United States or Palestine ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
The opening scenes of the campaign between the Spanish governor and France were, as usual, in Picardy. The Marquis of Varambon made a demonstration in the neighbourhood of Dourlens a fortified town on the river Authie, lying in an open plain, very deep in that province while Fuentes took the field with eight thousand men, and laid siege to Le Catelet. He had his eye, however, upon Ham.
Christmas was spent in the huts at Bécourt with a wild gale blowing; the festivities and feastings of the previous year at Authie were not possible, but at least the men could congratulate themselves that they were not in the trenches. On the 28th we moved back through Albert to the village of Bresle, which lies just north of the great straight highway from Amiens to Albert.
During Divisional rest the observers were attached for rations and accommodation to the H.Q. Company of the 7th N.F. We marched back, therefore, with the battalion through Couin and St. Leger to Authie. We found nice billets awaiting us in this pleasant French village, which was too far from the enemy to be afflicted with shell fire.
Thus, after a long day of vigilance and care, he was not more than five miles from land when the sun set, and probably further from the English coast than when he set forth in the morning; because he had stood towards the south of west all day, to keep out of sight of the left wing of the enemy; and as the straight outline of the coast began to fade, he supposed himself to be about half-way between the mouth of the Canche and that of the little Authie.
It lies in the valley of the Authie River, between downs of chalk, beech-covered, which put on beautiful colours as soon as the first frosts of autumn touched them. The whole countryside is indeed strangely reminiscent of the Chiltern Hills of Oxfordshire and Bucks.
Gas shells were frequently used on both sides. Early in July the Battalion came out to rest at Authie, where it was accommodated under canvas. Here it was that Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Henry Seymour, D.S.O., of the Grenadier Guards, took command.
In the sentry line your vigilance has been beyond all criticism. You have done good work in all that pertains to the work of the trenches, digging and so on. Moreover, your conduct in the village and in billets has been uniformly good. During this stay at Authie rumours began to be active. It was persistently reported that the 'great offensive' would be in full swing before September was out.
After 36 hours in the wood we packed up again and moved by night through Authie, afterwards most familiar and welcome of rest billets, passing Coignieux, where the French gunners, sitting by their fires in the horse lines, called out greetings, and ascended the northern hill to Bayencourt, a stinking little village full of flies and odours.
It was full of French civilians, and the small shops had various little luxuries to which we had been unused for some time. From Authie Woods to Bayencourt ran the 'Red Line' trenches, a sort of 'last-but-one' reserve line, which had been hastily dug by Chinese labourers and were still only about four feet deep.
The turmoil of the last few days was now succeeded by a complete calm in which scarcely a gun spoke. On September 30th we were relieved in due course by the 6th Gloucesters, but went not to Authie, which was considered too far away, but to Souastre, a village in the area of the 37th Division, five kilometres west of Fonquevillers.
Word Of The Day