38
The Ypres Times.
in the line and one in reserve behind the left flank. The 19th Division, which was in
G.H. Q. Reserve, was resting near Bligny, S.W., of Rheims, but it came under tactical
disposition of the Corps during the operations. The 50th Division was on the left in front
of Craonne, the 8th Division was in the centre in front of Villers aux Bois, and the 21st
Division held the line between Berry au Bac and Loivre. The divisions were holding
the lines very thinly and in the case of our own division it was approximately 9,000 yards
in length. As the reinforcements sent to the Corps consisted mainly of new officers, of
little war experience, and hastily trained men of poorer physique than formerly, some of
them merely boys, it was essential that the front held should be quiet in order that training
might proceed. The 21st Division had its three brigades in the line, the 62nd on the left,
the 110th in the centre and the 64th on the rightand as our division was the right
division of the Corps, there were French troops on our right, the 45th French Infantry
Divisionan Algerian Division.
Two main physical features ran across our divisional front, the Aisne-Marne Canal
and the Rheims-Lao n Road-Route Nationale 44. The 64th Brigade had its three bat
talions in the line, the 15th Durham Light Infantry on the left, the 9th King's Own Light
Infantry in the centre, and the 1st East Yorkshire Regt. on the right. EaCh battalion
had one company in front of the Canal, the Line of Observation, two companies in the
Battle Line of detached strong points forward of Route 44, and Battalion H. Q's. were in
a trench which skirted the road. The reserve company in each case was kept west of the
road. D Company (2nd Lieut. A. D. Robinson) held the Line of Observation. It was
a weak one, for although the Canal was not entirely full of water, vet it was a narrow
stream and was spanned by narrow plank bridges. A Company (Capt. Watson, Man
chester Regt. att.), and C Company (Capt. Green, M.C., S. Staffs, att.), on the left and
right respectively, held the Battle Line, whereas B Company (Capt. G. W. Young, R.D.F.
att.), was the reserve company. Battalion H.Q. was a sumptuous dug-out near Route
44, in front of Hermonville, just at the foot of the rise of the road towards Rheims. The
French trenches were in a good state of repair, and the officers' quarters were fitted
with furniture taken from nearby houses. There were cultivated flowers in the trench
sides. So peaceful was the scene that 1,000 yards west of Battalion H.Q. one or two
peasants from Hermonville were tilling the soil.
Whilst the C.O. (Lieut.-Col-. W. H. Alexander, D.S.O., Connaught Rangers att. Border
Regt.) and Brig.-Gen. H. R. Headlam, C.M.G., D.S.O. (G.O.C. 64th Brigade) were going
round the line on the afternoon of the 26th May, the writer, the Adjutant, was called to
the Battalion Observation Post, where his attention was drawn to a group of men, ap
parently German officers, near Fort Brimont, who, through the telescope, appeared to
be examining maps of our positions. The matter was reported immediately to Brigade
H.Q. The C.O. and the Brigadier had been discussing the fishing prospects of the Canal,
but on hearing the news, the Brigadier hurried back to Brigade H. Q. Later in the evening,
the warning orders, based on reports of an Alsatian prisoner, captured on the French
left front, were received an attack was expected to start with artillery preparation
at I a.m. on the 27th May.
To the minute the shelling commenced, and in slowly increasing intensity the shelling
grew until it was thunderous, and quite as heavy as on the 21st March. The gas shelling
filled the trenches with clouds of fumes so thickly that work of any kind was impossible.
Runners kept up constant touch with the companies until daybreak. The enemy's
infantry attacked at 6 a.m. The sun shone but the gas and smoke made visibility difficult.
When our warning was received the previous evening the C.O. wanted to withdraw D
Company to the west of the Canal, but as it could not be done without the authority of
the French Army, it was quickly overwhelmed in the enemy's attack. On the left between
A Company and the 9th K.O.Y.L.I. was a valley running east and west, and down this
the Germans poured, and tried to envelope A Company. To prevent this, Col. Alexander
