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The Wellington Regiment (NZEF) 1914 - 1919

Chapter XIX. — Fleurbaix

page 133

Chapter XIX.
Fleurbaix.

January, 1917—Re-organisation of First and Second Brigades — Fleurbaix — 1st Battalion's Raid — Gas Alarm — An Enemy Raid — Second Auckland's Raid—Relief by 57th Division.

On 1st January, 1917, the First and Second New Zealand Infantry Brigades were re-organised. Hitherto, as we know, the First Brigade had comprised the 1st Battalions of the Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago Regiments; and the Second Brigade had been made up of the 2nd Battalions of the same regiments. Henceforward, the First Brigade was to consist of the North Island regiments, i.e., 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Auckland Regiment and 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Wellington Regiment. The Second Brigade now comprised the South Island regiments, i.e.,1st and 2nd Battalions of the Canterbury Regiment, and 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Otago Regiment. The new arrangement while it broke old associations, had one beneficial result in that the two service battalions of each regiment being brigaded together would in future be in much closer toutch. Second Wellington was now parted from its Brigade Commander (Brigadier-General W. G. Braithwaite), and came under the command of Brigadier-General C. H. S. Brown, Commander of the First Brigade.

New Year's Day, 1917, found our 1st Battalion in billets at Sailly-Sur-Lys. During the day, 1st Canterbury marched through on its way from Estaires, and we turned out to say good-bye to our old comrades of the 1st Brigade, our band page 134playing Canterbury through the village. Second Wellington in the trenches, was relieved during the morning by 2nd Otago. The relief was completed by 1 p.m., and the 2nd Battalion then went into reserve billets at Bac St. Maur.

Lieut.-Col. W. H. Cunningham was now to receive his D.S.O. for services in the field during 1916, while Capt. H. E. McKinnon. Capt. L. H. Jardine and Lieut. S. G. Guthrie were each to receive the Military Cross.

Both battalions carried out training for a few days until the 8th January, when the 1st Battalion relieved the 4th Battalion of the Rifle Brigade in the line. On the same day, the 2nd Battalion relieved 2nd Battalion, Rifle Brigade, at Fleurbaix. Owing to lack of accommodation, 120 men of the 1st Battalion were left out of the line. The following day, these were returned to their companies, being replaced by 25 men from each company, under Second Lieuts. S. G. Guthrie, R. D. Boyle and G. H. Davey, selected to undergo special training.

The salient in that part of the line held by Ruahine Company (1st Battalion) having been patrolled only, and not held by the outgoing battalion after its bombardment on New Year's Day, the 1st Battalion took over the same arrangements. Later, the posts on the flanks were moved closer in, both to watch the salient and to cover the heads of Tin Barn Avenue and Abbot's Lane. It was here that Second Lieut. J. M. McQueen encountered an enemy patrol and, in an exchange of shots, was wounded. Battalion Headquarters were at Wye Farm; and the Regimental Medical Officer (Capt. Lee) and his staff in Jay Post. As this place was subjected to a good deal of shell fire, being too close up to the front line, the Regimental Aid Post was later moved back. Quartermaster stores and transport lines were in Rue Rataille. Transport, except isolated vehicles, could not come further than Elbow Farm before dark. The support company, owing to lack of accommodation, had to put nearly half its strength in Command Post in the subsidiary line. The enemy showed some liveliness with "pineapples" and minenwerfer, both by day and by night; but our artillery retaliation was effective.

page 135

Repairs to damage done to the trenches absorbed most of the working strength, although the left company (Taranaki) was able to do some wiring. The weather was cold, and snow lay on the ground from the 11th. Wire-cutting by our trench mortars provoked a certain amount of retaliation. Judging by the number of flares he sent up, and by his action in bombing his own wire at night, the enemy was very nervous.

On the morning of the 16th January, the 2nd Battalion, which had been supplying working parties for the front and support lines, relieved the 1st Battalion in the trenches, who then moved into the billets vacated by the 2nd Battalion at Fleurbaix. The 2nd Battalion remained in the trenches until the 24th January. The weather was frosty and fine. The front was quiet, although on the nights of the 20th and 21st, small hostile parties approached our posts only to be driven off by bombs and rifle fire. During the 2nd Battalion's occupancy of the trenches, the 1st Battalion's special party, in training behind the lines, sent up patrols each night to get familiar with the ground. On one of these patrols, a patrolman was hit by a bomb thrown by the 15th Royal Scots on our left, but, fortunately, he was not seriously wounded.

On the 24th January, the 1st Battalion again took over from the 2nd Battalion, who moved back to Fleurbaix, from there to supply the inevitable working parties—more than 300 men being supplied daily. The weather remained frosty and cold—well down below freezing point. Patrols from the special party were out; but could not go far, the snow making patrolling difficult. It was clear that, opposite the whole sector, the enemy held his front line lightly.

There was a certain amount of shelling and trench mortar activity during this period, especially on the 27th (Kaiser's birthday), when Jay Post was heavily shelled, and on the 28th, when, at 4 a.m. and again at 10 a.m., the enemy shelled the billlets at Fleurbaix with "five nines," the 2nd Battalion fortunately, having only three wounded.

This was the time intended for the raid by the special party of the 1st Battalion which had been training since early page 136in the month; but now the raid had to be postponed indefinitey and the special party returned to companies because the Second Brigade had taken over the sector on the left at short notice, involving a re-arrangement of artillery.

On the 28th, the 1st Battalion relieved 1st Auckland in the right battalion sector, having first been relieved by 2nd Auckland. This double relief was completed without a hitch. The new sector (right of Boutillerie Sector), was much quieter and in better order, although there was a little shelling and a few minenwerfers were sent over on the extreme left. It seemed that the enemy did not hold his front line here at all, being content to send a patrol up occasionally, although it was thought probable Clapham Junction was held. There was an absence of enemy flares and machine-gun fire on most nights, though little work could be done owing to the frozen ground. In spite of the snow, patrols went out nearly every night. On the night of the 30th January, a patrol under Lieut. A. S. Muir entered the enemy's trench at Turk Point and found it deserted and out of repair for fifty yards to the South.

On the 1st February, the 1st Battalion was relieved in trenches by the 2nd Battalion (Hawkes Bay Company of the 2nd Battalion did not go into the trenches on this occasion, having to remain in billets at Fleurbaix in isolation for mumps). Hardly had the 1st Battalion reached its billets in Fleurbaix, than its special party was called upon. Identification of the enemy opposite our sector was urgently needed, and the special party was to raid the enemy's trenches and secure prisoners for identification. On the 2nd February, the special party was assembled, material collected and the party organised. At 5.30 a.m. on the 3rd, the raid took place. Owing to the moonlight, the party was considerably reduced from the number first intended, in order to lessen the risk of casualties; but the raid was run on the lines practised, and the point of entry was the same. The sortie was simply to obtain identification and was entirely successful. Three prisoners were taken and the only casualties to the page 137raiding party were, Lieut. G. H. Davey, in charge of supporting party, slightly wounded, and one man wounded, after returning to our line. At the time of our raid, 2nd Auckland was holding the line.

Late that night, a gas alarm was given from the sector on the right, and, shortly afterwards, gas shells came over, falling near the billets of Taranaki Company (1st Battalion) on the outskirts of Fleurbaix, happily without causing any casualties. Early the following morning, Taranaki Company's billets were again shelled with salvoes of three, composed of one high explosive and two gas shells. Many men ran down the road to shelter in the brewery cellar without putting on their S.B.R.'s*. As a result of this shelling, four men were evacuated early that morning, suffering from gas poisoning, and later in the day, twelve more. The first four included a billet sentry, at whose feet a gas shell had fallen, and those who ran to his help. Of these, three died within twenty-four hours. Four sergeants were amongst those evacuated.

On the 7th February, Croix Marechal was steadily shelled and Ruahine Company had one killed and two wounded, so that the 1st Battalion, in billets in Fleurbaix, had suffered more than the 2nd Battalion in the trenches, where a very quiet time had been experienced. On the 9th, the 1st Battalion relieved the 2nd Battalion, who returned to Fleurbaix. During the first few days in the line, a number of minenwerfer were fired into the 1st Battalion's sector by the enemy from positions at Bas Maisnil, and "rum jars" were sent over from the Maze on to the right of the sector—two Ruahine Company men being killed there. This culminated in a heavy bombardment of the 1st Battalion's left, and also of the battalion on its left. At about midnight on the 12th an enemy raiding party entered the latter battalion's line just left of Tin Barn Avenue; but was quickly driven out. Our artillery replied promptly to the S.O.S. The enemy also put gas minenwerfer near the junction of Convent Avenue and the support line, and several men became casualties. On the night of the 14th a Taranaki Company patrol entered Turk Point, but found page 138it deserted. The ground had been frozen hard till now with a heavy coating of snow, but, on the 11th, the weather became milder and a gradual thaw set in, and, a few days later, there was drizzling rain. The health of the men remained good during this cold weather, although there were two or three cases of trench feet. Every precaution had to be taken to prevent trench feet. Gumboots were issued, a daily change of dry socks was arranged, and everyone was required to massage his feet, each day, with whale oil.

On the 14th February, the 2nd Battalion relieved 1st Auckland in the left sub-sector of the Brigade sector, so that both our battalions were in the line when 2nd Auckland carried out a raid at 5.45 a.m. on the 21st. That battalion raided from the trenches held by our 2nd Battalion, who lent what assistance it could in the operation. The duck-walks of the front line along the length occupied by the raiders immediately prior to raiding, and the communication saps leading from it back to the support line were covered with straw, over which hessing fabric was nailed down. This had the effect of deadening the sound of the men moving up to position, and of the withdrawal of the front line garrison. All telephonic communications were overhauled and relaid, and emergency lines were laid at all vulnerable points. Stretchers and bearers were placed at the junction of the support line with City Post and Bay Avenue. These were to carry the wounded from the front line to the Regimental Aid Post. The Regimental Medical Officer (Capt. H. M. Goldstein) and his staff were placed at the disposal of the O.C. Raid and shared with the R.M.O., 2nd Auckland, the work of dressing and despatching the wounded to the Field Ambulance. During and after the raid, both our 1st and 2nd Battalions had to submit to the enemy's retaliation. Our 1st Battalion had three men killed and the 2nd Battalion one wounded, the enemy's fire being ill-directed on the 2nd Battalion's front.

The 57th Division was now to take over from the N.Z. Division. On the 21st, 1st Wellington was relieved by 2/5th King's Liverpool Rifles, and moved into billets in Sailly; while, on the 22nd February, our 2nd Battalion was relieved page 139by the 2/6th King's Liverpool Rifles, and moved to Estaires. On the 23rd February, the 1st Battalion marched from Sailly-sur-Lys, some eight miles to De Seule; while the 2nd Battalion proceeded from Estaires to Nieppe. On the following day both battalions rested.

* Small box respirators, which everyone carried.