Meanwhile in France... Archives - Page 2 of 3

28 May 201813 September 2018

Tuesday 28 May 1918 – The Battle of Cantigny

Meanwhile in France…

Among the items of the Greg’s War collection are various photographs from the Somme sector, which as far as we know he never visited. And since Tuesday 28 May 1918 was Greg’s last full day in Hampshire, he was certainly not there for the Battle of Cantigny – a small village 3½ miles (5.5 km) ENE of Montdidier – which was fought that day. The battle’s tactical objective – the elimination of a small German salient whose high ground was inconveniently favourable for the enemy’s artillery – was arguably dwarfed by the greater strategic effect of establishing the capabilities of the American Expedition Force as an effective fighting unit, for the encouragement both of the allied Entente Powers and of the enemy. Michael Seymour’s article sets out the context of the battle:

The Battle of Cantigny

Five striking aerial photographs of that engagement are published here today. Possibly they were taken by a French squadron[1], as France was responsible for providing air cover to the American troops undertaking operations on the ground in their first major battle of the Great War.

The Battle of Cantigny Photographs

These aerial photographs of the Battle of Cantigny are all from the Greg’s War Collection, and are reproduced here with their original captions:

Cantigny Then and Now

Cantigny today is still a tiny place, albeit more peaceful, with the poignantly named Rue de 28 Mai 1918. Compare Photograph 1 above with its contemporary equivalent below:

The same oblique aspect from the north as Photograph 1 today, courtesy Google. Click for a zoomable view in Google Maps (opens in new tab)

The Tanks…

A number of French Schneider CA-1 tanks [2] were active with the US troops, which was a new experience for both. The Schneiders were fairly small, turret-less boxes (~21 ft/6 m long by ~7 ft/2 m wide), with a characteristic boat-like prow. This is visible in this magnified detail of the centre portion of Photograph No. 3:

Detail of Photograph No. 3, showing Schneider tanks (marked)

(Note, incidentally, how the tracks that the tanks have left behind them in the spring crops curiously foreshadow the ‘tram lines’ made by the large farm implements of modern agriculture.)

One Schneider CA-1 survives today in the Musée des Blindés at Saumur:

The marine-looking prow is seen clearly in this photograph, as is the steel spur above it. The purpose of this configuration was cut and crush barbed wire.

The US troops gained their objective fairly early in the day, and hung on tenaciously in the face of a brutal counter attack. Their defence of the newly gained was all the more impressive for it being inadequately supported by artillery as a result of rapid redeployment to resist the Blücher-Yorck offensive. The Battle of Cantigny was a success for the allies, and particularly for the Americans.

Notes

[1] I’m grateful to Timothy Slater (Twitter: @SlaterTimothy) for this:

“The annotations on the photographs confirm they were taken by the French 42nd Sqn (SPA 42). SPA 42 was the French Sqn attached to the 1st American Division between Apr & Aug 1918.”

Great pictures. The annotations on the photographs confirm they were taken by the French 42nd Sqn (SPA 42). SPA 42 was the French Sqn attached to the 1st American Division between Apr & Aug 1918. https://t.co/bgT4i5QJ2a #WW1

— Timothy Slater (@SlaterTimothy) May 28, 2018

[2] A post on the Great War Forum (https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/176720-cantigny-french-flame-and-tank-support/) has a photograph indicating that the tanks were French-manned.

Header Image: detail from Photograph 1 (Greg’s War Collection)

Post edited 13 September 2018

25 May 201823 May 2018

Saturday 25 May 1918 – 42 Sqn in Air Combat

Meanwhile in France…

…it was another day of aerial combat for an RE8 of 42 Squadron, which was – alarmingly – outnumbered 12 to 1 but survived:

Air combat report – click for larger image

Time: 12.10 p.m.  
Locality: K.28 
Pilot: Capt. A. E. Davis 
Observer: Lieut. J. Chatterton, M.C. 

12 single seater machines, type unknown.
Machines had extension on top planes and slight
dihedral.

 
At 12.10pm two formations of six machines each 
appeared over MERVILLE.  One machine dived on us and
fired about 50 rounds.  Observer fired a burst of 25
rounds with Lewis into this machine which then 
turned away.  A second E.A. then dived and followed 
us down to 4000 feet, firing all the time.  Observer
fired another 70 rounds into this machine which did
a sharp "Immelmann" and turned East. Vickers [the 
pilot's gun] fired about 50 rounds at machines 
retreating.

K.28

“K.28” refers to a 1,000 yd x 1,000 yd square just west of Merville, itself 17 miles (30 km) west of Lille:

K.28, near Merville map. — K.28, near Merville, from 1:10,000 scale map. Click for larger image. Map credit IWM/GreatWarDigital

The centre of K.28 was a mile or so behind, i.e. to the east of, the German front line at the time.

“Immelmann”

The “Immelmann Turn” is associated with and was possibly devised by the German Pilot Max Immelmann.

According to Wikipedia:

In World War I aerial combat, an Immelmann turn was a maneuver used after an attack on another aircraft to reposition the attacking aircraft for another attack.

After making a high-speed diving attack on an enemy, the attacker would then climb back up past the enemy aircraft, and just short of the stall, apply full rudder to yaw his aircraft around. This put his aircraft facing down at the enemy aircraft, making another high-speed diving pass possible. This is a difficult maneuver to perform properly, as it involves precise control of the aircraft at low speed. With practice and proper use of all of the fighter’s controls, the maneuver could be used to reposition the attacking aircraft to dive back down in any direction desired.

The manoeuvre is illustrated in a 1918 RNAS handbook as follows:

The Immelmann Turn, illustrated by E. L. Ford, from ‘Practical Flying’, RNAS, 1918

Immelmann famously flew Fokker Eindeckers, including the E.III as pictured (probably at Upavon in Wiltshire) in this post:

Wednesday 1 May 1918 – The Enemy Close at Hand

22 May 201819 May 2018

Wednesday 22 May 1918 – 42 Sqn in Air Combat Again

Meanwhile in France…

Lts Puckle (Pilot) and Nicolson (Observer) of 42 Sqn RAF again saw aerial combat, only three days after their last encounter. This time they were on photographic duty, and were incidentally attacking enemy kite balloons near Estaires when they became entangled with a couple of Albatros scouts. Presumably the job of the scouts was to defend the kite balloons.

Time: 11.35am  
Locality: ESTAIRES 
Pilot: Lt H. Puckle Observer: Lt J. F. W. Nicolson

Two Albatros Scouts. 

While attacking 4 E.K.B. at R.4, R.11, R.17, G.20, two Albatross Scouts were seen by Observer to be climbing up to machine about 1500 feet below. Observer fired a drum of Lewis into nearest E.A. which spun down, flattened out and flew away East. The other Scout also flew away.

Estaires

The map squares R.4, R.11, R.17 and G.20 (1:40,000 sheets 36A and 36) are either side of Estaires, which is in the Département du Nord on the River Lys, about 15 miles (24 km) west of Lille:

19 May 20189 October 2018

Sunday 19 May 1918 – 42 Sqn in Air Combat

Meanwhile in France…

While Greg was at Hursley Park, an RE8 of 42 Sqn RAF saw aerial combat this day while Lts Puckle (Pilot) and Nicolson (Observer) were on artillery registration duty at 6:30am. “Artillery registration” was more informally known as a “shoot” – the process of directing fire from a battery onto a target, typically a hostile battery, as practised by Greg at Yatesbury on 4 May 1918:

Saturday 4 May 1918 – Shoot, but No Photos

Lts Puckle and Nicolson’s report was as follows:

Time: 6.30am Locality: Between NIEPPE FOREST and 
                       MERVILLE

Pilot: Lt H. Puckle Observer: Lt J. F. W. Nicolson
Two seater, either an Albatros or resembling one

The E.A. was first fired on when flying north from 
MERVILLE and 500 feet above us.  Two drums were fired
at him when he turned and flew towards MERVILLE, 
and in flying somewhat across his track 1½ drums were
fired, and the E.A. disappeared into the haze over 
ESTAIRES apparently undamaged.

Merville and the Nieppe Forest Map — Merville and the Nieppe Forest. Scale: 1:40,000 in original print; each numbered square is 1,000 yds (914 m). Map credit: IWM/TNA/RGS/GreatWarDigital

The area between the Nieppe Forest and Merville, on the River Lys. Merville is 17 miles (30 km) west of Lille. Map credit: Imperial War Museum/Great War DigitalSo no harm done (or inflicted). But a nervous moment for the crew of an RE8, which was not built for elective aerial combat. The risks were never far away.

The combat report was signed by Major H. J. F. Hunter MC, who on 17 April 1918 had taken over as the new CO of 42 Sqn from Major R. G. Gould MC. Major Hunter would be in charge when Greg was posted to the squadron in June.

15 May 201830 June 2018

Wednesday 15 May 1918 – Kite Balloon at Bray-sur-Somme

Meanwhile in France…

Although Greg had not yet got to France, this photograph dated 15 May 1918 of a kite balloon in operation at Bray-sur-Somme somehow found its way into his collection.

But where is the balloon, you might ask? About half way down the full image, and about one third in from the left hand edge. Here is a magnified detail:

Kite balloons are shaped to be more aerodynamically stable than near-spherical balloons, and so can withstand more windy conditions. Both sides made good use of balloons as observation platforms, for artillery support and general reconnaissance. The balloon shown here is probably a German copy of a French Caquot design, designated Typ Ae, standing for Achthundert english. The Achthundert is a reference to the ~800 m³ capacity of the balloon, which was based on a captured British model.

Here it is at closer quarters:

German Ae 800 kite balloon, copied from the French Caquot design. Image Credit: wwi.hut2.ru

The position of the balloon was, when the photograph was taken, some 4½ miles/7 km ESE of the closest point of the forward positions of the British front line between Morlancourt and Sailly-le-Sec, and so was presumably intended to gather information from that direction.

As a comparison of the following two images shows, the landscape hasn’t changed a great deal in the intervening 100 years. The settlement at the bottom right of the old photo is La Neuville-lès-Bray, which hasn’t expanded much. Neither has Etinehem in the top right. And the courses of the Somme and the Canal de la Somme that joins it from the bottom centre of the photo are much the same.

The Somme between Bray and Etinehem today: the kite balloon and field tracks have gone, and the trees have grown, but not much else has changed. Image credit: Google. Tap or click for a larger, zoomable view.

29 April 20185 December 2018

Monday 29 April 1918 – Operation Georgette Halted

Meanwhile in France…

Operation Georgette comes to a halt. Around Merville, though, where Greg would be operating, there had not in fact been much movement in the German advance for a couple of weeks.

On the Lys, German front line passed between Merville and St Venant, not far from the settlement of St Floris.

Header Image: Adapted from Map 7 of Haig’s Despatches ‘The German Offensive on the Lys, April 1918’. Credit: Imperial War Museum and Great War Digital

25 April 201823 August 2018

Thursday 25 April 1918 – 42 Squadron RAF Moves to Rely

Meanwhile, in France…

42 Squadron RAF, Greg’s future squadron, moves the 4½ miles (7 km) southwest from Trèzennes (aka Trezennes or Triezennes), just outside Aire-sur-la-Lys to Rely, Pas-de-Calais, on top of the low chalk hills to the southwest.

42 Squadron’s move WNW from Trèzennes to Rely, Pas-de-Calais, shown on a modern map (courtesy Google). Click for a larger, zoomable map (opens in new tab)

It was no doubt the continuing westward advance of German forces in Operation Georgette that occasioned the move to Rely, although by 25 April 1918 the line had practically been held some 6½ miles (10½ km) to the east of Trèzennes. For more on Georgette and the Spring Offensives in General, see:

The Spring Offensives

25 April 201826 November 2018

Thursday 25 April 1918 – N’oublions jamais l’Australie

Meanwhile in France…

In a remarkable military achievement on Anzac Day 1918, British and, particularly, Australian forces retook Villers-Bretonneux from German forces who had taken the town the previous day, in the Second Battle of Villers-Brettoneux.

Although this action was in the Somme sector before Greg arrived in France, an oblique aerial photograph of Villers-Bretonneux found its way into his collection. It’s being published today on Anzac Day in honour of the events 100 years ago:

For comparison, here is a broadly similar, contemporary view generated from Google Maps:

Villers-Brettoneux on Google Maps. Click or tap for larger image (opens in new tab)

For more about the Second Battle of Villers-Brettoneux on 24 and 25 April 1918, see the new ‘Setting the Scene’ article:

https://gregswar.com/setting-scene-background-articles/the-battles-for-villers-bretonneux/

11 April 20185 December 2018

Thursday 11 April 1918 – Merville Falls – Backs to the Wall

Meanwhile in France…

Merville Falls

The outlook is grim. Operation Georgette progresses apace, as the header image shows, and the front line reached the middle of Merville by nightfall as German forces advance west.

“With our backs to the wall…”

In fact, the outlook is so grim, that on this day General Haig issued his famous ‘backs to the wall’ order:

Haig's 'backs to the wall' order — Haig’s ‘backs to the wall’ order Credit: firstworldwar.com

SPECIAL ORDER OF THE DAY
By FIELD-MARSHAL SIR DOUGLAS HAIG
K.T., G.C.B., G.C.V.O., K.C.I.E.
Commander-in-Chief, British Armies in France

To ALL RANKS OF THE BRITISH ARMY IN FRANCE AND FLANDERS.

Three weeks ago to-day the enemy began his terrific attacks against us on a fifty-mile front. His objects are to separate us from the French, to take the Channel Ports and destroy the British Army.

In spite of throwing already 106 Divisions into the battle and enduring the most reckless sacrifice of human life, he has as yet made little progress towards his goals.

We owe this to the determined fighting and self-sacrifice of our troops. Words fail me to express the admiration which I feel for the splendid resistance offered by all ranks of our Army under the most trying circumstances.

Many amongst us now are tired. To those I would say that Victory will belong to the side which holds out the longest. The French Army is moving rapidly and in great force to our support.

There is no other course open to us but to fight it out. Every position must be held to the last man : there must be no retirement. With our backs to the wall and believing in the justice of our cause each one of us must fight on to the end. The safety of our homes and the Freedom of mankind alike depend upon the conduct of each one of us at this critical moment.

(Signed) D. Haig. F.M.
Commander-in-Chief,
British Armies in France

General Headquarters
Thursday, April 11th, 1918

More background and detail in The Spring Offensives by Michael Seymour.

42 Squadron Drives Down Two Scouts

An RE8 of 42 Squadron RAF, Greg’s future squadron, saw aerial combat around Béthune:

42 Sqn Combat Report; Click or tap for larger image

Time: 2.42 p.m. Locality: BETHUNE

Pilot: 2/Lieut B. Martin; Observer: 2/Lieut J. R. Bono

Five hostile scouts. All were of same type, single seaters, believed to be Albatross Scouts, biplanes and no extensions, with Spad tails, marked black and white

Upon getting above clouds, Observer drew Pilot’s attention to 5 planes coming from North East. Upon reaching 3000 feet the E.A. formation was seen to swerve round and try to drive us over the line. Pilot turned slightly to West and by this time two of the leading E.A. dived on us, one diving directly on our nose which was engaged by the Pilot’s gun, nose to nose, and the other on the right wing was engaged by the Observer’s gun. The machine engaged by Pilot gave way and went under the machine and was not seen again and is believed to have been hit. Meanwhile the E.A. attacking on the right and engaged by Observer was seen to glide down and disappear in cloud, the Observer having fired one magazine into it. One of the other hostile planes was seen to fly towards and parallel to ours and Observer emptied another drum into it. Pilot was then entering clouds and E.A. went away. Ten minutes later 4 machines were seen approaching from enemy line from further North than place where last 5 E.A. were seen. They approached and Pilot disappeared under the clouds.

Header Image: Adapted from Map 7 of Haig’s Despatches ‘The German Offensive on the Lys, April 1918’. Credit: Imperial War Museum and Great War Digital

9 April 201828 March 2018

Tuesday 9 April 1918 – Operation Georgette Begins and 42 Squadron Relocates

Meanwhile in France…

Operation Georgette Begins

Operation Georgette – the Battle of the Lys – began at dawn, following a long artillery bombardment.

Michael Seymour writes:

On 9 April, the Germans opened their second phase of the offensive, code-named ‘Georgette’. From the vicinity of Passchendaele (with its higher ground) in the north of the sector, to Neuve-Chapelle in the south, the attacks replicated the experiences of ‘Michael’ – almost.

42 Squadron RAF Relocates

On the same day, 42 Squadron RAF, Greg’s future squadron in France, moves 9 miles (14 km) northwest from Chocques to Trezennes, near Aire-sur-la-Lys:

42 Squadron's move from Chocques to Trezennes — 42 Squadron’s move northwest from Chocques to Trezennes shown on a modern map (courtesy Google). Click for a larger, zoomable map (opens in new tab)

Although 42 Squadron would have moved from Trezennes by the time Greg joined it in early June, he would get to know Trezennes rather better than he would wish…