The History of 119 Infantry Brigade in the Great War with Special Reference to the Command of Brigadier-General Frank Percy Crozier by Michael Anthony Taylor A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of History School of History and Cultures College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham September 2016 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract 119 Brigade, 40th Division, had an unusual origin as a ‘left-over’ brigade of the Welsh Army Corps and was the only completely bantam formation outside 35th Division. This study investigates the formation’s national identity and demonstrates that it was indeed strongly ‘Welsh’ in more than name until 1918. New data on the social background of men and officers is added to that generated by earlier studies. The examination of the brigade’s actions on the Western Front challenges the widely held belief that there was an inherent problem with this and other bantam formations. The original make-up of the brigade is compared with its later forms when new and less efficient units were introduced. Training is identified as key to success in battle. The controversial Frank Percy Crozier commanded the formation for most of its active service and the study examines the often-quoted books by Crozier, putting them into context and concluding that they must be used warily as source material. The study advances the view that Crozier, while not an easy man to like, was an efficient and effective commander during the Great War and not simply the ‘callous and overbearing martinet’ often portrayed. Dedication This thesis is dedicated to the men of all ranks who served in 119 Infantry Brigade during the Great War It is the infantry with rifle, bomb and bayonet that both takes and holds, endures the greatest and the longest strain, and suffers by far the heaviest losses The Times, 25 June 1917 Acknowledgements The catalyst for this thesis was the teaching, knowledge and inspiration of the group of staff and students based in what was the Centre for First World War Studies, now the Centre for War Studies, at the University of Birmingham. I would particularly like to thank Professor Peter Simkins, whose queries about the ‘bantam Welsh coal miners’ formed the basis of my investigations, and whose outstanding knowledge is always freely accessible; and Professor John Bourne for his supervision of the project and for continuously demonstrating through his own research how it should be done. The thesis could not have been undertaken without the willing cooperation of the custodians of original material in libraries, museums and archives across Great Britain. I would particularly like to thank The National Archives, Kew; the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth; the Imperial War Museum, London; the National Army Museum, Chelsea; the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Belfast and the Liddell Hart Military Archive at King’s College, London. Celia Lee at the Royal Regiment of Wales Museum, Brecon was particularly patient as was Jane Anderson at the Blair Castle Archive, Perthshire and Jean Rose at the Random House Group Archive, Rushden. The archives of the London School of Economics and Reading University’s Jonathan Cape Archive also provided useful material. Clive Hughes was generous with his knowledge of recruiting in North Wales in the Great War and his Welsh language skills. Mrs Enid Davies, St George’s Chapel Archive, Windsor, and Stephen Mason helped with details of the life of James Frederick Plunkett. Mark Cook helped to kick-start the whole project with sight of his BA dissertation on ‘The Military Career of Brigadier-General Frank Percy Crozier’ (University of Birmingham, 2000) and the gift of two key sources. Simon Justice kindly took the time to elaborate on his work on the BEF reorganization of 1918. Mrs Carol Germa, Ontario, (Crozier’s granddaughter) made available much family history compiled by the late Ryan Taylor, and Charles Roberts, Hampshire (Grace Crozier’s nephew), kindly copied the family archive of news cuttings and the typescript of his aunt’s biography of her husband Guns and God - my thanks to Mr Des Rees, another family member, for permission to use these. These family resources were also used by Charles Messenger in his recent biography of Crozier, Broken Sword. Any help I was able to give to Charles has been more than reciprocated by many useful discussions and emails about Crozier and military matters generally. Finally, I must acknowledge the help and assistance of my own family. As a mature student it may seem strange for me to acknowledge a debt to my parents but this opportunity is long overdue. Their encouragement of my curiosity about history and the natural world was crucial in shaping my career and my research interests. Thank you. My wife Susan and my children Andrew, James and Rose have lived with the Great War for many more years than it actually lasted. They have all encouraged, supported and tolerated my studies in equal measure. They have my undying love and thanks. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables Note on Style Abbreviations Introduction 1 Chapter One: The Origins of the Brigade 19 Chapter Two: Leaders, Battalion Officers and the First Six Months in France 90 Chapter Three: Crozier: A Reputation Won and Lost 134 Chapter Four: Crozier’s Brigade: Commanders, Training and Offensive Action 179 Chapter Five: Dealing with Change: Destruction and Reconstruction 224 Conclusion 293 Appendix One: The Battles for Bourlon and Mametz Woods – a brief comparison 305 Appendix Two: 40th Division Cambrai: Original Plan for Advance to the Sensée River 310 Appendix Three: 119 Brigade Attack Orders: Bourlon Wood 315 Appendix Four: 40th Division Preparations for Defence, March 1918 319 Appendix Five: 40th Division Lessons of the Recent Fighting, April 1918 322 Appendix Six: Persons Principally Mentioned in the Text 324 Bibliography 335 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Discharges due to ill health or poor fitness 52 Table 2: Discharges due to under-age enlistment 54 Table 3: Soldiers of Welsh Birth 59 Table 4: Soldiers of Welsh Origin 60 Table 5: 17th Welsh – Origins 61 Table 6: 18th Welsh – Origins 62 Table 7: 19th RWF – Origins 64 Table 8: 12th SWB – Origins 65 Table 9: Civilian Occupations 119 Brigade 68 Table 10: Trials by District Courts Martial, 119 Brigade 74 Table 11: Offences tried by District Courts Martial during training period 76 Table 12: Geographical origin of officers by residence 97 Table 13: Comparative age profiles 99 Table 14: Participants in the 12th SWB ‘mutiny’ of 21 November 1916 127 Table 15: Field General Courts Martial, 119 Brigade, June 1916 – July 1918 129 Table 16: Offences tried by Field General Courts Martial, 119 Brigade, June 1916 – 130 July 1918 Table 17: Sentences of Field General Courts Martial, 119 Brigade, June 1916 – 131 July 1918 Table 18: 119 Brigade casualties Battle of the Lys 255 LIST OF TABLES (Cont) Table 19: Background of 119 Brigade troops 1918 262 Table 20: Training carried out by the 13th East Lancs, June-August 1918 265 Table 21: Field General Courts Martial, 119 Brigade, July 1918 – June 1919 268 Table 22: Offences tried by Field General Courts Martial, 119 Brigade, July 1918 – 269 June 1919 Table 23: Sentences of Field General Courts Martial, 119 Brigade, July 1918 – 270 June 1919 NOTE ON STYLE Throughout this thesis the current convention of referring, for example, to ‘119 Brigade’ rather than ‘the 119th Brigade’ has been followed except within contemporary quotations. ‘Brigade’ rather than ‘Infantry Brigade’ has been used for brevity throughout, again with the exception of quotations. Other types of brigade are clearly distinguished in the text. ‘Welsh’ rather than the arcane ‘Welch’ was used in the official names of regiments during the First World War and is used here. Regimental names are usually written in an abbreviated form and the word ‘regiment’ is also usually omitted. The eighteenth battalion of the Welsh Regiment, for example, is given as ‘18th Welsh’. Spelling and punctuation within original sources are as close to the original as possible and sic has been used only where an error might otherwise be inferred by the reader. Editorial interventions are given within square brackets [ ] and editorial omissions from original sources are indicated by an ellipsis (…). Maps are readily available within the divisional, regimental, battlefield and official histories cited in the bibliography and are not included in this thesis. ABREVIATIONS 2iC Second in Command A&Q Adjutant and Quartermaster A&SH Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders ADC Aide-de-Camp AG Adjutant General AOD Army Ordnance Depot APM Assistant Provost Marshall BEF British Expeditionary Force BGRA Brigadier-General Royal Artillery BM Brigade Major CinC Commander in Chief (in this case, of the BEF) CO Commanding Officer CWGC Commonwealth War Graves Commission DAAG Deputy Assistant Adjutant General DIM Deputy Inspector of Musketry DSO Distinguished Service