The German Offensives in Flanders of 1918:

9th April to 29th April 1918

The Battles of the Lys: (I) Estaires, 9th-11th April, (II) Messines, 10th-11th April, (III) Hazebrouck, 12th-15tyh April, (IV) Bailleul, 13th-15th April, First Battle of Kemmel, 17th-19th April, (V) Béthune, 18th April, (VI) Second Battle of Kemmel, 25th-26th April, and (VII) Scherpenburg, 29th April

The enemy's advance on the Somme had been stopped, but only at great sacrifice. He had won a considerable area of ground and taken much war material and many prisoners from us: our reserves were greatly depleted. But he had not obtained his objectives. Readers of "My War Memories" will not fail to detect the tone of petulance and disappointment in General Ludendorff's book. With hopes of obtaining greater successes than he had had on the Somme, the German Chief of the General Staff turned his attention to the Lys front where our line was weakly held, for Sir Douglas Haig had been forced to withdraw no less than ten divisions from the northern part of his line in order to reinforce or replace his exhausted forces on the Somme. A break through on the Lys front might well mean the realisation of the enemy's hopes which had been so markedly defeated at Arras.

(II) The Battle Of Messines, 1918:

10th - 11th April.

Although the 1st and 18th (Pioneers) Middlesex saw no fighting in this battle, both Battalions were in the area of operations. The 33rd Division was out of the line when the enemy attacked north of Bois Grenier on the 10th of April, but received orders to move forward. The 98th Brigade Group moved by rail to the Strazeele area on the 11th and at 5 p.m. was ordered to take up reserve positions behind the line Neuve Eglise-De Seule, and by midnight units were disposed in the Ravelsberg Camp area: the 1st Middlesex bivouacked north of the Ravelsberg road.

(IV) The Battle Of Bailleul:

12th - 15th April.

At 2 a.m. (12th) the 98th Brigade was ordered to march to Dranoutre to come under the orders of the 19th Division. At 4 a.m. the Brigade marched from the Ravelsberg Camp area and reached its destination at about 7 a.m. where information was obtained that an enemy attack on Wulverghem was expected at any time. The Battalions of the 19th Division holding the line were weak and tired out and the 98th Brigade was in support. The 1st Middlesex were in the neighbourhood of Homburg Farm with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and 4th King's at Daylight Corner. Shortly after midday fresh orders came to hand for the 98th Brigade to relieve other troops of the 33rd Division, as the enemy was reported to have broken through south-west of Meteren. So again the Brigade took the road, the Middlesex leading, and at 5 p.m. moved to St. Jans Cappel. On reaching the latter the Middlesex were ordered to hold Hills 40-45, south-east of Bailleul, while the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and 4th King's proceeded to the Asylum, Bailleul, in Divisional Reserve.

13th April 1918

At 11a.m. on the 13th, the Middlesex received instructions from Brigade Headquarters that a British counter-attack on Neuve Eglise was to be expected, and that if it failed the line would probably be withdrawn to Crucifix Corner, in which event the Battalion would still be required to defend Mont de Lille and Hill 45. Later the Middlesex came under the orders of the 101st Brigade (34th Division), "C" Company being on Mont de Lille and "A" Company on Hill 45, "D" Company between, with "B" in reserve. Lieut. Ferguson was wounded during the day.

14th April 1918

During the morning of the 14th the positions of the Middlesex were modified ; the Battalion, first under one Brigade and then under another, finally at 2.10 p.m. held positions on Hill 40, west of the Asylum. At 6.15 p.m., however, definite orders were received from the 74th Infantry Brigade that as the Steam Mill, south west of Bailleul, appeared to have fallen to the enemy, the Middlesex were to leave one Company to cover the roads on Hill 40 east of the Asylum, and the three remaining Companies were "to advance at once and counter-attack and restore the situation."

Leaving "D" Company at Hill 40, "A,", "B " and "C" Companies moved off at 6.45 p.m. to the cross-roads near Appetit Farm where Battalion Headquarters were established and S.A.A. dumped. Companies then formed up in a field for the attack, "A" and "B" in front, "C" in support. At about 7.45 p.m. the advance began and pushed forward about one hundred yards north of the Bailleul-Meteren road, where they began to dig in. Eventually the Battalion moved up to a position within two hundred yards of the Steam Mill, the intention being to attack that place at dawn on the 15th, but before this could be done the G.O.C., 74th Brigade, cancelled the order, the Battalion being instructed to stand fast in its present position. On the 15th a patrol, sent forward to reconnoitre the Mill, found it empty and later it was occupied by the 19th Brigade.

15th - 16th April 1918

During the night of the 15th/16th the Battalion was withdrawn to the Meteren-Moulehouck line, the withdrawal being completed by 12.30 a.m. on the 16th of April.

(V) The First Battle Of Kemmel:

17th-19th April.

During the 16th of April the enemy made a number of strong local attacks on the Meteren-Wytschaete front, which were for the most part repulsed, his losses being heavy.

At dawn on the 16th the 1st Middlesex were about 1600 yards due west of Schaeken where there was a small wood and a farm-house in which Battalion Headquarters had been established. Just before 10 a.m. the enemy was reported in Meteren and the troops on the right of the Die-Hards withdrawing, the G.O.C., 98th Brigade, then ordered Captain Welman ( who was in command of "A" and "C" Companies) to counterattack. At 1p.m. this counter-attack was launched and, in spite of heavy machine-gun fire, succeeded in reaching the main road (presumably in Meteren itself). But the attacking Companies had suffered heavy casualties* and, as our guns were short shooting, Captain Welman ordered a withdrawal from the village. At 1.45 p.m., "B" and "D" Companies were sent up to reinforce "A" and "C" Companies. Between 4 and 5 p.m. some troops on the Meteren-Fletre road were seen to be falling back and again the line of the 1st Middlesex had to be re-adjusted; they then held a south-east to north-west line just north of Meteren with New Zealand troops on their left: their right flank, however, was in the air but refused. * Three officers were wounded in this counter-attack: 2/Lieuts. G. W. Batley, A. V. Flowers and W. W. Lodge.

During the evening three Battalions of French Chasseurs moved up to counter-attack Meteren, but an erroneous report reached them that the village was held by the British and the attack was cancelled. They nevertheless passed through the line held by the Middlesex and formed a front line north of Meteren.

17th April 1918

Early on the 17th of April the R.A.F. reported that the French troops were on their objective south of Meteren. This proved to be false, for Middlesex patrols, sent into the village to ascertain the truth of that statement, were fired on by the enemy, Lieut. J. A. Adams being killed and 2/Lieut. T. D. Corke wounded. Up to 12 noon the Battalion also suffered some sixty other ranks killed and wounded. During the afternoon and evening the enemy's shell fire became less severe and finally ceased when darkness had fallen.

But just after midnight the enemy endeavoured to penetrate the right flank of the Middlesex, where they joined up with the 4th King's but was frustrated.

18th April 1918

The 18th passed without any incident of great importance. The enemy's shell fire was still heavy and there was at one period considerable uncertainty as to the situation in front. But a reconnaissance revealed the fact that French troops held the front line east and north-east of Meteren and that the Middlesex were in support positions. The Battalion at this period numbered only sixteen officers and 399 other ranks. During the evening Meteren was in flames and the sky was red from the glare of burning houses. Two more officers of the Battalion had been wounded during the day, i.e., 2/Lieuts. A. G. Beaumont and W.W. L. While.

19th April 1918

Just before1a.m. on the 19th, two platoons of "B" Company were sent to relieve the 4th King's who had been reduced to a mere skeleton. These platoons were placed under the orders of the 32nd Chasseurs. The day was fairly quiet.

During the night of the 19th/20th Australian troops arrived and relieved the 98th Brigade and the French troops. The 1st Middlesex then marched off by companies independently to Boeschepe, the last of the Battalion arriving at that place at 5 a.m. on the 20th. On the following day Lieut.-Colonel J. W. L. Elgee proceeded to England and Lieut.-Colonel J. H. Hall arrived and assumed command of the Battalion.

21st April 1918

So tired and worn out were all ranks that instead of moving at 10 a.m. on the 20th, as was intended, Brigade Headquarters ordered the move to take place on the 21st. The operations between the 10th and 20th had cost the 1st Middlesex 1 officer killed and 7 wounded, and in other ranks 35 killed and 102 wounded.

On the 21st the Die-Hards marched via Godewaersvelde and Caestre to an aerodrome about one thousand yards northwest of Hondeghem where the men were accommodated in two R.A.F. hangars and the officers in huts. But these billets were only temporary, for on the 22nd the Battalion again moved to an area south of Cassel, where several days were spent until, at the end of the month, orders were received to move to the Blaringhem area where the 33rd Division was to train and rest.

In the Battle of Béthune, 18th April, the Second Battle of Kemmel, 25th-26th April, and the Battle of the Scherpenburg, 29th April, no battalion of the Middlesex was engaged, directly, though the 19th Middlesex was in the area of the two last-named battles.

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