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diff --git a/46210-8.txt b/46210-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 75a8a65..0000000 --- a/46210-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1598 +0,0 @@ - THE RETREAT FROM MONS - - - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost -no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - - - -Title: The Retreat from Mons -Author: Anonymous -Release Date: July 07, 2014 [EBook #46210] -Language: English -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RETREAT FROM MONS *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines. - - - - - - _*The Operations of the British - Army in the Present War*_ - - - - *THE RETREAT - FROM MONS* - - - WITH A PREFACE BY - FIELD MARSHAL LORD FRENCH - - - - BOSTON AND NEW YORK - HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY - The Riverside Press Cambridge - 1917 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - - - _Published July 1917_ - - - - - *PREFACE* - - -I am told that it has been thought advisable to publish short accounts -in pamphlet form of prominent and important operations which have been -carried on during the course of the war which is still raging. - -Such war stories may undoubtedly be beneficial, and in the belief that -such "propaganda" is productive of more good than harm I have consented -to indite this very brief preface to _The Retreat from Mons_. - -Any hesitation I may have felt arises from my profound conviction that -no history of a war or any part of a war can be worth anything until -some period after peace has been made and the full facts are known and -understood. - -This pamphlet however, is not so much a "history" as an interesting -summary or a chronology of leading events, and the writer carefully -avoids according praise or blame in connection with any event or group -of events which can ever become the subject of controversy. - -In a Preface to so brief and so unpretentious a military work as this, -it is impossible to put before the reader more than a glimpse of the -situation in regard to which plans had to be conceived and put into -execution as suddenly and speedily as the demand for them was -unexpected. - -That it is the "unexpected" which generally happens in war, and that it -is the "unexpected" for which we must be ever ready, has of late years -been deeply instilled in the mind of the British officer. A cardinal -axiom in his military creed is that he must never be taken by surprise. - -When, therefore, the Germans, on the same principle as they subsequently -used poison-gas, sank hospital ships, and disregarded every known rule -of civilized war, suddenly and quite unexpectedly overran a neutral -country in such a drastic manner as to nullify all preconceived plans -and possibilities, and the British Army found itself on the outer flank -of the threatened line exposed to the full weight of the German menace, -it was this previous careful training which formed the sure foundation -upon which to plan and conduct the inevitable retreat and carry it to a -successful conclusion. - -When men are told to retire without fighting, when they see no reason -for it, when they remain full of ardour and longing to get at the enemy, -and are not allowed to, demoralization is very apt to be the result. -Why was such a feature of the Retreat conspicuous by its complete -non-existence? Because of another result of British military training, -namely, the absolute confidence of the men in their leaders and officers -and the wonderful mutual understanding which existed between them. - -The magnificent spirit which animated the British Expeditionary Force -was seen at every phase of these operations; in the skilful handling and -moral superiority of the cavalry which covered the Retreat; in the able -conduct by the respective leaders of the several battles and encounters -which local circumstances rendered necessary; and lastly, in the -extraordinary marching powers and capability of endurance which animated -all ranks. - -Controversies loud and bitter will certainly rage in regard to all the -dispositions and plans under which this war has been conducted; as to -the operations of the first three weeks, perhaps, more than as to those -of any other period. But I venture to hope and believe that no sane -person can dispute in the smallest particular the claims which I make in -this very short Preface on behalf of the forces which it is the great -pride and glory of my life to have commanded. - - -FRENCH _F.M._ - -WHITEHALL - _April_ 23, 1917. - - - - - *The Operations of the British - Army in the Present War* - - - - *INTRODUCTORY* - - -The first quality of British military operations in the present war--and -so it will strike the future historian--is their astonishing variety and -range. Beginning on the ancient battlefields of France and Flanders, -they have spread, in a series of expanding and apparently inevitable -waves, over a good part of three continents, so that, wherever the enemy -was to be found,--whether in Europe, or Asia, or Africa, or in the -islands of the high seas,--there also, sooner or later, were the British -arms. There was a time when one or two campaigns were thought amply -sufficient for the military energies of the most warlike nation. We have -never pretended to be warlike, meeting our emergencies always, with a -certain reluctance, as they arose; but in the present war we have seldom -had fewer than six considerable campaigns on our hands at one time, and -these in areas separated often by thousands of miles from one another -and from us. It is one of the obligations of a great empire at war that -it should be so; it is one of the privileges of a great maritime empire -that it should be possible. It is undoubtedly the grand characteristic -of the operations of the British Army in this war, and gives the only -true perspective of our military effort in the field. To our share in -the Allied front must always be added the fighting frontiers of the -Empire. - -The British Army, now grown out of all recognition, was small, and known -to be small, when the war began. It was a voluntary army, numbering -approximately 700,000 men, of whom about 450,000 (including reservists) -were trained soldiers, liable for service abroad, and the remainder, a -half-trained Territorial Force, enrolled for service at home. Besides -being small, it was, from the nature of its duties, widely scattered. -Over 100,000 of our best troops were serving at the time in India or on -foreign stations. For all purposes, therefore, when war broke out, we -had in this country a mobilizable army of something under 600,000 -trained and half-trained men, 250,000 of whom were liable only for -service at home. The striking or Expeditionary Force of this army was a -fully equipped and highly professional body of six infantry divisions -and one division of cavalry, and with this force we entered the war. -Intended primarily, as its name implied, for protective or punitive -operations within the Empire, it was on a scale proportionate to its -purpose and to the size of our army. Our army, judged by a European -standard, being small, our Expeditionary Force, judged by that standard, -was diminutive; and the chief problem which confronted the Government, -when it was decided to send this force to France, was how to support and -supplement it. The story of how this problem was faced and overcome, of -how "Home Service" men became "Foreign Service" in a day, and our little -army of 700,000, by a gigantic effort of British determination and -Imperial good-will, was expanded into an army of millions--all this is a -separate narrative, to be related elsewhere; but we cannot afford to -overlook it as we follow the fortunes of the Expeditionary Force in -France and Flanders. It is the military background of all their -triumphs and vicissitudes, and had an effect upon the tone of the war -almost from the first. Even to our Expeditionary Force itself, with all -its cheerful self-confidence and efficiency, it meant something to know -that the country was in earnest; that as early as August 23, while they -were still fighting among the coal-pits of Mons, the first 100,000 -volunteers had been enrolled, and were already deep in the mysteries of -forming fours. - - - - - *THE RETREAT FROM MONS* - - -When a country goes to war the first test of its military efficiency is -the mobilization of its army. This is a stage in the history of wars -which the public is apt to overlook, because the arrangements are -necessarily secret and complex, and are carried out in that first hush -which precedes _communiqués_ and great conflicts in the field. It is -nevertheless true that every war starts in the Department of the -Quartermaster General, and that by the nature of this start the issue of -a war may be decided. We started well. From August 5, when -mobilization began,--in spite of bank holidays and Territorials _en -route_ for summer camps,--the whole scheme of concentration and despatch -was carried out almost exactly to schedule, and without a hitch. It is -calculated that, during the busiest period, the railway companies, now -under Government control and brilliantly directed by an executive -committee of general managers, were able to run as many as eighteen -hundred special trains in five days, an average of three hundred and -sixty trains a day, and all up to time. The concentration of the Home -Forces and of the Expeditionary Force proceeded concurrently. On August -9 the first elements of the Force embarked, and nine days later the -greater part of it had been landed in France, and was moving by way of -Amiens to its unknown fortunes. The smoothness, rapidity, above all the -secrecy with which the transportation was carried out, made a great -impression at the time, and will always be admired. The question of how -it was done excited, characteristically enough, less interest. We are a -people accustomed to happy improvisations, and it was generally assumed -that this national talent had once more come to our rescue; the truth -being that in these matters improvisation can seldom be happy, and that -for instant and complete success the only method is long and careful -preparation in time of peace. For several years the military, naval, -and civilian authorities concerned had been engaged upon such a scheme -of preparation, and had, indeed, concluded their labours not many months -before war broke out. When the day came all railway and naval transport -officers were at their posts, and the Railway Executive Committee, in -its offices in Parliament Street, was calmly carrying out a time-table -with every detail of which it had long been familiar. Such perfect -preparedness is rare in our history, and worthy of note. Amidst the -vast unreadiness of the nation for war the despatch of the Expeditionary -Force, and the magnificent readiness of the fleet which made it -possible, stand out in grand relief, not to be lost sight of or -forgotten. - -The Expeditionary Force was commanded by Field Marshal Sir John French, -and consisted, up to August 23, of four complete divisions of infantry -(the First, Second, Third, and Fifth) and five brigades of cavalry; that -is to say, about 80,000 men. On August 24 it was joined by the -Nineteenth Infantry Brigade, which added 4000 more; and on August 25 by -the Fourth Division, which added another 17,000. Our total strength, -therefore, during the fighting at Mons and in the Retreat, varied from -80,000 to a little over 100,000 men. It was a small force, but of a -quality rarely seen. No finer fighting unit ever entered the field. In -physique and equipment, in professional training and experience of war, -in that quality of skilful and cheerful tenacity against odds which -distinguishes the veteran, it was probably unrivalled by any body of -troops of its time. The French, who gave our men a warm welcome, dwell -always on their youth and good spirits, their wonderful cleanness and -healthiness, the excellence of their equipment, and their universal -courtesy. - -"À Argenteuil-Triage," writes a French infantryman who fought in the -Retreat and on the Marne, "nous croisons un train de fantassins anglais; -figures rasées, ouvertes, enfantines, riant de toutes leurs dents. Ils -sont reluisants de propreté. Nous nous acclamons réciproquement." -(Sept. 2/14: Garnet de Route; Roujons.) - -At Bucy-le-long the French relieve the English. It is a matter of -outposts. "De deux cents mètres en deux cents mètres, un groupe de six -Anglais est couché à plat ventre dans les betteraves, en bordure d'un -chemin. Ils se dressent et nous allons prendre leurs places en admirant -ces beaux soldats, bien équipés, silencieux, et qui ont des -couvertures." (_Ibid._, Oct. 6/14.) - -Such opinions were worth much. For though it is a great thing to be -welcomed, as our men were welcomed, by a whole people, to have the -hearty professional approval of its soldiers is a greater thing still. - -The Expeditionary Force, thus landed in France, was organized in two -army corps--the First, consisting of the First and Second Divisions, -under Lieutenant-General Sir Douglas Haig; the second, consisting of the -Third and Fifth Divisions, under Lieutenant-General Sir James Grierson, -who was succeeded, on his sudden and much lamented death, by General Sir -Horace Smith-Dorrien. General Allenby commanded the cavalry division, -consisting of the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Cavalry Brigades, and -the Fifth Cavalry Brigade was commanded independently by -Brigadier-General Sir Philip Chetwode. By the evening of Friday, August -21, the concentration was practically complete, and during Saturday the -22d the Force moved up to its position on the left or western extremity -of the French line. (Plan 1.) - -The general situation in this region, as it was known at the moment to -the leaders of the Allies, may be briefly stated. It was at last plain, -after much uncertainty, that the first great shock and collision of -forces was destined to take place in this northern area. It was plain, -also, that Belgium, for some time to come, was out of the scheme. Liège -had fallen, and with it how many hopes and predictions of the engineer! -Brussels was occupied; and the Belgian field army was retiring to -shelter under the ramparts of Antwerp. Except for Namur, there was -nothing in Belgium north of the Allied line to stop the German advance. -Von Kluck and Von Buelow, with the First and Second German Armies, were -marching without opposition towards the French frontier--Von Kluck -towards the south-west and Von Buelow towards the crossings of the -Sambre. By the evening of the 20th, Von Buelow's guns were bombarding -Namur. So much was known to the leaders of the Allies: of the strength -of the advancing armies they knew little. - -To oppose these two armies--for of the seven German armies already in -position we shall consider only these two--the Allies were disposed as -follows: Directly in the route of Von Buelow's army, should he pass -Namur, lay the Fifth French Army, under General Lanrezac, with its left -resting on the river Sambre at Charleroi, and its right in the fork of -the Meuse and the Sambre. This army, it should be noted, made a -junction in the river fork with another French Army, the Fourth, under -General Ruffey, which lay off to the south along the Middle Meuse, -watching the Ardennes. On the left of the Fifth French Army, along a -line presently to be defined, lay the British Expeditionary Force, -facing, as it seemed, with equal directness, the line of advance of the -army of Von Kluck. Subsidiary to the Fifth French Army and the British -Force were two formations, available for support: a cavalry corps of -three divisions under General Sordet, stationed to the south of -Maubeuge, and, out to the west, with its base at Arras, a corps of two -reserve divisions under General D'Amade. Both these formations will be -heard of during the subsequent operations, and it is important to remark -that General D'Amade's two divisions were at this time, and throughout -the first days of the fighting, the only considerable body of Allied -troops in the eighty miles of territory between the British and the sea. - -The line occupied by the British ran due east from the neighbourhood of -Condé along the straight of the Condé-Mons Canal, round the loop which -the canal makes north of Mons, and then, with a break, patrolled by -cavalry, turned back at almost a right angle towards the southeast of -the direction of the Mons-Beaumont road. The whole of the canal line, -including the loop round Mons,--a front of nearly twenty miles,--was -held by the Second Army Corps, and the First Army Corps lay off to its -right, holding the southeastern line to a point about nine miles from -Mons. There being no infantry reserves available in this small force, -General Allenby's cavalry division was employed to act on the flank or -in support of any threatened part of the line. The forward -reconnaissance was entrusted to the Fifth Cavalry Brigade, assisted by -some squadrons from General Allenby's division, and some of its -detachments penetrated as far north as Soignies, nine miles on the way -to Brussels. In the occasional encounters which took place with the -enemy's Uhlans, to the north and east, our cavalry had always the best -of it; then, as always in this war, when the opportunity has occurred, -mounted or dismounted, they have proved themselves the better arm. -Their reconnaissance was more than supplemented by four squadrons of the -Royal Flying Corps under the direction of Major-General Sir David -Henderson. - -Throughout the Saturday our men entrenched themselves, the -North-Countrymen among them finding in the chimney-stacks and slag-heaps -of this mining district much to remind them of home. The line they held -was clearly not an easy line to defend. No salient ever is, and a -glance at the map will show that this was no common salient. To the -sharp apex of Mons was added, as an aggravation, the loop of the canal. -It was nevertheless the best line available, and, once adopted, had been -occupied with that double view both to defence and to attack which a -good commander has always before him. The first object, when an enemy of -unknown strength attacks, is to hold him and gain time; the line of the -canal supplies just the obstacle required; it was therefore held, in -spite of the salient, and arrangements made for a withdrawal of the -Second Corps should the salient become untenable. If, on the other -hand, the enemy should be beaten back, the Second Corps, pivoting -northeast on Mons, could cross the canal and move forward in line with -the First Corps, already in position for such an advance. If, -finally,--for a commander, like a good parent, must provide for -everything,--a general retirement should become necessary, the British -Commander-in-Chief had decided to rest his right flank on Maubeuge, -twelve miles south of Mons: and here was his First Corps ready for it, -clustered about the roads that lead towards Maubeuge, and able, from -this advantage, to cover the retirement of the Second Corps, which had -fewer facilities in this way, and would have farther to travel. -Tactically the arrangements were as good as could be made. - -When we come to the strength and direction of the enemy's attack, we are -on more doubtful ground. His strength on the British front was -estimated at the time, according to all the available information, both -French and English, to be at most two army corps, with perhaps one -cavalry division, which would have made an equal battle; and it was not -unnaturally supposed that he would attack in the general direction of -his advance; that is, from the northeast. From an attack in this -strength and from this direction we had nothing to fear. As it turned -out, however, both the estimate of strength and the supposition of -direction were inaccurate. The enemy, making full use of the wooded -country in these parts, which gave excellent concealment, and strong -enough to throw his forces wide, was, as we shall see, engaged on -something much more ambitious; a movement which, had it succeeded (as -against any other troops it might well have succeeded), would have -brought disaster on the whole Allied army. - -At what hour precisely the Germans began their attack on the Mons -position is uncertain. Some say at dawn, others just after noon. What -is certain is that between 12 and 1 P.M. on Sunday the 23d, some of the -men of the Royal West Kents, in support on the outskirts of Mons, were -having a sing-song and watching the people home from church, and, -feeling quite at their ease, had sent their shirts and socks out to -wash, for all the world as if on manoeuvres. It is an interesting -little scene, and one which would have seemed incomprehensible to the -Germans, who by this time pictured our little army cowering in its -positions. The abruptness with which the scene changed is no less -characteristic. When it was reported that the enemy had turned up "at -last" and that "A" company was hard-pressed at the canal, there was no -more thought of sing-songs nor even of the dinner "which the orderlies -had just gone to fetch"; socks and shirts appeared as if by miracle; and -when the "fall-in" went, every man was there, equipped and ready for -anything. It is an ordinary incident, and for that reason important; in -any institution, whether it be an army or a household, it is the -ordinary incidents that count. It is typical of the spirit of an army -which has puzzled many even of its admirers by its strange combination -of qualities: boyish ease and hilarity coupled with manly fortitude and -discipline, and a most perfect and unassailable confidence in its -weapons, its leaders, and itself. - -The attack had most certainly begun; and it began, as was expected, at -the weakest and most critical point of the line, the canal loop, which -was held by the Third Division. This division had the heaviest share of -the fighting throughout the day, maintaining, longer than seemed humanly -possible, a hopeless position against hopeless odds, the Second Royal -Irish and Fourth Middlesex of the Eighth Brigade, and the Fourth Royal -Fusiliers of the Ninth Brigade, particularly distinguishing themselves. -The bridges over the canal, which our men held, after some preliminary -shelling, were attacked by infantry debouching from the low woods which -at this point came down to within three hundred or four hundred yards of -the canal. These woods were of great assistance to the enemy, both here -and at other points of the canal, in providing cover for their infantry -and machine-guns. The odds were very heavy. One company of the Royal -Fusiliers, holding the Nimy Bridge, was attacked at one time by as many -as four battalions. The enemy at first came on in masses, and suffered -severely in consequence. It was their first experience of the British -"fifteen rounds a minute," and it told. They went down in bundles--our -men delighting in a form of musketry never contemplated in the -Regulations. To men accustomed to hitting bobbing heads at eight -hundred yards there was something monstrous and incredible in the German -advance. They could scarcely believe their eyes; such targets had never -appeared to them even in their dreams. Nor were our machine-guns idle. -In this, as in many other actions that day and in the days that -followed, our machine-guns were handled with a skill and devotion which -no one appreciated more than the enemy. Two of the first Victoria -Crosses of the war were won by machine-gunners in this action of the -bridges: Lieutenant Dease, of the Royal Fusiliers, who, though five -times wounded,--and, as it turned out, mortally wounded,--continued to -work his gun on the Nimy Bridge until the order came for retirement, and -he was carried off; and Private Godley, of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, -who, lower down the loop, at the Ghlin Bridge, in the face of repeated -assaults, kept his gun in action throughout. - -The attack had now spread along the whole line of the canal; but except -at the loop the enemy could make no impression. There, however, numbers -told at last, and about the middle of the afternoon the Third Division -was ordered to retire from the salient, and the Fifth Division on its -left directed to conform. Bridges were blown up--the Royal Engineers -vying with the other services in the race for glory: and by the night of -the 23d, after various vicissitudes, the Second Army Corps had fallen -back as far as the line Montreuil-Wasmes-Paturages-Frameries. That the -retirement, though successful, was expensive, is not to be wondered at, -when it is remembered that throughout this action, as we now know, the -Second Army Corps was outnumbered by three to one. All ranks, however, -were in excellent spirits. Allowing for handicaps, they felt that they -had proved themselves the better men. - -It was a feeling which was to be severely tried in the next few days. At -5 P.M. on Sunday the 23d, as the Second Corps was withdrawing from the -canal, the British Commander-in-Chief received a most unexpected -telegraph from General Joffre, the Generalissimo of the Allied armies, -to the effect that at least three German army corps were moving against -the British front, and that a fourth corps was endeavouring to outflank -him from the west. He was also informed that the Germans had on the -previous day captured the crossings of the Sambre between Charleroi and -Namur, and that the French on his right were retiring. In other words, -Namur, the defensive pivot of the Anglo-French line, on the resistance -of which--if only for a few days--the Allied strategy had depended, had -fallen almost at a blow. By Saturday the Germans had left Namur behind, -and in numbers far exceeding French predictions had seized the crossings -of the Sambre and Middle Meuse and were hammering at the junction of the -Fifth and Fourth French Armies in the river-fork. The junction was -pierced, and the French, unexpectedly and overwhelmingly assaulted both -in front and flank, could do nothing but retire. By 5 P.M. on the -Sunday, when the message was received at British Headquarters, the -French had been retiring for anywhere from ten to twelve hours. The -British Army was for the moment isolated. Standing forward a day's -march from the French on its right, faced and engaged by three German -corps in front, and already threatened by a fourth corps on its left, it -seemed a force marked out for destruction. - -In the British Higher Command, however, there was no flurry. There is a -thing called British phlegm. - -The facts of the case, though unwelcome, were laconically accepted. -Over General Headquarters brooded a clubroom calm. Airmen were sent up -to confirm the French report, in the usual manner, and arrangements were -quietly and methodically made for a retirement towards the prearranged -Maubeuge-Valenciennes line. The hard-pressed Second Corps, which had -farther to march, was the first to move. Early on the 24th it was -marching south towards Dour and Quarouble, covered by the First Corps, -which had been much less taxed, and was favourably placed to threaten -the German left. This covering demonstration was well carried out by -the Second Division, supported by the massed artillery of the corps. -The retirement of the Second Corps, however, even with this assistance, -was not made without much difficulty. By the night of the 23d the enemy -were already crossing the canal, and pouring down on the villages to the -south. Several rear-guard actions were fought here on the morning of the -24th, in which infantry and artillery equally distinguished themselves -at Wasmes with notable success and much loss to the enemy; but, as every -hour passed, the intention of the enemy to outflank from the northwest -became more evident. Desperate fighting took place, the First Norfolks, -First Cheshires, and One Hundred and Nineteenth Battery, R.F.A., -detached as a flank guard under Colonel Ballard, of the Norfolks, -holding the ridge from Audregnies to Flouges for several hours in the -teeth of overwhelming opposition. To this little band, which cheerfully -sacrificed itself, belongs the principal credit for holding up the -turning movement of the enemy during the retirement of the 24th. They -made a splendid stand, and six hundred of the Cheshires never got away. -Our cavalry, fortunately, were able to help also, and at once; for by an -act of great foresight, long before the news arrived of a turning -movement, Sir John French had transferred his cavalry division from the -right flank to the left. They were in position there by the Sunday -morning, and in the subsequent retirement did everything that men and -horses could do to relieve the pressure. The dramatic action of General -de Lisle's cavalry brigade at Audregnies, where the Fifth Division was -hard-pressed, is one of the best-known incidents of this day's fighting, -not only because it succeeded, though at a heavy cost, in delaying the -enemy, but because it gave occasion to one of the most heroic -performances of the Retreat. - -When the action was drawing to a close, and men, horses, and batteries -were being withdrawn, Captain Francis Grenfell, of the Ninth Lancers, -observed that the One Hundred and Nineteenth Battery, R.F.A., was in -difficulties. All the horses of the battery had been killed, most of -its personnel had been killed or wounded, and it looked as if the guns -would have to be left. Captain Grenfell, though himself wounded, -determined to help, and rode out to look for a way of retreat for the -guns. Having found it, to show how little a cavalryman need care for -death, he rode his horse back, under a tempest of fire, at a walk, and -called for volunteers from the Lancers, reminding them that "the Ninth -had never failed the gunners." After such an example the response could -be nothing but brisk. He returned with his volunteers ("eleven officers -and some forty men"), and under a fierce and incessant fire the guns -were manhandled into safety. For this fine action Captain Grenfell and -the battery commander--Major Alexander--were each awarded the Victoria -Cross. It is one of many illustrations furnished by the Retreat of the -_camaraderie_ of the various arms. - -After a short halt and partial entrenchment on the line Dour-Quarouble, -to enable the First Corps to break off its demonstrations, the retreat -of the Second Corps was resumed; and by the evening of the 24th the -whole army had reached the prearranged line Jenlain-Bavai-Maubeuge--the -Second Corps to the west of Bavai, and the First Corps to the right. -The right was protected by the fortress of Maubeuge, the left by the -cavalry, operating outwards, and by the Nineteenth Infantry Brigade, -which had been brought up in the nick of time from the lines of -communication, and had acted throughout the day in support of the -exposed flank of the Second Corps. - -It had been intended by the British Commander-in-Chief to make a stand -on the Maubeuge line, and if the first calculations of the enemy's -strength and intentions had proved correct, it is possible that a great -battle might have been fought here, and continued by the French armies -along the whole fortress line of northern France. Even as it was, the -temptation to linger at Maubeuge must have been strong; it offered such -an inviting buttress to our right flank, and filled so comfortably that -dangerous gap between our line and the French. The temptation, to which -a weaker commander might have succumbed, was resisted. "The French were -still retiring," says the despatch, "and I had no support except such as -was afforded by the fortress of Maubeuge; and the determined attempts of -the enemy to get round my left flank assured me that it was his -intention to hem me against that place and surround me. I felt that not -a moment must be lost in retiring to another position." - -Early on the 25th, accordingly, the whole British Army set out on the -next stage of its retreat. Its function in the general Allied strategy -was now becoming clear. It was not merely fighting its own battles. -Situated as it was on the left flank of the retiring French Armies, it -had become in effect the left flank-guard of the Allied line, committed -to its retirement, and to the protection of that retirement, to the end. -The turning movement from the west, at first local and partial, had -suddenly acquired a strategic significance. It threatened not merely -the British Army, but the whole Allied strategy of the Retreat. Could -the British resist it? Could they, at the least, delay it? These were -the questions which the French leaders asked themselves, with some -anxiety, as they retired with their armies from day to day, and waited -for the counter-turn which was to come. For, as we now know, behind the -retiring and still intact French Armies, to the south and east of Paris, -movements were shaping, forces were forming, which were to change the -face of things in this western corner. Could the British hold out till -these movements were ripe? It was a momentous question. No more -momentous question has been asked for a hundred years. The answer, so -far, had been affirmative. - -On this day, the 25th, from very early in the morning, the two corps -marched south on each side of the great Forest of Mormal, the First -Corps to the right and the Second to the left, as one faces the enemy. -The position chosen for the next stand was in the neighbourhood of Le -Cateau, on the line Cambrai-Le Cateau-Landrecies, and while the army was -marching towards it, civilian labour was employed to prepare and -entrench the ground. On this morning, also, the infantry of the Fourth -Division, which had arrived at Le Cateau on the 23d and 24th, became -available for service, bringing a welcome addition to our strength of -eleven battalions. They were immediately sent forward, and, facing -north-west between Solesmes and the Cambrai-Le Cateau road, materially -assisted the retirement of the Second Corps. For both corps it was a -day of terrible marching, along roads crowded with transport -and--particularly on the eastern route--packed with refugees. For -marching in a retreat has this fundamental disadvantage, that the men -move behind their transport, and (in friendly country) with all the -civilians of the countryside about their feet. In such conditions a -steady pace is the last thing to be hoped for. Checking--the curse of -tired men--from being the exception becomes the rule; while the hours -crawl on, and the boots tell, and the packs tell, and the eye grows -glazed with staring at the men in front, and even the rifle, that "best -friend," seems duller and heavier than a friend should be--the heaviest -nine pounds in the world. It is calculated that on the 25th the various -units of the Second Corps marched, under these most trying conditions, -anything from twenty to thirty-five miles. By this time, also, the -continual retirement was having its effect on the men's spirits. To the -rank and file, who necessarily know nothing of high strategy, and see -only what is before their eyes, the Retreat carried little of that high -significance which we attach to it, but much of weariness and distaste. -Some glimmering of an idea that we were "leading the Germans into a -trap" cheered men up here and there; some rumours of Russian victories -raised the old jokes about "Berlin"; but for the most part they marched -and fought uncomprehending, welcoming their turn of rear guard as a -relief, because it gave some chance of fighting and turned their faces -to the north. - -The Second Corps reached their appointed line on the Cambrai-Le Cateau -road as night was falling, and, under a cold, steady rain, which had -succeeded the blazing heat of the day, proceeded to improve the trenches -which they found there. They had had an exhausting march, but little -fighting or interruption. The First Corps was delayed and did not reach -the allotted position; but was scattered by the evening over an area at -some points as many as thirty miles from the Second Corps, and nowhere -nearer than Landrecies, eight miles from Le Cateau. The difficulty of -movement had been increased by the convergence of French troops retiring -from the Sambre, who cut across our line of march. The enemy pressure -was continued by fresh troops well into the night. The engagement of -the Second Division south and east of Maroilles, and the fight of the -Fourth (Guards') Brigade at Landrecies, are the two main incidents in -this difficult night's work. About the fighting near Maroilles we have -little information except that it seemed serious enough to justify the -British Commander-in-Chief in asking for help from the French. In -response to his urgent request two French reserve divisions attached to -the Fifth French Army on our right eventually came up, and by diverting -the attention of the enemy enabled Sir Douglas Haig to effect a skilful -extrication from an awkward position made still more awkward by the -darkness of night. One incident of the fighting near Maroilles has, -indeed, slipped into the light of day with regard to a unit of the -Second Division: a little rearguard action of the First Berks, near a -bridge over the Petit Helpe which it was important to hold. They were on -their way back to it, stumbling in the dark along a greasy, narrow -causeway, with a deep ditch on each side, which led to the bridge. "The -Germans, as it turned out, had already forced the bridge and were in the -act of advancing along the causeway; and in the pitch darkness of the -night the two forces suddenly bumped one into the other. Neither side -had fixed bayonets, for fear of accidents in the dark, and in the -scrimmage which followed it was chiefly a case of rifle-butts and fists. -At this game the Germans proved no match for our men, and were gradually -forced back to the bridgehead, where they were held for the remainder of -the night." Early in the morning the Germans withdrew, and the First -Berks fell back on the rest of the Second Division, along the road to -Guise. It was a very complete and satisfactory little affair. - -The fight at Landrecies by the Fourth (Guards') Brigade is better known. -They had arrived there, very weary, and had got into billets; so weary, -indeed, that the Commander-in-Chief could not order them farther west, -to fill up the gap between Le Gateau and Landrecies. "The men were -exhausted, and could not get farther in without rest." The enemy, -however, would not allow them this rest. At 8.30 in the evening came -news that Germans in motor-lorries were coming through the Forest of -Mormal in great numbers, and bearing down upon the town. The town, -fortunately, had already been put into a hasty state of defence: houses -loopholed, machine-guns installed, barricades erected, and a company -detailed to each of the many exits. It is said that the Germans -advanced singing French songs, and that the leading ranks wore French -uniforms, for a moment deceiving the defenders. This would explain the -suddenness of the collision, for the Germans and British were fighting -hand to hand almost at once. It was a fierce fight while it lasted, -and, with short respites, went on till the early hours of the morning; -but eventually the enemy were beaten off with great loss. It is -estimated that they lost in this action from 700 to 1000 men. It must -be allowed, nevertheless, in the light of later knowledge that the -tactics of the Germans at Maroilles and Landrecies were good. A few -battalions--for it is unlikely that they amounted to more--attacking at -various points under cover of darkness with a great show of vigour, -though beaten off, succeeded in conveying the impression to the British -commanders in this part of the field that they were engaged with a -considerable force. This impression once conveyed, the main object of -the manoeuvre had been attained, for the First Corps was kept on the -alert all night, and effectually prevented either from obtaining rest or -from reaching its appointed destination in the British line. If our -assumption of the enemy numbers is correct, it was a clever piece of -work, well conceived and well executed. - -The crisis of the Retreat was now approaching. There is a limit to what -men can do, and it seemed for a moment as if this limit might be reached -too soon. The Commander-in-Chief, seriously considering the -accumulating strength of the enemy, the continued retirement of the -French, his exposed left flank, the tendency of the enemy's western -corps to envelop him, and above all, the exhausted and dispersed -condition of his troops, decided to abandon the Le Gateau position, and -to press on the Retreat till he could put some substantial obstacle, -such as the Somme or the Oise, between his men and the enemy, behind -which they might reorganize and rest. He therefore ordered his corps -commanders to break off whatever action they might have in hand, and -continue their retreat as soon as possible towards the new St. Quentin -line. - -The First Corps was by this time terribly exhausted, but, on receiving -the order, set out from its scattered halting-places in the early hours -of the 26th. - -By dawn on that day the whole corps, including the Fourth Brigade at -Landrecies, was moving south towards St. Quentin. - -The order to retire at daybreak, on which the First Corps was now -acting, had been duly received by the Second Corps. The commander had -been informed that the retirement of the First Corps was to continue -simultaneously and that three divisions of French cavalry under General -Sordet were moving towards his left flank, in pursuance of an agreement -arrived at in a personal interview between the French cavalry commander -and the British Commander-in-Chief. - -Sir H. Smith-Dorrien was also informed that two French Territorial -Divisions under General D'Amade were moving up to support Sordet. - -There was no reason to suppose that the Second Corps, which had not been -so much harassed by the enemy on its march south as the First Corps, was -not equally well able to obey the order to retreat. - -The corps commander, however, judged that his men were too tired and the -enemy too strong to effect such a retirement as he was directed to carry -out. - -The General's reply was duly received at Headquarters. The -Commander-in-Chief was deeply engaged in concerting plans with the -French Commander-in-Chief, his Chief of the Staff, and General Lanzerac -(the commander of the Fifth French Army). Orders were immediately sent -to the Second Corps, informing the General that any delay in retiring -would seriously compromise the plan of the Allied operations, and, in -view of the general situation, might entail fatal results. He was -directed to resume his retirement forthwith, and, to assist him, the -cavalry and Fourth Division were placed under his orders. - -At the conclusion of the conference, no positive information having been -received of the commencement of the retirement, the Commander-in-Chief -himself set out for Le Cateau; but the congestion of the roads with -Belgian refugees, etc., made progress so slow that he had not -accomplished half the distance before he found that his orders had been -carried out and the retirement was in progress. - -During the early part of the day, however, Sir H. Smith-Dorrien had, for -the reason given above, waited at the Le Gateau position to engage the -pursuing Germans. Of the three divisions of infantry thus engaged, the -Fifth lay on the right, the Third in the centre, and the Fourth faced -outwards on the left: the whole occupying the ridge south of the -Cambrai-Le Cateau road, on the line Haucourt-Caudry-Beaumont-Le Cateau. -The Nineteenth Infantry Brigade was in reserve and the cavalry operated -on the flanks. With both flanks exposed, with three divisions of -infantry to the enemy's seven, and faced by the massed artillery of four -army corps,--an odds of four or five to one,--the Second Corps and -Fourth Division prepared to make a stand. A few hours' sleep, and at -dawn, with a roar of guns, the battle opened. - -That the day was critical, that it was all or nothing, was realized by -all ranks. Everything was thrown into the scale; nothing was held back. -Regiments and batteries, with complete self-abandonment, faced hopeless -duels at impossible ranges; brigades of cavalry on the flanks boldly -threatened divisions; and in the half-shelter of their trenches the -infantry, withering but never budging, grimly dwindled before the German -guns. It was our first experience on a large scale of modern artillery -in mass. For the first six hours the guns never stopped. To our -infantry it was a time of stubborn and almost stupefied endurance, -broken by lucid intervals of that deadly musketry which had played such -havoc with the Germans at Mons. To our artillery it was a duel, and -perhaps of all the displays of constancy and devotion in a battle where -every man in every arm of the service did his best, the display of the -gunners was the finest. For they accepted the duel quite cheerfully, -and made such sport with the enemy's infantry that even their masses -shivered and recoiled. By midday, however, many of our batteries were -out of action, and the enemy infantry had advanced almost to the main -Cambrai-Le Gateau road, behind which our men, in their pathetic civilian -trenches, were quietly waiting. - -The enemy attacked on the right of the Fifth Division, and were in the -act of turning it when the order came to retire. This necessary order, -for a gradual retirement from the right, was issued a little before 3 -P.M., and was with great difficulty conveyed to all parts of the line. -In the Fifth Division several companies, in covering the retirement, -were practically wiped out. The story of "B" Company of the Second -K.O.Y.L.I. charging the enemy with its nineteen remaining men, headed by -its commander, is typical of the spirit which inspired the British -regiments. - -The Third Division had suffered comparatively little when the order -reached them, and were justly priding themselves on having successfully -repulsed a determined attack on Caudry, the apex of the position. - -On the left of the line was posted the Fourth Division which had come in -by train the previous day, and was personally placed by the -Commander-in-Chief in the position he thought best to cover the -retirement of the Second Corps. - -Owing to the unexpected turn of events at Mons, and the unfortunate -delay in the despatch of this division from England, the troops had to -be pushed into action without a moment's delay, and before the -detrainment of their artillery and other services was practically -complete. - -On the morning of the 26th they found themselves on the extreme western -flank of the Allied forces, and splendidly did General Snow and his -gallant men carry out the difficult and dangerous task assigned them. - -The conduct of their retirement was no less efficient than their gallant -fighting. Parts of this division, however, shared the fate of other -units in the line engaged in covering the retirement, and, holding on -into the night, either retired in the darkness (some to the British -lines, others through the German lines to the sea) or, less fortunate, -were cut off, captured, or destroyed. Many adventures befell them, and -some tragedies, but none to equal the tragedy of the First Gordons, who -marched in the darkness into a German division in bivouac some miles -south of the battle-ground, and were shot or taken prisoners almost to a -man. - -The infantry retirement, though thus partial and irregular, was -progressively carried out according to orders, and by four o'clock in -the afternoon most of the line had been cleared. The retirement was -covered by the artillery, still in action with the same unruffled -courage and devotion which they had shown throughout the day, and there -is no doubt that the reluctance of the enemy to engage in an energetic -pursuit was partly due to this splendid opposition of our gunners, as -well as to the undoubtedly heavy losses which they had suffered from our -rifle and shell fire earlier in the day. At any rate, the pursuit was -not pressed, and by nightfall, after another long and weary march,--how -weary, after such a day, can scarcely be expressed,--the remains of the -Second Corps and the Fourth Division halted and bivouacked. It was -pouring with rain, but many slept where they halted, by the roadside, -too utterly worn to think of shelter. - -There is a pendant to this great action of the 26th which until recently -has been missing from its place; and it has been a matter of much -wonder, in consequence, how it was that things fell out as they did -after the battle of Le Gateau, the weary British retiring before a -numerous and victorious enemy which did not pursue. It was pointed out, -indeed, that the enemy had suffered heavy losses; that they were tired -and shaken by the unexpected violence of the British defence; but when -every allowance had been made for the effect of weariness and loss, it -was plain that some other reason must still be found to account for a -decision so repugnant to the German temper and the German plans. -Reference has already been made to the promise made by Generals Sordet -and D'Amade to the British Commander-in-Chief. If history has been slow -to record it, let the delay be put down to the exigencies of war. The -enemy were not only tired and shaken. They were also threatened, and -threatened, as they very quickly discovered, in the most sensitive -tentacles of their advance. It was about 4.30 on the afternoon of the -26th (so the story runs), when the British retirement had been in -progress about an hour, that a furious cannonading was heard out towards -the west. This was Sordet's cavalry, tired horses and all, arrived and -engaging the German right. The explanation was confirmed by airmen -later in the day, who reported having seen large bodies of French -cavalry, with horse artillery and some battalions of infantry, driving -back the Germans out towards Cambrai. General Sordet and his cavalry, -aided by General D'Amade's battalions, which had moved out from their -station at Arras, were able to inflict upon the outflanking German right -a blow which recoiled upon the whole of the First German Army, and by -its threatened significance more than by its actual strength dominated -the policy of that army for several days to come. The German advance -wavered and paused, and for nearly twenty-four hours the British -continued their retirement almost unmolested. - -Whether on the early morning of the 26th the left of the British line -could have followed the example of the First Corps and continued its -retreat, is a question which cannot be satisfactorily settled until the -whole history of the war is laid bare. But there can be no doubt that -both troops and commander richly deserved the high tribute paid them in -the despatch of the British Commander-in-Chief, who, after praising the -behaviour of various arms, says:-- - -"I cannot close this brief account of the glorious stand of the British -troops without putting on record my deep appreciation of the valuable -services rendered by Sir H. Smith-Dorrien. - -"I say without hesitation that the saving of the left wing of the army -under my command on the morning of the 26th August could never have been -accomplished unless a commander of rare and unusual coolness, -intrepidity, and determination had been present to personally conduct -the operations." - -It is impossible to close the story of this, the most critical time of -the great Retreat, without making mention of the inestimable services -performed by the British cavalry under General Allenby. The moral -superiority which they had so effectually established over the hostile -horsemen during the enemy's first advance on Mons, was maintained and -increased by every one of the many trials of strength which occurred all -along the line between smaller and greater units of the two opposing -cavalries. Invariably in all these encounters the German cavalry were -driven behind the protection of their infantry and, thus hampering the -latter's advance, assisted our troops to make good their retreat. The -quality of the horses and equipment of the British, their unrivalled -efficiency in dismounted fighting and in knowledge of ground, coupled -with their intrepidity and dash whenever the smallest opportunity for -mounted attack presented itself, enabled them effectually to prevent -that which is most dreaded by a retreating army--the enterprises of -hostile horsemen. - -No praise can be too great for the British cavalry throughout this -drastic initiation into the splendid work which they have invariably -performed throughout the campaign. - -It was in the early hours of the morning of the 27th that the commander -of the Second Corps personally reported himself at Headquarters. He -informed the Commander-in-Chief that the Second Corps and Fourth -Division had suffered heavily and were very tired, but were now rapidly -regaining order and cohesion. By dawn every available staff officer was -_en route_ for St. Quentin, and hour after hour, at their posts on the -line of the Retreat, shepherded the troops towards their units, and the -longed-for luxuries of food and drink and news. All through the morning -detachments of every size and every conceivable composition kept filing -past--some with officers, most with none--some hobbling and silent, -others whistling and in step--but all with one accord most thoroughly -persuaded (such are the fallacies of a retreat) that they were the last -and only survivors of their respective commands. Many, after a brief -halt, had marched all night, and up to one o'clock in the afternoon they -were still coming in. A brief rest, some bread and coffee, and they -were off once more, their troubles almost forgotten in the pleasure of -rejoining their regiments and recovering their friends. - -The general Retreat, which the battle of Le Cateau had so dangerously -interrupted, resumed once more its normal tenor. Of the behaviour of -the men during this trying period it is difficult to speak with -moderation. They had passed through an ordeal, both physical and -mental, such as few troops have ever had to face in their first week of -war; and had displayed throughout a nobility of bearing and demeanour of -which none who observed them can speak even now without emotion. Such -courage and patience, such humorous resignation and cheerfulness in -adversity, are to be paralleled only in the finest armies of history. - -The resumption of the general Retreat and the restoration of march -routine among the forces of the British left had one immediate and -important consequence. It became possible to deal with the chief -remaining weakness caused by the inability of the First Corps, as -already pointed out, to reach its allotted position on the evening of -the 25th. The First Corps had not been idle while the Second Corps -fought; though never heavily engaged, it had been perpetually harassed, -and was still, on August 27, suffering from the wide dispersion of its -forces on the 25th. It was now moving south as best it could--keeping -direction, but otherwise marching and bivouacking by brigades. On both -flanks, indeed, throughout these early days of the Retreat, such was the -imminence of the enemy, and such the variety of fortunes of the -different brigades--and even battalions and companies--of the same -division during any one day, that no strict uniformity of march or of -line could be looked for. It speaks well for the commanders of brigade -and regimental units that so unusually high a discretionary power was -exercised so well, and with so little miscarriage either of individual -units or of the general scheme. Some mishaps, of course, there were, of -companies and battalions overtaken, cut off, or surprised. The capture -of the greater part of the Second Munster Fusiliers at Bergues on the -26th is one of these incidents, to be set beside the destruction of the -First Gordons, as part of the tragic waste inevitable in any continuous -retreat before superior numbers. It is memorable, not only because, -like the First Gordons, the regiment involved carried a famous name, but -because it gave occasion to our cavalry to show once more in their -Retreat their devotion to duty. It was entirely due to the skilful and -audacious dismounted action of two troops of the Fifteenth Hussars that -the battered remnant of the Munsters--about one hundred and fifty -men--was saved from annihilation or surrender. - -The Second Corps was still, on August 27, in advance of the First; but -in both corps the Retreat continued incessantly. Sleep was cut down to -a minimum; men fed, drank, and slept as they could, and always, when -they rose from the roadside and stretched themselves to a new dawn, the -word was "March." Their chief enemy now was not the Germans, but the -road, the blazing sun, and the limits of their own flesh and blood. The -worst, however, was over. By August 27/28 movement by divisions began -to be possible; and by August 28 movement by corps. By August 28/29 the -whole Army was in touch once more on the line Noyon-La Fère, and on -Sunday the 29th, for the first time for eight days, the Army actually -rested. It is a day they are never likely to forget. While the men -rested, their commanders took stock; and before the march was resumed, -brigades and divisions had been reorganized, stragglers restored, and -deficiencies of men and material ascertained and noted. The -reorganization was completed by the arrival of Major-General Pulteney, -and the constitution of the Fourth Division and Nineteenth Infantry -Brigade as a Third Army Corps under his command. - -The reorganization of the British Force coincided with a gratifying -change in the Allied dispositions. The British Army was not only in -touch within itself, but in touch, also, on both its flanks, with the -French; on the right, with the Fifth French Army, now, after many -vicissitudes and much hard fighting, lying behind the Oise from La Fère -to Guise; and on the left with a new French Army, still in process of -formation, of which the nucleus was those same two divisions of infantry -and three divisions of cavalry which General D'Amade and General Sordet -had handled so much to our advantage on the afternoon of the 26th, and -throughout the subsequent retirement. This Army (to be called -henceforth, the Sixth) conscious of some mission above the ordinary, and -daily increasing in strength, lay off, on the 29th, to the north-west of -the British line, facing northeast with its right on Roye. It was a -welcome change, removing none too soon that fear of isolation which had -haunted all our movements. The situation of the British, scars and -bruises notwithstanding, seemed suddenly almost promising, and with -their flanks secured, for the first time since the Retreat began, they -enjoyed a genuine feeling of relaxation. It was a feeling, happily, -which the enemy at the moment was unable to disturb. His strength was -diverted to the two French Armies, and except for some cavalry actions, -in which our troops as usual were completely successful, there was -little activity on the British front. On the morning of the 29th, while -our men were resting behind the Oise, the main body of the pursuit was -still engaged in crossing the Somme. - -It was amazing to see how quickly the Army recovered during these days -from the first strain of the Retreat. Even on the 28th the improvement -was notable. A general cheerfulness pervaded the ranks, whence derived -no one seemed to care, but splendid and infectious. Men toughened and -hardened; the limpers grew fewer, and already battalions were to be met -marching with the old swing to the old song. By the 29th--for always we -come back to this crucial date--the first hard apprenticeship was over; -and when the Army rose from its sleep to take the road once more, it -looked and felt an army of veterans. Officers smiled as they watched -their men, and speculated happily on the day to come. - -The chief difficulty now was to replace wastage in equipment, etc., -which had been enormous. For in the strain and confusion of the Retreat -everything detachable had been lost or thrown away, and whole companies -were found, perfectly fitted out eight days before, which had now -scarcely a single greatcoat, waterproof sheet, or change of clothing -left. The deficiency of entrenching tools--to take only one article of -equipment, though that, perhaps, the most easily lost--amounted, in the -troops which had fought at Le Cateau, to over eighty per cent. It was -much easier, unfortunately, to tabulate these deficiencies than to -supply them. The stores existed, indeed, but they were not to be had. -They were lying for the fetching on the quays and in the dépôts of Havre -and Rouen and Boulogne, but every day's march took us farther away from -them and increased their exposure to the German advance. With Amiens -already in the enemy's hands, and the Channel ports uncovered, we were, -for a moment, that portent of the textbooks, an army without a base. It -was a case for prompt measures, and prompt measures were taken. On -August 29, while the Army was recounting deficiencies on the Oise, the -Inspector General of the lines of communication, by order of the -Commander-in-Chief, was arranging a grand removal to the mouth of the -Loire, and on August 30, the new British base was temporarily -established at St. Nazaire and Nantes, with Le Mans as advanced base in -place of Amiens. It was a great achievement, but an unwelcome change, -for both by sea and by land the distances were greater, and it had the -inevitable consequence of delaying the arrival of everything on which -the Army depended for replenishment. The infantry went without their -greatcoats and entrenching tools; and though reinforcements of men -continued to arrive at stated intervals,--the first reinforcement on -September 5, and the second on September 7 and 8,--the guns which should -have come on August 29 were not actually received till September 19. It -was not until October 11, when the British Army was setting out for -Flanders, that St. Nazaire was at last definitely closed down, and Havre -and Boulogne reopened in its place. It was a difficult period for the -administrative departments of the Army, and had its own triumphs. - -The lull in operations on the British front during the 29th, and the -restoration of contact with the French, were turned to good account by -the Allied leaders, whose opportunities for meeting and exchanging views -had hitherto been rare. A conference was held in the early afternoon at -British Headquarters in Compiègne, which was attended not only by -General Joffre and Sir John French, but by the three British corps -commanders and General Allenby. The conference was presided over by the -French Commander-in-Chief, who showed himself, then as always, where the -British were concerned, "most kind, cordial, and sympathetic." "He told -me," says Sir John French, "that he had directed the Fifth French Army -on the Oise to move forward and attack the Germans on the Somme, with a -view to checking pursuit. He also told me of the formation of the Sixth -French Army on my left flank, composed of the Seventh Army Corps, four -reserve divisions, and Sordet's corps of cavalry." In conclusion, -having dealt with the immediate necessities of the British, he outlined -once more his strategic conception, to draw on the enemy at all points -until a favourable situation should be created for the desired -offensive, and in conformity with that conception directed the Retreat -to proceed. The bridges over the Oise were promptly destroyed, and at -various hours between mid-afternoon of the 29th and early morning of the -30th the British forces set out on a twenty-mile march to the Aisne, -through beautiful country which they were no longer too tired to enjoy. -By the afternoon of August 30, the whole Army was in position a few -miles north of the line Compiègne-Soissons, and at the same time the -Germans occupied La Fère. On the morning of August 31 the Retreat was -resumed, and from this date until September 4 continued practically from -day to day in conformity with the movements of the French, our men -becoming daily fitter and more war-hardened. Rumours, however, of -successful French actions on our flanks, and, amidst much that was vague -and wearisome, a growing sense of combination and ulterior purpose in -their movements, encouraged all ranks. - -The country now was much more difficult, for after the Forest of -Compiègne is passed the land plunges into deep wooded ravines and -break-neck roads, very trying for guns and transport, and for all manner -of manoeuvres. The heat was intense, and, to make matters worse, the -enemy pursuit, which had unaccountably languished, was becoming closer -and more insistent. The British, bivouacked that night between -Crépy-en-Valois and Villers-Cotteret, found themselves committed, on the -morning of September 1, to two of the hottest skirmishes of the Retreat; -one at Villers-Cotteret, where the Fourth (Guards') Brigade was covering -the retirement of the Second Division, the other on the left at Néry, in -the area of the Third Corps. - -The action at Villers-Cotteret began about nine o'clock, in very -difficult forest country, and continued until after midday, the Guards' -Brigade maintaining its ground, despite heavy losses, with a steadiness -and determination worthy of the heroes of Landrecies. It was an action -easily described. The attack had been expected, and was repulsed. In -this action the Irish Guards, who had only been under distant shell fire -at Mons and had had little to do at Landrecies, received their full -baptism of fire. It was their first real fight, and their commanding -officer headed the casualty list. The action at Néry was quite unlike -the action at Villers-Cotteret, for it came as a surprise, and at one -time looked like becoming a tragedy. The first indication of danger had -reached the Headquarters of the Second Corps at three o'clock in the -morning, when a Frenchman reported having seen "forty German guns and a -large force of Uhlans" moving in the direction of the Third Corps, and -more particularly in the direction of Néry, where the First Cavalry -Brigade with L Battery, R.H.A., was billeted, on the left front of the -British line. Except as regards the number of the guns the report -proved to be true. The Germans, concealed from the British by a thick -mist,--six regiments of cavalry with two batteries of six guns -each,--were in position by daybreak on the steep ridge which overlooks -the village, when an officer's patrol of the Eleventh Hussars bumped -suddenly into them out of the mist. It is possible that they were as -much surprised as the British, for a mist works both ways; but they had -the advantage in numbers, armament, and position. The alarm was -scarcely given when their guns opened on the village, and by five -o'clock, when the sun rose, the fight was in full swing. - -It was a singular action, for though our cavalry, dismounted and hastily -disposed, soon recovered from their surprise, nothing could alter the -situation of L Battery. Thanks to the mist, it had been caught in a -position as unsuitable for action as could well be conceived. -Unlimbered in an orchard only four hundred yards off, and perfectly -commanded by the German guns, it was throughout the fight a mere target -for the enemy. A tornado of shell, machine-gun, and rifle fire was -directed upon it, the battery meanwhile boldly replying, though its case -was hopeless, and known to be hopeless, from the first. Soon only one -of its guns was left in action, and on the serving of this one gun the -attention of every surviving officer and man was concentrated, one after -another falling killed or wounded under the fire of the now exasperated -enemy. Captain Bradbury, loading, lost a leg; continued to direct, and -lost the other, and was carried away to die so that, as he said, his men -should not see his agony and be discouraged. When all the officers had -fallen, Sergeant-Major Dorrell took command, and aided by the -machine-guns of the Eleventh Hussars, was still maintaining the hopeless -duel when about eight o'clock the Fourth Cavalry Brigade arrived, and -not long after the First Middlesex leading the Nineteenth Infantry -Brigade. The balance was reversed, and the enemy, with, it is said, the -one gun of L Battery still firing at them, retired in disorder towards -Verrines, leaving eight of their twelve guns on the field. Whatever -their mission, it remained unfulfilled. In this action, in which a -serious disaster was so successfully averted, the heroic performance of -L Battery will always be memorable. It had lost, during the engagement, -all its officers and eighty per cent of its gun detachments killed or -wounded, without betraying by so much as a sign either discouragement or -defeat. Distinctions were showered upon it, and Captain Bradbury, -Sergeant-Major Dorrell, and Sergeant Nelson were awarded the Victoria -Cross. - -There is a sequel to this fight too exhilarating to be omitted. As the -First and Fourth Cavalry Brigades were moving south next morning through -the rides of the Forest of Ermenonville, they came on the tracks of -horses and sent a troop to follow them up. "They found the ride strewn -with German kit of all kinds, lame horses, etc., showing a hurried -retreat. They had gone by five hours before, and turned out to be our -Néry friends, the cavalry division, who had bumped into one of our -columns and retreated rapidly, leaving their four remaining guns." It -was a very satisfactory finish, and had a fine effect on the whole Army. -The story of the capture of the twelve guns ran like wildfire through -the ranks, and was recorded with pleasure by the French in their -_communiqué_. - -On September 2, very early in the morning, the Army was once more on the -move. September 1 had been a hard day, and at one time something like a -general engagement was threatened on the left and left centre of the -British line, the Fifth and Fourth Divisions fighting model rear-guard -actions which had much to do with the inactivity of the enemy on the -following day. For on September 2 the pursuit once more relaxed, and by -the evening the British had reached the north bank of the Marne, and -were already arranging for the crossing on the following day. Both the -march and the crossing had been contemplated with considerable misgiving -by the Commander-in-Chief, for on September 2 the Army was no longer -retiring, as it had hitherto retired, in the direction of Paris, but, -owing to the position of the bridges, had swung southeast and was now -executing what was in effect almost a flank march in the face of the -enemy. The crossing of the Marne was an even more delicate operation, -for it involved, in circumstances of comparative immobility, the same -dangerous exposure to the enemy. The enemy, however, did nothing to -interrupt our operations, and was, indeed, reported by our airmen to -have swung south-east also, and to be moving in the direction of -Château-Thierry, towards the front of the Fifth French Army. By the -night of September 3 the whole of the British troops were safely across -the river and all the bridges blown up. The left of the British Army -was now actually in sight of the outlying forts of Paris, and there was -much excitement among all ranks as to our ultimate destination. Should -we, after all, enter Paris, and sleep in the beds of _la ville lumière_? -It was not to be. A position was occupied between Lagny and -Signy-Signets, and on the following day, while the enemy was bridging -the Marne, the British Army made the last stage of the Retreat, -finishing up, in the cool of the evening, on the line Lagny-Courtagon. -This was their "farthest south," and on September 5, while they rested, -the great news spread through the Army that the Retreat was over, and -that next day the Advance would begin. It would be difficult to -exaggerate the effect of the news. For though the Army had grown -outwardly fitter and more cheerful during the last seven days, the -profound distaste which was felt by all ranks for the perpetual -retirement poisoned every activity. Was it never to end, this Retreat? -Were we retiring, then, to the Pyrenees? With such bitter questions and -mock-humorous answers, they beguiled the march. When the news came it -was as if a great sickness had been lifted from their minds, and for the -first time, perhaps, they realized fully, as men do when they rise from -sickness, how infinitely tired and weary they had been. They could -scarcely believe the news; but it came from quarters not to be denied. -The "favourable situation" for which General Joffre had been waiting so -patiently had come at last. - - - - THE END - - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RETREAT FROM MONS *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46210 - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one -owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and -you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission -and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the -General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and -distributing Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic works to protect the -Project Gutenberg(tm) concept and trademark. 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