Liez is about three miles north of the River Oise, and two from the St. Quentin Canal, which practically here defined the forward line of defence into which the Buffs moved up on the 13th March and continued their preparations to receive the enemy. On the night of the 15th a single platoon, under Lieut. C. W. Jemmett, made a reconnaissance in force on the canal bridge on the Vendeuil-Chaugny road, in which Jemmett unfortunately lost his life. The bridge was found to be held in force. The records of this period are somewhat meagre, as nearly all the papers referring to it had later on to be destroyed in a hurry to prevent them falling into the enemy’s hands, but it seems clear that some casualties resulted from the attack on this canal bridge. On the 20th March came the order “Prepare for Action,” and next morning the fight commenced.
VII. 8th Battalion—Battle of Pilckem Ridge
The 8th Battalion after its fight at the Buffs’ Bank enjoyed a good long rest and pleasant change. It was at Escoeuilles in the Lumbres area for over a fortnight, and from there went on to the seaside at Ecault, about four miles south of Boulogne, for two or three days. This was really an enjoyable holiday; passes were granted into Boulogne, and the camp authorities were most kind; but all good things come to an end, and the 16th July found the men on the march again for Mic Mac Camp and the trenches. It took nearly a week to cover this distance, as no forced marches were called for, and so, on the 22nd July, the battalion started on the monotonous old trench work once more. Headquarters, with C Company, were quartered in a tunnel, some of these having been constructed of late by regular tunnelling companies of specially selected troops. This trench tour of the 8th Buffs, which lasted only six days, was a very strenuous one and occasioned no less than 160 casualties.
On the 25th one of our own heavy guns dropped a shell on our left front post and buried it. The post had been held by one N.C.O. and eight men, and four of these were wounded and the remainder badly shaken. Gas alarms were very numerous on this date. The following day was marked by minor enterprises undertaken by units on the Buffs’ left, our artillery opening at 5.5 p.m. The result was satisfactory, but unfortunately the regiment was unable to take part. On the 27th, a little before noon, a large shell pierced a tunnel occupied by our men, killing four, gassing about thirty and causing considerable delay to the carrying parties by blocking the gangway. On the 28th the Buffs were back for a day or two at Mic Mac Camp, and on the 31st the Battle of Pilckem Ridge commenced.
This was a carefully organized attack on our part with a view to gaining the crest of the high ground east of Ypres, and though troops were to be engaged all the way from Deulemont to Steenstraat—a fifteen-mile front—the brunt of the work was apportioned to the 5th Army under Sir Hubert Gough, acting between Boesinghe and the road which runs from Zillebeke to Zandvoorde. Thus it came about that on the 30th July the Buffs moved up to assembly positions in Ecluse Trench, passing Dickebusch en route. Barrage rations were issued and the men awaited the break of day and zero hour, which was fixed for 3.50 a.m. on the 31st. They were not in the front line, and one hour after zero moved up to the position vacated by the 12th Royal Fusiliers in Canada Tunnel, reaching it without casualties, after meeting several wounded men from different units of the division, from whom only garbled accounts of what was going forward could be gleaned. For the whole of this first day our men lay in the stifling tunnels, where the heat was tremendous and the odour most offensive. It was not till 8.30 the next night that the Buffs emerged from their unpleasant surroundings and pushed forward to relieve the 3rd Rifle Brigade in our new front line, which was, however, not as far off as had been planned; for the British advance had been halted by very heavy opposition from shells, machine guns and rifle fire. The Rifle Brigade proved very difficult to discover, owing to the darkness and inefficient guides and, when found, their portion of the new line was far from comfortable, especially on the left, where D Company was. It proved a chain of posts in shell holes which were mostly half full of water; the rain was falling, too, and the hostile shelling was heavy.
However, a welcome relief came on the evening of the following day, and in the dark, over very heavy and unknown ground, the battalion stumbled through the night, suffering a few casualties, including Captain Morrell slightly wounded, until at daylight the men made the camp again and rested at Dickebusch for some two or three days before going up into line once more on the 7th, on which occasion battalion headquarters was established in Canada Tunnel as before.
At 4.35 a.m. on the 10th August, in accordance with orders received, an attempt was made to capture Lower Starpost, 2nd Lieut. Lowles and forty-seven men of B Company being detailed for the job. This little party formed up at 3.45 and was subjected to very heavy shelling while waiting for the zero hour. Then our barrage opened and three minutes later the majority of the guns lifted, but one of the batteries failed to do so for another minute and a half, which mistake cost twelve casualties and greatly disorganized the party. However, the men advanced, only to find that, owing to the delay in the lifting of some of the guns, the enemy was all ready and, having left the dug-outs, was awaiting what was to come. By this time Lowles and all his N.C.O.’s except L.-Corpl. Simson were wounded, but the stout lance-corporal immediately opened fire with his Lewis gun and ordered his men to charge. The gun jammed almost immediately, and the enemy defended himself briskly with stick bombs. The remaining one-third of the party—two-thirds of the original number having dropped—could make no headway against the strong opposition encountered and returned to the lines, having had 5 killed, 23 wounded and 3 missing, and having shown great courage and determination.
From this date until the 21st September life was somewhat monotonous and consisted, as usual, of work in the trenches and rest in camp in alternate periods, Larch Wood tunnels being the scene of the one and Mic Mac Camp and Dickebusch of the other. Clear weather and a bright harvest moon the first week in September caused the enemy to try bombing a good many British camps at night from aeroplanes, and the Buffs experienced this form of annoyance together with other units. On the 11th September, while moving up into the trenches, two men were killed and another wounded, and 2nd Lieut. Cooper and R.S.M. Dare were so badly shaken up that they had to be sent away for a while. The next day the enemy shelled the ration dump, causing some minor casualties. L.-Corpl. Bussell and Pte. Gasking later on got M.M.’s for coolness and bravery on this occasion.
On the 16th September the battalion was put into buses and removed to Oultersteen, which is three miles beyond Bailleul, and five days later it entrained for Bapaume and marched to Ypres. On the 27th it marched to Haut Allaines, on the 29th to Hervilly, and on the 30th took its place in the line with French on their right, the battalion being thus at the extreme right of the British line.
The first week in October, in this portion of the line, was devoted mostly to patrol work, and a few casualties occurred, two men being killed and another wounded on the 3rd, but the work was the same as usual. Bernes and Vadencourt were the resting-places, and Ascencion Wood the chief object of the patrols.