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Other documents randomly have
different content
 The Project Gutenberg eBook of Historical
records of the Buffs, East Kent Regiment (3rd
Foot)
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Historical records of the Buffs, East Kent Regiment (3rd Foot)
Formerly designated the Holland Regiment and Prince
George of Denmark's Regiment

Author: R. S. H. Moody

Artist: Herbert Alexander

Elizabeth Butler

Author of introduction, etc.: Arthur Paget

Release date: March 13, 2024 [eBook #73159]

Language: English

Original publication: London: The Medici Society Ltd, 1922

Credits: Brian Coe, Karin Spence and the Online Distributed

Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORICAL

RECORDS OF THE BUFFS, EAST KENT REGIMENT (3RD FOOT) ***
HISTORICAL RECORDS
OF THE BUFFS, 1914–1919
 By Lady Butler

A MAN OF KENT
From the Original in the possession of Major-General Sir
E. G. T. Bainbridge, K.C.B.
 HISTORICAL RECORDS OF
THE BUFFS
EAST KENT REGIMENT
(3rd FOOT) FORMERLY DESIGNATED
THE HOLLAND REGIMENT
AND PRINCE GEORGE OF
DENMARK’S REGIMENT

1914–1919
BY
COLONEL R. S. H. MOODY, C.B., p.s.c.
LATE THE BUFFS

LONDON
THE MEDICI SOCIETY, LIMITED
MCMXXII
 Printed in Great Britain at
The Mayflower Press, Plymouth. William Brendon & Son, Ltd.
 PREFACE

I
t has been said that a preface to a book is merely to give an
opportunity to the author to make excuses for his shortcomings,
and this is to a certain extent correct.
The chief point that seems to call for explanation in the case of
this work is the condensation of a very long story into a very brief
space. Economy demands that the book containing the history of the
Buffs during the momentous years from 1914 to 1919 shall not
stretch its length beyond a certain limit, and it is difficult to pack the
stories of eight fighting battalions for four years into the required
space; yet it is feared that the unavoidable price of a more lengthy
volume or volumes might perhaps be prohibitive in the cases of
many individuals deeply interested in the regiment.
Thus it is clear that if all battles and engagements are to be
described, what may perhaps be considered as a bald record of
events is not altogether avoidable.
The intervals between the great fights were fairly well filled with
minor enterprises and with individual acts of gallantry, all of which
ought to be recorded, but it is a misfortune that many brave deeds
done by single men or very small parties can find no record in these
pages. Several were performed that were not reported at the time,
as is so often the case in war, when everyone of rank is so occupied
with his urgent duties that it is more or less a chance whether or no
he notices the heroism of individuals about him.
The list of subscribers, without whose help this book could not
have been produced, is printed on pages 549–554.
 CONTENTS
PAGE
Author’s Preface v
Foreword by General The Rt. Hon. Sir Arthur Paget, p.c., g.c.b., Colonel of
the Buffs xix

CHAPTER I
THE FIRST BATTALION GOES TO WAR
I Introductory 1
II Events following the outbreak of war 4
III Move to France and Battle of the Aisne 7
IV Battle of Armentieres: Action at Radinghem 14

CHAPTER II
THE SECOND BATTALION TAKES ITS SHARE
I The Second Battalion returns to England from India 25
II It proceeds to the Western Front 28
III “O” Trench 29
IV Trench warfare near Ypres 38
V Second Battle of Ypres 40

CHAPTER III
THE PREPARATION AND THE START OF MORE BATTALIONS
I Short summary of events 57
II Duties of the Depot 60
III The Third (Special Reserve) Battalion 63
IV The Fourth and Fifth (Territorial) Battalions 65
V Formation of the Sixth Battalion 68
VI Formation of the Seventh Battalion 72
VII Formation of the Eighth Battalion 75
VIII Formation of the Second-Fourth and Second-Fifth Battalions 78
Formation of the Third-Fourth and Third-Fifth Battalions 80
IX Raising of the Volunteer Battalions 81
X Formation of the Ninth Battalion 82
 CHAPTER IV
THE WESTERN FRONT—LOOS
I The First Battalion 85
II Loos 90
III The Eighth Battalion at Hulluch 94
IV The Second Battalion. The Hohenzollern Redoubt 99
V The Sixth Battalion at Hulluch 105
VI The Seventh Battalion 109
VII Life in and behind the trenches 110
VIII Summary of Events 114

CHAPTER V
THE TURKISH ENEMY
I The Fourth Battalion at Aden 117
II The Fifth Battalion in Mesopotamia. Attempted relief of Kut.
Actions of Sheikh Saad and The Wadi 121
III The Kent Composite Battalion in the Gallipoli Peninsula and Egypt 131
Buff portion of the battalion transferred to Royal West Kent
Regiment 132

CHAPTER VI
THE SOMME
I Summary of events which led to the offensive on the River Somme 134
II The Sixth Battalion from the commencement of 1916 to November
of that year. The Hohenzollern Redoubt and Battles of Albert
(1916), Pozieres Ridge and the Transloy Ridges 136
III The Seventh Battalion during the same period. The Battles of
Albert (1916), Bazentin Ridge, Thiepval Ridge and the Ancre
Heights, with the capture of the Schwaben Redoubt 147
IV The Eighth Battalion. The Battle of Delville Wood 155
V The First Battalion. Battles of Flers-Courcelette and Morval 164

CHAPTER VII
A YEAR AT SALONICA
I The Second Battalion 174
II Action of Karajakoi 177
 III Affair of Barakli Dzuma 179

CHAPTER VIII
WITH MAUDE IN MESOPOTAMIA
I The position in 1916 183
II Battle of Kut, 1917 185
III Subsequent pursuit to Baghdad 193

CHAPTER IX
PALESTINE
I Formation of the Tenth Battalion 200
II Second Battle of Gaza 203
III Third Battle of Gaza 207
IV Battle of Nebi Samwil 213
V Defence of Jerusalem 216

CHAPTER X
THE WESTERN FRONT
NOVEMBER, 1916, TO JULY, 1917
I Summary of Events 221
II The Seventh Battalion. Battle of the Ancre 222
III The Seventh Battalion—(continued) 225
IV The First Battalion 229
V The Eighth Battalion 231
VI The Sixth Battalion. Battle of Arras and the Scarpe 234
VII The Seventh Battalion 240
VIII The First Battalion 243
IX The Sixth Battalion 246
X The Seventh Battalion 247
XI The Eighth Battalion. Battle of Messines 248

CHAPTER XI
THE WESTERN FRONT
CONTINUATION TILL MARCH, 1918
I The position of affairs in the middle of 1917 255
 The story of the First Battalion from middle of 1917 to the Battle
of Cambrai in November 256
II The Sixth Battalion during the same period 258
III The Battle of Cambrai 263
IV The First Battalion from Cambrai to the 20th March, 1918 267
V The Sixth Battalion during the same period 270
VI The Seventh Battalion from middle of 1917 to the 20th March,
1918. Poelcappelle 272
VII The Eighth Battalion from middle of 1917 to its disbanding in
February, 1918. Battle of Pilckem Ridge 279

CHAPTER XII
THE QUEEN’S OWN RIFLES OF CANADA
I The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada 284
II The Canadian Buffs 291

CHAPTER XIII
THE END OF THE SALONICA AND MESOPOTAMIA CAMPAIGNS
I The Fourth Battalion in India 292
II The Fifth Battalion in Mesopotamia. Affairs on the Nahr Khalis.
Passage of the Adhaim. Action of Istabulat. Affair on the Shatt el
Adhaim. Second action of the Jabal (or Jebel) Hamrin. Third
action of the Jabal Hamrin 294
III The Second Battalion in Macedonia. Battle of Doiran, 1918 304

CHAPTER XIV
HOLDING ON
I Preparations for defence 315
II The First Battalion during the German offensive. Battle of St
Quentin. Back to Belgium 317
III The Sixth Battalion during the German offensive. Battle of the
Ancre, 1918 331
IV The Tenth Battalion in France 339
V The Seventh Battalion during the German offensive. Battle of St
Quentin 340

CHAPTER XV
 THE GRAND RESULT
I The Seventh Battalion, the 6th August to the 21st August, 1918.
The Battle of Amiens 355
II The Sixth Battalion at the Battle of Amiens 359
III The Sixth and Seventh Battalions from the 22nd August to end of
September, 1918. Battles of Albert, 1918. Second Battle of
Bapaume. Battle of Epehy 361
IV The Sixth Battalion’s history up to the Armistice 381
V The Seventh Battalion during the same period. Battle of the Selle.
Battle of the Sambre 384
VI The Tenth Battalion during the advance to victory. The Battle of
Epehy 391
VII The First Battalion during the advance to victory. Battle of Epehy.
Battle of Cambrai, 1918. Battle of the Salle. March into Germany 400

CHAPTER XVI
Conclusion 415
 LIST OF APPENDICES
PAGE
I Nominal roll of Officers who were killed in action, or died of
wounds or disease in the Great War, 1914–1919 425
II Nominal roll of Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and
Men who were killed in action, or died of wounds or disease in
the Great War, 1914–1919 432
III Rewards (British) won by Officers, Warrant Officers, Non-
Commissioned Officers and Men in the Great War, 1914–1919 504
IV Foreign Decorations awarded to Officers, Warrant Officers, Non-
Commissioned Officers and Men during the Great War, 1914–
1919 530
V Mention in Despatches: all ranks during the Great War, 1914–1919 535
VI Mention for Record (Mention “B”): all ranks during the Great War,
1914–1919 545
VII List of serving officers, 1st and 2nd Battalions, awarded brevet
rank 548
List of Subscribers 549
 ILLUSTRATIONS

PLATES IN COLOUR
A MAN OF KENT
(After the painting by Lady Butler) Frontispiece
THE RECAPTURE OF KUT EL AMARA
(After the painting by Herbert Alexander, A.R.W.S., Lieut. 5th To face page
Bn. The Buffs) 190

PLATES IN MONOCHROME
To face page
YPRES FROM NEAR THE MENIN GATE 40
BATTLEFIELD NEAR ST JULIEN 44
ROAD NEAR HOOGE 86
BRINGING UP WIRE 162
MORVAL 172
SALONICA—ROAD MADE BY BRITISH 176
ARCH AT CTESIPHON 194
GENERAL ALLENBY ENTERS JERUSALEM 214
SCENE ON THE ANCRE 224
WINTER ON THE WESTERN FRONT 234
A NEW TRENCH 262
CAMBRAI ON THE MORNING THE ENEMY WAS DRIVEN OUT 410
 LIST OF MAPS
GENERAL MAP—WESTERN FRONT End Papers
To face page
RADINGHEM 20
YPRES 56
NEIGHBOURHOOD OF LOOS 98
HOHENZOLLERN REDOUBT AND THE DUMP 104
ADEN 120
TURKISH LINES NEAR KUT 130
THIEPVAL 154
VALLEY OF THE STRUMA 182
VICINITY OF KUT 198
PALESTINE 220
LOOS CRASSIERS 254
SPOIL (OR BUFFS’) BANK 254
CAMBRAI 266
POELCAPPELLE 276
COUNTRY NORTH OF BAGHDAD 308
COUNTRY NEAR CAKLI STATION 308
LAGNICOURT AND NOREUIL 324
VENDEUIL 346
VENDEUIL TO VARESNES 350
COUNTRY RETAKEN FROM ENEMY, AUTUMN OF 1918 356
ALBERT 364
COMBLES AND MORVAL 378
RONSSOY 378
DIAGRAM: BATTLE OF THE SELLE 386
ST QUENTIN 406
GENERAL MAP—MIDDLE EAST End Papers
 FOREWORD

T
o read this record of the part played by the Buffs in the desperate
fighting of the early months of the war, in turning the tide of the
enemy’s success and in the crowning victories, fills me with pride.
No pen can adequately convey the true measure of the constancy
and valour of those men who endured and fought through the daily
hardships, the hourly perils, the nerve strain during darkness—and
this under the conditions of modern warfare, in battles which lasted
not hours but weeks, with the added horrors of high explosives, gas
poisoning, flame throwers, tanks and machine guns, delay-action
mines and other mechanical and inhuman devices. Through all these
trials the spirit of the regiment—of the Men of Kent—never faltered,
its certain hope of victory never wavered.
For over three hundred and fifty years the historic name and high
traditions of the Buffs have been in the keeping of the generations of
men who followed each other in one or other of the so-called
Regular battalions; during the Great War eight battalions, including
two Territorial, took the field, and six others served at home. No less
than thirty-two thousand men passed through the ranks of the
regiment, of whom over five thousand gave their lives for their King
and Country. But in spite of the great increase of numbers, and in
spite of all the new dangers and perils, there was no change in the
spirit, no weakening in the sense of duty which have always
animated the Buffs; new and old battalions alike maintained, and
more than maintained, the glory of the name handed down to them.
The recital of those deeds, and a description of the character of
the war and conditions in which they achieved them, cannot
therefore but inspire those who come after them in the battalions of
the Buffs; so that should they too in their generation be called on to
pass through the fiery ordeal, they also may, in the faith of their
fathers, pass through unshaken to final victory.
 CHAPTER I

THE FIRST BATTALION GOES TO WAR

I. Introductory

I
n the early hours of Tuesday morning the 5th August, 1914, the
British Foreign Office issued this statement: “Owing to the
summary rejection by the German Government of the request made
by His Majesty’s Government for assurances that the neutrality of
Belgium will be respected, His Majesty’s Ambassador at Berlin has
received his passports and His Majesty’s Government have declared
to the German Government that a state of war exists between Great
Britain and Germany as from 11 p.m. on the 4th August.” Thus was
the British Empire officially informed that the Great War had, at last,
come upon Europe. Actually the Government had given orders for
the mobilization of the Army some eight hours earlier, at 4 p.m. on
the 4th; so that at that hour on that day this history properly begins.
The war took Great Britain by surprise. This does not mean that
England was totally unprepared for such an eventuality; though
comparatively small our land forces were in a condition of readiness
and efficiency never before equalled. Nor does it mean that the idea
of a war with Germany was new; through many years its likelihood
had been canvassed and openly speculated upon both by soldiers,
headed by the veteran Earl Roberts, and politicians. But it does
mean that the man in the street did not think it would come in our
time, and certainly no one could see any possible connection
between the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his
Consort at Serajevo on 28th June and an international war on a vast
scale. The British temperament is not in its nature warlike;
Englishmen do not soldier, like some, from a sheer love of soldiering.
That is why the mass of the nation has always been steadily averse
to conscription. In spite of warnings it was willing to take the risk,
preferring quality to quantity where its army was concerned.
It is perhaps well to give here, in this introductory, in order to link
up the story that is to follow with the past history of the regiment, a
brief outline of the changes which went to the making of the British
Army as it was at the beginning of hostilities, and the situation which
led to the war.
The South African War had brought it home to the Government
that the system initiated in 1871 failed to meet modern needs in
certain fundamental respects. It was realized that drastic reforms
were overdue; that new methods were essential. The work of
reorganization was undertaken by Mr. (now Lord) Haldane, then
Secretary of State for War; it was made all the more imperative by
the aggressive and openly ambitious imperialism of Germany. Whilst
still relying in the first instance on her naval supremacy, England
could no longer think in terms of small forces fighting in far-flung
corners of her mighty Empire. The danger loomed nearer home, and
the possibility of a British force at grips with a foe across the narrow
seas had to be faced; nay more, it had to be provided for and
planned against. An agreement was made with France, our ancient
enemy on many a bloody field, and the General Staffs of the two
countries explored the measures necessary for the defence of the
frontiers from the sea to the Vosges.
This entente was little more than a friendly understanding, and so
little was England under any obligation to go to the aid of France
that the actual position of the British Expeditionary Force was not
settled until after the outbreak of war. Whether Great Britain would
have remained neutral had Germany not forced her hand by
invading Belgium, cannot now be stated. What is known is that
Germany believed she would remain neutral; that, harassed by the
threat of civil war in Ireland and other domestic difficulties, she
would content herself as a looker-on. Therein Germany made her
first big mistake. She made her second when she assumed that the
British Army was too negligible to be seriously considered, and that
if it came into the field at all it would arrive too late to affect the
issue. Germany counted on a swift and fatal thrust across Flanders
at the heart of France. She underestimated British feeling upon the
treaty rights guaranteeing the integrity of Belgium, and she also
forgot that Britain would look upon her advent, entrenched on the
Belgian coast, as an intolerable menace. Thus, as events shaped,
Belgium was the tinder on which the spark was struck that lighted
the war-torch in Britain.
As regards the reconstruction undertaken by Haldane great
progress had been made. The Army Council had taken the place of a
commander-in-chief; the Imperial General Staff had been set up; the
Militia, which had been converted into the Special Reserve, was
ready to train and despatch recruits as required by the regular
battalions; and the Territorials were organized on the same principle
as the First Line, and, although they were under strength and only
partially trained, it was thought that many old Territorials would
rejoin in case of war and that complete units would be able to take
the field after a few months’ training. In addition, the universities
and public schools had responded to the invitation to turn their units
into Officers’ Training Corps and a reserve of men capable of
leadership in a time of crisis had thus been created. Above all, the
Expeditionary Force, consisting of six divisions and a cavalry division,
was ready to move at a moment’s notice. This finely tempered
weapon, this wonderful fusion of skill and discipline with British
courage, this “contemptible little army” was ready to thrust or parry,
wherever it might be sent and against whatever odds.

II. Events Following the Outbreak of War

Before trying to follow the history of any particular unit it is, of

course, necessary to bear in mind the military proceedings as a
whole. Most people have a general idea of what took place in the
different theatres of war, but events are apt to be forgotten, and it
may be as well before describing any particular operations to remind
the reader how it came about that such operations became
necessary.
On the 4th August, 1914, war was declared with Germany, and in
compliance with prearranged and carefully drawn up plans that
Power, having already declared war on France on the 3rd, proceeded
at once to violate the neutrality of Belgium whose roads supplied the
easiest way to the heart of France, and the idea was to strike that
country prostrate before Russia was ready to move. It was well
understood that the Russians must be slower than any of the other
immediate combatants to mobilize their forces.
Thus, on the 5th August, the Germans, who thoroughly
recognized the advantage of getting in the first blow, were opposite
Liége and occupied that city five days afterwards, although the last
fort did not fall until the 17th. On the 14th August the French, too,
were in Belgium, and between the 12th and 17th the British
Expeditionary Force had landed on the coast and the army was
moved into position extending from Condé through Mons and
Binche.
During the few days prior to the British landing the Belgians had
been driven steadily backward by overwhelming forces, as also had
the French; and as the British Expeditionary Force only consisted of
four divisions (the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th) and a cavalry division its
numbers were far too small to make any very perceptible alteration
in the situation. The result was a steady general retreat of all the
Allies commencing on the 24th August and lasting to the 5th
September, by which time the armies were behind the River Marne
and in the immediate neighbourhood of Paris, and the British base
had necessarily been shifted from the Channel ports to the mouth of
the Loire.
A cold statement that the Great War opened with a rapid retreat
conveys the truth perhaps, but not all of it. Never in its long history
of adventure and heroism had the British Army covered itself with
such glory. There are retreats and retreats in war. When an army
runs away that disaster is described under this term, and there
seems to be no other correct military expression for what happened
in Flanders and France in August, 1914, though, as a matter of fact,
the little army sent from these shores was fighting one long
continuous battle against overwhelming odds; its artillery completely
outnumbered; its infantry facing death and wounds in the most
soldier-like spirit possible to any troops, quite unable to understand
why the movement was backward and not forward, but resolved to a
man to get some of their own back when their time came.
On the 5th September the retreat had ceased, and by this date
the German Colonies of Togoland and Samoa had been wrested from
them and their fleet had learnt what the British sailor was capable
of, notably in the Bight of Heligoland on the 28th August.
On the 6th September the tide of war had turned on land: a
general offensive by French and British troops had commenced, the
Battle of the Marne begun and Paris saved.
Strictly speaking, there was no Battle of the Marne, the fighting
between the 6th and 10th of September being desultory and chiefly
in the nature of independent and to a great extent disconnected
engagements, but the struggle or series of struggles, however
described, proved, indeed, a turning point—the British crossed the
river on the 9th and the Germans were in full retreat.
On the 13th the Allies recovered the important town of Soissons
and forced the passage of the Aisne, on which river the enemy stood
to fight, and there the combatants were still engaged on the 20th,
for now the German retreat was over; on this day the British
Expeditionary Force was reinforced by the British 6th Division (16th,
17th and 18th Infantry Brigades) which had landed on the 10th
September, and the Buffs once more in their long history came into
the presence of England’s foes.
All this time the Territorial Force was working hard to fit itself to
help, and in a short time the bulk of it was sent to India to release
our forces there which were promptly sent to France.
 Meanwhile the new armies, whose numbers under the voluntary
system were such as to fill every Englishman with pride, were
straining every nerve to prepare themselves for war, and they were
drafted off to the different fighting theatres as fast as they could be
armed and equipped. The most wonderful fact of the early days of
the war was the way that Kitchener’s appeal for recruits was
answered. Thousands and thousands of quiet, peaceable citizens,
who had never dreamed of anything to do with soldiering, much less
of getting into uniform and themselves going off to fight, men from
every rank of life, now thronged and jostled each other at the
recruiting offices. They took long railway journeys at their own
expense, or walked miles if they had no money, for the pleasure of
standing, often for days, in queues waiting their turn to enlist. They
faced the doctor with fear, hiding their disabilities, and passed the
test with a sigh of relief.
What was true of England was true to an equal extent of the
Colonies and oversea possessions, and the total number of soldiers
raised, equipped and put into the firing line astonished ourselves
almost as much as it dismayed the Germans, whose reckonings in
this respect, as in all others, were completely at fault. The Queen’s
Own Rifles of Canada, the Allied Regiment of Canadian Militia, was
represented in several of those gallant battalions which sailed in
such numbers from their shores and which did such glorious service
in France and Flanders.
The story of the struggle is so long, and the Buffs fought in so
many theatres and places, that the clearest and best way of
describing the deeds of the regiment appears to be the division of
the eventful years of 1914 to 1918 into sections, so that the story of
each battalion of the regiment may appear as clearly as possible
between certain approximate dates. Of course, this system must be
to a certain extent elastic, for, if a fixed date happened to be one
during which a particular unit was in the midst of a very particular
job, it would obviously be better to finish the description of that
operation before drifting off to the doings of its brother Buffs
somewhere else. The doings of the ten battalions, then, which
together formed the regiment of Buffs, are what the reader is invited
to consider in the following pages.

III. Move to France and the Battle of the Aisne

The 1st Battalion on the 4th August, 1914, was quartered at

Fermoy in Ireland and the 2nd was in India. It is obvious, therefore,
that as the 2nd Battalion had to come home, the 4th and 5th to
complete their training, and all others to be not only trained, but
raised before they could add their splendid quota to the glory of the
Buffs, the story of the first period of the war up to the 17th
November, 1914, must mainly concern the senior battalion of the
regiment. This date is taken because it was then that the desperate
attempt of the Germans to hack their way through to Calais and the
Channel ports finally proved a failure, and in France and Belgium
heavy, murderous and continuous fighting merged into stonewall
tactics, if tactics they could be called: when each of the opposing
sides dug themselves in and when the long, dull, trying period of
trench warfare set in on the Western Front. Up to this date no
attempt had been made to force the Dardanelles. In fact, Turkey had
only become a declared enemy a very few days and Italy was still at
peace.
The 1st Buffs were, as has been said, at Fermoy. Their brigade
was the 16th and the Brigadier-General was E. C. Ingouville-
Williams, C.B., D.S.O., himself a very well-known old Buff who, after
being adjutant of the 2nd Battalion, distinguished himself as
commander of a column in the Boer War and was promoted out of
the regiment, as is sometimes the fate of soldiers who serve in a
“slow-promotion” corps. The other battalions of the 16th Brigade
were the 1st Leicestershire Regiment, 1st King’s Shropshire Light
Infantry (K.S.L.I.) and the 2nd York and Lancaster Regiment; it will
be useful to remember the names of these battalions as they must
naturally be frequently referred to in the following narrative, and
they were the close and very good comrades of our men.
 The history of the 1st Battalion had, up to this time and since the
commencement of the war, been briefly as follows: as early as the
29th July directions had been received that certain precautionary
measures were to be taken at once, and on the 4th August the order
for mobilization reached the battalion at Fermoy. Almost immediately
the strength was augmented by 554 reservists, many of whom were
wearing the Indian Frontier and South African Medals. Thus a very
fine battalion resulted. The commanding officer, Lt.-Colonel H. C. de
la M. Hill, was a well-known musketry expert, and he had with him
Brevet-Colonel Julian Hasler, who had distinguished himself in both
the campaigns alluded to, Major E. H. Finch Hatton, who won his
D.S.O. in South Africa, Major R. McDouall, who also gained a D.S.O.
in the same war, and many another good officer. The sergeants were
very highly trained, so much so, indeed, that nearly all the survivors
were made commissioned officers within a few months of the
battalion reaching the shores of France. The privates, after the great
influx of reservists, were composed of brisk and energetic
youngsters, keen and bold, and steady old soldiers—invaluable as a
stiffening.
It proved afterwards that “the dash was all on the side of the
youngsters, but the old reservists were a great backbone in holding
off the German advance—in trench warfare they were excellent—in
fact, they liked it.”[1]
On the 12th August the battalion left Fermoy, and after a
troublous journey reached Cambridge on the 19th. As everybody
knows that the song of “Tipperary” was most popular at this time in
the Army, it may be interesting to note that it was first played by this
battalion. It was arranged by Bandmaster Elvin for the band a year
before and the score was lent to many other units. The stay at
Cambridge, which lasted up to the 8th September, was beneficial in
so far that it remade soldiers of the reservists whose physical
condition had somewhat deteriorated during a long spell of civil life.
The battalion was hospitably entertained by Christ’s College; the
officers were entertained at the High Table and frequent presents of
fruit, chiefly mulberries, from Milton’s Mulberry Tree, were sent to
the men.[2]
On the 8th September at noon the 1st Battalion The Buffs,
together with the 2nd York and Lancaster Regiment, sailed for the
mouth of the Loire to which Sir John French had now transferred his
base. The journey was made by rail and march after the port of St.
Nazaire was reached, the train starting at dim dawn on the 11th and
taking the route: Nantes, Angers, Tours, Verdun, Paris to Mortcerf, a
twenty-six-hour journey. The ensuing eight days’ march was not
without incident and not without discomfort, but there was
excitement, too. Heavy firing was heard all day on the 12th. The first
taste of outpost duty in war time came the following night. Billets
were used each night, but these were not always of the best and the
weather was generally execrable. The billets, which one night
consisted of a cowshed, were sometimes shared with Belgian
refugees, and altogether it was with a sort of relief that the real
fighting line was reached at last at 2.30 a.m. on the 21st September.
Vailly on the Aisne was entered and the Fifth and Royal Fusiliers
relieved in the trenches at that place, A, C and D Companies being in
the front line with B in reserve.
It will be remembered that the Germans, after their retreat from
the Marne, were now standing fast, and that in its turn the Allied
pursuit was checked upon the Aisne. The enemy knew somehow
that fresh troops were now in front of them and, hoping to find an
inferior article to that they had been sampling for the last month,
determined to attack and try what they were made of.
The Buffs were on the left of the brigade line, on the crest of a
small plateau beyond the river, and the enemy’s trenches were on
the far slope, from two hundred to seven hundred yards away, with
all the best of the situation because, owing to the shape of the
ground, our artillery had great difficulty in aiding this particular part
of the line, whereas the Germans were very closely supported by
their guns. On the right was an improvised sub-section of defence