A Donkey praises the Lions. Guillemont. The Somme. 102 years ago to this day.

I’ve been recording the activities of the 12th Battalion Royal Fusiliers during the battle for Guillemont on The Somme, 102 years ago exactly.

My great uncle Jack Walker fought with the 12th RF.

By September the 9th the Battalion had been pulled out of the area and were recovering behind the lines.  More than 50 of their comrades had been killed.

This is taken from the Battalion diary on that day.

Place: Billets in Bussus.

Date: 9.9.16

Very fine day. Company carried out physical drill. Drill.Musketry. Battalion parade. Audit board held. Draft arrived of 50 OR (Other ranks) 

Appreciation. The following message from Commander in Chief (Field Marshal Douglas Haig) to 4th Army begins: “The great successes gained by the 4th Army during the operations of the last three days are very satisfactory and reflects great credit on the plans and preparations made and on the troops who have carried out the attacks. The rapid advancement on LEUZE WOOD following on the  capture of GUILLEMONT and FALFEMONT FARM shewed sound judgement and determination and has been of considerable assistance to the French army on our right. I warmly congratulate you and the Commander’s staff and troops under you on the results already achieved and on the energy and determination with which they are being followed up”

I’m not sure how this message would have gone down with the troops,  bearing in mind  the terrible price of capturing Guillemont.

As just one small example,  the King’s Own Scottish Borderers were mown down in their hundreds as they attacked Falfemont farm mentioned above. The French had failed to clear a ravine to their right and the Germans poured machine gun fire into their flanks.

Between August 26 and September 7 the 5th Division lost 4,233 men. Between August 22 and September 8 the 20th Division lost 2,959 men.

They’d advanced less than 2 miles.

 

 

 

 

End of the battle. Scenes on part of The Somme 102 years ago to this day.

The Battle for Guillemont on the southern part of The Somme Battlefield came to end 102 years ago to this day.

For weeks vicious fighting had taken place in and around what remained of the village. My great uncle Jack Walker was there with the 12th Royal Fusliers.

What  follows are  entries from the battalion’s war diary on 3rd and 4th Sept. And the shocking account of a chaplain who visited the front after the battle.

Location: Orchard Trench. Chesney Walk. Water Lane (All trenches on, or very close to, the Front Line) 

Date 3.9.16

Weather: Fine. Our division represented by the 8th Buffs in conjunction  with the 1st Div on our left and 7th Div on our right, made an attack at 12 midday. The attack by 8th Buffs was on Wood Lane (another trench near Delville Wood) and a strong point at junction of this trench + Tea Trench. Our no 4 company under Capt Anderson cooperating by bombing up Wood Lane (capturing  enemy trenches by throwing hand grenades) towards the strong point. The attack by 8th Buffs, though made twice, failed owing to lack of proper military preparation. Our Lewis guns from Orchard Trench did considerable damage to the enemy, causing him at least 100 casualties. Enemy artillery very active. Casualties: 10 OR (Other Ranks)  killed.  48 Wounded. 1 OR Missing. 3 OR shell shock. 

Shell Found on the exact current day location of Orchard Trench.

Date 4.9.16

Very wet. Enemy artillery again very heavy throughout the day. Relieved by the 6th King’s Liverpool Regiment and proceeded to camp in vicinity of Fricourt. 10 slightly wounded men returned to duty. Casualties: 10 OR killed. 8 OR wounded. 

This was the end of the 12th Royal Fusiliers’ involvement in the Battle for Guillemont.

Since arriving in the area on August 10th the battalion had 51 men killed, 175 wounded and 19 men were suffering from shell shock.

On this day (Sept 4th, 1916) A padre serving with the 16th Division, Fr William Doyle, witnessed the terrible scenes in the  surrounded fields.

“The first part of our journey lay through a narrow trench, the floor of which consisted of thick deep mud, and the bodies of the dead men trodden underfoot.  It was horrible beyond description, but there was no help for it and on the half rotten corpses of our own brave men we marched in silence, everyone busy with his own thoughts. Half an hour of this brought us out on the open into the middle of the battlefield of some days previous. The wounded, at least I hope so, had all been removed , but the dead lay there stiff and stark, with open staring eyes, just as they had fallen. Good God such a sight! I had tried to prepare myself for this but all I had read or pictured gave me little idea of the reality.”

The dead in the trenches around Guillemont. My great uncle Jack Walker, who survived the battle.

Battle commences …12th Royal Fusiliers on The Somme. 102 years ago to this day

In the summer of 1916 the Southern part of The Somme zone  was concentrated on the bloody battle for the village of Guillemont and Delville Wood. My great uncle Edward George (Jack) Walker was there with the 12th battalion, Royal Fusiliers.

For weeks the fighting had involved almost constant artillery shelling with attack and counter attack. Trenches being captured before being lost again.

The village, woods and surrounding countryside were destroyed..just a mass of shell craters and ruined trench. The trees in Delville, Bernafay and Trones has long since been blown to pieces.

For the past few days the 12th RF had been kept in reserve behind the front line – with the order they should be prepared to move at four hours notice.

That notice came on September 1.  They were about the walk into a living nightmare..

Battalion Diary: 1.9.16 

Place: Carlton Trench Between High Wood and Delville Wood.

Weather: Fine. Ordered suddenly to move up to the trenches. Arrived in trenches at 3.30 am after being delayed in Catapillar Valley (sic)  for 2 hours owing to a very heavy gas shell barrage  + our guides going astray. An exceedingly unpleasant experience.  Many men very sick from the effects.  No 3 company sent up to reinforce the 3rd RBs (Rifle Brigade) who has lost rather heavily in an attack on Orchard Trench which they captured and were holding.  Casualties: 6 OR (Other Ranks) wounded.