The Long, Long Trail

There was a change at the highest levels of British command on the Western Front on 19 December 1915, when General Sir Douglas Haig succeeded Field Marshal Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of the British Armies in France. A few days later, General Sir William Robertson succeeded Lieut.-General Sir Archibald Murray as Chief of the Imperial General Staff in Whitehall. General Sir Charles Monro was appointed to replace Haig in command of First Army.

 

The meeting of the 2nd Inter-Allied Military Conference that had taken place a few days before these changes had proposed a simulatneous attack in maximum force by all of the Allies in 1916, in addition to continued vogrous action to wear down the enemy. The British War Cabinet, all too conscious of the immaturity of much of the BEF in France and the still inadequate supply of equipment, guns and ammunition wasn't so sure. On 13 January 1916, it was only prepared to commit to "offensive operations next Spring in the main theatre in close co-operation with the Allied Armies and in the greatest possible strength, although it must not be assumed that such offensive operations are finally decided upon" (War Cabinet Minutes). As late as 31 March, Robertson was still pressing for a decision on whether the BEF should be involved in an offensive, or not. He received an affirmative answer on 7 April 1916, after which the BEF prepared for the Somme.

 

Meanwhile on 21 February 1916 the enemy attacked the French in great strength at Verdun and fighting continued on the BEF front as both sides sought local supremacy. Between November 1915 and June 1916, another nineteen Divisions (including those formations recently withdrawn from Gallipoli) joined the BEF and the line was extended another 10 miles making the British-held front 85 miles long. This enabled the release of French Tenth Army to reinforce the very hard-pressed Verdun sector.

 

A stunning blow was dealt to the British high command on 5 June, when Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener died when HMS "Hampshire", en route to Russia, was sunk.

Thanks to a high state of alert and a strong wind, the release of a cloud of phosgene gas between Boesinghe and Wieltje did not stop the British front-line infantry halting German infantry advancing behind it. Click for full story...

Between 8th and 19th February, the enemy undertook numerous small-scale operations with a view to creating a diversion from the large attack that was about to be opened against the French Army at Verdun. On 12th February, German infantry attacked units of 20th (Light) Division, whilst it was in process of being relieved by 14th (Light) Division near Boesinghe. In places they got into the front trench system, but were driven out by counter attack, in which the 12/Rifle Brigade suffered heavy casualties.

On 14th February, infantry attacks following heavy shelling and the blowing of a series of mines at Hooge were halted by 24th Division. This attack was timed to coincide with a larger effort at the Bluff (see below).

The Bluff is an artificial height created by the dumping of spoil when the Ypres-Comines Canal was excavated. In this low-lying area, and on the northern bank of the canal, it gave a considerable observation advantage to the troops occupying it. In the afternoon of 14th February, German infantry successfully attacked the British units holding the Bluff, after a very heavy bombardment with shells and trench mortars, and the blowing of some mines.

Preparations were made to recoved this important area, although they were slowed by severe weather. In the early morning of 2nd March, after a short bombardment which destroyed the enemy's defensive works, British infantry over-ran the position and consolidated it, at a cost of 1,620 casualties. Click for full story...

No further infantry actions were undertaken by either side until June 1917, although violent mine warfare remained a feature of this troublesome spot.

Pushed off the key Mount Sorrel and Tor Top ridge after a devastating enemy bombardment on 2 June 1916, the Canadian Corps executed a perfect counter attack eleven days later. Click for full story...

Many histories of the war would suggest that little happened between the Battle of Loos and the opening of the Somme. The reality is that trench warfare, highlighted with some larger-scale set piece attacks, was relentless and very costly.