Taking Over

Wednesday 13th January 1915: The 1st Bedfords are today taking over front line trenches near Wulvergem from the Dorset Regiment. The relief, as it is known, tends to happen at night and as quietly as possible to hide the fact that it is occurring from the enemy. This is because it is a hazardous time both for the unit withdrawing and the unit coming in to replace it.

Such wholesale movement, involving up to two thousand men in a very confined area, means that they are, inevitably, more focused on the task in hand than on the enemy and this can result in showing themselves above the parapet, with the inevitable tragic result. It also means that there is a certain amount of disorganisation which can lead to any raid by the Germans meeting with considerable success, even to the extent of taking the front line trench.

Source: X550/2/5