The fighting around Messines on the 31st had been equally severe. On the 30th the 26th Infantry Division under Duke William of Urach had already got its patrols up to the edge of the village, but before any assault could be made an artillery preparation was required, especially against the northern sector. On the morning of the 31st October our howitzers and trench-mortars bombarded the enemy in his trenches, and by 10.30 A.M. the moment had arrived for the Würtemburg troops to advance.
The 122nd Fusilier Regiment was to attack the ridge north of Messines, along which runs the road to Wytschaete, whilst the 125th Infantry Regiment was to advance against Messines itself, and the 119th Grenadier Regiment against the enemy’s trenches immediately south of it. The hostile position was so strong that a force greatly inferior in strength would be able to hold it against an attack coming up from the valley. Bare sloping ground lay in front of it, and only a few hedges limited the field of view, so that every advance and assembly position for miles round could be seen. A strong British garrison held Messines: the trenches had been well made, and were covered by a continuous and broad system of obstacles.[80]
The way in which the Swabian troops[81] broke down the enemy’s resistance was indeed a masterpiece. Neither the enemy’s artillery fire, which imperilled the advance of the reserves, nor the British machine-guns, a large number of which enfiladed the attack from the south, could restrain the dash of the Würtemburg troops. At 11 A.M. the 125th Stuttgart Infantry Regiment had got possession of the north-east corner of Messines. The road entering the village from Gapaard was blocked by a barricade; and after storming it, another one, a hundred yards further inside the village, closed the way. The streets could not be used for our advance, being choked with debris, and under heavy rifle and machine-gun fire, so the attackers had to make their way through or over the walls. There are a number of large, well-built houses in Messines, which the enemy had turned into a succession of strongholds, but they were rapidly blown up by our sappers. The convent looked especially impregnable with its walls a yard thick, and strong towers from which machine-guns and rifles fired frantically. Captain Heinrich’s Würtemburg battery of the 65th Field Artillery Regiment was therefore brought up, the men dragging the guns through the streets, as horses could not move along them, and the infantry carrying up the ammunition. The convent was soon in flames, burying its stubborn defenders under its ruins. Lieutenant Mösner of the 125th Infantry Regiment, following a narrow footpath through gardens and backyards, was the first to make an entry into the market-square. With a few stout-hearted followers he occupied a large building there which he defended without any support till the evening against great odds. Not until nightfall were others of his regiment able to reach him, and secure the position he had held so courageously. This day of street fighting had cost very dear, and our casualty list was a large one. A part of the 122nd Fusilier Regiment fighting north of Messines had also had to be directed on to the village, and by the evening a continuous line had been successfully formed through the centre of it. Isolated fighting continued throughout the night, and in order to keep up communication amidst the ruins and recognise one another in the dark, the Würtemburg troops sang folk-songs. The chorus of voices mixed with the rattle of machine-guns, the roar of artillery in the streets, and the crackle of the burning and falling houses, all combined to make a magnificent and unsurpassed piece of battle-music.
North of the village the left wing of the 122nd Infantry Regiment established itself on the Messines-Wytschaete road: but its right wing was unable to capture the high ground, as Wytschaete itself was still in British hands. The 119th Grenadiers suffered severely: the progress of the other regiment of their brigade, the 125th Infantry Regiment, had roused their ambition, but a heavy enfilade fire swept their ranks from the south where the Cavalry Corps were still unable to advance. They were compelled by heavy losses to be content with the task of securing the left flank of their division.
On the evening of the 31st the gallant attackers were rewarded for their deeds of immortal fame by a message of warm praise from the Emperor.
The final objective, however, had not yet been attained, although in the south the high ground had been reached and artillery observers sent forward there, so that the enemy’s positions could be accurately ranged on right up to Mount Kemmel. The main pressure of the attack would therefore have to be continued here, on the left wing of the Army Group Fabeck.
During the 1st November the 3rd Infantry Division arrived in the area Comines-Warneton, north of the Lys, as reserve to the Army Group.