Congratulations to the 18th Division

Friday 25th October 1918

Today we have heard more of the 2nd Battaion, Bedfordshire Regiment's exploits on 23rd and 24th. The commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Percival read to me over the telephone remarks he has made in an account of the actions to his Brigadier. He noted that, as the operations began in the early hours of the morning and in a thick mist, there had been confusion but it had been overcome by good training and leadership: "Although no opposition was encountered, I consider Lieutenant R. I. Edwards' performance in moving forward his Company a distance of over a mile on a very dark night without loss of direction and again establishing contact with the enemy is worthy of considerable praise". 

"I wish to mention the excellent work done by the Tanks both on the 23rd and 24th October. They frequently appeared on the scene just when they were wanted and assisted the advance of the Infantry and they also displayed a fine spirit in returning to the fight in spite of having the majority of their crew wounded by Armour Piercing Bullets".

18th (Eastern) Division has received a congratulatory wire from General Sir Ivor Maxse (late Commander of 18th Division) now Inspector General of Training and fromthe French general Morland. the latter wrote: "Hearty congratulations to yourself, staff and all ranks on their great success of last two days which reflects the greatest credit on all concerned". Sir Ivor wrote: Hearty congratulations to 18th Division on their splendid fighting successes this week".

Source: X550/3/wd

The Advance Continues

Friday 9th August 1918

Today the great advance of yesterday has been continued, wider and deeper. The forward movement has not been so dashing as yesterday but has been solid, across the whole front of the attack. The French to the south have launched a full-scale attack of their own after taking a limited part in yesterday's fighting. Thus the enemy have been hit, in boxing terms, with a left hook followed by a right cross. Let us hope for the sake of humanity that it proves a knockout blow!

In the following days the advance will likely pause because the infantry have now moved forward beyond the range of the supporting artillery and it will be necessary to bring up the guns and register them on the enemy's rear positions before another push can be made. In the offensive at Ypres last year this was a problem because of the sodden state of the ground. In the morass which the battlefield quickly became it was almost impossible to walk, let alone to drag heavy ordnance. Now, however, the ground is dry and firm and it should prove easy enough to bring up the guns and for them to begin their work.

Another issue forcing a brief pause is that most of the tanks are now unusable. Some have been destroyed by enemy gunfire but the majority have broken down and need repair. This is a technology still in its infancy, not yet two years in action, and a battlefield puts huge stresses on engines, bearings, tracks, wheels and every part of these titanic machines. It is also hugely demanding of crews who have to work in temperatures resembling the proximity of a blast furnace and breathing noxious fumes from the exhaust of the engine in a confined space for hours on end. 

We must all be patient. Victory will not come overnight and a lot of hard fighting lays ahead along, inevitably, with necessary pauses which may leave those of us not engaged in this life-and-death struggle champing at the bit. Let us have confidence that a formula has, at last been found to overcome well-made German defences and tenacious German defenders and let us look forward with cautious hope.

A Great Attack at Amiens

Thursday 8th August 1918

The army has been sensing it for some time but today the great attack on the enemy took place. Ever since the German offensive petered out just short of Amiens in April there has been the feeling that it will be necessary to push him out of the positions he took. Amiens is a vital rail-head. In addition any successful attack here which took the city would effectively split the British and French armies, giving a flank to attack on each formation. 

Today all thoughts of enemy success have been swept away by the allied forces. The attacking forces were drawn from all over the English-speaking World - the British III Corps, north of the River Somme and the Australian Corps and 33rd US Division (Illinois) south of the river. South of the Australians are the men from the mountains and prairies of Canada. 

The initial attack was undertaken by 2nd and 3rd Australian Divisions, Canadian 1st, 2nd and 3rd Divisions and 58th (2nd/1st London) and 18th (Eastern) Divisions. The latter formation, of course, includes the 2nd Bedfords, though they are currently in the rear, recovering from the attack by the Germans two nights ago. In retrospect this attack can be seen as a "spoiling operation", perhaps the Hun had got wind that something was in the offing and decided to try to disrupt it. To some extent they may have succeeded.

Mark V Tank at Bovingdon Tank Museum

Success seems to have been near total with a huge hole punched through the enemy's defences. For the first time for months the cavalry has even been in action - three brigades of the British Cavalry Corps assisting the advance in the Australian and Canadian sectors. Nowadays it also seem to go without saying that tanks have played a major part - both the traditional rhomboid-shaped tanks as well as a quicker vehicle armed with four machine guns and known as a Whippet.

Whippet Tank at Bovingdon Tank Museum

It is always to be difficult to be sure and, it may be imagined that reports coming from the thick of the action can be contradictory, but the advance seems in the centre and south, where the Canadians have been attacking, to have reached nearly two and a half miles. The Australians have also managed a good advanced. We understand that the bulk of the tanks have been assisting the colonial formations and that only a few assisted 18th and 58th Divisions who, anyway, were not expected to advance so far since they are the hinge with the rest of the army which has not, as yet, been ordered to attack. It may be that the attack of two nights ago also played its part in hampering the attack. Be that as it may the divisions still took their first objective.

A significant element of today's attack was the use of the new Royal Air Force, which replaced the Royal Flying Corps in April this year. Around five hundred machines have been involved in reconnaissance, bombing and straffing all day. Thus the attack has involved all arms involved in modern land warfare - infantry, artillery, tanks and aircraft. 

It seems as though the allied armies have taken in excess of 15,000 prisoners, 3,000 or so by the French, who pushed forward to the south of the Canadians(1). Such a number is stupendous - it means that the equivalent of an entire division, with all supporting arms, has been taken. Informed opinion here at the front thinks that a few more days like today may see the beginning of the end for the enemy, especially considering the millions of Americans arriving daily whereas the Germans can have few, if any, reserves of manpower left(2)

(1) Total German casualties on 8th August are reckoned to have been about 30,000 - dead, wounded, missing and captured. Casualties among the attackers were around 10,000.

(2) The Battle of Amiens has come to be seen, in retrospect, as the turning point of the war, the point at which the allies continuously advanced and the enemy continually fell back before them, losing ever more men in the process.

Backs to the Wall at Cachy

Wednesday 24th April 1918

Early this morning those of us in Amiens were awakened by a very heavy bombardment which told us that the Germans were attacking again. 7th Bedfords, with the rest of 54th Brigade was called into action and by 7 a.m. was on its way to the front. We understand they initially drew up just over the River l'Avre but shortly after noon they found new positions on the high ground between Gentelles  and the south-west corner of Bois de l'Abbe, blocking the enemy's approach to Amiens. If this city were to fall the British Expeditionary Force would be in severe trouble as it is a major railhead and there is little to the west to prevent the Germans reaching the coast and, if they reach the coast they will have split the British and French armies. Our forces would, then, in effect, be surrounded through the greater part of a semi-circle from there to Ypres in the north.

At this point the enemy held the eastern edge of Bois de l'Abbe and was fighting for possession of the village of Cachy, north-east of Gentelles. Cachy was being held by two companies of 6th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment, companies of the Suffolk and London Regiments and some Royal Engineers. An hour ago the Bedfords were ordered to attack the enemy towards the road from Villers-Bretonneux to Aubercourt north of Hangard. We understand that C Company is on the right, B Company in the centre and A Company on the left with D Company in reserve. The Bois de l'Abbe is on the left and Cachy in the right rear. This attack may play a vital part in the defence of Amiens.

The captured A7V (from Wikipedia)

During the day news has come through of an unusual feature of this German attack. Three of their tanks (they call them A7Vs) encountered three of our tanks near Villers-Bretonneux and a fight developed between them which led to one of the German machines being knocked out and a number of the crew killed. The monster was able to lumber back behind enemy lines(1)

We understand that the 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, part of 5th Division is scheduled to take part in a minor operation tomorrow between Merville and Lamotte west of Estaires.

Sources: X550/2/5; X550/8/1

(1) This A7V - Mephisto - was abandoned and captured by Australians in August. It was shipped back to Australia and is now in the Queensland Museum in Brisbane, the only surviving vehicle, only 20 being made.

Battling in Bourlon Wood

Tuesday 27th November 1917

A week into the Battle of Cambrai things seem to have bogged down in an all too familiar fashion. Last Tuesday’s great offensive held out such great prospects of a breakthrough to the green fields beyond the front lines that, we are told, church bells were sounded at home, though we did not hear them here. Since then the right flank of the attack has simply dug in and consolidated whilst the left flank has become embroiled in a rather fruitless struggle for Bourlon Wood

Today 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division and thirty tanks made another attack on the wood. At first success seemed within their grasp but the inevitable counter-attack seems to have wiped out any gains made.

Source: X550/6/8

Hammer Blow Struck at Cambrai

Tuesday 20th November 1917

A massive attack has been delivered today, driving towards the town of Cambrai. Readers may remember the 8th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, mentioning that they had seen scores of tanks yesterday and, it is understood, it is these which have spearheaded the attack.

From all we have heard tremendous progress has been made and a breakthrough achieved. Often we at the front hear rumours of impending assaults, but nothing about this, which seems to have taken the enemy similarly by surprise.

As dawn was breaking the fury of a thousand guns pounded the German lines. Six divisions then went forward, along with over four hundred tanks. This huge blow drove like a steam-roller through the defences of the much-vaunted Hindenburg Line and we believe that, in some places, our men have advanced five miles. The villages of le Pave, la Vacquerie, Ribecourt, Marcoing, Havrincourt, and Graincourt have all fallen, though, annoyingly, Bourlon Ridge remains in enemy hands. 20th (Light) Division was about to cross the Escaut MasnieresCanal and attack Masnières but the weight of one of the tanks brought down the bridge it was crossing.

Only our friends the 51st (Highland) Division have encountered serious and stiff opposition. They have been held up attacking the village of Flesquières where, it has been reported, the enemy has been particularly effective at destroying and disabling the tanks. It is unknown whether they have some new weapon which has enabled them to hold up the land dreadnoughts(1). However this may be, old military hands have remarked that Flesquières now seems all but surrounded by the success achieved on both flanks and that the Germans will have to evacuate it or risk surrender.

Such a decisive stroke, it is hoped may finally land the knock-out punch which ruptures the enemy lines and results in widespread cavalry operations in the enemy rear.

We have heard from the adjutant of 8th Bedfords, part of 6th Division, which seized Marcoing and Ribecourt. The story of their day is as follows: they were ready for the attack before five o’clock this morning and just after six the tanks began their advance. Ten minutes later the artillery opened up “with a deafening roar and in blaze of fire”. The Germans were able to put only a feeble barrage into no-man’s land and at 6.35 the first wave of infantry passed over the line of enemy outposts “the Battalion going over well, men lighting pipes and cigarettes on their way” as the adjutant remarked.

By 6.45 the Hindenburg Line was in sight and just after seven, word came back that the Battalion had taken its first objective which was the main Hindenburg Line - front line and support trenches on a frontage of 650 yards running east from the road from Villers-Plouich to Ribecourt. At 7.20 a German officer and six of his men arrived as prisoners at Battalion Headquarters. Just before 8 o’clock B Company under Captain N C F Nixon had captured all its objectives. At ten minutes past eight another 23 prisoners arrived at headquarters which, a few minutes later re-located to the captured German trenches in the Hindenburg Line. Prisoners were now coming in thick and fast and the enemy was undoubtlessly on the run. Eventually five German officers and two hundred other ranks were captured by the Bedfords, including a battalion commander, a medical officer and a staff lieutenant. The Battalion now began to consolidate its position.

About 1.30 pm a pack animal convoy arrived with water and ammunition. As stock was taken it transpired that the 8th Battalion had lost one officer killed and two wounded, ten other ranks killed and 38 wounded or missing. The fine weather of the morning then began to turn to rain. The adjutant finished his report by saying: “A very successful day and all ranks in high spirits quite ready for further action. The tanks did very good work”.

An air of excitement prevails here, behind the lines. There will be many a sleepless night and when fitful sleep comes, it will be with fitful dreams of final victory.

Source: X550/9/1

(1) The Germans here, who knocked out 28 tanks, had trained especially in anti-tank tactics and had experience in fighting against French tanks en-masse in the Nivelle Offensive of Spring 1917. In addition 51st Division’s commanding officer, Major-General George Montague Harper, over-ruled the tactics which the Tank Corps employed elsewhere on the battlefield. It has long been thought that in supplanting these tactics with some of his own invention that Harper materially assisted in the poor performance at Flesquières, though some have now questioned this. He was promoted to command IV Corps in March 1918.

Scores of Tanks

Monday 19th November 1917

The adjutant of the 4th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment tells us that Military Medals have been awarded to the following men for gallantry in action:

• 12282 Sergeant N C Scruby(1);
• 22008 Sergeant A J Turner;
• 8179 Corporal J Mason;
• 30292 Private G Ruggles;
• 23499 Private G A Holdom;
• 40629 Private C Cooper

The 8th Battalion are in the trenches at Fifteen Ravine near Gouzeaucourt. In the last hour they have, however, been moving forward to the front line. The adjutant was somewhat terse in his telegram but did mention seeing “scores of tanks”.

Sources: X550/5/3; X550/9/1

(1) Sergeant Norman Scruby MM died on 27th April 1921 aged 34, presumably of wounds

Tanks in the Wood

Saturday 17th November 1917

Intriguing news has reached us from the 8th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment. They are at a beauty spot known as Fifteen Ravine, near Gouzeaucourt having just arrived this evening. Even in the dark they have seen a large number of tanks in the woods around them. To see so many of these metal monsters together must either mean that something is afoot or, as one wag speculated, that they are breeding.

That something is afoot seems unlikely. It is very late in the year to make any major attack. Gouzeaucourt is a few miles south-west of Cambrai and there has been no major offensive operation here - the place being given up by the enemy in their retreat in March this year.

Source: X550/9/1

Thirty Second Day of the Third Battle of Ypres

Friday 31st August 1917

This latest offensive by the British Expeditionary Force began on 31st July and so is now one month old. It has seen steady progress, even though greatly hampered by the poor weather which has resulted in a glutinous mess difficult to walk through, impossible for tanks to operate in and requiring superhuman efforts by gunners and gun teams to bring their pieces up following an advance.

2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, are presently in support south-west of Kemmel. The adjutant tells me that today one officer and nineteen ranks from the Royal Navy were attached to the Battalion and shown round Wytschsaete Ridge by company commanders. This strongly suggests that 63rd (Royal Naval) Division, in whose ranks can be found 4th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, may shortly be entering the line. They are currently in the vicinity of Oppy Wood near Arras(1)

Source: X550/3/wd

(1) In fact it would be October before the division was deployed at Ypres and then significantly further north than the Wytschaete Ridge.

Twenty Third Day of the Third Battle of Ypres

Wednesday 22nd August 1917

Today, another day without rain, has seen a number of attacks, the main effort being made by four divisions between Frezenburg and Langemarck. The divisions involved (south to north) have been 15th (Scottish), 61st (2nd South Midland), 48th (South Midland) and 11th (Northern).

15th Division attacked with two brigades but was able to achieve little against a solid wall of machine-gun fire. We understand some yardage has been gained but the strongpoints of Potsdam, Vampire and Borry Farms remain in enemy hands.

61st Division attacked with 184th Brigade which was able to make a little more progress, taking Hindu Cottage. 48th Division, using 143rd and 144th Brigades, captured some enemy gun pits, but the enemy was able to retake these. We understand that here, again, the advance has been quite limited, the men consolidating just west of Springfield and Winnipeg Farms.

11th Division’s attack was made by 33rd Brigade which began its attack from a sideways V-shaped position, the centre being west of the two flanks. Bulow Farm has been taken, ironing out the kink in the line.

All these attacks have been made in high temperatures through stinking mud and foul standing water. A number of tanks were deployed but they were hamstrung by having to operate only on roads, their great weight bogging them down in the quagmire if they left the firmer surface. Given these dreadful conditions, to make any progress at all has been creditable.

Another Full Day for the 1st Battalion

Wednesday 30th May 1917

Just because 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, is in billets it does not mean they are idle. They have been finding working parties doing such things as road and railway construction and maintenance. They have also been drilling and practising other aspects of military skill. For example, at two o’clock this afternoon officers and non-commissioned officers have been trained in bayonet fighting. It is true every officer carries a pistol but they all use a rifle too, which is a far more effective weapon, more accurate and with a longer range. It is also more effective at close quarters on account of its bayonet - I know of no officer who still carries a sword into battle. Moreover, using a rifle does not distinguish an officer to the enemy, as using a pistol or a sword does and this means they are less likely to get picked-off by enemy marksmen, to the detriment of the men they lead.

As well as this activity, Lieutenant Hansen and one sergeant per company have spent the day reconnoitring No man’s land and the enemy positions east of Willerval, itself north-east of Arras. Second Lieutenant Everett and two other ranks have been to Wailly, south-west of Arras to see a display by tanks. These weapons are potential war-winners, certainly potential battle-winners, though it is fair to say that their performance is not always equal to their promise as they can be mechanically temperamental and they are difficult to operate - being inside a huge tin box, as hot as a furnace and as loud as a factory is a very disconcerting pastime and leads to officers commanding them becoming disorientated and losing their way. Nevertheless, tank design and the army’s understanding of how best to use them has come on leaps and bounds since they were first used only just over eight months ago and demonstrations like this are designed to help infantry units work out the best ways of co-operating with them to benefit the attack.

To round off  the day there was a football match. The Battalion played 1st Battalion, Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, winning by two goals to one.

Source: X550/2/5

Failure at Fresnoy and Rumours of Mutiny

Wednesday 9th May 1917

5th Division was given the task this morning of trying to recapture Fresnoy after its seizure by the enemy yesterday. As it transpired the attack never really got going because the Germans shelled Arleux, forming-up point for the intended assault, very heavily. The 1st Bedfords did not take part in this abortive attack and are now holding the line east of the village of Willerval. 

Today the Devons have made another attempt to take The Red Patch in Bullecourt. Again they made ground but again they were beaten back.

We have heard rumour today that the offensive undertaken by the French in on a stretch of the front line known as the Chemin des Dames between Soissons and Laon and in Champagne further east has ground to a halt. My journalist colleagues have taken to calling this attack the Nivelle Offensive after the commander-in-chief of the French Army. Our allies have gained a good amount of territory in which they have been aided by tanks of their own design(1). They are reported to have taken around thirty thousand prisoners.

It is difficult to know with any certainty but there are dark rumours. Some French units are reputed to have resorted to drunkenness and to have refused to take part in any attack. This seems scarcely credible given that they are fighting in and for their own motherland, and some suspect these rumours are the work of German spies and fifth-columnists(2)

The 6th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, is in billets at Berlencourt-le-Cauroy, about eighteen miles west of Arras. They are evidently in fine fettle as their transport section won 37th Divisional Transport Competition by 87 points from all other regiments in the division. A Company also won the Divisional Field Firing Competition against one company each from the other twelve battalions in the division.

Source: X550/7/1

(1) The Saint-Chamond (below top) and Schneider CA (below bottom) tanks

(2) Not so. This period and what happened next have been called the French Mutinies, where units refused to take any offensive action, though they would hold the line against attack. This seems to have begun on 3rd May when 2nd Division refused to attack and, later became collectively drunk and abandoned their weapons. By the end of May twenty more divisions were infected by some form of mutiny. The reason is not difficult to understand. France had suffered huge numbers of casualties during the war so far, proportionately vastly higher than those of Great Britain. Up to 9th April 1917 France had already lost 978,000 dead, Britain and her Empire just under half that number at 478,000. By the beginning of this offensive France had lost about one million men (out of a total male population of twenty million).

After the war the US War Department produced casualty statistics which make grim reading. France and her colonies mobilised 8,410,000 - from these there were 6,160,800 casualties this would suggest nearly three men in every four became a casualty though, of course, many men were wounded more than once, still the proportion would have been high. Of these casualties 1,357,800 were fatalities (16% of those mobilised), there were 4,266,000 instances of wounds (50% of those mobilised) and the remaining 537,000 taken prisoner (6% of those mobilised). Total French population was 39.6 million and deaths of soldiers and civilians combined were between 1.697 and 1.737 million - between 4.29% and 4.39%. By contrast the figures for Britain and her Empire are 8,904,467 mobilised and total casualties of 3,190,255 (36% of those mobilised) of which 908,371 (10%) were fatalities, 2,090,212 cases of wounds (23%) and 191,652 prisoners (2%). The population of Britain was 45.4 million (380 million if one includes the principal Imperial combatants - Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Newfoundland and South Africa). Deaths for British soldiers and civilians alone came to between 867,829 and 1,011,697 or between 1.91 and 2.23% of the population. From this it is evident that in the French Army one stood a one in six chance of dying compared to a one in ten chance in the British Army, one was also twice as likely to be wounded, so perhaps it is no surprise that one was three times as likely to surrender. No combatants other than Romania, Serbia and the Ottoman Empire lost more people during the war as a proportion of their total population than France - German figures are proportionately fractionally lower than those of France.

Nivelle had promised less costly attacks as part of this offensive and had planned for about 10,000 - in the event it is calculated that between 118,000 and 180,000 became casualties. This overshadowed what may be regarded as an otherwise successful offensive compared to others undertaken by the Allies before the end of 1918. By contrast the British lost around 160,000 around Arras and the Germans about the same number, meaning that for the combined offensive the Allies lost roughly twice as many men as the Germans.

The Sad Story of the 7th Battalion at Cherisy

The 7th Bedfords' attack at Cherisy

Friday 4th May 1917

After the failure of the attack by 18th Division yesterday at Chérisy your correspondent has been eager to speak with someone from 7th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, which was one of the assaulting battalions, another being 12th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment from their brigade. This morning the adjutant was able to speak with me at some length. It seems that the attack was due to begin at 3.45 a.m. but it was not light enough to begin until 4.15. The British barrage commenced badly, being irregular and so gave the troops very little cover as they advanced down a gentle slope towards a wood just outside Fontaine-lès-Croisilles. The Battalion’s job was to seize the front line between this village and the village of Chérisy.

The left their trenches before zero and, according to the adjutant they formed up splendidly. The advance started at zero, they soon slightly lost direction. This was because  the men being extended at about 12 paces between them and could scarcely see each other. The battalion on the left, Leicesters of 21st Division, also lost direction and crowded to the right, thus confusing the Bedfords’ attack and causing a further loss of direction, pushing them further to the right.

Four tanks were to be used to attack Fontaine village. One of these was unable to start and another went but a short distance. Worse, a third tank went down the line of a trench called Wood Trench and  then turned and came right through the Bedfords’ advancing lines. This added to the confusion and some groups retired to their starting point someone having been heard to shout: “Retire”. These men were reformed at once by their officers and again advanced, but the covering barrage, such as it was, had gone on. Thus the Battalion was held up at Fontaine Trench, which was strongly defended and the wire was thick and undamaged. They came under heavy machine-gun fire from Vis-en-Artois, Chérisy, Fontaine Trench and Fontaine Wood.

Small detachments pushed forward to an angle formed by Fontaine Trench and Wood Trench but could get no further.  At this time the majority of the 55th Brigade (commanded incidentally by the Bedfords’ old commanding officer Colonel, now Brigadier George Price) had reached their first objective on the left of the Bedfords.

The position of the Battalion about 10 a.m. was in front of Fontaine Trench with their right flank thrown back facing Wood Trench. At this time the Leicesters on the right had not made good Wood Trench except a small portion at the Western end. Some groups of the 55th Brigade reached a portion of their second objective.

About 11.30 the 14th (Light) Division further to the left commenced retiring, followed by the 55th Brigade, 12th Middlesex and some groups of the Bedfords, but about a company still remained in shell-holes in front of Fontaine and Wood Trenches when at midday the troops on their left had all got back to the starting Trenches.

At 7.15 pm a new Barrage started and two companies of 6th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment attacked on the Bedfords’ frontage in which elements of the Bedfords joined and which was covered by rapid fire from the troops in shell holes. This attack, however, was not successful as the enemy put up an intense barrage and the wire in front could not be forced. The whole lot then fell back to their original front line and held that during the night, being relieved early in the morning by the Northamptons taking over.

The frustration and, indeed, anger in the adjutant’s voice was palpable as he was telling me this. The 7th Bedfords have been used to success and it is galling for them to admit failure. It is notable that in addition to the darkness, the losing of the true line of attack, the poor barrage, the strength of the German defences and the uncut wire the adjutant blamed lack of success on lack of knowledge of the ground. The Battalion had only arrived on Wednesday, two days ago and had not, of course, been able to practise an attack over similar ground. He compared this with the full year they were on the Somme near Carnoy before they made their glorious attack on 1st July last year and the fact that they had had weeks of practising attacking over very similar ground.

There has been no action on the main Arras battlefield today, but fighting continues on the southern edge around the village of Bullecourt. It will be remembered that 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division’s attack yesterday was unsuccessful whilst the 2nd Australian Division had mixed fortune, some failure, some success with a part of the Hindenburg Line being taken. Today  the men of 1st Brigade of 1st Australian Division have been drawn  into the fight, under command of 2nd Division.

The enemy made strong attacks on the captured ground early this morning, but were beaten off. By mid-afternoon today we were hearing that the Australians had not only held their gains of yesterday, but expanded them so that about one thousand yards of the German front line was not in their possession. Further enemy counter-attacks are expected.

The British 7th Division attacked Bullecourt again today, trying to succeed where 62nd Division had failed. Reports at this point are contradictory, with some saying Bullecourt has fallen, some saying that it still holds out. We hope to learn of success over night.

Source: X550/8/1

Day Seventy Seven on The Somme

A British Mark I Male tank on the Somme - by Ernest Brooks - Imperial War Museum

15th September 1916: From our Correspondent in the Field

Today has been one of those spasms which seem to affect life here at the front. It has been a day of determined attacks across a broad front which I will outline below. Today’s attacks, though, have been very different. In the last few days we had heard rumours of a secret weapon. Well, this weapon is secret no longer, the Germans now know all about it and, one imagines, many wish they were still in ignorance of it.

This weapon is, simply, a huge armoured vehicle. It is over thirty feet long and must weigh in excess of twenty five tons, or so educated guesses have it. It is a rhomboid shape, in other words, a lopsided rectangle and has two boxes (called sponsons I am told) on either side of its body. These carry its armament. On some vehicles it has a naval 6 pounder gun in either “sponson” and in other two machine guns. In an element of whimsy usually lacking in the stern affairs of the military, those with machine guns are known as “females” and those with 6 pounders are “males”. Presumably these metal monsters have, to some eyes, a resemblance to living leviathans. We understand the job of the “males” is to destroy buildings and strongpoints whilst the “females” mow down German infantry and machine gunners.

These leviathans, I have heard them called “land-ships”, are propelled by tracks running round the body. One may see tracks of this type on Holt tractors and they are extremely useful in crawling through mud and over brokes ground where wheeled-vehicles or cavalry could not venture. This, together with their length and weight means they can crush barbed wire for infantry to follow them and cross trenches with ease. The name most commonly in use for them seems to be the strange designation of “tank”. I am told that when they were being crated up and sent over to France, the crates were labelled as water tanks to prevent German spies from cottoning on.

Be that as it may, several dozen of these “tanks” have been employed in today’s attacks. It seems they are prone to breaking down (a facet of their design many owners of automobiles will readily understand), are difficult to steer and can go in the wrong direction because the drivers have only a tiny gap in the armour plate to look through. When they lurch into the enemy, however, they seem to sow panic and despondency wherever they go. At last a method may be at hand which may break the stalemate of this war and finally lead to a break-through.

The left flank of the attack was the action begun last night by 11th Division on Thiepval Ridge which, we understand, succeed in capturing a German stronghold known as the Wonderwork (bottom left in the map above) and a portion of a trench called Hohenzollern Trench.

Another first for today’s attack, besides the “tanks” was the introduction of the Canadian Corps into the battle. The Canadians were given the task of seizing the village of Courcelette. This, with the help of “tanks”, they took in very determined fashion. They seized the ground to the south and had to fight off German counter-attacks from the village itself before seizing that too in the last half hour or so. There will undoubtedly be counter-attacks but if the Canadians can hold the village they have taken they will have begun their campaign in a highly creditable manner.

15th (Scottish) Division attacked the village of Martinpuich. They have seized the village and are now dug-in just to the nort, facing the village of Courcelette.

50th (Northumbrian) Division captured parts of the Starfish Line which runs east from Martinpuich. Unfortunately this line could not be held and the Northumbrians were forced to retire by German artillery.

47th (1st/2nd) London Division had the difficult task of attacking High Wood today, the place which has defied capture for so long. And they achieved their task handsomely! Several hundred prisoners were taken in High Wood and around lunchtime the place was in British hands at last. The troops then moved on. Tonight they are well to the north, dug-in east of Martinpuich and just south of the strongly held Starfish Line which, in this sector, resisted attempts to capture it.

The New Zealand Division attacked with great élan from positions between High Wood and Longueval. They captured their objectives and now occupy ground west and north-west of the village of Flers. 41st Division was to attack the village of Flers itself from the south, beginning from positions north of Delville Wood. This attack included ten “tanks”, the most allotted to any attack today. The village, we understand, has fallen, materially assisted by the “tanks”. 14th Division advanced some way north of Delville Wood.

The Guards Division was given the task of attacking north-west from the north of Ginchy towards Lesboeufs. They were able to make some ground and took a number of prisoners but were unable to take their third objective which lay just south-west of Lesboeufs.

6th Division were given the task of taking the Quadrilateral. In this attack the 8th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment was to the fore. At 4.30 this morning the Battalion was in position and went into the attack at 6.20, the attackers being A, C and D Companies whilst B Company bombed down a trench parallel to the attack to prevent flanking fire. It is a matter of extreme regret that the barrage by our guns intended to help the Battalion forward fell so short that it landed on top of them in shell holes south-west of the objective, from which they were preparing to attack. This error on the part of the barrage commander(1) resulted in many of our men being killed. Nevertheless, the survivors gamely went forward, supported by 1st Battalion, The Buffs and later reinforced by 2nd Battalion York & Lancaster Regiment. The Quadrilateral is a well-defended strongpoint, however, and proved impossible to take. The artillery had, once again, failed in its task as all the barbed wire in front of the strongpoint was uncut. “Tanks” were allotted to this attack but failed to turn up. Thus a catalogue of errors over which the Battalion had no influence led to the failure of their attack and the loss, it is feared, of a great number of lives. We understand that thirteen officers have become casualties, six of them dead. We do not yet know the death toll amongst the other ranks.

We understand that one of the “tanks” allotted to the parts of the Division attacking elsewhere fired on our own troops as it went forward. The failure of the 8th Bedfords was part of a greater failure by the division, which failed to get any where near its overall objective, the village of Morval.

On the far right of the attack, near the village of Combles, 56th (London) Division made some progress towards that village and towards Morval but were stopped by uncut barbed wire south of Middle Copse.

Today has seen three villages – Flers, Courcelette and Martinpuich taken by an attack on a wide front. This has been the biggest co-ordinated attack since 1st July and has achieved great things. With the help of the “tanks” the army is hoping for more great things in the days to come.

Source: X550/9/1

(1) XIV Corps Commander, Royal Artillery was Brigadier-General Alexander Ernest Wardrop

Armour Piercing Bullets and a Possible Attack

Wednesday 17th November 1915: the adjutant of the 2nd Battalion at Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée tells us that they have been told that the War Office is very anxious to secure a small supply of the latest pattern of German armour piercing rifle ammunition for experiments in England against armour plate(1). If any of this German ammunition is available or becomes available in the future, it is to be forwarded as early as possible. As the adjutant remarked it is just one more thing the men will have to look for when patrolling or raiding enemy trenches.

The adjutant of the 7th Battalion tells us that at 8.10 last evening a verbal message was received from the 6th Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment on the battalion’s flank to “stand to” as an enemy attack was expected. The order tio stand down came twenty minutes later as no attack developed. The night was misty so the commanding officer took advantage by sending out men to inspect the barbed wire in front of their positions. This was found to be “none too good”.

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

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(1) This may have been due to the development of the tank which would go into action on 15th September 1916. The first tank - Little Willie, was demonstrated in August and September 1915 (and is still on display at Bovington Tank Museum)