Sunday 5th November 1916 From our Correspondent in the Field
Gird Trench,
scene of the 2nd Bedfords’ attack on 12th October was the focus for renewed
attacks today, along with the ancient burial mound north of Le Sars known as
the Butte de Warlencourt. The weather
has been clear today but the battlefield is still sodden and clotted with vast
seas of mud.
50th
(Northumbrian) Division went “over the top” at 9.10 this morning. The first men
over had to pull their comrades out of the slick-sided trenches. The
Australians, back on the Somme again after their exertions at Mouquet Farm,
were also supposed to attack, but failed to get moving. Nevertheless the men
from the North-East struggled forward and even managed to capture part of Gird
Trench as well as seizing the quarry just west of the Butte and moving on past their
objective.
Unfortunately
the Germans counter-attacked around three o’clock this afternoon. A
particularly strong counter-attack it was too! Of course it helped that they
only had the Northumbrians on which to concentrate and not 50th Division and
the Australians. The Germans succeeded in driving the Durham Light Infantry
from Gird Trench and also retook the Butte. This valiant effort has cost the
division about a thousand casualties, we understand.
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