Royal Warwickshire Regiment

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Taken from:-

The Story of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment (Formerly the Sixth Foot)

by Charles Lethbridge Kingsford 1674 to 1920

Pages 148 to 158 inclusive

CHAPTER XX

THE GREAT WAR: THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME

1916

IN June 1916 the German line, turning east near Albert, formed, as it were, the apex of the great salient which the enemy held in France and Belgium. Thus it was a fit point for attack, and it was in this region that the decisive blow was to be delivered two years later. Here, too, the German lines came near to Paris and threatened most closely the communications between that city and the north. The posi-tion which the Germans held was, however, one of natural strength, converted by art and industry into a huge fortress. The river Somme flows westward from Peronne through a marshy tract, on the north of which the ground rises in slopes, then well wooded, to a bare upland, over which runs the straight road from Albert to Bapaume. The capture of those slopes and that upland, studded with woods and villages, each of which was in turn to become a fortress, was the task which lay before us in the battle of the Somme. It was over this same upland that Henry V. and his little army, after crossing the river above Peronne, had marched on the way to Agincourt. The indomitable spirit which had carried them on to victory remained with their descendants five centuries later.

The British attack on July 1, 1916, extended from Gommecourt to Maricourt, where the French Sixth Army, which lay astride the Somme, was to take it up. At the north of the British line was the Seventh Corps, and next it on the south was the Eighth Corps, under General Hunter-Weston, which in-cluded the 48th and 4th Divisions, with the four Warwickshire Territorial battalions in the 143rd Brigade, and the 1st Royal Warwickshire in the 10th Brigade. Its line faced Serre and Beaumont Hamel. East from Albert, in the Fifteenth Corps, the 7th Division with the 2nd Royal Warwickshire lay before Mametz. The enterprise in each region had its special char-acter, and in effect there were two independent actions, one in the north, which failed, and the other in the south, which succeeded.

In the Eighth Corps the 48th Division was in reserve, with the exception of the 143rd Brigade, which was attached for that day to the 4th Division. In the latter division the 11th Brigade was to attack first, and when it had reached its objec-tive the other two brigades were to advance, the 10th on the right and the 12th on the left. In the 143rd Brigade the 5th and 7th Royal Warwickshire were to hold the trenches, whilst the other two battalions attacked towards Serre.

All through the last week of June there was an intense bombardment of the German lines, whilst the 1st Royal War-wickshire (now again commanded by Colonel Forster) held the whole trenches of their division from June 19 to 26. Twice during that time poison gas was launched against the enemy; but owing to a change of wind the gas blew back over our own trenches and caused some casualties to our own men. The Royal Engineers in charge, with undaunted courage, persevered in doing all they could to prevent the spread of the evil, and suffered severely in the attempt. In the Royal Warwickshire the casualties during this week were heavy—6 officers and 200 other ranks. Consequently when the day came the battalion, was very weak.

On the morning of July 1 an immense mine was exploded in front of Beaumont Hamel at 7.20, and ten minutes later the 11th Brigade advanced to the attack, followed by the 6th and 8th Royal Warwickshire. No troops could have fought with greater resolution or courage. But the Germans had expected the attack in this quarter, and here they were massed in greatest strength. The leading battalions carried the first lines of the enemy, and in some places penetrated far beyond, to Pendant Copse, near Serre, on the north, and almost overlapping Beaumont Hamel on the south. But under the enemy's counter-attacks the remnant were gradually beaten back. In spite of many casualties the 6th and 8th Royal Warwickshire had reached the German third line soon after eight o'clock and began to consolidate. But neither they nor those who came after them could advance any further. Many times they were bombed from their position, but again and again recovered it, until at last their own store of bombs was exhausted. Further south the 10th Brigade had moved forward at nine o'clock, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and Seaforth Highlanders leading with the Royal Warwickshire and Royal Irish Fusiliers in support. The Royal Warwickshire advanced as far as the Tenderloin trench, where they remained throughout the morning in an exposed position. Early in the afternoon a party under Lieut. R. R. Waters made a gallant attempt to seize a German strong point, but were met with such intense machine-gun fire from Beaumont Hamel that they were forced to return. At evening it was clear that the attack in this quarter had failed, and the troops were recalled to their own trenches. The tale of their casualties is the best proof of their heroism. In the 1st Battalion the casualties were 61 other ranks; in the 6th, 10 officers killed or missing and Lieut.-Colonel W. H. Franklin (of the Newfoundland Regiment, who had been in command since February) and 10 other officers wounded, with 436 other ranks; in the 8th, Colonel Innes and 7 other officers killed and 14 wounded or missing, and of other casualties no fewer than 569; in the 5th and 7th, which suffered only from artillery fire, the casualties were comparatively slight. General Hunter-Weston, when congratulating the division on its indomitable pluck, told them that if they had found the German strength too great, they had done much for the success of the whole offensive by holding so large a force of the enemy closely engaged.

If the attack in the north had been a splendid failure, that in the south was a triumphant success. There in the 7th Division the attack on Mametz was made by the 91st (it had taken the place of the 21st Brigade) and 20th Brigades (the latter on the left), whilst the 22nd Brigade was in reserve, the 2nd Royal Warwickshire holding the trenches vacated by the assaulting troops in rear of the 20th Brigade. On the right the front German line was captured with comparatively small loss. On the left the 2nd Gordons were checked by uncut wire. Then in the afternoon two companies of the 2nd Royal Warwickshire were sent to their assistance, and the whole line advancing captured Mametz, together with numerous prisoners; Captain Alan Hodgkinson, who was afterwards killed, had taken no less than 200 with the aid of a sergeant and four men. The other two companies afterwards moved forward, and for four days longer the battalion held an advanced position, with the 91st Brigade. Between July 1 and 5 the 2nd Royal Warwick-shire had 4 officers killed (2 in the assault of Mametz) and 2 wounded, the other casualties being 3 killed and 114 wounded or missing. The result of the five days' fighting in the southern district was that we had captured the whole of the enemy's first defence over a front of six miles, including the villages of La Boiselle, Fricourt, Mametz and Montauban. In the capture of La Boiselle the 19th Division had a foremost part. The village was only won on July 4 after three days' hard and continuous fighting. The 10th Royal Warwickshire in the

57th Brigade were in reserve; but on July 3 they went for-ward in support, and during that day Lieut.-Colonel Heath was wounded and 2nd Lieut. E. H. Rogers killed; otherwise their losses were not heavy.

In the northern region the 5th and 7th Royal Warwickshire remained in the front trenches till July 4, and the 1st Battalion was not withdrawn till three days later. Shortly afterwards the 4th Division was moved to Ypres, and it was over two months before it returned to the Somme. The only battalion of the Royal Warwickshire which took part in the fighting during the second week of July was the 11th, which held a line of trenches before Contalmaison and helped to repulse a German counter-attack on July 10, when three officers were killed.

Meantime a steady advance had prepared the way for the assault of the second German position on a line from Longueval to Ovillers. The 48th Division had now returned to the line and was in a position near Ovillers. The assault was delivered on July 14 just before dawn. That day the 7th Royal Warwickshire took part, and its attacking companies, in spite of heavy casualties, reached their objective, which they held for several hours till forced by enfilading shell-fire to fall back. Lieut.-Colonel Knox, who had led the attack and shown the greatest bravery throughout, was wounded late in the day, and there were about 150 other casualties. On the afternoon of July 15 two platoons under Lieut. E. W. Fowler made a gallant attempt to capture a ridge, but under the terrific fire from the enemy all who left the trenches were at once cut down. On the same day the 112th Brigade had attacked before Pozieres, which was reported to be thinly held with light wire. This proved incorrect, and the assault was held up by heavy machine-gun fire. In the 11th Royal Warwickshire, who were in support, all the officers of " A " Company were hit, and the remnant had to take shelter in shell holes. The other companies were more for-tunately placed, but could not advance. At evening a second attack was made, but again failed under the intense fire of the enemy, though our men held on tenaciously till they were relieved at night. The battalion had lost 5 officers and 270 men.

Nevertheless the offensive as a whole was making good progress. On July 10 the 5th Royal Warwickshire, under Lieut.-Colonel Sladen, shared in the capture of Ovillers, taking a line of trenches in the rear, which isolated the garrison; the position thus captured was held against repeated counter-attacks (three officers and thirty-eight men were killed). Further to the right the 7th Division had been successful before the two Bazentins. On July 14 the 20th Brigade had stormed the trenches before Bazentin-le-Petit, and the 2nd Royal Warwickshire moving up in support had sent one company to assist the Royal Irish in clearing the wood, where there was severe fighting at close quarters before the outskirts of the village were gained. Meantime the other companies had pushed on in a running fight towards Bazentin-le-Grand, beating off the German attacks and consolidating their position. At night the whole battalion was concentrated north-east of Bazentin-le-Petit, where in spite of constant shelling they promptly dug in, and held their post all through the next day. Their losses had been 1 officer and 41 men killed, with about 200 other casualties.

As a result of the fighting on July 14-16 the enemy's second line had been captured on a front of three miles, whilst our troops had gained a footing on the crest of the main ridge. Before the whole ridge could be secured. Pozieres at one end and Guillemont at the other must be taken. Now it was the turn of the 14th, 15th and 16th Royal Warwickshire to come into action.

The 5th Division had taken over a position before Montauban on July 20, the 95th Brigade being in the trenches and the 15th Brigade in reserve. Soon after nightfall on July 22 " A " and " B " companies of the 14th Royal Warwickshire attacked on the left, but were met with a fire of such violence that Colonel Murray at once formed the opinion that nothing could live against it. The attacking companies were imme-diately cut to pieces, and those few who got within distance were met by a regular curtain-fire of bombs. Another company was sent forward, and two companies of the 15th Royal War-wickshire were brought up in support. But it was presently clear that success was impossible, and all available details had to be collected to reorganise the original line against counter-attacks. The 14th had 4 officers killed, besides 10 who were wounded or missing, and a total of 469 casualties in other ranks. One company of the 15th had also suffered severely through machine-gun fire from High Wood. The other two battalions of the brigade had fared no better, and in the morn-ing they were relieved by the 15th Brigade. On July 27 a fresh attack was made by the latter brigade on the north part of Longueval and west edge of Delville Wood. The attacking battalions were held up, and two companies of the 16th Royal Warwickshire advanced in support. Many of their officers were shot down, and Company-Sergeant-Major Baker, finding himself in charge of two platoons, on his own initiative (having no orders) brought them up into the firing line. Eventually the north end of Longueval village was secured, and as a result of hard fighting in other quarters the greater part of Delville Wood was cleared; the enemy shell-fire had been most intense and the battalion had many casualties.

On the previous day (July 26) the 43th Division had helped in the important capture of Pozieres. The 143rd Brigade was in support; but Captain Hoskins and Lieut. Caley of the 7th Royal Warwickshire distinguished themselves by leading a brilliant little attack across the open. The 10th Royal War-wickshire had also been holding trenches in front of Becourt Wood, where on July 23 they were heavily shelled, losing their commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel Henderson, who was killed. Six days later they took part in an attack under Lieut.-Colonel Dakeyne, when they captured their objective, with the loss of three officers (including Captain G.B. Bird, who was one of the first officers to receive the Bar to the M.C., which was awarded postumously on September 9, 1916) killed and about 150 other casualties.

After a short rest the 5th Division again attacked from Delville to High Wood on the afternoon of July 30. It was the first day on which the creeping barrage was used, but the artillery preparation proved to have been too short; the 14th Royal Warwickshire, who were one of the assaulting battalions, were badly cut up, and those who remained were forced to shelter in shell holes about fifty yards from the German trenches. Though the men had shown the utmost dash it was impossible to advance, and ultimately the battalion was relieved by the 15th Royal Warwickshire, whilst the 16th were brought up in support. So that day all three of the Birmingham battalions were fighting in the same trenches. The 16th distinguished themselves by the gallantry with which a party under Lieuts. J. Dell and G. Sanders carried back the wounded under fire next day.

The various battalions of the Royal Warwickshire had borne so great a part in the stubborn fighting throughout July, and had suffered so heavily, that the following month was naturally for most of them a period of comparative rest. The 11th Royal Warwickshire took part in an attack towards Martinpuich at dark on August 12, when they were held up within twenty yards of their objective and forced to retire with the loss of 2 officers and over 150 men.

A splendid achievement was that of the 5th and 6th battalions, under Lieut.-Colonels Sladen and Danielsen, in an attack towards Thiepval on August 18. The two Royal Warwickshire battalions were on the right, and the position which they had to take was a perfect nest of dug-outs. Nevertheless in a brilliant advance they pushed forward on a front of 1000 yards for nearly half that distance in depth. They captured a fortified post from which there came out 6 officers and 244 unwounded prisoners, and the total number of prisoners taken was nearly 600. An eye-witness described the whole performance as extraordinarily good; the men said the officers led magnificently and the officers that the men were heroes. Captain L. C. Crockford of the 6th, who was a first-class shot, from behind a sandbag barricade, with his men behind him bombing over his head and keeping him supplied with relays of rifles, went on firing with unerring aim till he had put an enemy machine-gun out of action. Another German machine-gun team was kept away from its weapon by Corporal J. V. Haseler, who jumped on to the parados of the trench, and shot them down one by one till his own men came up and rushed the post ( The Times, August 21 and 25, 1916). Considering how much they had done the casualties in the two Warwickshire battalions were not heavy—about 300, including 8 officers. Captain Alabaster of the 5th and Captain Crockford received the M.C., and Corporal Haseler, who afterwards received a commission, was awarded the D.C.M.

An attack by the 8th battalion (under Lieut.-Colonel F. O. Wethered) in the same district on August 27 was less happy. Two companies had moved out in splendid style; but in "D" Company all the officers were shot down early in the advance, and the men being without leadership overshot their objective and went too far to the left, with the result that the other company—" C "—found the enemy resistance too strong. But whether immediately successful or not, such incidents were all steps in the steady progress which paved the way for a more general attack.

On September 3 the British Army attacked along its whole front from the Ancre to the extreme right, where our French Allies joined in. The 7th and 5th Divisions had both returned to the fighting line and both were engaged on the right. The attack of the 7th Division was made at Ginchy by the 22nd Brigade. The Welch Fusiliers to the north were held up; but the Manchesters fought their way into the village, and on the south the 2nd Royal Warwickshire gained a footing. " D " Company on the left had to form a defensive flank and were forced to dig in early in the attack; the other three companies reached their objectives and also dug in. But when in the course of the afternoon the Manchesters were driven back from Ginchy, it was decided in view of the heavy casualties to withdraw the brigade. Communication with the men of the Royal Warwickshire in their advanced positions was, however, difficult. One detachment, under Captain Williams Freeman, held on for thirty-six hours, whilst another, under Lieut. H. S. Harrowing, actually maintained themselves close to Ginchy for five days after the brigade had been relieved. Though these detachments were not themselves able to accom-plish more, their stubborn persistence proved of the greatest value to the troops who had fought their way into Guillemont on the south. The 2nd Royal Warwickshire during this time had 3 officers killed and 8 wounded or missing, in other ranks the total casualties were 320. When the battalion was finally withdrawn it was sent north, and was not again engaged in the fighting on the Somme.

On September 3 the 5th Division was at the extreme end of the British line, where the 13th Brigade attacked, with the 95th on their left and the French on their right. Their objec-tives were Falfemont Farm (which had to be secured to protect the French left) and the line of trenches on the north up to Wedge Wood. The attack on the latter was entrusted to the 14th Royal Warwickshire. After repeated attempts, through the splendid push and bravery of Captain Addenbrooke and 2nd Lieut. Barrow, " C " Company on the left captured the gun-pits in a valley running south from Wedge Wood. Mean-time " A " and " B " Companies had advanced very gallantly, but the attack on Falfemont had failed and their ranks withered away under the enemy fire from the Farm. " A " soon dwindled to a mere handful, which still continued to advance in the most undaunted manner. " B " had suffered almost as much, but also struggled on till they reached and held a trench just south of Wedge Wood. The 15th Royal Warwickshire (now commanded by Lieut.-Colonel G. S. Miller; Colonel Harding fell sick on September 1) had simultaneously delivered a second attack on Falfemont Farm, which like the first was stopped by machine-gun fire. The 15th Brigade had been in reserve that day, though a patrol of the 16th Royal Warwickshire, under Lieut. J. Hughes, made a most gallant attempt to get into the Farm at evening. This brigade took up the assault on September 4, when the 16th Royal Warwickshire, in support of the Norfolks, at last managed to dig in close to the German trenches. Early on the following morning through their combined efforts Falfemont was cap-tured. Then the 15th Royal Warwickshire passed through, and after some considerable fighting cleared Leuze Wood. The casualties during these days in the 16th were over 250, and in the 15th nearly as many, whilst those of the 14th (chiefly on September 3) were even greater.

When the division was temporarily withdrawn Sir D. Haig sent a message congratulating all ranks on their share in the fighting, which had been of the utmost assistance to the complete success of the whole operation. General Morland added that the 13th Brigade might think they had failed, but they had been asked to achieve the impossible, and the 14th Royal Warwickshire had advanced gloriously with the utmost gallantry; the ultimate success in which the 15th Brigade took part was considerable, and added fresh laurels to the many gained by the 5th Division.

The British had now secured practically the whole crest of the main ridge, and the French were advancing victoriously on our right. But on either of our flanks there was difficult ground to be won, at Thiepval (Thiepval was taken on September 26) on the west and at Morval on the east. As a preliminary further progress had to be made in the centre, and by the attack on September 15 and the following days (when the Tanks first came into action) the villages of Courcelette, Martinpuich anid Flers were cap-tured, and the line pushed forward towards Morval. For the 5th Division this time was one of comparative rest, but when the hour was ripe for an attack on Morval they were brought back to the fighting line.

The day for the assault on Morval was September 25. The 13th Brigade was in reserve, whilst the attack was made by the 95th on the right and the 15th on the left. In the 15th Brigade the Norfolks, Bedfords and Cheshires were to advance first, and when the last-named had captured the third objective the 16th Royal Warwickshire were to pass through and con-solidate a line. The attack began soon after noon, and made such good progress that at 1.15 p.m. the 13th Brigade was brought up, and the 15th Royal Warwickshire, advancing nearly two miles in artillery formation, attacked, and captured the ground north of the village. The 16th Royal Warwickshire, also continuing their advance, dug in at night. Next day both the 13th and 15th Brigades took part in bombing back the German counter-attack. At night on September 26 the division, having victoriously accomplished its task, was with-drawn. Though badly in need of prolonged rest they had fought with splendid gallantry and determination. The 16th Royal Warwickshire had 1 officer and 12 men killed, with 140 other casualties. The loss in the other two Warwickshire battalions was light.

General Rawlinson, in congratulating the division on its conspicuous share in the battle of the Somme, wrote that: " The heavy fighting in Delville Wood and Longueval, the attack and capture of Falfemont Farm and Leuze Wood, and finally the storming of Morval, are feats of arms seldom equalled in the annals of the British Army. They constitute a record of unvarying success which it has been the lot of few divisions to attain; the gallantry, valour and endurance of all ranks have been wholly admirable."

The success had not been confined to Morval: Les Boeufs and Guendecourt had been captured to the north, and Combles had fallen before the combined movement of the Allies. It was, however, desired to push our advantage further. The 4th Division had now returned after its long rest, and on October 9 went up to the trenches east of Les Boeufs. Thence on the afternoon of October 12 a fresh attack was delivered. Under cover of a creeping barrage the 1st Royal Warwickshire went out of the trenches at the double in four waves. At first they made good progress; but the Royal Irish Fusiliers on the left were hung up early in the day, and together with one company of the Royal Warwickshire were forced to return. The other three companies got forward about a quarter of a mile, where they dug themselves in and held on till evening, when the failure of the attack on either flank compelled them to withdraw. The battalion had 5 officers killed, and 260 other casualties. In spite of this heavy loss they returned to the trenches on October 22, and next day took part in a renewed attack. On this occasion the Royal Warwickshire advanced in support of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. The attack was delayed by fog till 1.30 in the afternoon; in both battalions the casualties were heavy, and at evening in small isolated parties they were digging in near Frosty and Hazy Trenches. They held on during the night, and on the following day gradually consolidated their gains, till at evening they were relieved. The Royal Warwickshire again lost heavily, 2 officers killed and 156 other casualties; amongst the wounded was Lieut. J. L. Shute, who had also been wounded on October 12, but had rejoined. The capture of Frosty Trench was important as a step to a future advance. But the 4th Division was now again withdrawn for a needed rest.

The battle of the Somme was drawing to a close. Early in November some further advance was made towards Transloy on the east of our line, and on the west Beaumont Hamel was at last captured on November 14. This success opened the way for the last attack of the long battle at Beaucourt-sur-Ancre on November 16-18. On the last day the 10th Royal Warwickshire was one of the attacking battalions; but the darkness of the early morning was intensified by heavy falls of snow, and all progress was difficult. Two companies, which had borne too much to the left, went on with the 8th Gloucester to the outskirts of Grandcourt, where a bombing post was established under Sergeant Kimberley, who did excellent work. In spite of all the efforts of the enemy to dislodge them they held on till evening. The Royal Warwickshire had 2 officers and 17 men killed, with nearly 200 other casualties.

Bad weather had hampered us in the last weeks of the battle. But quite apart from the ground gained, important objects had been attained. The pressure on the French at Verdun had been relieved; the main German forces had been held on the Western front; and not least valuable, the enemy's strength had been worn down. If the enemy's power had not been broken, the battle had placed beyond doubt the ability of the Allies to achieve their objects. In spite of all the advantages of the offensive the German Army, though sup-ported by the strongest fortifications, had suffered defeat. There had been a steady deterioration in the moral of large numbers of their troops, whilst the confidence of our new armies in their own power had been firmly established. On four of the greater occasions—July 1 and 14, September 3-4 and 25-6—when the most important advances were secured, one or more battalions of the Royal Warwickshire had played a conspicuous part, and in the rest of the fighting they had taken their full share.