Current Information:

Age-20

Born-Vauxhall

Tincourt New British Cemetery, France

The Battle of Cambrai

This was a major British offensive on the Western Front that was launched on 20th November, 1917 and lasted through to the beginning of December. As the name suggests it was an attack towards the city of Cambrai and the important German railhead there, which it was hoped would be captured. The battle was notable for two things: the massed use of tanks for the first time and the success of the first day’s fighting when the formidable Hindenburg Line was breached and gains of five miles were made in places. In celebration the church bells throughout Britain were rung. However this success was short lived. The tanks were not reliable and the German defence stiffened as the fighting progressed and when they counter attacked in force on 30th November, the British came under so much pressure that they were forced to withdraw from many of the positions they had captured earlier on. Both sides suffered around 45,000 casualties during the course of the fighting.

20th Division took part in the initial attack on 20th November when they successfully captured the village of Gonnelieu. They were relieved on 28th November and the 12th Rifle Brigade battalion of 60 Brigade, moved back to a camp in the Fifteen Ravine area between Gouzeaucourt and Villers Plouich. But their time away from the front line here was short. On 30th November the enemy put down a heavy artillery barrage east of Fifteen Ravine and at 9 am  attacked and recaptured Gonnelieu. 60 Brigade were ordered back into the fight and shortly after 12th Rifle Brigade moved towards Gonnelieu while 12th King’s Royal Rifle Corps advanced on La Vacquerie. By 10.30am A & D companies of 12th Rifle Brigade were in position , facing south-south-east between the Cambrai road and Gonnelieu, but with both flanks in the air and unprotected. By midday these gaps had been made good by 6th Oxford & Bucks  moving up on the right and B Company on the left filling the gap between A Company and 12th King’s Royal Rifle Corps. By 5pm 12th Rifle Brigade was holding a line, 1000 yards long with bombing posts pushed forward. From here patrols penetrated Gonnelieu, where they captured two Germans but then had to fight their way back.

At 1 am on 1st December a company 6th Oxford & Bucks  with two platoons of 12th Rifle Brigade covering their left flank tried to clear Gonnelieu. Two Trench Mortars fired over one hundred rounds in two minutes as a preliminary to this attack but 6th Oxford & Bucks  arrived fifteen minutes late so this bombardment was of no use and the operation met  heavy machine-gun fire and came to nought, except more casualties. At 8.30am the enemy shelled the northern exit of Gonnelieu and then attacked one of B Company’s forward bombing posts where they were driven off by machine-gun fire. This coincided with a heavy attack along the front of both 12th Rifle Brigade and 12th King’s Royal Rifle Corps which was much more successful. At the same time the Guards Division, which had captured about half of Gonnelieu by an attack from the west at dawn, were themselves heavily attacked and driven out and some of them reformed on D Company. 12th Rifle Brigade  had only one unwounded officer by now so the CSM of B Company organised a counter-attack near Gonnelieu Cemetery. Against overwhelming odds this failed with great loss and the survivors of B Company, about 20 men, fell back with 12th King’s Royal Rifle Corps to Frimley trench while what was left of A Company were also pushed back to the Bonavis road. This isolated D Company but they held their position against repeated attacks, despite almost running out of ammunition and the enemy being behind them in places. There were many casualties for D Company but by holding on they prevented a 1000 yard gap in the line being formed. The Germans also tried pushing through on the left of the D Company and this brought C Company from reserve and Battalion HQ into action and their advance was halted. A counter attack was then made, around 10am, by a battalion of the Grenadier Guards, assisted by some of C Company, which clawed back some ground. Overnight, 12th Rifle Brigade were withdrawn into support in Frimley Trench when the Guards took over. On 2 December, a bitterly cold day, they manned posts and remained there without any shelter, under shell fire and at times having to send parties forward to support other battalions. Overnight they were relieved and moved back, exhausted, to Sorel. Among the many casualties suffered by 12th Rifle Brigade was Charles Butterfield who died from wounds on 3rd December.