CHAPTER VII
SIEGE AND FALL OF NAMUR
When the Germans occupied Brussels on August 20, 1914, we observed that corps after corps did not enter the city, but swept to the south. This was Von Kluck's left wing moving to attack the Allies on the Sambre-Mons front. The forces which passed through Brussels were Von Kluck's center, advancing south by east to fall in line beside the right wing, which had mainly passed between Brussels and Antwerp to the capture of Bruges and Ghent. The whole line when re-formed on the French frontier would stretch from Mons to the English Channel—the great right wing of the German armies.
Meanwhile, Von Bülow's second army had advanced up the valley of the Meuse, with its right sweeping the Hisbaye uplands. Some part of this army may have been transported by rail from Montmédy. Its general advance in columns was directed chiefly upon the Sambre crossings. As Von Kluck's wide swing through Belgium covered a greater distance, Von Bülow's army was expected to strike the Allies some twenty-four hours earlier. Its march, therefore, was in the nature of an onrush.
But Von Bülow was now in the full tide of fighting strength—an amazing spectacle to chance or enforced witnesses. Well may the terrified peasants have stood hat in hand in the midst of their ruined villages. Any door not left open was immediately broken down and the interior searched. Here and there a soldier could be seen carrying a souvenir from some wrecked château. But for the most part everyone fled from before its path, leaving it silent and abandoned. The field gray-green uniforms were almost invisible in cover, in a half light, or when advancing through mist. No conceivable detail seemed to have been overlooked. Each man carried a complete equipment down to handy trifles, the whole weighed to the fraction of an ounce, in carefully estimated proportions.
But this was not enough. Waiting for each column to pass were men with buckets of drinking water, into which the soldiers dipped their aluminum cups. Temporary field post offices were established in advance, so that messages could be gathered in as the columns passed. Here and there were men to offer biscuits and handfuls of prunes. In methodical, machine-like progress came the ammunition wagons, commissariat carts, field kitchens, teams of heavy horses attached to pontoons, traction engines hauling enormous siege guns, motor plows for excavating trenches, aeroplanes, carriages containing surgeons, automobiles for the commanders, and motor busses in which staff officers could be seen studying their maps. On some of these vehicles were chalked Berlin-Paris. No branch of the service was absent, no serviceable part if it overlooked—not even a complement of grave diggers. It moved forward always at an even pace, as if on parade, with prearranged signals passed down the line when there was any obstacle, a descent or bend in the road.
The tramp of many thousands cast into the atmosphere clouds of fine dust, but even those in rear marched through it as if their lungs were made of steel. No permission was granted to open out for the circulation of air, though it was the month of August. It is safe to assert there was not a single straggler in Von Bülow's army. At the first sign of it he was admonished with a vigor to deter his comrades. Discipline was severely maintained. At every halt the click of heels, and rattle of arms in salute went on down the line with the sharp delivery of orders.
On Wednesday, August 12, 1914, the town of Huy, situated midway between Liege and Namur, was seized. It possessed an old citadel, but it was disarmed, and used now only as a storehouse. Some Belgian detachments offered a slight resistance at the bridge, but were speedily driven off. The capture of Huy gave the Germans control of the railway from Aix-la-Chapelle to France, though broken at Liege by the still standing northern forts. But they secured a branch line of more immediate service, running from Huy into Central Belgium.
On August 15, 1914, Von Bülow's vanguard came within sight of Namur. Before evening German guns were hurling shells upon its forts. Began then the siege of Namur. Namur, being the second fortress hope of the Allies—the pivot upon which General Joffre had planned to swing his army into Belgium in a sweeping attack upon the advancing Germans—a brief survey of the city and fortifications will be necessary. The situation of the city is not as imposing as that of Liege. For the most part it sits on a hillside declivity, to rest in the angle formed by the junction of the Sambre and Meuse. It is a place of some historic and industrial importance, though in the latter respect not so well known as Liege. To the west, however, up the valley of the Sambre, the country presents the usual features of a mining region—pit shafts, tall chimneys issuing clouds of black smoke, and huge piles of unsightly débris. While away to the north stretches the great plain of Central Belgium, southward the Central Meuse offers a more picturesque prospect in wooded slopes rising to view-commanding hilltops. Directly east, the Meuse flows into the precipitous cut on its way to Liege.
But in Belgian eyes the fame of Namur lay to a great extent in its being the second of Brialmont's fortress masterpieces. Its plan was that of Liege—a ring of outer detached forts, constructed on the same armor-clad cupola principle. At Namur these were nine in number, four major forts and five fortins. The distance between each fort was on the average two and a half miles, with between two and a half to five miles from the city as the center of the circumference.
Facing Von Bülow's advance, fort Cognelée protected the Brussels railway, while the guns of Marchovelette swept the space between it and the left bank of the Meuse. In the southwest angle formed by the Meuse, forts Maizeret, Andoy and Dave continued the ring. Again in the angle of the Sambre and Meuse forts St. Héribert and Malonne protected the city. North of the Sambre, forts Suarlée and Emines completed the circle.
In the emergency Namur possessed one advantage over Liege. The resistance of Liege gave Namur due warning of the German invasion, and some days to prepare for attack. General Michel was in command of the garrison of Namur, which comprised from 25,000 to 30,000 men. Doubtless reports had come to him of the situation at Liege. He immediately set to work to overcome the cause of the failure of Brialmont's plan at Liege, by constructing trenches between the forts, protected by barbed wire entanglements, and mines in advance of the German approach. As his circumference of defense was less than that of Liege, his force promised to be capable of a more prolonged resistance.
Besides the Allies were close at hand. Only eighteen miles separated him from strong detachments of French infantry and artillery at Dinant. As we have seen French cavalry had been thrown forward as far as Gembloux on the road to Brussels, but ten miles to the northeast of Namur. Somewhere between that place and Charleroi French Chasseurs d'Afrique had advanced to occupy outpost positions. His position appeared by no means hopeless—considerably better than the unsupported field army at Liege. The armor of his forts was calculated to withstand the 36-lb. shells of the heaviest German fieldpieces, but comparatively slight damage was anticipated from the known heavier howitzers. If the Germans purposed to assault Namur in mass formation, as they had done at Liege, General Michel had every reason to feel confident he could repulse them with tremendous losses.
But the Germans had learned a severely taught lesson at Liege. They had no intention of repeating those tactics. Behind a remarkable screen of secrecy, they managed to conceal from General Michel—as they did from the Allies—the existence of their enormous siege guns. Whether they brought into action at Namur their famous 42-centimeters, capable of throwing a shell of high explosive power weighing 2,500 lbs., is uncertain. In fact, it is still doubtful where they were first fired at the allied enemy. Two are said to have assisted in the final destruction of the northern forts of Liege, and two were seen rolling over the field of Waterloo. The Germans remained silent upon the subject, and nothing definite about their first discharge was disclosed. But unquestionably their fire was capable of demolishing into ruin any fort on earth within a short period. It is certain, however, the Germans brought against Namur their 28-centimeter guns, and probably some of 21-centimeter caliber. These artillery weapons were quite formidable enough to reduce the Namur forts. The former threw a shell of 750 pounds from a range of three miles—beyond the reach of the Namur guns. The latter projected shells of 250 pounds. The Germans are said to have employed thirty-two of the heavier caliber guns, and a large number of 21-centimeter.
Thus Namur was doomed before the bombardment commenced. Von Bülow's left wing advanced up the Meuse north bank from Huy, some part of it crossing to the south bank at Ardenne, where it came in touch with the Saxon army.
At sundown of August 20, 1914, Von Bülow was in position before Namur, three miles from its defenses. Darkness fell upon a hot and sultry August atmosphere. Presently the flashes and boom of the German guns began a bombardment of the trenches between forts Cognelée and Marchovelette. It continued through the night. But the Belgian fortress guns were outranged. It would have been a mere waste of ammunition to reply. Neither could the Belgian infantry venture on a counterattack, for the Germans were clearly observed in overwhelming strength. At the outset the Germans devoted their efforts to clearing the trenches of the Belgian infantry, leaving the forts for subsequent demolition. The unfortunate Belgian infantry, therefore, could do nothing but fire intermittent rifle volleys, without any effect upon the Germans. They bravely bore this storm of shells for ten hours. Not a man who lifted his head above the German machine gun-swept parapets but was not instantly killed or wounded. Thus the majority of the officers were killed, and the ranks within the trenches decimated.
Toward morning on August 21, 1914, the Belgians could stand the tornado of death no longer. The demoralized troops fled from the trenches, leaving the gap between forts Cognelée and Marchovelette open. The Germans then opened fire on the forts. In comparison with the new German siege howitzers, the old-fashioned Belgian guns proved to be weak weapons. The tremendous pounding of the German shells not only smashed the fort cupolas, and crumpled into ruin the interior stone and steel protective armor, but quickly put the Belgian guns out of action. Thus while fort Maizeret received some 1,200 German shells at the speed of twenty to the minute, it was able to reply with only ten shots. Forts Marchovelette and Maizeret were the first to fall. Seventy-five men of the Marchovelette garrison were found dead amid its ruins—nearly its total complement.
French Invasion of Alsace-lorraine.
Early on Friday morning of August 21, 1914, forts Andoy, Dave, St. Héribert and Malonne were subjected to a similar furious bombardment. After three hours of the cannonade Andoy, Dave and St. Héribert surrendered. During the morning the Germans thrust a force into the southern angle of the Sambre and Meuse. Here the Belgian infantry offered a vigorous resistance. It was hoped that the French at Dinant would hasten to their relief. But Dinant was for the second time within a few days the scene of conflict. Some 6,000 French Turcos and artillery did arrive, but too late to be of use in helping to save Namur. Shells now began to drop in the city while aeroplanes flung down bombs. A thunderstorm rumbled in combination with the continuous roar of the German guns. A panic took hold of the citizens. Distracted men, women and children huddled together in spellbound terror, or sought the shelter of their cellars. The more superstitious pronounced this to be the end of all things, from the eclipse of the sun which darkened the sky. Fort Malonne succumbed sometime during the afternoon of August 21, 1914.
As at Liege, with General Leman, so in Namur General Michel foresaw the city and forts' fate was imminent. Only the northwest forts Suarlée, Emines and Cognelée held out. The Belgians and French had been defeated by the Germans in the angle of the Sambre and Meuse. The horizon revealed no sign of a French army advancing. General Michel, therefore, decided upon the evacuation of the city by the Belgian infantry. It was successfully accomplished, though even more in the nature of a flight than at Liege. But General Michel went with them, instead of remaining, like General Leman, to fight the defense of his fortress to the last.
The retreating Belgians on August 22, 1914, had some adventurous wandering before them. They had first to cut their way through a body of German troops, then to become involved with a French force near Charleroi. It took them seven days to reach Rouen by way of Amiens. There they were embarked for sea transport to Ostend. At Ostend, they joined the main Belgian army after its retreat from Antwerp.
On Sunday morning, August 23, 1914, the Germans began the bombardment of Fort Suarlée. This fort repeated the heroic resistance of Fort Boncelles at Liege. It held out until the afternoon of August 25. It was apparently then blown up by the explosion of its own magazine, thus again repeating the end of Fort Loncin at Liege. Meantime the Germans had succeeded in reducing Forts Cognelée and Emines.
The Germans entered Namur on the afternoon of August 23, 1914. There seems to have been some oversight in the plan, for the advance guard found themselves under fire of their own guns directed upon the citadel and the Grande Place. This, however, was speedily rectified. Their behavior was much the same as at Louvain and Brussels. They marched in with bands playing and singing patriotic songs. Proclamations were at once issued warning the citizens not to commit any hostile act. The inhabitants were far too cowed to contemplate anything but submission. Good discipline was preserved. The city took fire that night probably by deliberate design of the invaders. The citizens were induced to come forth from their cellars and hiding places to reopen the cafés and shops.
General von Bülow entered Namur on Monday morning August 24, 1914. He was accompanied by Field Marshal Baron von der Goltz, recently appointed Governor General of Belgium. Previous to the former Balkan War he had been employed in reorganizing the Turkish army. An onlooker in Namur thus describes the German Field Marshal:—"An elderly gentleman covered with orders, buttoned in an overcoat up to his nose, above which gleamed a pair of enormous spectacles."
General Michel attributed his defeat to the German siege guns. The fire was so continuous upon the trenches that it was impossible to hold them, and the forts simply crumpled under the storm of shells. But back of General Michel's plea the allied Intelligence Departments lacked efficiency or energy, or both, in not gaining more than a hint, at any rate, of the enormous German siege guns until they were actually thundering at the gates.[Back to Contents]
CHAPTER VIII
BATTLE OF CHARLEROI
Toward the end of the third week of August, 1914, the atmosphere of every European capital became tense with the realization that a momentous crisis was impending. It was known that the French-British armies confronted German armies of equal, if not of superior strength. In Paris and London the military critics wrote optimistically that the Germans were marching into a trap.
The British army had arrived at the front in splendid fighting trim. It was difficult to restrain the impetuous valor of the French soldiers. The skies were bright and there was confidence that the Germans would unquestionably meet with a crushing defeat. Let us glance at the line of the French and British armies stretched along the Belgian frontier. It ran from within touch of Namur up the right bank of the Sambre, through Charleroi to Binche and Mons, thence by way of the coal barge canal just within the French frontier to Condé. For the choice of a great battle ground there was nothing particularly attractive about it in a military sense.
There is evidence to show in an official communiqué from General Joffre published on August 24, 1914, that it was intended to be merely the left wing of a gigantic French battle offensive—on the adopted German plan—from Condé to Belfort. "An army," runs the communiqué, "advancing from the northern part of the Woevre and moving on Neufchâteau is attacking the German forces which have been going through the Duchy of Luxemburg and are on the right bank of the Samoy. Another army from the region of Sedan is traversing the Belgian Ardennes and attacking the German forces marching between the Lesse and the Meuse. A third army from the region of Chimay has attacked the German right between the Sambre and the Meuse. It is supported by the English army from the region of Mons."
These attacks comprised chiefly the battle of Dinant and cavalry skirmishing, but the purpose of General Joffre was otherwise made plain in throwing advance French troops across the Belgian frontier into Ligny and Gembloux on the road to a recapture of Brussels. This we have previously noted in another connection. The rout of the French army in Lorraine, however, put an end to the grand Condé-Belfort offensive.
Thus the Namur-Condé line became a main defensive position instead of an offensive left wing sweep through Belgium upon Germany. As such it was well enough—if its pivot on the fortress of Namur held secure. Liege had already proved its vulnerability, but it would seem that the French General Staff joined with General Michel, the Commander of Namur, in believing the Namur forts would give a better account. The French General Staff were informed of the approximate strength of the advancing armies of Von Kluck and Von Bülow, and had nothing to fear from inferiority in numbers. The staff never gave out the strength of their forces, but there is reason for believing the great armies were nearly equally matched after mobilization—about 1,200,000 men.
Let us now see what was developing in the Ardennes away to the French right. It has been established that woods, particularly in summer, form the best cover from the observation or attacks of airmen. The spreading, leafy boughs are difficult to penetrate visually from a height of even a few hundred feet, at least to obtain accurate information of what is transpiring beneath.
French air scouts brought in correct information that they had seen the armies of the Duke of Württemberg and crown prince massed along the southern Luxemburg and Belgian forest region. But under the foliage there was another army unseen—that of General von Hausen. The French moved their Fifth Army up to position on the line of the Sambre. They advanced their Third Army, commanded by General Ruffey, upon Luxemburg, and their Fourth Army under General de Langle de Cary across the River Semois to watch the Meuse left bank and gain touch with General Lanzerac. General de Cary came from Sedan, throwing out detachments upon the Meuse left bank. These operations were to confront the armies of the Duke of Württemberg and crown prince.
But the French apparently knew nothing of the movements of the army of General von Hausen. Their air scouts either could not distinguish it from the armies of the Duke of Württemberg and the crown prince, amid the forest of the Ardennes, or they did not observe it at all. To the army of General von Hausen there clings a good deal of mystery. When last noted by us, previous to the minor battle of Dinant, it had been formed by forces drawn from the armies of the Duke of Württemberg and crown prince. Ostensibly at that time, it was destined to support, as a separate field force, the armies of Von Kluck and Von Bülow.
Possibly the Germans had begun to doubt how long Liege could hold out. Von Kluck was compelled to mark time in his impetuous march on Central Belgium. His losses had been heavy. Support in strength seemed urgent. But this need passed as the Liege forts fell one after the other under the fire of the German siege guns. General von Hausen was released for action elsewhere. Thus we may assume, he was ordered to follow the armies of the Duke of Württemberg and crown prince down through the Ardennes to strike the Meuse south of Namur. By this time he had been substantially reenforced. Now under his command were the complete Twelfth and Nineteenth Corps, and the Eleventh Reserve Corps. Also a cavalry division of the Prussian Guard, with some other detachments of cavalry. His Eleventh Reserve Corps were Hessians, the Twelfth and Nineteenth Corps were Saxons. The latter two corps were regarded as among the best in the German army. In the Franco-Prussian War they fought with conspicuous bravery through every battle in which they were engaged. They won the battle for Prussia at Gravelotte by turning the French right and capturing St. Privat. They marched to Sedan under the crown prince—subsequently the Emperor Frederick—to occupy the first line in the hard fighting of the Givonne Valley. During the siege of Paris they occupied a part of the German northern line, finally to march in triumph into Paris. This infantry and cavalry of the Prussian Guard stiffened Von Hausen's force into an army of battle strength.
We have thus two factors to bear in mind with regard to the French defensive position at Charleroi—the resisting power of the Namur forts, and the unknown, to the French, proximity of Von Hausen's army.
However substantial was the measure of reliance that the French General Staff and General Michel placed on the Namur forts, evidently General von Bülow regarded them as little more than passing targets for his siege guns. He seemed to have made a comparatively simple mathematical calculation of almost the number of shells necessary to fire, and the hours to be consumed in reducing the Namur forts to masses of débris.
We can picture General von Bülow as he sat in the motor car with Marshal von der Goltz—the old gentleman with an overcoat buttoned up to his nose in August, and huge spectacles. Doubtless discussion ran mainly upon the impending attack of their Second Army on the French right. Emphasis would have been laid on the positions of the armies of the Duke of Württemberg and crown prince advancing away to their left upon the forces of the French Generals Ruffey and de Cary. But there was apparently a German gap here between Von Bülow's army and the armies of the Duke of Württemberg and crown prince, though we noticed previously Von Bülow's army came in touch with Saxon troops half way between Huy and Namur, when a detachment of Von Bülow's left wing was thrown across the Meuse at Ardenne. This gap was faced by the French extreme right resting on the southward Namur bend of the Meuse. It was possibly the "trap" military critics of the moment foresaw for the Germans. Quite likely the two German generals Von Bülow and Von der Goltz, chatting in their motor car, referred to this gap, and it is hardly a stretch of imagination to suggest a twinkle in the huge glasses of the old gentleman in the August overcoat, when now and then the name of Von Hausen was mentioned.
The German attack on the French right began early in the morning of Friday, August 21, 1914. A party of German hussars crossed the Meuse, rode through Charleroi, and trotted on toward the Sambre. At first they were mistaken for a British cavalry patrol. Probably the populace in Charleroi were not sufficiently familiar at that time with the British hussar uniform to distinguish it from the German. In all armies hussar uniforms bear a close resemblance. A French officer, however, presently detected the situation. After a skirmish the German hussars were driven off with the loss of a few killed and wounded. But the raid evidently came out of the gap as a surprise to the French. The citizens were promptly ordered to their homes. Barricades were raised in the streets, and mitrailleuses were placed in sweeping positions. An artillery engagement began at Jemappe, nine miles above Namur on the left bank of the Sambre, between Von Bülow's vanguard and the main French right. Later in the day Von Bülow's vanguard artillery had advanced to open fire on Charleroi and Thuin, seven miles beyond.
On Saturday, August 22, 1914, Von Bülow attacked Charleroi in full strength. As we have seen, he had already practically settled with Namur. Their main assault on Saturday was delivered on the Sambre bridges at Chatelet and Thuin, below and above Charleroi, respectively. Sometime on Saturday they succeeded in crossing to turn Charleroi into one of the most frightful street battle grounds in history. The conflict raged for the possession of iron foundries, glass works, and other factories. The thoroughfares were swept by storms of machine-gun fire. Tall chimneys toppled over and crashed to the ground, burying defenders grouped near under piles of débris. Desperate hand-to-hand encounters took place in workshops, electric-power stations, and manufacturing plants. The normal whir of machinery, now silent, was succeeded by the crack and spitting of continuous rifle fire.
The French-Turco and Zouave troops fought with savage ferocity, with gleaming eyes, using bayonets and knives to contest alleys and passageways. House doors were battered in to reach those firing from upper windows. Roofs and yard walls were scaled in chase of fleeing parties. The Germans were driven out of Charleroi several times, only to return in stronger force. Similarly with the French. With each change of victors, the losing side turned to bombard with a torrent of artillery shells the war-engulfed city.
At nightfall on August 22, 1914, Charleroi burst into flames. A dread and significant glow fell upon the sky. Absent were the usual intermittent flare of blast furnaces. The greater part of Charleroi had become a heap of ruins. Those of its citizens still alive cowered in holes or corners for shelter.
The battle of Charleroi went on throughout the night. Early on the morning of Sunday, August 23, 1914, Von Hausen swept down through the gap between the armies of Von Bülow and the Duke of Württemberg. He crossed the Meuse, drove from before him the French detachments watching it, and advanced to attack the rear of the French right.
Von Hausen took the French at Charleroi completely by surprise. At the moment they could comprehend neither where he came from nor the measure of his strength. But he was in army force.
The French were compelled to withdraw their right from Charleroi. Von Hausen seized the advantage to hurl his forces upon their rear, while Von Bülow thundered in assault more vigorously than ever on the French front. A powerful force was hurled upon them from an unexpected direction. Presently the retreat of the French Fifth Army was threatened by the two Saxon corps of Von Hausen's army, pressing on the French right flank and rear. In this emergency the retirement of the French Fifth Army appears to have been undertaken with spontaneous realization of utmost danger. It gave way before the attacks of Von Bülow and Von Hausen to move southward, leaving their British left wing without information of defeat.[Back to Contents]
CHAPTER IX
BATTLE OF MONS
On Friday, August 21, 1914, the British force began to take position on the French left, forming the line Binche-Mons-Condé. When finally concentrated it comprised the First and Second Army Corps, and General Allenby's cavalry division. The regiments forming the cavalry division were the Second Dragoon Guards, Ninth Lancers, Fourth Hussars, Sixth Dragoon Guards, with a contingent of the Household Guards. The First Army Corps was given the right of the line from Binche to Mons. It was commanded by Sir Douglas Haig. He was a cavalry officer like the commander in chief, and a comparatively young man for such a responsibility, but had seen active service with credit. His corps was comprised of six guards' battalions. The First Black Watch, Second Munster Fusiliers, The Royal Sussex, North Lancashire, Northamptons, Second King's Royal Rifles, Third West Surreys, The South Wales Borderers, Gloucesters, First Welsh Regiment, Highland Light Infantry, Connaught Rangers, Liverpools, South Staffords, Berkshires, and First King's Royal Rifles. The First Irish Guards went into action for the first time in its history.
The second corps extended from Mons to Condé, commanded by Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien. General Dorrien was a west of England man, and turning fifty-six. He had seen active service in the Zulu War, Egypt, Sudan, the Chitral Relief Force, and Tirah campaign. He had occupied the positions of adjutant general in India, commander of the Quetta division, and commander in chief at Aldershot. He was recognized as a serious military student, and possessing the approval and confidence of Lord Kitchener. The Second Corps was composed of Royal Irish Rifles, Wiltshires, South Lancashires, Worcesters, Gordons, Royal Scots, Royal Irish, Middlesex, Royal Fusiliers, Northumberland Fusiliers, Royal Scots Fusiliers, Lincolns, Yorkshire Light Infantry, West Kent, West Riding, Scottish Borderers, Manchesters, Cornwalls, East Surreys, and Suffolks. To the rear Count Gleichen commanded the Norfolks, Bedfords, Cheshires, and Dorsets. On the left of the Second Corps was stationed General Allenby's cavalry.
In passing we may note that the commander in chief of the British forces was a cavalry officer, the commander of the First Army Corps a cavalry officer, and that the cavalry was in comparatively ample force. Von Mackensen of the German force came from that branch of the service. Cavalry officers are excellent soldiers, but their training as such is not promising for the command of modern armies, mainly of infantry and artillery, with other complements. In war much has changed since Waterloo, with the value of cavalry retreating into the background as aeroplanes sweep to the front for scouting and other purposes.
From Binche to Condé the line assigned to the British was approximately twenty-five miles. Their force totaled some 75,000 men with 259 guns. General French, therefore, had 2,500 men to the mile of front. This was an insufficient force, as the usual fighting front for a battalion of a thousand men in defense or in attack is estimated in all armies at about 425 yards. The British brigade of four battalions (4,000 rifles) covers a half-mile front. General French's Third Army Corps having been utilized elsewhere, he was compelled to use his cavalry in four brigades as reserve.
Previous to the German attack on Charleroi, General Joffre still held to his plan of a left-wing attack, or rather a counterattack after the Germans were beaten. But battles were commencing on other fronts, properly belonging to the general retreat, which made its execution doubtful even in an hour of victory. The capture of Charleroi, of course, dissipated it as a dream. That General French realized the superiority in numbers of Von Kluck's advancing army both in infantry and artillery is nowhere suggested. His airmen had merely brought in the information that the attack would be in "considerable force." The French Intelligence Service were led to believe and informed the British commander that Von Kluck was advancing upon him with only one corps, or two at the most. Some of General French's cavalry scouting as far toward Brussels as Soignes, during the 21st and 22d, confirmed it. But the British proceeded to prepare for attack immediately on taking position. They set to work digging trenches.
While continuing their defensive efforts through Saturday, August 22, 1914, there floated to them a distant rumble from the eastward. Opinions differed as to whether it was the German guns bombarding Namur, or a battle in progress on the Sambre. For the most part British officers and men had but a vague idea of their position, or the progress of the fighting in the vicinity. Even the headquarters staff remained uninformed of the desperate situation developing on the French right at Charleroi.
The headquarters of the British army was at Mons. It lies within what is known as "le Borinage," that is the boring district of Belgium, the coal-mining region. In certain physical aspects it much resembles the same territory of Pennsylvania. Containing one or two larger towns such as Charleroi and Mons, it is sprinkled over with villages gathered near the coal pits. Everywhere trolley lines are to be seen running from the mines to supply the main railways and barge canals.
Formerly the people were of a rough, ignorant and poverty toiling type, but of late years have greatly improved with the introduction of organized labor and education. Previous bad conditions, however, have left their mark in a stunted and physically degenerate type of descendants from the mining population of those times. In contrast to later comers they resemble a race of dwarfs. The men seldom exceed four feet eight inches in height, the women and children appear bloodless and emaciated.
The output of the Borinage coal field exceeds twenty million tons a year. Its ungainly features of shafts, chimneys, and mounds of débris are relieved in places by woodlands, an appearance of a hilly country is presented where the pit mounds have been planted with fir trees. Apart from its mining aspect, Mons is a city of historic importance. It contains a Gothic cathedral and town hall of medieval architectural note. It also, cherishes a special yearly fête of its own on Trinity Sunday, when in the parade of the Limaçon, or snail, the spectacle of St. George and the Dragon is presented. With great pride the citizens of Mons showed the British soldiers of occupation an ancient cannon, claimed to have been used by their forefathers as an ally of the English at Crécy.
Especially east of Mons, toward Binche, the British line ran through this district. Several of the greatest European battles have been fought in its vicinity—Ramilles, Malplaquet, Jemappe, and Ligny.
The night of Saturday, August 22, 1914, passed peacefully for the British soldiers, still working on their trenches. But distant boom of guns from the east continued to vibrate to them at intervals. Of its portend they knew nothing. Doubtless as they plied the shovel they again speculated over it, wondering and possibly regretting a chance of their having been deprived of the anticipated battle.
Sunday morning, August 23, 1914, dawned brightly with no sign of the enemy. In Mons and the surrounding villages the workmen donned their usual holiday attire, women stood about their doors chatting, children played in the streets. Church bells rung as usual summoning to public worship. General French gathered his generals for an early conference. General Joffre's message on Saturday morning, assured General French of victory, and positively informed him that Von Kluck was advancing upon him with no more than one or two army corps. In testimony of it, General French thus wrote a subsequent official dispatch.
"From information I received from French headquarters, I understood that little more than one or at most two of the enemy's army corps, with perhaps one cavalry division, were in front of my position, and I was aware of no outflanking movement attempted by the enemy" (Von Hausen's advance on the right). "I was confirmed in this opinion by the fact that my patrols encountered no undue opposition in their reconnoitering operations. The observations of my aeroplanes seemed also to bear out this estimate."
To General French, therefore, his position seemed well secured. In the light of it he awaited Von Kluck's attack with confidence. Toward mid-day some German aeroplanes swept up above the woods in front, and circled over the British line. British marksmen at once fired on the bodies and hawklike wings of the intruders.
Some tense interest was roused among the men as British aeroplanes rose to encounter the German aircraft. It was the first real battle of the sky they had witnessed. General French's cavalry patrols now brought information that the woods were thick with German troops, some of them deploying eastward toward their right at Binche.
At twenty minutes to one the first shots swept from the woods upon the British line. Presently, Von Kluck's main attack developed with great rapidity. The German artillery was brought to the front edge of the woods to hurl a storm of shells on the British trenches. It was returned with equal vigor. But very soon it became apparent to British commanders along the line that the German artillery fire was in far greater volume than what might be expected from two army corps, whose normal complement would be some 340 guns. Instead it was estimated 600 German guns were shortly brought into action.
The battle field was described by the Germans as "an emptiness." The term is intended to emphasize that the old martial display and pomp has completely gone. A grand advance upon each other, with trumpets sounding, banners fluttering, brilliant uniforms, and splendid cavalry charges, was impossible with long range weapons hailing storms of bullets and shells of devastating explosive power. Cover was the all important immediate aim of both attack and defense. In this respect as we have seen, the German gray-green uniform assisted by rendering them almost invisible within shelter of such woods as those before Mons. On the other hand, the brown khaki shade of the British field uniforms—originally designed for the same purpose on the sandy wastes of Egypt and Northern India—became conspicuous upon a green background.
As the battle of Mons developed, the British line of the Condé Canal was swept with German shrapnel. German shells, also, began bursting in the suburbs of Mons and in the near-by villages. Sir Douglas Haig's right thus came under strong fire. German aeroplanes assisted by dropping smoke bombs over the British positions to give the angle of range for their artillery. Thereupon fights above took place between British and German airmen, while the armies beneath thundered shot and shell upon each other. The Germans came on in massed formation of attack. The British were accustomed to attack in open extended line, and their shooting from any available cover was generally excellent. They could not understand the German attack in such close order that they were mowed down in groups of hundreds.
The German infantry rifle fire, breaking from the shelter of the woods to encounter a stronger British fire than was anticipated, was at first ineffective. As to the mass formation they depended upon overwhelming reserves to take the places of those dead piled in heaps before the British trenches. It was General Grant's "food for powder" plan of attack repeated.
Thus the battle raged upon the entire length of the British line, with repeated advances and retreats on the part of the Germans. Now and then the bodies almost reached the British trenches, and a breach seemed in certain prospect. But the British sprang upon the invaders, bayonet in hand, and drove them back to the shelter of the woods. The Irish regiments, especially, were considered invincible in this "cold steel" method of attack, their national impulsive ardor carrying them in a fury through the ranks of an enemy. But at Mons always the Germans returned in ever greater numbers. The artillery increased the terrible rain of shells. Pen pictures by British soldiers vividly describe the battle somewhat conflictingly.
"They were in solid square blocks, standing out sharply against the skyline, and you couldn't help hitting them. It was like butting your head against a stone wall.... They crept nearer and nearer, and then our officers gave the word. A sheet of flame flickered along the line of trenches and a stream of bullets tore through the advancing mass of Germans. They seemed to stagger like a drunken man hit between the eyes, after which they made a run for us.... Halfway across the open another volley tore through their ranks, and by this time our artillery began dropping shells around them. Then an officer gave an order and they broke into open formation, rushing like mad toward the trenches on our left. Some of our men continued the volley firing, but a few of our crack shots were told off for independent firing.... They fell back in confusion, and then lay down wherever cover was available. We gave them no rest, and soon they were on the move again in flight.... This sort of thing went on through the whole day."
From another view we gather that "We were in the trenches waiting for them, but we didn't expect anything like the smashing blow that struck us. All at once, so it seemed, the sky began to rain down bullets and shells. At first they went wide ... but after a time ... they got our range and then they fairly mopped us up.... I saw many a good comrade go out."
During the early part of the battle Von Kluck directed his main attack upon the British right, with a furious artillery bombardment of Binche and Bray. This was coincident with the crumpling of the French right at Charleroi by the army of Von Bülow, and its threatened retreat by that of Von Hausen. The retirement of the French Fifth Army, therefore, left General Haig exposed to a strong flank attack by Von Kluck. Confronted with this danger, General Haig was compelled to withdraw his right to a rise of ground southward of Bray. This movement left Mons the salient of an angle between the First and Second British Army Corps. Shortly after this movement was performed, General Hamilton, in command of Mons, found himself in peril of converging German front and flank attacks. If the Germans succeeded in breaking through the British line beyond Mons, he would be cut off and surrounded. General Hamilton informed his superior, General French, of this danger, and was advised in return "to be careful not to keep the troops in the salient too long, but, if threatened seriously to draw back the center behind Mons."
A little after General French had sent General Hamilton this warning, he received a telegram from General Joffre which he describes as "a most unexpected message." General Joffre's telegram conveyed the first news to General French not only that the French Fifth Army had been defeated and was in retreat—the first intimation even that the French right at Charleroi under General Lanrezac was in peril—but that at least three German army corps were attacking the British. Doubtless the German smashing of General Joffre's planned grand counterattack, after the Germans were to be beaten, was disheartening as well as a sore disappointment.
General French possessed 75,000 men. It was now disclosed that in front Von Kluck was hurling upon him 200,000 men, Von Bülow was hammering on his right, Von Hausen in pursuit of the French threatened his rear, while some 50,000 Germans were enveloping his left. He had no option but to order a retreat.
Dealing with the combined action of the French and British in this critical period a French military writer says:
"The French armies of the center—that is to say, the Third and Fourth Armies—had as their mission the duty of attacking the German army in Belgian Luxembourg, of attempting to put it to flight and of crumpling it up against the left flank of the German main body at the north. This offensive on the part of the French center began on August 21, 1914. The Third Army (General Ruffey) followed from the east to the west the course of the Semoy, a tributary on the right of the Meuse. The Fourth Army operated between the Meuse and the Lesse. The Germans occupied the plateau which extends from Neufchâteau to Paliseul. It is uncertain territory, covered with heaths and thick woods, and lends itself poorly to the reconnaissance work of aviators or cavalry patrols. There are no targets for the artillery. The Germans had strongly fortified the ground. The infantry of the Fourth Army which hurled itself against these positions was thrown back; still fighting it fell back over the Meuse. The pursuit by the Germans was punctuated by strong counterattacks, which inflicted great losses on them. The Third Army was similarly checked in its march on Neufchâteau by the superior forces of the crown prince and was thrown back on the Semoy. Thus the offensive actions undertaken by the armies of the French center miscarried. Not only were they unable to lend their aid to the armies of the left, but they saw themselves obliged to retreat.
"The situation could only be reestablished by a victory on the part of the Fifth French Army operating in conjunction with the army of General French. This army, however, found itself in the presence of German forces of great strength, consisting of the crack corps of the German army. On the 22d the Germans at the cost of considerable losses succeeded in passing the Sambre, and General Lanrezac fell back on Beaumont-Givet, being apprehensive of the danger which threatened his right. On the 24th the British army retreated, in the face of a German attack, on to the Maubeuge-Valenciennes line. It appeared at first that the British had in front of them at most an army corps, with perhaps a corps of cavalry. They were apprised, however, about five o'clock in the evening that three army corps were advancing against them, while a fourth was marching against their left along the road from Tournai in a turning movement. General French effected his retreat during the night behind the salient of Mons. Threatened on August 24 by the strength of the whole German army, he fled backward in the direction of Maubeuge."[Back to Contents]