13/KRRC and 8/East Lancs

[bmac]

On June 29th a German regimental history describes a trench raid near Monchy which was beaten off by heavy artillery fire. On that day, two battalions of the 37th Division lost a significant number of men: 13th KRRC had 11 killed and the 8th East Lancs lost seven men. Does anyone know which (if either) of these two battalions was involved in the raid. Any information about the raid would be useful too.

[Stephen Barker]

On June 29th 1916 the 8th East Lancs lost 7 men at their position near Hannescamps, just North of Gommecourt. They fought at Monchy the following April. What's your interest in the 8 East Lancs Bill?

Stephen

[John_Hartley]

Bill

As far as I know the raid was undertaken by about 70 men of the 7th Leicesters (unless, of course, there was another raid on the Monchy salient).

My great uncle, Ben, was KIA whilst attached to the supporting RFA Brigade. The following is the relevent extract from my Hellfire Corner article:-

"Between 20 and 28 June, only minor shelling of the enemy took place. On the night of 28/29 June, the brigade supported a raid by troops of the Leicestershire Regiment. The War Diary described it as "a success".

Such raids on the enemy's trenches were commonplace and were undertaken by both sides. They were designed to harass the opposing troops so they could never settle. They were also used to capture prisoners so that intelligence about the units opposite could be gained. This raid was devised as part of the plan for the diversionary attack, a few miles away, at Gommecourt that was planned for 1 July.

Around 70 men of the 7th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment carried out the raid on the German positions at Bailleulmont. The Battalion's War Diary describes the troops as displaying great gallantry in reaching their objective, even though many were wounded. Some 30 Germans were killed in their trench and, it was estimated, another 30 killed by throwing grenades into their dugouts. Privates George Bissell and Harry Cross were killed. Neither has a known grave and they are commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing.

The guns of 124th brigade would have had three main targets that night. Firstly, they would shell the enemy front line, so that the Germans could not man their machine guns. Secondly, they would shell the support and communication trenches, so that reinforcements could not be sent. The final target would be the enemy's own artillery positions. This would be to try to ensure that the German's could not shell No Man's Land, catching the Leicesters in the open. "

[bmac]

Fascinating. I am working my way through the parts of the regimental history of the Reserve Feldartillerie Regt No. 20 and its part in the defence of Gommecourt on 1st July for my project on the 56th (London) Division. It mentions the raid in these terms:

June 29th - At 5.10 a.m., the enemy tried to launch a raid against Monchy under the protection of gas. Gruppe Nord reinforced the blocking fire laid down by 111. I.D. None of the British troops that penetrated the I.R. 73 sector came back.

So, not quite the same as the Leicesters' version! I had assumed it was either the KRRC or East Lancs given the description as they had 11 and 7 fatalities on the day against just 2 for 7/Leicesters.

So there we have it: lies, damned lies and German regimental histories! But seriously, it only goes to show you cannot believe everything you read.