The commencement of the year 1916 found the 7th Battalion in billets at Dernancourt. Early in January Lt.-Colonel Elmslie was invalided, and Major Birch took his job until the arrival of the new commander, Lt.-Colonel A. L. Ransome, of the Dorsetshire Regiment. In February the battalion moved to St. Gratien, where it remained for fifteen days, being employed in making the Daours-Contay railway; and then, in March, it took over a position south of Maricourt about Corbie and Suzanne, where it remained till the end of the month.
The incidents worthy of note at this time were not very numerous, and the important move of the spring was to Picquigny, where strenuous preparation for the coming great battle was continuously and methodically engaged in: dummy trenches were laid out on a replica of the ground over which the men were to attack, and one full-dress rehearsal for the brigade took place with contact aeroplanes and flares, the Commander-in-Chief being present. This special preparation went on till the 10th June, when the battalion started for the line itself, and it is not too much to say that the soldiers were remarkable for keenness and zeal. There is always more of excitement and dash in an offensive than in the somewhat tame and monotonous business of a passive defence, though quite as much heroism can be exhibited in the one as in the other. “Let us get at them” is, at any rate, a more popular sentiment than “Stand fast, here they come.”
From the 11th June onward all work was concentrated in preparing assembly trenches, communication trenches and dumps for the forthcoming attack. The battalion was at Bray sur Somme on the 17th June and remained there till the last day of the month, when it marched into its assembly trench in Lapree Wood ready for the assault. It may be remembered that on this day, the 30th June, 1916, the 6th Battalion was at Bresle, about nine miles away.
On the great 1st of July the 55th Brigade, a unit of which was the 7th Battalion The Buffs, to whose part in the struggle we will now refer, held the line in front of Carnoy, and its objective was a trench about two hundred yards north of the Montauban-Fricourt road. Zero hour was 7.30 a.m., and the following was the order of battle for the attack: the 7th Queen’s were on the left, the 8th East Surrey on the right, the 7th Buffs in support, with the special task of clearing the Carnoy craters, and the 7th Royal West Kent were in reserve. At 7 a.m. our barrage became intense and remained so till 7.22, at which time all guns of the Trench Mortar battery opened for eight minutes, and at the zero hour the whole brigade went forward to the assault. Local conditions necessitated the breaking up of the Buffs for several and separate duties: two platoons of B Company, under 2nd Lieut. Tatam, were to clear the Carnoy mine craters; two platoons of the same company to assist the assaulting battalions by clearing up captured trenches or ground;[15] C Company to consolidate and garrison a certain trench called the Pommiers Trench. Two platoons of D Company to act as carrying parties. Two platoons of A Company to garrison two selected localities in rear of the Pommiers Trench.
The Carnoy mine craters took six hours to clear, and six hours’ very heavy fighting it was, carried out under 2nd Lieut. Tatam, whose excellent work was rewarded by a M.C. C Company was soon called away to aid the East Surreys, as were later on two platoons of A Company. In fact, these two platoons of A, together with one of C Company, under Lieuts. Dyson and Budds respectively, reached the final objective and held that part of it allotted to the East Surrey Regiment until relieved by other troops. Again it became necessary about noon to send up half D Company to make good part of the final objective of the 7th Queen’s. This was done successfully, but the company lost its commander, Captain G. T. Neame, during the operation.
There is no doubt that during the whole operation, which was carried out more or less as planned, our troops encountered far more opposition than was anticipated; particularly was this the case at the craters, to attack which only two platoons were originally assigned, a number of men quite inadequate. The whole position, indeed, proved to be a very strong one, consisting of four lines.
The battalion lost the following casualties on this day:—
Killed: Captain G. T. Neame; Lieuts. P. G. Norbury and E. H. A. Goss; and 2nd Lieut. J. F. Baddeley and 48 other ranks.
Wounded: Captain C. K. Black; 2nd Lieut. H. Owen and 144 other ranks; and 7 missing.
The Buffs remained in the front-line trenches till the night of the 4th/5th July and were heavily shelled, the enemy relaxing nothing of his activity and energy in this respect. The Pommiers line had been consolidated and it was now the special mark of the German gunners. The battalion reached Bronfay Farm about 3.30 a.m. on the 5th after a very strenuous four days. The 5th was spent in resting, and the 6th in necessary reorganization.