Our own artillery relieved the 56th on the 15th. The front we now covered ran roughly from Gavrelle to Oppy. The 310th Brigade, which formed the right group, occupied positions on or about the southern end of the Vimy Ridge, with one advanced battery, B/310, close to Arleux, and only about a thousand yards from the Boche front line; this battery was so sited as to enfilade a long portion of the enemy's trenches; and though in what was apparently a dangerously forward position, it was so well concealed in a hollow of the ground that it came in for no greater attention than did the other batteries much further in rear.
The 312th Brigade was the left group; two of its batteries, B/312 and D/312, were in the shattered ruins of Bailleul village; this was a most unpleasant spot, and I don't think I've ever seen a village which bore the signs of such serious and constant shell fire.
We now belonged to the 13th Corps, which consisted of the 31st and 56th Divisions, in addition to our own. A system of reliefs was arranged under which two divisions should hold the line and one division remain at rest, and it was hoped that divisional artilleries would get about three weeks' rest for every six weeks spent in action. No one, however, believed in his heart that this scheme would prove a lasting one. There were many indications that the enemy was preparing for a great offensive, and indeed it was now obvious that his only chance would be to strike, and strike hard, before the full weight of American intervention should be thrown into the balance.
The next few weeks were comparatively quiet ones, and a tremendous lot of work was done in improving the very indifferent positions which we had taken over. These positions, it is only fair to state, had not been occupied for more than ten days or so by the 56th Divisional Artillery, who were in no way to blame for their unsatisfactory condition.
Two Regular Majors were posted to us about this time, Majors M. R. H. Crofton, D.S.O., and J. F. K. Lockhart, who took over command of C/312 and A/310 respectively.
The experiment was now made of employing Indian drivers in ammunition columns, and on the 26th January I inspected those who had been sent to the 62nd D.A.C. There were about 130 of them, all Mussulmans, and they looked a useful lot of men; they proved to be so as it turned out, and did very good work for the rest of the war.
Feb. 1918.
On February 1st our heavy trench mortar battery, which, under command of Capt. S. V. Bowden, had done much good service, was transferred to the Corps, as it was now decided that divisional artillery should only have medium trench mortars. Capt. Bowden himself remained in the Division with the latter.
I have described this period as a comparatively quiet one, but that is not to say that the batteries were left alone by the Boche artillery. Shelling of a desultory sort was always going on, and most of the batteries came in for an occasional bombardment—a daily bombardment it would be more correct to say in the case of the two batteries in Bailleul. Fortunately the shooting was strangely ineffective. D/310, for instance, was heavily shelled on the evening of the 23rd January; but though there were three direct hits on emplacements and the whole position was deeply pitted with shell craters, no damage was done to men or material. A/310 was less fortunate on the 5th February, when, unhappily, two sergeants and a signaller were killed, though no guns were put out of action. B/310 was shelled the same day at Arleux, and on this occasion one officer was wounded, Lieut. C. R. Witcher.