Current Information:

Age-21

5, Crossfield Street, Deptford

Vailly British Cemetery, France

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 21st 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, which had just arrived on the Aisne, came into action. The 1st East Kent (Buffs) battalion of 16 Brigade took over part of the front line just to the north of Vailly and that evening were able to repel a strong attack on their positions. Herbert Cole was killed in action on this day.