9th Bn E Lancs War Diary Feb to Apr 1917

[Gardenerbill]

At the end of my previous topic we left the 9th East Lancs in divisional reserve at Spancovo a village in the hills between Lake Ardzan and the River Varda.

FEBRUARY Near SPANCOVO

1^st Nothing to report.

2^nd Capt A.D. Rollo awarded M.C. for gallantry and devotion to duty.

3^rd 6 O.R. return from 2^nd leave 1 O.R. to HP in England.

Day fine.

4^th Major L.H. Trist returns from command of 11^th Lancs. Fus &

assumes duties of 2^nd-in-c.

5^th Nothing to report.

6^th 2/Lieut. Addison attached 65^th T.M. Battery for duty.

Capt A.D. Rollo returns from A99 & re-assigned cmmd of “D” coy.

Bn orders issues Appendix A.

7^th Bn relieves 9^th K.O.R.L. holding centre sub section.

Relief complete.

2/Lieut. Parrot to HP.

[Gardenerbill]

Some things of note in above:

Captain Rollo's M.C. something else to follow up in the future

'65th T.M. Battery' I assume this is a Trench Mortar battery?

'KORL' 9th Kings Own Lancashire Regiment

'Centre sub section' I think I will need a trench map to find this.

[MartinWills]

The KORL war diary may help with "centre sub section" and is availalbe on disc from the KORL museum

[Gardenerbill]

February Near Spancovo

8^th

Snow in afternoon, river 6”

Day quiet.

9^th

2030 Patrol of 1 Off. & 22 O.R. “D” Coy. proceeded from AK2 up SELIMLI DERE, up 1^st stream to L. for 1000x.

2310 Patrol returned to AK2 across country. No enemy encountered.

10^th

2/Lieut Witham V.C. M.C. appointed Bn range-taking officer.

2/Lieut Lawford E.M. joined Bn & was taken on strength.

11^th

1600 About 30 5.9 & 4.2 shells dropped near K2, Bn. H.Q. & right support coy.

1800 No casualties. No “duds”. All H.E.

2000 Patrol of 1 Off. & 20 O.R. “A” Coy. left AK4 towards NOSE.

When near AK2 wire on return the enemy opened fire from THE NOSE with rifle & T.M.s.

Ground was v. marshy.

12^th

1545 Enemy shelled LL2 – 6 shrapnel & 6 H.E. from W. of THE NOSE no damage.

13^th

1400-1600 Artillery direct fire with very lights.

2400 1 Off. & 20 O.R. of “B” Coy leave AK4, proceed to point 116-175 & return to AK2 at 0230 hours.

No enemy.

Bn orders issued Appendix B

14^th

1055 Day fine and cold.

Bn relieved by 14^th K.L.R.

Relief complete.

[Gardenerbill]

_{Observations on above post:}

_{Selimli Dere is a river marked on the Austrian maps flowing south from the hills west of Doiran into Lake Ardzan roughly parallel to the Varda, the first stream left is presumably a tributary.}

_{AK2, AK4, K2, LL2 The Nose and point 116-175 ? More for investigation on the trench maps.}

_{Finally 2/Lieut Witham V.C. M.C. another interesting character to follow up.}

[Gardenerbill]

February GLENCOE RAVINE

15^th

Bn in Bde Reserve digging 2^nd line trenches. 2 Coys by day. digging new switch works. 1 Coy by night.

16^th

Nothing to report.

17^th

Nothing to report.

18^th

Day fine. No work done (Sunday).

19^th

Inspection by G.O.C. Bde

2 Coys & HQ at GLENCOE RAVINE. 2 Coys S of HILL 95.

A Coy reported to be best in the Bde.

20^th French Aeroplane descended near BAJALCA. Shelled by enemy . Pilot and machine undamaged. Machine safely removed at night.

Bn orders (Appendix C) issued.

Working parties cancelled by day & night owing to R.W.F. raid on MITRAILLEUSES.

21^st

Bn relieved 12^th Lancs. Fus.

Bn goes into Div. Reserve

[Gardenerbill]

On the 15th the Battalion are in brigade reserve digging 'switch works' can anyone tell me what this means?

Next there is an inspection by 'G.O.C. Bde' I assume O.C. is officer commanding is the 'G' General? In which case it could be Brigadier General Bayley.

Has anyone seen references to the French Aeroplane incident before, on the Austrian maps BAJALCA is a village in the hills west of Doiran just north of Spancovo.

Finally I have seen another reference to a Piton MITRAILLEUSES, Piton in French is a small steep hill, pike would probably be the nearest in English and Mitrailleuses is French for a mounted rapid firing weapon, so it looks like the 11th Royal Welsh Fusiliers were making a raid on 'Machine gun hill'.

[Gardenerbill]

^{NR BDE. HQRS. (ON R BANK SIDEMLI DERE)}

^{22nd 2 Coys & Hqrs. C & D Coys at OREAVICA.}

^{D Coy proceed to KARASOULI (Camp 2 W. of 28th C.C.S.) for special work and C.R.E.) C Coy working on 3rd line by day & 1 platoon by night. A & B Coys working on 3rd line by night.}

^{23rd Nothing to report.}

^{24th Col. C.P. Foley & 7 O.R. proceed on leave to U.K.}

^{Major L.H. Trist assumes command of the Bn vice Col. Foley on leave. Capt G.C. deMattos is attached to “B.99” for instruction in liaison duties. Lieut G. Buckley is attached SUMMERHILL CAMP as instructor to drafts.}

^{Bn H.Q. A & B Coys move to camp at SPANCOVO.}

^SPANCOVO

^{25th Nothing to report.}

^{Fleet of enemy planes flying S.E. in morning.}

^{26th 15 enemy planes flying S.E. afternoon. Day fine nothing else to report.}

[Gardenerbill]

Firstly sorry about the font sizes something strange happened when I copied in the text.

At first I thought Sidemli Dere might be a typo but I think it could be a tributary of the Selimli Dere running through Cidemli village.

Karasouli is on the east bank of the river Varda where the valley widens, not sure who 28th C.C.S are or what 'special work and C.R.E.' might be, or indeed what B99 might be?

[Gardenerbill]

To answer my own questions:

28th C.C.S. Casualty Clearing Station

C.R.E. Corps of Royal Engineers

[Gardenerbill]

SPANCOVO

27^th 2 enemy air-raids 1 at 0600 hours. R. Bank of Vardar, dropped bombs 23 planes flew S.E. & returned at 1630 hours.

C & D Coys. Re-join Bn. H.Q. under orders from Div.

28^th Fleet of 7 British planes flew over Bulgar lines abt. 1600 hrs.

Bombardment trenches constructed. 2 platoons re-join their Coys. From Div Hqrs.

L.H. Trist, Major

Commanding 9

^th

Battalion

The East Lancashire Regt.

1917 March Near Spancovo

1^st 2/Lieut. H.V. Robinson admitted to HP from detachment at 22^nd Div on 27^th ult.

Nothing to report

2^nd Very high wind during last 2 days many tents blown down.

3^rd 2000 Bn orders (Appendix A) issued

Bn Relieves 12^th Lancs Fus in Bde. reserve

Relief complete, GLENCOE RAVINE & C.

[Gardenerbill]

_{At the beginning of March we find the Battalion has moved from Divisional reserve and relieved the 12th Lancs in Brigade reserve at Glencoe Ravine, not sure where that is.}

_{Major Trist is now in command of the Battalion and signs off from writing the diary at the end of February, I assume it was the job of an officer from the battalion H.Q. to write the diary and the responsibility seems to have been rotated around.}

_{The enemy air raid is interesting and the high winds another indication of the difficult conditions at the end of winter in the Balkans.}

[Gardenerbill]

GLENCOE RAVINE

4th 1600-1700 14 shells passed over GLENCOE RAVINE Supposed target H.Q. 99 F.A. Bde.

4 O.R. returned from 3rd leave party. 1 absentee

5th 2/Lieut. Lawford transferred from B to D Coy.

Nothing to report

6th Nothing to report.

7th Capt de Mattos rejoins from B99.

Draft of 45 O.R. report for duty as re-enforcements & is taken on strength.

8th D Coy working at night on BJ works (wiring) since arrival in Bde. Res.

Receive orders to cancel work in future.

O.C. B Coy proceeds to KARASOULI to arrange relief by B Coy of 2nd Garr. Bn R.I.F.

9th B Coy relieves 2nd Garr. Bn. R.I.F. at KARASOULI reserve M gunners & S.B.s remain at GLENCOE RAVINE for training.

A, C & D Coys engaged on Coy and specialist training.

[Gardenerbill]

There is a very interesting entry here for me, 'D Coy working at night on BJ works (wiring)' it could be just coincidence but a month later my Grandfather was compulsorily transferred to the A.S.C. because of his trade, he was an electrician. However the wiring referred to could be barbed wire, but if it is electrical then perhaps someone recognised his skill.

I presume R.I.F is the Royal Irish Fusiliers, however I have a note that says the 2nd Bn had left Salonika in November 1916?

[Rockdoc]

You are likely to find quite a few references to bombing raids over the next few months. A German heavy-bombing squadron was sent to the Balkans to work against Romania. After she capitulated, the squadron was moved to Hudova, to the north of Guevgueli. They stayed until May 1917, when they were moved to France. Raids with 15-20 aircraft were normal, both bombers and protective scouts.

Keith

[Gardenerbill]

Glencoe Ravine

10^th Capt H.V. Leonard awarded CROIX de GUERRE for distinguished service during the campaign.

11^th Nothing to report

12^th 2/Lieuts. Young & Lawford & 4 O.R. attend 3 day course at Divl. Anti Gas School.

2/Lieut H.L. Gibson appointed Bde. liaison officer vice 2/Lieut G.P. Walker.

13^th 2/Lieut E.H. Angier re-joined from HP.

Bn relieves 12^th Lancs. Fus. Holding front line K sector

14^th Relief complete

[Gardenerbill]

The Croix de Guerre award is interesting, did the French give out a lot of these to British soldiers?

The Anti Gas school reference I think is a portent of what is to come at Doiran a month hence.

And once again the Battalion is back in the front line at K sector.

[MartinWills]

There is a very interesting entry here for me, 'D Coy working at night on BJ works (wiring)' it could be just coincidence but a month later my Grandfather was compulsorily transferred to the A.S.C. because of his trade, he was an electrician. However the wiring referred to could be barbed wire, but if it is electrical then perhaps someone recognised his skill.

I presume R.I.F is the Royal Irish Fusiliers, however I have a note that says the 2nd Bn had left Salonika in November 1916?

Working with another War Diary for this campaign, I know that transfers to the ASC came up regularly, though in a number of cases the individual applied. There were also trade tests involved. I can see the attraction because the trade roles paid better and in many cases were well away from the front line and often close to Salonika. Have you found any references such as "1 O.R. sent to ...... for trade test" ..... and 1 O.R. returned from .... after trade test.? I suspect, however, that this might not have been recorded as the diary is relatively sparse. Some adjutants liked writing and others did not!

[Gardenerbill]

Martin,

I cannot find a reference to an O.R. going for trade testing in the diary, my Grandfather;s attestation form states that he was compulsorily transferred due to his trade which is listed as Electrician.

However, he was primarily employed as a despatch rider and used to tell me stories of the Douglas and Tirumph motorcycles he rode and looked after.

[Gardenerbill]

15^th Nr RESELLI (K Sector)

1930 Patrol 1 off & 12 O.R. (B. Coy) leaves AK2 proceeding to E of NOSE attempted to obtain a piece of enemy wire but ran into 2 enemy wire posts.

0050 After engaging with superior forces, patrol retired to AK2.

8 shells on AK2 and 2 on AK4 during day.

16^th

2000 Major P.J. Gout M.C. 1.A. assumed command of Bn.

Patrol of 1 off & 12 O.R. left AK4 at 2000 hours going due N. for 800x & returned to AK2 at 2300 hours

2300 Similar patrol strength & route returned 0200 hours. No enemy encountered by either patrol.

17^th 2/Lieut Young appointed Bn Gas Officer. Enemy shelled works of advanced line & K intermittently all day. 99^th F.A. Bde & Heavy Group retaliated.

2100 Enemy barrage in front of AK4 & half way to AK2, also near AJ10. Damage to wire on K6 slight. Trenches on AK4 damaged.

A very lively night, situation reports rendered hourly.

2216 String of green lights on NOSE followed by rifle fire.

Stationary protective patrols of 1 off & 25 O.R. at 600x N of AK4 and 1 off & 25 O.R. at point 600x N.W. of AK2 out from dusk to dawn.

[Gardenerbill]

With 1^st Doiran just a month away, things are hotting up at the front. I like the typically British understated comment ‘A very lively night’.

Why would you send out a patrol to get a piece of enemy wire?

Excuse my ignorance but I assume the difference between field artillery and heavy artillery is calibre and mobility of the guns.

How can you have a 'stationary patrol' sounds like a contradiction.

[Rockdoc]

Broadly speaking, field artillery is the province of the Royal Horse Artillery and the Royal Field Artillery, which were administered as one group a this time from Woolwich. The RHA used the 13-pdr at the start of the war and their basic raison d'etre was cavalry support. The lighter gun allowed them to move with the mounted troops. The RFA used the 18-pdr and the light Howitzer (4.7" I think), heavier and somewhat less-mobile equipment but better suited to infantry support. Within a relatively short time, the 13-pdr was replaced by the 18-pdr as the lighter shells did little good against trench defences.

Heavy artillery is anything bigger than this and such weapons were operated by the Royal Garrison Artillery, a separate sub-division administered from Dover. The RGA also operated most AA guns used by British land forces.

Keith

[MartinWills]

Just doing a little cross checking I see the diary does not mention the following KIAs

27^th Feb – kia of Pte 14041 Benjamin Hunt not mentioned

27^th Feb – kia of L/Cpl 14210 Willie Read not mentioned

Equally several soldiers died at Salonika over this period.

Interesting that there may not have been a trade test - I assume his ability was checked one way or another!

[Gardenerbill]

Martin, this is the first war diary I have studied, in your experience is this concise compared to others you have looked at, it seems odd that you have found 2 men killed in action that are not mentioned and those in Salonika who presumably died in hospital.

I have just discovered that the 99th FA Bde are the brigade that Charles Packer, author of 'Return to Salonika' served in.

[Gardenerbill]

Nr RESELLI (K Sector)

18^th 0100 Enemy shelled about 400x in rear of AK2 on SELIMLI DERE for 2 hours. No telephone wires broken.

Gas shells into ARDZAN & BAJALCA ravines in continuous streams all night, also H.E. on advanced works.

Casualties 9 O.R. wounded. Enemy shelling continued during day but less intense.

7 enemy planes circled over centre sub-section during afternoon 1 brought down behind GOLDIES HILL.

Protective patrols as previous night. Enemy shelled BAJALKA RAVINE with gas shells most of the night.

Hourly situation reports continued.

Lieut. MacFarlane G. appointed Bn bombing O. & attached to H.Q. 6 O.R. proceeded on 1 months furlough to U.K. under G.R.O. 717.

19^th Much quieter day almost normal.

Bn orders (appendix C) issued.

Protective patrols as on previous nights.

2100 Relief by 2/19 London Regt. Begins.

0050 Relief complete.

SPANCOVO

20^th Box respirators fitted.

Bn moves to S.E. slopes of Le PACHA, N.W. of CUGUNCI at dusk.