Divisional Account
During September Marshal Foch followed up his successes all along the line, and the Germans were forced to abandon position after position. Ludendorff, however, always imagined that the Siegfried line was impregnable, and that if the German Army succeeded in getting back there intact, there was no reason why this position should not be held during the winter.
To the British Army was assigned the difficult task of piercing this impregnable line and rendering it untenable, but many doubts were expressed as to whether this was feasible. Sir Douglas Haig, however, was convinced that it could be done, and directed the First and Third Armies to open the attack in the direction of Cambrai, in the hopes that after they had advanced it would be possible for the Fourth Army to pierce the strongest part of the line farther south.
After the operations at the end of August the Guards Division had only five days' rest before it was again put into the line. On September 2 the Canadian Corps had broken the Drocourt—Queant Switch, whilst on the Sixth Corps front the Third Division had, after very heavy fighting, made ground in the neighbourhood of Noreuil and Lagnicourt. The Guards Division moved up from the Ransart area, and was ordered to continue the attack the following day. The position of the advanced troops of the Third Division was so uncertain that it was decided to form up for the attack, along the railway line just east of Noreuil, some distance in rear of the line which the Third Division claimed to have reached, the troops of this Division being then withdrawn. This necessitated the sacrifice of a certain amount of ground won by the Third Division at a heavy cost, but it ensured a straight jumping-off line, and enormously simplified the task of the artillery. (This procedure was repeated on October 9, and on each occasion was fully justified by results.)
After a long and tiring march from their rest areas, Sergison-Brooke's and Follett's Brigades formed up on the right and left respectively, with De Crespigny's Brigade in reserve south of St. Leger. The attack started under a very good barrage at 5.20 A.M. Reports soon showed that the enemy had withdrawn during the night, and the advance continued without opposition until the old British front line, just short of the Hindenburg line, was reached. By this time the troops were utterly exhausted, having covered since noon the previous day some twenty miles, in full fighting kit and over hilly country.
During the course of the advance a number of prisoners and guns were captured, but the most noticeable feature on the ground which was recovered was the enormous number of the enemy's dead horses which littered and often blocked the roads: eloquent testimony of the work of our aeroplanes and long-range guns, but entailing heavy and unpleasant fatigue work for our tired troops.
On September 4 Follett's Brigade was ordered to push forward, and form an advance-guard for the rest of the Division, but it found that the Germans were holding the Hindenburg line in some force. This prevented any ground being gained, and the line soon stabilised along the Army front.
The principal features of the operations that took place between September 5 and 26 were:
(a) Some fine trench fighting, by which the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Lord Gort, reached the line of the Canal du Nord.
(b) The heavy and continuous fighting for the village of Mœuvres farther north, during which it changed hands several times before being finally captured and held by the Fifty-second Division.
(c) The heavy gas-shelling, with which the Germans searched all possible assembly positions every night in evident fear of an attack, and which, but for the improved gas discipline, would have caused heavy casualties.
During this period the troops had the satisfaction of seeing two huge German bombing 'planes brought down in flames, on successive nights by our night-flying scouts, working in conjunction with the reorganised searchlight system.
On September 11 Major-General Feilding left to take command of the London District on the retirement of Lieut.-General Sir Francis Lloyd, who had held that command with conspicuous success during the war. For four years Sir Francis Lloyd had occupied one of the most responsible and difficult positions in the Army, and had dealt, especially in the initial stages of the war, with innumerable problems requiring consummate skill, judgment, and tact.
There were several generals who were eligible to succeed Major-General Feilding in command of the Guards Division; all of them had fought consistently for four years, and had been proved and tempered in the furnace of war. The choice of the Commander-in-Chief fell upon Major-General T. G. Matheson, C.B., an officer of exceptional ability, who was reputed to be one of the best Divisional Commanders in the British Army.
On September 25 the orders for the forthcoming attacks were issued. The Guards Division was to attack and capture the ridge running east from Flesquières to Premy Chapel. On the right the Third Division would attack and capture the village of Flesquières, and on the left the Fifty-second Division would capture the Hindenburg line west of the Canal du Nord, after which the Sixty-third Division would pass through, and swinging right-handed would take the Hindenburg support line and the villages of Graincourt and Anneux. In the event of this operation being completely successful, further objectives were given, including Marcoing for the Third Division, Nine Wood and the outskirts of Noyelles for the Guards Division, Cantaing and Fontaine-Notre-Dame for the Fifty-seventh Division, which was to pass through the Sixty-third Division. The Sixty-second and Second Divisions were to be prepared to pass through the Third and Guards Divisions respectively, and capture Rumilly and the high ground east of the Canal de l'Escaut. In the Guards Division Sergison-Brooke's Brigade was to take the first objective (the Hindenburg support line) and form a defensive flank to the left during the next advance, until Graincourt had been secured by the Fifty-second and Sixty-third Divisions.
De Crespigny's Brigade would then pass through and capture the trench-system north-west, north, and north-east of Flesquières, moving on afterwards to the spur running from Flesquières to Cantaing with a view to capturing the batteries in that area and turning the Graincourt line. This advance was to synchronise with the attack by Follett's Brigade, but was not to be pressed against strong resistance.
Follett's Brigade was to pass through De Crespigny's Brigade, and to capture the third objective, including the high ground round Premy Chapel. Detailed orders for a farther advance were given in the event of no great resistance being encountered.
The attack would be supported by six brigades R.H.A., heavy artillery, and three machine-gun companies.
The assembly was rendered unusually difficult by reason of the exceptionally large number of troops that had to be accommodated, by the necessity of avoiding gas areas, and by the extreme darkness of the night. The 1st Battalion Scots Guards also suffered from a barrage, which the enemy put down on their assembly trench just before zero. The attack started at 5.20 A.M., and at once met with a check on the left, where the 1st Battalion Coldstream was held up by a machine-gun hidden under a fallen bridge. By the time this obstacle had been overcome the barrage was lost, and this Battalion suffered heavy casualties before reaching its objective, particularly near Mammoth cross-roads, but the remainder of the Brigade reached the first objective with very slight loss.
The advance to the second objective was a very difficult operation. It was known that the Sixty-third Division could not reach Graincourt from the north for another two hours, and General de Crespigny had therefore to hold back his left, and push forward along Shingler Trench with his right. In the meantime Graincourt and the trenches south of it were kept under heavy artillery and machine-gun fire, in order to prevent, as far as possible, the Germans enfilading the troops advancing farther south. Flesquières was captured in conjunction with the Third Division, but the beetroot factory to the east of it held out, so that it was impossible for Follett's Brigade to get through in time to follow their barrage.
The Fifty-second and Sixty-third Divisions on the left had been held up, which prevented De Crespigny's Brigade from advancing, and the left flank of the Guards Division was therefore very much extended, and exposed to cross fire from the left. General Follett, who had come up with General de Crespigny to see how the battle developed, before his Brigade came into action, was killed by this cross fire. His death was mourned by the whole Division, for there was no braver man in the Army, and indeed it was a serious loss to his Brigade just as it was going into action. Major-General Matheson sent orders that Lieut.-Colonel Lord Gort was to take command of the Brigade, but that pending his arrival General de Crespigny was to command both Brigades.
At this stage the battle might easily have died down, as the time-table was out of gear; the attack on the left had apparently failed, and the Germans in Graincourt village and Graincourt line were giving a great deal of trouble with their cross fire. Fortunately, however, a Commander of great enterprise and determination in Lord Gort was in the line, and before long the 1st Battalion Grenadiers, supported by the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, had pushed out along the ridge east of Flesquières, and established itself only just short of Premy Chapel, while the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards, together with units of De Crespigny's Brigade, formed a defensive flank along Shingler and Silver Trenches.
Not long after, the Sixty-third Division, having organised a new attack, pushed down the Hindenburg support line, and the Germans began to pour out of Graincourt; as they streamed away, horse, foot, and gun, towards Cantaing, they were caught in flank by rifle, machine-gun, and artillery fire from the Guards Division, and suffered heavily. The 2nd Battalion Grenadiers at once pushed forward and captured Orival Wood, taking some guns, and driving the remaining batteries away.
The Second Division was ordered to pass through and pursue the retreating enemy, but dusk fell before it reached the front line, and all it could do was to take over the line occupied by the advanced troops of the Guards Division, which was withdrawn during the night to the area east and west of the Canal du Nord.
On September 27 the casualties in the Guards Division were 40 officers and 1200 other ranks. The total number of prisoners taken by the Division was 25 officers and 703 other ranks, in addition to 10 field-guns.