Enos Herbert Glynne Roberts - The Story of the 9th King\'s in France
E >>
Enos Herbert Glynne Roberts >> The Story of the 9th King\'s in France
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 [Transcriber's note: Punctuation normalised, spelling normalised.]
The Story of the "9th King's" in France.
BY ENOS HERBERT GLYNNE ROBERTS.
LIVERPOOL:
THE NORTHERN PUBLISHING CO. LTD., 17 GOREE PIAZZAS,
AND 11, BRUNSWICK STREET.
1922.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I. ENGLAND.
CHAPTER II. THE 1ST DIVISION.
CHAPTER III. THE 55TH DIVISION.
CHAPTER IV. THE 57TH DIVISION.
APPENDIX LIST OF DECORATIONS.
CHAPTER I.
ENGLAND.
Shortly after the commencement of the Volunteer Movement in 1859, many
members of the newspaper and printing trades in Liverpool were desirous of
forming a regiment composed of men connected with those businesses. A
meeting was held in the Liverpool Town Hall, and the scheme was so well
received that steps were taken towards the formation of a corps. Sanction
was obtained, and on the 21st February, 1861, the officers and men of the
new unit took the oath of allegiance at St. George's Hall. Thus came into
being the 80th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers, and on the 2nd April, 1863,
the 73rd Battalion of the Lancashire Rifle Volunteers was amalgamated with
it. In the early days of its existence the new unit attended reviews and
inspections at Mount Vernon, Newton-le-Willows and Aintree. Some time
afterwards it was renumbered the 19th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers.
Later--in 1888--it became the 6th Volunteer Battalion of The King's
(Liverpool Regiment).
The early parades of the Regiment took place at Rose Hill Police Station,
and the Corn Exchange, Brunswick Street, until Headquarters were
established at 16, Soho Street.
To those who took part in these parades great credit and thanks are due.
Through their efforts an organised battalion came into being, men were
trained for the bearing of arms and the defence of their country should
the occasion ever arise, and the soldierly spirit was inculcated in many
who followed a civilian occupation. Those who survived until the Great
War, though not privileged to lead on the battlefield, had at any rate the
satisfaction of realising that their work was not in vain. Directly
attributable to the efforts of the early volunteers is the fact that in
1915 the Territorial Force was ready for the reinforcement of the Regular
Army in the Western Theatre of the War, and this afforded the New Armies
which Lord Kitchener had formed ample time for the completion of their
training.
In 1884 the Headquarters in Soho Street were changed for more commodious
and better equipped premises at 59, Everton Road, where the Battalion
remained domiciled until 1914. During the South African War the Battalion
sent out a company, and the experience the men gained there proved very
useful at the annual camps. Several of the men who went to South Africa
were privileged to serve in the next war. On the formation of the
Territorial Force the Battalion was once again renumbered and henceforth
it was known as the 9th Battalion of The King's (Liverpool Regiment)
Territorial Force.
The recruiting area of the Battalion embraced the Everton district of
Liverpool, a locality inhabited chiefly by members of the tradesmen and
artisan classes, which furnished the Regiment with the bulk of its
recruits. There was a detachment located in the country at Ormskirk, from
which the Battalion drew some of its finest fighting material.
Agriculturalists make good soldiers, and this was evidenced on many
occasions later by the behaviour and ability of the men from this town. In
the ranks there was a sprinkling of sailors and miners, whose several
callings equipped them with knowledge which proved useful in their new
profession. The officers for the most part were drawn from the
professional class and business houses of the city.
There came on the 4th August, 1914, a telegram to Headquarters containing
only the one word "Mobilize." On that day Great Britain declared war on
Germany. Notices were sent out ordering the men to report, and at 2-0 p.m.
on the 6th there was only one man unaccounted for. The mobilization was
satisfactory.
Difficulties immediately presented themselves, for the men had to be
housed and fed. The first night the men spent in the Hippodrome Theatre,
where the artists gave them a special performance in addition to the
public performances. Afterwards sleeping accommodation was found in the
Liverpool College. Through the kindness of the committee of the Newsboys'
Home in Everton Road arrangements were made to feed the men. There were
too many for them to be fed all at once, so that meals had to be taken in
relays. At Headquarters there was a certain amount of congestion, for
equipment, picks, shovels and other mobilization stores took up a
considerable amount of room. Besides this there were collected at
Headquarters civilian milk floats, lorries, spring carts and other
vehicles which had been pressed into service as regimental transport.
Horses with patched civilian harness gave the transport the appearance of
a "haywire outfit." After the officers had gone to the trouble of
collecting this transport it was taken away by the Higher Command and
given to another unit. The same fate befell the second set of horses and
waggons. The third was retained.
According to orders the Battalion entrained under the command of
Lieutenant-Colonel Luther Watts, V.D., on the 13th August, at Lime Street
Station, Liverpool. It was not known at the time whither the Battalion was
bound. In the afternoon Edinburgh was reached, where there was
considerable bustle on account of the departure of some regular regiments
for the front. Crossing the Firth of Forth, the men saw with what
activities the Naval Authorities were preparing for the reception of
further warships. Dunfermline proved to be the destination of the
Regiment, and on arrival supper was provided by some ladies of the town.
The men were accommodated first in tents at Transy, and afterwards in
billets in the Carnegie Institute, St. Leonard's and the Technical Schools
and the Workhouse. The inhabitants of Dunfermline and district were
extremely kind to all members of the Battalion, and almost every man had
an invitation to visit newly formed friends nightly.
There were at this time not enough blankets in the possession of the
authorities, so that an appeal was made which brought forth an ample
supply of civilian blankets. Colonel Hall Walker, T.D., the Honorary
Colonel, gave the Battalion L500 when it was at Dunfermline, which was
expended on extra clothing and other comforts for the men. It was a very
generous sum and proved of great value.
The usual training took place, and considering the circumstances a high
standard of efficiency was attained. In October the Regiment proceeded by
train to Tunbridge Wells, where it remained until it proceeded overseas.
The training here consisted of an early morning run followed later by a
Battalion route march or field practice. Judged from later standards the
training was not as intensive as it might have been owing chiefly to the
facts that, unfortunately, no parade ground was available, and little, if
any, assistance was afforded by higher formations. An occasional night
alarm also ordered by higher authorities discomforted everyone and did
little good. Recruits were sent to Sandwich for musketry, and the
Battalion assisted in digging trenches, machine gun emplacements and other
defensive works on the inland side of the canal, originally constructed by
French prisoners during the Napoleonic Wars, and which skirted Romney
Marsh. Half the Battalion--that is four companies--was sent to assist with
the London Defences near Ashford, where the men learnt to construct what
the Royal Engineers were pleased to call "Low Command Redoubts," and which
were badly sited on forward slopes. The experience gained, however, proved
very useful afterwards in France.
Parades at Tunbridge Wells finished early in the afternoon which afforded
ample time for recreation. The townspeople were very hospitable and
extended cordial invitations to the men, who availed themselves freely of
them. At Christmas time the men fared sumptuously through the generosity
and kindness of their hosts.
In January a company was sent to guard cables and vulnerable points at
Birling Gap, Cuckmere Haven and Dungeness. Several other similar duties
afforded diversions from the usual training programme.
While at Tunbridge Wells the greatest keenness was displayed by all.
Officers were jealous of anyone who was lucky enough to be sent on a
course of instruction. There were voluntary classes for the study of
tactics at which the younger officers sedulously studied the principles of
out-posts, advance guards, rear guards and so on. Everyone wanted to know
more of his new profession. The thirst for knowledge was not adequately
quenched as there were unfortunately, too few courses and too few
instructors available.
Such an ardour possessed the men for the fight that in some it reached the
pitch of fear lest they should arrive too late upon the battlefield and
receive only a barless medal. Some actually wished to transfer to another
unit so as to ensure getting out at once. When at last the anxiously
awaited order came that the Battalion was to go "over there" one officer
was overcome with exultation. His intense joy at being allowed to serve
his King and country on fields more stricken than parade grounds was
clearly marked. After many months of distinguished service in the field,
he now rests peacefully at Montauban.
The few days immediately preceding the exodus of the Regiment were days of
great activity and preparation. The affairs of the Battalion had to be
completely wound up. The mysterious pay and mess books were completed and
company cash accounts closed. New equipment was given out to officers and
men, as well as wirecutters, revolvers and other necessities of active
service. Field dressings were handed out--dark omens of what was now to be
anticipated. The transport section received its full complement of waggons
and limbers, together with its full number of mules, which proved to be
equal to any which proceeded to France.
Under the impression that active service meant the end of the comforts of
civilisation, officers provided themselves with supplies of patent
medicine, bought small first-aid outfits and elaborate pannikins
containing numerous small receptacles, which did not prove useful and were
ultimately lost. Spare kit including Sam Browne belts was packed and
consigned to the Depot. In anticipation of an early death many of the
officers and men made their wills. This was encouraged by a rumour that
the War Office had ordered a further 76,000 hospital beds to be prepared.
At the end of December, 1914, Lieut.-Colonel Luther Watts, V.D. took over
the command of the Reserve Battalion at Blackpool, which had been formed
late in 1914, and Lieut.-Colonel J.E. Lloyd, V.D., was gazetted to the
foreign service Battalion.
Mention should here be made of the fact that shortly before leaving
England the old eight company organisation was abandoned, and the new four
company organisation adopted, and each new company was divided into four
platoons. The change was exceedingly beneficial, as it would have been
difficult in the field for a battalion commander to give orders to eight
company commanders. More responsibility was thrown on the company
commanders, who were at the time senior enough to assume it, and for the
first time the subaltern was given a command. For the future he had his
platoon which carried much greater responsibility than that previously
attached to a half company. It was a fighting unit, and a separate body in
which was reflected the work of a good commander.
The 12th March, 1915, was the day destined for the departure from
Tunbridge Wells. One by one the companies, headed by a band kindly lent by
one of the other units quartered in the town, marched through the streets
for the last time. The greatest excitement prevailed when "D" Company,
which was the last, passed through the streets just as the shops were
opening. Farewells were waved, the troops were cheered, and for many this
was their last look at the town which had afforded them every hospitality
for the past few months.
Arrived at the station, the men entrained for an unknown destination, and
there was some speculation as to which seaport it would be. It proved to
be Southampton, from whence the men embarked later in the day for France.
The excitement had to some extent worn off in the cool of the evening, and
as the men had their last glimpse of England by means of the beam of the
search-light, many thought of the happy homes they were leaving behind to
which they would perhaps never return. The journey to France was
uneventful, which circumstance was due largely to the protection afforded
by the torpedo-boat destroyers and other units of the Navy.
CHAPTER II.
THE 1ST DIVISION.
Next morning the Battalion disembarked at Le Havre and marched to a camp
at Sanvic. It was not to remain here long, and on the 14th the Battalion
entrained to join the First Army. The train journey was long, and the men
experienced for the first time the inconveniences of travelling in French
troop trains, being crowded fifty-six at a time into trucks labelled
"Hommes 48: Chevaux en long 8." Chocques was reached on the 15th and the
men marched therefrom to billets in a village close by called Oblinghem.
The Battalion was soon incorporated in the 2nd Infantry Brigade of the 1st
Division, a mixed brigade consisting of four Regular battalions reinforced
by two Territorial battalions. A few days were spent in Divisional Reserve
at Oblinghem during which time all the officers and several
non-commissioned officers were sent to the trenches at Festubert or
Richebourg for instruction by the Regular battalions which were holding
the line.
At Oblinghem the men learnt for the first time what French billets were
like and experienced the insanitary conditions prevailing on the small
farms and the draughty and dirty barns. Looking around the countryside all
seemed quiet and peaceful. The ploughman ploughed the fields, others sowed
and the miners went to their daily tasks as usual. At times it was
difficult to realise that the firing line was within a few miles, but the
boom of the distant guns and the laden Red Cross motors indicated the
proximity of the fighting. A lot of old ideas as to the rigours of a
campaign were lost, and warfare in some respects was found not to be so
bad as had been expected. Wine and beer at any rate were plentiful, though
the potency of the beer was not quite sufficient for the taste of the
older men. Other regiments, lent officers to give a helping hand in
organisation and training. Company messes for officers were formed, as
anything in the nature of a battalion mess was impracticable.
The men soon learnt that the estaminets were the equivalent in France of
the public houses at home, and thither they repaired in the evening to
spend their time. Many good young men who had never taken a drop of the
more invigorating liquors learnt that soldiers drank them, and the cause
of teetotalism began to wane.
On the 24th a move was made to Les Facons, a straggling village outside
Bethune. Here on quiet nights one could easily hear the fusillade in the
trenches while the distant gun flashes lit up the night sky. The terrors
of the trenches were coming nearer.
Early in April the various companies were attached each in turn to another
battalion in the Brigade, and went into the line for instruction in trench
duty at Port Arthur by Neuve Chapelle, and it was here that the first
casualties were sustained. It is claimed that the first shot fired by the
Battalion killed an enemy sniper. The men soon learnt the duties that fell
upon them as a consequence of trench warfare: the early morning stand-to,
the constant vigil of the neutral ground between the lines, and the
imperative necessity of keeping one's head low. Hitherto the men knew
little of the nature or use of guns, but now glimmerings of the mystery
surrounding artillery fire soon dawned. The men learnt the natures of
German shell, and the difference between shrapnel and high explosives and
what targets the enemy generally selected. Facts like these were explained
to them by the "real soldiers" of the Regular units to which they were
attached. On relief the Battalion marched back to Oblinghem once more,
where it stayed a week or two, and later in the month took over a portion
of the line at Richebourg St. Vaast where it was subjected to a very heavy
artillery bombardment on the 1st May.
The military training of the men can be said to have been complete as
regards pre-war standard, but the war had introduced the use of two new
instruments of death. One was gas, the other the bomb. A primitive form of
respirator was given out in consequence of the use by the Germans of
chlorine at the Second Battle of Ypres. Instruction was given in the use
of bombs, of which the men had hitherto no knowledge. In those days the
bomb first in use was the jam-tin bomb. The men were taught how to cut
fuses, fix them into the detonator, attach the lighter and wire the whole
together preparatory for use against the enemy. Jam-tin bombs were soon
discarded for the Bethune bomb, and there was no regular bomb until much
later, when the use of the Mills bomb became universal. The Hairbrush and
Hales bombs were also studied in addition to the Bethune. A few also
received some instruction in a rather primitive form of trench mortar.
In April, Lieut.-Colonel Lloyd, V.D., was invalided home, and in his stead
Major T.J. Bolland took over the command of the Battalion.
THE BATTLE OF AUBERS RIDGE
The disastrous enterprise of the 9th May was the first major action of the
war in which the "Ninth" took part. Shattered at its inception, the whole
attack soon came to an end. The lack of high explosive shells and the
consequent failure of the British artillery to destroy the enemy wire
entanglements were probably the main causes of the holocaust that took
place on that day. Though one of the biggest disasters the British arms
sustained throughout the war, it was scarcely noted in the newspapers, and
would seem to a casual observer quite insignificant compared with the
sinking of the "Lusitania," which had taken place some days before,
although in the battle it is believed that the 2nd Infantry Brigade lost a
bigger proportion of men than had ever been previously known in warfare.
On the 8th May, the Battalion took up its battle position in rear of the
Rue du Bois at Richebourg l'Avoue, and there awaited the attack on the
morrow. The detail that obtained in battle orders of later dates was
wanting, in view of the fact that greater responsibility was in the early
days placed upon Commanding Officers. The Battalion was to support the
attack as the third wave. The flanks were given and in the event of an
advance the Battalion was to keep Chocolat Menier Corner on its immediate
right. The fight commenced with an ordinary bombardment of forty minutes
chiefly by field pieces, which according to the text book are primarily
intended not for bombardment but for use against personnel. A battery of
heavy howitzers was also in action. The ordinary bombardment was followed
by an intense bombardment of ten minutes.
At 5-30 a.m. the Battalion advanced to the third line of trenches
immediately in rear of the Rue du Bois, and several losses attributable to
machine guns and shells were sustained. At 6-0 a.m. the Battalion was
continuing the advance to the support line when the 2nd King's Royal
Rifles asked for immediate support in the attack. The Battalion therefore
passed over the support line and quickly reached the front line. The
advent of a fresh unit made confusion the worse confounded. The trenches
which afforded little shelter were filled with men, and the enemy was
using his artillery freely. Machine guns in profusion were disgorging
their several streams of bullets. Communication trenches had been blotted
out. Despite the lessons of Neuve Chapelle there was no effective liaison
between artillery and infantry as the telephone wires were soon cut, and
as a consequence the inferno was intensified by the short firing of the
British artillery, a battery of 6-inch howitzers being the chief offender.
Numerous casualties had been suffered, and among them was the Commanding
Officer, who was killed. The command then passed to Major J.W.B. Hunt, who
decided that it was useless to attempt to assault the enemy position
without further artillery preparation, as the enemy's barbed wire was
practically intact, and the only two gaps that were available were covered
by enemy machine guns. A report on the situation was made to
Brigadier-General Thesiger, and instructions were received that on no
account was the Battalion to leave the front line, and it was to hold the
same against a possible and probable counter attack by the enemy.
At 10-0 a.m. the Battalion was ordered to prepare to take part in a second
attack to be launched at 11-15 a.m. Half an hour later a further order
postponed the second attack until 12-30 p.m. Thousands had failed to take
the objectives in the early morning, and it was unlikely that hundreds
would succeed in the afternoon. This attack was ultimately cancelled, and
at 4-0 p.m. the Battalion was withdrawn. A further attack was delivered in
vain at 4-30 p.m. by other regiments in the Division. Though the Battalion
unfortunately accomplished little, it sustained almost a hundred
casualties, but it was fortunate in that it escaped the same fate as
befell four of the Battalions in the Brigade which were almost
annihilated. The battle from almost every point of view was a dismal
failure, and the rate of casualties was perhaps the highest then recorded.
It was during the 4-30 p.m. attack that the men were privileged to witness
one of the most magnificent episodes of the war, which was the advance
made by the 1st Battalion Black Watch and the 1st Battalion Cameron
Highlanders. This was carried out with parade-like precision in face of a
most withering rifle and machine-gun fire, out of which scarcely half a
dozen of those brave fellows returned.
Relieved in the evening, the "Ninth" marched to Essars and the next day to
billets at Bethune, and it was not until the 20th day of the month that
the Battalion was again in line, this time at Cambrin. It had now come
under the command of Major F.W. Ramsay, a regular officer from the
Middlesex Regiment. The remainder of the month of May and the month of
June were spent at Cambrin and Cuinchy, this latter place being renowned
even in those days for its minenwerfer activity. The Cambrin sector had
good deep trenches made by the French pioneers, which were strong, well
timbered and comfortable. This was the first occasion the Battalion
occupied trenches as distinguished from breast-works. Hitherto the nature
of the ground had made trenches impossible. The trenches at Cuinchy were
in front of a row of brickstacks, and in consequence of the water-logged
nature of a portion of the front were only dug three feet down, and a
sand-bag parapet was built; the trenches were not duckboarded, and were in
consequence wet. Around each brickstack was built a keep, and this was
garrisoned by a platoon in each case. Every time an enemy projectile hit a
brickstack large quantities of broken bricks were scattered as splinters
which multiplied the killing effect of the shell. In this sector there was
considerable mining activity. The mine shafts, of which there were about
three per company frontage, were each manned by two men who acted as
listeners. As the front lines were only about twenty-five yards apart
there was a considerable exchange of grenades.
No cooking was allowed in the trenches, as the smoke which would have been
occasioned by cooking would only have encouraged enemy fire. Therefore
ration and hot food parties had to go four times a day along a
communication trench called Boyau Maison Rouge, one and a half miles long,
and which was not duckboarded. After heavy rain it became very muddy, and
the men cut down their trousers which led to the adoption of shorts
throughout. Hosetops were improvised by cutting the feet off socks and
later they were bought. The colour ranged at first from light heliotrope
to flatman's blue, but later was standardized as salmon pink. The expense
of providing these hosetops was a heavy drain on any available funds, but
fortunately friends of the Battalion came to the rescue.
On relief from the Cambrin trenches on the 7th July the Battalion spent a
little over a fortnight in Brigade and Divisional Reserves at Sailly
Labourse and the Faubourg d'Arras in Bethune respectively. On the 25th it
was in line at Vermelles. This sector was quiet except in that portion
which was opposite the Hohenzollern Redoubt, from which huge aerial
torpedoes were fired.
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9
