Current Information:

Born-Peckham

Vendresse British Cemetery

The Battle of the Aisne  13-28 September, 1914

After the Germans were defeated on the Marne they fell back to the River Aisne, closely pursued by both the British and the French. The new German line was a very formidable defensive position. To attack it meant having to cross the Aisne and then climb up a 500 foot high ridge on top of which was the Chemin des Dames, a road that gave the Germans an easy way to move troops along the top of the hills. On 13th September the Aisne was crossed by both British and French troops but after that progress became slower, until there was no progress at all. Both sides dug in and the fighting settled down into trench warfare. The fighting on the Aisne continued for two weeks at the end of which both sides realised that frontal attacks on entrenched positions were both costly and non-productive, not that this deterred them from continuing with this tactic throughout the war.

On 20th September there was a general attack by the VII Reserve Corps of German Seventh Army on the Aisne front during which all three Brigades of 6th Division came into action along the line Radinghem-Ennetières-Prémesques-Epinette.  18 Brigade took the brunt of this attack in the salient in front on Ennetières where the battalions were largely isolated from each other. 2nd Durham Light Infantry was the reserve battalion of 18 Brigade and as such had its companies at various places along the line. It was a day of heavy fighting in which a lot of ground was conceded to the Germans and 18 Brigade suffered over 1100 casualties. The death of Ernest Smith is recorded as 21st  September, but it is much more likely to have occurred on the 20th September and not written up until the following day.