THE YPRES TIMES
23
General Order No. 371, by the General Commanding the jth French Army, dated
August 2ist, 1918.
On the 6th June, 1918, when the right flank of an English Brigade, which had been heavily
engaged, was threatened by the enemy's advance, the reserve battalioni/4th Battalion of The King's
Shropshire Light Infantrywas ordered to deliver a counter-attack against an important position
from which the garrison had been driven. With magnificent dash the 1/4 K.S.L.I. advanced to the
assault of the hill which had been occupied by the enemy, scattered death in his ranks and, after heavy
fighting, took one officer and 28 men prisoners. Thanks to this vigorous and heroic recovery of a
position which was the key to the whole line of defence, it was possible to re-establish the line and
keep it intact. By its rapid advance, its initiative and its superb valour, the 1/4 K.S.L.I. contributed
in no small degree on this memorable occasion to the re-establishment of a position which had become
extremely critical.
(Signed) Le General Commandant,
La Vme Armee, Berthelot."
It was with the purpose of visiting the scene of this gallant exploit (in that far
away valley of the Ardre, some ten miles south-west of Rheims) for which my old
battalion as a whole was awarded the Croix de Guerre et Palure, that I set out, in
the early morning from Amiens, some little time ago. Equipped by our genial
representative, Capt. Oswald, with an excellent car and equally excellent driver, I was
soon traversing the long, straight road to Royethrough country where the tide of
battle ebbed and flowed in 1918 and where signs of this gigantic struggle are still to
be seen here and there in the blackened and broken leafless trees and the Silent Cities
dotted about the countryside. It was market day in Roye and the streets were thronged
with stalls and country people selling their produce. There is little to remind one
to-day of the wave of destruction which passed over this town thirteen years ago
the hands of the builder have been busy. On along the still straight road, through
Roiglise and that very picturesque old Picardy town, Noyon, came in sight. This
beautiful town, once noted for its old-world charm, was in the enemy occupation twice
and fell a special victim to the ravaging hand of monstrous warfare. To-day, a new
Noyon has risen from the dust, but from its slight eminence the gaunt, stark ruin of the
once beautiful seven centuries old cathedral looks down with grim significance.
Leaving Noyon by the road crossing the canal and the River Oise and passing through
the villages of Pouloise-Cuts and Blerancourt in the pleasant countryside of Picardy,
where yokes of oxen could be seen at work in the fields, we turned right and climbed
over the hilly country to Vezaponin and thence to Pommiers into Soissons. This town,
very closely associated with the retreat from Mons, was later, in May and June, 1918,
the heart of the battlefield in which five of our divisions played a great part in stemming
what was the third great attempt by the enemy to break through. Served like Albert
and many other towns, Soissons still bears many scars of the torrent which swept over
it. In the centre of the town is the very fine memorial to nearly 6,000 men who lost
their lives on this part of the front and who have no known graves. Taking the form
of a pylon with a screen, the feature of the memorial is a group of three soldiers standing
at the grave of a newly buried comrade. Truly a very impressive memorial. Close
by is the noted Pont de Anglaise, remembered by many Old Contemptibles, and as the
setting of the story in The Hell Gate of Soissons." Passing now along the main
CompiegneRheims road, a halt for lunch was made at Fismes, where in May, 1918,
our Ordnance Corps only just escaped capturecomplete.
Taking the road from Fismes via Courville, we were soon dropping down into the
upper end of the Ardre valley with the little stream bearing this name rippling along on
the left. I was approaching the end of my journey and soon the Moulagne de Bligny
looked down from the right, while across on the opposite slope of the valley the little