France & Flanders 1918

I swam to one of the rafts which by then had a couple of men on it. Well we got on fairly well until, having picked up another man which made us four now, we were just starting off again when one of the fatheads slipped off the raft and so upset our balance and head over heels we all went into the water again. We very soon got on again but very gingerly and after paddling hard for a time at last managed to pull alongside the rescue boat, from which they lowered a rope for us to climb aboard by. Well if there is one thing I am a duffer at it is climbing a rope. The three men went up like monkeys and I did too, until I had pulled myself nearly up, then my hands gave out, and wallop I went into the water again. The second attempt was successful and I was pulled aboard like a drowned rat, to find I could hardly stir for men who had been picked up off the boats. The ship was absolutely packed. 2nd Lt Norman Howard

As soon as the first batch of boats was on the water they were filled by troops going over the side down ropes and ladders. Whilst the remainder were lowered, full boats were ordered by the Captain to pull over to the sloop and destroyer, discharge troops and pull back to the ship. This order was carried out by some boats but not by all.

The total number of troops on board amounted to 2,903 all ranks. After all the boats had been filled and left the ship, at about 0130 hrs, there were still roughly 800-1,000 men left on board. These were mostly troops stationed in the forecastle and on the starboard side. Most of these were then taken off partly by the boats which came back; partly by the sloop Lily which came alongside the forecastle of the Leasowe Castle and made fast with ropes. Many men jumped in to the sea during the last few moments and were picked up from rafts, amongst them the Battalion’s commanding officer Major Sir St J Gore Bt.

The boats were got off and the rafts too and when all the men were off the ship and I said to about half a dozen still there "Well we'll go now" The water was then awash in the after well-deck. So clad in pyjamas, canvas shoes and a wrist watch, I climbed down about six feet of ladder, held my breath, looked at the black water, and dropped quietly in. I’m safe and well. What does annoy me is that I’ve lost everything, including between three and four hundred photographs. The accumulation of 2½ years out there gone in 1¼ hours! Capt Noel Sutton.

At 0150 hrs the Battalion adjutant Captain CH Bennett MC reported to the CO, then on the ship's bridge, that all the Battalion were, as far as could be seen, off the ship. The CO ordered Bennett to go but the latter was never seen again. The ship sank stern first suddenly at 0200 hrs having about 150 men still on board, nearly all on the forecastle.

Just at this point there was a terrific explosion evidently the boilers had burst and now the ship started going down at the stern first and, at the same time, up went the bows and it was quite evident she was going down. I shall never forget that awful sight. Men seemed like flies hanging on. Some were slipping down the ropes into the water others leaping off and some falling back among the falling deck houses and loose fittings. 2nd Lt Norman Howard

The health of the Battalion recovered quickly and on 13 July the Battalion marched to Cucq, a newly constructed camp just a mile away from Etaples Camp, and their home for the next 5 weeks. Machine Gun training commenced in earnest. Both technical and tactical aspects were covered including occupying and relieving positions, night marches and night firing, and the fitting of pack saddlery. On the range all day. We started on the rest of our machine gun training. We had done a bit in Egypt. Cpl Fred Marshall

On 21 August the Battalion was warned to be in readiness for a move: training was halted; belts filled with service ammunition; and camp equipment was returned in readiness for the move.

The Western Front

For the British and their Allies on the Western Front the general war situation in the summer of 1918 did not look that favourable. At the end of 1917 the Germans had forced the withdrawal of Russia and Romania from the War and this had freed up large numbers of soldiers for action against the Allies in France. The Italian front had collapsed and of necessity French and British troops had been diverted to stabilise the situation in Italy. The Allies had barely succeeded in holding up the German offensives of March and April 1918, and nobody believed that the end of the war was near. It was clear though that the Spring offensive had overstretched the German Army and that the time had arrived for the Allies to push back

The Final Battles

The sequence of engagements in which 101 Battalion was involved was as follows:

The final battles began with the attack by the British Fourth Army, at Amiens, on 8th August and substantial progress was made. Once the initial offensive was underway, the Allies’ strategy was to broaden the attack on both wings. The first extension was opened on 21st August by the British Third Army to the North, and at the same time the French 10th Army attacked further to the South. The British Second Army, in Flanders, continued to maintain pressure on the enemy around the Ypres Salient and the British First Army (to the North of the Third Army) joined in. Given the very considerable enlargement of the fighting, the Germans started to drop back to the heavily fortified Hindenburg Line which they fully expected to be able to hold all winter.

Battle of the Scarpe

The main effort of the First British Army was to be made on 29th August with the Canadians attacking the Drocourt-Queant position and 51st Division (to which 101 Battalion was attached) forming a defensive flank to the North. This meant the prior seizure of Greenland Hill, which overlooked the left flank of the Canadians.

A machine gun post prepared for a gas attack (by kind permission of the Imperial War Museum)

The 51st Division attacked this hill on 27th August at 10 am. It was a knoll little more than 30 feet above the ground but of some importance for observation in that rather flat country. At first all went well. The infantry went over the hill but were counter-attacked on the right. On the left a line of Division outposts was established and held in the face of counter-attacks by the Germans. Overall however, 51st Division made little progress during that day and it was clear that the Germans were most unwilling to give ground on this front.

The 28th August was a day of preparation for the main attack the following day. 51st Division was still required to move forward and 101 Battalion was tasked to relieve a Canadian infantry battalion in the front line. The role of the Yeomanry had become once more an infantry one.

Battle of the Drocourt-Queant Line

The Drocourt - Queant Line position consisted of a frontal system and a support system, each with two lines of trenches provided with concrete shelters and machine-gun posts, very heavily wired, and with the front line sited mainly on the crest or forward slope.

Battle of Ypres 28 Sept - 02 Oct

The first stage of the offensive was to secure the ridge overlooking Ypres from the East, an area which had seen some desperate fighting in previous years. The attack was to commence on 28th September. The German position was not garrisoned in great force but much had been done to organise the defence, and utilize the pill- boxes, dug-outs and wire of the earlier periods. The enemy had two real advantages: superior observation over the whole battleground afforded by the Ypres Salient; and the nature of the ground, which had been shell-torn and was a wilderness of slippery clay, with water filled craters everywhere, intersected by trenches, and littered with wire and broken war material.

A machine gun post (by kind permission of the Imperial War Museum)

The main effort by the British Second Army was to be made near the Comines Canal. The attack was led by two divisions: the 14th Division on the right flank, and the 35th Division to the North of it. Two companies (A and D) of 101 Battalion were with 35th and one company with 14th Division. The 14th Division would not go any further than the bluff over the Canal, and the final objective, Zandvoorde, was to be taken by 41st Division.

The bluff, a mound which bristled with machine guns and was expected to prove troublesome, was taken by frontal and encircling attacks, delivered by the infantry with such speed and skill that the enemy, who at first showed signs of offering resistance, quickly gave way. Went on to the Arras front. Had it hot. We went straight into the fornt line and went over the top with our guns, then got caught in jerry’s shellfire. I did ten days in the front line. Sgt Will Sear

The 35th Division had all three infantry brigades in the front line. In spite of the darkness and rough ground, the attack started at 5.30 am without a hitch, the enemy was apparently surprised and offered only slight resistance, and casualties were light. All objectives were gained by 8.30 am. At 9.50 am the infantry resumed their progress, without much artillery support because of the state of the roads and tracks. In spite of machine- gun fire and point blank fire from field guns - three of which were captured - the infantry advanced some 2 miles and by 4 pm they had reached the edge of the ruins of Zandvoorde.

The two companies of 101 Battalion with 35th Division were divided between the three attacking infantry brigades and they were allotted for the most part as forward guns, accompanying the leading infantry and being used to defend the final objective against counter-attack. As artillery support had become difficult, their presence was vital despite the struggles to get the guns forward in time to keep up with the leading waves of the infantry. The Vickers Machine Gun was a very heavy load for its crew. The ground at Ypres was so bad that machine gun and ammunition, normally carried on "mule-pack" or in a wagon, needed to be manhandled.

The advance of the Second Army this first day of the battle had averaged 5 miles, and the new front line was comfortably beyond the Ypres Ridge. A Company had expended 18,000 rounds and D Company 50,000 rounds Both Companies experienced heavy gas shelling during the early hours of morning.

On the second day (29th September) considerable further gains were made. 35th Division, with which the two machine gun companies of 101 Battalion were still in action, launched an attempt to capture Zandvoorde. Troops had difficulty in reaching their jumping off places on the devastated ground, and much of the infantry along the front made a late start. The amount of artillery support provided was small as it was impossible to get the heavy guns forward quickly enough.

Patrols during the night had found no enemy in Zandvoorde but as dawn broke the hostile artillery became very active, and it seemed that the Germans had re-occupied the ruins of the village. At 8.00 am the infantry advanced in the mist and attacked Zandvoorde from the West and was met by heavy fire from machine guns in the ruins of the outskirts. An attack at 12.15 pm failed with considerable losses. A second attempt was made to capture the place in the afternoon and success was achieved by 5 pm.

Battle of Courtrai 14-15 October

The weather on the morning of 14 October was fine and bright, with a ground mist which hampered air observation until about 11 am. C Company fired a barrage of 18,000 rounds to cover the advance of the leading infantry brigade of 41st Division. The brigade advanced with all three battalions in line and they reached an intermediate objective about 10 am.

A machine gun post on the offensive (by kind permission of the Imperial War Museum)

Operations were resumed on the 15th October. 101 Battalion came under strong enemy machine gun fire from the opposite side of the River Lys and from enemy bombing. In spite of these checks a substantial advance was made by both divisions (35th and 41st). Their role in the Courtrai area for the next two days was to get close up to the River Lys while the remainder of the British Second Army to the South, already across, swung Eastwards and made for the next obstacle - the River Schelde.

Progress South of the Lys continued on 17th and 18th but there was not much fighting. There was nothing for the machine gun companies to do and they were withdrawn into reserve for a short rest. On the morning of 19th October C and D Companies were attached to 41st Division which was ordered to bridge the Lys at the North- East corner of Courtrai that night. Endeavours to cross were already underway. The leading infantry battalion had got its scouts and one company across in boats in daylight despite some shelling. C and D Companies followed with the remainder of that infantry battalion. They pushed on over the Courtrai-Ghent railway and found the enemy line some 500 yards ahead. The remainder of the infantry, following them, found Courtrai clear of the enemy.

Battle Lys and River Schelde 20-27 October

The German position was strongly entrenched along a flattish ridge, with many spurs on both sides, sitting above the canal which joined the Rivers Lys and Schelde. Bad weather had prevented air reconnaissance and after the continued withdrawals of the Germans during the previous few days this sudden stiffening of their defence came as a surprise. In part the difficulties were due to the failure of the Allies to keep up with the British Second Army. The French in particular hung back repeatedly; just as they had done on some other fronts since August. Bridging and supply difficulties over broken railways also caused delay but the net result was that the Germans had a breathing space and made good use of it.

Action at Tieghem - 31 October

On the 27th October the whole of 101 Battalion were transferred to 35th Division to fire neutralising barrages. 35th Division made little progress on the first day. The broken nature of the country, dotted with small villages, isolated farms, orchards and copses was all in favour of a delaying force, and the maximum advance by the British had been no more than seven miles.

The objective was to reach the River Schelde. The 35th Division had four artillery regiments, in addition to 101 Battalion machine guns, in support. A vital factor was the neutralisation of hostile batteries and machine guns on the East bank, and the masking by smoke of the high ground in enemy hands.

On 31 October the artillery and machine-gun barrage started at 5.25 am and moved at a rate of a hundred yards in three minutes, with the first lift three minutes after zero hour, and a two hours pause on the first objective to allow batteries to be brought forward. Retaliation to the barrage was not severe, though one of the valleys was heavily gassed, but considerable fight was shown by enemy machine gunners in farms and villages of the densely populated countryside. The Division got through to the Schelde without much loss, greatly owing to the excellence of the artillery barrage.

Crossing the River and the advance to Dendre

At this stage everyone must have guessed that the end was near. Situated between the British and the Americans, the French armies were converging on Mezieres, a town of great strategic importance the loss of which would compel the Germans to fall back to their own frontier with the whole Allied pack after them in full cry.

Plans for crossing the Schelde were now in hand but with enemy holding the right bank and overlooking the British. The first indications of the enemy’s retirement were fires in the German back areas and explosions heard during 8th November. British patrols were across the Schelde on the 9th and established small bridgeheads. By dawn on 10th November there was no longer doubt that German retreat was general on the whole of the Second Army's front. From this point onwards there was nothing but hurried pursuit by British advance guards. 101 Battalion was not needed and was sent back to Courtrai.

Orders were received at 8.10 am on 11 November to cease hostilities at 11 am.

Return of the 1/1st Berkshire Yeomanry, with the Royal Berks, in Reading

Armistice

Armistice Day was received by the troops in their usual matter of fact way: there was no outburst of cheering, no wild scene of rejoicing.

During the offensives of 1918 which had been begun on the 18th July, when the French attacked the Soissons salient, nearly 400,000 Germans and 7,000 guns had been captured. The totals were distributed thus: British Armies 188,700 prisoners and 2,840 guns; French Armies 139,000 prisoner and 1,880 guns; American Armies 43,300 prisoners and1,421 guns; Belgian Armies 14,500 prisoners and 474 guns. Which armies bore the brunt of the fighting in the last stage cannot, therefore, be doubted.

The last entry in the War Diary is for 1 April 1919 which reads "I remained with the regiment until all forces were demobilised, leaving for London by way of Paris in May 1919". Lt Col FH Cripps.”

17th Machine Gun Squadron in Palestine

17th Machine Gun Sqn soldiers in Palestine

Members of the Berkshire Yeomanry that had joined 17th Machine Gun Sqn at the beginning of 1917 continued to serve with that Squadron, remaining in Palestine throughout 1918, and they took part in the continuing campaign against the Turks which, in the latter part of 1918, was to culminate in the destruction or capture of a large part of the Turkish Army.

By mid-October the British and Empire forces, together with their Arab allies, had mounted a successful advance against the Turks, which saw the capture of more than 100,000 Turkish prisoners. Following negotiations with Turkey an Armistice was signed on 30 October 2018.