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The British forces had already taken Bapaume, Villers-au-Flos, and Riencourt, and the enemy were supposed to be retreating fast in the direction of the old Hindenburg Line which lay beyond Havrincourt Wood. Pte. King's party did good work; they went through Barastre and Bus in front of the advance guards of the infantry, and met with no opposition beyond occasional long-range machine-gun fire.
Their first O.P. was just south of Bertincourt, and the following days near Neuville-Bourjonval. For this expedition Pte. King was awarded the Military Medal. On September 3 I went with Pte. Turner to some high ground just south of Bapaume and stayed there several hours. From here little shelling could be seen, the main body of the enemy must have retired as far as Havrincourt Wood.
The observers had their share in those fifty casualties, as Pte. F. Turner went to Rose O.P. and directed the Sergeant Gunner in charge to the proper map reference of the German troops. That 6-inch battery shot superbly, and I wish I knew the Sergeant's name. The G.O.C. sent his congratulations to the observers on the day's work.
As it was the Division from Gallipoli went to Egypt, and we were not wanted. On the 27th Pte. Gregory, who died as the result of a tram accident, was given a full military funeral, and the following day at 4.30 a.m. we left Marseilles for the North. 6th Feb., 1916. 9th May, 1916.
So the junior member, fearful of seeming sentimental and unmilitary, timidly suggested the sentence of death, to which the other two agreed. "We must make an example of these fellows. There are far too many cases of desertion," said the Major, as he lit his pipe and hurried off to his tea. Thus ended the career of No. 1234 Pte.
It looked as if "A" Company were to be driven back and the trench lost. But they soon steadied down to hold on. The Turkish grenade had a fuse which burns for 8 to 10 seconds; it therefore rarely explodes until some seconds after it has fallen. Recognising this, some of our bolder spirits began to pick up and throw back the enemy's grenades. Pte.
Two stretcher bearers with one stretcher case set off for our line, but unfortunately got confused at the cross-roads and wandered into a wadi where they were captured. We got word soon after from the bearers, by letter dropped from a Turkish aeroplane, that they were safe, and after the Armistice we were glad to hear that Pte.
Also we saw on our way back a party of the 7th N.F. preparing to bury a number of our own men who had fallen in the advance. The same evening I was told that the 42nd Division would be relieved that night by the New Zealand Division, and that the observers should stand fast until further orders, Pte. King's party joined us the next day.
The brigade bomb throwing unit assisted in the charge on the St. Julien Wood, and few of them lived to tell the tale. One of them belonging to the Red Watch returned, Pte. Adkins, a boy of nineteen, and from him I learned many of the facts I have recounted. In the meantime what steps were being taken to succor the hard pressed 3rd Brigade?
At dawn on September 28 the grand assault on the Hindenburg Line began. It was quite successful on our left and on the left of our front, but the Division on our right had great difficulty in getting forward. By the following day, however, the line was advanced along the whole front, and the N.Z. Division, taking over the pursuit from us, made good captures of men and guns. L.-C. Cowen and Pte.
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