THE DAY OF RECKONING.
The Day of Reckoning dawned.
On land the battle was terrific; the struggle was the most fierce and
bloody of any during the invasion. The British Regulars holding the high
ground along from Crowborough to Ticehurst, and from Etchingham, through
Brightling and Ashburnham, down to Battle, advanced in a huge fighting
line upon the enemy's base around Eastbourne. The onslaught was
vigorously repelled, and the battle across the Sussex Downs quickly
became a most wild and sanguinary one; but as the day passed, although
the defenders were numerically very weak, they nevertheless gradually
effected terrible slaughter, capturing the whole of the enemy's stores,
and taking nearly five thousand prisoners.
In Kent the French had advanced from East Grinstead through Edenbridge,
extending along the hills south of Westerham, and in consequence of
these rapid successes the depot of stores and ammunition which had been
maintained at Sevenoaks was being removed to Bromley by rail; but as the
officer commanding the British troops at Eynsford could see that it
would most probably be impossible to get them all away before Sevenoaks
was attacked, orders were issued that at a certain hour the remainder
should be destroyed. The force covering the removal only consisted of
two battalions of the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex) Regiment and
half a squadron of the 9th Lancers; but the hills north of Sevenoaks
from Luddesdown through Stanstead, Otford, Shoreham, Halstead,
Farnborough, and Keston were still held by our Volunteers. These
infantry battalions included the 1st and 2nd Derbyshire Regiment
(Sherwood Foresters), under Col. A. Buchanan, V.D., and Col. E. Hall,
V.D.; the 1st Nottinghamshire, under Col. A. Cantrell-Hubbersty; the 4th
Derbyshire, under Lord Newark; the 1st and 2nd Lincolnshire, under Col.
J. G. Williams, V.D., and Col. R. G. Ellison; the 1st Leicestershire,
under Col. S. Davis, V.D.; the 1st Northamptonshire, under Col. T. J.
Walker, V.D.; the 1st and 2nd Shropshire Light Infantry, under Col. J.
A. Anstice, V.D., and Col. R. T. Masefield; the 1st Herefordshire, under
Col. T. H. Purser, V.D.; the 1st, 3rd, and 4th South Wales Borderers,
under Col. T. Wood, Col. J. A. Bradney, and Col. H. Burton, V.D.; the
1st and 2nd Warwickshire, under Col. W. S. Jervis and Col. L. V. Loyd;
the 1st and 2nd Welsh Fusiliers, under Col. C. S. Mainwaring and Col. B.
G. D. Cooke, V.D.; the 2nd Welsh Regiment, under Col. A. P. Vivian,
V.D.; the 3rd Glamorganshire, under Col. J. C. Richardson, V.D.; and the
1st Worcestershire, under Col. W. H. Talbot, V.D.; while the artillery
consisted of the 3rd Kent, under Col. Hozier; the 1st Monmouthshire,
under Col. C. T. Wallis; the 1st Shropshire and Staffordshire, under
Col. J. Strick, V.D.; and the 5th Lancashire, under Col. W. H. Hunt.
The events which occurred outside Sevenoaks are perhaps best described
by Capt. A. E. Brown, of the 4th V.B. West Surrey Regiment, who was
acting as one of the special correspondents of the _Standard_. He
wrote--
"I was in command of a piquet consisting of fifty men of my regiment at
Turvan's Farm, and about three hours before the time to destroy the
remainder of the stores at Sevenoaks my sentries were suddenly driven in
by the enemy, who were advancing from the direction of Froghall. As I
had orders to hold the farm at any cost, we immediately prepared for
action. Fortunately we had a fair supply of provisions and plenty of
ammunition, for since War had broken out the place had been utilised as
a kind of outlying fort, although at this time only my force occupied
it. Our equipment included two machine guns, and it was mainly by the
aid of these we were saved.
"The strength of the attacking force appeared to be about four
battalions of French infantry and a battalion of Zouaves, with two
squadrons of Cuirassiers. Their intention was, no doubt, to cut the
railway line near Twitton, and thus prevent the removal of the Sevenoaks
stores. As soon as the cavalry scouts came within range we gave them a
few sharp volleys, and those who were able immediately retired in
disorder. Soon afterwards, however, the farm was surrounded, but I had
previously sent information to our reserves, and suggested that a sharp
watch should be kept upon the line from Twitton to Sevenoaks, for of
course I could do nothing with my small force. Dusk was now creeping on,
and as the enemy remained quiet for a short time it seemed as though
they intended to assault our position when it grew dark.
"Before night set in, however, my messenger, who had managed to elude
the vigilance of the enemy, returned, with a letter from a brother
officer stating that a great naval battle had been fought in the
Channel; and further, that the enemy's retreat had been cut off, and
that the Kentish defenders had already retaken the invaders' base at
Eastbourne. If we could, therefore, still hold the Surrey Hills, there
was yet a chance of thoroughly defeating the French and Russians, even
though one strong body was reported as having taken Guildford and
Leatherhead, and was now marching upon London.
"As evening drew on we could hear heavy firing in the direction of
Sevenoaks, but as we also heard a train running it became evident that
we still held the station. Nevertheless, soon after dark there was a
brilliant flash which for a second lit up the country around like day,
and a terrific report followed. We knew the remainder of our stores and
ammunition had been demolished in order that it should not fall into the
enemy's hands!
"Shortly afterwards we were vigorously attacked, and our position
quickly became almost untenable by the dozens of bullets projected in
every direction where the flash of our rifles could be seen. Very soon
some of the farm outbuildings fell into the hands of the Frenchmen, and
they set them on fire, together with a number of haystacks, in order to
burn us out. This move, however, proved pretty disastrous to them, for
the leaping flames quickly rendered it light as day, and showed them up,
while at the same time flashes from our muzzles were almost invisible to
them. Thus we were enabled to bring our two machine guns into action,
and break up every party of Frenchmen who showed themselves. Away over
Sevenoaks there was a glare in the sky, for the enemy were looting and
burning the town. Meanwhile, however, our men who had been defending the
place had retreated to Dunton Green after blowing up the stores, and
there they re-formed and were quickly moving off in the direction of
Twitton. Fortunately they had heard the commencement of the attack on
us, and the commander, halting his force, had sent out scouts towards
Chevening, and it appeared they reached us just at the moment the enemy
had fired the stacks. They worked splendidly, and, after going nearly
all round the enemy's position, returned and reported to their Colonel,
who at once resolved to relieve us.
"As may be imagined, we were in a most critical position by this time,
especially as we were unaware that assistance was so near. We had been
ordered to hold the farm, and we meant to do it as long as breath
remained in our bodies. All my men worked magnificently, and displayed
remarkable coolness, even at the moment when death stared us in the
face. The reports of the scouts enabled their Colonel to make his
disposition very carefully, and it was not long before the enemy were
almost completely surrounded. We afterwards learnt that our reserves at
Stockholm Wood had sent out a battalion, which fortunately came in touch
with the survivors of the Sevenoaks force just as they opened a
desperate onslaught upon the enemy.
"With the fierce flames and blinding smoke from the burning stacks
belching in our faces, we fought on with fire around us on every side.
As the fire drew nearer to us the heat became intense, the showers of
sparks galled us almost as much as the enemy's bullets, and some of us
had our eyebrows and hair singed by the fierce flames. Indeed, it was as
much as we could do to keep our ammunition from exploding; nevertheless
we kept up our stream of lead, pouring volley after volley upon those
who had attacked us. Nevertheless, with such a barrier of flame and
obscuring smoke between us we could see but little in the darkness
beyond, and we all knew that if we emerged from cover we should be
picked off easily and not a man would survive. The odds were against us.
More than twenty of my brave fellows had fired their last shot, and now
lay with their dead upturned faces looking ghastly in the brilliant
glare, while a number of others had sunk back wounded. The heat was
frightful, the smoke stifling, and I had just given up all hope of
relief, and had set my teeth, determined to die like an Englishman
should, when we heard a terrific volley of musketry at close quarters,
and immediately afterwards a dozen British bugles sounded the charge.
The scene of carnage that followed was terrible. Our comrades gave one
volley from their magazines rifles, and then charged with the bayonet,
taking the enemy completely by surprise.
"The Frenchmen tried to rally, but in vain, and among those huge burning
barns and blazing ricks they all fell or were captured. Dozens of them
struggled valiantly till the last; but, refusing to surrender, they were
slaughtered amid a most frightful scene of blood and fire. The events of
that night were horrible, and the true extent of the losses on both
sides was only revealed when the flames died down and the parting clouds
above heralded another grey and toilsome day."
Late on the previous evening the advance guard of the enemy proceeding
north towards Caterham came in touch with the defenders north of
Godstone. The French cavalry had seized Red Hill Junction Station at
sundown, and some of their scouts suddenly came upon a detached post of
the 17th Middlesex Volunteers at Tyler's Green, close to Godstone. A
very sharp skirmish ensued, but the Volunteers, although suffering
severe losses, held their own, and the cavalry went off along the Oxted
Road. This being reported to the British General, special orders were at
once sent to Col. Trotter, the commander of this section of the outpost
line.
From the reports of the inhabitants and of scouts sent out in plain
clothes, it was believed that the French intended massing near
Tandridge, and that they would therefore wait for supports before
attempting to break through our outpost line, which still remained
intact from the high ground east of Leatherhead to the hills north of
Sevenoaks. During the night Oxted and Godstone were occupied by the
enemy, and early in the morning their advance guard, consisting of four
battalions of infantry, a squadron of cavalry, a battalion of Zouaves,
and a section of field artillery, proceeded north in two columns, one
along the Roman road leading past Rook's Nest, and the other past
Flinthall Farm.
At the latter place the sentries of the 17th Middlesex fell back upon
their piquets, and both columns of the enemy came into action
simultaneously. The French infantry on the high road soon succeeded in
driving back the Volunteer piquet upon the supports, under Lieut.
Michaelis, stationed at the junction of the Roman road with that leading
to Godstone Quarry. A strong barricade with two deep trenches in front
had here been constructed, and as soon as the survivors of the piquet
got under cover, two of the defenders' machine guns opened fire from
behind the barricade, assisted at the same moment by a battery on
Gravelly Hill.
The French artillery had gone on towards Flinthall Farm, but in passing
the north edge of Rook's Nest Park their horses were shot by some
Inniskilling Fusiliers lying in ambush, and by these two reverses,
combined with the deadly fire from the two machine guns at the farm, the
column was very quickly thrown into confusion. It was then decided to
make a counter attack, and the available companies at this section of
the outpost line, under Col. Brown and Col. Roche, succeeded, after
nearly two hours' hard fighting, in retaking Godstone and Oxted,
compelling the few survivors of the enemy's advance guard to fall back
to Blindley Heath.
[Illustration: THE BATTLE OF CATERHAM: PLAN OF THE BRITISH POSITIONS.]
In the meantime our troops occupying the line from Halstead to Chatham
and Maidstone went down into battle, attacking the French right wing at
the same time as the Indians were attacking their left, while the
Volunteers from the Surrey Hills engaged the main body. The day was
blazing hot, the roads dusty, and there was scarce a breath of wind. So
hot, indeed, was it, that many on both sides fell from hunger, thirst,
and sheer starvation. Yet, although the force of the invaders was nearly
twice the numerical strength of the defenders, the latter fought on with
undaunted courage, striking their swift, decisive blows for England and
their Queen.
The enemy, now driven into a triangle, fought with demoniacal strength,
and that frenzied courage begotten of despair. On the hills around
Sevenoaks and across to the valley at Otford, the slaughter of the
French was fearful. Britons fighting for their homes and their country
were determined that Britannia should still be Ruler of the World.
From Wimlet Hill the enemy were by noon totally cut up and routed by the
12th Middlesex (Civil Service), under Lord Bury; the 25th (Bank), under
Capt. W. J. Coe, V.D.; the 13th (Queen's), under Col. J. W. Comerford;
the 21st Middlesex, under Col. H. B. Deane, V.D.; and the 22nd, under
Col. W. J. Alt, V.D. Over at Oxted, however, they rallied, and some
brilliant charges by Cossacks, the slaughter of a portion of our advance
guard, and the capture of one of our Volunteer batteries on Botley Hill,
checked our advance.
The French, finding their right flank being so terribly cut up, had
suddenly altered their tactics, and were now concentrating their forces
upon the Volunteer position at Caterham in an endeavour to break through
our defensive line.
But the hills about that position held by the North London, West London,
South London, Surrey, and Cheshire Brigades were well defended, and the
General had his finger upon the pulse of his command. Most of the
positions had been excellently chosen. Strong batteries were established
at Gravelly Hill by the 9th Lancashire Volunteer Artillery, under Col.
F. Ainsworth, V.D.; at Harestone Farm by the 1st Cinque Ports, under
Col. P. S. Court, V.D.; at White Hill by the 1st Northumberland and the
1st Norfolk, under Col. P. Watts and Col. T. Wilson, V.D.; at Botley
Hill by the 6th Lancashire, under Col. H. J. Robinson, V.D.; at
Tandridge Hill by the 3rd Lancashire, under Col. R. W. Thom, V.D.; at
Chaldon by the 1st Newcastle, under Col. W. M. Angus, V.D., who had come
south after the victory at the Tyneside; at Warlingham village by the
1st Cheshire, commanded by Col. H. T. Brown, V.D.; at Warlingham Court
by the 2nd Durham, under Col. J. B. Eminson, V.D.; on the Sanderstead
road, near King's Wood, by the 2nd Cinque Ports, under Col. W. Taylor,
V.D.; and on the railway near Woldingham the 1st Sussex had stationed
their armoured train with 40-pounder breech-loading Armstrongs, which
they fired very effectively from the permanent way.
Through Limpsfield, Oxted, Godstone, Bletchingley, and Nutsfield,
towards Reigate, Frenchmen and Britons fought almost hand to hand. The
defenders suffered severely, owing to the repeated charges of the French
Dragoons along the highway between Oxted and Godstone, nevertheless the
batteries of the 6th Lancashire on Tandridge Hill, which commanded a
wide area of country occupied by the enemy, wrought frightful execution
in their ranks. In this they were assisted by the 17th Middlesex, under
Col. W. J. Brown, V.D., who with four Maxims at one period of the fight
surprised and practically annihilated a whole battalion of French
infantry. But into this attack on Caterham the enemy put his whole
strength, and from noon until four o'clock the fighting along the valley
was a fierce combat to the death.
With every bit of cover bristling with magazine rifles, and every
available artillery position shedding forth a storm of bullets and
shell, the loss of life was awful. Invaders and defenders fell in
hundreds, and with burning brow and dry parched throat expired in agony.
The London Irish, under Col. J. Ward, V.D.; the Post Office Corps, under
Col. J. Du Plat Taylor, V.D., and Col. S. R. Thompson, V.D.; the Inns of
Court, under Col. C. H. Russell, V.D.; and the Cyclists, led by Major T.
De B. Holmes, performed many gallant deeds, and served their country
well. The long, dusty highways were quickly covered with the bodies of
the unfortunate victims, who lay with blanched, bloodless faces and
sightless eyes turned upward to the burning sun. On over them rode madly
French cavalry and Cossacks, cutting their way into the British
infantry, never to return.
Just, however, as they prepared for another terrific onslaught, the guns
of the 1st Cheshire battery at Warlingham village thundered, and with
smart section volleys added by detachments of the London Scottish, under
Major W. Brodie, V.D., and the Artists, under Capt. W. L. Duffield and
Lieut. Pott, the road was in a few minutes strewn with horses and men
dead and dying.
Still onward there rushed along the valley great masses of French
infantry, but the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Volunteer Battalions of the Royal
Fusiliers, under Col. G. C. Clark, V.D., Col. A. L. Keller, and Col. L.
Whewell respectively; the 2nd V. B. Middlesex Regiment, under Col. G.
Brodie Clark, V.D.; the 3rd Middlesex, under Col. R Hennell, D.S.O.,
late of the Indian Army; and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th West Surrey,
under Col. J. Freeland, V.D., Col. G. Drewitt, V.D., Col. S. B.
Bevington, V.D., and Col. F. W. Haddan, V.D., engaged them, and by dint
of desperate effort, losing heavily all the time, they defeated them,
drove them back, and slaughtered them in a manner that to a
non-combatant was horrible and appalling. Time after time, the enemy,
still being harassed by the British Regulars on their right, charged up
the valley, in order to take the battery at Harestone Farm; but on each
occasion few of those who dashed forward survived. The dusty roads, the
grassy slopes, and the ploughed lands were covered with corpses, and
blood draining into the springs and rivulets tinged their crystal
waters.
As afternoon passed and the battle continued, it was by no means certain
that success in this fierce final struggle would lie with us. Having
regard to the enormous body of invaders now concentrated on the Surrey
border, and striving by every device to force a passage through our
lines, our forces, spread over such a wide area and outflanking them,
were necessarily weak. It was therefore only by the excellent tactics
displayed by our officers, and the magnificent courage of the men
themselves, that we had been enabled to hold back these overwhelming
masses, which had already desolated Sussex with fire and sword.
Our Regulars operating along the old Roman highway through Blindley
Heath--where the invaders were making a desperate stand--and over to
Lingfield, succeeded, after very hard fighting, in clearing the enemy
off the railway embankment from Crowhurst along to South Park Farm, and
following them up, annihilated them.
Gradually, just at sundown, a strong division of the enemy were
outflanked at Godstone, and, refusing to lay down their arms, were
simply swept out of existence, scarcely a single man escaping. Thus
forced back from, perhaps, the most vulnerable point in our defences,
the main body of the enemy were then driven away upon Redhill, still
fighting fiercely. Over Redstone Hill, through Mead Vale, and across
Reigate Park to the Heath, the enemy were shot down in hundreds by our
Regulars; while our Volunteers, whose courage never deserted them,
engaged the French in hand-to-hand encounters through the streets of
Redhill and Reigate, as far as Underhill Park.
In Hartswood a company of the 4th East Surrey Rifles, under Major S. B.
Wheaton, V.D., were lying in ambush, when suddenly among the trees they
caught glimpses of red, baggy trousers, and scarlet, black-tasselled
fezes, and a few seconds later they found that a large force of Zouaves
were working through the wood. A few moments elapsed, and the combat
commenced. The Algerians fought like demons, and with bullet and bayonet
inflicted terrible punishment upon us; but as they emerged into the road
preparatory to firing a volley into the thickets, they were surprised by
a company of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of the East Surrey Regiment,
under Capt. Pott, who killed and wounded half their number, and took the
remainder prisoners.
Gradually our Volunteer brigades occupying the long range of hills
united with our Regulars still on the enemy's right from Reigate to
Crawley, and closed down upon the foe, slowly narrowing the sphere of
their operations, and by degrees forcing them back due westward.
Russians and French, who had attacked Dorking, had by this time been
defeated with heavy loss, and by dusk the main body had been thrown back
to Newdigate, where in Reffold's Copse one or two very sanguinary
encounters occurred. These, however, were not always in our favour, for
the Civil Service Volunteers here sustained very heavy losses. On the
railway embankment, and on the road running along the crest of the hill
to Dorking, the French made a stand, and there wrought frightful
execution among our men with their machine guns. Around Beare Green,
Trout's Farm, and behind the "White Hart" at Holmwood, the enemy rapidly
brought their guns into play, and occupied such strong strategic
positions that as night drew on it became evident that they intended to
remain there until the morrow.
The defenders had but little cover, and consequently felt the withering
fire of the French very severely. The latter had entrenched themselves,
and now in the darkness it was difficult for our men to discern their
exact position. Indeed, the situation of our forces became very serious
and unsafe as night proceeded; but at length, about ten o'clock, a
strong force of British Regulars, including the Sikhs and a detachment
of Australians, swept along the road from Dorking, and came suddenly
upon the French patrols. These were slaughtered with little resistance,
and almost before the enemy were aware of it, the whole position was
completely surrounded.
Our men then used their field search-lights with very great advantage;
for, as the enemy were driven out into the open, they were blinded by
the glare, and fell an easy prey to British rifles; while the
Frenchmen's own machine guns were turned upon them with frightful
effect, their battalions being literally mowed down by the awful hail of
bullets.