page_title: Hohenzollern Redoubt action, 2–18 March 1916
section_title: 18 March
hierarchical_section_title: Hohenzollern Redoubt action, 2–18 March 1916 / Battle / 18 March
caption_attribution_description: English: Diagram of crater mines and saps, WWI
context_page_description: The Hohenzollern Redoubt action, 2–18 March 1916 was fought on the Western Front during the First World War. The Hohenzollern Redoubt was a German defensive position north of Loos-en-Gohelle, a mining town north-west of Lens in France. The Redoubt was fought over by the British and German armies from the Battle of Loos to the beginning of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916. Over the winter of 1915–1916, the 170th Tunnelling Company RE dug several galleries under the German lines in the area of the redoubt, which had changed hands several times since September 1915. In March 1916, the west side was held by the British and the east side was occupied by the Germans, with the front near a new German trench known as The Chord. No man's land had become a crater field and the Germans had an unobstructed view of the British positions from the Fosse 8 slag heap. The British front line was held by outposts to reduce the number of troops vulnerable to mine explosions and the strain of knowing that the ground could erupt at any moment.
context_section_description: Skirmishing took place in bitter cold and snowstorms but German attacks diminished; it was thought that the Germans had abandoned the attempt to recover the lost ground and were concentrating on improving their defensive positions. By 18 March, the British front line was held by the 6th Buffs, a company of the 6th Queen's, one company of the 6th RWK and the 7th East Surrey of the 37th Brigade. The troops were very tired, after holding the positions for a fortnight, against German attacks in such cold and wet weather. German artillery-fire increased in the morning and fire from trench mortars caused a great deal of damage. A much greater bombardment occurred from 5:15–6:15 p.m., during which the fire of heavy Minenwerfer made the craters untenable; the village of Vermelles was hit by about 2,000 shells and the 12th (Eastern) Division communications back to Annequin and Noyelles were bombarded by lachrymatory shells.
  The troops of the 6th Buffs in craters 1, 2 and A, were killed or buried and the confusion was made worse because West Face Trench, Saville Row and Saps 9 and 9a had been filled by the debris thrown about by the bombardment. Five mines detonated short of the British lines at 6:15 p.m., causing a certain amount of disorganisation and dismay in III Battalion, Bavarian Infantry Regiment 23, which then rallied and commenced the attack. The Bavarians recaptured The Chord and pushed back the 37th Brigade to the near lips of the craters and the old British front line. A British counter-attack was delayed by the need to clear the saps and then three companies of the 6th RWK recaptured the near lips of the craters. The 7th East Surrey held the left of the British line, where one of the German mines blew up Crater C and the German attackers overran the four surviving men in craters B and 4, then got into Sap 12, Russian Sap and Sticky Trench.
  A counter-attack was organised by some of the 7th East Surrey, which recaptured Crater 4 and a commanding position over Crater B. Sap 12 and Russian Sap were blocked and consolidated by 9:15 p.m. Crater 3 had been held during the attack and at 3:15 a.m. on 19 March, the near lips of craters B and C were re-captured. The lip of Crater C was relinquished when day dawned. The British held craters 3 and 4 and the near lips of 1, 2, A and B craters and by 10:30 p.m., the near lip of Crater C had been regained and connected to Russian Sap. The Germans then retired to the near lips on the German side. It later emerged that the Germans had driven new galleries through the clay layer on top of the chalk, which could be dug quietly, contributing to the surprise of the German mine explosions. The 35th Brigade relieved the 37th Brigade and by the time that the crater fighting died down, both sides held the near side of each crater.
caption: Diagram of crater mine galleries and saps
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