The Battle of Loos

Extracts from " History of the Black Watch in the Great War, Volume 1" by A.G.Wauchope.
		Hohenzollern Redoubt, October 5th, 1915 On this day B and C companies of the Battalion were holding the front line, with A and D in a new assembly trench sixty yards behind; 14 officers and 536 other ranks went into action. At 2 p.m. two platoons each of B and C went forward to take the two cross-roads that lie west of the southern part of Hulluch on the Lens-La Bassée road. The ground was flat and open, and they reached the German trenches in 3 minutes; but the wire was thick and uncut, and both the attackers and the supporting platoons of B company, who followed on behind with picks and shovels, lost many men from the fire of machineguns on either flank. In Fortescue's "History of the Army" there is one poignant sentence that sums up the charge of the 42nd Highlanders at Ticonderoga. "Not once only, but thrice more the British and the Americans with them, hurled themselves desperately against the French stronghold, only to be beaten back time after time, until the inner abattis was hung with wisps of scarlet, like poppies that grow through a hedge of thorn". Here was another Ticonderoga; but here were no sunlit over-hanging woods nor ranks of scarlet-only rows of drab figures that ran a little way into a cloud of green gas and sulphurous smoke, and after fifty yards were lost to view. Let the War Diary tell what happened to them. 2:45 pm - A and D companies sent up supporting platoons to assist with fire, and at 3:15 pm D company sent up other two platoons, who were much harried by machine gun fire. A sent forward a second, and, after, a third platoon. 4 pm - Again the right platoon of B was reported to have got in. More bombs were sent up. The report was incorrect; the bombs never reached the front companies. 4:45 pm - Lieutenant Mercer collected some bombers of the Northhamptonshire Regiment, who assisted our party on the right flank. (The 'party' now consisted of only one man.) The left platoon of C company was reported to have got into the trench near here, but had only got into the wire. 7:25 pm - Instructions received to hold present position until further orders. Every officer of the Battalion who had left our trench had become a casualty. 8:50 pm - A patrol of men, under Lieutenant Mercer, reconnoitered the sunken road leading to the right of our objective, as it was rumoured that the Berkshires had reached the cross-roads. The rumour was unfounded, and everyone in the patrol was either killed or wounded.

		The First Battalion The Black Watch It was only on the morning of the 14th that the events of the attack were known and the situation understood. On the left the battalions of the 46th Division had taken about half of the Hohenzollern Redoubt, though with very heavy losses; but the 1st Division, suffering almost equal losses, had hardly made any headway. The Black Watch, throughout the afternoon and evening, had made one attempt after another to penetrate the belts of wire; they had never been able to close with the enemy, but the list of casualties reveals the courage of their efforts, in the face of unlocated bombing saps and machine guns. Six officers, Second Lieutenants Paton, A. Fraser, Ballantyne, Hutchison, Hayes and Mercer, and 33 other ranks had been killed; Lieutenant Merrylees, Second Lieutenants Home, Lamb and Young, and 161 other ranks had been wounded, and 33 other ranks were missing. Few actions aroused more criticism at the time than the battle of Loos, but it is certain that The Black Watch, with other units of its Division, had once again given the enemy a proof of their spirit. General Capper of the 7th Division, who was killed at Loos, used to say: "We are here to do the impossible." In that temper the Battalion had gone into battle; it came out of action with spirit unsubdued.

Daily Chronicle journalist, Philip Gibbs, observed the fighting.

The Battle of Loos was a ghastly failure after the first smash through. The reserves - the two fresh divisions - were held too far back and came up too late. When they did arrive they were unprovided with maps, knew nothing about the ground, and made an awful mess of things, through no fault of their own. Our forward line, very thin now, received no support at the right time and was in no strength to resist counter-attacks.

I was invited to breakfast in Downing Street by Lloyd George. I had never had that honour before and wondered what it was about. Over the breakfast table with Mrs. Lloyd George at the coffee pot, the little great man was very genial, and it was not until the end of the meal that he turned to me gravely and said: "Tell me what you know about the Battle of Loos. I am a Cabinet Minister but we know nothing. Everything is held back from us by the military chiefs, and we have a right to know. How can we conduct this war if we are kept in ignorance?" I told him what I knew, and he was distressed by my account.