Day Sixty Nine on the Somme

7th September 1916: From our Correspondent in the Field

This morning 56th (London) Division have finally taken over the line vacated by 5th Division. This includes Leuze Wood, which was captured unopposed on 5th and 6th.

Leading on from our concersation of yesterday, the Commanding Officer of 1st Bedfords, Colonel Allason, has sent me a copy of the recommendations he has made in the light of the recent attacks.

1. Orders were not always issued in sufficient time; thus the Order to attack Falfemont Farm at 6.30 p.m. on 3rd, was only received at 6 p.m.

2. Communication between Brigade Headquarters and the Battalion was bad. An Operation Order to make an immediate attack on Falfemont Farm, issued at 12.30 a.m. on the 5th only reached Battalion at 8.0 a.m., though the distance was under a mile. It was taken by a relay runner who lost his way.

Where relay runners are used they should be stationed at telephone test stations, so that the line can be followed. This is especially the case by night. If the shelling is very severe these test stations should be closer together and cover provided. An advanced "exchange" should be made where reports as to progress made, etc., can be duplicated and sent out to neighbouring units. Patrols can very rarely obtain this information.

3. When an important success has been gained, fresh troops should be available to take advantage of it before the enemy has time to re-organise, but where this is not so even tired troops can push on provided their flanks remain secure.

Some sort of signal, such as rockets or flares, visible from an Observation Post should be pre-arranged.

Both field and heavy guns should lift 800 yards or more according to the nature of the signal, and thus enable the advance of our Infantry to continue.

4. One or two Field Guns pushed well forward may be of great assistance in dealing with a counter attack.

5. The "P" Bomb for dug-outs and the arrangement of carrying 2 grenades per man proved invaluable.

6. A machine gun pushed into the front line safeguarded the left flank. Lewis guns were pushed up close behind the line of bombers (the ground was convex) and did excellent work at close range.

7. Military police stationed on main avenues of approach and close to the front line could send back into action cases of pseudo "shell shock" and also men not carrying back their full load.

7th Division made another unsuccessful attack on Delville Wood this afternoon.

Source: X550/2/5

A Hot Arrival and the Fear of Mines

Friday 5th November 1915: the adjutant of the 2nd Bedfords tell us that Major Hugh Stainton Poyntz arrived at the Battalion Headquarters yesterday, it is expected that he will take over from the Royal Sussex’s Regiment’s Major Bidder shortly. Eager to see what he could of his new command Major Poyntz attended a session instructing new arrivals on how to throw bombs or grenades. Not long after arrival he was wounded on the forehead by a bomb which landed too near to him. However, he brushed the incident off and remains at duty.

Meanwhile, further south, the adjutant of the 7th Battalion reports that noises were heard in their front line trench overnight. An officer in a nearby mining company came over to listen at two separate points and attributed the noises heard to rats or to a relief of sentries by the enemy. However he intends to make doubly certain tomorrow when he will listen again. The area in which this battalion finds itself is a hotbed of mining activity, both sides tunnelling under the others’ lines in order to explodes mines beneath them. Given this fact it is not surprising if any strange noise coming from below ground causes some alarm

Sources: X550/3/wd; X550/8/1

Catapults

Thursday 4th November 1915: The idea of using large catapults attached to front line trenches in order to project bombs such as the cumbersome grenade shown above at the enemy has been used for a little while on the Western Front. Yesterday the 1st/5th Battalion erected one on the left hand section of its trench at Gallipoli and have pronounced its use a success. It can throw these devices far further than the human arm and with some accuracy.

Source: X550/6/8

2nd Bedfords’ Commanding Officer Killed

Major Monteith

Friday 1st October 1915: The adjutant of the 2nd Bedfords, still holding the front line near Hulluch at Gun Trench tells us that last night, about 9 pm Germans were seen running over the open on the Battalion’s right as they had penetrated into the gun emplacement held by the 2nd Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers adjoining the Bedfords’ position.

The enemy were then working round the rear of a post of Bedfordshire Regiment bombers near the Scots and they were the assailed by bombs from three sides. This party of bombers made its way back to the rest of the Battalion with great difficulty.

Meantime the men holding the right of the Battalion position had been forced to give way and were holding a block made about 20 yards down the trench. The Germans came on, bombing with great violence, and owing to the clumsiness of the Ball Grenades with which our bombers were mostly armed, it was found hard to cope with them(1).

Two Machine Guns that had been in Gun Trench and had got isolated, managed to extricate themselves by moving alternately and covering one another's retirement with machine gun and rifle fire. These guns were mounted on the parapet of a trench called Stone Alley, and assisted to prevent the enemy's bombers coming across the open.

At about 1 a.m. a counterattack by grenade-throwers was attempted, this made some progress but the supply of good bombs was very limited to give a chance against the great numbers thrown by the enemy. At this point Second Lieutenant E F S Dyer was wounded.

Towards dawn under Orders from Brigade Headquarters 30 yards of Stone Alley was filled in and a block established. The Germans had been throwing bombs hard all night, and had been trying to work round the flanks. They had also brought up a machine gun to fire down Stone Alley. The Battalion’s own machine guns were able to deal with this.

We have just heard some additional and sad news from the adjutant of the 2nd Battalion, that their commanding officer was killed a few minutes ago. Their old CO, Lieutenant-Colonel Cranleigh Onslow was wounded on 25th September and Major John Cassels Monteith had assumed command. He was shot whilst directing work on the block in the trench mentioned above. He was 39, the son of a minister, Rev. John Monteith of Glenluiart, near Moniaive  in Dumfriess-shire.

The adjutant reports that since the opening moments of the Battle of Loos on 25th September the Battalion has lost 355 men. Of these just 45 have been killed, 40 are missing believed killed or captures and 270 wounded.

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Source: X550/3/wd

(1) The ball grenade is shown at the top of the page, it was replaced by the Mills Bomb by the end of 1915