The Termonde Bridge
By an Officer of the 4th Artillery Regiment
On the 28th of September, 1914, the 1st Group of the 4th Artillery,
under Captain Commander T'Serstevens, after distinguishing itself in
the combats fought to the south of Termonde, at St. Gilles, at Audeghem
and at Wieze, came to Grembergen to take the place of the batteries
of the 4th Brigade, which was made up of various units. Of all the
positions at Termonde, that of the bridge itself, then occupied by a
cannon intended to take it by enfilade, was the most dangerous of any.
All the chiefs of the sections of this group had been on service there,
turn by turn. Two of them, Sub-Lieutenants Hiernaux and Mayat, were
killed there.
Hiernaux fell at his post, the night of the 1st of October, during an
attack by the enemy. The Termonde bridge had been destroyed beforehand,
and a wooden bridge had been constructed and mined by a section of
the Engineers, who were there ready to blow it up. With the 13th Line
Regiment, and a machine-gun, we occupied the left bank of the Escaut
and the Germans held the town itself, which was built on the opposite
bank. The bridge, therefore, constituted a passage common to us both,
and the defensive organisations on both sides were similar and
formidable. The banks of the river were merely deep trenches, and the
nearest houses served as block-houses for the machine-guns and small
cannons. Our lookout men, on the alert all the time, were endeavouring
to surprise the enemy's least preparations in the ruins, with which we
were already familiar, of the burnt town. The framework of the gaping
houses looked, at night, like so many weird skeletons. From time to
time, by the light of a moonbeam, we saw figures gliding along between
the portions of the walls. Such figures were always promptly saluted by
the crackling of a ball and they would then disappear among the ruins.
Over yonder, like so many will-o'-the-wisps, little blue flames could
be seen at intervals. They were caused by the _élite_ of the enemy's
picked guns aiming at any heads which appeared above our parapets.
The night of the 1st of October was a beautiful, starry autumn night.
The German Artillery, after an excessively violent bombardment, which
had lasted several hours and had obliged our much-tried Infantry to
leave the dyke and to curve round the other parts of the bridge, now
fired less frequently. The soldiers, leaning against their shelters,
were enjoying fresh air in relative tranquillity.
A vigilant sentinel suddenly hailed his chief. He had just seen a dark
compact mass moving along. It was not very visible by the light of the
moon, but it appeared to be making for the bridge.
There was no doubt about it, the enemy was trying to effect a passage.
At the signal of alarm, foot-soldiers, machine- and cannon-gunners
rushed to their posts, and the storm immediately broke loose.
Under the protection of a violent and continuous firing from the
right bank, an assaulting column came out from the principal street
of Termonde. The first men were carrying mattresses, which they
endeavoured to use as shields; the others followed, in close ranks
without any order. They looked more like a flock of animals than a
regularly constituted troop. They were singing their famous _Gloria
Victoria_ and appeared to be absolutely drunk. After the first
discharges of musketry, the artillery gun had its men _hors de combat_,
with the exception of Sub-Lieutenant Hiernaux and the man in command
of the cannon, who both opened fire on the assailants. The machine-gun
entered into action as well, whilst the soldiers of the 13th Line
Regiment fired direct on the German troops who, nevertheless, managed
to get a footing on the bridge.
The officer of the Engineers who had mined it had two discharges.
Seeing that the assailants who were killed were instantly replaced
by others, and that the enemy was threatening the left bank, this
brave man established the electric contact. To our stupefaction, no
detonation followed. The Germans had now reached the end of the bridge.
Without any excitement, the officer seized the second discharge. A
formidable explosion took place, flinging into the distance the ruins
of the bridge, fragments of human beings, and various objects of their
equipment. All fell _pêle-mêle_ into the river and on to the banks,
covering the soldiers who were hidden there with blood and with human
shreds. In face of this disaster, the assaulting column stopped short,
horrified, and then rushed back in disorder towards the town, whilst
huge flames rose from the piles of the bridge which had been soaked in
petroleum.
The surprise attack had failed, and two more weak attempts were cut
short by our shelling. The usual vengeance was then resorted to. The
enemy Artillery concentrated its fire on the vicinity of the bridge.
Our brave troops lived through one of those critical moments when
the destructive power of the human machine is only comparable to the
grandeur of souls ready for any sacrifice. For one long hour, our
soldiers were submitted to a storm of steel which, with a hellish
clatter, warned them of a fresh attack. It was necessary to conquer the
intense nervous strain, to watch without ceasing, and to examine all
the impenetrable and threatening fortification works on the other bank
of the river. It was whilst examining all this, from above the shield
of his cannon, that Sub-Lieutenant Hiernaux fell, just at the critical
moment, struck between the eyes by a ball. His fine death proved to us
once more all that there is of energy, _sang-froid_, and courage among
our subaltern ranks.
Quartermaster Francotte ordered the officer's body to be carried to
a neighbouring shelter and he covered it over with a wrap. He then
took Hiernaux's place at the cannon and kept his aids there all night,
whilst the neighbouring trenches had to be abandoned for a time, as
they were impossible, on account of the gas from the explosion of the
shells.
Two days later, Sub-Lieutenant Mayat was on service at the bridge.
In the afternoon, the Commander of the group and his aid came to
examine the adversary's organisation. The heads of the three officers,
Sub-Lieutenant Mayat between the other two, were just for an instant
above the shield formed by the cannon. This formed an excellent target
for those on the other side. A ball whizzed by and one of the heads
disappeared. Mayat, without uttering a cry, fell against his chief, and
a stream of red blood spurted from his pierced temple and inundated his
face, which had turned suddenly livid.
At present, the two friends are sleeping their glorious sleep side
by side, in the little cemetery of Grembergen, where we buried them
reverently. The day will come when those who know of their noble death
and who, more fortunate than they, have been spared, will be able to go
and place flowers on their tombs, in order to show their gratitude and
admiration.
But no homage can be equal to the tears of sincere grief of the officer
who was sent to take Sub-Lieutenant Mayat's place, when he saw his
comrade lying at his post, in all the rigidity of the last sleep.