THE OPERATIONS OF RAWLINSON's FOURTH ARMY
From the Battle of the Selle, October 17, to the end
Attack upon the line of the Selle River--Stubborn work by the Second
American Corps--Success of the Ninth Corps--Hard fighting at Le
Cateau--Great feat of the South Africans--Continued
advance--Delay-action mines--Capture of Landrecies--Dramatic exit of
the German machine-gunner--Splendid work of the First Division.
There was a pause now on the front of the Fourth Army, and a period
for preparation and reorganisation which was badly needed after the
rapid and unremitting advance. The Selle River in front of the
American section of the line had been carefully reconnoitred and was
found to be fordable except for occasional deep holes. The position
opposite to this Corps was very difficult, the enemy holding the east
bank strongly, with outposts near St. Souplet in the north and Molain
in the south. Across the stream and parallel with it was the
railway, which had an embankment rising in places as high as thirty
feet. Behind the railway was rising ground.
The Americans attacked with both their divisions in the line, the
Thirtieth being on the right. The 301st American Tank Battalion led
them on. The {183} attack was on a three-brigade front, the
Twenty-seventh Division having both its units in the fighting line.
It should be explained that an American division has only two
brigades as against the three in the British system, but that each
brigade is very much stronger, consisting nominally of 6000 bayonets.
These particular brigades, however, were already very worn, and a
great strain was thrown upon them by the failure of the reinforcing
organisation which, for some reason, had been unable to make good the
very serious casualties already incurred.
[Sidenote: Oct. 17.]
The battle began at 5.20 in the morning of October 17. The left of
the American line had its jumping-off place in the partially
destroyed village of St. Souplet, and it was no easy matter to get
forward from the beginning. None the less the whole line fought its
way across the stream and up to the high railway embankment beyond.
This, as in the area of the Thirteenth Corps, proved to be a very
formidable obstacle, the more so as the fog made cohesion of attack
and accurate observation equally impossible. Bandoval Farm on the
left of the line poured out a destructive volume of machine-gun fire,
but it was eventually rushed by the American Infantry. The right of
the Twenty-seventh Division got the village of Arbre Guernon. The
difficulties of this unit were greatly increased by the fact that
their tanks could not ford the stream, and though it had been
arranged that they should join them from the south, where there was a
crossing, only two did eventually arrive, both of which were
destroyed by shell-fire. In spite of everything, however, the
Twenty-seventh Division fought their way forward to the Le
Cateau-Arbre Guernon {184} Road, where they finally halted, as both
of their flanks were, for the moment, in the air.
The Thirtieth American Division had encountered a fierce resistance
from the start at the villages of Molain and St. Martin, so that they
were held up in crossing the river. After taking these villages they
were faced by heavy fire from the ridge across the river. They
formed a defensive flank, however, up to the point which their
comrades had reached on the left. The total achievement of the
Second American Corps was a fine one, for their prisoners amounted to
nearly 1500 men, while their front had been advanced for 4000 yards.
[Sidenote: Oct. 18.]
Next morning, October 18, the attack was renewed by General Read, the
Thirtieth Division bringing up the 60th Brigade which had been in
reserve on the day before. In front of it was a line of
well-fortified villages, two of which, Ribeauville and Ecaillon, were
captured before evening, while a third, Mazinghien, was ringed round
and American patrols were in the streets. This success represented a
further advance of 1500 yards. The last-named village was completely
cleared by the bayonet on the morning of October 19 and the advance
was carried on for a further distance of 3000 yards. The objective
of this day's attack was the high ground overlooking the Canal, and
by night the west slope of this ridge had been reached all along the
divisional front.
The Twenty-seventh Division had advanced on the left and had taken
Jonquière Farm, pushing its patrols across the St. Maurice River and
up to the ridge beyond, behind which lay Le Catillon. A pause was
now ordered while fresh dispositions were {185} made all along the
British front, and during this pause the two American divisions,
which had fought a succession of severe actions ever since September
27, were drawn out. Their losses had been very heavy, and as already
stated no replacements had been received. In their term of service
the Second American Corps had taken 81 German guns, 6000 prisoners,
and a large amount of material, while their own casualties amounted
to the very honourable total of 364 officers and 12,826 men. They
left the line with the deep respect and affection of their British
comrades, who well appreciated the difficulties which new-comers,
however brave, must meet with in work which calls for so terrible an
apprenticeship.
[Sidenote: Oct. 17.]
We will now return to the operations of the Ninth Corps, on the right
flank of the Americans, from October 17 onwards. The action was
started with the Forty-sixth Division on the right and the Sixth on
the left, while the First Division was in close support, ready to
come through when needed. A great forest lay on their front and the
general idea was that the Ninth Corps should encircle this from the
north and join beyond the wood with the Fifteenth French Corps,
General Braithwaite coming forward with his headquarters to the
immediate rear of the battle so as to keep control of what would be a
delicate and difficult operation. One battalion of the 139th
Brigade, attacking on the right of the British line, lost its
direction in the fog and got into so false a position that upon the
fog suddenly lifting it was exposed to very heavy loss from the
German machine-guns. The splendid Sherwood Foresters have seldom had
a more severe ordeal. The left of the battalion swung round,
however, and {186} changed direction, with the result that the
situation was restored. Without any loss of spirit the brigade
rushed on and captured Regnicourt, driving back a heavy
counter-attack which rolled in from the east about 11.30. The other
three brigades in the line, which were, counting from the right, the
138th, 18th, and 16th, all made good progress, though in the fog they
left several lively machine-guns in their rear. Each captured all
the objectives in front, including the wood of St. Pierre.
The First Division was now coming up behind the Sixth with the
intention of passing through them, but they ran into very heavy fire
before they had reached their allotted positions. Both the 1st and
2nd Brigades had to advance for 2000 yards under the constant
thrashing of the machine-guns, in spite of which these veteran
battalions maintained their cohesion and direction, arriving at their
starting-point in the battle line at the time arranged. Passing
through the Sixth Division they continued the advance, with the 1st
Brigade on the right and the 2nd in touch with the Americans on the
left. The village of La Vallée Mulatre was very sternly defended,
but nothing could stop the fire of the attack, and by 2.30 it had
been entirely occupied. The Forty-sixth Division on the right had
fought their way through the woody country, and had finally completed
the whole scheme by joining hands with the French at the outskirts of
the great Forêt Domanial just north-west of Mennevret. It was a good
day for the Ninth Corps, and the prisoners amounted to 150 officers
and 1500 men, a proportion of officers which suggests that the
demoralisation of the German Army had not stopped at the ranks.
Among the {187} prisoners were samples from 6 divisions, 13
regiments, and 31 battalions, indicating the urgency with which
reinforcements had been hurried up to prevent a complete fracture of
the line.
[Sidenote: Oct. 18.]
In the early morning of October 18 the Forty-sixth Division in
co-operation with the French captured Mennevret and Le Repas. On the
same morning the 3rd Brigade advanced in co-operation with the
Americans on the left and pushed the line forward as far as
Ribeauville. The French had come on well in the south and were now
in touch with the 1st Brigade, while the Forty-sixth and Sixth
Divisions were drawn out of the line. By evening on October 19 the
First Division had made its way forward and was lining the western
bank of the Canal. The Sixth Division now came in again on the left,
and got touch with the Thirteenth Corps, thus covering the gap left
by the withdrawal of the Americans.
[Sidenote: Oct. 17.]
Returning to the Thirteenth Corps, who were on the left of the Fourth
Army at the battle of the Selle River on October 17, the weary
Twenty-fifth Division had been drawn into reserve, while the
Fiftieth, their heavy losses made good by reinforcements, were put
into the right of the line once more, while the Sixty-sixth carried
on to the left. The river was at once reconnoitred and found to be a
serious impediment, especially in the immediate neighbourhood of Le
Cateau, where it had been dammed and deepened, while it was commanded
by high ground in the east and also by numerous strongly-built houses
in the town. Arrangements were made, therefore, that the main attack
should be lower down where the facilities were greater. The Fiftieth
Division held this right sector, with St. Souplet as {188} its
southern limit for the 151st Brigade, while the 149th was near St.
Benin. The Sixty-sixth covered the ground up to Le Cateau, the South
African Brigade under General Tanner being north of the town. The
South Africans with great skill and daring arranged their assembly
within fifty yards of the German outposts on the other side of the
stream, at a point where they were absolutely commanded by the German
guns in case of discovery. There they lay in silence until, at the
first twinkle of dawn, they sprang to their feet and rushed forward
to the eight bridges which the sappers with their usual splendid
efficiency had prepared for them during the night. So well had the
bridge-makers worked, that in the region of the main attack they had
actually been able to throw across bridges which would carry forward
the ten tanks allotted for the assault.
The fog was so dense and the communications so precarious that the
officers in charge of the operations had the nerve-trying experience
of seeing their whole force vanish into the gloom and knowing nothing
of what had become of them, save that the deafening roar of guns told
of a deadly struggle. Soon there came news of disasters to the
tanks. Three drove into a morass and were embedded there. Two
developed engine trouble and collapsed. One never got across. The
others lost their place in the fog and all hope of useful
co-operation with the infantry was at an end. Then came belated news
of the storm troops. The leading battalions of the Fiftieth Division
had got across in safety but had been swallowed up in the fog,
shrouding several German posts containing machine-guns, which opened
on the supports after the front files had passed them. {189} On the
left the formidable obstacle of the station with its heavy loop-holed
out-buildings held up the flank battalion of the 151st Brigade, and
the whole advance was stopped and greatly disorganised at this point.
The railway was a strong line of German resistance, and especially a
wooded mound on its eastern side, which bristled with guns. The
attack being held, the reserve of the Fiftieth Division, the 150th
Brigade, was thrown into the fight which in the early afternoon was
still in a condition of equilibrium.
In the meanwhile a great deed of arms had been wrought in the
northern part of the line. Tanner's South African Brigade, having
reached the eastern bank of the river, had penetrated the German wire
and stormed through the fog up the hill on the north of the town.
The second wave was held by the concentrated fire, and the first wave
was so utterly lost that the patrols could find no trace of where it
had got to. Just as all hope had been given up, and it had been
arranged to restart the barrage, a brave runner got through with the
news that the leading South Africans were right through the town and
engaged in a desperate hand-to-hand fight in the deep cutting on the
farther side. In order to reach this place they had been compelled
to force their way through another broad apron of untouched wire, a
most remarkable achievement. Gradually the very strenuous German
resistance was overcome, small bodies of South Africans dribbling up
in support of their comrades. By noon this part of the German line
had fallen, with a corresponding weakening along the rest of their
front, for the bravest man is less brave when he begins to think that
the {190} day is already lost and that his self-sacrifice is
manifestly vain.
With a view to helping the Fiftieth Division the 198th Brigade of the
Sixty-sixth was now ordered to cross the river to the south of the
town, and to strike in on the left of the long-drawn struggle at the
station, where the assailants were now so mixed up that the two
brigades were telescoped into one and all battalion order had been
lost. A strong counter-attack had developed about 3 o'clock on the
right of the line, where the British and American Corps joined, and
this had some success, though the 4th King's Royal Rifles held on
desperately to their ground. It was necessary to send in the 150th
Brigade to steady the line. The 7th Wiltshires and the Munster
Fusiliers were the reinforcing battalions and by their aid the
position was once more restored. It was a dangerous crisis, for with
the river in the rear any sort of retreat would have been disastrous.
There was now a concentrated bombardment of the obdurate station, and
this seems to have broken down finally the spirit of the brave
defenders. Shortly after dusk patrols forced their way into the
buildings, and by 8 P.M. the whole place was in British hands, and Le
Cateau, save for the extreme eastern outskirt, was cleared of the
enemy. It had been a very desperate battle, the laurels of which
rest with the South African Brigade, who had carried out so
remarkable an assault, and also with the Fiftieth Division which had
held on with such a bulldog grip to its purpose.
[Sidenote: Oct 18.]
The day's work had not been quite completed, as the neighbouring
village of Bazuel had not been captured, and this was undertaken on
October 18 {191} by the Fiftieth Division, strengthened by the
inclusion of the 75th Brigade. This operation was carried out with
perfect success. There was considerable opposition from scattered
machine-gun posts, but before noon Bazuel and the whole ridge to the
east of Le Cateau had been secured, while the Sixty-sixth Division
had cleared up the suburbs of the town. Thus the whole capture and
command of the Selle River had been triumphantly accomplished. To
get a complete view of the battle these operations are to be read in
connection with the fighting of the Third Army, as later recounted,
on the left, and that of the remainder of the Fourth Army on the
right.
After a pause of a few days for reorganisation and readjustment the
active operations of the Thirteenth Corps were resumed in the country
between the Selle and Mormal Forest, a district which was less open
than the plains to the west, but presented special difficulties of
its own, for it was well wooded and was also cut up into numerous
small compounds with thick hedges which presented serious obstacles
to any advance. However, the obstacle had never yet been found in
France or Belgium which would stop a British Army, so the troops
moved forward with a high heart to this new attack. The Ninth
British Corps had taken the place of the Americans on the right, and
was to advance to the line of the Sambre and Oise Canal, while the
Thirteenth, in conjunction with the Fifth Corps of the Third Army on
the left was to reach the main Le Quesnoy-Landrecies Road, near the
western edge of Mormal Forest. The larger aspect of this movement
was that it should cover the right flank {192} of the Third Army
while it carried out its own important attack.
[Sidenote: Oct. 23.]
The attack was launched in bright moonlight at 1.20 in the morning of
October 23. The 7th Brigade advanced on the right, with the 53rd and
54th Brigades of the Eighteenth Division in the order given on its
left. The first objective was the village of Pommereuil, and it was
attained in the face of heavy fire from the mills and farms along the
banks of the Richemont River. On the right the 7th West Kents did
particularly well, especially an independent company under Captain
MacDonald which attacked with such vigour that it captured Garde Hill
and Garde Copse, extending its gains outside the divisional area, and
taking many prisoners. The 10th Essex and 2nd Bedfords were also in
the leading line. The second objective facing the Eighteenth
Division was Les Tilleuls Farm, with the great Bois l'Évêque beyond
it, which covered four square miles. By 9 o'clock the Eighteenth
Division had got the farm and was established in the north-east
corner of the wood. Wood's 55th Brigade coming through had got well
forward and was advancing upon the village of Bousies in close
co-operation with the Thirty-third Division of the Fifth Corps. By
11.30 the Twenty-fifth Division was also in Bois l'Évêque and the
British infantry was crashing through the brushwood which makes up
the greater part of the plantation. All these various points were
made good, but it was found that beyond them the enemy had a fixed
line of defence with wire and every other defensive arrangement, so,
as the soldiers were much exhausted from a long day's labour, the
attack was pushed {193} no further. Bousies had been taken after a
hard fight among the surrounding orchards, by those old
battle-comrades, the 7th Buffs and 8th East Surreys of the 55th
Brigade, and the woods were completely cleared. Two field-guns had
been captured near the Richemont River, and the bodies of 30 men of
the 8th Royal Berks within 60 yards of their muzzles showed how
fierce had been both attack and defence. Altogether 50 guns and
nearly 1000 prisoners had been taken.
[Sidenote: Oct. 24.]
The attack was resumed before dawn on October 24. On the right, the
village of Malgarni was the first objective and this was carried and
passed by the 74th Brigade. Fontaine-aux-Bois was also captured, but
the Germans held part of their line on the Englefontaine-Landrecies
Road and could not be dislodged. On the left, the Eighteenth
Division, using the same brigades as the evening before, took
Robersart and some scattered farms, but had to fight very hard for
everything they got. The 7th Queen's were the first into the
captured village. The new ground was consolidated and patrols thrown
out to report any weakening of the enemy line. That night General
Wood, who had done such long and fine service with the 55th Brigade,
was invalided and Colonel Irwin of the East Surreys took over the
command.
[Sidenote: Oct. 26.]
On October 26, a day of rain and mist, the Fifth Corps was attacking
Englefontaine, and the Eighteenth Division conformed by throwing
forward its left, which involved the 7th West Kents and 8th
Berkshires in some hard fighting. Much work was thrown upon the
Thirteenth Corps on this and the following days in evacuating the
civilians who {194} swarmed in the villages, and who had no
protection against the noxious fumes of the gas shells which the
Germans with their usual thorough-going brutality showered amongst
them. If in the peace terms the Germans found that the hearts of the
Allies were hard and their thoughts stern, they have only to read the
details of their own military history in order to understand the
reasons.
[Sidenote: Nov. 4.]
A very large attack had now been planned in which the First French
Army, the Fourth, Third, and a portion of the First British Armies
should all participate. The Germans were known to be tottering and
one more good blow might bring them down. It was necessary to act at
once, for the German delay-action mines, which were usually in the
shape of one shell set to explode among a dump of shells by the road
or railway, were making the communications almost impossible.
Fortunately the ingenuity of the British sappers discovered the
private mark--a small star upon the cap of the fuse--by which the
danger-shell could be distinguished among its neighbours, and so many
a disaster was averted. It should be mentioned that on October 30
two gallant senior officers of the gunners, Colonels Thorpe and
Burnyeat, were both killed by the same shell.
The general line of advance of the Fourth Army, which had been
north-east, was now changed to east. The orders given to the
Thirteenth Corps were to advance in that direction, astride of the
Sambre and Oise Canal, to the line of the Cartignies-Dompierre-Bavai
Road. The Ninth Corps was to cross the Canal simultaneously on the
right of the Thirteenth at Catillon and Ors, advancing on the same
objective. The general proposition before the Thirteenth Corps {195}
was a total advance of about ten miles, part of it through the south
end of Mormal Forest, with the forcing of the Canal crossings thrown
in.
The frontage of the Corps attack was 7500 yards, narrowing down as it
advanced, so three divisions were put into the line. On the right
was the Twenty-fifth Division, with the task of forcing the passage
of the Canal opposite Landrecies, of capturing that town, and of
clearing the country up to Maroilles. The Sixty-sixth Division was
then to carry on the advance to the ultimate objective.
The Fiftieth Division was in the centre and was to fight a way
through Mormal Forest, while the Eighteenth Division on the left was
to storm the village of Sassegnies. The desperate determination of
the Army may be gauged from the fact that a large number of
life-belts were served out to the leading brigade in case it should
be necessary to swim the Canal for want of bridges.
The attack, the last great concerted movement of the war, was
launched at 6.15 in the morning of November 4--a day of thick,
all-pervading mist. The order of brigades from right to left in the
initial advance was 75, 149, 150, 54, and 53. Good progress was made
from the beginning all along the line, and the news from the Ninth
Corps was uplifting. They were across south of Catillon and Ors, but
the Thirty-second Division, on the immediate right of the
Twenty-fifth Division, had been held up, so that they were ordered to
move south and pass by the crossings already established. The
Twenty-fifth and Fiftieth Divisions both got well away, the former at
9 A.M. being within 300 yards of Landrecies, while the latter was
well up to the old bugbear, the {196} Englefontaine-Landrecies Road,
though Robinson's 149th Brigade, and especially the 13th Black Watch,
had lost heavily. The Eighteenth Division had also attained its
first objectives and drove off a half-hearted counter-attack. The
7th West Kents had a desperate house-to-house fight in the village of
Hecq, which remained in their hands, while the 2nd Bedfords had a
similar hard victory in Preux, where they were much helped by the
10th Essex.
The 75th Brigade had forced its way down to the Canal bank. The 5th
Gloucesters had the good fortune to discover two German foot-bridges
and poured across. It was indeed a proof of German deterioration
that such an oversight should have occurred, for it is in attention
to detail that the merit of German soldiering lies. The 8th
Worcesters followed their comrades and these two battalions began to
encircle the town from the south. There was no bridge higher up the
Canal, but a fine feat of arms was performed by a small party of the
122nd Tunnelling Company, who dashed forward, seized the lock gates,
and cut the wires which were meant to blow them up. On the extreme
left some of the 1/8 Warwicks discovered another forgotten bridge and
pushed across to the north of the town, which was now practically
surrounded so that the garrison was soon taken or killed. The
official report remarks: "The capture of Landrecies was an operation
which might well have absorbed the energies of a whole division.
Success was accomplished with a single brigade and was due to the
spirited leading of the officers, the bravery of the troops, and that
element of good fortune which any well-planned and boldly-executed
enterprise deserves." {197} The Eighteenth and Fiftieth Divisions had
pushed on through the forest with hardly a check and surrounded a
considerable number of Germans, who for the most part put up a very
resolute resistance. About two o'clock there were signs, however,
that the whole line was shaking, but it was impossible to advance
farther until the Ninth Corps was in line. The final position on
this most successful day was east of Landrecies, through Le Preseau,
along the west bank of the Sambre to Hachette, and on to Locquignol.
[Sidenote: Nov. 5.]
It was guessed that the enemy was in a bad way, but on this evening
it was confirmed by the capture of a cavalry orderly bearing a
message ordering the troops to withdraw to the Sambre during the
night, and to continue the retirement upon Maubeuge. Their skeleton
rearguards still hung on, however, and put up a spirited resistance.
Next morning, November 5, the corps advanced once more, the 74th
Brigade taking La Rosière, while Maroilles fell before noon to the
same division. The Eighteenth Division had pushed ahead and occupied
Sassegnies, while the Fifth Corps were in Berlaimont on their left
and were crossing the Sambre. The Fiftieth Division had more
difficulty as the ground was very water-logged and the resistance
considerable. The day's advance finished by the 74th Brigade, still
in the van, capturing Basse Noyelle, while at dusk the 149th Brigade
got across the Grande Helpe, a stream behind which the Germans were
expected to build up a new line.
A steady advance was maintained next morning, November 6, though the
constant tapping of machine-guns in front told of the German sporadic
resistance. {198} That night the line of the Thirteenth Corps was
east of Marbaix and Dompierre. It was found that the small enclosed
fields were very helpful in dealing with German machine-guns, as a
concealed flank attack could always be carried out. Armoured cars on
the roads were also found to be of great help to the infantry. On
November 8 there was a sharp fight on the line of the
Avesnes-Maubeuge Road. After the road was won there was a very
spirited counter-attack, the German machine-gunners coming forward
with great heart, though the infantry would not face the fire. The
6th Inniskilling Fusiliers and 1st Yorkshire Light Infantry bore the
brunt of this engagement, which lasted several hours.
[Sidenote: Nov. 8.]
The state of supplies made it impossible for the Corps to advance
farther, but the 12th Lancers went on as cavalry, supported by small
mobile columns. A line was reached which ran north and south through
Hestrud, and this proved to be the farthest east of the Thirteenth
Corps, as it was gathering itself there for an attack when the final
white flag was hoisted. Up to the last moment there was local
skirmishing and even a small German attack, which was driven back and
added a few more to the monstrous death-roll of the war. The whole
British Army has an admiration for the German machine-gunner, and one
closing incident of the war may be recorded. At two minutes from the
moment of the Armistice a machine-gun opened up about 200 yards from
the British line, and fired a whole belt without a pause. The gunner
was then seen to stand up beside his weapon, take off his helmet,
bow, and turning about walk slowly to the rear. In his person there
vanished from the stage a brave and {199} formidable character in the
war. His last action was as typical of the remorseless valour of his
corps as that of the British infantry who refrained from shooting him
was characteristic of their chivalrous and sporting instincts. When
the hour of fate struck, the line of the vanguard of the Thirteenth
Corps was just west of Montbliart and Sautain, being the most eastern
point of any troops in the British Armies in France.
During the five weeks that Morland's Corps had been in the line it
had captured 8554 prisoners and 340 guns, while its take of
machine-guns was at least 2500. It had engaged units of no less than
forty-four divisions, which gives a vivid idea of the state of
disruption which the German Army had reached. From thirteen of these
divisions prisoners varying from 100 to 1000 had been taken, showing
that these at least had been substantially engaged.
Having brought Morland's Thirteenth Corps to the goal of all its
hopes and efforts, we shall now turn back to the days after the
battle of the Selle River and carry the Ninth Corps on the right on
to the same goal.
[Sidenote: Oct. 23.]
On October 23 broke out the general engagement which will be known as
the battle of the Oise-Sambre Canal. The order of battle of the
Ninth Corps on this day was the First Division on the right, with the
2nd and 3rd Brigades in the line, and the Sixth Division on the left,
with the 18th and 71st in the line. It was a night attack launched
at 1 in the morning, and though a heavy German barrage, mixed with
gas, beat upon it, none the less both divisions made good progress at
first, though many obstinate strong points had to be reduced. By 8
{200} in the morning the First Division was reported as being on all
its objectives from Catillon southwards, with patrols pushed into the
town. The Sixth Division had great difficulty on its left flank
while endeavouring to clear Bois l'Évêque, but late in the afternoon
they got forward again. It was clear by night, however, that the
Germans, who were battling hard, still held some parts of the west
bank of the Canal, including Catillon and Ors. Next morning the
Sixth Division, working in close liaison with the Twenty-fifth
Division on the flank of Morland's Corps, got well forward, but were
still short of their full objective on the left. Every day after
this in a series of minor operations the Corps improved its footing
on the west side of this great obstacle, which was of a most
formidable nature, 60 feet wide, unfordable, with steep slippery
banks and wire mixed with wooden abattis along the farther edge.
Such was the new line of defence behind which the German Army had
rallied, and which offered a fresh problem to the victorious British
leaders.
[Sidenote: Nov. 2.]
Most of the western bank had been occupied by November 2, including
the village of Ors, but there were points where deep marshes and
German redoubts on this side had prevented the assailants from
reaching the edge of the Canal. There was also a spur at the bend of
the Canal which enfiladed the line, but this was taken as a
preliminary operation by the Thirty-second Division. It was retaken,
however, by the Germans in a very strong counter-attack supported by
an overwhelming drum-fire. On November 3 the British again got the
spur known as Happe-Garbes, but once again in the afternoon of the
same day the Germans regained it in a very {201} determined advance.
This heavy fighting fell upon the 96th Brigade and specially upon the
15th Lancashire Fusiliers, who were exposed to great pressure all
day. Among many brave records that of Sergeant John Clarke of this
battalion is pre-eminent, who took four machine-guns single-handed,
bayoneting the crews, and fighting with desperate courage at the head
of his platoon from morning till night. The idea of capturing the
place before the general attack of November 4 was then given up, and
other steps were taken to neutralise it. The main crossing of the
Canal was planned to be at Ors, just south of Ors, and at two other
points.
[Sidenote: Nov. 4.]
This the last great battle of the war broke out as already stated at
5.45 on November 4, the infantry advance being covered by a
tremendous barrage. The First Division attacked on the right, the
Thirty-second on the left, while the Forty-sixth was in close
support. On the left and in the centre of the Thirty-second Division
two bridges were thrown across the Canal under intense machine-gun
fire, only to be destroyed immediately, before any large number of
troops could get across. On the right of the division, however, the
14th Brigade gained a considerable success, the 1st Dorsets getting
across over a bridge of kerosene tins which was most cleverly
constructed by the Engineers and laid down in the darkness and mist,
so that it was a complete surprise to the enemy. A smoke barrage and
a concentration of machine-guns helped the stormers to get across.
No praise can be too great for the sappers who worked amid clouds of
poison gas in the completion of this essential bridge upon which the
fate of the battle might depend. To {202} one of them, Sapper Adams,
of the 21st Field Company, the V.C. was awarded, but there was not a
man round him who did not deserve the same honour.
In the meantime the First Division had advanced under cover of a
thick mist, and four bridges having been thrown across, the two
leading battalions got over the Canal, just escaping the German
barrage which came roaring down behind them. The further experiences
of this division, and especially of the 3rd Brigade at Catillon,
should be told in some detail. A special task was assigned to the
brigade, which was to clear the outlying portion of the town, to
occupy the rest of it, and to force the crossing of the Sambre Canal
at the broken bridge. The order of the battalions on the east side
of the Canal was that the 2nd Welsh were on the right, the 1st
Gloucesters in the centre, and the 1st South Wales Borderers on the
left, good old comrades who had fought together from the first.
There were still strong enemy posts on the west of the Canal, and the
enemy had fought tenaciously for every inch of ground. On the far
side of the Canal were many houses which contained machine-guns, and
their fire was always heavy and accurate. The actual attack upon the
town began at 5.45 in the morning of November 4, and was carried out
in the midst of a very dense fog by the 1st Gloucesters under Major
Guild. The portion of the town to the west of the bridge was first
conquered, with the efficient aid of an aggressive tank. Many
machine-guns were taken in the suburban orchards and in the town
itself. The bridge was commanded by a heavy machine-gun, but its
position was spotted and the tank put it out of action by accurate
fire. The British barrage {203} was falling thickly across the
Canal, and the British regimental leaders, those wonderful men on the
spot who adapt themselves to every emergency, crossed at once, so
that when the Germans emerged from their cellars as the barrage
lifted they were received into the expectant arms of the Gloucesters.
Over a hundred were taken at this spot. The battalion then, having
formed a bridge-head, pushed on through the town, mopping up as they
went, while the Welshmen cleared the orchards on both sides. The
captures in this well-managed affair amounted altogether to 550
Germans, while of the British only 70 casualties were reported. No
less than ten different German regiments were identified by the 2nd
Brigade during this operation, which indicates how mixed and broken
the hostile army had become under the constant pounding.
At the same time as the 3rd Brigade were capturing Catillon, the 2nd
Brigade on their right had shown great gallantry in forcing their
section of the Canal. They had been ordered to cross by a lock south
of the town, but it was a desperate business, for the lock itself was
hard to reach, with banks and water in front of it, all strenuously
defended. The infantry, with their attendant bridging parties of
sappers, were held up for a time, but Colonel Johnson of the 2nd
Sussex restored the situation, personally leading the assault
forward. It was again checked by the hurricane of fire, but he again
rallied it and eventually led it across. In the subsequent official
report attached to his V.C., it was stated that the offensive spirit
that he had inspired in his Sussex men was entirely responsible for
the successful crossing.
{204}
By 8.45 the Thirty-second Division reported that their right brigade
had got across, but owing to the enfilade fire two battalions of the
left brigade had been unable to do the same. About midday, however,
they were all over and had established themselves in a position
south-west of Landrecies. The First Division was now touching
Mezières with its left, where it was pushing on to Fesmy, while the
German line seemed to be dissolving in front of it. It was a great
day for the old division which had fought so gallantly from the first
gunshot of the war to this which was so nearly the last one. Much of
the credit of the victory is due to General Cartwright, the Corps
Engineer, upon whom the weight of these various arrangements had
fallen.
The Germans were now so fluid that a light cavalry screen was pushed
out in front of the Corps, and the Forty-sixth Division advanced on
November 5 behind it. By 9 A.M. the Thirty-second Division was in
Favril, in touch with the Twenty-fifth on their left. Late on
November 6 Cartignies was occupied. The advance rolled forward
without serious interruption, though there was some bickering round
Avesnes, and on November 8 the Thirty-second Division was established
upon the high ground east of that town. At this time, as already
recorded, the operations of the Fourth Army were confined to the
single mobile column commanded by General Bethell, which was all that
could be sent forward on account of the want of every sort of supply.
Two days later came the sudden news of the signing of the Armistice.
Never was there so sudden and wonderful a change. From dark cloud to
bright sunshine seemed to have been the work of an hour. The long
hurricane had {205} blown out at last and left only the weals across
the country which marked its passage. British officers have recorded
how they sped eastwards in motor cars, and noted as far as the eye
could range the white flags of joy and enfranchisement flying from
the farm-houses and the village spires. The only signs of the
invaders were the litter of abandoned equipment, lorries, and guns
along the roads. For many a week, however, they left terrible marks
of their passage in their delay-action mines, which, with their usual
ruthless and reckless brutality, they had left in railway stations
and other crowded points along the line of their operations, and
which exploded long after the Armistice had been declared. This also
was weighed against them in the day of doom, but indeed the scale was
already overfull, and nothing which they could do could add to the
horror and detestation with which they were regarded by the world, or
to the absolute determination that they should never again raise
their heads--or at least that those heads should never be crowned by
the helmet of war. Such was the ultimate result of the doctrine of
the Superman, of might is right, and of the whole material philosophy
which had emanated from Frederick, miscalled the Great, and poisoned
all Central Europe.
So ended the splendid work of Braithwaite's Ninth Corps. Its total
advance since September 18 had been 50 miles, during which time it
had captured nearly 17,000 prisoners and 318 guns.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
{206}
[Illustration: The Attack on the Selle.]
-------------------------------------------------------------------
{207}