THE LA BASSÉE--ARMENTIÈRES OPERATIONS
(From October 11 to October 31, 1914)
The great battle line--Advance of Second Corps--Death of General
Hamilton--The farthest point--Fate of the 2nd Royal Irish--The Third
Corps--Exhausted troops--First fight of Neuve Chapelle--The Indians
take over--The Lancers at Warneton--Pulteney's operations--Action of
Le Gheir.
In accordance with the new plans, the great transference began upon
October 3. It was an exceedingly difficult problem, since an army of
more than 100,000 men had to be gradually extricated by night from
trenches which were often not more than a hundred yards from the
enemy, while a second army of equal numbers had to be substituted in
its place. The line of retreat was down an open slope, across
exposed bridges, and up the slope upon the southern bank. Any alarm
to the Germans might have been fatal, since a vigorous night attack
in the middle of the operation would have been difficult to resist,
and even an artillery bombardment must have caused great loss of
life. The work of the Staff in this campaign has been worthy of the
regimental officers and of the men. Everything went without a hitch.
The Second Cavalry Division (Gough's) went first, followed {201}
immediately by the First (De Lisle's). Then the infantry was
withdrawn, the Second Corps being the vanguard; the Third Corps
followed, and the First was the last to leave. The Second Corps
began to clear from its trenches on October 3-4, and were ready for
action on the Aire-Bethune line upon October 11. The Third Corps was
very little behind it, and the First had reached the new
battle-ground upon the 19th. Cavalry went by road; infantry marched
part of the way, trained part of the way, and did the last lap very
often in motor-buses. One way or another the men were got across,
the Aisne trenches were left for ever, and a new phase of the war had
begun. From the chalky uplands and the wooded slopes there was a
sudden change to immense plains of clay, with slow, meandering,
ditch-like streams, and all the hideous features of a great
coal-field added to the drab monotony of Nature. No scenes could be
more different, but the same great issue of history and the same old
problem of trench and rifle were finding their slow solution upon
each. The stalemate of the Aisne was for the moment set aside, and
once again we had reverted to the old position where the ardent
Germans declared, "This way we shall come," and the Allies, "Not a
mile, save over our bodies."
[Sidenote: The great battle line.]
The narrator is here faced with a considerable difficulty in his
attempt to adhere closely to truth and yet to make his narrative
intelligible to the lay reader. We stand upon the edge of a great
battle. If all the operations which centred at Ypres, but which
extend to the Yser Canal upon the north and to La Bassée at the
south, be grouped into one episode, it becomes the greatest clash of
arms ever seen up {202} to that hour upon the globe, involving a
casualty list--Belgian, French, British, and German--which could by
no means be computed as under 250,000, and probably over 300,000 men.
It was fought, however, over an irregular line, which is roughly
forty miles from north to south, while it lasted, in its active form,
from October 12 to November 20 before it settled down to the
inevitable siege stage. Thus both in time and in space it presents
difficulties which make a concentrated, connected, and intelligible
narrative no easy task. In order to attempt this, it is necessary
first to give a general idea of what the British Army, in conjunction
with its Allies, was endeavouring to do, and, secondly, to show how
the operations affected each corps in its turn.
During the operations of the Aisne the French had extended the Allied
line far to the north in the hope of outflanking the Germans. The
new Tenth French Army, under General Foch, formed the extreme left of
this vast manoeuvre, and it was supported on its left by the French
cavalry. The German right had lengthened out, however, to meet every
fresh extension of the French, and their cavalry had been
sufficiently numerous and alert to prevent the French cavalry from
getting round. Numerous skirmishes had ended in no definite result.
It was at this period that it occurred, as already stated, to Sir
John French that to bring the whole British Army round to the north
of the line would both shorten very materially his communications and
would prolong the line to an extent which might enable him to turn
the German flank and make their whole position impossible. General
Joffre having endorsed these views, Sir John took the steps which we
have already seen. {203} The British movement was, therefore, at the
outset an aggressive one. How it became defensive as new factors
intruded themselves, and as a result of the fall of Antwerp, will be
shown at a later stage of this account.
As the Second Corps arrived first upon the scene it will be proper to
begin with some account of its doings from October 12, when it went
into action, until the end of the month, when it found itself brought
to a standstill by superior forces and placed upon the defensive.
The doings of the Third Corps during the same period will be
interwoven with those of the Second, since they were in close
co-operation; and, finally, the fortunes of the First Corps will be
followed and the relation shown between its doings and those of the
newly arrived Seventh Division, which had fallen back from the
vicinity of Antwerp and turned at bay near Ypres upon the pursuing
Germans. Coming from different directions, all these various bodies
were destined to be formed into one line, cemented together by their
own dismounted cavalry and by French reinforcements, so as to lay an
unbroken breakwater before the great German flood.
The task of the Second Corps was to get into touch with the left
flank of the Tenth French Army in the vicinity of La Bassée, and then
to wheel round its own left so as to turn the position of those
Germans who were facing our Allies. The line of the Bethune-Lille
road was to be the hinge, connecting the two armies and marking the
turning-point for the British. On the 11th Gough's Second Cavalry
Division was clearing the woods in front of the Aire-Bethune Canal,
which marked the line of the Second Corps. By {204} evening Gough
had connected up the Third Division of the Second Corps with the
Sixth Division of the Third Corps, which was already at Hazebrouck.
On the 12th the Third Division crossed the canal, followed by the
Fifth Division, with the exception of the 13th Brigade, which
remained to the south of it. Both divisions advanced more or less
north before swinging round to almost due east in their outflanking
movement. The rough diagram gives an idea of the point from which
they started and the positions reached at various dates before they
came to an equilibrium. There were many weary stages, however,
between the outset and the fulfilment, and the final results were
destined to be barren as compared with the exertions and the losses
involved. None the less it was, as it proved, an essential part of
that great operation by which the British--with the help of their
good allies--checked the German advance upon Calais in October and
November, even as they had helped to head them off from Paris in
August and September. During these four months the little British
Army, far from being negligible, as some critics had foretold would
be the case in a Continental war, was absolutely vital in holding the
Allied line and taking the edge off the hacking German sword.
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{205}
[Illustration: Diagram to illustrate operations of Smith-Dorrien's
2nd. Corps & Pulteney's 3rd Corps from Oct. 11 to Oct 19, 1914.]
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The Third Corps, which had detrained at St. Omer and moved to
Hazebrouck, was intended to move in touch with the Second, prolonging
its line to the north. The First and Second British Cavalry
Divisions, now under the command of De Lisle and of Gough, with
Allenby as chief, had a role of their own to play, and the space
between the Second and Third Corps was now filled up by a French
Cavalry Division under Conneau, a whole-hearted soldier always ready
{206} to respond to any call. There was no strong opposition yet in
front of the Third Corps, but General Pulteney moved rapidly
forwards, brushed aside all resistance, and seized the town of
Bailleul. A German position in front of the town, held by cavalry
and infantry without guns, was rushed by a rapid advance of Haldane's
10th Infantry Brigade, the 2nd Seaforths particularly distinguishing
themselves, though the 1st Warwicks and 1st Irish Fusiliers had also
a good many losses, the Irishmen clearing the trenches to the cry of
"Faugh-a-Ballagh!" which has sounded so often upon battlefields of
old. The 10th Brigade was on the left of the corps, and in touch
with the Second Cavalry Division to the north. The whole action,
with its swift advance and moderate losses, was a fine vindication of
British infantry tactics. On the evening of October 15 the Third
Corps had crossed the Lys, and on the 18th they extended from
Warneton in the north to almost within touch of the position of the
Second Corps at Aubers upon the same date.
[Sidenote: Advance of Second Corps.]
The country to the south in which the Second Corps was advancing upon
October 12 was an extraordinarily difficult one, which offered many
advantages to the defence over the attack. It was so flat that it
was impossible to find places for artillery observation, and it was
intersected with canals, high hedgerows, and dykes, which formed
ready-made trenches. The Germans were at first not in strength, and
consisted for the most part of dismounted cavalry drawn from four
divisions, but from this time onwards there was a constant fresh
accession of infantry and guns. They disputed with great skill and
energy every position which could be defended, and the {207} British
advance during the day, though steady, was necessarily slow. Every
hamlet, hedgerow, and stream meant a separate skirmish. The troops
continually closed ranks, advanced, extended, and attacked from
morning to night, sleeping where they had last fought. There was
nothing that could be called a serious engagement, and yet the
losses--almost entirely from the Third Division--amounted to 300 for
the day, the heaviest sufferers being the 2nd Royal Scots.
On the next day, the 13th, the corps swung round its left so as to
develop the turning movement already described. Its front of advance
was about eight miles, and it met resistance which made all progress
difficult. Again the 8th Brigade, especially the Royal Scots and 4th
Middlesex, lost heavily. So desperate was the fighting that the
Royal Scots had 400 casualties including 9 officers, and the
Middlesex fared little better. The principal fighting, however, fell
late in the evening upon the 15th Brigade (Gleichen's), who were on
the right of the line and in touch with the Bethune Canal. The
enemy, whose line of resistance had been considerably thickened by
the addition of several battalions of Jaeger and part of the
Fourteenth Corps, made a spirited counter-attack on this portion of
the advance. The 1st Bedfords were roughly handled and driven back,
with the result that the 1st Dorsets, who were stationed at a bridge
over the canal near Givenchy, found their flanks exposed and
sustained heavy losses, amounting to 400 men, including Major Roper.
Colonel Bols, of the same regiment, enjoyed one crowded hour of
glorious life, for he was wounded, captured, and escaped all on the
same evening. It was in this {208} action also that Major Vandeleur
was wounded and captured.[1] A section of guns which was involved in
the same dilemma as the Dorsets had to be abandoned after every
gunner had fallen. The 15th Brigade was compelled to fall back for
half a mile and entrench itself for the night. On the left the 7th
Brigade (McCracken's) had some eighty casualties in crossing the Lys,
and a detachment of Northumberland Fusiliers, who covered their left
flank, came under machine-gun fire, which struck down their adjutant,
Captain Herbert, and a number of men. Altogether the losses on this
day amounted to about twelve hundred men.
[1] Major Vandeleur was the officer who afterwards escaped from
Crefeld and brought back with him a shocking account of the German
treatment of our prisoners. Though a wounded man, the Major was
kicked by the direct command of one German officer, and his overcoat
was taken from him in bitter weather by another.
[Sidenote: Death of General Hamilton.]
On the 14th the Second Corps continued its slow advance in the same
direction. Upon this day the Third Division sustained a grievous
loss in the shape of its commander, General Sir Hubert Hamilton, who
was standing conversing with the quiet nonchalance which was
characteristic of him, when a shell burst above him and a shrapnel
bullet struck him on the temple, killing him at once. He was a grand
commander, beloved by his men, and destined for the highest had he
lived. He was buried that night after dark in a village churchyard.
There was an artillery attack by the Germans during the service, and
the group of silent officers, weary from the fighting line, who stood
with bowed heads round the grave, could hardly hear the words of the
chaplain for the whiz and crash of the shells. It was a proper
ending for a soldier.
{209}
His division was temporarily taken over by General Colin Mackenzie.
On this date the 13th Brigade, on the south of the canal, was
relieved by French troops, so that henceforward all the British were
to the north. For the three preceding days this brigade had done
heavy work, the pressure of the enemy falling particularly upon the
2nd Scottish Borderers, who lost Major Allen and a number of other
officers and men.
The 15th was a day of spirited advance, the Third Division offering
sacrifice in the old warrior fashion to the shade of its dead leader.
Guns were brought up into the infantry line and the enemy was smashed
out of entrenched positions and loopholed villages in spite of a most
manful resistance. The soldiers carried long planks with them and
threw them over the dykes on their advance. Mile after mile the
Germans were pushed back, until they were driven off the high road
which connects Estaires with La Bassée. The 1st Northumberland and
4th Royal Fusiliers of the 9th Brigade, and the 2nd Royal Scots and
4th Middlesex of the 8th, particularly distinguished themselves in
this day of hard fighting. By the night of the 15th the corps had
lost 90 officers and 2500 men in the four days, the disproportionate
number of officers being due to the broken nature of the fighting,
which necessitated the constant leading of small detachments. The
German resistance continued to be admirable.
On the 16th the slow wheeling movement of the Second Corps went
steadily though slowly forward, meeting always the same stubborn
resistance. The British were losing heavily by the incessant
fighting, but so were the Germans, and it was becoming a {210}
question which could stand punishment longest. In the evening the
Third Division was brought to a stand by the village of Aubers, which
was found to be strongly held. The Fifth Division was instructed to
mark time upon the right, so as to form the pivot upon which all the
rest of the corps could swing round in their advance on La Bassée.
At this date the Third Corps was no great distance to the north, and
the First Corps was detraining from the Aisne. As the Seventh
Division with Byng's Third Cavalry Division were reported to be in
touch with the other forces in the north, the concentration of the
British Army was approaching a successful issue. The weather up to
now during all the operations which have been described was wet and
misty, limiting the use of artillery and entirely preventing that of
aircraft.
[Sidenote: The farthest point.]
On the 17th the advance was resumed and was destined to reach the
extreme point which it attained for many a long laborious month.
This was the village of Herlies, north-east of La Bassée, which was
attacked in the evening by Shaw's 9th Brigade, and was carried in the
dusk at the point of the bayonet by the 1st Lincolns and the 4th
Royal Fusiliers. About the same time the Scots Fusiliers and
Northumberlands had stormed Aubers. The 7th Brigade was less
fortunate at the adjoining village of Illies, where they failed to
make a lodgment, but the French cavalry on the extreme left, with the
help of the 2nd Royal Irish, captured Fromelles. The Fifth Division
also came forward a little, the right flank still on the canal, but
the left bending round so as to get to the north of La Bassée. The
1st Devons, who had taken the place of the Dorsets, {211} pushed
forward with such fire that they were half a mile ahead of the Army
and in great danger of being cut off, but by individual coolness and
resource they managed to get back to safety.
On the 18th, Sir Charles Ferguson, who had done good work with the
Army from the first gunshot of the war, was promoted to a higher rank
and the command of the Fifth Division passed over to General Morland.
Thus both divisions of the Second Corps changed their commanders
within a week. On this date the infantry of the 14th Brigade, with
some of the 13th Brigade, were within eight hundred yards of La
Bassée, but found it so strongly held that it could not be entered,
the Scottish Borderers losing heavily in a very gallant advance. The
village of Illies also remained impregnable, being strongly
entrenched and loopholed. Shaw's 9th Brigade took some of the
trenches, but found their left flank exposed, so had to withdraw
nearly half a mile and to entrench. In this little action the 1st
Royal Scots Fusiliers bore the brunt of the fighting and the losses.
Eight officers and nearly 200 men of this regiment were killed or
wounded. A fresh German division came into action this day and their
artillery was stronger, so that the prospects of future advance were
not particularly encouraging. The British artillery was worked very
hard, being overmatched and yet undefeatable. The strain both upon
the men and the officers was constant, and the observation officers
showed great daring and tenacity.
[Sidenote: Fate of the 2nd Royal Irish.]
On the 19th neither the Third nor the Fifth Divisions made any
appreciable progress, but one battalion was heavily engaged and added
a fresh record to its ancient roll of valour. This was the {212} 2nd
Royal Irish under Major Daniell, who attacked the village of Le Pilly
rather forward from the British left in co-operation with the French
cavalry. The Irish infantry charged over eight hundred yards of
clear ground, carried the village by storm, and entrenched themselves
within it. This advance and charge, which was carried out with the
precision of an Aldershot field day, although 130 men fell during the
movement, is said by experienced spectators to have been a great feat
of arms. The 20th saw a strong counter-attack of the Germans, and by
the evening their two flanks had lapped round Le Pilly, pushing off
on the one side the French cavalry of Conneau, and on the other a too
small detachment of the Royal Fusiliers who were flanking the
Irishmen. All day the defenders of Le Pilly were subjected to a
terrific shell-fire, and all attempts to get messages to them were
unavailing. In the evening they were surrounded, and only two or
three men of the battalion were ever seen again. The gallant Daniell
fell, and it is on record that his last audible words were a command
to fix bayonets and fight to the end, the cartridges of the battalion
being at that time exhausted. A German officer engaged in this
attack and subsequently taken prisoner has deposed that three German
battalions attacked the Royal Irish, one in front and one on each
flank, after they had been heavily bombarded in enfilade. Several
hundred Irish dead and wounded were taken out of the main trench.
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{213}
[Illustration: Southern End of British Line]
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There was now ample evidence that the Germans had received large
reinforcements, and that their line was too strong to be forced. The
whole object and character of the operations assumed, therefore, a
{214} new aspect. The Second and Third Corps had swung round,
describing an angle of ninety degrees, with its pivot upon the right
at the La Bassée Canal, and by this movement it had succeeded in
placing itself upon the flank of the German force which faced the
Tenth French Army. But there was now no longer any flank, for the
German reinforcements had enabled them to prolong their line and so
to turn the action into a frontal attack by the British. Such an
attack in modern warfare can only hope for success when carried out
by greatly superior numbers, whereas the Germans were now stronger
than their assailants, having been joined by one division of the
Seventh Corps, a brigade of the Third Corps, and the whole of the
Fourteenth Corps, part of which had already been engaged.
[Sidenote: The Third Corps.]
The increased pressure was being felt by the Third Corps on the Lys,
as well as by the Second to the south of them; indeed, as only a few
miles intervened between the two, they may be regarded as one for
these operations. We have seen that, having taken the town of
Bailleul, Pulteney's Corps had established itself across the Lys, and
occupied a line from Warneton to Radinghem upon October 18. The
latter village had been taken on that day by the 16th Brigade in an
action in which the 1st Buffs and 2nd York and Lancasters lost
heavily, the latter being ambushed as it pursued the enemy and losing
11 officers and 400 men. Colonel Cobbold fell back upon the village
and held it successfully. Pulteney was now strongly attacked, and
there was a movement of the Germans on October 20 as if to turn his
right and slip in between the two British corps. The action was
carried on into the 21st, the enemy still {215} showing considerable
energy and strength. The chief German advance during the day was
north of La Bassée. It came upon the village of Lorgies, which was
the point where the South Lancashires, of McCracken's 7th Brigade,
forming the extreme right of the Third Division, were in touch with
the East Surreys and Duke of Cornwall's of the 14th Brigade, forming
the extreme left of the Fifth Division. It is necessary to join
one's flats carefully in the presence of the Germans, for they are
sharp critics of such matters. In this instance a sudden attack near
Illies drove in a portion of the 2nd South Lancashires. This attack
also destroyed the greater part of a company of the 1st Cornwalls in
support. An ugly gap was left in the line, but the remainder of the
Cornwalls, with the help of a company of the 1st West Kents and the
ever-constant artillery, filled it up during the rest of the day, and
the 2nd Yorkshire Light Infantry took it over the same night, the
Cornishmen retiring with heavy losses but a great deal of
compensating glory. The temporary gap in the line exposed the right
flank of the 3rd Worcesters, who were next to the South Lancashires.
They lost heavily in killed and wounded, their colonel, Stuart, being
among the latter, though his injury did not prevent him from
remaining in the battle line. Apart from this action at Lorgies, the
19th Brigade (Gordon's), upon the flank of Pulteney's Corps,
sustained a very heavy attack, being driven back for some distance.
It had been ordered to occupy Fromelles, and so close the gap which
existed at that time between the left of the Second and the right of
the Third Corps, situated respectively at Aubers and Radinghem. The
chief fighting occurred {216} at the village of Le Maisnil, close to
Fromelles. This village was occupied by the 2nd Argylls and half the
1st Middlesex, but they were driven out by a severe shell-fire
followed by an infantry advance. The brigade fell back in good
order, the regiments engaged having lost about 300 men. They took up
a position on the right of the 16th Infantry Brigade at La
Boutillerie, and there they remained until November 17, one severe
attack falling upon them on October 29, which is described under that
date.
On the morning of October 22 the Germans, still very numerous and
full of fight, made a determined attack upon the Fifth Division,
occupying the village of Violaines, close to La Bassée. The village
was held by the 1st Cheshires, who, for the second time in this
campaign, found themselves in a terribly difficult position. It is
typical of the insolent high spirits of the men, in spite of all that
they had endured, that upon the Germans charging forward with a
war-cry which resembled, "Yip, Yip, Yip!" the British infantry joined
in with "I-addy-ti-ay!" the whole forming the chorus of a once
popular Gaiety song. The Cheshires inflicted heavy losses upon the
stormers with rifle-fire, but were at last driven out, involving in
their retirement the 1st Dorsets, who had left their own trenches in
order to help them. Both regiments, but especially the Cheshires,
had grievous losses, in casualties and prisoners. On advancing in
pursuit the Germans were strongly counter-attacked by the 2nd
Manchesters and the 1st Cornwalls, supported by the 3rd Worcesters,
who, by their steady fire, brought them to a standstill, but were
unable to recover the ground that had been lost, though the
Cornwalls, who had {217} been fighting with hardly a pause for
forty-eight hours, succeeded in capturing one of their machine-guns.
In the night the British withdrew their line in accordance with the
general rearrangement to be described. Some rearguard stragglers at
break of day had the amusing experience of seeing the Germans making
a valiant and very noisy attack upon the abandoned and empty trenches.
On this date, October 22, not only had Smith-Dorrien experienced this
hold-up upon his right flank, but his left flank had become more
vulnerable, because the French had been heavily attacked at
Fromelles, and had been driven out of that village. An equilibrium
had been established between attack and defence, and the position of
the Aisne was beginning to appear once again upon the edge of
Flanders. General Smith-Dorrien, feeling that any substantial
advance was no longer to be hoped for under the existing conditions,
marked down and occupied a strong defensive position, from Givenchy
on the south to Fauquissart on the north. This involved a retirement
of the whole corps during the night for a distance of from one to two
miles, but it gave a connected position with a clear field of fire.
At the same time the general situation was greatly strengthened by
the arrival at the front of the Lahore Division of the Indian Army
under General Watkis. These fine troops were placed in reserve
behind the Second Corps in the neighbourhood of Locon.
[Sidenote: Exhausted troops.]
It is well to remember at this point what Smith-Dorrien's troops had
already endured during the two months that the campaign had lasted.
Taking the strength of the corps at 37,000 men, they had lost,
roughly, 10,000 men in August, 10,000 in {218} September, and 5000 up
to date in these actions of October. It is certain that far less
than 50 per cent of the original officers and men were still with the
Colours, and drafts can never fully restore the unity and spirit of a
homogeneous regiment, where every man knows his company leaders and
his platoon. In addition to this they had now fought night and day
for nearly a fortnight, with broken and insufficient sleep, laying
down their rifles to pick up their spades, and then once again
exchanging spade for rifle, while soaked to the skin with incessant
fogs and rain, and exposed to that most harassing form of fighting,
where every clump and hedgerow covers an enemy. They were so
exhausted that they could hardly be woken up to fight. To say that
they were now nearing the end of their strength and badly in need of
a rest is but to say that they were mortal men and had reached the
physical limits that mortality must impose.
The French cavalry divisions acting as links between Pulteney and
Smith-Dorrien were now relieved by the 8th (Jullundur) Indian
Infantry Brigade, containing the 1st Manchesters, 59th (Scinde)
Rifles, 15th and 47th Sikhs. It may be remarked that each Indian
brigade is made up of three Indian and one British battalion. This
change was effected upon October 24, a date which was marked by no
particular military event save that the Third Division lost for a
time the services of General Beauchamp Doran, who returned to
England. General Doran had done great service in leading what was
perhaps the most hard-worked brigade in a hard-worked division.
General Bowes took over the command of the 8th Infantry Brigade.
{219}
On the night of October 24 determined attacks were made upon the
trenches of the Second Corps at the Bois de Biez, near Neuve
Chapelle, but were beaten off with heavy loss to the enemy, who had
massed together twelve battalions in order to rush a particular part
of the position. The main attack fell upon the 1st Wiltshires and
the 2nd Royal Irish Rifles, belonging to McCracken's 7th Brigade, and
also upon the 15th Sikhs, who seem to have been the first Indians to
be seriously engaged, having nearly two hundred casualties. The 8th
Brigade were also involved in the fight. The Germans had some
temporary success in the centre of the trenches of the Third
Division, where, in the darkness, they pushed back the 1st Gordon
Highlanders, who lost very heavily. As the Highlanders fell back,
the 2nd Royal Scots, upon their right, swung back its flank
companies, covered the retirement, and then, straightening their
ranks again, flung the Germans, at the point of their bayonets, out
of the trenches. It was one of several remarkable feats which this
fine battalion has performed in the war. Next morning the captured
trenches were handed over to the care of the 4th Middlesex.
[Sidenote: First fight of Neuve Chapelle.]
The pressure upon the exhausted troops was extreme upon this day, for
a very severe attack was made also upon the Fifth Division, holding
the right of the line. The soldiers, as already shown, were in no
condition for great exertions, and yet, after their wont, they rose
grandly to the occasion. The important village of Givenchy, destined
for many a long month to form the advanced post upon the right of the
Army, was held by the 1st Norfolks and 1st Devons, who defied all
efforts of the enemy to dislodge them. {220} Nevertheless, the
situation was critical and difficult for both divisions, and the only
available support, the 1st Manchesters from the Lahore Division, were
pushed up into the fighting line and found themselves instantly
engaged in the neighbourhood of Givenchy. It was dreadful weather,
the trenches a quagmire, and the rifle-bolts often clogged with the
mud. On the 26th Sir John French, realising how great was the task
with which the weary corps was faced, sent up two batteries of 4.7
guns, which soon lessened the volume of the German artillery attack.
At the same time General Maistre, of the Twenty-first French Corps,
sent two of his batteries and two of his battalions. Thus
strengthened, there was no further immediate anxiety as to the line
being broken, especially as upon the 26th Marshal French, carefully
playing card after card from his not over-strong hand, placed the
Second Cavalry Division and three more Indian battalions in reserve
to Smith-Dorrien's corps. The German advance had by no means spent
itself, as on this day they came to close grips with the 2nd Irish
Rifles and established themselves firmly in the village of Neuve
Chapelle, near the centre of the British line, inflicting heavy loss
upon the Royal Fusiliers, who tried to restore the position. A
number of attacks were made to regain this village next day, in which
as strange a medley of troops were employed as could ever before have
found themselves as comrades in so minor an operation. There were
South Lancashires, Royal Fusiliers, 9th Bhopal Infantry, 47th Sikhs,
Chasseurs Alpins, and other units. In spite of--or possibly on
account of--this international competition the village remained with
the Germans, who were strongly reinforced, and {221} managed by their
shell-fire to clear some of the nearest trenches and gain some
additional ground, hitting the 1st Wiltshires and 2nd Irish Rifles
hard and making a number of prisoners, two or three hundred in all.
Again the times had become critical, the more so as the 8th Indian
Brigade to the north had also been attacked and roughly handled. The
indomitable Smith-Dorrien was determined to have his village,
however, and in the neighbouring French cavalry commander, General
Conneau, he found a worthy colleague who was ready to throw his last
man into the venture. The Second Cavalry, now under General Mullens,
was also ready, as our cavalry has always been, to spring in as a
makeweight when the balance trembled. The German losses were known
to have been tremendous, and it was hoped that the force of their
attack was spent. On the 28th the assault was renewed, prefaced by a
strong artillery preparation, but again it was brought to a
standstill. The 47th Sikhs fought magnificently from loopholed house
to house, as did the Indian sappers and miners, while the cavalry
showed themselves to be admirable infantry at a pinch, but the
defence was still too strong and the losses too severe, though at one
time Colonel McMahon, with his Fusiliers, had seized the whole north
end of the village.
Some 60 officers and 1500 men had fallen in the day's venture,
including 70 of the cavalry. The night fell with Neuve Chapelle
still in the hands of the enemy, and the British troops to the north,
east, and west of it in a semicircle. The 14th Brigade, coming up
after dark, found the 1st West Kent Regiment reduced to 2 officers
and 150 men, and the 2nd Yorkshire Light Infantry at about the same
strength, still holding on {222} to positions which had been
committed to them three days before. The conduct of these two grand
regiments upon that and the previous days excited the admiration of
every one, for, isolated from their comrades, they had beaten off a
long succession of infantry attacks and had been enfiladed by a most
severe shell-fire. Second-Lieutenant White, with a still younger
officer named Russell, formed the whole staff of officers of the West
Kents. Major Buckle, Captain Legard, and many others having been
killed or wounded, Penny and Crossley, the two sergeant-majors, did
great work, and the men were splendid. These shire regiments, raised
from the very soil of England, reflect most nearly her national
qualities, and in their stolid invincibility form a fitting framework
of a great national army. Speaking to the West Kents of this
episode, General Smith-Dorrien said: "There is one part of the line
which has never been retaken, because it was never lost. It was the
particular trenches which your battalion held so grimly during those
terrific ten days."
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{223}
[Illustration: General View of Seat of Operations.]
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These determined efforts were not spent in vain, for the Germans
would not bide the other brunt. Early on the 29th the British
patrols found that Neuve Chapelle had been evacuated by the enemy,
who must have lost several thousand men in its capture and fine
subsequent defence. In this village fighting the British were much
handicapped at this time by the want of high explosive shells to
destroy the houses. The enemy's artillery made it impossible for the
British to occupy it, and some time later it reverted to the Germans
once more, being occupied by the Seventh Westphalian Corps. It was
made an exceedingly strong advance position by the Germans, {224} but
it was reoccupied by the British Fourth Corps (Rawlinson's) and the
Indian Corps (Willcocks') upon March 10 in an assault which lasted
three days, and involved a loss of 12,000 men to the attackers and at
least as many to the defenders. This battle will be described among
the operations of the spring of 1915, but it is mentioned now to show
how immutable were the lines between these dates.
The southern or La Bassée end of the line had also been attacked upon
the 28th and 29th, and the 2nd Manchesters driven from their
trenches, which they instantly regained, killing seventy of the enemy
and taking a number of prisoners. It was in this action that
Lieutenant Leach and Sergeant Hogan earned the V.C., capturing a
trench at the head of ten volunteers and disposing of some fifty
Germans. Morland's Fifth Division had several other skirmishes
during these days, in which the Duke of Cornwall's, Manchesters, and
1st Devons, who had taken the place of the Suffolks in the 14th
Brigade, were chiefly engaged. The Devons had come late, but they
had been constantly engaged and their losses were already as great as
the others. For sixteen days they had held on with desperate
resolution, their Colonel Gloster and a considerable proportion of
the officers and men being hit. When they were at last relieved they
received the applause of the Army. On the whole, the general line
was held, though the price was often severe. At this period General
Wing took command of the Third Division instead of General
Mackenzie--invalided home--the third divisional change within a
fortnight.
[Sidenote: The Indians take over.]
The arduous month of October was now drawing to a close, and so it
was hoped were the labours of the {225} weary Second Corps. Already,
on the top of all their previous casualties, they had lost 360
officers and 8200 men since on October 12 they had crossed the La
Bassée Canal. The spirit of the men was unimpaired for the most
part--indeed, it seemed often to rise with the emergency--but the
thinning of the ranks, the incessant labour, and the want of sleep
had produced extreme physical exhaustion. Upon October 29 it was
determined to take them out of the front line and give them the rest
which they so badly needed. With this end in view, Sir James
Willcocks' Indian Corps was moved to the front, and it was gradually
substituted for the attenuated regiments of the Second Corps in the
first row of trenches. The greater part of the corps was drawn out
of the line, leaving two brigades and most of the artillery behind to
support the Indians. That the latter would have some hard work was
speedily apparent, as upon this very day the 8th Gurkhas were driven
out of their trenches. With the support of a British battalion,
however, and of Vaughan's Indian Rifles they were soon recovered,
though Colonel Venner of the latter corps fell in the attack. This
warfare of unseen enemies and enormous explosions was new to the
gallant Indians, but they soon accommodated themselves to it, and
moderated the imprudent gallantry which exposed them at first to
unnecessary loss.
Here, at the end of October, we may leave the Second Corps. It was
speedily apparent that their services were too essential to be
spared, and that their rest would be a very nominal one. The Third
Corps will be treated presently. They did admirably all that came to
them to do, but they were so placed that both flanks were covered by
British troops, and they {226} were less exposed to pressure than the
others. The month closed with this corps and the Indians holding a
line which extended north and south for about twenty miles from
Givenchy and Festubert in the south to Warneton in the north. We
will return to the operations in this region, but must turn back a
fortnight or so in order to follow the very critical and important
events which had been proceeding in the north. Before doing so it
would be well to see what had befallen the cavalry, which, when last
mentioned, had, upon October 11, cleared the woods in front of the
Second Corps and connected it up with the right wing of the Third
Corps. This was carried out by Gough's Second Cavalry Division,
which was joined next day by De Lisle's First Division, the whole
under General Allenby. This considerable force moved north upon
October 12 and 13, pushing back a light fringe of the enemy and
having one brisk skirmish at Mont des Cats, a small hill, crowned by
a monastery, where the body of a Prince of Hesse was picked up after
the action. Still fighting its way, the cavalry moved north to
Berthen and then turned eastwards towards the Lys to explore the
strength of the enemy and the passages of the river in that
direction. Late at night upon the 14th General de Lisle, scouting
northwards upon a motor-car, met Prince Alexander of Teck coming
southwards, the first contact with the isolated Seventh Division.
[Sidenote: The Lancers at Warneton.]
On the night of the 16th an attempt was made upon Warneton, where the
Germans had a bridge over the river, but the village was too strongly
held. The 3rd Cavalry Brigade was engaged in the enterprise, and the
16th Lancers was the particular regiment upon whom it fell. The main
street of the village was {227} traversed by a barricade and the
houses loopholed. The Germans were driven by the dismounted
troopers, led by Major Campbell, from the first barricade, but took
refuge behind a second one, where they were strongly reinforced. The
village had been set on fire, and the fighting went on by the glare
of the flames. When the order for retirement was at last given it
was found that several wounded Lancers had been left close to the
German barricade. The fire having died down, three of the
Lancers--Sergeant Glasgow, Corporal Boyton, and Corporal
Chapman--stole down the dark side of the street in their stockinged
feet and carried some of their comrades off under the very noses of
the Germans. Many, however, had to be left behind. It is impossible
for cavalry to be pushful and efficient without taking constant risks
which must occasionally materialise. The general effect of the
cavalry operations was to reconnoitre thoroughly all the west side of
the river and to show that the enemy were in firm possession of the
eastern bank.
From this time onwards until the end of the month the cavalry were
engaged in carrying on the north and south line of defensive
trenches, which, beginning with the right of the Second Corps (now
replaced by Indians) at Givenchy, was prolonged by the Third Corps as
far as Frelingham. There the cavalry took it up and carried it
through Comines to Wervicq, following the bend of the river. These
lines were at once strongly attacked, but the dismounted troopers
held their positions. On October 22 the 12th Lancers were heavily
assaulted, but with the aid of an enfilading fire from the 5th
Lancers drove off the enemy. That evening saw four more attacks, all
of them {228} repulsed, but so serious that Indian troops were
brought up to support the cavalry. Every day brought its attack
until they culminated in the great and critical fight from October 30
to November 2, which will be described later. The line was held,
though with some loss of ground and occasional setbacks, until
November 2, when considerable French reinforcements arrived upon the
scene. It is a fact that for all these weeks the position which was
held in the face of incessant attack by two weak cavalry divisions
should have been, and eventually was, held by two army corps.
[Sidenote: Pulteney's operations.]
It is necessary now to briefly sketch the movements of the Third
Corps (Pulteney's). Its presence upon the left flank of the Second
Corps, and the fact that it held every attack that came against it,
made it a vital factor in the operations. It is true that, having
staunch British forces upon each flank, its position was always less
precarious than either of the two corps which held the southern and
northern extremities of the line, for without any disparagement to
our Allies, who have shown themselves to be the bravest of the brave,
it is evident that we can depend more upon troops who are under the
same command, and whose movements can be certainly co-ordinated. At
the same time, if the Third Corps had less to do, it can at least say
that whatever did come to it was excellently well done, and that it
preserved its line throughout. Its units were extended over some
twelve miles of country, and it was partly astride of the River Lys,
so that here as elsewhere there was constant demand upon the
vigilance and staunchness of officers and men. On October 20 a very
severe attack fell upon the 2nd Sherwood Foresters, who held {229}
the most advanced trenches of Congreve's 18th Brigade. They were
nearly overwhelmed by the violence of the German artillery fire, and
were enfiladed on each side by infantry and machine-guns. The 2nd
Durhams came up in reinforcement, but the Foresters had already
sustained grievous losses in casualties and prisoners, the battalion
being reduced from 900 to 250 in a single day. The Durhams also lost
heavily. On this same day, the 20th, the 2nd Leinsters, of the 17th
Brigade, were also driven from their trenches and suffered severely.
[Sidenote: Action of La Gheir.]
On October 21 the Germans crossed the River Lys in considerable
force, and upon the morning of the 22nd they succeeded in occupying
the village of Le Gheir upon the western side, thus threatening to
outflank the positions of the Second Cavalry Division to the north.
In their advance in the early morning of the 22nd they stormed the
trenches held by the 2nd Inniskilling Fusiliers, this regiment
enduring considerable losses. The trenches on the right were held by
the 1st Royal Lancasters and 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers. These two
regiments were at once ordered by General Anley, of the 12th Brigade,
to initiate a counter-attack under the lead of Colonel Butler. Anley
himself, who is a hard-bitten soldier of much Egyptian fighting,
moved forward his men, while General Hunter-Weston, the indefatigable
blower-up of railway lines in South Africa, supported the
counter-attack with the Somerset Light Infantry and the 1st East
Lancashires. The latter regiment, under Colonel Lawrence, passed
through a wood and reached such a position that they were able to
enfilade the Germans in the open, causing them very heavy losses.
The action was a brilliant success. The positions lost {230} were
reoccupied and the enemy severely punished, over a thousand Germans
being killed or wounded, while 300 were taken prisoners. These
belonged to the 104th and 179th Saxon regiments. It was a strange
turn of fate which, after fifteen hundred years, brought tribesmen
who had wandered up the course of the Elbe face to face in deadly
strife with fellow-tribesmen who had passed over the sea to Britain.
It is worth remarking and remembering that they are the one section
of the German race who in this war have shown that bravery is not
necessarily accompanied by coarseness and brutality.
On October 25 the attacks became most severe upon the line of
Williams' 16th Brigade, and on that night the trenches of the 1st
Leicesters were raked by so heavy a gunfire that they were found to
be untenable, the regiment losing 350 men. The line both of the 16th
and of the 18th Brigades was drawn back for some little distance.
There was a lull after this, broken upon the 29th, when Gordon's 19th
Brigade was attacked with great violence by six fresh
battalions--heavy odds against the four weak battalions which
composed the British Brigade. The 1st Middlesex Regiment was driven
from part of its trenches, but came back with a rush, helped by their
comrades of the 2nd Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. The Germans
were thrown out of the captured trenches, 40 were made prisoners, and
200 were slain. This attack was made by the 223rd and 224th
Regiments of the XXIV. German Reserve Corps. It was not repeated.
On the 30th another sharp action occurred near St. Yves, when
Hunter-Weston's 11th Brigade was momentarily pierced after dusk by a
German rush, {231} which broke through a gap in the Hampshires. The
Somerset Light Infantry, under Major Prowse, came back upon them and
the trenches were regained. In all such actions it is to be
remembered that where a mass of men can suddenly be directed against
scattered trenches which will only hold a few, it is no difficult
matter to carry them, but at once the conditions reverse themselves
and the defenders mass their supports, who can usually turn the
intruders out once more.
This brings the general record of the doings of the Third Corps down
to the end of October, the date on which we cease the account of the
operations at the southern end of the British line. We turn from
this diffuse and difficult story, with its ever-varying positions and
units, to the great epic of the north, which will be inseparably
united for ever with the name of Ypres.
{232}