"A raid that failed. 5 June, 1917" Topic
4 Posts
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rvandusen | 03 Feb 2022 11:48 a.m. PST |
I came across an account of this action in Edwin Campion Vaughan's diary "Some Desperate Glory." The raid was undertaken by a platoon of the 1/8th Warwicks with the intention of obtaining a few prisoners. There are no specific numbers given in the account, but one can assume between 20 and 40 per platoon. Vaughan accompanied the raid on his own accord as a spectator! This raid was commanded by a Lt. Berry. Vaughan thought Berry might be drunk when he appeared at the jumping off point, and his platoon made so much noise leaving the trench that Vaughan decided to hang back a little for his own safety. As Vaughan came close to the German line, he heard enemy rifle fire pass over his head and then witnessed Berry's platoon come running past him followed by Berry himself. According to Vaughan, Berry reported that his raid was spoiled by a "half-mad" sergeant that charged ahead and bayonetted the first German sentry that challenged him. The sergeant was then shot in the side by a German officer. The wounded sergeant then ran back toward his own platoon shouting, "Retire! Retire!" The Germans then shot off a flare before opening an inaccurate rifle fire. The British platoon promptly fled back to their own lines without any prisoners. |
Greylegion | 03 Feb 2022 1:09 p.m. PST |
Wow. No good. Interesting. I wonder how often that happened during the war. I'd be very surprised that this would be the only incident like this. |
rvandusen | 03 Feb 2022 4:18 p.m. PST |
I'm sure that things like this happen in all wars. Human behavior is unpredictable in many cases. Psychological and physical exhaustion added to fear and danger is a recipe for failure in such incidents. |
stecal | 03 Feb 2022 4:51 p.m. PST |
Here is a very detailed AAR of another failed raid by the 2nd bn, Middlesex Regt. in 1916 "From the daily war diary 10 to 12 May 1916 as the British build up and begin the offensive on the Somme. The battalion carries out a probing raid that tells its own story, of muddle, bad luck and enemy preparedness." link |
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