The Last Post - for now

Today commemorates the ending of World War One with the signing of the Armistice on 11 November. The news was greeted by soldiers of the Artillery with little emotion - no doubt war wearied by this engagement that was predicted when it started to be 'over by Christmas'. According to the New Zealand Artillery in the Field, 1914-18 gives the news a brief paragraph before going into  an eight-page recap over what the Artillery had achieved in the preceding four years and summary of key movements:

The Armistice took effect from 11 a.m. on November 11th. The official intimation to this effect, announcing that hostilities would cease at 11 a.m., was received by units of the Divisional Artillery when they were on the march to Quievy or preparing to take the road. The announcement was received calmly, with no cheering, no demonstration. For these men, tired in body and mind and fresh from the tragic fields of battle, this momentous intelligence was too vast in its consequences to be appreciated in a single thought.

Though the fighting was over, the War did not officially conclude until the Treaty of Versailles with Germany on 28 June 1919; while the New Zealand forces would become part of the Army of Occupation of Germany, and my grandfather would not return to New Zealand til late 1919.

Given that, further blogs may be posted on the aftermath of the war, and covering key gaps or further reflections I have not been able to provide in my intermittent postings.

6 November - temporary bridges

On 6 November,  New Zealand Artillery in the Field, 1914-18 reports the Artillery had problems getting through forest due to blown-up bridges and mined roads. 

A working party was, therefore, dispatched to make an endeavour to erect a temporary bridge over one stream, whilst the track running south-east through the forest to the north of the road was reconnoitred, and an advanced section of the 2nd Battery was got through and into action half way through the forest. A section of the 6th (Howitzer) Battery also got into action a little further to the north. About midday an attempt was made to get the remaining guns of the 6th Battery across the temporary bridge which had been constructed. It was a risky business; but the guns and vehicles were got safely over with the loss of one waggon, which went over the side into the stream, rendering the bridge unsafe for further traffic. As a demand had been made for some howitzers and 18-prs. to support a small operation by the 42nd Division, a section of the 5th Battery was sent forward over the forest track, the 9th Battery following the route taken by the advanced section of the 6th Battery, and going into action in the same locality. 

The bridge having been repaired again, with the assistance of some Pioneers of the 42nd Division, the remainder of the guns and waggons of the Brigade were got across by dark, with the exception of two waggons which went over the side, but four others which had attempted to advance through the cross roads on the northern edge of the forest found the way blocked by mine craters. With the exception of the 9th Battery, and one section of the 6th Battery, which were on the northern edge of the forest, the whole of the 2nd Brigade had succeeded in getting into action near la Corne by 7 p.m.

5 November 1918 - through the Forest de Mormal

After the capture of Le Quesnoy, the New Zealand Division were still pressing ahead to the East through the Forest de Mormal. New Zealand Artillery in the Field, 1914-18 reports:

Persistent rain fell on November 5th, rendering doubly difficult the advance through the dense and tangled undergrowth of the forest. Moving forward behind the barrage the infantry encountered little opposition until they reached Forrester's House, considerably more than half way through the forest. This was strongly held by machine guns, but was eventually taken under cover of artillery fire. At 9 a.m. the 3rd Brigade moved forward into positions of readiness near Rue Haute; the 12th Battery was detached from the brigade and went forward in support of the infantry. The 2nd Brigade moved up through Herbignies, and along the western edge of the forest until it reached the 3rd Brigade area. Batteries were in this neighbourhood by 5 p.m., but did not fire that night. The road along the western edge of the forest was in very bad condition, which was rapidly being made worse by the heavy rain. The 1st Battery of the 1st Brigade advanced in support of the infantry, the 3rd and 15th Batteries bivouacking on the edge of the forest. By evening the infantry had gone right through the forest, and reached their final objective on the eastern outskirts. That night the New Zealand Division, less artillery, was relieved in the line by the 42nd Division. The artillery came under the command of the C.R.A., 42nd Division.

The last week of the war

Despite high ideals I have not been following the New Zealand Field Artillery closely in the final months of the war, as the tide turns against the Germans and the New Zealand Division with the other Allies has advanced relatively quickly in recent weeks. I am in the chapter on Le Quesnoy in  New Zealand Artillery in the Field, 1914-18. It is the final chapter. The battle for Le Quesnoy itself took place on 4 November and was over in a day. I do not know if all soldiers would have concurred with the assessment of the official history:

This was the last occasion on which the New Zealand Artillery paved the way for the advance of their infantry in a major operation, and from the complicated nature of the barrage and the masterly precision with which it advanced through all its stages, it may be regarded as a fitting climax to the work of the guns in supporting the infantry in attack. It was known that there was a large number of civilians in Le Quesnoy, and it was therefore decided that the barrage should sweep the ramparts garrisoned by the enemy, and as it moved forward completely encircle the town, but that no fire should fall within the limits of the town itself.... 

The battle which was about to open was destined to be the last of the long series of desperate combats, in which the Division had figured since that distant April morning, when the New Zealanders had first leapt from their boats on to the shores of Gallipoli and climbed the hills to grapple with the Turk. If their arms had not achieved invariable success, each successive engagement had added fresh lustre to the laurels which the New Zealanders had won for themselves in the Gallipoli campaign; and disappointments had been endured with the same calm in which the soldiers viewed their victories.

The turning point

Finding the New Zealand Field Artillery again, three months after my last post, I find we are at the final decisive stages of the war.  'The Turning Point' chapter in New Zealand Artillery in the Field, 1914-18 begins noting the slow recovery of the British Armies (presumably including New Zealand) from the "smashing blows" the Germans had dealt in March and April but they had been completed, and the situation had changed:

The military situation on the Western Front at the beginning of August wore an outlook very different from the sombre uncertainty in which the future had been shrouded during those terrible days when the German divisions were sweeping forward with apparently irresistible impetus towards Amiens, and towards the Channel ports. .... The Franco-British Armies remained intact, and still barred the way to the coast. But the Germans still retained the initiative after the battles of the Somme and the Lys, despite their heavy commitments and heavy losses. The peril which menaced the Allied cause could not be said to have been effectually dispelled until after the definite collapse of the ambitious offensive launched by the enemy east and south-west of Rheims on July 15th, and the striking success of Marshal Foch's deliberately planned counter attack three days later on the front between Chateau Thierry and Soissons. That was the decisive turning point in the dramatic rush of events. The German army had made its great effort in the springtide of its strength, and the effort had failed. Thereafter the future of the Allied cause was no longer uncertain.

Retreat from Messines

The chapter 'The Retreat from Messines" in New Zealand Artillery in the Field, 1914-18 provides quite a detailed account of attack and counter-attack and difficulties faced by the Artillery around Messines from mid-March 1918. At this particular point 100 years ago, the history relates:

Several S.O.S. calls were answered during the day and evening of the 16th [April], and again next morning, when the enemy placed a heavy barrage along the front. Waggon lines at Westoutre were also shelled by hostile guns during the morning, resulting in a loss of men and horses, and the evacuation of the positions.
Forward observing officers kept closely in touch with the situation during the day, and batteries placed protective fire on threatened points, and engaged a great deal of enemy movement. The enemy brought up more guns, and hostile fire increased in volume, battery areas being severely shelled. The 5th Battery suffered heavy casualties during the morning of April 18th, losing two officers and five other ranks killed and twelve other ranks wounded; the battery was forced to evacuate the position, and as the other batteries were also coming under fire, the brigade withdrew to fresh positions.
By April 19th the front covered by the Brigade had been taken over by French troops, but the artillery in support was not withdrawn, and the brigade remained in the line supporting the French infantry until the 23rd, when all batteries were withdrawn to their waggon lines. The brigade proceeded the following day to the Staple area, where it remained in billets for three days. During this period sixty-three reinforcements and seventy remounts reached the brigade, and the guns were sent to the Ordnance Workshops for much-needed overhaul.
The brigade suffered heavy casualties during this brief period of active fighting, which besides being a severe trial on the endurance of the personnel at the guns and at the waggon lines, must be regarded as a most severe and searching, and in all respects successful, test of the initiative of commanding officers and their subordinates and of the efficiency of the whole brigade.

 

 

Prelude to the German Spring Offensive at Amiens

Around this time 100 years ago, Sydney Williams' war record shows he was transferred on 19 March 1918 to "Y" Battery from the "Z" Trench Mortar Battery to which he had been attached since August 1916.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand Artillery in the Field, 1914-18 records of this time say: 

The enemy displayed marked activity along the whole of the Ypres sector during March. ... hostile batteries were persistently active on forward areas, and there was a recrudescence of long range shelling in back areas. Anxiety was felt as to whether the heavy shelling of forward areas might not be the prelude to infantry action, and counter-preparation was ordered and fired in the early morning of the 10th, and on the three following mornings. There were constant alarms during the week that followed, but the tension remained unbroken until on the 21st March intelligence was received that the long-expected German offensive had been launched in the south. Details at first were meagre and, as always, rumours and vague reports of the most varied description sprang to life with a fecundity that is usual at such times. It was soon learnt, however, that the enemy had struck on a very wide front with tremendous weight, and that the situation was one of extreme gravity. On March 22nd Brigades and the D.A.C. were warned to be ready to move, and detailed instructions regarding reliefs were issued.

This was the beginning of the German bid for Amiens. 

Cleaning up - Winter in the Salient

As noted in the previous blog, the New Zealand Field Artillery had taken over new positions in the line at Ypres at the end of last year (1917). It was winter. There was much cleaning up to do, as the  New Zealand Artillery in the Field, 1914-18 says in 'Wintering in the Salient':

Many of the gun positions were in an indescribable condition; the pits were water-logged and innocent of approaches or decent platforms, and were littered about with empty charge cases, and odd piles of ammunition which seemed on the point of sinking out of sight in the mud. Too much could not be expected in an area where a prolonged period of heavy fighting had been followed by persistently bad weather; but improvements were possible, and steps were at once taken to have them effected. Pits were drained, cleaned up, and provided with weather-proof ammunition racks and stable platforms, and splinter-proof sleeping shelters were built for the crews. Before the hard weather came and bound the surface of the earth in its iron grip, nearly all the ammunition lying about the positions had been cleaned up, and most of the charge cases salved; .... All this was achieved, not in a day or a week, but after long and patient toil during the short daylight hours, and subject to the interruptions of enemy shelling. An immense amount of salving was done by the Division during these months, and the value of the material and ammunition collected from all parts of the sector ran into very big figures. Every waggon or ration cart that visited the forward areas returned with a load of material of some description, and every man in formed parties marching down from the line carried some small thing back to the "dump," where, in striking letters, was displayed a notice which queried of the passer-by what he had salved that day.
....
Platforms for the guns were constructed first, then command posts, shelter for the crews, ammunition pits, and, finally, some sort of overhead cover for the guns. ... The positions were being constructed on country which had been the scene of desperate fighting, and which was then but a wilderness of shell holes, half filled with water. It was heavy, tedious work, and often as the men dug they found grim reminders of the fighting that had ebbed and flowed on these slopes, in the unburied dead who had gradually sunk into the soft ground or had been half buried by the bursting shells.