DEATH OF A DIVISION Eight Days in March 1918 and the Untold Story of the 66th (2/1 East Lancashire) Division

In March 1918, the 66th Division was assigned to XIX Corps in the Fifth Army, holding an area north of Saint-Quentin, bordering the 24th Division of XIX Corps on the right and 16th (Irish) Division of VII Corps on the left. The corps sector was between the River Cologne in the north and the Omicron in the south.Under a new defence in depth scheme, small strong points in a “forward zone” was to delay and disrupt an attack, harassing it with machine-gun fire. The main body of the division remained in a “battle zone” further back, to make local counterattacks into the forward zone or in reserve in a third “rear zone”. The British were used to deliberate attacks in trench warfare conditions, not the rapid counterattacks on the defensive that the German army had perfected since early 1915 and felt vulnerable in what they saw as exposed positions. Combat units were still kept too close to the front line (across the front, 84 percent of battalions were in the two forward zones), leaving them vulnerable to an attack and a lack of manpower meant that very few of the defensive positions necessary for the scheme to work had been prepared in the rear zone of the Fifth Army.
On the morning of 21 March, the German spring offensive began at the Battle of St. Quentin. Elements of the German 25th Division and 208th Division attacked through a thick fog at dawn, overrunning the two battalions (4th East Lancashires and 2/8th Lancashire Fusiliers) which held positions in the forward zone. By 10.30 am, they had reached the “battle zone”, where the fighting intensified. On the right flank, near the boundary with 24th Division, a reserve company of 2/7th Manchesters held a defensive position from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm, when they surrendered, having lost 70 percent casualties and run out of ammunition. To their left, the 2/6th Manchesters held out until the early afternoon, when the 160 survivors were forced to retreat further into the battle zone. The northern element of the division’s defensive plan was a fortified quarry outside the village of Templeux-le-Guérard, held by the 2/7th Lancashire Fusiliers and 1/5th Border Regiment but this had been quickly surrounded and bypassed by the attackers, to be mopped up later in the day, with only a few men escaping. The village was defended by the 2/6th Lancashire Fusiliers and an artillery battery; in the course of the day, the battery was destroyed while the fusiliers were pushed back towards the edge of the village, clinging on to their positions as night fell. During the day, 711 men of 66th Division had been killed; while detailed figures are not available this would suggest around 1,000 men were wounded and another 2,000 captured.British casualties for the day were 7,500 killed, 10,000 wounded and 21,000 captured; 66th Division is known to have lost 711 men killed.
On the morning of 22 March, German attacks continued to push back the remaining units of the 66th Division, now supported by the 1st Cavalry Division and a handful of tanks. The composite force managed a fighting retreat, with most units avoiding encirclement. Shortly after noon the remnants of the division were ordered to retreat behind the 50th (Northumbrian) Division, which were preparing fresh defences on the original Green Line along the edge of the rear zone. The 66th Division retreated through the new defensive line by 4:00 pm, with the aid of the 5th Durham Light Infantry (DLI), which had been temporarily transferred to support them and the 50th Division took over the front line.Over the following days, the divisions of XIX Corps fell back towards the line of the River Somme, where the 66th Division (plus the 5th DLI) took up positions on the west bank of the river around Barleux and Foucaucourt-en-Santerre, west of Peronne. On 24 March, the German army crossed the Somme and the 2/8th Lancashire Fusiliers counterattacked the bridgeheads without success but continued to hold a line close to the river.Expecting a follow-up attack the next day, 149th Brigade was temporarily attached to 66th Division and both units were slowly pushed back from the banks of the Somme, withdrawing to Assevillers as night fell on 25 March.
The remnants of the 66th Division were holding a position south of the Somme, with the 50th Division to the right and troops from the Third Army over the river to the left. An attack on the morning of 26 March, opening the Battle of Rosières, pushed back the units on the north bank and the 66th Division retired, losing contact with the 50th Division, which fell back on Rosières-en-Santerre to avoid being flanked. “Little’s Composite Battalion” with the remaining troops of the 198th Brigade, moved from reserve to Foucaucourt and defended the village until the early afternoon, retired to Framercourt and then filled a 3,000-yard (2,700 m) gap between the 66th and 39th divisions.The battalion had been formed from stragglers and reinforcement drafts by Lieutenant-Colonel W. B. Little, commander of 1/5th Borders, who had been on leave when the German offensive began and moved up towards the front line during 25 March.Other British troops were north of the 66th Division around Vauvilliers and by that night, the line south of the Somme was held by 16th, 39th, 66th and 50th divisions. The battle continued on 27 March, with the 66th Division pushed back to Harbonniers.That night, the division took up positions between Wiencourt and Guillaucourt, facing north on a line of about 1 mile (1.6 km)] The three brigade headquarters had moved forward to reinforce the front line; until the 66th Division was reorganised later in the year, casualties were so numerous that the brigade structure was not reformed and the brigadiers took turns to command the infantry. On the morning of 28 March, a German attack broke through at Guillaucourt and the 66th Division retreated south to Cayeux-en-Santerre, with the 39th Division on the left. By nightfall, the line had been pushed back to Ignaucourt, a few miles from Amiens.
Elements of the division remained in the fighting line as late as 30 March, when they fought in a counter-attack near Aubercourt under the command of one of the 66th Division brigadiers.The division was relieved by part of the 18th Division on the night of 30/31 March. After ten days’ fighting, only 2,500 men remained in the division and it had almost ceased to function as an organised unit.