CHAPTER XI11 by April 6Th It Was As Evident to the British Troops As to Thc
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i CHAPTER XI11 THE BATTLE OF THE LYS-(I) APRIL ~TH-~~TH BY April 6th it was as evident to the British troops as to thc German that Ludendorff’s thrust in the Somme region had for the moment at least, practically ended. General Rawlinson of the Fourth Army was intent upon straightening out the kink in the line at the junction of the French and British armies, from which the Germans might at any time lever the British out of their position at Villers-Bretonneux. But the flanks of that position were growing strong. In the old VI1 Corps area, now taken over by General Birdwood and the staff of the Australian Corps,l the 2nd Australian Division, arriving from Flanders, on April 8th relieved the two brigades of the 4th Division which had been fighting on and off since March 27th at Dernancourt; and the 1st Division-thc last to come down-was now moving up into support. The two divisions now from Flanders, which to the end of their stay in that region had been harassing their opponents in the patrol warfare at Messines, had been relieved there by tired British divisions, most of which had themselves been relieved a few days before by Australian troops on the Somme or at Hkbuterne: the 9th and 21st relieved the 1st Australian. and the 19tl1, and the 25th relieved the 2nd. The Australian officers and men were rather shocked at the condition of some of the battalions to whom they were handing over-the thin ranks had been expanded by a flood of very young recruits who, to the harder Austrahans, appeared as mere children, pink cheeked, soft chinned, giving the impression of being dazed by the grim conditions into which they were suddenly plunging. Their inexperience caused the reliefs in some cases to be long drawn out. The 1st Division’s diary notes that the incoming divisions showed “ some disorganisation . due to their recent losses ” and were “ still deficient in certain equipment.” In the 2nd Division the diarist of the 6th ‘They bad left FlGtrc in Flanders on April 3, handing over to the IX Corps, and took over from the VI1 Corps at Montigny at noon on April 6th 419 420 THE A.I.F. IN FRANCE [znd-7th Apr., 1918 Brigade records that the arriving British 7th Brigade (25th Division) had lost a lot of Lewis guns and all light trench-mortars. Our line battalions left several of their Lewis guns and teams in with the new people until dawn The zIst Battalion remained in reserve in the Catacombs until midday .4pril 2nd. On the other hand the officers of the 28th Battalion, on hearing from Lieutenant-Colonel Birt2 of the 8th Border Regiment, himself an Aiistralian. the story of the fighting in the snuth. were aroused to “ much enthusiasm.” The 1st and 2nd Divisions came to the Sonime full of . eagerness to take their share in dealing with the victorious Germans. The sector which they left had been entirely “ out of it,” fit only to be garrisoned by troops requiring almost coniplcte rest. On their arrival near Amiens the Fiench inhabitants gave them the same striking welcome that had greeted the earlier divisions, and there still appeared to be every prospect of their having an early chance of giving the enemy a knock. The British staff, acutely conscious of how narrowly the French and British armies had so far aLoided separaticn, had no doubt that Ludendorff would resume the Soninie attack; but they expected that as soon as the French reserves were drawn in there, or were temporarily iinmo- bilked by the cutting of the railways at Amiens, he would strike the British farther north. Haig’s new Director of Intelligence, Brigadier-General Cox, on April 7th foreshadowed -and Foch agreed-that this blow would probably fall on the vital buttress of the British front-the Vimy-Arras sector. It was noted that only twenty German divisions were on April 7th available, but six others, which had been withdrawn from Flanders a week or so previously, would be ready in another week, as would a few that had attacked on March 21st. Since the beginning of April signs of concentration had heen oliserved hoth north-east and south-east of Arras. Throughout the offensive the four Canadian divisions, together with other tried troops such as the Guards Division, had been kept in this ’Lieut.-Col. C. 1%‘. H. Birt. D S.0 Comnianded Sth Bn., The Border Rept.. igr7/1R Sheep farmer; of Tambellup district. \V. Aust.; b. Walkerville. S. Aust.. 20 Nov.. 1881 (Happening to be In England at the outbreak of war. Rirt immediately enlisted. and on Sept. 21 was commissioned as a znd/Liectenant in The Border Regiment. By Julie 1317 he was commanding his battalion ) 8th-I Ith Apr., IGIF] BATTLE OF THE LYS 421 crucial region, and, among other mitior measures, t!ic 12th Australian (Army) Brigade of field artillery was at this juiicture sent thither. As to the front farther north, G.H.Q.‘ had no urgent apprehension. It was thought that a feint by three or four divisions against the Portuguese might be imminent, but the intelligence map for April 8th showed the German front between Givenchy, just north of the La Bassee canal, and Bois Grenier, south of Armenticres, as helu by only three German divisions, with no close reserves and very few reserves in the back area. North of the Portuguese the whole British front as far as the Ypres salient was held by divisions which, like those that relieved the Australians, had been exhausted in tlie Somme fighting and hurriedly filled up with reinforcements. On April loth, on which day the 1st Australian Division was already marching up to relieve the 3rd3-its 3rd Battalion reaching Eaizieux and its 2nd Brigade an area near Corbie- there reached its headquarters at IO a.m. a disturbing message that on the previous morning the Germans had attacked the quiet front laigely held by Portuguese troops between the La Bassee canal and Bois Grenier. and had penetrated four miles on a ten-mile front. Later arrived news that the attack had on -4pril 10th been extended to tlie front north of Armenticres, which the Australian Corps had just left. At 7.30 in the evening came a message from corps headquarters countermanding all moves previously laid down for the division, and warning it to be prepared to entrain next day, April Irth, for the north. Although until the previous week G.H.Q. had been con- fident that the sector held by the Portuguese was unlikely to - a The 1st Division’s artillery had been ordered to relieve two British brigades in the 3rd Aust. Division’s sector. a9 422 THE A.I.F. IN FRANCE [Dec., 1g17-Feb.,1918 be attacked so early-the watery nature of April 9- the low-lying meadows being a great obstacle . '' George I 'I until the summer. and two rivers, the Lawe and Lys, confronting the enemy's further progress-the British conirnanders responsible for the front had been by no means so complacent. In December, as soon as a German offensive was foreshadowed, General Horne of the First Army had informed Haig of his opinion that the Portuguese would not withstand a German offensive. After this complaint their front was shortened; and, as the defence scheme was that the line of the Lawe and Lys, some miles behind them, should be garrisoned by British troops, Horne, at the time, expressed himself as satisfied. All fears, however, were not allayed, for early in February General Smuts, after a visit to France, reported to the Prime Minister, Lloyd George, the weakness of the Portuguese front, and the War Cabinet instructed General Robertson to inquire into the risks involved in this and the plans made for meeting them. Haig then replied that it was 1cmrgmy A',,,bl5*1m" *",-I expected that, if the Germans attacked there, they would gain part, if not the whole, of the Portuguese area. But each British Corps would at once, on first sign of attack, throw back and man a defensive flank to the Rivers Lawe and Lys, and the line of these rivers would also be defended by British troops. Pro- viding the British troops held up the enemy's advance on both flanks and in rear of the Portuguese, the situation would tactically and strategically remain sound. The important positions which must be held are Givenchy-Bethune, the line of the rivers Lawe and Lys. ArmentiPres ; and British troops are responsible for holding them. Nevertheless the subordinate leaders-Generals Horne of the Army, and Haking of the XI Corps-remained anxious. On top of all else they saw that the condition of the Portuguese troops had become bad, and was growing worse. The Portu- guese Government was nominally maintaining an army corps of two divisions, but it kept these so short of reinforcements 6th-9th Apr., 19181 BATTLE OF THE LYS 423 that only one division, strengthened by a brigade of the other, could be maintained in the line; and the four brigades, which held an extensive front of 1o.000 yards, were 139 officers and nearly 6,000 men short of their proper numbers. The men had grievances against their officers in respect of leave. One battalion had recently mutinied, yet British officers who had been in the line with them reported that the troops seemed dangerously overconfident and boastful. Add to this that the early months of 1918 had heen so dry, and British engineers had so improved the drainage of the area, that the ground at Neuve Chapelle was now fit for the Germans to attack over.