10th July 1916 - 14th Welsh (Swansea) Battalion

10th July 1916.  The first day of action for the 14th Welsh (Swansea) Battalion.  The battalion moved into the front line in White Trench, and it was here where it spent the next day.

Lines of advance on Mametz Wood, 10th July 1916

The time for planned attack would commence with a 3.55 smoke barrage, which would last for 30 minutes, falling near Strip Trench.  4.15, the barrage would life to the north of the first cross-ride and would continue until 6.15.  At this time, it would, and the barrage would continue to the second object for the next hour.  By 8.15 it would concentrate fire on the German second Line.  The barrage would finally lift and work backwards every 50 yards every 3 minutes.


There would be addition bombardment at The Hammerhead provided by a Heavy Mortar also supported by 4 Stokes Mortars.  During the attack, the 114th Machine Gun Company, would fire on the open ground between the German Second Line and Mametz Wood, thus preventing any German reinforcements reaching the wood, and also hitting any Germans trying to flee the wood. 

The 14th Battalion were ordered to attack at 4 am, on a two-platoon frontage with 8 lines starting 100 yards apart.

The distance that the men had to cross, was estimated 1,000 yards.  300 yards was on lever ground, and the rest was down a cliff  which was about a 30-foot drop, this then went down to a steep cliff.  Following this was a gradual rise to the edge of the wood.

There was about 676 N.C.O.s and men who took part in the attack.  The attack between the waves was some 80 to 100 yards.

Mametz Wood
Casualties were slight until the men reached the edge of the wood.  When the soldiers entered the wood, and with bombardment, they found it difficult to penetrate due to the fallen trees and thick undergrowth.  This caused confusion and difficult in establishing a correct direction.

Once reorganisation had taken place, the battalion advanced onto the norther edge of the wood.  A heavy howitzer was seized, however, the machine guns which were concealed still caused casualties.

On reaching the second objective, at northerly cross ride, Colonel Hayes asked that the guns to life the barrage from the area, they reached the objective before the schedule time of the barrage. 

The battalions, the 13th and 14th, were ordered to fall back, and consolidate with the assistance of the Royal Engineers and Pioneers. 

By the end of the day, the battalion suffered 388 casualties.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Battle of Gower

Image
  Driving from Fforestfach to Gorseinon you pass by the site of a battle that took place in the 12th century and left more than 500 men dead.  Charles Wilson Watkins  has been looking into the history of this battle of Gower. In 1936, the proprietor of a local woollen mill,  William Rufus Lewis (pictured left) , established the Garngoch Hospital in Gorseinon. Nearby is Garngoch Common where we can find a memorial with the date 1136 carved into its surface commemorating the  Battle of Llwchwr . The  Battle of Llwchwr , was fought on New Year’s Day 1136. 1136, mark-ed the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings in 1066, from which the foundations of the Norman Dynasty were formed. 1066 was the year of three kings,  Edward, Harold  and  William . History repeated itself during 1936, during this year there was also three kings,  George V, Edward VIII  and  George VI . 14th October 1066 was the date that the Battle of Hastings wa...
Read more

Murder Stones

Image
Murder Stones   Wilful Murder against a Person or Persons Unknown , these were the returned verdicts of two inquests regarding two murders. Inquests unlike today, where they are heard at a Coronor’s Office, were heard at the local Public House, close to the murder. What is a Murder Stone?  They are an historic marker usually a stone, which has an engraved inscription. They are to be found in England, Scotland and a handful in Wales. Since the publication of last April’s bay Family History article,  Sweet F.A. , which featured a murder stone located at St Catwg’s church, in Cadoxton, Neath, I have visited St Michaels and All Angels church, in Thursley, Surrey where there is a Grade I listed murder stone, which commemorates the murder of an unknown sailor. In September 1786, an anonymous sailor who was returning from London to join his ship docked in Portsmouth, had stopped off at the Red Lion pub in Thursley.  It was here that he bought a round of drinks for three oth...
Read more

Swansea Grand Theatre and Adeline Patti

Image
  Using Jeffrey Phillips’ painting of Adeline Patti opening the Swansea Grand Theatre, 26 th July 1897. Let us look at the early history of theatres located in Swansea, and then finally looking at Adeline Patti, and who she was. Using part of an article, “ All the World’s a Stage – Act II ”, published Winter 2016, The Bay Magazine. “ All the World’s a Stage ” a monologue by Jaques , in Act II Scene VII from William Shakespeare’s “ As You Like It , 1599. The re was a  the atre in Swansea, dating back to 1807, this was  The The atre Royal. Located at  the  corner of  Bank Street,  later renamed  Temple Street  it was opposite  the  first Police Station in Swansea and opened on July 6 th .  The  very first pantomime to be performed in Swansea, dates back to1809, and was  Mother Goose .  The  Cambrian  newspaper’s art critic wrote a glowing review:   “The  celebrated Pantomime of Moth...
Read more