CHAPTER X

.

WINTER ON THE PASSCHENDAELE RIDGE.

(_a_) Molenaarelsthoek and Keerselaarhoek.

The battle for the Passchendaele Ridge was still raging when the Battalion returned to the neighbourhood of Ypres in November. To the south of the Zonnebeke Road the crest of the ridge was almost everywhere in British hands, but round the village of Passchendaele itself heavy fighting was to continue into December. The Battalion was not destined to carry out any further attacks; its role was the far more tedious, and almost equally difficult one of assisting to hold the ground which had been gained.

Ten days were spent in hutment camps at the back of Ypres. Winter was setting in and off the gridded walks, which ran round the huts, the camping areas were simply wastes of foul mud. About 200 men were found daily for work on light railways in the district. While the Battalion was encamped there news was received that the Commanding Officer had been awarded a Bar to his Distinguished Service Order, for good work during the attack on the Belle Vue Spur, and the occasion was suitably celebrated. Capt. W. C. Fenton, M.C., who had recovered from his wound, rejoined the Battalion here. About this time the allotment of leave improved considerably, so much so that, at the end of November, no less than 150 all ranks were away from the Battalion for that reason.

About the middle of November Lieut.-Col. R. E. Sugden, D.S.O., assumed temporary command of the 147th Infantry Brigade, during the absence of the G.O.C. on leave. As soon as the Brigadier returned, he went on a month’s leave himself, so that Major A. L. Mowat, M.C., was in command of the Battalion until the latter part of January. On November 19th the 147th Infantry Brigade took over the defence of the Broodseinde Sector, and the Battalion moved up into brigade right support on Anzac Ridge. Accommodation in this position was particularly poor. The tiniest of pill-boxes was all that was available for Battalion H.Q., and the same table had to serve for meals and office work by day, and as a bed for all H.Q. officers by night. On the night the Battalion took over, some gas shells burst just outside the shelters occupied by H.Q. details. C.S.M. A. Day, of A Company, who was Acting R.S.M., all the runners, and several others were so severely gassed that they had to be evacuated. A number of Battalion scouts, who had been left out of the line for training, had to be sent for to act as runners.

Four days later the Battalion relieved the 1/6th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regt. in the Molenaarelsthoek Sector, which extended from opposite Justice Wood to about Flinte Wood. The relief was a stormy one. The tracks were heavily shelled and one platoon had eight casualties going into the line. The front was rather a long one and required three companies in the line. As it lay on the forward slope of the Broodseinde Ridge, which was under observation from the Keiberg Spur opposite, no movement was allowed by day. Accommodation was poor and there were no continuous trenches. At night much work was done, joining up front line posts, constructing supporting posts to the west of the ridge, digging a defensive communication trench on the right, and wiring. The influence of the battle further north made the front a lively one. Army barrages were continually being put down in the vicinity, in an endeavour to distract the enemy’s attention from the real point of attack. Judging from the Battalion’s experiences, these had a fair amount of success, for the enemy artillery was very active; frequently parts of the line were heavily shelled, and barrages on No Man’s Land during the night were common. These latter greatly interfered with the work of patrols, which were out nightly. Fortunately, casualties were not heavy; but it was during this tour that Sec.-Lieut. J. S. Watson, a most promising young officer of B Company, was killed.

The Battalion transport too had a very rough time. The enemy was doing a great deal of back area shelling, and night after night the ration convoys had to pass through it. During this tour the transport lost the first of its number killed in action. But all ranks behaved with great gallantry, and, in spite of casualties to men and animals, rations were invariably delivered nightly.

There is no doubt that, by this time, the enemy had settled down to a defensive policy for the winter. The collapse of Russia had come too late to prevent the British gaining the Passchendaele Ridge, though German reinforcements from the Eastern Front had made that task far more difficult. For the next few months the enemy was content to leave things as they were, and quietly to perfect his plans for a great offensive the following spring.

On November 27th the Battalion was relieved by the 1/5th Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, and, after a night spent near Gordon House, moved to Vancouver Camp The day after its arrival Capt. H. Hanson, O.C. D Company, was so seriously wounded by a shell, just outside Vlamertinghe, that he died two days later in hospital. His death was a great blow to everyone. He was one of those men whom no one can help liking, possessing a most equable temper, and, though unsuited by age to the rigours of trench warfare, always trying to remain cheerful and to make the best of things. Sec.-Lieut. P. Donkersley was also severely wounded by the same shell.

In the next camp was a New Zealand Cyclist Battalion against whom a very vigorous “rugger” match was played. The result was one casualty--Sec.-Lieut. F. Irish with a dislocated elbow--and a win for the Battalion by two tries to a try. Little training was possible for, a few days after arrival at the camp, practically every available man was moved to Lancer Camp, near Potijze, for working parties. Little more than Battalion H.Q. remained at Vancouver Camp. Three days later the Battalion was again concentrated in Dragoon Camp, and the next night took over the Keerselaarhoek Sector from the 4th Battalion Suffolk Regt. (33rd Division).

This sector deserves more than a passing mention as it was one of the worst, if not the worst, ever held by the Battalion. The usual route to the line lay along a gridded track which seemed endless to the weary and heavily-laden soldier. The track was far from “healthy,”

## particularly where it wound round Abraham Heights; at this point

several casualties were suffered by the advanced party, when the Battalion was first taking over the sector. But it was after Seine that the real trouble began. Just beyond that point the grids came to an end,[13] and for the rest of the way, over a mile in distance even if a direct line were followed, the troops simply wallowed among mud and shell holes, appalling even in that country. The front line posts were on either side of the Ypres-Roulers Railway, and their condition beggars description. Originally shell holes, attempts had been made to improve them by digging; but so water-logged was the ground that all excavations filled with water almost at once, while the sides caved in as quickly as they were dug out. To the south of the railway another difficulty presented itself; as often as digging was started anywhere, dead bodies, in a state of decomposition, were uncovered, and the hole had to be filled in quickly. It was extremely difficult to get R.E. material up to the front line at all. Owing to enemy observation no movement was possible by day, and the nights were so black, and usually wet, that a man could hardly see a yard in front of him. The man who had carried up one trench grid or revetting frame from Battalion H.Q. to the front line, had done a really hard night’s work. The Ypres-Roulers Railway, which ran through a deep cutting and should have been an easy and direct route to the line, was absolutely impassable owing to the thick mud which covered it. No fires could be lit, and the only hot food or drink that could ever be obtained was that heated over Tommy’s cookers. In short, the state of discomfort and misery in which the men lived had never been equalled in the history of the Battalion, except possibly in those ghastly days on the extreme left sector in December, 1915. An American officer, who was attached to the Battalion at this time, expressed amazement that men could exist at all under such conditions.

The front system was held by two companies, one on each side of the railway. A third company was in support round Hillside Farm, a prominent pill-box just below the crest on the west side of the ridge. The other company was in reserve in a number of shelters not far from Tyne Cottage. Battalion H.Q. was near Seine.

Fortunately the enemy was not very active on this front. His artillery made good practice on and around the village of Passchendaele, a little further to the north, but comparatively little attention was paid to the Keerselaarhoek Sector. Probably he realised that an attack there was practically impossible for either side. Patrols which pushed out in the direction of Tiber Copse and along the Railway reported the ground impassable; sheets of water covered much of No Man’s Land, and where there was no water the mud was almost bottomless. The only route by which the opposing forces could come in contact was in the direction of Assyria, on the Keiberg Spur, and even there the ground was in an appalling condition. Only in the event of hard frost would an attack be possible anywhere. So, apart from harassing fire, there was little

## activity.

Three days were considered a long enough spell for any troops to hold that line, so, on the night of December 10/11th, the 1/5th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regt. came up to relieve, and the Battalion returned to Dragoon Camp. It was not much of a rest. The camp was, on the whole, comfortable, considering that it was to the east of Ypres. But nearly every man was required for working parties daily, and these were often in badly shelled areas. Rather to the surprise of everyone, the Battalion remained at Dragoon Camp for five days. The 1/5th Battalion had asked and been allowed to remain in the line for an extra two days, preferring to do this rather than have the fatigue and discomfort of going out and then coming in again for another tour. But every man was heartily sick of it by the time his five days were over.

One point in connection with the relief is worthy of note. The advantages of the Zonnebeke Road, as a route to the line, had been so much praised by one officer of the Battalion that the Commanding Officer determined to try it. All went well until he was nearing Zonnebeke, and then, without any warning, a 5.9 burst in the middle of the road about seventy yards away. It was almost immediately followed by a second, which burst within ten yards of the party, luckily just off the road. That was enough! With one accord everyone made off straight across country as fast as he could go. This was not very fast, for all were heavily laden and often sank up to the knees in mud. But they got away from the road, over country which no one would have dreamed of attempting in ordinary circumstances. And none of them ever tried the Zonnebeke Road again.

Little need be said of the second tour in this sector except that it only lasted 48 hours. If such a thing were possible, the conditions were even worse than before. Some snow fell during the tour, but it melted almost as it fell and simply helped to make things more miserable. When the 1/7th Battalion West Yorkshire Regt. came in to relieve, it was with the greatest joy that the Battalion bade farewell to the Keerselaarhoek Sector.

The next rest period was spent at Halifax Camp, which adjoined Vancouver Camp. About this time the weather changed and bright days, with hard frost, supplanted the constant rain which had helped to make things so miserable of late. Though much colder, the change in the weather was a great improvement. On December 23rd, when the time came for another tour in the front line, the Battalion was taken up in the morning by broad gauge railway as far as Hellfire Corner, and halted there until the middle of the afternoon. Cook kitchens had been brought up to this point and hot dinners were served before the men started again. Shortly before dusk the Battalion marched off, via Mole and Jabber Tracks, to the Molenaarelsthoek Sector, where it relieved the 1/5th Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.

Since the Battalion had held this part of the line a month before, the length of the front had been reduced by the New Zealanders taking over part on the right flank. It was now only necessary to have two companies in the front line. Of the other two, one garrisoned a line of posts on the western slope of the ridge, and the other lived in shelters and pill-boxes near Battalion H.Q. Companies inter-relieved after three days in the front line.

This tour was the pleasantest the Battalion had on the Passchendaele Ridge. The frost, which continued throughout, had made the ground everywhere passable. Though colder, it was quite dry, and so far more comfortable than the damp had been. Snow covered the ground, but not to any great depth. Except for some further snow occasionally, the weather was bright. The nights were wonderful. The moon was at the full, and, assisted by the reflection from the snow, the light was so bright at midnight that observers on the crest of the ridge were able to use ordinary glasses for observing the Keiberg Spur, more than 2,000 yards away. The days were often misty, which made it possible to move about freely to the east of the ridge where, before, all movement had been forbidden in daylight.

Advantage was taken of the bright nights to do a great deal of work. Much wire was put out in front, posts were improved and shelters built therein, and a lot of work was done on the support posts west of the ridge. Since the Battalion had last occupied the sector, two communication trenches had been cut through the ridge nearly up to the front line, and these made movement both safer and easier. Enemy artillery was not very active, and, with one important exception, most of the shelling was very scattered. It was one of these scattered shells that wounded Capt. E. V. Blakey, M.C., and C.S.M. J. Parkinson, as they were going the round of their company posts in the support line. The exception was a small but prominent pill-box on the crest of the ridge, which the Battalion used as an observation post, and the enemy apparently as a registration point. Fortunately this pill-box was very strong and had a cellar, to which the observers retired when things became too lively. The nearest enemy posts were a long way off; indeed, later information goes to show that the nearest post was at least a thousand yards east of Celtic Wood.

Christmas Day, for the first and only time during the war, was spent by the Battalion in the front line. In the circumstances, little could be done to celebrate the occasion. Messages of goodwill were telephoned to the Brigadier and the Divisional Commander. One Company Commander, after laboriously putting a message of seasonable greetings into B.A.B. code, sent it over the wire to another company. The O.C. that company, delighted with his success in deciphering the first few letters of it, repeated it to Battalion H.Q. and to the remaining companies, in his own name. Rumour has it that one company, not very expert in B.A.B. code, spent a dreadful night wondering what operation was to take place; perhaps the mistakes which had been made in encoding the message accounted for the inability of these officers to read it. Many visitors called at Battalion H.Q. and visits were exchanged with the 1/6th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regt., which was holding the sector on the left. Apart from a present of shells, despatched to the enemy on the stroke of midnight, there was little activity on either side.

The nights were so bright, and movement over the snow visible at so great a distance, that special white overalls were worn by men when patrolling. Unfortunately, no change was made in the colour of the equipment which had to be worn over them. The result was that, though the men of a patrol were practically invisible at no great distance, sets of equipment could be seen moving about in No Man’s Land. There was much patrol activity on both sides, rendered necessary by the hard frost which had made No Man’s Land easily passable. There is also no doubt that the enemy was as anxious to secure identification as the British were. So patrols, both defensive and offensive, were out practically the whole of every night. On the night of December 23rd/24th Sec.-Lieut. J. W. Lumb, while reconnoitring in the neighbourhood of Flinte Farm, narrowly escaped being surrounded by a large enemy patrol. After that, nothing further was seen of the enemy in No Man’s Land for several nights. About 11-0 p.m. on December 28th, a small defensive patrol of one N.C.O. (Cpl. Aspin) and three men left the right company front. They had not been out very long, and were near the north-west corner of Celtic Wood, when they saw a party, about twenty strong, moving towards them along the northern edge of the wood. At first they believed this to be a New Zealand patrol from the battalion on the right, but soon they found it was a party of the enemy. All were clad in long white coats and a few were wearing belts filled with bombs; most were armed with revolvers. The German party tried to surround the small British patrol, and succeeded in cutting off one man and capturing him. The other three broke through the cordon and made for their own line, with the enemy in pursuit. On reaching the wire there was a scuffle in which one man was killed, but Cpl. Aspin and the other succeeded in forcing their way through the wire and gaining one of their own posts. The garrison of this post, warned by the noise, was standing to, but had hesitated to fire for fear of hitting its own men. It now opened a heavy fire with Lewis guns and rifles, and the enemy immediately made off. As soon as one could be organised, a strong fighting patrol was sent out; but the enemy had disappeared. It is probable that the German party was on its way to raid the British line and that the patrol had served its object, though it had been unfortunate enough to lose one man killed and another captured. This mishap was undoubtedly due to the carelessness which had developed owing to previous immunity, and was a salutary lesson to many in the Battalion.

The next night the Battalion was relieved and went back into Brigade Reserve. The relief did not pass off without casualties. A shell exploded among a party of H.Q. scouts, as they were crossing the Hanebeek Valley on their way to Westhoek Ridge, killing one and wounding six. In Brigade Reserve the Battalion was very scattered, dispositions being as follows:--

Battn. H.Q.: Garter Point. A Company: Tokio. B Company: Westhoek Ridge. C Company: Tunnels near Moulin Farm. D Company: Distributed between Anzac Ridge, Tokio and Retaliation Farm.

About this time the lessons learned in the recent battle of Cambrai were beginning to take effect, and an elaborate system of defensive lines was in course of construction in the Ypres Salient. While in Brigade Reserve, all men were kept hard at work on these rear lines of defence, and on tunnels which were being made near Moulin Farm. The birth of the New Year passed almost unnoticed at Garter Point. On January 4th, 1918, the Battalion was relieved by the 1/8th Battalion West Yorkshire Regt. and moved to Infantry Barracks, Ypres. Several casualties were suffered during the relief. So ended the first period of the Battalion’s defence of the Passchendaele Ridge.

[Illustration: THE YPRES SALIENT, WINTER, 1917–18.]

(_b_) Work and Training.

In pre-war days Infantry Barracks had been one of the permanent barracks of the Belgian Army. It must have been rather a bleak building, but it had been built on such solid lines that, in spite of heavy shelling, parts of it were still habitable. It was not an ideal billet for troops to occupy in January, being extremely draughty. Several of the rooms had been fitted up with wire beds and there was ample accommodation for the whole Battalion. There was also quite a good little concert room on the premises. During the time the Battalion was at Infantry Barracks it was engaged in work on the Corps Line,

## particulars of which are given later.

After four days, the Battalion was relieved by the 2/6th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers (66th Division), and moved back to Devonshire Camp, between Busseboom and Ouderdom. This camp was in very poor condition and had actually been condemned some time previously. But the number of troops in the Ypres Salient was so great that its use could not be dispensed with. The weather had again turned to rain and the huts leaked badly. At Devonshire Camp the 147th Infantry Brigade Concert Party--the “Ducks”--began its activities. The Battalion contributed several performers, chief amongst whom was the “low comedian,” commonly known as “Jenks.”

While at Infantry Barracks and Devonshire Camp, nearly all available men were working on the Corps Line. This was part of the new defensive system which was being constructed all over the Ypres Salient, and consisted of a line of strongly fortified posts on the Westhoek Ridge. Three of these were allotted to the Battalion, which re-allotted them to companies as follows:--

Frezenberg Post: D Company. Kit and Kat Post: A and B Companies. Sexton Post: C Company.

By this means, the same company always worked at the same post, and soon men began to take a great pride in making their particular post better than anyone else’s. The work was very hard. Sixty men per company were sent up daily; the company commanders took turns in charge of the party; and either the Commanding Officer or the Second in Command went up daily. The men had to rise long before daybreak in order to get breakfast and catch the train at Brandhoek Station. At first they marched to the station, but, shortly before the Battalion left Devonshire Camp, the system of conveying them by motor bus was started. The train took them as far as Hellfire Corner, from which point they marched up to their work. Only haversack rations were taken, but tea was made on the spot. Hot dinners were ready on their return to camp, which was not until fairly late in the afternoon. The working parties were occasionally troubled by enemy shelling and on one occasion C Company suffered casualties. Most men were ready for bed very early in those days.

The divisional arrangement was that one Infantry Brigade should remain up near Ypres for this work, while the other two were back for rest and training. The 147th Infantry Brigade had been the first for work. On January 26th the 148th Infantry Brigade came up to take over the work and the Battalion, which had already done its day’s work on the Corps Line, moved by train direct from Hellfire Corner to Caestre, whence it marched to the billets that awaited it at St. Sylvestre Cappel. Here it remained, except for a few days spent on the rifle ranges near Moulle, for nearly a month.

Only the billets occupied by Battalion H.Q. and the officers of C Company were in the village itself. All the rest were in scattered houses and farm-buildings, some well over a mile away. But the billets were comfortable, and the troops found the French inhabitants well disposed towards them. Many still look back on the time spent there as one of their happiest times in France. Training was entirely by companies; the men were too scattered, and there was no ground available, for Battalion training. Much of the training was in connection with a divisional competition scheme, but the Battalion was very unlucky in its results. As companies were so scattered they kept mostly to themselves, and there was little opportunity to organise social functions. Towards the end of the stay, a highly successful “convivial” was held by the warrant officers and sergeants at the “Brown Cow” in the village. Most of the officers were present, and, among them, Capt. Allen, V.C., M.C., particularly distinguished himself.

In January a big reorganisation of the British Expeditionary Force took place, the strength of each Infantry Brigade being reduced to three battalions. In the 147th Infantry Brigade the 1/5th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regt. was broken up, and a draft of 10 officers and 250 other ranks was posted to the Battalion from it, late in January. A few days later, a further draft of two officers and about 80 other ranks arrived from the 8th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regt. (11th Division), which had also been dissolved. These reinforcements brought the Battalion to full strength again, for the first time since the beginning of August, 1917. Both the officers and men of these drafts quickly settled down, and many of them soon rendered very valuable services to their new battalion. It has always been a matter of pride in the Battalion that new officers and men, from wherever they came, were quickly assimilated, and in a short time regarded the Battalion as their own.

Early in February the Battalion moved by train to Moulle for four days’ shooting. All day was spent on the Second Army ranges, and the training culminated in a big Battalion field practice. A special “bullet and bayonet” competition was held there for the best platoon from each company in the 147th Infantry Brigade, and this the Battalion was very unlucky to lose. D Company’s platoon was at first placed top, but afterwards was defeated when it had to compete again against the best platoon of the 1/7th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regt. In spite of rather unsettled weather, the time at Moulle passed very pleasantly, musketry at long ranges being quite new to the Battalion since it came to France. At the end of the time, the return to St. Sylvestre Cappel was made by road, two days being taken on the journey.

On February 20th the G.O.C., XXII. Corps (the new title of the old “2nd Anzac Corps”) inspected the Battalion at training. Great preparations were made for his arrival and a scout, posted at a useful point of observation along the road, gave early warning of his approach. His entry upon the training field was greeted with a volley of rifle grenades (not at him); Lewis guns and rifles opened rapid fire on the miniature rifle range, the marksmen all being arrayed in small box respirators; while a platoon, with many lurid epithets and a most unusual amount of energy, attacked a row of sacks with the bayonet. It is hoped that the G.O.C. was suitably impressed. At any rate he ought to have been. But his only comment after this great display of the Battalion’s offensive spirit was “How are the men’s boots?” Later in the day he presented medal ribbons, at a ceremonial parade, to a number of officers and other ranks of the 147th Infantry Brigade.

This was the end of the Battalion’s period of rest. The next day it marched to Caestre, entrained there for Ypres, and spent the night at Infantry Barracks. A very strenuous time was in store for it, and much was to happen, ere it went back into rest again.

(_c_) Reutel Sector.

This was the first time the 49th Division had held a part of the front line since the strength of a brigade had been reduced to three battalions, and naturally, defence schemes and systems of relief required revision. The Divisional Sector was divided into two Brigade Sectors; the left, which was much the narrower front, was held always by the 146th Infantry Brigade with only one battalion in the front line at a time. On the right, the 147th and 148th Infantry Brigades inter-relieved every eight days. Here, all three battalions of the brigade held sub-sectors of the front line. The Reutel Sector, which was on the extreme right of the Division, abutting on the 33rd Division, was allotted to the Battalion, which, throughout the time it was there, inter-relieved with the 1/5th Battalion York and Lancs. Regt.

When in Divisional Reserve, the Battalion usually lived at Maida Camp, near Belgian Chateau. To reach the Reutel Sector the men were taken by light railway trains as far as Birr Cross Roads, and from thence marched straight up the Menin Road as far as Hooge Crater. At this point they bore to the left, through the desolate remnants of Chateau Wood, and then moved along Jargon Track to the vicinity of Polygon Butte; companies then followed separate routes to their respective positions. Although this route had its fair share of shelling, the Battalion was generally fortunate in its reliefs.

The front line was rather over a thousand yards in length, and the sector was held as follows:--

Front Line: Two Companies, each having two platoons in the front line, one in the support line, and one available for immediate counter-attack. The front line was the main line of defence.

Support Company: One platoon in Patu Support and the remainder of the Company in the reserve line near Battalion H.Q. In the event of enemy attack the whole company was to move up into Patu Support.

Reserve Company: In pill-boxes and dugouts to the north of the Polygon de Zonnebeke. In the event of enemy attack this company was to move up into the reserve line, vacated by the support company.

Battalion H.Q. was in a pill-box about two hundred yards from the Butte. Inter-company reliefs were carried out in the middle of each tour.

The sector was one of the most varied and interesting that the Battalion had ever occupied. It was taken over from the 1st Battalion Otago Regt. (New Zealand Division) on February 22nd. This division had occupied it for a long while and had done an extraordinary amount of work there. Like all the sectors on the Passchendaele Ridge, it was very wet, and the Battalion found it quite impossible to drain certain parts of the trench system, particularly Plumer Trench, the communication trench on the left. Except for one gap in the middle, where all attempts to get the water away had failed, there was continuous communication along the front line. This line had been well and deeply dug, and was well provided with fire bays, shelters, and all the necessary provisions for trench life. The right rested upon the valley of the Polygonbeke which, like all streams in the district, was an impassable morass. The centre ran through the ruins of the village of Reutel, whose existence would probably have been overlooked had not the trenches in places been cut through the actual foundations of the houses. Near the centre of the front line, the parapet had been built over the village well; this provided the water supply for both front line companies. There had once been a continuous support line, but the centre was now derelict, and only the two flanks were occupied. Each Company H.Q. was comfortably housed in a pill-box which gave practical immunity from shell fire. The front line faced roughly south-east, the ground, except on the extreme left, falling away to the Reutelbeke. On the left a spur ran out from the main ridge, near the point of which had been the village of Becelaere, now marked only by some prominent pill-boxes.

Behind the front system of defences lay Jetty Warren, once a tributary of the Polygonbeke, but now a filthy, noisome and impassable quagmire. It was crossed in two[14] places by gridded bridges, and these were the only means of communication with the front line, except a very roundabout route through the area of the next battalion. This fact was well known to the enemy, who swept them with machine gun fire at frequent intervals during the night. On the forward slope of the hill, overlooking Jetty Warren, was Patu Support Line, a well-constructed fire trench but rather short of accommodation for men. About five hundred yards further back lay the reserve line and Battalion H.Q., the latter in a small but very strong pill-box, the chief drawback to which was the lowness of the roof. When the Battalion first took over the sector all communication with the front line companies was across the open; but before it left a good communication trench had been dug from Patu Support to the right company H.Q., and a second had been started from the reserve line to Patu Support.

The main feature of the country-side was Polygon Butte, popularly supposed to be the ruins of the race course stand. This stood out so prominently that it naturally became a registration point for the enemy artillery, and people did not generally linger near it. Here Capt. A. J. Robb, of D Company, was wounded, when returning from his inspection of the line before the Battalion took over.

All the ground behind Jetty Warren was overlooked from Polderhoek Chateau. That commanding position lay about 1,000 yards due north of Gheluvelt and an equal distance from the Battalion’s right. It had been the scene of terrific fighting the previous autumn and had changed hands more than once; but finally the enemy had kept possession of it. From the Reutel Sector nothing but a great pill-box could be seen. This was a favourite mark for the British artillery. Guns of the heaviest calibre were constantly firing at it, and sometimes splinters from the explosions were hurled right into the Battalion’s lines. Attempts were even made to smash it in with 12-inch “duds.” But apparently no serious damage was done to it. Occasionally enemy snipers from that position fired on men moving to and fro between Patu Support and the Butte; but the range was too great for this to be really dangerous.

Like all sectors which had been occupied by the New Zealanders, the Reutel Sector was a very active one. It was not so much the hostile artillery. This was certainly not quiet, especially round the Butte, on Patu Support, and near the well in the front line. But most of the

## activity came from the infantry. The Germans had posts much nearer the

British line than the Battalion had been used to of late. Although the crest of the ridge was in British hands, the enemy had retained a hold on the slope instead of withdrawing to the far side of the valley. Some of his posts were only about a hundred yards from the British line. When advanced parties from the Battalion first visited the line they were surprised at the amount of firing which was going on; and when the New Zealanders finally handed over they were most anxious that their old front should be kept lively. The Battalion did its best to oblige, and not without success. At night the amount of Lewis gun and rifle fire was extraordinary. Capt. A. M. Luty was particularly energetic in this respect, and C Company got through more ammunition in a night than the average battalion in the line fired in a month. The enemy retaliated with plenty of machine gun fire, sometimes making it very uncomfortable for parties working on the top. Some patrolling was done, but the enemy was so close, and his positions were so well known, that this was not a very important feature. Most active of all was the sniping by day. The enemy had no continuous line and he seemed to take comparatively little trouble to hide himself. Men could be seen at almost any hour of the day, and the front line garrisons became tremendously keen on sniping. Not many hits were made, so far as is known, but this caused no slackening of the fire. A low pill-box near Juniper Wood, little more than a hundred yards from the British front line and opposite to the right company, was the main centre of the sniping. Here there was one little German who became very well-known to everyone. He was bald-headed, and something of a sportsman. Many men spent hours trying to snipe him, and he was only too ready to retaliate. He fired over the top of the pill-box, but was careful not to show himself too often in the same spot. A man watching for him would see a rifle barrel slowly appear over the top, followed by a bald head. Sometimes he might succeed in getting in a shot; at other times, the bald head would disappear too quickly. Then the situation would be reversed; the little German would be up first, and it would be the turn of the Britisher to duck quickly. And so things went on day after day, with little execution on either side, and “honours easy.”

The enemy made considerable use of vane bombs, and it was by one of these that Sec.-Lieut. R. B. Atkinson was wounded. Stokes shells were the ordinary form of retaliation. Gas shells too were used, though in no great number, except in the neighbourhood of the Butte. In this sector the Battalion first met with the enemy Blue Cross Gas--comparatively harmless, but causing violent sneezing.

Needless to say, much work was done in the sector. The wire in No Man’s Land was much improved, a good deal of revetting was done in the front line, and great efforts were made to drain Plumer Trench, though without much success. Most important was the work further back. This was carried out under the supervision of Major E. Jackson, M.C., of the 458th Field Company, Royal Engineers, a very competent officer with whom the Battalion was on excellent terms. It was under his direction that the new communication trench was dug from Patu Support to the Right Company H.Q.

The period too was one of fads which, though they sometimes irritated, often provided a certain amount of amusement. Chief among these were the “Silent Days,” and the wearing of small box respirators. At first the term “silent day” was not very well understood. One company, it is said, suspended all firing, and did not even retaliate when fired upon. But the real purpose was to compel battalions to use means of communication other than the telephone. For twenty-four hours the use of the telephone, either for speaking or buzzing, was forbidden, except in cases of emergency. So pigeons, power buzzers, Lucas lamps, and all the other devices, which had formerly been looked upon as things for signallers to learn but never to use, were pressed into service. The increased use of the power buzzer and wireless speedily showed up the ignorance of certain ciphers, which all officers were supposed to be acquainted with. The wearing of small box respirators was another fad, intended to familiarise all with their use. About every other day, orders would be received that they were to be worn continuously by all ranks during certain hours, and that work was to be continued as if nothing unusual were happening. The practice was mildly resented by some, who thought they had to wear them quite enough when there actually was gas about, without being put to the discomfort of wearing them needlessly. Elaborate precautions were taken to ensure that everyone did wear them at the times stated, and there was unholy delight in the Battalion when two Brigade runners were caught one day not complying with the orders.

During the time the Battalion was holding the Reutel Sector the weather was, on the whole, good. Though trench strength was high, accommodation was not very crowded. All companies had their trench cook-houses, and hot meals were as regular as if the Battalion had been in rest. The transport men were having an easy time, for rations were brought up to Crucifix Dump, not far from the Butte, by light railway. The Quarter Masters of the Brigade took it in turns to come up in charge of the ration train.

The first tour of duty in the Reutel Sector was not a specially eventful one. On February 25th the enemy heavily shelled the front line near the well, blowing in the parapet, causing several casualties, and burying the garrison of a machine gun post. C.S.M. W. Brooke was among the wounded. On this occasion Cpl. H. Kane, M.M., of D Company, behaved with the greatest gallantry. Going to the assistance of the buried men, he quietly set to work to dig them out, and succeeded in doing this, in spite of the heavy bombardment which continued round him, and the fact that he was in full view of an enemy pill-box only about a hundred yards away. For this gallant act he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. Early on the morning of February 28th a heavy counter-preparation was put down in front of the line, the higher commands fearing an enemy attack from the direction of Polderhoek Chateau. Except for a certain amount of enemy retaliation, nothing happened. Much attention was paid to the enemy pill-box in front of the Right Company, which has already been mentioned. The Battalion had been detailed to carry out a raid during its next tour, and this pill-box had been selected as the objective.

On March 2nd the Battalion was relieved by the 1/5th Battalion York and Lancs. Regt., and moved to Maida Camp. Here training was carried on as well as possible, but was much hampered by lack of suitable ground. The platoon which had been selected to carry out the raid was sent to the 147th Infantry Brigade School to train, as it was to be left out of the line until the night before the raid. When the Battalion returned to the line, after its six days’ rest, preparations for the raid were completed. The plan was as follows:--

1. The objective was the enemy pill-box already described, which lay rather more than a hundred yards from the line. To the right of it lay an old British tank, stranded and abandoned in one of the attacks of the previous autumn, and known to be occupied by the enemy sometimes.

2. The raiding party was to consist of Sec.-Lieut. L. Gumby and 31 other ranks (one complete platoon) of D Company. Two men of the 147th Light Trench Mortar Battery accompanied the party, carrying with them short-fused Stokes mortar shells, to damage the pill-box.

3. At zero hour (7-0 a.m.) the party was to advance in four sections, one on each flank of the pill-box, one towards it, and one towards the tank.

4. A creeping barrage was to cover the advance, while enemy positions in the vicinity were to be engaged by artillery and trench mortars.

Zero hour had been fixed after dawn as the broken nature of the ground made an advance in the dark extremely difficult.

[Illustration: _Raid near Reutel._

13.3.18.]

On the evening of March 12th the raiding party came up by light railway, and was accommodated with the reserve company for the night. During the night final preparations were made; steps for each of the four sections were cut in the parapet of the front line trench opposite the pill-box, and four gaps were cut in the wire. By dawn on March 13th the whole party was assembled in the front line, waiting for the barrage to open. There too was the Commanding Officer, in communication with Battalion H.Q. by a telephone wire, laid specially for the occasion.

At 7-0 a.m. the barrage opened, and the raiding party went over in line of sections in file. From the start, the flanking sections went well and reached their positions without difficulty; but the section under the direct command of the platoon commander, whose special objective was the pill-box, was delayed by the short firing of one of the barrage guns. In the meantime, about twenty of the enemy got out of a trench in rear of the pill-box and tried to escape. They were heavily fired on by the flanking sections, and many were brought down. As soon as the barrage lifted off the pill-box, two of the enemy mounted a light machine gun on the top; but both were shot down before they could open fire. By this time the centre section had got forward, worked round the pill-box, and captured one or two prisoners in rear of it. The pill-box itself was then attacked. A Mills bomb was inserted through a loophole and a M.S.K. grenade was dropped down the ventilating shaft. The latter immediately had its effect, about thirty Germans coming out with their hands up. How so many had been able to crowd into so small a space cannot be conceived. They were immediately directed to run across to the British line, where now the greatest excitement prevailed; everywhere men were standing on the parapet waving to them to come in. A Stokes shell was thrown into the pill-box and then, about 7-20 a.m., the withdrawal was ordered. A few minutes later the raiding party, with the exception of two dead near the pill-box and some wounded still in No Man’s Land, was back in its own lines.

When the captures came to be totalled up it was found that there were no less than 37 prisoners, and, in addition, three enemy machine guns had been brought back by the raiding party. Among the prisoners was the little bald-headed man, who had been the source of so much amusement to the front line troops the previous tour. Also, many dead and wounded were lying about round the pill-box, not counting a number who had certainly been wounded in escaping to the rear. All this had been accomplished by a total force of one officer and thirty-three other ranks--less than the total number of prisoners--with a loss of only two killed and eight wounded. Unfortunately, two of the wounded afterwards died. The greatest loss to the Battalion was Cpl. H. Kane, D.C.M., M.M., who was severely wounded in the back and, after dragging on for several weeks in hospital, died. He was one of the most gallant N.C.O’s the Battalion ever had--the sort of man who would have won the Victoria Cross had the chance come his way.

[Illustration: Major W. C. FENTON, M.C.]

[Illustration: Capt. N. T. FARRAR, M.C.]

[Illustration: Capt. A. KIRK, M.C.]

[Illustration: Capt. P. G. BALES, M.C.]

So great had been the success of the raid that, when the first estimate of prisoners--30--was telephoned through to Brigade H.Q., they were too sceptical to forward the news to the Division. When the prisoners began to appear over the crest line, they were seen by some artillery observers who, never dreaming that such success had been gained, sent frantic messages through that the enemy was counter-attacking. When this was denied they declared that they could see the enemy in crowds coming down the hill.

But much still remained to be done. A number of wounded were lying out in No Man’s Land and these had to be brought in. This business was taken in hand by Major A. L. Mowat, M.C., who had gone up to the line immediately the Commanding Officer returned. Some of the enemy meanwhile had hoisted a white flag, and, under its protection which had not been violated by the British, were collecting their wounded. Seeing this, Major Mowat ordered a white flag to be put out, and stretcher-bearers to go over and bring back the wounded. This was done but, no sooner did they appear on the top of the parapet than every enemy machine gun in the district opened fire on them. It was a typical “Hun” trick--to make use of the white flag to collect their own wounded and then to open fire at once when it was used by their opponents. The flag was quickly hoisted down and fire was opened in retaliation. It is unlikely that any man in the Battalion ever respected a German flag again. In spite of this failure, it was not long before every wounded man was brought in. Lce.-Cpl. A. Moon, of D Company, particularly distinguished himself in this work. He had already done yeoman service during the raid; though not himself one of the party, he had taken a Lewis Gun out into No Man’s Land on his own initiative, and with it had provided covering fire during both the advance and the withdrawal. Now he twice went out, and on each occasion succeeded in bringing in a wounded man. For these actions he afterwards received the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

Later in the morning, a large party of the enemy was seen advancing to reoccupy the empty pill-box. Attempts to bring artillery fire to bear on them failed, but a heavy fire was opened with rifles and Lewis guns. Eventually the enemy artillery put down a protective barrage, under cover of which the Germans were able to rush forward and enter the pill-box. Apart from artillery activity, the rest of the day passed quietly, but during the night Patu Support was heavily shelled and several men of B Company were killed or wounded.

Needless to say, the Battalion received many messages of congratulation and commendation, for the raid had been one of the most successful on record. The Commander-in-Chief sent his congratulations, an unusual thing in connection with a minor operation, while the following wire was received from Second Army H.Q.:--

“General Plumer was delighted on his arrival to hear of the successful raid this morning of West Riding, 49th Division, and wishes to convey his congratulations to all concerned.”

This was the first intimation the Battalion had that General Plumer had returned from Italy. Perhaps the most delighted people, though no message came from them officially, were the New Zealanders, who realised that their wishes were being carried out and that their old front had been left in good hands. For this operation, Sec.-Lieut. L. Gumby was awarded the Military Cross, Sergt. H. Binns and Lance-Cpl. R. A. Hudson the Distinguished Conduct Medal; Cpl. H. Kane, D.C.M., M.M., received a bar to his Military Medal, and eleven other ranks the Military Medal.

The remainder of the tour was marked by a considerable increase in the volume of enemy artillery fire. This was probably partly a result of the raid, but it may also have been an attempt to pin British troops to that area while the enemy concentrated for his attack elsewhere. The areas chiefly affected were the usual ones, with the addition of Peter Trench; this trench had been named after the Commanding Officer’s youthful son, the father later expressing the hope that his son would have better fortune than his trench had had.

On the night of March 17/18th a S.O.S. test was arranged which had a rather amusing sequel. In order to ensure that S.O.S. signals should be seen by the artillery if they were sent up, a chain of repeating stations had been arranged. A S.O.S. sent up in the front line was to be repeated from the left company H.Q., then from Battalion H.Q., and thence further back. To test the efficiency of this chain, green Very lights were supplied by Brigade, and it was arranged that, at 9-0 p.m., two of these should be fired from the front line, and repeated backwards as ordered. Everything went off well; the signals were seen, promptly repeated and--down came an enemy barrage. Brigade had overlooked the important point that a double green was the enemy S.O.S. Capt. N. T. Farrar who, as O.C. Left Company, was responsible for repeating the signal, in order not to give away the location of his Company H.Q., had gone down to Jetty Warren to fire his lights. Now Jetty Warren happened to be one of the enemy barrage lines, and Capt. Farrar soon found matters so lively there that he decided to run for it. As the scheme was only a test the British artillery was not intended to fire, but frantic appeals for retaliation soon got them going. Similar tests should have been carried out by the other battalions of the Brigade later in the night, but these orders were cancelled owing to the result of the first test.

On the night of March 18/19th the Battalion was relieved. Instead of going back to Maida Camp, two companies moved to Westhoek Dugouts and two to Railway Wood Dugouts on Cambridge Road. The relief was much hampered by heavy gas shelling, but the Battalion escaped with practically no casualties.

The period which followed was one of anxious expectation. For the last month signs had been accumulating of the imminence of a great enemy offensive. It was known that many of his best divisions had been brought over from the Russian Front, and that his armies had never been so strong in the West before. In the early months of the year attack training had been carried out on an unusually large scale. And now the information obtained from almost every prisoner pointed to a great attack in the very near future. Every possible precaution had been taken in the Second Army to meet an attack, should it come on that front, and all were anxiously waiting for the enemy to make his first move. One minor attack had been made on the 33rd Division north of the Menin Road, about a fortnight before. But as the enemy had made no further attempt there, it was probably only a “blind.”

On March 21st the storm broke, though far away to the south. Never since stationary warfare had taken the place of movement, had a single attack been made on so wide a front in the West. From the neighbourhood of Arras to far south of St. Quentin, the whole front was ablaze. The news which reached the Battalion during the first few days was brief, but it was enough to make clear to everyone that practically the whole force of the enemy’s offensive was directed against the British, and that the situation was desperate to a degree. On March 24th the Commander-in-Chief published his, now famous, Special Order of the Day; and in forwarding it to Battalions the G.O.C., 49th Division, himself issued an Order which is so characteristic of the man that it is worth repeating in full:--

“In forwarding the attached copy of a Special Order of the Day by Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, I wish to say at once that I have complete confidence that the 49th (West Riding) Division will acquit itself gloriously in whatever circumstances it may be placed.

Remember that other Divisions elsewhere are at this moment holding up splendidly the most strenuous efforts of the enemy to force a decision.

Remember also that if we are called upon to fight here, we shall be fighting on the historic ground where the ‘contemptible little British Army’ fought and defeated the enemy’s first great effort to destroy it in 1914. In that year we defeated him with the rifle. With the rifle we can and will defeat him again--the more thoroughly this time, as we have our wire to give our rifles a better opportunity than they had in 1914.

Go on improving your wire, look carefully to your rifles, Machine Guns, and Lewis Guns, and ammunition, exercise vigilance every moment of the day, to see that every yard of your front is watched and can be shot into. We can then beat off any attack.

So much for the defensive.

We must also be aggressive. Every front line company must send out at least one fighting patrol every night to look for opportunities for killing or capturing enemy patrols or posts. Identifications are of great importance, but more important still is the object of making ourselves masters of No Man’s Land, and inducing the enemy to increase his strength against us on this portion of the front, thus helping to reduce the pressure against our comrades further South.

N. G. Cameron, Major-General, March 24th, 1918. Commanding 49th (W.R.) Division.”

The Battalion chafed at its inactivity. It was well up to strength and in magnificent condition. After a month’s rest and training, it had spent another month in a line where, though it had suffered comparatively few casualties, things had been sufficiently active to keep it in good condition. Furthermore, the highly successful raid of little more than a week before had raised its morale to such an extent that it felt fit to tackle anything. All leave had been stopped and officers, who were in England, recalled. The news that the New Zealand Division was moving south rather added to the excitement. On March 27th a warning order was received to be prepared to move at the shortest notice; but that very night the Battalion again took over the defence of the Reutel Sector.

The tour which followed--the last the Battalion was to do in that sector--was wonderfully, almost uncannily, quiet. It was rarely a shell fell at all, and the standing joke of the tour was that, if the enemy division opposite wanted a concentration of fire on its front, it would have to ring up the neighbouring divisions and ask each to switch its “gun” round. This was not so correct of the enemy machine guns; wiring was the main work carried out that tour, and several casualties were caused to men working on the top.

On April 3rd the tour came to an end, the Battalion being relieved by the 1st Battalion Leicestershire Regt. (6th Division). This division had just come up from the south-east of Arras, where it had been in the line when the enemy first launched his offensive. It had acquitted itself well, as it always did, but had been terribly cut up. From the men of this battalion something was learned of the battle in the south.

The Battalion said farewell to the Reutel Sector and moved back to Maida Camp again. Here several days passed quietly and nothing was heard of an early move. Indeed, so far did the Battalion seem from battle, that orders were received to relieve the 146th Infantry Brigade on April 9th. That Brigade was now holding the sector astride the Menin Road, facing Gheluvelt and Polderhoek Chateau, where it had relieved part of the 33rd Division. It was a disappointed party of officers and N.C.O’s who went up to inspect the line on April 8th. But the Battalion was never to hold that sector. The same night orders for the relief were cancelled, and fresh orders were received to move the following day to a camp near Reninghelst.

The next day was crowded with incident. In the morning the G.O.C., Second Army, presented medal ribbons to a number of officers and other ranks, the Battalion providing three officers and 150 other ranks for the guard of honour. During the parade the General received several telegrams, and when he addressed the troops he referred to the probability that they would soon be in battle. In the afternoon the Battalion marched to the neighbourhood of Reninghelst, where it expected to remain for two or three days, and then to move to the southern battle. As the column wound its way along the road that bright spring afternoon, the dull but continuous roar of guns was such as had never been heard in that area since the battle of Passchendaele. Something was happening much nearer than the Somme, but none knew what. On arrival at the camp everyone quickly settled down, and arrangements were made for the night. But no night was to be spent by the Battalion there. The time had come when it was to write what is probably the finest page of its history.

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