Diary of a Lewis Gunner

Battle of Messines

On the night of 5th June we marched up to the tunnels in fighting order and remained there until the attack was due to start. During these two days we got very restless, those of us who had been on the Somme did not want a repetition of that but we knew we were going to get it.

We had been told that our miners had dug tunnels under Hill 60 and along the Bluff sector. When the hour of zero arrived these places, which were charged with explosives, would go up, and over we would go. At last the fateful morning came, we were roused from our bunks, not that we were asleep, our minds were far too occupied that that. We had breakfast, got our kit ready and filed out onto the duckboard track, turned to the right and made our way up to the support trench just in front. My company was due to go over in the third wave and take the final objective, called ‘Spoil Bank.’ Zero hour was fixed for 3.20 a.m. We were all given a large rum ration. Soon after, the artillery barrage opened up, the noise was deafening, we could not hear ourselves speak. Jerry then got the wind up, he started to send up coloured very lights, (a signal for help from their own artillery.)

They began to shell us, but not for long, it soon faded away as our shells were dropping round their batteries, they were either knocked out or the gunners ran for cover.

At 3.20 the barrage lifted and began to fall farther over the enemy lines, at the same time we were ordered out of the trench to lay down in front of the parapet and suddenly we heard a might roar. Hill 60 had been blown up. That was the signal for the attack to start, the earth simply rocked like an earthquake. The first wave was now on its way over. The air was full of dust, it made my eyes smart. I admit that as I lay out there I trembled with fear and excitement. I knew that I had to face a terrible time. But in time the rum issue took effect and by the time the order was given to advance my self control had completely returned.

At the signal we got up and advanced. A few German machine guns were still firing in the distance and a few of the men were hit in the first few yards. Presently we came to our front line trench. It was empty save for a few dead men, we jumped over this and made our way to the German front line which was now occupied by the first wave, we passed on to the support line and this was occupied by the second wave. That trench was now our front line.

Those two waves had done their job, we had ours to do, we had to go on to capture our own objective, ‘Spoil Bank.’

On we went, entering the wood that we had seen so much of from our old front line and came up to the ‘White Chateau.’ German snipers were still busy potting at us from a trench nearby but our bombers soon mopped them up. Then to our great surprise we discovered the reason our shells had taken no effect on it. The four walls of the house were brick and inside they had strengthened with three feet of re-enforced concrete. The interior of the house had been used as a head quarters and first aid post. We captured a few prisoners here, the first was an officer and he told us in good English that our shelling had been awful and as our artillery had shelled their roads for the past week they had had no rations for the last three days. He said he would have been relieved days ago but for our shelling. As a matter of fact a relief was taking place at the time of the attack and half of them were casualties before they reached the trenches.

Well so much for the White Chateau.

We had to go on; soon we came to open ground again and could see our objective ahead. German machine guns and snipers had seen us and were giving us a rough time, casualties were occurring, and men were firing their rifles from the hip as they advanced. At last we came to the objective, it was a trench on the edge of a bank, the bank sloped down on the German side.

As we jumped in the trench, Germans were clambering out and running down the bank. We got our gun into position and swept the bank with heavy fire. The rifle sections were putting up a rapid fire also. The bombing sections clambered down the bank and entered the dugouts which were cut into the side, routed out prisoners and marched them back to the trench. These Germans were in a sad plight, dirty, unshaven and shaking from head to foot, they said they were glad to be taken; they were fed up with the war of late. They had spent longer periods in the line and it was getting on their nerves. They also knew that our attack was coming.