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Файл:The Great War. Part III
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THE GREAT WAR
facts were not fully authenticated. Thus the Eighth English Division
was attacked from fi rst to last by eighteen different German divisions, including three of the Guards. Prisoners were taken from each
so that their identity could not be disputed. Yet this same Eighth
Division was engaged within three weeks in the victorious advance
at Villers-Bretonneux. The German oracle Clausewitz has said that
a retreating army should go back not like a hunted deer but like
a wounded lion. His commentators would hardly fi nd a better example than the British armies in the second battle of the Somme.
VI.
THE SECOND BATTLE
OF THE SOMME
The Retreat of the Eighteenth Corps, March 21-29
Retreat of the Sixty-fi rst Division – The Gloucesters at Beauvais – Fall of Ham – Retreat of the Thirtieth and Thirty-sixth Divisions – Great privations of the men – Fine feat at Le Quesnoy –
Summary of the experience of Maxse’s Corps
IT has been shown that Maxse’s Eighteenth Corps, covering
the St. Quentin front, maintained its whole position on March 21,
thanks to the splendid conduct of the three battalions in the forward line, and to the stout resistance in the zone of battle. It has
also been told how the Sixty-fi rst Division, the most northern unit,
withdrew on the afternoon of March 22, very attenuated but still
full of fi ght, to a prepared position between Vaux and Villeveque.
At 4 P.M. that day the three brigades, or what was left of them,
were in line 1500 yards east of Beauvais, the 184th being in the
centre, with the 182nd on its right, and the 183rd on its left. As they
faced their pursuers they could plainly see the Germans pouring in
successive waves from Atilly. The central brigade was commanded
by General the Hon. Robert White, one of two gallant brothers
who sowed their military wild oats in the Jameson Raid, and this
unit, reduced now to a mere handful of Gloucesters, Berkshires,
and Oxfords, was exposed to a scourging fi re of shrapnel, which fur-
142
THE GREAT WAR
ther thinned their ranks, their General being one of the casualties.
No fi eld ambulances were available at the moment, and as General White was led away badly wounded he saw the German cavalry breaking into the south side of Beauvais, while a large artillery
dump west of the village was exploded by the enemy fi re. The whole
situation was chaotic, but the British infantry still hung together, retreating slowly and turning continually upon their pursuers. Some
twenty German aeroplanes were quartering the district like so many
fi erce hawks, and diving with great daring from time to time into
the very streets of the village, while the British falling back into cover fi red up at them with their ‘rifl es and light machine-guns. Two
of them came crashing down upon the roofs of the houses. It was
rumoured that the enemy had already got close to Ham upon the
right rear of the division, and they were round the left fl ank in the
region of Holnon Wood. There was little artillery support available,
for sixty per cent of the forward guns had been taken or destroyed
in Holnon Wood, and the remaining batteries were getting away
with their reduced teams, so that the retreat of the infantry was correspondingly slow in order to cover the withdrawal.
In the north the Scotsmen of the 183rd Brigade were moving back near Villescholles in touch with the 72nd Brigade of the
Twenty-fourth Division, both of them being much helped in their
retirement by the 11th Hussars. All along the line the Germans
were pressing very closely, but the Sixty-fi rst kept wonderfully
steady, though at Beauvais, where Colonel Wetherall had taken
over the command when General White was wounded, the two parties were continually intermingled, so ardent was the pursuit and
so leisurely the retreat. So mixed were the combatants that Major
Howitt, brigade-major of the 184th, was dragged out from among
his men, and was in the hands of the Germans for some exciting and
instructive hours. “I must say the offi cers treated me well, though
143
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
the escorts were very rough,” says he. “For all my hatred I could not
help admiring them intensely, for their deployment, discipline, and
preparation were an eye-opener. They extended into battle order
with hardly a sound and lay down preparatory for the next assault,
bringing up mules dragging light trench-mortars, machine-guns,
and ammunition.” Major Howitt fi nally broke away from his escort,
and by keeping so near to a burning ammunition dump that no one
dared to follow him, he succeeded in regaining his own lines.
The defence of the line in front of Beauvais was kept up with
remarkable tenacity and ended by 150 men of the 2/5th Gloucester
battalion performing what was an extraordinary feat, even in this
war of miracles, for they held on to a line 2000 yards in length until
3:30 in the morning of March 23, holding up the whole German advance. All night the enemy tried to rush or to bomb this thin line of
determined men, but it was not until the cartridges ran low that the
British made their retreat, sneaking round the outskirts of the village
which blazed behind them, and making their way to Longuevoisin
where they joined their comrades, who had already given them up as
lost, for they had been fi ve miles behind the army. Colonel Lawson
was in command during this heroic episode, and was ably supported
by his two lieutenants, Rickerby and Dudbridge. Of the latter, it is
recorded that in a later stage of the retreat he was in such a condition of absolute exhaustion that he was wounded three times in the
course of a single day without ever observing it until evening. Utter
nerve fatigue has its compensations as well as its terrors.
The Thirtieth Division had held on to its ground until four in
the afternoon of March 22. Some units lingered to cover the retreat,
the 2nd Yorkshires and the 17th Manchesters holding on to their
redoubts until six o’clock, when they were in danger of isolation.
During their withdrawal both the Sixty-fi rst Division and the
Thirtieth Division to the south of it were covered by the 59th and
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THE GREAT WAR
60th Brigades of the Twentieth Division. These two fi ne brigades, still
intact and full of fi ght, allowed the weary soldiers to pass through
their ranks, while they opposed a tenacious resistance to the pursuing Germans. When the Sixty-fi rst and Thirtieth were across the canal of the Somme the covering division fell back in orderly fashion,
and itself crossed the canal between Canizy and Bethencourt, the
60th Brigade being on the right and the 59th on the left. The 60th
Brigade was compelled to fi ght hard to make good its retirement,
and it struck back again and again at the German vanguard. In this
fi ghting the 12th Rifl e Brigade particularly distinguished itself, but
its losses were heavy, and included its gallant Colonel, Maclachlan.
Early in the morning of March 23 it was known that the enemy had crossed the line of the Somme at Ham. The Thirtieth Division had retreated upon the important little town, which had been
thrown into a state of defence by General Stanley of the 89th Brigade, but his garrison was so utterly inadequate to cover the ground
that his dispositions were useless, as the Germans could get round
him on either side. He had with him in the fi rst instance two entrenching battalions, the 21st and 23rd, two companies of gas engineers, the corps cyclists, and a mere handful of infantry. Late on
March 22 he was joined, however, by his own three attenuated battalions of the King’s, each of which had been heavily engaged in different parts of the battle. At the same time the 90th Brigade dropped
back to the left of Ham and the 21st to the right. The division was
bare on both fl anks, however, and it was determined to continue
the retreat. The bridges were blown up and such rolling stock as
was possible was destroyed, but there were very many stores in the
town which had to be abandoned to the enemy. It was a very great
disaster, for it supplied him with much, and indeed served him as an
advanced base, all ready-made for his operations in this part of the
145
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
fi eld. As to the loss of the river line, it has already been explained
that in these higher reaches it is a very slight barrier.
When the enemy had taken Ham he pushed along swiftly towards Esmery-Hallon on the heels of the retiring Thirtieth Division. The Thirty-sixth Division, which had been assisted in its retreat by the 61st Brigade of the Twentieth, had crossed the Somme
to the east of Ham, and was now to the right of the Thirtieth (right
and left being used all through these operations on the supposition
that the unit is turning and facing the enemy). The Thirty-sixth Division crossed the Somme Canal at St. Simon, closely pressed by the
enemy, and the 121st Field Company Royal Engineers and other
sapper units performed great work under heavy fi re, destroying e no
less than twenty-seven bridges. After the passing of the river by the
Germans there were constant rear-guard actions, one of the most
spirited of which was at Villeselve, where the 9th Irish Fusiliers and
the Royal Dragoons fought together and drove in the German vanguard. The general situation of Maxse’s Corps upon the forenoon of
March 23 was that the Thirty-sixth Division was over the Somme
and near Golancourt and Bronchy, that the Thirtieth Division was
dropping back upon Esmery-Hallon, and that the Sixty-fi rst Division, retreating in the direction of Nesle had crossed the Somme
at Voyennes and Offoy, continuing its retreat to the Nesle Canal.
Between the Thirtieth and Sixty-fi rst Divisions were the 60th Brigade on the right and the 59th on the left, who were also covering
the Nesle Canal, but were quite ready to counter-attack should an
opening present itself.
A British corps does not allow itself to be driven without hitting
back, however great the odds may seem. A series of brisk skirmishes
was going on all along the line. In one of these, just south of Ham,
Colonel Watson with the 17th Bang’s Liverpools came back on his
pursuers and held them up for a time. More serious was the counter-
146
THE GREAT WAR
attack organised by the main body north of Esmery-Hallon. This attack struck southwards from Canizy and hit upon the right fl ank of
the Germans, staggering them for the instant. It was carried out by
the 60th Brigade and the 182nd Brigade, all under General Duncan
of the former Unit. This spirited advance was led upon the fi eld by
Colonel Bilton of the Sixty-fi rst Division, and was delivered with
such force that this small British detachment drove back for some
distance the great army which was rolling westwards. It was impossible, of course, to recover ground permanently, but it gained invaluable time and eased the pressure upon the south end of the line
for the whole of a critical evening. It was clear, however, that the
capture of Ham and the crossing of the stream had turned the fl ank
of the Twentieth and Sixty-fi rst Divisions, who were defending the
higher reaches of the same river. They were not to be frightened
prematurely out of their positions, however, and at Bethencourt
the 11th Rifl e Brigade drove back a German attempt at crossing,
while at Offoy the 12th Rifl es also infl icted a sharp repulse upon
the pursuers. That evening, March 23, the Sixty-fi rst Division was
practically amalgamated with the Twentieth, and both were concentrated near Nesle. They received at this time a most useful reinforcement in the shape of two batteries (16 guns) of Canadian
motor machine-guns under Captain Meerling. There is not an offi cer or man of these much-tried battalions who would not admit
a deep debt of gratitude to these splendidly effi cient and energetic
guns, which had such mobility that they were always where they
were most wanted. The troops had on the morning of March 24 got
behind the Somme Canal, which runs beside the river, all bridges
had been broken, and patrols were pushed across where practicable
so as to keep in touch with the enemy. It was not in this southern
area, however, but at Bethencourt that the Germans did actually get
across in force, by which they turned the fl ank of the 25th Brigade
147
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
of the Eighth Division in the north and of the 59th Brigade in the
south. An attack was instantly organised by the 11th Rifl e Brigade,
who had lost their Colonel, Cotton, the day before, and were now
led by Major Bertie. They succeeded by a fi ne effort in driving the
Germans for the time across the canal and gaining touch with the
Eighth Division. The Germans pushed across once more at Pargny,
upon the other fl ank of the Eighth Division, and also renewed their
attempt in greater force at Bethencourt, getting possession of the
higher ground there. This time it was the Highlanders and Royal
Scots of the 183rd Brigade who counter-attacked, acting as part of
the Twentieth Division, and by half-past two in the afternoon the
position had once more been re-established. The Canadian motorguns were invaluable in this operation.
Upon the morning of March 24 the Sixty-fi rst Division was
barring the road from Ham to Nesle. The German progress had
been checked in this direction by a spirited counter-attack carried
out by the 5th Cornwalls, the pioneer battalion of that division,
together with a mixed array of police, bandsmen, and other details,
who advanced from Offoy to a depth of fi ve miles, under Major Bennett. This little improvised force held on all night, and seems eventually to have joined up with the French in the neighbourhood of
Esmery-Hallon.
The British were still holding the crossings at Voyennes and Offoy, but very hard fi ghting had broken out to the south, and the Germans, who had poured over in the neighbourhood of Ham, were now
thrusting hard for Canizy. The road bridges had all been destroyed,
but there was a railway bridge at Ham which had been taken out of
the hands of the army authorities and left in charge of the railway
department. This was either uninjured or at any rate inadequately
destroyed, and was of immediate use to the enemy, enabling him to
keep uninterrupted pressure upon the retiring troops. Canizy was
148
THE GREAT WAR
now taken, but the 12th Rifl es made an immediate counter-attack
and forced the Germans back from the village.
In this spirited operation they lost their gallant Colonel, Moore,
who had led them with the utmost fearlessness.
Whilst the Germans were pushing forward at Canizy they had
also maintained strong and continuous pressure upon the Thirtieth
Division near Moyencourt, and upon the Thirty-sixth Division at
Golancourt, causing the Ulster men, whose left wing was entirely
in the air, to fall back westwards. The next line of defence, after the
Somme had been forced, lies along what is called the Libermont
Canal between Nesle and Libermont. It was necessary to fall back,
fi ghting as best they could, and to place this obstacle, narrow as it
was, between the weary soldiers and their pursuers. It was the third
day since the men had had a decent meal or an uninterrupted rest,
and they were very disorganised and broken. “Hundreds of men
were streaming back,” says one observer. “They had been without
food for days and were done in completely. They were stopped and
reformed at the bridges, where as many as 2000 were collected.” It
is such plain sobering sentences which help one to realise that war
is not, as large scale descriptions might seem to imply, a question of
the moving of pieces upon a board, but that underneath the strategy
lie the countless human tragedies, the tortured frames, the broken
nerves, the prayers of brave men that they may still be brave, the
torturing anxiety of offi cers, the ever-pressing burden which sometimes breaks the weary back which tries to hold it. Strategy reckons nothing of these things, but their accumulation makes up the
terrible human tragedy of war, which brings humility to the most
proud and fear to the most valiant. All equally feel the weakness of
nature, but he is blessed who has the strength of spirit to cover and
to combat it.
149
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
By mid-day on March 24 the Thirtieth Division was over the
Libermont Canal, holding from Buverchy to Libermont, with the
village and bridge of Raincourt as a joining point between the 90th
Brigade to the north and the 89th to the south. It may be recorded,
to descend suddenly from divisions to individuals, that the fi rst sign
of the new German advance was a single scout who appeared in the
open in front of the canal, and was engaged in a prolonged and deliberate rifl e duel by Lieutenant Harrop, with the result that he was
fi nally brought in as a wounded prisoner. The Twentieth Division
had also fallen back, the orders of brigades from the south being the
60th with its fl ank on Buverchy, the 59th resting on Quiquery, and
the 183rd to link up with the Eighth Division near Mesnil St. Nicaise. The Thirty-sixth Division prolonged the line to the south of
Libermont. The French reinforcements from the south were beginning by the afternoon of this day to get as far north as this section,
and if not very weighty at the moment they were of great moral use
as a promise for the future.
From the new positions of the British line the German infantry
could now be seen advancing in platoon columns in three lines on
each side of the Voyenne road and heading for the Libermont Canal.
Second Several parties of horsemen could be seen also, who Battle
were conjectured to be battery staffs, keeping up with the fi ght. The
weak point was still near Bethencourt, between the Twentieth and
the Eighth Divisions, where the gap tended to be wider as the enemy
got more troops across and endeavoured to push the 25th Brigade
north as has been described in dealing with the experiences of the
Nineteenth Corps. They were reported before evening as having
got as far as Morchain. The fl ank brigade of the Eighteenth Corps,
the 183rd, was ordered to extend as far to the north-west as Potte
in the hope of regaining touch, but though they reached that village they were still unable to bridge the gap. During the night there
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