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Файл:The Great War. Part III
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THE GREAT WAR
Sixty-fi rst in the north of Watts’ line, and what we will now call
the Carey line. The cavalry men were still full of fi ght, but they had
done wonderful work since the fi rst day of the battle, cementing
every weak seam, and they were terribly reduced in numbers if not
in spirit. Nothing can exaggerate the debt which the infantry owed
to all three divisions of cavalry for their tireless support during that
awful week. They now tried to advance towards Lamotte, but they
came upon the right fl ank of a very strong German force moving
south-west from Cherisy, and though they endeavoured to harass
it they were unable to make much impression. The 61st was also
terribly worn. Upon this day the 184th Brigade lost Colonel Belton, its fi fth commander, and was taken over by Colonel Pagan of
the Gloucesters. The southern end of the British line had troubles
enough before, but they were now accentuated by the fact that the
Germans had made a very rapid advance in the Montdidier sector
which placed them in the right rear of the Nineteenth Corps. On
this right fl ank there was much confused fi ghting, and a mixture
of units which reached such a point before the morning of March
29 that the Twenty-fourth, or what remained of it, found that
it had unwittingly changed from the right to the left fl ank of the
Eighth Division. There could perhaps be no clearer illustration of
the dimensions to which the division had shrunk. These confused
movements caused loss of touch, and there was a time when Corps
Headquarters had completely lost the right of the line, which was
badly disorganised. It was a time of great danger. Yet another division, however, the Twentieth, was given to Watts, and though it was
already worn to the bone, and could not reckon a thousand men in
all three brigades, it was still battleworthy and formed an invaluable
asset at such a time. They were lined up, or perhaps dotted along
would be a fi tter term, upon the front of Mézières – Demuin, and
formed a frail barrier behind which the hard-pressed men could
131
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
have a brief breathing space while they endeavoured to reform. By
the late afternoon of March 28 this operation was in progress, and
before 11 P.M. the new positions were actually occupied. The line,
which was partly wired, now ran from Mézières, through Demuin,
Marcelcave, and Hamel to the Somme, but it would be hard to add
the exact alignment of the units, as in many places they were inextricably mixed. The Sixty-fi rst and the Cavalry had been placed
behind Carey’s line in order to support it should it weaken. South
of this was the Twentieth Division, reinforced by fragments of other
divisions, which among them had the strength and spirit to beat off
a strong German attack delivered by the force which had been engaged by the cavalry in the morning. The country here was seamed
by the old French trenches, which were woefully out of repair but
none the less were of great value to the defence. Carey’s force was
involved in this German attack on March 28, but with the help of
the First Cavalry Division they managed to hold their line. Upon
that date the exhausted troops received the following well-timed
message from the Fifth Army Battle commander: “By the grand and
stubborn way you are holding out and delaying the advance of the
enemy, the British and French reserves are being given the necessary time to come up and assume the offensive. Your great exertions
and sacrifi ces are not being thrown away: they are of immense importance, and your resistance and your deeds in this great battle will
live for all time, and will save our country.”
March 29 was another eventful and critical day for the Nineteenth Corps, and began badly for them, since the remains of the
Eighth and Twenty-fourth Divisions had, as already explained, been
thrust out of their positions and were mostly on the west side of
the Avre and out of the line. The Fiftieth Division was only partly
in position, the fi ghting strength of the Sixty-sixth was reckoned
at 750 bayonets, and that of the Thirty-ninth at 500 bayonets. The
132
THE GREAT WAR
Nineteenth Corps at this moment was nominally composed of eight
infantry divisions – Eighth, Twentieth, Twenty-fourth, Sixteenth,
Thirty-ninth, Fiftieth, Sixty-fi rst, and Sixty-sixth; but it is questionable whether their united strength greatly exceeded that of a single
full division, to such a point had the army been reduced. On the
other hand, there was no direct evidence of excessive wastage upon
the part of the Germans, who could be seen in large well-organised
bodies moving in front of the British lines. The one consolation lay
in the fact that their heavy guns, and even a good many of their
fi eld-guns, had been left behind. The machine-guns, however, and
their newly-developed light fi eld artillery were as energetic as ever.
The British artillery had been weakened by capture and destruction,
but it was greatly supplemented by several armoured-car batteries,
Nineteenth Canadian and British, which did splendid service during these all-important days.
About mid-day on March 29 the French, and the remains of the
Thirtieth Division under the French Higher Command, had abandoned Mézières upon the right fl ank of the Nineteenth Corps, and
by so doing they exposed the right of the steadfast Twentieth Division. The fi ghting extended from the River Avre to Demuin. The
59th Brigade, which was in the south of the line, was forced to fall
back, but two battalions of the 60th Brigade were thrown out to
cover the fl ank and hold the German advance from getting behind
the British line. At 2 o’clock these two brigades gathered their thin
ranks together for a counter-attack, aided by the Fiftieth Division,
which had now been telescoped into a single weak brigade. It was
a remarkable attack, for most of the men were stumbling with utter
fatigue, and could hardly totter forward with their rifl es at the port.
It was the Rifl emen and Shropshires who made the advance upon
Mézières while their comrades stormed the surrounding woods. The
5th Durhams, 6th Northumberland Fusiliers, and 22nd Entrench-
133
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
ing Battalion of the Fiftieth Division also did great things. There
is evidence from the prisoners that the Germans at that particular
point had lost very heavily and were much distressed, so that the
combat was like those closing rounds of a hard-fought boxing contest, where the two exhausted combatants can but push and paw as
they lurch against each other. The village was actually carried by the
British, and a temporary easement secured, together with a handful of the 352nd Regiment, who stated that they had lost three entire companies in their fi rst advance upon Mézières. This spirited
counter-attack was Nineteenth covered by the guns of the Fiftieth
Division which, under Major Johnson, had worked very hard during
those last trying days.
About 2 o’clock on March 29 Watts’ Corps was reinforced by
another skeleton division, the Eighteenth – 2000 bayonets in all.
It was merged with the Sixty-fi rst and placed in the Berteaucourt –
Bois de Blangy line. The thin ranks of the Twenty-fourth were still
able to muster at the south end of the position, but only one brigade
of the Eighth Division, the Twenty-fi fth, was in a condition for service. This unit moved to the edge of Moreuil Wood, and co-operated
with the French One hundred and thirty-third Division which was
holding the line at that point. From this time onwards the Moreuil –
Ailly-sur-Noye road and everything south of it was French. As the
British force dwindled its front also contracted, otherwise the situation would have indeed been impossible.
As it was, it continued to be desperately critical, for beyond the
telescoping of units and the contraction of front there was no help
for the British line, while the assailants were still very numerous
and aggressive. About noon on this day, March 29, the Thirty-ninth
Division, and indeed the whole army, sustained a severe loss in the
person of General Feetham, a leader of great valour and experience,
134
THE GREAT WAR
who was killed by a shell while walking with Colonel Gosset, his
chief of staff, in the village of Demuin.
His death was to some extent revenged at once by his devoted
troops, for a German attack which followed at once down the valley
of the Luce was driven back with heavy loss by the rifl es of the Nineteenth infantry. General Feetham was replaced next day by General
Blacklock. It is a remarkable fact that Feetham was the second commander of the Thirty-ninth Division killed within a fortnight, for
General Cape, his locum tenens, fell upon the 13th of March.
On the morning of March 30 the 61st Brigade of the Twentieth
Division was on the south end of the line covering the bridge over
the Luce at Hangard, while the 59th covered that at Dornart, the
60th lining up from Dornart to Berteaucourt. The Fiftieth Division
had been now incorporated in the- Twentieth. All the bridges had
been prepared for demolition. The enemy were slowly pushing the
French out of the Moreuil Wood upon the extreme right, small bodies of infantry gradually infi ltrating the whole position. The Germans soon developed activity also in the Luce valley, and fi nally
along the whole corps front. The Second Cavalry Division was sent
into Moreuil Wood to help the French, but the whole right of the
line began gradually to crumble in face of the repeated assaults. The
remains of the Sixty-sixth and Twentieth Divisions were bent back,
though the latter continued for a long time to hold the Demuin –
Marcelcave line of road, but about 8 A.M. the Sixty-sixth Division
was pushed out of Aubercourt.
There was some weakness farther north also, between Villers
and Marcelcave, but the never-failing First Cavalry Division stiffened the yielding line. At 10 o’clock the situation had improved in
Moreuil Wood, where Seely’s Canadian cavalry, with the 3rd Cavalry Brigade in support, were making their presence felt. They held
the line along the edge of the wood from east of Moreuil, but had
135
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
lost touch with the Twentieth upon their left. Later in the morning
there was a strong German counter in this quarter which drove the
cavalry back into the wood. Here at a later hour they were reinforced by the Eighth Division, if such a sonorous name can be given
to a handful of dazed and exhausted men. The line at mid-day ran
roughly as follows:
Moreuil Wood. Demuin. W.of Aubercourt. W.of Marcelcave.
2nd Cav. 20th. 63th. Carey. 61st. 1st Cav.
The great bulk of the British force lay to the north of the Luce
River, and the Germans were making every effort to push the fl ank
backwards or aside and to ford the stream. A wood named Little
Wood lay in such a position as to help or hinder such an attempt,
and it was the scene of some fi erce fi ghting. It was fi rst occupied by
one of the enemy’s advanced parties. It was then retaken by some of
the West Yorkshires of the 60th Brigade. These in turn were pushed
out by the enemy. Finally, in the. evening the 12th Rifl es and 12th
Rifl e Brigade, with some French and scattered units of the Fiftieth
Division, charged forward through the twilight, recaptured the
wood, and re-established the whole line in this quarter. Nine machine-guns and fi fty-three prisoners were taken. Well might General Watts telegraph: “Well done, the Twentieth! Such a counterattack after all your hard work is splendid.”
Now at last there were signs of some relaxation in the dreadful
strain. On this, the ninth day of the battle, the fi rst British reserves,
save only the Eighth Division, began to appear in the line. They
were the 9th Australian Brigade, who came into the fi ght between
Demuin and Aubercourt with their usual brisk gallantry. Their attack made some progress, and the 12th Lancers who advanced with
them shared something of the glory. Although the fi nal objectives
were not attained, the line north of the Luce was stayed by their
presence and made fi rm for the morrow. On, this evening several
136
THE GREAT WAR
of those heroic units which had fought themselves to the last point
of human endurance from the beginning of the battle were taken
from that stage where they had played so glorious and tragic a part.
The remains of the Thirty-ninth, the Fiftieth, the Sixteenth, and the
Sixty-sixth were all drawn back for re-organisation. It was theirs
to take part in what was a defeat and a retreat, but their losses are
the measure of their endurance, and the ultimate verdict of history
upon their performance lies in the one single undeniable fact that
the Germans could never get past them. Speaking of these troops an
observer remarked: “They had been fi ghting for nine days, but were
very cheerful and still full of vigour.” The losses of some units and
the exertions of the individuals who composed them can seldom
have been matched in warfare. The 2/6th Lancashire Fusiliers, for
example, had fought in the rearguard of the Sixty-sixth Division for
the whole retreat under Captain Porter, the only offi cer left standing. They were now reduced to about a hundred men. Many battalions were in no better condition. Carey’s nondescript force was
also broken up on the evening of March 30. They had served a most
useful purpose at a critical moment of the battle, and their formation may have prevented a disaster, but it should be emphasised that
their existence was not impromptu, but had been pre-arranged by
the wise foresight of General Gough.
On March 31 there were signs that the German fl ood was
reaching full tide. They had acted to a wonderful degree up to their
own saying: “Immer fest daran!” but they had now far outstripped
their artillery support and the tenacious elastic British defence had
worn them down. There was no attack on the morning of this day,
but about noon the fi ghting broke out once more in the Moreuil
Woods, the enemy pushing their way through them and slowly
driving back the line of the Eighth and the Twentieth, while the
French were again driven out of the village of Moreuil. North of
137
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
Marcelcave there was a day of quiet and re-organisation. The Sixtyfi rst was still holding the Berteaucourt – Gentilles line, while the
Eighteenth was holding the line of the Luce. In the evening the
Eighth and Twentieth were again reinforced by the cavalry, and by
the superior and heroic exertions of every one concerned the position on the right fl ank was maintained. The 2nd Berkshires distinguished themselves in this fi ghting. There is something more than
a name even in this stage of the war in the old Regular battalions,
for the chronicler fi nds that they stand out amidst the other units
out of all proportion to their numbers. The 2nd Bedfords, 1st Royal
Fusiliers, 2nd Scots Fusiliers, and many others upheld the honour
of the grand old force.
The right wing had been considerably hustled in the Moreuil
quarter on March 31, but on April 1 the Second Cavalry Division,
which included the Canadian Brigade, made a sudden fi erce counter-attack which threw the enemy back. Fifty prisoners and thirteen
machine-guns were the fruits of this action. The British guns had
played upon the wood during the whole night, and the enemy had
suffered severely, for the assailants found the brushwood to be full
of dead Germans. There was no other movement of importance on
this day. The reformed Fourteenth Division was brought back into
the battle and took the place of the Twentieth, the Fiftieth, and of
the cavalry upon the front to the south of the Luce. Speaking of the
latter troops after their nine days of martyrdom, a senior offi cer who
saw them at this stage said: “In the last attack they were driven back
about a mile towards Amiens, but after the fi rst Bosch onrush they
stood like rocks, repelling attack after attack, counter-attacking and
regaining ground in such a manner that every day I marvelled at the
doing of it, and at the men who did it.”
April 2 and 3 were quiet days, but on the 4th there was a very
violent and general attack along the line of the Nineteenth Corps,
138
THE GREAT WAR
and of the Thirty-sixth French Corps (General Nollet) which lay to
the immediate south. The main weight of the battle fell upon the
Fourteenth Division in their new positions, and by nine o’clock in
the morning the Germans had gained some success to the north
of the main Amiens road. The Australian 9th Brigade, which was
south of the road, held their line, but had to fall back 500 yards
in order to conform with the general position. At 11:30 the enemy
was still making progress, mostly on the front of the Fourteenth
Division, and had reached the east edge of Hamel and of Bois de
Vaire. The Third Cavalry Division, those indomitable troops, were
thrown in to thicken the line of the Fourteenth, and the Canadian
motor guns from Villers-Bretonneux were also brought into the
battle. Later two battalions of the invaluable Australian infantry
came up at the double from the 15th Australian Brigade. If ever
the arrival of strong loyal men in a time of darkness brought joy
and comfort with it, it was when the Australians relieved the British line in these later days of the second battle of the Somme. “God
bless them!” was the silent prayer that went down the weary line.
Grou nd had been lost south of Villers-Bretonneux, and the line
was bent, but the whole of the Third and Fifth Australian Divisions
were streaming down to their places in the defence. The end of the
retreat was at hand.
Upon the evening of April 4, the line which was to be permanent for many months to come began to defi ne itself, and order
gradually evolved out of ever-shifting chaos. Lee’s Eighteenth Division was now in touch with the Thirty-sixth French Corps at Hangard. Then at the Bois l’Abbé lay the 9th Australian Brigade. North
of this, at the Bois de Gentilles, was the Third Cavalry Division.
Thence in succession came the 15th Australian Brigade, the 43rd
Brigade, the remains of the Twenty-fourth Division, the 8th Australian Brigade, the other elements of the Fourteenth Division, the
139
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
Fifth Australian Division near Aubigny, and the Fifty-eighth Division in the north. This summary will show how Australia had braced
the line. Upon the next day, April 5, Butler’s Third Corps took over
the whole area of the Nineteenth Corps, and the episode was at an
end. The retreat of General Watts across the ravaged country, his
attempt to hold the long front of the Somme, his successive short
retreats, his continual stands, and his eventual success, will always
remain one of the most remarkable incidents in the war. This offi cer, who at the beginning of hostilities was a “dug-out,” hardly rescued from a premature ending of his military career, showed in the
highest degree those qualities of never despairing, and of rapidly
adapting means to an end, which mark the competent soldier. He
began with two units under his control, and he ended with fi fteen,
but no general ever had to handle more weary troops, or had more
need of a clear head and a high heart. The strain upon him had
been extraordinary – though indeed that is true of every corps and
divisional commander in the line. As to the special features of this
operation, it may be said to be remarkable for the improvisations of
troops, for the continual use of entrenching battalions as combatants, for the work of the dismounted cavalry, for the self-sacrifi ce
and energy of the motor batteries, and very specially for the degree
of mobility attained by the heavy artillery and the rapidity with
which it came into action in successive positions. Military critics
will draw many deeper lessons from these operations, but these at
least are suffi ciently obvious to catch the eye of the least experienced student.
The total losses of the Nineteenth Corps during this fourteen
days of battle came to from 35,000 to 40,000, killed, wounded, and
missing. The losses in guns were 41 heavy pieces and 73 fi eld-guns,
twelve of which were anti-tank guns in the forward line. The pressure sustained by some of the divisions would be incredible if the
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