By 21st
December 1916 the 13th Bn, York & Lancaster Regt. (1st Barnsley Pals)
had been alternating between being in the line and in Reserve for some
months. As part of reserve duties trench raiding was carried out with the
objectives of obtaining identifications, assessing unit strengths
and inflicting casualties. The raid scheduled for the night of
the 21st was different only in its meticulous planning, and shows the
experience of the officers and men of the pals in this type of operation.
Preparatory artillery fire began as early as three days before, clearing the
enemy wire wire at six points along the divisional front, clearing paths
through the wire. For two days the guns fired three bursts of
artillery fire onto the enemy trenches, training the Germans to expect each
burst to start on the second and third lines and ended on the front line.
On the 23rd the 31st Division artillery briefly bombarded the German lines
first at 5:30 p.m. and then again at 6:45 p.m. As this second
bombardment drew to a close, 2 officers and 77 other ranks from
"C" Company of the 13th
York & Lancasters formed up in the Orchard at Hebuterne and made their
way down the Serheb road to the front line.
By 8:30 p.m., the raiding party had moved into No Man's Land without being
seen by the enemy, and had halted close by the German wire and waited for
zero hour.
A final bombardment began at 9:56 p.m. four minutes ahead of zero hour. After
opening as usual on the enemy's 2nd and 3rd lines, the
bombardment shifted not to the front line, but to form a protective
barrage around the trenches being raided. Shortly afterwards, a machine gun
barrage was opened over the enemy's 4th
line at Snuff Alley.
At about 9:58 p.m. the raiding party was led into the attack.
Barnsley Pals: The 13th and 14th Battalions York and Lancaster Regiment By
Jon Cooksey
German Trench Guard
Sentry, MG Team, NCO, Squad 6 Pte
1x Off-table Trench Mortar
German Reinforcements (Turn 3)
Leutnant, Feldwebel, Unteroffizier, Squad 6 Pte.
German Mission Briefing
The English have been shelling our position for three days now, but only
for a few minutes at a time. It's difficult to say for sure, but we believe a
trench raid is imminent, either tonight or tomorrow night. We will fire flares
periodically to ensure they do not enter No Man's Land without our knowledge.
Our engineers have been digging a mine for the past month. Under no circumstance
must the presence of this mine be revealed to the English. If you are attacked,
fire a signal flare, and our mortar batteries will let them have it. Be sure to
withdraw to the rear trench line for your own safety.
Trench Raiders
British Covering Party
Captain
2/Lt.
Scouts- 2 men
Tape Men- 2 men
Blanket Men- 2 men
Ladder Men- 2 men
British Blocking Party
Sgt. NCO
Cpl. NCO
Bayonet Men- 2 men
Lewis Gunner and assistance
Bombers- 2 men
British Prisoner Escort Party
Lieutenant
Cpl NCO
Riflemen- 4 men
British Mission Briefing
Fall in for roll call and inspection. Remove all identification in case you
are killed or captured. We want to gain information, not give it away. Be
sure to darken your faces and anything reflective; that includes luminous
wristwatches. Once you hear our artillery, put on your gas masks! At 8:30, you
are to move into No Man's Land and await zero hour. The artillery barrage is
schedule to begin at 9:56. It will coincide with the release of two chlorine
gas canisters. Once
the bombardment lifts, the Covering Party will infiltrate the enemy trench
along with the Prisoner Escort Party. The Blocking Party will move through the
trench line inflicting as many casualties as possible. Be sure to check for
mines. Good luck and God speed.
Battlefield Conditions
The game is played with all night rules in effect. When a flare is fired,
it will provide a +6 to all acquisition attempts out to a 50-yard radius. For
every action a soldier spends moving, he has a 5% chance to activate a row of
tin alarm. Two canisters of chlorine gas are released on turn one.
The gas enters play from the south edge of the board. Use a 20-yard radius for
each cloud. The wind is blowing 10 mph in a northeasterly direction.
Deployment
The Germans begin in their own trench. The NCO, sentry and machine gun team
are at their posts. First squad is in the dugout. They will enter play once the
British are spotted and the alarm is raised. The German reinforcements enter
the board from any of the northern communication lines. The British will start
at the gap in the wire nearest the dug-out.
Victory
The British have 8 turns to: kill and/or capture 4 enemy soldiers, bomb the
dug-out, locate and destroy the mine with the Stokes bombs, then exit half the
force (must accomplish all four to win). The Germans win by avoiding British
victory conditions.
The Game
 | Still building my trench sections
|
The Pals' raider party advances through the wire.
|
|
The Lewis from the raid party hammers the German
trench.
|
The Barnsley Lieutenant is wounded by (British )
shell fire.
|
The British Captain jumps into the German trench,
two Hun captured.
|
|
With the support artillery falling short the
Captain calls the raid closed and the withdrawal begins. Two
prisoners means mission success.
|
But the
Pals don't discover the German mine so this is not a complete victory.
Capt. Lionel Foers went through the gap in the enemy wire and into the front
line where they immediately came across a large dug-out. No sooner had the
party entered the trench than a shell exploded in their midst, wounding
2/Lt. Harry Midwood and 6 or 7 other ranks.
Foers - having been knocked over and dazed by the shell-burst -
struggled to his feet to give orders for the wounded to be taken back
across No Man's Land. Of the wounded, only Midwood remained
with the party.
Foers then turned his attention to the dug-out. He later reported that on
looking down one of the entrances he saw two of the enemy and heard a
great deal of talking. He called out "Kommen Sie mit mir!"
several times, but on receiving no response other than a rifle shot, he posted
two men at the other entrance and threw Mills bombs down into the dug-out.
As this failed to draw out the enemy, Foers then threw down phosphorous
bombs which set the dug-out on fire. As
fumes from the furiously burning dug-out filled the trench, the party withdrew,
though not before throwing four phosphorous bombs through the other
entrance. The danger was far from over, as
the party struggled to bring the severely wounded Midwood back across No Man's
Land through shell bursts and sweeping machine-gun fire. After a
considerable time, the party regained the British lines with little or no
addition to the casualty list.
Aftermath
The raid could scarcely have been regarded as a success; with no
identification having been secured at the cost of 8 or 9 casualties.
Nevertheless, in the early morning two Germans from the
8th Bavarian Infantry Regt. came in from No Man's Land to surrender.
Tragically, 2/Lt. Midwood died of his wounds at No. 3 Casualty Clearing
Station, Puchevillers on Christmas Day.
12/534 Pte. Colin Jackson, who died of wounds on Christmas Eve, was probably
also a victim of the raid.
Before departing for leave on the 24th, the battalion's commanding officer,
Capt. C. H. Robin, wrote a report on the events of the previous night in
which he brought to the attention of 94th
Infantry Brigade Headquarters "the excellent work done by Capt. Foers, 852
Sgt. F. Sagar, 39998, Cpl. W. Sayers, 389 Pte. J. Gough, 3/28713 Pte. W.
Harker and 1011 Pte. C. Nurney." For this
action, the Military Cross was awarded to Capt. Foers, and the Military Medal
to Sgt. Sagar. It was left to Capt. F. W. L. Hulk to write a letter of
condolence to Midwood's mother.
