Haelen
(August 12, 1914)
By Colonel Baltia, Chief of Staff of the 1st Cavalry Division
After defending Liége, the 3rd Division rejoined the Belgian Army,
which had taken up its position on the Gette. The 1st, 3rd, and 5th
Divisions were placed in the first line; the 2nd and 6th in the second
line, whilst the 4th defended Namur. These forces were covered by the
Cavalry Division which was first placed at Waremme. It fell back on
St. Trond and then on the left of the army, thus lengthening the line
from Tirlemont to near Diest.
On the 12th of August, the enemy Cavalry endeavoured to force the
passage of the Gette at Haelen. Against six regiments of the 2nd
and 4th Divisions of German Cavalry, supported by the 7th and 9th
Battalions of Chasseurs and by three batteries, that is 4000 horsemen,
2000 foot-soldiers, and 18 cannons, the Belgian Cavalry opposed
victoriously 2400 horsemen, 410 Cyclists and 12 cannons.
(See Army Commandment Report.)
For several days, detachments of the enemy Cavalry had made daring
attempts at all the points of our line of defence along the Gette, but
had found it well guarded everywhere.
On August 12th, our intrepid reconnaissances, consisting of officers of
the Guides and Lancers, informed us that the enemy had been reinforced
everywhere, and we had the distinct impression that an effort to
pierce our line would be made at Haelen. We were on our guard and if
the Division of German Cavalry hoped to pass there, it would meet the
principal mass of the Cavalry Division of the Belgian Army. The enemy
imagined that we were scattered all along the river, as we had been the
preceding days, from Diest to Drieslinter, but it did not know that,
by a skilful manoeuvre, Lieutenant General de Witte, only leaving the
minimum of our forces at the secondary points of the passage of the
river, had constituted an important reserve, which was in readiness to
receive the enemy.
Whilst this mass was forming, General de Witte gave into the hands of
the Colonel of the 5th Lancers the standard which this newly-formed
regiment had just received. On that very day, this valiant troop won
the honour of having "Haelen" inscribed on the immaculate silk of that
standard.
_The Battle Ground_
The sun, which on rising had appeared sulky, now burst forth in all its
splendour, lighting up the farms and the white farm-houses scattered
along the road which unites Loxbergen and Haelen and winds between
fertile fields, which were still partially covered with their rich
harvests of corn and oats. The Division had made its headquarters on
the border of Loxbergen, from which spot there is an extensive view.
To the left is a narrow valley encircled with poplars and willows.
Here and there are to be seen the red roofs of houses. On the brow of
the hill dominating the valley, a Belgian battery was installed. The
bells of the Church steeples of Diest rang out clearly and solemnly.
In the distance could be seen the outline of the little, low-built
church of Haelen. This little straggling town, almost unknown hitherto,
was destined to be the witness of the violent, brutal effort of the
German Cavalry to dislodge the Belgian Cavalry and open a way for
itself into the heart of the country, after reaching the flank of the
Belgian Army covered by the Cavalry Division. The Germans counted on
having their revenge this time for all the successes that the Belgian
Division had won during the first eight days of the campaign. They
expected to avenge themselves on the Belgians, who had swept away their
reconnaissances, their patrols, their posts of _liaison_ and their
centres of information and entirely disorganised their clever but
fragile lookout system.
_The First Firing_
Presently, the lights of an incendiary fire were to be seen. It was the
signal given by the German reconnaissances to let their army know that
we had baffled their plans.
Our brave Cyclist-Carabineers were already at work, valiantly defending
the position they occupied. With the help of the Cyclist Pioneer
Pontonniers, they had made excavations, deepened the ditches, arranged
hedges and fences, barricaded the roads and paths, installed their
machine-guns in favourable positions, and were now determined to
inflict a severe punishment on the invaders.
As soon as the first squadrons of Dragoons and Hussars appeared, the
firing broke loose. The enemy hesitated a moment and then, urged on by
their chiefs, took fresh courage and fired on our little Cyclists with
their rifles, machine-guns, and cannons. The cowardly cads who led, or
rather pushed them on, had protected themselves by placing unoffensive
inhabitants of the villages whom they had hunted up, in front of them.
Our riflemen, well hidden, took aim calmly, and at every shot, a
pointed helmet, a _colbak_ or a _schapska_ rolled on the ground and
a man, dressed in grey uniform, fell among the harvest. Our "diables
noirs" fell back, step by step, defending every furrow of ground and
every bush.
_German Cavalry Charges_
Suddenly, the avalanche of German squadrons appeared and, in a wild
gallop, rushed on the foot-soldiers, who sustained the shock without
flinching, replying with their guns and bayonets.
The squadrons, excited by their gallop, continued their way until they
came to the Belgian Lancers, who had alighted behind the Cyclists and
who now received the charge with a running fire at short distance.
The gallop of these yelling, clanging masses shook the very ground,
and the long, piercing lances looked as though they must overturn
everything in their way, but at the first discharge of our Lancers'
carbines, aided effectually by the four machine-guns manipulated calmly
by Lieutenant Scouvemont and Lieutenant Ouverleaux, and by the firing
of three squadrons of the 1st Guides, stationed to the right of the
battle-field, the mass whirled round and was scattered. The first
squadrons were followed by others. The second charge was received in
the same way as the first one, and the third one like the second. Seven
charges one after the other were broken up.
The moment was a tragic one. A quantity of horses was tearing wildly
about, mad with terror and pain, and red with blood. Some of them came
rushing against the horses of our Lancers. The panic spread among
these, and, in a moment, an immense troop of horses was tearing about
the plains amidst the firing of guns and the dry bursting of the
shrapnels. Our soldiers, unmoved, reloaded their guns and prepared
to repulse any further attacks, scarcely stopping to give a pitying
glance at the dead bodies of friends and enemies around them, or at the
wounded, who were groaning in pain.
_Fresh Attacks of the Enemy_
Those in command of the German Cavalry, recognising the inefficacy of
their charges, sent no more horses, but their horsemen on foot, with
carbines, supported by their machine-guns.
These men advanced over the plain, creeping in amongst the corn,
crouching down in every shelter offered by the ground, and hiding
behind the sheaves to escape the terrible fire of our courageous and
skilful men.
Six regiments of Dragoons, Hussars, and Cuirassiers were already
engaged and were advancing with great difficulty, when the help of two
Battalions of Chasseurs was sent to them.
Our Artillery then entered into action. The first Horse battery,
manipulated by an energetic officer quite sure of himself, sent
his shells and shrapnels with straight aim on to the Cavalry and
foot-soldiers covering the plain and, at the same time, covered with
his destructive shells the Haelen bridge and the village, in which
the fresh Cavalry regiments were massed together which had come to
reinforce and support their comrades. Under the pressure of superior
numbers, our Cavalry had hard work to hold out, but it did not budge an
inch whilst giving our Infantry time to arrive.
_Arrival of our First Reinforcements_
It was three o'clock in the afternoon when our first help appeared:
three Battalions of the 4th Regiment and two of the 24th, accompanied
by a group of Artillery. These troops had started from Hauthem-St.
Marguerite at 10.30. Part of the Infantry was sent to Velpen, to reach
Haelen from there, and the other part was sent, as a reinforcement to
the defenders of the Yserbeck Farm.
The Artillery supported these two attacks, but unfortunately, of the
two batteries which took position at the Loxbergen Mill, only one could
open fire without being immediately counter-attacked by the German
Artillery, which was in position to the north of Velpen.
Whilst the Infantry was on its way to Velpen and Yserbeck Farm, the 1st
Cavalry Brigade took to horse and went in the direction of the left
wing of the battle-field.
The 2nd Brigade, which had been in action for seven long hours, now
went in search of its horses.
At 7 o'clock, Yserbeck Farm, or rather the smoking ruins of this farm,
were retaken by the Leconte Battalion, and Velpen was reconquered by
the Rademaekers Battalion.
All around us were horses with broken limbs, blood streaming from their
nostrils and wounded sides. Some of them were dying in the ditches by
the roadside, or in the fields. Others were galloping wildly about,
their saddles swinging between their legs.
Then began the pitiful procession of the wounded, who, with haggard
faces, were dragging themselves with difficulty towards the rear. Some
of them went along, bent nearly double, walking in the ditches. Others
were supported by the ambulance men, or by priests of the ambulance
contingent. Some, too, were carried on stretchers, or even in their
coats held at the four corners.
Standing up, in the middle of the road, disdainful of the destructive
shells which struck horses quite near them, or of the shrapnels which
hit the horses they were leading, or of the bullets which whizzed
through the branches, General de Witte and his Staff watched the
various phases of the struggle, giving to the troops a fine example
of fearlessness in the midst of danger. _Débris_ of all kinds strewed
the ground, ammunition waggons came galloping along the road, bringing
fresh supplies, whilst along the whole front, fires lighted by the
shells sent up their sinister light and bitter smoke towards the clear
sky above.
_Victory!_
The battle seemed still undecided when the sun was sinking in the
horizon, but just then, our artillery men noticed a retreating movement
of the enemy's line, which, driven by our Infantry, was beginning to
fall back towards the bridge and village of Haelen. Our men immediately
opened fire, with all their cannons, in the direction of the passage
along which the fugitives were pouring. The latter, in spite of the
efforts and threats of their officers, drew away with them the Cavalry
regiments that had just come to their rescue. The retreat, as night
came on, degenerated into a wild helter-skelter, which went on as far
as Hasselt and Herck-St. Lambert, where the defeated troops fortified
themselves hastily, in order to be able to oppose an eventual pursuit.
The dismal croaking of the crows could now be heard in the night which
was already almost dark. The galloping of the frightened horses,
spurred on cruelly by their riders, hammered on the pavement. Under the
ceaseless rain of projectiles from the Belgian guns, the ten German
regiments, magnificent as they had been in the morning, formed now
only a disorderly mob trampling on the foot-soldiers, the dead, and
the wounded, and abandoning their officers and even their Generals. At
the other extremity of the battle-field, could be heard the songs of
victory of the Belgian troops, triumphing in their first feat of arms.
_The Night after the Combat_
Gradually, the battle-field became silent, a veil of darkness, of
mourning, and of terror covered this ground, where so many young men,
who only the day before were so happy to live, were now sleeping their
last sleep, or moaning in pain, abandoned to their fate.
The silence of night, which followed the hell-like noise of the day
before, seemed more profound than ever. The stars, which were already
twinkling, and the moon, shining in all its brilliancy, were a
startling contrast to the horrors before our eyes. Our thoughts became
clearer as we walked slowly along in the direction of our quarters. The
tension of our nerves was at last relaxed. Many of us had not found our
horses again. They had disappeared, and some of them had been killed in
the tumult. This walk in the darkness of night gradually soothed our
minds, and the memories of all that had happened became clearer.
_Heroes. Courageous Deeds of our Soldiers and Officers_
We thought of that cyclist, brave Royer, belonging to the Cavalry
Division of the Staff. He had gone out resolutely, in the very midst of
the fight, to bring in an officer, Lieutenant Waepenaere, who had been
wounded in the thigh when he was leading out some timid foot-soldiers
to the fray, young men who had not been under fire before. This brave
soldier went back a second time into the furnace to get a machine-gun
that had been abandoned and that he had to bring back on a cart. He
then returned a third time to shoot two German cavalry men with his
revolver. He had seen them hiding behind the sheaves and they had fired
on him when he was bringing back his Lieutenant, and again when he was
returning with the machine-gun. He brought their two helmets with him
on his last expedition.
This intrepid young man was from Liége and he performed these three
courageous acts in the most natural manner possible, convinced that he
had merely done his duty as a soldier. He was very much surprised when
he was appointed Corporal for his fine conduct. Later on, he was always
ready, day or night, for the most dangerous expeditions. His career
ended gloriously, for he was killed in an army motor-car expedition,
during the Pellenberg fight.
We thought, too, of that young soldier who had been horribly wounded
and whose arm was all slashed. With his valid arm, he held out a piece
of his gun to his General, crying out: "I still have my gun!" Then,
too, there was that other one who had to be helped along by two of the
ambulance men, but who insisted on carrying his trophy, which was a
German lance.
We thought, too, of those other courageous ones: Thiery and Prince
Baudouin de Ligne. They had both enlisted as motor-car volunteers for
as long as the war should last. They obtained permission to go to the
firing lines with the foot-soldiers, whom they stimulated by their
example. They had made a trench, six of them together, had occupied
it and, for an hour, had held out against superior forces, whilst
endeavouring to take a machine-gun.
Our thoughts went out to many, many heroes, whose brave deeds we cannot
relate here. Among them were Major Bourgouis and Major Stacquet;
Commanders Demaret, Vandamme, and Wacquez; Captains Lequeux, Panquin,
Van Vlierberghen; Lieutenant Stoops and Sub-Lieutenant Marrée, who were
killed, and Major Rademaekers, Commander Dujardin, Lieutenants Mortier,
M. Van Damme, A. Desmet, Ch. Albert and Chevalier de Waepenaere, all of
whom were wounded.
Our Belgian race and our corps of officers gave proof, during that
first shock, from the first moment of their baptism of fire, of all the
bravery of their cool energy and of their unflinching tenacity.
_After the Victory_
It was broad daylight, the following morning, when we moved onwards
towards Haelen. There was intense activity at Loxbergen; motor-cars
and ambulances were taking their loads of wounded men to the Infirmary
that had been installed in the school. They were laid there, side by
side, on straw that was soon stained with blood. The atmosphere was
impregnated with the odour of disinfectants. Sisters of Mercy, priests,
doctors, and ambulance men lavished every care on them, seeking to
alleviate their sufferings, to console them, to bring a gleam to their
dim eyes by the mention of their absent families, of their homes, of
their wives and children.
The most hardened heart would have given way at the sight of those poor
naked bodies, writhing with pain, of those mutilated limbs, of those
twisted arms, and of those beseeching looks, there, in the midst of all
the rags and bandages, uniforms, boots, and weapons flung in a heap in
the corner, or on the school desks, where only a few days before, happy
Belgian children were learning to read and to love their country.
_The Battle-Field_
On leaving that den of pain and suffering, we felt a sort of relief in
the open air, but this was not of long duration, as the sight of the
battle-field filled us once more with anguish.
In front of the church of this little village, and already covered with
dust, dead horses were lying, overturned carriages, trampled straw,
remains of food, and of fires, and all the vile chaos that an army
leaves behind it.
On the outskirts of the village, on the Haelen road we saw the
first dead bodies of Germans, with their faces tumefied and their
limbs rigid. They were lying in the most extraordinary positions. A
Cuirassier was still holding on to a charger supplied with ammunition;
farther on a Dragoon was lying face downwards, his leg bent backwards.
Presently we reached the little farm which had been fought for all
the day. The house was torn asunder by shells and the barn reduced to
ashes. The pigs were loose and wandering round the ruin.
As we advanced towards Haelen, the number of corpses increased. At
the spot where the encounter between the riflemen had taken place,
an almost continuous line of German and Belgian corpses showed what
desperate fighting there had been. An officer of our 24th Line Regiment
and a Dragoon officer were lying there, side by side. Which of the two
had lived to see the other die? What drama was hidden under the contact
of these two bodies?
At Haelen, the drama was poignant. In most of the houses there were
gaping holes and the walls were all knocked about.
The street was covered with _débris_ of all kinds. Hundreds of horses
were lying with their heads crushed, their bodies open, or their backs
broken. A nauseous odour almost choked us.
The courageous inhabitants had already buried the dead in huge graves,
which they had dug near the village, and they were now beginning to
take away the dead bodies of the horses.
At the corner of the street, a waggon with its cannon had been
abandoned, as the wheels were broken. A little further on was another
waggon, containing ammunition, which would have to be drowned in the
little river. In a wide ditch, was the dead body of a horse almost
covering the body of an officer of the Dragoons, whose head alone was
visible, emerging from the stagnant water.
On the Square, we picked up the Belgian flag, which had been floating
at the Municipal Building. It had been snatched down by the Prussians,
torn and dragged through the mud. We had it put up again, just as it
was, and we saluted it with deep respect, little thinking then that
it would soon be the emblem of our poor country, torn, violated, and
trampled under foot by a barbarous soldiery.
On our return, we took the tragic path where our indomitable Cyclists
had held out so heroically. The broken bicycles, the dead bodies of our
"diables noirs" and of their adversaries, proved their courage, and the
punishment they had inflicted on these Germans, particularly on those
of the 17th Dragoons, that famous regiment, composed of the flower of
the Mecklenburg nobility.
A little farther on, we met some soldiers carrying a ladder, on which a
sub-officer of our Lancers was lying. He had been wounded in the knee.
"I have spent a terrible night," he said, with a smile on his lips.
"I was wounded and lying in a beet-root field by the side of a German
sub-officer. After insulting me, he fired on me three times with his
revolver, and lodged his last ball in his own head. He is still there
in the field."
How long this walk back seemed to us! We would willingly have closed
our eyes. We could not help thinking of the mothers, sisters, and
families of all those we had just seen there, men who had died for
their country, victims of a sanguinary, brutal, perjured despot. The
thought of these poor families threw a sombre veil over our pride in
the memory of our first victory!