Up at about 7.30. Rather dull morning. Troops moving up. Moved off after dark and arrived on the borders of a wood near to La Fontain N D1. Bivouaced out at night and put up tents for the officers, in the dark. Good news from the front.
Tag Archives: Graincourt-lès-Havrincourt
9 October 1918; Wednesday
Up at 8 o’clock. Heard that the Germans are retiring from Cambrai and received orders to stand by. Infantry moving up. Watched Cambrai burning. News after tea that the Germans are ten kilos from Cambrai. Got down to bed about 7 o’clock and slept until 7 next morning.
8 October 1918; Tuesday
Up at about 8 o’clock. Had very little sleep and felt washed out. Spent nearly all day building dugout with Sergeant Powell and Billy Truman. British made a big attack north and south of Cambrai and got * after hard fighting. Got down to bed in good time and slept well. Heard rumours of the French and Americans advancing in the Argonne.
7 October 1918; Monday
Up at about 7.30. Paraded for a few fatigues. News continuing good and all manner of rumours. Marched off shortly after 2 and got into lorries at Souastre and moved off at 2.30. Arrived at near Grincourt [sic]1 at about 11 o’clock and marched to an open field near to the sugar refinery2. In bivouacs. I was put on guard and stayed up until 3.45. Slept badly when I did get down. Very cold. Didn’t know quite where we were. Jerry shelling Bourlon Wood3, about a kilo in front of us.
Grincourt: Actually Graincourt-lès-Havrincourt (B), 9km WSW. of Cambrai (Michelin square K7), some 40km due E. as the crow flies from Souastre (A). ↩
The “sugar refinery”, also referred to in some other accounts as the “sugar factory”, was locally known as Graincourt Sucrerie, and was possibly near the site of the Sucrerie British Cemetery (C). ↩
Boulon Wood remains to this day and is located to the SE of the the Bourlon Wood Canadian War Memorial (D) and the Bourlon Wood Cemetery (E). It is, as ALL suggests, about a kilometre from the Sucrerie. ↩