So extreme was the cold that after each ten minutes halt it was with difficulty that men rose from the ground; most of them were frozen stiff. About 10.0 p.m. the head of the column was seen crossing the rough ground on the left of the main road. Hopes were raised, and if even a bivouac in the snow was an unpleasant prospect, the ending of the march was some consolation. Visions of a new camp were becoming plain, but when the Battalion followed this column across the rough ground for over an hour hopes were shattered.

From the roadway onwards men of all regiments in the Brigade lined the route; floundering over the rough ground after a stiff march had proved too much for even some of the stalwarts who had braved the night at Karasuli. Transport limbers and mules blocked the way, either stuck in the small nullahs that crossed the route or else the animals had become too exhausted to move. In fact, it was not an uncommon sight to see dead mules on the ground, having succumbed to the extreme cold, and when mules “gave up the ghost” it can be well judged how the men suffered. No one had any fear of being lost this night should he fall out; the route was well marked by deserted limbers, dead mules and fallen loads. About midnight the journey ended and the Brigade halted near the deserted farm buildings which were occupied by the Headquarters of the Brigade in the line. When the signal to halt was given every one just sat down exhausted, but the lesson of the previous night had been learnt, and little sleep was attempted. Small fires were lighted and mess tins were brought out and tea was made. “Scroungeing” parties went round and “won” blankets, tarpaulins, etc., from wherever possible, regardless of the Battalion or Company to which they belonged. Some officers, by dint of hard work, had even erected a bell tent, having a limber pole for its support. Whose tent and whose pole were never questioned. The night thus passed fairly quickly and every one made the best of a bad job. The snow had ceased, and it was, therefore, an improvement on the downpour twenty-four hours previously. As soon as daylight came every one was astir with the exception of the favoured few who had confiscated a pile of officers’ valises and rigged up a temporary shanty. However, their rest was soon disturbed and orders were given to “fall in.” The day was brighter and this cheered us a little. The Battalion soon marched off and soon sites were allotted to Companies in the deep nullahs or ravines about 500 yards from the deserted farm buildings. In the warmth of the sun, the sheltered positions in the ravines soon made us forget the discomfort of the night. The debris of the previous night was collected and every one enjoyed a hot meal which the cooks soon prepared. The afternoon was spent in rest and sleep.

However, war is war, and there is no rest for the wicked. The writer, together with another officer and some N.C.O.’s from each Company, were detailed to go up to the line for reconnaissance purposes that very afternoon. But even the darkest cloud has its silver lining, and after a trudge of four miles the party which had come over the skyline in twos and threes were welcomed by the Headquarters of the London Irish (2/18th London Regiment), and were soon detailed to Companies for the night. It was the 17th of March, and the London Irishmen who had been settled in the part of the line for some weeks celebrated their patron Saint’s day in the proper style, and the requisite canteen stores and drinks had been acquired. No one could have been more hospitable, and the wretched advance party which had left Kolonova that afternoon felt that the war was not so bad as it might have been. Perhaps it would not be out of place to mention here that one of the toasts drunk in the Company dug-out where the writer was so kindly entertained was “To our 1st Battalions, the 1st Civil Service Rifles and the 1st London Irish Rifles.” These Battalions were serving in France with the 47th Division and had curiously left England on St. Patrick’s Day in 1915. The 17th of March is “The day” in the history of our 1st Battalion, but it has its place in the history of the 2nd Battalion. It was the end of what is popularly known as the “Karasuli Trek.”

During the past week the Battalion had marched from Katerina, near Mount Olympus, to Kolonova, on the Doiran Front; a distance of about 100 miles had been covered in seven days. The march was over rough country the whole way. Extremes of weather had been encountered during these few days; from the hottest of Mediterranean suns at Livanovan to the wettest of oriental rains at Karasuli, and to the bleakest of blizzards and snowstorms that the Balkan Heights at Kolonova can produce. The man who was able to stick to his guns throughout this trek can well boast, and only the terrible experiences of the last two nights of the journey deprived many of the same boast.

CHAPTER XXXI
ON THE DOIRAN-VARDAR FRONT—THE ADVANCE

A short description of the situation on the Doiran-Vardar sector of the Salonica Front will no doubt assist the reader to better realise the type of operations peculiar to this theatre of war. A few miles west of Lake Doiran was a mountainous ridge running north and south, about five or six miles long, known as “P” Ridge. This chain consisted of a series of five distinct peaks, the southern one, “Pip 5,” being about 800 feet high, while the remaining four progressively increased in altitude until “Pip 1” at the northern end reached the height of about 1,700 feet (or 535 metres); this was the famous “535” which dominated the country for many miles around, in fact on a clear day the peak could be distinctly seen from the hills at Dudular near Salonica, some 60 miles away. The Bulgar held practically all this ridge of the “Pips” except at the lowest part at the south, where the British had gained a footing. The Bulgar was strongly entrenched on all the slopes of the ridge, and each peak was an almost impregnable fortress in itself.

From the northern end the enemy lines ran due west along a mountainous chain some 1,000 to 1,200 feet high through the town of Devedzili, thence south of Paljorca to Pobreg. Just east of Pobreg the line ran due south for some six miles along another ridge of hills about 600 to 700 feet high which terminated at the “Nose,” a fortified stronghold on the borders of Serbia and Greece. From the “Nose” the enemy trenches were situated on the hills just north of Macukova, finally having the right flank on the banks of the Vardar at a point some four miles from the “Nose.”

The British line ran from the southern extremity of the “P” ridge in a south-westerly direction to the village of Bekerli, from which point it ran practically due west to the Vardar, where our lines were only about 1½ miles from the enemy trenches. The whole of the British line was on the low hills just north of the Cidemli Dere, a valley through which a small stream of about 20 feet in width bubbled along.

South of this stream the reserve British positions were situated on the chain of the Kolonovan Heights (500 feet) which ran along north of Ardzan, Smol and Karasuli. It will therefore be seen that only on our flanks were we in close touch with the enemy; on the left flank near the Vardar for about four miles east of the river banks as far as Reselli opposite the “Nose” where the enemy line turned north, and on the right flank at the foot of the “P” ridge at its southern extremities south of the village of Krastali. Even at these points the lines were at least a mile apart. The remainder of “No Man’s Land” consisted of a plain through which the ravine of the Selemli Dere formed a definite line between the opposing parties. From this ravine the ground was fairly flat for about 500 yards on each bank, but it soon developed into a land of hillocks some hundred feet above the level of the Selemli Dere plain, forming the foot-hills up to the higher ground held by the two armies. In this part of “No Man’s Land” were dotted the deserted villages of Dautli, Selemli and Sejdelli. The enemy had taken up a strong defensive line on the high ground which overlooked the whole of the lesser hills on the southern side of the Selemli plain, and his observation on our movements was therefore good. Any movement by day on our part was restricted, and from the commanding position of “P” ridge he could practically look into our trenches which had been constructed on the forward slopes of the small hills north of the Kolonovan Heights. In daytime these trenches were therefore only held by a sentry group, while the remainder of the garrison retired to the small bivouac camps which had been dug in on the reverse slopes.