'THE GREAT WAR', 'THE
WAR TO END WAR', 'WORLD WAR 1'
'What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
- Only the monstrous anger of the guns.'
from
'Anthem for Doomed Youth' by Wilfred Owen
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THE
BATTLE OF THE SOMME
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JULY TO NOVEMBER 1916
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OLDHAM 'PALS' WAR RECORD FIGHT FOR MAMETZ WOOD Part VI As the battalion again approached the devastated area round Fricourt and Mametz, the noise of the screeching and crashing of shells and the scenes of carnage and destruction on every hand clearly demonstrated the fact that the fighting was still in progress. The destination of the Battalion was a system of trenches called Wellington Redoubt. The accommodation at this place for a battalion was very limited, and as a result the men were crowded into dug-outs in which the chances of getting a good night's sleep were not at all promising. However, the men made the best of the accommodation available and managed to obtain some degree of comfort. At this period the weather was very unfavourable and rations were poor, as one can imagine that the lot of the troops in the advance area was not an enviable one. The enemy had made a determined stand in Mametz Wood, and the British attack so far had not been successful. In fact, the losses sustained had been fairly heavy, so it was decided to 'hammer' the enemy out of the wood by artillery fire. Almost every available gun on that part of the front line was directed on to the wood, and the number of shells of all calibres which were poured into that particular clump of trees, which from a distance did not seem to be of very large dimensions, was positively wonderful. How the enemy lived in that spot for more than an hour heaven only knows. As night fell the scene was magnificent yet terrible. The whole sky was lit up with thousands of simultaneous explosions and the flare of Verey lights and rockets, and the wood itself was a blaze of fire from end to end. The noise was of thunder magnified, and the scene would have made a monster firework display fade into insignificance. From Wellington Redoubt a glorious view of the spectacle was to be obtained and, and the battalion climbed out on top of the trenches to get a better sight of the exhibition. For a couple of days at least this ceaseless storm of fire and iron was kept up, and when the storm abated what was once a flourishing and thickly wooded spot was superseded by a dirty black and charred smudge on the landscape. Such was the destructive power of the British and French artillery.
On the morning of July 14th a great battle took place in the remains of Mametz Wood, with the result that the enemy were cleared out of the wood and driven to High Wood, where they made another big stand. Bazentin-le-Petit was also captured on that date and the enemy took up a position on some high ground and behind the village. The 24th were in readiness to consolidate the ground won, and were already engaged on clearing and making fit the road, in order to allow the artillery - the heavy calibre guns especially - to advance. During the morning the Battalion was called upon to construct a 'keep' or redoubt in the wood at the east end of the village of Bazentin-le-Petit. The village was nothing more or less than a heap of ruins, amongst which were scattered hundreds of bodies of dead Germans. Evidently the attack had been most successful, for scarcely a dead body of an English 'Tommy' could be found amongst the many German dead. No doubt the field artillery bombardment had accounted for the majority of the enemy casualties. The Battalion was engaged in putting barbed wire in front of the redoubt when the Commanding Officer of a Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment sent a message requesting them to go at once to their assistance in repelling a sudden and strong German counter-attack. The enemy had been very troublesome for a considerable time both with their artillery and rifle fire, and now their movements gave the unmistakable impression that they were preparing for an early and vigorous attack. They were seen to emerge from the high ground at the rear of the ruined village in large numbers, and pour across the intervening space with rapidity. Immediately the three companies of the battalion ceased work, threw down their picks and spades, and unslung their rifles. To load up and fix bayonets was the work of a second or two. Falling back on to the redoubt the defenders poured rapid and deadly fire into the hordes of approaching Germans, whilst the artillery behind opened out with a roar. The effect was excellent. The Huns had not expected so effective a reply to their advance and fell back a little. Two platoons of the 'Pals' Battalion, under Lieut. Roberts, advanced into the open and took up a position on some raised ground and in a chain of shell holes. From there they opened fire and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. So determined and so accurate was their shooting that the Germans quickly realised that it was almost impossible to break through and retired in confusion. But during their attack their fire had caused some casualties t the Royal Irish and the Comrades' Battalion. Their artillery had also inflicted some losses on the defenders. Lieut. H. Andrews, son of the late manager of the Oldham Corporation Gasworks, who was operating with a party on the edge of the wood, was killed by a shell, and Lieut. Seward, of 'A' Company, was badly wounded and was sent to hospital. A few men were killed and a large number wounded. In fact during that day the Battalion had over 70 casualties. The position having been made secure, reinforcements came up, and the 'Pals' Battalion returned to their dug-outs at Wellington redoubt. Lieut. bond was later awarded the M.C. for his excellent conduct in battle, and Military Medals were awarded to two men who had also distinguished themselves. The Divisional Commander warmly congratulated the Battalion on its splendid work and paid tribute to its fighting qualities as well as the excellent engineering work it had accomplished. for another four days the Battalion continued its work of consolidation and road and trench repairing, and on the 18th July orders for the relief of the division were received. marching via Demacourt the Battalion made towards St. Vaast en Chause, where a stay of three weeks was made. This period was spent in useful training, drill and general cleaning up. Later, a move by way of Ribemont, Becordel, found them again in the region of Fricourt Wood, from where the Battalion went out nightly to perform useful and dangerous work near Ginchy and High Wood. The terrible fighting which had taken place round this neighbourhood was plainly seen in the heavy toll of human life it had demanded. Dead bodies of both friend and foe lay in large numbers all over this memorable battlefield, and the stench at times was awful. Working in the dead of night in such surroundings and under the heavy fire of the enemy artillery was not an enviable task by any means. Casualties amongst the ranks of the battalion, though not exactly numerous, were sufficiently large to cause uneasiness, but the work was always carried out to a successful end. The battalion gained a reputation within the division of being a daring and efficient battalion of pioneers, and it was often said that once the 24th Manchesters began a job that job was always finished, despite the cost and risk run. The battalion were bivouacked on the outskirts of Fricourt Wood, where 1st Battalion Headquarters were stationed also. Nightly the working parties went out under shadow of darkness and worked till daybreak on the never-ending task of consolidating the captured ground and repairing and re-digging blown in trenches. Assembly posts, machine gun emplacements, and artillery gun pits were also constructed, so one can readily understand that the work was of a heavy and arduous nature. Lieut.-Col. J.B. Batten, who had been in command of the battalion from its arrival in France, was about this time awarded the Distinguished Service Order. Until the early days of October, the battalion stayed at Fricourt. Then a move was made to a pretty village named Hallencourt, where a short period of rest was enjoyed. This short stay was extremely acceptable, after the very rough few weeks the battalion had spent in the forward area, but it was of too short duration. The few days spent at Hallencourt, however, were extremely pleasant and the boys took full advantage of the opportunities of enjoyment that offered themselves. Late one afternoon orders were received for the move of the division to Belgium and at midnight the battalion 'fell in' and marched to Longpre, a railhead town. The march was another of those passages in the history of the battalion which still live in the memories of all who were there. After a very 'dry' season in the trenches the opportunity of tasting some of the 'light' and bubbly wines of France was one which could not be resisted by most members of the Pals Battalion. The result was that at midnight, the time fixed for the move of the battalion, the majority of those who did 'fall in' were in a happy condition. Others had to be hunted up from their billets by perspiring sergeants and corporals, and roused from their sleep of sublime happiness and shaken into a somewhat vague sense of their responsibilities and duty. Even the pouring rain did not damp their spirits, but the long walk with full equipment is not a factor to be laughed at, especially after the first half dozen kms, and when the village of Longpre was reached the battalion was in a more or less composed frame of mind. The entrainment was successfully accomplished and the long journey to Belgium in rain soaked clothes and in crowded cattle trucks, was begun. Transcription - Sheila Goodyear
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