CHÂTEAU DE LA HAIE.
GOMMECOURT WOOD.
GOMMECOURT PARK FROM HÉBUTERNE.
The enemy, relaxing the vigour of his attacks upon the Third and Fifth Armies, had concentrated a huge force in the north, and on April 9 had struck swiftly at the front of the Second Army, between Givenchy and Ypres. The Portuguese at Neuve Chapelle were unable to withstand the attack, and the Germans poured through the gap. But on their right the West Lancashires of the 55th Division held their positions at Givenchy—the defences which their Lancashire comrades of the 42nd Division had designed and nearly completed—with splendid valour and tenacity against four times their numbers, and refused to give ground. At this point the line held, and the enemy could make no impression upon it. Further north, Armentières and other towns and villages which had been occupied for years by British troops had to be abandoned, and the enemy pressed forward to Merville and Bailleul. These were among the darkest days of the war, and the Special Order of the Day, issued by the Commander-in-Chief on April 11, contains these significant words—
“Many among us now are tired. To those I would say that Victory will belong to the side which holds out the longest. The French Army is moving rapidly and in great force to our support. Every position must be held to the last man. With our backs to the wall, and believing in the justice of our cause, each one of us must fight on to the end. The safety of our homes and the Freedom of Mankind alike depend upon the conduct of each one of us at this critical moment.”
The Defensive System
A few days later French cavalry, artillery, and infantry arrived from the south, and, though Mont Kemmel was captured from them on April 26, the crisis was over on this sector. Khaki and blue together stopped the onrush, and together endured the terrific hammering until the smiter grew tired. During this period in April the front held by the 42nd Division had been fairly quiet, but the storm might burst upon it at any moment, so all thoughts and energies were concentrated upon perfecting the scheme of defence. The 4th Australian Infantry Brigade was attached to the Division from the 16th to the 25th of April, and the Divisional Front was divided into four sections, each held by one infantry brigade. The Corps allotted certain lines of defence to Divisional Commanders, and in the 42nd Division each of such lines was formed into a Defensive System as follows—