CHAPTER XIITHROUGH THE HINDENBURG LINE(September 7-30, 1918)
Along the entire front from the Belgian coast to Alsace the Allied advance progressed with a vigour and speed that surpassed the hopes of the civilized nations, and now began seriously to sap the morale of the Hun. One of the many satisfactory results of this rapid progress was the shortening of the front, in consequence of which divisions were squeezed out of the line at the conclusion of each move forward by the overlapping of divisions on either flank. Sometimes a division that had penetrated farther than its flanking divisions would be squeezed out when these drew level; at times a division that had encountered greater opposition, and had had to fight for every yard of ground, would be overlapped by troops which had advanced beyond it across less difficult country. Divisions were thus given more frequent opportunities for recuperation and reorganization, and for the training of the new drafts which were being hurried across the sea to repair the heavy losses inseparable from even the most successful assault.
Though the casualties of the 42nd Division had been small in comparison with the value of its accomplishment and the loss it had inflicted upon the enemy, it had suffered severely; and a fortnight of rest, recreation, and training in villages through which its recent victorious advance had been made was a boon that was much appreciated. A number of tents were provided, but the greater part of the troops had to dig in, or repair damaged German shelters. There was no lack of material, so weather-proof and fairly comfortable quarters were soon available. Each brigade of the Divisional Artillery was granted a brief respite of three or four days in which to “wash and brush up,” and get a little sleep after their exacting toil. D.H.Q. was at Riencourt in a German ammunition dump, at one end of which was a kind of museum containing a specimen of every variety of shell in the dump. The whole area from Bus-en-Artois to Ytres was utterly devastated, and the once flourishing town of Bapaume was a heap of brickdust. Horrible evidences of recent fighting and of the battles of early spring were oppressively apparent. But the Division was now inured to horrors—not callous to suffering, but accustomed to death, and able tolook it in the face. Men would risk all to save an injured comrade, and would even do much to assist a badly wounded enemy, but once a man was dead they accepted philosophically the fact that there was no help for it, and they had better think of something else. The interest and physical effort of sports and games, hard work and training helped men to forget. The training was of a thoroughly practical nature in attacks against strong positions, all arms co-operating; and officers and men threw themselves into it with a zest that clearly indicated their determination not only to “go one better” than the enemy, but also to eclipse their own previous performances. The spirit of the men is illustrated by a story told to the C.R.A. by the Commander of the N.Z. Division. A diminutive Lancashire lad was found in the New Zealanders’ trenches. On being asked what he was doing there he replied, “Just looking round,” and added in explanation: “We’re waiting out at rest just behind you chaps until the next attack starts. We’re the Storm Troops, you see!”
Ever since first meeting the New Zealanders in the early spring, about Hébuterne, the two divisions had been firm friends. The N.Z.s were very big men with big strength, ideas, and hearts, but they exhibited great liking for their brothers of smaller stature from Lancashire, and recognized that small bodies may contain very big hearts. They were unfailingly ready to co-operate in any work that would help to beat the Boche. The nickname of “The Pull-Throughs,” which they gave to the Division, contained an uncomplimentary allusion to the size of the men—the flannel pull-through measuring four inches by two inches—and at the same time an appreciative reference to the way in which they invariably pulled through each task entrusted to them. Another division with which the 42nd had been brought into the closest touch was the 37th—a very fine division. The relations between the 37th and 42nd were always most cordial, and each knew that it could always rely upon the other’s whole-hearted co-operation.
On the night of September 21-22 the Division relieved the 37th Division in the left sector of the 4th Corps front, rather more than a mile east of Havrincourt Wood, and just east of Trescault, places with which the Division had made acquaintance in the spring of 1917. D.H.Q. was moved to Velu Wood, taking over what had been the H.Q. of the German 14th Reserve Corps, a beautifully fitted place in the middle of a copse, completed by the enemy just in time to serve the Division. The 126th Brigade, now under the command of Brig.-General T. H. S. Marchant, D.S.O., held the line, 2500 yards in width, with all three battalions. On the night of the relief Havrincourt Wood was heavily gassed, between 2000 and 3000 Yellow Cross shells being used. In spite of excellent gas discipline casualties were severe, and these included Lieut.-Colonel Peel, D.S.O., commanding the 10th Manchesters, who, though badly gassed, refused to go down the line. From the 22nd to the 26th September the front was quiet, activity being confinedto the gunners and to patrols. The latter were vigorous and successful, capturing prisoners and improving the position east of Trescault at Bilhem Farm. Further south, a daylight patrol of the 5th East Lancashires did good work in front of Beaucamp, a strongly held village in the 5th Division’s area.
UNSEEN TRENCH, PART OF THE HINDENBURG LINE S.E. OF HAVRINCOURT.
UNSEEN TRENCH, PART OF THE HINDENBURG LINE S.E. OF HAVRINCOURT.
UNSEEN TRENCH, PART OF THE HINDENBURG LINE S.E. OF HAVRINCOURT.
ANOTHER TRENCH IN THE HINDENBURG DEFENCE SYSTEM NEAR HAVRINCOURT.
ANOTHER TRENCH IN THE HINDENBURG DEFENCE SYSTEM NEAR HAVRINCOURT.
ANOTHER TRENCH IN THE HINDENBURG DEFENCE SYSTEM NEAR HAVRINCOURT.
On the night of September 26th the front was taken over by the 125th Brigade on the right and the 127th on the left, preparatory to one of the most ambitious attacks ever made by the 42nd or any other division. This was no less than the piercing of the famous Hindenburg trench system, by smashing a way through a two-mile depth of the most strongly and scientifically defended positions in the history of warfare. The enemy had succeeded in withdrawing his battered troops, and had placed fresh divisions in line opposite the 4th Corps front. These were given complete assurance that the British advance would be held up at this “impregnable” line, which would be their winter position, and against which the Allies would fling themselves in vain. German orders issued at this date laid down that not a foot of ground was to be given up here.
The Objectives, September 27
The objectives of the 4th Corps and of the corps on its left consisted of two main ridges—the Beaucamp Ridge to the south and the Flesquières Ridge to the north. These were separated by the Ribecourt Valley. From the Beaucamp Ridge three large spurs projected northward into the valley, and these spurs formed the objectives of the Division. The most easterly of the three spurs (which are separated by deep re-entrants and very steep gradients) was known as Highland Ridge, and this is the highest and steepest of the three. East of Highland Ridge the ground drops abruptly to the narrow Couillet Valley, running south to north into the Ribecourt Valley. Beyond the Couillet Valley the ground rises sharply to Welsh Ridge. The great double row of trenches of the Hindenburg Line extended diagonally across the spurs, facing approximately S.S.W.
The 42nd Division was on the left of the 4th Corps front, with the 5th Division on its right and the 3rd Division (6th Corps) on its left. The “jumping-off” line was roughly about 600 to 1000 yards east of Havrincourt village on the north and of Trescault on the south. The attack was to be made in five bounds, the successive objectives being termed theBlack,Red,Brown,Yellow, andBlue Lines, the summit of Highland Ridge being the Blue Line, which was more than two miles east of the starting line of the 127th Brigade on the left and rather less from the 125th’s line on the right. On reaching Highland Ridge patrols were to be sent into the Couillet Valley and on to Welsh Ridge as far as aGreen Lineabout two miles beyond the Blue Line. The bounds were to be made by the leap-frog method, companies passing over one another in turn as each objective was secured. “B” and “C” Companies of the M.G. Battalion would accompany the 127th and 125th Brigades respectively; “A” and “D” Companies wouldtake part in the barrage. Zero hour for the Third Army was fixed at 5.20 a.m. on September 27th; but as the 3rd Division on the left and the 5th Division on the right would advance along higher ground than the 42nd, it was arranged that the 42nd should not move until these divisions had had time to make good the higher ground on its flanks. The Lancashire Fusiliers were therefore timed to leave at 7.52 a.m., and the Manchesters at 8.20 a.m.
The attack was preceded by a short intense bombardment by six brigades of Field Artillery, one brigade of Heavy Artillery, and the trench mortars; and at its scheduled time each infantry brigade advanced in successive waves under a creeping barrage of shrapnel and machine-gun bullets. Two Mark IV tanks were allotted to the 125th Brigade and six to the 127th, but two of these broke down at the start, a third developed engine trouble, and by noon a fourth and fifth were put out of action after doing useful work.[21]The assistance of the others in dealing with machine-gun nests was very valuable, and they were handled with great skill.
Unfortunately the attack of the division on the right was held up all morning by the very strong enemy defences around Beaucamp, a commanding position on the right flank of the 125th Brigade’s line of advance. The 7th and 8th L.F. were thus exposed to a terrible enfilading fire from the high ground about Beaucamp, and the leading companies were practically blotted out. Within half an hour of the start all the officers of one company of the 8th L.F., and all but one of each of two other companies, had been killed or wounded. With great gallantry the two battalions persisted in face of a murderous fire, but the failure to drive the enemy out of Beaucamp made it impossible for the Fusiliers to get beyond their first objective, the Black Line, until towards midday. The right of the 127th Brigade, which had made good progress, was thus left in the air. The leading wave of the 5th Manchesters had advanced over Trescault Ridge in fine style, and had gained the first objective within the scheduled time, with considerable, but not disproportionate, loss. The 6th and 7th Manchesters, dividing the front equally, passed through the 5th, and, though badly knocked about by machine-gun fire, both from the front and the unprotected right flank, they made good the Red and Brown Lines in the course of the forenoon, and the 7th Manchesters captured two 77 mm. guns. With bomb and bayonet they turned the Germans out of their huge and elaborate dug-outs in batches of twenty and thirty, about 400 being taken in the first three hours by the 127th Brigade and the Machine-Gun Company, which had gone forward with its usual dash, and had selected its positions and handled its weapons with much coolness and skill. More than 350 enemy dead were buried later in the area between the Black and Brown Lines.
September 27
On the right of the 127th Brigade’s front the 7th Manchesterswere wholly exposed to enfilade fire from the high ground to the south—for Beaucamp still defied the division on the right—and their casualties were grievous: 450 men of this battalion went over at 8.20 a.m.; only 150 were left at the end of the day, and of 16 officers only 4 remained. Two determined counter-attacks were made against the 7th Manchesters on the Brown Line, but “B” Company flung back a defensive flank and held the ground, the machine-gunners doing great execution. Further progress was impossible until touch had been regained with the 125th Brigade. By 11.30 a.m. the 1st Cheshires had mopped up Beaucamp, and the Lancashire Fusiliers were now able to make progress towards the Red Line, and cleared up Boar Copse with the assistance of one of the tanks. At 1.30 p.m. they had passed the second objective and were approaching the Brown Line, overcoming fierce resistance and inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. By 2.30 p.m. a company of the 6th Manchesters, consisting of 2 officers and 30 other ranks, had reached the Yellow Line, on the extreme left of the divisional boundary, joining hands with the 187th Brigade of the 3rd Division in Ribecourt, and about the same time an equally weak company of the 7th Manchesters was on this line, and the enemy was being turned out of his network of dug-outs. The German machine-gunners were specially selected and trained men of undoubted valour, and as a rule they would work their guns and fight to the death. But the infantry, though they would fight well under the protection of the machine-guns, were cowed by the bayonet when close quarters were reached, and would then surrender with curious docility, and often, indeed, with eagerness. The Manchesters could spare no men as escorts for prisoners; they simply waved them to the rear, and the Boches meekly obeyed, too glad to be out of the fighting to attempt to take advantage of the disproportion between captors and captives by acts of treachery. There were exceptions, of course, and on one such occasion a mud-begrimed private approached his officer with: “Beg pardon, sir, ’ave I your permission to shoot one of the prisoners who threw a bomb at us after putting ’is ’ands up?” “Certainly,” replied the officer. The man looked relieved. “That’s all right, sir. I’aveshot the blighter.”
The 127th Brigade was now linked up with the 62nd Division, which had passed through the 3rd Division and now occupied Ribecourt. During the afternoon there was a lull in the fighting. The company objectives were in some cases on a frontage of 600 yards, and numbers were now so small that commanders had not men enough to attack on so broad a front. Little parties gained ground as they could, but reorganization and reinforcement were necessary before a further assault on a large scale could be made. On both sides the artillery was on the move, our batteries pushing forward, theirs retiring to avoid risk of capture. It was becoming evident that the enemy’s strength was failing, and that the spirit had been hammered out of him. It had been a soldier’s battle ofding-dong fighting against an enemy possessing the advantage of the strongest possible positions combined with superiority in numbers of men and of machine-guns. To win success against such odds required skill with weapons—bullet, bayonet, and bomb—and also the finest qualities of initiative, resource, determination, and endurance on the part of subordinate leaders and men, and this skill and these qualities had been shown in a high degree. When company, platoon, and section commanders fell, junior N.C.O.s and even privates had proved that they could lead. By sunset more than a thousand prisoners, including two battalion commanders and a complete headquarters staff, had been passed through the divisional cage. The artillery had contributed splendidly to the successful issue of the day, and the rapidity with which they had moved into action in new advanced positions had been remarkable.
Welsh Ridge, September 28
Orders were issued to attack the Blue Line during the night. As the 6th and 7th Manchesters had lost so large a proportion of their officers and men, the 10th Manchesters were placed at Brig.-General Henley’s disposal for the operation, and this battalion was brought up into the Yellow Line and moved into its positions for the assault in pitch darkness. On the right of the divisional front the 5th Lancashire Fusiliers passed through the 7th and 8th Battalions on the Brown Line, in preparation for the attack. Zero hour was altered from 1.30 a.m., September 28, as originally fixed, to 2.30 a.m., at the request of the division on the right; and at the latter hour, the waning moon being now up, the 10th Manchesters and the 5th L.F. moved off with fine dash under a creeping barrage.[22]The attack was successful along the whole front, and by 6 a.m. the Oldhamers had secured the final objective and the Bury men had passed the Yellow Line and were approaching Highland Ridge. “B” Company, M.G. Battalion, again distinguished itself by engaging two German field-guns and destroying the crews. The company commander, Major E. W. C. Flavell, personally engaged one of the guns and forced the enemy to abandon it. Both guns were captured later. Throughout the operations of these two daysthe machine-gunners of all companies fought their guns splendidly, and took a number of prisoners. Lieut.-Colonel W. K. Tillie, commanding the M.G. Battalion, did work of great value in making most daring reconnaissances. The 10th Manchesters took more than 250 prisoners and the 5th L.F. a large number and also a 77 mm. gun with gun-team. The enemy, plainly demoralized, could be seen from the edge of Couillet Valley moving in straggling parties eastwards and upwards towards Welsh Ridge, where a stand was to be expected. The 10th Manchesters at once sent patrols into the valley and across the railway, and at 8.15 a.m. “A” Squadron, 3rd Hussars, was ordered up from Velu and placed at the disposal of Brig.-General Henley. At 10.30 a.m. the cheering report arrived that the Oldham patrols had gained a footing on Welsh Ridge. The Brigadier ordered the cavalry to report to the O.C. 10th Manchesters, and to assist that battalion in the task of reconnaissance, and he began to move larger bodies of infantry across the valley.
In the early afternoon the 126th Brigade took over the left front and passed through the 127th. It had been ordered to take over the whole of the divisional front and establish itself on Welsh Ridge, but the Lancashire Fusiliers were not to be denied. The 5th L.F. had reached the top of Highland Ridge, and here the 8th L.F., in spite of their serious losses thirty-six hours earlier, passed through them and followed the 3rd Hussars in close support to Good Old Man Farm, a post of considerable importance on the ridge. The Hussars had captured one side of the farm, the other being still in the enemy’s possession, and they held on until the infantry arrived and took over. By 6 p.m. the 8th Manchesters (who had passed through the 10th), and a little later the 8th L.F., had reached their objectives and won the summit of Welsh Ridge. The 125th Brigade had captured between 400 and 500 prisoners during the day, 35 machine-guns, 6 trench-mortars, and a field-gun. Welsh Ridge had been made good at a comparatively slight cost, and at 3 a.m. on September 29 the New Zealand Division relieved and passed through the 42nd; and from this most advantageous “kicking-off” ground they continued the victorious advance. The battle had been very involved, and no definite line could be found on the top of Welsh Ridge, behind which the New Zealanders could form up before “leap-frogging” the 42nd. Therefore, after dark, all 42nd troops east of Surrey Road, on the western slope, were withdrawn to that road, and here the New Zealanders were given exceptionally favourable assembly and “kicking-off” positions, and a perfect artillery barrage.
In two days of incessant fighting the Division had pierced the much-vaunted Hindenburg Line to a depth of 5000 yards, and the Booty Officer’s report stated that 1712 prisoners from five enemy divisions, 8 field-guns, one 4·2-inch howitzer, and 92 machine-guns had been taken. But this was certainly an under-estimate, as nearly 1500 Germans passed through the 127th Brigade command post on one day, September 27. It was impossible to estimate accurately the numbers captured by any given formation, as the Germans wereso thoroughly beaten and so glad to be out of the fighting, that they took charge of themselves and marched into captivity without escort. The Division had lost 12 officers and 179 other ranks killed, and 33 officers and 874 other ranks wounded and missing. The enemy’s losses in killed and wounded had been enormous.
The Division withdrew to Havrincourt Wood for ten days’ rest, reorganization, and training of the new drafts. General Solly-Flood, congratulating his troops on the successful storming of the Hindenburg Line, and on “the soldierly conduct and gallant fighting qualities displayed,” assured them that “Once more you have proved the Divisional Motto, and have struck a hard blow for our King and Country. I am proud to be your Commander.” He also presented ribbons of decorations awarded for conspicuous service. Each recipient of an honour, when the ribbon was pinned to his tunic, was given a card bearing the Divisional Sign and Motto, and the signature of the Divisional Commander, on which an account of the deed was typewritten, and these cards are highly prized. Between March and September 1918, as opportunity offered, many hundreds of these were presented by the General; and the stories of these deeds of valour and devotion to duty would fill several volumes. The more thickly such acts were crowded into the space of a few days, as on March 25-26, August 21-24, August 30—September 2, and September 27-28, the less chance has the historian to record individual instances, such as stand out when raids, not battles, are the stirring events of the period.
The loss of many good comrades was sorely felt, but individual grief was for a time swamped by the common exultation. For four years the tide of battle had ebbed and flowed more or less evenly. Successful but costly attacks had been followed by equally successful and costly counter-attacks; the finer heroism on the one side had been balanced by great material advantage on the other, and it seemed as though trench warfare must go on for ever. At last the thrill of victory upon victory was being experienced, and the knowledge that they had played a worthy part, that they had been strong and of good courage, was very pleasant. From all parts of the Allied line came the same story of victory, and the news of Allenby’s 45,000 prisoners in Palestine, and of Bulgaria’s unconditional surrender, now arrived to crown the jubilation.