"THOSE TERRIBLE GREY HORSES."
Late in March 1915 General Joffre told an interviewer that his army was not crushed in Belgium by overwhelming numbers. "That," he said, "is quite wrong; our army was numerous. We ought to have won the Battle of Charleroi.[75] We ought to have won it ten times out of eleven. We lost it through our own faults of command.
"Before the war broke out I had already noted that among our generals many were worn out. Some had appeared to be incapable—not good enough for their work. Others inspired me with doubt, and I made up my mind to replace them with younger men. I should have done so, but the war came too soon. Besides, there were others in whom I had faith who have not responded to my hopes. . . . Their merit turned out to be below the mark. I had to remedy these defects. Some of these generals were my best comrades. But if I love my friends much, I love France more. I relieved them of their posts."
I have already told you how the French were crushed in Belgium; how they retreated, remedied their defects, re-formed their line along the Seine and the Aube,[76] turned their faces to the foe, and prepared to advance. All this happened between 21st August and 5th September. The account is not, however, complete, for you have yet to learn how the British army continued and ended its southern march. When I broke off my story to relate the misfortunes of the French, our gallant lads, you will remember, were making a brief halt in the neighbourhood of St. Quentin. We must now rejoin them, and see how they fared during the latter part of their retreat.
If you turn to the map on page [16], you will notice a French army marked 6, lying to the south of the fortress of Maubeuge. This army was a cavalry corps of three divisions, held in reserve. It had taken no part in the battle on the Sambre, but now it came into action on our left rear, and brought relief to Allenby's hard-worked horsemen, who had been struggling almost night and day to beat back the German advance. Some of the Territorial divisions of the 5th Army, which had retreated to the Oise, also came to the assistance of the British. They closed in to the west of Smith-Dorrien's corps, and von Kluck, seeing his right flank threatened by them, was obliged to detach a strong column to hold them in check. Further, some divisions of the 2nd French Army, which had been beaten at Charleroi and had retreated south-west, now appeared, and struck severe blows on the enemy at Guise[77] and St. Quentin. This removed some of the pressure from Haig's corps. The British were thus able to retreat without much molestation, and by the evening of Friday, the 28th, they were assembled along the Oise from La Fère to Noyon.
It was a very weary army which reached this position. It had fought and marched incessantly for six days, but it was still undaunted, and was eager for the moment when it should receive the order, "Right about turn! quick march!" You can form some idea of the great feat which it had performed when I tell you that besides fighting many rearguard actions it had marched more than eighty miles—that is, on an average, at least fourteen miles a day. After such an experience most armies would have been a complete wreck. Not so the British. The rank and file were now fully aware that, man for man, they were more than a match for the Germans, and they were heartened by the knowledge that they had foiled the frenzied efforts of an army that vastly outnumbered them, and had striven with all its might to overwhelm them.
Though the general pursuit had slackened, von Kluck's cavalry were still on the heels of the British rear. On the Friday afternoon on which our men reached the La Fère-Noyon position two columns of the enemy's horse moved south-east from St. Quentin in the attempt to attack our flank at La Fère. Allenby, with two of his cavalry brigades, rode out to meet them. The German column on the left consisted of Uhlans and of the cavalry of the famous Prussian Guard. General Gough, with the 4th Hussars and the 5th Lancers, charged down upon these much-vaunted horsemen, and drove them back in headlong flight. Against the other column, which was advancing further to the right, Sir Philip Chetwode led the Scots Greys, the 12th Lancers, and the 20th Hussars.
Scots Greys on the March. Photo, Newspaper Illustrations, Ltd.
The Colonel-in-chief of the Scots Greys (2nd Dragoons) is the Tsar of Russia, who wrote to the regiment as follows: "I am happy to think that my gallant regiment, the Royal Scots Greys, are fighting with Russia against the common enemy. I am convinced that they will uphold the glorious traditions of the past."
If you are a Scottish boy or girl, you will be certain to maintain that the Scots Greys are the finest cavalrymen in the world. Your English friends may not, perhaps, agree with you; but even though they may prefer the 9th Lancers or some other English regiment, they will be quite willing to give very high praise indeed to the Scots Greys. They have a glorious record, and every one remembers how famously they bore themselves at the Battle of Waterloo, where they charged down upon the French with the Gordons clinging to their stirrup-leathers, horsemen and footmen shouting, "Scotland for ever!" Napoleon knew them well, and always feared "those terrible grey horses."
A friend of mine has talked with wounded officers and men who took part in the engagement at St. Quentin, and has given me the following account of the part played by the Scots Greys in the fight:—
The column of German cavalry opposed to Sir Philip Chetwode's brigade must have numbered about 10,000. The main body was stationed behind a wood, between which and the British brigade there was a slight valley. When the attack began our men dismounted and opened a brisk rifle fire on the advance guard of the Germans, who were hidden amongst the corn stooks at the top of the opposite slope and amongst the turnips in a field that lay behind. They had a machine gun with them, and their horses were picketed at the rear of the wood.
For a time our horse artillery shelled the wood, and our men continued their rifle fire. Our shells burst over and beyond the wood, and stampeded the picketed horses. Then came the order to mount and charge. The 12th Lancers went first, bearing to the right of the wood, and the Scots Greys followed, bearing to the left. With a wild hurrah they topped the slight rise, and crashed into the Germans, some of whom were on the knee trying to defend themselves with their long lances. Others held up their hands in token of surrender, and the first line of the gallant Greys dropped the points of their sword and spared their lives. In many cases, after the first line had passed, the Germans who had pretended to surrender fired with revolvers, and shot the chivalrous Scots in the back. The second line of Greys, however, made them pay dearly for this treachery. They cut down all within reach without mercy, and, making their horses rear and plunge and lash out with their fore feet, knocked down and trampled many others. Before the wood was reached, the German machine gun had been captured, and five hundred of the enemy had been killed or taken prisoners. They were big men, and evidently belonged to one of the Kaiser's "crack" regiments.
One of the Greys now reconnoitred the wood, and at the sight of him the men left in charge of the picketed horses bolted. The Grey followed them, and to his amazement saw the main body of the German cavalry in full and disorderly flight. You may be sure that the Greys and the Lancers were much disappointed that they had no chance of coming to grips with the fleeing horsemen. By this time they had nothing but contempt for the German cavalry. You will remember that at the beginning of the retreat a German cavalry division had declined "to take on" a British brigade. Sir John French tells us that already our cavalry had established "a decided superiority over that of the enemy."
The Uhlan's Last Ride.
Armoured motor cars containing sharpshooters play an important part in the war. This picture shows a car giving chase to a Uhlan patrol. One man has already been laid low.
This exploit won some respite for our men, and the pursuit was shaken off for a time. The Germans were weary with much marching and fighting, and our engineers had checked their advance by blowing up all the river and canal bridges as soon as they were crossed. That evening our much-tried men enjoyed comfortable meals, the refreshment of a bath, and a good eight hours' sleep.
The German pursuit, however, was soon continued with great vigour. At one o'clock on Saturday Sir John French knew that at least two corps of the enemy were advancing towards his front. At this time he received a visit from General Joffre, who brought him good news. He had ordered the 5th French Army on the Oise to move forward and attack the Germans on the Somme, and this meant less pressure on the British. But the best news of all was that, quite unknown to the enemy, a new 6th French Army had been formed on the British left flank, and was ready to be launched against von Kluck as soon as the whole Allied line should be in the required position. There was still a good deal of retreating to be done before the word to advance could be given, and that morning the British forces retired to a position a few miles north of the line Compiègne[78]-Soissons,[79] along the river Aisne.
Compiègne is an interesting country town near the junction of the Oise, and in the midst of heavily forested country. It was a favourite residence of French kings, and is perhaps known to you as the place where Joan of Arc was taken prisoner by the Burgundians in 1430. A monument to her memory stands in front of the fine Hôtel de Ville. At the end of the town near the forest there is a royal palace, which was built in the reign of Louis XV. The forest itself is fifty-nine miles in circumference, and has many beautiful walks. In the summer it is a favourite resort of Parisians.
