“On the Road to Passchendaele”

cnock · Joined: 31 Jul 2009 Posts: 12 Location: Belgium

[IMG]http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/7139/lowbankfarm.jpg[/IMG]

Low Farm, near Frezenberg, middle of picture

Cnock[/img]

Piron · Joined: 30 Jul 2009 Posts: 10 Location: Flanders

cnock · Joined: 31 Jul 2009 Posts: 12 Location: Belgium

" Low Farm is not a white-washed cottage, but is a filthy, waterlogged Bosche pill-box. Its western wall is intact, solid and windowless, so that we need not fear our own guns. Its eastern wall is not intact, is not solid, and it possesses windows, through which the Bosche sends M.G. bullets. We had actually 2 or 3 men who were sitting on the floor wounded by bullets coming in through the window andt hey were almost level with the ground.
Of course Boches were only about 100 to 150 yards away in Beck House and Borry Farm ( see map post nr.2)
The door faced the South and was hafl-blocked by a stone, which was an important factor when You consider that Boche had an M.G. trained on it and it took you 10 to 20 seconds to wriggle inside.
The inside dimensions were those of a decent caravan, but half the height, and 30 men were croweded inside... "

narrated by a strecher bearer of 15th (Scottish) Division

regards,

Cnock

Piron · Joined: 30 Jul 2009 Posts: 10 Location: Flanders

Pillboxes were priority targets once conquered. They were preregistered by all nearby artillery units simply because they knew that as soon as they were taken they would be occupied by a large concentration of enemy soldiers. It became even more interesting when they became used as a field HQ.
While pillboxes may look safe they were the ultimate artillery magnets.

cnock · Joined: 31 Jul 2009 Posts: 12 Location: Belgium

...the Germans thought the same, their bunkers attracted too much British artillery fire, and in the later stages of 3rd Battle of Ypres, they preferred to shelter in shell holes instead of in the bunkers, who had lost most of their camouflage due to the heavy shelling

Cnock

cnock · Joined: 31 Jul 2009 Posts: 12 Location: Belgium

Kortebeek Farm, near Namur Crossing, Langemark

[IMG]http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/3519/kortebeek.jpg[/IMG]

Cnock

Wienne · Joined: 30 Jul 2009 Posts: 1 Location: Belgium

Just to help...

Normally it should work for you, seeing the img tags. If you're posting, look to see if by any chance BBCode is disabled? (The four buttons beneath the text window). If it's disabled the forumsoftware will regard the img (and other) tags as plain text instead of commands...

It's one of the options in your profile too, so have a look there too if it's disabled.

Wienne

cnock · Joined: 31 Jul 2009 Posts: 12 Location: Belgium

Hello,

Thanks again

Kortebeek Farm :

'' On 20/10/1917 the 11th Battalion on relief moved back to old trenches at Schreiboom, with headquarters in Kortebeek Farm.
This pill-box smelt so strongly that the floor was dug up, when the bodies of several Germans were found under the mud. At the feet of one was a bottle of beer unopened.
While here a big shell landed just above the doorway, which faced the enemy. Had it struck the pill-box a foot lower everyone inside would have been killed. ''

from The history of the Suffolk Regiment 1914-1927

Regards,

Cnock

cnock · Joined: 31 Jul 2009 Posts: 12 Location: Belgium

Bank Farm,

see top first pic Low Farm

The first concerns a gallant young officer (Lt. Faussett of 'D' Company , 1/9 King's Rgt) and an equally gallant German machinegunner. The latter in order to obtain a better field of fire had mounted his gun on the roof of a concrete dug-out (Bank Farm), from which he raked the ranks of the King's men as they advanced. Seeing the losses suffered from this gun, Lt Faussett gallantly led a party against it, but felle dead, shot through the heart, though his men were hard pressing the gallant German.
A tank arrived and opened fire on the machine-gun, which still continued to fire until at last the brave gunner fell. He was found stretched out dead upon the roof of the dugout, surrounded by hundreds of empty cartridge cases.....

Company Headquarters were established in a dugout at Bank Farm, on the roof of which was the machine gun which had caused so much trouble. The dug out had been the H.Q. of an artillery officer, believed to be a colonel, who was taken prisoner. A quantity of maps and documents were taken here and were sent back to Brigade H.Q......

from The History of the King's Regiment (Liverpool) 1914-1919

Regards,

Cnock

cnock · Joined: 31 Jul 2009 Posts: 12 Location: Belgium

Stray Farm

[url][URL=http://img221.imageshack.us/i/stray.jpg/][IMG]http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/4063/stray.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Cnock[/url]

Piron · Joined: 30 Jul 2009 Posts: 10 Location: Flanders

Stray Farm

cnock · Joined: 31 Jul 2009 Posts: 12 Location: Belgium

Thanks again!

Stray Farm 5/8/1917
7/Somerset Light Infantry : Bn H.Q. moved to Stray Farm, a more secure spot but a loathsome place. The farm had been used by the Germans as a soup kitchen for troops going to and from the front line : it had a large cellar in which were bunks.
The latter were an advantage, for the floor was covered by black slime and water to a depth of about a foot, which stank horribly whenever stirred up, and baling and pumping made no impression on it.

from The Somerset Light Infantry 1914-1919

Regards,

Cnock