4th SAI strength going in to action:-
- 20 officers
- 574 Other Ranks
The following messages were received by Capt. Mitchell at 2nd Battalion HQ
- 02:05 pm
Barrage - 02:06 pm
Enemy shelling - 02:07 pm
Our barrage good - 02:08 pm
2nd SAI going over - 02:09 pm
Going over all along the line - 02:11 pm
4th SAI entering front line - 02:12 pm
4th SAI going over & well up ridge - 02:14 pm
Barrage lifting - 02:15 pm
4th SAI going over ridge - 02:18 pm
Men continuing to advance. Scottish moving rapidly - 02:23 pm
Wire to forward observer gone - 02:30 pm
Report from runner:- Our men last seen in vicinity and along ridge to right of Butte but very difficult to see on a/c of smoke. Enemy shelling heavily over our right sector
“Practically no information was received at Bn HQ until a runner arrived from Capt Ross to say he was to right of our original front & near the 1st objective”
“The attack was unable to obtain its objective owing to machine gun fire from our left which simply mowed down our men as they advanced.”
A Wikipedia page on the Butte de Warlencourt.
In his book “The History Of The Transvaal Scottish”, Capt. H. C. Juta describes something of the battle :- “On October 12th, The South African Scottish, under Major (D.R.) Hunt, went over the top under a hail of machine gun bullets falling through the thick mist and smoke; so heavily did they suffer, that they failed to reach the first objective, and were relieved on the 13th when they moved back to High Wood.”
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