Good Morning,
Welcome to this week’s Trench Lincs which comes to you from a hotel in Lievin, France. Today a busy town on the edge of Lens, but 110 years ago the British front line trenches ran through Lievin.
It is an ideal location to base a trip to the 1915 battlefields of Neuve Chappelle, Loos, Aubers Ridge and the 1916 debacle at Fromelles.
Later today, our party from the Lincoln WFA Branch will attend the annual service of remembrance at the Hohenzollern redoubt on the 109th anniversary of the 46th Division’s attack on 13th October 1915.
I have written a piece below about the 1915 events at the Redoubt. Salut!
NEWS & EVENTS
Please find details of the next meeting at Leadenham Village Hall of the Leadenham Military History Group. – 7 for 7.30 pm start.
Tuesday 22 October 2024
Show and tell: Marconi R1155 and T1154 Combination, By Steve Locking.
Presentation: The Gunners at the Imjin River, April 1951, by Chris Finn. A Korean War story; the battle that saved Seoul.
British gunners at the Imjin, Korea.
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Next Lecture – Lincoln & North Lincolnshire Branch – Western Front Association – Monday, October 28th – 6.30 for 7.00 pm start – Royal Naval Association Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln, LN6 7BG – Tim Lynch – Going Back, Pilgrimages to the Western Front.
Tim Lynch is an old friend of Lincoln Branch, having visited us in the past. Hailing from Tankersley in South Yorkshire, his lifelong interest in military history led to a career as a writer and presenter working on books, articles, TV and radio projects. He says he recently dropped all pretence of actually working for a living and instead now roams around acting as a battlefield guide to anyone who will listen. He is well known on the lecture circuit with 13 lectures on various subjects to his name.
This evening he will be presenting his illustrated talk, “Going Back, Pilgrimages to the Western Front” which examines the growth of battlefield tourism after the war as veterans returned to the fields where they had fought. It features, among other stories, that of the enormous operation mounted to enable Canadian veterans to attend the opening of Vimy Ridge Memorial Park and looks at why these trips were so important to veterans trying to make sense of their war.
Moving forward to the present day, every year many thousands of people visit the battlefields of the Great War, especially the Ypres salient, as their forebears had been doing before them for over a century. To sum up, this promises to be a fascinating talk on the subject of battlefield tours and what commemoration means today.
Lincoln & North Lincolnshire Branch WFA meets at the Royal Naval Association Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln, LN6 7BG. Doors open 6.30pm for 7.00pm start. Ample free parking being the premises and on the road in front. It’s a friendly location, with a pleasant steward who does a nice line in cut-price chocolates, and all will be made very welcome.
[On the night, the Chairman will take a straw poll about putting back the start time in 2025 to 7.30pm. If you can’t attend on 28th October but have a view about the start time, please drop me a line – Ed]
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Next Lecture – Spalding & South Lincolnshire Branch – Western Front Association – Thursday, October 24th – 7.00 for 7.30pm start – Spalding Baptist Church, Swan Street, Spalding, PE11 1BT – Maj (Retd) Phil Watson – Audregnies Flank Guard Action of the BEF: the first charge, 9th Lancers.
Phil Watson joined the 9/12 Lancers in 1976 and was commissioned from the ranks in 1988. After various staff appointments, he returned to regimental duties to command Headquarters Squadron. He left the 9/12 Lancers in 2012 with the rank of Major after 35 years’ service, and was appointed Assistant Regimental Secretary, a mainly welfare role. He is an adult volunteer with Lincolnshire ACF, after completing 3 years as the Commandant for Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland ACF. His main research interest is the Regiment’s last two mounted lance actions (during the retreat from Mons). They are examined in his books, “The Last Charge”, published by the Regimental Trustees in 2016, and “Audregnies: the Flank Guard Action and the First Cavalry Charge of the Great War”, published by Helion in 2019.
The subject of his illustrated presentation this evening is the famous cavalry charge at Audregnies on 24 August, 1914, which resulted in the 9th Lancers sustaining 30% casualties. It is best known for the story of the barbed wire, which brought the Lancers to an abrupt halt, and Captain Francis Grenfell leading a charge against German guns, yet this is absent from the official history. No other cavalry charge has been so misrepresented in the history of its telling, or the artworks produced after the event. The presentation aims to give a fair and accurate representation of the action, which includes the actions of the 4th Dragoon Guards and L. Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, and aims to give a “warts and all” account, shifting the emphasis from folklore to history. The full story of the “Myths of Audregnies – Wire or Fire” has been told by Phil over two articles published in the WFA Bulletin issue numbers 125 and 127 in which he corrects the inaccurate telling of the events of August 24 by several leading historians over the years since the event, including the “myths” of the barbed wire fence and the confusion regarding which of the nearby railway lines played a major part in the route taken by the Lancers.
To hear the factual truth about this action, drag yourself away from the boring television and come along to Spalding Baptist Church where you can enjoy a convivial evening with like-minded and friendly people in this very pleasant and modern venue. You will be made very welcome.
Venue: Spalding Baptist Church, Swan Street, Spalding, Lincs, PE11 1BT.
Times: Doors open 7.00pm for 7.30 pm start.
Did it really happen like this??
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Alwyn Killingsworth has kindly submitted the following details for the next Friends of the Lincoln Tank speaker event, which will be held on Thursday 31st October.
Alwyn writes; ‘The penultimate 2024 FoLT presentation will be held on Thursday the 31st October. You may recall seeing that FoLT members were recently at the Norfolk Tank Fest when the replica Medium A was on show. Tony Cooke and Kevin Jepson are the main folks involved in this build and we are pleased to confirm Kevin’s attendance on the night. He will tell us the process involved in this project. In his own words the main themes of the presentation will be:
“Why a Medium A and in, particular, Musical Box for a project (code named Project Fast Dog)?
Who is involved?
How did we start the project and the stages of the build - problem solving etc.
Technical details of the build
Where are we now?
What does the future hold for the replica?
There will be additional material on the crew of Musical Box and how much we can learn about shared history simply by connecting people via doing Living History projects like Fast Dog.
The talk will be less about the background to the development of this type of tank and more a focus on the actual building of our replica, the technical issues and the lessons we have learned along the way....And I want to weave something in about the people side of the story too - the crew and their descendants.”
It is not every day that we can call on someone like Kevin to deliver a talk on these lines – replica builds of Foster tanks do not happen on a regular basis and I believe this will be a unique opportunity to explore this side of our fascinating interest in all things WW1 so one not to be missed.
As ever, the venue will be The Royal Naval Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln. Doors will open at 7.00pm for a 7.30pm start. Entrance will be £5.00 on the door. You do not need to be a member of FoLT to attend. All are welcome – old, young, male or female. Refreshments will be available at the bar and there is ample car parking to the rear of the club. Hope to see you all on the night.’
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On Monday 18th November at 7.30pm, Mike Credland will be speaking at Denton Village Hall as part of the fund raising campaign to raise sufficient money to repair and refurbish the village hall.
PLEASE NOTE THAT MIKE'S TALK AS DESCRIBED ABOVE HAS BEEN CANCELLED. PLEASE KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR A NEW DATE, HOPEFULLY VERY SOON.
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Please find a link below to this month’s Sleaford Aviation society newsletter.
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On Monday 11th November at 11am, there will be the annual Armistice Day Service held at Thorpe in the Fallows. This service is organised annually by the Lincoln and North Lincs WFA branch, and everyone is welcome to attend. Please be at the memorial for 10.45.
Thorpe in the Fallows can be found just off the A1500 Scampton to Sturton By Stow Road.
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On Wednesday 20th November at 11am, there will be the annual Cambrai Day service held at the Tank Memorial on Tritton Way, Lincoln. This event is organised by Friends of the Lincoln Tank and again, everyone is welcome to attend. Please be on site for 10.45.
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Tidying up a loose end from last week, Charles Parker’s photograph of the Ironstone workers memorial at Scunthorpe was captioned by Charles as ‘Company Unknown.’
This prompted Charles Anderson to get in touch and he writes; ‘The plaque on the museum wall is ex-Lysaghts Steel Works.’
Thank you very much Charles for your answer. John Allen also kindly noted; 'Thanks for another interesting edition of Trench Lincs,.
A topic mentioned by Charles Parker was the War Memorials in the museum at Scunthorpe. The Plaque in remembrance of steelworkers KIA at the front were employees of John Lysaght Ltd, Normanby Park Works, my Great Uncle's name appears in the mechanical section. Whilst most of the local works at that time produced `pig iron` for further casting elsewhere, Lysaghts constructed the first integrated Iron & Steel Works on one site.
Sadly it looks very likely that ironmaking from raw materials may soon be gone from our shores, replaced by the re-cycling of scrap steel with ferrous additives, with the eventual demolition of the `four Queens` blast furnaces from the skyline.'
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Norfolk has been a popular destination this year for Trench Lincs contributors and Melvin Dobbs writes; ‘Another very informative read again in the last edition of Trench Lincs.
It seems as if John Pritchard and myself were exploring the North Norfolk area at the same time !
Here are some pictures of the town memorial at Cromer plus interesting memorials within the Church.’
Cromer.
The Barclay family of Cromer.
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Last week we noted the passing of Major Tonie Holt, aged 91 and this week we will be at the 46th Divisional memorial at Auchy Les Mines, designed and erected by Mike Credland and friends back in 2006. Tying all of these points together, Mike Credland comments; ‘From Sunday's edition of Trench Lincs I thought the following may be of interest.
812 Sergeant Andrew Crick of the 4th Battalion The Lincolnshire Regiment mentioned in your In Memoriam column was Martin Middlebrook's uncle on his mother's side. The attached gives brief details and a photograph of him and his headstone at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery. A crack marksman, Sergeant Crick landed in France on 1 March 1915 and in June was admitted to a dressing station to remove glass fragments from his face after the box trench periscope he was looking through was hit by a German sniper. After recovering, and back to the front lines, he was seriously wounded by shrapnel on 30 September 1915 and sadly died in a field hospital at Abele, Belgium on 6 October 1915. He was 27 years old and he is buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery.
Martin Middlebrook, a very close friend of mine, sadly died on 19 January this year aged 91. Although asked on many occasions, and he always refused, Martin kindly wrote the foreword to my book, The First War Memorials of Lincolnshire. At the time of designing the Memorial to the 46th (North Midland) Division for their attack on the Hohenzollern Redoubt on 13 October 1915, I asked him if he could write an appropriate epitaph. Martin swiftly came back with 'THEIR COUNTRY FOUND THEM READY' taken from Ivor Novello's epic WW1 song, Keep the Home Fires Burning composed in November 1915.
The accompanying photograph above is of the inscription and the Khaki Chums led by Taff Gillingham shortly after the memorial unveiling on 13 October 2006. The other attached photograph, below, shows in attendance (left to right) Mike Hodgson, Peter Barton, Martin Middlebrook and Valmai and Major Tonie Holt, who died recently also aged 91. The Holt's had contacted us before the day asking if they could attend the ceremony. We were delighted to welcome them.’
Thank you Mike, and that neatly brings us to my article below. The opinions expressed are my own, and I welcome any debate or alternative views. Please don’t be shy!
THE HOHENZOLLERN REDOUBT 25th SEPTEMBER – 15th OCTOBER 1915.
In March 1915 at Neuve Chappelle, the British Army found that it could break in to the first German line of trenches but it could not break through or break out into the open country beyond. German defensive tactics matured over the course of the war, but in essence, their tactical defence mechanism hinged on holding fresh counter attack units behind the front line. The pre-assault British bombardment not only damaged the German front line but it signalled to the Germans exactly where the infantry assault would take place.
I have written on several occasions that there are only three certainties in life! – Death, Taxes and that the Germans will always counter attack to take back lost ground!
Typically on the Western Front, after a bombardment of several days, the infantry would ‘go over the top’ and those that had survived the machine gun fire in No Man’s Land would break into the German first line of trenches and set about consolidating their gains.
At this critical point in time, it was imperative that communication back to the British lines was established so that senior officers could launch a second wave of reinforcements to aid those men holding out in the German trenches. The survivors of the first wave would by now, be exhausted, and running short of ammunition and bombs (grenades).
The Germans were well aware of the vulnerability of the attackers at this point, and would put down a box barrage into No Man’s Land. This stopped British reinforcements from crossing to the support of the first wave and then launch their counter attack units who swiftly mopped up the surviving troops as they ran out of ammunition. Thus, the stalemate continued as those lucky enough to survive the counter attack, attempted, usually under the cover of darkness, to regain their starting trenches which they had left earlier that morning.
This inability to break the mass of trench lines on the Western Front became the number one problem that had to be solved if the war was to end in an Allied victory.
Many of you who have heard me talk, will know that I do not subscribe to the full ‘Butchers and Bunglers’ or ‘Lions Led By Donkeys’ theory regarding British tactics and senior leadership, but nor do I give full credence to the notion of a smooth British Army ‘Learning Curve’. Yes, the British Army did learn to fight a new ‘all arms’ battle in 1918 when new technology – updated aircraft and tanks spring to mind – became available, but for me, the one charge that sticks time and time again against the senior British Officers in the Great War, is that of trying the same old thing over and over again, in the belief that you would eventually get a different outcome.
The story of the fighting at the Hohenzollern Redoubt in September and October 1915 is a prime example.
On September 25th 1915, the British 1st Army commanded by Sir Douglas Haig and under the overall command of Sir John French, launched the offensive that we know as the Battle of Loos. This was the biggest battle fought by the British to this point in time, with six divisions committed on the opening day in support of a much larger French offensive in Artois.
Battle of Loos September 1915. British Divisional numbers in RED
From Loos town in the south to the Hohenzollern Redoubt in the north, the opening assault tore large holes in the German front line positions after a substantial bombardment, and for the first time, the use of gas against the German defenders.
The Battle of Loos also saw the first use of Kitchener New Army divisions on the Western Front. These volunteers who had been civilians just one year before, acquitted themselves well in the opening stage of battle alongside the London Territorials of 47th Division at Loos and the Regular army troops of 1st, 2nd and 7th Divisions at Hulluch and the Quarries.
The first two Kitchener divisions in battle were both Scottish, namely the K1 9th (Scottish) Division and the K2 15th (Scottish) Division. It was the 9th Division that assaulted the Hohenzollern Redoubt and whilst taking heavy casualties as they crossed No Man’s Land, the kilted Scots stormed the Redoubt and captured not only the first trenches, West Face, South Face, North Face, Little Willie, Big Willie and Fosse Trench, but troops penetrated as far as Fosse 8 (the coal pit shaft head) and the Dump. See map below.
The Redoubt centre of the photograph. the British trenches to the bottom.
Success had also happened further south, with the Londoners taking Loos village after a stiff fight and advancing towards Hill 70. It was at this point on the critical first day, that everything started to go wrong. Haig had warned French that he would need his reserves within three hours of battle commencing, but Sir John French as C-in-C, had decided to keep the 21st and 24th reserve divisions under his own command. French, located well in the rear of battle, did not receive news as communication broke down and when Haig needed his reserves to reinforce success at Loos and at the Redoubt, it was found that the reserves were up to five miles away and as they eventually marched towards the front, their route was hampered by the medical chain moving the wounded in the opposite direction.
By the time that the first of the reserve battalions arrived at the front, they were already tired, disorganised and hungry and were then thrown piecemeal into the battle, including the 8th Lincolns who suffered heavy casualties at Bois Hugo.
The Scottish troops holding out in the Hohenzollern Redoubt were by afternoon, desperately in need of support and supplies of ammunition, food and water. Bravely, they held out against repeated German counter attacks all through the 26th and 27th of September, but yard by yard, they were forced back until the Germans had control of most of the Redoubt once again, but with the British remaining in Big Willie Trench and the southern portion of Fosse Trench. (Blue on the map above)
When war was declared in 1914, many Regular Army battalions were stationed in the Empire and as Territorial battalions arrived in Malta, India, the Caribbean etc. so these Regular Army battalions returned to the UK and were hastily formed into three new divisions, the 27th, 28th and 29th.
The 29th Division went to Gallipoli where they landed at Helles in April 1915 and the 27th and 28th Divisions arrived on the Western Front in March 1915 where they fought in the 2nd Battle of Ypres, and for the 28th Division, they then found themselves at Loos in support of the 9th (Scottish) Division.
Severely depleted from their action, the Scots handed over their tenuous gains to the 28th Division, the positions being taken by units of the 85th Brigade.
Fierce fighting continued for the next three days with German counter-attacks slowly and painfully retaking trenches. At the end of 30th September the British occupied the West Face of the Redoubt and Big Willie Trench. The Germans controlled most of Little Willie Trench, threatening the north flank of the Redoubt. On the night of 30th September/1st October 84th Brigade relieved 85th Brigade. German observation of this relief from the heights of the Dump was total and the new British occupants were subjected immediately to strong bombing attacks. The British held on – but only just.
That night, they would attack to improve their hold on the German trenches. The plan was risky, involving no artillery bombardment. The attacking force captured parts of Little Willie Trench but could advance no further. German retaliation was swift; artillery subjected the Redoubt and Little Willie to regular and heavy trench mortar fire. A German bombing attack retook Little Willie Trench, followed by the loss of the Chord and West Face. Other than a small section of Big Willie Trench, the British were for the most part back in their original lines.
The blood-soaked redoubt would have to be assaulted again, this time by additional battalions of the 28th Division, the 1st KOYLI and 2nd East Yorkshires would attack the redoubt frontally, leaving the 2nd King’s Own to capture and consolidate Big Willie Trench. The optimistic plan depended on darkness providing the assaulting parties with the necessary element of surprise. Even then, the British would be advancing into a tumbled maze of trenches. The assaulting troops had no idea what they would be facing; there had been no time to reconnoitre the position and once again, the attack, resulted in a bloody disaster.
The Redoubt from a British trench photograph.
I will take you back now to my earlier comments. Why at this point, did the Senior British Command, decide to throw a third division into this maelstrom? And, after the 9th Division and the 28th Division had failed to take and hold the Redoubt, why did they think that the 46th Division could capture the Redoubt when attacking with only one Brigade? (Two battalions of 137 Brigade and two battalions of 138 Brigade).
The 46th (1st North Midland) Division had been the first full Territorial Force division to arrive on the Western Front in February/March 1915. It’s ORBAT (Order of Battle) was:
137th (Staffordshire) Brigade – 1/5th South Staffs, 1/6th South Staffs, 1/5th North Staffs and 1/6 North Staffs.
138th (Lincs and Leics) Brigade – 1/4th Lincolns, 1/5th Lincolns, 1/4th Leicester’s and 1/5th Leicester’s.
139th (Sherwood Foresters) Brigade – 1/5th SF, 1/6th SF, 1/7th (Robin Hoods) SF and 1/8th SF.
The 1/1st Monmouth’s were the 46th Divisional Pioneers.
The 46th Division was commanded by Major General The Hon. Edward James Montagu-Stuart-Wortley. He was a popular commander and well respected by his troops. We should also note at this point, that he was well connected in upper class circles and was a personal confidante of King George V and a good friend of Sir John French.
When we consider the 46th Division’s attack at the Redoubt on 13th October 1915, we must also remember that they were not attacking in isolation. To their right (south) the 12th (Eastern) Division would attack the Quarries – but note that the left hand battalion of 12th Division (7/Suffolks) was not in touch with the right flank battalion of 46th Division (1/5 South Staffs) – this gap in the attacking line allowed the defenders to enfilade the right of the South Staffs and the left flank of the Suffolks.
To the 46th Division’s left (north), the 2nd Division would attack, with the 1/Queen’s specifically tasked with neutralising the German machine gun emplacement known as Mad Point. That this did not happen, added hugely to the losses suffered by the Lincolns and Leicester’s.
The scene is now set. The chain of command – Sir John French as C-in-C, Sir Douglas Haig as 1st Army Commander, Lt. General Richard Haking as Corps Commander and Major General Montagu-Stuart-Wortley as Divisional Commander were now all under pressure to perform.
French, who was aware that his job was at stake, needed a victory, Haig, who was wheedling behind the scenes to replace French, was pressuring Haking and Montagu-Stuart-Wortley to prepare the plan of attack.
Montagu-Stuart-Wortley favoured a methodical approach and made constructive proposals which were rejected. Haking insisted upon a daylight full frontal assault against the entrenched German positions believing that the weight of artillery support and the use of gas would aid the attack – in essence, a complete repeat of September 25th which had failed.
The 1st Army artillery support on the 13th October consisted of 56 Heavy Howitzers, 86 Field Howitzers, 19 Counter Batteries to suppress German return fire and 286 Field Guns, although I must point out that the Territorial batteries of 46th Division were still armed with the obsolete 15 pounder, and we should also note that the 46th Division’s North Midland Heavy Battery RGA had been withdrawn from the division the previous April.
The artillery support was not just for the 46th Division, it also supported the 12th and 2nd Divisions over a combined front of 5,480 yards. This equated to a gun every 12.3 yards for the two hour bombardment which is about half the density that had shocked the Germans at Neuve Chappelle six months earlier, although that bombardment lasted only 35 minutes. We can therefore, conclude, that the artillery support for the impending attack was wholly inadequate, and once again the PBI (Poor Bloody Infantry) would pay the price for their efforts in warfare for which the nation was not adequately supplied or prepared.
Sir John French was pushing daily for an early resumption of the attack, he was now coming under intense pressure from the politicians in London, and he even suggested an attack on the 10th without the use of gas. This was rejected by Haig, whose diary entries suggest that he knew the artillery strength was inadequate, and therefore, the use of gas was imperative.
Eventually a plan was agreed for 13th October:
12 noon – artillery bombardment begins (Including smoke – note firing smoke reduces the weight of the bombardment)
13.00 – Gas released.
14.00 – Artillery bombardments ends.
14.05 – Infantry attack commences.
The 46th Division assault would see four battalions attack in the first wave. From left to right (see map below – which clearly shows the gap between 1/5 S. Staffs and 7/Suffolks) 1/5th Lincolns, 1/4th Leics, (138 Brigade) and 1/5th N. Staffs and 1/5th S. Staffs (137 Brigade).
It immediately became apparent to observers that the artillery bombardment was having little effect on the defenders. The 1/5th S. Staffs war diary records; “….the bombardment did not appear to effect the South Face or the Dump Trench….”
The war diary of 1/4th Leicester’s states; “At 1.50pm the smoke and gas stopped and the enemy began to snipe the top of our parapet with machine guns.”
The 1/6th S. Staffs war diary very sadly notes that; “As the artillery preparation grew more intense and the time for the advance approached, the enemy machine gun fire was playing with such effect upon the assembly trenches that the C.O. was compelled to report to Brigade the apparent futility of any movement.”
The 1/4th Lincolns would advance in support of the first wave and they were taking accurate artillery fire and casualties from the Germans as they waited in the support trenches, the 1/4th Leicester’s noted that the smoke and gas appeared to stop ten minutes too soon, and that this would leave the attackers fully exposed.
Nevertheless, the whistles blew and the leading wave left their trenches as planned. The 137th Brigade Diary states; “The attacking troops left their trenches five minutes before Zero, and started with the greatest confidence, but immediately began to suffer heavy loss from terrific machine gun and rifle fire. The great mass of this fire came from a number of machine guns in concealed shelters both near the foot of the Dump and in the south west and south east sides of the Corons [Corons being the little miners cottages that had been used by the Germans – Ed], and also from parties of Germans who had held out stubbornly in Little Willie and Dump trenches.”
The gap between the 46th Div and the 12th Div can clearly be seen. Top centre left you can see the failed attack on Mad Point by 1/Queens.
The account continues and notes that the 1/5th N. Staffs were “practically annihilated.” The Lincolns and Leicester’s crossed No Man’s Land with fewer casualties than the Staffordshire’s, but when they reached the German positions, they then came under murderous fire from the Dump and from Mad Point, which had not been suppressed by 1/Queen’s as planned.
Three of the four battalion commanders were casualties and the loss amongst junior field officers was very high. Men of the Lincolns and Leicester’s did occupy parts of the Redoubt and the North Face, but Big Willie and Little Willie trenches [Named after the Kaiser and his son – Ed] were still in German hands. The battle continued as a series of hand grenade actions as small parties tried to consolidate their position and clear out the last of the defenders.
The 139th (Sherwood Forester) Brigade had not taken part in the initial attack, although the Forester’s bombers had attacked with the first wave. The Foresters in rear support trenches were under continuous fire and as the afternoon wore on, Companies were ordered forward to try and support the surviving troops in the Redoubt, but crossing No Man’s Land under fire was treacherous, not to mention the amount of Scottish and 28th Division corpses that were lying there from the fighting over the previous eighteen days.
During the night of 13th/14th October, men of the 7th and 8th Foresters dug a new communication trench under fire so that supplies of ammunition and rudimentary grenades could be supplied to the defenders in the Redoubt. (see map)
The communication trench dug by the Foresters is marked B-D linking the British front line to the West Face of the Redoubt.
Over the next 48 hours, the surviving Lincolns, Leicester’s and Foresters stubbornly held their ground and during this period, Captain Charles Geoffrey Vickers of the 7th (Robin Hoods) Sherwood Foresters, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his stubborn defence of the captured trenches.
His VC citation reads; “When nearly all of his men had been killed or wounded at the Hohenzollern Redoubt, and with only two men to hand him bombs, he held a barrier for some hours against heavy German attacks . He then ordered a second barrier to be built behind him to ensure the safety of the trench in the full knowledge that his own retreat would be cut off. By the time he was finally severely wounded, the barrier was complete and the situation saved.”
Remarkably, Vickers, with some thirty separate wounds survived the war to lead a successful life and be awarded a knighthood.
Captain Charles Geoffrey Vickers VC, 7/Sherwood Foresters (Robin Hood Rifles).
Time and space does not allow a full description of the fighting in the Redoubt but I hope I have given you a flavour of the terrible conditions that the 46th Division had to bear on this day until relieved on the 15th and 16th October? Not to mention the inadequate artillery support that was available.
The divisional casualties were as follows.
Officers Other Ranks Total
137 (Staffordshire) Brigade 68 1,478 1,546
138 (Lincs and Leics) Brigade 64 1,476 1,540
139 (SF) Brigade 25 405 430
Divisional Troops 23 224 247
Total 180 3,583 3,763
Postscript – The attack had been another bloody disaster. The overall failure of the Battle of Loos led to the sacking of Sir John French and his replacement as C-in-C by Haig in December 1915. Much of the failure was also levelled at Haig, who passed the blame down the line of command.
Haig made several diary entries casting quite a slur on the brave lads of the 46th Division. He also commented that he didn’t think Montagu-Stuart-Wortley was fit to command a division, and this undoubtedly stems from Montagu-Stuart-Wortley’s letters to the King after the battle in which he undoubtedly criticised Haig.
Haig would get his revenge the following July 1st when the 46th and 56th Divisions were given the impossible task of capturing the village of Gommecourt on the opening day of the Somme offensive. Despite some 57,000 casualties on this day, only the 46th Division faced a Court of Enquiry and as the token scapegoat for the disaster of this day, Montagu-Stuart-Wortley was relieved of his command. [I give a talk on this subject that some of you will have heard – Ed]
Later this afternoon at 2pm, the time of the attack, the annual service of remembrance will take place at the site of the 46th Divisional memorial that was designed and erected by Mike Credland and friends and unveiled on 13th October 2006.
Mike Credland laying the wreath at the 46th Divisional memorial in 2023.
If you would like to read more about the 46th Division, I recommend “Mud, Blood and Determination – The History of the 46th (North Midland) Division in the Great War” – By Simon Peaple (ISBN 978 1 910294 66 6).
The 46th Division's attack at the Redoubt still resonates today and although a bloody failure, the survivors, despite Haig's slurs, were very proud of their action on this day. None more so than Corporal Brand of the Robin Hoods, who wrote this poem.
IN MEMORIAM – The Lincolnshire Regiment 13th October.
1915
Three hundred and fifty two men of the Lincolnshire Regiment are recorded as having died on this day. The vast majority, of course, from the 1/4th and 1/5th Battalions fighting at the Hohenzollern Redoubt as described above.
1916
15427 Private John henry Taylor, 1st Battalion, aged 32. Buried in Vermelles British Cemetery, France.
4332 Private H Yewberry, 8th Battalion, aged 21. Buried in Bois de Noulette British Cemetery, France.
1917
42123 Private W G Davies, 7th Battalion. Buried in Dozinghem Military Cemetery, Belgium
42026 Corporal W E Downs, 7th Battalion. – Ditto. –
21907 Private C W S Marshall, 7th Battalion. Buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, France.
1918
Ten men are recorded as having died in the service of the Lincolnshire Regiment on this day as the fighting entered its final month.
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM
Until next week,
Kind regards
Jonathan
Email me on: trenchlincs@gmail.com
© J C J D’Hooghe.
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