Brewster 'A Glimpse of War through a Private's Eyes', a retrospective account of experiences in World War I, 1915-1917 / John James Brewster - Page 169
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Transcription
[Page 169]
15th Brigade did not even reach the first Hun trench. They had 400 yards to charge & did not get up, the 14th had 350, & the 8th, 300 yards.
In consequence of this the 14th Brigade suffered terribly being subjected to frontal attack as well as being enfiladed on both right & left and for a while suffered from the rear, as well, from their own artillery.
To those on watch in the firing line while the battle was raging, one of two things should have been done. As soon as the men reached the third trench the whole of the men should have been withdrawn back to the Huns first trench or the Battalions in the firing line should have been ordered to their support to beat back the Huns advance. Why the men out in front were kept there so long without support in men & munitions, was beyond the "ken" of the privates watching & could it be wondered that they kept on growling! What the hell are the Commanders doing? Can they not see things as clear as the men on the firestep? Surely they were watching too & if so they surely could see what was so apparent to privates!
Of course later on the expected inquiry was held but as the results are not communicated to privates, the latter had to conjecture that some blunder had been made, if only from the fact that a number of the higher officers were transferred for other work to do.
In consequence the whole work of the Division had to be looked upon "not as a success" but as a failure and therefore as a feat of arms, could not be recognized. The only satisfaction our men could feel was that as an effort to keep "every Hun & every Gun" fully employed on this front and not diverted to Pozieres it was a complete success notwithstanding the failure of the officers in command to handle the position after the charge had been made. When later on
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