*The Battle in Flanders.*
[Official Abstract of Report for The Associated Press.]
LONDON, Nov. 29.--A report from Field Marshal Sir John French covering
the period of the battle in Flanders and the days immediately preceding
it, issued today by the Official Press Bureau, shows that this battle
was brought about, first, by the Allies' attempts to outflank the
Germans, who countered, and then by the Allies' plans to move to the
northeast to Ghent and Bruges, which also failed. After this the German
offensive began, with the French coast ports as the objective, but this
movement, like those of the Allies, met with failure.
The Field Marshal, doubtless in response to the demands of the British
public, tells what the various units of the expeditionary force have
been doing--those that failed and were cut off and those who against
superior numbers held the trenches for a month. He gives it as his
opinion that the German losses have been thrice as great as those of the
Allies, and speaks optimistically of the future.
The report covers in a general way the activities of the British troops
from Oct. 11 to Nov. 20.
Summing up the situation in concluding his report, the Field Marshal
says:
"As I close this dispatch, signs are in evidence that we are possibly in
the last stages of the battle from Ypres to Armentières. For several
days past the artillery fire of the enemy has slackened considerably,
and his infantry attacks have practically ceased."
Discussing the general military situation of the Allies, as it appears
to him at the time of writing, Sir John says:
"It does not seem to be clearly understood that the operations in which
we have been engaged embrace nearly all of the central part of the
Continent of Europe, from the east to the west. The combined French,
Belgian, and British Armies in the west and the Russian Army in the east
are opposed to the united forces of Germany and Austria, acting as
combined armies between us.
"Our enemies elected at the commencement of the war to throw the weight
of their forces against our armies in the west and to detach only a
comparatively weak force, composed of very few of the first line troops
and several corps of second and third line troops, to stem the Russian
advance until the western forces could be defeated and overwhelmed.
Their strength enabled them from the outset to throw greatly superior
forces against us in the west. This precludes the possibility of our
taking vigorous offensive action except when miscalculations and
mistakes are made by their commanders, opening up special opportunities
for successful attacks and pursuit.
"The battle of the Marne was an example of this, as was also our advance
from St. Omer and Hazebrouck to the line of the River Lys at the
commencement of this battle. The rôle which our armies in the west have
consequently been called upon to fulfill has been to occupy strong
defensive positions, holding ground gained and inviting the enemy's
attack, and to throw back these attacks, causing the enemy heavy losses
in his retreat and following him up with powerful and successful
counter-attacks to complete his discomfiture.
"The value and significance of operations of this nature since the
commencement of hostilities by the Allies' forces in the west lie in the
fact that at the moment when the eastern provinces of Germany are in
imminent danger of being overrun by the numerous and powerful armies of
Russia, nearly the whole active army of Germany is tied down to a line
of trenches extending from Verdun, on the Alsatian frontier, to the sea
at Nieuport, east of Dunkirk, a distance of 260 miles, where they are
held, with much reduced numbers and impaired morale, by the successful
action of our troops in the west.
"I cannot speak too highly of the services rendered by the Royal
Artillery throughout the battle. In spite of the fact that the enemy
brought up in support of his attacks guns of great range and shell
power, our men have succeeded throughout in preventing the enemy from
establishing anything in the nature of superiority in artillery. The
skill, courage, and energy displayed by the commanders of the Royal
Artillery have been very marked. The Royal Engineers have been
indefatigable in their efforts to assist the infantry in field,
fortification, and trench work.
"I deeply regret the heavy casualties which we have suffered, but the
nature of the fighting has been very desperate, and we have been
assailed by vastly superior numbers. I have every reason to know that
throughout the course of the battle we have placed at least three times
as many of the enemy hors de combat in dead, wounded and prisoners.
"Throughout these operations Gen. Foch has strained his resources to the
utmost to afford me all the support he could. An expression of my warm
gratitude is also due to Gen. Dubail, commanding the Eighth French Army
Corps on my left, and to Gen. de Maud'huy, commanding the Tenth Army
Corps on my right."
Discussing the details of the engagement from Ypres to Armentières,
Field Marshal Sir John French explains that he was impressed early in
October with the necessity of giving the greatest possible support to
the northern flank of the Allies in the effort to outflank the Germans
and compel them to evacuate their positions. He says that the situation
on the Aisne warranted the withdrawal of British troops from positions
they held there, as the enemy had been weakened by continual attacks and
the fortifications of the Allies much improved.
The Field Marshal made known his view to Gen. Joffre, who agreed with
it. The French General Staff arranged for the withdrawal of the British,
which began on Oct. 3 and was completed on Oct. 19, when the First Army
Corps, under Gen. Sir Douglas Haig detrained at St. Omer.
The general plan, as arranged by Field Marshal French and Gen. Foch,
commanding the French troops to the north of Noyon, was that the English
should pivot on the French at Bethune, attacking the Germans on their
flank and forcing their way north. In the event that the British forced
the Germans out of their positions, making possible a forward movement
of the Allies, the French and British were to march east, with Lille as
the dividing line between the two armies, the English right being
directed on Lille.
The battle which forms the chief feature of Gen. French's report really
began on Oct. 11, when Major Gen. Gough of the Second British Cavalry
Brigade, first came in contact with German cavalry in the woods along
the Bethune-Aire Canal. The English cavalry moved toward Hazebrouck,
clearing the way for two army corps, which advanced rapidly in a
northeasterly direction. For several days the progress of the British
was only slightly interrupted, except at La Bassée, a high position,
which Field Marshal French mentions as having stubbornly resisted.
Field Marshal French says the Second Corps, under Gen. Smith-Dorrien,
was opposed by overpowering forces of Germans, but nevertheless advanced
until Oct. 18, when the German opposition compelled a reinforcement. Six
days later the Lahore Division of the Indian army was sent to support
the Second Corps.
On Oct. 16 Sir Henry Rawlinson, who had covered the retreat of the
Belgian army from Antwerp with two divisions of English cavalry and two
divisions of French infantry, was stationed on the line east of Ypres
under orders to operate over a wide front and to keep possession of all
the ground held by the Allies until the First Army Corps could reach
Ypres.
Gen. Rawlinson was opposed by superior forces and was unable to prevent
the Germans from getting large reinforcements. With four army corps
holding a much wider front than their size justified, Field Marshal
French says he faced a stubborn situation. The enemy was massed from the
Lys, and there was imperative need for a strengthened line.
However, the Field Marshal decided to send the First Corps north of
Ypres to stop the reinforcements which might enable the Germans to flank
the Allies. The shattered Belgian army and the wearied French troops'
endeavors to check the German reinforcements were powerless, so the
British commander sent fresh troops to prevent the Germans from
executing movements which would have given them access to Channel ports.
Sir Douglas Haig, with the First Army Corps, was sent Oct. 19 to capture
Bruges and drive the enemy back toward Ghent, if possible. Meantime the
Belgians intrenched themselves along the Ypres Canal. Sir John French
commends the valor of the Belgians, who, he says, exhausted by weeks of
constant fighting, maintained these positions gallantly.
Because of the overwhelming numbers of the Germans opposing them, he
says he enjoined a defensive rôle upon the three army corps located
south of Ypres. While Gen. Haig made a slight advance, Sir John says it
was wonderful that he was able to advance at all, owing to the bad roads
and the overwhelming number of Germans, which made it impossible to
carry out the original plan of moving to Bruges.
The fighting gradually developed into bayonet charges. Field Marshal
French says that Oct. 21 brought forth the hardest attack, made on the
First Corps at Ypres, in the checking of which the Worcestershire
Regiment displayed great gallantry. This day marked the most critical
period in the great battle, according to the Commander in Chief, who
says the recapture of the village of Gheluvelt through a rally of the
Worcestershires was fraught with much consequence to the Allies.
After referring to some of the battles in which the Indian troops took
part, Field Marshal French says:
"Since their arrival in this country and their occupation of the line
allotted to them I have been much impressed by the initiative and
resource displayed by the Indian troops. Some of the ruses they have
employed to deceive the enemy have been attended with the best results
and have doubtless kept the superior forces in front of them at bay. Our
Indian sappers and miners have long enjoyed a high reputation for skill
and resource. Without going into detail I can confidently assert that
throughout their work in this campaign they have fully justified that
reputation.
"The General officer commanding the Indian army describes the conduct
and bearing of these troops in strange and new surroundings to have been
highly satisfactory, and I am enabled from my own observations to fully
corroborate this statement."
Sir John French goes on to say that, while the whole line continued to
be heavily pressed, the Germans' efforts from Nov. 1 have been
concentrated upon breaking through the line held by the First British
and the Ninth French Corps and thus gaining possession of the town of
Ypres. Three Bavarian and one German corps, in addition to other troops,
were all directed against this northern line.
About Nov. 10, after several units of these corps had been completely
shattered in futile attacks, the Field Marshal continues, a division of
the Prussian Guard, which had been operating in the vicinity of Arras,
was moved up to this area with great speed and secrecy. Documents found
on dead officers, the report says, proved that the Guard received the
German Emperor's special command to break through and succeed where
their comrades of the line had failed. They took the leading part in the
vigorous attacks made against the centre on the 11th and 12th, says
Field Marshal French, but, like their comrades, were repulsed with
enormous casualties.
He pays high tribute to Sir Douglas Haig and his divisional and brigade
commanders, who, he says, "held the line with marvelous tenacity and
undaunted courage." The Field Marshal predicts that "their deeds during
these days of stress and trial will furnish some of the most brilliant
chapters which will be found in the military history of our time."
High praise is also given the Third Cavalry Division under Major Gen.
Julian Byng, whose troops "were repeatedly called upon to restore
situations at critical points and fill gaps in the line caused by the
tremendous losses which occurred."
The Commander in Chief makes special mention of Col. Gordon Chesney
Wilson of the Royal Horse Guards, Major the Hon. Hugh Dawnay of the
Second Life Guards, and Brig. Gen. FitzClarence of the Irish Guards, who
were killed, and of Brig. Gen. the Earl of Cavan, who "on many occasions
was conspicuous for the skill, coolness, and courage with which he led
his troops."
Of the Flying Corps the report says:
"Every day new methods of employing them, both strategically and
tactically, are discovered and put into practice."
Concerning the Territorials who have been employed, the Field Marshal
says the conduct and bearing of these units under fire and the efficient
manner in which they have carried out the duties assigned to them "has
imbued me with the highest hope as to the value and the help of the
Territorial troops generally."
[Illustration]
*Story of the "Eye-Witness"*
*By Col. E.D. Swinton of the Intelligence Department of the British
General Staff.*
_From the beginning of the war world-wide attention has been
attracted to the reports issued from time to time as coming from
"an eye-witness at British General Headquarters." At first these
reports were erroneously ascribed to Marshal French himself, and
resulted in much admiring comment on his vivid and graphic way of
reporting. Later it became known that they were the work of Col.
Swinton, who was attached to Gen. French's headquarters in the
capacity of "official observer."_