The History of the 51st
Frederick William Bewsher
eBook
(, June 14, 2014)
In compiling the âHistory of the 51st (Highland) Divisionâ I have been beset by various difficulties, which have contributed towards the long delay in its publication.In the first place, it has been written in circumstances in which military duties have afforded little leisure for continuous effort; secondly, the work has been carried out in many places, most of them highly unsuitable for research, such as the desert of Sinai, native villages and the deserts of Lower Egypt, Jerusalem, Bir Salem, and at sea.Not only had the difficulty of transporting from station to station the large mass of available material to be overcome, but also the conditions of life in huts and under canvas in an eastern climate are seldom conducive to clear and consecutive thinking.Further, the material available has been unequal. Up to the conclusion of the battle of Arras, no completed narratives of the operations carried out by the Division were compiled. To this point, therefore, the only resources were the bald and rather incomplete entries in the official war diaries and personal diaries, which threw little light on the operations in their broader aspects.From the third battle of Ypres onwards a detailed account of all engagements was published by Divisional Headquarters shortly after the conclusion of each operation. These have rendered the compiling of the âHistoryâ from this point considerably less laborious, and have allowed it to be carried out in greater and more accurate detail.It has been necessary, owing to the increased and increasing cost of production, to keep the size of this book within certain bounds, and to reduce as far as possible the number of maps. On this account there has been no alternative but to restrict the detail in which actions are described. It is regretted that in consequence much material which officers and men of the Division and their relatives have submitted, often at my request, has been necessarily omitted.It was only thus that the book could be kept sufficiently reduced in size to prevent its price prohibiting the circulation desired.The âHistoryâ is now presented with every consciousness on the part of the author that full justice has not been done to its great subject. Indeed, it is doubtful if full justice can be done to the part played by the British Army in the Great War until a generation not intimately involved in it has arisen and has come to regard the burdens sustained for over four years by the British soldier in the true perspective....F. W. B. Headquarters, 3rd (Lahore) Division, Bir Salem, Palestine.CONTENTSMOBILISATIONARRIVAL IN FRANCEâFESTUBERTTHE PERIOD OF APPRENTICESHIPTRAINING AND REORGANISATIONâTHE LABYRINTHTHE BATTLE OF THE SOMMEâHIGH WOODARMENTIĂRES AND HEBUTERNETHE BATTLE OF THE ANCREâBEAUMONT HAMELCOURCELETTETHE BATTLE OF ARRASTHE BATTLE OF ARRAS (Contd.)âROEUX AND THE CHEMICAL WORKSTHE THIRD BATTLE OF YPRESPOELCAPPELLETHE BATTLE OF CAMBRAITHE GERMAN OFFENSIVETHE GERMAN OFFENSIVE (Contd.)âTHE BATTLE OF THE LYSWITH THE FRENCH IN CHAMPAGNETHE CAPTURE OF GREENLAND HILLTHE OPERATIONS TOWARDS VALENCIENNESCONCLUSIONILLUSTRATIONS.LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR G. M. HARPER, K.C.B., D.S.O MAJOR-GENERAL R. BANNATINE-ALLASON, C.B. T/MAJOR-GENERAL G. T. C. CARTER-CAMPBELL, C.B., D.S.OATTACK NEAR FESTUBERT, 15TH JUNE 1915HIGH WOOD, JULY 1916BEAUMONT HAMEL, 13TH NOVEMBER 1916CAPTURE OF VIMY RIDGE, 9TH APRIL 1917THE CHEMICAL WORKS, ROEUXTHIRD BATTLE OF YPRES: ADVANCE TO THE STEENBEEK, 31ST JULY 1917POELCAPPELLE, 20TH SEPTEMBER 1917THE BATTLE OF CAMBRAI: POSITION AT 7 P.M., 21ST NOVEMBER 1917THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE: DISPOSITION OF 51ST (HIGHLAND) DIVISION, MORNING, 21ST MARCH 1918THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE: POSITIONS OF 51ST (HIGHLAND) DIVISION, 24-26TH MARCH 1918THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE. (THE BATTLE OF THE RIVER LAWE): DISPOSITIONS OF 51ST (HIGHLAND) DIVISION, DAWN, 12TH APRIL 1918THE COUNTER-ATTACK IN CHAMPAGNE: THE ADVANCE ON