OPERATIONS OF BYNG'S THIRD ARMY
From the Battle of the Selle, October 12, to the end
The battle of the Selle River--Reversion to open warfare--The valour
of Lancashire--Haig's incessant blows--Weakening of the German
morale--The battle of Mormal Forest--New Zealanders and the mediaeval
fortress--Capture of the great forest--The Sambre bridged---A grand
Division--Advance of Fergusson's Seventeenth Corps--The last phase.
The River Selle is a small stream, only thirty feet across but of
some depth, and it ran right athwart the course of the Army, with
every indication that the enemy had built up a line of resistance
behind it. How far this was a strong rearguard or how far it was a
do-or-die line of battle could only be determined by actual assault.
The river runs through swampy meadows from Neuvilly past Biastre to
Solesmes. On the far bank the ground slopes up uniformly to a
hog-backed ridge, with a road and railway running between Neuvilly
and Solesmes, rather more than half-way up the slope. The railway
joined other lines south of the latter town, forming a triangular
embankment of great strength strongly defended by machine-guns, as
was the whole railway line and the string of villages across the Army
front, which was the northern prolongation of that described
previously. {230} It was a position of great natural strength, made
more awkward by the presence of civilians in the villages, and by a
damming of the river which broadened it in parts into a lake. The
first move of General Byng was to endeavour to seize the high ground
on the east of the river, so as to make a strong point which would
cover the bridge-building operations. We shall describe the
successive operations from the south or right, beginning with Shute's
Fifth Corps, still working in close liaison with Morland's Thirteenth
Corps on the right, the flank unit of the Fourth Army. It may be
premised that the warfare from now onwards was very different from
that which had preceded the capture of the great German lines. The
trench, the bomb, and the wire all played subsidiary parts. An
officer of pre-war Aldershot experience, or even the great Duke
himself with his Peninsular prejudices, would have found himself able
to appreciate the situation. That great shade, could he have ridden
Copenhagen in the heart of this wonderful army, would have seen, as
of yore, shells which burst over the enemy's position; he would have
seen cavalry scouts who were the advanced posts of the marching army;
he would have seen lines of skirmishers behind them; he would have
seen mounted officers who carried personal reports; and he would have
seen columns of route marching in fours down every road, and breaking
up into small clumps of artillery formation as they came under fire.
All this would have been familiar, and all this he would have seen
had he been present in these later phases of the great war.
[Sidenote: Oct. 12.]
The attack was launched at 5 A.M. on October 12, when the advanced
guard of the Thirty-third and {231} Seventeenth Divisions, under
Generals Pinney and Robertson, advanced upon the high ground which
faced them. They were working in close liaison with the
Thirty-seventh on the left, and with the Sixty-sixth Lancashire
Territorials on the right, these being the flank units of the Fourth
and Thirteenth Corps respectively. The line of the advance was to
the north of Montay, and it went very well at first, so that by 7.45
Pinney's men were far forward and consolidating on the left, though
on the right they were unable to penetrate beyond the railway line.
The attack of the Seventeenth on the left reached the high ground
1000 yards north-east of Neuvilly, but on the south side of that
village could not get past the line of the Montay-Neuvilly Road,
where the 9th West Ridings of the 52nd Brigade were heavily engaged.
Neuvilly was gained, but while the troops were mopping it up a strong
German counter-attack drove down from the Amerval direction, dashed
up against the left of Pinney's Division and threw it back to the
line of the railway. So great was the pressure and so continuous,
that the Thirty-third could not hold any of its gains, and found
itself in the afternoon on the west of the Selle River once more,
save for the right-hand battalion, who held tight all day along the
line of the road between the railway and the river.
The Seventeenth Division on the high ground north-east of Neuvilly
was now in a very dangerous position, as the Thirty-seventh had not
come up on its left, so that both its flanks were in the air. The
12th Manchesters stood firm, however, with little support, until
about 3 P.M., when a creeping barrage with an infantry attack behind
it drove them west {232} of the railway, with serious losses, to a
point 200 yards east of the river. The result was that the final
line, when night fell upon this long and trying day, was across the
river at both extreme flanks, but west of the river in the middle.
From the point of view of the Fourth Corps on the left the 12th had
not been a very satisfactory day either. The Thirty-seventh had
reached the crest of the opposite hill, but the New Zealanders on
their left had not taken Bellevue, while Neuvilly on the right had
never been thoroughly cleared. About 5 P.M. the German
counter-attack, made in four waves, came down upon the
Thirty-seventh, supported by flank fire from both villages. It
reached Neuvilly in the Seventeenth Division sector, and then turned
right so as to enfilade the Thirty-seventh, with the result that the
latter were forced to evacuate both the hill and the railway line,
but still held on to the east bank of the river, where a steep
escarpment gave some protection. Thus ended this weary day, which
had not involved the Sixth Corps on the north, but had exposed both
the southern Corps of the Third Army to heavy losses with barren
results.
[Sidenote: Oct. 20.]
A week now elapsed, which was marked by very heavy artillery work on
both sides, the Germans endeavouring to prevent the British from
assembling, while the British tried to break down the machine-gun
nests and strong points which faced them, especially in Neuvilly.
There were several daring minor engagements in which patrols
endeavoured to widen or strengthen the front, so keen being the
contest that sometimes posts were taken and retaken several times in
one night. There was, it must be admitted, no obvious local sign of
any failure in German {233} morale. It was not until October 20 that
the offensive was resumed upon a large scale by the Fifth and Fourth
Corps, in conjunction with a full-dress attack by the whole of the
Fourth Army in the south.
The Fifth Corps advanced with Cubitt's Thirty-eighth Welsh on the
right, and the Seventeenth Division on the left. Neither line had
far to go before clashing with the enemy, for the outposts were
almost touching each other. The attack began in the dark at 2 in the
morning, the British having indulged in previous heavy shoots at
night, in the hope, which was justified by the result, that the real
barrage would be taken as being of a similar temporary nature. The
Welshmen had a desperate experience at first, a quarry, a farm, and
the old railway embankment all forming difficult obstacles. In the
case of the quarry, every man of the original storming party became a
casualty, but it was taken by their successors. The rain was heavy,
the slopes slippery, the mud deep, and the whole of the conditions
about as bad as they could be, which was the more serious as the
tanks were put out of action thereby.
The 50th Brigade of the Seventeenth Division, with the 7th East Yorks
and 6th Dorsets in the lead, had been launched upon Neuvilly with
instructions to avoid a frontal attack, but to endeavour to get round
to north and south so as to pinch it out; while the guns bombarded it
and kept the machine-gunners in their lairs. South of the village
the attack advanced rapidly through the mirk of a most inclement
night. The first lines of machine-guns were overrun and destroyed.
The wave of men then fought their way through some wire, and got as
far {234} as the embankment, which was thickly garnished with light
artillery. Before dawn the 10th West Yorkshires closed in upon
Neuvilly, and in spite of several obstinate machine-guns cleared the
place and took the survivors prisoners, most of them being dragged
out of cellars. Pushing on, the Seventeenth Division after several
vicissitudes captured the village of Amerval, but were pushed out of
it again by a counter-attack, finally regaining it after dark. The
7th Borders took this village, but lost both their commander and
their adjutant in doing so. The Thirty-eighth had kept its line all
through, so that by evening the whole objective was practically in
the hands of the British after a very prolonged and stubborn fight,
in the course of which the Corps had taken four guns and 600
prisoners.
Meanwhile Harper's Fourth Corps on the left had also gone forward at
2 A.M., their objective being the high ground to the south of
Solesmes. The plan was that the Sixth Corps should take the ground
to the north of the village, but the whole operations were made very
difficult by the knowledge that the civilian inhabitants were still
there, and that the guns had therefore to be used sparingly. When
once the points on both sides had been occupied it was hoped that the
Sixty-second Division of the Sixth Corps would be able to capture the
place. The advance of the Fourth Corps was made with the Fifth
Division on the right and the Forty-second on the left. The line of
the railway and the high ground east of it were successively
occupied, though the fire was heavy and the finest qualities were
needed in the soldiers who breasted the hill with lines of
machine-guns flashing at them from the {235} hawthorn hedges of the
embankment. In the attack upon the hamlet of Marou the 127th Brigade
of the Forty-second Division showed the usual Lancastrian gallantry.
There are no finer, tougher soldiers in the world, either in attack
or defence, than these North Countrymen. On one occasion on this
day, a company of the 5th Manchesters being pinned down, it was
essential to convey news of their position to their supports. Four
volunteers started in succession across the open bullet-swept plain,
and all four were shot down. None the less Private Wilkinson
volunteered as the fifth and actually got through unscathed and saved
the situation. For this and other exertions during the day he
received the Victoria Cross. The 1st and 3rd Guards Brigade had gone
forward on the front of the Sixth Corps, with the 2nd Brigade in
immediate support, and these magnificent troops, taking St. Python in
their stride, beat down all opposition and by 7.30 were in their
appointed place to the north of the village. The two flanks being
thus secured, the Sixty-second went in between them with their usual
vigour and, according to plan, assaulted the place from the west,
fighting their way into it and out at the other side, the 186th
Brigade taking the village while the 185th passed through it for a
fresh advance. The 2/4 York and Lancaster aided in mopping up the
village, which entailed some very severe fighting from house to
house, as dangerous often as entering a cave in which lurks some
wounded beast of prey. It was on this occasion that Corporal Daykins
won his Cross, leading the twelve men, who were the only survivors of
his platoon, with that mixture of wile and courage which is the ideal
combination. He not only cleared {236} the front of his own platoon,
but perceiving that his neighbours were held up he started out alone
to their assistance, with such success that he brought back a
machine-gun and 25 more prisoners as the prize of his own unaided
effort.
[Sidenote: Oct. 21-23.]
The 3rd Guards Brigade on the extreme left attempting to make good
the Solesmes-Valenciennes Road, were checked for a time by very heavy
fire, but overcame the difficulty, and soon the Guards had their full
objective, and were in touch with the Nineteenth Division on the
flank of the Seventeenth Corps on their left at Maison Blanche. The
Forty-second Division on the right had got well forward, but was
checked at last on the line of the Beart brook, which caused the
Sixty-second on their left to throw out a defensive flank and put
limits to their advance. The Fifth Division on the extreme right had
also been held, and were finally driven off the high ground south of
Marou by a sharp counter-stroke of the enemy. By evening the Fifth
and Forty-second had secured almost their full objectives, the
Manchester battalions having borne the brunt of the fighting. The
Fourth Corps had taken over 1000 prisoners. The Sixth Corps had also
gone to its full limit, the Guards and Sixty-second having cleared
everything in front of them and sent back 700 prisoners. It had been
a most successful day; but the hardest work had fallen upon the
Fourth Corps, both divisions having been badly knocked about. It was
determined to spend a day therefore in consolidating the gains, and
to continue the advance on October 23.
[Sidenote: Oct. 23.]
On that date the Fifth Corps on the right went forward once again,
with the Thirty-third Division {237} on the right and the
Twenty-first on the left. If we attempt to describe the action from
the broad point of view of the whole Corps front, the order of battle
from the right was the Thirty-third, Twenty-first, Fifth,
Forty-second, Third, and Second. On the front of the Sixth Corps
there was a sudden outburst of artillery fire during the assembly of
the troops, which unhappily caught the Third Division and caused many
casualties. It is a hard test even for the most veteran troops to be
under a hurricane of shells in the dark and cold of an autumn night,
but the men of the Iron Division came into the battle as blithely as
ever. The Harpies River, and a whole screen of villages and of
woods, with the great Forest of Mormal at their back, were the
immediate obstacles which confronted the Army. On the right the
village of Forest was soon secured, though an obstinate pocket held
out for some time to the north-east of it. The enemy in this quarter
could be seen retiring in small parties towards Vendegies and the
wood near that village. The Thirty-third Division on the flank had a
greater volume of fire to contend with and was rather slower than the
Twenty-first, which never halted until it was close to Vendegies,
reaching it at 10 A.M. The defence was thickening, however, and both
divisions had very heavy going in the afternoon, though the 19th
Brigade of the Thirty-third Division fought its way along the north
of Vendegies Wood, and reached its allotted line, while the 98th
Brigade was held up by the fire from Bousies. As the farther line
was reached the two reserve brigades of each division--the 62nd and
the 100th Brigades--were pushed up to take the burden from those who
{238} were wearied out by the long and strenuous day. Nearly 800
prisoners had fallen to the Fifth Corps.
The Fourth Corps had the preliminary task of clearing the south side
of the St. Georges River, and taking the village of Beaurain. This
was allotted to the Fifth and Forty-second Divisions, but the leading
brigade of the former was caught in the artillery attack already
alluded to, with the result that it sustained losses which seriously
crippled it. None the less the attack started up to time and was
successfully carried out, save that Beaurain could not be cleared--a
fact which necessitated a change in barrage, no easy matter after a
great action is launched. The 125th Lancashire Fusilier Brigade of
the Forty-second Division did particularly fine work. The
Thirty-seventh Division and the New Zealanders, Canterbury and Otago
in the van, had now passed through the ranks of their comrades, and
as there were signs of German disorganisation the pressure was
strenuously maintained. As a result the New Zealanders captured the
crossings over the Ecaillon River before they could be destroyed, and
reached the edge of Le Quesnoy, while the Thirty-seventh seized
Ghissignies with its bridge. It was a great day's work for Harper's
Corps.
On the left the Third and Second Divisions had advanced on
single-brigade fronts, the 76th and 5th being in the lead. The 1st
Gordons of the 76th advancing rapidly, cleared the village of
Romeries after a very sharp tussle. A battalion commander and 600
men were taken. The rest of the brigade then passed through it and
carried the line forward. It was evident this day that the Germans,
though hard in patches, were really becoming demoralised {239} under
the pounding of the British, and that they had lost all stomach for
the fray. Several well-placed machine-guns were abandoned by their
crews without a shot being fired, and serious opposition seemed at
places to be at an end. Both the 8th Royal Lancasters and the 2nd
Suffolks went through every defence like paper. The 8th Brigade then
took up the running, and the 2nd Royal Scots carried Vertain with 200
more prisoners, while the 1st Scots Fusiliers took Escarmain also
with 200 Germans. Patrols were sent forward as far as the Ecaillon
River and few of the enemy appeared to be left upon the southern bank.
Meanwhile the 5th Brigade on the left had passed to the north of
Vertain and swept forward, keeping level with the Nineteenth Division
on their left. They co-operated in the capture of Escarmain, and the
rest of the Second Division made its way through Capelle, and lined
the Capelle-St. Martin Road, the latter village having been taken by
the Nineteenth Division. So demoralised did the Germans appear on
this flank, with their gun-teams all out in the open ready to limber
up, that it appeared as if unlimited progress could be made by
Haldane's Corps, but it was known that the enemy were in a sterner
mood to the south and that the Fourth and Fifth Corps, though
victorious, had no assurance of an easy advance. It was determined
therefore to renew the battle next morning before daylight.
[Sidenote: Oct. 24.]
At that hour the Thirty-third and Twenty-first Divisions again went
forward on the right, but the opposition in this quarter was still
very stiff. Poix du Nord was captured by the Twenty-first {240} and
some 3000 inhabitants were found cowering in the cellars.
Englefontaine was at the same time attacked by the 100th Brigade of
the Thirty-third Division, but the machine-guns were busy and it was
some time before they could get a lodgment. The Twenty-first was at
the same time held up on the road north of the village. About 4 P.M.
the line moved forward again behind a fresh barrage, that refreshing
shower which revives the exhausted infantry. The men of the 100th
Brigade got half-way through Englefontaine and remained there at
close grips with their tenacious adversaries, while the Twenty-first
fought their way forward to the south-east of Ghissignies, where they
were again pulled up. The resistance on this southern section of the
Corps front was certainly very different from that experienced by
Haldane's Corps in the left flank. Meanwhile the Fourth and Sixth
Corps were waiting for the Fourth Army and the Fifth Corps to swing
into line, but they made a short forward movement on October 24, the
Third Division passing through Ruesnes, while the New Zealanders on
their right kept pace with them. Both the Fifth Corps on the right
and the Seventeenth Corps on the left were for the time rather behind
the general line, so that a long defensive flank had to be formed by
each of the Corps between them. The Sixty-first Division had come in
on the right of the Seventeenth Corps, but it had at once run into a
sharp attack which drove it for the time out of
Vendegies-sur-Ecaillon. During this day some attempt was made by the
Sixth Corps to push cavalry through, but every horse of two strong
patrols of Oxfordshire Hussars was shot, so that it was impossible to
persevere.
{241}
The village of Englefontaine had not yet been cleared, so after a
breathing-space of one day the Thirty-third Division attacked once
more, while its neighbour to the south, the Eighteenth Division,
co-operated by advancing upon Mount Carmel. This attempt was
entirely successful, the 100th Brigade flooding over the village and
capturing 450 prisoners. The Twenty-first Division at the same time
advanced its line on the north.
[Sidenote: Nov. 4.]
The Army had now outrun its communications and a halt was necessary.
It was Haig's policy, however, to continue raining down hammer blows
upon his reeling antagonist, so that all was ready for a big fresh
advance on November 4, which should be on an immense scale, involving
the fronts of the Fourth, Third, and First Armies.
The immediate objective in front of the right of the Third Army was
the formidable bulk of the Mormal Forest, after which the action may
well be named. The advance on the front of the Fifth Corps was made
by the Thirty-eighth Welsh on the right and the Seventeenth Division
on the left, each brigade succeeding the other, as the various
objectives were reached. The edge of the Forest was strongly held,
but when once it had been penetrated the progress along the sides was
rapid and the enemy freely surrendered. So fair were the prospects
that the troops were ordered not to confine themselves to the
allotted objectives but to push on as far as they could. The
ultimate aim was to gain a passage over the Sambre, though this
seemed to be more than one day's work could possibly accomplish.
The Thirty-eighth Division attained its full objectives, but the
Seventeenth met with a lively {242} resistance in Locquignol, and was
held up for a time. The weather had broken and the rain was falling,
but in spite of the depressing surroundings the fighting line pressed
on. The 13th Welsh Regiment moving forward with great dash pushed
patrols into Barbaras, where many rifles scattered over the ground
pointed to the German demoralisation. All night the Welshmen pushed
forward, and Berlaimont was taken in the early morning. At the same
hour the Seventeenth Division, having overcome their difficulties,
were nearly as far forward on their left. The Forest had been
expected to form a greater obstacle than was really the case, for
when once it was entered it was found that the clearings were so
extensive that save in patches it was hardly an obstacle at all.
The Fourth Corps had gone forward on November 4 with the
Thirty-seventh Division on the right and the New Zealanders on the
left. The latter were to advance upon either side of Le Quesnoy,
which was to be encircled and taken. The town, which was an
old-fashioned walled fortress, was not shelled on account of the
inhabitants, but smoke- and oil-drums were fired on to the ramparts.
The attack was a complete success and swept over every obstacle
without a check, save for some short delay caused by a strong point
missed by the barrage in front of the Thirty-seventh Division.
Louvignies and Jolimetz were taken by the Thirty-seventh, which
pushed on to establish itself within the Forest. The New Zealanders
left Hart's Brigade to invest Le Quesnoy and also advanced rapidly
into the Forest, capturing many prisoners and guns. Le Quesnoy was
now completely isolated, but the ancient walls and gateways were
strongly defended by all modern {243} devices, and a machine-gun
clattered through the slit where a bow may once have been bent. An
officer with a flag of truce got no response. An aeroplane was then
sent over, which dropped the message that our troops were in the
Forest far to the east, and that a surrender would be the wisest
course. The enemy, however, would have none of it. A forlorn hope
of New Zealanders then approached with a scaling-ladder in the good
old style, and swarmed up the walls. There was only one ladder and
three successive walls, but in some miraculous fashion the whole of
the 4th New Zealand Battalion reached the top of the rampart, with
the loss of one man. This was accomplished by sweeping the walls
round with such a fire that the defenders could not even peep over.
On seeing that they had reached the rampart the German commander at
last hoisted the white flag. The garrison consisted of about 1000
men.
The Sixth Corps advanced with the Sixty-second on the right and the
Guards on the left, each on a two-brigade front. Both divisions went
forward from the beginning without a hitch, prisoners streaming back.
As they advanced, however, they came into heavy machine-gun fire from
the orchards south-west of Frasnoy and south of Wargnies, where for a
time the Guards were held up. The country here was very enclosed and
thickly hedged, which made progress slow. By evening, however, the
objectives had been reached, the orchards cleared, with Frasnoy,
Preux-au-Sart, and 1000 prisoners to show for their day's work.
Altogether this battle of Mormal Forest had been a day of triumph for
the Third Army, and especially for the Fourth Corps in the centre.
It was a great victory, in which on this front alone some {244} 7000
prisoners and about 100 guns were taken, while the Germans had been
beaten, with great loss, out of a position which, in their old form,
they would have held for a month. So complete was the German
break-up that several batteries were taken by the Fourth Corps, with
horses, mounted officers, and all complete, and were then despatched
in full working order to the rear. When one recalls how their papers
and critics had clamoured for open warfare against the untrained
British levies the result must have surprised them. At the end of
the fight the British line was well up to the great forest.
[Sidenote: Nov. 4-5.]
In the evening the old Fifth Division, now at last reaching the end
of those labours which had lasted for more than four terrible years
without a break, came into the field once more. It would be
interesting to know whether there was a single man left in the ranks
of those who had skirted Mormal Forest in August 1914 among the eager
battalions which now faced the same obstacle. It is of course true
that even the units had been largely altered in the interval, and yet
some of the grand old battalions still marched in their honoured
formations, changed in all save that eternal spirit which has made
and kept them famous. The Fifth Division was ordered to pass through
the ranks of the Thirty-seventh after dawn at the western edge of
Mormal Forest, and to push onwards to the east. General Oldman of
the 15th Brigade on the left advanced on a one-battalion front, and
kept the 1st Bedfords, 1st Norfolks, and 1st Cheshires leapfrogging
through each other as often as possible in order to minimise the
difficulties of the Forest. General Norton of the 95th Brigade on
the right of the line attacked with the 1st East Surreys and {245}
1st Cornwalls in the van, and the 1st Devons in reserve. All day the
Fifth Division clove its way through the great forest, the British
front, like a line of beaters, putting up the game as it went. For
the most part it was but a faint-hearted quarry, but here and there
it stood fiercely at bay, and trench mortars had to be rushed up and
strong points blown down, before the infantry could get forward. The
3rd Hussars kept pace and connected up with the New Zealanders on the
left. Pelting rain, deep mud, and broken tracks delayed, but could
not stop, the ardent advance, which continued until the leading line
was down on the bank of the Sambre, where they were joined next day
by the van of the Forty-second Division, which had relieved the New
Zealanders. One bridge at Quartes was found intact and was ready for
demolition, but Major Cloutman of the Sappers, commanding the 59th
Field Company, with extraordinary gallantry rolled across the
tow-path, swam the river, and cut the leads of the charge, all under
very heavy fire. It was a most daring deed, which was rewarded by a
V.C., but unhappily a small party of the enemy with equal gallantry
succeeded in repairing the leads and destroying the bridge.
[Sidenote: Nov. 5, Nov. 7.]
The operations on the right and centre of the Third Army front now
took the form of an advance to complete the possession of the Forest
of Mormal. On November 5 the Thirty-third and Twenty-first Divisions
were back in line, and, working in close liaison with the Eighteenth
Division on the left of the Fourth Army, they pushed the advance up
to the bank of the Sambre. Here it was found that all bridges had
been destroyed, and there was a check while the Twenty-first to the
north were making {246} good the rest of the Forest and breaking out
in little groups of khaki from the eastern edge. That night they
threw light bridges over the Sambre and got some infantry across, the
line running from north of Leval to east of Berlaimont. The left of
the Twenty-first Division was still west of the river. Next day,
November 6, the remorseless advance still went on. Transport was
failing, for the roads through the Forest were impossibly bad, but
nothing could stop the eager infantry, who were in full cry with
their quarry in the open. A number of villages were taken, each of
which was full of machine-guns, and showed some fight. By dusk the
line of the Avesnes-Bavay Road had been made good. On November 7 the
German retreat still continued, but the British had still to fight
their way and their progress was far from being a walking-tour. Both
the Thirty-third and Twenty-first had a sharp fight before they could
dislodge the rearguards from the Bois du Temple, Ecuelin, and
Limont-Fontaine. Campbell's men had a particularly hard task with
the latter, which was strongly garrisoned and stoutly defended, while
the neighbouring village of Eclaises also presented a bold front.
There was a real close infantry battle, with some savage
house-to-house fighting, before these points could be cleared. 130
prisoners were taken. The war had now left the open arable country
and come into the country of small enclosed orchards with high
hedges, which blinded the German observers, since they had already
lost command of the air. This was a very vital point. On November 8
the Welsh and Seventeenth were in the front line once more, and the
enemy was found to be still very organised and resolute on this
sector, {247} fighting hard and with some success to hold the line of
a watercourse. Finally this opposition weakened, or it might be more
fair to say that the brave rearguard, having done its work, was
withdrawn. On November 9 the Fifth Corps got along rapidly, gaining
the eastern edge of the Bois du Temple and the high ground east of
Beaufort. For a time all contact was lost with the enemy, who were
rapidly retreating, and they were not located again until they were
on the line of the River Thure. The roads had been blown up, and
pursuit was much retarded. The difficulties of the advance were much
aggravated by the impossibility of getting the supplies forward.
Many delay-action mines had gone up in the railways in the rear,
which prevented rail-heads from being rapidly advanced. It is a
fact, which is typical of the ghoulish humour of German methods, that
after several explosions in the Le Cateau station it occurred to some
one to dig up the graves which were marked in German as covering the
remains of some unknown British soldiers and were placed near the
line. In each case a delay-action mine was discovered all set for
different dates. It was determined, therefore, in order to economise
supplies, that a single Corps, the Sixth, should form the whole front
of the Third Army from this time onwards. This change was
accomplished, and the vanguard had just got in touch with the Germans
on the River Thure, when the historic November 11 came to end the
hostilities.
[Sidenote: Nov. 9.]
The troops of the Fourth Corps had moved forward from November 4
onwards in close liaison with the advance just recorded. The Fifth
Division captured Pont-sur-Sambre, Boussières, and St. Remy, while
the Forty-second occupied Hautmont, so that on {248} November 9 the
Corps line was the Avesnes-Maubeuge Road. There they found
themselves when the bugles sounded the final "Cease fire." The
record of Harper's Corps since August 21 can be tersely summed up in
a few figures. They had lost 30,000 men. They had captured 22,500
prisoners and 350 guns, fighting for ten weeks without rest or break,
and often in the worst of weather. The record of all the divisions
was splendid, but this is perhaps the place to say a special word
about the New Zealanders, which, in the judgement of many soldiers,
was, if it be not invidious to say so, equal to the very best
division in France. When it is stated that during the war they lost
57,632 men, and that the total number of prisoners taken from them is
reported to have been 45, these extraordinary figures make all
further comment superfluous. But what was particularly remarkable
was their appreciation of a military situation which more than once
altered the whole strategic situation. Thus it was their discovery
that the Crevecœur bridge was intact, and their rapidity in
seizing it and tenacity in holding it and the village, which
threatened the whole Beaurevoir line and helped to reduce to nullity
one of the greatest defences ever created by German engineers. These
men return to their island homes bearing with them the deep
admiration of their comrades and the gratitude of the Empire. They
joined discipline in peace to valour in war, and England was the
poorer when the last red hat-band was seen in the streets of her
cities.
[Sidenote: Nov. 4-9.]
The Sixth Corps, after the battle of Mormal Forest, pushed on to the
east, and was rather impeded by the water-logged country than by the
German resistance. On November 6 there was a counter-attack {249}
upon the Sixty-second Division, which made no headway and had heavy
losses. Bavisaux, Obies, and many other villages were taken, the
church in the latter place containing thirty machine-guns. The
Guards on the left took Buvignies, while the Twenty-fourth Division
upon their north held the line of the Hongnau River. On November 7
the resistance was still negligible, but the continuous rain and the
wooded nature of the country made rapid progress almost impossible.
That evening General Haldane received the surprising news that it was
probable that the enemy would send emissaries through the Allied
lines with a view to negotiating an armistice, his instructions being
that if they approached his front they should be detained pending
instructions from higher authority. In the evening it was learned
that they had actually reached the French lines. The fighting still
continued, however, and on November 9 the Sixty-second Division had
reached the Sambre. The Guards on the same day pushed forward
rapidly and entered the citadel of Maubeuge in the afternoon. It was
difficult to get touch with the enemy, who were reported to be
standing at Boussois. At this period, as already told, the Sixth
Corps took over the whole Army front, and was advancing upon the
Maubeuge-Charleroi front when the fateful hour struck.
The record of the Sixth Corps during their ten final weeks of work
had been a magnificent one, and was strangely parallel to that of the
Fourth Corps on their right. Their losses had been almost identical,
about 30,000 men. Their prisoners came to over 20,000 and their
captured guns were 350. The Fifth Corps, on the other hand, had
endured more than its {250} neighbours, having lost no less than
34,000 men. It had captured 13,000 prisoners. Altogether the losses
of the Third Army during the final ten weeks had been 100,000 men,
while they had taken about 60,000 prisoners with nearly 1000 guns.
[Sidenote: Oct 16-20.]
We have considered the advance of the three southern Corps of the
Third Army. In order to complete the record it is necessary to
return to October 13, and to trace the operations of Fergusson's
Seventeenth Corps, which were left on that date in front of the Selle
River. On October 14 the 72nd Brigade of the Twenty-fourth Division,
which was in the van, gained a footing at the edge of Haussy village,
which straddles the river. On October 16 this same brigade took the
whole village on either bank. The left of the line was held up,
however, by a particularly heavy gas screen. Later in the day the
Germans were into Haussy once more, but again were pushed out from
the western section of it, on which they gas-shelled it, to the
destruction of a number of unfortunate civilians who had been unable
to get away. 400 prisoners were taken during the day. October 17
saw the British line where it had been on the 15th, as the gas clouds
hanging low over the river valley made the position down there
untenable.
On October 20, a rainy and tempestuous day, the general advance of
the whole Third Army was resumed. The Nineteenth Division having
relieved the Twenty-fourth, carried out the advance on the front of
the Seventeenth Corps, having in touch with it the Fourth Division of
the Twenty-second Corps on the left, and the Guards of the Sixth
Corps on the right. The attack of the Nineteenth {251} Division had
for its first objective the bridging of the Selle, the capture of the
railway and high ground beyond, and of the village of East Haussy.
The second stage should be the ridge to the east. Two brigades
advanced--the 57th on the left and the 58th on the right--behind a
fine barrage from eleven brigades of artillery.
[Sidenote: Oct 20-25.]
The attack was started at 2 in the morning, and before 4 A.M. the
57th Brigade were in the whole of Haussy, the resistance having been
slight. At 6 o'clock the 8th Gloucesters, on the extreme right, had
reached their final objective, where they were endeavouring to get
touch with the Guards in the neighbourhood of Maison Blanche. The
10th Warwicks were held up on the left, but soon cleared out the
obnoxious pocket. By 9 o'clock the 58th Brigade was also on its
extreme limit, and an obstinate strong point was surrounded and
destroyed. In this brigade the 2nd Wiltshires had the worst ordeal,
but they won through at last. Patrols on the right had reached the
banks of the Harpies. The blow had, as must be admitted, been
delivered in the air, but the river line had been won, and that was
the essential.
On October 23 the part played by the Seventeenth Corps was subsidiary
to that of the Corps to the north and to the south. On this date the
Nineteenth Division was ordered to protect the left flank of the
Sixth Corps in its advance on Romeries and Escarmain. This was duly
carried out by the 8th Gloucesters and 10th Warwicks, and contributed
greatly to the victory in the south. That night the Sixty-first
South Midland Division took over from the Nineteenth Division, with
an ambitious programme for next day, October 24. In the course of
{252} this attack the 183rd Brigade advanced on the right and the
182nd on the left, their objectives including the villages of
Bermerain, Vendegies, and Sommaing. There followed a confused day of
hard fighting, the general movement being always from west to east.
All three villages were most hotly contested. Vendegies proved to be
a special centre of resistance, but on the morning of October 25 it
was found to be unoccupied, and the whole resistance had relaxed to
such an extent that the front of the Army flowed slowly forward with
hardly a check, submerging fresh areas and villages until it had
reached the Rhonelle River, where a bridge-head was established on
the front of the Twenty-second Corps.
[Sidenote: Nov. 1-4.]
On November 1 the advance was resumed, when Maresches was attacked by
the Sixty-first Division, the Warwicks and Worcesters of the 182nd
Brigade being in the lead. The village was taken with about three
hundred of the garrison. Preseau on the left had fallen. This was
the centre of a violent counter-attack in the afternoon, which
involved the right of the Fourth and the left of the Sixty-first
Divisions. Four German tanks co-operated, two of which were
destroyed by the British guns. This attack pressed back the advance
from its furthest point, but made no material change in the
situation, though Preseau was regained by the Germans, with the
effect that their machine-guns from this point held up the left flank
of the 184th Brigade in their further advance. Nearly 800 prisoners
were made during the day.
The advance was renewed next morning, November 2, and again the
resistance seemed to wane, so that by midday the full objectives
planned, but not {253} attained, on the previous day had been reached
with little loss, the Sixty-first moving onwards in close touch with
the Fourth on their left and the Second on their right. The
Sixty-first were now drawn out of the line, and the Nineteenth and
Twenty-fourth each sent up a brigade to take their place.
[Sidenote: Nov. 3-4.]
November 3 found the front of the Corps still pushing forward without
undue opposition. In the late afternoon the 9th Cheshires of the
56th Brigade were in Jenlain in touch with the Eleventh Division upon
their left. The whole of the Jenlain-Le Quesnoy Road had been
reached along the Corps front, and once again it seemed as if the
cavalry might get their long-sought opportunity. Next morning,
however, November 4, found the stubborn German still standing grimly
on the defensive, and the infantry went forward once more to
pitch-fork him a little farther to the east. It was a great general
attack in which the three Armies, First, Third, and Fourth, all moved
forward against the Avesnes-Maubeuge-Mons line. On the front of the
Seventeenth Corps there was no very outstanding objective, and yet it
was of course essential that they should keep well up with the line,
if only in order to cover the flanks of their neighbours.
The right of the Corps when the advance began consisted of the 73rd
Brigade of the Twenty-fourth Division. On its left was the 56th
Brigade, and to the left of that the 58th, both of the Nineteenth
Division. Both infantry and artillery had to find their battle
stations in pitch darkness, but all were in their places at zero. At
6 o'clock the line went forward, faced in the first instance by a
small stream, the Petit Aunelle, which was safely crossed, though its
banks were in places 30 feet deep. At 10 o'clock {254} both
divisions had gained the higher ground beyond the stream. By midday
the Twenty-fourth Division had reached the Great Aunelle River, and a
party of the 7th Northamptons drove away with their accurate
rifle-fire the German sappers who were endeavouring to destroy the
bridge, but could not themselves cross on account of the heavy German
fire. The 2nd Wilts of the Nineteenth Division had their patrols in
Eth. To the north the Eleventh Division was over the river, and the
German position was rapidly becoming impossible, though they were
counter-attacking with great valour upon the farther bank of the
stream. Before evening Wargnies had fallen to the 9th Cheshires, and
the whole British front was up to or over the Aunelle. The advance
was carried on in pouring rain on November 5, a further area being
gained up to the Hongnau River and the position strengthened, though
the amount of ground on the farther side of the river was still
limited and varied with the German counter-attacks which occasionally
swept back the intrusive bridge-heads, but only to have them
re-established once more. The troops were soaked, the ground was
sodden, the infantry were over the ankles in mud, and every one was
exhausted.
[Sidenote: Nov. 4-7.]
On the morning of November 7 this line of the Hongnau had been
abandoned by the Germans and the advance was resumed. It must surely
have been at this period of the war one of the most impressive sights
in the whole history of the world, could one with a single sweeping
glance have seen that gigantic line from the left wing of the
Belgians on the Dutch frontier to the right wing of the French within
view of the Swiss, moving forward every day, millions of {255} men
advancing together, with the flash of their bayonets before them and
the red glare of their shells in front of them, while along that
whole front of four hundred miles the grey cloud, like some visible
thing of evil, rolled slowly back in front, leaving bare the ground
which it had blighted and poisoned. It was clear to all men that the
end was near, and yet few dared to hope how near it actually proved
to be.
[Sidenote: Nov. 7-9.]
On November 7 the Twenty-fourth Division took over Bavay, which had
just been captured by the Guards. The weather conditions were more
serious than the German opposition, and the advance was held back by
the dreadful roads. None the less a long succession of villages were
wrenched from the enemy--Taisnières, Feignies, and others--while on
November 9 the Guards were in Maubeuge on the right. From this time
there was practically no more fighting, and only a slow advance on
the one side and a slow retreat on the other until the fateful
November 11. To quote the memorandum of a General Officer upon the
spot: "The moral effect of retirement upon the enemy was very marked,
and it was found that even his machine-gunners, who had fought very
well all through our advance, were beginning to feel the effect, and
would not stand once a field-gun was brought up to deal with them."
{256}