The stay in the land of Egypt was a very short one and was mostly devoted to training and marching. The whole of the 28th Division had moved and were to move again, for, on the 22nd November, came the orders for Salonica, the new base for operations against the Bulgarian forces. Salonica is a Greek port, but the monarch of that country was in secret a friend of the Germans, and the inhabitants proved none too friendly to the French and English forces which were making so free with Salonica.
HOHENZOLLERN REDOUBT AND THE DUMP
The move of the division was a somewhat slow and gradual business, but at last the infantry got into camp at Lembet, about four and a half miles from the port. The weather was awful: heavy snow and gales of wind, as well as a most persistent fog, which hung about for days and which greatly interfered with reconnaissance. Early in December the authorities were apparently very undecided as to whether to remain at Salonica at all, and at one time all arrangements were made for re-embarkation. The attitude of the Greek officials was one of passive resistance and formal protest, but they were civil enough. Road-making was the first job and a most necessary one, for nothing but tracks were found inland. This work was, however, varied by the building of long defence lines, which were afterwards known as the bird-cage. The Buffs’ section of these lines was near the village of Baldza, and the most important of the works was called Beevor’s Redoubt, in honour of the commanding officer who had succeeded the gallant Worthington.
So ended the most tremendous year in the history of the 2nd Battalion of the Buffs, which had been raised in 1857 by Colonel F. F. Maude, V.C., the father of the great general of whom we shall shortly read.
V. 6th Battalion
We left the 6th Battalion at Meteren, near Bailleul, which place it reached early in June, 1915.
On the 12th of that month it moved up to Armentieres to undergo the usual instruction in trench warfare under a more experienced unit, and here occurred the first casualty. The remainder of the summer was passed in trench fighting, and many incidents might be recorded in connection with mining operations and small but boldly executed patrol adventures, particularly one by Corpl. Craven. Mines were sprung by the enemy and the craters occupied, and these had to be reconnoitred to ascertain for what further offensive work they were to be used. It would be impossible, however, without publishing long and somewhat monotonous journals, to describe fully the daily trench work of the several battalions. This important service was done, practically speaking, by half the troops engaged, the other half resting, as it was called, in billets in rear. These billets were mostly leaky barns with many of the tiles off the roofs, furnished with closely packed tiers of beds one above the other, like bunks in a ship’s cabin, each bunk being floored with fine wire-netting. There was not quite such a dearth of munitions by this time, and on the last day of July there was a very heavy and important burst of artillery fire on our part, the battalion being then in the Ploegsteert Wood.
Life was fairly monotonous, however, until the 23rd September, on which day careful instructions were given in the art of the production of heavy smoke, from which it was hoped that an attacking party would be able to emerge unseen. After much conference, detailed instructions were issued on this same day regarding the proposed occupation of the German salient at Le Touquet, and it seemed as if the battalion, and indeed the whole brigade, was to take part in a great battle immediately. The 12th Divisional operation orders received at 9.30 a.m. on the 24th gave colour to this idea, and at 2 p.m. a trench-mortar bombardment of Le Touquet commenced, but the result proved disappointing and, no damage being done to the enemy’s wire, an attack in force proved impracticable. The 26th brought an artillery bombardment on both sides and our people raised a smoke curtain which appeared to be more or less satisfactory, but the following night the whole brigade was relieved by other troops and billeted in Armentieres, and, on the last day of the month, the battalion was in Vermelles relieving the Coldstream Guards, and it then moved into what had been the German line just south of the Hulluch road.
On the 11th October the Germans recovered part of the Hohenzollern Redoubt, an object they had been struggling for for some days, and they made a resolute attack near Loos which was repulsed with enormous loss.