The Doings of the Fifteenth Infantry Brigade | Page 7

their reconnoitring officers out in all directions looking for positions;
but they found none, and the Artillery did but little in the way of
shooting that night. With their present experience I expect they would
have done a good deal more.
Then we tore back, and I got the battalions out, or rather two companies

of each battalion, set them to work, and sent out their other two
companies to support them. The Norfolks were on the left, at the station,
and eastwards down the line. Then came the Cheshires, a bit thrown
back, in beastly enclosed country for the most part. One of the big
slag-heaps had seemed to offer a good command, but to our disgust it
was so hot that we could hardly stand on it, so that had to be given up.
Other heaps again seemed to give a good position, and they were fairly
cool; but when we scrambled up there was always something
wrong--either there were more slag-heaps in front which blocked the
view, or the heap ran to a point and there was not room for more than
two men, or the slag-ridge faced the wrong way--it was a nightmare of
a place.
Beyond the Cheshires came the Dorsets and Bedfords, pretty well
together, and occupying some trenches on a high railway embankment,
&c., but the position was not really satisfactory, and if attacked in force
at night it would be very difficult to see or guard against the approach
of the enemy. Nor, as I heard afterwards, had the inhabitants dug the
trenches anything like deep enough, so that they formed but poor
protection against the rain of shells that began to pour on them at
nightfall.
All pointed to an attack by the enemy during the night or next day, but
even then we had not the smallest idea of the enormous forces arrayed
against us. We were told at first that there was perhaps a corps in front
of us, but as a matter of fact there were three, if not four corps.
Having distributed the battalions as ordered--I had no Brigade Reserve
in hand, having to cover such a broad front (nearly three miles, when
my normal front, according to the text-books, should have been about
1000 yards)--myself and Brigade Headquarters were left rather "by our
lone." M. and Madame Durez were packing up hard all, and
disappeared with their friends and family before dinner in a big
motor-car, making in the direction of Bavai St Waast, to the south,
where they had friends; as, however, we retired through there next day
I don't expect they stayed long, but continued their journey into France.
I don't know what became of them. They had been most hospitable, and

placed the house and everything in it, even a final dinner, at our
disposal; but the poor people were, of course, in a great state of
perturbation, and there was not much except the house itself that we
could make use of.
As we were finishing dinner further orders arrived from the Division.
Weatherby and I cantered down to the Divisional Staff to learn details,
and we got them shortly, to the effect that the Cheshires and Norfolks
were to be left under direct command of the Divisional Commander,
whilst Brigade Headquarters was to be at Pâturages by sunrise on the
morrow, and to hold that with our other two battalions on the right.
We "fell in" the Brigade Headquarters about midnight and, after some
trouble in securing guides, moved off through a labyrinth of streets in
the warm dark. Our guides were local men, and we did not take long to
get to Warquignies, in the main street of which we met the
Headquarters of the 13th Brigade, minus their Brigadier. Here also
were the K.O.S.B.'s in bivouac, acting as Brigade Reserve to their (13th)
Brigade. The night was peaceful, and we pushed on after a short rest,
getting at dawn to a steep hill which led down into Pâturages.
Aug. 20th.
The latter was a fine big town with paved streets and
prosperous-looking houses, very different from the grubby streets of
Boussu; but I was troubled about the hill street, as it was very steep and
bad and narrow. How we should get the transport up it again in a hurry
if it had to retire I did not know, and two eminently respectable
inhabitants assured me that there was no other way back unless I went
right up to Wasmes--from which direction firing was already
beginning--and returned viâ the north. That didn't look healthy for the
transport, so I left most of the Brigade transport at the top of the hill
and only brought down the Signal section.
At the entrance into Pâturages we found Currie, Cuthbert's (13th
Brigade) Brigade Major,