8th (Leeds Rifles) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment in the Battle of the Canal du Nord 27th - 30th September 1918

WARNING:

The text of this blog includes a trench name from the 1914 - 1918 period which is offensive in modern language. It has been retained in the text to maintain historical integrity.

The 8th Leeds Rifles in the Order of Battle

One of the last major actions fought by the West Yorkshire Territorials of 62^nd (2^nd West Riding) Division was the Battle of the Canal du Nord which began on 27^th September 1918.

A part of the ‘Hundred Days Offensive’, it involved troops from First and Third Armies, under the command of General Horne, and General Byng respectively, and as far as the 8^th (Leeds Rifles) Battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment was concerned, the objective of the 62^nd Division was to seize canal crossings at Marcoing and Masniéres which would allow the advance to flow eastward, driving the Germans in retreat before them.

In preparation for the offensive, the battalion had gone into bivouacs in camp in Vaulx-Vraucourt, some miles back from the front line, where it took in drafts of reinforcements and underwent a training programme of physical training, lectures, and musketry to sharpen the men’s skills. There was also gas training and instruction in the use of grenades, and the operation of enemy machine guns. As well as the training programme, there was time for recreation, and a football match was organised against a team from 2/20^th London Regiment, one of the other battalions in 185^th Infantry Brigade. The weather was poor for the time of year and the bivouac camp soon became uncomfortable in the persistent rain that fell.

Leaving the camp on 25^th September, the battalion marched to Frémicourt where, at least, some of the battalion would be accommodated in huts. The day before the attack, the battalion spent making final preparations for the coming attack, before moving to their assembly positions south of Hermies.

First and Third Armies would commence their attack at 5:20 am on the morning of 27^th September 1918, with the overall objective being to drive the enemy east of the St Quentin Canal. It would be an all-arms operation, with the support of 261 aircraft of the Royal Air Force, and three battalions of tanks allotted to Third Army. The Leeds Riflemen fitted into the operation in the following terms. The battalion was in 185^th Infantry Brigade, commanded by Brigadier General The Viscount Hampden, which belonged to 62^nd (2^nd West Riding) Division, commanded by Major General Whigham. Above the divisional level, the chain of command was VI Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General Haldane, under General Byng, the Commander of Third Army.

Canal Du Nord with Wartburg Trench (McMaster University)

Across the attack front, the first obstacle to overcome was the Canal du Nord, from which the battle took its name. In 1918 the canal was still unfinished, with some stretches of it flooded, while others remained dry. The Germans had assessed the risk of attack was greater where the canal was dry and arranged their defence to cover the dry sections of canal in strength. Defences along the flooded sections were much lighter and concentrated into posts, rather than covering the whole of the flooded lengths, and this was recognised as a weakness following British (and Empire) reconnaissance of the canal. It was decided that the attacking forces would cross the canal using bridges across the flooded sections where possible, and engineers were able to span the canal unobserved in many places.

The Leeds Rifles would cross the canal at Bell Trench, leading into Jermyn Street on the eastern bank. The western bank was wooded and afforded the assembled battalion adequate cover. The point where the battalion would cross the canal was better than many. The cutting for the canal was minimal, being marked on maps as being only 9 feet deep, with the canal itself running through that. Overall, it would add no more difficulty than any natural undulation in the ground. Many other places were not as forgiving, the cutting directly in front of Havrincourt was marked as being between 81ft and 91ft deep and posed serious obstacle. The Leeds Rifles battalion would not be in the leading wave of troops to cross. According to the plan’s timetable, 185^th Brigade would not move forward until the attack of 3^rd Division had captured Flesquières and Ribécourt after their 5:20 am start, and by that time, the advancing troops would be closely following the powerful creeping barrage that the massed artillery was working through which should have taken the German army’s attention away from the canal cutting almost entirely.

Battle of the Canal du Nord. A lock near Moeuvres, 28 September 1918. © IWM Q 9639

The order to move forward was given at 6:25 am after receiving the news that 76^th Brigade in 3rd Division had captured Flesquières. Initially, the attacking units in the first wave to move did so with complete surprise, and excellent progress was made, although as the British pushed forward, and the Germans began to gather themselves to formulate a response, the resistance the Germans could offer stiffened.

The capture of Flesquières was the signal for 185^th Brigade to advance through 3^rd Division to advance on and capture the ‘Brown Line’. After first moving off at 6:25 am, the entire battalion was across the canal and reorganised on the eastern side by 7:30 am, and contact was made with the other battalions in the Brigade, 2/20^th Bn, London Regiment, and 1/5^th Bn, Devonshire Regiment. Orders to move forward followed at 8:15 am, after a slight delay caused by enemy artillery fire which accounted for twenty casualties for the Leeds Rifles. The Riflemen pushed along Scull Trench, passing through the Londoners and then the Devons reaching the north edge of Kaiser Trench at about 10:30 am, but they were engaged heavily by machine guns from the direction of banks and trenches just to the north of Kaiser Trench.

The area of the Battlefield with Scull and Kaiser Trenches (National Library of Scotland)

B Company began to engage the machine guns, while A Company pushed on towards Marcoing. The progress made to this point by the Leeds Rifles had seen them advance ahead of the units from the Guards Division to their left. B Company had re-joined the battalion’s advance towards Marcoing, but as the advance progressed, heavy fire from both machine guns and field guns firing over open sights from the northeast began to inflict heavy casualties on the battalion. B Company and C Company, having no support from the left, diverted from the axis of the advance towards Premy Chapel and Nine Wood on the high ground to deal with those Germans there, while A Company continued towards their objective. So severe was the fighting that all the officers in B and C Companies fighting to quell the resistance coming from Premy Chapel were either killed or wounded, leaving senior Non-Commissioned Officers to take over the control of the companies.

Meanwhile, A Company maintained momentum, and were able, under heavy fire, to emerge from a spur in Labour Trench to advance into the outskirts of Marcoing but owing to the weight of fire being directed at them from the small town they were forced to work around to their left. One of their wounded officers was able to get away and report to Battalion Headquarters that the enemy had been able to work to north, in the direction of Premy Chapel, to outflank the battalion to it’s left, getting round to its rear, and using machine guns to terrible effect, inflicting heavy casualties. A Company’s survivors managed to work around the north-eastern perimeter of Marcoing into the sunken road that led downhill in the town from the direction of Premy Chapel, but by 4:00 pm it had become clear that no further advance was possible owing to the number of casualties in A Company, and B and C Company being tied up in front of Premy Chapel leaving the left flank exposed.

The Battlefield from Beet Trench to Premy Chapel (National Library of Scotland)

The Commanding Officer of the battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Norman England, now ordered his Reserve Company, D Company to consolidate his position in Beet Trench and contact the units on his flanks. The Welsh Guards, just past the beet factory from which the trench took its name were reached on the company’s left, while on the right, some other ranks of the Grenadier Guards were encountered close to the junction of Beet Trench and Nigger Trench. D Company then established a strong point out in front of Beet Trench in a sunken track at dusk. Making Nigger Trench safe was more problematic, and the enemy was only cleared out of it at the third attempt, following which posts were established in the trench, but the fighting there had lasted long into the night.

When the morning of 28^th September began to lighten, it became clear how much the battalion had suffered. From A Company, only 18 men, all other ranks had been able to withdraw to the position in Beet Trench and remained fit to fight. The battalion was reorganised into two companies, the bulk of the men coming from D Company which had been held in reserve until late in the afternoon, but even so, the two companies were below the strength of what two companies should have looked like. Altogether, the battalion had lost eleven officers and 341 soldiers, and what was left was a shattered remnant of the battalion. Despite the losses suffered, the battalion had made significant captures of men and equipment. The tally included fifteen field guns, nine machine guns, and many prisoners. Because the prisoners had been escorted back to different processing positions, an accurate number taken by the battalion could not be given, but one wounded Rifleman from C Company brought in 70 Germans on his own.

Some of the battalion’s wounded, who had been captured by the Germans, but were later abandoned by them were recovered to British lines during 28^th September. All the men were stretcher cases who could not be evacuated in the haste of the German withdrawal.

The Plaisir Trenches between Masnières and Crevecoeur (National Library of Scotland)

Battalion Headquarters moved forward to a new position just in front of Nigger Trench to oversee the reorganisation of the battalion, with Captain Simpkin and Second Lieutenant Foster taking command of the composite companies. The Leeds Rifles battalion was able to stay in this position for the rest of 28^th September to clean up and get organised for the next of the battle, scheduled for the early hours of 29^th September when the battalion would form the support group to the Devons and Londons who would attack in 185^th Brigade’s advance toward Seranvillers from trenches east of Masnières, with orders to pass through those battalions, when they had captured their objective, to continue on and capture Wambaix. On the flanks, the New Zealand Division would fight on the right and the British 2^nd Division would be on the left.

The advance of 185^th Brigade began on time according to the orders that had been communicated, but although the New Zealanders to the right were expected to advance at the same time, they did not, owing to units to their right being held up. After an initial advance of 800 yards, the 1/5^th Devons began to get held up, and soon, the 2/20^th Londoners advance also stalled forcing the Brigade commander to order the Leeds Rifles to abandon the circulated plan and join battle early. With the assistance of the Leeds Rifles, the other two battalions in the Brigade were able to regain momentum, despite their flanks being exposed and the fighting being particularly heavy. The Germans in this area had had enough and began to surrender or withdraw. The advance of 185^th Brigade continued, but the Germans had taken stock of what was going on and began to put together a coherent response to the British advance. Heavy machine gun fire forced the British to pause in the sunken lane south of Marcoing Copse before the advance continued to the road between Rumilly and Crevecoeur on high ground above Crevecoeur village. Although in places the road is hidden by a bank, this afforded the men little cover from machine gunners placed in the village. Orders were received for the men to withdraw from this position to create space for an attack to pass through during the next morning, and so it was thought to be advantageous to withdraw to the Plaisir Trench and Plaisir Support Trench, as these positions could provide cover and the shape of the ground in the open was of a natural bowl which was dead ground when viewed from the village.

The Medals of Cpl Ion Falconer, the DCM being for his action at Crevecoeur on 30th September 1918

It was noticed that an enemy observation post had been established in house on the edge of Crevecoeur which was directing the fire of machine gunners and snipers. Corporal Ion Falconer, who was in charge of the battalion scouts, took two men with him to clear the house that the observation post was located in. The three men worked their way forward under increasingly heavy fire, but eventually Cpl Falconer was seen to enter the house. Shortly afterwards, he emerged from the house with sixteen prisoners, which amounted to half the total taken by the battalion for the day. He would receive the Distinguished Conduct Medal for this action.

The Leeds Rifles did not take part in the attack that was planned for the morning of 1^st October. Instead, the battalion was withdrawn from the line and marched the almost seven miles to Havrincourt where the men went into billets for a week of rest, reorganisation, and cleaning up.

Military Medals belonging to men of C Company for their actions on 27th September 1918.
Rfn JB Curnock (Coy HQ Signaller), Rfn JW Reed (Rifleman) and A/Sgt J Richardson (Coy Lewis Gun Sgt)

Losses to the battalion amounted to 448 casualties of all kinds across all ranks through the month of September, but despite those losses the achievements of the battalion drew praise from its chain of command, and even the former divisional commander, Lt Gen Braithwaite, sent his congratulations.

During the last twelve months of the war, the 62^nd Division had a record of success which no other division could better. Since the end of the Battle of Cambrai, it had never failed to achieve or exceed any task it was set.

Maj Gen Whigham (Francis Dodd in 'Generals of the British Army' Country Life)

Major General Whigham sent the following signal to the division on 1^st October.

"I have today been visited by the Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chief who has desired me to convey to all ranks of the Division his congratulations and high appreciation of their splendid courage and endurance. For myself I give you all my warmest thanks for the unfailing cheerfulness with which you have carried out the most arduous tasks, often in conditions of great hardship and discomfort. It will ever be to me a pride to have commanded so magnificent a Division."

Lt Gen Haldane (Francis Dodd in 'Generals of the British Army' Country Life)

Perhaps greater praise, specifically for the men of the battalion, came from the Corps Commander, Lieutenant General Haldane in his signal:

"Please convey to the survivors of the two companies, 8th West Yorkshire Regiment, my high appreciation and admiration of their initiative, dash, and gallantry in pushing up to the outskirts of Marcoing yesterday in spite of all obstacles. It is by resolution and bravery, such as they displayed, that great victories have been won in the past history of the British Army. I heartily congratulate the whole Battalion, yourself, and your splendid Division on this inspiring incident in front of Marcoing."