WAR DIARY

Instructions regarding War Diaries and Intelligence

Summaries are contained in F. S. Regs., Part II.
and the Staff Manual respectively. Title Pages
will be prepared in manuscript. (Erase he4ding not 1'equired.) .

Remarks and
Place Date I Hour 1 Summary of Events and Information references to
7,. . I Appendices

/ J y.
J. Sa' '-ON}

IJV

/,
I

it

2449 Wt. WI4957/MlJO 750,000 1/16 ].B.c. &: A. Forllll/C.2118/12.

 ( -
-
Instrnctions regarding War Diaries and Intelligence
Summaries are contained in F. S. Regs., Part II.
WAR DIARY J Army Form C. 2118.

and the Staff Manual respectively. Title Pages

will be prepared in manuscript. (Erase heading not requ.ired.)

Remarks and
Place Summary of Events and Information references to
Appendices

It

. . '1

2449 Wt. WI4957/M90 750,000 1/16 J.B.e. &: A. Forms/C.2118/12.

 / WAR DIARY Army Form C. 2118.
J ,
Instructions regarding War Diaries and Intelligence
Summaries are contained in F. S. Regs., Part II.
and the Staff Manual respectively. Title Pages
will be prepared in manuscript. (Erase heading not required.)

Remarks and
Place Summary of Events and Information references to
A endices

2449 WL WI49S7/MCJO 750,000 ./.6 J.Re. I: A. ForlllS/e.2118/12.

 I WAR DIARY Army Form C. 2118.

Instructions regarding War Diaries and Intelligence

Summaries are contained in F. S. Regs., Part II.
and the Staff Manual respectively. Title Pages
will be prepared in manuscript. (E?'ase heading not ?'equi?'ed.)

Date I Hour I Summary of Events and Information

"

-----~--:.....c::::::::::;~~:::==~t::.....:_2449 Wt. WI49S7/Mgo 750,000 1/16 J.Re. a: A. Focms/e.21l8/l2.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _~___"' ~_~_~ ___'=_ L~ _
 lS'r BA'r'rALI" • 'rHE GORDON HIGHLANDERS.
~-~----------------------

Account of Operatlons North of MONTAUBAN from 14th July,

101e to Seth July 1016, lncluslve.

----------------------------------- ----------------------------
13th. At 0-15 P.M. on the nlght ot the 13th. JulJ 1016, the
Battallon moved lnto !ranche8 in OB'rAUBAN AT.T.J:V in 8Uppo
of the 8th. and Ot.h. Brlgade8, who were to a888.Ult and
cs:rT'J the LONGUEVAL poaltion at dam on the 14th.
14th. 'rhe asaault was carried out at 3-S5 A.JI. amongst thick
miat, and 1 t waa not untll about e A.II. that the light
beoame sufflclently good to ahow that the main positic:m
had been successfully carried.
At 10 A.II. the Battalion moved down into CATERPILLAR
VAl..J.I:r and dug in under the bank CD arrival. There RS
some shelling during the forenoeD, but. no casualties took
place. About :5 P.II. the Battalion oame under enfilade fire
troll a e" gun. The trench was tWioe caught and seven
casualties were sustained.
15th. The Battallon remained in Reserve. Offlcers patrols
went f~rd to reconnoitre the positlon 1n front of
LONGUEVAL, and an Observation Post, consistlng of a lAnce-
Corporal and three men _s establlshed in the front l1ne
trenches. Battallon again came under enfllade fare trom a
6" gun, susta1n1ng two casualtles.
leth. The Battalion continued in Reserve in CATERPlUAR
VALLJ:Y.
Two Offioers patrols were sent out to reconnoitre the
eneJQ" s position near HIGH WOOD. One of these patrols came
into cloae contact with the eneJV and Sgt. BEATTIE "s
wounded and oaptured. s/Lt. PUN'tAN did not succeed in re-
crossing the German patrol line to rejoin his unit till
l!1d-day on the 18th.'
17th. Orders were reoeived to attack: LONGUEVAL village at
dawn on the 18tJl., and all Officers moved fo~rd to the
front line trenches to reconnoitre the position previous
to attack. orders as to dlsposi tiOll, etc., were iSSUed
during the night, but, tinal 1nstructions were not reoeived
troll the Brlgade until after lIl1dn1ght.
18th. he Battallon moved forward at a A. • to take up the
posltlon of assemb11 for attack. iaposit.ions were as
fOllows:-
"An Coy. under Captain J.B. 5 TH _s to move round
the northern edge of LOIiGUEVAL, keeping clear of the vill-
age with the two suspeoted strong points "00 yards North
of Village, as their _in objective.
-SN Coy. under Captain R.H. GORDON _s to olear the
Orohards and enclosures abutting the village at the north
&ndl._!"Dd also to push on patrols tllrough the N. • oorner
of JJJ!iJ.lVILIE WOOD and 80 gain touoh with the ~th. D1viaian•

• 1£ .0.
 (2)

18th. Both these companies moved with three platoons in tbe

eontd. iring Line and one in Support.
"C" uoy. Wider captain J. THOLO _8
houses in the village immediately south 01' the avenue
to clear the
which connects the LONGUEVAL village 111th the road to HIGH
WOO]). :this cOmp8lly moved with two platoons in iUPPOrt.;
Battalion Bombers were equally distributed amongst the
tnree at,t&ck1ng compan1es. Two LIw1s Guns went with "A"
Company where tne flank 1I8S open.
liD" Coy. under captain R. I. ~ _ 1I&S in Support and
dug in al ong the LO GUbi AI,,- ~I -OOD road guard.1Dg the
lett flank and rear. '.two Lewi8 Uouns and Ba1talion Reserve
Bombers were attached to thls compELrlJ'~
Battalion Headquarters were in advanced tranche8 near
the indmill.
There bad been & steady bombardment ot the positl
for one hour previous t,o the assault wi th one or two int-enae
bursts laat.ing 1'1 ve lI1nutee. 'J:here -.s also a five m1nut.ea
intense bombardment previous to the assault, when he
barrage llfted 200 ;yards and after a further five m1nut.es
bombardment 11fte4 to the open country' to the nort.h ot the
--ood.
'J.'h, assault took place at 3-46 A•• and was ooraplet.ely
successful 111 th the exception ot- the two strong pOint.s
north of the Village; One of these - the easterly one -
1I8S actually entered by six men who- were, however, driven
out.
Great a.iffioul. ty 1I&S experienced in gaining touch W1 th
the Qth Division. Consequently, liB" and "C" vOY8 wheeled to
their left and t.ook up a post tion on the northern edge ot
the Wood. rom there, 1t was found that the GerJaJUt were
entrenched some 200 yards 'to t.he norta in the open. An
attempt _s made to carry thls poSition by a cbarge bUt.
the wire was uncut, and the assailants were all &bot dom
by rifle ancl machine gtm fire. ~o definite lnformat.icm was
obtained about. the sltuation tUl 7 A. ••
By tAls time very' heaV1 C&sl.B1ties had been sutfere ,
and two companies ot the KI (jo 0 itO AI, LANCASTl!JtS Regt..
were immediately pushed down through the village ~o ass1st
in the conso11dation. Lt. 01. - H, .O.R.L. accoJq)B.nl d
these two companies.
t he orcllards to the north or tne vUlage proved to be
veritable quagmtree trom the reoent rain and the line t.aken
up was that running along the north west edge of D.t!.LVILLE
00» tJlrough the north of the village and along the aveDlle
to the we st.
Meanwhile "D" Coy. foun.d that tne Germans 1I8re en-
trenched along the sunken road which Joins the strong po1n\a
north of the vUlage to t,ne LO GUEVAI,- I HOOD road. :dle,
dug in but cOUld not advanoe; _.
At g A•• , the s1tuatiao 11&8 as tOllows:-
All movement north ana. nortn west 01' the. vUlage • •
rendered almost 1IIlpossiDle trom lII!Lch1ne gun fire. »achine
guns had been located at t,he following pOints in order tro.
east to westat
(1) In the...nortb east corner ot the small oblong orChard
- ... - on the LO 'u~'iAL- ~ road.
~ & ) t the tllO stl'ODg pointe on the two tracks runnIng
north trom LONGUEVAL.
(4) At end. ot the 'toreee 1n t.he outer hedge running nortJ1
- .. west trom the avenue.
(6) In the sunken road at 1ta Junct10n with the track
- -. running trOll tn. east of HIGH OOD towards LO Go ·VAL.
At g A. ., the uermans commenced shelling tne wood and
village. At IR1dday thls developed into an intenae bollbardJaent
P • •0.
 (3)

18th. lasting 4.t noure, and at l'OUSlU1 4-30 P •• the aermans

centd. counter-attack _e dell"l'8d. .._-
KeanWhile t 8 northem half of the vill.age and wood
as .ell ae the avenue nad become unt.enable. ihe t.roOP8
gradually gave 11&1 under the pi tiles8 anell1Dg and on tJ1e
asaauJ.t taking place, the remnants of the troops Withdrew
to tJle trenohes.
~.D.e German counter-stroke was eli vered 1n four main
waves; the troops appuently moving from the a.ireotion
01' TINP C ae well as LERB. ~he attack was unaole to
make heaa.1r&1 to tae west 01' the vUlage owing to our
maenine gun and lewis gun tire, ana. on one ocO&sion, one
at t.he German 11nes was seen t.o be driven baok in con-
fusion. ',,:hey however, reformed on the horIzon and. advanoed
turther to the east. Unfortunat,ely, tne artillery oarrage
was directed too far to the weet. to break up the German
attack north. of the wood.
As soon ae the lnt8nse bombardmen ceased, a resh
attempt was made to re-occuPl the avenue and hedges rac1ng
the Village to the sou.th. '~'h18 proved however, to be
1Dpractioable.
At dusk tne situation on the r1gh" appeared to be sertl
10\la • ~he troops of the gth. Divis10n appeared to be dis-••
organised and as tiD" Coy. was entirely" 1n the Air", 1t ..
~s withdrawn with a view' to strengthening and hold1n6 the
right nank.
About th1s time reinforcements from the 2nd. Suffolk
Regiment began to arrive. One oompany was immediately
detailed to watoh and hold the right flank at all costs.
With evening, the situation cleared. It was found that
the 9th Division were eetablished in the southern end of the
village and as the troops were sufficient to hold all
ground, Ule request for further reinforcements trom the
SUffolks was cancelled.
-ery heavy selling continued tUl dawn on 't1 e lwth.
Casualties in the Regiment were" Officers kill d,
7 Officers wOWlded and 3il other ranks killed, wounded
and missing.
lQth. DesU1tory shelling continued thrOughout the day. At
. 8 P.M. the Battalion was relieved y one company of the
D.O.L.I. and moved back to the ERE LAU REDoum trench
northwest of CARNOY.
20th. Day was spent :1n reorganisation and the reserve
Officers were called up to replace casualt1es.
21st. 'J:he Battalion received orders to take over trenches
along the southern edge of DEL D:LI COD.
On meeting the gui es in CA'.i:ERPILLAR VAUn the
Battalion came under a heavy barrage from gas and other
shells and 1I8.S \mabIe to IIIOve fo~rd froll 10 .'. t11l
11 P.M. 1'110 casual.ties occurre from ga. &JlQ. helmets had
te be PUt on. '.L'he trenches were reached about midnight,
but the relief was not complete t11l 4-30 A.M.
~he Battalion was detailed to take. over the trenches
held by t,he th 0 OLK Regt and one company ESSEX Regt.
'J:he trench system was found to be tar from organ1sed. I

Units were IB1xed up in some confusion and trenches were

only held at certa1n pOints, euphemlsticalll called
n strong points ". Owing to the confUSion, one comPBDl
of the NORFOUS occuPy1n6 the eastern edge or SOU'.L'H 81.:
did not Bet relieved till dark when the Battalion ombers
and Snipers were sent up to take the 1r place •

•T••
 4.

A heavy m1 st remained on the ground till S A. •

AaV8ntage was taken of this to get a real rip of he sit-
uatiOb and to lsent.aDgle the d.1 ferent posta from their
former confusion. angements were made t.o .t.reng'then the
existing trenches, and to connect up the various posta int.o
an organised line of resistance.
~ne line of aefence was carried along the southern end
of e 1IOod from the road Junction northwest of .~~ .
to tne west.ern post held by the RO AI, ~'U~ILI S, along the
line of RO'1'T O. A bombing post. near the corner of
O'J.:T"7i'i ROW an facing the u-arman strong point at east rn end
ot P INOES 51 _s also connected up wi th the main system
of defences.
An old secon 11ne running to the east of K NG S~REET
was also rendered tenable tor defence.
Onng to shelling and sn1Ping. work (luring the day tl_
had to be done cautiously.
igging and wiring were contlnued throughout the night.
During the morning mist, Corporal IiEARNB on ~trol 8hot
six Germans and wounded three ot ers.
3rd. By dawn, tne 8Y8tell of defence -.s roughJ.y connected
throughout. An attack, made D1 the th Brigade at 3-40 A.II.
in the nc)rthern end of the Village brought on some .neavy he •
1ng which much delayed the work of consolidation. A bollbani-
ment by gas shella also took plaoe, out d1d no dallage.
Shelling cc:mtinued throughout the day. Battalion suffer-
ed six O&sualties trom this cause.
During tne night the K.S.L.I. connected up uhEAPSIDJ: wi
BOU'.fH STB.EET.
24th. ork of oonsolidation -.s oontinued• .keports re
received that the enelDl was masslng in trenches east of
IOO:.VILLE OOD. !"rom 6-40 P .11. 1.111 midnight the enemy bombard
ed the pOSltiQn heavily-directing special attention to the
southern end. of the village. 'J:here "8
a further burst at
3 A. • Casualtie8, wh1ch nre alllost ent1rely ..mfmed tao
Battalion Headquartaers were One Or:ricer ~2/Lt. UN'J.: ) and
eignteen servants and orderlies ounded.-
2bth. At dawn tne shelling died down. The Battalion was re-
lieved. durlng the night, by t.he 1st K. .R. C. and :.A1d t1 L I .•
Owing to a II1sunderstand1ng the portion of -the trench
Det en RO'J:T~N RO and SOuTH S1 'T _s not relieved as
falling outSide the Doundary of each Drigade.
26th. Battalion Headquarters reported at Headquarters ggth.
Brigade at 0 A. • Relief complete with the exception of tiD"
Coy. ID" oy _s relieved at llidday reaching 'J.: u13A.N ata
1-30 ••
.- .....,ne coOO1t1ons obtaining in tale wo04 were very bad•
.I!'riend and foe, 11 ving ana. aead, ly1ng practlcally, aide Dy
s1de 1n many oases. A rough attempt at burial 8 -.de where
possible but only Shell .noles could be used tor the purpose.
In some O&ses, bodles were disentert1A4 01 shell fire aftaer
burial, and tJlroughouta the wood and along the trenchea 1n
places exposttd to shell fire bOdies still lay unburied trom
the fighting ot ten days before.
l:he trenohes rom the road Junction of OOU'J:H S'.&:REE'l &Dd
HIlrl1 OLBURN to PALL a t sou hem end of Village were
continually exposed ~o enfilade ire.

P.J:.O.
 5.

t __ touna. however, ina' vi8&ble to sh1tt BattaJ.1on

eadquarter. however exposM,a_ 1 t • • the one 8pot known
to all orderlies, and tormed the tOrwarding cent.re for meS8-
ages to the three battalions in the line.
A persistent barrage at tne soutnern end or t.b8 vill-
age made all communication with Brigade Headquarter8 dirtl-.
cult.

In tn.e Flel •
Sg/7/1C.
Lieut. Uolonel.
Commana.lng, 1st. Battn., ~he UoI'Qcm gblander8.
 1ST. BATTALION, THE GORDON HIGHLANDERS.
------~-----~---------~--

ROLL OF OFFICERS SERVING WITH BATTALIOB ON 31ST. JULY 191e.

~~------~--~-----~-----~--------~----~-

Lieut.. Oolonel S. G. ORAUFtJRD.

Major F.L.IIi.O. KAITLAND.
i/L1eut. 4; AdJt. D.O.D. WNRO.
f;Ja)KetU! J. MoA. CUNNINGHAJI.
Lieut. O. HORSLEY.
II J.A.H. BROWN.
" • S. GAMMELl,.
II Wo BLAIR.
a/Lteut. D.R.G. RENFREW.
• U A.H. DUN CAlf •
n N.K. A'XON.
" E.G. SAUNDERS.
.. A.J. OLEGHORN.
II J3,.K. GORDON.
II A. RIDDELL.
II W.T •. CURRIE.
.. G. RITCHIE.
II D.K. TEMPLETON.
n J. BROADHURST.
n T.O. SeOOMES.
n D.S. INGLIS.
P J. McINTOSH.
II R.W. PRESTON.
P G.P. ETERltIN.
.. P.T. PIRIE.
" H.R.S. CLARO.

Lieut. 4; QJ(. F. OLARD.

Oaptain J .L. STEWART. 11.0.
Rev. P.D. THO!4S0N. 0.1'.

DETAXIJl·
Lteut. 001. A.de L. LONG. .Temp. COIIID. 10th H.. w.r.
IlaJor J. JIoLENNAR • Sick in U.K. -
Oapt. W.AII DYIE. Att. Heaerve BIl.
n W. WARING. A/Adjt. 8th K.O.H.L.

pAILY STRggTH RETYBI. 31-7-16 •

Fighting Strength. :51 O. 8ao I.R.

Detai1a. " O.

Lieut. 001lme1.
, I
""" .................~
~ ~
;'1/7/16. OOllllD8nding 1st Battn~, The' GOrdOll Highlandera.