CHAPTER XIII

MAY TO SEPTEMBER 1915 (2ND BATTALION)

[Sidenote: 2nd Batt. May 1915.]

During the remainder of May the Battalion remained in billets at La Pugnoy and later at Vendin. On the 24th it was inspected by General Horne, and turned out looking very smart. At the conclusion of the inspection the General addressed it, and said that he wished to convey to it the hearty thanks of the Corps Commander, Lieut.-General Sir C. Monro, as well as his own, for all the good work done by the Battalion during the past five months. Whether it was in billets, where its discipline, good behaviour, and smartness had been an example to the Army, or in the trenches, where it had endured hardships such as few troops had been called upon to bear, or in action against the enemy, the conduct of the Battalion had been all that could be desired. More than that he could not say. They had to deplore the death of their gallant Commanding Officer, whose loss was mourned by all who knew him, but no losses must deter them, and it was their duty to prosecute the war with the utmost energy, until the German Empire lay at the feet of England and her Allies.

On the 31st the Battalion marched with the Irish Guards and the 11th Field Company, R.E., under Major Jeffreys to Noeux les Mines _via_ Bethune. The Prince of Wales and Lord Claud Hamilton marched with it most of the way. Some shelling took place _en route_, and it turned out that the enemy's fire, which seemed unaccountably accurate, was being directed by an observation balloon which could be seen behind his lines. As the Battalion moved into its billets the enemy commenced to shell the town, and succeeded in destroying some houses and wounding a few civilians.

On the 25th a draft of 120 men under Second Lieutenant H. A. Clive arrived, and on the 31st Second Lieutenant E. R. M. Fryer joined the Battalion.

[Sidenote: June.]

During June the Battalion spent alternately two days in the trenches and two days in billets. The billets were at Sailly-la-Bourse, and the trenches at first near Auchy and afterwards at Vermelles.

Every precaution against gas attacks was taken, and an order was issued to the effect that a G on the bugle was to be the signal to prepare for gas. As the Battalion at that time had only two buglers owing to the casualties and the boys who had been sent home sick, the order was difficult to carry out, but men were found who, without being musicians, were at least able to produce the desired note on the bugle.

The trenches at Auchy were indifferent, and required a great deal of attention, but those at Vermelles were much better. The great difficulty the men had to contend with at both places was the high crops and long grass which had grown up quite close to the line, and which not only impeded the view, but also provided cover which might be used by the enemy. During the day it was an absolute impossibility for the men to go out and cope with this difficulty, but at night parties were sent out to cut down the crops. The men after working for an hour or so at this work seemed to lose all sense of direction, and when an alarm was given they had no idea in which direction their own trenches lay. It often happened that men would wander off towards the German lines under the impression they were going home. On several occasions when the enemy became aware of any large numbers of men working out in front they would open a heavy rifle-fire on them. All the men in the working party would then at once lie down and wait until the fire subsided; but on one occasion the Germans showed no inclination to cease firing, and the party had to be withdrawn. They crawled back slowly, being guided by Captain Cavendish, who held up his luminous watch to show them the right direction. Every night there were a few casualties, and on the 7th Lieutenant R. S. Corkran who had just gone out with one of these parties was severely wounded by a rifle bullet in the thigh, and died a few days later.

On the 29th Brigadier-General the Earl of Cavan was promoted, and left to take over command of the Fiftieth Division. He was succeeded by Brigadier-General G. P. T. Feilding, who had commanded the 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards since the commencement of the war, and who had gained a great reputation during the last twelve months' fighting.

[Sidenote: July.]

On the 28th the Battalion changed its billets from Sailly-la-Bourse to Oblingham, and on July 1 to Annezin. On the 5th it went into the trenches at Annequin in precisely the same part of the line it had occupied in January and February, when hundreds of men had been killed. The trenches were in a hollow, which was generally known as the Valley of Death, and were in a very bad condition. Little seemed to have been done to them since the Battalion was last there, and in many places the parapet was too high and not bullet-proof. The Battalion therefore set to work to improve them, and a company of the Queen's Regiment from the Corps troops was sent up to help. This seemed the height of luxury to the men, who were unaccustomed to having other people digging their trenches.

On July 2 Second Lieutenant H. F. C. Crookshank arrived, and on the 5th Second Lieutenant E. H. Noble, Second Lieutenant M. A. Knatchbull-Hugessen, and Second Lieutenant E. W. M. Grigg joined the Battalion.

On the 15th the Battalion took over the trenches at Guinchy, spending alternately two days in the trenches and two days in billets at Bethune. On the 21st it went into Brigade Reserve, and remained for a week at Bethune, and on the 28th moved into billets at Le Preol, and acted as reserve Battalion to the troops in the trenches at Givenchy.

At Cuinchy, in addition to the regular shelling, the Germans employed their new type of Minenwerfer, from which they fired large bombs, but their effect was local, and as the men were able to see them coming, they did little damage. Once a large wooden bomb landed in a trench without exploding, and was carried off as a souvenir by two stretcher-bearers, who happened to be passing. On the 18th the enemy began shelling Bethune, and continued for nearly a week, which made the men's two days' rest in billets a farce. The shells came screaming and roaring into the town, and terrific explosions followed. The enemy of course had no difficulty in hitting the town and shelling the houses, but it was merely a matter of chance how many men were hit. The shells were at first directed on the railway station, but beyond causing a complete suspension of traffic they did little harm, and there were few casualties. On the 22nd the bombardments became more searching, and many men were killed. The Inniskilling Fusiliers alone lost seventy men that day. The Grenadiers were more lucky, and at first escaped with little loss, but on the 24th some men were wounded and nineteen horses were killed.

On the 20th Captain Derriman who had been appointed Staff Captain to the 4th Brigade was very seriously wounded, and although he was moved down to the base, he never recovered, and died some time afterwards. The pluck he had shown in coming out in spite of a stiff knee which made him lame, and the dogged manner in which he had persisted in serving with the Battalion in the trenches until he was placed on the Staff aroused the admiration of every one.

On the 18th Lieut.-General Gough, the new Commander of the First Corps, Major-General Horne commanding the Second Division, and Brigadier-General G. Feilding commanding the 4th Brigade paid a visit to the Battalion, and went round the trenches at Cuinchy.

[Sidenote: Aug.]

During the first fortnight in August the Battalion followed the same routine, spending two days in the trenches at Givenchy followed by two days in billets at Le Preol. Mining operations were begun on a large scale by both sides. It was assumed that as an advance above ground in the face of machine-gun fire was too costly, the only other alternative was to advance under ground and blow up the enemy's parapet. In the craters made by the explosion of the mines men were then pushed, and the position was consolidated. The advantage of this subterranean method of warfare was that the men were safe from rifle- and shell-fire while they were working, but there was always the danger of a counter-mine which meant being buried alive.

On the 2nd the Battalion exploded three mines successfully near Sunken Road, and in doing this blew in some of the enemy's galleries, and that night the Irish Guards exploded three more mines. In each case the positions were consolidated after much bomb-throwing, but the occupation of the craters was always difficult, on account of the bombs from the enemy's Minenwerfer.

On the 5th Brigadier-General Feilding and the Prince of Wales came round the trenches, and inspected the sap-heads and craters.

On the 6th in the early morning the enemy exploded two mines in the orchard near the shrine. At the time Captain Clive and Second Lieutenant Crookshank were taking out a working party, and had they gone a little farther, all the men must inevitably have been killed, but fortunately they were just short of where the mine exploded. The whole ground moved up in one great convulsion, and when it settled down several men were completely buried. Captain Clive himself was severely cut and bruised by the mass of debris that was blown past him, and after being shot up in the air he came down so doubled up that his teeth were nearly knocked out by his knees. Second Lieutenant Crookshank was completely buried in about four feet of earth, and would inevitably have died had not Captain Clive remembered where he stood before the explosion, and directed the men to search for him. When he was finally dug out it was found that beyond a few bruises and the inevitable shock from the explosion he was not hurt. He was sent back to the dressing-station, but pluckily insisted on returning to his Company in the evening. One N.C.O. was killed by the explosion, and eighteen men who had been buried were sent back suffering from shock and contusions. The work of digging out these men was much retarded by the constant rifle-fire from the enemy's trenches, and the enemy's guns also commenced shelling the neighbourhood of the craters, but were not accurate enough to prevent our consolidating the position.

These two mines wrecked the trench connecting our sap-heads and filled in parts of the saps with debris. The Battalion received orders at once to reoccupy the sap-heads and dig out the saps again. On the 5th Lieutenant D. Abel-Smith was slightly wounded.

On the 7th a draft of drummers arrived, and proved a great acquisition. When the Battalion was in billets at Le Preol, they played "Retreat" in the village street, much to the delight of the remaining inhabitants. On the 10th the enemy again exploded two mines near the Sunken Road, destroying some of their own wire, and the explosion formed a new crater on the northern side of a crater known as "Bluff." Second Lieutenant Hon. G. S. Bailey was killed by a bomb, and Lieutenant A. V. L. Corry was badly wounded. The casualties from mining and bombing in addition to those from rifle-fire and shells were very heavy while the Battalion was at Givenchy, and the digging was most unpleasant on account of the bodies thrown up by mine explosions. On the 12th Lieutenant E. G. Williams was accidentally killed in the Trench Mortar School at St. Venant, where he was undergoing a course of instruction.

Some ten days later the following order was published:

The Commander-in-Chief has intimated that he has read with great interest and satisfaction the report of the mining operations and crater fighting which have taken place in the Second Division area during the last two months. He desires that his high appreciation of the good work performed be conveyed to the troops, especially to the 170th and 176th Tunnelling Companies, R.E., the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards, the 1st Battalion Irish Guards, the 1st Battalion King's Royal Rifles, 2nd Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment.

The 4th Brigade now received orders to join the newly formed Guards Division.

On the 18th, before their departure, the officers of the 2nd Battalion Grenadiers entertained General Horne, Brigadier-General Feilding, the Commanding Officers of the other regiments in the 4th Brigade, and the principal Staff Officers of the Second Division at dinner in the house of Madame Richepin, who placed all her plate, china, and glass at the disposal of the officers' mess.

The following order was published by Major-General H. S. Horne, C.B., commanding the Second Division:

The 4th Guards Brigade leaves the Second Division to-morrow. The G.O.C. speaks not only for himself but for every officer, non-commissioned officer, and man of the Division when he expresses sorrow that certain changes in organisation have rendered necessary the severance of ties of comradeship commenced in peace and cemented in war.

For the past year by gallantry, devotion to duty, and sacrifice in battle and in the trenches, the Brigade has maintained the high tradition of His Majesty's Guards, and equally by thorough performance of duties, strict discipline, and the exhibition of many soldier-like qualities has set an example for smartness which has tended to raise the standard and elevate the moral of all with whom it has been associated.

Major-General Horne parts from Brigadier-General Feilding, the officers, non-commissioned officers, and men of the 4th Guards Brigade with lively regret. He thanks them for their loyal support, and he wishes them good fortune in the future.

[Sidenote: Aug. 19.]

On the 19th the 4th Brigade, including the 2nd Battalion Grenadiers, left the Second Division to join the newly formed Guards Division, and marched about ten miles to Ham-en-Artois. It was a sort of triumphal progress, and Major-General Horne and the other two Brigadiers came to see them off while detachments from every unit in the Division lined the road. The Divisional Band played them as far as Lillers, and on the way they were joined by Major-General Lord Cavan accompanied by Major Darrell and Lieutenant Oliver Lyttelton.

[Sidenote: Aug. 20.]

On the 20th the Brigade proceeded to Renescure, and as it passed by the south of Aire it marched past General Sir Douglas Haig commanding the First Army. In the evening the following order was published by Sir Douglas Haig:

The 4th Guards Brigade leaves my command to-day after over a year of active service in the field. During that time the Brigade has taken part in military operations of the most diverse kinds and under very varied conditions of country and weather, and throughout have displayed the greatest fortitude, tenacity, and resolution. I desire to place on record my high appreciation of the services rendered by the Brigade and my grateful thanks for the devoted assistance which one and all have given me during a year of strenuous work.

(Signed) D. HAIG, Commanding First Army.

On the 21st the Brigade marched past Field-Marshal Sir John French in the big square at St. Omer, and presented a very fine appearance. So smart did it look that many of the onlookers were under the impression that it had just come out from England, and one man in the crowd was heard to say as the Grenadiers went past: "Wait till you've been in the trenches a bit, then you won't look so clean and smart, my boys."

In the evening the 4th Brigade received the following message:

The Commander-in-Chief wishes to thank all ranks for the splendid services they have rendered. He is much impressed by their soldier-like bearing, and very much regrets that owing to pressure of work he is unable himself to come and visit all units and speak to them himself.

After marching for several days the Battalion arrived at Campagne les Boulonnais, where it joined the rest of the Guards Division, and remained until September 22.

On August 21 Second Lieutenant the Hon. W. A. D. Parnell, and on the 24th Second Lieutenant H. G. W. Sandeman joined the Battalion.