As the ‘Hundred Days’ final Allied offensive begins, Greg had a shoot of which he was clearly proud. He had had a good run with 213 Siege Battery over the last few weeks with shoots on 18 July, 19 July, 20 July and 22 July 1918, and today he capped it by ranging the battery’s howitzers in just 20 minutes. Later, he prepared (or was presented with) a small mount-board with ‘before’ and ‘after’ photographs to show the effect on the ground.
Log Book
Date: 8.8.18 Time: 19.00 Rounds Lewis: - Rounds Vickers: - Bombs: - Time on RE8s: 111 hrs 05 mins RE8: 2649 Observer: Lt Hodgson Time: 45 mins Height: 3500 Course/Remarks: Shoot with 213 SB on L32. Successful.
Diary
Thursday Aug 8th. Did a shoot with 213 S Battery on a dump in L32. Left ground 7pm & landed at 7.45. Battery ranged in 20 mins.
Squadron Record Book
Type and Number: R.E.8.2649 Pilot and Observer: P. Lt Gregory. O. Lt Hodgson Duty: Art Obs on H.B. Destructive. Hour of Start: 19.00 Hour of Return: 19.45 Remarks: S. with 213 S.B. (8” How) on H.B. at L.32.a.25.95. (P) Called 19.03. L. 10.05. G. 19.07 17 ranging rounds:- M.A.3. M.A.3. 1. O.K. 2 Z. 8 A. 3 B. 3 W. V. 19.28. G. to V. 21 minutes Engine unsatisfactory during ranging, unable to observe B.F. C.I. eng sent 19.34. 19.10. 1 E.K.B. South and 1 East of ESTAIRES. 19.13. 1 flare (or fire) at Q.11.c.8.7. 19.30. 2 E.K.B. East of ESTAIRES. 19.32. large fire, hedge, at Q.18.a.5.5. Vis. good. Height 3500’. Obs. by P. & O.
Shoot with 213 Siege Battery
Greg’s shoot with 213 Siege Battery was recorded on a small mount-board shown here:
No.42 Squadron R.A.F.
H.B. at L.26.c.22.01
L.32.a.25.95
Date engaged 8th August 1918
By 213 Siege Battery R.G.A.
Calibre 8" H.
Rounds 135.
Observations by Lt.Gregory
Results 1 O.K. 2 Z.s; 8 A.s;
3 B.s.
Direction of Fire [bearing ~93º; reciprocal ~273º]
The Target
The location of the target, in squares L.26 and L.32 is just to the east of Merville, near a house or settlement called Crinquette Lotte on what was then the north bank of the River Lys. The names Crinquette and Lotte belong to two local families, and genealogical records show that one Marc Jean Baptiste LOTTE married Marie Angélique Victoire CRINQUETTE, both of Merville, on 24 February 1784.
Although the Lys had been canalised before the Great War, since 1918 it has been diverted, and the location of the target is now south of the river, within the phytochemical plant of Roquette Frères .
There is some discrepancy about the nature of the target. Greg’s diary refers to “a dump in L32”. Yet the legend to the mounted photos and the Squadron Record Book give the rather more precise location (partly within square L32) of an “H.B.” or hostile battery. Both these things could be true, of course, as we would expect a battery to have an associated ammunition dump.
In any event, a comparison of the ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos gives a good indication of the havoc inflicted on and around the target by the one hundred and thirty five 200 lb (91 kg) shells fired.
Location of 213 Siege Battery
The mounted photos indicate the direction of fire of 231 SB’s 8″ howitzers. Fortunately, this information enables us to have a stab at working out 213 SB’s location, as follows.
The direction of fire is on a bearing of (roughly) 93º. So the reciprocal bearing, from target to battery, would be 273º. Also, we can hazard that the 8″ howitzers used by the battery were probably Mark VII BL-Howitzers, which were introduced in July 1916. They had a range of 12,300 yards (11,250 m). We can put those bits of information together, and assume that the howitzers would be working comfortably within their maximum range – say 75% for the sake of argument. Doing that, we find that 9,000 yards along a reciprocal bearing of 273º takes us to near the village of Haverskerque, in the lee of the Nieppe Forest, just north of St Venant:
This reasoning is the basis of the remark in this earlier post that 213 Siege Battery was located near Haverskerque:
If the battery was operating closer to the maximum range of its artillery than the assumed 9,000 yards, that would place it north and west of Haverskerque, but still generally near the village.
Battery Ranging Time and Results
Greg ranges the howitzers in 20 minutes, which was pretty brisk and obviously pleased him. (The Squadron Record Book says 21 minutes, to be precise, but we can allow him the minute!) This would be the “G to V time” in the parlance of artillery ranging. The following article explains this, as well as the results (1 O.K. 2 Z.s; 8 A.s; 3 B.s.), which indicated a thoroughly successful shoot:
For a primer on map references, see this article:
The Hundred Days Offensive
It was business as usual for Greg on this day. But 8 August 1918 is more famous for being the beginning of what was to be the Allies’ final offensive. This became known as the Hundred Days Offensive. (It was actually 95 days, but where’s the marketing impact in that?)
Michael Seymour reflects here on the wider significance of the day:
The ‘Black Day’ that Marked the Start of the Last Hundred Days
The Front Line on the Lys
In the Lys sector, the front line on the morning of 8 August 1918 had moved a little eastwards from the line held on 1 May 1918 at the end of Operation Georgette. In the furthest west position, the British line had crossed the Lys at St Floris. The position recorded for the morning of 8 August on the map accompanying General Haig’s despatches of the final British offensive had halved the distance to Merville. By now, the line crossed the Lys at Le Sart:
Updated 20 August 2018 16:35
Updated with Squadron Record Book info 28 September 2018 15:55