Further attacks by the enemy on the point of the salient were made during the day, and a more serious one early next morning, but they were readily driven off with loss. We should like here to pay a tribute to the magnificent courage and coolness of the men of the 10th Battalion, which contributed very largely to the entire defeat of the enemy's attack on this front.
Meanwhile the position on the left was uncertain and very alarming, and Sergt. A. Phillipson in particular, in command of the left platoon, No. 13, had a most anxious and trying time. Elements of the 14th Division straggled from the left with stories of the German advance. These accounts might easily have demoralised our Battalion but for the magnificent example of Lieut. James, his Second-in-Command, 2nd Lieut. Vann and Sergt. A. Phillipson, and the coolness and courage of every man of D Company. The situation on this flank was serious indeed. All the trenches on the left had been captured, and the enemy were reported as pushing into the wood in the rear of our trenches. James acted promptly, and immediately pushed out a left flank-guard. Major Becher at Headquarters sent forward reinforcements from the Reserve Company, and eventually the 7th Battalion from "Maple Copse" were despatched by Brigade and did splendid work in spite of heavy shelling, in digging a switch line connecting the trenches in the neighbourhood of "Zouave Wood" to our left flank.
Early in the afternoon the Reserve Brigade of the 14th Division, who had only reached bivouacs near Poperinghe at three in the morning, returned and made a gallant but fruitless counter-attack to recover the lost trenches. Could it have been expected that men, who had been in the trenches for a week, marched back during the night no less than 12 miles, only to turn once more, march back those interminable 12 miles, part of the time under heavy shell fire, dog-tired, without sleep or food, could without adequate artillery preparation perform a feat which later required a Division of fresh troops, after one of the most carefully planned and destructive bombardments at that time known? The Brigade could but have failed, and to the onlooker it seemed a tragic blunder, but to those who have read the pathetic story of a tragic day, the title given by "The Student in Arms" of "The Honour of the Brigade" alone provides the excuse for an operation which from every other point of view, was one of the costly blunders of the war.
On August 9th, the 6th Division attacked after a very heavy bombardment and re-established the situation. No troops could have done finer work. The enemy who had manned the redoubtable "Hooge Crater" in great strength, suffered very heavily, but the total prisoners captured in a hard fought attack amounted to five. The 2nd Sherwood Foresters, under that magnificent Officer Col. Hobbs, who in pre-war days had at one time been Adjutant of our Battalion, eventually endeavoured to hold the crater on our left, but this was soon found to be untenable, and remained in No Man's Land.
An incident which is not without its humour, while illustrating the tiredness of our men, may be worth recalling. During the bombardment preliminary to the counter-attack, when the noise of our own artillery was deafening, and the proximity of the enemy shelling far from assuring, a platoon commander discovered one of his men fast asleep on the firestep. With some difficulty he was aroused and, rubbing his eyes, he exclaimed, not without a certain degree of indignation that his slumbers had been cut short—"What's oop?"
Our casualties during the activities of July 30th and 31st, amounted to 21 killed and 40 wounded, and the 10th Battalion had ten casualties in addition. This total was increased from day to day by incessant shelling, trench mortars and rifle grenades, and by the unfortunate inaccuracy of one of our 6-inch naval guns, which persisted in firing into our trenches until its identity was eventually discovered. During the first fortnight in the line here, our casualties were no fewer than four Officers wounded (Vann, E. M. Hacking, Hindley and G. G. Elliott); 36 other ranks killed, or died of wounds, and 90 wounded. Included amongst the killed were Sergt. A. Phillipson, who throughout had shewn the utmost coolness and gallantry, and Sergt. E. Layhe, who had done very good work as Scout Sergeant. "Jimmy" James, who had struggled on manfully in spite of being very unfit, eventually had to give up and go to hospital, D Company being taken over by Vann.
During these days there was much active patrolling in order to make certain of the dispositions of the enemy, and much daring work was carried out by Lieuts. Vann, Turner, and H. B. S. Handford, 2nd Lieuts. A. & E. M. Hacking, Corpl. Gadd, L.-Corpl. Wilson, and Pvtes. Nicholson and Thompson. Vann in particular was much in the good books of General Allenby, the Corps Commander, for his splendid work, though he was once the cause of his very nearly spoiling an immaculate pair of breeches when showing him with much glee a particularly un-get-at-able loophole plate in a very muddy trench. We are led to believe, however, that this crime was forgiven, as Vann was later honoured by the General with an invitation to dinner.
Map To Illustrate Fighting At Sanctuary Wood. July-august. 1915.