Thursday July 11th, 1918
Breakfast 5:30. Juvisy-sur-Orge 10:45. It’s tea time. Arrived Abancourt 7:30pm. Marched to camp – about five km. Rained heavily. Twenty in tent – very crowded.
Route Through France
Today the Battalion arrives in Abancourt. Since the Battalion crossed into France a couple of days ago, it has travelled 1100kms, first heading west and then north across the country. The map shows the route they have taken.*
Leaving Nevers last night, they breakfasted in Malesherbes, then enjoyed a free coffee from an American canteen in Juvisy-sur-Orge, just outside Paris mid-morning.
When they detrained in Abancourt, the Battalion marches 5kms to the camp. Both Frank and the Battalion agree that the new accommodation is very cramped.
They will stay in the Abancourt camp for 10 days and then move a short distance to Haudricourt.
British Operations in Abancourt & Haudricourt
Abancourt is a small French town of less than 700 inhabitants. This belies its importance during WWI.
Abancourt served as the distribution hub for the main supply port of Le Havre and the inland port of Rouen. It was located at the junction of several railway lines to the coast and the Somme. The British established a vast network of warehouses and a hospital. The warehouses kept a month’s worth of supplies for 1.3 million troops and despatched 22 supply trains a day to the next distribution stations in the network.¹
While always in Allied territory, even during the Spring Offensive of 1918, both Abancourt and nearby Blargies were heavily bombed in air raids in the last week of May 1918. Hospitals and munitions dumps were badly damaged and hundreds lost their lives.²
Abancourt should not be confused with Warfusée-Abancourt, 16 miles east of Amiens, which did change hands several times during 1918. This commune was joined together with Lamotte-en-Santerre in 1974 to become Lamotte-Warfusée.
13th (Service) Battalion War Diary – 11th July 1918 – Juvisy, France
Battalion had tea at Malesherbes at 05:00 hrs and coffee free from an American canteen in Juvisy 09:00hrs. Arrived at Serqueux 17:30hrs and was sent out by train to Abancourt. Detrained 20:00hrs and marched to …. Valley Camp – 40 minutes from station. Camp very crowded being sandwiched in between two other Battalions. Came under the orders of OC Abancourt Base Area.
References & Further Reading
* Route through France Nice to Haudricourt, July 1918 on Google maps.
¹ Abancourt on Wikipedia
² A Life in a Day: Herbert Day, his family, friends & comrades, Witness series in The Guardian