History Of The 1/4th Battalion Duke Of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment, 1914-1919 - free ebook by P. G. Bales

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History Of The 1/4th Battalion Duke Of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment, 1914-1919

P. G. Bales

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THE HISTORY OF THE 1/4TH BATTALION DUKE OF WELLINGTON’S (west riding) REGIMENT, 1914–1919.

THE HISTORY OF THE 1/4TH BATTALION DUKE OF WELLINGTON’S (west riding) REGIMENT, 1914–1919.

BY CAPT. P. G. BALES, M.C. (Formerly Adjutant of the Battalion.) Published by HALIFAX: EDWARD MORTIMER, LTD., REGENT STREET. LONDON: EDWARD MORTIMER, LTD., 34, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C. 4. 1920. Stott Brothers Limited, Printers, Mount Street Works, Halifax. TO ALL RANKS OF THE 1/4TH BATTALION WHO FELL IN ACTION....

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PREFACE.

PREFACE.

For more than two years I was responsible for keeping the War Diary of the 1/4th Battalion, and it was this duty which first suggested to me the idea of writing a History of the Battalion in the Great War. Soon after the armistice was signed I submitted the idea to the Commanding Officer, who expressed his strong approval and promised to assist in every possible way. The present book is the result. The “History” is based mainly on the official documents in the Battalion’s possession. These have,

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CHAPTER I. MOBILISATION AND TRAINING.

CHAPTER I. MOBILISATION AND TRAINING.

At the outbreak of war with Germany, early in August, 1914, the West Riding Territorial Division consisted of the following battalions:— 1st. West Riding Infantry Brigade: 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Battalions West Yorkshire Regiment. 2nd. West Riding Infantry Brigade: 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Battalions Duke of Wellington’s (W.R.) Regiment. 3rd. West Riding Infantry Brigade: 4th and 5th Battalions King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry; 4th and 5th Battalions York and Lancaster Regiment. Major-General T.

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CHAPTER II. FLEURBAIX.

CHAPTER II. FLEURBAIX.

The Battalion was in France. On arrival at Boulogne it disembarked at once and marched to St. Martin’s Camp, which was on a hill a mile or two outside the town. This camp had only recently been started and the arrangements were far from ideal. A few tents for the officers, and bivouacs for the men, were the only accommodation. No one had had a proper meal since he left Doncaster, but no food was provided at the camp until the following morning. One blanket per man—sewn up to form a sort of cloak

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(a) July to October.

(a) July to October.

The Battalion was now in the VI. Corps of the Second Army. Several days were spent in the wood near St. Jans ter Biezen and the men never had any cover there, but, fortunately, it was early July and the nights were not cold. No one was allowed outside the wood in daylight except on duty. Some training was carried out, particularly bombing, instruction in which was pushed on as fast as possible; occasionally short route marches were made in the failing light and cool of the evening. But more time

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(b) October 16th.

(b) October 16th.

On October 14th, the Battalion relieved the 1/5th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment in the Glimpse Cottage Sector, C Company going in on the right, A Company in the centre, and D Company on the left; B Company was in support. The main feature of the sector was a sharp salient in the enemy line, opposite the centre company front. From this salient an old communication trench—a relic of the days when both front lines had been part of the same system—crossed No Man’s Land to the British line. Both

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(c) The Wet Months.

(c) The Wet Months.

Towards the end of October His Majesty the King visited Abeele, and there reviewed representatives of all the Divisions of the VI. Corps. To this review the Battalion sent a contingent [6] of twenty-five other ranks, under the command of Lieut. E. N. Marshall. Needless to say they were a carefully picked body of men, and it is worthy of note that the detachment from the 49th Division was specially commended by His Majesty for its smart turn-out that day. At the end of the month the weather compl

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(d) December 19th.

(d) December 19th.

The enemy first made use of poison gas in the spring of 1915, about the time the Battalion landed in France. On that occasion he employed pure chlorine, but in so weak a concentration that the results were not nearly so disastrous as they might have been. After this first trial—it was probably more an experiment than anything else—he made no use of gas on a large scale for several months. This was fortunate, for it gave allied scientists time to study the whole problem and to devise means of pro

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CHAPTER IV. JANUARY TO JUNE, 1916.

CHAPTER IV. JANUARY TO JUNE, 1916.

The earlier half of 1916 is the least eventful period of the Battalion’s history. The months in the Ypres Salient had reduced its strength to a very low figure, and reinforcements arrived very slowly, until just before the Battle of the Somme. From January to June there is not one dramatic incident to record. With the exception of one tour in the trenches near Authuille, the Battalion never went into the line. Instead, it was employed mainly on various forms of pioneer work which, though very us

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(a) July and August, 1916.

(a) July and August, 1916.

The first half of the year 1916 was a period of comparative quiet for the British Expeditionary Force. During those six months it attempted no serious offensive, and the Germans were far too fully occupied in the neighbourhood of Verdun to be able to expend much energy elsewhere. The terrific attack on their eastern stronghold, caused the French much anxiety, and it undoubtedly influenced their strategy. Nevertheless, it did not prevent them making their preparations for the great offensive, whi

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(b) September 3rd, 1916.

(b) September 3rd, 1916.

The attack made on September 3rd, 1916, is one of the most important events in the Battalion’s history. Never before had it been selected for an operation of that kind. It is therefore very unfortunate that the difficulties of writing a strictly accurate account are so great. Yet, of all the operations in which the Battalion took part during the war, none is so obscure in many of its details, and around none has so much controversy raged. At the time, the higher commands certainly did not unders

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(c) The Leipsig Redoubt.

(c) The Leipsig Redoubt.

The day after the Battalion’s unsuccessful attack on the German line, Major R. E. Sugden, D.S.O., rejoined and assumed command, being promoted Lieut.-Colonel a few days later. He had been in England for nearly nine months, as the result of his wound received near Ypres the previous December; but now, though he had not yet fully recovered the use of his hand and arm, he had returned to France. For nearly two years from this date he held command of the Battalion, only leaving it when he was appoin

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(a) Hannescamps.

(a) Hannescamps.

Many expected, and all hoped for, a fairly long period of rest when the Battalion moved back to Halloy, after nearly three months of the Somme Battle. But it was not to be. The 49th Division was transferred to the Third Army, and, within five days of its relief in the Leipsig Redoubt, the Battalion was holding a front line sector again. Two days of easy marching, and a night each at Humbercamps and Bienvillers, had brought it to the Hannescamps sector, where it relieved the 2nd Battalion Royal W

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(b) Fonquevillers.

(b) Fonquevillers.

From the middle of October until the beginning of December, the Battalion was inter-relieving with the 5th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regt. in the Y Sector, Fonquevillers. This sector had a frontage of rather over a thousand yards, and extended from the Fonquevillers-Gommecourt Road on the left, to the “Mousetrap,” an unoccupied rectangle of ground opposite Gommecourt Park, on the right. It had been the scene of one of the most costly failures of July 1st, for from it the men of the 46th Div

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(c) Halloy.

(c) Halloy.

Halloy was one of the worst places for billeting in the whole of France. The barns were mostly in a bad state of repair. The hutment camps were exceptionally muddy. The inhabitants of the village were far from sweet-tempered, as a general rule. To make matters worse, it seemed to be the invariable custom of the British authorities to crowd far more troops into the place than it could reasonably be expected to hold. The weather was not particularly bad for the time of the year, but December is ne

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(d) Berles.

(d) Berles.

On January 7th, the Battalion left Halloy, and, moving by march route, relieved the 2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regt. in Brigade Reserve to the B1 Sub-sector. Battalion H.Q. and two companies were accommodated in the village of Berles; the other two companies were at Humbercamps. These were to be the dispositions of the Battalion for the rest of the month, whenever it was out of the line, except on one occasion when the whole went to Humbercamps. Though very much nearer the enemy—the village was

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(e) Riviére.

(e) Riviére.

On February 1st the Battalion moved to Riviére, where it relieved the 8th Battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps, in Brigade Reserve to the F1 Sub-sector. The 1/5th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regt. followed, and, throughout the next month, the two were inter-relieving as they had been at Berles. The accommodation in brigade reserve was very good, considering its nearness to the line. Three companies lived in billets in the village; the fourth garrisoned the Wailly Keeps, a reserve line of platoo

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(a) Ferme du Bois Sector.

(a) Ferme du Bois Sector.

The Battalion arrived at Merville about 8-0 a.m. on March 8th. A very cold night had been spent on the train, snow was falling on arrival, and the hot tea which was served at the station was very welcome. A short march brought the Battalion to the village of La Fosse, where the next night was spent in fairly comfortable billets. Apart from a little difference of opinion between the Commanding Officer and a very ill-tempered Frenchman, who said he would rather have Germans than British in his bar

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(b) The Cordonnerie Sector.

(b) The Cordonnerie Sector.

Towards the end of May the whole of the 147th Infantry Brigade had been withdrawn from the line, but, as the relief of the other Brigades of the 49th Division by the Portuguese was not complete, the Division could not yet be made use of in any other sector. Just north of the 49th Division was the 57th Division—a Lancashire Territorial Division, recently out from England. The attack on the Messines Ridge by the Second Army was timed to begin early in June, and the 57th Division had to send two ba

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(c) St. Elie Sector.

(c) St. Elie Sector.

The Battalion spent three nights in Estaires and then moved by motor bus to Sailly Labourse. The next day it marched to billets in Philosophe, a mining village north-west of Lens. Here the 147th Infantry Brigade came temporarily under the orders of the G.O.C., 6th Division, relieving a Brigade of that division which was required for an operation near Lens. The first days were spent in Brigade Reserve at Philosophe, time being occupied in training and in reconnaissance of the sector which the Bat

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(a) St. Pol and Ghyvelde.

(a) St. Pol and Ghyvelde.

The Battalion arrived at L’Epinette early in the morning of July 4th, and there it remained for more than a week. After the recent depressing time which had been spent near Hulluch, the comfortable billets and the pleasant and highly-cultivated surroundings were indeed a welcome change. Some training was done, but the main feature of the stay was the Brigade Sports, which were held near Paradis. On the whole, the Battalion was not very successful in the events, but its canteen, the only one on t

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(b) The Lombartzyde Sector.

(b) The Lombartzyde Sector.

On the night of August 3rd/4th the Battalion relieved the 1/5th Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry in the Lombartzyde Right Sub-sector. Motor buses conveyed them to a point about midway between Oost Dunkerque and Nieuport, and from there they marched up to the line. The night was unusually quiet for that sector, but pouring rain hampered the relief and caused much discomfort. The Lombartzyde Sector was a position of supreme importance. Since the enemy attack on July 11th had driven th

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(c) Coast Defence and Training.

(c) Coast Defence and Training.

For more than a month the Battalion remained on the coast under the XV. Corps, but it did not go into the front line again. The day after its relief in the Lombartzyde Sector it marched to Oost Dunkerque Bains, where coast defence duties were taken over from the 2nd Battalion Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders (33rd Division). It was the first time the two battalions had met, but they were destined to come in contact again on several occasions. The coast defence duties were not burdensome, two co

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(d) En Route for Ypres.

(d) En Route for Ypres.

Not until the latter end of September did the Battalion start on its march to Ypres. When it did take to the road its wanderings were so confusing that many wondered what really was to be done with it in the near future. Bray Dunes to Ypres should be marched with comfort in three days, or even two, for the distance is only about 25 miles. Actually the Battalion marched further than that in the first three days. Yet, it was not until the night of the twelfth day from starting that it passed throu

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(a) October 4th–8th.

(a) October 4th–8th.

The Third Battle of Ypres opened on July 31st, 1917, with an attack by two British Armies—the Second Army on the right and the Fifth Army on the left—supported by a French Army Corps to the north. At first a considerable advance was made, but the unusually wet weather of August greatly hampered operations. During September the weather improved and progress continued, but the fighting was exceptionally severe, the enemy stubbornly defending every inch of the ground. Notwithstanding all difficulti

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(b) October 9th.

(b) October 9th.

By 5-0 a.m. on October 9th the Battalion, [11] with the exception of most of B Company, who had not yet returned from a carrying party, was assembled at Pommern Castle ready to move. At 5-20 a.m. the barrage opened, several batteries near where the Battalion was assembled being in action, and all knew that the attack had begun. For about two hours nothing happened; save for the noise of the guns, everything was quiet, and no news of the attack came through. About 7-30 a.m., orders were received

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(c) Rest and Reorganisation.

(c) Rest and Reorganisation.

Though a welcome change after the hardships of the Belle Vue Spur, X Camp, St. Jean, was far from a paradise. There were very few tents, and most of the men had to be content with small bivouacs or covered holes in the ground. The camp had been pitched hurriedly by a New Zealand battalion only a day or two before, and there had not been time to perfect it. It was not shelled, though the enemy paid attention to some neighbouring areas, and on several occasions his bombing planes were not far off

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(a) Molenaarelsthoek and Keerselaarhoek.

(a) Molenaarelsthoek and Keerselaarhoek.

The battle for the Passchendaele Ridge was still raging when the Battalion returned to the neighbourhood of Ypres in November. To the south of the Zonnebeke Road the crest of the ridge was almost everywhere in British hands, but round the village of Passchendaele itself heavy fighting was to continue into December. The Battalion was not destined to carry out any further attacks; its role was the far more tedious, and almost equally difficult one of assisting to hold the ground which had been gai

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(b) Work and Training.

(b) Work and Training.

In pre-war days Infantry Barracks had been one of the permanent barracks of the Belgian Army. It must have been rather a bleak building, but it had been built on such solid lines that, in spite of heavy shelling, parts of it were still habitable. It was not an ideal billet for troops to occupy in January, being extremely draughty. Several of the rooms had been fitted up with wire beds and there was ample accommodation for the whole Battalion. There was also quite a good little concert room on th

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(c) Reutel Sector.

(c) Reutel Sector.

This was the first time the 49th Division had held a part of the front line since the strength of a brigade had been reduced to three battalions, and naturally, defence schemes and systems of relief required revision. The Divisional Sector was divided into two Brigade Sectors; the left, which was much the narrower front, was held always by the 146th Infantry Brigade with only one battalion in the front line at a time. On the right, the 147th and 148th Infantry Brigades inter-relieved every eight

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(a) Erquinghem and Le Veau.

(a) Erquinghem and Le Veau.

On April 9th the enemy launched his great offensive between the La Bassée Canal and Armentiéres. Preceded by an intense artillery bombardment, the German infantry broke right through the centre of the line which was held by the Portuguese; and all was confusion there. It was the sound of this battle that the Battalion had heard as it marched along the road towards Reninghelst. At the moment the 49th Division was too scattered for immediate combined action. Divisional H.Q. was still at Chateau Sé

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(b) Nieppe.

(b) Nieppe.

During the night of April 10/11th Battalion H.Q. was established in the Hospice at the south-west end of Nieppe, and here it remained until the following evening. With the exception of the pitiful remnants of C Company, and one platoon of D Company, the whole Battalion was manning the line which had been established in front of the railway, between Nieppe Station and the Steenwerck Road. In spite of the uncertainty of the situation, everyone whose duties would allow of it slept soundly, tired ou

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(c) Bailleul.

(c) Bailleul.

About a mile from Bailleul the road to Armentiéres almost touches the railway. It was at this point that 147th Infantry Brigade H.Q. was established, the battalions occupying positions in the fields just to the south of the railway. The position was not really intended to be a defensive one, for other troops were well out in front of the Brigade. Nevertheless, the men dug in, and patrols were pushed out down the roads. The rest of the night passed quietly. On April 12th, though there were some m

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(d) St. Jans Cappel.

(d) St. Jans Cappel.

On being relieved in Bailleul, the 147th Infantry Brigade passed into IX. Corps Reserve, but was to be prepared to move at half-an-hour’s notice. The 7th Battalion was in reserve in or near St. Jans Cappel; the 4th and 6th Battalions bivouaced in the open about a thousand yards south of the village, where the new line had been taped. Everyone was tired out with the exertions of the past week, and the opportunity for a sound and unbroken sleep was welcomed. No one guessed how short the period of

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(e) Poperinghe.

(e) Poperinghe.

The Battalion only stopped on Mont des Cats for a few hours and then it moved off to Poperinghe. On the way, it passed the G.O.C., IX. Corps, who had come to take a last look at the men who had served him so well. Though a sorry remnant of the Battalion, which had embussed so cheerfully at Reninghelst only twelve days before, they were well worth a second glance. Ragged, unshaven and unkempt, with nothing clean about them but their rifles, bayonets and ammunition, they were yet a body of veteran

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(f) Kemmel.[18]

(f) Kemmel.[18]

About 8-45 a.m. on April 25th, the order to move arrived. The Brigade was proceeding at once to Ouderdom in support of the 9th Division. The Battalion was to move by march route as it was to remain in Brigade Reserve, but motor buses were provided for all the rest of the Brigade. However, so quickly did the Battalion fall in and move off that it arrived at Ouderdom long before the buses appeared. The situation was very obscure. A great battle was in progress to the south and it was believed that

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(a) May, 1918.

(a) May, 1918.

For nearly a month the Battalion was out of the line, and most of this time was spent at Road Camp, St. Jans ter Biezen. At first the accommodation was adequate, but, towards the end of May, the huts were becoming very crowded. This was due to the arrival of new drafts, and the return of a number of lightly wounded men. By the time the Battalion went into the line again nearly 200 had joined. Many of these were young soldiers, who had been hurriedly despatched from England to make good the very

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(b) Zillebeke Sector.

(b) Zillebeke Sector.

When the enemy broke through to the south of Armentiéres, and, still more, when he captured the Messines Ridge, the situation of the British troops in the Ypres Salient became very critical. Their whole right flank was laid bare, and they were in imminent danger of being cut off. The whole line was therefore withdrawn to a position a little in front of Ypres. With the exception of the Pilkem Ridge, all the ground gained in the terrific fighting of 1917 was thus given up. Indeed, astride and sout

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(c) The Zillebeke Raid.

(c) The Zillebeke Raid.

The one absorbing interest of this period of Brigade Reserve was the raid, which eventually came off on the night of June 19/20th. There was little opportunity for rehearsal or training, as the companies were scattered, and many men were tied down to certain posts. But the plan was worked out most carefully, down to the minutest detail, by the Commanding Officer, who made nearly all the arrangements and wrote the orders himself. The plan was as follows:— 1. The object of the operation was to sec

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(d) Quiet Days in the Ypres Salient.

(d) Quiet Days in the Ypres Salient.

The night after the raid the Battalion was relieved in Brigade Reserve, and went to Siege Camp for rest. This camp lay on the east side of the Vlamertinghe-Elverdinghe Road. It consisted mainly of Nissen huts, but there were also a number of sandbag shelters and one or two pill-boxes. The surroundings were very pleasant. All the time the 49th Division remained in the Ypres Salient, the Battalion’s rest periods were spent at Siege Camp. One period was much like another. Of the seven complete days

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(a) Movements and Training.

(a) Movements and Training.

On the 23rd of August the Battalion moved by light railway to Proven, and from thence by train to Audruicq. From there it marched to billets in Nielles-lez-Ardres—some of the finest it had ever occupied. The weather was glorious, the country delightful, and a pleasant spell of rest and training was anticipated. But great events were happening in the south. On August 8th the Fourth Army, with a French army on its right, had started a brilliant offensive south of the Somme; when the situation beca

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(b) October 11th and After.

(b) October 11th and After.

About 8-0 p.m. the Commanding Officer was summoned to Brigade H.Q. He was away for about two hours and, on his return, all officers were summoned. By the light of three candles stuck in the ground, he marked upon each officer’s map the objectives and boundaries of the attack which was to be delivered the next morning, and then explained the plan of operations:— 1. The Battalion was to assemble and dig in before dawn on the line of the Iwuy—Rieux Road, on a frontage of about 500 yards. The 7th Ba

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(c) Reorganisation.

(c) Reorganisation.

For three days the Battalion lived in fairly comfortable billets at Naves. The village had not suffered very severely in the recent fighting and, since the enemy had fallen back to the River Ecaillon, was out of range of anything but long distance artillery fire. While the Battalion was resting there it was never shelled. The urgent business was reorganisation, for it was probable that the 49th Division would soon be back in the fighting line. Casualties could not be replaced, so each company wa

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(d) November 1st–2nd.

(d) November 1st–2nd.

On October 27th the 147th Infantry Brigade marched to Douchy, where it was billeted for the night. The next day it moved on, marching straight across the open country, to take over the line which had been established by part of the 51st Division. Here it was disposed very much in depth. The 6th Battalion held the front line to the south-east of the village of Famers, about a thousand yards west of the La Rhonelle River. The 7th Battalion was in support among the sunken roads to the south of Main

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(a) Auby and Douai.

(a) Auby and Douai.

After a night at Haulchin and a second at Douchy, the Battalion embussed for Auby. The road lay entirely through the country which had recently been evacuated by the enemy. Everywhere were signs of his occupation and departure. The route was necessarily a circuitous one, for there were many canals in the district and every bridge had been destroyed by the enemy during his withdrawal. Only a few temporary military bridges were in existence, the bare minimum necessary to supply the advancing Briti

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(b) The Return of the Cadre.[23]

(b) The Return of the Cadre.[23]

On June 7th, after many false rumours and one lot of cancelled orders, the cadre at last left Douai. For the past month the weather had been very hot and dry, and it was a broiling morning when the Battalion vehicles and stores were entrained. The officers, with the loose baggage, occupied one of the well-known cattle trucks, which was made quite comfortable with a table, some forms and chairs; the men occupied third-class compartments. Early in the afternoon the train started. On the way to Arr

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APPENDIX II. NOMINAL ROLL OF OFFICERS WHO SERVED WITH THE BATTALION ABROAD.

APPENDIX II. NOMINAL ROLL OF OFFICERS WHO SERVED WITH THE BATTALION ABROAD.

In compiling the list of officers, the following rules have been adhered to:— 1. In the case of officers who went out with the original Battalion, the rank stated was that held on April 14th, 1915. 2. In the case of officers who joined the Battalion after April 14th, 1915, the rank stated was that held at the date the officer reported for duty. 3. Decorations, a list of which will be found in Appendix V., have been omitted, except the following:— ( a ) Territorial Decoration. ( b ) Decorations w

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APPENDIX IV. SUMMARY OF CASUALTIES.

APPENDIX IV. SUMMARY OF CASUALTIES.

K.—Killed. W.—Wounded (includes Gassed). M.—Missing....

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APPENDIX V. LIST OF HONOURS AND AWARDS.

APPENDIX V. LIST OF HONOURS AND AWARDS.

In compiling this list of Honours and Awards the following rules have been adhered to:— 1. The Rank and Regimental Number given are those held by the individual at the time the decoration was won. It thus follows that, in several cases, the same name occurs more than once but with a different rank and sometimes with a different regimental number. 2. Only Honours and Awards conferred on officers, warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men for services rendered while actually serving with

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APPENDIX VI. THE BATTALION CANTEEN.

APPENDIX VI. THE BATTALION CANTEEN.

A thoughtful enemy provided the Battalion with most of its excitement, and a deal of its amusement, during the Great War. An equally thoughtful War Office arranged for rations, and a limited supply of such luxuries as tobacco and cigarettes for the men. But it was left to the Battalion to supply itself with a canteen. And it was Sergt. F. Smith who made that institution such a great success. The Canteen had its beginning in a small affair, started for the benefit of the transport men, in August,

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