Friday 14th
September 1917
Two more
small affairs have taken place today. 58th (2nd/1st London) Division made an
attack from the vicinity of Springfield Farm on Winnipeg Farm, sadly they were
unsuccessful. Meanwhile 1st/4th East Lancashire Regiment of 42nd Division made
an advance of about a hundred yards and consolidated their new position.
Area raided by 8th Battalion
Early this
morning 8th Battalion, Bedfordshire
Regiment, in trenches to the left of Hill 70 east of Loos mounted a raid on the
enemy at 1.10 a.m. At 11.40 p.m. on 13th Second Lieutenant Webb reported
Bangalore Torpedoes in position under the enemy wire and connected up to
explode. At 1.0 a.m. the raiding party (2 officers and 85 other ranks) formed up
outside the battalion’s wire. At 1.08 a.m. the torpedoes were successfully
fired and at 1.09 a.m. a barrage by artillery, machine guns and mortars opened.
The raiding party
advanced under cover of this barrage. The enemy wire was found to have been cut
but the enemy themselves were alert and standing to arms shoulder to shoulder. Several
attempts were made by the raiders to force their way into the enemy trench, but
only a few got in. Hastily erected blocks and obstacles had been made which had
not previously been noted by the battalion’s reconnoitring patrols and these
caused a good deal of confusion.
The enemy's
closely packed trench was heavily bombed by the raiders causing them
considerable casualties. All bombs having been used, the raiders withdrew to
their trench thirty minutes after the raid started, being guided by a vertical
beam from a searchlight in the rear.
The
Battalion’s casualties are reported as light. - two other ranks killed and ten
wounded. No one is missing and all the killed and wounded have been brought in.
The adjutant
told me: “The night was pitch dark and the enemy found in much greater strength
than expected, so although we did not obtain an identification our brush with
the enemy was not altogether a failure".
