In the final scene of Journey’s End, Stanhope mounts the dugout steps to face the oncoming German assault. If his fate were similar to those of the real East Surrey men who faced the fury of the first day of the German assault in the Kaiserschlacht, then he and his men had at least a chance of emerging unscathed: only one of the East Surrey’s 4 companies had suffered savage casualties (having been in the line in support of the 1/North Staffords, who were ‘all but wiped out’ according to the Brigade Diary). But we know, from the early scenes in Sherriff’s (unpublished) sequel to Journey’s End, that, while he and Trotter would survive, his Company would suffer grievous losses. While those scenes may, in part, have been based on the experiences of the real East Surreys, that particular fate was actually to come a few days later in the German assault.
For the moment, at the end of the first day of the battle, the men of the 9/East Surreys were occupying a position on the ridge between Vermand and Maissemy, and had been joined by the remnants of the 1/North Staffords. Early in the morning, taking advantage of a heavy fog, the East Surreys had retrieved the body of their former Commanding Officer, Lt Col Le Fleming, and, according to the Brigade Diary, helped a party of the Royal Field Artillery bring back 9 abandoned field guns.
From Lucas, M., The Journey’s End Battalion, Pen & Sword, 2012
The Germans began their attacks, on both sides of the Omignon River, at 8:15am. The East Surrey Battalion Diary written up some time after the battle (by Captain W (Harry) Lindsay – a close friend of Sherriff’s), reported that there was considerable artillery activity on both sides, and that a ‘heavy enemy barrage fell on our front line’, continuing for about half an hour, and then ‘creeping on to the support and reserve lines’. By 10:30 they were reporting that the Germans had twice attacked their positions, but had been driven off. According to Michael Lucas:
‘The Germans then made a third assault, bringing machine guns to bear on the left. Whilst a portion of the line was driven in, the position was quickly restored with the help of Major Clark with some HQ staff. The ground was now thickly strewn with German bodies.’
Lt (later Captain) C A Clark MC, as drawn by Private Edward Cole of the 9th East Surreys. By permission of the Surrey History centre (Ref: ESR/19/2/7/1-15)
Despite their stiff opposition, the East Surreys were ordered to withdraw ‘owing to the flanks giving way’, and was reassembled at Mons-en-Chausee under Major Clark. ‘Troops very reluctant to withdraw’, noted the Battalion Diary – an opinion with which Major Clark agreed, as he later recalled: ‘the order was not popular, as everyone was in the highest spirits and quite confident of beating back any attack of the enemy’. But perhaps it was for the best, since the 11th Hussars, withdrawing alongside the East Surreys, noted that ‘at this time, some 2,000 Germans could be seen advancing down the hill towards Vermand’.
Around 1:00pm the Royal West Kents, north of the river alongside two companies of the 13/Middlesex, and noting that the enemy had reached the outskirts of Vermand south of the river, were ordered to withdraw fighting through the 50th Division, who were in the Green line. The bridge over the river was blown at 1:00pm after all of the troops on the south side had passed over, but they were subject to considerable machine gun fire as they made their way along the exposed Vermand Road.
By the end of the day the Brigade had taken up ‘newly dug battle positions’ at Monchy Lagache – shown towards the bottom left of the map above, behind the thick dotted line which would represent the front line at the start of the next day – the third of the German assault.
The Brigade Diary, summing up the events of 22 March, noted:
‘another hard day’s fighting, in which the Brigade and 12/Sherwood Foresters and 11/Hussars put up a magnificent show beating back attack after attack, and holding their ground almost entirely on either side of the river.’
Next Post: 23 March