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

Back at Mametz

Sunday 25th August 1916

Today the New Zealand Division planned to begin the task of taking the town of Bapaume, with 63rd (Royal Naval) Division advancing in protection of its right flank to the south and 37th Division doing the same job in the north on the left flank. Nothing less than the envelopment of the town was the aim in the hope that the Germans would see all was lost and give up the prize without street fighting, than which there is no worse battlefield for an attacker because the defender has the benefit of cover from houses, interlocking fields of fire and the ability to lay booby traps in ruins.

The attack began at first light  under cover of a thick fog. Good progress has been made and the town is partially encircled. More might, perhaps, have been achieved but 63rd Division ran into the hamlet of Thilloy which the enemy has turned into a strongpoint from which he can pour a deadly fire into attacking troops.

Part of the actions of 63rd Division was 4th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment which began the advance in support to 1st Battalion, Artists Rifles who themselves followed 189th Brigade. The division was given the job of taking Thilloy and Riencourt. The battalion bypassed Loupart Wood to the south and reached the main road from Albert to Bapaume. Ahead of them la Barque had been penetrated but the division was held up my machine gun fire from the right flank. The divisional commander decided to made a defensive flank against this machine gun fire so the Bedfords, forming part of this flank ended the day facing south-west. A few enemy attacks on the division were made this evening but have, so far, been beaten off.

The New Zealanders flowing round the north side of Bapaume also encountered stronger opposition than their comrades to the south. Tonight the town is not completely encircled but  the troops are in good shape and surround a good portion of it and a heavy German counter-attack north of the town has just been defeated by the 37th Division and the New Zealanders there. Four hundred prisoners have been taken along with machine guns and artillery pieces and continued determined action tomorrow and, if necessary, in future days should result in the fall of the town. 

Further south Mametz and Fricourt, famous names from the first day of the great 1916 offensive on the Somme, have been taken by 18th (Eastern) Division, coincidentally one of the divisions in action in this area on that now long ago July day. 12th and 38th Divisions have also advanced further today.

Source: 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.

The Attack on the Somme Begins

Wednesday 21st August 1918

The great attack by Third Army got underway early this morning. Two corps have been involved. IV and V. IV Corps have been in action in the northern part of the old Somme battlefield. New Zealand Division, eager not to let their cousins from across the Tasman have all the glory supported the attack by 37th Division. The village of Puisieux quickly fell and the division finally ended its advance a good thousand yards beyond. It was then the turn of 5th Division to the south of Bucquoy. This formation advanced two miles during the day and well to the fore was 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment

The Battalion went forward at 4.45 in a misty morning. It encountered but slight opposition and the objective was quickly achieved and consolidated as the 1st Battalion, Norfolk Regiment passed through to attack the next objective. Total casualties - killed and wounded were just 46.

The position of the 1st Battalion tonight

63rd (Royal Naval) Division attacked to the north of Bucquoy and the 4th Bedfords were in support to the attack. First, however, they had to get to their attack positions. The adjutant informed me via the telephone that they had considerable difficulty in getting into position near Foncquevillers as the road was blocked by lorries and a tank but they were all in position by 4.15. The attack was made by 189th Brigade and as the Bedfords followed them up the fog made it difficult to see, meaning they became somewhat disorganised. They then followed five tanks to the central part of the railway between Achiet-le-Grand and Miraumont at which point 189th Brigade dug, the Bedfords consolidating the line shown below just west of Achiet-le-Grand

The position of the 4th Bedfords tonight

Further south V Corps were tasked with crossing the River Ancre, of evil memory from the autumn of 1916. 21st Division were around Grandcourt, 17th (Northern) Division at Hamel and 38th (Welsh) Division around Aveluy. The Ancre, it is reported is as much of a swamp today as it was towards the end of 1916. During the day Beaucourt has been taken by 21st Division but the rest of the attack has been unable to make headway because of the marshy nature of the ground, so the Ancre retains its evil name with the army.

Despite this frustration around the Ancre good progress has been made during the day and there is the hope of more steady progress tomorrow.

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

Ninety Sixth Day of the Third Battle of Ypres and the Third Battle of Gaza

Saturday 3rd November 1917

A victory has been won at Gaza. The attack began on the night of 1st and 2nd and has resulted in part of the town falling to our men. We have heard at length from the adjutant of 1st/5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, of which more anon.

The overall picture seems to be that XXI Corps made the attack - a formation comprising 52nd (Lowland) Division, 54th (East Anglian) Division and 75th Division, the Imperial Cavalry Service Brigade of Indian lancer regiments, and attached troops. The attack was aimed at three main areas - Umbrella Hill, raided twice by the Bedfords earlier this year, El Arish Redoubt and the coastal defences. It was designed to bottle up the garrison and prevent it interfering with our forces’ advance to the south-east at Beersheba.

The initial attack on Umbrella Hill was made by 52nd Division which succeeded in taking the hill. The division then moved on and attacked El Arish Redoubt, supported by six tanks. The eastern half of the redoubt was taken and then the western half was attacked by 54th Division, supported by four tanks. Both divisions then attacked the south-western portion of Gaza, which they took, along with Rafa Redoubt, assisted by fire from vessels of the Royal Navy.

Thus the attack has achieved its desired outcome and more, with a portion of the town itself falling into our men’s’ hands. The adjutant of the Bedfords has given us a good description of his unit’s endeavours. At 2.10 am they left their bivouac area, passing Sheikh Ajlin at 3.10. By 3.45 they were within 150 yards of Sea Post, right on the shoreline. Between 4.10 and 4.30 they moved forward about three hundred yards. Companies moved off and Battalion Headquarters were established about 150 yards south of Cricket Well, waiting here until Advanced Battalion Headquarters reported that Tomb Spur had been cleared and the Advanced Headquarters established there.

About 5.10 Battalion Headquarters moved to Tomb Spur where they came under heavy machine gun fire from the ridge between Rafa and Belah. Next came an attack on Sheikh Hasan: “carried out absolutely to programme” and by six o’clock yesterday morning Hasan Garden was cleared right through and consolidated. Thirteen Turkish officers and 140 other ranks were taken prisoner and sent back - “a number of Turks were killed, twenty have been counted, there are probably more as the locality is too big to reach properly. Three Machine Guns, fragments of a fourth over 200 rifles many thousand rounds of small arms ammunition, bombs, engineers’ material, quarter master stores, papers and booty is being collected, but owing to consolidation no proper salvage arrangements can be put into operation”.

The adjutant went on: “In the attack one platoon led by Second Lieutenant E A Phillips, Royal Berkshire Regiment, attached this until, with more dash than thought for his orders reached and entered Turtle Hill. The Turks put up the white flag, but a machine-gun in the rear opened on the platoon and nearly all of them were wiped out. Second Lieutenant Phillips was killed”.

“During the advance through the garden our shrapnel barrage is said to have been erratic, or it may have been the keenness of the men, but we suffered most of our casualties there from our own shell fire. The tanks were not on time and only vehicle Number 5 turned up eventually at 6.25, this off-loaded its Royal Engineers’ material and proceeded forward, but soon afterwards it broke down. From about 6.15 to 8.30 the enemy shelled us heavily”. Efforts were made to support the attack by 1st/4th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment on Lion and Tiger Trenches, north-east of Sheikh Hasan, but owing to smoke and mist visibility was bad.

During the morning the Bedfords suffered from enemy machine-gun and rifle fire from Tortoise Hill and Turtle Hill. At 2.30 pm the 1/4th Northamptons attacked Tortoise Hill and Belah unsuccessfully and were driven back. At the same time the whole locality came under very heavy enemy shell fire again and a very strong enemy counter-attack developed between Tortoise Hill and Turtle Hill. The Bedfords reinforced their right, and all communications being cut by shells fired the SOS signal for a barrage which then came down and this together with their own machine-gun fire stopped the enemy.

One disturbing part of the adjutant’s account follows: “At the same time Turks were reported advancing from the direction of Tiger Trench and this was confirmed by the action of the Navy who opened fire on them at once and this stopped the movement. It is said that this party was, in fact, the remains of the Northamptonshires returning to our lines”(1). During last evening the remaining Northamptons and one company of 1st/11th Battalion, London Regiment (Finsbury Rifles) were put under the orders of the 1st/5th Bedfords. Ominously the adjutant ended his message with: “We are under close observation from Turtle Hill and it is beginning to tell”.

Here at Ypres there has been some activity today. Drake Battalion of 63rd (Royal Naval) Division took the front line up to the swampy morass that is the Paddebeek and then captured Sourd Farm. Meanwhile the 3rd Canadian Division took Graf House, but had to abandon it due to enemy machine-gin fire. Similarly they took Vanity and Vine Cottages but had to yield them up again.

Source: X550/6/8

(1) The Northamptonshire Regiment suffered 63 dead on 2nd November compared with 14 for the Bedfords.

Ninety Second Day of the Third Battle of Ypres

Tuesday 30th October 1917

As expected, 4th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment has been in action today, for the first time here at Ypres. Altogether four divisions have made attacks towards the village of Passchendaele and its spur.

The southernmost attack was made by 12th Brigade of 4th Canadian Division. The Canadians have suffered heavily, but have taken all their objectives, including Vienna Cottage and Crest Farm. Best of all, patrols pushed into Passchendaele found that the Germans are leaving. No attempt was made to force the village, on the basis that it it wasteful to attack a place the enemy are yielding up. It is hoped that the village can be occupied in the next few days as the division is now consolidating on the western outskirts..

Part of the reason why the Canadians of 4th Division did not advance further is that 3rd Canadian Division, on its left flank, had a more difficult time. Snipe Hill and Duck Lodge were taken, as were Furst Farm, Source and Vapour Farms but they could not advance quite as far as the 4th Division, which tempered its advance to make sure the line kept abreast.

63rd (Royal Naval) Division used its only formation of army troops, 190th Brigade, in its attack. They went over the top at 5.50 this morning and struggled in the vile conditions underfoot, clinging mud and standing water around the stream called Paddebeek. To make matters worse the enemy dropped a barrage just behind the advancing British barrage and right onto the advancing troops. This evening we are hearing that the division has managed to cling on to the line running through Source Trench, Varlet Farm, Bray Farm and Berks Houses which had been taken by the division in the attack of 26th October. Preliminary figures from the Bedfords suggest that two officers have been killed (Captain L C T Gate and Second Lieutenant A E Tee) and seven wounded; amongst the other ranks 52 are reported killed, 150 wounded and 23 missing(1).

On the left flank of the 63rd Division an attack was made by 58th (2nd/1st London) Division using 174th Brigade. An advance of about 100 yards was accomplished and pillboxes around Noble Farm have been taken as has a mound overlooking the Spriet road.

Source: X550/5/3

(1) Lieutenant Cecil Hootton Wareing would die of his wounds on 1st November and is buried at Dozinghem Military Cemetery. A total of 850 Canadians were recorded as dying on that day. Deaths from the British units taking part in the attacks this day number about 500 with 93 men from the Bedfordshire Regiment recorded as dying.

Eighty Ninth Day of the Third Battle of Ypres

The attack on 26th October

Saturday 27th October 1917

Early this morning Hawke Battalion of 63rd (Royal Naval) Division recaptured Banff House. This strong-point had been taken in yesterday’s fighting but as darkness gathered last evening the troops inside had been forced to withdraw by enemy pressure. Some more ground has been taken by 4th Canadian Division, too. In fact they have taken all their first objective, which, again, pressure had forced them to relinquish yesterday.

Last night the 7th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment was relieved in the line by a battalion of the London Regiment. The adjutant explained to me, rather acidly: “This relief was about the worst on record, the relieving troops losing their way up and becoming thoroughly disorganised. The relief was not complete until about 10 a.m. this morning”.

Things are stirring in Palestine, as a few had predicted. With the arrival of the cooler weather another attempt to take the town of Gaza from the Turks seems to be on the cards. The adjutant of the 1st/5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment has explained to us that on Thursday they worked on Gas Training with box respirators then attended a demonstration by 1st/4th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment on scaling cactus hedges. He notes that the General Officer Commanding XXI Corps (Lieutenant-General Edward Bulfin) came to the decision that it is better to use a spade to dig through a hedge instead of using scaling ladders as the place or hole once cut through the cactus hedge is permanent while scaling ladders easily break and are by no means permanent.

Yesterday more training with box respirators was undertaken. These were only issued to the Battalion on Wednesday. Less happily a Field General Court Martial assembled at headquarters for the purpose of trying 200456 Private Arthur Horace Holderness. We are pleased to report that no execution followed(1)

Source: X550/6/8

(1) No member of the Bedfordshire Regiment was executed during the First World War. Over a quarter of a million men from the British and Imperial forces were subject to court martial during the war with nine in every ten being convicted; 3,080 were executed. Common crimes were: absence without leave; drunkenness; desertion; insubordination and loss of army property such as a rifle. There is no record of Private Holderness’ offence. As well as death, and far more common, was imprisonment or field punishment. Field Punishment Number 1 involved being shackled to an object such as a wheel and left for up to two hours over a number of days. Field Punishment Number 2 involved being shackled by not attached to anything. With both the object was to humiliate the prisoner.

Eighty Eighth Day of the Third Battle of Ypres

Friday 26th October 1917

Another attack has been made today on the village of Passchendaele and its ridge as well as on the village of Gheluveldt along the Menin Road. These attacks have involved eight divisions.

For the first time in three weeks, serious fighting returned to the vicinity of the Menin Road. Here 7th Division attacked south-east towards Gheluveldt. Those with long memories have been struck by the fact that this division, which then included 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, saw its first action in this very vicinity almost exactly three years ago, making an attack from Gheluveldt towards Gheluwe on 15th October 1914. That attack ended in failure and retreat. Today’s attack seems to have been little more successful. 91st Brigade could make any headway against a solid wall of machine-gun fire. 20th Brigade, at times waist-deep in water, did penetrate the village, getting to within one hundred yards of the church. Then came a wave of German counter-attacks which pushed the attackers out of the village and almost back to their starting positions. Those who remember it tell me what a pleasant little place Gheluveldt was before the war, sitting on its ridge over-looking Ypres to the west and Gheluwe to the east. Evidently the enemy are very fond of it, too, and will not give it up without a prolonged struggle.

Next in the line going north is 5th Division, who were also in this vicinity three years ago. This division attacked with 13th Brigade, heading south-east along the north side of the Menin Road down the valley of the Scherriabeek, which has become vile, stinking bog. On 16th October the 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment played a war game called “The Taking of Polderhoek Chateau”. That feat was achieved for real today by 15th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment but they were forced to pull back, because the units on either flank had made no progress, letting the enemy back into the strong-point he had lost. He then counterattacked the Warwicks and the last we heard the whole of the brigade was back at its starting line of this morning.

The adjutant of the 1st Bedfords told me that at ten o’clock this morning he had received a message from divisional headquarters that all objectives had been taken. At noon another message was received saying that the Warwicks had abandoned the chateau and that 2nd Battalion, King’s Own Scottish Borderers had been ordered to reinforce the attack. At 1.15 pm the adjutant received orders for the Bedfords to the support the Borderers and the Battalion moved forward arriving at a spot called the Tower at 4.30. An hour later they were ordered to take over in the front line between the foul morasses of the Reutelbeek and the Scherriabeek which they are in the process of doing as I write this.

So much for the attacks along the Menin Road. The other main area of attack has been the Passchendaele Spur. 4th Canadian Division is astride the road from Broodeseinde to Passchendaele and their attack, by 10th Brigade, was aimed directly for the village. They seized their first objective but, under relentless counter-attacks have withdrawn nearly to their starting position. On the left is 3rd Canadian Division whose attack, by 8th and 9th Brigades, headed in the direction of Mossemarkt and Goudberg. Again, they made their first objective but could not go any further. Nevertheless, Wolf Copse and Bellevue have been taken.

63rd (Royal Naval) Division are next in the line, though 4th Bedfords are still in support closer to Ypres. The attack was made by 188th Brigade comprising two battalions of sailors and two of Royal Marines. As with the Somme last November, many have been the wry remarks about the battlefield being so flooded that the navy has been sent in. Only in the centre was the attack prevented from getting too far forward, the right flank taking Varlet Farm and the left flank taking Bray Farm and Berks Houses. Thus the majority of the first objective has been taken and consolidated.

58th (2nd/1st London) Division made the attack on the navy’s left flank, using one brigade, the 173rd, pushing north-east from Poelcapelle. Cameron House and its blockhouses fell quickly but then the advance stalled and we understand that enemy counter-attacks this afternoon have pushed the Londoners back to their original line.

57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division attacked with 170th Brigade but, in truth, never really began. It simply could not get through the marsh in front of it. A few men were able to get round the morass and establish posts in Memling farm and Rubens Farm, which were unoccupied by the enemy but that has been the extent of what was possible.

Finally, 50th (Northumbrian) Division, heavily involved in the final stages of the Somme campaign in the bitter fighting in the bogs around the Butte de Warlencourt was faced with more of the same today when 149th Brigade was ordered to attack north-eastwards towards Schaap-Balie. The weight of fire from the enemy, combined with the state of the ground has reduced their advance to one of eighty yards in some places, no advance at all in others.

The attacks today have not had the same success as some of those of recent times. The enemy’s resistance seems to be stiffening as the year fails and the weather closes in. Still the village of Passchendaele, which seems to have become something of a touchstone for the later stages of this battle, remains untaken.

This evening we hear that Brazil has joined the long list of civilized countries which have lost patience with German aggression. A few days ago one of their ships was sunk by a U-Boat and its captain taken prisoner. Relations have not been good between the two states for most of this year but this has been the final straw and Brazil has declared war on Germany. Whether we see any soldiers from the land of the samba remains to be seen(1)

Source: X550/2/5

(1) Only about twenty men were sent to the Western Front to learn the strategy and tactics of modern war. The Brazilian navy, however, played an important part in anti-U-boat operations in the South Atlantic.