THE LONG, THIN LINE OF STEEL AND VALOUR.
Let us look again at the sixty-mile stretch of country from Arras to the
North Sea, the great danger zone during the month of October and for
many months afterwards. An enemy advancing from Belgium and North
France, desirous of capturing the coast of the Channel, and making
himself master of the Strait of Dover, must cross this stretch of
country in order to attain his object. You already know that a most
determined effort was made by the Germans to push through the gap at
Arras, from which the railways give access not only to the Channel ports
but to Paris. As you are aware, General Maud'huy was able to say to the
Germans, "No road this way."
Seventeen miles north of Arras we find the second passage by which the
Channel ports may be reached by an army advancing westwards. You have
already heard more than once of the town of La Bassée, which stands on
the canal uniting Béthune with Lille. A great thrust through La Bassée
would serve almost as well as a thrust through the Arras gap, for
Béthune, which lies seven miles to the west, is the junction of two
diverging railways, both of which lead to Boulogne. The more northerly
of these lines has a branch which runs through the important railway
centre of Hazebrouck[39] to Ypres. At Hazebrouck the St. Omer[40]-Ypres
line meets the railway which comes westwards from Lille through
Armentières to the coast. A little west of Hazebrouck this line
subdivides: one route goes through St. Omer to Boulogne; the other runs
north to Dunkirk, from which Calais and Boulogne may be reached by a
line along the coast.
Examine this little railway map carefully, and you will see that if the
Germans could make a thrust through the Allied lines at La Bassée they
would soon be in possession of the two railway junctions of Béthune and
Hazebrouck, which would give them no fewer than four lines of railway
for their advance on the sea-coast. Had the Germans broken through at
this point, the Allied forces to the north would have been overwhelmed.
We shall soon learn that the sally-port at La Bassée was the scene of
long and desperate struggles.
[Illustration]
The third passage by which the enemy might capture the coast of North
France and outflank the Allies at the same time is by way of the Yser
Canal and the Ypres Canal. You have already learnt how Rawlinson's army
tried to block the road to Ypres and how the Belgians withdrew to the
line of the Yser in order to contest its passage. Rawlinson's force was
far too small to resist the numbers which were hurled against it on and
after the 18th of October, and the much-battered Belgians were far too
exhausted to offer more than a feeble resistance to the forces of the
enemy following hard on their heels. They were strengthened by some
French Territorials, but even with this support they had to fall back
behind the line of the Yser on the 16th.
[Illustration: Weary Belgian Soldiers resting on the Banks of the Yser
River after their Retreat from Antwerp.
_Photo, Daily Mirror_.]
Now, while the gates at Arras and the Yser were thus being guarded by
Allied forces too weak to do more than barely hold their own, what had
happened at the middle gate of La Bassée? On 11th October, two days
after the Germans made their triumphal march into Antwerp, General
Smith-Dorrien and the Second Corps detrained, marched to the line of the
La Bassée Canal, and took up a position along its southern bank. On
their right were the French cavalry, linking them with Maud'huy's army;
on the left were the brisk squadrons of Gough's cavalry, who were
clearing the Germans from the wooded country to the north of the Lys.
The Germans were holding the high ground south of La Bassée, where the
French trenches had baffled Marlborough more than two hundred years
before, and were in strong force on the road to Lille. That great
industrial city had not yet fallen, so Sir John French decided to make a
great effort to save it.
On the morning of the 12th, in a thick fog, the Second Corps wheeled on
its right, and took up a new position facing east, its left resting on
the Lys and its right on the canal north of Béthune. It then advanced
eastward, finding its way much impeded by the difficult character of the
ground. Our soldiers from the coal-mining districts of Great Britain
found themselves in familiar country--amidst the large, straggling,
connected villages, the pit-heads, refuse mounds, and factories of their
own homeland. They had to advance across a flat country with a patchwork
of fields and hop-gardens, hemmed in by high bedraggled hedges, and cut
across by interminable ditches, with frequent canals by way of variety.
The roads, which were lined by scraggy poplars, were narrow, and deep in
mud owing to the heavy traffic. Through this flat, depressing country in
which good gun positions were few and far between, the British marched
to meet the Germans. By nightfall, however, they had made some progress
amidst the slippery maze of the muddy dykes, and had driven back several
counter-attacks, both by steady fire and by bayonet charges.
Next day the Second Corps began to wheel. It pivoted on the village of
Givenchy,[41] which stands on the north bank of the canal, less than
two miles due west of La Bassée, and endeavoured to get astride of the
La Bassée-Lille road, so as to threaten the right flank and rear of the
enemy's position on the high ground south of La Bassée. The enemy was
found to be strongly entrenched, and supported by artillery in good
positions. Before long the fighting was of the most desperate character.
The British advanced across the marshy fields under a fierce and
devastating fire with the utmost courage, fighting pitched battles in
the villages, where every house had been loopholed and turned into a
miniature fortress.
[Illustration: The Fighting about La Bassée.
Sketch map showing front held by the Second Corps on October 19, on
night of October 22, and about mid-November 1914.]
The 5th Division, on the right, bore the brunt of the deadly fray. At
Pont Fixe, on the La Bassée canal near Givenchy, the Dorsets, led by
their brave commander, Major Roper, fought hand-to-hand combats in the
lanes between the houses, and drove the enemy headlong before them. The
Germans then turned their guns on to the place, and tore it to
fragments. High explosives and shrapnel were hurled on the village,
until it seemed that no living thing could survive the deadly hail.
When, however, the infantry attack was launched, the Dorsets were still
there, but were sadly reduced in numbers. Though their leader was
killed, they held on to the smoking ruins all day, and when nightfall
came they were still in possession. One hundred and thirty killed and
two hundred and seventy wounded was the price paid for this village on
that blood-drenched day. The Bedfords, of the same brigade, fought their
way to Givenchy, but were driven out again by heavy shell fire.
That night news arrived that Lille had fallen and was in possession of
the 14th German Corps. Though Lille was lost La Bassée might be won, and
the Second Corps now devoted its energies to the task. Next day the 3rd
Division suffered a heavy loss. Sir Hubert Hamilton, its commander, was
struck by a shrapnel bullet while riding along his lines, and fell from
his horse a dead man. He was one of the most skilful and beloved of the
younger generals, and his loss was greatly deplored. An eye-witness thus
describes his burial in the village graveyard:--
"Owing to the proximity of the enemy absolute silence was
observed, except for the low voice of the priest, advantage
being taken of a lull in the attack. Just at the moment when the
priest was saying the last prayer the guns began to roar again,
and projectiles whistled over the heads of the mourners. The
German attack was directed from a distance of a few hundred
yards. The moment was well chosen, for the volleys fired by the
troops of the Allies in honour of the dead, gloriously fallen
for the common cause, were at the same time volleys of
vengeance. Crackling reports of rifles continued round the
ruined church, but the voice of the priest, reciting the last
words of the requiem, lost nothing of its calm and clearness."
Next day the 3rd Division brilliantly avenged the loss of its leader.
Sir John French tells us that they "fought splendidly," crossing with
planks the dykes with which this country is intersected, and driving the
enemy from one entrenched position to another in loopholed villages,
till at night they pushed the Germans off the road leading from
Estaires,[42] on the Lys, to La Bassée. On the 16th the division
advanced its left flank in front of the village of Aubers,[43] which
lies behind a ridge of high ground and a stream which joins the Lys at
Armentières. Aubers was captured by the 19th Brigade on the following
day, and late that evening the village of Herlies,[44] about a mile and
a half to the south-east, was carried at the point of the bayonet by the
1st Lincolns and the 4th Royal Fusiliers.
The Second Corps was now within four miles of La Bassée. So far it had
been opposed by German cavalry; now it found itself up against the main
wall of German defence. "This position of La Bassée," records Sir John
French, "has throughout the battle defied all attempts at capture."
Powerful counter-attacks began the next day, and continued right up to
the end of the month. Against the masses of Germans now concentrated
against them the Second Corps could do nothing but stand on the defence.
Most resolutely they held their lines until the end of the month, and
again and again repulsed very heavy attacks, in which the Germans lost
heavily and left large numbers of dead and prisoners behind them.
All this heavy work was now telling on the Second Corps, and their
losses had been so heavy that Smith-Dorrien on the evening of the 22nd
was obliged to withdraw his forces to lines of entrenchments which had
been prepared on a line running from the eastern side of Givenchy to a
village on the Béthune-Armentières road, some seven miles south-west of
the latter town. There they settled down into their new trenches; but
their lines were very thin, and had not every soldier in them done the
work of ten men, they could never have held the position against the
swarming masses of the enemy. One day, it is said, General French
visited these lines, and talked with a colonel who was hard pressed. "We
can't hold out much longer, sir," said the colonel; "it is impossible."
"I want only men who can do the impossible," said French. "Carry on."
Before I conclude this account of the very gallant but unavailing attack
of the Second Corps on La Bassée, I must tell you one or two incidents
which occurred during the fighting in October. On the 19th Major Daniell
and his Royal Irish Regiment found the enemy in the village of Le
Pilly,[45] about a mile to the north of Herlies. Every house in the
place had been loopholed, and line after line of trenches had been dug,
so that the position was as strong as a fortress. With loud yells the
Royal Irish dashed upon the place, and, in spite of the shrapnel that
was rained on them, carried it by storm. They then entrenched
themselves, and prepared to defend the village. But next day the gallant
battalion was cut off by German supports from Lille, and was surrounded,
after suffering heavy losses.
Very early on the morning of the 24th there was a fierce German attack
upon our new lines, but owing to the skilful work of the artillery it
came to naught. Towards evening there was another heavy attack, which
the Wiltshires and Royal West Kents repulsed. Later on the Germans drove
the Gordon Highlanders out of their trenches, but they were retaken by
the Middlesex Regiment, gallantly led by Lieutenant Colonel Hull.
While our men were "hanging on by their eyelids, some one, I am told,
looked back from a trench and saw a solitary outpost, a turbaned,
cloaked figure of the desert, very startling in the green, peaceful
landscape, riding over a hill. Behind him nodded the turbans of Sikh
cavalry, and the British in the trenches, who seemed past emotion, waved
their rifles and cheered." It was the advance guard of the Lahore
Division of the Indian army coming in the nick of time to reinforce the
hard-pressed men who had fought almost continuously for nearly a
fortnight. The Indians had been resting and preparing for a winter
campaign near Marseilles, and had long been eager to play their part
side by side with their fellow Britons. A few days before, Sir James
Willcocks, their commander, had addressed them as follows:--
"You are the descendants of men who have been mighty rulers and
great warriors for many centuries. You will never forget this.
You will recall the glories of your race. Hindu and Mohammedan
will be fighting side by side with British soldiers and our
gallant French allies. You will be helping to make history. You
will be the first Indian soldiers of the King-Emperor who will
have the honour of showing in Europe that the sons of India have
lost none of their martial instincts and are worthy of the
confidence reposed in them.
"In battle, you will remember that your religions enjoin on you
that to give your life doing your duty is your highest reward. .
. . You will fight for your King-Emperor and your faith, so that
history will record the doings of India's sons, and your
children will proudly tell of the deeds of their fathers."
This timely reinforcement was at once sent off to the support of the
Second Corps.
* * * * *
We now know how a small army of much-tried Britons barred the way
through the La Bassée postern and stretched a thin line of valour and
steel northwards towards the Lys. I have still to tell you how the
twelve-mile gap between Armentières and Ypres was closed. While the
Second Corps was forming up near Béthune, the trains carrying the Third
Corps were running into St. Omer. As each unit arrived it set out for
Hazebrouck, and on the 13th the whole force moved eastwards towards the
line of the Armentières-Ypres road, with the object of reaching
Armentières, from which it could threaten Lille. Gough's cavalry lay to
the north, and French cavalry to the south.
The French cavalry had already done much hard fighting. On 9th October
it was discovered that German horsemen were holding the south bank of
the Lys to the west of Estaires. They had covered the river crossings
with machine guns, and had set up searchlights, which at night swept
their broad beams along the northern bank. The French commander
assembled his men at a point on the river where the current was very
swift and the water deep. The Germans believed that the river could not
be forded at this spot, and had not troubled to hold it strongly. At
dusk a French trooper who was a good swimmer stripped, and, carrying
with him one end of a light rope, plunged into the water and swam across
the river. When he arrived on the south bank his comrades on the other
side fastened a heavy rope to the end of the line which he was holding,
and the dripping soldier hauled it across and tied it securely to the
trunk of a tree. The other end of the rope was made fast in a similar
way, and during the night, assisted by the rope, men and horses crossed
the stream. At daybreak, when the Germans found that the French were on
their bank of the river they retired rapidly towards Armentières.
In this force of French cavalry there was a champion rider, named
Lieutenant Wallon. One day, during the cavalry fighting along the Lys
two squadrons of the dragoons to which he was attached advanced across
the fields in a thick mist to seize a river bridge at a village where
there was an important crossing. The village was held by the enemy, and
the French squadrons entrenched themselves in front of a small
farmhouse, and beat off an attack, during which thirty Germans were
shot. After an interval, eleven men in peasants' dress, with picks and
spades over their shoulders, were seen advancing towards the French
lines. Supposing that they were peaceful civilians, the French refrained
from firing. When, however, these "peasants" were within forty yards or
so of the trenches, they suddenly dropped their implements, and, drawing
concealed revolvers, opened fire. A sergeant who stood by Lieutenant
Wallon laughed as a bullet whistled by, and remarked that another Boche
had missed him. The lieutenant, however, had fallen. The sergeant wished
to carry him to a safe place in the rear; but the dying man said, "Leave
me. A wounded man is worthless. Get back to the trench; you are wanted
there." The trusty non-com. could not be persuaded to abandon his
leader, and dragged him to the rear, where he shortly afterwards
expired. The eleven disguised Germans were captured and shot; the bridge
was taken, and the village occupied.
[Illustration]
[Footnote 39: _Ăz-brook´_]
[Footnote 40: _O´mare._]
[Footnote 41: _Zhee-van´shee_ [_n_ nasal].]
[Footnote 42: _Es-tayr´_. See map, p. 59.]
[Footnote 43: _Ō-bayr´._]
[Footnote 44: _Her´lee._]
[Footnote 45: _Pee´ye._]