Wednesday 27th March 1918

Billets at Dueville

Starting out at 9.55am the Battalion marched eight miles north-west, via Villaverla to Thiene, which was described as, “a very decent town with a fair amount of good shops … its shops had little for sale … but its surroundings were magnificent”.

From Dueville the Division would move on to the Asiago Plateau itself, which was situated north of the River Astico where the ground rises sharply to c.4,000 feet above the river bed onto the Asiago Plateau. It was considered “a very daunting prospect to locate and supply troops in such a position. However, in the centre and right it was possible to take wheeled transport up steep roads, with the ascent spread over around four miles due to the skill of Italian engineers”. To the left there were steeper slopes still near Monte Brusabo and Monte Pau. The plateau was described as being “like a vast step before the heights of the southern Alps”. From the southern edge of the plateau it was around 5,000 yards to the allied front line. There was then a No Man’s Land, mostly extending over around 800 yards to the town of Asiago itself, which was in Austrian hands. There was then a further 2,000 yards to the general slope of the Alps.

In the allied sector the plateau was composed of hills up to c.600 feet, which allowed for both lateral and forward routes. Further north, in No Man’s Land and in the area under Austrian control, it was an open, undulating plain. Between the allied and Austrian lines ran the dry bed of the River Ghelpac, which did get deeper further west, culminating in a steep ravine at Val d’Assa just west of the left boundary of the British front.

The Italians had constructed miles of trenches, often blasted out of solid rock. There was road transport, but also funicular railways and aerial trolley routes (known as teleferica). The allied forward defences were on the northern, descending slopes of the hills going down into the Ghelpac valley and would have been fully exposed to Austrian view, but for being concealed in the dense pine woods. There were, however, considerable problems in defending such steep, tree-clad slopes. The Austrian defences across the plain were easily visible, “like a trench map” from the British positions.

The front was considered ‘stagnant’, with very little activity, no trench raiding and with the trench lines widely separated. The intense cold and deep snow in winter and early spring also made action virtually impossible. However, with the southern edge of plateau only 5,000 yards from the front line, the Division would effectively be “fighting with its back to a chasm. If the front line was to be lost, then artillery support would become very difficult”. This meant that, unlike practice in France, it would not be possible to create an outpost zone and a battle zone for the organization of defence.

Cpls. John William Pennells (see 10^th January), Ernest Reeve (25923) (see 29^th October 1917) and John Starling (see 29^th October 1917); A/Cpls. William Atkinson (25980) (see 6^th February), Alfred Bradbury (see 29^th October 1917), John Thomas Damant (see 29^th October 1917), Bertie Gooch (see 15^th February) and Albert Reynolds (see 11^th January) and L.Cpls. Percy Harry Bentley (see 29^th October 1917), Stanley Arthur Bones (see 29^th October 1917), Roderick Harmer (see 27^th November 1917), Jesse Merritt (see 22^nd February) and Reginald James Nosworthy (see 12^th March) who had held their appointments as NCO’s with the Army Veterinary Corps, prior to being transferred to 10DWR in October 1917, now relinquished their appointments at the expiry of six months with their new unit and reverted to the rank of Private.

Pte. Herbert Ridley (see 24^th February) was killed in action while serving in France with 5DWR. His body, along with those of a number of other members of the Battalion, was buried but the site of the grave would be lost in subsequent fighting.

Pte. Ellis Sutcliffe (see 14^th December 1917), serving with 2^nd/5^th DWR, was reported missing in action near Acihet-le-Petit; he would later be confirmed as having been taken prisoner. He would be held at prison camps at Limburg, between Cologne and Frankfurt and at Gustrow, east of Hamburg.

Pte. Joseph Chandler (see 6^th February), serving in France with 1^st/7^th DWR, was posted back to England; the reason for his posting is not known for certain, but it seems likely that he had been wounded in action.

A second payment, of £1, was authorised, on the account of the late Pte. Joseph William Henley (see 19^th February) who had been killed in action on 18^th October 1917; the payment would go to his widow, Lilian.

A second payment, of 7s., was authorised on the account of the late Pte. Tom Horsfall (see 5^th February), who had died of wounds on 5^th October 1917; the payment would go to his mother, Mary.

A payment of £10 7s. 11d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Stanley Peace (see 20^th September 1917), who had died of wounds on 20^th September 1917; the payment would go to his mother, Mary Ann.  

A second payment, of 2s. 9d., was authorised, on the account of the late Pte. William John Williamson (see 19^th February) who had been killed in action on 1^st October 1917; the payment would go to his mother, Mary.

Pte. William John Williamson

A pension award was made in the case of the late Sgt. Ernest Nussey (see 24^th January), who had been killed in action in September 1917; his mother, Martha, was awarded 5s. per week, later increased (in March 1919) to 12s. 6d. per week. 

Sgt. Ernest Nussey