The German Retreat on the Western Front, March 18, 1917.
The capture of Bapaume, that quaint Picardy town which the Germans had transformed into an almost impregnable stronghold and fortress, was a special cause for rejoicing by the British troops. It was a prize they had longed for through many weary months. There was no waving of flags or beating of drums when the British patrols entered the town, for there was stiff fighting ahead, and the place was filled with underground strongholds. Soon the welcome message came over the wire that all the enemy rear guard had been accounted for, and the British were free to survey their new acquisition. Fires were smoldering in many parts and not a house was left intact. Shells had wrought a great deal of the ruin, but it was evident that many of the buildings had been dynamited. The statue of General Louis Faldeherbe, who defended Bapaume against the Germans in 1870, was missing, and had evidently been carried off by the kaiser's troops.
The defensive works around Bapaume were of the most elaborate description, and the highest ingenuity had been employed in making the place impregnable. In addition to a splendid trench system forming a network around the place, there were acres of barbed wire stretched upon iron posts firmly planted in the earth, and intricate systems of wires spread over the ground to hamper an enemy attack. In addition to strong redoubts at different points fitted up with every defensive device, the cellars under the houses had been consolidated in many places, forming great underground galleries that could shelter thousands of German troops.
The British were not permitted to occupy Bapaume in peace, for while the enemy could no longer be seen, he was heard from constantly and destructively. All day long and during the night the town was shelled and great damage was wrought in such sections which the enemy had registered before leaving.
The German forces were still retiring, hastened on their way by the British troops, who were pressing them closely. From captured Germans it was learned that fresh divisions, including one that had fought in Rumania, had been thrown in as a screen to shield the retiring troops.
The Germans had devised so many traps to catch the Allies and delay the pursuit that the advance was necessarily slow. The French found less opposition than the British, and were able to push forward more rapidly, covering twenty-two miles in the three days since the retirement began. Over 120 towns and villages were recovered by the French alone. The joy of the inhabitants who had been for thirty-two months in the hands of the Germans was a deeply moving spectacle. Every French soldier was embraced amid smiles and tears. Many of the women declared that they owed their own lives as well as the lives of their children to American relief in the occupied territory.
The mayors, assistant mayors, and other officials of Candor and Lagny had been carried off by the Germans, but owing to the rapidity of retirement many women and children had been left behind. All over thirteen were compelled to work without payment. Boys were driven to dig ditches or small trenches for telephone wires under fire. Those who refused for religious reasons to work on Sunday were fined. The Germans had closed all schools during their occupation of the French towns. The destruction of property was carried out in the most thorough fashion and according to systematized plans. Captured orders on the subject directed the blowing up of houses, wells, and cellars except those held by rear-guard outposts. Farm implements were burned and destroyed. Orders were given to collect filth in the neighborhood of wells to contaminate the water. All the fruit trees with rare exception in the evacuated territory were girdled or otherwise killed.
The use of cavalry by the French and British seemed to have taken the Germans by surprise and interfered with their plans. In one village they were forced to hurriedly depart without touching the supper which was laid out on the table. In other places the Allies found newly opened boxes of explosives with which the Germans had planned to destroy the villages before leaving.
The famous castle and stone village of Coucy-le-Château on the road from Paris to Namur, and one of the show places of the Laon region, were reduced to ruins. The village and castle date back to the thirteenth century and were regarded by art critics as architectural gems of medieval France. The castle had been spared from destruction during the French Revolution, and millions had been expended since on its preservation. This splendid monument of feudal Europe is no more.
The German retreat was continued more slowly on March 19, 1917, when all northern France was swept by fierce equinoctial gales, and rain squalls were frequent in the battle area. Despite weather conditions, which hampered military operations, the British troops made good progress, and on the 20th held the line of the Somme in strength from Péronne southward to Canizy. British patrols were active as far east as Mons-en-Chaussée, and in several sectors between Bapaume and Arras British cavalry were engaged in skirmishes with the enemy.