The 3rd Battalion remained in billets till the 4th, when it took over from the 5th Liverpool Regiment a line of trenches resting on the Hohenzollern Redoubt, and there it remained until the 10th. The Germans were now in possession of the Hohenzollern Redoubt, and the position thus perilously close to them was anything but pleasant. On the 8th the enemy made a determined attack on this line, and surprised our bombers, killing most of them. Lieutenant A. Anson, who was with the bombers, stoutly refused to give way, and was killed with all his party. The bombs with which our men were armed proved useless, as they got very damp and refused to detonate. It therefore became a very one-sided contest, but a machine-gun under Lieutenant R. Williams barred the way to the Germans, and this had to be disposed of before they could advance. Bombs and shells rained down on this machine-gun, and Lieutenant R. Williams was killed. He was replaced by three sergeants in succession, who fought on as gamely as he had done, and who met with the same fate. The gun was soon afterwards put out of action.
The situation now looked ugly. The enemy was bombing down the trench, and Nos. 2 and 3 Companies had retired somewhat precipitately before the advancing Germans. The 3rd Battalion Coldstream on the right grasped how serious this attack might become, and sent off some bombers who managed to stop the rush. Later on Lieutenant Eaton and Lieutenant Gunnis reorganised the men, and went forward to support the 3rd Battalion Coldstream after they had succeeded in regaining the trench. The Germans fought well, but were forced to retire, when they lost many men. The total casualties in the 3rd Battalion were 137 all ranks, including Lieutenant A. Anson and Lieutenant R. Williams killed, and Captain C. Walker and Lieutenant the Hon. A. G. Agar-Robartes wounded.
On the 10th the Battalion retired into billets at Vermelles, and on the 12th to Vaudricourt, where it remained in reserve until the 14th. On the 9th Captain E. O. Stewart, Lieutenant the Hon. R. P. Stanhope, and Lieutenant P. M. Walker; on the 10th, Second Lieutenant R. W. Parker; and on the 15th Captain Lord F. Blackwood and Lieutenant O. Lyttelton joined the Battalion. The last was appointed Adjutant.
The Battalion returned to the line opposite Big Willie on the 15th, and at once set to work to improve the trenches, but the continual bombing and shelling rather hampered its movements. On the 17th the enemy's shelling became unpleasantly accurate, and the Battalion had 11 men killed and 32 wounded. Lord F. Blackwood was blown up by a shell, and was badly wounded. Captain Dowling and Lieutenant Hirst were buried in their dug-out by a high-explosive shell, and were extricated just in time. That night Major Montgomerie went out with a rifle and fixed bayonet, and tried to ascertain exactly where the sap joined the Coldstream trench. Having gained this information he took out a party and finished the sap.
During the time in the trenches the casualties had been constant and often very heavy: the Battalion lost all four Company Sergeant-Majors. Company Sergeant-Major Tyson was killed, and Company Sergeant-Majors Eason, Aston, and Day wounded. On the 21st the Battalion suffered a very severe loss in the death of Major Molyneux-Montgomerie, who was shot through the head whilst superintending work on Kaiserin Trench under heavy fire.
The constant sniping and bombing caused many casualties, and the total number of killed and wounded since the Battalion came to Loos was 19 officers and 500 non-commissioned officers and men, which proved how dangerous the trenches in the neighbourhood of the Hohenzollern Redoubt were.
On the 25th the Battalion left the front line and marched to Bethune, where it entrained for Lillers, and on arrival went into billets at Norrent Fontes. On the 28th the whole Guards Division was to have been inspected by the King, but this had to be cancelled owing to an unfortunate accident to His Majesty.
On the 25th Captain E. N. E. M. Vaughan and Lieutenant Raymond Asquith; on the 29th Lieutenant the Hon. H. E. Eaton, Second Lieutenant B. E. Yorke, and Second Lieutenant E. G. Worsley; and on the 31st Major M. Maitland joined the Battalion.
Nov.
On November 8 the Battalion marched to La Gorgue, a very long and tiring march of twenty-six kilometres, and went into billets. There it remained until the 14th, and then marched to the trenches just north of Neuve Chapelle. The line here seemed very quiet after the perilous trenches opposite the Hohenzollern; but if the shells were less, the water difficulty was greater than ever. Men had again to stand knee-deep in water, and in the cold weather many felt that the constant bombing and shelling was preferable. Two days in the trenches and two days out was the routine until the 20th, when the whole Brigade moved back again into billets at La Gorgue, and remained there until the end of the month.