American versus German regiments reporting on actions around Kemmel 31 august 1918
27th and 30th American Divisions
On 30.08, the enemy made a surprise move that tested the doughboys. In the early morning, heavy clouds of smoke crept toward the American lines. At first it was said it was a gas attack, but further observation revealed the Germans were burning dumps of some kind to mask a withdrawal. A prisoner captured near Kemmel Hill confirmed the updated report when he told interrogators that troops were retiring to the Wytschaete-Messines Ridge. He claimed a new line was established in front of Armentieres, and that eight men per company in machine gun posts remained behind on Kemmel, where they were to give the impression of strength.
On 31.08, the British II Corps ordered the 30th Division to send out patrols in the sector to determine the strength and location of the enemy. The division commander, Major General Lewis, chose the 60th Infantry Brigade and made it clear that if strong resistance was met, the brigade was to return to its entrenchments. Small parties from the 119th and 120th Infantry Regiments moved out, and like those of the 53d Brigade, found the German defences at Kemmel Hill mostly abandoned. Additional parties from the 30th Division held nearby positions at the Voormezeele Switch and Lock 8 of the canal. The Germans were still close by in strength, so Lewis ordered his troops to hold tight and await further orders.
At 0730 the next morning, Lewis gave the order to advance. After a brief barrage, a platoon of 40 men from Company I, 120th Infantry, moved forward towards Lankhof Farm. There, the Germans had constructed a cluster of pillboxes in the ruins of an old farm building and positioned machine gunners and snipers.
Note : the lankhof farm bunkers are not German but were built by English and Australian troops , since lankhof farm was only captured by the Germans in the spring offensive the 27th of April 1918 so here the author from borrowed soldiers got it wrong.
As the Americans advanced, the Germans withdrew to the canal and abandoned their defences at the farm, suffering only two casualties. The platoon then pushed beyond the farm and established contact with the 119th Infantry advancing on the right of Lock 8. Artillery from the British 33d Division fired in support, but several rounds fell short, wounding a number of Americans. Friendly fire incidents were an unfortunate consequence of war.With the 119th taking fire from both its own artillery support and the Germans, two more platoons from the 120th Infantry were sent forward to help relieve the chaotic situation. After advancing 1,000 yards, they retired, having lost touch with both flanks. The Germans complicated matters with fire from trench mortars and machine guns hidden in Ravine Wood. At 10 o’clock, 2d Battalion, 119th Infantry, advanced and held on against heavy resistance. During this action, a patrol that included Corporal Burt T. Forbes of Company I, was acting as a flank guard when a squad of eight Germans approached. As the enemy started setting up their machine guns, Forbes charged the Germans, single-handedly killing three and driving the other five away. For this act of bravery, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the French Croix de Guerre. Word of the action was sent to the rear by pigeon. It was the first time this means of communication had been used by the 30th. Remarkably, only one hour and five minutes elapsed between the time the message was sent, received and transmitted by the division staff.
After intense fighting, the 30th Division’s contribution to the operation was over. It gained one square mile of ground, inflicted one hundred German casualties, and captured sixteen prisoners, two machine guns, one grenade launcher, and a small amount of ammunition and stores. Kemmel Hill was now in Allied hands .In the process of taking it, the 30th lost two officers and thirty-five men killed.
infantry regiment 459( German)
31.8 on short leave the commander of the regiment accompanied by Lt. Rühn travels to Brugge and, having hardly arrived there, is recalled by distant order, since, after the Kemmel had been occupied the previous morning, the Americans had attacked our outposts at Voormezele. At midnight the commander arrives in the area Houthem – Kortewilde : After a quiet morning, with clear visibility, the enemy had moved dense columns against our position without artillery preparation. Our well-placed artillery, infantry and M.G. fire inflicted immense losses on the enemy, who behaved very clumsily. their attack was completely defeated. In the section, the enemy, who had temporarily penetrated, was thrown out by the counterattack of Lt. of the Reserve Rohlsing and his men, actively supported by the squad of Sgt Schmidt, whereby three Americans of the 119 IR of the 30 Division were captured. Later, numerous enemy sanitary troops could be observed on the battlefield. Our losses amounted to 7 dead, 23 wounded and 12 missing, most of whom became prisoners.( see blog last week where the 27 division says 5 men of IR 459 were taken prisoner)
IR 153
The joint command was cancelled on 31.8 and the combat leadership of the rearguard copagnies was left to the regiments. On the same day, the Kemmel was cleared. The rearguard battles brought the division its first clash with the Americans, as the 27 American Division had replaced the 6 British Division. But these young troops were no match for the battle with the tried and tested 8 Infantry Division. Their losses on 31.8 and 1.9 were so heavy that one brigade had to be withdrawn after only two days as worn out and the whole division had to be relieved by an English division. Dense fog made it very difficult to conduct the battle, especially in the area of the wijtschate creek. It was to this fog, which was also artificially reinforced, that the English owed the successes they achieved on 4.9 morn in an attack on both sides of the wijtschate – groote vierstraat road.
Sources :
Borrowed Soldiers: The American 27th and 30th Divisions and the British Army on the Ypres Front, August-September 1918
Written By: Mitchell Yockelson
Das Altenburger Regiment (8. Thüringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 153) im Weltkriege
Das (rheinisch-westfälische) Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 459
Image and map from IR 459