Diary of service on the Western Front, 1916-1917, World War One

Smith, William Douglas

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Title:: Diary of service on the Western Front, 1916-1917, World War One

Collection:: SMITH, Maj Gen Sir William Douglas (1865-1939)

Archive reference:: SMITH, WD 2/4

Catalogue record URL (AtoM):: https://archives.kingscollections.org/index.php/smith-wd-2-4

Level of description:: Item

Date of material:: 16 Jun 1916 - 11 Dec 1917

Creator:: Smith, William Douglas

Source collection title:: SMITH, Maj Gen Sir William Douglas (1865-1939)

Extent:: 1 volume

Description (scope):: Manuscript copy diary, 16 Jun 1916 – 11 Dec 1917, relating to Smith’s command of 20 Division, Jun 1916 – Mar 1917, 56 Division, Jul-Aug 1917, and 20 Division, Aug-Dec 1917, including: diversionary raids, Jun 1916; the use of vests impregnated with antiseptic to reduce the risk of wound infection, 16-18 Jun 1916; the start of the Battle of the Somme, 1 Jul 1916; inaccurate British press coverage of Western Front operations, 24 Jul 1916; a demonstration of flamethrowers, 18-19 Aug 1916; the aftermath of a successful attack on Guillemont village, 19 Sep 1916, including the shortage of troops available to bury the dead and to salvage equipment; German aerial night time bombing behind Allied lines, 28 Sep 1916; the Battle of Le Transloy, Oct 1916; the lack of aerial intelligence on German positions due to bad weather, 6 Oct 1916; inter-brigade sports competitions, 9-14 Nov 1916; cases of trench foot, 15-24 Dec 1916; four months’ leave, chiefly on medical grounds, Mar-Jun 1917; Smith’s taking command of 56 Division, 23 Jul 1917; Smith’s return to the command of 20 Division, 8 Aug 1917; the Battle of Langemarck, 16-18 Aug 1917; the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, 22 Sep 1917; start of planning, Oct 1917, for the Battle of Cambrai, Nov-Dec 1917, including training and extreme secrecy about the planned use of tanks; the start of the Battle of Cambrai, 20 Nov 1917, and the successful use of tanks to clear a way through for infantry; a German counter-attack, 30 Nov 1917. Also inserted items, including: press cuttings about Western Front operations; letters of congratulation on 20 Division operations; typescript statistics on the issue of rations, 4 Aug1916, and on medals recommended and awarded, 1916; notes on the effectiveness of experimental mortars and flamethrowers, Aug 1916; a detailed account, 7 Sep 1916, of the capture of Guillemont village; snapshot photographs of ruins, abandoned army buildings and battle sites, taken in Feb 1919; report on the capture of the German ‘Au Bon Gite’ blockhouse, Langemarck, by Captain H A Slade, commander of ‘B’ Company, 11 Rifle Brigade, 14 Oct 1917; casualty statistics, Aug and Nov 1917; personal letter to Smith from General Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough, 21 Jun 1918, including Gough’s anger at the British government; printed War Office notes on the British Armies of Occupation, 1919; press cutting from the Morning Post , 12 Jan 1937, on Gough and 5 Army, ‘Vindicated by History’.

Copyright:: Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied from open material for research purposes only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, via the Archives.; King's College London Archives

Full text

I have asked him to send them to you to-night, and trust they will give you the information you need. We cannot trace Morris' account which he sent at [illegible]: I fancy it must have gone back to him. It is difficult when one is in the line to lay one's hands on these things. Yours sincerely F J Duncan] [Unofficial From memory only Short Precis of Events on 30th November as regards 59th Brigade purely from memory My Brigade (60th) had been relieved by 59th Brigade on night of 29/30 November fairly early in the evening, as far as I can remember. The officer commanding 59th, Lieutenant Colonel Troyle-Bullock, was due to arrive at 10am the following morning but I had asked him to arrive at Brigade headquarters at 8.30am on that morning. The 59th Brigade took over the exact position occupied by my Brigade before relief on the 29th November. The various commanding officers had taken over each a copy of the Scheme of Defence of the Sector which I had made and which had been approved. A copy of this scheme should be with Division. (It gave the dispositions) The defences of the "Cemetery" opposite CREVECOEUR were completed by 4am morning 30th. I think it was the night before the 12th Division had "side-slipped" a good distance and I had to take over that extra piece of front. It was not wired. As explained in my letter last night, I made a very special effort and had this wire put in. We had dug a deep traversed trench practically on the whole of our front and wired it with double apron fence. The position we took over from 12th Division was in lengths in which there was good cover for [illegible]. I had had a conference of machine gun company commanders, I think 2 days before,

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