First Name: | William Gilbert | Last Name: | HOULDSWORTH | |
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Date of Death: | 23/09/1914 | Lived/Born In: | Kensington | |
Rank: | Lieutenant | Unit: | Scots Guards1 | |
Memorial Site: | 1. Belgravia, St Peter 2. Notting Dale, St Clement | |||
Current Information:Age-23 44, Lennox Gardens, Knightsbridge Neuilly-sur-Seine New Communal 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. In the morning of 14th September there was a general advance by 1st Division, led by 1 (Guards) Brigade. But German counter attacks in the afternoon drove the British back, including 1st Scots Guards. One of the battalion’s casualties was William Houldsworth who died from wounds on 23rd September after having been sent to a hospital in Paris. |
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