BATTLE OF MONS
On Friday, August 21, 1914, the British force began to take position on
the French left, forming the line Binche-Mons-Conde. When finally
concentrated it comprised the First and Second Army Corps, and General
Allenby's cavalry division. The regiments forming the cavalry division
were the Second Dragoon Guards, Ninth Lancers, Fourth Hussars, Sixth
Dragoon Guards, with a contingent of the Household Guards. The First
Army Corps was given the right of the line from Binche to Mons. It was
commanded by Sir Douglas Haig. He was a cavalry officer like the
commander in chief, and a comparatively young man for such a
responsibility, but had seen active service with credit. His corps was
comprised of six guards' battalions. The First Black Watch, Second
Munster Fusiliers, The Royal Sussex, North Lancashire, Northamptons,
Second King's Royal Rifles, Third West Surreys, The South Wales
Borderers, Gloucesters, First Welsh Regiment, Highland Light Infantry,
Connaught Rangers, Liverpools, South Staffords, Berkshires, and First
King's Royal Rifles. The First Irish Guards went into action for the
first time in its history.
The second corps extended from Mons to Conde, commanded by Sir Horace
Smith-Dorrien. General Dorrien was a west of England man, and turning
fifty-six. He had seen active service in the Zulu War, Egypt, Sudan, the
Chitral Relief Force, and Tirah campaign. He had occupied the positions
of adjutant general in India, commander of the Quetta division, and
commander in chief at Aldershot. He was recognized as a serious military
student, and possessing the approval and confidence of Lord Kitchener.
The Second Corps was composed of Royal Irish Rifles, Wiltshires, South
Lancashires, Worcesters, Gordons, Royal Scots, Royal Irish, Middlesex,
Royal Fusiliers, Northumberland Fusiliers, Royal Scots Fusiliers,
Lincolns, Yorkshire Light Infantry, West Kent, West Riding, Scottish
Borderers, Manchesters, Cornwalls, East Surreys, and Suffolks. To the
rear Count Gleichen commanded the Norfolks, Bedfords, Cheshires, and
Dorsets. On the left of the Second Corps was stationed General Allenby's
cavalry.
In passing we may note that the commander in chief of the British forces
was a cavalry officer, the commander of the First Army Corps a cavalry
officer, and that the cavalry was in comparatively ample force. Von
Mackensen of the German force came from that branch of the service.
Cavalry officers are excellent soldiers, but their training as such is
not promising for the command of modern armies, mainly of infantry and
artillery, with other complements. In war much has changed since
Waterloo, with the value of cavalry retreating into the background as
aeroplanes sweep to the front for scouting and other purposes.
From Binche to Conde the line assigned to the British was approximately
twenty-five miles. Their force totaled some 75,000 men with 259 guns.
General French, therefore, had 2,500 men to the mile of front. This was
an insufficient force, as the usual fighting front for a battalion of a
thousand men in defense or in attack is estimated in all armies at about
425 yards. The British brigade of four battalions (4,000 rifles) covers
a half-mile front. General French's Third Army Corps having been
utilized elsewhere, he was compelled to use his cavalry in four brigades
as reserve.
Previous to the German attack on Charleroi, General Joffre still held to
his plan of a left-wing attack, or rather a counterattack after the
Germans were beaten. But battles were commencing on other fronts,
properly belonging to the general retreat, which made its execution
doubtful even in an hour of victory. The capture of Charleroi, of
course, dissipated it as a dream. That General French realized the
superiority in numbers of Von Kluck's advancing army both in infantry
and artillery is nowhere suggested. His airmen had merely brought in the
information that the attack would be in "considerable force." The French
Intelligence Service were led to believe and informed the British
commander that Von Kluck was advancing upon him with only one corps, or
two at the most. Some of General French's cavalry scouting as far
toward Brussels as Soignes, during the 21st and 22d, confirmed it. But
the British proceeded to prepare for attack immediately on taking
position. They set to work digging trenches.
While continuing their defensive efforts through Saturday, August 22,
1914, there floated to them a distant rumble from the eastward. Opinions
differed as to whether it was the German guns bombarding Namur, or a
battle in progress on the Sambre. For the most part British officers and
men had but a vague idea of their position, or the progress of the
fighting in the vicinity. Even the headquarters staff remained
uninformed of the desperate situation developing on the French right at
Charleroi.
The headquarters of the British army was at Mons. It lies within what is
known as "le Borinage," that is the boring district of Belgium, the
coal-mining region. In certain physical aspects it much resembles the
same territory of Pennsylvania. Containing one or two larger towns such
as Charleroi and Mons, it is sprinkled over with villages gathered near
the coal pits. Everywhere trolley lines are to be seen running from the
mines to supply the main railways and barge canals.
Formerly the people were of a rough, ignorant and poverty toiling type,
but of late years have greatly improved with the introduction of
organized labor and education. Previous bad conditions, however, have
left their mark in a stunted and physically degenerate type of
descendants from the mining population of those times. In contrast to
later comers they resemble a race of dwarfs. The men seldom exceed four
feet eight inches in height, the women and children appear bloodless and
emaciated.
The output of the Borinage coal field exceeds twenty million tons a
year. Its ungainly features of shafts, chimneys, and mounds of debris
are relieved in places by woodlands, an appearance of a hilly country is
presented where the pit mounds have been planted with fir trees. Apart
from its mining aspect, Mons is a city of historic importance. It
contains a Gothic cathedral and town hall of medieval architectural
note. It also, cherishes a special yearly fete of its own on Trinity
Sunday, when in the parade of the Limacon, or snail, the spectacle of
St. George and the Dragon is presented. With great pride the citizens
of Mons showed the British soldiers of occupation an ancient cannon,
claimed to have been used by their forefathers as an ally of the English
at Crecy.
Especially east of Mons, toward Binche, the British line ran through
this district. Several of the greatest European battles have been fought
in its vicinity--Ramilles, Malplaquet, Jemappe, and Ligny.
The night of Saturday, August 22, 1914, passed peacefully for the
British soldiers, still working on their trenches. But distant boom of
guns from the east continued to vibrate to them at intervals. Of its
portend they knew nothing. Doubtless as they plied the shovel they again
speculated over it, wondering and possibly regretting a chance of their
having been deprived of the anticipated battle.
Sunday morning, August 23, 1914, dawned brightly with no sign of the
enemy. In Mons and the surrounding villages the workmen donned their
usual holiday attire, women stood about their doors chatting, children
played in the streets. Church bells rung as usual summoning to public
worship. General French gathered his generals for an early conference.
General Joffre's message on Saturday morning, assured General French of
victory, and positively informed him that Von Kluck was advancing upon
him with no more than one or two army corps. In testimony of it, General
French thus wrote a subsequent official dispatch.
"From information I received from French headquarters, I understood that
little more than one or at most two of the enemy's army corps, with
perhaps one cavalry division, were in front of my position, and I was
aware of no outflanking movement attempted by the enemy" (Von Hausen's
advance on the right). "I was confirmed in this opinion by the fact that
my patrols encountered no undue opposition in their reconnoitering
operations. The observations of my aeroplanes seemed also to bear out
this estimate."
To General French, therefore, his position seemed well secured. In the
light of it he awaited Von Kluck's attack with confidence. Toward
mid-day some German aeroplanes swept up above the woods in front, and
circled over the British line. British marksmen at once fired on the
bodies and hawklike wings of the intruders.
Some tense interest was roused among the men as British aeroplanes rose
to encounter the German aircraft. It was the first real battle of the
sky they had witnessed. General French's cavalry patrols now brought
information that the woods were thick with German troops, some of them
deploying eastward toward their right at Binche.
At twenty minutes to one the first shots swept from the woods upon the
British line. Presently, Von Kluck's main attack developed with great
rapidity. The German artillery was brought to the front edge of the
woods to hurl a storm of shells on the British trenches. It was returned
with equal vigor. But very soon it became apparent to British commanders
along the line that the German artillery fire was in far greater volume
than what might be expected from two army corps, whose normal complement
would be some 340 guns. Instead it was estimated 600 German guns were
shortly brought into action.
The battle field was described by the Germans as "an emptiness." The
term is intended to emphasize that the old martial display and pomp has
completely gone. A grand advance upon each other, with trumpets
sounding, banners fluttering, brilliant uniforms, and splendid cavalry
charges, was impossible with long range weapons hailing storms of
bullets and shells of devastating explosive power. Cover was the all
important immediate aim of both attack and defense. In this respect as
we have seen, the German gray-green uniform assisted by rendering them
almost invisible within shelter of such woods as those before Mons. On
the other hand, the brown khaki shade of the British field
uniforms--originally designed for the same purpose on the sandy wastes
of Egypt and Northern India--became conspicuous upon a green background.
As the battle of Mons developed, the British line of the Conde Canal was
swept with German shrapnel. German shells, also, began bursting in the
suburbs of Mons and in the near-by villages. Sir Douglas Haig's right
thus came under strong fire. German aeroplanes assisted by dropping
smoke bombs over the British positions to give the angle of range for
their artillery. Thereupon fights above took place between British and
German airmen, while the armies beneath thundered shot and shell upon
each other. The Germans came on in massed formation of attack. The
British were accustomed to attack in open extended line, and their
shooting from any available cover was generally excellent. They could
not understand the German attack in such close order that they were
mowed down in groups of hundreds.
The German infantry rifle fire, breaking from the shelter of the woods
to encounter a stronger British fire than was anticipated, was at first
ineffective. As to the mass formation they depended upon overwhelming
reserves to take the places of those dead piled in heaps before the
British trenches. It was General Grant's "food for powder" plan of
attack repeated.
Thus the battle raged upon the entire length of the British line, with
repeated advances and retreats on the part of the Germans. Now and then
the bodies almost reached the British trenches, and a breach seemed in
certain prospect. But the British sprang upon the invaders, bayonet in
hand, and drove them back to the shelter of the woods. The Irish
regiments, especially, were considered invincible in this "cold steel"
method of attack, their national impulsive ardor carrying them in a fury
through the ranks of an enemy. But at Mons always the Germans returned
in ever greater numbers. The artillery increased the terrible rain of
shells. Pen pictures by British soldiers vividly describe the battle
somewhat conflictingly.
"They were in solid square blocks, standing out sharply against the
skyline, and you couldn't help hitting them. It was like butting your
head against a stone wall.... They crept nearer and nearer, and then our
officers gave the word. A sheet of flame flickered along the line of
trenches and a stream of bullets tore through the advancing mass of
Germans. They seemed to stagger like a drunken man hit between the eyes,
after which they made a run for us.... Halfway across the open another
volley tore through their ranks, and by this time our artillery began
dropping shells around them. Then an officer gave an order and they
broke into open formation, rushing like mad toward the trenches on our
left. Some of our men continued the volley firing, but a few of our
crack shots were told off for independent firing.... They fell back in
confusion, and then lay down wherever cover was available. We gave them
no rest, and soon they were on the move again in flight.... This sort of
thing went on through the whole day."
From another view we gather that "We were in the trenches waiting for
them, but we didn't expect anything like the smashing blow that struck
us. All at once, so it seemed, the sky began to rain down bullets and
shells. At first they went wide ... but after a time ... they got our
range and then they fairly mopped us up.... I saw many a good comrade go
out."
During the early part of the battle Von Kluck directed his main attack
upon the British right, with a furious artillery bombardment of Binche
and Bray. This was coincident with the crumpling of the French right at
Charleroi by the army of Von Buelow, and its threatened retreat by that
of Von Hausen. The retirement of the French Fifth Army, therefore, left
General Haig exposed to a strong flank attack by Von Kluck. Confronted
with this danger, General Haig was compelled to withdraw his right to a
rise of ground southward of Bray. This movement left Mons the salient of
an angle between the First and Second British Army Corps. Shortly after
this movement was performed, General Hamilton, in command of Mons, found
himself in peril of converging German front and flank attacks. If the
Germans succeeded in breaking through the British line beyond Mons, he
would be cut off and surrounded. General Hamilton informed his superior,
General French, of this danger, and was advised in return "to be careful
not to keep the troops in the salient too long, but, if threatened
seriously to draw back the center behind Mons."
A little after General French had sent General Hamilton this warning, he
received a telegram from General Joffre which he describes as "a most
unexpected message." General Joffre's telegram conveyed the first news
to General French not only that the French Fifth Army had been defeated
and was in retreat--the first intimation even that the French right at
Charleroi under General Lanrezac was in peril--but that at least three
German army corps were attacking the British. Doubtless the German
smashing of General Joffre's planned grand counterattack, after the
Germans were to be beaten, was disheartening as well as a sore
disappointment.
General French possessed 75,000 men. It was now disclosed that in front
Von Kluck was hurling upon him 200,000 men, Von Buelow was hammering on
his right, Von Hausen in pursuit of the French threatened his rear,
while some 50,000 Germans were enveloping his left. He had no option but
to order a retreat.
Dealing with the combined action of the French and British in this
critical period a French military writer says:
"The French armies of the center--that is to say, the Third and Fourth
Armies--had as their mission the duty of attacking the German army in
Belgian Luxembourg, of attempting to put it to flight and of crumpling
it up against the left flank of the German main body at the north. This
offensive on the part of the French center began on August 21, 1914. The
Third Army (General Ruffey) followed from the east to the west the
course of the Semoy, a tributary on the right of the Meuse. The Fourth
Army operated between the Meuse and the Lesse. The Germans occupied the
plateau which extends from Neufchateau to Paliseul. It is uncertain
territory, covered with heaths and thick woods, and lends itself poorly
to the reconnaissance work of aviators or cavalry patrols. There are no
targets for the artillery. The Germans had strongly fortified the
ground. The infantry of the Fourth Army which hurled itself against
these positions was thrown back; still fighting it fell back over the
Meuse. The pursuit by the Germans was punctuated by strong
counterattacks, which inflicted great losses on them. The Third Army was
similarly checked in its march on Neufchateau by the superior forces of
the crown prince and was thrown back on the Semoy. Thus the offensive
actions undertaken by the armies of the French center miscarried. Not
only were they unable to lend their aid to the armies of the left, but
they saw themselves obliged to retreat.
"The situation could only be reestablished by a victory on the part of
the Fifth French Army operating in conjunction with the army of General
French. This army, however, found itself in the presence of German
forces of great strength, consisting of the crack corps of the German
army. On the 22d the Germans at the cost of considerable losses
succeeded in passing the Sambre, and General Lanrezac fell back on
Beaumont-Givet, being apprehensive of the danger which threatened his
right. On the 24th the British army retreated, in the face of a German
attack, on to the Maubeuge-Valenciennes line. It appeared at first that
the British had in front of them at most an army corps, with perhaps a
corps of cavalry. They were apprised, however, about five o'clock in the
evening that three army corps were advancing against them, while a
fourth was marching against their left along the road from Tournai in a
turning movement. General French effected his retreat during the night
behind the salient of Mons. Threatened on August 24 by the strength of
the whole German army, he fled backward in the direction of Maubeuge."