"At twenty past five to the second, and with a roar that shook the ground, some 3000 of our guns opened out on the 5mile sector of the advance. Through some blunder, our artillery barrage opened up about 200 yards short of the specified range and thus opened right in the midst of us. It was a truly awful time – our own men getting cut to pieces in dozens by our own guns. Immediate disorganisation followed. I heard an officer shout an order to the men to retire a short distance and wait for our barrage to lift. Some, who heard the order, did so. Others,advanced towards the German positions, only to be mown down.
The wire had been cut in a few places by our artillery but only sufficient to allow a few men through it at a time. Even then, what was left of us made an attempt to get through the wire and a few actually penetrated only to be shot down as fast as they appeared. Dozens got hung up in the wire and shot down before my eyes. It was now broad daylight and what was left of us realised that the day was lost. We accordingly lay down in shell holes or any cover we could get and waited. Any man who showed his head was immediately shot. They were maravellous shots those Huns. We had lost nearly eighty per cent of our strength and gained about 300 yards of ground in the attempt. There was no one to give us orders, all our officers of the Battalion having been killed or wounded with the exception of three, and these were all Second Lieutenants who could not give a definite order about the position without authority. All my Company officers were killed and one was shot dead beside me.
Someone is responsible for that barbed wire not having been broken up by our artillery. Someone is responsible for the opening of our barrage in the midst of us instead of 150 yards ahead of us. Someone else is responsible for those machine gun emplacements being left practically intact, but the papers will all report another glorious success, and no one except those who actually took part in it will know any different." - Private Leonard Hart, New Zealand Troop, Battle of Passchendaele, Belgium, Oct 19, 1917 #ww1 #reality