Instruction in Raiding

Sunday 21st January 1917

The 8th Battalion, who have been in the front line at Loos, were relieved today and have gone into support. Though the enemy has been quiet, the adjutant tells me that our own field artillery and trench mortars have been busy cutting the enemy’s barbed wire with shrapnel. The reason for this seems to be that a trench raid is in preparation. Captain G D Brewster and eighty men have been sent to the divisional school for instruction in the latest techniques for carrying out a successful raid.

Schedule: X550/9/1

The Shooting Goes On

Trench Mortar at the Imperial War Museum

Wednesday 10th January 1917

A conversation with the adjutant of the 8th Battalion on the telephone today reminded me that, even though both armies are, unofficially in “winter quarters”, the firing goes on. Winter Quarters used to mean a suspension of hostilities for the winter whilst both armies built up their strength and planned and trained fro the year to some. Of course, that still happens, but in this modern, industrial war of constant siege the front lines are still manned and so fire is exchanged on a regular basis. Today the battalion gave thirty of its men to the Royal Engineers to make new dugouts in the support line. Seeing this activity the Germans fired about two hundred light trench mortars over the front line. Fortunately no casualties accrued to the Bedfords. The adjutant remarked that the enemy: “Received good retaliation from our artillery”.

Source: X550/9/1

8th Bedfords Back in the Front Line

German 76 mm trench mortar at IWM Duxford

Sunday 10th December 1916: From our Correspondent in the Field

The adjutant of the 8th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, spoke to me this evening and told me that his battalion is back in the front line again at Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée. The enemy trench mortars have been noticeably more aggressive than they were in the Battalion’s last tour.

Temporary Major John Stanhope Collings-Wells is, at the moment, in command of the 4th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment at Nouvion-en-Ponthieu. We have heard that he has been promoted to Acting Lieutenant-Colonel whilst he commands the Battalion.

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

In the Front Line Near Givenchy

Sunday 3rd December 1916: From our Correspondent in the Field

The adjutant of the 8th Battalion at Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée has spoken to me on the telephone again this evening. During the afternoon the enemy trench mortars have been very aggressive.

This morning one of the Battalion’s snipers claimed a “hit”. This evening Captain Body has led a patrol through gaps in the craters and entered the German trenches. There they surprised and shot a sentry and then retired to our lines again. The patrol reported that the enemy trenches are in good condition, though the wire is bad.

Source: X550/9/1

Useful Trench Mortars

Wilfred Stokes and his mortar

Friday 7th January 1916: the adjutant of the 7th Battalion, in the front line near Fricourt on the Somme, tells us that yesterday the Germans opposite used rifle grenades and trench mortars aimed at part of their positions. He remarked: “Their grenades outnumbered ours so we retaliated with trench mortars. These did exceedingly good work. Timber was blown into the air from the enemy lines opposite. We must have inflicted serious damage the on enemy. All active hostilities ceased on their part after our mortars had fired”.

This highlights just how useful trench mortars have become. Indeed, those in the front line consider them indispensable. Sir Wilfred Stokes’ mortar was only introduced in September last year, in time for the Battle of Loos, but, as the above shows, has quickly proven its effectiveness. It is light (being smaller than the example shown above) at just over one hundred pounds and portable by a two man team enabling it to be moved to different positions in a trench system to prevent the enemy zeroing in on it and destroying it with artillery of their own. It can fire up to 25 bombs per minute at ranges up to half a mile. The bombs have a diameter of three inches and weigh 10 pounds, 11 ounces. The bombs go high into the air to drop into enemy trenches and cause substantial damage.

Source: X550/8/1

Flying Wheels

British heavy trench mortar at IWM Duxford 

Tuesday 7th December 1915: the adjutant of the 7th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, still near Fricourt on the Somme reports from the front line with some satisfaction that they bombarded their foe with trench mortars yesterday and obviously hit some sort of supply wagon as they saw two wheels flying into the air.

An enemy machine gun emplacement at the same spot was targeted by artillery later yesterday afternoon and has not fired since. Of course, the Battalion does not know whether this is because the gun was destroyed or because the Germans have moved it owing to the shell fire.

Last night.a patrol carried out a long reconnaissance of the ground in front of the enemy lines and managed to bring in a sample of the enemy’s barbed wire. They discovered that the Germans have fixed a rifle to the parapet at one point which they fire remotely, probably to give an idea that the trench is well-manned when, in fact, it is not. This raises the question as to why they simply do not swarm over and take such a thinly manned trench. The reason is that experience has shown that the Germans will make strenuous counterattacks to regain lost ground and do so quickly, so such an attempt would be sure to bring large numbers of casualties to our men and run the risk of the Battalion getting cut off if the units on either side did not also attack and this would require a large scale operation which takes long and meticulous planning if it is to be effective. Perhaps we will see such a large scale attack in the Somme area at some time in the next year.

Source: X550/8/1