The Seventh Division  1914 - 1918

Mobilization and Antwerp

After the departure for France of the Sixth Division, the last portion of the "striking force" provided by the reorganization begun in 1907, there remained in England of Regular troops only three regiments of Household Cavalry, five battalions of infantry, three of them Guards, seven batteries of Royal Horse Artillery, and five brigades of R.F.A., besides training and draft-finding units. If the "striking force"' now rechristened "British Expeditionary Force," was to receive any substantial additions, they must clearly come from some other source than the Regulars on the Home Establishment. The Territorials had been mobilized and were beginning that six months intensive training which they were officially supposed to require before they could take the field. They could hardly be expected to be ready to be thrown into the fighting line straight away, especially as their organization had been somewhat upset by their being invited to undertake foreign service instead of the "home defence" for which they had been raised. The "New Armies" had responded in wonderful style to the call to arms, but these magnificent improvizations lacked not only training but arms, equipment, uniforms, and almost everything except zeal and devotion : many months must elapse before they could attain even to the stage of readiness of the Territorials. In this desperate state of affairs there was, however, one resource on which the Empire could fall back—the Regular troops stationed overseas, the Colonial garrisons, and the Army in India. At the very outbreak of the war the Colonies and Dominions had ranged themselves alongside the Mother Country; South Africa in particular, the only self-governing colony still garrisoned by Regulars, had declared its readiness not only to undertake its own defence, but to tackle German South-West Africa, thereby releasing the garrison, over 6,000 strong, for service in Europe. The defended ports in the Mediterranean could not take over their own protection as South Africa could, nor was it possible to denude Egypt of its garrison, but the ready response of the Territorials to the invitation to volunteer for service overseas allowed of relieving the Regulars at these stations by less highly trained troops, and before the first clash between British and Germans at Mons measures for organizing another Division were on foot.

The Seventh Division therefore came into existence with the assembly at Lyndhurst in the New Forest of the units assigned to it from the Regulars remaining in England.2 These included the 1st Grenadier Guards from Warley, the 2nd Scots Guards from the Tower, the 2nd Yorkshire Regiment from Guernsey, the 2nd Border Regiment from Pembroke Dock, " C " Battery R.H.A. from Canterbury, " F " from St. John's Wood, the XXXVth Brigade R.F.A. from Woolwich, and the 54th Field Co. R.E. from Chatham. To these were added during September the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers and 2nd Wiltshires from Gibraltar, the 2nd Royal Warwickshires and 1st Royal Welch Fusiliers from Malta, the 2nd Gordon Highlanders from Egypt, and the 2nd Queen's, 2nd Bedfordshires, and 1st South Stafford-shires from the Cape, whence came also the XXIInd Brigade R.F.A. and the 55th Field Co. R.E.

The R.H.A. batteries took the place of the third brigade of 18-pounders that should normally have formed part of the Division, while as neither field howitzers nor 60-pounders were forthcoming it was provided with two Heavy Batteries, armed with the none too reliable 4-7-inch guns, the " cow-gun " of the South African War, a thoroughly inadequate substitute, but all that the unprepared country could produce. No Regular cavalry being available, a whole Yeomanry regiment, the Northumberland Hussars, took the place of the usual Divisional squadron, a cyclist company being formed from the infantry units, as had been done in the original " B.E.F." The Divisional Ammunition Column, the Heavy Batteries, and the Signal Company were also improvized, and the three Field Ambulances and the Divisional Train had to be specially brought together.

Command of the Division was given to Major-General T. Capper, C.B., D.S.O.,1 who was holding the appointment of Inspector of Infantry, having recently relinquished command of the 13th Infantry Brigade at Dublin. With him came Colonel H. M. Montgomery as G.S.O.1. ; the C.R.A. was Brigadier-General H. K. Jackson, and as C.R.E. Colonel A. T. Moore was appointed.

As commanders of the infantry brigades there were appointed Brigadier-Generals H. G. Ruggles-Brise, H. E. Watts, and S. T. B. Lawford. General Ruggles-Brise, himself an old Grenadier Guardsman, was given the 20th Brigade, which comprised the two Guards battalions together with the Gordons and the Borders. The two battalions from Gibraltar together with the Yorkshires and Bedfords formed the 21st Brigade under General Watts, the two from Malta with the Queen's and South Staffords from South Africa making up General Lawford's 22nd Brigade . . .

 

 

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The Somme : Mametz

 

 

Though the Somme offensive is by convention dated as beginning on July 1st when the often postponed infantry attack was finally launched, it might with equal justice be reckoned from the start of the great bombardment a week earlier. The 18-pounders had opened the ball on June 24th when they started wire-cutting, the heavy guns registering prior to joining in next day. For days before this ammunition had been systematically dumped round the gun positions to the tune of 1,100 rounds per 18-pounder, 1,010 per 4-5-inch howitzer, 500 per 2-inch trench-mortar, and 300 per Stokes mortar. The accumulation of these dumps was a most laborious process, especially as the Decauville railways proved a disappointment, their use involving more labour and risk without any saving of time. Accordingly the plan was changed and the ammunition transported by lorries direct from rail-head to the gun positions.

All through the 26th the heavy howitzers were at it, with a special concentration of fire between 9 and 10.30 a.m. Then at 11.30 gas was released and at 12.54 the guns lifted on to the German support line, in the hope that the enemy would man their front trenches in anticipation of our attack and would be caught there by the guns shifting back after two minutes. Similar tactics were pursued next day, the concentration of fire being from 4.30 to 5 a.m. Good progress had been made with the wire-cutting, though the " knife-rests " defied attack by shrapnel and could only be destroyed by using high explosive. At night patrols were pushed out to investigate the wire and German trenches. Thus on the night of June 26th/27th a patrol of the Gordons got into the enemy's trenches, bringing back useful information, and the Borders examined Danube Trench and reported it much damaged. The Seventeenth Division, which was in reserve to the Corps, had lent two battalions to hold the Seventh's line during the bombardment and so allow the assaulting troops to go into the fight as fresh as possible ; but the attack, originally intended for June 29th, had to be postponed 48 hours, partly because of the rain, partly to allow of completing the wire-cutting where it had been unsuccessful. Accordingly these two battalions had to be relieved on the 28th as intended and the attacking Brigades, the 20th and 91st, took over the portions of fine allotted to them each with one battalion.

During these days the Germans had been far from inactive : their guns had replied most vigorously to the bombardment and had rendered the British front and support lines quite useless as jumping-off places. This had been provided against, however, by digging special assembly trenches 250 yards farther back; and though this gave the assaulting battalions that extra distance to cover as well as No Man's Land they escaped almost without any casualties before "Zero," as the starting time was now known, whereas had they assembled in the old front fine they must have lost heavily long before it came.

The objective of the Fifteenth Corps on July 1st was a line running South and S.W. of Mametz Wood. The Seventh Division on its right was attacking Mametz village, advancing due North, while the Twenty-First was to strike Eastward on the other side of Fricourt, which village was not to be attacked direct but to be " pinched out" by the inner flanks of the attack uniting in rear of it in Willow Avenue. From this point the Seventh Division's line was to run Eastward to a track leading N.E. from Mametz to Caterpillar Wood.

 

The 91st Brigade on the right had first to capture Bucket Trench and Bulgar Alley, then to reach Dantzig Alley and secure that trench as far Westward as Mametz. Its second objective was formed by Fritz Trench, Valley Trench, and Bunny Alley, its third the line assigned as the Division's final objective. In the later stages this advance would find its left protected by the 20th Brigade, whose duty it was, after capturing the German trenches immediately in its front, South and S.W. of Mametz, to form a defensive flank facing N.W. and running along Bunny Alley, Orchard Alley, and Apple Alley. After the final objective had been secured two battalions of the 22nd Brigade would make a subsidiary attack on the 20th's left, aimed at clearing the trenches North of Bois Francais. Their first objective was Rose Alley from its junction with Orchard Alley, which would involve capturing Sunken Road Trench, Bois Francais Trench and its support trench, and an area known as the Rectangle ; its second objective was a line from Willow Avenue to Bunny Wood.

The 91st Brigade was employing two battalions to attack its first and second objectives, the 22nd Manchesters on the right with Bucket Trench and Dantzig Alley as first objective, the South Staffords on the left making for the N.E. part of Mametz. These units were to keep reserves in hand for the capture of the second objective, and two hours after " Zero "the Queen's were to go through and take the third objective. The 21st Manchesters less one company detailed for " mopping up " formed the Brigade reserve. The 20th Brigade was using three battalions in the first attack, the Gordons on the right with Mametz as objective, the 9th Devons in the centre, the Borders on the left with Hidden Wood as the chief landmark on their frontage. This left General Deverell with the 8th Devons as his reserve. The 22nd Brigade was entrusting its attack to the 20th Manchesters with the Welch Fusiliers in support, the Royal Warwickshires and Royal Irish forming the Divisional Reserve along with six platoons of the 24th Manchesters and the 54th Field Company. The R.H.A.

brigade and two batteries of the LXXIst Brigade R.F.A. from the Seventeenth Division were detailed to support the 20th Brigade, the XXIInd Brigade R.F.A. and another battery of the LXXIst were covering the 91st, the XXXVth Brigade R.F.A. was helping the 22nd Brigade, and the LXXXth R.F.A. from the Twenty-First Division was in reserve, there being thus seventy-four 18-pounders and sixteen howitzers under General Watts. The Durham Field Company and a company of Pioneers were to establish strong points along the final objective, in Fritz Trench and at Bunny Wood. The 95th Field Company and another company of Pioneers were to place Mametz in a state of defence, while half a company of Pioneers opened up communication tunnels across No Man's Land to Bulgar Point and Mametz Trench. Shallow galleries had already been driven out at five points and mines placed ready to be exploded 15 minutes before " Zero."

The administrative arrangements for a set-piece of this magnitude had been elaborate and complicated and the orders filled many pages. Careful provision had been made for replenishing ammunition, especially bombs, for forwarding water and rations, for the wounded, for the reception of prisoners, for traffic control, for transmitting messages and reports. The orders were the product of weeks of careful work and had been constantly revised, indeed as far as was humanly possible nothing had been left to chance. But everything really depended on the success of the bombardment in breaking down the elaborate and carefully constructed German defences; and heavy as had been the weight of metal concentrated against them, their formidable nature left that success an open question.

On the evening of June 30th all battalions had taken up their allotted positions. A steady fire was kept up all night, and then at 6.25 a.m. (July 1st), an hour and five minutes before " Zero," the final intense bombardment began. The din was tremendous, the heavy guns pounding away at the trenches at an incredible rate . . .