Capture of Hautmont, November 8
Meanwhile, at about 8 a.m., the 125th Brigade had crossed the Sambre near Pont-sur-Sambre, and a little later—the river here forming a loop northwards—had crossed again by a footbridge thrown across by the sappers near Boussières, and had approached Hautmont from the south as the 126th Brigade closed upon it from the west. Enemy shell fire was heavy, his batteries occupying forward positions and remaining in action until the infantry were close upon them. Enemy rearguards held strong positions at Fort Hautmont and Ferme de Forêt (the latter being about 800 yards south-east of the fort), and were well supplied with field artillery. The Fusiliers, however, made good progress, and by 5 p.m. the 5th L.F., on the right, were due south of Fort Hautmont and near to Ferme de Forêt, where much opposition was met from enemy machine-guns. The 7th L.F. on the left were close to the fort, threatening to envelop it from west and north, and patrols were working further north, beyond the cemetery. The 8th L.F., in close support, covered the exits from the town, formed a defensive flank facing north, and drove the Germans from the position they had held on to at the cemetery. At dusk fighting patrols worked forward and succeeded in ejecting the enemy from Fort Hautmont and Ferme de Forêt. This ended the fighting. The Fusilier Brigade had had a stiff march during the morning before coming into contact with the enemy, and their experiences of the previous day in the Mormal Forest had been anything but restful and invigorating; but their work to the south and east of Hautmont showed that “hammering the Hun” was more to their taste than any amount of rest would have been. By capturing the high ground around Hautmont on November 8, the 125th and 126th Brigades had—in the soldiers’ phrase—“broken Jerry’s heart,” and at last he was really “on the run.”
The division was now disposed with the 125th Brigade advancing towards the Maubeuge—Avesnes road, the 126th in Hautmont, and the 127th in Hargnies and Vieux Mesnil. D.H.Q. had moved to Haute Rue. At 10.45 p.m. on the 8th all three Fusilier battalions were working forward. Their losses had been comparatively slight, and at 4.40 a.m. on November 9 they occupied the final objective on the entire front.
The division on the left was still echeloned to the rear, and between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., patrols of the 7th L.F. pushed forward to Louvroil, a suburb of Maubeuge outside the Division’s boundary, and found that the enemy had withdrawn. No further infantry advance being intended on this day (November 9) the 3rd Hussars and the 4th Corps Cyclists were sent forward. They got into touch with the German rearguards on the line of the River Thure.
The nearest railhead was at Caudry, more than 30 miles in rear of Maubeuge, and delayed-action mines, cunningly hidden, and timed to explode on different days, continued to blow up the railway line and roads. The Motor Transport Company of the Divisional Train had served the Division well throughout the campaign, but now its heavy vehicles could not get through the narrow, congested, badly damaged tracks of the forest, and had to make a long detour through Bavay. Without transport it was impossible, even for British infantry, to keep up with the rapidly retiring enemy, who had the use of a thoroughly efficient railway system and undamaged roads, all of which were destroyed later by his rearguards. The horse transport of the R.A.S.C. succeeded in bringing up the absolutely essential supplies, and the Sappers and Pioneers made this possible, though they had to work and march both day and night to keep up with the rate of advance. In addition, the bridging equipment of the three field companies and of the N.Z. Engineers had to be brought as close up to the front as possible, and at the same time kept free from any serious risk of damage by shell fire, for there was no bridging park available to replace damaged pontoons. At 10 a.m. on November 9 the Divisional Engineers began to bridge the Sambre, and by 8 p.m. a girder bridge over the lock and a pontoon bridge over the river were open for traffic. While this work was in progress the Pioneer Battalion, assisted by a crowd of willing French civilians, had cleared away all the debris, including a large coal-dump, that had blocked the approaches to the bridges.
In the afternoon the divisional front was taken over by the 7th L.F., with an outpost line 1000 yards east of the Maubeuge—Avesnes road, and the other battalions were withdrawn into billets in Hautmont, where D.H.Q. was now opened. In the evening, patrols of the 7th L.F. entered Ferrière and Les Trieux—nearly two miles beyond the outpost line—and captured three trains full of munitions, a motor-lorry, and machine-guns.
Orders were received on the morning of the 10th for the Division to take over the infantry outpost line on the whole of the Corps front. This was carried out during the day, the 7th L.F. covering the front with two outpost companies and two companies in support; and the pursuit of the enemy on the Third Army’s front was taken over by the 6th Corps.
November 11, 1918
On the morning of November 11, 1918, the order was issued—
Hostilities will cease at 11 a.m. to-day. Troops will stand fast on line reached at that hour. Defensive precautions will be maintained. There will be no intercourse of any description with the enemy.