The day after relief (April 27th) was spent quietly enough. We had not yet got used to the presence of so many gas cylinders in the front line, and were not anxious to provoke unnecessary retaliation. The Germans were also very quiet. Some shrapnel, a few "whizz-bangs," six "pineapples," and two medium "minnies" made up his total expenditure for the hours of daylight. Sniping from the Chicken Run on to "A" Company's front line was, however, fairly persistent, but no casualties occurred that day. "A" Company of the 2/7th K.L.R. moved into the subsidiary line that evening as a more permanent garrison, and occupied the line between Battalion Headquarters and Cambridge House.
At midnight a gas attack from the whole front of our Brigade and that of the Brigade north of the Lys had been planned, but was cancelled at the last minute, as the wind proved unfavourable. However, the right battalion was not warned in time, and released their cylinders. We much regretted that ours could not be released too, as the clearing of the line had been arranged, and already several cylinders were leaking badly. But on the night of March 29th, after many "alarums and excursions," our two flank companies and the Brigade north of the Lys let off their gas, while projectors were flung into Frelinghien at the same time. It was a very bright night, and the whitish cloud could be seen rolling across No Man's Land. The wind was rather light, and the Germans must therefore have obtained sufficient warning. A number of coloured lights shot up into the air, bells rang, and rapid rifle and machine-gun fire commenced, which caused the inquisitive to expose as little of their heads above the parapet as was feasible. "Whizz-bangs" and "minnies" began to rain on the front line, where the special R.Es. working the cylinders and the garrison of infantry had a somewhat uneasy time. Our orders were to send an officers' patrol to inspect the damage in the enemy's front line. Fortunately, however, this futile and dangerous performance was countermanded, as No Man's Land was itself full of the gas, which the wind hardly carried beyond our trenches, and three of the R.Es. and four of our men were gassed, and a corporal was killed. Otherwise no one was hit during the retaliation. In due course the R.Es. withdrew in motor lorries and the rest of the men returned to the front line, where the sickly smell of gas was strongly in evidence.
Now that most of the cylinders were empty we paid less regard to the enemy, and determined to try to damp the ardour of the sniper, who had already shot two of our men through the head. Every effort from the front line to spot the fellow had failed, but the observation post in the support line had detected him, though the distance from there to the Germans made it futile to try a shot with a rifle. Major Brookes's assistance was accordingly invoked. A telephone line was run out to the observation post, and a trial round was fired with an 18-pounder. This was sufficiently near for the purpose, but unfortunately was too much for the sniper, who promptly retired. However, a few rounds of "battery fire" were delivered, and the area in the immediate neighbourhood of the sniper's lair was greatly disturbed. We knew he was not hit, but he knew that we had spotted him, and from that moment his activities ceased.
Photo by Gale & Polden Ltd., Aldershot.
THE OFFICERS-WOKING, FEBRUARY, 1917.
The next day, April 30th, a great aeroplane fight took place high over our line. The day was perfect, and it was a wonderful sight to see the aeroplanes twisting and doubling and hear the thin rattle of their machine guns. Suddenly one of the enemy's machines commenced to fall, with a tell-tale streak of smoke trailing behind him. In a moment the grey smoke became a vivid red, and the burning machine came roaring down, crackling and spluttering as the ammunition went off in the flames. For a few minutes it seemed that it must come down right on the top of Battalion Headquarters, but eventually it crashed about two hundred yards away on the open stretch between Battalion Headquarters and Spain Avenue. Both the occupants must have been dead before the machine reached the ground; the pilot was burned beyond recognition in the machine; the observer, an artillery officer, fell out about fifty feet from the ground, and among his papers we found a secret correction card for artillery shooting with aeroplane observation. All attempts to salve anything from the machine proved fruitless. It burned and smouldered for more than twenty-four hours, and its proximity was rendered dangerous by the exploding ammunition.
The question of our billets now began to exercise our minds. The 2/7th K.L.R., in spite of remonstrances, had been located at first in a row of houses close to the Houplines Level Crossing. In that position they had been continually shelled, and the powers that be had finally decided to move them back to a more salubrious locality. This we were very glad to hear, because, other things being equal, billets that are not regular targets for enemy artillery are distinctly preferable. Casualties in billets are always more trying than elsewhere, as they generally seem so gratuitous.
In the Houplines sector more than in any other our snipers and observers had found plenty of scope for the exercise of their special talents. The battalion observation post was in an upper room of a small house in the Rue Solferino, a narrow street which ran off the main road close to Tissage Dump. The Germans had kindly put a "dud" 5·9 through the gable end, thereby providing an excellent view point. The official apparatus installed in this spot was a telescope working on a pivot which was fixed to a quadrant. The observer sat on a chair raised on a rough platform to the necessary height, while next to him sat another man to make the necessary written notes of observations. In addition to a blanket to screen the shell-hole, the observation post was supplied with maps and compass, and also a telephone to Battalion Headquarters and the battery immediately in rear. A fine view of the enemy trenches and the ground in rear was obtainable from this observation post. In addition, there were three sniping posts in the front line, from which subsequently P. G. Jones, Maddocks, Matchett, and Corkill all secured definite "hits"; while for additional observation purposes there was a natural observation post half-way up Irish Avenue, about level with the support line, from which much valuable information of a more local description was obtained.