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HEAT EXCHANGERS
HEAT EXCHANGERS

Holger Martin
Institut für Thermische Verfahrenstechnik
Universität Karlsruhe, Germany

©HEMISPHERE PUBLISHING CORPORATION

A member of the Taylor & Francis Group
Washington Philadelphia London
HEAT EXCHANGERS

Copyright © 1992 by Hemisphere Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United
States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act 1976, no part of this
publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or
retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

1234567890 BRBR 98765432

Originally published as Wärmeübertrager by Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart, New York, 1988

Translated by the author and Vijay R. Raghavan.

Cover design by Kathleen Ernst.

A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Martin, Holger, date.

[Wärmeübertrager. English]
Heat exchangers / Holger Martin,
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Heat exchangers. I. Title.

TJ263.M365 1992
621.402'5 -d c 2 0 91-29040
ISBN 1-56032-119-9 CIP
 CONTENTS

Preface to the English Edition IX

Preface to the German Edition xi

Chapter 1 Analysis of Some Standard Types of Heat

Exchangers on an Elementary Basis
1 Stirred Tank with Jacket
1.1 Description
1.2 Formulation of Questions
1.3 Application of Physical Laws
1.4 Development in Terms of the Unknown Quantity
1.5 Mathematical Solution
1.6 Discussion of the Results

2 Double-Pipe Heat Exchanger in Parallel and

Counterflow 11
2.1 Description 11
2.2 Formulation of Questions 11
2.3 Application of Physical Laws 12
2.4 Development in Terms of the Unknown Quantities 14
2.5 Mathematical Solution 15
2.6 Discussion of the Results 15

3 Double-Pipe Bayonet Heat Exchanger 18

3.1 Description 18
3.2 Formulation of Questions 18
3.3 Application of Physical Laws 19
3.4 Discussion of the Results 21
3.5 Pressure Drop in Double-Pipes 24
3.6 Heat Transfer in Double-Pipes 27
VI CONTENTS

4 Conclusions 29
4.1 A Method for the Systematic Analysis of Heat
Exchangers 29
4.2 Form of Presentation of the Results 30

Chapter 2 Influence of Flow Conflguration on Heat

Exchanger Performance 31

1 Stirred Tank, Parallel, and Counterflow 31

1.1 Stirred Tank 31
1.2 Parallel and Counterflow 35

2 Cross Flow 36
2.1 Cross Flow over One Row of Tubes (Cross Flow, One
Side Mixed) 36
2.2 Cross Flow over Several Rows of Tubes 38
2.3 Ideal Cross Flow 41
2.4 Cross Flow, Both Sides Laterally Mixed 43
2.5 Comparison of Simple Flow Configurations 45

3 Combined Flow Conflgurations 46

3.1 Cross-Counterflow 46
3.2 Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchangers with Baffles 52

4 Plate Heat Exchangers 60

4.1 Description 60
4.2 A Peculiar End Effect 63
4.3 Series-Parallel Arrangements 68
4.4 Pressure Drop and Heat Transfer 71

5 Spiral-Plate Heat Exchangers 73

5.1 Description 73
5.2 Temperature Profile and Mean Temperature Difference 75
5.3 Pressure Drop and Heat Transfer 81

Coupling of Two Heat Exchangers by a Circulating

Heat Carrier 82

7 Regenerators 87
7.1 Description 87
7.2 The “ Short” Regenerator 88
7.3 The “ Long” Regenerator 91
7.4 Thermal Coupling of Two Streams by Heat Pipes 94

8 Conclusions 94
8.1 Summary and Compact Presentation of the Formulas 94
8.2 Premises and Limitations of Linear Theory 110
 CONTENTS Vil

Chapter 3 Examples in Heat Exchanger Design 115

1 What is the Optimal Flow Velocity? Example:
Double-Pipe Heat Exchanger 115
1.1 Problem Statement 115
1.2 Check for Feasibility, Minimum Heat Transfer Area
Required 115
1.3 Physical Properties, Heat Duty 116
1.4 Choice of Dimensions of One Heat Exchanger Element 117
1.5 The Economically Optimal Flow Velocity 118
1.6 Calculation of Required Transfer Surface Area 118
1.7 Calculation of Pumping Power 120
1.8 Calculation of Costs 122
1.9 Optimization, Discussion of Results 123

2 What are the Optimal Dimensions of a Heat

Exchanger? Example: Shell-and-Tube Apparatus 125
2.1 Problem Statement 125
2.2 Feasibility 125
2.3 Optimal Dimensions of a Heat Exchanger 129

3 Heat Exchangers with Combined Flow

Confígurations. Example: Plate Heat Exchangers and
Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchangers 130
3.1 Problem Statement 130
3.2 Check for Feasibility, Performance 130
3.3 Choice of Type and Determination of Size 131
3.4 Discussion of Results 138

4 Heat Exchangers in the Flue Gas Cleaning Process of

Power Plants. Example: Regenerator 138
4.1 Description of the Flue Gas Cleaning Process 138
4.2 The Thermal Task 139
4.3 Feasibility 140
4.4 Design of a Regenerator with Fixed StorageMasses 141
4.5 Discussion of Results 146

5 Evaporation Cooling. Example: Falling Film

Condenser for Refrigerants 147
5.1 Problem Statement 147
5.2 Check for Feasibility 147
5.3 Energy Balances, Rate Equations 148
5.4 Determination of the Film Mass Velocity 149
5.5 Choice of Dimensions of Tubular Element 150
5.6 Calculation of Reflux and Surface Area Required 150

6 Evaporation and Condensation. Example: Heat

Exchanger with Vertical Tubes, Steam Heated
Internally [M3] 153
6.1 Problem Statement 153
v ili CONTENTS

6.2 Approximate Calculation of Mean Overall Heat Transfer

Coefficients 155
6.3 Calculation of Mean Overall Heat Transfer Coefficients
from the Local Variation 156
6.4 Comparison between the Approximation and the More
Rigorous Analysis 159
6.5 Numerical Example 162

7 Cooling and Partial Condensation of OneComponent

from Inert Gas. Example: Fin-Tube Air Cooler and
DehumidiHer 166
7.1 Problem Statement 166
7.2 Calculation of the States of Air 166
7.3 Energy and Mass Balances, Surface Area 168
7.4 Choice of Dimensions of Tubes and Flow Cross Section 170
7.5 Calculation of Fin Efficiency 171
7.6 Calculation of the Heat Transfer Coefficient 173
7.7 Recalculation of the Heat Transfer Coefficient by a
Different Method 174

Chapter 4 Important Data for Thermal Design of Heat

Exchangers 177
1 Heat Capacities 177
1.1 Gases 178
1.2 Liquids 179
1.3 Solids 179

2 Thermal Conductivities 179

3 Heat Transfer Coefficients 179

Appendix A Crossflow over n Rows of Tubes 183

Appendix B Temperature Variation and Efficiency of a

Heat Exchanger with Three Passes in a
Laterally Mixed Shell-Side Stream 189

Appendix C Efficiency and Mean Temperature Difference

of Heat Exchangers with One Shell Pass and
Even Numbers of Tube Passes 193
Symbols 197
References 201
Index 205
 PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION

The production of an English translation of my book Wärmeübertrager was suggested

by Jerry Taborek, formerly director of Heat Transfer Research Inc. (HTRI) in Alham­
bra, California. He was a visiting scientist in our laboratory in Karlsruhe in 1986-
1987 as a Humboldt fellow when I was writing the German text, which was published
in Sept. 1988 by Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart, New York.
In February and March 1989,1 was at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in
Madras as a guest professor and used material from the book for my lectures there.
Vijay R. Raghavan, Professor and Head of the Heat Transfer and Thermal Power
Laboratory at IIT Madras, kind and generous host in those days, dear friend in the
meantime, has shown keen interest in the contents of these lectures. He even ex­
pressed a desire to translate my book.
In October 1989, when the Hemisphere Publishing Corporation actually ap­
proached the German publisher for a license to produce an English edition, I wrote to
Prof. Raghavan to inquire if he would assist me in the translation, to which he readily
agreed. The first draft of my very crude translation took the form of some 11 note­
books, which were sent to Madras between Dec. 1989 and Feb. 1990. He sent me
back the corrected notebooks one by one, with my crude draft turned into readable
clear English. In the process of translation, the book has also undergone a technical
review, so much so that the English version has turned out to be practically an
improved second edition.
I have also incorporated results from recent papers that appeared after the publi­
cation of the original (references [B3a], [B3b], [R4]) and from an old paper which has
been brought to my attention only recently (reference [K4]; see also the new
Appendix C).
X PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION

The notation used in this book is essentially the same as that recommended for
the International Heat Transfer Conferences and used in the Heat Exchanger Design
Handbook (HEDH) [H3] since 1983. Hopefully, English-speaking heat transfer engi­
neers have become accustomed in the meantime to find heat transfer coefficients
denoted by a. (lowercase Greek alpha) in place of h; one good reason for this change
is the internationally well-established use of h for specific enthalpy. HEDH, neverthe­
less, has retained the traditional (English) notation U for overall heat transfer coeffi­
cients, in spite of its parallel use for internal energy. In this book the symbol for the
overall heat transfer coefficient is k, which is also recommended internationally as an
alternative to U, but not widely used so far, probably because k has been convention­
ally used for the thermal conductivity, now internationally denoted by a X (lowercase
Greek lambda). In case of doubt, a look on the list of symbols, page 197, should help
avoid confusion.
In addition to expressing my deep gratitude to all those who encouraged, sug­
gested, and produced this English edition, I would like to express my hope that the
book might be useful for those studying and for those professionally working in the
field of heat transfer and heat exchanger design.

Karlsruhe, Winter 1990 Holger Martin

 PREFACE TO THE GERM AN EDITION

For many engineers, Wärmeübertrager (literally “ heat transmitter” ) in place of Wär­

meaustauscher (“ heat exchanger” ) may still be a somewhat unfamiliar term for the
appliance in which heat is transmitted steadily from one medium having a higher
entrance temperature to another medium with a lower entrance temperature. Thermo-
dynamicists such as Ernst Schmidt, had already used the more correct expression
(i.e., Wärmeübertrager) in preference to the currently used one (i.e., Wärmeaustaus­
cher) [S5]. Now that the VDI-Wärmeatlas [VI] too has replaced Wärmeaustauscher
by Wärmeübertrager since 1984, it seems appropriate to use this term generally in
engineering education.
The present book is addressed to students of engineering and science, especially
in the fields of technical chemistry, chemical and process engineering, mechanical
engineering, and physics. Knowledge in mathematics, thermodynamics, heat and
mass transfer, and fluid dynamics, as usually obtained in universities or institutes of
technology after three years of studies, are thought to be a prerequisite.
The subject of the book is not heat transfer but its application to the calculation of
temperature profiles, especially the outlet temperatures of both media and the transfer
performance of heat exchangers.
In Chapter 1, three examples illustrate in detail how to apply the fundamentals of
thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid dynamics for a systematic analysis of the
phenomena in heat exchangers. The systematic procedure for the solution of prob­
lems in this field is set out in the form of a comprehensive scheme.
Chapter 2 is dedicated to the influence of flow configuration on the performance
of heat exchangers. Here the equations to calculate mean temperature difference and
efficiency for stirred tank, parallel, counter- and crossflow, and their combinations
XU PREFACE TO THE GERMAN EDITION

are derived and put together in a very compact way. In some cases, short computer
programs are given to evaluate more complicated formulas or algorithms. Therefore,
the book should also be useful to practicing engineers as a reference for these rela­
tionships. It is so written as to enable one to work through the contents alone with
appropriate preparatory training.
The fully worked-out examples in Chapter 3 are intended to show the application
of the fundamentals to thermal and hydraulic design, i.e., sizing of heat exchangers.
Mechanical design, with choice of material and calculation of strength according to
relevant construction codes, has not been included. The latter is the subject of the
course ''Konstruktiver Apparatebau/' for which a similar book would be desirable.
The present book was developed as a text on the basis of the course "Kalorische
Apparate A ," offered for many years at the University of Karlsruhe by Professor Dr.-
Ing. Dr.h.c.INPL Ernst-Ulrich Schlünder, which I have taken over from the winter
term of 1986-1987. It was Prof. Schlünder who suggested that I write this book. The
entire conception and a majority of the examples are engendered by his ideas. Apart
from the elaboration of the hitherto handwritten course notes, my own contribution
was restricted to the more recent research results on plate and spiral plate heat ex­
changers, which are mainly based on the work of my former student Dr.-Ing. Moha-
med K. Bassiouny as well as on the compact representation of the most important
analytical results on the influence of flow configuration on heat exchanger perfor­
mance developed at the end of Chapter 2. To the original course contents, I have
added the analysis of heat exchangers coupled by a circulating heat carrier in order to
assist the reader in comprehending the phenomena in a regenerator. All the numerical
examples have been reworked, using the calculation procedures for heat transfer
coefficients and friction factors currently recommended in the pertinent handbooks on
the subject.
Dr.-Ing. Paul Paikert, director of the Research and Development Department of
GEA Luftkühlergesellschaft, provided field data for the design examples on plate and
shell-and-tube heat exchangers, which is gratefully acknowledged. I would also like
to thank my former colleague Dr.-Ing. Norbert Mollekopf, now with Linde A.G., for
information on the design of regenerators and other heat exchangers in flue gas
cleaning processes applied in power plants. To my colleague Akad. Dir. Dr.-Ing
Volker Gnielinski, I am indebted for his critical inspection of the manuscript and for
many a valuable hint on the layout of the book. For the excellent drafting of a
majority of the figures, I would like to thank Lothar Eckert and Pedro Garcia. Some
of the figures have been obtained courtesy of Linde A.G. (Höllriegelskreuth) and W.
Schmidt G.m.b.H. u. Co. K.G. (Bretten). I have myself produced some of the fig­
ures, using the graphic software “ MacPaint” by Apple Inc.
Finally, I would like to thank Nana very much for carefully transcribing my
handwritten notes into neatly typed text stored on a disk. She sacrificed many a
weekend for this arduous work.

Karlsruhe, Summer 1988 Holger Martin

 CHAPTER

ONE
ANALYSIS OF SOME STANDARD TYPES OF HEAT
EXCHANGERS ON AN ELEMENTARY BASIS

1. STIRRED TANK WITH JACKET

1.1 Description

The Stirred tank, or stirred vessel, is one of the simplest and, at the same time, most
versatile types of apparatus used in process engineering. In the model shown in Fig.
1. 1, the vessel is put together from cylindrical, annular, and spherical shell segments
according to structural analysis. The lower part has a double-walled construction with
inlet and outlet headers, so that the contents of the vessel may be heated or cooled by
a medium flowing through the jacket. In Fig. 1.2, this apparatus is drawn schemati­
cally with its most important functional features. The flows of mass and energy
entering and leaving the vessel and the jacket are inserted into the sketch as arrows
and denoted by symbols, such as M for mass flow rate, Q for heat flow rate, and W
for stirrer power, which are, if necessary, identified by subscripts for position, time,
or state.

1.2 Formulation of Questions

In the next step, one has to become clear on the questions of which are exactly the
unknown and which are the given—or, at least, to-be-fixed-in-advance—quantities.
Reasonable questions in connection with heating a liquid in a stirred tank may be , for
example.
2 HEAT EXCHANGERS

Figure 1.1 A stirred tank with jacket.

a. How does the temperature of the contents of the vessel change with time after the
steam inlet valve has been opened?
b. What is the consumption of heating steam?
c. What is the influence of the stirrer speed on the heating process?

To answer these questions, some quantities have to be known or fixed in advance.

Only in the course of the analysis will it become apparent that, to answer the ques­
tion, we need the vapor pressure and, thus, the condensation temperature Ty =
T^(Py) of the vapor in the jacket, mass M and initial temperature of the liquid in the
vessel, type and rotational speed of the stirrer, and other parameters. In any case, it
will be useful to list all necessary parameters using unambiguous symbols. Question
(a), for example, can be formulated in symbolic writing as

T = T(t, parameters)

Here T, the unknown (or sought-after) quantity, the temperature of the liquid in the
tank, is a function of the time t after the steam inlet valve has been opened and
 ANALYSIS OF TYPES OF HEAT EXCHANGERS 3

“ parameters” contain all other quantities that have to be known a priori to calculate
the function T(t). In general, before starting the formal symbolic analysis, one has to
be clear on the following questions:

• Which is the quantity sought after?

• What does it mainly depend on?
• Which other parameters are needed?

1.3 Application of Physical Laws

To answer the question posed in the previous section, in general, three classes of
physical laws are at our disposal: the laws of conservation (of mass, momentum,
energy); the laws of equilibrium; and the rate equations (kinetics of transport
processes).
Over a space, thought of as the “ control volume,” one may write a balance for
physical quantities that obey a law of conservation. Thus, the mass balance for the
steam jacket is

( 1. 1)
in the steam jacket

If the vapor pressure py remains constant and if, by means of a steam trap, the liquid
level of condensate in the Jacket is also kept constant, then the change of mass (of

Figure 1.2 Stirred tank: sketch, streams, symbols.

4 HEAT EXCHANGERS

vapor and condensate) in the jacket with time is equal to zero. The amount of vapor
flowing in is always equivalent to the amount of condensate led off (My = M^). The
corresponding energy balance for the steam jacket reads:

MvA/! = è + !2 l ( 1. 2)

Here Ah = hy - he, the difference of the specific enthalpies of vapor and conden­
sate, i.e., the enthalpy of vaporization Ahy(Ty) and appropriate additional enthalpy
differences in case of steam entering superheated and condensate leaving sub­
cooled. Q is the rate of heat transferred from the condensing steam to the contents of
the vessel, while Q^j is the heat “ loss” from the jacket to the surroundings. In order
to answer the question 1.2 (a) for the variation with time of the temperature of the
contents of the vessel, we have to regard the contents as a system. In case both inlet
and outlet valves remain closed, the energy balance for the liquid contents of the
vessel is:

Q * f '. - - ( § ) (1.3)
Vessel contents

Ws denotes the power transferred by the stirrer and the heat loss from the con­
tents through the lid to the surroundings. In this case (and similarly in many other
practical cases in heat exchangers), of the components of the total energy of the
system, i.e., the potential, kinetic, and internal energies, only the internal energy U
changes. On the other hand, one has to take into account the expansion or contraction
of the fluid in the vessel when heated or cooled under constant pressure. Thereby it
transfers power by change of volume Wy = p(dV/dt) to its surroundings, which has
to be subtracted from the left hand side of eq. (1.3)

(1.4)
Q+
Contents

By introducing the enthalpy

H -= U + p V (1.5)

the energy balance can be simplified for constant pressure:

Q+ Ql {p = const) ( 1. 6)
Contents

Since the pressure in heat exchangers often remains constant with time, the energy
balance can be formulated most conveniently in many cases as in eq. ( 1.6) with the
change of enthalpy dH/dt on the right hand side. When rewriting eq. (1.6), the laws
of equilibrium thermodynamics, i.e., the second class of physical laws, have already
been used. Further, the enthalpy H may be expressed in terms of the temperature T
(for constant pressure):
 ANALYSIS OF TYPES OF HEAT EXCHANGERS 5

dH = d(M/j) = C pd(M r) (1.7)

eventually leading to
dT
Q + - Q ll = Mr ( 1. 8)
d7 in the vessel

for constant mass of the contents of the vessel with T(t = 0) = T^.
The question regarding the variation of temperature with time, however, can not
yet be answered with this equation alone. Apart from the laws of conservation and
equilibrium, one needs the rate equations, i.e., one needs statements on the depen­
dency of the fluxes on the field variables, such as the temperature, the flow velocity,
and the concentration. These laws are always formulated in such a way that the fluxes
vanish when approaching equilibrium. In the simplest version, the fluxes are taken as
linearly related to the departure of the state variables from their equilibrium values.
Should the steam in the jacket be in thermal equilibrium with the fluid in the vessel,
then its temperature TV would have to be equal to the temperature T of the vessels
contents and vice versa:

T
^ V,Equilibrium
= T
-* (1.9)

or

T
^ Equilibrium
= T
^ V ( 1. 10)

Q = K(T^ - TV,Equilbrium.} ( 1. 11)

The factor of proportionality K is thereby usually subdivided into two or more fac­
tors:

Q = kA {T^ - T) ( 1. 12)

A is the transfer surface area, in this case, the surface area of the wall of the vessel,
which is equipped with the jacket. The area specific proportionality factor k = K/A is
called “ overall heat transfer coefficient.” Analogous to eq. (1.12) one can write the
rate equations for the heat losses in eqs. ( 1.2) and (1.3):

Qu = {kA )^ (T^v - r j (1.13)

G ll = (A:^)ll(7’ - r j (1.14)

Since the streams are vectors, one has to exercise due care that their direction is
always the same in the balance and in the corresponding rate equation. If the power of
the stirrer is known, e.g., kept constant by an appropriate control, the question
posed under (a) in section 1.2 can be answered from the combined application of
6 HEAT EXCHANGERS

equations (1.8), (1.12), and (1.14). The list of parameters in this case contains nine
quantities:

parameters = (Q, Q ll, kA, Ty, 7„ TJ

1.4 Development in Terms of the Unknown Quantity

The sought-after quantity T{t), the temperature of the contents of the vessel, can now
be calculated from the three equations (1.8), (1.12), and (1.14). The not-sought-after
quantities Q, which depend on T, however, are eliminated from the three equa­
tions. That can simply be achieved by inserting eq. (1.12) and (1.14) into (1.8):

kA {T^ - T) + W , - { k A \ d T - r j = Me. (1.15)

P d7

T(t = 0) = T, (1.16)

This is a first-order ordinary differential equation for T(t), that can be solved by
separation of variables (T, t), if the remaining seven parameters (kA, (kA\i^, Mc^,
Ty, T^, Ti) are known data. Before the rigorous solution, it is desirable to reduce the
number of variables and parameters by casting them into non-dimensional form. The
parameters kA and Mc^ are easily combined with the variable t to form a non-
dimensional time variable

kAt
(1.17)

This means that time is no longer measured in seconds, minutes, or hours but in terms
of the time = McJ(kA) characteristic of the given problem. Temperature is re­
placed by a normalized temperature difference

Ty - T
1? = (1.18)
Ty - r,

Then eq. (1.15) transforms to

dy
+ -9 ) = - - - ,9(t = 0 ) = 1 (1.19)
dr

In that form, the equation has only three parameters in place of seven:

( 1. 20)
kA(Ty - r ,)
 ANALYSIS OF TYPES OF HEAT EXCHANGERS 7

{k A \
( 1. 21)
kA

TV - 7;
( 1.22)
Ty - r,

By introducing

t‘ = (1 + x )r (1.23)

and

w
r = 3+ (1.24)
1 +y.

the equation can be further condensed;

dS-
3* = (1.25)
d r’

I -f X

In this extremely compact form, it contains only one parameter of which also
might be avoided by choosing the variable

1.5 Mathematical Solution

The dimensional equation (1.15) with its seven parameters can, no doubt, be solved
mathematically. The solution becomes algebraically simpler however, if one has taken
the pains to bring it to the most compact form of eq. (1.25) with only one parameter:

r d^*
= Jd r- (1.26)
./ IF
0

T* = -In — (1.27)

the solution being:

exp( - r*) (1.28)

The solution has, therefore, the same simple form that is obtained when neglecting
the power of the stirrer and the heat losses ((^ = 0 , x = 0).
8 HEAT EXCHANGERS

1.6 Discussion of the Results

The answer to the question (a) in section 1.2 regarding the temperature of the vessel
contents as a function of time is given formally be eq. (1.28) together with eqs. (1.17)
and (1.18), the dimensionless quantities being defined by eqs. (1.20) to (1.25). Now
one has to check whether the result is in agreement with physical experience and
especially whether all possible limiting cases are correctly described by the solution.
With the values of the parameters suitably chosen, one can describe and possibly even
extrapolate experimental data. The initial condition ??*(t * = 0) = is, of course,
fulfilled by eq. (1.28). The initial rate of change of temperature is

d r\ kA
[1 + o ; + x (l - l?a)] (1.29)
d 7 j„ r
i.e., the heat loss has no influence on the initial slope of the temperature-time curve,
if the initial temperature Ti is equal to the ambient temperature (in this case =
1). For longer times, the steady state temperature can be found from eq. (1.24) with
= 0 as

Ty - - CO
= (1.30)
Ty - T, 1 -h X

The steady state temperature can be higher or lower than the vapor tempera­
ture depending on whether the power of the stirrer or the heat loss from the lid is
higher. It may be surprising that the heat loss from the steam jacket to the
ambient according to eq. (1.14), plays no role at all in the answer to the question
(a) in section 1.2. A little reflection will easily lead to the reason thereof. From eq.
(1.30), one can also recognize that of eq. (1.24) is just ù - a measure of the
approach to steady state.
By setting dT/dt = 0 in eq. (1.15), and, therefore, the final compact form of
the solution could be more easily determined as (exercise):
T - kA + { k A \
= exp (1.31)
T, - M e,

fVy - (kA)^^(Ty - T,:

- Ty + (1.32)
kA + {kA \LL

In this form, the result can be most conveniently understood and discussed. The time
constant of the heating process is

iV/c.
t - (1.33)
kA + (kA)i^ kA{ \ H“ x)

Its order of magnitude can be easily estimated thus: For many liquids, the volumetric
heat capacity is (p Cp), = 2-10* J/(m^ K) (for water, 4.2-10^ J/(m^ K)). The overall
heat transfer coefficient between the jacket steam and the vessel contents mainly
 ANALYSIS OF TYPES OF HEAT EXCHANGERS 9

depends on the convective coefficient on the inside of the vessel wall. As a rough
estimate, one may use k = 1000 W/(m^ K). If the temperature of the lid is not very
different from that of the ambient, will be on the order of 1 to 10 W/(m^ K) (free
convection and radiation on the outside of the lid); and {kA)^J{kA) will usually be
small compared to unity. Assuming that the cylinder bottom is flat and is heated, the
ratio of cylinder volume to active surface area for the vessel is

nD-L D
(1.34)
A 4(7tDL-f ttD2/4) 4 - f D /L

L is the heated height of the cylindrical shell height of liquid. From this, we find
the time constant to be

D /m
tf 4 • 10^ s (1.35)
4 4-D /L

For aqueous liquids, it is around 800 seconds for a vessel diameter of 1 m and D/L =
1. The time required to reduce the temperature difference to 1 % of the initial value is

^99% = i* In 100 (1.36)

and, with the above assumptions, it is roughly one hour.

The further questions (b) and (c) posed in section 1.2, in respect of the steam
consumption and the influence of the stirrer speed on the heating process may also be
answered now. The steam consumption is obtained by rearranging the energy balance
for the steam jacket (eq. 1.2) as:

Mv =
Q + Ql (1.37)
A/i„

Q and Q lj are calculated from eqs. (1.12) and (1.13). The maximum steam consump­
tion occurs at the beginning of the heating process:

kA(Ty - Tj) + (k A U T y - TJ
Mv,, = (1.38)

Whether it is possible to provide the steam required for the initial heating and the
pressure loss in the jacket for this high steam flow rate should also be checked.
The mechanical power dissipated and the overall heat transfer coefficient are
both affected by the stirrer speed. The mechanical power is calculated as the product
of the drag force F d on the stirrer and the velocity co. With = poi^dlcj^ and co =
nd,
iVs = Co (1.39)

The drag coefficient so defined depends on a Reynolds number

10 HEAT EXCHANGERS

coJs ndl
Re = — = — (1.40)
V V

on the dimensions of the stirrer and the vessel, and, possibly, on other criteria such as
the Froude number. For Re > 10"^, constant values of Cp ranging from 0.2 to 20 are
reached. With — 2, 4 « 1 m, p = 10^ kg/m^ and a rotational speed o in = 1/s,
the calculated stirrer power is 2 kW. For water with v = 10”^ m^/s, the Reynolds
number wold be around 10^ in this case. For k = 1000 W/(m^ K) and ^ = 4 m^ the
stirrer would increase the steady state temperature by

A 7 s - — « 0.5 K (1.41)
kA

On the other hand, the heat loss over the lid, with /cll = 10 W/(m^ K), /4ll = 1
and (Fy - TJ = 100 K, would decrease it by 0.25 K. In such cases, neglecting the
heat loss over the lid and the stirrer power would cause little error. With increasing
stirrer speed, the heat transfer coefficient on the inside of the vessel wall will also
increase as oli oc [H3, pp. 3.14.3, V I, pp. M al- 8]. Since the other resistances
due to the condensate film and the wall of the vessel are usually small compared to
l/a^, the overall heat transfer coefficient will also increase approximately as /: oc
The increase in the steady state temperature due to the stirrer power is thus related to
speed as for higher speeds and roughly proportional to the square of the speed for
lower speeds (for lower Reynolds numbers, oc HRe and a, = const.). At high
Reynolds numbers, would be increased by a factor of five (see eq. [1.41]) if the
stirrer speed is doubled. The heating time would be reduced by about 37% {t^ oc
n - 2/3) however, would require an eightfold power for the stirrer drive (see eq.
[1.39]).

Problems

1.1 Equation (1.12) is valid for an instant t, when the contents of the vessel have
reached the temperature T To calculate the heat Q, which has been flowing through
the vessel wall from the beginning of the heating process, one can write Q =
{kAt)ùiTy^. Calculate the appropriate mean temperature difference in terms of
only the initial and the final temperature differences (ATj = Ty - Tj, ATp = TV “
T p ). Stirrer power and heat losses may be neglected.

{^T, - AT,)
Solution: ATVi =
\n{AT,IAT,)

1.2 Answer question (a) in section 1.2 for the case that the maximum available mass
rate of steam My,max is just half the initial steam consumption calculated from eq.
(1.38) (stirrer power and heat loss negligible!)

Solution: = 1 - r/2 (for r < 1); ?? = (l/2)e"^^"'^ (for r > 1)

 ANALYSIS OF TYPES OF HEAT EXCHANGERS 11

1.3 How does the liquid level in the vessel change with time, if the boiling tempera­
ture of the liquid is less than T^{T^ « TV, ^ = 0 for T = T ^ l

Solution: {L/L^ = exp(-i/ic), AhJ[4 k (Ty - T^)]

1.4 Calculate the outlet temperature T" of a fluid flowing steadily through a steam-
heated stirred tank (mass rate = M^ut = specific heat capacity Cp, inlet
temperature T ' , kA, and Ty are given, stirrer power and heat losses are negligible.
Outlet temperature = temperature of the contents in steady state).

Solution: T" = T' + (Ty - T )N /{ \ - N); N kA/{McA.

2 DOUBLE-PIPE HEAT EXCHANGER IN PARALLEL

AND COUNTERFLOW

2.1 Description

Double-pipe apparatuses (Fig. 1.3) are relatively simple to produce and are preferred
for high pressure applications. The two streams, in the inner tube and in the annulus
formed between the inner and outer tubes, can be directed in parallel or in counter­
flow to each other as shown by arrows in Fig. 1.4. Furthermore a coordinate z in the
direction of the tube side flow has been introduced.

2.2 Formulation of the Questions

a. With the mass flow rates M^, M2, the pressure drops Ap^, Ap 2, and the inlet and
outlet temperatures T/, T/', T2 given, the size of a heat exchanger is to be
determined (surface area A, flow cross sections S2) (design problem).
b. For a given apparatus, given fluids, mass flow rates, and inlet temperatures, the
outlet temperatures and, if necessary, other quantities of interest such as the heat

Figure 1.3 The double-pipe heat exchanger.

12 HEAT EXCHANGERS

Figure 1.4 Sketch of double-pipe

heat exchanger with temperature
variation in parallel and counterflow.

transferred, pressure drop, and pumping power are to be calculated (rating prob­
lem).

2.3 Application of Physical Laws

When the sum of the kinetic and potential energies at the inlet and outlet are equal,
the steady flow energy balance applied to the apparatus is

( / , ; _ / / ; ) +M ^ ( / , ÖL = 0 (1.42)

A reasonable assumption in heat exchanger analysis is that the heat transfer

between the apparatus and surroundings is small (due to small temperature differ­
ences between the outer stream and the surroundings or by good thermal insulation).
Then, it follows from eq. (1.42) that the change in specific enthalpy of each stream is
inversely proportional to its mass flow rate:

/i; - K M,
(1.43)
~ M2
 ANALYSIS OF TYPES OF HEAT EXCHANGERS 13

The ratio of the enthalpy changes above may be expressed in terms of the correspond­
ing temperature changes alone. For pure substances one has

Qclh = Qc d T -f (I —p T ) dp (1.44)

Here the product of the thermal expansion coefficient P and the absolute temperature
T is equal to unity for an ideal gas, i.e., the enthalpy is a function only of tempera­
ture. For liquid water at 20 °C PT « 0.06 and p = 10^ kg/m^ The strong dependency
of enthalpy on temperature (3h/3T)p = « 4.2-10^ J/(kg K) is dominant relative to
the weak dependency on pressure (ah/dp)^ = (1 - i87)/p « 0.94-10'^ J/(kg Pa).
Even for a pressure change as large as 10^ Pa, the influence on enthalpy is less than
2.3% of the influence of a temperature change of only IK! In these cases, one can
also write in place of eq. (1.43):

^ 2.1 “ ^ 2.0 _ (1.45)

^LO “ ^ 1,1

The energy balances for the inner tube (fluid 1) and the annulus (fluid 2) are, respec­
tively,

(MCp),(r,o - Ti.O - ¿12 = 0 (1.46)

(MCp)2(T2.o - Ti.i) - ¿21 = 0 (1.47)

and, thus, using eq. (1.45), it follows that

Q 2 i= - Q n (1-48)

For the heat transferred from fluid 1 to fluid 2, one can write the rate equation

e ,2 = /c/l(r, - Tj) (1-49)

The temperatures T^ and Tj, however, are not constant over the surface area A (or the
coordinate z), so that an appropriate mean value of the temperature difference (Ti -
has to be used in eq. (1.49). To determine this mean value, the variation of the
temperature difference with z must be known. Consequently, we first have to apply
the balances of eq. (1.46) and (1.47) and the rate equation (1.49) only locally, to the
control volumes dF, = 5idz and dFj = ^jdz.-

- ( A Î C p ) ,d r i- d Ô ,, = 0 (1.50)

-{MCp)2dT2-dQ2i=0 (1.51)

dQ,2 = k { T , - T 2 ) d A (1.52)
14 HEAT EXCHANGERS

2.4 Development in Terms of the Unknown Quantities

By eliminating the heat rate dQn from the balance equations

k dA
- d r , = (Tj - (1.53)
(Mcp),

(1.54)

one obtains a system of two coupled ordinary differential equations for the tempera­
tures Tj and T2 as functions of z; dA = Adz/L. With the “ number of transfer units”
(see also r according to eq. [1.17]) defined by

= ( i = l , 2) (1.55)

and the normalized variables for length

(1.56)
- z

and temperatures

(1.57)
1 1 — -12

0 _ T2-n (1.58)
'^2 — 7i ^/1 7I-/2

the differential eqs. (1.53) to (1.54) become

(1.59)

(1.60)

Adding these two equations, one obtains a single one for the temperature difference:

(1.61)
dZ = - ^ 2)

The normalization of the temperatures can be chosen arbitrarily and the form chosen
here in eqs. (1.57) and (1.58) sets the entrance temperatures of the two streams to the
convenient values = 1 and ^ 0.
 ANALYSIS OF TYPES OF HEAT EXCHANGERS 15

2.5 Mathematical Solution

Equation (1.61) can be solved straightaway by separation of variables and integration:

(,9 ,-3 2 ) (1.62)

= ( , V ,+ N 2)Z
(5 i -» 2 )0
Integrating up to Z = 1 (z = L) gives

l n |^ = ^ = (.V,+W 2) (1.63)

Dividing the balance eqs. (1.46) and (1.47) by (kA), the sum (TV, + N-^) can be
expressed as:

(N, + Nj) = kA ( T - r 2 ) o - ( T - 7^2)1 (1.64)

Ô 12

so that the heat rate can be given in terms of kA and the four temperatures alone:

A _ / , i ( T - 7^2)0 - ( T - 7-2)1 (1.65)

in[( 7’, - r 2)o/ (r , - r,),] ‘

Thereby, the appropriate mean value of the temperature difference required in eq.
(1.49) is found. It is the logarithmic mean of the temperature differences at the
positions z = 0 and z = L (see also Problem 1.1 for comparison). Inserting the
exponential form of eq. (1.62) into eq. (1.59) and integrating again leads to the
solution for i?i(Z):

( 1. 66)
^1.0-^2.0 ~ 1+A^2/^1
By the same procedure, using eq. (1.60), t)e obtained.

2.6 Discussion of the Results

To answer the question 2.2 (a), eq. (1.46) or (1.47), together with eq. (1.65), can be
used to calculate the surface area required:

0,2 = - T[') = |Mc.|2 (7^' - A)

Ò 12
kAT,LM

The overall heat transfer coefficient k depends on the flow velocities which are deter­
mined by the flow cross sections Sj and S 2 chosen and the pressure drops for fluids 1
and 2. The outlet temperatures (question 2.2 [b]) can be found from eq. (1.66) with Z
= 1. In the case of parallel flow, this can be done directly with Q = i?/ = 1 and
16 HEAT EXCHANGERS

^ 2,0 ~ ^2 “

r ; = T[ + ei(r; - t {)

with

1 _^-(/V i +N2)
(1.67)
1 4- ^ 2/ ^ !

For counterflow with N 2 < 0 (z-coordinate against the flow direction of M2), ^i,\ ==
0, while ??2,o = ^ 2' is the yet-unknown outlet temperature of stream 2. This can be
expressed through the overall balance eq. (1.45) in terms of é " and the capacity flow
rate ratio,

(Me,p^i ~ ^ 2.0
C= ( 1. 68)
N,

leading to
1 _e-(i+c)/v,
(1.69)
*^1 = 1 +Ce-('+c)N,

In the special case C = —1, i.e., counterllow with equal flow capacities (TV, — TVj
= 0), eq. (1.69) leads to an indeterminate expression. By series expansion of the
exponential function, one obtains

(C = - l ) (1.70)
1 + N,

The exponential function degenerates in this case to a linear function as may be seen
from eq. (1.61). The temperature difference remains the same at any position. The
quantity e„ introduced in eq. (1.67), is a dimensionless change of temperature and is
usually called heat exchanger effectiveness, or efficiency.

5, = 1 -5 ',' (1.71)

r, = 9" - 0 (1.72)

It is generally defined as

^ (change of temperature of stream /)

(max. temperature difference)
T[ - T'{ (1.73)
e, =
T [-n
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
(“If that thing had happened one day later an’ the Division in rest
miles back instead of being on top of it, Saints know the whole line
might have gone.”) Otherwise the Somme seemed as large, as
sticky, and as well-populated with aggressive enemies as ever
before. The bodies and the uniforms of the dead of past years had
withered down somewhat on the clawed and raked fields; but to the
mere soldier’s eye, uninfluenced by statements of the Press, there
was no reason under the grey heavens why their past performances
should not be repeated, as part of the natural order of things for
ever and ever. Cambrai may have given hope and encouragement in
England, but those who had been through it remained Sadducees.
There were those who said that that hour was the psychological
one to have gone on and taken advantage of the moral effect of
breaking the Hindenburg Line, but this theory was put forward after
the event; and a total of eleven thousand prisoners and a hundred
and forty-five German guns for three weeks’ fighting seems small
foundation for such large hopes. Every one on the field seems to
have been agreed as to the futility of trying to work with, and
making arrangements for the keep of, masses of cavalry on the
chance that these might break through and overrun the enemy in
the background.
That autumn Russia deliquesced and began to pass out of
civilisation, and the armed strength of Germany on that front was
freed to return and rearrange itself on the western border, ready for
the fourth spring of the War. We are told with emphasis that that
return-wave was foreseen, and to some extent provided for, by
increasing the line for which our armies were responsible, and by
reorganising those armies so that divisions stood on a ten-battalion
as against a thirteen-battalion basis.[3] We may once more quote Sir
Douglas Haig’s despatches on this head. “An unfamiliar grouping of
units was introduced thereby, necessitating new methods of tactical
handling of the troops and the discarding of old methods to which
subordinate commanders had been accustomed.” But the change
was well supported in the home Press.
 Meantime, as far as possible, the war stood still on both sides. The
Battalion was encouraged to put on fat and to practise cleanliness,
kit inspections, and inter-regimental and company football matches
till the end of the year. During the month of December, at
Simencourt, Captain the Hon. H. B. O’Brien arrived and took over
No. 1 Company; Lieutenant B. Levy, M.C., joined from the 4th Army
School, and 2nd Lieutenants J. C. Maher and T. Mathew also joined.
The Christmas dinners were good and solid affairs of pork, plum-
pudding, plum-dough (a filling and concrete-like dish), three bottles
of Bass per throat and a litre of beer, plus cigars and tobacco. The
C.O. had gone into Amiens to make sure of it and of the
Headquarters’ Christmas trees which, next day, were relighted and
redecorated with small gifts and sweets for the benefit of the village
children.
A moral victory over Eton crowned the year. The officers of the
2nd Battalion played the officers of the 1st Coldstream at Eton
football at Wanquetin. They lost by a goal to two goals and a rouge,
but their consolation was that their C.O., an Harrovian, scored their
goal and that half the Coldstream’s goals were got by Harrow. It was
a small thing but it made them very happy in their little idleness
after “Bloody Bourlon.”
 1918
A R R AS TO T H E E N D
Assuming that the information of our Intelligence Department was
correct, the weight of the coming German attack would be delivered
to the south of Arras; and that town would be the hinge on which it
would turn. Elsewhere along the Somme front, ground might be
given if required, but between Arras and Amiens the line, at all
costs, must stand; and we are told that, months before the spring of
the year, attention was given to strengthening the systems of
defence in the rear. It is difficult to discover how many of the
precautions taken were made with serious expectation of trouble,
and how many were, so to say, fitted into statements published after
the events. Men who were on that front speak of most of the back-
trenches and reserve-lines as inadequate. The truth may be that no
one believed the British collapse would be so swift or so catastrophic
as it was.
On New Year’s Day, Colonel Alexander, commanding, went on
leave, and was succeeded by Major R. H. Ferguson. The Battalion,
reconstituted and replenished, marched to Arras Gaol, which was
always regarded as a superior billet in cold weather, as the only
shelling that mattered took the south-east end of the town. Their
work for the next few weeks was to occupy and prevent the enemy
from raiding into the system of trenches and posts on the Scarpe to
the east of Arras at and round Fampoux and Rœux. Their
experiences there were precisely the same as those of the 1st
Battalion. It was, as we know, a variegated, swampy, and in places
overlooked, stretch of works which had been used as a front line
almost since the beginning of the War, and was paved with odds and
ends of ancient horrors as well as thoroughly soaked with remains of
tear and other gas in the support-lines. Their first turn began on the
2nd January when they relieved a battalion of Gordon Highlanders in
bitter cold weather, and settled down to the business of wiring and
cleaning-up. A small excitement was the shelling of the left company
by trench-mortars, to which our guns replied but in their zeal cut our
own wire. The frost so far kept the trenches standing up, but, as
none of them were revetted, it was obvious that the next thaw
would bring them all down. Then the duck-boards froze and turned
to ice, and the C.O., slipping on them, fell and strained himself so
badly that he had to go to hospital. Food apart, there was little
comfort or decency in that work of shovelling and firming dirt, and
shivering day and night in their dry or sodden clothing. Their rests at
Arras were complicated by the necessity of looking out for enemy
aeroplanes, which forbade them drilling more than one company at
a time; and men grow vastly wearied of standing about and fiddling
with small duties in a constricted town. The Battalion was so
reduced in strength, too, that two companies together made little
more than an ordinary platoon. However, in spite of knowing each
other to the limits of boredom, they found a certain amount of
amusement in respirator drill for all cooks, Headquarters details and
the like (one cannot afford to have cooks and storemen gassed)
under the company gas N.C.O. At the end of it, the Sergeant-Major,
without mask, drilled them where they stood, when their boomings
and bellowings as they numbered off delighted every one. Gas was
always a nuisance. Broadly speaking, a good scenting day would be
good for gas, both old and new; but, without direct orders, the men
loathed casing themselves in their masks, and company officers,
sniffing the faint familiar flavour of ether or rotting leaves in
Northumberland or Shaftesbury Avenue, had to chase them into the
apparatus.
Then came a time when, on most of the sectors, the wet trenches
went out of commission altogether, and both sides, if they wished to
move about, had to climb out in full view of each other. At last, they
practically abandoned the front line and fell back on the support. It
made little difference, since the enemy was quiet except for
occasional salvoes of trench-mortar gas-bombs. Even when a
dummy raid on their left caused him to put down a hot barrage for
an hour, there were no casualties. The main trouble was the gas-
shells in which the enemy, with an eye to the near future, specialised
and experimented freely.
So passed January ’18, and on the 10th February began the
transfer of the newly formed 4th Guards Brigade, of three lean
battalions (2nd Irish Guards, 3rd Coldstream, and 4th Grenadiers),
to their new division and companions.
The officers of the Brigade were conducted to Vimy Ridge that
they might well look over the rear-line defences, in case it should be
necessary to fall back there. It took them into the territory of the
First Corps and a world where they were divorced from all their tired
associates and had to learn the other ways that suited the other
people among whom their lot would be cast. All Battalion
Headquarters dined together at the Hôtel de l’Univers next day, after
Brigadier-General Sergison-Brooke, commanding their old brigade,
had said good-bye and thanked them all for all they had done while
they had been with him. They were played out of barracks at Arras
by the regimental band and the drums of the Welch Guards. “The
Battalion marched past our late Brigadier at the Rond Point in
column of route. Thus we left the Guards Division.” No one was
overelated at the change; and none could foresee that they were
within a few weeks of their death as a battalion.
Their first destination was at Bray beneath the little hill above the
Scarpe south of the long pavé to Villers-au-Bois, and their first duty
was rehearsal for ceremonial parade on St. Valentine’s Day before
their new corps commander. He complimented them on their looks
and expressed his sense of the honour of having a Guards Brigade
with him. After which came immediate conference on taking over the
new ground assigned them, from troops of the Line. It was a sector
of the line between Lens and Arras that had never shifted since the
War was young—the Bailleul-Willerval stretch, about five miles north
of their old sector at Fampoux, that ran up to Arleux-en-Gohelle and
looked directly towards inaccessible Douai. It was worked on a
different system from the old pattern—the brigade front of 2000
yards being lightly held by widely spaced fortified posts; with a
strong support-trench known as the Arleux Loop a thousand yards in
the rear. Their brigade went up in the night of the 17th, the 2nd
Irish Guards in support. The enemy, quite aware there were new
troops up, began to fish for samples. The 4th grenadiers held the
front line on the 19th February. The C.O. of the 2nd Irish Guards had
been up that afternoon to look at the lie of the land as the Battalion
were going to take it over in a couple of days. Everything was quiet
—too quiet to be healthy, indeed, till late in the evening when a
heavy bombardment preluded a scientifically thought-out German
raid for identification purposes. It failed, for the Grenadiers dealt
rudely with the raids; but it lasted for a couple of hours from the
time that the first SOS was sent up, and served the battalion, who
stood to, but were not needed, as an excellent rehearsal for
emergencies. Likewise, the enemy barrage knocked the front-line
trenches about, and in the confusion of things an SOS went up from
too far on the left of the assaulted line, so that our protective
barrage came down where there was no enemy and had to be
shifted.
When the Battalion took over from the 4th Grenadiers (they could
relieve all but two of the posts in daylight, thanks to the formation of
the ground) Brigade Headquarters in its turn wanted samples from
the German lines where had been recent reliefs. Nos. 1 and 2
Companies of the Battalion accordingly sent patrols unavailingly into
No Man’s Land to see if they could catch any one. By the sheer luck
of the Irish, an enemy deserter in full uniform must needs come and
give himself up to our line in the afternoon. He was despatched at
once to Brigade Headquarters with the single word: “Herewith.” The
quarter-mile of chaos between the lines was so convenient that they
used quiet nights to train their young officers and N.C.O.’s in
patrolling; and as the brigades on their flanks were nearly half a mile
away, the young also received much instruction in night-liaison work.
They were relieved, for the last time, in February by the 3rd
Coldstream and sent into Brigade Reserve to their division at Ecurie
Camp till the 2nd March, when they were despatched to dig and
improve a trench-line near Farbus under Vimy Ridge while the rest of
their brigade went into divisional reserve at Villers-Brulin. It cost a
week of heavy work, after dark, under intermittent shell-fire, varied
with fierce snow-storms, and ended in a return to the excellent
billets of Villers-Brulin for half the Battalion, while the other half lay
at Béthonsart near by—a dozen miles at the back of Arras. Here they
were cleaned up, drilled and lectured while the great storm gathered
along the fronts. St. Patrick’s Day passed with the usual solemnities
and sports, the extra good dinner, and the distribution of the
shamrock. This last was almost superfluous as a large proportion of
the Battalion had ceased to be Irish, and they were filled up with
drafts from the Household Brigade and elsewhere.
On the 21st March they finished the finals in the divisional sports
—tug-of-war and boxing against the 15th West Yorkshires. At one
o’clock in the morning came word that the Battalion would probably
move by bus at eight directly into the battle, which promised to be
hot. As a matter of fact, they and their brigade found themselves on
the outskirts of it almost as soon as they left billets. The enemy had
begun a comprehensive shelling of all back-areas and they could
hear the big stuff skying above them all round St. Pol. Their buses
picked them up at St. Pol Fervent and headed for Beaumetz where
they were met by a member of the General Staff who explained the
local situation so far as they had been able to overtake it. Clearer
information was supplied by the sight of the burning canteen stores
at Boisleux-au-Mont, which, with vast food supplies, had been set
alight as a precautionary measure, though the enemy did not arrive
till some days later. There was no accurate news but any amount of
rumour, none comforting. The upshot, however, was that the Thirty-
first Division was to get into the line at once and hold the ground
west of St. Léger, which village was already in the enemy’s hands.
There would be an army line in the neighbourhood dug to a depth of
three feet—hardly what might be called a trench; but, such as it
was, they would go forth into the night (it was now past 11 p. m.)
and occupy it. The column departed with these instructions,
marched through Hamelincourt, found the line, and settled down in
the face of an agitated and noisy landscape under a sky illumined by
strange lights and quivering to the passage of shell. The 4th
Battalion Grenadiers was on their right and they themselves, with
the 3rd Coldstream in support, held a thousand yards of front
running down to the little Sensée River. Somewhere behind them
was the Arras-Bapaume road being generously shelled; and
somewhere in front and on the flank, felt to be all Germany with all
its munitions. The shelling, moreover, was mixed, big and little stuff
together, proving that the enemy field-guns were amazingly well
forward. This orchestra was enlivened with blasts and rips of
machine-gun fire from every unexpected quarter. All the 23rd of
March was confusion, heavy shelling, and contradictory orders from
brigades and divisions that lay near them; and a certain amount of
shelling from our own artillery, varied by direct attacks on the
trenches themselves. In these the enemy failed, were cut down by
our directed musketry, and left many dead. At the end of the day the
Battalion was told to shift to the right of the 4th Grenadiers and so
relieve the 13th Yorkshire and the 21st Middlesex who had suffered
a good deal. They had hardly got into their new place when firing
was heard from Mory on their right, and men were seen streaming
down the road, with word that the enemy were through at Mory
Copse and in full cry for Ervillers. This left the Battalion largely in the
air and necessitated making some sort of flank to the southward, as
well as collecting what remained of the Yorkshires and Headquarters
details, and using them for the same purpose, much as it had been
with the 1st Battalion at First Ypres, centuries ago. (“Yes, you may
say that we made defensive flanks to every quarter of the world. We
was all defensive flank and front line at once and the same time. But
if any one tells you that any one knew what was done, or why ’twas
done, in these days, ye will have strong reason to doubt them. We
was anywhere and Jerry was everywhere, and our own guns was as
big a nuisance as Jerry. When we had done all we could we fell
back. We did not walk away by platoons.”) They worked, then, at
their poor little defensive flanks, and, between shellings, saw the
enemy streaming down into the valley towards Béhagnies and
Ervillers. Mory seemed to have gone altogether, and north and south
of the cut and pitted hills they could hear the enemy’s riot all over
the forlorn Somme uplands. At evening came orders to fall back on
the high ground from Courcelles to Moyenneville, three or four miles
to their rear. This was none the less welcome because a battery of
our own big guns had been dutifully shelling Battalion Headquarters
and the Sensée valley at large for some hours past. Lieutenant
Dalton and Captain the Hon. H. B. O’Brien were both wounded.
There must have been a good deal of unnecessary slaughter on the
Somme during those days. Gunners, of course, could not always tell
whether our people had evacuated a position or were holding on;
and at a few thousand yards’ range in failing lights, mistakes are
bound to happen.
Their new position, on a front of three thousand yards, had no
trenches. The C.O. himself sited for them and the men began
digging at midnight on the 26th. At five in the morning they were
ordered to move back at once to Ayette and leave what they had
sketched out, for a couple of other brigades to occupy. They next set
about digging in at the southerly end of Ayette village, but as they
were few, and their frontage was perilously long, could but hold the
line in spots and trust to the massed fire of machine-guns on the
slopes behind it, to dam back attacks.
On the afternoon of the 26th the enemy were in Moyenneville to
the north-east of them; so a company had to be despatched to dig
in at the other end of Ayette and were badly machine-gunned while
they worked, losing one officer and sixteen other ranks. At eleven
o’clock on the morning of the 27th the enemy barraged two retiring
brigades in the trenches which the Battalion had so kindly begun for
their use. At mid-day the enemy “attacked these two brigades, who
soon afterwards passed, leaving the 4th Guards Brigade once more
in the line.” Delicacy of diction could hardly go further. But the
situation was very curious. The enemy came up; our battered troops
went away. That was all there was to it. Panic and confusion broke
out occasionally; but the general effect upon a beholder who was
not withdrawing was that of the contagious “rot” that overtakes
cricket and football teams. Effort ceased, but morale in some queer
way persisted. The enemy after the “passing” of the two brigades
massed the two battalions by the aerodrome there, to press on the
attack. Our guns had due word of it, waited till the force was well
assembled and destroyed it so utterly in a few minutes that there
was no advance. Our line at Ayette was strengthened by the arrival
of two companies of Grenadier Guards and one hundred men of the
East Lancashires, which were all that could be got hold of. Then—
but nothing really seemed to matter in that scale of gigantic disaster
—Colonel Alexander, their C.O., had to take command of the
Brigade, as the Brigadier, Lord Ardee, had been gassed and forced to
go sick. Major P. S. Long-Innes arrived at midnight of the 27th and
took over command of the Battalion. On the 28th the enemy were
well into Ayette and sniping viciously, and our line, intact here, be it
remembered, drew back to the line of the Bucquoy-Ayette road while
our howitzers from behind barraged Ayette into ruin. One Hun sniper
in that confused country of little dips and hollows and winding roads
walked straight into our lines and was captured—to his intense
annoyance, for he expected to go on to London at least.
On the 31st of March they were relieved and went to rest-billets.
They had dug, wired, fought, and fallen back as ordered, for ten
days, and nights heavier than their days, under conditions that more
than equalled their retreat from Mons. Like their 1st Battalion in
those primeval days, they had lost most things except their spirits.
Filthy, tired, hoarse, and unshaven, they got into good billets at
Chelers, just ripe for clean-up and “steady drills.” The enemy rush on
the Somme had outrun its own effective backing and was for the
while spent. Our line there had given to the last limits of concession
and hung now on the west fringe of all that great cockpit which it
had painfully won in the course of a year and lost in less than a
fortnight. As far as the front could see, the game was now entirely in
Hun hands. Our business, possibly too long neglected among our
many political preoccupations, was to get more troops and guns into
France. A draft of two hundred and twenty-four men reached the
Battalion at Chelers on the 4th of April, under Lieutenant Buller, who
went on to join the 1st Battalion, and 2nd Lieutenant Kent. A further
draft of sixty-two, nearly all English, came in on the 7th. Colonel
Alexander resumed command after his turn as brigadier, and Captain
Charles Moore and Lieutenant Keenan also arrived. The former was
posted to No. 1 Company for a time, pending action as Second in
Command, and the latter attached to Battalion Headquarters for the
comprehensive duties of sniping, bombing and intelligence. It was a
hasty reorganisation in readiness to be used again, as soon as the
Battalion got its second wind.

Vieux-Berquin
On the 9th of April was a brigade rehearsal of “ceremonial” parade
for inspection by their major-general next day. A philosopher of the
barracks has observed: “When there’s ceremonial after rest and fat-
up, it means the General tells you all you are a set of heroes, and
you’ve done miracles and ’twill break his old hard heart to lose you;
and so ye’ll throt off at once, up the road and do it all again.” On the
afternoon of that next day, when the Brigade had been duly
complimented on its appearance and achievements by its major-
general, a message came by motor-bicycle and it was “ordered to
proceed to unknown destination forthwith.” Buses would meet it on
the Arras-Tinques road. But the Battalion found no buses there, and
with the rest of its brigade, spent the cool night on the roadside,
unable to sleep or get proper breakfasts, as a prelude next morn to
a twelve-hour excursion of sixty kilometres to Pradelles. Stripped of
official language, the situation which the 4th Guards Brigade were
invited to retrieve was a smallish but singularly complete debacle on
Somme lines. Nine German divisions had been thrown at our front
between Armentières and La Bassée on the 9th April. They had
encountered, among others a Portuguese division, which had
evaporated making a gap of unknown extent but infinite possibilities
not far from Hazebrouck. If Hazebrouck went, it did not need to be
told that the road would be clear for a straight drive at the Channel
ports. The 15th Division had been driven back from the established
line we had held so long in those parts, and was now on a front
more or less between Merville and Vieux-Berquin south-east of
Hazebrouck and the Forest of Nieppe. Merville, men hoped, still held
out, but the enemy had taken Neuf Berquin and was moving towards
Vierhoek. Troops were being rushed up, and it was hoped the 1st
Australian Division would be on hand pretty soon. In the meantime,
the 4th Guards Brigade would discover and fill the nearest or widest
gap they dropped into. It might also be as well for them to get into
touch with the divisions on their right and left, whose present
whereabouts were rather doubtful.
These matters were realised fragmentarily, but with a national
lightness of heart, by the time they had been debussed on the night
of the 11th April into darkness somewhere near Paradis and its
railway station, which lies on the line from the east into Hazebrouck.
From Paradis, the long, level, almost straight road runs, lined with
farmhouses, cottages, and gardens, through the villages of Vieux-
Berquin, La Couronne, and Pont Rondin, which adjoin each other, to
Neuf Berquin and Estaires, where, and in its suburb of La Gorgue,
men used once to billet in peace. The whole country is dead flat,
studded with small houses and cut up by ten-foot ditches and
fences. When they halted they saw the horizon lit by distant villages
and, nearer, single cottages ablaze. On the road itself fires of petrol
sprang up where some vehicle had come to grief or a casual tin had
ignited. As an interlude a private managed to set himself alight and
was promptly rolled in some fresh plough. Delayed buses thumped
in out of the night, and their men stumbled forth, stiff-legged, to join
the shivering platoons. The night air to the east and southward felt
singularly open and unwholesome. Of the other two battalions of the
Brigade there was no sign. The C.O. went off to see if he could
discover what had happened to them, while the Battalion posted
sentries and were told to get what rest they could. “Keep a good
look-out, in case we find ourselves in the front line.” It seemed very
possible. They lay down to think it over till the C.O. returned, having
met the Brigadier, who did not know whether the Guards Brigade
was in the front line or not, but rather hoped there might be some
troops in front of it. Battle order for the coming day would be the
Battalion in reserve, 4th Grenadiers on their left, and 3rd Coldstream
on the right. But as these had not yet come up, No. 2 Company
(Captain Bambridge) would walk down the Paradis-Vieux-Berquin
road southward till they walked up, or into, the enemy, and would
also find a possible line for the Brigade to take on arrival. It was
something of a situation to explain to men half of whom had never
heard a shot fired off the range, but the personality behind the
words conveyed it, they say, almost seductively. No. 2 Company then
split in two, and navigated down the Vieux-Berquin road through the
dark, taking special care to avoid the crown of it. The houses
alongside had been abandoned, except that here and there an old
woman still whimpered among her furniture or distracted hens. Thus
they prowled for an hour or so, when they were fired at down the
middle of the road, providently left clear for that purpose. Next they
walked into the remnants of one or two North Country battalions
lying in fresh-punched shell-holes, obviously trying to hold a line,
who had no idea where they were but knew they were isolated and
announced they were on the eve of departure. The enemy, a few
hundred yards away, swept the road afresh with machine-gun fire,
but made no move. No. 2 Company lay down in the shell-holes while
Bambridge with a few men and an officer went on to find a position
for the Brigade. He got it, and fell back with his company just as
light was breaking. By this time the rest of the Battalion was moving
down towards Vieux-Berquin and No. 2 Company picked them up
half an hour later. The Grenadiers and Coldstream appeared about
half-past three, were met and guided back by Bambridge more or
less into the position originally chosen. There had been some notion
originally of holding a line from Vieux-Moulin on the swerve of the
Vieux-Berquin road where it straightens for Estaires, and the college
a little north of Merville; but Merville had gone by now, and the
enemy seemed in full possession of the ground up to Vierhoek and
were spreading, as their machine-gun fire showed, all round the
horizon. The two battalions adjusted themselves (they had hurried
up in advance of their rations and most of their digging tools) on a
line between the Le Cornet Perdu, a slight rise west of the main
Vieux-Berquin road, and L’Epinette Farm. The 2nd Irish Guards lay
behind them with Battalion Headquarters at Ferme Gombert—all, as
has been said in dead flat open country, without the haziest notion
of what troops, if any, lay within touch.
The morning of April 12th broke hot and sunny, under a sky full of
observation-balloons that seemed to hover directly above them.
These passed word to the German guns, and the bombardment of
heavies and shrapnel began—our own artillery not doing much to
keep it down—with a careful searching of all houses and shelters,
and specially for Battalion Headquarters. The Battalion, imperfectly
dug in, or to the mere leeward of cottages and fences, suffered; for
every movement was spotted by the balloons. The officers walking
about between cottage and cottage went in even greater peril; and
it was about this time that Lieutenant M. B. Levy was hit in the head
by shrapnel and killed at once.
Meantime, the Coldstream on the right and the Grenadiers on the
left, the former trying to work south towards Vierhoek and the latter
towards Pont Rondin through the houses along the Vieux-Berquin
road, were being hammered and machine-gunned to pieces. The
Grenadiers in particular were enfiladed by a battery of field-guns
firing with open sights at three hundred yards down the road. The
Coldstream sent back word about ten o’clock that the 50th Division,
which should have been on their right, was nowhere in view and
that their right, like the Grenadiers’ left, was in the air. Two
companies were then told from the 2nd Irish Guards, No. 3
Company, under Captain Maurice FitzGerald, in support of the
Grenadiers, and No. 2, Captain Bainbridge, to the Coldstream. No. 3
Company at first lay a little in front of Ferme Gombert, one of the
Battalion Headquarters. It was wiped out in the course of that day
and the next, with the 4th Grenadiers, when, of that battalion’s
nineteen officers, but two (wounded) survived and ninety per cent of
the rank and file had gone.
No. 2 Company’s road to the Coldstream lay across a couple of
thousand yards of ploughed fields studded with cottages. Their
officer left his people behind in what cover offered and with a few
men made a preliminary reconnaissance to see how the passage
could be run. Returning to find his company intact, he lectured them
shortly on the situation and the necessity of “adopting an aggressive
attitude”; but explained that the odds were against their reaching
any destination unless they did exactly as they were told. So they
advanced in four diamonds, working to word and whistle (“like
sporting-dog trials”) under and among and between shrapnel, whizz-
bangs that trundled along the ground, bursts of machine-gun fire
and stray sniping. Their only cover was a few willows by the bank of
the Bourre River which made their right flank, an occasional hedge
or furrow, and cottages from which they noticed one or two old
women called out. They saw, in the intervals of their earnest death-
dance (“It must have looked like children’s games—only the sweat
was dripping off us all”), cows and poultry at large, some peasants
taking pitiful cover behind a fence, and a pair of plough-horses dead
in their harness. At last the front was reached after only four killed
and as many wounded; and they packed themselves in, a little
behind the Coldstream.
The enemy all this while were well content with their artillery
work, as they had good right to be; and when morning, checked it
with machine-gun fire. One account of this period observes “there
seemed to be nobody on the right or left of the Brigade, but all the
morning we saw men from other divisions streaming back.” These
headed, with the instinct of animals, for Nieppe Forest just behind
the line, which, though searched by shell and drenched by gas, gave
a semblance of shelter. Curiously enough, the men did not run. They
walked, and before one could question them, would ask earnestly for
the whereabouts of some battalion or division in which they seemed
strangely interested. Then they would hold on towards cover.
 (“They told us the Huns were attacking. They weren’t. We were.
We told ’em to stop and help us. Lots of ’em did. No, they didn’t
panic a bit. They just seemed to have chucked it quietly.”)
About two-thirty the enemy attacked, in fairly large numbers, the
Coldstream and the division on its right which latter gave—or had
already given. No. 2 Company of the Irish Guards had made a
defensive flank in view of this danger, and as the enemy pressed
past punished them with Lewis-gun fire. (The German infantry
nowhere seemed enthusiastic, but the audacity and bravery of their
machine-gunners was very fine.) None the less they got into a little
collection of houses called Arrewage, till a counter-attack, organised
by Bambridge of the 2nd Irish Guards, and Foster of the Coldstream,
cleared them out again. In this attack, Bambridge was wounded and
Captain E. D. Dent was killed.
By dusk it would have puzzled any one in it to say where our line
stood; but, such as it was, it had to be contracted, for there were
not men enough for the fronts. Of No. 2 Company not more than
fifty were on their feet. No. 3 Company with No. 4 were still in
support of the 4th Grenadiers somewhere in front of Ferme Gombert
(which had been Battalion H.Q. till shelled out) and the Vieux-
Berquin road; and No. 1 Company, besides doing its own fighting,
had to be feeding the others. Battalion Headquarters had been
shifted to a farm in Verte Rue a few hundred yards back; but was
soon made untenable and a third resting-place had to be found—no
easy matter with the enemy “all round everybody.” There was a
hope that the Fifth Division would that evening relieve the 2nd Irish
Guards in the line, but the relief did not come; and Captain Moore,
Second in Command of the Battalion, went out from Verte Rue to
Arrewage to find that division. Eventually, he seems to have
commandeered an orderly from a near-by battalion and got its C.O.
to put in a company next to the remnants of No. 2. All the records of
that fight are beyond any hope of straightening, and no two
statements of time or place agree. We know that Battalion
Headquarters were shifted, for the third time, to a farm just outside
the village of Caudescure, whose intact church-spire luckily drew
most of the enemy fire. No. 4 Company, under Heard, was ordered
to line along the orchards of Caudescure facing east, and No. 1
Company lay on the extreme right of the line which, on the night of
the 12th April, was supposed to run northward from Arrewage and
easterly through Le Cornet Perdu, where the 4th Grenadiers were, to
the Vieux-Berquin road. Whether, indeed, it so ran or whether any
portion of it was held, no one knew. What is moderately certain is
that on the morning of the 13th April, a message came to Battalion
H.Q. that the enemy had broken through between the remnants of
the Coldstream and the Grenadiers, somewhere in the direction of
Le Cornet Perdu. Our No. 3 Company (Captain M. FitzGerald) was
despatched at once with orders to counter-attack and fill the gap. No
more was heard of them. They went into the morning fog and were
either surrounded and wiped out before they reached the Grenadiers
or, with them, utterly destroyed, as the enemy’s line lapped round
our left from La Couronne to Verte Rue. The fighting of the previous
day had given time, as was hoped, for the 1st Australian Division to
come up, detrain, and get into the Forest of Nieppe where they were
holding the edge of the Bois d’Aval; but the position of the 4th
Guards Brigade outside the Forest had been that of a crumbling
sandbank thrust out into a sea whose every wave wore it away.
The enemy, after several minor attacks, came on in strength in the
afternoon of the 13th, and our line broke for awhile at Arrewage, but
was mended, while the Brigade Headquarters sent up a trench-
mortar battery under a Coldstream officer, for the front line had only
rifles. They were set between No. 4 and No. 2 Company in the Irish
Guards’ line. Later the C.O. arrived with a company of D.C.L.I. and
put them next the T.M.B. (It was a question of scraping together
anything that one could lay hands on and pushing it into the nearest
breach.) The shelling was not heavy, but machine-gun fire came
from every quarter, and lack of bombs prevented our men from
dealing with snipers in the cottages, just as lack of Very lights
prevented them from calling for artillery in the night. The Australians
were reported to be well provided with offensive accessories, and
when Battalion Headquarters, seeing there was a very respectable
chance of their being surrounded once more, inquired of Brigade
Headquarters how things were going, they were told that they were
in strength on the left. Later, the Australians lent the Battalion some
smoke-bomb confections to clean out an annoying corner of the
front. That night, Saturday 13th April, the men, dead tired, dug in as
they could where they lay and the enemy—their rush to Hazebrouck
and the sea barred by the dead of the Guards Brigade—left them
alone.
Rations and ammunition came up into the line, and from time to
time a few odds and ends of reinforcements. By the morning of April
14th the Australians were in touch with our left which had
straightened itself against the flanks of the Forest of Nieppe, leaving
most of the Brigade casualties outside it. Those who could (they
were not many) worked their way back to the Australian line in
driblets. The Lewis-guns of the Battalion—and this was pre-
eminently a battle of Lewis-guns—blazed all that morning from
behind what cover they had, at the general movement of the enemy
between La Couronne and Verte Rue which they had occupied.
(“They was running about like ants, some one way, some the other
—the way Jerry does when he’s manœuvrin’ in the open. Ye can’t
mistake it; an’ it means trouble.”) It looked like a relief or a massing
for an attack, and needed correction as it was too close to our thin
flank. Telephones had broken down, so a runner was despatched to
Brigade Headquarters to ask that the place should be thoroughly
shelled. An hour, however, elapsed ere our guns came in, when the
Germans were seen bolting out of the place in every direction. A
little before noon they bombarded heavily all along our front and
towards the Forest; then attacked the Guards’ salient once more,
were once more beaten off by our Lewis-guns; slacked fire for an
hour, then re-bombarded and demonstrated, rather than attacked,
till they were checked for the afternoon. They drew off and shelled
till dusk when the shelling died down and the Australians and a
Gloucester regiment relieved what was left of the 2nd Irish Guards
and the Coldstream, after three days and three nights of fighting
and digging during most of which time they were practically
surrounded. The Battalion’s casualties were twenty-seven killed, a
hundred missing and a hundred and twenty-three wounded; four
officers killed (Captain E. D. Dent, Acting Captain M. B. Levy,
Lieutenants J. C. Maher and M. R. FitzGerald); three wounded in the
fighting (Captain Bambridge, 2nd Lieutenants F. S. L. Smith and A.
A. Tindall) as well as Captain C. Moore on the 16th, and Lieutenant
Lord Settrington and 2nd Lieutenant M. B. Cassidy among the
missing.
Vieux-Berquin had been a battle, in the open, of utter fatigue and
deep bewilderment, but with very little loss of morale or keenness,
and interspersed with amazing interludes of quiet in which men
found and played upon pianos in deserted houses, killed and
prepared to eat stray chickens, and were driven forth from their
music or their meal by shells or the sputter of indefatigable machine-
guns. Our people did not attach much importance to the enemy
infantry, but spoke with unqualified admiration of their machine-
gunners. The method of attack was uniformly simple. Machine-guns
working to a flank enfiladed our dug-in line, while field-guns
hammered it flat frontally, sometimes even going up with the
assaulting infantry. Meanwhile, individual machine-guns crept
forward, using all shelters and covers, and turned up savagely in
rear of our defence. Allowing for the fact that trench-trained men
cannot at a moment’s notice develop the instinct of open fighting
and an eye for the lie of land; allowing also for our lack of
preparation and sufficient material, liberties such as the enemy took
would never have been possible in the face of organised and uniform
opposition. Physically, those three days were a repetition, and,
morally, a repercussion of the Somme crash. The divisions concerned
in it were tired, and “fed-up.” Several of them had been bucketed up
from the Somme to this front after punishing fights where they had
seen nothing but failure, and heard nothing but talk of further
withdrawals for three weeks past. The only marvel is that they
retired in any effective shape at all, for they felt hopeless. The
atmosphere of spent effort deepened and darkened through all the
clearing-stations and anxious hospitals, till one reached the sea,
where people talked of evacuating the whole British force and
concentrating on the Channel ports. It does not help a wounded
man, half-sunk in the coma of his first injection, to hear nurses,
doctors, and staff round him murmur: “Well, I suppose we shall have
to clear out pretty soon.” As one man said: “’Twasn’t bad at the front
because we knew we were doing something, but the hospitals were
enough to depress a tank. We kept on telling ’em that the line was
holding all right, but, by jove, instead of them comforting us with
wounds all over us, we had to hold their hands an’ comfort ’em!”
As far as the Guards Division was concerned, no reports of the
fight—company, battalion or brigade—tally. This is inevitable, since
no company knew what the next was doing, and in a three days’
endurance-contest, hours and dates run into one. The essential fact
remains. The 4th Guards Brigade stopped the German rush to the
sea through a gap that other divisions had left; and in doing so lost
two thirds at least of its effectives. Doubtless, had there been due
forethought from the beginning, this battle need never have been
waged at all. Doubtless it could have been waged on infinitely less
expensive lines; but with a nation of amateurs abruptly committed to
gigantic warfare and governed by persons long unused even to the
contemplation of war, accidents must arise at every step of the
game.
Sir Douglas Haig, in his despatches, wrote: “The performance of
all the troops engaged in the most gallant stand,” which was only an
outlying detail of the Battle of the Lys, “and especially that of the 4th
Guards Brigade on whose front of some 4000 yards the heaviest
attacks fell, is worthy of the highest praise. No more brilliant exploit
has taken place since the opening of the enemy’s offensive, though
gallant actions have been without number.” He goes on to say—and
the indictment is sufficiently damning—that practically the whole of
the divisions there had “been brought straight out of the Somme
battlefield where they had suffered severely, and been subjected to
great strain. All these divisions, without adequate rest and filled with
young reinforcements which they had had no time to assimilate,
were again hurriedly thrown into the fight, and in spite of the great
disadvantage under which they laboured, succeeded in holding up
the advance of greatly superior forces of fresh troops. Such an
accomplishment reflects the greatest credit on the youth of Great
Britain as well as upon those responsible for the training of the
young soldiers sent from home at the time.” The young soldiers of
the Battalion certainly came up to standard; they were keen
throughout and—best of all—the A.P.M. and his subordinates who
have, sometimes, unpleasant work to do at the rear, reported that
throughout the fight “there were no stragglers.” Unofficial history
asserts that, afterwards, the Battalion was rather rude to men of
other divisions when discussing what had happened in the Forest.
On their relief (the night of the 14th-15th April) they moved away
in the direction of Hazebrouck to embus for their billets. There was a
certain amount of shelling from which the Coldstream suffered, but
the Battalion escaped with no further damage than losing a few of
the buses. Consequently, one wretched party, sleeping as it walked,
had to trail on afoot in the direction of Borré, and those who were of
it say that the trip exceeded anything that had gone before. “We
were all dead to the world—officers and men. I don’t know who
kicked us along. Some one did—and I don’t know who I kicked, but
it kept me awake. And when we thought we’d got to our billets we
were sent on another three miles. That was the final agony!”
What was left of the Brigade was next sorted out and reorganised.
The 12th (Pioneer) Battalion of the K.O.Y.L.I., who had borne a good
share of the burden that fell upon our right, including being blown
out of their trenches at least once, were taken into it; the 4th
Grenadiers and 3rd Coldstream, of two weak companies apiece,
were, for a few days, made into one attenuated battalion. The 2nd
Irish Guards, whose companies were almost forty strong, preserved
its identity; and the enemy generously shelled the whole of them
and the back-areas behind the Forest on the 16th April till they were
forced to move out into the fields and dig in where they could in
little bunches. Captain C. Moore, while riding round the companies
with Colonel Alexander, was the only casualty here. He was wounded
by shrapnel while he was getting off his horse.
 On the 17th and 18th April they took the place, in reserve, of the
3rd Australian Brigade and worked at improving a reserve line close
up to Hazebrouck. The enemy pressure was still severe, no one
knew at what point our line might go next, while at the bases, where
there was no digging to soothe and distract, the gloom had not
lightened. The Australians preserved a cheerful irreverence and
disregard for sorrow that was worth much. The Battalion relieved
two companies of them on the 19th in support-line on the east edge
of the Forest of Nieppe (Bois d’Aval) which was thick enough to
require guides through its woodland rides. Here they lay very quiet,
looking out on the old ground of the Vieux-Berquin fight, and
lighting no fires for fear of betraying their position. The enemy at
Ferme Beaulieu, a collection of buildings at the west end of the Verte
Rue-La Couronne road and on the way to Caudescure, did precisely
the same. But, on the 21st April, they gassed them most of the night
and made the wood nearly uninhabitable. Nothing, be it noted once
more, will make men put on their masks without direct pressure, and
new hands cannot see that the innocent projectile that lands like a
“dud” and lies softly hissing to itself, carries death or slow
disablement. Gassing was repeated on the 22nd when they were
trying to build up a post in the swampy woodlands where the water
lay a foot or two from the surface. They sent out Sergeant Bellew
and two men to see if samples could be gathered from Ferme
Beaulieu. He returned with one deaf man who, by reason of his
deafness, had been sent to the Ersatz. The Sergeant had caught him
in a listening-post!
Next night they raided Ferme Beaulieu with the full strength of
Nos. 2 and 4 Companies (eighty men) under 2nd Lieutenants
Mathew and Close. It seems to have been an impromptu affair, and
their sole rehearsal was in the afternoon over a course laid down in
the wood. But it was an unqualified success. Barrages, big and
machine-gun, timings and precautions all worked without a hitch
and the men were keen as terriers. They came, they saw, and they
got away with twenty-five unspoiled and identifiable captives, one of
whom had been a North-German Lloyd steward and spoke good
English. He told them tales of masses of reserves in training and of
the determination of the enemy to finish the War that very summer.
The other captives were profoundly tired of battle, but extremely
polite and well disciplined. Among our own raiders (this came out at
the distribution of honours later) was a young private, Neall, of the
D.C.L.I. who had happened to lose his Battalion during the Vieux-
Berquin fighting and had “attached himself” to the Battalion—an
irregular method of transfer which won him no small good-will and,
incidentally, the Military Medal for his share in the game.
Life began to return to the normal. The C.O. left, for a day or two,
to command the Brigade, as the Brigadier was down with gas-
poisoning, and on April the 25th a draft of fifty-nine men came in
from home. Captain A. F. L. Gordon arrived as Second in Command,
and Captain Law with him, from England on the 28th. On the 27th
they were all taken out of D’Aval Wood and billeted in farms round
Hondeghem, north of Hazebrouck on the Cassel road, to strengthen
that side of the Hazebrouck defence systems. Continuous lines of
parapet had to be raised across country, for all the soil here was
water-logged. Of evenings, they would return to Hondeghem and
amuse the inhabitants with their pipers and the massed bands of the
Brigade. Except for the last few days of their stay, they were under
an hour’s notice in Corps Reserve, while the final tremendous
adjustments of masses and boundaries, losses and recoveries, ere
our last surge forward began, troubled and kept awake all the fronts.
They were inspected by General Plumer on the 15th for a
distribution of medal-ribbons, and, having put in a thoroughly bad
rehearsal the day before, achieved on parade a faultless full-dress
ceremonial-drill, turn-out and appearance all excellent. (“The truth
is, the way we were put through it at Warley, we knew that business
blind, drunk, or asleep when it come to the day. But them dam’
rehearsals, with the whole world an’ all the young officers panickin’,
they’re no refreshment to drilled men.”)
On the 20th May, when the line of the Lys battle had come to a
stand-still, and the enemy troops in the salient that they had won
and crowded into were enjoying the full effect of our long-range
artillery, there was a possibility that their restored armies in the
south might put further pressure on the Arras-Amiens front, and a
certain shifting of troops was undertaken on our side which brought
the 4th Guards Brigade down from Hondeghem by train to
Mondicourt on the Doullens-Arras line, where the drums of the 1st
Grenadiers played them out of the station, and, after a long, hot
march, to Barly between Bavincourt and Avesnes. Their orders were,
if the enemy broke through along that front, they would man the
G.H.Q. line of defence which ran to the east of Early Wood, and, for
a wonder, was already dug. There is an impenetrability about the
Island temperament in the face of the worst which defies criticism.
Whether the enemy broke through or not was in the hands of
Providence and the valour of their brethren; but the Battalion’s duty
was plain. On the 22nd, therefore, they were lectured “on the
various forms of salutes” and that afternoon selected, and ere
evening had improved, “a suitable site in the camp for a cricket-
pitch.” Cricket, be it noted, is not a national game of the Irish; but
the Battalion was now largely English. Next day company officers
“reconnoitred” the G.H.Q. line. After which they opened a new
school of instruction, on the most solid lines, for N.C.O.’s and men.
Their numbers being so small, none could later boast that he had
escaped attention. At the end of the month their 1st Battalion
borrowed four lieutenants (Close, Kent, Burke, and Dagger) for duty,
which showed them, if they had not guessed it before, that they
were to be used as a feeding battalion, and that the 4th Guards
Brigade was, for further active use, extinct.
On the 9th June, after a week’s work on the G.H.Q. line and their
camp, Captain Nugent was transferred as Second in Command to
the 1st Battalion, and 2nd Lieutenant W. D. Faulkner took over the
duties of Acting Adjutant.
On the 11th they transferred to camp in the grounds of Bavincourt
Château, a known and well-bombed area, where they hid their tents
among the trees, and made little dug-outs and shelters inside them,
when they were not working on the back defences. But for the
spread of the “Spanish influenza” June was a delightful month,
pleasantly balanced between digging and divisional and brigade
sports, for they were all among their own people again, played
cricket matches in combination with their sister battalion, and wrote
their names high on the list of prize-winners. Their serious business
was the manufacture of new young N.C.O.’s for export to the 1st
Battalion, and even to Caterham, “where they tame lions.” Batches
of these were made and drilled under the cold eye of the Sergeant-
Major, and were, perhaps, the only men who did not thoroughly
appreciate life on the edge of the Somme in that inconceivable early
summer of ’18.
The men, as men must be if they hope to live, were utterly
unconcerned with events beyond their view. They comprehended
generally that the German advance was stayed for the while, and
that it was a race between the enemy and ourselves to prepare fresh
armies and supplies; but they themselves had done what they were
required to do. If asked, they would do it again, but not being
afflicted with false heroisms, they were perfectly content that other
battalions should now pass through the fire. (“We knew there was
fighting all about an’ about. We knew the French had borrowed four
or five of our divisions and they was being hammered on the Aisne
all through May—that time we was learning to play cricket at Barly,
an’ that’ll show you how many of us was English in those days! We
heard about the old Fifth and Thirty-first Divisions retaking all our
Vieux-Berquin ground at the end o’ June (when we was having those
sports at Bavincourt) an’ we was dam’ glad of it—those of us who
had come through that fight. But no man can hold more than one
thing at a time, an’ a battalion’s own affairs are enough for one
doings.... Now there was a man in those days, called Timoney—a
runner—an’ begad, at the one mile and the half mile there was no
one could see him when he ran, etc. etc.”)
The first little ripples of our own returning tide began to be felt
along the Arras-Amiens line when on the 4th of July the Australians,
under Lieutenant-General Monash, with four companies of the
Thirty-third American Division and many tanks, retook our lost
positions round Hamel and by Villers-Bretonneux. The Battalion
celebrated that same day by assisting the American troops with
them (and the Guards Division) at their national game. Here the
Second in Command narrowly escaped serious injury in the cause of
international good-will, for a baseball, says the Diary most
ungallantly, “luckily just missed him and struck a V.A.D. in the face.”
The views of the V.A.D. are not given.
The 14th July, the French celebration at Paris, fell just on the eve
of Marshal Foch’s historical first counter-attacks which, after the
Second Battle of the Marne, staggered the German front, when the
same trees that had hidden the 1st Battalion’s dead at Villers-
Cotterêts, close on four years ago, covered and launched one of the
armies that exacted repayment. And the 2nd Irish Guards, entirely
appreciating the comfort of their situation, despatched to Paris every
member of their bureaucracy who could by any means hatch up
passable excuses for helping to form the composite battalion which
should grace the festivities there. The C.O. (the Second in Command
had gone on already), the Adjutant, the Assistant Adjutant, the
Sergeant-Major, the M.O., the Sick Sergeant, the Orderly-Room
Clerk, the Signalling Sergeant, the Mess-Sergeant, and all the drums
managed to get away. So Captain Nutting chaperoned the remainder
down to the pleasant watering-place of Criel Plage, which is over
against Dieppe. This time they were set up in business as a young
officers’ seminary for the benefit of newly commissioned officers
who were to be taken in hand by the 4th Guards Brigade before
passing on. Many of them had had considerable service in the ranks,
which again required a special form of official education. They were
distributed among the battalions to the number of twenty-five or
thirty each, and drilled as companies. Whatever they learned, they
were, beyond question, worked up to fit physical trim with the
others, and, at the Guards Brigade Sports, the Battalion covered
itself with glory. They won every single event that counted for
points, and the Brigade championship by an overwhelming
aggregate. Next day, being the fourth anniversary of the War, they
listened to a serious sermon on the matter—as they had listened to
others—not much crediting that peace was in sight. Among the
specialists who lectured them on their many businesses was an
officer from the G.H.Q. Physical and Bayonet Training School, who
spoke of “recreational training”—boxing for choice—and had a pretty
taste in irony. For he told them how well some pugilists had done in
the War; citing the case of an eminent professional who had been
offered large purses to appear in the ring, but, feeling his country
needed him, declined them all and, when the War had been going
on for rather more than two years, joined a select body of cavalry,
which, after another year, he discovered was not going to the front.
This so wrought on him that he forthwith gave his services to the
G.H.Q. Bayonet School, where he had flourished ever since,
heroically battling against stuffed gunny-bags. The Battalion held its
breath at the record of such bravery; and a few days later professed
loud horror at an indent which came in for a hundred and fifty men
and four officers—a draft for their 1st Battalion. The Guards Division
had been at work again since the 21st August on the thrice fought-
over Moyenneville-St. Léger-Mory ground, in our northern attack
which had followed Rawlinson’s blow round Amiens. The whole of
the 4th Guards Brigade was drawn upon to help make good the
wastage, and its draft of six hundred and seven men was one of the
finest that had ever been furnished—trained to the last ounce, and
taught to the limits of teaching. The young officers attached for
instruction left after a joyous dinner that lasted till late in the dawn.
And it may be that the draft had dined also; for, on the way to the
station, one of our men who had lost his cap and had paraded in
steel-helmet order was met by “a lady from out of a house,” who
solemnly presented him with the missing article. It was an omen of
victory and of the days when steel helmets should become curios.
They returned to their depleted camps until more young officers
came along for instruction, and in the last week of September their
comrades, the 4th Grenadiers and the 3rd Coldstream, were called
away to the moving front—“to fight”—as the horrified Diary puts it!
Actually, the two battalions merely followed the advance in the wake
of the cavalry corps as mobile infantry on lorries, till the 26th of
October. They then returned to their brigade till the 14th November,
when they joined the Guards Division for the march into Germany.
For the next six weeks or so, then, Criel Plage was all the
Battalion’s deserted own during the autumn days that saw the
German armies driven back, but it is interesting to observe that, on
the 10th of October, a special order of the day, issued by the G.O.C.
Fourth Army, laid down that “all peace-talk must cease.” As usual,
they seemed to know more in the back-areas than at the front,
where the 1st Battalion certainly did not believe on the chances of
any immediate end.
On the 14th October, their small world was shaken out of all its
talk by the really serious news that their C.O. (Colonel the Hon. H. R.
Alexander) was to transfer to command the 10th Army School. He
left on the 18th, and the whole Battalion turned out to bid him good-
bye with an affection few commanding officers had ever awakened.
He wrote in orders (but he had spoken as well, straight from his
heart): “I wish to express my sincere grief in leaving the Battalion I
am so fond of. We have been through some hard times together, but
the remembrance of those battles in which the 2nd Battalion has
taken such a glorious part will always be a great pride to me.
Remember the great name that this wonderful Battalion has made
for itself in the War. Be proud of it and guard it jealously. I leave you
with complete confidence that its reputation is safe in your hands. I
thank you from the bottom of my heart for the loyalty that you have
always shown me during the whole time that I have had the honour
of commanding you. I wish you all and individually the best possible
luck and success, and a safe return to your homes when the War is
over.”
It is undeniable that Colonel Alexander had the gift of handling the
men on the lines to which they most readily responded; as the many
tales in this connection testify. At the worst crises he was both
inventive and cordial and, on such occasions as they all strove
together in the gates of Death, would somehow contrive to dress the
affair as high comedy. Moreover, when the blame for some incident
of battle or fatigue was his, he confessed and took it upon his own
shoulders in the presence of all. Consequently, his subordinates
loved him, even when he fell upon them blisteringly for their
shortcomings; and his men were all his own.
On the 26th October the 4th Grenadiers and the 3rd Coldstream
returned from their adventures at the front with the cavalry, full of
their impressions that everything was over now except the shouting.
Then there was more “peace-talk” than ever in the camp, and, three
days after the Armistice was declared, the Battalion with the Brigade
rolled statelily out of Criel for Cambrai by a “strategical” train, which
is slower than a sundial. They were clean, polished, and splendid to
behold, and they instantly fought with Brigade Headquarters and
their own trench-mortar battery, who had generous ideas as to the
amount of truckage which they themselves required.
They wandered half round northern France on that queer journey,
halting for hours in a battered world just realising that the weight of
the past four years had lifted. Whereby everybody attended to
everything except his proper job. At this distance one sees how all
men were walking in a mild delirium of reaction, but it annoyed
people at the time. Said one who had experienced it: “Ye would
come on a man an’ ask him for what ye wanted or where you was to
go, an’ the Frenchman, he’d say, ‘Oui! Oui! Gare finne,’ an’ smile an’
rub his hands an’ push off. The Englishman—some dam’ back-area
sergeant-clerk or ticket-collector that had been playin’ ping-pong at
Boulogne since ’14—he’d smile the same way an’ ‘’Tis over, ’tis over!’
he’d say, clean forgettin’ everything for you that he hadn’t done
wrong-end-up. But we was all like that together—silly, foolish, an’
goin’ about grinnin’.” At one of their many resting-places, they found
the 4th Grenadiers who had started four hours before them. The rail
ahead was reported mined, and though the Battalion politely
suggested that their friends might hurry on and test the truth of the
rumour for themselves the Grenadiers declined. Men were beginning
to set a value on their lives again. At ruined Cambrai, forty-eight
hours after their start, they were warned to join the Guards Division,
who were going to Cologne, and to travel light, as no further
transport could be taken up. So they dumped surplus kit, including
boots, which was a mistake, at Cambrai, and waited twenty-four
hours till lorries should turn up, as guaranteed. When these at last
appeared no destination was laid down, but the Guards Division was
supposed to be somewhere near Maubeuge. They lost their way
from Cambrai at the outset and managed to mislay no small portion
of their lorries, all the Battalion, less Headquarters, and a good deal
of the 3rd Coldstream, ere they reached Maubeuge, which was in
the full swing of Armistice demonstrations. Their orders were to
march with the 2nd Guards Brigade next day to Vieux Reng, which
they did through a friendly and welcoming country-side, and on the
20th November to Charleroi through Marchienne where they were
met by a mad brass band (entirely composed of men in bowler
hats!). The roads filled as they went on, with returning prisoners
even more compositely dressed than the natives—a general gaol-
delivery of hidden, escaped, released, and all the flotsam and jetsam
of violently arrested war. The customs of His Majesty’s armies were
new to the world, and Charleroi did not in the least understand
“saluting drill” with the drums in the background, and when, to this
marvel, was added the sight of a regiment of Grenadiers at physical
drill, hopping on one foot, they assembled and shouted like the men
of Ephesus.
The next move (November 24th) was to Presles on a frosty day,
with billets for the officers in the superbly comfortable Château, with
its pictures and wallpapers intact on the wall, handles to the doors,
and roofs of flawless integrity. To wake up among surroundings that
had altogether escaped the past four years was curious. (“Somehow
or other, it felt like being in a shop where everything was free, and
one could take down what one wanted. I remember looking at a
ceiling with flowers painted on it one morning and wondering how it
hadn’t been cracked.”) They were landed in the dull and cramped
village of Lesves by November the 25th and rained upon in their
utter boredom. Our national methods of conquest have nothing
spectacular. They were neither talked to, sung to, nor lectured on
their victory, nor encouraged to demonstrate their superiority over
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