A WAR STORY

Hokitika Guardian, 11 September 1929, Page 8

A WAR STORY

RAID OF THE 2nd ROYAL WELCH FUSILIERS.

in trenches near Givenchy, north ol La Bassee Canal, the 2nd Royal Welch Fusiliers were raided in the early hours of June 21, 1910, when the Germans blew a mine and caused the Welshmen a hundred casualties. But the latter were not long in taking their revenge. Their next tour in the front line was a little farther north, where there were three mine craters at the apex of a German salient known as The Warren.

On the night of July 5 this was the scene of a return raid carried out by two companies of the battalion, assisted by detachments of the 222nd Field Company and the 251st Tunnelling Company, R.E. As little as possible was left to chance. The two companies had been carefully rehearsed. in order to distract the enemy’s attention a mine was blown south of the salient and a bombing attack launched; south of the canal gas and smoke were liberated. At 11.15 p.m. a violent trench-mortar bombardment opened on the German trenches behind The Warren, and the Fusiliers dashed for the German line “like a pack of hounds.” At the craters in the first 1 line the enemy was soon overcome, but he fought stoutly in his support and reserve trenches. Many of the defenders —Saxons of the 211st Reserve Regiment—would not surrender although trapped in then dug-outs, and others, after being disarmed still proved recalcitrant. So the German losses in killed were very high. Under the protection of an excellent artillery barrage,our men remained in the Germain position for two hours and a-half. Forty-three prisoners, a trench mortar, and a machine gun were sent back; the whole salient was. cleared of Germans; and the Sappers carried out a systematic destruction by blowing in mine shafts and concrete dug-outs and levelling the trenches. , Our casualties—mostly, wounded by artillery fire—were fewer than sixty. For the night’s work the Fusiliers, whose bomb-carrying detachments had insisted on joining in the fray, received the hearty congratulations of Sir Douglas Haig.