It was the 23rd of June, 1918. Just a year previously we had landed in Egypt, and two years practically to the day since we had left England for France. Once again our feet were on the continent of Europe and we felt we had left the East for good. We looked forward with no little anxiety to our coming return to France, though many maintained that we were bound for the Italian Trentino Front, and arriving at Taranto and not Marseilles lent colour to this possibility.
CHAPTER XXXIX
JOURNEY THROUGH ITALY AND FRANCE—RECONSTRUCTION—MOULLE—ST. SYLVESTER CAPPEL—MONT ROUGE—LOCRE—DRANOUTRE—MONT VIDAGNE.
On arrival at the pier at Taranto beach a short march brought us to our lines in the Base Camp. Only one day was spent here, and the following evening we entrained for France. During the day canteen stores were bought for the journey from the large Expeditionary Force Canteen, but no leave into the town was granted. Orders were issued for entraining that evening, and an amusing paragraph appeared to the effect that troops were requested not to refer to our gallant Allies, the Italians, as “Italianoes,” “Ice-creamoes,” “Chip Potatoes,” etc. The route by train was along the east coast of Italy, and the train left the camp siding about 8 p.m. on the evening of the 24th June, 1918.
The first part of the journey was practically along the seashore and there was nothing of special note about the scenery. Halts were made at Bari, Foggia, Termoli and Castellammare, which town was reached about 1 p.m. on the 25th. By the following midday we had reached Rimini, having passed through Ancona and Pesaro en route. As far as Rimini the scenery had not been above the average of the coastal scenery of Kent or Sussex, but shortly after leaving the town the railroad branched inland towards Faenza; and on this part of the journey the scenery was beautiful, the countryside being rich with summer flowers of bright colours, while the perfect blue of the sky overhead added to the richness of the colour scheme. Faenza was reached by 4 p.m. on the 25th June, and a long halt was made in a siding and men were permitted to leave the train and stretch their legs a little. Hitherto the halts had been short and just long enough to permit the issue of hot tea which had been prepared at wayside cookhouses previous to our arrival. At Faenza the long halt of several hours permitted officers to visit the town, where a decent meal was procured at one of the hotels. Time also enabled many of us to purchase and send home as souvenirs, pieces of artistic pottery for which the town is noted. Early in the evening the journey was resumed, and our next halt was made in the large station of Bologna, just after 8 p.m., when we caught a passing glimpse of the quaint Cathedral and University in the town. The people on the station cheered us as the train pulled up; a decided change from the apathetic gaze which had been our greeting from the southern Italians. While standing in the station a long ambulance train full of wounded Italian troops drew up alongside our train and fraternising between the two armies commenced, cigarettes and souvenirs were exchanged, and when the hospital train moved out we gave a hearty cheer to our wounded allies. A short time afterwards our train steamed out of Bologna, and by dawn the following morning we were passing through the glorious mountain scenery of Northern Italy. The train wended its way along deep valleys and pierced through the long tunnels which are numerous in the Apennines. The route taken was through Novi Liguire, Ronco to Sampierdarina, just west of Genoa; the railway skirting the city at this part of the journey. During the afternoon of the 27th we halted at Savona where an enthusiastic crowd gathered and cheered us; no doubt thinking that the Battalion was part of the British Forces which had so materially assisted the Italians in their recent victories on the Trentino Front. We did not disillusion these kind people and accepted their flowers, fruits and, cigarettes. From Savona the journey was continued along the sea shore, and we enjoyed the beauty of the calm, blue, sunlit Mediterranean on our left, and on the other hand the steep cliffs covered with bright flowers and dotted here and there with pretty little towns and beautiful gardens. At 11 p.m. that night the train pulled up at Ventimiglia, the frontier station where certain international formalities were gone through by the railway officials. However, such things did not worry us, and we spent the halt in the railway refreshment cafés and buffets. Unfortunately, the beauties of the Mentone-Cannes Riviera were passed at night-time and the only excitement of the night was the gamble in most carriages while we were passing Monte Carlo. Early on the morning of the 28th June we reached the outskirts of Marseilles. The railway ran along the north-eastern side of the town on high ground, and a splendid view of the harbour and city was obtained. From this point the route went northwards via Miramas, Avignon, where we crossed the Rhone to Le Tiel, which town we reached at 10.30 p.m. that night, and obtained an excellent meal at the railway buffet. The rest of the beauty of the Rhone Valley, which many of us had enjoyed some eighteen months previously, was lost in the darkness. Lyons was passed early the next morning, but it was sufficiently light to obtain a splendid view of the city and its bridges, which had been denied us in the outward journey to the East. After passing through St. Germains au Mont D’or the railway branched off to the west and a long halt was made at Paray-le-Monial, giving us the opportunity of exploring the quaint provincial French town for about an hour, when the journey was again resumed. During the night we passed through Moulins, Nevers, and Gien, and on this part of the trip we passed a train containing the London Scottish which had been delayed owing to a fire breaking out in one of the trucks. During the morning of the 30th June we arrived near Versailles about 10 a.m., at which point the network of railways is extremely intricate and hopes of passing through Paris were high at one moment when we appeared to be travelling towards the capital, only to be dashed to the ground the next when the train shot over the points in quite a different direction. Over this network of railway lines outside Versailles the train halted, shunted, went forward, moved backwards until we became quite bewildered as to the real direction of Paris, but when we eventually passed through the station of Poissy it was settled once and for all that we were not going near Paris. The day was beautifully warm and every one was getting tired of this long train journey with its constant jolting, when the train pulled up miles from nowhere. Every one descended from the train to the fields alongside and enjoyed a “leg stretch.” The signal was against us, and in spite of the frantic whistle of the engine it did not fall. None of the railway officials could account for the stoppage, so we enjoyed the freedom of the fields for about two hours. Eventually, however, the shrill whistle of the engine warned us that the journey was to be continued, and as the train slowly moved, every one made a dash for their truck. Every one was present except two officers, and we all worried about their apparent predicament or even perhaps their desertion. However, about a mile further up the line the train pulled up and the two truants appeared. Apparently they had gone off to a village further up the line in search of luxuries in the shape of eggs, butter, fruit, etc., and before leaving had made a compact with the driver (no doubt with the aid of a few francs) to wait for them at a given point if the train was permitted to pass the signal. After this incident the train crawled along until the town of Gisors was reached, and here the explanation of our delay was apparent. The train in front of ours, carrying French troops and transport, had run into a stationary engine in the station, and as the result of the collision, several carriages had been smashed up and the engine derailed, causing casualties among both troops and horses. After some delay, which allowed us to visit the cafés in the town near the station, we proceeded on our journey, and early on the 1st of July we passed through Etaples, where the large British Cemetery brought back to us the real horrors of war after a pleasant journey across the Mediterranean and the long and interesting train ride through Italy and France. From Etaples the journey to Boulogne was through a particularly dull piece of country, and consisted of a continuous line of dumps, hospitals, camps, hutments, ordnance depots, etc.
About midday on the 1st of July, 1918, the Battalion detrained at Audricques, a large Royal Engineer locomotive repair depot. The scenery at this place was not particularly pleasing; all railheads are surrounded by the same old ration and ammunition dumps, but the W.A.A.C.’s, whom we had never seen before, brightened our lives at that particular moment. It must be remembered that we had not seen a real fresh-complexioned English girl for over two years. Not that I am belittling the beauty of their French sisters or even the particular charms of the girls of Italy, Macedonia, Egypt and Palestine, but to us there were none to touch the homely loveliness of the British girl.
Orders were soon issued by the new Divisional Staff which had met us on our arrival, and we proceeded to billets at Moulle, not an excessive distance, it is true, neither were the roads dusty and rough like the tracks we had traversed out East, but after a week in the train it was a trying march.
Here we were informed that we were to form part of the 30th Division which had been recently reconstructed and was under the command of Major-General W. de Williams, C.M.G., D.S.O., and with the London Scottish and the Queen’s Westminsters we were to form the 90th Infantry Brigade under Brigadier-General G. A. Stevens, D.S.O.
The other two brigades in the Division were the 21st Brigade, consisting of the 1/6th Cheshire Regiment, 2/23rd London Regiment and the 7th Royal Irish Regiment, and the 89th Brigade, containing the 2nd Battalion South Lancashire Regiment, 7/8th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the 2/17th London Regiment.
The following extract from a brief history of the 30th Division gives an idea of the state of affairs on our joining the Division:—
“The various units of the Division were collected together at the beginning of July, occupying an area around Cassel, where Divisional Headquarters were. But the Division was hardly ready to go into the line without some training and preparation. This was particularly the case since there were indications that the enemy was going to attack again on the Kemmel-Hazebrouck Front. The French troops holding the line between Kemmel and the Mont des Cats had been relieved by British troops at the beginning of the month, and the defensive systems still required a good deal of attention, so that during the month of July the Division was busy enough. The various battalions within the three Brigades of the Division had to get to know each other. The various arms of the Division had to learn to work together for defence and offence, the Palestine Battalions had to accustom themselves to the warfare of 1918, which had changed since their departure for Salonica in 1916. While the whole Division had to prepare for, and practise its rôle as Reserve Division to the 10th Corps with a series of counter-attack programmes in the event of an enemy attack taking place. This involved careful organisation and co-ordination of each arm for the various situations that might arise, from the piercing of the line by Mont Rouge, to a thrust on the south-western slopes of the Mont des Cats.”