More Advances

Sunday 1st September 1918

Today three divisions to the north of the Somme - in descending order north to south - 42nd, New Zealand and 5th Divisions have made some progress east, the gallant Kiwis, once again, in the lead. On the Somme itself key progress has been made. 38th (Welsh) Division has taken Morval and 18th (Eastern) Division has take the eastern portion of Saint-Vaast Wood. Last night and this morning the Australian Corps crossed the River Somme and drove on Peronne, taking Mont-Saint-Quentin and ending up just west of the town - in German hands since 1914. Everywhere our armies are on the march towards what looks increasingly like a final victory

Marking Time

A7V Captured by the New Zealand Division [from Wikipedia]

Saturday 31st August 1918

Early this morning 42nd Division finally succeeded in taking the remains of the village of Riencourt. The enemy has finally put in a counter-attack against the all-conquering New Zealand Division. They even employed four of their lumbering tanks in the operation but it failed and two of these monsters have been captured by the triumphant Kiwis.

South of this 38th (Welsh) and 18th (Eastern) Divisions have made no set piece attacks today but German positions at Morval and Combles have been systematically bombarded to weaken the defences. That does not mean that the infantry has been idle. 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, for example have pushed forward a series of posts north-east of Combles as shown on the map below. The adjutant reckoned that during the month of August the battalion has captured one German officer and seventy-one other ranks as prisoners-of-war

Source: X550/3/wd

More Success for the New Zealanders

Friday 30th August 1918

With Bapaume taken the New Zealand Division was today given the task of taking two villages to the east of the town - Bancourt and, to the north-east of that place, Fremicourt. The villages have duly fallen and the line taken some two thousand yards forward. Sadly, 42nd Division have been unable to take the village of Riencourt. 

Similarly, 38th (Welsh) Division have been unable to take Morval, mainly owing to the strength of the enemy's artillery barrage on any attempt to get forward. The same artillery has rendered impossible the 18th Division's attempts to make any serious advance though a little ground has been made. 

2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment had been ordered to take a sunken lane north of Combles and the attempt was duly made. However, they could get no further than another sunken lane a little way to the west - both shown on the map below. Sadly some nine other ranks have been killed, five are missing and thirty two have been killed. Amongst officers Captain P J Reiss has been wounded and 2nd Lieutenant A D Greenwood has been killed.

Source: X550/3/wd

Bapaume Falls

Thursday 29th August 1918

Another great leap forward has taken place on the Somme today. 18th (Eastern) Division began its advance this morning at Trones Wood at first light, sweeping through the familiar village of Guillemont an hour later and at Leuze Wood about nine this morning. This evening sees them north, west and south of Combles, though the village itself yet holds out. 

2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, then part of 30th Division lost many men at Guillemont in 1916 so it must have been with great pleasure that this morning they advanced through its few remains without a scratch, following 38th (Welsh) Division. The battalion assisted in the capture of Leuze Wood, and the high ground to the north of it, which gave it little trouble due to the speed and momentum of the advance. Then, as the adjutant informed me a few moments ago: "Our advance was held by strong machine gun fire from the enemy in position along the spur running from Morval southwards towards Combles. the battalion then dug-in as shown on the map above. Altogether four other ranks were killed and thirty-four wounded in today's action.

As already related the Welshmen of 38th Division also advanced today, beginning at Longueval captured the shattered remains of the village of Ginchy and this evening have swept on to take the hamlet of Lesboeufs.

Meanwhile, in the north, the enemy must have evacuated Bapaume as today the New Zealand Division was able to enter the deserted ruins with no finger lifted against it. Similarly 42nd Division took the now empty Thilloy and Ligny-Thilloy. Thus it has taken a mere eight days to advance from Albert to take Bapaume, in 1916 a battle of 144 days brought the army no closer to Bapaume than a few miles to the west. Nothing can so starkly underline the greatly increased efficiency of our own armies and the greatly decreased ability of the enemy to resist.

Source: X550/3/wd

Longueval Falls

Wednesday 28th August 1918

For the last two days 12th (Eastern) Division has seen hard fighting in a area made infamous at the end of July 1916 - Hardecourt and Maltz Horn Farm south of Guillemont. Today their efforts have been crowned with the capture of Hardecourt. This evening we have heard the good news that with great dash the Welshmen of 38th Division have cleared not only the mess that is Delville Wood but the pathetic ruins of what was once the village of Longueval, a place which took two months to capture in 1916.

In the north the twin villages of Thilloy and Ligny-Thilloy have been heavily bombarded all day. 42nd Division has been brought in to replace 63rd (Royal Naval) Division and the 4th Bedfords have gone to rest up at Miraumont. The 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, part of 5th Division is now in the vicinity of Bapaume though not in action. A group of 62 reinforcements joined the battalion today.

Sources: X550/2/5; X550/5/3

Day Three of Attacks on the Somme

Friday 23rd August 1918

Again today the business of war has been transacted by IV Corps in the north, around Achiet-le-Grand V Corps in the centre around Aveluy and Saint-Pierre-Divion and III Corps in the south near Albert and Meaulte. 42nd Division of IV Corps succeeded in taking a position known as the Dovecot near Achiet-le-Petit which was initially captured on 21st and lost to counterattack yesterday. 5th Division took the village of Irles and then attacked Loupart Wood and Grevillers, which, sadly, they were unable to take, whilst 37th Division seized the village of Bihucourt, moving through the line established by 63rd (Royal Naval) Division and 4th Bedfords who are being withdrawn this evening, their task, for the moment, over.

1st Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, part of 5th Division, moved up in front of the village of Achiet-le-Petit and went into the attack at eleven o'clock this morning. It secured all its objectives although it suffered quite heavily from machine gun fire. The commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel H Courtenay MC has been badly wounded(1), Lieutenants G Abbott, H J A Watson, E I F Nailer, A R C Eaton and R H Arnholz, Second Lieutanants F H Fox and W T Paine have all been killed and two other officers wounded. Altogether the battalion has lost 129 other ranks killed and wounded, a heavier "butcher's bill" than it has had for some time. This evening the battalion will withdraw into the reserve, its job emphatically done. 

The result of these three days of action by IV Corps is to have established the front line east of the railway line between Albert and Arras and almost all the high ground south and west of Bapaume has been taken. Only a ridge running from Loupart Wood through Grevillers to Biefvillers remains in enemy hands. It is reckoned that over two thousand prisoners have been taken along with twenty five pieces of artillery. Readers will be familiar with names such as Bihucourt and Achiet-le-Grand and Petit from the actions of 18th Division in the Spring of 1917 as it is here that Private Christopher Augustus Cox of the 7th Bedfords won the Victoria Cross. To those of us who have been with the armies since 1915 so many of the names of places where actions are currently being fought are horribly familiar.

Last night some soldiers from 38th (Welsh) Division finally managed to cross the marshy River Ancre north of Thiepval Wood. They managed to establish themselves near Saint-Pierre-Divion and, despite enemy counter-attacks have clung on. This morning the rest of the Welsh Division, deployed between the Albert to Bapaume Road and the Ancre attacked and seized Usna Hill meaning they now look towards the pathetic heaps of ruins that mark the sites of the twin villages of Ovillers and la Boisselle.

18th Division has pushed on another thousand yards, in the face of stiff opposition and 3rd Australian Division, again in the teeth of strong opposition has managed a short advance on the north bank of the River Somme towards the south end of Bray-sur-Somme. 2nd Bedfords remain in their positions, having taken no part in today's attack.

Sources: X550/2/5; X550/3/wd; X550/5/3

(1) He died later on that evening and is buried at Bagneux British Cemetery, Gezaincourt. He was just thirty years old.

Thirty Eighth Day of the Third Battle of Ypres

Thursday 6th September 1917

Two small unsuccessful attacks have been made today, another go at Hill 35, this time by 2nd/5th Royal Warwickshire Regiment, and a raid by 5th Seaforth Highlanders of 51st (Highland) Division on the enemy-held portion of Pheasant Trench.

42nd (East Lancashire) Division made a much larger attack, 125th Brigade assaulting strong-points known as Iberian, Borry and Beck House Farms. Beck House was taken, despite galling machine-gun fire from the wretched Hill 35, but a counter-attack succeeded in regaining it. The fire from Hill 35 then switched to the other attackers, causing them to withdraw. However, a short advance of about 150 yards by 1st/5th Lancashire Fusiliers has been consolidated, we are led to believe.