The history of the 9th (Scottish) Division, 1914-1919

by M.C. John Ewing

GONNELIEU FROM GOUZEAUCOURT

The second or Battle Zone consisted of two continuous trenches—called the Yellow System—two or three hundred yards apart, starting on Chapel Hill and lying roughly north and south along the ridge west of Gouzeaucourt, and a continuous trench (the Brown Line) leading north-west from Railton about one mile south-west of Chapel Hill. The Brown Line was the only one which would not be seriously compromised by the loss of Chapel Hill. Numerous strong points had been made between the Brown and the Yellow Systems, and the support line of the former was in course of construction. A switch line from the Yellow System along Revelon Ridge to the Brown Line was begun when the blow fell, but Revelon Farm, which was to have been in this switch, was strongly defended and permanently garrisoned.

Behind this lay the Rear Zone. The villages of Heudecourt, Sorel and Fins were intended to form centres of resistance, but their fortifications had scarcely been commenced at the time of the attack. Beyond these was a continuous trench, the Green Line, running north and south through the village of Nurlu, which formed a centre of resistance. The sector for the defence of which the Ninth was responsible lay between the north end of Epinette Wood and the south end of Equancourt; it was thus echeloned in rear of the right flank of the Battle Zone. This point requires notice; for the enemy’s penetration of the Division on our right on the first day of the battle, and later the failure of the troops on our left to extend to their southern boundary, were causes of great trouble during the retreat.

The general scheme of defence may be summarised thus: The men in the Forward Zone were to maintain their ground, but no counter-attack on a large scale was to be made to recover any part of it that might be lost. But all the resources at the command of the Division were to be engaged, if necessary, to retake any part of the Battle Zone invaded by the enemy, and the artillery positions were chosen primarily with a view to the defence of the Battle Zone.

The South African Brigade[102] on the right and the 26th[103] on the left held our front. In each of these one and a half battalions were detailed for defence and local counter-attack within the Forward Zone, and the remainder was entrusted with the defence of the front of the Battle Zone. The 27th Brigade,[104] the 9th Seaforths, and the Divisional Engineers were in reserve. The 11th Royal Scots were quartered in Heudecourt, the 12th Royal Scots in Dessart Wood, and the K.O.S.B. and the 9th Seaforths in Sorel. The Divisional Reserve was to be ready to counter-attack within the Battle Zone or to man the Brown System. Of the Machine-gun Battalion, three companies were deployed in depth in the Forward Zone and in the Yellow System, and all guns were sited for direct fire, but where possible they had also been given an indirect S.O.S. line. The remaining company was in reserve at Heudecourt. The machine-gun barrage was designed to cover the valley between Gonnelieu and Villers-Guislain and the ground in front of Fifteen Ravine on the extreme left. Gun positions in the Battle Zone behind the Yellow System had been reconnoitred, and this proved of great value later, for guns hastily taken up to the south of Revelon Farm on the first day of the battle did great execution.

The Divisional Artillery, reinforced by the 65th and 130th A.F.A. Brigades, covered our sector, and the barrage-fire of the field-guns was concentrated in front of Gonnelieu and Villers-Guislain. Alternative and rear positions had been prepared, and it was noted that four batteries, which had moved into their alternative positions during the week before the attack, were not shelled during the German bombardment.

Concerning the intentions of the enemy there could be no doubt. From the beginning of March fresh indications of an impending blow were reported daily in the Intelligence Summaries of the VII. Corps and Fifth Army, though long before this the construction of railways, roads, and bridges over the Canal de St Quentin had aroused speculation. The fact that several German divisions[105] had been put in the line about the middle of February, and taken out again at the end of the month, presumably for a final rehearsal, seemed to point to the middle of March as the probable time for the beginning of the offensive. On the 12th March the Corps Intelligence Summary stated that during the last four days the enemy’s preparations had been extended to the forward area and were being carried on rapidly, noticeably north of Gonnelieu, while from the statements of prisoners it appeared probable that the attack would commence between the 14th and the 16th.

Up to this date all the information on which an estimate of the enemy’s purpose could be based came from higher authority. Not a sign of the coming thrust could be discerned by the men holding the line. The only suspicious circumstance lay in the failure of the hostile artillery to retaliate after the heavy bombardment carried out by our gunners at dawn every morning. On the 13th, 14th, and 15th, our left and the right of the Division on our left were subjected to severe gas bombardments; but apart from this the silence of the enemy’s artillery was significant. Nothing unusual occurred till the 16th, when an extraordinary amount of movement was reported by our observers, and it was noticed that our heavy artillery “shoots” caused a surprising number of explosions.

During these days of suspense Brig.-General Tudor was in command of the Ninth, General Blacklock having gone on leave on the 16th. The Corps Summary for the 19th stated that the attack was to be expected on the 20th or 21st. It would have been impossible for anyone to detect any trace of nervousness among our troops, and a remark in the diary of the Highland Brigade on the 6th March that “the enemy is supposed to be going to attack here” reflected in its cheerful unconcern the attitude of the men. But the strain of waiting was beginning to tell on them physically, since the need for unremitting vigilance and frequent “stand-to’s” materially curtailed the time for sleep. Hence the stroke of the enemy was longed for more than feared.

The German plan of attack is described in Meine Kriegserinnerungen by Ludendorff. The enemy had two fronts[106] of attack; the northern extending from Croisilles to Moeuvres; the southern from Villers-Guislain to a point on the Oise near the junction of the French and British fronts. The position of the Ninth was exceptionally complicated; the southern half of its area was included in the German southern front of attack, but the northern half lay in an area comprising the Flesquières salient, which projected between the two zones of the hostile operations, and against which it was no part of Ludendorff’s plan to push home an attack. In addition to the northern wing of the Ninth, the salient was held by three divisions of the V. Corps, and provided that the pressure north and south of it met with success, Ludendorff had good reason to expect that the whole of the garrison would be cut off and forced to surrender. It is important to note that the Ninth’s line of retreat, plainly indicated on the map, lay south-west, while the direction of the enemy’s southern advance ran due west. Thus it was clear that, should the German attack compel a retirement, the Division would be in danger of being cut off, since its line of retreat took it across the enemy’s front.