The History of the 33rd Divisional Artillery, in the War, 1914-1918.

by John Victor Macartney-Filgate

Scale 1:40,000.

The speed of the advance, indeed, was now beginning to make itself felt; ammunition and food supply became a most serious problem, and on this day (October 9th) tremendous difficulty was met with by the wagon-lines in keeping touch with their firing batteries without either crowding upon or losing all sight of them. The day, with its eight mile advance and the occupation of three successive positions, laid a heavy strain upon all the wagon-lines which, unable to move in a direct line across country, had to complete a long march before they joined up with their guns at Bertry in the evening; yet throughout this period the guns and detachments were never without ammunition and food, a fact which compares very favourably with the batteries of the United States army which in some cases, being without food, were completely unable to keep up with the advance. There was another and most novel proof of the pace at which the line was pushing forward; on entering Clary and Bertry the infantry and guns were met by cheering French civilians who, in their exultation at the departure of the enemy after so many weary years, rushed to greet our troops with an outburst of joy—quite embarrassing! Unable to cope with the rapidity of the attack the Germans had allowed these people to stay behind, and in their excitement at this unexpected relief they vented their delight upon the British troops in the most amazing and whole-hearted manner.

Seven o'clock on the morning of the 10th saw all batteries on the move again, supporting an advance by the 98th Infantry Brigade, assisted by cavalry, upon the bridgeheads east of the River Selle between Neuvilly and Montay. This was a great day for the guns and, indeed, for all the troops concerned, for the advance was carried out according to the true style laid down in the drill book for open fighting. Cavalry patrols in front, infantry following on, batteries first in "battery column" and then manœuvring into line, the whole countryside around Troisvilles presented the amazing spectacle of vast masses of troops moving steadily forward exactly as though on an Aldershot field day. The 156th Brigade lay on the right of the 162nd, and together the two brigades manœuvred up to the crest of the hill which commanded the crossing of the Selle. By 8.0 A.M. the infantry were within 800 yards of the river, where they halted until such time as the Divisions on the right and left had come up into line, and by the same hour the batteries had pushed through Troisvilles to a point midway between that village and Le Cateau, from which positions they vigorously shelled hostile batteries and machine guns.

In addition to the delay on the flanks, the enemy on the immediate front was showing clear signs of increased resistance. Several field batteries had come up and were firing over open sights at the infantry, while our own batteries, as they neared the crest of the hill, came under very heavy shell fire. With ammunition wagons detached, however, the guns pressed on under severe fire and reached the crest whence, over open sights, they were able to assist the infantry in no small measure, and throughout the day continued to engage hostile troops and movement of every description. At the same time the German batteries rendered our positions very uncomfortable with 77 mm. and long-range fire, while the teams which went back to Troisvilles to water found the village congested with cavalry, artillery and infantry pack horses, all of whom suffered severe casualties through being spotted by an enemy aeroplane which called down a shell-storm upon the entire village.

The whole of the 10th was spent in registration, harassing fire and counter-battery work, D/156 and D/162 engaging with great success four hostile batteries in action on the forward slopes of the high ground east of the River Selle. Many enemy machine-guns and snipers also demanded the attention of the guns, and so, despite fairly active artillery fire on the part of the enemy, the batteries were kept busy until 5 P.M.; at that hour a barrage was fired to cover the 98th Infantry Brigade in an attempt to cross the river and to form bridgeheads on the crest of the hill to the north-east, in conjunction with the 17th Division on the left.

This attack met with considerable opposition as the River Selle formed a most important part of the enemy defensive line, and nowhere was an advance made beyond the railway. Night fell with the enemy still holding the high ground, and brought with it a most unpleasant time for the batteries. Without cover of any sort or description, lying out in the open and being consistently shelled with 77 mm. and 4·2 in., the detachments awaited the dawn, when it was hoped that this stand on the part of the enemy might be broken down.

Dawn, however, brought no further success, but on the contrary a temporary reverse. The 98th Infantry Brigade at 10.15 A.M. reported that it had been counter-attacked and now only had two posts on the eastern side of the Selle; the 162nd Brigade was accordingly detailed to look after the troops across the river, while the remainder of the artillery covering the infantry were left to fire on observed targets and to engage all movement and all possible hostile batteries. The latter during the morning were quiet, but from 2.0 P.M. until 4.0 P.M. a very considerable bombardment of 5·9 in., 4·2 in. and 77 mm., mainly from the Ovillers direction, descended upon the whole area occupied by the batteries.

No further move was now made until 5.0 A.M. on the 12th when the 100th Infantry Brigade assaulted the high ground east of the river, the objective being the line of the road running from Amerval to the outskirts of Montay. No creeping barrage was utilised in this attack, the batteries firing on selected and observed targets throughout the day. By 8.0 A.M. the left battalion was reported to have gained its objective in spite of strong enemy opposition, but the right battalion was held up by machine-gun fire from the river. An early morning mist rendered observed artillery fire—the only kind of any use at the moment—impossible, and not till the middle of the day could anything be done. Excellent work was then carried out by the batteries but came too late, for by then the left battalion had been forced back to the railway by strong enemy counter-attacks; evening found our troops, in spite of stubborn fighting and most gallant resistance, back to the west of the river whither they had been driven by superior numbers of the enemy, only a few posts remaining on the eastern bank.

With S.O.S. lines along the railway, both brigades now began a period of continuous harassing fire on all enemy strong points and communications, with synchronised bombardments on areas of especial importance. A lull in the infantry action had set in, but it was essential that the enemy should have no chance of organising his front or improving his defences, and to prevent this the full powers of the batteries were called upon. From October 13th to the 20th under the control of the C.R.A. 38th Division (which had relieved the 33rd on the 13th) the guns bombarded the railway, the hostile trenches and batteries, the ravines east of the Selle and every possible point which might be utilised by the enemy. Gas was fired nightly into the ravines, every hostile effort to put out wire was nullified, and two 6 in. trench mortars were brought into position to help in the bombardment. The result of this firing, although not apparent at the time, was clearly shown later when the batteries, on advancing, found the railway embankment covered with the bodies of dead Germans, all of whom had obviously, from their mangled state, been killed by shell fire. Daily the enemy replied to this activity by shelling the forward and battery areas, but the initiative had passed for ever into the hands of the British Army, and the lull, although of a week's duration, was but a temporary measure. On October 20th Byng struck with seven divisions in an attempt to capture the Selle line north of Le Cateau to Denain, five miles from Valenciennes, and the 38th Division, covered by a barrage from the guns, assaulted and captured by 10.0 A.M. the high ground between Forest and the Selle as its share of the operation; this, together with victories on other parts of the 3rd Army front, left the way clear for a further general advance.