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Pursuit to the Selle' - Over on 11th Oct?


saw119

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Everywhere that I've read states that the pursuit to the Selle' ended on 11th October and the battle of the Selle' from the 17th. However, the soldier I'm currently researching took part in an operation on the 12th October over the Selle with the objective being the railway an high ground around Belle Vue (map 57B NE E.26 E.19 with Bttn HQ being at J.6a). Is this just a standalone operation or an attempt at something larger, where does it fit in?

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According to Peter Hodginkson's Battle of the Selle, which I am currently reading, 2 DLI and 9 Essexd attacked towards the Bellevue spur in a vain attempt to improve the positions on the right flank of Fourth Army.

 

Charles M

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Ahh, well my man is in the 4th Middx and they were well in the thick of the battle according to the report in their war diary.

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4th Middlesex is not mentioned in Hodgkinson's book, but he is covering just Fourth Army. 4th Middlesex was in 37 Div, which I think was in Third Army at the time. This was operating to the north of Fourth Army.

 

Charles M 

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I'll check out the divisional war diary this weekend on Ancestry I think.

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Not sure if this helps, but I have a relative who served with the 1/5 Gloucesters.  He was killed on the 18th Oct 1918 emerging from a railway embankment  (Le Cateau to Wassigny line), after crossing the river Selle just north of St Benin.

 

V/R

 

Wayne

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Thanks for that, it all adds to the picture I'm building up.

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Hello Saw119,

 

Here's an extract from the 1/5 Gloucesters War Diary from 18 Oct 1918, which mentions crossing the Selle.

 

V/R

 

 

Wayne

image.jpg

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Re Selle. I am researching a Rifleman who was with 1/12 Pioneers Sherwood Foresters there. What I need is what German Units were they up against? Was it Units of the XVII AK, i,.e.

10th Reserve; 24th Reserve; and the 86th Divison of Max von Boehn's 7th Armee?

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12th Sherwood Foresters served in 24th Division. On 16th October 72nd Brigade 24th Division fought men of 208 Division and 48 Reserve Division in the area of Haussy. (208 Division had earlier been encountered by 24th Division near Niergnies, Cambrai on 8 October.)

 

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