On the 30th another sharp action occurred near St. Yves, when Hunter-Weston’s 11th Brigade was momentarily pierced after dusk by a German rush, which broke through a gap in the Hampshires. The Somerset Light Infantry, under Major Prowse, came back upon them and the trenches were regained. In all such actions it is to be remembered that where a mass of men can suddenly be directed against scattered trenches which will only hold a few, it is no difficult matter to carry them, but at once the conditions reverse themselves and the defenders mass their supports, who can usually turn the intruders out once more.
This brings the general record of the doings of the Third Corps down to the end of October, the date on which we cease the account of the operations at the southern end of the British line. We turn from this diffuse and difficult story, with its ever-varying positions and units, to the great epic of the north, which will be inseparably united for ever with the name of Ypres.
1. Major Vandeleur was the officer who afterwards escaped from Krefeld and brought back with him a shocking account of the German treatment of our prisoners. Though a wounded man, the Major was kicked by the direct command of one German officer, and his overcoat was taken from him in bitter weather by another.
VIII. The First Battle of Ypres
(Up to the Action of Gheluvelt, October 31)
The Seventh Division—Its peculiar excellence —Its difficult position—A deadly ordeal—Desperate attacks on Seventh Division—Destruction of 2nd Wilts—Hard fight of 20th Brigade—Arrival of First Corps—Advance of Haig’s Corps—Fight of Pilken Inn—Bravery of enemy — Advance of Second Division—Fight of Kruiseik cross-roads — Fight of Zandvoorde—Fight of Gheluvelt—Advance of Worcesters —German recoil—General result—A great crisis
It has already been seen that the Seventh Division (Capper’s), being the first half of Rawlinson’s Fourth Army Corps, had retired south and west after the unsuccessful attempt to relieve Antwerp. It was made up as follows: —
| DIVISION VII.—GENERAL CAPPER. |
| 20th Infantry Brigade—General Ruggles-Brise. 1st Grenadier Guards. 2nd Scots Guards. 2nd Border Regiment. 2nd Gordon Highlanders. 2lst Infantry Brigade—General Watts. 2nd Bedfords. 2nd Yorks. 2nd Wilts. 2nd Scots Fusiliers, 22nd Infantry Brigade—General Lawford. 1st South Staffords. 2nd Warwicks. 2nd Queen’s West Surrey. 1st Welsh Fusiliers. Artillery. 22nd Brigade R.F.A. 35th Brigade R.F.A. 3rd R.G.A. 111th R.G.A. 112th R.G.A. 14th Brigade R.H.A. C.F. Engineers. 54 65, F. Co. 7 Signal Co. Divisional Cavalry. Northumberland Yeomanry. |
It is not too much to say that in an army where every division had done so well no single one was composed of such fine material as the Seventh. The reason was that the regiments composing it had all been drawn from foreign garrison duty, and consisted largely of soldiers of from three to seven years’ standing, with a minimum of reservists. In less than a month from the day when this grand division of 18,000 men went into action its infantry had been nearly annihilated, but the details of its glorious destruction furnish one more vivid page of British military achievement. We lost a noble division and gained a glorious record.
The Third Cavalry Division under General Byng was attached to the Seventh Division, and joined up with it at Roulers upon October 13. It consisted of: —
| THIRD CAVALRY DIVISION—GENERAL BYNG. |
| 6th Cavalry Brigade—General Makings. 3rd Dragoon Guards. 10th Hussars. 1st Royals. 7th Cavalry Brigade—General Kavanagh. 1st Life Guards. 1st Horse Guards. 2nd Life Guards. K Battery, R.H.A. |
The First Army Corps not having yet come up from the Aisne, these troops were used to cover the British position from the north, the infantry lying from Zandvoorde through Gheluvelt to Zonnebeke, and the cavalry on their left from Zonnebeke to Langemarck from October 16 onwards. It was decided by Sir John French that it was necessary to get possession of the town of Menin, some distance to the east of the general British line, but very important because the chief bridge, by means of which the Germans were receiving their ever-growing reinforcements, was there. The Seventh Division was ordered accordingly to advance upon this town, its left flank being covered by the Third Cavalry Division.
The position was a dangerous one. It has already been stated that the pause on the Aisne may not have been unwelcome to the Germans, as they were preparing reserve formations which might be suddenly thrown against some chosen spot in the Allied line. They had the equipment and arms for at least another 250,000 men, and that number of drilled men were immediately available, some being Landwehr who had passed through the ranks, and others young formations which had been preparing when war broke out. Together they formed no less than five new army corps, available for the extreme western front, more numerous than the whole British and Belgian armies combined. This considerable force, secretly assembled and moving rapidly across Belgium, was now striking the north of the Allied line, debouching not only over the river at Menin, but also through Courtrai, Iseghem, and Roulers. It consisted of the 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 26th, and 27th reserve corps. Of these the 22nd, and later the 24th, followed the Belgians to the line of the Yser, but the other corps were all available for an attack upon the flank of that British line which was faced by formidable opponents—a line which extended over thirty miles and had already been forced into a defensive attitude.
Line of Seventh Division and Third Cavalry
That was the situation when the Seventh Division faced round near Ypres. Sir John French was doing all that he could to support it, and Sir Douglas Haig was speeding up his army corps from the Aisne to take his place to the north of Ypres, but there were some days during which Rawlinson’s men were in the face of a force six or seven times larger than themselves.
Upon October 16th and 17th the division had advanced from Ypres and occupied the line already mentioned, the right centre of which rested about the ninth kilometre on the Ypres-Menin road, the order of the brigades from the north being 22nd, 21st, and 20th. On October 18 the division wheeled its left forward. As the infantry advanced, the covering cavalry soon became aware of grave menace from Roulers and Courtrai in the north. A large German force was evidently striking down on to the left flank of the advance. The division was engaged all along the line, for the 20th Brigade upon the right had a brisk skirmish, while the 21st Brigade in the centre was also under fire, which came especially heavily upon the 2nd Bedfords, who had numerous casualties. About ten o’clock on the morning of the 19th the pressure from the north increased, and the 7th Cavalry Brigade was driven in, though it held its own with great resolution for some time, helped by the fine work of K Battery, R.H.A. The 6th Cavalry Brigade was held up in front, while the danger on the flank grew more apparent as the hours passed. In these circumstances General Rawlinson, fortified in his opinion by the precise reports of his airmen as to the strength of the enemy upon his left, came to the conclusion that a further advance would place him in a difficult position. He therefore dropped back to his original line. There can be little doubt that, if he had persevered in the original plan, his force would have been in extreme danger. As it was, before he could get it back the 1st Welsh Fusiliers were hard hit, this famous regiment losing a major, 5 captains, 3 lieutenants,