perhaps came as a surprise to some of the +Regular soldiers, who thought that they were "the people." This +demonstrated the fact that though the Battalion had but a few months' +experience of active service, it had soon accustomed itself to the rigours +of warfare, and that the transport section at any rate had attained a +high pitch of efficiency. The horse shows which were held from time to +time as occasion permitted provided diversions and did much to maintain a +high standard of efficiency in the first line transport. + +Improvements had been effected in the organisation of the Regiment since +its advent to France. Clothing and food became more plentiful and the +latter was better cooked. Efforts were made to improve the comfort of the +men in billets. Proper sanitation was rigorously observed. Officers were +encouraged to display the greatest solicitude for the welfare of the men, +and the cumulative effect of these measures resulted in improved morale. + + +THE BATTLE OF LOOS. + +For three weeks in September the Battalion practised the attack in +Burbure, which it left on the 20th. Before leaving Burbure an amusing +incident took place. The Battalion had paraded and was ready to move off. +Suddenly two young women who were watching dashed into the ranks, embraced +two of the men, kissed them with resounding smacks, and then disappeared +in the gloom. The consternation of the two men caused great amusement to +all. The "Ninth" moved up by stages, marching via Lapugnoy and Verquin, to +its battle position in trenches by Le Rutoire Farm, which it reached on +the 24th. The Battalion and the London Scottish formed a body called +"Green's Force," to which was given as a first objective the German front +line trenches in the vicinity of Lone Tree, as this objective was left +uncovered by the diverging advance of the 1st Brigade on the right and the +2nd Brigade on the left. + +In the grey light of the morning on the 25th September the British guns +opened with a furious fire after many days of artillery preparation. The +great battle had begun. For some time, and according to orders, the +Battalion remained in its position. It was not to advance before 8-0 a.m. +At this time the men left the assembly trench to move over the open to the +front line. The enemy machine gunners had the range, and several were +wounded almost on leaving the trench. The advance was made by sectional +rushes, each section seeking what cover there was. Those who were wounded +while actually advancing in many cases received slight wounds, but those +that were hit while lying down were generally killed, as the bullets +struck them in the head or traversed the vital organs for the length of +the body. It required a courageous heart to advance seeing one's comrades +thus desperately wounded or lying dead. The shell fire was not heavy, and +few casualties were attributable to it. Lieutenant-Colonel Ramsay led the +attack in person, and he was easily recognisable by the wand which he +carried. One of the Battalion machine guns was pushed forward about 2-0 +p.m. and under the covering fire it afforded the advance was continued. +The advance had been slow and losses were severe, but at 3-30 p.m. the men +had succeeded in establishing themselves in one line about a hundred yards +from the German trenches. A few minutes afterwards the Germans +surrendered, and between three and four hundred prisoners were taken. They +chiefly belonged to the 59th and 157th Infantry Regiments. A harvest of +souvenirs was reaped by the men, many of whom secured the then coveted +Pickelhaube helmet. The prisoners were sent to the rear, and the Battalion +continued the advance and ultimately established a line on the +Lens-Hulluch Road. It is to be observed that the Battalion was the only +one that got its field kitchens up to the village of Loos on the first day +of the battle. At 4-0 a.m. next morning the Battalion was withdrawn to the +old British line. Later in the day it moved forward to the old German +trench system as reserve in the continued operations, sustaining several +gas and shell casualties. On the 28th September the Battalion moved back +to Mazingarbe, as the men thought, for a rest. They were soon +disappointed. At 7 p.m. on the same day orders were received to take up a +position at the Slag Heap or Fosse at Loos, known as London Bridge. At 9-0 +p.m. the Battalion left its billets in a deluge of rain and marched back +to the line in splendid spirits in spite of the fatigue resulting from the +recent fighting. It was relieved from the trenches on the 30th September, +and after one night spent in the ruined houses of Loos went to +Noeux-les-Mines for a few days to re-organise and re-equip. + +On the 7th October the Battalion returned to the front line which was +alongside the Lens-Hulluch Road to the north of Loos. The trench had +evidently once been the ditch on the side of the road. It was very +shallow, and it was decided to deepen it the next night as the men were +too tired after their long march. This was a good resolution, but it was +not carried out. The enemy commenced next morning about half-past ten with +heavy shell fire. In the afternoon it became intense and an attack seemed +imminent. There was no shelter in the shallow trench, as there had not +been sufficient time to make any dugouts. The men could do nothing but +wait. Minutes seemed hours. The shelling appeared endless. So terrific was +the enemy fire that it was doubted by the artillery observers in rear +whether any of the front line garrison was left alive. All who might be +lucky enough to escape physical destruction would at any rate be morally +broken. The Germans who had concentrated in the Bois Hugo attacked about +4-30 p.m. They were repulsed by rifle and machine gun fire, and it is +gratifying to know that two of the Battalion machine guns caught the enemy +in enfilade and executed great havoc. So exhausted were the men that the +Battalion was relieved that night and taken to the neighbourhood of Le +Rutoire Farm. + +Acquitting themselves with a noble fortitude, the stretcher bearers--whose +task was, perhaps, the worst of all--remained and toiled all night in +evacuating the trenches of the wounded. To stretcher bearers fall the most +trying duties in war, but in accounts of battles little mention is made of +their efforts. While the fight is on they share all the dangers of the +private soldier, and often they have to remain when the others are +relieved to finish their duty. The terrible sights of open wounds, bodies +that have been minced by shell splinters, torn off limbs, dying men +uttering their last requests, are enough to unnerve the bravest men. The +stretcher bearers nevertheless continue with their task, well knowing what +fate may soon befall them. + +For the second time in a fortnight the 9th King's had been called upon to +play an important part, and worthily had the men acquitted themselves on +each occasion. + +The following letters were received by the Battalion and show the value of +the good work done:-- + + To G.O.C., IV. Corps. + + This was a fine performance and reflects the greatest credit + on all ranks. + + I particularly admire the splendid tenacity displayed by our + infantry in holding on to their trenches during so many long + hours of heavy shell fire, and the skill with which they so + gloriously repulsed with bomb and rifle the enemy's most + determined onslaught. + + Our gunners, too, must be complimented on their timely and + accurate shooting. And lastly the Commanders, from General + Davies downward, deserve praise for the successful combination + of the two arms, for the handling of their units, and for the + well-judged advance of the supports to the aid of those in the + fire trenches. + + I am very glad to hear of the great deeds of the 9th Battalion + Liverpool Regiment on the 8th October. They have proved + themselves most worthy comrades of the 1st Liverpools who + started with me from Aldershot and have consistently fought + like heroes all through the campaign. + + Please convey my very hearty congratulation to all concerned + and to the 1st Division, in which I am proud to see the + determined fighting spirit is as strong as ever, in spite of + heavy losses. + + D. HAIG, + General, + Commanding 1st Army. + 10th October, 1915. + + * * * * * + + To 1st Division. + + In forwarding Sir Douglas Haig's remarks, I desire to endorse + every word he says, and to congratulate the Division on the + well deserved praise it has received from the Army Commander. + I hope before long to see them personally and to speak to them + on parade. + + H.S. RAWLINSON, + Lieut.-General, + Commanding IV. Corps. + 11th October, 1915. + + * * * * * + + 1st Div. No. 604/2 (G). + To 2nd Infantry Brigade. + + The General Officer Commanding wishes to place on record his + appreciation of the steady defence made by the 2nd Infantry + Brigade against the German attack yesterday afternoon. He + especially wishes to commend the soldierly qualities and + discipline displayed by the 9th Liverpool Regiment and the 1st + Gloucesters, which enabled them to endure the heavy shelling + to which our front trenches were subjected, and there to meet + and repulse with great loss the German infantry attack. + + The result of yesterday's attack again proves how powerless + the enemy's artillery is against good infantry, properly + entrenched and the superiority of our own infantry over that + of the enemy at close quarters. + + The General Officer Commanding wishes to record his + appreciation of the good work done by the artillery in support + of the infantry. + + H. LONGRIDGE, + Lieut.-Colonel, + General Staff, 1st Division. + 9th October, 1915. + + * * * * * + +The above remarks were communicated to the men, and they were all very +proud of the achievement of their unit and that it had so highly +distinguished itself in the defence of their country. For a few days the +Battalion remained in support, sending forth working parties each night +for the battle that was still continuing. + +On the 13th October the 1st Division attacked the village of Hulluch. An +intense barrage was directed against the enemy trenches in the early part +of the afternoon, and after a discharge of cloud gas an attempt was made +in vain to reach the enemy trenches. The 9th was held in close support, +ready to exploit any success that was gained, but, unfortunately, the +attack was a total failure. The Battalion came in for some very heavy +retaliatory shell fire. + +On the 14th October the Battalion was taken out of the line and marched to +Noeux-les-Mines, where it entrained for Lillers. Here the men were +accommodated in houses in the centre of the town in the vicinity of the +Church and the Rue Fanien. The billets were good, the parades not severe, +and several of the officers who were well quartered felt to some extent +the comforts of a home. The training area was near Burbure, where the +Battalion had trained for the battle. Many faces were missing that had +been present at the jovial little gatherings that had taken place before +the battle, and the survivors wondered at times who would be wanting at +the next divisional rest. + +As the parades were not onerous, there was plenty of time for recreation. +Concerts were arranged in the local concert hall at which the latent +talent of the Battalion came into evidence. Leave opened, and the prospect +of a trip to England was cheering to those who expected one. The rest at +Lillers was pleasantly spent and it was a long time before the men enjoyed +a similar holiday. + +On the 15th November the Battalion paraded on the Church Square and then +marched to Houchin, a particularly dirty little village, where a week was +spent. From there it went to Brigade Reserve in the mining village of +Philosophe, in which, though very close to the line, a few civilians still +remained. Butter, milk and other articles of food could be obtained from +the French shop-keepers, and English newspapers could be bought in the +streets the day after publication. It was a fairly quiet place, though +one's hours were punctuated by the intermittent firing of a battery of +4.7 guns in the colliery in rear, which fired over the billets. + +One of the Regular battalions of the 3rd Infantry Brigade was too weak in +numbers to do trench duty, and the 9th had the honour of replacing it, and +on the 26th November the Battalion found itself once more in the front +line and in exactly the same position as the one in which it had so +signally distinguished itself on the 8th October. + +Snow was lying on the ground and it was freezing hard. Henceforth the men +were to know the hardships of a winter campaign. There were no deep +dugouts and there were not sufficient shelters for the men to sleep in. +During the course of the winter, exposure alone killed some. Ever since +the battle the Loos sector had been very active, especially on Sundays, +and the trenches and alleys which led up to them were in a very wet +condition. The numbers lost in the recent fighting had not been made up, +and "C" Company, the weakest, had a trench strength all told of only 67 +officers and men. + +The relief from the front line on the night of the 29th November was +particularly severe. Following the frost came rain on that particular day, +and the relief was carried out on a very black night in a steady +downpour, and everyone was quickly wet through. The trenches filled with +water and the men had first to wade through deep sludge and then over +rain-sodden ground ankle-deep in mud. The men's clothes became caked with +the mud from the sides of the trench, which increased the weight to be +carried. + +During the tours of duty in this sector the paucity of the numbers and the +length of the communication trenches made the difficulties of food supply +very great. Behind the front line in the Loos sector was a devastated +region extending backwards for over two miles. There seemed a big gap +between the front line and any form of civilisation. Usable roads were +wanting, so that the transport could not approach near to the Battalion. +Consequently each company had to detail its own ration party of twenty to +twenty-five men, and these would assemble just after dusk and wander along +Posen or Hay Alley back to the vicinity of Lone Tree, and there pick up +the rations and water from the transport wagons. The communication +trenches contained a lot of water and caused great hardship to those men +who were not fortunate enough to possess gum boots. These ration fatigues +lasted from three to five hours, after which the men had to continue their +trench duties. Each man cooked his rations as best he could, in his own +mess tin; this meant that he did not get a hot meal which was so badly +needed in the intensely cold weather. + +In this sector there was a great shortage of water. Washing and shaving +were impossible, and at times there was not enough to drink. On one +occasion a man was known to have scraped the hoar frost off the sandbags +to assuage his thirst, and some drank the dirty water that was to be found +in shell craters. + +At this time there was a great danger of a gas attack, and it was +customary to have a bugler on duty in the front line to sound the alarm +when gas was seen coming over--a scheme which was scarcely likely to be +efficacious, for in a few moments he would have been gassed himself. Each +man had two anti-gas helmets--one with a mica window, and the other with +glass eyepieces and a tube through which to breathe out, and which was +known later as a P.H. helmet. There were Vermorel Sprayers here and there +in the trench, which were entrusted to the care of the sanitary men. +Instruction was given from time to time in anti-gas precautions, but +viewed from a subsequent standpoint these defensive measures were not +good. + +Steel helmets were in possession of the bombers, who were then called +"Grenadiers," and wore little red cloth grenades on their arms. These +helmets were called "bombing hats," and regarded as a nuisance. Each man +of the Battalion had a leather jerkin and a water-proof cape, and the +majority had a pair of long gum boots. + +There was only one Verey light pistol in each company, and this was +carried by the officer on duty. There was no special S.O.S. signal to the +artillery. Telephonic communication from the front line existed, and this +was freely used. It was not known at the time that the enemy had evolved a +means whereby he could hear these conversations. To prevent an illness +known as "trench feet" each man had to grease his feet daily with whale +oil, which was an ordeal on a bitterly cold day in wet, muddy trenches. +With such meticulous care was this done that the Battalion had not more +than three cases of trench feet during the whole of that winter--a +circumstance which reflects much credit on the men. The defence scheme at +this time was to hold the front line in the greatest strength available, +and the supports were rather far away. The system of echeloned posts had +not yet been developed. Machine guns were kept in the first trench and on +account of the intense cold had to be dismounted and kept by lighted +braziers to keep the lubricating oil and water in their jackets from +freezing. The entanglement in front was very poor and consisted only of +one fence. + +When not in the line the Battalion rested at Noeux-les-Mines or +Mazingarbe. At this latter village Christmas Day was spent. Companies were +told to make their own arrangements for providing the men with a good +dinner on this day. The officers provided the funds and the difficulties +of supply were overcome through the aid of Monsieur Levacon, the French +interpreter attached to the Battalion. Pigs and extra vegetables were +bought; apples and oranges came from somewhere. After great exertions a +few barrels of beer came on the scene. Christmas puddings came from +England. The school at Mazingarbe made an excellent dining room for two of +the companies and through the kindness of a Royal Engineer company in the +village the officers were able to secure the necessary timber to improvise +tables and chairs. The dinner was a great success and contributed not a +little to the good feeling which existed between officers and men. + +The next day the Battalion returned to the line. Though not known at the +time this was to be the last tour of duty with the 1st Division. Early in +January the truth became known that the Battalion was to leave the +Division, and on the 7th it proceeded by train to Hocquincourt. + +In the 1st Division it had had the honour of serving alongside some of the +most illustrious regiments of the Regular Army. The example set by these +famous regiments was readily copied, and in some respects emulated, and it +is not untrue to say that none of these Regular battalions assumed an air +of superiority, but displayed a sense of admiration that Territorial +soldiers could have so quickly learnt the profession of war. So good was +the human material in the Battalion that, in the space of a few months +spent on active service, a body of men picked in a desultory fashion from +various trades and occupations was quickly formed into an entity which was +able to take its place alongside experienced units of the Army. + +The Regiment had already won its laurels at the Battle of Loos. Its +glorious achievements were known in Liverpool. It was a Battalion to which +all its members were proud to belong. The fame of a military body is a +bond of unity which those who have not been soldiers can scarcely +understand. The reputation of one's regiment is a matter of personal +pride. It is a kind of cement which holds it together at all times. The +old spirit soon permeates the newcomers, the recruits become imbued with +the spirit which led the veterans to victory, and so it was with this +Battalion. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE 55TH DIVISION. + + +The West Lancashire Division was formed in the Hallencourt area under the +command of Major-General H.S. Jeudwine, and given the number 55. The +Battalion entered the 165th Infantry Brigade in this Division. This +brigade which was commanded by Brigadier-General F.J. Duncan, was entirely +composed of Liverpool battalions, namely, the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 9th +King's. In the Brigade the officers and men had the pleasure of meeting +friends they had known at home in Liverpool, comrades with whom they were +destined to serve for the next two years, principally in Artois and Ypres. +Friendly rivalry soon sprang up between the various battalions in the +Brigade which made for efficiency and put all on their "mettle." Everyone +naturally believed that his was the battalion par excellence, not only in +the Brigade but in the whole Division. + +The 9th was first billeted in Hocquincourt, a little French village near +Hallencourt. Viewed from a distance the village looked picturesque, with +the red tiled roofs of the houses contrasted against the sombre winter +sky, but a closer inspection revealed a different picture. The houses were +rickety, the billets poor, and the conditions insanitary. So backward were +the peasants in agriculture that they still adhered to the use of the +old-fashioned flails for thrashing corn. The Battalion moved on the 20th +January to Merelessart about two miles away, where better quarters were +found particularly for the Battalion headquarters, which occupied a +somewhat pretentious chateau replete with all modern conveniences +including baths, which were very unusual in private houses in the war +area. + +Here the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Ramsay, D.S.O., left the +Battalion on his promotion to the rank of Brigadier-General. Before he +left he made a speech to the men and published the following "Farewell +Order":-- + + On relinquishing command of the Battalion to take over command + of the 48th Infantry Brigade, the Commanding Officer wishes to + express his regret at leaving the Regiment, which he has had + the honour of commanding for the last eight months, and his + gratitude for the loyal way in which all ranks have supported + him. + + The Commanding Officer is very sensible of the fact that the + excellent work done by the Regiment has gained for him his + decoration and promotion. + +Later in the war he received promotion and commanded the 58th (London) +Division as Major General. + +While at Merelessart the usual training took place. There was little work +done as a complete unit not much attention being paid to tactical work. A +rifle range was at the disposal of the Battalion on which the companies +were able to fire a few practices and so keep up their musketry. + +It is worthy of remark that of the officers serving with the companies at +this time approximately two-thirds were subsequently killed during the +course of the war, while the survivors were almost all wounded at some +time or other. + +Early in February orders came along to the effect that the Division was +to go into line, and on the 6th February the Battalion left Merelessart +and marched to Longpre where the night was spent, and the next day it +reached Berteaucourt-les-Dames. A few days were spent here, during which +Major C.P. James took over the command of the Battalion, and afterwards it +marched via Doullens to Amplier, and after a night's rest in some huts +there it reached Berles-au-Bois the next day. En route it passed through +Pas, where there was a steep hill which presented such difficulties to the +transport section that they remembered it when they returned in two year's +time. At Berles-au-Bois the men were billeted in the ruined village. This +was the first experience the Battalion had of a really tranquil front. + +This village lay within a mile of the front line, and it seemed uncanny to +be so near the enemy and yet to hear so few shots fired. Indeed it was +almost too good to be true. The unit did not take over the defence of this +area, and orders came soon that on the 15th the Battalion was to take over +a sector on the Wailly front, where it was to relieve a battalion of the +81ieme Regiment Territoriale. Accordingly very early in the morning of +that day the Battalion marched to Monchiet in sleet and rain under cover +of darkness along roads which in daylight were exposed to the view of the +enemy, and on arrival the short day was spent in endeavouring to get dry. +Monchiet later became the location of the transport lines and +Quartermaster's store. + + +WAILLY. + +Having sent an advance party to General Xardel's headquarters at Beaumetz +to effect liaison, and to meet French guides, the Battalion paraded +towards evening, left Monchiet, picked up the guides en route and marched +to Wailly. The day had been one of blizzards and the night of the relief +was black and wet. Added to these circumstances was the difficulty of +understanding the directions of the Frenchmen, the Battalion's knowledge +of their language being not very extensive. Towards midnight, thoroughly +drenched, hungry and weary after a heavy day, the men were ultimately put +in their proper stations, some in the village and others in the trenches. + +From the appearance of the houses Wailly had been a prosperous farming +village lying within a short distance of Arras. Agricultural implements of +the latest manufacture were in evidence, and these could only have been +bought by peasants with some capital. This village was to be the +Battalion's home for the next five months. The Battalion first did a month +alternating in position between the front line and the village. For some +days while in the front line the Battalion was in touch with the 27ieme +Regiment d'Infanterie, which had a sentry post in its area composed of men +from one of the companies who readily fraternised with the fantassins. +This regiment belonged to a division of the French Active Army, and in +consequence its efficiency was of a very high order. Nowhere had anyone +seen trenches so well revetted and so neatly constructed as those occupied +by this French regiment. The trenches stood out in marked contrast to +those actually taken over by the Battalion, whose former occupants, the +French Territorials, had left them in a very bad condition. + +The trenches had not been revetted or duckboarded, and during the first +month of the Battalion's occupation there was a good deal of snow, and +when this melted the sides of the trenches commenced to crumble, making +them very muddy at the bottom. In consequence of this mud they became +almost impassable. For the men doing trench duty the conditions were bad +enough. The man on post had to stand on the fire step for hours in damp +clothes, shivering in the freezing cold, knowing that when his tour of +duty was over all he could look forward to was the cold damp floor of a +dugout on which to rest his weary body. For the ration parties the +conditions were almost worse. The meals were cooked in the field kitchens +in the village, and fatigue parties to carry up the meals were found by +the support company which was in a trench called by the French the +Parallele des Territoriaux. Many of the men will never forget the +innumerable times they trudged heavily laden with a dixie of tea or stew +through the mud in the tortuous communication trenches Boyau Eck, Sape 7, +and the Boyau des Mitrailleuses. At times these trenches became so muddy +that on one or two occasions reliefs had to be carried out over the top +under cover of darkness. It was risking a good deal to line up a whole +company outside the trench a few yards in rear of the front line, knowing +that an enemy machine gun was located about a hundred yards away, and that +the machine gunner might fire an illuminating flare at any moment, and so +expose the men to his view. + +It was during the first tour at Wailly that Major C.G. Bradley, D.S.O., +assumed command on the 29th February. + +After having done a month in the Wailly sector, the Battalion was taken +on the 14th March for a week in Brigade Reserve. Though the Battalion only +got into billets at 1 a.m., after a four mile march, a working party had +to be found at 8-30 a.m. for work on a Divisional show ground, which was a +place where model trenches were dug to show the uninitiated how things +ought to be done. Tasks like these were regarded as onerous by the men, +who were led to expect some period of rest when not in the advanced +positions. + +After a few days in Beaumetz the Battalion returned to Wailly, and until +June continued to do three tours of duty at Wailly, two in the front line +and one in the village, to one in Brigade Reserve at Beaumetz, the whole +cycle lasting a month. + +The enemy having in line opposite the 78th Landwehr Regiment, the sector +was very quiet, though the British did what they could to liven things up +in the way of artillery shoots and indirect machine gun fire at night on +the roads behind the enemy lines. + +The general defence scheme at first was not very elaborate. Three +companies manned the front line with one in support. Great attention was +paid to bombing posts, and the defence scheme always contained a plan for +a counter attack by the bombers, who were organised as a separate section, +working directly under the orders of the Commanding Officer. They were +given simple schemes and exercises in counter-attack while in the +trenches. For example the non-commissioned officer in command of a squad +would be told that the enemy had entered a particular sector of the +trench. He would then block the trench or deliver an imaginary counter +attack along the trench with the object of dislodging the fictitious +enemy, as the case might require. The companies were trained to take +shelter in the dugouts in the event of a heavy bombardment and immediately +on its cessation to re-man the front line. In the village when the +Battalion was in support it held three centres of resistance known from +right to left as Petit Moulin, Wailly Keep, and Petit Chateau. Wailly Keep +was a fortified farm on the fringe of the village, with loop-holed walls +and the adjacent roads barricaded. It was a relic of the French defence +scheme and was sound. + +The strictest precautions were taken against a gas attack. Each man had +two P.H. helmets which he had to keep with him at all times. Moreover, +sentries were instructed how to recognise gas and sound the alarm +immediately they noticed enemy gas. Large cartridge cases from the guns +were used as gas gongs, and Strombos horns were installed so as to spread +the alarm quickly should occasion arise. This was a much better scheme +than the one in which the bugler was to sound the alarm. As the lines were +near there was some danger of a flammenwerfer attack, so the whole +Battalion was taken on the 17th March to a demonstration, and shown what +to do should such an attack take place. One Lewis gun was given to each +company in place of the machine guns which were taken away from the +Battalion, and the Stokes mortar made its appearance in the trenches. This +was an over-rated weapon. Its range was very limited and it was soon +out-distanced by similar German weapons. Its bombs were essentially for +use against personnel at a range when rifles would have been cheaper and +more efficacious. Its bombs were not heavy enough for use against +earthworks, and wrought little damage on trenches. Its use and its +ammunition supply entailed large carrying parties which robbed the +companies of the men and sapped their energy. + +In May steel helmets were made part of every man's equipment, and a square +green patch on the back of the tunic became the Battalion distinguishing +mark. The steel helmets were the means of saving many lives, and were +covered with the same material as the sandbags were made of, for purposes +of camouflage. + +One night early in April a patrol consisting of a corporal and a private +was sent to examine and report on the enemy wire in front of a particular +sap head. At this point there were only seventy yards or so between the +British trench and the enemy sap heads, which were swathed in a dense mesh +of barbed wire. There were but few shell craters, little artillery fire +being directed on the front line when the lines were close owing to the +danger of short firing; and the grass being short there was little or no +cover. The night had been very quiet. Scarcely a rifle shot had broken the +silence. The patrol must have made some noise, and so aroused the +attention of the enemy sentry in the sap head who fired an illuminating +flare. The light betrayed the presence of the patrol to the enemy, who +opened fire and wounded both of the men. Afterwards the enemy kept firing +illuminating flares and maintained a lively rifle and machine gun fire, so +that any attempt at rescue was impossible. At dawn the enemy put up a flag +of truce and a party of them came out and gently lifted the wounded into +their own trench. It was noticed that the enemy were wearing the old blue +uniform of the German Army instead of the feldgrau uniform, and that they +carried tin canisters in which they had their gas masks. This rescue was +accomplished at great risk to the enemy as they did not know that the +British would refrain from firing; and the incident proves that at any +rate there were some among the Germans who would do the honourable thing. +When the Battalion was at Ypres about a year afterwards a letter came +saying that the graves of the two men had been found with an appropriate +inscription in the German language. + +In this sector there was much work to be done. The trenches, which were in +a state of decay after the frosts and rains of the winter, had to be +duckboarded and revetted. Besides sandbagging the front line the +Battalion, in conjunction with the relieving unit, the 7th King's, +constructed a new support line known as Parallel B., in which was +accommodated, when it was complete, a portion of the front line garrison. +The wire needed attention as well. The French had covered the front with a +chain of _chevaux de frise_, but this was not considered a sufficient +obstacle, so that concertina wire and "gooseberries" had to be put out in +front of the _chevaux de frise_. The wiring parties had a very difficult +task, as they had to work about forty yards away from the enemy, who were +often engaged on similar work. Also the men had to work in front of the +_chevaux de frise_, and they would have had great difficulty in getting +back to their own lines should they have been surprised by the enemy. +Besides this, innumerable rifle racks, bomb stores, machine gun +emplacements and other works of a similar nature were completed. In +addition to this the men had to form large carrying parties to carry large +elephant sections and other material to the Quarry for use by dugout +construction parties of the Royal Engineers. + +At this period the trench discipline attained a high standard as the men +had been together for some months and free from heavy casualties, and it +is well here to digress for a while and record what trench duty really +meant. "Stand to" would be at say 3-30 a.m., shortly before dawn. At this +time all would man the parapet and wait until it became daylight. The +rifles, ammunition, gas helmets, and feet of the men would be inspected by +the platoon officer. This generally took about an hour and a half. +Afterwards the men not actually on duty would wash and shave. Shaving in +the trenches was made compulsory in March, as it was thought that it kept +the men from deteriorating and would prevent any tendency to slovenliness. +There was little water for such a purpose, and consequently it was +particularly arduous in a muddy trench, and it is doubtful whether the +benefits derived were worth it. Breakfast would take place between six and +seven. Afterwards the men got what sleep they could during the day, but +they were constantly interrupted by sentry duty, meals, shell fire, and +occasionally a fatigue. The activity of night replaced little by little +the tranquility of the day. Towards sunset came evening "stand to" and +more inspections. After nightfall patrols would go out, and wiring parties +for the renovation and repair of the wire, ration parties for the food, +and working parties to keep the trenches in good condition would be +detailed. The men got no sleep at night, and in fact very little at all. +Trench duty was exacting and exhausting from a physical point of view +alone, but to this was added the continual attrition of numbers on account +of shell and rifle fire. + +In May the weather was glorious and the face of the countryside assumed a +pleasant aspect. The trees were in full leaf. Wild flowers in profusion +adorned the trenches, and larks in numbers hovered in the clear blue skies +above the trenches and sang sweetly in the early mornings. The sunsets +viewed from the front line were particularly beautiful. The lines of trees +on the Beaumetz-Arras road became silhouetted black against the skyline, +reddened by the setting sun, which produced a wonderful effect. + +As the summer advanced the front became more active. Shell fire increased, +and the British artillery, having a more liberal supply of ammunition, +expended it more lavishly than had been formerly the case. In July the +Battalion left the sector immediately in front of Wailly and took over +that in front of Blaireville Wood, which was held by the enemy. + +On the 28th June a series of raids took place on the Divisional front, +which were covered by a discharge of cloud gas. A party from the Battalion +took part in the raid, and two officers were able to enter an enemy sap +but they did not manage to secure any prisoners. The junior of the two +officers was unfortunately killed, being shot through the head. In +retaliation for the raids the enemy brought up, on the 2nd July, what was +called a "Circus" consisting of several 150 m.m. and 210 m.m. howitzers on +railway mountings, with which he utterly destroyed the front line trenches +for a distance of two hundred yards, blew in several mined dugouts, and +inflicted heavy casualties on "D" Company. In some respects this was the +heaviest and most destructive bombardment that had been endured by the +Battalion up to this time, though it was not so prolonged as that of the +8th October, 1915. + +On the 8th July, after five months continuous duty in the forward zone, +the Battalion went into Divisional Reserve at Gouy-en-Artois, where the +Battalion was housed in hutments close by the Divisional School. + +The Somme Battle had commenced, and there was every likelihood of the +Division being called upon either to attack on the front it already held +or as reinforcements. In consequence the Battalion, which had had very +little training for the past five months, turned its attention to +practising the attack in some cornfields near the hutments it occupied. + +The attack was henceforth to be made by successive waves of men and to +each wave was assigned a particular objective. Following these attacking +waves there came what were called "moppers up," whose task was to deal +with any of the enemy who might have hidden in dugouts and so escaped the +attention of the attackers. Recent lessons of the Somme Battle costing +many lives had brought about the necessity for the institution of moppers +up. The rear waves were also to act as carrying parties. One man had to +carry a coil of wire, another a spade, another a screw picket, and so on. +The reason for this was, that when the enemy trenches had been captured, +the enemy might cut off all supplies by means of an intense barrage on no +man's land, and it was necessary for the attacking troops to have +sufficient material at hand to enable them to put the captured positions +into a state of defence immediately, and thus be able to resist a +counter-attack. Model trenches were marked out and much good work was done +in the attack practices that took place. Large drafts arrived and the +Battalion was soon in excellent form. The cleanliness and smart appearance +of the men while in the village drew forth the special praise of the +Divisional Commander. + +At Gouy a Battalion concert party was formed, and a concert was given in +a large barn which formed part of the Divisional Canteen. The doctor +composed some verses for the occasion in which there was plenty of local +colour. + +In June a Divisional horse show had taken place at which the Battalion +again distinguished itself. "C" Company cooker again took first prize in +the Division, and the Battalion secured the second place for the total +number of marks gained. + +The days spent in this sector were comparatively pleasant. The front had +been quiet, and although the work was arduous casualties were few, and +leave was regular. In the light of later experience the time spent in +Wailly was very comfortable indeed, and during the next two months many +wished they could return. + + +THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME. + +About the 20th July the Battalion left Gouy-en-Artois for the scene of +battle. To begin with this meant a three days' march to the entraining +locality. The first day the Battalion got to Sus St. Leger where the night +was spent, and by the end of the second day the Battalion was at Halloy. +On the third day, after a long tiring march in hot weather along dusty +roads, the Regiment marched into Autheux. After a few days here the +Battalion entrained late one evening for the front, and next morning it +detrained at Mericourt. The first sight that the men beheld on quitting +the train was a prisoners' camp, in which were many Germans, living +evidence of the activity a few miles in front. The Battalion was billeted +in Mericourt for two days. Here there was every indication of activity. +Having been on a quiet front for several months the men were not used to +the whir of a busy railhead. All manner of vehicles, guns, and other +impedimenta of war were in evidence, and everyone was surprised to see +some of Merryweather's fire engines, which were probably required for +pumping purposes. + +On the 29th the Battalion left Mericourt for what was known as "The Happy +Valley," outside Bray. During the march the soldiers saw a mile or two +away an enormous column of smoke ascend. Something terrible had taken +place. An ammunition dump must surely have been blown up. It was not a +very pleasant prospect for those who were new to that kind of thing. The +mystery of the column of smoke was never clearly elucidated. The Happy +Valley was scarcely correctly named. The weather was exceedingly hot, +there were no billets, and consequently the men had to bivouac. The Valley +had one great drawback; there were no wells in the vicinity from which +water could be drawn. Owing to this shortage, the water-men had a very +onerous task as water was obtainable only at Bray, and thither the water +carts had to go, making as many journeys as possible during the day, to +obtain water for the thirsty troops. The Battalion in this locality was in +touch with the French, from whom the officers managed to secure some of +the French ration wine which proved very acceptable. + +On the 30th the Battalion moved to a place by Fricourt, and pitched a camp +which it left two days later for a bivouac area by Bronfay Farm, near +Carnoy. From this place the officers went forward on reconnaissance. They +saw for the first time Bernafay and Trones Woods, which then had achieved +great notoriety. To the neighbourhood of these woods the Battalion sent +forward night working parties. Only with the greatest difficulty did these +parties get to their rendezvous, and little work was done on account of +the intensity of the enemy shell fire. + +In the evening of the 3rd August the Battalion paraded and marched towards +the fighting, leaving behind a small percentage to form a nucleus should +all its fighting personnel perish. The march was wearying. The enemy guns +were active, the weather hot, and packs heavy. After a long trudge the +Briqueterie was reached, a dangerous and dreaded spot, for it was +periodically swept with shell fire. At last the companies got to their +allotted stations in the reserve trenches. Many had not yet experienced +the terrors of heavy shell fire, which by its very nature was intended to +produce an unnerving effect. The next day started fairly quietly. On the +right the men could see what was known as Death Valley. This was rightly +so called. Being obscured from the enemy's view, it was a covered means of +approach to the infantry positions in front, and afforded at the same time +cover for the guns. On this account it was never free from shell fire, and +was littered with corpses of men and horses. + +In the afternoon the Battalion had to take over the front line in the +neighbourhood of Arrow Head Copse in front of Guillemont. Passing along +Death Valley the Battalion got caught in heavy shell fire, and sixty +casualties took place almost immediately. It required a stout heart to +march cheerfully forward when seeing one's companions who had gone a +little in front coming back on stretchers, or lying dead alongside the +path. + +When the two leading companies arrived at Arrow Head Copse they manned +trenches varying in depth from a few inches to three feet, which afforded +little protection against shell fire. The dead, many of whom belonged to +the Liverpool Pals Brigade, were visible lying stark and numerous on the +battlefield. The weary desolation, and the unmitigated waste of equipment, +clothing, and life passes all description. This was the Somme battlefield, +of which one had heard so much. To those who had seen much of the war, the +thought came that nothing could be worse than this. + +The next day was a day of incessant shell fire on both sides. On the +British side it was the bombardment prior to the attack on Guillemont. The +fire was terrific. The terrible concussions of the high explosive shells +assailed both ears and nerves, and kept up a pall of dust over the +trenches. The whizzing and swirling of the shells was incessant. Some +whined, others moaned, and others roared like express trains. Light shells +passed with an unearthly shriek. It was useless taking any notice of the +lighter shells. They had come and burst before one realised what had +happened. The heavier shells, particularly those that were timed to burst +in the air, were very trying, and when they burst over Trones Wood the +noise reverberated through what remained of the trees, and so became +extraordinarily intensified. To expect the explosions of the shells +knowing they were on their way and to hear them coming, not knowing +whether they would be fatal or not, was the worst part of the ordeal. Such +a condition of turmoil and torment must have been meant by the words of +Dante in his description of Hell. + + "La bufera infernal che mai non resta." + +Every now and then a man was hit. Those killed outright were perhaps +spared much agony, and the wounded were lucky if they reached the aid +post alive. Many got shell shock which affected men in different ways. One +would be struck dumb, another would gibber like a maniac, while a third +would retain possession of his reason but lose control of his limbs. + +For two days in the sultry heat the Battalion endured the terrible strain +of this awful shell fire, the men receiving no proper food and water being +unprocurable. Then the Battalion was relieved and taken into support, +where three or four days were spent, and on the 10th two companies moved +to the Maltz Horn position. The next night the two remaining companies +moved up. The devastation in the neighbourhood of Cockrane Alley was worse +than at Guillemont. Here the men witnessed the full terrors of the +stricken field. Living men dwelt among the unburied dead. Booted feet of +killed soldiers protruded from the side of the trench. Here and there a +face or a hand was visible. Corpses of dead soldiers with blackening faces +covered with flies were rotting in the sun, and the reek of putrifying +flesh was nauseating. Added to this the heat was overpowering, the +artillery was firing short, and there was little or no water obtainable. + +The Battalion was in touch with the French, and there were a few Frenchmen +in the trenches with the men. On the 12th August the French attacked with +great success and captured the village of Maurepas. + +Between the two armies there was a wide broken-in trench running from the +Allied towards the German lines. For some time before zero the Allied +artillery kept up an incessant barrage on the German lines. The shells +fired by the French were noticeable by a much sharper report. At zero the +French attacked on the right of Cockrane Alley, advancing at a run in +small groups of from eight to twelve men, and they got a good distance +without any casualties. Then one by one the Frenchmen commenced to fall, +and on reaching the enemy line the French company immediately on the right +of the Battalion met with strong resistance. None came back and it is +thought that almost every man perished. Meanwhile the two companies of the +Battalion attacked in waves on the left of Cockrane Alley. They got eighty +or ninety yards without difficulty, when the enemy opened a heavy machine +gun fire, and the ground being convex the attackers formed a good target. +The Commander of the right company who led his company from the right so +as to be in touch with the bombers in Cockrane Alley, though twice +wounded, still continued the advance until he was shot dead. His example +was emulated by the Company Sergeant Major who perished in similar +circumstances. Meanwhile the bombers were endeavouring to work their way +down Cockrane Alley. The trench became shallower, and on reaching a road +it disappeared. As the bombers emerged on to the road they were shot down +one by one. The enemy then turned their machine guns on to Cockrane Alley, +and raked it with fire until it became a shambles. Most of the men of the +two companies were casualties, and many were killed. A few stragglers who +were able to take cover in shell craters managed to return later under +cover of darkness. + +What became of the wounded lying out between the lines was never known, as +any attempt at rescue was impossible. As most of the stretcher bearers +with the companies were themselves incapacitated through wounds the rapid +evacuation of the wounded even in the trenches was impossible, and +moreover the aid post at Headquarters was under heavy artillery fire, so +that it was only at great risk to the bearers that the wounded could be +cleared at all from the trenches. + +For the French the day had been very successful. They had captured +Maurepas, but for the Battalion it was a total failure. However, the work +done earned for the Battalion the praise of the Corps Commander, expressed +in an order published the next day, which was as follows:-- + + The Corps Commander wishes you to express to the Companies + engaged last night his admiration, and that of the French who + saw them, for the gallant and strenuous fight they put up. + + Had the ravine been captured by the French, there is no doubt + our objective could have been realised. + + 13th August, 1916. + +On the 13th the Battalion was relieved and the men, tired out, slowly +wended their way down Death Valley to Maricourt, passing many corpses, and +then to the bivouac area near Bronfay Farm they had left about ten days +before. Many who had marched away in the fullness of their health and +strength did not return. The next day a short move was made to +Ville-sur-Ancre, one of the few villages which contained a shop. Shortly +afterwards the Battalion moved by train to Ramburelles, not far from the +coast. Of all the villages the Battalion had ever visited, this was +perhaps the most insanitary. The men lived in barns almost on top of +manure heaps, and in consequence of the heat the number of flies was +great. Baths of late had been very few and consequently the men suffered +considerably from lice. + +Arduous training was the order of the day. Seven or eight hours each day +were devoted to work, while what the men most needed was rest. They were +exhausted after their late experience, and they were overworked by the +excessive training. Many were further weakened by the fact that septic +sores were very prevalent owing to the insanitary conditions among which +the men lived. + +At this period the Battalion routine orders, which were supposed to be +issued early in the afternoon were, for some unknown reason, always +received very late in the day and sometimes after ten o'clock at night. As +the Company Commanders had then to issue orders it meant that much +unnecessary waiting and work was caused. + +At Ramburelles so as to evade the heat of the day the Battalion paraded at +7 a.m. for a four-hours' parade, and then left off until late in the +afternoon. This scheme worked well only in theory. A lot had to be done +out of parade hours, which meant that the officers and men were very much +overworked. Sunday brought no respite. The Sunday previous to leaving the +place, the men were engaged on a work of supererogation until 8-30 p.m., +digging bombing trenches which were never used. + +While at Ramburelles seaside leave was granted to some of the officers, +who were able to spend two or three days away from the Battalion and enjoy +for a while the comforts of a seaside town. One or two, acting in the +belief that the Battalion would not return to the fight for some time, +postponed their trip, and on the very day that they arrived at Delville +Wood they remembered that that was the day they should have been basking +in the sun at Le Treport. Such is the folly of procrastination. On the +28th August the command devolved on Major P.G.A. Lederer, M.C., as the +Commanding Officer had been evacuated sick. On the 30th August the +Battalion marched by a tortuous route to Pont Remy, where it entrained and +arrived next day at Mericourt. It eventually was installed in close +billets at Dernancourt for a few days. + +On the 4th September the Battalion marched to Montauban. On the march +Major H.K.S. Woodhouse took over the command, and the officers were +introduced to him during the dinner halt. Montauban was not a very +pleasant place, particularly as the weather was rainy, and as the +companies were distributed among the field guns they came in for +considerable shell fire. + +On the 7th September the Battalion moved up to the front positions between +Delville Wood and High Wood. The shell fire in this area was terrific. The +enemy guns never stopped firing day or night at the means of approach to +the Battalion's position along the side of Delville Wood. At night the +Battalion had to send working parties into the neutral ground between the +lines to dig what were somewhat incorrectly known as strong points. When +these were finished they were garrisoned by a platoon in each case. The +small garrisons of these strong points were quite cut off during the day +as no movement was possible on account of snipers. Food and water could +only be brought up at night, and were a man wounded he would have to +remain without attention until darkness. A prisoner was taken belonging to +the 5th Bavarian Regiment, which showed that the Bavarians were in line +opposite. + +On the 9th there was a big attack by the British. The 16th Division +attacked on the right in front of Delville Wood, and the 1st Division on +the left, and consequently the Battalion was in the very centre of the +fight. The garrisons of the strong points being cut off as they were, did +not receive news of the attack. Suddenly in the afternoon after a +comparatively quiet morning the artillery on both sides became very +active, both the British and German artillery developing intense barrages. +To the men in the strong points this presaged an enemy attack, and the +order was given to be ready to fire the moment the enemy should come into +view. The members of these small garrisons knew there would be no hope for +them, as they would soon have been surrounded and annihilated, and most +probably all of them bayoneted. Fortunately the attack was by the British +and these eventualities did not arise. The Battalion was relieved during +the next two days and went into reserve at Buire-sur-Ancre. After a few +days here it moved to a bivouac area at E. 15 a., outside Dernancourt. +Though this was some considerable distance behind the front line the enemy +forced the Battalion to evacuate this area by firing at it with a +long-ranged gun. In the evening there was a cinema show in the open, at +which were shown pictures of the Somme Battle. It was very strange to see +the soldiers keenly interested in the pictures of what shell fire was like +when there were actual shells falling about half a mile away, and they had +been shelled out of their camp that very afternoon. The British Army had +made a successful attack on the 15th September, and on the 17th the +Battalion went into line again at Flers, where two miserable days were +spent in an incessant downpour of rain and very heavy shell fire. On +relief it came back to the transport lines at Pommier Redoubt. + +On the 23rd the Battalion paraded, leaving behind its surplus personnel +and moved up to Flers for the attack. Orders were received the next day +that the attack was to take place on the 25th, and that zero was to be at +12-35 p.m. The objective allotted to the "Ninth" was from Seven Dials to +Factory Corner, which meant an advance of 1,000 yards. At 7-30 a.m. the +barrage commenced and lasted for hours, and increased in intensity as the +moment for the advance drew nearer. At zero the Battalion advanced in four +waves, the distance between the waves being 100 yards. The first wave had +to keep close to the creeping barrage of shrapnel. Of the last wave +scarcely a man survived, as it came in for the enemy barrage which the +leading waves had escaped. The bombers took an enemy strong point and +fought their way along Grove Alley and got to work with the bayonet, +inflicting many casualties on the enemy and taking several prisoners. This +was the first experience the men had of advancing under cover of a +creeping barrage of shrapnel and the first occasion that they saw tanks in +action. The attack was a great success and reflected no little credit on +the Battalion. Everyone of the Headquarters personnel present will +remember the Advanced Headquarters being blown up and the signallers and +runners sustaining many casualties. During the same evening two companies +of another unit came to the trench occupied by Headquarters. They tried to +enter the trench at the same spot and crowded close on each other. At this +time the enemy suddenly dropped four 5.9 shells among the crowded men. +Next morning forty-seven dead were counted. + +The next day the Battalion was relieved, and by small stages the remnants +of the companies made their way to Buire-sur-Ancre. This was the +Battalion's last time in action on the Somme, and it presented a very +changed aspect to its first arrival on this battlefield. Companies were +reduced to the size of platoons, and platoons to sections or less. During +the battle about 650 casualties had been sustained, including fifteen +officers dead. This was a large incision into the fighting strength, and +it was a long time before these losses were made up. + +For the Battalion the Somme Battle with its terrible holocausts, incessant +shell fire and continuous slaughter, was at an end, but there was no +respite for the weary soldier. There was to be no rest or period for +recuperation. The Regiment was ordered to Ypres immediately. Tired and +exhausted, the men were taken out of the Somme inferno, having lost many +of their comrades, and with weary bodies and heavy hearts they faced the +prospect of the untold terrors of the fatal city of Ypres. + +The journey to Ypres was long. First the Battalion entrained at Mericourt +in the afternoon of Sunday the 1st October. At midnight the men detrained +at Longpre and marched to Cocquerel, arriving at 3 a.m. the next day. The +men then bivouacked until reveille at 6-30 a.m. At 8-30 a.m. the Regiment +was again on the march to Pont Remy, where it entrained for Esquelbecq, +where it arrived at 9-30 p.m., and marched to billets at Wormhoudt. Two +days were spent here, and this afforded the men the rest they so badly +needed. The state of the Battalion can be gauged from the fact that at +Wormhoudt only one company commander had a subaltern. + + +YPRES. + +On the 4th October the Battalion entrained on a light railway, and soon +reached Poperinghe, where it remained until darkness and then entrained on +a broad gauge train at Poperinghe Station for Ypres. It was a new +experience for the men to be in a train and yet within range of the +enemy's artillery. The personnel detrained just by the railway station at +Ypres and went into billets close by. Little could be seen of the city in +the dark. Stillness pervaded the area that night, and after the Somme +Battle the quietness was uncanny. + +The next day the men had an opportunity of seeing the city that had +suffered so much in the war. It must have been subjected to many a tornado +of shells, for there was not a single house untouched and very few had +roofs. A few shells fell in the Square during the morning, but that was +all. To the men it was a great relief to be in a quiet area after such a +place as the Somme. Ypres was not as bad as had been expected. + +The trenches were to be taken over at once. The officers reconnoitred the +line during the afternoon, and towards evening the Battalion paraded and +marched along the Rue de Stuers, the Rue au Beurre, past the Cloth Hall, +through the Square, and the Menin Gate towards Potijze. Afterwards it took +over the sector from the Roulers Railway to Duke Street with Headquarters +in Potijze Wood. Four days only had elapsed since it had left the Somme +railhead. This area was to be the Battalion's battle station for several +months to come, and many times were the companies to repeat the journey +they had just completed. It was to take part in two big battles in the +vicinity and add greatly to its honours and leave many of its members +entombed in soldiers' graves in what was to be perhaps the biggest +graveyard of its kind in the world. + +The Ypres sector was very quiet, but there was every danger of a gas +attack, and the Battalion received the strictest warnings from the +relieved unit, which had lost many men two months before through +inattention to precautionary measures. The first night that the Battalion +went into the line there was an alarm, but as the wind at the moment was +in a safe quarter its falsity was immediately recognised. The men at this +time had only the then out-of-date P.H. helmet. These helmets were changed +in the course of a week or two for the more efficacious box respirators, +which remained with slight modifications until the end of the war as the +soldiers' protection against enemy gas. The enemy artillery was very +quiet, and obviously the British had the artillery ascendancy, and it was +surmised that this was attributable to the fact that he had removed his +artillery to the Somme. The minenwerfers were active and so were the enemy +snipers. After a tour in the line the Battalion repaired to Ypres. A few +days afterwards it went to take over the "L" defences at Brielen, with +Headquarters in Elverdinghe Chateau. Only one tour was done here and the +Battalion then returned to Ypres. Until January it did three tours of duty +in the line, either in Ypres itself or the front line to one in reserve at +Brandhoek. + +While in the front line the routine was practically the same as at Wailly, +but the conditions were different. In the Salient it was not possible to +dig deep trenches as the land was so low lying that water was met on +reaching a depth of about two feet. Trenches were not feasible, so it was +a case of breast-works. The defences therefore consisted of sand-bag +revetments held in position by wooden frames over which expanded metal had +been spread. These frames were called "A" frames or "Z" frames. The former +were used for preventing narrow ways from staving in, and the latter were +to face sand-bag walls. They were not easy to use and the men had to learn +how to fix them, and their employment entailed many long and tedious +carrying parties. The breast-works were divided into fire bays by +traverses which were situated every few yards. These fire bays, which were +all numbered, had firing platforms made of wood or well-revetted sandbags. +The parapet was sufficiently high to give good command over the ground in +front. During the winter it silted down and in many places it became not +even bullet-proof. The parados was fairly good, though in many places +there was none at all. For shelter the men had small recesses like dog +kennels in the parapet or parados; these were usually roofed by a sheet of +corrugated iron and were very small, uncomfortable, and infested with +rats. There were not sufficient shelters to accommodate all the men, and +the surplus had to sleep as best they could on the firing platform with +only greatcoats as coverings. + +The men had endured much and many were war weary. They were tired of +fighting, and their former enthusiasm had cooled, especially as there was +no immediate prospect of a rapid termination of the war. Among those who +stood to arms in the whizz-banged trench in the cold raw hour of dawn were +many who had given up assured positions--skilled mechanics, master +printers, clerks, university men, solicitors, and others of several +professions and callings who had sacrificed their various situations and +appointments, and whose wives struggled on a very meagre separation +allowance. Fully aware were they also that while they were manning the +trench as infantrymen and receiving as remuneration a miserable pittance, +munition workers in England were receiving excessively high wages for +congenial work and enjoying freedom from all discomfort and danger of the +trenches. + +The water-logged ground between the British and German lines was pitted +with shell holes and overgrown with rank grass and weeds. Numerous trees +lopped of their branches were still standing, while many others were lying +on the ground. Exactly half way across to the enemy lines were the remains +of what had been a moated farm, which was a favourite objective of +patrols. Railway Wood, which was situated on slightly higher ground on the +right of the Battalion's sector, was a minehead and in consequence the +scene of much activity. At one time there had been a wood, but so intense +had been the artillery fire that not a single tree or trunk higher than +three or four feet was left standing. Almost every afternoon, about 4-30 +p.m., the usual trench mortar "strafe" would commence, and would last for +an hour or so. A few months later Railway Wood became a scene of much +mining activity, and mines and camouflets were sprung either by the +British or the Germans almost daily. In the Battalion area there was +situated what was known as Number 6 Crater, a deep mine crater half full +of water, and said to be then one of the largest in France. In the +vicinity of this crater there were some overhead traverses to prevent the +enemy snipers from enfilading the trench, probably constructed after +several casualties had been incurred. + +Company headquarters were close to the front line, and never consisted of +anything more than a small shelter. The cooking was done in cook-houses in +the company areas, fatigue parties being detailed to bring up rations and +water in petrol tins. Battalion headquarters were housed in dugouts in the +wood adjoining the White Chateau at Potijze, in front of which was a large +cemetery. While in Ypres itself three companies were billeted in the +cellars of the gutted houses in the neighbourhood of the Boulevard Malou, +which was a better class district once inhabited by the more wealthy +citizens. Headquarters and one company were housed in the cellars of the +Ecole Moyenne, which was erroneously called the Convent. These billets +were not bad, though in many cases damp. + +For the companies there was a parade in the morning, and every evening +several working parties paraded at the Convent, and marched out afterwards +through the Menin Gate for work in the Brigade area. The biggest working +party numbered 100. It moved off at 5-30 p.m., drew shovels, picks, and +gum boots at Potijze Dump, and then worked until almost midnight in +constructing Cambridge Trench. The work was inadequately supervised by the +Royal Engineers, who left the task to a second corporal and a few sappers, +and consequently little progress was made and most probably the trench was +never properly completed. The men had their last meal at 4-30 p.m., and as +a consequence they could not work with proper efficiency right up to +midnight. After a while they became very tired and were unable to +continue. As a considerable quantity of material was requisite to keep the +trenches in repair, large carrying parties were necessary. These could +have been to a large extent obviated had light Decauville railways been +constructed, such as the Germans were discovered later to have been using. + +For the comfort of the men there was a Divisional canteen near the billets +in Ypres, and another in the Infantry Barracks. There was a recreation +room in the Prison, where Church parades were held later. There were also +baths in the Rue d'Elverdinghe, so that the men were able to keep clean. + +During the day there was very little movement at Ypres, but at night this +was different, as the transport lorries had to bring up stores and +ammunition for the guns. They used to go through the city at a great pace +for fear of being caught by the enemy shell fire, and it is interesting to +record that on one occasion a complaint was made by the Battalion to the +effect that the streets were unsafe at night on this account. This of +course was in addition to the unsafety resulting from enemy fire. + +When in reserve the Battalion was stationed at "B" Camp at Brandhoek, on +the Poperinghe-Ypres Road. Here the officers and men were accommodated in +very comfortable wooden huts, from which Poperinghe, with its shops and +cafes, could easily be reached. Attention should be directed to the +rigorous sanitary measures which obtained in this Corps, chiefly due to +the insistence of the Corps Commander. Great progress had been made in +this direction since the beginning of the war. Latrines and ablution +places were kept scrupulously clean. All rubbish was cast into the +incinerators, and billets had to be kept clean and tidy. On relief each +unit had to obtain a certificate from the relieving unit to the effect +that the billets had been left in a clean and sanitary condition. These +measures, though rigid, were beneficial and kept down sickness to a large +extent. + +On Christmas day the Battalion was in Ypres, and one of the Churches in +the Boulevard Malou was decorated, and proved a useful dining room, in +which the men partook of a good Christmas dinner which was thoroughly +enjoyed. After the meal the Commanding Officer ascended into the pulpit +and treated the soldiers to an inspiring address, but it can be safely +assumed that the men enjoyed the meal much more than the lecture. + +The New Year was heralded by an intense bombardment by the British, and in +anticipation of the enemy retaliation the front line was cleared, except +for the officer on watch, and Lewis gun teams. The line was badly knocked +about by the enemy fire, but was built up again by the Battalion in one +night. + +In January the first Divisional rest for ten months commenced, and it was +spent by the Battalion first at "Z" Camp and then at Proven. The weather +at this time was intensely cold, and as the men in "Z" Camp had only +Nissen huts they suffered greatly in consequence. These huts were made of +unseasoned timber, and large gaps appeared in the floors through which the +cold east wind entered, reducing the temperature to a figure well below +zero. + +The first week or so was devoted to training. There was a fear at this +time that the principles of open warfare might easily be forgotten during +the long periods of stagnation in the trenches. Consequently exercises in +open warfare were ordered by the Higher Command, and the Battalion carried +out several tactical schemes, and also some night operations. These latter +struck the men as rather unnecessary, as they had all been on night +patrols in the neutral ground between the lines, which after all was what +might be called the real thing. The other exercises were very beneficial, +as were also the attack practices which took place. + +At Proven the men discovered that the term Divisional rest was a misnomer. +Reveille was before six, and in the dim light of the early morning, the +men had to wash and shave in icy cold water in the teeth of a bitter east +wind. There followed a meagre breakfast cooked on an unsheltered field +kitchen in the dark, and often in the rain. The men paraded at seven, and +went out on a working party for the rest of the day. Their tasks were to +load earth on railway trucks and then off-load it after a short train +journey, to serve as ballast for another portion of line that was in +course of construction. The earth was frozen several inches deep and it +was necessary to loosen it by means of a pick before it could be shovelled +on to the trucks. Towards the evening the men returned, cold, weary and +tired, to a draughty barn, with the dismal prospect of a similar day on +the morrow. + +For the officers there was a lecture by the Commanding Officer on a +pamphlet recently brought out called "The Division in the Attack." The +lecture took place every evening at 5 p.m. in the village school, and this +meant that in many cases the officers were on duty for twelve hours +continuously. During the day time there was also a Lewis gun class for the +officers who were not on the working party, and they studied the weapon +assiduously. While at Proven the Battalion was visited, while working on +the railway, by Lord Wavertree, then Colonel Hall Walker, the Honorary +Colonel, to whom the officers were presented. It seemed a long time since +they had seen him last at Sailly Labourse, and his presence was very +welcome to all the old members. + +An outbreak of scarlet fever prolonged the Battalion's stay for a few +days, but on the 23rd February it left Proven, detrained at the Asylum at +Ypres and moved into billets at the Prison, with two of the companies in +the Magazine. While in the Prison one of the officers facetiously remarked +that it was a much better gaol than he had been used to, and observed that +it was built on the panopticon principle. The next day the Battalion moved +to its old haunts at Potijze, and resumed duties as before. During this +tour Lieutenant-Colonel F.W.M. Drew took over the command in succession to +Lieutenant-Colonel Woodhouse. At this time so short was the Battalion of +officers that "D" Company had only one officer, who was the Company +Commander, and as his company was disposed partly in a sector of trench +known as X3, Potijze Defences, St. James' Trench and the Garden of Eden, +he had a good deal to do. + +On the 4th March a successful raid took place on an enemy post opposite to +Number 5 Crater, in the vicinity of the Railway. The sentry post was in a +sap head around which the wire had been cut up by shell fire. A shrapnel +barrage was directed against the post for a few minutes, while the raiding +party was waiting in no man's land. The barrage lifted suddenly, and the +small raiding party rushed in and, taking the sentries by surprise, +secured them as prisoners. On the 19th March the enemy successfully raided +the Battalion, and unfortunately captured about ten prisoners. The plan +adopted was ingenious. The night had been exceptionally quiet, when +suddenly about half an hour before dawn the enemy opened with a barrage of +all calibres on the sector immediately on the left of the Battalion, with +the intention of diverting the attention of the British artillery to that +sector. The enemy raiding party meanwhile was lying in no man's land. The +enemy suddenly opened with a devastating fire on the Battalion's trenches +for a few minutes, lengthened the range, and under cover of this barrage +the raiding party entered and surprised the men in the front line. Orders +had lately been received that the officer on watch was not to fire the +S.O.S. signal to the artillery until he was sure that the enemy had left +their trenches. But as it was dark he could not ascertain this, and +consequently the signal was not fired. The Company Commander sent back the +S.O.S. signal, but the message was not delivered through the foolishness +of a signaller who was afraid to use the power buzzer, fearing that the +enemy might intercept the message. The Germans left one of their men dead +in the trench and another just in front of the parapet. This was an +incident which had to be avenged, and soon the Battalion by means of two +successful raids secured enough prisoners to equalize. + +Towards the end of the month another raid was expected. To frustrate this +the Commanding Officer decided to have a body of about sixty men lying in +the middle of no man's land, in such a position that they would escape the +enemy barrage and intercept the raiding party and take them by surprise. +This was a sound scheme, but it was very exhausting for the men who had to +lie for four or five hours on the frozen ground. Moreover, the anticipated +raid did not eventualise. + +The 13th March was the anniversary of the advent of the Battalion to +France, and as the Battalion was then at Brandhoek, the sergeants invited +the Commanding Officer and the remaining original officers who had landed +at Le Havre with the Battalion to attend a smoking concert. The officers +spent a short time at the concert, during which the usual eulogistic +speeches were made. + +About this time the platoons were reorganised in accordance with a +training pamphlet that had lately been issued. Henceforth they were to +consist of a Lewis gun section, a section of bombers, another of rifle +grenadiers, and a fourth of rifle-men, and the men were taught the new +formation to be adopted for the attack which was known as the "Normal +Formation," one consisting of lines and waves of attackers. + +In April, when the Battalion's turn came for a period in reserve, two +companies had to remain in Ypres to assist the Royal Engineers with +working parties, so that the personnel of these companies missed their +period of rest. At this time one of these companies had its headquarters +in a house in a terrace called the Place d'Amour. In the gardens of the +houses a battery of field guns was installed, and there was another just +close by. The headquarters of these two batteries were also in the Place +d'Amour--one on each side of the infantry company headquarters. One +morning the enemy decided to annihilate one of the batteries and commenced +to fire ranging shots over the terrace. The artillerymen knew what was +coming, and told everyone to leave the billets, but to uphold the honour +of the infantry, the men refused to leave the billets until after the +gunners had evacuated the position. They got away just in time. + +On the 17th April the Battalion moved to the Ecole, a place outside the +city on the east, which had apparently been a large technical school, and +after a few days here it moved to Railway Wood sector where things were +very active. After a tour here and a few days in reserve it returned to +Potijze sector once more. On the 11th May a very successful night raid was +carried out by two officers and forty other ranks on Oskar Farm. Under +cover of a barrage two parties entered the enemy positions. Some Germans +were found in a dugout, which was then bombed and six Germans surrendered. +A small bombing party was counter-attacked by six Germans, and the +sergeant in command shot three and bayoneted one, while the other two +escaped. The War Diary states that on the way back some of the prisoners +became unruly and were effectively dealt with, which means that they were +killed. At least ten Germans were killed besides those in the dugout that +was bombed. The prisoners belonged to the 1st Matrosen Regiment of the +German Naval Division. + +On the 17th May the Battalion went to Bollezeele, where it remained for a +month. This was a clean, well-built village, where the men were very +comfortable. The training ground was about an hour's march away, and so +the Battalion paraded in the main street every morning with the drummers +in the centre, and marched to the training ground where the companies were +placed at the disposal of their commanders for drill and instruction. A +meal was taken at noon and when the afternoon's work was done the +Battalion reformed and marched back to billets. The weather at this time +was very fine. Never had the men witnessed such beautiful blue skies, and +scarcely a drop of rain marred the stay in the village. The Brigade sports +were held early in June, and the Battalion did very well in the military +contests, winning three out of four events, but unfortunately not quite +so well in the others. + +On the 11th June the Battalion left Bollezeele, and early the next morning +arrived at Ypres, and immediately went to the usual sector at Potijze. As +the shell fire in this area had become much more severe of late, to move +troops through Ypres or even around it was done at great risk, and all +were glad when the move was over. + +By a chain of unfortunate circumstances, leave for officers had been very +slow. In January it had been stopped as it was considered necessary for +the officers to be with their men during training while out of line. +Difficulties of transport brought about the closing of leave from January +to June. It opened again in June, but as all could not go at once it +happened that some officers did not get leave for nine or ten months. + +After a few days in Potijze sector the Battalion sidestepped to the +Wieltje sector. The tour here was characterised by intense enemy artillery +activity. Heavy batteries constantly countered each other, and day and +night were punctuated by cannonades of varying intensity. Ypres itself was +shelled by the celebrated 420 m.m. Skoda howitzer. The enemy drenched the +area with the old lachrymatory gas shells, as well as a new gas he had +lately introduced known as "Yellow Cross" or "Mustard" gas. Bilge Trench +came in for special attention, and on one day it was estimated that 1,200 +heavy shells fell in its vicinity. + +It was a time of great aerial activity also. Richthoven and his squadron +visited the sector quite frequently--generally in the early morning--and +fired machine guns at the men in the trenches. His squadron could be +easily distinguished, as the bodies of the aeroplanes were painted red. +Also they flew very low, and the anti-aircraft gunners did not dare to +fire, leaving it to the infantrymen to defend themselves with Lewis guns +as best they could. + +During the tour in Wieltje the Battalion dug Hopkin's Trench in no man's +land, under machine gun, granatenwerfer and rifle-grenade fire, which were +the cause of several casualties. Fortunately there was a very good mined +dugout at Wieltje containing many rooms which were lighted by electricity. +The shelter it afforded reduced considerably the number of casualties that +would otherwise have taken place, and it was a pity that there were not +more like it. + +Though very good work was done by the companies during these months of +trench duty, it should be remembered that perhaps the most dangerous task +was the bringing up of rations and water. Ypres was approachable from +Poperinghe by one road only, along which came almost all the supplies for +the troops in the Salient. From a point on the road called Shrapnel +Crossing to the city it was within convenient range of the enemy +artillery, and being well aware that the road was much used at night, the +enemy subjected it to considerable fire, and caused casualties nightly. +Once arrived in Ypres the Battalion transport had to pass the Square and +the Menin Gate, which were well known danger points, where there was no +cover, and then proceed to Potijze along a road that could easily be +enfiladed by the enemy gunners. No matter how heavy was the enemy shelling +there was no night on which the transport section failed to deliver the +rations. + +At the beginning of July the Battalion went to Moringhem to prepare for +the great battle. This was a very small hamlet, and there must have been +a great concentration of troops in the Pas de Calais, as this little +place had to accommodate two battalions. The men were placed under canvas, +and some of the officers lived in tents, while the remainder were +accommodated in billets. The training was mainly devoted to the attack. +The British and the enemy trenches were taped out on some cornfields, in +propinquity to the hamlet, and the forthcoming attack was rehearsed time +and time again by all the battalions in the Brigade. Great attention was +paid to synchronisation of watches, and the immediate reporting of all +information. Maps and aeroplane photographs of the ground were studied +with meticulous care, and a model of the Battalion's sector over which it +was to attack, showing Uhlan Farm, Jasper and Plum Farms, Pommern Castle, +and Pommern Redoubt, was constructed outside the camp to explain the lie +of the ground to the men. Tanks were represented by half limbers during +these practices, and the shrapnel barrage by drums. + +During the stay at Moringhem the officers were able to ride into St. Omer +on one or two occasions, and there dine at the restaurants, where a +welcome change in their usual menu was obtainable. + + +THE THIRD BATTLE OF YPRES. + +On the 21st July the Battalion left Moringhem, and once more found itself +at "B" Camp at Brandhoek. This was a very different place from what it had +been during the winter, and being full of troops, the Battalion had only +one-third of its former area in which to accommodate itself. Anti-aircraft +batteries, tunnelling companies, transport lines, field hospitals, and +observation balloons were everywhere. + +The training was complete. Everyone knew the orders and it was merely a +case of waiting for "Z" day, the day of the attack. On the 29th July, +which turned out to be "X" day, the fighting personnel left Brandhoek, and +moved to Durham Redoubt, an area just west of Ypres, where the men +bivouacked for the night. The next day illuminating flares, iron rations, +spare water-bottles, bombs, and maps were given to the men. + +Though all knew the role of the Battalion and its allotted objectives, no +one in the Battalion knew the extent of the attack, or which divisions +were attacking, or what was to happen if all objectives were captured. It +was believed that if the attack succeeded, there were other divisions in +rear ready to exploit the success. Wild rumours began to filter through. +One of the most prevalent was that eighty mines would be sprung at zero, +and this was inspiring to all, and infused new courage into the men. + +Towards evening the companies left the area, and slowly in the darkness +moved via the Plaine d'Amour past the Dixmude Gate and the Dead End to +Oxford Trench, where they took up a position and waited. This waiting was +very unpleasant, as the enemy was obviously expecting an attack and +shelled the whole area almost all night. There was little shelter, as the +trench was shallow and wide, and several were wounded before the fight +commenced. + +The objective allotted to the Battalion consisted of a section of the +enemy second line called the "Stutzpunkt" Line, comprising Pommern Redoubt +(called "Gartenhof" by the Germans) to Bank Farm, known to the enemy as +"Blucher." The distance of the objective from the Battalion's zero +position was approximately a mile and a half, which was at that period of +the war a big distance to be called upon to cover in one day. + +Two hours before zero it became known that the artillery was firing gas +shells on the enemy batteries, so that at zero the enemy would not be able +to work their guns. The drone of the gas shells passing overhead, and the +knowledge of this device on the part of the British artillery, was very +reassuring to the waiting troops. + +For a few minutes before zero all was tranquil, and the men were quietly +waiting. Zero was at 3-50 a.m., at which hour it was quite dark. Suddenly +there was heard the firing of an 18-pounder battery. It was a battery +firing just a second or two early. There followed a deafening roar. All +the guns had fired together, and their shells were racing across the sky. +A sheet of flame covered the enemy trenches. The fight had begun. The men +rose from their positions slowly and went over the top to the front line, +where according to plan they waited twenty-five minutes. The advance then +continued. They should have advanced in waves, but that was impossible +over the shell-cratered ground, as the going over the churned-up earth was +very difficult, particularly in view of the heavy loads the men carried. +All cohesion was soon lost, and the men sauntered forward in little groups +endeavouring as best they could to keep the proper direction. No one knew +what was happening. After passing the enemy front line all danger from his +barrage was over, but his machine guns were active, and every now and then +a man dropped--in many cases not to rise again. At length the river +Steenbeek was reached. Numbers were few and hopes of success were rapidly +vanishing. How the fight had progressed on the right or left no one knew. +In front was a strong position on the other side of the Steenbeek Valley, +which turned out ultimately to be Bank Farm. + +The enemy in the dim light was firing his machine guns and causing +casualties, but with a final rush the men were in the centre of a German +strong point. The companies were weak, one consisting of only a dozen men +or so, and the Germans were in occupation of the position as well, and +fired coloured lights to encourage the support of their artillery. They +were dealt with by the bombers, and one sensible private, who soon used up +all his available bombs found a store of German bombs, which he employed +to advantage. About the same time another party of the Battalion captured +Pommern Redoubt, while the 7th King's on the right got into Pommern +Castle. In all about eighty prisoners were taken, which considerably +exceeded the numbers of the men that first dashed up to the objective. The +prisoners belonged to the infantry regiments of the 235th Division, and a +few of them were artillerists belonging to the 6th Feldartillerie +Regiment. + +The taking of Pommern Redoubt was specially commented upon in the Dispatch +of Sir Douglas Haig dealing with this battle, though the Redoubt fell much +earlier than was therein stated. + +Among the dugouts several things were found, such as field glasses, +medical apparatus, rifles, bombs, and so on. In one was a store of bottles +of aerated water. In another there was a store of rations which were +ultimately consumed, and strange to relate, in one dugout there was a copy +of a recent number of the "Tatler." + +The position was consolidated, trenches were dug and manned by the men. A +captured German machine gun was turned round and got into action. Four or +five hours after the capture of the Stutzpunkt position another brigade +continued the attack, but though the efforts of its members were +successful at first they had in consequence of their exposed flanks to +retire at nightfall, and the Battalion was then holding the line without +anyone in front. Rain commenced to fall, and the ground having been +churned up by countless shells, the whole area soon became dissolved into +a morass of spongy earth pitted with innumerable shell craters half full +of water. The trenches that had been dug soon filled, and the men were wet +through. They were utterly exhausted, and some of them had to get what +sleep they could, huddled up in these wet trenches, with their feet +several inches deep in water. + +Cooking was impossible, and it was only with the greatest difficulty that +any food at all could be supplied to the men in the advanced positions. +Added to this was the fact that the enemy artillery was exceedingly +active, and the shells killed many in the exposed trenches. The British +heavy artillery also fired short, which had a most demoralising effect on +the men in front. + +On the 2nd August it became known that the enemy intended definitely to +recapture the Stutzpunkt line. The men were informed of this, and told to +resist to the last. All available men were sent up from the transport +lines to reinforce the men in front. These reinforcements suffered +considerably from shell fire on the way up, but their advent inspired and +cheered the weary men who had been through the whole fight, and whose +rifles were in many cases so choked with mud as to be unserviceable. +Towards midday the enemy developed a heavy barrage. He was about to +attack, and everyone was waiting for the anticipated onslaught without +fear, as all felt that any counter-attack would be repulsed with great +loss. The S.O.S. signal and machine guns were ready, but the artillery +observer saw the enemy first, and the artillery barrage of the British +soon dispersed the attack. + +Owing to the insufficiency of the number of surviving stretcher bearers, +the evacuation of the wounded was exceedingly difficult. These were +collected in a dugout at Bank Farm, where they lay for a long time after +having received some slight attention. Two wounded Germans whom the +stretcher bearers had been unable to clear were handed over to the +relieving unit. The Battalion Aid Post was at Plum Farm, where the Medical +Officer and his staff worked to the limit of their powers in attending and +evacuating wounded. + +Major E.G. Hoare, who was in command of the Battalion during the +operation, wrote a poem which describes the conditions of the Ypres +battle, and it is here given in full:-- + + +THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW. + +31ST JULY, 1917. + + Down in the valley the Steenbeek flows, + A brook you may cross with an easy stride, + In death's own valley between the rows + Of stunted willows on either side. + You may cross in the sunshine without a care, + With a brow that is fanned by the summer's breath. + Though you cross with a laugh, yet pause with a prayer, + For this is the Vale of the Shadow of Death. + + Down in the valley was rain and rain, + Endless rain from a dismal sky, + But the valley was Liberty's land again, + And the crest-line smoked like a Sinai. + Rain that beat on the tangled mass + Of weeds and pickets and broken wire, + And astride the stream was a brown morass, + In the valley of water and mud and fire. + + Down in the valley the barrage fell, + Fountains of water and steel and smoke, + Scream of demons and blast of hell, + The flash that blinds and the fumes that choke. + The mud and the wire have chained the feet, + You are up to the knees in swamp and slime, + There's a laugh when the crossing is once complete, + But a setting of teeth for the second time. + + Down in the valley the shambles lay + With the sordid horrors of hate revealed, + Tattered khaki and shattered grey + And the splintered wrecks of a battlefield. + Thank God for the end that is sure and swift, + For the fate that comes with a leap and bound, + But what if God leaves you alone to drift + To the lingering death in the pestilent ground? + + Up on the slope was a line hard pressed + By bullets and shells and relentless strain, + An enemy massing behind the crest + And a trench that crumbled in fire and rain. + Sleepless, shelterless, night and day, + Drenched and weary and sniped and shelled, + The word was given that come what may + The line must hold, and the line was held. + + But all who pass to the crumbling trench + Must go in the spirit that games with fate, + With feet that stumble and teeth that clench + Over the valley of hell and hate. + Over the knees in water and mud, + Up to the waist if you miss the track, + You shall know your path by the trail of blood, + And silent figures shall guide you back. + + Down in the valley the waters flow, + You may jump the brook with an easy stride, + They cross it in silence, they who know + What happened that day upon either side. + In the voice of the brook are their comrades' tones, + In the summer's breeze they shall feel their breath, + For under the grass we have laid their bones, + Here in the Vale of the Shadow of Death.[A] + +[Footnote A: Copied by permission from "Dawn and Other Poems" by +Lieut.-Colonel E. Godfrey Hoare, D.S.O. Publishers: Erskine Macdonald, +Limited.] + +The Battalion was relieved on the night of the second-third, and the men +drifted down in small parties through the mud to Potijze. Some hours were +spent here, during which several casualties took place, as the enemy +subjected the area to the fire of 8-inch shells. Towards evening the men +were told to rendezvous at Vlamertinghe. There was no need to pay much +attention to the means of getting there. That could be left to the men +themselves. Everyone was ready to give them a lift, for their muddy +appearance showed that they had just been in the fight, and consequently +practically all arrived in motor lorries. At Vlamertinghe, rum was issued +and later all embussed for the Watou area, which they reached shortly +after midnight. After debussing there was a short march to billets. For +some even this was too much, and about thirty were unable to walk, and had +to be sent to hospital. The remaining men were put into billets, and at +4-30 a.m. the officers sat down to dinner, the first proper meal they had +had for several days. Afterwards they lay down to sleep for six or seven +hours. + +What had been done by the Battalion during the last few days, at the +commencement of the struggle for Passchendaele, was then perhaps the +greatest achievement the Battalion had accomplished. Undoubtedly it had +done well, and the following message was received from the Brigade +Commander:-- + + To Officer Commanding, + 9th King's Liverpool Regt. + + Will you please congratulate all ranks of your Battalion on + the great gallantry they displayed during the recent + operations? They not only captured all their objectives, but + also helped other troops to capture theirs. The magnificent + way in which they captured the position and held it against + all counter-attacks makes me very proud to have such a + Battalion in my Brigade. + + L. BOYD MOSS, + Brigadier General, + 165th Brigade. + 4th August, 1917. + +On the 6th August the Battalion was taken by train to Audruicq, and +billeted near by in a hamlet called Blanc Pignon, where the next six weeks +were spent. The troops were well housed in this place, which was very +clean in comparison with the other villages in which the Battalion +sojourned from time to time. Each man was given a new suit, deficiencies +in kit were made up, and the companies soon began to resume their normal +appearance. Leave opened, and it was possible for those who wished to have +day trips to Calais, and one or two of the more fortunate managed to get +seaside leave at Paris Plage or Wimereux. The time spent at Blanc Pignon +passed without special incident, except that one night there was a bombing +raid by which the Germans obviously hoped to blow up the ammunition dump +which was in close proximity to the billets. Fortunately, although many +were dropped, not one of the bombs was effective enough to explode the +ammunition. During the raid a large Gotha aeroplane was caught in the beam +of one of the searchlights, and this was the first occasion the men saw +this particular type of machine. + +Despite the training the men had undergone before the battle, there was a +good deal of time devoted to field work, as in view of the experience +gained and the lessons learned in the recent attack new tactics had to be +evolved. Until the Third Battle of Ypres, the chief obstacles to the +advance of the British had been the German wire entanglements. The fuses +on the British shells had always permitted the shells to bury themselves +to some extent before exploding. This meant that a crater was formed, and +though the enemy wire in the immediate vicinity of the crater would be +destroyed, the obstacle effect of the whole entanglement remained almost +in its entirety. A new fuse which was known as No. 106 was introduced in +1917, by means of which the shells would explode instantaneously on +impact, and the splinters would destroy the wire over a much bigger area +than had formerly been the case. The artillery could now ensure the proper +cutting of the enemy wire entanglements, and it had been anticipated that +in the attack of the 31st July the troops would not encounter serious +obstacles in the way of wire entanglements, particularly as they were to +be supported by tanks. It is true the artillery had cut the wire, but +several units had nevertheless been held up. The Germans had anticipated +to some extent the British methods of attack and invented a system of +defence to meet it. + +The Commander of the Fourth German Army which was defending the Ypres +sector, Infantry General Sixt von Arnim, was a commander of high standing, +inasmuch as the British Higher Command had thought fit to publish some +observations of his on the Somme Battle. In the Ypres sector he had +adopted the plan of holding the forward zone with few troops well disposed +in depth, with strong reserves in rear which could be used for an +immediate counter-attack before the British could consolidate any +positions they had won. His advanced troops were carefully echeloned in +fortified farms, each strongly concreted and armed with several machine +guns. The advantage of this scheme was that it afforded few definite +targets to the British artillery, and gave every opportunity to the +Germans to ambush and enfilade advancing British infantry. Tanks were of +little avail against these block-houses, which in reality formed a belt of +small fortresses which could only be overpowered one by one. At any rate +they could easily break up the force of an attack, and inflict a large +number of casualties at a small loss. The reserves could then be used to +counter-attack the British before they had properly put the positions won +into a state of defence. Such a method of defence was indeed a difficult +obstacle to the advance, and its efficacy had been learnt at great cost in +the last fight. This system of defence meant that new tactics had to be +evolved to combat such a scheme. The German method of defence was +explained in printed sheets and the explanations were retailed to the men. +In the numerous tactical schemes and attack practices that took place the +men were taught to encircle enemy strong points rapidly and close in on +them. These exercises were supervised by the Divisional Commander in +person. + +While in this area another Divisional horse show took place, the third to +which the Battalion had sent entries. It was rather a good show, and there +was some very fine jumping, in which Belgian cavalry officers took part. +The Battalion secured two first prizes for a water cart and limbered +wagon, two second prizes and two third prizes. It obtained the third place +in the Division for the total number of marks gained. + +All good times come to an end and the 14th September was the Battalion's +last day at Blanc Pignon. The occasion was marked by great festivities, +and most of the men apparently consumed large quantities of beer. For this +they could not be blamed as they were going into action, and might never +survive to indulge so freely again. The next day the Battalion moved by +train to Vlamertinghe, where the men bivouacked in the open, having for +shelter large bivouac sheets. + +The orders were that surplus personnel had to be left here, and all the +officers who had taken part in the Battle of the 31st July were, with one +exception, left behind. On the 17th the Battalion moved up from +Vlamertinghe to Ypres, turned left at the Water Tower, skirted the Plaine +d'Amour and proceeded along No. 5 Track to the neighbourhood of Warwick +Farm. The next day the Battalion headquarters and two companies moved up +to Bank Farm and took over the front shell crater position. Though two big +attacks had taken place since the Battalion was last in this area, the +front line was approximately in the same place as when the Battalion had +left it in the early days of August. A fortified farm called Somme had +been captured, and that was about all. Hill 35 was still in possession of +the enemy. The Battalion with its sister regiments in the Brigade was to +succeed where others had failed. + +The Battalion held the shell crater position from the evening of the 18th, +and it was obvious that the enemy expected an attack as he searched the +whole area with heavy artillery fire at dawn on the 19th. + +The two remaining companies moved up after nightfall on the 19th. It +commenced to rain and the difficulties of placing the men in their proper +places were great. The night was black and there was nothing by which one +could locate oneself. After several hours a tape was placed along the line +of shell craters to serve as a jumping off mark along which the men were +duly aligned. + +The _role_ of the Battalion was to capture Hill 35 and Gallipoli, which +was a strongly fortified centre of resistance in such a position, situated +on rising ground, that it commanded a large area to the north. After its +capture other units in the Brigade were to pass through the Battalion and +continue the attack. The distance of the attack by the Battalion was from +four to five hundred yards, and it was to be made in four waves, a company +to each wave. It was anticipated that though the position might be fairly +easily captured the enemy would make a desperate effort to dislodge the +attackers. + +The attack was evidently anticipated, as the enemy shell fire for a few +minutes before zero was particularly heavy. Meanwhile the British +artillery maintained a silence in which the gunners were able to prepare +for the impending barrage. Zero was at 5-40 a.m., and at that time +suddenly there opened an enormous crescendo of fire from the British guns, +together with a machine gun barrage, which latter some attributed +erroneously to the enemy. At this time it was fairly light, and one could +see from a hundred and fifty to two hundred yards, quite light enough to +enable the German machine gunners to inflict many casualties. + +Owing to the fact that the men had to jump off from shell craters, and +many were anxious to advance quickly so as to evade the enemy shell fire, +and that there was some mixing of units, the waves were somewhat confused. +The German artillery was ready and intensified its fire. The enemy machine +gunners opened fire at once and the attackers began to fall almost as soon +as the attack was commenced. + +On the right of Hill 35 the Germans had manned a derelict tank and could +not be dislodged. Even though surrounded they did not surrender for some +time. The men, however, pressed gallantly forward and eventually got as +far as Gallipoli Farm. The Germans here were very stout hearted and +refused to surrender. One had a machine gun on top of a concrete dugout +and, for some reason or other, perhaps excitement, the men could not bring +him down. Following the brilliant example of one of the company +commanders, the men eventually closed in and after a fierce hand to hand +encounter, in which bomb and bayonet were freely used, the place fell. + +On Hill 35 a 90 m.m. field gun of an old pattern manufactured by Krupps +was captured, and altogether eight heavy and light machine guns fell into +the hands of the Battalion. About forty prisoners were taken belonging +chiefly to the 2nd Reserve Division of the Prussian Guards. The enemy +machine guns were soon turned round and got into action against the +Germans by those of the men who understood their use. + +Towards 5-30 p.m. in the evening the enemy opened fire with a heavy +barrage of all calibres. The fire was particularly intense at Gallipoli +Farm, where the company commander had himself relieved the sentry on +look-out at his headquarters, until he was blown almost senseless by the +violence of the concussion of a shell which burst almost on top of him. +Afterwards the Germans advanced, but they were seen by the men and +repulsed by machine gun fire. A party of Germans was observed carrying a +stretcher and a white flag. It was a favourite device of the enemy to +pretend that they were carrying a stretcher when they were actually +carrying a machine gun, and in consequence this particular party was soon +dispersed. + +Towards dark on the 21st the enemy put down another heavy barrage on the +line of Somme Farm. He was apparently delivering another counter-attack. +After it had been kept up some time great consternation prevailed at +Battalion headquarters. No word had been received from the troops in +front. Perhaps the enemy had captured the front positions, and that the +line was lost. The barrage was still intense, and anyone who should dare +to advance through it would expect to meet with almost certain death. Yet +some one had to go to ascertain if all was well or ill. The Commanding +Officer made arrangements to burn all papers and told everyone they must +fight to the last where they stood. The Second in Command ultimately +managed to get to Somme Farm and came back with the information that all +was well, which was of inestimable worth, for had the British barrage +lines been withdrawn, as had been suggested, the troops in front would all +have been sacrificed. + +On the 22nd September the Battalion was relieved. The greatest care was +taken to get the captured machine guns that were not needed for the +defence back to the transport lines. They were collected at Battalion +headquarters and carefully escorted to the neighbourhood of the old +British front line near Potijze, where they were met by the transport +officer, and duly delivered to Divisional headquarters. + +Having been relieved the men made their way back in small parties to +Vlamertinghe, where the night was spent. The next day the Battalion moved +by train to a camp by Watou. Two or three days were spent here, and then +the Battalion detrained to go down south to join General Byng's Third +Army. + + +LEMPIRE. + +The train journey lasted all day and the Battalion detrained at Bapaume, +and by a night march on a bright moonlight night marched to a Nissen hut +camp between Barastre and Haplincourt, where it sojourned for a few days. +During this time a few of the non-commissioned officers were able to visit +the Somme battlefield, and locate a few of the graves of the men who had +fallen a little over twelve months ago. A day's march on the 1st October +brought the Battalion to Aizecourt-le-Bas, and after a night's rest it +proceeded to St. Emilie, where the men were billeted amid the ruins of +what had formerly been a sugar factory. During the march it was made +plainly evident to all with what thoroughness the work of destruction had +been carried out by the Germans. The villages were not merely in ruins. +Every house and every room had been rendered useless as a billet or +shelter of any kind. The cellars had been filled with stones or refuse, +so that even these were of no use. The trees had all been wantonly +destroyed. Even small fruit trees of only a few years' growth did not +escape the axe. The wells had all been blown in, and in many cases they +were poisoned as well. The churches were treated exactly the same as the +houses. The whole region was desolate. There were no civilian inhabitants, +and soldiers were the only occupants of this wilderness. + +After a few days in the Sugar Factory the Battalion moved to the forward +positions at Lempire. This sector was very different from any sector the +Battalion had occupied. There was no trench system comprising front and +support trenches. The front was held by means of isolated posts occupied +by a platoon or a company as the case might be, and these posts were +linked up by means of communication trenches, so that they could be +visited. There being little artillery on either side, the whole sector was +very quiet, and as the lines were far apart there was little sniping. + +The Battalion did one tour in Cat, Fleeceall and Grafton Posts in front of +Lempire, and then moved up to the Ossus sector. Though the Germans had +destroyed all buildings behind the British line, the buildings behind the +German lines were intact, and the men experienced the unpleasant sight of +the comfortable chateaux and houses in which the German troops were +billeted when they themselves were very badly off in this respect. + +Three companies had been in the front in the Lempire position, and as +three companies were necessary to take over the Ossus sector, one company +had to do two successive tours. It was a poor relief to have to move from +one portion of the front line to another, especially as this company had +only one subaltern. The sector held by the Battalion was roughly 2,000 +yards, and consequently the three front companies each had from six to +seven hundred yards. The trench strength of the companies was somewhere +between eighty and ninety, the numbers not having been made up after the +Ypres casualties, and consequently there was a great amount of work for +everyone to do. + +On the 18th the Battalion moved to reserve at Vaughan's Bank by Epehy, +from whence on the 22nd it moved into reserve at Tincourt. The American +Railway Engineers had constructed a light railway from Epehy to Tincourt, +and they expressed their readiness to convey the Battalion there by rail. +Their offer was gladly accepted, and the Battalion duly arrived at the +station and entrained. There was a slight incline to commence and the +numbers that arrived exceeded the haulage capacity of the only serviceable +locomotive at the station, and consequently no progress was made. As there +was no telegraph a message had to be sent on foot for another engine, +which came along after a long wait, and eventually a start was made. The +couplings were bad and the train soon broke into three portions. As the +way was downhill the various sections glided down to the next station +independently. Here there was another train and a loop line, and it also +happened that one train was too long for the loop. Nothing daunted, the +railway engineers indulged in a considerable amount of shunting, and +decided to take a portion of the waiting train back with the troop train. +All went well until the next incline was reached. There was a great strain +on the engine, but eventually after charging the hill three or four times, +accompanied by much racing of engines and skidding of wheels, the top was +reached, and the Battalion got to Tincourt having taken on the journey +twice the time it would have taken to march the distance. + +At Tincourt a pleasant week was spent, after which the Battalion returned +to the Birdcage sector, the portion of which immediately in front of Eagle +Quarry was the scene of much minenwerfer activity. + + +THE BATTLE OF CAMBRAI. + +No particularly arduous duty was assigned to the Battalion in connection +with the operations on the 20th November. To divert the attention of the +enemy from other troops who were attacking the Knoll, a few hundred yards +on the right, the Battalion was ordered to place a dummy tank and dummy +men out in no man's land in front of the vicinity of the Birdcage, and +shortly after zero these were put in operation by means of wires. +Naturally the Battalion came in for a good deal of the retaliatory fire of +the enemy, but few casualties took place. Incidentally the enemy claimed +to have repulsed an attack on this front, from which it follows that the +dummies had been efficacious. + +The Germans had been driven back by the surprise attack of the British, +and Cambrai was nearly reached. The fighting died down in a few days, but +on the 30th Cavalry General von der Marwitz delivered his counter-attack. +He selected not the apex of the salient that had been driven into the +German line, but the portion of the line to the south of it, which was so +weakly held. On the morning of the 30th the Battalion was in support to +the 165th Brigade in some dugouts in Lempire. + +A warning had been received during the course of the night that an enemy +attack was imminent, and the order was given to "stand to" well before +dawn. At "stand to" all was perfectly quiet. The expected attack had not +developed. The men stood down and a normal day was anticipated. At +breakfast time there sounded a heavy barrage a mile or two to the north, +and afterwards shells began to fall in the village. Large gas shells were +creating a cloud near by, and a rumour came that the Germans had broken +through at the Birdcage. The troops had such confidence in the other +battalions in the Brigade that the rumour was not believed. Later a +message came from Headquarters that the line further north had broken. +Lempire must be held at all costs, and the Battalion was ordered to dig a +line running east and west on the high ground to the north of the village, +so as to command the ground as far as Holt's Bank. This was then in the +possession of the Germans, who were within a few hundred yards of Epehy, +and if this latter place had fallen the Battalion would have been in great +danger of being surrounded. The men dug in under shell fire, and in full +view of the enemy, while a large squadron of enemy aeroplanes circled +overhead, and turned their machine guns on the men as they were digging. +Fortunately few casualties were incurred. In the afternoon one company was +sent to form a defensive flank at Priel Bank, and another to reinforce the +6th Liverpool Rifles at Cruciform Post. On the 2nd December the Battalion +took over from the 6th Liverpools, and had the task of putting the line +from Heythrop Post, Cruciform Post, to Priel Bank in a state of defence. +These places were almost isolated during the day, and it was only at great +risk that they could be visited. The post at Catelet Copse was almost a +bait to the enemy, one of whom walked up to it. Even the Battalion +headquarters at F.4. Central were under close rifle fire. In fact there +were no troops in front of Headquarters, and it can be said that on this +occasion the Battalion headquarters were in the front line. + +On the 5th December the Battalion was relieved by a battalion from +Brigadier-General Ramsay's 48th Brigade, and he visited his former command +next morning at St. Emilie. Of the officers that had served under him in +the 1st Division, only two then remained, and they were pleased to see +their former commanding officer once more. That day the Battalion went by +motor lorry to billets in Peronne, where four days were spent. A few +civilians had returned to this ruined town, and had opened shops at which +fish and vegetables could be bought. These civilians were much impressed +by the nightly retreat sounded by the bugles and drums which had attained +a high pitch of efficiency. A long tedious railway journey on the 10th +brought the Battalion to Maroeuil. The night was spent in "Y" hutments, +and it then entered General Horne's First Army. + +It left Maroeuil on the 12th and marched to Bailleul-aux-Cornailles, a +village it was to visit later in August, 1918. The next day Eps was +reached, and on the following day the Battalion arrived at its destination +at Lisbourg, where it was to remain until the end of January, which meant +a six week's rest. + +Here the men were billeted in the peasants' byres, which were in rather a +dilapidated condition. The training was chiefly devoted to musketry. The +bomb had gone out of fashion, and it was realised that the principal +weapon of the infantryman was the rifle. According to the orders of the +Divisional Commander each company built a thirty yards' range for itself, +and a two hundred yards' range was allotted to the Battalion. Snow fell +but that made no difference to the training programme. The men had to lie +on the frozen snow to fire the various practices, and bearing in mind that +the rifles were very cold to handle, the results attained were excellent. + +Christmas was spent here, and the Christmas dinner which took place in the +school and a large barn was a great success, and demonstrated the good +feeling that existed between the officers and men. A few days afterwards +the Battalion was visited by Lieutenant-Colonel Luther Watts, O.B.E., +V.D., the Town Major of St. Pol, and who had commanded the Battalion prior +to the war, and at Dunfermline and Tunbridge Wells. Those of the officers +and men who had served under him in England were pleased to see their +former commanding officer once more. + +While at Lisbourg efforts were made to induce the men to invest in War +Saving Certificates. At first they were somewhat reluctant, saying that +they did not wish to hand back their pay which they had earned. Lectures +on the subject were delivered to them, and when the scheme was fully +explained, and they understood the necessity for money in order to carry +on the war, they readily responded, and over L1,000 was subscribed by the +officers and men, which was the highest figure attained in the Division. +This was an achievement of which the Battalion was justly proud, and shows +the keenness and interest the men displayed in their Regiment, and the +cause for which they were fighting. + +In consequence of the reduction of the number of infantry battalions in +the organisation of the British division from twelve to nine, the "first +ninth" being the junior battalion in the Brigade was split up. A selected +party of the officers and men was detailed for the second line Battalion, +and they were regarded with envy by the less fortunate. The remainder was +split up into drafts for the 1st, 4th, and 12th King's. The day of the +break up was a very sad one indeed. To a soldier his regiment is his home, +and to be called upon to leave it, to sever his friendships and to lose +his comrades of many a tragic day is for him very bitter. It is not untrue +to say that as the drafts were leaving and comrades were saying "Goodbye," +several of the soldiers, who had braved nearly inconceivable terrors, were +almost in tears. As was feared at the time the "Goodbye" in many cases was +for ever, as many were killed shortly afterwards by the German offensive +in March. The Divisional Commander and several officers from other units +came to say "Farewell" to the Battalion they were never to see again. A +note of sadness is struck in the following order which was issued:-- + + 55th (West Lancashire) Division, + + Special Order of the Day. + 31st January, 1918. + + On the departure from the Division of three Battalions, the + 1-8th The King's Liverpool Regt. (Liverpool Irish), 1-9th The + King's Liverpool Regt., and 1-5th Loyal North Lancashire + Regt., I wish to assure all officers, warrant officers, + non-commissioned officers and men belonging to them, how + greatly I, and I am sure, everyone in the Division, regrets + their loss. + + Some, I am glad to say, remain with us. + + As to the battalions themselves, I refuse to regard the + separation as permanent, and I look forward confidently to the + day when they will rejoin their old Division. + + They have had their full share in all the hard fighting of the + past two years, and have helped to make and maintain the + reputation which the Division has gained, a reputation which, + I am sure, makes every member of it proud of belonging to it. + As for myself, to have commanded it during these years is the + highest privilege. + + I hope that eventually the Liverpool Irish, the 9th King's, + and the 5th Loyal North Lancs. may rejoin our ranks, and that + the final blow may be given shoulder to shoulder with them. + + Till they come back again I wish them, on the part of the + Division and myself, all good fortune and success, and can + assure them that we shall watch their career as keenly as if + they were still with us. + + H.S. JEUDWINE, + Major General, + Commanding 55th Division. + +Unfortunately the hopes of the Major General were not realised. He never +saw this Battalion on parade again. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE 57TH DIVISION. + + +The second line Battalion was formed at Blackpool in 1914, and on the +departure of the first Battalion from Tunbridge Wells for France its place +was taken by the second Battalion. For a considerable time it carried out +training at Tunbridge Wells, Ashford, Oxted, Maidstone, Canterbury and +Blackdown, from which place it departed on the 17th February, 1917, for +France. + +It was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Leggatt, and formed part of +Brigadier-General Paynter's 172nd Infantry Brigade of the 57th Division, +which was a Division composed entirely of Lancashire troops, and a sister +Division to the 55th. + +After being delayed for three days at Folkestone, it crossed to Boulogne +on the 20th. The next day it was moved by train to the neighbourhood of +Bailleul, and from there by stages to the village of Erquinghem, south of +Armentieres. After a week spent in training, completing equipment, and +reconnoitring the sector to be taken over, it went into the Bois Grenier +sector. During the first tour in the trenches, the front held was twice +extended and eventually it held a front of one and three-quarter miles. +Here the Battalion remained for nearly seven months. The sector had been +held by the New Zealanders, and was one of the quietest on the whole +British front, but orders were now given to liven things up in order to +keep as many enemy troops opposite the sector as possible, and distract +their attention from the impending operations at Messines on the left. +This object was achieved by considerable activity, patrols, and artillery +bombardments. The extent of the front held entailed a good deal of +exertion in the way of working parties, both to prevent the breast-works +from falling into complete decay and to keep the trenches drained; and +though the Battalion was very fortunate and suffered comparatively few +casualties, the numbers steadily dwindled as no drafts were forthcoming. +The enemy had very little artillery opposite this sector, and relied +mainly for his defence on minenwerfers which he used liberally and +skilfully, harassing the Battalion with an exceedingly heavy bombardment +about once a fortnight. + +In August, the Commanding Officer left the Regiment and the command was +taken over by Lieutenant-Colonel Manger. The following month the Battalion +was taken out of the line for a rest, and was billeted in the village of +Febvin Palfart. Here it remained for a month reorganising and practising +the attack, special attention being paid to the method of taking "pill +boxes" by encirclement. + +In October the "Second Ninth" set out for the Ypres salient, and on +arriving at Proven was accommodated in tents. There it was told that the +Division was about to take part in an attack on Passchendaele, but the +weather conditions were so bad that, after an attack by one of the other +brigades in the Division, the offensive was finally abandoned. The +Battalion then held the shell crater line in front of Langemarck for a few +days at the beginning of November, sustaining a considerable number of +casualties. The Division was then withdrawn and the Battalion was put +into rest billets at Nielles. After about a month spent there in +re-organisation and training for the attack, it moved up to Emile Camp, +just outside Elverdinghe. The weather was bitterly cold and the ground +frozen hard. On Christmas Day the Battalion went into the shell crater +line at Poelcappelle, and spent four days there. The weather conditions +were very severe, snow had fallen, the ground was wet and the machine gun +fire very active. The first week in January the Regiment was once again in +its original sector at Armentieres. Here things were comparatively quiet, +though the trenches were in a very bad condition, and the danger of trench +feet was considerable. The Battalion carried out a very successful raid on +the 1st February. Several patrols had been sent out to locate the best +place of entry into the enemy line. After an intense bombardment on the +selected spot, a party was able to enter and secure a few prisoners. This +was the most successful raid the Division had accomplished. + +The remnants of the first Battalion left Lisbourg for Steenwerck, where +they spent a few days awaiting the return of the second Battalion from the +trenches. The two units met at Waterlands Camp outside Armentieres, and +were united to form one battalion. The union, though imperative, was +distasteful to some, as many officers and non-commissioned officers had to +relinquish acting ranks which they had held for some time, and it perhaps +gave rise to some jealousy which fortunately disappeared in time. + +After a few days spent at Waterlands, the Battalion moved into support at +Erquinghem, with one company in the Lunatic Asylum at Armentieres, and +after a short stay it did one tour in the line near Houplines, and then +went to Estaires, where it was in support to the Portuguese Army. + +This was then a quiet country town in which the shops were still open, and +incidentally doing a very good trade, and it had suffered little from the +effects of artillery. During the next three months it was to be reduced to +ruins. The Battalion was accommodated in a Nissen hut camp just outside +the town, where the company commanders had an opportunity of completing +the re-organisation of their companies. + +On the 13th March the non-commissioned officers celebrated the anniversary +of the Battalion's first arrival in France by arranging a kind of concert +in one of the estaminets in Estaires. This was the last occasion before +the Armistice on which such a celebration took place, and it has developed +into an annual reunion of the senior non-commissioned officers. + +Towards the end of the month the Battalion left Estaires for the +Armentieres front, and on the 21st March Ludendorff's advance commenced on +the 5th Army front, at which time the Battalion was in line in the +Fleurbaix sector. Ten days later the unit was relieved and marched to +Estaires, where it arrived on the morning of the 1st April. Leaving this +town later in the day, it made Haverskerque that night, left there the +next day for Steenwerck, and entrained for Doullens. Detraining at +Doullens at 1 a.m. on the 3rd, the Battalion proceeded by night march to +Sus St. Leger. The night was dark and the roads were in bad condition and +a few men fell out, but on the whole, the march discipline was good. On +the 5th the Battalion moved to Warluzel, where it remained for three days +and then proceeded to Thievres, staying there four days. These moves +meant a great strain on everyone. To march in full pack on bad roads with +motor lorries splashing mud, day after day, is an ordeal. In each village +a fresh start had to be made. Billets had to be found and allotted, fire +orders put up and billet guards mounted. Latrines and cook-houses had to +be improvised, and the usual foot inspections were made. Besides this the +usual routine returns had to be rendered to people that sat in comfortable +offices, and the men had to do ration fatigues and guards. Though the +difficulties of the companies were great, the difficulties of the +Quartermaster's department and that of the Transport Officer were much +greater. The Quartermaster had not enough room to take the stores he +wished, and the Transport Officer had as much as he could do to carry all +the stores there were. + +On the 12th a move was made to Sombrin, and the next day the Battalion +left Sombrin late in the afternoon for an unknown destination. Even the +Colonel did not know, and there was a vague rumour that the Brigade staff +were to look after the unit. The men marched over bad roads and in the +dark, and ultimately they were turned into a wood and told there were no +billets, and they could bivouac for the night. Officers and men lay down +on the damp earth where they were and slept. Fortunately it did not rain. +A few tents came up very late, and in the darkness they could not be +pitched, but they were spread out and thrown over the men as they lay +sleeping on the ground. Fires could not be lighted as the enemy aeroplanes +would have used them as aiming marks. In the morning the Battalion on +awaking found it was just outside Pas, in what was called Beaucamp Ravine. +Here it remained for two days, and then moved to Henu, where the men +pitched a camp in a field, and there the Battalion remained for a little +over a fortnight. But it was no rest camp. The weather was very bad and +the ground became wet and sodden. Every alternate day large working +parties, which consumed almost all the available men, were detailed for +work on the rear lines of defence, that were being hastily constructed, in +view of the imminence of a fresh enemy offensive. On the intervening days +training took place. There was a thirty yards' range in a ravine just in +the rear of the camp, where some very interesting competitions took place. +Rifle sections were pitted against Lewis gun sections and it was found +that, in some platoons a rifle section of eight men was able to get as +many shots on the target as the Lewis gun, and it was noticed incidentally +that after two hundred rounds the Lewis gun became far too hot to handle. +It was a much over-rated weapon, and was only effective in the hands of +highly trained men. + +Several reconnaissances were made by the officers while at Henu. The +forward area was visited again and again. Defence schemes were studied and +prepared, but these tended to become a little too complex, and had it been +necessary to put them into operation something would surely have gone +wrong. + +The morale at this time was low. The extent of the losses on the 5th and +2nd Army fronts were known. The enemy was using British 60-pounder guns +against the area occupied by the Battalion, but as the enemy gunners did +not thoroughly understand how to set the fuses, the shells were all blind. +The Germans seemed to be able to advance whenever they wished, whereas the +British had miserably failed at Ypres the last year. The men were not in +very good fettle owing to the several recent marches, and the chance of +complete victory seemed to be remote. Nevertheless there were many who +kept cheerful and intended like game cocks to fight to the last. + +The first week in May the Battalion went into line at Gommecourt. The +other two units in the Brigade were in the outpost line, and the 9th +King's was in close support in Gommecourt Park. It was accommodated in +what were formerly the front line enemy positions in 1916. It was an +education in military engineering to examine them. The trenches were deep +and wide, and there were traverses every few yards. They were revetted +with hurdles and planks of timber which were kept in position by iron +pickets, which were securely wired to anchor pickets driven sideways into +the walls of the trench. So well anchored were the revetments that in +spite of the continuous bombardments of the Somme Battle they were still +in position. The whole line was stellated with concrete machine-gun +emplacements, which gave a perfect command over the former British front +line trenches. Armoured look-out posts for sentries were at the top of all +the dugout stairs. The dugouts were deeply mined and well timbered, and +would provide shelter for a large garrison. + +In front of the trenches was a dense wire entanglement at least twenty +yards broad, and although it had suffered much from artillery fire it was +still an obstacle which was only passable by infantry in certain places +where lanes had been made. Anyone who saw this entanglement did not wonder +why the British attack on the Somme on the 1st July, 1916, failed. Several +graves of the fallen could be seen here and there in the wire. + +It was very interesting to walk through the Park. Despite the +bombardments it had undergone, the rides were clearly marked, and several +trees were still alive, including one or two fine copper beeches. Wild +hyacinths and other flowers were blooming in profusion, and a cuckoo, with +doubtful wisdom, persisted in remaining in its usual haunts. + +While in this position the whole Battalion was engaged in reclaiming old +trenches, digging new ones, and putting the area in a position of defence +and establishing a central keep. + +On the 11th May the enemy shelled Foncquevillers, a village immediately in +rear of the Battalion's position, with gas shells, most of which were +charged with mustard gas, and some of the gas being inhaled by the men of +the Battalion twenty-four casualties were sustained. + +Three days later the Battalion took over the front line, the Headquarters +still remaining at Gommecourt, but in another part of the village. The +trenches were very wet, and reminded one of the Loos trenches in 1915. It +was a time of great patrol activity. No one was quite sure where the +Germans were and in what force. Daylight and night fighting patrols +constantly left the British lines, and almost invariably came across +parties of the enemy, but as the enemy was caged in by wire prisoners +could not be obtained. + +In this sector the enemy had full observation of the village from +Rossignol Wood, and men from other units were in the habit of betraying +the location of dumps and headquarters by walking along the roads in +daylight instead of through the communication trenches. This enabled the +enemy to note ways of approach which he could shell after nightfall, and +so inflict casualties on working parties. To prevent this, two snipers +were told off to lie in the grass and fire above the head of anyone who +did not keep in the communication trenches. The scheme was efficacious; +the men respected the snipers more than the enemy, and little trouble was +given afterwards by the casual visitor to the sector. + +One fine morning the enemy elected to shell Battalion headquarters, to the +great amusement of the companies in the front line. Two out of the three +mine entrances to the dugout occupied by the headquarter's personnel +received direct hits and were blocked. The Second in Command then had the +unpleasant duty of crawling out of the third entrance to see if all was +well. Fortunately nothing untoward had taken place except three slight +casualties. + +On relief two companies went to the Chateau de la Haie, and the two other +companies and Headquarters to Rossignol Farm, a large monastic farm of +considerable age. There was an enormous byre partitioned off into several +pig styes, and this was allotted to the officers, one pig stye for each +officer. The War Diary for the next three weeks gives an interesting and +accurate account of what took place, so the following extract is +included:-- + + May 24th.--Battalion headquarters moved up to Chateau de la + Haie, and Lieutenant-Colonel F.W.M. Drew, D.S.O., being in + need of a rest, was evacuated sick, and Major S.C. Ball, M.C., + assumed command. While at this Chateau, Battalion headquarters + had the pleasure of being closely associated with the + headquarters of the 1st Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers; and + it is interesting to record that this was not the first time + that the Battalion had the honour of working in conjunction + with this illustrious regiment. Many members of the Battalion + could clearly remember how the 9th had the honour of relieving + the 2nd Royal Munster Fusiliers, elements of which were + incorporated in the 1st Royal Munster Fusiliers, after the + Battle of Loos, in the 3rd Infantry Brigade of the 1st + Division. + + May 25th.--BEER TRENCH.--The Battalion relieved the 1st + Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers in Beer Trench, where "A" + and "D" Companies and the Lewis gunners of "B" were + accommodated. "B" and "C" Companies remained in the Chateau de + la Haie Switch. There was heavy shelling in "A" Company's area + during the evening, but no casualties were sustained. The + Battalion came tactically under the orders of the 170th + Infantry Brigade while in Beer Trench. + + May 26th.--Gas shells known as yellow cross shells, were fired + over "A" Company's sector in the early morning. The men + quickly adjusted their masks, and no casualties were + sustained. The rest of the day passed quietly. + + May 27th to 29th.--These days were fairly quiet. + + May 29th.--RUM TRENCH.--The Battalion relieved the 2-4th Loyal + North Lancashire Regiment and occupied the reserve position in + the Left Brigade Sector. "B" Company and Headquarters were in + Gommecourt Wood. "A" Company was in the centre with posts in + Gommecourt Trench, and "C" Company was on the left flank in + Pigeon Wood. "D" Company was in reserve with orders to man a + strong point, known as Julius Point, in case of an attack. + Opportunity was afforded of studying the solidarity of the + enemy forms of revetment, their fortified sentry boxes, + observation posts, and the thoroughness of the mined dugouts, + several of which were occupied by the Battalion. + + May 30th--31st.--These days were spent in comparative + quietness, and the Battalion furnished several working + parties. There was abnormal sickness during this tour in the + trenches, due in all probability to the effects of gas. + + June 1st.--GOMMECOURT.--The Battalion was in reserve to the + Brigade in the Left Brigade Sector at Gommecourt with + Headquarters in the old German support line, north of + Gommecourt Wood, which was renamed Rum Support. The companies + were disposed from right to left in order, "B," "A" and "C" in + Gommecourt Trench and Gommecourt Support. "D" Company was in + reserve. The companies were housed in mined dugouts made by + the enemy, and again evidence of the industry of the Germans + was seen in the mined dugouts, armoured sentry boxes, + substantial revetments and belts of wire entanglements. + + At morning "stand to," the enemy put down a barrage on the + Divisional Front. The S.O.S. went up in several places and our + artillery--some of which was immediately in rear--opened with + rapid fire. It transpired later that the enemy raided the + Right Brigade sector without success. The usual working + parties were provided in the evening. + + June 2nd.--The IV. Corps Commander visited the Battalion's + sector. The Battalion did considerable work in its own sector + digging rifle slits, and making baby elephant dugouts, besides + providing the Royal Engineers with the usual working parties. + + June 3rd.--The day passed in comparative tranquillity. Owing + to the good weather prevailing at this period our observers + were able to observe well behind the enemy lines. Occasionally + they could see small bodies of the enemy moving about and + sometimes horses grazing. + + June 4th.--The day was spent very quietly, and there is + nothing of interest to record. + + June 5th.--The Brigadier commanding 172nd Infantry Brigade + visited the Battalion and expressed his appreciation of the + wiring done at Salmon Trench. Visibility was very good in the + evening, and several parties of Germans were again seen. + + June 6th.--The enemy opened a harassing fire on Battalion + headquarters with 77 m.m. guns and 10.5 c.m. howitzers, firing + with occasional short intervals until 3 p.m. + + June 7th.--The day was spent very quietly and there is nothing + of interest to relate. + + June 7th--8th.--The Battalion relieved the 2-4th Battalion + South Lancashire Regiment in the left section of the Left + Brigade Front. Companies were disposed as follows:--Left front + company, "A." Centre company, "D." Right front company, "C." + Reserve company, "B." Battalion headquarters were established + in Salmon Trench in the vicinity of a locality known as Salmon + Point. + + June 9th.--IN THE LINE.--The enemy displayed more than usual + activity. The Brigadier General visited the sector. + + June 10th.--Some rain fell during the day. The enemy displayed + his usual artillery activity. Two enemy aeroplanes, one of + which was a Halberstadter, flew over the Battalion area at a + low altitude for some time. + + June 11th.--The day was fairly quiet, our forward posts in + front of Rossignol Wood were troubled by our own artillery + which persistently fired short. + + June 12th.--The enemy was noticeably quieter. + + June 13th.--The Duke of Marlborough and Mr. Winston Churchill + visited the Battalion sector, accompanied by the Divisional + Commander. + + June 14th.--Artillery activity at night has quietened + considerably. Our gunners still continued to harass the enemy + with an occasional _rafale_ from their field guns. + + The Battalion found a wiring party to assist the 2-4th + Battalion South Lancashire Regiment to wire Biez Wood. The + Brigadier General visited the sector. + + June 14th--15th.--The Battalion was relieved by the 2-6th + Battalion Liverpool Regiment. During the relief the enemy + artillery was very active. + + June 15th.--ROSSIGNOL FARM.--On relief the Battalion was + disposed as follows:--"A" and "D" Companies at Chateau de la + Haie; "B" and "C" Companies and Battalion headquarters at + Rossignol Farm. + + * * * * * + +In May and June the Gommecourt sector was active, and the artillery fire +on both sides was severe. The enemy employed a shell with an instantaneous +fuse called the E.K.Z. fuse, which functioned before the shell buried +itself and so gave the shell a very great splinter effect. It was usual +for the enemy to fire on cross roads and similar targets in salvoes of +four. The British artillery replied and kept up a lively fire most of the +time, and it appeared to have the ascendency. Gas shells were frequently +used on both sides. + +Early in July the Battalion came out to rest at Authie, where it was +accommodated under canvas. Here it was that Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Henry +Seymour, D.S.O., of the Grenadier Guards, took command. Training for the +attack took place in some cornfields near to the camp, and particular +attention was paid to the keeping of direction in the advance, the +tactical employment of Lewis guns and the envelopment of machine gun +nests. The fighting had become more open this year than it had been in +1917, and consequently the men had to be kept up to date. To consolidate a +position the men were taught to form platoon strong points with the flanks +refused or bent back so as to be able to meet an attack from any +direction. Unfortunately the corn crops were spoilt by the training of the +troops. + +While at Authie, sports took place, and in the Brigade sports the +Battalion secured seven first, eight second, and one third prize. The Army +Rifle Competitions took place here, and No. 6 platoon of "B" Company won +the eliminating competition in the Brigade, but unfortunately failed to +win the Divisional competition. + +Then followed a period of meanderings which lasted for a month, and which +at the time were difficult to understand. On the 29th July the Battalion +left Authie and marched to billets at Warluzel by the following route: +Pas, Grincourt, and Couterelle. The march was rather severe as the weather +was very hot, and it needed the greatest firmness on the part of the +officers to prevent the men from falling out. The next day the Battalion +paraded at 6-15 a.m., and marched to Agnez-les-Duisans _via_ Hermaville, +where it arrived in the afternoon. + +In the evening of the following day the Battalion paraded and marched to +Arras, entering the city by the Baudimont Gate, and the men were billeted +for the night in the Spanish houses in the Grande Place. In the evening of +the next day the Battalion paraded in the Square and marched to Wakefield +Camp by Roclincourt. While in Arras the troops found an old hat shop and +great amusement was caused by the soldiers arraying themselves in ladies' +hats, which gave them a very strange appearance. A tall silk hat very much +out of fashion was reserved for the officers, which they tried on in turn. + +A week or so was spent in training at Roclincourt, and on the 9th the +Battalion took over the outpost zone in the Gavrelle-Fampoux sector. The +companies were taken up to the forward area by a light railway, and this +was the only occasion on which the Battalion was taken to the forward area +in such a manner. + +The positions occupied gave a good view over the enemy hinterland. From +the Battalion headquarters at the Point du Jour, factory chimneys could be +seen smoking in several villages behind the German line, and the clock on +Douai Church was clearly visible. Occasionally a train was seen moving, +and now and then a party of Germans was observed. Behind the British line +lay the rolling Artois country which was fundamentally agricultural, and +in front there loomed in the distance an industrial manufacturing +district, which seemed a far-off civilization in contrast to the +devastation behind. It was a time of great aeriel activity on both sides. +Battles were fought at high altitudes, of which one was scarcely conscious +except when one of the combatant machines fell headlong to earth. As a +means of self protection Lewis guns were placed on aeriel mountings, and a +sharp look out was kept for any daring Halberstadter that should venture +too low. The weather at the time was fine, and the tour was regarded as +one of the easiest the men had been called upon to do. + +On the 17th August the Battalion was relieved just before midnight, and +marched to Anzin, where it arrived at 4-30 a.m. the next morning, and the +men had breakfast. Later it entrained for Bailleul-aux-Cornailles, where +four days were spent. On the 21st an order was received about 10 p.m., +(after the men had bedded down) to move at once. The move was quite +unexpected as everyone believed the Battalion was to stay in the village +for several days longer. Kits were hastily packed in the darkness, and in +an hour the Battalion was ready to move. Fosseux was reached in the early +morning, breakfast taken, and the men rested until 1 p.m. In the evening +another sudden message ordered a night march to Boucquemaison, which was +reached early on the 23rd, and the men rested during the day time, paraded +at nightfall and marched to Barly. + +These marches were perhaps rather fatiguing, but as they took place at +night and the weather was very pleasant, they were not as bad as they +might have been. The march discipline was excellent and scarcely any men +fell out. The companies as day was breaking presented nevertheless a +worn-out appearance. The men were dusty and tired out as they trudged in +the mist of the morning, with the field kitchen and Lewis gun cart in the +rear. The cooks were doing their best to get the fire lighted to boil the +water for breakfast. The pack animals seemed to wonder what necessity +there could be for all this marching, and the company charger, generally a +very dejected jade, feeling as proud of his position as his mean station +in the equine world would permit, persistently refused to keep his proper +position when a halt was called. + +It was during the march to Barly that the men were told, during a halt at +midnight, that victory was certain, and that Marshal Foch had ordered +everyone to advance. This news instantly raised the _morale_ of every one, +and the rest of the journey seemed more pleasant than usual. + + +THE SECOND BATTLE OF ARRAS. + +A day's halt took place at Barly, where the surplus personnel was left +while the fighting men left for Bellacourt. The next day the Battalion +left and, passing _en route_ Ficheux and Blaireville, the villages in +front of which it had spent so many weary months in 1916, arrived at +Mercatel. + +On the 27th August the Battalion proceeded, dressed in fighting order, to +the Hindenburg Line, _via_ Henin, and took over trenches in V. 7.c. On the +28th a warning order was received at 6 a.m. that the Battalion would +attack that day. Operation orders followed later. The two leading +companies were to assemble at Humber Redoubt and Mole Lane, and the other +two companies in the rear. The first objective assigned to the Battalion +was Hoop Lane and the second the village of Riencourt. Flanks were given +and zero was fixed for 12-30 p.m. + +It was fortunate that a warning order had been given as otherwise the +companies would not have been in position in time. At 12-30 p.m. the +barrage came down and the men commenced to move forward. The going at +first was not easy, owing to the wire and numerous shell holes. Shortly +after zero the contact aeroplane unfortunately received a direct hit by a +shell and crashed to earth. Very heavy machine gun fire was directed +against the leading companies from Copse Trench, which brought about many +casualties. Fag Alley was reached and in its vicinity several machine guns +were captured, and the teams either killed or taken prisoners. From this +point to the first objective the resistance was not so strong, and on +reaching it red flares were lit. + +About 1-50 p.m. the Battalion continued the advance from the first +objective, and swung left in the direction of the village of Hendicourt. +The resistance became stronger. The enemy was using his machine guns +boldly. Some of these were outflanked and captured with a few light +minenwerfers. About fifty prisoners, chiefly belonging to the 121st and +the 180th Infantry Regiments of the 26th Reserve Division were taken, +along with a few Uhlans. Eventually the fringe of Hendicourt was reached, +and several men entered the village. As it was reported that there were no +British troops on either side of the village it was decided on the spot to +withdraw to Cemetery Avenue temporarily. "D" Company was endeavouring to +get round the north side of the village but was held up by heavy machine +gun fire from Crow's Nest. Owing to this machine gun fire and to the fact +that the left flank of the Battalion was in the air, and that the British +artillery was shelling the village, it was decided to consolidate Cemetery +Trench. Meanwhile some enemy field gunners were firing at the British at +very close range. By this time the troops had got very mixed up, and it +was essential that the commanders on the spot should organise what men +they found near by. This was done and the Battalion remained in its +consolidated positions until the next day, when at noon it was withdrawn +to Copse Trench and afterwards to a bivouac area at Henin. + +Unfortunately, Lord Henry Seymour was wounded on the 28th August and the +command then devolved upon Major Ball. There was a great deal of +re-organisation to be done. The surplus personnel rejoined. Lists of +casualties had to be prepared, ammunition, flares, Verey lights, and iron +rations had to be given out. New platoon rolls had to be made at once. +Lost Lewis guns and spare parts had to be made up, as well as possible. As +a temporary measure "A" and "C" Companies, now sadly depleted in numbers, +were united to form "X" Company, while "B" and "D" Companies formed "Y" +Company. This scheme was adopted so that the original companies and +platoons would not sink their identities in that of a sister company. This +re-organisation was completed, equipment made up, and all necessary stores +given out within twenty-four hours, and the Battalion was again ready for +action. The bivouac area was vacated at 4 p.m. on the 1st September, and +the Battalion went to the Hindenburg Line, where a few hours were spent. +It left the Hindenburg Line about 10-30 p.m. for Hendicourt. An +unfortunate circumstance, however, had taken place. The intelligence +section, which was to act as guides to take the companies to Hendicourt, +was annihilated by a shell, and as a consequence it was very difficult to +get there to time in view of the lack of guides. The Battalion was piloted +by the Adjutant over numerous broken-in trenches, while enemy aeroplanes +were disseminating bombs quite liberally. + +Hendicourt was reached fifteen minutes before zero, which was at 5 a.m. +One company was then ordered to advance in the direction of Riencourt, the +fringe of which village it reached by advancing over the open under cover +of the barrage and, incidentally, encountering the German barrage. + +On this day the famous Drocourt-Queant Switch, the last and perhaps the +strongest line of resistance of the enemy, was completely broken. Months +had been spent on its preparation and in making concrete machine gun +emplacements and belts of barbed wire, and its fall in one day was +remarkable. + +Later in the day the companies went forward over the ground captured by +the other units in the Brigade, and one or two patrols were sent out. The +following evening the Battalion was withdrawn to a bivouac area outside +Croisilles, which vicinity was shelled by a 350 m.m. Krupp gun. The +Battalion was reorganised on a four-company basis once more the next day. + +On the 7th September the Battalion proceeded, _via_ Hendicourt and +Riencourt, to a reserve position by Cagnicourt, and on the 10th the +Battalion furnished two companies for manning the Buissy Switch in the +rear of Inchy-en-Artois. Battalion headquarters were situated in the +Hindenburg Line and the two forward companies were just on the fringe of +Inchy, and accommodated in what had lately been the headquarters of the +115th Feldartillerie Regiment. The dugout was cut into the side of the +road and consisted of several well-timbered rooms and there were about +four entrances. This dugout was so well fitted that it actually contained +a pump, to ensure an adequate supply of water for the garrison. + +On the 11th September there was an attack by other units in the 57th +Division in conjunction with the Guards Division on the east side of Inchy +and Moeuvres, so as to secure the line of the Canal du Nord. The attack +was covered by an intense bombardment of the enemy front positions and +Bourlon Wood, and the advance of the infantry was covered by smoke. +Officers from the Battalion observed the attack from Buissy Switch to note +where lay the enemy barrage lines. The attack at Inchy was, unfortunately, +a failure. + +On the 12th the Battalion took over the defence of Inchy. The right +company was located in Grabburg Post, and the left in a shell crater +position by the Agache Springs. The other two companies were in support. +The conditions were bad, and the men in front had to lie in their shell +craters all day. As these generally contained water, the men got very wet. +The village was incessantly shelled and periodically drenched with gas. +Even night brought no respite and the guns still disgorged their fatal +missiles. Some idea of the intensity of the shell fire may be gained from +the following incident. + +"A" Company headquarters and one platoon were quartered in a long cellar +belonging to a factory. The cellar was divided into two compartments, and +of these only the one further from the entrance was occupied. While the +shelling was taking place the Company Commander was out interviewing the +Commanding Officer and, returning to his headquarters, he saw shell after +shell burst in the vicinity. When the intensity of the fire was somewhat +mitigated, he returned to company headquarters and there saw a shell had +entered and burst in the empty compartment. When he asked the men about it +they did not know what had happened, and they even had not noticed it amid +the several other shells that had burst close by. + +While at Inchy the Battalion had the misfortune to lose its most popular +officer, who was killed while doing a daylight patrol in Pavilland Wood. +He had fought in the first Battle of Ypres in 1914 and had remained in +France until wounded in 1917. Though blind in one eye and deaf in one ear, +he insisted on returning to the battlefield after his wounds had healed. +His conduct stands out in sharp contrast to the thousands who were evading +service at home. + +On the 16th September, the Battalion was relieved and marched by companies +to a bivouac area by Bullecourt. On arrival a thunderstorm took place. The +men were soon wet, the ground sodden, and the bivouac sheets caked with +mud. To this was added the fact that fires and lights were not permitted +on account of the enemy aeroplanes. The next day, however, was fine and +everyone quickly dried. Of the village scarcely a vestige remained. Here +and there the foundation of a wall was discernible in the mud. French +villages are usually well wooded, but of all the trees in Bullecourt there +was only one standing, and that had died from the effects of shell fire. +The Battalion marched off next day and entrained by Boyelles, and after a +short journey detrained at Beaumetz. Here the men saw once again the +village they knew so well in 1916. It seemed strange that trains were +running in the station now. + +At Beaumetz the Battalion marched past some of its former billets to +Bailleulment. Here a few days were spent in resting and training, and on +the 25th September the Battalion marched to Beaumetz and by train and +route march proceeded to a bivouac area at Lagnicourt. + +On the 27th September the Battalion took part in the advance. The men got +to the position of assembly in the Hindenburg Line and then passed through +Moeuvres, crossed the Canal du Nord and advanced in artillery formation +towards the southern corner of Bourlon Wood. + +While coming over the crest just north of Anneux "A" Company came under +the direct fire of a 105 m.m. enemy gun, the detachment of which was +firing over open sights, and several casualties were sustained. The +Battalion was soon held up by machine gun fire, but it afterwards advanced +and took up a position between Anneux and Bourlon Wood. The 29th was spent +in re-organisation. + +On the 30th the Battalion paraded, and an attempt was made to carry on the +attack. Unfortunately, the suburb of Proville had not been captured, as +had been originally supposed, and the attack could not proceed on account +of the heavy machine gun fire from the houses. + +The Battalion was then withdrawn to La Folie Wood, where a few days were +spent in old German shelters. The enemy evidently knew that the wood was +occupied, for he persistently shelled it with his heavy batteries, and the +trees served to intensify the sound of the explosions. Several 18-pounder +guns and a battery of 8-inch howitzers were about a hundred yards or so in +rear of the Battalion's position; and when an attack by one of the other +units in the Division was in progress the noise was intense. + +On the 5th October the Battalion took over the outpost zone at Proville, +with headquarters at La Marliere. At this time there were few troops on +the bridgehead east of the Canal de l'Escaut. The area was periodically +searched by the enemy heavy artillery, and the posts at Proville suffered +considerably from minenwerfer fire. On relief the Battalion returned to La +Folie Wood. + +When Cambrai fell on the 9th October the Battalion left for the Cantaing +area and on the 11th moved to a bivouac area by Inchy. The next day it +marched to Hermies, and there entrained for Bethune, where it arrived next +day and marched to Douvrin. + +It was now almost three years since the Battalion had been in the vicinity +of Bethune, but there were still some present who could remember how the +Battalion in the spring of 1915 had marched for the first time to the +trenches in front of this town. The next day the Battalion went by motor +lorries through Locon and other places the men had known so well in 1915 +and, debussing near Laventie, the Battalion marched via Fromelles to Le +Maisnil en Weppes. Passing through what was formerly no man's land at +Laventie, the men were able to recognise the places they had held in the +trenches in the early part of the year. + + +LILLE. + +Three days were spent at Le Maisnil, during which the seizure of Lille was +carefully studied by the officers and orders were given as to the mode of +procedure should the enemy evacuate the town. On the 17th October at 1-15 +p.m. the Battalion paraded in fighting order and advanced to the +deliverance of the city. There was at this time a vague report that the +enemy had departed, but it was not known to what point the British troops +had then attained. There might have been troops between the Battalion and +the enemy, and there might not. Road mines and "booby" traps were to be +expected. The Battalion arrived at Haubourdin at 4 p.m., where there was a +halt for a meal. On reaching the suburbs of Lille advance guards had to be +sent out, as any point of vantage might have concealed an enemy machine +gun. The canal on the west of the city was reached about 5 o'clock. The +bridges had all been blown up, but the Pont de Canteleu, though broken in +two and half in the canal, afforded a means of crossing one at a time. + +At this bridge the greatest excitement prevailed. Crowds of women were +singing the "Marseillaise." They surrounded the troops and could not be +prevented from kissing the soldiers. So great was the crowd that the +passage of the troops was impeded. Eventually the companies reached their +allotted stations and formed guards on the various gates to prevent all +egress. In this way the Battalion was the first infantry to reach the +city. Actually the first to enter was "D" Company. + +Here was a city without civil administration. The late authorities had +been the Germans, and they had gone. There were no police and no post; the +streets were unlit and the trams had long since ceased to run; garbage was +deposited in the street and there putrified. There was a great shortage of +food. The shops were empty, hundreds had died of want, and the strength of +the inhabitants was very low. + +For three days the Battalion remained on guard at the gates to prevent all +egress of the inhabitants, as there were some residents in the city that +the French authorities wished to arrest, and so it was necessary to +prevent their escape before the French police arrived. Out of the men not +actually on duty, a guard of honour was found to accompany M. Clemenceau +on his triumphal entry into the city on behalf of the French Republic. It +was an inspiring occasion, and the greatest enthusiasm prevailed. The +Battalion on the 21st marched through Lille, being met by "A" Company at +the Porte des Postes, to Ascq, where it stayed the night. The next day it +moved to Willems on the Belgian frontier. + + +TOURNAI. + +On the 24th October the Battalion took over the outpost zone at Froyennes +by Tournai. This was a new kind of warfare. There were no trenches, no +enemy line and no clearly defined British line. Sentry groups were located +in houses, behind hedges and perhaps in a ditch on the side of the road. +Sentries kept a look-out from a skylight window or gap in the hedge. +Civilians were living in the same houses as the troops and some of these +appeared rather friendly towards the enemy. One woman actually wished to +take some washing to the Germans in Tournai. For the most part these +civilians were women, and the soldiers admired their wonderful courage. +Even though they were in the centre of the fighting they did not lose +heart and there was no panic. + +In the right company area was situated a chateau which had formerly been +the headquarters of General von Quast, the commander of the Sixth German +Army. Company headquarters were in the next chateau, the Chateau de +Froyennes, belonging to the Germiny family, and the then occupier, +Mademoiselle Therese de Germiny, who had remained, lent her boat to the +Company, and several men were able to row on the ornamental lake which was +situated at the side of the chateau in a beautiful park. One platoon was +quartered in a restaurant which had a beautiful and rustic garden, though +it was too near the enemy for the men to really enjoy the comfort it +afforded. Another platoon found in a laundry a number of clean white +shirts which the men readily donned. + +Though the Germans had been defeated, they still continued to indulge in +a lavish expenditure of ammunition. Probably they were firing so as to use +up their remaining shells before evacuating. Day after day the park +belonging to the Froyennes Chateau was searched by all manner of shell. So +intense was the fire that it reminded one of the terrible moments of the +Somme Battle. The Hospital or Convent in which one of the companies was +located was subjected to incessant minenwerfer fire. + +It is interesting to record that "A" Company elected to do the full tour +of four days in the front position with the intention of spending all the +next tour in support, an eventuality which did not take place as the +Armistice intervened. + +Coming out from Froyennes the Battalion was shelled on the road. Little +did anyone think that night that the Battalion had finished with shell +fire. For the men the war was over. Their last time in action was passed. +Among those that trudged wearily out of action that night were a few who +had landed at Le Havre with the Regiment more than three and a half years +before. Though they did not realise it until much later these men were the +lucky ones who were to survive the war. + +The Battalion marched to Cornet and the next day to Hellemmes, outside +Lille, for a period of rest. Here the men were quartered in a cotton +spinning factory, the machinery of which was all utterly destroyed, and +every man had his own bunk. The officers were billeted in private houses +in the vicinity. While on parade on the morning of the 11th November it +was announced to the men that the Armistice had been signed. The news of +the cessation of hostilities was received by the soldiers without any +manifestation of the joy or excitement that marked the occasion at home. +The parade continued and the rest of the day was spent quite as usual. The +news for which the men had waited so long seemed when it came to be almost +too good to be true. + +Some there were--savages by nature--who were not altogether glad. They had +been taught to kill, and they wanted to kill. They thought the Germans had +not been punished enough for their crimes and atrocities, and that the +enemy country ought to suffer the same devastation as France. In the main, +however, the men were glad that the war was virtually over. They would +soon be able to return to their homes and live with their loved ones +again. On the night of the 13th the reality of the terms of the Armistice +was evidenced by the returning British prisoners of war from the German +lines. A picquet was posted on the main road outside Battalion +headquarters, and on arrival returning prisoners were escorted to a billet +which was prepared for them. Fires were burning in the billet, and all of +the late prisoners were supplied with a bed. A hot meal, tea and a rum +ration were served to them as they arrived. By midnight about eighty had +come through. The majority of them arrived in an exhausted condition, +having marched between forty and fifty kilometres. Many were the stirring +and pitiful stories recounted by these unfortunate fellows of the harsh +treatment which they had received during their period of captivity. The +ensuing days of the month were spent at Hellemmes under the command of +Lieutenant-Colonel Dawson for a few days, and afterwards +Lieutenant-Colonel M.E. Makgill-Crichton-Maitland, D.S.O., of the +Grenadier Guards, took command. + +Training as usual was continued as it was not realised at the time that +the fighting was finished. The parades took place in the vicinity of Fort +Macmahon, which had been used by the Germans as quarters for prisoners of +war. The conditions inside the fort were terrible and constituted strong +evidence of the sufferings the prisoners of war must have endured. In view +of the imminence of demobilisation, education classes were started, and +much good work was done in this direction. In the evenings concerts and +parties took place, and friendships soon sprang up between the soldiers +and the Lilloises. + + +ARRAS. + +It was soon decided that the Army was to be used for salvage work on the +devastated area, and accordingly orders came for a move to the Arras area. +On the 3rd December the Battalion left Lille, and after a march of roughly +15 miles it reached Carvin and spent the night in some German ammunition +huts in a wood. The next day the Battalion passed through Lens, and one +was surprised to see how near the Highlanders must have got to the town at +the Battle of Loos. After leaving Lens the Battalion marched right through +the centre of the district in which the Vimy Ridge Battles had taken +place. The whole region was now desolate and deserted. After a march of +twenty-one miles three of the companies marched to their billets at Etrun +without the loss of a single man. This was a striking example of the +efficiency of the Battalion and the standard of its march discipline. + +A few days were spent in billets at Etrun and then the Battalion moved to +a Nissen hut camp a short distance away at Maroeuil. Twelve months ago the +Battalion had spent a night at the camp on its way to Lisbourg. The camp +had been empty for some months and was in a bad condition, so that a +great deal had to be done to make the huts habitable. Beds and tables had +to be constructed, cook houses established and ovens built. Duckboard +tracks had to be laid as the ground was muddy. In this work the men were +assisted by some German prisoners who worked very well and thoroughly. No +enmity was evinced by the men, who would give the prisoners food if not +watched. So soon had the British soldiers forgotten their hatred of the +Germans. The Battalion was given a large area to clear and every day large +parties were engaged on salvage work. The afternoons were devoted to games +and some very keen football matches took place. + +Christmas time was an occasion for great rejoicing. A competition for the +best decorated dining hut was held. Materials were not easily available +and the ingenuity of the officers was taxed to the utmost. One company +commander had a scenic artist among his men and he managed to secure an +ample supply of paint. Others telegraphed to England for table decorations +and some things could be bought in Arras. One sergeant-major borrowed bed +sheets from some lady friend and these served as table cloths. The dining +huts were consequently well decorated and comfortable, and eventually "B" +Company secured the prize. Christmas Day was one of feasting. A cross +country run the next day, in which all from Commanding Officer downward, +took part wore off any evil effect. + +Early in January a "Colour Party" left for Liverpool, where it received +the colours of the Regiment from the Lord Mayor on the 7th January, and +later brought them to the Battalion. + +Demobilisation commenced in January, and by the end of February the +disintegration of the Battalion was proceeding rapidly. The numbers +dwindled so steadily that at length parades ceased. Men who had served +and lived together for so long were parting and might perhaps never see +each other again. Friendships of months' standing were now to come to an +end. No bugle would ever call these men together again. They were each to +return to their civilian life once more, and there seek their several +fortunes. + +The members of the Battalion took different paths. A large contingent +ultimately made its way to Egypt as part of the garrison there. Others, +members of the cadre, came home with the Colours in June and were received +with due honour by the Lord Mayor. One or two isolated members crept up to +the Rhine Army, where they had the pleasure of seeing the result of their +comrades' work, and the Germans dejected and defeated. It was indeed +gratifying to see British soldiers quartered in Bonn University, that home +of "kultur" where the late Kaiser Wilhelm was educated. A reunion took +place in St. George's Hall on the 30th May, 1919. Afterwards the Battalion +ceased to exist as infantry, as the War Office changed it to a Battalion +of Royal Engineers called the 2nd Battalion West Lancashire Divisional +Royal Engineers, to which several of the officers transferred. + +The work of the Battalion is done. By the bravery and industry of the +officers and men, by the soldierly spirit with which all were imbued, by +the discipline and good comradeship which kept all together working in +harmonious union, the Battalion earned for itself a high reputation for +efficiency in every direction. The work it was given to do has been done +in a cheerful and thorough manner, and let there be inscribed, with due +honour, upon the list of the illustrious regiments which have deserved +well of their country, the name of the 9th Battalion of The King's +(Liverpool Regiment) Territorial Force. + + + + +APPENDIX. + + +_List of Decorations earned by officers and men while serving with the +Battalion._ + +A BAR TO THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ORDER. + +Lieutenant-Colonel LORD H.C. SEYMOUR. + +THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ORDER AND THE MILITARY CROSS. + +Captain R.C. WILDE. + +THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ORDER. + +Major-General F.W. RAMSAY +Lieutenant-Colonel H.K.S. WOODHOUSE +Lieutenant-Colonel F.W.M. DREW +Major F.S. EVANS +Major J. MAHONY, R.A.M.C. + +THE MILITARY CROSS AND A BAR. + +Captain E.H.G. ROBERTS +Captain C.G.R. HILL +Lieutenant S.H. RANDALL +Lieutenant A.O. WARDE + +THE MILITARY CROSS. + +Major J.W.B. HUNT +Major P.G.A. LEDERER +Captain S.T.J. PERRY +Captain E.L. MACKENZIE, R.A.M.C. +Captain W. RAINE +Captain A.G. WARDE +Captain E. PAYNE +Captain L.L.S. RICHER +Captain L.S. ELTON +Captain F. ATKINSON +Captain G.F. BUCKLE +Captain C.B. JOHNSON +Lieutenant R. DARLING +Lieutenant G.E. MORTON +Lieutenant A.C. SHEPHERD +Lieutenant F.E. BOUNDY +Lieutenant R.C.H. ELLAM +Lieutenant A.M. ADAMS +Lieutenant W.L. GELDERD +Lieutenant W.G. HARRISON, R.A.M.C. +Lieutenant W.J. LUNNON +Lieutenant L.T. LOCAN +Lieutenant A. ROE +Lieutenant W. DAVENPORT +Lieutenant A.T. BARKER +Lieutenant C. STENT +Lieutenant E.H. MAXWELL +Regimental Sergeant-Major F.W. MILLER +Regimental Sergeant-Major D. ROBERTS +Company Sergeant-Major F.E. ASH + +THE DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT MEDAL, MILITARY MEDAL AND A BAR. + +Sergeant W. GRIFFITHS. + +THE DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT MEDAL AND THE MILITARY MEDAL. + +Company Sergeant-Major J. MCCARTEN +Sergeant H. WILLIAMS +Sergeant H. CHISNALL +Sergeant J.S. MORGAN + +THE DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT MEDAL. + +Company Sergeant-Major P. BYRNE +Company Sergeant-Major J. OWENS +Company Sergeant-Major T. BRAMMER +Sergeant R. WILLIAMS +Sergeant A. BENNET +Sergeant J. MIDGHALL +Lance-Sergeant J.W. HEAP +Private W. SMITH +Private F. FOWLER + +THE MILITARY MEDAL AND A BAR. + +Sergeant R.D. WALKER +Sergeant L.L. DELMAS +Sergeant L. BENTLEY (D.C.M. with 4th Kings) + +THE MILITARY MEDAL. + +Company Sergeant-Major MEADOWS +Sergeant GILMARTIN +Sergeant P.J. HALL +Sergeant E. JONES +Sergeant MCCARTHY +Sergeant SHAW +Sergeant W.T. POPE +Sergeant R. LEE +Sergeant C. MADDEN +Sergeant STAPLETON +Sergeant MCNIFFE +Sergeant T. BALL +Lance-Sergeant PENNINGTON +Lance-Sergeant B. MADDEN +Lance-Sergeant W. MAWER +Corporal WINROW +Corporal E. HYLAND +Corporal H. READ +Corporal W. GRIFFIN +Corporal BROWN, R.A.M.C. +Corporal J. CLARKE +Corporal LEATHER +Corporal L. JONES +Corporal J. CORLESS +Corporal A. SALMON +Corporal W.H. COCKAYNE +Corporal J.R. SERVICE +Lance-Corporal A. HILTON +Lance-Corporal H. COOPER +Lance-Corporal H. JOHNSTONE +Lance-Corporal A. OTTY +Lance-Corporal SHIELDS +Lance-Corporal MARCHBANK +Lance-Corporal LEWIS +Lance-Corporal WESTWOOD +Lance-Corporal RAINFORD +Lance-Corporal H. MONTGOMERIE +Lance-Corporal T. GILL +Lance-Corporal J. TAYLOR +Lance-Corporal W. SALMON +Private W. WILLIAMS +Private A. TURNBULL +Private W. HANKEY +Private R. NAPIER +Private W. TYLDESLEY +Private W.W. OSWALD +Private T.W. MEERS +Private T.V. ANDERSON +Private T. BUXTON +Private J. DILWORTH +Private J. HANNA +Private W. HOPLEY +Private T. LLOYD +Private W. BLEASDALE +Private FOULKES +Private MORRIS +Private SHALLCROSS +Private ENTWISTLE +Private MCDONALD +Private WALKER +Private BROUGH +Private E.O. PARRY +Private MOTTRAM +Private T. HUGHES +Private H. WALMESLEY +Private MULLARD +Private T. HARRISON +Private F. LAMB +Private G. CLUES +Private J. JALLIMORE +Private W. BOYD +Private C.L. ALLEN +Private J. STURDY +Private J. PETRIE +Private W. BECKWITH +Private R. YATES +Private C. MOSLEY +Private J.C. HOWES +Private H. BAILLIE +Private A. ROWLANDS +Private R. HALL +Private E. HIGGINBOTTOM +Private H. LAWRENSON +Private F.C. MULVEY +Private A.E. PEARCE +Private A. COPPACH +Private T. GROOM +Private C.H. HOOPER +Private A. MARSH +Private J. TYSON + +THE MERITORIOUS SERVICE MEDAL. + +Regimental Quarter-Master-Sergeant A.J. FORD +Regimental Quarter-Master-Sergeant W. O'BRIEN +Company Quarter-Master-Sergeant A. JONES +Sergeant W.G. EDINGTON +Sergeant T. MUNCASTER +Sergeant GRAHAM +Sergeant CONOLLY +Sergeant H. KENNISTON +Lance-Corporal R. GRAYSON + +FRENCH DECORATION. MEDAILLE MILITAIRE. + +Company Sergeant-Major P. BYRNE + +BELGIAN DECORATION. CROIX DE GUERRE. + +Corporal H. READ + +RUSSIAN DECORATION. CROSS OF SAINT GEORGE. + +Sergeant H. CHISNALL + +MENTIONED IN DESPATCHES. + +Major-General F.W. RAMSAY, D.S.O. +Lieutenant-COLONEL LORD H.C. SEYMOUR, D.S.O. +Lieutenant-COLONEL F.W.M. DREW, D.S.O. +Lieutenant-COLONEL H.K.S. WOODHOUSE, D.S.O. +Lieutenant-COLONEL C.G. BRADLEY, D.S.O. +Major J.W.B. HUNT, M.C. +Major F.S. EVANS, D.S.O. +Major S.C. BALL, M.C. +Major J. MAHONY, D.S.O., R.A.M.C. +Major P.G.A. LEDERER, M.C. +Major N.L. WATTS +Major A.W. FULTON +Captain B.W. HOWROYD +Captain J.H. HALLIWELL +Captain D.H.D. WOODERSON, R.A.M.C. +Captain H.H. COVELL +Captain E.D.H. STOCKER +Captain W.R. PERRY +Captain R.C. WILDE, D.S.O., M.C. +Captain E. ASHTON +Captain C.B. JOHNSON, M.C. +Captain A.G. WARDE, M.C. +Second-Lieutenant C. NOTT +Regimental Sergeant-Major F.W. MILLER, M.C. +Regimental Quarter-Master-Sergeant A.J. FORD +Company Sergeant-Major J.C. WARD +Company Sergeant-Major J. OWENS, D.C.M. +Company Sergeant-Major R. GRAYSON +Company Sergeant-Major J.J. SNAITH +Company Quarter-Master-Sergeant A. JONES +Company Quarter-Master-Sergeant J. MEADOWS +Sergeant J.E. SMITH +Sergeant T. BALL, M.M. +Corporal R.L. ROBERTS +Lance-Corporal E. MOSS +Private W.J. HANNA +Private A. BOWYER + + + +PRINTED BY THE NORTHERN PUBLISHING CO. LTD., + +17 GOREE PIAZZAS, AND 11 BRUNSWICK STREET: LIVERPOOL. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Story of the "9th King's" in France +by Enos Herbert Glynne Roberts + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF THE "9TH *** + +***** This file should be named 16974.txt or 16974.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/9/7/16974/ + +Produced by Irma Spehar, Christine D and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. 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