Hill 60 Chapter II

2/KOSB’s B and C Company were to form the pioneer supports for the attack of 1/RWK. From the start difficulties arose from the problems of working in darkness amidst the great heaps of debris from the craters, turning the German trench around and turning it into a British fire trench. …

1915-04-18

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2/KOSB’s B and C Company were to form the pioneer supports for the attack of 1/RWK. From the start difficulties arose from the problems of working in darkness amidst the great heaps of debris from the craters, turning the German trench around and turning it into a British fire trench. Defences had to be created in the dark, and the utterly devastated nature of the ground made this a difficult task. However, soon after midnight a parapet had been built and two communication trenches dug back to the old British line, all of this being done under increasingly accurate and heavy German artillery fire, prelude to the counter-attack. The Germans made great efforts to remove the British. All companies now engaged in bIoody hand-to-hand fighting, dealing with Germans who were able to crawl up unseen under the lee of the great lips created by the craters.

Hill 60, Belgium

The Battle of Hill 60 (17 April – 7 May 1915) took place near Hill 60 south of Ypres on the Western Front, during the First World War. Hill 60 had been captured by the German 30th Division on 11 November 1914, during the First Battle of Ypres (19 October – 22 November 1914). Initial French preparations to raid the hill were continued by the British 28th Division, which took over the line in February 1915 and then by the 5th Division. The plan was expanded into an ambitious attempt to capture the hill, despite advice that Hill 60 could not be held unless the nearby Caterpillar ridge was also occupied. It was found that Hill 60 was the only place in the area not waterlogged and a French 3 ft × 2 ft (0.91 m × 0.61 m) mine gallery was extended.

Wikipedia: Battle of Hill 60 (Western_Front)

German

British