Poem ~ Verdun: Dead Man's Hill - Saturday, 1 April - Sunday, 2 April 1916

Impression sketch of French soldier killed on battlefield - by Jamie. From an original image that can be seen at: <http://wereldoorlog1418.nl/battleverdun/battleverdun33/morthomme03.jpg> [Accessed: 1 April 2016]

i

Two Forces funnelled into Verdun

By actions of a mincing machine -

Each side pushed one for resistance,

Another for success.

Renewed phase began 6 March - from

The left bank of the Meuse, German

Reserve corps edged from the right

To hit fort Vaux.

The left bank targeted Dead Man Hill,

A valued French artillery look out -

The plan to then aim for Bois Bourrus,

And French artillery.

From awareness of preparing their

Plan, lines of French defence formed

Four divisions - the less experienced

67th division being hit.

With ease the German force crossed

The Meuse, about villages of Brabant

And Champneuville - as aimed artillery

Failed the French.

Their shells sunk harmlessly into swampy

Ground - with failing defences by evening,

Found both Regneville and Forges villages

In German hands.

Hope dipped on day 7 March, as protected

Germans marched about the failing French

Efforts - Dead Man's Hill laid in their sights

To take.

A twist by morning found over confident

Germans lacking consolidation, before

More counter attacks; Bois des Corbeaux

Was French again.

Beaten back into defence, German assault

Against Dead Mans Hill was stopped until

9 March - at Bethincourt the enemy once

More halted.

Renewed forces saw Germans fight -

Despite with their huge losses regain

Bois Des Corbeaux - four days back

And forth.

The grinding down on men raised

Losses - 82,000 Germans versus

89,000 French - until the lines again

Settled down.

Hill 304 maintained French artillery -

Advantages over advance against

Dead Mans Hill - there soldiers fall,

To turn on hill 304.

On the 20th day, main German front

Moved west from villages Malancourt

And Avoncourt - to crush the French

29th division.

In disastrous defeat started rumours;

French traitors to give positions away -

3000 were taken prisoner; totals seen

To be utter disaster.

Under the crushing stalemate of death,

The fight fell to Bois Avoncourt - crossing

Every yard of ground, as heavens poured

Torrents.

Under the deluge earth turned to vile

Mud; where gunnery sunk - wounded

Drowned in dirt, as the living were

Sucked down.

Fatigue created desperation; as thirst

Forced risks by Dead Mans Hill, where

A soldier drank between green slime

Of a pond.

Within the depths a body floated, face

Down and bloated, as if he had been

Swallowing those waters for many

Days.

ii

From France came a communiqué

Telling of a quiet night East of Meuse,

While west of the river saw a very

Different matter.

During nightime hours the Germans

Made numbers of attacks en masse;

Malancourt came under their severe

Bombardment.

Three sides of the village fell under

Siege - a situation that had been held 

By French advance battalion numbers,

To last all night.

With French controlling all the exits

To the village, the troops evacuated

The ruins of Malancourt - marking 

Actions about Verdun.

The fury of fighting became divided into

Two distinct parts - close to Malancourt

Was German gain of Avoncout wood;

The date March 20.

In order to break the French presence,

The Invaders sprayed liquid fire - after

Hand to hand confrontations, the French

Returned.

Days led to day March 29; the enemy

Suffered with their counter attacks,

From French artillery in combination

With machine guns.

Their aim was the Avoncourt redoubt -

What taken ground was gained to be

Abandoned with masses of their dead,

Before entrenched French.

The German presence again evolved

To Hill 304; in determined tactics each

Side weary gave surrender, or remained

Insubordinate in trenches.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1916. More Fighting Near Verdun - Village Captured. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 1 April 1916. P.9. Col.1. Available at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12206729/Daily-Telegraph-April-1-1916.html>  [Accessed: 1 April 2016].

Mann, J., 2016. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 1 April 2016). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12206729/Daily-Telegraph-April-1-1916.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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Poem ~ 'Land of the Cursed Water' - Thursday, 22 July 1915

Impression sketches Canal at Boesinghe entrance to Ypres before and during war - by Jamie. See the originals at: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/36213/36213-h/36213-h.htm

An official French communication,

From 10 July 1915, gave information

Of further failed German attacks,

About the Yser canal – a wounded

French solider had provided a picture.

The German perspective of a ‘Land

Of cursed waters,' was given by one

Captured German. From their place

On right bank, here enemy made hold.

While all German caution had been

Taken, word reached French command

Of enemy preparations, for full attack -

With this information the French were

Prepared and ready for such an assault.  

9 July opened, with dawn of German

Gas bombs on the French left bank.

After the gas bombs, at 9 a.m. massed

German force provided little surprise.

An enemy formed a funnel attack over

The old stone bridge of Boesinghe -

Previously having made heavy attempt

In October 14 - chain bridges slung

Across, about the bridge of Yser canal.

Some shallow water allowed a waded

Crossing  - thus the German made

A tenuous hold on the French side -

Then confident, to be given new orders.

German troops were to take French

Second line trenches, a short distance

On - by then the bridges streaming

With German grey setting to reinforce

Their hold on the left bank of the Yser.

At a stage when a Bavarian Company

Filled the bridge, their luck halted in hit

By French 75’s - within moments bridge

Heads hit to fall into waters below,

With many Bavarians amid broken stone.

With crossing destroyed, more attempts

Of German chain bridges were hurriedly

Thrown across, amidst French counter

Attacks of Belgian and French Marines

Fixed bayonets, out to clear the left bank.

Chaos took over within German Lines -

They struggled, falling in their attempts

To assist two of their stranded battalions;

French 75's re focused on sappers work.

Under French fire they abandoned

Materials, if those soldiers were not hit

They fell to submerge in the canal depth;

Survival became nearly impossible,

'In the land of the cursed water.'

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1915. Fighting at Boesinghe – Germans Trap. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 22 July. P.10. Col.2. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11739263/Daily-Telegraph-July-22-1915.html [Accessed: 22 July 2015].

Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 22 July 2015). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11739263/Daily-Telegraph-July-22-1915.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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Poem ~ The Fight For St Julien - Monday, 3 May 1915

Impression sketch of St Julien, 1915 - by Jamie.an original image can be seen at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bandl.danby/004Bn1915.html

Described in prior reports, German gas

Attacks, north of Ypres, had been made

At different times against British forces.

Around one particular section, it was

Not until 24 April, when in early hours

That enemy gas bombs were used.

One eyewitness on the lines stated

That late afternoon, on Thursday last,

French were pulling back on the west.

From a southerly direction, clouds

Of gas were drifting over ground

Driven by wind - closing in on them.

Their own position was occupied,

Being then shelled with explosives

Of high density - through until 8 p.m. 

On following day of Friday, saw some

Hours of bombardment of inclusion

Of gases - in attempt to poison them.

The German enemy infantry only lay

From about 120 yards away - to expect

An effect to put heads above parapets.

Intermittently to give accompaniment

Of rapid rifle fire - when wind dispersed

Gases - the enemy made no advance.

Thinning gas fumes made little effect -

Then on dawn of the Saturday, a sight

Of an airship appeared eastwards.

'Four red stars' fell from craft, to float

Slowly down dying out - their fixation

To observe this turned back to front.

A smoky wall had formed, blurring all

Views of enemy behind yellowish -

Green vapours, pushed by a breeze.

The invisible enemy made fire through

The wall – a prisoner said later how

They were unable to take advance -

Gas fumes had affected themselves.

12.30 a.m. on Sunday 25^th were more

Repeated attacks, forcing a fall back.

Allied retreated NW of Zonnebeke,

On part of the Grafenstafel Ridge,

For a line to reform along a stream -

For a distance on the Haanebeek -

While no change had remained

Along the Yperlee Canal, until 26^th.

At St Julien and east of their village,

Germans, in gathering over previous

Evening, then started their attack.

Each new assault grew more fierce

Yet with reinforcements, the witness

Stated the allied position as secured.

About Broodseinde, to the east, the line

Was cut into and Germans occupants

Settled into a section of allied trenches.

On afternoon of 26th, under a heavy

Bombardment, French and British East

Of St. Julien and Steenstraat moved.

Making a combined counter attack

Which raised right along the front -

To be described as a turning point.

A point to stop the enemy offence,

Allowing the allied to gain ground -

Giving needed relief of pressure.

In that counter attack of a narrow

Front, squeezed the guns - increased

Fire from left, came the French 75’s.

Over from the right British Batteries,

At odd times above the thundery

Noise, spewed howitzers from Ypres.

To the witnesses’ right, infantry began

A storm of enemy trenches nearby

St Julien, to capture the village edge.

Further trenches were taken from

The Bois des Cuisinirs sitting west

Of St. Julien, with more elsewhere.

The advance was made to take

700 yards  - only to fall back from

St. Julien as gas came once again.

As enemy made emplacements

With rattling machine guns in barns

And finds of other advantage spots.

French captured prisoners of 250 -

To retake Lizerne and Het Sas

Trenches and by canal's west bank.

With suffering on both sides, fights

Took place out in open daylight, as

Both sides pushed at varied points.

The Germans made close formations

Of their large numbers, in easy artillery

Targets- night fell with no occurrences.

As the 27^th dawned, an organic line

Of allies held Zonnebeke north - while

Eastern edge of the ridge was to bend -

Southwest, a mile east to St. Julian,

From Haanabeek stream, in a curve

To Vamheule Farm to curve westerly -

Across Low ridges, west to east,

Onto the Ypres Langemarchk Road

To join the French section’s progress.

From the canal’s west bank Germans

Had been displaced, except at bridge

Head of Steenstraat, which they held.

In a counter attack lunch hour, progress

Between the canal and road of Ypres-

Poelcapplle; till right and centre stopped.

With the left flank also halted, the line

Remained the same as previous day.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1915. Fighting at Ypres – Extensive Use of Poisonous Gas – Value in defence - Gallant Airman’s Death. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 3 May. P.10. Col.4. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11574527/Daily-Telegraph-May-3-1915.html [Accessed: 3 May 2015].

Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 3 May 2015). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11574527/Daily-Telegraph-May-3-1915.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

#WW1 #WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #WW1centenary #worldwarone #worldwaroneremembered #WW1St.Julien