29/05/2026
Soldier’s Story – Company Segreant Major James Robertson – 6th Bn. (Morayshire) Seaforth Highlanders.
The German Spring Offensive of 1918 during WW1, forced the men of 6th Seaforth to undertake what is perhaps one of the greatest challenges an infantryman can face, a fighting withdrawal while under heavy contact with enemy forces. The German opening assault on the 21st March had achieved major gains, tearing holes in the British lines, breaking the static trench warfare at last and returning the fighting to a war of mobility. Now as the days of battle rolled on with seemly no end in sight, the weary British Army was badly splintered into multiple parts, cut from one another and each fighting their own individual fight.
For 6th Seaforth, their fight was in the Baupame sector, where they found themselves pulling back through Loupart wood. Fighting backwards, in a constant state of near encirclement, the Highlanders were coming intense pressure and seemed on the verge of collapse. Confusion reigned, men from other units were intermixed with the Highlanders, the tightness of the wood caused misdirection, and the enemy was seemly coming from everywhere. Officers were down, dead or wounded, and men were having to dig deep within themselves and step up: Privates doing the job of Sergeants, Sergeants doing the job of Captains. One such man was Company Sergeant Major James Robertson.
With all the officers in company gone, James had taken over command and was proving worthy of the mantle. Skilfully overseeing the withdrawal of his men, James was exactly the force of reason the company needed. Constantly on hand at crisis points to re-adjust firing positions and organising will timed and aggressive counterattacks, James’s leadership ensured his company weathered the unrelenting German storm and came out of the wood intact and together.
After establishing his company’s positions on the new defensive line, James led parties back into the wood to create a corridor for another company which had become surrounded. While the bulk of said company manged to make it out of their encirclement due to his efforts, James was not among them. Reported missing, James was later confirmed to have been killed, yet by his courage and leadership, he had saved many of his comrades, being posthumously awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
To learn more about James and the German Spring Offensive as experienced by the Highland Regiments, then do visit us here at the Highlanders Museum, Fort George.
