25th March 1918 Monday
The Pressure On The Allies Was Mounting
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“On the 25th I left Houplines in charge of a sergeant and a squad of men, and went back to Pont de Nieppe Dressing Station. Father Brown paid me a visit, and gave me some news of the doings in the south. He said that the situation was very grave, and was most depressing. He told me that our 113th Brigade leave to-night and that the Australians, Labour Corps and the 12th Division have already left for the battle area, so that we have nobody in reserve behind us now. Let’s hope the Hun doesn’t attack here! Father Brown also told me that the Germans had cavalry in action, and that Paris was being shelled by a long-range 9” gun.”
Pont de Nieppe on the 1918 map. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland. https://maps.nls.uk/index.html
Modern day map showing Pont de Nieppe. © OpenStreetMap contributors. https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright
It didn’t take long for news to filter through about the start of “Operation Michael” or the Kaiser’s spring offensive. The 113th RWF being deployed quickly to the area near the Somme had left the Armentieres area short of defensive cover at a time that was to prove very challenging for the allied armies.
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