Ian Uys - Hold at All Costs!: the Epic Battle of Delville Wood 1916

DELVILLE WOOD

July 1916

IAN UYS

Copyright Ian Uys 1983

The right of Ian Uys to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

First published in 1983 by Uys Publishers.

This edition published in 2018 by Endeavour Media Ltd.

Devils Wood

No battlefield on all the Western Front was more bitterly contested than was Devils Wood, where fighting, practically uninterrupted and intense, went on for six consecutive weeks from mid July till August 26 of 1916. It was in the first week of the struggle that the South African forces won their imperishable fame grimly hanging on against overwhelming odds and repulsing counter-attacks by troops five and six times their number.

( The Times , London, 1917)

The bloodiest battle hell of 1916

In the depths of Delville Wood, during the ensuing days, the South Africans made their supreme sacrifice of the war where today a white stone collonade of peaceful beauty commemorates, and contrasts with, the bloodiest battle hell of 1916.

(Sir Basil Liddell Hart in History of the First World War )

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to many people for assistance in research for this book. It would be difficult to thank all personally, however I wish especially to acknowledge my gratitude to the veterans of Delville Wood and their relatives who assisted me so willingly.

To all publishers of the books listed in my bibliography for which I have quoted extracts, my sincere thanks. In addition I appreciate the assistance, encouragement and help of the following:

Commander Mac Bisset of the Military and Maritime Museum at Cape Town;

Miss Fiona Barbour of the McGregor Museum, Kimberley;

Colonel George Duxbury and his staff at the SA National Museum of Military History;

Colonel Albert Cilliers MC, of the SA Agency of the Commonwealth War Graves Board;

Miss Rose Coombs of the Imperial War Museum;

Mr Peter Digby, the honorary curator of the Transvaal Scottish Regimental Museum;

Mr Don Forsyth for bravery citations;

Mr and Mrs Tom Fairgrieves of Delville Wood Cottage, Longueval, France;

Mr Dennis Gee for interviewing survivors in the border area;

Major Annette van Jaarsveld of the Army Documentation Services;

Mr Nick Kinsey for valued and timely advice;

Messrs Henry Holloway and Ivan Scholtz; and

Mrs Ursula Abdinor (nee Strohmaier) for translations.

Foreword

I regard it as an honour that I should have been invited by the author of this publication to contribute a foreword thereto.

The personal experiences of some of the survivors of the battle of Delville Wood have already appeared in print as a result of overseas writers asking them to furnish written particulars, but I think Mr Uys is the first South African to have undertaken the task by means of personal interviews.

I myself have been unable to offer much contribution to this collection, as I was the victim of shell fire and was carried out before my unit had even reached the wood, but the descriptions which Mr Uys has gone to so much trouble to collect are of particular interest to me, some having been obtained from survivors whom I personally knew. Regrettably most are no longer with us.

The story of Delville Wood has oft been told, originally by John Buchan in his The South African Forces in France , now long out of print. Many subsequent publications have recorded the factual story of the event, but the personal touch which Mr Uys has been able to offer presents a fresh light and makes fascinating reading.

I wish him all success in his undertaking.

A W Liefeldt.

Chairman, Cape Town Branch.

SA Overseas Brigade Association.

Introduction

The Battle of the Somme marked a turning point in warfare. Beforehand cavalry was the supreme weapon, afterwards the tank and aircraft reigned. Cavalry was used at the beginning of the Delville Wood fight and tanks at the conclusion in September 1916. For a brief spell it was the war of the infantryman alone. At Delville Wood the 1st South African Infantry Brigade was to show what that meant. Their feat can never be surpassed.

Delville Wood is commemorated in South Africa by an annual service. Yet ironically no South African military unit carries it as a battle honour on a regimental colour. In addition, though it is generally known as the bloodiest battle ever fought by South Africans, very little is known of the men who were there.

On 14 July, 121 officers and 3,052 other ranks comprised the 1st South African Infantry Brigade. Six days later Col Edward Thackeray marched out with two wounded officers and 140 other ranks. Of these survivors one officer and 59 men of the light trench mortar battery had joined as reinforcements two days earlier.

The bare statistics of the battle have sufficed for too long. In these pages we learn of the men who came out of the hell of Devils Wood and of the men who didnt. Some years ago I was shown a booklet in which a grieving father recorded his tribute to his son one of the South Africans who still lie in the wood. It is very hard to part with him, but I glory in his glorious end, my splendid, chivalrous boy

The South Africans, both English and Dutch speaking, took and held the wood. For six days and five nights they fought and died in an inferno of exploding shells, flame-throwers, machine-gun and rifle fire. The shelling which reached seven shells a second reduced the wood to a wasteland.

The Springboks hurled back overwhelming attacks by masses of enemy infantry until overrun and virtually destroyed. They fought hand-to-hand with the best troops in the German army.

Outnumbered and attacked from three sides, their orders were to hold the wood and they did so. Colonel Thackeray inspired the bone-weary men by his example. He fought as a private would, with rifle and Mills bombs. When the survivors eventually paraded before Gen Lukin he took the salute with tears in his eyes.

Why should Delville Wood be commemorated when other battles are not? In answer John Buchan wrote, There were positions as difficult, but they were not held so long; there were cases of as protracted a defence, but the assault was not so violent and continuous As a feat of human daring and fortitude the fight is worthy of eternal remembrance by South Africa and Britain, but no historians pen can give that memory the sharp outline and the glowing colour which it deserves. Only the sight of the place in the midst of the battle that corner of splinters and churned earth and tortured humanity could reveal the full epic of Delville Wood.

Bearing this in mind, I have borrowed liberally from accounts given by the men who were there and in this respect it is their book. Accordingly I make no apology for the large number of quotations used. Publishers names are given only for books not mentioned in the bibliography.

An overall picture is presented of each days fighting. The official accounts of the brigade, attached units and the four regiments follow. The experiences of the individuals involved are recorded within these units and listed in company order. It is thus possible to follow any one mans reminiscences by referring to his company in each chapter.

As far as possible the day-to-day events have been recorded by company for ease of reference. Where the company is not known the relevant text is included with that of the battalion headquarters. Imperial measures, units and ranks are recorded as they were at the time.

In addition the Battles of Bernafay Wood and Trones Wood are included, as they preceded Delville Wood and the latter should not be seen in isolation.

The brigade was to endure much in the remaining years of the Great War and many Delville Wood veterans were yet to pay the supreme sacrifice. I am grateful to the veterans of this epic battle who have assisted me in compiling this book. It is to them and their departed comrades that this book is dedicated.