Historical records of the Buffs, East Kent Regiment (3rd Foot)

by R. S. H. Moody

IV. 2nd Battalion

In connection with this great battle of Loos, the 28th Division, with which, it will be remembered, was the 2nd Battalion, had come, as has been seen, from Bailleul and was, on the 27th September, placed at the disposal of the First Army, arriving at Vermelles at 1 p.m.

The following description of the part the battalion played in the struggle would be somewhat difficult to follow without the accompanying sketch of the ground about the Hohenzollern Redoubt and the Dump.

At 2 o’clock A and D Companies, under Major Beevor, were ordered to relieve certain parties just north of Fosse 8, the situation at which point, it may be remembered, was described by the Commander-in-Chief as being “distinctly precarious.”

Finding that the position in question had been abandoned, these companies were ordered by their brigadier, who accompanied them, to establish themselves in the Hohenzollern Redoubt.

Finding that the normal approach to this, that is, the communication trench, was too congested with troops to use, the Buffs quitted it and reached their appointed place across country, being very heavily shelled en route. In fact, both Br.-General Pereira and his brigade major, Captain Flower, were wounded, as was Lieut. Cory-Wright, who commanded D Company. On arrival, a platoon of this company charged the enemy vigorously and accounted for a score.

The companies remained in situation all night, during which our bombers had to be very active, while the wounded—and there were very many of different units—were being removed, a matter of great difficulty on account of heavy rain and the distance they had to be carried. During this night the rest of the 85th Brigade came up and B and C Companies took up a position behind A and D.

After a contradictory order or two, an assault on the dump of Fosse 8 was arranged for 9.30 a.m. on the 28th, to be preceded by fifteen minutes’ artillery fire.

The Buffs began at the hour named to file up the trenches, A Company leading, with D just behind.

The congested state of these avenues, due to dead, wounded and troops waiting to be relieved, rendered progress very slow, and many casualties were suffered from shell fire. The place from which one of the companies was to start the attack was still in the hands of the enemy, and all these circumstances prevented the men from getting into their approximate positions till after 10 a.m. The Middlesex Regiment was in support of the Buffs.

When the time came B and C Companies, followed by A, charged across the open and were greeted with the fire from machine guns massed on either flank, also shell and rifle fire. At least eleven machine guns were afterwards counted firing from the Miners’ Cottages and Slag Alley. B and C Companies, every man cheering, gained the edge of the Dump and, clambering up the crumbling slopes of that 30-foot-high mound, gained the summit. On the way Captain W. R. Davis (commanding B Company) was killed and Lieut. S. C. Swayne and 2nd Lieut. M. Selby mortally wounded. Lieut. H. Mantle, 2nd Lieuts. C. H. B. Budd, G. E. Boon, Captain M. M. Brice (commanding C Company) and 2nd Lieut. G. E. A. Steggall were all wounded and the latter taken prisoner.

The Dump was then plastered with shells of all descriptions both from our own guns and those of the enemy and the attack was broken. The companies crossed the large expanse of the Dump summit and attempted to reach the enemy in the trenches at the foot. It was a hopeless task, and those who attempted it were shot or grenaded. The companies re-formed and returned to the original trenches, leaving over one hundred men killed or wounded on the Dump.

The guns ceased fire and the bomb fighting commenced. Making use of all their trenches leading into their old lines, the Germans advanced swiftly under cover of showers of bombs and their machine guns. The enemy effected a gap (see sketch) between the Middlesex and Buffs and from it bombed both ways. Thus the Buffs found themselves to the south-east of the point where the enemy had penetrated and separated from their supporting battalion, the Middlesex, who were to the north-west of the gap. Here the struggle was fought out for a long period chiefly by the use of bombs, which were obtained with difficulty, having to be passed up the shallow trench from troops in rear. Barricades had to be built at certain points to keep the enemy in check.

Slag Alley was almost in complete possession of the Germans when A Company, charging repeatedly and with the greatest vigour, drove them back and accounted for about fifty. At this time 2nd Lieut. F. A. Booth was shot dead while accepting the surrender of a German officer. The enemy’s supply of bombs was so superior to our own that the whole of A Company’s gains could not be retained, but the men built a barricade across Slag Alley to secure the portion they could hold.

The fiercest fighting now took place at the gap in Dump trench. 2nd Lieut. W. T. Williams took charge of the bombers at this point and for 17½ hours kept the enemy in check. The greatest difficulty was experienced in obtaining a sufficient supply of bombs. The enemy’s machine guns and snipers were particularly active and the advanced trenches were very shallow. Lt.-Colonel C. A. Worthington,[14] commanding the battalion, and 2nd Lieut. T. Penington were killed by the same bullet.

The command devolved on the adjutant, Captain J. V. R. Jackson, in the absence of Major M. Beevor. The latter officer had been ordered to remain at Point 35 until the two rear companies of the Middlesex had filed past. As, however, the Germans had established themselves so strongly in the gap, Major Beevor had perforce to remain with the Middlesex. On the death of Colonel Neale of the latter regiment, he conducted operations on the other side of the gap and along South Face. As night fell the rain commenced again and never ceased. Shell and rifle fire slackened, but the bomb throwing was stronger than ever. Our bomb throwers were nearly all killed or wounded, and others were borrowed from neighbouring units. Owing to the rain, the fuses were damp, matches gave out, and the only way to light the fuses was by means of keeping cigarettes alight. The organization of the enemy as regards this weapon was astounding. He threw at least five to our one and of a much more powerful description. During the night every endeavour was made to get in the wounded. Neither rations nor water were obtainable. Attempts were made to dig in, but the mud rendered it a slow and laborious task. Dawn showed no cessation in the bomb throwing. Captain Jackson had sent messages for bombs and assistance: two messengers were killed, and finally an answer came that two companies of the York and Lancs were coming in relief and the Buffs were to make their way to Big Willie. At 8.30 a.m. the relief was just entering the Dump trenches at Point 50 when the supply of bombs gave out altogether while the enemy kept up an incessant shower. The Buffs were forced back to the fork and filed down the advanced trench, whilst their relief filed in, leaped out of the trenches and held the enemy. During this critical period a little ground was lost owing to lack of bombs. Captain Jackson could not emerge from a deep dug-out near the gap from which he was conducting operations, and he was taken prisoner.

The balance of the regiment made its way back by Big Willie trench to near its junction with the South Face. Here Major Beevor took command. The Middlesex was being pressed back, and there being no room between them and the 3rd Royal Fusiliers, the Buffs filed back into the old front-line British trench, where they were able to materially assist the units in front by means of rifle fire. The night was spent in reorganizing and at midnight the battalion left the trenches and marched to Annequin.

Casualties. Officers, killed:—Lt.-Colonel C. A. Worthington, Captain W. R. Davis, 2nd Lieuts. F. A. Booth, T. Penington and N. E. Wood. Died of wounds: Lieut. S. C. Swayne and 2nd Lieut. M. Selby. Wounded: Captain M. M. Brice, Lieuts. G. Cory-Wright, H. Mantle; 2nd Lieuts. G. E. Boon, C. H. B. Budd and W. T. Williams. Taken prisoner: Captain J. V. R. Jackson and 2nd Lieut. G. E. A. Steggall (wounded).

Other ranks: killed, 57; wounded, 168; missing, 133. The majority of the latter are believed to have been killed or wounded on the Dump.

On the 1st October the battalion marched back to billets and began to reorganize after its terrific experience. Drafts from England arrived on the 2nd, 3rd, 9th and 15th of October, and a period of training and instructional parades of all sorts commenced. A turn at trench work, but a very short one, came on the 17th, but on the 21st startling orders arrived: no less than instructions to entrain on the following day for Marseilles for conveyance to the East.

No time was lost. On the 22nd the battalion marched to Fouquereuil, near Bethune, entrained there, arrived at the great port at 1.30 p.m. on Sunday 24th, and at 4 p.m. embarked, complete with transport, animals, vehicles and all, on the troopship Transylvania for conveyance to Egypt. Twenty-seven officers and 907 other ranks reached Alexandria on the 30th and marched to Sidi Bishr Camp.

During the European tour of this battalion, which lasted only nine months, 101 officers and 3,738 men had served in its ranks. Of these, 22 officers and 298 other ranks had been killed; 34 officers and 1,011 other ranks had been wounded; 5 officers and 199 other ranks had been taken prisoners; and 2 officers and 297 other ranks had been missing.

The stay in the land of Egypt was a very short one and was mostly devoted to training and marching. The whole of the 28th Division had moved and were to move again, for, on the 22nd November, came the orders for Salonica, the new base for operations against the Bulgarian forces. Salonica is a Greek port, but the monarch of that country was in secret a friend of the Germans, and the inhabitants proved none too friendly to the French and English forces which were making so free with Salonica.

HOHENZOLLERN REDOUBT AND THE DUMP

The move of the division was a somewhat slow and gradual business, but at last the infantry got into camp at Lembet, about four and a half miles from the port. The weather was awful: heavy snow and gales of wind, as well as a most persistent fog, which hung about for days and which greatly interfered with reconnaissance. Early in December the authorities were apparently very undecided as to whether to remain at Salonica at all, and at one time all arrangements were made for re-embarkation. The attitude of the Greek officials was one of passive resistance and formal protest, but they were civil enough. Road-making was the first job and a most necessary one, for nothing but tracks were found inland. This work was, however, varied by the building of long defence lines, which were afterwards known as the bird-cage. The Buffs’ section of these lines was near the village of Baldza, and the most important of the works was called Beevor’s Redoubt, in honour of the commanding officer who had succeeded the gallant Worthington.

So ended the most tremendous year in the history of the 2nd Battalion of the Buffs, which had been raised in 1857 by Colonel F. F. Maude, V.C., the father of the great general of whom we shall shortly read.