SECRET

REPORT ON OPERATIONS ON 3^rd to 6^th SEPTEMBER BY 1^st BATTALION

BEDFORDSHIRE REGIMENT.

Appendix I     Orders were received to move to SLIT TRENCHES from SILESIAN

                        TRENCH at 1-55 p.m. on 3^rd September.

The leading platoon marched off within 10 minutes and reached MALTZ HORN TRENCHES 2-25 p.m.  At 3 p.m. the Battalion was ordered to move to NEW TRENCHES South of ANGLE WOOD.

Appendix II    The 16^th Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment had been ordered to move

by communication trenches.  We started after them and going across the open got in at the East End as they got in at the West.

The two Battalions had to pass one another in a narrow trench during heavy shelling.  Since there was not room for two Battalions in the trench a second line had to be dug behind the first.  By good fortune there only ten casualties

Appendix III. 6 p.m. orders came from Brigade that Artillery would bombard

FALFEMONT FARM till 6.30 p.m.  That Bedfords would assault from FALFEMONT FARM exclusive to WEDGE WOOD inclusive at this hour in conjunction with the Cheshires on our right passing through the troops holding the first line.  Orders were issued to Companies by 6-10 p.m. and the leading platoon of “D” Company moved off by 6-15 p.m.

As they had 1000 yards of open ground to their objective the BARRAGE had lifted long before they could get anywhere near.

Moving steadily forward under Artillery and Machine Gun Fire they were a little too much to the left and passing through the leading Companies of the Warwicks and the 95^th Brigade they occupied the line from WEDGE WOOD to sunken road at T.26.C.1/9 thus obtaining a portion of the third objective of the 95^th Bde.

Appendix IV. Some 30 Warwicks were found in WEDGE WOOD.  They had orders

to retire at dusk.  They were relieved and the line was extended to join the 1^st Cheshires due West of FALFEMONT FARM about B.2.A.0/5.  We now held a front of 12 hundred yards with the Battalion Headquarters in a trench just South of WEDGE WOOD.  To enable the Battalion to continue its attack on trenches East of WEDGE WOOD and to get my Companies out of the 95^th Brigade area I requested O.C. “A” Company to move South of WEDGE WOOD, but so as to avoid any accident I instructed him to report this intention first to the nearest Battalion Commander.  He was informed that the D.C.L.I. and Gloucesters were unable to take over our front and that the D.C.L.I. were expecting a counter attack on their left.

Appendix V.  In consequence the 2½ Companies were allowed to remain in the 95^th

Brigade area holding the first line.  A company of the West Kents was called for to hold a portion of our line while a

Appendix VI  bombing attack was made, but this was cancelled on receipt of 15^th

Brigade Operation Order No. 58 of 4^th September directing a general attack on the 4^th at 3 p.m.

Strong patrols were pushed forward from Captain Barnett’s Company.  They entrenched that night within 30 yards of the German first line in a very creditable manner.  The other Companies also pushed out patrols.  Captain Norrish’s Company captured 3 and Lieut. Howard’s Company 1 prisoner without any loss – due to good patrol leading.  In accordance with 15^th Brigade Operation Order of 4^th September orders were issued for an attack on Northern portion of CIRCULAR TRENCH East of WEDGE WOOD.

Appendix VII. “D” Company was to advance from the points they had dug in on the

night 3/4^th instant.  “A”, “C” and “B” Companies from the front of the 95^th Brigade were to “sideslip” and in succession to occupy the pushing off place of “D” Company, to reinforce rapidly.

During the morning our guns persistently shelled the line we were holding, and in spite of several reports, matters remained the same.  Finally two of the forward trenches had to be evacuated as the men were all being buried.  In doing so the enemy opened with machine guns on them and there were several casualties.  Quite apart from its moral effect some 30 men were killed or wounded by our own guns.

The attack started at 3.10 p.m.

A bombing party, consisting of the Battalion and “D” Company’s Bombers, and provided with both “P” and the “Mills” Bombs, followed the first platoon; in addition every man in the ranks carried two bombs.  As the whole ground was a series of craters these bombs proved invaluable.  The rifle men shot down the enemy as he ran back.  Lewis guns also did great execution.

Reinforcements came up on both sides and matters began to look serious.  All the Battalion reserves were used up, Headquarters were asked for reinforcements from another Battalion, but the last push just succeeded, and our supply of bombs outlasted theirs.

The “P” bomb proved the greatest value in bringing them out of dug-outs.

In one instance a bomb set fire to a German bomb store.  A whole Company was sheltering in a dug-out with 3 entrances, according to the statements of two survivors: not many escaped.  The position was held by a German Battalion with M.G. detachment.

Three officers (1 wounded) 128 other ranks and 4 machine guns in good condition were captured and sent back by the Bedfords; others were taken back without passing through Battalion Headquarters.  In all I estimate the number of prisoners taken by the Battalion during the three days as 160.

Some were also taken by a party of about 30 Cheshires, under Lt Graves now in Scots Guards (3/3/23), who came up on our left right.  Another party of about 50 who came later on our right left also relieved the situation.  Apart from this nothing could be seen of any progress on our right, on the left the 95^th Bde was not to advance till 6.30 p.m.

We consolidated on a line from the Northern corner of FALFEMONT FARM for 300 yards in a N.W. direction across the Plateau.  All opposition had ceased by 5.50 p.m., two Companies of West Kents had joined, in response to my request for reinforcements at 4 p.m. and were pushed forward towards LEUZE WOOD, but were recalled to comply with 15^th Brigade wire not to draw on them unless absolutely necessary.

A strong patrol was sent out on the right through the Farm to try and gain touch with the Norfolks.  (They gained touch with the 16^th Warwicks East of FALFEMONT FARM).  The Cheshires dug in about 300 yards S.W. of the W. corner of LEUZE WOOD where they gained touch later on with the 95^th Brigade.  Eight other German stragglers were taken by the Bedfords on the 5^th, and seven wounded Germans were left in a dug-out.

Appendix X.  Throughout the 5^th things remained quiet except for some shelling by

our guns and a very heavy bombardment by German heavy guns.  We buried all our dead and were relieved on the morning of the 6^th September.

The Battalion went into action with 20 Officers and 610 other ranks, and came out having lost 17 Officers and 289 other ranks.  They fully succeeded in gaining their objective and facilitated the advance on either flank.

The Battalion started with full water bottles on the afternoon of the 3^rd and were only able to obtain water again on the morning of the 5^th, during this time they made an attack across the open, and the following afternoon made another successful attack.

This lack of water was to a certain extent eked out by soda water, of which the German dug-outs were found to be well supplied when captured.

Sgt. Bush, the Battalion Signalling Sergeant, kept up communication between Brigade and Battalion Headquarters by telephone throughout the operations, except for short intervals.  There were two intermediate stations for repair of line.  Orderlies were able to follow the line to carry important messages.  This was not done by a Brigade Orderly carrying 15^th Brigade O.O. No. 59 of 5^th September, ordering an attack at once by night on FALFEMONT FARM.  It was sent out at 12.30 a.m., and received

Appendix VIII.           only received at 8.0 a.m., too late to be acted upon.  By night a telephone

line or even string will enable orderlies to find their way however intricate the country may be.

I would also like to draw attention to the necessity of giving Battalion Commanders more time to communicate their orders to subordinates.  Not many Battalions could have moved off from a long line of trenches to assault a strong position 1000 yards distant within a quarter of an hour of receipt.

Temp. Captain Barnett led the leading Company and directed those following in a masterly manner, after passing through the trenches of our front line, some 500 yards from where we started, they finished up, each Company, a formed unit on their objective.

A previous attack that morning had failed and the temptation must have been great for men to drop into the front line trench and start firing.

Temp. Capt. Barnett’s Company also led the attack on the 4^th against German position N.W. of FALFEMONT FARM.  Under peculiarly difficult circumstanced.  His Company had been under our own baggage fire from daylight till    3.10 p.m., the last portion of which was intense.  Many men had been killed and many buried.  It was only by constant digging in that any survived, yet the assault was carried out with the utmost vigour.  The capture gained the whole ridge and by drawing off German troops from the quarry near T.26.a.6/2 enabled the 95^th Brigade to reach LEUZE WOOD practically unopposed that evening.  It also indirectly facilitated the advance of the French troops.

Under the circumstances I should like to recommend Temp. Capt. Barnett for immediate reward, and also Temp. Capt. West, who did equally good work.

All Appendices are with the original War Diary.

W. Allason Lt. Colonel

7^th Sept.,1916.                                           Commanding 1^st Bn. Bedfordshire Regiment.

No 4564 5^th Leicesters Hut A3

Dukes Hill Convalescent Camp, Woldingham, Surrey.

Sept 6^th 016

Dear Rev Walters,

            I thank you very much for your kind letter, & for the sentiments expressed therein; you really do not know how you cheered me, & I can assure you that it is a pleasure for me to be able to write to you.

            A great many thoughts have passed through my mind, & I have endeavoured to group them together under the title of “Life in Tragedy” & thus I present them to you.

            Tragedy has a twofold application.  It allows of a comparison.  On the one hand we see a rising up from death & gloom to light & life, but on the other hand, it is possible for a gross darkness to encompass one’s life, which is never removed, simply because some people hate a struggle, or in other words:- “They love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil”.  The word Tragedy is a very strong, expressive noun, implying that something unusual & trying is being borne by one or more of the Sons of Humanity.

Tragedy is more than sorrow.  Sorrow moves the heart, but tragedy moves both heart & soul.  It moves the very man.  But in all the sorrows of life, there is a counterpart.

“In every sorrow that rends the heart

The man of sorrows bears a part

No one is left alone to fight one’s battles, unless one refuses the proffered aid.

Thus to my mind.  As a wing is to a bird, so is sorrow to tragedy.  Why should people sorrow?  “Ills have no weight.  And tears no bitterness.”  There must be an underlying factor working in & through the soul of man, & should one sorrow, then there is revealed to us by outward sign, the struggle that rages fiercest within.  Sorrow does not reveal the depths of woe, no reveal to human eyes the anguish of a broken heart, & bruised soul.  There is always something tragic in human weakness.  But I assert that there is “Life in Tragedy”.  Dead men never weep.  A broken life can always be mended, & the soul can be attuned to the chords of the Divine Symphony of Heaven.

Sorrow seems to pave the path to forgiveness, – it generally reveals a large soul, a great heart.  But what about the impulse of Divine love?  The greatest tragedy in the world’s history centres around divine love.  It allows of no comparison.  Human eyes have witnessed many scenes of horror & bloodshed, but never to compare to the scene of Calvary.  It reveals to us a tragedy of rejection.  God gave all He had in giving Jesus to take away tragedy from life, but nations & men, Kings & priests, yelled their war-cry of horror & hatred, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him”.

The true & eternal worth of Divine love was seen on Calvary.  There was life in That Tragedy, & there was death in That Tragedy too.  The son of man died & was buried, but the Risen Christ ascended up to Heaven, & revealed to an astonished world the everlasting promise of the Father “That Jesus should save the people from their sins.”

But on the other hand – There were those who hailed Christ to Calvary, & who no doubt afterwards themselves witnessed the Tragedy of a lost soul.

They killed the Prince of Life, & embraced the Prince of death.

“Man of sorrows, what a name

For the Son of man who came,

Ruined sinners to reclaim

Hallelujah, what a Saviour”

The tragedy of Calvary is being re-enacted today.  Just think of the War for civilization & freedom, & we see a repetition of what has taken place.

Our lads are fighting today.  Many are dying.  But when we come to think of the incomparable valor of those who die fighting for freedom, it turns the tragedy of death into victory for life.  I think Robert Bridges finely put it when he says “Britons have ever fought well for their country, & their country’s cause in the high cause of freedom & honor.  We can therefore be happy in our sorrows, happy even in the death of our beloved who fall in the fight, for they die nobly as heroes & saints die, with hearts & hands unstained by hatred or wrong.  The crowning effort of one’s life is not seen in his living, but in his death.  It is indeed a tragedy for so many young men to be shot & torn by shell & bullet; but the blessing is greater that the tragedy when we realise that such sacrifice is keeping our own doorstep from being stained with the blood of our loved ones.

Guyigot sent to Princess Lieven a message of condolence on the death of her two sons, & this is what he said:- “When cruel memories beset you, when you are sorrowed only by visions of the dead, make an effort, put forth your strength, come out of the tomb.  They have quitted it, they are not there.  To us it is not given, it is not permitted to see clearly from one shore to the other.  If we could see clearly, if they were before our eyes calling to us, waiting for us, could we endure to remain where we are so long as God ordains?

What a message of hope.  How consoling.  Death is never loss when it is swallowed up in victory.

The French Revolution was really a political tragedy.  At first it seemed doomed to failure, it was an example of savage ferocity, & entailed terrible suffering & bloodshed besides removing a Dynasty that had a world-wide reputation & honor.  Napoleon the III was no mean King, & his wife was a brilliant woman, & the successful attempt to remove the Royal Court of France from among the Courts of Europe was indeed a tragedy, hath it not have been a tragedy it would have been accomplished without bloodshed.  But was the outcome of this tragedy?  Had it any life in it? Certainly!

The revolution inspired the soul a grey-haired man named Du Rogue as he watched the revolutionists marching past his house.  To him it was an inspiring sight to see so many men march in order, but thought he “They would march better with a song.  For some distance he marched with them & then returned to his home, & with the tramp, tramp, tramp of the marching in his ears, he sat down at his Piano & burst forth into a Military march to which were afterwards applied the words that inspired the revolutionists with a new hope & a greater courage; & as they went forth into battle they carried with them an indescribable spirit as they sang “March on, March on, Ye Valiant souls to Victory or death”.

They sang the “Marseilles” in the midst of tumult; they lisped it in death & in the hour of victory they re-echoed its strains along the hills & valleys of France, until Plowman & Peasant, Soldier & Civilian, bond & free, all united in singing the song of liberty & freedom.  Many songs have moved men, but the noble “Marseilles” moved a nation, yea it has moved the world; & today our boys sing it as they go forth into battle.  This pathos is ever present, & is borne in the souls of those who are fighting for liberty & freedom.

Surely there is life in Tragedy, France lives, & the man who gave France the “Marseilles” has given to Her an imperishable heritage.  An anthem of the people.

Without the tragedy there would never have been the &          the world would have been much the poorer.

The life of the Jew in Russia was tragic in the extreme for many, many years.  He suffered oppression, was denied the Civil Liberties of the state, & he lived in perpetual fear.

Was not that one of the reasons of the Diplomatic coldness between England & Russia?  The Jews appealed to us, but we almost listened in silence to their pleadings.  It was indeed a tragedy for one to read of their treatment, it moved one to tears as they told us of their sorrows & hardships.  But what of today?  Out of darkness has come light, out of chaos, order; & the people who were once neglected & despised are now enjoying civil liberty & freedom.  Their continual pleading has found a place in the heart of the Czar of Russia & the Jew today is hailed by the Russian as a com-patriot, a brother.

War alters many things, & if its only result is to liberate the Jews, then the battle was worth fighting, & this war has become a necessity.

There is always an unseen force working for ones good, & in the case of the Jews, one was working for them; & their old-time treatment, once a tragedy, is now an honor.

The American Civil War was an example of short-sightedness which seemed to be doomed to failure, but after-events proved that the Civil War has been a blessing.  It cemented the separate states of America into one vast kingdom that today occupies a foremost place among the nations of the earth.

Two Generals met in an orchard at Appomattox one a defeated & careworn general; the other a victorious & elated general.  There they stand facing each other.  General Grant salutes General Lee; General Lee returns the salute & says:-“Sir I will never fight against the old flag again.”  Two foes became friends, two sectors of the community settle all their petty differences & America receives a baptism of light.

One can place a great value on War.  It is the healer of narrow-mindedness; & generally a remover of bigotry.  Today we find men with large minds & great souls; men who were once puny & weak, are now strong & vigorous; & those who were once conscious of their own greatness, are now conscious of the greatness of others.

Before the War there was the veritable Dandy, who enjoyed the immensely popular name of “The Knut”.  He wore a gold ring a great & glittering tie, fancy colored socks, & generally a swagger cane, & who looked upon others as his inferiors.  But what a change has come over such men today.  They are really all in the trenches, sharing their last “fag” & sandwich with a less fortunate comrade.

At first, it was almost a tragedy to remove the “Knut” from our midst, but in his place we see a man, a comrade, one who has the welfare of the Empire at heart.  The following is a crude, & yet beautiful verse from an unlearned soldier.  This is what he says, & I think it illustrates my point.

“We grumbles about the grub, boys,

And we grumbles about the work,

We grumbles about every bloomin’ thing

But why is it we never shirk?

It aint for a bob a day we work

And it’s not for our Fags we fight

It’s just for the blooming gray home in the west,

And dear old Blighty’s rights.”

There is one other tragedy of which I must write & that is:- the Tragedy of the “Conscious Objector”  what a pitiable object.  Poor Soul!  It is really a pity we cannot place one of them in the British Museum, because they are so rare & valuable & would no doubt prove of educational value to future generations.

I am here reminded of one of these “Freaks of Humanity”, who, when in Civil life, used to faint at the sight of blood.  Somehow or other he was persuaded to join the army & go out to France & in France, he took the second Bayonet in a charge against the Germans.  Everybody who knew him was expecting him to collapse, but no, the sight of a dead German at the point of his bayonet en-nerved him, & he longed for more of the excitement of battle, & now instead of being a conscientious objector, he is a conscious man & a soldier & believes that the safety of the Empire is of more consequence than his own narrow bigotry.  National Union is sought along paths upon which human blood has been shed.  There are dangers in war, but a greater danger is to become a peace crank.  Christ, the Prince of Peace said:- “I have not come to bring peace on the earth, but division”  There are blood stains upon our national altars, & there are bloodstains upon the Altar of the World, Calvary.

Death has paved the way to life.

A Chaplain asked a soldier in France what he thought he would do or where he would go if he was in battle.  “Well,” said the soldier “If I came back safe, all well & good” but if not, then I should go straight on.”

Tennyson has finely put it when he says:-

“Thank Him who isled us here, & roughly set

His Britain in blown seas & storming showers

We have a voice with which to pay the debt

Of boundless love & reverence & regret

To those great men who fought & left it ours.”

Just one story of France, Dear Rev Walters, & then I close my letter.

In a field hospital behind the firing line at Neuve Chappelle, lay a wounded soldier, wounded beyond recovery.  During his last hours of agony & pain he was ministered to by the Chaplain the Rev Watson; & during the Chaplain’s ministry to the boy, the boy quoted some of the loveliest poetry in the English tongue.  It was inspiring & beautiful.  This is what the dying soldier said:- “The curtains falling, the light burns low

But, with God’s help, I’m ready now to go

I’ve seen life’s melodrama, paid the price

Have know its loves & losses hopes & fears

The laughter & tears

And now, God know I wouldn’t see it twice.

I’ve crossed life’s stormy ocean, faced its blinding foam

But now Heaven  whispers I’m nearing home

But what though a storm-tossed hull I reach the shore

A thing of tattered sails & broken spars

I soon shall be at rest for evermore.

For if again I have to pass these waters through

I know the kingdom I am sailing to

What boats it where I lie – beneath the trench

Or down the dark, impenetrable deep

Where way worn seamen sleep

All gates are good through which we pass to God.

In Remain

Yours very Sincerely

J.W. Brotherhood

I am now well, & hope to be home in a very short time.

S.P. Excuse mistakes in such a long letter.  There are a few that I know to.

In envelope addressed to Rev T.W. Walters M.A., Vicar of Whitwick, Whitwick, Leicester-shire.

Letter postmarked CHEAM VALLEY S.O. SURREY   7 SP 16.

France 4^th September 16,

Monday,

My Dear Harry & Ethel,

            Thanks very much for your letter of the 27^th August which I only received yesterday.  I hope you are now at home and feel much better for the fact.  Mother has told me she will be visiting you as soon as you are settled so I suppose you will soon be seeing her.

            I was sorry your visit to Malvern was cut short so unfortunately and do hope, Ethel, that you are now quite well again and that you won’t have a recurrence.

            I have not yet had my rest; another batch went away this morning but I was not one of the party – I am getting a very good share of the pleasure of anticipation though and still live in hopes.

            I was glad to hear from you as to where Alan is, and shall watch that district with interest.  Being at the place you name accounts for outings he is able to enjoy, whereas this is a sad & sorry show.  Where Alan is, such places as Y.M.C.A’s canteens etc abound but such luxuries have not reached our portion of the line, and I am afraid never will now.  I hope Alan will never get any nearer bursting shells than he has already done, he should have no doubt as to whether splinters have been so very close.  They usually make themselves known in a most positive manner.

            When I heard you were going to Worcester I several times thought of Madge King, but don’t know why I never mentioned her.

            As you say it would be welcome news to hear we had got to a certain place & I shall be glad when we get there.  We have an occasional busy burst and then a few slack days.

            I suppose Mother has mentioned to you that Lyn Davies has won the Military Cross, his has been a wonderful though short career in the Army and I hope he will get through to enjoy the distinctions.  How pleased they will be at Crossley’s to hear of him.  I happened to see it in a Cardiff paper which strayed out here.

            During the past week or so we have been having wretched weather – nothing but mud.  You can imagine the state the roads get in with a continual stream of heavy traffic and of course huge shell holes don’t help matters.

            News is just as scarce as ever so you must excuse short letter – everything goes on from day to day with growing monotony.

            Yours with love,

                        Bernard.

In On Active Service envelope addressed to Harry R King, Esq., c/o The Surveyor of Taxes, The Avenue, The Cross Worcester, England.

Ans^d /10/9/16

Postmarked FIELD POST OFFICE R.16.  SP 5. 16.  Hexagonal PASSED FIELD CENSOR 3447.  Signed D.W. Knight

France

September 2^nd 1916

Friday.

My dear Ethel,

I received yours and Harry’s letter yesterday.  The second place Harry says the fellow in his orderly room has been to is where I was.  I notice from your previous letter that in Worcester you suffer as we do here.  Scarcely anything is marked up that we are likely to buy & when you go & enquire you wonder whether you ought to beat them down, what the actual price of the article is to the French and how mad they think you are.  I hope your furniture has arrived safely by now.  Mother told me you have a house and I am glad you are settled.  We had no chance of going to High Mass at the last place & it is doubtful if we will while we are here as we have plenty of training to go through.  I am glad you are an enemy of Charlie Chaplin.  Will you support any league I found with the object of his extermination?  Now for the fulfilment of my promise.  The town is a very big one & has some very quaint corners.  A canal and river flow through it.  One of them has an avenue of trees each side forming two long promenades.  The main streets are rather grand.  Shops exist in large numbers.  There are about three large churches.  We were all of the opinion the largest was a Cathedral.  There are one or two monuments.  One is to a chevalier who was martyred in seventeen something for refusing to salute a procession.  His age was nineteen.  The monument was erected by socialists who consider him (what I call) a pioneer of free thought.  Notre Dame, the largest church, is very beautiful.  The front is magnificent and the best part.  It is very old and on similar lines to that of Wells only much smaller.  Carved figures stand in all sorts of corners & niches & have the appearance of being very interested in the goings-on of modern people.  Half the church is modern unfortunately, and the two halves don’t seem to harmonise in the interior or on the exterior in the least.  The oil paintings are very nice.  In this district – this is very difficult to describe – up above the altar is an aperture & through it can be seen a saint (the Virgin Mary or to whomever the shrine is dedicated) in the middle of the clouds.  It is rather peculiar & the saint seems to be very far away.  Without exception a little of the clouds has drifted over the side of the opening!  Have I made this the least bit clear?  When you are about the town only the old part seems to be visible.  Consequently the church looks very imposing & causes the inside to be disappointing.  Joan D’Arc is a very important saint in this town.  We went into another big church (1829 or 80) & found it far more beautiful than the other.  Were it an Anglican Church it would not be called “High” by any means.  It is a very lofty building, has two “rose” windows, few images – I expect a Frenchman would say no images – and is fitted out properly.  We had to talk French – or rather try to – much more here & consequently one or two of us are becoming very fluent on eating topics.  I should have written you long ago but we seem to be so busy what with work & this town.

I will now close – you will not doubt it – with love.

            Yours affectionately,

                        Allan

On Active Service envelope addressed to Harry R King, Esq., c/o The Surveyor of Taxes, The Avenue, The Cross, Worcester. England.  Ans^d 10/9

Postmarked FIELD POST OFFICE 124 3 SP 16.  Hexagonal Passed Field Censor 3274 cachet.

Signed WA Blount