The British Campaign in France and Flanders—January to July, 1918Doyle, Arthur Conan
History
The British Campaign in France and Flanders—January to July, 1918
Doyle, Arthur Conan
World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Western Front
This completes a superficial view of the experiences of the Sixth
Corps upon March 21. In order to get the full picture one should
understand that the Sixth Division upon the right had also been
driven from their sector, including several important villages. For
the sake of continuity of narrative it will be best {22} to merely
indicate this fact for the moment, and to continue to follow the
fortunes of Haldane's Corps during the fateful days which followed,
casting a glance also to the north where the Seventeenth Corps was
gradually involved in the fight. We shall bear in mind, then, the
long slanting front from the old positions on the left to Henin Hill
and the Hog's Back upon the right, and we shall return to the Third
Division at the northern end of the line.
[Sidenote: Sixth Corps. March 22.]
The night had been quiet along the whole corps front, which seemed to
imply some exhaustion of the attack. In the morning this lull still
continued in the region of the Third Division, which had up to now
been just outside the track of the storm. During the morning and
afternoon of March 22 no serious attack was made upon this point, but
in the evening the enemy, having made a lodgment upon Henin Hill in
the south-west, was able to make a powerful onslaught from the flank
which met with very little success. Its first onrush pushed back the
20th K.R.R., pioneer battalion of the division, in the trench called
Hind Avenue, but the ground was regained by the 13th King's
Liverpool, while the 4th Royal Fusiliers loosened the German grip of
another small corner of trench. Up to nightfall the attempts
continued, alternating with bombardments, but no progress was made,
the 9th Brigade beating down every new advance.
About ten o'clock at night orders reached the division that as the
Seventeenth Corps were falling back for strategic reasons to the west
of Monchy on the north, while the Thirty-fourth were also retreating
upon the south, the Third Division must retire in conformity with
them. It was no easy task under {23} a heavy shell fall and with an
elated enemy in close contact. It was of importance that the
telephoned orders should not be tapped, and it is suggestive of the
world-wide services of the British soldier that they were sent over
the wires in Arabic and Hindustani. Before morning the weary troops
had been quickly withdrawn without confusion or mishap, and all were
safely aligned in their new positions. Their defence of their
battle-ground had been a splendid one, and though they had no huge
mass attack to contend with, such as had dashed the line of the
Fifty-ninth to pieces, still they had constant severe pressure and
had withstood it completely.
[Sidenote: Sixth Corps. March 21.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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