Tracking a cavalry regiment

In cases where a researcher is trying to establish where a man was killed or wounded, and even just trying to follow his movements in a theatre of war, there is a reliable approach that is described on this page. The degree of accuracy that can be achieved depends on what was recorded at the time. With luck, an amazingly precise identification of location can be found – but in most cases, the location may end up being just something like “near village XYZ”.

I am going to illustrate the method by reference to the death of Private D/12801 David Duguid Bain of the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys). He died on 6 November 1918 and is buried in Landrecies British Cemetery. Aged 23, he was the son of Robert and Agnes Bain of 26, Southvale Road, Blackheath, London.[Commonwealth War Graves Commission records].

1. Gain a general appreciation

Most of the regular regiments of cavalry were part of a formation known as a Cavalry Division. The structure and basic histories of each of these formations can be found at The Long, Long Trail. So first look at the page for that regiment, see which Cavalry Division it was under, then examine that division’s page. You wil gain an appreciation of the battles and engagements in which it participated.

Bain’s 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) was part of the 2nd Cavalry Division [regiment’s page]

The 2nd Cavalry Division participated in the Final Advance in Picardy (17 October – 11 November, including the Battle of the Sambre (4 November) and the capture of Mons (11 November)) [division’s page]

The Long, Long Trail includes some basic information on this phase of action [battle page]

2. Find and read the war diary of the man’s unit

Each unit recorded its locations and activities in a war diary. They are held by the National Archives as document series WO95, and for those in France and certain other theatres of war they can be downloaded as PDF digital documents. Where they have not been digitised, the original document can be examined at the National Archives.

The diary of Bain’s 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) is held at the National Archives under reference WO95/1139 and it can (at time of writing) be downloaded free of charge to a regietered user.

The diary entry for 6 November 1918 is extensive, describing an advance made while a squadron of the regiment was under temporary orders of 137th Infantry Brigade. The advance had the successive objectives of high ground southeast of Prisches, then high ground south of Cartignies and finally southeast of the same village. I found more details in the diary of the General Staff of the headquarters of 46th (North Midland) Division, under whose command the brigade came.
The death of Private Bain is mentioned (my highlight). Lieutenant Oliver and a patrol had advanced to a bridge at Rouge Croix, when it came under heavy fire from north of the river.

3. Translate location information to contemporary and present-day maps

There are several excellent online tools to help you find the general location. One I often use is the French mapping site Geoportail [link]

Using Geoportail I searched for Prisches. It is shown as a highlight on two different levels of zoom, above. Cartignies can also be seen, and beyond it to the east, the meandering River Petite Helpe (l’Helpe Mineur).

Grid locations such as the N.1.c.1.3 given above can be identified on contemporary trench maps.

This is part of a map contained with the British Official History of Military Operations in France and Flanders, 1918 volume 5. It illustrates the advance made by the Fourth Army in the period 6-7 November 1918. The position of 137th Infantry Brigade can be seen, as can Cartignies.

So far, so good. But we now strike a problem in identifying the location of the bridge at Rouge Croix, near to which Private Bain was killed. This area is beyond that covered by war diaries, and none of the maps attached to the regiment, brigade, division or corps (the division was under IX Corps for these operations), shows Rouge Croix in any detail. Once again, I turn to the present day for help.

Geoportail again. La Roige Croix is shown as a spot on the road running southeast from Cartignies. To the west of it is a small stream, the Ruisseau de Chevireuil.
Geoportail again. There is a small bridge, down a track and crossing the ruisseau. Whether this is the bridge of 6 November 1918 I cannot tell, but this is probably the closest I am going to get to where Private Bain lost his life.
Using Google Maps, the track that goes down to the bridge can be seen on the right. No doubt a determined battlefield pilgrim could walk to it.
Records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission show sthat in 1936 David Duguid Bain was removed from his original place of burial in Cartignies Communal Cemetery and taken a considerable distance for permanent burial at Landrecies Communal Cemetery Extension. One other man, of the Sherwood Foresters, was also relocated.
The grid map reference provided by the CWGC records (57a C.11.b.3.3) does point to the communal cemetery shown on a contemporary map of the Cartignies area. I have marked it with a yellow cross using Linesman software. The cemetery is still there to this day, now a little larger than it was in 1918. It appears that the two men were the only British military burials there and their removal to Landrecies was for the sake of practicality in caring for them.

I hope that this article helped and provides you with a few ideas of how you can track teh movements of a cavalry regiment and, when needed, examine the detail of its locations.

Links

Researching the men of the cavalry

How to read a trench map

The liberation of Landrecies