Chris Posted 30 May , 2004 Share Posted 30 May , 2004 Hi all. Have some fascinating info regarding a trench raid carried out by the above unit on the night of the 18th Oct 1916, but am struggling with the map coordinates given in the war diary. The area of the raid was near Monchy and the OC watched from trench 91, as the raiders made their way to the two entry points in the German trenches given as E.5.a.13.77 and E.5.a.11.58. Can anyone help pinpoint them as i am struggling. Also some of them terminolagy used is new to me so can anyone tell me what a 'knife rest' obstacle is? It prevented one group getting in to the trenches. Also one of the British NCO's involved reprted throwing a 'P' bomb into a dugout. Any ideas what a P bomb is? Finally the Germans suffered a casulty during the raid, probably from the 180th Regiment, is there anyway of finding out his name? Thanks Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 30 May , 2004 Share Posted 30 May , 2004 Back in a few mins on the map reference. P bomb: phosphorus hand grenade; a very nasty weapon. Knife rest: a wooden structure, like a X at each end, with beams connecting the two ends. Barbed wire strung along and around it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 30 May , 2004 Share Posted 30 May , 2004 Interesting. Monchy le Preux (I presume it's that Monchy you are looking at) is in squares N and O, not E. The maps covering the area are 51B NW4 and SW2. So, for the raid to have map refs starting with E it must be a little way away. Do you have any other hints as to the location? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 30 May , 2004 Share Posted 30 May , 2004 The nearest E would be Douai (Monchy circled in red) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 30 May , 2004 Share Posted 30 May , 2004 Or near Queant/Bourlon Wood (again, Monchy circled in red) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 30 May , 2004 Share Posted 30 May , 2004 Neither of these areas were remotely accessible to trench raids in 1916. If the co-ordinates are near Monchy, and assuming it is square 5, then the letter would have to be P or O, as mentioned by Chris. Attached map has both circled in red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 30 May , 2004 Share Posted 30 May , 2004 Sorry, should read N and O (too early in the morning). O5 sits over the village which was deep within German lines in 1917, when the maps I have used were created. Don't hesitate to let us know if you come across anything else that might help pinpoint the action. It should be possible to give you a close up view of the area. Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted 30 May , 2004 Author Share Posted 30 May , 2004 Thanks for all the info especially the knife rest description. Sorry about the map i should have ststed which Monchy. The Monchy i am referring to is Monchy au Bois just to the north of Gommecourt. Sorry should have checked if there were two Monchy's before posting Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Bramley Posted 30 May , 2004 Share Posted 30 May , 2004 Does this look like the area Chris? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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