Battle of Loos

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26 battle of loos
THE SLAUGHTER AND THE BLOOD
Loos was reached at around 7.25 a.m. The depleted 9th Black
Watch and 8th Seaforth Highlanders, now supported by 7th Cameron
Highlanders, the ‘Shiny Seventh’39 , fought their way through
the village. The advancing battalions encountered fierce German
resistance, resulting in a desperate hand-to-hand struggle to
clear the area. Writing to a friend in Warwick, an officer with
a Highland regiment gave a graphic account of the battle.
‘The slaughter and blood, blood, blood everywhere was
frightful, but all stuck to it. I saw wonderful heroism;
the Germans fought well, too. The whole thing is utterly
beyond descriptor – the enormous shells and explosions of
all kinds, the flying earth, the shaking and concussions,
the falling houses, the terrible shrieks and cries and
curses and cheers, and the mad rushing forward, the
horrible sights and corpses... I am on the awful job
to-day of writing home to my dead and wounded men’s
mothers and people.’40
In a letter to his father in Sanquhar, Private W. W. Johnston,
7th Camerons, recalled the fight for the village.
‘When we came to the first house in the village of Loos we
made a line round it, and the sergeant had a peep through
a hole in the wall. No sooner had he his head round than
he made a dive back again. A German in the house had a pop
at him... It wasn’t long until we had them all out of that
house. Two or three bombs soon settled them. We went right
through the village, clearing the Germans out of it. At
the end of the village we found that one of the houses was
inhabited by two French people, an old man and woman. They
gave us a great welcome, shook us by the hand, and said
“Brave I’Ecossais”. They were overcome with joy.’ 41
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