The first battle of Kut was fought between the British and the Turks, from September the 26th until the 28th, 1915 during the Great War. After Townshend had taken Amara, Nixon decided to seize Kut, where the Turks had concentrated, and whence, by way of the Shatt-el-Hai, they could send an outflanking force to Nasrieh, on the Euphrates, which had been occupied by General Gorringe, on July the 25th.
Townshend began his advance on August the 1st, supported by the naval flotilla, his troops proceeded up the banks of the Tigris, and on September the 15th reached a point 15 miles below Kut. Having spent ten days in reconnoitring with cavalry and aeroplanes, he moved forward on September the 26th to within four miles of the Turkish position, which was exceedingly strong, and was defended by 8,000 regulars and a large number of Arabs. Next day his troops advanced on both sides of the Tigris, his main force being on its southern bank.
On the north bank the British pushed forward to within two miles of the Turks and entrenched, Townshend's dispositions led the enemy to expect that the chief assault would be on the south, but during the night he swung most of his main force to the north. In the morning, September the 28th, while demonstrations were made on the south the British, in three columns, commanded by Generals Fry on the left, Delamain in the centre, and Hoghton on the right, attacked on the north. Fry pinned the force in front of him, Delamain made a successful frontalassault and also struck at the flank of the enemy, and Hoghton, moving wide, got in rear and routed the Turkish reserves.
These operations resulted in a complete victory, and only the fall of night saved the Turks from absolute disaster. During the darkness they retreated, having lost 4,000 men, of whom more than 1,100 were prisoners, and 17 guns. The British loss was 1,233.
After his failure at Ctesiphon, on November the 22nd, 1915, Townshend retreated to Kut, reaching it on December the 3rd, and prepared for a siege by sending his cavalry by road towards Amara, and his sick and wounded, as well as his prisoners, by water to Basra. He fortified the U-shaped bend of the Tigris in which Kut stood. For some days from December the 8th the Turks bombarded the town, and also made several assaults, one of particular severity on December the 23rd to 24th; but the British repulsed them all. Then the enemy, hoping to reduce the place by starvation, invested Kut completely.
Meanwhile a relief expedition was organized under Aylmer and concentrated at Ali-el-Gherbi, to which Townshend's cavalry had withdrawn from Kut. On January the 4th, 1916, Younghusband advanced to Sheikh Saad, where three days later Aylmer, with the rest of the force, joined him and ordered an attack. South of the river the British carried the enemy trenches, but a turning movement on the north did not succeed. Aylmer again attacked in force on January the 9th, and the Turks retreated to the position known as the Wady, ten miles upstream. The fighting was severe, the British casualties being upwards of 4,000. On January the 13th, Aylmer, whose movements were retarded by the rains, attacked the Turks at the Wady, took some of their trenches, and caused them to withdraw to Umm-el-Hanna, which he assaulted on January the 21st, but failed to take, rains and the muddy ground being greatly against him. His losses were 2,741.
Word now came from Townshend that by rationing his men he could hold out for 84 days, and Aylmer postponed a further advance, pending reinforcements and supplies, especially medical. But he was in little better case when, finding the Turks were growing in strength, he resolved to attack again.
On March the 7th he tried to surprise the enemy by a flank movement south of the Tigris, towards the Shatt-el-Hai. The troops made a wonderful night march, and part were in position close to the Dujaila redoubt at daybreak; but others were not ready, and when the assault was made, three hours later, it failed because the Turks had had time to prepare for it.
On March the 12th Aylmer was replaced by Gorringe, who, reinforced, made a fresh advance on April the 5th. On account of floods, which made flank moves impossible, Gorringe assaulted frontally, took three out of the six positions in front of Kut during the day, and captured the fourth in the evening, after dark. But next day he was checked at Sanna-i-yat, the fifth position, and a second assault on April the 8th and 9th had no better result. On April the 12th to the 17th an attempt was made south of the river on the Turkish position at Beit Aiessa, which was taken; but later had to be given up. On April the 22nd a great effort was made once more at Sanna-i-yat, but failed, with a loss of 1,300 men. Kut was doomed, and on April the 29th Townshend, after a siege of 143 days, surrendered with 9,000 men, 6,000 of whom were Indian troops. In the course of the attempts to relieve him the British loss was upwards of 20,000 men. Townshend surrendered Kut, on April the 29th, 1916, and in December 1916, operations were begun for its recapture.
The British then occupied an entrenched position opposite the Turkish lines at Sanna-i-Yat on the north side of the Tigris, and on its southern bank had pushed on, in the course of the autumn, to within seven miles of Kut, a railway. having been constructed from Sheikh Saad for their forces in that sector. In August General Maude became commander-in-chief in place of General Lake. The Mesopotamia Expedition was largely reinforced, and transport, which had been its great weakness, vastly improved. Railways were built, and large numbers of suitable vessels put on the Tigris.
It was at the head of an adequate and well-equipped army that Maude, on December the 13th, concentrated a force on the south side of the Tigris, about seven miles from Kut, with General Marshall in local command, while another force, under General Cobbe, held the enemy on the north bank. On December the 14th Marshall crossed the Shatt-el-Hai near Atab, six miles. south of Kut, and reached a point near the Shumran bend of the Tigris.
During the next few weeks Cobbe demonstrated at Sanna-i-Yat, and Marshall attacked the Turkish positions on the southern bank, his work, however, being retarded by rains. On January the 18th and 19th, 1917, after a stiff fight, the enemy was driven out of the Khadairi Bend, with heavy losses.
What was known as the Haisalient was reduced on February the 5th. Next day the Dahra Bend positions beyond the Hai were assaulted and captured, on February the 16th. On the next day Cobbe attacked at Sanna-i-Yat, but was unsuccessful. Maude had planned to cross the river at the Shumran Bend, the loop next beyond the Dahra Bend.
On February the 22nd Cobbe again attacked the strong positions at Sanna-i-Yat, and captured the first two lines of trenches. After feints at other points, Maude crossed the Tigris at the southern end of the Shumran Bend on the night of February the 22nd, and while the crossing was proceeding Cobbe took the third and fourth lines at Sanna-i-Yat. The whole position was in his hands on February the 23rd, when he marched on to Kut, which passed into the possession of the British once more, while the Turks retreated with all speed towards Baghela. 24 miles up the river. Research Battles of Kut
There were two Battles of Cambrai during the Great War. The first was a British victory in November 1917, the second Battle of Cambrai was part of the great Allied attack of September and October 1918.
During the retreat of the British and French armies from Belgium after the battles of Mons and Charleroi (August 23rd-24th, 1914), efforts were made by the French forces in Flanders to strike the flank of the advancing German army and facilitate the retirement of the British. The 61st and 62nd French reserve divisions and 84th Territorial division under General d'Amade, with General Sordet's cavalry corps, took part in these operations.
On August the 26th 1914, they were heavily engaged near Cambrai with the 2nd German Infantry Corps (forming part of Kluck's 1st Army), while the British were fighting at Le Cateau. The French divisions were newly mobilised, wanting in coherence, and were exposed to the attack of some of the best troops in the German army. Inferior in numbers, and greatly inferior in artillery and equipment, they were rapidly driven back; Cambrai was seized by the Germans on August the 26th, and d'Amade's infantry were so greatly shaken that Joffre in a message of September the 3rd expressed the hope that they might be 'able to recover some steadiness'. But by their sacrifice they covered the withdrawal of the British from Le Cateau, and thus actually rendered important services.
From this time until the end of 1917 there was no fighting around Cambrai, as, the Germans' line being well to the west of it, the city was outside the actual battle zone. The battle of the Somme, in the autumn of 1916, had Bapaume and Peronne as its immediate objectives, and Cambrai and St Quentin as the ultimate goal.
The first battle of Cambrai began on November the 20th, 1917, when Sir Douglas Haig, as the best means of assisting the Italians, who were then being heavily attacked, determined to deliver a sudden blow on the British front. The intended battle was of a revolutionary type, the first of a new order in war; it was to be marked by two new features, both of which had been planned by the staff of the Tank Corps in the summer of 1917. They were the employment of tanks in masses to break through the German line where it was strongest, and the abandonment of the long, preliminary artillerybombardment which up to that date had been usual before a battle, to cut the wire, shake the opposing infantry, and prepare the way for the final assault.
The point selected was on the front of the 3rd army (Byng), west of Cambrai, where the ground was suitable for tank movements. It had the defect, which was pointed out by the Tank Staff that a break-through there, if successful, would bring the British up against the German system of water and canal defence, from near Cantaing to Marcoing, Masnieres, Crevecoeur, and Banteux. The scheme of operations provided for the employment of 350 tanks and 2 corps of infantry;
these were to be thrown suddenly upon the Germans, who formed part of Marwitz's 2nd army. All the tanks were to be put in at the outset; there was to be no reserve to exploit any victory, and this decision was taken against the advice of the tank leaders. The Hindenburg line would have to be crossed; it consisted of three lines of trenches, each 12 feet (3.6 meters) or more wide, with wide belts of strong wire in front. Provision was made for bridging the trenches with special fascines carried by the tanks.
The attack opened at 6.20a.m. on the 20th of November 1917, in mist, when the whole line of tanks swept forward, led in the centre by Major-General H. Elles, commander of the Tank Corps, and followed by the infantry, who had not had previous experience of working with tanks. The front of attack was 6 miles from Havrincourt to La Vacquerie. As the tanks advanced, 1,000 British guns suddenly opened and maintained a creeping barrage. When the Germans saw that the tanks were able to cross the Hindenburg trenches, many of them fled in panic, but at the villages there was severe fighting, due in some cases to the fact that the infantry had not been able to keep pace with the tanks. Havrincourt and Ribecourt were carried, but at Flesquieres many tanks were put out of action by field guns, and the German resistance was stubborn.
At Marcoing an important bridge was captured by a tank before the Germans could destroy it; but at Masnieres, the bridge, vital for an enveloping advance against Cambrai, was so damaged that when a tank officer gallantly tried to cross it, it gave way slowly under him and finally collapsed; and other tanks which arrived could not cross the Schelde Canal. None the less, they enabled the infantry to force a passage, covering them with their fire. At nightfall the British had penetrated at points 10,000 yards, taking all three trenches of the Hindenburg line, and captured Graincourt, Marcoing, and Masnieres; they had isolated Flesquieres; tanks had also pushed into Bourlon Wood, but the infantry, from exhaustion, were unable to follow and support them.
On November the 21st the battle was resumed by Sir J. Byng with tired infantry, and tanks which had been through one great engagement already. Cantaing was taken, as also Fontaine-Notre-Dame, bringing the British close up to Cambrai on the west, but Fontaine-Notre-Dame was lost the next day to a furious German counter-attack.
Nearly all Bourlon Wood was secured on November the 23rd. German reserves were now arriving and efforts to storm Bourlon village and to recover Fontaine-Notre-Dame failed, though they were renewed on November the 25th, 26th, and 27th. The tank crews had been fought to a standstill, and the infantry were worn out. The position of Cambrai as a great railway junction enabled the Germans to bring up fresh troops from every direction.
On November the 27th the battle was broken off. The British had taken 10,500 prisoners and 142 guns; the German losses in prisoners were double the British casualties in the first two days of the battle. The effect on the German army was serious, and was intensified by the German reports, which frightened their men by stating that the victory had been snatched by the British use of tanks in masses. Most important was the influence on the French command, which had hitherto been doubtful of the value of tanks, but from the date of the battle entertained no more doubts. General Franchet d'Esperey's comment on it, that it was a great victory, was fully justified in the light of subsequent events. The tactics first tested at Cambrai were those which led to the far-reaching successes gained by Foch on July the 18th, 1918, and by the British in the battle of Amiens on August the 8th 1918. This battle marks a turning point in military history - the vindication of mechanical war.
It was unfortunate for the British army that the great success won in the first part of this battle was followed by a counter-stroke in which much of the fruit of the earlier victory was lost, because this led in that army to a belief that tanks were, after all, a doubtful weapon. It undoubtedly delayed their rapid construction on the largest possible scale. Immediately after their reverse, the Germans decided at all cost to attack, in order to clear Cambrai, a point of extreme importance to them because of its railway facilities.
The plan worked out by the Germans provided for a surprise assault at two points, on each side of the salient in which lay Bourlon Wood, from the south-east by a group of 12 divisions advancing between Cantaing and Vendhuile, and from the north-west by a group of five divisions, advancing three hours after the first attack had begun, between Moeuvres and Bourlon. Yet another division was to attack Bourlon Wood frontally, while the salient was being pinched out. The British force holding the front was only six divisions strong, so that the Germans had a strength of three to one, 18 divisions to 6.
The German tactics were skilful. The bombardment which preceded the first attack was sufficiently strong to keep the British troops under cover without at first seriously alarming them ; it was followed by a series of aeroplane attacks, the machines flying low in squadrons, and machine-gunning and bombing the British trenches, after which the German trench mortars opened, and the German infantry, about 8 a.m. on November the 30th, swept into the British position on the south-eastern section of attack. They advanced rapidly with great bravery and penetrated deep, taking Villers-Guislain, Gonnelieu, and Gouzeaucourt, but not without fierce fighting. At noon the Guards came into action and recaptured Gouzeaucourt, attacking with the greatest gallantry and promptitude. Tanks of three battalions, which had been opened up for overhaul and repair, were able to assist the infantry in the afternoon. The recovery of much of the lost ground was assisted by the determination with which detachments of British troops had held their positions even when outflanked and surrounded ; the 29th division specially distinguished itself in this way.
The north-western German attack followed, as had been arranged, after the south-eastern attack had already made great progress. The German infantry advanced in dense waves against the 47th, 2nd, and 56th British divisions, which offered a most stubborn and determined resistance and inflicted on the Germans very heavy losses, enfilading their advancing waves of infantry with machine-gun fire and mowing them down. The German accounts speak of their 'desperate and most strenuous defence'. Some ground was gained by the Germans but at a bitter price. A company of the 13th Essex here fought to the very last, -deciding after a council of war to have no surrender, and its heroism was not in vain. In Bourlon Wood the Germans, made a little progress despite an equally gallant resistance offered by the 1st Berkshire.
British reserves were brought up and a force of French artillery came into action during the afternoon of November the 30th. On December the 1st the battle was renewed, the Germans attempting on the north to hold the British at Bourlon Wood, while their southern attack penetrated deep and cut them. off. The Guards fought their way into Gonnelieu on the southern front with the aid of tanks; GaucheWood was recovered with the cooperation of tanks; and a great effort was made to recapture Villers-Guislain, but it failed owing to the violence of the German machine-gun fire and the small number of tanks available. Masnieres had to be abandoned owing to the loss of commanding ground south of it; and the troops were successfully withdrawn during the night of December 1st to 2nd.
On December the 2nd and 3rd there was heavy fighting between Gonnelieu and Bourlon, and the Germans captured La Vacquerie and forced the evacuation of the ground held beyond the Schelde Canal near Marcoing. December the 4th passed quietly with nothing but local fighting, but on the 5th and 6th fresh efforts were made by the Germans to capture Welsh Ridge, north of Gonnelieu; and though these were repulsed, the British command decided to abandon Bourlon Wood and the ground north of the Flesquieres ridge, as this could not be held unless the British army was prepared for prolonged and severe fighting.
The line to which it fell back left it in possession of an important section of the Hindenburg Line, but gave Gonnelieu and Villers-Guislain to the Germans. The Germans claimed the capture of 9,000 British prisoners and 148 British guns with large quantities of material, but these claims were probably exaggerated. The total British loss in this battle was given by the British authorities as 45,000. The German loss was probably heavier from the close formations employed and the absence of tanks on their side.
After their defeat in the battle of Epehy, the Germans fell back on the vast fortified system of the Hindenburg Line which protected the whole centre of their front, at its most important point, near Cambrai. This had been strengthened and improved by the labour of prisoners since the earlier battle of Cambrai, and was now a most formidable obstacle. From Arleux to Havrincourt it ran along the Canal du Nord, which could not be thoroughly reconnoitred by the British because both banks were in German hands. Near Havrincourt the British had a bridge-head. From Havrincourt southwards the fortified system was carried well to the west of the Schelde Canal, which at various points .passed through deep cuttings, and, between Vendhuile and Bellicourt, through a long tunnel. Some short distance to the south of Bellicourt the canal was dry. The tunnel was connected by shafts with the German trench systems; the sides of the canal in the cuttings were utilised for the construction of dug-outs; and where the canal was dry it served as a covered way.
The Hindenburg system was nowhere less than 7,000 yards wide, and in places it was from 10,000 to 17,000 yards wide. It consisted of two sets of continuous trenches, dug very deep and broad, so as, the Germans hoped, to be proof against tankattack. The first set of trenches had two trench lines, about 1,000 yards apart. They were each provided with concrete and steel emplacements for machine guns and were wired with belts about 50 feet wide; sometimes there were eight or ten belts to each trench. There was also a maze of machine-gun pits, tunnels, large subterranean shelters and trenches independent of the two main lines. The other set, also of two continuous trenches, was sited two miles or more back from the outer line, and each trench in this was very heavily wired and provided with deep and large dug-outs. The second set of trenches had an interval of about 1,000 yards between its two lines.
The German intention was to hold this vast system through the winter, exhaust the Allies, and after beating off their attacks to induce them to enter into peace negotiations, as it was realized by Ludendorff that after the failure of the German offensives, a German victory was out of the question. The belief in the impregnability of the Hindenburg Line was complete in Germany. The British Government seems to have shared the belief that the storming of the line was an enterprise too dangerous to be attempted until the arrival of American troops and American artillery in masses. It had grave misgivings, knowing that the British armies in France, after their desperate exertions during the German offensives of March, April, and May, had been for six weeks continuously fighting and had suffered considerably.
Special tanks had been built in the winter of 1917-18 for the attack on the line - Mark V star - which were increased in length from 23.5 feet to 32 feet 5 inches, so as to be able to stride across the wide Hindenburg trenches without using fascines or the heavy bridgingtackle which smaller tanks required. In cooperation with the British armies, which were to break the German centre and attack the Germans where they were strongest, the Belgian and Allied forces were to advance in Flanders, the French were to attack west of the Argonne, and the Americans, with some 500,000 men, were to advance in the Argonne itself.
The British armies which were to be engaged were the 1st (Home), 3rd (Byng), and 4th (Rawlinson), in order from north to south; it was decided that the 1st and 3rd armies should open the battle before Cambrai, attacking on a front of 13 miles from south of Arleux to Gouzeaucourt, with the Canadians, 17th, 6th, and 4th corps in the order named. On the northern section of attack the troops would have before them the Canal du Nord, which thereabouts was dry, but was wide, deep, and difficult to cross. They were, therefore, to force a passage near Moeuvres, where the canal seemed, from aeroplane reconnaissance, to be practicable for tanks, and then deploy fanwise. They were also to advance from the bridge-head over the canal south-west of Flesquieres.
A heavy bombardment was opened by the British artillery in the night of September the 26th and 27th; the Germans replying with violence. At 5.20 a.m. the infantry went over the top, led by 53 tanks, among them several Mark V star. When the tanks took the wide German trenches the German infantry for the most part were seized with panic and gave way. But there was heavy fighting at many points. Ribecourt and Flesquieres were both carried early in the day, as also was Bourlon. The whole of Bourlon Wood was captured by the Canadians with but little loss; and Fontaine-Notre-Dame, which had resisted repeated British attacks in that year, was reached. At the close of the day the Hindenburg system north of Gouzeaucourt was in ruins. British troops reached the outskirts of Sailly, some six miles from the starting point of the attack, and could thence bring the railway junction at Cambrai under effective fire. Over 10,000 prisoners and 200 guns had been taken, and one of the most stupendous victories of the war had been won. No more terrible blow had been struck, and none had a more profound effect on German opinion, because the collapse of the Hindenburg system came to the German people as a warning that the war would be carried into Germany, and that no defensive plans could stop the Allied armies and their tanks.
During this great and triumphant assault on the northern section of the Hindenburg system, American troops attached to Sir Douglas Haig's armies were delivering a most gallant attack on the outworks of that system, along the 6,000 yards of front between Vendhuile and Bellicourt, where the Schelde Canal passes through the tunnel. They were of the 27th division and were supported by twelve British tanks; but they encountered so desperate a resistance that, though they reached their objectives, they could not maintain themselves and were driven back.
On September the 28th, on the northern section of attack, the British troops continued their advance and secured the villages which they had entered, completing their capture of Sailly, Marcoing, and Fontaine-Notre-Dame, and crossing the Schelde Canal at Marcoing, where they broke through another great series of German entrenchments. The Germans, hard pressed for reinforcements, were compelled to draw troops from Flanders, as Cambrai was a pivotal point; and this withdrawal opened the way for an Allied advance in Belgium.
On September the 29th Sir Douglas Haig concentrated his strength in an attack on the southern section of the Hindenburg Line, in which, on a front of twelve miles from Vendhuile to south of Bellenglise, three corps - the Australians, the Americans, and the 9th - advanced, supported by 175 tanks, among them being an American battalion equipped with British tanks. The American troops of the 27th division had great difficulties to overcome. The strength of the German works in their front was immense; the mist on the morning of attack was so dense that the movements of the infantry and tanks were hampered; and by a great misfortune the 301st battalion of American tanks, which was cooperating, was caught in an old British minefield, laid in March, 1918, the existence of which had not been notified to the Tank Corps staff. Many tanks were destroyed, and the 27th division could not advance as far as had been intended. The American 30th division, however, stormed Bellicourt and occupied Nauroy, penetrating the centre of the German position.
To the north of it two Australian divisions passed through the 27th division and made some advance; while farther north, again, the 12th and 18th British divisions pushed in near Vendhuile. But the greatest fighting of the day was done by the 46th division, which stormed Bellenglise. Equipped with lifebelts, mats, and rafts, it crossed the Schelde Canal, and many of its men had to swim the water. In this famous feat the 5th and 6th South Staffords and 6th North Staffords covered themselves with glory. They captured an important bridge before it could be destroyed, and in 2.5 hours from the start had secured the German system east of the canal, which from its strength was reputed impregnable. On the northern front of attack Masnieres was stormed, and the Schelde Canal crossings near it were secured, while the Canadians pushed in towards the northern outskirts of Cambrai.
On September the 30th the attack was renewed all along the line and important progress was made. The Germans, threatened with envelopment, everywhere fell back behind the Schelde Canal north of Vendhuile. Le Tronquoy with a smaller tunnel on the canal was captured. On October the 1st New Zealand and Canadian troops continued the envelopment of Cambrai from the north, reaching Ramillies, but only at the price of great efforts, as the German resistance here was particularly strenuous, and no fewer than 11 German divisions were engaged on this section of the front from first to last. The Canadians suffered severely, but their stubborn gallantry brought great results. To the south Joncourt and Bony were stormed by the Australians and tanks. Between October the 3rd and 5th, Montbrehain, Estrees, and Beaurevoir were taken by them with great dash, enabling the British forces to advance to the east of the Schelde Canal from Montbrehain northwards. On October the 1st, the French 1st army occupied St Quentin.
In this battle, between September the 27th and October the 5th, the Hindenburg system was shattered for a distance of 40 miles from north to south and Cambrai itself was reached. The total advance was from 11 to 15 miles. Not only this, but a wide gap was made in the rearward German defences, so that only incomplete German trench systems now remained before the British armies in this sector; they were in sight of open country and on the eve of the war of movement. The German centre on the Western front had been penetrated. In all, 30 British and 2 American divisions were engaged against 39 German divisions. The number of prisoners taken was 36,500, greater than in any other single Allied victory in the war on the Western front, and the guns captured numbered 380. It was the decisive battle of the war, leading the German Staff to urge the immediate opening of peace negotiations.
The effect of the loss of the Hindenburg system upon the moral of the German troops was very marked, and they did not thereafter on the British front fight with the determination which they showed before Cambrai. In tactics, the chief features of the victory were the skilful employment of tanks, and the 'leap-frogging' of fresh divisions through the exhausted British troops, by which the vigour of the attack was steadily maintained. Research Battle of Cambrai
The Battle of Hooge took place near the Belgian village of Hooge, in the province of West Flanders. It was situated on the Ypres-Menin road. three miles east of Ypres, and was destroyed in the Great War, but was rebuilt afterwards. Hooge was the headquarters of Sir John French in the first Battle of Ypres, and from its chateau he watched the temporary break in the British line at Gheluvelt and the recapture of the latter. The first and second Battles of Ypres brought the Germans nearer to Hooge, which they took in the gas attack of May, 1915.
In June, 1915, the trenches covering Ypres in this quarter were held by the 6th British Corps under Keir north of Hooge, by the 5th corps under Allenby on both sides of Hooge, and by the 2nd corps under Fergusson south of the 5th. On June the 16th, after a violent bombardment, the 3rd division of Allenby's corps attacked near Hooge chateau, the outbuildings of which the British had captured by a skilful local operation on June the 3rd. The object was to straighten out a German salient in the British front; after a severe struggle, the British secured the desired trenches and even pushed far beyond, taking 200 prisoners. The points, which were too far in advance of the new British line to be held, were evacuated during the day but the original objective was gained and held.
Farther to the north troops of the 6th corps, on July the 6th, suddenly seized a considerable section of the advanced German position and beat off German counter-attacks with heavy loss. In all these local combats the British lost heavily from the continuous German artillerybombardment, as in the moist ground about Hooge it was almost impossible to construct satisfactory defences, and every trench was plainly visible. On July the 7th the Germans attempted to retake their lost position, but ultimately were beaten back.
Between July the 22nd and 26th, the British, by skilful mining operations, in which they showed a great superiority over the Germans, made further gains of ground in the dismal terrain along the Menin road and near Hooge chateau, but the British trenches were continually bombarded by the German artillery, and the supply of projectiles in the British artillery was as yet insufficient to make an adequate reply. The Germans employed gas shells largely, against which the British gasmasks of that date were a very inadequate protection, and the sufferings of the British troops along the whole salient front were cruel, the men of the 6th and 14th divisions bearing the brunt of these serious attacks.
On July the 30th the Germans for the first time used against the British troops in this section of the front another weapon forbidden by the laws of war - flame-throwers, which had been previously tried against the French troops on other parts of the front. Early in the morning a mine was exploded under the British trenches near Hooge, and immediately afterwards jets of flame streamed from the German positions, only 20 yards away, into the British line, killing in the most horrible manner the men of the companies holding it. At the same time trench mortars poured bombs on the British front. Covered by the sheet of flame and the bombs, the German infantry assaulted and seized the advanced British line, after which they forced their way into certain of the support trenches, making a total advance of some hundreds of yards. There they consolidated their position, though the British artillery had opened on them a violent fire.
In the afternoon four British battalions attempted a counterattack, but were repulsed with heavy loss, leaving 50 officers out of 90 on the field. On the following night the Germans renewed their attack with liquid fire and a deluge of shells, behind which their infantry advanced, but without achieving any serious progress. They were stopped by the steadiness of troops of the 14th division, one of the New Army formations.
Extensive preparations were made by the British to recover the ground lost, which was of tactical importance, and the whole 6th division was brought up ready to attack. On the night of August the 8th the British artillery opened a heavy fire on the German position, and at 3.15 on the following morning the troops of this division delivered an assault. It was immediately successful; 500 Germans were killed and 100 taken prisoners but to hold the captured line was difficult in the face of the enfilading fire which the Germans were able to concentrate upon it from Hill 60, whence they commanded its rearward communications. In the end most of the ground won with such courage was retained, though it was necessary to withdraw detachments which had pushed so far forward that they were almost enveloped by the Germans. The British loss in this combat exceeded 2,000.
On June the 2nd, 1916, the Germans, in an attempt to minimise the effect of the Battle of the Somme, attacked the Canadian line to the south of Hooge, which was held at a cost of nearly 7,000 casualties in ten days of fierce fighting. The site of Hooge was retaken by the 8th division on July the 31st, 1917, and the region was finally cleared by the 9th and 29th divisions in the battle along the Menin road on September the 28th, 1918. Research Battle of Hooge
The Battle of Kursk was an unsuccessful German offensive against a Russian salient in July 1943. Kursk was the greatest tank battle in history and proved to be a turning point in the Eastern Front campaign. With nearly 6, 000 tanks and 2 million troops involved. The battle reached its climax with the pitched battle on the 12th of July between 700 German and 850 Soviet tanks. In the spring of 1943 the Soviet front line bulged out into the German front between Kharkov and Orel. The Germans planned an offensive to pinch off this salient and flatten the front but the Soviets were forewarned by their intelligence service and planned to absorb the German thrust and then counterattack. They prepared for the assault with 20,000 guns, millions of mines, 3,300 tanks, 2, 560 aircraft, and 1,337,000 troops; the Germans massed 10,000 guns, 2,380 tanks, 2,500 aircraft, and 900,000 troops. The battle began on the 5th of July in pouring rain.
The northern half of the German force reached a point about 16 km into the salient before being stopped; the southern thrust reached its climax on the 12th of July when 700 German tanks battled with 850 Soviet tanks. But the Allied landing in Sicily on the 10th of July led Hitler to demand the withdrawal of troops from the USSR to reinforce Italy; on the same day the Soviets opened a massive offensive north of the Kursk salient. Hitler terminated the Kursk battle on the 17th of July and the German forces in the area were left to extricate themselves as best they could. Research Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Nashville was a Union victory over the Confederate army on the 15th and 16th of December 1864 at Nashville, Tennessee which practically ended Hood's campaign in Tennessee. His army numbered about 40,000 men, while Thomas opposed him with 56,000 Federals. After the Battle of Franklin, Thomas, though victorious, fell back on December the 1st, 1864, to Nashville and occupied a strong position protected by Forts Negley, Morton, Confiscation, Houston and Gillem. Hood arrived on December the 2nd, and formed his line with his salient resting on Montgomery Hill, 600 yards from Thomas' centre. Storms prevented fighting until the fifteenth. Then Steedman attacked the Confederates on the right, and Smith and Wilson advanced against their left. Two redoubts were carried and many prisoners captured, after which an attack was made on Montgomery Hill with considerable success. On the sixteenth a combined attack was inaugurated against the Confederate line, its chief force being concentrated upon the centre. Both sides lost heavily. Another assault by Smith and Schofield won the day. The Confederates broke and fled in all directions. Research Battle of Nashville
The Battle of Spottsylvania Court House, Virginia was an indecisive, but hard-fought and sanguinary engagement during the American Civil War. Grant led the Union army of about 135,000 men, while Lee's Confederates numbered a little over 100,000. After the Battle of The Wilderness, Grant wished to cut off Lee's communications with Richmond, and with this intention he hurried forward toward Spottsylvania Court House. Lee hastened in the same direction and, by obstructing the Federal route with felled trees and skirmishers, managed to arrive first, Warren's advance corps of Grant's army being detained on the road.
On May the 7th, 1864, there was some slight skirmishing. On May the 8th Grant sent Sheridan's cavalry corps to ride around the Confederate army, tearing up bridges and railways and demolishing trains. This corps engaged JEB Stuart's Confederate cavalry, defeating them and killing their leader. The National line was formed with Hancock holding the right,. Warren and Sedgwick the centre, and Burnside the left. On the 9th and 10th of May assaults were made upon a salient or weak point in the Confederate defences by Hancock, and then by Upton, but the Confederates remained firm. It rained on the 11th and there was no fighting. On the 12th a desperate charge by Hancock captured the coveted salient. The Confederate Edward Johnston and 4000 men were taken. This captured point the Confederates charged again and again, and there was frightful slaughter on both sides. From this death angle, the Confederates retired at midnight Research Battle of Spottsylvania Court House
The Battle of the Ancre was one of the last of the series of battles in the Somme area which took place between 1916 and 1917 during the Great War. In three days of fighting during November 1916, British forces attempted to capture a heavily fortified German salient based on the village of Beaumont- Hamel. They captured the village and advanced about a mile until difficult weather conditions made fighting impossible. Research Battle of the Ancre
The Battle of the Argonne (often called the Meuse-Argonne offensive), was a major battle of the Great War, fought in Autumn 1918 between the American First Army, which included the XVII French Corps, and strong units of the German army. The battle was part of a general Allied offensive against the Hindenburg line. To weaken these positions in the Argonne region of France was the immediate objective of the First Army; the secondary objective was to capture the chief German supply line, extending through Sedan and Mezieres. On September the 22nd, after a victory at Saint- Mihiel, France, the First Army, under the command of General John Pershing, began to move into the Argonne sector. By September the 25th, the line of the First Army extended from Regneville-Sur- Meuse, opposite Samogneux, in a south-westerly direction 32.2 km to La Harazee in the ArgonneForest above the valley of the Biesme River. This line was assigned to three army corps, the I, the III, and the V. Nine divisions formed the front line, and three were in reserve.
French forces lay west of the Aisne River, and on the east the American position was flanked by French troops under American command. Opposed to the American forces were the German Fifth Army, with eight divisions, part of the German Third Army, and about eight divisions in reserve. American operations were conducted in three stages, the first of which lasted from September the 26th to October the 1st and drove a salient about 11 km deep into enemy positions before the Hindenburg line. During the second stage, which lasted from October the 4th to the 16th, the First Army crossed the Aire River and captured all major German defensive positions in the Argonne region. The third, or pursuit, stage lasted from November the 1st to the 10th. In the Argonne offensive, more than 1,200,000 U.S. troops were concentrated for the advance; of that number, 60,000 took an active part in the battle, which extended over an area of 1295 square kilometers. American casualties in the entire Battle of the Argonne were 117,000 killed or wounded. German losses were 94,000 killed or wounded, 26,000 captured by American forces, and 30,000 captured by the French. The battle caused the final breakdown of German resistance and helped bring about the German request for an armistice. Research Battle of the Argonne
The Battle of The Stokhod was an engagement of the Great War fought between the Russians and the Austro-German during July and August 1916. In the second week of July, 1916, the Russians under Lesh, having driven the Austro-Germans from the Steyr were moving on the Stokhod. On the eighth of July, in combination with Kaledin's right wing, Lesh crossed the Upper Stokhod.
On the ninth of July the Russians on the west bank of the Stokhod, captured almost the whole of the bend between Kashovka on the north and Yanokva to the south. On the twenty-eighth of July they forced the river at Gulevitche, and also at Kashovka, breaking through the enemies trenches and capturing 4000 prisoners and 38 guns within a few hours.
On the third and fourth of August the Russians launched a powerful assault on the village of Rudka Mirynska on the Stavok, breaking through the defences north of the village and capturing the village, before withdrawing as the village formed a weak salient. Research Battle of The Stokhod
In fortifications a bonnet is a small defence-work constructed at the salient angles of a field retrenchment or other military construction, designed to prevent the enfilading of the front of the work. Research Bonnet
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Battles of Kut
