2. On the 147th Infantry Brigade front, the 6th Battalion was to attack from a position south of Famers straight towards Saultain, with the 7th Battalion in support. The final objective for the first day was the line of the Marly—Préseau Road, south-west of Saultain.
For a time the role of the 4th Battalion was uncertain. At first it was feared the men would have to dump all arms and act as stretcher-bearers. But in the end, it was decided to keep them in Brigade Reserve, ready to exploit the situation should the attack go well. Preparations for this operation, and reconnaissance of the forward area, kept everyone fully occupied for the next few days. Only an occasional shell fell near, and no casualties were suffered.
Zero hour for the attack was 5-15 a.m. on November 1st. The evening before, as soon as it was dark, the Battalion moved up into the area south of Maing, where it occupied slits in the sunken roads. These had just been vacated by the 7th Battalion, which had gone forward to the neighbourhood of Caumont Farm, in support to the attack. Here the night was spent, the Battalion having orders not to move without direct word from 147th Infantry Brigade H.Q.
At zero hour the men of the 6th Battalion went forward under a splendid barrage. They crossed the river, partly on fallen trees, and partly over light bridges, which were carried forward with the assaulting troops by parties from the 19th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers. They captured and held the Aulnoy—Préseau Road, which was their intermediate objective, and some of them even reached their final objective. But the 4th Division on their right had not been so successful; after getting into the village of Préseau, it was heavily counter-attacked by two regiments of a fresh enemy division from reserve, and was driven out again. Thus, with its right flank uncovered, and having suffered heavy casualties, the 6th Battalion could not hold its final objective. Instead, it dug in on a line in front of the intermediate objective.
But the success gained was very great. Several hundreds of prisoners had been taken by the 6th Battalion; indeed, the number of prisoners captured was almost double the total number of assaulting troops, on that part of the front. The first party to arrive at Battalion H.Q. was about 200 strong, and its size caused some uneasiness to the corporal and five men of the 4th Battalion, who were the only escort available. Really they had no cause to worry, for the prisoners were only too glad to be out of it, and all they wanted at the moment was to get well away from the fighting. As soon as they were marched off they started running at such a rate that the escort had hard work to keep up with them. These prisoners were a very mixed lot. Some were fine-looking men, but the majority were of poor physique, and the proportion of quite young boys was considerable. Perhaps nothing showed more clearly the straits to which German man-power had been reduced than the poor specimens who were captured from the 6th (German) Division—one of the active divisions which had invaded Belgium at the beginning of August, 1914, and which had been, throughout the war, one of the enemy’s most famous assault divisions.
The 4th Battalion did not take any real part in the fighting on November 1st. Soon after 8-0 a.m. it moved up to positions of readiness near Caumont Farm, which then became Battalion H.Q. About the middle of the afternoon, when an enemy counter-attack was expected, two companies were moved further forward. But none ever came into action. A weak counter-attack did develop in the afternoon, but it was easily repulsed by the front line troops, who actually advanced their line some hundreds of yards as a result of it. The enemy indulged in some scattered shelling, mainly about the river, but no casualties were suffered by the Battalion.
Cambrai—Valenciennes.
It was expected that the Brigade would be relieved that night by the 148th Infantry Brigade. In fact, not only had all preparations been made for the relief, but practically the whole of the relieving troops had come up, and some details of the Battalion were on their way out. Then a sudden alteration was made, and a fresh attack was arranged for the next morning. During the night the 7th Battalion relieved the 6th Battalion in the front line, and the 4th Battalion moved up into support. A and C Companies occupied the intermediate objective; B and D Companies were on the road just east of the river. The 148th Infantry Brigade relieved the 146th Infantry Brigade on the left. The objective was the final objective of the previous day.
At 5-30 a.m. on November 2nd the 7th Battalion attacked and easily gained its objective, which was not a distant one. Nevertheless, nearly one hundred prisoners were captured during the operation. As soon as news of the success arrived, D Company was pushed forward into some old rifle pits behind the intermediate objective, to be ready to assist should the enemy counter-attack. About 1-30 p.m. an urgent warning arrived—the R.A.F. had reported that the Mons-Valenciennes Road was packed with transport and guns moving west, and that masses of troops could be seen in the neighbourhood of Saultain; a heavy counter-attack was expected. But nothing happened. The Mons-Valenciennes Road was crowded with columns; but the R.A.F. had mistaken their direction. They were moving eastward, not westward. The enemy was in full retreat.