Warning orders, immediately sent out to brigades, prevented Brig.-General Dawson from carrying out an attempt, which he had in mind, to recapture Gauche Wood. Instructions were also received for the Ninth to take over the defences of Chapel Hill from the Twenty-first Division; this had actually been done, but parties of the Twenty-first still on Chapel Hill and between it and Revelon Farm were relieved by the South Africans during the night. In order that the extra territory then taken over might be adequately guarded, the 11th Royal Scots were sent up to reinforce the South Africans, who established a continuous line from Chapel Hill in front of Revelon Farm to Railton, a trench being dug on it after dark by the Sappers and 9th Seaforths. With the approach of dusk the withdrawal from the Forward Zone began and was carried out without molestation, the night passing quietly except for slight gas-shelling of Dessart Wood. Cheering news filtered through at midnight; the Twenty-first Division had retaken the Yellow Line from south of Chapel Hill to the Railton-Peizière Railway, and the prospect at the close of the first day’s fighting seemed distinctly good.
With the second day, trials and troubles for the Ninth accumulated and grew in magnitude as the enemy’s attack was pressed, and during the following days only consummate leadership and indomitable gallantry enabled the Division to extricate itself from the dangers that threatened it on all sides.
When dawn came, gelid shadows of mist drifted over the landscape, bringing poor comfort to men who, half-numbed with cold, had passed a long, sleepless night. There was no change in our dispositions, the Battle Zone being held by the South African Brigade on the right and the Highland Brigade on the left, each being deployed in depth between the Yellow and Brown Systems. At 7 A.M. General Tudor was informed by the Corps Commander that as the weight of the enemy’s assault was expected to be in the south, he must be prepared to take over the front of the Twenty-first Division as far as the Railton-Peizière Railway by 10 A.M., and orders for this relief were issued at 8.35 A.M. But before they could be carried out heavy fighting had recommenced.
Enshrouded by fog, the Germans brought up undetected numerous trench mortars, with the fire of which they hammered our positions from Chapel Hill to Railton. Brig.-General Dawson, now established at Sorel, had not the same control of communications as on the previous day, and was less able to assist his infantry effectively with artillery-fire. The persevering and tenacious Germans gradually mastered the Hill, as the garrison became weakened by fatigue and casualties. General Tudor, having realised that there was little prospect of the Twenty-first Division establishing any line in front of the Brown System, which ran south from Railton Station, instructed Brig.-General Dawson to hold the Reserve Switch, which connected the front and rear lines of the Yellow System along the line of the Revelon Farm-Gouzeaucourt road. But our strained right flank was still locked in conflict, and General Tudor contemplated an attack by his reserves to relieve the pressure on the South Africans, but he was instructed by the Corps Commander, in view of the situation farther south, to form a switch from the Yellow System on the left to the Brown System on the right.
Scrupulous care and timely anticipation marked the actions of the G.O.C. In the forenoon he had sent one of his staff officers to acquaint the Forty-seventh Division with the critical state of affairs on our front, and at 12.15 P.M. he warned it by telephone that there was a possibility of our being ordered to retire to the Brown Line, and that as this withdrawal would necessarily be in a south-westerly direction, the length of the front of the Forty-seventh would be greatly extended. The situation on our right flank was precarious enough in itself, and General Tudor was anxious to assure his left.
In the afternoon matters developed rapidly. The policy of the Fifth Army was to fight a rearguard action to delay the enemy, and the Ninth was instructed to withdraw at once to the Brown Line; but before this order was issued another message commanded a retirement to the Green Line. The South African and Highland Brigades were accordingly told to move back to the Brown Line at 4.30 P.M., and from it to the Green Line at 7.30 P.M. The 12th Royal Scots already occupied the Green Line north of Nurlu, and the Black Watch, the reserve battalion of the 26th Brigade, were withdrawn at once, and taking up a position on the left of the Royal Scots held the Green Line as far north as the Fins-Equancourt Railway, with the details of the 26th Brigade on their left. Brig.-General Croft directed the K.O.S.B. to hold the high ground between Sorel and Lieramont, and two companies of the 11th Royal Scots were posted south-west of Heudecourt. The 150th A.F.A. Brigade was withdrawn and came into action south of Sorel. It was hoped by these dispositions to secure the Green Line and cover the southern flank of the South Africans and Highlanders during their retirement, which in the case of the former at least was bound to be of exceptional difficulty, since by 4 P.M. the enemy in the south had entered Guyencourt and threatened to cut across the Division’s line of retreat.
The first stage of the retirement was accomplished successfully. When the Germans noticed our movement they advanced in dense formations past Revelon Farm, until they were broken up in confusion by heavy fire from the 2nd South African Regiment. The retreat to the Green Line was one long struggle against frantic odds and deadly perils. Farther south the plodding Germans, still making ground, had pierced before dark the Brown Line south of Railton in the sector of the Twenty-first Division, and, commencing to roll up our line, burst into Heudecourt from the south-east at 6.30 P.M. This manœuvre threatened the right wing of the Ninth with destruction, and all three battalions of the South African Brigade were in imminent danger of envelopment. Safety depended on the successful checking of the enemy until the friendly mantle of night gave the several units an opportunity to retire. General control was impossible, but section and subordinate leaders handled their men in a manner that must have excited the admiration even of their skilful adversaries, and the bulk of the South African forces succeeded in reaching the Green Line.
While the retirement of the artillery was taking place, throngs of hostile aeroplanes flitting above them sprayed the teams with bullets and engaged our infantry. In the dim light, the South Africans could see in Sorel the sad evidences of an army in retreat; streams of wounded, guns, and details of departmental units were hurrying through the streets, while the enemy was pressing on towards the village in large numbers. It was imperative to stop him until our retiring troops and guns had reached safety, and Brig.-General Dawson manned the trenches west of Sorel with the personnel of his staff. The K.O.S.B., already in position, were engaged with the Germans, and with the help of Brig.-General Dawson’s staff brought them to a halt. Before they had time to organise an attack the last guns had left the village, and Brig.-General Dawson with his H.Q. drew off into divisional reserve at Moislains. The remnants of his three battalions withdrew north to Fins, which they left as the advance parties of the enemy entered it, and thence they retired without interference behind the Green Line. A few of the South Africans missed their way in the darkness and did not rejoin the Division until some days later.
The retirement of the Highlanders was attended with many thrills. In the morning they had been undisturbed and patrols had remained till noon in Gouzeaucourt, which was spasmodically shelled by the Germans, who seemed to be unaware that our men had left the Forward Zone. Fortunately there was no frontal pursuit; for the Germans advancing from Gonnelieu walked into our anti-tank minefield and exploding some of the bombs hurriedly retired. The route of the Seaforths and Camerons ran through Fins to Etricourt, but the enemy had already taken possession of the former, and the Highlanders had to make a wide detour to the north in order to reach Etricourt, where they spent the night, part holding the line with the Black Watch and part in brigade reserve.
The flames of burning huts fired by the Sappers, with the dark silhouettes of retiring troops, formed an awesome and romantic spectacle. From Nurlu ascended clouds of brick-dust, like the genie from the brass bottle, and shell dumps belched forth volumes of thick black smoke and glowing flames, while every now and then a heavy shell exploded with a deafening crash, and green, red, white, and blue rockets soared through the air like fairy fountains.