Tuesday October 8th, 1918
Rather better today. The 66th go over about 5:30. Good luck to them. Wrote field card home.
Second Battle of Cambrai
Frank might be in hospital but he seems to have good information on his Battalion and the 66th Division to which it, as part of the 199th Brigade, belongs. The Division is to fight as part of the 4th Army, alongside the 1st and 3rd Armies, in the Second Battle of Cambrai (October 8th to 10th, 1918).²
The following are extracts from the ‘Description of Operations’ for 8th October 1918, Appendix No 4 of the 9th Battalion’s War Diary¹:
‘On October 8th, 1918 the [9th] Bn (21 officers and 708 OR) took part in an attack in the XIII Corps sector in conjunction with the V Corps on the left and the 2nd American Corps on the right. As regards the 66th Division the attack on the first objective was made by the 197th and 198th Infantry Brigades.
The 199th Infantry Brigade moved from the Hindenburg Line and reached assembly position in rear of the Beaurevoir-Ruisan-Court Farm Road at 03:40 hrs. At 06:20 hrs this brigade left the assembly positions and passed through the 197th and 198th Infantry Brigades in their objectives at 07.56 hrs at which time the barrage lifted.
The attack by the 199th Infantry Brigade was carried out with the 5th Connaught Rangers on the right and the 9th Bn Manchester Regt on the left. The Bn was allotted objective and boundaries as follows:- Objective (green line) from U14 b5.7 – T12 b6.1 including high ground north west of Serain.
Boundaries:- Right flank U19 C8.5. West of side of road from Les Folies to Serain, western outskirts of Serain Village to U14 central, U8 d6.0. Left flank T17 a22 – T12 b6.1’¹
Resistance
‘The Bn had few casualties by enemy artillery before passing through the 197th Inf Bde and encountered MG resistance Petit Folies Farm on the right and Le Hamage Farm on the left before reaching the Walincourt – Audigny trench and reached objective by about 11:45 hrs. B Coy (Rt Coy) was fired upon by enemy field guns at point blank range, firing at our tanks as they came over the skyline. This Company opened fire on the enemy gunners with two Lewis Guns, upon which the enemy left his guns and retired.
Owing to the 198th Inf Bde being held up a few hours, the left flank of the Bn was in the air from 09:00 hrs to 15:00 hrs.
The reserve Coy was used to form a defensive flank until 198th Inf Bde came up on the left.
The following points were organized as defended localities after the objective had been reached – U8 c4.3 and U7 central.’¹
Captures & Casualties
‘Prisoners captured by the Battalion during the day numbered 15 and the following guns were also captured, 4.2 Howitzers 2, Field Guns 14, Machine Guns 6, Anti-Tank gun 1.
The casualties were:- Killed Lt RJW Hibbs and 10 OR. Wounded Maj JS Smylie, Capt FT Taylor MC, Lt Halliday, 2/Lts C Turner, Foy, JS Parkinson, Hedges MC and 80 OR.
Died of wounds – Lt J Fazackerley (24-10-18 [entered as a post-script]) and 2 OR.’¹
Resupply, Enemy Action and Dispositions
‘Large number of civilians from Serain welcomed our men enthusiastically. Supplies of SAA, LG magazines, tools, wire and pickets and drinking water were brought up by a tank.
From dusk onwards for about three hours enemy aeroplanes dropped bombs on our position at intervals and on roads and tracks behind.
Disposition for the night 8th / 9th were as follows:-
One Coy (D) at U8 C4.3 with a platoon at U8 central
One Coy (A) at U7 central with a platoon at Lampe Farm
One Coy (C) support at U13 central
One Coy (B small) and Bn HQ in reserve in and about La Folie Farm
Patrolling took place hourly on Coy fronts, between Coys and between units on flanks.’¹
As noted here, tanks and other armoured vehicles were sometimes used to carry supplies. The photograph shows a British gun carrier Mk I Dublin carrying a 6 inch howitzer and its ammunition to the lines at Irles, August 25, 1918.*
9th Battalion War Diary – 8th October 1918
Battalion took part in Operations from 8th to 11th October 1918. Description of these operations given in Appendix No 4.
References & Further Reading
¹ War Diary of the 9th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, Appendix 4, October 1918, copyright National Archives, Kew, London.
² The Battles of the Hindenburg Line on the Long Long Trail.
* Q 61069, copyright Imperial War Museums
Thanks for this really interesting post. My Great Uncle Abraham died on 8th October 1918 I think in the Battle of Cambrai- he had been wounded 5 times m(shot a number of times and gassed) during the war and was the 3rd of his brothers to die (another brother dying just 2 days before in a ship-wreck). He was a leading able seaman in the Hood Batallion. When your website lists casualties it seems to only list the higher ranks are all other casualties grouped namelessly as OR?
Hi Clair, thanks for the information about your family losses during WWI. You are absolutely correct about the naming of casualties being reserved for officers. OR denotes Other Ranks and very few of them, if any, were specifically named in casualty lists recorded in the Battalion Diaries.