The Merryway Salient (?)

[EvgenyS]

A considerable part of 'Soldier's diary' is dedicated to the fighting for the 'Merryway Salient' on August 8-12, 1918. While this is scarcely mentioned in the F.Coy's WD, according to Atkinson it was a a very fierce fight with many casualties on both sides. I still can't locate it as there is no such name as 'Merryway' on the maps. There is however 'Milky Way' road quite close to the company's operation area at that time and it would fit the description at least partly. I attached a part of the map where it could have been located. I would appreciate your ideas and thanks in advance.

"The Merryway attack. (...) The Merryway had once been a decent road, but after the fighting in June there was little left but a shattered track running at right angles to the main lines of trenches.(...) The Germans had pushed out a very considerable salient on both sides of this track.(...) An attack on the Merryway Salient was decided upon (...) Accordingly one Infantry Brigade and one Field Coy. R.E. went over on the night of August 8th(...)"

The original text for your reference is available at https://archive.org/details/asoldiersdiary00scotuoft/page/n83/mode/1up, starting at page 77.

 

[mebu]

I don't have a copy of the book now but remember some time ago studying it and coming to the conclusions that:

the battle he describes was, in the scheme of things at the time, a fairly small affair or skirmish, and

 as you say, it was the Milky Way.

Another bit I found was where he describes preparing a bridge for demolition, I worked this out to be the small stream under the railway, about 1km west of the current ring road. I got to the bridge, across the fields,  to see if any evidence remains, eg holes in the bridge arch, but it was obviously re-bricked at a later time.

Peter

Edited 30 August , 2023 by mebu

[EvgenyS]

I understand it was a small thing for the division and even company staff (almost nothing mentioned in the company WD) and a life-or-death fight for the author and others involved. It's always the qeustion of the perspecitve of course. Thanks for clarifying about the Milky Way.

[Colin W Taylor]

Hi,

A quick look at the CWGC and the war diary suggests the author was with 237 Field Company, 41st Division (https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7354345). The Milky Way action would appear to have been conducted by 15th Bn Hampshire Regiment and 233 Company with Capt HL Butterworth likely being 'Bradley' in the text (https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7354343). Not sure of G S Atkinson's role as there is no mention in the 237 Coy diary. Not sure whether I wholly 'buy' his account of his role in this action.

Butterworths MC Bar citation from Nov 1918:

Lt. (A./Capt.) Harry Lewis Butterworth, R.E. . - For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. Though wounded in the head, he collected a small party of different units and defeated a body of the enemy who had succeeded in penetrating our line. He then immediately' personally reconnoitred ^he position, and was able to give valuable information to brigade headquarters and to the troops sent up to counter-attack. He set a splendid example of courage and endurance to all around him. (M.C. gazetted 1st January, 1917.)

Colin

Edited 30 August , 2023 by Colin W Taylor

[EvgenyS]

As I said in the initial post, the WD 237, though scarcely, but does mention this action as follows:

Aug 11: "36 sappers went our to wire the Outpost line, situation was indefinite, Infantry could provide no covering and were not in touch with flanks' (to me this looks like a good example of 'staff language' to mention the chaos in the outpost as described by Atkinson, when 'our flanks were gone, etc.')

Aug 12: "32 sappers were sent out at night to wire the outpost line... a barricade was bulit across the milky way road. The R.E. did all the patrolling and located hostile machine guns while wiring" (again, perfectly refined staff wording about the events of that day as opposed to Atkinson's experience: 'we went out... started to wire the Merryway post and barricade the road.. some 50 yards from the party... spotted three Germans crouching in a shell hole with a machine gun...' etc.)

To me this proves that the auhtor was there during the events. As for his exact role, as he himself explains, 'The events that follow are necessarily somewhat confused, both from their own nature and from the fact that I was not able to set them down until some ten days after they occurred'. I have no intention to judge anything as true or untrue, just clarifying things for myself for the sake of the more accurate translation. It's very easy for us now to look at these things critically, and he does not appear to me as somebody making things up about his achievements, being very frank in describing his shattered condition and desperation. Again, it all depends on the perspective.

[Colin W Taylor]

Evgeny,

Re-reading you post above I think you left out any mention of 237 Company making it seem that the company was not known. Hopefully this will assist GWF  members with identifying and using this source.

I am merely surprised that the war diary makes no mention of company officers and men being directly involved in combat during this sharp action, nor any casualties. Likewise, only 433 Company casualties are recorded by the CWGC.

The CRE war diary also does not mention the company in this fighting.

Regards

Colin

[EvgenyS]

3 hours ago, Colin W Taylor said:

I am merely surprised that the war diary makes no mention of company officers and men being directly involved in combat during this sharp action, nor any casualties. Likewise, only 433 Company casualties are recorded by the CWGC.

 

the reasons for this could be:

- the shortage of officers in the company (4 instead of 10 at that moment, according to Atkinson), so the info received by whoever wrote the WD could have been insufficient or just not delivered at all due to other more pressing issues

- the casualties mentioned by Atkinson could be in infantry working parties he was in charge of and not the sappers

- the initial assault was by their sister company (233), so the operation could not have been regarded worth mentioning by the 237 staff, etc.

We could only guess what really happened back then and anyway, my intention with this post was to confirm that the Merryway Salient was the same as the Milky Way road on the maps.