The 1st Battalion
Roll of Officers
April.
After the very strenuous days at the end of March, when the German attacks were successfully repelled, the 1st Battalion remained in the front line for two days, but whether the enemy considered it wiser to try some other parts of the line, or whether they were merely waiting for reinforcements, they showed very little signs of life. A heavy bombardment, directed against the Canadians on the left, which was vigorously responded to, seemed to indicate an attack in that direction, but by the time the 1st Battalion was relieved no move on the part of the enemy had taken place. After two days' rest at Blaireville the 1st Battalion returned to the trenches at Boisleux-au-Mont, where the line was singularly quiet. Early on the 5th a desultory bombardment commenced on our front line, but only with shells of light calibre. Later the railway station came under fire from the heavy guns, but by 9 A.M. all was quiet again, and no more shells were sent over by the enemy that day. Although infinite trouble had been taken to conceal Battalion Headquarters, a big flight of hostile aeroplanes flying low was able to locate it, and the enemy made some very accurate shooting. On the 8th the enemy began a gas bombardment, and obtained several direct hits on the entrance to the Battalion Headquarters dug-out and on two Lewis-gun posts. A new gas containing ether, which gave off little or no smell, was used by the enemy, and accounted for a large number of the Battalion Staff. After two more days' rest at Blaireville, the 1st Battalion returned to the trenches, where, although the shelling was light, the enemy's aircraft was very active, often flying low and firing into the trenches. Patrols were sent out along the whole frontage on the night of the 11th, and one under Second Lieutenant R. Holmes and Sergeant Brown failed to return. Little, however, was seen of the enemy, although a wiring party was encountered once, and another time the Germans could be heard demolishing a hut near the main Arras—Bapaume road. The next day the enemy occasionally fired with the Minenwerfer, but there was no shelling to speak of. In the evening Lieutenant R. Holmes and his patrol returned, having been cut off on the previous night by very strong parties of the enemy. Finding they were unable to regain our lines, they hid in shell-holes throughout the day, and took advantage of the darkness when night came to get back. On the 14th, when the usual patrols went out, Second Lieutenant W. Fleet took out a strong party to visit a German machine-gun post, which had come under the observation of a patrol on the previous night. Approaching it with caution, he found that it was unoccupied, but a German rifle, which he brought back, seemed to show that the enemy had been there lately. Four escaped British prisoners, who had been captured on the 21st, re-entered our lines near the sunken road; they belonged to the Sixth Division. The 1st Battalion went for ten days' rest to Barly until the 24th, when they marched to Bienvillers-au-Bois on their way to the trenches. Lieutenant Tindal-Atkinson and Second Lieutenant Paget-Cooke, who had just arrived to join the Battalion, were wounded by a shell that fell in No. 4 Company Mess. On the night of the 27th the 1st Battalion returned to the front line of trenches, but the Germans were singularly inactive except for occasional bursts of shell-fire. The patrols that were sent out failed to encounter any German parties, but one discovered that Calcutta Trench had been recently occupied by the enemy. Signs of its recent occupation were found in the shape of fresh bombs, rifles, etc., and a corporal's greatcoat proved that the occupants had belonged to the 453rd Regiment. Traces of German occupation could be seen all over the ground, but the most recent was the line of newly dug posts about 80 yards west of the Ablainzeville—Ayette road. The enemy evidently occupied an advanced picket line, as individual heads could be seen on the low ground, and the rapidity with which his light machine-guns and snipers opened fire from various points confirmed this surmise. On the 29th the enemy still remained inactive, and never engaged any targets which offered themselves. In the evening snipers were sent out from our lines to positions, where they could observe and engage any movement on the part of the enemy, who could be seen advancing in groups of two to occupy shell-slits. Parties were dribbled forward by the King's and No. 2 Companies, and told to occupy any empty enemy-slits, to check any advance of the enemy. These moves and countermoves continued up to 9 p.m., when Lord Gort decided to withdraw all the advanced posts, and patrols continued to reconnoitre throughout the night.
May.
The enemy's attitude during May was purely defensive, and except for two half-hearted raids he showed no inclination to come west of the line of the Ablainzeville—Ayette road. The Germans apparently were occupying an outpost line from Ablainzeville to Ayette, with a shell-hole line in rear and a line of resistance again behind that, and the situation depended very much on what was going on in other parts of the line: if the enemy succeeded in driving back the troops to the north and south, a retirement would become necessary, even without any movement of the hostile troops in front.
During the whole month the 1st Battalion remained either in the front trenches or in reserve. When in the trenches one and a half Companies held the front line, and one and a half Companies were in support, with one Company in reserve. On the days they became the Reserve Battalion, they were simply targets for the German artillery; every day there were casualties, and the number of men killed, wounded, and gassed amounted to a good many during the month. On some days the enemy activity was very slight, and on others the shelling would become intense. Patrols under officers were sent out every night, and the information gained varied. Occasionally bodies of Germans would be reported, moving about and talking, but when no attack developed such movements ceased to have any significance. The back areas were shelled with gas-shells daily, and so it happened that the casualties, when the Battalion was in reserve, were often greater than when it was in the front line. On the 17th the area occupied by the 1st Battalion was subjected to a severe bombing by aircraft; Second Lieutenant W. A. Fleet and Second Lieutenant G. E. A. A. Fitz-George Hamilton were killed, and Second Lieutenant S. J. Hargreaves and Second Lieutenant G. D. Neale were seriously wounded. The two latter never recovered from the wounds they received, and died the next day. The loss of these four keen young officers was deeply felt by the whole Battalion. At the same time Sergeant Robshaw and Lance-Sergeant Nicholson, the Lewis-gun instructors, were wounded and buried by the walls of a house, which were blown in by a bomb on the top of them. On the 20th the Cojeul Valley was bombarded with gas-shells, and Captain O. Stein, Second Lieutenant R. Holmes, and Second Lieutenant C. Brutton were gassed. A few days of rain and mist were welcomed by every one, since it made observation impossible, and therefore the enemy's artillery had to content itself with a small amount of inaccurate shelling. On the 24th Second Lieutenant O. W. D. Smith was seriously wounded by a shell. On the 28th a German propaganda balloon was shot down near Quesnoy Farm; it contained copies of the Gazette des Ardennes, a French newspaper, edited by the Germans. Although enemy transport activity could be often distinctly heard, the impending offensive never developed.
June.
Much the same programme was followed at the beginning of June, and without any definite movement the enemy continued to bombard both the front trenches and the back area. On the 5th the Germans were located by a patrol, working on the road, and Stokes mortars were turned on to them, with the result that Véry lights went up in quick succession, no doubt an appeal for assistance. The guns on both sides were continually busy both day and night, and a great many shells of various sorts must have been fired. On the 8th the Battalion retired for a rest to Barly, where it remained until the end of the month.