Friday 10th
August 1917
Today has
seen the first day of major operations in this new offensive since 31st July.
Two divisions have been involved in trying to push forward in the one area
where the first day of the battle achieved little overall success - the ground
on and immediately north of the Menin Road, known as the Westhoek Ridge. The
divisions taking part were 18th (Eastern) Division and 25th Division. The
weather has been wet recently, uncharacteristically so for August and it has
rained again today, the warm air temperature making a debilitating, muggy
atmosphere. In places there is reckoned to be a foot of standing water(1)
74th Brigade
from 25th Division attacked across a very wide area (a 2,000-yard frontage)
from the railway from Ypres to Roulers in the north, down past the western
edges of the village of Westhoek to a point just west of the northern edge of
Glencorse Wood. The attack was designed to take the village and its two
strongpoints and the ground on either flank. This comparatively modest advance
was carried out successfully, despite the conditions and our troops are now
preparing against any German counter-attack.
18th
Division, including our own 7th Battalion, attacked to the south of 74th
Brigade, between them and Inverness Copse. 54th Brigade attacked north of the
Menin Road and 53rd Brigade astride and south of it. 54th Brigade, the Bedfords
well to the fore, stormed into Glencorse Wood from a position some way to the
west of it. The west edge of the wood is protected by a major trench known as
Jargon Trench and this fell quickly. We understand that the Bedfords took the
whole of Glencorse Wood with the 11th Royal Fusiliers getting as far as
Fitzclarence Farm. At this point the enemy massed in Polygon Wood and Nonne
Bosschen Wood for a counter-attack. They pushed the Fusiliers back nearly to
their starting positions. The Bedfords, I have been hearing, were let down by
this failure of the Fusiliers, having to defend not only their front but an
over-extended right flank where the Fusiliers had withdrawn. As a result they
have fallen back to Jargon Trench where they are holding. I hope for a more
detailed picture to emerge tonight.
7th Queen’s
of 53rd Brigade attacked Inverness Copse from the south. This was only after
the enemy spotted them forming up in the pre-dawn half-light and caused many
casualties. A strongpoint at the south-western edge of the wood further
hampered the attack which has now been called off.
So the attack
has had mixed fortunes but I have been able to gauge that the opinion is that
the 7th Bedfords, at least, have added to their laurels today.
Source: X550/8/1
(1) The water
table was naturally high in such low-lying ground as that around Ypres. The
constant shelling had destroyed ditches and drainage systems and the rain had
made the soil waterlogged.
