The Diary of Peter Fraser

Transcription

1 The Diary of Peter Fraser The 77th (Mixed) Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery, consisted of the 9th and 26th Heavy Batteries, each equipped with six 60-pounder (5-inch) breach loading guns and the 116th, 119th, and 286th Siege Batteries with their huge 8-inch howitzers. The 286th Siege Battery, RGA was formed at Kilcreggan, in Argyllshire, on 9 November 1916, the first draft being posted from the Clyde RGA (TF). On 23 November, the battery moved to Ewshott in Hampshire for preliminary training. These guns had a range in excess of 10,000 yards more than five and a half miles. Their large high explosive shells made them ideal for smashing the powerfully-built German dug-outs, but a key role they were employed in was counter-battery fire, their range enabling them to reach behind the German lines. A pair of 8-inch howitzers of the Royal Garrison Artillery (Courtesy of the Royal Artillery Historical Trust (RAHT) On 24 June 1917, the 286th Battery came into action west of Ypres between the building referred to as the Asylum and the village of Kruisstraat. It was, of course, only a matter of time before the Germans located the battery s position and it would be their turn to come under the fire of heavy guns. Monday 6th August Bomb dropped on the road near our guns killed two horses and two men. Sergeant Major was called out to finish off one of the horses. We took cover. This is the first entry in Gunner Peter Fraser s diary, a record he pencilled in shorthand on loose sheets of paper between 6 August 1917 and 11 November the same year. The next most notable event in Fraser s diary was exactly a week after that first entry. After a quiet day the men were told to go to sleep at hours.

2 After one and a half hours we were called up and from eleven thirty to eight this morning we were hard at it. It was the worst night I have spent so far. Our gun would not fire properly and it took about ten minutes to fire one round. To make matters worse Fritz sent over gas and we put on our helmets. I nearly choked with mine on so I took it off and sat and smoked. My eyes were aching and watering badly. The following Wednesday, 15 August, was described by Fraser as his most exciting so far. It began when we were going to the guns. Fritz dropped three heavy ones right over our heads. One fell 80 yards from No 6 gun and we thought he had found us at last. More shells came over and we took cover. An 8-inch howitzer firing during training on Salisbury Plain in December 1916 (Courtesy of the RAHT) This was followed by a period of relative calm until something whistled passed him. It was an aeroplane bombing the road near us... There was a terrific explosion of machine-guns and ack-ack and a terrific explosion somewhere near us and all the men were running towards a certain spot. I came on a crowd of men and heard that a plane had bombed the road and got two men and three horses. It was a nasty sight. The Royal Garrison Artillery manned the heavy guns two miles or more from the front line trenches of the Ypres Salient. Equipped with 6-inch and 8-inchhowitzers, one of its main roles was counter-battery fire but at the Third Battle of Ypres the men of the 286th Battery had a taste of their own medicine when they were shelled by German guns. Gunner Peter Fraser was there in that savage summer of 1917 when, in his own words, he learnt what war really was. One man was alive but bleeding badly. They lifted him on a hand truck and wheeled him off towards the nearest ambulance. His clothes were torn off him and I heard he was alive when they got him there. This is the first wounded man I have seen". This was a busy time for the gunners as the following day,16 August, was the start of the Battle of Langemarck, the second main attack of Third Ypres.

3 After the earlier disappointments it was considered essential that the attack was preceded by an exceptionally heavy artillery bombardment particularly as captured German maps had revealed the position of German machine-gun emplacements, which being small and concealed would need very precise shooting by the RGA to destroy. On the morning of the 15th, the 286th Battery opened fire at hours with150 rounds, assisted by aircraft observers spotting the fall of shot. Another 150rounds were fired in the evening and a further fifty during the night. The attack was a very limited success and as a consequence on the night of the 17th, the 286th Battery moved to a new position closer to the front line. We started off in the dark, guns and all, wrote Fraser. Went along a road all of us riding on the guns. All at once we had to get off and limber up... Suddenly a whiz-bang came crashing through the hedge near the gun and I got off quickly. Then another came, and another that sounded like a dud. Someone shouted Gas. We All put our helmets on and after a few minutes someone said It s all over. So we took them off and carried on. An 8-inch howitzer pictured near Albert. (Courtesy of the RAHT) An 8-inch howitzer being man-handled into position. (Courtesy of the RAHT) Managed to get on a lorry and just then another gas shell fell in the hedge. On went our helmets again. At last we reached our new position. Being closer to the front, the new position came under more frequent shelling.

4 The position was also unprepared, with no cover from the German shells. The next day, however, Fraser s team were relieved and they went to billets in Ypres. This is my first sight of this famous place, and it is absolutely smashed to bits. I never saw anything like it... As we were going through the town Fritz sent over some shrapnel and heavy stuff, and the glare of the sun, and the dust along the road made us very thirsty and utterly fagged out. I don t know what will happen in this new position. I am afraid we shall have many casualties. Now I really know what war is. After twenty-four hours rest, Fraser and his colleagues were back up at the battery. As soon as they had eaten dinner the shells began to fall on their position. An officer gave us orders to clear out. Then the full fury began. A shell dropped between No.1 gun and No.2 gun and others all around. They found cover in a dugout with a number of officers. Heavy shells dropping all round us and the dugout was shaking. Some cartridges near the guns went up with a flash. Still we sat in the dugout. Every now and then a dud would fall near when the dugout shook worse. Expected every minute to have a direct hit. After a few hours, the shelling subsided and the men began to clear up the mess. Burning shells and ropes and beams were all around us. What a sight. We were working on shells lying among the flames, with their rope grummets smouldering. Now the gunners were working twenty-four hours on, twenty-four hours off, and then next spell at the battery was in preparation for a big push planned for 22 August. During the night of 21st/22nd, the 286th Battery fired 300 high explosive rounds on a German battery position as well as eighty gas shells. Then at 04.45hours the main bombardment began. I never heard such a terrible bombardment, wrote Fraser. Every gun for miles was blazing away. We could hardly hear each other speak even when we shouted. The Germans responded and, as Fraser recorded, the enemy pinpointed the battery on the right of the 286th's position. I never saw such shooting. Shell after shell fell in the same area. A lot of their ammunition took fire and we saw men running in all directions. A big piece of hot iron fell through our camouflage net where we were standing and bits of shell fell all round us. The German fire was so accurate that the guns had to be abandoned. The same happened to another nearby battery, this time a Royal Field Artillery 18-pounder, and again it was abandoned. The objective of the attack of 22 August was the capture of Nonne Bosschen, Glencorse Wood and Inverness Copse around the Menin Road. It failed with heavy losses, and further operations were rendered impossible due to heavy rain making the Flanders mud all but impassable. More attacks were planned for Monday, 27 August, preceded once again by a heavy bombardment. Fraser s diary for this period gives some indication of the drudgery, the danger and the sheer hard work of the gunners.

5 Sunday 26th Aug. Been on duty all night. Began firing at 11 and had two hours sleep. The bombardment was terrible and lasted all through the night. In the morning our gun was out of action, so we began to fetch up shells. As we were loading them on the truck Fritz began sending over heavy stuff. Splinters were falling all round us, and nearly everyone had a chance of a Blighty... We took refuge near the guns, and still the pieces kept falling amongst us, although the shells were bursting 200/300 yards away. What an existence here. Already the 286th Battery had lost sixteen men wounded, with a further three or four killed. The attacks of the 22nd amounted to comparatively little and another big effort scheduled for the 25th was postponed because of the weather. Now war-weary, Fraser recorded. It was awful work loading and fetching up shells in the mud and slush. Then Fritz began to send over a few. As we were having tea one fell just behind our gun. Every man cleared out except two or three, myself included, who were absolutely so fed up to care if it had been a direct hit. We stuck it for some time drinking our tea. Then a Captain shouted to us to take cover. I never felt so completely reckless, and I was cold and wet and hungry. We packed up our tea, and very slowly took refuge in a trench which was worse than anything. All the time it was raining and we were drenched. As the bombardment eased the men were able to man their guns again. They only managed to get off four rounds before they had to stop. Later, slipping and sliding in the mud, they fired a further fifty rounds. Fraser and his colleagues settled down for a rest but, almost immediately, they were ordered back out of the dug-outs again. The whole crew pretended to be asleep and not hear the order they were all put under arrest! Such a charge was meaningless, of course, as it meant there was no-one to man the gun, and nothing more of it was mentioned. At this time, Fraser made comments in his diary regarding rumours of rebellion in a number of regiments. I hear an Irish regiment refused to go over and a man was shot by his officer. Another rumour says that the Scots regiments say that this is the last time that they go over. It is evident that the dreadful conditions and the disappointments of the failed offensives were having a demoralising effect upon the men. Fraser cites the example of a man called Turner who had had one of his little fingers almost severed. When Fraser saw him, he was smiling and looking forward to a good time in hospital. A later record also describes the conditions the men had to endure in the Ypres Salient. Came on to rain got wet we slept wet and woke up wet. The repeated failures of the British attacks led to a change in command, with General Herbert Plumer taking over.

6 Infantry operations were reduced whilst Plumer prepared for the next offensive but the artillery maintained its bombardment of the German positions. The Germans replied in kind. On Tuesday, 11 September 1917, German gunners again targeted the 286th Battery. Had a rough night. Gas on all night. Shells dropping everywhere. Woke up and kept our helmets on. A short lull after enemy shells started falling around the guns. At this point, the battery was ordered to fire eight rounds as quickly as possible. With large calibre shells falling all around, the men got the guns working. Pieces of earth and dirt falling in showers, continued Fraser. Thought one of us surely would be hit. Got the eight rounds off and took cover. The hottest ten minutes we ve had. The following night saw no let-up in the German onslaught. We have had a terrible night. Fritz began at 12 o clock sending over gas shells. Sat up and put our helmets on. Then shrapnel came over. The first ones went over us. Then they began to fall nearer. One fell near our dugout. The place shook. Dirt and dust fell from the roof and the candle went out. Lit the candle, and the another one fell and the same thing happened. Shell after shell came over and some big, some little, some making whistling noises, and some whizz-bangs. This was a real bombardment of us. Took our helmets off, having heard that smoking is good for some cases of gas. Smoked for some time, and then the gas got worse. We put our helmets on again and sat silent, the rear of the bombardment going on outside and the dugout trembling. We were all very quiet. Nothing was said. We were expecting a direct hit on the frail corrugated roof with some earth on it. After breakfast there was time to survey the damage. A shell had made a direct hit on the wheel of No.3 gun, and gone right through. Another had dropped underneath a pile of big shells on No.2 and made a big hole in the ground without exploding. Every gun was covered with dirt and mud and dust... Part of the truck line on which we bring up the shells was smashed. Now that the Germans had got the range, they were not going to ease up on the 286th Battery. Though there was a prolonged pause, no doubt whilst the German gunners rested, the shells soon came again. The bombardment began as Fraser was helping bring up ammunition. Four or five shells went over our heads, right amongst our guns. They fell near some men and I saw one man fall into a shell hole. Another one ran away holding his right arm. The dugout usually used by Fraser was hit and one man had his leg badly broken, another had his arm broken and a third was hit in the head.

7 The man who slept next to Fraser was in the dugout when it was hit and he survived without a scratch. He could not get the incident out of his mind and kept saying My God, what a night, and what an escape. A German observation balloon was seen directly in front of the battery which is probably why the German gunners had been able to locate the battery so accurately. Fritz, Fraser remarked, seems to have us taped. Fraser maintained his diary for three and a half months until the end of the Third Battle of Ypres. After a further three months the 286th Battery was sent to an allegedly quiet part of the line, a thick wood in the Chemin des Dames. They were in that place less than twenty-four hours when the 286th Battery came under a fierce bombardment. The battery was directly in line of the German Spring Offensive. The Germans all but surrounded the battery and five guns were blown to bits before they could be brought into action, and all the battery s equipment was destroyed, including the tracked vehicles that had transported them to Chemin des Dames. The order was given Everyman for himself and the men took off as quickly as they could with just their gas masks, their helmets and the clothes they were standing in. It was many days before the battery could reform. When the roll call was taken half of the men of the 286th Battery were dead or missing. It took many months to bring the battery up to strength and back into action. Like so many that fought on the Western Front Fraser developed a profound disgust and disillusionment with the war. But he soldiered bravely on until the Armistice. Peter Fraser, though, could not refrain from expressing his views on the war; views echoed by so many others. It is terrible to think of the men out here being killed, and maimed for life. It was only by the most extraordinary freak of chance that the whole battery wasn t buried alive, gassed, crushed, or blown to pieces, or bombed, for Fritz has many ways and means. This war is being kept going by people who know nothing of its horrors, and men who really don t know what they are fighting for are going to their death every day. That is what war really was.