Michael Daley

Killed in Action on the 18/03/1915 at Neuve Chapelle

The Battalion arrived in Ambala, India in August 1914 and were part of the 9th (Sirhind) Brigade in the 3rd (Lahore) Division. They moved to France via Egypt, landing at Marseilles on the 30th of November 1914 (some weeks after the other Brigades of the Division). Michael arrived in France on the 23/02/1915. The Battle of Neuve Chapelle, 10th - 13th of March 1915 : The British First Army mounts its first offensive on a large scale. Costly in terms of casualties but results in the capture of Neuve Chapelle. Localised operations continue afterwards. Neuve Chapelle was the first large scale organised attack undertaken by the British Army during the war. It followed the miserable winter operations of 1914-15. Neuve Chapelle was the first planned British offensive of the war. It demonstrated that it was quite possible to break into the enemy positions – but also showed that this kind of success was not easily turned into breaking through them. The main lessons of Neuve Chapelle were that the artillery bombardment was too light to suppress the enemy defences; there were too few good artillery observation points; the reserves were too few to follow up success quickly; command communications took too long and the means of communicating were too vulnerable. One important lesson was perhaps not fully understood: the sheer weight of bombardment was a telling factor. Similar efforts in 1915 and 1916 would fall far short of its destructive power. SEE PHOTOS x 15 FOR THE BATTALION WAR DIARY MARCH 1915. Michael is listed as DALY on the Coatbridge Memorial. He is also remembered on the Motherwell War Memorial (see photos x 2). See photos for Michael's Medal Index Card, his Service Medal and Award Rolls x 2, his name on the Le Touret War Memorial Panel List, his CWGC Grave Registration, his listing in the De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects (death date listed as 11/18 March), the Highland Light Infantry Cap Badge and Michael's Pension Records x 2. Finally, see photos for Newspaper clipping from the Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser 27/03/1915 and Michael's name on the Le Touret Memorial x 2.