SIR JOHN FRENCH ATTEMPTS A SURPRISE
The operation of this plan of Sir John French had an excellent effect
in the Ypres region, but it had the opposite effect on the British who
were trying to take Lille. Moreover it was necessary for the British
to continue to occupy the attention of the left wing of the German
army, under the command of the Crown Prince of Bavaria, in order to
keep him from using his men against General Foch, who was attempting
to push his way between Arras and Lille. Inasmuch as the British
artillery had proved ineffective because of its lack of enough and the
proper kind of ammunition, Sir John French planned another surprise
for the Germans. This time he selected the weapon which the Teutons
seemed most to fear when it was in the hands of the British--the
bayonet. The salient on the German front at Festubert, between La
Bassee and Neuve Chapelle, was chosen for the proposed military feat.
The territory occupied by the Teutons had the appearance, to the
casual observer, of being lowlands on which were wrecked homes, farms,
and trees. The actual conditions of this section of the country were
much more serious for any body of troops which planned to make an
attack. The ground was moist and muddy, in many places being crossed
by treacherous ditches filled with slimy water. Moreover the exact
range of practically every square foot of it was known to the German
artillerymen, whose guns were on the high ground to the west of the
lowlands. The British were in trenches from seventy to three hundred
yards from those of their enemy. If the men there could dash across
the intervening space and get into the German trenches before being
annihilated by the kaiser's cannon, they would use the bayonet with
deadly effect, and, from past experiences, have reasonable hope of
gaining a victory. It was decided to make such an attempt first on
that part of the line between Richebourg on the left and Festubert on
the right.
The British Seventh Division was sent south to support the attack
which was to have been made on May 12, 1915. On that day it was too
foggy for the aviators to see with any degree of accuracy; so the
movement was delayed. This gave time for the Canadian Division to be
sent south and add their strength to the support. The German trenches,
at this point where the attack was to be made, were occupied by the
Seventh Westphalian Army Corps. This corps had lost many of its men at
Neuve Chapelle; and their places had been taken by youths who had not
reached the development of manhood and whose immaturity and lack of
military training greatly lessened the efficiency of this famous body
of troops.
Finally, on Saturday night, May 15, 1915, all conditions for the
attack seemed favorable to the British. There was no moon and the sky
was dark, though there was not that inky blackness that occasionally
occurs under similar weather conditions. The Indian Corps stole from
their trenches and began to go forward from Richebourg l'Avoue. But
the Germans were alert, and they illumined the movement with
innumerable flares which made the Indians easy targets for the machine
guns and rifles of the Teutons in that part of the line. So quick was
the work to repel the attack that many of the Indians were slain as
they were climbing out of their own trenches. As a surprise attack at
night, the British were not making much of a success of their plan,
but as a method of gaining ground and keeping their enemy busy on that
particular part of the line the men of their Second Division were
effective. They dashed into the first line of German trenches and
cleared them out with the bayonet and hand grenade. The furor of the
attack took them on into the second line. By dawn the soldiers of the
Second Division had driven a wedge into the German line.
This wedge was widened and driven in harder by Sir Douglas Haig's old
command--the First Corps. This corps had suffered heavy losses at the
first battle of Ypres; but the men who filled the gaps in the line
were hardy young men who made excellent soldiers from the start. Added
to their enthusiasm was a desire to show their ability as fighters,
with the result that the British right wing was so effective that it,
in a great measure, made up for the failure of the Indian troops. The
center and the right, with bomb and bayonet, drove the Germans from
the trenches; and then together they forced their way into the
Teutons' position 600 yards along a front 800 yards in length. Early
the next morning, before daylight on May 16, 1915, the British Seventh
Division forced its way into the German salient at Festubert. In the
meantime the Germans were making hasty preparations for a
counterattack. Sir John French's plan, however, had proved effective.
It would have required a large supply of high-explosive shells to have
made much of an impression on the excellent defenses which the German
soldiers had constructed on this part of the front. The British had no
such supply of ammunition, and, even if they had had it, it is
doubtful if they would have been able to demolish the formidable wire
entanglements. Yet in this night attack with the bayonet the British
troops had accomplished all they could have done if supplied with
proper ammunition. In the desperate charge which they made no wire
entanglement could stop the British soldiers. They threw their
overcoats or blankets over the barbed wire and then climbed across the
obstruction. The Seventh Division took three lines of trenches in this
manner, until it was 12,000 yards back of the original line of its
enemy.
There were now two wedges driven into the German front, and the
British desired to join them and make what might be termed a
countersalient, or a salient running into the original salient of the
Germans. But the space between the two horns of the British force was
a network of trenches. The horns might prod and irritate the Teutons,
but they needed artillery again to rid the German breastworks of
machine guns and demolish the obstructions which would cost too many
lives to take in the same manner in which the British success had been
won in its night attack. Nevertheless the British started in to bomb
their way toward Festubert, and they even gained forty yards in this
hazardous undertaking before they were forced to stop. If they had
seemed to be an irresistible force, they had met what had every
appearance of being an immovable body--and there was a limit to human
endurance.
By May 17, 1915, the British concluded that their most advisable
offensive was to clear the space between their two wedges by cutting
off the Germans who held that part of their line. To do this the
British attempted to cut off the German communication to the north
from La Quinque Rue; but, by that time, the Teutons had received
reenforcements; and they rained such a shower of lead on the attacking
force that the attempt had to be abandoned; but not until many heroic
efforts had been made by the British to succeed in their purpose.
Many Germans were made prisoners at all stages of the fighting. The
British bayonet seemed to strike them with terror, and the bombs were
more potent in scattering them than were the orders of their
commanders to repel the attacking force. Between Richebourg l'Avoue
and Le Quinque Rue is the farm Cour de l'Avoue. In front of this farm
the remains of a battalion of Saxons attempted to surrender. They had
arrived on the line as reenforcements to the Westphalians, and had
been fighting valiantly until their numbers were so decreased that
they were unable to hold out against their foes longer. Whether their
commanding officer ordered them to surrender or a common impulse
dictated their action, they left their position and advanced toward
the British. Not understanding their action, the attacking force fired
upon the Saxons who were sufficiently numerous to give the impression
that they might be leading a counterattack. Thereupon the Saxons
dropped their guns and the firing from the British side ceased, only
to be taken up on the German side by the Westphalians. This was
followed by an attack on the would-be prisoners by the German
artillery until every soldier in the surrendering party was slain.
This action horrified the British, but the Germans considered it a
means of discipline which would have a salutary effect on any who
might prefer the comforts of a prison camp to dying for the
Fatherland.
The British Seventh Division at Festubert continued to work south
along the German trenches. Its bayonets and bombs cleared the way
before it. The plan was for them to continue toward Rue d'Ouvert,
Chapelle St. Roch, and Canteleux. In the meantime the Second Division,
on the left of the Seventh Division, was to fight its way to Rue du
Marais and Violaines. The Indian contingent had received orders to
keep in touch with the Third Division. The Fifty-first Division was
sent to Estaires to act as a support to the First Army. By the night
of May 17, 1915, the British held all of the first line of German
trenches from the south of Festubert to Richebourg l'Avoue. For a part
of that distance the second and third lines of trenches had been taken
and held; and still farther forward the British possessed many
important points. Moreover the British soldiers were so inspired with
their success that they desired to press on in spite of the fact that
the nature of the country was such that they were wet through and
covered with mud. It was not all enthusiasm, however. Mingled with the
desire for victory was a desire for revenge. The British on this part
of the line were enraged by the use of gas at Ypres and the sinking of
the _Lusitania_.
On the night of May 17, 1915, the Fourth Cameron Highlanders, a
Territorial battalion, met with disaster. The men composing this unit
were from Inverness-shire, Skye, and the Outer Islands. Many of them
had been gamekeepers and hence were accustomed to outdoor life and the
handling of guns, all of which aided them in saving the remnant of
their command. They had been ordered to take some cottages, occupied
by German soldiers as a makeshift fortification. The Cameronians on
the way to the attack fell into a ditch which was both deep and wide.
It was necessary for them to swim to get across the ditch in some
places. In the meantime Highlanders were being slain by German shells
and the rifle fire that the men in the cottages rained upon the Scots.
One company was annihilated. Another company lost its way. The rear
end of a German communicating trench was reached by a third company.
Long before midnight this company was almost without ammunition. Two
platoons reenforced it at midnight; but the reenforcements had no
machine guns, which would have given at least temporary relief. Under
the circumstances the only thing for the Territorials to do was to
retreat. The Germans made that quite as perilous a venture as the
advance had been. Only half of those who started for the cottages
returned. Among the slain was the commander, and twelve other officers
were also killed.
The British, in spite of a cold rain, pushed on 1,200 yards north of
the Festubert-La Quinque Rue road; and took a defense 300 yards to the
southeast of the hamlet. Two farms west of the road and south of
Richebourg l'Avoue, the farm du Bois and the farm of the Cour de
l'Avoue, in front of which latter the surrendering Saxons were slain,
had been held by the Germans with numerous machine guns. The British
took both farms by nightfall and found, on counting their prisoners,
that they then had a total of 608 as well as several machine guns.
The Second and Seventh Divisions were withdrawn by Sir Douglas Haig on
the following day, Wednesday, May 19, 1915. The Fifty-first Division
and the Canadians took the places of the men who were sadly in need of
relief from active duty. Lieutenant General Alderson received the
command of both divisions together with the artillery of both the
Second and Seventh Divisions. The cold, wet weather hampered
operations and there was comparatively little activity, though
hostilities by no means altogether ceased. Each side needed a little
rest and time to fill in gaps in their respective lines. Hence it was
not until Sunday, May 23, that any fighting on a large scale took
place. On that day the Seventh Prussian Army Corps made a desperate
effort to break through that part of the British line held by the
Canadians near Festubert. The Prussians used their old tactics with
the result that the British shrapnel, rifle, and machine-gun fire
plowed great holes in their ranks. The Teutons in this instance were
without adequate artillery support, for many of their batteries had
been made useless by the British. From then on to May 25, 1915, there
were several small engagements in which the British made gains. Then
Sir John French concluded to end the activity of his men on this part
of the front. In that connection he made the following statement: "I
had now reasons to consider that the battle which was commenced by the
First Army on May 9 and renewed on the 16th, having attained for the
moment the immediate object I had in view, should not be further
actively proceeded with.
"In the battle of Festubert the enemy was driven from a position which
was strongly intrenched and fortified, and ground was won on a front
of four miles to an average depth of 600 yards."