The British Campaign in France and Flanders, 1915Doyle, Arthur Conan
History
The British Campaign in France and Flanders, 1915
Doyle, Arthur Conan
World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Western Front
When the Forty-sixth Midland Division advanced upon the Hohenzollern
Redoubt on October 13, there was a brisk attack also by the Twelfth
Division upon their right, and by the First Division on the right of
the Twelfth. In the case of the Twelfth Division, now commanded by
General Scott, the 37th Brigade (Fowler) was heavily engaged. The
7th East Surreys of this brigade carried and permanently held the Gun
Trench, a position which had cost them the lives of many officers and
men upon the 8th. Attacking the same line of trenches to the left,
the 6th Buffs lost heavily under oblique fire, without any
appreciable gain. Of three companies who went out, 11 officers and
400 men were left upon the ground, and a photograph has revealed the
perfect alignment of the dead. The 35th Brigade (Straubensee) had a
similar experience to the left near the Quarries, the losses falling
most heavily upon the 5th Berkshires and the 7th Norfolks.
At the same hour the First Division, with a smoke and gas screen
before them, had broken in upon the German lines to the south-west of
Hulluch, near the Hulluch-Lens road. About a thousand yards of
trenches were taken, but the shell-fire was so murderous that it was
found to be impossible to retain them. On the whole, it must be
admitted that, although ground was gained along the whole line from
the Hohenzollern Redoubt to Hulluch by this very desperate fighting,
the losses were so heavy and the results so barren that there was no
adequate return for the splendid efforts of the men. The attack was
urged by Territorials upon the left, New Army men {241} in the
centre, and Regulars upon the right, and at all points it was equally
gallant.
The operations at the main seat of action, the Loos sector, have been
treated continuously in order to make a consecutive narrative, but we
must now return to consider the subsidiary attacks along the line
upon September 25.
[Sidenote: Subsidiary attacks.]
While the First and Fourth Corps, supported by the Eleventh, had been
delivering this great attack between La Bassée and Grenay, a series
of holding actions had been fought from the coast downwards, so as to
pin the Germans so far as possible to their places. Some of these
attacks were little more than demonstrations, while others in less
serious times would have appeared to be considerable engagements.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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