Part 13

Sir Douglas Haig’s written despatch of 20th July, 1918, regarding the great German offensive, paragraph 20, the position of affairs on the 22nd March, stated: “At midday, after heavy fighting in the neighbourhood of Roisel, the 66th Division, under the command of Major-General N. Malcolm, D.S.O., still held their positions in this sector, having, for the time being, definitely stopped the enemy’s advance. To the south and north, however, the progress of the German infantry continued, ... Roisel being threatened from the rear. Accordingly our troops about Roisel were withdrawn during the afternoon under orders, the enemy making no attempt to interfere.” The fighting 21st-23rd March, 1918, is now the “Battle of St. Quentin.”

In paragraph 43, regarding the fight for the Rosières line on 27th March, now the “Battle of Rosières,” it was said by Sir Douglas Haig that “the situation south of the Somme was serious.” “A counter-attack by the 66th Division restored the situation about Framerville.”

In paragraph 47 as to the fighting in the Avre and Luce valleys, on 29th and 30th March, Sir Douglas Haig said, “North of the Luce also the enemy made some progress but in the afternoon was held up, and finally driven back into Aubercourt by counter-attacks carried out by troops of the 66th Division and the 3rd Australian Division.”

In his “Fifth Army in March, 1918,” Mr. Sparrow constantly refers to the splendid conduct of the 66th. At p. 101 he mentions that they fought continuously from the 21st to the 31st and that their losses were nearly 7000 “apart from sick and spent.” At p. 134 he says that their strength on the evening of the 30th was 104 officers and 2376 other ranks, excluding transport. “Thus to the last the 66th was in the fire,” and speaking of the counter-attack which they made on the 30th he said, “seldom have exhausted men made an equal effort.”

Their losses were so severe that the Division was reduced to a cadre basis, see note, paragraph 1, despatch of 21st December, 1918 (Messrs. Dent’s edition); but it was filled up in time to take part in the “Advance to Victory.”

The South African Brigade, which had gained very great distinction on many occasions, as part of the 9th Division, was incorporated in the reconstituted 66th, and it was also joined by the following battalions from the Mediterranean: the 6th Lancashire Fusiliers, 5th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, and 6th Royal Dublin Fusiliers, forming the 198th Brigade; the 18th Liverpool Regiment (formerly Lancashire Yeomanry), 9th Manchester Regiment and 5th Connaught Rangers, forming the 199th Brigade, with, as pioneers, the 9th Gloucestershire Regiment. (See _The Story of the Fourth Army_, p. 322.)

The despatch of 21st December, 1918, paragraph 42, “Second Battle of Le Cateau, 8th to 12th October,” now officially designated the “Battle of Cambrai, 1918, with pursuit to the Selle,” shows that the Division formed part of the troops attacking on 8th October, being then in the XIII. Corps, Fourth Army, when “on the British front infantry and tanks penetrated the enemy’s position to a depth of between three and four miles, passing rapidly over the incomplete trench lines.”

To the north of the 30th American Division which had “captured Brancourt and Prémont the 66th Division (Major-General H. K. Bethell), attacking beside the 25th Division (Major-General J. R. E. Charles), captured Serain.” The advance was continued on the 9th; “by nightfall our troops were within two miles of Le Cateau.” A further forward movement was made on the 10th and in _The History of the 25th Division_, p. 329, it is stated that by the evening of the 10th “the 66th Division, which had got well forward on the left, had a few advanced patrols in Le Cateau itself.” This is correct, but there was to be very heavy fighting before the town was captured. The Selle runs through the town, and the portion on the eastern side of the river was not taken till the 17th.

Paragraph 46, “The forcing of the Selle River crossings, 17th-25th October,” now the “Battle of the Selle,” mentions the 66th as again employed by the XIII. Corps. “The enemy was holding the difficult wooded country east of Bohain and the line of the Selle north of it, in great strength, his infantry being well supported by artillery.... By the evening of the 19th October, after much severe fighting, the enemy had been driven across the Sambre and Oise canal at practically all points south of Catillon, whence our line followed the valley of the Richemont east and north of Le Cateau.” That town was taken by the 66th Division.

On the night of the 16th the 9th Gloucestershire, Pioneers to the Division, and the Divisional Engineers threw eight bridges across the Selle, here twenty feet wide and five feet deep, and the South African Brigade crossed to the east bank. Later they forced their way through the wire entanglements and carried their objectives. In the _Story of the Fourth Army_, p. 224, there occurs this sentence: “The position attacked by the 66th Division, and especially by the South African Brigade, requires to be studied on the ground before the difficulties overcome by the initiative and leadership of the regimental officers and non-commissioned officers, and by the gallantry of all ranks, can be fully realised. None but the very best troops could have attempted, let alone have succeeded in, such an enterprise, and the crossing of the Selle at Le Cateau will always remain, like the struggle in Delville Wood in 1916, a lasting testimony to the fighting qualities of the South African soldier.” A captured German order contained the sentence: “The English must not cross the Selle on our front.”

Sir A. Conan Doyle, vol. vi. pp. 187-190, gives a detailed and excellent account of the attack on 17th October. He says: “It had been a very desperate battle, the laurels of which rest with the South African Brigade, who had carried out so remarkable an assault, and also with the 50th Division which had held on with such a bull-dog grip to its purpose.”

The XIII. Corps was engaged in “The Battle of the Sambre,” commencing on 4th November, the 66th being in support of the 25th, which captured Landrecies. (See under 48th Division, three battalions of which did great work.) See also paragraph 50 of the despatch and map opposite p. 294 of Messrs. Dent’s edition.

On 7th November the 66th relieved the 25th and continued the advance beyond Avesnes, being practically advance-guard to the Fourth Army. At the date of the Armistice the Division held the front from Sivry to a point west of Beaumont.

The work of the 66th Division between 8th October and 11th November is fully described in _The Story of the Fourth Army_ already referred to.

APPENDIX

APPENDIX

SHOWING THE BATTLES, AS NAMED IN THE OFFICIAL LIST PUBLISHED IN 1921, IN WHICH THE TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS TOOK PART.

Since the foregoing notes were put together there has been published “The Official Names of the Battles and other Engagements fought by the Military Forces of the British Empire during the Great War, 1914-1919, and Third Afghan War, 1919, being the Report of the Battles Nomenclature Committee, as approved by the Army Council.”

A list of the battles in which a division has been present affords some idea of its services to the Empire, but opportunities varied according to the theatre, and while the work of those troops which went early to the East was of inestimable importance and while very many of their battalions fought in Mesopotamia, Palestine and elsewhere, they had no chance of employment as divisions in the field, hence, through no fault of their own, their honours as divisions are _nil_. In the case of some which operated in France the urgency of affairs, in the early years of the War, was such as to necessitate their employment as reinforcements in single battalions to Regular brigades, and it must not be forgotten that the component parts of some divisions, such as the 55th and 56th, were nearly a year, more in the case of some battalions, in France before they were concentrated as divisions. In their case again a mere list of battle honours in that formation is inadequate as a token of their value. Some of those so placed seem to have made up lost time splendidly.

It would be presumption to say that the following table is complete. There will be many claims which will require very careful scrutiny, and only the Authorities, with all the material of the Historical Section of the War Office at their disposal, will be competent to adjudicate upon them. On the other hand the despatches do mention certain units, and other works of a semi-official character, already published, supplement the reports of the various Commanders; from such sources a fairly complete list can be made up.

In this Appendix, where a division has been mentioned in despatches or works such as the “Story of the Fourth Army,” as taking part in a battle, or is shown in the maps appended to these, the Battle is in ordinary type; but where the information is derived from sources not so strictly official, the name of the Battle is printed in italics. In compiling this appendix it has been thought better not to ask information from units as to their own doings.

The geographical or boundary limits give trouble as regards divisions in support. Sometimes these seem to have been partly within and partly outside the limits. Where there is a probable claim this has been noted.

The chronological or time limits give no licence, and it is perhaps a little hard on some units that did some very severe fighting on one or more days before or after a recognised battle that they should be excluded. Particularly hard cases seem to be those of the 50th, 61st and 66th in connection with the fighting in the region of the Avre and Luce valleys, 28th-30th March, 1918, when these and other divisions by their splendid efforts prevented the line from being broken, and that after they had long passed all credible limits of endurance. The Battle of Rosières is given the dates 26th and 27th March, and that of the Avre, 4th April, by which latter date these three divisions were out of the line, the fighting 28th-30th March, south of the Somme, is thus outside both battles, although the despatch, in which these three divisions are mentioned, seems to give it an importance equal to that of the fighting on 4th April.

Again the Battle of the Somme, 1916, the Third Battle of Ypres, now the Battles of Ypres, 1917, and the First and Second Battles of the Somme, 1918, have each been sub-divided into a number of battles with fixed time limits; but in the course of these epic struggles certain divisions had intense fighting, with most serious losses, on days which are not within the dates of any of the recognised battles. For example, the 55th at the Somme, 1916, the 42nd and 47th at Ypres, 1917, and the 62nd at the Second Somme, 1918, all made big and costly endeavours on days outside the chronological boundaries of a recognised battle. No doubt they will get the general honour, such as “The Battles of Ypres, 1917,” and have to be content with that.

The Committee have clearly taken great pains to arrive at sound principles, and to apply these wisely, and as they had every possible advantage in the way of information, their decisions, although in odd cases causing disappointment, will doubtless be accepted in the true soldiers’ spirit.

In 1918 several Territorial divisions were practically destroyed, such as the 50th and 66th; these were during the last few months reconstituted, being made up largely with Regular or New Army battalions. Such divisions have been treated as Territorial to the end. If this is considered more than fair to the Territorial Force it is counterbalanced by the fact that some of the New Army Divisions, which had also been very hardly hit, such as the 34th, were, after the spring campaign of 1918, composed largely of Territorial battalions from Italy and Palestine. The 25th has most handsomely admitted their good fortune in receiving seasoned battalions from Italy, including a brigade of the 48th.

42ND (EAST LANCASHIRE) DIVISION. First Line.

Defence of Egypt. 3-4 February, 1915.

The Battles of Helles, Second Battle of Dardanelles. Krithia. 6-8 May, 1915. Third Battle of Krithia. 4 June, 1915.

Battle of Rumani, Egypt. 4-5 Aug., 1916.

_The Battles of Ypres, The Division was not mentioned in the 1917._ despatch, but was in line from 1st to 18th September; it attacked on 6th and later dates. This was not one of the recognised battles.

The First Battles of First Battle of Bapaume. 24-25 March, 1918. the Somme, 1918. First Battle of Arras, 1918. 28 March, 1918. _Battle of the Ancre, 1918._ 5 April, 1918.

The Second Battles Battle of Albert, 1918 21-23 Aug., 1918. of the Somme, 1918 Second Battle of Bapaume. 1 Aug.-3 Sept., 1918.

The Battles of the Battle of the Canal Hindenburg Line. du Nord. 27 Sept.-1 Oct., 1918.

The Final Advance. Battle of the Selle. 17-25 Oct., 1918. _Battle of the Sambre._ 4 Nov., 1918. The Division was not engaged at the Battle of the Sambre on 4th November. It was in second line (see map, p. 294, Messrs. Dent’s edition of despatches), but seems to have been within the official boundaries. It passed to front line on the 5th.

43RD (WESSEX) DIVISION. First Line. 44TH (HOME COUNTIES) DIVISION. First Line. 45TH (WESSEX) DIVISION. Second Line.

The Divisions went to India, were broken up, and were not in action as divisions.

46TH (NORTH MIDLAND) DIVISION. First Line.

Battle of Neuve Chapelle. 10-13 March, 1915.

The Battle of Loos 25 Sept.-8 Oct., 1915. With “attack on Hohenzollern Redoubt, 13th October.” The Division is mentioned in the despatch as attacking the redoubt on the 13th, but is not mentioned as attacking on 25th September. Their losses on the 13th were very heavy.

The Battles of the Battle of Albert, Somme, 1916. 1916. 1-13 July, 1916.

_Advance to Hindenburg Line, 1917._ March, 1917. The Division was engaged on several occasions.

The Battles of Arras, 1917. 9 April-4 May, 1917. With flanking operations towards Lens, 3 June-26 August. The Division was nearly ten weeks in the line and captured positions on 24 and 28 June.

_Battle of Hill 70._ 15-25 Aug., 1917. Only part of the Division was engaged, the principal attack being by the Canadians on their right.

The Battles of the Battle of the St. Hindenburg Line. Quentin Canal. 29 Sept.-2 Oct., 1918.

Battle of the Beaurevoir Line. 3-5 Oct., 1918.

Battle of Cambrai, 1918. 8-9 Oct., 1918.

The Final Advance. Battle of the Selle. 17-25 Oct., 1918. _Battle of the Sambre._ 4 Nov., 1918. The infantry was not heavily engaged on the 4th, but the Division was in second line (see map, p. 294), and was within boundaries. It “passed through” that night.

47TH (SECOND LONDON) DIVISION. First Line.

Battle of Festubert. 15-25 May, 1915.

The Battle of Loos. 25 Sept.-8 Oct., 1915.

The Battles of the Battle of Somme, 1916. Flers-Courcelette. 15-22 Sept., 1916. Battle of the Transloy Ridges. 1-18 Oct., 1916. The Battle of Messines, 1917. 7-14 June, 1917.

_The Battles of Ypres, 1917._ 31 July-10 Nov., 1917. The 47th was not mentioned in the despatch, but took part in some attacks in latter half of August. It may not have been engaged in any of the recognised battles.

Battle of Cambrai, 1917. 20 Nov.-3 Dec., 1917.

The First Battles of Battle of St. Quentin. 21-23 March, 1918. the Somme, 1918. First Battle of Bapaume. 24-25 March, 1918. _First Battle of Arras, 1918._ 28 March, 1918.

The 47th might claim to have been in this battle. They were very close to the southern boundary, Authuille, but are not mentioned in the despatch. The fighting at the south of the line was not so intense as further north.

_Battle of the Ancre._ 5 April, 1918.

The despatch does not mention the units engaged, but the 47th was in the line and had very heavy fighting in this battle on 5th-6th April.

_The Battle of Amiens._ 8-11 Aug., 1918.

Not in despatch. Entered line on the 10th.

The Second Battles of Battle of Albert, 1918. 21-23 Aug., 1918. the Somme, 1918. Second Battle of Bapaume. 31 Aug.-3 Sept., 1918.

48TH (SOUTH MIDLAND) DIVISION. First Line.

The Battles of the _Battle of Albert, Somme, 1916. 1916._ 1-13 July, 1916. The Division was in support. Battle of Bazentin Ridge. 14-17 July, 1916. Battle of Pozières Ridge. 23 July-3 Sept., 1916.

NOTE.—The 48th does not seem to have attacked in the Battles of Flers-Courcelette or the Transloy Ridges, but might have a claim, to the latter at least, as being within the boundaries. They were holding the line long after the “official” battle closed.

Advance to the Occupation of Hindenburg Line. Peronne, etc. March, 1917.

The Battles of Ypres, _Battle of Pilckem Ridge._ 31 July-2 1917. The Division was in support. Aug., 1917. Battle of Langemarck, 1917. 16-18 Aug., 1917. Battle of Broodseinde. 4 Oct., 1917. Battle of Poelcappelle. 9 Oct., 1917.

Italy. Battle of the Piave (and Asiago Plateau). 15-24 June, 1918. Battle of Vittorio Veneto. 24 Oct.-4 Nov., 1918.

NOTE.—One brigade was with the 25th Division in the final advance in France and took the village of Beaurevoir in the battle of that name, 4th October, took a prominent part in the battle of the Selle, 18th October, and captured Landrecies in the Battle of the Sambre, 4th November.

49TH (WEST RIDING) DIVISION. First Line.

_Battle of Aubers Ridge._ 9th May, 1915. The Division was in support and held the line, while the 7th and 8th attacked.

The Battles of the Battle of Albert, 1916. 1-13 July, 1916. Somme, 1916. _Battle of Bazentin Ridge._ 14-17 July, 1916. Battle of Pozières Ridge. 23 July-3 Sept., 1916. _Battle of Thiepval Ridge._ 26-28 Sept., 1916. The 49th was on the Somme, Thiepval Front, from 30th June to the beginning of October. They did not attack in the Battle of Bazentin Ridge, but were in support and within the official boundary. Portions of the Division attacked in the Battles of Pozières and Thiepval.

The Battles of Ypres, 1917. Battle of Poelcappelle. 9 Oct., 1917. The Division was about the salient throughout the period of the Third Battle of Ypres, and although only mentioned in the despatch as attacking on 9th October, it may claim others of these battles as having been within the boundaries, particularly the two Passchendaele battles. Unfortunately their own history gives almost no guidance.

The Battles of the _Battle of Estaires._ 9-11 April, 1918. Lys. The Division was heavily engaged on 10th and 11th. Battle of Hazebrouck 12-15 April, 1918. Battle of Bailleul. 13-15 April, 1918. First Battle of Kemmel Ridge. 17-19 April, 1918. Second Battle of Kemmel Ridge. 25-26 April, 1918. Battle of the Scherpenberg. 29 April, 1918.

The Battles of the _Battle of Cambrai_, Hindenburg Line 1918, with pursuit to Selle. 8-12 Oct., 1918. The Division was heavily engaged on 11th and 12th.

The Final Advance Battle of Valenciennes 1-2 Nov.,1918