1st Battalion at Arras & Monchy-le-Preux (1917): Difference between revisions

[[File:German dead Guillemont September 1916.jpg|thumb|250px500px|German dead near Guillemont, September 1916, showing a destructive aftermath of shelling in the [[{{gw|trench]]}}es, [[{{gw|dug-out]]}}s and the mass of waste ground behind, what would have originally been fields.]]

:{{quote-left}}The 1st Battalion was taking part in fighting to the S. in the neighbourhood of the [[Somme]] not usually included by historians among the leading events of the year's campaigns, yet, if one may judge by the casualties incurred by the Battalion and the very special remarks published by the Commanders under whom it served, was certainly not negligible and is of very considerable regimental interest.{{quote-right}} <ref>{{Wylly-short|pageno=115}}</ref>

This, particularly with any history written about events that took place anywhere throughout the various theatres of war, is all too common whereby only those campaigns deemed more interesting have been committed to paperwords.<ref>General term, meaning that these histories have been recorded be it in books, ebooks, internet based sites, archival storage, video, dvd, film and spoken word etc.</ref> It is a shame that so-called minor events that took place have been forgotten about because historians believe them to be of less importance than their major counterparts. But people with a specific interest in smaller, yet still significant operations and battles, continually bring to light the events that took place during these forgotten moments. It is that that has always been, and will continue to be, important; to remember what happened all those years ago.

As we saw in the previous chapter, the [[1st Battalion]] of the [[Border Regiment]] saw the old year out at Hangest. By the opening of the new year, 1917, they were still very much engaged in training until the [[12 January]] when they moved onto Bresle via train and then march. Their stay was a short one as they soon packed up and moved again, this time by march again to Meaulte, Carnoy and finally to Guillemont on the [[17 January]]. Here they remained for 10 days before being ordered to take positions alongside the 1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers to attack an area just south of Le Transloy, particularly the Landwehr Trench. This attack, which commenced in the early hours of the 27th was seen through to success and as a result of the first stages, 117 German prisoners had been taken and passed back behind British lines. Each of the objectives had been achieved, a further 45 prisoners had been captured shortly after and by mid morning so had another 75 prisoners. The ground that had been taken was however difficult to consolidate owing to a combination of shelling, [[{{gw|sniping]]}} from the enemy, and the frozen ground before them did not make matters any easier.

Their work was not over and fortifying the area was taking time. Some wire had been laid around a strong point, which at that time was still being dug and several [[{{gw|Lewis gun]]}} emplacements were put into positions across Sunken Road to the right of that position. It took until 2pm before the area was secure under such conditions. The success of their efforts for that day were reported in congratulatory messages, which started coming through shortly after 4pm, one being from the Commander-in-Chief: "Congratulate the 29th Division warmly, and in particular the 1st Border Regiment and 1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, on the success of their operations carried out this morning. In forwarding this message the Army Commander wishes to add his congratulations to the 29th Division on their most successful enterprise."<ref>{{Wylly-short|pageno=116}}</ref>

The 1st Battalion alone (from a total of 6 officers and 355 unwounded other ranks) captured 4 officers and 200 men along with three of the five [[{{gw|machine gun]]}}s captured during the day. It was the gallant actions in the capturing of these machine guns that Sergeant E.J. Mott, of the 1st Battalion Border Regiment, was [[Edward John Mott (9887 Sgt.)|awarded the VC]]. Amazingly, even though he was wounded in the eye, he single-handedly made a dash for the enemy gun that was holding up his company and fought with the gunner to a conclusion that led to his capture and that of the deadly machine gun. It was also around this time that the retrieval of an enemy map showed just how accurate they were in plotting British headquarters, [[{{gw|dump]]}}s, [[gw:battery|batteries]] and railway lines. All was not lost though as this map, detailed to the last, also showed all the enemy positions of equal value and so upon reaching those in higher command would have been put to some use. After the action here the Battalion marched back to Carnoy, taking up camp where the officers and men were personally congratulated by the Divisional Commander. The losses the Battalion sustained were high and totalled 137 all ranks including Lieutenants W. de H. Robinson, M.C., S.C. Cheverton, W.L Beattie and Second-Lieutenant A.M. Clark along with 12 [[{{gw|NCO]]}}s. Those wounded came to 87 including Second-Lieutenant H.T. Thompson, while there were still 33 unaccounted for, missing.

<div class="res-img-1000">[[File:18pdrsUnderFireBattleofArras24April1917-Large.jpg|thumb|600pxcenter|800px|18 pounder guns under fire at the Battle of Arras, [[24 April]], 1917]]</div>

A few days later on the [[17 April]] the 1st Battalion moved up to the firing line; here they stayed holding the line as they had done so many times before. The next day, with a [[{{gw|platoon]]}} of B Company, Second-Lieutenant Cox leading the attack, attempted to capture what was considered a German strong point about 250 yards distant from the British front line. Little did they know how well this area was protected and the result of the attack was unsuccessful, inevitable maybe as the actual location of the strong point was not accurately known. When they eventually found the location, it was far too strongly held with machine guns and in their actions, Second-Lieutenant Cox and five of his men were wounded. Fortunately, none of his men were killed either during the action or whilst in retreat.

There were caves situated at Arras and on the [[19 April]] the men of the Battalion found themselves making their way to safer and more secure surroundings. These caves would be their respite but only for a short period. Their last tour on the front had cost nine lives while another 22 had been wounded. Only three days had passed before orders were received for the Battalion to ready themselves in preparation for short walk to take up preparatory positions for an attack the following day. On the evening of the 22nd they moved out to a position on the Arras-Cambrai Road where they were "met by guides, and conducted, at ten minute intervals, to the N.W. entrance of the village of Monchy-le-Preux, whence the platoons were marched off to their ‘Jumping-off’ place, a line about 30 yards west of the front-line fire [[trench]] up to the Sunken Road. The companies were here formed up in the order D, A, B, C in practically one continuous line, while Battalion Headqaurters was at the outset established in a shallow trench in rear."<ref name="wylly121" />

The task of trying to get the men through the village of Monchy-le-Preux was a difficult and risky one for the main reason that the village was being heavily shelled at the time. The village was greatly congested with [[{{gw|troops]]}} and animals but the Battalion, generally unscathed, was ready and in position by 2.30am on the 23rd. There were few casualties, one officer, Second-Lieutenant V. Blomfield, and six other ranks wounded. At some point it was deemed that Battalion Headquarters were not in a satisfactory position and so the [[{{gw|Adjutant]]}}, Lieutenant R.G. Cullis, was sent forward to scout for a more suitable location to set up Battalion HQ. He did not return until half an hour later, around 3am, reporting that he had found a place to establish the Battalion HQ, situated in a deep hollow in the nearby Château Wood.

[[File:Rue des Grands Vieziers, Arras.jpg|thumb|250px500px|Rue des Grands Vieziers, Arras.]]

The Battalion Aid Post had already been established there and soon the Battalion HQ would join them on the safer east slope of the hill, which afforded decent cover from enemy fire. The South Wales Borderers were on the attacking lines and at 4.45am, C and D Companies of the 1st Battalion Border Regiment, made their way to the rear reinforcing the S.W. Borderers, with A and B Companies taking temporary accommodation in the old firing line. All was not well as the barrage from our own guns was falling far too short. Into the mix of deadly enemy barrages from two separate locations, the situation had gotten worse and the smoke by that point was so thick it was virtually impossible to see what was going on. Two hours later, Captain Ewbank, commanding B Company, reported stating that the South Wales Borderers were successful in their attempts to gain their objectives but the combined barrages of both British and German had cost many lives and the 1st Battalion had suffered heavily. While the South Wales Borderers were [[gw:dig in|digging in]] and creating strong points along the ground they had just taken, C and D Companies of the 1st Battalion had established themselves in the enemy front line.

The G.O.C. Brigade had sent orders with instruction that a company of the Border Regiment was to be at the disposal of the South Wales Borderers in case the enemy turned their {{gw|flank}}. Captain Ewbank was then ordered to clear the German trench from the general area of Arrowhead Copse to the Sunken Road; this he did by sending Second-Lieutenant Layard with a bombing party to complete the task. However, later in the evening, upon his return he reported that the enemy section of trench mentioned prior did not actually exist, yet there was a section of trench further up Sunken Road where he had found some of the enemy, around 80 in number. With this information he made his way back to Arrowhead Copse where he secured a Lewis Gun. On returning to the Sunken Road, it was positioned in such a way as to successfully enfilade the enemy, which he did causing many casualties in the process before his location was pin-pointed. That kind of fire was not going to go by without retaliation and soon the entrenched Germans returned fire, four of Layard’s men were hit. He knew when to retire and swiftly withdrew his gun before there was further loss of life to his party. Upon orders, no further advance was to be taken, at least for the time being.

Along the edge of the Arrowhead Copse and the village of Monchy-le-Preux the enemy shelling had become a heavy, continuous stream of hostile action. Somewhere in the Pelves Valley there was German [[gw:enfilade|enfilading fire]] cutting into the Battalion Headquarters, which was now no longer in a safe location as had originally thought. [[{{gw|Shell]]}}s were bursting everywhere, two heavy shells landed in very close proximity of each other; the first killing outright two scouts, the Scout Sergeant, a [[{{gw|signaller]]}} and the Regimental [[{{gw|Sergeant-Major]]}}, whilst Adjutant and [[{{gw|Lieutenant]]}} Cullis was wounded along with several other men; the second landed above the Commanding Officer and other Headquarter officers when it hit them squarely on the roof of their dugout. They were under a direct hit and were all buried in the rubble. As a result of this the Battalion Headquarters were moved to a new location in a trench on the other side of the hollow. The Commanding Officer was unconscious from the shell fire and so Captain Ewbank, who was at that time on the front line, was sent for to take over temporary command. There had been some bitter fighting and it was only midday. Although the intensity of the enemy [[{{gw|barrage]]}} had by now slowed down, the general situation had not changed.

By 1pm the Battalion Headquarters had been moved again back to the Château dugout and later on after dusk, to yet another dugout, larger in size. Two platoons set up a defensive flank that was parallel to the Sunken Road, because the situation was neither clearing nor satisfactory. For the time being, the men had to settle in for another night in the firing line as relief would not be possible for another 24 hours. The evening came quickly and passed by without too much action. The day's fighting had been fierce and had taken its toll on both sides. Full scale bombardments had died down and there was now only intermittent shelling as the hours rolled by. The morning of the 24th saw no change and throughout the day the main cause of losses to the battalion was through [[sniping]]. If the enemy spotted movement of any kind it was fired upon. It wasn’t until the following morning on the 25th that three of the Battalion companies were relieved. The full relief of the Battalion was not possible owing to the recommencement of the enemy barrage, which meant that D Company had to remain in the front line for further 24 hours. On the [[26 April]] D Company rejoined the Battalion at Duisans where all men were accommodated in [[{{gw|Nissen hut]]}}s<ref>The semi-circular prefabricated multi-purpose hut designed and developed during the First World War by Peter Nissen of the 29th Company Royal Engineers and was usually made from corrugated steel sheets. It was patented in 1916 and brought into production in August of the same year.</ref> Depending on the condition of the huts, the accommodation would have been a welcomed improvement than that of the front line. The 1st Battalion spent the remainder of the month at Saulty. Considering the hostility of the barrages and fighting that took place over the previous few days, the communication carried out by the runners was nothing short of amazing. Even though telephone communications between Battalion Headquarters and the rest of the lines had been destroyed on more than one occasion, they were soon repaired only to be destroyed again by further enemy shelling, lasting only for about ten minutes each time. Casualties were heavy by the men carrying these messages but there was never any sign of delay or hesitation when the time came to pass the messages on to those who needed them; the devotion to duty was remarkable under such circumstances. The total number of casualties of all ranks came to 156; 2 officers, Second-Lieutenant G.F. Kemp and R.S. Pooley, along with 22 NCO’s and men were killed; Captains B.H. Spear-Morgan and W.B. Wamsley (the medical officer), Lieutenant R.G. Cullis and Second-Lieutenant V. Blomfield along with 107 other ranks were wounded. Of this figure, 21 men were missing.

<div class="res-img-1000">[[File:ArrasFrance.February1919.ws.jpg|thumb|center|800px|Arras town square in February 1919. The visible sign of war made its mark on the surrounding buildings. This, or something very similar, is what the 1st Battalion Border Regiment would have seen during their time there in 1917.]]</div>

The original front line was re-established as ordered with the strength of all available men and two [[{{gw|Vickers machine gun]]}}s. During this time the [[stretcher bearer]]sbearers had a exhaustive time working continuously to bring in the wounded before the cover of darkness turned to light. This had mostly been achieved by dawn and throughout the rest of the day, the stretcher cases were subsequently evacuated. The Battalion had again suffered greatly with casualties including a total of 10 officers, these being: