“A” Company, on the right, fared much better. They did not leave their trenches until zero, and their course led them out of the wood almost immediately. Consequently, when they started, the German machine guns were already busily occupied with the other Companies, and “A” Company carried the first and second German trenches outside High Wood with comparatively little loss. Arrived at the objective, a certain amount of hand-to-hand fighting took place, in which Sergeant H. B. Riddell and Second Lieutenant L. L. Burtt, distinguished themselves, the former being chiefly instrumental in putting a machine gun out of action, though he was wounded in the fight.
The Battalion signallers following up “A” Company had established a station in the captured trench, and as their lines held for some time, the details of how “A” Company had fared were quickly sent down to Battalion Headquarters.
“A” Company had already taken a number of prisoners, and they now proceeded to bomb along the captured trench towards where they expected to find “B” Company, but it was soon realised that the other Companies had been held up. The situation with these Companies was very grave. The Company Commanders of “B” and “D” Companies, Captains Leslie Davies and Arthur Roberts, had been killed, while Captain Geoffrey Gaze, commanding “C” Company, was wounded, but refused to go down. Captain Gaze, in fact, was the only officer in these three Companies remaining at duty. A good many of the senior N.C.O.’s had also been killed and wounded, but thanks to the timely efforts of C.S.M. Brett of “D” Company, C.S.M. Harris of “C” Company, and the surviving N.C.O.’s of all three battered Companies, the remnants were formed up again in the assembly positions, ready for another attempt.
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Photo by Coles, Watford. CAPT. LESLIE DAVIES. | Photo by Hana Studios, Ltd. CAPT. A. ROBERTS. | Photo by Coles, Watford. CAPT. GEOFFREY A. GAZE. |
Killed in Action 1916, and buried in one grave at High Wood, 15th Sept., 1916. To face page 112. | ||
Meanwhile the tanks had not shown up, though one of them later on, after nearly smashing up Battalion Headquarters, got stuck in a communication trench, and materially interfered with the removal of the wounded. Its pilot got out, and, going into Battalion Headquarters, asked the Commanding Officer where High Wood was. Colonel Warrender’s reply is not recorded.
The other tank eventually got into action somewhere in front of “D” Company’s objective, and then caught fire.
At 11.0 a.m. the 140th Infantry Brigade Stokes mortar battery came to the rescue. Captain Good, who was in command, had had his guns on the spot overnight, and had been anxious to give the attacking infantry some support. On the ground that surprise was to be the key-note of the attack, however, the authorities decided to keep the Stokes guns, like the artillery, silent. Captain Good and his men responded magnificently when they were given the permission they sought so eagerly, and for twenty minutes, “feeding their voracious little pets with bombs until they grew too hot to touch,” as De Ath says, the battery put down such an accurate and intense bombardment on the German front line that “C” and “D” Companies, when they went forward again, carried their objectives without much difficulty. The trench mortars had fired close on 800 rounds in twenty minutes—a feat afterwards described by 4th Army Headquarters as the most brilliant piece of work in the history of trench mortars.
“C” Company was gallantly led for a second time by Captain Gaze, but he was killed before reaching the objective.
By noon the whole of High Wood was in British possession, together with what was known as the Switch Line beyond, and the Civil Service Rifles had taken many prisoners and machine guns. The price of victory, however, was terrible, and only 150 of the four Companies reached their objective.
The foregoing is an attempt at a description of the first phase of the battle of High Wood, as it appeared to one who was present on the spot. A well-known war correspondent seems to have had a better view of the fight, for he related in detail in a London newspaper how the tanks captured High Wood!