CHAPTER X.

THE SUMMER OF 1918.

(May-September 1918.)

The Interlude—The Strategic Situation during the Summer—The Méteren Area—Awaiting the German Attack—The Action of 25th June—The Capture of Méteren on 19th July—The End of the Composite Battalion—The Brigade re-formed—Leaves the 9th Division and joins the 66th.

The summer of 1918 may be regarded as an interlude in the history of the South African forces in France. The continuity was not broken, for there was still a titular South African Brigade, commanded by a South African general; but the old regiments had shrunk to companies, and only one battalion was South African in its composition. Again, the summer months were for the northern part of the British line a time of comparative quiet. The great tides of war had flowed southward, and before May was out came Ludendorff’s thrust on the Aisne, which drove the French back upon the Marne and in seventy-two hours advanced the enemy front by more than thirty miles. In that southern area the German tactics of April were repeated, and presently von Hutier pressed forward on the right, and carried the Lassigny hills. Then, after a delay of six weeks, came the last attack on the Marne, which was to open the way to Paris, and with it Ludendorff’s final and irretrievable failure. But in the early summer that consummation could not have been foreseen, and the months of May, June, and July were an anxious season for the Allied Command. When Foch became Commander-in-Chief his first problem was to create reserves, and his second to use just enough of them to hold the enemy. While the American armies were growing in numbers and efficiency he had to be ready, with still scanty resources, to face at any moment a new assault on any one of four sections of his long line. But his defence was not stagnant; it was as vigilant and aggressive as any attack; and there were two facts in the situation which might well seem to him of happy augury. He had devised an answer to the new German tactics, and formed his own scheme against the day of _revanche_. Again, the German strategy was clearly fumbling. The Lys had seen the decadence of the original plan, and the later adventures were blind and irrelevant hammer-blows. Germany, with waning strength, was being forced to stake all on a last throw; if that failed, she might soon be helpless before the waxing might of the Allies.

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The Brigade during the summer was with the 9th Division in the area of Plumer’s Second Army. That front in the north was in no secure position, for the advance of the enemy in April had brought him too near to certain vital centres like Béthune and Hazebrouck, and he held the key-point of Kemmel. It was well within the domain of possibility that the next great stroke might fall in the north, and the British Army, which had been actively engaged for nine weeks, was very tired. Hence there could be no sleeping anywhere on the line between Ypres and Arras. Till the end of May an attack was hourly expected.

[Sidenote: _May 25._]

From the 10th to the 23rd May the Brigade was busy training in the Heuringhem area. On the latter date, with the 5th Cameron Highlanders in place of the 9th Scottish Rifles, it marched to Hondeghem, and next day relieved the 26th Brigade in the support line, the South African Battalion, on the left, being available as a counter-attack battalion. On the 25th, since a German attack seemed to be imminent, it was decided to hold the 9th Division sector with a two-brigade front: on the left the 26th Brigade, with two battalions in line and one in support; on the right the South African Brigade, with one battalion in line, one in support, and the South African Composite Battalion in divisional reserve in the village of Thieushoek. The 27th Brigade was at Hondeghem in corps reserve.

The enemy was believed to be aiming at Mont des Cats, the western end of the Kemmel range, the possession of which would directly threaten Hazebrouck and the whole northern plain. At that time our front ran in this area from Locre by the north of Bailleul and just west of the village of Méteren to a point half-way between Strazeele and Merris. The sector taken over by the Brigade lay facing Méteren from the Méteren-Cassel road to the tiny watercourse called Méteren Becque, which ran south-east from Flêtre. The defences were organized in two zones. The front line consisted of sections of trenches covered by an outpost line between 150 and 200 yards in front of them, in close touch with the enemy; a support line, with the strong-point of Princboom in it; and a reserve line based on Flêtre. This forward zone was almost completely overlooked by the enemy in Méteren, and any movement by day there was impossible. The second zone, some 2,000 yards in the rear, included the fortified village of Caestre.

During these days patrols were busy on the quest for prisoners, and from the intelligence thus gathered it appeared that the German attack was fixed for the morning of the 29th. Much work was done in strengthening the defences, and a special battalion was formed of Brigade details, which was held at Caestre in divisional reserve. But nothing happened on the 29th. That night the South African battalion moved into the support line, and on the 1st June it relieved the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers in the front line.

[Sidenote: _June 2._]

On the South African right lay the Australians, and on the night of 2nd June they carried out a minor operation in order to straighten their line; while the South Africans co-operated by a pretended attack on Méteren. The Australians reached their goal without serious opposition. A German relief was in progress, and in consequence 5 officers and 250 other ranks, besides many machine guns and trench mortars, were captured. For the next few days the enemy front was stagnant, and on the night of the 5th the Brigade was relieved in the front line by the 26th, and moved back to the Hondeghem area for further training.

On 11th June the Composite Battalion marched to Thieushoek, and that night relieved the 7th Seaforth Highlanders in divisional reserve. Once again a German attack threatened. The South African Brigade front was now held by two battalions, and on the 17th the South African Battalion relieved the 9th Scottish Rifles, on the right of the front adjoining Méteren Becque.

The position at Méteren was far from comfortable, and Tanner, after conferring with the Australians on his right, submitted to General Tudor a proposal for a further adjustment of the line, which involved an advance of some 425 yards on a front of 750. The scheme was approved, but, since full artillery support was necessary, it had to be postponed till the night of 23rd June. The attack was to be delivered by the 1st Australian Brigade and by the South African Composite Battalion. Zero was fixed for half an hour after midnight on the 24th, in order that the troops should have sufficient time after nightfall to form up, and the remainder of the short midsummer dark for the consolidation of their gains.

[Sidenote: _June 24._]

At zero hour an accurate artillery and trench mortar barrage opened on the German front trenches, and presently lifted a hundred yards. The attack, moving close to the barrage, succeeded at once, and the German machine guns were rushed and silenced as soon as they opened fire. Many small parties of Germans were found in the hedges and cornfields, who either fled or were quickly overpowered. The objective was soon reached, and consolidation began, and, with the assistance of a section of the 63rd Field Company R.E., by dawn the new line had been wired across its whole front. As a result of the operation 29 prisoners and 6 machine guns were taken, while 36 dead of the enemy were counted. The losses of the Composite Battalion were 5 men killed, and 2 officers (Lieutenants Harvey and Uys) and 21 other ranks wounded. The following night the battalion was relieved by the 5th Camerons, and next day moved back to Hondeghem.

[Illustration: THE FIGHTING ABOUT MÉTEREN.]

[Sidenote: _June 30._]

There the South Africans remained till the last day of June, when they came again into the front line to relieve one of the units of the 26th Brigade. At that moment the omens pointed to an elaborate German offensive on the whole front between the Forest of Nieppe and Ypres, with the Mont des Cats as one of the main objects of attack. But the assault tarried, and during the first days of July the front had never been quieter. This gave us leisure to improve our communication trenches and link up the outposts of the front line into one continuous trench—a most necessary work, for it had been resolved to attempt the capture of Méteren village in the near future, and the task had been entrusted to the 26th and South African Brigades.

[Sidenote: _July 12._]

[Sidenote: _July 18._]

The 10th of July was at first chosen as the day; but the weather grew bad, and the operation was postponed. On the night of the 12th the South African Brigade had been relieved by the 27th, and had returned to Hondeghem, with orders to be in readiness to move up at short notice. The two battalions of the Brigade selected for the assault—the South African Composite Battalion and the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers—rehearsed the business in complete detail. By the 17th the weather had improved, and on the night of the 18th the Brigade relieved the 27th in the right sector of the divisional front, and took up positions of assembly ready to move on the following day.

[Sidenote: _July 19._]

Zero was fixed for five minutes to eight on the morning of the 19th. At that hour the troops of assault left the trenches in artillery formation, and under cover of a smoke and high-explosive barrage rapidly over-ran the enemy front-line posts and prevented the use of his machine guns. One or two strong-points held out till they were enveloped on the flanks. The main attack, admirably led by the section commanders, bore down all resistance, and both battalions reached their objectives by the appointed time. One company of the Composite Battalion, which held the line on the extreme right, south of the point on which the operation hinged, had been ordered to watch for opportunities to harass the enemy while the main attack was proceeding, and, when the barrage ceased, to push up patrols along the front, and, if possible, capture the German trench between Méteren Becque and the road from Brahmin Bridge to Alwyn Farm. This they did with complete success, and took many prisoners and seven machine guns.

The main attack, having reached its goal, sent out patrols, who managed to establish themselves on a point some 200 yards north of the line between the Gaza crossroads and the Brahmin Bridge road. There was some stubborn fighting at Alwyn Farm and among the hedges north of it; but in the afternoon the divisional artillery cleared the place. Under cover of this outpost line a position in Méteren village and on the ridge was rapidly established, and one of the most awkward corners of the British front made secure. During the latter part of the day our advance lines were heavily shelled, but no counter-attack developed. It appeared that the Germans had been taken by surprise. They expected only a gas discharge, and had in many cases put on gas masks, and were wholly unprepared to resist the rush of our infantry.

[Sidenote: _July 20._]

[Sidenote: _July 30._]

The night passed in comparative quiet. On the morning of the 20th the Composite Battalion was ordered to test the enemy front on the right of the division, which seemed to have retired. Fighting patrols were pushed out, and a line was established some 400 yards farther south. During this action Captain Scheepers was killed; he had only rejoined the battalion two days before. The Brigade held their sector until the 24th, when they moved to the left of the divisional front, where for some days they were busy in restoring and draining the dilapidated trenches. On the night of the 30th the Composite Battalion was relieved by the 5th Camerons, and marched back to a rest area.

The capture of Méteren was a good example of a perfectly planned and perfectly executed minor action. The captured material consisted of 1 field gun, 13 trench mortars, and 30 machine guns, of which the Composite Battalion’s share was 10 trench mortars and 23 machine guns. Between 200 and 300 prisoners fell to the Brigade. The casualties of the Composite Battalion were 130, of whom 27 were killed and 2 died of wounds. Besides Captain Scheepers, Second-Lieutenants Mackie, Anderson, Douglas, Male, and Keeley fell, and Lieutenant Mackay was wounded.

[Sidenote: _Aug. 18._]

On 5th August the Composite Battalion was again in the line on the right of the division, which by now extended beyond Méteren Becque, and included Le Waton. Little happened for the better part of a fortnight except patrol work along the Becque. On the 18th the 37th Brigade, with the 9th Scottish Rifles, attacked and captured the mill of Hoegenacker, taking 10 officers and 230 men prisoners. By way of retaliation the Germans heavily shelled the South African front, in spite of which Sergeant Thompson of the 4th Company of the Composite Battalion, with five men, raided and captured an enemy post during the morning. That night the battalion was relieved by the 8th Black Watch, and withdrew from the front.

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[Sidenote: _Aug. 28._]

On the day before the capture of Méteren, Foch on the Marne had delivered the great counterstroke which decided the issue of the campaign. When on that morning the troops of Mangin breasted the Montagne de Paris they had, without knowing it, won the second Battle of the Marne, and with it the War. The final battle had been joined, and the greatest modern soldier had entered upon the first stages of that mighty contest, which in two months’ time was to shatter all Germany’s defences, and enable him to begin that deadly _arpeggio_ on the whole front from the Moselle to the North Sea which brought her to her knees. It was fitting that South Africa should be represented by more than a battalion in the final march to victory. During August 1,000 reserves arrived at Lumbres from England, and it was now possible to consider the reorganization of the Brigade. On the 28th the Composite Battalion marched to Lumbres and prepared for disbandment. Since its formation on 24th April it had been almost continually in the line. Seventy-five officers had served with it at one time or another, and of these 7 had been killed and 11 wounded. Of the men, 84 had been killed, 27 had died of wounds, 329 had been wounded, and one was missing. For the operations in which it had taken part it had won two bars to the Military Cross, three Military Crosses, one Distinguished Conduct Medal, one bar to the Military Medal, and thirty Military Medals. The four months had been an interlude in the main story of the South Africans in France, but an interlude not without its own glory.

On 11th September the Brigade, now re-formed, was withdrawn from the 9th Division, with which the South Africans had served since their arrival in France. For the purpose of administration it was transferred to the VII. Corps, with which it trained till 22nd September. On that day it joined the 66th Division, which was then attached to the First Army. It was commanded, as before, by General Tanner, and in addition to the three infantry battalions contained the Signal Section, the South African Light Trench Mortar Battery, and the 1st South African Field Ambulance. The 1st Regiment was under the command of Major H. H. Jenkins, the 2nd under Lieutenant-Colonel H. W. M. Bamford, and the 4th under Lieutenant-Colonel D. M. MacLeod.

It was not easy for the South Africans to leave the 9th Division, or for the 9th Division to part with them. Together they had fought in the bitterest actions of the campaign, and their glory was eternally intertwined. I quote General Tudor’s farewell letter to Tanner.

“I wish to express to you and to your officers, warrant officers, N.C.O.’s, and men of the Brigade under your command my great regret that the exigencies of the service prevented me seeing you all personally before you were transferred from the 9th Division, in order to say good-bye. For two and a half years your Brigade has shared the fortunes of the 9th Division. At Delville Wood, at Arras, at Ypres, in the Somme retreat, and finally at Méteren, it has fully contributed in establishing and maintaining the glorious record of this division. The South African Brigade bore the brunt of the attack on the divisional front on March 21, 1918, and its final stand at Bouchavesnes on 24th March, when it held out all day until all ammunition was exhausted, will live as one of the bravest feats of arms in the War. The cheery keenness and comradeship with which the South African Brigade has always worked and fought will be very much missed by me personally, and by all the 9th Division. We wish you and your Brigade the best of fortune, and know that you will always fully maintain the splendid name you have earned.”

The division with which they were now brigaded had come later into the campaign than the 9th, but it had no mean record behind it. Under Major-General Neill Malcolm it had done gloriously in the retreat from St. Quentin, when it had been reduced to a handful. It was re-formed in the late summer under the command of Major-General H. K. Bethell, and, besides the South Africans, included the 198th and 199th Brigades, the units of which had been brought from Salonika. In the 198th Brigade were the 6th Lancashire Fusiliers, the 5th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, and the 6th Royal Dublin Fusiliers. In the 199th were the 18th King’s Liverpool Regiment, the 9th Manchesters, and the 5th Connaught Rangers. The pioneer battalion was the 9th Gloucesters. The War brought the soldiers of South Africa into comradeship with all varieties of the New Armies of Britain. Hitherto they had fought side by side with the Scots; the last stage was to be spent in a fighting fellowship, not less close and cordial, with the men of Ireland and the North of England.