Historical records of the Buffs, East Kent Regiment (3rd Foot)

by R. S. H. Moody

The time allowed in the back area was not a long one, however, and, on the 12th July, the Buffs moved by companies via Maricourt to relieve a battalion of the Liverpool Regiment about Maltz Horn Farm, which is in the immediate vicinity of Trones Wood and marked the extreme right of the English line. Here the French were on the right of the battalion, and as the enemy still held Trones Wood and, as an old German communication trench running at right angles to the front was now held by us, it was necessary to have sentries facing both ways. On the 13th July orders came that the 55th Infantry Brigade was to attack this wood, and the following order was arranged for the Battle of Bazentin Ridge in so far as the brigade was concerned: the 7th West Kent to attack the southern half of the wood from the south; the 7th Queen’s to attack the northern half from the west; the 7th Buffs, less B Company, to remain in Maltz Horn Trench, mentioned above as running at right angles to this line—one platoon to attack a certain strong point.

B Company was lent to the 7th Queen’s, attacked with them and suffered very severe losses. 8th East Surrey to be in reserve.

At 7 p.m. one platoon of D Company, under 2nd Lieut. Scott, attacked the strong point mentioned above. A bombing party moved along the trench and entered it by a tunnel, but, on its entry, the enemy was encountered in strength and its force appeared to increase, reinforcements apparently coming in from the direction of the wood. The consequence was that Scott withdrew his party and reorganized it. He then proceeded to attack his objective over the open by parties from the flanks, but he was met by heavy rifle and machine-gun fire and was compelled to withdraw with loss. Verbal messages came over the telephone about 10 p.m. that the holding of Maltz Horn Trench, the defensive flank, was of the first importance and the line was not to be thinned in order to attack the strong point again. Nevertheless, attacks were continued on the morning of the 14th, and about 9 a.m. the point was evacuated by the enemy, and patrols were sent forward down the trench which led to Guillemont. No opposition was met with, as the enemy was retiring towards that place. Touch was then established with the 54th Brigade, and in the evening of the 14th the battalion (less the company attached to the Queen’s) was lent to this brigade and remained with it in the front line, after their own had been relieved, until the early morning of the 18th, when it was withdrawn to Grovetown Camp; there it stayed till the 21st, on which date it was withdrawn temporarily from the Somme fighting and entrained at Mericourt for Longpré and later to St. Omer. From there it marched to Recquinghem, and finally to Hondeghem, about half-way between St. Omer and Ypres. A fairly quiet life was now the portion of this battalion for a few weeks, spent at first in the line near Bois Grenier, and afterwards resting at Monchy Breton, near the little town of St. Pol, reorganizing and training, always training, and absorbing fresh drafts from England.

At the end of September the battalion moved south again for the great struggle at Thiepval. This village is about a mile from the River Ancre, on the eastern bank, which is here very high and steep. Indeed, the place is quite four hundred feet above the stream. It had been taken from the Germans on the 26th September, and on that same date the Royal West Kent Regiment (of the 55th Brigade) had reached Crucifix Corner, though the Buffs were only at Hedauville but were still on the march, so that the battalion bivouacked that night somewhat nearer the scene of action. On the morning of the 27th, starting at 5.30, it moved by platoons to Crucifix Corner, where the men got into dug-outs and there remained till the afternoon of the 29th, when it relieved the 8th Suffolk Regiment, A and C Companies proceeding to Wood Post, and B and D to the old German line. One platoon of A Company acted as carrying party to Thiepval for the 8th East Surrey Regiment. At 7 a.m. on the following day came the S.O.S. signal from the northern edge of the Schwaben Redoubt and the Buffs were ordered to stand by in readiness. The Schwaben Redoubt was in shape roughly an oval and certainly not a square, though the terms north face, west face, etc., are used for convenience in the following narrative of the fight there. It was somewhere about five hundred yards long and two hundred broad, and the original parapets were so knocked about by the 1st October that they were mere mounds and ditches with shelving sides. For defence they had to be roughly and rapidly improved and adapted as occasion required, but on account of the constant bombardment it was impossible to shape them up properly.

What had happened in this place was that the enemy, making a somewhat sudden and resolute attack, had driven the defenders back from the southern face of the work, considerably weakened one of the East Surrey companies and captured the whole of the western face. Counter-attacks were immediately organized and, in connection with this, D Company of the Buffs was, at 9.35 a.m., sent up to occupy the northern defences of the village of Thiepval, and at 1.25 this company got orders to send two platoons to act in conjunction with the East Surrey in attacking and capturing the Schwaben Redoubt. These two platoons were given definite objectives and the zero hour was fixed at 4 p.m.

A Company moved up to Thiepval and reported to the O.C. 8th East Surrey. At 9.15 in the evening, the attack on the west face having failed, and that on the north one having succeeded, it was found that the Surrey battalion had suffered too much loss to be of much further use, and the rest of the Buffs went forward to take over the redoubt, together with the western defences of the village.

Soon after midnight came a short message from 2nd Lieut. Carman, who commanded the two platoons of D Company that had gone forward to attack with the Surrey men. It was to the effect that his men were almost entirely wiped out directly the starting-point was left.

One of the most difficult periods the battalion ever had to face during the war commenced with the month of October. The commanding officer held a consultation with the chief of the East Surrey and they decided that B Company of the Buffs (Captain Brice) should take over the whole of the front line occupied by the Surrey men, and this relief was completed by 5.45 a.m. on the 1st October. At 12.50 B Company was able to report that Point R.19.d.45 was taken and touch got with the Royal West Kent, so now the Buffs held part of the northern and part of the southern face of the redoubt, and the West Kent held the country down to the River Ancre.

It may be remarked that the contending forces were a good deal mixed in the Schwaben Redoubt on the 1st October. In fact, about half-past eight o’clock a German officer and twenty-six men emerged from a dug-out and gave themselves up to Captain Brice’s men. The curious situation led to very extensive use of bombs on both sides. B Company was ordered to work the northern face with bombing parties, and great attempts were made to clear the Redoubt by these means throughout the day, but no substantial improvement was made. C Company relieved B on the 2nd and was itself relieved next day, and still an indecisive bombing fight went on, alternating with rather heavy shelling. At noon on the 4th October it was decided that the only way to clear the redoubt of the enemy was by bombing, and bombing alone, and in still greater intensity and continuity. Orders came that this mode of fighting was to go on day and night with the greatest vigour, and that bomb-stops were to be made down all communication trenches which led northward.

The companies were by this time terribly depleted, and the brigade gave orders that all positions were to be held, but no further advance made. This was at 3.45 p.m., and it was not till 11.40 p.m. that the welcome news came that at 6 o’clock in the morning the 8th Norfolks would attack with bombing parties along the western face of the redoubt, Stokes and Vickers guns co-operating. At 3.30 a.m. on the 5th October, therefore, Norfolk bombing parties arrived at Thiepval in search of guides, and, these being supplied, they went on. The Buffs had received the simple orders to hold their own and nobly was that order obeyed: the conditions were terrible; heavy rain had reduced the shell-pitted ground to a sea of mud and it was thick with dead; German heavy artillery was concentrated on the position and bombing attacks were constant; but not an inch of ground was given up. The brothers A. S. and C. D. Hayfield and the regimental doctor, Captain McCullum Orme, particularly distinguished themselves. A. S. Hayfield was unhappily mortally wounded, another very fine officer being lost to the army. News came in the morning that the battalion was to be relieved in the afternoon and, by 5.15, this relief was effected. At 2.30 next morning (the 6th October) the battalion arrived by motor buses at Hedauville and the next day to Candas, which is not far from Doullens. The 1st-6th October was a terrible time and not to be forgotten by the survivors. The estimated casualty list being: one officer killed, 2nd Lieut. D. M. Taylor; one died of wounds, 2nd Lieut. A. S. Hayfield; and nine others wounded. 26 men killed, 152 wounded and 23 missing.