In The Firing Line 2

In The Firing Line 2

“One of the enemy’s regiments is annihilated. Then a second one. All

this time I am pouring missiles in among them. But now the nervous

feeling has left me. My soul is filled with hate, and I continue to

shoot at the enemy without the least feeling of pity.

 

“Yet still the enemy is advancing, rushing forward and lying down in

turns. I do not understand his tactics, but what are they to me? It is

enough for me that I am occupying a favourable position and mowing him

down like a strong man with a scythe in a clover field.

 

“During the first night after the battle I could not sleep a wink. All

the time my mind was filled with pictures of the battlefield. I saw

German regiments approaching, and myself firing right into the thick of

them. Heads, arms, legs, and whole bodies of men were being flung high

into the air. It was a dreadful vision.

 

“I was in four battles. When the second began I went into it like an

automaton. Only your muscles are taxed. All the rest of your being

seems paralyzed. So complete is the suspension of the sensory processes

that I never felt my wound. All I remember is that a feeling of

giddiness came over me, and my head began to swim. Then I swooned to

the ground, and was picked up by the Medical Corps and carried to the

rear.”

 

 

 

 

II

 

THE FOUR DAYS’ BATTLE NEAR MONS

 

“_And turning to his men,

Quoth our brave Henry then,

‘Though they be one to ten,

Be not amazed.’_”

 

MICHAEL DRAYTON.

 

 

Most of us are old enough to remember how, when we entered upon the

South African Campaign (as when we started the Crimean and other of

our wars) the nation was divided against itself; passionate, bitter

controversies were waged between anti-Boer and pro-Boer--between

those who considered the war an unjust and those who considered it a

just one. This time there has been nothing of that. Sir Edward Grey’s

resolute efforts for peace proving futile, as soon as Germany tore up

her obligations of honour, that “scrap of paper,” and began to pour

her huge, boastedly irresistible armies into Belgium, we took up the

gauge she so insolently flung to us, and the one feeling from end to

end of the Empire was of devout thankfulness that our Government had

so instantly done the only right and honourable thing; all political

parties, all classes flung their differences behind them unhesitatingly

and stood four-square at once against the common enemy. They were

heartened by a sense of relief, even, that the swaggering German peril

which had been darkly menacing us for years had materialised and was

upon us at last, that we were coming to grips with it and should have

the chance of ending it once and for ever.

 

But immediately after our declaration of war on August 4th, a strange

secrecy and silence fell like an impenetrable mask over all our

military movements. In our cities and towns we were troubled with

business disorganisations, but that mystery, that waiting in suspense,

troubled us far more. News came that the fighting continued furiously

on the Belgian frontier; that it was beginning on the fringes of

Alsace; that the Russians were advancing victoriously on East Prussia;

and still though our own army was mobilised and we were eagerly

starting to raise a new and a larger one, we rightly learned no more,

perhaps less, than the enemy could of what our Expeditionary Force was

doing or where it was. Last time we were at war we had seen regiment

after regiment go off with bands playing and with cheering multitudes

lining the roads as they passed; this time we had no glimpse of their

going; did not know when they went, or so much as whether they were

gone. One day rumour landed them safely in France or Belgium; the next

it assured us that they were not yet ready to embark; and the next

it had rushed them, as by magic, right across Belgium and credited

them with standing shoulder to shoulder in the fighting line with the

magnificent defenders of Liège. But the glory of that defence, as we

were soon to find out, belongs to Belgium alone; the Germans had hacked

their way through and were nearing Mons before our men were able to

get far enough north to come in touch with them. Not that they had

lost any time on the road. It took a fortnight to mobilise and equip

them; they sailed from Southampton on August 17th, and four days later

were at Mons and under fire. This much and more you may gather from a

diary-letter that was published in the _Western Daily Press_:

 

 

_Letter 1.--From Sapper George Bryant, Royal Engineers, to his

father, Mr. J. J. Bryant, of Fishponds:_

 

Aug. 17.--Sailed from Southampton, on _Manchester Engineer_, 4.45

a.m.

 

Aug. 18.--Landed Rouen, 6.20 a.m. Proceeded to rest camp at the

Racecourse, Rouen.

 

Aug. 19.--Left camp 9 p.m., and entrained to Aulnoye.

 

Aug. 20.--Marched to Fiezines.

 

Aug. 21.--Marched to Mons, and proceeded to the canal, to obstacle

the bridges and prepare for blowing up. Barricaded the main

streets. Saw German cavalry, and was under fire.

 

Aug. 22.--Severe fighting and terrible. Went to blow up bridges

with Lieut. Day, who was shot at my side through the nose. Unable

to destroy bridges owing to such heavy firing of the Germans.

Sight heart-breaking. Women and children driven from their

homes by point of bayonet, and marched through streets in front

of Germans, who fired behind them and through their armpits.

Therefore, our fellows were unable to fire back. They rolled

up in thousands, about 100 to our one. Went from here to dig

trenches for infantry retreating. Was soon under fire, and had

to retreat, and infantry took our position, and were completely

wiped out (Middlesex).

 

Aug. 23.--Severe fighting and bombarding of a town, shells bursting

around us. Retreated, and dug trenches for infantry, but soon

had fire about us, and retreated again and marched to take up

position for next day, which was to be a rest, us having had but

very little.

 

Aug. 24.--Were unable to rest. Germans pressed us hotly, and fired

continually. One of their aeroplanes followed our route, and

was fired at. One of our lieutenants chased it, and eventually

succeeded in shooting the aviator through the head, and he came

to earth. Three aeroplanes were captured this day. We had no

close fighting, and marched away to take up a position for next

day’s fighting, which was a hard day’s work.

 

Aug. 25.--We tried to destroy an orchard, but drew the Germans’

artillery fire, which was hot and bursting around us. We

continued our work until almost too late, and had to retire to

infantry lines, and had it hot in doing so. I was stood next

to General Shaw’s aide-camp who was badly wounded, but was not

touched myself. We dug trenches for infantry, and then marched to

join the 2nd Division, but fire was too hot to enable us to do

our work. Germans were surrounded by us to the letter “C,” and

we were waiting for the French to come up on our right flank,

but they did not arrive. On returning from the 2nd Division

two shells, one after another, burst in front of us, first

destroying a house; the second, I received my wound in left leg,

being the only fellow hit out of 180. Was placed on tool cart,

and taken to Field Hospital, but rest there was short, owing

to Germans firing on hospital. Orderlies ran off and left us

three to take our chance. Germans blew up church and hospital

in same village, and were firing on ours when I was helped out

by the other two fellows, and on to a cart, which overtook the

ambulance, which I was put on, and travelled all night to St.

Quentin and was entrained there at 9.30 a.m. Aug. 26.

 

Aug. 26.--Travelled all day, reaching Rouen, Aug. 27, and was taken

to Field Hospital on Racecourse.

 

 

We shall have to wait some time yet for full and coherent accounts of

the fierce fighting at Mons, but from the soldiers’ letters and the

stories of the wounded one gets illuminating glimpses of that terrific

four-days’ battle.

 

 

_Letter 2.--From Driver W. Moore, Royal Field Artillery, to the

superintendent of the “Cornwall” training ship, of which Driver

Moore is an “old boy” still under twenty:_

 

It was Sunday night when we saw the enemy. We were ready for action,

but were lying down to have a rest, when orders came to stand at our

posts. It was about four a.m. on Monday when we started to fire; we

were at it all day till six p.m., when we started to advance. Then the

bugle sounded the charge, and the cavalry and infantry charged like

madmen at the enemy; then the enemy fell back about forty miles, so we

held them at bay till Wednesday, when the enemy was reinforced. Then

they came on to Mons, and by that time we had every man, woman, and

child out of the town.

 

We were situated on a hill in a cornfield and could see all over the

country. It was about three p.m., and we started to let them have a

welcome by blowing up two of their batteries in about five minutes;

then the infantry let go, and then the battle was in full swing.

 

In the middle of the battle a driver got wounded and asked to see the

colours before he died, and he was told by an officer that the guns

were his colours. He replied, “Tell the drivers to keep their eyes on

their guns, because if we lose our guns we lose our colours.”

 

Just then the infantry had to retire, and the gunners had to leave

their guns, but the drivers were so proud of their guns that they went

and got them out, and we retired to St. Quentin. We had a roll-call,

and only ten were left out of my battery. This was the battle in which

poor Winchester (another old _Cornwall_ boy) lost his life in trying

to get the guns away.

 

* * * * *

 

_Letter 3.--From Private G. Moody, to his parents at Beckenham:_

 

I was at Mons in the trenches in the firing line for twenty-four hours,

and my regiment was ordered to help the French on the right. Poor old

A Company was left to occupy the trenches and to hold them: whatever

might happen, they were not to leave them. There were about 250 of us,

and the Germans came on, and as fast as we knocked them over more took their places.