Item SMITH, WD 2/4 - Copy diary, 16 Jun 1916 - 11 Dec 1917

Manuscript copy diary, 16 Jun 1916 – 11 Dec 1917, relating to Smith’s command of 20 Division, Jun 1916 – Mar 1917, 56 Division, Jul-Aug 1917, and 20 Division, Aug-Dec 1917, including: diversionary raids, Jun 1916; the use of vests impregnated with antiseptic to reduce the risk of wound infection, 16-18 Jun 1916; the start of the Battle of the Somme, 1 Jul 1916; inaccurate British press coverage of Western Front operations, 24 Jul 1916; a demonstration of flamethrowers, 18-19 Aug 1916; the aftermath of a successful attack on Guillemont village, 19 Sep 1916, including the shortage of troops available to bury the dead and to salvage equipment; German aerial night time bombing behind Allied lines, 28 Sep 1916; the Battle of Le Transloy, Oct 1916; the lack of aerial intelligence on German positions due to bad weather, 6 Oct 1916; inter-brigade sports competitions, 9-14 Nov 1916; cases of trench foot, 15-24 Dec 1916; four months’ leave, chiefly on medical grounds, Mar-Jun 1917; Smith’s taking command of 56 Division, 23 Jul 1917; Smith’s return to the command of 20 Division, 8 Aug 1917; the Battle of Langemarck, 16-18 Aug 1917; the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, 22 Sep 1917; start of planning, Oct 1917, for the Battle of Cambrai, Nov-Dec 1917, including training and extreme secrecy about the planned use of tanks; the start of the Battle of Cambrai, 20 Nov 1917, and the successful use of tanks to clear a way through for infantry; a German counter-attack, 30 Nov 1917.

Also inserted items, including: press cuttings about Western Front operations; letters of congratulation on 20 Division operations; typescript statistics on the issue of rations, 4 Aug1916, and on medals recommended and awarded, 1916; notes on the effectiveness of experimental mortars and flamethrowers, Aug 1916; a detailed account, 7 Sep 1916, of the capture of Guillemont village; snapshot photographs of ruins, abandoned army buildings and battle sites, taken in Feb 1919; report on the capture of the German ‘Au Bon Gite’ blockhouse, Langemarck, by Captain H A Slade, commander of ‘B’ Company, 11 Rifle Brigade, 14 Oct 1917; casualty statistics, Aug and Nov 1917; personal letter to Smith from General Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough, 21 Jun 1918, including Gough’s anger at the British government; printed War Office notes on the British Armies of Occupation, 1919; press cutting from the Morning Post , 12 Jan 1937, on Gough and 5 Army, ‘Vindicated by History’.