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Born-Islington

With an end to the fighting on the Eastern Front after the Russian Revolution, Germany was able to bring its troops from there to France and launch a series of offensives in the Spring of 1918, designed to bring the war to a swift conclusion. Four times between March and July they attacked in strength and on each occasion they broke through the British and French lines and made spectacular gains but in each case they over extended themselves and without adequate supplies keeping up with their rapid advances, they could go no further.

The first of these attacks, Operation Michael, was made on 21st March by 63 specially trained divisions, attacking along a 60 mile front held by 26 British divisions, many of them in a weakened state At 4.40am the German artillery opened up with the most ferocious and concentrated bombardment of the war, the likes of which the British had never experienced before. The Forward Zone, consisting mainly of individual posts was blown away. Very few of the men there made it back. Many were killed and many more were taken prisoner. The Battle Zone was also battered as were the British guns, firing from positions just to the rear. Brigade and Divisional HQs were targeted as well and then, from out of the thick mist came the German storm troopers. Moving fast, they skirted round the few remaining strongholds and penetrated deep into the British lines, including those of the Battle Zone, causing the utmost confusion. There were many cases of heroic stands being made but the relentless pressure forced the British back everywhere and there then began a general retreat that went on for two weeks and which ceded to the Germans a huge amount of territory, including all of that that had been won at such great cost during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

On 21st March, when the enemy launched their powerful assault, 39th Division were in GHQ reserve behind the extreme left of of the Fifth Army. The 17th King’s Royal Rifle Corps battalion of 117 Brigade began the day at Sorel and at 6am moved to Sorel Wood where they remained all day under shell fire. For the rest of the month they were just one unit in the great British retreat on the Somme front, falling back but continuing to put up resistance on a daily basis. At dawn on 23rd March there was a strong attack on their positions in Tincourt Wood which was beaten off after fierce fighting. All of 39th Division then withdrew further and 117 Brigade took up a position between Bussu and Aizecourt with 17th King’s Royal Rifle Corps in support. That afternoon 117 Brigade fell back again, this time to a position east of Mont St Quentin which they held briefly and then in the evening there was a further retirement and 117 Brigade crossed the Somme  at Cléry. At 10pm they moved back to Feuillères in Divisional reserve. It had been a trying day of fighting and withdrawal and among the casualties suffered by the battalion was Herbert Cleasby.