25/08/2026
August 1918, during WW1, saw the men of 4th Bn. (Ross-shire) Seaforth Highlanders, 5th Bn. (Caithness and Sutherland) Seaforth Highlanders and 6th Bn. (Morayshire) Seaforth Highlanders fighting over ground which was very familiar to them, the Rouex Chemical Works and Greenland Hill.
Located to the east of Arras, the Rouex Chemical Works and it’s overlooking Greenland Hill had been the sight of horrific fighting in April 1917, during the 1st Battle of Arras. 4th, 5th and 6th Seaforth, part of 51st Highland Division had all been involved and had suffered tremendously during the grinding attritional fighting. Now 16 months later, the 51st had returned, full of determination that this time the story would be different.
The confidence was matched all along the Allied line, the great German Spring Offensive had failed and now after months of defiant defence and resilience the Allies were surging forward in a mass counterattack. The German Army was crumbing, it’s line buckling, the Allied 100 Days Offensive had begun.
The 51st had been highly active during the dark spring days when it seemed that the Germans were going to overrun all before them. Time and time again all along the front, from the Somme to Ypres and even the Marne alongside the French, the Highlanders had manned the line and thrown back the German assault. They wanted, expected, a rest at last. It was not to be, the demands of war came first, back into the line, this time at Arras.
Deployed on the northern bank of the River Scarpe, the mission for the Highlanders was to secure the flank of the Canadian Corps advancing to the south of the river. Any success by the Canadians would bring their flank under the observation of, and inventible fire from, Greenland Hill. To protect their comrades, the Highlanders had to take the hill.
While 4th Seaforth, alongside 7th Gordons, 6th Black Watch and 7th Black Watch, took the hill head on, 5th and 6th Seaforth were down by the riverside, pushing through the Rouex Chemical Works, where so many Highlanders had fallen the year before. It was tough going, the Germans defending with all of their usual skill, yet the Highlanders slowly but surely pushed through, driving the Germans from the works. The Germans fell back along the river and manned their secondary positions in the woods before Plouvain. 5th and 6th Seaforth were content to simply pin them there, keeping them occupied. Above them on Greenland Hill, 4th Seaforth, the Gordons and Black Watch, had captured the summit and now it would be British fire raining down from the heights. Outflanked the Germans before Plouvain fell back in disorder, many becoming prisoners as 5th and 6th Seaforth drove forward. At the same time, free from fire from Greenland, the Canadian Corps pushed deep past the German front line.
The gratitude of the Canadians, and their appreciation for their Highlander comrades, was summarized by General Arthur Currie, “On behalf of the Canadian Corps, I thank you for your splendid help, you have once more showcased that the fighting qualities of the 51st Highland Division is second to none among the Allied Armies.”
If anyone has ancestors who served with 4th, 5th or 6th Seaforth or their comrades in 100 Days Offensive of WW1, please do share your stories in the comments.
