Lieut.-Col. J. WALKER, D.S.O.
Meanwhile, except for such men as Cpl. Denham’s Lewis gun team which had become detached from its company, no one had seen or heard anything of D Company since the opening of the attack. Like the rest it had advanced at zero hour, and had crossed No Man’s Land on a right incline. Its two waves had halted near the enemy front line, waiting for the barrage to lift. Comparatively few casualties had been suffered in the advance, but these included Sec.-Lieut. C. W. Tomlinson missing, and Lieut. J. T. Riley and C.S.M. J. C. Walker wounded. Both of the latter refused to go to the rear to have their wounds dressed, and continued the advance with the rest of the company. When the barrage lifted, the men stormed the enemy front line, and some of them extended up a very battered communication trench, which they believed to be their objective. All dugouts were bombed, and several prisoners were taken; these apparently suffered the same fate as most of the other prisoners that day. The men set to work to consolidate what had been captured. They had not been long in their new position when the enemy made a weak counter-attack, from the direction of the Schwaben Redoubt. This was driven off without difficulty, but the men had very little opportunity to carry on with the consolidation. Their position was very exposed and the enemy defences, which had been captured, were so shattered that they afforded little cover. Very heavy rifle and machine gun fire, both from the Schwaben Redoubt and the east, was directed on them; and shells were soon bursting in their midst. But where was the Company? The exact position it reached that day has been a matter for controversy ever since. No other company ever got into touch with it, and the German report, already mentioned, sheds no light on the mystery. It seems probable, indeed almost certain, that they inclined too much to the right in crossing No Man’s Land, and entered the enemy front line to the south-east of point 84; in fact, it would appear that the Company actually captured, and held for some hours, the fringe of the Schwaben Redoubt. But it is only fair to say that Sergt. (now C.S.M.) W. Brooke, the only senior N.C.O. of D Company who got back to the British lines, is still convinced that the Company reached point 84, its correct objective.
It is convenient, at this point, to interrupt the narrative for a short time, in order to summarise the situation about 7-0 a.m. and to note what steps had been taken by the enemy to deal with it.
About 7-0 a.m. the positions of companies were as follows:—
A Company held the German support line from point 86, where there was an isolated post, to a little way beyond point 66. On both flanks the line was clear of the enemy for some considerable distance.
B Company held the German front line, from about midway between points 84 and 54, to beyond point 54. No enemy was in the line between the Company and point 84, nor for some distance on the left.
D Company held a position facing south-east, on the fringe of the Schwaben Redoubt; exactly where cannot be said.
All companies were very weak and no reinforcements had arrived, for reasons which will be indicated later. Only one officer per company was left—Lieut. W. N. Everitt, M.C., with A Company, Sec.-Lieut. H. E. Pohlmann with B Company, and Lieut. J. T. Riley with D Company. Sec.-Lieut. V. A. Horsfall of B Company fell soon after the first objective was taken. Sec.-Lieut E. C. Mee of D Company was lying dead in the enemy wire. Supplies of S.A.A. were running very low, and bombs were almost exhausted. No carrying parties had been able to get up to the captured positions, and the only way to replenish was to collect from the dead and wounded who dotted the ground. But the most serious aspect of the situation was that the rest of the attack south of the Ancre had failed. By 7-0 a.m. the only British troops maintaining their positions in the enemy defences were those of the Battalion, with elements of the 5th Battalion—all hopelessly mixed up. The enemy, finding there were no British near the Pope’s Nose, was re-occupying his front line there, and cautiously feeling his way along the trench towards B Company.
Meanwhile, energetic measures had been taken from the start by the German commander opposite. As soon as the situation began to develop clearly, he directed part of his reserve troops to counter-attack along, and parallel to, the Munster Gasse. The remainder were sent to the Schwaben Redoubt to strengthen the garrison there, and to counter-attack from that direction. There is no doubt that the enemy attached more importance to the holding of the Schwaben Redoubt than to anything else on that front. This is amply proved by the dispositions of his reserve troops on September 3rd. It is also borne out by men of the Battalion who were captured that day, and who have given accounts of their examinations by the enemy. And the enemy was right. With the Schwaben Redoubt still in his hands, he could dominate and enfilade practically all the objectives of the 49th Division. It would also appear, from their own account, that the Germans found it necessary to utilise the whole of their regimental reserve that day, before they succeeded in repelling the British; and that they even began to draw reinforcements from another unit—the 66th Infantry Regt.