Chapter V
THE SOMME (Continued)
29th July to 13th October 1916

Divisional Artillery in the Salient—Reorganisation into six-gun Batteries—Move of Artillery to the Somme—Attack of Division on “Blue Line” facing Morval and Lesbœufs, 16th to 18th of September—Line near Gueudecourt—Attack on “Brown Line” overlooking Le Transloy, 7th October.

(Vide [Map II.])

When the 20th Division moved out of the Ypres Salient in July 1916, the artillery remained in the line covering the infantry of the 6th Division. Soon afterwards the XIVth Corps went south, exchanging with the VIIIth, and the remaining divisions which had composed the XIVth Corps in the salient went with it, to reappear in the Hebuterne area on their way to the Somme. Thus on the 24th the Guards handed over to the 4th Division, and on the 31st the infantry of the 6th was relieved by the infantry of the 29th, on the front covered by the 20th Divisional Artillery.

All through August the guns on both sides were very active. Almost daily some part of our position in this sector was heavily shelled, and our batteries were occupied in retaliation, and in bringing under fire various points in and behind the German lines. On the 8th the enemy was particularly aggressive, and shelled nearly all the battery positions. That night, between 11 P.M. and midnight, he discharged gas on the front of the 29th Division, which was unfortunate in having a large number of casualties, though the 20th Divisional Artillery had none.

On the 1st of September the Divisional Artillery, while still in the line, was reorganised on the basis of six guns to each 18-pr. battery. The three howitzer batteries (the fourth, it will be remembered, had left the Division in August 1915) remained unaltered, with four guns each. This involved many changes; one battery in each brigade was broken up to provide the extra guns for those that remained; several others were re-numbered, and the 90th Brigade, which had no howitzer battery, disappeared. When the reorganisation was complete the Divisional Artillery, under Brig.-General Hotham, was composed as follows:—

On the 8th of September the 20th Divisional Artillery was relieved by that of the 4th Division, and started on a six days’ march southwards to the Somme. On the 13th it came again under the XIVth Corps, but it was not to cover the front of its own infantry until the end of the month.