CHAPTER XXVIII
FEBRUARY, MARCH 1918 (4TH BATTALION)
4th Batt. Feb. 1918.
On February 12 the 4th Battalion left the Guards Division, and was played out by the drums of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions Grenadier Guards, the pipers of the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards, and the band of the Irish Guards. Brigadier-General Lord Henry Seymour watched the Battalion march by, and congratulated Lieut.-Colonel Pilcher on its smart appearance.
Thus the newly formed 4th Guards Brigade joined the Thirty-First Division. On the 14th Major-General Sir Charles Fergusson, Commanding the Thirteenth Corps, inspected the Battalion, and expressed himself very pleased with its appearance on parade. On the 17th the Battalion relieved the Durham Light Infantry in the line near Arleux Loop, and was subjected to a slight shelling. This was the new Brigade's first tour in the trenches, and the 4th Battalion was the first of the three Battalions to go into the front line. The line taken over was an example of the new system of holding the front in depth. The Brigade frontage, 2000 yards in length, was held by one Battalion, and constituted the outpost line. Held very lightly by posts at long intervals, it was supported some 1000 yards in rear by a trench, known as the Arleux Loop, South and North, where the Battalion Headquarters were situated together with one company in reserve. Lieut.-Colonel Pilcher was aware that the arrival of a fresh Battalion in the line was likely to be observed by the enemy, and that therefore a raid was highly probable. If any confirmation of this theory was required it had already been supplied by a prisoner, who had been captured before the relief, and had stated that the enemy suspected the presence of the Guards Division, and intended shortly to make a raid to confirm the fact. Nothing, however, was observed either to indicate the exact time or the locality; in fact, everything seemed normal, and the officer commanding the 2nd Battalion Irish Guards went round the posts with Lieut.-Colonel Pilcher in the usual way in order to make the necessary arrangements for the relief the next morning.
From the evidence of the single surviving prisoner, who was captured, it was clear that the Germans had planned and rehearsed every detail of the coming raid with great thoroughness. Practice trenches, made from aeroplane photographs, had been dug in Beaumont, and the raiders were minutely trained in their duties. All the men who were to take part in the raid had been withdrawn from the line for three weeks, and had been well fed and cared for. They were the pick of the 469th German Infantry Regiment, and had been selected on account of their physique and proved courage. Their equipment was of high quality, with every detail carefully thought out; it consisted of a short, light rifle of 1917 pattern with a leather sling, a trench dagger, an automatic pistol, wire-cutters, a watch, and a canvas bag for carrying stick-bombs.
The raid, which had been planned by the Regimental Staff of the 469th Regiment, was carried out in two sections, each consisting of 1 officer and 28 other ranks, in all about 60. At 8 P.M. a concentrated bombardment was put down by the enemy from Oak Post on the left to Tommy Post on the right, and the bombardment was so intense that portions of our trenches were completely obliterated. An S.O.S. signal went up some way to the left of Oak Post, and our barrage came down with great promptitude opposite that part of the line; thus valuable time was lost in having it transferred to where the raid was actually taking place.
Shortly after the enemy's barrage was put down, the men in No. 8 Post saw a strong party of Germans advancing down Brandy Trench from Tee Trench, and a fierce fight commenced. Seeing they were greatly outnumbered, our men slowly closed in on No. 7 Post. After the bombardment began, Captain Benson at No. 2 Company Headquarters sent Second Lieutenant Wrixon to ascertain what was happening, and this officer, after passing through the enemy's barrage, came up just as No. 8 Post was joining No. 7. He at once took charge of both posts, and concentrated his men in Beer Trench, which he determined to hold to the last. He now had 2 N.C.O.'s and 12 men to oppose to the raiding party. The Germans on reaching Brandy Trench split up into two parties; one party continued to bomb up the trench while another, which comprised the majority, rushed across the open towards Beer Trench, with the obvious intention of cutting off these posts. Private Fletcher, No. 1 of the Lewis-gun team in No. 7 Post, saw them coming, and at once turned his gun on them. Several dropped, and the remainder fled, carrying their wounded with them. No sooner was this party disposed of than Lieutenant Wrixon saw a fresh group of men, advancing stealthily down the trench in front of him. Instead of waiting for them, he determined to attack them, and advancing down the trench he shot the first man he met dead with his revolver. His next opponent at once flung a bomb at him, which burst within a few feet, only slightly wounding him. Private Coles, who was just behind him, shot the man dead with his rifle at point-blank range. Then a bugle was blown, and the raiders disappeared. During this fight the Germans attempted an old ruse by calling out in perfect English: "Take off your gas respirators and return to your support line." Some of the men repeated these instructions under the impression they came from one of their officers, but Second Lieutenant Wrixon yelled at the men, and countermanded the spurious order.
At the commencement of the fight, when No. 8 Post was falling back on No. 7, Private Taylor, who had been sent back to No. 8 Post to fetch some bombs, which had been left behind, ran straight into the arms of a party of Germans, and was taken prisoner. He was ordered on pain of death to lead the Germans to No. 14 Post, and feigned to be willing to do so, when the raiders suddenly changed their minds, and told him to lead them back to their own lines. He at once acquiesced, but instead of doing so, led them to the strongest post in our line. When he knew he was within a few yards of Nos. 7 and 8 Posts, he shouted a warning to the garrison, and threw himself on the ground. His warning was heard by his comrades, who at once hurled bombs in the direction of his voice, and the Germans fled, abandoning their prisoner. Unfortunately, one of our bombs wounded Private Taylor, but he was finally rescued by Private Cunliffe, a stretcher-bearer who had already behaved with great gallantry, bringing in the wounded under heavy shell-fire.