Part 3
In March we returned to the Couillet Wood sector, and on the 21st had our first experience of the anxious times experienced by the Allies during the Spring of 1918. Shortly after daybreak, while in camp in Havrincourt Wood, we were aroused by a violent bombardment. A dense gas and smoke cloud passed through the Wood as we moved to our battle positions. On the way up Lt. Lintott, L.R.B. (formerly an Artist Sergeant), was killed. The next night we were ordered back to Havrincourt Wood as the enemy had gained a considerable amount of ground on our right (the Fifth Army Front). During the withdrawal, Lt. J. I. Royds was killed in Trescault. We started to dig in, but the next morning were retired to a defence line east of Ytres. There we again made ready to fight a rearguard action, but we were again disappointed as we were directed to withdraw on a line Ytres--Bus-le-Transloy. That night the whole Brigade withdrew into Ytres, and as communication with both Brigade and Divisional H.Q. was lost, a meeting of all the C.O.’s in the Brigade was called, and it was arranged that the Brigade should form a defensive flank extending East-West, to conform with the withdrawal of the 2nd Division on our left. The Brigade was then taken over by Lt.-Col. Collings Wells of the 4th Bedfords, who for his good work during the withdrawal was awarded the V.C.[12]
We moved to our new position about midnight, the route taken leading us past the vast ammunition and petrol dump which was being destroyed. Here a shell splinter from the dump wounded Major Lathom, who was carried back to Beaulencourt. C Co., under Lt. Eric Willis, was also unfortunate in running into a Boche M.G. post and suffering severe casualties. Good work was done by Sergt. A. Coviello, who succeeded in penetrating the enemy lines in rear of us and establishing communication.[13] Next morning the retirement continued through Barastre with heavy casualties (amongst whom was Lt. Dow, our American M.O.) to Beaulencourt, where we found Brigade H.Q. Then back through Gueudecourt, Flers, Bazentin-le-Grand, Bazentin-le-Petit to Courcelette, and the next day’s trek took us through Pozieres to Thiepval. On the slopes in that neighbourhood we had an opportunity of checking the Boche, great work being done by a Lewis Gun team, for whom the Brigade Major was spotting. During the night orders came to cross at Authuille to the west bank of the river before daybreak, when the R.E.’s were to destroy the bridges. On reaching the other side we found the 12th Division waiting to take over from us. To celebrate the conclusion of our long innings, Bn. H.Q. indulged in a game of stump cricket which was rather spoilt by the arrival of a Hun H.V. shell. It ruined the pitch and scattered the field, but fortunately no one retired hurt. We then marched through Martinsart to Englebelmer, and the same evening moved to Millencourt for an attack on another Divisional front on the outskirts of Albert. This attempt to dislodge the Boche proved fruitless and resulted in somewhat serious casualties, chief among which was the loss of Lt. Eric Willis.
The Battalion was then withdrawn (via Senlis and Mailly Maillet) to Forceville for a complete rest over Easter. Our total casualties during the retirement amounted to 17 officers and 300 other ranks.
APRIL-AUGUST, 1918.
During April and May we performed tours of duty in the new line established after the retreat north of Mesnil and in Aveluy Wood sector. We lost Capt. Neighbour (who had rejoined us in March) through sickness and Col. Johnson was wounded in Aveluy Wood. Thereupon Capt. Wilkinson (L.R.B.) assumed command. In June the Battalion went into Corps reserve at Toutencourt Wood and was attached to the “flying” Corps, kept for operations on any front, and throughout July we were engaged in line holding alternately between Acheux Wood south of Auchonvillers and the line north of Mesnil.
In August, on the eve of the Australian offensive before Amiens, we went to Beaucourt-sur-l’Hallue. After their attack had been successfully launched the Division marched north again via Famechon to Souastre, whence we moved out via Fonquevillers to take our part in the commencement of that vast movement which resulted in the eventual overthrow of the enemy. The Division attacked on the 21st in heavy mist supported by a very intense artillery barrage and at the end of the day the Artists found themselves in the front line, having passed unconsciously through the Battalion we were supporting who had lost direction to a certain extent and moved too far to the right.
The next morning the C.O. and Adjt. (Capt. Barnett) were wounded and we sustained our most deeply regretted casualty in the death of R.S.M. Peter Emslie, who was ever a magnificent stand-by in the line, where his courageous efficiency rendered him at all times invaluable. The Battalion was brought out by Lieuts. Bayne and Besch.
On the 24th at Achiet-le-Petit we went over in close support of the 188th Brigade in a heavy ground mist intermingled with gas and smoke. Objectives were carried and the attack turned south-east towards Warlencourt and Ligny-Thilloy where stout opposition was encountered and the attack delivered on the following morning in conjunction with the Canadians failed. The Division was then withdrawn via Irles, Miraumont, Achiet-le-Petit, Bucquoy, Ayette to Boiry St. Rictrude.
The next day we moved into trenches at Boiry-Becquerelle, and on the 26th we followed up the attack as Division in reserve, the attacking waves passing through Fontaine and Hendecourt to Caignicourt, and so on to the Hindenburg line between Inchy and Moeuvres.
SEPTEMBER, 1918.
Early in September the Division was withdrawn by stages to Bailleulval on the Arras-Doullens road, where we remained for a period of rest and “fattening.” On leaving we received an address from the Mayor thanking us on behalf of the population for our considerate treatment of them and their belongings.
We then marched back again to the Croisilles area, the Artists finding a home in tents and shelters on the high ground south-east of St. Leger near L’Homme Mort Wood. Here we were joined by our new C.O., Lt. Col. Goldthorp (4/West Riding), who shall now continue the narrative.
* * * * *
I think that my story, such as it is, had better take the form of a sort of letter. It was late on the night of 18/19th September, 1918, when I reached the 63rd R.N.D. Wing, then at Boisleux-au-Mont, where I was welcomed by Major Edlmann, the O.C. Wing, and Capt. Baillie-Hamilton, the Adjutant, who informed me that I was either for the Artists or the Bedfords, who were both without C.O.’s.
The following morning I was taken forward to Divisional H.Q. in dug-outs between St. Leger and Ecoust, and I was officially told that I was to take over the command of the Artists. After reporting to the Brigadier, General Lesslie, who proceeded to tell me all he knew about the Artists as a Regiment and about the officers individually, I set out on my lonely journey across a little valley to their H.Q. to “take over.” I can imagine their Officers watching me come along, and wondering what sort of a “blighter” they were getting this time. Well, my feelings were much the same, but I had learned from the Brigadier some of their good points, and they did not know even my bad ones then, so I started “one up” on them anyhow.
I took over from Acting-Captain Hermelin, who was then in command; Besch was the Intelligence Officer; Morris, Signalling Officer; Nelson, the “Doc.”; Hewitt, Acting Adjutant; Light, Quarter-Master; Prentice, Transport Officer; Robinson, Padre; and Wyler our Interpreter.
Very early a batch of officer-reinforcements arrived, and it became obvious we were in for a show the nature of which we could only guess, but for my part I should like to say that from the very first I had every help from Officers, N.C.O.’s and men, and my work was made easy by the spirit they all showed of welcoming me as one of themselves from the start. I shall never forget those first few days and the solid foundation of trust and comradeship they laid for what was before us.
* * * * *
On the 26th September we left our Camp for the old trenches just outside Queant, where we were to assemble prior to a march on to our “tape” between Moeuvre and Inchy, and we knew when we left (having received all the barrage tables, etc.) that we were in for one of the biggest battles fought by the British Armies during the whole of the War, as the Division had to cross the Canal du Nord and take the Hindenburg Line in conjunction with the Canadians on our left, and the Guards on our right. This was only to be the first phase, and as far as the Naval Division was concerned, the 190th Brigade was the first to kick off. Afterwards, the other Brigades were to go through us and capture Anneux and get on as far as they could.
I was rather pleased to find that it fell to the Artists to do the lion’s share of the work of our Brigade, i.e., we had to capture the Hindenburg Line after the Fusiliers and the Bedfords had crossed the Canal, a very delicate and involved movement which required a great deal of preparation and explanation.
We arrived at our Assembly Point without trouble and at midnight started off--a pitch black night, in a deluge of rain. We made very slow progress; it was a difficult job keeping in touch and following the line, which was marked out by whitewashed posts, most of which had either been knocked down by the Artillery, or obliterated by the rain. Without Hewitt and Goacher we should have found it very difficult indeed, and might easily have had the same misfortune as was experienced by another Battalion who missed the track somewhere outside Pronville and got too much to the left. But these two officers did splendidly and we eventually arrived at a trench which marked our then front line. I halted the Battalion and they laid down and soon went to sleep. We waited about, hoping against hope that the other troops would arrive, but finally gave up all expectation of seeing them and got the Battalion out into shell holes slightly in advance of our previous position.
Seeing that the situation was exceedingly vague, I decided to put every available man on the line, and issued orders to the Company Commanders telling them that unless the missing Battalion turned up, we should have to tackle their job as well as our own on our immediate front, and that in the advance up the Hindenburg Line we would take half their objective, and the Canadians would look after the other half.
About 4.30 a.m. everything was ready as far as we could foresee, and there was nothing further to be done then but wait, and what a long time the last half hour before zero seems! However the time arrived at last and so did the Boche attempt at retaliation. It seemed to come down on our trench for some reason or other, and soon the doctors were very busy, and after what seemed an age Morris arrived back to say that all was going well, that the Battalion was in the Canal taking a lot of prisoners, that our barrage was as near perfection as anything he had ever dreamed of, and that the Boche barrage was falling well behind our men--all of which was good news. With my H.Q. and runners I started off at once.
What a change from the night before! It was a lovely morning, and once out in the open, going towards the Canal, it was a wonderful sight to see our barrage and the men following it up. I cannot describe the feeling I had watching the Artists in action--to me the first time. From behind it looked as near drill-perfect as you could wish for. We were not long in getting across the Canal, where we saw one of our tanks stuck, and met many wounded coming back, amongst them being Fergus Young, who was supported by a Boche prisoner about twice his size. He was very worried about his Company, though as it turned out he had no need to be--they were carrying on all right, away on in front. As we got nearer the front line things seemed to get very busy. There were crowds of prisoners coming down--batches of 200 at a time in charge of one or two men--all their officers wanting to go down into dug-outs to collect their belongings, but I do not suppose they found many, because the ground was literally on fire, and after walking a short distance between the Hindenburg Line one’s feet were quite hot from the heat of the earth. Soon messages began to come back--that the first objective had been taken--then the barrage moved on again, so did our men, and our messages came fast--“Cannot get on for machine gun fire;” “No sign of the Bedfords on the right flank,” and with like messages from the left.
It then appeared that things were sticking a bit, so we pushed on up to see what really was happening, and found things pretty well mixed up--our men short of bombs, having used everything they had and everyone doing his level best. We discovered that both our flanks were well in the air, and getting forward was out of the question until matters righted themselves on the flanks. By this time we had lost the barrage for our second objective, and it had become a question of holding on to what we had until the position cleared up. Being shot at from three sides is never a very pleasant experience but the men stuck it out wonderfully. I saw that we should need every single available man to hold on, so I went down the line a bit to collect any oddments I could find. It is surprising the number one comes across in a big show like this. There were Bedfords and Fusiliers who were beginning to come along in large batches. They were all gathered into parties and sent up straight away. The Fusiliers had had a pretty rough time trekking about all night, and had just arrived in time to go over with the Canadians, where they were soon doing their share “good and hard” as the Brigadier, who had spent his time cheering up the men, would say. I found the Signallers fixing up communications to the Companies and we got news of the poor Bedfords too who had had a very rough crossing, but had come through all right. We knew then that our right flank was in touch though it was thrown back very considerably, and we seemed to catch the whole attention of the Boche.
Presently orders came through that the attack preceded by heavy barrage on one or two selected places--a sugar factory on the Bapaume-Cambrai Road being one--would be resumed at 2.15.
Everything up the line was as good as we could hope for, and the 188th Brigade was getting ready to carry on. They were to go through us, and on to Anneux and as much further as they could get. We then returned to Brigade H.Q. where we found Prentice and his transport--all safe and sound, and rather surprised to be so near the battle. Thoughts of hot food for the men seemed to be within the range of possibility provided the resumed attack went off all right. I saw the Brigadier again, told him that we were all ready for our original third objective, but he said we need not move at all, as the 188th were going through us, where we were, to their objective. The rest had been cut out and was being dealt with by the Artillery alone, so I went back post-haste, but was not in time to stop many men getting on, especially those at the front, who had numerous scores to pay off by this time.
The 2.15 show was a complete success, so much so, that the 188th were able to move right up to Anneux without any trouble: then they bumped into plenty, I believe, but that is outside the story of the Artists. Shortly afterwards the Divisional General came round our line, thanking the men for the splendid victory, and still more for the magnificent resistance they had made when checked. I had been told beforehand that if we got the crest of the hill--which was our first objective--and stuck to it, we should have won the day whatever happened. As it was we got beyond and held on, against Machine-Gun fire, Trench Mortars, and Bombing, for hours, until the whole situation cleared all along the line; a hard enough test for any troops and an achievement in itself that would have made any Battalion’s reputation.
Late in the evening we got orders to spend the night on our battle positions. Besch and I took a look round the places where we had been held up earlier in the day and in every case there was no lack of evidence of the supreme courage of our men. Before settling down we buried all our dead: there seemed to us to be a lot, but in comparison to the total casualties of the day, and in relation to the value of the work accomplished, there were really few. So ended one of the greatest days in this War and my first experience of the Artists in action. I, for one, shall never forget the 27th September, 1918, and I can only pray to be forgiven if I in any way failed them during that day, or subsequently: they never failed me once.[14]
There were one or two incidents in the battle which are, perhaps, worth noting. One was the wonderful view we got from our first objective--how we could see right across the Bapaume-Cambrai Road the Germans directing their fire, both field and machine-guns, and watching the battle. From one of the forward posts we actually saw the officer-in-charge and one of the guns knocked out, and we could see the Guards trying to get forward and being held up, as we were.
As a matter of interest in training, I found in a large square hole (which had probably been intended for a concrete shelter) Capt. Hall with several men, including a Lewis Gun team. It was a very warm corner, and there he was directing the fire of his men and the Lewis Gun team as if he was carrying out a Range Practice in the most approved Hythe manner. It is a point which is so apt to be forgotten in training, that if your instruction has been good, you will unconsciously do the right thing in a tight corner. The mere fact of real good fire-orders at such a time had a most wonderfully steadying effect.
What struck me largely about the Boche prisoners was that they did not seem to be a bit sorry to be captured, that they worked well and hard in helping the wounded, and that a large number of them spoke English very well. Our attack along the Hindenburg Line in a southerly direction must have been an entire surprise to the enemy, as we found their machine-guns were mounted facing west, and that when our attack down the line developed from the north they had had to dismantle all their guns.
I think that a large portion of our success should be attributed to the Artillery; the barrage was marvellous, especially the swing to enable us to change our direction. This took 79 minutes, and it was not particularly pleasant for us to wait the time, but it obviously fooled the Boche.
Another thing which came to our help that day (which has rarely happened in connection with the English) was that the wind and the weather were perfect for us, and as for our smoke barrages, the smoke went just where it should have gone. But by far and away the greatest satisfaction to me was to know that whatever happened afterwards, I could depend absolutely upon the Battalion in every conceivable circumstance. To take a new Battalion into an action of that size, without ever having been in the line at all with them before, is a very anxious job.
{ _C Co. (Capt. Young)_----_A Co. (Capt. Goacher)_. _ORDER OF BATTLE_{_D Co. (Lieut. Elliott)_----_B Co. (Lieut. Ashford)_. { _Hd.-Qrs. Co. (Lieut. Morris.)_
_The Artists were detailed to follow the front-line troops and then swing with the Artillery on to the Hindenburg Line._
Next morning (28th) we were on the move again and reached the sugar factory on the Bapaume-Cambrai Road. There we waited until the afternoon--had a sleep and were off again via Graincourt to Cantaing. This was well behind the Boche lines, and we were going towards the Canal de l’Escaut, which was obviously the next obstacle that was before us. We halted rather to the north-west of the village and dug in. We were not troubled very much during the night. We could quite easily see the towers of the town of Cambrai, and watched some large fires which the Germans had started there.
Early in the morning (29th) I went round the lines--if you could call them such. It was most encouraging to find the men so cheerful after what they had been through, a testament of their excellent training, and of the wonderful esprit de corps which I always found with the Artists, and it was no joke camping out in a beastly little hole all night long. It was very cold indeed and there were no nice Army blankets to help matters. Still, they were Artists--and they were winning--so what did it matter?
We were not wanted that morning and made the most of it, whilst the other Brigades had the pleasure of forcing a crossing over the Canal. It was Naval Division against Naval Division that day, so our fellows were all out for it, somewhat enlivened by the success on the 27th. From where we were it did not sound a big show when it started, but one could see we were not getting things without paying the price. Many good fellows were coming back, some badly wounded to a Dressing Station near our Headquarters and lots of prisoners.