THE GERMAN SPRING OFFENSIVE

The German Spring Offensive, and was a final attempt to break the Allied lines around Ypres, before the Americans entered the war. The German plan (known as Operation Georgette) was for their sixth army to attack south of Lys and drive north west, while their fourth army would attack between the Lys and Ypres, cutting off the British forces in France from their supply line from the Channel ports.

In 1901, the Robertson family were living at 5 Ballantine Place, Perth: Father, James (Plumber) (34); Mother, Helen A. (31); and Son, Robert S. (1).

The 9th (Service) Battalion Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) was raised at Hamilton in August 1914 as part of Kitchener’s First New Army and joined 28th Brigade in the 9th (Scottish) Division.

They proceeded to France and landed at Boulogne on the 12th May 1915. They saw action at the Battle of Loos in 1915, the Battle of the Somme in 1916, the Arras Offensive, the Third Battle of Ypres and the Cambrai operations in 1917.

On the 5th of February 1918 they transferred to the 43rd Brigade in the 14th (Light) Division and were in action on the Somme. On the 21st of April 1918 they transferred to South African Brigade in 9th (Scottish) Division and were in action in the Battles of Lys and the Final Advance in Flanders.

The Battle of Lys, 9th - 29th April 1918

The Battle of Lys was divided into a number of engagements: Battle of Estaires (9-11 April); Battle of Messines (10-11 April); Battle of Bailleul (13-15 April); 1st Battle of Kemmel (17-19 April); Battle of Bethune (18 April); 2nd Battle of Kemmel (25-26 April); and the Battle of Scherpenberg (29 April).

The Battles began with a German bombardment and there were a series of German attacks, until the arrival of French reinforcements, when the German commander called a halt to the attack. The Battle of Lys cost the Germans dearly in terms of men lost. They lost 120,000 killed, wounded or missing and British and French losses were on a similar scale.

Robert Somerville Robertson would have lost his life at some stage of the Second Battle of Kemmel on the 26th April 1918. He was 19 years old.

On the 11th April Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig issued his famous 'backs to the wall' order: “There is no other course open to us but to fight it out! Every position must be held to the last man: there must be no retirement. With our backs to the wall and believing in the justice of our cause, each of us must fight on to the end.”