The Grenadier Guards in the Great War of 1914-1918, Vol. 2 of 3Ponsonby, Frederick
History
The Grenadier Guards in the Great War of 1914-1918, Vol. 2 of 3
Ponsonby, Frederick
Great Britain. Army. Grenadier Guards; World War, 1914-1918 -- Regimental histories -- Great Britain
Lieut.-Colonel Viscount Gort, D.S.O.,
M.V.O., M.C. Commanding Officer.
Capt. C. R. Gerard Adjutant.
Capt. M. Chapman Intelligence Officer.
2nd Lieut. N. A. Pearce Transport Officer.
Capt. H. H. Sloane-Stanley No. 1 Company.
Lieut. C. E. Irby ” ”
2nd Lieut. E. H. Tuckwell ” ”
Capt. C. R. Britten, M.C. No. 2 Company.
2nd Lieut. R. C. Denman ” ”
2nd Lieut. H. W. Windeler ” ”
Lieut. C. S. Nash, M.C. No. 3 Company.
2nd Lieut. F. R. Oliver ” ”
2nd Lieut. G. W. Selby-Lowndes ” ”
Capt. G. H. T. Paton, M.C. No. 4 Company.
Lieut. E. R. D. Hoare ” ”
Lieut. L. R. Abel-Smith ” ”
Capt. N. Grellier, M.C., R.A.M.C. Medical Officer.
[Sidenote: Nov. 23.]
The march to Flesquières was very trying, and the whole Brigade had
some difficulty in finding the way in the dark. Owing to the constant
checks and hesitation, which betrayed the uncertainty of the leaders
as to the direction, there were brief halts, not long enough even to
allow the men to sit down, then sudden rushes followed again by abrupt
halts, and so on for several hours. As a bridge had been blown up by
the enemy, the 4th Battalion was forced to go some distance out of its
way through Graincourt, which was within 100 yards of the outpost
line. Flesquières itself was occupied by the 1st Battalion Grenadiers,
and the 4th Battalion was billeted just outside the village, in a
portion of the famous Hindenburg line, which the Germans had
considered impregnable!
Perfectly drained and dry underfoot, the trenches were 15 feet wide
and 10 feet deep. The men’s quarters were in dug-outs constructed with
massive wooden beams and reinforced concrete, and were fitted with
tiers of beds. The communication trenches were perfectly camouflaged
with rabbit-wire and boughs, so strongly staked to the side that a man
with full equipment could safely use the wire as a bridge. The belt of
wire in front of the trenches was 100 yards wide in places, and seemed
untouched by shell-fire. The effect of the attack by the tanks was
clearly visible, for great rides had been made through the wire, and a
number of bodies crushed out of all human semblance lay across the
tracks, while groups of dead Germans, killed in the act of flight, lay
scattered about between the trenches and the village. The trenches
were full of German equipment, abandoned in the panic, and two
valuable periscopic observation sets were found by the 4th Battalion,
and forwarded to General Headquarters.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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