Section 7
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THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A HERO Section 7 |
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GERMAN RETREAT IN FLANDERS 1918
During the winter of 1917 the German strength on the Western Front was increasing. Both Russia and Romania had stopped fighting allowing the German divisions on the Eastern Front to withdraw to the west and strengthen the defences in France & Belgium. The French were at a low ebb after the mutinies earlier in the year and the French generals were unwilling to push their troops very far, whilst the British were under strength due in part to deliberate cut backs in the numbers of men sent to the front - a political decision.
The Germans knew that America was already sending troops to Europe. These troops were not fully trained and therefore not yet ready for the fight but one day soon they would pose a serious threat. At home the German people were tired of the war and were beginning to realise that the struggle was not going well and seeing the evidence in the returning wounded and the daily lists of the dead. The civilian population was also dealing with shortages of essentials caused by the blockade of German ports by the Allied Navies.
Because of all this, Ludendorff, the German military commander on the Western Front, knew that now was his last opportunity to attack the Allies and finish what had been started over three years before. He planned a three pronged attack. Operation George would punch through the British lines south of Ypres. Operation Mars would attack at Arras, another British sector. Operation Michael would be the biggest. It would sweep the Germans troops into the area occupied by the British in front of St Quentin, at the southerly edge of our line. Storm troops, a recent German innovation, would be the spearhead of the attacks and troops following up would be equipped with the best the German High Command could provide.
And so, just after 0430 in the morning of 21st March 1918 Operation Michael was started with a massive bombardment. The Allies immediately fell back and two days later the Germans had gained as much as twelve miles of ground. By March 26th the British had retreated over the old battlefields of the Somme, won at such high cost, and Albert was in the hands of the Germans. On March 25th Operation Mars began and although successful initially, was halted at Arras. Here the British defenders put up stiff resistance and stopped the German advance. Operation Michael continued to push back the Allies until the lines of the Germans were so extended that they were checked at Villers Bretonneux. The offensive began to lose impetus. Casualties of the storm troopers, so successful at the beginning, were high and the men behind them were not of such high quality or training. Transport was essentially by horse and foot and the lines of communication and supply became over extended, causing the infantry to tire. The German advance eventually stopped at Villers Bretonneux on April 5th , and here Ludendorff decided to call off Operation Michael. After the startling initial successes the first phase of his plan had ground to a halt.
Operation George was launched on 9th April in a scaled down form, now appropriately named Georgette!! Two German armies attacked, north and south of Armentières, again pushing back the British this time by over ten miles and on 11th April Field Marshal Haig made a "backs to the wall" plea to his troops.
Reinforcement of the British line and weaknesses in the over stretched German attackers, combined with Haig’s plea, halted this third attempt at breakthrough. More gains were made by the Germans, but due to stiffening resistance and the long lines of supply, by the end of April Operation Georgette too was called off.
The first two German attacks did not greatly affect Will and the 2nd Hampshire Battalion, who from the 22nd to 26th March were holding the line at Spree Farm in the Ypres Salient. From 26th to 1st April they were resting at Haslar Military Camp, then they were back at Spree farm, but the trenches were quiet on both sides due to the Mars offensive in the south.
By April 10th, however, they were again summoned to the fray and were assembled at Watou, about 15 miles behind Ypres, and then bussed to Bailleul, to help stem the tide of Operation Georgette. At Bailleul they encountered German artillery fire, refugees and general confusion amongst both the British troops and the civilian population due to the advances being made by the Germans. The buses stopped briefly at Bailleul then headed west towards the advancing Germans. At 4pm they halted along the Armentières road, about 2 miles from Bailleul. The troops left the buses and advanced across open fields towards the Germans. They came across British artillery firing over open sights, i.e. the enemy were in sight of the gunners, something which had seldom happened since the early months of August and September 1914. The fluid front line was hereabouts and the Hampshires dug in near the artillery ready to face the attackers. The line straddled the railway south of La Crèche and they waited apprehensively.
THE HAMPSHIRE BATTALION'S MOVEMENTS IN 1918
On the following day one Company of the Battalion went forward and prepared defenses near the railway station at Steenwerck, while the other three remained at La Crèche. At 6pm the Germans began a heavy bombardment, which the waiting troops knew was the prelude to an attack. The British fought off this attack but were forced to retreat on the following day to a line between La Crèche and De Seule. On 14th they retreated again and were between Bailleul and Ravelsberg. They'd been fighting continuously now for 5 days and were very tired, struggling to dig themselves into defensive positions. The following day they retreated once again and were south of Croix de Poperinge where they stayed until the 20th when they were relieved by French troops, who had recently been rushed to the British sector.
On 20th they bivouacked 10 Kilometres behind the fighting at Abeele. On the following day they were bussed from Abeele to Hondeghem, near Hazebourk, and here they rested. They had helped slow the advancing tide and deserved their rest. By the end of April the German advance had come to a breathless, panting halt and the troops of both sides dug themselves in presuming that they would continue the static trench warfare that they had become used to over the past three years.
Things settled back to the eternal trudge from support to front line to rest then back to support again, and by 5th May the Hampshires were in and out of the line South East of Hazebourk. They then had 10 days rest, first at Hazebourk then at Morbeque, where a semi-permanent rest and training camp had been set up.
On May 7th William sat in the rain in a trench and wrote home, getting mud on the letter:
7/5/1918
Dearest Mother & Dad
Just a wee letter to let you both know that your bunch of trouble is still in the land of wind and water and no beer. It has been raining all night and as left things in a pretty bad state in fact I sometimes think I am a duck only a duck can get the water off his back but I am dam if I can. But never mind I am still happy and as jolie as ever so do not worry yourselves dears as all will come to an end shortly as I think old square head will give notice shortly I think he is on his last legs this time so cheer up and don’t forget the fatted calf. How are all at home are they in the very best or is any on the 256 list, I hope not Well mother dear I must again thank you for the parcel etc The tobacco was very nice but not quite strong enough. Do not think that I am finding fault dear but it burns my tongue dear so when you get more try to get full strength please. How is the weather at home I hope you are not getting rain as I think it could be done without this time of the year. Well Mum I must close now with my fondest love and kisses to you, dad, the girls and Harold
From
Your loving sonWilliam
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Early in 1918 a world wide influenza epidemic hit the warring nations. Called at the time Spanish flu because it was thought to originate from Spain, it is now thought to have come to Europe with the first American troops. The epidemic first hit in June and July, but a second, more deadly epidemic hit again in October and November. The epidemic killed about 20 million people worldwide, more people than died in the war.
On 14th June William succumbed and was at No3 Canadian General Hospital. While there he missed a major action at the front, but was too ill to feel happy or sad. By the 16th he was getting better and eventually rejoined his battalion at the front.
The rest of the 2nd Hampshires had left Morbeque Camp on 12th June and had taken up positions in the front line west of Vieux Berquin, a tiny village near Hazebourk. On 15th June the enemy attacked and took some ground from them. On 20th June the whole of the 29th Division was taken out of the line and given a months rest.
In May and into June more German offensives were made, again with outstanding results and to the south, at the beginning of June, the Germans were once again on the river Marne, 56 miles from Paris. They were here in 1914 and had been turned back by the Allies. In 1918 the German army was once again halted, this time due to over stretched and tired infantry and extended supply lines. One final lunge was made on 15th July, when the Germans crossed over the Marne, but the French Tenth Army, assisted by some of the first American forces to fight in this war, turned the tide and began to force back the weary Germans. This was one of the turning points of the war and from now the Allies slowly pushed back the front line that had remained static for so long.
On August 8th a combined Allied attack was made at Amiens. The hard-learned lessons from the past four years began to work for the British Armies. Using a lightning bombardment to give the defenders little warning of attack, skirting strong defences, making good use of both the heavy tanks and new light Whippet tanks, the British forces pushed back the Germans more than six miles. The gain in ground was impressive but out of proportion to the effect on the German forces and the German command. The Allied breakthrough plus the defeats and setbacks since April had given their morale and confidence a severe knock. In fact General Ludendorff described August 8th 1918 as the German Army’s ‘Black Day’.
On 22nd August another British offensive pushed the Germans back in the Somme region. Four days later more gains were made at Arras and the Germans fell back to their 1917 Hindenberg Line of defences.
Because of these British gains and the crumbling of will of the German high command the German troops were forced to evacuate the Lys salient, just south of Ypres. As a result the British 29th Division slowly regained the towns of Lens, Merville, Bailleul and Kemmel all just recently taken by the successful Georgette operation. The town of Hazebourk and its important rail terminal were thus freed up allowing the British Army more freedom to feed the advance of its troops.
On the 15th August William started his last letter to his mother from the front. He appears confident of a swift outcome to the war and looks forwards to his homecoming.
Aug 15/1918
Dearest Mother
Just a few lines thanking you very much for the nice parcel which I received quite safely. I was glad to hear that everybody at home is in the very best of health.... Dearest Mum I had to leave this letter but never mind better late than never. Well Mum everything is going on A1 out here things are looking fine and old squarehead will soon be back in Berlin. In fact I am expecting my next leave to be for good at home and the war Nappoo what a bit of luck. Well Dearest Mum cheer up it can’t last much longer now. Give my fondest love and kisses to Dad, Yourself and Kiddies and tell them all we shall all be together within a matter of 6 months. I will try to send the tin back but cannot just now. Please ask Dad if he can get some hard tobacco as we cannot get it out here. I will close now with my fondest love and kisses to you all at home.
From
Your loving sonWilliam
Dear Dad sell the pig and by me out
Dear Son pig dead soldier on
Hard Luck
(Nappoo was the Tommy’s translation of the French il n’y en a plus - ‘Finished’ or ‘not any’).
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While the Battle of Arras was raging to the south the 2nd Hampshires were just west of the small French town of Bailleul. They were part of the force that was beginning to apply increasing pressure on the stretched German lines and over the next month advanced eastwards back over the ground only recently given up to the Germans. On August 18th they were in the front line and advancing up Outersteene Ridge, east of the village of Merris and south of Méteren. They crossed the Méteren Becque, a small stream, and overran the village of Outersteene to the south of Bailleul. Between the 24th and 26th of August they were in the trenches just beyond Méteren Becque. The Germans were falling back and withdrew from Merville and also Neuf Berquin to the south. Whilst the Hampshires were at Outersteene the German artillery put up a tremendous barrage, to cover its retreating troops. During those two days the 2nd Hampshires lost eight men killed and 17 wounded. The British troops advanced to take the ground that the Germans had vacated, wary of booby traps. |
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Again they heard the whistles and pushed themselves out of the trenches. The new draft was the most eager and suffered the worst. The rearguard German machine gunners picked them out in the flashes of the artillery and swept their deadly streams of bullets towards them. William rushed past the moaning wounded and the lifeless bodies of those who would never fight again. As he ducked and weaved he saw a man from his Battalion. He recognised his round, chubby face. That face was moving, silently from side to side. There were no legs. William could see one bloody boot and trouser leg some feet away. This man would die before the stretcher-bearers reached him, that was clear.
Over the next few days the Germans continually retreated as the British pressed forward, and by 31st August the 2nd Hampshires were at an old British aerodrome just east of Bailleul on the road to Ravelsberg Ridge. They continued to advance and on 2nd September were east of the village of Neuve Eglise. Their objective that day was to be Hill 63, a heavily defended German strong point. Just in front of the hill, ‘W’ Company cleared the Germans from an old British trench system, which they had taken during the German Spring Offensive but here were held up by enemy machine guns. ‘Z’ Company also pushed forward but could not get past the machine guns. It was decided to delay the attack until darkness fell, when they attacked again, overrunning the German machine guns and taking the lower slopes.
By 4th September they are still not in possession of Hill 63 and made another attack. Again they were met by machine gun fire and had to cut through heavy barbed wire defences. The British and Canadian attackers eventually prevailed and secured Gas Trench on the hill. They then went on to secure a further trench running past Crest House. The determined Germans, however, made repeated counter attacks to regain the hill, but despite heavy shelling and machine gun fire all attempts to remove the 2nd Hampshires failed and they won the western slopes of Hill 63.
On that day William was part of the attack and running forward, crouching low. He knew there was a machine gun over to his right but if he could make the shell hole before he was in their sights he would be safe. But today his luck again ran out, and his life was changed forever – as he reached the lip of the shell hole he lost control of his balance and fell. At the same time he sensed the noise of a shell exploding above him. Everything slowed. He knew immediately that he was hit - "Hit again" - was his first thought. His brain told his head to move and his eyes to open. In slow motion he looked down and saw what was his arm. He slowly realised it was not as it should be and his mind told his other arm to move over and find out why it didn't appear normal. When his left arm was close to his right he realised they were no longer the same. His eyes opened in fright, his mouth gaped. He slowly stood up and lifted his damaged right arm with his left. He lifted it to show the world what he could not quite understand. His lower arm was missing. Just a ragged stump of skin, bone and the cloth of his jacket remained. He turned to show his Captain, who he had last seen in the trenches behind him. As he turned a German machine gun swept towards him. He was swung around with the force of bullets hitting his back. He fainted with the pain and the shock and fell.
On 5th September the 2nd Hampshires were relieved. They'd been in the line for 18 days and were badly in need of rest. Their casualties for the previous six days were 3 officers and 34 men dead, 4 officers and 140 men wounded. William was again on the list of casualties.
William was taken as quickly as possible to Hondeghem, 40 miles away, and treated at No1 Australian C.C.S. and on 5th September the tattered remains of his lower right arm were amputated to just above his elbow. The bullet wounds on his back and neck were also treated. For a couple of days his life was in the balance. Floating in and out of consciousness everything was a haze, but he did begin to recover and was deemed fit to travel. He was sent back to England and by 10th September was at Beaufort Military Hospital in Bristol. Converted in 1915 from a mental asylum, it was taken over by the Royal Army Medical Corps for the duration of the war, and used as a military hospital. (Today it is still in use by the University of the West of England to train nurses and health care professionals.)
THE SICK & WOUNDED BACK IN ENGLAND
When he arrived at Bristol he was still extremely ill but made it known that he wanted to contact his mother. One of the hospital nurses wrote a letter for him:
8287 Sgt W. Bentley
2 Hamps
M2 Ward
Beaufort War Hospital
Bristol
11/9/18Dear Mother
Just a few lines hoping to find you and all at home in the best of health. I am back in "Blighty" at last. My wounds are going on alright and I am now feeling very fine and comfortable. The journey over was pretty rough and you can guess that I did not half get my head into the pillow when I got into this hospital about 2oc this morning. I have a 10 franc note which is not of much use to me now. You will be able to get this changed so I am sending it to you. This is all the money I have so would you please send me on a few shillings to help me out. Will write again in a day or two’s time. Must close now with best of love & kisses to you ,Dad & all the children.
Your loving son
Bill
Meanwhile the war machine had contacted his mother and informed her of his wounds. She was desperate and attempted to find out how he was and where he was. She sent telegrams and wrote numerous letters, even one to the front:
"...do what you can for that poor dear suffering boy of mine. If I could only be with him to cheer and comfort him. But that little comfort is denied us suffering mothers. None but a mother knows what it means. Would you kiss him for me, and give him my hearts best love and tell him Mummies thoughts are with him always.
Thanking you again for your kind letter. Believe me I remain dear Sir
Yours very sincerely
Edith.."
The reply from the Chaplain stated "He is a splendid man - we all liked him..... he thought the world of his mother."
Later the Head Sister at No1 Australian Casualty Clearing Station also replied to her:
No1 Australian Casualty Clearing
Station France
19-9-18
Dear Mrs Landers,
Your son Sgt W.Bentley was admitted to this Station 4-9-18 with wounds in the neck, shoulders & R arm. The right arm had been blown off before he was admitted just below the elbow so that when it was operated on it was found necessary to amputate the arm above the elbow.- He was in a very shocked condition when he was at first admitted but improved a good deal. He was evacuated from this station 6-9-18 & I am sorry I cannot tell you the hospital he has gone to.- No it is not possible to visit this station it is not allowed, but if he should be in a Base hospital you could visit him there. I am sorry I have been unable to write before but our station has been moving. I hope you have heard from him or of him before this & that you shall have him with you soon. I am yours sincerely
E.G.Fleming, Head Sister in Charge,
No1 A.C.C.S.
BRITISH CASUALTIES IN 1918 ~ 800,000
LAST UPDATE OF SECTION 7 - 5/12/2004
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