Note.—Since the foregoing account was written, and revised by two officers who served with the Division during the last three years of the war, the most excellent History of the 51st Division, by Major F. W. Bewsher (Blackwood and Sons), has been published. The “casualties suffered” have, with kind permission, been mainly taken from Major Bewsher’s work.
52ND (LOWLAND) DIVISION
First Line
After a long service on coast defence work in Scotland, the Division, in the last half of May, 1915, sailed for the Mediterranean and arrived at Alexandria early in June. Considerable intervals separated the dates of despatch of the various battalions to the Dardanelles, but the Division had practically all landed there before the first week of July closed.
The 156th Brigade, which disembarked 13th-16th June, was in time to take part in the action of 28th June. The Brigade was attached to the 29th Division and came into action on the right of the 87th Brigade.
The main object of the attack was to give the British more elbow room, our situation being still exceedingly cramped.
Sir Ian Hamilton, in his despatch of 26th August, 1915, states that the assault was entrusted to the VIII. Corps, Lieut.-General A. G. Hunter-Weston. The 29th Division on the left had to carry the greatest extent of ground. “On the right of the 87th Brigade the 4th and 7th Royal Scots captured the further two Turkish trenches allotted to them, but further to the east, near the pivotal point, the remainder of the 156th Brigade was unable to get on.” The ground gained was held against “repeated counter-attacks, which for many days and nights afterwards the enemy launched against the trenches they had lost.”
The enemy trenches opposite the right front of the attack, near the pivotal point, had not been seriously bombarded by the artillery owing to shortage of shells. At that time a preliminary bombardment was a mere pretence when contrasted with what it became in 1917 or 1918, while the creeping barrage had not yet been devised. The 8th Battalion Scottish Rifles, the right battalion of the 156th Brigade, supported by the 7th Battalion, found themselves, as soon as they were “over the top,” subjected to a murderous enfilade machine-gun fire from the right flank. Only a few unwounded men reached the opposing trenches, which were 175 yards distant. The 8th Battalion went in about 650 strong, they came out with one officer and 29 other ranks. One man who had reached the enemy position was captured. The ordeal of the battalion, in this its first action, seems to have been as severe as any experienced by an infantry battalion during the war.
The Turkish position at this point, H. 12, was attacked by another brigade soon afterwards. It remained intact, although the attackers suffered a loss of 1700.
In Sir Ian Hamilton’s despatch of 11th December, 1915, he described the battle at Helles on 12th-13th July, and the Suvla Bay fighting in August. The action of 12th-13th July was supplementary to that of 28th June, the object being to push back the Turkish centre.
“On our right the attack was to be entrusted to the French Corps; on the right centre to the 52nd (Lowland) Division. On the 52nd Division’s front the operation was planned to take place in two phases; our right was to attack in the morning, our left in the afternoon.” The 29th Division was to make a diversion on the left. “At 7.35 a.m. after a heavy bombardment, the troops, French and Scottish, dashed out of their trenches, and at once captured two lines of enemy trenches.” The 1st Division of the French Corps pushed forward and carried the whole forward system. “Further to the left the 2nd French Division and our 155th Brigade maintained the two lines of trenches they had gained. But on the left of the 155th Brigade the 4th Battalion King’s Own Scottish Borderers pressed on too eagerly. They not only carried the third line of trenches, but charged on up the hill and beyond the third line, then advanced indeed until they came under the ‘feu-de-barrage’ of the French Artillery. Nothing could live under so cruel a cross fire from friend and foe, so the King’s Own Scottish Borderers were forced to fall back with heavy losses to the second line of enemy trenches which they had captured in the first rush.”