HAIG'S WAR DIARIES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22404, 28 April 1936, Page 15

HAIG'S WAR DIARIES

! breaking hindenburg line BRITISH TROOPS' GREAT THRUST VIRTUAL FINISH OF LONG CONFLICT / " (Copyright to the New Zealand Herald) The breaking of the formidable Hindenburg line, and with it the virtual end of the war, is described in the following instalment of the Rt. Hon. A. Duff Cooper's biography of the late Earl Haig. Prior to the fall of the line Haig had scored a series of victories, but no word or message of encouragement had reached him from his own Government. Nevertheless, he faced his great task with an undiminished determination.. The morale of the German officers was reported to be very low and discipline seemed to have gone from the German Army as the British troops prepared for the assault on their last great obstacle. Point after point was captured, among them Trescault village and ridge, which fell to the 37th and New Zealand Divisions. On September 27 the vital attack was made, and the Hindenburg line fell before the First and Third Armies. When the month of September was ended and the Hindenburg line had fallen, the war, in effect, was finished, although fighting continued for six more weeks. Germany asked for an armistice, a climax which Foch generously attributed to the success of the British.

September 1, 1918, Haig received the following "personal" telegram from Henry Wilson:— "Just a word of caution in regard to incurring heavy losses in attacks on Hindenburg line as opposed to losses when driving' the enemy back to that line. I do not mean to say that you have incurred such losses, but I know the War Cabinet would become "anxious if we received heavy punishment in attacking the Hindenburg line without success." The meaning of the message was obvious. During the last three weeks Haig had scored a'series of victories on a scale unprecedented in the history of war. No word of thanks, no telegram of congratulations had reached him ' from his own Government. Now he was preparing to undertake an even greater task, and all the encouragement that he received from the Government was a warning that should he fail he would be called upoil to give a strict account of every drop of blood that had been shed in vain. If all went well the Government would claim the credit, if aught went ill the commander-in-chief must bear the blame. The Carthaginians used to j_, crucify an unsuccessful general, but it is not recorded of them they would send their generals reminders on the eve of battle of the penalties that awaited them in defeat. Significance Understood It was General Davidson who. brought the message to the commander-in-chief. ' He had already shown it to General Lawrence and they had both understood its full significance. He remained standing while Haig read it and half expected some sign of indignation or disgust. ,

pose his views upon the Government and to persuade them to alter their policy accordingly. On September 7 he wrote to Henry Wilson:— "1 propose coming over on Monday for a couple of days, as I am anxious to have a talk with you and the Secretary of State. "The situation has changed so rapidly, and, as 1 look at it, seems so different from what it was when you home authorities made your plans for the provision of men, aeroplanes, tanks, etc., that it seem:? most desirable to review your figures in the light of the existing state of affairs. . . The situation as regards the enemy is most favourable for us at this present moment, so it ought to be exploited as soon as possible and to the utmost of our power." On September 9 Haig crossed to England. and the following morning he, together with his Chief of Staff, General Lawrence, had an interview with Lord Milner at the War Office. Never Such a Victory "I had specially asked for this interview," runs the diary, "and 1 stated that the object of my visit was to explain how greatly the situation in the field had changed to the advantage of the Allies. I considered it to be of first importance that the Cabinet should realise how all our plans and methods are at once affected by this change. "Within the last four weeks we had captured 77,008 prisoners and nearly six hundred guns. There had never been such a victory in the annals of Britain, and its effects are not yet apparent. "Briefly, in my opinion, the character of the war has changed. What is wanted now at once is to provide the means to exploit our recent great successes to the full. Reserves in England should be regarded as reserves for the French front, and all yeomanry, cyclists and other troops now kept for civil defence should be sent to France at once. If we act with energy now a decision can be obtained in the very near future. "Lord Milner fully agreed, and said he would do his besit to help." Those who understood tlie_ full significance of the daily events had sound cause for high spirits at last. The next evening, when Haig returned to his headquarters, he learnt that: — New Zealand Troops "Our Third Army had a very successful day to-day. The 2nd and 62nd Divisions captured Havrincourt and the 37t.h and New Zealand Divisions Trescault village and ridge. About a brigade from each division was employed. Over one thousand prisoners were taken. "The Fourth Army took the Bois d'Holnon and also St. Quentin Wood; Jeancourt (further north) was also occupied. Bois d'Holnon is a very strong position. It seems to have been taken without much difficulty. The 'triangle' east of Givenchv was also taken by our First Army to-day " On September 16 there was a meeting with Foch. "Foch expressed the wish that I should continue my activity for another week. I explained that Rawlinson's attack would commence on Wednesday, and that the rest olt the front to Bourlon Wood would be pressing the enemy hard all the time." On the Wednesday the promised attack was launched juid it proved eminently successful. "Fourth Armv. 9th Australian and 111. Corps and V Corps of Third Army attacked at 5.20 on front from Bois d'Holnon on south, to Gouzeaucourt on north. Attack was most successful. Defeat of 13 Divisions "Our front of attack was. about eighteen miles in length. We met and defeated thirteen enemy divisions in front line, together with three more divisions brought up from reserve—a total of sixteen divisions. The 6th Division from Thourout in I landers was identified in the battle. It was the only remaining enemy division in reserve north of the Lys. "The enemy only fought well in a few places, but opposite the Australifiiis he surrendered easily. Over 3000 prisoners were taken by the two Australian divisions engaged, and our losses 'were very small. , " The Fourth Army has already passed over 6000 prisoners through their cages, and the 'lhird Army claim over 1000. So I expect the numbers taken to-day will be close on 10,000. • "The enemy launched heavy coun-ter-attacks against the front of_ our Third Army from Villers Guislain as far north as Moeuvres. All attacks were defeated and the enemy's losses are stated to be very severe." Meanwhile preparations progressed for the assault on the Hindenburg line. Visit From Admiral Keyes On September 24: " About noon Admiral Keyes came to see me. He flew over from Dover and flew hack to Flanders to see the King of the Belgians. I told Keyes to arrange to get hold of Ostend as soon as the Belgians were round the place on the land side. And I directed Lawrence to keep a good company of infantry ready at Dunkirk to embark if Admiral Keyes asks for them." On September 2.5: " This morning reports of a railway strike in England are serious. Our supply of ammunition would be greatly affected by such a strike. I ordered no change to be made, however, as I have full confidence in the good sense of our railwaymen at Home. Some means will be found to keep up our supply of ammunition even if the worst happens. " If the strike continues I ordered all leave tc. be stopped from tomorrow."

But when Haig had carefully perused it he laid it aside without a word, and, raising his eyes, calmly inquired what the devil Davidson was waiting for. He would not allow such tactics to alter his plans or disturb his equanimity. Haig wrote to Wilson the' same day: "My dear Henry—With reference to your wire re casualties in attacking ' the Hindenburg line —what a wretched lot! And how well they mean to support mel What confidence! Please call their attention to my action two weeks ago when the French pressed me to attack the strong lines of defence east of Roye-Chaulnes front. I wrote you !;■ at the time, and instead of attacking south of the Somme I started Byng's attack. I assure you I watch the drafts most carefully." The advance continued. On September 2 Haig's diary runs: — "Third Army took Riencourt lez Cagnicourt at 2 a.m. this morning with 380 prisoners. The attack was carried out by a brigade of the 52nd (Lowland) Division. "End Cannot Be Far Off" "The Ist and 45th Canadian Divisions with 4th Division attacked the Dro-court-Queant line south of the Scarpe at F. a.m. to-day. Reports at 10 a.m. show that the attack is progressing well, and prisoners from seven different divisions have been taken. "The officer examining the prisoners stated that the morale of the German oflicers was now terribly low. He had at no period of the war seen them in such a despicable state. The prisoners I saw seemed well fed, but badly drilled. "General Watson (commanding 4th / Canadian Division) stated that the German private soldiers abused their oflicers and N.C.O.'s, and would no longer obey their orders. "Discipline in the German army seemed to have gone—if this is true, then the end cannot now be far off, J think. To-day's battle has truly been a great and glorious success." On September 3 he wrote: — "The eneinv seems in full retreat today on the whole front from Lens to Pfiroune. I am inclined to think that the enemy will be unable to remain on the Hindenburg Line for any time, but will seek for rest and peace behind the M'Buse and the Namur defences, in order to it-fit his shattered divisions." Haig had long believed that it would be possible to reach a decision in the autumn, and that this view had not been shared by the authorities in London. The events of these September days had convinced him that he would JMiT be justified in attempting to im-,

Haig's confidence in the workers at Home and in the soldiers abroad was justified. On September 27 the attack was delivered that had been so carefully planned. The Hindenburg line fell before the First and Third Armies. This was the beginning of the decisive battle of thi war, and it was a military achievement of a magnitude which is seldom realised.

This great line of defence had been constructed tvfc leisure and all the engineering talent of Germany had been devoted to the task of rendering it as formidable as possible. Full use had been made of two great canals, the Scheldt Canal and the Canal du Nord. Even in the few places where the canal cutting was dry it presented an obstacle which seemed unsurmountable if defended by a determined foe. On September .SO: — " Marshal Foch came to see me at 9.30 a.m. He was with the King of the Belgians yesterday at La Panne. He said that "he is much pleased with the position in Belgium and the progress made by the Allied Armies there, as well as on the British front. "As regards the American operations west of the Meuse, he says the Americans have employed too many troops on that front, so that they have blocked each other's advance. In fact, they have not been able to feed so many divisions in that area. But they are going on attacking, and are ' learning all the time.' " Petain is now using some American troops to push 011 toward Machanlt (south-east of Bethel). 1 asked Foch to send three American divisions to Plumer. Foch said it was not possible, at present, as ' their amour, propre made the Americans determined to press 011 to Mezieres.' But later on ' he would see what could be done when Pershing has learnt the difficulty of creating an army." "I explained what my plans were and the direction of the advance of our Cavalry Corps. Foch said: 'We are in complete agreement.' "Foch told ni9 that the 'Bulgarians had agreed to all our terms for peace.' Foch was of opinion that the Germans cannot much longer resist our attacks against their whole front and that 'soon thev will crack.' "

When the month of September was ended and the Hindenburg line had' fallen, the war. in fact, was finished, although for six more weeks the fighting continued, while the facts were slowly being realised by the soldiers and statesmen on either side. Daily, Haig visited Army, corps and divisional commanders to discuss the situation and to give advice as to how the task of harassing the enemy should be continued. He saw that the only danger lay in allowing the Germans time to recover from the series of blows they had received. When he visited Foch on October 6 he found the Generalissimo sitting with a Paris morning paper open on the table in front of him. In large type was printed a note Germany, Austria and Turkey asking for an armistice. "Here," said Foch, pointing to the paper, "you have the immediate result of the British piercing the Hindenburg line. The enemy has asked for an armistice." ' It was nobly and generously said. (To be concluded.)