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+The Project Gutenberg eBook of The British Campaign in France and Flanders
+1916, by Arthur Conan Doyle
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you
+will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
+using this eBook.
+
+Title: The British Campaign in France and Flanders 1916
+
+Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
+
+Release Date: April 09, 2021 [eBook #65044]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+Produced by: Al Haines
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BRITISH CAMPAIGN IN FRANCE AND
+FLANDERS 1916 ***
+
+
+
+
+  THE BRITISH CAMPAIGN
+
+  IN FRANCE AND FLANDERS
+
+  1916
+
+
+
+  BY
+
+  ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
+
+
+
+  AUTHOR OF
+  'THE GREAT BOER WAR,' ETC.
+
+
+
+  HODDER AND STOUGHTON
+  LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO
+  MCMXVIII
+
+
+
+
+  SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE'S
+  HISTORY OF THE WAR
+
+  Uniform with this Volume.
+
+  THE BRITISH CAMPAIGN IN FRANCE AND FLANDERS
+
+  1914
+
+  THE BREAKING OF THE PEACE.
+  THE OPENING OF THE WAR.
+  THE BATTLE OF MONS.
+  THE BATTLE OF LE CATEAU.
+  THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE.
+  THE BATTLE OF THE AISNE.
+  THE LA BASSÉE-ARMENTIÈRES OPERATIONS.
+  THE FIRST BATTLE OF YPRES.
+  A RETROSPECT AND GENERAL SUMMARY.
+  THE WINTER LULL OF 1914.
+
+
+  THE BRITISH CAMPAIGN IN FRANCE AND FLANDERS
+
+  1915
+
+  THE OPENING MONTHS OF 1915.
+  NEUVE CHAPELLE AND HILL 60.
+  THE SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES.
+  THE BATTLE OF RICHEBOURG-FESTUBERT.
+  THE TRENCHES OF HOOGE.
+  THE BATTLE OF LOOS.
+
+  With Maps, Plans, and Diagrams,
+  6s. net each Volume.
+
+  HODDER AND STOUGHTON
+  LONDON, NEW YORK, AND TORONTO
+
+
+
+
+{v}
+
+PREFACE
+
+In two previous volumes of this work a narrative has been given of
+those events which occurred upon the British Western Front during
+1914, the year of recoil, and 1915, the year of equilibrium.  In this
+volume will be found the detailed story of 1916, the first of the
+years of attack and advance.
+
+Time is a great toner down of superlatives, and the episodes which
+seem world-shaking in our day may, when looked upon by the placid
+eyes of historical philosophers in days to come, fit more easily into
+the general scheme of human experience.  None the less it can be said
+without fear of ultimate contradiction that nothing approaching to
+the Battle of the Somme, with which this volume is mainly concerned,
+has ever been known in military history, and that it is exceedingly
+improbable that it will ever be equalled in its length and in its
+severity.  It may be said to have raged with short intermissions,
+caused by the breaking of the weather, from July 1 to November 14,
+and during this prolonged period the picked forces of three great
+nations were locked in close battle.  The number of combatants from
+first to last was between {vi} two and three millions, and their
+united casualties came to the appalling total of at least
+three-quarters of a million.  These are minimum figures, but they
+will give some idea of the unparalleled scale of the operations.
+
+With the increasing number and size of the units employed the scale
+of the narrative becomes larger.  It is more difficult to focus the
+battalion, while the individual has almost dropped out of sight.
+Sins of omission are many, and the chronicler can but plead the great
+difficulty of his task and regret that his limited knowledge may
+occasionally cause disappointment.
+
+The author should explain that this volume has had to pass through
+three lines of censors, suffering heavily in the process.  It has
+come out with the loss of all personal names save those of casualties
+or of high Generals.  Some passages also have been excised.  On the
+other hand it is the first which has been permitted to reveal the
+exact identity of the units engaged.  The missing passages and names
+will be restored when the days of peace return.
+
+ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE.
+
+_February_ 3, 1918.
+
+
+
+
+{vii}
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+JANUARY TO JULY 1916
+
+General situation--The fight for the Bluff--The Mound of St.
+Eloi--Fine performance of Third Division and Canadians--Feat of the
+1st Shropshires--Attack on the Irish Division--Fight at Vimy
+Ridge--Canadian Battle of Ypres--Death of General Mercer--Recovery of
+lost position--Attack of Thirty-ninth Division--Eve of the Somme
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+  Attack of the Seventh and Eighth Corps on Gommecourt,
+  Serre, and Beaumont Hamel
+
+Line of battle in the Somme sector--Great preparations--Advance of
+Forty-sixth North Midland Division--Advance of Fifty-sixth
+Territorials (London)--Great valour and heavy losses--Advance of
+Thirty-first Division--Advance of Fourth Division--Advance of
+Twenty-ninth Division--Complete failure of the assault
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+Attack of the Tenth and Third Corps, July 1, 1916
+
+Magnificent conduct of the Ulster Division--Local success but general
+failure--Advance of Thirty-second Division--Advance of Eighth
+Division--Advance of Thirty-fourth Division--The turning-point of the
+line
+
+
+{viii}
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+The Attack of the Fifteenth and Thirteenth Corps, July 1, 1916
+
+The advance of the Twenty-first Division--Of the 64th Brigade--First
+permanent gains--50th Brigade at Fricourt--Advance of Seventh
+Division--Capture of Mametz--Fine work by Eighteenth
+Division--Capture of Montauban by the Thirtieth Division--General
+view of the battle--Its decisive importance
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+From July 2 to July 14, 1916
+
+General situation--Capture of La Boiselle by Nineteenth
+Division--Splendid attack by 36th Brigade upon Ovillers--Siege and
+reduction of Ovillers--Operations at Contalmaison--Desperate fighting
+at the Quadrangle by Seventeenth Division--Capture of Mametz Wood by
+Thirty-eighth Welsh Division--Capture of Trones Wood by Eighteenth
+Division
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+The Breaking of the Second Line. July 14, 1916
+
+The great night advance--The Leicester Brigade at Bazentin--Assault
+by Seventh Division--Success of the Third Division--Desperate fight
+of Ninth Division at Longueval--Operations of First Division on
+flank--Cavalry advance
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+July 14 to July 31
+
+Gradual advance of First Division--Hard fighting of Thirty-third
+Division at High Wood--The South Africans in Delville Wood--The great
+German counter-attack--Splendid work of 26th Brigade--Capture of
+Delville Wood by 98th Brigade--Indecisive fighting on the Guillemont
+front
+
+
+{ix}
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+  The Operations of Gough's Army upon the Northern Flank
+  up to September 15
+
+Advance, Australia!--Capture of Pozières--Fine work of Forty-eighth
+Division--Relief of Australia by Canada--Steady advance of Gough's
+Army--Capture of Courcelette
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+August 1 to September 15
+
+Continued attempts of Thirty-third Division on High
+Wood--Co-operation of First Division--Operation of Fourteenth
+Division on fringe of Delville Wood--Attack by Twenty-fourth Division
+on Guillemont--Capture of Guillemont by 47th and 59th
+Brigades--Capture of Ginchy by Sixteenth Irish Division
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+Breaking of the Third Line, September 15
+
+Capture of Martinpuich by Fifteenth Division--Advance of Fiftieth
+Division--Capture of High Wood by Forty-seventh Division--Splendid
+advance of New Zealanders--Capture of Flers by Forty-first
+Division--Advance of the Light Division--Arduous work of the Guards
+and Sixth Divisions--Capture of Quadrilateral--Work of Fifty-sixth
+Division on flank--Debut of the tanks
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THE GAINING OF THE THIEPVAL RIDGE
+
+Assault on Thiepval by Eighteenth Division--Heavy
+fighting--Co-operation of Eleventh Division--Fall of Thiepval--Fall
+of Schwaben Redoubt--Taking of Stuff Redoubt--Important gains on the
+Ridge
+
+
+{x}
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+From September 15 to the Battle of the Ancre
+
+Capture of Eaucourt--Varying character of German resistance--Hard
+trench fighting along the line--Dreadful climatic conditions--The
+meteorological trenches--Hazy Trench--Zenith Trench--General
+observations--General von Arnim's report
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE ANCRE
+
+November 13, 1916
+
+The last effort--Failure in the north--Fine work of the Thirty-ninth,
+Fifty-first, and Sixty-third Divisions--Surrounding of German
+Fort--Capture of Beaumont Hamel--Commander Freyberg--Last operations
+of the season--General survey--"The unwarlike Islanders"
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+
+
+{xi}
+
+MAPS AND PLANS
+
+Approximate Positions of British Line at the Battle of the Somme
+
+British Battle Line, July 1, 1916
+
+Quadrangle Position, July 5-11, 1916
+
+Mametz Wood
+
+Trones Wood: Attack of 54th Brigade, July 13, 1916
+
+The Second German Line, Bazentins, Delville Wood, etc.
+
+Map of Delville Wood
+
+Attack on German Left Flank, September 3, 1916
+
+Final Position at Capture of Martinpuich
+
+Attack on Quadrilateral, September 15, 1916
+
+Plan illustrating the Capture of Thiepval, September 26, October 5,
+1916
+
+Stuff Redoubt System, showing Hessian, Regina, and Stuff
+
+Meteorological Trenches, September 30-November 6, 1916
+
+Map to illustrate the British Campaign in France and Flanders
+[Transcriber's note: this map was omitted from the etext because its
+size and fragility made it impractical to scan.]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: APPROXIMATE POSITIONS OF BRITISH LINE AT THE BATTLE OF
+THE SOMME]
+
+
+
+
+{1}
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+JANUARY TO JULY 1916
+
+General situation--The fight for the Bluff--The Mound of St.
+Eloi--Fine performance of Third Division and Canadians--Feat of the
+1st Shropshires--Attack on the Irish Division--Fight at Vimy
+Ridge--Canadian Battle of Ypres--Death of General Mercer--Recovery of
+lost position--Attack of Thirty-ninth Division--Eve of the Somme.
+
+
+The Great War had now come into its second winter--a winter which was
+marked by an absolute cessation of all serious fighting upon the
+Western front.  Enormous armies were facing each other, but until the
+German attack upon the French lines of Verdun at the end of February,
+the infantry of neither side was seriously engaged.  There were many
+raids and skirmishes, with sudden midnight invasions of hostile
+trenches and rapid returns with booty or prisoners.  Both sides
+indulged in such tactics upon the British front.  Gas attacks, too,
+were occasionally attempted, some on a large scale and with
+considerable result.  The condition of the troops, though it could
+not fail to be trying, was not so utterly miserable as during the
+first cold season in the trenches.  The British had ceased to be a
+mere fighting fringe with nothing behind it.  The troops were
+numerous and eager, so that reliefs were frequent.  All sorts of
+devices were {2} adopted for increasing the comfort and conserving
+the health of the men.  Steadily as the winter advanced and the
+spring ripened into summer, fresh divisions were passed over the
+narrow seas, and the shell-piles at the bases marked the increased
+energy and output of the workers in the factories.  The early summer
+found everything ready for a renewed attempt upon the German line.
+
+The winter of 1915-16 saw the affairs of the Allies in a condition
+which could not be called satisfactory, and which would have been
+intolerable had there not been evident promise of an amendment in the
+near future.  The weakness of the Russians in munitions had caused
+their gallant but half-armed armies to be driven back until the whole
+of Poland had fallen into the hands of the Germanic Powers, who had
+also reconquered Galicia and Bukovina.  The British attempt upon
+Gallipoli, boldly conceived and gallantly urged, but wanting in the
+essential quality of surprise, had failed with heavy losses, and the
+army had to be withdrawn.  Serbia and Montenegro had both been
+overrun and occupied, while the efficient Bulgarian army had ranged
+itself with our enemies.  The Mesopotamian Expedition had been held
+up by the Turks, and the brave Townshend, with his depleted division,
+was hemmed in at Kut, where, after a siege of five months, he was
+eventually compelled, upon April 26, to lay down his arms, together
+with 9000 troops, chiefly Indian.  When one remembers that on the top
+of this Germany already held Belgium and a considerable slice of the
+north of France, which included all the iron and coal producing
+centres, it must be admitted that the Berlin Press had some reason
+upon its side when it insisted that it had {3} already won the War
+upon paper.  To realise that paper, was, however, an operation which
+was beyond their powers.
+
+What could the Allies put against these formidable successes?  There
+was the Colonial Empire of Germany.  Only one colony, the largest and
+most powerful, still remained.  This was East Africa.  General Smuts,
+a worthy colleague of the noble Botha, had undertaken its reduction,
+and by the summer the end was in sight.  The capture of the colonies
+would then be complete.  The oceans of the world were another asset
+of the Allies.  These also were completely held, to the absolute
+destruction of all German oversea commerce.  These two conquests, and
+the power of blockade which steadily grew more stringent, were all
+that the Allies could throw into the other scale, save for the small
+corner of Alsace still held by the French, the southern end of
+Mesopotamia, and the port of Salonica, which was a strategic
+checkmate to the southern advance of the Germans.  The balance seemed
+all against them.  There was no discouragement, however, for all
+these difficulties had been discounted and the Allies had always
+recognised that their strength lay in those reserves which had not
+yet had time to develop.  The opening of the summer campaign of 1916,
+with the capture of Erzeroum, the invasion of Armenia, and the
+reconquest of Bukovina, showed that the Russian army had at last
+found its second wind.  The French had already done splendid work in
+their classical resistance at Verdun, which had extended from the
+last weeks of February onwards, and had cost the Germans over a
+quarter of a million of casualties.  The opening of the British
+campaign in July found the whole {4} army most eager to emulate the
+deeds of its Allies, and especially to take some of the weight from
+the splendid defenders of Verdun.  Their fight against very heavy
+odds in men, munitions, and transport, was one of the greatest deeds
+of arms, possibly the greatest deed of arms of the war.  It was
+known, however, before July that a diversion was absolutely
+necessary, and although the British had taken over a fresh stretch of
+trenches so as to release French reinforcements, some more active
+help was imperatively called for.
+
+Before describing the summer campaign it is necessary to glance back
+at the proceedings of the winter and spring upon the British line,
+and to comment upon one or two matters behind that line which had a
+direct influence upon the campaign.  Of the minor operations to which
+allusion has already been made, there are none between the Battle of
+Loos and the middle of February 1916 which call for particular
+treatment.  Those skirmishes and mutual raidings which took place
+during that time centred largely round the old salient at Ypres and
+the new one at Loos, though the lines at Armentières were also the
+scene of a good deal of activity.  One considerable attack seems to
+have been planned by the Germans on the north-east of Ypres in the
+Christmas week of 1915--an attack which was preceded by a formidable
+gas attack.  The British artillery was so powerful, however, that it
+crushed the advance in the trenches, where the gathered bayonets of
+the stormers could be seen going down before the scourging shrapnel
+like rushes before a gale.  The infantry never emerged, and the
+losses must have been very heavy.  This was the only considerable
+attempt made by either side during the winter.
+
+{5}
+
+At the time of Lord French's return another change was made at home
+which had a very immediate bearing upon the direction of the War.
+Britain had suffered greatly from the fact that at the beginning of
+hostilities the distinguished officers who composed the central staff
+had all been called away for service in the field.  Lord Kitchener
+had done wonders in filling their place, but it was impossible for
+any man, however great his abilities or energy, to carry such a
+burden upon his shoulders.  The more conscientious the man the more
+he desires to supervise everything himself and the more danger there
+is that all the field cannot be covered.  Already the recruiting
+service, which had absorbed a great deal of Lord Kitchener's energies
+with most splendid results, had been relegated to Lord Derby, whose
+tact and wisdom produced fresh armies of volunteers.  Now the
+immediate direction of the War and the supervision of all that
+pertained to the armies in the field was handed over to Sir William
+Robertson, a man of great organising ability and of proved energy.
+From this time onwards his character and judgment bulked larger and
+larger as one of the factors which made for the success of the Allies.
+
+In January 1916 Britain gave her last proof of the resolution with
+which she was waging war.  Already she had shown that no question of
+money could diminish her ardour, for she was imposing direct taxation
+upon her citizens with a vigour which formed the only solid basis for
+the credit of the Allies.  Neither our foes nor our friends have
+shown such absolute readiness to pay in hard present cash, that
+posterity might walk with a straighter back, and many a man was
+paying a good half of his income {6} to the State.  But now a
+sacrifice more intimate than that of money had to be made.  It was of
+that personal liberty which is as the very breath of our nostrils.
+This also was thrown with a sigh into the common cause, and a
+Military Service Bill was passed by which every citizen from 19 to 41
+was liable to be called up.  It is questionable whether it was
+necessary as yet as a military measure, since the enormous number of
+5,000,000 volunteers had come forward, but as an act of justice by
+which the burden should be equally distributed, and the shirker
+compelled to his duty, it was possible to justify this radical
+departure from the customs of our fathers and the instincts of our
+race.  Many who acquiesced in its necessity did so with a heavy
+heart, feeling how glorious would have been our record had it been
+possible to bring forward by the stress of duty alone the manhood of
+the nation.  As a matter of fact, the margin left over was neither
+numerous nor important, but the energies of the authorities were now
+released from the incessant strain which the recruiting service had
+caused.
+
+The work of the trenches was made easier for the British by the fact
+that they had at last reached an equality with, and in many cases a
+superiority to, their enemy, in the number of their guns, the
+quantity of their munitions, and the provision of those smaller
+weapons such as trench mortars and machine-guns which count for so
+much in this description of warfare.  Their air supremacy which had
+existed for a long time was threatened during some months by the
+Fokker machines of the Germans, and by the skill with which their
+aviators used them, but faster models from England soon restored the
+balance.  {7} There had been a time also when the system and the
+telescopic sights of the German snipers had given them an ascendancy.
+Thanks to the labours of various enthusiasts for the rifle, this
+matter was set right and there were long stretches of the line where
+no German head could for an instant be shown above the parapet.  The
+Canadian sector was particularly free from any snipers save their own.
+
+The first serious operation of the spring of 1916 upon the British
+line was a determined German attack upon that section which lies
+between the Ypres-Comines Canal and the Ypres-Comines railway on the
+extreme south of the Ypres salient; Hill 60 lies to the north of it.
+In the line of trenches there was one small artificial elevation, not
+more than thirty feet above the plain.  This was called the Bluff,
+and was the centre of the attack.  It was of very great importance as
+a point of artillery observation.  During the whole of February 13
+the bombardment was very severe, and losses were heavy along a front
+of several miles, the right of which was held by the Seventeenth
+Division, the centre by the Fiftieth, and the left by the
+Twenty-fourth.  Finally, after many of the trenches had been reduced
+to dirt heaps five mines were simultaneously sprung under the British
+front line, each of them of great power.  The explosions were
+instantly followed by a rush of the German infantry.  In the
+neighbourhood of the Bluff, the garrison, consisting at that point of
+the 10th Lancashire Fusiliers, were nearly all buried or killed.  To
+the north lay the 10th Sherwood Foresters and north of them the 8th
+South Staffords, whose Colonel, though four times wounded, continued
+{8} to direct the defence.  It was impossible, however, to hold the
+whole line, as the Germans had seized the Bluff and were able to
+enfilade all the trenches of the Sherwoods, who lost twelve officers
+and several hundred men before they would admit that their position
+was untenable.  The South Staffords being farther off were able to
+hold on, but the whole front from their right to the canal south of
+the Bluff was in the hands of the Germans, who had very rapidly and
+skilfully consolidated it.  A strong counter-attack by the 7th
+Lincolns and 7th Borders, in which the survivors of the Lancashire
+Fusiliers took part, had some success, but was unable to permanently
+regain the lost sector, six hundred yards of which remained with the
+enemy.  A lieutenant, with 40 bombers of the Lincolns, 38 of whom
+fell, did heroic work.
+
+The attack had extended to the north, where it had fallen upon the
+Fiftieth Division, and to the Twenty-fourth Division upon the left of
+it.  Here it was held and eventually repulsed.  Of the company of the
+9th Sussex who held the extreme left of the line, a large portion
+were blown up by a mine and forty were actually buried in the crater.
+Young Lieutenant McNair, however, the officer in charge, showed great
+energy and presence of mind.  He held the Germans from the crater and
+with the help of another officer, who had rushed up some supports,
+drove them back to their trenches.  For this McNair received his
+Victoria Cross.  The 3rd Rifle Brigade, a veteran regular battalion,
+upon the right of the Sussex, had also put up a vigorous resistance,
+as had the central Fiftieth Division, so that in spite of the sudden
+severity of the attack it was only at the one {9} point of the Bluff
+that the enemy had made a lodgment--that point being the real centre
+of their effort.  They held on strongly to their new possession, and
+a vigorous fire with several partial attacks during the next
+fortnight failed to dislodge them.
+
+Early in March the matter was taken seriously in hand, for the
+position was a most important one, and a farther advance at this
+point would have involved the safety of Ypres.  The Seventeenth
+Division still held the supporting trenches, and these now became the
+starting-point for the attack.  A considerable artillery
+concentration was effected, two brigades of guns and two companies of
+sappers were brought up from the Third Division, and the 76th Brigade
+of the same Division came up from St. Omer, where it had been
+resting, in order to carry out the assault.  The general commanding
+this brigade was in immediate command of the operations.
+
+The problem was a most difficult one, as the canal to the south and a
+marsh upon the north screened the flanks of the new German position,
+while its front was covered by shell-holes which the tempestuous
+weather had filled with water.  There was nothing for it, however,
+but a frontal attack, and this was carried out with very great
+gallantry upon March 2, at 4.30 in the morning.  The infantry left
+their trenches in the dark and crept forward undiscovered, dashing
+into the enemy's line with the first grey glimmer of the dawn.  The
+right of the attack formed by the 2nd Suffolks had their revenge for
+Le Cateau, for they carried the Bluff itself with a rush.  So far
+forward did they get that a number of Germans emerged from dug-outs
+in their rear, and were organising a dangerous attack when they were
+pelted back {10} into their holes by a bombing party.  Beyond the
+Bluff the Suffolks were faced by six deep shelters for machine-guns,
+which held them for a time but were eventually captured.  The centre
+battalion consisted of the 8th Royal Lancasters, who lost heavily
+from rifle fire but charged home with great determination, flooding
+over the old German front line and their support trenches as well as
+their immediate objective.  The left battalion in the attack were the
+1st Gordon Highlanders, who had a most difficult task, being exposed
+to the heaviest fire of all.  For a moment they were hung up, and
+then with splendid spirit threw themselves at the hostile trenches
+again and carried everything before them.  They were much helped in
+this second attack by the supporting battalion, the 7th Lincolns,
+whose bombers rushed to the front.  The 10th Welsh Fusiliers, who
+were supporting on the right, also did invaluable service by helping
+to consolidate the Bluff, while the 9th West Ridings on the left held
+the British front line and repulsed an attempt at a flanking
+counter-attack.
+
+In spite of several counter-attacks and a very severe bombardment the
+line now held firm, and the Germans seem to have abandoned all future
+designs upon this section.  They had lost very heavily in the
+assault, and 250 men with 5 officers remained in the hands of the
+victors.  Some of the German trench taken was found to be untenable,
+but the 12th West Yorkshires of the 8th Brigade connected up the new
+position with the old and the salient was held.  So ended a
+well-managed and most successful little fight.  Great credit was due
+to a certain officer, who passed through the terrible {11} German
+barrage again and again to link up the troops with headquarters.
+Extreme gallantry was shown also by the brigade-runners, many of whom
+lost their lives in the all-important work of preserving
+communications.
+
+Students of armour in the future may be interested to note that this
+was the first engagement in which British infantry reverted after a
+hiatus of more than two centuries to the use of helmets.  Dints of
+shrapnel upon their surfaces proved in many cases that they had been
+the salvation of their wearers.  Several observers have argued that
+trench warfare implies a special trench equipment, entirely different
+from that for surface operations.
+
+In the middle of March the pressure upon the French at Verdun had
+become severe, and it was determined to take over a fresh section of
+line so as to relieve troops for the north-eastern frontier.  General
+Foch's Tenth Army, which had held the sector opposite to Souchez and
+Lorette, was accordingly drawn out, and twelve miles were added to
+the British front.  From this time forward there were four British
+armies, the Second (Plumer) in the Ypres district, the First (Monro)
+opposite to Neuve Chapelle, the Third (Allenby) covering the new
+French sector down to Arras, the Fourth (Rawlinson) from Albert to
+the Somme.
+
+A brisk skirmish which occurred in the south about this period is
+worthy of mention--typical of many smaller affairs the due record of
+which would swell this chapter to a portentous length.  In this
+particular instance, a very sudden and severe night attack was
+directed by the Germans against a post held by the 8th East Surreys
+of the Eighteenth {12} Division at the points where the British and
+French lines meet just north of the Somme.  This small stronghold,
+known as Ducks' Post, was at the head of a causeway across a
+considerable marsh, and possessed a strategic importance out of all
+proportion to its size.  A violent bombardment in the darkness of the
+early morning of March 20 was followed by an infantry advance, pushed
+well home.  It was an unnerving experience.  "As the Huns charged,"
+says one who was present, "they made the most hellish screaming row I
+ever heard."  The Surrey men under the lead of a young subaltern
+stood fast, and were reinforced by two platoons.  Not only did they
+hold up the attack, but with the early dawn they advanced in turn,
+driving the Germans back into their trenches and capturing a number
+of prisoners.  The post was strengthened and was firmly held.
+
+The next episode which claims attention is the prolonged and severe
+fighting which took place from March 27 onwards at St. Eloi, the
+scene of so fierce a contest just one year before.  A small salient
+had been formed by the German line at this point ever since its
+capture, and on this salient was the rising known as the Mound (not
+to be confounded with the Bluff), insignificant in itself since it
+was only twenty or thirty feet high, but of importance in a war where
+artillery observation is the very essence of all operations.  It
+stood just east of the little village of St. Eloi.  This place was
+known to be very strongly held, so the task of attacking it was
+handed over to the Third Division, which had already shown at the
+Bluff that they were adepts at such an attack.  After several weeks
+of energetic preparation, five {13} mines were ready with charges
+which were so heavy that in one instance 30,000 pounds of ammonal
+were employed.  The assault was ordered for 4.15 in the morning of
+March 27.  It was known to be a desperate enterprise and was
+entrusted to two veteran battalions of regular troops, the 4th Royal
+Fusiliers and the 1st Northumberland Fusiliers.  A frontal attack was
+impossible, so it was arranged that the Royals should sweep round the
+left flank and the Northumberlands the right, while the remaining
+battalions of the 9th Brigade, the 12th West Yorks and 1st Scots
+Fusiliers, should be in close support in the centre.  At the
+appointed hour the mines were exploded with deadly effect, and in the
+pitch darkness of a cloudy rainy morning the two battalions sprang
+resolutely forward upon their dangerous venture.  The trenches on
+each flank were carried, and 5 officers with 193 men of the 18th
+Reserve Jaeger fell into our hands.  As usual, however, it was the
+retention of the captured position which was the more difficult and
+costly part of the operation.  The Northumberlands had won their way
+round on the right, but the Fusiliers had been partially held up on
+the left, so that the position was in some ways difficult and
+irregular.  The guns of the Third Division threw forward so fine a
+barrage that no German counter-attack could get forward, but all day
+their fire was very heavy and deadly upon the captured trenches, and
+also upon the two battalions in support.  On the night of the 27th
+the 9th Brigade was drawn out and the 8th took over the new line, all
+access to it being impossible save in the darkness, as no
+communication trenches existed.  The situation was complicated by the
+fact that although the British {14} troops had on the right won their
+way to the rear of the craters, one of these still contained a German
+detachment, who held on in a most heroic fashion and could not be
+dislodged.  On March 30 the situation was still unchanged, and the
+76th Brigade was put in to relieve the 8th.  The 1st Gordons were now
+in the line, very wet and weary, but declaring that they would hold
+the ground at all costs.  It was clear that the British line must be
+extended and that the gallant Germans in the crater must be
+overwhelmed.  For this purpose, upon the night of April 2, the 8th
+Royal Lancasters swept across the whole debatable ground, with the
+result that 4 officers and 80 men surrendered at daylight to the
+Brigade-Major and a few men who summoned them from the lip of the
+crater.  The Divisional General had himself gone forward to see that
+the captured ground was made good.  "We saw our Divisional General
+mid-thigh in water and splashing down the trenches," says an
+observer.  "I can tell you it put heart into our weary men."  So
+ended the arduous labours of the Third Division, who upon April 4
+handed over the ground to the 2nd Canadians.  The episode of the St.
+Eloi craters was, however, far from being at an end.  The position
+was looked upon as of great importance by the Germans, apart from the
+artillery observation, for their whole aim was the contraction, as
+that of the British was the expansion, of the space contained in the
+Ypres salient.  "Elbow room!  More elbow room!" was the hearts' cry
+of Plumer's Second Army.  But the enemy grudged every yard, and with
+great tenacity began a series of counter-attacks which lasted with
+varying fortunes for several weeks.
+
+{15}
+
+Hardly had the Third Division filed out of the trenches when the
+German bombers were buzzing and stinging all down the new line, and
+there were evident signs of an impending counter-attack.  Upon April
+6 it broke with great violence, beginning with a blasting storm of
+shells followed by a rush of infantry in that darkest hour which
+precedes the dawn.  It was a very terrible ordeal for troops which
+had up to then seen no severe service, and for the moment they were
+overborne.  The attack chanced to come at the very moment when the
+27th Winnipeg Regiment was being relieved by the 29th Vancouvers,
+which increased the losses and the confusion.  The craters were taken
+by the German stormers with 180 prisoners, but the trench line was
+still held.  The 31st Alberta Battalion upon the left of the position
+was involved in the fight and drove back several assaults, while a
+small French Canadian machine-gun detachment from the 22nd Regiment
+distinguished itself by an heroic resistance in which it was almost
+destroyed.  About noon the bombardment was so terrific that the front
+trench was temporarily abandoned, the handful of survivors falling
+back upon the supports.  The 31st upon the left were still able to
+maintain themselves, however, and after dusk they were able to
+reoccupy three out of the five craters in front of the line.  From
+this time onwards the battle resolved itself into a desperate
+struggle between the opposing craters.  During the whole of April 7
+it was carried on with heavy losses to both parties.  On one occasion
+a platoon of 40 Germans in close formation were shot down to a man as
+they rushed forward in a gallant forlorn hope.  For three days the
+struggle went on, at the end of {16} which time four of the craters
+were still held by the Canadians.  Two medical men particularly
+distinguished themselves by their constant passage across the open
+space which divided the craters from the trench.  The consolidation
+of the difficult position was admirably carried out by the C.R.E. of
+the Second Canadian Division.
+
+The Canadians were left in comparative peace for ten days, but on
+April 19 there was a renewed burst of activity.  Upon this day the
+Germans bombarded heavily, and then attacked with their infantry at
+four different points of the Ypres salient.  At two they were
+entirely repulsed.  On the Ypres-Langemarck road on the extreme north
+of the British position they remained in possession of about a
+hundred yards of trench.  Finally, in the crater region they won back
+two, including the more important one which was on the Mound.  Night
+after night there were bombing attacks in this region, by which the
+Germans endeavoured to enlarge their gains.  New Brunswick and Nova
+Scotia were now opposed to them and showed the same determination as
+the men of the West.  The sector held by the veteran First Canadian
+Division was also attacked, the 13th Battalion having 100 casualties
+and the Canadian Scots 50.  Altogether this fighting had been so
+incessant and severe, although as a rule confined to a very small
+front, that on an average 1000 casualties a week were recorded in the
+corps.  The fighting was carried on frequently in heavy rain, and the
+disputed craters became deep pools of mud in which men fought waist
+deep, and where it was impossible to keep rifle or machine-gun from
+being fouled and clogged.  Several of the smaller craters were found
+{17} to be untenable by either side, and were abandoned to the
+corpses which lay in the mire.
+
+The Germans did not long remain in possession of the trench which
+they had captured upon the 19th in the Langemarck direction.  Though
+it was almost unapproachable on account of the deep mud, a storming
+column of the 1st Shropshires waded out to it in the dark up to their
+waists in slush, and turned the enemy out with the point of the
+bayonet.  Upon April the 21st the line was completely re-established,
+though a sapper is reported to have declared that it was impossible
+to consolidate porridge.  In this brilliant affair the Shropshires
+lost a number of officers and men, including their gallant Colonel,
+Luard, and Lieutenant Johnstone, who was shot by a sniper while
+boldly directing the consolidation from outside the parapet without
+cover of any kind.  The whole incident was an extraordinarily fine
+feat of arms which could only have been carried out by a highly
+disciplined and determined body of men.  The mud was so deep that men
+were engulfed and suffocated, and the main body had to throw
+themselves down and distribute their weight to prevent being sucked
+down into the quagmire.  The rifles were so covered and clogged that
+all shooting was out of the question, and only bombs and bayonets
+were available for the assault.  The old 53rd never did a better
+day's work.
+
+During the whole winter the Loos salient had been simmering, as it
+had never ceased to do since the first tremendous convulsion which
+had established it.  In the early part of the year it was held by
+cavalry brigades, taking turns in succession, and during this time
+there was a deceptive quiet, which {18} was due to the fact that the
+Germans were busy in running a number of mines under the position.
+At the end of February the Twelfth Division took over the north of
+the section, and for ten weeks they found themselves engaged in a
+struggle which can only be described as hellish.  How constant and
+severe it was may be gauged from the fact that without any real
+action they lost 4000 men during that period.  As soon as they
+understood the state of affairs, which was only conveyed to them by
+several devastating explosions, they began to run their own mines and
+to raid those of their enemy.  It was a nightmare conflict, half
+above ground, half below, and sometimes both simultaneously, so that
+men may be said to have fought in layers.  The upshot of the matter,
+after ten weeks of fighting, was that the British positions were held
+at all points, though reduced to an extraordinary medley of craters
+and fissures, which some observer has compared to a landscape in the
+moon.  The First Division shared with the Twelfth the winter honours
+of the dangerous Loos salient.
+
+On April 27 a considerable surface attack developed on this part of
+the line, now held by the Sixteenth Irish Division.  Early upon that
+day the Germans, taking advantage of the wind, which was now becoming
+almost as important in a land as it had once been in a sea battle,
+loosed a cloud of poison upon the trenches just south of Hulluch and
+followed it up by a rush of infantry which got possession of part of
+the front and support lines in the old region of the chalk-pit wood.
+The 49th Brigade was in the trenches.  This Brigade consisted of the
+7th and 8th Inniskillings, with the 7th and 8th Royal Irish.  It was
+upon the first two battalions that the cloud of {19} gas descended,
+which seems to have been of a particularly deadly brew, since it
+poisoned horses upon the roads far to the rear.  Many of the men were
+stupefied and few were in a condition for resistance when the enemy
+rushed to the trenches.  Two battalions of Dublin Fusiliers, however,
+from the 48th Brigade were in the adjoining trenches and were not
+affected by the poison.  These, together with the 8th Inniskillings,
+who were in the rear of the 7th, attacked the captured trench and
+speedily won it back.  This was the more easy as there had been a
+sudden shift of wind which had blown the vile stuff back into the
+faces of the German infantry.  A Bavarian letter taken some days
+later complained bitterly of their losses, which were stated to have
+reached 1300 from poison alone.  The casualties of the Irish Division
+were about 1500, nearly all from gas, or shell-fire.  Coming as it
+did at the moment when the tragic and futile rebellion in Dublin had
+seemed to place the imagined interests of Ireland in front of those
+of European civilisation, this success was most happily timed.  The
+brunt of the fighting was borne equally by troops from the north and
+from the south of Ireland--a happy omen, we will hope, for the future.
+
+Amongst the other local engagements which broke the monotony of
+trench life may be mentioned one upon May 11 near the Hohenzollern
+Redoubt where the Germans held for a short time a British trench,
+taking 127 of the occupants prisoners.  More serious was the fighting
+upon the Vimy Ridge south of Souchez on May 15.  About 7.30 on the
+evening of that day the British exploded a series of mines which,
+either by accident or design, were short of {20} the German trenches.
+The sector was occupied by the Twenty-fifth Division, and the
+infantry attack was entrusted to the 11th Lancashire Fusiliers and
+the 9th North Lancashires, both of the 74th Brigade.  They rushed
+forward with great dash and occupied the newly-formed craters, where
+they established themselves firmly, joining them up with each other
+and cutting communications backwards so as to make a new observation
+trench.
+
+The Twenty-fifth Division lay at this time with the Forty-seventh
+London Division as its northern neighbour, the one forming the
+left-hand unit of the Third Army, and the other the extreme right of
+the First.  Upon the 19th the Londoners took over the new position
+from the 74th, and found it to be an evil inheritance, for upon May
+21, when they were in the very act of relieving the 7th and 75th
+Brigades, which formed the front of the Twenty-fifth Division, they
+were driven in by a terrific bombardment and assault from the German
+lines.  On the front of a brigade the Germans captured not only the
+new ground won but our own front line and part of our supporting
+line.  Old soldiers declared that the fire upon this occasion was
+among the most concentrated and deadly of the whole War.  With the
+new weapons artillery is not needed at such short range, for with
+aerial torpedoes the same effect can be produced as with guns of a
+great calibre.
+
+In the early morning of April 30, there was a strong attack by the
+Germans at Wulverghem, which was the village to the west of Messines,
+to which our line had been shifted after the attack of November 2,
+1914.  There is no doubt that all this bustling upon the part of the
+Germans was partly for the purpose {21} of holding us to our ground
+while they dealt with the French at Verdun, and partly to provoke a
+premature offensive, since they well knew that some great movement
+was in contemplation.  As a matter of fact, all the attacks,
+including the final severe one upon the Canadian lines, were dealt
+with by local defenders and had no strategic effect at all.  In the
+case of the Wulverghem attack it was preceded by an emission of gas
+of such intensity that it produced much sickness as far off as
+Bailleul, at least six miles to the west.  Horses in the distant
+horse lines fell senseless under the noxious vapour.  It came on with
+such rapidity that about a hundred men of the Twenty-fourth Division
+were overcome before they could get on their helmets.  The rest were
+armed against it, and repelled the subsequent infantry attacks
+carried out by numerous small bodies of exploring infantry, without
+any difficulty.  The whole casualties of the Fifth Corps, whose front
+was attacked, amounted to 400, half by gas and half by the shells.
+
+In May, General Alderson, who had commanded the Canadians with such
+success from the beginning, took over new duties and gave place to
+General Sir Julian Byng, the gallant commander of the Third Cavalry
+Division.
+
+Upon June 2 there began an action upon the Canadian front at Ypres
+which led to severe fighting extending over several weeks, and put a
+very heavy strain upon a corps the First Division of which had done
+magnificent work during more than a year, whilst the other two
+divisions had only just eased up after the fighting of the craters.
+Knowing well that the Allies were about to attack, the Germans were
+exceedingly anxious to gain some success which would {22} compel them
+to disarrange their plans and to suspend that concentration of troops
+and guns which must precede any great effort.  In searching for such
+a success it was natural that they should revert to the Ypres
+salient, which had always been the weakest portion of the line--so
+weak, indeed, that when it is seen outlined by the star shells at
+night, it seems to the spectator to be almost untenable, since the
+curve of the German line was such that it could command the rear of
+all the British trenches.  It was a region of ruined cottages,
+shallow trenches commanded by the enemy's guns, and shell-swept woods
+so shattered and scarred that they no longer furnished any cover.
+These woods, Zouave Wood, Sanctuary Wood, and others lie some hundred
+yards behind the front trenches and form a rallying-point for those
+who retire, and a place of assembly for those who advance.
+
+The Canadian front was from four to five miles long, following the
+line of the trenches.  The extreme left lay upon the ruined village
+of Hooge.  This part of the line was held by the Royal Canadian
+Regiment.  For a mile to their right, in front of Zouave and
+Sanctuary Woods, the Princess Patricia's held the line over low-lying
+ground.  In immediate support was the 49th Regiment.  These all
+belonged to the 7th Canadian Brigade.  This formed the left or
+northern sector of the position.
+
+In the centre was a low hill called Mount Sorel, in which the front
+trenches were located.  Immediately in its rear is another elevation,
+somewhat higher, and used as an observing station.  This was
+Observatory Hill.  A wood, Armagh Wood, covered the slope of this
+hill.  There is about two hundred yards {23} of valley between Mount
+Sorel and Observatory Hill, with a small stream running down it.
+This section of the line was essential for the British, since in the
+hands of the enemy it would command all the rest.  It was garrisoned
+by the 8th Brigade, consisting of Canadian Mounted Rifles.
+
+The right of the Canadian line, including St. Eloi upon the extreme
+limit of their sector, was held by troops of the Second Canadian
+Division.  This part of the line was not involved in the coming
+attack.  It broke upon the centre and the left, the Mount Sorel and
+the Hooge positions.
+
+The whole operation was very much more important than was appreciated
+by the British public at the time, and formed a notable example of
+anticipatory tactics upon the part of the German General Staff.  Just
+as they had delayed the advance upon the west by their furious
+assault upon Verdun on the east, so they now calculated that by a
+fierce attack upon the north of the British line they might disperse
+the gathering storm which was visibly banking up in the Somme Valley.
+It was a bold move, boldly carried out, and within appreciable
+distance of success.
+
+Their first care was to collect and concentrate a great number of
+guns and mine-throwers on the sector to be attacked.  This
+concentration occurred at the very moment when our own heavy
+artillery was in a transition stage, some of it going south to the
+Somme.  Hardly a gun had sounded all morning.  Then in an instant
+with a crash and a roar several mines were sprung under the trenches,
+and a terrific avalanche of shells came smashing down among the
+astounded men.  It is doubtful if a more hellish {24} storm of
+projectiles of every sort had ever up to that time been concentrated
+upon so limited a front.  There was death from the mines below, death
+from the shells above, chaos and destruction all around.  The men
+were dazed and the trenches both in front and those of communication
+were torn to pieces and left as heaps of rubble.
+
+One great mine destroyed the loop of line held by the Princess
+Patricia's and buried a company in the ruins.  A second exploded at
+Mount Sorel and did great damage.  At the first outburst Generals
+Mercer and Williams had been hurried into a small tunnel out of the
+front line, but the mine explosion obliterated the mouth of the
+tunnel and they were only extricated with difficulty.  General Mercer
+was last seen encouraging the men, but he had disappeared after the
+action and his fate was unknown to friend or foe until ten days later
+his body was found with both legs broken in one of the side trenches.
+He died as he had lived, a very gallant soldier.  For four hours the
+men cowered down in what was left of the trenches, awaiting the
+inevitable infantry attack which would come from the German lines
+fifty yards away.  When at last it came it met with little
+resistance, for there were few to resist.  Those few were beaten down
+by the rush of the Würtembergers who formed the attacking division.
+They carried the British line for a length of nearly a mile, from
+Mount Sorel to the south of Hooge, and they captured about 500 men, a
+large proportion of whom were wounded.  General Williams, Colonel
+Usher, and twelve other officers were taken.
+
+When the German stormers saw the havoc in the trenches they may well
+have thought that they had {25} only to push forward to pierce the
+line and close their hands at last upon the coveted Ypres.  If any
+such expectation was theirs, they must have been new troops who had
+no knowledge of the dour tenacity of the Canadians.  The men who
+first faced poison gas without masks were not so lightly driven.  The
+German attack was brought to a standstill by the withering rifle-fire
+from the woods, and though the assailants were still able to hold the
+ground occupied they were unable to increase their gains, while in
+spite of a terrific barrage of shrapnel fresh Canadian battalions,
+the 14th and 15th from the 3rd Canadian Brigade, were coming up from
+the rear to help their exhausted companions.
+
+The evening of June 2 was spent in confused skirmishing, the advanced
+patrols of the Germans getting into the woods and being held up by
+the Canadian infantry moving up to the front.  Some German patrols
+are said to have got as far as Zillebeke village, three-quarters of a
+mile in advance of their old line.  By the morning of June 3 these
+intruders had been pushed back, but a counter-attack before dawn by
+the 9th Brigade was held up by artillery fire, Colonel Hay of the
+52nd (New Ontario) Regiment and many officers and men being put out
+of action.  The British guns were now hard at work, and the
+Würtembergers in the captured trenches were enduring something of
+what the Canadians had undergone the day before.  About 7 o'clock the
+2nd and 3rd Canadian Brigades, veterans of Ypres, began to advance,
+making their way through the woods and over the bodies of the German
+skirmishers.  When the advance got in touch with the captured
+trenches it was held up, for the Würtembergers stood to it {26} like
+men, and were well supported by their gunners.  On the right the 7th
+and 10th Canadians got well forward, but had not enough weight for a
+serious attack.  It became clear that a premature counter-attack
+might lead to increased losses, and that the true method was to
+possess one's soul in patience until the preparation could be made
+for a decisive operation.  The impatience and ardour of the men were
+very great, and their courage had a fine edge put upon it by a
+churlish German official communiqué, adding one more disgrace to
+their military annals, which asserted that more Canadian prisoners
+had not been taken because they had fled so fast.  Canadians could
+smile at the insult, but it was the sort of smile that is more
+menacing than a frown.  The infantry waited grimly while some of the
+missing guns were recalled into their position.  Up to this time the
+losses had been about 80 officers and 2000 men.
+
+The weather was vile, with incessant rain which turned the fields
+into bogs and the trenches into canals.  For a few days things were
+at a standstill, for the clouds prevented aeroplane reconnaissance
+and the registration of the guns.  The Corps lay in front of its lost
+trenches like a wounded bear looking across with red eyes at its
+stolen cub.  The Germans had taken advantage of the lull to extend
+their line, and on June 6 they had occupied the ruins of Hooge, which
+were impossible to hold after all the trenches to the south had been
+lost.  In their new line the Germans awaited the attack which they
+afterwards admitted that they knew to be inevitable.  The British
+gunfire was so severe that it was very difficult for them to improve
+their new position.
+
+On the 13th the weather had moderated and all {27} was ready for the
+counter-attack.  It was carried out at two in the morning by two
+composite brigades.  The 3rd (Toronto) and 7th Battalions led upon
+the right, while the 13th (Royal Highlanders) and 16th (Canadian
+Scots) were in the van of the left, with their pipers skirling in
+front of them.  Machine-guns supported the whole advance.  The right
+flank of the advance, being exposed to the German machine-guns, was
+shrouded by the smoke of 200 bombs.  The night was a very dark one
+and the Canadian Scots had taken advantage of it to get beyond the
+front line, and, as it proved, inside the German barrage zone, so
+that heavy as it was it did them no scathe.  The new German line was
+carried with a magnificent rush, and a second heave lifted the wave
+of stormers into the old British trenches--or the place where they
+had been.  Nine machine-guns and 150 prisoners from the 119th, 120th,
+125th, and 127th Würtemberg Regiments were captured.  To their great
+joy the Canadians discovered that such munitions as they had
+abandoned upon June 2 were still in the trenches and reverted into
+their hands.  It is pleasant to add that evidence was found that the
+Würtembergers had behaved with humanity towards the wounded.  From
+this time onwards the whole Canadian area from close to Hooge (the
+village still remained with the enemy) across the front of the woods,
+over Mount Sorel, and on to Hill 60, was consolidated and maintained.
+Save the heavy reciprocal losses neither side had anything to show
+for all their desperate fighting, save that the ruins of Hooge were
+now German.  The Canadian losses in the total operations came to
+about 7000 men--a figure which is eloquent as to the severity of the
+fighting.  They emerged {28} from the ordeal with their military
+reputation more firmly established than ever.  Ypres will surely be a
+place of pilgrimage for Canadians in days to come, for the ground
+upon the north of the city and also upon the south-east is
+imperishably associated with the martial traditions of their country.
+The battle just described is the most severe action between the epic
+of Loos upon the one side, and that tremendous episode in the south,
+upon the edge of which we are now standing.
+
+There is one other happening of note which may in truth be taken as
+an overture of that gigantic performance.  This was the action of the
+Seventeenth Corps upon June 30, the eve of the Somme battle, in which
+the Thirty-ninth Division, supported by guns from the Thirty-fifth
+and Fifty-first Divisions upon each side of it, attacked the German
+trenches near Richebourg at a spot known as the Boar's Head.  The
+attack was so limited in the troops employed and so local in area
+that it can only be regarded as a feint to take the German attention
+from the spot where the real danger was brewing.
+
+After an artillery preparation of considerable intensity, the
+infantry assault was delivered by the 12th and 13th Royal Sussex of
+the 116th Brigade.  The scheme was that they should advance in three
+waves and win their way to the enemy support line, which they were to
+convert into the British front line, while the divisional pioneer
+battalion, the 13th Gloster, was to join it up to the existing system
+by new communication trenches.  For some reason, however, a period of
+eleven hours seems to have elapsed between the first bombardment and
+the actual attack.  The latter was delivered at three {29} in the
+morning after a fresh bombardment of only ten minutes.  So ready were
+the Germans that an observer has remarked that had a string been tied
+from the British batteries to the German the opening could not have
+been more simultaneous, and they had brought together a great weight
+of metal.  Every kind of high explosive, shrapnel, and trench mortar
+bombs rained on the front and support line, the communication
+trenches and No Man's Land, in addition to a most hellish fire of
+machine-guns.  The infantry none the less advanced with magnificent
+ardour, though with heavy losses.  On occupying the German front line
+trenches there was ample evidence that the guns had done their work
+well, for the occupants were lying in heaps.  The survivors threw
+bombs to the last moment, and then cried, "Kamerad!"  Few of them
+were taken back.  Two successive lines were captured, but the losses
+were too heavy to allow them to be held, and the troops had
+eventually under heavy shell-fire to fall back on their own front
+lines.  Only three officers came back unhurt out of the two
+battalions, and the losses of rank and file came to a full two-thirds
+of the number engaged.  "The men were magnificent," says one who led
+them, but they learned the lesson which was awaiting so many of their
+comrades in the south, that all human bravery cannot overcome
+conditions which are essentially impossible.  A heavy German
+bombardment continued for some time, flattening out the trenches and
+inflicting losses, not only upon the 39th but upon the 51st Highland
+Territorial Division.  This show of heavy artillery may be taken as
+the most pleasant feature in the whole episode, since it shows that
+its object was attained at least to the very important {30} extent of
+holding up the German guns.  Those heavy batteries upon the Somme
+might well have modified our successes of the morrow.
+
+A second attack made with the same object of distracting the
+attention of the Germans and holding up their guns was made at an
+earlier date at a point called the triangle opposite to the Double
+Grassier near Loos.  This attack was started at 9.10 upon the evening
+of June 10, and was carried out in a most valiant fashion by the 2nd
+Rifles and part of the 2nd Royal Sussex, both of the 2nd Brigade.
+There can be no greater trial for troops, and no greater sacrifice
+can be demanded of a soldier, than to risk and probably lose his life
+in an attempt which can obviously have no permanent result, and is
+merely intended to ease pressure elsewhere.  The gallant stormers
+reached and in several places carried the enemy's line, but no
+lasting occupation could be effected, and they had eventually to
+return to their own line.  The Riflemen, who were the chief
+sufferers, lost 11 officers and 200 men.
+
+A word should be said as to the raids along the line of the German
+trenches by which it was hoped to distract their attention from the
+point of attack, and also to obtain precise information as to the
+disposition of their units.  It is difficult to say whether the
+British were the gainers, or the losers on balance in these raids,
+for some were successful, while some were repelled.  Among a great
+number of gallant attempts, the details of which hardly come within
+the scale of this chronicle, the most successful perhaps were two
+made by the 9th Highland Light Infantry and by the 2nd Welsh
+Fusiliers, both of the Thirty-third Division.  In both of these cases
+very extensive damage was done and numerous prisoners were taken.
+{31} When one reads the intimate accounts of these affairs, the
+stealthy approaches, the blackened faces, the clubs and revolvers
+which formed the weapons, the ox-goads for urging Germans out of
+dug-outs, the dark lanterns and the knuckle-dusters--one feels that
+the age of adventure is not yet past and that the spirit of romance
+was not entirely buried in the trenches of modern war.  There were 70
+such raids in the week which preceded the great attack.
+
+Before plunging into the huge task of following and describing the
+various phases of the mighty Battle of the Somme a word must be said
+upon the naval history of the period which can all be summed up in
+the Battle of Jutland, since the situation after that battle was
+exactly as it had always been before it.  This fact in itself shows
+upon which side the victory lay, since the whole object of the
+movements of the German Fleet was to produce a relaxation in these
+conditions.  Through the modesty of the British bulletins, which was
+pushed somewhat to excess, the position for some days was that the
+British, who had won everything, claimed nothing, while the Germans,
+who had won nothing, claimed everything.  It is true that a number of
+our ships were sunk and of our sailors drowned, including Hood and
+Arbuthnot, two of the ablest of our younger admirals.  Even by the
+German accounts, however, their own losses in proportion to their
+total strength were equally heavy, and we have every reason to doubt
+their accounts since they not only do not correspond with reliable
+observations upon our side, but because their second official account
+was compelled to admit that their first one had been false.  The
+whole affair may be summed up by saying that after making an
+excellent {32} fight they were saved from total destruction by the
+haze of evening, and fled back in broken array to their ports,
+leaving the North Sea now as always in British keeping.  At the same
+time it cannot be denied that here as at Coronel and the Falklands
+the German ships were well fought, the gunnery was good, and the
+handling of the fleet, both during the battle and especially under
+the difficult circumstances of the flight in the darkness to avoid a
+superior fleet between themselves and home, was of a high order.  It
+was a good clean fight, and in the general disgust at the flatulent
+claims of the Kaiser and his press the actual merit of the German
+performance did not perhaps receive all the appreciation which it
+deserved.
+
+
+
+
+{33}
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+  Attack of the Seventh and Eighth Corps on
+  Gommecourt, Serre, and Beaumont Hamel
+
+Line of battle in the Somme sector--Great preparations--Advance of
+Forty-sixth North Midland Division--Advance of Fifty-sixth
+Territorials (London)--Great valour and heavy losses--Advance of
+Thirty-first Division--Advance of Fourth Division--Advance of
+Twenty-ninth Division--Complete failure of the assault.
+
+
+The continued German pressure at Verdun which had reached a high
+point in June called insistently for an immediate allied attack at
+the western end of the line.  With a fine spirit of comradeship
+General Haig had placed himself and his armies at the absolute
+disposal of General Joffre, and was prepared to march them to Verdun,
+or anywhere else where he could best render assistance.  The solid
+Joffre, strong and deliberate, was not disposed to allow the western
+offensive to be either weakened or launched prematurely on account of
+German attacks at the eastern frontier.  He believed that Verdun
+could for the time look after herself, and the result showed the
+clearness of his vision.  Meanwhile, he amassed a considerable French
+army, containing many of his best active troops, on either side of
+the Somme.  General Foch was in command.  They formed the right wing
+of the {34} great allied force about to make a big effort to break or
+shift the iron German line, which had been built up with two years of
+labour, until it represented a tangled vista of trenches, parapets,
+and redoubts mutually supporting and bristling with machine-guns and
+cannon, for many miles of depth.  Never in the whole course of
+history have soldiers been confronted with such an obstacle.  Yet
+from general to private, both in the French and in the British
+armies, there was universal joy that the long stagnant trench life
+should be at an end, and that the days of action, even if they should
+prove to be days of death, should at last have come.  Our concern is
+with the British forces, and so they are here set forth as they
+stretched upon the left or north of their good allies.
+
+The southern end of the whole British line was held by the Fourth
+Army, commanded by General Rawlinson, an officer who has always been
+called upon when desperate work was afoot.  His army consisted of
+five corps, each of which included from three to four divisions, so
+that his infantry numbered about 200,000 men, many of whom were
+veterans, so far as a man may live to be a veteran amid the slaughter
+of such a campaign.  The Corps, counting from the junction with the
+French, were, the Thirteenth (Congreve), Fifteenth (Horne), Third
+(Pulteney), Tenth (Morland), and Eighth (Hunter-Weston).  Their
+divisions, frontage, and the objectives will be discussed in the
+description of the battle itself.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+{35}
+
+[Illustration: BRITISH BATTLE LINE July 1st 1916]
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+North of Rawlinson's Fourth Army, and touching it at the village of
+Hébuterne, was Allenby's Third Army, of which one single corps, the
+Seventh (Snow), was engaged in the battle.  This added three {36}
+divisions, or about 30,000 infantry, to the numbers quoted above.
+
+It had taken months to get the troops into position, to accumulate
+the guns, and to make the enormous preparations which such a battle
+must entail.  How gigantic and how minute these are can only be
+appreciated by those who are acquainted with the work of the staffs.
+As to the Chief Staff of all, if a civilian may express an opinion
+upon so technical a matter, no praise seems to be too high for
+General Kiggell and the others under the immediate direction of Sir
+Douglas Haig, who had successively shown himself to be a great Corps
+General, a great Army leader, and now a great General-in-Chief.  The
+preparations were enormous and meticulous, yet everything ran like a
+well-oiled piston-rod.  Every operation of the attack was practised
+on similar ground behind the lines.  New railheads were made, huge
+sidings constructed, and great dumps accumulated.  The corps and
+divisional staffs were also excellent, but above all it was upon
+those hard-worked and usually overlooked men, the sappers, that the
+strain fell.  Assembly trenches had to be dug, double communication
+trenches had to be placed in parallel lines, one taking the
+up-traffic and one the down, water supplies, bomb shelters, staff
+dug-outs, poison-gas arrangements, tunnels and mines--there was no
+end to the work of the sappers.  The gunners behind laboured night
+after night in hauling up and concealing their pieces, while day
+after day they deliberately and carefully registered upon their
+marks.  The question of ammunition supply had assumed incredible
+proportions.  For the needs of one single corps forty-six miles of
+motor-lorries were engaged in bringing up {37} the shells.  However,
+by the end of June all was in place and ready.  The bombardment began
+about June 23, and was at once answered by a German one of lesser
+intensity.  The fact that the attack was imminent was everywhere
+known, for it was absolutely impossible to make such preparations and
+concentrations in a secret fashion.  "Come on, we are ready for you,"
+was hoisted upon placards on several of the German trenches.  The
+result was to show that they spoke no more than the truth.
+
+There were limits, however, to the German appreciation of the plans
+of the Allies.  They were apparently convinced that the attack would
+come somewhat farther to the north, and their plans, which covered
+more than half of the ground on which the attack actually did occur,
+had made that region impregnable, as we were to learn to our cost.
+Their heaviest guns and their best troops were there.  They had made
+a far less elaborate preparation, however, at the front which
+corresponded with the southern end of the British line, and also on
+that which faced the French.  The reasons for this may be surmised.
+The British front at that point is very badly supplied with roads (or
+was before the matter was taken in hand), and the Germans may well
+have thought that no advance upon a great scale was possible.  So far
+as the French were concerned they had probably over-estimated the
+pre-occupation of Verdun and had not given our Allies credit for the
+immense reserve vitality which they were to show.  The French front
+to the south of the Somme was also faced by a great bend of the river
+which must impede any advance.  Then again it is wooded, broken
+country down there, and gives good concealment for masking an
+operation.  These {38} were probably the reasons which induced the
+Germans to make a miscalculation which proved to be an exceedingly
+serious one, converting what might have been a German victory into a
+great, though costly, success for the Allies, a prelude to most vital
+results in the future.
+
+It is, as already stated, difficult to effect a surprise upon the
+large scale in modern warfare.  There are still, however, certain
+departments in which with energy and ingenuity effects may be
+produced as unforeseen as they are disconcerting.  The Air Service of
+the Allies, about which a book which would be one long epic of
+heroism could be written, had been growing stronger, and had
+dominated the situation during the last few weeks, but it had not
+shown its full strength nor its intentions until the evening before
+the bombardment.  Then it disclosed both in most dramatic fashion.
+Either side had lines of stationary airships from which shell-fire is
+observed.  To the stranger approaching the lines they are the first
+intimation that he is in the danger area, and he sees them in a
+double row, extending in a gradually dwindling vista to either
+horizon.  Now by a single raid and in a single night, every
+observation airship of the Germans was brought in flames to the
+earth.  It was a splendid coup, splendidly carried out.  Where the
+setting sun had shone on a long German array the dawn showed an empty
+eastern sky.  From that day for many a month the Allies had command
+of the air with all that it means to modern artillery.  It was a good
+omen for the coming fight, and a sign of the great efficiency to
+which the British Air Service under General Trenchard had attained.
+The various types for scouting, for artillery work, {39} for raiding,
+and for fighting were all very highly developed and splendidly
+handled by as gallant and chivalrous a band of heroic youths as
+Britain has ever enrolled among her guardians.  The new F.E. machine
+and the de Haviland Biplane fighting machine were at this time equal
+to anything the Germans had in the air.
+
+The attack had been planned for June 28, but the weather was so
+tempestuous that it was put off until it should moderate, a change
+which was a great strain upon every one concerned.  July 1 broke calm
+and warm with a gentle south-western breeze.  The day had come.  All
+morning from early dawn there was intense fire, intensely answered,
+with smoke barrages thrown during the last half-hour to such points
+as could with advantage be screened.  At 7.30 the guns lifted, the
+whistles blew, and the eager infantry were over the parapets.  The
+great Battle of the Somme, the fierce crisis of Armageddon, had come.
+In following the fate of the various British forces during this
+eventful and most bloody day we will begin at the northern end of the
+line, where the Seventh Corps (Snow) faced the salient of Gommecourt.
+
+This corps consisted of the Thirty-seventh, Forty-sixth, and
+Fifty-sixth Divisions.  The former was not engaged and lay to the
+north.  The others were told off to attack the bulge on the German
+line, the Forty-sixth upon the north, and the Fifty-sixth upon the
+south, with the village of Gommecourt as their immediate objective.
+Both were well-tried and famous territorial units, the Forty-sixth
+North Midland being the division which carried the Hohenzollern
+Redoubt upon October 13, 1915, while the Fifty-sixth was made up of
+the old London territorial battalions, {40} which had seen so much
+fighting in earlier days while scattered among the regular brigades.
+Taking our description of the battle always from the north end of the
+line we shall begin with the attack of the Forty-sixth Division.
+
+The assault was carried out by two brigades, each upon a
+two-battalion front.  Of these the 137th Brigade of Stafford men were
+upon the right, while the 139th Brigade of Sherwood Foresters were on
+the left, each accompanied by a unit of sappers.  The 138th Brigade,
+less one battalion, which was attached to the 137th, was in reserve.
+The attack was covered so far as possible with smoke, which was
+turned on five minutes before the hour.  The general instructions to
+both brigades were that after crossing No Man's Land and taking the
+first German line they should bomb their way up the communication
+trenches, and so force a passage into Gommecourt Wood.  Each brigade
+was to advance in four waves at fifty yards interval, with six feet
+between each man.  Warned by our past experience of the wastage of
+precious material, not more than 20 officers of each battalion were
+sent forward with the attack, and a proportional number of N.C.O.'s
+were also withheld.  The average equipment of the stormers, here and
+elsewhere, consisted of steel helmet, haversack, water-bottle,
+rations for two days, two gas helmets, tear-goggles, 220 cartridges,
+two bombs, two sandbags, entrenching tool, wire-cutters, field
+dressings, and signal-flare.  With this weight upon them, and with
+trenches which were half full of water, and the ground between a
+morass of sticky mud, some idea can be formed of the strain upon the
+infantry.
+
+{41}
+
+Both the attacking brigades got away with splendid steadiness upon
+the tick of time.  In the case of the 137th Brigade the 6th South
+Staffords and 6th North Staffords were in the van, the former being
+on the right flank where it joined up with the left of the
+Fifty-sixth Division.  The South Staffords came into a fatal blast of
+machine-gun fire as they dashed forward, and their track was marked
+by a thick litter of dead and wounded.  None the less, they poured
+into the trenches opposite to them but found them strongly held by
+infantry of the Fifty-second German Division.  There was some fierce
+bludgeon work in the trenches, but the losses in crossing had been
+too heavy and the survivors were unable to make good.  The trench was
+held by the Germans and the assault repulsed.  The North Staffords
+had also won their way into the front trenches, but in their case
+also they had lost so heavily that they were unable to clear the
+trench, which was well and stoutly defended.  At the instant of
+attack, here as elsewhere, the Germans had put so terrific a barrage
+between the lines that it was impossible for the supports to get up
+and no fresh momentum could be added to the failing attack.
+
+The fate of the right attack had been bad, but that of the left was
+even worse, for at this point we had experience of a German procedure
+which was tried at several places along the line with most deadly
+effect, and accounted for some of our very high losses.  This device
+was to stuff their front line dug-outs with machine-guns and men, who
+would emerge when the wave of stormers had passed, attacking them
+from the rear, confident that their own rear was safe on account of
+the terrific barrage between the lines.  {42} In this case the
+stormers were completely trapped.  The 5th and 7th Sherwood Foresters
+dashed through the open ground, carried the trenches and pushed
+forward on their fiery career.  Instantly the barrage fell, the
+concealed infantry rose behind them, and their fate was sealed.  With
+grand valour the leading four waves stormed their way up the
+communication trenches and beat down all opposition until their own
+dwindling numbers and the failure of their bombs left them helpless
+among their enemies.  Thus perished the first companies of two fine
+battalions, and few survivors of them ever won their way back to the
+British lines.  Brave attempts were made during the day to get across
+to their aid, but all were beaten down by the terrible barrage.  In
+the evening the 5th Lincolns made a most gallant final effort to
+reach their lost comrades, and got across to the German front line
+which they found to be strongly held.  So ended a tragic episode.
+The cause which produced it was, as will be seen, common to the whole
+northern end of the line, and depended upon factors which neither
+officers nor men could control, the chief of which were that the work
+of our artillery, both in getting at the trench garrisons and in its
+counter-battery effects had been far less deadly than we had
+expected.  The losses of the division came to about 2700 men.
+
+The attack upon the southern side of the Gommecourt peninsula, though
+urged with the utmost devotion and corresponding losses, had no more
+success than that in the north.  There is no doubt that the
+unfortunate repulse of the 137th Brigade upon their left, occurring
+as it did while the Fifty-sixth Division was still advancing, enabled
+the {43} Germans to concentrate their guns and reserves upon the
+Londoners, but knowing what we know, it can hardly be imagined that
+under any circumstances, with failure upon either side of them, the
+division could have held the captured ground.  The preparations for
+the attack had been made with great energy, and for two successive
+nights as many as 3000 men were out digging between the lines, which
+was done with such disciplined silence that there were not more than
+50 casualties all told.  The 167th Brigade was left in reserve,
+having already suffered heavily while holding the water-logged
+trenches during the constant shell-fall of the last week.  The 7th
+Middlesex alone had lost 12 officers and 300 men from this cause--a
+proportion which may give some idea of what the heavy British
+bombardment may have meant to the Germans.  The advance was,
+therefore, upon a two-brigade front, the 168th being on the right and
+the 169th upon the left.  The London Scottish and the 12th London
+Rangers were the leading battalions of the 168th, while the
+Westminsters and Victorias led the 169th with the 4th London, 13th
+Kensingtons, 2nd London and London Rifle Brigade in support.  The
+advance was made with all the fiery dash with which the Cockney
+soldiers have been associated.  The first, second, and third German
+lines of trench were successively carried, and it was not until they,
+or those of them who were left, had reached the fourth line that they
+were held.  It was powerfully manned, bravely defended, and well
+provided with bombs--a terrible obstacle for a scattered line of
+weary and often wounded men.  The struggle was a heroic one.  Even
+now had their rear been clear, or had there been a shadow of support
+{44} these determined men would have burst the only barrier which
+held them from Gommecourt.  But the steel curtain of the barrage had
+closed down behind them, and every overrun trench was sending out its
+lurking occupants to fire into their defenceless backs.  Bombs, too,
+are essential in such a combat, and bombs must ever be renewed, since
+few can be carried at a time.  For long hours the struggle went on,
+but it was the pitiful attempt of heroic men to postpone that retreat
+which was inevitable.  Few of the advanced line ever got back.  The
+3rd London, particularly, sent forward several hundred men with
+bombs, but hardly any got across.  Sixty London Scots started on the
+same terrible errand.  In the late afternoon the remains of the two
+brigades were back in the British front line, having done all, and
+more than all, that brave soldiers could be expected to do.  The
+losses were very heavy.  Never has the manhood of London in one
+single day sustained so grievous a loss.  It is such hours which test
+the very soul of the soldier.  War is not all careless slang and
+jokes and cigarettes, though such superficial sides of it may amuse
+the public and catch the eye of the descriptive writer.  It is the
+most desperately earnest thing to which man ever sets his hand or his
+mind.  Many a hot oath and many a frenzied prayer go up from the
+battle line.  Strong men are shaken to the soul with the hysteria of
+weaklings, and balanced brains are dulled into vacancy or worse by
+the dreadful sustained shock of it.  The more honour then to those
+who, broken and wearied, still hold fast in the face of all that
+human flesh abhors, bracing their spirits by a sense of soldierly
+duty and personal honour which is strong enough to prevail over death
+itself.
+
+{45}
+
+It is pleasing to be able to record an instance of good feeling upon
+the part of the enemy.  Some remains of the old German spirit would
+now and again, though with sad rarity, shake itself free from the
+acrid and poisonous Prussian taint.  On this occasion a German
+prisoner was sent back from our lines after nightfall with a note to
+the officer in command asking for details as to the fate of the
+British missing.  An answer was found tied on to the barbed wire in
+the morning which gave the desired information.  It is fair to state
+also that the wounded taken by the enemy appear to have met with good
+treatment.
+
+So much for the gallant and tragic attack of the Seventh Corps.
+General Snow, addressing his men after the battle, pointed out that
+their losses and their efforts had not been all in vain.  "I can
+assure you," he said, "that by your determined attack you managed to
+keep large forces of the enemy at your front, thereby materially
+assisting in the operations which were proceeding farther south with
+such marked success."  No doubt the claim is a just one, and even
+while we mourn over the fate of four grand Army corps upon the left
+wing of the Allied Army, we may feel that they sacrificed themselves
+in order to assure the advance of those corps of their comrades to
+the south who had profited by the accumulation of guns and men to the
+north of them in order to burst their way through the German line.
+It is possible that here as on some other occasions the bitter hatred
+which the Germans had for the British, nurtured as it was by every
+lie which could appeal to their passions, had distorted their vision
+and twisted their counsels to an extent which proved to be their ruin.
+
+{46}
+
+The Eighth Corps, a magnificent body of troops, was under the command
+of General Sir Aylmer Hunter-Weston.  It consisted of the
+Forty-eighth South Midland Territorial Division, the Fourth Regular
+Division, the Twenty-ninth Regular Division, and the Thirty-first
+Division of the New Army.  Their front extended from Hébuterne in the
+north, where they joined on to the Fifty-sixth Division, down to a
+point just north of the Ancre, and it faced the very strong German
+positions of Serre in the north, and of Beaumont Hamel in the centre.
+The latter was an exceptionally difficult place, for it contained
+enormous quarries and excavations in which masses of Germans could
+remain concealed, almost immune to shell-fire and ready to sally out
+when needed.  In spite of the terrific bombardment the actual damage
+done to the enemy was not excessive, and neither his numbers, his
+_moral_, nor his guns had been seriously diminished.
+
+The order of battle was as follows: the Forty-eighth Division was in
+reserve, save for the 143rd Warwick Brigade.  Of this brigade two
+battalions, the 5th and 6th Warwicks, were placed on a defensive line
+with orders to hold the trenches for about a mile south of Hebuterne.
+The 7th and 8th Warwicks were attached to the Fourth Division for the
+assault.
+
+Immediately south of the defensive line held by the two Warwick
+battalions was the Thirty-first Division, having Serre for its
+objective.  South of this, and opposite to Beaumont Hamel, was the
+Fourth, and south of this again was the Twenty-ninth Division, which
+had returned from the magnificent failure of the Dardanelles, bearing
+with it a high reputation for efficiency and valour.  Incorporated
+with it was a regiment of Newfoundlanders, men recruited from {47}
+among the fishers and farmers of that northern land, the oldest
+colony of Britain.  Such was the force, comprising nearly 50,000
+excellent infantry, who set forth upon the formidable adventure of
+forcing the lines of Beaumont Hamel.  They were destined to show the
+absolute impossibility of such a task in the face of a steadfast
+unshaken enemy, supported by a tremendous artillery, but their story
+is a most glorious one, and many a great British victory contains no
+such record of tenacity and military virtue.
+
+At a quarter past five the assaulting lines were in the assembly
+trenches, and shortly afterwards the smoke and artillery barrages
+were released.  At 7.20 an enormous mine, which had been run under
+Hawthorn Redoubt in front of the Fourth Division, was exploded, and a
+monstrous column of debris, with the accompanying shock of an
+earthquake, warned friend and foe that the hour of doom, the crisis
+of such mighty preparations, was at hand.  At 7.30 the whistles blew,
+and the men, springing with eager alacrity over the parapet, advanced
+in successive lines of assault against the German trenches.
+
+Before giving in detail the circumstances which determined the result
+in each division, it may be well to avoid wearisome iteration by
+giving certain facts which are common to each.  In every case the
+troops advanced in an extended formation of companies in successive
+waves.  In nearly every case the German front line was seized and
+penetrated, in no case was there any hesitation or disorder among the
+advancing troops, but the highest possible degree of discipline and
+courage was shown by regulars, territorials, and men of the New Army,
+nor could it be said that there was any difference between them.  In
+each case also {48} the Germans met the assault with determined
+valour; in each case the successive lines of trenches were more
+strongly held, and the assailants were attacked from the rear by
+those who emerged from the dug-outs behind them, and above all in
+each case a most murderous artillery fire was opened from a
+semi-circle all round the German position, but especially from one
+huge accumulation of heavy guns, said to number a hundred batteries,
+stationed on the high ground near Bucquoy and commanding the British
+position.  These guns formed successive lines of barrage with
+shrapnel and high explosives, one of them about 200 yards behind the
+British line, to cut off the supports; another 50 yards behind;
+another 50 yards in front; and a fourth of shrapnel which was under
+observed control, and followed the troops in their movements.  The
+advanced lines of assault were able in most cases to get through
+before these barrages were effectively established, but they made it
+difficult, deadly, and often impossible for the lines who followed.
+
+None the less it is the opinion of skilled observers that the
+shell-fire alone, however heavy, could not have taken the edge from
+the inexorable insistence of the British attack.  It is to the skill
+and to the personal gallantry of the German machine-gunners that the
+result is to be traced.  The bombardment of the German line had been
+so severe that it was hoped that most of the machine-guns had been
+rooted out.  So indeed they had, but they had been withdrawn to the
+safety of excavations in the immediate rear.  Suspecting this, the
+British artillery sprayed the ground behind the trenches with showers
+of shrapnel to prevent their being brought forward {49} again.  This
+barrage was not sufficient to subdue the gunners, who dashed forward
+and established their pieces at the moment of the assault upon the
+various parapets and points of vantage, from which, regardless of
+their own losses, they poured a withering fire upon the infantry in
+the open.  These brave Würtembergers were seen, with riflemen at
+their side, exposed waist-deep and dropping fast, but mowing the open
+slope as with a scythe of steel.  "I cannot," said a general officer,
+who surveyed the whole scene, "adequately express my admiration for
+the British who advanced, or for the Germans who stood up under such
+a heavy barrage to oppose them."  It was indeed that contest between
+the chosen children of Odin in which Professor Cramb has declared
+that the high gods of virility might well rejoice.
+
+We will now turn to the left of the line and carry on the detailed
+description of the general assault from that of the 56th Territorials
+in the north, who were linked up by the defensive line of the
+Warwicks.  The Thirty-first Division was on the left of the Eighth
+Corps.  Of this division, two brigades, the 93rd and the 94th, were
+in the line, with the 92nd in reserve.  The 93rd, which consisted of
+the 15th, 16th, 18th West Yorks, and the 18th Durhams, was on the
+right, the 94th, including the 11th East Lancashires, and the 12th,
+13th, and 14th York and Lancasters, was on the left.  The advance was
+made upon a front of two companies, each company on a front of two
+platoons, the men extended to three paces interval.  On the left the
+leading battalions were the 11th East Lancashires and 12th York and
+Lancasters, the latter on the extreme left {50} flank of the whole
+division.  That this position with its exposed flank was the place of
+honour and of danger, may be best indicated by the fact that the
+colonel and six orderlies were the only men who could be collected of
+this heroic Sheffield battalion upon the next morning.  On the right
+the leading troops were the 15th and 16th West Yorks.  These grand
+North-countrymen swept across No Man's Land, dressed as if on parade,
+followed in succession by the remaining battalions, two of which, the
+13th and 14th York and Lancasters, were the special town units of
+Barnsley and Leeds.  "I have never seen and could not have imagined
+such a magnificent display of gallantry, discipline, and
+determination," said the observer who was been already quoted.  The
+men fell in lines, but the survivors with backs bent, heads bowed,
+and rifles at the port, neither quickened nor slackened their
+advance, but went forward as though it was rain and not lead which
+lashed them.  Here and elsewhere the German machine-gunners not only
+lined the parapet, but actually rushed forward into the open, partly
+to get a flank fire, and partly to come in front of the British
+barrage.  Before the blasts of bullets the lines melted away, and the
+ever-decreasing waves only reached the parapet here and there,
+lapping over the spot where the German front lines had been, and
+sinking for ever upon the farther side.  About a hundred gallant men
+of the East Lancashires, favoured perhaps by some curve in the
+ground, got past more than one line of trenches, and a few desperate
+individuals even burst their way as far as Serre, giving a false
+impression that the village was in our hands.  But the losses had
+been so heavy that the weight and momentum had gone out of the {51}
+attack, while the density of the resistance thickened with every yard
+of advance.  By the middle of the afternoon the survivors of the two
+attacking brigades were back in their own front line trenches, having
+lost the greater part of their effectives.  The 15th West Yorks had
+lost heavily in officers, and the 16th and 18th were little better
+off.  The 18th Durhams suffered less, being partly in reserve.  Of
+the 94th Brigade the two splendid leading battalions, the 11th East
+Lancashires and 12th York and Lancasters, had very many killed within
+the enemy line.  The heaviest loss in any single unit was in the 11th
+East Lancashires.  The strength of the position is indicated by the
+fact that when attacked by two divisions in November, with a very
+powerful backing of artillery, it was still able to hold its own.
+
+The experiences of all the troops engaged upon the left of the
+British attack were so similar and their gallantry was so uniform,
+that any variety in description depends rather upon the units engaged
+than upon what befell them.  Thus in passing from the Thirty-first
+Division to the Fourth upon their right, the general sequence of
+cause and effect is still the same.  In this instance the infantry
+who rushed, or rather strode, to the assault were, counting from the
+right, the 1st East Lancs, the 1st Rifle Brigade, and the 8th
+Warwicks, who were immediately followed by the 1st Hants, the 1st
+Somersets, and the 6th Warwicks, advancing with three companies in
+front and one in support.  The objective here as elsewhere upon the
+left was the capture of the Serre-Grandcourt Ridge, with the further
+design of furnishing a defensive flank for the operations lower down.
+The troops enumerated belonged to the 11th Brigade, led by {52} the
+gallant Prowse, who fell hit by a shell early in the assault, calling
+after his troops that they should remember that they were the
+Stonewall Brigade.  The attack was pressed with incredible
+resolution, and met with severe losses.  Again the front line was
+carried and again the thin fringe of survivors had no weight to drive
+the assault forward, whilst they had no cover to shelter them in the
+ruined lines which they had taken.  The Somerset men had the honour
+of reaching the farthest point attained by the division.  "If
+anything wants shifting the Somersets will do it."  So said their
+General before the action.  But both their flanks were in the air,
+and their position was an impossible one, while the right of the
+attack north of Beaumont Hamel had been entirely held up.  Two units
+of the 10th Brigade advanced about 9 o'clock on the right, and two of
+the 12th on the left.  These were in their order, the 2nd Dublins,
+2nd Seaforths, 2nd Essex, and 1st King's Own Lancasters.  All went
+forward with a will, but some could not get beyond their own front
+trenches, and few got over the German line.  All the weight of their
+blood so lavishly and cheerfully given could not tilt the scale
+towards victory.  Slowly the survivors of the Somersets and Rifle
+Brigade were beaten back with clouds of bombers at their heels.  The
+8th Warwicks, who, with some of the 6th Warwicks, had got as far
+forward as any of the supporting line, could not turn the tide.  Late
+in the afternoon the assault had definitely failed, and the remainder
+were back in their own front trenches, which had now to be organised
+against the very possible counter-attack.  Only two battalions of the
+division remained intact, and the losses included {53} General
+Prowse, Colonel the Hon. C. W. Palk of the Hampshires, Colonel
+Thicknesse of the Somersets, Colonel Wood of the Rifle Brigade, and
+Colonel Franklin of the 6th Warwicks, all killed; while Colonels
+Innes of the 8th Warwicks, Hopkinson of the Seaforths, and Green of
+the East Lancashires were wounded.  For a long time a portion of the
+enemy's trench was held by mixed units, but it was of no value when
+detached from the rest and was abandoned in the evening.  From the
+afternoon onwards no possible course save defence was open to General
+Lambton.  There was considerable anxiety about one company of Irish
+Fusiliers who were in a detached portion of the German trench, but
+they succeeded in getting back next morning, bringing with them not
+only their wounded but some prisoners.
+
+Immediately to the right of the Fourth Division was the Twenty-ninth
+Division[1] from Gallipoli, which rivalled in its constancy and
+exceeded in its losses its comrades upon the left.  The 86th Brigade
+and the 87th formed the first line, with the 88th in support.
+
+
+[1] Since the constituents of this famous regular Division have not
+been given in full (as has been done with their comrades in preceding
+volumes) they are here enumerated as they were on July 1, 1916:
+
+86_th Brigade_.--2nd Royal Fusiliers, 1st Lancashire Fusiliers, 1st
+Dublin Fusiliers, 16th Middlesex.
+
+87_th Brigade_.--1st Inniskilling Fusiliers, 1st South Wales
+Borderers, 1st Scottish Borderers, 1st Border Regiment.
+
+88_th Brigade_.--1st Essex, 2nd Hants, 4th Worcesters, Newfoundland
+Regiment.
+
+
+The van of the attack upon the right of the division was formed by
+the 1st Inniskilling Fusiliers and the Welsh Borderers, while the van
+upon the left was formed by the 2nd Royal Fusiliers and the 1st
+Lancashire Fusiliers.  The other battalions of the {54} brigades
+formed the supporting line, and two battalions of the 88th Brigade,
+the Essex and the Newfoundlanders, were also drawn into the fight, so
+that, as in the Fourth Division, only two battalions remained intact
+at the close, the nucleus upon which in each case a new division had
+to be formed.
+
+Upon the explosion of the great mine already mentioned two platoons
+of the 2nd Royal Fusiliers with machine-guns and Stokes mortars
+rushed forward to seize the crater.  They got the near lip, but the
+enemy were already in possession of the far side, and no farther
+advance could be made.  At this point, and indeed at nearly all
+points down the line, the wire was found to have been very thoroughly
+cut by the artillery fire, but for some reason our own wire had not
+been cut to the same extent and was a serious obstacle to our own
+advance.
+
+Parties of the leading regiments were speedily up to the German
+front-line trench, but their advance beyond it was delayed by the
+fact that the dug-outs were found to be full of lurking soldiers who
+had intended no doubt to rush out and attack the stormers in the
+rear, as in the case of the Forty-sixth and Fifty-sixth Divisions in
+the north, but who were discovered in time and had to fight for their
+lives.  These men were cleared out upon the right, and the advance
+then made some progress, but on the left by 9 o'clock the 86th
+Brigade had been completely held up by a murderous machine-gun fire
+in front of Beaumont Hamel, a position which, as already explained,
+presented peculiar difficulties.  The Essex and Newfoundland men of
+the 88th Brigade were ordered forward and charged with such splendid
+resolution that the advance was carried forward again, and the {55}
+whole situation changed for the better.  By 10.15 the casualties had
+become so great, however, through the fire of flanking machine-guns,
+that it was clear that the attack could not possibly reach its
+objective.  The huge crater left by the explosion of the Beaumont
+Hamel mine was held for hours as a redoubt, but it also was enfiladed
+by fire and became untenable.  By half-past ten the action had
+resolved itself into a bombardment of the German front line once
+more, and the assault had definitely failed.  There was an attempt to
+renew it, but when it was found that the 86th Brigade and the 87th
+Brigade were equally reduced in numbers, it was recognised that only
+a defensive line could be held.  It is true that the Divisional
+General had the Worcesters and the Hants still in hand, and was
+prepared to attack with them, but a further loss might have
+imperilled the Divisional line, so no advance was allowed.
+
+All the troops of the Twenty-ninth Division had lived up to their
+fame, but a special word should be said of the Newfoundlanders, who,
+in their first action, kept pace with the veterans beside them.  This
+battalion of fishermen, lumbermen, and farmers proved once more the
+grand stuff which is bred over the sea--the stuff which Bernhardi
+dismissed in a contemptuous paragraph.  "They attacked regardless of
+loss, moving forward in extended order, wave behind wave.  It was a
+magnificent exhibition of disciplined courage."  Well might General
+Hunter-Weston say next day after visiting the survivors: "To hear men
+cheering as they did, after undergoing such an experience, and in the
+midst of such mud and rain, made one proud to have the command of
+such a battalion."  The losses of the Newfoundlanders {56} were
+severe.  Losses are always the index of the sorrow elsewhere, but
+when they fall so heavily upon a small community, where every man
+plays a vital part and knows his neighbour, they are particularly
+distressing.  From Cape Race to the coast of Labrador there was pride
+and mourning over that day.  The total losses of the division were
+heavy, and included Colonels Pierce and Ellis of the Inniskillings
+and Borderers.
+
+It must have been with a heavy heart that General Hunter-Weston
+realised, with the approach of night, that each of his divisions had
+met with such losses that the renewal of the attack was impossible.
+He, his Divisional Commanders, his officers and his men had done both
+in their dispositions and in their subsequent actions everything
+which wise leaders and brave soldiers could possibly accomplish.  If
+a criticism could be advanced it would be that the attack was urged
+with such determined valour that it would not take No until long
+after No was the inevitable answer.  But grim persistence has won
+many a fight, and no leader who is worthy to lead can ever have an
+excess of it.  They were up against the impossible, as were their
+companions to right and left.  It is easy to recognise it now, but it
+could not be proved until it had been tested to the uttermost.  Could
+other tactics, other equipment, other methods of guarding the
+soldiers have brought them across the fatal open levels?  It may be
+so, and can again only be tried by testing.  But this at least was
+proved for all time, that, given clear ground, unshaken troops,
+prepared positions, and ample artillery, no human fire and no human
+hardihood can ever hope to break such a defensive line.  It should be
+added that here as {57} elsewhere the British artillery, though less
+numerous than it became at a later date, was admirable both in its
+heavy and in its lighter pieces.  Observers have recorded that under
+its hammer blows the German trenches kept momentarily changing their
+shape, while the barrage was as thick and accurate and the lifting as
+well-timed as could have been wished.  There was no slackness
+anywhere, either in preparation or in performance, and nothing but
+the absolute impossibility of the task under existing conditions
+stood in the way of success.
+
+
+
+
+{58}
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+Attack of the Tenth and Third Corps, July 1, 1916
+
+Magnificent conduct of the Ulster Division--Local success but general
+failure--Advance of Thirty-second Division--Advance of Eighth
+Division--Advance of Thirty-fourth Division--The turning-point of the
+line.
+
+
+Morland's Tenth Corps consisted of the Thirty-sixth, Forty-ninth, and
+Thirty-second Divisions.  It lay between Hunter-Weston's Eighth Corps
+upon the left and Pulteney's Third Corps upon the right.  It covered
+a front from a mile north of Hamel to a mile north of Ovillers.  At
+its northern end it was cut by the river Ancre, a sluggish canalised
+stream, running between two artificial dykes which the Germans
+periodically cut by their artillery fire and the British mended as
+best they might.  This sector of attack, together with the one
+farther south which faced the Third Corps, presented peculiar
+difficulties to the assailants, as the ground sloped upward to the
+strong village of Thiepval with the ridge behind it, from which
+German guns could sweep the whole long glacis of approach.  Nowhere
+were there more gallant efforts for a decision and nowhere were they
+more hopeless.
+
+{59}
+
+The division to the north of the Tenth Corps was the Thirty-sixth
+Ulster Division.  This division was composed of magnificent material,
+for the blend of Scot and Celt to be found in the North of Ireland
+produces a soldier who combines the fire of the one with the solidity
+of the other.  These qualities have been brought to a finer temper by
+the atmosphere of opposition in which they have lived, and the
+difficult economical circumstances which they have overcome in so
+remarkable a way.  Long ago in unhappy civil strife they had shown
+their martial qualities, and now upon a nobler and wider stage they
+were destined to confirm them.  It might well seem invidious to give
+the palm to any one of the bands of heroes who shed their blood like
+water on the slopes of Picardy, but at least, all soldiers would
+agree that among them all there was not one which could at its
+highest claim more than equality of achievement that day with the men
+of Ulster.
+
+The objective of this division was the German position from
+Beaucourt-sur-Ancre on the north to the northern edge of Thiepval.
+When the signal was given the two leading brigades, the 108th and the
+107th, came away at a deliberate pace which quickened into the rush
+of a released torrent, and went roaring over the German trenches.
+"They were like bloodhounds off the leash."  Like every one else they
+were horribly scourged by shrapnel and machine-fire as they rushed
+across, but whether it was that some curve in the ground favoured
+part of their line, or whatever the cause, they suffered less than
+the other divisions, and struck on to the German front line with
+their full shattering momentum, going through it as though it were
+paper.  The 108th {60} Brigade, consisting of the 9th Irish Fusiliers
+and the 11th, 12th, and 13th Irish Rifles, was on the left.  Two of
+these, the Fusiliers and one of the Irish Rifle battalions, were on
+the north side of the Ancre, and were acting rather with the
+Twenty-ninth Division upon their left than with their own comrades on
+the right.  This detachment fought all day side by side with the
+regulars, made their way at one time right up to Beaucourt Station,
+and had finally to retire to their own trenches together with the
+rest of the line north of the Ancre.  Next morning the survivors
+crossed the Ancre, and from then onwards the Eighth Corps extended so
+as to take over this ground.
+
+South of the Ancre the two remaining battalions of the 108th Brigade,
+and the whole of the 107th Brigade, consisting of the 8th, 9th, 10th,
+and 15th Irish Rifles, advanced upon a front of 3000 yards.  The men
+had lost very heavily in the assembly trenches, and two companies of
+the 10th Irish Rifles had dwindled to two platoons before ever they
+got clear of the shattered wood in which they gathered.  None the
+less, the fire and fury of their onset was terrific and sustained.
+"The place was covered with smoke and the explosion of heavy shells,"
+says one who saw the scene from a front observation post.  "I felt
+that no attack was possible, when suddenly out of the clouds I saw
+men advancing as if on parade, quite slowly.  It seemed impossible,
+and yet they went on, stormed at on the left by high explosive and
+shrapnel, and on the right by enfilade machine-gun fire.  Suddenly
+they charged, and when I could next see through the clouds on the
+slope (less than a mile away) I saw that they had taken the front
+trench, and in another minute the trench behind was taken, {61} as
+our fellows shouting, 'No surrender!' got through--God knows how!  As
+they advanced the fire of the guns became more and more enfilade, but
+nothing could stop their steady progress."
+
+The long line of Irish Riflemen had rolled over every obstacle, and
+although their dead and wounded lay thick behind them they still
+stormed forwards with the same fury with which they started.
+Bunching up into platoons in artillery formation they pushed on and
+carried the third line.  Ahead of them, across a considerable
+interval, was a fourth line, with a large redoubt upon the flank.
+They steadied themselves for a few minutes, and then dashing onwards
+once again they captured both the fourth line and the redoubt.  So
+far forward were they now that they had reached regions north of
+Thiepval which were never trodden by a British foot again until three
+months of constant fighting had cleared a way to them.  It was the
+great Schwaben Redoubt which was now before them.  The reserve
+brigade, the 109th, consisting of the 9th, 10th, and 11th
+Inniskilling Fusiliers, with the 14th Irish Rifles, had dashed
+forward at 10.40, leaving only the pioneer battalion, the 16th Irish
+Rifles, to guard the trenches.  With the additional weight of the
+survivors of this reinforcing line the fringe of stormers, for they
+were now a fringe and nothing more, again rushed forward and threw
+themselves into the Schwaben trenches.  This was their limit, and for
+most of them their grave.  They had no further supports, no
+ammunition could reach them, and they were embedded in the depths of
+the German line at a point far deeper than any unit upon the left of
+the line had attained.  The village of Thiepval commanded them from
+their right rear.  {62} Some remained in little groups, huddling in
+some coign of vantage, and fighting to the last cartridge, absolutely
+refusing to take one step to the rear.  To the Germans they were as
+dangerous as so many cornered wolves.  Others fell back in orderly
+fashion, but not an inch farther than was needful, for they held on
+all day to the frontage taken by them.  The first two lines were kept
+in their fierce grip till nightfall of the next day, when they handed
+them over to the relieving division.
+
+In this splendid deed of arms the Thirty-sixth Division left half its
+number upon the battlefield.  The instances of gallantry were
+innumerable, and so equally distributed that their General, when
+asked to name a special battalion, could only answer that the whole
+twelve had done equally well.  Had the divisions to right and left
+been able to get as far, the whole gain would have been permanent.
+As it was, 540 prisoners were brought in, and few were lost save the
+wounded, chief of whom was Colonel Craig, who directed the movements
+of his men long after he was unable to direct his own.  Colonel
+Bernard of the 10th Rifles, Captain Davidson, who worked his
+machine-gun after his leg was shattered, Captain Gaffikin, who died
+while leading his company with an orange handkerchief waving in his
+hand, are but a few of the outstanding names.  The pressure upon the
+different brigades is indicated by the losses in officers of the
+107th, the 108th, and the 109th.
+
+A very detailed account would be necessary to bring home to the
+reader the full gallantry of this deed of arms.  Experienced soldiers
+who saw it were moved to the limit of human speech.  "I wish I had
+{63} been born an Ulsterman," cried one of them.  "But I am proud to
+have been associated with these wonderful men."  To have penetrated
+all alone for two miles into the German line, and to withdraw from
+such a salient in military order, holding fast to all that could be
+retained, was indeed a great feat for any troops to have performed.
+The requiem for their fallen was best expressed by one of the
+survivors, who wrote that "they died for the cause of Liberty,
+Honour, and Freedom, for the Old Flag, the emblem of Britain, died
+for Ireland, died for Ulster!"
+
+The Thirty-second Division was on the immediate right of the men of
+Ulster.  Their advance was carried out with the 96th Brigade on the
+left, the 97th upon the right, and the 14th in support.  The reader
+may be warned that from this time onwards he will often find, as in
+this case, that old brigades have been added to new formations, so
+that the former simplicity of numbering is often disturbed.  The
+storming lines went forward in each case with two battalions abreast
+in front and two in succession in support.  The front line of attack
+taken from the north, or left, consisted of the 15th Lancashire
+Fusiliers, 16th Northumberland Fusiliers, and the 16th and 17th
+Highland Light Infantry.  Of these four battalions the 16th
+Northumberland Fusiliers came under very heavy fire, and were unable
+to press their attack home.  On the right the Highlanders had crawled
+up to within a hundred yards of the Leipzig salient and were into it
+with a rush the moment that the barrage lifted.  The 15th Lancashire
+Fusiliers upon the left made a particularly brilliant advance.  The
+right company was held up in front of Thiepval village, but the left
+company swept on with the Thirty-sixth Division, {64} keeping pace
+with their magnificent advance.  It appears to have reached the east
+end of Thiepval, but there it was buried deeply in the enemy's
+position and was never heard of again.  The supporting battalions of
+the 96th Brigade, the 16th Lancashire Fusiliers and the 2nd
+Inniskilling Fusiliers, tried hard to regain touch with their lost
+comrades, but in vain.  These various gallant bodies who, at
+different points of our line, pushed forward into impossible
+positions, were no doubt for the greater part killed or wounded, but
+from among them came the 850 prisoners whom the Germans claimed to
+have taken on the northern part of the line on that day.  The left of
+the divisional line was so weakened by these losses that they were
+compelled to withdraw to their own front trenches.
+
+On the right, however, the Highlanders were able to hold on to a part
+of the Leipzig salient.  The losses, however, upon this flank had
+been very heavy, not only in the front wave, but among the 1st
+Dorsets and the 11th Borders as they came out from a wood in support.
+Coming under a concentrated fire of machine-guns, these two
+battalions suffered heavily.  Colonel Machell, gallantly leading his
+Borders, was shot dead, his adjutant, Lieutenant Gordon, was badly
+wounded as he stooped over his body, Major Diggle was wounded, and
+the greater number of the officers were on the ground.  Colonel
+Machell, it may be remarked, was a high civil official of the
+Egyptian Government, Under Secretary for the Interior, whose
+patriotism had led him to join the New Armies and thus to meet his
+death upon the field of battle.  The 1st Dorsets lost nearly as
+heavily as the men of the Border; their leader, Major Shute, was
+disabled, and their ranks thrown into temporary {65} confusion.  They
+were splendidly rallied, however, by the adjutant, who led them on
+and succeeded with the survivors in reaching the Leipzig Redoubt.
+Colonel Laidlaw, of the 16th Highland Light Infantry, had also been
+wounded, the third commanding officer killed or injured on this wing
+of the attack.
+
+There had been no flinching anywhere, and the military virtue shown
+had been of the highest possible quality; but the losses from the
+machine-guns and from the barrage were so heavy that they deprived
+the attack of the weight and momentum necessary to win their way
+through the enemy's position.  Under the desperate circumstances, it
+might well be considered a remarkable result that a stretch of the
+Leipzig Redoubt should be won and permanently held by the
+Highlanders, especially by the 17th Highland Light Infantry.  The
+sappers had prepared a Russian sap running up to the enemy line, and
+this was invaluable as a communication trench.  On the 2nd and 3rd
+the enemy endeavoured to turn out the intruders, but the 2nd
+Manchesters and 15th Highland Light Infantry not only held their
+ground, but enlarged it.  On the night of the 3rd the division was
+relieved by the Twenty-fifth Division and withdrew to refit after its
+tragic but splendid exertions.
+
+Out of the novel conditions of what may be called Bloch warfare
+certain rules and axioms are slowly evolving.  That it is impossible
+without artificial protection to attack over the open against an
+unshaken enemy provided with machine-guns is the most certain.  But
+there is another which might be formulated thus: If there are sharp
+salients in the enemy line, either these salients must be taken first
+or the attack must be made out of range of them, {66} otherwise their
+guns must flank the whole advance.  Very many examples might be
+quoted where the disregard of this axiom has brought disaster to
+either side.  A conspicuous case would be that of the Third Corps now
+to be described, where the sinister salient of Thiepval protruded to
+the north, and a smaller but very efficient one to the south, so that
+the whole advance was conducted under the fire of two lines of guns
+which raked it from end to end.  In addition the opposing infantry
+included a division of the Prussian Guard.  In the whole long
+position there would appear to be no sector where there was less
+prospect of success, and yet there was no sector where it was more
+essential to hold the enemy fast, since victory might await us to the
+immediate south.
+
+The Third Corps, under General Pulteney, occupied the front
+immediately to the east of Albert.  This large town was almost
+exactly in the centre of its rear, and the important road from Albert
+to Bapaume bisected the British position.  Ovillers to the north,
+within the German lines, and Bécourt to the south, in the British,
+marked roughly the two ends of the sector.  It was a comparatively
+narrow stretch, so that only two divisions were in the firing line,
+and one in reserve.  These were respectively the Eighth Regular
+Division to the north, the Thirty-fourth of the New Army to the
+south, and the Nineteenth, also of the New Army, in support.
+
+Had the Thirty-second Division succeeded in holding its grip upon
+Thiepval upon the north, there might have been some chance of
+success, but as it was, the machine-guns from that quarter shaved the
+whole of No Man's Land as a mower may shave a lawn, and after the
+first rush, which {67} carried the brave fellows of the Eighth
+Division over the trenches, it proved to be absolutely impossible to
+send them either supports or supplies.  The main body of this
+magnificent division disappeared into the smoke and haze of the
+battle, and their comrades in the trenches waited with aching hearts,
+their eyes fixed upon their front where the roar of battle rose from
+the other side of the pelting sleet of bullets.  All day they waited,
+dashing out occasionally and being beaten back with ever-dwindling
+numbers.  After dusk, they searched the shell-holes and brought in
+some 400 wounded.  A few bewildered men came staggering in during the
+night, half-delirious with fatigue and strain, and unable themselves
+to say how they had got back across the enemy's front line from the
+depths to which they had penetrated.
+
+This tragic but heroic attack in which the whole force who went
+forward fought literally to the death, was carried out in the
+following order:
+
+On the right was the 23rd Brigade; in the centre the 25th; and on the
+left the 70th.  The 23rd and 25th were the old hard-working units of
+Neuve Chapelle and many another fray.  The 70th was a particularly
+fine brigade of the New Army.  This division had up to the last
+moment been without a pioneer battalion, but the infantry had dug
+themselves particularly good assembly and communication trenches,
+which helped them much upon the day of battle.  They had also, under
+the direction of the Commander of Divisional sappers, run two covered
+ways up to the enemy's trenches which might have been a vital factor
+in the day's work, had it not been that the stormers pushed on,
+leaving it to others to {68} secure their gains.  The result was that
+the advancing infantry passed rather than occupied the front
+trenches, the barrage cut off supports, the enemy emerged from their
+dug-outs, and the line still remained under their control, forbidding
+the use or even the disclosure of the covered ways, since men could
+not emerge in single file in an enemy trench.
+
+Following the plan of describing operations always from the north, we
+will first picture from such reliable material as is available the
+attack of the 70th Brigade, which contained some of the finest
+North-country stuff that ever fought the battles of the country.
+This brigade was separated on the north by a clear space of about 300
+yards from the Highland Light Infantry of the 97th Brigade, who
+formed the extreme right of the Thirty-second Division.  The 8th York
+and Lancaster was the flank battalion, with the 8th Yorkshire Light
+Infantry upon its right.  The 9th York and Lancaster were behind
+their comrades, and the 11th Sherwood Foresters behind the Light
+Infantry.
+
+As it is impossible to give with any fulness the story of any one
+regiment, and as each may be taken as typical of the others, we may
+follow the front flank battalion on its advance.  This, the 8th York
+and Lancaster, consisted almost entirely of miners, a class of men
+who have furnished grand military material to the New Armies.  This
+unit came chiefly from the Rotherham district.  The frontage of the
+battalion was 750 yards.
+
+As the hour of attack approached, the enemy's counter-bombardment
+became so violent that there was the utmost difficulty in getting the
+men into the front-line trenches.  Many were killed and even {69}
+buried before the advance had begun.  When the whistles blew the
+stormers went forward in four waves with 50 yards between, the
+supporting battalions following instantly.  The machine-guns were
+sweeping the ground and about 350 yards had to be covered between the
+lines.  Officers and men went down in heaps under the enfilade fire
+from four lines of guns, one behind the other, in the Thiepval
+district.  The approach was over a billiard-table glacis with no
+cover of any kind.  The ranks kept formation and trudged steadily
+forward, throwing themselves head-long into the front German
+trenches.  There they steadied themselves for a few minutes, and then
+advancing once more sprang down into the second German line which was
+strongly held.  Colonel Maddison had been shot down early in the
+attack.  Captain Dawson, the adjutant, had been wounded, but
+staggered on with the men until he was killed at the second line of
+trenches.  "Come on, boys! let's get at 'em and clear 'em out!" were
+his last words.  On this second line the battalion, together with its
+support, beat itself to pieces.  A few survivors unable to get back
+were taken prisoners, and a German report has stated that they were
+very proud and defiant when marched away.  At night a number of
+wounded were carried in along the whole divisional front from No
+Man's Land, but many lives were lost in the gallant work, and many of
+the wounded also lost their lives in trying to crawl back, for the
+Germans turned their machine-guns during the daytime upon everything
+that moved in front of their lines.
+
+To show how uniform was the experience, one may quote the doings of a
+battalion of the 23rd Brigade.  This brigade was on the right of the
+Eighth Division {70} line, and the 2nd Middlesex, the battalion in
+question, formed the right battalion joining on with the Tyneside
+Scottish of the Thirty-fourth Division to the south.  Upon its left
+was the 2nd Devons.  The supporting troops, two companies of the 2nd
+West Yorkshires and the 2nd Scottish Rifles, seem to have been held
+back when it was seen how fatal was the advance, and so in part
+escaped from the catastrophe.  The Middlesex advanced almost opposite
+to La Boiselle.  There was a slight dip in the ground to the
+immediate front which formed a partial protection from the
+machine-guns, so that although the losses were very heavy, about 300
+men with six Lewis guns made good their footing in the German
+front-line trench.  Their gallant commander was wounded twice, but
+still kept at their head while they swept onwards to the second line.
+It was stuffed with Germans, but the handful of British stormers
+flung themselves in among them and cleared a standing place in the
+trench.  The German guns, however, had the exact range, and four out
+of the six Lewis guns were blown into the air.  Finally, only five
+men and a sergeant were left unwounded in this trench.  This handful
+made its way back.  One hundred and thirty of the Middlesex men seem
+to have got through or round on to the Pozières Road, but their fate
+was never cleared up.  Finally, only 30 men of this grand battalion
+answered the roll-call that night.
+
+The space between the two attacks described from the point of view of
+the two wing battalions of the division was occupied by the 25th
+Brigade, whose advance and losses were exactly similar to those which
+have been narrated.  The 2nd Lincolns and 2nd Berkshires were the
+leading battalions, and their {71} devotion in attempting the
+impossible was as great as that of their comrades to right and left.
+
+Both regiments suffered heavily, and it is probable that the
+Berkshires went deeper than any other.  The 1st Irish Rifles had
+occupied the trenches for six days in dreadful weather, and had
+suffered heavily from the retaliatory bombardment of the Germans.
+They were therefore held in reserve, but none the less made repeated
+efforts and with great loss to cross the barrage and help their
+comrades, for which they afterwards received a special message of
+thanks from the Divisional Commander.
+
+Up to this point the writer has been faced by the painful and
+monotonous task of one long record of failure from Gommecourt in the
+north to La Boiselle in the south.  It cannot be doubted that we had
+over-estimated the effects of our bombardment, and that the German
+guns were intact to a degree which was unexpected.  Our one
+consolation must be that the German reserves were held in their
+position, and that improved prospects were assured for the remainder
+of the British line and for the whole of the French line.  Had the
+front of the battle covered only the region which has been treated up
+to now, the episode would have been a tragic one in British military
+history.  Thousands of men had fallen, nor could it be truthfully
+said that anything of permanence had been achieved.  Next day the
+remains of the Eighth Division were withdrawn, the 70th Brigade was
+restored to the Twenty-third Division, to which it rightfully
+belonged, and the Twelfth Division came forward to fill the gap in
+the line, helped by the gunners and sappers of the Eighth, who
+remained at their posts until July 4.
+
+{72}
+
+On the right of the Eighth Division was the Thirty-fourth, a unit
+which consisted of one mixed English and Scotch Brigade; while the
+other two were raised respectively from the Tyneside Irish and from
+the Tyneside Scots, hardy and martial material from the coalpits and
+foundries of the North.  They attacked upon the front between the
+Albert-Bapaume Road on the north and the village of Bécourt on the
+south.  The idea was to storm La Boiselle village, and to push the
+attack home both north and south of it upon Contalmaison, which lay
+behind it.  Immediately before the assault two great mines were
+blown, one of which, containing the unprecedented amount of 60,000
+lbs. of gun-cotton, threw hundreds of tons of chalk into the air.
+Within a few minutes of the explosion the Thirty-fourth Division were
+out of their trenches and advancing in perfect order upon the German
+trenches.  The 101st Brigade, consisting of the 15th and 16th Royal
+Scots, the 10th Lincolns, and 11th Suffolks, were on the right, the
+Tyneside Scots upon the left, and the Tyneside Irish in support
+behind the right brigade.  In the immediate rear lay the Nineteenth
+Division with instructions to hold and consolidate the ground gained.
+
+In no part of the line was the advance more gallant, and it marks the
+point at which unalloyed failure began first to change to partial
+success, ripening into complete victory in the southern section.
+Some slight cover seems to have helped the troops for the first few
+hundred yards, and it would appear also that though the small-arm
+fire was very severe, the actual shell-fire was not so heavy as that
+which devastated the divisions in the north.  None the less, the
+obstacles were sufficient to test to the highest any {73} troops in
+the world, and they were gloriously surmounted by men, none of whom
+had been in action before.  "I, their commander," wrote the
+Divisional General, "will never forget their advance through the
+German curtain of fire.  It was simply wonderful, and they behaved
+like veterans."  The scream of the war-pipes, playing "The Campbells
+are coming," warmed the blood of the soldiers.  Upon the left, the
+Tyneside Scots penetrated two lines of trenches and found themselves
+to the north of the village of La Boiselle, where further progress
+was made impossible by a murderous fire from front and flank.  Of the
+four battalions of the 101st Brigade, the two English units were
+nearly opposite the village, and though they advanced with great
+resolution, they were unable to get a permanent lodgment.  The two
+Royal Scots battalions upon the flank got splendidly forward, and
+some of them made their way deeper into the German line than any
+organised body of troops, save only the Ulster men, had succeeded in
+doing, getting even as far as the outskirts of Contalmaison.  The
+valiant leader of the advanced party of the 15th Royal Scots was
+wounded, but continued to encourage his men and to try to consolidate
+his desperate position, which was nearly a mile within the German
+lines.  He was again severely wounded, and Lieutenant Hole was
+killed, upon which the only remaining officer fell back to a point
+some hundreds of yards westward, called Round Wood or Round Alley.
+Here the Scots stuck fast, and nothing could budge them.  Germans
+were in front of them, were in La Boiselle upon their left rear, and
+were behind them in the trenches, which led from the village.  By all
+the laws of war, the detachment was {74} destroyed; but in practice
+the Germans found that they could not achieve it.  A small
+reinforcement of the 27th Northumberland Fusiliers (from the 103rd of
+the Brigade), under an experienced soldier, had joined them, and
+their situation was less forlorn because they were in slight touch
+with the skirts of the 64th Brigade of the Twenty-first Division, who
+had also, as will presently be shown, won a very forward position.
+By means of this division communication was restored with the
+isolated detachment, and the colonel of the 16th Royal Scots, a very
+well-known volunteer officer of Edinburgh, succeeded in reaching his
+men.  His advent gave them fresh spirit, and under his leadership
+they proceeded next morning not only to hold the position, but to
+enlarge it considerably, sending bombers down every sap and
+endeavouring to give the impression of great numbers.  Two companies
+of the East Lancashire Regiment from the Nineteenth Division made
+their way forward, and joined with effect in these attacks.  This
+small body of men held their own until the afternoon of July 3, when
+the advance of the Nineteenth Division upon La Boiselle enabled them
+to be relieved.  It was time, for the water was exhausted and
+munitions were running low.  It was a glad moment when, with their
+numerous German captives, they joined up with their cheering
+comrades.  It should be said that in this fine feat of arms a small
+party of the 11th Suffolks played a valiant part.  General Pulteney
+issued a special order thanking these troops for their stout defence,
+and the matter was in truth of wider importance than any local issue,
+for it had the effect of screening the left flank of the Twenty-first
+Division, enabling them to make {75} good their hold upon Crucifix
+Trench and the Sunken Road, as will now be told.
+
+Before leaving the Thirty-fourth Division it should be said that
+although La Boiselle remained untaken, the Tyneside Scots and Irish
+carried a number of trenches and returned with many prisoners.  It
+has been the universal experience of our soldiers that the Germans,
+though excellent with their guns, and very handy with their bombs,
+are wanting in that spice of devilry called for in bayonet work--a
+quality which their ally the Turk possesses to a marked degree.  In
+this instance, as in many others, when the Tyneside men swept roaring
+into the trenches the Germans either fled or threw up their hands.
+The condition of the prisoners was unexpectedly good.  "They have new
+uniforms, new brown boots, leggings, and are as fat as butter," said
+one spectator, which is at great variance with descriptions from
+other parts of the line.
+
+We have now completed our survey of that long stretch of line in
+which our gallant advance was broken against an equally gallant
+resistance.  The account has necessarily had to concern itself with
+incessant details of units and orders of battle, since these are the
+very essence of such an account, and without them it might read, as
+contemporary descriptions did read, like some vague combat in the
+moon.  But, casting such details aside, the reader can now glance up
+that long line and see the wreckage of that heroic disaster--the
+greatest and also the most glorious that ever befell our arms.
+
+
+
+
+{76}
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+  The Attack of the Fifteenth and Thirteenth Corps,
+  July 1, 1916
+
+The advance of the Twenty-first Division--64th Brigade--First
+permanent gains--50th Brigade at Fricourt--Advance of Seventh
+Division--Capture of Mametz--Fine work by Eighteenth
+Division--Capture of Montauban by the Thirtieth Division--General
+view of the battle--Its decisive importance.
+
+
+Immediately to the south of Pulteney's Third Corps, and extending
+from Bécourt in the north to a point opposite Fricourt village, lay
+Horne's Fifteenth Corps.  The general task of this Corps was to
+attack Mametz on the right, contain Fricourt in the centre, and
+attack between there and La Boiselle towards Mametz Wood.  It
+consisted of the Twenty-first, the Seventh, and the Seventeenth
+Divisions.  Of these, the most northerly was the Twenty-first, that
+fine North-country division which had so terrible an ordeal when it
+came up in support upon the second day of Loos.  Those who held that
+in spite of defeat its conduct upon that occasion was soldierly, were
+borne out by its achievement on the Somme, where it made a lodgment
+in the enemy's line upon the first {77} day, and did good service at
+later stages of the battle.  Let us now turn our attention to its
+advance.  It may first be mentioned that the units were the same as
+those enumerated in the description of Loos, save that in each
+brigade one regular battalion had been substituted.  Thus the 1st
+Lincolns, 4th Middlesex, and 1st East Yorks took the place of the 8th
+East Yorks, 12th West Yorks, and 14th Durhams respectively.  The 50th
+Brigade of the Seventeenth Division was attached to the Twenty-first
+Division for the purpose of the attack, and will be included with it
+in this summary of the operations.  The rest of the Seventeenth
+Division was in reserve.
+
+The attack was on a three-brigade front, the 64th Brigade upon the
+north, just south of La Boiselle, and in close touch with the
+Thirty-fourth Division.  To the right of the 64th was the 63rd
+Brigade, and to the right of that the 50th, which advanced straight
+upon Fricourt.  The 62nd Brigade was in reserve.  It will be best to
+deal with the attack of the 64th Brigade with some detail, as its
+exploits had a very direct bearing upon the issue of the battle.
+
+This brigade advanced upon the signal with the 10th Yorkshire Light
+Infantry upon the left in touch with the Royal Scots of the 101st
+Brigade.  On their right was their 9th namesake battalion.  Behind
+them in immediate support were the 1st East Yorks (left) and 15th
+Durhams (right).  The advance was greatly helped by the formation of
+a Russian sap between the lines on which the front companies could
+assemble.  It was found, however, upon the men advancing that the
+fire was so severe that they could only get forward by crawling from
+hole to hole, with the result that the barrage lifted {78} before
+they could reach the front trenches, and the Germans were able to
+mount the parapet and slate them with rifle-fire.  Colonel Lynch of
+the 9th Yorkshire Light Infantry was killed by a shell between
+trenches, as were all four captains, but the men stuck to their work
+and finally the leading battalions swept over the German lines, which
+had been greatly disorganised by the artillery, and they killed or
+captured the occupants with no very severe resistance.  Two fixed
+points lay in front of the brigade, which were part of the definite
+objectives of the division.  The first was a sunken road 1100 yards
+from the British front, the second was a trench 400 yards farther, on
+which, by the irony of Fate, a large wayside crucifix looked down, so
+that it was called Crucifix Trench.  Beyond these on the left front
+were several shattered woods, Shelter Wood and Birch-tree Wood, which
+gave the enemy good cover, and to the right was a large ruined
+building, Fricourt Farm, which raked the advance with its snipers and
+machine-guns.
+
+On passing the front German line the successive British waves lost
+their formation and clubbed together, so that a long loose line of
+Yorkshire and Durham men scrambled onwards into, out of and over the
+successive impediments, beating down all resistance as they went.
+When the fire became too hot, the men crawled forwards upon their
+stomachs or made short sharp rushes from one shell-hole to another,
+but the advance was steady and unbroken.  The smoke from the shells
+was as dense as a Scotch mist.  Every now and then through the haze
+the flashes of a machine-gun would be spied and possibly the vague
+figures of the German gunners as they swept it across in their deadly
+traverse, but a rush of {79} furious infantry put each in turn out of
+action.  The evidence seems to be conclusive that some at least of
+these gunners were found to be chained to their guns, which may well
+have happened at their own request, as a visible proof that they
+would never desert their post.  They fired up to the last instant,
+and naturally they received no quarter from the stormers.  Now and
+again the ragged line of men would stumble suddenly upon a section of
+proper trench, would spring down into it, clear up the occupants, and
+then sit in flushed, hard-breathing groups until a whistle from the
+officer and a cheer from their comrades would call them on once more.
+
+In this sector there appears, however, to have been a systematic, if
+superficial, examination of the dug-outs before a trench was passed.
+One does not hear of those surprise attacks from the rear which were
+so common and so fatal to the north.  The examination usually took
+the form of a sharp summons at the mouth of the burrow, quickly
+followed--if there were no response--by a Mills bomb.  Then, as often
+as not, there would crawl out of the black orifice eight or ten
+terrified and bleeding men, who would join the numerous small convoys
+trailing backwards to the rear.  These prisoners were nearly all from
+the 110th and 111th Reserve Bavarian Regiments, and the alacrity with
+which they made for the rear with their hands above their heads,
+formed the only comic touch in a tragic day.  One made a grab for a
+rifle.  "He lived about five seconds," says the narrator.  "They were
+thin, unshaven, and terrified," says an officer, talking of the
+particular batch he handled.  "Most had dark hair--a very different
+type from the Prussians."
+
+Having overrun the German trenches, the infantry {80} were now faced
+with a considerable stretch of open which lay between them and the
+Sunken Road, leading from Fricourt to Contalmaison.  Many were hit
+upon this perilous passage.  A subsidiary line of German trenches lay
+in front of this road, and into this the British tumbled.  The
+colonel of the 15th Durhams was the senior officer who had got up,
+and he took command at this point, rallying the weary men of all four
+battalions for a fresh advance.  A few of the Royal Scots of the
+Thirty-fourth Division were found already in possession, the fringe
+of that body who have previously been described as making so
+invaluable a stand at Round Wood.
+
+At this point the 64th Brigade was found to be some distance in front
+of the main body of the Thirty-fourth Division on the left, and of
+their comrades on the right, so that they could get no farther for
+the moment without their flanks being badly exposed.  In front
+through the haze they could dimly see the Crucifix which was their
+ultimate objective.  The men had to cower low, for the bullets were
+coming in a continuous stream from Fricourt Farm on the right and
+from the woods on the left.  The Sunken Road was ten or twelve feet
+deep at the spot, and though it was exposed at the sides, by rapid
+digging the men got some cover, though many dropped before they could
+make a shelter.  Here the survivors of the advance waited for some
+hours, spending some of the time in ransacking the enormous
+thirty-foot deep dug-outs which the Germans had excavated at certain
+points along the side of the road.  Into these the wounded were
+conveyed, and refreshed by the good things of life, from
+Seltzer-water to gold-tipped cigarettes, which were found within.
+
+{81}
+
+In the afternoon the General Officer Commanding had come up as far as
+the Sunken Road, and had examined the position for himself.  The 63rd
+Brigade was now well forward upon the right and the advance could be
+resumed.  It was pushed swiftly onwards and Crucifix Trench was
+occupied, nearly a mile from the British front line.  A lieutenant of
+the 9th Yorkshires, though wounded by shrapnel, seems to have been
+the first to lead a party into this advanced trench, but soon it was
+strongly occupied.  The pressing need was to consolidate it, for it
+was swept by gusts of fire from both flanks.  Another lieutenant of
+the Yorkshires, also a wounded man, took over the direction, and the
+men, with very little cover, worked splendidly to strengthen the
+position.  Their numbers were so reduced that a counter-attack would
+have been most serious, but the splendid support given by the
+artillery held the German infantry at a distance.  A few of the
+British tried to advance upon Shelter Wood, but the machine-guns were
+too active and they had to fall back or lie in shell-holes until
+after dark, only seventeen out of sixty getting back.
+
+A captain of the 10th Yorkshires took over the advanced command and
+sent back to the colonel of the Durhams, who had meantime been
+wounded at the Sunken Road, to ask for instructions.  The answer was
+to hold on and that help was at hand.  This help was in the form of
+the 62nd Reserve Brigade, the leading battalions of which, the 1st
+Lincolns and 10th Yorkshire Regiment, came swinging splendidly across
+the open and flung themselves into Crucifix Trench.  From that time
+the maintenance of the ground was assured.  The men of the 64th
+Brigade who had done so finely were {82} drawn back into the Sunken
+Road, having fully secured their objective.  One cannot but marvel
+here, as so often elsewhere, at the fine work done by young
+subalterns when the senior officers have been disabled.  A lieutenant
+of the 9th Yorkshire Light Infantry found himself in command of the
+whole battalion at the most critical moment of the engagement, and on
+leaving could only hand it over to a brother subaltern, who carried
+on with equal courage and ability.  The brigade was drawn back to the
+German first line, where it lay for forty-eight hours, and finally
+acted as reserve brigade to the successful advance undertaken by the
+62nd Brigade, by which Shelter Wood was captured on July 3.
+
+Such, in some detail, were the adventures of the 64th Brigade, which
+may be taken as parallel to those of the 63rd upon the right, who
+were faced by much the same obstacles, having the Sunken Road ahead
+and the Fricourt houses upon their right.  The 8th Somersets were on
+the left in touch with the 9th Yorkshire Light Infantry, and
+supported by the 8th Lincolns.  On the right were the 4th Middlesex
+and the 10th York and Lancasters.  They were able to get well up to
+Fricourt Farm upon the left of the village, but the ground was
+unfavourable and they never got as far forward as their comrades on
+the left.  Of the German resistance on this front, it can be said
+that it was worthy of the reputation which the Bavarians have won in
+the War.  The men were of splendid physique and full of courage.
+They fought their machine-guns to the last.  All was ready for a
+vigorous advance next morning.  The artillery of the Twenty-first
+Division, which has won a name {83} for exceptional efficiency, was
+up nearly level with the infantry at 10 P.M. that night, a road
+having been laid in that time from the original gun position to a
+point half a mile inside the German front line.
+
+On the immediate right of the 63rd Brigade, in front of Fricourt, was
+the 50th Brigade (Glasgow), to which was assigned the task of
+attacking the village while the Twenty-first Division got part of it
+upon the north.  The brigade advanced gallantly, the front line
+consisting of two fine Yorkshire battalions, the 10th West Yorks and
+the 7th East Yorks, with part of the 7th Yorkshires.  The attack
+reached and partly occupied the front trenches, but the fire and the
+losses were both very heavy, the 10th West Yorkshires being specially
+hard hit.  The survivors behaved with great gallantry, and some of
+them held on all day, though surrounded by enemies.  In the afternoon
+a second advance was made by Yorkshires and East Yorkshires, with 6th
+Dorsets in support, but again the losses were heavy and no solid
+foothold could be got in the village.  When dusk fell some of the
+troops who had held their own all day were able to get back to the
+British trenches bringing prisoners with them.  A notable example is
+that of a lieutenant of the West Yorks, who managed to stagger back
+with three wounds upon him and three Germans in front of him.  The
+51st Brigade was brought up in the evening to continue the assault,
+but with the morning of the 2nd it was found that the work had been
+done, and that the advance upon both flanks had caused the evacuation
+of the village.
+
+The line of trenches takes a very peculiar turn just south of
+Fricourt, which is shown in the diagram of the battle, so that the
+attack of the Seventh {84} Division, which was the next in the line,
+was from almost due south, whilst all the others had been from due
+west.  The project was that a holding attack to engage the defenders
+should be made upon Mametz, whilst the remaining divisions in the
+line, the Seventh of the Fifteenth Corps, with the Eighteenth and
+Thirtieth of the Thirteenth Corps, should advance upon the line
+Mametz-Montauban.  Their success would obviously make the position
+both of Fricourt and of Mametz impossible, the more so if the
+Twenty-first Division could maintain its position at the Sunken Road
+to the north of Fricourt.  This was the calculation, and it worked to
+perfection, so that both these villages fell eventually into our
+hands with a minimum loss of life to the assailants.  Every honour is
+due to the leaders who devised and to the soldiers who carried out
+the scheme, but it should at the same time be understood that in the
+case of these southern divisions, and also of the French Army of
+General Foch upon the right, they were attacking a portion of the
+line which was far less organised, and manned by very inferior troops
+to those in the north.  All this section of attack seems to have been
+a complete surprise to the Germans.
+
+The famous Seventh Division was now commanded by one of the three
+Brigadiers who had led it during its heroic days at Ypres.  Its
+units, however, had changed considerably, and the 91st Brigade had
+taken the place of the 21st.  This Brigade, consisting partly of
+Manchester battalions and partly of old units of the Seventh Division
+(2nd Queen's Surrey, 1st South Staffords, 21st and 22nd Manchesters),
+attacked upon the right, while the 20th Brigade advanced upon the
+left, having the 2nd Gordons and 9th {85} Devons in the van, with the
+8th Devons and 2nd Borders in support.  The front trenches were
+overrun without much difficulty.  The order of battle was the 22nd
+Manchesters upon the right with the 1st South Staffords in close
+support.  In the centre were the 2nd Gordons and upon their left the
+9th Devons.  The right got forward with comparatively small losses
+and overran the front German line.  The Gordons had their left
+company held up by uncut wire, but got forward none the less with
+considerable losses.  The 9th Devons were the most exposed and
+suffered very severely, but in spite of a casualty list which
+included half the officers and men, they never winced or wavered for
+an instant, showing what had been often shown before, that the spirit
+of old days still lives in the country of Drake and of Raleigh.  The
+survivors seized and held Tirpitz Trench.  The 2nd Borders had also
+seized Danube Support, and the whole front line was in British hands.
+
+The 91st Brigade were now closing in upon the right of Mametz village
+and had entered Danzig Alley, from which they were for a time driven
+by a brisk counter-attack.  The 1st South Staffords had won their way
+into the outskirts of Mametz, but the losses were heavy, and half of
+the 21st Manchesters came racing up to reinforce.  At one o'clock the
+Danzig Alley had again been occupied by the Manchesters.  Half the
+2nd Warwicks were sent up to reinforce the Gordons and the line of
+infantry dashed forward upon the village, 600 of the enemy throwing
+up their hands in front of them.  The 20th Manchesters also advanced,
+losing heavily by the fire from Fricourt, but pushing on as far as
+the Sunken Road on the extreme left of the advance.  There is a
+tangle of {86} trenches at this point, the chief of which is the
+Rectangle, but with the aid of the 1st Welsh Fusiliers they were all
+cleared and the flank of the Division made good, and consolidated,
+since it had advanced farther than the troops to the left.  In the
+morning however, when it was found that Fricourt had been evacuated,
+the whole division was able to get forward and by July 3 had occupied
+Bottom Wood, while the 2nd Royal Irish had actually penetrated Mametz
+Wood, taking 2 guns and 50 prisoners.  Some days later, Mametz Wood
+had become a different proposition, but the general orders at the
+time were that it should not be seriously attacked.
+
+Altogether in these Mametz operations the Seventh Division took 1500
+prisoners, seven field-guns, and much booty of different kinds.
+
+We have now recorded in succession the repulse of the Seventh Corps
+at Gommecourt, that of the Eighth Corps at Serre and Beaumont Hamel,
+and that of the Tenth Corps at Thiepval.  The record of heroic
+disaster was then alleviated by the partial success of the Third
+Corps at La Boiselle, the considerable success of the Fifteenth Corps
+at Mametz, and now by the complete success of the Thirteenth Corps at
+Montauban.  South of this point along the whole French line the
+victory was never in doubt.  These latter operations do not come
+within the direct scope of this narrative, though some short account
+must be given of them later, in order to co-ordinate the results of
+the two wings of the Allied Armies.
+
+The Thirteenth Corps was commanded by General Congreve, who, it will
+be remembered, gained his V.C. in the affair of the guns where young
+Roberts met his death at Colenso.  It consisted of the {87}
+Eighteenth, the Thirtieth, and the Ninth Divisions of the New Army.
+Of these the Eighteenth was on the left in touch with the victorious
+Seventh, the Thirtieth was on the right in touch with the French, and
+the Ninth, the Scottish Division which had done such great work at
+Loos, was in reserve.
+
+The Eighteenth Division, which had done no serious fighting before,
+established a remarkable record for good service during the whole
+course of the Somme battle, into which it was thrust again and again,
+never without leaving its mark.  It was entirely an English division.
+Some complex and successful trench-digging had been done on this part
+of the front.  Eight covered saps had been driven forward and reached
+a point within twenty yards of the German trenches without their
+knowledge.  Upon the advance being ordered the ends of these were
+opened up, machine-guns and flame-throwers were thrust through, and
+the saps behind were quickly unroofed and turned into communication
+trenches.  It was a variant of the device adopted in the Eighth
+Division, and was superior to it in that its success did not depend
+upon the actual capture of the trench.
+
+The front of the attack was about 2500 yards, and it was carried out
+by three brigades abreast, each covering about 700 yards.  Each
+brigade had two battalions in front, one in support and one in
+reserve.  Each was also allotted its own particular artillery apart
+from the general divisional artillery.  There are many good arguments
+for such a formation of divisional attack, as compared with the
+two-brigades-in-front and one-in-the-rear formation.  Upon this
+occasion, at any rate, it worked very smoothly.  The objectives were
+from the immediate {88} western end of Montauban upon the right,
+along Montauban Alley to a point east of Mametz where they should
+touch the right units of the Seventh Division.
+
+Of the three brigades the 55th was on the right, the 53rd in the
+centre, and the 54th on the left.  In accordance with the general
+scheme of description we will begin with the latter.
+
+The 54th Brigade had the 7th Bedford on the right, the 11th Royal
+Fusiliers on the left, the 6th Northants in support, and the 12th
+Middlesex in reserve.  As they rushed forward they faced a feeble
+barrage, but a heavy machine-gun fire.  It was found, however, here,
+and along the whole divisional front, that the German wire was
+utterly destroyed, thanks largely to the work of the trench mortars
+which had supplanted field-guns for this particular purpose.  The
+first trenches were taken without a pause, and parties remained
+behind to clear out the dug-outs.
+
+"Cowering in the trench," says one of the stormers, "clad in the pale
+grey uniforms we had longed for twelve months to see, unarmed and
+minus equipment, with fear written on their faces, were a few of
+those valiant warriors of the Kaiser whose prowess we were out to
+dispute.  Here let me say that the exact moment selected for our
+attack had taken the Huns by surprise.  This view was subsequently
+confirmed by prisoners, who said that they had expected us earlier in
+the day and had since stood down."  This idea of a surprise only
+refers of course to the front trench.  Soon the fighting grew very
+severe.
+
+The first serious check was in front of a strong {89} point called
+the Pommiers Redoubt.  The wire here had been invisible from long
+grass so that its presence was a surprise.  Again and again the
+machine-guns swept away the leading files of the attack.  The redoubt
+could be outflanked, however, and an officer of the Fusiliers brought
+his bombers round and eventually to the rear of it.  Snipers held him
+for a time, but they were rushed by an officer and a few men.  The
+Germans still held bravely to their point, but Bedfords and Fusiliers
+swarmed in upon them until their arms went down and their hands up.
+From this strong point bombing parties were sent down the
+communication trenches, the infantry following closely and occupying
+the new ground.
+
+The brigade was now in some danger from its own success, for it had
+outrun the 91st Brigade of the Seventh Division upon its left, and
+its own comrades of the 53rd Brigade upon its right.  The 6th
+Northants held the defensive flank on the left.  Later in the day the
+53rd came into line upon the right, and before dark the 54th was able
+to move on again with little resistance until it had reached its full
+objective at Montauban Alley.
+
+The 53rd Brigade was on the right of the 54th.  Its assaulting line
+was formed by the 8th Norfolk upon the right, and the 6th Berkshires
+upon the left, with the 10th Essex in support and the 8th Suffolk in
+reserve.  The first two lines were taken in their stride with little
+loss.  A strong point behind these lines held them up for a short
+time, but was rushed, and its garrison of the 109th Regiment was
+captured.  Further progress of the Norfolks was made difficult,
+however, by a flanking fire and by a second redoubt in front.  As in
+the case of the 53rd Brigade {90} it was found that the way round is
+often the shorter.  Two bombing parties under gallant subalterns
+worked up the trenches on the flank, while that murderous weapon, a
+Stokes gun, was brought up and opened fire.  The combined effect was
+decisive and 150 Germans threw down their arms.  Sixty more were
+taken in another redoubt to the left.
+
+Whilst the Norfolks had been fighting their way forward in this
+fashion the Berkshires upon their left, following very closely upon
+their own barrage, had attained their objective in twenty minutes,
+and had to hold it for some hours until the Norfolks had made good.
+During this time their right flank was necessarily exposed.  This
+flank was defended successfully by means of bombing parties and a
+Lewis gun, while the left company instead of resting lent a hand to
+their neighbours of the 54th Brigade in carrying Pommiers Redoubt.
+
+Meanwhile the Norfolks had come ahead again, but the advance of the
+Berkshires was held up by a small but determined band of bombers and
+snipers in a strong position.  A Stokes mortar drove back the
+bombers, but the snipers still held fast, and killed in succession
+Lieutenant Rushton and Lieutenant Saye who gallantly attacked them.
+A sergeant-major of the Berkshires was more fortunate, however, and
+killed the chief sniper whose automatic rifle had played the part of
+a machine-gun.  In doing so he was severely wounded himself.  The
+Essex had come up into the firing line, but progress was still slow
+until an invaluable Stokes mortar was again brought to bear and with
+its shower of heavy bombs blasted the strong point out of existence.
+When night fell the whole line of Montauban Alley had been
+successfully {91} won and the various units were in close touch and
+were busily organising their position.
+
+Great obstinacy was shown by the Germans in their defence, which was
+a gallant one, and might well have been successful against a less
+skilful attack.  Among other instances of their tenacity was one in
+which a sniper in a trench behind the stormers continued to fire from
+some subterranean retreat and defied all efforts to get at him, until
+it was found necessary to blow in the whole face of the dug-out and
+so to bury him within his own stronghold.
+
+The hardest fighting of any fell to the lot of the 55th Brigade upon
+the right.  The advance was made with the 8th East Surrey and 7th
+Queen's Surrey in front, the latter to the left.  The 7th Buffs were
+in support and the 7th West Kents in reserve.  No sooner had the
+troops come out from cover than they were met by a staggering fire
+which held them up in the Breslau Trench.  The supports had soon to
+be pushed up to thicken the ranks of the East Surrey--a battalion
+which, with the ineradicable sporting instinct and light-heartedness
+of the Londoner had dribbled footballs, one for each platoon, across
+No Man's Land and shot their goal in the front-line trench.  A crater
+had been formed by a mine explosion, forming a gap in the German
+front, and round this crater a fierce fight raged for some time, the
+Germans rushing down a side sap which brought them up to the fray.
+Into this side sap sprang an officer and a sergeant of the Buffs, and
+killed 12 of the Germans, cutting off their flow of reinforcements,
+while half a company of the same battalion cleared up the crater and
+captured a machine-gun which had fought to the last cartridge.  It is
+worth recording {92} that in the case of one of these machine-guns
+the gunner was actually found with a four-foot chain attaching him to
+the tripod.  Being badly wounded and unable to disengage himself, the
+wretched man had dragged himself, his wound, and his tripod for some
+distance before being captured by the British.  The fact was duly
+established by a sworn inquiry.
+
+The brigade was winning its way forward, but the hard resistance of
+the Germans had delayed it to such a point that there was a danger
+that it would not be in its place so as to cover the left flank of
+the 90th Brigade, who were due to attack Montauban at 10 A.M.  Such a
+failure might make the difference between victory and defeat.  At
+this critical moment the officer commanding the East Surreys dashed
+to the front, re-formed his own men with all whom he could collect
+and led them onwards.  Captain Neville was killed in gallantly
+leading the rush, but the wave went forward.  There was check after
+check, but the point had to be won, and the Suffolks of the 53rd
+Brigade were brought round to strengthen the attack, while the West
+Kents were pushed forward to the fighting line.  By mid-day two
+platoons of West Kents were into Montauban Alley, and had seized two
+houses at the western end of Montauban, which were rapidly fortified
+by a section of the 92nd Field Company.  The flank of the 90th was
+assured.  A South African officer led the first group of Surrey men
+who seized Montauban.  He is said during the action to have slain
+seventeen of the enemy.
+
+The rest of the brigade, however, had desperate work to get into line
+with the village.  The East Surreys and Buffs were coming along well,
+but the {93} Queen's Surreys had lost heavily and were held up by a
+strong point called Back Trench.  A major of the Queen's gathered his
+men together, called up a bombing party from the 8th Sussex, the
+pioneer battalion of the brigade, and then by a united front and
+flank attack carried the position.  One hundred and seventy Germans
+remained alive in the trench.  The infantry then surged forward to
+the line of the Mametz-Montauban Road, where they lay under
+machine-gun fire with their left in the air, for a considerable gap
+had developed between them and the 53rd Brigade.  The main line of
+Montauban Alley in front of them was still strongly held by the
+enemy.  Once again the Stokes guns saved what looked like a dangerous
+situation.  They blasted a hole in Montauban Alley, and through the
+hole rushed a furious storming party of the Queen's.  As evening
+fell, after that long day of fighting, the weary Eighteenth Division,
+splendid soldiers, splendidly led, held the whole line from Montauban
+to the junction with the Seventh Division near Mametz.  One does not
+know which to admire most--the able dispositions, the inflexible
+resolution of the troops, or the elastic adaptability which enabled
+the initiative of the officers upon the spot to use ever-varying
+means for getting over the successive difficulties.  The losses were
+very heavy, amounting to about 3000 officers and men, something under
+1000 being fatal.  Of the Germans 700 were captured, 1200 were buried
+after the action, and the total loss could not possibly have been
+less than those incurred by the British.  It should be added that a
+great deal of the success of the attack was due to the 82nd, 83rd,
+84th, and 85th Brigades, Royal Field Artillery, forming the
+divisional artillery, who earned the deepest {94} gratitude of the
+infantry, the highest reward to which the gunner can attain.  Some of
+the artillery of the Ninth Division was also engaged.
+
+A few words may be said of the immediate future of the Eighteenth
+Division before the narrative of July 1 is completed by a
+consideration of the work of the Thirtieth Division.  The ground
+captured included part of what may be called the Montauban Ridge, and
+the possession of this point proved to be of great service for
+observation in connection with the immediate operations at Bottom,
+Shelter, and Mametz Woods by the Fifteenth Corps.  The guns were at
+once advanced and patrols were thrown out in front which penetrated
+and eventually occupied Caterpillar Wood, a long winding plantation
+on the immediate front of the Division.  These various patrols picked
+up no less than twelve German field-guns abandoned by the enemy.  The
+front was held until July 8, when the Eighteenth was relieved by the
+Third Division.
+
+As to the fighting of the Germans upon this front, it was excellent
+as usual--but it is needful to accentuate it, as there is a tendency
+to depreciate the enemy at a point where he is beaten, which is an
+injustice to the victors.  The latter had no doubts about the matter.
+"There is one thing we have all learned and that is that the Hun is a
+jolly good soldier and engineer, so don't listen to any other
+nonsense.  If you get hand-to-hand with him he gives in at once, but
+he practically never lets you get so close.  As long as Fritz has a
+trench and a gun he will stick there till he is made crows' rations.
+We know we are just slightly better than he is, but there's nothing
+much in it--nothing to justify contempt or {95} liberties."  Such was
+the considered opinion of an experienced soldier.
+
+If the advance of the Eighteenth Division was successful, that of the
+Thirtieth upon its right was not less so.  This division had been
+raised originally from Liverpool and Manchester, the battalions being
+all of the King's Liverpool or of the Manchester Regiments.  The
+greater part of these battalions, which owe their origin largely to
+that great patriot, Lord Derby, were recruited on the "pal" system,
+by which friends in peace should be comrades in war.  So close was
+Lord Derby's connection with the division that his brother commanded
+one brigade, and three of his family served with the guns, one of
+them commanding an artillery unit.  This was the first appearance of
+this fine force in actual battle, and it can truly be said that no
+division could have been more fortunate or have given a better
+account of itself.  It may be explained that it had exchanged its
+91st Brigade for the 21st of the Seventh Division, and that several
+of the veteran battalions of the old Seventh now served with the
+Thirtieth.
+
+The objective of this division was the important village of Montauban
+deep within the enemy's line.  It seemed an ambitious mark in a war
+where every yard means an effort, but it was accomplished with
+surprising ease, for the advance was as determined as the defence was
+slack.  On the right opposite Maricourt the attack fell to the 89th
+Brigade, consisting of the 2nd Bedfords and the 17th, 19th, and 20th
+King's Liverpool battalions.  On their left was the 21st Brigade,
+while the 90th Brigade was in immediate support with orders to go
+through and seize the village {96} itself.  From the start the attack
+went like clockwork.  The artillery was admirable, the infantry
+inexorable, and the leading all that could be desired.  The
+ever-ready machine-guns put up a fierce defence, especially on the
+left flank, where the 18th King's Liverpools, led by their popular
+colonel, lost three-quarters of their effectives but carried their
+objective none the less.  The 2nd West Yorks behind them were also
+terribly scourged, but gained the line of the Glatz Redoubt all the
+same.  Here, as with the Eighteenth Division, there was every sign
+that the garrison of the front trenches had been surprised.  "The
+Germans gave us plenty of machine-gun fire while we were advancing
+upon them; when we reached the trench only a few showed fight.  The
+rest flung up their arms and cried: 'Mercy, Kamerad!'"  It was clear
+they had been taken by surprise, for many of them were barefooted,
+none of them had any equipment.  When there was no attack at 4 A.M.
+they were then told that they could lie down and have a rest, "as the
+British would not now come out till four in the afternoon."  It is
+abundantly clear that the famous German intelligence department was
+absolutely at fault in the southern sector of the great battle.
+
+Although the first three trenches were carried without a hitch, the
+garrison of the fourth had time to stand to arms, and were greatly
+assisted in their defence by a flank fire from the still untaken
+village of Mametz, and from machine-guns in the southern corner of
+Mametz Wood which lies to the north of Montauban.  The resistance
+caused considerable losses, including that of Colonel Johnson of the
+17th Manchesters, but the advance was irresistible, and {97} swept
+over every obstacle until they had reached their objective.  On the
+right, the Liverpool brigade, the 17th and 18th King's Liverpools in
+the lead, fought their way up to the brick-fields, which lie nearly
+level with Montauban, but to the south of it.  A company seized these
+and a good bunch of prisoners.  There it consolidated in close touch
+with the famous "iron corps" of the French army upon their right,
+while on the left the blue and yellow advance-flags of the Thirtieth
+formed a continuous line with the red and yellow of the Eighteenth
+Division.  On the left of the Liverpools the Manchesters with the
+Scots Fusiliers of the 90th Brigade had stormed their way into
+Montauban, the first of that long list of village fortresses which
+were destined in the succeeding months to fall into the hands of the
+British.  It was carried with a rush in spite of the determined
+resistance of small groups of Germans in various houses, which had
+already been greatly mauled by our artillery.  The British fought
+their way from room to room, drove their enemies down into the
+cellars, and hurled bombs on to them from above.  The German losses
+were heavy, and several hundreds of prisoners were sent to the rear.
+By the early afternoon the whole village was in the hands of the 90th
+Brigade, who had also occupied Montauban Alley, the trench 200 yards
+upon the farther side of it, whence by their rifle-fire they crushed
+several attempts at counter-attack.  These were feeble during the
+day, but a very heavy one came during the night, aided by a powerful
+shrapnel fire.  The Germans, advancing in the closest order, for a
+time won a lodgment in the new British front trench, killing a party
+of the 17th Manchesters, but {98} they were unable to hold it, and
+with daylight they were ejected once more.  The reader who is weary
+of hearing of British losses will be interested to know, on the
+authority of Colonel Bedell of the 16th Bavarians, that out of a
+garrison of 3500 men from the 6th Bavarian Reserve Regiments only 500
+escaped from the Montauban front.  All these operations were carried
+out in close touch with the French upon the right, so close indeed
+that the colonel of the 17th King's Liverpools, seeing that the
+French colonel of the flank battalion was advancing beside his men,
+sprang out and joined him, so that the two colonels shook hands in
+the captured position.
+
+Some stress has in this narrative been laid upon the fact that the
+difficulties to be overcome in the south were less than those in the
+north.  Such an assertion is only fair to the gallant men who failed.
+At the same time nothing should detract from the credit due to those
+splendid southerly divisions who really won the battle and made the
+hole through which the whole army eventually passed.
+
+Though the French operations do not primarily come within the scope
+of this record, it is necessary to give some superficial account of
+them, since they form an integral and essential part of the battle.
+So important were they, and so successful, that it is not too much to
+say that it was the complete victory upon their line which atoned for
+our own want of success in the north, and assured that the balance of
+this most bloody day should be in our favour.  It is true, as they
+would be the first to admit, that the troops of General Foch had none
+of those impassable barrages, concentrations of machine-guns, and
+desperately defended inner lines of trenches which {99} inflicted
+such losses upon our stormers.  Both the positions and the men who
+held them were less formidable.  On the other hand, it is for us to
+bear in mind that the French had already made their great effort in
+the common cause at Verdun, and that this attack upon the West was
+primarily a British offensive in which they were playing a subsidiary
+part.  It is the more remarkable that their success should have been
+so great and that they should have been able for months to come to
+play so notable a part in the battle that the tale of their prisoners
+and booty was not less than our own.
+
+The attack of the British was roughly upon a twenty-mile front, from
+the Gommecourt salient to Maricourt.  On this stretch they broke the
+German lines for 7 miles from the north of Fricourt to Montauban.
+The French front was about 8 miles long, and moved forward for its
+whole extent.  Thus it may be said that the whole battle line was 28
+miles, and that more than one-half, or 15 miles, represented the area
+of victory.  During the whole operations for many months the French
+army was cut in two by the marshy valley of the Somme, the detachment
+to the north of it acting in close unison with the British Thirteenth
+Corps upon their left.  We will call these the northern and the
+southern French armies, both being under the direction of General
+Foch.
+
+It may briefly be stated that the advance of the French army was
+carried out with great dash and valour on both banks of the river.
+After carrying several lines of trenches at very little loss to
+themselves, the northern army found itself, on the evening of July 1,
+holding the outskirts of the villages of {100} Curlu and of
+Hardecourt.  On July 2 Curlu was entirely occupied, and shortly
+afterwards Hardecourt also fell.  The southern army, which consisted
+of the fiery Colonial Division upon the left and the Twentieth upon
+the right, under the immediate leadership of General Fayolle, had
+even greater success.  Not only all the lines of trenches but the
+villages of Dompierre, Becquincourt, Bussu, and Fay were stormed upon
+July 1.  On the 2nd Frise and the Moreaucourt Wood had also been
+taken, and several counter-attacks repelled.  On that evening the
+French were able to report that they had taken 6000 prisoners, while
+the British operations had yielded 3500--or 9500 in all.
+
+When the sun set upon that bloody day--probably the most stirring of
+any single day in the whole record of the world--the higher command
+of the Allies must have looked upon the result with a strange mixture
+of feelings, in which dismay at the losses in the north and pride at
+the successes in the south contended for the mastery.  The united
+losses of all the combatants, British, French, and Germans, must have
+been well over 100,000 between the rising and the setting of one
+summer sun.  It is a rout which usually swells the casualties of a
+stricken army, but here there was no question of such a thing, and
+these huge losses were incurred in actual battle.  As the attackers
+our own casualties were undoubtedly heavier than those of the enemy,
+and it is natural that as we turn from that list we ask ourselves the
+question whether our gains were worth it.  Such a question might be
+an open one at Neuve Chapelle or at Loos, but here the answer must be
+a thousand times Yes.  Together we had done the greatest day's {101}
+work in the War up to that time--a day's work which led to many
+developments in the future, and eventually to a general German
+retreat over 70 miles of front.  It was not a line of trenches which
+we broke, it was in truth the fortified frontier of Germany built up
+by a year and a half of unremitting labour.  By breaking it at one
+point we had outflanked it from the Somme to the sea, and however
+slow the process might be of getting room for our forces to deploy,
+and pushing the Germans off our flank, it was certain that sooner or
+later that line must be rolled up from end to end.  It was hoped,
+too, that under our gunfire no other frontier of similar strength
+could grow up in front of us.  That was the great new departure which
+may be dated from July 1, and is an ample recompense for our losses.
+These young lives were gladly laid down as a price for final
+victory--and history may show that it was really on those Picardy
+slopes that final victory was in truth ensured.  Even as the day of
+Gettysburg was the turning-point of the American Civil War, and as
+that of Paardeberg was the real death-blow to the Boers, so the
+breaking of the line between Fricourt and Frise may well prove to
+have been the decisive victory in the terrible conflict which the
+swollen dreams of Prussia had brought upon the world.
+
+When one considers the enormous scale of the action, the desperate
+valour of the troops engaged, and the fact that the German line was
+fairly and permanently broken for the first time, one feels that this
+date should be for ever marked in British military annals as the
+glorious First of July.
+
+
+
+
+{102}
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+From July 2 to July 14, 1916
+
+General situation--Capture of La Boiselle by Nineteenth
+Division--Splendid attack by 36th Brigade upon Ovillers--Siege and
+reduction of Ovillers--Operations at Contalmaison--Desperate fighting
+at the Quadrangle by Seventeenth Division--Capture of Mametz Wood by
+Thirty-eighth Welsh Division--Capture of Trones Wood by Eighteenth
+Division.
+
+
+The terrible fighting just described, during which the German line
+was broken at its southern end, was but the opening of a most
+desperate battle, which extended over many months.  This, while it
+cost very heavy losses to both sides, exacted such a toll from the
+Germans in prisoners and lost material, as well as in casualties,
+that it is probable that their army would have been largely
+disorganised had not the wet weather of October come to hamper the
+operations.  As it was, the letters of the soldiers and the
+intercepted messages of the Generals show an amount of demoralisation
+which proves the mighty pressure applied by the allied armies.  It
+was a battle which was seldom general throughout the curve into which
+the attackers had encroached, but which confined itself to this or
+that limited objective--to the north, to the east, {103} or to the
+south, the blow falling the more suddenly, since during the whole of
+this time the Allies preserved the command of the air to an extent
+which actually enabled them to push their guns forward across the
+open.  Sometimes it was a fortified village which was carried.
+Sometimes it was the trenches between villages, so that the garrisons
+might feel in danger of being cut off.  Sometimes--the worst obstacle
+of all--it was one of the patches of wood dotted over the
+countryside, which had to be cleared of the enemy's stubborn infantry
+and machine-gunners.  But whatever the task might be, it may be
+stated generally that it was always carried out, if not at the first,
+then at the second, third, or some subsequent attempt.  It may also
+be said that never once during all that time did a yard of ground
+which had been taken by the Allies pass permanently back to the
+enemy.  Before the winter had fallen more than forty villages had
+been carried and held by the attack--but not one by the
+counter-attack.  The losses were heavy, sometimes very heavy, but so
+perfect now was the co-ordination between infantry and guns, and so
+masterful the allied artillery, that it is highly probable that at
+last the defence was losing as many as the attack.  Those deep
+ravines which had enabled the Germans to escape the effects of the
+early bombardments no longer existed in the new lines, and the
+superficial ditches which now formed the successive lines of defence
+offered little protection from a fire directed by a most efficient
+air service.  On the other hand, since the German air service had
+been beaten out of the sky, the sight of the German gunners was dim,
+and became entirely blind when by their successive advances the
+Allies had pushed them over the {104} low ridges which formed their
+rearward positions.  The map, however skilfully used, is a poor
+substitute for the observation officer and the aeroplane.
+
+Standing on the edge of this welter, and gazing at this long haze
+into which vigorous divisions continually plunge, relieving exhausted
+units, only to stagger out in their turn, rent and torn, while yet
+others press to the front, one feels appalled at the difficulty of
+following such complex operations and of conveying them clearly and
+in their due order to the mind of the reader.  Some fixed system must
+evidently be followed if the narrative is to remain intelligible and
+the relation of the various actions to each other to be made evident.
+Therefore the course of events will still, so far as possible, be
+traced from the north, and each incident be brought to some sort of
+natural pause before we pass onwards down the line.  We can at once
+eliminate the whole northern portion of the British line from the
+Gommecourt salient down to Albert, since for that long stretch attack
+had changed definitely to defence, and we start our narrative from
+the south of the Albert-Bapaume road.  From that point four villages
+immediately faced the old British line, and each was now a centre of
+fighting.  From the north they were La Boiselle, Fricourt, Mametz,
+and Montauban.  The latter had been held against a strong
+counter-attack on the early morning of July 2, and it was firmly in
+the possession of the Thirtieth Division.  Mametz was held by the
+Seventh Division, who were pushing on to the north, driving a weak
+resistance before them.  Fricourt had been deserted by the morning of
+July 2, and had been occupied by the Seventeenth Division, who also
+at once pushed on towards the woodlands {105} behind.  La Boiselle
+was closely assailed with part of the Thirty-fourth Division to the
+south of it, and the Twelfth and Nineteenth Divisions with other
+troops all round it.  These four villages and the gaps between them
+represented the break in the German front line.
+
+The second German main line ran through the Bazentins and Longueval,
+and it was reached and carried by the British Army upon July 14.  The
+intervening fortnight between the battle of the front and of the
+second line was occupied in clearing the many obstacles, consisting
+for the most part of woods and subsidiary trenches which filled the
+space between the two lines, and also in attacking the two villages
+of Ovillers and Contalmaison, which hampered operations upon the left
+wing.  It will help the reader very much to understand these
+apparently complex movements if he will realise that they divide
+themselves into three distinct groups of activity, counting from the
+north of the line.  The first group is concerned with the capture of
+Ovillers, and in it the Twelfth, Nineteenth, Thirty-second, and
+Twenty-fifth Divisions are concerned.  The second group is connected
+with the capture of the strong position which is bastioned by
+Contalmaison upon one side and Mametz Wood at the other, with the
+Quadrangle system of trenches between.  In this very severe conflict
+the Twenty-third, Seventeenth, Seventh, and Thirty-eighth Divisions
+were engaged.  Finally there is the group of operations by which the
+right wing was advanced through Bernafoy Wood and up to Trones Wood.
+In these, the Ninth, Thirtieth, and Eighteenth Divisions were chiefly
+concerned.  We shall now take each of these in turn, beginning with
+the {106} northern one, the taking of Ovillers, and carrying each
+narrative to a definite term.  Before embarking upon this account it
+should be mentioned that the two northern corps of Rawlinson's
+army--the Eighth and Tenth--were from now onwards detached as a
+separate Fifth Army under Sir Hubert Gough, one of the most rising
+commanders in the Service.  The functions of this Army were to hold
+the line from La Boiselle to Serre, and to form a defensive flank and
+pivot for the Third, Fifteenth, and Thirteenth Corps to the south.
+
+We shall first follow the further fortunes of the troops which
+operated in the north.  Upon July 3 there was a short but severe
+action upon that part of the old British line immediately to the left
+of the gap which had been broken.  In this action, which began at 6
+A.M., the Thirty-second Division, already greatly weakened by its
+exertions two days before, together with the 75th Brigade, lent them
+by the Twenty-fifth Division, tried to widen the rent in the German
+line by tearing open that portion of it which had been so fatal to
+the Eighth Division.  The attack failed, however, though most bravely
+delivered, and the difficulties proved once more to be
+unsurmountable.  The attempt cost us heavy casualties, a considerable
+proportion of which fell upon the 75th Brigade, especially upon the
+11th Cheshires, whose colonel was killed, and upon the 2nd South
+Lancashires, who ran into wire and were held up there.  The 8th
+Borders reached their objective, but after one-and-a-half hours were
+forced to let go of it.  The operation proved that whatever
+misfortunes had befallen the Germans to the south, they were still
+rooted as firmly as ever {107} in their old positions.  The same
+lesson was to be taught us on the same morning at an adjacent portion
+of the line.
+
+This episode was at the immediate south of the unsuccessful attack
+just described.  It has already been stated that the Twelfth, the
+English division which had seen so much hard fighting at Loos, had
+taken over part of the trenches of the Eighth Division, and so found
+themselves facing Ovillers.  Their chances of a successful advance
+upon the village were increased by the fact that the Nineteenth
+Division, after hard fighting, had got into La Boiselle to the south,
+and so occupied a flank to their advance.
+
+Some further definition is required as to the situation at La
+Boiselle, how it was brought about, and its extreme importance to the
+general plan of operations.  When the left of the Thirty-fourth
+Division had failed to hold the village, while some mixed units of
+the right brigade had established themselves within the German lines
+as already narrated, it became very vital to help them by a renewed
+attempt upon the village itself.  For this purpose the Nineteenth
+Division had moved forward, a unit which had not yet been seriously
+engaged.  It was under the command of a fighting Irish dragoon, whose
+whimsical expedient for moving forwards the stragglers at St. Quentin
+has been recorded in a previous volume.  On the evening of July 1,
+one battalion of this division, the 9th Cheshires, had got into the
+German front line trench near the village, but they were isolated
+there and hard put to it to hold their own during a long and
+desperate night.  On the following afternoon, about 4 o'clock, two of
+their fellow-battalions of the 58th Brigade, the 9th {108} Royal
+Welsh Fusiliers and the 6th Wilts, charged suddenly straight across
+the open at the village, while by a clever device the British barrage
+was turned elsewhere with the effect of misleading the German barrage
+which played upon the wrong area.  By 9 P.M. on July 2 the south end
+of the village had been captured, but the resistance was still very
+fierce.  Early next morning the whole of the division was drawn into
+this street fighting, and gradually the Germans were pushed back.
+There was one desperate counter-attack during which the British line
+was hard put to it to hold its own, and the house-to-house fighting
+continued throughout the whole day and night.  Two British colonels,
+one of the 7th South Lancashires and the other of the 8th
+Gloucesters, particularly distinguished themselves in this close
+fighting.  The latter, a dragoon like his commander, was a hard
+soldier who had left an eye in Somaliland and a hand at Ypres, but
+the sight of him in this day of battle, tearing out the safety-pin of
+bombs with his teeth and hurling them with his remaining hand, was
+one which gave heart to his men.  Slowly the Germans were worn down,
+but the fighting was fierce and the British losses heavy, including
+three commanding officers, Wedgwood of the North Staffords, Royston
+Piggott of the 10th Worcesters, and Heath of the 10th Warwicks, the
+first two killed, the latter wounded.  In the midst of the infantry
+fighting a single gun of the 19th Battery galloped with extraordinary
+gallantry right into the village and engaged the enemy point-blank
+with splendid effect.  For this fine performance Captain Campbell and
+ten men of the gun's crew received decorations.  By the evening of
+the 6th the whole {109} village was solidly consolidated by the
+Nineteenth Division, they had broken up a strong counter-attack from
+the direction of Pozières, and they had extended their conquest so as
+to include the redoubt called Heligoland.  We must turn, however, to
+the attack which had in the meanwhile been prepared upon the line to
+the immediate north of La Boiselle by the Twelfth Division.
+
+This attack was carried out at three in the morning of July 7 by the
+35th and the 37th Brigades.  The fighting line from the right
+consisted of the 5th Berks, 7th Suffolks, 6th Queen's Surrey, and 6th
+West Kent, with the other battalions in close support.  Unhappily,
+there was a group of machine-guns in some broken ground to the north
+of La Boiselle, which had not yet been reached by the Nineteenth
+Division, and the fire of these guns was so deadly that the
+battalions who got across were too weak to withstand a counter-attack
+of German bombers.  They were compelled, after a hard struggle, to
+fall back to the British line.  One curious benefit arose in an
+unexpected way from the operation, for part of the 9th Essex, losing
+its way in the dark, stumbled upon the rear of the German defenders
+of the northern edge of La Boiselle, by which happy chance they took
+200 prisoners, helped the Nineteenth in their task, and participated
+in a victory instead of a check.
+
+It was evident that before the assault was renewed some dispositions
+should be made to silence the guns which made the passage perilous.
+With this in view, another brigade, the 74th from the Twenty-fifth
+Division, was allotted to the commander of the Twelfth Division, by
+whom it was placed between his {110} own position and that held by
+the Nineteenth at La Boiselle.  It was arranged that these fresh
+troops should attack at eight o'clock in the morning of July 7,
+approaching Ovillers from the south, and overrunning the noxious
+machine-guns, while at 8.30 the 36th Brigade, hitherto in reserve,
+should advance upon Ovillers from the west.  By this difference of
+half an hour in the attack it was hoped that the 74th would have got
+the guns before the 36th had started.
+
+After an hour's bombardment the signal was given and the 74th Brigade
+came away with a rush, headed by the 13th Cheshires and 9th North
+Lancashires, with the 2nd Irish Rifles and 11th Lancashire Fusiliers
+in support.  The advance found the Germans both in front and on
+either flank of them, but in spite of a withering fire they pushed on
+for their mark.  Nearly every officer of the 13th Cheshires from
+Colonel Finch down to Somerset, the junior subaltern, was hit.
+Half-way between La Boiselle and Ovillers the attack was brought to a
+halt, and the men found such cover as they could among the
+shell-holes.  Their supporting lines had come up, but beyond some
+bombing parties there was no further advance during the day.  Fifty
+yards away the untaken machine-gun emplacements lay in front of them,
+while Ovillers itself was about 500 yards distant upon their left
+front.
+
+In the meantime, after waiting half an hour, the 36th Brigade had
+advanced.  The machine-guns were, however, still active on either
+flank of them, and on their immediate front lay the rubbish-heap
+which had once been a village, a mass of ruins now.  But amid those
+ruins lay the Fusiliers {111} of the Prussian Guard--reputed to be
+among the best soldiers in Europe, and every chink was an embrasure
+for rifle or machine-gun.
+
+The advance was one which may have been matched in the glorious
+annals of the British infantry, but can never have been excelled.
+The front line consisted of the 8th and 9th Royal Fusiliers, one upon
+each wing, the 7th Sussex in the centre, and the 11th Middlesex in
+support--south-country battalions all.  They had lain waiting for the
+signal in trenches which were beaten to pieces by a terrific German
+shelling.  There were considerable casualties before the first man
+sprang from fire step to parapet.  As they crossed No Man's Land
+bullets beat upon them from every side.  The advance was rendered
+more frightful by the heavy weather, which held down the fumes of the
+poison shells, so that the craters in which men took refuge were
+often found to be traps from which they never again emerged.  Many of
+the wounded met their death in this terrible fashion.  Still the thin
+lines went forward, for nothing would stop them save death or the
+voice of their company officers.  They were up and over the first
+German line.  A blast of fire staggered them for a moment, and then
+with a splendid rally they were into the second trench, and had
+seized the line of hedges and walls which skirt the western edge of
+the village.  Five hundred men were left out of those who had sprung
+from the British trench; but the 500 still went forward.  The two
+Fusilier battalions had hardly the strength of a company between
+them, and the leaders were all down--but every man was a leader that
+day.  Their spirit was invincible.  An officer has recorded how a
+desperately wounded man {112} called out, "Are the trenches taken,
+sir?"  On hearing that they were, he fell back and cried, "Thank God!
+for nothing else matters."  In the centre the Sussex men still
+numbered nearly 300, and their colonel aided and directed while they
+consolidated the ground.  One hundred and fifty were hit as they did
+so, but the handful who were left defied every effort of shell, bomb,
+or bayonet to put them out.  A lodgment had been made, and nothing
+now could save the village.  By a wise provision, seeing that no
+supplies could reach them, every man had been loaded up with twenty
+bombs, and had been instructed to use every captured German bomb or
+cartridge before any of his own.  As dusk fell, two companies of the
+supporting Middlesex battalion were sent up, under heavy fire, to
+thicken the line, which was further strengthened next day by two
+battalions from the 37th Brigade, while the 75th Brigade prolonged it
+to the south.  In the morning of July 9 the Twelfth Division, sorely
+stricken but triumphant, was drawn from the line, leaving the
+northern half of the Ovillers front to the Thirty-second Division and
+the southern half to the Twenty-fifth, the scattered brigades of
+which were now reunited under one general.
+
+That commander had found himself during these operations in a
+difficult position, as the 74th Brigade had been moved from him and
+allotted to the Twelfth Division, and the Seventy-fifth by the
+Thirty-second Division.  None the less, he had carried on vigorously
+with his remaining Brigade--the 7th, and had enlarged and
+strengthened the British position in the Leipzig salient.  During
+July 5 and 6 the 1st Wilts and the 3rd Worcesters had both broadened
+and {113} extended their fronts by means of surprise attacks very
+well carried out.  On the 7th they pushed forward, as part of the
+general scheme of extension upon that day, advancing with such dash
+and determination that they got ahead of the German barrage and
+secured a valuable trench.
+
+When upon Sunday, July 9, the Thirty-second Division had entirely
+taken over from the Twelfth on the west of Ovillers, the 14th Brigade
+were in the post of honour on the edge of the village.  The 2nd
+Manchesters on the left and the 15th Highland Light Infantry on the
+right, formed the advanced line with the 1st Dorsets in support,
+while the 19th Lancashire Fusiliers were chiefly occupied in the
+necessary and dangerous work of carrying forward munitions and
+supplies.  Meanwhile, the pioneer battalion, the 17th Northumberland
+Fusiliers, worked hard to join up the old front trench with the new
+trenches round Ovillers.  It should be mentioned, as an example of
+the spirit animating the British Army, that Colonel Pears of this
+battalion had been invalided home for cancer, that he managed to
+return to his men for this battle, and that shortly afterwards he
+died of the disease.
+
+On July 10 at noon the 14th Brigade advanced upon Ovillers from the
+west, carrying on the task which had been so well begun by the 36th
+Brigade.  The assailants could change their ranks, but this advantage
+was denied to the defenders, for a persistent day and night barrage
+cut them off from their companions in the north.  None the less,
+there was no perceptible weakening of the defence, and the Prussian
+Guard lived up to their own high traditions.  A number of them had
+already been captured in the {114} trenches, mature soldiers of
+exceptional physique.  Their fire was as murderous as ever, and the
+2nd Manchesters on the north or left of the line suffered severely.
+The 15th Highlanders were more fortunate and made good progress.  The
+situation had been improved by an advance at 9 P.M. upon this date,
+July 10, by the 2nd Inniskilling Fusiliers from the Sixth Division,
+higher up the line, who made a lodgment north-west of Ovillers, which
+enabled a Russian sap to be opened up from the British front line.
+The Inniskillings lost 150 men out of two companies engaged, but they
+created a new and promising line of attack.
+
+The British were now well into the village, both on the south and on
+the west, but the fighting was closer and more sanguinary than ever.
+Bombardments alternated with attacks, during which the British won
+the outlying ruins, and fought on from one stone heap to another, or
+down into the cellars below, where the desperate German Guardsmen
+fought to the last until overwhelmed with bombs from above, or
+stabbed by the bayonets of the furious stormers.  The depleted 74th
+Brigade of the Twenty-fifth Division had been brought back to its
+work upon July 10, and on the 12th the 14th Brigade was relieved by
+the 96th of the same Thirty-second Division.  On the night of July 12
+fresh ground was gained by a surge forward of the 2nd South
+Lancashires of the 75th Brigade, and of the 19th Lancashire
+Fusiliers, these two battalions pushing the British line almost up to
+Ovillers Church.  Again, on the night of the 13th the 3rd Worcesters
+and 8th Borders made advances, the latter capturing a strong point
+which blocked the way to further progress.  On {115} the 14th,
+however, the 10th Cheshires had a set-back, losing a number of men.
+Again, on the night of July 14 the 1st Dorsets cut still further into
+the limited area into which the German resistance had been
+compressed.  On the night of the 15th the Thirty-second Division was
+drawn out, after a fortnight of incessant loss, and was replaced by
+the Forty-eighth Division of South Midland Territorials, the 143rd
+Brigade consisting entirely of Warwick battalions, being placed under
+the orders of the General of the Twenty-fifth Division.  The village,
+a splintered rubbish-heap, with the church raising a stumpy wall, a
+few feet high, in the middle of it, was now very closely pressed upon
+all sides.  The German cellars and dug-outs were still inhabited,
+however, and within them the Guardsmen were as dangerous as wolves at
+bay.  On the night of July 15-16 a final attack was arranged.  It was
+to be carried through by the 74th, 75th, and 143rd Brigades, and was
+timed for 1 A.M.  For a moment it threatened disaster, as the 5th
+Warwicks got forward into such a position that they were cut off from
+supplies, but a strong effort was made by their comrades, who closed
+in all day until 6 P.M., when the remains of the garrison
+surrendered.  Two German officers and 125 men were all who remained
+unhurt in this desperate business; and it is on record that one of
+the officers expended his last bomb by hurling it at his own men on
+seeing that they had surrendered.  Eight machine-guns were taken.  It
+is said that the British soldiers saluted the haggard and grimy
+survivors as they were led out among the ruins.  It was certainly a
+very fine defence.  After the capture of the village, the northern
+and eastern outskirts were cleared by the men of the {116}
+Forty-eighth Territorial Division, which was partly accomplished by a
+night attack of the 4th Gloucesters.  From now onwards till July 29
+this Division was engaged in very arduous work, pushing north and
+east, and covering the flank of the Australians in their advance upon
+Pozières.
+
+So much for the first group of operations in the intermediate German
+position.  We shall now pass to the second, which is concerned with
+the strong fortified line formed by the Quadrangle system of trenches
+between Contalmaison upon our left and Mametz Wood upon our right.
+
+It has been mentioned under the operations of the Twenty-first
+Division in the last chapter that the 51st Brigade passed through the
+deserted village of Fricourt upon the morning of July 2, taking about
+100 prisoners.
+
+On debouching at the eastern end they swung to the right, the 7th
+Lincolns attacking Fricourt Wood, and the 8th South Staffords,
+Fricourt Farm.  The wood proved to be a tangle of smashed trees,
+which was hardly penetrable, and a heavy fire stopped the Lincolns.
+The colonel, however, surmounted the difficulty by detaching an
+officer and a party of men to outflank the wood, which had the effect
+of driving out the Germans.  The South Staffords were also successful
+in storming the farm, but could not for the moment get farther.
+Several hundreds of prisoners from the 111th Regiment and three guns
+were captured during this advance, but the men were very exhausted at
+the end of it, having been three nights without rest.  Early next day
+(July 3) the advance was resumed, the 51st Brigade still to the fore,
+working in co-operation with the 62nd {117} Brigade of the
+Twenty-first Division upon their left.  By hard fighting, the
+Staffords, Lincolns, and Sherwoods pushed their way into Railway
+Alley and Railway Copse, while the 7th Borders established themselves
+in Bottom Wood.  The operations came to a climax when in the
+afternoon a battalion of the 186th Prussian Regiment, nearly 600
+strong, was caught between the two Brigades in Crucifix Trench and
+had to surrender; altogether the 51st Brigade had done a very
+strenuous and successful spell of duty.  The ground gained was
+consolidated by the 77th Field Company, Royal Engineers.
+
+The 62nd Brigade of the Twenty-first Division, supported by the 63rd,
+had moved parallel to the 51st Brigade, the 1st Lincolns, 10th
+Yorkshires, and two battalions of Northumberland Fusiliers advancing
+upon Shelter Wood and carrying it by storm.  It was a fine bit of
+woodland fighting, and the first intimation to the Germans that their
+fortified forests would no more stop British infantry than their
+village strongholds could do.  The enemy, both here and in front of
+the Seventeenth Division, were of very different stuff from the
+veterans of Ovillers, and surrendered in groups as soon as their
+machine-guns had failed to stop the disciplined rush of their
+assailants.  After this advance, the Twenty-first Division was drawn
+out of line for a rest, and the Seventeenth extending to the left was
+in touch with the regular 24th Brigade, forming the right of
+Babington's Twenty-third Division, who were closing in upon
+Contalmaison.  On the right the 17th were in touch with the 22nd
+Brigade of the Seventh Division, which was pushing up towards the
+dark and sinister clumps {118} of woodland which barred their way.
+On the night of July 5 an advance was made, the Seventh Division upon
+Mametz Wood, and the Seventeenth upon the of the Quadrangle Trench,
+connecting the wood with Contalmaison.  The attack upon the wood
+itself had no success, though the 1st Royal Welsh Fusiliers reached
+their objective, but the 52nd Brigade was entirely successful at
+Quadrangle Trench, where two battalions--the 9th Northumberland
+Fusiliers and 10th Lancashire Fusiliers--crept up within a hundred
+yards unobserved and then carried the whole position with a splendid
+rush.  It was at once consolidated.  The Twenty-third Division had
+advanced upon the left and were close to Contalmaison.  On the night
+of July 5 the Seventh Division was drawn out and the Thirty-eighth
+Welsh Division took over the line which faced Mametz Wood.
+
+The Seventeenth Division, after its capture of the Quadrangle Trench,
+was faced by a second very dangerous and difficult line called the
+Quadrangle Support, the relative position of which is shown upon the
+diagram on the next page.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+{119}
+
+[Illustration: QUADRANGLE POSITION, July 5-11, 1916.]
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+It is clear that if either Mametz Wood or Contalmaison were to fall,
+this trench would become untenable for the Germans, but until those
+two bastions, or at least one of them, was in our hands, there was
+such a smashing fire beating down upon an open advance of 600 yards,
+that no harder task could possibly be given to a Division.  The
+trench was slightly over the brow of a slope, so that when the guns
+played upon it the garrison were able to slip quickly away and take
+refuge in Mametz Wood, coming back again in time to meet an assault
+which they were well aware could only be delivered by {120} troops
+which had passed through an ordeal of fire which must shake and
+weaken them.
+
+It seemed that the best chance to bring a striking force up to the
+trench was to make the attempt at night, so at 2 A.M. of July 7 the
+9th Northumberland Fusiliers and 10th Lancashire Fusiliers, the same
+battalions which had already taken Quadrangle Trench, advanced
+through the darkness of an inclement night upon their objective.  The
+enemy proved, however, to be in great force, and their trench was
+stuffed with men who were themselves contemplating an attack.  A
+party of Lancashire Fusiliers got into Pearl Alley, which is on the
+left near Contalmaison, but the village stands on a slight eminence,
+and from it the trench and the approaches can be swept by fire.  The
+British attack was driven back with loss, and was followed up by the
+9th Grenadiers of the Prussian Guard, who were in turn driven back by
+the left of the British line, consisting of the 10th Lancashire
+Fusiliers and some of the 1st Worcesters.  In the morning another
+attempt was made upon Quadrangle Support, this time by the 9th West
+Ridings and the 12th Manchesters.  Small parties got up to Acid Drop
+Copse, close to Contalmaison, but they were too weak to hold on.  At
+the end of this attack the 52nd Brigade, which had been so badly
+mauled, was drawn out and the 51st put back in its place.
+
+This severe fighting at the Quadrangle was part of a wider action,
+which was to include an attack by the Twenty-third Division upon
+Contalmaison and an attack by the Thirty-eighth upon Mametz Wood.
+The Contalmaison attack won its way into the north-west side of the
+village at 11 o'clock on the morning {121} of July 7, but by 12
+o'clock it had been held and eventually repulsed.  By 4.30 the 24th
+Brigade of the Twenty-third Division, which was on the immediate left
+of the Seventeenth Division, had been driven back to its trenches,
+the 1st Worcesters, 2nd East Lancashires, and 2nd Northamptons
+suffering heavily.
+
+Whilst the Contalmaison attack had failed upon the left, that upon
+Mametz Wood had no better success upon the right.  It was to have
+been carried out by the Thirty-eighth Welsh Division, but in its
+approach such opposition was encountered to the wood that the 16th
+Welsh (City of Cardiff) and 10th South Wales Borderers could not get
+forward.  Meanwhile, the 50th Brigade from the Seventeenth Division
+had been told off to co-operate with this attack, and naturally found
+themselves with their right flank in the air, the 7th East Yorks
+suffering severely in consequence.  None the less, some advance was
+made upon this side.
+
+In the night of July 7 a third attack was made upon Quadrangle
+Support, with no better result than the others.  On this occasion the
+51st Brigade had relieved the 52nd, and it was the 10th Sherwood
+Foresters which endured the heavy losses, and persevered until they
+were within bomb-throw of their objective, losing Major Hall Brown, a
+gallant Ceylon planter, and many officers and men.  At the same hour
+the 50th Brigade had again tried to gain ground in the direction of
+Mametz Wood, but had failed on account of uncut wire.  The military
+difficulties of the situation during this day were greatly enhanced
+by the state of the ground, owing to most unseasonable heavy rain,
+which left four feet of mud in some of the trenches.  Altogether,
+when one considers the want {122} of success at Ovillers, the repulse
+at Contalmaison, the three checks in one day at the Quadrangle, and
+the delay of the attack on Mametz Wood, the events of July 7 showed
+that the task of the British, even inside a broken German line, was
+still a very heavy one.  General Horne upon the line and Sir Douglas
+Haig behind it must both have felt the strain that night.
+
+At six in the morning of July 8 the undefeatable Seventeenth Division
+was again hard at work encompassing the downfall of its old opponents
+in Quadrangle Support.  Since it could not be approached above
+ground, it was planned that two brigades, the 51st and the 50th,
+should endeavour to bomb their way from each side up those trenches
+which were in their hands.  It is wonderful that troops which had
+already endured so much, and whose nerve might well be shattered and
+their hearts broken by successive failures, should still be able to
+carry out a form of attack which of all others call for dash and
+reckless courage.  It was done, none the less, and with some success,
+the bombers blasting their way up Pearl Alley on the left to the
+point where it joins on to the Quadrangle Support.  The bombers of
+the 7th Lincolns did particularly well.  "Every attempted attack by
+the Bosche was met by them with the most extraordinary Berserker
+fury.  They utterly cowed the enemy."  So wrote an experienced
+spectator.  On the right the 50th Brigade made some progress also up
+Quadrangle Alley.  Artillery fire, however, put a term to the advance
+in both instances, the guns of Contalmaison dominating the whole
+position.  In the evening a fresh bombing attack was made by the same
+{123} troops, whose exertions seem really to have reached the limit
+of human capacity.  This time the 7th Borders actually reached
+Quadrangle Support, but were unable to get farther.  The same evening
+some of the 50th Brigade bombed down Wood Trench towards Mametz Wood,
+so as to facilitate the coming attack by the Thirty-eighth Division.
+On July 9 both Brigades again tried to bomb their way into Quadrangle
+Support, and were again held up by the enemy's fire.  This was the
+sixth separate attempt upon the same objective by the same
+soldiers--an example surely of the wonderful material of which the
+New Armies were composed.
+
+But their labours were not yet done.  Though both brigades were worn
+to shadows, it was still a point of honour to hold to their work.  At
+11.20 that night a surprise attack was made across the open under the
+cover of night.  The 8th South Staffords on the left--charging with a
+yell of "Staffords!"--reached the point where Pearl Alley joins the
+Quadrangle Support (see Diagram), and held on most desperately.  The
+50th Brigade on the right were checked and could give no assistance.
+The men upon the left strove hard to win their way down Quadrangle
+Support, but most of the officers were down, the losses were heavy,
+and the most that they could do was to hold on to the junction with
+Pearl Alley.  The 50th were ready to go forward again to help them,
+and the Yorkshire men were already on the move; but day was slowly
+breaking and it was doubtful if the trench could be held under the
+guns of Contalmaison.  The attack upon the right was therefore
+stopped, and the left held on as best it might, the South Staffords,
+having lost {124} grievously, nearly all their officers, including
+the Adjutant, Coleridge, being on the ground.
+
+We may now leave this heroic tragedy of the Quadrangle and turn our
+attention to what had been going on at Mametz Wood upon the right,
+which was really the key to the situation.  It has already been
+stated that the wood had been attacked in vain by a brigade of the
+Seventh Division, and that the Thirty-eighth Welsh Division had found
+some difficulty in even approaching it.  It was indeed a formidable
+obstacle upon the path of the army.  An officer has described how he
+used to gaze from afar upon the immense bulk, the vast denseness and
+darkness of Mametz Wood, and wonder, knowing the manifold dangers
+which lurked beneath its shadows, whether it was indeed within human
+power to take it.  Such was the first terrible task to which the
+Welshmen of the New Army were called.  It was done, but one out of
+every three men who did it found the grave or the hospital before the
+survivors saw the light shine between the further tree-trunks.
+
+As the Welshmen came into the line they had the Seventeenth Division
+upon their left, facing Quadrangle Support, and the Eighteenth upon
+their right at Caterpillar Wood.  When at 4.15 on the morning of July
+10 all was ready for the assault, the Third Division had relieved the
+Eighteenth on the right, but the Seventeenth was, as we have seen,
+still in its position, and was fighting on the western edge of the
+wood.
+
+The attack of the Welshmen started from White Trench, which lies
+south-east of the wood and meanders along the brow of a sharp ridge.
+Since it was dug by the enemy it was of little use to the attack,
+{125} for no rifle fire could be brought to bear from it upon the
+edge of the wood, while troops coming over the hill and down the
+slope were dreadfully exposed.  Apart from the German riflemen and
+machine-gunners, who lay thick among the shell-blasted stumps of
+trees, there was such a tangle of thick undergrowth and fallen trunks
+lying at every conceivable angle that it would take a strong and
+active man to make his way through the wood with a fowling-piece for
+his equipment and a pheasant for his objective.  No troops could have
+had a more desperate task--the more so as the German second line was
+only a few hundred yards from the north end of the wood, whence they
+could reinforce it at their pleasure.
+
+The wood is divided by a central ride running north and south.  All
+to the west of this was allotted to the 113th Brigade, a unit of
+Welsh Fusilier battalions commanded by a young brigadier who is more
+likely to win honour than decorations, since he started the War with
+both the V.C. and the D.S.O.  The 114th Brigade, comprising four
+battalions of the Welsh Regiment, was to carry the eastern half of
+the wood, the attack being from the south.  The front line of attack,
+counting from the right, consisted of the 13th Welsh (2nd Rhonddas),
+14th Welsh (Swansea), with its left on the central ride, and 16th
+Royal Welsh Fusiliers in the van of the 113th Brigade.  About 4.30 in
+the morning the barrage lifted from the shadowy edge of the wood, and
+the infantry pushed forward with all the Cymric fire which burns in
+that ancient race as fiercely as ever it has done, as every field of
+manly sport will show.  It was a magnificent spectacle, for wave
+after wave of men could be seen advancing without hesitation and
+without a break {126} over a distance which in some places was not
+less than 500 yards.
+
+The Swansea men in the centre broke into the wood without a check, a
+lieutenant of that battalion charging down two machine-guns and
+capturing both at the cost of a wound to himself.  The 13th on the
+right won their way also into the wood, but were held for a time, and
+were reinforced by the 15th (Carmarthens).  Here for hours along the
+whole breadth of the wood the Welsh infantry strove desperately to
+crawl or burst through the tangle of tree-trunks in the face of the
+deadly and invisible machine-guns.  Some of the 15th got forward
+through a gap, but found themselves isolated, and had great
+difficulty in joining up with their own battle line once more.
+Eventually, in the centre and right, the three battalions formed a
+line just south of the most southern cross ride from its junction
+with the main ride.
+
+On the left, the 16th Welsh Fusiliers had lost heavily before
+reaching the trees, their colonel, Carden, falling at the head of his
+men.  The circumstances of his death should be recorded.  His Welsh
+Fusiliers, before entering action, sang a hymn in Welsh, upon which
+the colonel addressed them, saying, "Boys, make your peace with God!
+We are going to take that position, and some of us won't come back.
+But we are going to take it."  Tying his handkerchief to his stick he
+added, "This will show you where I am."  He was hit as he waved them
+on with his impromptu flag; but he rose, advanced, was hit again, and
+fell dead.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+{127}
+
+[Illustration: MAMETZ WOOD]
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Thickened by the support of the 15th Royal Welsh Fusiliers, the line
+rushed on, and occupied the end {128} of the wood until they were
+abreast of their comrades on the right.  Once among the trees, all
+cohesion was lost among the chaos of tangled branches and splintered
+trunks, every man getting on as best he might, with officers rallying
+and leading forward small groups, who tripped and scrambled onwards
+against any knot of Germans whom they could see.  On this edge of the
+wood some of the Fusiliers bombed their way along Strip Trench, which
+outlines the south-western edge, in an endeavour to join hands with
+the 50th Brigade on their left.  At about 6.30 the south end of the
+wood had been cleared, and the Welshmen, flushed with success, were
+swarming out at the central ride.  A number of prisoners, some hale,
+some wounded, had been taken.  At 7 o'clock the 113th were in touch
+with the 114th on the right, and with the 50th on the left.
+
+Further advance was made difficult by the fact that the fire from the
+untaken Wood Support Trench upon the left swept across the ride.  The
+losses of the two Fusilier battalions had been so heavy that they
+were halted while their comrades of the 13th Royal Welsh Fusiliers,
+under Colonel Flower, who was killed by a shell, attacked Wood
+Support--eventually capturing the gun which had wrought such damage,
+and about 50 Germans.  This small body had succeeded, as so often
+before and since, in holding up a Brigade and disorganising an
+advance.  Until the machine-gun is checkmated by the bullet-proof
+advance, the defensive will maintain an overpowering and
+disproportionate advantage.
+
+The 10th Welsh had now come up to reinforce the left of the 114th
+Brigade, losing their colonel, Rickets, as they advanced into the
+wood.  The 19th {129} Welsh Pioneer Battalion also came forward to
+consolidate what had been won.  There was a considerable pause in the
+advance, during which two battalions--the 17th Welsh Fusiliers and
+the 10th South Wales Borderers from the Reserve Brigade, 115th--came
+up to thicken the line.  At about four, the attack was renewed, until
+at least two-thirds of the wood had been gained.  The South Wales
+Borderers worked up the eastern side, pushing the defenders into the
+open, where they were shot down by British machine-guns in
+Caterpillar Wood and Marlborough Wood.  About 50 yards from the
+northern end the khaki line was at last held up and remained there,
+crouching in shell-holes or behind broken trunks.  The main
+resistance came from a trench outside the wood, and it was eventually
+determined to bombard it, for which purpose the troops were withdrawn
+some hundreds of yards.  Late in the evening there was another
+gallant attempt to get the edge of the wood, but the trench was as
+venomous as ever, and the main German second line behind it was
+sweeping the underwood with bullets, so the advance was halted for
+the night.
+
+During the night the 115th Brigade had come to the front, and in the
+morning of July 11 had relieved the 113th and 114th Brigades.  The
+relief in a thick wood, swept by bullets, and upon a dark night in
+the close presence of a formidable enemy, was a most difficult
+operation.  The morning was spent in reconnaissance, and it was only
+at 3.15 P.M. that the advance could be made upon the main German
+defence, a trench just outside the north end of the wood.  About 4
+o'clock the Brigade swept on, and after a sharp bayonet fight gained
+the trench towards the north-east, but the {130} Germans still held
+the centre and swept with their fire the portion in our possession.
+The 11th South Wales Borderers (2nd Gwents) held on splendidly, in
+spite of their heavy losses.  The situation was now such, with only
+300 yards to go to reach the German second line, that it was deemed
+well to relieve the Thirty-eighth Division by the Twenty-first
+Division, who had been selected for the coming battle.  This change
+was carried out by the morning of July 12.
+
+The action of the Thirty-eighth Division in capturing Mametz Wood had
+been a very fine one, and the fruit of their victory was not only an
+important advance, but 398 prisoners, one field gun, three heavy
+guns, a howitzer and a number of smaller pieces.  It was the largest
+wood in the Somme district, and the importance attached to it by the
+Germans may be gathered from the fact that men of five different
+German regiments, the 3rd Lehr, 16th Bavarians, 77th, 83rd, and
+122nd, were identified among our opponents.  Among many instances of
+individual valour should be mentioned that of a colonel of the
+Divisional Staff, who twice, revolver in hand, led the troops on
+where there was some temporary check or confusion.  It is impossible
+to imagine anything more difficult and involved than some of this
+fighting, for apart from the abattis and other natural impediments of
+a tangled wood, the place was a perfect rabbit-warren of trenches,
+and had occasional land mines in it, which were exploded--some of
+them prematurely, so that it was the retreating Germans who received
+the full force of the blast.  Burning petrol was also used
+continually in the defence, and frequently proved to be a two-edged
+weapon.  Some of the garrison stood to their work {131} with
+extraordinary courage, and nothing but the most devoted valour upon
+the part of their assailants could have driven them out.  "Every man
+of them was killed where he stood," said a Welsh Fusilier, in
+describing the resistance of one group.  "They refused offers of
+quarter right to the last, and died with cheers for the Kaiser or
+words of defiance on their lips.  They were brave men, and we were
+very sorry indeed to have to kill them, for we could not but admire
+them for their courage."  Such words give honour both to victors and
+vanquished.  The German losses were undoubtedly very heavy--probably
+not less than those of the Welsh Division.
+
+Though the Welsh Division had overrun Mametz Wood from south to
+north, there was still one angle in the north-west which had lain out
+of their course, and had not been taken by them.  This part of the
+wood was occupied upon the evening of July 11 by the 62nd Brigade of
+the Twenty-first Division, which had already performed such notable
+services upon the Somme.  Eight field-guns were discovered in this
+part of the wood and were captured by the Brigade.
+
+The situation had now greatly improved for the Seventeenth Division
+in front of Quadrangle Support, for not only was Mametz Wood mostly
+in the hands of the Welsh, but the Twenty-third Division on the left,
+who after their temporary check at Contalmaison had fallen back upon
+the line Peake Alley-Birch Tree Wood-Shelter Wood, now came forward
+again and occupied Bailiff Wood upon the north of Contalmaison.
+Under these circumstances, the 50th Brigade upon the right again
+attempted to get forward in order to keep level with the Welsh in the
+wood.  {132} Connection had not yet been made at that point, however,
+and the 7th East Yorks, who were the leading battalion, suffered
+heavy losses before being compelled to abandon the attempt.
+
+Victory, however, was at last coming to reward the living and
+vindicate the dead.  At four in the afternoon of July 10, the
+Twenty-third Division advanced from Bailiff Wood for its second
+assault upon Contalmaison.  This time everything went to perfection,
+and the much-enduring infantry were able to take possession of the
+village, while a counter-attack by the third Reserve Division of the
+Prussian Guards came under concentrated artillery fire, and was
+completely disorganised and destroyed.  It was the wounded of the
+Guard from this attack who were seen at Potsdam, and described by Mr.
+Curtin, the American journalist, in one of the most brilliant
+articles of the War.  Carried into furniture vans, they were conveyed
+to their hospitals with every secrecy, in order to conceal from the
+populace the results of the encounter between the famous Corps and
+those men of the New Army who for more than a year had been the
+favourite butt of the _Witz-Blätter_ of Berlin.  Old Father Time has
+a humour of his own, and his laugh is usually the last.  Besides the
+Guard the 70th Jaeger and the 110th, 114th, and 119th Regiments were
+included in this defeat.
+
+The two bastions having fallen, the problem of the Quadrangle Support
+became a very different one, and the 51st Brigade, joining up with
+the right of the Twenty-third Division in the evening, was able to
+get hold of the left end of it.  Even now, however, the Germans
+fought hard to the right, and both the 7th East Yorks and the 6th
+Dorsets had to push strongly {133} before they could win through.
+They were encouraged in their efforts when, in the waning light, they
+were able to see small bodies of the enemy retiring in the distance
+out of the fringe of the wood.  By ten o'clock that night the long
+task had been accomplished, and the dead might sleep in peace, for
+Quadrangle Support was in the hands of the Seventeenth Division.
+They were relieved by the Twenty-first Division upon July 11.
+
+At or about the same time as the relief of the Seventeenth Division,
+the Twenty-third upon their left were also relieved, their line being
+taken over by the First Division.  Since the capture of Contalmaison
+and the heavy repulse of the German Guard Division the British had
+made further progress, so that both Pearl Wood and Contalmaison Villa
+to the north of the village were firmly in their hands.  The
+instructions to the First Division were to endeavour to improve this
+advantage, and an advance was at once made which, occurring as it did
+upon the night of July 15, may be best described under the heading
+which treats of the breaking of the second German line.
+
+Having dealt with the operations upon the left and those in the
+centre of the intermediate German position, we will now turn to those
+upon the right, which are concerned with the Eighteenth and the
+Thirtieth Divisions, supported by the Ninth.  After the fall of
+Montauban, these Divisions advanced, the one upon Caterpillar Wood,
+and the other to Bernafoy Wood, both of which were occupied.  For the
+occupation of Bernafoy Wood the 27th Brigade of the Ninth Division
+had been put at the disposal of the commander of the Thirtieth, and
+this {134} force occupied the position without much loss, but were
+exposed afterwards to a most deadly shell-fire, which caused heavy
+losses to the two front battalions--the 6th King's Own Scottish
+Borderers and the 6th Scots Rifles.  The wood was held, however,
+together with three guns, which were found within it.  On July 5 the
+Thirtieth Division handed over that line to the Ninth.  On that date
+they sustained the heavy loss of Colonels Trotter and Smith--both
+killed by distant shell-fire.
+
+The rest of the Thirtieth Division only lasted for a very few days,
+and upon July 7 they were facing the enemy position from Malzhorn
+Farm upon the right to Trones Wood upon the left, and were about to
+be initiated in that terrible wood fighting which cost us so dear.
+There is no fighting in the world which is more awesome to the mind
+and more exhausting to the body than such combats as these amid the
+ghostly atmosphere of ruined woods, with Death lurking in the shadows
+on every hand, and the thresh of the shells beating without cessation
+by night and by day.  Trones, Mametz, High Wood, Delville--never has
+the quiet, steadfast courage of the British soldier been put to a
+more searching test than in those haunts of gloom and horror.  In the
+case of Trones Wood some account must be given of the peculiar
+tactical difficulties of the situation, and then we shall turn to the
+sombre but glorious narrative of the successive attacks.
+
+The tactical problem was a remarkable one.  The wood was connected up
+on the German side by good lines of trenches with Malzhorn Farm on
+the south, with Guillemont on the east, and with Waterlot Farm on the
+north--each of these points being from 400 {135} to 700 yards away.
+It was also commanded by a large number of heavy guns.  The result
+was that if the British stormers held the wood in strength, they were
+shelled out with heavy losses.  If, on the other hand, the wood were
+lightly held, then the German infantry pouring in from the east and
+north could drive them out.  The British, on the other hand, had no
+trenches leading up to the wood, though in other respects the Germans
+found the same difficulties in holding the place that they did.  It
+was a terrible contest in tenacity between the infantry of the two
+nations, and if in the end the British won it must at least be
+admitted that there was no evidence of any demoralisation among the
+Germans on account of the destruction of their main line.  They
+fought well, were well led, and were admirably supported by their
+guns.
+
+The first attack upon Trones Wood was carried out from the south upon
+July 8 by the 21st Brigade.  There was no suspicion then of the
+strength of the German position, and the attack was repulsed within a
+couple of hours, the 2nd Yorks being the chief sufferers.
+
+There was more success upon the right of the line where the French
+were attacking Malzhorn Farm.  A company of the 2nd Wilts made their
+way successfully to help our Allies, and gained a lodgment in the
+German trenches which connect Malzhorn Farm with the south end of
+Trones Wood.  With the aid of some of the 19th Manchesters this
+position was extended, and two German counter-attacks were crushed by
+rifle-fire.  The position in this southern trench was permanently
+held, and it acted like a self-registering gauge for the combat in
+{136} Trones Wood, for when the British held the wood the whole
+Southern Trench was British, while a German success in the wood
+always led to a contraction in the holding of the trench.
+
+At one o'clock upon July 8 the 21st Brigade renewed their attempt,
+attacking with the 2nd Wiltshires in the lead from the side of
+Bernafoy Wood.  The advance was a fine one, but Colonel Gillson was
+badly wounded, and his successor in command, Captain Mumford, was
+killed.  About three o'clock the 18th and 19th Manchesters came up in
+support.  German bombers were driving down from the north, and the
+fighting was very severe.  In the evening some of the Liverpools came
+up to strengthen the line, and it was determined to draw out the
+weakened 21st, and replace it by the 90th Brigade.  At the same time
+a party of the 2nd Scots Fusiliers of this Brigade took over Malzhorn
+Trench, and rushed the farmhouse itself, capturing 67 prisoners.  The
+whole of the trench was afterwards cleared up with two machine-guns
+and 100 more prisoners.  It was a fine bit of work, worthy of that
+splendid battalion.
+
+Upon July 9 at 6.40 A.M. began the third attack upon Trones Wood led
+by the 17th Manchesters.  They took over the footing already held,
+and by eight o'clock they had extended it along the eastern edge,
+practically clearing the wood of German infantry.  There followed,
+however, a terrific bombardment, which caused such losses that the
+17th and their comrades of the 18th were ordered to fall back once
+more, with the result that the Scots Fusiliers had to give up the
+northern end of their Malzhorn Trench.  An enemy counter-attack at
+4.30 P.M. had no success.  A fresh British attack (the fourth) was
+{137} at once organised, and carried out by the 16th Manchesters, who
+at 6.40 P.M. got into the south end of the wood once more, finding a
+scattered fringe of their comrades who had held on there.  Some South
+African Highlanders from the Ninth Division came up to help them
+during the night.  This fine battalion lost many men, including their
+colonel, Jones, while supporting the attack from Bernafoy Wood.  In
+the morning the position was better, but a gap had been left between
+the Manchesters in the wood and the Scots in the trench, through
+which the enemy made their way.  After much confused fighting and
+very heavy shelling, the evening of July 10 found the wood once more
+with the Germans.
+
+In the early morning of July 11 the only remaining British Brigade,
+the 89th, took up the running.  At 3.50 the 2nd Bedfords advanced to
+the attack.  Aided by the 19th King's Liverpools, the wood was once
+again carried and cleared of the enemy, but once again a terrific
+shell-fall weakened the troops to a point where they could not resist
+a strong attack.  The Bedfords fought magnificently, and had lost 50
+per cent of their effectives before being compelled to withdraw their
+line.  The south-east corner of the wood was carried by the swarming
+enemy, but the south-west corner was still in the hands of our
+utterly weary and yet tenacious infantry.  At 9.30 the same evening
+the 17th King's Liverpools pushed the Germans back once more, and
+consolidated the ground won at the southern end.  So the matter stood
+when the exhausted division was withdrawn for a short rest, while the
+Eighteenth Division took up their difficult task.  The Lancashire men
+had left it {138} unfinished, but their conduct had been heroic, and
+they had left their successors that one corner of consolidated ground
+which was needed as a jumping-off place for a successful attack.
+
+It was the 55th Brigade of the Eighteenth Division which first came
+up to take over the fighting line.  A great responsibility was placed
+upon the general officer commanding, for the general attack upon the
+German line had been fixed for July 14, and it was impossible to
+proceed with it until the British held securely the covering line
+upon the flank.  Both Trones Wood and the Malzhorn Trench were
+therefore of much more than local importance, so that when Haig found
+himself at so late a date as July 12 without command of this
+position, it was a very serious matter which might have far-reaching
+consequences.  The orders now were that within a day, at all costs,
+Trones Wood must be in British hands, and to the 55th, strengthened
+by two battalions of the 54th Brigade, was given the desperate task.
+The situation was rendered more difficult by the urgency of the call,
+which gave the leaders no time in which to get acquainted with the
+ground.
+
+The German defence had become a strong one.  They had formed three
+strong points, marked S1, S2, and S3 in the Diagram, p. 141.  These,
+together with several trenches, dotted here and there, broke up every
+attack, and when once order was broken it was almost impossible in
+the tangle and obscurity for the troops to preserve any cohesion or
+direction.  Those troops which penetrated between the strong points
+found themselves with the enemy in their rear and were in a
+disorganised condition, which was only {139} overcome by the
+individual bravery of the men, who refused to be appalled by the
+difficult situation in which they found themselves.
+
+The attack of the 55th Brigade was made from the sunken road
+immediately south of the wood, and it ran at once into so heavy a
+barrage that it lost heavily before it had reached even the edge of
+its objective.  The 7th West Kents, who formed the attacking force,
+were not to be denied, however, and they pushed forward through a
+deepening gloom, for it was seven in the evening before the signal
+had been given.  Whilst the Kents fought up from the south, the
+Queen's Surreys attempted to win a lodgment on the north-west where
+the Longueval Alley led up from Bernafoy Wood.  They also suffered
+heavily from the barrage, and only a few brave men reached the top of
+the wood and held on there for some hours.  The West Kents passed the
+line of strong points and then lost touch with each other, until they
+had resolved themselves into two or three separate groups holding
+together as best they could in the darkness with the enemy all round
+them, and with the communications cut behind them.  The telephone
+wires had all been broken by the barrage, and the anxious commanders
+could only know that the attack had failed, that no word came back
+from the front, and that a British battalion had been swallowed up by
+the wood.
+
+The orders were peremptory, however, that the position should be
+taken, and General Maxse, without hesitation, threw a second of his
+brigades into the dangerous venture.  It was the 54th Brigade which
+moved to the attack.  It was just past midnight when the soldiers
+went forward.  The actual assault {140} was carried out from south to
+north, on the same line as the advance of the West Rents.  The
+storming battalions were the 6th Northamptons and 12th Middlesex, the
+former to advance direct through the wood and the latter to clean up
+behind them and to form a defensive flank on the right.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+{141}
+
+[Illustration: TRONES WOOD Attack of 54th Brigade July 13th, 1916.]
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+The attack was a fine feat of arms.  Though heavily hit by the
+barrage, the Northamptons, closely followed by two companies of the
+Middlesex, pushed their way into the wood and onwards.  It was pitch
+dark, and the men were stumbling continually over the fallen trees
+and the numerous dead bodies which lay among the undergrowth.  None
+the less, they kept touch, and plodded steadily onwards.  The gallant
+Clark was shot, but another officer led the Northamptons against the
+central strong point, for it had been wisely determined to leave no
+enemy in the rear.  Shortly after dawn on July 14 this point was
+carried, and the Northamptons were able to get forward.  By 8 o'clock
+the wood was full of scattered groups of British infantry, but the
+situation was so confused that the colonel went forward and rallied
+them into a single line which formed across the wood.  This line
+advanced until it came level with the strong point S3, which was
+captured.  A number of the enemy then streamed out of the eastern
+side of the wood, making for Guillemont.  These men came under
+British machine-gun fire and lost heavily.  The remaining strong
+point at S1 had been taken by a mixed group of Buffs and Middlesex
+about 9 A.M.  These three strong points having been occupied, the
+whole wood was now swept clear and was permanently occupied, though
+still subjected to very heavy shell {142} fire by the enemy.  Thus,
+the right flank of the army was covered, and the important operations
+of July 14 were enabled to go forward without danger of molestation.
+Of the two gallant battalions who mainly achieved this important
+result, the losses of the Northamptons were about 300, and of the
+Middlesex about half that amount.
+
+There was an epilogue which was as honourable to the troops concerned
+as the main attack had been.  This concerns the fate of the men of
+West Kent, who, as will be remembered, had been cut off in the wood.
+The main body of these, under the regimental adjutant, together with
+a few men of the Queen's, formed a small defensive position and held
+out in the hope of relief.  They were about 200 all told, and their
+position seemed so hopeless that every excuse might have been found
+for surrender.  They held out all night, however, and in the morning
+they were successfully relieved by the advance of the 54th Brigade.
+It is true that no severe attack was made upon them during the night,
+but their undaunted front may have had something to do with their
+immunity.  Once, in the early dawn, a German officer actually came up
+to them under the impression that they were his own men--his last
+mistake upon earth.  It is notable that the badges of six different
+German regiments were found in the wood, which seemed to indicate
+that it was held by picked men or volunteers from many units.  "To
+the death!" was their password for the night, and to their honour be
+it said that they were mostly true to it.  So also were the British
+stormers, of whom Sir Henry Rawlinson said: "The night attack on and
+final capture of Trones Wood were feats of arms {143} which will rank
+high among the best achievements of the British Army."
+
+An account of this fortnight of desperate and almost continuous
+fighting is necessarily concerned chiefly with the deeds of the
+infantry, but it may fitly end with a word as to the grand work of
+the artillery, without whom in modern warfare all the valour and
+devotion of the foot-soldier are but a useless self-sacrifice.
+Nothing could exceed the endurance and the technical efficiency of
+the gunners.  No finer tribute could be paid them than that published
+at the time from one of their own officers, which speaks with heart
+and with knowledge: "They worked their guns with great accuracy and
+effect without a moment's cessation by day or by night for ten days,
+and I don't believe any artillery have ever had a higher or a longer
+test or have done it more splendidly.  And these gunners, when the
+order came that we must pull out and go with the infantry--do you
+think they were glad or willing?  Devil a bit!  They were sick as
+muck and only desired to stay on and continue killing Bosches.  And
+these men a year ago not even soldiers--much less gunners!  Isn't it
+magnificent--and is it not enough to make the commander of such men
+uplifted?"  No cold and measured judgment of the historian can ever
+convey their greatness with the conviction produced by one who stood
+by them in the thick of the battle and rejoiced in the manhood of
+those whom he had himself trained and led.
+
+
+
+
+{144}
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+The Breaking of the Second Line.  July 14, 1916
+
+The great night advance--The Leicester Brigade at Bazentin--Assault
+by Seventh Division--Success of the Third Division--Desperate fight
+of Ninth Division at Longueval--Operations of First Division on
+flank--Cavalry advance.
+
+
+With the fall of Mametz Wood, the impending capture of Trones Wood
+upon the right, and the close investment of Ovillers upon the left
+flank, the army could now face the second line of German defences.
+The ground in front of them sloped gently upwards until it reached
+the edge of a rolling plateau.  Upon this edge were three villages:
+Little Bazentin upon the left, Grand Bazentin upon the centre, and
+Longueval upon the right, all nestling among orchards and flanked by
+woods.  Through these lay the enemy's position, extending to Pozières
+upon the one side, and through Guillemont to the French junction on
+the other.  These two flanks were for the time to be disregarded, and
+it was determined to strike a heavy frontal blow which would, as it
+was hoped, crush in the whole middle of their line, leaving the sides
+to be dealt with at our leisure.  It was a most {145} formidable
+obstacle, for all three villages were as strong as the German sappers
+could make them, and were connected up with great lines of trenches,
+the whole front which was to be attacked covering about 6000 yards.
+A small wood screened Little Bazentin on the left, while behind
+Longueval, facing the right attack, was a larger plantation which,
+under the name of Delville Wood, has won for itself a terrible and
+glorious name in British military history.
+
+[Illustration: The Second German Line, Bazentins, Delville Wood, etc.]
+
+The heavy guns had been advanced and the destruction of the German
+wire and trenches had begun upon July 11.  On the evening of the 13th
+the troops mustered for the battle.  They were all divisions which
+had already been heavily engaged, and some of them had endured losses
+in the last fortnight which might have seemed to be sufficient to put
+them out of action.  None the less they were not only eager for the
+fight, but they were, as it proved, capable of performing the most
+arduous and delicate of all operations, a night march in the face of
+the enemy.  More than a thousand yards of clear ground lay at many
+points between the British outposts and the German trenches.  To
+cover it in daylight meant, as they had so often learned, a heavy
+loss.  It was ordered, therefore, that the troops should move up to
+within striking distance in the darkness, and dash home with the
+first glimmer of morning light.  There was no confusion, no loss of
+touch as 25,000 stormers took up their stations, and so little sound
+that the Germans seem to have been unaware of the great gathering in
+their immediate front.  It was ticklish work, lying for hours within
+point-blank range with no cover, but the men endured it as best they
+might.  With the first faint dawn the long line {146} sprang to their
+feet and with a cheer dashed forward at the German trenches, while
+the barrage rose and went roaring to eastward whence help might come
+to the hard-pressed German defence.
+
+On the extreme left of the section attacked was the First Regular
+Division, which took no part in the actual advance but held the flank
+in the neighbourhood of Contalmaison Villa, and at one period of the
+day sent forward its right-hand battalion, the 1st North Lancashires,
+to aid their neighbours in the fight.
+
+The left of the line of actual attack was formed by the Twenty-first
+Division opposite to Bazentin-le-Petit.  This attack was carried out
+upon a single brigade front, and the Brigade in question was the
+110th from the Thirty-seventh Division.  This division made no
+appearance as a unit in the Battle of the Somme, but was several
+times engaged in its separate brigades.  On this occasion the 110th,
+consisting entirely of men of Leicester, took the place of the 63rd
+Brigade, much reduced by previous fighting.  Their immediate
+objective was the north end of Bazentin-le-Petit village and the
+whole of the wood of that name.  Led by the 8th and 9th Leicesters
+the brigade showed, as has so often been shown before, that the
+British soldier never fights better than in his first engagement.
+Owing to the co-operation of the First Division and to a very
+effective smoke screen upon their left, their advance was not
+attended with heavy loss in the earlier stages, and they were able to
+flow over the open and into the trenches opposite, capturing some 500
+prisoners.  They continued to fight their way with splendid
+steadiness through the wood {147} and held it for the remainder of
+the day.  Their greatest trouble came from a single German strong
+point which was 200 yards away from the corner of the wood, and,
+therefore, beyond their objective.  The machine-guns in this redoubt
+caused great loss whenever the edge of the wood was approached.  This
+strong point was destroyed next day, but meanwhile the position was
+consolidated and was firmly held for the next four days, after which
+the division was withdrawn for a rest.
+
+On the right of the Twenty-first Division lay the Seventh Division,
+to which had been assigned the assault of the Bazentin-le-Petit
+village.  The leading brigade was the 20th, and the storming
+battalions, the 8th Devons and 2nd Borders, crept up to their mark in
+the darkness of a very obscure night.  At 3.25 the barrage was
+lifted, and so instantaneous was the attack that there was hardly an
+interval between the last of the shrapnel and the first of the
+stormers.  The whole front line was captured in an instant, and the
+splendid infantry rushed on without a pause to the second line,
+springing into the trenches once more at the moment that the gunners
+raised their pieces.  In ten minutes both of these powerful lines had
+fallen.  Several dug-outs were found to be crammed with the enemy,
+including the colonel of the Lehr Battalion, and with the
+machine-guns which they had been unable to hoist into their places
+before the wave had broken over them.  When these were cleared, the
+advance was carried on into Bazentin-le-Grand Wood, which was soon
+occupied from end to end.  A line in front of the wood was taken up
+and consolidated.
+
+In the meanwhile the 22nd Brigade had taken {148} up the work, the
+2nd Warwicks pushing forward and occupying, without any opposition
+from the disorganised enemy, the Circus Trench, while the 2nd Royal
+Irish advanced to the attack of the village of Bazentin-le-Petit.
+Their leading company rushed the position with great dash, capturing
+the colonel commanding the garrison, and about 100 of his men.  By
+7.30 the place was in their hands, and the leading company had pushed
+into a trench on the far side of it, getting into touch with the
+Leicesters on their left.
+
+The Germans were by no means done with, however, and they were
+massing thickly to the north and north-east of the houses where some
+scattered orchards shrouded their numbers and their dispositions.  As
+the right of the brigade seemed to be in the air, a brave sergeant of
+the 2nd Warwicks set off to establish touch with the 1st
+Northumberland Fusiliers, who formed the left unit of the Third
+Division upon the right.  As he returned he spotted a German
+machine-gun in a cellar, entered it, killed the gunner, and captured
+four guns.  The wings of the two divisions were then able to
+co-operate and to clear the ground in front of them.
+
+The Irishmen in the advance were still in the air, however, having
+got well ahead of the line, and they were now assailed by a furious
+fire from High Wood, followed by a determined infantry assault.  This
+enfilade fire caused heavy losses, and the few survivors of those who
+garrisoned the exposed trench were withdrawn to the shelter afforded
+by the outskirts of the village.  There and elsewhere the Lewis guns
+had proved invaluable, for every man of intelligence in the battalion
+had been trained to their use, and in {149} spite of gunners being
+knocked out, there was never any lack of men to take their place.
+The German counter-attack pushed on, however, and entered the
+village, which was desperately defended not only by the scattered
+infantrymen who had been driven back to it, but also by the
+consolidating party from the 54th Field Company Royal Engineers and
+half the 24th Manchester Pioneer Battalion.  At this period of the
+action a crowd of men from various battalions had been driven down to
+the south end of the village in temporary disorganisation due to the
+rapidity of the advance and the sudden severity of the
+counter-attack.  These men were re-formed by the adjutant of the
+Irish, and were led by him against the advancing Germans, whom they
+drove back with the bayonet, finally establishing themselves on the
+northern edge of Bazentin-le-Petit Wood, which they held until
+relieved later by the 2nd Gordons of the 20th Brigade.  At the same
+time the village itself was cleared by the 2nd Warwicks, while the
+1st Welsh Fusiliers drove the Germans out of the line between the
+windmill and the cemetery.  The trench held originally by the Irish
+was retaken, and in it was found a British officer, who had been
+badly wounded and left for a time in the hands of the enemy.  He
+reported that they would not dress him, and prodded at him with their
+bayonets, but that an officer had stopped them from killing him.  No
+further attempt was made by the Germans to regain the position of
+Bazentin.  The losses, especially those of the Royal Irish, had been
+very heavy during the latter part of the engagement.
+
+Much had been done, but the heavy task of the Seventh Division was
+not yet at an end.  At {150} 3.20 P.M. the reserve Brigade (91st)
+were ordered to attack the formidable obstacle of High Wood, the
+100th Brigade of the Thirty-third Division (Landon) co-operating from
+the left side, while a handful of cavalry from the 7th Dragoon Guards
+and 20th Deccan Horse made an exhilarating, if premature, appearance
+upon the right flank, to which some allusion is made at the end of
+this chapter.  The front line of the 91st Brigade, consisting of the
+2nd Queen's Surrey and 1st South Staffords, marched forward in the
+traditional style of the British line, taking no notice of an
+enfilade fire from the Switch Trench, and beating back a sortie from
+the wood.  At the same time the Brigadier of the 100th Brigade upon
+the left pushed forward his two leading battalions, the 1st Queen's
+Surrey and the 9th Highland Light Infantry, to seize and hold the
+road which led from High Wood to Bazentin-le-Petit.  This was done in
+the late evening of July 14, while their comrades of the Seventh
+Division successfully reached the south end of the wood, taking three
+field-guns and 100 prisoners.  The Queen's and part of the Highland
+Light Infantry were firmly in possession of the connecting road, but
+the right flank of the Highlanders was held up owing to the fact that
+the north-west of the wood was still in the hands of the enemy and
+commanded their advance.  We will return to the situation which
+developed in this part of the field during the succeeding days after
+we have taken a fuller view of the doings upon the rest of the line
+during the battle of July 14.  It may be said here, however, that the
+facility with which a footing was established in High Wood proved to
+be as fallacious as the parallel case of Mametz Wood, and that many a
+weary week was to pass, and many a {151} brave man give his heart's
+blood, before it was finally to be included in the British lines.
+For the present, it may be stated that the 91st Brigade could not
+hold the wood because it was enfiladed by the uncaptured Switch
+Trench, and that they therefore retired after dusk on the 15th.
+
+To return to the story of the main battle.  The centre of the attack
+was carried out by the Third Division, one of the most famous units
+in the Army, though it now only retained three of the veteran
+battalions which had held the line at Mons.  The task of the Third
+Division was to break the centre of the German line from Grand
+Bazentin upon the left where it touched the Seventh to Longueval on
+the right where it joined with the Ninth Division.  The 8th Brigade
+was on the right, the 9th upon the left, while the 76th was in
+support.  The attacking troops advanced in the darkness in fours,
+with strong patrols in front, and deployed within 200 yards of the
+German wire, capturing a German patrol which blundered into their
+ranks.  Upon the word being given at the first faint gleam of dawn,
+the leading battalions trudged forward in the slow, determined
+fashion which had been found to be more effective than the
+spectacular charge.  From the left the front line consisted of the
+12th West Yorkshires, the 13th King's Liverpools, the 7th
+Shropshires, and the 8th East Yorks.  The wire upon the right was
+found to be very partially cut, and the line of stormers was held up
+under a murderous fire.  There were gaps here and there, however, so
+that the colonel at the head of his Shropshires was able to force a
+passage at one point, while two gallant platoons of the East
+Yorkshires got {152} through at another, and pushed boldly on into
+the German line.  The main body, however, were forced for a time to
+take cover and keep up a fire upon the enemies' heads as they peered
+occasionally from over the parapets.
+
+The left brigade had been more fortunate, finding the wire to be well
+cut.  The front trench was not strongly held, and was easily carried.
+Both the King's Liverpools and the West Yorkshires got through, but
+as they had separated in the advance the greater part of the 1st
+Northumberland Fusiliers were thrust into the gap and restored the
+line.  These men, supported by Stokes guns, carried the village of
+Grand Bazentin by 6.30 A.M.  There was a deadly fire from the Grand
+Bazentin Wood upon the left, but as the Seventh Division advanced
+this died away, and the 12th West Yorkshires were able to get round
+to the north edge of the village, but could get no farther on account
+of the hold-up of the 8th Brigade upon the right.  There was a
+considerable delay, but at last by 1 P.M. a renewed bombardment had
+cut the wires, and strong bombing parties from the supporting
+battalions, the 2nd Royal Scots and 1st Scots Fusiliers, worked down
+the front trench from each end.  The whole brigade was then able to
+advance across the German front line, which was at once consolidated.
+
+The losses in this attack had been heavy, the 12th West Yorkshires
+alone having 15 officers, including their colonel, and 350 men out of
+action.  The results, however, were solid, as not only was the whole
+front of the German position crushed in, but 36 officers with 650 men
+were taken, together with four small howitzers, four field-guns, and
+fourteen machine-guns.  {153} A counter-attack was inevitable and
+consolidation was pushed forward with furious energy.  "Every one was
+digging like madmen, all mixed up with the dead and the dying."  One
+counter-attack of some hundreds of brave men did charge towards them
+in the afternoon, but were scattered to the winds by a concentration
+of fire.  The position was permanently held.
+
+The Ninth Division was on the immediate right of the Third, facing
+Longueval, a straggling village which lay against the sinister
+background of Delville Wood.  The Division was, as will be
+remembered, the first of the new armies, and had distinguished itself
+greatly at Loos.  It had been entirely a Highland Division, but it
+had undergone a picturesque change by the substitution of the South
+African Infantry Brigade in place of the 28th.  The attack upon
+Longueval was carried out by the 26th Brigade, the 8th Black Watch
+and 10th Argyll and Sutherlands in the lead, with the 9th Seaforths
+in support and the 5th Camerons in reserve.  The advance was so fine
+as to rouse the deepest admiration from an experienced French officer
+who observed it.  "Who would believe," he wrote, "that only a few
+months ago not one of these men knew anything of the soldier's
+profession?  They carried themselves as superbly as the Old Guard.
+Once I was near enough to see their faces as they deployed for attack
+under the devastating fire rained on them....  Their teeth were set
+and their eyes were fixed firmly on the goal towards which they were
+advancing.  They were determined to achieve their object, and nothing
+but death would stop them....  Only those who were seriously hit
+thought of dropping out.  The others {154} pressed proudly on,
+regardless of the pain they suffered, and took part in the final
+charge in which the enemy were driven from the position."  Such a
+tribute from a soldier to soldiers is indeed a glory.
+
+The village and the trenches around it were taken with a splendid
+rush, but the fighting among the houses was of a desperate character,
+"more so," says the same observer, "than any I had seen before."  The
+Germans refused to give or take quarter.  When the Highlanders broke
+the line they cut off those who held the trench.  The officer in
+command offered quarter.  The German commander refused.  "I and my
+men," he replied, "have orders to defend this ground with our lives.
+German soldiers know how to obey orders.  We thank you for your
+offer, but we die where we stand."  When the Highlanders finally took
+possession of the trench, all but a mere handful of the defenders
+were dead.  It is episodes like this which would make us ready to
+take a German by the hand if it were not that his country's hand is
+red with innocent blood.
+
+The defence was not everywhere equally desperate.  As the Highlanders
+dashed past the trenches and into the scattered group of houses which
+marked the village, grey figures darted round corners, or rushed out
+with hands to heaven.  Many prisoners were taken.  Here and there
+groups of brave men sold their lives dearly, especially in some ruins
+at the east end of the village.  The blast of fire from this place
+was so hot that for a moment the advance was staggered; but a brave
+piper ran to the front, and the joyous lilt of "The Campbells are
+coming" sent the clansmen flooding onwards once more.  Neither
+bullets, bombs, nor liquid fire could stop {155} them, and the last
+German was stabbed or shot amid the broken walls of his shattered
+fort.
+
+The main part or west of Longueval was now in the hands of the
+Scotsmen, but the place is peculiarly shaped, tailing away in a thin
+line to the northwards, the scattered houses in that direction being
+commanded by the wood, which runs right up to them on their southern
+side.  It was clear that no complete conquest could be made until
+this wood also was in the hands of our stormers.  The operation was a
+difficult one, and far too large to be carried out upon that day.
+The South African Brigade was therefore ordered up from Montauban,
+with instructions that they should attack Delville Wood at dawn of
+July 15.
+
+Here we may break off the narrative of the battle of July 14, though
+it is difficult to do so, since these operations shade imperceptibly
+into each other, and the fighting never really came to an end.  The
+main results, however, had become clear by that evening, and they
+amounted to a very great success, unalloyed by any failure.  Every
+division had carried its point and added to its glories.  Four
+villages, three woods, 6000 yards of front, and 2000 of depth had
+been added to our lines.  Two thousand more prisoners had been taken,
+bringing the total for the fortnight to the substantial figure of
+10,000; while twelve heavy and forty-two field-guns had also been
+taken during that time.  Above all, the British had got their grip
+firmly upon the edge of the plateau, though many a weary day of
+fighting was to follow before the tenacious enemy had been driven
+from it, and the whole position was in British hands.
+
+The reader is to understand clearly that though the operations of
+July 14 crushed in the face of the {156} German line along the whole
+central position, the flanks both to the right and to the left were
+still inviolate.  Upon the German right the whole range of powerful
+fortifications which extended through Pozières to Thiepval were
+untouched, while upon the German left the equally formidable line
+stretching from Longueval through Waterlot Farm and Guillemont to
+Falfemont Farm was also intact.  It is correct, then, to say that the
+German second line had been stormed and penetrated, but it had not
+been captured throughout its full extent, and the greater part of the
+autumn campaign was to pass before this had been accomplished.  The
+reduction of the German right wing will be recounted in the chapters
+which deal with Gough's army, to whom the task was assigned.  That of
+the left wing is covered by the narrative, which gives some details
+of the numerous, bloody, and protracted attacks which ended in the
+capture of Guillemont.
+
+Meanwhile a word may be said as to the operations of the First
+Division, who had been upon the left of the attack upon July 14, and
+had covered that flank without attempting an advance.  Upon the night
+of July 15 they moved forward to attack the continuation of the
+German second line system between the captured Bazentin and the
+uncaptured Pozières.  The attack was made by the 3rd Brigade, the 2nd
+Munsters being to the left, the 1st South Wales Borderers to the
+right, and the 1st Gloucesters in the centre with the 2nd Welsh in
+reserve.  No less than 1200 yards of No Man's Land had to be crossed,
+but this was the more easy since both Pearl Wood and Contalmaison
+Villa were occupied.  A daring daylight reconnaissance by the colonel
+of the {157} Gloucesters greatly helped the advance.  The men were
+marched silently in platoons along the road, and then re-formed into
+line on the far side of the enemy's barrage, a manoeuvre which in the
+darkness called for great steadiness and discipline, the line being
+dressed on a shaded lamp in the wood.  On the word the eager troops
+pushed on with such speed that they crossed the German front trenches
+and were into the second before their own barrage had properly
+lifted.  Pushing forward again, they were soon some hundreds of yards
+past their objective, where they halted close to the formidable
+Switch Line, having occupied all of the second line system in their
+front.  Their formation was now so dense, and they were so close to
+the German machine-guns, that there was a possibility of disaster,
+which was increased by the Welsh Borderers losing direction and
+charging towards a body of men whom they dimly saw in front of them,
+who proved to be the Gloucesters.  Fine restraint upon both sides
+prevented a catastrophe.  Officers and men were now keen to push on
+and to attack the Switch Line, from which flares were rising; but
+prudence forbade the opening up of an entirely new objective, and the
+men were drawn back to the captured German trenches.  So ended a
+successful and almost bloodless operation.
+
+It has been stated in the account of the action of July 14 that at
+one stage of the battle the cavalry advanced, but it was impossible
+to stop the description of a large movement to follow the fortunes of
+this small tactical stroke.  None the less the matter was important,
+as being the first blood lost or drawn by cavalry, as cavalry, since
+the early months of the War.  The idea was, that by a sudden move
+forward a small {158} body of horse might establish itself in advance
+of the general line, and occupy a position which it could hold until
+the slower infantry came forward to take it over.  This was actually
+done, and the movement may therefore be claimed as a successful
+experiment.  The two detachments from the Deccan Horse and 7th
+Dragoon Guards galloped three miles from the rear, so as to be under
+observation as short a time as possible, passed swiftly through the
+lines of the astonished and jubilant infantry, and riding right into
+the enemy's position upon our right centre, established themselves in
+a strong point, and, aided by a friendly monoplane, beat off the
+German attacks.  The advance was at six in the evening, and it was
+able to hold on until nightfall and to hand over in the early morning
+to the infantry.  Some 40 Germans fell to lance or sabre, and a few
+were taken prisoners by the daring cavaliers, who suffered somewhat
+heavily, as they might well expect to do in so novel and desperate a
+venture.
+
+
+
+
+{159}
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+July 14 to July 31
+
+Gradual advance of First Division--Hard fighting of Thirty-third
+Division at High Wood--The South Africans in Delville Wood--The great
+German counter-attack--Splendid work of 26th Brigade--Capture of
+Delville Wood by 99th Brigade--Indecisive fighting on the Guillemont
+front.
+
+
+The central fact of the situation after the battle of Bazentin was
+that although the second German line had been broken, the gap made
+was little more than three miles wide, and must be greatly extended
+upon either flank before a general advance upon the third line could
+take place.  This meant that the left wing must push out in the
+Pozières direction, and that the right wing must get Ginchy and
+Guillemont.  For the time the central British position was not an
+advantageous one, as it formed a long salient bending from High Wood
+through Delville Wood to Guillemont, so placed that it was open to
+direct observation all along, and exposed to converging fire which
+could be directed with all the more accuracy as it was upon points so
+well known to the Germans, into which the guns, communications, and
+reserves were now {160} crammed.  Sir Douglas Haig's great
+difficulties were increased by a long spell of wet and cloudy
+weather, which neutralised his advantages in the air.  Everything was
+against the British General except the excellence of his artillery
+and the spirit of his troops.  The French upon the right, whose tally
+of guns and prisoners were up to date higher than those of the
+British, had an equally hard front to attack, including the four
+strong villages of Maurepas, Le Forest, Raucourt, and Fregicourt,
+with many woods and systems of trenches.  Their whole work in the
+battle had been worthy of their military history, and could not be
+surpassed, either in the dispositions of General Foch or in the
+valour of his men.  Neither their infantry nor ours had ever
+relinquished one square yard that they had wrenched from the tight
+grip of the invader.
+
+In each area of the battle of July 14 some pressing task was left to
+be accomplished, and the fighting was very severe at certain points
+for some days later.  We shall first turn to the north of the line,
+where new divisions had come into action.  One of these already
+mentioned was the First Division.  It was indeed pleasing and
+reassuring to observe how many of the new divisional generals were
+men whose names recalled good service as regimental officers.  Many
+who now wore the crossed swords upon their shoulders had been
+battalion commanders in 1914.  It is indeed well with an army when
+neither seniority nor interest but good hard service upon the field
+of battle puts officers in charge of the lives of men.
+
+The First Division had taken the place of the Twenty-third after the
+fall of Contalmaison, and had pushed its way up until it was level
+with the line of {161} their comrades on the right, whence in the
+manner described at the end of the last chapter they drove their line
+forward upon July 15.  On the 20th they received a rebuff, however,
+the 1st Northants being held up by a very formidable German trench
+called Munster Alley.  The ground already gained was consolidated,
+however, and the division lay with its left touching the Australians
+on the right of Gough's army, and its right connected with the
+Thirty-third Division, whose doings at High Wood will presently be
+considered.  For the purpose of continuity of narrative it will be
+best to continue with a short summary of the doings of the First
+Division upon the left wing of the advance, their general task being
+to hold that flank against German counter-attacks, and to push
+forward wherever possible.  It was continuous hard work which, like
+so many of these operations, could gain little credit, since there
+was no fixed point but only a maze of trenches in front of them.  The
+storming of a nameless ditch may well call for as high military
+virtue as the taking of a historic village, and yet it seems a
+slighter thing in the lines of a bulletin.  Munster Alley and the
+great Switch Line faced the First Division, two most formidable
+obstacles.  On July 23, in the early morning, the 2nd Brigade of the
+First Division attacked the Switch Line, in conjunction with the
+Australians, on the left, and the Nineteenth Division to the right.
+The attack was held up, Colonel Bircham of the 2nd Rifles and many
+officers and men being killed.  Colonel Bircham was a particularly
+gallant officer, who exposed himself fearlessly upon every occasion,
+and it is on record that when remonstrated with by his adjutant for
+his reckless disregard {162} of danger, he answered, "You know as
+well as I do where a colonel of the 60th ought to be."  Such lives
+are an example and such deaths an inspiration.  Altogether the 2nd
+Rifles lost about 250 men in this night attack, and the other first
+line battalions--the 2nd Sussex, 10th Gloucesters, and 1st Cameron
+Highlanders--were all hard hit.  The failure seems to have been
+partly due to misdirection in the dark.
+
+Upon July 25 the 1st South Wales Borderers of the 3rd Brigade
+attacked Munster Alley, but were again unable to get forward on
+account of the machine-guns.  Nothing daunted, the 2nd Welsh had
+another fling at Munster Alley next day, and actually took it, but
+had not weight enough to consolidate and to hold it.  On the other
+hand, the British line was held inviolate, and a strong German attack
+upon July 25 towards Pozières was repulsed with loss.
+
+The Twenty-third Division relieved the First and were in turn
+relieved by the Fifteenth in this sector, which faced the Switch
+Trench and Martinpuich.  The Switch Line was exposed to a very heavy
+fire for several days, at the end of which it was attacked by this
+famous division, the same in number at least as that which had left
+nearly two-thirds of its rank and file upon the bloody slopes of Hill
+70.  On August 12 the advance was carried out with great dash: the
+45th Brigade upon the left and the 46th upon the right.  The attack
+was only partially successful, and the 46th Brigade was held up
+through the fact that the Germans had themselves been in the act of
+attack, so that the trenches were very strongly held.  The operations
+continued, however, and the initial gains were enlarged, until {163}
+upon August 20 the whole Switch Line fell and was permanently
+consolidated.
+
+Leaving this left sector we must turn to the Thirty-third Division on
+its right, two battalions of which had got forward on July 15, as far
+as the line of the road connecting High Wood with Little Bazentin.
+The right flank of the Highland Light Infantry had been held up by
+fire from this wood, and in the evening the 91st Brigade of the
+Seventh Division had evacuated the southern edge of the wood in order
+to allow of bombardment.  That was the position on the night of July
+15.
+
+The line of the road was held all night, and early next morning the
+advance was ordered upon the German Switch Trench in front.  It was
+hoped that the wood had been cleared during the night, but in the
+morning the Highlanders found themselves still galled by the
+continual fire upon their right.  It was clear that the attack could
+not go forward with such an impediment upon the flank--one more
+instance of a brigade being held up by a handful of concealed men.
+It was hoped that the enemy had been silenced, and the attack was
+made, but no sooner had it developed than a murderous fire burst from
+the wood, making it impossible for the Highlanders to get along
+farther than the road.  The 1st Queen's, however, being farther from
+the wood were able to get on to the Switch Trench, but found it
+heavily wired and stiff with men.  Such a battalion does not take
+"No" easily, and their colonel, with a large proportion of their
+officers and men, was stretched in front of the fatal wire before it
+became evident that further perseverance would mean destruction.  The
+16th Rifles and half the 2nd Worcesters, the remaining {164}
+battalions of the 100th Brigade, were brought up, but no further
+advance was possible until the wire could be cut by the guns.  About
+four in the afternoon of July 16 the remains of the brigade were back
+in the road from which they had started.  The attack had failed,
+partly from the enfilade fire of High Wood, partly from the
+impassable wire.
+
+The 98th Brigade was on the left of the 100th, filling up the gap to
+Bazentin village.  They had extended their right in order to help
+their sorely-tried comrades, and they had themselves advanced upon
+the line of the Switch Trench--the 1st Middlesex leading, with the
+4th Suffolk in support.  The 2nd Argyll and Sutherlands with the 4th
+King's Liverpool were in reserve.  They got well forward, but ceased
+their advance when it was found that no progress could be made upon
+the right.  Thus, for the time, the division was brought to a stand.
+That night the 19th Brigade relieved the 100th, which had been very
+hard hit in this action.  After the change the 1st Scottish Rifles
+and the 20th Royal Fusiliers formed the front line of the 19th
+Brigade, the Rifles in touch with the 22nd Brigade of the 7th upon
+their right, while the Fusiliers were in touch with the 98th Brigade
+upon their left.
+
+The general situation did not admit of an immediate attack, and the
+Germans took advantage of the pause to strengthen and slightly to
+advance their position.  On July 17 the hard-worked Twenty-first
+Division upon the left was drawn out, and both the Thirty-third and
+Seventh had to extend their fronts.  On the other hand, the First
+Division came in upon the left and occupied a portion of the
+Bazentin-le-Petit Wood.  The position at that time was {165} roughly
+that the Seventh Division covered the front from High Wood to
+Bazentin Grand, the Thirty-third Division from Bazentin Grand to
+Bazentin Petit, and the First was from their left to Pozières.
+
+Upon July 18 there was a very heavy German attack upon Delville Wood,
+which is treated elsewhere.  This was accompanied by a severe barrage
+fire upon the Bazentins and upon Mametz Wood, which continued all
+day.  That night the Nineteenth Division came into line, taking over
+Bazentin Petit, both village and wood.  The Thirty-third Division
+moved to the right and took some pressure off the Seventh, which had
+done such long and arduous service.  These incessant changes may seem
+wearisome to the reader, but without a careful record of them the
+operations would become chaos to any one who endeavoured to follow
+them in detail.  It is to be emphasised that though divisions
+continually changed, the corps to which they temporarily belonged did
+not change, or only at long intervals, so that when you are within
+its area you can always rely upon it that in this particular case
+Horne of the Fifteenth Corps is the actual brain which has the
+immediate control of the battle.
+
+As the pressure upon Congreve's Thirteenth Corps on the right at
+Delville Wood and elsewhere was considerable, it was now deemed
+advisable to attack strongly by the Fifteenth Corps.  The units for
+attack were the Thirty-third Division upon the left, and the depleted
+Seventh upon their right.  There was to be no attack upon the left of
+the Thirty-third Division, but the 56th Brigade of the Nineteenth
+Division was handed over to the 33rd Division to strengthen the
+force.  The objectives to {166} be attacked were once again High Wood
+(Bois des Foureaux), Switch Trench, and the connecting trench between
+them.  The Seventh Division attacked east of the wood on the line
+between it and Delville Wood.
+
+The assault upon High Wood was assigned to the 19th Brigade.  The 2nd
+Worcesters of the 98th Brigade were pushed out so as to cover the
+left flank of the assaulting column.  At 2 A.M. of July 20 the two
+advance battalions of stormers, the 5th Scottish Rifles on the right,
+the 1st Scottish Rifles upon the left, were formed up in open ground
+outside the British wire.  Preceded by scouts, they went silently
+forward through the gloom until they approached the south-western
+edge of the wood.  A terrific bombardment was going on, and even
+those stout northern hearts might have quailed at the unknown dangers
+of that darksome wood, lit from moment to moment by the red glare of
+the shells.  As the barrage lifted, the wave of infantry rushed
+forward, the 5th Scottish Rifles making for the eastern edge, while
+the 1st Regular Battalion pushed on in the endeavour to win through
+and secure the northern edge.
+
+It was speedily found that the tenacious enemy had by no means
+loosened his grip of the wood.  A portion of the Switch Trench runs
+through it, and this was strongly held, a line of spirting flames
+amid the shadow of the shattered trees.  Machine-guns and wire were
+everywhere.  None the less, the dour Scots stuck to their point,
+though the wood was littered with their dead.  Both to east and to
+north they slowly pushed their way onwards to their objectives.  It
+was a contest of iron wills, and every yard won was paid for in
+blood.  By 9 o'clock the whole of the {167} southern half of the wood
+had been cleared, the leading troops being helped by the 20th
+Fusiliers, who followed behind them, clearing up the lurking Germans.
+At that hour the northern end of the wood was still strongly held by
+the enemy, while the stormers had become much disorganised through
+loss of officers and through the utter confusion and disintegration
+which a night attack through a wood must necessarily entail.
+
+The remaining battalion of the 19th Brigade, the 2nd Welsh Fusiliers,
+was, at this critical moment, thrown into the fight.  A heavy barrage
+was falling, and considerable losses were met with before the wood
+was entered; but the Fusiliers went forward with splendid steadiness
+and dash, their colonel taking entire local command.  In the early
+afternoon, having got abreast of the exhausted Scottish Rifles, who
+had been under the hottest fire for nearly twelve hours, the Welsh
+attacked the north end of the wood, their advance being preceded by a
+continuous fire from our Stokes mortars, that portable heavy
+artillery which has served us so well.  The enemy was still
+unabashed, but the advance was irresistible, and by 7 P.M. the
+British were for a time in possession of the whole of the
+blood-sodden plantation.  It was a splendid passage of arms, in which
+every devilry which an obstinate and ingenious defence could command
+was overcome by the inexorable British infantry.  The grim
+pertinacity of the Scots who stood that long night of terror, and the
+dash of the Welsh who carried on the wave when it was at the ebb,
+were equally fine; and solid, too, was the work of the public school
+lads of the 20th Fusiliers, who gleaned behind the line.  So terrific
+was the shell-fire of the disappointed {168} Germans upon the north
+end of the wood, that it was impossible to hold it; but the southern
+part was consolidated by the 18th Middlesex Pioneer Battalion and by
+the 11th Company Royal Engineers.
+
+Whilst the Thirty-third Division stormed High Wood, their neighbours
+upon the right, the Seventh Division, depleted by heavy losses but
+still full of spirit, had been given the arduous and important task
+of capturing the roads running south-west from High Wood to
+Longueval.  The assaulting battalions, the 2nd Gordons on the left
+and the 8th Devons on the right, Aberdeen and Plymouth in one battle
+line, advanced and took their first objective through a heavy
+barrage.  Advancing farther, they attempted to dig in, but they had
+got ahead of the attack upon the left, and all the machine-guns both
+of Switch Trench and of High Wood were available to take them in
+flank and rear.  It was a deadly business--so deadly that out of the
+two leading platoons of Gordons only one wounded officer and five men
+ever got back.  Finally, the whole line had to crawl back in small
+groups to the first objective, which was being consolidated.  That
+evening, the Fifth Division took over the lines of the Seventh, who
+were at last drawn out for a rest.  The relief was marked by one
+serious mishap, as Colonel Gordon, commanding a battalion of his
+clansmen, was killed by a German shell.
+
+It has been stated that the 56th Brigade of the Nineteenth Division
+had been placed under the orders of the Thirty-third Division during
+these operations.  Its role was to cover the left flank of the attack
+and to keep the Germans busy in the Switch Line position.  With this
+object the {169} 56th Brigade, with the 57th Brigade upon its left,
+advanced its front line upon the night of July 22, a movement in
+which the 7th South Lancashires upon the right of the 56th Brigade
+were in close touch with the 2nd Worcesters upon the left of the
+100th Brigade.  Going forward in the darkness with German trenches in
+front of them and a raking fire from High Wood beating upon their
+flank the Lancashire men lost heavily and were unable to gain a
+footing in the enemy's position.  This brigade had already suffered
+heavily from shell-fire in its advance to the front trenches.  Two
+deaths which occurred during this short episode may be cited as
+examples of the stuff which went to the building up of Britain's new
+armies.  Under the shell-fire fell brave old Lieutenant Webber, a
+subaltern in the field, a Master of Foxhounds at home, father of
+another dead subaltern, and 64 years old.  In the night operation,
+gallantly leading his company, and showing his comrades in the dark
+how to keep direction by astronomy, fell Captain Gerard Garvin,
+student, poet, essayist, and soldier, just 20 years of age.  A book
+might be written which would be a national inspiration dealing with
+the lives of those glorious youths who united all that is beautiful
+in the mind with all that is virile in the body, giving it
+unreservedly in their country's cause.  They are lives which are more
+reminiscent of Sydney, Spencer, and the finer of the Elizabethans
+than anything we could have hoped to evolve in these later days.
+Raymond Asquith, Rupert Brooke, Charles Lister, Gerard Garvin, Julian
+Grenfell, Donald Hankey, Francis Ledwidge, Neil Primrose, these are
+some at least of this finest flower of British culture and valour,
+men who sacrificed to the need of the {170} present their inheritance
+as the natural leaders of the future.
+
+Though the Nineteenth Division was able to make no progress upon the
+night of July 22, upon the next night one of their brigades, the
+58th, reinforced by two other battalions, made a strong movement
+forward, capturing the strong point upon the edge of the wood which
+had wrought the mischief the night before, and also through the fine
+work of the 10th Warwicks and 7th King's Own carrying the whole
+British line permanently forward upon the right, though they could
+make no headway upon the left.  Some conception of the services of
+the Nineteenth Division may be gathered from the fact that during the
+month of July it had lost 6500 casualties.
+
+The Thirty-third Division was given a well-deserved rest after their
+fine exploit in High Wood.  During seven days' fighting it had lost
+heavily in officers and men.  Of individual battalions the heaviest
+sufferers had been the two Scottish Rifle battalions, the 20th Royal
+Fusiliers, the 1st Queen's Surrey, 9th Highland Light Infantry, and
+very specially the 16th King's Royal Rifles.
+
+Whilst this very severe fighting had been going on upon the left
+centre of the British advance, an even more arduous struggle had
+engaged our troops upon the right, where the Germans had a
+considerable advantage, since the whole of Delville Wood and
+Longueval formed the apex of a salient which jutted out into their
+position, and was open to a converging artillery fire from several
+directions.  This terrible fight, which reduced the Ninth Scottish
+Division to about the strength of a brigade, and which caused heavy
+losses also to the Third Division, who struck {171} in from the left
+flank in order to help their comrades, was carried on from the time
+when the Highland Brigade captured the greater part of the village of
+Longueval, as already described in the general attack upon July 14.
+
+On the morning after the village was taken, the South African Brigade
+had been ordered to attack Delville Wood.  This fine brigade, under a
+South African veteran, was composed of four battalions, the first
+representing the Cape Colony, the second Natal and the Orange River,
+the third the Transvaal, and the fourth the South African Scotsmen.
+If South Africa could only give battalions where others gave brigades
+or divisions, it is to be remembered that she had campaigns upon her
+own frontiers in which her manhood was deeply engaged.  The European
+contingent was mostly British, but it contained an appreciable
+proportion of Boers, who fought with all the stubborn gallantry which
+we have good reason to associate with the name.  Apart from the
+infantry, it should be mentioned that South Africa had sent six heavy
+batteries, a fine hospital, and many labour detachments and special
+services, including a signalling company which had the reputation of
+being the very best in the army, every man having been a civilian
+expert.
+
+The South Africans advanced at dawn, and their broad line of
+skirmishers pushed its way rapidly through the wood, sweeping all
+opposition before it.  By noon they occupied the whole tract with the
+exception of the north-west corner.  This was the corner which
+abutted upon the houses north of Longueval, and the murderous
+machine-guns in these buildings held the Africans off.  By night, the
+{172} whole perimeter of the wood had been occupied, and the brigade
+was stretched round the edges of the trees and undergrowth.  Already
+they were suffering heavily, not only from the Longueval guns upon
+their left, but from the heavy German artillery which had their range
+to a nicety and against which there was no defence.  With patient
+valour they held their line, and endured the long horror of the
+shell-fall during the night.
+
+Whilst the South Africans were occupying Delville Wood, the 27th
+Brigade had a task which was as arduous, and met in as heroic a mood,
+as that of their comrades on the day before.  Their attack was upon
+the orchards and houses to the north and east of Longueval, which had
+been organised into formidable strong points and garrisoned by
+desperate men.  These strong points were especially dangerous on
+account of the support which they could give to a counter-attack, and
+it was thus that they did us great mischief.  The Scottish Borderers,
+Scots Fusiliers, and Royal Scots worked slowly forward during the
+day, at considerable cost to themselves.  Every house was a fortress
+mutually supporting every other one, and each had to be taken by
+assault.  "I saw one party of half-a-dozen Royal Scots rush headlong
+into a house with a yell, though there were Germans at every window.
+Three minutes later one of the six came out again, but no more shots
+ever came from that house."  Such episodes, with ever-varying
+results, made up that long day of desperate fighting, which was
+rendered more difficult by the heavy German bombardment.  The enemy
+appeared to be resigned to the loss of the Bazentins, but all their
+energy and guns were concentrated upon the reconquest {173} of
+Longueval and Delville Wood.  Through the whole of the 16th the
+shelling was terribly severe, the missiles pitching from three
+separate directions into the projecting salient.  Furious assaults
+and heavy shell-falls alternated for several days, while clouds of
+bombers faced each other in a deadly and never-ending pelting match.
+It was observed as typical of the methods of each nation that while
+the Germans all threw together with mechanical and effective
+precision, the British opened out and fought as each man judged best.
+This fighting in the wood was very desperate and swayed back and
+forwards.  "It was desperate hand-to-hand work.  The enemy had no
+thought of giving in.  Each man took advantage of the protection
+offered by the trees, and fought until he was knocked out.  The wood
+seemed swarming with demons, who fought us tooth and nail."  The
+British and Africans were driven deeper into the wood.  Then again
+they would win their way forwards until they could see the open
+country through the broken trunks of the lacerated trees.  Then the
+fulness of their tide would be reached, no fresh wave would come to
+carry them forwards, and slowly the ebb drew them back once more into
+the village and the forest.  In this mixed fighting the Transvaal
+battalion took 3 officers and 130 men prisoners, but their losses,
+and those of the other African units, were very heavy.  The senior
+officer in the firing line behaved with great gallantry, rallying his
+ever-dwindling forces again and again.  A joint attack on the evening
+of July 16 by the Cape men, the South African Scots, and the 11th
+Royal Scots upon the north-west of the wood and the north of the
+village was held up by wire and machine-guns, but the German {174}
+counter-attacks had no better fate.  During the whole of the 17th the
+situation remained unchanged, but the strain upon the men was very
+severe, and they were faced by fresh divisions coming up from
+Bapaume.  The Brigadier himself made his way into the wood, and
+reported to the Divisional Commander the extremely critical state of
+affairs.
+
+On the morning of July 18 the Third Division were able to give some
+very valuable help to the hard-pressed Ninth.  At the break of day
+the 1st Gordons, supported by the 8th King's Liverpools, both from
+the 76th Brigade, made a sudden and furious attack upon those German
+strong points to the north of the village which were an ever-present
+source of loss and of danger.  "Now and again," says a remarkable
+anonymous account of the incident, "during a lull in the roar of
+battle, you could hear a strong Northern voice call out: 'On,
+Gor-r-r-dons, on!' thrilling out the r's as only Scotsmen can.  The
+men seldom answered save by increasing their speed towards the goal.
+Occasionally some of them called out the battle-cry heard so often
+from the throats of the Gordons: 'Scotland for ever!' ... They were
+out of sight over the parapet for a long time, but we could hear at
+intervals that cry of 'On, Gor-r-r-dons, on!' varied with yells of
+'Scotland for ever!' and the strains of the pipes.  Then we saw
+Highlanders reappear over the parapet.  With them were groups of
+German prisoners."
+
+The assault won a great deal of ground down the north-west edge of
+Delville Wood and in the north of the village; but there were heavy
+losses, and two of the strong points were still intact.  All day the
+bombardment was continuous and deadly, until {175} 4.30 in the
+afternoon, when a great German infantry attack came sweeping from the
+east, driving down through the wood and pushing before it with an
+irresistible momentum the scattered bodies of Scottish and African
+infantry, worn out by losses and fatigue.  For a time it submerged
+both wood and village, and the foremost grey waves emerged even to
+the west of the village, where they were beaten down by the Lewis
+guns of the defenders.  The southern edge of the wood was still held
+by the British, however, and here the gallant 26th Brigade threw
+itself desperately upon the victorious enemy, and stormed forward
+with all the impetuosity of their original attack.  The Germans were
+first checked and then thrown back, and the south end of the wood
+remained in British hands.  A finer or more successful local
+counter-attack has seldom been delivered, and it was by a brigade
+which had already endured losses which made it more fit for a
+rest-camp than for a battle line.  After this second exploit the four
+splendid battalions were but remnants, the Black Watch having lost
+very heavily, while the Argylls, the Seaforths, and the Camerons were
+in no better case.  Truly it can never be said that the grand records
+of the historic regular regiments have had anything but renewed
+lustre from the deeds of those civilian soldiers who, for a time,
+were privileged to bear their names.
+
+Whilst this severe battle had been in progress, the losses of the
+South Africans in Delville Wood had been terrible, and they had
+fought with the energy of desperate men for every yard of ground.
+Stands were made in the successive rides of the wood by the colonel
+and his men.  During the whole of the 19th these fine soldiers held
+on against heavy pressure.  {176} The colonel was the only officer of
+his regiment to return.  Even the Newfoundlanders had hardly a more
+bloody baptism of fire than the South Africans, or emerged from it
+with more glory.
+
+The situation now was that the south of the wood was held by the
+British, but the north, including the greater part of the village,
+was still held by the Germans.  The worn-out Ninth Division, still
+full of spirit, but lacking sadly in numbers, was brought out of line
+upon July 19, and the Eighteenth English Division, fresh from its own
+great ordeal in Trones Wood, came forward to take its place.  At
+seven in the morning of the 19th the 53rd Brigade attacked from the
+south, the situation being so pressing that there was no time for
+artillery preparation.  The infantry went forward without it, and no
+higher ordeal could be demanded of them.  It was evident that there
+was great danger of the strong German column breaking through to
+westward and so outflanking the whole British line.  Only a British
+attack from north and from south could prevent its progress, so that
+the Third Division were called upon for the one, and the Eighteenth
+for the other.  This wood of infamous memory is cut in two by one
+broad ride, named Princes Street, dividing it into two halves, north
+and south (_vide_ p. 181).  The southern half was now attacked by the
+8th Norfolks, who worked their way steadily forward in a long fringe
+of bombers and riflemen.  The Brigade-Major, Markes, and many
+officers and men fell in the advance.  After a pause, with the help
+of their Lewis guns, the Norfolks pushed forward again, and by 2
+o'clock had made their way up to Princes Street along most of the
+line, pushing the enemy down into the south-eastern corner.  The
+{177} remaining battalions of the brigade, the 10th Essex on the
+right and the 6th Berkshires on the left, tried to fight their way
+through the northern portion, while the 8th Suffolk attacked the
+village.  Half of the village up to the cross-roads in the centre was
+taken by the Suffolk, but their comrades on the right were held up by
+the heavy machine-gun fire, and at 5 P.M. were compelled to dig
+themselves in.  They maintained their new positions, under a terrific
+shell-fire, for three weary and tragic days, at the end of which they
+were relieved by the 4th Royal Fusiliers, a veteran battalion which
+had fired some of the first shots of the War.
+
+These Fusiliers belonged to the Third Division which had, as already
+said, been attacking from the north side of the wood, while the
+Eighteenth were on the south side.  On July 19 this attack had been
+developed by the 2nd Suffolk and the 10th Welsh Fusiliers, the two
+remaining battalions of the 76th Brigade.  The advance was made at
+early dawn, and the Welsh Fusiliers were at once attacked by German
+infantry, whom they repulsed.  The attack was unfortunate from the
+start, and half of the Suffolks who penetrated the village were never
+able to extricate themselves again.  The Welsh Fusiliers carried on,
+but its wing was now in the air, and the machine-guns were very
+deadly.  The advance was held up and had to be withdrawn.  In this
+affair fell one of the most promising of the younger officers of the
+British army, a man who would have attained the very highest had he
+lived, Brigade-Major Congreve, of the 76th Brigade, whose father
+commanded the adjacent Thirteenth Corps.  His death arose from one of
+his many acts of rash and yet purposeful {178} valour, for he pushed
+forward alone to find out what had become of the missing Suffolks,
+and so met his end from some lurking sniper.
+
+On July 20 matters had come to a temporary equilibrium in Delville
+Wood, where amid the litter of corpses which were strewn from end to
+end of that dreadful grove, lines of British and German infantry held
+each other in check, neither able to advance, because to do so was to
+come under the murderous fire of the other.  The Third Division, worn
+as it was, was still hard at work, for to the south-west of Longueval
+a long line of hostile trenches connected up with Guillemont, the
+fortified farm of Waterlot in the middle of them.  It was to these
+lines that these battle-weary men were now turned.  An attack was
+pending upon Guillemont by the Thirtieth Division, and the object of
+the Third Division was to cut the trench line to the east of the
+village, and so help the attack.  The advance was carried out with
+great spirit upon July 22 by the 2nd Royal Scots, and though they
+were unable to attain their full objective, they seized and
+consolidated a post midway between Waterlot Farm and the railway,
+driving back a German battalion which endeavoured to thrust them out.
+On July 23 Guillemont was attacked by the 21st Brigade of the
+Thirtieth Division.  The right of the attack consisting of the 19th
+Manchesters got into the village, but few got out again; and the left
+made no progress, the 2nd Yorkshires losing direction to the east and
+sweeping in upon the ground already held by the 2nd Royal Scots and
+other battalions of the 8th Brigade.  The resistance shown by
+Guillemont proved that the siege of that village would be a serious
+operation and that it was not to be carried {179} by the
+_coup-de-main_ of a tired division, however valiantly urged.  The
+successive attempts to occupy it, culminating in complete success,
+will be recorded at a later stage.
+
+On the same date, July 23, another attempt was made by mixed
+battalions of the Third Division upon Longueval.  This was carried
+out with the co-operation of the 95th Brigade, Fifth Division, upon
+the left.  The attack on the village itself from the south was held
+up, and the battalions engaged, including the 1st Northumberland
+Fusiliers, 12th West Yorkshires, and 13th King's Liverpools, all
+endured considerable losses.  Two battalions of the Thirty-fifth
+Division (Bantams), the 17th Royal Scots and 17th West Yorks, took
+part in this attack.  There had been some movement all along the line
+during that day from High Wood in the north-east to Guillemont in the
+south-west; but nowhere was there any substantial progress.  It was
+clear that the enemy was holding hard to his present line, and that
+very careful observation and renewed bombardment would be required
+before the infantry could be expected to move him.  Thus, the advance
+of July 14, brilliant as it had been, had given less durable results
+than had been hoped, for no further ground had been gained in a
+week's fighting, while Longueval, which had been ours, had for a time
+passed back to the enemy.  No one, however, who had studied General
+Haig's methods during the 1914 fighting at Ypres could, for a moment,
+believe that he would be balked of his aims, and the sequel was to
+show that he had lost none of the audacious tenacity which he had
+shown on those fateful days, nor had his well-tried instrument of war
+lost its power of fighting its way through a difficult {180}
+position.  The struggle at Longueval had been a desperate one, and
+the German return upon July 18 was undoubtedly the most severe
+reaction encountered by us during the whole of the Somme fighting;
+and yet after the fluctuations which have been described it finished
+with the position entirely in the hands of the British.  On the days
+which followed the attack of July 23 the Thirteenth Brigade of the
+Fifth Division pushed its way gradually through the north end of the
+village, the 1st Norfolks bearing the brunt of the fighting.  They
+were relieved on the 27th by the 95th Brigade, who took the final
+posts on the north and east of the houses, the 1st East Surreys
+holding the northern front.  The 12th Gloucesters particularly
+distinguished themselves on this occasion, holding on to three
+outlying captured posts under a very heavy fire.  The three isolated
+platoons maintained themselves with great constancy, and were all
+retrieved, though two out of three officers and the greater part of
+the men were casualties.  This battalion lost 320 men in these
+operations, which were made more costly and difficult by the fact
+that Longueval was so exaggerated a salient that it might more
+properly be called a corner, the Germans directing their very
+accurate fire from the intact tower of Ginchy Church.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+{181}
+
+[Illustration: DELVILLE WOOD MAP]
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+The Second Division had now been brought down to the Somme
+battle-front, and upon July 26 they took over from the Third Division
+in the area of Delville Wood.  So complicated was the position at the
+point occupied, that one officer has described his company as being
+under fire from the north, south, east, and west, the latter being
+presumably due to the fact that the distant fire of the {182} British
+heavies fell occasionally among the front line infantry.  At seven in
+the morning of July 27 the 99th Brigade, now attached to the Second
+Division, was ordered to improve our position in the wood, and made a
+determined advance with the 1st Rifles upon the right, and the 23rd
+Fusiliers upon the left, the 1st Berkshires and 22nd Royal Fusiliers
+being in support.  Moving forward behind a strong barrage, the two
+battalions were able with moderate loss to force their way up to the
+line of Princes Street, and to make good this advanced position.  A
+trench full of dead or wounded Germans with two splintered
+machine-guns showed that the artillery had found its mark, and many
+more were shot down as they retired to their further trenches.  The
+1st Berkshires held a defensive flank upon the right, but German
+bombers swarmed in between them and the Rifles, developing a
+dangerous counter-attack, which was finally beaten off after a sharp
+fight, in which Captain Howell of the latter battalion was mortally
+wounded after organising a splendid defence, in which he was greatly
+helped by a sergeant.  At 11 o'clock the left flank of the advance
+was also very heavily attacked at short range, and the two companies
+of the Rifles on that side were in sore straits until reinforced by
+bombers from the 23rd Fusiliers, and also by the whole of the 22nd
+Fusiliers.  The German barrage fell thickly behind the British
+advance, and it was a difficult and costly matter to send forward the
+necessary supports, but before evening part of the 17th Fusiliers and
+of the 17th Middlesex from the 5th Brigade had pushed forward and
+relieved the exhausted front line.  It was a most notable advance and
+a heroic subsequent defence, with some of the {183} stiffest fighting
+that even Delville Wood had ever witnessed.  The East Anglian Field
+Company Royal Engineers consolidated the line taken.  The 1st Rifles,
+upon whom the greater part of the pressure had fallen, lost 14
+officers, including their excellent adjutant, Captain Brocklehurst,
+and more than 300 men.  The immediate conduct of the local operations
+depended upon the colonel of this battalion.  The great result of the
+fight was that Delville Wood was now in British hands, from which it
+never again reverted.  It is a name which will ever remain as a
+symbol of tragic glory in the records of the Ninth, the Third, the
+Eighteenth, and finally of the Second Divisions.  Nowhere in all this
+desperate war did the British bulldog and the German wolf-hound meet
+in a more prolonged and fearful grapple.  It should not be forgotten
+in our military annals that though the 99th Brigade actually captured
+the wood, their work would have been impossible had it not been for
+the fine advance of the 95th Brigade of the Fifth Division already
+recorded upon their Longueval flank.
+
+
+We shall now turn our attention to what had been going on in the
+extreme right-hand part of the line, where in conjunction with the
+French three of our divisions, the 55th Lancashire Territorials, the
+35th Bantams, and the hard-worked 30th, had been attacking with no
+great success the strong German line which lay in front of us after
+the capture of Trones Wood.  The centre of this defence was the
+village of Guillemont, which, as already mentioned, had been
+unsuccessfully attacked by the 21st Brigade upon July 23.  About this
+date the Thirty-sixth Bantam Division had a repulse at the Malzhorn
+Farm {184} to the south of Guillemont, both the 104th and 105th
+Brigades being hard hit, and many of the brave little men being left
+in front of the German machine-guns.  A week later a much more
+elaborate attack was made upon it by the rest of the Thirtieth
+Division, strengthened by one brigade (the 106th) of the Thirty-fifth
+Division.  This attack was carried out in co-operation with an
+advance of the Second Division upon Guillemont Station to the left of
+the village, and an advance of the French upon the right at Falfemont
+and Malzhorn.
+
+The frontal advance upon Guillemont from the Trones Wood direction
+appears to have been about as difficult an operation as could be
+conceived in modern warfare.  Everything helped the defence and
+nothing the attack.  The approach was a glacis 700 yards in width,
+which was absolutely commanded by the guns in the village, and also
+by those placed obliquely to north and south.  There was no cover of
+any kind.  Prudence would no doubt have suggested that we should make
+good in the north at Longueval and thus outflank the whole German
+line of defence.  It was essential, however, to fit our plans in with
+those of the French, and it was understood that those were such as to
+demand a very special, and if needs be, a self-immolating effort upon
+the right of the line.
+
+The attack had been arranged for the morning of July 30, and it was
+carried out in spite of the fact that during the first few hours the
+fog was so dense that it was hard to see more than a few yards.  This
+made the keeping of direction across so broad a space as 700 yards
+very difficult; while on the right, where the advance was for more
+than a mile and had to be co-ordinated with the troops of our Allies,
+it was so {185} complex a matter that there was considerable danger
+at one time that the fight in this quarter would resolve itself into
+a duel between the right of the British Thirtieth and the left of the
+French Thirty-ninth Division.
+
+The 89th Brigade advanced upon the right and the 90th upon the left,
+the latter being directed straight for the village.  The two leading
+battalions, the 2nd Scots Fusiliers and the 18th Manchesters, reached
+it and established themselves firmly in its western suburbs; but the
+German barrage fell so thickly behind them that neither help nor
+munitions could reach them.  Lieutenant Murray, who was sent back to
+report their critical situation, found Germans wandering about behind
+the line, and was compelled to shoot several in making his way
+through.  He carried the news that the attack of the Second Division
+upon the station had apparently failed, that the machine-gun fire
+from the north was deadly, and that both battalions were in peril.
+The Scots had captured 50 and the Manchesters 100 prisoners, but they
+were penned in and unable to get on.  Two companies of the 17th
+Manchesters made their way with heavy loss through the fatal barrage,
+but failed to alleviate the situation.  It would appear that in the
+fog the Scots were entirely surrounded, and that they fought, as is
+their wont, while a cartridge lasted.  Their last message was, that
+their ranks and munition supply were both thin, their front line
+broken, the shelling hard, and the situation critical.  None of these
+men ever returned, and the only survivors of this battalion of
+splendid memories were the wounded in No Man's Land and the
+Headquarter Staff.  It was the second time that the 2nd Royal Scots
+Fusiliers {186} had fought to the last man in this war.  Of the 18th
+Manchesters few returned, and two companies of the 16th Manchesters
+were not more fortunate.  They got into the village on the extreme
+north, and found themselves in touch with the 17th Royal Fusiliers of
+the Second Division; but neither battalion could make good its
+position.  It was one of the tragic episodes of the great Somme
+battle.
+
+The 89th Brigade upon their right had troubles of their own, but they
+were less formidable than those of their comrades.  As already
+described, they had the greatest difficulty in finding their true
+position amid the fog.  Their action began successfully by a company
+of the 2nd Bedfords, together with a French company, rushing an
+isolated German trench and killing 70 men who occupied it.  This was
+a small detached operation, for the front line of the advancing
+brigade was formed by the 19th Manchesters on the left, and by the
+20th on the right, the latter in touch with the French 153rd of the
+line.  The 19th reached the south-eastern corner of Guillemont,
+failed to get in touch with the Scots Fusiliers, and found both its
+flanks in the air.  It had eventually to fall back, having lost Major
+Rolls, its commander, and many officers and men.  The 20th
+Manchesters advanced upon the German Malzhorn Trenches and carried
+the front one, killing many of the occupants.  In going forward from
+this point they lost 200 of their number while passing down a
+bullet-swept slope.  Three out of four company commanders had fallen.
+Beyond the slope was a sunken road, and at this point a young
+lieutenant, Musker, found himself in command with mixed men from
+three battalions under his orders.  Twelve runners sent back with
+messages were all shot, {187} which will give some idea of the
+severity of the barrage.  Musker showed good powers of leadership,
+and consolidated his position in the road, but was unfortunately
+killed, the command then devolving upon a sub-lieutenant.  The
+Bedfords came up to reinforce, and some permanent advance was
+established in this quarter--all that was gained by this very
+sanguinary engagement, which cost about 3000 men.  The Bantams lost
+heavily also in this action though they only played the humble role
+of carriers to the storming brigades.
+
+The whole of the fighting chronicled in this chapter may be taken as
+an aftermath of the action of July 14, and as an endeavour upon our
+part to enlarge our gains and upon the part of the Germans to push us
+out from what we had won.  The encroachment upon High Wood upon the
+left, the desperate defence and final clearing of Delville Wood in
+the centre, and the attempt to drive the Germans from Guillemont upon
+the right--an attempt which was brought later to a successful
+conclusion--are all part of one system of operations designed for the
+one end.
+
+It should be remarked that during all this fighting upon the Somme
+continual demonstrations, amounting in some cases to small battles,
+occurred along the northern line to keep the Germans employed.  The
+most serious of these occurred in the Eleventh Corps district near
+Fromelles, opposite the Aubers Ridge.  Here the Second Australians
+upon the left, and the Sixty-first British Division upon the right, a
+unit of second-line Territorial battalions, largely from the West
+country, made a most gallant attack and carried the German line for a
+time, but were compelled, upon July 20, the day following the attack,
+{188} to fall back once more, as the gun positions upon the Aubers
+Ridge commanded the newly-taken trenches.  It was particularly hard
+upon the Australians, whose grip upon the German position was firm,
+while the two brigades of the Sixty-first, though they behaved with
+great gallantry, had been less successful in the assault.
+
+
+
+
+{189}
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+  The Operations of Gough's Army upon the Northern
+  Flank up to September 15
+
+Advance, Australia!--Capture of Pozières--Fine work of Forty-eighth
+Division--Relief of Australia by Canada--Steady advance of Gough's
+Army--Capture of Courcelette.
+
+
+All the fighting which has been described was carried out by
+Rawlinson's Fourth Army, consisting of the Third, the Fifteenth, and
+the Thirteenth Corps.  A new element was now, however, introduced
+upon the left flank.  It will be remembered that Sir Hubert Gough had
+been given a Fifth or reserve army, consisting of the Eighth and
+Tenth Corps, with which to hold the flank.  Of these, the Tenth,
+including the Forty-ninth, Forty-eighth, and First Australian
+Divisions, was now pushed forward into the fighting, with the
+intention of attacking Pozières and widening the British front.
+
+This was the first serious appearance of the Australians upon a
+European battle-field, and it may be said at once that the high
+reputation which they had gained as dogged and dashing fighters in
+the Gallipoli campaign was fully endorsed in France.  {190} From
+General Birdwood, their admirable leader, down through every unit of
+their divisions, there ran an indomitable spirit, united to an
+individuality and readiness of resource which made them soldiers of
+the highest type.  Their physique, too, was extraordinarily fine, and
+even the stay-at-home Londoner who had seen the lithe figures and the
+eager, clean-cut, aquiline faces under the broad-rimmed hats,
+bringing a touch of romance into our drab streets, would need no
+assurance that the men were splendid.  A nation of sportsmen had
+changed themselves very easily into a nation of soldiers.  Of all the
+strange turns of fate in this extraordinary war, surely there are few
+more quaint than that the black-fellow call of "Cooee!" should many a
+time have resounded at the crisis of a European battle.
+
+As the First Australian Division lay upon July 22, it had the
+straggling and strongly entrenched village of Pozières in front of
+it.  Upon the right they were in touch with the First Division
+filling the gap between Pozières and Bazentin, as described at the
+beginning of Chapter VII.  On their left was the Forty-eighth
+Division of South Midland Territorials.  The village had been reduced
+to a mere rubbish-heap by the guns, but was none the less dangerous
+on that account.
+
+On the early morning of July 23, before it was light, the Australians
+made their first eruption into the Somme fighting.  "The difficulty,"
+as their chronicler truly declares, "was not to get the men forward,
+but to hold them."  With an eager rush the men of New South Wales
+overwhelmed the front trench across the face of the village.  It was
+dotted with German bodies, killed by the artillery.  The {191} second
+trench in the village itself was found to be obliterated in places.
+It was occupied as far as possible after a sharp hand-to-hand fight,
+and daylight found the Australians, chiefly Victorians, in full
+possession of the southern and western end of the village.  There was
+no counter-attack during July 23, and the day was spent in
+consolidating and in rounding-up prisoners from the dug-outs.  For
+three days there was very heavy German shelling, but the division had
+served too long an apprenticeship to be shaken by such means.  They
+lay low and held on tightly.
+
+On Tuesday, July 25, came the first German attack, but it was broken
+up so completely by the British barrage that the Australians had only
+distant glimpses of the enemy infantry crawling from under the sleet
+which beat upon them.  The merciless pounding of the bombardment
+continued, and then again in the late afternoon came another infantry
+attack, which was again scattered by the dominant all-observing guns.
+Up to now 150 prisoners, including two German colonels, had fallen
+into our hands.
+
+Whilst the Australians had been attacking Pozières from the south,
+the Forty-eighth Division had made a similar advance from the
+south-west, and had made good the ground upon the left side of the
+Albert-Bapaume Road, including the western outskirts of the village
+and part of the Leipzig salient.  In our admiration for our kinsmen
+from across the seas we must not forget, nor will they, that these
+lads from the very heart of rural England went step by step with them
+up Pozières Hill, and shared the victory which awaited them upon it.
+
+The 143rd Brigade, consisting entirely of Warwick {192} battalions
+(5, 6, 7, and 8), the 144th of Glosters (4 and 6) and Worcesters (7
+and 8), and the 145th from Gloucester (5), Buckingham, Oxford and
+Buckingham (4), and Berkshire (4), took it in turns to surge up
+against the formidable German line, showing the greatest valour and
+perseverance, overcoming difficulty after difficulty, and always
+getting slowly forward from the first movement upon July 22, until
+upon July 26 they had overcome every obstacle and joined hands with
+the Australians at the cemetery which marks the north end of the
+village of Pozières.  Many prisoners and a fine extension of the line
+were the fruits of their exertions.  The 5th Royal Sussex Pioneer
+Battalion, amidst considerable difficulties and heavy shell-fire,
+consolidated all that had been won.  The 4th Gloucesters and 7th
+Worcesters particularly distinguished themselves at this time by
+their persistent day-by-day work against the German trench line.
+
+On the morning of July 26 the Australian advance was resumed.  There
+were two obstacles immediately in front--the one a strong redoubt,
+the other a line of trench.  The redoubt was most gallantly attacked
+by the men of Queensland and of South Australia, and was overwhelmed
+by their bombs.  The Victorians, meanwhile, had won their way into
+the trench, but as it communicated by many runways with the main
+German system behind, an endless flow of reinforcements were able to
+come into it, and the length of the trench enabled the Germans to
+attack upon both flanks.  It was a most bloody and desperate conflict
+which swung and swayed down the long ditches, and sometimes over the
+edges of them into the bullet-swept levels between.  Men threw {193}
+and threw until they were so arm-weary that not another bomb could be
+lifted.  If ever there were born natural bombers it must surely be
+among the countrymen of Spofforth and Trumble--and so it proved at
+that terrible international by Pozières village.  A British aeroplane
+swooped down out of the misty morning, and gave signals of help and
+advice from above, so as to dam that ever-moving stream of
+reinforcement.
+
+The trenches in dispute were of no vital importance themselves, but
+they were the outposts of the great German second line which
+stretched behind its broad apron of barbed wire within a few hundred
+yards to the north-east of the village.  The ground sloped upwards,
+and the Germans were on the crest.  This was the next objective of
+the Australians, and was attacked by their Second Division on July
+29.  On the flank of the hill to the left the Victorians won a
+lodgment, but the main position was still impregnable--and almost
+unapproachable.  Sullenly and slowly the infantry fell back to their
+own trenches, leaving many of their best and bravest before or among
+the fatal wires.
+
+The position had been improved upon the left, however, by an advance
+of the Forty-eighth Division.  The Warwick Brigade upon their right
+made no great progress, but the 145th Brigade upon the left took the
+trench in front of it and pushed that flank well forward.  This
+successful attack was at seven in the evening of July 27.  The
+leading battalions were the 4th Berks upon the right and the 6th
+Gloucesters on the left, and these two sturdy battalions captured all
+their objectives.  A number of the 5th Regiment of the Prussian Guard
+were killed or captured in this {194} affair.  As the whole line had
+to turn half left after leaving the taking-off trench, it was a fine
+piece of disciplined fighting.  General Gough was a personal witness
+of this attack.
+
+On August 4, six days later, the Australians came back to the attack
+with all the dour pertinacity of their breed.  This time their
+success was triumphant.  A steady bombardment had laid the German
+front open, and in the dark of the night the Australian infantry,
+advancing over their own dead, rushed the position, surprising the
+Germans at a moment when a relief was being carried out.  Many of the
+Germans who had been expecting a rest from their labours got one
+indeed--but it was in England rather than in their own rear.  With
+the early morning the Australians were on the Pozières Ridge, and one
+of the few remaining observation posts of the enemy had passed from
+him for ever.  In front of them was the land of promise--the long
+slope seamed by German trenches, the distant German camps, the
+churches and villages of that captive France which they had come so
+far to redeem.
+
+Once again the left flank of the Australians was in close
+co-operation with a British Division.  The Forty-eighth had been
+withdrawn and replaced by the Twelfth, a division which was rapidly
+acquiring a very solid reputation in the army.  The men of the 7th
+Sussex upon the right and those of Surrey and of Kent upon the left
+were in the front of the battle-line, which rolled slowly up the
+slope of Pozières, continually driving the German resistance before
+it.  The ground gained early in August was some 2000 yards of
+frontage with a depth of 400 yards, and though the whole ridge, and
+the Windmill {195} which marks it, had not yet been cleared, the fact
+that the British had a good foothold upon it was of the utmost
+strategical importance, apart from the continual stream of prisoners
+who fell into their hands.  The Sussex battalion linked up with the
+Australians, and nothing could have been closer than the co-operation
+between the two, so much so that it is on record that with a glorious
+recklessness a bunch of Australians pushed forward without orders in
+order to keep the Sussex men company in one of their attacks.  The
+South Saxons have again and again shown that there is no more solid
+military material in England.  It is said that a rampant pig with "We
+won't be druv!" as a motto was an old emblem of that ancient county.
+Her sons assuredly lived up to the legend during the War.
+
+On the morning of the 6th and of the 7th two counter-attacks stormed
+up to the new British line.  The first was small and easily repelled,
+a sporadic effort by some gallant hot-headed officer, who died in the
+venture, clicking his Mauser to the last.  The second was serious,
+for three battalions came very gallantly forwards, and a sudden rush
+of 1500 Germans, some of whom carried _flammenwerfer_, burst into the
+trenches at two separate points, making prisoners of some 50
+Australians who were cut off from their comrades.  The attack was
+bravely delivered in broad daylight, the enemy coming on in good line
+in the face of severe fire; but the Australians, with their usual
+individuality, rallied, and not only repulsed the enemy, but captured
+many of them, besides recapturing the prisoners whom they had taken.
+This was the supreme German attempt to recapture the position, but
+they were by no means able to {196} reconcile themselves to the loss
+of it, and came on again and again in smaller assaults spread over
+several days, which had no result save to increase their already very
+heavy losses in this region.
+
+This _flammenwerfer_ attack had broken also upon the outposts of the
+36th Brigade to the left, eight of these infernal machines coming
+forward with a throng of bombers behind them.  The captain of the 9th
+Royal Fusiliers, instead of awaiting the attack in a crowded trench,
+rushed his men forward in the open, where they shot down the
+flame-bearers before they could bring their devilish squirts to bear.
+The bombers, who had followed the advance, led the flight.  On this
+day 127 Germans who had been caught in a pocket between the British
+trenches were forced to surrender, after a very creditable resistance.
+
+On August 12 the Twelfth Division attacked once more upon a broad
+front, the 35th Brigade upon the right, the 37th upon the left.  The
+result of the attack was a satisfactory accession of ground, for
+although the Surreys and West Kents were held up, the Norfolks and
+Essex attained their objective and held it.  Some 40 prisoners and a
+useful line of trench were the results.  That night the 48th South
+Midlanders replaced the Twelfth Division once more, resuming their
+old station upon the left of the Australians, whose various divisions
+rang changes upon each other, men from every corner of the great
+island continent, from the burning plains of the Northern Territories
+to the wind-swept hills of Tasmania, relieving each other in the
+ever-advancing line of trenches and strong points which slowly ate
+into the German front.  One day it was the West Australians who blew
+back an attack with their rifle {197} fire.  On the next it was the
+Melbourne men who had rushed another position.  On the summit of the
+Ridge was the stump of an old windmill, which lay now between the two
+lines, and it was towards this and along the slope of the crest that
+the advance was gradually creeping.  It is worth noting that in this
+part of the line some sort of amenity was introduced concerning the
+wounded, and that neither party sniped the other so long as a Red
+Cross flag was shown.  It is grievous to think that such a condition
+needs to be recorded.
+
+August 10 and 11 witnessed two night attacks by the 4th and 6th
+Gloucesters respectively, neither of which made much progress.  The
+Territorials of the Forty-eighth Division still kept step, however,
+with the Australians in all that desperate advance up the long slope
+of Pozières Hill, the two units striving in a generous rivalry of
+valour, which ended in deep mutual confidence and esteem.
+
+On August 14 the enemy counter-attacked with some vigour, and
+momentarily regained a trench near the windmill.  On the 15th the
+line had been restored.  On the 17th there was a strong attack in six
+successive lines upon the Forty-eighth British and the First
+Australian Divisions, but it had no result.  On the 18th, however,
+the 5th and 6th Warwicks paid a return visit with great success,
+carrying three lines of trenches and capturing 600 prisoners.  This
+was a very fine exploit, carried out at 5 P.M. of a summer evening.
+
+It was about this date that a new movement began upon the British
+left, which extended their line of battle.  Since the capture of
+Ovillers, a month before, the flank of the army to the left of the
+attack {198} upon Pozières had been guarded by the Forty-ninth
+Division of Yorks Territorials, but no attack had been attempted in
+this quarter.  On August 18 the Twenty-fifth Division relieved the
+Forty-ninth, and an advance upon a small scale which gradually
+assumed more importance was started in the direction of Thiepval, the
+German village fortress of sinister reputation, which lay upon the
+left flank on the hither side of the River Ancre.  Upon this General
+Gough had now fixed a menacing gaze, and though his advance was
+gradual, it was none the less inexorable until his aim had been
+attained; and not only Thiepval itself but the important heights to
+the north and east of it which dominate the valley of the Ancre were
+in the hands of his persevering troops.  The first obstacles in his
+path were a stronghold named the Leipzig Redoubt, and to the east of
+it a widespread farm, now spread even wider by British shells.  This
+nest of snipers and machine-guns was known as Mouquet Farm.  Upon the
+19th, as part of the general attack along the line, which will be
+more fully dealt with elsewhere, not only was our Pozières front
+pushed forward past the windmill for 300 yards, but the 1st
+Wiltshires of the Twenty-fifth Division, operating upon the left of
+the Forty-eighth, which in turn was on the left of the Australians,
+made an important lodgment on the high ground to the south of
+Thiepval.  The Forty-eighth Division also made some advance, the 4th
+Gloucesters upon the night of the 19th capturing 400 yards of trench
+with 200 prisoners.  Their comrades of the 6th Battalion had less
+fortune, however, in an attack upon the German trenches on August 22,
+when they had two companies partially destroyed by machine-gun fire,
+while every officer {199} engaged was hit, including Major Coates,
+who was killed.  On this same day there was again an Australian
+advance near Pozières, whilst at the other end of the line, which was
+biting like acid into the German defences, the Twenty-fifth Division
+began to encroach upon the Leipzig salient, and were within 1000
+yards of Thiepval.  In this entirely successful attack a new
+invention, the push pipe-line, was used for the first time with some
+success, having the double effect of blowing up the enemy's strong
+point, and of forming a rudimentary communication trench in the track
+of its explosion.  In this connection it may be stated generally that
+while the Germans, with their objects clear in front of them, had
+used before the War far greater ingenuity than the British in warlike
+invention, as witness the poison gas, _minenwerfer_ and
+flame-throwers, their methods became stereotyped after War broke out;
+while the more individual Britons showed greater ingenuity and
+constructive ability, so that by the end of 1916 they had attained a
+superiority upon nearly every point.  Their heavy artillery, light
+machine-guns, aeroplanes, bombs, trench-mortars, and gas apparatus
+were all of the very best; and in their tanks they were soon to take
+an entirely new departure in warfare.  It is as difficult in our
+British system to fix the responsibility for good as for evil, but
+there is ample evidence of a great discriminating intelligence in the
+heart of our affairs.
+
+The Hindenburg Trench was the immediate object of these attacks, and
+on August 24 a stretch of it, containing 150 occupants, was carried.
+A pocket of Germans was left at one end of it, who held on manfully
+and made a successful resistance against a {200} company of the 8th
+North Lancashires, who tried to rush them.  Ultimately, however,
+these brave men were all taken or killed.
+
+Day by day the line crept on, and before the end of the month the
+1000 yards had become 500, whilst every advance yielded some new
+trench with a crop of prisoners.  The enemy was fully alive, however,
+to the great importance of the Thiepval position, which would give
+the British guns an opportunity of raking Beaumont Hamel and their
+other strongholds upon the north of the Ancre.  A very strong
+counter-attack was made, therefore, by some battalions of the
+Prussian Guard on the evening of August 25, preceded by a shattering
+bombardment.  The attack--the edge of which was blunted by the
+British barrage--fell mainly upon the 7th Brigade of the Twenty-fifth
+Division.  The result was a German defeat, and the menacing line drew
+ever nearer to Thiepval, though an attack by the North Lancs upon the
+Prussian Fusilier Guards upon August 28 was not successful.  On the
+day before, however, the Forty-eighth Division upon the right of the
+Twenty-fifth made a successful advance, taking a good line of trench
+with 100 of the redoubtable Guards.  Between Thiepval and Pozières
+the ruins of Mouquet Farm had been taken by the West Australians and
+the Tasmanians, and was found to be a perfect warren of snipers, so
+that it was some time before it was absolutely clear.  On the
+Pozières Ridge ground and prisoners were continually being gained,
+and the trenches between the Ridge and Mouquet Farm were cleared by
+Queensland on the right and by Tasmania on the left.  It was a most
+spirited fight, where Australian and Prussian stood up to each other
+within short bomb-throw.  But {201} nothing could stand against the
+fire of the attack.  The whole line of trench upon the right was
+captured.  There was a dangerous gap, however, upon the Tasmanian
+left, and this the Tasmanians were compelled to endure for two days
+and nights, during which they were hard pressed by never-ending
+shelling and incessant German attacks.  It is on record that their
+constant reports of their parlous state sent on to headquarters
+concluded always with the words: "But we will hold on."  If Tasmania
+needs a motto, she could find no better one, for her sons lived and
+died up to it during those terrible hours.  When at last they were
+relieved, their numbers were sorely reduced, but their ground was
+still intact.  At the other side of the gap, however, the West
+Australians, hard pressed by an overpowering bombardment, had been
+pushed out from Mouquet Farm, which came back into German hands,
+whence it was destined soon to pass.
+
+It was during this severe fighting that a little scene occurred
+which, as described by Mr. Bean, the very able Australian chronicler,
+must stir the blood of every Imperialist.  A single officer "of
+middle age, erect, tough as wire, with lines on his face such as hard
+fighting and responsibility leave on every soldier," appeared in the
+Australian communication trenches, asking to see the
+officer-in-charge.  He spoke the same tongue but with a different
+intonation as he explained his mission.  He was the forerunner of the
+relieving force, and the First Division of Canada was taking over the
+line from Australia--a line which was destined to bring glory to each
+of them.  Surely a great historical picture might be made in more
+peaceful times of this first contact of the two great nations {202}
+of the future, separated by half the world from each other, and yet
+coming together amid blood and fire at the call of the race.  An hour
+later, Canadian Highlanders in a long buoyant line were pushing
+swiftly forward to occupy the trenches which Australia had won and
+held.  "Australians and Canadians," says Mr. Bean, "fought for
+thirty-six hours in those trenches inexorably mixed, working under
+each other's officers.  Their wounded helped each other from the
+front.  Their dead lie, and will lie, through all the centuries,
+hastily buried, beside the tumbled trenches and shell-holes where,
+fighting as mates, they died."  So ended the Australian epic upon the
+Somme.  It is to be remembered that the New Zealanders formed an
+entirely separate division, whose doings will presently be considered.
+
+Whilst the Overseas troops had been fighting hard before Pozières,
+there had been a considerable movement upon their left to attack
+northwards along the Thiepval Spur.  This was carried out by the
+Thirty-ninth Division north of the Ancre, the Forty-ninth and the
+Twenty-fifth upon September 3.  Some ground was gained, but the
+losses were heavy, especially in the 75th Brigade, where the 2nd
+South Lancashires suffered considerably.  This battalion had been in
+shallow trenches exposed to fire and weather for six days previous to
+the attack, and was greatly worn.  This attack was part of the
+general battle of September 3, but from Mouquet Farm northwards it
+cannot be said to have given any adequate return for our losses.
+
+Our narrative of the events upon the left wing of the army has now
+got in front of the general account, but as the operations of General
+Gough's force have {203} definite objectives of their own, the story
+may now be continued up to September 15, after which we can leave
+this flank altogether for a time and concentrate upon the happenings
+in the centre, and especially upon the right flank where Delville
+Wood, Ginchy and Guillemont had presented such impediments to the
+advance.  At or about the time, September 4, when the Canadians took
+over the lines of the Australians at Pozières and Mouquet Farm, the
+Eleventh British Division, the First English Division of the New
+Army, which had come back from hard service in the East, relieved the
+Twenty-fifth Division upon the Canadian left.  For a week there was
+quiet upon this part of the line, for a great forward move along the
+whole eleven-mile front had been planned for September 15, and this
+was the lull before the storm.  On the evening before this great
+assault, the Eleventh Division crept up to and carried the main
+German stronghold, called the Wonderwork, which lay between them and
+Thiepval.  There was some sharp bayonet work, and the defeated
+garrison flying towards Thiepval ran into the barrage so that the
+enemy losses were heavy, while the British line crept up to within
+350 yards of the village.  This advance stopped for ever the flank
+fire by which the Germans were able to make Mouquet Farm almost
+untenable, and the Canadians were able to occupy it.  The capture of
+the Wonderwork was carried out by Price's 32nd Infantry Brigade of
+Yorkshire troops.  The most of the work and the heaviest losses fell
+upon the 9th West Yorks, but the 8th West Ridings and the 6th Yorks
+were both engaged, the latter losing their colonel, Forsyth.  The
+total casualties came to 26 officers and 742 men.
+
+On September 15 the Eleventh Division held the {204} flank in front
+of Thiepval, but the Second and Third Canadian Divisions shared in
+the general advance, and pushed forward their line over the Pozières
+Ridge and down for 1000 yards of the slope in front, joining hands
+with the Fifteenth Scottish Division in Martinpuich upon the right.
+This fine advance crossed several German trenches, took the fortified
+position of the Sugar Refinery, and eventually included in its scope
+the village of Courcelette, which had not been included in the
+original scheme.  All Canada, from Halifax in the east to Vancouver
+in the west, was represented in this victory; and it was particularly
+pleasing that the crowning achievement--the capture of
+Courcelette--was carried out largely by the 22nd Battalion of the 5th
+Brigade French Canadians of the Second Division.  French Canada, like
+Ireland, has been diverted somewhat by petty internal influences from
+taking a wide and worthy view of the great struggle against German
+conquest, but it can truly be said in both cases that the fine
+quality of those who came did much to atone for the apathy of those
+who stayed.  Thirteen hundred German prisoners were brought back by
+the Canadians.  During the Courcelette operations, the Third Canadian
+Division was working upon the left flank of the Second as it attacked
+the village, protecting it from enfilade attack.  The work and the
+losses in this useful movement fell chiefly upon the 8th Brigade.
+
+This considerable victory was, as will afterwards be shown, typical
+of what had occurred along the whole line upon that great day of
+battle and victory.  It was followed, so far as the Canadians were
+concerned, by a day of heavy sacrifice and imperfect success.  The
+Third Division, still operating upon the left of {205} the Second,
+endeavoured to carry the formidable Zollern Trench and Zollern
+Redoubt to the north of Courcelette.  The 7th and 9th Brigades were
+in the attacking line, but the former was held up from the beginning.
+The latter got forward, but found itself confronted by the inevitable
+barbed wire, which stayed its progress.  No good was done, and two
+gallant battalions, the 60th (Montreal) and the 52nd (New Ontario),
+lost 800 men between them.  The operation was suspended until it
+could be renewed upon a larger scale and a broader front.
+
+At this point we may suspend our account of the operations of Gough's
+Fifth Army, while we return to the Fourth Army upon the south, and
+bring the record of its work up to this same date.  Afterwards, we
+shall return to the Fifth Army and describe the successful operations
+by which it cleared the Thiepval Ridge, gained command of the Ancre
+Valley, and finally created a situation which was directly
+responsible for the great German retreat in the early spring of 1917.
+
+
+
+
+{206}
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+August 1 to September 15
+
+Continued attempts of Thirty-third Division on High
+Wood--Co-operation of First Division--Operation of Fourteenth
+Division on fringe of Delville Wood--Attack by Twenty-fourth Division
+on Guillemont--Capture of Guillemont by 47th and 59th
+Brigades--Capture of Ginchy by Sixteenth Irish Division.
+
+
+After the very hard fighting which accompanied and followed the big
+attack of July 14, continuing without a real break to the end of the
+month, there was a lull of a couple of weeks, which were employed by
+the German commentators in consoling articles to prove that the
+allied offensive was at an end, and by the Allies in bringing forward
+their guns and preparing for a renewed effort.  The middle of August
+heard the drum fire break out again and the operations were
+continued, but on a local rather than a general scale.  Many isolated
+positions had to be mastered before a general surge forward could be
+expected or attempted, and experience was to prove that it is
+precisely those isolated operations which are most difficult and
+costly, since they always mean that the whole concentration of the
+German guns can be turned upon the point which is endangered.
+
+{207}
+
+It will simplify the following operations to the reader if he will
+remember that the whole left wing of the army is excluded, being
+treated separately as Gough's flank advance.  We only deal therefore
+with Rawlinson's Army.  The front which faces us may be divided into
+several well-defined areas, each of which is in turn subjected to
+attack.  There is High Wood on the extreme left, with the
+Intermediate Trench and the Switch Trench within it, or to its north.
+There is the line of trenches, Switch Trench, Wood Trench, Tea
+Trench, etc., linking up High Wood with Delville Wood.  There is the
+north-eastern fringe of Delville Wood, there are the trenches between
+Delville Wood and Ginchy, there is Ginchy itself, there are the
+trenches between Ginchy and Guillemont, there is Guillemont itself,
+and finally there is a stretch of trench between Guillemont and the
+French left at Falfemont.  This is the formidable barrier which was
+attacked again and again at various points between August 1 and
+September 15 as will now be told.
+
+August 16 witnessed another attack by the Thirty-third Division upon
+High Wood, a position which had once already been almost entirely in
+their hands, but which had proved to be untenable on account of the
+concentration of fire which the German guns could bring to bear upon
+its limited space.  None the less, it was determined that it should
+be once again attempted, for it was so situated that its machine-guns
+raked any advance between it and Delville Wood.  The attack upon this
+occasion was carried out on the eastern side by the 98th Brigade,
+strengthened for the work by the addition of the 20th Royal Fusiliers
+and a wing of the 1st Middlesex.  It might well seem depressing to
+the soldiers to be {208} still facing an obstacle which they had
+carried a month before, but if this portion of the British line was
+stationary it had gained ground upon either wing, and it might also
+be urged that in a combat destined to be ended by military exhaustion
+it is the continued fighting rather than the local result that
+counts.  If High Wood had cost and was to cost us dearly to attack,
+it assuredly was not cheap to defend; and if their artillery had made
+it too deadly for our occupation our own guns must also have taken
+high toll of the German garrison.  Such broader views are easy for
+the detached reasoner in dug-out or in study, but to the troops who
+faced the ill-omened litter of broken tree-trunks and decaying bodies
+it might well seem disheartening that this sinister grove should
+still bar the way.
+
+At 2.45 in the afternoon the infantry advanced, the 4th King's
+Liverpool upon the left and the 4th Suffolks on the right, keeping
+well up to the friendly shelter of their own pelting barrage.  The
+enemy, however, had at once established a powerful counter-barrage,
+which caused heavy losses, especially to the King's, most of whose
+officers were hit early in the action.  The two leading company
+commanders were killed and the advance held up.  The Suffolks had got
+forward rather better, and part of them seized the German trench
+called Wood Lane to the south-east of the wood, but unhappily the
+only surviving officer with the party was killed in the trench, and
+the men being exposed to bombing attacks and to heavy enfilade fire
+from the eastern corner of High Wood were compelled to fall back
+after holding the trench for fifty minutes.
+
+These two battalions had attacked upon the flank {209} of the wood.
+The wood itself was entered by three companies of the Argyll and
+Sutherlands, who found it laced with wire and full of machine-guns.
+The Highlanders stuck gamely to their task, and some of them--little
+groups of desperate men--actually crossed the wood, but their losses
+were heavy and, as is usual in forest fighting, all cohesion and
+direction became impossible.  The whole attack was hung up.  The 20th
+Royal Fusiliers, one of the public school battalions, was sent
+forward therefore to get the line moving once again.  They shared in
+the losses, but were unable to retrieve the situation.  So worn were
+the battalions that there was some question whether the 98th Brigade
+could hold its own line if there should be a vigorous counter-attack.
+The 19th Brigade was therefore brought up to support and eventually
+to relieve their comrades.  The losses of the 98th amounted to over
+2000 men, showing how manfully they had attempted a task which the
+result showed to be above their strength.  The causes of the failure
+were undoubtedly the uncut wire in the wood, and that our gunners had
+been unsuccessful in beating down the machine-guns of the enemy.
+
+Whilst the Thirty-third Division had been making these vigorous
+attacks upon High Wood, a corresponding movement had taken place upon
+the north side of the wood, where the First Division had come into
+line upon August 15, taking the place of the Thirty-fourth Division.
+They plunged at once into action, for the 2nd Brigade upon August 16
+made a successful advance, the 1st Northants and 2nd Sussex pushing
+the line on for some hundreds of yards at considerable cost to
+themselves, and driving back a half-hearted {210} counter-attack,
+which endeavoured to throw them out of their new gains.  This attack
+was renewed with much greater weight, however, upon August 17, and
+both the 1st and 2nd Brigades were driven back for a few hours.  In
+the afternoon they rallied and regained most of the lost ground.
+Immediately in front of them stretched a long German trench termed
+the Intermediate Trench, being the chief one between the second and
+third lines.  Towards evening the 1st Brigade attacked this trench,
+the 1st Black Watch being the most advanced battalion.  There was a
+hard fight, but the position was still too strong.  Next morning,
+August 18, the gallant Highlanders were back at it once more, but the
+day was very misty, and the advance seems to have lost its exact
+bearings.  The left company stumbled upon a pocket of 30 Germans,
+whom it took or killed, but could not find the trench.  The right
+company got into the trench, but were not numerous enough to resist a
+very vigorous bombing attack, which re-established the German
+garrison.  The 8th Berkshires pushed forward to try their luck, but a
+smoke cloud thrown out by a division on the left came drifting down
+and the attack was enveloped in it, losing both cohesion and
+direction.  The Intermediate Trench was still German in the evening.
+
+Although the 1st Brigade had been held up at this point the 2nd
+Brigade had made some progress upon their right, for a successful
+attack was made by the 1st Northamptons and by the 1st North
+Lancashires upon a German trench to the north-west of High Wood.
+Colonel Longridge of the staff, a valuable officer, was killed in
+this affair, but the place was taken, and a strong point established.
+During the {211} night two platoons of the Northamptons made an
+audacious attempt to steal an advance by creeping forwards 400 yards
+and digging in under the very noses of the Germans, on a small ridge
+which was of tactical importance.  There was a considerable bickering
+all day round this point, the Sussex endeavouring to help their old
+battle-mates to hold the fort, but the supports were too distant, and
+eventually the garrison had to regain their own line.
+
+Upon August 20 there was a severe German attack upon the line of the
+First Division, which was held at the time by the 1st Northamptons
+and the 2nd Rifles.  The advance developed in great force, driving in
+the outpost line and part of the Northamptons.  The brave old
+"Cobblers" were a very seasoned battalion, and took a great deal of
+shifting from their shallow trench, hand-to-hand fighting taking
+place along the line.  With the help of two companies of the Rifles
+the advance was stayed on the Northampton front; but a second attack
+developed out of High Wood upon the right flank of the Rifles.  Two
+platoons under Lieutenant Stokes showed great gallantry in holding up
+this sudden and dangerous incursion.  The platoons were relieved by
+the Gloucesters, but as there was no officer with the relief, Stokes
+remained on with the new garrison, and helped to drive back two more
+attacks, showing a splendid disregard for all danger, until he was
+finally killed by a shell.  Captain Johnstone, who had led the
+Riflemen in their relief of the Northamptons, was also killed, while
+Major Atkinson and 130 men of the Rifles were hit.  The losses of the
+Northamptons were even more heavy, but the German advance came to
+nought.
+
+At the risk of carrying the account of the {212} operations near High
+Wood and between High Wood and the west edge of Delville Wood to a
+point which will compel a considerable return in order to bring up
+the narrative of the rest of the line, we shall still continue them
+to the date of the great advance of September 15, when the whole vast
+array from Pozières upon the left to Leuze Wood upon the right heaved
+itself forward, and local attacks gave place to a big concerted
+movement.  We shall therefore continue to follow the fortunes of the
+First Division in their hard task in front of the Intermediate
+Trench.  After the failure of their attempt to get forward upon
+August 19 the action died down, and for four days there was no fresh
+advance.  The 3rd Brigade had come up into the front line, and upon
+August 24 the Munsters made an attempt upon the German trench without
+success.  Colonel Lyon lost his life in this affair.  Upon August 25
+another battalion of the Brigade, the South Wales Borderers, made a
+bombing attack, and again were in the trench and once again were
+driven out.  They were not to be denied, however, and upon August 26
+actually occupied 180 yards of it, taking one of the deadly guns
+which had wrought such damage.  On the 27th a German counter-attack
+was heavily repulsed, but an attempt of the South Wales Borderers to
+improve their success was also a failure.  On the evening of this day
+the Fifteenth Scottish Division took over the position in front of
+the Intermediate Trench, the First Division moving to the right and
+enabling the Thirty-third Division upon its flank to move also to the
+right.  The Fifteenth Division was able in very tempestuous weather
+partly to outflank the Intermediate Trench, with the result that upon
+the afternoon of August 30 {213} the remains of the garrison, finding
+that they were in a trap, surrendered.  Two machine-guns with 140 men
+were taken.
+
+Upon August 12 the Fourteenth Light Division, which in spite of its
+initial misfortune at Hooge had won the name of being one of the
+finest divisions of the New Army, came up into line.  Its first
+station was in the Delville Wood area, which was still a most
+difficult section, in spite of our occupation of the wood.  Orchards
+lay upon its fringes, and the German trenches around it swept the
+edges with fire, while several German strong points lay just outside
+it.  An attempt was made by the Fourteenth Division to enlarge an
+area outside Longueval upon August 18.  At 2.45 that day the 41st
+Brigade advanced upon the right of the Thirty-third Division with
+Orchard Trench as an objective, while the 43rd Brigade kept pace with
+them to the north and east of the wood.  The German front trenches
+were carried without much difficulty, but, as usual, the process of
+consolidation was an expensive one.  The men in small groups dug
+themselves in as best they could under fire from both flanks.  The
+7th Rifle Brigade upon the extreme left of the line was in the air,
+and their left company was almost entirely destroyed.  The new line
+was held, however, and knotted together with three strong points
+which defied German attack.  This was attempted upon the 19th, but
+was a total failure.  In these operations the Fourteenth Division
+took 279 prisoners.
+
+For the sake of consecutive narrative, the doings in the High Wood
+and Delville Wood district have been given without a break, but in
+order to bring the rest of the chronicle level one has to turn back a
+few {214} days and turn our attention to the long right flank of the
+army, from Longueval in the north to Falfemont, where we joined on to
+the French in the south.  The northern angle of this position was, as
+has already been explained, extremely disadvantageous to us, forming
+an almost fantastic peninsula, which jutted out into the German
+positions.  Even if their infantry could not carry it, their guns
+could at all times rake it from three sides, and could command the
+whole Montauban valley, along which our supplies were bound to pass.
+Therefore it became very necessary to get more elbow-room along this
+line.
+
+South-east of Delville Wood was the strongly-fortified village of
+Ginchy, and between the wood and the village were what may be called
+the Alcoholic system of trenches, where the long and powerful Beer
+Trench, stretching a few hundred yards north of the wood, was
+connected up with Vat Alley, Hop Alley, and Ale Alley, the whole
+forming a formidable labyrinth.  To the south of Ginchy lay the very
+strongly organised village of Guillemont, which could not be
+approached save over a long quarter of a mile of open ground.  Ginchy
+and Guillemont were linked up in a strong line, of which Waterlot
+Farm and Guillemont Station were two nodal points.  South of
+Guillemont came Wedge Wood and finally Falfemont Farm, where the
+right of Rawlinson's Fourth Army joined on to the French.  The whole
+of this long line was most powerfully defended, both by material
+appliances and by that constant human valour without which all
+appliances are useless.  How to push it back was the pressing and
+difficult question which now faced the British commanders.
+Guillemont had already been attacked upon {215} July 30 by the
+Thirtieth Division as described in a previous chapter.  This attack
+had been most valiantly urged, but the losses had been heavy, and the
+gains small.  The Second Division had relieved the Thirtieth on this
+point, and were in turn relieved upon August 10 by the Twenty-fourth,
+a division which had seen a good deal of rough service in that famous
+forcing-house for young soldiers--the Ypres salient.
+
+A few days later it closed in upon Guillemont with orders to
+reconnoitre and then attack.  A partial attack was made upon August
+16 upon the outskirts of the village by the 72nd Brigade, which was
+rather in the nature of a reconnaissance in force.  The place was
+found to be very strong and the advancing troops drew off after
+incurring some losses, which were heaviest in the 9th East Surreys,
+who came under a blast of machine-gun fire, and dropped nine officers
+and over 200 men.  The division drew off, broadened their front of
+attack, and came on again upon August 18 in a wide advance which
+covered the whole enemy line, striking not only at the village
+itself, but at the station, quarry, and farm to the north of it,
+covering a front of nearly a mile.
+
+The 73rd Brigade attacked the village and the quarry.  The right
+attack was led by the 13th Middlesex and supported by the 2nd
+Leinster, but it had no success, and ended in heavy losses,
+especially to the English regiment.  The men who got across were
+unable to penetrate, and after a hand-to-hand fight were driven back.
+Upon the left of the brigade things went better.  The attack upon
+that side was led by the 7th Northants, supported by the 9th Sussex.
+The Cobblers had lost their colonel from a {216} wound in the
+morning.  This colonel was the famous international three-quarter
+Mobbs, who gave one more illustration of the fact that the fine
+sportsman turns rapidly into the fine soldier.  His successor had
+only been a few hours in command.  The direction of the fight was
+none the less admirable.  The Midlanders dashed with great fire
+across the 300 yards of open which separated them from the Quarries,
+while the Sussex crowded up into the advanced trenches, sending on
+company after company in response to demands for help.  The British
+barrage had lifted, and it was no easy matter in face of the flank
+fire to get the men across, so that only a percentage reached the
+hard-pressed firing-line upon the other side.  The colonel of the
+Sussex held back therefore, and sent his third company over as dusk
+fell, so that they came in on the flank of the Northamptons with
+little loss, while the fourth followed later with supplies.  The
+lodgment made by the leading battalions was secured, and some ground
+to the north of the village passed into British hands.
+
+Although Guillemont itself remained for the moment with the Germans,
+the assault of the Twenty-fourth Division had a success along the
+whole of the rest of the line and greatly improved the position of
+the British upon this flank.  The 17th Brigade had attacked the
+station and after a severe fight had captured it, the 3rd Rifle
+Brigade especially distinguishing itself in this affair.  Farther
+still to the north the line of trenches leading up to and in front of
+Waterlot Farm had fallen also to the 17th Brigade, the 8th Buffs
+having the heavier share of the work.  These attacks, which cost the
+division {217} more than 3000 men, were carried out in co-operation
+with French attacks to the south and east of Guillemont, the net
+result being partly to isolate that stubborn village and turn it into
+a salient on the German line.
+
+The Twenty-fourth Division was now drawn out for a short period, and
+the Twentieth replaced it and held firmly to the conquered line.
+
+The Germans were acutely uneasy as to the erosion of their line which
+was going on from Longueval to Guillemont, and upon August 23
+endeavoured to win back the ground gained at Guillemont Station, but
+their counter-attack, stronger as usual in its artillery preparation
+than in its infantry advance, had no success, though it cost the
+Twentieth Division some heavy losses.  It was one clear sign of the
+degeneration of the German soldier that the overture should so
+continually be better than the performance.  The machines were as
+formidable as ever, but the human element was slowly wilting, and
+that subtle sentiment was developing upon either side which means the
+ascendancy of one and the decline of the other.  The ease with which
+the prisoners surrendered, the frequent failure to hold ground and
+the constant failure to gain it, all pointed to the same conclusion.
+
+Upon August 24 a very widespread and determined attempt was made by
+the British to enlarge their area on the right wing, and the attack
+extended along the whole line to the north of Guillemont.  It was
+carried out by three divisions, the Thirty-third which had
+side-stepped to the right, and now covered the ground to the
+immediate left of Delville Wood, the Fourteenth Light Division which
+covered the north of Delville Wood and the Alcohol system of
+trenches, and finally {218} the Twentieth Division covering Ginchy
+and the rest of the line down to Guillemont.
+
+Describing these operations from the left of our line the first unit
+of attack was the 100th Brigade, which had for its objective Tea
+Trench and other German defences which were to the north-west of
+Delville Wood.  The Longueval-Flers road separated their right flank
+from the left flank of the 42nd Brigade of the Fourteenth Division.
+In order to carry out the attack the three leading battalions of the
+Brigade had to be crowded forward into a narrow front before daylight
+upon August 24.
+
+All day they lay there, but towards evening the bombardment which
+they endured changed into an immense barrage which fell like a steel
+guillotine in front of our line, the British counter battery work
+being unable to check it.  Shortly before 7 o'clock in the evening
+the leading companies of the attack belonging from the left to the
+1st Queen's, 16th Rifles and 2nd Worcesters, crept forward until they
+were on the edge of the barrage.  At 7 o'clock they took the plunge,
+advancing with brisk alacrity into that terrible pelt of missiles.
+By 7.30 the Queen's had established themselves in the German position
+and were bombing their way up Wood Lane Trench.  The other two
+battalions had also at that hour got well forward, and the 42nd
+Brigade of the Fourteenth Division upon the right had been equally
+successful.  The new positions were at once consolidated by the 9th
+Highland Light Infantry and by parties of the 222nd Field Company,
+together with the 18th Middlesex pioneers, under a very heavy fire.
+The Worcesters were in good touch with the 16th Rifles upon their
+left, but a considerable and dangerous gap had formed {219} between
+the left of the Rifles and the right of the Queen's--a gap which
+might have let in a fatal counter-attack had it not been for the
+admirable barrage of the artillery, which beat down each attempted
+advance.  A trench was at once put in hand to link up the new line,
+the sappers labouring at it during the night, but the gap had not
+been entirely closed by the morning.  The assaulting battalions were
+then relieved, and the 98th Brigade took the place of their comrades
+of the 100th.  Thus ended this very successful little advance, the
+result being to push forward and strengthen our position between the
+two woods.  The casualties were not high, and this fact was due to
+the fine co-operation of the guns, and to a very effective smoke
+barrage thrown out between the left wing of the attack and the
+machine-guns of High Wood.
+
+The Fourteenth Division had advanced upon the immediate right of the
+Longueval-Flers road, the 42nd Brigade upon the left keeping in touch
+with the 100th, while the 41st Brigade upon the right had not only to
+reach its own objective, but to act as a protective flank against the
+Germans in the village of Ginchy.  The 43rd Brigade was in reserve,
+but contributed one battalion, the 6th Yorkshire Light Infantry, to
+strengthening the reserve of the 42nd Brigade, whose formidable task
+was the carrying of the outlying fringe of Delville Wood.  At last
+that tragic grove, the scene of such a prolonged struggle, was to be
+utterly cleared from our front.  Three gallant battalions of the 42nd
+Brigade--the 5th Oxford and Bucks on the left, the 5th Shropshires in
+the centre, and the 9th Rifles upon the right--swept forward with the
+bayonet in the good old {220} style and cleared it from end to end,
+helped greatly by the accurate barrage behind which they advanced.
+The German counter-barrage was heavy, but the troops tramped through
+it with no more deflection than if it had been a rainstorm, though a
+trail of dead and wounded marked their path.  Every officer of the
+Rifle battalion was hit.  The first barrier was a trench cut 150
+yards from the north of the wood and called Inner Trench.  This was
+taken at the first rush, the enemy surrendering freely.  Two gallant
+N.C.O.'s of the Rifles, Sergeant Hamp and Corporal Ord, rushed up a
+machine-gun at the cost of their own lives.  One party of 50 men of
+the enemy seem to have taken up arms again after three of the
+storming lines had passed, and to have blazed into their backs with a
+machine-gun, but a fourth line swept over them and all were engulfed.
+The Oxford and Bucks on the left of the line moved forward
+splendidly, picking up 200 prisoners as they passed, clearing the
+edge of the wood and digging in about 200 yards to the north of it,
+the 89th F Company Royal Engineers and the 11th King's Liverpool
+consolidating the position.  The enemy's opposition upon the right
+flank had, however, been very much sterner and more successful, so
+that the flank battalion of the 42nd Brigade and the Rifle battalions
+of the 41st Brigade had all fallen short of their final objectives.
+
+Altogether the day was a great success, for the losses were not
+excessive, and the gains though not sensational were general all
+along the line and prepared the way for the successful assaults of
+the next week.  The fact that the right flank had not come on as far
+as the left, caused each successive battalion to find itself with its
+right flank exposed, but the line {221} was held by a clever
+readjustment under heavy fire, by which the flank battalions faced
+half right with the Oxfords still in the advanced position joining up
+with the Thirty-third Division, while the line slanting, but
+unbroken, sloped backwards to Inner Trench upon the right.
+
+The eastern corner of Delville Wood was still dominated by a strong
+point, but upon the rain-swept evening of August 27 this was finally
+cleared out by the 43rd Brigade of the Fourteenth Division, the 6th
+Somerset, Yorkshire and Cornwall battalions of light infantry,
+together with the 10th Durhams, all doing good service.
+
+The remains of the hard-worked Seventh Division had been thrust in
+front of those Alcohol trenches which still remained intact, filling
+up the gap separating Delville Wood from Ginchy.  The 22nd Brigade
+was on the left, and shared in the advance of the 43rd, the 1st Welsh
+Fusiliers capturing Hop Alley, Beer Trench, and part of Vat Alley.
+The impending attack upon Ginchy, which was to co-operate with the
+attack upon Guillemont farther south, was forestalled and postponed
+by a very strong advance of the German infantry upon the north and
+north-east of Delville Wood.  The 91st Brigade had relieved the 22nd,
+and the brunt of this attack outside the wood fell upon the 1st South
+Staffords, who repulsed the onslaught on three separate occasions,
+enduring a heavy shelling between each German advance.  Upon the
+fourth attack the persevering German infantry succeeded in
+penetrating the north-east corner of the wood and regaining Hop
+Alley.  The 2nd Queen's relieved the exhausted Staffords, and at noon
+of September 2 made a vigorous bombing attack which had some {222}
+success, though the assailants were considerably mystified by the
+appearance of a party of Germans who had dressed themselves in the
+khaki and helmets taken the night before.  This powerful attack fell
+also upon the Twentieth Division, and upon the Fourteenth to the
+right of the Seventh, but although it inflicted heavy losses,
+especially upon the 60th Brigade of the Twentieth Division, it failed
+to gain any ground or to obtain any strategic advantage.
+
+On September 3 at noon the attack upon Ginchy was carried out by the
+22nd Brigade, the 1st Welsh Fusiliers attacking to the north of the
+village, the 20th Manchesters moving on to the village itself, and
+the 2nd Warwicks on to the trenches to the west of the village.  The
+Manchesters succeeded about one o'clock in forcing their way into the
+village, sending back 200 of the garrison as prisoners.  The first
+rush behind the barrage sustained few casualties, and it was not
+until the Manchesters in their fiery eagerness began to push on
+beyond their mark that they ran into a very severe fire from the
+north, which mowed down their ranks, including nearly all their
+officers.  The Welsh Fusiliers upon the left had been unable to get
+forward, and as a consequence the Manchester men were in so
+precarious a position and so reduced in numbers that they had to fall
+back through the village, while the 2nd Royal Irish, who had passed
+on as far as Ginchy Telegraph, had now to retire, as their rear was
+in danger.  The 2nd Warwicks, however, held on to the south of the
+village, and refused to be dislodged, keeping their position there
+against all attacks until the night of September 5.  In the
+afternoon, two companies of the Irish attempted to retrieve the
+situation by a renewed advance upon the {223} village, but their
+losses were heavy, and they could not get farther than the western
+outskirts.  The casualties during the day were severe, and in the
+night it was thought advisable to replace the 22nd by the 20th
+Brigade.  The latter made a fresh attack upon the village at eight in
+the morning of September 4 by the 9th Devons, but again it was found
+impossible, in the face of the inexorable machine-guns, to effect a
+permanent lodgment.  The 2nd Queen's, however, on the left of the
+Brigade, improved our position at the north-eastern corner of
+Delville Wood.  There was a short lull in the fighting, and then at
+5.30 A.M. upon the 6th the 2nd Gordons stormed into the orchards
+round the village, but had to dig themselves in upon the western
+edge.  At 2 P.M. they again attacked, aided by two companies of the
+9th Devons, getting as far as the middle of the village, and
+capturing some prisoners, but the Germans came back with so heavy a
+counter-attack that the evening found our troops back in their own
+front line once more.  On the night of September 7 the division was
+taken out--the 16th (Irish) and 55th moving up to the Ginchy Front.
+
+This severe fighting by the Seventh Division from the 3rd onwards was
+an excellent example of how a force may be called upon to sacrifice
+itself without seeing the object of its sacrifice until it learns the
+general plans of the Commander.  The assaults upon Ginchy,
+unsuccessful at the moment, were of the greatest value as leading to
+the capture of Guillemont in the south.  The task allotted to the
+Seventh Division was a very difficult one, involving an advance from
+a salient with the left flank exposed, and the magnitude of this task
+was greatly increased by the truly execrable weather.  If no
+successful efforts were {224} made to counter-attack upon Guillemont,
+the reason undoubtedly lay in the absorption of the German strength
+at Ginchy.
+
+On this same day the battle raged from Ginchy along the whole right
+of our line through Waterlot Farm, Guillemont and Falfemont Farm to
+the left flank of the French.  The annexed diagram will give some
+idea of the forces engaged and their several objectives on September
+3.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+{225}
+
+[Illustration: ATTACK ON GERMAN LEFT FLANK September 3, 1916.]
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+As will be seen by this plan, the Fifth Division formed the unit next
+to the French, and the 13th Brigade were ordered to help our gallant
+allies in attacking the extreme southern point at Falfemont, while
+the 95th Brigade covered the ground between their comrades of the
+13th and the village of Guillemont.  The advance was made shortly
+after mid-day, and though the operations were long, bloody, and
+difficult, the famous old division, inheritors of the glories of Mons
+and Le Cateau, was not to be denied.  The resistance was very
+strenuous, and only the most devoted constancy could have eventually
+overcome it.  To follow the fortunes of the 13th Brigade first it may
+be briefly stated that upon Sunday, September 3, they first gained
+the Falfemont Farm, and then lost it again.  That night they were
+reinforced by three battalions of the 15th Brigade, and were able
+next day to push in between the Farm and Guillemont, pressing the
+defenders upon every side.  It was a widespread building, with many
+loopholed outhouses, and one of these fell after the other until only
+the central ruin, still spouting fire like an anchored battleship,
+remained in the hands of the defenders.  Their position was hopeless,
+however, and by the morning of September 5 the changes in the line to
+the north {226} of them, and especially the loss of Guillemont,
+caused them to evacuate the position.
+
+The advance of the 95th Brigade upon the left of the Fifth Division
+had been a very gallant one, though the objectives which they so
+bravely won were nameless lines of trenches and a sunken road.  The
+first line of the attack was formed by the 1st Duke of Cornwall's on
+the left, and the 12th Gloucesters upon the right, closely followed
+by the 1st Devons and 1st East Surreys.  They were in close touch
+with the 59th Brigades of the Twentieth Division, who were attacking
+Guillemont upon their left.  Within two hours of the first attack all
+three objectives had been captured, and the remains of the victorious
+battalions were digging in upon the line Ginchy-Wedge Wood.  The
+losses were heavy in each battalion, but particularly so in the 12th
+Gloucesters.  For a time they were under fire from both the British
+and the German batteries.  Yet they held on to their ultimate
+objective, and the following extract from the impression which they
+produced upon an experienced regular colonel is worth quoting, if
+only to show the pitch of soldiership to which our amateur volunteers
+had reached.  "The battalion came on in their extended lines as
+steadily as on parade, and, without wavering, though suffering heavy
+losses, passed through a hot German barrage in the most gallant
+manner.  The lines were also much troubled by long-range machine-gun
+fire from the direction of Falfemont, but although gaps appeared and
+the lines were rapidly thinning out, I never saw the slightest sign
+of wavering.  No troops could have carried through such a difficult
+task with more indifference to consequences."  Gloucestershire was
+once the favourite forcing-ground for the champions {227} of the
+British ring.  The old fighting breed still lives.  Altogether the
+95th Brigade advanced 3000 yards in this action, and was responsible
+for the capture both of Wedge Wood and of Leuze Wood.
+
+Upon the left of the Fifth Division the difficult task of storming
+Guillemont had been entrusted to the Rifle and Rifle Brigade
+battalions of the 59th Brigade upon the right, and to the 47th
+Brigade of the Sixteenth Irish Division.  This brigade had come
+temporarily under the command of General Douglas Smith upon the left,
+taking the place of the 60th Brigade, which had lost heavily in
+strength from cold, wet, and continual German gassing and
+bombardment.  The 61st was in divisional reserve.  The attack was
+ordered for noon.  Profiting by previous experiences it was planned
+that the whole village should not be rushed at once, but that the
+attack should proceed with method in three definite stages.  The guns
+of the Sixth and of the Twenty-fourth Divisions joined in the
+preliminary bombardment.  At noon, the infantry leapt over their
+parapets and charged home.  The enemy was taken unawares.  The 10th
+and 11th Rifle Brigade with the 10th and 11th King's Royal Rifles,
+supported by the 6th Oxford and Bucks, carried all before them on the
+south and west of the village, while the Leinsters, Connaughts, and
+Royal Irish did as much in the north.  The Quarries, which was a nest
+of machine-guns, was taken in their stride.  No more valiant or
+successful advance had been seen during the War, and it may take a
+place beside the attack of the 36th Brigade at Ovillers as a
+classical example of what British infantry can do with all the odds
+against them.  The Riflemen fought in grim silence, but the Irish
+went through with a wild Celtic {228} yell which, blending with the
+scream of their pipes, must have added one more to the horrors of the
+shaken and hard-pressed garrison.  Neck and neck the two brigades,
+English and Irish, went through the German line.  Hand-to-hand fights
+took place in the village, but all resistance was soon beaten down.
+By 12.30 the first objectives were solid, and at 1.20 the whole
+village was taken and the survivors of the enemy streaming out to
+eastward.  The English losses were heavy and equally distributed.
+The Irish were also heavy, especially in the case of the 6th
+Connaughts, who also lost their colonel.  At this time, through the
+failure of recruiting in Ireland, these brave battalions were below
+full strength, in spite of which within six days they stormed or
+helped to storm two of the strongest villages upon the line.  One
+hardly knows which emotion is stronger--one's pride in those who
+went, or one's contempt for those who bided at home.  No one admired
+the splendid dash of the Irish stormers more heartily than the
+British Riflemen, who kept pace with them in their desperate venture.
+Equally brave, they were more deliberate in their methods, with the
+result that more than once pockets of fighting Germans who had been
+overrun by the Irish, but were still venomous, were cleared up by the
+Riflemen on the flank.  So infectious, however, was the fiery dash of
+the Irish, that Mr. Philip Gibbs has left it on record in one of his
+admirable letters that an English sergeant of Rifles complained that
+he had almost blown his teeth away in whistling his men back from
+overrunning their objectives.  The garrison, it may be remarked, were
+chiefly Hanoverian, and once again our men were amused and amazed to
+see "Gibraltar" printed upon their hats, a reminiscence {229} of the
+days when they formed part of the British army.
+
+Whilst the attack had been in progress, two battalions of the 61st
+Brigade, the 7th Somersets and 12th King's Liverpools, were in close
+support, advancing steadily through the German barrage.  The enemy
+were, as already shown, strongly held at Ginchy on the left flank of
+the Guillemont advance, but in spite of their preoccupations they
+made strong attempts at a counter-attack from this direction, which
+fell upon the Connaughts, who had been reinforced by two companies of
+the 12th King's.  This small flanking force pushed out posts which
+behaved with great gallantry, holding off the enemy until evening,
+though at considerable loss to themselves.  One of these posts, under
+Sergeant Jones of the 12th King's, was cut off by the Germans and
+held out for two days without food or water--a deed for which the
+sergeant received the Victoria Cross.  On September 4 the positions
+were put into a state of defence, and on the 5th the Twentieth
+Division drew out of the line after their fine deed of arms.
+
+The Fourteenth Division had been in support upon the left during the
+attack upon Guillemont, and the 43rd Brigade had moved up to the
+northern edge of the village itself, losing a number of officers and
+men, including the colonel of the 6th Somersets, who, though badly
+wounded, remained with his battalion until it had consolidated its
+new position.  A German advance was attempted at this point about 8
+P.M., but the 43rd Brigade helped to drive it back.  It may be said
+that the whole of September 3 was a series of small victories, making
+in {230} the aggregate a very considerable one, and breaking down the
+whole of the flank German defences.
+
+The Irish Division was now brought up to face Ginchy, the one point
+still untaken upon the German second line, whilst the Fifth Division
+pursued its victorious way up to Leuze Wood and to the lower corner
+of Bouleaux Wood, always in close touch with the French upon their
+right.  The 47th Brigade of the Irish had already lost near half its
+numbers, and other units of the division, both infantry and sappers,
+especially the 7th and 8th Irish Fusiliers, had lost heavily in
+supporting the Fifth Division in its attack, but the battalions were
+still full of fight.
+
+In the late afternoon of September 9 the final attack upon Ginchy by
+the Irish tore that village from the close grip of its Bavarian and
+Pomeranian garrison.  The Fifty-fifth Division made a supporting
+attack upon the left, but the main advance was left for the now
+depleted but indomitable division.  It dashed forward upon a
+two-brigade front, the 47th upon the right and the 48th upon the
+left, the brigades being strengthened by three battalions of the
+49th, so that practically all the reserves were in the line from the
+start, but the commander had the comforting assurance that the Guards
+were moving up in his rear.  On the right the first wave consisted of
+the 6th Royal Irish and the 8th Munsters, who dashed forward with
+great gallantry but were held up by machine-guns.  The same fire held
+up the 1st Munsters upon the right of the 48th Brigade, but some
+natural cover was found which enabled them to continue to advance.
+On their left the 7th Irish Rifles and 7th Irish Fusiliers had broken
+into the German line in the first determined advance.  {231} By six
+in the evening the 8th and 9th Dublins had reinforced the attack and
+had pushed on into the village, where the 156th Field Company Royal
+Engineers at once consolidated--a swift measure which was fully
+justified since two attacks stormed out of the darkness of the night
+and were beaten back into it again.  Next morning the Sixteenth
+Division was relieved by the Guards and returned for the time from
+the line which they had so materially helped to enlarge and
+consolidate.  Their losses had been heavy.  Five battalion commanders
+were among the casualties.  They fell out of the line upon September
+10.  A few days earlier the Fifth Division had been relieved by the
+Fifty-sixth.
+
+The total effect of these operations had been to extend the whole
+British position for several thousand yards in frontage and nearly a
+mile in depth.  At least 2000 more prisoners had fallen into our
+hands.  The attack of July 14 had broken in the centre of the German
+second line, but the two flanks had held firm.  The fall of Pozières
+upon our left before the Australians and the Forty-eighth Division,
+and of Guillemont upon our right before the Twentieth and Fifth,
+meant that the flanks also had gone, and that the whole front was now
+clear.  A third strong line ran through Warlencourt and Le Transloy,
+but very numerous impediments--woods, villages, and trenches--lay in
+front of the army before they could reach it.  It proved, however,
+that the worst impediment of all--vile weather and a premature
+winter--was to be the only real obstacle to the complete success of
+the army.
+
+In order to complete this description of these widespread operations,
+which are difficult to {232} synchronise and bring into any settled
+plan, one must return to what was going on upon the left of Delville
+Wood.  Towards the end of August the Thirty-third Division, which had
+covered the line between Delville and High Woods, was relieved by the
+Twenty-fourth.  Upon the left of the Twenty-fourth the First Division
+was still continuing that series of operations upon High Wood which
+have been already described.  On their left in turn was the Fifteenth
+Scottish Division, the left unit of Rawlinson's Army.  They were busy
+from this time onwards in digging their assembly trenches for the
+great assault.
+
+The first incident which calls for attention was a very sudden and
+violent German attack upon August 31 upon the Twenty-fourth Division.
+The German onslaught met with some success at first, as it burst
+through the line of the 13th Middlesex, a battalion which had lost
+heavily in the attack upon Guillemont ten days before, and was for
+the moment more fit for a rest-camp than the forefront of the battle.
+The 9th Sussex, who were on the right of the Middlesex, stood firm,
+and the German advance, which had penetrated some distance down the
+long communication trench which is known as Plum Street, was
+eventually brought to a halt.  This result was partly brought about
+by the initiative and determination of a 2nd Lieutenant of the
+Middlesex, "a little pale-faced fellow," who carried off a Lewis gun,
+and worked it from different positions down the trench, continually
+holding up the Germans and giving time for the Sussex men to gather
+such a force at the end of Plum Street as prevented the Germans from
+debouching into the larger trenches which led down towards Longueval.
+The attack had been equally {233} severe upon the 72nd Brigade, who
+held the right of the division, which included the northern end of
+Delville Wood.  They entirely repulsed the Germans with great loss,
+the 8th Queen's Surrey being the battalion which bore the brunt of
+the fight.
+
+On the next day, September 1, the 17th Brigade came up to restore the
+situation on the left, and by evening the position had been almost
+cleared.  On the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th there were fresh German attacks,
+but the line was now firmly held and no impression was made.  None
+the less, the fighting had been costly, and the depleted division had
+2000 more names upon its roll of honour.  It was drawn out shortly
+afterwards, but its artillery, which was left in the line, had the
+misfortune to lose its distinguished chief, General Phillpotts, upon
+September 8.
+
+We shall now move a mile eastwards to follow the First Division in
+its difficult and, as it proved, impossible task of improving our
+position as regards High Wood, a spot which caused us more delay and
+loss than any other upon the German line.
+
+On September 3 a strong attack by the whole of the 1st Brigade was
+made upon the wood, which was gridironed with trenches and studded
+with strong points.  The immediate objectives were the main trench in
+the wood and the trenches to the south-east of the wood.  The 1st
+Camerons, supported by the 8th Berks, advanced upon the right, the
+Black Watch, supported by the 10th Gloucesters, on the left.  The
+attack had considerable success, which could not, however, be
+maintained.  The battalions on the right won home, but the
+consolidating parties were delayed.  On the left, the attack was only
+partially successful, being held up at a large mine-crater.  When
+{234} eventually a strong German counter-attack swept forward from
+the north-east of High Wood, the British had to fall back to their
+own original line, taking, however, 80 German prisoners with them.
+The ground had been won, but there had not been weight enough to hold
+it.  The losses of the two Highland battalions were severe.
+
+On September 8 the 3rd Brigade penetrated into the western part of
+High Wood, but again it was found impossible to make more than a
+temporary lodgment.  The 2nd Welsh, 1st South Wales Borderers and 1st
+Gloucesters were all involved in this affair, as was the 9th Black
+Watch of the Fifteenth Division, who played a very gallant part.
+Next day the attack was renewed with the 2nd Brigade upon the right,
+the 3rd upon the left.  In the centre the 1st Northants captured the
+crater, but were driven out of it later in the day, after a hard
+fight.  On the left the Munsters and Gloucesters were held up by
+machine-gun fire.  On the right the advance of the 2nd Sussex and of
+the 2nd Rifles met with gratifying success.  The important trench
+called Wood Lane was stormed, with a loss to the assailants of a
+couple of hundred men, after the hostile machine-guns had been deftly
+put out of action by our trench-mortars.  The Rifles were in touch
+not only with their comrades of Sussex upon the left, but with the
+5th King's Liverpool upon the right, so that the line was complete.
+It was consolidated that night by the 1st North Lancashires and was
+permanently held, an attempt at counter-attack next day being crushed
+by our barrage.  After this little victory the First Division was
+relieved upon the evening of September 10 by the New Zealanders.
+
+
+
+
+{235}
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+Breaking of the Third Line, September 15
+
+Capture of Martinpuich by Fifteenth Division--Advance of Fiftieth
+Division--Capture of High Wood by Forty-seventh Division--Splendid
+advance of New Zealanders--Capture of Flers by Forty-first
+Division--Advance of the Light Division--Arduous work of the Guards
+and Sixth Divisions--Capture of Quadrilateral--Work of Fifty-sixth
+Division on flank--Début of the tanks.
+
+
+The Army had been temporarily exhausted by its extreme efforts and
+the consequent losses, but was greatly buoyed up by the certainty
+that with their excellent artillery and their predominant air service
+they were inflicting more punishment than they were receiving.
+Steadily from week to week the tale of prisoners and of captured guns
+had been growing, the British and the French keeping curiously level
+in the numbers of their trophies.  Fresh divisions, ardent for
+battle, were streaming down from the Northern line, while old
+divisions, already badly hammered, filled up rapidly with eager
+drafts, and were battle-worthy once again in a period which would
+have been pronounced absolutely impossible by any military critic
+before the War.  All the rearward {236} villages were choked with the
+supports.  There was rumour also of some new agency to be used, and
+wondrous stories were whispered as to its nature and its powers.  The
+men were in high heart, therefore, and by the middle of September
+Rawlinson's Fourth Army, which now included three corps, was ready to
+spring forward once again.  The main German line was miles behind
+them, and the headquarters of British brigades and divisions now
+nested comfortably in those commodious dug-outs which two years of
+unremitting German labour had constructed--monuments for many a year
+to come of their industry and of their failure.  It was realised that
+the obstacles in front, however formidable, could not possibly be so
+difficult as those which had already been surmounted; and yet our
+aeroplanes were able to report that the whole country was still
+slashed across and across in a fanciful lacework of intricate
+patterns in which fire, support, and communication trenches formed
+one great network of defence.
+
+The left flank of the Army was formed by Gough's Fifth Army, which
+had pushed forward in the manner already described, the Second Corps
+(Jacob) and the Canadians (Byng) being in the line upon September 15.
+On their immediate right, and joining them in the trenches which face
+Martinpuich, was Pulteney's Third Corps, which covered the whole line
+down to High Wood.  From the north-west of High Wood to the trenches
+opposite Flers, Horne's long-suffering Fifteenth Corps still urged
+the attack which it had commenced upon July 1.  The units, it is
+true, had changed, but it is difficult to exaggerate the long strain
+which had been borne by this commander and his staff.  An
+appreciation of it was shown by his {237} elevation to the command of
+the First Army at the conclusion of the operations.  From the right
+of Horne's Corps to the point of junction with the French the line
+was filled by the Fourteenth Corps, under Lord Cavan of Ypres fame.
+In the movement, then, which we are immediately considering, it is
+the Third, Fifteenth, and Fourteenth Corps which are concerned.  We
+shall take them as usual from the left, and follow the fortunes of
+each until their immediate operations reached some definite term.  It
+is a gigantic movement upon which we look, for from the Eleventh
+Division in the Thiepval sector to the left, along ten miles of
+crowded trenches to the Fifty-sixth Division near Combles upon the
+right, twelve divisions, or about 120,000 infantry, were straining on
+the leash as the minute hand crawled towards zero and the shell
+streams swept ever swifter overhead.
+
+The three divisions which formed the Third Corps were, counting from
+the left, the Fifteenth, the Fiftieth, and the Forty-seventh.  Of
+these, the Scots Division was faced by the strong line of defence in
+front of Martinpuich and the village of that name.  The north of
+England territorials were opposite to the various German trenches
+which linked Martinpuich to High Wood.  The Londoners were faced by
+the ghastly charnel-house of High Wood itself, taken and retaken so
+often, but still mainly in German hands.  At 6.20 A.M. the assault
+went forward along the line.
+
+The Fifteenth Division, which had been strengthened by the 103rd
+Brigade, advanced upon the line of trenches which separated them from
+Martinpuich, the 46th Brigade being upon the left and the 45th upon
+the right.  The 10th Highland Light Infantry upon the left of the
+46th Brigade were in close touch with {238} the Canadians upon their
+left, forming the right-hand unit of Gough's Army.  This brigade,
+consisting of Highland Light Infantry, Scots Borderers, and Scottish
+Rifles, swarmed over the German defences, while their comrades upon
+the right, including Royal Scots, Scots Fusiliers, Camerons, and
+Argylls, were no less successful.  The fact that the whole line was
+engaged removed the old bugbears of enfilade fire which had broken up
+so many of our advances.  The German barrage was heavy, but the
+advance was so swift and the close fight of the trenches came so
+quickly, that it was less effective than of old.  A creeping barrage
+from the British guns, going forward at a pace of fifty yards a
+minute, kept in front of the infantry, whose eager feet were ever on
+the edge of the shrapnel.  With the 44th Highland Brigade in close
+support the whole division swept roaring over the trenches, and with
+hardly a pause flooded into Martinpuich, where they met the fringe of
+the Canadians, whose main advance was to the north-west of the
+village.  It was a magnificent advance, and the more noteworthy as
+the men of the 15th Division had already been for six unbroken weeks
+in the line, digging, working, fighting, and continually under
+shell-fire.  Some groups of Germans in the village attempted a short
+and hopeless resistance, but the greater number threw their arms down
+and their hands up.  It is said that a detachment of six Argylls got
+into Martinpuich some little time before their comrades, owing to
+some gap in the defences, and that they not only held their own
+there, but were found when reinforced to be mounting guard over fifty
+prisoners.  Among many anecdotes of military virtue may be cited that
+of a sergeant of this same battalion, which combined within one {240}
+episode all the qualities which distinguish the very best type of
+British soldier.  He first attacked single-handed a number of German
+dug-outs.  From one of these a German officer was emerging with his
+hands up.  A soldier dashed forward in act to kill him, upon which
+the sergeant threatened his comrade with the bomb which he held in
+his hand.  The German officer, as a sign of gratitude, presented
+Cunningham on the spot with his Iron Cross, which the sergeant at
+once despatched home to be sold for the benefit of the wounded.  It
+was a quaintly beautiful exhibition of a noble nature.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+{239}
+
+[Illustration: Taking of Martinpuich, September 15, 1916.]
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Immediate steps were taken to consolidate the village and to connect
+up firmly with the Fiftieth Division on the line of Starfish Trench,
+and with the Canadians on the line of Gunpit Trench, the general
+final position being as shown in the diagram.  The trophies upon this
+occasion amounted to 13 machine-guns, 3 field-guns, 3 heavy
+howitzers, and about 700 prisoners.  There was a counter-attack upon
+the morning of September 16, which was easily repulsed: and
+afterwards, save for constant heavy shelling, the village was left in
+the hands of the victors, until a few days later the Fifteenth was
+relieved by the Twenty-third Division.
+
+Whilst this brilliant advance had been conducted upon their left, the
+Fiftieth Division, the same north country Territorial Division which
+had done such vital service during the gas battle at Ypres, had
+carried the trenches opposed to them.  They had no village or fixed
+point at their front with which their success can be linked; but it
+may be said generally that they kept the centre level with the two
+victorious wings, and that in the evening of September 15 they {241}
+extended from the Starfish trench on the left to the new position of
+the Forty-seventh Division upon the right.  This position was a
+magnificent one, for High Wood had been finally taken, and the
+British line had been carried forward by these splendid London
+battalions, until in the evening the 140th Brigade upon the right had
+been able to join up with the New Zealanders upon the Flers line.
+Advancing upon a one-brigade front, with the 6th and 15th London in
+the lead, the London territorials, after one slight check, rushed the
+wood, and by 11 o'clock not only had it in their complete possession
+but had won 150 yards beyond it, where they consolidated.  Two tanks
+which had been allotted to them were unfortunately unable to make
+their way through that terrible chaos of fallen trees, irregular
+trenches, deep shell-holes, and putrescent decay, which extended for
+a third of a mile from south to north.  The wood now passed
+permanently into British hands, and the Forty-seventh Division has
+the honour of the final capture; but in justice to the Thirty-third
+and other brave divisions which had at different times taken and then
+lost it, it must be remembered that it was a very much more difficult
+proposition to hold it when there was no general attack, and when the
+guns of the whole German line could concentrate upon the task of
+making it uninhabitable.
+
+So much for the capture of High Wood by the Forty-seventh Division.
+Speaking generally, it may be said that each of the three divisions
+forming Pulteney's Third Corps was equally successful in reaching and
+in retaining the objectives assigned for the attack.
+
+The dividing line between the Third Corps and {242} Horne's Fifteenth
+Corps was to the south of High Wood in the neighbourhood of Drop
+Trench.  The order of the divisions in the latter corps from the left
+was the New Zealanders, the Forty-first Division, and the Fourteenth
+Light Division.  We shall follow each in its turn.
+
+The New Zealand Division had confirmed in France the high reputation
+which their predecessors had founded in South Africa, and which they
+had themselves renewed on the Gallipoli peninsula.  They were troops
+with a splendid spirit, and no Londoner who has seen their tall lithe
+figures with the crimson hat-bands which distinguish them from other
+oversea troops, needs to be told how fine was their physique.  They
+were fortunate, too, in a divisional commander of great dash and
+gallantry.  It is not surprising, therefore, to find that in this,
+their first serious battle, they carried themselves with great
+distinction and made good the objective which had been assigned to
+them.
+
+This objective was the famous Switch Trench between High Wood and
+Delville Wood, a section which was held by the Fourth Bavarian
+Division.  Good as the Bavarians are, they had no chance when it came
+to close quarters with the stalwart men of Auckland and Otago, who
+formed the 2nd Brigade in the front line of the New Zealand battle.
+The machine-gun fire which they had to face was heavy and deadly,
+especially for the Otagos, who were on the left near High Wood.  They
+poured on, however, in an unbroken array, springing down into Switch
+Trench, bayoneting part of the garrison, sending back the survivors
+as prisoners, and rapidly forming up once more for a fresh advance.
+The New Zealand Rifle {243} Brigade passed over the captured trench
+and lay down under the barrage 300 yards beyond it, whence at 6.40
+they went forward upon a new advance with such impetuosity that they
+could hardly be kept out of the friendly fire in front of them.  The
+next obstacle, Fat Trench, was easily surmounted, and by noon the
+Flers Trench and Flers Support Trench had both fallen to this fine
+advance.  The village of Flers was not in the direct line of the
+advance, but the fringe of the New Zealanders passed through the edge
+of it, and connected up with the Forty-first Division who had
+occupied it.
+
+When, as will presently be shown, the left-hand brigade of this
+division was temporarily driven back by a sharp German
+counter-attack, the New Zealanders were bare upon their right, while
+a gap existed also upon their left.  In spite of this they held on to
+their advanced position to the north-west of the village, the line
+being strengthened by battalions from Wellington, Hawke's Bay, and
+West Coast, who pushed forward into the fight.
+
+In the morning of the 16th the reserve brigade had come up and the
+advance was renewed as far as Grove Alley upon the left, the
+Canterbury battalion clearing and holding the new ground, with the
+Aucklanders and Otagos in immediate support.  With this new advance
+the New Zealanders had come forward 3000 yards in two days--a notable
+performance--and were within short striking distance of the great
+German systems of Gird Trench and Gird Support.  Two German counters
+that evening, one upon the Rifle Brigade and the other on the 1st
+Wellington battalion, had no success.
+
+On the right of the New Zealanders was the Forty-first {244} Division
+under one of the heroes of the original Seventh Division.  His
+objective after surmounting the German trench lines was the fortified
+village of Flers.  His artillery support was particularly strong, for
+his C.R.A. had under him the very efficient guns of the Twenty-first
+Division, as well as those of his own unit.  The infantry advance was
+carried out with the 122nd Brigade on the left, the 124th on the
+right, and the 123rd in reserve.  All the battalions save one were
+South of England, and most of them from the home counties, a district
+which has furnished some of the finest infantry of the War.  As they
+advanced they were in close touch with the 2nd New Zealanders upon
+the left and with the 41st Brigade upon the right.  The first
+objective, Tea Support Trench, was rapidly overrun by the Royal
+Riflemen, Hampshire, and Queen's Surrey battalions who formed the
+front line.  The garrison surrendered.  The continuation of Switch
+Trench stretched now in front of them, and both front brigades, with
+a ten minutes' interval in favour of the left one, made good the
+sections in front of them.  The division was fortunate in its tanks,
+for seven out of ten got over the first line, and some survived for
+the whole day, spreading dismay in front of them and amused
+appreciation behind.  The resistance was by no means desperate save
+by a few machine-gunners, who were finally scared or butted out of
+their emplacements by the iron monsters.  Two tanks did good service,
+cutting the wire to the west of Flers Road, and the village was
+opened up to the stormers, who rushed into it shortly after eight
+o'clock.  One tank went up the east side of the village and crushed
+in two houses containing machine-guns, while another {245} one passed
+down the main street; and yet another cleared up the west side.
+Nowhere upon this day of battle did these engines of warfare justify
+themselves so well as at Flers.
+
+By ten o'clock the village was cleared and consolidated, but the
+German guns were very active, and there was a strong counter-attack
+from fresh infantry, which fell heavily upon the already worn troops
+who had now passed beyond the village and got as far as the Box and
+Cox trenches.  There had been a large number of officer casualties.
+Shortly after ten o'clock an officer of the 18th King's Royal Rifles
+had got far forward with a mixed party of 100 men with some Lewis
+guns, and had established a strong point at Box and Cox, which he
+held until about one.  During those three hours the shell-fall was
+very severe.  The division had become somewhat scattered, partly
+owing to the street fighting in Flers and partly because the 124th
+Brigade upon the right, although it had kept touch with the 41st
+Brigade, had lost touch with its own comrades upon the left.  Finding
+that its left flank was open, it fell back and took up the line of
+the Sunken Road, a quarter of a mile south of Flers, where it
+remained.
+
+Meanwhile the 122nd Brigade was in some trouble.  The pressure of
+counter-attack in front of it had become so heavy that there was a
+general falling back of the more advanced units.  This retrograde
+movement was stopped by the Brigade-Major, who collected a section of
+the 228th Field Company of Royal Engineers, together with little
+groups of mixed battalions in Flers Trench, and sent them forward
+again, working in conjunction with the New Zealand 3rd (Rifle)
+Brigade to the north end of {246} the village.  Avoiding the centre
+of Flers, which was flaring and flaming with shells like the live
+crater of a volcano, these troops skirted the flank of the houses and
+by 2 P.M. had arrived once more at the north and north-west of the
+hamlet.  Five Vickers guns were brought up, and the position made
+good by 2 P.M., the Brigadier-General being personally most active in
+this reorganisation of his line.
+
+Whilst the 122nd Brigade had met and overcome this momentary
+set-back, the 124th upon the right had endured a similar experience
+and had come out of it with equal constancy.  Shortly after one they
+had fallen back to Flers Trench, where they were rallied by their
+Brigadier, and moved forward again accompanied by some stray units of
+the Fourteenth Division.  About 3 P.M. they were reinforced by two
+fresh companies of the 23rd Middlesex from the reserve brigade.  By
+half-past four the whole of the remains of the division were north of
+Flers in a ragged but indomitable line, steadily winning ground once
+more, and pushing back the German attack.  By half-past six they had
+got level with Flea Trench and Hogshead, and were close to the great
+Gird Trench.  Some of the 124th tried hard to establish themselves in
+this important work, but lost heavily from a machine-gun established
+in a cornfield upon their right.  At seven o'clock the advanced line
+was consolidated, and the scattered units reorganised so far as the
+want of officers would permit.  Very many of the latter, including
+Colonel Ash of the 23rd Middlesex, had been killed or wounded.  The
+11th Queen's, from the reserve brigade, was sent up to strengthen the
+front posts, while an officer of the same battalion was placed in
+charge of the Flers defences.  No {247} tank was left intact in the
+evening, but they had amply justified themselves and done brilliant
+work in this section of the battlefield.
+
+The morning of September 16 saw a forward movement in this quarter
+upon the Gird Trench, which was shared in by the divisions upon both
+wings.  The 64th Brigade of the Twenty-first Division had been placed
+under the orders of the General commanding the Forty-first for the
+purpose of this attack, so that the subsequent losses fell upon the
+North-countrymen.  The advance got forward about 200 yards and
+established itself close to the great trench, but the losses were
+heavy, the machine-guns active, and farther progress was for the
+moment impossible.  The 9th Yorkshire Light Infantry and 15th Durham
+Light Infantry were the chief sufferers in this affair.  Upon
+September 17 the Fifty-fifth Division relieved the Forty-first, whose
+record for the battle was certainly a glorious one, as in one day
+they had taken Tea Support, Switch Trench, Flers Trench, Flers
+village, Box and Cox and Flea Trench, any one of which might be
+considered an achievement.  How great their efforts were may be
+measured by the fact that nearly 50 per cent had fallen.  The losses
+of the 124th were almost as heavy, and those of the 123rd were
+considerable.  Altogether 149 officers out of 251 and 2994 out of
+about 7500 were killed or wounded.  The opponents both of the
+Forty-first and of the Fourteenth Divisions were the Fifth Bavarian
+Division, who held the German line from Flers to Ginchy, and must
+have been well-nigh annihilated in the action.
+
+The story of the Fourteenth Light Division has been to some extent
+told in recounting the experiences {248} of the Forty-first Division,
+as the two advanced side by side upon prolongations of the same
+trenches, with equal dangers and equal successes.  No village fell
+within the sphere of their actual operations, though a complete
+victory would have brought them to Guedecourt, but it was part of
+their task to sweep up the German trenches to the north of Delville
+Wood, especially the Tea Support and the Switch Trench.  This task
+was committed to the 41st Brigade, consisting entirely of Rifle
+Brigade or Royal Rifle Battalions.  The advance was for 500 yards
+downhill, and then up a long slope of 700 yards, which leads to a
+plateau about 200 yards across, with the Switch Trench in the centre
+of it.  The Riflemen swept over this space with a splendid dash which
+showed that they had inherited all those qualities of the old 60th
+which were cultivated by Sir John Moore and celebrated by Napier,
+qualities which were always shared by their comrades of the Rifle
+Brigade.  Regardless of the enemy's fire, and so eager that they
+occasionally were struck on the backs by their own shrapnel, the long
+thin lines pushed forward in perfect formation, the 8th Rifles and
+8th Rifle Brigade in front, with the 7th Battalions of the same
+regiments in close support.
+
+By ten o'clock they had cleared the network of trenches in front of
+them and gone forward 2000 yards.  The main attack was carried on by
+the 42nd Brigade, composed also of Riflemen with the 5th Oxford and
+Bucks and 5th Shropshires.  This brigade pushed on, keeping in close
+touch with the Forty-first Division upon the left, but gradually
+losing touch with the Guards upon their right, so that a dangerous
+gap was created.  It was covered by the {249} 7th Divisional
+Artillery as well as by its own guns.  In its advance it passed
+through the ranks of its fellow-brigade, which had cleared the first
+trenches up to and including the line of the Switch Trench.  The
+front line from the left consisted of the 5th Shropshires and 9th
+Rifle Brigade, with the 5th Oxford and Bucks and 9th Rifles behind.
+From the beginning the brigade was under heavy fire, and the colonel
+of the Oxfords was twice wounded, which did not prevent him from
+still leading his battalion.  The first obstacle, Gap Trench, was
+safely carried, and the line swept onwards to Bulls Road where they
+were cheered by the sight of a tank engaging and silencing a German
+battery, though it was itself destroyed in the moment of victory.
+The losses in the two rifle battalions were especially heavy as the
+right flank was exposed owing to the gap which had formed.  This
+deadly fire held up the flank, with the result that the Shropshires
+and Oxfords who were less exposed to it soon found themselves
+considerably in advance of their comrades, where they formed a line
+which was extended about mid-day by the arrival of the 9th Rifles.
+At this period large reinforcements of the enemy were seen flocking
+into Gird Trench and Gird Support Trench in front.  So strong were
+they that they attempted a counter-attack upon the right front of the
+42nd Brigade, but this was brought to a stand, and finally broken up
+by rifle and Lewis-gun fire.  The supporting 43rd Brigade came up in
+the evening and took over the ground gained, together with four
+German guns which had been captured.  The final result, therefore,
+was that the division had won its way to the edge of that Gird Trench
+which represented the next great task which should be attempted {250}
+by the Army--a task which, as already shown, was attempted by three
+divisions upon the morning of September 16, but proved to be too
+formidable for their depleted and wearied ranks.
+
+This fine advance of the Fourteenth Division brought them over the
+low ridge which had faced them.  "It was a grand sight," says a
+Rifleman, "to see the promised land lying green at one's feet, with
+Germans moving across the open, and ammunition waggons going at a
+trot to and from their batteries, but the grandest sight of the day
+was seeing the battalions advance, the men dancing along only too
+anxious to get to close grips with the enemy."
+
+Among many brave deeds recorded of the division there was none finer
+than those of a captain and a corporal, both of the Medical Service,
+who stayed in the open all day in spite of wounds, tending those who
+were hardly worse than themselves.
+
+On the evening of September 16 there was an advance of the 43rd
+Brigade, consisting of Somerset, Durham, Cornish, and Yorkshire Light
+Infantry, which succeeded in establishing itself in the Gird Trench,
+though they found it impossible to get as far as the Gird Support.
+This successful advance was supported by the Shropshire and Oxford
+battalions of the 42nd Brigade, who established flank protections and
+got into touch with the Guards in Gap Trench upon the right.  The
+Fourteenth Division was withdrawn from the line after this, and their
+place taken by the Twenty-first.
+
+We have now briefly considered the operations carried out during this
+great battle by Horne's Fifteenth Corps.  Upon their right,
+stretching from the neighbourhood of Ginchy to the left of the French
+{251} Army in the neighbourhood of Combles, was Cavan's Fourteenth
+Corps, which contained in its battle line the Guards, the Sixth
+Division, and the 56th London Territorial Division.  Taking them, as
+always, from the left, we will begin by tracing the progress of the
+Guards.
+
+The Guards Division had taken over the Ginchy Section some days
+previously from the Irish Division, and had at once found themselves
+involved in very heavy fighting, which left them a good deal weakened
+for the great advance.  They were faced by a strong system of
+trenches, and especially by one stronghold upon their right front,
+called the Quadrilateral, which was a most formidable thorn, not only
+in their side but also in that of the Sixth Division upon the right.
+On September 13 and 14 these two divisions strove hard, and sustained
+heavy losses in the endeavour to clear their front of, and to
+outflank, this serious obstacle, and some account of these
+preliminary operations may be here introduced, although, as
+explained, they were antecedent to the general engagement.  The
+attack upon the German trenches on the evening of September 13 was
+begun by the Sixth Division, which advanced with the 71st Brigade
+upon the left, the Sixteenth upon the right, and the Eighteenth in
+reserve.  For 500 yards the advance was successful until it reached
+the sunken road which leads from Ginchy to Leuze Wood.  Here the
+leading battalions of the 71st Brigade, the 2nd Sherwood Foresters
+upon the left and the 9th Suffolk upon the right, were held up by a
+furious fire which caused them heavy losses.  The 8th Bedford, one of
+the leading battalions of the 16th Brigade, was also heavily
+punished.  Many {252} officers fell, including Major Mack of the
+Suffolks, a civilian-bred soldier over sixty years of age, who had
+distinguished himself by his fiery courage.  The 2nd Brigade of
+Guards had advanced upon the left, near Ginchy Telegraph, and had
+also forced their way as far as the road, where they were held up
+partly by a terrific barrage from the north-east and partly by the
+murderous fire from the Quadrangle.  The whole line dug in upon the
+ground they had won and waited for a farther push in the morning.  In
+this action No. 2 Company of the 2nd Irish Guards suffered heavy
+casualties from close-range fire.
+
+On September 14 a second attempt was made to get forward, the action
+being a purely local one, but extending over a considerable space
+from Ginchy to near Leuze Wood, with its centre on the line of Ginchy
+Telegraph.  The 3rd Brigade of Guards came into action this morning
+and made some progress in the orchard north of Ginchy.  At the same
+time, the 2nd Sherwoods got astride of the little railway which
+intersected their position.  The gains were inconsiderable, however,
+which could not be said for the losses, mostly due to machine-gun
+fire from the Quadrangle.  The fact that this point was still untaken
+gave the whole Fourteenth Corps a very difficult start for the
+general action upon September 15 to which we now come.
+
+On the signal for the general advance the Guards Division advanced on
+the front between Delville Wood and Ginchy.  The 1st Guards Brigade
+was on the left, the 2nd on the right, and the 3rd in reserve.  The
+front line of battalions counting from the left were the 3rd, 2nd,
+and 1st Coldstreams with the 3rd Grenadiers as right flank.  Behind,
+in the second line {253} from the left, were the 1st Irish, 2nd
+Grenadiers, 2nd Irish, and 1st Scots.  Disregarding the Quadrilateral
+upon their right, which was holding up the Sixth Division, the Guards
+swept magnificently onwards, losing many officers and men, but never
+their direction or formation.  From 6.20 in the morning until 4 P.M.
+they overcame one obstacle after another, and continually advanced,
+though the progress was unequal at different points on the line.
+There was a short sharp bout of hand-to-hand fighting in the front
+line trench, but the rush of the heavy disciplined Guardsmen was
+irresistible, and the defenders were soon overwhelmed.  In this mêlée
+the battalions got badly mixed up, part of the 2nd Irish getting
+carried away by the 1st Brigade.  The 1st Brigade found a more
+formidable obstacle in front of them in Vat Alley, but this also was
+cleared after a struggle, the left-hand units getting mixed with the
+right-hand units of the Fourteenth Division.  About one o'clock the
+3rd Coldstreams on the extreme left were held up by a wired strong
+point.  They were weak in numbers and almost without officers, so
+they dug in as best they could and waited.  On the right the 2nd
+Brigade made good progress, and about mid-day its leading line topped
+the low ridge and saw the land of promise beyond, the green slope
+leading up to Lesboeufs, and in the middle of the slope, not more
+than a thousand yards away, a battery of field-guns raining shrapnel
+upon them.  They could get no farther, and they consolidated at this
+point, digging in under heavy shell-fire.  The German infantry was
+seen at one time marching down in artillery formation for a
+counter-attack, but the movement was soon dispersed.  In the evening
+the front line, terribly worn and consisting {254} of a jumble of
+exhausted men, held on firmly to the last inch that they had won.
+Too weak to advance and too proud to retire, they lay under the
+torment of the shells and waited for dusk.  The colonel of the 3rd
+Coldstreams, in temporary command of his brigade, had sent back
+during the afternoon for help, and the 2nd Scots were sent up from
+the 3rd Brigade, but the German barrage was so terrific that they
+sustained very heavy losses, including Colonel Tempest, Wynne-Finch,
+the adjutant, and many other officers.  The battalion, or what
+remained of it, arrived in time to help to crush a dangerous
+counter-attack, which was sweeping down from between Guedecourt and
+Lesboeufs, a repulse which was entirely inflicted by rifle and
+Lewis-gun fire.  A lieutenant seems to have been the senior officer
+present at this critical moment, and to have met it as our subalterns
+have so often met large emergencies during the War.  The advanced
+line was held until upon the next day the 60th Brigade, and finally
+the whole of the Twentieth Division, took over the new positions,
+which may be regarded as a protective flank line in continuation of
+that of the Fifty-sixth Division.  It should be mentioned that the
+61st Brigade of the Twentieth Division had been lent to the Guards
+during the battle, and had done very sterling and essential work.
+For a short time the Guards were rested after this splendid but
+costly service.
+
+In the meantime the gallant Sixth Division was left face to face with
+the hardest problem of all, the Quadrilateral trenches, which, as the
+name would indicate, were as formidable in the flanks or rear as in
+front.  With a tenacity which was worthy of the traditions of this
+great division it settled down to the {255} task of clearing its
+front, meeting with check after check, but carrying on day and night
+until the thing was done.  On the first assault upon September 15,
+the 1st Leicesters of the 71st Brigade were able to make some
+progress, but the 8th Bedford of the 16th Brigade, who shared the
+attack, were completely held up at the starting-point by the terrific
+fire, while the 1st Buffs had heavy losses in endeavouring to come up
+to their aid.  By about mid-day a mixture of battalions, which
+numbered about 200 of the York and Lancasters, 50 Buffs and 50
+Bedfords, had made their way into the advanced German line, but the
+Quadrilateral was still intact.  The General, seeing the certain
+losses and uncertain results which must follow from a frontal attack,
+determined to work round the obstacle, and before evening the 16th
+Brigade, which had already lost 1200 men, was ready for the advance.
+The 18th Brigade had gone forward past the Quadrilateral upon the
+left, working up to the Ginchy-Morval Road, and in close touch with
+the 1st Scots Guards on the extreme flank of the Guards Division.  It
+now worked down towards the north face of the German stronghold, and
+in the course of September 16 the 2nd Durham Light Infantry, by a
+bold advance laid hold of the northern trench of the Quadrilateral
+down to within a hundred yards of the Ginchy-Morval Road.  Here they
+were relieved by the 1st West Yorks, who took over the task upon the
+17th, keeping up constant pressure upon the garrison whose resistance
+was admirable.  These brave men belonged to the One hundred and
+eighty-fifth German Division.  By this time they were isolated, as
+the British wave had rolled far past them on either side, but their
+spirit {256} was as high as ever.  A second trench to the north of
+the work was rushed upon September 17 by the Leicesters, who
+bayoneted fifty Germans in a hand-to-hand conflict.  Early in the
+morning of September 18 came the end, when the British battalions,
+led by the 1st Shropshire Light Infantry, closed suddenly in and
+stormed the position.  Seven machine-guns (five of which fell to the
+Shropshires) and a few hundred exhausted or wounded prisoners
+represented the trophies of this very difficult operation.  The Sixth
+Division now connected up with the Twentieth upon their left, and
+with the Fifty-sixth upon their right, after which, upon September
+19, they handed over their front for a time to the Fifth Division.
+
+There now only remains the Fifty-sixth Division upon the extreme
+right of the Army--the division which contained many of the crack
+London Territorial Battalions, re-formed and reinforced since its
+terrible losses at the Gommecourt Salient upon July 1.  In following
+the fortunes of this fine division upon September 15, it is necessary
+to go back for some days, as a series of operations had been
+undertaken before the great battle, which were as arduous as the
+battle itself.  On coming into the line on September 9, the division
+had at once been given the task of advancing that wing of the Army.
+Upon that date the 168th and 169th Brigades were attacking upon the
+line of the road which connects Ginchy with Combles, the general
+objects of the advance being gradually to outflank Combles on the one
+side and the Quadrilateral upon the other.  Some ground was
+permanently gained by both brigades upon that day, the Victoria
+Rifles and the 4th London doing most of the fighting.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+{257}
+
+[Illustration: ATTACK on QUADRILATERAL, September 15th, 1916.]
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+{258}
+
+Upon September 10 the advance was continued, a scattered clump of
+trees called Leuze Wood being the immediate obstacle in front of the
+right-hand brigade, while the left-hand brigade was trying to get
+into touch with the division upon their left, and were confronted by
+the continuation of the same system of trenches.  The 169th Brigade
+upon the right was advancing through Leuze Wood, and suffered heavy
+losses before reaching its objective.  On the left the London
+Scottish and the Rangers were extending east along the Ginchy Road,
+endeavouring to link up with the Guards, for there was an awkward gap
+at that date between the divisions.  This was filled, however, by the
+advent of the Fifth and subsequently of the Sixth Division.  The
+object of all the above operations was to get the right flank of the
+Army into its allotted position for the battle to come.
+
+Upon September 15 the London Division went forward with the whole
+line at 6.20 in the morning, the 167th Brigade on the left, the 169th
+upon the right.  The original direction of advance had been north and
+south, but it soon became almost from west to east as the division,
+pivoting upon Leuze Wood, swung round to attack Bouleaux Wood to the
+north of it, and to hold a defensive flank for the whole army.  Their
+front was a very narrow one to allow for the fact that their
+essential work was lateral.
+
+The 167th Brigade fought its way bravely into Bouleaux Wood, where
+they endured the usual horrors of this forest fighting, which came
+especially upon the 7th Middlesex battalion, who lost 400 men,
+chiefly from the fire of unseen machine-guns.  There was a very heavy
+barrage between Ginchy and Bouleaux Wood, so that all reserves and
+supports endured heavy {259} losses before they could get up.  By
+mid-day the 1st London and the 8th were involved in the wood and some
+progress was being made, while the 2nd London of the 169th Brigade
+had taken and consolidated a trench near the Sunken Road, but a
+further attack upon a second trench to the east of Leuze Wood, two
+days later, was a failure.  On this same day, September 18, the 168th
+Brigade relieved the 167th in Bouleaux Wood, while the whole
+division, like one blade of a scissors, edged its way eastwards
+towards Combles to meet the French Second Division, who were closing
+in from the other side.  Already rumours were current that the
+Germans were evacuating this important little town, but many very
+active German trenches and strong points still lay all round it,
+through which the Allies, from either side, were endeavouring to
+force their way.  On the night of September 18-19, the 5th Cheshires,
+pioneer battalion of the division, constructed a long trench parallel
+to Bouleaux Wood, which formed a defensive flank for the operations.
+The whole of this wood had now been cleared with the exception of the
+extreme northern corner.  Here we may leave the Fifty-sixth Division,
+for the fall of Combles will fit in more properly to our next survey,
+when we shall have once again to go down the whole line from left to
+right and to show one more stage in the advance.
+
+This Battle of Flers may be said to mark an epoch in military history
+on account of the use of the so-called tank, an instrument which had
+no vital effect upon the course of the fight, but which was obviously
+capable of being much enlarged, and of being made in every way more
+formidable.  It had been a common criticism up to this date that our
+military equipment {260} had always been an imitation, very belated,
+of that of our enemy.  Now at last Great Britain, warming to the War,
+was giving her inventive and manufacturing as well as her military
+talents full scope--and the tank was the first-born of her fancy.  It
+is a matter of history that Britain has been the inventor of
+processes and Germany the adapter of them, so that we had a valuable
+asset in that direction could we break through our bonds of red tape
+and get without hindrance from the thinker in his study to the
+fighter in the trench.  Those who have had the experience of
+discussing any military problem in the Press, and have found by the
+next post fifty letters from men of all ranks and professions,
+presenting solutions for it, can best understand how active is the
+inventive brain of the country.  In this instance, Mr. Winston
+Churchill is said, during his tenure of office, to have first
+conceived the idea of the tanks, but the actual details were worked
+out by a number of men.  Especially they are owing to Colonel Stern,
+a civilian before the War, who used his knowledge of motor
+manufacture and his great organising ability to put the construction
+through in the shortest time, to Commander d'Eyncourt of the Navy,
+and to Colonel Swinton, R.E., who looked after the crews and
+equipment.  On an average six of these engines, strange modern
+resuscitations of the war-chariots of our ancestors, were allotted to
+each division.  The whole affair was frankly experimental, and many
+got into trouble through the breakdown of machinery, the limits of
+carrying capacity, and the slipping of the caterpillar driving-bands
+at the sides.  Their pace, too, was against them, as they could only
+go twenty yards per minute as against the fifty of the infantry.
+Hence {261} they had to be sent ahead down lanes in the barrage, with
+the result that the element of surprise was lessened.  Their vision
+also was very defective, and they were bad neighbours, as they drew
+fire.  The result was a very mixed report from various Divisional
+Commanders, some of whom swore by, and others at them.  The net
+result, however, was summed up by the words of commendation from
+General Haig in his despatch, and there were some cases, as at Flers
+itself, where the work done was simply invaluable, and the
+machine-guns were nosed out and rooted up before they could do any
+damage.  The adventures of individual tanks could, and no doubt will,
+fill a volume to themselves, some of them, either in ignorance or
+recklessness, wandering deep into the enemy's lines, and amazing
+rearward batteries by their sudden uncouth appearance.  Several were
+destroyed, but none actually fell into the German hands.  Enough was
+done to show their possibilities, and also to prove that the Navy and
+the Flying Service had not sufficed to exhaust our amazing supply of
+high-spirited youths ready to undertake the most nerve-shaking tasks
+so long as a touch of sport gave them a flavour.  The very names of
+these land cruisers, Crême de Menthe and the like, showed the joyous,
+debonair spirit in which their crews faced the unknown dangers of
+their new calling.
+
+Summing up the events of September 15, it was without any doubt the
+greatest British victory, though not the most important, which had
+been gained up to date in the War.  July 1 was the most important,
+and all subsequent ones arose from it, since it was then that the
+Chinese Wall of Germany was breached.  July 14 was also a
+considerable victory, but it was only a {262} portion of the line
+which was attacked, and that portion was partly regained for a time
+by the German counter-attacks.  The battle of September 15, however,
+was on as huge a scale as that of July 1, but was devoid of those
+long stretches of untaken trench which made us pay so heavy a price
+for our victory.  From the Pozières Ridge upon the left to Bouleaux
+Wood upon the right twelve divisions moved forward to victory, and,
+save in the small section of the Quadrilateral, everything gave way
+at once to that majestic advance.  The ultimate objectives had been
+carefully defined, for the Battle of Loos had taught us that the
+infantry must not outrun the guns, but this pre-ordained limit was
+attained at almost every spot.  Martinpuich, High Wood, Flers,
+Delville, and Leuze Wood, all passed permanently within the British
+lines, and the trophies of victory amounted to 5000 prisoners and a
+dozen guns.  At this stage no less than 21,000 prisoners had been
+taken by the British and 34,000 by the French since the great series
+of battles was commenced upon July 1.
+
+
+
+
+{263}
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THE GAINING OF THE THIEPVAL RIDGE
+
+Assault on Thiepval by Eighteenth Division--Heavy
+fighting--Co-operation of Eleventh Division--Fall of Thiepval--Fall
+of Schwaben Redoubt--Taking of Stuff Redoubt--Important gains on the
+Ridge.
+
+
+Having treated the successful advance made by Rawlinson's Fourth Army
+upon September 15, it would be well before continuing the narrative
+of their further efforts to return to Gough's Army upon the north,
+the right Canadian wing of which had captured Courcelette, but which
+was occupied in the main with the advance upon the Thiepval Ridge.
+
+The actual capture of Thiepval was an operation of such importance
+that it must be treated in some detail.  The village, or rather the
+position, was a thorn in the side of the British, as it lay with its
+veteran garrison of Würtembergers, girdled round and flanked by
+formidable systems of trenches upon the extreme left of their line.
+Just above Thiepval was a long slope ending in a marked ridge, which
+was topped by the Schwaben Redoubt.  Both armies recognised the
+extreme importance of this position, since its capture would mean a
+fire-command over all the German positions to the north of the Ancre,
+while {264} without it the British could never reap the full result
+of their success in breaking the line upon July 1.  For this reason,
+instructions had been given to the picked German troops who held it
+to resist at all costs, even to the death.  They had massed at least
+four hundred guns in order to beat down every assault.  Yet the
+attempt must be made, and it was assigned to Jacob's Second Corps,
+the actual Divisions engaged being the Eighteenth and the Eleventh,
+both of them units recruited in the South of England.  The latter was
+distinguished as the first English Division of the New Armies, while
+the former had already gained great distinction in the early days of
+the Somme battle when they captured Trones Wood.  They were supported
+in their difficult venture by a considerable concentration of
+artillery, which included the guns of the Twenty-fifth and
+Forty-ninth Divisions as well as their own.  Jacob, their Corps
+leader, was an officer who had risen from the command of an
+Anglo-Indian Brigade to that of a Corps within two years.  The whole
+operation, like all others in this region, was under the direction of
+Sir Hubert Gough.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+{265}
+
+[Illustration: PLAN illustrating the Capture of THIEPVAL, September
+26th, October 5th, 1916.]
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Every possible preparation was made for the assault, and all the
+requirements of prolonged warfare were used to minimise the losses
+and ensure the success of the storm-troops.  Four tanks were brought
+up to co-operate, and one of them, as will be shown, was of vital use
+at a critical moment.  Instructions were given to the advancing
+battalions to let their own shrapnel strike within a few yards of
+their toes as they advanced, huddling in a thick line behind the
+screen of falling bullets which beat down the machine-guns in front.
+With fine judgment in some cases the supports were taken out of the
+advanced trenches and {266} concealed here or there so that the
+answering barrage of the enemy fell upon emptiness.  So war-wise were
+the British, and so cool their dispositions, that certain enemy
+trenches were actually exempted from bombardment, so that they might
+form an intact nucleus of defence when the place was taken.
+
+The Canadian Corps were to attack from Courcelette upon the right,
+but their advance was only indirectly concerned with Thiepval
+Village, being directed towards the ridge which runs north-west of
+Courcelette to the Schwaben Redoubt.  Next to the Canadians on the
+left was the Eleventh Division, and on their left the Thirteenth,
+which had been strengthened by the addition of the 146th Brigade of
+the Forty-ninth Division.  The latter brigade held the original
+British front line during the action so as to release the whole of
+the Eighteenth Division for the advance.  The immediate objective of
+this division was Thiepval Village, to be followed by the Schwaben
+Redoubt.  Those of the Eleventh Division on its right were Zollern
+and Stuff Redoubts.
+
+The Eighteenth Division assaulted with two brigades, the 53rd on the
+right, the 54th on the left, each being confronted by a network of
+trenches backed by portions of the shattered village.  The advance
+was from south to north, and at right angles to the original British
+trench line.  The hour of fate was 12.35 in the afternoon of
+September 26.
+
+The average breadth of No Man's Land was 250 yards, which was crossed
+by these steady troops at a slow, plodding walk, the pace being
+regulated by the searching barrage, which lingered over every
+shell-hole in front of them.  Through the hard work of the sappers
+and Sussex pioneers, the assembly {267} trenches had been pushed well
+out, otherwise the task would have been more formidable.
+
+Following the fortunes of the 53rd Brigade upon the right, its
+movements were supposed to synchronise with those of the 33rd Brigade
+upon the left flank of the Eleventh Division.  The right advanced
+battalion was the 8th Suffolk, with the 10th Essex upon the left,
+each of them in six waves.  Close at their heels came the 8th
+Norfolk, whose task was to search dug-outs and generally to
+consolidate the ground won.  The front line of stormers rolled over
+Joseph Trench, which was the German advanced position, but before
+they had reached it there was a strange eruption of half-dressed
+unarmed Germans yelling with terror and bolting through the barrage.
+Many of them dashed through the stolid Suffolks, who took no notice
+of them, but let them pass.  Others lost their nerve like rabbits at
+a battue, and darted here and there between the lines until the
+shrapnel found them.  It was an omen of victory that such clear signs
+of shaken moral should be evident so early in the day.  There was
+sterner stuff behind, however, as our men were speedily to learn.
+
+The advance went steadily forward, cleaning up the trenches as it
+went, and crossing Schwaben Trench, Zollern Trench, and Bulgar
+Trench, in each of which there was sharp resistance, only quelled by
+the immediate presence of our Lewis guns, or occasionally by the rush
+of a few determined men with bayonets.  It was 2.30 before the
+advance was brought to a temporary stand by machine-gun fire from the
+right.  After that hour a small party of Suffolks under Lieutenant
+Mason got forward some distance ahead, and made a strong point which
+they held till evening, {268} this gallant young officer falling
+under the enemy's fire.
+
+The success of the Suffolks upon the right was equalled by that of
+the Essex on the left, passing through the eastern portion of
+Thiepval without great loss, for the usual machine-gun fire seemed to
+have been stamped out by the British guns.  The whole of this fine
+advance of the 53rd Brigade covered about 1000 yards in depth and
+accounted for a great number of the enemy in killed, wounded, and
+prisoners.  The advance made and the cost paid both showed that our
+officers and soldiers were learning the lessons of modern warfare
+with that swift adaptability which Britain has shown in every phase
+of this terrific and prolonged test.  This old, old nation's blood
+has flowed into so many younger ones that her own vitality might well
+be exhausted; but she has, on the contrary, above all the combatants,
+given evidence of the supple elasticity of youth, moulding herself in
+an instant to every movement of the grim giant with whom she fought.
+
+Great as had been the success of the 53rd Brigade, it was not
+possible for them to get on to the Schwaben Redoubt, their ultimate
+objective, because, as will be shown, matters were more difficult
+upon the left, and one corner of the village was still in German
+possession.  They ended the day, therefore, with two battalions
+consolidating the Zollern Line, a third in support in the Schwaben
+Trench, and a fourth, the 6th Berks, bringing up munitions and food
+to their exhausted but victorious comrades.  The front line was much
+mixed, but the men were in good heart, and a visit from their
+Brigadier in the early morning of the 27th did much to reassure them.
+To carry on the story {269} of this brigade to the conclusion of the
+attack it may be added that the whole of the 27th was spent on
+consolidation and on a daring reconnaissance by a captain of the 53rd
+Trench Mortar Battery, who crawled forward alone, and made it clear
+by his report that a new concerted effort was necessary before the
+Brigade could advance.
+
+We shall now return to 12.35 P.M. on September 26, and follow the
+54th Brigade upon the left.  The advance was carried out by the 12th
+Middlesex, with instructions to attack the village, and by the 11th
+Royal Fusiliers, whose task was to clear the maze of trenches and
+dug-outs upon the west of the village, while the 6th Northamptons
+were to be in close support.  So difficult was the task, that a
+frontage of only 300 yards was allotted to the Brigade, so as to
+ensure weight of attack--the Fusiliers having a front line of one
+platoon.
+
+The advance ran constantly into a network of trenches with nodal
+strong points which were held with resolution and could only be
+carried by fierce hand-to-hand fighting.  Captain Thompson,
+Lieutenants Miall-Smith and Cornaby, and many of their Fusiliers in
+the leading company, were killed or wounded in this desperate
+business.  So stern was the fight that the Fusiliers on the left got
+far behind their own barrage, and also behind their Middlesex
+comrades on the right, who swept up as far as the château before they
+were brought to a temporary halt.  Here, at the very vital moment,
+one of the tanks, the only one still available, came gliding forward
+and put out of action the machine-guns of the chateau, breaking down
+in the effort, and remaining on the scene of its success.  Across the
+whole front of the {270} advance there were now a series of small
+conflicts at close quarters, so stubborn that the left wing of the
+Fusiliers was held stationary in constant combat for the rest of the
+day.  Extraordinary initiative was shown by privates of both leading
+battalions when left without officers in this scattered fighting, and
+here, no doubt, we have a result depending upon the formed educated
+stuff which went to the making of such troops as these London units
+of the new armies.  Private Edwards and Private Ryder each gained
+their V.C. at this stage of the action by single-handed advances
+which carried forward the line.  Corporal Tovey lost his life in a
+similar gallant venture, bayoneting single-handed the crew of a
+machine-gun and silencing it.  Fierce battles raged round garrisoned
+dug-outs, where no quarter was given or taken on either side.  One
+considerable garrison refused to surrender and perished horribly in
+the flames of their wood-lined refuge.  Those who fled from their
+refuges were cut down by Lewis guns, a lieutenant of the Fusiliers
+getting 50 in this manner.  This officer also distinguished himself
+by his use of a captured map, which enabled him to lead his men to
+the central telephone installation, where 20 operators were seized by
+a corporal and two files of Fusiliers, who afterwards put the wires
+out of gear.
+
+These great results had not been obtained without heavy losses.
+Colonel Carr of the Fusiliers, Major Hudson, and the Adjutant had all
+fallen.  About three in the afternoon the village had all been
+cleared save the north-west corner, but the battalions were very
+mixed, the barrage deadly, the order of the attack out of gear, and
+the position still insecure.  The 54th Brigade was well up with the
+53rd upon the {271} right, but upon the left it was held up as
+already described.  The German egg bombs were falling in this area as
+thick as snowballs in a schoolboy battle, while the more formidable
+stick bombs were often to be seen, twenty at a time, in the air.
+
+A great deal now depended upon the supports, as the front line was
+evidently spent and held.  The immediate support was the 6th
+Northamptons.  In moving forward it lost both Colonel Ripley and the
+Adjutant, and many officers fell, two companies being left entirely
+to the charge of the sergeants, who rose finely to their
+responsibilities.  When by four o'clock the battalion had got up
+through the barrage, there were only two unwounded company officers
+left standing, both second lieutenants.  It was one more
+demonstration of the fact that a modern barrage can create a zone
+through which it is practically impossible for unarmoured troops to
+move.  The result was that the battalion was so weak by the time it
+got up, that it was less a support to others than a unit which was in
+need of support.  The three depleted battalions simply held their
+line, therefore, until night, and under the cover of darkness they
+were all drawn off, and the remaining battalion, the 7th Bedfords,
+took their place.  That this could be done at night in strange
+trenches within a few yards of the German line is a feat which
+soldiers will best appreciate.  The result was that as day broke on
+the 27th the Germans were faced not by a fringe of exhausted men, but
+by a perfectly fresh battalion which was ready and eager for
+immediate attack.
+
+The whole of Thiepval had been taken upon the 26th, save only the
+north-west corner, and it was upon this that two companies of the
+Bedfords were now {272} directed, their objectives being defined for
+them by a captain who had fought over the ground the day before.
+Thanks to the gallant leadership of another captain and of Lieutenant
+Adlam (the latter gaining his Victoria Cross), the place was carried
+at small loss, and this last refuge of the Thiepval Germans was
+cleared out.  It was a glorious achievement, for by it this very
+strong point, held against all attacks, French or British, for two
+years, passed permanently into our hands.  The losses were not
+excessive for such a gain, amounting to about 1500 men.  Those of the
+Germans were very much heavier, and included 600 prisoners drawn from
+four different regiments.  Over 1000 dead were counted.
+
+We will now hark back to 12.35 P.M., the hour of assault, and follow
+the fortunes of the Eleventh or first English Division of the New
+Armies which was advancing upon the right of the Eighteenth Division.
+Within half an hour of the assault the 33rd Brigade and the 34th had
+crossed both the Joseph and the Schwaben Trenches, the 6th Borders,
+9th Sherwood Foresters, 8th Northumberland Fusiliers, and 9th
+Lancashire Fusiliers forming the front line.  Keeping some sort of
+touch with Maxse's men on the left they pushed on until their right
+wing was held up by violent machine-gun fire from the Zollern Redoubt
+and from Mouquet Farm, the losses falling especially upon the 5th
+Dorsets.  Between six and seven in the evening a mixed body of troops
+from the division, assisted by the machine-guns of two stranded
+tanks, attacked Mouquet and finally carried it.
+
+The Eighteenth Division had still a very formidable task before it to
+be undertaken with the co-operation of the Eleventh upon its right.
+This was the capture {273} of the formidable stronghold, made up of
+many trenches and called the Schwaben Redoubt.  It was a thousand
+yards distant up a long broken slope.  No time was lost in tackling
+this new labour, and at 1 P.M. on September 28 the troops moved
+forward once again, the same brigades being used, but the worn
+battalions being replaced by fresh units drawn from the 55th Brigade.
+The 53rd Brigade on the right had the undefeatable Suffolks and the
+7th Queen's Surreys in the van with Norfolks and Essex behind.  The
+54th upon a narrower front had the 7th Bedfords in front, with the
+5th West Yorks from the Forty-ninth Division in immediate support,
+the Buffs and East Surrey being in Divisional Reserve.  The Germans
+had got a captive balloon into the air, but their gunnery was not
+particularly improved thereby.
+
+At the first rush the Suffolk and Queen's on the right took Bulgar
+and Martin Trenches, while the Eleventh Division took Hessian.  By
+2.30 Market Trench had also fallen.  The troops were now well up to
+Schwaben, and small groups of men pushed their way home in spite of a
+furious resistance.  The Eleventh Division had won home on the right,
+and the Suffolks were in touch with them and with the Queen's, so
+that the position before evening was thoroughly sound.  Part of this
+enormous stronghold was still in German hands, however, and all our
+efforts could not give us complete control.
+
+Upon the left the 7th Bedfords, leading the 54th Brigade, had made a
+very notable advance, crossing Market Trench and getting well up to
+the western face of the great Redoubt.  The Reserves, however, lost
+direction amid the chaos of shell-holes and trenches, drifting away
+to the left.  The Schwaben was occupied {274} at several points, and
+the first-fruits of that commanding position were at once picked, for
+the light machine-guns were turned upon the German fugitives as they
+rushed with bent backs down the sloping trenches which led to St.
+Pierre Divion.  The West Yorkshires were well up, and for a time
+these two battalions and the Germans seem to have equally divided
+this portion of the trench between them.  There was stark fighting
+everywhere with bomb and bayonet, neither side flinching, and both so
+mixed up that neither German nor British commanders could tell how
+the units lay.  In such a case a General can only trust to his men,
+and a British General seldom trusts in vain.
+
+As night fell in this confused scene where along the whole line the
+Eighteenth Division had reached its objective but had not cleared it,
+attempts were made to bring up new men, the Berkshires, a battalion
+of young drafts, relieving the Suffolks on the right.  In the morning
+two local counter-attacks by the Germans succeeded in enlarging their
+area.  At the same time the 55th Brigade took over the front, the
+four battalions being reunited under their own Brigadier.  It was
+clear that the German line was thickening, for it was a matter of
+desperate urgency to them to recover the Redoubt.  They still held
+the northern end of the labyrinth.  On September 30 the East Surreys,
+moving up behind a massive barrage, took it by storm, but were driven
+out again before they could get their roots down.  The Germans,
+encouraged by their success, surged south again, but could make no
+headway.  On October 1 the tide set northwards once more, and the
+Buffs gained some ground.  From then till October 5, when the
+Eighteenth Division was relieved by the Thirty-ninth, there {275}
+were incessant alarms and excursions, having the net result that at
+the latter date the whole Redoubt with the exception of one small
+section, afterwards taken by the Thirty-ninth, was in our hands.  So
+ended for the moment the splendid service of the Eighteenth Division.
+Nearly 2000 officers and men had fallen in the Schwaben operations,
+apart from the 1500 paid for Thiepval.  It is certain, however, that
+the Schwaben garrison had suffered as much, and they left 232
+prisoners in the hands of the victors.
+
+For the purpose of continuity of narrative, we have kept our
+attention fixed upon the Eighteenth Division, but the Eleventh
+Division, which we have left at Mouquet Farm some pages before, had
+been doing equally good work upon the right.  In the afternoon of
+September 27 the 6th Borders, rushing suddenly from Zollern Trench,
+made a lodgment in Hessian Trench, to which they resolutely clung.
+On their left the 6th Yorks and 9th West Yorks had also advanced and
+gained permanent ground, winning their way into the southern edge of
+Stuff Redoubt.  Here they had to face a desperate counter-attack, but
+Captain White, with a mixed party of the battalions named, held on
+against all odds, winning his V.C. by his extraordinary exertions.
+During the whole of September 29 the pressure at this point was
+extreme, but the divisional artillery showed itself to be extremely
+efficient, and covered the exhausted infantry with a most comforting
+barrage.
+
+The 32nd Brigade was now brought up, and on September 30 the advance
+was resumed, the whole of this brigade and the 6th Lincolns and 7th
+South Staffords of the 33rd being strongly engaged.  The results were
+admirable, as the whole of Hessian Trench {276} and the south of
+Stuff Redoubt were occupied.  That night the Eleventh Division was
+relieved by the Twenty-fifth, and it will now be told how the
+conquest of the Ridge was finally achieved.  The Eleventh withdrew
+after having done splendid work and sustained losses of 144 officers
+and 3500 men.  Their prisoners amounted to 30 officers and 1125 of
+all ranks, with a great number of machine-guns and trench mortars.
+
+After the fall of Thiepval and the operations which immediately
+followed it the front British line in this quarter ran approximately
+east and west along the Thiepval-Courcelette ridge.  As far as part
+of the front was concerned we had observation over the Valley of the
+Ancre, but in another part the Germans still held on to the Stuff
+Redoubt, and thence for a stretch they were still on the crest and
+had the observation.  The Stuff Redoubt itself on the southern face
+had been occupied by the Eleventh, when the Schwaben Redoubt was
+taken by the Eighteenth Division, but the northern faces of both were
+still in the hands of the enemy.  These had now to be taken in order
+to clear up the line.  A further stronghold, called The Mounds,
+immediately to the north, came also within the operation.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+{277}
+
+[Illustration: STUFF REDOUBT SYSTEM showing Hessian, Regina and
+Stuff.]
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+The Twenty-fifth Division had, as stated, relieved the Eleventh, and
+this new task was handed over to it.  Upon October 9 the first attack
+was made by the 10th Cheshires, and although their full objective was
+not reached, the result was satisfactory, a lodgment being made and
+100 of the garrison captured, with slight casualties to the stormers,
+thanks to the good barrage and the workmanlike way in which they took
+advantage of it.  A strong attempt {278} on the part of the Germans
+to prevent consolidation and to throw out the intruders was quite
+unsuccessful.
+
+The 8th North Lancs were now placed in the position of the Cheshires,
+while the Thirty-ninth Division upon the left joined in the pressure.
+Upon October 10 an attack was made by the 16th Sherwoods supported by
+the 17th Rifles of the 117th Brigade; but it had no success.  On the
+12th there was a renewed attack by units of the 118th Brigade,
+chiefly the 4th Black Watch.  This succeeded in advancing the line
+for a short distance, and upon October 15 it repulsed two local
+counter-attacks.  Upon the right the 8th North Lancs upon October 14
+had a very successful advance, in which they carried with moderate
+loss the stretch of line opposite, as well as the position called The
+Mounds.  Two machine-guns and 125 prisoners were taken.
+
+The British now had observation along the whole ridge with a line of
+observation posts pushed out beyond the crest.  There were formidable
+obstacles upon their right front, however, where the Regina Trench
+and a heavily fortified quadrilateral system lay in front of the
+troops already mentioned, and also of the Canadians on the
+Courcelette line.  In order to get ready for the next advance there
+was some sidestepping of units, the hard-worked Eighteenth coming in
+on the right next the Canadians, the Twenty-fifth moving along, and
+the Thirty-ninth coming closer on the left.  On October 8 the
+Canadians had a sharp action, in which the Ontario, British Columbia,
+Alberta, and Winnipeg Battalions showed their usual resolution, and
+took a couple of hundred prisoners, but were unable to gain much
+ground.  A concerted movement of the whole line was now organised.
+
+{279}
+
+The great Stuff Trench, which was roughly a continuation of the
+Regina, was opposite the centre of the attack, and was distant some
+300 yards from the British front.  The barrage arrangements
+co-ordinated by the Second Corps (Jacob), to which these units now
+belonged, worked most admirably.  The attack was made all along the
+line and was eminently successful.  At 12.35 upon October 21 the
+general advance began, and at 4.30 the whole objective, including
+Stuff and Regina, was in the hands of the British and Canadians.  It
+was a fine victory, with 20 machine-guns and 1000 prisoners of the
+5th Ersatz and Twenty-eighth Bavarian Divisions as trophies.  So
+rapid was the consolidation that before morning trenches were opened
+out between the captured line and the old British position.  A
+curious incident in this most successful attack was that the 8th
+Border Regiment advanced at least a thousand yards beyond its
+objective, but was successful in getting back.  By this brilliant
+little action the enemy was finally driven down upon a three-mile
+front north of Thiepval and Courcelette, until he had no foothold
+left save the marshes to the south of the Ancre, where he cowered in
+enfiladed trenches for that final clearing up which was only delayed
+by the weather.  It should be added that on this same date, October
+21, the left of the British line, formed by the Thirty-ninth
+Division, was attacked by storm-troops of the German Twenty-eighth
+Reserve Division, armed with _flammenwerfer_ and supported by 60
+light batteries.  The attack was formidable, and twice got into the
+British line, but was twice driven out again, leaving many prisoners
+and trophies behind.  The Sussex and Hampshire troops of the 116th
+Brigade, aided by the 17th Rifles, {280} stood splendidly to their
+work, and ended by holding every inch of their ground, and adding a
+new German trench which was carried by the 14th Hants.
+
+From this time onwards this northern section of the line was quiet
+save for small readjustments, until the great effort upon November
+13, which brought the autumn campaign to a close with the
+considerable victory of Beaumont Hamel.  From the point which the
+Second Corps had now reached it could command with its guns the
+Valley of the Ancre to the north of it, including some of those
+positions which had repulsed our attack upon July 1 and were still in
+German hands.  So completely did we now outflank them from the south
+that it must have been evident to any student of the map that Haig
+was sure, sooner or later, to make a strong infantry advance over the
+ground which was so completely controlled by his artillery.  It was
+the German appreciation of this fact which had caused their desperate
+efforts at successive lines of defence to hold us back from gaining
+complete command of the crest of the slope.  It will be told in the
+final chapter of this volume how this command was utilised, and a
+bold step was taken towards rolling up the German positions from the
+south--a step which was so successful that it was in all probability
+the immediate cause of that general retirement of the whole German
+front which was the first great event in the campaign of 1917.
+
+
+
+
+{281}
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+
+From September 15 to the Battle of the Ancre
+
+Capture of Eaucourt--Varying character of German resistance--Hard
+trench fighting along the line--Dreadful climatic conditions--The
+meteorological trenches--Hazy Trench--Zenith Trench--General
+observations--General von Arnim's report.
+
+
+Having described the Battle of Flers, which began upon September 15
+and which extended over one, two, or three days according to the
+completeness of the local victory, or the difficulty of reaching any
+definite limit, we will now turn once more to the left of the line
+(always excepting Gough's flanking army, which has been treated
+elsewhere), and we shall follow the deeds of the successive divisions
+in each sector up to the end of the operations.  We will begin with
+the Third Corps, who abutted upon the Canadians in the Martinpuich
+sector, and covered the line up to Drop Alley, north-east of High
+Wood, where they joined up with the Fifteenth Corps.
+
+The line on this western section was less active than on the right,
+where the great villages of Combles, Lesboeufs, and Morval were
+obvious marks for the advance.  After the battle of September 15, the
+{282} Twenty-third Division, relieving the Fifteenth, took its
+station at the extreme left of the line, just north of Martinpuich.
+To the right of the Twenty-third, occupying the Starfish and Prue
+system of trenches, was the Fiftieth Division.  On their right was
+the First, who had relieved the Forty-seventh Division, the victors
+of High Wood.  These three divisions, Twenty-third, Fiftieth, and
+First, now formed the Third Corps.  Their fighting patrols were
+thrown well out during the days after the battle, and their front
+posts were as far north as Crescent Alley and Hook Trench.  The
+general attack of September 25, which amounted to a considerable
+battle, did not seriously affect this portion of the line.  The only
+operation of note before the end of the month was an attack upon a
+farm in the front of their line by the 70th Brigade of the
+Twenty-third Division--a brigade which had greatly distinguished
+itself during the time it had fought with the Eighth Division upon
+July 1.  This attack failed the first time, but it was repeated with
+success at dawn upon September 29, and the line moved forward to that
+limited extent.  Another small advance was made by the First Division
+on the night of September 25, east of Eaucourt, when a piece of
+trench was carried by the gallantry of a platoon of the 2nd Rifles,
+consisting almost entirely of Rhodesian volunteers, samples of those
+wandering Britons who have played a part in this War which can never
+be chronicled.  The way in which the distant sons, prodigal or
+otherwise, came back to the help of their hard-pressed mother is one
+of the most beautiful chapters in the history of the Empire.
+
+The Flers front-line trench bends away from the British position as
+it trends towards the north-west, {283} so that although it had been
+made good over a large portion in the Battle of Flers, it was still
+intact opposite the Third Corps.  Upon October 1, however, it was
+attacked, and was taken without any great difficulty, though the
+Fiftieth in the centre had to fight hard for their section.  The
+storming battalions, after re-forming, continued their advance, and
+occupied the line between Le Sars and Flers.  The village of Eaucourt
+lay in their path, and was well guarded upon the west by uncut wire,
+but a tank rolled its majestic path across it and the shouting
+infantry crowded close behind.  The 141st Brigade of the
+Forty-seventh Division, which had come back once again into the line,
+was the first to enter this village, which was the sixteenth torn by
+the British from the grip of the invaders since the breaking of the
+line, while the French captures stood at an even higher figure.
+There was a strong counter-attack upon Eaucourt during the night,
+accompanied by a shortage of bombs owing to the fact that the store
+had been destroyed by an unlucky shell.  The Germans for the time
+regained the village, and the ruins were partly occupied by both
+armies until October 3, when the British line, once more gathering
+volume and momentum, rolled over it for the last time.  It had been
+stoutly defended by men of a German reserve division, and its capture
+had cost us dear.  One of the mysteries of the fighting at this stage
+was the very varied quality of the resistance, so that the advancing
+British were never sure whether they would find themselves faced by
+demoralised poltroons, capable of throwing up their hands by the
+hundred, or by splendid infantry, who would fight to the death with
+the courage of despair.
+
+{284}
+
+Having won Eaucourt, the next village which faced the British line in
+this sector was Le Sars, immediately to the north-west.  The advance
+upon this was carried out amid rain and slush which made military
+operations almost impossible.  It was again found that the resistance
+was very spirited, but the place was none the less carried and
+consolidated upon October 7.
+
+In the week preceding the final assault there was hard fighting,
+during which the 70th Brigade won its way forward into a favourable
+position for the attack.  The 8th York and Lancasters particularly
+distinguished themselves by their gallantry in clearing by bombing
+the outlying German defences, Major Sawyer and Lieutenant de Burgh of
+that battalion winning the Cross for their fine leadership upon that
+occasion.  The decisive attack was carried out by the other two
+brigades of the Twenty-third Division, which advanced upon the
+village, whilst the Forty-seventh Division made an attempt upon the
+formidable Butte of Warlencourt.  The latter venture met with no
+success, but the former was brilliantly carried out.  The advance was
+made by the 68th Brigade upon the right and the 69th upon the left,
+the Martinpuich-Warlencourt Road being the dividing line between the
+two divisions.  The attack was at 1.45 P.M., and in broad daylight
+the battalions concerned, notably the 12th and 13th Durhams and the
+9th Yorks, clambered over their sodden sandbags and waded through the
+mud which separated them from the Germans.  The numbers were so
+reduced that the companies formed only two weak platoons, but none
+the less they advanced very steadily.  Captain Blake, leading the
+first company of Durhams, was shot dead; {285} but another captain
+took over both companies and led them straight at the village, both
+the 12th Durhams and 9th Yorks reaching the sunken road in front of
+the houses at about the same moment.  They worked their way down this
+and bombed many Germans in their dug-outs.  Here, as elsewhere,
+experience proved that this system of taking refuge from shell-fire
+in deep burrows has very serious military disadvantages, not merely
+on account of the difficulty of getting out, but from the more
+serious objection that the men, being trained to avoid danger,
+continued to shrink from it when it was essential that they should
+rush out and face it.  The yellow faces and flaccid appearance of our
+prisoners showed also the physical results of a troglodytic life.
+
+A single tank which had accompanied the advance was set on fire by a
+shell, but the infantry pressed on undismayed, and well backed up by
+the 10th and 11th Northumberland Fusiliers and 8th Seaforths, they
+soon seized the whole village and firmly consolidated their position.
+The success was partly due to the fine handling of machine-guns,
+which turned the favourite weapon of the Germans against themselves.
+Five of these guns, 8 officers, and 450 men were taken during the
+operation.
+
+The Forty-seventh Division, meanwhile, in attempting to make similar
+progress upon the right was held up by very heavy rifle and
+machine-gun fire.  Immediately afterwards, this division, much worn
+by its splendid service, was taken out of the line, being replaced by
+the Ninth Scottish Division.  Their companion Division, the
+Fifteenth, had come back upon their left.  The weather now became so
+abominable and the mud so abysmal, that all prospect {286} of farther
+progress in this section had to be abandoned.  The old prehistoric
+mark called the Butte of Warlencourt, which had long stood up as a
+goal in front of the British trenches, proved really to be the final
+mark of their advance until a new season should dawn.  Upon October
+12 there was an attempt to get forward, but the conditions were
+impossible, and the results unsatisfactory.  In this affair the
+gallant Ninth Division had considerable losses, their advance being
+conducted with the 26th Brigade upon the right and the South Africans
+upon the left.  Some small gain was achieved by the former, but the
+latter were held up by a deadly machine-gun fire.  The Thirtieth
+Division was upon the right of the Ninth at this period, and twice
+endeavoured to get forwards--once upon the 12th and once upon the
+18th; but neither of these attempts had good success, partly owing to
+the very bad weather, and partly to the excellent resistance of the
+Sixth Bavarian Reserve Division, which is described by those who have
+fought against it as one of the very best divisions in the German
+army.  On the 20th a fresh attack was made by the 27th Brigade with
+no success and heavy losses to the 6th Scottish Borderers.  Early in
+November a renewed attempt was made by the Fiftieth Division to
+advance in this quarter, but the country was a morass and no progress
+was possible.  The Canadians, Forty-eighth and Fiftieth Divisions,
+who held the Le Sars front, were condemned to inactivity.  From that
+time onwards the line of the Third Corps was undisturbed, save for a
+strong counter-attack upon November 6, which neutralised a small
+advance made upon the 5th.  Le Sars and Eaucourt were consolidated
+and continued to be the British advanced posts in this quarter.  The
+{287} conditions of mud and discomfort can only be described as
+appalling.
+
+Having briefly traced the work of the Third Corps from the action of
+September 15 to the coming of the winter, we shall now turn to the
+Fifteenth Corps upon the right and follow their operations from the
+same date.  It will be remembered that the New Zealanders formed the
+left-hand division, and that they had advanced so finely that by the
+evening of September 16 they were up to, but not in, Goose Alley and
+Factory Corner, from which they were within striking distance of the
+Gird System.
+
+Before attacking this, however, it was necessary to get a firmer hold
+of Flers Trench, which in its western reaches was still in the hands
+of the Germans.  It was a desperate business of bombing from traverse
+to traverse and overcoming successive barricades upon a very narrow
+front where a few determined men could hold up a company.  This
+difficult business was taken in hand at 8.30 on the night of
+September 21 by the 2nd Canterbury Battalion, who advanced down the
+trench.  It was a Homeric conflict, which lasted for the whole night,
+where men stood up to each other at close quarters, clearing away the
+dead and dying in order to make room for fresh combatants in the
+front line.  Down Flers Trench and Drop Alley raged the long
+struggle, with crash and flare of bombs, snarl of machine-guns,
+shrill whistles from rallying officers, and shouts from the furious
+men.  The New Zealand Black Watch had gained a portion of the trench,
+but the German reinforcements streamed down a communication trench
+which opened behind them, and found themselves between the two bodies
+of New Zealanders.  It was a great fight, but by morning {288} it had
+been definitely decided in favour of the men from oversea.  The long
+section of Flers Trench was cleared and part of Goose Alley, opening
+out of it, was held.  No less than 350 German dead were picked up,
+and a handful of prisoners were left with the victors.  The New
+Zealand losses were about 150 of all ranks.
+
+On September 25 the New Zealanders tightened their grip upon Goose
+Alley, which connects up the Flers and the Gird Systems of trenches.
+In the meantime the divisions upon their right were moving to the
+north-east of Flers towards the village of Guedecourt, which lay upon
+the farther side of the Gird Trenches.  The actual attack upon the
+village was committed to the Twenty-first Division, who advanced on a
+two-brigade front, the 110th Leicester Brigade making straight for
+the village itself, while the 64th Brigade upon its right,
+strengthened by the inclusion of the 1st Lincolns, was ordered to
+occupy 1000 yards of front to the right.  The two brigades were not
+equally fortunate.  The Leicester brigade, by a fine advance, pierced
+the Gird Trench, and made their way beyond it.  The 64th Brigade was
+held up by uncut wire, which they could not penetrate.  The result
+was that the Leicesters, being heavily counter-attacked, and having
+their flanks open, were forced back as far as the Gird Trench, to
+which they clung.  The position in the evening was a curious one, for
+we held the Gird Trench at two different points, but between them lay
+a stretch of 1000 yards still occupied by the Germans and faced with
+uncut wire.  Orders reached the Divisional General during the night
+that at all costs the position must be carried.  By a happy
+inspiration he sent for a tank from Flers, {289} and ordered the
+Leicesters to bomb down Gird Trench in co-operation with the tank,
+which crawled along the parapet.  A strong point had been erected at
+the far end of the trench, and the Germans as they rushed away from
+the danger ran into a deadly machine-gun fire.  The upshot was that a
+great number were killed, while 8 officers and 362 men were taken,
+with a loss to the attackers of 5 wounded.  To add to the quaintness
+of the operation, an aeroplane flew low over the trench during its
+progress, helping with its bombs to make the victory complete.  The
+result was far more than the capture of the trench, for the 64th
+Brigade, led by the Durhams, at once swept forward and captured their
+objective, while the 110th Brigade upon the left reached Guedecourt
+under happier auspices and remained in possession of the village.
+
+Although the Gird line had been pierced at this point, it was held in
+its western length, and this was attacked upon September 27 by the
+New Zealanders and the Fifty-fifth Lancashire Territorial Division,
+both of which gained their objectives, so that the whole end of this
+great trench system from a point north of Flers passed definitely
+into the British possession.
+
+On October 1 there was a fresh general advance which led to no great
+change in this part of the line, save that both the New Zealanders
+and the Twenty-first Division improved their position, the latter
+getting as far as Bayonet Trench.  Shortly afterwards the New
+Zealanders were drawn out, having been 23 consecutive days in the
+line, and earned themselves a great reputation.  "The division has
+won universal confidence and admiration," said Sir Douglas Haig.  "No
+praise can be too high for such troops."
+
+We now turn to the Fourteenth Corps, which filled {290} the remainder
+of the British line up to the point of its junction with the French.
+During the battle the division of Guards had, as will be remembered,
+held the left of this line, but on the day after it was replaced for
+a short time by the Twentieth Division, whose 61st Brigade,
+especially the 7th Cornwalls and 12th King's, were heavily engaged.
+The 60th Brigade had pushed up into the fighting line, and received a
+strong German counter-attack in the morning of the 17th, which broke
+down before the rifles of the 6th Shropshire Light Infantry.  In the
+afternoon the 59th Brigade advanced upon the left and the 60th upon
+the right, closing in upon the Morval position.  The 12th King's
+Royal Rifles of the latter brigade was held up by a strong point and
+lost heavily, but the general effect was to bring the British line
+nearer to the doomed village.  Twice upon the 18th, German
+counter-attacks swarmed down upon the exposed right flank of the 60th
+Brigade, but each time they were blown back by the fire of the 12th
+Rifle Brigade and the 12th Rifles.  The 59th Brigade had made no
+progress, the two Rifle Brigade battalions (10th and 11th) having
+particularly heavy losses upon the 17th, but they were holding their
+line strongly.  It was impossible to do more for the moment, for the
+Sixth Division upon their right was still hung up, as already
+described, by the Quadrilateral.  Shortly after that obstacle had
+been overcome, the Guards took over once more from the Twentieth, and
+were ready in conjunction with the Sixth and Fifth Divisions for a
+serious advance upon Morval and Lesboeufs.
+
+On September 22 the 3rd Guards Brigade was in touch with the
+Twenty-first Division upon the left, which was now holding Gird
+Trench and Gird Support {291} as far north as Watling Street.  On
+this day the 4th Grenadiers, reverting after centuries to the weapon
+which their name implies, were bombing their way up Gas Alley, which
+leads towards Lesboeufs.  On the 23rd the Twenty-first on the left,
+the Guards in the centre, and the Sixth Division were advancing and
+steadily gaining ground to the north-east, capturing Needle Trench,
+which is an off-shoot from the Gird System.  On the 24th the Germans
+counter-attacked upon the 16th Brigade, the blow falling upon the 1st
+Buffs, who lost four bays of their trench for a short period, but
+speedily drove the intruders out once more.  The 14th Durham Light
+Infantry also drove off an attack.  The Fifth Division was now coming
+up on the right of the Sixth, and played a considerable part in the
+decisive attack upon September 25.
+
+On this date an advance of the four divisions on this section of the
+line carried all before it, the Twenty-first being north of Delville
+Wood, the 3rd Brigade of the Guards operating on the German trenches
+between Guedecourt and Lesboeufs, the 1st Brigade of Guards upon the
+left of the village of Lesboeufs, the Sixth Division upon the right
+of Lesboeufs, and the Fifth Division on Morval.
+
+In this attack the 4th Grenadiers upon the extreme left of the Guards
+were badly punished, for the Twenty-first upon their left had been
+held up, but the rest came along well, the 1st Welsh forming a
+defensive flank upon the left while the other battalions reached
+their full objective and dug in, unmolested save by our own barrage.
+The 1st Irish and 3rd Coldstream, who were on the left of the 1st
+Brigade, also got through without heavy loss and occupied the
+trenches to the immediate north and north-east of Lesboeufs.  {292}
+The 2nd Grenadiers, who led the right of the Brigade, with their
+supporting battalion the 2nd Coldstream, headed straight for the
+village, and were held up for a time by uncut wire, but the general
+attack upon the right was progressing at a rate which soon took the
+pressure off them.
+
+The British infantry were swarming round Lesboeufs in the early
+afternoon, and about 3.15 the 1st West Yorks of the 18th Brigade
+penetrated into it, establishing touch with the Guards upon their
+left.  They were closely followed by their old battle companions, the
+2nd Durham Light Infantry.  The German resistance was weaker than
+usual, and the casualties were not severe.  On the Morval front the
+15th Brigade of the Fifth Division, with the 95th Brigade upon their
+right, were making a steady and irresistible advance upon Morval.
+The 1st Norfolks and 1st Cheshires were in the front, and the latter
+battalion was the first to break into the village with the 1st
+Bedfords, 2nd Scots Borderers, and 16th Royal Welsh Fusiliers in
+close support.  The 1st Cheshires particularly distinguished itself;
+and it was in this action that Private Jones performed his almost
+incredible feat of capturing single-handed and bringing in four
+officers and 102 men of the 146th Würtemberg Regiment, including four
+wearers of the famous Iron Cross.  The details of this extraordinary
+affair, where one determined and heavily-armed man terrorised a large
+company taken at a disadvantage, read more like the romantic exploit
+of some Western desperado who cries "Hands up!" to a drove of
+tourists, than any operation of war.  Jones was awarded the V.C., and
+it can have been seldom won in such sensational fashion.
+
+{293}
+
+Whilst the 15th Brigade of the Fifth Division attacked the village of
+Morval the 95th Brigade of the same division carried the German
+trenches to the west of it.  This dashing piece of work was
+accomplished by the 1st Devons and the 1st East Surreys.  When they
+had reached their objective, the 12th Gloucesters were sent through
+them to occupy and consolidate the south side of the village.  This
+they carried out with a loss of 80 men.  In the evening a company of
+the 6th Argylls, together with the 2nd Home Company Royal Engineers,
+pushed on past the village and made a strong point against the
+expected counter-attack; while the 15th Brigade extended and got into
+touch with the 2nd York and Lancasters of the Sixth Division upon
+their left.  It was a great day of complete victory with no regrets
+to cloud it, for the prisoners were many, the casualties were
+comparatively few, and two more village sites were included by one
+forward spring within the British area.  The Town Major of Morval
+stood by his charge to the last and formed one of the trophies.  On
+the 26th the Germans came back upon the Guards at about one o'clock,
+but their effort was a fiasco, for the advancing lines came under the
+concentrated fire of six batteries of the 7th Divisional Artillery.
+Seldom have Germans stampeded more thoroughly.  "Hundreds of the
+enemy can be seen retiring in disorder over the whole front.  They
+are rushing towards Beaulencourt in the wildest disorder."  Such was
+the report from a forward observer.  At the same time a tank cleared
+the obstacles in front of the Twenty-first Division and the whole
+line was straight again.  The British consolidated their positions
+firmly, for it was already evident {294} that they were likely to be
+permanent ones.  The Guards and Fifth Division were taken out of the
+line shortly afterwards, the Twentieth Division coming in once more
+upon September 26, while upon September 27 the French took over part
+of the line, pushing the Twentieth Division to the left, where they
+took over the ground formerly held by the Twenty-first.  Upon October
+1 the 61st Brigade was ordered to push forward advanced posts and
+occupy a line preparatory to future operations.  This was well
+carried out and proved of great importance when a week later attacks
+were made upon Cloudy and Rainbow Trenches.
+
+Leaving this victorious section of the line for the moment, we must
+turn our attention to the hard-worked and splendid Fifty-sixth
+Division upon their right, whose operations were really more
+connected with those of the French on their right than with their
+comrades of the Fourteenth Corps upon the left.  By a happy chance it
+was the French division of the same number with which they were
+associated during much of the time.  It will be remembered that at
+the close of the Flers action (September 15 and on), the Fifty-sixth
+Division was holding a defensive flank to the south, in the region of
+Bouleaux Wood, part of which was still held by the Germans.  They
+were also closing in to the southwards, so as to co-operate with the
+French, who were approaching Combles from the other side.  On
+September 25, while the Fifth were advancing upon Morval, the
+Fifty-sixth played an important part, for the 168th, their left
+brigade, carried the remainder of Bouleaux Wood, and so screened the
+flank of the Fifth Division.  One hundred men and four machine-guns
+were captured in this movement.  On the 26th, as the woods {295} were
+at last clear, the division turned all its attention to Combles, and
+at 3.15 in the afternoon of that day fighting patrols of the 169th
+Brigade met patrols of the French in the central square of the town.
+The Germans had cleverly evacuated it, and the booty was far less
+than had been hoped for, but none the less its capture was of great
+importance, for it was the largest place that had yet been wrenched
+out of the iron grasp of Germany.  After the fall of Combles the
+French, as already stated, threw out their left wing upon that side
+so as to take over the ground which had been covered by the
+Fifty-sixth Division, and afterwards by the Fifth Division.
+
+On September 30 the Fifty-sixth Division took over from the Guards,
+and again found itself upon the right of the British line, and in
+touch with the new dispositions of the French.  On its left was the
+Twentieth Division, and on their left the Sixth.  These three
+divisions now found themselves opposite to a long line of trenches,
+to which various meteorological names had been given, though the
+actual meteorological conditions at the time formed a greater
+obstacle than the defences in front of them.  A simple diagram (p.
+296) will show more clearly than any words how these formidable
+trenches lay with regard to the British advance.
+
+It may well seem to the reader that the defenders are bound to have
+the best of the argument when they can thus exchange one line for
+another, and as quickly as they are beaten out of one set of
+strongholds confront their enemy with another one.  No doubt so long
+as the lines are stoutly held this is true as regards the rate of
+advance.  But as far as it concerns the losses which mark that vital
+attrition which was {297} wearing Germany to the bone it was very
+different.  These trenches were not like the old permanent
+fortifications where German officers in a 30-foot dug-out could smile
+over the caricatures in _Ulk_ and smoke an indolent cigarette, while
+the impotent British shells pitted the earth-surface far above them.
+There was no such shelter in these hastily-constructed burrows, while
+the guns which raked and pounded them grew stronger and more numerous
+from day to day.  Let the machine-gun do its worst, the heavy gun is
+still the master of the field, for the machine-gun can only levy its
+toll when circumstances favour it, while day or night the heavy gun
+is a constant dread.  We have had to mourn the swathes of our dead in
+the open, but the Germans lay as thick amid the clay and chalk of the
+Picardy ditches.  With fine manhood they clung to them and beat back
+our infantry where they could, but the tales of deserters, the
+letters found on the wounded, and the condition of the trenches when
+taken, all told the same story of terrible loss.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+{296}
+
+[Illustration: METEOROLOGICAL TRENCHES, September 30-November 6,
+1916.]
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+On October 7 there was an infantry attack upon this trench system in
+which the Forty-first, Twelfth, Twentieth, and Fifty-sixth Divisions,
+together with the French, all took part in the order named from the
+left.  The weather was most execrable, and its vileness told entirely
+against the Allies, since it was they who had to move, and since the
+superior gun-power needed for a modern attack was largely neutralised
+by the difficulty in using aircraft observation.  The attack was at
+1.45 P.M., when the troops advanced under a heavy barrage along the
+whole sodden and slippery front.  The results were unequal, though
+the infantry behaved everywhere with their wonted valour and
+perseverance.
+
+{298}
+
+The 122nd Brigade upon the extreme left of the attack could only get
+on about a hundred yards, so heavy was the fire; while the 124th to
+the right of them could do little better, and eventually dug in at a
+point 200 yards short of the Bayonet Trench, which was their
+immediate objective.  Seventy officers and nearly 1300 men fell
+during this attack of the Forty-first Division, which was handicapped
+in many ways, for the men were weary, it was too cloudy for
+reconnaissance, the battalions were already depleted, and the enemy
+was fresh and unshaken.  The success of the Twelfth Division upon the
+right of the Forty-first was little better.  The 36th and 37th
+Brigades endured heavy losses, especially in the case of the two
+Royal Fusilier battalions and of the 6th Buffs, whose colonel greatly
+distinguished himself.  In spite of every effort and considerable
+loss there were no permanent gains of importance at this point.
+
+Things went better, however, with the Twentieth Division upon the
+right.  The two brigades in the front line were the 61st upon the
+left and the 60th on the right.  The leading battalions, counting
+from the left, were the 7th Yorks Light Infantry, 12th King's
+Liverpool, 6th Oxford and Bucks, and 12th Rifle Brigade.  The troops
+had to endure a considerable shelling before leaving their trenches,
+but it seemed only to add additional fire to their advance, which
+swept over the low ridge in front of them, and took a long stretch of
+Rainbow Trench.  The right attack was slower than the left, as it ran
+into a dip of the ground in which the Germans had some cleverly-sited
+wire entanglement, unseen and untouched by our guns.  Nothing
+daunted, the Oxford {299} and Bucks proceeded to cut lanes through
+the wire under heavy fire, and one officer of the battalion had
+actually succeeded in crawling under it when he was shot at
+point-blank range from the German trench, The front line had now done
+its work and rested in Rainbow, while the second line--consisting,
+from the left, of the 7th Somersets, 7th Cornwalls, 6th Shropshires,
+and 12th Rifles--swept onwards in splendid form, capturing both
+Cloudy and Misty Trenches.  There the victorious infantry dug
+themselves in on the forward slope of the ridge.  The brigades were
+ahead of their comrades, with the result that their flanks were
+exposed, they suffered from enfilade fire, and it was necessary to
+form defensive flanks.  Two counter-attacks were made during the day,
+but both were beaten off.  The prisoners captured in this fine
+advance were 5 officers and 187 men, with 5 machine-guns and 2
+trench-mortars.  By the morning of the 8th strong points had been
+made and the whole line was defiant of recapture.
+
+The Fifty-sixth Division had advanced with equal valour upon the
+right and had made good progress, though its gains had not been so
+substantial as those of the Twentieth.  The 167th Brigade had
+attacked upon the left and the 168th upon the right.  They ended with
+the 7th Middlesex, their flank battalion upon the left in touch with
+the Twentieth Division in Rainbow, while the London Scots on the
+extreme right were in touch with the French in Hazy Trench.  The
+fighting was bitter, however, the men wearied, and the conditions
+abominable.  All the battalions lost heavily, the 4th London being
+the chief sufferer, for it was on the left flank of the 168th Brigade
+and was held up by a particularly murderous {300} machine-gun.  In
+the evening a strong German counter-attack, rushing in upon Hazy
+Trench behind a thick shower of bombs, drove back both the 168th
+Brigade and the French to their own original line.  For the time the
+advance had failed upon the right.
+
+The 167th Brigade had held on to Rainbow and were now bombing their
+way down Spectrum.  They held their ground there during the night,
+and on October 8 were still advancing, though the 3rd London coming
+up to reinforce ran into a heavy barrage and were sadly cut up.  The
+British barrage was found to be practically useless because the guns
+had been brought up too near.  The 169th Brigade had come up on the
+right and was hotly engaged, the London Rifle Brigade getting up
+close to Hazy and digging in parallel to it, with their left in touch
+with the Victorias.  The Germans, however, were still holding Hazy,
+nor could it be said in the evening that the British were holding
+either of the more advanced trenches, Dewdrop or Rainy.  In the
+evening the London Rifle Brigade were forced to leave their new
+trench because it was enfiladed from Hazy, and to make their way back
+to their old departure trenches as best they could, dragging with
+them a captured machine-gun as a souvenir of a long and bloody day's
+work.  On October 9 the British held none of the points in dispute in
+this section on the right, save only a portion of Spectrum.  There
+was a pause in this long and desperate fight which was conducted by
+tired infantry fighting in front of tired guns, and which left the
+survivors of both sides plastered with mud from head to heel.  When
+it was resumed, the two British divisions, the Twentieth and
+Fifty-sixth, which had {301} done such long service in the line, and
+were greatly reduced, had been withdrawn.  The Fourth Division had
+taken the place of the Londoners, while the Sixth, itself very worn,
+had relieved the Twentieth.
+
+On October 12 both these divisions delivered an attack together with
+the French and with the Fifteenth Corps upon their left.  The 14th
+Durham Light Infantry were in Rainbow on the left and were in touch
+with the 1st West Yorks of the 18th Brigade upon their right, but
+could find no one upon their left, while the German pressure was very
+strong.  The 18th Brigade worked along Rainbow, therefore, until it
+got into touch with the Twelfth Division upon their left.  The
+Twelfth Division had been lent the 88th Brigade of the Twenty-ninth
+Division, and this gallant body, so terribly cut up on July 1, had an
+instalment of revenge.  They won their objective, and it is pleasant
+to add that the Newfoundlanders especially distinguished themselves.
+The 16th Brigade upon the right attacked Zenith Trench, the 2nd York
+and Lancaster leading the rush.  The position could not be held,
+however, by battalions which were depleted by weeks of constant
+strain and loss.  A report from a company officer says: "The few
+unwounded sheltered in trench holes and returned in the dusk.  The
+fire was too strong to allow them to dig in.  The Brigade line is
+therefore the same as before the attack."
+
+Whilst the Sixth Division had been making this difficult and
+fruitless attack the Fourth Division upon their right had been
+equally heavily engaged in this horrible maze of mud-sodden trenches,
+without obtaining any more favourable result.  The 12th Brigade
+fought on the immediate right of the 16th, some of {302} them
+reaching Spectrum, and some of them Zenith.  The 2nd West Ridings and
+2nd Lancashire Fusiliers were the heaviest sufferers, the latter
+holding a line of shell-holes in front of Spectrum where they were
+exposed to a terrible barrage.  The 10th Brigade were on their right,
+and one battalion, the 1st Warwick, reached Foggy, but was unable to
+hold it under the crushing fire.  By the evening of October 13,
+however, the whole of Spectrum had at last been seized, and the
+enemy, who attempted to bomb along it from Dewdrop, were repulsed.
+On October 18, the 88th Brigade again had a success, the 2nd Hants
+and 4th Worcesters doing particularly well.  For a time the fighting
+died down, the British licking their wounds and sharpening their
+claws for a fresh grapple with these redoubtable trenches.
+
+This came upon October 23, when there was an advance at 2.45 in the
+afternoon by the Fourth Division upon the right and the Eighth
+Division upon the left.  The three-brigade front covered by the
+Eighth Division is indicated by the fact that the 2nd East
+Lancashires, the left battalion of the left brigade (24th), was
+directed upon the junction between Mild and Cloudy, while the right
+brigade (23rd) had Zenith for its objective.  The first attack of the
+left brigade failed, but the second brought them into Cloudy.  By
+4.15 the 2nd Scots Rifles of the 23rd Brigade had penetrated the
+right of Zenith, and some small parties had even moved on to Orion
+beyond.  The central brigade (25th) had won its way up to Misty, the
+2nd Lincolns, 2nd Berks, and 2nd Rifle Brigade in the lead.  In the
+meantime the East Lancashires on the left were endeavouring to bomb
+their way down the maze of trenches, filled {303} with yard-deep mud,
+which separated them from their comrades.  The fighting was
+desperate, however, and the losses considerable.  The 2nd Lincolns
+had got detached in the labyrinth, and were out of touch with their
+companions.  At 6.45 the Germans came again in strength and those of
+the Scots Rifles who had gained Orion were driven back.  The
+casualties in this splendid battalion, which had suffered so often
+and so much, were once again very severe.
+
+The Fourth Division had also had a hard fight upon the right and had
+made no great progress.  The French upon their right had been held up
+after an initial advance.  The 12th Brigade attacked Dewdrop, but
+were unable to hold it.  The 11th had seized Hazy, but their grip of
+it was still precarious.  Every position was raked with machine-guns
+and clogged with the all-pervading and often impassable morass.  In
+mud and blood and driving rain, amid dirt and death, through day and
+night, the long death-grapple never ceased until exhaustion and
+winter brought a short surcease.
+
+Upon the 24th the hard-earned gains in these trenches were
+consolidated.  In the sector of the Eighth Division they were
+substantial and justified the hope that this obdurate line would go
+the way of all the others which had barred the army.  Had it been
+earlier in the season it would have been easy to wait for clear
+weather, beat them into pulp with heavy guns, and then under a good
+barrage capture them by assault.  But this could not be done, for Sir
+Douglas Haig could not afford to wait, with winter coming on and only
+a few weeks or days left in which to bring his men forward to their
+final line.  The general position upon October 24 was that the 2nd
+{304} Middlesex of the 24th Brigade held Zenith in part, that the
+25th Brigade was in Gusty and held part of Misty, while the 23rd
+Brigade had made no advance upon the right but their left was in
+Cloudy and Mild.
+
+Upon this date the Thirty-third Division came up to relieve the
+Fourth, and upon September 28 it made a brilliant advance which
+altered the whole situation in this section.  At 7 A.M. on that date
+the 4th King's Liverpool of the 98th Brigade by a sudden dash carried
+the whole of Dewdrop, taking 100 prisoners.  The 19th Brigade upon
+the right kept up with the advance, and before evening Frosty,
+Gunpits, and Dewdrop had all been included in the British line.
+There was a pause after this advance, and then upon November 5 there
+was another advance of the Thirty-third, together with the French.
+Again there was a good gain, which was effected by the 100th Brigade
+on the right, and the 19th upon the left.  Mirage, Boritzka, and Hazy
+were all reported as being at last in our hands.  The 5th Scottish
+Rifles, 16th King's Royal Rifles, and 20th Fusiliers all
+distinguished themselves, and all--especially the last-named--met
+with considerable losses in this attack.  The Seventeenth Division,
+which had for a few days taken the place of the Eighth, joined in
+this advance and extended the ground upon their front, the fighting
+falling chiefly to the 50th Brigade, in which the 7th York and 7th
+East York were the principal sufferers.  Great work was also done by
+the 51st Brigade, the 7th Borders and the 7th Lincolns particularly
+distinguishing themselves.  These battalions not only cleared up
+Zenith Trench, but upon the Germans countering they reserved their
+fire until the stormers were within 40 yards of them, and {305} then
+mowed down several hundreds of them.  "The men marched back seven
+miles last night," wrote one of the officers, "after fighting for
+forty-eight hours without sleep, singing at the tops of their voices
+all the way.  Priceless fellows!"
+
+On November 7 the Eighth Division was at work again, taking 1100
+yards of front, 5 machine-guns, and 80 prisoners.  The season was now
+far advanced and prematurely wet and cold, so that winter lines were
+formed by the British in this quarter with the village of Le Transloy
+in their immediate front.  Over the rest of the line facing north
+there had been no serious attempt at advance during this period, and
+the only fighting to be recorded was on the part of the Anzac Corps,
+who came in at the end of October, and took over the whole front of
+the Fifteenth Corps in the centre of the line.  These troops joined
+the attack already recorded upon November 5, and captured that
+portion of Gird Support Trench which was not yet in our possession.
+For a time they held Bayonet Trench, but were driven out by a strong
+bombing attack by the 5th Regiment of the Fourth Prussian Guards
+Division.  The Australians and the 50th Brigade worked in close
+co-operation during these hard days, and it is pleasing to find the
+high opinion which they entertained of each other.  "On several
+occasions," says an Australian, "we had to rely on Yorkshire grit to
+support our division at critical moments, and the Tikes never failed
+us once.  We owe a big debt to the East Yorkshires in particular.  We
+found them the most loyal of comrades."  This sentiment was heartily
+reciprocated by the Imperial troops.
+
+The fighting now died down in this quarter and {306} the winter lull
+had set in, leaving the front British trenches some hundreds of yards
+from Le Transloy and the Bapaume Road.  It would be an ungenerous
+Briton who would not admit that in holding us off from it so long,
+even if we make every allowance for the weather and its disastrous
+consequences to the attack, the Germans performed a fine feat of
+arms.  It was done by fresh units which had not suffered from the
+gruelling which their comrades had received upon the Somme, and which
+would no doubt have been worn down in time, as the others had been,
+but they fought with great tenacity and certainly prevented our
+winter line from being as far forward as we had hoped.
+
+Whilst giving the German army every credit for its tenacious
+resistance and for the hard digging by which it constructed so many
+lines of defence that five months of hard fighting and a dozen
+separate victories had been unable to carry the attackers through
+them, we must still insist upon the stupendous achievement of the
+British.  Nearly every division had passed through the fiery ordeal
+of the Somme, many of them twice and thrice, and each had retired
+with fresh honour and new records of victory.  Apart from great days
+of battle like July 1, July 14, September 15, and September 26, when
+many miles of German trench were carried with a corresponding number
+of prisoners and guns, there was a separate epic round each village
+and wood, so that the names of many of them will find immortality in
+military history.  High Wood, Trones Wood, Mametz Wood, and Delville
+Wood each represents a very terrible local battle.  So, too, do such
+village names as Ovillers, Contalmaison, Pozières, Thiepval,
+Longueval, Ginchy, and especially Guillemont.  {307} Every one of
+these stern contests ended with the British infantry in its
+objective, and in no single case were they ever driven out again.  So
+much for the tactical results of the actions.  As to the strategic
+effect, that was only clearly seen when the threat of renewed
+operations in the spring caused the German army to abandon all the
+positions which the Somme advance had made untenable, and to fall
+back upon a new line many miles to the rear.  The Battle of the Marne
+was the turning-point of the first great German levy, the Battle of
+the Somme that of the second.  In each case the retirement was only
+partial, but each clearly marked a fresh step in the struggle, upward
+for the Allies, downward for the Central Powers.
+
+In the credit for this result the first place must be given to the
+efficiency of British leadership, which was admirable in its
+perseverance and in its general conception, but had, it must be
+admitted, not yet attained that skill in the avoidance of losses
+which was gradually taught by our terrible experiences and made
+possible by our growing strength in artillery.  The severe
+preliminary bombardment controlled by the direct observation which is
+only possible after air supremacy has been attained, the
+counter-battery work to reduce the enemy's fire, the creeping barrage
+to cover the infantry, the discipline and courage which enable
+infantry to advance with shrapnel upon their very toes, the use of
+smoke clouds against flank fire, the swift advance of the barrage
+when a trench has fallen so as to head off fugitives and stifle the
+counter-attack, all these devices were constantly improving with
+practice, until in the arts of attack the British Army stood ahead
+even of their comrades of France.  An intercepted communication in
+the shape of a {308} report from General von Arnim, commanding the
+Fourth German Army, giving his experience of the prolonged battle,
+speaks of British military efficiency in every arm in a manner which
+must have surprised the General Staff if they were really of opinion
+that General Haig's army was capable of defence but not of attack.
+This report, with its account of the dash and tenacity of the British
+infantry and of the efficiency of its munitions, is as handsome a
+testimonial as one adversary ever paid to another, and might be
+called magnanimous were it not that it was meant for no eye save that
+of his superiors.
+
+But all our leadership would have been vain had it not been supported
+by the high efficiency of every branch of the services, and by the
+general excellence of the _materiel_.  As to the actual value of the
+troops, it can only be said with the most absolute truth that the
+infantry, artillery, and sappers all lived up to the highest
+traditions of the Old Army, and that the Flying Corps set up a fresh
+record of tradition, which their successors may emulate but can never
+surpass.  The materiel was, perhaps, the greatest surprise both to
+friend and foe.  We are accustomed in British history to find the
+soldier retrieving by his stubborn valour the difficulties caused by
+the sluggish methods of those who should supply his needs.  Thanks to
+the labours of the Ministry of Munitions, of Sir William Robertson,
+and of countless devoted workers of both sexes, toiling with brain
+and with hand, this was no longer so.  That great German army which
+two years before held every possible advantage that its prolonged
+preparation and busy factories could give it, had now, as General von
+Arnim's report admits, fallen into the inferior place.  It was a
+magnificent {309} achievement upon which the British nation may well
+pride itself, if one may ever pride oneself on anything in a drama so
+mighty that human powers seem but the instruments of the huge
+contending spiritual forces behind them.  The fact remains that after
+two years of national effort the British artillery was undoubtedly
+superior to that of the Germans, the British Stokes trench-mortars
+and light Lewis machine-guns were the best in Europe, the British
+aeroplanes were unsurpassed, the British Mills bomb was superior to
+any other, and the British tanks were an entirely new departure in
+the art of War.  It was the British brain as well as the British
+heart and arm which was fashioning the future history of mankind.
+
+
+
+
+{310}
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE ANCRE
+
+November 13, 1916
+
+The last effort--Failure in the north--Fine work of the Thirty-ninth,
+Fifty-first, and Sixty-third Divisions--Surrounding of German
+Fort--Capture of Beaumont Hamel--Commander Freyberg--Last operations
+of the season--General survey--"The unwarlike Islanders."
+
+
+This considerable British victory may well have a name of its own,
+though it was merely an extension of the gigantic effort upon the
+Somme.  The fact, however, that it was fought upon the banks of a
+small subsidiary stream, and also that it was separated by a month or
+more from any other serious engagement, give it a place of its own in
+the narrative of the War.  It has already been shown at the
+conclusion of the chapter which deals with the flank operations by
+the Fifth Army, commanded by Sir Hubert Gough, that the British
+position after the capture of the Schwaben and other redoubts which
+defended the high ground to the north of Thiepval was such that the
+guns were able to take the German front line to the north of the
+Ancre in enfilade and almost in rear.  Under such circumstances it
+might well seem that their trenches {311} were untenable, but their
+position, although difficult, was alleviated by the fact that they
+had been able partly to find and partly to make a series of
+excavations in the chalk and clay soil of the district which gave
+them almost complete protection against the heaviest shell-fire.
+Whole battalions led a troglodytic life in subterranean caverns from
+which they were trained to rush forth upon the alarm of an infantry
+advance.  It was clear, however, that if the alarm should be too
+short their refuges might very easily become traps, as has so often
+been the case in the German lines of defence.  The safety from shells
+is dearly paid for when a squad of furious stormers with Mills bombs
+in their hands and death in their faces glare in from the door.
+Their minds were kept easy, however, by the knowledge that broad
+fields of barbed wire, so rusty and so thick that they resembled
+ploughland from a distance, lay between them and the British.  A very
+large garrison drawn from seven divisions, one of them being the 2nd
+Guards Reserve, held this dangerous salient in the German line.
+
+For the attack General Gough had mustered two Army Corps of six
+divisions, three of which, forming the Second Corps, were to advance
+from the south under General Jacob, having the almost impassable mud
+slopes of the Ancre in front of them.  Three others of the Fifth
+Corps, under General E. A. Fanshawe, were to storm the German line
+north of the Ancre.  This latter movement was to be directed not only
+from the new British positions, but also from the old lines as far
+north as Serre.  The advance from the west divided the enemy's
+gun-power, and distracted his attention from the south, so that its
+failure and the loss which that {312} failure involved, were part of
+the price paid for the victory.
+
+After a two days' bombardment, which started upon November 11, and
+which uprooted the greater part of the German wire, the actual attack
+was made at six in the foggy, misty morning of November 13.  It is
+inconceivable that the Germans were not standing to arms, since dawn
+had long been the hour of doom, and the furious drum-fire was
+certainly the overture to a battle.  The thick weather, however,
+shrouded the British movements, and the actual rush of the infantry
+seems at the end to have been a surprise.  Both in the western and
+southern advance, which covered respectively 5000 and 3000 yards,
+every refinement of artillery barrage which years of experience could
+suggest was used to form such a downpour as would protect the
+assailants, and beat the German riflemen and gunners back into their
+burrows.
+
+Of the three divisions which attacked the old German line from the
+west, the most northern was the Thirty-first, with as objective the
+second and third German line, and to form a defensive flank between
+Gommecourt and Serre.  This division, which contained some splendid
+North-country battalions from great Yorkshire towns, advanced with
+great intrepidity.  So skilful was the barrage arranged that the 12th
+East Yorkshires on the left and 13th East Yorkshires on the right
+(10th and 11th East Yorkshires in reserve), belonging to the 92nd
+Brigade, had little difficulty in reaching the German front line,
+which was quickly mopped up.  The going between the first and second
+line was so heavy, and the German snipers so numerous, that the
+barrage got ahead of the advancing waves, but after a sharp rifle
+fight the {313} second line was captured, which was the final
+objective of the left (12th East Yorkshires) battalion.  The 13th
+East Yorkshires, whose final objective was the third German line, had
+a very severe fight before reaching that position.  Owing to the
+failure of the division on the right of the 13th East Yorkshires to
+get forward, the Germans later on put in several heavy bombing
+counter-attacks against their right flank, which eventually drove
+them back to the second line, where they took up their position
+alongside the 12th, and for the remainder of the day repulsed
+numerous counter-attacks.  As soon as the 12th East Yorkshires on the
+left had reached their objectives they consolidated it, and with the
+aid of the 93rd Brigade, to whom was attached the Machine-Gun
+Sections of the Lucknow and Sialkote Cavalry Brigades, beat off a
+very strong counter-attack which developed about 9.30 A.M.,
+practically wiping it out and several minor ones during the day.
+
+At 2.30 P.M. the German bombardment against the 92nd became very
+intense, and was kept up till 5.30 P.M., in spite of which the 12th
+and 13th East Yorkshires stuck to their gains.  It was only at 9 P.M.
+when the Divisional General saw that there was no prospect of the
+division on the right advancing that the 12th and 13th were ordered
+to fall back to their original line.
+
+The experience of the Third Division upon the right or south of the
+Thirty-first was a very trying one.  There is a strip of Picardy
+between those lines from Serre to the Ancre, where more Britons have
+given their lives for their country and for the cause of humanity
+than in any area in this or any other war.  Twice it has been the
+scene of tragic {314} losses, on July 1, and yet again on November
+13, though, as already said, it is well in each case to regard the
+general result rather than the local tragedy.  Once again the Third
+Division gave itself freely and unselfishly for the common cause.  In
+this case, also, the cause of the scanty results lay in the heavy
+ground and the uncut wire.  In the case of the 76th Brigade, which
+may be taken as typical of its neighbours, it advanced to the
+immediate south of the 93rd, and experienced even more difficult
+conditions.  The 2nd Suffolks and the 10th Welsh Fusiliers were in
+the van, but the 8th Royal Lancasters and 1st Gordons came up in
+support, the whole thick line of men clustering in front of the wire
+and endeavouring to hack a way.  Sergeants and officers were seen in
+front of the obstacle endeavouring to find some way through.  Here
+and there a few pushful men, both from the 76th Brigade and from the
+9th upon its right, did succeed in passing, but none of these ever
+returned.  Finally, a retreat was ordered through a pelting barrage,
+and even in their own front-line trenches the troops were exposed to
+a furious shell-fall.  It was an unfortunate business and the losses
+were heavy.
+
+Immediately upon the right of the Third Division was the Second
+Division, which attacked with the 5th and 6th Brigades in the van,
+the latter being on the immediate flank of the Third Division, and
+sharing in the obstacles which faced that division and the check
+which resulted from them.  The immediate objective was the great
+Munich Trench lurking within its far-flung spider-web of wire.
+Although all of the 6th Brigade save the right-hand battalion were
+brought to a stand, and wound up in their own trenches, the 5th
+Brigade got well forward {315} and might have got farther had it not
+meant the exposure of their left flank.  In the evening the 99th
+Brigade, the victors of Delville Wood, were brought up with orders to
+form a defensive flank to the north, while they furnished two
+battalions for a farther advance to continue the success gained by
+the 5th Brigade.  In the early morning of November 14 these two
+units, the 1st Rifles and 1st Berkshires, advanced in a proper
+November fog, which caused some misdirection, and eventually the
+failure of the attack, for two smaller trenches were carried under
+the impression that each was the Munich.  Some ground and prisoners
+were, however, gained, but not the main objective.
+
+Meanwhile, to return to the narrative of the previous day, a very
+different tale was to be told of those divisions which were operating
+farther to the south, where the ridge between Serre and Beaumont
+Hamel sheltered the attack from the formidable German gun-power at
+Pusieux and Bucquoy in the north.
+
+Of the three divisions attacking from the south the Thirty-ninth was
+to the south of the Ancre, the Sixty-Third Naval Division upon its
+left on the north bank of the Ancre, and the Fifty-first Highland
+Division still farther to the left opposite Beaumont Hamel.  The task
+of the Thirty-ninth Division was to clear out the Germans who held on
+to the Hansa line, the last German trench system between the British
+front and the river.  Their chief protection was the almost
+incredible condition of the ground, which consisted of tenacious mud
+of varying and occasionally of dangerous depth.  Munitions could only
+be got across it upon pack-horses, on special {316} paths.  In spite
+of these difficulties, the Thirty-ninth Division carried the lines of
+trenches and the village of St. Pierre Divion as well, the resistance
+being far from heroic.  The attack was made by the 117th Brigade,
+which advanced with such speed that the front waves, consisting of
+the 16th Rifle Brigade upon the right and the 17th Sherwood Foresters
+upon the left, were into the German trenches before the barrage could
+fall.  It did fall, however, and did great harm to the supports, both
+the 17th Rifles and 16th Sherwoods losing heavily, especially the
+former.  The British line was pushed right up to the river, and the
+survivors of the garrison--some 1400 in number--were compelled to lay
+down their arms.  This attack to the south of the river was an
+isolated, self-contained operation, apart from the larger and more
+serious movement on the north bank.
+
+The right of the main assault was carried out by the gallant
+Sixty-third Royal Naval Division, whose emergency baptism of fire at
+Antwerp has been mentioned in this narrative, though its subsequent
+splendid services at Gallipoli have not come within its scope.  After
+the evacuation of Gallipoli and the subsequent redistribution of the
+eastern army, at least three fine divisions, the Eleventh, the
+Forty-second, and the Naval, besides the splendid Australian and New
+Zealand infantry, were transferred to the French front.  This action
+of the Ancre was the first opportunity which these volunteer sailors
+had had of showing upon a large European stage those qualities which
+had won them fame elsewhere.
+
+The Naval Division attacked to the immediate north of the Ancre,
+having the river upon their right.  The lines of assault were formed
+under cover of darkness, {317} for the assembly trenches were
+inadequate and the ground occupied was under direct observation from
+the German lines.  The division in this formation was a thick mass of
+10,000 infantry on a front of about 1600 yards with a depth of 300.
+Fortunately, the screen of the weather covered them completely, and
+there was little and random shelling during the night, but the men
+were stiff and chilled by their long vigil, during which they might
+neither speak nor smoke.  At last, just before dawn, the crash of the
+barrage told that the hour had come, and the lines moved forward,
+keeping well up to the shower of shrapnel which crept on at the rate
+of 100 yards in five minutes, searching every hollow and crevice of
+the ground.
+
+The first objective was the enemy's front-line system of triple
+trenches.  The second was a road in the hollow behind called Station
+Road, with trenches on either side of it.  The third was the trenches
+which fringed the village of Beaucourt.  The fourth, which was only
+to be attempted after the third was consolidated, was the village
+itself, which lies among trees upon the north side of the river.
+
+The advance of the 189th Brigade on the right of the Naval Division,
+consisting of the Hood, Hawke, Nelson, and Drake battalions, was
+comparatively easy, as they were partly protected from flank fire by
+the dead ground formed by the low-lying northern slope down to the
+river.  With great dash and vigour they carried the successive lines
+of trenches, and before mid-day they were consolidating the third
+objective with the village in their immediate front.
+
+A much more difficult task confronted the centre of the advance,
+consisting of the left half of the right brigade, and the right half
+of the 188th Brigade, {318} which contained the 1st and 2nd
+Battalions of Marines, the Ansons and the Howes.  In the very track
+of their course lay a formidable German redoubt, bristling with
+machine-guns, and so concealed that neither the observers nor the
+bombardment had spotted it.  This serious obstacle caused heavy
+losses to the central attack, and as it completely commanded their
+advance it held them to such cover as they could find.  The left of
+the advance got past the redoubt, however, and reached the sunken
+road, where they were in close touch with the Scotsmen upon their
+left.  Thus at this period of the advance the Naval Division formed a
+deep curve with its right wing well forward, its centre held back,
+and its left wing nearly as far advanced as its right.  The mist was
+so thick that it was very difficult to tell from the rear what was
+going on in the battle, but the 190th Brigade held in reserve was
+aware that some hitch had occurred, and pushing forward in the hope
+of retrieving it, found itself involved in the fierce fighting round
+the redoubt, where it also was exposed to heavy loss.  This brigade,
+it may be mentioned, was not naval, but contained the 1st Honourable
+Artillery Company, the 4th Bedfords, 7th Royal Fusiliers, and 10th
+Dublins.  The German fort could not be reduced, nor could progress be
+made in the centre in face of its machine-guns; but the infantry,
+which had passed it on either side, extended along the Sunken Road
+behind it, and joined hands so as to cut it off.  The whole German
+second line was then in their possession, and the right third of
+their third line as well.  The enemy still held firm, however, in the
+centre of the first-line system, and showed no signs of weakening,
+although they must have known that British troops {319} were in their
+rear.  An attempt was made to rebombard this portion of the line, but
+it was difficult for the gunners without aerial observation to locate
+the exact portion of the line which still remained with the enemy,
+and there was great danger of the shells falling among our own
+infantry.  About three in the afternoon the conclusion was reached
+that it was better for the time to leave this great pocket of Germans
+alone, cutting them off from either escape or reinforcement.
+
+The 111th Brigade from the Thirty-seventh Division was therefore sent
+up, battalion by battalion, along the river-bank until it passed the
+central obstacle and reached the Sunken Road.  Thence the 13th Rifles
+were sent forward with orders to reach the advanced line, where the
+Hoods and Drakes, somewhat reduced in numbers but not in spirit, were
+lying in front of Beaucourt.  It was dark before these changes could
+be made.  The Riflemen, when they had attained their position, rested
+their right upon the Ancre, and prolonged their left, clearing the
+Germans out in that direction.  This movement to the left was
+strengthened in the early morning when the 13th Rifle Brigade and the
+13th Royal Fusiliers of the same brigade came up to join in, whilst
+the H.A.C. also advanced and took up a position on the right of the
+naval men.
+
+About seven o'clock the assault upon the village was ordered, under
+the direction and leadership of Commander Freyberg of the Hoods,
+already twice wounded, and wounded once again before his task was
+finished.  Sailors and Riflemen rushed forward at the signal, and
+dashed with fierce impetuosity over the German line and down the
+streets of the hamlet.  The Honourable Artillery Company upon the
+right {320} joined in the charge.  It was completely successful, the
+houses were rapidly cleared, the dug-outs taken, and many hundreds of
+prisoners secured.  The Riflemen emerging on the farther side of the
+village immediately dug in under the direction of their only
+remaining company officer.  A footbridge was at the same time thrown
+across the Ancre, so as to connect up with the Thirty-ninth Division
+on the south.
+
+The German redoubt had held out manfully until its line of retreat
+was entirely cut off, and even then showed signs of continued
+resistance.  The tanks had already won such a position in the army
+that they had become one of the last resources of the commander who
+was in difficulties.  During the night of November 13 three of these
+engines were sent for to help in reducing the intractable German
+centre.  Their performance was typical both of their weakness and of
+their value in this early stage of their evolution.  One was hit and
+disabled before ever it crossed the lines.  A second stuck in the mud
+and refused to budge.  The third won its way over the German front
+line and so terrorised the obstinate garrison that they were finally
+induced to lay down their arms.  Eight hundred prisoners came from
+this one pocket, and the whole capture of the Naval Division amounted
+to nearly 2000 men.
+
+The advance of the Fifty-first Highland Territorial Division upon the
+immediate left of the Naval Division had been equally successful, and
+had ended in the capture of the important village of Beaumont Hamel
+with all its network of caverns, a great store of machine-guns, and
+1500 of the garrison.  The objectives of the division may be said to
+have been the continuation of those of the Naval Division,
+substituting Beaumont Hamel for Beaucourt, but the position {321} was
+complicated by a deep ravine, called after its shape the Y Ravine,
+which ran down from the village to the German trenches.  The ground
+over which the advance was made was still littered with the skeletons
+clad in rags which represented the men who had fallen in the attack
+of July 1.  Now, after five months, they were gloriously avenged.
+The rush of the division was headed by the 153rd Brigade, with the
+4th and 7th Gordons in the lead.  These two fine battalions carried
+the front German lines, but on reaching the Sunken Road they gave
+place to the 6th and 7th Black Watch behind them, who carried the
+attack up the Y Ravine and on to Beaumont, while the Seaforths and
+Argylls of the other brigades, with their staunch Lowland comrades of
+the 9th Royal Scots, thickened the line of attack, and gave it the
+weight to carry each successive obstacle.  Only in the Y Ravine was
+there any momentary check to the fiery advance.  There for a short
+time the Germans stood stoutly to their task, and there was some of
+that man-to-man work which the Scotsman loves.  Then the last signs
+of resistance died out, and before the late afternoon the whole
+position was in the hands of the assailants, who pushed on and
+occupied the low ridge to the north which separates it from Serre.
+One curious incident connected with the close of the action was, that
+a mopping-up party of Gordons in one of the front lines of trenches
+were suddenly surprised and captured by a considerable body of
+Germans, who emerged suddenly from an underground tunnel.  In the
+evening, however, the positions were reversed, and the prisoners were
+rescued, while the Germans had to surrender to the victors.  Fifteen
+hundred prisoners and 54 machine-guns were the {322} spoils of the
+Fifty-first Division; but these were considerably increased when the
+dug-outs were more carefully examined next day.  Altogether nearly
+7000 officers and men were captured in the course of the action.
+
+Whilst the considerable action of Beaumont Hamel was fought upon the
+left, the various divisions upon the south of the river forming the
+remainder of Gough's Fifth Army all made a forward movement and
+gained ground.  Of these divisions, the Thirty-ninth, whose doings
+have already been described, was nearest to the main battle, and was
+most heavily engaged, winning a complete success.  Upon its right in
+the order given were the Nineteenth and the Eighteenth, connecting up
+with Rawlinson's Fourth Army upon the right.  These various divisions
+all moved their lines forward in the direction of the river-bank,
+with the villages of Grandcourt and Petit Miraumont in their front.
+These movements were rather in the nature of a feint and a
+demonstration, so that they were not accompanied by any severe
+fighting.  It had been planned, however, that as these divisions
+advanced to the north the space which would be left between Gough's
+right and Rawlinson's left should be filled up by the Thirty-second
+Division, which should push on in the direction of Pys.  This
+movement gave rise to some severe fighting in which the historical
+14th Brigade sustained some heavy losses.  The immediate obstacle in
+front of the division was a powerful system of trenches lying amid
+morasses caused by the recent heavy rains, and known as the Munich
+Line, with the Frankfort line behind it.  Upon November 17 the
+division took over the advanced trenches, while the {323} Eighteenth
+Division side-stepped to the left.  The Thirty-second Division had
+formed its line for attack, with the 14th Brigade upon the left and
+the 97th upon the right, the leading battalions from left to right
+being the 15th Highland Light Infantry, the 2nd Manchesters, the 2nd
+Yorkshire Light Infantry, and another battalion of H.L.I.  The
+advance was to have been upon the 17th, but from the beginning a
+series of misfortunes occurred, arising largely from the weather, the
+condition of the trenches, and the severe German barrage behind the
+line, which made all preparations difficult and costly.  The attack
+was postponed till the 18th, and even then the advancing battalions
+were short of bombs, without which trench fighting becomes
+impossible.  The ground behind the troops was so awful that one mile
+in an hour was considered remarkable progress for an unladen
+messenger; while the enemy's fire was so severe that of six runners
+sent with a despatch only the last arrived unwounded.  The Germans in
+front appeared to be both numerous and full of fight, and upon the
+17th they made a vain attack upon the advanced line of the 14th
+Brigade.  Two companies of the Manchesters sustained upon this day
+the losses of half their number as they lay, an object lesson in
+silent patient discipline in the muddy bottom of a shell-swept ditch.
+
+At 6.10 in the morning of the 18th an advance was made, but the bomb
+supplies had not yet come up and the disadvantages were great.  None
+the less, the first line of German trenches was successfully carried
+by the Manchesters, but the 15th Highland Light Infantry were held up
+by wire and were unable to get forward, while the Yorkshire Light
+Infantry {324} upon the right got through at some points and were
+held at others.  The Manchesters even penetrated to the second line
+of trenches and sprang into them, but the fatal want of bombs tied
+their hands, and a counter-attack of the Germans retook the position.
+The Highland Light Infantry had fallen back upon Serre Trench, and
+were pressed by a party of the enemy, but fortunately some of the 1st
+Dorsets came up from the rear with some bombs, and the situation was
+saved.  In the meantime the position of those Manchesters and
+Yorkshiremen who had got forward as far as the second trench, and
+were exposed without bombs to a bombing attack, was very serious.
+They had taken a number of prisoners and some of these they managed
+to send back, but the greater part of the British were bombed to
+pieces, and all died where they fought or were taken by the enemy.  A
+single survivor who returned from the final stand made by these
+gallant men stated that he was the last man who had crawled out of
+the trench, and that his comrades lay dead or dying in a group in
+front of a blazing dug-out, the woodwork of which had taken fire.  A
+patrol next day came upon the bodies of an officer and forty men who
+had died fighting to the last in a single group.
+
+On the left of the Thirty-second Division some movement forward had
+been necessary upon the part both of the Eighteenth Division and of
+the Nineteenth, in order to keep the left flank of Jacob's Second
+Corps on the south of the river level with the right flank of
+Fanshawe's Fifth Corps upon the northern bank.  This operation did
+not involve much work upon the part of the Eighteenth, but the
+movement of the Nineteenth was difficult and complex, with Grandcourt
+as {325} a possible objective.  It meant an attack upon a maze of
+trenches under the worst possible terrestrial conditions, while the
+advance had really to be in three different directions--due north,
+north-east, and almost due east.  The 57th Brigade, strengthened by
+the 7th South Lancashires of the 56th Brigade, was chosen for the
+difficult task.  At 6 A.M. upon November 18 in a sharp snow-storm the
+advance began.
+
+It was the last concerted operation of the year, but it was not
+unfortunately destined for success.  The garrison of the trenches
+appear to have been as numerous as the stormers and far more
+advantageously placed.  The ground was such that an advance over it
+without opposition would have been no easy matter.  Upon the left two
+battalions, the 7th South Lancs and the 8th Gloucesters, old battle
+companions of La Boiselle, pushed vigorously forward and seized the
+western outskirt of Grandcourt, where they held on against every
+attempt to dislodge them.  Stick bombs, egg bombs, rifle-grenades,
+and every sort of evil missile crashed and splintered around them,
+but they had in command two leaders who might be trusted to hold what
+they had taken.  Only next evening when the rest of the attack had
+definitely failed did these two battalions withdraw to a new line on
+the immediate west of the village, taking 150 prisoners with them.
+
+The other three battalions had fared ill owing to numerical weakness,
+lack of knowledge of the ground, loss of direction, bad weather, and
+deadly machine-guns.  Half of the 8th North Staffords won their way
+through to the objective, but their comrades could not support them,
+and they were so isolated that, after a {326} gallant resistance,
+they were nearly all destroyed or captured, under very much the same
+circumstances as the 2nd Manchesters upon the preceding day.  The
+commander of the North Staffords, Colonel Anderson, a gallant South
+African, and several other officers were wounded and taken.  Colonel
+Torrie of the 7th East Lancashires was also killed in this
+engagement.  An attempt upon the part of the 9th Cheshires later in
+the evening to get into touch with their lost comrades only served to
+swell the casualty lists, for it was dark before it was initiated,
+and all direction was impossible amid the labyrinth of mud-channels
+which faced them.  Two days later the Nineteenth Division was
+relieved by the Eleventh.  It is difficult to exaggerate the extreme
+hardships which had been endured by the whole of Jacob's corps during
+these operations amid the viscid mud slopes of the Ancre.  Napoleon
+in Poland had never better cause to curse the fourth element.  The
+front trenches were mere gutters, and every attempt to deepen them
+only deepened the stagnant pool within.  The communications were
+little better.  The mud was on the men's bodies, in their food, and
+for ever clogging both their feet and their weapons.  The hostile
+shelling was continuous.  It was a nightmare chapter of the campaign.
+Winter had now settled down once more cheerless and prolonged.  There
+was much to be done in those months of gloom--divisions to be
+refilled, fresh divisions to be brought out, munitions of every sort
+to be stored for the days of wrath to come.  But apart from the
+preparations for the future, the army was never quiet, for one long
+succession of trench raids, exploratory attacks, and bombardments
+helped to retain that ascendancy which had been gained in {327} the
+long Battle of the Somme.  Before the narrative passes to the German
+retreat of 1917, and the dramatic battles which followed it, it would
+be well to take a brief survey of the other events which had occurred
+during the last half of the year, all of which reacted more or less
+directly upon the campaign in the west.
+
+The chief of these is undoubtedly the magnificent French recovery at
+Verdun.  As already stated, the German pressure was very severe in
+June, but it was rapidly lessened by the counter-pressure of the
+Allied advance upon the Somme.  In their attempt to hold back the
+Franco-British advance the Germans denuded their Verdun line to an
+extent which weakened it so much that, far from advancing, it could
+not hold its own.  In two splendid assaults upon October 24 and
+December 15, the first yielding 5000 prisoners and the second 11,000
+with 115 guns, the French drove the Germans back until a considerable
+portion of their former hard-won gains had disappeared.  Considering
+the efforts which France was making upon the Somme it was a splendid
+achievement, and it may fairly be added to the credit of the Somme
+Battle, since without it, it could hardly have been possible.
+
+The second considerable factor was one of those great Russian
+advances which, alternating with equally great Russian retreats, each
+of them coming with a constant rhythm, made the war of the Eastern
+Front resemble some sort of majestic and terrible tide, with an ebb
+and flow which left death and destruction strewn over those unhappy
+border countries.  On this occasion the advance was in the Brody and
+Stanislau direction, and was pushed with such energy and success by
+the fiery Brusiloff that nearly 400,000 prisoners--or perhaps
+Slavonic refugees would be a {328} more accurate description--were
+taken by our Allies.  The movement extended from June to September,
+and might have been a vital one, had it not been for political
+disorganisation and treachery in the rear.
+
+The Italian armies had in the meanwhile given a splendid account of
+themselves, as every one who had seen them in the field, predicted
+that they would.  Though hard pressed by a severe Austrian attack in
+the Trentino in May, they rallied and held the enemy before he could
+debouch upon the plains.  Then with three hard blows delivered upon
+August 6 to August 9, where they took the town of Gorizia and 12,000
+prisoners, on October 10, and on November 1 they broke the Austrian
+lines and inflicted heavy losses upon them.  The coming of winter saw
+them well upon their way to Trieste.
+
+On August 4 the British forces in Egypt defeated a fresh Turco-German
+attack upon that country.  The battle was near Romani, east of the
+Suez Canal, and it ended in a creditable victory and the capture of
+2500 prisoners.  This was the end of the serious menace for Egypt,
+and the operations in this quarter, which were carried on by General
+Murray, were confined from this time forwards to clearing up the
+Sinai peninsula, where various Turkish posts were dispersed or taken,
+and in advancing our line to the Palestine Frontier.
+
+On August 8 our brave little ally, Portugal, threw her sword into the
+scale of freedom, and so gave military continuity to the traditions
+of the two nations.  It would have rejoiced the austere soul of the
+great Duke to see the descendants of his much-valued Caçadores,
+fighting once more beside the great-grandsons of the Riflemen and
+Guardsmen of the Peninsula.  {329} Two divisions appeared in France,
+where they soon made a reputation for steadiness and valour.
+
+In the East another valiant little nation had also ranged herself
+with the Allies, and was destined, alas, to meet her ruin through
+circumstances which were largely beyond her own control.  Upon August
+27 Roumania declared war, and with a full reliance upon help which
+never reached her, advanced at once into the south of Hungary.  Her
+initial successes changed to defeat, and her brave soldiers, who were
+poorly provided with modern appliances of war, were driven back
+before the pressure of Falkenhayn's army in the west and Mackensen's,
+which eventually crossed the Danube, from the south.  On December 6
+Bucharest fell, and by the end of the year the Roumanians had been
+driven to the Russian border, where, an army without a country, they
+hung on, exactly as the Belgians had done, to the extreme edge of
+their ravaged fatherland.  To their Western allies, who were
+powerless to help them, it was one of the most painful incidents of
+the War.
+
+The Salonica expedition had been much hampered by the sinister
+attitude of the Greeks, whose position upon the left rear of
+Sarrail's forces made an advance dangerous, and a retreat
+destructive.  King Constantine, following the example of his
+brother-in-law of Berlin, had freed himself from all constitutional
+ties, refused to summon a parliament, and followed his own private
+predilections and interests by helping our enemies, even to the point
+of surrendering a considerable portion of his own kingdom, including
+a whole army corps and the port of Kavala, to the hereditary enemy,
+the Bulgarian.  Never in history has a nation been so betrayed by its
+king, and never, {330} it may be added, did a nation which had been
+free allow itself so tamely to be robbed of its freedom.  Venezelos,
+however, showed himself to be a great patriot, shook the dust of
+Athens from his feet, and departed to Salonica, where he raised the
+flag of a fighting national party, to which the whole nation was
+eventually rallied.  Meanwhile, however, the task of General Sarrail
+was rendered more difficult, in spite of which he succeeded in
+regaining Monastir and establishing himself firmly within the old
+Serbian frontier--a result which was largely due to the splendid
+military qualities of the remains of the Serbian army.
+
+On December 12 the German Empire proposed negotiations for peace, but
+as these were apparently to be founded upon the war-map as it then
+stood, and as they were accompanied by congratulatory messages about
+victory from the Kaiser to his troops, they were naturally not
+regarded as serious by the Allies.  Our only guarantee that a nation
+will not make war whenever it likes is its knowledge that it cannot
+make peace when it likes, and this was the lesson which Germany was
+now to learn.  By the unanimous decision of all the Allied nations no
+peace was possible which did not include terms which the Germans were
+still very far from considering--restitution of invaded countries,
+reparation for harm done, and adequate guarantees against similar
+unprovoked aggression in the future.  Without these three conditions
+the War would indeed have been fought in vain.
+
+This same month of December saw two of the great protagonists who had
+commenced the War retire from that stage upon which each had played a
+worthy part.  The one was Mr. Asquith, who, {331} weary from long
+labours, gave place to the fresh energy of Mr. Lloyd George.  The
+other was "Father" Joffre, who bore upon his thick shoulders the
+whole weight of the early campaigns.  Both names will live honourably
+in history.
+
+And now as the year drew to its close, Germany, wounded and weary,
+saw as she glared round her at her enemies, a portent which must have
+struck a chill to her heart.  Russian strength had been discounted
+and that of France was no new thing.  But whence came this apparition
+upon her Western flank--a host raised, as it seemed, from nowhere,
+and yet already bidding fair to be equal to her own?  Her public were
+still ignorant and blind, bemused by the journals which had told them
+so long, and with such humorous detail, that the British army was a
+paper army, the creature of a dream.  Treitschke's foolish phrase,
+"The unwarlike Islanders," still lingered pleasantly in their memory.
+But the rulers, the men who knew, what must have been their feelings
+as they gazed upon that stupendous array, that vision of doom, a
+hundred miles from wing to wing, gleaming with two million bayonets,
+canopied with aeroplanes, fringed with iron-clad motor monsters, and
+backed by an artillery which numbered its guns by the thousand?
+Kitchener lay deep in the Orkney waves, but truly his spirit was
+thundering at their gates.  His brain it was who first planted these
+seeds, but how could they have grown had the tolerant, long-suffering
+British nation not been made ready for it by all those long years of
+Teutonic insult, the ravings of crazy professors, and the insults of
+unbalanced publicists?  All of these had a part in raising that great
+host, but others, too, can claim their share: the baby-killers of
+Scarborough, the {332} Zeppelin murderers, the submarine pirates, all
+the agents of ruthlessness.  Among them they had put life and spirit
+into this avenging apparition, where even now it could be said that
+every man in the battle line had come there of his own free will.
+Years of folly and of crime were crying for a just retribution.  The
+instrument was here and the hour was drawing on.
+
+
+
+
+{333}
+
+INDEX
+
+
+Adlam, Lieutenant, V.C., 272
+
+Air Service, 38, 39
+
+Albert, 66
+
+Alderson, General Sir Edwin, 21
+
+Allenby, General Sir Edmund, 11, 34
+
+Alsace, 3
+
+Ancre, battle of the: work of the Naval Division, 315-321; capture of
+Beaumont Hamel, 320-322; attack on Grandcourt, 324-326
+
+Anderson, Colonel, 326
+
+Arbuthnot, Rear-Admiral Sir Robert, 31
+
+Armenia, invasion of, by Russians, 3
+
+Arnim, General von, report on the battle of the Somme, 308
+
+Ash, Colonel, 246
+
+Asquith, Lieutenant Raymond, 169
+
+Asquith, Mr., 330
+
+Atkinson, Major, 211
+
+
+
+Babington, General, 117
+
+Bapaume, 66
+
+Bazentin-le-Grand, 144, 151-152
+
+Bazentin-le-Petit, 144, 145, 146-149
+
+Bean, Mr., Australian chronicler, quoted, 201, 202
+
+Beaucourt-sur-Ancre, 59, 60
+
+Beaumont Hamel, 46, 47, 52-56, 58, 86, 200, 280, 315, 320-322
+
+Bécourt, 67, 76
+
+Becquincourt, 100
+
+Bernard, Colonel, 62
+
+Bircham, Colonel, 161
+
+Bird wood, General Sir William, 190
+
+Blake, Captain, 284
+
+British front in France extended, 4, 11
+
+Brocklehurst, Captain, 183
+
+Brooke, Rupert, 169
+
+Brown, Major Hall, 121
+
+Brusiloff, General, 327
+
+Bucharest, fall of, 329
+
+Bukovina, 2, 3
+
+Bulgaria, joins the Central Powers, 2; Greece surrenders the port of
+Kavala to, 329
+
+Burgh, Lieutenant de, V.C., 284
+
+Bussu, 100
+
+Byng, General Sir Julian, 21, 236
+
+
+
+Campbell, Captain (R.F.A.), 108
+
+Carden, Colonel, 126
+
+Carr, Colonel, 270
+
+Cavan, General Lord, 237, 251
+
+Churchill, Right Hon. W. S., 260
+
+Clark, Major, 140
+
+Coates, Major, 199
+
+Coleridge, Adjutant, 124
+
+Combles, 237, 256, 259, 281, 294, 295
+
+Congreve, General, V.C., 34, 86, 165
+
+Congreve, Brigade-Major, 177
+
+Constantine, King of Greece, 329
+
+Contalmaison, 72, 73, 80, 105, 116-124, 131-133
+
+Cornaby, Lieutenant, 269
+
+Courcelette, 204
+
+Craig, Colonel James, M.P., 62
+
+Curlu, 100
+
+Curtin, Mr., American journalist, quoted, 132
+
+
+
+Davidson, Captain, 62
+
+Dawson, Captain, 69
+
+Delvilie Wood, 145, 153, 155, 159, 165, 171-178, 180-183, 187, 207,
+211-214, 218-223, 232, 233, 262
+
+Derby, Lord, 5, 95
+
+D'Eyncourt, Commander, R.N., 260
+
+Diggle, Major, 64
+
+Dompierre, 100
+
+Duck's Post, attack on, 11, 12
+
+
+
+East Africa, 3
+
+Eaucourt, 282, 283, 286
+
+Edwards, Private, V.C., 270
+
+Ellis, Colonel, 56
+
+Erzeroum captured by Russians, 3
+
+
+
+Falfemont, 207, 214, 224
+
+Falkenhayn, General, 329
+
+Fanshawe, General E. A., 311, 324
+
+Fay, 100
+
+Fayolle, General, 100
+
+Finch, Colonel, 110
+
+Flers, 236, 241, 243-247, 259, 261, 262, 282, 283
+
+Flower, Colonel, 128
+
+Foch, General, 11, 33, 84, 98, 99, 160
+
+Forsyth, Colonel, 203
+
+Franklin, Colonel, 53
+
+French, Lord, 5
+
+Freyberg, Commander, 319
+
+Fricourt, 76, 77-84, 85, 86, 99, 101, 104
+
+Frise, 100, 101
+
+
+
+Gaffikin, Captain, 62
+
+Galicia, 2
+
+Gallipoli, withdrawal of British troops from, 2
+
+Garvin, Captain Gerard, 169
+
+General survey, of affairs in winter 1915-16, 1-7; of events in 1916,
+326-332
+
+Gibbs, Mr. Philip, quoted, 228
+
+Gillson, Colonel, 136
+
+Ginchy, 159, 207, 214, 218, 221, 222-223, 224, 226, 230-231, 250,
+251, 252
+
+Glasgow, Brigadier-General, 83
+
+Glatz Redoubt, the, 96
+
+Gommecourt, 39-45, 71, 86, 99
+
+Gordon, Colonel (Gordons), 168
+
+Gordon, Lieutenant (Borders), 64
+
+Gorizia, Italians take, 328
+
+Gough, General Sir Hubert, 106, 156, 161, 189, 194, 198, 202, 205,
+207, 236, 238, 263, 264, 281, 310, 311, 322
+
+Grandcourt, 322, 324, 325
+
+Green, Colonel, 53
+
+Grenfell, Julian, 169
+
+Guedecourt, 288, 289
+
+Guillemont, 144, 156, 159, 178, 183-187, 207, 214-218, 223, 224, 226,
+227-228, 231
+
+
+
+Haig, General Sir Douglas, 33, 36, 122, 160, 179, 261, 280, 289, 303,
+308
+
+Hamp, Sergeant, 220
+
+Hankey, Captain Donald, 169
+
+Hardecourt, 100
+
+Hay, Colonel, 25
+
+Heath, Colonel, 108
+
+Hébuterne, 34, 46
+
+High Wood, 148, 150, 159, 163, 166-168, 170, 187, 207-213, 232-234,
+236, 237, 240-241, 262
+
+Hohenzollern Redoubt, engagement near, 19
+
+Hole, Lieutenant, 73
+
+Hood, Rear-Admiral Hon. Horace, 31
+
+Hopkinson, Colonel, 53
+
+Horne, General Sir H., 34, 76, 122, 165, 236, 237, 242, 250
+
+Howell, Captain, 182
+
+Hudson, Major, 270
+
+Hunter-Weston, General Sir Aylmer, 34, 46, 55, 68
+
+
+
+Innes, Colonel, 53
+
+Ireland, rebellion in, 19
+
+
+
+Jacob, General, 236, 264, 279, 311, 324, 326
+
+Joffre, General, 33, 331
+
+Johnson, Colonel (Manchesters), 96
+
+Johnstone, Captain (Rifles), 211
+
+Johnstone, Lieutenant (Shropshires), 17
+
+Jones, Colonel, 137
+
+Jones, Sergeant, V.C. (King's Liverpool), 229
+
+Jones, Private, V.C. (Cheshires), 292
+
+Jutland, battle of, 31
+
+
+
+Kavala, Greek surrender of, to Bulgaria, 329
+
+Kiggell, General Sir L., 36
+
+Kitchener, Lord, 5, 331
+
+Kut, British force surrenders to Turks at, 2
+
+
+
+La Boiselle, 69-75, 76, 77, 86, 104, 105, 107-109
+
+Laidlaw, Colonel, 65
+
+Lambton, General, 53
+
+Landon, General, 150
+
+Ledwidge, Francis, 169
+
+Leipzig Redoubt, the, 63, 64, 65, 198
+
+Le Sars, 284, 285, 286
+
+Lesboeufs, 281, 291, 292
+
+Lister, Charles, 169
+
+Lloyd George, Mr., 331
+
+Longridge, Colonel, 210
+
+Longueval, 144, 145, 151, 153-155, 171-180, 213, 217
+
+Loos, 4, 17-19, 30
+
+Luard, Colonel, 17
+
+Lynch, Colonel, 78
+
+Lyon, Colonel, 212
+
+
+
+Machell, Colonel, 64
+
+Mack, Major, 252
+
+Mackensen, General, 329
+
+McNair, Lieutenant, V.C., 8
+
+Maddison, Colonel, 69
+
+Mametz, 76, 84-86, 88, 93, 96, 104
+
+Mametz Wood, 116, 118, 120, 121, 124-132, 134
+
+Maricourt, 95, 99
+
+Markes, Brigade-Major, 176
+
+Martinpuich, 204, 236, 237-240, 269
+
+Mason, Lieutenant, 267
+
+Maxse, General, 139, 272
+
+Mercer, General, 24
+
+Mesopotamia, British Expedition in, 2, 3
+
+Miall-Smith, Lieutenant (Royal Fusiliers), 269
+
+Military Service Bill, the, 6
+
+Mobbs, Colonel, 216
+
+Monastir reoccupied by the Serbian Army, 330
+
+Monro, General Sir Charles, 11
+
+Montauban, 84, 86-98, 99, 104
+
+Montenegro overrun by Central Powers, 2
+
+Moreaucourt, 100
+
+Morland, General Sir T., 34, 58
+
+Morval, 281, 291, 292, 293, 294
+
+Mumford, Captain, 136
+
+Murray, General Sir A., 328
+
+Murray, Lieutenant, 185
+
+Musker, Lieutenant, 186, 187
+
+
+
+Neville, Captain, 92
+
+
+
+Ord, Corporal, 220
+
+Ovillers, 58, 66, 105, 106, 107, 110-116, 197
+
+
+
+Palk, Colonel the Hon. C. W., 53
+
+Pears, Colonel, 113
+
+Phillpotts, General, 233
+
+Pierce, Colonel, 56
+
+Piggott, Colonel Royston, 108
+
+Plumer, General Sir Herbert, 11, 14
+
+Poland occupied by Central Powers, 2
+
+Pommiers Redoubt, the, 89, 90
+
+Portugal declares war against the Central Powers, 328
+
+Pozières, 144, 156, 159, 189-204, 231
+
+Price, Brigadier-General, 203
+
+Primrose, Captain Neil, 169
+
+Prowse, Brigadier-General, 52, 53
+
+Pulteney, General Sir W., 34, 58, 66, 74, 76, 236, 241
+
+
+
+Rawlinson, General Sir Henry, 11, 34, 106, 142, 189, 207, 214, 232,
+236, 263, 322
+
+Regiments:
+
+_Artillery--_
+
+Royal Field Artillery, 93, 108
+
+Trench Mortar Battery, 269
+
+Honourable Artillery Company, 318, 319
+
+_Cavalry--_
+
+7th Dragoon Guards, 150, 158
+
+20th Deccan Horse, 150, 158
+
+Lucknow and Sialkote Cavalry Brigades, 313
+
+_Guards--_
+
+Coldstream, 252, 253, 254, 291, 292
+
+Grenadier, 252, 253, 291, 292
+
+Irish, 252, 253, 291
+
+Scots, 253, 254, 255
+
+Welsh, 291
+
+_Infantry--_
+
+Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 153, 164, 175, 209, 238, 293, 321
+
+Bedford, 88, 89, 95, 137, 186, 187, 251, 255, 271, 273, 292, 318
+
+Berkshire, 70, 71, 89, 90, 109, 177, 182, 192, 193, 210, 233, 268,
+274, 302, 315
+
+Black Watch, 153, 175, 210, 233, 234, 287, 321
+
+Border, 8, 64, 85, 106, 114, 117, 123, 147, 272, 275, 279
+
+Buffs (East Kent), 91, 92, 140, 216, 255, 273, 274, 291, 298
+
+Cameron Highlanders, 153, 162, 175, 233, 238
+
+Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), 70, 134, 164, 166, 167, 170, 238, 302,
+303, 304
+
+Cheshire, 106, 107, 110, 115, 259, 276, 278, 292, 326
+
+Connaught Rangers, 227, 228, 229
+
+Devon, 70, 85, 147, 168, 223, 226, 293
+
+Dorset, 64, 83, 113, 115, 132, 272, 324
+
+Dublin Fusiliers, 19, 52, 231, 318
+
+Duke of Cornwall's, 221, 226, 250, 290, 299
+
+Durham Light Infantry, 49, 51, 77, 78, 80, 81, 221, 247, 250, 255,
+284, 285, 289, 291, 292, 301
+
+East Lancashire, 49, 50, 51, 53, 74, 121, 302, 326
+
+East Surrey, 11, 12, 91, 92, 180, 215, 226, 273, 274, 293
+
+East Yorkshire, 77, 83, 121, 132, 151, 304, 305, 312, 313
+
+Essex, 52, 54, 89, 90, 109, 177, 196, 267, 268, 273
+
+Gloucester, 28, 108, 116, 156, 157, 162, 180, 192, 193, 197, 198,
+211, 226, 233, 293, 325
+
+Gordon Highlanders, 10, 14, 84, 85, 149, 168, 174, 223, 314, 321
+
+Hampshire, 51, 53, 55, 244, 279, 280, 302
+
+Highland Light Infantry, 30, 63, 64, 65, 68, 113, 114, 150, 163, 170,
+218, 237, 238, 323, 324
+
+Inniskilling Fusiliers, 18, 53, 56, 61, 64, 114
+
+King's Liverpool, 95, 96, 97, 98, 137, 151, 152, 164, 174, 179, 208,
+220, 229, 234, 298, 304
+
+King's Own Royal Lancaster, 52
+
+King's Own Scottish Borderers, 134, 172, 238, 286, 292
+
+King's Royal Rifles, 170, 227, 244, 245, 248, 249, 290, 304
+
+Lancashire Fusiliers, 7, 8, 20, 53, 63, 64, 110, 113, 114, 118, 120,
+272, 302
+
+Leicester, 146, 148, 255, 256, 288, 289
+
+Leinster, 215, 227
+
+Lincoln, 8, 10, 42, 70, 72, 77, 81, 82, 116, 117, 122, 275, 288, 302,
+303, 304
+
+Liverpool, 136
+
+London Rifle Brigade, 43, 300
+
+London Scottish, 43, 44, 258, 299
+
+1st London, 259
+
+2nd London, 43, 259
+
+3rd London, 44, 300
+
+4th London, 43, 256, 299
+
+6th London, 241
+
+8th London, 259
+
+9th London (Queen Victoria Rifles), 43, 256, 300
+
+12th London (Rangers), 43, 258
+
+13th London (Kensington), 43
+
+15th London (Civil Service), 241
+
+15th London (Queen's Westminsters), 43
+
+Manchester, 65, 84, 85, 95, 96, 97, 113, 114, 120, 136, 137, 149,
+178, 185, 186, 222, 323, 324 326
+
+Middlesex, 43, 70, 77, 82, 88, 111, 112, 140, 142, 164, 168, 182,
+207, 215, 218, 232, 246, 258, 269, 299, 304
+
+Munster Fusiliers, 156, 212, 230, 234
+
+Norfolk, 89, 90, 176, 180, 196, 267, 273, 292
+
+Northampton, 88, 89, 121, 140, 142, 161, 209, 210, 211, 215, 234,
+269, 271
+
+North Lancashire, 20, 110, 146, 200, 210, 234, 278
+
+North Staffordshire, 41, 108, 325, 326
+
+Northumberland Fusiliers, 13, 63, 70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 113, 117, 118,
+120, 148, 152, 179, 272, 285
+
+Oxford and Bucks, 192, 219, 220, 221, 227, 248, 249, 250, 298, 299
+
+Queen's (West Surrey), 84, 91, 93, 109, 139, 142, 150, 163, 170, 196,
+218, 219, 221, 223, 233, 244, 246, 273
+
+Rifle Brigade, 8, 51, 52, 53, 213, 216, 227, 228, 248, 249, 290, 298,
+302, 316, 319
+
+Rifles, 30, 162, 163, 182, 211, 218, 219, 220, 227, 228, 234, 248,
+278, 279, 282, 290, 299, 315, 319, 320
+
+Royal Fusiliers, 13, 53, 54, 88, 89, 111, 164, 167, 170, 177, 182,
+186, 196, 207, 209, 269, 270, 298, 304, 318, 319
+
+Royal Irish, 18, 86, 148, 149, 222, 227, 230
+
+Royal Irish Fusiliers, 53, 60, 230
+
+Royal Irish Rifles, 60, 61, 62, 71, 110, 230
+
+Royal Lancaster, 10, 14, 314
+
+Royal Scots, 72, 73, 74, 77, 80, 152, 172, 173, 178, 179, 238, 321
+
+Royal Scots Fusiliers, 13, 97, 136, 152, 172, 185, 186, 238
+
+Royal West Kent, 91, 92, 109, 139, 140, 142, 196
+
+Seaforth Highlanders, 52, 53, 153, 175, 285, 321
+
+Sherwood Foresters, 7, 8, 40, 42, 68, 117, 121, 251, 272, 278, 316
+
+Shropshire, 17, 151, 219, 248, 249, 250, 256, 290, 299
+
+Somerset Light Infantry, 51, 52, 53, 82, 221, 229, 250, 299
+
+South Lancashire, 106, 108, 114, 169, 202, 325
+
+South Staffordshire, 7, 8, 41, 84, 85, 116, 117, 123, 150, 221, 275
+
+South Wales Borderers, 53, 56, 121, 129, 130, 156, 157, 162, 212, 234
+
+Suffolk, 9, 10, 72, 74, 89, 92, 109, 164, 177, 178, 208, 252, 267,
+268, 273, 274, 314
+
+Sussex, 8, 28, 30, 93, 111, 112, 162, 192, 194, 195, 209, 211, 215,
+216, 232, 234, 266, 279
+
+Tyneside Irish (Northumberland Fusiliers), 72, 75
+
+Tyneside Scottish (Northumberland Fusiliers), 70, 72, 73, 75
+
+Warwick, 46, 49, 51, 52, 53, 85, 108, 115, 148, 149, 170, 192, 193,
+197, 222, 302
+
+Welsh, 121, 124, 125, 126, 128, 129, 156, 162, 234
+
+Welsh Fusiliers, 10, 30, 86, 108, 118, 125, 126, 128, 129, 149, 167,
+177, 221, 222, 292, 314
+
+West Riding, 10, 120, 203, 302
+
+West Yorkshire, 10, 13, 49, 50, 51, 70, 77, 83, 96, 151, 152, 179,
+203, 255, 273, 274, 275, 292, 301
+
+Wiltshire, 108, 112, 136, 198
+
+Worcester, 55, 108, 112, 114, 120, 121, 163, 166, 169, 192, 218, 302
+
+York and Lancaster, 49, 50, 51, 68, 82, 255, 284, 293, 301
+
+Yorkshire, 81, 83, 117, 135, 178, 203, 275, 284, 285, 304
+
+Yorkshire Light Infantry, 68, 77, 78, 81, 82, 219, 221, 247, 250,
+298, 323
+
+
+Royal Engineers, 92, 117, 149, 168, 183, 218, 220, 231, 245, 293
+
+Royal Naval Division, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320
+
+_Overseas Forces--_
+
+Australians, 116, 161, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195,
+196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 231, 305
+
+New Zealanders, 202, 234, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 287, 288, 289
+
+1st Canadians (Ontario), 278
+
+2nd Canadians, 14
+
+3rd Canadians (Toronto), 27
+
+7th Canadians (British Columbia), 26, 27, 278
+
+10th Canadians, 26
+
+13th Canadians (Royal Highlanders), 16, 27, 202
+
+14th Canadians (Montreal), 25
+
+15th Canadians (48th Highlanders), 25, 202
+
+16th Canadian Scottish, 16, 27
+
+22nd Canadians, 15, 204
+
+27th Canadians (Winnipeg), 15, 278
+
+29th Canadians (Vancouver), 15
+
+31st Canadians (Alberta), 15, 278
+
+49th Canadians, 22
+
+52nd Canadians (New Ontario), 25, 205
+
+60th Canadians (Montreal), 205
+
+60th Canadians (New Brunswick), 16
+
+60th Canadians (Nova Scotia), 16
+
+Princess Patricia's, 22, 24
+
+Royal Canadian Regiment, 22
+
+Canadian Mounted Rifles, 23
+
+Newfoundland Regiment, 46, 54, 55, 301
+
+South Africans, 137, 153, 155, 171, 172, 173, 175, 176, 286
+
+Richebourg, 28-30
+
+Rickets, Colonel, 128
+
+Ripley, Colonel, 271
+
+Robertson, General Sir William, 5, 308
+
+Rolls, Major, 186
+
+Romani, battle near, 328
+
+Roumania declares war against the Central Powers, 329
+
+Rushton, Lieutenant, 90
+
+Ryder, Private, V.C., 270
+
+
+
+St. Eloi, 12-16
+
+St. Pierre Divion, 316
+
+Salonica, 3; operations round, 329
+
+Sarrail, General, 329, 330
+
+Sawyer, Major, V.C., 284
+
+Saye, Lieutenant, 90
+
+Schwaben Redoubt, the, 61, 263, 266, 268, 272-275, 276
+
+Serbia overrun by Central Powers, 2
+
+Serre, 46, 49-53, 86, 311, 313
+
+Shute, Major, 64
+
+Sinai peninsula, operations in, 328
+
+Smith, General Douglas, 227
+
+Smith, Colonel, 134
+
+Smuts, General Right Hon. Jan, 3
+
+Snow, General Sir T., 34, 39, 45
+
+Somerset, Lieutenant, 110
+
+Somme, battle of the: disposition of the British Armies, 34-36;
+preparations preceding the battle, 36, 37; German anticipation of
+Allied attack, 37; work of the Royal Flying Corps, 38, 39; attack of
+the Seventh and Eighth Corps at Gommecourt, Serre, and Beaumont
+Hamel, 39-56; general failure of attack, 56; attack of the Tenth and
+Third Corps at Beaucourt, Thiepval, Ovillers, and La Boiselle, fails,
+58-75; attack of the Fifteenth and Thirteenth Corps at Fricourt,
+Mametz, and Montauban, 76-101; capture of Fricourt, 77-84; of Mametz
+village, 84-86; of Montauban, 86-98; operations of the French Army,
+98-100; review of the first day's fighting, 100, 101; its decisive
+importance, 101; capture of La Boiselle, 107-109; siege and reduction
+of Ovillers, 109-116; operations at Contalmaison, 116-124, 131-133;
+capture of Mametz Wood, 124-131; capture of Trones Wood, 134-143;
+assault on and capture of villages of Bazentin-le-Petit, 145-149; and
+Bazentin-le-Grand, 151-153; operations at Longueval, 153-155; cavalry
+advance, 150, 157; fighting at High Wood, 166-168; South Africans in
+Delville Wood, 171-176; capture of Delville Wood, 180-183; capture of
+Longueval, 171-180; operations before Guillemont, 183-187; capture of
+Pozières village and ridge, 189-202; advance towards Thiepval,
+197-201; capture of Courcelette, 204; further fighting at High Wood,
+207-213, 231-234; operations on fringe of Delville Wood, 212-213,
+218-223, 231-234; attack on and capture of Guillemont, 214, 217,
+227-231; attack on Ginchy, 222-223; storming of Ginchy by Irish
+Division, 230-231; assault on and capture of Martinpuich village,
+237-240; capture of High Wood, 240-241; advance of the New
+Zealanders, 242-243; capture of the village of Flers, 243-247; debut
+of the Tanks, 241, 244, 245, 247, 249, 259-261; assault on and
+capture of Thiepval, 264-272; fall of Schwaben Redoubt, 272-275;
+taking of Stuff Redoubt, 275-279; Germans driven finally from
+Thiepval Ridge, 279; capture of the villages of Eaucourt and Le Sars,
+282-285; capture of Guedecourt, 288, 289; capture of Morval and
+Lesboeufs, 291-294; fall of Combles, 295; general observations on the
+fighting in the Somme valley, 306-309
+
+Stern, Colonel, 260
+
+Stokes, Lieutenant, 211
+
+Stuff Redoubt, the fighting for, 275-279
+
+Swinton, Colonel, 260
+
+
+
+Tanks, the, first appearance of, 241, 244, 245, 247, 249;
+commendation by Sir Douglas Haig, 261; 264, 269, 272, 283, 285, 288,
+293, 320
+
+Tempest, Colonel, 254
+
+Thicknesse, Colonel, 53
+
+Thiepval, 58-68, 86, 156, 197-201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 237, 263,
+264-272, 276
+
+Thompson, Captain, 269
+
+Torrie, Colonel, 326
+
+Tovey, Corporal, 270
+
+Townshend, General Sir Charles, 2
+
+Trenchard, General, 38
+
+Trentino, Austrian attack in, 328
+
+Trones Wood, 135-143
+
+Trotter, Colonel, 134
+
+
+
+Usher, Colonel, 24
+
+
+
+Venezelos, 330
+
+Verdun, 1, 3, 11, 23, 33, 37, 99, 327
+
+Vimy Ridge, 19
+
+
+
+Webber, Lieutenant, 169
+
+Wedgwood, Colonel, 108
+
+White, Captain, V.C., 275
+
+Williams, Brigadier-General Victor, 24
+
+Wood, Colonel, 53
+
+Wulverghem, 20
+
+Wynne-Finch, Adjutant, 254
+
+
+
+Ypres, 4, 7-11, 16-17, 21-28
+
+
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+_Printed in Great Britain_ by R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, _Edinburgh._
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BRITISH CAMPAIGN IN FRANCE AND
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+<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The British Campaign in France and Flanders 1916, by Arthur Conan Doyle</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
+are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the
+country where you are located before using this eBook.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The British Campaign in France and Flanders 1916</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Arthur Conan Doyle</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: April 09, 2021 [eBook #65044]</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Al Haines</div>
+
+<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BRITISH CAMPAIGN IN FRANCE AND FLANDERS 1916 ***</div>
+
+<h1>
+<br /><br />
+  THE BRITISH CAMPAIGN<br />
+<br />
+  IN FRANCE AND FLANDERS<br />
+<br />
+  1916<br />
+</h1>
+
+<p><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p class="t3b">
+  BY<br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="t2">
+  ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE<br />
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p class="t4">
+  AUTHOR OF<br />
+  'THE GREAT BOER WAR,' ETC.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+  HODDER AND STOUGHTON<br />
+  LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO<br />
+  MCMXVIII<br />
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p class="noindent">
+  SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE'S<br />
+  HISTORY OF THE WAR<br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="noindent">
+  Uniform with this Volume.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="noindent">
+  THE BRITISH CAMPAIGN IN FRANCE AND FLANDERS<br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="noindent">
+  1914<br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="noindent">
+  THE BREAKING OF THE PEACE.<br />
+  THE OPENING OF THE WAR.<br />
+  THE BATTLE OF MONS.<br />
+  THE BATTLE OF LE CATEAU.<br />
+  THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE.<br />
+  THE BATTLE OF THE AISNE.<br />
+  THE LA BASSÉE-ARMENTIÈRES OPERATIONS.<br />
+  THE FIRST BATTLE OF YPRES.<br />
+  A RETROSPECT AND GENERAL SUMMARY.<br />
+  THE WINTER LULL OF 1914.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="noindent">
+  THE BRITISH CAMPAIGN IN FRANCE AND FLANDERS<br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="noindent">
+  1915<br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="noindent">
+  THE OPENING MONTHS OF 1915.<br />
+  NEUVE CHAPELLE AND HILL 60.<br />
+  THE SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES.<br />
+  THE BATTLE OF RICHEBOURG-FESTUBERT.<br />
+  THE TRENCHES OF HOOGE.<br />
+  THE BATTLE OF LOOS.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="noindent">
+  With Maps, Plans, and Diagrams,<br />
+  6s. net each Volume.<br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="noindent">
+  HODDER AND STOUGHTON<br />
+  LONDON, NEW YORK, AND TORONTO<br />
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pv"></a>v}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3b">
+PREFACE
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In two previous volumes of this work a narrative has
+been given of those events which occurred upon the
+British Western Front during 1914, the year of recoil,
+and 1915, the year of equilibrium.  In this volume
+will be found the detailed story of 1916, the first of
+the years of attack and advance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Time is a great toner down of superlatives, and
+the episodes which seem world-shaking in our day
+may, when looked upon by the placid eyes of historical
+philosophers in days to come, fit more easily into the
+general scheme of human experience.  None the less
+it can be said without fear of ultimate contradiction
+that nothing approaching to the Battle of the Somme,
+with which this volume is mainly concerned, has ever
+been known in military history, and that it is
+exceedingly improbable that it will ever be equalled in its
+length and in its severity.  It may be said to have
+raged with short intermissions, caused by the breaking
+of the weather, from July 1 to November 14, and
+during this prolonged period the picked forces of
+three great nations were locked in close battle.  The
+number of combatants from first to last was between
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pvi"></a>vi}</span>
+two and three millions, and their united casualties
+came to the appalling total of at least three-quarters
+of a million.  These are minimum figures, but they
+will give some idea of the unparalleled scale of the
+operations.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+With the increasing number and size of the units
+employed the scale of the narrative becomes larger.
+It is more difficult to focus the battalion, while the
+individual has almost dropped out of sight.  Sins
+of omission are many, and the chronicler can but
+plead the great difficulty of his task and regret that
+his limited knowledge may occasionally cause
+disappointment.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The author should explain that this volume has
+had to pass through three lines of censors, suffering
+heavily in the process.  It has come out with the
+loss of all personal names save those of casualties
+or of high Generals.  Some passages also have been
+excised.  On the other hand it is the first which has
+been permitted to reveal the exact identity of the
+units engaged.  The missing passages and names will
+be restored when the days of peace return.
+</p>
+
+<p class="noindent">
+ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE.
+</p>
+
+<p class="noindent">
+<i>February</i> 3, 1918.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pvii"></a>vii}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3b">
+CONTENTS
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<a href="#chap01">CHAPTER I</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+JANUARY TO JULY 1916
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+General situation&mdash;The fight for the Bluff&mdash;The Mound of
+St. Eloi&mdash;Fine performance of Third Division and Canadians&mdash;Feat of the
+1st Shropshires&mdash;Attack on the Irish Division&mdash;Fight at Vimy
+Ridge&mdash;Canadian Battle of Ypres&mdash;Death of General
+Mercer&mdash;Recovery of lost position&mdash;Attack of Thirty-ninth
+Division&mdash;Eve of the Somme
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<a href="#chap02">CHAPTER II</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+  Attack of the Seventh and Eighth Corps on Gommecourt,<br />
+  Serre, and Beaumont Hamel<br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+Line of battle in the Somme sector&mdash;Great preparations&mdash;Advance of
+Forty-sixth North Midland Division&mdash;Advance of Fifty-sixth
+Territorials (London)&mdash;Great valour and heavy losses&mdash;Advance
+of Thirty-first Division&mdash;Advance of Fourth Division&mdash;Advance
+of Twenty-ninth Division&mdash;Complete failure of the assault
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<a href="#chap03">CHAPTER III</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+Attack of the Tenth and Third Corps, July 1, 1916
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+Magnificent conduct of the Ulster Division&mdash;Local success but general
+failure&mdash;Advance of Thirty-second Division&mdash;Advance of Eighth
+Division&mdash;Advance of Thirty-fourth Division&mdash;The turning-point
+of the line
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pviii"></a>viii}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<a href="#chap04">CHAPTER IV</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+The Attack of the Fifteenth and Thirteenth Corps, July 1, 1916
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+The advance of the Twenty-first Division&mdash;Of the 64th
+Brigade&mdash;First permanent gains&mdash;50th Brigade at Fricourt&mdash;Advance of
+Seventh Division&mdash;Capture of Mametz&mdash;Fine work by Eighteenth
+Division&mdash;Capture of Montauban by the Thirtieth
+Division&mdash;General view of the battle&mdash;Its decisive importance
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<a href="#chap05">CHAPTER V</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+From July 2 to July 14, 1916
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+General situation&mdash;Capture of La Boiselle by Nineteenth
+Division&mdash;Splendid attack by 36th Brigade upon Ovillers&mdash;Siege and
+reduction of Ovillers&mdash;Operations at Contalmaison&mdash;Desperate
+fighting at the Quadrangle by Seventeenth Division&mdash;Capture of
+Mametz Wood by Thirty-eighth Welsh Division&mdash;Capture of
+Trones Wood by Eighteenth Division
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<a href="#chap06">CHAPTER VI</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+The Breaking of the Second Line. July 14, 1916
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+The great night advance&mdash;The Leicester Brigade at
+Bazentin&mdash;Assault by Seventh Division&mdash;Success of the Third
+Division&mdash;Desperate fight of Ninth Division at
+Longueval&mdash;Operations of
+First Division on flank&mdash;Cavalry advance
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<a href="#chap07">CHAPTER VII</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+July 14 to July 31
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+Gradual advance of First Division&mdash;Hard fighting of Thirty-third
+Division at High Wood&mdash;The South Africans in Delville
+Wood&mdash;The great German counter-attack&mdash;Splendid work of 26th
+Brigade&mdash;Capture of Delville Wood by 98th Brigade&mdash;Indecisive
+fighting on the Guillemont front
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pix"></a>ix}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<a href="#chap08">CHAPTER VIII</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+  The Operations of Gough's Army upon the Northern Flank<br />
+  up to September 15<br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+Advance, Australia!&mdash;Capture of Pozières&mdash;Fine work of Forty-eighth
+Division&mdash;Relief of Australia by Canada&mdash;Steady advance of
+Gough's Army&mdash;Capture of Courcelette
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<a href="#chap09">CHAPTER IX</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+August 1 to September 15
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+Continued attempts of Thirty-third Division on High
+Wood&mdash;Co-operation of First Division&mdash;Operation of Fourteenth Division
+on fringe of Delville Wood&mdash;Attack by Twenty-fourth Division
+on Guillemont&mdash;Capture of Guillemont by 47th and 59th
+Brigades&mdash;Capture of Ginchy by Sixteenth Irish Division
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<a href="#chap10">CHAPTER X</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+Breaking of the Third Line, September 15
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+Capture of Martinpuich by Fifteenth Division&mdash;Advance of Fiftieth
+Division&mdash;Capture of High Wood by Forty-seventh Division&mdash;Splendid
+advance of New Zealanders&mdash;Capture of Flers by
+Forty-first Division&mdash;Advance of the Light Division&mdash;Arduous
+work of the Guards and Sixth Divisions&mdash;Capture of
+Quadrilateral&mdash;Work of Fifty-sixth Division
+on flank&mdash;Debut of the tanks
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<a href="#chap11">CHAPTER XI</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+THE GAINING OF THE THIEPVAL RIDGE
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+Assault on Thiepval by Eighteenth Division&mdash;Heavy
+fighting&mdash;Co-operation of Eleventh Division&mdash;Fall
+of Thiepval&mdash;Fall of
+Schwaben Redoubt&mdash;Taking of Stuff Redoubt&mdash;Important gains
+on the Ridge
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Px"></a>x}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<a href="#chap12">CHAPTER XII</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+From September 15 to the Battle of the Ancre
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+Capture of Eaucourt&mdash;Varying character of German resistance&mdash;Hard
+trench fighting along the line&mdash;Dreadful climatic
+conditions&mdash;The meteorological trenches&mdash;Hazy Trench&mdash;Zenith
+Trench&mdash;General observations&mdash;General von Arnim's report
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<a href="#chap13">CHAPTER XIII</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+THE BATTLE OF THE ANCRE
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+November 13, 1916
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+The last effort&mdash;Failure in the north&mdash;Fine work of the Thirty-ninth,
+Fifty-first, and Sixty-third Divisions&mdash;Surrounding of German
+Fort&mdash;Capture of Beaumont Hamel&mdash;Commander Freyberg&mdash;Last
+operations of the season&mdash;General survey&mdash;"The unwarlike
+Islanders"
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="noindent">
+<a href="#chap14">INDEX</a>
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pxi"></a>xi}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3b">
+MAPS AND PLANS
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+<a href="#img-xii">Approximate Positions of British Line at the Battle of the Somme</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+<a href="#img-035">British Battle Line, July 1, 1916</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+<a href="#img-119">Quadrangle Position, July 5-11, 1916</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+<a href="#img-127">Mametz Wood</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+<a href="#img-141">Trones Wood: Attack of 54th Brigade, July 13, 1916</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+<a href="#img-144">The Second German Line, Bazentins, Delville Wood, etc.</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+<a href="#img-181">Map of Delville Wood</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+<a href="#img-225">Attack on German Left Flank, September 3, 1916</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+<a href="#img-239">Final Position at Capture of Martinpuich</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+<a href="#img-257">Attack on Quadrilateral, September 15, 1916</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+<a href="#img-265">Plan illustrating the Capture of Thiepval, September 26,
+October 5, 1916</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+<a href="#img-277">Stuff Redoubt System, showing Hessian, Regina, and Stuff</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+<a href="#img-296">Meteorological Trenches, September 30-November 6, 1916</a>
+</p>
+
+<p class="contents">
+Map to illustrate the British Campaign in France and
+Flanders [Transcriber's note: this map was omitted from
+the etext because its size and fragility made it
+impractical to scan.]
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p class="capcenter">
+<a id="img-xii"></a>
+<br />
+<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-xii.jpg" alt="APPROXIMATE POSITIONS OF BRITISH LINE AT THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME" />
+<br />
+APPROXIMATE POSITIONS OF BRITISH <br />
+LINE AT THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p><a id="chap01"></a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P1"></a>1}</span></p>
+
+<h3>
+CHAPTER I
+<br /><br />
+JANUARY TO JULY 1916
+</h3>
+
+<p class="intro">
+General situation&mdash;The fight for the Bluff&mdash;The Mound of
+St. Eloi&mdash;Fine performance of Third Division and Canadians&mdash;Feat of the
+1st Shropshires&mdash;Attack on the Irish Division&mdash;Fight at Vimy
+Ridge&mdash;Canadian Battle of Ypres&mdash;Death of General
+Mercer&mdash;Recovery of lost position&mdash;Attack of Thirty-ninth
+Division&mdash;Eve of the Somme.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+The Great War had now come into its second winter&mdash;a
+winter which was marked by an absolute cessation
+of all serious fighting upon the Western front.
+Enormous armies were facing each other, but until
+the German attack upon the French lines of Verdun
+at the end of February, the infantry of neither side
+was seriously engaged.  There were many raids and
+skirmishes, with sudden midnight invasions of hostile
+trenches and rapid returns with booty or prisoners.
+Both sides indulged in such tactics upon the British
+front.  Gas attacks, too, were occasionally attempted,
+some on a large scale and with considerable result.
+The condition of the troops, though it could not fail
+to be trying, was not so utterly miserable as during
+the first cold season in the trenches.  The British
+had ceased to be a mere fighting fringe with nothing
+behind it.  The troops were numerous and eager, so
+that reliefs were frequent.  All sorts of devices were
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P2"></a>2}</span>
+adopted for increasing the comfort and conserving
+the health of the men.  Steadily as the winter
+advanced and the spring ripened into summer, fresh
+divisions were passed over the narrow seas, and the
+shell-piles at the bases marked the increased energy
+and output of the workers in the factories.  The
+early summer found everything ready for a renewed
+attempt upon the German line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The winter of 1915-16 saw the affairs of the Allies
+in a condition which could not be called satisfactory,
+and which would have been intolerable had there not
+been evident promise of an amendment in the near
+future.  The weakness of the Russians in munitions
+had caused their gallant but half-armed armies to be
+driven back until the whole of Poland had fallen into
+the hands of the Germanic Powers, who had also
+reconquered Galicia and Bukovina.  The British
+attempt upon Gallipoli, boldly conceived and gallantly
+urged, but wanting in the essential quality of surprise,
+had failed with heavy losses, and the army had to be
+withdrawn.  Serbia and Montenegro had both been
+overrun and occupied, while the efficient Bulgarian
+army had ranged itself with our enemies.  The
+Mesopotamian Expedition had been held up by the
+Turks, and the brave Townshend, with his depleted
+division, was hemmed in at Kut, where, after a siege
+of five months, he was eventually compelled, upon
+April 26, to lay down his arms, together with 9000
+troops, chiefly Indian.  When one remembers that
+on the top of this Germany already held Belgium and
+a considerable slice of the north of France, which
+included all the iron and coal producing centres, it
+must be admitted that the Berlin Press had some
+reason upon its side when it insisted that it had
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P3"></a>3}</span>
+already won the War upon paper.  To realise that
+paper, was, however, an operation which was beyond
+their powers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+What could the Allies put against these formidable
+successes?  There was the Colonial Empire of
+Germany.  Only one colony, the largest and most
+powerful, still remained.  This was East Africa.
+General Smuts, a worthy colleague of the noble
+Botha, had undertaken its reduction, and by the
+summer the end was in sight.  The capture of the
+colonies would then be complete.  The oceans of the
+world were another asset of the Allies.  These also
+were completely held, to the absolute destruction of
+all German oversea commerce.  These two conquests,
+and the power of blockade which steadily
+grew more stringent, were all that the Allies could
+throw into the other scale, save for the small corner
+of Alsace still held by the French, the southern end
+of Mesopotamia, and the port of Salonica, which was
+a strategic checkmate to the southern advance of the
+Germans.  The balance seemed all against them.  There
+was no discouragement, however, for all these
+difficulties had been discounted and the Allies had always
+recognised that their strength lay in those reserves
+which had not yet had time to develop.  The opening
+of the summer campaign of 1916, with the capture
+of Erzeroum, the invasion of Armenia, and the
+reconquest of Bukovina, showed that the Russian
+army had at last found its second wind.  The French
+had already done splendid work in their classical
+resistance at Verdun, which had extended from the last
+weeks of February onwards, and had cost the Germans
+over a quarter of a million of casualties.  The
+opening of the British campaign in July found the whole
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P4"></a>4}</span>
+army most eager to emulate the deeds of its Allies,
+and especially to take some of the weight from the
+splendid defenders of Verdun.  Their fight against very
+heavy odds in men, munitions, and transport, was one
+of the greatest deeds of arms, possibly the greatest
+deed of arms of the war.  It was known, however,
+before July that a diversion was absolutely necessary,
+and although the British had taken over a fresh stretch
+of trenches so as to release French reinforcements,
+some more active help was imperatively called for.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Before describing the summer campaign it is
+necessary to glance back at the proceedings of the
+winter and spring upon the British line, and to
+comment upon one or two matters behind that line which
+had a direct influence upon the campaign.  Of the
+minor operations to which allusion has already been
+made, there are none between the Battle of Loos and
+the middle of February 1916 which call for
+particular treatment.  Those skirmishes and mutual
+raidings which took place during that time centred
+largely round the old salient at Ypres and the new
+one at Loos, though the lines at Armentières were also
+the scene of a good deal of activity.  One considerable
+attack seems to have been planned by the Germans
+on the north-east of Ypres in the Christmas week of
+1915&mdash;an attack which was preceded by a formidable
+gas attack.  The British artillery was so powerful,
+however, that it crushed the advance in the trenches,
+where the gathered bayonets of the stormers could be
+seen going down before the scourging shrapnel like
+rushes before a gale.  The infantry never emerged,
+and the losses must have been very heavy.  This
+was the only considerable attempt made by either
+side during the winter.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P5"></a>5}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At the time of Lord French's return another
+change was made at home which had a very immediate
+bearing upon the direction of the War.  Britain had
+suffered greatly from the fact that at the beginning
+of hostilities the distinguished officers who
+composed the central staff had all been called away for
+service in the field.  Lord Kitchener had done
+wonders in filling their place, but it was impossible
+for any man, however great his abilities or energy,
+to carry such a burden upon his shoulders.  The more
+conscientious the man the more he desires to supervise
+everything himself and the more danger there is that
+all the field cannot be covered.  Already the recruiting
+service, which had absorbed a great deal of Lord
+Kitchener's energies with most splendid results, had
+been relegated to Lord Derby, whose tact and wisdom
+produced fresh armies of volunteers.  Now the
+immediate direction of the War and the supervision
+of all that pertained to the armies in the field was
+handed over to Sir William Robertson, a man of
+great organising ability and of proved energy.
+From this time onwards his character and judgment
+bulked larger and larger as one of the factors which
+made for the success of the Allies.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In January 1916 Britain gave her last proof
+of the resolution with which she was waging war.
+Already she had shown that no question of money
+could diminish her ardour, for she was imposing
+direct taxation upon her citizens with a vigour which
+formed the only solid basis for the credit of the Allies.
+Neither our foes nor our friends have shown such
+absolute readiness to pay in hard present cash, that
+posterity might walk with a straighter back, and
+many a man was paying a good half of his income
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P6"></a>6}</span>
+to the State.  But now a sacrifice more intimate
+than that of money had to be made.  It was of that
+personal liberty which is as the very breath of our
+nostrils.  This also was thrown with a sigh into the
+common cause, and a Military Service Bill was passed
+by which every citizen from 19 to 41 was liable to
+be called up.  It is questionable whether it was
+necessary as yet as a military measure, since the
+enormous number of 5,000,000 volunteers had come
+forward, but as an act of justice by which the burden
+should be equally distributed, and the shirker
+compelled to his duty, it was possible to justify this
+radical departure from the customs of our fathers and
+the instincts of our race.  Many who acquiesced in
+its necessity did so with a heavy heart, feeling how
+glorious would have been our record had it been
+possible to bring forward by the stress of duty alone
+the manhood of the nation.  As a matter of fact,
+the margin left over was neither numerous nor
+important, but the energies of the authorities were
+now released from the incessant strain which the
+recruiting service had caused.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The work of the trenches was made easier for the
+British by the fact that they had at last reached an
+equality with, and in many cases a superiority to,
+their enemy, in the number of their guns, the quantity
+of their munitions, and the provision of those smaller
+weapons such as trench mortars and machine-guns
+which count for so much in this description of warfare.
+Their air supremacy which had existed for a long
+time was threatened during some months by the
+Fokker machines of the Germans, and by the skill
+with which their aviators used them, but faster
+models from England soon restored the balance.
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P7"></a>7}</span>
+There had been a time also when the system and the
+telescopic sights of the German snipers had given
+them an ascendancy.  Thanks to the labours of
+various enthusiasts for the rifle, this matter was set
+right and there were long stretches of the line where
+no German head could for an instant be shown above
+the parapet.  The Canadian sector was particularly
+free from any snipers save their own.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The first serious operation of the spring of 1916
+upon the British line was a determined German attack
+upon that section which lies between the Ypres-Comines
+Canal and the Ypres-Comines railway on the
+extreme south of the Ypres salient; Hill 60 lies to
+the north of it.  In the line of trenches there was
+one small artificial elevation, not more than thirty
+feet above the plain.  This was called the Bluff,
+and was the centre of the attack.  It was of very
+great importance as a point of artillery observation.
+During the whole of February 13 the bombardment
+was very severe, and losses were heavy along a front
+of several miles, the right of which was held by the
+Seventeenth Division, the centre by the Fiftieth,
+and the left by the Twenty-fourth.  Finally,
+after many of the trenches had been reduced to
+dirt heaps five mines were simultaneously sprung
+under the British front line, each of them of
+great power.  The explosions were instantly
+followed by a rush of the German infantry.  In
+the neighbourhood of the Bluff, the garrison,
+consisting at that point of the 10th Lancashire
+Fusiliers, were nearly all buried or killed.  To
+the north lay the 10th Sherwood Foresters and
+north of them the 8th South Staffords, whose
+Colonel, though four times wounded, continued
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P8"></a>8}</span>
+to direct the defence.  It was impossible, however,
+to hold the whole line, as the Germans had
+seized the Bluff and were able to enfilade all the
+trenches of the Sherwoods, who lost twelve officers
+and several hundred men before they would admit
+that their position was untenable.  The South
+Staffords being farther off were able to hold on, but
+the whole front from their right to the canal south
+of the Bluff was in the hands of the Germans, who had
+very rapidly and skilfully consolidated it.  A strong
+counter-attack by the 7th Lincolns and 7th Borders,
+in which the survivors of the Lancashire Fusiliers
+took part, had some success, but was unable to
+permanently regain the lost sector, six hundred
+yards of which remained with the enemy.  A
+lieutenant, with 40 bombers of the Lincolns, 38 of
+whom fell, did heroic work.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The attack had extended to the north, where it
+had fallen upon the Fiftieth Division, and to the
+Twenty-fourth Division upon the left of it.  Here it
+was held and eventually repulsed.  Of the company
+of the 9th Sussex who held the extreme left of the
+line, a large portion were blown up by a mine and
+forty were actually buried in the crater.  Young
+Lieutenant McNair, however, the officer in charge,
+showed great energy and presence of mind.  He held
+the Germans from the crater and with the help of
+another officer, who had rushed up some supports,
+drove them back to their trenches.  For this McNair
+received his Victoria Cross.  The 3rd Rifle Brigade,
+a veteran regular battalion, upon the right of the
+Sussex, had also put up a vigorous resistance, as had
+the central Fiftieth Division, so that in spite of the
+sudden severity of the attack it was only at the one
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P9"></a>9}</span>
+point of the Bluff that the enemy had made a
+lodgment&mdash;that point being the real centre of their effort.
+They held on strongly to their new possession, and a
+vigorous fire with several partial attacks during the
+next fortnight failed to dislodge them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Early in March the matter was taken seriously in
+hand, for the position was a most important one, and
+a farther advance at this point would have involved
+the safety of Ypres.  The Seventeenth Division still
+held the supporting trenches, and these now became
+the starting-point for the attack.  A considerable
+artillery concentration was effected, two brigades of
+guns and two companies of sappers were brought up
+from the Third Division, and the 76th Brigade of
+the same Division came up from St. Omer, where it
+had been resting, in order to carry out the assault.
+The general commanding this brigade was in
+immediate command of the operations.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The problem was a most difficult one, as the canal
+to the south and a marsh upon the north screened
+the flanks of the new German position, while its front
+was covered by shell-holes which the tempestuous
+weather had filled with water.  There was nothing
+for it, however, but a frontal attack, and this was
+carried out with very great gallantry upon March 2,
+at 4.30 in the morning.  The infantry left their
+trenches in the dark and crept forward undiscovered,
+dashing into the enemy's line with the first grey
+glimmer of the dawn.  The right of the attack
+formed by the 2nd Suffolks had their revenge for Le
+Cateau, for they carried the Bluff itself with a rush.
+So far forward did they get that a number of Germans
+emerged from dug-outs in their rear, and were
+organising a dangerous attack when they were pelted back
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P10"></a>10}</span>
+into their holes by a bombing party.  Beyond the
+Bluff the Suffolks were faced by six deep shelters
+for machine-guns, which held them for a time
+but were eventually captured.  The centre battalion
+consisted of the 8th Royal Lancasters, who lost
+heavily from rifle fire but charged home with great
+determination, flooding over the old German front
+line and their support trenches as well as their
+immediate objective.  The left battalion in the
+attack were the 1st Gordon Highlanders, who had a
+most difficult task, being exposed to the heaviest
+fire of all.  For a moment they were hung up, and
+then with splendid spirit threw themselves at the
+hostile trenches again and carried everything before
+them.  They were much helped in this second attack
+by the supporting battalion, the 7th Lincolns, whose
+bombers rushed to the front.  The 10th Welsh
+Fusiliers, who were supporting on the right, also did
+invaluable service by helping to consolidate the
+Bluff, while the 9th West Ridings on the left held
+the British front line and repulsed an attempt at a
+flanking counter-attack.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In spite of several counter-attacks and a very
+severe bombardment the line now held firm, and
+the Germans seem to have abandoned all future
+designs upon this section.  They had lost very
+heavily in the assault, and 250 men with 5 officers
+remained in the hands of the victors.  Some of the
+German trench taken was found to be untenable,
+but the 12th West Yorkshires of the 8th Brigade
+connected up the new position with the old and the
+salient was held.  So ended a well-managed and
+most successful little fight.  Great credit was due to
+a certain officer, who passed through the terrible
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P11"></a>11}</span>
+German barrage again and again to link up the troops
+with headquarters.  Extreme gallantry was shown
+also by the brigade-runners, many of whom lost their
+lives in the all-important work of preserving
+communications.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Students of armour in the future may be interested
+to note that this was the first engagement in which
+British infantry reverted after a hiatus of more than
+two centuries to the use of helmets.  Dints of shrapnel
+upon their surfaces proved in many cases that they
+had been the salvation of their wearers.  Several
+observers have argued that trench warfare implies
+a special trench equipment, entirely different from
+that for surface operations.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the middle of March the pressure upon the
+French at Verdun had become severe, and it was
+determined to take over a fresh section of line so
+as to relieve troops for the north-eastern frontier.
+General Foch's Tenth Army, which had held the
+sector opposite to Souchez and Lorette, was accordingly
+drawn out, and twelve miles were added to the
+British front.  From this time forward there were
+four British armies, the Second (Plumer) in the Ypres
+district, the First (Monro) opposite to Neuve Chapelle,
+the Third (Allenby) covering the new French sector
+down to Arras, the Fourth (Rawlinson) from Albert
+to the Somme.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A brisk skirmish which occurred in the south
+about this period is worthy of mention&mdash;typical of
+many smaller affairs the due record of which would
+swell this chapter to a portentous length.  In this
+particular instance, a very sudden and severe night
+attack was directed by the Germans against a post
+held by the 8th East Surreys of the Eighteenth
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P12"></a>12}</span>
+Division at the points where the British and French
+lines meet just north of the Somme.  This small
+stronghold, known as Ducks' Post, was at the head
+of a causeway across a considerable marsh, and
+possessed a strategic importance out of all proportion
+to its size.  A violent bombardment in the darkness
+of the early morning of March 20 was followed by an
+infantry advance, pushed well home.  It was an
+unnerving experience.  "As the Huns charged,"
+says one who was present, "they made the most
+hellish screaming row I ever heard."  The Surrey
+men under the lead of a young subaltern stood fast,
+and were reinforced by two platoons.  Not only did
+they hold up the attack, but with the early dawn
+they advanced in turn, driving the Germans back
+into their trenches and capturing a number of
+prisoners.  The post was strengthened and was firmly
+held.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The next episode which claims attention is the
+prolonged and severe fighting which took place from
+March 27 onwards at St. Eloi, the scene of so fierce
+a contest just one year before.  A small salient had
+been formed by the German line at this point ever
+since its capture, and on this salient was the rising
+known as the Mound (not to be confounded with the
+Bluff), insignificant in itself since it was only twenty
+or thirty feet high, but of importance in a war where
+artillery observation is the very essence of all
+operations.  It stood just east of the little village of
+St. Eloi.  This place was known to be very strongly
+held, so the task of attacking it was handed over to
+the Third Division, which had already shown at
+the Bluff that they were adepts at such an attack.
+After several weeks of energetic preparation, five
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P13"></a>13}</span>
+mines were ready with charges which were so heavy
+that in one instance 30,000 pounds of ammonal were
+employed.  The assault was ordered for 4.15 in the
+morning of March 27.  It was known to be a desperate
+enterprise and was entrusted to two veteran battalions
+of regular troops, the 4th Royal Fusiliers and the
+1st Northumberland Fusiliers.  A frontal attack was
+impossible, so it was arranged that the Royals should
+sweep round the left flank and the Northumberlands
+the right, while the remaining battalions of the
+9th Brigade, the 12th West Yorks and 1st Scots
+Fusiliers, should be in close support in the centre.
+At the appointed hour the mines were exploded with
+deadly effect, and in the pitch darkness of a cloudy
+rainy morning the two battalions sprang resolutely
+forward upon their dangerous venture.  The trenches
+on each flank were carried, and 5 officers with 193
+men of the 18th Reserve Jaeger fell into our hands.
+As usual, however, it was the retention of the captured
+position which was the more difficult and costly part
+of the operation.  The Northumberlands had won
+their way round on the right, but the Fusiliers
+had been partially held up on the left, so that the
+position was in some ways difficult and irregular.
+The guns of the Third Division threw forward
+so fine a barrage that no German counter-attack
+could get forward, but all day their fire was very
+heavy and deadly upon the captured trenches, and
+also upon the two battalions in support.  On the
+night of the 27th the 9th Brigade was drawn out
+and the 8th took over the new line, all access
+to it being impossible save in the darkness, as no
+communication trenches existed.  The situation was
+complicated by the fact that although the British
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P14"></a>14}</span>
+troops had on the right won their way to the rear of
+the craters, one of these still contained a German
+detachment, who held on in a most heroic fashion
+and could not be dislodged.  On March 30 the
+situation was still unchanged, and the 76th Brigade
+was put in to relieve the 8th.  The 1st Gordons
+were now in the line, very wet and weary, but
+declaring that they would hold the ground at all
+costs.  It was clear that the British line must be
+extended and that the gallant Germans in the crater
+must be overwhelmed.  For this purpose, upon the
+night of April 2, the 8th Royal Lancasters swept
+across the whole debatable ground, with the result
+that 4 officers and 80 men surrendered at daylight to
+the Brigade-Major and a few men who summoned
+them from the lip of the crater.  The Divisional
+General had himself gone forward to see that the
+captured ground was made good.  "We saw our
+Divisional General mid-thigh in water and splashing
+down the trenches," says an observer.  "I can tell
+you it put heart into our weary men."  So ended the
+arduous labours of the Third Division, who upon
+April 4 handed over the ground to the 2nd Canadians.
+The episode of the St. Eloi craters was, however,
+far from being at an end.  The position was looked
+upon as of great importance by the Germans, apart
+from the artillery observation, for their whole aim
+was the contraction, as that of the British was the
+expansion, of the space contained in the Ypres
+salient.  "Elbow room!  More elbow room!" was
+the hearts' cry of Plumer's Second Army.  But the
+enemy grudged every yard, and with great tenacity
+began a series of counter-attacks which lasted with
+varying fortunes for several weeks.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P15"></a>15}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Hardly had the Third Division filed out of the
+trenches when the German bombers were buzzing
+and stinging all down the new line, and there were
+evident signs of an impending counter-attack.  Upon
+April 6 it broke with great violence, beginning with
+a blasting storm of shells followed by a rush of infantry
+in that darkest hour which precedes the dawn.  It
+was a very terrible ordeal for troops which had up to
+then seen no severe service, and for the moment they
+were overborne.  The attack chanced to come at
+the very moment when the 27th Winnipeg Regiment
+was being relieved by the 29th Vancouvers, which
+increased the losses and the confusion.  The craters
+were taken by the German stormers with 180 prisoners,
+but the trench line was still held.  The 31st Alberta
+Battalion upon the left of the position was involved
+in the fight and drove back several assaults, while
+a small French Canadian machine-gun detachment
+from the 22nd Regiment distinguished itself by an
+heroic resistance in which it was almost destroyed.
+About noon the bombardment was so terrific that
+the front trench was temporarily abandoned, the
+handful of survivors falling back upon the supports.
+The 31st upon the left were still able to maintain
+themselves, however, and after dusk they were
+able to reoccupy three out of the five craters in
+front of the line.  From this time onwards the
+battle resolved itself into a desperate struggle
+between the opposing craters.  During the whole
+of April 7 it was carried on with heavy losses
+to both parties.  On one occasion a platoon of 40
+Germans in close formation were shot down to a man
+as they rushed forward in a gallant forlorn hope.
+For three days the struggle went on, at the end of
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P16"></a>16}</span>
+which time four of the craters were still held by
+the Canadians.  Two medical men particularly
+distinguished themselves by their constant passage
+across the open space which divided the craters from
+the trench.  The consolidation of the difficult position
+was admirably carried out by the C.R.E. of the Second
+Canadian Division.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Canadians were left in comparative peace for
+ten days, but on April 19 there was a renewed burst
+of activity.  Upon this day the Germans bombarded
+heavily, and then attacked with their infantry at
+four different points of the Ypres salient.  At two
+they were entirely repulsed.  On the Ypres-Langemarck
+road on the extreme north of the British
+position they remained in possession of about a
+hundred yards of trench.  Finally, in the crater
+region they won back two, including the more important
+one which was on the Mound.  Night after night
+there were bombing attacks in this region, by which
+the Germans endeavoured to enlarge their gains.
+New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were now opposed
+to them and showed the same determination as the
+men of the West.  The sector held by the veteran
+First Canadian Division was also attacked, the 13th
+Battalion having 100 casualties and the Canadian
+Scots 50.  Altogether this fighting had been so
+incessant and severe, although as a rule confined to a
+very small front, that on an average 1000 casualties
+a week were recorded in the corps.  The fighting
+was carried on frequently in heavy rain, and the
+disputed craters became deep pools of mud in which
+men fought waist deep, and where it was impossible
+to keep rifle or machine-gun from being fouled and
+clogged.  Several of the smaller craters were found
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P17"></a>17}</span>
+to be untenable by either side, and were abandoned
+to the corpses which lay in the mire.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Germans did not long remain in possession of
+the trench which they had captured upon the 19th
+in the Langemarck direction.  Though it was almost
+unapproachable on account of the deep mud, a
+storming column of the 1st Shropshires waded out to
+it in the dark up to their waists in slush, and turned
+the enemy out with the point of the bayonet.  Upon
+April the 21st the line was completely re-established,
+though a sapper is reported to have declared that
+it was impossible to consolidate porridge.  In this
+brilliant affair the Shropshires lost a number of officers
+and men, including their gallant Colonel, Luard, and
+Lieutenant Johnstone, who was shot by a sniper
+while boldly directing the consolidation from outside
+the parapet without cover of any kind.  The whole
+incident was an extraordinarily fine feat of arms
+which could only have been carried out by a highly
+disciplined and determined body of men.  The mud
+was so deep that men were engulfed and suffocated,
+and the main body had to throw themselves down
+and distribute their weight to prevent being sucked
+down into the quagmire.  The rifles were so covered
+and clogged that all shooting was out of the question,
+and only bombs and bayonets were available for the
+assault.  The old 53rd never did a better day's
+work.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+During the whole winter the Loos salient had
+been simmering, as it had never ceased to do since
+the first tremendous convulsion which had established
+it.  In the early part of the year it was held by
+cavalry brigades, taking turns in succession, and
+during this time there was a deceptive quiet, which
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P18"></a>18}</span>
+was due to the fact that the Germans were busy in
+running a number of mines under the position.  At
+the end of February the Twelfth Division took over
+the north of the section, and for ten weeks they
+found themselves engaged in a struggle which can only
+be described as hellish.  How constant and severe it
+was may be gauged from the fact that without any
+real action they lost 4000 men during that period.
+As soon as they understood the state of affairs, which
+was only conveyed to them by several devastating
+explosions, they began to run their own mines and
+to raid those of their enemy.  It was a nightmare
+conflict, half above ground, half below, and sometimes
+both simultaneously, so that men may be said to have
+fought in layers.  The upshot of the matter, after
+ten weeks of fighting, was that the British positions
+were held at all points, though reduced to an
+extraordinary medley of craters and fissures, which some
+observer has compared to a landscape in the moon.
+The First Division shared with the Twelfth the winter
+honours of the dangerous Loos salient.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On April 27 a considerable surface attack developed
+on this part of the line, now held by the Sixteenth
+Irish Division.  Early upon that day the Germans,
+taking advantage of the wind, which was now
+becoming almost as important in a land as it had once
+been in a sea battle, loosed a cloud of poison upon
+the trenches just south of Hulluch and followed
+it up by a rush of infantry which got possession of
+part of the front and support lines in the old region of
+the chalk-pit wood.  The 49th Brigade was in the
+trenches.  This Brigade consisted of the 7th and 8th
+Inniskillings, with the 7th and 8th Royal Irish.  It
+was upon the first two battalions that the cloud of
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P19"></a>19}</span>
+gas descended, which seems to have been of a
+particularly deadly brew, since it poisoned horses
+upon the roads far to the rear.  Many of the men
+were stupefied and few were in a condition for
+resistance when the enemy rushed to the trenches.
+Two battalions of Dublin Fusiliers, however, from
+the 48th Brigade were in the adjoining trenches and
+were not affected by the poison.  These, together with
+the 8th Inniskillings, who were in the rear of the 7th,
+attacked the captured trench and speedily won it
+back.  This was the more easy as there had been
+a sudden shift of wind which had blown the vile
+stuff back into the faces of the German infantry.  A
+Bavarian letter taken some days later complained
+bitterly of their losses, which were stated to have
+reached 1300 from poison alone.  The casualties of
+the Irish Division were about 1500, nearly all from
+gas, or shell-fire.  Coming as it did at the moment
+when the tragic and futile rebellion in Dublin had
+seemed to place the imagined interests of Ireland in
+front of those of European civilisation, this success
+was most happily timed.  The brunt of the fighting
+was borne equally by troops from the north and from
+the south of Ireland&mdash;a happy omen, we will hope,
+for the future.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Amongst the other local engagements which
+broke the monotony of trench life may be mentioned
+one upon May 11 near the Hohenzollern Redoubt
+where the Germans held for a short time a British
+trench, taking 127 of the occupants prisoners.  More
+serious was the fighting upon the Vimy Ridge south
+of Souchez on May 15.  About 7.30 on the evening
+of that day the British exploded a series of mines
+which, either by accident or design, were short of
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P20"></a>20}</span>
+the German trenches.  The sector was occupied by
+the Twenty-fifth Division, and the infantry attack
+was entrusted to the 11th Lancashire Fusiliers
+and the 9th North Lancashires, both of the 74th
+Brigade.  They rushed forward with great dash and
+occupied the newly-formed craters, where they
+established themselves firmly, joining them up with
+each other and cutting communications backwards
+so as to make a new observation trench.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Twenty-fifth Division lay at this time with
+the Forty-seventh London Division as its northern
+neighbour, the one forming the left-hand unit of the
+Third Army, and the other the extreme right of the
+First.  Upon the 19th the Londoners took over the
+new position from the 74th, and found it to be an evil
+inheritance, for upon May 21, when they were in the
+very act of relieving the 7th and 75th Brigades, which
+formed the front of the Twenty-fifth Division, they
+were driven in by a terrific bombardment and assault
+from the German lines.  On the front of a brigade
+the Germans captured not only the new ground won
+but our own front line and part of our supporting
+line.  Old soldiers declared that the fire upon this
+occasion was among the most concentrated and
+deadly of the whole War.  With the new weapons
+artillery is not needed at such short range, for with
+aerial torpedoes the same effect can be produced as
+with guns of a great calibre.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the early morning of April 30, there was a strong
+attack by the Germans at Wulverghem, which was
+the village to the west of Messines, to which our line
+had been shifted after the attack of November 2,
+1914.  There is no doubt that all this bustling upon
+the part of the Germans was partly for the purpose
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P21"></a>21}</span>
+of holding us to our ground while they dealt with the
+French at Verdun, and partly to provoke a premature
+offensive, since they well knew that some great
+movement was in contemplation.  As a matter of
+fact, all the attacks, including the final severe one
+upon the Canadian lines, were dealt with by local
+defenders and had no strategic effect at all.  In the
+case of the Wulverghem attack it was preceded by
+an emission of gas of such intensity that it produced
+much sickness as far off as Bailleul, at least six miles
+to the west.  Horses in the distant horse lines fell
+senseless under the noxious vapour.  It came on
+with such rapidity that about a hundred men of the
+Twenty-fourth Division were overcome before they
+could get on their helmets.  The rest were armed
+against it, and repelled the subsequent infantry attacks
+carried out by numerous small bodies of exploring
+infantry, without any difficulty.  The whole casualties
+of the Fifth Corps, whose front was attacked,
+amounted to 400, half by gas and half by the shells.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In May, General Alderson, who had commanded
+the Canadians with such success from the beginning,
+took over new duties and gave place to General Sir
+Julian Byng, the gallant commander of the Third
+Cavalry Division.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Upon June 2 there began an action upon the
+Canadian front at Ypres which led to severe fighting
+extending over several weeks, and put a very heavy
+strain upon a corps the First Division of which had
+done magnificent work during more than a year,
+whilst the other two divisions had only just eased up
+after the fighting of the craters.  Knowing well that
+the Allies were about to attack, the Germans were
+exceedingly anxious to gain some success which would
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P22"></a>22}</span>
+compel them to disarrange their plans and to suspend
+that concentration of troops and guns which must
+precede any great effort.  In searching for such a
+success it was natural that they should revert to the
+Ypres salient, which had always been the weakest
+portion of the line&mdash;so weak, indeed, that when it
+is seen outlined by the star shells at night, it seems
+to the spectator to be almost untenable, since the
+curve of the German line was such that it could
+command the rear of all the British trenches.  It
+was a region of ruined cottages, shallow trenches
+commanded by the enemy's guns, and shell-swept
+woods so shattered and scarred that they no longer
+furnished any cover.  These woods, Zouave Wood,
+Sanctuary Wood, and others lie some hundred yards
+behind the front trenches and form a rallying-point
+for those who retire, and a place of assembly for
+those who advance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Canadian front was from four to five miles
+long, following the line of the trenches.  The extreme
+left lay upon the ruined village of Hooge.  This
+part of the line was held by the Royal Canadian
+Regiment.  For a mile to their right, in front of
+Zouave and Sanctuary Woods, the Princess Patricia's
+held the line over low-lying ground.  In immediate
+support was the 49th Regiment.  These all belonged
+to the 7th Canadian Brigade.  This formed the left
+or northern sector of the position.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the centre was a low hill called Mount Sorel, in
+which the front trenches were located.  Immediately
+in its rear is another elevation, somewhat higher,
+and used as an observing station.  This was
+Observatory Hill.  A wood, Armagh Wood, covered the
+slope of this hill.  There is about two hundred yards
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P23"></a>23}</span>
+of valley between Mount Sorel and Observatory Hill,
+with a small stream running down it.  This section
+of the line was essential for the British, since in the
+hands of the enemy it would command all the rest.
+It was garrisoned by the 8th Brigade, consisting of
+Canadian Mounted Rifles.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The right of the Canadian line, including St. Eloi
+upon the extreme limit of their sector, was held by
+troops of the Second Canadian Division.  This part of
+the line was not involved in the coming attack.  It
+broke upon the centre and the left, the Mount Sorel
+and the Hooge positions.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The whole operation was very much more important
+than was appreciated by the British public at
+the time, and formed a notable example of anticipatory
+tactics upon the part of the German General
+Staff.  Just as they had delayed the advance upon
+the west by their furious assault upon Verdun on the
+east, so they now calculated that by a fierce attack
+upon the north of the British line they might disperse
+the gathering storm which was visibly banking up
+in the Somme Valley.  It was a bold move, boldly
+carried out, and within appreciable distance of
+success.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Their first care was to collect and concentrate
+a great number of guns and mine-throwers on the
+sector to be attacked.  This concentration occurred
+at the very moment when our own heavy artillery
+was in a transition stage, some of it going south to
+the Somme.  Hardly a gun had sounded all morning.
+Then in an instant with a crash and a roar several
+mines were sprung under the trenches, and a terrific
+avalanche of shells came smashing down among the
+astounded men.  It is doubtful if a more hellish
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P24"></a>24}</span>
+storm of projectiles of every sort had ever up to that
+time been concentrated upon so limited a front.
+There was death from the mines below, death from
+the shells above, chaos and destruction all around.
+The men were dazed and the trenches both in front
+and those of communication were torn to pieces and
+left as heaps of rubble.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+One great mine destroyed the loop of line held by
+the Princess Patricia's and buried a company in the
+ruins.  A second exploded at Mount Sorel and did
+great damage.  At the first outburst Generals Mercer
+and Williams had been hurried into a small tunnel
+out of the front line, but the mine explosion
+obliterated the mouth of the tunnel and they were only
+extricated with difficulty.  General Mercer was last
+seen encouraging the men, but he had disappeared
+after the action and his fate was unknown to friend
+or foe until ten days later his body was found with
+both legs broken in one of the side trenches.  He
+died as he had lived, a very gallant soldier.  For
+four hours the men cowered down in what was left
+of the trenches, awaiting the inevitable infantry
+attack which would come from the German lines
+fifty yards away.  When at last it came it met with
+little resistance, for there were few to resist.  Those
+few were beaten down by the rush of the Würtembergers
+who formed the attacking division.  They
+carried the British line for a length of nearly a mile,
+from Mount Sorel to the south of Hooge, and they
+captured about 500 men, a large proportion of whom
+were wounded.  General Williams, Colonel Usher, and
+twelve other officers were taken.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When the German stormers saw the havoc in the
+trenches they may well have thought that they had
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P25"></a>25}</span>
+only to push forward to pierce the line and close
+their hands at last upon the coveted Ypres.  If any
+such expectation was theirs, they must have been
+new troops who had no knowledge of the dour tenacity
+of the Canadians.  The men who first faced poison
+gas without masks were not so lightly driven.  The
+German attack was brought to a standstill by the
+withering rifle-fire from the woods, and though the
+assailants were still able to hold the ground occupied
+they were unable to increase their gains, while in
+spite of a terrific barrage of shrapnel fresh Canadian
+battalions, the 14th and 15th from the 3rd Canadian
+Brigade, were coming up from the rear to help their
+exhausted companions.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The evening of June 2 was spent in confused
+skirmishing, the advanced patrols of the Germans
+getting into the woods and being held up by the
+Canadian infantry moving up to the front.  Some
+German patrols are said to have got as far as Zillebeke
+village, three-quarters of a mile in advance of their old
+line.  By the morning of June 3 these intruders had
+been pushed back, but a counter-attack before dawn
+by the 9th Brigade was held up by artillery fire,
+Colonel Hay of the 52nd (New Ontario) Regiment
+and many officers and men being put out of action.
+The British guns were now hard at work, and the
+Würtembergers in the captured trenches were
+enduring something of what the Canadians had
+undergone the day before.  About 7 o'clock the 2nd and
+3rd Canadian Brigades, veterans of Ypres, began to
+advance, making their way through the woods and
+over the bodies of the German skirmishers.  When
+the advance got in touch with the captured trenches
+it was held up, for the Würtembergers stood to it
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P26"></a>26}</span>
+like men, and were well supported by their gunners.
+On the right the 7th and 10th Canadians got well
+forward, but had not enough weight for a serious
+attack.  It became clear that a premature counter-attack
+might lead to increased losses, and that the
+true method was to possess one's soul in patience until
+the preparation could be made for a decisive operation.
+The impatience and ardour of the men were very
+great, and their courage had a fine edge put upon it
+by a churlish German official communiqué, adding
+one more disgrace to their military annals, which
+asserted that more Canadian prisoners had not been
+taken because they had fled so fast.  Canadians
+could smile at the insult, but it was the sort of smile
+that is more menacing than a frown.  The infantry
+waited grimly while some of the missing guns were
+recalled into their position.  Up to this time the
+losses had been about 80 officers and 2000 men.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The weather was vile, with incessant rain which
+turned the fields into bogs and the trenches into canals.
+For a few days things were at a standstill, for the
+clouds prevented aeroplane reconnaissance and the
+registration of the guns.  The Corps lay in front of
+its lost trenches like a wounded bear looking across
+with red eyes at its stolen cub.  The Germans had
+taken advantage of the lull to extend their line, and
+on June 6 they had occupied the ruins of Hooge, which
+were impossible to hold after all the trenches to the
+south had been lost.  In their new line the Germans
+awaited the attack which they afterwards admitted
+that they knew to be inevitable.  The British gunfire
+was so severe that it was very difficult for them to
+improve their new position.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the 13th the weather had moderated and all
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P27"></a>27}</span>
+was ready for the counter-attack.  It was carried
+out at two in the morning by two composite brigades.
+The 3rd (Toronto) and 7th Battalions led upon the
+right, while the 13th (Royal Highlanders) and 16th
+(Canadian Scots) were in the van of the left, with
+their pipers skirling in front of them.  Machine-guns
+supported the whole advance.  The right flank of
+the advance, being exposed to the German machine-guns,
+was shrouded by the smoke of 200 bombs.  The
+night was a very dark one and the Canadian Scots had
+taken advantage of it to get beyond the front line,
+and, as it proved, inside the German barrage zone, so
+that heavy as it was it did them no scathe.  The new
+German line was carried with a magnificent rush, and a
+second heave lifted the wave of stormers into the old
+British trenches&mdash;or the place where they had been.
+Nine machine-guns and 150 prisoners from the 119th,
+120th, 125th, and 127th Würtemberg Regiments
+were captured.  To their great joy the Canadians
+discovered that such munitions as they had
+abandoned upon June 2 were still in the trenches and
+reverted into their hands.  It is pleasant to add that
+evidence was found that the Würtembergers had
+behaved with humanity towards the wounded.  From
+this time onwards the whole Canadian area from
+close to Hooge (the village still remained with the
+enemy) across the front of the woods, over Mount
+Sorel, and on to Hill 60, was consolidated and
+maintained.  Save the heavy reciprocal losses neither
+side had anything to show for all their desperate
+fighting, save that the ruins of Hooge were now
+German.  The Canadian losses in the total operations
+came to about 7000 men&mdash;a figure which is eloquent
+as to the severity of the fighting.  They emerged
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P28"></a>28}</span>
+from the ordeal with their military reputation more
+firmly established than ever.  Ypres will surely be a
+place of pilgrimage for Canadians in days to come,
+for the ground upon the north of the city and also upon
+the south-east is imperishably associated with the
+martial traditions of their country.  The battle just
+described is the most severe action between the epic
+of Loos upon the one side, and that tremendous
+episode in the south, upon the edge of which we are
+now standing.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There is one other happening of note which may
+in truth be taken as an overture of that gigantic
+performance.  This was the action of the Seventeenth
+Corps upon June 30, the eve of the Somme battle,
+in which the Thirty-ninth Division, supported
+by guns from the Thirty-fifth and Fifty-first
+Divisions upon each side of it, attacked the German
+trenches near Richebourg at a spot known as the
+Boar's Head.  The attack was so limited in the
+troops employed and so local in area that it can only
+be regarded as a feint to take the German attention
+from the spot where the real danger was brewing.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After an artillery preparation of considerable
+intensity, the infantry assault was delivered by the
+12th and 13th Royal Sussex of the 116th Brigade.
+The scheme was that they should advance in three
+waves and win their way to the enemy support
+line, which they were to convert into the British
+front line, while the divisional pioneer battalion, the
+13th Gloster, was to join it up to the existing system
+by new communication trenches.  For some reason,
+however, a period of eleven hours seems to have
+elapsed between the first bombardment and the
+actual attack.  The latter was delivered at three
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P29"></a>29}</span>
+in the morning after a fresh bombardment of only
+ten minutes.  So ready were the Germans that an
+observer has remarked that had a string been
+tied from the British batteries to the German the
+opening could not have been more simultaneous, and
+they had brought together a great weight of metal.
+Every kind of high explosive, shrapnel, and trench
+mortar bombs rained on the front and support line,
+the communication trenches and No Man's Land, in
+addition to a most hellish fire of machine-guns.  The
+infantry none the less advanced with magnificent
+ardour, though with heavy losses.  On occupying
+the German front line trenches there was ample
+evidence that the guns had done their work well, for
+the occupants were lying in heaps.  The survivors
+threw bombs to the last moment, and then cried,
+"Kamerad!"  Few of them were taken back.  Two
+successive lines were captured, but the losses were too
+heavy to allow them to be held, and the troops had
+eventually under heavy shell-fire to fall back on their
+own front lines.  Only three officers came back unhurt
+out of the two battalions, and the losses of rank and
+file came to a full two-thirds of the number engaged.
+"The men were magnificent," says one who led them,
+but they learned the lesson which was awaiting so
+many of their comrades in the south, that all human
+bravery cannot overcome conditions which are
+essentially impossible.  A heavy German bombardment
+continued for some time, flattening out the trenches
+and inflicting losses, not only upon the 39th but upon
+the 51st Highland Territorial Division.  This show
+of heavy artillery may be taken as the most pleasant
+feature in the whole episode, since it shows that its
+object was attained at least to the very important
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P30"></a>30}</span>
+extent of holding up the German guns.  Those heavy
+batteries upon the Somme might well have modified
+our successes of the morrow.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A second attack made with the same object of
+distracting the attention of the Germans and holding up
+their guns was made at an earlier date at a point called
+the triangle opposite to the Double Grassier near Loos.
+This attack was started at 9.10 upon the evening of
+June 10, and was carried out in a most valiant fashion
+by the 2nd Rifles and part of the 2nd Royal Sussex,
+both of the 2nd Brigade.  There can be no greater trial
+for troops, and no greater sacrifice can be demanded
+of a soldier, than to risk and probably lose his life in
+an attempt which can obviously have no permanent
+result, and is merely intended to ease pressure
+elsewhere.  The gallant stormers reached and in several
+places carried the enemy's line, but no lasting
+occupation could be effected, and they had eventually to
+return to their own line.  The Riflemen, who were
+the chief sufferers, lost 11 officers and 200 men.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A word should be said as to the raids along the
+line of the German trenches by which it was hoped
+to distract their attention from the point of attack,
+and also to obtain precise information as to the
+disposition of their units.  It is difficult to say whether
+the British were the gainers, or the losers on balance
+in these raids, for some were successful, while some
+were repelled.  Among a great number of gallant
+attempts, the details of which hardly come within
+the scale of this chronicle, the most successful perhaps
+were two made by the 9th Highland Light Infantry
+and by the 2nd Welsh Fusiliers, both of the Thirty-third
+Division.  In both of these cases very extensive
+damage was done and numerous prisoners were taken.
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P31"></a>31}</span>
+When one reads the intimate accounts of these affairs,
+the stealthy approaches, the blackened faces, the
+clubs and revolvers which formed the weapons, the
+ox-goads for urging Germans out of dug-outs, the
+dark lanterns and the knuckle-dusters&mdash;one feels
+that the age of adventure is not yet past and that
+the spirit of romance was not entirely buried in the
+trenches of modern war.  There were 70 such raids
+in the week which preceded the great attack.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Before plunging into the huge task of following
+and describing the various phases of the mighty
+Battle of the Somme a word must be said upon the
+naval history of the period which can all be summed
+up in the Battle of Jutland, since the situation after
+that battle was exactly as it had always been before it.
+This fact in itself shows upon which side the victory
+lay, since the whole object of the movements of the
+German Fleet was to produce a relaxation in these
+conditions.  Through the modesty of the British
+bulletins, which was pushed somewhat to excess, the
+position for some days was that the British, who had
+won everything, claimed nothing, while the Germans,
+who had won nothing, claimed everything.  It is
+true that a number of our ships were sunk and of our
+sailors drowned, including Hood and Arbuthnot, two
+of the ablest of our younger admirals.  Even by the
+German accounts, however, their own losses in
+proportion to their total strength were equally heavy,
+and we have every reason to doubt their accounts
+since they not only do not correspond with reliable
+observations upon our side, but because their second
+official account was compelled to admit that their
+first one had been false.  The whole affair may be
+summed up by saying that after making an excellent
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P32"></a>32}</span>
+fight they were saved from total destruction by the
+haze of evening, and fled back in broken array to
+their ports, leaving the North Sea now as always in
+British keeping.  At the same time it cannot be denied
+that here as at Coronel and the Falklands the German
+ships were well fought, the gunnery was good, and
+the handling of the fleet, both during the battle and
+especially under the difficult circumstances of the
+flight in the darkness to avoid a superior fleet between
+themselves and home, was of a high order.  It was a
+good clean fight, and in the general disgust at the
+flatulent claims of the Kaiser and his press the actual
+merit of the German performance did not perhaps
+receive all the appreciation which it deserved.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p><a id="chap02"></a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P33"></a>33}</span></p>
+
+<h3>
+CHAPTER II
+<br /><br />
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+  Attack of the Seventh and Eighth Corps on<br />
+  Gommecourt, Serre, and Beaumont Hamel<br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="intro">
+Line of battle in the Somme sector&mdash;Great preparations&mdash;Advance of
+Forty-sixth North Midland Division&mdash;Advance of Fifty-sixth
+Territorials (London)&mdash;Great valour and heavy losses&mdash;Advance
+of Thirty-first Division&mdash;Advance of Fourth Division&mdash;Advance
+of Twenty-ninth Division&mdash;Complete failure of the assault.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+The continued German pressure at Verdun which
+had reached a high point in June called insistently
+for an immediate allied attack at the western end of
+the line.  With a fine spirit of comradeship General
+Haig had placed himself and his armies at the absolute
+disposal of General Joffre, and was prepared to march
+them to Verdun, or anywhere else where he could best
+render assistance.  The solid Joffre, strong and
+deliberate, was not disposed to allow the western
+offensive to be either weakened or launched prematurely on
+account of German attacks at the eastern frontier.
+He believed that Verdun could for the time look after
+herself, and the result showed the clearness of his
+vision.  Meanwhile, he amassed a considerable French
+army, containing many of his best active troops, on
+either side of the Somme.  General Foch was in
+command.  They formed the right wing of the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P34"></a>34}</span>
+great allied force about to make a big effort to
+break or shift the iron German line, which had been
+built up with two years of labour, until it
+represented a tangled vista of trenches, parapets, and
+redoubts mutually supporting and bristling with
+machine-guns and cannon, for many miles of depth.
+Never in the whole course of history have soldiers
+been confronted with such an obstacle.  Yet from
+general to private, both in the French and in the
+British armies, there was universal joy that the long
+stagnant trench life should be at an end, and that
+the days of action, even if they should prove to be
+days of death, should at last have come.  Our concern
+is with the British forces, and so they are here
+set forth as they stretched upon the left or north of
+their good allies.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The southern end of the whole British line was
+held by the Fourth Army, commanded by General
+Rawlinson, an officer who has always been called
+upon when desperate work was afoot.  His army
+consisted of five corps, each of which included from
+three to four divisions, so that his infantry numbered
+about 200,000 men, many of whom were veterans, so
+far as a man may live to be a veteran amid the
+slaughter of such a campaign.  The Corps, counting
+from the junction with the French, were, the Thirteenth
+(Congreve), Fifteenth (Horne), Third (Pulteney),
+Tenth (Morland), and Eighth (Hunter-Weston).
+Their divisions, frontage, and the objectives will be
+discussed in the description of the battle itself.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P35"></a>35}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="capcenter">
+<a id="img-035"></a>
+<br />
+<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-035.jpg" alt="BRITISH BATTLE LINE July 1st 1916" />
+<br />
+BRITISH BATTLE LINE July 1st 1916
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+North of Rawlinson's Fourth Army, and touching
+it at the village of Hébuterne, was Allenby's
+Third Army, of which one single corps, the Seventh
+(Snow), was engaged in the battle.  This added three
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P36"></a>36}</span>
+divisions, or about 30,000 infantry, to the numbers
+quoted above.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It had taken months to get the troops into position,
+to accumulate the guns, and to make the enormous
+preparations which such a battle must entail.  How
+gigantic and how minute these are can only be
+appreciated by those who are acquainted with the work of
+the staffs.  As to the Chief Staff of all, if a civilian
+may express an opinion upon so technical a matter, no
+praise seems to be too high for General Kiggell and the
+others under the immediate direction of Sir Douglas
+Haig, who had successively shown himself to be a great
+Corps General, a great Army leader, and now a great
+General-in-Chief.  The preparations were enormous
+and meticulous, yet everything ran like a well-oiled
+piston-rod.  Every operation of the attack was
+practised on similar ground behind the lines.  New
+railheads were made, huge sidings constructed,
+and great dumps accumulated.  The corps and
+divisional staffs were also excellent, but above all it
+was upon those hard-worked and usually overlooked
+men, the sappers, that the strain fell.  Assembly
+trenches had to be dug, double communication
+trenches had to be placed in parallel lines, one taking
+the up-traffic and one the down, water supplies, bomb
+shelters, staff dug-outs, poison-gas arrangements,
+tunnels and mines&mdash;there was no end to the work of
+the sappers.  The gunners behind laboured night
+after night in hauling up and concealing their pieces,
+while day after day they deliberately and carefully
+registered upon their marks.  The question of
+ammunition supply had assumed incredible proportions.
+For the needs of one single corps forty-six
+miles of motor-lorries were engaged in bringing up
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P37"></a>37}</span>
+the shells.  However, by the end of June all was in
+place and ready.  The bombardment began about
+June 23, and was at once answered by a German one
+of lesser intensity.  The fact that the attack was
+imminent was everywhere known, for it was absolutely
+impossible to make such preparations and
+concentrations in a secret fashion.  "Come on, we are
+ready for you," was hoisted upon placards on several
+of the German trenches.  The result was to show that
+they spoke no more than the truth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There were limits, however, to the German appreciation
+of the plans of the Allies.  They were apparently
+convinced that the attack would come somewhat
+farther to the north, and their plans, which covered
+more than half of the ground on which the attack
+actually did occur, had made that region impregnable,
+as we were to learn to our cost.  Their heaviest guns
+and their best troops were there.  They had made a
+far less elaborate preparation, however, at the front
+which corresponded with the southern end of the
+British line, and also on that which faced the French.
+The reasons for this may be surmised.  The British
+front at that point is very badly supplied with roads
+(or was before the matter was taken in hand), and
+the Germans may well have thought that no advance
+upon a great scale was possible.  So far as the French
+were concerned they had probably over-estimated
+the pre-occupation of Verdun and had not given our
+Allies credit for the immense reserve vitality which
+they were to show.  The French front to the south
+of the Somme was also faced by a great bend of the
+river which must impede any advance.  Then again
+it is wooded, broken country down there, and gives
+good concealment for masking an operation.  These
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P38"></a>38}</span>
+were probably the reasons which induced the Germans
+to make a miscalculation which proved to be an
+exceedingly serious one, converting what might have
+been a German victory into a great, though costly,
+success for the Allies, a prelude to most vital results
+in the future.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is, as already stated, difficult to effect a
+surprise upon the large scale in modern warfare.
+There are still, however, certain departments in
+which with energy and ingenuity effects may be
+produced as unforeseen as they are disconcerting.  The
+Air Service of the Allies, about which a book which
+would be one long epic of heroism could be written,
+had been growing stronger, and had dominated the
+situation during the last few weeks, but it had not
+shown its full strength nor its intentions until the
+evening before the bombardment.  Then it disclosed
+both in most dramatic fashion.  Either side had lines
+of stationary airships from which shell-fire is observed.
+To the stranger approaching the lines they are the
+first intimation that he is in the danger area, and he
+sees them in a double row, extending in a gradually
+dwindling vista to either horizon.  Now by a single
+raid and in a single night, every observation airship
+of the Germans was brought in flames to the earth.
+It was a splendid coup, splendidly carried out.
+Where the setting sun had shone on a long German
+array the dawn showed an empty eastern sky.
+From that day for many a month the Allies had
+command of the air with all that it means to modern
+artillery.  It was a good omen for the coming fight,
+and a sign of the great efficiency to which the British
+Air Service under General Trenchard had attained.
+The various types for scouting, for artillery work,
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P39"></a>39}</span>
+for raiding, and for fighting were all very highly
+developed and splendidly handled by as gallant and
+chivalrous a band of heroic youths as Britain has
+ever enrolled among her guardians.  The new
+F.E. machine and the de Haviland Biplane fighting
+machine were at this time equal to anything the
+Germans had in the air.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The attack had been planned for June 28, but the
+weather was so tempestuous that it was put off until
+it should moderate, a change which was a great strain
+upon every one concerned.  July 1 broke calm and
+warm with a gentle south-western breeze.  The day
+had come.  All morning from early dawn there was
+intense fire, intensely answered, with smoke barrages
+thrown during the last half-hour to such points as
+could with advantage be screened.  At 7.30 the guns
+lifted, the whistles blew, and the eager infantry were
+over the parapets.  The great Battle of the Somme,
+the fierce crisis of Armageddon, had come.  In following
+the fate of the various British forces during this
+eventful and most bloody day we will begin at the
+northern end of the line, where the Seventh Corps
+(Snow) faced the salient of Gommecourt.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This corps consisted of the Thirty-seventh, Forty-sixth,
+and Fifty-sixth Divisions.  The former was not
+engaged and lay to the north.  The others were told
+off to attack the bulge on the German line, the
+Forty-sixth upon the north, and the Fifty-sixth upon the
+south, with the village of Gommecourt as their
+immediate objective.  Both were well-tried and famous
+territorial units, the Forty-sixth North Midland being
+the division which carried the Hohenzollern Redoubt
+upon October 13, 1915, while the Fifty-sixth was
+made up of the old London territorial battalions,
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P40"></a>40}</span>
+which had seen so much fighting in earlier days while
+scattered among the regular brigades.  Taking our
+description of the battle always from the north end of
+the line we shall begin with the attack of the Forty-sixth
+Division.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The assault was carried out by two brigades, each
+upon a two-battalion front.  Of these the 137th
+Brigade of Stafford men were upon the right,
+while the 139th Brigade of Sherwood Foresters
+were on the left, each accompanied by a unit of
+sappers.  The 138th Brigade, less one battalion,
+which was attached to the 137th, was in reserve.
+The attack was covered so far as possible with
+smoke, which was turned on five minutes before
+the hour.  The general instructions to both brigades
+were that after crossing No Man's Land and taking
+the first German line they should bomb their way up
+the communication trenches, and so force a passage
+into Gommecourt Wood.  Each brigade was to
+advance in four waves at fifty yards interval, with
+six feet between each man.  Warned by our past
+experience of the wastage of precious material, not
+more than 20 officers of each battalion were sent
+forward with the attack, and a proportional number
+of N.C.O.'s were also withheld.  The average equipment
+of the stormers, here and elsewhere, consisted
+of steel helmet, haversack, water-bottle, rations for
+two days, two gas helmets, tear-goggles, 220
+cartridges, two bombs, two sandbags, entrenching tool,
+wire-cutters, field dressings, and signal-flare.  With
+this weight upon them, and with trenches which
+were half full of water, and the ground between a
+morass of sticky mud, some idea can be formed of
+the strain upon the infantry.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P41"></a>41}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Both the attacking brigades got away with
+splendid steadiness upon the tick of time.  In the
+case of the 137th Brigade the 6th South Staffords
+and 6th North Staffords were in the van, the former
+being on the right flank where it joined up with the
+left of the Fifty-sixth Division.  The South Staffords
+came into a fatal blast of machine-gun fire as they
+dashed forward, and their track was marked by a
+thick litter of dead and wounded.  None the less,
+they poured into the trenches opposite to them but
+found them strongly held by infantry of the
+Fifty-second German Division.  There was some fierce
+bludgeon work in the trenches, but the losses in
+crossing had been too heavy and the survivors were
+unable to make good.  The trench was held by the
+Germans and the assault repulsed.  The North
+Staffords had also won their way into the front
+trenches, but in their case also they had lost so
+heavily that they were unable to clear the trench,
+which was well and stoutly defended.  At the instant
+of attack, here as elsewhere, the Germans had put so
+terrific a barrage between the lines that it was
+impossible for the supports to get up and no fresh momentum
+could be added to the failing attack.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The fate of the right attack had been bad, but
+that of the left was even worse, for at this point we
+had experience of a German procedure which was
+tried at several places along the line with most deadly
+effect, and accounted for some of our very high losses.
+This device was to stuff their front line dug-outs
+with machine-guns and men, who would emerge when
+the wave of stormers had passed, attacking them
+from the rear, confident that their own rear was safe
+on account of the terrific barrage between the lines.
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P42"></a>42}</span>
+In this case the stormers were completely trapped.
+The 5th and 7th Sherwood Foresters dashed through
+the open ground, carried the trenches and pushed
+forward on their fiery career.  Instantly the barrage
+fell, the concealed infantry rose behind them, and
+their fate was sealed.  With grand valour the leading
+four waves stormed their way up the communication
+trenches and beat down all opposition until their own
+dwindling numbers and the failure of their bombs
+left them helpless among their enemies.  Thus
+perished the first companies of two fine battalions,
+and few survivors of them ever won their way back
+to the British lines.  Brave attempts were made
+during the day to get across to their aid, but all were
+beaten down by the terrible barrage.  In the evening
+the 5th Lincolns made a most gallant final effort to
+reach their lost comrades, and got across to the
+German front line which they found to be strongly
+held.  So ended a tragic episode.  The cause which
+produced it was, as will be seen, common to the whole
+northern end of the line, and depended upon factors
+which neither officers nor men could control, the chief
+of which were that the work of our artillery, both in
+getting at the trench garrisons and in its counter-battery
+effects had been far less deadly than we had
+expected.  The losses of the division came to about
+2700 men.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The attack upon the southern side of the
+Gommecourt peninsula, though urged with the utmost
+devotion and corresponding losses, had no more
+success than that in the north.  There is no doubt
+that the unfortunate repulse of the 137th Brigade
+upon their left, occurring as it did while the
+Fifty-sixth Division was still advancing, enabled the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P43"></a>43}</span>
+Germans to concentrate their guns and reserves upon
+the Londoners, but knowing what we know, it can
+hardly be imagined that under any circumstances,
+with failure upon either side of them, the division
+could have held the captured ground.  The preparations
+for the attack had been made with great energy,
+and for two successive nights as many as 3000 men
+were out digging between the lines, which was
+done with such disciplined silence that there were
+not more than 50 casualties all told.  The 167th
+Brigade was left in reserve, having already suffered
+heavily while holding the water-logged trenches
+during the constant shell-fall of the last week.  The
+7th Middlesex alone had lost 12 officers and 300 men
+from this cause&mdash;a proportion which may give some
+idea of what the heavy British bombardment may
+have meant to the Germans.  The advance was,
+therefore, upon a two-brigade front, the 168th
+being on the right and the 169th upon the left.
+The London Scottish and the 12th London Rangers
+were the leading battalions of the 168th, while the
+Westminsters and Victorias led the 169th with the
+4th London, 13th Kensingtons, 2nd London and
+London Rifle Brigade in support.  The advance was
+made with all the fiery dash with which the Cockney
+soldiers have been associated.  The first, second, and
+third German lines of trench were successively carried,
+and it was not until they, or those of them who were
+left, had reached the fourth line that they were held.
+It was powerfully manned, bravely defended, and
+well provided with bombs&mdash;a terrible obstacle for a
+scattered line of weary and often wounded men.  The
+struggle was a heroic one.  Even now had their rear
+been clear, or had there been a shadow of support
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P44"></a>44}</span>
+these determined men would have burst the only
+barrier which held them from Gommecourt.  But
+the steel curtain of the barrage had closed down
+behind them, and every overrun trench was sending
+out its lurking occupants to fire into their defenceless
+backs.  Bombs, too, are essential in such a combat,
+and bombs must ever be renewed, since few can be
+carried at a time.  For long hours the struggle went
+on, but it was the pitiful attempt of heroic men to
+postpone that retreat which was inevitable.  Few of
+the advanced line ever got back.  The 3rd London,
+particularly, sent forward several hundred men with
+bombs, but hardly any got across.  Sixty London Scots
+started on the same terrible errand.  In the late
+afternoon the remains of the two brigades were back in
+the British front line, having done all, and more than
+all, that brave soldiers could be expected to do.  The
+losses were very heavy.  Never has the manhood
+of London in one single day sustained so grievous a
+loss.  It is such hours which test the very soul of the
+soldier.  War is not all careless slang and jokes and
+cigarettes, though such superficial sides of it may
+amuse the public and catch the eye of the descriptive
+writer.  It is the most desperately earnest thing
+to which man ever sets his hand or his mind.  Many
+a hot oath and many a frenzied prayer go up from
+the battle line.  Strong men are shaken to the soul
+with the hysteria of weaklings, and balanced brains
+are dulled into vacancy or worse by the dreadful
+sustained shock of it.  The more honour then to those
+who, broken and wearied, still hold fast in the face
+of all that human flesh abhors, bracing their spirits
+by a sense of soldierly duty and personal honour which
+is strong enough to prevail over death itself.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P45"></a>45}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is pleasing to be able to record an instance of
+good feeling upon the part of the enemy.  Some
+remains of the old German spirit would now and again,
+though with sad rarity, shake itself free from the acrid
+and poisonous Prussian taint.  On this occasion a
+German prisoner was sent back from our lines after
+nightfall with a note to the officer in command asking
+for details as to the fate of the British missing.  An
+answer was found tied on to the barbed wire in the
+morning which gave the desired information.  It is
+fair to state also that the wounded taken by the
+enemy appear to have met with good treatment.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So much for the gallant and tragic attack of the
+Seventh Corps.  General Snow, addressing his men
+after the battle, pointed out that their losses and their
+efforts had not been all in vain.  "I can assure you,"
+he said, "that by your determined attack you
+managed to keep large forces of the enemy at your
+front, thereby materially assisting in the operations
+which were proceeding farther south with such
+marked success."  No doubt the claim is a just one,
+and even while we mourn over the fate of four grand
+Army corps upon the left wing of the Allied Army,
+we may feel that they sacrificed themselves in
+order to assure the advance of those corps of their
+comrades to the south who had profited by the
+accumulation of guns and men to the north of them
+in order to burst their way through the German line.
+It is possible that here as on some other occasions the
+bitter hatred which the Germans had for the British,
+nurtured as it was by every lie which could appeal
+to their passions, had distorted their vision and
+twisted their counsels to an extent which proved to
+be their ruin.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P46"></a>46}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Eighth Corps, a magnificent body of troops,
+was under the command of General Sir Aylmer
+Hunter-Weston.  It consisted of the Forty-eighth
+South Midland Territorial Division, the Fourth
+Regular Division, the Twenty-ninth Regular Division,
+and the Thirty-first Division of the New Army.
+Their front extended from Hébuterne in the north,
+where they joined on to the Fifty-sixth Division, down
+to a point just north of the Ancre, and it faced the
+very strong German positions of Serre in the north, and
+of Beaumont Hamel in the centre.  The latter was an
+exceptionally difficult place, for it contained enormous
+quarries and excavations in which masses of Germans
+could remain concealed, almost immune to shell-fire
+and ready to sally out when needed.  In spite of the
+terrific bombardment the actual damage done to
+the enemy was not excessive, and neither his numbers,
+his <i>moral</i>, nor his guns had been seriously diminished.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The order of battle was as follows: the Forty-eighth
+Division was in reserve, save for the 143rd
+Warwick Brigade.  Of this brigade two battalions,
+the 5th and 6th Warwicks, were placed on a defensive
+line with orders to hold the trenches for about a mile
+south of Hebuterne.  The 7th and 8th Warwicks were
+attached to the Fourth Division for the assault.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Immediately south of the defensive line held by
+the two Warwick battalions was the Thirty-first
+Division, having Serre for its objective.  South of this,
+and opposite to Beaumont Hamel, was the Fourth, and
+south of this again was the Twenty-ninth Division,
+which had returned from the magnificent failure of
+the Dardanelles, bearing with it a high reputation
+for efficiency and valour.  Incorporated with it was
+a regiment of Newfoundlanders, men recruited from
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P47"></a>47}</span>
+among the fishers and farmers of that northern land,
+the oldest colony of Britain.  Such was the force,
+comprising nearly 50,000 excellent infantry, who set
+forth upon the formidable adventure of forcing the
+lines of Beaumont Hamel.  They were destined to
+show the absolute impossibility of such a task in the
+face of a steadfast unshaken enemy, supported by a
+tremendous artillery, but their story is a most glorious
+one, and many a great British victory contains no
+such record of tenacity and military virtue.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At a quarter past five the assaulting lines were in
+the assembly trenches, and shortly afterwards the
+smoke and artillery barrages were released.  At 7.20
+an enormous mine, which had been run under Hawthorn
+Redoubt in front of the Fourth Division, was
+exploded, and a monstrous column of debris, with
+the accompanying shock of an earthquake, warned
+friend and foe that the hour of doom, the crisis of such
+mighty preparations, was at hand.  At 7.30 the
+whistles blew, and the men, springing with eager
+alacrity over the parapet, advanced in successive
+lines of assault against the German trenches.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Before giving in detail the circumstances which
+determined the result in each division, it may be well
+to avoid wearisome iteration by giving certain facts
+which are common to each.  In every case the troops
+advanced in an extended formation of companies in
+successive waves.  In nearly every case the German
+front line was seized and penetrated, in no case was
+there any hesitation or disorder among the advancing
+troops, but the highest possible degree of discipline
+and courage was shown by regulars, territorials, and
+men of the New Army, nor could it be said that there
+was any difference between them.  In each case also
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P48"></a>48}</span>
+the Germans met the assault with determined valour;
+in each case the successive lines of trenches were more
+strongly held, and the assailants were attacked from
+the rear by those who emerged from the dug-outs
+behind them, and above all in each case a most
+murderous artillery fire was opened from a semi-circle
+all round the German position, but especially
+from one huge accumulation of heavy guns, said to
+number a hundred batteries, stationed on the high
+ground near Bucquoy and commanding the British
+position.  These guns formed successive lines of
+barrage with shrapnel and high explosives, one of
+them about 200 yards behind the British line, to cut
+off the supports; another 50 yards behind; another
+50 yards in front; and a fourth of shrapnel which
+was under observed control, and followed the troops
+in their movements.  The advanced lines of assault
+were able in most cases to get through before these
+barrages were effectively established, but they made
+it difficult, deadly, and often impossible for the lines
+who followed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+None the less it is the opinion of skilled observers
+that the shell-fire alone, however heavy, could not
+have taken the edge from the inexorable insistence
+of the British attack.  It is to the skill and to the
+personal gallantry of the German machine-gunners
+that the result is to be traced.  The bombardment
+of the German line had been so severe that it was
+hoped that most of the machine-guns had been rooted
+out.  So indeed they had, but they had been withdrawn
+to the safety of excavations in the immediate
+rear.  Suspecting this, the British artillery sprayed
+the ground behind the trenches with showers of
+shrapnel to prevent their being brought forward
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P49"></a>49}</span>
+again.  This barrage was not sufficient to subdue
+the gunners, who dashed forward and established
+their pieces at the moment of the assault upon the
+various parapets and points of vantage, from which,
+regardless of their own losses, they poured a withering
+fire upon the infantry in the open.  These brave
+Würtembergers were seen, with riflemen at their
+side, exposed waist-deep and dropping fast, but
+mowing the open slope as with a scythe of steel.
+"I cannot," said a general officer, who surveyed the
+whole scene, "adequately express my admiration
+for the British who advanced, or for the Germans
+who stood up under such a heavy barrage to oppose
+them."  It was indeed that contest between the
+chosen children of Odin in which Professor Cramb
+has declared that the high gods of virility might
+well rejoice.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We will now turn to the left of the line and carry
+on the detailed description of the general assault
+from that of the 56th Territorials in the north, who
+were linked up by the defensive line of the Warwicks.
+The Thirty-first Division was on the left of the
+Eighth Corps.  Of this division, two brigades, the
+93rd and the 94th, were in the line, with the 92nd
+in reserve.  The 93rd, which consisted of the 15th,
+16th, 18th West Yorks, and the 18th Durhams,
+was on the right, the 94th, including the 11th East
+Lancashires, and the 12th, 13th, and 14th York
+and Lancasters, was on the left.  The advance was
+made upon a front of two companies, each company
+on a front of two platoons, the men extended
+to three paces interval.  On the left the leading
+battalions were the 11th East Lancashires and 12th
+York and Lancasters, the latter on the extreme left
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P50"></a>50}</span>
+flank of the whole division.  That this position with
+its exposed flank was the place of honour and of
+danger, may be best indicated by the fact that the
+colonel and six orderlies were the only men who could
+be collected of this heroic Sheffield battalion upon
+the next morning.  On the right the leading troops
+were the 15th and 16th West Yorks.  These grand
+North-countrymen swept across No Man's Land,
+dressed as if on parade, followed in succession by the
+remaining battalions, two of which, the 13th and
+14th York and Lancasters, were the special town
+units of Barnsley and Leeds.  "I have never seen
+and could not have imagined such a magnificent
+display of gallantry, discipline, and determination,"
+said the observer who was been already quoted.  The
+men fell in lines, but the survivors with backs bent,
+heads bowed, and rifles at the port, neither quickened
+nor slackened their advance, but went forward as
+though it was rain and not lead which lashed them.
+Here and elsewhere the German machine-gunners
+not only lined the parapet, but actually rushed
+forward into the open, partly to get a flank fire, and
+partly to come in front of the British barrage.  Before
+the blasts of bullets the lines melted away, and the
+ever-decreasing waves only reached the parapet here
+and there, lapping over the spot where the German
+front lines had been, and sinking for ever upon the
+farther side.  About a hundred gallant men of the
+East Lancashires, favoured perhaps by some curve in
+the ground, got past more than one line of trenches,
+and a few desperate individuals even burst their way
+as far as Serre, giving a false impression that the village
+was in our hands.  But the losses had been so heavy
+that the weight and momentum had gone out of the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P51"></a>51}</span>
+attack, while the density of the resistance thickened
+with every yard of advance.  By the middle of the
+afternoon the survivors of the two attacking brigades
+were back in their own front line trenches, having
+lost the greater part of their effectives.  The 15th
+West Yorks had lost heavily in officers, and the 16th
+and 18th were little better off.  The 18th Durhams
+suffered less, being partly in reserve.  Of the 94th
+Brigade the two splendid leading battalions, the 11th
+East Lancashires and 12th York and Lancasters, had
+very many killed within the enemy line.  The
+heaviest loss in any single unit was in the 11th East
+Lancashires.  The strength of the position is indicated
+by the fact that when attacked by two divisions in
+November, with a very powerful backing of artillery,
+it was still able to hold its own.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The experiences of all the troops engaged upon
+the left of the British attack were so similar and their
+gallantry was so uniform, that any variety in description
+depends rather upon the units engaged than upon
+what befell them.  Thus in passing from the Thirty-first
+Division to the Fourth upon their right, the
+general sequence of cause and effect is still the same.
+In this instance the infantry who rushed, or rather
+strode, to the assault were, counting from the right,
+the 1st East Lancs, the 1st Rifle Brigade, and the
+8th Warwicks, who were immediately followed by
+the 1st Hants, the 1st Somersets, and the 6th
+Warwicks, advancing with three companies in front and
+one in support.  The objective here as elsewhere
+upon the left was the capture of the Serre-Grandcourt
+Ridge, with the further design of furnishing a defensive
+flank for the operations lower down.  The troops
+enumerated belonged to the 11th Brigade, led by
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P52"></a>52}</span>
+the gallant Prowse, who fell hit by a shell early in the
+assault, calling after his troops that they should
+remember that they were the Stonewall Brigade.
+The attack was pressed with incredible resolution,
+and met with severe losses.  Again the front line
+was carried and again the thin fringe of survivors
+had no weight to drive the assault forward, whilst
+they had no cover to shelter them in the ruined
+lines which they had taken.  The Somerset men had
+the honour of reaching the farthest point attained
+by the division.  "If anything wants shifting the
+Somersets will do it."  So said their General before
+the action.  But both their flanks were in the air,
+and their position was an impossible one, while
+the right of the attack north of Beaumont Hamel
+had been entirely held up.  Two units of the 10th
+Brigade advanced about 9 o'clock on the right,
+and two of the 12th on the left.  These were in
+their order, the 2nd Dublins, 2nd Seaforths, 2nd
+Essex, and 1st King's Own Lancasters.  All went
+forward with a will, but some could not get beyond
+their own front trenches, and few got over the German
+line.  All the weight of their blood so lavishly and
+cheerfully given could not tilt the scale towards
+victory.  Slowly the survivors of the Somersets and
+Rifle Brigade were beaten back with clouds of bombers
+at their heels.  The 8th Warwicks, who, with some
+of the 6th Warwicks, had got as far forward as any of
+the supporting line, could not turn the tide.  Late
+in the afternoon the assault had definitely failed, and
+the remainder were back in their own front trenches,
+which had now to be organised against the very
+possible counter-attack.  Only two battalions of the
+division remained intact, and the losses included
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P53"></a>53}</span>
+General Prowse, Colonel the Hon. C. W. Palk of the
+Hampshires, Colonel Thicknesse of the Somersets,
+Colonel Wood of the Rifle Brigade, and Colonel
+Franklin of the 6th Warwicks, all killed; while
+Colonels Innes of the 8th Warwicks, Hopkinson of
+the Seaforths, and Green of the East Lancashires
+were wounded.  For a long time a portion of the
+enemy's trench was held by mixed units, but it was
+of no value when detached from the rest and was
+abandoned in the evening.  From the afternoon onwards
+no possible course save defence was open to General
+Lambton.  There was considerable anxiety about one
+company of Irish Fusiliers who were in a detached
+portion of the German trench, but they succeeded in
+getting back next morning, bringing with them not
+only their wounded but some prisoners.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Immediately to the right of the Fourth Division
+was the Twenty-ninth Division[<a id="chap02fn1text"></a><a href="#chap02fn1">1</a>] from Gallipoli,
+which rivalled in its constancy and exceeded in its
+losses its comrades upon the left.  The 86th Brigade
+and the 87th formed the first line, with the 88th in
+support.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="footnote">
+<a id="chap02fn1"></a>
+[<a href="#chap02fn1text">1</a>] Since the constituents of this famous regular Division have not been
+given in full (as has been done with their comrades in preceding volumes)
+they are here enumerated as they were on July 1, 1916:
+</p>
+
+<p class="footnote">
+86<i>th Brigade</i>.&mdash;2nd Royal Fusiliers, 1st Lancashire Fusiliers, 1st Dublin
+Fusiliers, 16th Middlesex.
+</p>
+
+<p class="footnote">
+87<i>th Brigade</i>.&mdash;1st Inniskilling Fusiliers, 1st South Wales Borderers,
+1st Scottish Borderers, 1st Border Regiment.
+</p>
+
+<p class="footnote">
+88<i>th Brigade</i>.&mdash;1st Essex, 2nd Hants, 4th Worcesters, Newfoundland
+Regiment.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+The van of the attack upon the right of the division
+was formed by the 1st Inniskilling Fusiliers and the
+Welsh Borderers, while the van upon the left was
+formed by the 2nd Royal Fusiliers and the 1st
+Lancashire Fusiliers.  The other battalions of the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P54"></a>54}</span>
+brigades formed the supporting line, and two battalions
+of the 88th Brigade, the Essex and the Newfoundlanders,
+were also drawn into the fight, so that, as in
+the Fourth Division, only two battalions remained
+intact at the close, the nucleus upon which in each
+case a new division had to be formed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Upon the explosion of the great mine already
+mentioned two platoons of the 2nd Royal Fusiliers
+with machine-guns and Stokes mortars rushed forward
+to seize the crater.  They got the near lip, but the
+enemy were already in possession of the far side, and
+no farther advance could be made.  At this point,
+and indeed at nearly all points down the line, the
+wire was found to have been very thoroughly cut by
+the artillery fire, but for some reason our own wire
+had not been cut to the same extent and was a serious
+obstacle to our own advance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Parties of the leading regiments were speedily up
+to the German front-line trench, but their advance
+beyond it was delayed by the fact that the dug-outs
+were found to be full of lurking soldiers who had
+intended no doubt to rush out and attack the stormers
+in the rear, as in the case of the Forty-sixth and
+Fifty-sixth Divisions in the north, but who were discovered
+in time and had to fight for their lives.  These men
+were cleared out upon the right, and the advance then
+made some progress, but on the left by 9 o'clock the
+86th Brigade had been completely held up by a
+murderous machine-gun fire in front of Beaumont
+Hamel, a position which, as already explained,
+presented peculiar difficulties.  The Essex and
+Newfoundland men of the 88th Brigade were ordered
+forward and charged with such splendid resolution
+that the advance was carried forward again, and the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P55"></a>55}</span>
+whole situation changed for the better.  By 10.15 the
+casualties had become so great, however, through
+the fire of flanking machine-guns, that it was clear
+that the attack could not possibly reach its objective.
+The huge crater left by the explosion of the Beaumont
+Hamel mine was held for hours as a redoubt, but it
+also was enfiladed by fire and became untenable.  By
+half-past ten the action had resolved itself into a
+bombardment of the German front line once more,
+and the assault had definitely failed.  There was an
+attempt to renew it, but when it was found that the
+86th Brigade and the 87th Brigade were equally
+reduced in numbers, it was recognised that only a
+defensive line could be held.  It is true that the
+Divisional General had the Worcesters and the Hants
+still in hand, and was prepared to attack with them,
+but a further loss might have imperilled the Divisional
+line, so no advance was allowed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All the troops of the Twenty-ninth Division had
+lived up to their fame, but a special word should
+be said of the Newfoundlanders, who, in their first
+action, kept pace with the veterans beside them.
+This battalion of fishermen, lumbermen, and farmers
+proved once more the grand stuff which is bred over
+the sea&mdash;the stuff which Bernhardi dismissed in a
+contemptuous paragraph.  "They attacked regardless
+of loss, moving forward in extended order, wave
+behind wave.  It was a magnificent exhibition of
+disciplined courage."  Well might General Hunter-Weston
+say next day after visiting the survivors:
+"To hear men cheering as they did, after undergoing
+such an experience, and in the midst of such mud
+and rain, made one proud to have the command of
+such a battalion."  The losses of the Newfoundlanders
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P56"></a>56}</span>
+were severe.  Losses are always the index of the
+sorrow elsewhere, but when they fall so heavily upon a
+small community, where every man plays a vital part
+and knows his neighbour, they are particularly
+distressing.  From Cape Race to the coast of Labrador
+there was pride and mourning over that day.  The
+total losses of the division were heavy, and included
+Colonels Pierce and Ellis of the Inniskillings and
+Borderers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It must have been with a heavy heart that General
+Hunter-Weston realised, with the approach of night,
+that each of his divisions had met with such losses
+that the renewal of the attack was impossible.  He,
+his Divisional Commanders, his officers and his men
+had done both in their dispositions and in their
+subsequent actions everything which wise leaders and brave
+soldiers could possibly accomplish.  If a criticism
+could be advanced it would be that the attack was
+urged with such determined valour that it would not
+take No until long after No was the inevitable answer.
+But grim persistence has won many a fight, and no
+leader who is worthy to lead can ever have an excess
+of it.  They were up against the impossible, as were
+their companions to right and left.  It is easy to
+recognise it now, but it could not be proved until
+it had been tested to the uttermost.  Could other
+tactics, other equipment, other methods of guarding
+the soldiers have brought them across the fatal open
+levels?  It may be so, and can again only be tried
+by testing.  But this at least was proved for all time,
+that, given clear ground, unshaken troops, prepared
+positions, and ample artillery, no human fire and no
+human hardihood can ever hope to break such a
+defensive line.  It should be added that here as
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P57"></a>57}</span>
+elsewhere the British artillery, though less numerous
+than it became at a later date, was admirable both
+in its heavy and in its lighter pieces.  Observers have
+recorded that under its hammer blows the German
+trenches kept momentarily changing their shape,
+while the barrage was as thick and accurate and
+the lifting as well-timed as could have been wished.
+There was no slackness anywhere, either in preparation
+or in performance, and nothing but the absolute
+impossibility of the task under existing conditions
+stood in the way of success.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p><a id="chap03"></a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P58"></a>58}</span></p>
+
+<h3>
+CHAPTER III
+<br /><br />
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+Attack of the Tenth and Third Corps, July 1, 1916
+</p>
+
+<p class="intro">
+Magnificent conduct of the Ulster Division&mdash;Local success but general
+failure&mdash;Advance of Thirty-second Division&mdash;Advance of Eighth
+Division&mdash;Advance of Thirty-fourth Division&mdash;The
+turning-point of the line.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+Morland's Tenth Corps consisted of the Thirty-sixth,
+Forty-ninth, and Thirty-second Divisions.  It lay
+between Hunter-Weston's Eighth Corps upon the left
+and Pulteney's Third Corps upon the right.  It
+covered a front from a mile north of Hamel to a
+mile north of Ovillers.  At its northern end it was
+cut by the river Ancre, a sluggish canalised stream,
+running between two artificial dykes which the
+Germans periodically cut by their artillery fire and
+the British mended as best they might.  This sector
+of attack, together with the one farther south which
+faced the Third Corps, presented peculiar difficulties
+to the assailants, as the ground sloped upward to the
+strong village of Thiepval with the ridge behind
+it, from which German guns could sweep the whole
+long glacis of approach.  Nowhere were there more
+gallant efforts for a decision and nowhere were they
+more hopeless.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P59"></a>59}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The division to the north of the Tenth Corps
+was the Thirty-sixth Ulster Division.  This division
+was composed of magnificent material, for the
+blend of Scot and Celt to be found in the North
+of Ireland produces a soldier who combines the fire
+of the one with the solidity of the other.  These
+qualities have been brought to a finer temper by the
+atmosphere of opposition in which they have lived,
+and the difficult economical circumstances which
+they have overcome in so remarkable a way.  Long
+ago in unhappy civil strife they had shown their
+martial qualities, and now upon a nobler and wider
+stage they were destined to confirm them.  It might
+well seem invidious to give the palm to any one of the
+bands of heroes who shed their blood like water on
+the slopes of Picardy, but at least, all soldiers would
+agree that among them all there was not one which
+could at its highest claim more than equality of
+achievement that day with the men of Ulster.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The objective of this division was the German
+position from Beaucourt-sur-Ancre on the north to
+the northern edge of Thiepval.  When the signal
+was given the two leading brigades, the 108th and
+the 107th, came away at a deliberate pace which
+quickened into the rush of a released torrent, and
+went roaring over the German trenches.  "They
+were like bloodhounds off the leash."  Like every
+one else they were horribly scourged by shrapnel
+and machine-fire as they rushed across, but whether
+it was that some curve in the ground favoured part
+of their line, or whatever the cause, they suffered less
+than the other divisions, and struck on to the German
+front line with their full shattering momentum, going
+through it as though it were paper.  The 108th
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P60"></a>60}</span>
+Brigade, consisting of the 9th Irish Fusiliers and the
+11th, 12th, and 13th Irish Rifles, was on the left.
+Two of these, the Fusiliers and one of the Irish Rifle
+battalions, were on the north side of the Ancre, and
+were acting rather with the Twenty-ninth Division
+upon their left than with their own comrades on the
+right.  This detachment fought all day side by side
+with the regulars, made their way at one time right
+up to Beaucourt Station, and had finally to retire to
+their own trenches together with the rest of the line
+north of the Ancre.  Next morning the survivors
+crossed the Ancre, and from then onwards the Eighth
+Corps extended so as to take over this ground.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+South of the Ancre the two remaining battalions
+of the 108th Brigade, and the whole of the 107th
+Brigade, consisting of the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 15th
+Irish Rifles, advanced upon a front of 3000 yards.
+The men had lost very heavily in the assembly
+trenches, and two companies of the 10th Irish Rifles
+had dwindled to two platoons before ever they got
+clear of the shattered wood in which they gathered.
+None the less, the fire and fury of their onset was
+terrific and sustained.  "The place was covered with
+smoke and the explosion of heavy shells," says one
+who saw the scene from a front observation post.
+"I felt that no attack was possible, when suddenly
+out of the clouds I saw men advancing as if on parade,
+quite slowly.  It seemed impossible, and yet they
+went on, stormed at on the left by high explosive and
+shrapnel, and on the right by enfilade machine-gun
+fire.  Suddenly they charged, and when I could next
+see through the clouds on the slope (less than a mile
+away) I saw that they had taken the front trench,
+and in another minute the trench behind was taken,
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P61"></a>61}</span>
+as our fellows shouting, 'No surrender!' got through&mdash;God
+knows how!  As they advanced the fire of
+the guns became more and more enfilade, but nothing
+could stop their steady progress."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The long line of Irish Riflemen had rolled over
+every obstacle, and although their dead and wounded
+lay thick behind them they still stormed forwards
+with the same fury with which they started.  Bunching
+up into platoons in artillery formation they
+pushed on and carried the third line.  Ahead of them,
+across a considerable interval, was a fourth line, with
+a large redoubt upon the flank.  They steadied
+themselves for a few minutes, and then dashing onwards
+once again they captured both the fourth line and
+the redoubt.  So far forward were they now that they
+had reached regions north of Thiepval which were
+never trodden by a British foot again until three
+months of constant fighting had cleared a way to
+them.  It was the great Schwaben Redoubt which
+was now before them.  The reserve brigade, the
+109th, consisting of the 9th, 10th, and 11th
+Inniskilling Fusiliers, with the 14th Irish Rifles, had
+dashed forward at 10.40, leaving only the pioneer
+battalion, the 16th Irish Rifles, to guard the trenches.
+With the additional weight of the survivors of this
+reinforcing line the fringe of stormers, for they were
+now a fringe and nothing more, again rushed forward
+and threw themselves into the Schwaben trenches.
+This was their limit, and for most of them their grave.
+They had no further supports, no ammunition could
+reach them, and they were embedded in the depths
+of the German line at a point far deeper than any unit
+upon the left of the line had attained.  The village
+of Thiepval commanded them from their right rear.
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P62"></a>62}</span>
+Some remained in little groups, huddling in some
+coign of vantage, and fighting to the last cartridge,
+absolutely refusing to take one step to the rear.  To
+the Germans they were as dangerous as so many
+cornered wolves.  Others fell back in orderly fashion,
+but not an inch farther than was needful, for they
+held on all day to the frontage taken by them.  The
+first two lines were kept in their fierce grip till nightfall
+of the next day, when they handed them over to the
+relieving division.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In this splendid deed of arms the Thirty-sixth
+Division left half its number upon the battlefield.
+The instances of gallantry were innumerable, and
+so equally distributed that their General, when asked
+to name a special battalion, could only answer
+that the whole twelve had done equally well.
+Had the divisions to right and left been able to
+get as far, the whole gain would have been
+permanent.  As it was, 540 prisoners were brought in,
+and few were lost save the wounded, chief of whom
+was Colonel Craig, who directed the movements of
+his men long after he was unable to direct his own.
+Colonel Bernard of the 10th Rifles, Captain Davidson,
+who worked his machine-gun after his leg was
+shattered, Captain Gaffikin, who died while leading
+his company with an orange handkerchief waving in
+his hand, are but a few of the outstanding names.
+The pressure upon the different brigades is indicated
+by the losses in officers of the 107th, the 108th, and
+the 109th.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A very detailed account would be necessary to
+bring home to the reader the full gallantry of this
+deed of arms.  Experienced soldiers who saw it were
+moved to the limit of human speech.  "I wish I had
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P63"></a>63}</span>
+been born an Ulsterman," cried one of them.  "But
+I am proud to have been associated with these
+wonderful men."  To have penetrated all alone for two
+miles into the German line, and to withdraw from such
+a salient in military order, holding fast to all that
+could be retained, was indeed a great feat for any
+troops to have performed.  The requiem for their
+fallen was best expressed by one of the survivors, who
+wrote that "they died for the cause of Liberty,
+Honour, and Freedom, for the Old Flag, the emblem
+of Britain, died for Ireland, died for Ulster!"
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Thirty-second Division was on the immediate
+right of the men of Ulster.  Their advance was carried
+out with the 96th Brigade on the left, the 97th upon
+the right, and the 14th in support.  The reader may
+be warned that from this time onwards he will often
+find, as in this case, that old brigades have been added
+to new formations, so that the former simplicity of
+numbering is often disturbed.  The storming lines
+went forward in each case with two battalions abreast
+in front and two in succession in support.  The front
+line of attack taken from the north, or left, consisted
+of the 15th Lancashire Fusiliers, 16th Northumberland
+Fusiliers, and the 16th and 17th Highland Light
+Infantry.  Of these four battalions the 16th
+Northumberland Fusiliers came under very heavy fire, and
+were unable to press their attack home.  On the
+right the Highlanders had crawled up to within a
+hundred yards of the Leipzig salient and were into
+it with a rush the moment that the barrage lifted.
+The 15th Lancashire Fusiliers upon the left made a
+particularly brilliant advance.  The right company
+was held up in front of Thiepval village, but the left
+company swept on with the Thirty-sixth Division,
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P64"></a>64}</span>
+keeping pace with their magnificent advance.  It
+appears to have reached the east end of Thiepval,
+but there it was buried deeply in the enemy's
+position and was never heard of again.  The supporting
+battalions of the 96th Brigade, the 16th Lancashire
+Fusiliers and the 2nd Inniskilling Fusiliers, tried hard
+to regain touch with their lost comrades, but in vain.
+These various gallant bodies who, at different points
+of our line, pushed forward into impossible positions,
+were no doubt for the greater part killed or wounded,
+but from among them came the 850 prisoners whom
+the Germans claimed to have taken on the northern
+part of the line on that day.  The left of the divisional
+line was so weakened by these losses that they were
+compelled to withdraw to their own front trenches.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the right, however, the Highlanders were able
+to hold on to a part of the Leipzig salient.  The losses,
+however, upon this flank had been very heavy, not
+only in the front wave, but among the 1st Dorsets
+and the 11th Borders as they came out from a
+wood in support.  Coming under a concentrated
+fire of machine-guns, these two battalions suffered
+heavily.  Colonel Machell, gallantly leading his
+Borders, was shot dead, his adjutant, Lieutenant
+Gordon, was badly wounded as he stooped over his
+body, Major Diggle was wounded, and the greater
+number of the officers were on the ground.  Colonel
+Machell, it may be remarked, was a high civil official
+of the Egyptian Government, Under Secretary for the
+Interior, whose patriotism had led him to join the New
+Armies and thus to meet his death upon the field of
+battle.  The 1st Dorsets lost nearly as heavily as the
+men of the Border; their leader, Major Shute, was
+disabled, and their ranks thrown into temporary
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P65"></a>65}</span>
+confusion.  They were splendidly rallied, however,
+by the adjutant, who led them on and succeeded
+with the survivors in reaching the Leipzig Redoubt.
+Colonel Laidlaw, of the 16th Highland Light Infantry,
+had also been wounded, the third commanding officer
+killed or injured on this wing of the attack.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There had been no flinching anywhere, and the
+military virtue shown had been of the highest possible
+quality; but the losses from the machine-guns and
+from the barrage were so heavy that they deprived the
+attack of the weight and momentum necessary to win
+their way through the enemy's position.  Under the
+desperate circumstances, it might well be considered
+a remarkable result that a stretch of the Leipzig
+Redoubt should be won and permanently held by the
+Highlanders, especially by the 17th Highland Light
+Infantry.  The sappers had prepared a Russian sap
+running up to the enemy line, and this was invaluable
+as a communication trench.  On the 2nd and 3rd the
+enemy endeavoured to turn out the intruders, but
+the 2nd Manchesters and 15th Highland Light
+Infantry not only held their ground, but enlarged it.
+On the night of the 3rd the division was relieved by
+the Twenty-fifth Division and withdrew to refit after
+its tragic but splendid exertions.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Out of the novel conditions of what may be called
+Bloch warfare certain rules and axioms are slowly
+evolving.  That it is impossible without artificial
+protection to attack over the open against an
+unshaken enemy provided with machine-guns is the
+most certain.  But there is another which might be
+formulated thus: If there are sharp salients in the
+enemy line, either these salients must be taken first
+or the attack must be made out of range of them,
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P66"></a>66}</span>
+otherwise their guns must flank the whole advance.
+Very many examples might be quoted where the
+disregard of this axiom has brought disaster to either
+side.  A conspicuous case would be that of the Third
+Corps now to be described, where the sinister salient
+of Thiepval protruded to the north, and a smaller
+but very efficient one to the south, so that the whole
+advance was conducted under the fire of two lines of
+guns which raked it from end to end.  In addition
+the opposing infantry included a division of the
+Prussian Guard.  In the whole long position there
+would appear to be no sector where there was less
+prospect of success, and yet there was no sector where
+it was more essential to hold the enemy fast, since
+victory might await us to the immediate south.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Third Corps, under General Pulteney, occupied
+the front immediately to the east of Albert.  This
+large town was almost exactly in the centre of its
+rear, and the important road from Albert to Bapaume
+bisected the British position.  Ovillers to the north,
+within the German lines, and Bécourt to the south, in
+the British, marked roughly the two ends of the
+sector.  It was a comparatively narrow stretch, so
+that only two divisions were in the firing line, and
+one in reserve.  These were respectively the Eighth
+Regular Division to the north, the Thirty-fourth of
+the New Army to the south, and the Nineteenth, also
+of the New Army, in support.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Had the Thirty-second Division succeeded in
+holding its grip upon Thiepval upon the north, there
+might have been some chance of success, but as it
+was, the machine-guns from that quarter shaved
+the whole of No Man's Land as a mower may
+shave a lawn, and after the first rush, which
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P67"></a>67}</span>
+carried the brave fellows of the Eighth Division
+over the trenches, it proved to be absolutely
+impossible to send them either supports or supplies.
+The main body of this magnificent division disappeared
+into the smoke and haze of the battle, and
+their comrades in the trenches waited with aching
+hearts, their eyes fixed upon their front where the
+roar of battle rose from the other side of the pelting
+sleet of bullets.  All day they waited, dashing out
+occasionally and being beaten back with
+ever-dwindling numbers.  After dusk, they searched the
+shell-holes and brought in some 400 wounded.  A
+few bewildered men came staggering in during the
+night, half-delirious with fatigue and strain, and unable
+themselves to say how they had got back across the
+enemy's front line from the depths to which they
+had penetrated.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This tragic but heroic attack in which the whole
+force who went forward fought literally to the death,
+was carried out in the following order:
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the right was the 23rd Brigade; in the
+centre the 25th; and on the left the 70th.  The
+23rd and 25th were the old hard-working units of
+Neuve Chapelle and many another fray.  The 70th
+was a particularly fine brigade of the New Army.
+This division had up to the last moment been
+without a pioneer battalion, but the infantry had dug
+themselves particularly good assembly and communication
+trenches, which helped them much upon the
+day of battle.  They had also, under the direction of
+the Commander of Divisional sappers, run two covered
+ways up to the enemy's trenches which might have
+been a vital factor in the day's work, had it not been
+that the stormers pushed on, leaving it to others to
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P68"></a>68}</span>
+secure their gains.  The result was that the
+advancing infantry passed rather than occupied the front
+trenches, the barrage cut off supports, the enemy
+emerged from their dug-outs, and the line still
+remained under their control, forbidding the use or
+even the disclosure of the covered ways, since men
+could not emerge in single file in an enemy trench.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Following the plan of describing operations always
+from the north, we will first picture from such reliable
+material as is available the attack of the 70th Brigade,
+which contained some of the finest North-country
+stuff that ever fought the battles of the country.
+This brigade was separated on the north by a clear
+space of about 300 yards from the Highland Light
+Infantry of the 97th Brigade, who formed the extreme
+right of the Thirty-second Division.  The 8th York
+and Lancaster was the flank battalion, with the 8th
+Yorkshire Light Infantry upon its right.  The 9th
+York and Lancaster were behind their comrades,
+and the 11th Sherwood Foresters behind the Light
+Infantry.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As it is impossible to give with any fulness the
+story of any one regiment, and as each may be taken
+as typical of the others, we may follow the front
+flank battalion on its advance.  This, the 8th York
+and Lancaster, consisted almost entirely of miners,
+a class of men who have furnished grand military
+material to the New Armies.  This unit came chiefly
+from the Rotherham district.  The frontage of the
+battalion was 750 yards.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As the hour of attack approached, the enemy's
+counter-bombardment became so violent that there
+was the utmost difficulty in getting the men into the
+front-line trenches.  Many were killed and even
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P69"></a>69}</span>
+buried before the advance had begun.  When the
+whistles blew the stormers went forward in four waves
+with 50 yards between, the supporting battalions
+following instantly.  The machine-guns were sweeping
+the ground and about 350 yards had to be covered
+between the lines.  Officers and men went down in
+heaps under the enfilade fire from four lines of guns,
+one behind the other, in the Thiepval district.  The
+approach was over a billiard-table glacis with no
+cover of any kind.  The ranks kept formation and
+trudged steadily forward, throwing themselves
+head-long into the front German trenches.  There they
+steadied themselves for a few minutes, and then
+advancing once more sprang down into the second
+German line which was strongly held.  Colonel
+Maddison had been shot down early in the attack.
+Captain Dawson, the adjutant, had been wounded,
+but staggered on with the men until he was killed at
+the second line of trenches.  "Come on, boys! let's
+get at 'em and clear 'em out!" were his last words.
+On this second line the battalion, together with its
+support, beat itself to pieces.  A few survivors unable
+to get back were taken prisoners, and a German report
+has stated that they were very proud and defiant
+when marched away.  At night a number of wounded
+were carried in along the whole divisional front from
+No Man's Land, but many lives were lost in the
+gallant work, and many of the wounded also lost
+their lives in trying to crawl back, for the Germans
+turned their machine-guns during the daytime upon
+everything that moved in front of their lines.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To show how uniform was the experience, one may
+quote the doings of a battalion of the 23rd Brigade.
+This brigade was on the right of the Eighth Division
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P70"></a>70}</span>
+line, and the 2nd Middlesex, the battalion in question,
+formed the right battalion joining on with the Tyneside
+Scottish of the Thirty-fourth Division to the south.
+Upon its left was the 2nd Devons.  The supporting
+troops, two companies of the 2nd West Yorkshires
+and the 2nd Scottish Rifles, seem to have been held
+back when it was seen how fatal was the advance,
+and so in part escaped from the catastrophe.  The
+Middlesex advanced almost opposite to La Boiselle.
+There was a slight dip in the ground to the immediate
+front which formed a partial protection from the
+machine-guns, so that although the losses were very
+heavy, about 300 men with six Lewis guns made
+good their footing in the German front-line trench.
+Their gallant commander was wounded twice, but
+still kept at their head while they swept onwards to
+the second line.  It was stuffed with Germans, but the
+handful of British stormers flung themselves in among
+them and cleared a standing place in the trench.  The
+German guns, however, had the exact range, and
+four out of the six Lewis guns were blown into the
+air.  Finally, only five men and a sergeant were left
+unwounded in this trench.  This handful made its
+way back.  One hundred and thirty of the Middlesex
+men seem to have got through or round on to the
+Pozières Road, but their fate was never cleared up.
+Finally, only 30 men of this grand battalion answered
+the roll-call that night.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The space between the two attacks described
+from the point of view of the two wing battalions of
+the division was occupied by the 25th Brigade, whose
+advance and losses were exactly similar to those
+which have been narrated.  The 2nd Lincolns and
+2nd Berkshires were the leading battalions, and their
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P71"></a>71}</span>
+devotion in attempting the impossible was as great
+as that of their comrades to right and left.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Both regiments suffered heavily, and it is probable
+that the Berkshires went deeper than any other.
+The 1st Irish Rifles had occupied the trenches for
+six days in dreadful weather, and had suffered
+heavily from the retaliatory bombardment of the
+Germans.  They were therefore held in reserve, but
+none the less made repeated efforts and with great
+loss to cross the barrage and help their comrades,
+for which they afterwards received a special message
+of thanks from the Divisional Commander.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Up to this point the writer has been faced by
+the painful and monotonous task of one long record
+of failure from Gommecourt in the north to La
+Boiselle in the south.  It cannot be doubted that we
+had over-estimated the effects of our bombardment,
+and that the German guns were intact to a degree
+which was unexpected.  Our one consolation must
+be that the German reserves were held in their
+position, and that improved prospects were assured
+for the remainder of the British line and for the
+whole of the French line.  Had the front of the
+battle covered only the region which has been treated
+up to now, the episode would have been a tragic one
+in British military history.  Thousands of men had
+fallen, nor could it be truthfully said that anything
+of permanence had been achieved.  Next day the
+remains of the Eighth Division were withdrawn,
+the 70th Brigade was restored to the Twenty-third
+Division, to which it rightfully belonged, and the
+Twelfth Division came forward to fill the gap in the
+line, helped by the gunners and sappers of the Eighth,
+who remained at their posts until July 4.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P72"></a>72}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the right of the Eighth Division was the
+Thirty-fourth, a unit which consisted of one mixed
+English and Scotch Brigade; while the other two were
+raised respectively from the Tyneside Irish and from
+the Tyneside Scots, hardy and martial material from
+the coalpits and foundries of the North.  They
+attacked upon the front between the Albert-Bapaume
+Road on the north and the village of Bécourt on the
+south.  The idea was to storm La Boiselle village,
+and to push the attack home both north and south of
+it upon Contalmaison, which lay behind it.  Immediately
+before the assault two great mines were blown,
+one of which, containing the unprecedented amount of
+60,000 lbs. of gun-cotton, threw hundreds of tons of
+chalk into the air.  Within a few minutes of the
+explosion the Thirty-fourth Division were out of their
+trenches and advancing in perfect order upon the
+German trenches.  The 101st Brigade, consisting of
+the 15th and 16th Royal Scots, the 10th Lincolns,
+and 11th Suffolks, were on the right, the Tyneside
+Scots upon the left, and the Tyneside Irish in
+support behind the right brigade.  In the immediate
+rear lay the Nineteenth Division with instructions to
+hold and consolidate the ground gained.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In no part of the line was the advance more gallant,
+and it marks the point at which unalloyed failure
+began first to change to partial success, ripening
+into complete victory in the southern section.  Some
+slight cover seems to have helped the troops for the
+first few hundred yards, and it would appear also
+that though the small-arm fire was very severe, the
+actual shell-fire was not so heavy as that which
+devastated the divisions in the north.  None the less,
+the obstacles were sufficient to test to the highest any
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P73"></a>73}</span>
+troops in the world, and they were gloriously
+surmounted by men, none of whom had been in
+action before.  "I, their commander," wrote the
+Divisional General, "will never forget their advance
+through the German curtain of fire.  It was simply
+wonderful, and they behaved like veterans."  The
+scream of the war-pipes, playing "The Campbells
+are coming," warmed the blood of the soldiers.
+Upon the left, the Tyneside Scots penetrated two
+lines of trenches and found themselves to the north
+of the village of La Boiselle, where further progress
+was made impossible by a murderous fire from front
+and flank.  Of the four battalions of the 101st
+Brigade, the two English units were nearly opposite
+the village, and though they advanced with great
+resolution, they were unable to get a permanent
+lodgment.  The two Royal Scots battalions upon the
+flank got splendidly forward, and some of them made
+their way deeper into the German line than any
+organised body of troops, save only the Ulster men,
+had succeeded in doing, getting even as far as the
+outskirts of Contalmaison.  The valiant leader of the
+advanced party of the 15th Royal Scots was wounded,
+but continued to encourage his men and to try to
+consolidate his desperate position, which was nearly
+a mile within the German lines.  He was again severely
+wounded, and Lieutenant Hole was killed, upon which
+the only remaining officer fell back to a point some
+hundreds of yards westward, called Round Wood or
+Round Alley.  Here the Scots stuck fast, and nothing
+could budge them.  Germans were in front of them,
+were in La Boiselle upon their left rear, and were
+behind them in the trenches, which led from the
+village.  By all the laws of war, the detachment was
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P74"></a>74}</span>
+destroyed; but in practice the Germans found that
+they could not achieve it.  A small reinforcement of
+the 27th Northumberland Fusiliers (from the 103rd
+of the Brigade), under an experienced soldier, had joined
+them, and their situation was less forlorn because
+they were in slight touch with the skirts of the 64th
+Brigade of the Twenty-first Division, who had also,
+as will presently be shown, won a very forward
+position.  By means of this division communication
+was restored with the isolated detachment, and
+the colonel of the 16th Royal Scots, a very
+well-known volunteer officer of Edinburgh, succeeded
+in reaching his men.  His advent gave them fresh
+spirit, and under his leadership they proceeded
+next morning not only to hold the position, but
+to enlarge it considerably, sending bombers down
+every sap and endeavouring to give the impression
+of great numbers.  Two companies of the East
+Lancashire Regiment from the Nineteenth Division
+made their way forward, and joined with effect in
+these attacks.  This small body of men held their
+own until the afternoon of July 3, when the advance
+of the Nineteenth Division upon La Boiselle enabled
+them to be relieved.  It was time, for the water was
+exhausted and munitions were running low.  It was
+a glad moment when, with their numerous German
+captives, they joined up with their cheering comrades.
+It should be said that in this fine feat of arms a small
+party of the 11th Suffolks played a valiant part.
+General Pulteney issued a special order thanking
+these troops for their stout defence, and the matter
+was in truth of wider importance than any local
+issue, for it had the effect of screening the left flank
+of the Twenty-first Division, enabling them to make
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P75"></a>75}</span>
+good their hold upon Crucifix Trench and the Sunken
+Road, as will now be told.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Before leaving the Thirty-fourth Division it should
+be said that although La Boiselle remained untaken,
+the Tyneside Scots and Irish carried a number of
+trenches and returned with many prisoners.  It has
+been the universal experience of our soldiers that the
+Germans, though excellent with their guns, and very
+handy with their bombs, are wanting in that spice
+of devilry called for in bayonet work&mdash;a quality
+which their ally the Turk possesses to a marked
+degree.  In this instance, as in many others, when
+the Tyneside men swept roaring into the trenches
+the Germans either fled or threw up their hands.
+The condition of the prisoners was unexpectedly good.
+"They have new uniforms, new brown boots, leggings,
+and are as fat as butter," said one spectator, which is
+at great variance with descriptions from other parts
+of the line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We have now completed our survey of that long
+stretch of line in which our gallant advance was broken
+against an equally gallant resistance.  The account
+has necessarily had to concern itself with incessant
+details of units and orders of battle, since these are
+the very essence of such an account, and without them
+it might read, as contemporary descriptions did read,
+like some vague combat in the moon.  But, casting
+such details aside, the reader can now glance up that
+long line and see the wreckage of that heroic disaster&mdash;the
+greatest and also the most glorious that ever
+befell our arms.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p><a id="chap04"></a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P76"></a>76}</span></p>
+
+<h3>
+CHAPTER IV
+<br /><br />
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+  The Attack of the Fifteenth and Thirteenth Corps,<br />
+  July 1, 1916<br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="intro">
+The advance of the Twenty-first Division&mdash;64th Brigade&mdash;First
+permanent gains&mdash;50th Brigade at Fricourt&mdash;Advance of
+Seventh Division&mdash;Capture of Mametz&mdash;Fine work by
+Eighteenth Division&mdash;Capture of Montauban by the Thirtieth
+Division&mdash;General view of the battle&mdash;Its decisive importance.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+Immediately to the south of Pulteney's Third Corps,
+and extending from Bécourt in the north to a point
+opposite Fricourt village, lay Horne's Fifteenth
+Corps.  The general task of this Corps was to attack
+Mametz on the right, contain Fricourt in the centre,
+and attack between there and La Boiselle towards
+Mametz Wood.  It consisted of the Twenty-first, the
+Seventh, and the Seventeenth Divisions.  Of these,
+the most northerly was the Twenty-first, that fine
+North-country division which had so terrible an
+ordeal when it came up in support upon the second
+day of Loos.  Those who held that in spite of defeat
+its conduct upon that occasion was soldierly, were
+borne out by its achievement on the Somme, where it
+made a lodgment in the enemy's line upon the first
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P77"></a>77}</span>
+day, and did good service at later stages of the battle.
+Let us now turn our attention to its advance.  It
+may first be mentioned that the units were the same
+as those enumerated in the description of Loos, save
+that in each brigade one regular battalion had been
+substituted.  Thus the 1st Lincolns, 4th Middlesex,
+and 1st East Yorks took the place of the 8th East
+Yorks, 12th West Yorks, and 14th Durhams respectively.
+The 50th Brigade of the Seventeenth Division
+was attached to the Twenty-first Division for the
+purpose of the attack, and will be included with it in
+this summary of the operations.  The rest of the
+Seventeenth Division was in reserve.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The attack was on a three-brigade front, the 64th
+Brigade upon the north, just south of La Boiselle,
+and in close touch with the Thirty-fourth Division.
+To the right of the 64th was the 63rd Brigade, and
+to the right of that the 50th, which advanced straight
+upon Fricourt.  The 62nd Brigade was in reserve.
+It will be best to deal with the attack of the 64th
+Brigade with some detail, as its exploits had a very
+direct bearing upon the issue of the battle.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This brigade advanced upon the signal with
+the 10th Yorkshire Light Infantry upon the left
+in touch with the Royal Scots of the 101st Brigade.
+On their right was their 9th namesake battalion.
+Behind them in immediate support were the 1st
+East Yorks (left) and 15th Durhams (right).  The
+advance was greatly helped by the formation of a
+Russian sap between the lines on which the front
+companies could assemble.  It was found, however,
+upon the men advancing that the fire was so severe
+that they could only get forward by crawling from
+hole to hole, with the result that the barrage lifted
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P78"></a>78}</span>
+before they could reach the front trenches, and the
+Germans were able to mount the parapet and slate
+them with rifle-fire.  Colonel Lynch of the 9th
+Yorkshire Light Infantry was killed by a shell between
+trenches, as were all four captains, but the men stuck
+to their work and finally the leading battalions swept
+over the German lines, which had been greatly
+disorganised by the artillery, and they killed or captured
+the occupants with no very severe resistance.  Two
+fixed points lay in front of the brigade, which were
+part of the definite objectives of the division.  The
+first was a sunken road 1100 yards from the British
+front, the second was a trench 400 yards farther, on
+which, by the irony of Fate, a large wayside crucifix
+looked down, so that it was called Crucifix Trench.
+Beyond these on the left front were several shattered
+woods, Shelter Wood and Birch-tree Wood, which
+gave the enemy good cover, and to the right was a
+large ruined building, Fricourt Farm, which raked
+the advance with its snipers and machine-guns.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On passing the front German line the successive
+British waves lost their formation and clubbed
+together, so that a long loose line of Yorkshire and
+Durham men scrambled onwards into, out of and
+over the successive impediments, beating down all
+resistance as they went.  When the fire became too
+hot, the men crawled forwards upon their stomachs
+or made short sharp rushes from one shell-hole to
+another, but the advance was steady and unbroken.
+The smoke from the shells was as dense as a Scotch
+mist.  Every now and then through the haze the
+flashes of a machine-gun would be spied and possibly
+the vague figures of the German gunners as they
+swept it across in their deadly traverse, but a rush of
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P79"></a>79}</span>
+furious infantry put each in turn out of action.  The
+evidence seems to be conclusive that some at least of
+these gunners were found to be chained to their guns,
+which may well have happened at their own request, as
+a visible proof that they would never desert their post.
+They fired up to the last instant, and naturally they
+received no quarter from the stormers.  Now and again
+the ragged line of men would stumble suddenly upon
+a section of proper trench, would spring down into it,
+clear up the occupants, and then sit in flushed,
+hard-breathing groups until a whistle from the officer and a
+cheer from their comrades would call them on once more.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In this sector there appears, however, to have
+been a systematic, if superficial, examination of the
+dug-outs before a trench was passed.  One does not
+hear of those surprise attacks from the rear which
+were so common and so fatal to the north.  The
+examination usually took the form of a sharp
+summons at the mouth of the burrow, quickly
+followed&mdash;if there were no response&mdash;by a Mills bomb.
+Then, as often as not, there would crawl out of the
+black orifice eight or ten terrified and bleeding men,
+who would join the numerous small convoys trailing
+backwards to the rear.  These prisoners were nearly
+all from the 110th and 111th Reserve Bavarian
+Regiments, and the alacrity with which they made
+for the rear with their hands above their heads, formed
+the only comic touch in a tragic day.  One made a
+grab for a rifle.  "He lived about five seconds," says
+the narrator.  "They were thin, unshaven, and
+terrified," says an officer, talking of the particular
+batch he handled.  "Most had dark hair&mdash;a very
+different type from the Prussians."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Having overrun the German trenches, the infantry
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P80"></a>80}</span>
+were now faced with a considerable stretch of open
+which lay between them and the Sunken Road, leading
+from Fricourt to Contalmaison.  Many were hit
+upon this perilous passage.  A subsidiary line of
+German trenches lay in front of this road, and into
+this the British tumbled.  The colonel of the 15th
+Durhams was the senior officer who had got up,
+and he took command at this point, rallying the
+weary men of all four battalions for a fresh advance.
+A few of the Royal Scots of the Thirty-fourth Division
+were found already in possession, the fringe of that
+body who have previously been described as making
+so invaluable a stand at Round Wood.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At this point the 64th Brigade was found to be
+some distance in front of the main body of the
+Thirty-fourth Division on the left, and of their comrades on
+the right, so that they could get no farther for the
+moment without their flanks being badly exposed.
+In front through the haze they could dimly see the
+Crucifix which was their ultimate objective.  The
+men had to cower low, for the bullets were coming
+in a continuous stream from Fricourt Farm on the
+right and from the woods on the left.  The Sunken
+Road was ten or twelve feet deep at the spot, and
+though it was exposed at the sides, by rapid digging
+the men got some cover, though many dropped before
+they could make a shelter.  Here the survivors of the
+advance waited for some hours, spending some of the
+time in ransacking the enormous thirty-foot deep
+dug-outs which the Germans had excavated at certain
+points along the side of the road.  Into these the
+wounded were conveyed, and refreshed by the good
+things of life, from Seltzer-water to gold-tipped
+cigarettes, which were found within.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P81"></a>81}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the afternoon the General Officer Commanding
+had come up as far as the Sunken Road, and had
+examined the position for himself.  The 63rd Brigade
+was now well forward upon the right and the advance
+could be resumed.  It was pushed swiftly onwards and
+Crucifix Trench was occupied, nearly a mile from the
+British front line.  A lieutenant of the 9th
+Yorkshires, though wounded by shrapnel, seems to have
+been the first to lead a party into this advanced
+trench, but soon it was strongly occupied.  The
+pressing need was to consolidate it, for it was swept
+by gusts of fire from both flanks.  Another lieutenant
+of the Yorkshires, also a wounded man, took over
+the direction, and the men, with very little cover,
+worked splendidly to strengthen the position.  Their
+numbers were so reduced that a counter-attack would
+have been most serious, but the splendid support
+given by the artillery held the German infantry at a
+distance.  A few of the British tried to advance upon
+Shelter Wood, but the machine-guns were too active
+and they had to fall back or lie in shell-holes until
+after dark, only seventeen out of sixty getting back.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A captain of the 10th Yorkshires took over the
+advanced command and sent back to the colonel of
+the Durhams, who had meantime been wounded
+at the Sunken Road, to ask for instructions.  The
+answer was to hold on and that help was at hand.
+This help was in the form of the 62nd Reserve
+Brigade, the leading battalions of which, the 1st
+Lincolns and 10th Yorkshire Regiment, came
+swinging splendidly across the open and flung
+themselves into Crucifix Trench.  From that time the
+maintenance of the ground was assured.  The men
+of the 64th Brigade who had done so finely were
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P82"></a>82}</span>
+drawn back into the Sunken Road, having fully
+secured their objective.  One cannot but marvel
+here, as so often elsewhere, at the fine work done
+by young subalterns when the senior officers have
+been disabled.  A lieutenant of the 9th Yorkshire
+Light Infantry found himself in command of the
+whole battalion at the most critical moment of
+the engagement, and on leaving could only hand it
+over to a brother subaltern, who carried on with
+equal courage and ability.  The brigade was drawn
+back to the German first line, where it lay for
+forty-eight hours, and finally acted as reserve brigade to
+the successful advance undertaken by the 62nd
+Brigade, by which Shelter Wood was captured on
+July 3.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Such, in some detail, were the adventures of the
+64th Brigade, which may be taken as parallel to those
+of the 63rd upon the right, who were faced by much
+the same obstacles, having the Sunken Road ahead
+and the Fricourt houses upon their right.  The 8th
+Somersets were on the left in touch with the 9th
+Yorkshire Light Infantry, and supported by the
+8th Lincolns.  On the right were the 4th Middlesex
+and the 10th York and Lancasters.  They were able
+to get well up to Fricourt Farm upon the left of the
+village, but the ground was unfavourable and they
+never got as far forward as their comrades on the left.
+Of the German resistance on this front, it can be
+said that it was worthy of the reputation which
+the Bavarians have won in the War.  The men were
+of splendid physique and full of courage.  They
+fought their machine-guns to the last.  All was ready
+for a vigorous advance next morning.  The artillery
+of the Twenty-first Division, which has won a name
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P83"></a>83}</span>
+for exceptional efficiency, was up nearly level with
+the infantry at 10 P.M. that night, a road having been
+laid in that time from the original gun position to a
+point half a mile inside the German front line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the immediate right of the 63rd Brigade, in
+front of Fricourt, was the 50th Brigade (Glasgow), to
+which was assigned the task of attacking the village
+while the Twenty-first Division got part of it upon
+the north.  The brigade advanced gallantly, the
+front line consisting of two fine Yorkshire battalions,
+the 10th West Yorks and the 7th East Yorks, with
+part of the 7th Yorkshires.  The attack reached and
+partly occupied the front trenches, but the fire and
+the losses were both very heavy, the 10th West
+Yorkshires being specially hard hit.  The survivors
+behaved with great gallantry, and some of them held
+on all day, though surrounded by enemies.  In the
+afternoon a second advance was made by Yorkshires
+and East Yorkshires, with 6th Dorsets in support,
+but again the losses were heavy and no solid foothold
+could be got in the village.  When dusk fell some of
+the troops who had held their own all day were able
+to get back to the British trenches bringing prisoners
+with them.  A notable example is that of a lieutenant
+of the West Yorks, who managed to stagger back with
+three wounds upon him and three Germans in front
+of him.  The 51st Brigade was brought up in the
+evening to continue the assault, but with the morning
+of the 2nd it was found that the work had been done,
+and that the advance upon both flanks had caused
+the evacuation of the village.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The line of trenches takes a very peculiar turn
+just south of Fricourt, which is shown in the diagram
+of the battle, so that the attack of the Seventh
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P84"></a>84}</span>
+Division, which was the next in the line, was from
+almost due south, whilst all the others had been from
+due west.  The project was that a holding attack
+to engage the defenders should be made upon Mametz,
+whilst the remaining divisions in the line, the Seventh
+of the Fifteenth Corps, with the Eighteenth and
+Thirtieth of the Thirteenth Corps, should advance
+upon the line Mametz-Montauban.  Their success
+would obviously make the position both of Fricourt
+and of Mametz impossible, the more so if the Twenty-first
+Division could maintain its position at the Sunken
+Road to the north of Fricourt.  This was the calculation,
+and it worked to perfection, so that both these
+villages fell eventually into our hands with a minimum
+loss of life to the assailants.  Every honour is due
+to the leaders who devised and to the soldiers who
+carried out the scheme, but it should at the same
+time be understood that in the case of these southern
+divisions, and also of the French Army of General
+Foch upon the right, they were attacking a portion
+of the line which was far less organised, and manned
+by very inferior troops to those in the north.  All
+this section of attack seems to have been a complete
+surprise to the Germans.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The famous Seventh Division was now commanded
+by one of the three Brigadiers who had led it during
+its heroic days at Ypres.  Its units, however, had
+changed considerably, and the 91st Brigade had taken
+the place of the 21st.  This Brigade, consisting partly
+of Manchester battalions and partly of old units
+of the Seventh Division (2nd Queen's Surrey, 1st
+South Staffords, 21st and 22nd Manchesters), attacked
+upon the right, while the 20th Brigade advanced
+upon the left, having the 2nd Gordons and 9th
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P85"></a>85}</span>
+Devons in the van, with the 8th Devons and 2nd
+Borders in support.  The front trenches were
+overrun without much difficulty.  The order of battle
+was the 22nd Manchesters upon the right with the
+1st South Staffords in close support.  In the centre
+were the 2nd Gordons and upon their left the 9th
+Devons.  The right got forward with comparatively
+small losses and overran the front German line.  The
+Gordons had their left company held up by uncut
+wire, but got forward none the less with considerable
+losses.  The 9th Devons were the most exposed and
+suffered very severely, but in spite of a casualty list
+which included half the officers and men, they never
+winced or wavered for an instant, showing what had
+been often shown before, that the spirit of old days
+still lives in the country of Drake and of Raleigh.  The
+survivors seized and held Tirpitz Trench.  The 2nd
+Borders had also seized Danube Support, and the
+whole front line was in British hands.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The 91st Brigade were now closing in upon the
+right of Mametz village and had entered Danzig Alley,
+from which they were for a time driven by a brisk
+counter-attack.  The 1st South Staffords had won
+their way into the outskirts of Mametz, but the losses
+were heavy, and half of the 21st Manchesters came
+racing up to reinforce.  At one o'clock the Danzig
+Alley had again been occupied by the Manchesters.
+Half the 2nd Warwicks were sent up to reinforce
+the Gordons and the line of infantry dashed forward
+upon the village, 600 of the enemy throwing up their
+hands in front of them.  The 20th Manchesters also
+advanced, losing heavily by the fire from Fricourt,
+but pushing on as far as the Sunken Road on the
+extreme left of the advance.  There is a tangle of
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P86"></a>86}</span>
+trenches at this point, the chief of which is the
+Rectangle, but with the aid of the 1st Welsh Fusiliers
+they were all cleared and the flank of the Division
+made good, and consolidated, since it had advanced
+farther than the troops to the left.  In the morning
+however, when it was found that Fricourt had been
+evacuated, the whole division was able to get forward
+and by July 3 had occupied Bottom Wood, while the
+2nd Royal Irish had actually penetrated Mametz
+Wood, taking 2 guns and 50 prisoners.  Some days
+later, Mametz Wood had become a different proposition,
+but the general orders at the time were that it
+should not be seriously attacked.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Altogether in these Mametz operations the Seventh
+Division took 1500 prisoners, seven field-guns, and
+much booty of different kinds.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We have now recorded in succession the repulse
+of the Seventh Corps at Gommecourt, that of the
+Eighth Corps at Serre and Beaumont Hamel, and
+that of the Tenth Corps at Thiepval.  The record of
+heroic disaster was then alleviated by the partial
+success of the Third Corps at La Boiselle, the
+considerable success of the Fifteenth Corps at Mametz,
+and now by the complete success of the Thirteenth
+Corps at Montauban.  South of this point along the
+whole French line the victory was never in doubt.
+These latter operations do not come within the direct
+scope of this narrative, though some short account
+must be given of them later, in order to co-ordinate
+the results of the two wings of the Allied Armies.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Thirteenth Corps was commanded by General
+Congreve, who, it will be remembered, gained his
+V.C. in the affair of the guns where young Roberts
+met his death at Colenso.  It consisted of the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P87"></a>87}</span>
+Eighteenth, the Thirtieth, and the Ninth Divisions
+of the New Army.  Of these the Eighteenth was on
+the left in touch with the victorious Seventh, the
+Thirtieth was on the right in touch with the French,
+and the Ninth, the Scottish Division which had done
+such great work at Loos, was in reserve.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Eighteenth Division, which had done no serious
+fighting before, established a remarkable record for
+good service during the whole course of the Somme
+battle, into which it was thrust again and again, never
+without leaving its mark.  It was entirely an English
+division.  Some complex and successful trench-digging
+had been done on this part of the front.  Eight covered
+saps had been driven forward and reached a point
+within twenty yards of the German trenches without
+their knowledge.  Upon the advance being ordered
+the ends of these were opened up, machine-guns and
+flame-throwers were thrust through, and the saps
+behind were quickly unroofed and turned into
+communication trenches.  It was a variant of the device
+adopted in the Eighth Division, and was superior to
+it in that its success did not depend upon the actual
+capture of the trench.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The front of the attack was about 2500 yards,
+and it was carried out by three brigades abreast,
+each covering about 700 yards.  Each brigade had
+two battalions in front, one in support and one in
+reserve.  Each was also allotted its own particular
+artillery apart from the general divisional artillery.
+There are many good arguments for such a formation
+of divisional attack, as compared with the
+two-brigades-in-front and one-in-the-rear formation.
+Upon this occasion, at any rate, it worked very
+smoothly.  The objectives were from the immediate
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P88"></a>88}</span>
+western end of Montauban upon the right, along
+Montauban Alley to a point east of Mametz where
+they should touch the right units of the Seventh
+Division.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Of the three brigades the 55th was on the right,
+the 53rd in the centre, and the 54th on the left.  In
+accordance with the general scheme of description
+we will begin with the latter.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The 54th Brigade had the 7th Bedford on the
+right, the 11th Royal Fusiliers on the left, the
+6th Northants in support, and the 12th Middlesex
+in reserve.  As they rushed forward they faced a
+feeble barrage, but a heavy machine-gun fire.
+It was found, however, here, and along the whole
+divisional front, that the German wire was utterly
+destroyed, thanks largely to the work of the trench
+mortars which had supplanted field-guns for this
+particular purpose.  The first trenches were taken
+without a pause, and parties remained behind to
+clear out the dug-outs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+"Cowering in the trench," says one of the
+stormers, "clad in the pale grey uniforms we had
+longed for twelve months to see, unarmed and minus
+equipment, with fear written on their faces, were a
+few of those valiant warriors of the Kaiser whose
+prowess we were out to dispute.  Here let me say
+that the exact moment selected for our attack had
+taken the Huns by surprise.  This view was
+subsequently confirmed by prisoners, who said that they
+had expected us earlier in the day and had since
+stood down."  This idea of a surprise only refers of
+course to the front trench.  Soon the fighting grew
+very severe.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The first serious check was in front of a strong
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P89"></a>89}</span>
+point called the Pommiers Redoubt.  The wire here
+had been invisible from long grass so that its presence
+was a surprise.  Again and again the machine-guns
+swept away the leading files of the attack.  The
+redoubt could be outflanked, however, and an officer
+of the Fusiliers brought his bombers round and
+eventually to the rear of it.  Snipers held him for a
+time, but they were rushed by an officer and a few
+men.  The Germans still held bravely to their point,
+but Bedfords and Fusiliers swarmed in upon them
+until their arms went down and their hands up.
+From this strong point bombing parties were sent
+down the communication trenches, the infantry
+following closely and occupying the new ground.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The brigade was now in some danger from its
+own success, for it had outrun the 91st Brigade of the
+Seventh Division upon its left, and its own comrades
+of the 53rd Brigade upon its right.  The 6th Northants
+held the defensive flank on the left.  Later in the
+day the 53rd came into line upon the right, and before
+dark the 54th was able to move on again with little
+resistance until it had reached its full objective at
+Montauban Alley.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The 53rd Brigade was on the right of the 54th.
+Its assaulting line was formed by the 8th Norfolk
+upon the right, and the 6th Berkshires upon the
+left, with the 10th Essex in support and the 8th
+Suffolk in reserve.  The first two lines were taken
+in their stride with little loss.  A strong point behind
+these lines held them up for a short time, but was
+rushed, and its garrison of the 109th Regiment was
+captured.  Further progress of the Norfolks was made
+difficult, however, by a flanking fire and by a second
+redoubt in front.  As in the case of the 53rd Brigade
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P90"></a>90}</span>
+it was found that the way round is often the shorter.
+Two bombing parties under gallant subalterns worked
+up the trenches on the flank, while that murderous
+weapon, a Stokes gun, was brought up and opened
+fire.  The combined effect was decisive and 150
+Germans threw down their arms.  Sixty more were
+taken in another redoubt to the left.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whilst the Norfolks had been fighting their way
+forward in this fashion the Berkshires upon their left,
+following very closely upon their own barrage, had
+attained their objective in twenty minutes, and had
+to hold it for some hours until the Norfolks had made
+good.  During this time their right flank was necessarily
+exposed.  This flank was defended successfully
+by means of bombing parties and a Lewis gun, while
+the left company instead of resting lent a hand to
+their neighbours of the 54th Brigade in carrying
+Pommiers Redoubt.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile the Norfolks had come ahead again,
+but the advance of the Berkshires was held up by a
+small but determined band of bombers and snipers
+in a strong position.  A Stokes mortar drove back
+the bombers, but the snipers still held fast, and killed
+in succession Lieutenant Rushton and Lieutenant
+Saye who gallantly attacked them.  A sergeant-major
+of the Berkshires was more fortunate, however,
+and killed the chief sniper whose automatic rifle had
+played the part of a machine-gun.  In doing so he was
+severely wounded himself.  The Essex had come up
+into the firing line, but progress was still slow until
+an invaluable Stokes mortar was again brought to
+bear and with its shower of heavy bombs blasted the
+strong point out of existence.  When night fell the
+whole line of Montauban Alley had been successfully
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P91"></a>91}</span>
+won and the various units were in close touch and
+were busily organising their position.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Great obstinacy was shown by the Germans in
+their defence, which was a gallant one, and might
+well have been successful against a less skilful attack.
+Among other instances of their tenacity was one in
+which a sniper in a trench behind the stormers continued
+to fire from some subterranean retreat and defied
+all efforts to get at him, until it was found necessary
+to blow in the whole face of the dug-out and so to
+bury him within his own stronghold.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The hardest fighting of any fell to the lot of the
+55th Brigade upon the right.  The advance was
+made with the 8th East Surrey and 7th Queen's
+Surrey in front, the latter to the left.  The 7th Buffs
+were in support and the 7th West Kents in reserve.
+No sooner had the troops come out from cover than
+they were met by a staggering fire which held them
+up in the Breslau Trench.  The supports had soon
+to be pushed up to thicken the ranks of the East
+Surrey&mdash;a battalion which, with the ineradicable
+sporting instinct and light-heartedness of the Londoner
+had dribbled footballs, one for each platoon, across
+No Man's Land and shot their goal in the front-line
+trench.  A crater had been formed by a mine
+explosion, forming a gap in the German front, and round
+this crater a fierce fight raged for some time, the
+Germans rushing down a side sap which brought
+them up to the fray.  Into this side sap sprang
+an officer and a sergeant of the Buffs, and killed 12 of
+the Germans, cutting off their flow of reinforcements,
+while half a company of the same battalion cleared
+up the crater and captured a machine-gun which had
+fought to the last cartridge.  It is worth recording
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P92"></a>92}</span>
+that in the case of one of these machine-guns the
+gunner was actually found with a four-foot chain
+attaching him to the tripod.  Being badly wounded
+and unable to disengage himself, the wretched man
+had dragged himself, his wound, and his tripod for
+some distance before being captured by the British.
+The fact was duly established by a sworn inquiry.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The brigade was winning its way forward, but the
+hard resistance of the Germans had delayed it to such
+a point that there was a danger that it would not be
+in its place so as to cover the left flank of the 90th
+Brigade, who were due to attack Montauban at 10 A.M.
+Such a failure might make the difference between
+victory and defeat.  At this critical moment the
+officer commanding the East Surreys dashed to the
+front, re-formed his own men with all whom he could
+collect and led them onwards.  Captain Neville was
+killed in gallantly leading the rush, but the wave
+went forward.  There was check after check, but
+the point had to be won, and the Suffolks of
+the 53rd Brigade were brought round to strengthen
+the attack, while the West Kents were pushed
+forward to the fighting line.  By mid-day two
+platoons of West Kents were into Montauban
+Alley, and had seized two houses at the western
+end of Montauban, which were rapidly fortified by a
+section of the 92nd Field Company.  The flank of
+the 90th was assured.  A South African officer led
+the first group of Surrey men who seized Montauban.
+He is said during the action to have slain seventeen
+of the enemy.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The rest of the brigade, however, had desperate
+work to get into line with the village.  The East
+Surreys and Buffs were coming along well, but the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P93"></a>93}</span>
+Queen's Surreys had lost heavily and were held up
+by a strong point called Back Trench.  A major
+of the Queen's gathered his men together, called up
+a bombing party from the 8th Sussex, the pioneer
+battalion of the brigade, and then by a united
+front and flank attack carried the position.  One
+hundred and seventy Germans remained alive in the
+trench.  The infantry then surged forward to the
+line of the Mametz-Montauban Road, where they lay
+under machine-gun fire with their left in the air, for
+a considerable gap had developed between them and
+the 53rd Brigade.  The main line of Montauban Alley
+in front of them was still strongly held by the enemy.
+Once again the Stokes guns saved what looked like
+a dangerous situation.  They blasted a hole in
+Montauban Alley, and through the hole rushed a furious
+storming party of the Queen's.  As evening fell,
+after that long day of fighting, the weary Eighteenth
+Division, splendid soldiers, splendidly led, held the
+whole line from Montauban to the junction with the
+Seventh Division near Mametz.  One does not know
+which to admire most&mdash;the able dispositions, the inflexible
+resolution of the troops, or the elastic adaptability
+which enabled the initiative of the officers upon
+the spot to use ever-varying means for getting over
+the successive difficulties.  The losses were very heavy,
+amounting to about 3000 officers and men, something
+under 1000 being fatal.  Of the Germans 700 were
+captured, 1200 were buried after the action, and the
+total loss could not possibly have been less than those
+incurred by the British.  It should be added that a great
+deal of the success of the attack was due to the 82nd,
+83rd, 84th, and 85th Brigades, Royal Field Artillery,
+forming the divisional artillery, who earned the deepest
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P94"></a>94}</span>
+gratitude of the infantry, the highest reward to which
+the gunner can attain.  Some of the artillery of the
+Ninth Division was also engaged.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A few words may be said of the immediate future
+of the Eighteenth Division before the narrative of
+July 1 is completed by a consideration of the work of
+the Thirtieth Division.  The ground captured included
+part of what may be called the Montauban Ridge,
+and the possession of this point proved to be of
+great service for observation in connection with the
+immediate operations at Bottom, Shelter, and Mametz
+Woods by the Fifteenth Corps.  The guns were at
+once advanced and patrols were thrown out in front
+which penetrated and eventually occupied Caterpillar
+Wood, a long winding plantation on the immediate
+front of the Division.  These various patrols
+picked up no less than twelve German field-guns
+abandoned by the enemy.  The front was held until
+July 8, when the Eighteenth was relieved by the Third
+Division.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As to the fighting of the Germans upon this
+front, it was excellent as usual&mdash;but it is needful to
+accentuate it, as there is a tendency to depreciate
+the enemy at a point where he is beaten, which is an
+injustice to the victors.  The latter had no doubts
+about the matter.  "There is one thing we have all
+learned and that is that the Hun is a jolly good
+soldier and engineer, so don't listen to any other
+nonsense.  If you get hand-to-hand with him he
+gives in at once, but he practically never lets you get
+so close.  As long as Fritz has a trench and a gun he
+will stick there till he is made crows' rations.  We
+know we are just slightly better than he is, but there's
+nothing much in it&mdash;nothing to justify contempt or
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P95"></a>95}</span>
+liberties."  Such was the considered opinion of an
+experienced soldier.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+If the advance of the Eighteenth Division was
+successful, that of the Thirtieth upon its right
+was not less so.  This division had been raised
+originally from Liverpool and Manchester, the
+battalions being all of the King's Liverpool or of the
+Manchester Regiments.  The greater part of these
+battalions, which owe their origin largely to that
+great patriot, Lord Derby, were recruited on the
+"pal" system, by which friends in peace should be
+comrades in war.  So close was Lord Derby's
+connection with the division that his brother commanded
+one brigade, and three of his family served with the
+guns, one of them commanding an artillery unit.
+This was the first appearance of this fine force in
+actual battle, and it can truly be said that no division
+could have been more fortunate or have given a
+better account of itself.  It may be explained that
+it had exchanged its 91st Brigade for the 21st of the
+Seventh Division, and that several of the veteran
+battalions of the old Seventh now served with the
+Thirtieth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The objective of this division was the important
+village of Montauban deep within the enemy's line.
+It seemed an ambitious mark in a war where every
+yard means an effort, but it was accomplished with
+surprising ease, for the advance was as determined
+as the defence was slack.  On the right opposite
+Maricourt the attack fell to the 89th Brigade, consisting
+of the 2nd Bedfords and the 17th, 19th, and 20th
+King's Liverpool battalions.  On their left was the
+21st Brigade, while the 90th Brigade was in immediate
+support with orders to go through and seize the village
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P96"></a>96}</span>
+itself.  From the start the attack went like clockwork.
+The artillery was admirable, the infantry inexorable,
+and the leading all that could be desired.  The
+ever-ready machine-guns put up a fierce defence,
+especially on the left flank, where the 18th King's
+Liverpools, led by their popular colonel, lost three-quarters
+of their effectives but carried their objective
+none the less.  The 2nd West Yorks behind them
+were also terribly scourged, but gained the line of the
+Glatz Redoubt all the same.  Here, as with the
+Eighteenth Division, there was every sign that the
+garrison of the front trenches had been surprised.
+"The Germans gave us plenty of machine-gun fire
+while we were advancing upon them; when we
+reached the trench only a few showed fight.  The rest
+flung up their arms and cried: 'Mercy, Kamerad!'"  It
+was clear they had been taken by surprise, for many
+of them were barefooted, none of them had any
+equipment.  When there was no attack at 4 A.M. they
+were then told that they could lie down and have a
+rest, "as the British would not now come out till
+four in the afternoon."  It is abundantly clear that
+the famous German intelligence department was
+absolutely at fault in the southern sector of the great
+battle.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Although the first three trenches were carried
+without a hitch, the garrison of the fourth had time
+to stand to arms, and were greatly assisted in their
+defence by a flank fire from the still untaken village
+of Mametz, and from machine-guns in the southern
+corner of Mametz Wood which lies to the north of
+Montauban.  The resistance caused considerable
+losses, including that of Colonel Johnson of the 17th
+Manchesters, but the advance was irresistible, and
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P97"></a>97}</span>
+swept over every obstacle until they had reached
+their objective.  On the right, the Liverpool brigade,
+the 17th and 18th King's Liverpools in the lead,
+fought their way up to the brick-fields, which lie
+nearly level with Montauban, but to the south
+of it.  A company seized these and a good bunch
+of prisoners.  There it consolidated in close touch
+with the famous "iron corps" of the French army
+upon their right, while on the left the blue and
+yellow advance-flags of the Thirtieth formed a
+continuous line with the red and yellow of the
+Eighteenth Division.  On the left of the Liverpools
+the Manchesters with the Scots Fusiliers of the 90th
+Brigade had stormed their way into Montauban, the
+first of that long list of village fortresses which were
+destined in the succeeding months to fall into the
+hands of the British.  It was carried with a rush in
+spite of the determined resistance of small groups of
+Germans in various houses, which had already been
+greatly mauled by our artillery.  The British fought
+their way from room to room, drove their enemies
+down into the cellars, and hurled bombs on to them
+from above.  The German losses were heavy, and
+several hundreds of prisoners were sent to the rear.
+By the early afternoon the whole village was in the
+hands of the 90th Brigade, who had also occupied
+Montauban Alley, the trench 200 yards upon the
+farther side of it, whence by their rifle-fire they
+crushed several attempts at counter-attack.  These
+were feeble during the day, but a very heavy one came
+during the night, aided by a powerful shrapnel fire.
+The Germans, advancing in the closest order,
+for a time won a lodgment in the new British front
+trench, killing a party of the 17th Manchesters, but
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P98"></a>98}</span>
+they were unable to hold it, and with daylight they
+were ejected once more.  The reader who is weary of
+hearing of British losses will be interested to know,
+on the authority of Colonel Bedell of the 16th
+Bavarians, that out of a garrison of 3500 men from
+the 6th Bavarian Reserve Regiments only 500 escaped
+from the Montauban front.  All these operations
+were carried out in close touch with the French upon
+the right, so close indeed that the colonel of the
+17th King's Liverpools, seeing that the French
+colonel of the flank battalion was advancing beside
+his men, sprang out and joined him, so that the two
+colonels shook hands in the captured position.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Some stress has in this narrative been laid upon
+the fact that the difficulties to be overcome in the
+south were less than those in the north.  Such an
+assertion is only fair to the gallant men who failed.
+At the same time nothing should detract from the
+credit due to those splendid southerly divisions who
+really won the battle and made the hole through
+which the whole army eventually passed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Though the French operations do not primarily
+come within the scope of this record, it is necessary
+to give some superficial account of them, since they
+form an integral and essential part of the battle.
+So important were they, and so successful, that it is
+not too much to say that it was the complete victory
+upon their line which atoned for our own want of
+success in the north, and assured that the balance of
+this most bloody day should be in our favour.  It is
+true, as they would be the first to admit, that the
+troops of General Foch had none of those impassable
+barrages, concentrations of machine-guns, and
+desperately defended inner lines of trenches which
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P99"></a>99}</span>
+inflicted such losses upon our stormers.  Both the
+positions and the men who held them were less
+formidable.  On the other hand, it is for us to bear
+in mind that the French had already made their great
+effort in the common cause at Verdun, and that this
+attack upon the West was primarily a British offensive
+in which they were playing a subsidiary part.  It is
+the more remarkable that their success should have
+been so great and that they should have been able for
+months to come to play so notable a part in the battle
+that the tale of their prisoners and booty was not less
+than our own.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The attack of the British was roughly upon a
+twenty-mile front, from the Gommecourt salient to
+Maricourt.  On this stretch they broke the German
+lines for 7 miles from the north of Fricourt to
+Montauban.  The French front was about 8 miles long,
+and moved forward for its whole extent.  Thus it
+may be said that the whole battle line was 28 miles,
+and that more than one-half, or 15 miles, represented
+the area of victory.  During the whole operations
+for many months the French army was cut in two
+by the marshy valley of the Somme, the detachment
+to the north of it acting in close unison with the
+British Thirteenth Corps upon their left.  We will
+call these the northern and the southern French
+armies, both being under the direction of General
+Foch.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It may briefly be stated that the advance of the
+French army was carried out with great dash and
+valour on both banks of the river.  After carrying
+several lines of trenches at very little loss to
+themselves, the northern army found itself, on the evening
+of July 1, holding the outskirts of the villages of
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P100"></a>100}</span>
+Curlu and of Hardecourt.  On July 2 Curlu was
+entirely occupied, and shortly afterwards Hardecourt
+also fell.  The southern army, which consisted of
+the fiery Colonial Division upon the left and the
+Twentieth upon the right, under the immediate
+leadership of General Fayolle, had even greater
+success.  Not only all the lines of trenches but the
+villages of Dompierre, Becquincourt, Bussu, and Fay
+were stormed upon July 1.  On the 2nd Frise and
+the Moreaucourt Wood had also been taken, and
+several counter-attacks repelled.  On that evening
+the French were able to report that they had taken
+6000 prisoners, while the British operations had yielded
+3500&mdash;or 9500 in all.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When the sun set upon that bloody day&mdash;probably
+the most stirring of any single day in the whole record
+of the world&mdash;the higher command of the Allies must
+have looked upon the result with a strange mixture
+of feelings, in which dismay at the losses in the
+north and pride at the successes in the south
+contended for the mastery.  The united losses of all
+the combatants, British, French, and Germans, must
+have been well over 100,000 between the rising
+and the setting of one summer sun.  It is a rout
+which usually swells the casualties of a stricken army,
+but here there was no question of such a thing, and
+these huge losses were incurred in actual battle.  As
+the attackers our own casualties were undoubtedly
+heavier than those of the enemy, and it is natural
+that as we turn from that list we ask ourselves the
+question whether our gains were worth it.  Such a
+question might be an open one at Neuve Chapelle
+or at Loos, but here the answer must be a thousand
+times Yes.  Together we had done the greatest day's
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P101"></a>101}</span>
+work in the War up to that time&mdash;a day's work
+which led to many developments in the future, and
+eventually to a general German retreat over 70 miles
+of front.  It was not a line of trenches which we
+broke, it was in truth the fortified frontier of Germany
+built up by a year and a half of unremitting labour.
+By breaking it at one point we had outflanked it
+from the Somme to the sea, and however slow the
+process might be of getting room for our forces to
+deploy, and pushing the Germans off our flank, it
+was certain that sooner or later that line must be
+rolled up from end to end.  It was hoped, too, that
+under our gunfire no other frontier of similar strength
+could grow up in front of us.  That was the great new
+departure which may be dated from July 1, and is an
+ample recompense for our losses.  These young lives
+were gladly laid down as a price for final
+victory&mdash;and history may show that it was really on those
+Picardy slopes that final victory was in truth ensured.
+Even as the day of Gettysburg was the turning-point
+of the American Civil War, and as that of Paardeberg
+was the real death-blow to the Boers, so the
+breaking of the line between Fricourt and Frise may
+well prove to have been the decisive victory in the
+terrible conflict which the swollen dreams of Prussia
+had brought upon the world.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When one considers the enormous scale of the
+action, the desperate valour of the troops engaged,
+and the fact that the German line was fairly and
+permanently broken for the first time, one feels that
+this date should be for ever marked in British military
+annals as the glorious First of July.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p><a id="chap05"></a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P102"></a>102}</span></p>
+
+<h3>
+CHAPTER V
+<br /><br />
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+From July 2 to July 14, 1916
+</p>
+
+<p class="intro">
+General situation&mdash;Capture of La Boiselle by Nineteenth
+Division&mdash;Splendid attack by 36th Brigade upon Ovillers&mdash;Siege and
+reduction of Ovillers&mdash;Operations at Contalmaison&mdash;Desperate
+fighting at the Quadrangle by Seventeenth Division&mdash;Capture of
+Mametz Wood by Thirty-eighth Welsh Division&mdash;Capture of
+Trones Wood by Eighteenth Division.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+The terrible fighting just described, during which the
+German line was broken at its southern end, was but
+the opening of a most desperate battle, which extended
+over many months.  This, while it cost very heavy
+losses to both sides, exacted such a toll from the
+Germans in prisoners and lost material, as well as in
+casualties, that it is probable that their army would
+have been largely disorganised had not the wet
+weather of October come to hamper the operations.
+As it was, the letters of the soldiers and the intercepted
+messages of the Generals show an amount of
+demoralisation which proves the mighty pressure applied
+by the allied armies.  It was a battle which was
+seldom general throughout the curve into which the
+attackers had encroached, but which confined itself to
+this or that limited objective&mdash;to the north, to the east,
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P103"></a>103}</span>
+or to the south, the blow falling the more suddenly,
+since during the whole of this time the Allies preserved
+the command of the air to an extent which actually
+enabled them to push their guns forward across the
+open.  Sometimes it was a fortified village which was
+carried.  Sometimes it was the trenches between
+villages, so that the garrisons might feel in danger of
+being cut off.  Sometimes&mdash;the worst obstacle of all&mdash;it
+was one of the patches of wood dotted over the countryside,
+which had to be cleared of the enemy's stubborn
+infantry and machine-gunners.  But whatever the
+task might be, it may be stated generally that it was
+always carried out, if not at the first, then at the
+second, third, or some subsequent attempt.  It may
+also be said that never once during all that time
+did a yard of ground which had been taken by
+the Allies pass permanently back to the enemy.
+Before the winter had fallen more than forty villages
+had been carried and held by the attack&mdash;but not
+one by the counter-attack.  The losses were heavy,
+sometimes very heavy, but so perfect now was the
+co-ordination between infantry and guns, and so
+masterful the allied artillery, that it is highly probable
+that at last the defence was losing as many as the
+attack.  Those deep ravines which had enabled the
+Germans to escape the effects of the early bombardments
+no longer existed in the new lines, and the
+superficial ditches which now formed the successive
+lines of defence offered little protection from a fire
+directed by a most efficient air service.  On the other
+hand, since the German air service had been beaten
+out of the sky, the sight of the German gunners was
+dim, and became entirely blind when by their successive
+advances the Allies had pushed them over the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P104"></a>104}</span>
+low ridges which formed their rearward positions.
+The map, however skilfully used, is a poor substitute
+for the observation officer and the aeroplane.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Standing on the edge of this welter, and gazing
+at this long haze into which vigorous divisions
+continually plunge, relieving exhausted units, only to
+stagger out in their turn, rent and torn, while yet
+others press to the front, one feels appalled at the
+difficulty of following such complex operations and
+of conveying them clearly and in their due order to
+the mind of the reader.  Some fixed system must
+evidently be followed if the narrative is to remain
+intelligible and the relation of the various actions to
+each other to be made evident.  Therefore the course
+of events will still, so far as possible, be traced from
+the north, and each incident be brought to some sort
+of natural pause before we pass onwards down the
+line.  We can at once eliminate the whole northern
+portion of the British line from the Gommecourt
+salient down to Albert, since for that long stretch
+attack had changed definitely to defence, and we start
+our narrative from the south of the Albert-Bapaume
+road.  From that point four villages immediately
+faced the old British line, and each was now a centre
+of fighting.  From the north they were La Boiselle,
+Fricourt, Mametz, and Montauban.  The latter had
+been held against a strong counter-attack on the
+early morning of July 2, and it was firmly in the
+possession of the Thirtieth Division.  Mametz was
+held by the Seventh Division, who were pushing on
+to the north, driving a weak resistance before them.
+Fricourt had been deserted by the morning of July 2,
+and had been occupied by the Seventeenth Division,
+who also at once pushed on towards the woodlands
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P105"></a>105}</span>
+behind.  La Boiselle was closely assailed with part
+of the Thirty-fourth Division to the south of it, and
+the Twelfth and Nineteenth Divisions with other
+troops all round it.  These four villages and the gaps
+between them represented the break in the German
+front line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The second German main line ran through the
+Bazentins and Longueval, and it was reached and
+carried by the British Army upon July 14.  The
+intervening fortnight between the battle of the front
+and of the second line was occupied in clearing the
+many obstacles, consisting for the most part of
+woods and subsidiary trenches which filled the space
+between the two lines, and also in attacking the two
+villages of Ovillers and Contalmaison, which hampered
+operations upon the left wing.  It will help the
+reader very much to understand these apparently
+complex movements if he will realise that they divide
+themselves into three distinct groups of activity,
+counting from the north of the line.  The first group
+is concerned with the capture of Ovillers, and in it
+the Twelfth, Nineteenth, Thirty-second, and Twenty-fifth
+Divisions are concerned.  The second group is
+connected with the capture of the strong position
+which is bastioned by Contalmaison upon one side
+and Mametz Wood at the other, with the Quadrangle
+system of trenches between.  In this very
+severe conflict the Twenty-third, Seventeenth, Seventh,
+and Thirty-eighth Divisions were engaged.  Finally
+there is the group of operations by which the right
+wing was advanced through Bernafoy Wood and up
+to Trones Wood.  In these, the Ninth, Thirtieth, and
+Eighteenth Divisions were chiefly concerned.  We shall
+now take each of these in turn, beginning with the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P106"></a>106}</span>
+northern one, the taking of Ovillers, and carrying
+each narrative to a definite term.  Before embarking
+upon this account it should be mentioned that the
+two northern corps of Rawlinson's army&mdash;the Eighth
+and Tenth&mdash;were from now onwards detached as a
+separate Fifth Army under Sir Hubert Gough, one
+of the most rising commanders in the Service.  The
+functions of this Army were to hold the line from
+La Boiselle to Serre, and to form a defensive flank
+and pivot for the Third, Fifteenth, and Thirteenth
+Corps to the south.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We shall first follow the further fortunes of the
+troops which operated in the north.  Upon July 3
+there was a short but severe action upon that
+part of the old British line immediately to the
+left of the gap which had been broken.  In this
+action, which began at 6 A.M., the Thirty-second
+Division, already greatly weakened by its exertions
+two days before, together with the 75th Brigade,
+lent them by the Twenty-fifth Division, tried to
+widen the rent in the German line by tearing open
+that portion of it which had been so fatal to the
+Eighth Division.  The attack failed, however, though
+most bravely delivered, and the difficulties proved
+once more to be unsurmountable.  The attempt
+cost us heavy casualties, a considerable proportion
+of which fell upon the 75th Brigade, especially
+upon the 11th Cheshires, whose colonel was killed,
+and upon the 2nd South Lancashires, who ran into
+wire and were held up there.  The 8th Borders
+reached their objective, but after one-and-a-half
+hours were forced to let go of it.  The operation proved
+that whatever misfortunes had befallen the Germans
+to the south, they were still rooted as firmly as ever
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P107"></a>107}</span>
+in their old positions.  The same lesson was to be
+taught us on the same morning at an adjacent portion
+of the line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This episode was at the immediate south of
+the unsuccessful attack just described.  It has
+already been stated that the Twelfth, the English
+division which had seen so much hard fighting at
+Loos, had taken over part of the trenches of the
+Eighth Division, and so found themselves facing
+Ovillers.  Their chances of a successful advance
+upon the village were increased by the fact that the
+Nineteenth Division, after hard fighting, had got into
+La Boiselle to the south, and so occupied a flank to
+their advance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Some further definition is required as to the situation
+at La Boiselle, how it was brought about, and its
+extreme importance to the general plan of operations.
+When the left of the Thirty-fourth Division had failed
+to hold the village, while some mixed units of the
+right brigade had established themselves within the
+German lines as already narrated, it became very vital
+to help them by a renewed attempt upon the village
+itself.  For this purpose the Nineteenth Division had
+moved forward, a unit which had not yet been seriously
+engaged.  It was under the command of a fighting Irish
+dragoon, whose whimsical expedient for moving forwards
+the stragglers at St. Quentin has been recorded
+in a previous volume.  On the evening of July 1, one
+battalion of this division, the 9th Cheshires, had got
+into the German front line trench near the village,
+but they were isolated there and hard put to it
+to hold their own during a long and desperate night.
+On the following afternoon, about 4 o'clock, two of
+their fellow-battalions of the 58th Brigade, the 9th
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P108"></a>108}</span>
+Royal Welsh Fusiliers and the 6th Wilts, charged
+suddenly straight across the open at the village,
+while by a clever device the British barrage was
+turned elsewhere with the effect of misleading
+the German barrage which played upon the wrong
+area.  By 9 P.M. on July 2 the south end of the
+village had been captured, but the resistance was
+still very fierce.  Early next morning the whole
+of the division was drawn into this street fighting,
+and gradually the Germans were pushed back.
+There was one desperate counter-attack during which
+the British line was hard put to it to hold its
+own, and the house-to-house fighting continued
+throughout the whole day and night.  Two British
+colonels, one of the 7th South Lancashires and
+the other of the 8th Gloucesters, particularly
+distinguished themselves in this close fighting.  The
+latter, a dragoon like his commander, was a hard
+soldier who had left an eye in Somaliland and a hand
+at Ypres, but the sight of him in this day of battle,
+tearing out the safety-pin of bombs with his teeth and
+hurling them with his remaining hand, was one which
+gave heart to his men.  Slowly the Germans were
+worn down, but the fighting was fierce and the British
+losses heavy, including three commanding officers,
+Wedgwood of the North Staffords, Royston Piggott of
+the 10th Worcesters, and Heath of the 10th Warwicks,
+the first two killed, the latter wounded.  In the midst
+of the infantry fighting a single gun of the 19th Battery
+galloped with extraordinary gallantry right into the
+village and engaged the enemy point-blank with
+splendid effect.  For this fine performance Captain
+Campbell and ten men of the gun's crew received
+decorations.  By the evening of the 6th the whole
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P109"></a>109}</span>
+village was solidly consolidated by the Nineteenth
+Division, they had broken up a strong counter-attack
+from the direction of Pozières, and they had extended
+their conquest so as to include the redoubt called
+Heligoland.  We must turn, however, to the attack
+which had in the meanwhile been prepared upon the
+line to the immediate north of La Boiselle by the
+Twelfth Division.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This attack was carried out at three in the
+morning of July 7 by the 35th and the 37th
+Brigades.  The fighting line from the right
+consisted of the 5th Berks, 7th Suffolks, 6th Queen's
+Surrey, and 6th West Kent, with the other battalions
+in close support.  Unhappily, there was a group of
+machine-guns in some broken ground to the north of
+La Boiselle, which had not yet been reached by the
+Nineteenth Division, and the fire of these guns was
+so deadly that the battalions who got across were
+too weak to withstand a counter-attack of German
+bombers.  They were compelled, after a hard struggle,
+to fall back to the British line.  One curious benefit
+arose in an unexpected way from the operation, for
+part of the 9th Essex, losing its way in the dark,
+stumbled upon the rear of the German defenders of
+the northern edge of La Boiselle, by which happy
+chance they took 200 prisoners, helped the Nineteenth
+in their task, and participated in a victory instead of
+a check.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was evident that before the assault was renewed
+some dispositions should be made to silence the guns
+which made the passage perilous.  With this in
+view, another brigade, the 74th from the Twenty-fifth
+Division, was allotted to the commander of the
+Twelfth Division, by whom it was placed between his
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P110"></a>110}</span>
+own position and that held by the Nineteenth at
+La Boiselle.  It was arranged that these fresh troops
+should attack at eight o'clock in the morning of
+July 7, approaching Ovillers from the south, and
+overrunning the noxious machine-guns, while at
+8.30 the 36th Brigade, hitherto in reserve, should
+advance upon Ovillers from the west.  By this
+difference of half an hour in the attack it was hoped
+that the 74th would have got the guns before the
+36th had started.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After an hour's bombardment the signal was
+given and the 74th Brigade came away with a
+rush, headed by the 13th Cheshires and 9th North
+Lancashires, with the 2nd Irish Rifles and 11th
+Lancashire Fusiliers in support.  The advance found
+the Germans both in front and on either flank of them,
+but in spite of a withering fire they pushed on for their
+mark.  Nearly every officer of the 13th Cheshires
+from Colonel Finch down to Somerset, the junior
+subaltern, was hit.  Half-way between La Boiselle
+and Ovillers the attack was brought to a halt, and the
+men found such cover as they could among the
+shell-holes.  Their supporting lines had come up, but
+beyond some bombing parties there was no further
+advance during the day.  Fifty yards away the
+untaken machine-gun emplacements lay in front of
+them, while Ovillers itself was about 500 yards
+distant upon their left front.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the meantime, after waiting half an hour,
+the 36th Brigade had advanced.  The machine-guns
+were, however, still active on either flank
+of them, and on their immediate front lay the
+rubbish-heap which had once been a village, a mass
+of ruins now.  But amid those ruins lay the Fusiliers
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P111"></a>111}</span>
+of the Prussian Guard&mdash;reputed to be among the
+best soldiers in Europe, and every chink was an
+embrasure for rifle or machine-gun.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The advance was one which may have been
+matched in the glorious annals of the British infantry,
+but can never have been excelled.  The front line
+consisted of the 8th and 9th Royal Fusiliers, one upon
+each wing, the 7th Sussex in the centre, and the 11th
+Middlesex in support&mdash;south-country battalions all.
+They had lain waiting for the signal in trenches
+which were beaten to pieces by a terrific German
+shelling.  There were considerable casualties before
+the first man sprang from fire step to parapet.  As
+they crossed No Man's Land bullets beat upon them
+from every side.  The advance was rendered more
+frightful by the heavy weather, which held down
+the fumes of the poison shells, so that the craters in
+which men took refuge were often found to be traps
+from which they never again emerged.  Many of the
+wounded met their death in this terrible fashion.
+Still the thin lines went forward, for nothing would
+stop them save death or the voice of their company
+officers.  They were up and over the first German
+line.  A blast of fire staggered them for a moment,
+and then with a splendid rally they were into the
+second trench, and had seized the line of hedges and
+walls which skirt the western edge of the village.
+Five hundred men were left out of those who
+had sprung from the British trench; but the 500
+still went forward.  The two Fusilier battalions had
+hardly the strength of a company between them, and
+the leaders were all down&mdash;but every man was a
+leader that day.  Their spirit was invincible.  An
+officer has recorded how a desperately wounded man
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P112"></a>112}</span>
+called out, "Are the trenches taken, sir?"  On
+hearing that they were, he fell back and cried,
+"Thank God! for nothing else matters."  In the
+centre the Sussex men still numbered nearly 300,
+and their colonel aided and directed while they
+consolidated the ground.  One hundred and fifty
+were hit as they did so, but the handful who were
+left defied every effort of shell, bomb, or bayonet
+to put them out.  A lodgment had been made, and
+nothing now could save the village.  By a wise
+provision, seeing that no supplies could reach them,
+every man had been loaded up with twenty bombs,
+and had been instructed to use every captured
+German bomb or cartridge before any of his own.
+As dusk fell, two companies of the supporting
+Middlesex battalion were sent up, under heavy fire, to
+thicken the line, which was further strengthened
+next day by two battalions from the 37th Brigade,
+while the 75th Brigade prolonged it to the south.
+In the morning of July 9 the Twelfth Division, sorely
+stricken but triumphant, was drawn from the line,
+leaving the northern half of the Ovillers front to the
+Thirty-second Division and the southern half to the
+Twenty-fifth, the scattered brigades of which were
+now reunited under one general.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+That commander had found himself during these
+operations in a difficult position, as the 74th Brigade
+had been moved from him and allotted to the Twelfth
+Division, and the Seventy-fifth by the Thirty-second
+Division.  None the less, he had carried on vigorously
+with his remaining Brigade&mdash;the 7th, and had
+enlarged and strengthened the British position in the
+Leipzig salient.  During July 5 and 6 the 1st Wilts
+and the 3rd Worcesters had both broadened and
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P113"></a>113}</span>
+extended their fronts by means of surprise attacks
+very well carried out.  On the 7th they pushed
+forward, as part of the general scheme of extension
+upon that day, advancing with such dash and
+determination that they got ahead of the German barrage
+and secured a valuable trench.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When upon Sunday, July 9, the Thirty-second
+Division had entirely taken over from the Twelfth
+on the west of Ovillers, the 14th Brigade were in the
+post of honour on the edge of the village.  The 2nd
+Manchesters on the left and the 15th Highland Light
+Infantry on the right, formed the advanced line with
+the 1st Dorsets in support, while the 19th Lancashire
+Fusiliers were chiefly occupied in the necessary and
+dangerous work of carrying forward munitions and
+supplies.  Meanwhile, the pioneer battalion, the 17th
+Northumberland Fusiliers, worked hard to join up
+the old front trench with the new trenches round
+Ovillers.  It should be mentioned, as an example of
+the spirit animating the British Army, that Colonel
+Pears of this battalion had been invalided home for
+cancer, that he managed to return to his men for this
+battle, and that shortly afterwards he died of the
+disease.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On July 10 at noon the 14th Brigade advanced
+upon Ovillers from the west, carrying on the task
+which had been so well begun by the 36th Brigade.
+The assailants could change their ranks, but this
+advantage was denied to the defenders, for a persistent
+day and night barrage cut them off from their
+companions in the north.  None the less, there was
+no perceptible weakening of the defence, and the
+Prussian Guard lived up to their own high traditions.
+A number of them had already been captured in the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P114"></a>114}</span>
+trenches, mature soldiers of exceptional physique.
+Their fire was as murderous as ever, and the 2nd
+Manchesters on the north or left of the line suffered
+severely.  The 15th Highlanders were more fortunate
+and made good progress.  The situation had been
+improved by an advance at 9 P.M. upon this date,
+July 10, by the 2nd Inniskilling Fusiliers from the
+Sixth Division, higher up the line, who made a
+lodgment north-west of Ovillers, which enabled a Russian
+sap to be opened up from the British front line.  The
+Inniskillings lost 150 men out of two companies
+engaged, but they created a new and promising line
+of attack.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The British were now well into the village, both
+on the south and on the west, but the fighting was
+closer and more sanguinary than ever.  Bombardments
+alternated with attacks, during which the
+British won the outlying ruins, and fought on from
+one stone heap to another, or down into the cellars
+below, where the desperate German Guardsmen
+fought to the last until overwhelmed with bombs
+from above, or stabbed by the bayonets of the furious
+stormers.  The depleted 74th Brigade of the
+Twenty-fifth Division had been brought back to its work
+upon July 10, and on the 12th the 14th Brigade was
+relieved by the 96th of the same Thirty-second
+Division.  On the night of July 12 fresh ground was
+gained by a surge forward of the 2nd South
+Lancashires of the 75th Brigade, and of the 19th
+Lancashire Fusiliers, these two battalions pushing
+the British line almost up to Ovillers Church.  Again,
+on the night of the 13th the 3rd Worcesters and 8th
+Borders made advances, the latter capturing a strong
+point which blocked the way to further progress.  On
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P115"></a>115}</span>
+the 14th, however, the 10th Cheshires had a set-back,
+losing a number of men.  Again, on the night of
+July 14 the 1st Dorsets cut still further into the
+limited area into which the German resistance had
+been compressed.  On the night of the 15th the
+Thirty-second Division was drawn out, after a
+fortnight of incessant loss, and was replaced by the
+Forty-eighth Division of South Midland Territorials,
+the 143rd Brigade consisting entirely of
+Warwick battalions, being placed under the orders
+of the General of the Twenty-fifth Division.  The
+village, a splintered rubbish-heap, with the church
+raising a stumpy wall, a few feet high, in the middle
+of it, was now very closely pressed upon all sides.
+The German cellars and dug-outs were still inhabited,
+however, and within them the Guardsmen were as
+dangerous as wolves at bay.  On the night of July
+15-16 a final attack was arranged.  It was to be
+carried through by the 74th, 75th, and 143rd Brigades,
+and was timed for 1 A.M.  For a moment it threatened
+disaster, as the 5th Warwicks got forward into such
+a position that they were cut off from supplies, but a
+strong effort was made by their comrades, who closed
+in all day until 6 P.M., when the remains of the
+garrison surrendered.  Two German officers and 125 men
+were all who remained unhurt in this desperate
+business; and it is on record that one of the officers
+expended his last bomb by hurling it at his own men
+on seeing that they had surrendered.  Eight machine-guns
+were taken.  It is said that the British soldiers
+saluted the haggard and grimy survivors as they were
+led out among the ruins.  It was certainly a very fine
+defence.  After the capture of the village, the northern
+and eastern outskirts were cleared by the men of the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P116"></a>116}</span>
+Forty-eighth Territorial Division, which was partly
+accomplished by a night attack of the 4th Gloucesters.
+From now onwards till July 29 this Division was
+engaged in very arduous work, pushing north and
+east, and covering the flank of the Australians in
+their advance upon Pozières.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So much for the first group of operations in the
+intermediate German position.  We shall now pass
+to the second, which is concerned with the strong
+fortified line formed by the Quadrangle system of
+trenches between Contalmaison upon our left and
+Mametz Wood upon our right.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It has been mentioned under the operations of
+the Twenty-first Division in the last chapter that
+the 51st Brigade passed through the deserted village
+of Fricourt upon the morning of July 2, taking about
+100 prisoners.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On debouching at the eastern end they swung to
+the right, the 7th Lincolns attacking Fricourt Wood,
+and the 8th South Staffords, Fricourt Farm.  The
+wood proved to be a tangle of smashed trees, which
+was hardly penetrable, and a heavy fire stopped the
+Lincolns.  The colonel, however, surmounted the
+difficulty by detaching an officer and a party of
+men to outflank the wood, which had the effect of
+driving out the Germans.  The South Staffords were
+also successful in storming the farm, but could not
+for the moment get farther.  Several hundreds of
+prisoners from the 111th Regiment and three guns
+were captured during this advance, but the men
+were very exhausted at the end of it, having been
+three nights without rest.  Early next day (July 3)
+the advance was resumed, the 51st Brigade still to
+the fore, working in co-operation with the 62nd
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P117"></a>117}</span>
+Brigade of the Twenty-first Division upon their left.
+By hard fighting, the Staffords, Lincolns, and
+Sherwoods pushed their way into Railway Alley and
+Railway Copse, while the 7th Borders established
+themselves in Bottom Wood.  The operations came
+to a climax when in the afternoon a battalion of
+the 186th Prussian Regiment, nearly 600 strong,
+was caught between the two Brigades in Crucifix
+Trench and had to surrender; altogether the
+51st Brigade had done a very strenuous and
+successful spell of duty.  The ground gained was
+consolidated by the 77th Field Company, Royal
+Engineers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The 62nd Brigade of the Twenty-first Division,
+supported by the 63rd, had moved parallel to the
+51st Brigade, the 1st Lincolns, 10th Yorkshires, and
+two battalions of Northumberland Fusiliers advancing
+upon Shelter Wood and carrying it by storm.  It was
+a fine bit of woodland fighting, and the first intimation
+to the Germans that their fortified forests would
+no more stop British infantry than their village
+strongholds could do.  The enemy, both here and
+in front of the Seventeenth Division, were of very
+different stuff from the veterans of Ovillers, and
+surrendered in groups as soon as their machine-guns
+had failed to stop the disciplined rush of their
+assailants.  After this advance, the Twenty-first Division
+was drawn out of line for a rest, and the Seventeenth
+extending to the left was in touch with the regular
+24th Brigade, forming the right of Babington's
+Twenty-third Division, who were closing in upon
+Contalmaison.  On the right the 17th were in touch
+with the 22nd Brigade of the Seventh Division, which
+was pushing up towards the dark and sinister clumps
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P118"></a>118}</span>
+of woodland which barred their way.  On the night
+of July 5 an advance was made, the Seventh Division
+upon Mametz Wood, and the Seventeenth upon the
+of the Quadrangle Trench, connecting the wood with
+Contalmaison.  The attack upon the wood itself
+had no success, though the 1st Royal Welsh Fusiliers
+reached their objective, but the 52nd Brigade was
+entirely successful at Quadrangle Trench, where two
+battalions&mdash;the 9th Northumberland Fusiliers and
+10th Lancashire Fusiliers&mdash;crept up within a hundred
+yards unobserved and then carried the whole position
+with a splendid rush.  It was at once consolidated.
+The Twenty-third Division had advanced upon the
+left and were close to Contalmaison.  On the night
+of July 5 the Seventh Division was drawn out and the
+Thirty-eighth Welsh Division took over the line which
+faced Mametz Wood.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Seventeenth Division, after its capture of
+the Quadrangle Trench, was faced by a second very
+dangerous and difficult line called the Quadrangle
+Support, the relative position of which is shown
+upon the diagram on the next page.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P119"></a>119}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="capcenter">
+<a id="img-119"></a>
+<br />
+<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-119.jpg" alt="QUADRANGLE POSITION, July 5-11, 1916." />
+<br />
+QUADRANGLE POSITION, July 5-11, 1916.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+It is clear that if either Mametz Wood or Contalmaison
+were to fall, this trench would become untenable
+for the Germans, but until those two bastions,
+or at least one of them, was in our hands, there was
+such a smashing fire beating down upon an open
+advance of 600 yards, that no harder task could
+possibly be given to a Division.  The trench was
+slightly over the brow of a slope, so that when the
+guns played upon it the garrison were able to slip
+quickly away and take refuge in Mametz Wood,
+coming back again in time to meet an assault which
+they were well aware could only be delivered by
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P120"></a>120}</span>
+troops which had passed through an ordeal of fire
+which must shake and weaken them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It seemed that the best chance to bring a striking
+force up to the trench was to make the attempt at
+night, so at 2 A.M. of July 7 the 9th Northumberland
+Fusiliers and 10th Lancashire Fusiliers, the same
+battalions which had already taken Quadrangle
+Trench, advanced through the darkness of an inclement
+night upon their objective.  The enemy proved,
+however, to be in great force, and their trench was
+stuffed with men who were themselves contemplating
+an attack.  A party of Lancashire Fusiliers got
+into Pearl Alley, which is on the left near
+Contalmaison, but the village stands on a slight eminence,
+and from it the trench and the approaches can be
+swept by fire.  The British attack was driven back
+with loss, and was followed up by the 9th Grenadiers
+of the Prussian Guard, who were in turn driven back
+by the left of the British line, consisting of the 10th
+Lancashire Fusiliers and some of the 1st Worcesters.
+In the morning another attempt was made upon
+Quadrangle Support, this time by the 9th West
+Ridings and the 12th Manchesters.  Small parties
+got up to Acid Drop Copse, close to Contalmaison,
+but they were too weak to hold on.  At the end of
+this attack the 52nd Brigade, which had been so
+badly mauled, was drawn out and the 51st put back
+in its place.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This severe fighting at the Quadrangle was part
+of a wider action, which was to include an attack by
+the Twenty-third Division upon Contalmaison and an
+attack by the Thirty-eighth upon Mametz Wood.
+The Contalmaison attack won its way into the north-west
+side of the village at 11 o'clock on the morning
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P121"></a>121}</span>
+of July 7, but by 12 o'clock it had been held and
+eventually repulsed.  By 4.30 the 24th Brigade of
+the Twenty-third Division, which was on the immediate
+left of the Seventeenth Division, had been driven
+back to its trenches, the 1st Worcesters, 2nd East
+Lancashires, and 2nd Northamptons suffering heavily.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whilst the Contalmaison attack had failed upon
+the left, that upon Mametz Wood had no better success
+upon the right.  It was to have been carried out by
+the Thirty-eighth Welsh Division, but in its approach
+such opposition was encountered to the wood that
+the 16th Welsh (City of Cardiff) and 10th South
+Wales Borderers could not get forward.  Meanwhile,
+the 50th Brigade from the Seventeenth Division had
+been told off to co-operate with this attack, and
+naturally found themselves with their right flank in
+the air, the 7th East Yorks suffering severely in
+consequence.  None the less, some advance was made
+upon this side.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the night of July 7 a third attack was made
+upon Quadrangle Support, with no better result than
+the others.  On this occasion the 51st Brigade had
+relieved the 52nd, and it was the 10th Sherwood
+Foresters which endured the heavy losses, and
+persevered until they were within bomb-throw of their
+objective, losing Major Hall Brown, a gallant Ceylon
+planter, and many officers and men.  At the same
+hour the 50th Brigade had again tried to gain ground
+in the direction of Mametz Wood, but had failed
+on account of uncut wire.  The military difficulties
+of the situation during this day were greatly enhanced
+by the state of the ground, owing to most unseasonable
+heavy rain, which left four feet of mud in some of the
+trenches.  Altogether, when one considers the want
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P122"></a>122}</span>
+of success at Ovillers, the repulse at Contalmaison,
+the three checks in one day at the Quadrangle, and
+the delay of the attack on Mametz Wood, the events
+of July 7 showed that the task of the British, even
+inside a broken German line, was still a very heavy
+one.  General Horne upon the line and Sir Douglas
+Haig behind it must both have felt the strain that
+night.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At six in the morning of July 8 the undefeatable
+Seventeenth Division was again hard at work
+encompassing the downfall of its old opponents in
+Quadrangle Support.  Since it could not be approached
+above ground, it was planned that two brigades,
+the 51st and the 50th, should endeavour to bomb
+their way from each side up those trenches which
+were in their hands.  It is wonderful that troops
+which had already endured so much, and whose nerve
+might well be shattered and their hearts broken by
+successive failures, should still be able to carry out a
+form of attack which of all others call for dash and
+reckless courage.  It was done, none the less, and
+with some success, the bombers blasting their way
+up Pearl Alley on the left to the point where it
+joins on to the Quadrangle Support.  The bombers
+of the 7th Lincolns did particularly well.  "Every
+attempted attack by the Bosche was met by
+them with the most extraordinary Berserker
+fury.  They utterly cowed the enemy."  So wrote
+an experienced spectator.  On the right the 50th
+Brigade made some progress also up Quadrangle
+Alley.  Artillery fire, however, put a term to the
+advance in both instances, the guns of Contalmaison
+dominating the whole position.  In the evening
+a fresh bombing attack was made by the same
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P123"></a>123}</span>
+troops, whose exertions seem really to have reached
+the limit of human capacity.  This time the 7th
+Borders actually reached Quadrangle Support, but
+were unable to get farther.  The same evening some
+of the 50th Brigade bombed down Wood Trench
+towards Mametz Wood, so as to facilitate the coming
+attack by the Thirty-eighth Division.  On July 9
+both Brigades again tried to bomb their way into
+Quadrangle Support, and were again held up by the
+enemy's fire.  This was the sixth separate attempt
+upon the same objective by the same soldiers&mdash;an
+example surely of the wonderful material of which
+the New Armies were composed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But their labours were not yet done.  Though
+both brigades were worn to shadows, it was still a
+point of honour to hold to their work.  At 11.20 that
+night a surprise attack was made across the open
+under the cover of night.  The 8th South Staffords
+on the left&mdash;charging with a yell of "Staffords!"&mdash;reached
+the point where Pearl Alley joins the
+Quadrangle Support (see Diagram), and held on
+most desperately.  The 50th Brigade on the right
+were checked and could give no assistance.  The
+men upon the left strove hard to win their way down
+Quadrangle Support, but most of the officers were
+down, the losses were heavy, and the most that
+they could do was to hold on to the junction with
+Pearl Alley.  The 50th were ready to go forward
+again to help them, and the Yorkshire men were
+already on the move; but day was slowly breaking
+and it was doubtful if the trench could be held under
+the guns of Contalmaison.  The attack upon the
+right was therefore stopped, and the left held on
+as best it might, the South Staffords, having lost
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P124"></a>124}</span>
+grievously, nearly all their officers, including the
+Adjutant, Coleridge, being on the ground.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We may now leave this heroic tragedy of the
+Quadrangle and turn our attention to what had been
+going on at Mametz Wood upon the right, which was
+really the key to the situation.  It has already been
+stated that the wood had been attacked in vain by a
+brigade of the Seventh Division, and that the
+Thirty-eighth Welsh Division had found some difficulty in
+even approaching it.  It was indeed a formidable
+obstacle upon the path of the army.  An officer
+has described how he used to gaze from afar upon the
+immense bulk, the vast denseness and darkness of
+Mametz Wood, and wonder, knowing the manifold
+dangers which lurked beneath its shadows, whether
+it was indeed within human power to take it.  Such
+was the first terrible task to which the Welshmen of
+the New Army were called.  It was done, but one
+out of every three men who did it found the grave
+or the hospital before the survivors saw the light
+shine between the further tree-trunks.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As the Welshmen came into the line they had the
+Seventeenth Division upon their left, facing
+Quadrangle Support, and the Eighteenth upon their right
+at Caterpillar Wood.  When at 4.15 on the morning
+of July 10 all was ready for the assault, the Third
+Division had relieved the Eighteenth on the right,
+but the Seventeenth was, as we have seen, still in its
+position, and was fighting on the western edge of the
+wood.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The attack of the Welshmen started from White
+Trench, which lies south-east of the wood and
+meanders along the brow of a sharp ridge.  Since it
+was dug by the enemy it was of little use to the attack,
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P125"></a>125}</span>
+for no rifle fire could be brought to bear from it upon
+the edge of the wood, while troops coming over the
+hill and down the slope were dreadfully exposed.
+Apart from the German riflemen and machine-gunners,
+who lay thick among the shell-blasted stumps of
+trees, there was such a tangle of thick undergrowth
+and fallen trunks lying at every conceivable angle
+that it would take a strong and active man to make
+his way through the wood with a fowling-piece for his
+equipment and a pheasant for his objective.  No
+troops could have had a more desperate task&mdash;the
+more so as the German second line was only a few
+hundred yards from the north end of the wood, whence
+they could reinforce it at their pleasure.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The wood is divided by a central ride running
+north and south.  All to the west of this was allotted
+to the 113th Brigade, a unit of Welsh Fusilier
+battalions commanded by a young brigadier who is more
+likely to win honour than decorations, since he started
+the War with both the V.C. and the D.S.O.  The
+114th Brigade, comprising four battalions of the
+Welsh Regiment, was to carry the eastern half of the
+wood, the attack being from the south.  The front
+line of attack, counting from the right, consisted of the
+13th Welsh (2nd Rhonddas), 14th Welsh (Swansea),
+with its left on the central ride, and 16th Royal
+Welsh Fusiliers in the van of the 113th Brigade.
+About 4.30 in the morning the barrage lifted from the
+shadowy edge of the wood, and the infantry pushed
+forward with all the Cymric fire which burns in that
+ancient race as fiercely as ever it has done, as every
+field of manly sport will show.  It was a magnificent
+spectacle, for wave after wave of men could be seen
+advancing without hesitation and without a break
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P126"></a>126}</span>
+over a distance which in some places was not less
+than 500 yards.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Swansea men in the centre broke into the
+wood without a check, a lieutenant of that battalion
+charging down two machine-guns and capturing
+both at the cost of a wound to himself.  The 13th
+on the right won their way also into the wood,
+but were held for a time, and were reinforced
+by the 15th (Carmarthens).  Here for hours along
+the whole breadth of the wood the Welsh infantry
+strove desperately to crawl or burst through the
+tangle of tree-trunks in the face of the deadly and
+invisible machine-guns.  Some of the 15th got
+forward through a gap, but found themselves isolated,
+and had great difficulty in joining up with their own
+battle line once more.  Eventually, in the centre and
+right, the three battalions formed a line just south
+of the most southern cross ride from its junction with
+the main ride.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the left, the 16th Welsh Fusiliers had lost
+heavily before reaching the trees, their colonel,
+Carden, falling at the head of his men.  The
+circumstances of his death should be recorded.  His Welsh
+Fusiliers, before entering action, sang a hymn in
+Welsh, upon which the colonel addressed them,
+saying, "Boys, make your peace with God!  We
+are going to take that position, and some of us won't
+come back.  But we are going to take it."  Tying
+his handkerchief to his stick he added, "This will
+show you where I am."  He was hit as he waved
+them on with his impromptu flag; but he rose,
+advanced, was hit again, and fell dead.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P127"></a>127}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="capcenter">
+<a id="img-127"></a>
+<br />
+<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-127.jpg" alt="MAMETZ WOOD" />
+<br />
+MAMETZ WOOD
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+Thickened by the support of the 15th Royal Welsh
+Fusiliers, the line rushed on, and occupied the end
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P128"></a>128}</span>
+of the wood until they were abreast of their comrades
+on the right.  Once among the trees, all cohesion
+was lost among the chaos of tangled branches and
+splintered trunks, every man getting on as best he
+might, with officers rallying and leading forward small
+groups, who tripped and scrambled onwards against
+any knot of Germans whom they could see.  On
+this edge of the wood some of the Fusiliers bombed
+their way along Strip Trench, which outlines the
+south-western edge, in an endeavour to join hands
+with the 50th Brigade on their left.  At about 6.30
+the south end of the wood had been cleared, and the
+Welshmen, flushed with success, were swarming out
+at the central ride.  A number of prisoners, some
+hale, some wounded, had been taken.  At 7 o'clock
+the 113th were in touch with the 114th on the right,
+and with the 50th on the left.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Further advance was made difficult by the fact
+that the fire from the untaken Wood Support Trench
+upon the left swept across the ride.  The losses of
+the two Fusilier battalions had been so heavy that
+they were halted while their comrades of the 13th
+Royal Welsh Fusiliers, under Colonel Flower, who
+was killed by a shell, attacked Wood Support&mdash;eventually
+capturing the gun which had wrought such
+damage, and about 50 Germans.  This small body
+had succeeded, as so often before and since, in holding
+up a Brigade and disorganising an advance.  Until
+the machine-gun is checkmated by the bullet-proof
+advance, the defensive will maintain an overpowering
+and disproportionate advantage.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The 10th Welsh had now come up to reinforce
+the left of the 114th Brigade, losing their colonel,
+Rickets, as they advanced into the wood.  The 19th
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P129"></a>129}</span>
+Welsh Pioneer Battalion also came forward to
+consolidate what had been won.  There was a
+considerable pause in the advance, during which two
+battalions&mdash;the 17th Welsh Fusiliers and the 10th
+South Wales Borderers from the Reserve Brigade,
+115th&mdash;came up to thicken the line.  At about four,
+the attack was renewed, until at least two-thirds
+of the wood had been gained.  The South Wales
+Borderers worked up the eastern side, pushing the
+defenders into the open, where they were shot down by
+British machine-guns in Caterpillar Wood and
+Marlborough Wood.  About 50 yards from the northern
+end the khaki line was at last held up and remained
+there, crouching in shell-holes or behind broken
+trunks.  The main resistance came from a trench
+outside the wood, and it was eventually determined
+to bombard it, for which purpose the troops were
+withdrawn some hundreds of yards.  Late in the
+evening there was another gallant attempt to get the
+edge of the wood, but the trench was as venomous
+as ever, and the main German second line behind it
+was sweeping the underwood with bullets, so the
+advance was halted for the night.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+During the night the 115th Brigade had come to
+the front, and in the morning of July 11 had relieved
+the 113th and 114th Brigades.  The relief in a thick
+wood, swept by bullets, and upon a dark night in the
+close presence of a formidable enemy, was a most difficult
+operation.  The morning was spent in reconnaissance,
+and it was only at 3.15 P.M. that the advance could
+be made upon the main German defence, a trench just
+outside the north end of the wood.  About 4 o'clock
+the Brigade swept on, and after a sharp bayonet
+fight gained the trench towards the north-east, but the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P130"></a>130}</span>
+Germans still held the centre and swept with their fire
+the portion in our possession.  The 11th South Wales
+Borderers (2nd Gwents) held on splendidly, in spite
+of their heavy losses.  The situation was now such,
+with only 300 yards to go to reach the German second
+line, that it was deemed well to relieve the Thirty-eighth
+Division by the Twenty-first Division, who had
+been selected for the coming battle.  This change
+was carried out by the morning of July 12.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The action of the Thirty-eighth Division in capturing
+Mametz Wood had been a very fine one, and the
+fruit of their victory was not only an important
+advance, but 398 prisoners, one field gun, three heavy
+guns, a howitzer and a number of smaller pieces.
+It was the largest wood in the Somme district, and
+the importance attached to it by the Germans may
+be gathered from the fact that men of five different
+German regiments, the 3rd Lehr, 16th Bavarians,
+77th, 83rd, and 122nd, were identified among our
+opponents.  Among many instances of individual
+valour should be mentioned that of a colonel of
+the Divisional Staff, who twice, revolver in hand,
+led the troops on where there was some temporary
+check or confusion.  It is impossible to imagine
+anything more difficult and involved than some of
+this fighting, for apart from the abattis and other
+natural impediments of a tangled wood, the place
+was a perfect rabbit-warren of trenches, and had
+occasional land mines in it, which were exploded&mdash;some
+of them prematurely, so that it was the retreating
+Germans who received the full force of the blast.
+Burning petrol was also used continually in the
+defence, and frequently proved to be a two-edged
+weapon.  Some of the garrison stood to their work
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P131"></a>131}</span>
+with extraordinary courage, and nothing but the
+most devoted valour upon the part of their assailants
+could have driven them out.  "Every man of them
+was killed where he stood," said a Welsh Fusilier, in
+describing the resistance of one group.  "They
+refused offers of quarter right to the last, and died
+with cheers for the Kaiser or words of defiance on
+their lips.  They were brave men, and we were very
+sorry indeed to have to kill them, for we could not
+but admire them for their courage."  Such words
+give honour both to victors and vanquished.  The
+German losses were undoubtedly very heavy&mdash;probably
+not less than those of the Welsh Division.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Though the Welsh Division had overrun Mametz
+Wood from south to north, there was still one angle
+in the north-west which had lain out of their course,
+and had not been taken by them.  This part of the
+wood was occupied upon the evening of July 11 by
+the 62nd Brigade of the Twenty-first Division, which
+had already performed such notable services upon
+the Somme.  Eight field-guns were discovered in
+this part of the wood and were captured by the
+Brigade.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The situation had now greatly improved for the
+Seventeenth Division in front of Quadrangle Support,
+for not only was Mametz Wood mostly in the hands
+of the Welsh, but the Twenty-third Division on the
+left, who after their temporary check at Contalmaison
+had fallen back upon the line Peake Alley-Birch Tree
+Wood-Shelter Wood, now came forward again and
+occupied Bailiff Wood upon the north of Contalmaison.
+Under these circumstances, the 50th Brigade
+upon the right again attempted to get forward in
+order to keep level with the Welsh in the wood.
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P132"></a>132}</span>
+Connection had not yet been made at that point,
+however, and the 7th East Yorks, who were the leading
+battalion, suffered heavy losses before being
+compelled to abandon the attempt.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Victory, however, was at last coming to reward
+the living and vindicate the dead.  At four in the
+afternoon of July 10, the Twenty-third Division
+advanced from Bailiff Wood for its second assault
+upon Contalmaison.  This time everything went
+to perfection, and the much-enduring infantry
+were able to take possession of the village, while
+a counter-attack by the third Reserve Division
+of the Prussian Guards came under concentrated
+artillery fire, and was completely disorganised and
+destroyed.  It was the wounded of the Guard from
+this attack who were seen at Potsdam, and described
+by Mr. Curtin, the American journalist, in one of the
+most brilliant articles of the War.  Carried into
+furniture vans, they were conveyed to their hospitals with
+every secrecy, in order to conceal from the populace
+the results of the encounter between the famous Corps
+and those men of the New Army who for more than
+a year had been the favourite butt of the <i>Witz-Blätter</i>
+of Berlin.  Old Father Time has a humour of his own,
+and his laugh is usually the last.  Besides the Guard
+the 70th Jaeger and the 110th, 114th, and 119th
+Regiments were included in this defeat.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The two bastions having fallen, the problem of
+the Quadrangle Support became a very different one,
+and the 51st Brigade, joining up with the right of the
+Twenty-third Division in the evening, was able to get
+hold of the left end of it.  Even now, however, the
+Germans fought hard to the right, and both the 7th
+East Yorks and the 6th Dorsets had to push strongly
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P133"></a>133}</span>
+before they could win through.  They were encouraged
+in their efforts when, in the waning light,
+they were able to see small bodies of the enemy
+retiring in the distance out of the fringe of the wood.
+By ten o'clock that night the long task had been
+accomplished, and the dead might sleep in peace, for
+Quadrangle Support was in the hands of the
+Seventeenth Division.  They were relieved by the
+Twenty-first Division upon July 11.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At or about the same time as the relief of the
+Seventeenth Division, the Twenty-third upon their
+left were also relieved, their line being taken over by
+the First Division.  Since the capture of Contalmaison
+and the heavy repulse of the German Guard
+Division the British had made further progress, so
+that both Pearl Wood and Contalmaison Villa to
+the north of the village were firmly in their hands.
+The instructions to the First Division were to
+endeavour to improve this advantage, and an advance
+was at once made which, occurring as it did upon the
+night of July 15, may be best described under the
+heading which treats of the breaking of the second
+German line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Having dealt with the operations upon the left
+and those in the centre of the intermediate German
+position, we will now turn to those upon the right,
+which are concerned with the Eighteenth and the
+Thirtieth Divisions, supported by the Ninth.  After
+the fall of Montauban, these Divisions advanced,
+the one upon Caterpillar Wood, and the other to
+Bernafoy Wood, both of which were occupied.
+For the occupation of Bernafoy Wood the 27th
+Brigade of the Ninth Division had been put at the
+disposal of the commander of the Thirtieth, and this
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P134"></a>134}</span>
+force occupied the position without much loss, but
+were exposed afterwards to a most deadly shell-fire,
+which caused heavy losses to the two front
+battalions&mdash;the 6th King's Own Scottish Borderers and the
+6th Scots Rifles.  The wood was held, however,
+together with three guns, which were found within
+it.  On July 5 the Thirtieth Division handed over
+that line to the Ninth.  On that date they sustained
+the heavy loss of Colonels Trotter and Smith&mdash;both
+killed by distant shell-fire.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The rest of the Thirtieth Division only lasted for
+a very few days, and upon July 7 they were facing
+the enemy position from Malzhorn Farm upon the
+right to Trones Wood upon the left, and were about
+to be initiated in that terrible wood fighting which
+cost us so dear.  There is no fighting in the world
+which is more awesome to the mind and more
+exhausting to the body than such combats as these
+amid the ghostly atmosphere of ruined woods, with
+Death lurking in the shadows on every hand, and
+the thresh of the shells beating without cessation
+by night and by day.  Trones, Mametz, High Wood,
+Delville&mdash;never has the quiet, steadfast courage of
+the British soldier been put to a more searching test
+than in those haunts of gloom and horror.  In the
+case of Trones Wood some account must be given of
+the peculiar tactical difficulties of the situation, and
+then we shall turn to the sombre but glorious
+narrative of the successive attacks.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The tactical problem was a remarkable one.  The
+wood was connected up on the German side by good
+lines of trenches with Malzhorn Farm on the south,
+with Guillemont on the east, and with Waterlot Farm
+on the north&mdash;each of these points being from 400
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P135"></a>135}</span>
+to 700 yards away.  It was also commanded by a
+large number of heavy guns.  The result was that if
+the British stormers held the wood in strength, they
+were shelled out with heavy losses.  If, on the other
+hand, the wood were lightly held, then the German
+infantry pouring in from the east and north could
+drive them out.  The British, on the other hand, had
+no trenches leading up to the wood, though in other
+respects the Germans found the same difficulties in
+holding the place that they did.  It was a terrible
+contest in tenacity between the infantry of the two
+nations, and if in the end the British won it must
+at least be admitted that there was no evidence of
+any demoralisation among the Germans on account
+of the destruction of their main line.  They fought
+well, were well led, and were admirably supported by
+their guns.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The first attack upon Trones Wood was carried
+out from the south upon July 8 by the 21st Brigade.
+There was no suspicion then of the strength of the
+German position, and the attack was repulsed within
+a couple of hours, the 2nd Yorks being the chief
+sufferers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was more success upon the right of the line
+where the French were attacking Malzhorn Farm.
+A company of the 2nd Wilts made their way successfully
+to help our Allies, and gained a lodgment
+in the German trenches which connect Malzhorn
+Farm with the south end of Trones Wood.  With
+the aid of some of the 19th Manchesters this
+position was extended, and two German counter-attacks
+were crushed by rifle-fire.  The position in
+this southern trench was permanently held, and it
+acted like a self-registering gauge for the combat in
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P136"></a>136}</span>
+Trones Wood, for when the British held the wood the
+whole Southern Trench was British, while a German
+success in the wood always led to a contraction in the
+holding of the trench.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At one o'clock upon July 8 the 21st Brigade
+renewed their attempt, attacking with the 2nd
+Wiltshires in the lead from the side of Bernafoy Wood.
+The advance was a fine one, but Colonel Gillson was
+badly wounded, and his successor in command,
+Captain Mumford, was killed.  About three o'clock
+the 18th and 19th Manchesters came up in support.
+German bombers were driving down from the north,
+and the fighting was very severe.  In the evening
+some of the Liverpools came up to strengthen the
+line, and it was determined to draw out the weakened
+21st, and replace it by the 90th Brigade.  At the same
+time a party of the 2nd Scots Fusiliers of this Brigade
+took over Malzhorn Trench, and rushed the farmhouse
+itself, capturing 67 prisoners.  The whole of
+the trench was afterwards cleared up with two
+machine-guns and 100 more prisoners.  It was a fine
+bit of work, worthy of that splendid battalion.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Upon July 9 at 6.40 A.M. began the third attack
+upon Trones Wood led by the 17th Manchesters.
+They took over the footing already held, and by eight
+o'clock they had extended it along the eastern edge,
+practically clearing the wood of German infantry.
+There followed, however, a terrific bombardment,
+which caused such losses that the 17th and their
+comrades of the 18th were ordered to fall back
+once more, with the result that the Scots Fusiliers
+had to give up the northern end of their Malzhorn
+Trench.  An enemy counter-attack at 4.30 P.M. had
+no success.  A fresh British attack (the fourth) was
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P137"></a>137}</span>
+at once organised, and carried out by the 16th
+Manchesters, who at 6.40 P.M. got into the south
+end of the wood once more, finding a scattered
+fringe of their comrades who had held on there.
+Some South African Highlanders from the Ninth
+Division came up to help them during the night.
+This fine battalion lost many men, including their
+colonel, Jones, while supporting the attack from
+Bernafoy Wood.  In the morning the position was
+better, but a gap had been left between the
+Manchesters in the wood and the Scots in the trench,
+through which the enemy made their way.  After
+much confused fighting and very heavy shelling, the
+evening of July 10 found the wood once more with
+the Germans.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the early morning of July 11 the only remaining
+British Brigade, the 89th, took up the running.  At
+3.50 the 2nd Bedfords advanced to the attack.  Aided
+by the 19th King's Liverpools, the wood was once
+again carried and cleared of the enemy, but once
+again a terrific shell-fall weakened the troops to a
+point where they could not resist a strong attack.
+The Bedfords fought magnificently, and had lost
+50 per cent of their effectives before being compelled
+to withdraw their line.  The south-east corner
+of the wood was carried by the swarming enemy, but
+the south-west corner was still in the hands of our
+utterly weary and yet tenacious infantry.  At 9.30
+the same evening the 17th King's Liverpools pushed
+the Germans back once more, and consolidated the
+ground won at the southern end.  So the matter stood
+when the exhausted division was withdrawn for a
+short rest, while the Eighteenth Division took up
+their difficult task.  The Lancashire men had left it
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P138"></a>138}</span>
+unfinished, but their conduct had been heroic, and
+they had left their successors that one corner of
+consolidated ground which was needed as a jumping-off
+place for a successful attack.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was the 55th Brigade of the Eighteenth Division
+which first came up to take over the fighting line.
+A great responsibility was placed upon the general
+officer commanding, for the general attack upon the
+German line had been fixed for July 14, and it was
+impossible to proceed with it until the British held
+securely the covering line upon the flank.  Both
+Trones Wood and the Malzhorn Trench were therefore
+of much more than local importance, so that
+when Haig found himself at so late a date as July
+12 without command of this position, it was a
+very serious matter which might have far-reaching
+consequences.  The orders now were that within a
+day, at all costs, Trones Wood must be in British
+hands, and to the 55th, strengthened by two
+battalions of the 54th Brigade, was given the
+desperate task.  The situation was rendered more
+difficult by the urgency of the call, which gave the
+leaders no time in which to get acquainted with the
+ground.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The German defence had become a strong one.
+They had formed three strong points, marked S1, S2,
+and S3 in the Diagram, p. 141.  These, together with
+several trenches, dotted here and there, broke up
+every attack, and when once order was broken it was
+almost impossible in the tangle and obscurity for
+the troops to preserve any cohesion or direction.
+Those troops which penetrated between the strong
+points found themselves with the enemy in their rear
+and were in a disorganised condition, which was only
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P139"></a>139}</span>
+overcome by the individual bravery of the men, who
+refused to be appalled by the difficult situation in
+which they found themselves.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The attack of the 55th Brigade was made from
+the sunken road immediately south of the wood,
+and it ran at once into so heavy a barrage that it
+lost heavily before it had reached even the edge
+of its objective.  The 7th West Kents, who formed
+the attacking force, were not to be denied, however,
+and they pushed forward through a deepening gloom,
+for it was seven in the evening before the signal had
+been given.  Whilst the Kents fought up from the
+south, the Queen's Surreys attempted to win a lodgment
+on the north-west where the Longueval Alley led
+up from Bernafoy Wood.  They also suffered heavily
+from the barrage, and only a few brave men reached
+the top of the wood and held on there for some hours.
+The West Kents passed the line of strong points and
+then lost touch with each other, until they had
+resolved themselves into two or three separate groups
+holding together as best they could in the darkness
+with the enemy all round them, and with the
+communications cut behind them.  The telephone wires
+had all been broken by the barrage, and the anxious
+commanders could only know that the attack had
+failed, that no word came back from the front, and
+that a British battalion had been swallowed up by
+the wood.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The orders were peremptory, however, that the
+position should be taken, and General Maxse, without
+hesitation, threw a second of his brigades into the
+dangerous venture.  It was the 54th Brigade which
+moved to the attack.  It was just past midnight
+when the soldiers went forward.  The actual assault
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P140"></a>140}</span>
+was carried out from south to north, on the same
+line as the advance of the West Rents.  The storming
+battalions were the 6th Northamptons and 12th
+Middlesex, the former to advance direct through the
+wood and the latter to clean up behind them and to
+form a defensive flank on the right.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P141"></a>141}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="capcenter">
+<a id="img-141"></a>
+<br />
+<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-141.jpg" alt="TRONES WOOD Attack of 54th Brigade July 13th, 1916." />
+<br />
+TRONES WOOD <br />
+Attack of 54th Brigade <br />
+July 13th, 1916.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+The attack was a fine feat of arms.  Though
+heavily hit by the barrage, the Northamptons,
+closely followed by two companies of the Middlesex,
+pushed their way into the wood and onwards.  It
+was pitch dark, and the men were stumbling
+continually over the fallen trees and the
+numerous dead bodies which lay among the undergrowth.
+None the less, they kept touch, and plodded
+steadily onwards.  The gallant Clark was shot, but
+another officer led the Northamptons against the
+central strong point, for it had been wisely determined
+to leave no enemy in the rear.  Shortly after dawn
+on July 14 this point was carried, and the
+Northamptons were able to get forward.  By 8 o'clock
+the wood was full of scattered groups of British
+infantry, but the situation was so confused that
+the colonel went forward and rallied them into
+a single line which formed across the wood.  This line
+advanced until it came level with the strong point
+S3, which was captured.  A number of the enemy
+then streamed out of the eastern side of the wood,
+making for Guillemont.  These men came under
+British machine-gun fire and lost heavily.  The
+remaining strong point at S1 had been taken by a mixed
+group of Buffs and Middlesex about 9 A.M.  These
+three strong points having been occupied, the whole
+wood was now swept clear and was permanently
+occupied, though still subjected to very heavy shell
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P142"></a>142}</span>
+fire by the enemy.  Thus, the right flank of the
+army was covered, and the important operations of
+July 14 were enabled to go forward without danger
+of molestation.  Of the two gallant battalions who
+mainly achieved this important result, the losses of
+the Northamptons were about 300, and of the
+Middlesex about half that amount.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There was an epilogue which was as honourable
+to the troops concerned as the main attack had been.
+This concerns the fate of the men of West Kent,
+who, as will be remembered, had been cut off in
+the wood.  The main body of these, under the
+regimental adjutant, together with a few men of the
+Queen's, formed a small defensive position and held
+out in the hope of relief.  They were about 200 all
+told, and their position seemed so hopeless that every
+excuse might have been found for surrender.  They
+held out all night, however, and in the morning they
+were successfully relieved by the advance of the 54th
+Brigade.  It is true that no severe attack was made
+upon them during the night, but their undaunted
+front may have had something to do with their
+immunity.  Once, in the early dawn, a German
+officer actually came up to them under the
+impression that they were his own men&mdash;his last mistake
+upon earth.  It is notable that the badges of six
+different German regiments were found in the wood,
+which seemed to indicate that it was held by picked
+men or volunteers from many units.  "To the
+death!" was their password for the night, and to
+their honour be it said that they were mostly true to
+it.  So also were the British stormers, of whom Sir
+Henry Rawlinson said: "The night attack on and
+final capture of Trones Wood were feats of arms
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P143"></a>143}</span>
+which will rank high among the best achievements
+of the British Army."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+An account of this fortnight of desperate and
+almost continuous fighting is necessarily concerned
+chiefly with the deeds of the infantry, but it may
+fitly end with a word as to the grand work of the
+artillery, without whom in modern warfare all the
+valour and devotion of the foot-soldier are but a
+useless self-sacrifice.  Nothing could exceed the
+endurance and the technical efficiency of the gunners.
+No finer tribute could be paid them than that
+published at the time from one of their own officers,
+which speaks with heart and with knowledge: "They
+worked their guns with great accuracy and effect
+without a moment's cessation by day or by night for
+ten days, and I don't believe any artillery have ever
+had a higher or a longer test or have done it more
+splendidly.  And these gunners, when the order came
+that we must pull out and go with the infantry&mdash;do
+you think they were glad or willing?  Devil a
+bit!  They were sick as muck and only desired to
+stay on and continue killing Bosches.  And these
+men a year ago not even soldiers&mdash;much less gunners!
+Isn't it magnificent&mdash;and is it not enough to make the
+commander of such men uplifted?"  No cold and
+measured judgment of the historian can ever convey
+their greatness with the conviction produced by one
+who stood by them in the thick of the battle and
+rejoiced in the manhood of those whom he had
+himself trained and led.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p><a id="chap06"></a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P144"></a>144}</span></p>
+
+<h3>
+CHAPTER VI
+<br /><br />
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+The Breaking of the Second Line.  July 14, 1916
+</p>
+
+<p class="intro">
+The great night advance&mdash;The Leicester Brigade at
+Bazentin&mdash;Assault by Seventh Division&mdash;Success of the Third
+Division&mdash;Desperate fight of Ninth Division at
+Longueval&mdash;Operations of
+First Division on flank&mdash;Cavalry advance.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+With the fall of Mametz Wood, the impending
+capture of Trones Wood upon the right, and the close
+investment of Ovillers upon the left flank, the army
+could now face the second line of German defences.
+The ground in front of them sloped gently upwards
+until it reached the edge of a rolling plateau.  Upon
+this edge were three villages: Little Bazentin upon
+the left, Grand Bazentin upon the centre, and
+Longueval upon the right, all nestling among orchards
+and flanked by woods.  Through these lay the
+enemy's position, extending to Pozières upon the one
+side, and through Guillemont to the French junction
+on the other.  These two flanks were for the time to
+be disregarded, and it was determined to strike a
+heavy frontal blow which would, as it was hoped,
+crush in the whole middle of their line, leaving the
+sides to be dealt with at our leisure.  It was a most
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P145"></a>145}</span>
+formidable obstacle, for all three villages were as
+strong as the German sappers could make them, and
+were connected up with great lines of trenches, the
+whole front which was to be attacked covering about
+6000 yards.  A small wood screened Little Bazentin
+on the left, while behind Longueval, facing the right
+attack, was a larger plantation which, under the
+name of Delville Wood, has won for itself a terrible
+and glorious name in British military history.
+</p>
+
+<p class="capcenter">
+<a id="img-144"></a>
+<br />
+<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-144.jpg" alt="Map" />
+<br />
+The Second German Line, Bazentins, Delville Wood, etc.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The heavy guns had been advanced and the
+destruction of the German wire and trenches had
+begun upon July 11.  On the evening of the 13th
+the troops mustered for the battle.  They were all
+divisions which had already been heavily engaged,
+and some of them had endured losses in the last
+fortnight which might have seemed to be sufficient
+to put them out of action.  None the less they were
+not only eager for the fight, but they were, as it proved,
+capable of performing the most arduous and delicate
+of all operations, a night march in the face of the
+enemy.  More than a thousand yards of clear ground
+lay at many points between the British outposts
+and the German trenches.  To cover it in daylight
+meant, as they had so often learned, a heavy loss.
+It was ordered, therefore, that the troops should move
+up to within striking distance in the darkness, and
+dash home with the first glimmer of morning light.
+There was no confusion, no loss of touch as 25,000
+stormers took up their stations, and so little sound
+that the Germans seem to have been unaware of the
+great gathering in their immediate front.  It was
+ticklish work, lying for hours within point-blank
+range with no cover, but the men endured it as best
+they might.  With the first faint dawn the long line
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P146"></a>146}</span>
+sprang to their feet and with a cheer dashed forward
+at the German trenches, while the barrage rose and
+went roaring to eastward whence help might come to
+the hard-pressed German defence.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the extreme left of the section attacked was
+the First Regular Division, which took no part in
+the actual advance but held the flank in the
+neighbourhood of Contalmaison Villa, and at one period
+of the day sent forward its right-hand battalion,
+the 1st North Lancashires, to aid their neighbours
+in the fight.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The left of the line of actual attack was formed
+by the Twenty-first Division opposite to
+Bazentin-le-Petit.  This attack was carried out upon a
+single brigade front, and the Brigade in question
+was the 110th from the Thirty-seventh Division.
+This division made no appearance as a unit in
+the Battle of the Somme, but was several times
+engaged in its separate brigades.  On this occasion
+the 110th, consisting entirely of men of Leicester,
+took the place of the 63rd Brigade, much reduced
+by previous fighting.  Their immediate objective
+was the north end of Bazentin-le-Petit village and
+the whole of the wood of that name.  Led by the
+8th and 9th Leicesters the brigade showed, as has
+so often been shown before, that the British soldier
+never fights better than in his first engagement.
+Owing to the co-operation of the First Division and
+to a very effective smoke screen upon their left, their
+advance was not attended with heavy loss in the
+earlier stages, and they were able to flow over the
+open and into the trenches opposite, capturing
+some 500 prisoners.  They continued to fight their
+way with splendid steadiness through the wood
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P147"></a>147}</span>
+and held it for the remainder of the day.  Their
+greatest trouble came from a single German strong
+point which was 200 yards away from the
+corner of the wood, and, therefore, beyond their
+objective.  The machine-guns in this redoubt caused
+great loss whenever the edge of the wood was
+approached.  This strong point was destroyed next day,
+but meanwhile the position was consolidated and
+was firmly held for the next four days, after which
+the division was withdrawn for a rest.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the right of the Twenty-first Division lay the
+Seventh Division, to which had been assigned the
+assault of the Bazentin-le-Petit village.  The leading
+brigade was the 20th, and the storming battalions,
+the 8th Devons and 2nd Borders, crept up to
+their mark in the darkness of a very obscure
+night.  At 3.25 the barrage was lifted, and so
+instantaneous was the attack that there was hardly an
+interval between the last of the shrapnel and the
+first of the stormers.  The whole front line was
+captured in an instant, and the splendid infantry
+rushed on without a pause to the second line,
+springing into the trenches once more at the moment that
+the gunners raised their pieces.  In ten minutes
+both of these powerful lines had fallen.  Several
+dug-outs were found to be crammed with the enemy,
+including the colonel of the Lehr Battalion, and with
+the machine-guns which they had been unable to
+hoist into their places before the wave had broken
+over them.  When these were cleared, the advance
+was carried on into Bazentin-le-Grand Wood, which
+was soon occupied from end to end.  A line in front
+of the wood was taken up and consolidated.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the meanwhile the 22nd Brigade had taken
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P148"></a>148}</span>
+up the work, the 2nd Warwicks pushing forward
+and occupying, without any opposition from the
+disorganised enemy, the Circus Trench, while the 2nd
+Royal Irish advanced to the attack of the village
+of Bazentin-le-Petit.  Their leading company rushed
+the position with great dash, capturing the colonel
+commanding the garrison, and about 100 of his men.
+By 7.30 the place was in their hands, and the leading
+company had pushed into a trench on the far side of
+it, getting into touch with the Leicesters on their
+left.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Germans were by no means done with, however,
+and they were massing thickly to the north
+and north-east of the houses where some scattered
+orchards shrouded their numbers and their
+dispositions.  As the right of the brigade seemed to be
+in the air, a brave sergeant of the 2nd Warwicks
+set off to establish touch with the 1st Northumberland
+Fusiliers, who formed the left unit of the
+Third Division upon the right.  As he returned he
+spotted a German machine-gun in a cellar, entered
+it, killed the gunner, and captured four guns.  The
+wings of the two divisions were then able to co-operate
+and to clear the ground in front of them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Irishmen in the advance were still in the air,
+however, having got well ahead of the line, and they
+were now assailed by a furious fire from High Wood,
+followed by a determined infantry assault.  This
+enfilade fire caused heavy losses, and the few survivors
+of those who garrisoned the exposed trench were
+withdrawn to the shelter afforded by the outskirts
+of the village.  There and elsewhere the Lewis guns
+had proved invaluable, for every man of intelligence
+in the battalion had been trained to their use, and in
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P149"></a>149}</span>
+spite of gunners being knocked out, there was never
+any lack of men to take their place.  The German
+counter-attack pushed on, however, and entered the
+village, which was desperately defended not only by
+the scattered infantrymen who had been driven back
+to it, but also by the consolidating party from the
+54th Field Company Royal Engineers and half the
+24th Manchester Pioneer Battalion.  At this period
+of the action a crowd of men from various battalions
+had been driven down to the south end of the village
+in temporary disorganisation due to the rapidity of
+the advance and the sudden severity of the
+counter-attack.  These men were re-formed by the adjutant
+of the Irish, and were led by him against the
+advancing Germans, whom they drove back with
+the bayonet, finally establishing themselves on the
+northern edge of Bazentin-le-Petit Wood, which they
+held until relieved later by the 2nd Gordons of the
+20th Brigade.  At the same time the village itself was
+cleared by the 2nd Warwicks, while the 1st Welsh
+Fusiliers drove the Germans out of the line between
+the windmill and the cemetery.  The trench held
+originally by the Irish was retaken, and in it
+was found a British officer, who had been badly
+wounded and left for a time in the hands of the
+enemy.  He reported that they would not dress him,
+and prodded at him with their bayonets, but that
+an officer had stopped them from killing him.  No
+further attempt was made by the Germans to regain
+the position of Bazentin.  The losses, especially those
+of the Royal Irish, had been very heavy during the
+latter part of the engagement.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Much had been done, but the heavy task of
+the Seventh Division was not yet at an end.  At
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P150"></a>150}</span>
+3.20 P.M. the reserve Brigade (91st) were ordered to
+attack the formidable obstacle of High Wood, the
+100th Brigade of the Thirty-third Division (Landon)
+co-operating from the left side, while a handful of
+cavalry from the 7th Dragoon Guards and 20th Deccan
+Horse made an exhilarating, if premature, appearance
+upon the right flank, to which some allusion is made at
+the end of this chapter.  The front line of the 91st
+Brigade, consisting of the 2nd Queen's Surrey and 1st
+South Staffords, marched forward in the traditional
+style of the British line, taking no notice of an enfilade
+fire from the Switch Trench, and beating back a sortie
+from the wood.  At the same time the Brigadier of
+the 100th Brigade upon the left pushed forward his
+two leading battalions, the 1st Queen's Surrey and
+the 9th Highland Light Infantry, to seize and hold the
+road which led from High Wood to Bazentin-le-Petit.
+This was done in the late evening of July 14, while
+their comrades of the Seventh Division successfully
+reached the south end of the wood, taking three
+field-guns and 100 prisoners.  The Queen's and part of
+the Highland Light Infantry were firmly in possession
+of the connecting road, but the right flank of the
+Highlanders was held up owing to the fact that the
+north-west of the wood was still in the hands of the
+enemy and commanded their advance.  We will
+return to the situation which developed in this part
+of the field during the succeeding days after we have
+taken a fuller view of the doings upon the rest of the
+line during the battle of July 14.  It may be said
+here, however, that the facility with which a footing
+was established in High Wood proved to be as
+fallacious as the parallel case of Mametz Wood, and
+that many a weary week was to pass, and many a
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P151"></a>151}</span>
+brave man give his heart's blood, before it was finally
+to be included in the British lines.  For the present,
+it may be stated that the 91st Brigade could not hold
+the wood because it was enfiladed by the uncaptured
+Switch Trench, and that they therefore retired after
+dusk on the 15th.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To return to the story of the main battle.
+The centre of the attack was carried out by
+the Third Division, one of the most famous units
+in the Army, though it now only retained three
+of the veteran battalions which had held the line at
+Mons.  The task of the Third Division was to break
+the centre of the German line from Grand Bazentin
+upon the left where it touched the Seventh to
+Longueval on the right where it joined with the
+Ninth Division.  The 8th Brigade was on the
+right, the 9th upon the left, while the 76th
+was in support.  The attacking troops advanced
+in the darkness in fours, with strong patrols in
+front, and deployed within 200 yards of the German
+wire, capturing a German patrol which blundered into
+their ranks.  Upon the word being given at the first
+faint gleam of dawn, the leading battalions trudged
+forward in the slow, determined fashion which had
+been found to be more effective than the spectacular
+charge.  From the left the front line consisted of the
+12th West Yorkshires, the 13th King's Liverpools,
+the 7th Shropshires, and the 8th East Yorks.  The
+wire upon the right was found to be very partially
+cut, and the line of stormers was held up under a
+murderous fire.  There were gaps here and there,
+however, so that the colonel at the head of his
+Shropshires was able to force a passage at one point,
+while two gallant platoons of the East Yorkshires got
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P152"></a>152}</span>
+through at another, and pushed boldly on into the
+German line.  The main body, however, were forced
+for a time to take cover and keep up a fire upon the
+enemies' heads as they peered occasionally from over
+the parapets.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The left brigade had been more fortunate, finding
+the wire to be well cut.  The front trench was not
+strongly held, and was easily carried.  Both the
+King's Liverpools and the West Yorkshires got
+through, but as they had separated in the advance
+the greater part of the 1st Northumberland Fusiliers
+were thrust into the gap and restored the line.  These
+men, supported by Stokes guns, carried the village
+of Grand Bazentin by 6.30 A.M.  There was a deadly
+fire from the Grand Bazentin Wood upon the left,
+but as the Seventh Division advanced this died away,
+and the 12th West Yorkshires were able to get round
+to the north edge of the village, but could get no
+farther on account of the hold-up of the 8th
+Brigade upon the right.  There was a considerable
+delay, but at last by 1 P.M. a renewed bombardment
+had cut the wires, and strong bombing parties from
+the supporting battalions, the 2nd Royal Scots and
+1st Scots Fusiliers, worked down the front trench
+from each end.  The whole brigade was then able to
+advance across the German front line, which was at
+once consolidated.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The losses in this attack had been heavy, the 12th
+West Yorkshires alone having 15 officers, including
+their colonel, and 350 men out of action.  The results,
+however, were solid, as not only was the whole front
+of the German position crushed in, but 36 officers
+with 650 men were taken, together with four small
+howitzers, four field-guns, and fourteen machine-guns.
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P153"></a>153}</span>
+A counter-attack was inevitable and consolidation
+was pushed forward with furious energy.  "Every
+one was digging like madmen, all mixed up with the
+dead and the dying."  One counter-attack of some
+hundreds of brave men did charge towards them in
+the afternoon, but were scattered to the winds by a
+concentration of fire.  The position was permanently
+held.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Ninth Division was on the immediate
+right of the Third, facing Longueval, a straggling
+village which lay against the sinister background of
+Delville Wood.  The Division was, as will be
+remembered, the first of the new armies, and had
+distinguished itself greatly at Loos.  It had been
+entirely a Highland Division, but it had undergone a
+picturesque change by the substitution of the South
+African Infantry Brigade in place of the 28th.  The
+attack upon Longueval was carried out by the 26th
+Brigade, the 8th Black Watch and 10th Argyll and
+Sutherlands in the lead, with the 9th Seaforths in
+support and the 5th Camerons in reserve.  The
+advance was so fine as to rouse the deepest admiration
+from an experienced French officer who observed it.
+"Who would believe," he wrote, "that only a few
+months ago not one of these men knew anything of
+the soldier's profession?  They carried themselves
+as superbly as the Old Guard.  Once I was near
+enough to see their faces as they deployed for attack
+under the devastating fire rained on them....  Their
+teeth were set and their eyes were fixed firmly on the
+goal towards which they were advancing.  They were
+determined to achieve their object, and nothing but
+death would stop them....  Only those who were
+seriously hit thought of dropping out.  The others
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P154"></a>154}</span>
+pressed proudly on, regardless of the pain they
+suffered, and took part in the final charge in which
+the enemy were driven from the position."  Such a
+tribute from a soldier to soldiers is indeed a glory.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The village and the trenches around it were taken
+with a splendid rush, but the fighting among the
+houses was of a desperate character, "more so," says
+the same observer, "than any I had seen before."  The
+Germans refused to give or take quarter.  When
+the Highlanders broke the line they cut off those who
+held the trench.  The officer in command offered
+quarter.  The German commander refused.  "I and
+my men," he replied, "have orders to defend this
+ground with our lives.  German soldiers know how
+to obey orders.  We thank you for your offer, but we
+die where we stand."  When the Highlanders finally
+took possession of the trench, all but a mere handful
+of the defenders were dead.  It is episodes like this
+which would make us ready to take a German by the
+hand if it were not that his country's hand is red with
+innocent blood.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The defence was not everywhere equally desperate.
+As the Highlanders dashed past the trenches and into
+the scattered group of houses which marked the
+village, grey figures darted round corners, or rushed
+out with hands to heaven.  Many prisoners were
+taken.  Here and there groups of brave men sold
+their lives dearly, especially in some ruins at the east
+end of the village.  The blast of fire from this place
+was so hot that for a moment the advance was
+staggered; but a brave piper ran to the front, and
+the joyous lilt of "The Campbells are coming"
+sent the clansmen flooding onwards once more.
+Neither bullets, bombs, nor liquid fire could stop
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P155"></a>155}</span>
+them, and the last German was stabbed or shot amid
+the broken walls of his shattered fort.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The main part or west of Longueval was now in
+the hands of the Scotsmen, but the place is peculiarly
+shaped, tailing away in a thin line to the northwards,
+the scattered houses in that direction being
+commanded by the wood, which runs right up to them
+on their southern side.  It was clear that no complete
+conquest could be made until this wood also was
+in the hands of our stormers.  The operation was a
+difficult one, and far too large to be carried out upon
+that day.  The South African Brigade was therefore
+ordered up from Montauban, with instructions that
+they should attack Delville Wood at dawn of July 15.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Here we may break off the narrative of the battle
+of July 14, though it is difficult to do so, since these
+operations shade imperceptibly into each other, and
+the fighting never really came to an end.  The main
+results, however, had become clear by that evening,
+and they amounted to a very great success, unalloyed
+by any failure.  Every division had carried its point
+and added to its glories.  Four villages, three woods,
+6000 yards of front, and 2000 of depth had been
+added to our lines.  Two thousand more prisoners
+had been taken, bringing the total for the fortnight
+to the substantial figure of 10,000; while twelve heavy
+and forty-two field-guns had also been taken during
+that time.  Above all, the British had got their grip
+firmly upon the edge of the plateau, though many a
+weary day of fighting was to follow before the
+tenacious enemy had been driven from it, and the
+whole position was in British hands.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The reader is to understand clearly that though
+the operations of July 14 crushed in the face of the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P156"></a>156}</span>
+German line along the whole central position, the
+flanks both to the right and to the left were still
+inviolate.  Upon the German right the whole range
+of powerful fortifications which extended through
+Pozières to Thiepval were untouched, while upon the
+German left the equally formidable line stretching
+from Longueval through Waterlot Farm and Guillemont
+to Falfemont Farm was also intact.  It is
+correct, then, to say that the German second line had
+been stormed and penetrated, but it had not been
+captured throughout its full extent, and the greater
+part of the autumn campaign was to pass before this
+had been accomplished.  The reduction of the German
+right wing will be recounted in the chapters which
+deal with Gough's army, to whom the task was
+assigned.  That of the left wing is covered by the
+narrative, which gives some details of the numerous,
+bloody, and protracted attacks which ended in the
+capture of Guillemont.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile a word may be said as to the operations
+of the First Division, who had been upon the
+left of the attack upon July 14, and had covered that
+flank without attempting an advance.  Upon the
+night of July 15 they moved forward to attack the
+continuation of the German second line system
+between the captured Bazentin and the uncaptured
+Pozières.  The attack was made by the 3rd Brigade,
+the 2nd Munsters being to the left, the 1st South
+Wales Borderers to the right, and the 1st Gloucesters
+in the centre with the 2nd Welsh in reserve.  No
+less than 1200 yards of No Man's Land had to be
+crossed, but this was the more easy since both Pearl
+Wood and Contalmaison Villa were occupied.  A
+daring daylight reconnaissance by the colonel of the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P157"></a>157}</span>
+Gloucesters greatly helped the advance.  The men
+were marched silently in platoons along the road,
+and then re-formed into line on the far side of the
+enemy's barrage, a manoeuvre which in the darkness
+called for great steadiness and discipline, the line
+being dressed on a shaded lamp in the wood.  On
+the word the eager troops pushed on with such speed
+that they crossed the German front trenches and were
+into the second before their own barrage had properly
+lifted.  Pushing forward again, they were soon some
+hundreds of yards past their objective, where they
+halted close to the formidable Switch Line, having
+occupied all of the second line system in their front.
+Their formation was now so dense, and they were so
+close to the German machine-guns, that there was a
+possibility of disaster, which was increased by the
+Welsh Borderers losing direction and charging
+towards a body of men whom they dimly saw in
+front of them, who proved to be the Gloucesters.
+Fine restraint upon both sides prevented a
+catastrophe.  Officers and men were now keen to push
+on and to attack the Switch Line, from which flares
+were rising; but prudence forbade the opening up
+of an entirely new objective, and the men were drawn
+back to the captured German trenches.  So ended a
+successful and almost bloodless operation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It has been stated in the account of the action of
+July 14 that at one stage of the battle the cavalry
+advanced, but it was impossible to stop the description
+of a large movement to follow the fortunes of this
+small tactical stroke.  None the less the matter was
+important, as being the first blood lost or drawn by
+cavalry, as cavalry, since the early months of the War.
+The idea was, that by a sudden move forward a small
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P158"></a>158}</span>
+body of horse might establish itself in advance of the
+general line, and occupy a position which it could hold
+until the slower infantry came forward to take it
+over.  This was actually done, and the movement
+may therefore be claimed as a successful experiment.
+The two detachments from the Deccan Horse and
+7th Dragoon Guards galloped three miles from the
+rear, so as to be under observation as short a time
+as possible, passed swiftly through the lines of the
+astonished and jubilant infantry, and riding right into
+the enemy's position upon our right centre, established
+themselves in a strong point, and, aided by a
+friendly monoplane, beat off the German attacks.
+The advance was at six in the evening, and it was
+able to hold on until nightfall and to hand over in
+the early morning to the infantry.  Some 40 Germans
+fell to lance or sabre, and a few were taken prisoners
+by the daring cavaliers, who suffered somewhat
+heavily, as they might well expect to do in so novel
+and desperate a venture.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p><a id="chap07"></a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P159"></a>159}</span></p>
+
+<h3>
+CHAPTER VII
+<br /><br />
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+July 14 to July 31
+</p>
+
+<p class="intro">
+Gradual advance of First Division&mdash;Hard fighting of Thirty-third
+Division at High Wood&mdash;The South Africans in Delville Wood&mdash;The
+great German counter-attack&mdash;Splendid work of 26th
+Brigade&mdash;Capture of Delville Wood by 99th Brigade&mdash;Indecisive
+fighting on the Guillemont front.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+The central fact of the situation after the battle of
+Bazentin was that although the second German line
+had been broken, the gap made was little more than
+three miles wide, and must be greatly extended upon
+either flank before a general advance upon the third
+line could take place.  This meant that the left wing
+must push out in the Pozières direction, and that the
+right wing must get Ginchy and Guillemont.  For
+the time the central British position was not an
+advantageous one, as it formed a long salient bending
+from High Wood through Delville Wood to Guillemont,
+so placed that it was open to direct observation
+all along, and exposed to converging fire which could
+be directed with all the more accuracy as it was upon
+points so well known to the Germans, into which
+the guns, communications, and reserves were now
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P160"></a>160}</span>
+crammed.  Sir Douglas Haig's great difficulties were
+increased by a long spell of wet and cloudy weather,
+which neutralised his advantages in the air.
+Everything was against the British General except the
+excellence of his artillery and the spirit of his troops.
+The French upon the right, whose tally of guns and
+prisoners were up to date higher than those of the
+British, had an equally hard front to attack, including
+the four strong villages of Maurepas, Le Forest,
+Raucourt, and Fregicourt, with many woods and
+systems of trenches.  Their whole work in the battle
+had been worthy of their military history, and could
+not be surpassed, either in the dispositions of General
+Foch or in the valour of his men.  Neither their
+infantry nor ours had ever relinquished one square
+yard that they had wrenched from the tight grip of
+the invader.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In each area of the battle of July 14 some pressing
+task was left to be accomplished, and the fighting
+was very severe at certain points for some days later.
+We shall first turn to the north of the line, where new
+divisions had come into action.  One of these already
+mentioned was the First Division.  It was indeed
+pleasing and reassuring to observe how many of the
+new divisional generals were men whose names recalled
+good service as regimental officers.  Many who now
+wore the crossed swords upon their shoulders had
+been battalion commanders in 1914.  It is indeed
+well with an army when neither seniority nor interest
+but good hard service upon the field of battle puts
+officers in charge of the lives of men.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The First Division had taken the place of the
+Twenty-third after the fall of Contalmaison, and had
+pushed its way up until it was level with the line of
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P161"></a>161}</span>
+their comrades on the right, whence in the manner
+described at the end of the last chapter they drove
+their line forward upon July 15.  On the 20th
+they received a rebuff, however, the 1st Northants
+being held up by a very formidable German trench
+called Munster Alley.  The ground already gained
+was consolidated, however, and the division lay with
+its left touching the Australians on the right of
+Gough's army, and its right connected with the
+Thirty-third Division, whose doings at High Wood
+will presently be considered.  For the purpose of
+continuity of narrative it will be best to continue
+with a short summary of the doings of the First
+Division upon the left wing of the advance, their
+general task being to hold that flank against German
+counter-attacks, and to push forward wherever
+possible.  It was continuous hard work which, like
+so many of these operations, could gain little credit,
+since there was no fixed point but only a maze of
+trenches in front of them.  The storming of a nameless
+ditch may well call for as high military virtue as
+the taking of a historic village, and yet it seems a
+slighter thing in the lines of a bulletin.  Munster
+Alley and the great Switch Line faced the First
+Division, two most formidable obstacles.  On July 23,
+in the early morning, the 2nd Brigade of the First
+Division attacked the Switch Line, in conjunction
+with the Australians, on the left, and the Nineteenth
+Division to the right.  The attack was held
+up, Colonel Bircham of the 2nd Rifles and many officers
+and men being killed.  Colonel Bircham was a particularly
+gallant officer, who exposed himself fearlessly upon
+every occasion, and it is on record that when remonstrated
+with by his adjutant for his reckless disregard
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P162"></a>162}</span>
+of danger, he answered, "You know as well as
+I do where a colonel of the 60th ought to be."  Such
+lives are an example and such deaths an inspiration.
+Altogether the 2nd Rifles lost about 250 men
+in this night attack, and the other first line
+battalions&mdash;the 2nd Sussex, 10th Gloucesters, and 1st Cameron
+Highlanders&mdash;were all hard hit.  The failure seems
+to have been partly due to misdirection in the dark.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Upon July 25 the 1st South Wales Borderers of
+the 3rd Brigade attacked Munster Alley, but were
+again unable to get forward on account of the
+machine-guns.  Nothing daunted, the 2nd Welsh
+had another fling at Munster Alley next day, and
+actually took it, but had not weight enough to
+consolidate and to hold it.  On the other hand, the British
+line was held inviolate, and a strong German attack
+upon July 25 towards Pozières was repulsed with
+loss.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Twenty-third Division relieved the First
+and were in turn relieved by the Fifteenth in this
+sector, which faced the Switch Trench and
+Martinpuich.  The Switch Line was exposed to a very
+heavy fire for several days, at the end of which it was
+attacked by this famous division, the same in number
+at least as that which had left nearly two-thirds of
+its rank and file upon the bloody slopes of Hill 70.
+On August 12 the advance was carried out with
+great dash: the 45th Brigade upon the left and
+the 46th upon the right.  The attack was only
+partially successful, and the 46th Brigade was held
+up through the fact that the Germans had themselves
+been in the act of attack, so that the trenches
+were very strongly held.  The operations continued,
+however, and the initial gains were enlarged, until
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P163"></a>163}</span>
+upon August 20 the whole Switch Line fell and was
+permanently consolidated.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Leaving this left sector we must turn to the
+Thirty-third Division on its right, two battalions of
+which had got forward on July 15, as far as the line
+of the road connecting High Wood with Little
+Bazentin.  The right flank of the Highland Light
+Infantry had been held up by fire from this wood,
+and in the evening the 91st Brigade of the Seventh
+Division had evacuated the southern edge of the
+wood in order to allow of bombardment.  That was
+the position on the night of July 15.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The line of the road was held all night, and early
+next morning the advance was ordered upon the
+German Switch Trench in front.  It was hoped that
+the wood had been cleared during the night, but in
+the morning the Highlanders found themselves still
+galled by the continual fire upon their right.  It was
+clear that the attack could not go forward with such
+an impediment upon the flank&mdash;one more instance
+of a brigade being held up by a handful of concealed
+men.  It was hoped that the enemy had been silenced,
+and the attack was made, but no sooner had it
+developed than a murderous fire burst from the wood,
+making it impossible for the Highlanders to get along
+farther than the road.  The 1st Queen's, however,
+being farther from the wood were able to get on to the
+Switch Trench, but found it heavily wired and stiff
+with men.  Such a battalion does not take "No"
+easily, and their colonel, with a large proportion of
+their officers and men, was stretched in front of the
+fatal wire before it became evident that further
+perseverance would mean destruction.  The 16th
+Rifles and half the 2nd Worcesters, the remaining
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P164"></a>164}</span>
+battalions of the 100th Brigade, were brought up,
+but no further advance was possible until the wire
+could be cut by the guns.  About four in the afternoon
+of July 16 the remains of the brigade were back
+in the road from which they had started.  The attack
+had failed, partly from the enfilade fire of High Wood,
+partly from the impassable wire.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The 98th Brigade was on the left of the 100th,
+filling up the gap to Bazentin village.  They had
+extended their right in order to help their
+sorely-tried comrades, and they had themselves advanced
+upon the line of the Switch Trench&mdash;the 1st Middlesex
+leading, with the 4th Suffolk in support.  The
+2nd Argyll and Sutherlands with the 4th King's
+Liverpool were in reserve.  They got well forward,
+but ceased their advance when it was found that no
+progress could be made upon the right.  Thus, for
+the time, the division was brought to a stand.
+That night the 19th Brigade relieved the 100th,
+which had been very hard hit in this action.  After
+the change the 1st Scottish Rifles and the 20th Royal
+Fusiliers formed the front line of the 19th Brigade,
+the Rifles in touch with the 22nd Brigade of the 7th
+upon their right, while the Fusiliers were in touch
+with the 98th Brigade upon their left.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The general situation did not admit of an immediate
+attack, and the Germans took advantage of the
+pause to strengthen and slightly to advance their
+position.  On July 17 the hard-worked Twenty-first
+Division upon the left was drawn out, and both
+the Thirty-third and Seventh had to extend their
+fronts.  On the other hand, the First Division came
+in upon the left and occupied a portion of the
+Bazentin-le-Petit Wood.  The position at that time was
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P165"></a>165}</span>
+roughly that the Seventh Division covered the front
+from High Wood to Bazentin Grand, the Thirty-third
+Division from Bazentin Grand to Bazentin Petit,
+and the First was from their left to Pozières.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Upon July 18 there was a very heavy German
+attack upon Delville Wood, which is treated
+elsewhere.  This was accompanied by a severe barrage
+fire upon the Bazentins and upon Mametz Wood,
+which continued all day.  That night the Nineteenth
+Division came into line, taking over Bazentin Petit,
+both village and wood.  The Thirty-third Division
+moved to the right and took some pressure off the
+Seventh, which had done such long and arduous
+service.  These incessant changes may seem wearisome
+to the reader, but without a careful record of
+them the operations would become chaos to any one
+who endeavoured to follow them in detail.  It is to
+be emphasised that though divisions continually
+changed, the corps to which they temporarily
+belonged did not change, or only at long intervals, so
+that when you are within its area you can always rely
+upon it that in this particular case Horne of the
+Fifteenth Corps is the actual brain which has the
+immediate control of the battle.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As the pressure upon Congreve's Thirteenth Corps
+on the right at Delville Wood and elsewhere was
+considerable, it was now deemed advisable to attack
+strongly by the Fifteenth Corps.  The units for
+attack were the Thirty-third Division upon the
+left, and the depleted Seventh upon their right.
+There was to be no attack upon the left of the
+Thirty-third Division, but the 56th Brigade of the
+Nineteenth Division was handed over to the 33rd
+Division to strengthen the force.  The objectives to
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P166"></a>166}</span>
+be attacked were once again High Wood (Bois des
+Foureaux), Switch Trench, and the connecting trench
+between them.  The Seventh Division attacked east
+of the wood on the line between it and Delville Wood.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The assault upon High Wood was assigned to the
+19th Brigade.  The 2nd Worcesters of the 98th
+Brigade were pushed out so as to cover the left flank
+of the assaulting column.  At 2 A.M. of July 20 the
+two advance battalions of stormers, the 5th Scottish
+Rifles on the right, the 1st Scottish Rifles upon the
+left, were formed up in open ground outside the
+British wire.  Preceded by scouts, they went silently
+forward through the gloom until they approached
+the south-western edge of the wood.  A terrific
+bombardment was going on, and even those stout
+northern hearts might have quailed at the unknown
+dangers of that darksome wood, lit from moment
+to moment by the red glare of the shells.  As the
+barrage lifted, the wave of infantry rushed forward,
+the 5th Scottish Rifles making for the eastern edge,
+while the 1st Regular Battalion pushed on in the
+endeavour to win through and secure the northern
+edge.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was speedily found that the tenacious enemy
+had by no means loosened his grip of the wood.  A
+portion of the Switch Trench runs through it, and this
+was strongly held, a line of spirting flames amid the
+shadow of the shattered trees.  Machine-guns and
+wire were everywhere.  None the less, the dour Scots
+stuck to their point, though the wood was littered
+with their dead.  Both to east and to north they
+slowly pushed their way onwards to their objectives.
+It was a contest of iron wills, and every yard won was
+paid for in blood.  By 9 o'clock the whole of the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P167"></a>167}</span>
+southern half of the wood had been cleared, the leading
+troops being helped by the 20th Fusiliers, who
+followed behind them, clearing up the lurking Germans.
+At that hour the northern end of the wood was still
+strongly held by the enemy, while the stormers had
+become much disorganised through loss of officers
+and through the utter confusion and disintegration
+which a night attack through a wood must necessarily
+entail.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The remaining battalion of the 19th Brigade, the 2nd
+Welsh Fusiliers, was, at this critical moment, thrown
+into the fight.  A heavy barrage was falling, and
+considerable losses were met with before the wood
+was entered; but the Fusiliers went forward with
+splendid steadiness and dash, their colonel taking
+entire local command.  In the early afternoon, having
+got abreast of the exhausted Scottish Rifles, who had
+been under the hottest fire for nearly twelve hours,
+the Welsh attacked the north end of the wood, their
+advance being preceded by a continuous fire from our
+Stokes mortars, that portable heavy artillery which
+has served us so well.  The enemy was still unabashed,
+but the advance was irresistible, and by 7 P.M. the
+British were for a time in possession of the whole of
+the blood-sodden plantation.  It was a splendid
+passage of arms, in which every devilry which an
+obstinate and ingenious defence could command
+was overcome by the inexorable British infantry.
+The grim pertinacity of the Scots who stood that long
+night of terror, and the dash of the Welsh who carried
+on the wave when it was at the ebb, were equally
+fine; and solid, too, was the work of the public school
+lads of the 20th Fusiliers, who gleaned behind the
+line.  So terrific was the shell-fire of the disappointed
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P168"></a>168}</span>
+Germans upon the north end of the wood, that it was
+impossible to hold it; but the southern part was
+consolidated by the 18th Middlesex Pioneer Battalion
+and by the 11th Company Royal Engineers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whilst the Thirty-third Division stormed High
+Wood, their neighbours upon the right, the Seventh
+Division, depleted by heavy losses but still full of
+spirit, had been given the arduous and important
+task of capturing the roads running south-west from
+High Wood to Longueval.  The assaulting battalions,
+the 2nd Gordons on the left and the 8th Devons on
+the right, Aberdeen and Plymouth in one battle line,
+advanced and took their first objective through a
+heavy barrage.  Advancing farther, they attempted
+to dig in, but they had got ahead of the attack upon
+the left, and all the machine-guns both of Switch
+Trench and of High Wood were available to take
+them in flank and rear.  It was a deadly business&mdash;so
+deadly that out of the two leading platoons of
+Gordons only one wounded officer and five men
+ever got back.  Finally, the whole line had to crawl
+back in small groups to the first objective, which was
+being consolidated.  That evening, the Fifth Division
+took over the lines of the Seventh, who were at
+last drawn out for a rest.  The relief was marked
+by one serious mishap, as Colonel Gordon, commanding
+a battalion of his clansmen, was killed by
+a German shell.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It has been stated that the 56th Brigade of the
+Nineteenth Division had been placed under the
+orders of the Thirty-third Division during these
+operations.  Its role was to cover the left flank
+of the attack and to keep the Germans busy in
+the Switch Line position.  With this object the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P169"></a>169}</span>
+56th Brigade, with the 57th Brigade upon its left,
+advanced its front line upon the night of July 22,
+a movement in which the 7th South Lancashires upon
+the right of the 56th Brigade were in close touch with
+the 2nd Worcesters upon the left of the 100th Brigade.
+Going forward in the darkness with German trenches
+in front of them and a raking fire from High Wood
+beating upon their flank the Lancashire men lost
+heavily and were unable to gain a footing in the
+enemy's position.  This brigade had already suffered
+heavily from shell-fire in its advance to the front
+trenches.  Two deaths which occurred during this
+short episode may be cited as examples of the stuff
+which went to the building up of Britain's new armies.
+Under the shell-fire fell brave old Lieutenant Webber,
+a subaltern in the field, a Master of Foxhounds at
+home, father of another dead subaltern, and 64 years
+old.  In the night operation, gallantly leading his
+company, and showing his comrades in the dark
+how to keep direction by astronomy, fell Captain
+Gerard Garvin, student, poet, essayist, and soldier,
+just 20 years of age.  A book might be written
+which would be a national inspiration dealing with
+the lives of those glorious youths who united all
+that is beautiful in the mind with all that is virile
+in the body, giving it unreservedly in their country's
+cause.  They are lives which are more reminiscent
+of Sydney, Spencer, and the finer of the Elizabethans
+than anything we could have hoped to evolve in these
+later days.  Raymond Asquith, Rupert Brooke,
+Charles Lister, Gerard Garvin, Julian Grenfell, Donald
+Hankey, Francis Ledwidge, Neil Primrose, these are
+some at least of this finest flower of British culture
+and valour, men who sacrificed to the need of the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P170"></a>170}</span>
+present their inheritance as the natural leaders of
+the future.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Though the Nineteenth Division was able to make
+no progress upon the night of July 22, upon the
+next night one of their brigades, the 58th, reinforced
+by two other battalions, made a strong movement
+forward, capturing the strong point upon the edge of
+the wood which had wrought the mischief the night
+before, and also through the fine work of the 10th
+Warwicks and 7th King's Own carrying the whole
+British line permanently forward upon the right,
+though they could make no headway upon the left.
+Some conception of the services of the Nineteenth
+Division may be gathered from the fact that during
+the month of July it had lost 6500 casualties.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Thirty-third Division was given a well-deserved
+rest after their fine exploit in High Wood.
+During seven days' fighting it had lost heavily in
+officers and men.  Of individual battalions the heaviest
+sufferers had been the two Scottish Rifle battalions,
+the 20th Royal Fusiliers, the 1st Queen's Surrey,
+9th Highland Light Infantry, and very specially the
+16th King's Royal Rifles.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whilst this very severe fighting had been going
+on upon the left centre of the British advance, an
+even more arduous struggle had engaged our troops
+upon the right, where the Germans had a considerable
+advantage, since the whole of Delville Wood and
+Longueval formed the apex of a salient which jutted
+out into their position, and was open to a converging
+artillery fire from several directions.  This terrible
+fight, which reduced the Ninth Scottish Division to
+about the strength of a brigade, and which caused
+heavy losses also to the Third Division, who struck
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P171"></a>171}</span>
+in from the left flank in order to help their comrades,
+was carried on from the time when the Highland
+Brigade captured the greater part of the village of
+Longueval, as already described in the general attack
+upon July 14.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the morning after the village was taken, the
+South African Brigade had been ordered to attack
+Delville Wood.  This fine brigade, under a South
+African veteran, was composed of four battalions,
+the first representing the Cape Colony, the second
+Natal and the Orange River, the third the Transvaal,
+and the fourth the South African Scotsmen.  If
+South Africa could only give battalions where others
+gave brigades or divisions, it is to be remembered
+that she had campaigns upon her own frontiers
+in which her manhood was deeply engaged.  The
+European contingent was mostly British, but it
+contained an appreciable proportion of Boers, who
+fought with all the stubborn gallantry which we have
+good reason to associate with the name.  Apart from
+the infantry, it should be mentioned that South
+Africa had sent six heavy batteries, a fine hospital,
+and many labour detachments and special services,
+including a signalling company which had the reputation
+of being the very best in the army, every man
+having been a civilian expert.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The South Africans advanced at dawn, and their
+broad line of skirmishers pushed its way rapidly
+through the wood, sweeping all opposition before it.
+By noon they occupied the whole tract with the
+exception of the north-west corner.  This was the
+corner which abutted upon the houses north of
+Longueval, and the murderous machine-guns in
+these buildings held the Africans off.  By night, the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P172"></a>172}</span>
+whole perimeter of the wood had been occupied, and
+the brigade was stretched round the edges of the
+trees and undergrowth.  Already they were suffering
+heavily, not only from the Longueval guns upon their
+left, but from the heavy German artillery which had
+their range to a nicety and against which there was no
+defence.  With patient valour they held their line,
+and endured the long horror of the shell-fall during
+the night.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whilst the South Africans were occupying Delville
+Wood, the 27th Brigade had a task which was as
+arduous, and met in as heroic a mood, as that of
+their comrades on the day before.  Their attack
+was upon the orchards and houses to the north and
+east of Longueval, which had been organised into
+formidable strong points and garrisoned by desperate
+men.  These strong points were especially dangerous
+on account of the support which they could give to a
+counter-attack, and it was thus that they did us great
+mischief.  The Scottish Borderers, Scots Fusiliers,
+and Royal Scots worked slowly forward during the
+day, at considerable cost to themselves.  Every
+house was a fortress mutually supporting every other
+one, and each had to be taken by assault.  "I saw
+one party of half-a-dozen Royal Scots rush headlong
+into a house with a yell, though there were Germans
+at every window.  Three minutes later one of the
+six came out again, but no more shots ever came from
+that house."  Such episodes, with ever-varying
+results, made up that long day of desperate fighting,
+which was rendered more difficult by the heavy
+German bombardment.  The enemy appeared to be
+resigned to the loss of the Bazentins, but all their
+energy and guns were concentrated upon the reconquest
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P173"></a>173}</span>
+of Longueval and Delville Wood.  Through the
+whole of the 16th the shelling was terribly severe,
+the missiles pitching from three separate directions
+into the projecting salient.  Furious assaults and
+heavy shell-falls alternated for several days, while
+clouds of bombers faced each other in a deadly
+and never-ending pelting match.  It was observed
+as typical of the methods of each nation that while
+the Germans all threw together with mechanical and
+effective precision, the British opened out and fought
+as each man judged best.  This fighting in the wood
+was very desperate and swayed back and forwards.
+"It was desperate hand-to-hand work.  The enemy
+had no thought of giving in.  Each man took advantage
+of the protection offered by the trees, and fought
+until he was knocked out.  The wood seemed swarming
+with demons, who fought us tooth and nail."  The
+British and Africans were driven deeper into the
+wood.  Then again they would win their way forwards
+until they could see the open country through the
+broken trunks of the lacerated trees.  Then the fulness
+of their tide would be reached, no fresh wave would
+come to carry them forwards, and slowly the ebb drew
+them back once more into the village and the forest.
+In this mixed fighting the Transvaal battalion took
+3 officers and 130 men prisoners, but their losses, and
+those of the other African units, were very heavy.
+The senior officer in the firing line behaved with
+great gallantry, rallying his ever-dwindling forces
+again and again.  A joint attack on the evening of
+July 16 by the Cape men, the South African Scots,
+and the 11th Royal Scots upon the north-west of
+the wood and the north of the village was held up
+by wire and machine-guns, but the German
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P174"></a>174}</span>
+counter-attacks had no better fate.  During the whole of the
+17th the situation remained unchanged, but the
+strain upon the men was very severe, and they were
+faced by fresh divisions coming up from Bapaume.
+The Brigadier himself made his way into the wood,
+and reported to the Divisional Commander the
+extremely critical state of affairs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the morning of July 18 the Third Division
+were able to give some very valuable help to the
+hard-pressed Ninth.  At the break of day the 1st
+Gordons, supported by the 8th King's Liverpools,
+both from the 76th Brigade, made a sudden and
+furious attack upon those German strong points to
+the north of the village which were an ever-present
+source of loss and of danger.  "Now and again," says
+a remarkable anonymous account of the incident,
+"during a lull in the roar of battle, you could hear a
+strong Northern voice call out: 'On, Gor-r-r-dons,
+on!' thrilling out the r's as only Scotsmen can.  The
+men seldom answered save by increasing their speed
+towards the goal.  Occasionally some of them called
+out the battle-cry heard so often from the throats of
+the Gordons: 'Scotland for ever!' ... They were
+out of sight over the parapet for a long time, but we
+could hear at intervals that cry of 'On, Gor-r-r-dons,
+on!' varied with yells of 'Scotland for ever!' and
+the strains of the pipes.  Then we saw Highlanders
+reappear over the parapet.  With them were groups
+of German prisoners."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The assault won a great deal of ground down the
+north-west edge of Delville Wood and in the north
+of the village; but there were heavy losses, and two
+of the strong points were still intact.  All day the
+bombardment was continuous and deadly, until
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P175"></a>175}</span>
+4.30 in the afternoon, when a great German infantry
+attack came sweeping from the east, driving down
+through the wood and pushing before it with an
+irresistible momentum the scattered bodies of Scottish
+and African infantry, worn out by losses and fatigue.
+For a time it submerged both wood and village, and
+the foremost grey waves emerged even to the west of
+the village, where they were beaten down by the Lewis
+guns of the defenders.  The southern edge of the wood
+was still held by the British, however, and here the
+gallant 26th Brigade threw itself desperately upon
+the victorious enemy, and stormed forward with all
+the impetuosity of their original attack.  The Germans
+were first checked and then thrown back, and the
+south end of the wood remained in British hands.  A
+finer or more successful local counter-attack has
+seldom been delivered, and it was by a brigade which
+had already endured losses which made it more fit
+for a rest-camp than for a battle line.  After this
+second exploit the four splendid battalions were but
+remnants, the Black Watch having lost very heavily,
+while the Argylls, the Seaforths, and the Camerons
+were in no better case.  Truly it can never be said
+that the grand records of the historic regular
+regiments have had anything but renewed lustre from the
+deeds of those civilian soldiers who, for a time, were
+privileged to bear their names.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whilst this severe battle had been in progress, the
+losses of the South Africans in Delville Wood had been
+terrible, and they had fought with the energy of
+desperate men for every yard of ground.  Stands
+were made in the successive rides of the wood by the
+colonel and his men.  During the whole of the 19th
+these fine soldiers held on against heavy pressure.
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P176"></a>176}</span>
+The colonel was the only officer of his regiment to
+return.  Even the Newfoundlanders had hardly a
+more bloody baptism of fire than the South Africans,
+or emerged from it with more glory.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The situation now was that the south of the wood
+was held by the British, but the north, including the
+greater part of the village, was still held by the
+Germans.  The worn-out Ninth Division, still full of spirit,
+but lacking sadly in numbers, was brought out of line
+upon July 19, and the Eighteenth English Division,
+fresh from its own great ordeal in Trones Wood,
+came forward to take its place.  At seven in the
+morning of the 19th the 53rd Brigade attacked
+from the south, the situation being so pressing
+that there was no time for artillery preparation.
+The infantry went forward without it, and no
+higher ordeal could be demanded of them.  It was
+evident that there was great danger of the strong
+German column breaking through to westward and
+so outflanking the whole British line.  Only a British
+attack from north and from south could prevent its
+progress, so that the Third Division were called upon
+for the one, and the Eighteenth for the other.  This
+wood of infamous memory is cut in two by one broad
+ride, named Princes Street, dividing it into two halves,
+north and south (<i>vide</i> p. 181).  The southern half was
+now attacked by the 8th Norfolks, who worked their
+way steadily forward in a long fringe of bombers and
+riflemen.  The Brigade-Major, Markes, and many
+officers and men fell in the advance.  After a pause,
+with the help of their Lewis guns, the Norfolks pushed
+forward again, and by 2 o'clock had made their way
+up to Princes Street along most of the line, pushing
+the enemy down into the south-eastern corner.  The
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P177"></a>177}</span>
+remaining battalions of the brigade, the 10th Essex
+on the right and the 6th Berkshires on the left, tried
+to fight their way through the northern portion, while
+the 8th Suffolk attacked the village.  Half of the
+village up to the cross-roads in the centre was taken
+by the Suffolk, but their comrades on the right were
+held up by the heavy machine-gun fire, and at 5 P.M. were
+compelled to dig themselves in.  They maintained
+their new positions, under a terrific shell-fire,
+for three weary and tragic days, at the end of which
+they were relieved by the 4th Royal Fusiliers, a
+veteran battalion which had fired some of the first
+shots of the War.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These Fusiliers belonged to the Third Division
+which had, as already said, been attacking from the
+north side of the wood, while the Eighteenth were on
+the south side.  On July 19 this attack had been
+developed by the 2nd Suffolk and the 10th Welsh
+Fusiliers, the two remaining battalions of the 76th
+Brigade.  The advance was made at early dawn,
+and the Welsh Fusiliers were at once attacked by
+German infantry, whom they repulsed.  The attack
+was unfortunate from the start, and half of the
+Suffolks who penetrated the village were never able
+to extricate themselves again.  The Welsh Fusiliers
+carried on, but its wing was now in the air, and the
+machine-guns were very deadly.  The advance was
+held up and had to be withdrawn.  In this affair fell
+one of the most promising of the younger officers of
+the British army, a man who would have attained
+the very highest had he lived, Brigade-Major Congreve,
+of the 76th Brigade, whose father commanded the
+adjacent Thirteenth Corps.  His death arose from
+one of his many acts of rash and yet purposeful
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P178"></a>178}</span>
+valour, for he pushed forward alone to find out what
+had become of the missing Suffolks, and so met his
+end from some lurking sniper.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On July 20 matters had come to a temporary
+equilibrium in Delville Wood, where amid the litter
+of corpses which were strewn from end to end of that
+dreadful grove, lines of British and German infantry
+held each other in check, neither able to advance,
+because to do so was to come under the murderous
+fire of the other.  The Third Division, worn as it was,
+was still hard at work, for to the south-west of
+Longueval a long line of hostile trenches connected
+up with Guillemont, the fortified farm of Waterlot
+in the middle of them.  It was to these lines that
+these battle-weary men were now turned.  An attack
+was pending upon Guillemont by the Thirtieth Division,
+and the object of the Third Division was to cut
+the trench line to the east of the village, and so help
+the attack.  The advance was carried out with great
+spirit upon July 22 by the 2nd Royal Scots, and
+though they were unable to attain their full objective,
+they seized and consolidated a post midway between
+Waterlot Farm and the railway, driving back a German
+battalion which endeavoured to thrust them out.
+On July 23 Guillemont was attacked by the 21st
+Brigade of the Thirtieth Division.  The right of the
+attack consisting of the 19th Manchesters got into
+the village, but few got out again; and the left made
+no progress, the 2nd Yorkshires losing direction to
+the east and sweeping in upon the ground already
+held by the 2nd Royal Scots and other battalions
+of the 8th Brigade.  The resistance shown by Guillemont
+proved that the siege of that village would be
+a serious operation and that it was not to be carried
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P179"></a>179}</span>
+by the <i>coup-de-main</i> of a tired division, however
+valiantly urged.  The successive attempts to occupy
+it, culminating in complete success, will be recorded
+at a later stage.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the same date, July 23, another attempt was
+made by mixed battalions of the Third Division
+upon Longueval.  This was carried out with the
+co-operation of the 95th Brigade, Fifth Division,
+upon the left.  The attack on the village itself from
+the south was held up, and the battalions engaged,
+including the 1st Northumberland Fusiliers, 12th
+West Yorkshires, and 13th King's Liverpools, all
+endured considerable losses.  Two battalions of the
+Thirty-fifth Division (Bantams), the 17th Royal Scots
+and 17th West Yorks, took part in this attack.
+There had been some movement all along the line
+during that day from High Wood in the north-east to
+Guillemont in the south-west; but nowhere was there
+any substantial progress.  It was clear that the enemy
+was holding hard to his present line, and that very
+careful observation and renewed bombardment would
+be required before the infantry could be expected to
+move him.  Thus, the advance of July 14, brilliant
+as it had been, had given less durable results than had
+been hoped, for no further ground had been gained
+in a week's fighting, while Longueval, which had been
+ours, had for a time passed back to the enemy.  No
+one, however, who had studied General Haig's methods
+during the 1914 fighting at Ypres could, for a moment,
+believe that he would be balked of his aims, and the
+sequel was to show that he had lost none of the
+audacious tenacity which he had shown on those
+fateful days, nor had his well-tried instrument of war
+lost its power of fighting its way through a difficult
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P180"></a>180}</span>
+position.  The struggle at Longueval had been a
+desperate one, and the German return upon July 18
+was undoubtedly the most severe reaction encountered
+by us during the whole of the Somme fighting; and
+yet after the fluctuations which have been described
+it finished with the position entirely in the hands of the
+British.  On the days which followed the attack of
+July 23 the Thirteenth Brigade of the Fifth Division
+pushed its way gradually through the north end of
+the village, the 1st Norfolks bearing the brunt of the
+fighting.  They were relieved on the 27th by the
+95th Brigade, who took the final posts on the north
+and east of the houses, the 1st East Surreys holding
+the northern front.  The 12th Gloucesters particularly
+distinguished themselves on this occasion, holding
+on to three outlying captured posts under a
+very heavy fire.  The three isolated platoons
+maintained themselves with great constancy, and were
+all retrieved, though two out of three officers and the
+greater part of the men were casualties.  This battalion
+lost 320 men in these operations, which were made
+more costly and difficult by the fact that Longueval
+was so exaggerated a salient that it might more
+properly be called a corner, the Germans directing
+their very accurate fire from the intact tower of
+Ginchy Church.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P181"></a>181}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="capcenter">
+<a id="img-181"></a>
+<br />
+<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-181.jpg" alt="DELVILLE WOOD MAP" />
+<br />
+DELVILLE WOOD MAP
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+The Second Division had now been brought
+down to the Somme battle-front, and upon July 26
+they took over from the Third Division in the
+area of Delville Wood.  So complicated was the
+position at the point occupied, that one officer has
+described his company as being under fire from the
+north, south, east, and west, the latter being
+presumably due to the fact that the distant fire of the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P182"></a>182}</span>
+British heavies fell occasionally among the front line
+infantry.  At seven in the morning of July 27 the
+99th Brigade, now attached to the Second Division,
+was ordered to improve our position in the wood,
+and made a determined advance with the 1st Rifles
+upon the right, and the 23rd Fusiliers upon the left,
+the 1st Berkshires and 22nd Royal Fusiliers being in
+support.  Moving forward behind a strong barrage,
+the two battalions were able with moderate loss to
+force their way up to the line of Princes Street, and
+to make good this advanced position.  A trench full
+of dead or wounded Germans with two splintered
+machine-guns showed that the artillery had found its
+mark, and many more were shot down as they retired
+to their further trenches.  The 1st Berkshires held a
+defensive flank upon the right, but German bombers
+swarmed in between them and the Rifles, developing
+a dangerous counter-attack, which was finally
+beaten off after a sharp fight, in which Captain
+Howell of the latter battalion was mortally wounded
+after organising a splendid defence, in which he was
+greatly helped by a sergeant.  At 11 o'clock the left
+flank of the advance was also very heavily attacked
+at short range, and the two companies of the Rifles
+on that side were in sore straits until reinforced by
+bombers from the 23rd Fusiliers, and also by the
+whole of the 22nd Fusiliers.  The German barrage
+fell thickly behind the British advance, and it was a
+difficult and costly matter to send forward the
+necessary supports, but before evening part of the
+17th Fusiliers and of the 17th Middlesex from the
+5th Brigade had pushed forward and relieved the
+exhausted front line.  It was a most notable advance
+and a heroic subsequent defence, with some of the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P183"></a>183}</span>
+stiffest fighting that even Delville Wood had ever
+witnessed.  The East Anglian Field Company Royal
+Engineers consolidated the line taken.  The 1st Rifles,
+upon whom the greater part of the pressure had fallen,
+lost 14 officers, including their excellent adjutant,
+Captain Brocklehurst, and more than 300 men.  The
+immediate conduct of the local operations depended
+upon the colonel of this battalion.  The great result
+of the fight was that Delville Wood was now in
+British hands, from which it never again reverted.
+It is a name which will ever remain as a symbol of
+tragic glory in the records of the Ninth, the Third, the
+Eighteenth, and finally of the Second Divisions.
+Nowhere in all this desperate war did the British bulldog
+and the German wolf-hound meet in a more prolonged
+and fearful grapple.  It should not be forgotten in our
+military annals that though the 99th Brigade actually
+captured the wood, their work would have been
+impossible had it not been for the fine advance of the
+95th Brigade of the Fifth Division already recorded
+upon their Longueval flank.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+We shall now turn our attention to what had
+been going on in the extreme right-hand part of
+the line, where in conjunction with the French three
+of our divisions, the 55th Lancashire Territorials,
+the 35th Bantams, and the hard-worked 30th, had
+been attacking with no great success the strong
+German line which lay in front of us after the capture
+of Trones Wood.  The centre of this defence was the
+village of Guillemont, which, as already mentioned,
+had been unsuccessfully attacked by the 21st Brigade
+upon July 23.  About this date the Thirty-sixth
+Bantam Division had a repulse at the Malzhorn Farm
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P184"></a>184}</span>
+to the south of Guillemont, both the 104th and 105th
+Brigades being hard hit, and many of the brave little
+men being left in front of the German machine-guns.
+A week later a much more elaborate attack was made
+upon it by the rest of the Thirtieth Division,
+strengthened by one brigade (the 106th) of the
+Thirty-fifth Division.  This attack was carried out in
+co-operation with an advance of the Second Division upon
+Guillemont Station to the left of the village, and an
+advance of the French upon the right at Falfemont
+and Malzhorn.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The frontal advance upon Guillemont from the
+Trones Wood direction appears to have been about
+as difficult an operation as could be conceived in
+modern warfare.  Everything helped the defence and
+nothing the attack.  The approach was a glacis 700
+yards in width, which was absolutely commanded by
+the guns in the village, and also by those placed
+obliquely to north and south.  There was no cover of
+any kind.  Prudence would no doubt have suggested
+that we should make good in the north at Longueval
+and thus outflank the whole German line of defence.
+It was essential, however, to fit our plans in with those
+of the French, and it was understood that those were
+such as to demand a very special, and if needs be, a
+self-immolating effort upon the right of the line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The attack had been arranged for the morning of
+July 30, and it was carried out in spite of the fact that
+during the first few hours the fog was so dense that
+it was hard to see more than a few yards.  This made
+the keeping of direction across so broad a space as
+700 yards very difficult; while on the right, where the
+advance was for more than a mile and had to be
+co-ordinated with the troops of our Allies, it was so
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P185"></a>185}</span>
+complex a matter that there was considerable danger
+at one time that the fight in this quarter would resolve
+itself into a duel between the right of the British
+Thirtieth and the left of the French Thirty-ninth
+Division.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The 89th Brigade advanced upon the right and
+the 90th upon the left, the latter being directed
+straight for the village.  The two leading battalions,
+the 2nd Scots Fusiliers and the 18th Manchesters,
+reached it and established themselves firmly in its
+western suburbs; but the German barrage fell so
+thickly behind them that neither help nor munitions
+could reach them.  Lieutenant Murray, who was sent
+back to report their critical situation, found Germans
+wandering about behind the line, and was compelled
+to shoot several in making his way through.  He
+carried the news that the attack of the Second
+Division upon the station had apparently failed, that
+the machine-gun fire from the north was deadly, and
+that both battalions were in peril.  The Scots had
+captured 50 and the Manchesters 100 prisoners, but
+they were penned in and unable to get on.  Two
+companies of the 17th Manchesters made their way
+with heavy loss through the fatal barrage, but failed
+to alleviate the situation.  It would appear that in
+the fog the Scots were entirely surrounded, and that
+they fought, as is their wont, while a cartridge lasted.
+Their last message was, that their ranks and munition
+supply were both thin, their front line broken, the
+shelling hard, and the situation critical.  None of
+these men ever returned, and the only survivors of
+this battalion of splendid memories were the wounded
+in No Man's Land and the Headquarter Staff.  It
+was the second time that the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P186"></a>186}</span>
+had fought to the last man in this war.  Of the 18th
+Manchesters few returned, and two companies of the
+16th Manchesters were not more fortunate.  They
+got into the village on the extreme north, and found
+themselves in touch with the 17th Royal Fusiliers of
+the Second Division; but neither battalion could
+make good its position.  It was one of the tragic
+episodes of the great Somme battle.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The 89th Brigade upon their right had troubles of
+their own, but they were less formidable than those
+of their comrades.  As already described, they had
+the greatest difficulty in finding their true position
+amid the fog.  Their action began successfully by a
+company of the 2nd Bedfords, together with a French
+company, rushing an isolated German trench and
+killing 70 men who occupied it.  This was a small
+detached operation, for the front line of the advancing
+brigade was formed by the 19th Manchesters on the
+left, and by the 20th on the right, the latter in touch
+with the French 153rd of the line.  The 19th reached
+the south-eastern corner of Guillemont, failed to get
+in touch with the Scots Fusiliers, and found both
+its flanks in the air.  It had eventually to fall back,
+having lost Major Rolls, its commander, and many
+officers and men.  The 20th Manchesters advanced
+upon the German Malzhorn Trenches and carried the
+front one, killing many of the occupants.  In going
+forward from this point they lost 200 of their number
+while passing down a bullet-swept slope.  Three out
+of four company commanders had fallen.  Beyond
+the slope was a sunken road, and at this point a young
+lieutenant, Musker, found himself in command with
+mixed men from three battalions under his orders.
+Twelve runners sent back with messages were all shot,
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P187"></a>187}</span>
+which will give some idea of the severity of the
+barrage.  Musker showed good powers of leadership,
+and consolidated his position in the road, but was
+unfortunately killed, the command then devolving
+upon a sub-lieutenant.  The Bedfords came up
+to reinforce, and some permanent advance was
+established in this quarter&mdash;all that was gained
+by this very sanguinary engagement, which cost
+about 3000 men.  The Bantams lost heavily also in
+this action though they only played the humble role
+of carriers to the storming brigades.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The whole of the fighting chronicled in this chapter
+may be taken as an aftermath of the action of July 14,
+and as an endeavour upon our part to enlarge our
+gains and upon the part of the Germans to push us
+out from what we had won.  The encroachment upon
+High Wood upon the left, the desperate defence and
+final clearing of Delville Wood in the centre, and the
+attempt to drive the Germans from Guillemont upon
+the right&mdash;an attempt which was brought later to a
+successful conclusion&mdash;are all part of one system of
+operations designed for the one end.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It should be remarked that during all this
+fighting upon the Somme continual demonstrations,
+amounting in some cases to small battles, occurred
+along the northern line to keep the Germans employed.
+The most serious of these occurred in the Eleventh
+Corps district near Fromelles, opposite the Aubers
+Ridge.  Here the Second Australians upon the left,
+and the Sixty-first British Division upon the right, a
+unit of second-line Territorial battalions, largely from
+the West country, made a most gallant attack and
+carried the German line for a time, but were
+compelled, upon July 20, the day following the attack,
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P188"></a>188}</span>
+to fall back once more, as the gun positions upon
+the Aubers Ridge commanded the newly-taken
+trenches.  It was particularly hard upon the
+Australians, whose grip upon the German position
+was firm, while the two brigades of the Sixty-first,
+though they behaved with great gallantry, had been
+less successful in the assault.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p><a id="chap08"></a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P189"></a>189}</span></p>
+
+<h3>
+CHAPTER VIII
+<br /><br />
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+  The Operations of Gough's Army upon the Northern<br />
+  Flank up to September 15<br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="intro">
+Advance, Australia!&mdash;Capture of Pozières&mdash;Fine work of Forty-eighth
+Division&mdash;Relief of Australia by Canada&mdash;Steady advance of
+Gough's Army&mdash;Capture of Courcelette.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+All the fighting which has been described was carried
+out by Rawlinson's Fourth Army, consisting of the
+Third, the Fifteenth, and the Thirteenth Corps.  A
+new element was now, however, introduced upon the
+left flank.  It will be remembered that Sir Hubert
+Gough had been given a Fifth or reserve army,
+consisting of the Eighth and Tenth Corps, with which
+to hold the flank.  Of these, the Tenth, including
+the Forty-ninth, Forty-eighth, and First Australian
+Divisions, was now pushed forward into the fighting,
+with the intention of attacking Pozières and widening
+the British front.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This was the first serious appearance of the
+Australians upon a European battle-field, and it may
+be said at once that the high reputation which they
+had gained as dogged and dashing fighters in the
+Gallipoli campaign was fully endorsed in France.
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P190"></a>190}</span>
+From General Birdwood, their admirable leader,
+down through every unit of their divisions, there
+ran an indomitable spirit, united to an individuality
+and readiness of resource which made them
+soldiers of the highest type.  Their physique, too,
+was extraordinarily fine, and even the stay-at-home
+Londoner who had seen the lithe figures and the eager,
+clean-cut, aquiline faces under the broad-rimmed
+hats, bringing a touch of romance into our drab
+streets, would need no assurance that the men were
+splendid.  A nation of sportsmen had changed themselves
+very easily into a nation of soldiers.  Of all the
+strange turns of fate in this extraordinary war, surely
+there are few more quaint than that the black-fellow
+call of "Cooee!" should many a time have resounded
+at the crisis of a European battle.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As the First Australian Division lay upon July
+22, it had the straggling and strongly entrenched
+village of Pozières in front of it.  Upon the right
+they were in touch with the First Division filling the
+gap between Pozières and Bazentin, as described at
+the beginning of Chapter VII.  On their left was the
+Forty-eighth Division of South Midland Territorials.
+The village had been reduced to a mere rubbish-heap
+by the guns, but was none the less dangerous on that
+account.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the early morning of July 23, before it was
+light, the Australians made their first eruption into
+the Somme fighting.  "The difficulty," as their
+chronicler truly declares, "was not to get the men
+forward, but to hold them."  With an eager rush
+the men of New South Wales overwhelmed the front
+trench across the face of the village.  It was dotted
+with German bodies, killed by the artillery.  The
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P191"></a>191}</span>
+second trench in the village itself was found to be
+obliterated in places.  It was occupied as far as
+possible after a sharp hand-to-hand fight, and daylight
+found the Australians, chiefly Victorians, in full
+possession of the southern and western end of the
+village.  There was no counter-attack during July
+23, and the day was spent in consolidating and in
+rounding-up prisoners from the dug-outs.  For three
+days there was very heavy German shelling, but the
+division had served too long an apprenticeship to be
+shaken by such means.  They lay low and held on
+tightly.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On Tuesday, July 25, came the first German
+attack, but it was broken up so completely by the
+British barrage that the Australians had only distant
+glimpses of the enemy infantry crawling from under
+the sleet which beat upon them.  The merciless
+pounding of the bombardment continued, and then
+again in the late afternoon came another infantry
+attack, which was again scattered by the dominant
+all-observing guns.  Up to now 150 prisoners, including
+two German colonels, had fallen into our hands.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whilst the Australians had been attacking
+Pozières from the south, the Forty-eighth Division
+had made a similar advance from the south-west,
+and had made good the ground upon the left side of
+the Albert-Bapaume Road, including the western
+outskirts of the village and part of the Leipzig salient.
+In our admiration for our kinsmen from across the
+seas we must not forget, nor will they, that these
+lads from the very heart of rural England went step
+by step with them up Pozières Hill, and shared the
+victory which awaited them upon it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The 143rd Brigade, consisting entirely of Warwick
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P192"></a>192}</span>
+battalions (5, 6, 7, and 8), the 144th of Glosters (4 and
+6) and Worcesters (7 and 8), and the 145th from
+Gloucester (5), Buckingham, Oxford and Buckingham
+(4), and Berkshire (4), took it in turns to surge
+up against the formidable German line, showing the
+greatest valour and perseverance, overcoming difficulty
+after difficulty, and always getting slowly forward
+from the first movement upon July 22, until upon
+July 26 they had overcome every obstacle and joined
+hands with the Australians at the cemetery which
+marks the north end of the village of Pozières.  Many
+prisoners and a fine extension of the line were the
+fruits of their exertions.  The 5th Royal Sussex
+Pioneer Battalion, amidst considerable difficulties
+and heavy shell-fire, consolidated all that had been
+won.  The 4th Gloucesters and 7th Worcesters particularly
+distinguished themselves at this time by their
+persistent day-by-day work against the German trench
+line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the morning of July 26 the Australian advance
+was resumed.  There were two obstacles immediately
+in front&mdash;the one a strong redoubt, the other a line
+of trench.  The redoubt was most gallantly attacked
+by the men of Queensland and of South Australia,
+and was overwhelmed by their bombs.  The
+Victorians, meanwhile, had won their way into the
+trench, but as it communicated by many runways
+with the main German system behind, an endless
+flow of reinforcements were able to come into it, and
+the length of the trench enabled the Germans to
+attack upon both flanks.  It was a most bloody and
+desperate conflict which swung and swayed down the
+long ditches, and sometimes over the edges of them
+into the bullet-swept levels between.  Men threw
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P193"></a>193}</span>
+and threw until they were so arm-weary that not
+another bomb could be lifted.  If ever there were
+born natural bombers it must surely be among the
+countrymen of Spofforth and Trumble&mdash;and so it
+proved at that terrible international by Pozières
+village.  A British aeroplane swooped down out of
+the misty morning, and gave signals of help and
+advice from above, so as to dam that ever-moving
+stream of reinforcement.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The trenches in dispute were of no vital importance
+themselves, but they were the outposts of the
+great German second line which stretched behind its
+broad apron of barbed wire within a few hundred
+yards to the north-east of the village.  The ground
+sloped upwards, and the Germans were on the crest.
+This was the next objective of the Australians, and
+was attacked by their Second Division on July 29.
+On the flank of the hill to the left the Victorians won a
+lodgment, but the main position was still impregnable&mdash;and
+almost unapproachable.  Sullenly and slowly
+the infantry fell back to their own trenches, leaving
+many of their best and bravest before or among the
+fatal wires.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The position had been improved upon the left,
+however, by an advance of the Forty-eighth Division.
+The Warwick Brigade upon their right made no great
+progress, but the 145th Brigade upon the left took the
+trench in front of it and pushed that flank well
+forward.  This successful attack was at seven in the
+evening of July 27.  The leading battalions were the
+4th Berks upon the right and the 6th Gloucesters on
+the left, and these two sturdy battalions captured all
+their objectives.  A number of the 5th Regiment of
+the Prussian Guard were killed or captured in this
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P194"></a>194}</span>
+affair.  As the whole line had to turn half left after
+leaving the taking-off trench, it was a fine piece of
+disciplined fighting.  General Gough was a personal
+witness of this attack.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On August 4, six days later, the Australians came
+back to the attack with all the dour pertinacity of
+their breed.  This time their success was triumphant.
+A steady bombardment had laid the German
+front open, and in the dark of the night the Australian
+infantry, advancing over their own dead, rushed the
+position, surprising the Germans at a moment when
+a relief was being carried out.  Many of the Germans
+who had been expecting a rest from their labours
+got one indeed&mdash;but it was in England rather than
+in their own rear.  With the early morning the
+Australians were on the Pozières Ridge, and one of
+the few remaining observation posts of the enemy
+had passed from him for ever.  In front of them was
+the land of promise&mdash;the long slope seamed by German
+trenches, the distant German camps, the churches
+and villages of that captive France which they had
+come so far to redeem.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Once again the left flank of the Australians was
+in close co-operation with a British Division.  The
+Forty-eighth had been withdrawn and replaced by
+the Twelfth, a division which was rapidly acquiring
+a very solid reputation in the army.  The men of
+the 7th Sussex upon the right and those of Surrey
+and of Kent upon the left were in the front of the
+battle-line, which rolled slowly up the slope of
+Pozières, continually driving the German resistance
+before it.  The ground gained early in August was
+some 2000 yards of frontage with a depth of 400
+yards, and though the whole ridge, and the Windmill
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P195"></a>195}</span>
+which marks it, had not yet been cleared, the fact
+that the British had a good foothold upon it was of
+the utmost strategical importance, apart from the
+continual stream of prisoners who fell into their
+hands.  The Sussex battalion linked up with the
+Australians, and nothing could have been closer than
+the co-operation between the two, so much so that
+it is on record that with a glorious recklessness
+a bunch of Australians pushed forward without
+orders in order to keep the Sussex men company in
+one of their attacks.  The South Saxons have again
+and again shown that there is no more solid military
+material in England.  It is said that a rampant pig
+with "We won't be druv!" as a motto was an old
+emblem of that ancient county.  Her sons assuredly
+lived up to the legend during the War.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the morning of the 6th and of the 7th two
+counter-attacks stormed up to the new British line.
+The first was small and easily repelled, a sporadic
+effort by some gallant hot-headed officer, who died
+in the venture, clicking his Mauser to the last.  The
+second was serious, for three battalions came very
+gallantly forwards, and a sudden rush of 1500 Germans,
+some of whom carried <i>flammenwerfer</i>, burst into the
+trenches at two separate points, making prisoners
+of some 50 Australians who were cut off from their
+comrades.  The attack was bravely delivered in
+broad daylight, the enemy coming on in good line in
+the face of severe fire; but the Australians, with their
+usual individuality, rallied, and not only repulsed
+the enemy, but captured many of them, besides
+recapturing the prisoners whom they had taken.
+This was the supreme German attempt to recapture
+the position, but they were by no means able to
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P196"></a>196}</span>
+reconcile themselves to the loss of it, and came on
+again and again in smaller assaults spread over several
+days, which had no result save to increase their already
+very heavy losses in this region.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This <i>flammenwerfer</i> attack had broken also upon
+the outposts of the 36th Brigade to the left, eight of
+these infernal machines coming forward with a throng
+of bombers behind them.  The captain of the 9th
+Royal Fusiliers, instead of awaiting the attack in a
+crowded trench, rushed his men forward in the open,
+where they shot down the flame-bearers before they
+could bring their devilish squirts to bear.  The
+bombers, who had followed the advance, led the
+flight.  On this day 127 Germans who had been
+caught in a pocket between the British trenches were
+forced to surrender, after a very creditable resistance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On August 12 the Twelfth Division attacked
+once more upon a broad front, the 35th Brigade
+upon the right, the 37th upon the left.  The
+result of the attack was a satisfactory accession of
+ground, for although the Surreys and West Kents
+were held up, the Norfolks and Essex attained their
+objective and held it.  Some 40 prisoners and a useful
+line of trench were the results.  That night the 48th
+South Midlanders replaced the Twelfth Division once
+more, resuming their old station upon the left of the
+Australians, whose various divisions rang changes
+upon each other, men from every corner of the great
+island continent, from the burning plains of the
+Northern Territories to the wind-swept hills of
+Tasmania, relieving each other in the ever-advancing
+line of trenches and strong points which slowly ate
+into the German front.  One day it was the West
+Australians who blew back an attack with their rifle
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P197"></a>197}</span>
+fire.  On the next it was the Melbourne men who
+had rushed another position.  On the summit of the
+Ridge was the stump of an old windmill, which lay
+now between the two lines, and it was towards this
+and along the slope of the crest that the advance was
+gradually creeping.  It is worth noting that in this
+part of the line some sort of amenity was introduced
+concerning the wounded, and that neither party
+sniped the other so long as a Red Cross flag was
+shown.  It is grievous to think that such a condition
+needs to be recorded.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+August 10 and 11 witnessed two night attacks by
+the 4th and 6th Gloucesters respectively, neither of
+which made much progress.  The Territorials of the
+Forty-eighth Division still kept step, however, with
+the Australians in all that desperate advance up the
+long slope of Pozières Hill, the two units striving in
+a generous rivalry of valour, which ended in deep
+mutual confidence and esteem.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On August 14 the enemy counter-attacked with
+some vigour, and momentarily regained a trench
+near the windmill.  On the 15th the line had been
+restored.  On the 17th there was a strong attack in
+six successive lines upon the Forty-eighth British
+and the First Australian Divisions, but it had no
+result.  On the 18th, however, the 5th and 6th
+Warwicks paid a return visit with great success,
+carrying three lines of trenches and capturing 600
+prisoners.  This was a very fine exploit, carried out
+at 5 P.M. of a summer evening.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was about this date that a new movement
+began upon the British left, which extended their
+line of battle.  Since the capture of Ovillers, a month
+before, the flank of the army to the left of the attack
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P198"></a>198}</span>
+upon Pozières had been guarded by the Forty-ninth
+Division of Yorks Territorials, but no attack had
+been attempted in this quarter.  On August 18
+the Twenty-fifth Division relieved the Forty-ninth,
+and an advance upon a small scale which gradually
+assumed more importance was started in the
+direction of Thiepval, the German village fortress
+of sinister reputation, which lay upon the left flank
+on the hither side of the River Ancre.  Upon this
+General Gough had now fixed a menacing gaze, and
+though his advance was gradual, it was none the less
+inexorable until his aim had been attained; and not
+only Thiepval itself but the important heights to
+the north and east of it which dominate the valley of
+the Ancre were in the hands of his persevering troops.
+The first obstacles in his path were a stronghold
+named the Leipzig Redoubt, and to the east of it a
+widespread farm, now spread even wider by British
+shells.  This nest of snipers and machine-guns was
+known as Mouquet Farm.  Upon the 19th, as part of
+the general attack along the line, which will be more
+fully dealt with elsewhere, not only was our Pozières
+front pushed forward past the windmill for 300 yards,
+but the 1st Wiltshires of the Twenty-fifth Division,
+operating upon the left of the Forty-eighth, which
+in turn was on the left of the Australians, made an
+important lodgment on the high ground to the south
+of Thiepval.  The Forty-eighth Division also made
+some advance, the 4th Gloucesters upon the night of the
+19th capturing 400 yards of trench with 200 prisoners.
+Their comrades of the 6th Battalion had less fortune,
+however, in an attack upon the German trenches on
+August 22, when they had two companies partially
+destroyed by machine-gun fire, while every officer
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P199"></a>199}</span>
+engaged was hit, including Major Coates, who was
+killed.  On this same day there was again an
+Australian advance near Pozières, whilst at the other
+end of the line, which was biting like acid into the
+German defences, the Twenty-fifth Division began
+to encroach upon the Leipzig salient, and were within
+1000 yards of Thiepval.  In this entirely successful
+attack a new invention, the push pipe-line, was used
+for the first time with some success, having the double
+effect of blowing up the enemy's strong point, and of
+forming a rudimentary communication trench in the
+track of its explosion.  In this connection it may be
+stated generally that while the Germans, with their
+objects clear in front of them, had used before the
+War far greater ingenuity than the British in warlike
+invention, as witness the poison gas, <i>minenwerfer</i>
+and flame-throwers, their methods became stereotyped
+after War broke out; while the more individual
+Britons showed greater ingenuity and constructive
+ability, so that by the end of 1916 they had attained
+a superiority upon nearly every point.  Their heavy
+artillery, light machine-guns, aeroplanes, bombs,
+trench-mortars, and gas apparatus were all of the
+very best; and in their tanks they were soon to take
+an entirely new departure in warfare.  It is as difficult
+in our British system to fix the responsibility
+for good as for evil, but there is ample evidence of a
+great discriminating intelligence in the heart of our
+affairs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Hindenburg Trench was the immediate object
+of these attacks, and on August 24 a stretch of it,
+containing 150 occupants, was carried.  A pocket of
+Germans was left at one end of it, who held on
+manfully and made a successful resistance against a
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P200"></a>200}</span>
+company of the 8th North Lancashires, who tried to
+rush them.  Ultimately, however, these brave men
+were all taken or killed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Day by day the line crept on, and before the end
+of the month the 1000 yards had become 500, whilst
+every advance yielded some new trench with a crop
+of prisoners.  The enemy was fully alive, however,
+to the great importance of the Thiepval position,
+which would give the British guns an opportunity of
+raking Beaumont Hamel and their other strongholds
+upon the north of the Ancre.  A very strong counter-attack
+was made, therefore, by some battalions of the
+Prussian Guard on the evening of August 25, preceded
+by a shattering bombardment.  The attack&mdash;the edge
+of which was blunted by the British barrage&mdash;fell
+mainly upon the 7th Brigade of the Twenty-fifth
+Division.  The result was a German defeat, and the
+menacing line drew ever nearer to Thiepval, though
+an attack by the North Lancs upon the Prussian
+Fusilier Guards upon August 28 was not successful.
+On the day before, however, the Forty-eighth Division
+upon the right of the Twenty-fifth made a successful
+advance, taking a good line of trench with 100 of the
+redoubtable Guards.  Between Thiepval and Pozières
+the ruins of Mouquet Farm had been taken by the
+West Australians and the Tasmanians, and was found
+to be a perfect warren of snipers, so that it was some
+time before it was absolutely clear.  On the Pozières
+Ridge ground and prisoners were continually being
+gained, and the trenches between the Ridge and
+Mouquet Farm were cleared by Queensland on the
+right and by Tasmania on the left.  It was a most
+spirited fight, where Australian and Prussian stood
+up to each other within short bomb-throw.  But
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P201"></a>201}</span>
+nothing could stand against the fire of the attack.
+The whole line of trench upon the right was captured.
+There was a dangerous gap, however, upon the
+Tasmanian left, and this the Tasmanians were compelled
+to endure for two days and nights, during which
+they were hard pressed by never-ending shelling and
+incessant German attacks.  It is on record that their
+constant reports of their parlous state sent on to
+headquarters concluded always with the words:
+"But we will hold on."  If Tasmania needs a motto,
+she could find no better one, for her sons lived and
+died up to it during those terrible hours.  When at
+last they were relieved, their numbers were sorely
+reduced, but their ground was still intact.  At the
+other side of the gap, however, the West Australians,
+hard pressed by an overpowering bombardment, had
+been pushed out from Mouquet Farm, which came
+back into German hands, whence it was destined soon
+to pass.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was during this severe fighting that a little scene
+occurred which, as described by Mr. Bean, the very
+able Australian chronicler, must stir the blood of
+every Imperialist.  A single officer "of middle age,
+erect, tough as wire, with lines on his face such as hard
+fighting and responsibility leave on every soldier,"
+appeared in the Australian communication trenches,
+asking to see the officer-in-charge.  He spoke the same
+tongue but with a different intonation as he explained
+his mission.  He was the forerunner of the relieving
+force, and the First Division of Canada was taking
+over the line from Australia&mdash;a line which was
+destined to bring glory to each of them.  Surely a
+great historical picture might be made in more peaceful
+times of this first contact of the two great nations
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P202"></a>202}</span>
+of the future, separated by half the world from each
+other, and yet coming together amid blood and fire
+at the call of the race.  An hour later, Canadian
+Highlanders in a long buoyant line were pushing
+swiftly forward to occupy the trenches which Australia
+had won and held.  "Australians and Canadians,"
+says Mr. Bean, "fought for thirty-six hours in those
+trenches inexorably mixed, working under each other's
+officers.  Their wounded helped each other from the
+front.  Their dead lie, and will lie, through all the
+centuries, hastily buried, beside the tumbled trenches
+and shell-holes where, fighting as mates, they died."  So
+ended the Australian epic upon the Somme.  It is
+to be remembered that the New Zealanders formed an
+entirely separate division, whose doings will presently
+be considered.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whilst the Overseas troops had been fighting hard
+before Pozières, there had been a considerable
+movement upon their left to attack northwards along the
+Thiepval Spur.  This was carried out by the Thirty-ninth
+Division north of the Ancre, the Forty-ninth
+and the Twenty-fifth upon September 3.  Some
+ground was gained, but the losses were heavy,
+especially in the 75th Brigade, where the 2nd South
+Lancashires suffered considerably.  This battalion
+had been in shallow trenches exposed to fire and
+weather for six days previous to the attack, and was
+greatly worn.  This attack was part of the general
+battle of September 3, but from Mouquet Farm northwards
+it cannot be said to have given any adequate
+return for our losses.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our narrative of the events upon the left wing of
+the army has now got in front of the general account,
+but as the operations of General Gough's force have
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P203"></a>203}</span>
+definite objectives of their own, the story may now be
+continued up to September 15, after which we can
+leave this flank altogether for a time and concentrate
+upon the happenings in the centre, and especially
+upon the right flank where Delville Wood, Ginchy and
+Guillemont had presented such impediments to the
+advance.  At or about the time, September 4, when
+the Canadians took over the lines of the Australians
+at Pozières and Mouquet Farm, the Eleventh British
+Division, the First English Division of the New Army,
+which had come back from hard service in the East,
+relieved the Twenty-fifth Division upon the Canadian
+left.  For a week there was quiet upon this part of
+the line, for a great forward move along the whole
+eleven-mile front had been planned for September 15,
+and this was the lull before the storm.  On the evening
+before this great assault, the Eleventh Division crept
+up to and carried the main German stronghold, called
+the Wonderwork, which lay between them and
+Thiepval.  There was some sharp bayonet work, and
+the defeated garrison flying towards Thiepval ran into
+the barrage so that the enemy losses were heavy, while
+the British line crept up to within 350 yards of the
+village.  This advance stopped for ever the flank fire
+by which the Germans were able to make Mouquet
+Farm almost untenable, and the Canadians were able
+to occupy it.  The capture of the Wonderwork was
+carried out by Price's 32nd Infantry Brigade of
+Yorkshire troops.  The most of the work and the heaviest
+losses fell upon the 9th West Yorks, but the 8th West
+Ridings and the 6th Yorks were both engaged, the
+latter losing their colonel, Forsyth.  The total
+casualties came to 26 officers and 742 men.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On September 15 the Eleventh Division held the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P204"></a>204}</span>
+flank in front of Thiepval, but the Second and Third
+Canadian Divisions shared in the general advance,
+and pushed forward their line over the Pozières Ridge
+and down for 1000 yards of the slope in front, joining
+hands with the Fifteenth Scottish Division in
+Martinpuich upon the right.  This fine advance crossed
+several German trenches, took the fortified position
+of the Sugar Refinery, and eventually included in
+its scope the village of Courcelette, which had not
+been included in the original scheme.  All Canada,
+from Halifax in the east to Vancouver in the west,
+was represented in this victory; and it was
+particularly pleasing that the crowning achievement&mdash;the
+capture of Courcelette&mdash;was carried out largely
+by the 22nd Battalion of the 5th Brigade French
+Canadians of the Second Division.  French Canada,
+like Ireland, has been diverted somewhat by petty
+internal influences from taking a wide and worthy
+view of the great struggle against German conquest,
+but it can truly be said in both cases that the fine
+quality of those who came did much to atone for the
+apathy of those who stayed.  Thirteen hundred
+German prisoners were brought back by the Canadians.
+During the Courcelette operations, the Third Canadian
+Division was working upon the left flank of the
+Second as it attacked the village, protecting it from
+enfilade attack.  The work and the losses in this useful
+movement fell chiefly upon the 8th Brigade.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This considerable victory was, as will afterwards
+be shown, typical of what had occurred along the whole
+line upon that great day of battle and victory.  It
+was followed, so far as the Canadians were concerned,
+by a day of heavy sacrifice and imperfect success.
+The Third Division, still operating upon the left of
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P205"></a>205}</span>
+the Second, endeavoured to carry the formidable
+Zollern Trench and Zollern Redoubt to the north of
+Courcelette.  The 7th and 9th Brigades were in the
+attacking line, but the former was held up from the
+beginning.  The latter got forward, but found itself
+confronted by the inevitable barbed wire, which
+stayed its progress.  No good was done, and two
+gallant battalions, the 60th (Montreal) and the 52nd
+(New Ontario), lost 800 men between them.  The
+operation was suspended until it could be renewed
+upon a larger scale and a broader front.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At this point we may suspend our account of the
+operations of Gough's Fifth Army, while we return
+to the Fourth Army upon the south, and bring the
+record of its work up to this same date.  Afterwards,
+we shall return to the Fifth Army and describe the
+successful operations by which it cleared the Thiepval
+Ridge, gained command of the Ancre Valley, and
+finally created a situation which was directly
+responsible for the great German retreat in the early
+spring of 1917.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p><a id="chap09"></a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P206"></a>206}</span></p>
+
+<h3>
+CHAPTER IX
+<br /><br />
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+August 1 to September 15
+</p>
+
+<p class="intro">
+Continued attempts of Thirty-third Division on High
+Wood&mdash;Co-operation of First Division&mdash;Operation of Fourteenth Division
+on fringe of Delville Wood&mdash;Attack by Twenty-fourth Division
+on Guillemont&mdash;Capture of Guillemont by 47th and 59th
+Brigades&mdash;Capture of Ginchy by Sixteenth Irish Division.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+After the very hard fighting which accompanied
+and followed the big attack of July 14, continuing
+without a real break to the end of the month, there
+was a lull of a couple of weeks, which were employed
+by the German commentators in consoling articles
+to prove that the allied offensive was at an end, and
+by the Allies in bringing forward their guns and
+preparing for a renewed effort.  The middle of August
+heard the drum fire break out again and the operations
+were continued, but on a local rather than a
+general scale.  Many isolated positions had to be
+mastered before a general surge forward could be
+expected or attempted, and experience was to prove
+that it is precisely those isolated operations which
+are most difficult and costly, since they always mean
+that the whole concentration of the German guns
+can be turned upon the point which is endangered.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P207"></a>207}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It will simplify the following operations to the
+reader if he will remember that the whole left wing
+of the army is excluded, being treated separately as
+Gough's flank advance.  We only deal therefore with
+Rawlinson's Army.  The front which faces us may be
+divided into several well-defined areas, each of which
+is in turn subjected to attack.  There is High Wood
+on the extreme left, with the Intermediate Trench
+and the Switch Trench within it, or to its north.
+There is the line of trenches, Switch Trench, Wood
+Trench, Tea Trench, etc., linking up High Wood with
+Delville Wood.  There is the north-eastern fringe of
+Delville Wood, there are the trenches between Delville
+Wood and Ginchy, there is Ginchy itself, there are
+the trenches between Ginchy and Guillemont, there is
+Guillemont itself, and finally there is a stretch of trench
+between Guillemont and the French left at Falfemont.
+This is the formidable barrier which was attacked
+again and again at various points between August 1
+and September 15 as will now be told.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+August 16 witnessed another attack by the
+Thirty-third Division upon High Wood, a position
+which had once already been almost entirely in their
+hands, but which had proved to be untenable on account
+of the concentration of fire which the German guns
+could bring to bear upon its limited space.  None the
+less, it was determined that it should be once again
+attempted, for it was so situated that its machine-guns
+raked any advance between it and Delville
+Wood.  The attack upon this occasion was carried
+out on the eastern side by the 98th Brigade,
+strengthened for the work by the addition of the
+20th Royal Fusiliers and a wing of the 1st Middlesex.
+It might well seem depressing to the soldiers to be
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P208"></a>208}</span>
+still facing an obstacle which they had carried a month
+before, but if this portion of the British line was
+stationary it had gained ground upon either wing,
+and it might also be urged that in a combat destined
+to be ended by military exhaustion it is the continued
+fighting rather than the local result that counts.  If
+High Wood had cost and was to cost us dearly to
+attack, it assuredly was not cheap to defend; and if
+their artillery had made it too deadly for our occupation
+our own guns must also have taken high toll of
+the German garrison.  Such broader views are easy for
+the detached reasoner in dug-out or in study, but to
+the troops who faced the ill-omened litter of broken
+tree-trunks and decaying bodies it might well seem
+disheartening that this sinister grove should still bar
+the way.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At 2.45 in the afternoon the infantry advanced,
+the 4th King's Liverpool upon the left and the 4th
+Suffolks on the right, keeping well up to the friendly
+shelter of their own pelting barrage.  The enemy,
+however, had at once established a powerful counter-barrage,
+which caused heavy losses, especially to the
+King's, most of whose officers were hit early in the
+action.  The two leading company commanders were
+killed and the advance held up.  The Suffolks had got
+forward rather better, and part of them seized the
+German trench called Wood Lane to the south-east
+of the wood, but unhappily the only surviving officer
+with the party was killed in the trench, and the men
+being exposed to bombing attacks and to heavy
+enfilade fire from the eastern corner of High Wood
+were compelled to fall back after holding the trench
+for fifty minutes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These two battalions had attacked upon the flank
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P209"></a>209}</span>
+of the wood.  The wood itself was entered by three
+companies of the Argyll and Sutherlands, who found
+it laced with wire and full of machine-guns.  The
+Highlanders stuck gamely to their task, and some
+of them&mdash;little groups of desperate men&mdash;actually
+crossed the wood, but their losses were heavy and,
+as is usual in forest fighting, all cohesion and
+direction became impossible.  The whole attack was hung
+up.  The 20th Royal Fusiliers, one of the public
+school battalions, was sent forward therefore to get
+the line moving once again.  They shared in the
+losses, but were unable to retrieve the situation.  So
+worn were the battalions that there was some question
+whether the 98th Brigade could hold its own line
+if there should be a vigorous counter-attack.  The
+19th Brigade was therefore brought up to support
+and eventually to relieve their comrades.  The
+losses of the 98th amounted to over 2000 men,
+showing how manfully they had attempted a task
+which the result showed to be above their strength.
+The causes of the failure were undoubtedly the uncut
+wire in the wood, and that our gunners had been
+unsuccessful in beating down the machine-guns of the
+enemy.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whilst the Thirty-third Division had been making
+these vigorous attacks upon High Wood, a corresponding
+movement had taken place upon the north side of
+the wood, where the First Division had come into line
+upon August 15, taking the place of the Thirty-fourth
+Division.  They plunged at once into action, for the
+2nd Brigade upon August 16 made a successful
+advance, the 1st Northants and 2nd Sussex pushing
+the line on for some hundreds of yards at considerable
+cost to themselves, and driving back a half-hearted
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P210"></a>210}</span>
+counter-attack, which endeavoured to throw them
+out of their new gains.  This attack was renewed
+with much greater weight, however, upon August 17,
+and both the 1st and 2nd Brigades were driven
+back for a few hours.  In the afternoon they rallied
+and regained most of the lost ground.  Immediately
+in front of them stretched a long German trench
+termed the Intermediate Trench, being the chief
+one between the second and third lines.  Towards
+evening the 1st Brigade attacked this trench, the
+1st Black Watch being the most advanced battalion.
+There was a hard fight, but the position was still too
+strong.  Next morning, August 18, the gallant
+Highlanders were back at it once more, but the day was
+very misty, and the advance seems to have lost its
+exact bearings.  The left company stumbled upon a
+pocket of 30 Germans, whom it took or killed, but
+could not find the trench.  The right company got
+into the trench, but were not numerous enough to
+resist a very vigorous bombing attack, which
+re-established the German garrison.  The 8th Berkshires
+pushed forward to try their luck, but a smoke
+cloud thrown out by a division on the left came
+drifting down and the attack was enveloped in it,
+losing both cohesion and direction.  The Intermediate
+Trench was still German in the evening.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Although the 1st Brigade had been held up at this
+point the 2nd Brigade had made some progress upon
+their right, for a successful attack was made by the
+1st Northamptons and by the 1st North Lancashires
+upon a German trench to the north-west of High
+Wood.  Colonel Longridge of the staff, a valuable
+officer, was killed in this affair, but the place was
+taken, and a strong point established.  During the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P211"></a>211}</span>
+night two platoons of the Northamptons made an
+audacious attempt to steal an advance by creeping
+forwards 400 yards and digging in under the very
+noses of the Germans, on a small ridge which was
+of tactical importance.  There was a considerable
+bickering all day round this point, the Sussex endeavouring
+to help their old battle-mates to hold the fort,
+but the supports were too distant, and eventually
+the garrison had to regain their own line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Upon August 20 there was a severe German attack
+upon the line of the First Division, which was held at
+the time by the 1st Northamptons and the 2nd Rifles.
+The advance developed in great force, driving in the
+outpost line and part of the Northamptons.  The
+brave old "Cobblers" were a very seasoned battalion,
+and took a great deal of shifting from their shallow
+trench, hand-to-hand fighting taking place along the
+line.  With the help of two companies of the Rifles
+the advance was stayed on the Northampton front;
+but a second attack developed out of High Wood
+upon the right flank of the Rifles.  Two platoons
+under Lieutenant Stokes showed great gallantry in
+holding up this sudden and dangerous incursion.
+The platoons were relieved by the Gloucesters, but
+as there was no officer with the relief, Stokes remained
+on with the new garrison, and helped to drive back
+two more attacks, showing a splendid disregard for
+all danger, until he was finally killed by a shell.
+Captain Johnstone, who had led the Riflemen in their
+relief of the Northamptons, was also killed, while
+Major Atkinson and 130 men of the Rifles were hit.
+The losses of the Northamptons were even more
+heavy, but the German advance came to nought.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At the risk of carrying the account of the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P212"></a>212}</span>
+operations near High Wood and between High Wood and
+the west edge of Delville Wood to a point which will
+compel a considerable return in order to bring up
+the narrative of the rest of the line, we shall still
+continue them to the date of the great advance of
+September 15, when the whole vast array from
+Pozières upon the left to Leuze Wood upon the right
+heaved itself forward, and local attacks gave place to
+a big concerted movement.  We shall therefore continue
+to follow the fortunes of the First Division in
+their hard task in front of the Intermediate Trench.
+After the failure of their attempt to get forward upon
+August 19 the action died down, and for four days
+there was no fresh advance.  The 3rd Brigade had
+come up into the front line, and upon August 24 the
+Munsters made an attempt upon the German trench
+without success.  Colonel Lyon lost his life in this
+affair.  Upon August 25 another battalion of the
+Brigade, the South Wales Borderers, made a bombing
+attack, and again were in the trench and once again
+were driven out.  They were not to be denied,
+however, and upon August 26 actually occupied 180 yards
+of it, taking one of the deadly guns which had wrought
+such damage.  On the 27th a German counter-attack
+was heavily repulsed, but an attempt of the South
+Wales Borderers to improve their success was also a
+failure.  On the evening of this day the Fifteenth
+Scottish Division took over the position in front
+of the Intermediate Trench, the First Division
+moving to the right and enabling the Thirty-third
+Division upon its flank to move also to the right.
+The Fifteenth Division was able in very tempestuous
+weather partly to outflank the Intermediate Trench,
+with the result that upon the afternoon of August 30
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P213"></a>213}</span>
+the remains of the garrison, finding that they were in a
+trap, surrendered.  Two machine-guns with 140 men
+were taken.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Upon August 12 the Fourteenth Light Division,
+which in spite of its initial misfortune at Hooge
+had won the name of being one of the finest
+divisions of the New Army, came up into line.  Its
+first station was in the Delville Wood area, which was
+still a most difficult section, in spite of our occupation
+of the wood.  Orchards lay upon its fringes, and
+the German trenches around it swept the edges with
+fire, while several German strong points lay just
+outside it.  An attempt was made by the Fourteenth
+Division to enlarge an area outside Longueval upon
+August 18.  At 2.45 that day the 41st Brigade
+advanced upon the right of the Thirty-third Division
+with Orchard Trench as an objective, while the 43rd
+Brigade kept pace with them to the north and east of
+the wood.  The German front trenches were carried
+without much difficulty, but, as usual, the process of
+consolidation was an expensive one.  The men in small
+groups dug themselves in as best they could under
+fire from both flanks.  The 7th Rifle Brigade upon
+the extreme left of the line was in the air, and their
+left company was almost entirely destroyed.  The
+new line was held, however, and knotted together
+with three strong points which defied German attack.
+This was attempted upon the 19th, but was a total
+failure.  In these operations the Fourteenth Division
+took 279 prisoners.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For the sake of consecutive narrative, the doings
+in the High Wood and Delville Wood district have
+been given without a break, but in order to bring the
+rest of the chronicle level one has to turn back a few
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P214"></a>214}</span>
+days and turn our attention to the long right flank
+of the army, from Longueval in the north to Falfemont,
+where we joined on to the French in the south.
+The northern angle of this position was, as has already
+been explained, extremely disadvantageous to us,
+forming an almost fantastic peninsula, which jutted
+out into the German positions.  Even if their infantry
+could not carry it, their guns could at all times rake
+it from three sides, and could command the whole
+Montauban valley, along which our supplies were
+bound to pass.  Therefore it became very necessary
+to get more elbow-room along this line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+South-east of Delville Wood was the strongly-fortified
+village of Ginchy, and between the wood
+and the village were what may be called the Alcoholic
+system of trenches, where the long and powerful
+Beer Trench, stretching a few hundred yards north
+of the wood, was connected up with Vat Alley, Hop
+Alley, and Ale Alley, the whole forming a formidable
+labyrinth.  To the south of Ginchy lay the very
+strongly organised village of Guillemont, which could
+not be approached save over a long quarter of a mile
+of open ground.  Ginchy and Guillemont were linked
+up in a strong line, of which Waterlot Farm and
+Guillemont Station were two nodal points.  South
+of Guillemont came Wedge Wood and finally Falfemont
+Farm, where the right of Rawlinson's Fourth
+Army joined on to the French.  The whole of this
+long line was most powerfully defended, both by
+material appliances and by that constant human
+valour without which all appliances are useless.
+How to push it back was the pressing and difficult
+question which now faced the British commanders.
+Guillemont had already been attacked upon
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P215"></a>215}</span>
+July 30 by the Thirtieth Division as described in
+a previous chapter.  This attack had been most
+valiantly urged, but the losses had been heavy, and
+the gains small.  The Second Division had relieved
+the Thirtieth on this point, and were in turn relieved
+upon August 10 by the Twenty-fourth, a division
+which had seen a good deal of rough service in that
+famous forcing-house for young soldiers&mdash;the Ypres
+salient.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A few days later it closed in upon Guillemont with
+orders to reconnoitre and then attack.  A partial
+attack was made upon August 16 upon the outskirts of
+the village by the 72nd Brigade, which was rather
+in the nature of a reconnaissance in force.  The
+place was found to be very strong and the advancing
+troops drew off after incurring some losses, which
+were heaviest in the 9th East Surreys, who came under
+a blast of machine-gun fire, and dropped nine officers
+and over 200 men.  The division drew off, broadened
+their front of attack, and came on again upon August
+18 in a wide advance which covered the whole enemy
+line, striking not only at the village itself, but at the
+station, quarry, and farm to the north of it, covering
+a front of nearly a mile.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The 73rd Brigade attacked the village and the
+quarry.  The right attack was led by the 13th
+Middlesex and supported by the 2nd Leinster, but it
+had no success, and ended in heavy losses, especially
+to the English regiment.  The men who got across
+were unable to penetrate, and after a hand-to-hand
+fight were driven back.  Upon the left of the brigade
+things went better.  The attack upon that side was
+led by the 7th Northants, supported by the 9th
+Sussex.  The Cobblers had lost their colonel from a
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P216"></a>216}</span>
+wound in the morning.  This colonel was the famous
+international three-quarter Mobbs, who gave one
+more illustration of the fact that the fine sportsman
+turns rapidly into the fine soldier.  His successor
+had only been a few hours in command.  The
+direction of the fight was none the less admirable.
+The Midlanders dashed with great fire across the
+300 yards of open which separated them from the
+Quarries, while the Sussex crowded up into the
+advanced trenches, sending on company after company
+in response to demands for help.  The British
+barrage had lifted, and it was no easy matter in face
+of the flank fire to get the men across, so that only a
+percentage reached the hard-pressed firing-line upon
+the other side.  The colonel of the Sussex held back
+therefore, and sent his third company over as dusk
+fell, so that they came in on the flank of the
+Northamptons with little loss, while the fourth followed
+later with supplies.  The lodgment made by the
+leading battalions was secured, and some ground
+to the north of the village passed into British
+hands.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Although Guillemont itself remained for the
+moment with the Germans, the assault of the Twenty-fourth
+Division had a success along the whole of the
+rest of the line and greatly improved the position of
+the British upon this flank.  The 17th Brigade
+had attacked the station and after a severe fight
+had captured it, the 3rd Rifle Brigade especially
+distinguishing itself in this affair.  Farther still to
+the north the line of trenches leading up to and in
+front of Waterlot Farm had fallen also to the 17th
+Brigade, the 8th Buffs having the heavier share of
+the work.  These attacks, which cost the division
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P217"></a>217}</span>
+more than 3000 men, were carried out in co-operation
+with French attacks to the south and east of Guillemont,
+the net result being partly to isolate that
+stubborn village and turn it into a salient on the
+German line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Twenty-fourth Division was now drawn out
+for a short period, and the Twentieth replaced it and
+held firmly to the conquered line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Germans were acutely uneasy as to the erosion
+of their line which was going on from Longueval to
+Guillemont, and upon August 23 endeavoured to win
+back the ground gained at Guillemont Station, but
+their counter-attack, stronger as usual in its artillery
+preparation than in its infantry advance, had no
+success, though it cost the Twentieth Division some
+heavy losses.  It was one clear sign of the degeneration
+of the German soldier that the overture should
+so continually be better than the performance.  The
+machines were as formidable as ever, but the human
+element was slowly wilting, and that subtle sentiment
+was developing upon either side which means the
+ascendancy of one and the decline of the other.  The
+ease with which the prisoners surrendered, the frequent
+failure to hold ground and the constant failure to
+gain it, all pointed to the same conclusion.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Upon August 24 a very widespread and determined
+attempt was made by the British to enlarge their area
+on the right wing, and the attack extended along the
+whole line to the north of Guillemont.  It was carried
+out by three divisions, the Thirty-third which had
+side-stepped to the right, and now covered the ground
+to the immediate left of Delville Wood, the Fourteenth
+Light Division which covered the north of Delville
+Wood and the Alcohol system of trenches, and finally
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P218"></a>218}</span>
+the Twentieth Division covering Ginchy and the rest
+of the line down to Guillemont.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Describing these operations from the left of our
+line the first unit of attack was the 100th Brigade,
+which had for its objective Tea Trench and other
+German defences which were to the north-west of
+Delville Wood.  The Longueval-Flers road separated
+their right flank from the left flank of the 42nd
+Brigade of the Fourteenth Division.  In order to
+carry out the attack the three leading battalions of
+the Brigade had to be crowded forward into a narrow
+front before daylight upon August 24.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+All day they lay there, but towards evening the
+bombardment which they endured changed into an
+immense barrage which fell like a steel guillotine in
+front of our line, the British counter battery work
+being unable to check it.  Shortly before 7 o'clock
+in the evening the leading companies of the attack
+belonging from the left to the 1st Queen's, 16th Rifles
+and 2nd Worcesters, crept forward until they were on
+the edge of the barrage.  At 7 o'clock they took
+the plunge, advancing with brisk alacrity into that
+terrible pelt of missiles.  By 7.30 the Queen's had
+established themselves in the German position and
+were bombing their way up Wood Lane Trench.  The
+other two battalions had also at that hour got well
+forward, and the 42nd Brigade of the Fourteenth
+Division upon the right had been equally successful.
+The new positions were at once consolidated by the
+9th Highland Light Infantry and by parties of the
+222nd Field Company, together with the 18th Middlesex
+pioneers, under a very heavy fire.  The Worcesters
+were in good touch with the 16th Rifles upon their
+left, but a considerable and dangerous gap had formed
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P219"></a>219}</span>
+between the left of the Rifles and the right of the
+Queen's&mdash;a gap which might have let in a fatal
+counter-attack had it not been for the admirable
+barrage of the artillery, which beat down each
+attempted advance.  A trench was at once put in
+hand to link up the new line, the sappers labouring
+at it during the night, but the gap had not been
+entirely closed by the morning.  The assaulting
+battalions were then relieved, and the 98th Brigade
+took the place of their comrades of the 100th.
+Thus ended this very successful little advance, the
+result being to push forward and strengthen our
+position between the two woods.  The casualties were
+not high, and this fact was due to the fine co-operation
+of the guns, and to a very effective smoke barrage
+thrown out between the left wing of the attack and
+the machine-guns of High Wood.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Fourteenth Division had advanced upon the
+immediate right of the Longueval-Flers road, the
+42nd Brigade upon the left keeping in touch with the
+100th, while the 41st Brigade upon the right had not
+only to reach its own objective, but to act as a
+protective flank against the Germans in the village of
+Ginchy.  The 43rd Brigade was in reserve, but
+contributed one battalion, the 6th Yorkshire Light
+Infantry, to strengthening the reserve of the 42nd
+Brigade, whose formidable task was the carrying
+of the outlying fringe of Delville Wood.  At last
+that tragic grove, the scene of such a prolonged
+struggle, was to be utterly cleared from our front.
+Three gallant battalions of the 42nd Brigade&mdash;the
+5th Oxford and Bucks on the left, the 5th Shropshires
+in the centre, and the 9th Rifles upon the
+right&mdash;swept forward with the bayonet in the good old
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P220"></a>220}</span>
+style and cleared it from end to end, helped greatly
+by the accurate barrage behind which they advanced.
+The German counter-barrage was heavy, but the
+troops tramped through it with no more deflection
+than if it had been a rainstorm, though a trail of dead
+and wounded marked their path.  Every officer of
+the Rifle battalion was hit.  The first barrier was a
+trench cut 150 yards from the north of the wood and
+called Inner Trench.  This was taken at the first
+rush, the enemy surrendering freely.  Two gallant
+N.C.O.'s of the Rifles, Sergeant Hamp and Corporal
+Ord, rushed up a machine-gun at the cost of their own
+lives.  One party of 50 men of the enemy seem to
+have taken up arms again after three of the storming
+lines had passed, and to have blazed into their backs
+with a machine-gun, but a fourth line swept over
+them and all were engulfed.  The Oxford and Bucks
+on the left of the line moved forward splendidly,
+picking up 200 prisoners as they passed, clearing the edge
+of the wood and digging in about 200 yards to the
+north of it, the 89th F Company Royal Engineers
+and the 11th King's Liverpool consolidating the
+position.  The enemy's opposition upon the right
+flank had, however, been very much sterner and more
+successful, so that the flank battalion of the 42nd
+Brigade and the Rifle battalions of the 41st Brigade
+had all fallen short of their final objectives.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Altogether the day was a great success, for the
+losses were not excessive, and the gains though not
+sensational were general all along the line and
+prepared the way for the successful assaults of the next
+week.  The fact that the right flank had not come on
+as far as the left, caused each successive battalion to
+find itself with its right flank exposed, but the line
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P221"></a>221}</span>
+was held by a clever readjustment under heavy fire,
+by which the flank battalions faced half right with
+the Oxfords still in the advanced position joining
+up with the Thirty-third Division, while the line
+slanting, but unbroken, sloped backwards to Inner
+Trench upon the right.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The eastern corner of Delville Wood was still
+dominated by a strong point, but upon the rain-swept
+evening of August 27 this was finally cleared
+out by the 43rd Brigade of the Fourteenth Division,
+the 6th Somerset, Yorkshire and Cornwall battalions
+of light infantry, together with the 10th Durhams, all
+doing good service.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The remains of the hard-worked Seventh Division
+had been thrust in front of those Alcohol trenches
+which still remained intact, filling up the gap
+separating Delville Wood from Ginchy.  The 22nd Brigade
+was on the left, and shared in the advance of the 43rd,
+the 1st Welsh Fusiliers capturing Hop Alley, Beer
+Trench, and part of Vat Alley.  The impending attack
+upon Ginchy, which was to co-operate with the attack
+upon Guillemont farther south, was forestalled and
+postponed by a very strong advance of the German
+infantry upon the north and north-east of Delville
+Wood.  The 91st Brigade had relieved the 22nd, and
+the brunt of this attack outside the wood fell upon the
+1st South Staffords, who repulsed the onslaught on
+three separate occasions, enduring a heavy shelling
+between each German advance.  Upon the fourth
+attack the persevering German infantry succeeded in
+penetrating the north-east corner of the wood and
+regaining Hop Alley.  The 2nd Queen's relieved the
+exhausted Staffords, and at noon of September 2
+made a vigorous bombing attack which had some
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P222"></a>222}</span>
+success, though the assailants were considerably
+mystified by the appearance of a party of Germans
+who had dressed themselves in the khaki and helmets
+taken the night before.  This powerful attack fell
+also upon the Twentieth Division, and upon the
+Fourteenth to the right of the Seventh, but although
+it inflicted heavy losses, especially upon the 60th
+Brigade of the Twentieth Division, it failed to gain
+any ground or to obtain any strategic advantage.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On September 3 at noon the attack upon Ginchy
+was carried out by the 22nd Brigade, the 1st Welsh
+Fusiliers attacking to the north of the village, the
+20th Manchesters moving on to the village itself, and
+the 2nd Warwicks on to the trenches to the west of
+the village.  The Manchesters succeeded about one
+o'clock in forcing their way into the village, sending
+back 200 of the garrison as prisoners.  The first rush
+behind the barrage sustained few casualties, and it
+was not until the Manchesters in their fiery eagerness
+began to push on beyond their mark that they ran
+into a very severe fire from the north, which mowed
+down their ranks, including nearly all their officers.
+The Welsh Fusiliers upon the left had been unable to
+get forward, and as a consequence the Manchester
+men were in so precarious a position and so reduced
+in numbers that they had to fall back through the
+village, while the 2nd Royal Irish, who had passed on
+as far as Ginchy Telegraph, had now to retire, as their
+rear was in danger.  The 2nd Warwicks, however,
+held on to the south of the village, and refused to be
+dislodged, keeping their position there against all
+attacks until the night of September 5.  In the
+afternoon, two companies of the Irish attempted to
+retrieve the situation by a renewed advance upon the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P223"></a>223}</span>
+village, but their losses were heavy, and they could
+not get farther than the western outskirts.  The
+casualties during the day were severe, and in the
+night it was thought advisable to replace the 22nd by
+the 20th Brigade.  The latter made a fresh attack upon
+the village at eight in the morning of September 4
+by the 9th Devons, but again it was found impossible,
+in the face of the inexorable machine-guns, to effect a
+permanent lodgment.  The 2nd Queen's, however, on
+the left of the Brigade, improved our position at the
+north-eastern corner of Delville Wood.  There was a
+short lull in the fighting, and then at 5.30 A.M. upon
+the 6th the 2nd Gordons stormed into the orchards
+round the village, but had to dig themselves in upon
+the western edge.  At 2 P.M. they again attacked,
+aided by two companies of the 9th Devons, getting
+as far as the middle of the village, and capturing some
+prisoners, but the Germans came back with so heavy
+a counter-attack that the evening found our troops
+back in their own front line once more.  On the night
+of September 7 the division was taken out&mdash;the 16th
+(Irish) and 55th moving up to the Ginchy Front.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This severe fighting by the Seventh Division from
+the 3rd onwards was an excellent example of how a
+force may be called upon to sacrifice itself without
+seeing the object of its sacrifice until it learns the
+general plans of the Commander.  The assaults upon
+Ginchy, unsuccessful at the moment, were of the
+greatest value as leading to the capture of Guillemont
+in the south.  The task allotted to the Seventh
+Division was a very difficult one, involving an advance
+from a salient with the left flank exposed, and the
+magnitude of this task was greatly increased by the
+truly execrable weather.  If no successful efforts were
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P224"></a>224}</span>
+made to counter-attack upon Guillemont, the reason
+undoubtedly lay in the absorption of the German
+strength at Ginchy.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On this same day the battle raged from Ginchy
+along the whole right of our line through Waterlot
+Farm, Guillemont and Falfemont Farm to the left
+flank of the French.  The annexed diagram will give
+some idea of the forces engaged and their several
+objectives on September 3.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P225"></a>225}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="capcenter">
+<a id="img-225"></a>
+<br />
+<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-225.jpg" alt="ATTACK ON GERMAN LEFT FLANK September 3, 1916." />
+<br />
+ATTACK ON GERMAN LEFT FLANK <br />
+September 3, 1916.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+As will be seen by this plan, the Fifth Division
+formed the unit next to the French, and the 13th
+Brigade were ordered to help our gallant allies in
+attacking the extreme southern point at Falfemont,
+while the 95th Brigade covered the ground between
+their comrades of the 13th and the village of
+Guillemont.  The advance was made shortly after mid-day,
+and though the operations were long, bloody, and
+difficult, the famous old division, inheritors of the
+glories of Mons and Le Cateau, was not to be denied.
+The resistance was very strenuous, and only the most
+devoted constancy could have eventually overcome
+it.  To follow the fortunes of the 13th Brigade first it
+may be briefly stated that upon Sunday, September 3,
+they first gained the Falfemont Farm, and then lost
+it again.  That night they were reinforced by three
+battalions of the 15th Brigade, and were able next
+day to push in between the Farm and Guillemont,
+pressing the defenders upon every side.  It was a
+widespread building, with many loopholed outhouses,
+and one of these fell after the other until only the
+central ruin, still spouting fire like an anchored
+battleship, remained in the hands of the defenders.  Their
+position was hopeless, however, and by the morning
+of September 5 the changes in the line to the north
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P226"></a>226}</span>
+of them, and especially the loss of Guillemont, caused
+them to evacuate the position.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The advance of the 95th Brigade upon the left of
+the Fifth Division had been a very gallant one, though
+the objectives which they so bravely won were nameless
+lines of trenches and a sunken road.  The first
+line of the attack was formed by the 1st Duke of
+Cornwall's on the left, and the 12th Gloucesters upon
+the right, closely followed by the 1st Devons and 1st
+East Surreys.  They were in close touch with the
+59th Brigades of the Twentieth Division, who were
+attacking Guillemont upon their left.  Within two
+hours of the first attack all three objectives had been
+captured, and the remains of the victorious battalions
+were digging in upon the line Ginchy-Wedge Wood.
+The losses were heavy in each battalion, but particularly
+so in the 12th Gloucesters.  For a time they were
+under fire from both the British and the German
+batteries.  Yet they held on to their ultimate objective,
+and the following extract from the impression which
+they produced upon an experienced regular colonel is
+worth quoting, if only to show the pitch of soldiership
+to which our amateur volunteers had reached.
+"The battalion came on in their extended lines as
+steadily as on parade, and, without wavering, though
+suffering heavy losses, passed through a hot German
+barrage in the most gallant manner.  The lines were
+also much troubled by long-range machine-gun fire
+from the direction of Falfemont, but although gaps
+appeared and the lines were rapidly thinning out, I
+never saw the slightest sign of wavering.  No troops
+could have carried through such a difficult task with
+more indifference to consequences."  Gloucestershire
+was once the favourite forcing-ground for the champions
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P227"></a>227}</span>
+of the British ring.  The old fighting breed still
+lives.  Altogether the 95th Brigade advanced 3000
+yards in this action, and was responsible for the
+capture both of Wedge Wood and of Leuze Wood.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Upon the left of the Fifth Division the difficult
+task of storming Guillemont had been entrusted to
+the Rifle and Rifle Brigade battalions of the 59th
+Brigade upon the right, and to the 47th Brigade of
+the Sixteenth Irish Division.  This brigade had come
+temporarily under the command of General Douglas
+Smith upon the left, taking the place of the 60th
+Brigade, which had lost heavily in strength from cold,
+wet, and continual German gassing and bombardment.
+The 61st was in divisional reserve.  The attack was
+ordered for noon.  Profiting by previous experiences
+it was planned that the whole village should not be
+rushed at once, but that the attack should proceed
+with method in three definite stages.  The guns of the
+Sixth and of the Twenty-fourth Divisions joined in
+the preliminary bombardment.  At noon, the infantry
+leapt over their parapets and charged home.  The
+enemy was taken unawares.  The 10th and 11th Rifle
+Brigade with the 10th and 11th King's Royal Rifles,
+supported by the 6th Oxford and Bucks, carried all
+before them on the south and west of the village,
+while the Leinsters, Connaughts, and Royal Irish did
+as much in the north.  The Quarries, which was a
+nest of machine-guns, was taken in their stride.  No
+more valiant or successful advance had been seen
+during the War, and it may take a place beside the
+attack of the 36th Brigade at Ovillers as a classical
+example of what British infantry can do with all the
+odds against them.  The Riflemen fought in grim
+silence, but the Irish went through with a wild Celtic
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P228"></a>228}</span>
+yell which, blending with the scream of their pipes,
+must have added one more to the horrors of the
+shaken and hard-pressed garrison.  Neck and neck
+the two brigades, English and Irish, went through
+the German line.  Hand-to-hand fights took place
+in the village, but all resistance was soon beaten down.
+By 12.30 the first objectives were solid, and at 1.20
+the whole village was taken and the survivors of the
+enemy streaming out to eastward.  The English
+losses were heavy and equally distributed.  The Irish
+were also heavy, especially in the case of the 6th
+Connaughts, who also lost their colonel.  At this time,
+through the failure of recruiting in Ireland, these
+brave battalions were below full strength, in spite of
+which within six days they stormed or helped to storm
+two of the strongest villages upon the line.  One
+hardly knows which emotion is stronger&mdash;one's pride
+in those who went, or one's contempt for those who
+bided at home.  No one admired the splendid dash
+of the Irish stormers more heartily than the British
+Riflemen, who kept pace with them in their desperate
+venture.  Equally brave, they were more deliberate
+in their methods, with the result that more than once
+pockets of fighting Germans who had been overrun
+by the Irish, but were still venomous, were cleared up
+by the Riflemen on the flank.  So infectious, however,
+was the fiery dash of the Irish, that Mr. Philip Gibbs
+has left it on record in one of his admirable letters
+that an English sergeant of Rifles complained that he
+had almost blown his teeth away in whistling his men
+back from overrunning their objectives.  The garrison,
+it may be remarked, were chiefly Hanoverian, and
+once again our men were amused and amazed to see
+"Gibraltar" printed upon their hats, a reminiscence
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P229"></a>229}</span>
+of the days when they formed part of the British
+army.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whilst the attack had been in progress, two
+battalions of the 61st Brigade, the 7th Somersets
+and 12th King's Liverpools, were in close support,
+advancing steadily through the German barrage.
+The enemy were, as already shown, strongly held at
+Ginchy on the left flank of the Guillemont advance,
+but in spite of their preoccupations they made strong
+attempts at a counter-attack from this direction,
+which fell upon the Connaughts, who had been
+reinforced by two companies of the 12th King's.
+This small flanking force pushed out posts which
+behaved with great gallantry, holding off the enemy
+until evening, though at considerable loss to
+themselves.  One of these posts, under Sergeant Jones
+of the 12th King's, was cut off by the Germans
+and held out for two days without food or water&mdash;a
+deed for which the sergeant received the Victoria
+Cross.  On September 4 the positions were put into
+a state of defence, and on the 5th the Twentieth
+Division drew out of the line after their fine deed
+of arms.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Fourteenth Division had been in support upon
+the left during the attack upon Guillemont, and the
+43rd Brigade had moved up to the northern edge
+of the village itself, losing a number of officers
+and men, including the colonel of the 6th
+Somersets, who, though badly wounded, remained with
+his battalion until it had consolidated its new
+position.  A German advance was attempted at this
+point about 8 P.M., but the 43rd Brigade helped to
+drive it back.  It may be said that the whole of
+September 3 was a series of small victories, making in
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P230"></a>230}</span>
+the aggregate a very considerable one, and breaking
+down the whole of the flank German defences.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Irish Division was now brought up to
+face Ginchy, the one point still untaken upon the
+German second line, whilst the Fifth Division pursued
+its victorious way up to Leuze Wood and to the lower
+corner of Bouleaux Wood, always in close touch with
+the French upon their right.  The 47th Brigade of
+the Irish had already lost near half its numbers, and
+other units of the division, both infantry and sappers,
+especially the 7th and 8th Irish Fusiliers, had lost
+heavily in supporting the Fifth Division in its attack,
+but the battalions were still full of fight.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the late afternoon of September 9 the final
+attack upon Ginchy by the Irish tore that village
+from the close grip of its Bavarian and Pomeranian
+garrison.  The Fifty-fifth Division made a supporting
+attack upon the left, but the main advance was left
+for the now depleted but indomitable division.  It
+dashed forward upon a two-brigade front, the 47th
+upon the right and the 48th upon the left, the
+brigades being strengthened by three battalions of
+the 49th, so that practically all the reserves were
+in the line from the start, but the commander
+had the comforting assurance that the Guards
+were moving up in his rear.  On the right the first
+wave consisted of the 6th Royal Irish and the 8th
+Munsters, who dashed forward with great gallantry
+but were held up by machine-guns.  The same fire
+held up the 1st Munsters upon the right of the 48th
+Brigade, but some natural cover was found which
+enabled them to continue to advance.  On their left
+the 7th Irish Rifles and 7th Irish Fusiliers had broken
+into the German line in the first determined advance.
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P231"></a>231}</span>
+By six in the evening the 8th and 9th Dublins had
+reinforced the attack and had pushed on into the
+village, where the 156th Field Company Royal
+Engineers at once consolidated&mdash;a swift measure which
+was fully justified since two attacks stormed out of the
+darkness of the night and were beaten back into
+it again.  Next morning the Sixteenth Division was
+relieved by the Guards and returned for the time
+from the line which they had so materially helped
+to enlarge and consolidate.  Their losses had been
+heavy.  Five battalion commanders were among the
+casualties.  They fell out of the line upon September
+10.  A few days earlier the Fifth Division had been
+relieved by the Fifty-sixth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The total effect of these operations had been to
+extend the whole British position for several thousand
+yards in frontage and nearly a mile in depth.  At
+least 2000 more prisoners had fallen into our hands.
+The attack of July 14 had broken in the centre of
+the German second line, but the two flanks had held
+firm.  The fall of Pozières upon our left before the
+Australians and the Forty-eighth Division, and of
+Guillemont upon our right before the Twentieth and
+Fifth, meant that the flanks also had gone, and that
+the whole front was now clear.  A third strong line
+ran through Warlencourt and Le Transloy, but very
+numerous impediments&mdash;woods, villages, and trenches&mdash;lay
+in front of the army before they could reach it.
+It proved, however, that the worst impediment of
+all&mdash;vile weather and a premature winter&mdash;was to be
+the only real obstacle to the complete success of the
+army.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In order to complete this description of these
+widespread operations, which are difficult to
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P232"></a>232}</span>
+synchronise and bring into any settled plan, one must
+return to what was going on upon the left of Delville
+Wood.  Towards the end of August the Thirty-third
+Division, which had covered the line between Delville
+and High Woods, was relieved by the Twenty-fourth.
+Upon the left of the Twenty-fourth the First Division
+was still continuing that series of operations upon
+High Wood which have been already described.
+On their left in turn was the Fifteenth Scottish
+Division, the left unit of Rawlinson's Army.  They
+were busy from this time onwards in digging their
+assembly trenches for the great assault.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The first incident which calls for attention was a
+very sudden and violent German attack upon August
+31 upon the Twenty-fourth Division.  The German
+onslaught met with some success at first, as it burst
+through the line of the 13th Middlesex, a battalion
+which had lost heavily in the attack upon Guillemont
+ten days before, and was for the moment more fit for
+a rest-camp than the forefront of the battle.  The
+9th Sussex, who were on the right of the Middlesex,
+stood firm, and the German advance, which had
+penetrated some distance down the long communication
+trench which is known as Plum Street, was eventually
+brought to a halt.  This result was partly brought
+about by the initiative and determination of a
+2nd Lieutenant of the Middlesex, "a little
+pale-faced fellow," who carried off a Lewis gun, and
+worked it from different positions down the trench,
+continually holding up the Germans and giving time
+for the Sussex men to gather such a force at the end
+of Plum Street as prevented the Germans from
+debouching into the larger trenches which led down
+towards Longueval.  The attack had been equally
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P233"></a>233}</span>
+severe upon the 72nd Brigade, who held the right
+of the division, which included the northern end of
+Delville Wood.  They entirely repulsed the Germans
+with great loss, the 8th Queen's Surrey being the
+battalion which bore the brunt of the fight.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the next day, September 1, the 17th Brigade
+came up to restore the situation on the left, and by
+evening the position had been almost cleared.  On the
+2nd, 3rd, and 4th there were fresh German attacks,
+but the line was now firmly held and no impression
+was made.  None the less, the fighting had been
+costly, and the depleted division had 2000 more
+names upon its roll of honour.  It was drawn out
+shortly afterwards, but its artillery, which was left
+in the line, had the misfortune to lose its distinguished
+chief, General Phillpotts, upon September 8.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We shall now move a mile eastwards to follow the
+First Division in its difficult and, as it proved,
+impossible task of improving our position as regards High
+Wood, a spot which caused us more delay and loss
+than any other upon the German line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On September 3 a strong attack by the whole of
+the 1st Brigade was made upon the wood, which was
+gridironed with trenches and studded with strong
+points.  The immediate objectives were the main
+trench in the wood and the trenches to the south-east
+of the wood.  The 1st Camerons, supported by
+the 8th Berks, advanced upon the right, the Black
+Watch, supported by the 10th Gloucesters, on the left.
+The attack had considerable success, which could
+not, however, be maintained.  The battalions on the
+right won home, but the consolidating parties were
+delayed.  On the left, the attack was only partially
+successful, being held up at a large mine-crater.  When
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P234"></a>234}</span>
+eventually a strong German counter-attack swept
+forward from the north-east of High Wood, the British
+had to fall back to their own original line, taking,
+however, 80 German prisoners with them.  The ground
+had been won, but there had not been weight enough
+to hold it.  The losses of the two Highland battalions
+were severe.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On September 8 the 3rd Brigade penetrated into
+the western part of High Wood, but again it was
+found impossible to make more than a temporary
+lodgment.  The 2nd Welsh, 1st South Wales Borderers
+and 1st Gloucesters were all involved in this affair, as
+was the 9th Black Watch of the Fifteenth Division,
+who played a very gallant part.  Next day the attack
+was renewed with the 2nd Brigade upon the right,
+the 3rd upon the left.  In the centre the 1st Northants
+captured the crater, but were driven out of it later
+in the day, after a hard fight.  On the left the
+Munsters and Gloucesters were held up by machine-gun
+fire.  On the right the advance of the 2nd Sussex
+and of the 2nd Rifles met with gratifying success.
+The important trench called Wood Lane was stormed,
+with a loss to the assailants of a couple of hundred men,
+after the hostile machine-guns had been deftly put
+out of action by our trench-mortars.  The Rifles
+were in touch not only with their comrades of Sussex
+upon the left, but with the 5th King's Liverpool upon
+the right, so that the line was complete.  It was
+consolidated that night by the 1st North Lancashires
+and was permanently held, an attempt at counter-attack
+next day being crushed by our barrage.  After
+this little victory the First Division was relieved upon
+the evening of September 10 by the New Zealanders.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p><a id="chap10"></a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P235"></a>235}</span></p>
+
+<h3>
+CHAPTER X
+<br /><br />
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+Breaking of the Third Line, September 15
+</p>
+
+<p class="noindent">
+Capture of Martinpuich by Fifteenth Division&mdash;Advance of Fiftieth
+Division&mdash;Capture of High Wood by Forty-seventh Division&mdash;Splendid
+advance of New Zealanders&mdash;Capture of Flers by
+Forty-first Division&mdash;Advance of the Light Division&mdash;Arduous
+work of the Guards and Sixth Divisions&mdash;Capture of
+Quadrilateral&mdash;Work of Fifty-sixth Division on flank&mdash;Début of the
+tanks.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+The Army had been temporarily exhausted by its
+extreme efforts and the consequent losses, but was
+greatly buoyed up by the certainty that with their
+excellent artillery and their predominant air service
+they were inflicting more punishment than they were
+receiving.  Steadily from week to week the tale of
+prisoners and of captured guns had been growing,
+the British and the French keeping curiously level
+in the numbers of their trophies.  Fresh divisions,
+ardent for battle, were streaming down from the
+Northern line, while old divisions, already badly
+hammered, filled up rapidly with eager drafts, and
+were battle-worthy once again in a period which would
+have been pronounced absolutely impossible by any
+military critic before the War.  All the rearward
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P236"></a>236}</span>
+villages were choked with the supports.  There was
+rumour also of some new agency to be used, and
+wondrous stories were whispered as to its nature and
+its powers.  The men were in high heart, therefore,
+and by the middle of September Rawlinson's Fourth
+Army, which now included three corps, was ready to
+spring forward once again.  The main German line
+was miles behind them, and the headquarters of
+British brigades and divisions now nested comfortably
+in those commodious dug-outs which two years
+of unremitting German labour had constructed&mdash;monuments
+for many a year to come of their industry
+and of their failure.  It was realised that the obstacles
+in front, however formidable, could not possibly be so
+difficult as those which had already been surmounted;
+and yet our aeroplanes were able to report that the
+whole country was still slashed across and across in
+a fanciful lacework of intricate patterns in which fire,
+support, and communication trenches formed one
+great network of defence.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The left flank of the Army was formed by Gough's
+Fifth Army, which had pushed forward in the manner
+already described, the Second Corps (Jacob) and the
+Canadians (Byng) being in the line upon September
+15.  On their immediate right, and joining them in
+the trenches which face Martinpuich, was Pulteney's
+Third Corps, which covered the whole line down to
+High Wood.  From the north-west of High Wood to
+the trenches opposite Flers, Horne's long-suffering
+Fifteenth Corps still urged the attack which it had
+commenced upon July 1.  The units, it is true, had
+changed, but it is difficult to exaggerate the long
+strain which had been borne by this commander and
+his staff.  An appreciation of it was shown by his
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P237"></a>237}</span>
+elevation to the command of the First Army at the
+conclusion of the operations.  From the right of
+Horne's Corps to the point of junction with the
+French the line was filled by the Fourteenth Corps,
+under Lord Cavan of Ypres fame.  In the movement,
+then, which we are immediately considering, it is the
+Third, Fifteenth, and Fourteenth Corps which are
+concerned.  We shall take them as usual from the left,
+and follow the fortunes of each until their immediate
+operations reached some definite term.  It is a
+gigantic movement upon which we look, for from the
+Eleventh Division in the Thiepval sector to the left,
+along ten miles of crowded trenches to the Fifty-sixth
+Division near Combles upon the right, twelve divisions,
+or about 120,000 infantry, were straining on the
+leash as the minute hand crawled towards zero and
+the shell streams swept ever swifter overhead.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The three divisions which formed the Third Corps
+were, counting from the left, the Fifteenth, the
+Fiftieth, and the Forty-seventh.  Of these, the Scots
+Division was faced by the strong line of defence in
+front of Martinpuich and the village of that name.
+The north of England territorials were opposite to the
+various German trenches which linked Martinpuich
+to High Wood.  The Londoners were faced by the
+ghastly charnel-house of High Wood itself, taken and
+retaken so often, but still mainly in German hands.
+At 6.20 A.M. the assault went forward along the line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Fifteenth Division, which had been strengthened
+by the 103rd Brigade, advanced upon the line of
+trenches which separated them from Martinpuich, the
+46th Brigade being upon the left and the 45th upon the
+right.  The 10th Highland Light Infantry upon the
+left of the 46th Brigade were in close touch with
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P238"></a>238}</span>
+the Canadians upon their left, forming the right-hand
+unit of Gough's Army.  This brigade, consisting
+of Highland Light Infantry, Scots Borderers,
+and Scottish Rifles, swarmed over the German defences,
+while their comrades upon the right, including
+Royal Scots, Scots Fusiliers, Camerons, and Argylls,
+were no less successful.  The fact that the whole
+line was engaged removed the old bugbears of
+enfilade fire which had broken up so many of our
+advances.  The German barrage was heavy, but the
+advance was so swift and the close fight of the trenches
+came so quickly, that it was less effective than of old.
+A creeping barrage from the British guns, going forward
+at a pace of fifty yards a minute, kept in front
+of the infantry, whose eager feet were ever on the edge
+of the shrapnel.  With the 44th Highland Brigade in
+close support the whole division swept roaring over the
+trenches, and with hardly a pause flooded into
+Martinpuich, where they met the fringe of the Canadians,
+whose main advance was to the north-west of the
+village.  It was a magnificent advance, and the more
+noteworthy as the men of the 15th Division had already
+been for six unbroken weeks in the line, digging,
+working, fighting, and continually under shell-fire.  Some
+groups of Germans in the village attempted a short
+and hopeless resistance, but the greater number threw
+their arms down and their hands up.  It is said that
+a detachment of six Argylls got into Martinpuich some
+little time before their comrades, owing to some gap
+in the defences, and that they not only held their own
+there, but were found when reinforced to be mounting
+guard over fifty prisoners.  Among many anecdotes
+of military virtue may be cited that of a sergeant
+of this same battalion, which combined within one
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P240"></a>240}</span>
+episode all the qualities which distinguish the very
+best type of British soldier.  He first attacked
+single-handed a number of German dug-outs.  From one
+of these a German officer was emerging with his hands
+up.  A soldier dashed forward in act to kill him, upon
+which the sergeant threatened his comrade with
+the bomb which he held in his hand.  The German
+officer, as a sign of gratitude, presented Cunningham
+on the spot with his Iron Cross, which the sergeant
+at once despatched home to be sold for the benefit of
+the wounded.  It was a quaintly beautiful exhibition
+of a noble nature.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P239"></a>239}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="capcenter">
+<a id="img-239"></a>
+<br />
+<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-239.jpg" alt="Taking of Martinpuich, September 15, 1916." />
+<br />
+Taking of Martinpuich, September 15, 1916.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+Immediate steps were taken to consolidate the
+village and to connect up firmly with the Fiftieth
+Division on the line of Starfish Trench, and with
+the Canadians on the line of Gunpit Trench, the
+general final position being as shown in the diagram.
+The trophies upon this occasion amounted to 13
+machine-guns, 3 field-guns, 3 heavy howitzers, and
+about 700 prisoners.  There was a counter-attack
+upon the morning of September 16, which was easily
+repulsed: and afterwards, save for constant heavy
+shelling, the village was left in the hands of the
+victors, until a few days later the Fifteenth was
+relieved by the Twenty-third Division.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whilst this brilliant advance had been conducted
+upon their left, the Fiftieth Division, the same north
+country Territorial Division which had done such
+vital service during the gas battle at Ypres, had
+carried the trenches opposed to them.  They had no
+village or fixed point at their front with which their
+success can be linked; but it may be said generally
+that they kept the centre level with the two victorious
+wings, and that in the evening of September 15 they
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P241"></a>241}</span>
+extended from the Starfish trench on the left to the
+new position of the Forty-seventh Division upon the
+right.  This position was a magnificent one, for High
+Wood had been finally taken, and the British line
+had been carried forward by these splendid London
+battalions, until in the evening the 140th Brigade
+upon the right had been able to join up with the
+New Zealanders upon the Flers line.  Advancing
+upon a one-brigade front, with the 6th and 15th
+London in the lead, the London territorials, after
+one slight check, rushed the wood, and by 11 o'clock
+not only had it in their complete possession but had
+won 150 yards beyond it, where they consolidated.
+Two tanks which had been allotted to them were
+unfortunately unable to make their way through that
+terrible chaos of fallen trees, irregular trenches, deep
+shell-holes, and putrescent decay, which extended for
+a third of a mile from south to north.  The wood
+now passed permanently into British hands, and the
+Forty-seventh Division has the honour of the final
+capture; but in justice to the Thirty-third and other
+brave divisions which had at different times taken
+and then lost it, it must be remembered that it was
+a very much more difficult proposition to hold it when
+there was no general attack, and when the guns of
+the whole German line could concentrate upon the
+task of making it uninhabitable.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+So much for the capture of High Wood by the
+Forty-seventh Division.  Speaking generally, it may
+be said that each of the three divisions forming
+Pulteney's Third Corps was equally successful in
+reaching and in retaining the objectives assigned for
+the attack.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The dividing line between the Third Corps and
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P242"></a>242}</span>
+Horne's Fifteenth Corps was to the south of High
+Wood in the neighbourhood of Drop Trench.  The
+order of the divisions in the latter corps from the left
+was the New Zealanders, the Forty-first Division, and
+the Fourteenth Light Division.  We shall follow each
+in its turn.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The New Zealand Division had confirmed in France
+the high reputation which their predecessors had
+founded in South Africa, and which they had themselves
+renewed on the Gallipoli peninsula.  They were
+troops with a splendid spirit, and no Londoner who
+has seen their tall lithe figures with the crimson
+hat-bands which distinguish them from other oversea
+troops, needs to be told how fine was their physique.
+They were fortunate, too, in a divisional commander
+of great dash and gallantry.  It is not surprising,
+therefore, to find that in this, their first serious battle,
+they carried themselves with great distinction and
+made good the objective which had been assigned
+to them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This objective was the famous Switch Trench
+between High Wood and Delville Wood, a section
+which was held by the Fourth Bavarian Division.
+Good as the Bavarians are, they had no chance when
+it came to close quarters with the stalwart men of
+Auckland and Otago, who formed the 2nd Brigade in
+the front line of the New Zealand battle.  The machine-gun
+fire which they had to face was heavy and deadly,
+especially for the Otagos, who were on the left near
+High Wood.  They poured on, however, in an
+unbroken array, springing down into Switch Trench,
+bayoneting part of the garrison, sending back the
+survivors as prisoners, and rapidly forming up once
+more for a fresh advance.  The New Zealand Rifle
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P243"></a>243}</span>
+Brigade passed over the captured trench and lay down
+under the barrage 300 yards beyond it, whence at
+6.40 they went forward upon a new advance with
+such impetuosity that they could hardly be kept out
+of the friendly fire in front of them.  The next obstacle,
+Fat Trench, was easily surmounted, and by noon the
+Flers Trench and Flers Support Trench had both
+fallen to this fine advance.  The village of Flers was
+not in the direct line of the advance, but the fringe of
+the New Zealanders passed through the edge of it, and
+connected up with the Forty-first Division who had
+occupied it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+When, as will presently be shown, the left-hand
+brigade of this division was temporarily driven back
+by a sharp German counter-attack, the New Zealanders
+were bare upon their right, while a gap existed also
+upon their left.  In spite of this they held on to their
+advanced position to the north-west of the village,
+the line being strengthened by battalions from
+Wellington, Hawke's Bay, and West Coast, who
+pushed forward into the fight.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the morning of the 16th the reserve brigade had
+come up and the advance was renewed as far as Grove
+Alley upon the left, the Canterbury battalion clearing
+and holding the new ground, with the Aucklanders
+and Otagos in immediate support.  With this new
+advance the New Zealanders had come forward 3000
+yards in two days&mdash;a notable performance&mdash;and were
+within short striking distance of the great German
+systems of Gird Trench and Gird Support.  Two
+German counters that evening, one upon the Rifle
+Brigade and the other on the 1st Wellington battalion,
+had no success.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the right of the New Zealanders was the Forty-first
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P244"></a>244}</span>
+Division under one of the heroes of the original
+Seventh Division.  His objective after surmounting
+the German trench lines was the fortified village
+of Flers.  His artillery support was particularly
+strong, for his C.R.A. had under him the very
+efficient guns of the Twenty-first Division, as well
+as those of his own unit.  The infantry advance was
+carried out with the 122nd Brigade on the left, the
+124th on the right, and the 123rd in reserve.  All
+the battalions save one were South of England, and
+most of them from the home counties, a district
+which has furnished some of the finest infantry of
+the War.  As they advanced they were in close touch
+with the 2nd New Zealanders upon the left and with
+the 41st Brigade upon the right.  The first objective,
+Tea Support Trench, was rapidly overrun by the
+Royal Riflemen, Hampshire, and Queen's Surrey
+battalions who formed the front line.  The garrison
+surrendered.  The continuation of Switch Trench
+stretched now in front of them, and both front
+brigades, with a ten minutes' interval in favour of
+the left one, made good the sections in front of them.
+The division was fortunate in its tanks, for seven out
+of ten got over the first line, and some survived for
+the whole day, spreading dismay in front of them
+and amused appreciation behind.  The resistance was
+by no means desperate save by a few machine-gunners,
+who were finally scared or butted out of their
+emplacements by the iron monsters.  Two tanks did good
+service, cutting the wire to the west of Flers Road,
+and the village was opened up to the stormers, who
+rushed into it shortly after eight o'clock.  One tank
+went up the east side of the village and crushed in
+two houses containing machine-guns, while another
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P245"></a>245}</span>
+one passed down the main street; and yet another
+cleared up the west side.  Nowhere upon this day of
+battle did these engines of warfare justify themselves
+so well as at Flers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+By ten o'clock the village was cleared and
+consolidated, but the German guns were very active, and
+there was a strong counter-attack from fresh infantry,
+which fell heavily upon the already worn troops who
+had now passed beyond the village and got as far as
+the Box and Cox trenches.  There had been a large
+number of officer casualties.  Shortly after ten o'clock
+an officer of the 18th King's Royal Rifles had got
+far forward with a mixed party of 100 men with
+some Lewis guns, and had established a strong point
+at Box and Cox, which he held until about one.
+During those three hours the shell-fall was very
+severe.  The division had become somewhat scattered,
+partly owing to the street fighting in Flers and partly
+because the 124th Brigade upon the right, although
+it had kept touch with the 41st Brigade, had lost
+touch with its own comrades upon the left.  Finding
+that its left flank was open, it fell back and took up
+the line of the Sunken Road, a quarter of a mile
+south of Flers, where it remained.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile the 122nd Brigade was in some trouble.
+The pressure of counter-attack in front of it had
+become so heavy that there was a general falling
+back of the more advanced units.  This retrograde
+movement was stopped by the Brigade-Major,
+who collected a section of the 228th Field Company
+of Royal Engineers, together with little groups of
+mixed battalions in Flers Trench, and sent them
+forward again, working in conjunction with the
+New Zealand 3rd (Rifle) Brigade to the north end of
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P246"></a>246}</span>
+the village.  Avoiding the centre of Flers, which was
+flaring and flaming with shells like the live crater of
+a volcano, these troops skirted the flank of the houses
+and by 2 P.M. had arrived once more at the north and
+north-west of the hamlet.  Five Vickers guns were
+brought up, and the position made good by 2 P.M.,
+the Brigadier-General being personally most active in
+this reorganisation of his line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whilst the 122nd Brigade had met and overcome
+this momentary set-back, the 124th upon the right had
+endured a similar experience and had come out of it
+with equal constancy.  Shortly after one they had
+fallen back to Flers Trench, where they were rallied
+by their Brigadier, and moved forward again accompanied
+by some stray units of the Fourteenth Division.
+About 3 P.M. they were reinforced by two fresh
+companies of the 23rd Middlesex from the reserve brigade.
+By half-past four the whole of the remains of the
+division were north of Flers in a ragged but
+indomitable line, steadily winning ground once more, and
+pushing back the German attack.  By half-past six
+they had got level with Flea Trench and Hogshead,
+and were close to the great Gird Trench.  Some of
+the 124th tried hard to establish themselves in this
+important work, but lost heavily from a machine-gun
+established in a cornfield upon their right.  At
+seven o'clock the advanced line was consolidated,
+and the scattered units reorganised so far as the
+want of officers would permit.  Very many of the
+latter, including Colonel Ash of the 23rd Middlesex,
+had been killed or wounded.  The 11th Queen's,
+from the reserve brigade, was sent up to strengthen
+the front posts, while an officer of the same battalion
+was placed in charge of the Flers defences.  No
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P247"></a>247}</span>
+tank was left intact in the evening, but they had
+amply justified themselves and done brilliant work
+in this section of the battlefield.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The morning of September 16 saw a forward movement
+in this quarter upon the Gird Trench, which was
+shared in by the divisions upon both wings.  The
+64th Brigade of the Twenty-first Division had been
+placed under the orders of the General commanding
+the Forty-first for the purpose of this attack, so that
+the subsequent losses fell upon the North-countrymen.
+The advance got forward about 200 yards and established
+itself close to the great trench, but the losses
+were heavy, the machine-guns active, and farther
+progress was for the moment impossible.  The 9th
+Yorkshire Light Infantry and 15th Durham Light
+Infantry were the chief sufferers in this affair.  Upon
+September 17 the Fifty-fifth Division relieved the
+Forty-first, whose record for the battle was certainly
+a glorious one, as in one day they had taken
+Tea Support, Switch Trench, Flers Trench, Flers
+village, Box and Cox and Flea Trench, any one of
+which might be considered an achievement.  How
+great their efforts were may be measured by the
+fact that nearly 50 per cent had fallen.  The losses
+of the 124th were almost as heavy, and those of
+the 123rd were considerable.  Altogether 149 officers
+out of 251 and 2994 out of about 7500 were killed
+or wounded.  The opponents both of the Forty-first
+and of the Fourteenth Divisions were the Fifth
+Bavarian Division, who held the German line from
+Flers to Ginchy, and must have been well-nigh
+annihilated in the action.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The story of the Fourteenth Light Division has
+been to some extent told in recounting the experiences
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P248"></a>248}</span>
+of the Forty-first Division, as the two advanced side
+by side upon prolongations of the same trenches, with
+equal dangers and equal successes.  No village fell
+within the sphere of their actual operations, though a
+complete victory would have brought them to Guedecourt,
+but it was part of their task to sweep up the
+German trenches to the north of Delville Wood,
+especially the Tea Support and the Switch Trench.
+This task was committed to the 41st Brigade,
+consisting entirely of Rifle Brigade or Royal Rifle
+Battalions.  The advance was for 500 yards downhill,
+and then up a long slope of 700 yards, which leads to
+a plateau about 200 yards across, with the Switch
+Trench in the centre of it.  The Riflemen swept over
+this space with a splendid dash which showed that
+they had inherited all those qualities of the old 60th
+which were cultivated by Sir John Moore and celebrated
+by Napier, qualities which were always shared
+by their comrades of the Rifle Brigade.  Regardless
+of the enemy's fire, and so eager that they occasionally
+were struck on the backs by their own shrapnel,
+the long thin lines pushed forward in perfect formation,
+the 8th Rifles and 8th Rifle Brigade in front,
+with the 7th Battalions of the same regiments in close
+support.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+By ten o'clock they had cleared the network of
+trenches in front of them and gone forward 2000
+yards.  The main attack was carried on by the 42nd
+Brigade, composed also of Riflemen with the 5th
+Oxford and Bucks and 5th Shropshires.  This
+brigade pushed on, keeping in close touch with the
+Forty-first Division upon the left, but gradually
+losing touch with the Guards upon their right, so that
+a dangerous gap was created.  It was covered by the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P249"></a>249}</span>
+7th Divisional Artillery as well as by its own guns.
+In its advance it passed through the ranks of its
+fellow-brigade, which had cleared the first trenches
+up to and including the line of the Switch Trench.
+The front line from the left consisted of the 5th
+Shropshires and 9th Rifle Brigade, with the 5th Oxford
+and Bucks and 9th Rifles behind.  From the
+beginning the brigade was under heavy fire, and the
+colonel of the Oxfords was twice wounded, which
+did not prevent him from still leading his battalion.
+The first obstacle, Gap Trench, was safely carried, and
+the line swept onwards to Bulls Road where they were
+cheered by the sight of a tank engaging and silencing
+a German battery, though it was itself destroyed in
+the moment of victory.  The losses in the two rifle
+battalions were especially heavy as the right flank
+was exposed owing to the gap which had formed.
+This deadly fire held up the flank, with the result that
+the Shropshires and Oxfords who were less exposed
+to it soon found themselves considerably in advance
+of their comrades, where they formed a line which
+was extended about mid-day by the arrival of the 9th
+Rifles.  At this period large reinforcements of the
+enemy were seen flocking into Gird Trench and Gird
+Support Trench in front.  So strong were they that
+they attempted a counter-attack upon the right front
+of the 42nd Brigade, but this was brought to a stand,
+and finally broken up by rifle and Lewis-gun fire.
+The supporting 43rd Brigade came up in the evening
+and took over the ground gained, together with four
+German guns which had been captured.  The final
+result, therefore, was that the division had won its
+way to the edge of that Gird Trench which represented
+the next great task which should be attempted
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P250"></a>250}</span>
+by the Army&mdash;a task which, as already shown, was
+attempted by three divisions upon the morning of
+September 16, but proved to be too formidable for
+their depleted and wearied ranks.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This fine advance of the Fourteenth Division
+brought them over the low ridge which had faced
+them.  "It was a grand sight," says a Rifleman,
+"to see the promised land lying green at one's feet,
+with Germans moving across the open, and ammunition
+waggons going at a trot to and from their batteries,
+but the grandest sight of the day was seeing the
+battalions advance, the men dancing along only too
+anxious to get to close grips with the enemy."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Among many brave deeds recorded of the division
+there was none finer than those of a captain and a
+corporal, both of the Medical Service, who stayed in
+the open all day in spite of wounds, tending those
+who were hardly worse than themselves.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the evening of September 16 there was an
+advance of the 43rd Brigade, consisting of Somerset,
+Durham, Cornish, and Yorkshire Light Infantry,
+which succeeded in establishing itself in the Gird
+Trench, though they found it impossible to get as far
+as the Gird Support.  This successful advance was
+supported by the Shropshire and Oxford battalions
+of the 42nd Brigade, who established flank protections
+and got into touch with the Guards in Gap Trench
+upon the right.  The Fourteenth Division was withdrawn
+from the line after this, and their place taken
+by the Twenty-first.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We have now briefly considered the operations
+carried out during this great battle by Horne's
+Fifteenth Corps.  Upon their right, stretching from
+the neighbourhood of Ginchy to the left of the French
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P251"></a>251}</span>
+Army in the neighbourhood of Combles, was Cavan's
+Fourteenth Corps, which contained in its battle line
+the Guards, the Sixth Division, and the 56th London
+Territorial Division.  Taking them, as always, from
+the left, we will begin by tracing the progress of the
+Guards.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Guards Division had taken over the Ginchy
+Section some days previously from the Irish Division,
+and had at once found themselves involved in very
+heavy fighting, which left them a good deal weakened
+for the great advance.  They were faced by a strong
+system of trenches, and especially by one stronghold
+upon their right front, called the Quadrilateral, which
+was a most formidable thorn, not only in their side
+but also in that of the Sixth Division upon the right.
+On September 13 and 14 these two divisions strove
+hard, and sustained heavy losses in the endeavour
+to clear their front of, and to outflank, this serious
+obstacle, and some account of these preliminary
+operations may be here introduced, although, as
+explained, they were antecedent to the general
+engagement.  The attack upon the German trenches
+on the evening of September 13 was begun by
+the Sixth Division, which advanced with the 71st
+Brigade upon the left, the Sixteenth upon the
+right, and the Eighteenth in reserve.  For 500
+yards the advance was successful until it reached
+the sunken road which leads from Ginchy to Leuze
+Wood.  Here the leading battalions of the 71st
+Brigade, the 2nd Sherwood Foresters upon the left
+and the 9th Suffolk upon the right, were held up
+by a furious fire which caused them heavy losses.
+The 8th Bedford, one of the leading battalions of
+the 16th Brigade, was also heavily punished.  Many
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P252"></a>252}</span>
+officers fell, including Major Mack of the Suffolks, a
+civilian-bred soldier over sixty years of age, who had
+distinguished himself by his fiery courage.  The 2nd
+Brigade of Guards had advanced upon the left, near
+Ginchy Telegraph, and had also forced their way as
+far as the road, where they were held up partly by
+a terrific barrage from the north-east and partly by
+the murderous fire from the Quadrangle.  The whole
+line dug in upon the ground they had won and waited
+for a farther push in the morning.  In this action
+No. 2 Company of the 2nd Irish Guards suffered
+heavy casualties from close-range fire.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On September 14 a second attempt was made to
+get forward, the action being a purely local one, but
+extending over a considerable space from Ginchy to
+near Leuze Wood, with its centre on the line of Ginchy
+Telegraph.  The 3rd Brigade of Guards came into
+action this morning and made some progress in the
+orchard north of Ginchy.  At the same time, the 2nd
+Sherwoods got astride of the little railway which
+intersected their position.  The gains were inconsiderable,
+however, which could not be said for the losses,
+mostly due to machine-gun fire from the Quadrangle.
+The fact that this point was still untaken gave the
+whole Fourteenth Corps a very difficult start for the
+general action upon September 15 to which we now
+come.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the signal for the general advance the Guards
+Division advanced on the front between Delville
+Wood and Ginchy.  The 1st Guards Brigade was on
+the left, the 2nd on the right, and the 3rd in reserve.
+The front line of battalions counting from the left
+were the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st Coldstreams with the 3rd
+Grenadiers as right flank.  Behind, in the second line
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P253"></a>253}</span>
+from the left, were the 1st Irish, 2nd Grenadiers, 2nd
+Irish, and 1st Scots.  Disregarding the Quadrilateral
+upon their right, which was holding up the Sixth
+Division, the Guards swept magnificently onwards,
+losing many officers and men, but never their direction
+or formation.  From 6.20 in the morning until 4 P.M. they
+overcame one obstacle after another, and continually
+advanced, though the progress was unequal
+at different points on the line.  There was a short
+sharp bout of hand-to-hand fighting in the front line
+trench, but the rush of the heavy disciplined Guardsmen
+was irresistible, and the defenders were soon
+overwhelmed.  In this mêlée the battalions got badly
+mixed up, part of the 2nd Irish getting carried away
+by the 1st Brigade.  The 1st Brigade found a more
+formidable obstacle in front of them in Vat Alley, but
+this also was cleared after a struggle, the left-hand
+units getting mixed with the right-hand units of the
+Fourteenth Division.  About one o'clock the 3rd
+Coldstreams on the extreme left were held up by a
+wired strong point.  They were weak in numbers and
+almost without officers, so they dug in as best they
+could and waited.  On the right the 2nd Brigade
+made good progress, and about mid-day its leading line
+topped the low ridge and saw the land of promise
+beyond, the green slope leading up to Lesboeufs, and
+in the middle of the slope, not more than a thousand
+yards away, a battery of field-guns raining shrapnel
+upon them.  They could get no farther, and they
+consolidated at this point, digging in under heavy
+shell-fire.  The German infantry was seen at one time
+marching down in artillery formation for a
+counter-attack, but the movement was soon dispersed.  In
+the evening the front line, terribly worn and consisting
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P254"></a>254}</span>
+of a jumble of exhausted men, held on firmly to the
+last inch that they had won.  Too weak to advance
+and too proud to retire, they lay under the torment
+of the shells and waited for dusk.  The colonel of
+the 3rd Coldstreams, in temporary command of his
+brigade, had sent back during the afternoon for help,
+and the 2nd Scots were sent up from the 3rd Brigade,
+but the German barrage was so terrific that they
+sustained very heavy losses, including Colonel Tempest,
+Wynne-Finch, the adjutant, and many other officers.
+The battalion, or what remained of it, arrived in time
+to help to crush a dangerous counter-attack, which
+was sweeping down from between Guedecourt and
+Lesboeufs, a repulse which was entirely inflicted by
+rifle and Lewis-gun fire.  A lieutenant seems to
+have been the senior officer present at this critical
+moment, and to have met it as our subalterns have so
+often met large emergencies during the War.  The
+advanced line was held until upon the next day
+the 60th Brigade, and finally the whole of the
+Twentieth Division, took over the new positions,
+which may be regarded as a protective flank line in
+continuation of that of the Fifty-sixth Division.  It
+should be mentioned that the 61st Brigade of the
+Twentieth Division had been lent to the Guards
+during the battle, and had done very sterling and
+essential work.  For a short time the Guards were
+rested after this splendid but costly service.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the meantime the gallant Sixth Division was
+left face to face with the hardest problem of all, the
+Quadrilateral trenches, which, as the name would
+indicate, were as formidable in the flanks or rear as
+in front.  With a tenacity which was worthy of the
+traditions of this great division it settled down to the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P255"></a>255}</span>
+task of clearing its front, meeting with check after
+check, but carrying on day and night until the thing
+was done.  On the first assault upon September 15,
+the 1st Leicesters of the 71st Brigade were able to
+make some progress, but the 8th Bedford of the 16th
+Brigade, who shared the attack, were completely held
+up at the starting-point by the terrific fire, while the
+1st Buffs had heavy losses in endeavouring to come
+up to their aid.  By about mid-day a mixture of
+battalions, which numbered about 200 of the York
+and Lancasters, 50 Buffs and 50 Bedfords, had made
+their way into the advanced German line, but the
+Quadrilateral was still intact.  The General, seeing
+the certain losses and uncertain results which must
+follow from a frontal attack, determined to work
+round the obstacle, and before evening the 16th
+Brigade, which had already lost 1200 men, was ready
+for the advance.  The 18th Brigade had gone forward
+past the Quadrilateral upon the left, working up to
+the Ginchy-Morval Road, and in close touch with the
+1st Scots Guards on the extreme flank of the Guards
+Division.  It now worked down towards the north
+face of the German stronghold, and in the course
+of September 16 the 2nd Durham Light Infantry,
+by a bold advance laid hold of the northern
+trench of the Quadrilateral down to within a
+hundred yards of the Ginchy-Morval Road.  Here
+they were relieved by the 1st West Yorks, who took
+over the task upon the 17th, keeping up constant
+pressure upon the garrison whose resistance was
+admirable.  These brave men belonged to the
+One hundred and eighty-fifth German Division.  By
+this time they were isolated, as the British wave had
+rolled far past them on either side, but their spirit
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P256"></a>256}</span>
+was as high as ever.  A second trench to the north
+of the work was rushed upon September 17 by the
+Leicesters, who bayoneted fifty Germans in a hand-to-hand
+conflict.  Early in the morning of September 18
+came the end, when the British battalions, led by the
+1st Shropshire Light Infantry, closed suddenly in and
+stormed the position.  Seven machine-guns (five of
+which fell to the Shropshires) and a few hundred
+exhausted or wounded prisoners represented the
+trophies of this very difficult operation.  The Sixth
+Division now connected up with the Twentieth upon
+their left, and with the Fifty-sixth upon their right,
+after which, upon September 19, they handed over
+their front for a time to the Fifth Division.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There now only remains the Fifty-sixth Division
+upon the extreme right of the Army&mdash;the division
+which contained many of the crack London Territorial
+Battalions, re-formed and reinforced since its
+terrible losses at the Gommecourt Salient upon July 1.
+In following the fortunes of this fine division upon
+September 15, it is necessary to go back for some days,
+as a series of operations had been undertaken before
+the great battle, which were as arduous as the battle
+itself.  On coming into the line on September 9,
+the division had at once been given the task of
+advancing that wing of the Army.  Upon that date
+the 168th and 169th Brigades were attacking upon
+the line of the road which connects Ginchy with
+Combles, the general objects of the advance being
+gradually to outflank Combles on the one side and the
+Quadrilateral upon the other.  Some ground was
+permanently gained by both brigades upon that day,
+the Victoria Rifles and the 4th London doing most
+of the fighting.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P257"></a>257}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="capcenter">
+<a id="img-257"></a>
+<br />
+<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-257.jpg" alt="ATTACK on QUADRILATERAL, September 15th, 1916." />
+<br />
+ATTACK on QUADRILATERAL, September 15th, 1916.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P258"></a>258}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Upon September 10 the advance was continued,
+a scattered clump of trees called Leuze Wood being
+the immediate obstacle in front of the right-hand
+brigade, while the left-hand brigade was trying to
+get into touch with the division upon their left, and
+were confronted by the continuation of the same
+system of trenches.  The 169th Brigade upon the
+right was advancing through Leuze Wood, and suffered
+heavy losses before reaching its objective.  On the
+left the London Scottish and the Rangers were
+extending east along the Ginchy Road, endeavouring
+to link up with the Guards, for there was an awkward
+gap at that date between the divisions.  This was
+filled, however, by the advent of the Fifth and
+subsequently of the Sixth Division.  The object of all the
+above operations was to get the right flank of the
+Army into its allotted position for the battle to come.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Upon September 15 the London Division went
+forward with the whole line at 6.20 in the morning,
+the 167th Brigade on the left, the 169th upon the
+right.  The original direction of advance had been
+north and south, but it soon became almost from west
+to east as the division, pivoting upon Leuze Wood,
+swung round to attack Bouleaux Wood to the north
+of it, and to hold a defensive flank for the whole
+army.  Their front was a very narrow one to allow
+for the fact that their essential work was lateral.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The 167th Brigade fought its way bravely into
+Bouleaux Wood, where they endured the usual horrors
+of this forest fighting, which came especially upon the
+7th Middlesex battalion, who lost 400 men, chiefly
+from the fire of unseen machine-guns.  There was a
+very heavy barrage between Ginchy and Bouleaux
+Wood, so that all reserves and supports endured heavy
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P259"></a>259}</span>
+losses before they could get up.  By mid-day the 1st
+London and the 8th were involved in the wood and
+some progress was being made, while the 2nd London
+of the 169th Brigade had taken and consolidated a
+trench near the Sunken Road, but a further attack
+upon a second trench to the east of Leuze Wood, two
+days later, was a failure.  On this same day, September
+18, the 168th Brigade relieved the 167th in Bouleaux
+Wood, while the whole division, like one blade of a
+scissors, edged its way eastwards towards Combles to
+meet the French Second Division, who were closing
+in from the other side.  Already rumours were current
+that the Germans were evacuating this important
+little town, but many very active German trenches
+and strong points still lay all round it, through which
+the Allies, from either side, were endeavouring to
+force their way.  On the night of September 18-19,
+the 5th Cheshires, pioneer battalion of the division,
+constructed a long trench parallel to Bouleaux Wood,
+which formed a defensive flank for the operations.  The
+whole of this wood had now been cleared with the
+exception of the extreme northern corner.  Here we
+may leave the Fifty-sixth Division, for the fall of
+Combles will fit in more properly to our next survey,
+when we shall have once again to go down the whole
+line from left to right and to show one more stage in
+the advance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This Battle of Flers may be said to mark an epoch
+in military history on account of the use of the
+so-called tank, an instrument which had no vital effect
+upon the course of the fight, but which was obviously
+capable of being much enlarged, and of being made
+in every way more formidable.  It had been a common
+criticism up to this date that our military equipment
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P260"></a>260}</span>
+had always been an imitation, very belated, of that
+of our enemy.  Now at last Great Britain, warming
+to the War, was giving her inventive and manufacturing
+as well as her military talents full scope&mdash;and
+the tank was the first-born of her fancy.  It is a
+matter of history that Britain has been the inventor
+of processes and Germany the adapter of them, so
+that we had a valuable asset in that direction could
+we break through our bonds of red tape and get
+without hindrance from the thinker in his study to the
+fighter in the trench.  Those who have had the experience
+of discussing any military problem in the Press,
+and have found by the next post fifty letters from
+men of all ranks and professions, presenting solutions
+for it, can best understand how active is the inventive
+brain of the country.  In this instance, Mr. Winston
+Churchill is said, during his tenure of office, to have
+first conceived the idea of the tanks, but the actual
+details were worked out by a number of men.  Especially
+they are owing to Colonel Stern, a civilian before
+the War, who used his knowledge of motor manufacture
+and his great organising ability to put the
+construction through in the shortest time, to Commander
+d'Eyncourt of the Navy, and to Colonel Swinton,
+R.E., who looked after the crews and equipment.  On
+an average six of these engines, strange modern
+resuscitations of the war-chariots of our ancestors,
+were allotted to each division.  The whole affair was
+frankly experimental, and many got into trouble
+through the breakdown of machinery, the limits of
+carrying capacity, and the slipping of the caterpillar
+driving-bands at the sides.  Their pace, too, was
+against them, as they could only go twenty yards per
+minute as against the fifty of the infantry.  Hence
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P261"></a>261}</span>
+they had to be sent ahead down lanes in the barrage,
+with the result that the element of surprise was
+lessened.  Their vision also was very defective, and
+they were bad neighbours, as they drew fire.  The
+result was a very mixed report from various Divisional
+Commanders, some of whom swore by, and others
+at them.  The net result, however, was summed up
+by the words of commendation from General Haig
+in his despatch, and there were some cases, as at Flers
+itself, where the work done was simply invaluable, and
+the machine-guns were nosed out and rooted up before
+they could do any damage.  The adventures of
+individual tanks could, and no doubt will, fill a volume
+to themselves, some of them, either in ignorance or
+recklessness, wandering deep into the enemy's lines,
+and amazing rearward batteries by their sudden
+uncouth appearance.  Several were destroyed, but
+none actually fell into the German hands.  Enough
+was done to show their possibilities, and also to prove
+that the Navy and the Flying Service had not sufficed
+to exhaust our amazing supply of high-spirited youths
+ready to undertake the most nerve-shaking tasks
+so long as a touch of sport gave them a flavour.  The
+very names of these land cruisers, Crême de Menthe
+and the like, showed the joyous, debonair spirit in
+which their crews faced the unknown dangers of their
+new calling.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Summing up the events of September 15, it was
+without any doubt the greatest British victory, though
+not the most important, which had been gained up to
+date in the War.  July 1 was the most important, and
+all subsequent ones arose from it, since it was then that
+the Chinese Wall of Germany was breached.  July 14
+was also a considerable victory, but it was only a
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P262"></a>262}</span>
+portion of the line which was attacked, and that
+portion was partly regained for a time by the German
+counter-attacks.  The battle of September 15,
+however, was on as huge a scale as that of July 1, but
+was devoid of those long stretches of untaken trench
+which made us pay so heavy a price for our victory.
+From the Pozières Ridge upon the left to Bouleaux
+Wood upon the right twelve divisions moved forward
+to victory, and, save in the small section of the
+Quadrilateral, everything gave way at once to that
+majestic advance.  The ultimate objectives had been
+carefully defined, for the Battle of Loos had taught
+us that the infantry must not outrun the guns, but
+this pre-ordained limit was attained at almost every
+spot.  Martinpuich, High Wood, Flers, Delville, and
+Leuze Wood, all passed permanently within the
+British lines, and the trophies of victory amounted
+to 5000 prisoners and a dozen guns.  At this stage
+no less than 21,000 prisoners had been taken by the
+British and 34,000 by the French since the great
+series of battles was commenced upon July 1.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p><a id="chap11"></a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P263"></a>263}</span></p>
+
+<h3>
+CHAPTER XI
+<br /><br />
+THE GAINING OF THE THIEPVAL RIDGE
+</h3>
+
+<p class="intro">
+Assault on Thiepval by Eighteenth Division&mdash;Heavy
+fighting&mdash;Co-operation of Eleventh Division&mdash;Fall of Thiepval&mdash;Fall of
+Schwaben Redoubt&mdash;Taking of Stuff Redoubt&mdash;Important gains
+on the Ridge.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+Having treated the successful advance made by
+Rawlinson's Fourth Army upon September 15, it
+would be well before continuing the narrative of their
+further efforts to return to Gough's Army upon the
+north, the right Canadian wing of which had captured
+Courcelette, but which was occupied in the main with
+the advance upon the Thiepval Ridge.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The actual capture of Thiepval was an operation
+of such importance that it must be treated in some
+detail.  The village, or rather the position, was a
+thorn in the side of the British, as it lay with its
+veteran garrison of Würtembergers, girdled round
+and flanked by formidable systems of trenches upon
+the extreme left of their line.  Just above Thiepval
+was a long slope ending in a marked ridge, which
+was topped by the Schwaben Redoubt.  Both armies
+recognised the extreme importance of this position,
+since its capture would mean a fire-command over all
+the German positions to the north of the Ancre, while
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P264"></a>264}</span>
+without it the British could never reap the full result
+of their success in breaking the line upon July 1.  For
+this reason, instructions had been given to the picked
+German troops who held it to resist at all costs, even
+to the death.  They had massed at least four hundred
+guns in order to beat down every assault.  Yet the
+attempt must be made, and it was assigned to
+Jacob's Second Corps, the actual Divisions engaged
+being the Eighteenth and the Eleventh, both of
+them units recruited in the South of England.  The
+latter was distinguished as the first English Division
+of the New Armies, while the former had already
+gained great distinction in the early days of the Somme
+battle when they captured Trones Wood.  They were
+supported in their difficult venture by a considerable
+concentration of artillery, which included the guns
+of the Twenty-fifth and Forty-ninth Divisions as well
+as their own.  Jacob, their Corps leader, was an
+officer who had risen from the command of an Anglo-Indian
+Brigade to that of a Corps within two years.
+The whole operation, like all others in this region, was
+under the direction of Sir Hubert Gough.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P265"></a>265}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="capcenter">
+<a id="img-265"></a>
+<br />
+<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-265.jpg" alt="PLAN illustrating the Capture of THIEPVAL, September 26th, October 5th, 1916." />
+<br />
+PLAN illustrating the Capture of THIEPVAL, <br />
+September 26th, October 5th, 1916.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+Every possible preparation was made for the
+assault, and all the requirements of prolonged warfare
+were used to minimise the losses and ensure the success
+of the storm-troops.  Four tanks were brought up to
+co-operate, and one of them, as will be shown, was of
+vital use at a critical moment.  Instructions were
+given to the advancing battalions to let their own
+shrapnel strike within a few yards of their toes as they
+advanced, huddling in a thick line behind the screen
+of falling bullets which beat down the machine-guns
+in front.  With fine judgment in some cases the
+supports were taken out of the advanced trenches and
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P266"></a>266}</span>
+concealed here or there so that the answering barrage
+of the enemy fell upon emptiness.  So war-wise were
+the British, and so cool their dispositions, that certain
+enemy trenches were actually exempted from
+bombardment, so that they might form an intact nucleus
+of defence when the place was taken.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Canadian Corps were to attack from Courcelette
+upon the right, but their advance was only
+indirectly concerned with Thiepval Village, being
+directed towards the ridge which runs north-west
+of Courcelette to the Schwaben Redoubt.  Next to
+the Canadians on the left was the Eleventh Division,
+and on their left the Thirteenth, which had been
+strengthened by the addition of the 146th Brigade
+of the Forty-ninth Division.  The latter brigade held
+the original British front line during the action so
+as to release the whole of the Eighteenth Division
+for the advance.  The immediate objective of this
+division was Thiepval Village, to be followed by the
+Schwaben Redoubt.  Those of the Eleventh Division
+on its right were Zollern and Stuff Redoubts.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Eighteenth Division assaulted with two
+brigades, the 53rd on the right, the 54th on the left,
+each being confronted by a network of trenches
+backed by portions of the shattered village.  The
+advance was from south to north, and at right angles
+to the original British trench line.  The hour of fate
+was 12.35 in the afternoon of September 26.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The average breadth of No Man's Land was 250
+yards, which was crossed by these steady troops at
+a slow, plodding walk, the pace being regulated by
+the searching barrage, which lingered over every
+shell-hole in front of them.  Through the hard work of
+the sappers and Sussex pioneers, the assembly
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P267"></a>267}</span>
+trenches had been pushed well out, otherwise the
+task would have been more formidable.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Following the fortunes of the 53rd Brigade
+upon the right, its movements were supposed to
+synchronise with those of the 33rd Brigade upon the
+left flank of the Eleventh Division.  The right
+advanced battalion was the 8th Suffolk, with the 10th
+Essex upon the left, each of them in six waves.  Close
+at their heels came the 8th Norfolk, whose task was
+to search dug-outs and generally to consolidate the
+ground won.  The front line of stormers rolled over
+Joseph Trench, which was the German advanced
+position, but before they had reached it there was a
+strange eruption of half-dressed unarmed Germans
+yelling with terror and bolting through the barrage.
+Many of them dashed through the stolid Suffolks, who
+took no notice of them, but let them pass.  Others
+lost their nerve like rabbits at a battue, and darted
+here and there between the lines until the shrapnel
+found them.  It was an omen of victory that such
+clear signs of shaken moral should be evident so
+early in the day.  There was sterner stuff behind,
+however, as our men were speedily to learn.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The advance went steadily forward, cleaning up
+the trenches as it went, and crossing Schwaben Trench,
+Zollern Trench, and Bulgar Trench, in each of which
+there was sharp resistance, only quelled by the
+immediate presence of our Lewis guns, or occasionally
+by the rush of a few determined men with bayonets.
+It was 2.30 before the advance was brought to a
+temporary stand by machine-gun fire from the right.
+After that hour a small party of Suffolks under
+Lieutenant Mason got forward some distance ahead,
+and made a strong point which they held till evening,
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P268"></a>268}</span>
+this gallant young officer falling under the enemy's
+fire.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The success of the Suffolks upon the right was
+equalled by that of the Essex on the left, passing
+through the eastern portion of Thiepval without
+great loss, for the usual machine-gun fire seemed to
+have been stamped out by the British guns.  The
+whole of this fine advance of the 53rd Brigade covered
+about 1000 yards in depth and accounted for a great
+number of the enemy in killed, wounded, and prisoners.
+The advance made and the cost paid both showed that
+our officers and soldiers were learning the lessons of
+modern warfare with that swift adaptability which
+Britain has shown in every phase of this terrific and
+prolonged test.  This old, old nation's blood has
+flowed into so many younger ones that her own
+vitality might well be exhausted; but she has, on
+the contrary, above all the combatants, given evidence
+of the supple elasticity of youth, moulding herself in
+an instant to every movement of the grim giant with
+whom she fought.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Great as had been the success of the 53rd Brigade,
+it was not possible for them to get on to the Schwaben
+Redoubt, their ultimate objective, because, as will be
+shown, matters were more difficult upon the left, and
+one corner of the village was still in German possession.
+They ended the day, therefore, with two battalions
+consolidating the Zollern Line, a third in support in
+the Schwaben Trench, and a fourth, the 6th Berks,
+bringing up munitions and food to their exhausted
+but victorious comrades.  The front line was much
+mixed, but the men were in good heart, and a visit
+from their Brigadier in the early morning of the 27th
+did much to reassure them.  To carry on the story
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P269"></a>269}</span>
+of this brigade to the conclusion of the attack it may
+be added that the whole of the 27th was spent on
+consolidation and on a daring reconnaissance by
+a captain of the 53rd Trench Mortar Battery, who
+crawled forward alone, and made it clear by his report
+that a new concerted effort was necessary before the
+Brigade could advance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We shall now return to 12.35 P.M. on September
+26, and follow the 54th Brigade upon the left.
+The advance was carried out by the 12th Middlesex,
+with instructions to attack the village, and by the
+11th Royal Fusiliers, whose task was to clear the
+maze of trenches and dug-outs upon the west of the
+village, while the 6th Northamptons were to be in close
+support.  So difficult was the task, that a frontage
+of only 300 yards was allotted to the Brigade, so as
+to ensure weight of attack&mdash;the Fusiliers having a
+front line of one platoon.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The advance ran constantly into a network of
+trenches with nodal strong points which were held
+with resolution and could only be carried by fierce
+hand-to-hand fighting.  Captain Thompson, Lieutenants
+Miall-Smith and Cornaby, and many of their
+Fusiliers in the leading company, were killed or
+wounded in this desperate business.  So stern was
+the fight that the Fusiliers on the left got far behind
+their own barrage, and also behind their Middlesex
+comrades on the right, who swept up as far as the
+château before they were brought to a temporary
+halt.  Here, at the very vital moment, one of the tanks,
+the only one still available, came gliding forward
+and put out of action the machine-guns of the chateau,
+breaking down in the effort, and remaining on the
+scene of its success.  Across the whole front of the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P270"></a>270}</span>
+advance there were now a series of small conflicts at
+close quarters, so stubborn that the left wing of the
+Fusiliers was held stationary in constant combat for
+the rest of the day.  Extraordinary initiative was
+shown by privates of both leading battalions when
+left without officers in this scattered fighting, and here,
+no doubt, we have a result depending upon the formed
+educated stuff which went to the making of such
+troops as these London units of the new armies.
+Private Edwards and Private Ryder each gained
+their V.C. at this stage of the action by single-handed
+advances which carried forward the line.  Corporal
+Tovey lost his life in a similar gallant venture,
+bayoneting single-handed the crew of a machine-gun and
+silencing it.  Fierce battles raged round garrisoned
+dug-outs, where no quarter was given or taken on
+either side.  One considerable garrison refused to
+surrender and perished horribly in the flames of
+their wood-lined refuge.  Those who fled from their
+refuges were cut down by Lewis guns, a lieutenant of
+the Fusiliers getting 50 in this manner.  This officer
+also distinguished himself by his use of a captured
+map, which enabled him to lead his men to the central
+telephone installation, where 20 operators were seized
+by a corporal and two files of Fusiliers, who afterwards
+put the wires out of gear.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+These great results had not been obtained without
+heavy losses.  Colonel Carr of the Fusiliers, Major
+Hudson, and the Adjutant had all fallen.  About
+three in the afternoon the village had all been
+cleared save the north-west corner, but the battalions
+were very mixed, the barrage deadly, the order of
+the attack out of gear, and the position still insecure.
+The 54th Brigade was well up with the 53rd upon the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P271"></a>271}</span>
+right, but upon the left it was held up as already
+described.  The German egg bombs were falling in
+this area as thick as snowballs in a schoolboy battle,
+while the more formidable stick bombs were often to
+be seen, twenty at a time, in the air.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A great deal now depended upon the supports, as
+the front line was evidently spent and held.  The
+immediate support was the 6th Northamptons.  In
+moving forward it lost both Colonel Ripley and the
+Adjutant, and many officers fell, two companies
+being left entirely to the charge of the sergeants,
+who rose finely to their responsibilities.  When by
+four o'clock the battalion had got up through the
+barrage, there were only two unwounded company
+officers left standing, both second lieutenants.  It was
+one more demonstration of the fact that a modern
+barrage can create a zone through which it is practically
+impossible for unarmoured troops to move.  The
+result was that the battalion was so weak by the time
+it got up, that it was less a support to others than a
+unit which was in need of support.  The three depleted
+battalions simply held their line, therefore, until
+night, and under the cover of darkness they were all
+drawn off, and the remaining battalion, the 7th
+Bedfords, took their place.  That this could be done
+at night in strange trenches within a few yards of the
+German line is a feat which soldiers will best appreciate.
+The result was that as day broke on the 27th the
+Germans were faced not by a fringe of exhausted men,
+but by a perfectly fresh battalion which was ready
+and eager for immediate attack.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The whole of Thiepval had been taken upon the
+26th, save only the north-west corner, and it was upon
+this that two companies of the Bedfords were now
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P272"></a>272}</span>
+directed, their objectives being defined for them by
+a captain who had fought over the ground the day
+before.  Thanks to the gallant leadership of another
+captain and of Lieutenant Adlam (the latter gaining
+his Victoria Cross), the place was carried at small loss,
+and this last refuge of the Thiepval Germans was
+cleared out.  It was a glorious achievement, for by it
+this very strong point, held against all attacks, French
+or British, for two years, passed permanently into our
+hands.  The losses were not excessive for such a gain,
+amounting to about 1500 men.  Those of the Germans
+were very much heavier, and included 600 prisoners
+drawn from four different regiments.  Over 1000 dead
+were counted.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We will now hark back to 12.35 P.M., the hour of
+assault, and follow the fortunes of the Eleventh or
+first English Division of the New Armies which was
+advancing upon the right of the Eighteenth Division.
+Within half an hour of the assault the 33rd Brigade
+and the 34th had crossed both the Joseph and the
+Schwaben Trenches, the 6th Borders, 9th Sherwood
+Foresters, 8th Northumberland Fusiliers, and 9th
+Lancashire Fusiliers forming the front line.  Keeping
+some sort of touch with Maxse's men on the left they
+pushed on until their right wing was held up by violent
+machine-gun fire from the Zollern Redoubt and from
+Mouquet Farm, the losses falling especially upon the
+5th Dorsets.  Between six and seven in the evening a
+mixed body of troops from the division, assisted by
+the machine-guns of two stranded tanks, attacked
+Mouquet and finally carried it.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Eighteenth Division had still a very formidable
+task before it to be undertaken with the co-operation
+of the Eleventh upon its right.  This was the capture
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P273"></a>273}</span>
+of the formidable stronghold, made up of many
+trenches and called the Schwaben Redoubt.  It was a
+thousand yards distant up a long broken slope.  No
+time was lost in tackling this new labour, and at
+1 P.M. on September 28 the troops moved forward once
+again, the same brigades being used, but the worn
+battalions being replaced by fresh units drawn from
+the 55th Brigade.  The 53rd Brigade on the right
+had the undefeatable Suffolks and the 7th Queen's
+Surreys in the van with Norfolks and Essex behind.
+The 54th upon a narrower front had the 7th Bedfords
+in front, with the 5th West Yorks from the Forty-ninth
+Division in immediate support, the Buffs and
+East Surrey being in Divisional Reserve.  The Germans
+had got a captive balloon into the air, but their
+gunnery was not particularly improved thereby.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At the first rush the Suffolk and Queen's on the
+right took Bulgar and Martin Trenches, while the
+Eleventh Division took Hessian.  By 2.30 Market
+Trench had also fallen.  The troops were now well
+up to Schwaben, and small groups of men pushed
+their way home in spite of a furious resistance.
+The Eleventh Division had won home on the right,
+and the Suffolks were in touch with them and with
+the Queen's, so that the position before evening was
+thoroughly sound.  Part of this enormous stronghold
+was still in German hands, however, and all our efforts
+could not give us complete control.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Upon the left the 7th Bedfords, leading the 54th
+Brigade, had made a very notable advance, crossing
+Market Trench and getting well up to the western face
+of the great Redoubt.  The Reserves, however, lost
+direction amid the chaos of shell-holes and trenches,
+drifting away to the left.  The Schwaben was occupied
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P274"></a>274}</span>
+at several points, and the first-fruits of that commanding
+position were at once picked, for the light machine-guns
+were turned upon the German fugitives as they
+rushed with bent backs down the sloping trenches
+which led to St. Pierre Divion.  The West Yorkshires
+were well up, and for a time these two battalions and
+the Germans seem to have equally divided this portion
+of the trench between them.  There was stark fighting
+everywhere with bomb and bayonet, neither side
+flinching, and both so mixed up that neither German
+nor British commanders could tell how the units lay.
+In such a case a General can only trust to his men,
+and a British General seldom trusts in vain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As night fell in this confused scene where along the
+whole line the Eighteenth Division had reached its
+objective but had not cleared it, attempts were made
+to bring up new men, the Berkshires, a battalion of
+young drafts, relieving the Suffolks on the right.
+In the morning two local counter-attacks by the
+Germans succeeded in enlarging their area.  At the
+same time the 55th Brigade took over the front,
+the four battalions being reunited under their own
+Brigadier.  It was clear that the German line was
+thickening, for it was a matter of desperate urgency
+to them to recover the Redoubt.  They still held the
+northern end of the labyrinth.  On September 30
+the East Surreys, moving up behind a massive barrage,
+took it by storm, but were driven out again before
+they could get their roots down.  The Germans,
+encouraged by their success, surged south again, but
+could make no headway.  On October 1 the tide set
+northwards once more, and the Buffs gained some
+ground.  From then till October 5, when the Eighteenth
+Division was relieved by the Thirty-ninth, there
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P275"></a>275}</span>
+were incessant alarms and excursions, having the net
+result that at the latter date the whole Redoubt with
+the exception of one small section, afterwards taken
+by the Thirty-ninth, was in our hands.  So ended for
+the moment the splendid service of the Eighteenth
+Division.  Nearly 2000 officers and men had fallen
+in the Schwaben operations, apart from the 1500
+paid for Thiepval.  It is certain, however, that the
+Schwaben garrison had suffered as much, and they
+left 232 prisoners in the hands of the victors.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For the purpose of continuity of narrative, we have
+kept our attention fixed upon the Eighteenth Division,
+but the Eleventh Division, which we have left at
+Mouquet Farm some pages before, had been doing
+equally good work upon the right.  In the afternoon
+of September 27 the 6th Borders, rushing suddenly from
+Zollern Trench, made a lodgment in Hessian Trench,
+to which they resolutely clung.  On their left the 6th
+Yorks and 9th West Yorks had also advanced and
+gained permanent ground, winning their way into the
+southern edge of Stuff Redoubt.  Here they had to
+face a desperate counter-attack, but Captain White,
+with a mixed party of the battalions named, held on
+against all odds, winning his V.C. by his extraordinary
+exertions.  During the whole of September 29 the
+pressure at this point was extreme, but the divisional
+artillery showed itself to be extremely efficient, and
+covered the exhausted infantry with a most comforting
+barrage.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The 32nd Brigade was now brought up, and on
+September 30 the advance was resumed, the whole
+of this brigade and the 6th Lincolns and 7th South
+Staffords of the 33rd being strongly engaged.  The
+results were admirable, as the whole of Hessian Trench
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P276"></a>276}</span>
+and the south of Stuff Redoubt were occupied.  That
+night the Eleventh Division was relieved by the
+Twenty-fifth, and it will now be told how the
+conquest of the Ridge was finally achieved.  The
+Eleventh withdrew after having done splendid work
+and sustained losses of 144 officers and 3500 men.
+Their prisoners amounted to 30 officers and 1125 of
+all ranks, with a great number of machine-guns and
+trench mortars.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After the fall of Thiepval and the operations which
+immediately followed it the front British line in this
+quarter ran approximately east and west along the
+Thiepval-Courcelette ridge.  As far as part of the
+front was concerned we had observation over the
+Valley of the Ancre, but in another part the Germans
+still held on to the Stuff Redoubt, and thence for
+a stretch they were still on the crest and had the
+observation.  The Stuff Redoubt itself on the southern
+face had been occupied by the Eleventh, when the
+Schwaben Redoubt was taken by the Eighteenth
+Division, but the northern faces of both were still
+in the hands of the enemy.  These had now to be
+taken in order to clear up the line.  A further
+stronghold, called The Mounds, immediately to the north,
+came also within the operation.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P277"></a>277}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p><br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="capcenter">
+<a id="img-277"></a>
+<br />
+<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-277.jpg" alt="STUFF REDOUBT SYSTEM showing Hessian, Regina and Stuff." />
+<br />
+STUFF REDOUBT SYSTEM showing Hessian, Regina and Stuff.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+The Twenty-fifth Division had, as stated, relieved
+the Eleventh, and this new task was handed over
+to it.  Upon October 9 the first attack was made
+by the 10th Cheshires, and although their full
+objective was not reached, the result was satisfactory,
+a lodgment being made and 100 of the garrison
+captured, with slight casualties to the stormers, thanks
+to the good barrage and the workmanlike way in
+which they took advantage of it.  A strong attempt
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P278"></a>278}</span>
+on the part of the Germans to prevent consolidation
+and to throw out the intruders was quite unsuccessful.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The 8th North Lancs were now placed in the position
+of the Cheshires, while the Thirty-ninth Division
+upon the left joined in the pressure.  Upon October 10
+an attack was made by the 16th Sherwoods supported
+by the 17th Rifles of the 117th Brigade; but it
+had no success.  On the 12th there was a renewed
+attack by units of the 118th Brigade, chiefly the
+4th Black Watch.  This succeeded in advancing
+the line for a short distance, and upon October 15
+it repulsed two local counter-attacks.  Upon the
+right the 8th North Lancs upon October 14 had a
+very successful advance, in which they carried with
+moderate loss the stretch of line opposite, as well as
+the position called The Mounds.  Two machine-guns
+and 125 prisoners were taken.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The British now had observation along the whole
+ridge with a line of observation posts pushed out
+beyond the crest.  There were formidable obstacles upon
+their right front, however, where the Regina Trench
+and a heavily fortified quadrilateral system lay in
+front of the troops already mentioned, and also of the
+Canadians on the Courcelette line.  In order to get
+ready for the next advance there was some sidestepping
+of units, the hard-worked Eighteenth coming
+in on the right next the Canadians, the Twenty-fifth
+moving along, and the Thirty-ninth coming closer on
+the left.  On October 8 the Canadians had a sharp
+action, in which the Ontario, British Columbia,
+Alberta, and Winnipeg Battalions showed their usual
+resolution, and took a couple of hundred prisoners,
+but were unable to gain much ground.  A concerted
+movement of the whole line was now organised.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P279"></a>279}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The great Stuff Trench, which was roughly a
+continuation of the Regina, was opposite the centre of
+the attack, and was distant some 300 yards from
+the British front.  The barrage arrangements
+co-ordinated by the Second Corps (Jacob), to which
+these units now belonged, worked most admirably.
+The attack was made all along the line and was
+eminently successful.  At 12.35 upon October 21
+the general advance began, and at 4.30 the whole
+objective, including Stuff and Regina, was in the hands
+of the British and Canadians.  It was a fine victory,
+with 20 machine-guns and 1000 prisoners of the 5th
+Ersatz and Twenty-eighth Bavarian Divisions as
+trophies.  So rapid was the consolidation that before
+morning trenches were opened out between the
+captured line and the old British position.  A curious
+incident in this most successful attack was that the
+8th Border Regiment advanced at least a thousand
+yards beyond its objective, but was successful in
+getting back.  By this brilliant little action the enemy
+was finally driven down upon a three-mile front north
+of Thiepval and Courcelette, until he had no foothold
+left save the marshes to the south of the Ancre, where
+he cowered in enfiladed trenches for that final clearing
+up which was only delayed by the weather.  It should
+be added that on this same date, October 21, the left of
+the British line, formed by the Thirty-ninth Division,
+was attacked by storm-troops of the German Twenty-eighth
+Reserve Division, armed with <i>flammenwerfer</i>
+and supported by 60 light batteries.  The attack was
+formidable, and twice got into the British line, but
+was twice driven out again, leaving many prisoners
+and trophies behind.  The Sussex and Hampshire
+troops of the 116th Brigade, aided by the 17th Rifles,
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P280"></a>280}</span>
+stood splendidly to their work, and ended by holding
+every inch of their ground, and adding a new German
+trench which was carried by the 14th Hants.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From this time onwards this northern section of
+the line was quiet save for small readjustments, until
+the great effort upon November 13, which brought
+the autumn campaign to a close with the considerable
+victory of Beaumont Hamel.  From the point which
+the Second Corps had now reached it could command
+with its guns the Valley of the Ancre to the north of it,
+including some of those positions which had repulsed
+our attack upon July 1 and were still in German
+hands.  So completely did we now outflank them from
+the south that it must have been evident to any
+student of the map that Haig was sure, sooner or later,
+to make a strong infantry advance over the ground
+which was so completely controlled by his artillery.
+It was the German appreciation of this fact which had
+caused their desperate efforts at successive lines of
+defence to hold us back from gaining complete command
+of the crest of the slope.  It will be told in the
+final chapter of this volume how this command was
+utilised, and a bold step was taken towards rolling
+up the German positions from the south&mdash;a step
+which was so successful that it was in all probability
+the immediate cause of that general retirement of the
+whole German front which was the first great event
+in the campaign of 1917.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p><a id="chap12"></a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P281"></a>281}</span></p>
+
+<h3>
+CHAPTER XII
+<br /><br />
+THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
+</h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+From September 15 to the Battle of the Ancre
+</p>
+
+<p class="intro">
+Capture of Eaucourt&mdash;Varying character of German resistance&mdash;Hard
+trench fighting along the line&mdash;Dreadful climatic conditions&mdash;The
+meteorological trenches&mdash;Hazy Trench&mdash;Zenith Trench&mdash;General
+observations&mdash;General von Arnim's report.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+Having described the Battle of Flers, which began
+upon September 15 and which extended over one, two,
+or three days according to the completeness of the
+local victory, or the difficulty of reaching any definite
+limit, we will now turn once more to the left of the line
+(always excepting Gough's flanking army, which has
+been treated elsewhere), and we shall follow the deeds
+of the successive divisions in each sector up to the
+end of the operations.  We will begin with the
+Third Corps, who abutted upon the Canadians in the
+Martinpuich sector, and covered the line up to Drop
+Alley, north-east of High Wood, where they joined
+up with the Fifteenth Corps.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The line on this western section was less active
+than on the right, where the great villages of Combles,
+Lesboeufs, and Morval were obvious marks for the
+advance.  After the battle of September 15, the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P282"></a>282}</span>
+Twenty-third Division, relieving the Fifteenth, took
+its station at the extreme left of the line, just north
+of Martinpuich.  To the right of the Twenty-third,
+occupying the Starfish and Prue system of trenches,
+was the Fiftieth Division.  On their right was the
+First, who had relieved the Forty-seventh Division,
+the victors of High Wood.  These three divisions,
+Twenty-third, Fiftieth, and First, now formed the
+Third Corps.  Their fighting patrols were thrown well
+out during the days after the battle, and their front
+posts were as far north as Crescent Alley and Hook
+Trench.  The general attack of September 25, which
+amounted to a considerable battle, did not seriously
+affect this portion of the line.  The only operation of
+note before the end of the month was an attack upon
+a farm in the front of their line by the 70th Brigade
+of the Twenty-third Division&mdash;a brigade which had
+greatly distinguished itself during the time it had
+fought with the Eighth Division upon July 1.  This
+attack failed the first time, but it was repeated with
+success at dawn upon September 29, and the line
+moved forward to that limited extent.  Another small
+advance was made by the First Division on the night
+of September 25, east of Eaucourt, when a piece of
+trench was carried by the gallantry of a platoon of the
+2nd Rifles, consisting almost entirely of Rhodesian
+volunteers, samples of those wandering Britons who
+have played a part in this War which can never be
+chronicled.  The way in which the distant sons,
+prodigal or otherwise, came back to the help of their
+hard-pressed mother is one of the most beautiful
+chapters in the history of the Empire.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Flers front-line trench bends away from the
+British position as it trends towards the north-west,
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P283"></a>283}</span>
+so that although it had been made good over a large
+portion in the Battle of Flers, it was still intact
+opposite the Third Corps.  Upon October 1, however,
+it was attacked, and was taken without any great
+difficulty, though the Fiftieth in the centre had to
+fight hard for their section.  The storming battalions,
+after re-forming, continued their advance, and occupied
+the line between Le Sars and Flers.  The village of
+Eaucourt lay in their path, and was well guarded upon
+the west by uncut wire, but a tank rolled its majestic
+path across it and the shouting infantry crowded
+close behind.  The 141st Brigade of the Forty-seventh
+Division, which had come back once again into the
+line, was the first to enter this village, which was
+the sixteenth torn by the British from the grip of
+the invaders since the breaking of the line, while
+the French captures stood at an even higher figure.
+There was a strong counter-attack upon Eaucourt
+during the night, accompanied by a shortage of bombs
+owing to the fact that the store had been destroyed
+by an unlucky shell.  The Germans for the time
+regained the village, and the ruins were partly occupied
+by both armies until October 3, when the British line,
+once more gathering volume and momentum, rolled
+over it for the last time.  It had been stoutly defended
+by men of a German reserve division, and its capture
+had cost us dear.  One of the mysteries of the fighting
+at this stage was the very varied quality of the
+resistance, so that the advancing British were never
+sure whether they would find themselves faced by
+demoralised poltroons, capable of throwing up their
+hands by the hundred, or by splendid infantry,
+who would fight to the death with the courage of
+despair.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P284"></a>284}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Having won Eaucourt, the next village which faced
+the British line in this sector was Le Sars, immediately
+to the north-west.  The advance upon this was
+carried out amid rain and slush which made military
+operations almost impossible.  It was again found
+that the resistance was very spirited, but the place
+was none the less carried and consolidated upon
+October 7.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the week preceding the final assault there was
+hard fighting, during which the 70th Brigade won its
+way forward into a favourable position for the attack.
+The 8th York and Lancasters particularly distinguished
+themselves by their gallantry in clearing
+by bombing the outlying German defences, Major
+Sawyer and Lieutenant de Burgh of that battalion
+winning the Cross for their fine leadership upon that
+occasion.  The decisive attack was carried out by the
+other two brigades of the Twenty-third Division,
+which advanced upon the village, whilst the Forty-seventh
+Division made an attempt upon the formidable
+Butte of Warlencourt.  The latter venture met with
+no success, but the former was brilliantly carried out.
+The advance was made by the 68th Brigade upon the
+right and the 69th upon the left, the
+Martinpuich-Warlencourt Road being the dividing line between
+the two divisions.  The attack was at 1.45 P.M., and
+in broad daylight the battalions concerned, notably
+the 12th and 13th Durhams and the 9th Yorks,
+clambered over their sodden sandbags and waded
+through the mud which separated them from the
+Germans.  The numbers were so reduced that the
+companies formed only two weak platoons, but none
+the less they advanced very steadily.  Captain Blake,
+leading the first company of Durhams, was shot dead;
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P285"></a>285}</span>
+but another captain took over both companies and led
+them straight at the village, both the 12th Durhams
+and 9th Yorks reaching the sunken road in front of
+the houses at about the same moment.  They worked
+their way down this and bombed many Germans
+in their dug-outs.  Here, as elsewhere, experience
+proved that this system of taking refuge from shell-fire
+in deep burrows has very serious military disadvantages,
+not merely on account of the difficulty of getting
+out, but from the more serious objection that the men,
+being trained to avoid danger, continued to shrink
+from it when it was essential that they should rush out
+and face it.  The yellow faces and flaccid appearance
+of our prisoners showed also the physical results of a
+troglodytic life.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A single tank which had accompanied the advance
+was set on fire by a shell, but the infantry pressed on
+undismayed, and well backed up by the 10th and 11th
+Northumberland Fusiliers and 8th Seaforths, they soon
+seized the whole village and firmly consolidated their
+position.  The success was partly due to the fine
+handling of machine-guns, which turned the favourite
+weapon of the Germans against themselves.  Five of
+these guns, 8 officers, and 450 men were taken during
+the operation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Forty-seventh Division, meanwhile, in attempting
+to make similar progress upon the right was held
+up by very heavy rifle and machine-gun fire.
+Immediately afterwards, this division, much worn by its
+splendid service, was taken out of the line, being
+replaced by the Ninth Scottish Division.  Their
+companion Division, the Fifteenth, had come back
+upon their left.  The weather now became so
+abominable and the mud so abysmal, that all prospect
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P286"></a>286}</span>
+of farther progress in this section had to be abandoned.
+The old prehistoric mark called the Butte of Warlencourt,
+which had long stood up as a goal in front of
+the British trenches, proved really to be the final mark
+of their advance until a new season should dawn.
+Upon October 12 there was an attempt to get forward,
+but the conditions were impossible, and the results
+unsatisfactory.  In this affair the gallant Ninth
+Division had considerable losses, their advance being
+conducted with the 26th Brigade upon the right and
+the South Africans upon the left.  Some small gain
+was achieved by the former, but the latter were held
+up by a deadly machine-gun fire.  The Thirtieth
+Division was upon the right of the Ninth at this
+period, and twice endeavoured to get forwards&mdash;once
+upon the 12th and once upon the 18th; but neither
+of these attempts had good success, partly owing to
+the very bad weather, and partly to the excellent
+resistance of the Sixth Bavarian Reserve Division,
+which is described by those who have fought against
+it as one of the very best divisions in the German
+army.  On the 20th a fresh attack was made by the
+27th Brigade with no success and heavy losses to
+the 6th Scottish Borderers.  Early in November a
+renewed attempt was made by the Fiftieth Division to
+advance in this quarter, but the country was a morass
+and no progress was possible.  The Canadians, Forty-eighth
+and Fiftieth Divisions, who held the Le Sars
+front, were condemned to inactivity.  From that time
+onwards the line of the Third Corps was undisturbed,
+save for a strong counter-attack upon November 6,
+which neutralised a small advance made upon the 5th.
+Le Sars and Eaucourt were consolidated and continued
+to be the British advanced posts in this quarter.  The
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P287"></a>287}</span>
+conditions of mud and discomfort can only be
+described as appalling.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Having briefly traced the work of the Third Corps
+from the action of September 15 to the coming of the
+winter, we shall now turn to the Fifteenth Corps upon
+the right and follow their operations from the same
+date.  It will be remembered that the New Zealanders
+formed the left-hand division, and that they had
+advanced so finely that by the evening of September 16
+they were up to, but not in, Goose Alley and Factory
+Corner, from which they were within striking distance
+of the Gird System.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Before attacking this, however, it was necessary to
+get a firmer hold of Flers Trench, which in its western
+reaches was still in the hands of the Germans.  It was
+a desperate business of bombing from traverse to
+traverse and overcoming successive barricades upon
+a very narrow front where a few determined men
+could hold up a company.  This difficult business was
+taken in hand at 8.30 on the night of September 21
+by the 2nd Canterbury Battalion, who advanced down
+the trench.  It was a Homeric conflict, which lasted
+for the whole night, where men stood up to each other
+at close quarters, clearing away the dead and dying
+in order to make room for fresh combatants in the
+front line.  Down Flers Trench and Drop Alley raged
+the long struggle, with crash and flare of bombs,
+snarl of machine-guns, shrill whistles from rallying
+officers, and shouts from the furious men.  The New
+Zealand Black Watch had gained a portion of the
+trench, but the German reinforcements streamed
+down a communication trench which opened behind
+them, and found themselves between the two bodies of
+New Zealanders.  It was a great fight, but by morning
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P288"></a>288}</span>
+it had been definitely decided in favour of the men
+from oversea.  The long section of Flers Trench was
+cleared and part of Goose Alley, opening out of it,
+was held.  No less than 350 German dead were picked
+up, and a handful of prisoners were left with the
+victors.  The New Zealand losses were about 150 of
+all ranks.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On September 25 the New Zealanders tightened
+their grip upon Goose Alley, which connects up the
+Flers and the Gird Systems of trenches.  In the
+meantime the divisions upon their right were moving to
+the north-east of Flers towards the village of
+Guedecourt, which lay upon the farther side of the Gird
+Trenches.  The actual attack upon the village was
+committed to the Twenty-first Division, who advanced
+on a two-brigade front, the 110th Leicester Brigade
+making straight for the village itself, while the 64th
+Brigade upon its right, strengthened by the inclusion
+of the 1st Lincolns, was ordered to occupy 1000 yards
+of front to the right.  The two brigades were not
+equally fortunate.  The Leicester brigade, by a fine
+advance, pierced the Gird Trench, and made their
+way beyond it.  The 64th Brigade was held up
+by uncut wire, which they could not penetrate.
+The result was that the Leicesters, being heavily
+counter-attacked, and having their flanks open, were
+forced back as far as the Gird Trench, to which they
+clung.  The position in the evening was a curious one,
+for we held the Gird Trench at two different points,
+but between them lay a stretch of 1000 yards still
+occupied by the Germans and faced with uncut wire.
+Orders reached the Divisional General during the
+night that at all costs the position must be carried.
+By a happy inspiration he sent for a tank from Flers,
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P289"></a>289}</span>
+and ordered the Leicesters to bomb down Gird Trench
+in co-operation with the tank, which crawled along the
+parapet.  A strong point had been erected at the far
+end of the trench, and the Germans as they rushed
+away from the danger ran into a deadly machine-gun
+fire.  The upshot was that a great number were
+killed, while 8 officers and 362 men were taken, with
+a loss to the attackers of 5 wounded.  To add to the
+quaintness of the operation, an aeroplane flew low
+over the trench during its progress, helping with its
+bombs to make the victory complete.  The result was
+far more than the capture of the trench, for the 64th
+Brigade, led by the Durhams, at once swept forward
+and captured their objective, while the 110th Brigade
+upon the left reached Guedecourt under happier
+auspices and remained in possession of the village.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Although the Gird line had been pierced at this
+point, it was held in its western length, and this was
+attacked upon September 27 by the New Zealanders
+and the Fifty-fifth Lancashire Territorial Division,
+both of which gained their objectives, so that the whole
+end of this great trench system from a point north
+of Flers passed definitely into the British possession.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On October 1 there was a fresh general advance
+which led to no great change in this part of the line,
+save that both the New Zealanders and the Twenty-first
+Division improved their position, the latter getting
+as far as Bayonet Trench.  Shortly afterwards the
+New Zealanders were drawn out, having been 23
+consecutive days in the line, and earned themselves a
+great reputation.  "The division has won universal
+confidence and admiration," said Sir Douglas Haig.
+"No praise can be too high for such troops."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We now turn to the Fourteenth Corps, which filled
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P290"></a>290}</span>
+the remainder of the British line up to the point of
+its junction with the French.  During the battle the
+division of Guards had, as will be remembered, held
+the left of this line, but on the day after it was replaced
+for a short time by the Twentieth Division, whose
+61st Brigade, especially the 7th Cornwalls and 12th
+King's, were heavily engaged.  The 60th Brigade had
+pushed up into the fighting line, and received a strong
+German counter-attack in the morning of the 17th,
+which broke down before the rifles of the 6th
+Shropshire Light Infantry.  In the afternoon the 59th
+Brigade advanced upon the left and the 60th upon the
+right, closing in upon the Morval position.  The 12th
+King's Royal Rifles of the latter brigade was held up
+by a strong point and lost heavily, but the general
+effect was to bring the British line nearer to the
+doomed village.  Twice upon the 18th, German
+counter-attacks swarmed down upon the exposed
+right flank of the 60th Brigade, but each time they
+were blown back by the fire of the 12th Rifle Brigade
+and the 12th Rifles.  The 59th Brigade had made no
+progress, the two Rifle Brigade battalions (10th and
+11th) having particularly heavy losses upon the 17th,
+but they were holding their line strongly.  It was
+impossible to do more for the moment, for the Sixth
+Division upon their right was still hung up, as already
+described, by the Quadrilateral.  Shortly after that
+obstacle had been overcome, the Guards took over
+once more from the Twentieth, and were ready in
+conjunction with the Sixth and Fifth Divisions for a
+serious advance upon Morval and Lesboeufs.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On September 22 the 3rd Guards Brigade was in
+touch with the Twenty-first Division upon the left,
+which was now holding Gird Trench and Gird Support
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P291"></a>291}</span>
+as far north as Watling Street.  On this day the 4th
+Grenadiers, reverting after centuries to the weapon
+which their name implies, were bombing their way
+up Gas Alley, which leads towards Lesboeufs.  On
+the 23rd the Twenty-first on the left, the Guards
+in the centre, and the Sixth Division were advancing
+and steadily gaining ground to the north-east, capturing
+Needle Trench, which is an off-shoot from the
+Gird System.  On the 24th the Germans counter-attacked
+upon the 16th Brigade, the blow falling upon
+the 1st Buffs, who lost four bays of their trench for a
+short period, but speedily drove the intruders out once
+more.  The 14th Durham Light Infantry also drove
+off an attack.  The Fifth Division was now coming up
+on the right of the Sixth, and played a considerable
+part in the decisive attack upon September 25.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On this date an advance of the four divisions on
+this section of the line carried all before it, the
+Twenty-first being north of Delville Wood, the 3rd Brigade
+of the Guards operating on the German trenches
+between Guedecourt and Lesboeufs, the 1st Brigade
+of Guards upon the left of the village of Lesboeufs,
+the Sixth Division upon the right of Lesboeufs, and
+the Fifth Division on Morval.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In this attack the 4th Grenadiers upon the extreme
+left of the Guards were badly punished, for the
+Twenty-first upon their left had been held up, but the rest
+came along well, the 1st Welsh forming a defensive
+flank upon the left while the other battalions reached
+their full objective and dug in, unmolested save by
+our own barrage.  The 1st Irish and 3rd Coldstream,
+who were on the left of the 1st Brigade, also got
+through without heavy loss and occupied the trenches
+to the immediate north and north-east of Lesboeufs.
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P292"></a>292}</span>
+The 2nd Grenadiers, who led the right of the Brigade,
+with their supporting battalion the 2nd Coldstream,
+headed straight for the village, and were held up
+for a time by uncut wire, but the general attack upon
+the right was progressing at a rate which soon took
+the pressure off them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The British infantry were swarming round Lesboeufs
+in the early afternoon, and about 3.15 the 1st
+West Yorks of the 18th Brigade penetrated into it,
+establishing touch with the Guards upon their left.
+They were closely followed by their old battle
+companions, the 2nd Durham Light Infantry.  The
+German resistance was weaker than usual, and the
+casualties were not severe.  On the Morval front the
+15th Brigade of the Fifth Division, with the 95th
+Brigade upon their right, were making a steady and
+irresistible advance upon Morval.  The 1st Norfolks
+and 1st Cheshires were in the front, and the latter
+battalion was the first to break into the village with
+the 1st Bedfords, 2nd Scots Borderers, and 16th Royal
+Welsh Fusiliers in close support.  The 1st Cheshires
+particularly distinguished itself; and it was in this
+action that Private Jones performed his almost
+incredible feat of capturing single-handed and bringing
+in four officers and 102 men of the 146th Würtemberg
+Regiment, including four wearers of the famous Iron
+Cross.  The details of this extraordinary affair, where
+one determined and heavily-armed man terrorised
+a large company taken at a disadvantage, read more
+like the romantic exploit of some Western desperado
+who cries "Hands up!" to a drove of tourists, than
+any operation of war.  Jones was awarded the V.C.,
+and it can have been seldom won in such
+sensational fashion.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P293"></a>293}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whilst the 15th Brigade of the Fifth Division
+attacked the village of Morval the 95th Brigade of
+the same division carried the German trenches to the
+west of it.  This dashing piece of work was
+accomplished by the 1st Devons and the 1st East Surreys.
+When they had reached their objective, the 12th
+Gloucesters were sent through them to occupy
+and consolidate the south side of the village.
+This they carried out with a loss of 80 men.  In
+the evening a company of the 6th Argylls, together
+with the 2nd Home Company Royal Engineers,
+pushed on past the village and made a strong
+point against the expected counter-attack; while
+the 15th Brigade extended and got into touch
+with the 2nd York and Lancasters of the Sixth
+Division upon their left.  It was a great day of
+complete victory with no regrets to cloud it, for the
+prisoners were many, the casualties were comparatively
+few, and two more village sites were included
+by one forward spring within the British area.  The
+Town Major of Morval stood by his charge to the last
+and formed one of the trophies.  On the 26th the
+Germans came back upon the Guards at about one
+o'clock, but their effort was a fiasco, for the advancing
+lines came under the concentrated fire of six batteries
+of the 7th Divisional Artillery.  Seldom have Germans
+stampeded more thoroughly.  "Hundreds of the enemy
+can be seen retiring in disorder over the whole front.
+They are rushing towards Beaulencourt in the wildest
+disorder."  Such was the report from a forward
+observer.  At the same time a tank cleared the
+obstacles in front of the Twenty-first Division and the
+whole line was straight again.  The British consolidated
+their positions firmly, for it was already evident
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P294"></a>294}</span>
+that they were likely to be permanent ones.  The
+Guards and Fifth Division were taken out of the line
+shortly afterwards, the Twentieth Division coming in
+once more upon September 26, while upon September
+27 the French took over part of the line, pushing the
+Twentieth Division to the left, where they took over
+the ground formerly held by the Twenty-first.  Upon
+October 1 the 61st Brigade was ordered to push
+forward advanced posts and occupy a line preparatory
+to future operations.  This was well carried out and
+proved of great importance when a week later attacks
+were made upon Cloudy and Rainbow Trenches.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Leaving this victorious section of the line for the
+moment, we must turn our attention to the hard-worked
+and splendid Fifty-sixth Division upon their
+right, whose operations were really more connected
+with those of the French on their right than with
+their comrades of the Fourteenth Corps upon the left.
+By a happy chance it was the French division of the
+same number with which they were associated during
+much of the time.  It will be remembered that at the
+close of the Flers action (September 15 and on),
+the Fifty-sixth Division was holding a defensive
+flank to the south, in the region of Bouleaux Wood,
+part of which was still held by the Germans.  They
+were also closing in to the southwards, so as to
+co-operate with the French, who were approaching
+Combles from the other side.  On September 25,
+while the Fifth were advancing upon Morval, the
+Fifty-sixth played an important part, for the 168th,
+their left brigade, carried the remainder of Bouleaux
+Wood, and so screened the flank of the Fifth Division.
+One hundred men and four machine-guns were captured
+in this movement.  On the 26th, as the woods
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P295"></a>295}</span>
+were at last clear, the division turned all its attention
+to Combles, and at 3.15 in the afternoon of that day
+fighting patrols of the 169th Brigade met patrols of
+the French in the central square of the town.  The
+Germans had cleverly evacuated it, and the booty was
+far less than had been hoped for, but none the less its
+capture was of great importance, for it was the largest
+place that had yet been wrenched out of the iron grasp
+of Germany.  After the fall of Combles the French,
+as already stated, threw out their left wing upon that
+side so as to take over the ground which had been
+covered by the Fifty-sixth Division, and afterwards
+by the Fifth Division.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On September 30 the Fifty-sixth Division took
+over from the Guards, and again found itself upon
+the right of the British line, and in touch with the
+new dispositions of the French.  On its left was the
+Twentieth Division, and on their left the Sixth.
+These three divisions now found themselves opposite
+to a long line of trenches, to which various
+meteorological names had been given, though the actual
+meteorological conditions at the time formed a greater
+obstacle than the defences in front of them.  A simple
+diagram (p. 296) will show more clearly than any
+words how these formidable trenches lay with regard
+to the British advance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It may well seem to the reader that the defenders
+are bound to have the best of the argument when they
+can thus exchange one line for another, and as quickly
+as they are beaten out of one set of strongholds
+confront their enemy with another one.  No doubt
+so long as the lines are stoutly held this is true as
+regards the rate of advance.  But as far as it concerns
+the losses which mark that vital attrition which was
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P297"></a>297}</span>
+wearing Germany to the bone it was very different.
+These trenches were not like the old permanent
+fortifications where German officers in a 30-foot
+dug-out could smile over the caricatures in <i>Ulk</i> and smoke
+an indolent cigarette, while the impotent British shells
+pitted the earth-surface far above them.  There was
+no such shelter in these hastily-constructed burrows,
+while the guns which raked and pounded them grew
+stronger and more numerous from day to day.  Let
+the machine-gun do its worst, the heavy gun is still
+the master of the field, for the machine-gun can only
+levy its toll when circumstances favour it, while day
+or night the heavy gun is a constant dread.  We have
+had to mourn the swathes of our dead in the open, but
+the Germans lay as thick amid the clay and chalk of
+the Picardy ditches.  With fine manhood they clung
+to them and beat back our infantry where they could,
+but the tales of deserters, the letters found on the
+wounded, and the condition of the trenches when
+taken, all told the same story of terrible loss.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P296"></a>296}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="capcenter">
+<a id="img-296"></a>
+<br />
+<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-296.jpg" alt="METEOROLOGICAL TRENCHES, September 30-November 6, 1916." />
+<br />
+METEOROLOGICAL TRENCHES, <br />
+September 30-November 6, 1916.
+</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>
+On October 7 there was an infantry attack upon
+this trench system in which the Forty-first, Twelfth,
+Twentieth, and Fifty-sixth Divisions, together with the
+French, all took part in the order named from the left.
+The weather was most execrable, and its vileness told
+entirely against the Allies, since it was they who had
+to move, and since the superior gun-power needed
+for a modern attack was largely neutralised by the
+difficulty in using aircraft observation.  The attack
+was at 1.45 P.M., when the troops advanced under a
+heavy barrage along the whole sodden and slippery
+front.  The results were unequal, though the infantry
+behaved everywhere with their wonted valour and
+perseverance.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P298"></a>298}</span>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The 122nd Brigade upon the extreme left of
+the attack could only get on about a hundred
+yards, so heavy was the fire; while the 124th to the
+right of them could do little better, and eventually
+dug in at a point 200 yards short of the Bayonet
+Trench, which was their immediate objective.
+Seventy officers and nearly 1300 men fell during this
+attack of the Forty-first Division, which was
+handicapped in many ways, for the men were weary, it was
+too cloudy for reconnaissance, the battalions were
+already depleted, and the enemy was fresh and
+unshaken.  The success of the Twelfth Division upon
+the right of the Forty-first was little better.  The
+36th and 37th Brigades endured heavy losses, especially
+in the case of the two Royal Fusilier battalions
+and of the 6th Buffs, whose colonel greatly
+distinguished himself.  In spite of every effort and
+considerable loss there were no permanent gains of
+importance at this point.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Things went better, however, with the Twentieth
+Division upon the right.  The two brigades in
+the front line were the 61st upon the left and
+the 60th on the right.  The leading battalions,
+counting from the left, were the 7th Yorks Light
+Infantry, 12th King's Liverpool, 6th Oxford and
+Bucks, and 12th Rifle Brigade.  The troops had to
+endure a considerable shelling before leaving their
+trenches, but it seemed only to add additional fire to
+their advance, which swept over the low ridge in front
+of them, and took a long stretch of Rainbow Trench.
+The right attack was slower than the left, as it ran
+into a dip of the ground in which the Germans had
+some cleverly-sited wire entanglement, unseen and
+untouched by our guns.  Nothing daunted, the Oxford
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P299"></a>299}</span>
+and Bucks proceeded to cut lanes through the wire
+under heavy fire, and one officer of the battalion had
+actually succeeded in crawling under it when he was
+shot at point-blank range from the German trench,
+The front line had now done its work and rested in
+Rainbow, while the second line&mdash;consisting, from the
+left, of the 7th Somersets, 7th Cornwalls, 6th
+Shropshires, and 12th Rifles&mdash;swept onwards in splendid
+form, capturing both Cloudy and Misty Trenches.
+There the victorious infantry dug themselves in on the
+forward slope of the ridge.  The brigades were ahead
+of their comrades, with the result that their flanks
+were exposed, they suffered from enfilade fire, and it
+was necessary to form defensive flanks.  Two
+counter-attacks were made during the day, but both were
+beaten off.  The prisoners captured in this fine
+advance were 5 officers and 187 men, with 5 machine-guns
+and 2 trench-mortars.  By the morning of the
+8th strong points had been made and the whole line
+was defiant of recapture.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Fifty-sixth Division had advanced with
+equal valour upon the right and had made good
+progress, though its gains had not been so substantial
+as those of the Twentieth.  The 167th Brigade had
+attacked upon the left and the 168th upon the right.
+They ended with the 7th Middlesex, their flank
+battalion upon the left in touch with the Twentieth
+Division in Rainbow, while the London Scots on the
+extreme right were in touch with the French in Hazy
+Trench.  The fighting was bitter, however, the men
+wearied, and the conditions abominable.  All the
+battalions lost heavily, the 4th London being the
+chief sufferer, for it was on the left flank of the 168th
+Brigade and was held up by a particularly murderous
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P300"></a>300}</span>
+machine-gun.  In the evening a strong German
+counter-attack, rushing in upon Hazy Trench behind
+a thick shower of bombs, drove back both the 168th
+Brigade and the French to their own original line.
+For the time the advance had failed upon the right.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The 167th Brigade had held on to Rainbow and
+were now bombing their way down Spectrum.  They
+held their ground there during the night, and on
+October 8 were still advancing, though the 3rd London
+coming up to reinforce ran into a heavy barrage and
+were sadly cut up.  The British barrage was found to
+be practically useless because the guns had been
+brought up too near.  The 169th Brigade had come
+up on the right and was hotly engaged, the London
+Rifle Brigade getting up close to Hazy and digging
+in parallel to it, with their left in touch with the
+Victorias.  The Germans, however, were still holding
+Hazy, nor could it be said in the evening that the
+British were holding either of the more advanced
+trenches, Dewdrop or Rainy.  In the evening the
+London Rifle Brigade were forced to leave their
+new trench because it was enfiladed from Hazy,
+and to make their way back to their old departure
+trenches as best they could, dragging with them
+a captured machine-gun as a souvenir of a long
+and bloody day's work.  On October 9 the
+British held none of the points in dispute in
+this section on the right, save only a portion of
+Spectrum.  There was a pause in this long and
+desperate fight which was conducted by tired infantry
+fighting in front of tired guns, and which left the
+survivors of both sides plastered with mud from head
+to heel.  When it was resumed, the two British
+divisions, the Twentieth and Fifty-sixth, which had
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P301"></a>301}</span>
+done such long service in the line, and were greatly
+reduced, had been withdrawn.  The Fourth Division
+had taken the place of the Londoners, while the
+Sixth, itself very worn, had relieved the Twentieth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On October 12 both these divisions delivered an
+attack together with the French and with the
+Fifteenth Corps upon their left.  The 14th Durham
+Light Infantry were in Rainbow on the left and were
+in touch with the 1st West Yorks of the 18th Brigade
+upon their right, but could find no one upon their
+left, while the German pressure was very strong.
+The 18th Brigade worked along Rainbow, therefore,
+until it got into touch with the Twelfth Division
+upon their left.  The Twelfth Division had been lent
+the 88th Brigade of the Twenty-ninth Division,
+and this gallant body, so terribly cut up on July 1,
+had an instalment of revenge.  They won their objective,
+and it is pleasant to add that the Newfoundlanders
+especially distinguished themselves.  The
+16th Brigade upon the right attacked Zenith Trench,
+the 2nd York and Lancaster leading the rush.  The
+position could not be held, however, by battalions
+which were depleted by weeks of constant strain and
+loss.  A report from a company officer says: "The
+few unwounded sheltered in trench holes and returned
+in the dusk.  The fire was too strong to allow them
+to dig in.  The Brigade line is therefore the same as
+before the attack."
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whilst the Sixth Division had been making this
+difficult and fruitless attack the Fourth Division upon
+their right had been equally heavily engaged in this
+horrible maze of mud-sodden trenches, without
+obtaining any more favourable result.  The 12th Brigade
+fought on the immediate right of the 16th, some of
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P302"></a>302}</span>
+them reaching Spectrum, and some of them Zenith.
+The 2nd West Ridings and 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers
+were the heaviest sufferers, the latter holding a line
+of shell-holes in front of Spectrum where they were
+exposed to a terrible barrage.  The 10th Brigade were
+on their right, and one battalion, the 1st Warwick,
+reached Foggy, but was unable to hold it under the
+crushing fire.  By the evening of October 13, however,
+the whole of Spectrum had at last been seized, and
+the enemy, who attempted to bomb along it from
+Dewdrop, were repulsed.  On October 18, the 88th
+Brigade again had a success, the 2nd Hants and 4th
+Worcesters doing particularly well.  For a time the
+fighting died down, the British licking their wounds
+and sharpening their claws for a fresh grapple with
+these redoubtable trenches.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This came upon October 23, when there was an
+advance at 2.45 in the afternoon by the Fourth
+Division upon the right and the Eighth Division
+upon the left.  The three-brigade front covered
+by the Eighth Division is indicated by the fact
+that the 2nd East Lancashires, the left battalion
+of the left brigade (24th), was directed upon the
+junction between Mild and Cloudy, while the right
+brigade (23rd) had Zenith for its objective.  The
+first attack of the left brigade failed, but the second
+brought them into Cloudy.  By 4.15 the 2nd Scots
+Rifles of the 23rd Brigade had penetrated the right
+of Zenith, and some small parties had even moved on
+to Orion beyond.  The central brigade (25th) had
+won its way up to Misty, the 2nd Lincolns, 2nd Berks,
+and 2nd Rifle Brigade in the lead.  In the meantime
+the East Lancashires on the left were endeavouring
+to bomb their way down the maze of trenches, filled
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P303"></a>303}</span>
+with yard-deep mud, which separated them from their
+comrades.  The fighting was desperate, however, and
+the losses considerable.  The 2nd Lincolns had got
+detached in the labyrinth, and were out of touch
+with their companions.  At 6.45 the Germans came
+again in strength and those of the Scots Rifles who
+had gained Orion were driven back.  The casualties
+in this splendid battalion, which had suffered so
+often and so much, were once again very severe.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Fourth Division had also had a hard fight upon
+the right and had made no great progress.  The
+French upon their right had been held up after an
+initial advance.  The 12th Brigade attacked Dewdrop,
+but were unable to hold it.  The 11th had seized
+Hazy, but their grip of it was still precarious.  Every
+position was raked with machine-guns and clogged
+with the all-pervading and often impassable morass.
+In mud and blood and driving rain, amid dirt and
+death, through day and night, the long death-grapple
+never ceased until exhaustion and winter brought a
+short surcease.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Upon the 24th the hard-earned gains in these
+trenches were consolidated.  In the sector of the
+Eighth Division they were substantial and justified
+the hope that this obdurate line would go the way
+of all the others which had barred the army.  Had
+it been earlier in the season it would have been easy
+to wait for clear weather, beat them into pulp with
+heavy guns, and then under a good barrage capture
+them by assault.  But this could not be done, for Sir
+Douglas Haig could not afford to wait, with winter
+coming on and only a few weeks or days left in which
+to bring his men forward to their final line.  The
+general position upon October 24 was that the 2nd
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P304"></a>304}</span>
+Middlesex of the 24th Brigade held Zenith in part,
+that the 25th Brigade was in Gusty and held part of
+Misty, while the 23rd Brigade had made no advance
+upon the right but their left was in Cloudy and Mild.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Upon this date the Thirty-third Division came
+up to relieve the Fourth, and upon September 28
+it made a brilliant advance which altered the whole
+situation in this section.  At 7 A.M. on that date the
+4th King's Liverpool of the 98th Brigade by a sudden
+dash carried the whole of Dewdrop, taking 100
+prisoners.  The 19th Brigade upon the right kept up
+with the advance, and before evening Frosty, Gunpits,
+and Dewdrop had all been included in the British line.
+There was a pause after this advance, and then
+upon November 5 there was another advance of the
+Thirty-third, together with the French.  Again there
+was a good gain, which was effected by the 100th
+Brigade on the right, and the 19th upon the left.
+Mirage, Boritzka, and Hazy were all reported as being
+at last in our hands.  The 5th Scottish Rifles, 16th
+King's Royal Rifles, and 20th Fusiliers all distinguished
+themselves, and all&mdash;especially the last-named&mdash;met
+with considerable losses in this attack.
+The Seventeenth Division, which had for a few days
+taken the place of the Eighth, joined in this advance
+and extended the ground upon their front, the
+fighting falling chiefly to the 50th Brigade, in which
+the 7th York and 7th East York were the principal
+sufferers.  Great work was also done by the 51st
+Brigade, the 7th Borders and the 7th Lincolns particularly
+distinguishing themselves.  These battalions
+not only cleared up Zenith Trench, but upon the
+Germans countering they reserved their fire until
+the stormers were within 40 yards of them, and
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P305"></a>305}</span>
+then mowed down several hundreds of them.
+"The men marched back seven miles last night,"
+wrote one of the officers, "after fighting for forty-eight
+hours without sleep, singing at the tops of their
+voices all the way.  Priceless fellows!"
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On November 7 the Eighth Division was at
+work again, taking 1100 yards of front, 5 machine-guns,
+and 80 prisoners.  The season was now far
+advanced and prematurely wet and cold, so that
+winter lines were formed by the British in this
+quarter with the village of Le Transloy in their
+immediate front.  Over the rest of the line facing
+north there had been no serious attempt at advance
+during this period, and the only fighting to be recorded
+was on the part of the Anzac Corps, who came in at
+the end of October, and took over the whole front of
+the Fifteenth Corps in the centre of the line.  These
+troops joined the attack already recorded upon
+November 5, and captured that portion of Gird
+Support Trench which was not yet in our possession.
+For a time they held Bayonet Trench, but were
+driven out by a strong bombing attack by the 5th
+Regiment of the Fourth Prussian Guards Division.
+The Australians and the 50th Brigade worked in close
+co-operation during these hard days, and it is
+pleasing to find the high opinion which they entertained
+of each other.  "On several occasions," says an
+Australian, "we had to rely on Yorkshire grit to
+support our division at critical moments, and the
+Tikes never failed us once.  We owe a big debt to
+the East Yorkshires in particular.  We found them
+the most loyal of comrades."  This sentiment was
+heartily reciprocated by the Imperial troops.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The fighting now died down in this quarter and
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P306"></a>306}</span>
+the winter lull had set in, leaving the front British
+trenches some hundreds of yards from Le Transloy
+and the Bapaume Road.  It would be an ungenerous
+Briton who would not admit that in holding us off
+from it so long, even if we make every allowance for
+the weather and its disastrous consequences to the
+attack, the Germans performed a fine feat of arms.
+It was done by fresh units which had not suffered
+from the gruelling which their comrades had received
+upon the Somme, and which would no doubt have
+been worn down in time, as the others had been, but
+they fought with great tenacity and certainly
+prevented our winter line from being as far forward as
+we had hoped.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whilst giving the German army every credit for
+its tenacious resistance and for the hard digging by
+which it constructed so many lines of defence that five
+months of hard fighting and a dozen separate victories
+had been unable to carry the attackers through them,
+we must still insist upon the stupendous achievement of
+the British.  Nearly every division had passed through
+the fiery ordeal of the Somme, many of them twice
+and thrice, and each had retired with fresh honour
+and new records of victory.  Apart from great days
+of battle like July 1, July 14, September 15, and
+September 26, when many miles of German trench were
+carried with a corresponding number of prisoners and
+guns, there was a separate epic round each village and
+wood, so that the names of many of them will find
+immortality in military history.  High Wood, Trones
+Wood, Mametz Wood, and Delville Wood each represents
+a very terrible local battle.  So, too, do such
+village names as Ovillers, Contalmaison, Pozières,
+Thiepval, Longueval, Ginchy, and especially Guillemont.
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P307"></a>307}</span>
+Every one of these stern contests ended with
+the British infantry in its objective, and in no single
+case were they ever driven out again.  So much for
+the tactical results of the actions.  As to the strategic
+effect, that was only clearly seen when the threat of
+renewed operations in the spring caused the German
+army to abandon all the positions which the Somme
+advance had made untenable, and to fall back upon
+a new line many miles to the rear.  The Battle of the
+Marne was the turning-point of the first great German
+levy, the Battle of the Somme that of the second.
+In each case the retirement was only partial, but each
+clearly marked a fresh step in the struggle, upward
+for the Allies, downward for the Central Powers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the credit for this result the first place must be
+given to the efficiency of British leadership, which
+was admirable in its perseverance and in its general
+conception, but had, it must be admitted, not yet
+attained that skill in the avoidance of losses which
+was gradually taught by our terrible experiences and
+made possible by our growing strength in artillery.
+The severe preliminary bombardment controlled by
+the direct observation which is only possible after air
+supremacy has been attained, the counter-battery
+work to reduce the enemy's fire, the creeping barrage
+to cover the infantry, the discipline and courage which
+enable infantry to advance with shrapnel upon their
+very toes, the use of smoke clouds against flank fire,
+the swift advance of the barrage when a trench has
+fallen so as to head off fugitives and stifle the
+counter-attack, all these devices were constantly improving
+with practice, until in the arts of attack the British
+Army stood ahead even of their comrades of France.
+An intercepted communication in the shape of a
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P308"></a>308}</span>
+report from General von Arnim, commanding the
+Fourth German Army, giving his experience of the
+prolonged battle, speaks of British military efficiency
+in every arm in a manner which must have surprised
+the General Staff if they were really of opinion that
+General Haig's army was capable of defence but not
+of attack.  This report, with its account of the dash
+and tenacity of the British infantry and of the
+efficiency of its munitions, is as handsome a
+testimonial as one adversary ever paid to another, and
+might be called magnanimous were it not that it
+was meant for no eye save that of his superiors.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But all our leadership would have been vain had it
+not been supported by the high efficiency of every
+branch of the services, and by the general excellence
+of the <i>materiel</i>.  As to the actual value of the troops,
+it can only be said with the most absolute truth that
+the infantry, artillery, and sappers all lived up to the
+highest traditions of the Old Army, and that the
+Flying Corps set up a fresh record of tradition, which
+their successors may emulate but can never surpass.
+The materiel was, perhaps, the greatest surprise both
+to friend and foe.  We are accustomed in British
+history to find the soldier retrieving by his stubborn
+valour the difficulties caused by the sluggish methods
+of those who should supply his needs.  Thanks to
+the labours of the Ministry of Munitions, of Sir
+William Robertson, and of countless devoted workers
+of both sexes, toiling with brain and with hand, this
+was no longer so.  That great German army which
+two years before held every possible advantage that
+its prolonged preparation and busy factories could
+give it, had now, as General von Arnim's report admits,
+fallen into the inferior place.  It was a magnificent
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P309"></a>309}</span>
+achievement upon which the British nation may well
+pride itself, if one may ever pride oneself on anything
+in a drama so mighty that human powers seem but
+the instruments of the huge contending spiritual
+forces behind them.  The fact remains that after two
+years of national effort the British artillery was
+undoubtedly superior to that of the Germans, the
+British Stokes trench-mortars and light Lewis
+machine-guns were the best in Europe, the British
+aeroplanes were unsurpassed, the British Mills bomb
+was superior to any other, and the British tanks
+were an entirely new departure in the art of War.
+It was the British brain as well as the British heart
+and arm which was fashioning the future history of
+mankind.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p><a id="chap13"></a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P310"></a>310}</span></p>
+
+<h3>
+CHAPTER XIII
+<br /><br />
+THE BATTLE OF THE ANCRE
+</h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+November 13, 1916
+</p>
+
+<p class="intro">
+The last effort&mdash;Failure in the north&mdash;Fine work of the Thirty-ninth,
+Fifty-first, and Sixty-third Divisions&mdash;Surrounding of German
+Fort&mdash;Capture of Beaumont Hamel&mdash;Commander Freyberg&mdash;Last
+operations of the season&mdash;General survey&mdash;"The unwarlike
+Islanders."
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p>
+This considerable British victory may well have a
+name of its own, though it was merely an extension of
+the gigantic effort upon the Somme.  The fact,
+however, that it was fought upon the banks of a small
+subsidiary stream, and also that it was separated by a
+month or more from any other serious engagement,
+give it a place of its own in the narrative of the War.
+It has already been shown at the conclusion of the
+chapter which deals with the flank operations by the
+Fifth Army, commanded by Sir Hubert Gough, that
+the British position after the capture of the Schwaben
+and other redoubts which defended the high ground
+to the north of Thiepval was such that the guns were
+able to take the German front line to the north of the
+Ancre in enfilade and almost in rear.  Under such
+circumstances it might well seem that their trenches
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P311"></a>311}</span>
+were untenable, but their position, although difficult,
+was alleviated by the fact that they had been able
+partly to find and partly to make a series of excavations
+in the chalk and clay soil of the district which
+gave them almost complete protection against the
+heaviest shell-fire.  Whole battalions led a troglodytic
+life in subterranean caverns from which they were
+trained to rush forth upon the alarm of an infantry
+advance.  It was clear, however, that if the alarm
+should be too short their refuges might very easily
+become traps, as has so often been the case in the
+German lines of defence.  The safety from shells is
+dearly paid for when a squad of furious stormers
+with Mills bombs in their hands and death in their
+faces glare in from the door.  Their minds were kept
+easy, however, by the knowledge that broad fields of
+barbed wire, so rusty and so thick that they resembled
+ploughland from a distance, lay between them and
+the British.  A very large garrison drawn from seven
+divisions, one of them being the 2nd Guards Reserve,
+held this dangerous salient in the German line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For the attack General Gough had mustered two
+Army Corps of six divisions, three of which, forming
+the Second Corps, were to advance from the south
+under General Jacob, having the almost impassable
+mud slopes of the Ancre in front of them.  Three
+others of the Fifth Corps, under General
+E. A. Fanshawe, were to storm the German line north
+of the Ancre.  This latter movement was to be
+directed not only from the new British positions,
+but also from the old lines as far north as Serre.
+The advance from the west divided the enemy's
+gun-power, and distracted his attention from the
+south, so that its failure and the loss which that
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P312"></a>312}</span>
+failure involved, were part of the price paid for the
+victory.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After a two days' bombardment, which started
+upon November 11, and which uprooted the greater
+part of the German wire, the actual attack was made
+at six in the foggy, misty morning of November 13.  It
+is inconceivable that the Germans were not standing
+to arms, since dawn had long been the hour of doom,
+and the furious drum-fire was certainly the overture
+to a battle.  The thick weather, however, shrouded
+the British movements, and the actual rush of the
+infantry seems at the end to have been a surprise.
+Both in the western and southern advance, which
+covered respectively 5000 and 3000 yards, every
+refinement of artillery barrage which years of
+experience could suggest was used to form such a downpour
+as would protect the assailants, and beat the German
+riflemen and gunners back into their burrows.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Of the three divisions which attacked the old
+German line from the west, the most northern was
+the Thirty-first, with as objective the second and
+third German line, and to form a defensive flank
+between Gommecourt and Serre.  This division,
+which contained some splendid North-country
+battalions from great Yorkshire towns, advanced with
+great intrepidity.  So skilful was the barrage arranged
+that the 12th East Yorkshires on the left and 13th
+East Yorkshires on the right (10th and 11th East
+Yorkshires in reserve), belonging to the 92nd Brigade, had
+little difficulty in reaching the German front line,
+which was quickly mopped up.  The going between the
+first and second line was so heavy, and the German
+snipers so numerous, that the barrage got ahead of
+the advancing waves, but after a sharp rifle fight the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P313"></a>313}</span>
+second line was captured, which was the final objective
+of the left (12th East Yorkshires) battalion.  The
+13th East Yorkshires, whose final objective was the
+third German line, had a very severe fight before
+reaching that position.  Owing to the failure of the
+division on the right of the 13th East Yorkshires to
+get forward, the Germans later on put in several heavy
+bombing counter-attacks against their right flank,
+which eventually drove them back to the second line,
+where they took up their position alongside the 12th,
+and for the remainder of the day repulsed numerous
+counter-attacks.  As soon as the 12th East Yorkshires
+on the left had reached their objectives they
+consolidated it, and with the aid of the 93rd Brigade,
+to whom was attached the Machine-Gun Sections
+of the Lucknow and Sialkote Cavalry Brigades, beat
+off a very strong counter-attack which developed
+about 9.30 A.M., practically wiping it out and several
+minor ones during the day.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At 2.30 P.M. the German bombardment against
+the 92nd became very intense, and was kept up till
+5.30 P.M., in spite of which the 12th and 13th East
+Yorkshires stuck to their gains.  It was only at 9
+P.M. when the Divisional General saw that there was no
+prospect of the division on the right advancing that
+the 12th and 13th were ordered to fall back to their
+original line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The experience of the Third Division upon the
+right or south of the Thirty-first was a very trying
+one.  There is a strip of Picardy between those
+lines from Serre to the Ancre, where more Britons
+have given their lives for their country and for the
+cause of humanity than in any area in this or any
+other war.  Twice it has been the scene of tragic
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P314"></a>314}</span>
+losses, on July 1, and yet again on November 13,
+though, as already said, it is well in each case to regard
+the general result rather than the local tragedy.
+Once again the Third Division gave itself freely and
+unselfishly for the common cause.  In this case, also,
+the cause of the scanty results lay in the heavy ground
+and the uncut wire.  In the case of the 76th Brigade,
+which may be taken as typical of its neighbours, it
+advanced to the immediate south of the 93rd, and
+experienced even more difficult conditions.  The 2nd
+Suffolks and the 10th Welsh Fusiliers were in the van,
+but the 8th Royal Lancasters and 1st Gordons came
+up in support, the whole thick line of men clustering
+in front of the wire and endeavouring to hack a way.
+Sergeants and officers were seen in front of the obstacle
+endeavouring to find some way through.  Here and
+there a few pushful men, both from the 76th Brigade
+and from the 9th upon its right, did succeed in passing,
+but none of these ever returned.  Finally, a retreat
+was ordered through a pelting barrage, and even in
+their own front-line trenches the troops were exposed
+to a furious shell-fall.  It was an unfortunate business
+and the losses were heavy.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Immediately upon the right of the Third Division
+was the Second Division, which attacked with the
+5th and 6th Brigades in the van, the latter being
+on the immediate flank of the Third Division, and
+sharing in the obstacles which faced that division
+and the check which resulted from them.  The
+immediate objective was the great Munich Trench
+lurking within its far-flung spider-web of wire.
+Although all of the 6th Brigade save the right-hand
+battalion were brought to a stand, and wound up in
+their own trenches, the 5th Brigade got well forward
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P315"></a>315}</span>
+and might have got farther had it not meant the
+exposure of their left flank.  In the evening the 99th
+Brigade, the victors of Delville Wood, were brought
+up with orders to form a defensive flank to the north,
+while they furnished two battalions for a farther
+advance to continue the success gained by the 5th
+Brigade.  In the early morning of November 14 these
+two units, the 1st Rifles and 1st Berkshires, advanced
+in a proper November fog, which caused some
+misdirection, and eventually the failure of the attack,
+for two smaller trenches were carried under the
+impression that each was the Munich.  Some ground
+and prisoners were, however, gained, but not the main
+objective.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Meanwhile, to return to the narrative of the
+previous day, a very different tale was to be told of
+those divisions which were operating farther to the
+south, where the ridge between Serre and Beaumont
+Hamel sheltered the attack from the formidable
+German gun-power at Pusieux and Bucquoy in the
+north.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Of the three divisions attacking from the south
+the Thirty-ninth was to the south of the Ancre,
+the Sixty-Third Naval Division upon its left on
+the north bank of the Ancre, and the Fifty-first
+Highland Division still farther to the left opposite
+Beaumont Hamel.  The task of the Thirty-ninth
+Division was to clear out the Germans who held on
+to the Hansa line, the last German trench system
+between the British front and the river.  Their chief
+protection was the almost incredible condition of
+the ground, which consisted of tenacious mud of varying
+and occasionally of dangerous depth.  Munitions
+could only be got across it upon pack-horses, on special
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P316"></a>316}</span>
+paths.  In spite of these difficulties, the Thirty-ninth
+Division carried the lines of trenches and the village
+of St. Pierre Divion as well, the resistance being far
+from heroic.  The attack was made by the 117th
+Brigade, which advanced with such speed that the
+front waves, consisting of the 16th Rifle Brigade upon
+the right and the 17th Sherwood Foresters upon the
+left, were into the German trenches before the barrage
+could fall.  It did fall, however, and did great harm to
+the supports, both the 17th Rifles and 16th Sherwoods
+losing heavily, especially the former.  The British
+line was pushed right up to the river, and the survivors
+of the garrison&mdash;some 1400 in number&mdash;were compelled
+to lay down their arms.  This attack to the
+south of the river was an isolated, self-contained
+operation, apart from the larger and more serious
+movement on the north bank.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The right of the main assault was carried out by
+the gallant Sixty-third Royal Naval Division, whose
+emergency baptism of fire at Antwerp has been mentioned
+in this narrative, though its subsequent splendid
+services at Gallipoli have not come within its scope.
+After the evacuation of Gallipoli and the subsequent
+redistribution of the eastern army, at least three fine
+divisions, the Eleventh, the Forty-second, and the
+Naval, besides the splendid Australian and New
+Zealand infantry, were transferred to the French
+front.  This action of the Ancre was the first
+opportunity which these volunteer sailors had had of
+showing upon a large European stage those qualities
+which had won them fame elsewhere.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Naval Division attacked to the immediate
+north of the Ancre, having the river upon their right.
+The lines of assault were formed under cover of darkness,
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P317"></a>317}</span>
+for the assembly trenches were inadequate and
+the ground occupied was under direct observation
+from the German lines.  The division in this formation
+was a thick mass of 10,000 infantry on a front of about
+1600 yards with a depth of 300.  Fortunately, the
+screen of the weather covered them completely, and
+there was little and random shelling during the night,
+but the men were stiff and chilled by their long vigil,
+during which they might neither speak nor smoke.
+At last, just before dawn, the crash of the barrage
+told that the hour had come, and the lines moved
+forward, keeping well up to the shower of shrapnel
+which crept on at the rate of 100 yards in five minutes,
+searching every hollow and crevice of the ground.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The first objective was the enemy's front-line
+system of triple trenches.  The second was a road in
+the hollow behind called Station Road, with trenches
+on either side of it.  The third was the trenches
+which fringed the village of Beaucourt.  The fourth,
+which was only to be attempted after the third was
+consolidated, was the village itself, which lies among
+trees upon the north side of the river.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The advance of the 189th Brigade on the right
+of the Naval Division, consisting of the Hood,
+Hawke, Nelson, and Drake battalions, was comparatively
+easy, as they were partly protected from flank
+fire by the dead ground formed by the low-lying
+northern slope down to the river.  With great dash
+and vigour they carried the successive lines of trenches,
+and before mid-day they were consolidating the third
+objective with the village in their immediate front.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A much more difficult task confronted the centre
+of the advance, consisting of the left half of the right
+brigade, and the right half of the 188th Brigade,
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P318"></a>318}</span>
+which contained the 1st and 2nd Battalions of
+Marines, the Ansons and the Howes.  In the very
+track of their course lay a formidable German redoubt,
+bristling with machine-guns, and so concealed that
+neither the observers nor the bombardment had
+spotted it.  This serious obstacle caused heavy losses
+to the central attack, and as it completely commanded
+their advance it held them to such cover as they
+could find.  The left of the advance got past the
+redoubt, however, and reached the sunken road,
+where they were in close touch with the Scotsmen
+upon their left.  Thus at this period of the advance
+the Naval Division formed a deep curve with its right
+wing well forward, its centre held back, and its left
+wing nearly as far advanced as its right.  The mist
+was so thick that it was very difficult to tell from the
+rear what was going on in the battle, but the 190th
+Brigade held in reserve was aware that some hitch
+had occurred, and pushing forward in the hope of
+retrieving it, found itself involved in the fierce fighting
+round the redoubt, where it also was exposed to heavy
+loss.  This brigade, it may be mentioned, was not
+naval, but contained the 1st Honourable Artillery
+Company, the 4th Bedfords, 7th Royal Fusiliers, and
+10th Dublins.  The German fort could not be reduced,
+nor could progress be made in the centre in face of its
+machine-guns; but the infantry, which had passed
+it on either side, extended along the Sunken Road
+behind it, and joined hands so as to cut it off.  The
+whole German second line was then in their possession,
+and the right third of their third line as well.  The
+enemy still held firm, however, in the centre of the
+first-line system, and showed no signs of weakening,
+although they must have known that British troops
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P319"></a>319}</span>
+were in their rear.  An attempt was made to rebombard
+this portion of the line, but it was difficult
+for the gunners without aerial observation to locate
+the exact portion of the line which still remained with
+the enemy, and there was great danger of the shells
+falling among our own infantry.  About three in the
+afternoon the conclusion was reached that it was
+better for the time to leave this great pocket of
+Germans alone, cutting them off from either escape
+or reinforcement.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The 111th Brigade from the Thirty-seventh Division
+was therefore sent up, battalion by battalion, along the
+river-bank until it passed the central obstacle and
+reached the Sunken Road.  Thence the 13th Rifles were
+sent forward with orders to reach the advanced line,
+where the Hoods and Drakes, somewhat reduced in
+numbers but not in spirit, were lying in front of
+Beaucourt.  It was dark before these changes could be made.
+The Riflemen, when they had attained their position,
+rested their right upon the Ancre, and prolonged their
+left, clearing the Germans out in that direction.  This
+movement to the left was strengthened in the early
+morning when the 13th Rifle Brigade and the 13th
+Royal Fusiliers of the same brigade came up to join
+in, whilst the H.A.C. also advanced and took up a
+position on the right of the naval men.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+About seven o'clock the assault upon the village
+was ordered, under the direction and leadership of
+Commander Freyberg of the Hoods, already twice
+wounded, and wounded once again before his task
+was finished.  Sailors and Riflemen rushed forward
+at the signal, and dashed with fierce impetuosity over
+the German line and down the streets of the hamlet.
+The Honourable Artillery Company upon the right
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P320"></a>320}</span>
+joined in the charge.  It was completely successful,
+the houses were rapidly cleared, the dug-outs taken,
+and many hundreds of prisoners secured.  The Riflemen
+emerging on the farther side of the village
+immediately dug in under the direction of their only
+remaining company officer.  A footbridge was at the
+same time thrown across the Ancre, so as to connect
+up with the Thirty-ninth Division on the south.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The German redoubt had held out manfully until
+its line of retreat was entirely cut off, and even then
+showed signs of continued resistance.  The tanks had
+already won such a position in the army that they had
+become one of the last resources of the commander who
+was in difficulties.  During the night of November 13
+three of these engines were sent for to help in reducing
+the intractable German centre.  Their performance
+was typical both of their weakness and of their value
+in this early stage of their evolution.  One was hit
+and disabled before ever it crossed the lines.  A second
+stuck in the mud and refused to budge.  The third won
+its way over the German front line and so terrorised
+the obstinate garrison that they were finally induced
+to lay down their arms.  Eight hundred prisoners
+came from this one pocket, and the whole capture of
+the Naval Division amounted to nearly 2000 men.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The advance of the Fifty-first Highland Territorial
+Division upon the immediate left of the Naval Division
+had been equally successful, and had ended in the
+capture of the important village of Beaumont Hamel
+with all its network of caverns, a great store of
+machine-guns, and 1500 of the garrison.  The objectives
+of the division may be said to have been the
+continuation of those of the Naval Division, substituting
+Beaumont Hamel for Beaucourt, but the position
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P321"></a>321}</span>
+was complicated by a deep ravine, called after its
+shape the Y Ravine, which ran down from the village
+to the German trenches.  The ground over which
+the advance was made was still littered with the
+skeletons clad in rags which represented the men who
+had fallen in the attack of July 1.  Now, after five
+months, they were gloriously avenged.  The rush of
+the division was headed by the 153rd Brigade, with
+the 4th and 7th Gordons in the lead.  These two
+fine battalions carried the front German lines, but on
+reaching the Sunken Road they gave place to the 6th
+and 7th Black Watch behind them, who carried the
+attack up the Y Ravine and on to Beaumont, while
+the Seaforths and Argylls of the other brigades, with
+their staunch Lowland comrades of the 9th Royal
+Scots, thickened the line of attack, and gave it the
+weight to carry each successive obstacle.  Only in
+the Y Ravine was there any momentary check to the
+fiery advance.  There for a short time the Germans
+stood stoutly to their task, and there was some of that
+man-to-man work which the Scotsman loves.  Then
+the last signs of resistance died out, and before the
+late afternoon the whole position was in the hands
+of the assailants, who pushed on and occupied the low
+ridge to the north which separates it from Serre.
+One curious incident connected with the close of the
+action was, that a mopping-up party of Gordons in
+one of the front lines of trenches were suddenly
+surprised and captured by a considerable body of
+Germans, who emerged suddenly from an underground
+tunnel.  In the evening, however, the positions were
+reversed, and the prisoners were rescued, while the
+Germans had to surrender to the victors.  Fifteen
+hundred prisoners and 54 machine-guns were the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P322"></a>322}</span>
+spoils of the Fifty-first Division; but these were
+considerably increased when the dug-outs were more
+carefully examined next day.  Altogether nearly
+7000 officers and men were captured in the course of
+the action.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Whilst the considerable action of Beaumont Hamel
+was fought upon the left, the various divisions upon
+the south of the river forming the remainder of Gough's
+Fifth Army all made a forward movement and gained
+ground.  Of these divisions, the Thirty-ninth, whose
+doings have already been described, was nearest to the
+main battle, and was most heavily engaged, winning
+a complete success.  Upon its right in the order
+given were the Nineteenth and the Eighteenth,
+connecting up with Rawlinson's Fourth Army upon
+the right.  These various divisions all moved their
+lines forward in the direction of the river-bank,
+with the villages of Grandcourt and Petit Miraumont
+in their front.  These movements were rather
+in the nature of a feint and a demonstration,
+so that they were not accompanied by any severe
+fighting.  It had been planned, however, that as
+these divisions advanced to the north the space
+which would be left between Gough's right and
+Rawlinson's left should be filled up by the Thirty-second
+Division, which should push on in the direction
+of Pys.  This movement gave rise to some severe
+fighting in which the historical 14th Brigade
+sustained some heavy losses.  The immediate obstacle
+in front of the division was a powerful system of
+trenches lying amid morasses caused by the recent
+heavy rains, and known as the Munich Line, with the
+Frankfort line behind it.  Upon November 17 the
+division took over the advanced trenches, while the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P323"></a>323}</span>
+Eighteenth Division side-stepped to the left.  The
+Thirty-second Division had formed its line for attack,
+with the 14th Brigade upon the left and the 97th upon
+the right, the leading battalions from left to right
+being the 15th Highland Light Infantry, the 2nd
+Manchesters, the 2nd Yorkshire Light Infantry, and
+another battalion of H.L.I.  The advance was to have
+been upon the 17th, but from the beginning a series
+of misfortunes occurred, arising largely from the
+weather, the condition of the trenches, and the severe
+German barrage behind the line, which made all
+preparations difficult and costly.  The attack was
+postponed till the 18th, and even then the advancing
+battalions were short of bombs, without which trench
+fighting becomes impossible.  The ground behind the
+troops was so awful that one mile in an hour was
+considered remarkable progress for an unladen
+messenger; while the enemy's fire was so severe that
+of six runners sent with a despatch only the last
+arrived unwounded.  The Germans in front appeared
+to be both numerous and full of fight, and upon the
+17th they made a vain attack upon the advanced line
+of the 14th Brigade.  Two companies of the Manchesters
+sustained upon this day the losses of half
+their number as they lay, an object lesson in silent
+patient discipline in the muddy bottom of a
+shell-swept ditch.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At 6.10 in the morning of the 18th an advance was
+made, but the bomb supplies had not yet come up
+and the disadvantages were great.  None the less,
+the first line of German trenches was successfully
+carried by the Manchesters, but the 15th Highland
+Light Infantry were held up by wire and were unable
+to get forward, while the Yorkshire Light Infantry
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P324"></a>324}</span>
+upon the right got through at some points and were
+held at others.  The Manchesters even penetrated
+to the second line of trenches and sprang into them,
+but the fatal want of bombs tied their hands, and a
+counter-attack of the Germans retook the position.
+The Highland Light Infantry had fallen back upon
+Serre Trench, and were pressed by a party of the
+enemy, but fortunately some of the 1st Dorsets came
+up from the rear with some bombs, and the situation
+was saved.  In the meantime the position of those
+Manchesters and Yorkshiremen who had got forward
+as far as the second trench, and were exposed without
+bombs to a bombing attack, was very serious.  They
+had taken a number of prisoners and some of these
+they managed to send back, but the greater part of
+the British were bombed to pieces, and all died where
+they fought or were taken by the enemy.  A single
+survivor who returned from the final stand made by
+these gallant men stated that he was the last man
+who had crawled out of the trench, and that his
+comrades lay dead or dying in a group in front of a
+blazing dug-out, the woodwork of which had taken
+fire.  A patrol next day came upon the bodies of an
+officer and forty men who had died fighting to the
+last in a single group.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On the left of the Thirty-second Division some
+movement forward had been necessary upon the part
+both of the Eighteenth Division and of the Nineteenth,
+in order to keep the left flank of Jacob's Second Corps
+on the south of the river level with the right flank of
+Fanshawe's Fifth Corps upon the northern bank.  This
+operation did not involve much work upon the part
+of the Eighteenth, but the movement of the Nineteenth
+was difficult and complex, with Grandcourt as
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P325"></a>325}</span>
+a possible objective.  It meant an attack upon a maze
+of trenches under the worst possible terrestrial
+conditions, while the advance had really to be in three
+different directions&mdash;due north, north-east, and
+almost due east.  The 57th Brigade, strengthened
+by the 7th South Lancashires of the 56th Brigade,
+was chosen for the difficult task.  At 6 A.M. upon
+November 18 in a sharp snow-storm the advance
+began.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was the last concerted operation of the year, but
+it was not unfortunately destined for success.  The
+garrison of the trenches appear to have been as
+numerous as the stormers and far more advantageously
+placed.  The ground was such that an advance
+over it without opposition would have been no easy
+matter.  Upon the left two battalions, the 7th South
+Lancs and the 8th Gloucesters, old battle companions
+of La Boiselle, pushed vigorously forward and seized
+the western outskirt of Grandcourt, where they held
+on against every attempt to dislodge them.  Stick
+bombs, egg bombs, rifle-grenades, and every sort of
+evil missile crashed and splintered around them,
+but they had in command two leaders who might
+be trusted to hold what they had taken.  Only
+next evening when the rest of the attack had
+definitely failed did these two battalions withdraw
+to a new line on the immediate west of the village,
+taking 150 prisoners with them.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The other three battalions had fared ill owing to
+numerical weakness, lack of knowledge of the ground,
+loss of direction, bad weather, and deadly machine-guns.
+Half of the 8th North Staffords won their way
+through to the objective, but their comrades could not
+support them, and they were so isolated that, after a
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P326"></a>326}</span>
+gallant resistance, they were nearly all destroyed or
+captured, under very much the same circumstances
+as the 2nd Manchesters upon the preceding day.  The
+commander of the North Staffords, Colonel Anderson,
+a gallant South African, and several other officers
+were wounded and taken.  Colonel Torrie of the 7th
+East Lancashires was also killed in this engagement.
+An attempt upon the part of the 9th Cheshires later
+in the evening to get into touch with their lost
+comrades only served to swell the casualty lists, for
+it was dark before it was initiated, and all direction
+was impossible amid the labyrinth of mud-channels
+which faced them.  Two days later the Nineteenth
+Division was relieved by the Eleventh.  It is difficult
+to exaggerate the extreme hardships which had been
+endured by the whole of Jacob's corps during these
+operations amid the viscid mud slopes of the Ancre.
+Napoleon in Poland had never better cause to curse
+the fourth element.  The front trenches were mere
+gutters, and every attempt to deepen them only
+deepened the stagnant pool within.  The communications
+were little better.  The mud was on the men's
+bodies, in their food, and for ever clogging both their
+feet and their weapons.  The hostile shelling was
+continuous.  It was a nightmare chapter of the campaign.
+Winter had now settled down once more cheerless
+and prolonged.  There was much to be done in
+those months of gloom&mdash;divisions to be refilled, fresh
+divisions to be brought out, munitions of every sort
+to be stored for the days of wrath to come.  But
+apart from the preparations for the future, the army
+was never quiet, for one long succession of trench
+raids, exploratory attacks, and bombardments helped
+to retain that ascendancy which had been gained in
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P327"></a>327}</span>
+the long Battle of the Somme.  Before the narrative
+passes to the German retreat of 1917, and the dramatic
+battles which followed it, it would be well to take a
+brief survey of the other events which had occurred
+during the last half of the year, all of which reacted
+more or less directly upon the campaign in the west.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The chief of these is undoubtedly the magnificent
+French recovery at Verdun.  As already stated, the
+German pressure was very severe in June, but it
+was rapidly lessened by the counter-pressure of the
+Allied advance upon the Somme.  In their attempt
+to hold back the Franco-British advance the Germans
+denuded their Verdun line to an extent which weakened
+it so much that, far from advancing, it could not hold
+its own.  In two splendid assaults upon October 24
+and December 15, the first yielding 5000 prisoners and
+the second 11,000 with 115 guns, the French drove
+the Germans back until a considerable portion of their
+former hard-won gains had disappeared.  Considering
+the efforts which France was making upon the Somme
+it was a splendid achievement, and it may fairly be
+added to the credit of the Somme Battle, since without
+it, it could hardly have been possible.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The second considerable factor was one of those
+great Russian advances which, alternating with
+equally great Russian retreats, each of them coming
+with a constant rhythm, made the war of the Eastern
+Front resemble some sort of majestic and terrible tide,
+with an ebb and flow which left death and destruction
+strewn over those unhappy border countries.
+On this occasion the advance was in the Brody and
+Stanislau direction, and was pushed with such energy
+and success by the fiery Brusiloff that nearly 400,000
+prisoners&mdash;or perhaps Slavonic refugees would be a
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P328"></a>328}</span>
+more accurate description&mdash;were taken by our Allies.
+The movement extended from June to September,
+and might have been a vital one, had it not been for
+political disorganisation and treachery in the rear.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Italian armies had in the meanwhile given a
+splendid account of themselves, as every one who had
+seen them in the field, predicted that they would.
+Though hard pressed by a severe Austrian attack in
+the Trentino in May, they rallied and held the enemy
+before he could debouch upon the plains.  Then with
+three hard blows delivered upon August 6 to August
+9, where they took the town of Gorizia and 12,000
+prisoners, on October 10, and on November 1 they
+broke the Austrian lines and inflicted heavy losses
+upon them.  The coming of winter saw them well
+upon their way to Trieste.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On August 4 the British forces in Egypt defeated
+a fresh Turco-German attack upon that country.  The
+battle was near Romani, east of the Suez Canal, and
+it ended in a creditable victory and the capture of
+2500 prisoners.  This was the end of the serious
+menace for Egypt, and the operations in this quarter,
+which were carried on by General Murray, were
+confined from this time forwards to clearing up the
+Sinai peninsula, where various Turkish posts were
+dispersed or taken, and in advancing our line to the
+Palestine Frontier.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On August 8 our brave little ally, Portugal, threw
+her sword into the scale of freedom, and so gave
+military continuity to the traditions of the two nations.
+It would have rejoiced the austere soul of the great
+Duke to see the descendants of his much-valued
+Caçadores, fighting once more beside the great-grandsons
+of the Riflemen and Guardsmen of the Peninsula.
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P329"></a>329}</span>
+Two divisions appeared in France, where they soon
+made a reputation for steadiness and valour.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the East another valiant little nation had also
+ranged herself with the Allies, and was destined, alas,
+to meet her ruin through circumstances which were
+largely beyond her own control.  Upon August 27
+Roumania declared war, and with a full reliance upon
+help which never reached her, advanced at once into
+the south of Hungary.  Her initial successes changed
+to defeat, and her brave soldiers, who were poorly
+provided with modern appliances of war, were driven
+back before the pressure of Falkenhayn's army in the
+west and Mackensen's, which eventually crossed the
+Danube, from the south.  On December 6 Bucharest
+fell, and by the end of the year the Roumanians had
+been driven to the Russian border, where, an army
+without a country, they hung on, exactly as the
+Belgians had done, to the extreme edge of their ravaged
+fatherland.  To their Western allies, who were powerless
+to help them, it was one of the most painful
+incidents of the War.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Salonica expedition had been much hampered
+by the sinister attitude of the Greeks, whose position
+upon the left rear of Sarrail's forces made an
+advance dangerous, and a retreat destructive.  King
+Constantine, following the example of his brother-in-law
+of Berlin, had freed himself from all constitutional
+ties, refused to summon a parliament, and followed
+his own private predilections and interests by helping
+our enemies, even to the point of surrendering a
+considerable portion of his own kingdom, including a
+whole army corps and the port of Kavala, to the
+hereditary enemy, the Bulgarian.  Never in history
+has a nation been so betrayed by its king, and never,
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P330"></a>330}</span>
+it may be added, did a nation which had been free
+allow itself so tamely to be robbed of its freedom.
+Venezelos, however, showed himself to be a great
+patriot, shook the dust of Athens from his feet, and
+departed to Salonica, where he raised the flag of a
+fighting national party, to which the whole nation
+was eventually rallied.  Meanwhile, however, the task
+of General Sarrail was rendered more difficult, in spite
+of which he succeeded in regaining Monastir and
+establishing himself firmly within the old Serbian
+frontier&mdash;a result which was largely due to the
+splendid military qualities of the remains of the
+Serbian army.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On December 12 the German Empire proposed
+negotiations for peace, but as these were apparently
+to be founded upon the war-map as it then stood, and
+as they were accompanied by congratulatory messages
+about victory from the Kaiser to his troops, they were
+naturally not regarded as serious by the Allies.  Our
+only guarantee that a nation will not make war whenever
+it likes is its knowledge that it cannot make peace
+when it likes, and this was the lesson which Germany
+was now to learn.  By the unanimous decision of all
+the Allied nations no peace was possible which did
+not include terms which the Germans were still very
+far from considering&mdash;restitution of invaded countries,
+reparation for harm done, and adequate guarantees
+against similar unprovoked aggression in the future.
+Without these three conditions the War would indeed
+have been fought in vain.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This same month of December saw two of the
+great protagonists who had commenced the War
+retire from that stage upon which each had played
+a worthy part.  The one was Mr. Asquith, who,
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P331"></a>331}</span>
+weary from long labours, gave place to the fresh
+energy of Mr. Lloyd George.  The other was
+"Father" Joffre, who bore upon his thick shoulders
+the whole weight of the early campaigns.  Both
+names will live honourably in history.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+And now as the year drew to its close, Germany,
+wounded and weary, saw as she glared round her at
+her enemies, a portent which must have struck a chill
+to her heart.  Russian strength had been discounted
+and that of France was no new thing.  But whence
+came this apparition upon her Western flank&mdash;a host
+raised, as it seemed, from nowhere, and yet already
+bidding fair to be equal to her own?  Her public were
+still ignorant and blind, bemused by the journals which
+had told them so long, and with such humorous detail,
+that the British army was a paper army, the creature
+of a dream.  Treitschke's foolish phrase, "The unwarlike
+Islanders," still lingered pleasantly in their
+memory.  But the rulers, the men who knew, what
+must have been their feelings as they gazed upon that
+stupendous array, that vision of doom, a hundred miles
+from wing to wing, gleaming with two million bayonets,
+canopied with aeroplanes, fringed with iron-clad motor
+monsters, and backed by an artillery which numbered
+its guns by the thousand?  Kitchener lay deep in the
+Orkney waves, but truly his spirit was thundering at
+their gates.  His brain it was who first planted these
+seeds, but how could they have grown had the tolerant,
+long-suffering British nation not been made ready
+for it by all those long years of Teutonic insult, the
+ravings of crazy professors, and the insults of
+unbalanced publicists?  All of these had a part in
+raising that great host, but others, too, can claim
+their share: the baby-killers of Scarborough, the
+<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P332"></a>332}</span>
+Zeppelin murderers, the submarine pirates, all the
+agents of ruthlessness.  Among them they had put
+life and spirit into this avenging apparition, where
+even now it could be said that every man in the
+battle line had come there of his own free will.  Years
+of folly and of crime were crying for a just retribution.
+The instrument was here and the hour was
+drawing on.
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p><a id="chap14"></a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P333"></a>333}</span></p>
+
+<h3>
+INDEX
+</h3>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Adlam, Lieutenant, V.C., <a href="#P272">272</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Air Service, <a href="#P38">38</a>, <a href="#P39">39</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Albert, <a href="#P66">66</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Alderson, General Sir Edwin, <a href="#P21">21</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Allenby, General Sir Edmund, <a href="#P11">11</a>, 
+<a href="#P34">34</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Alsace, <a href="#P3">3</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Ancre, battle of the: work of the 
+Naval Division, <a href="#P315">315-321</a>; 
+capture of Beaumont Hamel, 
+<a href="#P320">320-322</a>; attack on Grandcourt, 
+<a href="#P324">324-326</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Anderson, Colonel, <a href="#P326">326</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Arbuthnot, Rear-Admiral Sir 
+Robert, <a href="#P31">31</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Armenia, invasion of, by Russians, <a href="#P3">3</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Arnim, General von, report on the 
+battle of the Somme, <a href="#P308">308</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Ash, Colonel, <a href="#P246">246</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Asquith, Lieutenant Raymond, <a href="#P169">169</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Asquith, Mr., <a href="#P330">330</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Atkinson, Major, <a href="#P211">211</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Babington, General, <a href="#P117">117</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Bapaume, <a href="#P66">66</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Bazentin-le-Grand, <a href="#P144">144</a>, <a href="#P151">151-152</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Bazentin-le-Petit, <a href="#P144">144</a>, <a href="#P145">145</a>, <a href="#P146">146-149</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Bean, Mr., Australian chronicler, 
+quoted, <a href="#P201">201</a>, <a href="#P202">202</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Beaucourt-sur-Ancre, <a href="#P59">59</a>, <a href="#P60">60</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Beaumont Hamel, <a href="#P46">46</a>, <a href="#P47">47</a>, <a href="#P52">52-56</a>, <a href="#P58">58</a>, 
+<a href="#P86">86</a>, <a href="#P200">200</a>, <a href="#P280">280</a>, <a href="#P315">315</a>, <a href="#P320">320-322</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Bécourt, <a href="#P67">67</a>, <a href="#P76">76</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Becquincourt, <a href="#P100">100</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Bernard, Colonel, <a href="#P62">62</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Bircham, Colonel, <a href="#P161">161</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Bird wood, General Sir William, <a href="#P190">190</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Blake, Captain, <a href="#P284">284</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+British front in France extended, 
+<a href="#P4">4</a>, <a href="#P11">11</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Brocklehurst, Captain, <a href="#P183">183</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Brooke, Rupert, <a href="#P169">169</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Brown, Major Hall, <a href="#P121">121</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Brusiloff, General, <a href="#P327">327</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Bucharest, fall of, <a href="#P329">329</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Bukovina, <a href="#P2">2</a>, <a href="#P3">3</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Bulgaria, joins the Central Powers, 
+<a href="#P2">2</a>; Greece surrenders the port 
+of Kavala to, <a href="#P329">329</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Burgh, Lieutenant de, V.C., <a href="#P284">284</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Bussu, <a href="#P100">100</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Byng, General Sir Julian, <a href="#P21">21</a>, <a href="#P236">236</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Campbell, Captain (R.F.A.), <a href="#P108">108</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Carden, Colonel, <a href="#P126">126</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Carr, Colonel, <a href="#P270">270</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Cavan, General Lord, <a href="#P237">237</a>, <a href="#P251">251</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Churchill, Right Hon. W. S., <a href="#P260">260</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Clark, Major, <a href="#P140">140</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Coates, Major, <a href="#P199">199</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Coleridge, Adjutant, <a href="#P124">124</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Combles, <a href="#P237">237</a>, <a href="#P256">256</a>, <a href="#P259">259</a>, <a href="#P281">281</a>, <a href="#P294">294</a>, <a href="#P295">295</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Congreve, General, V.C., <a href="#P34">34</a>, <a href="#P86">86</a>, <a href="#P165">165</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Congreve, Brigade-Major, <a href="#P177">177</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Constantine, King of Greece, <a href="#P329">329</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Contalmaison, <a href="#P72">72</a>, <a href="#P73">73</a>, <a href="#P80">80</a>, <a href="#P105">105</a>, <a href="#P116">116-124</a>, <a href="#P131">131-133</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Cornaby, Lieutenant, <a href="#P269">269</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Courcelette, <a href="#P204">204</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Craig, Colonel James, M.P., <a href="#P62">62</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Curlu, <a href="#P100">100</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Curtin, Mr., American journalist, 
+quoted, <a href="#P132">132</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Davidson, Captain, <a href="#P62">62</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Dawson, Captain, <a href="#P69">69</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Delvilie Wood, <a href="#P145">145</a>, <a href="#P153">153</a>, <a href="#P155">155</a>, <a href="#P159">159</a>, 
+<a href="#P165">165</a>, <a href="#P171">171-178</a>, <a href="#P180">180-183</a>, <a href="#P187">187</a>, <a href="#P207">207</a>, 
+<a href="#P211">211-214</a>, <a href="#P218">218-223</a>, <a href="#P232">232</a>, <a href="#P233">233</a>, <a href="#P262">262</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Derby, Lord, <a href="#P5">5</a>, <a href="#P95">95</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+D'Eyncourt, Commander, R.N., <a href="#P260">260</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Diggle, Major, <a href="#P64">64</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Dompierre, <a href="#P100">100</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Duck's Post, attack on, <a href="#P11">11</a>, <a href="#P12">12</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+East Africa, <a href="#P3">3</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Eaucourt, <a href="#P282">282</a>, <a href="#P283">283</a>, <a href="#P286">286</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Edwards, Private, V.C., <a href="#P270">270</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Ellis, Colonel, <a href="#P56">56</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Erzeroum captured by Russians, <a href="#P3">3</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Falfemont, <a href="#P207">207</a>, <a href="#P214">214</a>, <a href="#P224">224</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Falkenhayn, General, <a href="#P329">329</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Fanshawe, General E. A., <a href="#P311">311</a>, <a href="#P324">324</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Fay, <a href="#P100">100</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Fayolle, General, <a href="#P100">100</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Finch, Colonel, <a href="#P110">110</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Flers, <a href="#P236">236</a>, <a href="#P241">241</a>, <a href="#P243">243-247</a>, <a href="#P259">259</a>, <a href="#P261">261</a>, 
+<a href="#P262">262</a>, <a href="#P282">282</a>, <a href="#P283">283</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Flower, Colonel, <a href="#P128">128</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Foch, General, <a href="#P11">11</a>, <a href="#P33">33</a>, <a href="#P84">84</a>, <a href="#P98">98</a>, <a href="#P99">99</a>, 
+<a href="#P160">160</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Forsyth, Colonel, <a href="#P203">203</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Franklin, Colonel, <a href="#P53">53</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+French, Lord, <a href="#P5">5</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Freyberg, Commander, <a href="#P319">319</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Fricourt, <a href="#P76">76</a>, <a href="#P77">77-84</a>, <a href="#P85">85</a>, <a href="#P86">86</a>, <a href="#P99">99</a>, <a href="#P101">101</a>, 
+<a href="#P104">104</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Frise, <a href="#P100">100</a>, <a href="#P101">101</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Gaffikin, Captain, <a href="#P62">62</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Galicia, <a href="#P2">2</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Gallipoli, withdrawal of British 
+troops from, <a href="#P2">2</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Garvin, Captain Gerard, <a href="#P169">169</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+General survey, of affairs in winter 
+1915, <a href="#P1">1-7</a>; of events in 1916, 
+<a href="#P326">326-332</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Gibbs, Mr. Philip, quoted, <a href="#P228">228</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Gillson, Colonel, <a href="#P136">136</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Ginchy, <a href="#P159">159</a>, <a href="#P207">207</a>, <a href="#P214">214</a>, <a href="#P218">218</a>, <a href="#P221">221</a>, 
+<a href="#P222">222-223</a>, <a href="#P224">224</a>, <a href="#P226">226</a>, <a href="#P230">230-231</a>, <a href="#P250">250</a>, 
+<a href="#P251">251</a>, <a href="#P252">252</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Glasgow, Brigadier-General, <a href="#P83">83</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Glatz Redoubt, the, <a href="#P96">96</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Gommecourt, <a href="#P39">39-45</a>, <a href="#P71">71</a>, <a href="#P86">86</a>, <a href="#P99">99</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Gordon, Colonel (Gordons), <a href="#P168">168</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Gordon, Lieutenant (Borders), <a href="#P64">64</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Gorizia, Italians take, <a href="#P328">328</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Gough, General Sir Hubert, <a href="#P106">106</a>, <a href="#P156">156</a>, 
+<a href="#P161">161</a>, <a href="#P189">189</a>, <a href="#P194">194</a>, <a href="#P198">198</a>, <a href="#P202">202</a>, <a href="#P205">205</a>, 
+<a href="#P207">207</a>, <a href="#P236">236</a>, <a href="#P238">238</a>, <a href="#P263">263</a>, <a href="#P264">264</a>, <a href="#P281">281</a>, 
+<a href="#P310">310</a>, <a href="#P311">311</a>, <a href="#P322">322</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Grandcourt, <a href="#P322">322</a>, <a href="#P324">324</a>, <a href="#P325">325</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Green, Colonel, <a href="#P53">53</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Grenfell, Julian, <a href="#P169">169</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Guedecourt, <a href="#P288">288</a>, <a href="#P289">289</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Guillemont, <a href="#P144">144</a>, <a href="#P156">156</a>, <a href="#P159">159</a>, <a href="#P178">178</a>, 
+<a href="#P183">183-187</a>, <a href="#P207">207</a>, <a href="#P214">214-218</a>, <a href="#P223">223</a>, <a href="#P224">224</a>, 
+<a href="#P226">226</a>, <a href="#P227">227-228</a>, <a href="#P231">231</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Haig, General Sir Douglas, <a href="#P33">33</a>, <a href="#P36">36</a>, 
+<a href="#P122">122</a>, <a href="#P160">160</a>, <a href="#P179">179</a>, <a href="#P261">261</a>, <a href="#P280">280</a>, <a href="#P289">289</a>, 
+<a href="#P303">303</a>, <a href="#P308">308</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Hamp, Sergeant, <a href="#P220">220</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Hankey, Captain Donald, <a href="#P169">169</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Hardecourt, <a href="#P100">100</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Hay, Colonel, <a href="#P25">25</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Heath, Colonel, <a href="#P108">108</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Hébuterne, <a href="#P34">34</a>, <a href="#P46">46</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+High Wood, <a href="#P148">148</a>, <a href="#P150">150</a>, <a href="#P159">159</a>, <a href="#P163">163</a>, 
+<a href="#P166">166-168</a>, <a href="#P170">170</a>, <a href="#P187">187</a>, <a href="#P207">207-213</a>, 
+<a href="#P232">232-234</a>, <a href="#P236">236</a>, <a href="#P237">237</a>, <a href="#P240">240-241</a>, <a href="#P262">262</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Hohenzollern Redoubt, engagement 
+near, <a href="#P19">19</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Hole, Lieutenant, <a href="#P73">73</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Hood, Rear-Admiral Hon. Horace, <a href="#P31">31</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Hopkinson, Colonel, <a href="#P53">53</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Horne, General Sir H., <a href="#P34">34</a>, <a href="#P76">76</a>, <a href="#P122">122</a>, 
+<a href="#P165">165</a>, <a href="#P236">236</a>, <a href="#P237">237</a>, <a href="#P242">242</a>, <a href="#P250">250</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Howell, Captain, <a href="#P182">182</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Hudson, Major, <a href="#P270">270</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Hunter-Weston, General Sir Aylmer, 
+<a href="#P34">34</a>, <a href="#P46">46</a>, <a href="#P55">55</a>, <a href="#P68">68</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Innes, Colonel, <a href="#P53">53</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Ireland, rebellion in, <a href="#P19">19</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Jacob, General, <a href="#P236">236</a>, <a href="#P264">264</a>, <a href="#P279">279</a>, <a href="#P311">311</a>, 
+<a href="#P324">324</a>, <a href="#P326">326</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Joffre, General, <a href="#P33">33</a>, <a href="#P331">331</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Johnson, Colonel (Manchesters), <a href="#P96">96</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Johnstone, Captain (Rifles), <a href="#P211">211</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Johnstone, Lieutenant (Shropshires), 
+<a href="#P17">17</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Jones, Colonel, <a href="#P137">137</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Jones, Sergeant, V.C. (King's Liverpool), <a href="#P229">229</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Jones, Private, V.C. (Cheshires), <a href="#P292">292</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Jutland, battle of, <a href="#P31">31</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Kavala, Greek surrender of, to 
+Bulgaria, <a href="#P329">329</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Kiggell, General Sir L., <a href="#P36">36</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Kitchener, Lord, <a href="#P5">5</a>, <a href="#P331">331</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Kut, British force surrenders to 
+Turks at, <a href="#P2">2</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+La Boiselle, <a href="#P69">69-75</a>, <a href="#P76">76</a>, <a href="#P77">77</a>, <a href="#P86">86</a>, <a href="#P104">104</a>, 
+<a href="#P105">105</a>, <a href="#P107">107-109</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Laidlaw, Colonel, <a href="#P65">65</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Lambton, General, <a href="#P53">53</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Landon, General, <a href="#P150">150</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Ledwidge, Francis, <a href="#P169">169</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Leipzig Redoubt, the, <a href="#P63">63</a>, <a href="#P64">64</a>, <a href="#P65">65</a>, <a href="#P198">198</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Le Sars, <a href="#P284">284</a>, <a href="#P285">285</a>, <a href="#P286">286</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Lesboeufs, <a href="#P281">281</a>, <a href="#P291">291</a>, <a href="#P292">292</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Lister, Charles, <a href="#P169">169</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Lloyd George, Mr., <a href="#P331">331</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Longridge, Colonel, <a href="#P210">210</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Longueval, <a href="#P144">144</a>, <a href="#P145">145</a>, <a href="#P151">151</a>, <a href="#P153">153-155</a>, 
+<a href="#P171">171-180</a>, <a href="#P213">213</a>, <a href="#P217">217</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Loos, <a href="#P4">4</a>, <a href="#P17">17-19</a>, <a href="#P30">30</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Luard, Colonel, <a href="#P17">17</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Lynch, Colonel, <a href="#P78">78</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Lyon, Colonel, <a href="#P212">212</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Machell, Colonel, <a href="#P64">64</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Mack, Major, <a href="#P252">252</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Mackensen, General, <a href="#P329">329</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+McNair, Lieutenant, V.C., <a href="#P8">8</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Maddison, Colonel, <a href="#P69">69</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Mametz, <a href="#P76">76</a>, <a href="#P84">84-86</a>, <a href="#P88">88</a>, <a href="#P93">93</a>, <a href="#P96">96</a>, <a href="#P104">104</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Mametz Wood, <a href="#P116">116</a>, <a href="#P118">118</a>, <a href="#P120">120</a>, <a href="#P121">121</a>, 
+<a href="#P124">124-132</a>, <a href="#P134">134</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Maricourt, <a href="#P95">95</a>, <a href="#P99">99</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Markes, Brigade-Major, <a href="#P176">176</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Martinpuich, <a href="#P204">204</a>, <a href="#P236">236</a>, <a href="#P237">237-240</a>, <a href="#P269">269</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Mason, Lieutenant, <a href="#P267">267</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Maxse, General, <a href="#P139">139</a>, <a href="#P272">272</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Mercer, General, <a href="#P24">24</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Mesopotamia, British Expedition in, 
+<a href="#P2">2</a>, <a href="#P3">3</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Miall-Smith, Lieutenant (Royal 
+Fusiliers), <a href="#P269">269</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Military Service Bill, the, <a href="#P6">6</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Mobbs, Colonel, <a href="#P216">216</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Monastir reoccupied by the Serbian 
+Army, <a href="#P330">330</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Monro, General Sir Charles, <a href="#P11">11</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Montauban, <a href="#P84">84</a>, <a href="#P86">86-98</a>, <a href="#P99">99</a>, <a href="#P104">104</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Montenegro overrun by Central 
+Powers, <a href="#P2">2</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Moreaucourt, <a href="#P100">100</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Morland, General Sir T., <a href="#P34">34</a>, <a href="#P58">58</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Morval, <a href="#P281">281</a>, <a href="#P291">291</a>, <a href="#P292">292</a>, <a href="#P293">293</a>, <a href="#P294">294</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Mumford, Captain, <a href="#P136">136</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Murray, General Sir A., <a href="#P328">328</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Murray, Lieutenant, <a href="#P185">185</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Musker, Lieutenant, <a href="#P186">186</a>, <a href="#P187">187</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Neville, Captain, <a href="#P92">92</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Ord, Corporal, <a href="#P220">220</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Ovillers, <a href="#P58">58</a>, <a href="#P66">66</a>, <a href="#P105">105</a>, <a href="#P106">106</a>, <a href="#P107">107</a>, <a href="#P110">110-116</a>, <a href="#P197">197</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Palk, Colonel the Hon. C. W., <a href="#P53">53</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Pears, Colonel, <a href="#P113">113</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Phillpotts, General, <a href="#P233">233</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Pierce, Colonel, <a href="#P56">56</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Piggott, Colonel Royston, <a href="#P108">108</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Plumer, General Sir Herbert, <a href="#P11">11</a>, <a href="#P14">14</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Poland occupied by Central Powers, <a href="#P2">2</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Pommiers Redoubt, the, <a href="#P89">89</a>, <a href="#P90">90</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Portugal declares war against the 
+Central Powers, <a href="#P328">328</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Pozières, <a href="#P144">144</a>, <a href="#P156">156</a>, <a href="#P159">159</a>, <a href="#P189">189-204</a>, 
+<a href="#P231">231</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Price, Brigadier-General, <a href="#P203">203</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Primrose, Captain Neil, <a href="#P169">169</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Prowse, Brigadier-General, <a href="#P52">52</a>, <a href="#P53">53</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Pulteney, General Sir W., <a href="#P34">34</a>, <a href="#P58">58</a>, 
+<a href="#P66">66</a>, <a href="#P74">74</a>, <a href="#P76">76</a>, <a href="#P236">236</a>, <a href="#P241">241</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Rawlinson, General Sir Henry, <a href="#P11">11</a>, 
+<a href="#P34">34</a>, <a href="#P106">106</a>, <a href="#P142">142</a>, <a href="#P189">189</a>, <a href="#P207">207</a>, <a href="#P214">214</a>, <a href="#P232">232</a>, 
+<a href="#P236">236</a>, <a href="#P263">263</a>, <a href="#P322">322</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Regiments: 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+<br />
+<i>Artillery&mdash;</i> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Royal Field Artillery, <a href="#P93">93</a>, <a href="#P108">108</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Trench Mortar Battery, <a href="#P269">269</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Honourable Artillery Company, 
+<a href="#P318">318</a>, <a href="#P319">319</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+<br />
+<i>Cavalry&mdash;</i>
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+7th Dragoon Guards, <a href="#P150">150</a>, <a href="#P158">158</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+20th Deccan Horse, <a href="#P150">150</a>, <a href="#P158">158</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Lucknow and Sialkote Cavalry 
+Brigades, <a href="#P313">313</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+<br />
+<i>Guards&mdash;</i> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Coldstream, <a href="#P252">252</a>, <a href="#P253">253</a>, <a href="#P254">254</a>, <a href="#P291">291</a>, 
+<a href="#P292">292</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Grenadier, <a href="#P252">252</a>, <a href="#P253">253</a>, <a href="#P291">291</a>, <a href="#P292">292</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Irish, <a href="#P252">252</a>, <a href="#P253">253</a>, <a href="#P291">291</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Scots, <a href="#P253">253</a>, <a href="#P254">254</a>, <a href="#P255">255</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Welsh, <a href="#P291">291</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+<br />
+<i>Infantry&mdash;</i> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 
+<a href="#P153">153</a>, <a href="#P164">164</a>, <a href="#P175">175</a>, <a href="#P209">209</a>, <a href="#P238">238</a>, 
+<a href="#P293">293</a>, <a href="#P321">321</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Bedford, <a href="#P88">88</a>, <a href="#P89">89</a>, <a href="#P95">95</a>, <a href="#P137">137</a>, <a href="#P186">186</a>, <a href="#P187">187</a>, 
+<a href="#P251">251</a>, <a href="#P255">255</a>, <a href="#P271">271</a>, <a href="#P273">273</a>, <a href="#P292">292</a>, <a href="#P318">318</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Berkshire, <a href="#P70">70</a>, <a href="#P71">71</a>, <a href="#P89">89</a>, <a href="#P90">90</a>, <a href="#P109">109</a>, 
+<a href="#P177">177</a>, <a href="#P182">182</a>, <a href="#P192">192</a>, <a href="#P193">193</a>, <a href="#P210">210</a>, <a href="#P233">233</a>, 
+<a href="#P268">268</a>, <a href="#P274">274</a>, <a href="#P302">302</a>, <a href="#P315">315</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Black Watch, <a href="#P153">153</a>, <a href="#P175">175</a>, <a href="#P210">210</a>, <a href="#P233">233</a>, 
+<a href="#P234">234</a>, <a href="#P287">287</a>, <a href="#P321">321</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Border, <a href="#P8">8</a>, <a href="#P64">64</a>, <a href="#P85">85</a>, <a href="#P106">106</a>, <a href="#P114">114</a>, <a href="#P117">117</a>, 
+<a href="#P123">123</a>, <a href="#P147">147</a>, <a href="#P272">272</a>, <a href="#P275">275</a>, <a href="#P279">279</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Buffs (East Kent), <a href="#P91">91</a>, <a href="#P92">92</a>, <a href="#P140">140</a>, <a href="#P216">216</a>, 
+<a href="#P255">255</a>, <a href="#P273">273</a>, <a href="#P274">274</a>, <a href="#P291">291</a>, <a href="#P298">298</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Cameron Highlanders, <a href="#P153">153</a>, <a href="#P162">162</a>, 
+<a href="#P175">175</a>, <a href="#P233">233</a>, <a href="#P238">238</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), <a href="#P70">70</a>, 
+<a href="#P134">134</a>, <a href="#P164">164</a>, <a href="#P166">166</a>, <a href="#P167">167</a>, <a href="#P170">170</a>, <a href="#P238">238</a>, 
+<a href="#P302">302</a>, <a href="#P303">303</a>, <a href="#P304">304</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Cheshire, <a href="#P106">106</a>, <a href="#P107">107</a>, <a href="#P110">110</a>, <a href="#P115">115</a>, <a href="#P259">259</a>, 
+<a href="#P276">276</a>, <a href="#P278">278</a>, <a href="#P292">292</a>, <a href="#P326">326</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Connaught Rangers, <a href="#P227">227</a>, <a href="#P228">228</a>, <a href="#P229">229</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Devon, <a href="#P70">70</a>, <a href="#P85">85</a>, <a href="#P147">147</a>, <a href="#P168">168</a>, <a href="#P223">223</a>, <a href="#P226">226</a>, 
+<a href="#P293">293</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Dorset, <a href="#P64">64</a>, <a href="#P83">83</a>, <a href="#P113">113</a>, <a href="#P115">115</a>, <a href="#P132">132</a>, <a href="#P272">272</a>, 
+<a href="#P324">324</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Dublin Fusiliers, <a href="#P19">19</a>, <a href="#P52">52</a>, <a href="#P231">231</a>, <a href="#P318">318</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Duke of Cornwall's, <a href="#P221">221</a>, <a href="#P226">226</a>, 
+<a href="#P250">250</a>, <a href="#P290">290</a>, <a href="#P299">299</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Durham Light Infantry, <a href="#P49">49</a>, <a href="#P51">51</a>, 
+<a href="#P77">77</a>, <a href="#P78">78</a>, <a href="#P80">80</a>, <a href="#P81">81</a>, <a href="#P221">221</a>, <a href="#P247">247</a>, <a href="#P250">250</a>, 
+<a href="#P255">255</a>, <a href="#P284">284</a>, <a href="#P285">285</a>, <a href="#P289">289</a>, <a href="#P291">291</a>, <a href="#P292">292</a>, 
+<a href="#P301">301</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+East Lancashire, <a href="#P49">49</a>, <a href="#P50">50</a>, <a href="#P51">51</a>, <a href="#P53">53</a>, 
+<a href="#P74">74</a>, <a href="#P121">121</a>, <a href="#P302">302</a>, <a href="#P326">326</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+East Surrey, <a href="#P11">11</a>, <a href="#P12">12</a>, <a href="#P91">91</a>, <a href="#P92">92</a>, <a href="#P180">180</a>, 
+<a href="#P215">215</a>, <a href="#P226">226</a>, <a href="#P273">273</a>, <a href="#P274">274</a>, <a href="#P293">293</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+East Yorkshire, <a href="#P77">77</a>, <a href="#P83">83</a>, <a href="#P121">121</a>, <a href="#P132">132</a>, 
+<a href="#P151">151</a>, <a href="#P304">304</a>, <a href="#P305">305</a>, <a href="#P312">312</a>, <a href="#P313">313</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Essex, <a href="#P52">52</a>, <a href="#P54">54</a>, <a href="#P89">89</a>, <a href="#P90">90</a>, <a href="#P109">109</a>, <a href="#P177">177</a>, 
+<a href="#P196">196</a>, <a href="#P267">267</a>, <a href="#P268">268</a>, <a href="#P273">273</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Gloucester, <a href="#P28">28</a>, <a href="#P108">108</a>, <a href="#P116">116</a>, <a href="#P156">156</a>, <a href="#P157">157</a>, 
+<a href="#P162">162</a>, <a href="#P180">180</a>, <a href="#P192">192</a>, <a href="#P193">193</a>, <a href="#P197">197</a>, <a href="#P198">198</a>, <a href="#P211">211</a>, 
+<a href="#P226">226</a>, <a href="#P233">233</a>, <a href="#P293">293</a>, <a href="#P325">325</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Gordon Highlanders, <a href="#P10">10</a>, <a href="#P14">14</a>, <a href="#P84">84</a>, 
+<a href="#P85">85</a>, <a href="#P149">149</a>, <a href="#P168">168</a>, <a href="#P174">174</a>, <a href="#P223">223</a>, <a href="#P314">314</a>, 
+<a href="#P321">321</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Hampshire, <a href="#P51">51</a>, <a href="#P53">53</a>, <a href="#P55">55</a>, <a href="#P244">244</a>, <a href="#P279">279</a>, 
+<a href="#P280">280</a>, <a href="#P302">302</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Highland Light Infantry, <a href="#P30">30</a>, <a href="#P63">63</a>, 
+<a href="#P64">64</a>, <a href="#P65">65</a>, <a href="#P68">68</a>, <a href="#P113">113</a>, <a href="#P114">114</a>, <a href="#P150">150</a>, <a href="#P163">163</a>, 
+<a href="#P170">170</a>, <a href="#P218">218</a>, <a href="#P237">237</a>, <a href="#P238">238</a>, <a href="#P323">323</a>, <a href="#P324">324</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Inniskilling Fusiliers, <a href="#P18">18</a>, <a href="#P53">53</a>, <a href="#P56">56</a>, 
+<a href="#P61">61</a>, <a href="#P64">64</a>, <a href="#P114">114</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+King's Liverpool, <a href="#P95">95</a>, <a href="#P96">96</a>, <a href="#P97">97</a>, <a href="#P98">98</a>, 
+<a href="#P137">137</a>, <a href="#P151">151</a>, <a href="#P152">152</a>, <a href="#P164">164</a>, <a href="#P174">174</a>, <a href="#P179">179</a>, 
+<a href="#P208">208</a>, <a href="#P220">220</a>, <a href="#P229">229</a>, <a href="#P234">234</a>, <a href="#P298">298</a>, <a href="#P304">304</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+King's Own Royal Lancaster, <a href="#P52">52</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+King's Own Scottish Borderers, 
+<a href="#P134">134</a>, <a href="#P172">172</a>, <a href="#P238">238</a>, <a href="#P286">286</a>, <a href="#P292">292</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+King's Royal Rifles, <a href="#P170">170</a>, <a href="#P227">227</a>, 
+<a href="#P244">244</a>, <a href="#P245">245</a>, <a href="#P248">248</a>, <a href="#P249">249</a>, <a href="#P290">290</a>, <a href="#P304">304</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Lancashire Fusiliers, <a href="#P7">7</a>, <a href="#P8">8</a>, <a href="#P20">20</a>, <a href="#P53">53</a>, 
+<a href="#P63">63</a>, <a href="#P64">64</a>, <a href="#P110">110</a>, <a href="#P113">113</a>, <a href="#P114">114</a>, <a href="#P118">118</a>, <a href="#P120">120</a>, 
+<a href="#P272">272</a>, <a href="#P302">302</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Leicester, <a href="#P146">146</a>, <a href="#P148">148</a>, <a href="#P255">255</a>, <a href="#P256">256</a>, <a href="#P288">288</a>, 
+<a href="#P289">289</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Leinster, <a href="#P215">215</a>, <a href="#P227">227</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Lincoln, <a href="#P8">8</a>, <a href="#P10">10</a>, <a href="#P42">42</a>, <a href="#P70">70</a>, <a href="#P72">72</a>, <a href="#P77">77</a>, <a href="#P81">81</a>, 
+<a href="#P82">82</a>, <a href="#P116">116</a>, <a href="#P117">117</a>, <a href="#P122">122</a>, <a href="#P275">275</a>, <a href="#P288">288</a>, <a href="#P302">302</a>, 
+<a href="#P303">303</a>, <a href="#P304">304</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Liverpool, <a href="#P136">136</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+London Rifle Brigade, <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P300">300</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+London Scottish, <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P44">44</a>, <a href="#P258">258</a>, <a href="#P299">299</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+1st London, <a href="#P259">259</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+2nd London, <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P259">259</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+3rd London, <a href="#P44">44</a>, <a href="#P300">300</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+4th London, <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P256">256</a>, <a href="#P299">299</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+6th London, <a href="#P241">241</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+8th London, <a href="#P259">259</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+9th London (Queen Victoria 
+Rifles), <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P256">256</a>, <a href="#P300">300</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+12th London (Rangers), <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P258">258</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+13th London (Kensington), <a href="#P43">43</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+15th London (Civil Service), <a href="#P241">241</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+15th London (Queen's Westminsters), <a href="#P43">43</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Manchester, <a href="#P65">65</a>, <a href="#P84">84</a>, <a href="#P85">85</a>, <a href="#P95">95</a>, <a href="#P96">96</a>, 
+<a href="#P97">97</a>, <a href="#P113">113</a>, <a href="#P114">114</a>, <a href="#P120">120</a>, <a href="#P136">136</a>, <a href="#P137">137</a>, 
+<a href="#P149">149</a>, <a href="#P178">178</a>, <a href="#P185">185</a>, <a href="#P186">186</a>, <a href="#P222">222</a>, <a href="#P323">323</a>, 
+<a href="#P324">324</a> <a href="#P326">326</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Middlesex, <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P70">70</a>, <a href="#P77">77</a>, <a href="#P82">82</a>, <a href="#P88">88</a>, <a href="#P111">111</a>, 
+<a href="#P112">112</a>, <a href="#P140">140</a>, <a href="#P142">142</a>, <a href="#P164">164</a>, <a href="#P168">168</a>, <a href="#P182">182</a>, 
+<a href="#P207">207</a>, <a href="#P215">215</a>, <a href="#P218">218</a>, <a href="#P232">232</a>, <a href="#P246">246</a>, <a href="#P258">258</a>, 
+<a href="#P269">269</a>, <a href="#P299">299</a>, <a href="#P304">304</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Munster Fusiliers, <a href="#P156">156</a>, <a href="#P212">212</a>, <a href="#P230">230</a>, 
+<a href="#P234">234</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Norfolk, <a href="#P89">89</a>, <a href="#P90">90</a>, <a href="#P176">176</a>, <a href="#P180">180</a>, <a href="#P196">196</a>, 
+<a href="#P267">267</a>, <a href="#P273">273</a>, <a href="#P292">292</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Northampton, <a href="#P88">88</a>, <a href="#P89">89</a>, <a href="#P121">121</a>, <a href="#P140">140</a>, 
+<a href="#P142">142</a>, <a href="#P161">161</a>, <a href="#P209">209</a>, <a href="#P210">210</a>, <a href="#P211">211</a>, <a href="#P215">215</a>, 
+<a href="#P234">234</a>, <a href="#P269">269</a>, <a href="#P271">271</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+North Lancashire, <a href="#P20">20</a>, <a href="#P110">110</a>, <a href="#P146">146</a>, 
+<a href="#P200">200</a>, <a href="#P210">210</a>, <a href="#P234">234</a>, <a href="#P278">278</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+North Staffordshire, <a href="#P41">41</a>, <a href="#P108">108</a>, <a href="#P325">325</a>, 
+<a href="#P326">326</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Northumberland Fusiliers, <a href="#P13">13</a>, <a href="#P63">63</a>, 
+<a href="#P70">70</a>, <a href="#P72">72</a>, <a href="#P73">73</a>, <a href="#P74">74</a>, <a href="#P75">75</a>, <a href="#P113">113</a>, <a href="#P117">117</a>, 
+<a href="#P118">118</a>, <a href="#P120">120</a>, <a href="#P148">148</a>, <a href="#P152">152</a>, <a href="#P179">179</a>, <a href="#P272">272</a>, <a href="#P285">285</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Oxford and Bucks, <a href="#P192">192</a>, <a href="#P219">219</a>, <a href="#P220">220</a>, 
+<a href="#P221">221</a>, <a href="#P227">227</a>, <a href="#P248">248</a>, <a href="#P249">249</a>, <a href="#P250">250</a>, <a href="#P298">298</a>, 
+<a href="#P299">299</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Queen's (West Surrey), <a href="#P84">84</a>, <a href="#P91">91</a>, 
+<a href="#P93">93</a>, <a href="#P109">109</a>, <a href="#P139">139</a>, <a href="#P142">142</a>, <a href="#P150">150</a>, <a href="#P163">163</a>, <a href="#P170">170</a>, 
+<a href="#P196">196</a>, <a href="#P218">218</a>, <a href="#P219">219</a>, <a href="#P221">221</a>, <a href="#P223">223</a>, <a href="#P233">233</a>, 
+<a href="#P244">244</a>, <a href="#P246">246</a>, <a href="#P273">273</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Rifle Brigade, <a href="#P8">8</a>, <a href="#P51">51</a>, <a href="#P52">52</a>, <a href="#P53">53</a>, <a href="#P213">213</a>, 
+<a href="#P216">216</a>, <a href="#P227">227</a>, <a href="#P228">228</a>, <a href="#P248">248</a>, <a href="#P249">249</a>, <a href="#P290">290</a>, 
+<a href="#P298">298</a>, <a href="#P302">302</a>, <a href="#P316">316</a>, <a href="#P319">319</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Rifles, <a href="#P30">30</a>, <a href="#P162">162</a>, <a href="#P163">163</a>, <a href="#P182">182</a>, <a href="#P211">211</a>, <a href="#P218">218</a>, 
+<a href="#P219">219</a>, <a href="#P220">220</a>, <a href="#P227">227</a>, <a href="#P228">228</a>, <a href="#P234">234</a>, <a href="#P248">248</a>, 
+<a href="#P278">278</a>, <a href="#P279">279</a>, <a href="#P282">282</a>, <a href="#P290">290</a>, <a href="#P299">299</a>, <a href="#P315">315</a>, 
+<a href="#P319">319</a>, <a href="#P320">320</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Royal Fusiliers, <a href="#P13">13</a>, <a href="#P53">53</a>, <a href="#P54">54</a>, <a href="#P88">88</a>, 
+<a href="#P89">89</a>, <a href="#P111">111</a>, <a href="#P164">164</a>, <a href="#P167">167</a>, <a href="#P170">170</a>, <a href="#P177">177</a>, 
+<a href="#P182">182</a>, <a href="#P186">186</a>, <a href="#P196">196</a>, <a href="#P207">207</a>, <a href="#P209">209</a>, <a href="#P269">269</a>, 
+<a href="#P270">270</a>, <a href="#P298">298</a>, <a href="#P304">304</a>, <a href="#P318">318</a>, <a href="#P319">319</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Royal Irish, <a href="#P18">18</a>, <a href="#P86">86</a>, <a href="#P148">148</a>, <a href="#P149">149</a>, <a href="#P222">222</a>, 
+<a href="#P227">227</a>, <a href="#P230">230</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Royal Irish Fusiliers, <a href="#P53">53</a>, <a href="#P60">60</a>, <a href="#P230">230</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Royal Irish Rifles, <a href="#P60">60</a>, <a href="#P61">61</a>, <a href="#P62">62</a>, <a href="#P71">71</a>, 
+<a href="#P110">110</a>, <a href="#P230">230</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Royal Lancaster, <a href="#P10">10</a>, <a href="#P14">14</a>, <a href="#P314">314</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Royal Scots, <a href="#P72">72</a>, <a href="#P73">73</a>, <a href="#P74">74</a>, <a href="#P77">77</a>, <a href="#P80">80</a>, 
+<a href="#P152">152</a>, <a href="#P172">172</a>, <a href="#P173">173</a>, <a href="#P178">178</a>, <a href="#P179">179</a>, <a href="#P238">238</a>, <a href="#P321">321</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Royal Scots Fusiliers, <a href="#P13">13</a>, <a href="#P97">97</a>, 
+<a href="#P136">136</a>, <a href="#P152">152</a>, <a href="#P172">172</a>, <a href="#P185">185</a>, <a href="#P186">186</a>, <a href="#P238">238</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Royal West Kent, <a href="#P91">91</a>, <a href="#P92">92</a>, <a href="#P109">109</a>, 
+<a href="#P139">139</a>, <a href="#P140">140</a>, <a href="#P142">142</a>, <a href="#P196">196</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Seaforth Highlanders, <a href="#P52">52</a>, <a href="#P53">53</a>, <a href="#P153">153</a>, 
+<a href="#P175">175</a>, <a href="#P285">285</a>, <a href="#P321">321</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Sherwood Foresters, <a href="#P7">7</a>, <a href="#P8">8</a>, <a href="#P40">40</a>, <a href="#P42">42</a>, 
+<a href="#P68">68</a>, <a href="#P117">117</a>, <a href="#P121">121</a>, <a href="#P251">251</a>, <a href="#P272">272</a>, <a href="#P278">278</a>, 
+<a href="#P316">316</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Shropshire, <a href="#P17">17</a>, <a href="#P151">151</a>, <a href="#P219">219</a>, <a href="#P248">248</a>, <a href="#P249">249</a>, 
+<a href="#P250">250</a>, <a href="#P256">256</a>, <a href="#P290">290</a>, <a href="#P299">299</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Somerset Light Infantry, <a href="#P51">51</a>, <a href="#P52">52</a>, 
+<a href="#P53">53</a>, <a href="#P82">82</a>, <a href="#P221">221</a>, <a href="#P229">229</a>, <a href="#P250">250</a>, <a href="#P299">299</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+South Lancashire, <a href="#P106">106</a>, <a href="#P108">108</a>, <a href="#P114">114</a>, 
+<a href="#P169">169</a>, <a href="#P202">202</a>, <a href="#P325">325</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+South Staffordshire, <a href="#P7">7</a>, <a href="#P8">8</a>, <a href="#P41">41</a>, <a href="#P84">84</a>, 
+<a href="#P85">85</a>, <a href="#P116">116</a>, <a href="#P117">117</a>, <a href="#P123">123</a>, <a href="#P150">150</a>, <a href="#P221">221</a>, 
+<a href="#P275">275</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+South Wales Borderers, <a href="#P53">53</a>, <a href="#P56">56</a>, 
+<a href="#P121">121</a>, <a href="#P129">129</a>, <a href="#P130">130</a>, <a href="#P156">156</a>, <a href="#P157">157</a>, <a href="#P162">162</a>, 
+<a href="#P212">212</a>, <a href="#P234">234</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Suffolk, <a href="#P9">9</a>, <a href="#P10">10</a>, <a href="#P72">72</a>, <a href="#P74">74</a>, <a href="#P89">89</a>, <a href="#P92">92</a>, <a href="#P109">109</a>, 
+<a href="#P164">164</a>, <a href="#P177">177</a>, <a href="#P178">178</a>, <a href="#P208">208</a>, <a href="#P252">252</a>, <a href="#P267">267</a>, 
+<a href="#P268">268</a>, <a href="#P273">273</a>, <a href="#P274">274</a>, <a href="#P314">314</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Sussex, <a href="#P8">8</a>, <a href="#P28">28</a>, <a href="#P30">30</a>, <a href="#P93">93</a>, <a href="#P111">111</a>, <a href="#P112">112</a>, 
+<a href="#P162">162</a>, <a href="#P192">192</a>, <a href="#P194">194</a>, <a href="#P195">195</a>, <a href="#P209">209</a>, <a href="#P211">211</a>, 
+<a href="#P215">215</a>, <a href="#P216">216</a>, <a href="#P232">232</a>, <a href="#P234">234</a>, <a href="#P266">266</a>, <a href="#P279">279</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Tyneside Irish (Northumberland 
+Fusiliers), <a href="#P72">72</a>, <a href="#P75">75</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Tyneside Scottish (Northumberland 
+Fusiliers), <a href="#P70">70</a>, <a href="#P72">72</a>, <a href="#P73">73</a>, <a href="#P75">75</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Warwick, <a href="#P46">46</a>, <a href="#P49">49</a>, <a href="#P51">51</a>, <a href="#P52">52</a>, <a href="#P53">53</a>, <a href="#P85">85</a>, 
+<a href="#P108">108</a>, <a href="#P115">115</a>, <a href="#P148">148</a>, <a href="#P149">149</a>, <a href="#P170">170</a>, <a href="#P192">192</a>, 
+<a href="#P193">193</a>, <a href="#P197">197</a>, <a href="#P222">222</a>, <a href="#P302">302</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Welsh, <a href="#P121">121</a>, <a href="#P124">124</a>, <a href="#P125">125</a>, <a href="#P126">126</a>, <a href="#P128">128</a>, 
+<a href="#P129">129</a>, <a href="#P156">156</a>, <a href="#P162">162</a>, <a href="#P234">234</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Welsh Fusiliers, <a href="#P10">10</a>, <a href="#P30">30</a>, <a href="#P86">86</a>, <a href="#P108">108</a>, 
+<a href="#P118">118</a>, <a href="#P125">125</a>, <a href="#P126">126</a>, <a href="#P128">128</a>, <a href="#P129">129</a>, <a href="#P149">149</a>, 
+<a href="#P167">167</a>, <a href="#P177">177</a>, <a href="#P221">221</a>, <a href="#P222">222</a>, <a href="#P292">292</a>, <a href="#P314">314</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+West Riding, <a href="#P10">10</a>, <a href="#P120">120</a>, <a href="#P203">203</a>, <a href="#P302">302</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+West Yorkshire, <a href="#P10">10</a>, <a href="#P13">13</a>, <a href="#P49">49</a>, <a href="#P50">50</a>, 
+<a href="#P51">51</a>, <a href="#P70">70</a>, <a href="#P77">77</a>, <a href="#P83">83</a>, <a href="#P96">96</a>, <a href="#P151">151</a>, <a href="#P152">152</a>, 
+<a href="#P179">179</a>, <a href="#P203">203</a>, <a href="#P255">255</a>, <a href="#P273">273</a>, <a href="#P274">274</a>, <a href="#P275">275</a>, 
+<a href="#P292">292</a>, <a href="#P301">301</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Wiltshire, <a href="#P108">108</a>, <a href="#P112">112</a>, <a href="#P136">136</a>, <a href="#P198">198</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Worcester, <a href="#P55">55</a>, <a href="#P108">108</a>, <a href="#P112">112</a>, <a href="#P114">114</a>, <a href="#P120">120</a>, 
+<a href="#P121">121</a>, <a href="#P163">163</a>, <a href="#P166">166</a>, <a href="#P169">169</a>, <a href="#P192">192</a>, <a href="#P218">218</a>, 
+<a href="#P302">302</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+York and Lancaster, <a href="#P49">49</a>, <a href="#P50">50</a>, <a href="#P51">51</a>, 
+<a href="#P68">68</a>, <a href="#P82">82</a>, <a href="#P255">255</a>, <a href="#P284">284</a>, <a href="#P293">293</a>, <a href="#P301">301</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Yorkshire, <a href="#P81">81</a>, <a href="#P83">83</a>, <a href="#P117">117</a>, <a href="#P135">135</a>, <a href="#P178">178</a>, 
+<a href="#P203">203</a>, <a href="#P275">275</a>, <a href="#P284">284</a>, <a href="#P285">285</a>, <a href="#P304">304</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Yorkshire Light Infantry, <a href="#P68">68</a>, <a href="#P77">77</a>, 
+<a href="#P78">78</a>, <a href="#P81">81</a>, <a href="#P82">82</a>, <a href="#P219">219</a>, <a href="#P221">221</a>, <a href="#P247">247</a>, <a href="#P250">250</a>, 
+<a href="#P298">298</a>, <a href="#P323">323</a>
+<br /><br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Royal Engineers, <a href="#P92">92</a>, <a href="#P117">117</a>, <a href="#P149">149</a>, <a href="#P168">168</a>, 
+<a href="#P183">183</a>, <a href="#P218">218</a>, <a href="#P220">220</a>, <a href="#P231">231</a>, <a href="#P245">245</a>, <a href="#P293">293</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Royal Naval Division, <a href="#P315">315</a>, <a href="#P316">316</a>, 
+<a href="#P317">317</a>, <a href="#P318">318</a>, <a href="#P319">319</a>, <a href="#P320">320</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+<br />
+<i>Overseas Forces&mdash;</i> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Australians, <a href="#P116">116</a>, <a href="#P161">161</a>, <a href="#P187">187</a>, <a href="#P188">188</a>, 
+<a href="#P189">189</a>, <a href="#P190">190</a>, <a href="#P191">191</a>, <a href="#P192">192</a>, <a href="#P193">193</a>, <a href="#P194">194</a>, 
+<a href="#P195">195</a>, <a href="#P196">196</a>, <a href="#P197">197</a>, <a href="#P198">198</a>, <a href="#P199">199</a>, <a href="#P200">200</a>, 
+<a href="#P201">201</a>, <a href="#P202">202</a>, <a href="#P203">203</a>, <a href="#P231">231</a>, <a href="#P305">305</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+New Zealanders, <a href="#P202">202</a>, <a href="#P234">234</a>, <a href="#P241">241</a>, 
+<a href="#P242">242</a>, <a href="#P243">243</a>, <a href="#P244">244</a>, <a href="#P245">245</a>, <a href="#P287">287</a>, <a href="#P288">288</a>, 
+<a href="#P289">289</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+1st Canadians (Ontario), <a href="#P278">278</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+2nd Canadians, <a href="#P14">14</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+3rd Canadians (Toronto), <a href="#P27">27</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+7th Canadians (British Columbia), 
+<a href="#P26">26</a>, <a href="#P27">27</a>, <a href="#P278">278</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+10th Canadians, <a href="#P26">26</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+13th Canadians (Royal Highlanders), 
+<a href="#P16">16</a>, <a href="#P27">27</a>, <a href="#P202">202</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+14th Canadians (Montreal), <a href="#P25">25</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+15th Canadians (48th Highlanders), 
+<a href="#P25">25</a>, <a href="#P202">202</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+16th Canadian Scottish, <a href="#P16">16</a>, <a href="#P27">27</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+22nd Canadians, <a href="#P15">15</a>, <a href="#P204">204</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+27th Canadians (Winnipeg), <a href="#P15">15</a>, 
+<a href="#P278">278</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+29th Canadians (Vancouver), <a href="#P15">15</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+31st Canadians (Alberta), <a href="#P15">15</a>, <a href="#P278">278</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+49th Canadians, <a href="#P22">22</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+52nd Canadians (New Ontario), 
+<a href="#P25">25</a>, <a href="#P205">205</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+60th Canadians (Montreal), <a href="#P205">205</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+60th Canadians (New Brunswick), <a href="#P16">16</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+60th Canadians (Nova Scotia), <a href="#P16">16</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Princess Patricia's, <a href="#P22">22</a>, <a href="#P24">24</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Royal Canadian Regiment, <a href="#P22">22</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Canadian Mounted Rifles, <a href="#P23">23</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+Newfoundland Regiment, <a href="#P46">46</a>, <a href="#P54">54</a>, 
+<a href="#P55">55</a>, <a href="#P301">301</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index2">
+South Africans, <a href="#P137">137</a>, <a href="#P153">153</a>, <a href="#P155">155</a>, 
+<a href="#P171">171</a>, <a href="#P172">172</a>, <a href="#P173">173</a>, <a href="#P175">175</a>, <a href="#P176">176</a>, <a href="#P286">286</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Richebourg, <a href="#P28">28-30</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Rickets, Colonel, <a href="#P128">128</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Ripley, Colonel, <a href="#P271">271</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Robertson, General Sir William, <a href="#P5">5</a>, 
+<a href="#P308">308</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Rolls, Major, <a href="#P186">186</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Romani, battle near, <a href="#P328">328</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Roumania declares war against the 
+Central Powers, <a href="#P329">329</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Rushton, Lieutenant, <a href="#P90">90</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Ryder, Private, V.C., <a href="#P270">270</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+St. Eloi, <a href="#P12">12-16</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+St. Pierre Divion, <a href="#P316">316</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Salonica, <a href="#P3">3</a>; operations round, <a href="#P329">329</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Sarrail, General, <a href="#P329">329</a>, <a href="#P330">330</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Sawyer, Major, V.C., <a href="#P284">284</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Saye, Lieutenant, <a href="#P90">90</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Schwaben Redoubt, the, <a href="#P61">61</a>, <a href="#P263">263</a>, 
+<a href="#P266">266</a>, <a href="#P268">268</a>, <a href="#P272">272-275</a>, <a href="#P276">276</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Serbia overrun by Central Powers, <a href="#P2">2</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Serre, <a href="#P46">46</a>, <a href="#P49">49-53</a>, <a href="#P86">86</a>, <a href="#P311">311</a>, <a href="#P313">313</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Shute, Major, <a href="#P64">64</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Sinai peninsula, operations in, <a href="#P328">328</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Smith, General Douglas, <a href="#P227">227</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Smith, Colonel, <a href="#P134">134</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Smuts, General Right Hon. Jan, <a href="#P3">3</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Snow, General Sir T., <a href="#P34">34</a>, <a href="#P39">39</a>, <a href="#P45">45</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Somerset, Lieutenant, <a href="#P110">110</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Somme, battle of the: disposition 
+of the British Armies, <a href="#P34">34-36</a>; 
+preparations preceding the 
+battle, <a href="#P36">36</a>, <a href="#P37">37</a>; German anticipation 
+of Allied attack, <a href="#P37">37</a>; 
+work of the Royal Flying Corps, 
+<a href="#P38">38</a>, <a href="#P39">39</a>; attack of the Seventh 
+and Eighth Corps at Gommecourt, 
+Serre, and Beaumont 
+Hamel, <a href="#P39">39-56</a>; general failure 
+of attack, <a href="#P56">56</a>; attack of the 
+Tenth and Third Corps at 
+Beaucourt, Thiepval, Ovillers, 
+and La Boiselle, fails, <a href="#P58">58-75</a>; 
+attack of the Fifteenth and 
+Thirteenth Corps at Fricourt, 
+Mametz, and Montauban, <a href="#P76">76-101</a>; 
+capture of Fricourt, <a href="#P77">77-84</a>; 
+of Mametz village, <a href="#P84">84-86</a>; 
+of Montauban, <a href="#P86">86-98</a>; operations 
+of the French Army, <a href="#P98">98-100</a>; 
+review of the first day's fighting, 
+<a href="#P100">100</a>, <a href="#P101">101</a>; its decisive importance, 
+<a href="#P101">101</a>; capture of La 
+Boiselle, <a href="#P107">107-109</a>; siege and 
+reduction of Ovillers, <a href="#P109">109-116</a>; 
+operations at Contalmaison, 
+<a href="#P116">116-124</a>, <a href="#P131">131-133</a>; capture of 
+Mametz Wood, <a href="#P124">124-131</a>; 
+capture of Trones Wood, <a href="#P134">134-143</a>; 
+assault on and capture of 
+villages of Bazentin-le-Petit, 
+<a href="#P145">145-149</a>; and Bazentin-le-Grand, 
+<a href="#P151">151-153</a>; operations at 
+Longueval, <a href="#P153">153-155</a>; cavalry 
+advance, <a href="#P150">150</a>, <a href="#P157">157</a>; fighting at 
+High Wood, <a href="#P166">166-168</a>; South 
+Africans in Delville Wood, 
+<a href="#P171">171-176</a>; capture of Delville Wood, 
+<a href="#P180">180-183</a>; capture of Longueval, 
+<a href="#P171">171-180</a>; operations before 
+Guillemont, <a href="#P183">183-187</a>; capture 
+of Pozières village and ridge, 
+<a href="#P189">189-202</a>; advance towards 
+Thiepval, <a href="#P197">197-201</a>; capture of 
+Courcelette, <a href="#P204">204</a>; further 
+fighting at High Wood, <a href="#P207">207-213</a>, 
+<a href="#P231">231-234</a>; operations on fringe 
+of Delville Wood, <a href="#P212">212-213</a>, 
+<a href="#P218">218-223</a>, <a href="#P231">231-234</a>; attack on and 
+capture of Guillemont, <a href="#P214">214</a>, 
+<a href="#P217">217</a>, <a href="#P227">227-231</a>; attack on Ginchy, 
+<a href="#P222">222-223</a>; storming of Ginchy 
+by Irish Division, <a href="#P230">230-231</a>; 
+assault on and capture of 
+Martinpuich village, <a href="#P237">237-240</a>; 
+capture of High Wood, <a href="#P240">240-241</a>; 
+advance of the New 
+Zealanders, <a href="#P242">242-243</a>; capture of 
+the village of Flers, <a href="#P243">243-247</a>; 
+debut of the Tanks, <a href="#P241">241</a>, <a href="#P244">244</a>, 
+<a href="#P245">245</a>, <a href="#P247">247</a>, <a href="#P249">249</a>, <a href="#P259">259-261</a>; assault 
+on and capture of Thiepval, 
+<a href="#P264">264-272</a>; fall of Schwaben 
+Redoubt, <a href="#P272">272-275</a>; taking of 
+Stuff Redoubt, <a href="#P275">275-279</a>; 
+Germans driven finally from 
+Thiepval Ridge, <a href="#P279">279</a>; capture of the 
+villages of Eaucourt and Le 
+Sars, <a href="#P282">282-285</a>; capture of 
+Guedecourt, <a href="#P288">288</a>, <a href="#P289">289</a>; capture 
+of Morval and Lesboeufs, 
+<a href="#P291">291-294</a>; fall of Combles, <a href="#P295">295</a>; 
+general observations on the 
+fighting in the Somme valley, 
+<a href="#P306">306-309</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Stern, Colonel, <a href="#P260">260</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Stokes, Lieutenant, <a href="#P211">211</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Stuff Redoubt, the fighting for, 
+<a href="#P275">275-279</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Swinton, Colonel, <a href="#P260">260</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Tanks, the, first appearance of, <a href="#P241">241</a>, 
+<a href="#P244">244</a>, <a href="#P245">245</a>, <a href="#P247">247</a>, <a href="#P249">249</a>; commendation 
+by Sir Douglas Haig, <a href="#P261">261</a>; 
+<a href="#P264">264</a>, <a href="#P269">269</a>, <a href="#P272">272</a>, <a href="#P283">283</a>, <a href="#P285">285</a>, <a href="#P288">288</a>, 
+<a href="#P293">293</a>, <a href="#P320">320</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Tempest, Colonel, <a href="#P254">254</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Thicknesse, Colonel, <a href="#P53">53</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Thiepval, <a href="#P58">58-68</a>, <a href="#P86">86</a>, <a href="#P156">156</a>, <a href="#P197">197-201</a>, 
+<a href="#P202">202</a>, <a href="#P203">203</a>, <a href="#P204">204</a>, <a href="#P205">205</a>, <a href="#P237">237</a>, <a href="#P263">263</a>, 
+<a href="#P264">264-272</a>, <a href="#P276">276</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Thompson, Captain, <a href="#P269">269</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Torrie, Colonel, <a href="#P326">326</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Tovey, Corporal, <a href="#P270">270</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Townshend, General Sir Charles, <a href="#P2">2</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Trenchard, General, <a href="#P38">38</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Trentino, Austrian attack in, <a href="#P328">328</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Trones Wood, <a href="#P135">135-143</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Trotter, Colonel, <a href="#P134">134</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Usher, Colonel, <a href="#P24">24</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Venezelos, <a href="#P330">330</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Verdun, <a href="#P1">1</a>, <a href="#P3">3</a>, <a href="#P11">11</a>, <a href="#P23">23</a>, <a href="#P33">33</a>, <a href="#P37">37</a>, <a href="#P99">99</a>, <a href="#P327">327</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Vimy Ridge, <a href="#P19">19</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Webber, Lieutenant, <a href="#P169">169</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Wedgwood, Colonel, <a href="#P108">108</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+White, Captain, V.C., <a href="#P275">275</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Williams, Brigadier-General Victor, 
+<a href="#P24">24</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Wood, Colonel, <a href="#P53">53</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Wulverghem, <a href="#P20">20</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Wynne-Finch, Adjutant, <a href="#P254">254</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+
+<p class="index">
+Ypres, <a href="#P4">4</a>, <a href="#P7">7-11</a>, <a href="#P16">16-17</a>, <a href="#P21">21-28</a> 
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+THE END
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p class="t4">
+<i>Printed in Great Britain</i> by R. &amp; R. CLARK, LIMITED, <i>Edinburgh.</i>
+</p>
+
+<p><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BRITISH CAMPAIGN IN FRANCE AND FLANDERS 1916 ***</div>
+<div style='text-align:left'>
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author	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-01-23 03:52:20 -0800
committer	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-01-23 03:52:20 -0800
commit	517bbead754fe3633e6aade60cd33ff1df30d6e0 (patch)
tree	2cf5db2ec15b43c7b0f3694bed24ae54f0b45413