HEROISM EMERGES FROM THE GREAT WAR 155
went according to plan, the main element would continue to the southeast,
ultimately linking up with Nivelle’s push through the Chemin des Dames
and pincer off a good portion of German-held France in the process.^18
The agony of the Somme in 1916 had not been entirely in vain. Some
tactical lessons had been learned and were put to use with good effect
in the attack of 9 April. Artillery concentration – the weight of shell, the
reliability of the fuses, and the accuracy of the barrage – contributed greatly
to the successes of the opening two days of the battle.^19 What had not been
learned was when to call it quits. The only significant gains made were on
the British left and within 48 hours of the first attack. Gough’s troops on
the right, attacking the northern anchor of the Hindenburg Line, achieved
nothing.^20 Even though it was by design a diversion, the early success on
the left revived hopes of a breakout at GHQ and the attacks continued until
17 May, resulting in a total of 150,000 casualties.^21
Eight Victoria Crosses were won on the first day of the Arras offensive,
and they indicate the nature of courage expected for the remainder of the
war. Seven of the eight were for offensive acts and five of them were for
solo attacks against machine-gun posts.
On 9 April 1917 at Neuville-St-Vaast, France, during an attack on enemy
trenches, Lance-Sergeant [Ellis Welwood] Sifton’s company was held up
by machine gun fire which inflicted many casualties. The sergeant located
the gun and charged it all alone, killing the crew. A small enemy party then
advanced down the trench but he managed to hold them off with bayonet
and clubbed rifle until his comrades arrived and ended the unequal fight,
but in carrying out this gallant act he was killed. His conspicuous valour
undoubtedly saved many lives and contributed largely to the success of
the operation.^22
The level of aggressiveness achieved during the last quarter of 1916 carried
over into 1917 as the new standard to which to aspire:
On 9 April 1917 near Thelus, France, on approaching the first objective,
Private [William Johnstone] Milne noticed an enemy machine gun firing
on our advancing troops. Crawling on hands and knees he managed to
reach the gun which he captured, killing the crew. Later, he again located
a machine gun in the support line, but stalking this gun, as he had the
first, he put the crew out of action and captured it. He was killed shortly
afterwards.^23
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