The Seventh Manchesters by S. J. Wilson (top ten ebook reader .txt) ๐
CHAPTER I.
Holding up the Turk.
In September, 1914, the 7th Bn. Manchester Regiment set out for active service in the East in goodly company, for they were a part of the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division, the first territorials to leave these shores during the Great War. After many interesting days spent on garrison duty in the Sudan and Lower Egypt they journeyed to Gallipoli soon after the landing had been effected, and took a continuous part in that ill-fated campaign until the final evacuation. The beginning of 1916 thus found them back in Egypt, where they were taking part in General Maxwell's scheme for the defence of the Suez Canal. The things that befell the battalion during this long period have been admirably described in Major Hurst's book With Manchesters in the East, and this short history will attempt to continue the narrative from the point where it left off.
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we did not go in again before the whole division was relieved. After our
allotted period at Le Preol it was the brigadeโs turn for divisional
reserve, and this was accompanied by another move back to Hingette, near
Locon. One of our functions in this position was to back up the
Portuguese if they should be attacked, for they lay on the left of the
42nd. This entailed a careful reconnaissance of all the ground behind
their positions, and the siting and construction of defended localities
in that area. So the battalion found itself digging and wiring once more
in new soil.
The 55th division, having recovered from the severe handling they had
received in the enemy reply to โCambrai,โ eventually took over the line,
and on February 12th the 7th marched back to Burbure, near Lillers. The
end of the 42ndโs tour of duty in this sector had been marked the
previous night by a highly successful raid by the 9th Manchesters which
had taken the Boche completely by surprise, and had furnished quite a
number of prisoners and machine guns. The warning rumblings of the
German offensive storm now steadily increased to a marked degree. His
guns were growing in number, range and activity, and what had once been
peaceful back areas were steadily becoming more uncomfortable. This was
displayed all along the front, so that it was impossible to deduce from
that fact alone where his blow would fall. There was a good deal of
suspicion, however, about the Portuguese front, and the duties of the
42nd, as 1st Army reserve, were clear if the attack took place there.
Eventually the division, without having to move again, became G.H.Q.
reserve, which meant that we were liable to be sent to any part of the
British line when Germany commenced to strike. With the aid of motor
buses, parties of officers and men made reconnaissances of the defended
localities behind the Loos and Hulluch sector, so that by now we were
more or less conversant with the larger part of the 1st Army front. The
divisional commander lectured officers and N.C.Oโs. of all brigades
concerning the work of defence, and it was about this time that he
instituted the divisional motto:โโGo one betterโโwhich was taken up
and acted upon with such popular enthusiasm by everyone connected with
the 42nd. In fact, if a coat of arms of the East Lancashire Division had
been designed in 1918, the following three features would have stood out
clearly:โ
[Illustration]
During the month of February the drain upon the manpower of the British
Empire caused by the war made itself apparent. It was found to be
impossible to maintain in the field four battalions per brigade, and a
reduction to three was ordered. Then took place the solution of a most
confusing Chinese puzzle. Some battalions were broken up, and the
fragments sent to others either in the same division or in other
divisions, while in the case of many units, particularly territorials,
there was a transfer of a sort of cadre which was amplified to full
strength in its new division. The 42nd division lost the 6th L.Fโs., the
4th East Lancashires and the 9th Manchesters, and the 8th Manchesters
were transferred to the 126th brigade, which was now composed of 5th
East Lancs., the 8th and 10th Manchesters, while the 127th brigade was
left with the 5th, 6th and 7th Manchesters. A whole company of seven
officers and 200 men of the 2/10th Manchesters from the 66th division
came to wear the Fleur de Lys, and we were glad to welcome them as
comrades. In the heavy fighting that followed they proved themselves to
be good stuff of the regular Oldham type, while they themselves forgot
their natural initial heart burnings and grew proud of the Cap badge and
flashes that they had adopted.
Our period of rest was divided between Burbure and Busnes, and in both
places the mesdemoiselles and the estaminets were a source of real
delight to the men of the 7th. As might be expected, some good, solid
training was achieved, and this was interspersed by most enjoyable
football competitions and cross-country running. In fact, the middle of
March found the division extremely fit.
CHAPTER VII.
Stopping the Hun.
โGood God! What is the matter with the Boche to-night?โ Such were our
ejaculations on the night of March 21st at Busnes. The coming of
darkness had brought with it the long-drawn out, familiar โA-zoom,
a-zoomโCRASHโCRASHโCRASH,โ of enemy planes but in closer proximity
than ever before. Previously they had confined their attentions to
Bethune each night, but on this particular evening Lillers was the
objective, and plane after plane came over maintaining an almost
continuous bombardment throughout the night. An ammunition train
standing in the station, was hit, and the terrific explosions that
followed at irregular intervals accompanied by huge fires added to the
eveningโs excitements. Next day, wires from G.H.Q. enlightened us. The
German offensive opened on the morning of March 21st, the fifth and
third armies being engaged. The front line defence had been overwhelmed,
but we were led to suppose that the enemy was being held up amongst the
defended localities.
We afterwards learnt that intensive bombing of back areas and
particularly of railheads and junctions had taken place that night in
the whole of the British area. One of the objects of this was to impede
the movements of reserve divisions, and when it is known that detailed
instructions had been issued for the entrainment of the 42nd at Lillers
in case we should be required at some distance, such a policy as this is
easily understood. But the German had reckoned without the London
omnibus driver, who before the war had served another kind of โGeneral.โ
Arrangements were rapidly completed in twenty-four hours, so that on
the morning of March 23rd the whole division, in battle order, found a
huge fleet of buses ready to convey them toโโSomewhere in France.โ The
French villagers smiled confidently at us as we journeyed northwards in
the direction of the Portuguese front, but they did not know, poor
souls, that this was the only way the large convoy could โabout turn,โ
nor did they know, although perhaps they guessed, that the Portuguese
front would collapse the following month and they would be fleeing for
their lives before the blonde beast. We eventually turned our faces
south and rode the whole of that day without stopping over the dusty
roads of France. The Hun had been extraordinarily lucky in weather,
there having been hardly a drop of rain for more than three weeks, so
that the ground was perfectly dry for his operations.
Nightfall found us still travelling, and the day of 24th March had
almost broken before we โdebussedโ to find ourselves in the devastated
area of the Somme lands, near the village of Ayette. There was no rest
to be had. Uncertainty as to the situation in front and also as to the
future possibilities necessitated an immediate adoption of tactical
positions, and the 127th brigade took up a defensive line, on an outpost
principle, to cover the ground between Ablainzevelle and Courcelles.
Until this had been achieved no man was able to turn his thoughts to
sleep, in fact the sun had been up some hours before this was possible.
The day produced a complexity of events in the handling of which Col.
Bromfield proved himself to be at once human and masterful. In the first
place, a โbattle surplusโ had to be decided upon. This was a small group
of officers and men, selected as far as possible from each rank and from
each type of specialists, who remained behind the line whilst the
battalion was in action. In the event of the battalion being obliterated
by casualties, they would form the nucleus of a new unit. Choice
generally fell upon those who were considered due for a rest from the
line. When the necessary officers and men had been abstracted the
Company Commanders were Capt. Tinker, โA,โ Capt. Nidd, โB,โ 2nd-Lt.
Harland, โC,โ and Capt. J. Baker, โD.โ Headquarters comprised the C.O.,
Capt. J. R. Creagh, Adjutant; Lt. C. S. Wood, Signals; and Lt. S. J.
Wilson, I.O.; while Capt. Philp, the M.O., and Padre Hoskyns were in
confident control of aid post arrangements.
We had now become a part of the third army, and as such we were destined
to remain until the conclusion of the war. General Byng was not a
stranger to the 42nd, for it was as a part of his corps on Gallipoli
that they made their first fight against the Turk. As the reports have
it, โthe situation was obscureโ on this portion of the third army front.
As far as we were concerned the 40th division had experienced a very
severe handling but were still fighting gamely. They had recaptured Mory
twice and were now expected to be in possession of the greater part of
the village, while the Guards on their left were only yielding ground
inch by inch. What had happened to the right of this was not very clear.
The orders of the 127th brigade were to go up and relieve some fragments
of the 40th division in Mory on the night of the 24th, and when darkness
fell we set out with this object in view, but such plain,
straightforward work as that was not to be achieved in these queer days.
Events moved quickly and a change in the situation was an hourly
occurrence; it therefore devolved upon unit commanders, and as far as
possible commanders of higher formations to act with initiative and
resource.
[Illustration: ROUND ABOUT BAPAUME]
The head of the brigade column had reached Gomiecourt when word was
received that the enemy was attacking again, and there were vague
reports that Behagnies had either been captured or was being hard
pressed. It was considered inadvisable to continue the journey to Mory,
and more important to hold up this possible enveloping movement. We were
therefore deflected to the right, and then those things were done which
we used to practise on the desert, but never expected to put into use in
France. We moved across the open in artillery formation by battalions
and finally deployed into a defensive position. Meanwhile the guns
were hammering away at S.O.S. speed from their hastily improvised
positions either on or near the roads. The difficulty of all this work
was not diminished by the darkness, and it was with some astonishment
that we found the 125th brigade coming through our lines diagonally. One
or two stragglers from other divisions came in and told stories of heavy
enemy attacks, but a gunner major rode back from the front on a white
horse, and said the situation was not so bad as these menโs reports had
intimated. Still, there seemed to be a good deal of confusion, and the
7th were somewhat bewildered, not knowing quite what to expect next.
Meanwhile they longed hard for daylight in order to get their
whereabouts and some idea of the lie of the land.
As daylight approached on the 25th it was obvious, from the increasing
proximity of rifle fire on our left, that Mory had fallen and the line
was falling back steadily. Quiet seemed to reign now, however, in the
direction of Behagnies. We later discovered that the L.Fโs. had received
orders to push on and cover the Behagnies-Sapignies Road, and this they
had successfully achieved in the night. At the same time the 126th
brigade was in touch with the enemy in front of Ervillers, so that on
the morning of the 25th all three brigades were in the front line and
were rigging up an impromptu battle with the Hun. The enemy soon made
his intentions clear and he commenced a vigorous assault. What
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