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Файл:The Great War. Part II
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THE GREAT WAR
Thirty-third Division, while the line slanting, but unbroken, sloped
backwards to Inner Trench upon the right.
The eastern corner of Deville Wood was still dominated by
a strong point, but upon the rain-swept evening of August 27 this
was fi nally cleared out by the 43rd Brigade of the Fourteenth Division, the 6th Somerset, Yorkshire and Cornwall battalions of light
infantry, together with the 10th Durhams, all doing good service.
The remains of the hard-worked Seventh Division had been
thrust in front of those Alcohol trenches which still remained intact, fi lling up the gap separating Delville Wood from Ginchy. The
22nd Brigade was on the left, and shared in the advance of the 43rd,
the 1st Welsh Fusiliers capturing Hop Alley, Beer Trench, and part
of Vat Alley. The impending attack upon Ginchy, which was to cooperate with the attack upon Guillemont farther south, was forestalled and postponed by a very strong advance of the German infantry upon the north and north-east of Delville Wood. The 91st
Brigade had relieved the 22nd, and the brunt of this attack outside
the wood fell upon the 1st South Staffords, who repulsed the onslaught on three separate occasions, enduring a heavy shelling between each German advance. Upon the fourth attack the persevering German infantry succeeded in penetrating the north-east corner
of the wood and regaining Hop Alley. The 2nd Queen’s relieved the
exhausted Staffords, and at noon of September 2 made a vigorous
bombing attack which had some success, though the assailants were
considerably mystifi ed by the appearance of a party of Germans who
had dressed themselves in the khakI and helmets taken the night
before. This powerful attack fell also upon the Twentieth Division,
and upon the Fourteenth to the right of the Seventh, but although it
infl icted heavy losses, especially upon the 60th Brigade of the Twentieth Division, it failed to gain any ground or to obtain any strategic
advantage.
191
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
On September 3 at noon the attack upon Ginchy was carried out
by the 22nd Brigade, the 1st Welsh Fusiliers attacking to the north of
the village, the 20th Manchesters moving on to the village itself, and
the 2nd Warwicks on to the trenches to the west of the village. The
Manchesters succeeded about one o’clock in forcing their way into
the village, sending back 200 of the garrison as prisoners. The fi rst
rush behind the barrage sustained few casualties, and it was not until
the Manchesters in their fi ery eagerness began to push on beyond
their mark that they ran into a very severe fi re from the north, which
mowed down their ranks, including nearly all their offi cers. The
Welsh Fusiliers upon the left had been unable to get forward, and as
a consequence the Manchester men were in so precarious a position
and so reduced in numbers that they had to fall back through the
village, while the 2nd Royal Irish, who had passed on as far as Ginchy
Telegraph, had now to retire, as their rear was in danger. The 2nd
Warwicks, however, held on to the south of the village, and refused
to be dislodged, keeping their position there against all attacks until
the night of September 5. In the afternoon, two companies of the
Irish attempted to retrieve the situation by a renewed advance upon
the village, but their losses were heavy, and they could not get farther than the western outskirts. The casualties during the day were
severe, and in the night it was thought advisable to replace the 22nd
by the 20th Brigade. The latter made a fresh attack upon the village
at eight in the morning of September 4 by the 9th Devons, but again
it was found impossible, in the face of the inexorable machine-guns,
to effect a permanent lodgment. The 2nd Queen’s, however, on the
left of the Brigade, improved our position at the north-eastern corner
of Delville Wood. There was a short lull in the fi ghting, and then at
5:30 A.M. upon the 6th the 2nd Gordons stormed into the orchards
round the village, but had to dig themselves in upon the western
edge. At 2 P.M. they again attacked, aided by two companies of the
192
THE GREAT WAR
9th Devons, getting as far as the middle of the village, and capturing
some prisoners, but the Germans came back with so heavy a counterattack that the evening found our troops back in their own front line
once more. On the night of September 7 the division was taken out –
the 16th (Irish) and 55th moving up to the Ginchy Front.
This severe fi ghting by the Seventh Division from the 3rd onwards was an excellent example of how a force may be called upon to
sacrifi ce itself without seeing the object of its sacrifi ce until it learns
the general plans of the Commander. The assaults upon Ginchy, unsuccessful at the moment, were of the greatest value as leading to the
capture of Guillemont in the south. The task allotted to the Seventh
Division was a very diffi cult one, involving an advance from a salient
with the left fl ank exposed, and the magnitude of this task was greatly increased by the truly execrable weather. If no successful efforts
were made to counter-attack upon Guillemont, the reason undoubtedly lay in the absorption of the German strength at Ginchy.
On this same day the battle raged from Ginchy along the whole
right of our line through Waterlot Farm, Guillemont and Falfemont Farm to the left fl ank of the French. The annexed diagram will
give some idea of the forces engaged and their several objectives on
September 3.
As will be seen by this plan, the Fifth Division formed the unit
next to the French, and the 13th Brigade were ordered to help our
gallant allies in attacking the extreme southern point at Falfemont,
while the 95th Brigade covered the ground between their comrades
of the 13th and the village of Guillemont. The advance was made
shortly after mid-day, and though the operations were long, bloody,
and diffi cult, the famous old division, inheritors of the glories of
Mons and Le Cateau, was not to be denied. The resistance was very
strenuous, and only the most devoted constancy could have eventually overcome it. To follow the fortunes of the 13th Brigade fi rst
193
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
it may be briefl y stated that upon Sunday, September 3, they fi rst
gained the Falfemont Farm, and then lost it again. That night they
were reinforced by three battalions of the 15th Brigade, and were
able next day to push in between the Farm and Guillemont, pressing the defenders upon every side. It was a widespread building, with
many loopholed outhouses, and one of these fell after the other until only the central ruin, still spouting fi re like an anchored battleship, remained in the hands of the defenders. Their position was
hopeless, however, and by the morning of September 5 the changes
in the line to the north of them, and especially the loss of Guillemont, caused them to evacuate the position.
The advance of the 95th Brigade upon the left of the Fifth Division had been a very gallant one, though the objectives which they
so bravely won were nameless lines of trenches and a sunken road.
The fi rst line of the attack was formed by the 1st Duke of Cornwall’s
on the left, and the 12th Gloucesters upon the right, closely followed by the 1st Devons and 1st East Surreys. They were in close
touch with the 69th Brigades of the Twentieth Division, who were
attacking Guillemont upon their left. Within two hours of the fi rst
attack all three objectives had been captured, and the remains of the
victorious battalions were digging in upon the line Ginchy – Wedge
Wood. The losses were heavy in each battalion, but particularly so in
the 12th Gloucesters. For a time they were under fi re from both the
British and the German batteries. Yet they held on to their ultimate
objective, and the following extract from the impression which they
produced upon an experienced regular colonel is worth quoting, if
only to show the pitch of soldiership to which our amateur volunteers had reached.
“The battalion came on in their extended lines as steadily as
on parade, and, without wavering, though suffering heavy losses,
passed through a hot German barrage in the most gallant manner.
194
THE GREAT WAR
The lines were also much troubled by long-range machine-gun fi re
from the direction of Fallemont, but although gaps appeared and
the fi nes were rapidly thinning out, I never saw the slightest sign
of wavering. No troops could have carried through such a diffi cult
task with more indifference to consequences.” Gloucestershire was
once the favourite forcing-ground for the champions of the British
ring. The old fi ghting breed still lives. Altogether the 95th Brigade
advanced 3000 yards in this action, and was responsible for the capture both of Wedge Wood and of Leuze Wood.
Upon the left of the Fifth Division the diffi cult task of storming
Guillemont had been entrusted to the Rifl e and Rifl e Brigade battalions of the 59th Brigade upon the right, and to the 47th Brigade
of the Sixteenth Irish Division. This brigade had come temporarily
under the command of General Douglas Smith upon the left, taking the place of the 60th Brigade, which had lost heavily in strength
from cold, wet, and continual German gassing and bombardment.
The 61st was in divisional reserve. The attack was ordered for noon.
Profi ting by previous experiences it was planned that the whole village should not be rushed at once, but that the attack should proceed
with method in three defi nite stages. The guns of the Sixth and of the
Twenty-fourth Divisions joined in the preliminary bombardment. At
noon, the infantry leapt over their parapets and charged home. The
enemy was taken unawares. The 10th and 11th Rifl e Brigade with
the 10th and 11th King’s Royal Rifl es, supported by the 6th Oxford
and Bucks, carried all before them on the south and west of the village, while the Leinsters, Connaughts, and Royal Irish did as much
in the north. The Quarries, which was a nest of machine-guns, was
taken in their stride. No more valiant or successful advance had been
seen during the War, and it may take a place beside the attack of the
36th Brigade at Ovillers as a classical example of what British infantry
can do with all the odds against them. The Rifl emen fought in grim
195
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
silence, but the Irish went through with a wild Celtic yell which,
blending with the scream of their pipes, must have added one more
to the horrors of the shaken and hard-pressed garrison. Neck and
neck the two brigades, English and Irish, went through the German
line. Hand-to-hand fi ghts took place in the village, but all resistance
was soon beaten down. By 12:30 the fi rst objectives were solid, and
at 1:20 the whole village was taken and the survivors of the enemy
streaming out to eastward. The English losses were heavy and equally
distributed. The Irish were also heavy, especially in the case of the
6th Connaughts, who also lost their colonel. At this time, through
the failure of recruiting in Ireland, these brave battalions were below full strength, in spite of which within six days they stormed or
helped to storm two of the strongest villages upon the line. One
hardly knows which emotion is stronger – one’s pride in those who
went, or one’s contempt for those who bided at home. No one admired the splendid dash of the Irish stormers more heartily than the
British Rifl emen, who kept pace with them in their desperate venture. Equally brave, they were more deliberate in their methods, with
the result that more than once pockets of fi ghting Germans who had
been overrun by the Irish, but were still venomous, were cleared up
by the Rifl emen on the fl ank. So infectious, however, was the fi ery
dash of the Irish, that Mr. Philip Gibbs has left it on record in one of
his admirable letters that an English sergeant of Rifl es complained
that he had almost blown his teeth away in whistling his men back
from overrunning their objectives. The garrison, it may be remarked,
were chiefl y Hanoverian, and once again our men were amused and
amazed to see “Gibraltar” printed upon their hats, a reminiscence of
the days when they formed part of the British army.
Whilst the attack had been in progress, two battalions of the 61st
Brigade, the 7th Somersets and 12th King’s Liverpools, were in close
support, advancing steadily through the German barrage. The en-
196
THE GREAT WAR
emy were, as already shown, strongly held at Ginchy on the left fl ank
of the Guillemont advance, but in spite of their preoccupations they
made strong attempts at a counter-attack from this direction, which
fell upon the Connaughts, who had been reinforced by two companies of the 12th King’s. This small fl anking force pushed out posts
which behaved with great gallantry, holding off the enemy until evening, though at considerable loss to themselves. One of these posts,
under Sergeant Jones of the 12th King’s, was cut off by the Germans
and held out for two days without food or water – a deed for which
the sergeant received the Victoria Cross. On September 4 the positions were put into a state of defence, and on the 5th the Twentieth
Division drew out of the line after their fi ne deed of arms.
The Fourteenth Division had been in support upon the left during the attack upon Guillemont, and the 43rd Brigade had moved
up to the northern edge of the village itself, losing a number of offi cers and men, including the colonel of the 6th Somersets, who,
though badly wounded, remained with his battalion until it had
consolidated its new position. A German advance was attempted at
this point about 8 P.M., but the 43rd Brigade helped to drive it back.
It may be said that the whole of September 3 was a series of small
victories, making in the aggregate a very considerable one, and
breaking down the whole of the fl ank German defences.
The Irish Division was now brought up to face Ginchy, the one
point still untaken upon the second line, whilst the Fifth Division
pursued its victorious way up to Leuze Wood and to the lower corner of Bouleaux Wood, always in close touch with the French upon
their right. The 47th Brigade of the Irish had already lost near half
its numbers, and other units of the division, both infantry and sappers, especially the 7th and 8th Irish Fusiliers, had lost heavily in
supporting the Fifth Division in its attack, but the battalions were
still full of fi ght.
197
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
In the late afternoon of September 9 the fi nal attack upon
Ginchy by the Irish tore that village from the close grip of its Bavarian and Pomeranian garrison. The Fifty-fi fth Division made a supporting attack upon the left, but the main advance was left for the
now depleted but indomitable division. It dashed forward upon
a two-brigade front, the 47th upon the right and the 48th upon the
left, the brigades being strengthened by three battalions of the 49th,
so that practically all the reserves were in the line from the start,
but the commander had the comforting assurance that the Guards
were moving up in his rear. On the right the fi rst wave consisted of
the 6th Royal Irish and the 8th Munsters, who dashed forward with
great gallantry but were held up by machine-guns. The same fi re
held up the 1st Munsters upon the right of the 48th Brigade, but
some natural cover was found which enabled them to continue to
advance. On their left the 7th Irish Rifl es and 7th Irish Fusiliers had
broken into the German line in the fi rst determined advance.
By six in the evening the 8th and 9th Dublins had reinforced
the attack and had pushed on into the village, where the 156th Field
Company Royal Engineers at once consolidated – a swift measure
which was fully justifi ed since two attacks stormed out of the darkness of the night and were beaten back into it again. Next morning
the Sixteenth Division was relieved by the Guards and returned for
the time from the line which they had so materially helped to enlarge and consolidate. Their losses had been heavy. Five battalion
commanders were among the casualties. They fell out of the line
upon September 10. A few days earlier the Fifth Division had been
relieved by the Fifty-sixth.
The total effect of these operations had been to extend the
whole British position for several thousand yards in frontage and
nearly a mile in depth. At least 2000 more prisoners had fallen into
our hands. The attack of July 14 had broken in the centre of the
198
THE GREAT WAR
German second line, but the two fl anks had held fi rm. The fall of
Pozières upon our left before the Australians and the Forty-eighth
Division, and of Guillemont upon our right before the Twentieth
and Fifth, meant that the fl anks also had gone, and that the whole
front was now clear. A third strong line ran through Warlencourt
and Le Transloy, but very numerous impediments – woods, villages,
and trenches – lay in front of the army before they could reach it.
It proved, however, that the worst impediment of all – vile weather
and a premature winter – was to be the only real obstacle to the
complete success of the army.
In order to complete this description of these widespread operations, which are diffi cult to synchronise and bring into any settled
plan, one must return to what was going on upon the left of Delville Wood. Towards the end of August the Thirty-third Division,
which had covered the line between Delville and High Woods, was
relieved by the Twenty-fourth. Upon the left of the Twenty-fourth
the First Division was still continuing that series of operations upon
High Wood which have been already described. On their left in
turn was the Fifteenth Scottish Division, the left unit of Rawlinson’s Army. They were busy from this time onwards in digging their
assembly trenches for the great assault.
The fi rst incident which calls for attention was a very sudden
and violent German attack upon August 31 upon the Twentyfourth Division. The German onslaught met with some success at
fi rst, as it burst through the line of the 13th Middlesex, a battalion which had lost heavily in the attack upon Guillemont ten days
before, and was for the moment more fi t for a rest-camp than the
forefront of the battle. The 9th Sussex, who were on the right of the
Middlesex, stood fi rm, and the German advance, which had penetrated some distance down the long communication trench which
is known as Plum Street, was eventually brought to a halt. This re-
199
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
sult was partly brought about by the initiative and determination of
a 2nd Lieutenant of the Middlesex, “a little pale-faced fellow,” who
carried off a Lewis gun, and worked it from different positions down
the trench, continually holding up the Germans and giving time for
the Sussex men to gather such a force at the end of Plum Street as
prevented the Germans from debouching into the larger trenches
which led down towards Longueval. The attack had been equally
severe upon the 72nd Brigade, who held the right of the division,
which included the northern end of Delville Wood. They entirely
repulsed the Germans with great loss, the 8th Queen’s Surrey being
the battalion which bore the brunt of the fi ght.
On the next day, September 1, the 17th Brigade came up to restore the situation on the left, and by evening the position had been
almost cleared. On the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th there were fresh German
attacks, but the line was now fi rmly held and no impression was
made. None the less, the fi ghting had been costly, and the depleted
division had 2000 more names upon its roll of honour. It was drawn
out shortly afterwards, but its artillery, which was left in the line,
had the misfortune to lose its distinguished chief. General Phillpotts, upon September 8.
We shall now move a mile eastwards to follow the First Division
in its diffi cult and, as it proved, impossible task of improving our
position as regards High Wood, a spot which caused us more delay
and loss than any other upon the German line.
On September 3 a strong attack by the whole of the 1st Brigade
was made upon the wood, which was gridironed with trenches and
studded with strong points. The immediate objectives were the main
trench in the wood and the trenches to the southeast of the wood.
The 1st Camerons, supported by the 8th Berks, advanced upon the
right, the Black Watch, supported by the 10th Gloucesters, on the
left. The attack had considerable success, which could not, howev-
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