The Grenadier Guards in the Great War of 1914-1918, Vol. 3 of 3Ponsonby, Frederick
History
The Grenadier Guards in the Great War of 1914-1918, Vol. 3 of 3
Ponsonby, Frederick
Great Britain. Army. Grenadier Guards; World War, 1914-1918 -- Regimental histories -- Great Britain
The extraordinary success achieved by the Battalion during this attack
was entirely due to the courage, endurance, and determination of Lord
Gort, who was awarded the V.C. for his conspicuous bravery. He was able
by his example and the reckless exposure of his own life to infuse
into all ranks an indomitable determination to reach the objective, no
matter what the cost might be. He had himself brought the Battalion
to a very high state of efficiency, and there is little doubt that
with a less highly trained battalion such an attack might have ended
disastrously.
The casualties incurred during this attack were: Killed, Captain J.
S. Carter, Lieutenant A. A. Morris, and Second Lieutenant A. Grant;
wounded, Lieut.-Colonel Lord Gort, Captain W. H. Lovell, Lieutenant B.
H. Jones, Lieutenant A. M. Brown, Second Lieutenant J. C. Blunt, Second
Lieutenant L. C. Jesper; and amongst other ranks there were 35 killed
and 24 wounded.
The last days in September were spent by the Battalion reorganising
and re-fitting in bivouacs west of Canal du Nord, when the following
officers arrived: Captain P. M. Spence, M.C., Lieutenant C. G.
Kennaway, Lieutenant R. S. Challands, Lieutenant A. M. Brown, Second
Lieutenant M. G. Farquharson, Second Lieutenant E. A. D. Bliss, Second
Lieutenant N. P. Andrews, Second Lieutenant J. C. Blunt, and Second
Lieutenant R. B. Osborne.
THE 2ND BATTALION
[Sidenote: 2nd Batt.]
During the first week in September the Battalion near Adinfer was
training and reorganising, after the heavy losses incurred in the
operations at the end of August. From the 7th to 11th the Battalion,
under Major Harcourt-Vernon, went up into the front line, where it
came in for much shelling, especially from gas-shells, and, although
the troops on each flank carried out offensive operations, it was not
called upon to attack. After ten days spent out of the line, during
which Second Lieutenant K. B. Bibby and Second Lieutenant E. M. Neill
joined, the Battalion moved up to Llama Post.
The following officers took part in the operations on September 27:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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