| Battle Histories > Western Front > Other actions of Spring 1915, 5 June - 9 August 1915 | ||||||
| After Neuve Chapelle, the French came to believe that the British could undertake an offensive action, not just fight a dogged defence. The prestige of the British in that operation, which was judged by all to have been a success even though it fell far short of the strategic goal of breaking through to Lille, rose considerably. It led to increased French pressure for the British Army, still small and woefully under-gunned, to play an increasing part in offensive warfare. |
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| Situation | ||||||
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Army Staffs issued new training doctrines in the instructional pamphlets 'The Training of Divisions for Offensive Action', and 'The Training and Employment of Bombers', amongst others. |
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| The British Order of Battle | ||||||
| The Second Action of Givenchy - 15th - 16th June 1915 | ||||||
| IV Corps : 7th Division, 51st Division, 1st Canadian Division | ||||||
| The First Attack on Bellewaarde - 16th June 1915 | ||||||
| V Corps : 3rd Division | ||||||
| The Actions of Hooge - 2nd June, 19th and 30th July, and 9th August 1915 | ||||||
| V Corps : 3rd Division (19th July), 14th Division (30th July), 6th Division (9th August) |
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| The Second Action of Givenchy | ||||||
| Click here for a detailed analysis of this 'minor' action. | ||||||
| The First Attack on Bellewaarde | ||||||
| A minor operation was planned to coincide with the attack at Givenchy, aimed at gaining ground to the Eastern side of the Bellewaarde lake at Hooge, which enjoyed good observation over the British lines East of Ypres. V Corps (Allenby), which consisted of 3rd and 50th (Northumbrian) Divisions, with two Brigades of the 14th (Light) Division. Lessons previously learned were used: telephone lines were laid in triplicate in different routes, up to 6 feet deep; a system of visual signalling and a pigeon service was also prepared. High Explosive shell was used to cut enemy wire, and was effective. Eight lines of jumping-off trenches were dug behind the front line (unfortunately they were in full view of the enemy, and were heavily shelled). The 9th and 7th Brigades of the 3rd Division were to lead the attack. The first objective was the enemy front line; the second the Hooge to Bellewaarde Farm track; the final one the lake edge. A bombardment of only 105 minutes preceded the advance at 4.15am. The first objective was soon gained - in fact so vigorous was the attack, with the second and third waves joining in, that the infantry ran into their own barrage. Trenches filled with men, units became mixed up and all control over the action was lost. The second line was reached, soon after which a strong German counterattack was repulsed. By 9.30am, the advanced parties were still under British shell fire and they retired to the German front line. The 42nd Brigade of the 14th Division was ordered to push the attack forward after a fresh bombardment, at 3.30pm, but its movement to the front was delayed by a heavy German barrage. The main body did not get into position until 4pm, by which time only two battalions of 7th Brigade had actually attacked. This (made by 3rd Worcesters and 7th Royal Irish Rifles) was met by heavy machine-gun and artillery fire. By 6pm it was decided to consolidate the ground won, and to halt further attacks. |
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| The Actions of Hooge | ||||||
On 2nd June 1915, a severe German bombardment from 5am to noon, followed by an infantry attack from the Northeast, led to the loss of the ruins of the Chateau and Stables. At this time the position had been occupied by regiments of the 3rd Cavalry Division. During the evening, two Companies of the 1st Lincolns and one of the 4th Royal Fusiliers of 9th Brigade of the 3rd Division counterattacked and successfully recovered the Stables.
At 7pm on 19th July 1915, a large mine was exploded by 175th Tunnelling Company RE, under a German trench position. The spoil from the detonation threw up a lip 15 feet high, around a crater 20 feet deep and 120 feet wide. After the firing, it was immediately occupied by two Companies of the 4th Middlesex (8th Brigade, 3rd Division). British artillery quelled all signs of German attempts to recover the crater.
German retaliation came on 30th July 1915. The Hooge sector was being held by 41st Brigade of 14th Division, which had taken over the area only a week before. The 8th Rifle Brigade held the near crater lip, with the 7th KRRC on their right, across the road. These battalions had relieved the others of the Brigade during the night. At 3.15am, with dramatic suddenness, the ruins of the Stables were blown up, and jets of flame shot across from the German trenches. This was the first time in warfare that liquid fire flamethrowers had been used. Immediately a deluge of fire of all kinds fell on the Brigade, and on all support positions back to Zouave Wood and Sanctuary Wood. The ramparts of Ypres and the exits from the town were also shelled. The Germans achieved complete surprise, but although the British front lines were evacuated, they did not follow beyond them. There was intensive hand to hand fighting in some trenches; eventually virtually all of the positions held by the Brigade were lost. The 42nd Brigade on the left was not attacked, and the left battalion of the 46th Division on the right held on. Division rushed up reinforcements, and a new line along the edge of the woods was formed. At 11.30am, orders were issued for a counterattack by the 41st and 42nd Brigades. A feeble 45 minute bombardment preceded this. The 41st Brigade attack at 2.45pm, by the 6th DCLI, failed, with no man approaching closer than 150 yards the new German positions; the 9th KRRC of the 42nd fared better and recovered some of the lost lines. The 43rd Brigade relived the badly-hit 41st during the late afternoon and evening. During the night, another flamethrower attack was repulsed, but further effort by the 14th Division on the 31st came to nothing against heavy German shellfire.
A surprise attack by 6th Division on 9th August 1915 regained all of the ground lost, including the ruins of the Chateau Stables. |
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| Despatch | ||||||
| Read Sir John French's Despatch covering these actions | ||||||
| Casualties | ||||||
At Givenchy, IV Corps suffered over 2,700 casualties. At Bellewaarde, the 3rd Division alone lost over 3,500. Both attacks were characterised by very high losses among officers and senior NCOs. The 14th Division lost just under 2,500 on 30th July at Hooge.
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| Learning curve | ||||||
These
were the classic actions that gave rise to much of the "anti-General
/ futility" school of thought about the war on the Western
Front. Unprotected lines of infantry going over the top, into unassailable
machine guns. Highly questionable war strategy, poorly planned
by the Generals, fought gallantly and with heavy losses by the
troops, to little avail. The losses of officers and NCOs was to
hurt the British Army badly in the coming months. The surprise
deployment of a new military technology gained little of significance
for the German Army. |
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From
the closing May days of the Battles of Ypres and Festubert, until
the September opening of the Battle of Loos and the French attacks
in Champagne, there was no general change in the situation on
the Western Front. It was a period of static warfare, where the
Army suffered average losses of 300 men a day from sniping and
shellfire, while they continued to gradually improve and consolidate
the trenches. Both sides increased the tempo of underground 
The
Army continued to suffer from a shortage of material, notably
heavy artillery and machine guns (although Lewis guns were officially
issued from 14th July onward). Sir John French issued general
orders to First Army to the effect that operations be limited
to 'small aggressive threats which will not require much ammunition
or many troops'. Three New Army Divisions arrived during May:
the 