On the 3rd May, 1917, Haig attacked the enemy with the Third and First Armies from Fresnoy to Fontaine lez Croisilles, while the Fifth Army assaulted the Hindenburg Line about Bullecourt, and together these forces fought what is known as the Third Battle of the Scarpe. To quote the Commander-in-Chief’s despatches: “Along practically the whole of this front our troops broke into the enemy’s position. Australian troops carried the Hindenburg Line east of Bullecourt. Eastern County battalions took Cherisy. Other English troops entered Rœux and captured the German trenches south of Fresnoy. Canadian battalions found Fresnoy full of German troops assembled for a hostile attack, which was to have been delivered at a later hour. After hard fighting, in which the enemy lost heavily, the Canadians carried the village, thereby completing an unbroken series of successes.” It is necessary to remember that the 6th Battalion the Buffs was on this date at Monchy, and the 7th opposite Cherisy.

In this battle our 6th Battalion was very far from being fortunate, and it is not easy to obtain a correct description of its doings, owing to abnormal casualties and great difficulty, if not impossibility, of those in the foremost fighting line communicating with their commanding officer in the rear. The chief cause of this difficulty was the darkness, for the zero hour was fixed at 3.45 a.m. The battalion was, during the preceding night, in shell holes, A being on the right, B on the left, C supporting A, and D being behind B. Punctually on time our guns opened, and an intense barrage was timed to lift and advance one hundred yards every three minutes, and as the guns fired our men went off into the darkness, too many of them never to see the sun rise again. Every effort was made to keep communication with them, and 2nd Lieut. McAuley, the Signalling Officer, with two signallers and two orderlies, went forward to establish an advanced headquarters in what was known as Devil’s Trench, but returned at 4.30, no communication being possible. Two prisoners were sent down and apparently the battalion was advancing satisfactorily, but nothing definite could be ascertained. Even later on, when daylight came, gunfire and snipers made it hard to get any news of how matters were proceeding; but at dusk it was discovered that the Buffs had suffered much and that the line in their front was practically as before. It would seem a pity that the ground was quite unknown to the battalion which had not held the same position previously and that the orders to attack came so late that there was no time available for systematic reconnaissance.

The continuous loss of officers at this time was so serious that 2nd Lieuts. Seago and Sowter were sent for from the detail camp and, arriving about 10 p.m., were sent forward to reorganize what was left of the battalion. A bright episode occurred to lighten what must otherwise be considered as a gloomy day for the regiment, although it was a costly act of gallantry. Part of the objective allotted to the Buffs in the morning had been a spot called Keeling Copse, and it was found, after the battalion had taken stock of its losses, that 2nd Lieuts. Cockeram and Gunther with about forty men and a Lewis gun had actually got there, only to discover that they were completely isolated, the enemy having re-formed his line behind them, and both sides being in their original trenches. Thus three lines of Germans intervened between this handful of men and their comrades. Nothing daunted, however, they held their own all day, accounted for many of the enemy and then, when night fell and they had expended every cartridge and bomb they possessed, they gallantly fought their way back again, breaking through one line after another, until at last the two subalterns and thirteen of their stout lads were enabled to report themselves to battalion headquarters. Cockeram and Gunther both received the M.C. for their gallant conduct on this occasion. It is sad to have to add that Gunther was killed shortly afterwards within half a mile of Keeling Copse gallantly defending a trench the German was attacking. Cockeram lived to do good and gallant work later on in the Flying Corps. The casualties in this terrible action were 2nd Lieuts. J. H. Dinsmore and H. V. Hardey-Mason killed, and Captain J. B. Kitchin died of wounds; Captain McDermott and 2nd Lieuts. Williams and Nesbitt wounded; 2nd Lieuts. C. Warnington, A. Kirkpatrick, H. W. Evans and R. L. F. Forster, Lieuts. K. L. James, Grant, King and Willis missing, of whom the first five were found to have been killed; 25 other ranks killed, 128 wounded and 207 missing.

About 2 a.m. on the 4th the remnant was relieved and got back and, next day, was reorganized into two companies each of only two platoons, No. 1 Company, 2nd Lieut. Stevens in command, with Sowter, Seago and Sankey under him; and No. 2 Company, under Captain Carter, with 2nd Lieuts. Gunther and Cockeram. It was only rested in Arras for forty-eight hours and then underwent another ten days in the trenches before being relieved on the 17th, on which day it went to Duisans.

VII. 7th Battalion

While the 6th Battalion of the Buffs was suffering as briefly described above, their brethren of the 7th, on the night of the 2nd/3rd May, were opposite the village of Cherisy preparing for the attack: A and B were the assaulting companies, C the supporting company, and D was in reserve, in shell holes, in rear of the support trench. The Buffs were on the right of their brigade with the 54th Infantry Brigade on their right and the 8th East Surrey on the left. The Royal West Kent supported both Buffs and East Surreys, and the 7th Queen’s were brigade reserve. The orders given to our battalion were to advance in conjunction with the 54th Brigade and to capture Keeling Copse.

It must be admitted at once that the attack was a failure, due, in the opinion of all, to the intense darkness at 3.45. The attack of the Buffs and East Surreys was successful in itself, however, and both units showed great dash, but failure on the flanks led to a subsequent retirement, and it is sad to think that, taking part in what Sir Douglas Haig describes as a successful battle, both the brigades in which battalions of the Buffs were serving failed in the part allotted to them. There seems to be no doubt that the front waves reached their objectives, but the 12th Middlesex and 11th Royal Fusiliers, both of the 54th Brigade, failed to get past the wire covering the German front line. Little opposition was experienced at first, but the second and subsequent waves came under very heavy fire, causing their progress to be slow, so that the men who started first were more or less cut off for a time. The Germans, being unable to reinforce in masses owing to our guns, dribbled up men from their rear in very small parties. As regards details of the Buffs’ advance: all companies of the battalion got clear of the front trench before the enemy’s barrage commenced, but, owing to the darkness, sections, platoons and companies soon got mingled up together and at one time part of the Middlesex belonging to the 54th Brigade came across the Buffs’ front in the dark, but the error was skilfully rectified.

At the first glimpse of dawn the village of Cherisy was reached and passed through. As it was entered the right company had touch with the Middlesex, but on reaching the bed of the Sensée river, which is just beyond, its officer, Captain Black, discovered that this touch was lost and that the flank was in the air, though the other was in proper prolongation of its left-hand neighbouring company. He therefore determined to halt and form a defensive flank along the road which runs south-east from the village across the stream. Before this could be done he was heavily attacked, and the message he sent back to that effect failed to get through.

Meanwhile the left assaulting company, reinforced by portions of C and in touch with the East Surreys, gained the first objective, or Blue Line. D Company had halted, according to order, in what was called the “Cable” trench, which was perfectly straight and which was found to be occupied at its right extremity by a considerable number of the enemy, some of whom the company destroyed or captured, together with a machine gun. However, the Germans still held one end and a bomb-stop had to be constructed and an attempt made to progress down the trench; but it was not until a Stokes gun was brought up that any progress was made, the work being deep, narrow and difficult to bomb. Thus the situation at 9 a.m. was that Captain Black’s company (A) on the right was still open to assault and unable to move, thus causing the left, which had gained certain advantages, to lose ground for want of the support expected from the Middlesex battalion, while the reserve company was still struggling for possession of “Cable” trench, and B and C Companies had both fought their way to the Sensée river.

A little afterwards came an order that the Buffs and East Surreys were to advance to the Red Line, the West Kents to consolidate the Blue Line. About 11 o’clock reports came that a general retirement was taking place, and the enemy established an intense bombardment of our front line and back area. “Cable” trench was now full of men in addition to D Company, who had not yet been able to emerge from the trench; but our own rescuing people were hopelessly intermingled with the enemy, so that it was impossible to open fire. The Englishmen, however, who passed over and beyond the trench in their retirement, were soon rallied and brought back to the original lines, so that in half an hour or so the situation was well in hand, though “Cable” trench had been evacuated. An attempt was made at 7.15 p.m. to retake this, the assaulting battalion being the Queen’s supported by the Buffs, but the hostile machine-gun and rifle fire was too much and the attack failed. The Queen’s fell back and the Buffs occupied the original front-line trenches for the night, having suffered a casualty list of 2 officers killed, 6 wounded and 4 missing; 25 other ranks killed, 169 wounded and 174 missing.