The History of the 51st (Highland) Division 1914-1918Bewsher, F. W. (Frederick William)
History
The History of the 51st (Highland) Division 1914-1918
Bewsher, F. W. (Frederick William)
Great Britain. Army. Division, 51st (Highland); World War, 1914-1918 -- Regimental histories -- Great Britain
The artillery arrangements made for this battle introduced for the
first time that liaison with the heavy artillery which, as far as the
Division was concerned, continued until the end of the war, and was of
the greatest value to the infantry. For this the Division is mainly
indebted to Brigadier-General R. P. Benson, C.B., C.M.G., commanding the
Vth Corps Heavy Artillery.
On 19th November the 152nd Infantry Brigade relieved the 154th Infantry
Brigade. The 5th Seaforth Highlanders formed into two composite
companies, and the 6th Gordon Highlanders took over the Green line. The
6th Seaforth Highlanders and the 8th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders,
each formed into two composite companies, took over the old British
trench system. On completion of this relief the 152nd Brigade came under
the orders of the 32nd Division.
This tour of duty was uneventful, the enemy carrying out no infantry
action. He was, however, at times fairly active with his artillery,
particularly against the village of Beaumont Hamel and the Green line.
The weather, however, remained bad, dense fogs continuing day after day,
so that the enemy had little chance of locating our positions.
During this tour of duty an immense amount of salvage work was carried
out. The whole battlefield was cleared of arms and equipment; old dumps
were moved forward so as to be available for use in the consolidation of
the Green line. Large parties were also employed in collecting the dead,
and loading the bodies on to waggons, so that they might be buried in
the British cemeteries at Mailly-Maillet or Auchonvillers. Parties were
also employed in burying the numerous skeletons which lay scattered
about the old No Man's Land. These were the remains of the troops who
had taken part in the unsuccessful attack on Beaumont Hamel on 1st July.
The flesh had been devoured from the bones by the rats, which swarmed in
thousands, and made their homes in the empty trunks. Six hundred and
sixty-nine of these skeletons were buried on the front of the 152nd
Brigade alone--an unpleasant task, and one which had a considerable
effect on the highly-tried nerves of some of the men.
On 23rd November an operation was arranged by the 32nd Division with the
object of relieving 5 officers and 120 of their men who had been
isolated and surrounded in Frankfurt Trench. They had made their
position known by attracting the attention of a British aeroplane.
Later, several of these men made their way back to our lines at night,
and reported that the position of the party was desperate. They had few
bombs, and depended for rations on what they could recover from the dead
at night. The only water they had to drink was obtained from
shell-holes. They, further, had several severely wounded men, who
required immediate attention if their lives were to be saved. In support
of this operation the 6th Gordon Highlanders were ordered to hold
themselves in readiness to move in case the enemy were to
counter-attack.
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