The First Attack of the Retrenched Camp of Antwerp
(September 4, 1914)
By Father Hénusse, S.J., Army Chaplain to the 84th Artillery Battery
On that day, the Staff of the 5th Division had decided on an offensive
reconnaissance, starting from Willebroeck and going towards Lippeloo.
Towards 7 in the morning, we heard that the Germans had arrived in
force at Breendonck. Commandant C---- transmitted this information to
the Staff, who, no doubt, gave orders to the Cavalry to verify the
information, as the hour fixed for our departure passed, and we were
still there for a long time afterwards. The foot-soldiers were yawning
behind their piled arms and the gunners were strolling about near the
cannons.
Towards 10 o'clock, the order finally arrived for us to start, but the
itinerary was modified. We were to go by way of Sauvegarde and Pullaer,
instead of leaving Willebroeck along the network of barbed wire.
The column set out. The 16th Brigade of mixed forces advanced along the
narrow road which is the ordinary way to the line of forts. Towards
12.30, it was preparing to take up a position, when suddenly, four
detonations were heard and four shrapnels exploded in front of the
Artillery, just near the Commander of the group, who saw his cyclist
hit, his men wounded, and horses either fall or take fright.
The astonishment was so great, that a slight confusion ensued. An
explanation was almost as quickly obtained. The enemy was making a
sudden attack on the double interval, Breendonck-Letterheide-Liezele.
An order was immediately given to the Artillery to occupy the positions
organised for the defence of the said intervals. The 84th Battery had
its Sector limited by the canal of Willebroeck and Breendonck, the 83rd
the Sector comprised between Breendonck and Letterheide-Liezele, and
the 82nd the Sector Letterheide-Liezele.
"Wheel round!" was the command given and, on the narrow road, the wheel
round took place in perfect order.
Whilst the batteries were going to their positions, the Commanders went
just as quickly to their observation posts. That of the Commander of
the 83rd was an extraordinary post. Between two poplars, a platform,
eight yards high, had been made, protected by a shield. It was reached
by a huge ladder and was big and strong, as was necessary for the man
who was to use it. When he reached it, the balls were already whizzing
from all sides and the huge shrapnels were bursting above the Forts. It
was evident that the Germans had begun the attack with their masses,
without waiting for the preliminary artillery preparation.
The Commander climbed quickly on to his perch and began scrutinising
the horizon with his field-glasses. In the direction of Breendonck,
the firing range had been cleared for about eight hundred yards
in advance of the line of Forts. All the houses but one had been
destroyed. Farther away, in the background, there were isolated farms,
the roads leading to the village, mills, and clusters of trees; in the
foreground, immense fields of asparagus a yard high.
Suddenly, a movement was to be seen on the road leading from the
village. An enemy column was advancing there. It broke up into little
groups, in order to reach sheltered places. This was just the moment
to seize the telephone and order a quick fire from the battery 1700
yards in the rear. Unfortunately, the telephone had been taken off on
account of the reconnaissance that morning, and torture now began for
the unfortunate Commander.
To have a mass of several thousand men in front of him and, there,
behind him, the four fire-spitters which could sow death and carnage
among that mass, and not be able to make a sign to them, not be able
to transmit the order! Tantalus had nothing like this to endure! The
Commander's eyes were fixed first on the advancing enemy, and then on
the plain where the telephonists ought to be unrolling the wire, the
precious wire.... He could see nothing but the green grass and the
sunshine....
Finally, he could stand it no longer and he clambered down from his
observatory, saluted by a volley of balls, which only did harm to
the poplar branches. He rushed to his horse, which was hidden in the
little wood at the back and rode at full speed in the direction of the
telephonists. As soon as they appeared, he gave his orders in feverish
haste and returned, at the same rapid pace, to his observatory. The
question now was would he reach the top of the ladder or not? The
balls came whizzing along, hitting the steps of the huge ladder. One,
two, three, and he sprang on to it and began to mount. With a thrill
of anguish, he continued his way until, at last, he was once more at
his post. This time, though, he flung himself down full length on his
platform to look through his field-glasses at the horizon. The changes
he now saw were that the enemy columns were advancing, in close rank,
behind the isolated farms and behind the mills. In the foreground,
sharp-shooters were gliding and crawling towards the asparagus fields.
Hundreds of men were already hidden there. He felt sure of that.
The Commander was furious. He remembered a certain shooting-party,
when he had had a magnificent animal within his range and it had
made straight for his neighbour's vicinity, thus preventing him from
shooting, for fear of hitting his fellow huntsman.
It was certainly his fate to play the part of Tantalus. He wondered
why the telephonists did not arrive, and whether the poor wretches had
been shot down? Finally, he caught sight of them crossing the railroad,
five hundred yards away. He hoped they would stoop down, and crawl
if necessary, for the balls were whizzing along all the time. In the
meantime, the Commander took his measures, noted the distances on the
map, and revelled in advance at the thought of massacring the most
odious enemies that ever existed, and cutting short their triumph in
this sudden attack, which they fancied they were carrying out so well.
The minutes seemed endlessly long; his blood was boiling and beating in
his heart and brain....
Finally, the telephonists were at the foot of the ladder, the
communication was once more set up and the first command sent like
lightning. A few seconds passed, and the reply was there. Four rapid
shrapnels burst above the asparagus, just at the right height, and now,
quick, quick, and rapid firing!
The storm continued pouring down on the fields where the Boches were
crouching and, through his field-glasses, the Commander could see
hideous things flying in the air: arms, legs, and helmeted heads. At
the same time as his orders, the telephone communicated to the battery
the result of the firing, and the gunners imagined that they saw with
their eyes the magnificent work of death. This excited them and, in
glee, they continued their work with enthusiasm and speed.
After the asparagus fields, they attacked the farms. The shells fell
there like thunderbolts and fires broke out everywhere. In spite of all
this, the balls continued to whizz round the observatory. It was very
evident that there were some men hidden who were shooting desperately.
The Commander searched everywhere and concluded that they were in the
one house still standing, the one house that the engineers had not
destroyed. It was situated on the road from Breendonck to Lippeloo and
within the last two hours it had been suddenly loopholed. What was to
be done? It was too small a building to constitute an objective for
indirect aim, and consequently it would have been useless to inform the
battery. The Breendonck Fort, though, could knock it down directly.
It was the telephonist who thought of this and suggested his idea to
the Commander, who had been obliged to come down once more from his
perch, as it was impossible to remain there. The idea was good, but
the question was how to communicate with the Fort? It was more than
eight hundred yards away, and there was almost entirely open ground
between them. The telephonist started off on his own account and, less
than ten minutes later, the Fort opened fire on the house. With the
third shell, it was flaming like a huge torch, after which it fell,
sending an immense bouquet of sparks up into the air.... The Commander
once more went back to his observation post, but the fête was over.
The roads were deserted; the asparagus plants on which he turned his
glasses were quite still; the farms were smoking and the rumbling of
the cannon could only be heard dying away in the distance. Over yonder,
beyond the village of Breendonck, the disorderly retreat of the Boches
could be imagined, saving their cannons, dragging along their wounded,
and hastening to hide their disgrace.
After that our reconnaissances and our ambulances came out, and the sad
and glorious balance sheet of the day's work was gradually made out.
The next day we found that, in the asparagus fields, 1100 German
identification plaques had been gathered.
The Commander, whom everyone was congratulating, grasped the hands of
the two soldier-telephonists and said to them: "And all this, thanks to
you, my brave fellows!"