by Bill Lamin
The concession in (b) for Lewis gunners like Harry was to enable them to carry an extra eight magazines. Since the equipment he would have to take into action would weigh more than 65 pounds (30kg), the extra magazines meant that his load would be in excess of 100 pounds (45kg). Any personal ‘extras’ would also need to be carried.
The entry in the battalion war diary for that day explains:
At 0310 (zero hour) our artillery opened up a terrific barrage on the Hun front line & simultaneously the mines under Hill 60 and the Caterpillar were blown. At zero + 1 [minute] the first wave consisting of B Coy on the left & A Coy on the right went over, and were followed by D Coy (moppers up) & C Coy [Harry’s] in support at short intervals.
That there was initially little opposition to the assault is unsurprising. Estimates suggest that around ten thousand German defenders died instantly in the explosion. Some were vaporized, others had their internal organs destroyed by the shock wave from the blast, others still were buried beneath tons of dirt and debris. With a front of around six miles (10km), that works out, roughly, at the equivalent of an entire British battalion wiped out for each 1,000 yards (900 metres) of front line, or a man for every yard. Understandably, the badly shaken and demoralized survivors offered little resistance. In the case of the German troops in the positions assaulted by the 9th York and Lancasters, their casualties must have been virtually doubled because both the outgoing unit and the replacement troops were in the line when the mines blew.
There was some ineffective resistance from a few Germans in pockets along the line, but the attack was only held up briefly. Large numbers of the enemy, dazed and disoriented, surrendered without a fight; others, uninjured, also held up their hands, happy to get away from this hellhole of the war. In all, 5,000 German prisoners were taken. Many of them laughed with relief and shook hands with the Tommies who had overrun their shattered positions.
For all their success against the German infantry, the mines would have had little impact on the German artillery positions sited well behind the front lines. As soon as the assault began the defenders’ guns would have been directed on to the attacking troops.
Harry’s battalion attacked behind a creeping artillery barrage from the British guns. As we have seen, the shells should have fallen in front of them as they advanced. But it was not an exact science, and many British casualties were caused by ‘friendly fire’.
The 9th York and Lancasters had been assigned the part of the ridge that contained Hill 60 as well as Mount Sorrel. A and D Companies were in the first two waves. Harry’s C Company waited in a newly dug trench behind the front line.
The battalion’s orders for the day are precise and chilling. In them, Lieutenant-Colonel Bowes-Wilson – who was to be killed at noon that day – writes:
At Zero, Mines under HILL 60 & the CATERPILLAR will be fired. 18-pounders [the standard British field gun] will barrage the enemy front line.
Zero + 1 [minute] Barrage lifts & will move slowly back allowing for a pace of 25 yards a minute.
Zero + 20 Barrage lifts off battalion objective & will pause about 200 yards in front of this line till zero plus 3 hours 40 minutes.
Zero + 3 hours. Barrage again lifts & allows C & D 40 minutes. Bns to advance to take their objective.
The CO goes on to describe how the three waves (Harry in the third, not the fifth as he says in a letter he sent after the action) are to cross no man’s land at 100-yard intervals. The positions of the medical officers and dressing stations are indicated, as is the route back for stretcher cases and walking wounded.
Harry’s company is to support the first wave:
If necessary, the O.C. [officer commanding] ‘C’ Company must push on to the Bn objective to help A & B Companies gain this.
Immediately the Bn objective has been gained, a line in, or in front of this, must be consolidated. Lines must be firestepped & organized to resist counter attacks. Wiring to be commenced as soon as possible.
All very clear. All very clinical. Of course, the firesteps in the German trenches would be facing the wrong way for defence against any counter-attack from the enemy’s rear, and the wire would be behind what would have become the front line if the battalion took its objectives.
How did the assault go? The answer is, very well at first. As the war diary records:
The attack progressed very favourably and by zero + 30 the Bn had reached its objective and began consolidating. Very few casualties were sustained in the actual attack.
A map showing the positions of the mines beneath the Messines–Wytschaete Ridge, and the subsequent British gains.
The remains of a German strongpoint on Mount Sorrel, the battalion’s objective on the Messines Ridge, after the detonation of the mines.
So far, so good. The 9th York and Lancasters had reached Mount Sorrel and occupied the enemy’s front-line positions there with few casualties.
The obvious strategy of carrying on with the advance beyond the first objective was not considered. The objective had been to take the high ground at the Messines Ridge and then to set up defensive positions there.
The German Army would have been alarmed, if not dismayed, by its losses on that morning, and so rapidly responded with intense artillery fire. As the British troops had taken over the German trenches, their positions were known precisely and the German artillery had little problem in finding the mark. The war diary, 9 June 1917, two days after the initial assault:
The Bn remained in its objectives until the evening of the 9th. During this period the Bn underwent heavy shelling & sustained many casualties. B Coy also relieved the 8th Bn Y & L in the front line on the morning of the 9th. On the evening of the 9th the Bn was relieved by the 1st N Staffs [North Staffordshire Regiment] Bn. The total casualties sustained were officers – killed 4 (including the C.O.) wounded 6. O.R.s – Killed 39, wounded 211. Died of wounds 9. Missing 18.
The casualties represent well over a quarter of the battalion. Almost 10 per cent had been killed or were missing. (Most of the ‘missing’ were likely to have been killed by shelling, buried by the action or simply blown to pieces.) The proportion of killed to wounded was smaller than would have been expected from an assault against machine guns. At the Somme, in some battalions twice as many men were killed as were wounded. This confirms that the casualties largely came from the shelling once the objective had been reached.
Night of 9th/10th. On relief the Bn moved by motor lorry from KRUISTRAAT to SCOTTISH LINES. Capt. D Lewis took over temp command of Bn at midday on June 7th (from Lt Col Bowes-Wilson, killed in action 7.6.17*). Coys at O.C. Coys [i.e. companies to be at their company commanders’] disposal for cleaning up and re-organization. [*Added in very small writing as a superscript.]
With a new temporary battalion commander (a captain taking a lieutenant-colonel’s job shows the extent of the casualties), on 10 June the battalion moved away from the front lines to the relatively safe location of Scottish Lines. There were several rest locations for the troops around Poperinghe (Poperinge), about five miles (8km) due west of Ypres. They would have been accommodated in wooden huts – very similar to the ones in the training camp at Rugeley – and much, much more comfortable than the trenches. There, Harry wrote letters to Jack and to Kate, taking care, because of the censorship of the men’s letters, not to mention specific place names.
June 11th /1917
Dear Jack
I was very pleased to hear from you and that you are going on all right I have been to the place you mentioned in your letter we went there for our bath about a fortnight ago. The part of the line that we are in is straight forward so you will know where I am. We have had another terrible time this week the men here say it was worst than the Somme advance last July. We lost a lot of men but we got where we were asked to take. It was awful I am alright got buried and knocked about but quite well now and hope to remain so. We were praised by the general and all, everybody said we had done well, quite a success. I will tell you mor
e when I see you. Mention the name of the place you think I am in and I will tell you whether you are right but I think you will know one of the worst fronts on the line but I think we are having a change of place. When you receive this letter write back and let me know all news you can. It is a rum job waiting for the time to come to go over the top without any rum too. The C.O. got killed and our captain, marvellous how we escaped. The biggest part of our company are scotch man from the Scottish Borderers. I can’t tell what they say they are not like Yorkshire men and we were the fifth wave over. I am glad they are alright at home and getting on well. The little book you sent is very nice it will come in useful I will read it. Glad you have wrote to Kate. My address is the same Y & L. I will write again And soon and let you know how I am getting on.
With best love from
Harry
(PS) could you send me a small tin of salts or lemon something to put to water only a small tin, anything that will not take up much room.
‘I am alright got buried and knocked about’ – Harry is probably describing his experience when a shell landed close to him. The earth would have been thrown up to bury him, and he would certainly have felt the blast. Clearly, he had been doubly fortunate, for he was missed by the shrapnel and was able to escape from the burial.
The ‘worst than the Somme advance last July’ reference is curious, for Harry was plainly misinformed. The Somme had been a disaster for the 9th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment. Second in line to go over the top on the infamous first day of the battle (after their sister battalion, the 8th, which suffered even higher casualties), the battalion was cut to pieces by German machine-gun fire. One report claims that it suffered 432 all ranks killed on the morning of 1 July 1916, with total casualties, killed, wounded and missing, of almost 80 per cent of the committed battalion strength of 25 officers and 736 other ranks (a further 10 per cent of every infantry unit involved were kept back from any major assault). Surely the survivors of that massacre would not compare it with the recent action at Messines?
Harry’s reference to ‘scotch’ men in the battalion also has its origins in the Somme battle. After such heavy casualties, replacements were urgently needed. Some severely depleted battalions were disbanded and their troops moved to other units to make up their strength. As part of that exercise, fifty-seven men of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers joined the battalion; it may be that, quite sensibly, they were kept together in C Company.
As usual, Harry’s letter to Kate spares her some of the more alarming details that he had told Jack:
June 11th /1917
Dear Kate
I was very pleased to receive your packet everything came in very useful. I was very pleased to hear you are going on all right did you receive my letter. We have had some very rough times up here lately especially the last time we were in the trenches you see we had to go over the top. its a rotten time waiting for the order. we had to go over at three in the morning. the bombardment was awful [I was] lucky to get out but I’m very pleased to say I am alright and hope to remain so. There was a parcel waiting for me from Ethel and Annie when I came out, it was nice to have some cake and tea. we never had anything but water for about a week, biscuits and bully a bit of Jam but never mind I got over it. I am very pleased Connie is going to school I do hope she gets on alright – I think they all keep well at home. The weather here is very hot I wish it was a bit cooler. Do not be long before you write. My address is 32507 [his regimental number] ninth York and Lancs Batt C Company L. G. [Lewis gun] section B.E.F. France. There is nobody in my company from our way not that I know of you see a mix them up now there is a lot of scotch men with us you can hardly tell what they say. I have been a with the Lewis gunners the last month but I don’t know for how long. It was only three of us came back out of our section after the last fight. I think this is all just now, I will write again soon and tell you more.
With love from
Harry
The YMCA provided facilities for troops, including writing paper, in its establishments behind the British lines.
‘Only three came back out of our section.’ A Lewis-gun section would have had nine members at full strength. Harry was a lucky man.
Altogether, the German death toll in the Messines Ridge battle was 25,000, the Allies’ 17,000. This time, at least, Harry wasn’t among the casualties. The battle was also a very rare example in that war of a successful major assault in which the defenders suffered higher casualties than the attackers, Much of the credit for that belongs to Plumer, who had begun his military career as an officer of the York and Lancaster Regiment; his infantry training, in a war in which so many senior British commanders were cavalrymen, gave him considerable understanding of the ordinary foot soldier. The troops under his command appreciated his meticulous planning and his concern for their welfare, especially in seeking to minimize casualties among them, and nicknamed him ‘Daddy’ or ‘Old Plum’; at his funeral in 1932 some 30,000 of his former soldiers stood in the rain to honour him.
As a contrast, to end the chapter we have a letter from Jack the clergyman in Hull, to Kate, the midwife in Leeds, written on the day of the Battle of Messines, but naturally oblivious to the carnage in Flanders. This is the only letter that has turned up to complete the loop of correspondents.
20 Ryde St, Hull, 7th June 1917
Dear Kate
Just a line to let you know that I’ve heard from Harry this morning. He would very much like to hear from you. His address is
Pte H. Lamin
32507
9th Batt
York & Lancashire [sic] Regiment
C Company
12th Platoon
B.E.F. France
He is in very good health I am thankful to say.
I hope you will get on all right with your exam. Have you seen the question papers of former years and do you know off by heart the act of parliament you ought to. I see you had another air raid not very far from London. Did you hear anything of it? I am in the best of health although very hard worked. Mr Thomas [probably a neighbour, but sadly now untraceable] is very interested in his work in France.
With lots of love
J. E. Lamin
Note the salutation and ending, which are very formal for a brother writing to his younger sister, even in those days, and even allowing for the seven-year difference in their ages. As to Kate’s reward for success in the examination, she passed with flying colours and received a wonderful vellum certificate and a glorious-sounding job title.
CHAPTER 5
THE SUMMER OF 1917
HARRY HAS CLEARED A MAJOR hurdle, surviving the Battle of Messines more or less unscathed. That action was deemed successful, but among many other casualties had resulted in the loss of his battalion commander, his company commander and six out of nine of his own section. The defenders, unusually for a major attack on the Western Front, lost more troops than the attackers, the balance tipped by the 10,000 Germans estimated to have died when the mines were set off. Most of the Allies’ losses occurred after the ‘successful’ initial assault. Nevertheless, the enemy had been driven from the ridge, and the southern end of the Ypres Salient had been secured for the next major Allied attack, due to kick off in July.
Harry, after a month or so in Flanders, will be beginning to understand the reality of trench warfare and will have acquired the essential survival techniques. He will be learning to deal with the severe environment of the front line. He has experienced the intense fear that comes with ‘going over the top’ (without any rum, too). In short, he is becoming a battle-hardened soldier.
An animated map of the front line close to Ypres for the two years from June 1915 would have shown it wriggling backwards and forwards a few hundred yards this way and that, but, overall, hardly moving at all. By the summer of 1917, however, the whole area would be devastated by the shelling and by the operations of war: trench works, strongpoints, supply roads, gun lines, ammunition dumps, fuel depots, and so on
. An enormous proportion of the dead would simply be left where they fell, to be buried by shell blast or exhumed by the same process. There would be no great incentive to risk life and limb to recover the body of someone who was beyond help. On the Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres are the names of nearly 55,000 British, Dominion and Imperial soldiers whose final resting place is unknown. The memorial arbitrarily records only those killed up to mid-August 1917; a further 34,984 names are recorded on the Memorial to the Missing at Tyne Cot cemetery near Passchendaele, and many soldiers from New Zealand and Newfoundland are honoured on separate memorials. These monuments show the scale of the losses at Ypres. The traumatic effect of all this on a conscript from a small town in England can only be imagined.
The initial success of any attack at this stage of the war brought its own problems, contributing to the static nature of trench warfare. The beaten defenders would be forced back into relatively ‘clean’ ground where they could re-establish their defences. They would be bringing up supplies through the intact communication systems to their rear. If, as at Messines, they had lost only their front line, their second line of defence, reserve trenches and wire entanglements would still be in place. The attackers, however, would be trying to supply their troops and to consolidate their defences by bringing materials, weapons, food and men over the totally devastated battlefield. The ‘Bite and Hold’ strategy of which Plumer was an advocate, in which infantry would advance to take an objective behind an intense artillery barrage, then consolidate their positions and allow the enemy to exhaust himself with counter-attacks, was not so much a strategy as a necessity.
