Letter from Arthur Seaforth Blackburn to Guy Fisher, France, 4 September 1916

France
4^th September
1916

My dear Guy
I was damned glad to get your letter
yesterday and to hear that you were still alive. I
had come to the conclusion that something must have
happened to you. We are still enjoying (?) ourselves
here in France. I am a Temporary Captain now and
am in command of D Coy. We have been having a
good old go in, in the big scrap. It is not quite
the fun it is cracked up to be this "pushing". Our
first introduction to it was in capturing Pozieres.
We had a pretty hard job but we gave Fritz
absolute hell. We got our first introduction to gas
here, as he Fritz bombarded us with gas shells
pretty heavily while we here getting into position.
Pozieres, as you may have heard, was a very strong
point in the second system of defence. Immediately
behind it was a fairly high ridge and along this
ran two very strong trenches, about 50 yards apart.
The attack in the first of these failed temporarily but
we held one end of it. I was given the pleasant
job of bombing my way up it, after the frontal
attack had failed. It was the biggest bastard of
a job I have ever struck. Our heavies, in the preliminary
bombardment had knocked parts of it out of existence

2/

and Fritz could see into stretches of it from his second
line. About every twenty yards the trench would be obliterated
for three or four yards and you would have to fully
expose yourself to get any further. Of course, as soon
as Fritz found that we were attacking it, he got machine
guns & snipers trained onto the gaps and this made it
most unhealthy. In addition to this, his dugouts in the
trench I was attacking were 30-40 feet deep and he
was fighting like fury to keep it. I started at five in
the morning and by two in the afternoon I had cleared
350 yards of it. I was relieved then as I was just about
collapsing. A week after we came out, the G.O.C. Division
sent a note along to say that he had recommended me
for the V.C. but I don't suppose anything will come of
it, as so many recommendations are sent in and so few
seem to materialise. When we went in the second
time, the position was even worse. The ground was a bit
hilly and we were down in a valley thus:- 
To get to our position you had to come through a 
communication trench coming right over the crest behind us.
Unfortunately Fritz kept up a ceaseless bombardment of this trench
with his heavies with the result that it was practically
flattened out. So you can imagine the joy of moving about. The
firing line was pretty good, deep but very narrow. Things
were right until we were to be relieved. Then the relief came
in too early, about 600 of them, and jambed tight in the trenches.
It was absolutely impossible to move, so after trying for four
hours we climbed up onto the parados (this was within 100 yards
of Fritz) and ran the gauntlet for some five hundred
yards. 
DRL 6392 3rdseries.

3/

The general impression one gets from the whole shew is that
of utterly devastating power of artillery. It is impossible to
imagine it. By the time we went in for the second time there was
not a single wall as much as two feet high in the whole of
Pozieres, whilst there is literally not one blade of green
grass shewing on the ridge behind it. One of the most amazing
things is our complete superiority in the air. The first night
we were close to the line, immediately before attacking Pozieres
I counted thirty Allied aeroplanes  & eighteen Allied observation
balloons all on our little sector of front, and not a single
German. Next morning one single Taube appeared and
instantly six of our fighters set off after it and drove it
back very hurriedly. So complete is Fritz's lack of
observation that our guns do not even take shelter. I
know that will be hard to take, but I can assure you
that it is true. There is one place behind the line, but
only 1½ miles away, where there are 27 guns, ranging
from 60-18 pounders and not one of them is dug in. They
have simply been unlimbered and started firing.
Things seem to be going fairly well lately don't they? The
Russians are doing marvellously well, and now that
Roumania has come in on our side, things ought to
move soon.
You knew Kinnish, of B Coy, did you not? He got his Commission
at the beginning of the year. He was killed five minutes before
being relieved. I think he is the only one of those killed whom you
know. Pep McKail was killed in another Bn. Dill Jose is
all right as far as I know. Gordon Campbell is also

4/

all right. He also is a Temporary Captain.
I was rather amused at the idea of you being fed up.
I would give Twenty quid to be in India in your place
and you apparently would do the same to be here. We
never seem to be satisfied, somehow or other. I wish the
whole bloody shew would end quickly. I am fearfully
sick of it.
I haven't had any leave since I saw you, and there is
not much prospect of getting any, as all leave has been
stopped for some time now. The Colonel is off back to
Australia very soon now I believe, lucky devil.
I have managed to get a small poker school going here
Just lately my luck has been all to hell. For three nights
haven't won a bloody thing and am getting rather Jack
of it.
Well old sport I must stop this and go out onto the
eternal damned parade.
Your old pal
Arthur S. Blackburn
PS. For Christ's sake, destroy this. I am afraid
there would be trouble if the Censor saw it.
ASB

3
DRL
6392 (1).

France
4th September 1916

My dear Guy,
I was damned glad to get your letter yesterday and to hear
that you were still alive. I had come to the conclusion that something
must have happened to you. We are still enjoying (?) ourselves here in
France. I am a Temporary Captain now and am in command of D Coy. We
have been having a good old go in, in the big scrap. It is not quite
the fun it is cracked up to be this "pushing". Our first introduction
to it was in capturing Pozieres. We had a pretty hard job but we gave
Fritz absolute hell. We got our first introduction to gas here, as
Fritz bombarded us with gas shells pretty heavily while we were getting
into position. Pozieres, as you may have heard, was a very strong
point in the second system of defence. Immediately behind it was a
fairly high ridge and along this ran two very strong trenches, about
50 yards apart. The attack on the first of these failed temporarily but
we held one end of it. I was given the pleasant job of bombing my way
up it, after the frontal attack had failed. It was the biggest bastard
of a job I have ever struck. Our heavies, in the preliminary bombard-
ment had knocked parts of it out of existence and Fritz could see into
stretches of it from his second line. About every twenty yards the
trench would be obliterated for three or four yards and you would have
to fully expose yourself to get any further. Of course, as soon as
Fritz found that we were attacking it, he got machine guns and snipers
trained onto the gaps and this made it most unhealthy. In addition to
this, his dugouts in the trench I was attacking were 30-40 feet deep
and he was fighting like fury to keep it. 1 started at five in the
morning and by two in the afternoon I had cleared 350 yards of it. I
was relieved then as 1 was just about collapsing. A week after we came
out, the G.O.C. Division sent a note along to say that he had
recommended me for the V.C. but I don’t suppose anything will come of
it, as so many recommendations are sent in and so few seem to
materialise. When we went in the second time, the position was even
worse. The ground was a bit hilly and we were down in a valley thus :-

-2-

To get to our position you had to come through a communication trench
coming right over the crest behind us. Unfortunately Fritz kept up a
ceaseless bombardment of this trench with his heavies with the result
that it was practically flattened out. So you can imagine the joy of
moving about. The firing line was pretty good, deep but very narrow.
Things were right until we were to be relieved. Then the relief came
in too early, about 600 of them, and jambed tight in the trenches. It
was absolutely impossible to move, so after trying for four hours we
climbed up onto the parados (this was within 100 yards of Fritz) and
ran the gaunlet for some five hundred yards.
The general impression one gets from the whole show is that
of utterly devastating power of artillery. It is impossible to imagine
it. By the time we went in for the second time there was not a single
wall as much as two feet high in the whole of Pozieres, whilst there is
literally not one blade of green grass shewing on the ridge behind it.
One of the most amazing things is our complete superiority in the air.
The first night we were close to the line, immediately before attacking
Pozieres, I counted thirty Allied aeroplanes and eighteen Allied
observation balloons all on our little sector of front, and not a
single German. Next morning one single Taube appeared and instantly
six of our fighters set off after it and drove it back very hurriedly.
So complete is Fritz's lack of observation that our guns do not even
take shelter. I know that will be hard to take, but I can assure you
that it is true. There is one place behind the line, but only 1½ miles
away, where there are 27 guns, ranging from 60-18 pounders and not one
of them is dug in. They have simply been unlimbered and started firing.
Things seem to be going fairly well lately don't they? The Russians are
doing marvellously well, and now that Roumania has come in on our side,
things ought to move soon.
You knew Kinnish, of B Coy, did you not? He got his
Commission at the beginning of the year. He was killed five minutes
before being relieved. I think he is the only one of those killed whom
you know. Pep McKail was killed in another Bn. Dill Jose is all right
as far as 1 know. Gordon Campbell is also all right. He also is a
Temporary Captain.

-3-

I was rather amused at the idea of you being fed up. I would
give Twenty quid to be in India in your place and you apparently would
do the same to be here. We never seem to be satisfied, somehow or
other. I wish the whole bloody shew would end quickly. I am fearfully
sick of it.
I haven't had any leave since I saw you, and there is not
much prospect of getting any, as all leave has been stopped for some
time now. The Colonel is off back to Australia very soon now 1 believe,
lucky devil. I have managed to get a small poker school going here.
Just lately my luck has been all to hell. For three nights haven't won
a bloody thing and am getting rather Jack of it.
Well old sport I must stop this and go out onto the eternal
damned parade.
Your old pal
(signed) Arthur S. Blackburn
P.S. For Christ's sake destroy this. I am afraid there would be trouble
if the censor saw it.
(ASB)

France
4 September 1916

I was given the pleasant job of bombing my way up it,
after the frontal attack had failed. It was the biggest bastard
of a job I have ever struck. Our heavies, in the preliminary
bombardment had knocked parts of it out of existence and Fritz
could see into stretches of it from his second line. About
every twenty yards the trench would be obliterated for three or
four yards and you would have to fully expose yourself to get
any further. Of course, as soon as Fritz found that we were
attacking it, he got machine guns and snipers trained onto the
gaps and this made it most unhealthy. In addition to this, his
dugouts in the trench I was attacking were 30-40 feet deep and
he was fighting like fury to keep it. I started at five in the
morning and by two in the afternoon I had cleared 350 yards of
it. I was relieved then as I was just about collapsing. A
week after we came out, the G.O.C. Division sent a note along
to say that he had recommended me for the V.C. but I don’t
suppose anything will come of it, as so many recommendations
are sent in an so few seem to materialise.
Things seem to be going fairly well lately don't they?
The Russians are doing marvellously well, and now that Roumania
has come in on our side, things ought to move soon.
I was rather amused at the idea of you being fed up.
I would give Twenty quid to be in India in your place and you
apparently would do the same to be here. We never seem to be
satisfied, somehow or other. I wish the whole bloody shew would
end quickly. I am fearfully sick of it.
I haven't had any leave since I saw you, and there is
not much prospect of getting any, as all leave has been stopped
for some time now. The Colonel is off back to Australia very
soon now I believe, lucky devil. I have managed to get a small
poker school going here. Just lately my luck has been all to
hell. For three nights haven't won a bloody thing and am getting
rather Jack of it.
Well old sport I must stop this and go out onto the
eternal damned parade.
P.S. For Christ's sake destroy this. I am afraid there would be
trouble if the Censor saw it.
(ASB)