Free The Forgotten Spy by Nick Barratt

the enemy having succeeded in outflanking the line in overwhelming numbers, it became necessary to fall back on to Vaulx. The retirement was conducted in good order. At dusk the battalion received orders to withdraw to the G[eneral] H[ead]Q[uarters] line behind Vraucourt. 49
    The battalion sustained heavy losses; although Oldham was in the thick of the fighting, he was extremely lucky not to be injured.
    In this, the heaviest fighting the battalion has ever known, ie 21 – 22 March 1918, the battalion loss was in ‘killed, wounded and missing’ 21 officers and 492 other ranks and earned for itself the admiration of all who fought with them and added fresh laurels to the history of a gallant regiment. Only 77 other ranks survived on the evening of the 22nd of those who were in the battle. 50
    The shattered remnants of the battalion were relieved the next day, battle-scarred, weary and lucky to be alive. However, they had to march to Achiet-le-Grand, where they collapsed on trains bound for Doullens. Arriving at 8.00 pm, they set up bivouacs in the moat of the citadel and rested. Further marches were required on 25 March before they reached Chauny camp in theearly hours of the following morning. At this point, the strength of the battalion was assessed; only 13 officers and 272 other ranks remained.
    Fighting continued along the line until early April and the Germans advanced over 40 miles into Allied territory, taking over 75,000 prisoners of war, 1,300 artillery pieces and 200 tanks. However, the orderly retreat meant that the Germans were unable to outflank the British and reach the coast and the advance slowed to a halt. Furthermore, the captured ground was very difficult to defend as it was effectively muddy wasteland created by years of artillery fire. Losses were horrific on both sides – around 178,000 British troops killed, wounded, imprisoned or missing, with a further 75,000 French troops suffering the same fate. Around 250,000 Germans were lost in the slaughter, a large proportion being elite troops who were very hard to replace. This had been the main throw of the German dice and once the attack lost its impetus Allied reinforcements were able to pour into the area.
    Oldham’s battalion spent early April in training and drills before stepping back into the front line at Ypres towards the end of the month. There they faced further bombardment – including heavy gas attacks during 20 and 21 April which incapacitated 95 men and killed three others. The troops fell into a regular pattern of trench duty followed by defensive works throughout the remainder of the month and May.
    Oldham left to join the transport unit on 28 May and, during this time, made discreet inquiries about the possibility of applying for a post on Military Intelligence Staff, before formally submitting an application on 18 June to the division’s Intelligence Officer. Given his Foreign Office pedigree and a glowing commendation from his colleagues across the Channel in London – ‘his service whilst employed by them gave entire satisfaction’ 51 – he would have been confident that his skills would make him a useful asset in the various aspects of work that the Intelligence Corps undertook. This included prisoner debriefing, identification of enemy agents among Allied forces, analysis of aerial photography secured by Royal Flying Corps observers, signals intelligence and even undercover missions behind enemy lines. By mid-1918 the corps was around 1,300 strong and primarily focused on the Western Front, although plans were in place to raise a new company to support the campaign on the Italian front.
    By this stage of the war, a more formal process was in place to recruit intelligence officers as third-class agents – the level at which Oldham was aiming, given his rank. Assessment where possible involved the Intelligence Personnel section of the War Office. Candidates were tested on language skills, especially German, and on military