One of the most dramatic episodes of the battle of Picardy was the
disaster which befell the 5th British Army, under General Gough, and the
brilliant way in which it was retrieved by Brig. Gen. Sandeman Carey,
who was warmly complimented by Premier Lloyd George in his man-power
speech, (Page 263.)
Sir Hubert Gough's army was sent down in January to take over from the
French a sector forty to fifty miles long. Clearly such a line as this
could be held only if it were strongly located and cunningly
constructed, and there is no doubt that it was. Three lines were
designed: First, an outpost line, then a "line of resistance," and then
a "battleline." The outpost line was designed with special care. It
consisted of a number of separate posts so located as to provide for a
cross-fire on any enemy that penetrated them. It was intended to be held
until the last gasp, and it was presumed that the Germans might pass
through it, but that they would be terribly punished by the garrisons of
the isolated posts.
In one way the attack was not a surprise. General Gough had known for
days that it was imminent, and had moved his men up to their positions
and made every preparation possible. But one thing he could not foresee
or guard against--the mist and fog. Under cover of the mist, which
prevented sight for more than thirty yards, the Germans crept forward,
and the outpost line was overrun before the alarm could be given. It was
simply swamped, and the cross-fire on which so much depended was never
delivered.
Consequently the fight began at the line of resistance instead, and
before many hours had passed by sheer weight of numbers the Germans had
forced the British back on the battleline. Then the fewness of numbers
began to tell, and, as always at points of junction between divisions,
the Germans got through between the 7th and 19th, the 19th and 18th, and
the 3d and 18th. The whole line was broken up, and it seemed as if the
road was open to Amiens.
Meanwhile it was impossible for the French reinforcements to come up as
quickly as was necessary, and the retreat began. Bridges were not blown
up for the simple reason that the parties of engineers were all killed.
Every kind of soldier that could be collected was hastily thrown into
action to fill the gap--including a strong contingent of American
engineers.
Close to where the gap occurred was a training school for machine
gunners. Of course, the men in training had long since been hurried into
action, but a large supply of machine guns remained. It is not every
soldier, however, who understands how to use these weapons, and the
officer found himself with a large supply of them which at all costs he
must prevent from being captured, and very few men able to handle them.
Those who could were put in charge of squads, and whenever they had a
moment's respite from turning them on the Germans they set to work to
give hurried instructions.
Orders came to General Carey at 2 A. M., March 26, to hold the gap. He
went to work at once to develop the plans that had been hurriedly laid
out. He organized a scratch force by telephone, messengers, and flag
signals. Every available man--laborer, raw recruit, sapper,
engineer--was rounded up. By the middle of the next morning Carey had
found a considerable number of men, and by the early part of the
afternoon he had organized them into some sort of force and had selected
and marked out the position it must hold.
For a time he had some guns, but these were hurried away to another
point that was even more seriously threatened. He had fifty cavalrymen
to do a little scouting, but in the main he had to depend entirely on
the sheer grit of his scratch force, who lay in their shallow trenches,
firing almost point blank at the gray hordes of Germans, and at every
moment of respite seized their shovels to improve their shelters.
For nearly six days they stuck to it, and, as Lloyd George said, "they
held the German Army and closed that gap on the way to Amiens."
After a time they got some artillery behind them and things were easier,
but at first it was just a ding-dong fight, with soldiers taking orders
from strange officers, officers learning the ground by having to defend
it, and every man from enlisted man to Brigadier jumping at each job as
it came along and putting it through with all his might.
During all that six days General Carey was the life and inspiration of
the entire force. Careless of danger, he rode along the hastily
intrenched line, giving an order here and shouting words of
encouragement there to his weary and hard-pressed men.
His staff was as hastily recruited as his men. He had no knowledge of
how long he must hold out. He was not even certain of getting supplies
of ammunition and provisions.
All he had to do was to hang on, and hang on he did against an almost
endless series of formidable attacks. He never lost heart or wavered.
The gap to Amiens was closed and held.
Three companies of an engineering regiment were caught in the early
bombardment and ordered to fall back. To one of the American companies,
which had been consolidated with the British Royal Engineers, was
delegated the task of guaranteeing the destruction of an engineers'
dump, which it had been decided to abandon. This detachment destroyed
all the material, made a rapid retreat, caught up with the larger group,
and immediately resumed work, laying out trenches. These operations
lasted from March 22 to 27. As the German attack became more intense,
the engineers were joined by cooks, orderlies, and railway men as a part
of General Carey's forces. The commanding officer of an American
regiment took charge of an infantry sub-sector and directed the action
of his troops for one week, until the emergency passed at that point. To
this officer General Rawlinson, commanding the British Army engaged in
that sector, sent the following letter:
The army commander wishes to record officially his appreciation
of the excellent work your regiment has done in assisting the
British Army to resist the enemy's powerful offensive during the
last ten days. I fully realize that it has been largely due to
your assistance that the enemy has been checked, and I rely on
you to assist us still further during the few days which are
still to come before I shall be able to relieve you in the line.
I consider your work in the line to be greatly enhanced by the
fact that, for six weeks previous to taking your place in the
front line, your men had been working at such high pressure
erecting heavy bridges on the Somme. My best congratulations and
warm thanks to all.