9th (Scottish) Division

“ The Ninth had good reason to be proud of its special branches, the Sappers, Pioneers, R.A.M.C., A.S.C., and Ordnance; their skilled help, generously given, was a factor of first-rate importance in giving the Division its prominent name among the British forces in France. Their work was assiduous and unremitting and was often carried on under conditions of great strain and extreme peril, particularly in the case of the Sappers, Pioneers, and R.A.M.C. A more trying ordeal can scarcely be imagined than that of digging under a heavy bombardment. ”

“ With the second day, trials and troubles for the Ninth accumulated and grew in magnitude as the enemy’s attack was pressed, and during the following days only consummate leadership and indomitable gallantry enabled the Division to extricate itself from the dangers that threatened it on all sides.
When dawn came, gelid shadows of mist drifted over the landscape, bringing poor comfort to men who, half-numbed with cold, had passed a long, sleepless night. ”

“ All the sappers and pioneers were busy on roads and dumps. Numerous conferences in connection with the battle were held by the G.O.C. On the next day the Ninth moved to Etinehem, and on the 27th to Grovetown, a city of dumps.
The Division was not to take part in the first day of battle, but it was instructed to be ready to do so when called upon. The A. & Q. Staff worked continuously to supply the men with all that was necessary for the fight. Two hundred rounds of S.A.A. per man were carried, except in the case of signallers, orderlies, and Lewis Gunners. ”

“ For myself I am convinced that a Scottish cairn built of rough-hewn stones, such as these, is a more fitting monument to the rugged, simple, and enduring war service of soldiers than sculptured group or elaborate architecture. And though the Division embraced men of England, the Channel Islands, South Africa, and Newfoundland, and was therefore more truly Imperial in its composition than any other Division in the British Army, it must be remembered that it was born in Scotland, it was named after Scotland, it was fed throughout the four years of its active life in the main from Scotland ”

“ Every possible assistance was rendered by the Ninth Division. On the night of the 6th/7th, the 27th Brigade sent out a patrol, which established a post in Longueval Alley only 300 yards from Trones Wood, while on the morning of the attack the artillery pounded the southern fringe of Longueval and the neighbouring trenches, and the 12th Royal Scots from Bernafay Wood covered the left flank of the Thirtieth Division with machine-gun fire. ”

“ Never did the Division fight on a more grisly battlefield. The long muddy slope up to the Butte was thickly strewn with British and German dead, and in the more forward trenches corpses of all units lay sprawling, wedged in by the slime that coated them. In the open near the Snag, a long line of men of the London Division, each on his face, was grim evidence of a gallant charge and the accuracy of the enemy’s machine-gun fire. ”

“ The units of the Highland Brigade were transferred to another division and battalions who had not shared in the Ninth’s brotherhood of arms took their place.
The history of the Ninth Division ends with the formal disappearance of its title on the 15th March. In the chronicle of its achievements attention is inevitably focussed mainly on the doings of the infantry and the gunners. But just as a good Quartermaster is a blessing to his battalion, though his name rarely occurs in the story of its battles, a division cannot expect to be successful without efficient “Q” and administrative work. ”

“ The attack was entrusted to the 28th Brigade, with the Newfoundlanders and Royal Scots Fusiliers in line, and for the purpose of maintaining liaison with the Belgians, a company of the Black Watch was to operate on the left of the 28th Brigade. The 27th Brigade was in reserve. One company of the 9th Machine-Gun Battalion was attached to each infantry brigade, the remaining one and a company of the 104th Battalion being detailed to barrage certain points to cover the infantry advance, and then to form part of the divisional reserve. ”

“ In war, no news invariably means bad news, and consequently during the early hours of the attack suspense and anxiety reigned at Brigade H.Q. The gloomy forebodings with which the absence of information had filled the minds of Brig.-General Scrase-Dickins and his staff were deepened by a message, received from the 9th Scottish Rifles at 8.15 A.M., that the 10th H.L.I. were asking for reinforcements. As it was also known at 7.50 A.M. that the attack of the Second Division on the left had failed, there was no longer any reason to doubt that the brigade had experienced a serious check. ”

“ An attack on this weak and far-stretched flank was to be dreaded, since it might drive these brigades north and north-west and break the front of the Division. Accordingly, General Tudor, having obtained permission from the V. Corps to order the right brigade of the Forty-seventh Division to take over our front north of Fins to north of Equancourt, delivered these instructions to it at 11.15 A.M. In the afternoon the 99th Brigade was transferred to the V. Corps, which was to extend its right flank down to the boundary between the Third and Fifth Armies, west of Manancourt. ”

“ The date of battle, after several postponements, was eventually fixed for the 25th September.
The task of the Division in its first important engagement was not an easy one. In the excitement of battle even the best of soldiers are liable to go astray if they are required to change direction at any time during the advance. For this reason it is desirable that objectives should be allotted so that it is possible for the assailing troops to advance at right angles to their position of assembly. ”

“ The plot has been left exactly as the War left it. For this was the left of the third and final objective of the attack allotted to the Division on 9th April 1917. The surrounding country has been reclaimed and tilled again, but the half-acre of the Ninth Division still remains a war zone in miniature. There are trenches; a dug-out; here and there you may discern rusty barbed wire and derelict ammunition. But there are mitigating features. Round the base of the cairn heather brought from Scotland has been planted; broom is growing on the top ”

“ During the evening the Division and its sector were transferred from the IX. to the XXII. Corps.
On the same day Messines Ridge was wrested from our grasp. During the night of the 10th/11th the South Africans tried to gain touch with the Ninth near Pick House, but this place consisting of three “Pill-boxes” was found to be strongly manned by the enemy and defied every attempt to overpower it. At daybreak the 108th Brigade moved up in support of the South Africans, and the forenoon passed without event. ”

“ Loos, where the Division—its three Infantry Brigades composed of the flower of Scottish manhood, who had left their Highland or Lowland homes in instant response to the call to arms—first experienced the shocking, awful realities, to units as well as to individuals, of a crashing battle, but proved to themselves and through themselves the amazing power of disciplined courage over terrifying opposition. ”

“ The Division had the great fortune to be commanded by a succession of leaders outstanding for character as well as knowledge, who with their fingers ever on its pulse, knew well how to direct and control it to the best advantage. But the true value of the Ninth depended not upon the pre-eminence of a few individuals, but upon the co-operative ability shown by all ranks and departments to work together. Each officer and each man contributed to a common stock, and while he might pass away his spirit was absorbed by the Division. The group is always stronger than the individual. ”

“ The qualities that created the Empire are equally necessary to maintain it, and the security of a heritage depends essentially on the sense of duty of those who hold it. War still remains the supreme test of a nation’s efficiency, and it is the glory of democracy that it did not shirk that test when challenged. In keeping with the national spirit the Ninth Division had ever before it the injunction received from H.M. King George V. on the 10th May 1915, and its greatest honour is that from beginning to end it faithfully and loyally carried it out. ”

“ The wearied men spent a wretched night, as there was not sufficient shelter for all, and many had to lie in the open, unprotected from the drenching sleet. The next day was spent in cleaning rifles, replacing kit, and salvaging the battlefield. On the 11th, the Fourth Division was instructed to secure the slopes of Greenland Hill, a small ridge lying to the east of the village of Roeux, and the South African Brigade was sent up to support it. The attack was repulsed, and the Ninth was ordered to renew the attempt the following day. ”

“ The first commandant of the school was Lieut.-Colonel Loch who was assisted by Captain Drew, the adjutant of the 5th Camerons, and the instruction was both theoretical and practical. It is impossible to over-estimate the value of this school in increasing the efficiency of the Division.
Certainly the safest and in many ways the most desirable place during these winter months was the front line system. A battalion spent four days in the front line trenches, four days in support, and four in rest at Dickebusch or Canada Huts. ”

“ The infantry followed the more mobile groups. A short distance from the Railway the 27th Brigade had some trouble on the left, because our immediate neighbours, the Third Belgian Division, did not advance at first beyond the objective, as Ingelmunster farther north had been retaken by a German counter-attack. Consequently the 11th Royal Scots were enfiladed from Heetje, and were obliged to attack the village. It was captured only after a severe fight, and the Royal Scots were so far delayed that they did not reach the ridge between Abeelhoek and the Lys till dusk. ”

“ But even more remarkable than the dour resolution, with which the battle was carried on, was the extraordinary [139] capacity for endurance displayed by the men in holding on to their gains. In France, the most difficult part of an attack was not the winning of an objective but the keeping of it after it was gained. The Germans knew all about the art of war. Their counter-stroke on the 18th July was admirably planned and skilfully carried out, and it was made when the Division was at its weakest. Never did the Ninth rise to greater heights. ”

“ Four tanks were to assist the Division by helping to clear the two villages of St Laurent-Blangy and Athies. No battalion was to attack with its full strength. Since the time of Loos never more than 20 officers per battalion had gone into battle, the remainder along with some men being left at the Transport Lines. The pamphlet S.S. 135 laid down the proportion of men and officers to be left out of action, so that even if a battalion received a shattering blow in battle there would be the nucleus of a new organisation. ”

“ But, great and imperishable as their services were, they neither alone nor together constituted the Ninth Division. Without the help of the Artillery, the Engineers, the Machine-gun Corps, the Army Service Corps, the Field Ambulance, and the Divisional and Brigade Staffs, our splendid Infantry could not have done all they did, and the Division could not have won its high reputation. ”

“ Except on the extreme right the advance had come to a halt about 100 yards from the starting-point. The New Zealanders on our right flank had made some progress, but the Eighteenth Division, as was the case with our left battalion, had been handicapped by the spongy nature of the ground and was back in its original position. Several unfortunate men had been drowned in the deep, water-filled shell-holes, and rifles and machine-guns were clogged with slime. ”

“ The Black Watch, who were now temporarily attached to the 27th Brigade, filled a gap of 1000 yards between its right and the left of the Twenty-ninth Division at the end of the day’s fighting. By nightfall our line ran from the road junction a mile east of St Louis to Hill 50, and thence to the south-east of the Klijtberg, and the troops were in touch with the divisions on both flanks. There were rumours of a German retirement in the north, but on our front the enemy showed great activity and bombarded our area savagely from time to time with gas. ”

“ Division and many yards of cable were buried to ensure a rapid and reliable signal service. Advance posts were thrown out by the 27th Brigade, and the assembly areas for the Sixty-third Division were marked by tape. On the 22nd a feint attack in our sector, carried out by men of the XVIII. Corps Cyclist Battalion who manipulated dummy figures, assisted the Eighteenth Division in bringing its position into line with that of the Ninth. ”

“ But to eliminate the risk of the right being barraged by the enemy while waiting for the left to come up, it was arranged that the whole line should advance simultaneously, and that the right would pause for thirty minutes on the light railway, 1000 yards east of the main railway, to enable the left to come into line and to give the Twenty-ninth Division time to clear the village of Ledeghem. ”

“ The successful resistance of the Ninth was due to sound generalship as well as the valour of its troops. On the critical 25th April the Highland Brigade being on the inner flank had time to send two companies up from the reserve to form a defensive flank facing south, and it was this measure that stopped the spread northward of the German turning movement until the troops along the Dammstrasse could be withdrawn to the Piccadilly Farm-Mound position, and then at night behind the Vierstraat-Snipers’ Barn line. ”