XVIII. The Battle of the Somme

—Report of Battle of Somme.

At Steenwerck the Battalions entrained on the famous trucks of "40 hommes et 8 chevaux en long," and so arrived at the little village of Ebblingham, from whence 1/Auckland marched to Campagne and 2/Auckland to Le Carnois. A night and a day in cramped billets, and then a night march to Arques, and from there by train through Abbeville to Pont Remy, from whence, on August 20, 1/Auckland marched to Neuville-Forceville and 2/Auckland to Allery. The next twelve days were spent in re-equipping, organisation and battle training. These days were amongst the happiest in France. The sun shone, trees and fields were green. Everyone ate well, drank well and slept well. Training was not too hard. Above all, madame and madamoiselle were kind, and loved their new guests well. Friendships are formed wonderfully quickly when there are only a few days for the business. Months and years afterwards many of these friendships were still kept up, and there were several men who had "beaucoup correspondence" with the village maidens. Field days, route marching and good living made the Battalions very fit. While in this area Sergeant-Majors F. E. McKenzie, F. R. Wilson, H. R. Brumby and H. Hogg of 1/Auckland, and Sergeant-Majors Goodwin, Hewitt, Tuck and Dagg were promoted to commissioned rank. Of these men, two in particular, F. E. McKenzie and Tuck, had both seen a very great deal of fighting, and were men of splendid reputation. All of them had seen considerable service, and without exception they were fine soldiers.

First Battle of the Somme—1916.

September 2nd saw the Division once more on the move, 1/Auckland marching to Airaines and 2/Auckland to Riencourt. During the afternoon, just as everyone was thinking it high time to stop for the day, when packs were growing heavy and feet sore, several motor lorries passed crammed full of German prisoners, at which sight there was considerable murmuring.

The general opinion was that positions should be reversed, Auckland on the lorries and Huns trudging wearily along the "pave" roads. Another march through green fields and country lanes brought the First Battalion to Yseux and the Second to Picquigny, a typical little French town, and a place of considerable historical interest. A peace between England and France was once signed here, probably in the old mouldering castle which crowns the hilltop and looks down upon the gently-flowing Somme. Now every night the flares could be seen rising along the fighting line, and the thunder of the guns was like the sea-surf rolling in on the long ocean beaches. A four days halt, with shooting and training, and then once more the march went on past Amiens, through Poulainville and Cardonnette, until, on September 8th, the Battalions bivouacked in the fields not far behind the 12-inch naval guns and the edge of the battlefield. The Albert-Amiens road was dense with traffic guns, motor lorries of provisions, waggon loads of ammunition all moving in; Red Cross cars, broken and empty limbers moving out. It was a greatly travelled way, and during the next two days men would sit by the roadside for hours at a time gazing at the traffic passing to and fro. Many walked into Albert and saw the famous figure of the Virgin hanging from the front of the Cathedral. Everyone was splendidly fit. The New Zealand Division was marching down to its first great battle in the land of France. All were determined to demonstrate to friend and foe alike that they could fight as well in Picardy as on the slopes of Sari Bair.

The whole effort of the British Army was for the time being centred on the tactical objective of Bapaume, as that of the French on Peronne. It was thought that the taking of page 106these two towns would open up great strategic possibilities. In any case, the fury of the fighting had relieved the pressure on Verdun, and the terrific nature of the struggle was telling heavily on the German reserves of men, munitions and morale. At first the attacks had gone well. Not quite so much had been gained as was at first hoped for, but the wedge was strongly pushed in. For the last six weeks, however, the enemy had maintained their hold on High Wood, Delvtlle Wood, and the spur which connected the two. On and behind this ridge they had constructed a very strong position. It was backed by a great power of artillery. Some of their elite regiments were holding the line. Wave after wave of assault had broken on this rock of defence. The unburied dead lay thick all about—English, Scottish, German. The ground was a maze of shellholes. Switch Line—the name given to the enemy position between the woods—and the villages of Flers were the first objectives assigned to the New Zealanders. The 2/Brigade, under Brigadier-General Braithwaite, were given the task of storming the Switch Line. 2/Auckland and 2/Otago were to lead the assault, and in so doing lead the whole New Zealand Division into action.

On September 10th 2/Auckland left the Albert area and moved up through Fricourt, Bazentin and Contalmaison to Mametz Wood. Once the old front line was passed, evidence of tremendous fighting became ever plainer. Fricourt was a heap of ruins. Cemeteries were frequent. Debris of all sorts was lying everywhere. The guns became more numerous. Men realised the magnitude of the conflict raging so short a distance in front. Mametz Wood itself, where the Battalion bivouacked, had been blasted with fire. Two days were spent in the wood, and then on September 12th the Battalion took over the line in front of Green Dump.

The fighting strength was 600. Lieutenant-Colonel Brown was in command, with Lieutenant McClurg as his adjutant. Captain Armstrong was in command of the 3rd Company, Captain Hunter of the 6th, Major McKenzie of the 15th, and Captain Grainger of the 16th. Dr. Addison was in charge of page 107the Regimental Aid Post and the Battalion stretcher-bearers. Major S. S. Allen was attached for liason duties to the Brigade on the right flank.

Throughout the 13th and 14th the Aucklanders made a steady creep forward in preparation for the battle. The Hun artillery was very active, and a number of men were killed and wounded. The Battalion was to attack in line of companies in company column, with the 3rd, 15th, 6th and 16th in order from right to left. Companies were drawn up in four waves, with an interval of fifty yards between each wave on a total frontage of six hundred yards. The night was bitterly cold. A light misty rain fell intermittently, and the hours passed miserably.

All night the guns were active, and toward morning the firing grew more intense. At six o'clock there was a considerable rattle of machine-gun fire. The stationary barrage was falling in rear of the enemy line, and there was a constant sighing and droning in the air as the big howitzer shells went over. At 6.20 a.m., in a wide circle of flame and a great crash of sound the "creeping barrage" fell on the German trenches. It was the signal, and the whole attack moved forward with a thrust and weight that was irresistible. The Aucklanders and Otagos went straight forward in lines of assault, and behind them, as far as the eye could see, were the battalions of the Rifle Brigade moving in sections in artillery formation. To the right and left were the files of Guardsmen, South Africans, English Territorials and Irishmen. Here and there, not quite keeping pace with the infantry, were the "tanks," the mysterious new weapons of war, whose advent had been heralded by a confused rumour, but no certainty. Now they were a real presence, an inspiration of victory to our men, a great fear and terror to the enemy. There was a steady surge forward of the whole vast mass. It was a wonderful, an inspiring, a stupendous sight.

Scarcely, however, had the first line left the shell-holes in which they had assembled than the rockets went soaring up from the German posts, calling urgently for the protective page 108barrage of their guns. The response was immediate, accurate and very deadly. It took a terrible toll, but did not shake the steadfast courage of the moving mass. Men dropped quietly by twos and threes; sometimes a whole section was blown out. What had been No-Man's-Land was full of dead.

Very eagerly the Aucklanders press forward close to the heels of their barrage. They are too eager. They press too closely, and many fall from the bursts of their own shells. "Crest Trench," the Hun observation post, is reached—a few shots and bayonet thrusts and it is passed. Now there is a quickening of the pulse. Below in the rain of shells is the Switch Line. They close down upon it. Forty yards away the leading waves merge. They wait for the barrage to lift. There is shooting and bombing at short range. The line of gleaming bayonets, of staring eyes and of set, drawn faces, is waiting for the signal to dash in on this trench, packed with Huns. In places the enemy stand shoulder to shoulder. Now the stickgrenades are coming over in showers, for there are brave men amongst them, who see that if they can but stay this attacking line, hold it at bombing range for a few moments, then the time of grace will have passed, the machine-guns will come into play, and the "verdamnt Englanders" will be mown down, as they have been time and time again during the last few weeks. But now the third wave has come up. Lieutenants Tuck, Cooper, Senior and Stewart, the platoon commanders, Sergeant Hill, Sergeant Gordon, the section leaders, men here and there all along the line, take the initiative. The wave breaks and floods over the Hun line. Many of the enemy died fighting very bravely, many were shot down endeavouring to retreat down the hill, some were bayoneted screaming for mercy, but none except the wounded escaped. Few prisoners were taken by 2/Auckland.

The fourth wave, under the company commanders, came in, and at once a start was made with the consolidation of the position. Generally speaking, the new line was taken up about fifty yards in front of Switch Trench.

The Rifle Brigade passed through and went on to the more page 109distant objectives, a few of the Aucklanders going with them. Indeed, Lieutenant Tuck and some of his men had made no stop at all, but pushed on through the barrage, until they saw before them the ruins of Flers.

2/Auckland dug for dear life. It was well they did so, for the German fire was extremely heavy all day long. During the period of consolidation the Battalion lost some of its best officers. Captain Armstrong started off, his walking stick in one hand, his overcoat thrown over his arm, walking coolly through the bursting shells. He reached his company objective, and, with magnificent coolness and an utter contempt for danger, was directing his men where to dig in, when he was hit through the arm and chest, and fell mortally wounded. He was a man who, if he had lived, would have risen high.

Captain Keith Hunter, one of the most able and popular officers the Battalion ever had, was sitting in the same shellhole as Captain Grainger, of the 16th, who, though very ill, insisted in coming into the battle. Word was brought of the death of Sergeant-Major Wallace Hunter. "Well, he died like a soldier, anyway," remarked his cousin. The words were hardly out of his mouth when there was a shrieking in the air, a burst, and he, too, lay dying, while Captain Grainger was wounded.

Carter, the signal corporal, followed the whole advance. He it was who took the telephone wire across Switch Line and then right into Flers village, from where, at 9 a.m., he transmitted the first message through to Brigade Headquarters. Then all day long, under extremely heavy shell fire, he passed backward and forward, mending breaks and keeping the line of communication clear.

Brown, the stretcher-bearer, commenced the wonderful work that, continued through the next three weeks, was to earn him a reputation for bravery and devotion to duty second to no man in the whole Battalion.

The Regimental Aid Post earned great praise for its work. The doctor and his assistants worked all day in one of the most heavily shelled areas of the whole battlefield. All around page 110the ground was torn to pieces. Battalion Headquarters, only a hundred and fifty yards away, but fairly well sheltered, was certain the post had been wiped out. Three times Colonel Brown sent down special messengers to see if any were left alive. Dr. Addison and Corporal Taylor deserve the very highest credit for the bravery, efficiency and speed with which all day long they worked to clear the great numbers of wounded, who were continually passing through.

Colonel Brown won for himself the confidence, esteem and devotion of his whole command. He set a fine example of personal courage. His practical common sense removed difficulties, and ensured smooth working, while his sympathy and thought fulness gained for him the affection of all.

2/Auckland held Switch Trench through the night, and next morning were relieved, going back to Check Line and Thistle Dump. The losses had been considerable. Six officers, Captains Hunter and Armstrong, Lieutenants Dagg, Sheridan, McLean and Bremner were killed, while Lieutenant Page, one of the original Main Body sergeant-majors, a very brave and able soldier, died of wounds. Fifty-two O.R.'s were killed. Seven officers, Captain Grainger, Lieutenants Cooper, Hewitt, Tuck, Hudson, Raine and McClurg, were wounded, also 231 O.R.'s. Twelve men were missing, making a total of 309 casualties.

1/Auckland, on the morning of the 15th September, moved from Fricourt Wood to Mametz Wood, where they beguiled the time by raiding the Guards' canteen. Next day they marched to the battlefield and took over from a battalion of the Rifle Brigade. Orders were issued for an attack on Goose Alley, but after the preparations had been made these orders were cancelled, and the Battalion dug the left defensive flank for the New Zealand Division. At 6 p.m. the following evening a party of bombers successfully bombed up a section of the Flers Trench. On the 18th the Battalion was relieved and went back to Check, Savoy and Carlton trenches, and there remained for several days, doing carrying and working parties.

The night of the 18/19th, 2/Auckland took over part of Flers Trench, adjoining Goose Alley, which, together with sections of Flers Trench and Flers Support, was still held by the enemy.

A night relief over a torn battlefield, where men have a long way to go to a goal that even the guides are not certain of, tries the temper of the most good-natured. Progress is very slow. Often the saps are blocked by men coming out. There is a stop every fifty yards, while a file of dirty, tired, cursing men jam past. The men going in are loaded up, not only with arms and equipment, but with sand-bags of rations, machine-gun panniers, and all the numberless essential things that may be required. They stumble on for three or four hours, floundering through mud, falling into shell-holes, tripping over the broken strands of barbed wire, losing touch and direction. German shells fall at random, and as the files come nearer to the long line of brilliant green flares which mark the far side of No-Man's-Land, there is the "rat-tat-tat" of the machine-gun and the wheen and whizz of bullets passing overhead. At last the parados of the fire-trench looms up, and there are whispered welcomes from the worn-out watchers, who immediately hand over and vanish back in the darkness. The relief is complete. Some huddle up in little scrapings in the wall of the trench and so endeavour to snatch a little sleep. Others stand silently on the fire-step peering out into the uncertain gloom. A few stamp up and down to bring back circulation to numbed feet. Patrol parties creep out to search No-Man's-Land and to guard against surprise.

These terrible night reliefs were a feature of the Somme Battle. Being relieved was a somewhat more cheerful business, inasmuch as there was usually less to carry, daylight was at hand, and there was prospect of a hot meal at the end of the march. 2/Auckland, holding about a thousand yards of front line, found themselves in a somewhat curious position.

The Germans were holding a considerable portion of Goose Alley, in particular the crossings of Flers Trench and Flers Support. For all practical purposes the enemy were not on page 112the Battalion front, but on the left flank. Between the Aucklanders in the Flers Trench and the enemy were a party of English troops in a most pitiable condition. Their faith in the "Anzacs" was most touching. Every assistance possible was given them—bombs, bombers and stretcher-bearers. Later in the afternoon, by special arrangement, the section of the trench they were holding was taken over by the 15th Company.

The trenches had been dug, but never finished, and, in consequence, the continuous rain soon turned them into quagmires. The greater part of the Battalion simply stood and shivered for three days and nights, feet gradually getting colder and colder, while the German artillery shelled intermittently. On the exposed flank there was more excitement without any lessening of the discomfort. Lieutenant Seddon, who had been too shaken to take part in the battle of the 15th, was now back, and led a bombing party along Flers Trench, gaining something like fifty yards of line.

2/Canterbury were ordered up to take Goose Alley during the night of the 20/21st. They passed through 2/Auckland. and drew up at 8.30 p.m. in the sunken road. After some very stiff fighting, in which the issue was for a considerable time in doubt, the objectives were taken, very largely as a result of the help and encouragement given by the Aucklanders. Sergeant Gordon, "old Tom Gordon," of the 15th Company, was particularly prominent, and at one critical moment rallied the attacking force when they were giving way, and led on to victory. The enemy counter-attacked at dawn, but were driven off. They came again in the afternoon, but had no better fortune. During this attack the Auckland Battalion Headquarters did some excellent sharp-shooting, and the Trench Mortar Battery, under Lieutenant "Jock" McKenzie, also did some very fine work. While in this portion of the line the Battalion ration parties, under Major S. S. Allen, had an extremely difficult task. It was not possible to come up during the day, and, in consequence, the carrying had to be done at night. The nights were extremely dark, the path obscure and frightfully rough, the loads heavy, and the shell fire frequently very page break page break

Colonel A. Plugge, C.M.G

page 113intense. Major Allen and his men deserve the very greatest credit for their work—especially Roberts, who quickly established a moral superiority over the other men and was an inspiration to all.

During the night of the 23/24th, after another day of misery in the wet and cold, 2/Auckland were relieved, and after a weary march back arrived in the Black Watch Area, and there settled down to recuperate.

Up to this date 1/Auckland had played a very small share in the battle. They had been in the line once for a short while only, and for the remainder of the time had been doing working parties or waiting in the reserve areas. Now the army was ready to exploit the success of the previous ten days fighting. The guns had gone forward, the position had been consolidated. Masses of cavalry were concentrated in rear, and their scouts were continually riding forward. To the infantry it seemed that at last the great hour had come for the break through. Rumour grew. The 1st New Zealand Infantry Brigade, the veterans of Anzac, were to smash the last line of German defence, and then through the breach they made would pour an avalanche of mobile troops. So it seemed to the glowing imagination of men somewhat intoxicated with the success of the first few days.

Colonel Plugge was in command, with Captain N. A. Duthie as his adjutant. Captain Herman commanded the 3rd Company, Captain Mahan the 6th, Captain Alexander the 15th, and Captain Dineen the 16th. Dr. Nelson was in charge of the R.A.P., while Major R. C. Allen, the Second-in-Command, was detached for liason duty with the Brigade on the flank. The Rev. Gavin was the Battalion's chaplain.

1/Auckland took over 750 yards of line running from Factory Corner, with Canterbury on one flank and Otago on the other. The objectives were Gird Trench and Gird Support. The distance between the Gird and Flers system left a very wide No-Man's-Land, and hence it was necessary to make a preliminary advance to secure a suitable jumping-off position for the main attack. This was done on the 25th, and the opera-page 114tion was carried out with little opposition and light casualties. The new line was dug and then everything was ready. In the meanwhile the howitzers had been firing on the enemy wire, endeavouring to prepare the way for the assault. Patrols sent out during the night and observation from the line itself established the fact that the wire was almost intact. This was disquieting, but few knew of it, and hopes were high. Zero hour was fixed for 2.15 p.m. on the 27th September. All was ready. The steady line moved forward across No-Man's-Land. Down came a counter-barrage. Men were falling, but there was not the least weakening. The Hun trench was near. Canterbury had no difficulty—the wire in front of them was cut—and they passed right in. Otago were shot to pieces. Auckland came fair up against uncut wire. Held up by the unexpected obstacle they were delayed, while the barrage passed on and left them. The Huns in the line manned their parapet shooting, bombing and machine-gunning. They had the Aucklanders at their mercy. Desperate efforts were made to rush in through the gaps which had been torn every here and there. The Hun machine-guns were trained on these gaps, and the attackers were mown down in heaps. All, with the exception of the desperately brave, were down in the shell-holes sniping where a chance offered, bombing where they were close enough in. One or two Lewis guns got into action, but for a moment it seemed that no impression could be made. Then Sergeant Clarke, bombing a machine-gun into silence, rushed through the gap and obtained a lodgment in the line. Captain Alexander, Lieutenant Hogg, Lieutenant Ellisdon, Francis, Tribe, Lauder, Mitchell, Whitehouse, Prendergast, Bright, Torrens and others won in, and now the tide commenced to turn. The Huns lost their nerve. Instead of instantly concentrating on the gallant few who had entered the line, they wavered. Some drew back, some commenced to run. More of the Aucklanders came in. A Hun officer tried to rally his men, but was shot dead by a lipless man lying out in one of the shell-holes. Now the enemy were running all along the line. Quickly the Lewis guns were placed on the new parapet, and the fleeing enemy page 115mown down. Another rush forward of fifty yards or so, and the support line was carried—this with little opposition. The objective was taken—but at what a cost! Eight hundred men went over against the Gird System. When the line was taken two hundred were left. Three times 1/Auckland had charged as a battalion—once at Helles, once at Chunuk, and again over the shell-torn field of the Somme—and on every occasion they had been slaughtered by a cruel concentration of machine-gun fire. The 16th Waikato Company had been especially unfortunate in this last charge, Lieutenant Hogg and six men being all that remained. Many brave men had fallen. Captain Dineen went over, leading the first wave of the 15th Company, to fall mortally wounded half-way across. The Regiment never lost a finer officer. Enlisting at the outbreak of war, he had trained for the Royal Flying Corps, and at the last moment, when his training had been completed, was rejected for some trifling defect in vision. He at once joined the N.Z.E.F., offering to throw in his commission and serve as a private in the ranks. He was not allowed to do this, and was attached to 1/Auckland as a captain. The trench warfare at Armentières had shown him to be the very finest type of soldier, a man endowed with a splendid physical self, of great mental ability, with a will like steel and a nerve that nothing could shake; absolutely conscientious, strict, but just and very thoughtful, a man who "reverenced his conscience as his king." He was the bravest man in his company, because he was the best. Terribly wounded as he was, he continued to direct his men as the successive waves passed him. The stretcher-bearers, Porter, Forrest and other gallant men made great efforts to save him, but after three of them had fallen in the attempt they were compelled to wait. He died on the way to the Base. Padre Gavin, a man of very quiet and gentle manner, but strong in faith, a man who loved much, and so had the mastery over fear, brought up the rations when the Quartermaster was incapacitated, buried the dead under heavy fire, and showed himself most worthy of his calling.

Next day, the 2Sth September, the remnants of 1/Auck-page 116land were relieved and went back in reserve, a battalion of the 2/Brigade taking over the newly-won line. 2/Auckland held from near the junction of Goose Alley and the Gird System to L'Eaucourt-Abbaye road. Communication to the front was difficult until the Maoris completed Turk Lane right through. The hottest part of the Battalion sector was on the road itself, round Battalion Headquarters and the Regiment Aid Post, which were so placed that the German artillery were able to fire right across the salient into the entrances of the dug-outs. Here Canterbury, with support from 2/Auckland, carried out a second attack on Goose Alley, in which they were completely successful. A feature of the attack was the use of flame projectors to assist the advance. Many scorched Huns testified to the success of the new weapon. Very early in the morning of October 3rd, 2/Auckland were relieved by a battalion of the Rifle Brigade, and went right back, moving in comfort through the great communication sap, Turk Lane, which had been pushed forward with wonderful speed by the Maori Pioneers. The Battalion concentrated below Mametz Wood, where the cooks were waiting with stew and hot tea, and then after the hot meal marched back from the battle area to King George's Hill, Fricourt. Next day 1st Auckland were relieved from Worcester, Dorset and Seaforth trenches, in the support area, and also marched out.

Men were tired and overwrought. Those who came out were but a few compared with the numbers who had gone in. The Aucklanders went into battle a little under 1500 strong. More than three hundred were left dead on the battlefield, while close on seven hundred were on their way to hospital. Heavy as the losses had been, they were counterbalanced by the greatness of the victory.

There was a great glow of feeling—a mood of exaltation. The New Zealanders had won a great reputation at Gallipoli, but yet there were critics who under-rated the fierceness of the struggle at Anzac. Now their doubts could no longer stand. On the battlefield of the Somme the New Zealand Division had been a tower of strength on the right hand and on the page 117left, They had not only done all that was asked of them, but more. From the time of the Somme the New Zealand soldier took undisputed place as one of the finest fighting men of the war. It had been a great shock battle. Massed guns were countered by massed guns, infantry division was flung against infantry division. The enemy was strong, well organised, well led, and determined to maintain an unbroken line. Progress could only be made by hard fighting, and even then progress was slow and very costly. Good soldier as the New Zealander is in open warfare, he is nowhere better than in the shock of battle. His ability to take punishment, his steadfastness, endurance and cool, desperate daring have never shown out more splendidly than on. this great occasion.