On October 4th the XIVth Corps was to attack with the 4th Division on the right and the 29th Division on the left ; on its right was the XVIIIth Corps. The 4th Division was to have the 11th Brigade on the right, the 10th on the left and the 12th in reserve ; on its right was the 33rd Brigade of the 11th Division.
In the 11th Brigade, the 1st Bn. Somerset Light Infantry was on the right, the 1st Bn. Hampshire Regt. on the left, the 1st Bn. East Lancashire Regt. in support, and the First Battalion in reserve.
There were to be two objectives, the first including Ferdan House (Kangaroo Pond), Lemnos House, Imbross House and 19 Metre Hill; the second included Tragique Farm and crossed the Poelcapelle road some two hundred and fifty yards north-east of Ferdan House (Kangaroo Pond). There was to be a pause of one hour on the first objective. It was not known for certain what enemy formation held the objectives, but it was possible that it would prove to be the 40th (Saxon) Division. Should this be the case, it and the First Battalion were old. friends who had faced each other on the edge of Ploegsteert Wood during the whole winter of 1914-15.
The support battalion was designated as counter-attack battalion and,as its name implies, would counter-attack an enemy counter-attack on the initiative of its C.O. without waiting for orders. The first move of the First Battalion would be to The Ings, subsequently it might be required to replace the East Lancashire in the old front line. Zero hour was 6.0 am.
The assaulting battalions got forward successfully, although some trouble was experienced in the neighbourhood of 19 Metre Hill and the East Lancashire were soon employed. In the meanwhile the First Battalion (less " C " Company employed as brigade carrying party and assembledin `White (late Eagle) Trench) moved forward about one thousand yards and dug in with " I " Company on the right, " B " on the left, and " A " in support.
At 2.30 pm. an order was received to move forward and prepare to counter-attack in conjunction with the 1st Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regt.(10th Brigade) on the left. The three companies succeeded in getting through the enemy barrage with few casualties, " B " and " I " reaching the original front line while "A " remained back at Au Bon Gite- Battalion HQ. moved to Bird House (late Alouette Farm)in Langemarck.
At 5.0 pm. orders were received cancelling any further advance and the night was spent in reorganizing. " B " Company was moved across the Laudetbeek to form a defensive flank and " I " in position some two hundred yards in front of the original line.
On the evening of October 5th sudden orders were received to take over the brigade front line from the 1st Bn. Somerset Light Infantry and the 1st Bn. Hampshire Regt. This was done, the line consisting of posts from north-east of Ferdan House (Kangaroo Pond) -south of Tragique Farm-along the front of Lemnos House to near Imbross House. " I " Company was on the right with " C " in support and “ B " on the left with " A" in support.
The next night the Battalion took over another one hundred yards from the 1st Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regt., on its left, and advanced its posts over 19 Metre Hill and up to Tragique Farm, thus securing the barrage-line for the next attack and clearing all ground between it and the jumping off line; a very creditable piece of work.
On the early morning of the 7th, whilst: reconnoitring the new posts with Colonel Fellowes, Lieutenant C. J. Chamberlain was unluckily killed by a sniper in a shell-hole, fifty yards away ; Colonel Fellowes and his orderly had a desperate crawl back, being sniped at for four hundred yards,but happily without further casualty.
That night the Battalion was relieved and returned to Redan Camp.Casualties, in addition to Lieutenant Chamberlain, included Captain J.W. Egerton-Green and 2nd-Lieutenant D. Heald died of wounds witht twenty-eight other ranks killed: Lieutenant L. B. Leech, 2nd-Lieutenants Hon. D. E. F. O’Brien, F. J. Kersley and seventy-eight other ranks wounded with one missing.
The next general attack took place on October 9th. The 11th Brigade was in divisional reserve and, beyond standing to at zero hour-5.20 a.m.-the First Battalion was not called upon.
Sir Douglas Haig, having decided to press on while circumstances still permitted, ordered the next attack, to be known officially as the First Battle of Passchendaele, to be made on October 12th from the Ypres-Roulers railway to Houthulst Forest.
Until the 10th there had been hopes in the First Battalion of relief and a move right back; however, there had been a change of plans and the Battalion found that it would take part in the attack on the 12th.
Arrangements for the attack were necessarily hurried and the 4th Division’s operation order consists largely of information which would be communicated later"; the general plan,however, was that the Division would attack with the 12th Brigade in front line, the 10th in support and the 11th in reserve. The final objective was about twelve hundred yards distant on the right and one thousand yards on the left.
The First Battalion was to be attached to the 12th Brigade, commanded by Brig.-General A. Carton de Wiart, V.C., and was to act as second reserve battalion.
"Accordingly, on the afternoon of the 10th " B " and " C " Companies moved up to Candle Trench (east of Pilckem).
About 2.0 p.m. on the 11th Colonel Fellowes was hurriedly summoned to the 12th Brigade HQ. and there informed that plans had been altered and that the Battalion would now be "first reserve battalion." There was no time for the issue of formal orders, such as were given being verbaland from the map.
On the afternoon of the 11th the remainder of the Battalion moved to Candle Trench and after dark moved up and relieved the 2nd Bn. Essex Regt. around Louis Farm (Langemark). During the night it advanced again to the assembly position west of the Poelcapelle-Conde Farm road. The Household Battalion ( The Household Batt. was a permanent war formation composed of officers and men of three Household Cavalry Reg.) and the 1st Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regt. were the assaulting battalions with the 1st Bn. The King’s Own (Royal Lancaster)Regt. in support. Zero hour was 5.25 a.m.
On October 12th the assault was launched punctually and " A," " B "and " I " Companies were well over the road before the enemy barrage fell," B " and " I " following the supporting battalion at seven hundred yards distance with " A " and “ C " in support of them. Although the attacking troops of the 12th Brigade progressed satisfactorily the 55th Brigade of the 18th Division on the right was unable to capture The Brewery and fortined houses in Poelcapelle, the result being that the right flank of the 12th Brigade was completely exposed and subjected to very heavy machine-gun fire. A defensive flank was at once formed by " I " Company and some platoons of the Kings Own running some five hundred yards south-west from Requete Farm. This was a remarkably fine piece of work. Bars to the MM., fourteen M.M.s and one M.S.M. (for gallantry and devotion to duty during bombing practice).
On October 13th the Battalion moved into brigade reserve at Romarin, where the Transport of the First Battalion spent the winter of 1914-15,and was employed there training and finding large working-parties for the R.E. until. the 21st, when it went back into the Warneton sector of the front line.
During this tour, on the 25th, 2nd-Iieutenant J. E. Lund took out a patrol of two men; when three-quarters of the way across No-Man’s Land,leaving the men, he proceeded alone to the enemy’s wire and there engaged the garrison of this trench. After a spirited fight with revolver and bombs the officer returned to his men, having shot one German with his revolver and himself received a slight wound in the wrist.On the 28th 2nd-Lieutenant E. B. Anstie, with a party of twenty-five, raided the enemy trenches which they succeeded in entering ; one German was killed but the remainder ran away, so the party returned with five other ranks slightly wounded and one missing, who was believed to have been blown up by a shell.
Next day the Battalion was relieved and returned to camp at de Seule, having, during the tour, lost five other ranks killed and twenty wounded,apart from those already mentioned.
Ten uneventful days were spent during which two Military Medals were awarded and in a Brigade Boxing Tournament A/Corporal Dorowwon the Welter and C.Q.M.S. Bingham the Heavy Weight.
On November 12th the Battalion moved west to near Vieux Berquin until the 16th, when it entrained at Caestre for Ypres and thence to bivouac near Wieltje.
Next day it moved into the line north-west of Passchendaele, relieving the 47th Canadian Infantry Battalion. During the relief and for the tour of forty-eight hours there was heavy shelling, " heavier," according to the Diary, “ than on any previous occasion." Whilst in the line the Battalion advanced its line in the centre, straightening out a reentrant, but on being relieved on the 19th had lost 2nd-Lieutenants A. G. Tyndall and A. F. A.Woodward and thirty-seven other ranks killed ; 2nd-Lieutenant ]. E. Lundand eighty-three other ranks wounded and twenty-two missing. There mainder of the month was spent training at Brandhoek until on the 30th the Battalion was in camp near Ypres and about to go into the line again.
Bron: The history of the Rifle Brigade in the war of 1914-1918 Vol.II; door Seymour W.
