V. 6th Battalion
The 6th Battalion did not come into the front line again till the 22nd January, 1918, on which date it was at Fleurbaix, in the direction of Armentieres. The interval had been passed round Merville and Estaires. Some well-deserved decorations came to the unit in January and some medal ribbons were presented by the Army Commander. Captain Ferrie and 2nd Lieut. Gray got the M.C., L.-Corpl. Parker a bar to his M.M., and the decoration itself came to L.-Corpl. Clements and Pte. Woodcock. A little later 2nd Lieuts. Kidd, Stevens and Turk were gladdened with the news that each had the M.C.; Lt.-Colonel Smeltzer, M.C., was given the D.S.O., and R.S.M. Jeffrey the M.C.
Though Fleurbaix itself was reached on the 13th January, the battalion did not move into the front line in that region till the 22nd, and then it was quiet enough till relief came and a move back some five miles or so to Sailly, except that there was a certain amount of bombardment on the 28th, and just before relief was due the next day an enemy’s party of about twenty attempted a raid on a post known as “Richard.” They worked round behind this point with a view to cutting off the retreat of its little garrison, but at the exact moment the relieving party of Fusiliers arrived on the scene and the raiders, caught between two fires, were surprised and dispersed.
There was a good deal of work to be done in February in the way of preparation for the coming assault, and the 6th of the month saw the battalion in the front-line trenches, after C.S.M. Woodhams had heard on the 4th that he had got his D.C.M. The 9th of the month brought the big draft from the now defunct 8th Battalion of the Buffs. This consisted of 5 officers and 200 men.
Remaining in the same vicinity for many days, now in brigade reserve at Rouge-de-Bout, then in divisional at Nouveau Monde, and again in the trenches, all the men’s energies were directed to work at defensive positions; for the British army and its allies were now for a time definitely on the defensive and experiencing what may be described as a lull before the storm. Of course, there still were some few signs of activity on both sides, for it is not nowadays customary in war to remain many days in total inactivity. Thus the enemy attempted “Robert” Post on the 7th March, and next day, after a preliminary artillery bombardment, the West Kent carried out a successful little raid; but things at this time were, generally speaking, quiet enough. On the 9th came a shower of gas shells, but there were no casualties that day, though on the morrow 2nd Lieut. T. A. Brown was killed and 2nd Lieut. Barnes wounded.
The British in this region appear to have expected the attack about the 11th. The enemy was believed to be forming in vast masses on the immediate front, and the Buffs remained during the night of the 10th/11th in battle formation with patrols going out in front at frequent intervals. In fact, these night patrols were now in pretty constant use. On the 16th transport was noticed to be very active behind the German lines. On the 17th at 10.10 p.m., after a quiet day, the enemy opened a very heavy artillery fire on the front and support lines. Two of his patrols, of about thirty men each, attempted to approach “Richard” and “Reggie” posts, but were driven off by Lewis guns and rifle fire. 2nd Lieut. C. F. Peters, however, met his death that night and ten men were wounded. On the 19th March the battalion was relieved and went into billets at Pont de Nieppe, which is a mile or two outside Armentieres on the Bailleul road, and there it was on the morning of the 21st.