CHAPTER XI.

THE BRITISH OFFENSIVE, SEPTEMBER—NOVEMBER 1918. FINAL ADVANCE TO VICTORY ON THE 3RD ARMY FRONT.

Before the doings of the 33rd Divisional Artillery in the 3rd Army advance are followed, it will be wise to review the tactical situation on this part of the front from the opening of the British offensive on August 8th up to the point where the 156th and 162nd Brigades joined in the battle. Accordingly, the movements of the batteries in question must be left for a moment while the broad aspect of these operations is considered.

On August 8th Rawlinson's (4th) Army had opened the offensive with a brilliant victory between the Ancre and the Avre, and on the 21st Byng (3rd Army) extended the zone of attack northwards to beyond Albert. A succession of attacks from August 23rd onwards pushed the enemy back over the old Somme battlefields until, on the 31st, our troops had forced the crossing of the Somme at Clery and entered Péronne next day.

By September 6th, after constant attacks, Rawlinson's Army had penetrated seven miles to the east of Péronne, while Byng had reached the western edge of Havrincourt Wood. On the 7th the greater part of the wood was in our hands, and three days later the 3rd Army was beyond our original front line of March 21st. The result of these operations was that the Germans were forced back to the Siegfried line—a great defensive zone seven miles in depth and many times stronger than the Hindenburg line—with a few strong positions still held in front thereof, and, before the grand assault on the Siegfried line could take place, it was necessary that these few strong positions should be captured. To achieve this, Byng struck on September 12th with the IV. and V. Corps between Trescault and Havrincourt, capturing both villages and clearing the ground for the coming battle. On the 13th he made a further advance on the 3rd Army front between Havrincourt and Gouzeaucourt, and there now only remained the capture of certain strategical features, marked down for assault on the 18th, before the 3rd Army front would be ready to take part in Foch's supreme effort against the Siegfried line.

ORDER OF BATTLE.

SEPTEMBER—NOVEMBER 1918.

H.Q.R.A.

C.R.A. Brigade Major. Staff Captain.

Brig.-Gen. G. H. W. Nicholson, Major W. A. T. Capt. W. E. C.M.G. Barstow, D.S.O., Bownass, M.C. M.C.

Capt. S. D. Graham.

Major C. E. Boyce, D.S.O.

156th Brigade.

Lieut.-Colonel B. A. B. Butler, D.S.O. (_killed_).

Major W. G. Sheeres, M.C.

Adjutant: Capt. H. W. Smail, M.C.

"A" Battery. "B" Battery. "C" Battery. "D" Battery.

Major F. B. Major W. G. Major Barker, Major D. Jones, Carrell. Sheeres, M.C. D.S.O., M.C. M.C. (_till end of September_).

Major K. W. Capt. L. Vestey. Milne, M.C.

162nd Brigade.

Lieut.-Colonel W. R. Warren, D.S.O.

Adjutant: Capt. D. Strachan.

"A" Battery. "B" Battery. "C" Battery. "D" Battery.

Major G. Major H. C. Cory, Major J. R. Major R. D. Fetherston, M.C. Barnes, M.C. Russell, M.C. D.S.O, M.C.

Major S. G. Major Taylor, M.C. Vaughan-Hughes, M.C.

Thus matters stood when, on September 16th/17th, the 156th and 162nd Brigades moved into action. They had not gone into the line directly on arrival in the Army area but, on detraining at Petit Houvain, Frevent and Bouquemaison, had marched to billets around Rebreuviette and Roziere on the main Frevent-Avesnes-le-Comte road, where they remained for thirteen days. This period was spent in training, in the carrying out of tactical schemes and in general practising of open warfare, and on September 14th/15th the march into action began. Great secrecy was being maintained regarding the concentration of troops on any part of the front, for the element of surprise was proving a tremendous factor in the success of every attack; the march of the batteries up to the Line was therefore conducted by night, the brigades leaving their billets at evening on the 14th and, after an all-night march through Bouquemaison and Doullens, arriving at Acheux (156th) and Louvencourt (162nd) at 5 A.M. on the 15th. Next night the performance was repeated and, passing through Albert and Le Sars, the batteries reached Le Transloy in the early morning of the 16th. From here positions were reconnoitred in the V. Corps area around Heudecourt to support the 17th Division in an attack on the Gouzeaucourt-Peizière line, and wagon-lines were established on the afternoon of the same day in the neighbourhood of Bus.

On the night of the 16th/17th the batteries advanced into action north of Heudecourt in a tremendous thunderstorm; officers and men, after the long marches of the preceding nights, were completely exhausted and, as soon as the guns were unlimbered, literally dropped where they stood while awaiting daylight. They were all worn out with bodily fatigue and ached for rest, and a few hours they now obtained before, on the 17th, a rapid but accurate registration was carried out. There was little time for this latter to be achieved as the attack had been fixed for the next day, but twelve hours of daylight sufficed for the essential preparations to be made, and by nightfall on the 17th the batteries were ready to fulfil their part of the programme in the coming battle, despite the fact that the barrage table was not received until 11.0 P.M.

On September 18th at 5.20 A.M. the assault was delivered in heavy rain along the whole Corps front, the 156th and 162nd Brigades covering the infantry of the 17th Division, with the 38th Division on the left and the 21st on the right. The division on the left was held up, but the 17th, after fierce fighting, gained their objectives and consolidated a line north and east of Gauche Wood. Many prisoners and guns were captured, and during the whole afternoon the batteries of the 33rd Divisional Artillery were busy engaging numerous moving targets and silencing hostile machine-guns and trench mortars. Two counter-attacks were broken up by the fire of the guns, and at nine o'clock at night a further creeping barrage was put down under cover of which the 17th Division pushed north and consolidated a line just north of St. Quentin Redoubt.

After three days of active artillery fire, during which the infantry of the 33rd Division (which had relieved the 21st on the 20th) slightly advanced its line, the batteries of the 156th and 162nd Brigades began to move up. On the night of the 21st the wagon-lines had been brought to the Equancourt area, and on the 23rd the guns themselves advanced, 156th Brigade to an area about 1,700 yards north of Peizière, 162nd Brigade to new positions about 2,000 yards S.S.E. This move was not carried out without loss, for the advanced guns moving up in the afternoon were subjected to the most intense shell-fire, but ultimately all guns reached the new line and from there the harassing of the enemy was continued.

It was on this day (23rd), or rather on the night of 23rd/24th, that a serious calamity befell the 162nd Brigade. An intense enemy gas bombardment put the whole of the Headquarters staff and "B" battery out of action, reducing the personnel of the Brigade by nearly a quarter; it was a very severe loss in view of the active operations which were being conducted, but Major Fetherston (A/162) from his own battery position commanded from midnight onwards the rest of the brigade in addition to his own guns, despite the fact that since the 18th he had been suffering from a severe wound in the back which had to be dressed twice a day. It was, indeed, a great feat of endurance and devotion to duty on Major Fetherston's part, for he carried on for a number of days in command of the 162nd Brigade, and took no notice of a wound which, of itself intensely painful, took a long time to heal when ultimately he was forced to go into hospital.

The period 25th/28th was one of much front trench and outpost fighting, bringing many calls for support to the batteries and keeping all guns actively engaged day and night. Pigeon Trench, Targelle Ravine and Honnecourt Wood were frequently bombarded at request of the infantry, while concentrations were continuously fired upon all hostile communications and approaches. On the 25th "A" and C/162 were strengthened by the attaching to them of one gun each from B/162 which owing to casualties on the 23rd was unable to man all its guns, while on the 26th yet another addition, and a strange one at that, was made to the same two batteries. Four captured German 77 mm. guns with a large supply of German "Yellow Cross" gas shells were allotted to them; with grim delight the detachments bombarded the enemy that very evening and far into the night with his own gas, and a particularly deadly form of it at that.

On the 29th the attack broke out afresh in conjunction with the whole of the 3rd, 4th and Debeney's French Armies. On the previous day battery commanders had reconnoitred the forward areas with a view to a possible advance should the forthcoming operations prove successful, and at 3.30 A.M. the assault was delivered. Covered by the guns of the 156th and 162nd Brigades, the 98th Infantry Brigade moved forward to capture Villers Guislain, one company working round on the north-west, one from the south-east and one making a frontal attack up the centre. With each company there went a Tank which latter, however, were all knocked out very early in the day or were blown up in our own minefield, and in front of the whole body an artillery barrage rolled through the village.

Villers Guislain was captured together with two hundred prisoners, but unfortunately the various enemy machine-gun posts, strong points and dug-outs were not mopped up, and the attacking troops found themselves with parties of Germans behind them. From here onwards the situation became very obscure; a second attack—a continuation of the first—was launched at 5.50 A.M. when the 100th Infantry Brigade assaulted the trenches east of Villers Guislain, the objective being the line Evett Copse-Crawford Crater, an attack which was accompanied by the advance of the 21st and 12th Divisions on the left and right respectively, but progress by the infantry was very irregular. Owing to the presence of Germans who had not been mopped up in the rear of the attacking infantry, and as a result of stiff resistance put up by the enemy all along the line, the day developed into one long hard fight, every battery being heavily engaged. A company of the 1st Middlesex was completely cut off by Germans whose dug-outs had been overlooked in the first assault, and, when our troops ultimately succeeded in capturing this ground next day, the whole of the company which had been surrounded was found lying dead all around. Whether the Middlesex had been captured and slaughtered in cold blood it was impossible to say, but their general appearance gave grounds for such an idea, and little mercy was shown to the enemy in the succeeding days' operations. By 2.30 P.M. the right infantry brigade was back on its original front line and the enemy had practically regained Villers Guislain, and by evening the whole of the attacking troops had retired once more to their starting point.

Meanwhile, with the success of the earlier part of the day, orders had come for the 162nd Brigade to advance to positions south and south-east of Villers Guislain, and at 2.0 P.M. "A" and C/162 had begun to move forward in accordance with these orders. Hardly had they started, however, than they came under intense fire which continued all along their line of advance, while later, in the intermediate positions which they were compelled to take up owing to the retirement of the infantry, they were heavily bombarded by 4·2 in. and 77 mm. B/156, another battery to move up according to prearranged orders—which had been drafted on the assumption that the attack would be a success—went right on to its forward position and stayed there within four hundred yards of the enemy, but it suffered heavily for its temerity.

The night of the 29th/30th passed quietly, and at 10.30 A.M. on the 30th the enemy was reported to be evacuating the ground west of the Canal de l'Escaut. Sunday's attack, although not a success on the batteries' immediate front, had elsewhere pierced the mighty Siegfried line, the effect of which was so great that the enemy was forced to carry out a retirement along the whole front. As soon as information of this withdrawal was received a general advance began, the batteries reconnoitring the ground which covered the crossings of the canal and the zone east thereof, while the infantry reached the line which had been the objective of the 5.50 A.M. attack on the previous day and threw out patrols to the western bank of the canal. Between 11.0 A.M. and 2.0 P.M. the 156th Brigade advanced to positions 2,000 yards east of Peizière, while A/162 came into action just west of Villers Guislain.

During the night 31st/1st the 162nd Brigade brought forward its guns, and by dawn on October 1st was in action 1,000 yards east of Villers Guislain, while the 156th Brigade also advanced its guns to the vicinity of Pigeon and Targelle ravines, 2,000 yards south of the village. From 3.30 A.M. to 7.0 A.M. such guns as had reached the forward position fired a barrage in support of an infantry advance on the right, and for the rest of the day were kept hard at work in engaging the many targets and movement which presented themselves on the far side of the canal. At the same time the batteries were subjected to intense area shoots by the enemy who was trying desperately to cover his retreat.

These area shoots were undoubtedly extremely unpleasant, but just at this time the batteries were given visible proof that counter-battery work was not entirely confined to the German side. During the advance to the Canal, four 5·9 in. enemy howitzers were found deserted, but still in the firing position, along a road. On this road just behind them a German field battery of four 77 mm. guns had apparently been marching—_had_, it should be noticed, for it would never march again. Whether it had been caught in a shell-storm directed upon the 5·9 in. howitzer battery, or whether an aeroplane had seen it and had switched some of our batteries round to catch it will never be known, but whatever had occurred the work was most effectual. The entire battery, personnel and guns, lay dead and smashed upon the ground; the battery commander at the head of the column, behind him his trumpeter and the whole of the battery staff, all lay dead beneath their horses. Every team of every gun was still in its harness, all three drivers of each team were still in their places, but all were dead, torn and riven by our shells. It was a most uncanny sight, this battery complete in every detail laid out along the road, and swift must have been the storm from our guns which transformed it and its surroundings into a shambles.

October 1st/5th was a period of probing the enemy line and of trying to force the pace of his retreat. Day and night his communications were shelled, his front system bombarded and every sign of movement engaged. Patrols pushed out to the edge of the canal on the 3rd found it still held by machine-gun parties, and as a result certain batteries sent forward sections so as better to engage Honnecourt and the numerous targets which presented themselves in the neighbourhood. On one occasion an aeroplane reported enemy transport to be on the move near Basket Wood, and a storm of shell was immediately directed upon the area involved. During the advance a couple of days later the batteries passed the locality where this transport had been, and the sight of the smashed and broken wagons and the dead drivers and horses who had been killed by the batteries' own fire was most uplifting to the detachments who had done the work. All this time gas concentrations were fired into La Terrière and Basket Wood, and everything was done to render as difficult as possible the retirement which the enemy was clearly carrying out.

At last, on the 5th, the line gave. Further to the right our troops had captured Montbrehain and Beaurevoir, and their loss necessitated a withdrawal by the enemy from the La Terrière Plateau. At dawn the 5th Scottish Rifles, accompanied by forward observing officers from each brigade, pushed patrols across the river and, meeting only slight resistance, advanced to Franque Wood and on through La Terrière, establishing themselves in Aubencheul by 3.0 P.M. As soon as it was known that the enemy had retired to the east of the canal, the 156th and 162nd Brigades began to make rapid preparations for the crossing, the repairing of bridges at Les Tranchées and elsewhere being taken in hand without delay. By 4.0 P.M. the 156th Brigade had completed a rough bridge in the southern end of Honnecourt, and an hour later both brigades were ordered to move across the Canal in support of the infantry. A/156 and a section of C/156 immediately effected a crossing and dropped into action midway between Vendhuille and La Terrière. At dusk D/156 went into action 1,000 yards south of La Terrière, and the remainder of C/156 crossed the canal and took up a position of readiness one thousand yards to the east thereof.

Thus the batteries pushed their way over one of the great barriers which lay across the line of advance, and before night had fallen a proportion of guns was firmly established on the eastern side. Darkness prevented any further work from being done, but with the arrival of dawn on the 6th, B/156 and the remainder of the 156th Brigade crossed over and took up positions covering Aubencheul from south of La Pannerie Wood. The 162nd Brigade, in the meantime, had been seriously held up at the lock south of Honnecourt, as the bridge, although repaired once, had again been broken, but at 4.0 P.M. on the 5th after several hours' delay the crossing was successfully carried out by portions of the batteries; at dawn on the 6th the remainder came into action in the vicinity of Franque Wood and La Terrière after a perilous march along the east bank of the canal, between the latter and a marsh, with only two inches of clearance on either side of the wheels.

On October 7th the 162nd Brigade again advanced to Basket Wood, while wagon-lines were brought forward to the vicinity of the Canal, and at 1.0 A.M. on October 8th all batteries put down a barrage in support of an attack by the 115th Infantry Brigade of the 38th Division. This Division had relieved the 33rd at 10.0 P.M. on the 5th, and now advanced to the assault of the Beaurevoir Line and Villers Outreaux in conjunction with a general attack on the last of the Siegfried zone by Byng, Rawlinson and Debeney. After much opposition and very severe fighting the final objectives were gained at 10.0 A.M., and three-quarters of an hour later the 162nd Brigade again moved forward—the third advance in three days—to the west of Mortho Wood, while the 156th Brigade guns advanced to the southern edge of Aubencheul. From here another barrage was fired at 11.30 A.M., almost in fact before the guns had dropped their trails—"limber supply" being adopted by certain batteries until the ammunition wagons, arriving at the gallop, came up just in time to prevent a stoppage—and under cover of it the 114th Infantry Brigade assaulted Malincourt and the Malincourt-Serain road beyond.

At about noon it was clear that the enemy was in full retreat, and accordingly the barrage was stopped, the infantry pushing on with little opposition through Malincourt and reaching the final objective at three o'clock in the afternoon. At two o'clock one section of B/156, and shortly afterwards three howitzers of D/156, advanced until they were almost up with the attacking infantry, and by shooting in close support and co-operation with the latter did excellent work in the engaging of hostile movement, machine-guns and strong points. At the same time the whole of 156th Brigade advanced so as to keep touch with the infantry, reaching by 4.0 P.M. the area just south of Malincourt.

At dawn on October 9th the advance was resumed. Tuesday's battle had wiped out the whole of the Siegfried Line, the enemy was now well on the run and the 19th Infantry Brigade (33rd Division) pushed on through the 114th, the C.R.A. 33rd Division taking over control of the guns, which consisted of the 121st and 122nd Brigades in addition to the 156th and 162nd. Little resistance was met with until Clary was reached, but here the infantry were held up by snipers and machine-gun fire. Two guns of A/156 and three of B/156 together with some advanced sections of the 162nd Brigade, which had followed close on the heels of the infantry, came into action immediately on the western outskirts of the village and successfully engaged the enemy machine-guns over open sights. Shortly afterwards the infantry established themselves on the eastern outskirts of Clary, whereupon two of the advanced guns of B/156 were pushed through the village and again came into action, shooting over open sights with extremely good effect at a range of 800 yards. In the meantime the rest of the 156th and 162nd Brigades had been advancing rapidly and, after passing through Villers Outreaux and Malincourt, had dropped into action just west of Clary to help the infantry in the assault on the eastern outskirts. With the fall of Clary the advance quickened and the infantry went right through Bertry unchecked and on to La Fayte and Troisvilles, closely followed by the forward guns of the 156th and 162nd Brigades, which were shooting at very close ranges over open sights all the afternoon and were successfully dealing with every sign of enemy resistance. Keeping pace with the advance came on also the main body of guns of the two brigades, which searched out and broke up every sign of enemy movement and opposition. So rapid was the move forward that the batteries took up three successive positions during the day, night finding them in the vicinity of Bertry with forward guns on the western edge of Troisvilles.

The speed of the advance, indeed, was now beginning to make itself felt; ammunition and food supply became a most serious problem, and on this day (October 9th) tremendous difficulty was met with by the wagon-lines in keeping touch with their firing batteries without either crowding upon or losing all sight of them. The day, with its eight mile advance and the occupation of three successive positions, laid a heavy strain upon all the wagon-lines which, unable to move in a direct line across country, had to complete a long march before they joined up with their guns at Bertry in the evening; yet throughout this period the guns and detachments were never without ammunition and food, a fact which compares very favourably with the batteries of the United States army which in some cases, being without food, were completely unable to keep up with the advance. There was another and most novel proof of the pace at which the line was pushing forward; on entering Clary and Bertry the infantry and guns were met by cheering French civilians who, in their exultation at the departure of the enemy after so many weary years, rushed to greet our troops with an outburst of joy—quite embarrassing! Unable to cope with the rapidity of the attack the Germans had allowed these people to stay behind, and in their excitement at this unexpected relief they vented their delight upon the British troops in the most amazing and whole-hearted manner.

Seven o'clock on the morning of the 10th saw all batteries on the move again, supporting an advance by the 98th Infantry Brigade, assisted by cavalry, upon the bridgeheads east of the River Selle between Neuvilly and Montay. This was a great day for the guns and, indeed, for all the troops concerned, for the advance was carried out according to the true style laid down in the drill book for open fighting. Cavalry patrols in front, infantry following on, batteries first in "battery column" and then manœuvring into line, the whole countryside around Troisvilles presented the amazing spectacle of vast masses of troops moving steadily forward exactly as though on an Aldershot field day. The 156th Brigade lay on the right of the 162nd, and together the two brigades manœuvred up to the crest of the hill which commanded the crossing of the Selle. By 8.0 A.M. the infantry were within 800 yards of the river, where they halted until such time as the Divisions on the right and left had come up into line, and by the same hour the batteries had pushed through Troisvilles to a point midway between that village and Le Cateau, from which positions they vigorously shelled hostile batteries and machine guns.

In addition to the delay on the flanks, the enemy on the immediate front was showing clear signs of increased resistance. Several field batteries had come up and were firing over open sights at the infantry, while our own batteries, as they neared the crest of the hill, came under very heavy shell fire. With ammunition wagons detached, however, the guns pressed on under severe fire and reached the crest whence, over open sights, they were able to assist the infantry in no small measure, and throughout the day continued to engage hostile troops and movement of every description. At the same time the German batteries rendered our positions very uncomfortable with 77 mm. and long-range fire, while the teams which went back to Troisvilles to water found the village congested with cavalry, artillery and infantry pack horses, all of whom suffered severe casualties through being spotted by an enemy aeroplane which called down a shell-storm upon the entire village.

The whole of the 10th was spent in registration, harassing fire and counter-battery work, D/156 and D/162 engaging with great success four hostile batteries in action on the forward slopes of the high ground east of the River Selle. Many enemy machine-guns and snipers also demanded the attention of the guns, and so, despite fairly active artillery fire on the part of the enemy, the batteries were kept busy until 5 P.M.; at that hour a barrage was fired to cover the 98th Infantry Brigade in an attempt to cross the river and to form bridgeheads on the crest of the hill to the north-east, in conjunction with the 17th Division on the left.

This attack met with considerable opposition as the River Selle formed a most important part of the enemy defensive line, and nowhere was an advance made beyond the railway. Night fell with the enemy still holding the high ground, and brought with it a most unpleasant time for the batteries. Without cover of any sort or description, lying out in the open and being consistently shelled with 77 mm. and 4·2 in., the detachments awaited the dawn, when it was hoped that this stand on the part of the enemy might be broken down.

Dawn, however, brought no further success, but on the contrary a temporary reverse. The 98th Infantry Brigade at 10.15 A.M. reported that it had been counter-attacked and now only had two posts on the eastern side of the Selle; the 162nd Brigade was accordingly detailed to look after the troops across the river, while the remainder of the artillery covering the infantry were left to fire on observed targets and to engage all movement and all possible hostile batteries. The latter during the morning were quiet, but from 2.0 P.M. until 4.0 P.M. a very considerable bombardment of 5·9 in., 4·2 in. and 77 mm., mainly from the Ovillers direction, descended upon the whole area occupied by the batteries.

No further move was now made until 5.0 A.M. on the 12th when the 100th Infantry Brigade assaulted the high ground east of the river, the objective being the line of the road running from Amerval to the outskirts of Montay. No creeping barrage was utilised in this attack, the batteries firing on selected and observed targets throughout the day. By 8.0 A.M. the left battalion was reported to have gained its objective in spite of strong enemy opposition, but the right battalion was held up by machine-gun fire from the river. An early morning mist rendered observed artillery fire—the only kind of any use at the moment—impossible, and not till the middle of the day could anything be done. Excellent work was then carried out by the batteries but came too late, for by then the left battalion had been forced back to the railway by strong enemy counter-attacks; evening found our troops, in spite of stubborn fighting and most gallant resistance, back to the west of the river whither they had been driven by superior numbers of the enemy, only a few posts remaining on the eastern bank.

With S.O.S. lines along the railway, both brigades now began a period of continuous harassing fire on all enemy strong points and communications, with synchronised bombardments on areas of especial importance. A lull in the infantry action had set in, but it was essential that the enemy should have no chance of organising his front or improving his defences, and to prevent this the full powers of the batteries were called upon. From October 13th to the 20th under the control of the C.R.A. 38th Division (which had relieved the 33rd on the 13th) the guns bombarded the railway, the hostile trenches and batteries, the ravines east of the Selle and every possible point which might be utilised by the enemy. Gas was fired nightly into the ravines, every hostile effort to put out wire was nullified, and two 6 in. trench mortars were brought into position to help in the bombardment. The result of this firing, although not apparent at the time, was clearly shown later when the batteries, on advancing, found the railway embankment covered with the bodies of dead Germans, all of whom had obviously, from their mangled state, been killed by shell fire. Daily the enemy replied to this activity by shelling the forward and battery areas, but the initiative had passed for ever into the hands of the British Army, and the lull, although of a week's duration, was but a temporary measure. On October 20th Byng struck with seven divisions in an attempt to capture the Selle line north of Le Cateau to Denain, five miles from Valenciennes, and the 38th Division, covered by a barrage from the guns, assaulted and captured by 10.0 A.M. the high ground between Forest and the Selle as its share of the operation; this, together with victories on other parts of the 3rd Army front, left the way clear for a further general advance.

Next day (21st) the expected orders to resume the advance were received. A general assault by the 3rd and 4th Armies was planned, the objectives of the 33rd Division being Wagnonville and Poix-du-Nord; the attack was to be on a grandiose scale, tanks assisting the infantry, while in addition to the 156th and 162nd Brigades the whole of the 38th Divisional Artillery and the 223rd Brigade R.F.A. (Naval Division) were to form the creeping barrage behind which the infantry would move forward. Two 6 in. trench mortars were allotted to each infantry brigade, the 6 in. howitzers of the V. Corps Heavy Artillery were detailed to bombard selected targets and engage in counter-battery work, and one 18-pdr. battery of the 162nd Brigade was placed at the disposal of the G.O.C. 19th Infantry Brigade.

In order to cover the Ovillers Slaughter House road for this attack the 156th Brigade moved to within 1,000 yards of the Selle, north-west of Montay. From here all necessary points were registered during the 21st/22nd, and on the 22nd every battery sent forward a reconnoitring party to examine the approaches to and crossings of the River Selle. This was to be no local attack but an operation on the very largest scale with tremendous issues hanging in the balance, for it marked the beginning of the destruction of the new water front, the Scheldt and the Sambre Canal, which the enemy was seeking to hold, and the start of the last of the great conflicts in the west. No precaution was to be overlooked, no step left untaken which in any way might assist in bringing success to this great combined effort further to hurl the enemy back towards his frontiers.

During the night of the 22nd/23rd the infantry of the 33rd Division relieved the 38th, the C.R.A. 33rd Division taking over control of the guns, and at 2.0 A.M. on the 23rd the attack was launched behind a creeping barrage with the 98th Infantry Brigade on the right, the 19th on the left. By 4.30 A.M. the 1st Middlesex were in Forest, and the 4th King's had passed through their lines and were pushing on towards the next objective; an hour later B/156 with one section of D/156 crossed the Selle and followed up the leading battalion of the 98th Infantry Brigade with whom they kept in close touch throughout the day, and by 6.45 A.M. both artillery brigades had crossed the Selle, the 156th shortly afterwards taking up positions 1,000 yards west of Croix, the 162nd dropping into action west of Forest.

Meantime the infantry, in face of strong opposition, were pushing slowly on, and by 10.30 A.M. were lining the Croix-Vendegies road ready for the next advance. Before this took place the guns of the 162nd Brigade again moved up, this time to Richemont, while C/156 pressed on nearly to Croix. So successful was the attack, however, that the batteries found themselves being left too far behind, and accordingly at 12.30 P.M. the 162nd Brigade again advanced its guns in close support of the infantry and came into action 1,000 yards north of Croix. Here it remained throughout the rest of the day, neutralizing machine-gun fire and generally assisting in every possible way the infantry who were slowly making their way through Vendegies Wood.

By 5.0 P.M. the British line ran approximately along the northern edge of the wood, and here the advance was stayed for the night, the 156th Brigade, who had occupied the same positions since before midday, pushing up to an area 1,000 yards north of Croix where it remained throughout the hours of darkness. The day had been a complete and overwhelming success all along the line, and the batteries, after sixteen hours of continuous fighting and advancing, were thankful to snatch a short rest. The strain had been great, nor had the victory been won without loss; all batteries had suffered to a more or less marked extent, but in particular must be mentioned the tragic and yet glorious death of Lieut.-Colonel B. A. B. Butler. While riding up from his headquarters at Richemont to visit the batteries he was severely wounded and died the same evening, a loss which the 156th Brigade could ill afford. Elsewhere has been related the story of his gallantry during the enemy offensive, and in the advance of the British line his courage and example were no less marked. His death robbed the Brigade of a friend and a leader than whom a better could not be found, and with victory almost in sight it seemed doubly hard that he should not have survived to share in it.

On the 24th at 4.0 A.M. the advance on Englefontaine was resumed, Major W. G. Sheeres, M.C., taking over command of the 156th Brigade. Heavy bursts of fire were put down in front of the infantry under cover of which they moved forward towards Paul Jacques Farm and Wagnonville, and at dawn, although all ranks were now very exhausted, the batteries began to advance. At 6.0 A.M. the 162nd Brigade had reached the southern outskirts of Vendegies and was directing fire upon the eastern outskirts of Poix-du-Nord, where the enemy was reported to be retreating. By 8.0 A.M. the same brigade had again advanced to a position in observation 1,000 yards further on, the 156th Brigade reaching the edge of the Bois de Vendegies one hour later. From here harassing fire was kept up on the approaches to Englefontaine, while A/156 kept in close touch with the leading battalion of infantry. News was then received that, after the overcoming of strong opposition, Wagnonville had been captured and Englefontaine itself was being rapidly threatened. Upon receipt of this information further battery positions were hastily reconnoitred and all the guns were moved up, the 156th Brigade coming into action between Poix-du-Nord and Wagnonville, the 162nd Brigade in Poix-du-Nord itself.

As events turned out, the infantry were held up between Poix-du-Nord and Englefontaine, and the latter was accordingly kept under the fire of the guns. All through the night of the 24th/25th and during the day of the 25th the exits from the village were continually bombarded, and at 1.0 A.M. on the 26th an attack was carried out by both infantry brigades of the 33rd Division under cover of a thick barrage in which ten per cent. of gas shells were used. The programme for this barrage was worked out almost entirely by Brig.-General G. H. W. Nicholson who, depleted of his staff by "Spanish influenza" and other causes, tackled the work single-handed and with such skill that the operation was a complete success. Five hundred prisoners and many machine-guns were taken, and with the fall of the village one battery of the 162nd Brigade pushed forward to a previously reconnoitred position from which close support of the infantry was possible.

From the 26th until the end of the month the batteries remained in the same positions, and it was well that this was so, for the so-called Spanish influenza was now raging in both brigades. It was believed that this epidemic had been contracted through sleeping in dug-outs and barns recently occupied by the enemy who was known to be suffering from it very badly, but whatever the cause it handicapped the guns to a marked extent. At one time the brigade commander and all four battery commanders of the 162nd Brigade were down with the disease, but despite this counter-preparations were fired morning and evening to break up any would-be counter-attacks by the enemy, while frequent gas concentrations were fired into the hostile lines. On the 29th a successful "mopping-up" of houses on the Englefontaine-Bavai road was carried out by the 17th R.W.F. (the 38th Division had relieved the 33rd on the evening of the 26th), and on the 29th/30th there came to the weary batteries a short relief. On that night the 122nd Brigade R.F.A. "took over" from the 162nd who marched back to Bertry for a 72-hour rest, to be followed two nights later by the 156th Brigade.

For over six long weeks the batteries had been fighting, advancing and fighting again, covering in all a depth of 30 miles and never once enjoying rest of any kind. Upon Brigade and Battery commanders there had been the constant strain of dealing with the ever-arising fresh situations, and of keeping in close touch with the infantry in every stage of the advance; amongst all the battery personnel there had been no rest, no respite from unending firing, marching and enemy shelling, while the wagon-lines had been hard put to it each day to keep touch with the gun lines in every move and to keep them fully supplied with ammunition. It is scarcely surprising, then, that officers and men were dropping with fatigue when the orders for a 72-hour rest were received, yet so high was the morale of the troops at the time and so inflamed were all with the sense of victory, that grudgingly did they give up their share in the battle and move back to the quieter surroundings of Bertry.

They need not have feared, however, that they would be long left out of the line. The so-called 72-hour rest, although achieved by the 162nd Brigade, was reduced in the case of the 156th to one of twenty-four hours, and November 2nd saw both brigades back into action once more. A great combined attack by the 1st, 3rd and 4th Armies, together with the 1st French Army, was about to be launched upon the formidable defences of the Sambre, the great Mormal Forest and the fortifications of the town of Le Quesnoy, and to take part in this the two brigades were ordered to cover the line due east of Englefontaine from positions in the western outskirts of Poix-du-Nord (156th Brigade) and from Wagnonville (162nd Brigade). These positions they occupied in the afternoon of November 2nd, Lieut.-Colonel C. E. Boyce temporarily commanding the 156th Brigade, and Colonel Pim (who was wounded next day and succeeded by Major Vaughan-Hughes) the 162nd in place of Lieut.-Colonel Warren.

Before any further details of the fighting are entered upon, a word of explanation is called for with regard to this chapter. Hitherto a careful chronicle of the events of each day has been given, the movements of the batteries being followed in detail. As a result, perhaps, of this strict attention to tactics the personal element has found itself excluded, the interest of the chapter being in the main historical. Yet this is unavoidable; in one short chapter must be described the whole of that brilliant advance from September 16th until November 11th, with all its attacks, its changes of position and forward marches. To digress from this and enter upon personal narratives must inevitably destroy the continuity of the story, and moreover, another difficulty has to be faced. In those days no battery had time to think of the doings of any other guns save of its own; no battery had really sufficient time to think and record what it was doing itself, and therefore, were stories of individual exploits narrated in these pages, only a particle could be put down and many as deserving of mention would have to be left untold. On frequent occasions every battery of both brigades performed brilliant exploits in galloping forward guns to a level with the most advanced infantry and in shooting upon the enemy over open sights at almost point-blank range; on frequent occasions batteries had to pass through shell-storms to drop into the positions chosen for them, and had to maintain effective covering fire under the full weight of an enemy bombardment, but each and all did it in turn and the singling out of any one in particular would be invidious. All eight batteries took an equal share in this wonderful advance, and the valour of their work can best be appreciated by an account of the battles in which they were engaged.

On November 2nd the brigades had come back into action; November 3rd was spent in reconnoitring advance positions and in maintaining close co-operation between the infantry and the guns, and on November 4th began the great attack on the Forêt de Mormal. At 6.15 A.M. under a creeping barrage the 38th Division moved forward to the assault, and for two hours the guns continued to maintain a curtain of fire in front of the infantry as they pushed their way on towards the objective. At 8.15 A.M. both the 156th and 162nd Brigades began to advance, one battery at a time, to positions already chosen east of Englefontaine, and by adopting this procedure the continuity of the barrage was in no way interrupted, the rear positions maintaining a brisk rate of fire until a proportion of guns had reached the forward positions and had begun to carry on the work from there. The 162nd Brigade successfully reached the new positions, although heavily shelled on the way, but the 156th was prevented from doing so by intense machine-gun fire, which mere fact alone goes to show how closely the batteries were following up the infantry. Only A/156 was able to get through, the remainder having to drop into action temporarily to the west of the village, but after a time the machine-gun fire slackened and the move was completed, the whole of the 156th Brigade lying 1,000 yards south-east of Englefontaine in the outskirts of the Forêt de Mormal and close alongside the 162nd Brigade.

From here the barrage was continued until 3.0 P.M., when the final objectives were reached. Positions were then reconnoitred 3,000 yards further forward, and at dusk all batteries advanced again. Great difficulty was now experienced as numerous trees had been felled across the roads which had, in addition, been blown up, but by 8.0 P.M. all batteries were in action again in the reconnoitred positions around a _carrefour_ or meeting of roads in the forest. The state of the roads, in point of fact, prevented the moving up of any heavy guns except the 60-pounders, the six-inch howitzers being compelled to remain halted far behind until some sort of track had been repaired for them.

During the night of the 4th/5th the batteries again moved forward and were deployed along the Sassegnies-Ribaumet-Sarbaras line, covering the River Sambre, while the infantry of the 33rd Division relieved that of the 38th. At 4.30 A.M. the advance began again, and each battery immediately sent one section forward to keep in touch with the battalion commanders. These sections pushed on through La Grande Pature and took up positions east of Sarbaras which gave easy command of the crossings of and ground beyond the River Sambre, and from which very successful observed fire was carried out, much enemy movement being engaged. In the meantime the remainder of the batteries hurried forward as fast as possible, but great delay was caused by congestion on the roads and by mine craters and felled trees. Not until noon had all the batteries, in extremely wet weather, made their way through the Forêt de Mormal, but by that time they were in action east of Sarbaras and bombarding the ground beyond the Sambre with the utmost vigour.

This day, Tuesday, November 5th, marked the final breaking of the enemy's resistance. With the two wings of his army separated, with the Siegfried and Brynhild zones overrun, he was no longer in retreat but in full flight, and during the afternoon of the 5th a careful reconnaissance of the routes forward and of the crossings over the Sambre was carried out, for the rout of the enemy might enable a crossing to be effected at any moment. During the night of the 5th/6th the enemy retired to the east of the river and the 162nd Brigade was ordered to follow him, the 156th being told to remain in their present positions to the west. Night and day the enemy kept the bridgeheads under the most intense shell and machine-gun fire, and entirely prevented the Sappers and the battery working parties from repairing the bridges sufficiently for the guns to get across. Ultimately, at dawn on the 7th, a rough structure had been thrown up, and the batteries began to move over the river. On the previous evening a reconnaissance of the approach to the bridge had been made by Major Taylor and Captain Heads, and it was found that the proper approach had been hopelessly blocked. The batteries, when they did advance, had to move down a steep, winding and very narrow track, while the only route on the eastern side of the river was a tortuous towing path and necessitated the cutting of gaps in hedges and the manhandling of guns across rivulets and swamps—a very difficult task.

D/162 was the first battery actually to cross the Sambre, but it was so closely followed by A/162 that the latter got into action first, dropping its gun trails just west of Pot de Vin at the moment when the infantry were assembling along a sunken road for the attack on the village. The gratitude of the infantry for this close support by the artillery was very marked, and several of their officers came up to the batteries to express their thanks, for they knew with what difficulty and at what a cost this advance of the guns close under the enemy's nose had been effected. "B" and C/162 were prevented for some time from crossing the river, for an infantry wagon broke down right in the middle of the bridge shortly after "A" battery had got over, but after a delay of about two hours the whole brigade was across the last barrier and, despite severe casualties suffered in the operation, was supporting the infantry to the full extent of its power. November 7th was the last real fighting day of the war on this part of the front, but it was none the less a very nasty day, and in every battery a certain number of casualties were suffered. The enemy was putting up a stiff resistance for he was trying to bar to us the road to Namur, but his was only a forlorn hope and did little more than to slow down slightly our rate of advance.

From this date onwards the only batteries of the 33rd Divisional Artillery to the east of the Sambre were those of the 162nd Brigade, as the 156th Brigade had not been called upon to advance. In fact, the 162nd Brigade shared with the 169th Army Field Artillery Brigade the distinction of being the only guns across the river on this section from the 6th until the conclusion of hostilities.

On the 8th, even while a little group of men were sitting round a table in the Forest of Compiègne discussing the terms of Armistice, the infantry of the 38th Division advanced to the Maubeuge-Avesnes road and later to the Bois de Beugnies, supported as far as possible by the 162nd Brigade which pushed on beyond the cross-roads north-west of Dourlers. On the 9th the enemy retreat became general; the infantry followed up as far as Wattignies, and "B" and C/162 moved into action 1,000 yards west of the village, "A" and "D" batteries remaining at Dourlers. Saturday, the 9th, was in fact the last day of the war for the 33rd Divisional Artillery. In the early morning of that day the 162nd Brigade fired upon the enemy rearguards—the 156th were already out of the battle—and reconnoitred forward as far as Wattignies where the infantry had halted. Small patrols of cavalry pushed further on to try and establish contact with the rearguard of the German army, and desultory machine-gun fire could be heard every now and then away in the distance, but to all intents and purposes the enemy had completely vanished and nowhere could our troops get into contact with them.

On November 10th came orders for the wagon-lines to join up with the guns and for all four batteries of the 162nd Brigade to remain in a position of readiness between Dourlers and Ecuelin. To the east all the bridges had been blown up by the retreating enemy, and pursuit by the batteries was utterly impossible. Moreover, it was known by all ranks that German plenipotentiaries had passed through our lines some days before to sue for terms, and the knowledge of that fact, combined with the utter rout of the enemy on the batteries' own front, prepared the men for the news which was shortly to come.

At 9.0 A.M. on Monday, November 11th, 1918, came the news that the war was over. In the Wattignies sector the order to break off hostilities did not come, as many accounts strove to describe it, in the midst of the battle, with raging gun-fire at one moment and our troops all shouting and waving their helmets at the next. The orders merely confirmed what already was known and anticipated, and although, when the message from G.H.Q. was read out to the assembled batteries, there was such cheering as comes from deep down in the heart, the occasion was far too great to be grasped in a single moment, and the gunners, as soon as the parade was over, set off to play a football match against the infantry! Such an attitude of mind must have seemed inexplicable to onlookers of other nationalities who could not understand the temperament of the British soldier, yet in a way the action was only natural. The Great Pursuit was over; nay, more, the war, the terrible nightmare of four years, was finished. How could the realisation of such a mighty event be grasped in a moment by men who for months and years had been hourly awaiting death, and now saw death pass from them?