These ten men represented all that stood between the Germans and Monchy...
- British Official War History
On July 1, 1916, Newfoundlanders taught the world how to die. On October 12 they showed the world how to fight, but on that dreadful day, Saturday, April 14, 1917, the men of the Regiment combined the two.
- Padre Thomas Nangle, August, 1917.
The Newfoundland Regiment fought a series of engagements at Les Bouefs, Le Transloy, and at Sailly-Saillisel during the remainder of 1916 and the first months of 1917. The Battle Honour "Le Transloy" commemorates their achievements.
The Battle of Arras began on Easter Monday, April 9, 1917, with the brilliant victory by the Canadian Expeditionary Force at Vimy Ridge. On April 12th, the 29th Division, with the Newfoundlanders and the 1st Essex Regiment in the lead, moved in to the village of Monchy-le-Preux, atop a strategically and important hill that was captured by the British Army the day before. They were ordered to attack the enemy early on the 14th. The attack began at 5:30 a.m., on a two-Battalion front with the Essex on the left of the Newfoundlanders. Their 2nd objective was "Infantry Hill", some 1,097 m (1,200 yd) ahead. They encountered only light German opposition, and appeared to have gained their objective.
However, their gains were brought about by the new German tactic "elastic defence in depth", which called for a limited German withdrawal to be followed by a strong counter-attack, after the British troops had been lured forward.
The Newfoundlanders and Essex soon found themselves surrounded on three sides by a strong enemy force. Many had to surrender. No allied force stood between the Germans and Monchy-le-Preux. Disaster loomed.
Lieutenant-Colonel Forbes-Robertson, Commanding Officer of the Newfoundlanders, sent Lieutenant Kevin Keegan forward to reconnoitre. Forbes-Robertson then gathered up Battalion headquarters staff and other available troops, and led them forward under intense enemy fire from several hundred advancing enemy. He and nine other men gained shelter in a short section of disused trench at 10:50 a.m. These ten men alone held off the enemy for four hours until British reserve units came to their support.
Forbes-Robertson and his comrades became famous as "the men who saved Monchy", which the British Official History described as "one of the most vital positions on the whole battlefield". The 29th Division's Commander, Major-General de Lisle, wrote that 40,000 troops would have been required to take the town again had the Germans recaptured it. All ten (nine from the Regiment and one from the Essex) were decorated for gallantry. The Regiment's casualties were exceed only by those at Beaumont Hamel.