Advancing the Line
At 3 p.m. on July 9, Lieutenant C. E. Frost and seven other ranks of the 5th Manchesters raided a post in Watling Street (the enemy line east of Auchonvillers), and, having killed all the occupants, next attacked a working-party. Altogether they killed fifteen of the enemy—eight of these being the officer’s share—and returned safely with no other casualties than three slightly wounded, including Frost, who was twice struck by bombs. Every member of the party was decorated.
On July 17 a daylight raiding party of eighteen N.C.O.s and men of the 7th L.F., under Lieutenant J. R. Garbutt, earned the congratulations of the Divisional Commander. On the night of July 18-19 a raid by three officers and ninety-six other ranks of the 5th East Lancashires accomplished its object. Lieutenant S. W. Pacey, in command of the leading platoon, though severely wounded, carried on until his men had finished the task for which they had been detailed. Sergeant J. Spiers, in command of a platoon which suffered heavy casualties, led his men through a hail of bullets to their objective, where he was twice severely wounded. He too refused to quit until the job was done, and on return he insisted on the wounds of his men being attended to before his own were dressed.
On the following night a party of thirty-eight N.C.O.s and men of the 7th Manchesters, under Lieutenant N. Edge, captured and consolidated an enemy post five hundred yards in front of our lines. A night later, another raid by three officers and a hundred and twenty-five other ranks of the same battalion captured the enemy system of trenches known as The Triangle, north of the dozen or so of more or less connected bricks which bore the courtesy title of La Signy Farm. Four posts were captured, a number of the enemy killed, and three prisoners brought back. Lieutenant W. Gresty led with gallantry and skill, and Lieutenant H. Gorst, in charge of one of the parties, killed three or four Germans with his revolver, and was seriously wounded by a bullet fired at close quarters. Sergeant J. Horsfield then took charge of this party and led with great dash, inspiring his men with confidence at a critical moment. Next morning the enemy counter-attacked to regain possession of the lost positions, and wounded with bombs most of the garrison of a forward post. Lance-Corporal S. Lockett, who was at the next post, at once attacked with two or three men, and cleared out the enemy. He himself wounded and took prisoner the German N.C.O.
During the 20th to 24th July the 6th Manchesters were advancing their part of the line in a similar manner. In all these operations C.S.M. H. D. Whitford gave proofs of courage and devotion to duty. He organized and led a party under heavy machine-gun fire to bring in a man who had been killed in the attack, and then organized and conducted a carrying party, also under a hot fire, to take up rations and ammunition to the garrisons holding the newly-won posts, and in other ways set an example of courage and resource. Private W. Tomkinson, when all other members of his Lewis-gun team had become casualties, took his gun to a new position and put out of action the machine-gun which had caused the casualties. Later, he volunteered to lead a party into No Man’s Land to recover the body of one of his gun team. Private N. S. Smith twice brought in wounded across the open in daylight under heavy fire.
In an attack by the 7th L.F. on July 22, the leader of a section being wounded, Private G. Heardley carried him into cover under point-blank machine-gun fire, and during a daylight raid on the 24th he led his section to attack a party of forty Germans in their trenches and killed several, though before leaving our lines he had been wounded, but did not mention the fact. After the capture of an enemy post on the 22nd, C.S.M. W. Rushton, 5th L.F., organized the consolidation with great ability. The post being harassed by snipers he crawled forward and killed them; the work on the post being much hampered by rifle grenades and trench mortars he moved some distance to a flank and then exposed himself, digging and throwing up earth, and in this way drew the fire off the post until the consolidation was completed.
On the night of July 30-31 a patrol of the 5th Manchesters came under a very hot fire and the officer was killed. Corporal J. Melling took command and withdrew the patrol successfully, and though under very heavy fire all the time, he managed to carry the body of the officer back a distance of 600 yards in the open.
These stirring events were not allowed to interfere with recreational training. In the Corps boxing competition held at Marieux the 42nd Division produced the champion boxer—best form and cleanest fighter—besides winning in several other weights. On the 16th July D.H.Q. had been moved to Authie, and the Divisional Revue, “Sweet Fanny Adams,” was produced there. It was really very funny and immensely popular with all who were fortunate enough to get to Authie. As usual the Division left its “Q” mark on the district, baths, canteens, recreation rooms and Y.M.C.A. huts being made out of ruined houses as far forward as Sailly-au-Bois and Courcelles-au-Bois. A reference may be made here to the admirable work of a Y.M.C.A. padre, the Rev. G. Barclay, who devoted himself to the welfare and happiness of the men, and who remained with the Division to the end. His first quarters were in a by no means gas-proof cellar at Sailly, an old barn providing canteen, reading, and writing-rooms, where services were held which were much appreciated by all ranks.
The Turn of the Tide
The latter part of July witnessed a dramatic change in the military situation. The gigantic enemy onslaughts of March and April had been directed against the British armies, the first being an attempt to drive a wedge between the allies, to capture Amiens, and roll up the British front. At one time the attainment of these objects seemed near, but British tenacity prevailed, and the line held. The second, an attempt to pierce a vital point south of Ypres and gain the coast, also seemed likely to succeed. But though the line bent back dangerously it would not break, and the arrival of French reinforcements relieved the strain upon the greatly outnumbered British. At the end of May a third huge concentration of divisions drawn from the Eastern front, of new divisions hitherto held in reserve, and of the divisions withdrawn from the Somme, struck swift and mighty blows at the French on the Montdidier—Reims front, and for a second time Paris was in peril, and one feared that the heart of France was pierced. Then, on July 18, when Paris seemed almost within grasp of the exultant Hun, and Germany boasted that the war was won, Foch struck with the reserves—including British divisions—which he had held back so patiently to use at the psychological moment, and of whose existence the enemy seemed unaware. On July 20 the civilized world breathed freely once more, and the German High Command knew that, whatever it might order the German populace to think, defeat was to be its portion.