The British Campaign in France and Flanders—July to November, 1918Doyle, Arthur Conan
History
The British Campaign in France and Flanders—July to November, 1918
Doyle, Arthur Conan
World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Western Front
The trenches and the tunnel entrance at Bellenglise were soon
occupied and the perilous passage had been safely made. The advance
then continued, the teams of four guns being shot down as they tried
to get away. The 138th Lincolns and Leicesters with the 139th
Sherwood Forester Brigade had relieved the Stafford battalions, which
dropped back after having performed one of the most notable feats of
the war. These two brigades began to go forward preceded by twelve
tanks which had made their way round over the solid ground on the
Australian front. The advance was much impeded, however, by some
German guns on the west side of the Canal, to the south of the point
where it had been crossed. These guns, firing into the back of the
139th Brigade on the right, knocked out by direct fire every one of
the six tanks allotted to it. A party of the Foresters then
recrossed the Canal, shot or bayoneted these gunners, and
extinguished the opposition in the rear.
The 138th Brigade on the left advanced well, and by 12.30 was near
Magny and Le Haucourt, but it was necessary to call a halt, as the
failure to hold Nauroy upon the left had exposed the north flank of
the division, while the south flank had always been somewhat in the
air. During the delay the barrage got ahead, but the infantry soon
overtook it {161} once more, racing eagerly for the protection of
that slowly-moving cyclone. By 3 P.M. all objectives allotted to the
Forty-sixth Division had been taken, and by 4 P.M. the Thirty-second
Division had passed through their ranks--a glorious military picture
on a day of victory--with the old 14th Brigade in the van. The
leading lines of the infantry were now well up with the German guns,
and it is on record that the German gunners fought with the greatest
valour and continued to fire their guns at point-blank range up to
the last. Many great deeds were done as small bodies of infantry
closed in on these guns, often dashing through their own pelting
barrage in their determination that the enemy should not have time to
limber up and get away. Nauroy had now fallen save only the north
end, which was still a scourge to the left flank of Braithwaite's
Corps. Late in the afternoon the 97th Brigade captured the southern
half of Joncourt, and before night Le Tronquoy had fallen also. From
there the final line ran west of Le Vergies, and then back to
Etricourt, where it was in touch with the Thirtieth American Division.
Late at night the Sixth Division on the extreme right, which had
endured heavy fighting all along its front during the day, was
relieved by the extension northwards of the Fifteenth French Corps.
The Sixth Division went into reserve. All night there was a
bickering of machine-guns and rifle-fire along the front, and before
morning the 14th Brigade had completed the mopping up of the villages
which it had captured.
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