The Battle of the Somme ( mid Aug - mid Sept 1916)
The 7th Division were the first troops into High Wood.

"We went into action again just below Montauban and our position was at the end of the appropriately named 'Death's Valley'. We fired over High Wood, Ginchy was in front of us with Carnoy to the left behind us. Quite close to our position railway waggons had been put out of action and a big chalk quarry was used as a dressing station. Our casualties were Captain Knight, the battery commander, and five men killed also sixteen men and fifteen horses killed or wounded whilst delivering our ammunition. We tasted gas shells here for the first time. We then advanced to Longueval and fired on Flers. Hundreds of our infantry lay dead around our position and five of us were detailed to bury them. We buried fifteen in blankets and with no ceremony. The others were buried later by a burying party. In this position we had a nasty time with Bosch shell fire attracted by our cavalry which had stopped just behind our battery waiting for orders. Two of our battery were killed and three wounded. A new captain, from the Horse Artillery, took command. After a month in this position we retired."

Flanders (late Sept - mid Oct 1916)
In 1916 a quiet front used for troop recuperation

"The 7th Division then proceeded to Belgium and we had to entrain at Amiens with all the horses, guns and forage. We proceeded via Rouen and Calais to Belgium and went straight into action at Ploegsteert near Nueve Eglise and Romarin. Our gun position was in an old farm, two of our guns were hidden in the building and the four others in the garden. The farmer with his livestock was still working. We did have a cushy time, just firing a few rounds each day but it was too easy to last long. We were ordered to move back to France. Funny coincidence that Clarence (Tostevin)'s battery relieved mine and neither of us knew until we met on leave in August 1917."

The Battle of the Somme (late Oct - mid Nov 1916)
7th Division returned to a position North of the Albert-Bapaume road

"We were on the march for a rough time in France. It was October 1916. After eight days march and arriving at the dear old Somme we went straight into action at Mailly-Maillet. We were pressing the Germans hard, firing continuously, expecting a big advance. The infantry went over the top often and with us firing day and night we eventually succeeded. The Germans retired about ten miles on a wide front, we captured sixty villages and the French a further one hundred."

Operations on the Ancre (Winter 1916/17)
Although the Battle of the Somme is officially recognised as ending with the capture of Beaumont Hamel in November 1916, operations in the Ancre valley and on the surrounding heights continued through the freezing winter of 1916-1917. The 7th Division was engaged in the area during this period.

The German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line (March 1917)
The German army had built a formidable new line some miles to the rear and executed a withdrawal to it in March 1917.The heavily fortified position became known as the Hindenburg Line.

"We advanced to just behind what used to be a village called Serre. Nearby were any number of dugouts well made by the Germans, some sixty feet deep. We were still pressing and ready for any counter-attacks. Our infantry suffered a good deal here but we only had a few wounded in my battery. After one week in this position we advanced to Puisieux. At this point the Germans retreated many miles and neither our cavalry nor our infantry knew anything about it for two days."

The flanking operations round Bullecourt (April - June 1917)
The 7th Division moved into an area of fierce fighting at Bullecourt, a strongly fortified village on the Hindenburg Line, after and alongside the Australians. The Division played a major role in penetrating the defences.

"We then advanced behind Saint-Leger, pausing for five days before advancing again. By then we were a quarter mile from Bullecourt. It was estimated that 300,000 men (British, Australians and Germans) lay dead in this village..... General orders were issued to pour inflammable material over them and we witnessed thousands of bodies burning.

After three weeks in action and firing hundreds of shells the Germans caught the Anzacs napping in the next valley. Penetrating through, the Germans were level with our guns. SOS signals went up from our infantry and we opened up a bombardment on the advancing Bosch. On their retreat the enemy, as well as their Anzac prisoners, suffered heavy casualties. A week after this the 58th Battery was completely wiped out, officers, men and guns. All through an error on the CO's part. Two days later a heap of cordite caught fire behind our cookhouse, the blaze reaching hundreds of feet into the air. At nightfall the Germans played hell with us though fortunately our only casualty was Bombardier Grant, who was killed."

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