The Buffs arrived at their assembly position at 4.15, suffering fifteen casualties from shell fire on the way. At five they moved in artillery formation towards the forming-up line. Before reaching this the leading companies came under heavy machine-gun fire from the right flank, the brigade in front having only established the line of the first objective. This little trouble, however, was obviated by our aeroplanes dropping bombs on the machine guns. The second objective was passed at 8 o’clock, or forty minutes late. D Company (Captain E. V. Morse, M.C.), on the left, cleverly outmanœuvred and captured a battery of guns, but soon afterwards the captain was killed. He had ably led his company and dealt with many difficult positions. C Company also captured its battery, but, after passing the second objective, the enemy’s opposition stiffened and a great deal of machine-gun fire came from the village of Bousies. However, at 10 o’clock the leading companies were close up to the third objective, which, by the way, should have been reached four hours earlier. At twenty minutes past ten a message was dropped from the air: “Huns still in Bousies. Our boys in eastern part ‘mopping up.’ Huns’ transport just galloped from village.” Ten minutes later Colonel Curtis ordered Captain Whitmarsh to take command of all troops in the battalion sector and endeavour to establish the Green Line, or third objective. At 12.30 the officer in charge of tanks reported that he had been in the village of Bousies with A Company (the right support) and that he had left that company there “mopping up” the village. At 2.40 p.m. all the Buffs’ companies were on a road which is beyond the point where B and A Companies were to relieve the other two. The battalion was in touch on their right, but its left flank was exposed, though patrols were busy in this direction, and these soon reported that the 2nd Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, though in rear of the Buffs’ position, were pushing forward. A and B Companies were then directed to hold the road, with the others in close support. Heavy machine-gun fire was experienced from the high ground a little distance in front. At 6 o’clock A and B moved forward and made good their objective by 7.15, and an hour afterwards were relieved by the Northamptonshire Regiment, the Buffs going into brigade reserve. Great credit was given in connection with this day’s work to the accompanying tanks under Lieut. Grey, who very fearlessly reconnoitred to the front and dealt with the machine-gun difficulty.

During the afternoon of the following day the Buffs moved into positions in Bousies and there formed a line of resistance. While still in this village on the 25th a report came in that the right sector of the brigade was withdrawing and C Company was pushed forward to deal with any possible German counter-attack, but found the battalion of the Queen’s alert for that duty. The Buffs relieved the East Surreys on outpost duty. On the 26th the brigade on the left made a determined effort to gain ground, but without much success, owing to the usual machine-gun fire. The next day the Buffs became divisional reserve in billets in Bousies, but were back again in forty-eight hours.

There was a considerable pause in the proceedings after the fight just recorded, and no further advance was made until the 4th November, the brigade taking its turn with the others both in the front line and in the trenches, but never very far from the village of Bousies. For the above-mentioned date, however, another blow had been planned. The enemy was despairing and discouraged, but must not be given too much time in which to pull himself together. The task set was very similar to that of the 23rd October. The 53rd and 54th Brigades were first to capture Preux and Hecq and get into the western part of the Mormal Forest, which is a very extensive one, but easy to pass by reason both of the numerous roads and paths and by the absence of thick underwood. After this the Buffs and Queen’s were to pass through at a certain fixed hour. For this purpose Bousies was left at 8.15, two hours after zero, and a sunken road west of Landrecies reached after a few shell casualties had been suffered by the way. Here the headquarters of a Bedfordshire battalion informed the Buffs that the attack on the left had developed satisfactorily; but the 54th Brigade on the right, having come up against strong nests or pockets of hostile machine guns just west of Preux, had made but poor progress through the orchards on its line. Owing to this the 10th Essex had been unable to reach their forming-up position, and as it was the Buffs’ job to pass through this 10th Essex they were, of course, looking out for them. The officer commanding the Buffs therefore decided not to proceed till the Essex had got on a bit, but put his battalion for a while into the trenches with the Bedfords, and sent on patrols with a request to be kept informed of the movements of those they were to relieve. At last, at 12.50, orders came to advance gradually and an hour later to push on with speed to the third objective, and so, after passing Preux, the Red Line was reached at 3.40 without further incident. After the morning’s first stubborn resistance the enemy had, as a matter of fact, retired hurriedly through the forest and put up no further fight. At 10.50 at night orders came to continue the advance at 6.30 in the morning, and at that hour the 8th East Surrey started as divisional vanguard, the Buffs following at the head of the main guard. Very little resistance was met with, and the final objective, the bank of the River Sambre at Sassegnies, was gained about noon.

At 7.50 a.m. on the 6th the 55th Brigade was by arrangement squeezed out, as it was termed, and so had finished its long fighting record. The Buffs marched back to Preux tired and very cold and wet, for the weather throughout these operations had been bad. The 8th of November took the battalion further back to Pommereuil, and there, as nothing must be left to chance, immediate reorganization and making up of deficiencies was commenced. Then came the armistice and with it the finish of the war record of the 7th Battalion of the Buffs, a record which is comparable with any battalion in the army and which includes the First Battle of Albert in 1916, the Battle of Bazentin Ridge, Thiepval Ridge, the Ancre heights, the Battle of the Ancre, the Battles of Arleux, of Poelcappelle, St Quentin, Amiens, Second Battle of Albert in 1918, the Second Battle of Bapaume, the Battle of Epehy, Battle of St Quentin Canal, the Battle of the Selle and the Battle of the Sambre.

There is not much to record for the remainder of the year. The 7th Buffs was not one of the units told off to move into Germany on the 13th November; it went into billets at Elincourt, and on the 17th there took place a brigade thanksgiving service. Then a great deal of salvage work was done, as was the case with most corps. On the 4th December His Majesty The King came to Elincourt and passed on foot between the rows of his soldiers. On the 12th of this month the battalion moved to Mallincourt, and five days later came a most unfortunate occurrence, which strikes one as particularly bad luck after the armistice had been concluded only a month or so. During salvage operations a blind shell exploded, killing seven men and wounding twenty, as well as four more who, being only slightly injured, remained at work. There was a distribution of medals, etc., to the Buffs and East Surreys on the 23rd December.

VI. 10th Battalion

The great Allied advance to victory began with our 10th Battalion near St Floris, which is seven miles south of the town of Hazebrouck. This unit and the 74th Division, to which it belonged, was part of the 5th Army, whose area was considerably north of the country in which the 6th and 7th Battalions operated. During the very strenuous and important month of September, however, the division went south to the 4th Army where the others were, and there saw fighting at the Battle of Epehy before it returned to its regular area and wound up its military experiences at Tournai in November.

The advance, as far as the 10th was concerned, commenced on the 6th August, for on that date an attempt was made to push forward. The brigade on the right succeeded, but, owing to considerable opposition, the Buffs were unable to do the same except on their right, where B Company threw out three posts to keep in touch with the 16th Devons. The battalion had one man killed and three wounded. The next day, however, C and D Companies got ahead with but little trouble, and on the 8th a further advance was made. The companies in front were now B and C, and they went forward about one thousand yards and crossed the enemy’s trenches. This progress might perhaps have been continued had other parts of the British line in the neighbourhood been equally successful. Next morning, the other two companies being in front, the advance started again, but A Company was somewhat heavily counter-attacked on its right flank, which drew back to maintain touch with the 229th Brigade on its right, which was stationary. However, at 7 o’clock D and A Companies got on to the west bank of the River Lys and would have crossed had not all the bridges been destroyed. The crossing, in fact, had to be delayed till the Royal Engineers brought up three bridges, which were quickly in place, and then the infantry dug themselves in on the far bank. The Buffs had six killed and Lieut. Atkinson and thirteen wounded.

Patrols, working to the front, soon discovered that the Germans, armed with many machine guns, were prepared to dispute any further progress, so that an effort made at 9.30 p.m. on the 12th to get forward had to be a properly organized one. It was extremely dark and the ground all shell holes and irregularities, so that the attempt to advance was a failure, though it was the means of ascertaining that it was a considerable force to which our people were opposite and not merely a small rear guard, mostly consisting of machine guns. The battalion had three killed and seventeen wounded, one of whom died, and seven missing.

On the 14th the Buffs were relieved and became supports, and two days afterwards occupied a reserve line just outside St Venant and facing east-north-east. Here the men set to work on the reserve trenches and remained at this job for a week. Soon after this the 10th Buffs entrained at Lillers for Heilly, and by the end of the month the 74th Division was down with the 4th Army in the Somme Valley, the Buffs on the 31st August being at Maurepas, near Combles. It will be remembered that this was the day first arranged for the fight round Fregicourt, which was, however, postponed for twenty-four hours; it was in this fight that the 7th Battalion took so prominent a part in cutting off the Germans who tried to defend the Morval position on the 1st September.