On Oct. 16 Sir Henry Rawlinson, who had covered the retreat of the Belgian army from Antwerp with two divisions of English cavalry and two divisions of French infantry, was stationed on the line east of Ypres under orders to operate over a wide front and to keep possession of all the ground held by the Allies until the First Army Corps could reach Ypres.
Gen. Rawlinson was opposed by superior forces and was unable to prevent the Germans from getting large reinforcements. With four army corps holding a much wider front than their size justified, Field Marshal French says he faced a stubborn situation. The enemy was ma.s.sed from the Lys, and there was imperative need for a strengthened line.
However, the Field Marshal decided to send the First Corps north of Ypres to stop the reinforcements which might enable the Germans to flank the Allies. The shattered Belgian army and the wearied French troops"
endeavors to check the German reinforcements were powerless, so the British commander sent fresh troops to prevent the Germans from executing movements which would have given them access to Channel ports.
Sir Douglas Haig, with the First Army Corps, was sent Oct. 19 to capture Bruges and drive the enemy back toward Ghent, if possible. Meantime the Belgians intrenched themselves along the Ypres Ca.n.a.l. Sir John French commends the valor of the Belgians, who, he says, exhausted by weeks of constant fighting, maintained these positions gallantly.
Because of the overwhelming numbers of the Germans opposing them, he says he enjoined a defensive role upon the three army corps located south of Ypres. While Gen. Haig made a slight advance, Sir John says it was wonderful that he was able to advance at all, owing to the bad roads and the overwhelming number of Germans, which made it impossible to carry out the original plan of moving to Bruges.
The fighting gradually developed into bayonet charges. Field Marshal French says that Oct. 21 brought forth the hardest attack, made on the First Corps at Ypres, in the checking of which the Worcestershire Regiment displayed great gallantry. This day marked the most critical period in the great battle, according to the Commander in Chief, who says the recapture of the village of Gheluvelt through a rally of the Worcestershires was fraught with much consequence to the Allies.
After referring to some of the battles in which the Indian troops took part, Field Marshal French says:
"Since their arrival in this country and their occupation of the line allotted to them I have been much impressed by the initiative and resource displayed by the Indian troops. Some of the ruses they have employed to deceive the enemy have been attended with the best results and have doubtless kept the superior forces in front of them at bay. Our Indian sappers and miners have long enjoyed a high reputation for skill and resource. Without going into detail I can confidently a.s.sert that throughout their work in this campaign they have fully justified that reputation.
"The General officer commanding the Indian army describes the conduct and bearing of these troops in strange and new surroundings to have been highly satisfactory, and I am enabled from my own observations to fully corroborate this statement."
Sir John French goes on to say that, while the whole line continued to be heavily pressed, the Germans" efforts from Nov. 1 have been concentrated upon breaking through the line held by the First British and the Ninth French Corps and thus gaining possession of the town of Ypres. Three Bavarian and one German corps, in addition to other troops, were all directed against this northern line.
About Nov. 10, after several units of these corps had been completely shattered in futile attacks, the Field Marshal continues, a division of the Prussian Guard, which had been operating in the vicinity of Arras, was moved up to this area with great speed and secrecy. Doc.u.ments found on dead officers, the report says, proved that the Guard received the German Emperor"s special command to break through and succeed where their comrades of the line had failed. They took the leading part in the vigorous attacks made against the centre on the 11th and 12th, says Field Marshal French, but, like their comrades, were repulsed with enormous casualties.
He pays high tribute to Sir Douglas Haig and his divisional and brigade commanders, who, he says, "held the line with marvelous tenacity and undaunted courage." The Field Marshal predicts that "their deeds during these days of stress and trial will furnish some of the most brilliant chapters which will be found in the military history of our time."
High praise is also given the Third Cavalry Division under Major Gen.
Julian Byng, whose troops "were repeatedly called upon to restore situations at critical points and fill gaps in the line caused by the tremendous losses which occurred."
The Commander in Chief makes special mention of Col. Gordon Chesney Wilson of the Royal Horse Guards, Major the Hon. Hugh Dawnay of the Second Life Guards, and Brig. Gen. FitzClarence of the Irish Guards, who were killed, and of Brig. Gen. the Earl of Cavan, who "on many occasions was conspicuous for the skill, coolness, and courage with which he led his troops."
Of the Flying Corps the report says:
"Every day new methods of employing them, both strategically and tactically, are discovered and put into practice."
Concerning the Territorials who have been employed, the Field Marshal says the conduct and bearing of these units under fire and the efficient manner in which they have carried out the duties a.s.signed to them "has imbued me with the highest hope as to the value and the help of the Territorial troops generally."
[Ill.u.s.tration]
*Story of the "Eye-Witness"*
*By Col. E.D. Swinton of the Intelligence Department of the British General Staff.*
_From the beginning of the war world-wide attention has been attracted to the reports issued from time to time as coming from "an eye-witness at British General Headquarters." At first these reports were erroneously ascribed to Marshal French himself, and resulted in much admiring comment on his vivid and graphic way of reporting. Later it became known that they were the work of Col.
Swinton, who was attached to Gen. French"s headquarters in the capacity of "official observer."_
I.
*The Battle of the Aisne Begins*
[By the "Official Observer," Col. E.D. Swinton.]
General Headquarters, Sept. 18, 1914.
Sept. 14, the Germans were making a determined resistance along the River Aisne. Opposition, which it was at first thought might possibly be of a rear-guard nature, not entailing material delay to our progress, has developed and has proved to be more serious than was antic.i.p.ated.
The action, now being fought by the Germans along their line, may, it is true, have been undertaken in order to gain time for some strategic operation or move, and may not be their main stand. But, if this is so, the fighting is naturally on a scale which as to extent of ground covered and duration of resistance, makes it undistinguishable in its progress from what is known as a "pitched battle," though the enemy certainly showed signs of considerable disorganization during the earlier days of their retirement phase.
Whether it was originally intended by them to defend the position they took up as strenuously as they have done, or whether the delay, gained for them during the 12th and 13th by their artillery, has enabled them to develop their resistance and force their line to an extent not originally contemplated cannot yet be said.
So far as we are concerned the action still being contested is the battle of the Aisne. The foe we are fighting is just across the river along the whole of our front to the east and west. The struggle is not confined to the valley of that river, though it will probably bear its name.
The progress of our operations and the French armies nearest us for the 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th will now be described:
On Monday, the 14th, those of our troops which had on the previous day crossed the Aisne, after driving in the German rear guards on that evening, found portions of the enemy"s forces in prepared defensive positions on the right bank and could do little more than secure a footing north of the river. This, however, they maintained in spite of two counter-attacks delivered at dusk and 10 P.M., in which the fighting was severe.
During the 14th, strong reinforcements of our troops were pa.s.sed to the north bank, the troops crossing by ferry, by pontoon bridges, and by the remains of permanent bridges. Close co-operation with the French forces was maintained and the general progress made was good, although the opposition was vigorous and the state of the roads, after the heavy rains, made movements slow. One division alone failed to secure the ground it expected to.
The First Army Corps, after repulsing repeated attacks, captured 600 prisoners and twelve guns. The cavalry also took a number of prisoners.
Many of the Germans taken belong to the reserve and Landwehr formations, which fact appears to indicate that the enemy is compelled to draw on other cla.s.ses of soldiers to fill the gaps in his ranks.
There was a heavy rain throughout the night of Sept. 14-15, and during the 15th. The situation of the British forces underwent no essential change. But it became more and more evident that the defensive preparations made by the enemy were more extensive than was at first apparent.
In order to counterbalance these measures were taken by us to economize our troops and to secure protection from the hostile artillery fire, which was very fierce, and our men continued to improve their own intrenchments. The Germans bombarded our lines nearly all day, using heavy guns, brought, no doubt, from before Maubeuge, as well as those with the corps.
All their counter attacks, however, failed, although in some places they were repeated six times. One made on the Fourth Guards Brigade was repulsed with heavy slaughter.
An attempt to advance slightly, made by part of our line, was unsuccessful as regards gain of ground, but led to the withdrawal of part of the enemy"s infantry and artillery.
Further counter attacks made during the night were beaten off. Rain came on toward evening and continued intermittently until 9 A.M. on the 16th.
Besides adding to the discomfort of the soldiers holding the line, the wet weather to some extent hampered the motor transport service, which was also hindered by broken bridges.
On Wednesday, the 16th, there was little change in the situation opposite the British. The efforts made by the enemy were less active than on the previous day, although their bombardment continued throughout the morning and evening. Our artillery fire drove the defenders off one of the salients of their position, but they returned in the evening. Forty prisoners were taken by the Third Division.
On Thursday, the 17th, the situation, still remained unchanged in its essentials. The German heavy artillery fire was more active than on the previous day. The only infantry attacks made by the enemy were on the extreme right of our position, and, as had happened before, were repulsed with heavy loss, chiefly, on this occasion, by our field artillery.
In order to convey some idea of the nature of the fighting it may be said that along the greater part of our front the Germans have been driven back from the forward slopes on the north of the river. Their infantry are holding strong lines of trenches among and along the edge of the numerous woods which crown the slopes. These trenches are elaborately constructed and cleverly concealed. In many places there are wire entanglements and lengths of rabbit fencing.
Both woods and open are carefully aligned, so that they can be swept by rifle fire and machine guns, which are invisible from our side of the valley. The ground in front of the infantry trenches is also, as a rule, under crossfire from the field artillery placed on neighboring features and under high-angle fire from pieces placed well back behind the woods on top of the plateau.
A feature of this action, as of the previous fighting, is the use by the enemy of their numerous heavy howitzers, with which they are able to direct long-range fire all over the valley and right across it. Upon these they evidently place great reliance.
Where our men are holding the forked edges of the high ground on the north side they are now strongly intrenched. They are well fed, and in spite of the wet weather of the last week are cheerful and confident.