The Battle of Bellewaarde, June 1915 by Carole McEntee-Taylor

Author:Carole McEntee-Taylor [McEntee-Taylor, Carole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-12-24T16:00:00+00:00

Pte Harry Dunkinfield-Jones. Kind permission of John Hamblin.

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The 2nd Royal Scots were joined by A and D Companies in the front line north of Kemmel while B and C Companies with Battalion HQ provided a support role at Shrapnel Farm alongside Kemmel Chateau. On 6 December the Brigade was relieved and returned to Westoutre. After a brief rest they returned to the line three days later to relieve the Royal Scots Fusiliers in front of Spanbrock Moelen. It was the first time they were in the front line as a Battalion, rather than as separate companies attached to other Battalions and it was a baptism of fire. For the next three days they endured atrocious weather conditions with either continuous rain or intermittent snow. At the end of the three days they finally understood why the Yorks swore so much.

The HAC had been tasked to take over the F trenches of Kemmel which lay to the right of the line held by 3rd Division. The trenches were in the centre of the Wytschaete-Messines Ridge and virtually opposite the Spur of Spanbrock Moelen. The Spur was one of the most heavily defended areas of the German Line on the ridge and unfortunately for the men of 1st Battalion HAC it completely dominated F trenches. On their right were the 5th Division and on the left of the 3rd Division were the French, the right of their line positioned opposite the Hollendischur Spur. As the British Army increased in size it gradually took over from the French heading northwards towards Ypres.

The trenches the HAC moved into had been built by the French and were little more than ditches filled with liquid mud. There was no wire or any other type of protection in front of them and there were no communication trenches. This meant that the only way into the front line was by crossing a sea of mud in the open leaving the men totally exposed to German fire. The parapets offered little protection against the bullets which passed easily through them. In some parts of the trench the parapet was only chest high and the men had to spend the day sitting on the floor of the wet muddy trench, sometimes on the rotting bodies of dead Frenchmen whose corpses had been there several weeks. The German line was only 100 yards away and completely dominated the area.

They were finally relieved by the Royal Scots Fusiliers on 12 December. The Adjutant, Captain Whyte and Captain Gibson, Lieutenant Byron and the doctor, were all very sick and the remaining men exhausted and suffering from exposure and frostbite. The three days in the trenches had cost the Battalion 12 officers and 250 men.

The Battalion continued to fight on the front line throughout the next few months during the 2nd Battle of Ypres. When the Germans broke through on the north of the Ypres salient, opening up a gap of about eight miles, it was considered highly likely they would try to break through to St Eloi, probably with the use of gas.

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