War Services of the 62nd West Riding Divisional Artillery

by Austin Thomas Anderson

So ended our share in the Battle of the Selle River, which forced the enemy from the line of that river and drove a big salient into his defences, and in which 26 Divisions defeated 31 German Divisions, with 21,000 prisoners and 450 guns.

A great many mines had been going up during our advance along the railway lines, and the delay thus caused in the bringing up of ammunition and supplies was becoming very serious. It was decided therefore to call a halt for a few days until the communications could be made more secure. This decision made it possible to give the artillery the rest which they so sorely needed, and my brigades withdrew to Quiévy on the 26th October while the D.A.C. remained at St. Python, to which place they had gone after the capture of Solesmes. We moved our headquarters to the latter town on the 30th. On this day we heard the cheering news of the conclusion of an armistice with Turkey.

Nov. 1918.

We were now warned that we were to take part in a great attack on the 4th November, our immediate objectives being the villages of Orsinval and Frasnoy. The 40th, 42nd, and 76th Brigades R.F.A. and the 84th Brigade R.G.A. were put under my command for the battle in addition to the 62nd Divisional Artillery. Positions were selected near Ruesnes for the batteries, and across the railway close up to the front infantry line for the trench mortars. The 310th and 312th moved up to Escarmain on the 2nd; the village was heavily shelled that night and B/312 lost 44 horses. Next day the batteries occupied their positions, and Divisional Headquarters went to Escarmain.

The barrage opened at 5.30 a.m. on the 4th November, and our infantry made a victorious advance of 7000 yards, capturing their two villages and taking over 600 prisoners and a large number of guns. The Guards, on our left, met with equal success, and north and south along the whole far flung battle line the enemy was completely defeated. Early in the battle we advanced our headquarters into a ruined chateau in Ruesnes; it had been badly knocked about, and a great deal of wanton destruction had been done to a large and valuable library. In the afternoon the New Zealand Division, on our right flank, captured the fortified town of Le Quesnoy, together with its garrison of a thousand men. Our casualties were not heavy, but two of the Battery Sergeant-Majors were killed, and Lieut. J. A. Brown was wounded (for the second time). Our satisfaction in the result of the day's fighting was increased by the news we received that night that an armistice with Austria had come into effect at 3 p.m.

On the 5th we pushed on and extended our gains. It was pouring with rain, and the mud and slush made progress extraordinarily difficult. We moved our headquarters to Frasnoy, where we were greeted with the greatest enthusiasm by the 200 civilians who still remained in the village—wild with joy at their deliverance after four years' suffering at the hands of the hated Boche.

On the 6th and 7th the advance was continued without much opposition. The roads were in a shocking state, and the forward movement was so rapid that it was a matter of the greatest difficulty to comply with the ammunition demands. The D.A.C. did wonders, but no sooner was a dump of ammunition formed in one place than the tide of battle rolled far beyond it, and another one had to be started further on. Never during the whole war were the men and horses of the brigades and D.A.C. worked to a greater state of exhaustion than in these closing days. Headquarters went to Le Trechon on the 7th, the advanced infantry having on that day reached a line about 5000 yards east of Obies. D/310 came under heavy shell fire during one of its advances, and Lieuts. W. P. Holt and K. A. Latter were badly wounded. Lieut. R. G. Morgan gained the Military Cross "for conspicuous gallantry and perseverance on the 6th and 7th November at Le Trechon and near Harguies. He kept in close touch with the attacking infantry, advancing his guns in the face of intense fire so as to afford them the utmost support. The following day he carried out a similar task, advancing his section on very bad tracks through heavy shell fire. He made several reconnaissances throughout the day, which enabled him to afford effectual support to the infantry."

In Le Trechon I came across an authentic case of Boche barbarity. One of our cavalry on patrol entered the village on the 6th, and seeing four Germans preparing to destroy a bridge fired on them, killing one. They returned the fire and he fell wounded. The Germans then fled, thinking that there were more of our men close behind. The French inhabitants of the nearest house, one of whom was my informant, came out and made the wounded man as comfortable as they could. As he was too badly hurt to be moved they laid a blanket over him so that any passing Boche might think him dead. After a short time the three Germans returned, seeing that no British were yet in sight, and deliberately murdered the wounded man with their bayonets. An officer of the 20th London Regiment told me that he had seen the corpse, and that there were several bayonet wounds in it in addition to the mark of the bullet.

On the 8th our infantry took the village of Neuf Mesnil, but, what with the vile weather and a temporary stiffening of the enemy's resistance, the day's advance was only about three kilometres. We heard that the German emissaries had crossed our lines to sue for an armistice.