Loos
Hohenzollern Redoubt
Part of the problem for the British was the fact that the Germans held two vantage points over the entire sector. The double pylon at Loos; known as Tower Bridge to the British for obvious reasons, and the tower just outside Auchy lez la Bassée (Now known more simply as Auchy lès Mines).
This tower was part of Fosse 8 of the Société des Mines de Béthune.
A fosse is a pit or perhaps better explained here, the main pit head. Alongside them you would find the auxiliary shafts or puits as well as the slag heaps or crassiers.
Two mining companies were involved on the battlefield, those of Béthune and Lens. Fortunately the terms of their contracts meant that tunneling was carried out in different sectors so the British only had to worry about those galleries which stretched back from Fosse 8 in the German sector to those pit heads behind the British lines.
The tower at Fosse 8 meant that the Germans had a full view over the entire British Sector. Efforts to try and destroy it with the artillery available proved futile.
To reach the general area of the redoubt (for there is no sign or remnant today to marks its place) there are two routes.
The simpler if you have already visited the area of Loos is to take the D39 past St Mary's ADS Cemetery and towards Vermelles. You will pass a monument on your left just before the village and immediately afterwards come to a sharp right hand bend with a lane leading off to the right. Take that lane to the right and keep going until you arrive at Quarry Cemetery.
From the other direction, coming down the same laneway, come into Auchy les Mines and follow the signs for the Quarry Cemetery. This will lead you down past miner's cottages (Much better built than those of 1915) in the Cité Madagascar which itself sat just behind the German front line.
9th (Scottish) Division
The 9th Division had the extremely difficult task of trying to take Fosse 8 and its crassier plus the Hohenzollern Redoubt which protected them. This would be the first time that the Division had gone into action.
The 10 metre high crassier had been well tunnelled and offered not only a fine observation point but also protected emplacements for machine gunners.
The Hohenzollern Redoubt was about 300 metres wide and completely enclosed by surrounding barbed wire entanglements. The often overused word - formidable - is well merited in this instance.
26th Brigade were supposed to take the Redoubt and then continue on to Fosse 8 whilst to their left 28th Brigade would take out a number of other strongholds including the area around the Cité Madagascar and the railway line.
On the eve of the attack Russian saps (shallow tunnels) which had already been driven out towards the redoubt were opened up and 26th Brigade's leading troops: 7th Bn Seaforth Highlanders and 5th Bn Cameron Highlanders moved into position.
The artillery preparation had done excellent work on the German wire and at 06:30 hours on 25 September 1915 the Seaforths went into the attack, the Camerons ten minutes behind them.
Gas was being used for the first time by the British and in this area it tended to hang in front of their own trenches forcing the advancing Scots to move through it. However, between the gas and smoke grenades they gained some cover. The Camerons had held back a few moments in the hope that the gas would drift towards the German lines but when it didn't, set off anyway.
Despite the supposed strength of their fortifications the Germans offered little in the way of physical resistance and fell back before the advancing Highlanders. By 07:30 hours the Seaforths had already advanced through the Hohenzollern Redoubt and Fosse 8 and were now in a place called Corons Trench.
Fifteen minutes later the Camerons were up alongside them.
Behind these two battalions the 8th Bn Black Watch had been slowly filtering men through to make up for the casualties incurred during the first assault. The Black Watch though were also suffering badly from enfilading fire - for on the left, 28th Brigade had been nailed to the floor by the German defences and had been brought to a standstill.
Corons Trench was found to be knee deep in water, a present left behind by the retreating Germans who had opened up sluice gates leading into the trench system.
Nevertheless the Highlanders managed to consolidate their position and artillery observers who had moved forward onto the Fosse dump were soon able to silence any German Artillery that looked threatening.
Failure on the left
28th Brigade had started the day very badly. The wind had turned against them and most of the Scots waiting in the trenches found themselves subjected to their own gas attack (Remember that cannisters of gas are being used: gas shells are still in the future).
To add insult to injury part of the German counter bombardment had hit some of the gas cannisters causing fatalities and further disruption in the British lines.
In the 10th Highland Light Infantry, waiting in the front line, Lt Colonel Grahame was gassed along with many of his men, and when the battalion moved out into no man's land found themselves under murderous fire from a German position on the railway line.
The Germans had a clear view of the HLI as they advanced and 70 per cent of the leading waves were made casualties within the next few minutes. All told they lost 646 killed and wounded that morning.
In front of the 28th Brigade the German wire was found to be uncut and units were raked with fire whilst trying to find a way through.
All of these disasters that were falling on the 28th had a knock on effect of course on the 26th who were now well out in front of their own lines.
The 8th Bn the Gordon Highlanders now attempted to cross almost a kilometre of open ground to reach the German Pekin Trench system - the last before the village of Haisnes.
Remarkably, the ground was not covered by the Germans and the trenches were unoccupied, the greatest difficulty for the Highlanders had been cutting their way through the wire.
Cut Off
What happened now was that the 27th Brigade, in reserve, immediately came up in support of the 26th with the intention of advancing as far as Pekin Trench. When they realised that this was already held by the Gordons they decided to hold fast in the Trenches at Fosse 8 and await for requests for assistance.
The first request was received at 13:30 hours and the Company that went forward was so badly shelled as it crossed the open space that few arrived up with the Gordons.
The German Artillery had got the range and the men in Pekin Trench were holding a line without flanks - an impossible situation unless swiftly remedied.
The British Official History makes great note that at this period in the war the advantage in trench fighting seemed to be with the Germans whose stick grenades were much more efficient and capable of further range than the British ball grenades, which still required to be actually lit (in mud and rain !).
By 17:00 hours the Germans had managed to grenade their way back down most of Pekin Trench and the decision was taken to retire those Scots still there.
Thus by the end of the 25th September, some measure of success had been gained in taking the much vaunted Hohenzollern Redoubt and Fosse 8. For their first engagement in the war the 9th Division could be reasonable pleased.
What had really been needed though had been one of the Reserve Divisions to really push through the advantage and rupture the German line.
The Aftermath
In the middle of the night the Germans launched a stealthy counter attack which took parts of the new British front line totally by surprise. This included the Commander of 27th Brigade: Major General Bruce who had gone forward to use the telephone system in an area known as The Quarries, only to be captured by the silent arrival of the enemy.
In his absence the senior officer of the Brigade decided that with the loss of the Quarries it would be better to pull the Brigade back and regroup and re-align with those units either side.
The 26th Brigade managed to beat the Germans back from Fosse 8, having as aid the 73rd Brigade who had been in the middle of relieving them when the Germans attacked.
73rd Brigade, 24th Division
The 73rd Brigade who were now charged with defending Fosse 8 were absolutely exhausted.
Not only were they new to war they had been marching without food and drink for nearly two days.
Whilst throughout the 26th September the remainder of the 24th Division plus the 21st Division had been attempting to press on against Loos, the 73rd had passed a miserable 24 hours under constant shell fire in and around Fosse 8 and the Hohenzollern Redoubt.
At dawn on the 27th the Germans launched their counter attack to regain Fosse 8 and the dump. With perhaps greater expertise and better grenades and certainly fresher in spirit, the Germans made progress. They were reinforced towards midday and it became evident that the dump was lost.
It was about this moment that Major General Thesiger in command of 9th Division was killed on going forward to observe the situation at the front. The new commander: Major General Bulfin immediately ordered a counter attack by 26th Brigade.
The Brigade had already lost over 2 000 men and only about 600 were now available but they advanced again to the aid of the 73rd and for a moment the Hohenzollern Redoubt remained in British hands. The Germans though, had regained all but their original front line.
The Loss of the Hohenzollern Redoubt
Throughout the next few days the British tried again and again to retake Fosse 8 and the dump, but they were beaten off every time. They were however managing to beat off German efforts to push them out of the Hohenzollern Redoubt.
This remained the situation until 2 October when the Germans - now closing on from both sides - pinched out the Redoubt and once again made it theirs.
46th (North Midland) Division
On 13 October as one of the last gasps of the battle for Loos the 46th Division was called upon to retake the Hohenzollern Redoubt. They had only just arrived in the sector and could certainly not claim to know the area that they were about to attack.
The preliminary bombardment was pitiful and the released gas only settled in the shell craters giving the Germans notice that the assault was about to take place.
Ever gallant, the soldiers advanced into the attack and captured a few areas but the losses were appalling. Within the first ten minutes of the attack being signalled the majority of their 3 763 casualties had already fallen.
The redoubt remained in the Germans possession.
If you had approached this area via Vermelles it was the 46th Division's Memorial that you saw on the side of the road.
You won't find any trace of the redoubt these days it has long since been returned to the local farmers or developed. If you look up the side of the Quarry Cemetery towards the electricity pylons that is its approximate location.
Piper Laidlaw VC