4th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders in the Great War

4th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders

   The 4th (Ross Highland) Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders was a unit of the Territorial Force, at the outbreak of war they were part of the Seaforth and Cameron Brigade, Highland Division and had their HQ at Dingwall. When war broke out in August 1914, they had just departed for annual camp and were at once recalled to home base, they mobilised for full time war service on the 5th of August 1914 and the Division concentrated at Bedford. They proceeded to France on the 7th of November, landing at Le Havre, and joined the Dehra Dun Brigade, 7th (Meerut) Division. On the 6th of November 1915 they transferred to 137th Brigade, 46th (North Midland) Division but on the 13th transferred again to 46th Brigade, 15th (Scottish) Division. On the 7th of January 1916 they transferred to 154th Brigade, 51st (Highland) Division, they were in action in the Battles of the Somme, including the attacks on High Wood and The Battle of the Ancre, capturing Beaumont Hamel, taking more than 2000 prisoners. In 1917 They took part in the Arras Offensive, The Battle of Pilkem Ridge, The Battle of Menin Road Ridge and the Cambrai Operations. They remained in the Cambrai area until the 21st of March 1918, when the enemy launched an overwhelming attack and the Division were engaged in a fighting withdrawal back to Bapaume. In April they moved north and fought in The Battles of the Lys before a quiet spell at Oppy near Arras, from May to July. They were then in action at The Battle of the Tardenois, The Battle of the Scarpe, The pursuit to the Selle and the Final Advance in Picardy. They were resting the Cambrai-Iwuy area at the Armistice. The 4th Seaforth Highlanders, along with the 6th Black Watch and 4th Gordon Highlanders were selected to join the Army of Occupation on the Rhine and left for Germany in February 1919.

1st Dec 1914 The King in France

2nd Apr 1915 Easter Holiday

11th Apr 1915 Aircraft Active

9th May 1915 The Battle of Aubers Ridge: The Souther pincer  Richebourg L’Avoue. At 4.06am: sunrise and all very quiet on this front.
5.00am: British bombardment opens with field guns firing shrapnel at the German wire and howitzers firing High Explosive shells onto front line. German troops are seen peering above their parapet even while this shelling was going on.
5.30am: British bombardment intensifies, field guns switch to HE and also fire at breastworks. The lead battalions of the two assaulting Brigades of 1st Division go over the top to take up a position only 80 yards from German front. (2nd Brigade has 1/Northants and 2/Royal Sussex in front and 2/KRRC and 1/5th Royal Sussex in immediate support; 3rd Brigade has 2/Royal Munster Fusiliers and 2/Welsh in front, with 1/4th Royal Welsh Fusiliers in support). Heavy machine-gun fire cuts the attackers down even on their own ladders and parapet steps, but men continue to press forward as ordered. In the area of the Indian Corps, the lead battalions of the Dehra Dun Brigade of the Meerut Division (2/2nd Ghurkas, 1/4th and 1st Seaforth Highlanders) were so badly hit by enemy fire that no men got beyond their own parapet and the front-line and communications trenches were soon filled with dead and wounded men.
5.40am: British bombardment lifts off front lines and advances 600 yards; infantry assault begins. Despite the early losses and enemy fire the three Brigades attempted to advance across No Man's Land. They were met by intense crossfire from the German machine-guns, which could not be seen in their ground-level and strongly protected emplacements. Whole lines of men were seen to be hit. Few lanes had been cut in the wire and even where men reached it they were forced to bunch, forming good targets for the enemy gunners. The leading battalions suffered very significant losses, particularly among officers and junior leaders. Around 100 men on the Northants and Munsters got into the German front, but all were killed or captured. The advance of the supporting battalions suffered similarly, and by 6.00am the advance had halted, with hundreds of men pinned down in No Man's Land, unable to advance or fall back.
6.15am: A repeat of the initial bombardment is ordered, with the added difficulty of uncertain locations of the most advanced troops. 7.20am: Major-General Haking (CO, 1st Division) reports failure and asks if he should bring in his last Brigade (1st (Guards)). He offered his opinion that it would not be successful. 7.45am: A further one hour bombardment starts, ordered by Lieut-General Anderson (CO, Meerut Division). Its only impact is to encourage German artillery to reply, bringing heavy shelling down onto British front and support trenches. German fire continued until about 10.30am.
8.00am: First reports reach Haig, but they underestimate losses and problems. Haig also hears of early French successes in Vimy attack; he resolves to renew the effort in the Southern attack, with noon being the new zero hour. This was subsequently moved when it was learned from I Corps how long it would take to bring supporting units up to replace those that had suffered in the initial attacks. The new attack at 2.40pm would again be preceded by a 40 minute bombardment. The various movements of relief forces were achieved only with much confusion and further losses under renewed enemy shellfire. The time was again moved, to 4.00pm. In the meantime, the German infantry in the Bois de Biez area was reinforced.
3.20pm: Bombardment repeated and seen to be a little more successful, blowing gaps in the wire and in the enemy front-line. 3.45pm: Bareilly Brigade, moving up to relieve the Dehra Dun, loses more than 200 men due to enemy shelling. 3.57pm: The leading companies of the 1/Black Watch of 1st (Guards) Brigade, brought in to replace the shattered 2nd Brigade, went over the top despite the 1/Cameron Highlanders being late to arrive and moved at the double across No Man's Land. Some reached the German breastwork just as the bombardment lifted; most were however killed or captured in the German firing trench although a small party reached the second position. The two lead companies of the Camerons, coming up on the left of the Black Watch a few minutes later, suffered heavy machine-gun casualties in crossing between the front lines. At approximately the same time, the two fresh battalions of the 3rd Brigade, the 1/Gloucestershire and 1/South Wales Borderers began to advance but were cut down without reaching the enemy. Meerut Division orders Bareilly Brigade to advance, even though it is clear that conditions are unchanged: few men even reached a small ditch 20 yards in front of their own front line, and the Brigade suffered more than 1000 casualties within minutes.
4.35pm: 1st Division orders another 10 minutes shelling but it is seen to have no effect. 4.40pm: Large explosion at German ammunition dump in Herlies, hit by a long-range British heavy shell. Smoke clouds drifting towards British lines caused a gas alarm. Br-Gen. Southey (CO, Bareilly Brigade) reports that further attempts to advance would be useless. 5.00pm: General Haig, hearing of the continued failure of the Southern attack, orders 2nd Division to relieve 1st Division with a view to a bayonet attack at dusk, 8.00pm.

8th of August 1915 In the Trenches

30th Nov 1915 Reliefs

6th Dec 1915 Quiet

1st Jul 1916 Shelling

2nd Jul 1916 Mine

3rd Jul 1916 Shelling

10th Jul 1916 Camouflet

11th Jul 1916 Shelling

12th Jul 1916 Reliefs

13th Jul 1916 Trench Raid

14th Jul 1916 Relief Completed

15th Jul 1916 On the Move

16th Jul 1916 On the Move

19th Jul 1916 Orders

20th Jul 1916 On the Move

21st Jul 1916 Orders Received

22nd Jul 1916 Reliefs Completed

22nd Jul 1916 Preparations

23rd Jul 1916 In Action

23rd Jul 1916 Attack Made

23rd July 1916 In Firing Line

24th Jul 1916 Heavy Shelling

24th July 1916 Very heavy shelling started at 0600 hours in valley by Caterpillar Wood, and again at 0900 hours

25th Jul 1916 Reliefs

25th Jul 1916 Heavy Shelling

25th July 1916 Received orders from Brigade about our relief at 0430 hours.

26th Jul 1916 Relief

27th Jul 1916 Attacks Made

28th Jul 1916 Shelling

29th Jul 1916 Heavy Shelling

30th Jul 1916 Attack Made

31st Jul 1916 Consolidation

31st Jul 1916 Report

1st Aug 1916 Instructions

9th Apr 1917 The Wounded

5th Oct 1917 Reliefs Complete

15th Oct 1917 Preparations

19th Oct 1917 Line Taken Over

13th Nov 1917 In Action

14th Nov 1917 In Action   503 Service Unavailable
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The Wartime Memories Project - 4th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders during the Great War -

4th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders

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- 4th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders during the Great War -