“Observation balloons?”
“Not in this sector, Colonel. We only havea few as yet. There are more coming, we are told. More likely for next year.They hope they will not be necessary, of course.”
The cavalry stayed for lunch; they had nothingsensible to say.
“Should be jolly good sport, old chap. Donenothing since we came out in January. Make a change from parading in the rear,don’t you think?”
Richard shook his head. He feared not.
“If the machine guns are silenced, thenyou may do well, gentlemen. Even then, rifle fire can cut horse up severely.Saw it in August and September last year when the cavalry was butchered, Britishand German equally. Did some of the butchering myself.”
“Different conditions, I expect, old chap.”
That was as meaningless an answer as waspossible; it was profound for a cavalryman.
The infantry remained a few minutes afterthe cavalry and gunner had ridden off.
Braithwaite saw them off to their battalions.
“There are Mills Bombs held in the rear,gentlemen. General French does not approve of them. I gather they are ‘unsporting’.I shall do my best to have an issue made.”
There was no more to be said.
Richard called his captains together.There was just sufficient room in his dugout for them all to fit in.
“There will be a bombardment commencing at1600 hours on the day after tomorrow. It will go on, sporadically, until 0700hours on the following morning. We will then go over the top. Marching in linewith full pack and eighty rounds. Keep the weight in the packs down, gentlemen.No rations, no spare boots. Leave the blankets behind. If we succeed inbreaking the lines, I shall send fatigue parties back for the necessaries for amarching campaign. Packs may be made up with extra rounds and Mills Bombs, ifthey are delivered. Men are to drop their packs before entering the enemytrenches. Again, they can be recovered afterwards. Lewis Gunners to the fore. Iam aware that General French does not like to see them, for being untidy. Theywill nonetheless be used.”
“What if the wire is not cut, sir?”
“If there are machine guns active, dropflat and retire. In the absence of machine guns, you will cut the wire. Thegunners assured me they would concentrate their fire on the wire. They are tohave aerial spotters to assist them. You will not be able to observe their progressduring the night, unfortunately.”
They said nothing.
“We are fortunate in having so small a noman’s land to our front. That also means we are close to the detonation pointof our own artillery. It seems wise to me that the bulk of each company will spendthe period of the bombardment in our second line, leaving only a small party bythe field telephone. We can reasonably assume there will be no enemy attackthrough the bombardment.”
None of them trusted the accuracy of theartillery sufficiently to argue.
“We shall man the front line fully at 0650and go over the top to the second of 0700 hours. I shall accompany Captain Caton.Major Vokes will hold two companies to the rear and will bring them forward toany point where we have made a breakthrough, hopefully to pass them through thelines and into the enemy rear. The cavalry and RHA will pass through at thatpoint.”
“In the absence of a breakthrough, sir?”
“Then you may cover us as we fall back,Vokes.”
“You mentioned Royal Horse Artillerybatteries in company with the cavalry, sir. Will they take part in thebombardment?”
“Doubtful. Too small to be a great deal ofvalue, in any case.”
Richard tried to sum up on a more cheerfulnote.
“I do much hope that we may be able totake the opposing front line and at least even out this damned salient. TheGerman trench is slightly higher than ours and will be more comfortable in manyways. If they have anything of interest to us, try to bring it back – new guns,mortars, that sort of thing.”
The bombardment commenced and the bulk ofthe battalion fell back from the first line of trenches, wisely, it transpired.A number of shells fell in their own wire, more during the night as barrelswore and sighting became less accurate.
“Are they cutting the wire?”
Richard was interested to know what theymight face in the morning. Major Vokes had spent some time to the front, tryingto get a picture from the little he could see in the shell flashes.
“HE are effective, sir. Even the small shellscut wire and throw it back a distance. Shrapnel is valueless for wire, sir. Abreak at the point of the explosion and that is all. Generally speaking,shrapnel leaves a small crater under mostly unbroken wire.”
“Note that for our reports after the offensive,Vokes. That, of course, assumes we are here to write such reports.”
“I shall leave my clerks in their dugout,sir. They can maintain a diary.”
“Famous last words and all that… I do hopeI am being unnecessarily gloomy, Vokes.”
“It is still a learning process, sir. Thegenerals have to find out exactly how to break through modern trenches.”
“Simplicity itself, Vokes! Land an army onthe Friesian coast, north of Holland. The Navy would lose a few of its tincastles to submarines and mines; the German army would be forced to withdraw troopsfrom France and Russia to set up new defences. Thin them out here and we couldprobably make a breakthrough. The Russians might be able to do the same. Achance that Denmark might join in to grab back Schleswig and Holstein. TheDutch might jump in on the winning side. A good possibility thatAustria-Hungary might seek a separate ceasefire.”
Vokes admitted that to be possible.
“It all falls down because of thedreadnoughts, sir. They cost too much. The government won’t risk seeing themsunk – they are too valuable to send them out to war. Too many millionsinvested in the battleships to wish to risk them in combat, sir.”
“Better far they should grow rust at ScapaFlow than venture out into the North Sea, Vokes? You are likely right. Too muchmyth and insufficient reality, today’s Navy! Glad I got out.”
“So are we, sir. Their loss
