HOW THE ENEMY DEALT THE BLOW.
Meanwhile, at the regimental depots feverish excitement prevailed on
Wednesday, September 5, now that every man was ordered on active
service. All officers and men who had been on leave were recalled, and
medical inspection of all ranks at once commenced. Rations and bedding,
stores and equipment were drawn, but there was a great lack of uniforms.
Unlike the German Army, where every soldier's equipment is complete even
to the last button on the proverbial gaiter, and stowed away where the
owner knows where to obtain it, our officers commanding depots commenced
indenting for clothing on the Royal Army Clothing Department and the
Army Corps Clothing Department.
A large percentage of men were, of course, found medically unfit to
serve, and were discharged to swell the mobs of hungry idlers. The plain
clothes of the reservists coming in were disposed of, no man daring to
appear in the ranks unless in uniform. Von Kronhelm's proclamation
having forbidden the tactics of the Boers of putting mere armed citizens
into the field.
Horse-collecting parties went out all over the country, taking with them
head-collars, head-ropes, bits, reins, surcingles, numnahs,
horse-blankets, and nose-bags. These scoured every county in search of
likely animals, every farm, every livery stable, every hunting-box, all
hound-kennels and private stables were visited, and a choice made. All
this, however, took time. Precious hours were thus being wasted while
the enemy were calmly completing their arrangements for the
long-contemplated blow at the heart of the British Empire.
While the War Office refused any information, special editions of the
papers during Wednesday printed sensational reports of the ruthless
completion of the impenetrable screen covering the operations of the
enemy on the whole of the East Coast.
News had, by some means, filtered through from Yarmouth that a similar
landing to those at Lowestoft and Weybourne had been effected. Protected
as such an operation was by its flanks being supported by the IVth and
IXth Army Corps landing on either side, the Xth Army Corps, under
General von Wilburg, had seized Yarmouth, with its many miles of wharves
and docks, which were now crowded by the lighters' craft of flotilla
from the Frisian Islands.
It was known that the landing had been effected simultaneously with that
at Lowestoft. The large number of cranes at the fish-docks were of
invaluable use to the enemy, for there they landed guns, animals, and
stores, while the provisions they found at the various ship's chandlers,
and in such shops as Blagg's, and the International Stores in King
Street, Peter Brown's, Doughty's, Lipton's, Penny's and Barnes's, were
at once commandeered. Great stores of flour were seized in Clarke's and
Press's mills, while the horse-provender mills in the vicinity supplied
them with valuable forage.
Beyond these few details, as far as regarded the fate of Yarmouth,
nothing further was at present known.
The British division at Colchester, which comprised all the regular
troops north of the Thames in the eastern command, was, no doubt, in a
critical position, threatened so closely north and south by the enemy.
None of the regiments--the Norfolks, the Leicestershire, and the King's
Own Scottish Borderers of the 11th Infantry Brigade--were up to their
strength. The 12th Infantry Brigade, which also belonged to the
division, possessed only skeleton regiments stationed at Hounslow and
Warley. Of the 4th Cavalry Brigade, some were at Norwich, the 21st
Lancers were at Hounslow, while only the 16th Lancers were at
Colchester. Other cavalry regiments were as far away as Canterbury,
Shorncliffe, and Brighton, and although there were three batteries of
artillery at Colchester, some were at Ipswich, others at Shorncliffe,
and others at Woolwich.
Therefore it was quite evident to the authorities in London that unless
both Colchester and Norwich were instantly strongly supported, they
would soon be simply swept out of existence by the enormous masses of
German troops now dominating the whole eastern coast, bent upon
occupying London.
Helpless though they felt themselves to be, the garrison at Colchester
did all they could. All available cavalry had been pushed out past
Ipswich, north to Wickham Market, Stowmarket, and across to Bury St.
Edmunds, only to find on Wednesday morning that they were covering the
hasty retreat of the small body of cavalry who had been stationed at
Norwich. They, gallantly led by their officers, had done everything
possible to reconnoitre and attempt to pierce the enemy's huge cavalry
screen, but in every instance entirely in vain. They had been
outnumbered by the squadrons of independent cavalry operating in front
of the Germans, and had, alas! left numbers of their gallant comrades
upon the roads, killed and wounded.
Norwich had, therefore, on Wednesday morning fallen into the hands of
the German cavalry, utterly defenceless. From the Castle the German flag
was now flying, the Britannia Barracks were being used by the enemy,
food had all been seized, the streets were in a state of chaos, and a
complete reign of terror had been created when a company of British
Infantry, having fired at some Uhlans, were ruthlessly shot down in the
street close by the Maid's Head.
In addition to this, the Mayor of Norwich was taken prisoner, lodged in
the Castle, and held as surety for the well-behaviour of the town.
Everywhere Von Kronhelm's famous proclamation was posted, and as the
invaders poured into the city the inhabitants looked on in sullen
silence, knowing that they were now under German military discipline,
the most rigorous and drastic in the whole world.
A special issue of the "Times" in the evening of the 3rd September
contained the following vivid account--the first published--of the
happenings in the town of Goole, in Yorkshire:
"GOOLE, _September 3_.
"Shortly before five o'clock on Sunday morning the night operator of the
telephone call-office here discovered an interruption on the trunk-line,
and on trying the telegraphs was surprised to find that there was no
communication in any direction. The railway station, being rung up,
replied that their wires were also down.
"Almost immediately afterwards a well-known North Sea pilot rushed into
the post office and breathlessly asked that he might telephone to
Lloyd's. When told that all communication was cut off he wildly shouted
that a most extraordinary sight was to be seen in the River Ouse, up
which was approaching a continuous procession of tugs, towing flats, and
barges filled with German soldiers.
"This was proved to be an actual fact, and the inhabitants of Goole,
awakened from their Sunday morning slumbers by the shouts of alarm in
the streets, found, to their abject amazement, foreign soldiers swarming
everywhere. On the quay they found activity everywhere, German being
spoken on all hands. They watched a body of cavalry, consisting of the
1st Westphalian Hussars, the Westphalian Cuirassiers, land with order
and ease at the Victoria Pier, whence, after being formed up on the
quay, they advanced at a sharp trot up Victoria Street, Ouse Street, and
North Street to the railway stations, where, as is generally known,
there are large sidings of the North-East Lancashire and Yorkshire lines
in direct communication both with London and the great cities of the
north. The enemy here found great quantities of engines and rolling
stock, all of which was at once seized, together with huge stacks of
coal at the new sidings.
"Before long the first of the infantry of the 13th Division, which was
commanded by Lieutenant-General Doppschutz, marched up to the stations.
They consisted of the 13th and 56th Westphalian Regiments, and the
cavalry on being relieved advanced out of the town, crossing the Dutch
River by the railway bridge, and pushed on as far as Thorne and Hensall,
near which they at once strongly held the several important railway
junctions.
"Meanwhile cavalry of the 14th Brigade, consisting of Westphalian
Hussars and Uhlans, were rapidly disembarking at Old Goole, and,
advancing southwards over the open country of Goole Moors and Thorne
Waste, occupied Crowle. Both cavalry brigades were acting independently
of the main body, and by their vigorous action both south and west they
were entirely screening what was happening in the port of Goole.
CITY OF NORWICH.
=CITIZENS--=
AS IS WELL KNOWN, a hostile army has landed upon the coast of
Norfolk, and has already occupied Yarmouth and Lowestoft,
establishing their headquarters at Beccles.
IN THESE GRAVE CIRCUMSTANCES our only thought is for England,
and our duty as citizens and officials is to remain at our post
and bear our part in the defence of Norwich, our capital now
threatened.
YOUR PATRIOTISM, of which you have on so many occasions in
recent wars given proof, will, I have no doubt, again be shown.
By your resistance you will obtain the honour and respect of
your enemies, and by the individual energy of each one of you
the honour and glory of England may be saved.
CITIZENS OF NORWICH, I appeal to you to view the catastrophe
calmly, and bear your part bravely in the coming struggle.
=CHARLES CARRINGTON=,
_Mayor_.
NORWICH, _September 4, 1910_.
[Illustration: APPEAL ISSUED BY THE MAYOR OF NORWICH]
"Infantry continued to pour into the town from flats and barges,
arriving in endless procession. Doppschutz's Division landed at Aldan
Dock, Railway Dock, and Ship Dock; the 14th Division at the Jetty and
Basin, also in the Barge Dock and at the mouth of the Dutch River;
while some, following the cavalry brigade, landed at Old Goole and
Swinefleet.
"As far as can be ascertained, the whole of the VIIth German Army Corps
have landed, at any rate as far as the men are concerned. The troops,
who are under the supreme command of General Baron von Bistram, appear
to consist almost entirely of Westphalians, and include Prince Frederick
of the Netherlands' 2nd Westphalians; Count Bulow von Dennewitz's 6th
Westphalians; but one infantry brigade, the 79th, consisted of men from
Lorraine.
"Through the whole day the disembarkation proceeded, the townsmen
standing there helpless to lift a finger and watching the enemy's
arrival. The Victoria Pleasure Grounds were occupied by parked
artillery, which towards afternoon began to rumble through the streets.
The German gunners, with folded arms, sat unconcernedly upon the
ammunition boxes as the guns were drawn up to their positions. Horses
were seized wherever found, the proclamation of Von Kronhelm was nailed
upon the church doors, and the terrified populace read the grim threat
of the German field-marshal.
"The wagons, of which there were hundreds, were put ashore mostly at
Goole, but others up the river at Hook and Swinefleet. When the cavalry
advance was complete, as it was soon after midday, and when reports had
come in to Von Bistram that the country was clear of the British, the
German infantry advance began. By nightfall they had pushed forward,
some by road, some by rail, and others in the numerous motor-wagons that
had accompanied the force, until march-outposts were established, south
of Thorne, Askern, and Crowle, straddling the main road at Bawtry. These
places, including Fishlake and the country between them, were at once
strongly held, while ammunition and stores were pushed up by railway to
both Thorne and Askern.
"The independent cavalry advance continued through Doncaster until dusk,
when Rotherham was reached, during which advance scattered bodies of
British Imperial Yeomanry were met and compelled to retreat, a dozen or
so lives being lost. It appears that late in the afternoon of Sunday
news was brought into Sheffield of what was in progress, and a squadron
of Yeomanry donned their uniforms and rode forward to reconnoitre, with
the disastrous results already mentioned.
"The sensation caused in Sheffield when it became known that German
cavalry were so close as Rotherham was enormous, and the scenes in the
streets soon approached a panic; for it was wildly declared that that
night the enemy intended to occupy the town. The Mayor telegraphed to
the War Office, appealing for additional defensive force, but no
response was received to the telegram. The small force of military in
the town, which consisted of the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Light Infantry,
some Royal Artillery, and the local Volunteers, were soon assembled, and
going out occupied the strong position above Sheffield between Catcliffe
and Tinsley, overlooking the valley of the Rother to the east.
"The expectation that the Germans intended an immediate descent on
Sheffield was not realised, because the German tactics were merely to
reconnoitre and report on the defences of Sheffield, if any existed.
This they did by remaining to the eastward of the river Rother, whence
the high ground rising before Sheffield could be easily observed.
"Before dusk one or two squadrons of Cuirassiers were seen to be
examining the river to find fords and ascertain the capacity of the
bridges, while others appeared to be comparing the natural features of
the ground with the maps with which they all appeared to be provided.
"As night fell, however, the cavalry retired towards Doncaster, which
town was occupied, the Angel being the cavalry headquarters. The reason
the Germans could not advance at once upon Sheffield was that the
cavalry was not strongly supported by infantry from their base, the
distance from Goole being too great to be covered in a single day. That
the arrangements for landing were in every detail perfect could not be
doubted, but owing to the narrow channel of the Ouse time was necessary,
and it is considered probable that fully three days must elapse from
Sunday before the Germans are absolutely established.
"An attempt has been made by the Yorkshire Light Infantry and the York
and Lancaster Regiment, with three battalions of Volunteers stationed at
Pontefract, to discover the enemy's strength and position between Askern
and Snaith, but so far without avail, the cavalry screen across the
whole country being impenetrable.
GOD SAVE THE KING.
PROCLAMATION.
TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN.
In regard to the Decree of September 3rd of the present year,
declaring a state of siege in the Counties of Norfolk and
Suffolk.
In regard to the Decree of August 10th, 1906, regulating the
public administration of all theatres of war and military
servitude;
Upon the proposition of the Commander-in-Chief
IT IS DECREED AS FOLLOWS:
(1) There are in a state of war:
1st. In the Eastern Command, the counties of Northamptonshire,
Rutlandshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex,
Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Middlesex
(except that portion included in the London Military District).
2nd. In the Northern Command, the counties of Northumberland,
Durham, Cumberland, and Yorkshire, with the southern shore of
the estuary of the Humber.
(2) I, Charles Leonard Spencer Cotterell, his Majesty's
Principal Secretary of State for War, am charged with the
execution of this Decree.
WAR OFFICE, WHITEHALL,
_September the Fourth, 1910_.
[Illustration: This Proclamation was posted outside the War
Office in London at noon on Wednesday, and was read by
thousands. It was also posted upon the Town Hall of every city
and town throughout the Country.]
"The people of the West Riding, and especially the inhabitants of
Sheffield, are stupefied that they have received no assistance--not even
a reply to the Mayor's telegram. This fact has leaked out, and has
caused the greatest dissatisfaction. An enemy is upon us, yet we are in
ignorance of what step, if any, the authorities are taking for our
protection.
"There are wild rumours here that the enemy have burned Grimsby, but
these are generally discredited, for telegraphic and telephonic
communication has been cut off, and at present we are completely
isolated. It has been gathered from the invaders that the VIIIth Army
Corps of the Germans have landed and seized Hull, but at present this is
not confirmed. There is, alas! no communication with the place,
therefore, the report may possibly be true.
"Dewsbury, Huddersfield, Wakefield, and Selby are all intensely excited
over the sudden appearance of German soldiers, and were at first
inclined to unite to stem their progress. But the German proclamation,
showing the individual peril of any citizen taking arms against the
invaders, having been posted everywhere, has held every one scared and
in silent inactivity.
"'Where is our Army?' every one is asking. The whole country has run
riot in a single hour, now that the Germans are upon us. On every hand
it is asked: 'What will London do?'"
Reports now reached London that the VIIth German Army Corps had landed
at Hull and Goole, and taking possession of these towns, were moving
upon Sheffield in order to paralyse our trade in the Midlands. Hull had
been bombarded, and was in flames! Terrible scenes were taking place at
that port.
On that memorable Sunday, when a descent had been made upon our shores,
there were in German ports on the North Sea nearly a million tons gross
of German shipping. Normally, in peace time, half a million tons is
always to be found there, the second half having been quietly collected
by ships putting in unobserved into such ports as Emden, Bremen,
Bremerhaven, and Geestemunde, where there are at least ten miles of
deep-sea wharves, with ample railway access. The arrival of these
crafts caused no particular comment, but they had already been secretly
prepared for the transport of men and horses while at sea.
Under the cover of the Frisian Islands, from every canal, river, and
creek had been assembled a huge multitude of flats and barges, ready to
be towed by tugs alongside the wharves and filled with troops. Of a
sudden, in a single hour it seemed, Hamburg, Altona, Cuxhaven, and
Wilhelmshaven were in excited activity, and almost before the
inhabitants themselves realised what was really in progress, the
embarkation had well commenced.
At Emden, with its direct cable to the theatre of war in England, was
concentrated the brain of the whole movement. Beneath the lee of the
covering screen of Frisian Islands, Borkum, Juist, Norderney, Langebog,
and the others, the preparations for the descent upon England rapidly
matured.
Troop-trains from every part of the Fatherland arrived with the
punctuality of clockwork. From Duesseldorf came the VIIth Army Corps, the
VIIIth from Coblenz, the IXth were already assembled at their
headquarters at Altona, while many of them being stationed at Bremen
embarked from there; the Xth came up from Hanover, the XIVth from
Magdeburg, and the Corps of German Guards, the pride and flower of the
Kaiser's troops, arrived eagerly at Hamburg from Berlin and Potsdam,
among the first to embark.
Each army corps consisted of about 38,000 officers and men, 11,000
horses, 144 guns, and about 2,000 motor-cars, wagons, and carts. But for
this campaign--which was more of the nature of a raid than of any
protracted campaign--the supply of wheeled transport, with the exception
of motor-cars, had been somewhat reduced.
Each cavalry brigade attached to an army corps consisted of 1,400 horses
and men, with some thirty-five light machine guns and wagons. The German
calculation--which proved pretty correct--was that each army corps could
come over to England in 100,000 tons gross of shipping, bringing with
them supplies for twenty-seven days in another 3,000 tons gross.
Therefore about 618,000 tons gross conveyed the whole of the six corps,
leaving an ample margin still in German ports for any emergencies. Half
this tonnage consisted of about 100 steamers, averaging 3,000 tons
each, the remainder being the boats, flats, lighters, barges, and tugs
previously alluded to.
[Illustration: GERMANY'S POINTS OF EMBARKATION]
The Saxons who, disregarding the neutrality of Belgium, had embarked at
Antwerp, had seized the whole of the flat-bottomed craft in the Scheldt
and the numerous canals, as well as the merchant ships in the port,
finding no difficulty in commandeering the amount of tonnage necessary
to convey them to the Blackwater and the Crouch.
As hour succeeded hour the panic increased.
It was now also known that, in addition to the various corps who had
effected a landing, the German Guards had, by a sudden swoop into the
Wash, got ashore at King's Lynn, seized the town, and united their
forces with Von Kleppen's corps, who, having landed at Weybourne, were
now spread right across Norfolk. This picked corps of Guards was under
the command of that distinguished officer, the Duke of Mannheim, while
the infantry divisions were under Lieutenant-Generals von Castein and
Von Der Decken.
The landing at King's Lynn on Sunday morning had been quite a simple
affair. There was nothing whatever to repel them, and they disembarked
on the quays and in the docks, watched by the astonished populace. All
provisions were seized at shops, while headquarters were established at
the municipal buildings, and the German flag hoisted upon the old
church, the tower of which was at once used as a signal station.
Old-fashioned people of Lynn peered out of their quiet respectable
houses in King Street in utter amazement; but soon, when the German
proclamation was posted, the terrible truth was plain.
In half an hour, even before they could realise it, they had been
transferred from the protection of the British flag to the militarism of
the German.
Ere sundown on Sunday, stalwart grey-coated sentries of the Guards
Fusiliers from Potsdam, and the Grenadiers from Berlin were holding the
roads at Gayton, East Walton, Narborough, Markham, Fincham, Stradsett,
and Stow Bardolph. Therefore on Sunday night, from Spalding on the east,
Peterborough, Chatteris, Littleport, Thetford, Diss, and Halesworth,
were faced by a huge cavalry screen protecting the landing and repose of
the great German Army behind it.
Slowly but carefully the enemy were maturing their plans for the defeat
of our defenders and the sack of London.