the battalion sailed for France in a converted cattle ship on 6
th
November to join the
8
th
Division on the British Front Line at La Bassee-Neuve Chapelle, near
Armentieres. The troops, who went out to France under the command of Lieutenant-
Colonel C L Nicholson, were seasoned soldiers with an average of five years of
service overseas. By March 1915, after the battle of Neuve Chapelle, 12 officers and
278 other ranks had been killed or wounded, including the CO. Some of the men who
were sent to replace them, like my father, were little better than raw recruits. My
father had only had four months’ training at Sandhurst before being posted to his
regiment. By the time he reached France, on 13
th
April 1915, Major H Maclear had
taken over command of the battalion, with Major Russell as Second-in-Command and
Captain Arnott as Adjacent. The 2
nd
Battalion East Lancs formed part of 24
th
Brigade
of the 8
th
Division of the IV Corps of the First Army, commanded by General Sir
Douglas Haig.
At the start of 1915 the Allies had learnt that the German High Command was
planning a major offensive against the Russians on their Eastern Front. To achieve
their objective, the Germans were redeploying men from their Western Front to
supply their Eleventh Army on the Eastern Front. General Joffre, the French
Commander-in-Chief, wanted to use this opportunity to drive the invaders out of
France and Belgium. He planned a great offensive by the French Tenth Army to
attack Vimy Ridge and sweep across the plain of Douai. This offensive was known as
the Second Battle of Artois. General Joffre approached his British allies about co-
operating in a combined offensive in five or six weeks’ time. The intention was for
the British to simultaneously break through the German line, north of La Bassee
Canal, to widen the gap in the German line and assist the left flank of the French
Army advancing into the plain of Douai. The French did not have sufficient men or
munitions to carry out such a broad attack on their own. The relationship between the
British Commander-in Chief, Sir John French, and his French counterpart, General
Joffre, was somewhat strained. On 1
st
April, Sir John French told General Joffre that
he hoped to be in a position to offer assistance by the end of the month. On 9
th
April,
he advised the French Commander that he was prepared to employ 10 divisions and
about 600 field guns in the operation with five cavalry divisions in reserve. The
objective of the British First Army would be to break through the enemy’s line north
of La Bassee Canal and reach the La Bassee – Lille road between La Bassee and
Fournes. The main attack would be made by 1
st
Corps and the Indian Corps from the
Festubert – Neuve Chapelle front, whilst IV Corps carried out a secondary attack in
the direction of Aubers – Fromelles. Sir John French issued his orders for the battle
from British Advanced Headquarters at Hazebrouck on 4
th
May. The offensive was
originally scheduled for 8
th
May, but was delayed until 9
th
May because of bad
weather.
On 21
st
April the Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal Sir John French, inspected
each brigade of the 8
th
Division and addressed the men in appreciation of their
behaviour in the recent battle of Neuve Chapelle. The following day the senior
officers of the 1
st
and 2
nd
Battalions met for dinner in Armentieres and enjoyed what
was described as the cheeriest evening since they had landed in France. Captain
Craig, the MO, upset the waiting arrangements by embracing a waitress. Father does
not mention anything about the evening so presumably the junior officers were not
included in the festivities. On the night of 24
th
April they relieved a battalion of the
23
rd
Brigade in the right section of the divisional front facing Rouge Bancs. The