The Hell They Called High Wood

The Somme 1916

Terry Norman

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2003
• ISBN:
  9781783033874
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World War I
• Index: History

This WWI military history presents a close examination of the costly but victorious Attack on High Wood during the Battle of the Somme. From July 1st to November 18th of 1916, British and French allies fought against the German Empire in the Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest military engagements of all time. Its fiercely contested focal point was a 75-acre patch of forest known as High Wood. The Germans showed great determination and sacrifice defending the feature. It was not until September that it finally fell to the attackers. Yet despite the historic victory, the successful divisional commander was dismissed for "wanton waste of men". In The Hell They Called High Wood, military historian Terry Norman paints a graphic and gruesome picture of the fighting in this pivotal battle. He also sheds light on the frontline force's relationship to high command—and the problems it caused.

II

RENDEZVOUS AT HIGH WOOD

‘Ghastly by day, ghostly by night,
The rottenest place on the Somme.’

Corporal H.F. Hooton

CHAPTER FOUR

High Wood: First Contact

With a resounding roar that raked the infant dawn with crimson fingers, the concentrated might of the Fourth Army’s artillery burst into action at precisely 3.20 a.m. At the same moment on XIII Corps’ right in order to stop the enemy reinforcing Trônes Wood, Balfourier’s heavy artillery placed a murderous curtain of shell fire down its eastern side. For the waiting infantry in No Man’s Land, it was an unforgettable experience. Over their heads came thousands of shells, screeching and screaming like demented express trains to crash on the German positions before them. Where they stood, crouched or edged forward in the bruised grass and broken earth of No Man’s Land, they felt the shock waves massage their bodies and ruffle their uniforms. Beneath their feet, quaking ground tried valiantly to absorb the blasts that rocked the almost indiscernible landscape.

Far from the front at his château outside Beauquesne, ghostly patterns frantically played across Haig’s bedroom ceiling; patterns forever changing from the varying reflected light of the orchestrated gun fire. Unable to sleep, there was little for him to do than to stare up from his pillow and listen to the strident sounds saturating his room. Decision time had come and gone, and he was powerless to influence the immediate future. That responsibility had shifted down the command structure to rest on the youthful shoulders of Private Thomas Atkins, his NCO’s and officers close to the German main second line.

Just as the barrage lifted on to the enemy’s support trench system, storming parties sprang forward to wipe out any survivors with hand-grenades. Hard on their heels came more of the first wave, their rifles with fixed bayonets at the ready. Except for 500 yards of enemy line east of Bazentin-le-Grand, surprise was virtually complete and little resistance was offered initially, although some opposition was later encountered when the first wave of infantry missed a number of deep dugouts as they followed the creeping barrage. The 500 yards of contested territory, however, held the seeds to a problem that would loom larger as each hour passed.

The unfortunate check was in 8th Brigade’s section of 3rd Division’s front. Haldane heard about it at 4.20 a.m., by which time the GOC of the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division, MacAndrew, had joined him. It appeared that the 8th East Yorks had come up against uncut wire and that 8th Brigade’s other assaulting battalion, 7th KSLI, found itself stuck in a sunken road and in shell holes near the German trenches. Earlier, Haldane received information that both the assaulting battalions of 9th Brigade (on 8th Brigade’s left) were doing well. They were in the enemy’s line and were fighting their way through the village of Bazentin-le-Grand. To their left, men of 7th Division’s 20th Brigade had been equally victorious. On finding the wire cut up and the flattened front line trenches full of dead Germans, they moved on to the support trenches where a brief fight resulted in more enemy dead. They then pushed through Flat Iron Copse, being a small scrubby wood situated a few hundred yards south-west of Bazentin-le-Grand Wood. This last advance flushed out large parties of Germans, who retreated up the slope towards High Wood and afforded rifles and Lewis guns with targets reminiscent of a shooting gallery. Few of the enemy reached High Wood’s leafy haven or, indeed, the risky shelter of Bazentin-le-Grand Wood. The 20th Brigade’s infantrymen, having advanced so fast, were then obliged to wait for the artillery barrage to lift from Bazentin-le-Grand Wood before capturing it.

Further to the left in XV Corps area, men of 21st Division’s 110th Brigade had overrun their enemy trench system objective and had managed to link up with 1st Division of III Corps by 4 a.m. On Haldane’s immediate right, 9th Division’s infantrymen had also crossed the enemy’s line and were advancing on the burning village of Longueval. Heartening news, but 9th Division’s advance failed to solve the hold-up on 8th Brigade’s front. Thereupon, Haldane sent word for the brigade-major to go personally with a company of the 2nd Royal Scots and try to break the deadlock.

Not withstanding 8th Brigade’s dilemma, it could be justifiably said that the assault had the hallmarks of a successful outcome. Nothing quite like it had been attempted before on such a scale, and its audacity was starting to pay dividends. The German main second line was breached and many of the objectives accomplished on schedule. By the time Gregory’s Secunderabad Cavalry Brigade reached its next position, it was expected that the way would be clear to snatch High Wood and to harass a retiring enemy.

On this assumption and with the 7th Dragoon Guards at its head, the brigade was ordered forward. The 7th Dragoon Guards left Bray-sur-Somme at 4.30 a.m., followed at intervals by the rest of the brigade. A little after five o‘clock, they crossed the Albert-Péronne road and were moving up in troop column through sporadic shelling to the far end of Carnoy Valley²¹, south-west of Montauban. The regiment halted there, dispersing the troops to lessen the risk of sustaining casualties from shell fire. The dispersal had its desired effect. The only casualties were four horses wounded.

Around 6.30 a.m., 9th Division’s battle headquarters received entirely separate reports from its two assaulting brigades that Longueval had fallen. Excellent though it seemed at the time, both reports were to prove incorrect. The true situation was that only the southern half of the village was occupied, but on the strength of these reports a message was flashed to 3rd Division’s battle headquarters at 6.58 a.m.: ‘Have occupied whole of Longueval and are consolidating.’ In anticipation of such successes, with the 7th Dragoon Guards already in Carnoy Valley as the advanced guard, Gregory was instructed to bring the rest of his brigade up to the vicinity of 3rd Division’s battle headquarters. They duly arrived by 7.15 a.m.

As eager as ever to commit cavalry, Rawlinson was impatient for the right kind of news to reach his headquarters. Suddenly, among the deluge of incoming signals was the erroneous one that the whole of Longueval had been captured. Already delighted over the reports that the villages and woods of Bazentin-le-Grand and Bazentin-le-Petit were taken, Rawlinson made his decision:

Things have gone so quickly and so well that I have authorised Congreve to send through the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division. He sent the order to them at 7.40 with High Wood as their objective. If they get possession of this, we shall be on the high road to success.

It is contentious whether the XIII Corps commander sent the order at the time stated by Rawlinson. In his private diary, Congreve clearly put the time at 8.10 a.m. Whatever the difference, one thing was quite apparent that Friday morning of 14th July. Given the opportunity, Rawlinson was determined to make history by employing cavalry in its proper role for the first time since trench warfare began in October 1914. The optimistic reports from the front convinced him that the moment had arrived.

Away to the north-east of the waiting cavalry, Shoubridge’s 54th Brigade finally won Trônes Wood by 8.15 a.m. The welcome news was relayed to XIII Corps headquarters as the 7th Dragoon Guards received their orders to attack High Wood. Although it was too early for them to hear about the Trônes Wood victory, information tendered to the 7th Dragoon Guards included reports that Longueval and the Bazentin-le-Grand area were devoid of enemy infantry activity. On that note, two patrols were despatched to reconnoitre the ground.

Both patrols, under Lieutenants Malone and Hastings, rode round the eastern side of Montauban to study the approach to High Wood via Longueval. On nearing Longueval and much to their chagrin, Malone and Hastings discovered that their patrols were increasingly being subjected to hostile machine-gun and rifle fire, much of it coming from the enemy positions where 8th Brigade was still held in check. Recognising that any cavalry advance in that direction would be fraught with peril, they had little option but to turn back and report the unpalatable facts.

It was decided to try another route and two more patrols were sent out at 9.30 a.m., commanded by Lieutenants Adair and Struben. They veered to the western side of Montauban for Bazentin-le-Grand and Bazentin-le-Petit. The torn ground proved so slippery that the horses had difficulty in keeping their balance, and negotiating the trenches required good horsemanship. Moreover, their presence did not go unnoticed by friend and foe alike. Adair’s and Struben’s patrols, being such a rare sight at the front, were mistakenly identified by some XV Corps infantry as the advanced guard. One message to that effect was relayed back to XV Corps headquarters about cavalrymen trying to advance between Bazentin-le-Grand Wood and Bazentin-le-Grand village, but want of crossings over the trenches was stopping them.

The situation became so obscure at times during the morning that, at one stage, even XIII Corps’ battle headquarters formed the impression that the cavalry advance on High Wood had started. As 3rd Division’s battle headquarters was the ‘nerve centre’ for 2nd Indian Cavalry Division’s operations, Haldane had earlier received a message from XIII Corps concerning Germans seen to be massing behind High Wood, but artillery was ‘not dealing with this for fear of hitting cavalry’. Fortunately a telephone line had been run out from Haldane’s headquarters to the Carnoy Valley which now held the whole of the Secunderabad Cavalry Brigade. In no time at all the true status was ascertained and Haldane’s signallers conveyed the tidings that ‘none of our cavalry had passed through our lines half an hour ago and were not at all likely to be in High Wood’. Within minutes, High Wood was being shelled.

However, progress was being made in preparation for the cavalry taking High Wood. If it happened, 7th Division’s 22nd Brigade planned to send forward two battalions to occupy and consolidate the wood and sufficient of the trenches on either side of it. A necessary task, because air reconnaissance had shown that the Germans were fast constructing a trench – known as the Switch Line – which extended from the Albert-Bapaume road to the Flers defences, via the top section of High Wood. Definitely a daunting obstacle when fully completed, since its line on either side of High Wood was on the reverse slope and hidden from ground observation. Fully aware of High Wood’s strategic importance, 7th Division was already moving up a Royal Engineer field company to assist in consolidating the wood.

When surveying the terrain between the village and wood of Bazentin-le-Grand, also the approach to Bazentin-le-Petit Wood, both cavalry patrol officers experienced similar receptions to their predecessors. From the rifle fire, retaliatory shelling and enemy machine-gun activity from the north-western part of Bazentin-le-Petit Wood, they judged that not all was sweetness and light as they were led to believe. To compound matters, a German counter-attack had commenced from the direction of High Wood on to Bazentin-le-Petit village. The officers had seen enough. Adair and Struben returned across Caterpillar Valley with their patrols.

Whilst the first cavalry patrols were in the field on reconnaissance work, Lieutenants Williams and Peacock of 9th Light Armoured Car Battery²² were in a position of readiness near Bronfay Farm and not far from 3rd Division’s battle headquarters. Their two armoured cars – Rolls-Royces – formed part of the Secunderabad Cavalry Brigade’s column. At 9 a.m., Williams and Peacock received orders to assist in the attack on High Wood.

At long last, they too were about to participate in some real action – or so they thought. Nervous but cheerful, both officers with their machine-gunners boarded their respective vehicles and headed up the muddy congested road towards Montauban. In spite of the road’s awful condition, which resembled a badly rutted track, they managed to get within 300 yards of the smashed village before the mud defeated them. The more the engines protested, the faster the wheels spun, and the deeper the vehicles sunk. Thoroughly frustrated and cursing their ill-luck, they set about the onerous job of digging out the bogged armoured cars from the glutinous muck. Had the officers known, their demoralisation would have taken a further fall. For the rest of July, they and their iron steeds were to be relegated to patrolling the roads in and out of Mametz.

Private Brennan of the 2nd Royal Irish would have willingly changed roles with them if he had been gifted with seeing the future. He and his comrades of ‘A’ Company had risen early that morning. Their objective was the Bazentin-le-Petit cemetery. Since 7th Division’s 20th Brigade had carried all its objectives by 5 a.m., which included establishing a line from Bazentin-le-Grand Wood to the northern edge of Bazentin-le-Petit village, it meant that the division’s 22nd Brigade would follow through to attack the village itself. The brigade’s battalions selected for this work were the 2nd Royal Warwickshires and the 2nd Royal Irish.

Both battalions moved off by five o‘clock. The Midlands men who led were detailed to seize a trench called Circus Trench and then cover the 2nd Royal Irish advance on Bazentin-le-Petit. The battalion’s ‘C’ Company would make for the village, ‘A’ Company for the cemetery east of it, and ‘B’ Company was to act as left flank guard with ‘D’ in reserve.

A short walk brought Brennan’s company to Mametz Wood. Soon they were threading their way around shell holes and shattered tree stumps to the assembly point for the attack.

This was on the edge of the wood, facing the enemy. A steep incline was just in front of us. At its base was a sunken road going off to the left and round it. As we stood in skirmishing order awaiting zero hour, the battalion’s scouts, led by Lt Harrison, moved across our front and took to the sunken road. Dear old George Buckley – a scout and a Kilkenny man – called out to Frank and me as they passed, wishing us in his characteristically hearty fashion the best of luck. As they passed from our sight around the left of the incline, we saw a big black cloud just above that spot. The scouts rejoined us an hour or so after we arrived at the cemetery, but poor George was missing. He had been killed by the shell of which we had seen the smoke, a few seconds after he left us. After Frank Waldron, he was my best pal in the battalion. It was a bad beginning to a day that was to prove disastrous to my friendships.

The actual attack went remarkably well. Circus Trench was taken against light opposition, and Bazentin-le-Petit fell with the help of the 6th Leicestershires from the neighbouring 110th Brigade of 21st Division. Over 150 soldiers of the 16th Bavarian Regiment with its commander and headquarters staff were captured in the village. After attacking the cemetery, ‘A’ Company established a defensive line from the cemetery to the crossroads near the village. As instructed, ‘B’ Company formed a defensive flank on the left of the village and linked up with 110th Brigade in Bazentin-le-Petit Wood.

Private Brennan was on the extreme right of the line during the attack, the company’s boundary marked by the ruins of the village windmill some 50 yards from the small valley that contained the cemetery. When advancing, he had speculated on whether he should break formation to investigate the windmill. He decided not to bother and continued with the others to the cemetery. The apparent disappearance of the enemy instilled a degree of casual confidence in the men. They walked about outside their trenches or stood in groups enjoying the exhilaration of victory. Then, quite without warning, a machine-gun opened fire from the ruined windmill. Suddenly, Brennan was encompassed by sounds which he could only describe as the swishes of a thousand giant canes and the anguished screams of his mates:

I saw the legs of an old veteran, Tom Shea, completely covered in blood, and I remember thinking that poor old Tom had got it at last. My own escape was little short of miraculous, as men were howling and groaning all around me and yet I wasn’t hit. The general effect was most unnerving, but the instinct to survive made everyone dive headlong for the trenches. It must have been at this stage when Lt Dean took a handful of men, including Frank Waldron, and tried to rush the windmill. Dean and Frank Waldron and most of them were killed before the machine-gun was silenced, if indeed it was silenced. At any rate it ceased to trouble my sector of the trench, which was just as well, as we soon had to face trouble from another quarter.

That ‘trouble’ stemmed from German reinforcements. By coincidence, as the dawn assault went in, an enemy division was on the point of arriving to relieve the 183rd Division in the Pozières-Bazentin-le-Petit Wood sector. The division’s regiments with other units were subsequently fed in to bolster up the fragmented front, including the hurried manning of the partially completed Switch Line west of Longueval and which cut through High Wood. The commander whose immediate responsibility was to rally his men on the new front was General Sixt von Armin. Directed to take over command from the River Ancre to Longueval at nine o’clock that very morning, von...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Plates
• Author’s Note
• Introduction
• Acknowledgements
• I - ROUTE TO HIGH WOOD
• II - RENDEZVOUS AT HIGH WOOD
• Bibliography
• INDEX