1st Battalion Leicestershire Regiment in the Great War

On the outbreak of war the 1st Battalion was base in Fermoy, Ireland as part of the 16th Brigade in the 6th Division. At 5.50pm on 4th August 1914 the battalion received its mobilization orders at which point it required 579 NCOs, Officers and men to bring it up to war strength. A testament to the speed of reservist call up is shown by the fact that by the 10th August the battalion was close to war strength. Leaving Ireland on the 15th August the whole Division was concentrated around Cambridge by the 19th. On September 7th the Battalion received its orders to move and embarked on the Braemar Castle at Southampton arriving in St Nazaire On the morning of 10th September 1914. On the 16th September the Battalion relieved the Worcestershire Regiment and Royal Irish Rifles in trenches at La Fosse Margual.

Whilst the Battalion took no part in any major offensive actions during 1914 and 1915 the period was marked by occupation of some of the hottest and worst condition trenches on the Western Front. From 1st June 1915 through to the end of July 1916 the Battalion remained in the Ypres Salient. This included a period from the 18th to the 21st December 1915 when the Battalion spent 3 days under continuous heavy bombardment. The bombardment was preceded by a gas attack and it was estimated that 400,000 shells fell on the Divisional area over the three days. On 17 November 1915 the battalion was reassigned to the 71st Brigade although it remained part of the 6th Division. On the 1st April 1916 the 11th Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment joined the 6th Division as Divisional Pioneers. 1916 saw the Brigade taking part in the third phase of the Battle of the Somme. On September 15th the 1st Leicesters and the 9th Norfolks attacked a German strongpoint called the Quadrilateral in the region of Flers. The attack was originally planned to include 3 tanks in support but two broke down before zero hour and the third was disabled at the start of the advance.

At zero hour the leading companies ("D" & "B") moved off at a steady pace, advancing in four lines at 30 paces interval, the supporting companies ("C" & "A") following in the same formation 300 yards in the rear, and the enemy at once opened a heavy machine gun fire.

The Battalion suffered heavily from the machine gun fire and was held up by the undamaged wire in the front of a German trench, leading from the North West corner of the Quadrilateral, the existence of which was not known. Despite having dug in overnight the Battalion was forced to withdraw the next day having lost 14 officers and 410 other ranks killed, wounded or missing. Despite this the Battalion was back in the trenches by the end of September just East of Morval where "A" Company shared a trench with the Germans. Christmas Day 1916 saw the Battalion out of the line at La Bourse. The day started with Church Parade, followed by a big dinner in company messes and a football match against the 9th Suffolks which was drawn 2-2.

Once again the first half of 1917 was categorised by occupation of particularly severe trenches with a continuous period of 5 months being spent on the Loos front. During the six months from January to July the division carried out no less than 30 raids on the German trenches, of which 13 obtained their objectives and yielded prisoners, 11 secured their objectives but no prisoners and only 6 were classed as failures. Conversely the Germans attempted 21 raids of which 4 yielded prisoners and 5 entered British trenches without yieldiding prisoners. During this six month period the Battalion suffered casulaties of 36 killed, 198 wounded and 4 missing.

At 6.20am on the 20th November 1917 the 1st Battalion along with the 9th Suffolks formed the first wave of the 71st Brigade's assault on the German front line (Plush Trench), second line (Unseen Trench) and third line (Unseen Support Trench) which formed the outposts of the Hindenburg Line. The attack was supported by tanks which were invaluable in breaching the enemy wire and allowed the Brigade to achieve all its objectives by midday. The attack resulted in the capture of 37 prisoners, 3 heavy machine guns, one heavy trench mortar and two aerial dart machines. The captured trenches were occupied for two days before the brigade was moved forward to a postion between the St Quentin Canal and Noyelles-Marcoing Road. The Battalion remained in these positions until it was relieved on the 12th December by the 12th Wiltshires having spent nearly three weeks in continuous contact with the enemy.

The early part of January 1918 saw the Battalion well out of the line at Courcelles before relieving the 1/4th Gordon Highlanders in trenches on the Moeuvres front. February saw the reorganization of the infantry brigades from 4 battalions to 3 and the 71st Brigade lost its "Service" battalion the 9th Suffolks. February also saw a move into trenches further North to the Lagnicourt area. Rumours were now persistent that the Germans were massing troops and elaborating measures for a large scale attack. The front held by the 6th Division was on a forward slope opposite the villages of Queant and Pronville and was considered a good defensive position.

The morning of March 21st 1918 was shrouded in fog as the Germans launched its 'Michael' offensive. At the time the Leicester were out of the line but were ordered to stand to in their battle positions at 5.30am. At 8am two companies were moved to the left flank of the Brigade sector with "C" Company placed at the disposal of the 9th Norfolks and "D" Company occupying trenches at the Lagnicourt Switch. Meanwhile "B" Company took up position on the Vaulx-Morchies line. By 5.35pm the whole sector was under intense pressure and the brigade fell back to the Vaulx-Morchies Line which was held by:
"B" Company 1st Leicesters - 4 Officers and 110 Other Ranks
509th Field Regiment RE
"C" Company 11th Leicesters.
At this juncture the distribution of Brigade units from right to left was:
9th Norfolks - 120 All Ranks
A Company 1st Leicesters - 1 Officer, 70 Other Ranks
C Company 1st Leicesters - 1 Officer, 37 Other Ranks
2nd Sherwood Foresters - 120 All Ranks
459th Field Company RE - 9 Men and 1 Machine Gun
D Company 1st Leicesters - 3 Officers and 112 Other Ranks
The morning of 22nd March opened with a barrage on the thinly held line which continued to hold throughout the day with assistance from elements of the 2nd South Lancashires and 8th Borders. At 4pm a fighting withdrawal took place towards a position North of Beugny. At 8pm the remnants of the 71st Infantry Brigade occupied positions to the rear of the 58th Brigade. On the morning of the 23rd March the three battalions of the brigade, 1st Leicesters, 9th Norfolks and 2nd Sherwood Foresters, could muster no more than 11 Officers and 279 Other Ranks from a trench strength of 1,800 All Ranks on the morning of the 21st.

Despite the mauling at Lagnicourt, by the 3rd April the Battalion was back in the front line at Reutel having been brought up to strength by drafts from various quarters. However, the Germans switched their offensive operations to Flanders and consequently on the 14th April the 71st Brigade was moved to Neuve Eglise. On the 14th the trenches occupied by the Brigade came under heavy bombardment and over the next few days the brigade repulsed all attempts by the Germans to occupy the trenches.

In September 1918 the Battalion moved to positions around Holnon Wood 3½ miles West of St Quentin. At the centre of the Divisional area of attack was a network of trenches with a name that was an omen for the 6th Division, the Quadrilateral, which like its namesake on the Somme could be reinforced under cover from the back slopes of the hill. For the first attack on the 17th September the Leicesters where in reserve. However, it would not be until the night of the 25-26th September that the Quadrilateral would fall. The capture of the Quadrilateral earned the 6th Division praise from the Fourth Army and IX Corps Commander as well as the G.O.C 1st Division. Further advances where made on the ensuing days and when the Division was relieved by the 4th French Division on the night of the 29th September the Battalion had suffered little short of 400 casualties.

The Battalion was next in action on the 8th October in a series of advances towards Bohain which again earned high praise from both Army and Corps Commanders. After a short time out of the line at Bohain the Division returned to the same area on the 20th. On the 23rd October the Battalion led an assault from the Basuel-Ors Road which met heavy resistance and gained little more than 400 yards of ground. Overnight on the 23-24th October the Brigade was relieved by the 16th Brigade and would take no part in any further action. During October the Battalion lost 2 Officers and 36 Other Ranks killed, 12 Officers and 228 Other Ranks wounded and 12 men missing.

On armistice day the Battalion was in Rue de Vaux, Bohain. On 14th November the 6th Division left Bohain and arrived at Wesseling, near Cologne on December 27th.

Great War Battalion Casualty Figures:

1st Battalion Officers - 27
1st Battalion Other Ranks - 987