An account of the French operations on Saturday, August 22, was printed in La Liberté from the description of a railway official on the Belgian frontier. The official said:—
It was on Saturday, towards nightfall, that we heard the first sound of the cannon. We had known, however, for several hours that strong German forces were preparing to attack the allied armies massed on the banks of the Sambre, and that a great battle was imminent. All night long, without cessation, the cannonading continued. Till dawn we had no news of the battle. On Sunday morning we learned from wounded soldiers on their way to Maubeuge that the battle was engaged all along the line, and shortly afterwards we heard the sound of heavy firing to the north. From noon onwards we could distinctly see the flight of shrapnel through the air, and from the top of the motor-house, situated on rising ground, could follow the phases of the artillery duel.
We soon saw that the Germans’ fire was badly directed. They rarely hit their mark. On the other hand, the English artillery fire, which held the heights round Mons, was admirable in its precision, and wrought terrible loss among the massed German troops. We remained all Sunday night on our observatory, and at dawn we had the conviction that the English very definitely had the upper hand, and that the German attack had been repulsed.
However, the news which reached us during the evening from environs of Charleroi was anything but good. It was said that the town had been taken and retaken several times, and had been subjected to a terrible bombardment, which had reduced it practically to ruins. At two o’clock on Monday morning a cyclist messenger informed us that the French had once more occupied the town. He said that the Germans before leaving it had set it on fire, and that the French troops would find it difficult to maintain their position there. In any case, the cannonade became louder during the night, and at daybreak shells were bursting within a quarter of a mile of the station.
Later in the morning of Monday we received orders to evacuate the station, which was now becoming untenable. We were told that, the French having been outnumbered on the east of Charleroi, the allied troops had been compelled to retire on the frontier. When we were leaving the station and getting into the carriage, we heard the sound of joyous shouts from the road. We went out to see what had happened, and to our stupefaction saw a detachment of seven Uhlans commanded by an officer. The inhabitants, unfamiliar with foreign uniforms, had taken them for English cavalry. The error was soon discovered. A French captain on service in the station shot the German officer through the head, and a patrol of mounted Chasseurs rode up and took the men prisoners.
The defence of Charleroi by the French against the overwhelming hosts of the Germans was a marvel of audacity and courage.
Two inhabitants of Auvelais, a straggling village with a population of about 8,000, situated between Charleroi and Namur, gave the following account of what they have witnessed:—Our village (they said) occupies both banks of the Sambre, the portion on the left bank being divided into two by the main road leading from Genappe to Eghezée. Since Sunday week German aeroplanes have been flying over the country, and one was pursued, though unsuccessfully, by a French machine. Many French troops passed and were received with enthusiasm. On Thursday evening, August 20, a patrol of Uhlans suddenly appeared on the road. The French horsemen were in their saddles at once, and left the village at full gallop, their swords flashing in the air. They overtook the Uhlans at Balatre, and attacked them, killing six and returning without any loss to themselves.
At eight o’clock next morning firing began. The Germans advanced by the main road, literally crawling along the ground, and stopping now and then to fire. Just at this time a German aeroplane dropped a bomb on a factory, but without doing any damage. By ten o’clock the firing on both sides was terrific. From where we were we saw six French soldiers fall. Suddenly the French artillery came into action, and until midday the guns fired continuously with terrible effect. On the other hand, a German shell, which struck the roof of a house opposite us, rolled into the road without exploding, and we saw many others which also failed to explode. The Germans took shelter in the houses on the left bank, and the French infantry were ordered to retire in order that the artillery might dislodge the enemy.
In five minutes everything was burning. Other Germans came through the woods and entered the town, where they behaved like madmen. They smashed in doors with their rifle butts and threw special burning cartridges into the houses. We were warned that it was time for us to escape, but we saw some terrible scenes. A woman who had forgotten to bring some clothing for her baby, and who returned to obtain it, was seized by the Germans. They made her march before them, and at the end of about 200 yards killed her. The French, though inferior in numbers, resisted splendidly, and the Germans were compelled to halt.
The artillery duel was then resumed. Everything round our house was burning furiously, and we had to abandon all. When we arrived at Esau the soldiers made us crawl along the edge of a wood. The bullets were whistling above us, and of the forty people in our party only three dared to pass. At Chatelet we met strong bodies of French troops, and at eight in the evening we left for Charleroi.
The fighting, however, had spread, and we had to go further. At 8.30 the last train left. A German aeroplane dropped a bomb within twenty yards of us, and though all the glass in the station was broken, no one was hurt. We thought we might reach Mons, but there was fighting there, and we were taken to the frontier and thence to Paris.
A criticism came from a wounded gunner. “If we lose many men,” he said, “it is the fault of the infantry. They go ahead too quickly, and end by interfering with our fire.”
A French Zouave officer, who returned wounded from the front, related the following. His regiment took part in the fighting round Charleroi when the Prussian Guard Regiments suffered so severely.
Describing the effect of the German artillery, the officer said that the shells when they burst produce a series of terrific explosions, but do comparatively little damage. The soldiers quickly perceiving their chief characteristic is noise soon get accustomed to them. One man who was struck in the back by a splinter of shell was merely bruised.
On the other hand the French artillery fire had a deadly effect. Its accuracy was little short of marvellous. For instance, he saw a German battery appearing in the distance, and even before it could unlimber it was destroyed by the French fire.
The ravages caused by the French artillery were enormous. Whole ranks of infantry were mown down by the shrapnel, some of those shot dead remaining standing owing to the numbers of bodies accumulated round them.
The officer estimated the German casualties during three days of fighting at between 50,000 and 60,000, far exceeding the French losses. He confirmed acts of untold cruelty perpetrated by the Germans. The French soldiers were enraged by their practice of finishing off the wounded. One officer, severely wounded while his regiment was retreating, was so convinced of the fate in store for him that he blew his brains out.
The Germans seemed to delight in wanton destruction. At nightfall their lines were lit up by burning villages on the horizon.