You are always at me for something to publish as if I was the be all and end all of life and soon you will be just as bad about why something not to be talked about happened. I don’t know the latter but this is about the time. You asked me once what I knew about the Hindenburg line at the Bony-Bellecourt tunnel. (a heavily fortified section of the German defence in WWI, where the St. Quentin Canal ran underground for over 5 kilometers. Allied forces, notably Australian and American troops, attacked and captured the tunnel on September 29, 1918, as part of the larger Battle of Hindenburg Line) I probably know more about what actually went on there than any other Australian. The facts here have never been told to anyone except a brief official report to Gen. Anderson. You can publish them if that is still the fashion but you will on no account mention my name atall, and not doctor it at all.
This will give you an idea of the usual work of a divisional artillery officer.
On the 18th September (1918) the first division advanced from the Jeancourt-Hesbecourt line to the line Villeret – La Verquier. In one of the neatest, best organised, and best carried out attacks of the offensive. The result of this was to place about 1000 yards of the outpost system of the Hindenburg line from the Villeret-Bellecourt road to about the La Verquier – Belenglese road in our hands. We had only about 1000 yards of front and a maximum depth of not more than 200 yards of the Hindenburg system but we had the crest of a ridge and from in front of Villeret we had complete observation over Bellecourt, Belenglese, and Nauroy. Caberet Corpse Farm (Cabaret Wood Farm, a position 1,200 yards north east of Bellicourt), and Joncourt, and could see Estrees spire. On that day the 3rd Inf. Brigade could have occupied Bellecourt but were prevented because the 74th English division on the left had not got to the top of the ridge. Right along the sector we were right upagainst the Hindenburg line and the next fight would decide whether the Germans could hold this their strongest defence.
We had opened the barrage on the morning of the 18th from the immediate left of Hervilly and about 9A.M. we moved up to the left front of Capresa Copse and put the wagon lines in Hervilly wood. We were then attached to the 9th battalion. The major went up to Col. Mullen (Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Miltiades Mullen) and stayed the rest of the day with him. We did quite a lot of firing at Germans coming from Nauroy to Bellecourt. The 74th Division were at this time at least 1000 yards behind us. The Germans made no counter attack on us but next morning attacked the divisions on both our flanks with very little success, expect to prevent them from coming up on our alignment and making us feel somewhat uncomfortable.
At this time we were about 4500 from our front line and our Colonel decided to move us up closer. The major and myself went forward that afternoon and selected a position a few hundred yards in front of Grandpile (?) Wood. It was a nasty place for 18prs, and one from which it would have been impossible to retire in the event of the enemy taking about 100 yards of our front and with it the crest in front. We were here 2000 from the front line at the nearest point. 300 yards in front was a small crest and we chose positions for the guns as far as possible in rear of this. We nearly made a bad bloomer. In judging the clearance we allowed for pits 2 feet deep but in the dark the guns were dug nearly 3 feet. When the guns were laid on SOS grass (“Support or Suppression” fire, a pre-planned defensive measure where artillery was laid on specific areas to be ready to fire immediately if infantry troops sent a distress signal) on this crest could be seen through the muzzles but we tried and the shells cleared it by an inch or so, so we let it stand. We laid out the lines and marked them with sticks and resected our position on the map. We were not under direct observation but if a balloon or aeroplane spotted a battery as close as that the little piece of country it was on would disappear, so we couldn’t do just as we liked.
The major went off again to battalion hdqrs and I went back to the guns and worked out the SOS for the new position and gave it to the Nos1. I had to get the guns up there as soon as it was dark. The whole ridge behing (behind) Grand pre wood (?) was under observation and so a battery could only cross it in the dark. I had the teams on the position at 7.30P.M. and moved off at 8 wanting to get in and get the horses away before the aeroplanes came over. It was very nearly full moon and a clear night which was lucky as the road was badly cut about. We had to go nearly into Villeret to get round a trench system of old 1917 line and then came back a little but we got there without any frights. I had as usual the six guns in front followed by the 12 wagons carrying 100 rounds each. I found the positions, difficult in the dark, showed each No1 where his gun was to go and left him to collect his own wagons. The guns were left on the ground and the ammo piled in heaps. As we knew we would be in that posy for a few days we had considered it worth while to dig the guns down a couple of feet to give protection for the detachments, so the gunners set to work on that at once. The major was there then and another of our officers. Just as the last of the teams was clear I heard a German aeroplane coming over but thought he was missing us well. Just as he got in line with our line of guns he suddenly turned. We could see him distinctly in the moon light only up about 2500 feet. Following the usual custom we did not open our Lewis guns on him as it is too likely to give our position away until the plane has passed. He flew straight for us from the right flank and dropped six bombs, but the last was 220 yards short of No1 gun. I was some distance to the left of No6 gun and had called out “get down” as soon as I saw his line, following out the advice myself, with my head, of course with my hat on towards him. He floated right over the whole battery & just as he was over me I heard another coming. I turned about quicker than was good for clothes and just beat the bomb by inches. However it was a dud which was lucky as it was only a few yards away. He then dropped five more in a true line and as quick as he could. We didn’t get a single casualty which was marvellous. If he had been either a second earlier or a second later he might have had a big haul.
A quarter of an hour later another came over only much higher up. He appeared to spot us and tried to drop his whole load on us. The bombs went all round but none within 50 yards. I then began to look round and it struck me that perhaps the bright parts of the guns or the cartridges might be visible from the air so I gave orders for all guns and ammo to be covered at once with camouflage. I’m certain now that on a bright moon light night an aeroplane can see a battery if it is not covered.
We got on with the digging. Several more planes came over and dropped bombs very close, so close as to make us decide that we didn’t like the posy. A few shells were coming round but all short or over and really nothing to worry us more than usual. As each pit was finished a trial baulk was arranged, the gun run in and laid on the S.O.S the ammo arranged as usual, 100 A on one side, 100 AX106 fuzes on the other & the rest in small pits round covered with grass. I would never allow AS or AT into the gun pit until it was required. As soon as this was done we got the camouflage over. We had always one 24X24 net and a couple of smaller ones per gun.
Everything was well finished by daylight & the men had mostly dug in in a small bank about 4 feet high two hundred yards behind the guns. I saw the position by daylight and made sure it still looked like an open paddock. Mind you there were no shell holes here, or trenches. The only sign of war were all the cut down trees. It is much more difficult to hide a battery in these conditions. I had the telephonists in a deep dugout down a deep gully and up the other side about 400 yards from the guns. The major had found a hole about 100 yards in front of this but on the same side of the gully, this he and the other officer deepened and made larger and covered over with a few sheets of tin with dirt over the cracks so we could have a light in it all night, a most essential thing, making a dugout about 8ft x 8ft & 5 feet deep. They got to sleep about 3A.M. I saw things settled down and waited till breakfast was on then woke the Major and turned in myself. Of course we always had one officer awake. At this time our compliment was the major, who had just come to the battery & hadn’t been in the front line since Posieres, a Lieut, acting captain in charge at the wagon line also just arrived in the battery, two loots 1914 men just waiting tickets for Australia, and one loot away in Paris and myself.
We decided that the two 1914 chaps should not be allowed to do forward work, and one should stay at the wagon line all the time and that the other should do likewise when the loot away got back. The major was a splendid chap one of the best sorts it is possible to meet anywhere but I am afraid I must stop there. He was very useful digging shelters, cooking, writing down orders as you worked them out etc. But that is exactly what we wanted. Young, irresponsible, bloodthirsty subalterns who liked killing and clearing out before you could get killed. Birdwood (William Riddell Birdwood) has said that the only good Hun is a dead Hun and we have to try to live up to that.
At daylight that morning the 47th Div had attacked on our left to try to get up in line with us. They did well but didn’t get their objective but still must have taken nearly the whole front line prisoners. At 10 oclock I woke up hearing the telephone buzzing & heard Col. Mullen of the 9th Batallion (also of Devonport) asking urgently for a special artillery officer to go up as the Germans were counter attacking the 74th Division, on the immediate left of the 9th, right across our front and a wonderful opportunity was offered to our artillery. For the past hour we had been getting targets every now and again for 20 or 30 rounds toot sweet and batteries were going off at intervals everywhere. That in the daylight could only mean targets I had been sleeping but when I heard there was a forward job I said I would go, & got a telephonist & some wire and went straight off to the 9th battalion hdqrs, about 500 yards from Villeret on the Villeret-Bellecourt road just in rear of the crest and about 200 yards behind the posts.
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