ST JULIEN/SINT JULIAAN

The initial training of the Territorial Force units in the UK continued when the battalions crossed the channel, and training developed to take into account the front line experience of the men the Kaiser’s “contemptible little army” and the men called up as reservists. Their education included short spells of familiarisation on quiet sectors of the front line such as the area around Ypres.

The German offensive was announced by the use on 22nd April of the first use of, without warning, chlorine gas as a weapon. came and fell initially on units of French reserve and colonial divisions who had been holding the front line next to battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (C.E.F.)

The chaos that ensued saw bitter fighting, with the allied (Belgian, French and Empire forces scrambling to contain the force of the attacking Germans, one of the very few offensive actions by the Germans on the Western Front

St Julien was the baptism of fire for the 7th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. The 7th A.& S.H. (Territorial Force) battalion was quickly involved in the second phase of Battle of Ypres (22 April-25 May 1915), with the Argylls.

At 5 p.m. on April 22, 1915 the German 4th Army attacked two French Divisions between Steenstraat and Langemarck, a few miles north of Ypres. They successfully used chlorine gas for the first time, releasing into a north-east breeze more than 160 tons of gas in less than ten minutes. 6, 000 French soldiers were killed in ten minutes and a huge 4-5-mile gap opened up in the front line as the survivors withdrew towards Boesinghe.

A Canadian Division fought to stem the German advance but over the next two days the Allied forces had to retreat. The village of St Julien, on 22 April safely behind the front line, was now on the front line.

The 7th Battalion of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders were sent to Ypres the day after the start of the German attack. The Battle of St Julien began early in the morning of April 24th when the Germans launched a second chlorine gas attack, followed by repeated infantry assaults on British and Canadian forces holding the line at St Julien. With limited protection against the poison gas and outnumbered by about 10 to 1, they were forced to give ground to the Germans, who took St Julien by 3 p.m. on the 24th.

On 25 April, in the view of the Official Historian, the five battalions of the 10th Brigade, including the 7th Argylls, were called upon to attempt the impossible. Without adequate artillery preparation and support, on ground unknown and unreconnoitred, they were sent to turn an enemy well-provided with machine guns out of a position which had ready-made cover in houses and a wood, and splendid artillery observation from higher ground behind it.

The 7th Battalion arrived at the village of St Jean, just south-west of St Julien, to take their part in desperate British counter-attacks. The battalion was in place at 1.30 a.m. For the next hour-and-a-half there was torrential rain. At 4.30 a.m. the battalion, along with the 2nd Battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders, began an attack across open fields to the German frontline trenches 1800 yards away. “From the very beginning, men fell fast, the German machine guns causing awful havoc,” wrote T Hogg in 1916. He explained that there was no artillery to help the battalion because “shells were scarce and so the lives of these brave Stirlingshire men had to be sacrificed”. The battalion war diary explained that they first came under fire when they were near a point that was called Shell Trap Farm. they advanced, followed by intense rifle-fire which bowled over the men like rabbits.” The British force lost 4,000 casualties in three days and made no significant gain. In this battle, and in two others in the same month, the troops “went through hell”.

The first man to be killed in the St Julien battle is believed to be James Huskie.

“I don’t know how I escaped, but thank God I am alive today. I was looking for ‘it’ every minute, but the Lord knows best when to call us home. “

James Huskie was buried on the battlefield, but his body was subsequently lost. He is commemorated on the Menin Gate, Ypres Panel 42 and 44

When the 7th Battalion of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders was relieved from the front line trenches on the night of 24th May, its casualties for that day were 6 men killed, 20 wounded and 19 gassed.

The 7th battalion war diary records that during the battle 6 officers and 100 other ranks were killed and 150 men were posted missing which would double the number of other ranks who were killed on the day. The total number of casualties in the battalion would be over 500.

“Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier…..”

THE FALKIRK HERALD

Saturday 8TH MAY 1915

“GENERAL’S PRAISE FOR THE BATTALION”

There can now be no doubt that in the fighting in which they took part on 25th April and succeeding days, the 7th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders bore themselves with gallantry and were led with a skill which must command admiration and arouse the greatest pride throughout the area from which the battalion draws its strength. The task they were set to perform on Sunday, 25th April was trying in the extreme, and they did all that they could do, despite the murderous fire of the enemy. Notwithstanding the heavy losses and the consequent gloom which must have been cast over the battalion, they were not discouraged, and several days later they achieved a fame which will long live, and a glory which greatly embraces the name of the regiment by racing 600 yards though poisonous gas to save a trench which regular troops had been compelled by the fumes to evacuate.

That valiant effort “saved the line”, and it won the praise from the Brigadier-General, whose simple but expressive message, “well done the Argylls! You have won your spurs to-day,” will not readily fade from the memories of the men who took part in that gallant deed.

Princess Louise, whose regiment the 7th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders is, has already expressed her regret at the losses the battalion sustained, and has now written a letter to the Lord-Lieutenant of Stirlingshire (the Duke of Montrose), in which, besides requesting that her sympathy and condolence be conveyed to relatives and connections of men in the battalion, makes reference to its valour.

7th ARGYLLS THRILLING EXPERIENCE

STIRLINGSHIRE TERRITORIALS GALLANT FIGHT

A GERMAN TRENCH CAPTURED

DEADLY EXECUTION OF ENEMY’S MACHINE GUNS

TWO LARBERT OFFICERS KILLED

FURTHER CASUALTIES AMONG RANK AND FILE

Reported in the Falkirk Herald, Saturday 8TH MAY 1915

The initial engagement by 7th Argylls took place on 24th April 1915, and news from the front was at times speculative. The news from the front filtered through slowly: reports of the fighting came through by letters and through the Herald. The Herald’s initial reporting itself was piecemeal, and relied on the snippets that filtered through in letters and the terse lines written on postcards by wounded soldiers in casualty centres.

Falkirk Herald

“It is apparent from the news which has trickled through that the battalion was called upon to perform work which might have caused the toughest veteran and the most experienced soldier to hesitate. In daylight on Sunday, 25th April they had come out in the open in front of the Germans and were subjected to what has been described by a wounded officer as “terrific fire”. The men probably advanced by short stages, dropping flat on the ground when danger was particularly great or it was necessary to rest for a moment, and over and around them the bullets whistled, sometimes unhappily sending some of the brave Territorials to the ground injured, and perhaps, too, shells added to the peril of the Stirlingshire men. At any rate, so far as the shells are concerned, there can be no doubt that they were landing on a dressing station where men went or were taken – another instance, perhaps, of the enemy’s utter lack of humanity, and failure to practise the true spirit of civilisation and manhood towards the maimed and suffering.

But the vigour of the enemy’s opposition, fraught as it was with peril for the British troops did not, according to the statement of one soldier, stay the progress of the attack.

“We kept on,” he said, “and captured their trench.”

If this statement is confirmed, and it is found that the 7th A. and S.H. took the trench, Stirlingshire will have reason to be proud of its Territorials. By the same soldier it is stated that the enemy ran into a wood, and orders to clear which were given. But this seems to have been an impossible task possibly on account of the number of German machine guns which were in active use, and a retiral took place.”

This battle was the first major piece of fighting the battalion was involved in, and was the second phase of the Second Battle of Ypres (22 April-25 May 1915).

At 5 p.m. on April 22, the German 4th Army attacked two French Divisions between Steenstraat and Langemarck, a few miles north of Ypres. They used chlorine gas successfully for the first time, releasing into a north-east breeze more than 160 tons of gas in less than ten minutes. 6, 000 French soldiers were killed in ten minutes and a huge 4-5-mile gap opened up in the front line as the survivors withdrew towards Boesinghe. A Canadian Division fought to stem the German advance but over the next two days the Allied forces had to retreat. The village of St Julien, on 22 April safely behind the front line, was now on the front line. The 7th Battalion of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders were sent to Ypres the day after the start of the German attack.

The Battle of St Julien began again early in the morning of April 24 when the Germans launched another chlorine gas attack, followed by repeated infantry assaults on British and Canadian forces holding the line at St Julien. With limited protection against the poison gas and outnumbered by about 10 to 1, they were forced to give ground to the Germans, who took St Julien by 3 p.m. on the 24th. On 25 April, in the view of the Official Historian, the five battalions of the 10th Brigade, including the 7th Argylls, were called upon to attempt the impossible. Without adequate artillery preparation and support, on ground unknown and unreconnoitred, they were sent to turn an enemy well-provided with machine guns out of a position which had ready-made cover in houses and a wood, and splendid artillery observation from higher ground behind it.

The 7th Argylls arrived at the village of St Jean, just south-west of St Julien, to take their part in desperate British counter-attacks. The battalion was in place at 1.30 a.m. For the next hour-and-a-half there was torrential rain. At 4.30 a.m. the battalion, along with the 2nd Battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders, began an attack across open fields to the German frontline trenches 1800 yards away.

“From the very beginning, men fell fast, the German machine guns causing awful havoc,” wrote T Hogg in 1916.

He explained that there was no artillery to help the battalion because “shells were scarce and so the lives of these brave Stirlingshire men had to be sacrificed”. The battalion war diary explained that they first came under fire when they were near a point that was called Shell Trap Farm. They advanced, under intense rifle-fire which bowled over the men like rabbits.” The British force lost 4,000 casualties in three days and made no significant gain.

According to Hogg, in the battle’s two succeeding phases in the same month, the troops “went through hell”.

UNEDITED

This battle, which was the first major piece of fighting the battalion was involved in, was the second phase of the Second Battle of Ypres (22 April-25 May 1915). On April 22, the German 4th Army had attacked two French Divisions at 5 p.m. between Steenstraat and Langemarck, a few miles north of Ypres. They used chlorine gas successfully for the first time, releasing into a north-east breeze more than 160 tons of gas in less than ten minutes. 6, 000 French soldiers were killed in ten minutes and a huge 4-5-mile gap opened up in the front line as the survivors withdrew towards Boesinghe. A Canadian Division fought to stem the German advance but over the next two days the Allied forces had to retreat.

The village of St Julien, on 22 April safely behind the front line, was now on the front line. The 7th Battalion of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders were sent to St Julien, the day after the start of the German attack.

The Battle of St Julien began early in the morning of April 24 when the Germans launched another chlorine gas attack, followed by repeated infantry assaults on British and Canadian forces holding the line at St Julien. With limited protection against the poison gas and outnumbered by about 10 to 1, they were forced to give ground to the Germans, who took St Julien by 3 p.m. on the 24th. On 25 April, in the view of the Official Historian, the five battalions of the 10th Brigade, including the 7th Argylls, were called upon to attempt the impossible. Without adequate artillery preparation and support, on ground unknown and unreconnoitred, they were sent to turn an enemy well-provided with machine guns out of a position which had ready-made cover in houses and a wood, and splendid artillery observation from higher ground behind it. The 7th Battalion arrived at the village of St Jean, just south-west of St Julien, to take their part in desperate British counter-attacks. The battalion was in place at 1.30 a.m. For the next hour-and-a-half there was torrential rain. At 4.30 a.m. the battalion, along with the 2nd Battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders, began an attack across open fields to the German frontline trenches 1800 yards away.



“After Sunday, 25th April, when we were in action, we occupied the firing trenches for the next five days and were very heavily shelled, losing a few killed and wounded every day. On Sunday last we were relieved by another battalion and went to occupy the support trenches, some 600 yards to the rear of the firing trench. We only had one hour in which to dig ourselves in as we were late in being relieved and dawn was about due. We did the digging in all right (sic) and naturally were spotted by a German aeroplane the first thing in the morning. Saturday was a regular hell, as, without exaggeration, I am sure we had pretty nearly 1000 shells fired at us, and, strange to say, we had comparatively few casualties.”

During the bombardment yesterday (Saturday 1st May) I was asleep in my dugout enjoying a well-earned  rest. I had a rude awakening. I was awakened by the side of my dug-out (sandbags and earth) being blown in on me, and on rushing out discovered that a “coal-box” (5.9” diameter shell) had secured a direct hit on the dugout next mine, blowing one fellow to bits and seriously wounding two. I was a bit shaken up, you bet, but I hope I am all right again, still much alive and kicking. What a sight it was – I hope I never see a similar one again. My dug-out was a wreck, and a big, gaping hole, some 6 feet from my head, marked the spot of the other. We had a terrific shelling, and I spent the remainder of the day hugging the sides of the trench and dodging ‘coal boxes’ and ‘little Willies’

Things were quiet all Sunday, and, and I was congratulating myself that they had given us up as a bad job. I was asleep in the trench, and the weather was ideal with a mild wind blowing from the Germans’ trenches to ours. I was awakened by a shout, and on looking up saw hundreds of British soldiers fleeing the front of a wall of greenish-yellow gas, some 10 feet high came sweeping along like the tide. I thought the Germans were on us and the men hurriedly put on their equipment and hauled out their gags. I couldn’t find mine and fumbled with a water jar and a handkerchief or rather, serviette which I was using as a handkerchief. The wall of gas was on us by this time (the gas is chlorine, I may mention) and I found I could not breathe through the thickly woven serviette. I tried a piece of sacking, but it was exactly the reverse – too open, and therefore useless. I was choking by this time, but we rallied the “old” 7th and advanced. We got to our old trench under shrapnel fire, and I was there with the first twenty men or so. The trench was empty but for a few choking men and had the Germans been quicker they could have walked into us, everything having been left in the stampede, machine guns and all. Two of our officers were first up and took a machine gun each ready for the Huns’ advance. I don’t yet know how I did the 600-yard sprint to that trench as I was about unconscious with the choking fumes, but our men (some were unable to come owing to the fumes) trickled up at the double and filled the gap in the British line. The Germans attempted an advance to our left and right but were stopped by the machine guns.”

They gave it up at last and we found them preparing to attack. They apparently imagined they had had thoroughly smashed us, but when some twenty of them came over their parapet (500 yards away) with a rush, we spoiled their little game, and those who were left scampered the back over the parapet again. We saw crowds forming up all along the front, but the artillery spoiled their little game, and their attack developed into a ‘frost,’ much to our disgust, as we could have wiped them out. Our fellows are dying to be at them, and we always score when they attack. Our artillery must have caused heavy losses to the Huns these last few days.

We were relieved last night, and are now occupying a reserve trench again further away. I think we are on our way to a long-earned rest at last, but, of course, no one knows. We shall require a lot of men and officers to bring us up to strength again, an operation which will require a month at least. I am thankful I have come through it all. Tell everybody the Argylls made a name for themselves here, and are living up to it. We are still being shelled here, but it is a mere fleabite compared to our last place.”

Unknown correspondent to Falkirk Herald from Flanders (probably an officer)

Private John Steel of Old Inns, Carron wrote to the Herald:

“One of my captains and the adjutant of the 7th are in this hospital (Duke of Westminster’s, France) and the captain, whose name is McCracken, says that if any one deserves to be honoured it is Harry McLaren. The captain says that when the Germans used their gas, Harry stuck to his machine gun and kept firing even when every other body had to retire owing to the fumes. He was working the gun himself, and the captain is going to recommend his bravery to the proper quarter. I hear that there cannot be any more than 90 of the 7th left…

There are two fellows who have got their D.C.M. not including G. Ferguson. “

The Harry McLaren mentioned in the letter is Private Harry McLaren, son of Recruiting Sergeant McLaren, Larbert. He is in ‘B’ Company, 7th A. and S.H. and has another brother, Private J. McLaren, presently lying in hospital at Torquay, suffering from the effects of gas poisoning.