[Coquet]

15th September, 1916. (By a Company Commander.)

The battalion did not take part in the battle of the Somme until September. Previous to that they had spent some weeks at Henencourt, recuperating after their exertions in the Salient and at Kemmel. Under the able direction of Lieutenant-Colonel G. S. Jackson they had undergone a thorough course of training, and were not only up to strength for the first time since they came out but in first-class condition. On the 12th September the battalion left Henencourt and marched to Mametz Wood, where they bivouacked till the night of the 14th. It was during this period that Major N. I. Wright, much to the regret of all ranks, was posted to the command of the 5th Battalion.
The plan of operations for the 15th September was briefly as follows. There were three objectives, none of which could be seen from our lines. The first, Hook Trench, was comparatively speaking simple, as it was well defined ; it was the German front line, and it was near at hand. The second objective, called " the Blue Line," was aptly named, for it was literally " in the blue " except for a sunken road, some forty yards long, which was somewhere on the left flank. The final objective was the " Starfish Line." Our inability to see the objectives was a handicap, but what caused more anxiety were the facts that the battalion had to widen its front as it advanced, and that the whole operation had to be carried out at a right incline.
On the night of the 14th, favoured by pitch darkness, the delicate business of getting the men correctly placed on the jumping off tapes was accomplished without a casualty and without a hitch. Each company was drawn up in four lines ;
" A " commanded by Captain J. W. Merivale on the right,
" B " commanded by Captain E. Fenwicke Clennell,
" C " commanded by Captain V. Merivale, M.C.,
and on the left "D " commanded by Captain G. F. Ball, M.C.
The day itself certainly started well. The preliminary bombardment sounded satisfactory, and the tank (used for the first time) on " D " Company's left flank looked inspiring. The companies swept forward in their four lines over the slightly rising ground which hid Hook Trench. The first objective was taken without much difficulty, though we suffered casualties ; the centre companies were held up for a time by machine-guns until they were put out of action by the flanking companies. The intention had been that the battalion would stay some ten minutes in Hook Trench reorganizing and fortifying the position, and they would then advance to the Blue Line in conformity with the barrage time-table. Unfortunately the movement at a right incline on an unseen objective had already had a disastrous effect on the formation of the attack. Units on the flanks had either inclined themselves away or bumped into each other, and the same applied to companies and platoons. As it seemed hopeless to unravel things in the short time available, the men were quickly told off and handed over to officers and N.C.O.'s as they stood. When the ten minutes was up the artillery bombardment from both sides was terrific. The result was disconcerting in more ways than one. The ground was dry and had been pulverized by previous bombardments, so that a cloud of dust and smoke like a London fog now appeared and hid all landmarks ; and the right incline to the Blue Line became more problematical than ever. As the men advanced, direction and cohesion were lost ; and after struggling on some few hundred yards the senior Company Commander called a halt. The two surviving Company Commanders (Ball and Clennell) were found, and a council of war was held. A map was got out and set with the compass—an operation costing the lives of Second-Lieutenant J. Robinson and C.S.M. Foster—and a guess was made as to the direction of the sunken road in the Blue Line. About forty men were collected and the advance was resumed ; and eventually, more by good luck than anything else, the sunken road was located. Captain Ball on the left flank was the first to spot it, and he was immediately afterwards wounded in the ankle. The troops were by this time fatigued, but they carried the sunken road with considerable dash. It is amusing now to recollect how the men rushed to the edge of the cutting, and then lost their balance and fell headlong down the steep sides, clinging on to and carrying down with them the amazed German garrison. We dealt with those of them that wished to resist, and accepted souvenirs from the rest, and then started the business of consolidation in earnest. Patrols were sent out to left and right, but they failed to get in touch with anyone. Captain Thomas (Trench Mortar Battery) dug his Stokes mortar in so as to cover Pioneer Alley, and promised to annihilate anyone who attempted to come down it. Captain Fenwicke Clennell rescued Captain Ball at considerable risk and brought him into safety. Screened by the smoke and dust we sited small fire trenches in front on ground slightly higher than the top of the road ; and these were rapidly dug. The prisoners, more numerous than ourselves, were sent to the rear in charge of Private Martin, a diminutive signaller. He caused much consternation among his flock by deftly severing their trouser buttons before the journey began. It made an imposing procession--the prisoners with their hands deep in their trouser pockets, followed by Private Martin smoking an enormous souvenir cigar and mumbling, " Ha' way, you blinking beggars."
A succession of runners were grudgingly withdrawn from our little garrison and sent to the rear with messages to Battalion Headquarters reporting our position and asking for support. But it was some time before one of them managed to get there and back intact.
By this time the artillery fire had abated and the smoke and dust were rapidly clearing. An almost oppressive silence followed. The men rested, smoking cigars and eating " Hindenburger Kake." To the rear nothing could be seen, for it was rising ground. To the flanks as far as we could see the battalion had the world to themselves. In front, Starfish, Eaucourt L'Abbaye, Hexham Road and the Butte de Warlencourt looked peaceful and pleasant in the sunshine. The sunken road itself had been a trench mortar emplacement, and was handsomely equipped with 11-inch, 10-inch, 9-inch and 7-inch mortars, also shells and a hand-book on how to load and fire the " Minnenwerfen System Einhart." The hand-book, however, was relentless, and would not reveal its valuable contents, so all idea of supporting this isolated position with devastating trench mortar fire had to be abandoned. Later on in the afternoon preparations were made by the Boches for the inevitable counter-attack ; and they appeared to be massing behind the Starfish Line. That they meant to do things in earnest we judged by the number of men starting forward in little groups and by the thoroughness of the bombardment. While the Boches were still assembling, the first message from Battalion Headquarters arrived. This communication was hopeful, and also rather ambitious, as it suggested that the " battalion might possibly advance and take the Starfish Line. What was more hopeful was the news that the whole brigade of Durhams was advancing and would not only reinforce the sunken road garrison but also advance beyond it, and doubtless annihilate the distressingly large numbers of Boches massing in front. There appeared then to us to be three alternatives. Either the Boches would arrive first—in which case our tenure of the sunken road (isolated and unprotected by wire) would be unpleasant and short—or the Durhams would arrive first, or else the Boches and the Durhams would come tumbling down the sides of the cutting at the same time. Our speculations were, however, interrupted by the Boche attack suddenly beginning. The only S.O.S. rocket we possessed had been jealously guarded, and it was now discharged, with satisfactory results. Our supply of S.A.A. was very limited, so that the picked shots were detailed to open the defence, leaving the remainder to come in with battle sights later. The Lewis guns, which were pushed out on either flank, did good execution ; but the attack appeared, from the German point of view, to be making very satisfactory progress, and the Boches were within a short distance of us, when they suddenly began to waver and halt, and then they broke up in confusion. Those crest-fallen individuals on our side, who had had half their ammunition taken from them and been told not to fire a single shot over two hundred yards, naturally took the credit of the German debacle entirely to themselves.
The rest of the day was uneventful, except for intermittent shell-fire and for the sudden arrival of the Durhams, who at first seemed to regard us as part of the enemy. We were relieved by two platoons of the 6th Durhams that night, and we retraced our steps wearily to Mametz Wood, where we received a right royal welcome from Captain Neville and his capable and sympathetic staff. Thus ended our introduction to the battle of the Somme.