The British Campaign in France and Flanders, 1916Doyle, Arthur Conan
History
The British Campaign in France and Flanders, 1916
Doyle, Arthur Conan
World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Western Front
We now turn to the Fourteenth Corps, which filled {290} the remainder
of the British line up to the point of its junction with the French.
During the battle the division of Guards had, as will be remembered,
held the left of this line, but on the day after it was replaced for
a short time by the Twentieth Division, whose 61st Brigade,
especially the 7th Cornwalls and 12th King's, were heavily engaged.
The 60th Brigade had pushed up into the fighting line, and received a
strong German counter-attack in the morning of the 17th, which broke
down before the rifles of the 6th Shropshire Light Infantry. In the
afternoon the 59th Brigade advanced upon the left and the 60th upon
the right, closing in upon the Morval position. The 12th King's
Royal Rifles of the latter brigade was held up by a strong point and
lost heavily, but the general effect was to bring the British line
nearer to the doomed village. Twice upon the 18th, German
counter-attacks swarmed down upon the exposed right flank of the 60th
Brigade, but each time they were blown back by the fire of the 12th
Rifle Brigade and the 12th Rifles. The 59th Brigade had made no
progress, the two Rifle Brigade battalions (10th and 11th) having
particularly heavy losses upon the 17th, but they were holding their
line strongly. It was impossible to do more for the moment, for the
Sixth Division upon their right was still hung up, as already
described, by the Quadrilateral. Shortly after that obstacle had
been overcome, the Guards took over once more from the Twentieth, and
were ready in conjunction with the Sixth and Fifth Divisions for a
serious advance upon Morval and Lesboeufs.
On September 22 the 3rd Guards Brigade was in touch with the
Twenty-first Division upon the left, which was now holding Gird
Trench and Gird Support {291} as far north as Watling Street. On
this day the 4th Grenadiers, reverting after centuries to the weapon
which their name implies, were bombing their way up Gas Alley, which
leads towards Lesboeufs. On the 23rd the Twenty-first on the left,
the Guards in the centre, and the Sixth Division were advancing and
steadily gaining ground to the north-east, capturing Needle Trench,
which is an off-shoot from the Gird System. On the 24th the Germans
counter-attacked upon the 16th Brigade, the blow falling upon the 1st
Buffs, who lost four bays of their trench for a short period, but
speedily drove the intruders out once more. The 14th Durham Light
Infantry also drove off an attack. The Fifth Division was now coming
up on the right of the Sixth, and played a considerable part in the
decisive attack upon September 25.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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