CHAPTER IV

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JANUARY TO JUNE, 1916.

The earlier half of 1916 is the least eventful period of the Battalion’s history. The months in the Ypres Salient had reduced its strength to a very low figure, and reinforcements arrived very slowly, until just before the Battle of the Somme. From January to June there is not one dramatic incident to record. With the exception of one tour in the trenches near Authuille, the Battalion never went into the line. Instead, it was employed mainly on various forms of pioneer work which, though very useful in themselves, are of little interest now.

When the Battalion was finally withdrawn from the Ypres front on December 20th, 1915, it moved back to Elverdinghe Chateau for a few days. There Christmas was spent. Everything possible was done to make the occasion a successful one. Plenty of money was forthcoming and supplies were obtained from Poperinghe--then a much better place for shopping than in later years. Tables, with calico for table-cloths, were set up in the canteen hut, and dinner was served in three sittings. Everything went off splendidly. Plates and glass had been borrowed in Poperinghe, and these were much appreciated by the men, few of whom had had a meal for many months, except from a mess tin.

While at Elverdinghe the Battalion was in Brigade Reserve. On December 27th it was relieved and moved by short marches through Poperinghe, where a night was spent in houses in and around the Square, to Houtkerque, arriving there on New Year’s Day. The men were billeted in farms about a mile out of the town and were fairly comfortably housed. Practically no training was attempted. It was realised that the men needed rest more than anything else, and so they were given little to do during their fortnight’s stay at Houtkerque.

On January 15th the Battalion marched to Wormhoudt. A band, equipped mainly with Italian horns, had recently been formed; this helped to enliven the march, particularly when the Brigadier’s horse took fright at the unusual sight and noise, and bolted. Near the entrance to the town General Sir H. Plumer was waiting to see the Battalion march past.

Most of the men were lodged in farms just outside Wormhoudt. They had a royal time. They thronged the estaminets. They enjoyed the Divisional Band, which played in the Square. Officers’ messes vied with one another in the elaborate dinners they gave. All did their best to make up for the hard time they had had at Ypres. As at Houtkerque, very little training was done. Officers’ classes in Lewis gun and bombing, under Sec.-Lieuts. W. N. Everitt, M.C. and H. H. Aykroyd respectively, were a feature. The latter, it is rumoured, often developed into throwing contests between the instructor and his pupils. On January 23rd some Battalion sports were held, the most interesting item on the programme being a mule race for officers. This race was of the usual type, neither saddle nor stirrups being allowed. Within a few yards of the starting point most of the mules were riderless, Sec.-Lieut. A. E. Mander in particular taking a beautiful dive over his mule’s head and landing on his own. The race was won by Sec.-Lieut. J. G. Mowat, with Sec.-Lieut. E. C. Mee second; practically no one else finished.

About this time the 147th Infantry Brigade Machine Gun Company was formed. Until then machine guns had been battalion weapons. In future they were to be the arm of a separate unit. To form the Company certain officers and other ranks were taken from each battalion of the Brigade. Lieut. G. W. I. Learoyd, Sec.-Lieut. E. Chisnall, six N.C.O’s and twenty privates were sent by the Battalion. To replace the machine guns which were thus taken away, each battalion received four Lewis guns. It was the first time any of these weapons had been issued but, in course of time, the number was gradually increased until, by the summer of 1918, the Battalion was in possession of no less than 36.

Just before the Battalion left Wormhoudt the G.O.C. Second Army presented medal ribbons to a number of officers and other ranks of the 49th Division, and he took the opportunity to say good-bye to the men who were about to leave his army. His farewell speech shows clearly how much the work of the 49th Division was appreciated in the Second Army, and is worth quoting in full:--

“General Perceval, Officers, Non-commissioned Officers and Men who are representatives of the 49th Division.

This is a very pleasant ceremony to me, and I hope to you, with which to finish for the time being my connection, and that of the Second Army, with this Division.

I have had the pleasure on two occasions lately--one some weeks ago when you came out of the Line, and one the other day when I gave ribbons representing decorations to Officers, N.C.O’s and Men of the Division after the recent Gas Attack--and on those two occasions I expressed briefly, but I hope quite distinctly, my appreciation of the way in which the 49th Division has carried out the duties entrusted to them during the last few months; but now that it is settled for the time being the 49th Division is to leave the Second Army, and go to another area, while I have nothing to add as regards appreciation of the work you have done, I should like to say to you how sorry I am that you are leaving the Second Army. At the same time I fully realise that when a Division or any other Unit has undergone a long, arduous and strenuous time in a particular part of the Line, as the 49th has done, it is very desirable that they should have a change of scene, if the military situation admits of it, and that is the sole reason why you are quitting the Second Army. I cannot expect you to share my regret; no one so far as I know has felt any deep regret at quitting the Ypres Salient; but, while you will not regret your change of scene, when you look back on the time you have spent here, notwithstanding the arduous time that you have gone through, notwithstanding the losses of your comrades--which we all deplore--you will, I hope, have some pleasant recollections to take away with you of the time you have spent up here, and at any rate you will, I know, have some pleasant memories to carry away with you of your comrades of the Second Army. We, I can assure you, will follow your doings with the deepest interest; we are quite confident that no matter where you go you will not only sustain but add to the reputation that you have already won, and we shall always feel a kind of reflected glory when we hear of the gallant deeds which I am quite sure that you are going to accomplish both individually and as a Unit.

On behalf of the Second Army, I say good-bye to you, and I wish you all--Officers, N.C.O’s and Men--the very best of luck. Good-bye.”

On February 2nd the Battalion left Wormhoudt and the Second Army, and moved to the Somme Area. Transport and personnel entrained at Esquelbecq in the morning and, after the usual tedious journey, arrived late at night at Longueav, near Amiens. There one company was left behind, to assist in unloading the transport, while the rest of the Battalion set off on a long and weary march to Ailly, where motor buses were waiting to convey it to billets at Camps en Amienois. The men were very tired when they arrived about 3-0 a.m. After a few days they moved by stages to Warloy Baillon.

About a fortnight was spent at Warloy. The rolling downs and open country of the Somme district were a very welcome change from the flat clay of Flanders. The men were billeted in barns which were moderately comfortable, but the weather was very bad, snow falling frequently. A little time was devoted to training, but more to organisation and interior economy. Occasionally working parties had to be found. These were employed digging shallow trenches for buried cables, to the west of Martinsart Wood, and had a march of one and a half hours each way to their work.

The Commanding Officer started an officers’ riding school. All officers attended, and every available hack was turned out. Several officers were thrown, much to the amusement of the transport sergeant, who laughed uproariously. One inexperienced horseman was heard gravely to explain that his “horse had pushed him in the face with its paw.”

On February 28th the Battalion relieved the 1/4th Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, in the right sector of the Authuille trenches. This sector is of some interest as being the most southerly one ever held by the Battalion. At that time the British line, which lay practically north and south from Thiepval Wood to near Authuille, made a right-angled turn due east of the latter place, in order to enclose Authuille Wood. The re-entrant thus formed was occupied, on the enemy side, by the famous Leipsig Redoubt, the southern defence of Thiepval village. The sector held by the Battalion was about six hundred yards in length; it lay along the north side of Authuille Wood, facing the Leipsig Redoubt, with its left on Campbell Avenue. This part of the line had been taken over from the French not very long before.

The sector was in an appalling condition. The communication trenches were full of water, which often reached to the top of one’s thigh boots; they were not gridded and the hard lumps of chalk, which littered the bottom, were very painful to men wearing gum-boots. Everywhere, the line was very wet; some parts of D Company’s front were quite impassable, and were left unoccupied. Pumps had to be kept going night and day. The trenches were not revetted and were falling in badly, so that all work had to be concentrated on the front line. The awful weather that prevailed during the tour did not improve the conditions. Snow fell frequently.

The enemy was fairly active. He was credited with a desire to straighten out his line by cutting off the north-east corner of Authuille Wood. Perhaps the similar designs of the British, on the Leipsig Redoubt, suggested the idea. The front line was not much annoyed by shelling, though on one occasion it was pretty heavily “whizz-banged”; the hostile artillery fired mostly on the north-east corner of the wood and the vicinity of Battalion H.Q. Medium trench mortars were much in evidence, particularly during the afternoons; but luckily, nearly all of them fell a few yards behind the front line. There was no sniping--the conditions were too miserable--and the machine guns were not very active. The Battalion did not adopt a very offensive attitude. A fair amount of patrolling was done, and the enemy was found to be rather active in No Man’s Land too; but no actual encounters are recorded. This was the first time that Lewis guns had been taken into the line, but they were not much used.

With its Ypres experience behind it, the Battalion naturally did all that was possible for the comfort of the troops. There were, unfortunately, several cases of trench feet, for the means of prevention had not yet been reduced to the science which they became later in the war. The method of cooking in the line was a great advance on anything that had been in existence before. Each company had its own trench kitchen; to it rations were sent up in bulk, and hot meals were served regularly, being carried up to the front line by orderly men.

The tour came to an end on March 4th. It had been most uncomfortable, but very few casualties had been suffered; the only one of importance was Sec.-Lieut. F. H. Kelsall wounded. The condition of the communication trenches was so bad that some companies went out over the open. D Company lost its way in Authuille Wood and got nearly to Albert before anyone discovered it was on the wrong road. One night was spent in Bouzincourt and a second in Authuille village, in Brigade Reserve. At the latter place the billets were awful, and the men had to rig up their ground sheets to prevent the water pouring in through the roofs. On March 6th the whole Battalion moved back to Mailly-Maillet.

With the move to Mailly-Maillet began a period of nearly four months, during which the Battalion never went into the line. Instead, it was employed on various forms of work, and had comparatively few opportunities for training. It is the longest period it ever spent out of action, while hostilities lasted. The billets at Mailly-Maillet were not at all bad. The village had been very little shelled, though, while the Battalion was there, enemy planes dropped some bombs on the outskirts. Practically all the men were in houses; the rooms were often quite bare but there were always fires. Training was impossible. Only very small drafts were arriving and so the strength of the Battalion was still very low. Practically every available man was required for the large working parties which had to be provided.

[Illustration: Brig.-Genl. E. G. St. AUBYN, D.S.O.]

These working parties were in connection with mining operations to the north-west of Beaumont Hamel, and were very strenuous. The Battalion shared the duty with the 5th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regt., each having twenty-four hours on and twenty-four hours off. During the twenty-four hours of duty, three shifts, each consisting of two officers and one hundred other ranks, had to be found. Each shift was supposed to do eight hours’ continuous work, but it was not allowed to stop until the next shift was ready to take its place; so late arrivals became very unpopular. To take a typical shift, say one which was due at the mines at 8-0 a.m. The party paraded at 6-15 a.m. and marched to Auchonvillers. From that point it had to carry timber, sandbags and other R.E. material, required in the mines, up a long communication trench. Arriving at the mine at 8-0 a.m., the men had to work continuously until 4-0 p.m. The work was very hard. The men were formed into a chain from the mine face, along a tunnel, and then up the steps of the shaft. Their work consisted of throwing or passing the sandbags of “spoil” from the mine face up to the open, where a further party disposed of them. It can be imagined how monotonous the work was, and how tired the men were at the end of a shift. Then they had another one and a half hours of marching back to billets.

This work was not entirely free from danger. The enemy was known to be counter-mining and, at any time, he might explode his mine. Every now and then all work would be stopped, and there would be absolute silence while experts listened for sounds of the enemy working. Fortunately, there was no untoward incident while the Battalion was engaged on the work. But once some casualties were suffered, though from a very different cause. The trenches, in which the mining was being carried on, were held by a battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles. One night, the enemy put down a heavy artillery and trench mortar barrage, and raided the line. The working party had to cease work and stand to. It did not come into action, but one man was killed and three wounded by the barrage.

All were glad to leave Mailly-Maillet and the mines. On March 29th the Battalion marched to Harponville, and the next day to Naours. This second day’s march was a very long one, but the day was splendid, and a hard frost had put the road in good condition. When the Battalion was met by the Divisional Band near Naours, everyone freshened up, and the last stage of the march was a great success. All who were there look back on their stay at Naours with pleasure. The billets were good, the surrounding country delightful, and beautiful spring weather continued almost throughout. The “Tykes”--the recently-formed Divisional Concert Party--were there the whole time. On April 14th, the first anniversary of the Battalion’s landing in France, they gave a special performance to the “old originals.” Of these, there were about 340 still serving at that time. There was plenty of sport, particularly football. Above all, there were no working parties. A good deal of training was done, special attention being paid to instruction in the Lewis gun, and to company and other close order drill. There was practice in the assembly, the attack, and consolidation, over taped-out trenches; for already preparations for the Somme Battle were in progress. But all training was carried out during the morning; the afternoons were entirely devoted to sport. Altogether, the Battalion had a “real good time” at Naours, in spite of the Medical Officer, who insisted on inoculating everyone.

On April 23rd the Battalion moved by motor bus to Hedauville, and then followed two months of working parties in the area held by the 36th Division. All this work was in preparation for the attack which was soon to be launched, in conjunction with the French. The Battalion’s first job was the digging of assembly trenches in Aveluy Wood. Daily the men were taken up by motor bus as far as Bouzincourt, and marched from thence to their work. It was all task work and the tasks were very heavy. The ground was full of roots, which greatly hindered digging, and, a foot or two below the surface, much flint was encountered. But very good work was done in spite of these difficulties. There Capt. C. Jones, C.F., first became prominent. He had not been long with the Brigade, but he soon became very popular with the men, taking a shovel himself and digging with the best of them, in all weathers.

The life in the woods was really quite enjoyable, in spite of occasional spells of rain. Hedauville Wood was full of nightingales, and many men sat out at night to listen to their song. Beetles also abounded and were not so much appreciated; often it was necessary to get up at night to catch enormous flying specimens of these insects.

Strange to say, the enemy artillery made little attempt to harass troops in the area. The Germans must have had a good idea of the attack which was impending. They had good ground observation and plenty of aeroplanes. Martinsart village was crowded with troops and, in the evenings, there were sometimes thousands in its streets. Yet it was never shelled.

It is unnecessary to go into full details about this period. Most of the work was much of the same type. Digging was done both in Aveluy and Martinsart Woods; the Battalion was billeted first in one and then in the other, in order to be near its work. Once it had to carry up gas cylinders for an operation of the 32nd Division. Perhaps this job was the indirect cause of a gas alarm which occurred two nights later. At any rate, someone thought he heard a Strombos horn, and there was great confusion for a time as few could find their gas helmets.

About the middle of June the Battalion started work in Thiepval Wood, digging assembly trenches off Elgin Avenue. There it was sometimes annoyed by shelling, and a few casualties were suffered. On June 24th the work came to an end and the Battalion moved back, taking with it the thanks and congratulations of the G.O.C., 36th Division, under whom it had been working.

The time had almost come when the Battalion was again to take its place in the line. For six months it had done little but pioneer work, with occasional periods of training, and one trench tour. During all that time its fighting, or perhaps it would be better to say “working,” strength had been very low, for the wastage in the Ypres Salient had never been made good. Now that it was destined for battle, reinforcements were imperative. On June 24th a draft of 52 other ranks arrived; five days later a further draft, 258 other ranks strong, joined. Many of these were experienced soldiers, who had served earlier in the war with other regiments; among them was a fair sprinkling of old Regulars, who had landed at St. Nazaire with the 6th Division, during the Battle of the Marne. They were fine material, but it was a pity they had not been sent earlier. Not only would they have been of the greatest use in the pioneer work of the last two months, but officers and N.C.O’s would not have had to lead into battle so large a proportion of men of whose very names they were ignorant. To incorporate such numbers of reinforcements, in the short time available, meant much hard work. Thus, the two days which preceded that fateful--and fatal--July 1st were very strenuous ones for the Battalion.

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