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
While this fighting was in progress the surviving tanks were pushing on
towards Flesquières Trench; but they, too, came under artillery fire,
and were knocked out by direct hits.
The personnel of the tanks suffered heavy losses, as in some cases the
tanks burst into flames on being struck by a shell, and their crews were
burnt to death before help could be brought to them. There is no need to
describe the sufferings of the unfortunate men who died in this manner,
imprisoned in the flaming tanks.
The tanks which still survived shortly became non-effective for the time
being owing to shortage of petrol. The crews which survived, however,
still continued to assist the infantry after their tanks were out of
action. For example, 2nd Lieutenant Blow, after his tank, the Edward
II., was struck by a shell, took his Lewis guns from it, placed one in
action at the head of a communication trench, and himself fired a Lewis
gun from the roof of his tank until the gun became too hot to hold. He
then attached himself to the Seaforths for the remainder of the action.
The second wave of the 6th Seaforth Highlanders, in spite of a heavy
fire directed against them from Flesquières Trench, made repeated
attempts to enter it, in which all officers except one per company
became casualties.
One officer in particular, 2nd Lieutenant Donald Grant, displayed great
courage and initiative in his efforts to gain his objective. Leading his
platoon along a communication trench, east of Flesquières Wood, he drove
the enemy before him, bayoneting many himself. When all his men but one
were casualties, he climbed out of his communication trench and
attempted to rush Flesquières Trench from above ground. He and his
companion were, however, immediately shot dead.
The 7th Gordon Highlanders, just as they had done at Beaumont Hamel and
again at the chemical works, carried their advance to the farthest point
reached in the attack. They made short work of the Hindenburg Support,
where they picked up 100 prisoners. On approaching Flesquières Trench
their tanks became subjected to close-range field-gun fire, and drew
most of the fire of the riflemen and machine-gunners. The infantry were
thus able to enter the trench and establish themselves in it after some
heavy fighting.
On the right at first only one section gained a lodgment in this trench,
but a platoon advancing over the area which the section had just
traversed followed it into the trench, and then fought its way along it
with bombs and rifles until it reached the battalion right boundary.
The next waves thus passed on to assault the village, unsupported by
tanks, and in the face of a terrific fire. At one period they were able
to sweep the main street of the village with Lewis-gun fire; but
subjected to machine-gun fire from all sides, they could not maintain
their position, and were forced back into Flesquières Trench.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account