One night when the Brigadier of the 127th Brigade was in the front line the enemy put down a fierce bombardment of gas shells and H.E. The night was dark, but calm and clear, and large working parties were out wiring and digging. These came back “hell for leather,” and General Henley found his passage through the trench cut off by the crowds. Colonel Dobbin, deeming the scene unseemly for a Brigadier, suggested a dash over the top. Unfortunately fresh wire had just been put down, and, close to the support line where the long-range shells were dropping, both fell heavily into a double apron-fence. They extricated themselves painfully, leaving portions of clothing and some blood on the wire, and eventually arrived, “improperly dressed,” at Battalion Headquarters, to be met by the adjutant with the tactless remark: “There has been a bit of a bombardment, sir, but it doesn’t concern our front.” The Brigadier, who limped for several days, suggested that his companion should write a sketch of the episode under the title, “Young officers taking their pleasures lightly.” Though the Colonel did not take advantage of the suggestion, another officer did.
Brig.-General H. C. Frith, C.B., returned to England in June to assume command of a Home Service Brigade, and Brig.-General H. Fargus, C.M.G., D.S.O., took command of the 125th Brigade until the end of the war. General Frith was the last of the General Officers who had served with the Division from the outbreak of war. For three years he had commanded the Lancashire Fusilier Brigade, which had become much attached to him, for he was quick to recognize and give credit for good work, and he possessed a remarkable memory for faces, invariably knowing each officer by name after the first meeting. The 6th Manchesters learnt with regret that their popular M.O., Captain A. H. Norris, M.C., who was home on leave, had been retained by the War Office for duty at home. A better-known and better-liked Medical Officer never served with any battalion, and the regret was not confined to officers and men of the battalion, for the sick and wounded of many units were grateful for the energy, solicitude and complete disregard of self—and of red tape—which he had displayed in looking after their comfort and welfare in Egypt, Gallipoli, Sinai, and France.
The Front Advanced, June 1917
On the 1st of June the order was received to advance the divisional front by about 300 yards, the operation to be completed by 6 a.m. on the 10th. The order indicated that strong opposition might be expected, and details were left to the Brigadiers. The 126th Brigade on the right adopted the orthodox method of sapping forward each night, making a T-head at each sap to connect and form a continuous line later. The expectations of opposition were realized. Photographs taken by enemy planes brought heavy trench-mortar and machine-gun fire on the working-parties, and serious casualties were inflicted. A position near Femy Wood was occupied at night by the enemy, who were thence able to harass the working-parties. On the evening of June 3rd Corporal A. Eastwood, 9th Manchesters, took a patrol of three men to this point and lay down to await events. At 9.30 p.m. a German patrol emerged from the wood. The corporal ordered his men to hold their fire until the enemy were within thirty paces, when they opened fire with good effect, and remained until 2.30 a.m. covering the work and silencing a machine-gun and snipers. The hard and rocky nature of the ground in this part of the line was a further obstacle, but in spite of all difficulties good progress was made, and the troops were complimented upon their work by the Chief Engineer of the Corps. On the left, Brig.-General Henley, profiting by the experience of the 126th Brigade, decided to complete his part of the operation at one bound. On the night of the 8th-9th he advanced his line the full distance, and all four battalions of the 127th Brigade began to dig in furiously. The covering party was in position at 10.30 p.m., and digging began at 11 p.m. under the supervision of the 427th Field Company, R.E. Before dawn twelve outposts on a front of 1500 yards were linked up by a continuous trench, and, leaving a skeleton garrison in the new trench, the companies returned to their positions practically unharmed. The finishing touches were added next night, and the new line was completed by the stated hour. This good work was rewarded by a Special Order of the Day from the Corps Commander.
The night patrolling in No Man’s Land furnished admirable opportunities for testing and training officers and men. These patrols appealed to many adventurous spirits, while others looked forward to their first experience with natural apprehension. Many patrols were therefore sent out with the primary object of giving the men confidence and experience, and this policy was completely successful. There was also a considerable amount of sniping, especially in the vicinity of Havrincourt Wood, where German snipers for a time had the advantage and made the most of their opportunities. They were, however, beaten at the game by Sergeant Durrans, 6th L.F., who on June 14 crept 450 yards into the long grass in No Man’s Land and patiently bided his time. When the snipers disclosed their positions by firing he gave a fine display of marksmanship for two and a half hours and picked off half a dozen of them. He was wounded in the right knee.
On the night of June 12 an officer of the 5th Manchesters, who were then holding the “Slag Heap,” was detailed to reconnoitre Wigan Copse, in No Man’s Land, examine the wire—concealed by the long grass—and find the gaps. He led a party of six men to the copse, but could find no gaps, the wire being apparently uninjured. He crawled round it to the back of the copse, and eventually discovered an opening through which he crept, accompanied by a corporal, the rest of the party being posted outside. A narrow trench and some rough shelters were located, but there was no sign of life until the officer, desiring to take back a souvenir of his visit, disturbed a pile of stick-bombs. A tarpaulin then moved and a voice challenged them. The officer fired several shots with his revolver, and yells indicated that at least one of the Germans had been hit. The fire was returned, and in a moment the wood seemed alive with the enemy. As the exit was too close to the German front line for comfort the patrol crept away and lay in the long grass until the noise died down, when they withdrew untouched. On the following afternoon the enemy guns registered on the copse, and in the evening bombarded the British line and put down a box-barrage, under cover of which a company of the enemy charged the copse, yelling “Hands up, the English!” They suffered severely from rifle and Lewis-gun fire. Information was obtained later from prisoners that the garrison of the copse had been so scared by the sudden appearance of Englishmen in the wood that they had bolted, and had reported that the British were in possession of the post. Hence the elaborate counter-attack of the empty copse.
In the afternoon of June 22 a particularly daring raid was carried out by Sergeant J. Sugden (later Lieutenant) of the 10th Manchesters. Annoyance had been caused by a small trench-mortar, and as it was suspected that this was fired from a derelict elephant hut a few hundred yards from our most forward post, Sugden—a born scout—resolved to make sure. He found that there was a sentry guarding a dug-out near to the elephant hut, and that the man seemed inclined to take his duties easily. Returning, he chose two companions, whom he posted on a flank, while he crawled unobserved to within a few yards of the dug-out. He then quietly informed the sentry, in fluent German, that he was covered, and that he would be shot if he showed the slightest hesitation in obeying orders. He showed none, so Sugden ordered the other occupants of the post to come out with their hands up. At first they seemed inclined to dispute the matter, until told that they were surrounded and that unless they obeyed promptly they would quickly find themselves blown into a region even lower than their dugout. The threat had its effect; they meekly obeyed, and Sugden had the satisfaction of bringing four very sullen Germans, carrying a trench-mortar, across No Man’s Land in broad daylight. The Corps Commander sent a complimentary letter to the Battalion Commander praising the initiative and the aggressive tactics of his men, and congratulated Sugden personally, and also gave him special leave for fourteen days.
Night Patrols and Raids
At the end of June the 7th Manchesters were instructed to supply a party to raid Wigan Copse and bring back three prisoners. Lieutenant A. Hodge (later Lieut.-Colonel, commanding 1/8th Manchesters), who was chosen to carry out the raid, gave his men some realistic preliminary training. At 11 p.m. on July 3 the guns opened on the enemy’s lines behind the copse, and Hodge’s platoon, after a crawl of more than half an hour, rushed the copse. Its occupants tried to bolt, but the box-barrage hemmed them in and they had to choose between fighting and surrender. One young German, who had been lying in the grass on outpost duty, was so scared that in his fright he rose and attached himself to the Manchesters, until Hodge took him by the scruff of the neck and flung him to the man behind. But no one wanted the Boche, so he was flung from one to another until finally one of the covering party held him captive. After five minutes’ rough-and-tumble, in which none of the 7th was hurt, though a number of the enemy had been bayonetted, or shot by the officer’s revolver, Hodge returned with the three prisoners indented for. It had been a model raid.
On the 8th of July the Division was relieved by the 58th Division, with the exception of the artillery, which remained in the line with the 58th Division, and later with the 9th Division, at Havrincourt Wood until the end of August, when they rejoined their own Division in Belgium. The artillery’s periods of “rest” were infrequent and uncertain. Whenever the divisional infantry was relieved the guns would remain in the line for a time, attached to the relieving Division. From the artillery point of view the work at Havrincourt consisted mainly of concentrated fire at night on back areas of the enemy line and in artillery duels. Corporal Charles Gee, “B” Battery, 210th Brigade, twice won distinction during this period. On July 22, near Hermies, a hostile shell set a gun-pit on fire, and Gee, with Bombardier W. Pate, disregarding the explosions, succeeded in covering the burning material with earth, and so saved a considerable amount of ammunition. On August 13, during a heavy bombardment of the battery position, a shell burst in a dugout occupied by one man, blowing off one of his legs. Accompanied by Gunner W. Armitstead, Gee went to the injured man’s assistance, and while they were removing the debris a shell burst near and knocked both over. They managed to extricate the man, bandage his wounds, and convey him to safety, being all the time under heavy fire and suffering from fumes.