Читать книгу The History of the 7th Battalion Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders - Norman Macleod - Страница 6

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On the 21st we again went into the trenches, taking over the Grenay-Vermelles line, preparatory to the Battle of Loos. Shelling had now become intense, the bombardment being in full swing. Before going into the line the fact that the attack was going to take place was kept most secret, nobody below the rank of Company Commander being informed of the project. We were, therefore, somewhat surprised to learn, on getting into the line, that the Germans knew all about it. In fact we were told by those in the front line that the enemy was shouting across to our trenches asking what was the cause of the delay!

At 4.45 a.m. on the 25th the Battalion moved out to take part in its first great battle, a battle which is one of the greatest in the history of Scotland, owing to the number of Scottish troops employed. On that day there were five battalions of Camerons engaged. The morning was dull and misty, with practically no wind. At 5.50 a.m. our gas was turned on, and ran alternately with smoke candles. Owing to the lack of wind, however, it is doubtful if the gas did not do more harm than good, numerous British casualties being due to it. At 6.30 a.m. the assault was delivered, the 9th Black Watch and 8th Seaforths leading, with the 7th Camerons in support, and the 10th Gordons in reserve. The advance was practically due East towards the Towers of Loos, these being kept slightly on our right. Within a very short time the Black Watch and Seaforths got clear away.

The Camerons, following, were very shortly streaming through the village of Loos, having crossed the third German line of wire and trenches, which had been regarded as impregnable. Unfortunately, traces of the gallant part played by the Camerons in cutting this wire, which was almost untouched by Artillery fire, were too evident, the ground being strewn with dead and wounded. The houses in Loos were practically battered to pieces. Germans were being bombed out of the cellars, others bayoneted, dozens were surrendering, but nothing seemed to stay the advance of the 44th Brigade.

The Battalion Headquarters were established in a red brick building near the church, which was now a heap of ruins. There the Commanding Officer, with the Signallers and Scouts collected round him, remained in comparative security until suddenly a number of the heaviest type of high explosive shells rained down on them. All dashed for a cellar, in which was found a German soldier. Soon after it was decided to go down into the lower cellar, where we found a German officer still telephoning. It was evident that he had directed the Artillery fire upon our Headquarters. His telephone apparatus was for a long time afterwards in the possession of, and used by, the Battalion Signallers.

As the Commanding Officer was going through the village he came across two Companies of the 7th Royal Scots Fusiliers, who attached themselves to him, and all went on together to Hill 70. On their arrival at the foot of the Hill, information was received that 300/400 of the Brigade—most of them Camerons—had pressed forward over the Hill and were heavily engaged with the enemy's lines at St. Laurent. It must be remembered that the orders received before going into action were that the Battalion was to press on to the Cité St. Auguste, beside St. Laurent, which was given to them as their final objective.

Major Crichton of the 10th Gordons handed over the command of the Hill to Colonel Sandilands, who, at once realising the gravity of the situation, decided to establish a line on the reverse slope of Hill 70. Luckily here there was a sort of natural line of defence, consisting of a bank about 3 feet high, running roughly North and South along the Hill. This proved an invaluable feature to hold on to, as men instinctively rallied to it. Major Barron, 2nd in command, 7th Camerons, and Major Crichton (10th Gordons) volunteered to go forward and order the advance party, who had charged over the Hill, to retire. Both officers fell in the task, but their orders reached the advanced line, and the men began to fight their way back. Major Crichton was killed outright, while Major Barron, who was wounded and taken prisoner, died of his wounds in a German Field Hospital.

The Commanding Officer being satisfied that his right was protected by the London Regiment which was astride the Loos Crassier, ordered the Royal Scots Fusiliers to dig in for all they were worth. There is little doubt that if these two Companies had not acted contrary to the strict letter of their orders, in coming on with Colonel Sandilands, things might have gone badly with the 15th Division. About 8 a.m. the Battalion Flag, which consisted of one of the Divisional yellow distinguishing flags, with a patch of Cameron tartan taken from an old kilt sewn on to it, was planted on Hill 70, and remained flying till midnight, when we withdrew. Throughout the operations the flag was carried by Scout-Sergeant Lamb, and on more than one critical occasion he rallied men of all regiments by waving them back to the Hill. This flag has been presented to the Depot, and is now in the Officers' Mess at Inverness. About midnight, when the line had been fairly well dug, those in front were ordered to retire. It was on the forward slope of Hill 70 that the greatest number of casualties in the 7th Camerons occurred. The confusion which of necessity arises after an assault of this nature can be realised from the fact that on Hill 70 the Commanding Officer had under his command representatives from no less than nine different Battalions.

At 3 p.m. all were cheered by seeing large bodies of troops coming over the Hill, apparently to relieve us. They turned out to be part of the 1st Division, who had been delayed in the attack on our left, and not a relief. At 6 p.m. word was received that we were to be relieved by the 62nd Brigade, but owing to some error they did not arrive until early next morning.

At 8 p.m. the Commanding Officer discussed the situation with the Brigadier, and satisfied him that the position on Hill 70 was secure for the night, and, in view of the fact that the few Camerons who still remained could not influence the situation, received orders to hand over the command to Lieut.-Colonel M'Lean of the 10th Royal Scots, and to withdraw his own men. At midnight he ordered his little band of weary Camerons to retire. Not many who came out that night will very readily forget it. In drenching rain, pools of mud, and incessant shelling, they picked their way amongst the dead by the light of burning houses, and they plodded wearily on, powerless to take any notice of the wounded who lay waiting for stretcher-bearers. Mistaking the road, they made a detour through Maroc, finally fetching up at the old Headquarters, which, although it consisted merely of a badly shelled house, appeared like a sanctuary. Without calling a proper Roll the men were numbered off, and it was found that there were 4 officers and 75 other ranks present out of 20 officers and 827 rank and file who had started off so proudly 24 hours earlier. Throughout the night and early morning stragglers kept coming in, and there were finally collected 6 officers and about 290 other ranks.

Philosophe was reached about 3 a.m., and we were lucky to find the cookers waiting for us, and, after having some tea, both officers and men slept on the ground, too exhausted to take any notice of the mud or water. The usual rumours of going back for a long rest were prevalent, a rest which was often talked about but never matured. However, about 8 a.m. 26th September, a Staff Officer came over and said that the battle was going far from well, and that there was no alternative but to send the remnant of the Battalion back into the fight. It is impossible to realise the feelings of men under such circumstances. They fell in, and went straight back, picking their way through Quality Street, which by this time was literally running with blood and blocked with wounded. On they went amidst a hail of gas shells, pushing their way through bunches of disorganised troops—raw recruits who had never before experienced the sights of a battlefield, and arriving finally at the old German front-line, where they found the trench so full of gas that they had to dig themselves in behind the parados. They held this position well on into the Monday morning, when they were finally relieved. Twenty-four hours after this these men marched out of Mazingarbe, headed by the pipes and drums, with their buttons cleaned and their equipment polished in so smart a manner that they were mistaken for a new draft, and were greeted with shouts from those whom they passed: "Wait till you have been in the trenches, and you won't look like that."

Our casualties for the day were:—

Officers.	Men.
Killed,	4	Killed,	64
Wounded,	6	Wounded,	255
Missing,	4	Missing,	215
	14		534
Total, 548

Colonel Sandilands received the following letter from Colonel The Mackintosh of Mackintosh:—

"Invergordon, 12th October, 1915.

Dear Sandilands,

"Let me express the feelings of all here. We are proud of the dash and gallantry shewn by the 7th Battalion Cameron Highlanders under your command at the taking of Hill 70 at the Battle of Loos. To command such officers and men is indeed enviable—they have added fresh glory to the Cameron Highlanders, and their deeds will live in history.

"From my son, who was A.D.C. to General Sir Arthur Paget, Commanding the Salisbury Division, I heard what Field Marshal Lord Kitchener said about the 7th Battalion: 'It is far the finest Battalion of the new Army I have seen,' no mean compliment from such an authority who knows how to judge soldiers.

"Yours truly,

"A. MACKINTOSH OF MACKINTOSH, Colonel,

"3rd Cameron Highlanders."

The next three days were spent in the support line, which was not very much more comfortable, but distinctly safer. The following three days we had a bad time. The rain came down in torrents during the relief, and continued incessantly for 40 hours. It is very difficult even to imagine the misery and discomfort which the men suffered. The so-called trenches were full of water and mud up to the men's knees. It was almost impossible for the ration and water parties to get either up or down.

During the second afternoon of this downpour the German Artillery got on to our front line trench, blew in a machine-gun emplacement and knocked down a considerable portion of the parapet, one man being killed and two wounded. The parapet was rebuilt during the night. Next morning nothing particular happened, but in the afternoon the German guns again opened a heavy enfilade fire, resulting in 11 men being killed and 21 wounded, and the parapet being very badly knocked about. It was a very trying experience for new troops, and there is little doubt that the Battalion deserved great credit for taking their punishment so well.

The following day we were relieved, and went back into the support trenches, and finally marched back to Noeux-les-Mines on 7th November. On 17th November Major R. BC Raban joined the Battalion as Second in Command. Christmas and New Year were celebrated at Allouagne, and here too was held a Divisional Boxing Exhibition, the principal event being an exciting 10 rounds fight between Private O'Rourke of the Camerons, and Sergt. Macleod of the Seaforths, the latter winning.

On the 14th January, 1916, the Battalion returned to the trenches, taking over section 14 bis on Hill 70. During this tour there was attached to us "C" Company of the 6th Royal Irish Regiment for instruction. Mining operations had now started in earnest, and this involved heavy trench mortar and shell fire, causing numerous casualties. It was during this tour of duty that we found and buried the body of Lieut.-Colonel A. F. Douglas Hamilton, V.C. He was lying just where he had been killed, and, although it was remarkable that his body had not been discovered before, yet it was a source of satisfaction to all that he should have finally been buried by the officers and men of the Regiment in which he had served, and of which he was so proud. On the 23rd March "B" Company proceeded to Labuissiere for duty at 1st Corps Headquarters. The Battalion was to have been inspected by the Commander of the 1st Corps on the 24th March, but owing to snow it was cancelled. Next day we railed to Lillers, and marched to billets in Allouagne. On the 3rd April Major R. Raban left, on being appointed to the Command of the 13th Royal Scots, and was therefore struck off the strength.

On the 13th April Colonel Sandilands relinquished the Command of the Battalion on being promoted Brigadier-General Commanding the 104th Infantry Brigade. He was given a great send off by the officers and men of the Battalion, who lined the street of Allouagne in his honour.

The following article, which was written by Colonel Sandilands as a brief review of the period during which he commanded the Battalion, appeared in the April Number of The 79th News, 1916:—