On
the 13th October 1915, my ancestors Ben & James Hollins (My
great uncle’s), James Fisher and William Cunningham serving with the 1/6th
Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment prepared for a day time full frontal
assault against one of the strongest defence points of the German Army.
 |
| James Fisher 1/6th North Staffords |
The Division's
objective was to attack and capture the Hohenzollern Redoubt and the immediate
area behind it. The Redoubt, was a formidable fortification. The position took
the form of a salient that protruded into "No Man's Land". The
Redoubt was linked to the German front line by two trenches; "Big
Willie" and "Little Willie", both of which were deep,
well-fortified positions that contained several machine-gun positions.
"Big Willie" trench was partially occupied by the British, a trench
block being the only barrier between the two sides. Two communication trenches;
North Face and South Face, lead back to "Fosse" and "Dump"
trenches, which were built in the shadow of a large slagheap known as the
"Dump". At the base of the slagheap was a mine, "Fosse 8".
"No-Man's Land" was very exposed to machine gun and rifle fire from
the Redoubt. The position had been captured by the 9th (Scottish) Division on
the first day of the battle of Loos, but had been recaptured shortly
afterwards. An attempt to recapture it had failed, the task was now
allotted to the North Midlanders,
The North and South Staffords
reached the assembly trenches around 6am. The trenches were crowded with troops
and had been badly damaged during the earlier fighting. Private C. C. Oram, a soldier from Lichfield serving with
"C" Company of the 1/6th North Staffords, wrote about the conditions
in his section of the line:
"It was a
beastly old trench, dead bodies lying about and all knocked about, having been
a few days ago a German trench."
At mid-day, the
barrage commenced. The shelling of the German line was awe-inspiring to the
Staffords waiting for the assault, as Private
Barlow of the 1/5th North Staffords recalled:
"Well, I cannot
attempt to describe what it was like; it was acknowledged to be the fiercest
bombardment the world had ever seen. I had many a look over the parapet and
what a sight! For miles you could see their first line of trenches - one
blazing, raging mass of flames, smoke and dust."
The British
artillery continued with their bombardment. At 1.00 p.m. Sappers of 187th Special Company also began
to unleash the gas. The infantry in the trenches pulled their gas masks ("Hypo"
helmets, a primitive gas mask worn over the head. Made of cotton impregnated
with chemicals that reduced the effects of chlorine gas) down over their heads
and tucked them into the collar of their tunics.
The chlorine gas was
discharged from the cylinders and smoke candles ignited by the Royal Engineers.
The yellowish-green cloud began to rise and drift towards the German lines.
However, despite favourable winds, the gas settled in the remains of trenches and
shell holes that bisected the shattered ground. A few of the gas cylinders had
also been hit during the counter-barrage, with the Brigade suffering a few
gas-related casualties. The gas had also served as a warning to the German
garrison in the area that an attack on them was imminent.
 |
| The 46th Midland Division advancing on the Hohenzollern Redoubt - Note the Smoke and Gas cloud |
In the minutes
before the attack was due to commence Lieutenant-Colonel Raymer of the 1/5th
South Staffords recorded that three trench periscopes were hit by machine-gun
fire in his battalion's trenches. It became evident to the men waiting to
attack that the bombardment had failed to suppress the German machine guns, as Private Barlow observed:
"We thought
that there wouldn't be a German left alive. But would you believe it, about
five minutes before we charged they opened up a murderous machine-gun fire,
simply sweeping our parapets. It was a mystery to us, but we still knew we had
to face it in a few minutes".
At 2.00 p.m., the
leading battalions of 138th Brigade, 1/4th Leicesters and 1/5th Lincolns, began
their assault on the West Face of the Hohenzollern Redoubt.
At 2.05 p.m., the
order to advance was given. The line attempted to move forward in rushes. Private Harrison (1/5th
North Staffords) advanced with the first wave:
"A whistle
blasted, and over the bridge of death we climbed and shouted. I got clear of
our barbed wire and commenced to advance, rifle and bayonet fixed in one hand
and spade in the other, under a terrific machine-gun fire, bullets whizzing
past me in thousands. I got about one hundred yards and took a short rest; up
again, but alas! a bullet hit my spade, glanced off and grazed the bone of my
left eye slightly. It dazed me for about one minute, but I soon recovered
myself, only to find that I was about thirty yards from the first German line”.
The 1/6th North
Staffords forward line consisted of "A" and "B" Companies.
These troops were also to suffer heavy casualties from artillery and withering machine
gun fire as they tried to move forward across the open ground.
Company Quartermaster
Sergeant Martin, from Uttoxeter serving
with "B" Company, gave a stirring account of their exploits to his
local newspaper:
"Exactly at the
appointed time the signal to advance was given, and Major Peach, who was in
command of the company, was first out of the trench. Then the advance began
across the open, the men moving as if on parade. The forward movement was well
maintained, although men were falling fast for the first 300 yards, when
Captain Bamford fell. He was last heard shouting "Come on, lads!" The
first position was reached and it was won by the bulldog courage of the men,
and was held with more than bulldog tenacity."
The reality of the
situation was that while a few men from the forward companies had managed to
reach the communications trench connected to Big Willie, most of the survivors
were compelled to return to the trenches from where the attack had started. Major
E. W. Peach , the officer commanding "B" Company of the 1/6th North
Staffords, was wounded during the advance. In a letter written from a hospital
in London, he recounted how he was rescued and taken to safety:
"I was hit
early in the attack while leading my men, of whom I am very proud. They were as
cool as if on parade, and charged at quick time. I had a fearfully painful time
getting back about 300 yards in the open, crawling with my leg dragging behind,
expecting to be hit again every minute. My servant Wilkinson stayed with me
like a brick, and lifted up the barbed wire entanglements so that I could get
under. Then he bound the leg with two pieces of board to stop it wobbling and
carried me on his back for two miles to the Dressing Station, where Colonel
Dent set my leg."
The fourth wave of the
assault consisted of "B" and "D" Company, of 1/6th South
Staffords, and "C" and "D" Companies of the 1/6th North
Staffords. They were ordered to move from their assembly trench to the front
line as planned. However, due to the communication trenches being clogged with
the dead and wounded from the previous attacks, they were compelled to advance
across the open to reach the forward trenches. Sergeant Caleb Norton was with "C" Company of the 1/6th North
Staffords, and described the events that followed in a letter to his brother:
"As soon as my
platoon got over, I had Cpl. Fradley shot dead. The next I saw was Private
Marsh badly bleeding. He asked me not to leave him. I called for stretcher
bearers. Next I saw Captain Jenkinson shot through the leg. He fell and the
stretcher bearers came to him, and they were also shot down. One was killed -
Pte. Neville of my platoon - three were wounded. The next I saw was Staff
Sergt. Platts and Kenney shot and several more.
I then advanced into
the first line trench. I found about all the officers had been shot. I got my
men together then rushed into the second line trench without losing a man in my
platoon on the second rush. I think there was a great mistake in rushing the first
time in short rushes. We lost a lot of men by doing so. A rush straight across
would have been a success. We were all exposed to fire. I dropped into a shell
hole. I stopped in the first trench for about ten minutes. I told the men to
prepare to advance into the next line of trenches about two hundred yards away
without halting and they did. I was very pleased to know all got across without
a man getting hit."
Private H. Holden,
normally a member of "A" Company of the 1/6th North Staffords, was a
member of No. 6 Bombing Party:
"At five
minutes past two we all mounted the parapet, most of us feeling mad - some wild
with thirst for German blood. Then I witnessed the most awful sight I ever saw
in all my life. Hundreds fell before we reached the German lines and then
didn't we let into them. I cannot describe what I saw, as I was too excited.
Later we got reinforced, as almost all of our officers had either been killed
or wounded. I got back into our own trench, thanking God…"
By 4 o'clock, the
fighting on the 137th Brigade front had virtually ceased, with both sides
conducting an artillery duel over the area. In the space of about ten minutes,
the Brigade had been decimated and the remnants of the Staffordshire battalions
had not made any significant progress against the defenders of the Hohenzollern
Redoubt. The ground in front of the first line trenches was littered with dead,
dying and wounded soldiers. Among these was Private Joseph Barlow (1/5th North Staffords) :
"There I lay
flat, face downwards, wondering what would happen next. A few yards away lay
seven or eight pals, some dead, some gone delirious. I felt more sorry for them
than I did myself. I could not help crying and praying for the Lord to help
them. You should have seen me digging a hole with my chin in the soft ground. I
couldn't get low enough, the bullets were flying within an inch at times."
Several soldiers
tried to rescue their wounded comrades, as Caleb Norton witnessed:
"Next I met
Lance Corp. Mallett. He had been over the top and fetched in two wounded. I
begged him not to go over again. He would not be persuaded by me. He went - did
not go far before he was hit never to rise again. It was a case of several men
throwing their lives away trying to save the wounded. But it was murder to
go."
One of those men who lost their lives rescuing wounded comrades was Pte. James Fisher.
Norton's brother,
Sergeant Sydney Norton, was also wounded during the attack but managed to crawl
back to the trenches. He later recalled his experience in a letter to his wife
in Fazeley:
"I crept about
200 yards on my stomach into a safe place where the stretcher bearers could get
me expecting every minute was my last. As I was being carried away they were
pinging away at us but Oh when I was in a safe place I prayed and thanked the
Lord above."
The walking wounded
were able to make their own way to the first aid post in Bart's Alley, but
those who were more seriously injured had to wait in agony until they could be
taken to the Collecting Station, as Sergeant Caleb Norton observed:
"I walked along
the trench. I witnessed a terrible sight of men killed and wounded and no
stretcher bearers to be found. Men were in awful pain. I dressed a lot of
wounds and then sent them out of the trench. Them that could not walk had to
lie in the trench in awful pain for twelve to eighteen hours or more."
He continued:
"It was an
awful night, foggy and damp. The enemy tried a counter-attack but were
repulsed. At daybreak they continued to shell us. I found out that Sergt.
Hayward had been hit by a shell but did not see him. All day long we stuck to
the trench expecting a counter-attack, but it was an artillery duel all day
long. About four o'clock we had news that we were going to be relieved at nine
o'clock, but unfortunately did not get relieved until seven the next morning by
the Guards."
The number of
fatalities suffered by each battalion on the 13th October, not including those
men who were killed before or after that date, or died of their wounds, were:
|
Officers
|
Other Ranks
|
1/5th South
Staffords
|
5
|
92
|
1/6th South
Staffords
|
5
|
108
|
1/5th North
Staffords
|
10
|
217
|
1/6th North
Staffords
|
7
|
87
|
Total
|
27
|
504
|
Source:
"Soldiers Died in the Great War" and the Commonwealth War Graves
Commission
Caleb Norton
informed his brother of the casualties suffered by the 1/6th North Staffords:
"Our Battalion
lost heavily. I was the only Sergt. that came out without a scratch. In fact
all the Officers and N.C.O.'s suffered a lot. There were only three officers,
with the Colonel and the Adjutant, came out of it. Sergt. Copeland, Sergt. Hair,
Sergt. Cutler, Sergt. Stone were killed and others wounded - yourself, Platts,
Austin, Kenney, Hammond, Watts, Shirley, Cpl. Burrows, Clements, Littleford,
Cronise - I cannot remember them all. Smalner Smith has died of his wound, also
Mason. You will be surprised to see the list of the lot. We had a roll call the
next morning. I shall never forget it - the strengths were 'A' Company - 90,
'B' - 92, 'C' - 112, 'D' - 114."
It seemed that no
town in Staffordshire was unaffected by the casualties suffered in the assault.
In the 1/6th battalion, North Staffords, four Rugeley men lost their lives
Sgt. Frank Wallbank
(350) B Company Age 29
Pte. Reginald Clarke
(2119) D company Age 19
Pte. James Deakin
(1506) D company
Pte. James Fisher
(1196) D company Age 28
James Fisher had
only been in France since the 22nd June, he left behind a wife,
Harriet (my 2nd cousin twice removed) and James his one year old
son.
The casualty lists
that appeared in the local papers also mentioned that Hollins (2972)
Lance-Corporal B and Hollins (1545) J, two of my Great Uncles, were both
wounded (Burton Daily Mail 8th Nov 1915). It’s not clear if they
were wounded during the attack on the Hohenzollern redoubt on the 13th,
but it would seem likely.
 |
| Ben Hollins - 1/6th North Staffords |
The official war
dairy for the 13th Oct reads as follows:
At 12 noon our
artillery heavily bombarded Fosse 8 – Big Willie – Hohenzollern redoubt and
enemy’s machine gun emplacements, communication trenches.
At 1pm gas used
against hostile position. Between 1.05 and 1.20 enemy replied with machine guns
on to our trenches also shelled support trenches.
At 2pm Infantry of
137 Bde advanced against Big Willie – Dump trench & Fosse 8. A and B Coys 6th
Staffs Regt forming 3rd line. C & D Coys in fourth line. Enemy's
machine gun and rifle fire very heavy on advancing infantry who was unable to
proceed. Line established in old fire trench. Two bombing parties were found by
this battalion one gaining 30 yards of Big willie trench but had to return
through heavy casualties and were relieved by 1/5 S. Staff Regt.
Enemy kept up a
heavy fire on our trenches with their artillery and machine guns making the
work of bringing in wounded a difficult one.
Casualties
Killed 7 Officers
and 53 other ranks
Wounded 10 officers
and 211 other ranks
Missing 30 other
ranks.
It hardly seems to tell the tale of the bravery of the men who went over the top that day 100 years ago.
References:
Andrew Thorton - Hellfire Corner.
Callan Chevin - Hell at Hohenzollern.*
British Newspapers Archive website.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission website.
*This is an excellent book, which I would thoroughly recommend for those interested in wider reading about this event.
