Austin Thomas Anderson

“ You are fighting in the cause of righteousness and freedom, fighting to defend the children and women of our land from the horrors that have overtaken other countries, fighting for our very existence as a people at home and across the seas. You are offering your all. You hold back nothing, and day by day you show a love so great that no man can have greater. We, on our part, send forth with full hearts and unfaltering will the lives we hold most dear. ”

“ In writing a record of artillery work it is inevitable that the performances of the batteries which do the actual fighting should come in for more frequent mention than the less showy, but equally indispensable and arduous, services of the D.A.C. Let me take this opportunity, therefore, of recording that the 62nd D.A.C. never failed me. As the war went on the daily expenditure of ammunition grew greater and greater, and at times the demands made on the column seemed almost impossible of fulfilment. Yet I can recall no instance when the amount of ammunition required was not punctually to hand. ”

“ The strain on the horses, the toil of the men in the never-ceasing "packing" of the ammunition to Miraumont, up the shell-swept road, past Shrapnel Corner, to the fire-desolated village, had its result and compensation in the advance to Bapaume and the capture of Achiet-le-Petit and Achiet-le-Grand.
The daily digging, the unceasing work on dug-outs and gun-positions in Ecoust, and in the Noreuil Valley, saved many a life and rendered possible the accurate service of the guns in the Battle of Bullecourt, and in the subsequent period of holding that much-strafed line. ”

“ By this time the science of protective building and digging had been brought to a wonderful state of perfection in the batteries, as was evidenced by the remarkably small number of casualties caused by the enemy's constant shelling. Rarely a day passed but that the Noreuil and Ecoust valleys were under fire, and the former valley in particular presented an extraordinarily sinister appearance. It was thickly pitted with deep shell craters along its whole length, and a casual visitor would have found it hard to believe that any human beings could go on living in such a shell-swept area. ”

“ I well remember, some years before the war, when the Territorial Force was first evolved, the utter scepticism expressed of the Territorial ever being able to be made into a gunner. Infantry yes, but gunners—! And a distinguished Colonel Commandant R.A., of the old school, told me, during 1916, that Territorial Force gunners might be all right during trench warfare, but that it was absurd to think that Territorial Force drivers would ever be able to bring the guns into position in a war of movement. ”

“ There was very little rest for any of the drivers, whether of the D.A.C. or of the batteries, and their zeal, endurance, and good temper were beyond all praise.
Just before the road enters Miraumont a sunken road runs to the left, honeycombed with dug-outs and occupied by one of our Infantry Brigade Headquarters; and on the right a steep path leads down into the valley. Here the three Colonels have their precarious shelters; sometimes things may be quiet for a short breathing space—more often they are just the reverse. ”

“ That it may long exist, however, as a brotherhood of officers and men, bound together by a thousand memories of danger and privation borne in common, proud in the consciousness of duty done, and strong to maintain in peace the steadfast and loyal comradeship which knit them together in war, is the sincere hope of the writer of this little chronicle. ”

“ It was hard that our first battle should have been so costly in life and so apparently unfruitful in results, but our sorely tried infantry had proved their mettle, and had shown that magnificent spirit in the face of appalling odds which, in the Homeric battles which were still to come, was so often to spur them on to victory. ”

“ Boche bombardment was extraordinarily intense, and stretched far into the back area. It included a large amount of gas shell, concentrated chiefly on the 312th Brigade, which was in action along a hedge close to and south-west of Les Essarts. The brigade fought with magnificent courage, and though inundated with gas shell the batteries never failed to fire when called upon throughout the day; there was scarcely a man but had his hands badly blistered by the foul mustard gas, while many officers and men were temporarily blinded by it. ”

“ On this memorable day where you bring us freedom, we turn away from the hard and unjust past to look forward with hope to the future. But if we are so to say mad for joy, our hearts are large enough to make room for another feeling as sincere and powerful as our happiness—our gratefulness to all our Allied friends. ”

“ There was a chance that he might have wormed some information out of them, for an uneducated man may often give away valuable information quite innocently, out of pure ignorance or indiscretion. If he did know, the enemy might have wrecked the attack before it began, by bombarding the long line of guns, which had the most definite orders on no account to fire a round till 6.20 a.m. when the attack was to be launched. As it happened, the Boche showed great uneasiness, and fired very heavily during the night, though fortunately not on any vital places. ”

“ With less constant and loyal co-operation on the part of both field, heavy, and siege batteries, the great bravery and determination of the infantry could scarcely have availed to hold up the enemy's advance. The infantry are the first to admit the inestimable value of the artillery support so readily given them on all occasions. ”

“ Every position must be held to the last man; there must be no retirement. With our backs to the wall, and believing in the justice of our cause, each one of us must fight on to the end. The safety of our homes and the freedom of mankind alike depend upon the conduct of each one of us at this critical moment.
"D. Haig,
"Commander-in-Chief British Armies in France."
Divisional Headquarters were now at Henu, and on the 18th a readjustment of the artillery took place, bringing back the 310th to cover their own instead of the 37th Division. ”

“ We are like slaves whose fetters would fall down all of a sudden, like birds kept for long years in a dull cage and which unexpectedly could fly freely again in the open air of a nice spring day. Our hearts sing merrily, our souls are transported with joy and hope. ”

“ To have advanced 7000 yards on the first day, taken all objectives, held them against counter attacks, and handed over all gains intact to the relieving division, is a feat of arms of which any division may be justly proud.
"The number of prisoners taken by the division is not far short of 2000. Thirty-seven guns have been captured, which include two 8-inch howitzers, one complete 4.2-inch battery, one complete battery of 5.9-inch, and the remainder guns of various calibres, many of which were brought into action against the enemy. ”

“ The next few days were spent by the Staffs of Headquarters and Brigades in inspecting the positions to be occupied by batteries in the neighbourhood of Courcelles, Mailly-mailly, Colincamps, and Engelbelmer, and in reconnoitring the observation posts on the high ground north of Beaumont Hamel. This village, like so many that we were now to become acquainted with, had been so thoroughly destroyed by shell fire, our own and that of the enemy, that one might easily have passed through it without realising that there had ever been a village there. ”

“ A walk of one and a half miles brings us into a much-battered village in which my most advanced guns are scattered about, and now begins the second and more dangerous stage. The village (Ecoust) is a deserted ruin, but for occasional individuals moving hastily from cover to cover, and we waste no time in passing through it, and enter the communication trench which leads up to the front infantry line. As the Boche has exact photographs of the course of this trench, he frequently bombards it ”

“ I think that all realised the impossibility of reducing the number of guns in front of the enemy, and one scarcely ever heard a word of grumbling, but it is well that the fact should be placed on record that the artillery practically never got a rest. ”

“ On the night of the 28th our infantry was relieved by the 47th Division. On this day and on the 29th there was a great increase of activity on the part of the enemy's artillery, and it became evident that he had been strongly reinforced.
At 8.45 a.m. on the 30th the enemy launched a very formidable counter attack, pouring his infantry forward in great masses and with the most desperate determination, supported by a tremendous artillery fire of high explosive and gas shell. ”

“ I retain lively recollections of crawling with Lindsell or Anderson, guided by Powell, the D.T.M.O., along shallow trenches, or places where trenches had been before they were demolished, and finally diving down into the ground to find ourselves, when the eyes got used to the subterranean darkness, in the midst of a party of smiling jolly looking gunners. ”

“ Our troops were exhausted almost beyond the limits of human endurance, and the first three weeks of the great offensive seemed to us like as many months—a period of constant danger and anxiety, unceasing hardships, and utter fatigue. The news from other fronts was of so sinister a nature that it might well have driven even the bravest of men to despair. ”

“ We, too, are striving in all ways possible to make the war victorious. I know that I am expressing what is felt by thousands of wives and mothers when I say that we are determined to help one another in keeping your homes ready against your glad home-coming. ”

“ He took the keenest interest in his work and inspired all his men with his own zeal and energy; and his cheery personality, and unfailing tact and good humour ensured him a warm welcome from every battery he visited, and the cordial co-operation, moreover, of those who, at the inception of the scheme, might have been inclined to resent the taking away of even a few men from their depleted batteries. ”

“ At last, after another fortnight of hard fighting and great discomfort, the artillery was withdrawn, and arrived in the rest area behind Arras on the 29th December. In spite of the severity of the weather, all ranks greatly enjoyed the rest which they had so well earned, although it could only be called a rest in the sense that they were out of danger and in a condition of comparative comfort. Much work of course had to be done in cleaning up and generally refitting, and in preparing to take up the new positions just north of Arras, which were now to be our special charge. ”

“ On the 2nd July I was returning from one of these tours, and, calling on my way back at the 310th Brigade Headquarters, which were then in a sunken road just N.W. of Noreuil, I found that a few minutes before my arrival a 4.2-inch shell had penetrated and burst inside a small shelter in the trench, killing four men and wounding three—all, of my special little R.A.R.E. company. The place was a shambles when I went into it. It was a particularly distressing affair, as there was a good and equally handy dug-out just beside the one that had suffered, fit to withstand any number of 4.2-inch shells ”

“ When the morning of the 26th dawned the infantry were holding their new line, and the guns were nearly all in action. There was desperate fighting throughout this day, in the course of which our right was pressed back out of Puisieux. Headquarters was shelled constantly, as was the whole area occupied by the artillery. Fortunately the enemy had not yet had time to locate the battery positions, and the shelling, being distributed over the whole country side, caused fewer casualties than might have been expected. ”

“ The way in which batteries worked with battalions, and brigades with brigades of infantry, in open warfare, must have been a source of enormous satisfaction to all officers, non-commissioned officers, and men, and the way in which it was done is worthy of the best traditions of the Royal Regiment. ”

“ The method of attack was to be an entirely new departure. There was to be no artillery preparation; in other words, not one gun beyond the normal was to be fired until the moment of assault, or what is technically known as "Zero." Then the barrage was to begin, and the infantry were to assault preceded by tanks. In addition to my own brigades, I was to have under my command for the operation the 77th, 93rd, and 16th Brigades, i.e. twenty batteries in all.
A period of intense activity now commenced. A tremendous lot of work had to be done, and there were at first very few men to do it. ”

“ I handed over artillery command on the evening of the 30th, and rejoined Divisional Headquarters at Haplincourt, to find that all our three infantry brigades had again been thrown into the line in support of three different divisions. I heard to my great sorrow that Brig.-General Bradford, V.C., who had joined the 62nd only about three weeks before, had been killed. He was a man of extraordinary gallantry and great personal charm, and a born soldier and leader of men. ”

“ Early on the 15th the Huns made a determined counter-attack against the Australian Division on our right. At first it was completely successful; the enemy broke through as far as Noreuil and Lagnicourt, and for a short time was actually in possession of two brigades of the Australian artillery. At about 8 a.m., however, the Anzacs made a magnificent recovery, and hurled the enemy back to his original line, retaking their guns and capturing about 400 prisoners. Over a thousand German corpses were left on the field. ”

“ On the 15th July the enemy began a big attack on a front of 50 miles, each side of Reims, and the Division, which was originally, I believe, to have gone to Verdun, was diverted while still in the troop trains towards the Reims front, and by the 18th had been detrained and billeted in an area between Arcis and Epernay, with headquarters at Tours Sur Marne. We now learned that we, with the 51st Highland Division, had been formed into the 22nd Corps, under command of Lieut.-General Sir A. Godley, and were for the time being a part of the 5th French Army. ”

“ For some time past the weather had been very inclement, and the unvarying cold and damp, added to the strain of heavy work and constant danger night and day, was having its inevitable effect on the physical powers, though not on the fighting spirit, of the officers and men behind the guns; and, it should be added, of the officers and men of the D.A.C., whose work in these operations had been of a most strenuous and perilous nature.
The men fall asleep while working at the guns. ”

“ Although the infantry suffered very severely, our casualties were not heavy, owing to the indifferent counter-battery work of the enemy, and to the excellent habit, which had become a second nature in all the batteries, of digging themselves in directly a position was occupied. The total losses in the Divisional Artillery in the ten days' fighting were only five officers wounded, nine other ranks killed, and about 60 other ranks wounded. ”

“ The knowledge possessed by each arm, doubly confirmed by the severe tests already passed through successfully, that it can rely with absolute confidence upon the most whole-hearted and self-sacrificing co-operation of the other, is the greatest possible assurance that all further assaults of the enemy will be met and defeated. ”