iPiiiiip^^iaiiipi

'LE SKETCHES

:'|

]

[9:c4-i;5

1
1

1

1

1

'.■'':■'■' !
' , ■ V ' '

i

Presented to the

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
LIBRARY

In/ the

ONTARIO LEGISLATIVE
LIBRARY

iqoo

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2007 with funding from

IVIicrosoft Corporation

http://www.archive.org/details/battlesketches1900hilduoft

BATTLE SKETCHES
1914-15

<f.

OXFOED UNIVERSITY PEESS

LONDON EDINBURGH GLASGOW NEW YORK
TOIiONTO MELBOURNE BOMBAY
HUMPHREY MILFORD M.A.

rUBMSHER TO THK UXIVKRSITY

0^

3'5BATTLE SKETCHMf,

1914-15

\

0\*^rn

BY

A. NEVILLE HILDITCH

OXFORD
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
'^^** *^. 1915

.tlVE

,^j-«i',,«

Three of these sketches have already appeared in the
series of Oxford Pamphlets

i. ,

CONTENTS

PAGE

The Campaigns in Cameroon 7

The Stand of Li^jge 43

The Siege of Tsing-tao 83

Troyon : An Engagement in the Battle of the Aisne 107

Gheluvelt : The Crisis of the First Battle for Ypres 121

CORONEL AND THE FaLEXAND ISLANDS : ThE STRUGGLE FOR

THE Pacific Trade Routes . . . .143

The Battle of Neuve Chapelle .... 179

maps

Cameroon ......... 6

LiijGE AND Neighbourhood ..... 42

lilEGE AND ITS FORTS ...... 53

Tsing-tao 82

Troyon 106

Ypres and Gheluvelt . . . . . .120

Southern South America 142

Neuve Chapelle 178

100 20oMiles

0 100 200 300 Km.

l::^*^

e^pBauclii ^^,^

\

/VPGassol • y \ 'k^3 n oKoloi

Ussu

THE
CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON

I

Towards the end of July, 1914, H.M.S. Cumberland
was lying at Cowes, in readiness for the Spithead review.
She was a cruiser of 9,800 tons, with a primary arma-
ment of fourteen 6 in. guns and a speed of twenty-three
knots, and was then engaged in the practical training
of naval cadets. One evening, when all were settling
down to repose, a slip of paper was taken from the
wireless office to the captain. It was a coded telegram :
Austria had declared war upon Serbia. Immediately
everybody was astir. The cadets, who, after cricket
at Osborne, had turned in, their hammocks slung on
the upper deck, were unfortunate enough to be sent
below to be out of the way. Steam was raised, and the
Cumberland at once weighed, and left for Devonport.
Guns were prepared, lyddite shells were fused, warheads
were put on the torpedoes. At Devonport coaling was
hastily completed, extra men were taken on, and all
except twelve of the cadets, shortly to be gazetted as
midshipmen, were sent away to their war stations.
The cruiser proceeded to Gibraltar immediately. On
the night of August 4, officers and men were drawn up
before the captain on the quarterdeck : he read out,
amid tense silence, Great Britain's declaration of war
against Germany. That night the Cumberland left
Gibraltar ; and after some days, spent in preparing the
ship for battle, she arrived off the coast of Nigeria,

8 THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON

with its capital port, inaccessible for large vessels owing
to a dangerous bar, of Lagos.

British Nigeria comprises the territories situated on
the Bight of Benin between French Dahomey on the
west and German Cameroon on the east. Its area
totals some 338,000 square miles, its population nearly
seventeen millions, statistics which, indeed, compare
favourably with the 295,000 square miles and the three
and a half million population of Cameroon. The
dependency, both in natural features and in inhabitants,
presents striking contrasts. A great swamp region,
hardly equalled in the world for immensity and gloom,
forms much of the coast, where the Atlantic adjoins the
vast delta of the Oil Rivers, filtering their sluggish,
muddy Avaters, in countless intercommunicating channels,
through thousands of square miles of dank, malodorous
slime, covered with mangrove -trees which, where
drained waterless, stand rotting in putrefaction. The
strange saurian monsters drowsing for ever in the
stagnant pools are the only inhabitants impervious to
the breath of the malarial mud. The Niger recalls to
some travellers, indeed, classical memories of the Styx
or the Cocytus. From these pestilential regions the
surface of the country mounts through a belt of hills
and dense forests, which gradually thin out towards the
north, to a hot but healthier tableland, bordering, in
sandy desert stretches, the wastes of the Sahara. Kano,
the greatest commercial city of the central Sudan, lies
upon these arid steppes ; and its ancient walls, opened
by thirteen cowhide gates set in massive entrance towers,
hold in their spacious confines, watered by a great pool
and overlooked by the dome of the Emir's gorgeous
palace, Africans of many a varied tongue, colour, or
race. To its markets gather the Salaga from Guinea,

THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON 9

the trader from the shores of Chad, the Arab and the
Tuareg, bringing tea, sugar, and other European com-
modities in caravans from Tripoli. From its industries
emanate most of the Morocco leather goods on the
European market, brought over the desert at great
risk and expense, and the clothing of half the population
of the Sudan. A railway line links the town with the
navigable reaches of the Niger. These, innumerable
other waterways, and a second line from Lagos into
the interior, give the colony excellent communications,
bearing to the coast ports the multifarious products,
cocoa, rice and tobacco, rubber and mahogany, cotton
and indigo, which a frequent steamship service trans-
ports to the docks of Liverpool. Northern Nigeria,
indeed, is believed by experts to be the most suitable
of aU British dependencies for the production of cotton
on such a scale as to render the looms of Lancashire
independent of sources of supply outside the Empire.
The climate of the plateau is favourable, and has the
requisite humidity. Violent tornadoes and drenching
rains frequently break over the country. The worst of
the rainy season takes place in August and September,
a fact which, indeed, when war broke out in August
1914, seriously complicated mihtary problems. The
commander to whom fell the task of their settlement
was Brigadier-General C. M. Dobell.

His task may be stated simply. It was important
that all available troops should be organized and pre-
pared_ for offensive action against Cameroon without
delay. The German coastline, 200 miles long, offered
a ready shelter for German commerce -destroyers, and
there was, moreover, a danger that, unless strong
measures were taken by the British authorities against
the foes of their nation, British influence amongst the

10 THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON

natives, always alert to note signs of weakness, might
sensibly decline. These two considerations, indeed, not
only determined the course of policy, they suggested
also the course of strategy. Any fear of the coastline
being used as an enemy cruiser base must obviously be
averted by the occupation of that coastline, and the
seizure of Duala, the principal port. A dark and
sinister fact supported schemes of such invasion from
the sea. German treatment of natives had a reputation
for harshness not only throughout West Africa, but
throughout the world. If, by the entry of British
troops at two or three points on the Nigerian-Cameroon
frontier, considerable German forces, led to believe that
this was the main line of advance, could be enticed into
the interior ; if, with coast defences accordingly weak-
ened, Duala and the neighbourhood of the Cameroon
estuary could be assaulted suddenly from the sea, and
occupied ; and if, constantly driven further inland,
the Germans were at last forced to depend for their
supplies upon native aid, might not native hostility,
smouldering during peace, and at this opportunity
probably breaking into open flame, be expected ulti-
mately to bring about their capitulation ? The French
in Dahomey could co-operate both by sea and land to
the same purpose. The great point that had brought
the Germans into disrepute with the natives was their
militar\' sj)irit, since this was seen in a desire to regulate
everything by rule and method, and in a habit of
nagging and fault-finding peculiarly abhorrent to the
temperamentally easy-going African. The authorities,
moreover, habitually solved the labour problem, ever
the most insistent of West African problems, by resort
to a system of forced labour. When a German planter
wanted native workers he notified his government, and

THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON 11

they were brought to him. Conditions such as these^
not far short of mere military despotism, had, indeed,
more than once given rise to serious trouble, and a
revolt of labourers imported from Togoland in 1894 had
cost several white lives. None of the natives, it is note-
worthy, spoke Grerman, even in Cameroon, but pidgin-
EngHsh instead. Hausas and Kruboys were chiefly
utilized for labour purposes, and Hausas almost whoUy
for the native troops and police, both in Nigeria and in
Cameroon. The German native levies numbered several
thousand, and the British consisted of three regiments of
infantry and two artillery batteries. But on the outbreak
of war fresh recruits were speedily raised; and General
Dobell's command was later swelled by reinforcements
from other British West African dependencies, which
had first been employed in the Togoland operations.
Meanwhile, he made his preliminary dispositions.

Three British columns were first told off to operate
on the Cameroon frontier, in order to create the desired
diversions, from Yola, from Ikom, and from Calabar.
The incursion from Yola, which it was planned that the
2nd and 5th Nigerias should make, was to be, indeed,
a more serious enterprise than a mere raid, its purpose
being to overpower the extreme north of Cameroon, and
to prevent any retirement thither of the main forces of
the enemy. Meanwhile, at all the coast ports of Nigeria
preparations for the invasion were hastily pushed forward.
Transports were equipped, supplies were collected, troops
were organized. In view of a possible shortage of food
the Administration took control of the supplies, and no
provisions were allowed to be bought without a permit.
Considerable difficulty was experienced in preparing
maps for the adventure. Maps of Cameroon had to be
enlarged, and kilometres turned into miles. To extract

12 THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON

information as to rivers or distances, canoes or bridges,
from woolly and perplexed heads proved a tedious and
painful task. The cruiser Cumberland and the Dwarf,
a gunboat of 710 tons, carrying two 4 in. guns, were,
in the meantime, engaged in reconnoitring the Cameroon
coast. It was a shore fringed by countless tiny islands
and narrow creeks, where crocodiles, wallowing on the
muddy banks, dense with mangroves and proHfic vege-
tation, rendered incursion adventurous. In the midst
of these multifarious preparations, at the beginning
of September, an ominous report gained currency in the
coast settlements. Colonel Maclear's northern column,
in the course of its operations from Yola, had been
disastrously cut up.

Four days after the declaration of war the 5th (Mounted
Infantry) Battalion of the Nigeria Regiment had set out
from their barracks at Kano. For seventeen days they
journeyed through the bush, and at length reached
Yola, where the 2nd Battalion had already concen-
trated, after a march of 400 miles, no light performance
during the rainy season, with rivers and streams in
flood. Yola, capital of Adamawa, was situated on the
southern side of the Benue, a tributary of the Niger,
near the point where the former entered Cameroon,
some 400 miles from either Calabar or Duala, and from
the sea by river some 850 miles, which, however, small
steamers could navigate. In this part of Nigeria,
Mohammedanism, a faith embraced by about a tenth
of the population, was widely prevalent. It is these
particular religionists that Germans single out as
especially qualified to be gulled by the most absurd
fables, and to be inflamed by the most fanatic passions.
A letter is said to have been found, some time later, in
the mosque at Yola, purporting to give news, good and

THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON 13

true, from Germany, to the effect that Germans and
English had met in battle for one day at an English
town ; that ten thousand English had been killed,
those who fled being thirty thousand ; and that these,
soon captured, had been sent to Germany with chains
around their necks. The letter was written, it was
added, in order that all Mussulmans might know that
English and French were liars and thieves. Similar
intrigue was not, indeed, wholly absent even from the
southern parts of Nigeria, where one message was inter-
cepted predicting the invasion of England by a German
air fleet, and the slaughter of her inhabitants by the
raining down of tigers from the sky. These tidings had
in one part been directly productive of slight disaffec-
tion. At Yola, therefore, Colonel Maclear was operating
in a district which, bordering German territory and
susceptible to German influences, rendered circumspec-
tion and prudence particularly necessary. How far
these circumstances increased his difficulties and con-
tributed to his disaster can only be surmised. He was
unquestionably dependent for information respecting
the enemy and much of the district upon the natives,
though the Benue itself in this neighbourhood had been
mapped out eleven years before by an Anglo-German
boundary commission. There seems ground for the
suspicion that, when entering hostile territory, Maclear's
knowledge and preparations were inadequate, and that
his advance was precipitate and ill-advised. On
August 25, immediately upon the arrival of the Mounted
Infantry, the colonel directed them to push forward to
Tepe, a small German frontier station 30 miles up-river
from Yola, in order to feel the enemy's strength and to
reconnoitre the country. The infantry, the 2nd Nigerias,
followed in their wake. At Tepe the advance column

14 THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON

first came into contact with the Germans. There was
a sharp skirmish, lasting some twenty-five minutes, as
a result of which the enemy were forced to retire. The
British lost three of their six officers and one white non-
commissioned officer, but a distressing incident, which
caused a further casualty, occurred after the fighting.
A certain Captain Wickham had taken prisoner a Ger-
man officer, who begged for mercy and told his orderly
to respect the Englishman ; Wickham turned away to
ask his commanding officer for instructions ; imme-
diately the orderly brought up his rifle and blew his
captor's head off. The German and his orderly were
at once shot, and Tepe was burned to the ground.
Next morning the column again moved forward up-
river, followed by the main body, the infantry, to
Saratse. During the ensuing three days the advance
was continued towards the important and well-fortified
river station of Garua, which formed the most con-
siderable native town of Northern Cameroon. The
British fixed their camp four miles away, and made
preparations to attack the station. At night on August
29 the 2nd Nigerias moved out of camp, and shortly
before midnight reached the enemy's position. There
was a surprise in the darkness, and one of the German
entrenched works was rushed. Promiscuous firing
began, which the colonel ordered to cease on the British
side until dawn. The enemy were now alert and
watchful. About 4.30, as soon as dawn flushed the
horizon, they counter-attacked heavily with the aid of
several maxims. These weapons proved deciding factors,
and the British, unable to resist or counter their deadly
fire, were thrown into confusion. Panic took the native
troops at the sight of their comrades falling in large
numbers, and they turned and fled, leaving only officers

THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON 15

and non-commissioned officers in the entrenchments.
It was a mortifying position for brave and spirited men,
but flight was inevitable. The remnants of the battalion
at length straggled into their camp, and it was seen
in what appalling loss the venture had resulted. Ten
out of 21 officers, and 250 out of 600 native rank and
file, had fallen. Maclear himself had met his death,
so Captain Adams now assumed command. It was
probable that the enemy would take the offensive, and
withdrawal into British territory forthwith was decided
upon. The camp was not, however, evacuated for
some hours, in case more stragglers might turn up,
and it was feared, when the column set out, that the
delay would have given the Germans an opportunity
to follow up their success. The enemy, however, were
apparently engaged otherwise. Two British surgeons
who had remained behind to tend the wounded were
apprehended, but no efforts, fortunately for the retreat-
ing column, were made to molest it. Captain Adams
made a cautious and clever retreat to the frontier, and
reached it safely. It is said that, some days after,
the Germans sent into Yola to ask for letters for the
prisoners they had taken : and later they returned the
rings found on the hands of the dead.

II

Midway down the coast of Cameroon a lofty, volcanic
mountain, called, from the frequent storms that flash
and growl round its crest, the Throne of Thunder,
abuts into the ocean. The traveller who, traversing its
forested slopes, scales the sterile crater, 13,760 feet
above the sea, can survey in clear weather a panorama
of wonderful colour and beauty, containing the main
centres and channels of the colony's life and activity,

16 THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON

as from a bird's-eye view. Inland extends, sending in
rainy weather countless small torrents cascading to the
sea, the picturesque mountain-range of Rumby and
Omon, running north-east, with numerous spurs branch-
ing off, for some hundreds of miles, and merging, in
a final sweep to south-east, with the stretches of high
and broken plateau which form, save for a strip of
lowland coast, the principal part of Cameroon. In the
opposite direction, some twenty miles away seaward,
Fernando Po rises out of the Atlantic with the majestic
grace peculiar to a volcanic island, its peak reaching
10,190 feet : while immediately below, where the foot-
hills of the Throne encircle the lovely Bay of Ambas,
studded with innumerable rocky islets, lies Victoria,
the seaport of the administrative capital, Buea, which
is situated on the southern mountain-side, at a 3,000 feet
altitude. The magnificent road, as wide as Oxford
Street, which connects Buea and Victoria, passes
through the grand, primeval forest whose trees, their
immense trunks festooned with mauve convolvuli and
varied twining lianas, alive with gorgeous butterflies
and birds whose plumage shimmers Avith every brilliant
hue, lose their feet in billows of exuberant shrub and
fern. The great stretch of the estuary of Cameroon,
spreading beneath Buea southwards, has for its shores,
where the small rivers Wuri, Bimbia, and Mungo
empty into it, many miles of black mangrove -swamp,
threaded with gleaming waterways, and bordering in-
land a belt of high forest. Some miles from the mouth
of the Wuri, Duala and Bonaberi appear upon opposite
banks, whence railway-lines run north and east,
receiving the produce, ivory, rubber, vanilla, tobacco,
coffee, of field and factory, and pouring them upon the
wharves of Duala.

THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON 17

This port was, until recently, in many ways very
typical of German colonial life and methods. It was
the head- quarters of the merchants and missionaries,
and contained, with its 22,000 natives, some 200
Europeans. It was beautifully situated, if somewhat
straggling, well laid out in wide and tree-lined streets,
had a fine park containing the government offices, and
was furnished with excellent sanitation. The numerous
notices which everywhere met the eye, ' Bakerei ',
' Condetorei ', &c., reminded the traveller strangely of
some haunt of the Black Forest. Germans sought,
indeed, to reproduce in the colony as far as possible
the life of their Fatherland. They set aside a colonial
' Widows and Orphans ' fund, upon which men drew
subsidies enabling them to take out their wives to the
colony, and no more pleasing sight could be seen in
the whole of West Africa than man and matron arm-in-
arm beside their charming, red-roofed bungalow, gay
with fern and flower, whose open door disclosed, perhaps,
glimpses of a snowy tablecloth bright with polished
silver and glass. Nor were aspects of the Fatherland
alone represented in social and domestic circles. In
administrative and commercial spheres the unmistakable
stamp of German method and organization was every-
where impressed. It combined, indeed, with greater
absolutism and greater efficiency a more enlightened
attitude between commerce and the government, assisted
as the latter was by an advisory council of the principal
merchants, than was to be found in any other West
African dependency. That caste aloofness between
trader and official from which unhappily British West
African colonies were not free, had no counterpart in
Cameroon. Even the British merchant was warmly
welcomed, not for himself, but for his trade. The ship

18 Tt

18 THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON

that steamed into a German port met with no delay-
owing to the medical officer being at dinner or tennis,
but with a promptness and thoroughness strongly in
contrast with its usual reception at a French or Portu-
guese port. British and German steamship lines, indeed,
were keenly devoted to cargo, but of the Woermann
vessels particularly a report was current in the Bights
that they would lie off and wait for the stuff to grow.
The influences and energies that had impelled the vast
German trade expansion which Europe had recently
seen were all at work in Cameroon, and though the
volume of the latter 's trade just before the outbreak
of war was only a sixth of that of Nigeria, keen rivalry
promised between the two colonies. Trade, however,
came almost completely to a standstill after August
1914. The energies of the numerous German settlers,
who, having all had military training, were now armed
for military service, became immediately absorbed with
usual German intensity in local war. Troops were
distributed at points along the near frontiers, and
British movements were watched, as far as possible,
with close attention. The circumstances and the
resources of the colony dictated a defensive, not an
offensive role. Events were not long in developing.
About the time that news was beginning to filter through
regarding the British defeat at Garua, urgent messages
reached Duala for reinforcements to stem a second
British invasion, so far victorious, near Nsanakang.

Nsanakang was a compact little village, with a com-
fortable ' rest house ' and a large iron-built factory,
situated upon the Cross river, five miles inside the
Cameroon frontier. The Cross at this point was some
eighty yards wide, and the bush around was so prolific
that it grew densely to within a hundred yards of the

::%.

THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON 19

buildings, which could thus readily be made untenable
by no great number of snipers. British reconnaissances
from Ikom, in one of which there was a slight skirmish
with the enemy, were not slow to recognize the weak-
nesses of the place. At dawn on August 25 an alarm was
given throughout the village : the English were outside
and preparing to attack. Presently to watchers within
the defences a canoe appeared round a bend of the
river containing a British officer and a canoe-boy. The
Germans met it with a hail of bullets, and the canoe -
boy jumped overboard. The unfortunate officer spun
round and round in the middle of the river, but at length,
miraculously preserved, escaped round the bend, where
a steam-launch, constituting one of three columns
engaged in the attack, was waiting. The launch, which
carried guns, now moved up-stream stern first, to avoid
exposing itself by turning should retirement become
necessary. Three times, indeed, this proved to be the
case, and finally, still no Union Jack appearing, it was
concluded that the land columns had met with a check.
But soon a canoe came paddling swiftly down. The
village had been taken. The fiag was not flying because
it had, unfortunately, been handed to a canoe -boy, who,
when a German outpost was encountered in the dark-
ness, had bolted. Nsanakang was now taken possession
of by the British, and a garrison of 200 men was stationed
there. Meanwhile, another expedition was engaged in
a similar raid into German territory nearer the sea-
coast. A small force, starting from Calabar, crossed the
Akpa Jafe river, which here formed the boundary-line,
and on August 29 seized Archibong, on the road to
Rio del Rey, after slight resistance. A week later
German reinforcements, brought up from Duala, fell
upon Nsanakang.

B2

20 THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON

At two o'clock in the morning of Sunday, September 6,
sudden tumult broke the stillness of the forest enclosing
the village. Rifle-shots cracked sharply in the darkness.
The British, on the alert, immediately replied. This,
however, was as the enemy had hoped, for it enabled
them to locate the British entrenchments. The Ger-
mans, some 800 strong, now so placed their machine-
guns, ^vith which they were amply provided, as to
enfilade the position. At length twilight filtering
through the branches indicated the approach of dawn.
About five o'clock the Germans opened fire from their
prepared positions, situated on high ground on the left,
and the rattling of their maxims could be heard for
fifteen miles in the clear morning air. A British motor-
launch, summoned by the sound, attempted to reach
the village, but was driven back by fusillades from the
river banks. The defenders in Nsanakang, heavily
outnumbered, and outclassed in weapons, stood their
ground with stubborn courage. To move about in
their entrenchments, with hostile machine-guns at so
short a range, was practically impossible. Ammunition
could not be distributed, and after some time the
supplies available began to give out. The trenches
became filled with dead and dying : the enemy,
however, also suffered severely, losing their com-
mandant, assistant-commandant, and many ofiicers.
A retirement was being contemplated, indeed, by the
Germans, when the British shortage of ammunition in
the firing line became apparent. Captain Milne-Howe,
commanding the defenders, realized that his men, fired
at from all sides, their numbers dwindling through
casualties, could hold their own no longer. Withdrawal
was impossible, surrender was inconceivable. He
ordered a charge : a number of his men, after a sharp

THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON 21

struggle, managed to break through the enemy and
escape into the bush. British officers at Ikom, the
advanced base a few miles inside the Nigerian frontier,
were horrified during the next few days by the arrival
of survivors, Englishmen and natives, bedraggled,
starved, and torn, who had suffered terrible privations
in the pathless bush, some having been for days without
food. Not a fifth of the original garrison at length
straggled in. Of the natives, the losses numbered
95 killed, 16 wounded, and 49 captured, the proportion
of killed being due, it is said, to the slaughter of wounded
men. The German casualties, however, were scarcely
less. The enemy sent to Ikom under a flag of truce to
propose an armistice, and by agreement Nsanakang
was declared a neutral zone in order that the wounded
of both sides might be cared for. Meanwhile, a large
part of the forces which had been operating from Ikom
had already hastened back to Calabar, where prepara-
tions for the invasion of Cameroon by sea were nearing
completion.

The task of the Cumberland and the Dwarf, in recon-
noitring the approaches to Duala, was both difficult and
adventurous. The position of the town upon the Wuri
was not far from where the Cameroon estuary, a wide
and navigable bay, broken by innumerable creeks,
received the river's waters. Many of these creeks it
was necessary to sound, and often thrilling exploits,
welcomed with zest by youthful midshipmen, took
place. Picket-boat or pinnace, exploring unknown
channels, would encounter some hostile motor-launch,
or run into ambush from the banks. One such picket -
boat gained notoriety even amongst the Germans, who
named it the ' Red Devil ', for its hairbreadth escapes
and exciting adventures. On September 13 it was

22 THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON

sent up one of the creeks to look for a vessel that had
fired at one of the British small craft during the night.
While examining some native huts on the bank the
crew of the ' Red Devil ' sighted an enemy steam-
launch, and gave chase, firmg with a three-pounder gun.
The launch disappeared round a bend, and the picket -
boat followed at full speed. The British beheld, to
their horror, a large armed merchantman only 400 yards
away. They sent shots into her bows, turned, and fled.
The German vessel gave chase. For fifteen minutes
shot and shrapnel splashed into the water close around,
but fortunately missed, until at length the picket-boat
sped round a bend, out of sight and out of danger.
Next day the enemy attempted a daring enterprise.
Under cover of darkness a man in a small steamboat,
its bows laden with high explosive set for discharge,
came steaming down towards the Dwarf. He was,
indeed, by profession a man of peace, being a German
missionary, who undertook the task because he was,
he said, a warrior first, an evangelist afterwards. As
he neared the gunboat he dived, at the critical moment,
into the waves. By good fortune, in doing so he put
the helm hard by, and the infernal engine, veering,
missed the Dwarf by inches. Both steamboat and
missionary were secured. The gunboat, able from her
size to navigate shallow waters, came in for more than
one such effort at destruction. Two days after the first
attempt, an old guard-ship, the Nachtigal, essayed to
ram the British vessel, but the effort completely mis-
carried, the German being wrecked with a loss of
36 men, and the Dwarf being only slightly damaged
and Avithout casualties. Yet again, some days later,
a further attack by two hostile launches, armed with
spar torpedoes, was similarly frustrated. Another

THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON 23

danger to the British vessels was constituted by the
numerous floating mines scattered in the channel
leading to Duala, which was also obstructed nine miles
from the river-mouth by at least ten sunken ships.
Some of the latter were, however, blown up by gun-
cotton and dynamite, the channel being cleared suffi-
ciently for navigation and swept for mines to within
three miles of Duala. Twelve were found and exploded
by rifle-fire. Meanwhile, the British troopships convey-
ing the invading force were drawing rapidly nigh.

The flotilla consisted of five transports, escorted by
the cruiser Challenger, and two or three colliers. Life
aboard presented a curious study in contrasts and
varieties. Staff officers who might have been straight
from Piccadilly, native carriers clothed in what might
have been a soiled duster, Nigerian railway, transport,
and survey men, some thousand native troops, a few
Hausa Waffs, their fingers and toes stained scarlet with
henna, two native deserters from Cameroon, surgeons,
nurses, a political officer, a guide, a financial agent, an
AngHcan ' sky-pilot ', and a Roman priest, formed
surely the strangest invading party to which mihtary
history or the records of colonial conquest can point.
The difficulty of the venture was not under -estimated :
it was beHeved aboard that, in addition to native troops,
the German defenders included 3,000 whites, and
Greneral Dobell himself drew attention to the fact that
the Germans considered Duala impregnable ; sunken
wrecks blocked the river-mouth, and mines had been
sown broadcast. The voyage was lengthy and mono-
tonous. The coastline, ' flat, stale, and unprofitable '
it was named on board, was unvarying with its fringe,
broken by numerous inlets, of low-lying bush, fronted
by white surf, and backed by cloud-studded blue sky.

24 THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON

Away to the south, however, forming, as they were
approached, a magnificent spectacle, the Throne of
Thunder and Fernando Po rose grandly from the waters.
When the flotilla entered the Cameroon estuary, where
lay the Cumberland and the Dwarf, the aspect at sun-
down, heightened by the gorgeous phenomena of a West
African sunset, became indescribably sublime. To
north-\\est the Peak of Cameroon, partly hidden in the
clouds, Buea and Victoria invisible, and to westward
the purj^le mountain of Fernando Po, rearing its summit
from the sea, appeared, standing stark against skies
upon which were reflected all the hlies of orange and
of emerald ; Avhile in the background, morse messages
flashing from one to another through the twilight, the
forms of the ships showed sombre and still. They
made already quite a formidable fleet : but the
French expedition, now nearing the rendezvous, was
soon to swell its number.

Ill

The commander of the forces in French Dahomey
was General A\'merich, who had to deal with an extra-
ordinary military position. The French-German frontier,
an irregular line touching in its course both Lake Chad
and the Congo, was three times the length of the British-
German frontier, and the troops available were few and
scattered. But two circumstances influenced Aymerich's
dispositions. It was desirable to conform to the British
plan of holding as many of the enemy as possible in the
interior, while the main attack from the sea was being
delivered. That French troops should engage the
enemy inland was, therefore, as important as that they
shoukl take part in the coastal operations. During the

THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON 25

Agadir crisis of 1911, moreover, to ensure an amicable
settlement, France had ceded to Germany an extensive
and valuable strip of her African territory adjoining
Cameroon. It was fitting that this area should be
reoccupied without delay. Upon these lines, therefore,
General Aymerich had, since the outbreak of war,
proceeded. Two columns were organized, operating in
the north and in the south-east, and overran much of
the ceded area with little difficulty. Meanwhile, an
expeditionary force was prepared at Libreville to act
under General Dobell with the British troops attacking
Duala. French war vessels also were not inactive.
Cocobaach, to the north of Gaboon, was captured by
a gunboat. The Republican cruiser Surprise on
September 24 appeared off Ukoki, in Corisco Bay, an
estuary full of reefs and sandbanks, escorting a military
force, and two small German armed liners, the Rhios
and the Itolo, were, as it was officially announced,
actually surprised, and sunk. The Germans were
driven back, and Ukoki was occupied. On the following
day, the French expedition having now joined the
British flotilla, the bombardment of Duala began.

It was the Challenger which was directed to force the
entrance of the river and to open bombardment. Her
displacement was greatly less than that of the Cumber-
land, and greatly more than that of the Dwarf. She
carried 6-inch guns, moreover, which could be made
effective siege pieces. On September 25 the cruiser,
from a three-mile range, comfortably out of reach of
the German forts, opened the attack. The shelling was
continued at intervals for two days, and on the second
day, the 26th, a landing was attempted. A flotilla of
tugs, motor-launches, and picket -boats, among them
the ' Red Devil ', carrying Nigerian troops, moved off

26 THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON

at about four o'clock in the morning up one of the
creeks. The boats were nearly all armoured, and
provided with maxims or three -pounders. The enemy
were, however, upon the alert, and the stretches of
black, slimy ooze which fringed the banks proved fatal
to the enterprise. As soon as the expedition stopped
at a spot less unfavourable than elsewhere, three signal
shots from watchers on the shores brought up the
defenders in force. The banks were overgrown with
a dense jungle of mangroves, which afforded ideal cover
for the enemy. A tremendous fusillade was soon
opened upon the boats, which, while they swept the
banks vigorously with their maxims, had to fire at an
invisible foe. So stubborn was the resistance, and so
impassable the mud-banks, that the landing had to be
given up. Some of the troops were, indeed, put ashore,
but proved unable to relieve the situation, or to make
headway in the swamp. Meanwhile, the Germans in
the Duala forts were suffering severely from the bom-
bardment. An effort to destroy the Challenger by ram-
ming her was made by a ship prepared with dynamite,
h\\{ miscarried. The German fort guns were outranged,
and the fates themselves appeared to be on the side of
the British, whose ships seemed charmed against mine
or sunken hulk, fire-ship or dynamite. It was evident
tliat prolonged resistance would be futile, and prepara-
tions for evacuation were made. The wireless station
w as dismantled, and all the instruments were destroyed.
Nine merchant steamers and a river -gunboat, the Soden,
lying in harbour, were sent up-stream for a few miles.
The floating dock, however, and the Herzogin Elizabeth,
a small government vessel, which had been set afire by
shells, were sunk. On Sunday, September 27, look-out
men upon the Ckdlenger espied a white flag fluttering

THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON 27

from the town. Messages were at once exchanged
between the opposing forces : the surrender was,
however, unconditional. Troops were soon landed ;
and on the 28th General Dobell went ashore and formally
took possession of the town and port. The occupation
resulted in the release of Dagadu, the old Chief of
Kpandu, in Togoland, whom the Germans had exiled
to Duala eighteen months before on account of his
British sympathies. He had, in 1886, applied to be
taken under British protection, and had been given
a British flag, but his territory had come within the
German sphere when the Togoland boundary was
delimited. He retained his flag, however, until his
exile early in 1913, when it was discovered. Dagadu
showed his gratitude for his release upon his return to
Kpandu shortly afterwards, hailed by his people with
great enthusiasm. ' It was my willing to give more ',
was the old chief's cry when, out of his depleted fortunes
and the scanty resources of his ' village youngmen ',
he sent £100 as a contribution to the War Fund.

The footing now gained was consolidated and extended
without delay. Bonaberi, a neighbouring town on the
other side of the river, was occupied. It was feared
that the Germans would counter-attack, and careful
watch had to be maintained. An alarm was sounded,
indeed, just at dusk, some of the enemy having appar-
ently been seen, but no attack followed. At seven
o'clock next morning about a hundred men were sent
with a naval party in tugs and launches to seize the
merchant steamers that had withdrawn up-river. The
men loaded their rifles and prepared for action, since
it was doubtful with what reception they would meet.
At length the Hans Woermann, the largest of the
steamers, was approached. The British proceeded

28 THE CAMPAIGNS EST CAMEROON

cautiously along. They were greeted, however, not by
bullets, but by British cheers. Some thirty English,
including two women and a baby, had been kept
prisoner on board, and were overcome with delight at
their release. The German crew, when the British flag
had gone up over Duala, had thrown overboard all their
rifles and ammunition, and now received the expedition
quietly, though suUenly. The ships were immediately
searched, the white crews being removed as prisoners,
the native engine-room ratings being retained. The
merchantmen, which numbered nine vessels, with
a total tonnage of nearly 31,000 tons, were in good
order, most of them still containing their cargoes and
considerable quantities of coal. The gunboat Soden
A\as also among the captures, being eventually recom-
missioned for British use. It was expected at Duala,
moreover, that the sunken floating dock could be raised
and utilized. All through the operations which had
preceded and followed the capture of the town the sole
casualties had been one naval signalman and four
natives wounded ; while 400 German prisoners had
been taken. But such success as the British had met
^v•ith did not deceive them as to the difficulties in front.
Two defeats had yet to be retrieved. During the
following week preparations were energetically made
for immediate advance, which was planned to take
three directions.

The railway line upon which Duala lay ran to south-
east for about a hundred mfles toAvards Edea and
Sende, and was continued from Bonaberi in a northerly
direction towards Susa for some sixty miles. The river
\Vuri provided a means of easy transit to the north-east,
the chief township on its banks being Jabassi, some
forty miles up-stream. Advance in these three direc-

THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON 29

tions formed obviously the soundest ways of forcing
the enemy back into the inhospitable interior, though
each was certain to be strongly guarded. Columns
were organized for each, and in a week all was in readi-
ness. An Anglo-French force which set out along the
southern railway towards Edea was the first to come in
contact with the Germans, who, at Japoma bridge,
contested the crossing of the French. The French
Senegalese Laptot, very fine, fierce fellows, carried
' coupe-coupes ', to which bayonets were fixed, forming
a sort of kukri, and a dangerous weapon at close quarters.
They acquitted themselves with brilliant success, and
forced the river passage with little loss. Meanwhile, an
attack upon Jabassi was impending.

The approaches to the town had already been recon-
noitred. The ' Red Devil ' had set out some days
earlier, and during a three-day trip, not without incident,
had carefully scanned the banks for possible landing-
places. The enemy were reported in force, and fairly
strongly entrenched. By October 7 all was ready for
the main expedition. On that day a flotilla of 27 small
boats, including a lighter towed by a tug, and a steamer,
in each of which naval 6-inch guns had been mounted,
and which respectively were nicknamed the ' Dread-
nought ' and the ' Super-Dreadnought ', left Duala for
Jabassi. They carried a military force consisting of
two battalions of infantry, with four small field-guns,
commanded by Colonel Gorges. A five -knot current
was racing down-stream, and the voyage up was arduous
and long. The ' Red Devil ' led the way, and in about
twelve hours a German outpost was encountered, which,
after a few shots had passed, was dispersed by shells
from one of the big guns. It was decided to remain
at this spot for the night, and one company was at once

^v*»

tkh

30 THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON

landed and placed on picket duty. The night passed
off uneventfully. Early next morning the boats began
to move off, and the troops were all landed at a point
three or four miles from Jabassi. Both naval and
military forces now advanced up the river. When about
a thousand yards from the town the first signs of resis-
tance were met with. The ' Red Devil ', venturing
forward to reconnoitre, had a narrow escape under hot
maxim and rifle fire from the banks. On land machine-
guns, the predominant German weapons, proved terribly
effective, and the British, unable to leave cover under
the incessant hail of bullets, were brought to a stand-
still. A flank attack was attempted, but was foiled
by the watchful enemy. For some time the attacking
force, under the heat and glare of an exceptionally
brilliant sun, was held up completely before the hostile
lines. The flotilla in the river, notably the two ' Dread-
noughts ', played terrible havoc among the enemy on
the banks, but was unable, owing to the uncertain
ranges and the dense jungle, to co-operate usefully with
the land forces. Nor could the field-guns, for similar
reasons, render effective aid. There was no alterna-
tive but retirement and re -embarkation. This was
done in good order, and during the rest of the day and
the 9th October the troops were rested. On the 10th
General Dobell came up by launch, and after surveying
the position ordered the whole force back to Duala.
A week later the expedition set out again. The strict
precautions taken and the alternative plans prepared
this time proved, however, needless. The enemy had
for some reason evacuated the town, and it was occupied
without resistance.

A few days after the seizure of Jabassi the column
advanchig up the northern railway, under Lieut.-

THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON 31

Colonel Haywood, came into action with the Grermans
at Susa, 34 miles from Bonaberi, and forced them to
retire. Equally successful was a further attack along
the southern railway, upon Edea, an important station
about 25 miles beyond Japoma. It was determined to
attack the town, which lay upon the river Sanaga
56 miles from the coast, by a river expedition. On
October 20 a strong force, mainly French, set out from
Duala along the sea-coast in small boats, escorted by
two ships. The voyage proved notable for discomfort
and mishap. So crowded were the boats that sleep
was impossible, and commissariat arrangements, labour-
ing under difficulties, partly broke down. In crossing
the bar at the mouth of the Sanaga an accident resulted
in three officers being drowned, while one of the boats
ran aground in the river, the men having to be taken
off in smaller craft. At length, on the 23rd, the
troops were landed, and a base camp was established,
one and a half companies of the West African Regiment,
composing the British force, being left as garrison,
while the remainder, the French, under Colonel Mayer,
set off towards Edea. During two days the column,
following a road which wound through the dense,
tropical forest, was constantly beset by hostile snipers,
who made use of elephant -guns and maxims, cunningly
concealed in trees. Advance under such conditions was
sorely trying, but the French, undismayed, pushed on
tenaciously until, on the third day, resistance practically
ceased. The casualties had been fewer than might
have been expected. A big final action was, neverthe-
less, anticipated before the objective could be gained.
When the French arrived on October 26, however, they
found Edea evacuated, the Germans having entrained
and made off, with goods and valuables, down the

32 THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON

railway line towards Yaunde, which they shortly after
made their temporary capital ; for Buea, the adminis-
trative capital, was soon in British hands.

Dobell, meanwhile, had been planning and organizing
operations on an extensive scale for the capture of both
Buea and Victoria. The latter lay at the head of
Ambas Bay, and Buea some miles up the slope of the
great mountain. The operations, skilfully prepared,
carried all before them. Large naval and military
forces advanced from different points upon Buea, while
the Bruix, a French cruiser, and the Ivy, a Nigerian
government yacht, bombarded Victoria. The latter
was seized upon November 13 by a force of British
marines, and two days later Buea was taken. The
Germans were scattered in all directions. Some idea of
the complete success of these undertakings may be
gained from the fact that not a single white casualty
was suffered.

IV

General Dobell could now congratulate himself upon
being within sight of his objective. By the end of the
year the position was still more satisfactory, so much
so, indeed, that on December 21 the port of Duala was
reopened to trade, though the sale of foodstuffs, without
special permit, was forbidden. Permission to trade
was also extended to much of the area then occupied
by the Allied forces. Every month had seen, and
continued to see, this area steadily increase. On
November 13 a column advancing along the northern
railway from Susa had driven the enemy before them
and occupied Miijuka, some 50 miles up the line from
Bonaberi. The retreating Germans blew up the per-
manent way at frequent intervals. At the beginning

THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON 33

of December Lum, 20 miles farther on, was the scene
of a sharp engagement, in which the British, ambushed
in a deep cutting by Germans with concealed maxims,
sustained a dozen casualties. Ambush, indeed, con-
stituted one of the principal dangers of the whole
campaign, as well as a supreme trial to the nerves.
Eternal twilight reigned in the thick forests, the trees
interlacing their boughs, festooned with creepers, far
overhead. Columns picking their way in single file
through the dense bush would suddenly be checked by
shots ringing out in the wonderful stillness, very often
taken by the native carriers as a signal to stampede
with their loads. Continuing to advance, however, the
British had by December 10 reached the railhead, and
the following day they pushed on to Bare, an important
native town eight miles beyond, which surrendered after
slight resistance. Five railway-engines, much other
rolling-stock, and two aeroplanes were taken : sixty
whites, many of whom were women and children, half
the former wearing riding-breeches and leggings, fell
also into British hands. And not least among the
captures were two or three hundred large bottles of
soda-water, which British officers, after long abstention,
found very palatable. After adequate rest. Colonel
Hajrwood's force divided into two columns, and pressed
on inland, through hilly country, towards the stronghold
of Tschanj, 60 miles away, whither the enemy had
retired. German sniping patrols hindered rapid advance,
but attempts at resistance in force were repulsed with
ease by field-gun fire. Tschanj was occupied in about
a fortnight with little opposition, more prisoners being
taken. Meanwhile, many miles north of this column,
near where the Cross River traversed the Nigerian-
Cameroon borders, the Germans had, following their
18 0

34 THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON

early success at Nsanakang, been making small frontier
incursions, retiring, in every case but one, without
encountering the British, whose detachment at Ikom
was on December 1 reinforced from Lagos. An attack
by 300 of the enemy to the east of Ikom in the middle of
November constituted the exception, but was, after
a j^reliminar}' success at Danare, 25 miles east of the
town, repulsed with loss at Abonorok. The fresh
British troops at Ikom, after a rest of ten days, advanced
slowly up the Cross towards German territory. The
surface of the country was here broken greatly by
mountain and river, and marching proved terribly
tr^ang, particularly where the road lay for distances in
the beds of streams a foot deep. Blockhouses were con-
structed along the frontier, and an advanced base fixed
at Nsarum. Outposts placed on the boundary came
occasionally into contact with the enemy, and some-
times met with exciting adventures, varied by frequent
false alarms prompted by native farmers who, for
security, were anxious to retain the British troops in
their villages. Early on Christmas morning, however,
a column crossed into German territory, their objective
being Ossidinge, 25 miles on. Five miles outside
this stronghold the enemy had left a white flag, and
the British were met by a messenger bearing the keys
and announcing the surrender of the place. But on
arrival, off their guard, they were fusilladed by maxims.
The Germans were, however, easily dispersed by
artillery, and the attackers took possession of the
town, Mhich, after fortifying it, they utilized as a base
for raids ijito the interior during January. Small
engagements between patrols continued to take place
frequently, as was the case, indeed, at many points
throughout the Nigerian-Cameroon boundary, some

THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON 35

650 miles long. Among other areas, the district around
Garua, in the extreme north of the colony, also the
scene of an initial German success, showed renewed
activity.

In this part, the extreme north, a detachment of the
Nigerian Regiment had, as early as October, partly
retrieved the disaster by occupying Marua, an important
town 600 miles inland, the German forces all having
concentrated at Garua. The British obtained possession
on October 8, a month before war broke out with
Turkey, of a German proclamation addressed in Arabic
to the Chief of Marua, indicating the cause of the war
as the desire of the English to take Constantinople and
to give it to the pagans. Misrepresentations such as
these, however, by no means limited, as has been seen
to German Mohammedan subjects, had little influence
upon British subjects. During the first few months of
war many gifts and messages of loyalty, indeed, poured
in to the Governor of Nigeria. The Emir of Bornu
sent to the troops at Marua horses, corn, and cattle, and
contributed to the war chest £3,500 from the native
treasury. ' I am the servant of our lord the King,'
he said. ' Why should I not help him to eat up his
enemies ? ' The same potentate, many months later,
when Garua fell to the British, ordered three days of
public rejoicing in his capital, and tendered in thanks-
giving a further contribution of £1,000, with many
prayers for the victory of British arms and for the
lengthening of Governor Lugard's days. But Garua
was yet to fall : reinforcements, and certain big guns
from Morocco and elsewhere, had yet to be brought up,
and meanwhile in the south, as the new year advanced,
the Germans were slowly driven into the interior and
surrounded.

C2

36 THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON

The fighting in Cameroon now developed into guerrilla
warfare such as almost every war of conquest produces.
The South African War was won within a year, but
two years of blockhouse fighting were necessary before
the enemy could be brought to terms. The campaigns
in Cameroon constituted just such another war on
a smaller scale, won, after preliminary reverses, within
a few months, but not brought to a close until after
many months of bush fighting. Such fighting was
highly dangerous, and saw many thrilling adventures,
in one of which, notably. Captain Butler, of the Gold
Coast Regiment, attacked and defeated with 13 men
100 of the enemy, capturing a machine-gun and many
loads of ammunition. For this and for another exploit
he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Hemmed in by
bush, on a path wide enough only for single file, a
column, sometimes two or three miles long, would find
itself suddenly fusilladed by a foe invisible in the
undergrowth. The darkness and stillness of the ever-
lasting forest, for native minds the home of countless
legions of spirits, lent strangeness and terror to the cam-
paigning. The brushwood was so dense as to envelop
the tree -trunks, forming sometimes the low, thick bush
of the Sierra Leone Protectorate, more often of the wild
West African forest, varied by luxuriant palm-groves
and acres of flourishing bananas. It was not uncommon
for white men to get lost in the bush, only returning
to their columns alive after terrible hardships. To
cover more than about 20 miles a day, marching from
dawn to dusk, was impossible. The heat was intense,
tropical downpours were frequent, and at certain
seasons violent tornadoes swept down in thunder-clouds
livid with lightning. In the interior of the colony, upon
the high plateaux, the country was more open, with

THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON 37

rolling hills covered by long grass, where, however,
countless swarms of ants proved distressing companions.
The fauna of the colony, indeed, showed little apprecia-
tion of the fact that war was being waged, and a herd
of elephants, animals which abounded, disturbed
one column by overrunning its camping-ground. The
frequent indications of liveliness evinced by the Ger-
mans, who showed no signs of desire to finish the
' palaver ', was, however, the chief excitement. It is
probable that dreams of sweeping victories in Europe
inspired them to endurance, for they fought with spirit
and determination. They broke into small parties,
raiding across the country for food, which they lacked.
German officers could not at times prevent their native
troops from perpetrating atrocities such as the slaughter
of wounded men and of non-combatant natives. Early
in the new year, however, they made a violent attack
upon Edea, where Colonel Mayer repulsed them, inflict-
ing a loss of 20 Europeans and 54 native soldiers,
a machine-gun and 50 rifles. Only after many stubborn
fights were the Germans forced back, during the following
months, to the high plateaux of the interior. They
made Yaunde their base, and the advance of the Allies
was pressed slowly in this direction, British and French
columns pushing forward from Edea, and troops from
French Equatorial Africa, directed by General Aymerich,
entering Cameroon from the cast. Aymerich had,
indeed, aided by a small contribution of men and
material from the Belgian Congo, been conspicuously
successful in his operations in the south, almost all the
region forming the basin of the Sangha River being now
in his hands. By the end of May Colonel Mayer, with
his French column from Edea, had captured two fortified
posts in the Yaunde district, and the French column

38 THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON

from the Sangha had gained a notable success at Monso,
where a number of prisoners and a very large quantity of
weapons and ammunition were taken. The spoils also
included an interesting collection of archives and
correspondence. The French during the early days of
June continued to press on, and at this time the strong-
hold of Garua fell to an Allied force without the loss
of a single life.

Since their success in August 1914, the Germans at
Garua, under von Cranzelheim, had been energetically
strengthening their fortifications. Two thousand native
labourers were employed to turn the place, with its
four forts, into a formidable stronghold, upon which
were lavished all the care, skill, and ingenuity with
which for warlike purposes Germans have shown them-
selves to be so plenteousl}^ endowed. Three modern
works, set upon eminences each distant some four or
five hundred yards from the next, and situated upon
a high ridge dominating the adjacent town, together
with an old fort on the plain below, comprised the
defences : but other invaluable assets included work-
shops equij)ped with excellent armourer's, carpenter's,
and blacksmith's tools, and a hospital replete with
valuable medical instruments, microscopes, medicines,
bandages, and even an up-to-date dentist's chair. The
old fort, whose mud and brick walls, some 15 feet high
and 4 feet thick, extending in a rectangle about 100
yards by 150 yards, were embrasured for guns and
furnished with sandbag loopholes, displayed in its
construction exceptional artifice and savage cunning.
It contained bungalows, offices, stores, and under-
ground bomb-proof shelters ; a deep ditch filled wdth
upright spears, and a barbed wire entanglement twenty
feet broad, surrounded it ; and outside these an abattis

THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON 39

of felled prickly acacia trees and a maze of deep pits,
cunningly concealed and bristling with upright poisoned
spears, lay circumposed. The town near by, situated
upon the Benue, was large, containing some 10,000
inhabitants. Von Cranzelheim's total garrison num-
bered probably some 500 men, of whom between 40
and 50 were Europeans : while he was provided with
four field-guns and ten maxims, and his supplies of
food and ammunition ensured his capacity for with-
standing siege.

On May 31 a considerable Allied force, composed of
French and British infantry, cavalry, and artillery,
under Colonel F. G. N. Cunliife, commandant of the
Nigerian Regiment, appeared outside the town. He
was well aware of the strength of the fortifications,
and had come prepared accordingly. Notwithstanding
the difficulties of transport, a large calibre French gun
had been brought upon boats from Morocco along about
a thousand miles of waterway, while a British naval
gun had similarly been transported by river for several
hundred miles, under the charge of Lieutenant L, H. K.
Hamilton, who had commanded a river fiotilla which
had, at the end of the previous December, driven the
Germans from the township of Dehane. The Colonel
first very carefully reconnoitred the whole position,
and picked out what he thought its weakest spot.
The heavy guns, from a distance of 4,000 yards, opened
a bombardment upon all four forts, and sapping opera-
tions, by night, were commenced with a series of parallel
trenches dug gradually nearer and nearer to the work
immediately in front. The enemy replied with a lively
fire, the effect of which was negligible. Meanwhile, in
order to prevent the garrison breaking out, a company
stationed upon a hill on the other side of the Benue

40 THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON

watched the fords below, while patrolling cavalry
guarded the fords barring the way to the south. The
precaution was necessary. The bombardment, which
lasted some ten days, was so accurate and severe, especi-
ally towards the end, that the German native troops
became completely demoralized. They could not counter
or reply effectually to the melinite and lyddite shells
which descended incessantly upon them. The British
lost not a single life during the whole operations : one
projectile alone exploding inside a bomb-proof shelter
killed twenty of the enemy. At length, on June 9, the
men began to mutiny, and refused to man the fortifica-
tions. Next day a large number of the enemy's cavalry,
maddened by the shell-fire under which they were
impotent, broke loose, seized horses and rifles, and
galloped off towards the Banue. The river had, how-
ever, during the last few days risen considerably.
Many of the luckless enemy were drowned in attempting
to cross ; one party which got over was fallen upon
by a British force, and the remainder were vigorously
pursued by French cavalry. That afternoon, about
half -past four, white flags were hoisted from the forts.
Colonel CunlifPe ordered the ' Cease-fire ', and with the
French commander and two staff officers galloped to
the British forward trenches, about 1,000 yards from
No. 1 fort. A white flag was hastily improvised by
means of a white shirt tied to a stick, no more finished
article being available. The oflicers, walking forward,
were soon met by a party of the garrison, whose leader
voiced their conditions of surrender : that the garrison
be allowed to march out with the honours of war, and
to rejoin the German troops in the south of the colony.
The indignant Colonel declared that he would listen to
no terms, but only to unconditional surrender. The

THE CAMPAIGNS IN CAMEROON 41

German saluted and asked for two days' grace in which
to bring back the commandant's reply. Two hours,
the Colonel answered, was all he would give. Von
Cranzelheim, after a short delay, surrendered uncon-
ditionally. Next morning at daybreak the Allies
marched into Garua, hauled down the German flag, and
hoisted, amid a flourish of bugles, the Union Jack and
the Tricolour. Thirty-seven Europeans and 270 native
rank and file, a number of field-guns, maxims, and
rifles, large quantities of equipment and ammunition,
were captured. Many bales of cloth and beads, which
were also taken and divided with the spoils, were given
to the men as rewards for discipline and self-restraint.
And on Sunday, June 13, a funeral parade service was
held over the graves of Colonel Maclear and the other
officers who had fallen in the early defeat, and a large
wooden cross was erected.

Here the story of the campaigns in Cameroon must
at present end. Ngaundere, a large commercial town
on the route from Duala to Lake Chad, was occupied
on June 29, probably by Colonel Cunliffe's column, and
Lomie on June 25 by the French. The latter place had
been evacuated by the Germans in consequence of the
mutiny and desertion of their troops. In their retreat
the enemy are said to have burnt villages and laid
waste the country. And reports of a native rising
against the Germans in one district, accompanied by
demonstrations of goodwill towards the Allies, have
come to hand.

THE STAND OF LltlGB

The Brabant armioa on the fret
For battle in the cause of liberty.

Wordsworth.

On the morning of August 4, 1914, the sentinels
pacing the ancient citadel of Li^ge, where the infantry
barracks were situated, oast, no doubt, many anxious
glances eastwards, where the Vesdre wound, through
Verviers and Limbourg, to the German frontier. They
could see in that direction, and to the south, in the
direction of Luxembourg, now, they knew, in German
hands, long rolling stretches of wooded upland, rising
gradually to where the heights of the Ardennes bounded
the prospect. The journey between London and Cologne
had no stretch more charming than the twenty-five
miles, dotted with pretty country-houses, picturesque
villages, and busy manufactories, traversed by a stream
winding along a deep and beautiful valley, between
Li^ge and Herbesthal. In the opposite direction, to
west and to north, spread the broad and fertile plains of
Hesbaye and Dutch Limbourg, broken by hilly stretches.
The morning was sultry and cloudy. The panorama
that lay below, magnificent as it was, could not be seen
to best advantage. The broad Meuse, joined to the
south of the city by the Vesdre and the Ourthe, lost
itself in haze. Vise, ton miles to the north, could be
discerned dimly upon the east bank. The soldier's
eye oould pick out the forts which girdled the city :
n6ron and Evcgn^e, dominating their villages, lay

44 THE STAND OF LlfeGE

nearest the German frontier. Below, descending by
steep curving streets and stairways, and intersected by
numerous canals and streams, was Liege itself.

Li6ge, lying in a richly cultivated valley, is strikingly
picturesque. The towers of numerous old churches,
some dating back to the tenth century, grace the left
bank of the river, where the principal part of the city is
placed. The chimneys of many factories and foundries
rise upon the right bank, the Outremeuse, the quarters
of the artisan inhabitants. Innumerable barges line
the Meiase near the iron-works and coal-pits of Seraing.
The river is spanned by several remarkably fine bridges.
The Liegeois who, on August 3, discussed in their tree-
lined boulevards and their cafes the national crisis
that had arisen with the delivery of Germany's ulti-
matum, could regard with complacency many historic
buildings and invariably well laid-out streets. That
ultimatum had, indeed, placed their country and them-
selves in a terrible position. Events had been moving
rapidly for some days. A fever of anticipation and of
preparation had settled upon the city.^ The Belgian
army had begun to mobilize. The Garde Civique had
hcQii called up. Then reservists w^ere summoned in
the middle of the night by knocks at their doors and
by the ringing of church bells. Horses and vehicles of
all sorts were commandeered. Even the dogs harnessed
to the milkmen's and bakers' carts were taken off,
wagging their tails in the prevailing excitement, to
draw the machine-guns of the infantry. Carrier-pigeons
also were requisitioned. A food panic commenced.

^ The writer is indebted, for many succeeding facts concerning
the internal condition of the city during the defence, to the account
of an eye-witness, Dr. Hamelius, of Liege University, in his book,
The Siege of Lieje.

THE STAND OF LTfeGE 45

Provision dealers, overwhelmed by the rush of buyers,
at first refused to accept banknotes, though payable
on sight. There was a run upon the banks, amid noisy
scenes. In some cases the city firemen had to be
employed to disperse the crowds by playing the hose
upon the more turbulent creditors. Cattle from the
surrounding district were driven in, and stood, lowing
plaintively, in suburban fields. The animals, it was
remarked, seemed struck by uncanny fear. Many
sickened and died. Refugees of all nationalities poured
through the city towards their respective countries.
Harrowing tales and sensational rumours were exchanged.
It was reported that the 25th Prussian Regiment was
deployed along the frontier near Moresnet. German
airships were said to have passed over Brussels by
night. A local paper published on August 2 an account,
copied by the press of foreign capitals, but later proved
unfounded, of a considerable French victory near
Nancy. There were not wanting signs which, if con-
tributing to the alarm of the citizens, stimulated their
faith in Leman , their military governor . Thirty thousand
navvies had been at work on Sunday, August 2, digging
trenches and erecting earthworks between the forts.
Thousands of troops had been brought up from Diest
by forced marches to augment the garrison. Wanderers
by night might have observed mysterious preparations,
and the secret transport of bulky objects in connexion
with the forts. The precautions had proved to be
justified. On August 3 newspaper placards, ' Belgium
Refuses,' spread sudden news among the disturbed
populace of the rejection of Germany's proposals. The
next day dawned upon an anxious but determined
city. Yesterday had sent defiance to Germany. What
was to-day to bring ? Did their neighbours indeed

46 THE STAND OF LifcGE

intend to make war upon them ? Within a few hours,
before night fell, an overwhelming enemy might be in
their midst. The horrors of war might have overtaken
their homes. The citizens could not but despair of the
ultimate result of the onslaught of a foe so mighty.
But they waited, during hours of acute suspense, with
fortitude. Events soon revealed themselves. During
the morning the distant rattle of rifle-fire broke out
suddenly in the wooded country beyond Herve.
A sharper and more continuous fusillade opened in
the direction of Vise. Some time later a nearer and
more sinister sound, the deep thunder of guns, was
heard. The Germans were bombarding the forts.

Reports poured in at General Leman's head -quarters.
The Germans had entered Limbourg : they had pushed
on to Verviers : they had advanced to Herve : a large
force had reached Dalhem, and was approaching Vise.
The climax came. The enemy had arrived outside
Flcron, and were preparing to attack. Leman's eyes
might well be troubled ; but his jaw was set hard.

It may be well now to recount the first stages of the
German advance. Troops had crossed the frontier,
early that morning, in three columns. It is recorded
that, on their journey by open goods-train to Herbesthal,
old men ran out to bless them, women and girls to
encourage them, and to press upon them food and
drink. Passing trainloads cheered each other, and
promised to meet again in Paris. They w^ere in high
spirits. The task immediately before them appeared
easy. It seemed incredible that Belgium would, or
could, resist their progress. The main column, detrain-
ing at Herbesthal, took to the road and advanced into
Belgian territory. Cavalry patrols were sent on ahead.
A few stra}' shots fired upon them showed that Belgian

THE STAND OF LIi]GE 47

Bcouts were on the alert. No resistance was offered.
The cavaby, passing through Limbourg, met with
some of the retreating Belgians at Verviers. There
was a slight skirmish. The Belgians retired in safety,
and made good use of their retreat in blowing up bridges
and tearing up the railway. The line was, indeed,
remarkable for the engineering skill of its construction.
German infantry, meanwhile, had commandeered loco-
motives and rolling-stock found at Limbourg, and had,
partly by rail and partly by road, reached Verviers.
The terror-stricken inhabitants withdrew into their
houses, and watched the arrival of the Germans from
behind closed shutters. The invaders proceeded to
the town hall. The Belgian flag was torn down and
replaced by the German amid the cheers of the troops.
Martial law was proclaimed in French. A German
ofiicer, placed in charge of the administration of the
town, began to billet troops and requisition supplies.
Large forces had, meanwhile, been pushing forward
by various routes towards Liege. One column made
rapid progress for some distance by means of the rail-
way, until the torn-up portion of the line compelled
recourse to the road. Other columns converged upon
Herve, about ten miles due east of Liege. Continuous
firing broke out in a northerly direction as the advance
was proceeding. Belgian troops, after a skirmish at
Warsage, had retreated, destroying bridges in their
wake, to Vise. Here they were making their first
stand.

Vise occupied a position of considerable strategic
importance. It commanded the passage of the Meuse
north of the city, which was at present exposed to
attack from the east alone. Unless Vise were in German
hands, it would be impossible completely to invest Liege,

48 THE STAND OF LitGE

or to throw forward cavalry into the country beyond.
The capture of Vis6 was, indeed, an essential preliminary
to the capture of Liege. Von Emmich, the veteran
German commander, fully aware of this, had meditated
a surprise. While his main body was advancing by
Limbourg and Verviers, a number of motor-cars, carrying
German troops, followed by large bodies of cavalry,
crossed the frontier and proceeded rapidly to Dalhem.
Two miles away, on the near bank of the river, lay
Vise. So far no opposition, other than a few stray shots,
had met them. They could not expect as propitious
an entry into Vise, and they prepared for action. It
was soon seen that Belgian troops were in occupation.
Light German artillery was brought up, and fire was
opened. It was the first engagement of the war. One
can well imagine that the nerves of the combatants, as
yet unhardened to the sight and sound of battle, were
strung to the highest pitch. It is, indeed, in his first
engagement that the soldier usually shows whether his
natural disposition is for advance or for retreat. The
defence of Vise foreshadowed the defence of Li^ge. The
Belgians showed spirit. The Germans could make no
progress for a considerable while. Time was precious.
The attack on Liege itself, which the seizure of Vise
should precede, would soon open. They commenced
a series of fierce assaults upon the town. Many houses
were set ablaze by bursting shells. The inhabitants,
furious at the wanton attack upon their peaceful dwelling-
place, began to take a share in the fighting. Many
were, indeed, provided with weapons. The manufacture
of fire-arms, for which Liege was famed, was largely
carried on in the workers' homes. The people were
familiar with their mechanism and use. Shots were fired
from the houses. Boys and women flung stones upon

THE STAND OF Lli]GE 49

the attackers. Finally, after a desperate struggle, en try-
in to the town was effected by the Germans. They were
too late to save the bridge. The Belgians, retreating,
destroyed it, and took up a position on the opposite
bank of the river. A body of Uhlans, making for the
bridge, was almost annihilated by a hot fire opened upon
them by infantry hidden among the broken piers. At
the same time shots were fired from houses near the
bank. It is possible that these came from Belgian
soldiers. The German infantry, pouring through the
streets, proceeded to indiscriminate reprisals. A large
number of the inhabitants were shot down. All resis-
tance having ceased, the remaining population were
herded together into the centre of the town, and sur-
rounded by German troops. The commanding officer
addressed the sullen Belgians in French. Urgent neces-
sity, he said, not deliberate enmity, had forced the
Germans to invade Belgian territory. But the inhabi-
tants must submit to German military law. Every
attack on the troops would be immediately punished
with death. A shot rang out suddenly. The officer fell
badly wounded. A group of eight Belgians, from whose
midst the bullet was fired, were seized on the spot.
A file of riflemen was drawn up. The eight, without
attempt at discrimination, were summarily executed.

While the attack upon Vise was in progress, the
German columns were concentrating on Liege. Their
front line stretched roughly from Vise on their right
wing to Nessonvaux on their left. Their centre rested
upon Herve. Cavalry had cleared the way for them as
they advanced. By evening their first line had halted
before the forts and entrenchments of Liege, and were
in readiness to attack.

The Germans were in great strength. They formed

IS p

50 THE STAND OF LifeGE

the 3rd Army, called the Army on the Meuse. Their
commander, General von Emmich, had known, during
sixty-six years of life, nearly half a century of military
experience, and had seen service in the campaigns of
1870. Before the outbreak of war he had been at Han-
over in command of the 10th Army Corps, the famous
Iron Division of Brandenburg. That corps, together
with the 7th, were now with him before Liege. The
9th Corps was proceeding from Altona, and would join
him later. His i^resent forces numbered some 90,000
men, of all arms. A cavalry division was also at his
disposal. Of field artillery the three corps mustered
among them 72 six-gun batteries, and 12 four-gun heavy
howitzer batteries. Each infantry regiment carried six
machine guns. But no heavy siege artillery had been
brought up. The heaviest guns that von Emmich could
show, his six-inch howitzers, were inferior in calibre and
in quality to many within the Liege forts. It was,
indeed, a part of the German scheme to travel lightly
equipped. Von Emmich 's plans had been carefully
prepared. He would ' take Liege in his stride '. It was
not unlikely that the Belgians had calculated on at
least twelve days elapsing from the commencement of
the German mobilization before Liege could be attacked.
Evidence already showed that they had been surprised.
Probably there were only a few thousand troops in the
city. He could engage the eastern forts with his artillery,
push his forces through the wide intervals between them,
and have the city at his mercy. If the forts held out,
he would invest them, brush aside the Belgian field
troops, and sweep forward as rapidly as possible. The
country was rich in agricultural produce. The German
troops would feed upon the fat of Belgian land. It
seemed unnecessary to encumber themselves with great

THE STAND OF LIEGE 51

supplies of provisions and of baggage. Speed was the
great object. If the Germans, by a sudden coup de main,
could seize Liege, could scatter the Belgian field army
before fully mobilized, could occupy Namur and Brussels,
there was nothing to prevent their immediate advance
upon Paris. The French would be unready. The British
needed time. If, indeed, their ' contemptible little army '
placed itself in the way, it should be instantly trampled
down by weight of numbers and annihilated. The
heavier German artillery, designed to shatter the forti-
fications of Paris, could have some preliminary practice
upon the forts of Liege, did they refuse to yield. Their
capture was not essential to the occupation of the city,
nor to the crossing of the Meuse. But it would be
necessary to drive the Belgians from the rampart of
trenches between the forts. The 7th Corps was massing
before the nearest three, Barchon, Evegnee, and Fleron.
It was evening. Light showers had fallen during the
day. The sky was overcast. But the light would still
hold good for some hours. The first shells were sent
screaming towards the Belgian lines. The firing soon
became general. The German infantry prepared for
action. A night attack, after the bombardment had
weakened the Belgian defence, was contemplated.

Let us now return to Liege. The garrison had been
busy. Scouts had kept General Leman informed of the
enemy's movements. The forts were in readiness.
Infantry manned the trenches on the eastern side of
the city. Many buildings and obstacles which stood
outside the line of defence, and which seemed likely
to afford cover to the attackers, were demolished. The
place was, indeed, naturally strong. But its governor
laboured under a fatal disadvantage. The force at his
disposal was altogether inadequate to its defence. It

D2

52 THE STAND OF LliGE

had been estimated in 1890 that a garrison of at least
74,000 was essential. General Leman had only 40,000.
The Germans brought against him first twice, then three
times, that number. This disproportion was, however,
in some measure compensated for by the skill, the
resource, and the courage of Leman himself.

He was known as the silent general. He was essen-
tially a man of action. But his personality was strong
because he could be trusted implicitly. Other officers
might be more popular among the troops. Leman was
a martinet in discipline. He expected much from his
men. He followed and studied his profession zealously.
It is related that, after being all day on horseback, he
would often sit up discussing problems of strategy and
of tactics, of which he was a master, until early morning.
He seemed, indeed, incapable of fatigue. He was a
recognized expert in Roman law, in military architecture,
in engineering science. To attributes of mind were added
many qualities of heart and of temper. He mingled
prudence with tenacity, kindliness with force of will.
His judgement was as cool, his resource was as ready,
in pressing home a success as in sustaining a reverse.
He knew accurately, indeed, the weaknesses and the
capabilities of his position at Liege. Even had it been
garrisoned by forces adequate to its sustained defence,
instead of half that number, it was hardly impregnable.
The fact that, without the necessary numbers, constituted
its strength as a place d'arret, constituted also its weak-
ness as a defensible stronghold. Its twelve works, though
inter-supporting, were isolated from the city and from
one another. There was no key-fort.

The rough circle of forts and trenches around the
city formed a circumference of about thirty-three miles.
Each fort lay about four miles from Liege, and two or

54 THE STAND OF Ll{]GE

three miles from the next. The country within this
circular area, covering many square miles, was in
general, excluding the city itself, richly cultivated and
thickly populated. The eastern half, the scene of the
fiercest fighting, was hilly and wooded. A great number
of men would obviously be required to ring this extensive
district with a line of troops. Leman's force, compris-
ing the regular garrison, his own 3rd Liege Division,
and the 15th Brigade, numbered no more than 40,000.
It was impossible for him to defend the whole of the
circle at the same time. If the Germans crossed the
Meuse, surrounded the city, and attacked the whole
line simultaneously, the defence must instantly collapse,
and the surrender of the field troops would become
inevitable. Leman saw that he must at all costs prevent
the enemy from crossing the Meuse. It was more
likely that they would try to force a passage to the
north than to the south of the city. Envelopment
from the south would necessitate the bridging of three
rivers instead of one, and would be considerably longer.
He must also economize his men by manning only
those trenches directly opposite the enemy's lines. His
field troops were mobile, and included many cavalry.
He would keep large numbers in reserve. He must be
constantly on the watch. Immediately any unguarded
portion of his line was threatened, he must hurry his
reserves to the gap. At every point in the circle at
which a German force appeared, a covering Belgian
force must be waiting. It was conceivable that small
detachments might enter at undefended spots. Mobile
reserves must be ready to cut them off at once.
Such was Leman's general strategy. The manner of
the German advance confirmed his dispositions. The
Germans had struck at Vise, and had seized it. But

THE STAND OF Lli:GE 55

Belgian troops now lay along the western bank of the
river in readiness to repel any attempt at crossing.
Small parties of German cavalry could be seen on the
other side. Patrols were also observed near Barchon,
Evegnee, and Fleron. It soon became evident that
masses of infantry and artillery were concentrating
opposite these three forts. The latter fired a few practice
shots. Soon the woods were resounding to the roar of
the first artillery duel of the war.

The bombardment continued without intermission
for some hours. Both Belgians and Germans, under
fire for the first time, no doubt experienced many new
emotions. The Germans, however, suffered far more
from the fire than their opponents. The defenders
knew well the ground in front of them. The range
of every landmark was known to them. Manoeuvres
had taken place in that district only the year before.
The firing from the forts engaged was naturally far
more accurate than from the German batteries. The
guns of Evegnee destroyed two German pieces, without
structural injury or the loss of a single man. Darkness
began to set in. It became difficult to distinguish objects
on the heavily-wooded slopes opposite each position.
Little impression had so far been made upon the defence.
The Belgian losses were inconsiderable. The forts were
quite undamaged. As night deepened, the flashes of the
guns grew more distinct, their booming louder. Search-
lights in the forts were brought into play. Their beams,
sweeping the wide area from Barchon to Fleron, disclosed
masses of German infantry approaching the Belgian lines.

These lines described, from Barchon to Fleron,
a curve. Both these forts were roughly triangular in
form, were surrounded by a ditch and by barbed-wire
entanglements. The works were of concrete, sur-

56 THE STAND OF Lli:GE

mounted by revolving turrets of steel, called cupolas.
Within the latter were mounted the heavier guns, of
which each fort possessed eight howitzers and mortars,
and four quick-firers. Machine-guns for the repulse
of storming parties stood upon the ramparts. Four
others in the ring of foi-ts were similar to Barchon and
Fleron. Between the two latter, somewhat advanced
from their line, was Evcgnee, called, from its reduced
size, a ' fortin '. It was similar to them in type, but
much smaller in scale and less powerful in armament.
Five others in the ring were 'fortius' like Evegnee.
Open grassy slopes, called glacis, surrounded each fort,
which presented, rising little above the glacis, but
a small mark for fire. The total armament of the
twelve works was some 400 pieces. Some of the heavier
guns, indeed, the Germans would not expect to find.
Some months before, the Belgian Government had
ordered fortress artillery from Krupp of Essen. Early
delivery was asked for, and payment was made. When
the European horizon darkened a deputation was sent
to Essen. The guns were overdue. A report had got
abroad that treachery was afoot. What, indeed, was
the cause of delay ? The deputies were received cordially
and feasted royally. The Germans, however, would
not commit themselves as to the guns. There was
nothing for it but to take other steps. Under cover
of darkness, in a mysterious manner, to avoid detec-
tion by spies, pieces of heavy calibre were moved from
Antwerp to bring the armament of Liege to full strength.
Their efficacy had already been proved. It was no
doubt a matter of surprise to German gunners that their
artillery was easily outmatched.

Belgian officers, as they scanned the enemy's advance,
must have knitted their brows in astonishment. They

THE STAND OF LifeGE 57

could see the German infantry marching through the
fields in close formation, without haste, without attempt
to take cover, as if on parade. A deployment of barely
five paces separated man from man. It is recorded
that, forty-four years before, the battlefield of Gravelotte
was strewn, behind the Prussian firing line, with skulkers
who had left their ranks, while the more courageous
had advanced. Some were lying down in the furrows,
their rifies pointed towards the front as if in action ;
others had openly made themselves comfortable behind
bushes and in ditches. It is not improbable that the
Germans before Liege adopted advance in mass to
check wholesale straggling. But the Belgians seized
their opportunity. The cupolas in the forts swung
round. The field artillery, the hotchkisses, the maxims,
were trained upon the approaching columns. Flame
sprang and thunder roared from the muzzles of a hundred
guns. Bullets swept in a blast of death, gust after
gust, the dim shadowy stretches, pasture and standing
grain, wcodland and broken ground, before the long
front of battle. But the Germans maintained for some
time an inexorable advance. At many points in the
long line the stricken front ranks, falling back upon
one another, formed a barrier of corpses. The woods,
indeed, provided useful cover from which to fire.
But the German artillery could not cover effectually
such a form of infantry attack. The fighting was
hottest near Barchon. The Germans pressed a fierce
assault upon the trenches, held by two Belgian regi-
ments. So near did the enemy draw, so sharp was
their fusillade, that Leman, ever on the watch, hurried
up reinforcements. It was determined to assume the
offensive. A spirited bayonet charge followed. The
Germans fled. Their main columns were forced to

58 THE STAND OF LifeGE

retire for some distance to re-form their shattered ranks.
The Belgians, indeed, resorted to the bayonet at many
other points. The Germans, stoically brave in facing
a devastating fire, rank behind rank, almost shoulder
to shoulder, showed little inclination to face the bayonet.
It was probably some hours before the last attack
ceased. The defenders had maintained their ground.
No portion of their line had been penetrated. The
forts were undamaged. They must have inflicted
enormous losses upon the enemy. Dawn broke. Day-
light revealed a ghastly and a pitiable sight. Froni
any point hundreds of bodies could be seen lying on
the slopes. In some parts they lay piled four feet high.
The woods were scarred and the fields furrowed by
shell-fire. The Belgians themselves had suffered severely.
Their wounded were carried into the city. The defenders
were, however, allowed little rest. Early in the morning
the bombardment was renewed.

Wednesday, August 5, opened dull and hot. The
German firing line had lengthened. The 10th Army
Corps had now come up on the left of the 7th, the
corps repulsed during the night. The cannonade
stretched from Vise to a considerable distance below
Liege. Six of the most easterly forts, from Pontisse
to Embourg, became involved. Their guns were well
able to hold their own.

Within a few hours infantry attacks recommenced.
The assaults, now along a wider front, were pressed
as fiercely as ever. The enemy advanced across open
country in close formation, as before, and by a succes-
sion of short rushes. They ran forward, dropped on
their fronts, fired a rifle-volley, and ran forward again,
witli shells bursting in their midst. But each time
they attempted to storm the Belgian lines they were

THE STAND OF LliiGE 59

met by a terrible fire. At last a large body of Germans
succeeded in gaining a footing on the near slopes of
one of the forts. Its larger guns could not be depressed
to reach them. Victory seemed within their grasp.
But streams of bullets from machine-guns were suddenly
played upon their ranks. They retired in disorder.
The spectacle from the forts of attacks such as these
moved the pity of the Belgians themselves. The
smoke of the guns was soon carried away by the wind.
Wounded Germans were observed struggling to release
themselves from their dead comrades. So high in some
parts became the barricade of the slain and injured
that the fire of the defenders was in danger of being
masked. The Germans did, indeed, in some cases
make use of this human barricade to creep closer. At
points where they came within 50 yards of the trenches
the Belgians did not hesitate to rush out to attack
them with the bayonet. One man is said to have
dashed forward alone, and to have returned in safety
after killing four of the enemy. All assaults were
successfully repulsed. But the defenders were hard
pressed. The firing line became so lengthened that
Leman had no alternative but to throw almost all his
available troops into the fighting. During the morn-
ing, aircraft, both Belgian and German, eager to
display their capabilities, hummed continually to and
fro. Men who, in time of peace, would have fraternized
as fellow adventurers in a new sphere of science, had
in war become intent on one another's destruction.
A Zeppelin appeared in the distance, but drew off.
Belgian aeroplanes were notably successful. One air-
man, subjected to a fusillade of shots as he flew over
the enemy's lines, remarked coolly on landing in safety,
' How badly these Germans shoot ! ' A German machine

60 THE STAND OF LifeGE

was shot down near Argenteau. Another was inad-
vertently brought down by the Germans themselves.
It was not easy, indeed, although the German Taubes
bore a mark in black resembling the Iron Cross of
Prussia, to distinguish between friend and enemy.
Below, guns thundered without ceasing, and the drone
of air-machines swelled the uproar. To the airmen
above, deafened with the familiar sound of their engines,
the battle-field was completely silent.

General Leman and his staff spent part of the day
in council of war at the military head-quarters in the
city. A review of events and of the present position
did not present unsatisfactory features. It was, indeed,
no small matter to have repulsed with untried troops
the first onslaught of what was reputed to be the finest
fighting machine ever evolved. So far they had done
well. The Germans were at a standstill. All their
efforts to break the line were being checked. They
could not cross the Meuse in forcG. But how long
could the defence be sustained ? Could the Belgians
hold out till relieved by the French ? Much depended
upon whether the enemy were successful in getting
across the Meuse in large numbers. If so, it would
become necessary for the field troops to retire before
surrounded. The city would have to be abandoned.
The forts, amply garrisoned and provisioned, must
resist to the last and embarrass the German advance.
There was no need yet to think of retiring. But pre-
parations, in case it became necessary, should be made.
Meanwhile, the city must be kept calm. Business
was at a standstill. The populace were very agitated.
Trains leaving the city were stormed. The citizens as
yet knew little of what was happening in the firing
line, and many contradictory reports were abroad. It

THE STAND OF LifeGE 61

was, indeed, believed by many that some of the forts
had been silenced. Spy-hunting had been in progress.
The city was undoubtedly infested by spies. It might
be possible to turn the fact to account. By a certain
cunning ruse Uhlan patrols might be lured, in the hope
of capturing Leman himself, into the suburbs, and
there trapped. The wildest rumours also were current
among the people of help at hand. It was realized
that the journey by rail from the French frontier could
be done in three hours, from Paris in five. Both French
and British troops were reported to be approaching
the city. The streets became filled with joyous crowds,
who eagerly bought up the little tricolour flags oppor-
tunely vended by hawkers. The excitement was intense.
It seemed, indeed, on the whole desirable that hope
should be kept high. Leman and his officers were
suddenly interrupted by a violent hubbub without.
Loud cries could be heard. The General, followed by
his staff, rushed anxiously outside. Had the Germans
broken through ? Shouts greeted his appearance.
Leman observed eight soldiers, in some foreign uniform,
hastening towards him. He scanned them in amaze-
ment. Major Marchand, one of his staff, scented
danger. A fusillade of revolver shots was suddenly
fired by the strangers. Marchand had thrown him-
self in front of the General, and fell, mortally wounded.
' Give me a revolver quickly,' cried Leman. But he
was almost alone. A staff -officer, a man of Herculean
build, shouted to him not to expose himself, and lifted
him up over the wall of an adjacent foundry. He then
swung himself over. Their assailants attempted to
follow. Leman and his companion were drawn up
through the windows of a neighbouring dwelling. But
by this time Belgian officers and gendarmes, dashing

62 THE STAND OF LifeGE

out to the General's help, had engaged the Germans
in a desperate scuffle. An officer and two gendarmes
were killed. But all the raiders were finally accounted
for.i

While these stirring events were taking place in the
city, desperate attempts were being made by the Germans
to cross the Meuse near Vise. The guns of Pontisse and
Barchon covered the river-banks for some distance.
Belgian cavalry and artillery were guarding the west
bank between the forts and the Dutch frontier. The
enemy's pontoon bridges were destroyed as soon as built.
A favourite method of the Belgians was to wait until
the structure was almost completed before wrecking it.
This had been tried very successfully the day before at
the ford of Lixhe. In some cases, indeed, the ordinary
bridges had been left standing, and were carefully
covered by concealed artillery and infantry. German
columns were allowed to defile on to their structures.
Shot and shell were then suddenly rained down. The
bridge columns gave w^ay. Horses and men were pre-
cipitated into the water, and the dead became massed
between the parapets. The Germans, however, did not
l^ress their attack on the banks of the Meuse in sufficient
strength or with sufficient skill. Some parties were,
indeed, driven by the Belgians over the Dutch frontier.
All attempts to cross the river were frustrated.

During the day the attack upon the forts w^as pressed
stubbornl}^ Belgian outposts and cavalry patrols kept
continual watch in the w^ooded ground in front of the
defences to give warning whenever the enemy ap-
proached. At some points Uhlans made determined
efforts to penetrate the line. Fierce encounters ensued

^ Several versions are given of the attack upon Leman's life : aa
far as can be judged, the above account is substantially trustworthy.

THE STAND OF LlJlGE 63

between hostile cavalry. Near Fleron a squadron of
Belgian lancers, about 150 strong, fell upon 500 of the
enemy. The trampling of the horses, the jingling of
the accoutrements, the cries of men and beasts, the
flashing lances, the waving pennants, made up a sight
and sound not the least splendid, though becoming rare
under modern conditions, in warfare. The Belgians,
despite the odds, scattered the hostile squadrons with
great slaughter. But they themselves lost their captain,
and were cut up very severely.

Night approached. The Belgians were weary. They
had been fighting intermittently for many hours. Little
relief from trench work was possible. The numerical
superiority of the Germans enabled them constantly to
renew their firing line. A bright moon came out. The
searchlights were brought into play. For twenty-four
hours fierce fighting had been in progress. But the
position was substantially the same.

The night passed without serious event. Every few
minutes, indeed, the crash of a heavy gun and its
responding roll disturbed the silence. At some points
night attacks were delivered, but successfully repelled.
Towards dawn, rain began to fall. August 6 opened,
dreary and windy. The soldiers were soaked to the
skin, and fatigued by long duty. At about seven o'clock
two aeroplanes, clearly visible against the low clouds,
were observed above the Belgian lines. Fire was opened
upon them both by the Germans and by the forts. The
machines rocked dangerously in eddies caused by ex-
ploding shells. They were, however, piloted by Belgians,
and flew off safely westwards into the country. During
the day, as previously, the Belgian lines were con-
stantly bombarded and assailed. The gloomy weather
seemed to make the cannonade more sullen. The towns-

64 THE STAND OF LifeGE

men of Liege, listening anxiously from their cellars, could
hear, between short intervals of silence, the boom of
guns, the rattle of rifle-shots, sometimes singly, often
in a burst. The Liegeois were rapidly accustoming
themselves to their novel conditions. Whenever a
shell screamed towards the city a warning bell signalled
danger, and prompted a rush to cellars. Every now
and then, however, a shell would fall amid the houses
and explode. The screams of the injured, the shrill
cries of alarmed women and children, the shattered and
sometimes burning dwellings, were remembered with
horror by the survivors of the siege. Fabrications as
to forthcoming relief continued to be circulated and
believed. A British force was said to have been seen
at Ans, only a mile away, and would shortly arrive by
rail. The credulous who hastened to the railway station
returned after a long wait disappointed and disheartened.
Temporary panics were caused by two parties of Uhlans
who had, by design, penetrated to the suburbs in quest
of General Leman. It could be guessed, from the recep-
tion they received, that they had been expected. Not
a man escaped. One detachment was all shot down,
arid the other all captured. But, in general, the city
grew calmer. Old men began to recall the days when
they had heard afar the cannonade of Sedan. An
examination for the university degree, arranged for this
day, was proceeded with. When German prisoners were
brought through the streets, even ladies ventured to
examine curiously, but without emotion, the conquered
enemy. It is said that Lieutenant von Forstner, of
Zabern notoriety, was one of the first to be taken.
Intense enthusiasm and hope were everywhere manifested
at the valiant conduct of the troops in the trenches.
There was much uncertainty as to what had happened.

THE STAND OF LlJlGE 65

But it was known that B3lgmm had reason to be proud
of her soldiers. Every one was anxious to be doing
something to help. Large numbers of young men were
enrolled in the Army and hastily taken off to Antwerp
for a six-weeks' training. Many older citizens joined
the Garde Civique, and were employed in preserving
order, in guarding prisoners, and points of military
importance. Some of the Garde, however, took part in
the actual fighting. During the day a detachment was
assailed near Boncelles. The encounter that followed
ended in the total discomfiture of the Germans. The
enemy had, indeed, lost much of the buoyant enthusiasm
in which they had opened the campaign . Their casualties
had been terribly severe : some battalions had only
a third of their officers left. Many of the wounded were
dying in the open fields for lack of attention. Great
relief, therefore, was felt when it became known that
their commander had asked for an armistice.

Von Emmich had, meanwhile, been reinforced by the
9th Army Corps. They came up on the morning of
August 6, and were badly needed. Von Emmich himself
could not but be bitterly mortified at his unexpected
check before Liege. Not only were his own plans upset,
but the calculations of his Emperor and of the Army
Staff at Berlin were in danger. He had hoped to earn
the praises of his country. But what could he expect
now but her reproaches ? Repeated failure, disappointed
anticipation, immense losses, had demoralized his men.
Delay had disorganized his commissariat. He had
counted on feeding upon the produce of Belgium. But
the way to that source was blocked. The territory he
had already occupied, even if the Belgians had not
driven off most of the cattle, was too small to support
his army. The vast supplies of bread that all the bakers

13 E

66 THE STAND OF LTi:GE

of Verviers were turning out, under military direction,
were inadequate. Prisoners taken by the Belgians com-
plained of ravenous hunger and thirst. It was told how,
on the morning before, August 5, the men were vastly
chagrined only to receive, when looking forward to
ample rations of drink and food, a small piece of sausage.
Von Emmich had asked for an armistice of twenty-four
hours in which to bury the dead. That period would
enable him to reorganize his forces. Strong reinforce-
ments also were on the way. He had already another
army corps, 40,000 strong, at his disposal. A great
effort to cross the Meuse must immediately be made.
Undoubtedly the clue to victory lay there. The city
must be enveloped. The Belgians, though they had
resisted so well the attack from the front, could hardly
be expected to cope with a simultaneous attack from
the rear. Von Emmich, despite his mortification, could
not, indeed, resist admiration at the valour of the
defence. He was, moreover, acquainted with General
Leman, whom he had met on manoeuvres the previous
year. He could have wished that his unfortunate Uhlans
had efEected the Belgian leader's capture. Leman's
answer to his request was brought to him. The armistice
was refused.

Stirring events had, meanwhile, been taking place,
during the morning and afternoon of Thursday, August 6,
in the firing line. About half past eleven the enemy,
under cover of artillery, crept up towards Barchon. The
Belgians reserved their fire. The Germans, when within
close range, drew together for the final onset. At a con-
certed signal the Belgians loosed upon them a hail of
shrapnel and of bullets. The enemy were swept back
with terrible slaughter, and abandoned seven machine-
guns. At another point, where the defenders were

THE STAND OF LI^GE 67

holding the stately Chateau de Langres against great
odds, the Belgian commander tried a ruse. Quantities
of explosives were carried within : a fuse was prepared.
The Belgians made a show of resistance before quietly
evacuating the building. A large body of Germans
rushed in triumphantly, and commenced to ransack the
rooms. The Belgians, waiting with nerves on edge at
a safe distance, were suddenly stunned by the crash of
a deafening explosion. A great column of flame shot
up, carrying in its wake masses of shattered masonry
and timber. An incident of a similar nature occurred
to the north of the city. Under Leman's directions
a field outside the Belgian lines had been skilfully mined.
The General sent out a small detachment to take up
a position just beyond this field. The Germans, as he
had calculated, got in the rear of this force in order to
cut it off. Electric wire connected the explosives to
the defenders' lines. The current was switched on.
A sheet of flame and smoke arose. The German force
was annihilated. Trivial as they were, these successes
contributed to raise the spirit of the Belgians. But
more important operations were in progress on the banks
of the Meuse north of Liege. At the end of the day it
became evident that the Belgians could maintain their
ground no longer.

Fighting had, indeed, opened propitiously in this
quarter. A counter-attack, delivered by the Belgians
from the heights near Wandre upon German outposts,
had been attended with brilliant success. Many of the
enemy had been cut off from their main body and forced
to retire in disorder towards Vise. But around that
town operations were in progress which augured ill for
the Belgians. Great reinforcements of artillery and
infantry had been hurried by the German General to

E3

68 THE STAND OF LlfeGE

the river-banks. A crossing must be forced at all
hazards. Batteries were placed so as to cover the
engineering work. Large parties of Germans, working
in little boats, were engaged in building pontoon bridges
at different points. The fire from Pontisse and Barchon
greatly hampered the operations . But the Belgian troops
on the opposite bank were prevented by the German
artillery from impeding effectually the enemy's crossing.
The river- valley was low and flat, and afforded little
cover. Large numbers were gradually passed over during
the day. Horses were swum across. Cavalry took the
field. Numerous bodies overran the surrounding district.
One force was cut off and completely routed by Belgians,
who took many prisoners. But by five o'clock in the
gloomy and sultry afternoon the Germans had begun
to spread out, and to advance southwards in the direc-
tion of Liege.

Leman, who had watched the movements he was
powerless to prevent Avith dismay and sorrow, realized
that all was over. He had to accept the inevitable. He
had foreseen that, sooner or later, the Germans would
make use of their superior numbers by enveloping the
city. He had made plans in accordance. Delay would
mean disaster to his field troops. He reluctantly
gave orders for a general retirement. This was no
easy operation. Large forces were ordered to continue
throughout the evening to harass the advance of the
Germans who had crossed the Meuse. Some German
infantry who had reached Vottem, a village within the
circle of forts, were surprised by the Belgians and
hoisted the white flag. When the Belgians approached
they were fired upon at close range. Numerous instances
of treachery and inhumanity have been recorded, indeed,
in the lighting at Liege. Germans in many cases fired

THE STAND OF Lli:GE 69

on doctors, on Red Cross ambulances and wagons, or
marched into battle displaying Belgian flags and wearing
Belgian cockades. The Liegeois watched with mingled
emotions the retreat of their defenders westwards through
the city. It was disappointing that the courageous
resistance of the last two days should seem all to have
been for nothing. The horses of the artillery trairs and
the cavalry squadrons were jaded and blood-stained.
The infantry were tired out and footsore, but deter-
mined, since duty called them elsewhere, to escape
capture by the Germans. During the evening and night
the field troops were all withdraAvn from the city, and
marched off towards Lou vain. A garrison of 250 men
was left in each of the forts, all of which so far were
in good condition. Leman decided to remain at his
post. He could have retired with his army. He
would, no doubt, have been received at Brussels with
honour and enthusiasm. He might add to military
renown already won in future operations. But better
results, if less personally attractive, might be gained if
he stayed to co-ordinate the defence of the forts, and
to exercise moral influence upon the garrisons. From
Loncin, which he took as his head-quarters, the long
columns of the departing troops could be seen passing
into the darkness. The retreat had been conducted
without serious hitch. Some stragglers had, no doubt,
been cut off. Minor street fighting, in which civilians
had unfortunately taken a share, had occurred in parts
where German cavalry had pressed forward. But
the main Belgian army was in safety, and the enemy
did not yet appear to be advancing. The twelve forts,
calling to one another throughout the night in the
rumble of their big guns, prepared doggedly to fight
until the inevitable end.

70 THE STAND OF LifeGE

The Germans, apparently, did not realize their success
till some hours after the Belgians had evacuated the
position. Perhaps the east frontal attack was not
pressed home by the besiegers in the hope of restoring
confidence to the besieged while the enveloping attack
was progressing across the Meuse. The enemy could
hardly anticipate, indeed, so sudden a retirement. But
during the night and early morning large forces passed
between the forts and entered the city. The Liegeois,
rising from their slumbers, found the invaders within
their gates, and guarding the principal points of advan-
tage. One of the bridges, indeed, had been blown up
the night before by the retreating Belgians. The rail-
way tunnel had also been blocked. Kleyer, the burgo-
master, had prepared the citizens for their fate the
previous evening by a printed circular, outlining the
laws of war with regard to the participation of civilians,
and cautioning peaceful submission. Little panic was
evinced. The German military authorities installed
themselves in the Citadel and in the public buildings,
and took over the administration of the city. Martial
law was proclaimed. The Garde Civique were employed
to keep order among their fellow countrymen. One
hundred of the Garde, and later Kleyer, Bishop Rutten,
and some principal citizens, were confined in the Citadel
as hostages. The walls of the city were placarded
with posters announcing that, if another shot was fired
by the inhabitants upon the German troops, these
hostages would be immediately executed. All weapons
were ordered to be given up on penalty of death. So
suspicious of a rising were the invaders that barricades
were erected, machine-guns placed, and guards posted
in many of the principal streets. Long columns began,
during August 7, and continued for many days after-

THE STAND OF Lli]GE 71

wards, to file in endless procession through the town.
They passed into the interior upon a mission more
important and more arduous than the capture of Liege,
which had been won only at great cost. Germany
affected to see in the seizure of the city a brilliant
military exploit and a propitious opening to the cam-
paign. Boundless enthusiasm was everjrwhere mani-
fested. At Hanover Frau von Emmich read the news
aloud to the exulting populace. It was announced in
Berlin by an aide-de-camp sent out by the Kaiser to
the crowds before the castle ; and policemen on bicycles
were dispatched to shout the joyful tidings along the
Unter den Linden.

General Leman, meanwhile, had taken up his quarters
in I'ort Loncin. His army had got away safely and
intact. Its adroit retreat had reserved it for future
usefulness. He could turn to the next phase of the
resistance conscious that his men and he had already
rendered valuable service to their country and to their
country's friends. The enemy's occupation of the city
and advance over the Meuse had been delayed for over
forty-eight hours. Even now a passage had been forced,
the unbroken chain of forts could hinder the Germans
from advancing except slowly and with difficulty. The
days thus gained were of incalculable value for the com-
pletion of Belgium's mobilization, and to the allies who
were coming to Belgium's aid. Leman saw in success
already accomplished the inspiration of deeds that could
yet be done. He must urge upon his fort commanders that
they must struggle to the very last. They must harass
the enemy's movements in every possible way. Pontoon
bridges over the Meuse must be constantly destroyed
by shell -fire. The forts had, indeed, an abundant supply
of provisions, of water, and of ammunition. Little

72 THE STAND OF LifeGE

material damage had so far been done to their structures.
Leman would himself visit each fort daily, to bring news
and instructions. The outer world was not entirely cut
off. Under the protection of the guns of Loncin, light
railway engines could still be run from the junction of
Ans along the Brussels line. There seemed, indeed, little
hope of relief. But the forts had so far proved able to
resist the heaviest guns that the enemy had brought up.
Belgium had spent much money, and had employed the
greatest military engineer of the nineteenth century,
upon their construction. They might be overcome by
sheer weight. But they must not fall, other than as
ruins, into the hands of the Germans.

Morning broke. The artillery remained silent. The
Belgians in the forts could not doubt, from various
signs, that the Germans were in the city. It remained
to await vigilantl}^ the enemy's next move. The day
wore on, but without event. An occasional rifle-shot was
the only sound of war. It was difficult to know what
the enemy were doing. The combatants, indeed, needed
rest badly. No doubt the Germans, like the Belgians,
were resting. Night came. But silence still reigned.

This comparative calm lasted about three days.
During that time the shots fired on either side were
very few and intermittent. The Germans kept outside
the range of the fort guns. Small parties approached
indeed, unmolested, to pick up their wounded. Grue
some stories are told of the cremation of their dead
Many corpses are said to have been pitched, under
cover of darkness, into the Meuse. The total casual
ties were estimated at about 30,000. Aeroplanes
were bus}^ in the sky. Large forces of the enemy's
cavalry seemed also to be scouring the country beyond
the western forts. But this state of affairs could not

THE STAND OF LifeGE 73

last long. The Ger?iians had succeeded in occupying
Liege, but they had so far gained little advantage from
that success. Great armies would soon be hastening
from all parts of Germany towards the Belgian frontier.
But before they could advance across that frontier in
any numbers or with any speed, the forts of Liege must
be reduced. Pontisse and Barchon threatened the pas-
sage of the Meuse to the north of the city, Flemalle and
Boncelles to the south. Embourg dominated the Ourthe
valley for some miles. Fleron and Chaudfontaine over-
looked the railway approach from Germany. Loncin
guarded the line from Liege to Brussels. It became
obvious to the Belgians that a great effort would soon
be made by the Germans to break up the obstacles that
impeded their progress. Guns were placed upon the
Citadel, and in other parts of the city. On Monday,
August 10, the great artillery duel was renewed.

The first phase of the defence of Liege began on the
evening of August 4, and ended on the evening of August
6. During an interval of three days no fighting took
place. The final phase lasted from the 10th to the 18th.
Throughout this latter period, over a week, the forts
were incessantly bombarded and frequently stormed.
In one desperate attack upon Flemalle, delivered early
in the morning of August 10, no less than 800 of the
enemy were killed, many of them caught in barbed-
wire entanglements. On some days rain fell ; on
others the sun shone. But the guns roared almost
without pause. To make any impression upon those
masses of earth, of stone, and of iron, the targets for
innumerable shells, seemed at first impossible. The fort
cupolas, revolving in wreaths of smoke, uttered thunder
and darted lightning on all sides. Many outlying
houses and farms were set ablaze by the Belgian guns.

74 THE STAND OF LI^GE

Little clouds of smoke sprang constantly from the
green hill-sides opposite, and denoted the position
of the German artillery. The forts were soon com-
pletely invested. Leman visited each daily as long
as possible. On one of his journeys he was injured in
the leg by falling masonry. Undeterred, he took to
using a motor-car. When the forts were each surrounded,
however, he was confined to Loncin, where he prepared
for a final stand.

One by one, as the days passed, the forts fell. The
first and most persistent attacks were made on Fleron,
Flemalle, Embourg, and Chaudfontaine. The guns of
Enibourg were, indeed, notably well served. Three
motor-cars, driven by German officers along the Tilff
road, were smashed by shells, one being hurled below
into the Ourthe. Chaudfontaine also showed consider-
able accuracy. A detachment of the enemy, screening
themselves behind a forage cart, was ascending a slope
leading to Ninave, where German guns had been placed,
when several shells, bursting in the cart, killed the
whole party. Chaudfontaine, however, was soon after
blown up. The Germans, after assailing the eastern
forts, concentrated their fire upon the western, notably
on Pontisse, Liers, and Lantin. Day succeeded day
without the gain of any substantial success. The
Germans realized that their artillery was inadequate.
Unless the Belgian guns could be outranged and out-
classed, there would be no end to this disheartening
struggle. The forts were probably provisioned for
months. It was, no doubt, with considerable impatience
that the arrival of siege artillery was awaited.

Meanwhile, during the bombardment of the forts,
a bombardment of the city itself was twice opened.
This seemed, indeed, to afford some ground for a rumour

THE STAND OF LifeGE 75

spread abroad that the Germans had threatened, if the
forts were not surrendered, to shell the town. Few
cases of civilian outbreaks seem to have taken place.
The damage and the casualties, however, were not
in either case severe. The inhabitants were prepared
beforehand, and the troops in the city taken out of
the danger zone. The Cathedral of St. Paul and the
University building were partly demolished. Some
of the streets were torn up and littered with wreckage.
Otherwise than by these two outbreaks, the Germans
appeared anxious to win the favour and to restore the
confidence of the citizens. Few of the latter, indeed,
would venture into the streets. It is said that, in
a vain attempt to revive business, German soldiers
were ordered by their officers to throng the food-stalls
and the shops, while the Belgian authorities were forced
to run the trams, which had ceased working, though
no passengers appeared. The daily goose-step parade,
however, attracted many spectators. The Liegeois
gradually grew accustomed to the sight of German
soldiers in their streets and cafes, drinking and playing
cards, and to the sound of the guns, many placed in
parts of the city itself, steadily bombarding the forts.
As is usual in a city in a state of siege, the inhabitants
looked upon themselves as the sole interest of the
world. No news were forthcoming of the course of war
outside. It was known that large forces of the enemy
had passed through the city and into Belgium. Wild
rumours were rife. Reports such as ' Berlin on fire ',
' Great German disaster ', picked up by railwaymen
at Ans, were gloated over. More truthful accounts,
however, soon got abroad regarding the behaviour of
German troops in neighbouring villages, culminating
in the burning of Vise.

76 THE STAND OF LifeGE

It is recorded that, in the Franco -Prussian campaigns
of 1870, an Alsatian named Hauff killed two Germans
who were plundering his farm. He was seized and
shot immediately. His wife found her little son crying
over his father's body. ' Mamma,' said the boy,
* when I grow up I will shoot the Germans who killed
Daddy.' The widow fled from the place and settled
near Vise. Her son in due course grew to manhood,
became a farmer, and married. He had two sons.
One day he learned that the Germans were invading
the country, to intimidate the Belgians. At length
a party of Germans arrived outside his farm. Hatred
blazed in Hauff's eyes as he took his rifle in his hand.
There was a sharp report, and a German fell. The
farmer was dragged outside, and placed against a wall.
His last moments were spent in the bitterest anguish.
His two sons were seized and placed beside him. All
three were immediately executed. This occurrence was
but a beginning. Several shots were fired at Vise
on the evening of August 15. It is alleged that
these were fired by drunken Germans at their own
ofiicers. The destruction of the town was begun during
the night. It was almost entirely burnt. From all
over the district, indeed, came tales of wanton and
indiscriminate retribution wherever the laws of war were
said to have been transgressed, perhaps unwittingly,
by civilians. A splendid harvest had been expected.
Many fields of wheat, already cut and placed in
' stooks ', lay rotting for want of attention. Days
afterwards observers were shocked at the desolate
aspect of the countryside. In the village of Herve,
famous throughout Belgium for its flavoury cheeses,
19 houses remained out of about 500. Corpses were
strewn e very v* here ; a smell of burning pervaded the

THE STAND OF Lli:GE 77

atmosphere. The drastic nature of the reprisals could
be estimated from notices such as ' Spare us ! ' ' We
are innocent ! ' displayed upon houses still standing.
The high roads around Liege were torn up at intervals
of about forty yards. In rare cases, sights such as
children playing innocently in pretty gardens, where
houses had escaped demolition, recalled, amid the
prevailing havoc, the happy days of peace. There
was much to remind one of war. Long German columns
Continually passed through the district. Soon the
heavier artillery began to arrive. One class of gun in
particular might well arrest the attention of spectators.
It was in four pieces, each drawn by three traction-
engines. A thirteenth engine went on ahead to aid
the ascent of hills. This gun was the new 16-inch
siege howitzer. It had been constructed in secret, and
was the largest piece in existence. A single shot was
said to suffice to pierce the strongest steel armour.
These guns were intended to batter Paris. Meanwhile,
they were to be tested upon Liege.

The forts were still holding out stubbornly. A force
of 30,000 of the enemy had been left for their reduction.
They were shelled day and night. They were, indeed,
proving a dangerous thorn in the enemy's side. They
disconnected his lines of communication. They retarded
the passage of troops and transport wagons. Pontoon
bridges especially were objects of the attention of
the fort artillery. One Belgian gun was said to
have destroyed no less than ten. But on August 13
and 14 the German heavy artillery began to arrive.
It was brought into action. Fort Boncelles was one
of the first to receive the fire. Bombardment was
opened at six o'clock on August 14, and continued
for two hours. The guns were so placed that the garrison

78 THE STAND OF LifeGE

could neither see nor fire at them. At eight o'clock
two German officers approached, and called upon tho
fort to surrender. Guns still more colossal than those
already used, they said, would render its destruction
instantaneous. The Belgian commander replied that
honour forbade surrender. His men burst into a cheer.
The Germans returned, and the bombardment was
continued. The fort began to feel the effects. The
chimney of the engine-house fell in ; part of the works
caught fire ; the electric light went out ; suffocating
fumes filled the galleries. Resistance was maintained
throughout the day and night. But at six o'clock
next morning the concrete chambers which held the
guns began to give way. Several of the cupolas turned
no more. Two hours later a shell pierced the roof and
burst inside the fort. Several men were wounded.
Further resistance seemed useless, and it was decided
to surrender. Three white flags were hoisted. While
the Germans were approaching the Belgians disabled
their guns and rifles and destroyed their ammunition.
The enemy took possession of the fort. The prisoners,
looking back as they were marched off, could see nothing
but a heap of ruins.

Similar destruction gradually overtook the remain-
ing forts. Their fabrics crumbled under the constant
impact of heavy shells. Their garrisons, forced to
retire into the small chambers within the central
concrete blocks, had to inhale oxygen to keep them-
selves alive. Many were, indeed, at last asphyxi- ted.
Storming parties could no longer be resisted by machine-
guns. The strongest of the forts, Loncin, the quarters
of General Leman, succumbed in turn. It was shelled
by the heavier German guns at a distance of seven
miles. The batteries upon the Citadel of Liege were

THE STAND OF LlJlGE 79

also turned upon it. It is asserted that, during twenty-
six hours of bombardment, shells were rained upon the
works at the rate of six a minute. The incessant con-
cussions and explosions at last shattered the structure
to ruins. Leman saw that the end was inevitable.
He destroyed all his plans, maps, and papers. The
three remaining guns were disabled, and the ammunition
kept beside them exploded. He had about one hundred
men left. These he led out of Loncin in a daring effort
to reach another fort. But they were seen by the
enemy, and had to abandon the attempt. A German
storming party rushed forward to a final assault. But
suddenly a shell tore through the battered masonry,
and exploded in the main magazine. The fort blew up.
There was a terrific crash. Huge masses of concrete
were hurled high into the air. An immense cloud of dust
and fumes arose. When it had cleared away the Germans
advanced. The ground was strewn with the bodies of
their storming party. A Belgian corporal with a shattered
arm raised his rifle and started to fire at them as they
approached. Most of the garrison were buried under
the ruins. Leman lay, white and still, pinned beneath
a massive beam. He was drawn from his dangerous
position, half suffocated by fumes, by some of his
men. * Respectez le general. II est mort,' cried
a soldier as the Germans came up. He was borne
gently away to a trench, where a German officer gave
him drink. He came to his senses and looked round.
* The men fought valiantly,' he said. ' Put it in your
dispatches that I was unconscious.' He was placed
in an ambulance, and carried into Liege. Shortly after-
wards, when sufficiently recovered, he was brought
before Von Emmich. The two commanders saluted.
' General,' said the German, holding out his hand,

80 THE STAND OF LifeGE

* you have gallantly and nobly held your forts.'
*I thank you,' Leman replied: 'our troops have lived
up to their reputation. War is not like manoeuvres/
he added, with a smile. He unbuckled his sword, and
tendered it to the victor. Von Emmich bowed. ' No,*
he said, ' keep it. To have crossed swords with you
has been an honour.' A tear sparkled in the Belgian's
eye.i

Nothing more remains to be told. The forts were
not built to resist the pounding of artillery as heavy
as that brought against them. They had been con-
structed when the tjrpical siege gun was the 6-inch
howitzer. They had to contend with artillery the
calibres of which ranged as high as 16 inches. Each
was reduced in turn. The last fell on August 17 or 18.

Thus ended the memorable stand of Liege. The
struggle was watched with the intensest interest and
emotion by the whole of the civilized world. British
statesmen paid tributes to the gallant city. France
conferred upon it the Cross of the Legion of Honour.
The Tsar of Russia expressed his admiration in a message
to the Belgian King. Events which followed proved
the importance of the time lost to the Germans before
Liege. British troops were enabled, reaching Mons not
an hour too soon, to oppose a second bulwark to the
advancing tide. The strategic value of the defence
was hardly greater than its moral effect. The spell of
1870 was broken. German arms were looked upon as
invincible no more. The story is full of human interest
and dramatic incident. The struggle brought out
many noble sentiments. It stirred many brutal passions.

^ This incident is taken from the narrative of a German officer,
published in the press. There is no reason to bolieve it is nr>t
substantially accurate.

THE STAND OF LifeGE 81

It indicated, as the opening chapter in the greatest
and most modern of wars, some tendencies of the
impending conflict. Science was to be the weapon.
Method of mind, weight of metal, ingenuity of destruc-
tive device, were to decide the issue. Most of the
ancient glamour of battle was gone. But war, maturing
as mankind matured, still showed, as human nature
showed, both flashes of its youthful chivalry, and
traces of its primitive barbarity. Human passions and
emotions, human ambitions and ideals, were again at
open strife. Lasting peace was the ultimate quest.
Christian principle was the issue.

18

ffSHatcuL.

Ox/'or^a.

^^

THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO

Tokyo, capital of Japan, lies at the head of Tokyo
Bay, in the south-east of Nippon. Its two million
inhabitants are distributed among houses and streets
which present curious intermixtures of Japanese and
European architecture, customs, or science. The jinri-
kisha notably has been displaced largely by tramcars
which, carrying all passengers at a uniform rate of
four sen, make it possible to travel ten miles for a penny.
It is an industrial city, but on account of occasional
earthquakes no very large buildings line the thorough-
fares. The traveller can here observe to advantage the
strange characteristics of the most stoical race upon
earth, or can contrast, if he will, the courteous, imper-
turbably serene disposition of the most martial nation
of the East with the present disposition of the most
rabidly bellicose nation of the West. When Japanese
and German, indeed, met in conflict before Tsing-tao
in the autumn of 1914, there was seen, in the Japanese
soldier, during a campaign of peculiar hardship and
difficulty, a revival of the qualities of the old Samurai,
with his quiet courage, his burning patriotism, his
patience, his habitual suppression of emotional display
in pain, pleasure, passion, or peril, qualities singularly
distinct from those of the modern Goth. Nor was the
statesmanship which brought about that conflict less
admirable. Japan's alliance with Great Britain was at
once a solemn pledge and the guiding principle of her
foreign policy. August 1914 found British interests
and the vast trade that centred at Hong-kong in danger :

f2

84 THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO

German armed vessels prowled the seas, and the German
naval base of Tsing-tao was busy with warlike prepara-
tions. Great Britain appealed to Japan to free their
joint commerce from the menace. The Japanese Prime
Minister, Count Okuma, might well hesitate, however,
before recommending intervention. Was he the right
minister to direct a war ? He was nearer eighty than
seventy years old, and recently had been for seven years
in retirement : his Government had a minority in the
Diet, and to the Genro his name was anathema : he
claimed the allegiance of no party, and the powerful
military and naval clans, Choshiu and Satsuma, were
openly hostile. He had been raised to power a few
months before by public demand for progressive govern-
ment. There were considerations other than domestic
or personal, indeed, which might have tempted some
statesmen to hold their hands. To temporize while
events revealed themselves in Europe would be safer
than immediate action ; while to remain neutral might
lead to the transference to the Japanese of much trade
with China now in British hands, inevitably hampered
by the menace of German commerce -destroyers. Never-
theless, Count Okuma's Cabinet came to a bold and
loyal decision. Baron Kato, the Foreign Minister,
reassured Great Britain of active Japanese aid, and on
August 15 sent an ultimatum to Germany. The latter
was requested to withdraw at once all German armed
vessels from Eastern waters, and to deliver to Japan
before September 15 the entire leased territory of Kiao-
chau, with a view to its eventual restoration to China.
The ultimatum was timed to expire at noon on August 23.
That day arrived without satisfaction having been given
to Japan. Within a few hours the 2nd Japanese squadron
steamed off towards Tsing-tao.

THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO 85

Before the outbreak of hostilities with Great Britain,
Vice -Admiral the Graf von Spee, who commanded the
German Pacific squadron, had steamed away from Tsing-
tao with most of. his ships. To use Tsing-tao as a naval
base while engaging in commerce -raiding seemed a sound
and a practicable plan, since the British and Australian
naval forces, though superior, were hardly strong enough
simultaneously to blockade the harbour and to search
the seas. The plan was, however, rendered impossible
by the Japanese ultimatum, and the Admiral, after
having lingered for some weeks in the Western Pacific,
departed for other seas and other adventures. Such was
the result of Japan's action, and thus dangerous were
the tactics that Japan's action had frustrated. For
Tsing-tao, situated upon one of the two peninsulas,
divided by two miles of waterway, enclosing the bay of
Kiao-chau, with its safe and spacious anchorage for vessels
of any size, constituted one of the most important naval
bases on the Chinese coast. It had, indeed, been
described as the key to Northern China. Dominating
the eastern coast of the Shantung peninsula, the port
formed the centre of the semicircular area known as
Kiao-chau, extending on a radius of 32 miles around
the shores of the bay, with a population of 60,000.
This area was, under the Chinese-German agreement as
to Tsing-tao, influenced and controlled by Germany,
though not strictly subject to her, and regarded as
neutral territory. Its surface was mainly mountainous
and bare, though the lowlands were well cultivated,
but in parts it was rich in mineral wealth, large but
undeveloped supplies of coal being present. In winter
the port, connected to the junction of Tsi-nan by
a German -built railway, was the natural outlet for the
trade of Northern China. The heights which surrounded

86 THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO

the bay ofiered admirable sites for fortification, while
the land-approaches to Tsing-tao were guarded by for-
midable defences stretched across its peninsula. In
many quarters the stronghold was regarded as a second
Port Arthur. The Germans had paid particular atten-
tion to defence, so much so, indeed, that over five-sixths
of the white inhabitants were engaged in military occu-
pations. Five thousand German marines constituted
the normal garrison, though the outbreak of war in
August called about a thousand more men — volunteers,
reservists, and sailors — to the colours. The complement
of the Kaiser in Elizabeth, an Austrian cruiser sheltering
in the harbour, left for Tientsin, having received orders
to disarm their ship, but returned in time to join the
defenders. The garrison was amply provisioned for five
or six months, and well provided with weapons, stores,
and munitions. Most of the German ships off the Chinese
coast at the outbreak of Avar, indeed, had made imme-
diately for Tsing-tao, and discharged upon its wharves
many thousand tons of cargo. When war with Japan
became inevitable, therefore, the defenders could antici-
pate a successful resistance, provided the expected in-
stantaneous victories in Europe materialized. Elaborate
preparations were made for the defence. The harbour
mouth was blocked by three sunken vessels, enabling only
small craft to enter. Chinese villages within the leased
territory, and the bridge where the railway crossed the
boundary, were destroyed, partial compensation being
paid to the inhabitants. Native labourers were engaged
to throw up earthworks to strengthen the town forti-
fications. Many foreigners, women, children, and non-
combatants, meanwhile, had left the town. On Friday
evening, August 21, at roll-call, the Governor, Caj^tain
Meyer-Waldeck, read out a message from the German

THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO 87

Emperor exhorting the garrison to defend the town to
their utmost, and to do their ' duty to the last '. It
was listened to stoically. The following day a diversion
occurred which opened hostilities propitiously for the
Germans. The British destroyer Kennet, encountering
the German destroyer S. 90 off the coast, gave chase.
The S. 90 immediately made for port, and the Kennet,
in the ardour of pursuit, closed in unawares within
range of the German land batteries. The latter opened
fire, and before she could draw off the Kennet sustained
ten casualties, though little material damage. Next
day the term of the Japanese ultimatum expired. It
was doubtful at what point the Japanese would begin
operations, or what tactics they would adopt. The fear
was prevalent among Germans that the enemy would
enter Chinese territory to reach the town from the land :
newspapers under German influence, indeed, circulating
in Chinese coast towns, started a press campaign with
the object of stirring the Chinese Government to oppose
by force any Japanese landing in her territory. Out-
posts were placed by the Germans along the shores of
the neutral zone to watch for developments : they
descried, on August 24, the approach of Japanese
warships.

Vice-Admiral Sadakichi Kato, who commanded the
approaching squadron, immediately upon arrival took
measures to protect himself against danger from mines.
Seven islets clustering round the mouth of Kiao-chau
Bay were occupied, to form a convenient local naval
base, while mine -sweepers swept the surrounding seas.
No less than a thousand mines were taken from the
water. A blockade of the whole Kiao-chau coast was
declared, as commencing from 9 a.m., August 27, and
war vessels patrolled the shores, some seventy miles

88 THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO

long. Action soon began, and continued during ensuing
days, with shells that at intervals screamed towards the
town. The position was, however, reconnoitred care-
fully. Japanese airmen went up frequently to scan the
fortifications and to drop bombs. All protruding struc-
tures, spires and factory-chimneys, had been levelled
to the ground by the Germans so as to afford no mark
for fire. Bombs were dropped on the railway station
and on one of the numerous barrack buildings. The
operations continued spasmodically into September,
while Kato was awaiting the approach by land of a co-
operating army, which had now disembarked on the
northern coast of the Shantung peninsula, about 150
miles due north of Tsing-tao.

The landing was effected on Sei)tember 2, without
hindrance or opposition on the part of the Chinese.
The Government, following the precedent of the Russo-
Jaj)anese War, immediately published a declaration re-
fusing to hold itself responsible for the obligations of
strict neutrality in areas that formed, within Lung-kow,
Lai-chau, and the neighbourhood of Kiao-chau Bay,
passage-ways essential to the belligerent troops. It was,
of course, incumbent upon the Powers involved to
respect Chinese j)roperty and administrative rights.
Japan, therefore, was permitted to make use of the
main roads to transport an army to the rear of Tsing-tao.
The forces landed composed a division numbering
23,000, and commanded by Lieutenant -General Mitsuomi
Kamio. An advance-guard was sent forward without
delay, but soon found its way rendered impassable by
torrential floods which at this time swept down upon
and devastated the province of Shantung, bridges, roads,
and even villages being submerged and destroyed, with
great loss of life, largely owing to Chinese official incom-

THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO 89

petence. The Japanese, after covering 20 kilometres in
two days, reached a stream so swollen that crossing
was impossible. The artillery had to return to Lung-
kow. German diplomacy, meanwhile, exasperated at its
inability to prevent a Japanese landing, had not been
inactive.

The German and Austrian ministers at Peking, on
hearing of the Japanese landing, protested strongly.
China, it was claimed, ought to have forestalled and
resisted the landing, but instead had deliberately
extended the war-zone in order to facilitate Japanese
movements. She would be held responsible for any
injury to the German cause or property. To this China
replied that, if it was incumbent upon her to prevent
by force Japan operating in her territory, it was equally
her duty to prevent by force Germany fortifying and
defending Tsing-tao. China had endeavoured, indeed,
but unsuccessfully, to preclude belligerent operations
in her territory : only after the Japanese landing, when
she was powerless to do otherwise, had she extended
the zone of war. As to the responsibility, she reiterated
her previous declaration. The baffled Germans fell back
on threats : the right was reserved to visit upon China
dire consequences for her alleged breach of neutrality.
The incident, thrown into striking contrast with Ger-
many's offer to Belgium, marked the unscrupulousness
of German diplomacy, but stirred also many doubts
among the foreign communities in China, in which the
British, allied as they were to the Japanese, formed
a predominating element. An anomaly of the situation
was that British local interests had long conflicted with
Japanese national interests. Japan's activities had, at
every stage of her recent history, reduced British oppor-
tunities. Japanese trader competed with British trader

A^^?^l\

90 THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO

for the markets of China, and Japan's share of the
annual trade expansion was increasing, that of Great
Britain decreasing. High tariffs and preferential rates
had closed Corea and Manchuria to British enterprise.
It is easy to estimate in what commercial jealousy and
rivalry such circumstances had resulted. While the
expediency of the British -Japanese alliance was fully
recognized, and its consequences admitted to be the
freedom of the China seas from menace of commerce-
destroyers, nevertheless the fact remained that the
hostilities against Tsing-tao would constitute a fresh
impulse to Japanese expansion. The operations in
Shantung were watched with critical eyes by many
British in the foreign settlements of China. The floods
had, meanwhile, subsided considerably, and on Sep-
tember 12 Japanese cavalry reached Tsimo, ten miles
outside the Kiao-chau zone. No trace of the enemy
north of the Pai-sha River had been seen, beyond a
German aeroplane that occasionally passed overhead
on reconnoitring flights. On the following day a number
of sharp skirmishes with outposts occurred, and one
.Japanese patrol found its way to the small town of
Kiao-chau, situated at the head of the bay, some
22 miles from Tsing-tao itself. The brushes with the
Germans became of daily occurrence, and in one of them
a high official of the German Legation at Peking, who
had volunteered for service, was killed. On September 17
the Japanese attacked Wang-ko-huang, 13 miles from
Tsimo, the enemy being in a fortified position and pro-
vided with machine-guns. At sunset, however, they
abandoned the village and withdrew under cover of
darkness, leaving behind quantities of equipment and
supplies. A little later a development came about that
brought the dissatisfaction of British traders to a head.

THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO 91

About September 18, after hostile patrols had been
driven away from the shore by the fire of destroyers,
Japanese artillery and troops were landed at Laoshan
Bay, north of Tsing-tao, just within the leased territory.
Why was it necessary that troops should have been
landed on the northern shore of the peninsula of Shan-
tung, 150 miles from their objective, when guns could
be disembarked with perfect safety on the eastern
shore, not 40 miles from the objective, and within the
German zone ? The British were not as critical of
Japan's strategy as they were suspicious of her policy.
Dark suggestions got afoot that she had ulterior designs
upon the whole Chinese province of Shantung. Such
views could not but have reached the ears of the British
authorities at Wei-hei-wei and elsewhere, nor could they
have been deaf to previous murmurs. Diplomatic
circles, however, could extend little sympathy to the
critics. Nevertheless, it was undeniable that the latter
were aggrieved, and that their attitude might produce
unfortunate effects. If Great Britain herself took some
share in the Tsing-tao operations, greater sympathy
with their purpose might be induced, and a better state
of feeling in the Orient between the two peoples might
possibly result. It must have been some aim such as
this that prompted the dispatch of a British force to
the Tsing-tao area to co-operate with General Kamio,
a step which the earlier symptoms of the British dis-
content cannot but have influenced. On September 19,
however, 1,000 of the 2nd South Wales Borderers,
a force so small as to be nominal, under Brigadier-
General Barnardiston, left Tientsin and proceeded to
Wei-hei-wei. Transport mules having here been taken
on board, the expedition on September 22 coasted down
the eastern shore of Shantung, and next day landed at

92 THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO

Laoshan Bay. A month later, as will be seen, they were
joined by 500 of the 36th Sikhs.

Meanwhile, it was probably about this time, or shortly
after, that the Triumph, a British battleship of nearly
12,000tons displacement, 19J knots speed, andfour 10-inch
guns primary armament, joined the Japanese squadron
off Tsing-tao. A spasmodic bombardment had been
maintained during the preceding weeks, and seaplanes
had been busy, bombing and range -finding. The wireless
station, the electric -power station, and several ships in
harbour were damaged by explosive missiles. Little
could be done, however, from the sea alone, and the
attack by land, owing largely to transport difficulties,
had still to develop. But the weather was now improv-
ing considerably. Another set-back to Japanese military
ardour was, indeed, constituted by the marked reluc-
tance of the Germans to form a line of resistance.
German outposts, upon encountering hostile patrols,
invariably retired after offering faint opposition. 'When
the British troops, after a circuitous march of 40 miles,
much hampered by bad roads, came up in the rear of
the Japanese, then preparing to assault the enemy's
advanced positions on high ground between the rivers
Pai-sha and Li-tsun, the part that it had been arranged
they should take in the Jaj^anese attack, on Septem-
ber 26, fell through owing to a disinclination of the
Germans to fight. Their resistance was so meagre that
the Allies were hardly engaged, and next day gained
without difficulty the easterly banks of the Li-tsun and
Chang-tsun rivers, only seven miles north-east of Tsing-
tao. The enemy at all points fell back, and the advance
upon the town continued. The Japanese had now
drawn their lines across the neck of the narrow peninsula
upon which Tsing-tao stands. There were indications

THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO 93

that the main forces were now in contact. The only
obstacle, but a formidable one, between the invaders and
the forts themselves was constituted by the dominat-
ing height of Prince Heinrich Hill, from whose crest,
rising some five miles from the town, all the forts could
be bombarded. General Kamio estimated that three
days of fighting would be required for its capture : it
was as all-important to the defence as to the attack,
and was sure to be strongly held. The forts themselves,
of the latest type, were elaborately constructed, and
equipped with concrete and steel cupolas, mounting
high calibre pieces. They commanded both landward
and seaward approaches to the town, those nearest the
invading Japanese being situated upon, and named,
Moltke Berg, Bismarck Berg, and litis Berg. Earth
redoubts and trenches between formed the German
line of defence. Plans for the most considerable engage-
ment, the assault of Prince Heinrich Hill, that had so
far taken place, to begin on Sunday, September 27,
were made by the Japanese General. It developed more
speedily than had been expected. German artillery
opened a terrific cannonade upon the Japanese lines,
while three warships shelled the attacking right wing
from the bay. The German fire was heavy and accurate.
Japanese warships and aeroplanes, and also the British
battleship Triumph, however, created a diversion that
relieved the assaulting forces. Two of the forts were
shelled from the sea, and suffered serious injury, a
barrack-house and other buildings being, moreover,
damaged. For many hours the great guns, thundering
their challenges from sea and land and estuary, main-
tained continual uproar. Darkness began to gather.
Fighting continued into the night, and early next
morning was renewed, But the defenders seemed to

94 THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO

lack enthusiasm. It is doubtful, indeed, whether their
forces were sufficiently numerous to hold with strength
their advanced positions, and at the same time to man
adequately their main fortified positions. During the
morning of the 28th the Germans withdrew from Prince
Heinrich Hill, leaving fifty of their number and four
machine-guns in Japanese hands, and many dead upon
the slopes. The Japanese casualties numbered 150.
By noon the whole position was in the attackers' hands,
and the beleaguered town, visible from the height, was
now face to face with siege. German officers who knew
all the points, weak and strong, of the defences, could
not but realize their inability to withstand the siege
guns which Japan would sooner or later bring to the
attack. But the heavy artillery was yet far away.
A month was to elapse before the pieces could be
dragged across the difficult country, and emplaced in
prepared positions on Prince Heinrich Hill.

This month, which covered the whole of October,
saw many interesting incidents, and betrayed no signs
of idleness on the part of besiegers or besieged. The
Germans, indeed, proved extraordinarily prodigal in
ammunition, firing on an average 1,000 to 1,500 shells
daily, a fact which lent support to the current view
that, while undesirous of incurring their emperor's
displeasure, they realized the hopelessness, so far as
Tsing-tao was concerned, of their emperor's cause.
Warships in the bay assisted the cannonade from the
forts, and Lieutenant von Pluschow, the airman of the
single aeroplane the town possessed, ventured forth at
intervals to reconnoitre or to bomb. Life in the town
itself continued to be quite normal. Japanese and
British, meanwhile, drew their lines closer and closer
to the fortress by sap and mine, though hindered

THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO 95

greatly by terrible weather, and occasionally having
slight encounters with the enemy. In one of these, on
October 5, a German night-attack was heavily repulsed,
forty-seven dead being left behind by the attackers.
At sea the operations were also spasmodic. At the end
of September a landing force occupied Lao-she harbour,
in the vicinity of Tsing-tao, where four abandoned
field-guns were taken possession of. Mine -sweeping had
constantly to be maintained, under fire from the shore,
and proved a dangerous task. Several vessels thus
engaged were sunk or damaged, though with compara-
tively few casualties, through coming into contact with
mines. Some German gunboats, however, among them
the Cormoran and the litis, were apparently sunk about
this time, either deliberately by the Germans, or from
the fire of the Japanese guns. A torpedo flotilla
bombarded one of the barracks, moreover, to some
effect, while Japanese aeroplanes were also active.
Von Pluschow twice attempted to attack vessels of the
blockading squadron, but unsuccessfully, and on one
occasion a Japanese aeroplane pursuing him gave a
German balloon, floating captive above the town, some
critical moments before it could be hauled to safety.
A few days later, about October 7, the rope which held
this balloon was, during the spasmodic firing, severed
by a shot, and the great bag floated away, apparently
across the bay in the direction of Kiao-chau town and
the railway line inland. In this quarter, indeed, over
the line itself, serious friction had arisen between the
Japanese and the Chinese authorities.

The line ran from Tsing-tao and Kiao-chau to the
junction of Tsi-nan, a distance of about 250 miles,
passing through the towns of Wei-hsien and Tsing-chau.
It was German built and almost wholly German owned.

96 THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO

From some points of view it might reasonably be said to
constitute an adjunct, if not a part, of the leased territory
itself. In any case the Japanese claimed that, since
the outbreak of war, the line had been consistently
utilized to bring reservists, supplies, and ammunition
to the town. The Austrian crew of the disarmed
Kaiserin Elizabeth, both when they left and later
returned to Tsing-tao, had used this means of transit.
The railway, being still under German control, consti-
tuted a menace in the Japanese rear, which the latter,
upon consolidating their position towards the end of
September, took measures to remove. After occupying
Wei-hsien, they began to arrange for the seizure of
the whole line as far as Tsi-nan itself. Hints of such
action drew forth protests from China, whose Govern-
ment, however, adopted too compromising an attitude.
The Japanese Government was firm. China's right to
formal protest was admitted, but the occupation was
stated to be an urgent military necessity, and without any
prejudice to Chinese claims after the war. Since China
was unable to enforce the neutrality of the line, flagrantly
violated by the Germans, the Japanese had no alterna-
tive but to bring it under their own control. The
Chino -German Treaty of 1898 and the German Govern-
ment's charter clearly proved that the railway was
essentially German. A compromise, hastened by the
unhesitating and thorough measures taken by the
Japanese to effect the occupation, was arrived at.
The Japanese were temporarily to control the adminis-
tration, while the Chinese conducted the traffic, of the
railway. Its fate, since China did not admit the con-
tention that it was purely German, was to be decided
after the war. A bellicose attitude noticeable in
Chinese military circles became very marked when,

THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO 97

three days later, on October 6, unquestionably in
breach of the arrangement, Japanese soldiers arrived
at Tsi-nan, and took over the control of the rolling
stock on the Shantung line. It was alleged at Peking
that this force had declared martial law in the town,
which contained, indeed, many German sympathizers
who, rumour added, had destroyed several collieries
there in their anxiety to obstruct the Allies. But the
Chinese Government submitted under further strong
protest, and with a request that the troops should
be withdrawn. The Japanese action occasioned, how-
ever, further distrust among British residents in the
Orient. Meanwhile, a second British force, consisting
of 500 Sikhs, was being prepared to reinforce General
Barnardiston.

At one o'clock on October 12, Captain Meyer-Waldeck,
the Governor of Tsing-tao, received a joint wireless
message from the commanders of the besieging troops
and the blockading squadron, offering a safe escort out
of the town to Tientsin of neutrals and non-combatants.
He at once assented. Delegates met next day at ten
o'clock to discuss details, and on the 15th the American
consul, accompanied by German women and children
and Chinese subjects, left the town. On the previous
day there had been a combined sea and air attack upon
forts litis and Kaiser, in which the Triumph participated
and suffered the only Allied casualties. It is recorded
that, before reopening bombardment after the departure
of the non-combatants, the Japanese, ever polite,
signalled ' Are you now quite ready, gentlemen ? '
For reply a German sniper, taking careful but faulty
aim, sent a bullet which removed three out of the
eleven hairs of the signalman's moustache. Two days
later, days notable for torrential rains, which intensified

18 Q

98 THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO

the discomforts of the troops ashore, the Japanese
suffered a severe naval loss. The Takachiho, an old
cruiser of some 3,000 tons, which had seen service in
the Chino -Japanese War, was on patrol duty on Satur-
day night, October 17, when she fouled a mine, released
by and adrift in the rough seas. Destroyers hastened
to her aid, but rescue work was difficult in the darkness
and the heavy weather. The cruiser sank rapidly. Two
hundred and seventy-one officers and seamen lost their
lives. The rough weather which contributed to the
disaster continued with little break, and hindered
operations, till the end of the month. The landing of the
Sikh contingent at Laoshan Bay on October 21 was,
indeed, attended by great difficulties and some loss of
life. A strong southerly gale had raised high seas, and
enormous lighters and sampans, employed for disem-
barkation, were thrown high and dry upon the beach.
Sixteen Japanese were drowned in trying to save other
boats that broke loose. The Sikhs got safely ashore,
but next morning again the winds blew and the rains
descended, and the camping-ground was soon a miry
pool. Circumstances other than the weather, however,
helped to put the British officers out of humour. Trouble
ahead threatened in connexion with transport arrange-
ments. While the Chinese carts and drivers, brought
hurriedly from Tientsin, were doubtfully reliable, many
of the mules were raw and quite unused to harness.
When a start for the front was preparing on the morning
of the 23rd, it was found that the best of the harness,
which had been purchased from peasants in the locality,
had been stolen in the night by the people who had
brought it in, and that what was left was tied up with
string. The column, however, at length set off, and
made a march memorable for hardship and difficulty.

THE SIEGE OF TSESTG-TAO 99

From Laoshan to Lutin, where a metalled road began,
was 30 miles, crossed by a track formed at one time
by quagmire, at another by slippery boulders. During
eleven hours 6 miles were covered, by which time the
Sikhs were completely exhausted with digging carts
or mules out of the mud, hauling them out with drag-
ropes, reloading overturned carts, or unloading those
immovable. Next day the column was on the road at
seven o'clock, and covered 13 miles. So deep was
the mud in parts that when, owing to the rotten harness
giving way, a mule would occasionally lurch forward
suddenly and walk away by itself, the body of the cart
would be left floating on the surface. One cart was
pulled completely off its axles by a squad of men,
and slid along admirably for a considerable distance.
Seventy Chinese wheelbarrows, however, obtained from
a Japanese depot, rendered invaluable aid on this day.
Tsimo, the halting- place, was reached in the evening,
and next day, after the first ten miles, saw plain sailing.
A few days later, on October 30, after the Sikhs had
rested and recovered, the whole British force, now
some 1,500 strong, moved up to the front in readiness
for the bombardment of Tsing-tao, which had been
arranged to begin next morning in celebration of the
birthday of the Mikado. Siege artillery, 150 pieces,
including six 28-cm. howitzers and some heavy naval
guns, had now been brought up and placed in position.
The shelling was timed to start, in royal salute, at dawn.
Men who, stationed upon Prince Heinrich Hill, could
look below upon the doomed town, athwart the narrow-
ing peninsula, with the sea, studded with grey warships,
surrounding, had before them a wonderful spectacle as
the morning sun, rising from the Pacific, slowly dispersed
the darkness. The thunder of the great guns broke

G2

100 THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO

suddenly upon that stillness which only dawn knows,
and their discharges flashed redly on the darkling slopes.
The Japanese shooting, it is related, displayed remark-
able accuracy, some of the first projectiles bursting upon
the enormous oil-tanks of the Standard Oil Company
and the Asiatic Petroleum Company. A blaze roared
skywards, and for many hours the heavens were dark-
ened by an immense cloud of black petroleum smoke
which hung like a pall over the town. Shells passing
over these fires drew up columns of flame to a great
height. Chinese coolies could be seen running before
the spreading and burning oil. Fires broke out also
on the wharves of the outer harbour, in which during
the day a gunboat, apparently damaged fatally by
a shot which carried away her funnel, disappeared.
The redoubts and infantry works particularly were
heavily bombarded. On the left of the German line
100 Chinese in the village of Tao-tung-chien were
unfortunately caught by shell-fire directed on the
redoubt close at hand, while the fort of Siao-chau-shan,
near by, was set afire. The tops of several of the forts
were soon concealed by clouds of dust and smoke.
A heavy fusillade was concentrated upon an observation
point which the defenders had constructed on a hill in
the town, and had considerable effect. The Germans
did not on this first day of general bombardment reply
strongly, two only of the forts persistently firiag. At
length the sun sank and night obscured the conflict.
It had been a bad day for the besieged : and dismantled
guns, shattered concrete platforms and entrenchments,
devastated barbed-wire entanglements, augured the
town's approaching fate.

The bombardment continued for a week. During
that period the Japanese and British guns, directed

THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO 101

from land and sea by a balloon, by aeroplanes, or by
observation stations on the hills, in daytime thundered
incessantly. The German shelling, though severe, was
far less heavy, because, it is said, the men in the forts,
sheltering most of the time in bomb-proof caverns,
issued forth only at night and during pauses of the
Japanese to return the fire. The airman von Pluschow
actively directed the repHes. The latter seemed not,
indeed, impartially distributed. The marked attention
paid to British troops and ships afforded an illustra-
tion of that attitude of peculiar malevolence which
Germans have adopted towards the British nation
and name. The German airman singled out the British
camp, recognizable by its white tents, for his bombs,
while for the German artillery it had an inordinate
attraction. Officers on board the Triumph, moreover,
observed that the largest German guns, of 12-inch
calibre, were consistently directed upon their vessel.
But of many projectiles one only, which struck the
mast, being fired from Hui-tchien-huk, proved effective.
This hit, however, caused rejoicing in Tsing-tao which,
it is asserted, would not have been equalled by the
sinking of a Japanese Dreadnought. The Triumph
singled out for attack Fort Bismarck especially, and
two of the German 6- inch guns were early put out of
action. The British gunners adopted the ingenious plan
of heeling their ship by five degrees, and bombarding
the enemy, from sight strips specially calculated,
without exposing themselves or their weapons. It
became customary aboard to call the bombardment
' pressing the enemy ', from an exhortation sent by the
Japanese Crown Prince to * press the enemy, braving
all hardships'. Ashore, indeed, the pressure on the
enemy developed steadily as the days passed. On

102 THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO

November 2 the Austrian cruiser Kaiserin Elizabeth,
which had, with the German gunboats still afloat, been
engaging vigorously in the fighting, sank, having
probably been blown up deliberately, and the floating
dock also disappeared. litis Fort, moreover, was
silenced, two guns being smashed and ammunition
giving out, and Japanese infantry advanced and captured
an eminence in German hands. On another ridge,
however, hard by the silenced fort, some German naval
gunners carried out a ruse which saved for the present
both their position and their battery, composed of naval
9-cm. pieces, which were exposed dangerously to fire
from sea and land. Lieutenant von Trendel, in com-
mand, during the night constructed wooden models of
cannon, which he placed in position 200 yards from his
real guns. Next morning he exploded powder near by,
and drew the fire of the besiegers, attracted by the
flashes, upon the dummies. That day the wireless and
electric power stations were wrecked, and large attacking
forces crept further forward, despite severe fire, and
entrenched closer to the enemy's lines. In the evening
and night the latter showed special activity, star rockets
and other fireworks being used to illumine the opposing
positions, which were heavily fusilladed. A German
night- attack was delivered, but was repulsed. Next
day, the 4th, and on the two following days, progress was
maintained. The Allied trenches were pushed forward
until they were right up to and almost half round the
nearest German forts. Many casualties were suffered,
but the German fire was kept down by the Japanese
guns, whose accuracy was remarkable. The weather
conditions were unfavourable, high winds and heavy
rains prevailing, and the troops in the trenches had to
endure hard privations. So effective was the bombard-

THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO 103

ment, however, that during November 5 and 6 plans
were prepared for the final assault. It was arranged
that a general infantry attack should be made as soon as
practicable. The garrisons in the forts, meanwhile,
were beginning to exhaust their ammunition, of which
they had been, du ing the preliminary operations,
strangely prodigal. Guns lay silent for other reasons
than structural injury, though the latter cause, indeed,
was frequent, a single shot, in one case, from the Suwo,
the Japanese flagship, having destroyed a 24-cm. gun
and killed eight men on Fort Hui-tchien-huk. In the
town itself the streets, not immune from falling pro-
jectiles, were deserted, and the only centre of social
intercourse and conviviality was the German Club,
where regularly officers or non-combatants slipped in
for dinner, luncheon, or a glass of beer. But it was
realized that the end was not far distant.

Early in the morning of November 6 the airman
von Pluschow flew away across Kiao-chau Bay, and
did not return. He escaped with the Governor's last
dispatches into Chinese territory, where his machine
was interned. That day and night saw no cessation
of the firing, the guns of the defenders still roaring at
intervals. About an hour after midnight the first
impulse of the general attack took effect. While a
particularly heavy artillery fire kept the Germans in
their bomb-proof shelters, the central redoubt of the
first line of defence, which had been badly shattered
by the bombardment, was rushed by a storming party
headed by General Yoshimi Yamada. Engineers had
in the darkness sapped right up to the barbed-wire
entanglements, which being cut provided way for the
infantry, who, while part held the enemy in front,
rushed the redoubt on both flanks. Two hundred

104 THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO

prisoners were taken, and the Japanese flag was hoisted.
The besiegers were through the German line, but the
position had to be consolidated, or disaster would
follow. Danger from the flank was, however, soon
obviated by advances in other parts of the line. Just
after five o'clock a battery on Shao-tan Hill was cap-
tured ; half an hour later another battery in Tao-tung-
chien redoubt was taken, and Fort Chung-shan-wa, the
base of the German right wing, fell. The shadows were
still dense, and the final phase of the siege, viewed
from Prince Heinrich Hill, presented a sight brilliant
with many flashes and flaming fireworks, and a sound
dominated by the thunder of the batteries. But dawn,
as the besiegers began in mass to close in upon the
main line of forts litis, Moltke, and Bismarck, was
breaking. It was decided to storm these positions
forthwith, since the German fire, owing to exhaustion
of the ammunition, was dying away. Governor Meyer-
Waldeck, who had been wounded, realized now that
further resistance was futile. Shortly before six o'clock
he sent Major von Kayser, his adjutant, accompanied by
another oflicer and a trumpeter, from the staff head-
quarters bearing the white flag : at the same time
a signal of surrender was made from the Observatory.
This Avas not, however, observed, while von Kayser's
party, coming under fire, was dispersed by a shell which
killed the trumpeter and the adjutant's horse. Mean-
while, Japanese and British were closing in, and were
tensely awaiting the final assault. It was never made.
Soon after seven o'clock a welcome sight relaxed the
tension of the troops, torn, dirty, and weary, calling
forth cheers from the British, and shouts of ' Banzai ! '
from the Japanese. The campaign was over : Tsing-tao
had fallen. White flags were fluttering from the forts.

THE SIEGE OF TSING-TAO 105

That evening delegates from the two armies met and
signed the terms of capitulation, which were uncon-
ditional. Honours of war were accorded the defenders,
the Governor and his ofi&cers being permitted to retain
their swords. The AUies marched into the town, and
on November 10 the garrison was formally transferred.
Over 4,000 Germans were sent to Japan as prisoners,
and large quantities of war material were confiscated.
The captures included 30 field-guns, 100 machine-guns,
2,500 rifles, 40 motor-cars, £1,200 in bullion, and
15,000 tons of coal. All ships in harbour, and also the
floating dock, had been destroyed, but it seemed pro-
bable that the Kaiserin Elizabeth could be successfully
raised. Sufficient provisions were found to feed 5,000
persons for three months, and the victors were able to
regale their appetites with luxuries such as butter, crab,
or salmon, which were plentiful. Looting, however,
was strictly forbidden. For fastidious persons the
bath, after many weeks, was again available, and proved,
indeed, in view of steady accumulations of mud, a
salutary course. Measures, meanwhile, were at once
taken to restore the town to its normal condition. The
troops and sailors were employed in removing debris or
undischarged land and sea mines. Another Japanese
gunboat was sunk, and several officers and men lost
their lives, while engaged in this dangerous work.
The victory had to be paid for, indeed, with a heavy
toll of life and limb. The Japanese casualties num-
bered 236 kflled and 1,282 wounded; the British, 12
killed and 53 wounded. On November 16 the Allies
formally took possession of Tsing-tao ; and a memorial
service was held for the dead.

JT.S.Ifamn.

Qjc/'ora.

3 MILES.
5 KM.

TRO YON : AN ENGAGEMENT IN THE
BATTLE OF THE AISNE ^

No conflict in history exceeds in magnitude or impor-
tance the battle which commenced on the banks of the
Aisne on September 13, 1914. The numbers engaged
were upwards of two millions. The area involved
stretched on September 13 from Verdun to Noyon,
a distance of about one hundred and thirty miles, and
included Laon and Soissons, Rheims and Compiegne.
The immense battle-line lengthened from day to day.
On September 28, its western extremity was Peronne.
On October 2, gun defied gun from Verdun to Laon,
from Laon to Arras. The Battle of the Aisne, which
already summarized many engagements that once
historians would have dignified, but modern com-
parisons forbid to be described, as battles in themselves,
became itself part of one gigantic conflict which raged
from the bounds of England to the confines of Switzer-
land. The thunder of the guns reverberated from the
chffs of Dover to the gorges of the Swiss Jura. But
of the whole battle -line of the Aisne no section was
more strategically important than that occupied by
the British. Not one of the separate engagements, of
the British or of the French, which together comprised
the battle, was more strategically important or more
stubbornly contested than that fought in the woods
and on the hill-sides around Troyon. The struggle

* An outline of this narrative may be found in Sir John French's
dispatch dated October 8, and published October 18, 1914.

108 TROYON : AN ENGAGEMENT IN

opened with a night-attack in the early hours of
September 14. How that struggle was won it is our
purpose to describe.

• « • • «

Shortly after midnight on September 14, the 2nd
Infantry Brigade, billeted in Moulins, began to muster.
The conditions, indeed, were favourable to a night-
attack. Rain fell at intervals. Heavy mist intensified
the darkness. Nevertheless, Brigadier-General Bulfin
could not but feel anxiety as to his prospects of success.
The force under his command, now mustering without
bugle-call or beat of drum, only numbered some 4,000
men. It comprised battalions of the King's Royal
Rifles, the Royal Sussex, the Northamptonshire, the
Loyal North Lancashire Regiments, and was sup-
ported by the 25th Artillery Brigade, which was short
of a battery. There was ground for believing, and it
was afterwards clearly established, that in the previous
week the Germans had carefully selected their position,
had taken all ranges, had dug gun-pits and trenches,
with the object of making a determined stand here, rather
than upon the banks of the Aisne between Qi]uilly and
the Pont-Arcy. Only a few hours before, on the morn-
ing of the 13th, the whole 1st British Division had met
with little opposition in crossing the river. But tho
formidable position to which the enemy had retired,
south of the line of the Chemin des Dames, looked
down at the wooded slopes around Troyon across
a wide valley almost destitute of cover. Some of the
oldest local inhabitants could remember that this very
spot had been held by the Germans in the campaign
of 1871. There was another tradition. Historians
asserted that, a short distance away, on the hill abovo
Bourg and Comin, Labicnus, the lieutenant of Caesar,

THE BATTLE OF THE AISNE 109

had successfully defended Gaul against barbarians
attacking from the north. Excavation a few years
before had revealed in the huge quarries there, now
occupied by modern artillery, a subterranean village
containing quantities of Gallic pottery and arms. The
Germans might well be expected to offer considerable
resistance. Signs, moreover, were not wanting of the
constant watchfulness and activity of both the opposing
armies. Desultory firing and the occasional screech of
a shell broke the silence at intervals. The Medical Corps
were at work bringing in the wounded. Great search-
lights swept ceaselessly the death-ridden valley of the
Aisne. If those great shafts of light, which the mist
hampered but did not destroy, were to play on the
woods and fields of Troyon and Vendresse, the British
could scarcely hope to deliver their attack without
previous discovery. As Bulfin awaited somewhat
anxiously the return of the officers' patrol he had sent
out to reconnoitre, perhaps he recalled under what
different circumstances he had fought in the highlands
of Burma, or gained distinction in the South African
campaigns. Shortly before three o'clock the officers
returned. They reported to the General a considerable
force of the enemy near a factory north of Troyon.

Troyon lies on the Laon road, about half-way between
Cerny and Vendresse. Wooded slopes of considerable
height separate it from where, to its north, near Cerny,
the Laon road crosses the Chemin des Dames. West
of Troyon, densely wooded country undulates towards
the high hills around Braye. East of Troyon a spur
of hills rises sharply. Southwards, between Moulin s
and Troyon, continuous woodland could conceal, but
would not facilitate, the approach of the British.

At three o'clock Bulfin ordered the King's Royal

110 TROYON : AN ENGAGEMENT IN

Rifles and the Royal Sussex Regiment to move forward
from Moulins. The advance was made as noiselessly
as possible. Ever3rthing depended upon the enemy
being surprised. At length the British drew near.
The apprehensions of some of the officers were at
one point alarmed by hearing a sudden sharp cry.
A stray shot, an effect of the general desultory firing,
had shattered the arm of one of the men. He could
not restrain a cry of agony. But next moment the
brave fellow seized a piece of turf with his uninjured
hand and thrust it between his teeth. He held it in
this position till he was able to crawl back through
the lines. Soon the British came into touch with the
German outposts. To conceal their approach now
was hardly possible, and they pushed on rapidly till they
gained the ground just north of Troj^on. A large
factory, occupied hj an expectant foe, now impeded
further advance. The Germans opened fire. The alarm
given, the German batteries covering the entrench-
ments near the factory also opened fire. Meanwhile,
the British had formed a firing line, and had begun to
creep forward. The skilful use they made of their
ground on that day called forth the admiration of the
Germans themselves. All efforts to advance, however,
were soon checked by the continuous fusillade. The
black heights, the factory silhouetted against the sky,
the dark wooded slopes, presented to the British lying
under cover a front sparkling with innumerable points
of fire, illumined by the flashes and shaken by the
thunder of numerous guns. Light rain and soaking
mist aggravated the discomforts but lessened the
dangers of the men. Reinforcements were at hand.
At four o'clock the Northamptonshire Regiment had
left Moulins and advanced to occupy the hills east of

THE BATTLE OF THE AISNE 111

Troyon. A considerable time passed with the line,
thus extended, keeping up a hot fire and advancing
where possible. All efforts to dislodge the enemy from
the factory proved futile. It was held in considerable
force. The darkness, the mist, the rain-sodden ground,
hampered the advance of the artillery. The east was
pahng. The shadows in the woods were growing grey.
Dawn would soon break. It was not unlikely that the
Rifles and the Sussex Regiment would be unable to
maintain their position when revealed by daylight.
About six o'clock, therefore, Bulfin directed the Loyal
North Lancashires, who had proceeded from Moulins
to Vendresse, to support their comrades at Troyon in
a determined effort to make headway. The effort
proved unavailing. Shortly afterwards, however, the
1st Infantry Brigade arrived. The Coldstream Guards
were hurried to the right, the Grenadier, the Irish,
the Scots Guards to the left, of the 2nd Brigade.

These reinforcements soon made themselves felt.
The very presence of the Guards, indeed, was of con-
siderable moral value. The glory of innumerable
campaigns had made them jealous of a reputation won
upon such fields as Malplaquet and Fontenoy, as Talavera
and Barrosa, and as Inkerman. No other corps of
soldiers existing could show as fine a record as that
which numbered among its achievements the capture
of Gibraltar, and the defence of Hougomont at the
crisis of Waterloo. The Coldstreams particularly
could recall an old resentment against the foes they
now faced. Over a hundred years before, in 1793,
British and Prussians lay opposite French entrench-
ments in a forest. They were then allies. 5,000 Austrians
had been thrice repulsed with a loss of 1,700 men.
The Prussians were asked to undertake the attack.

112 TROYON: AN ENGAGEMENT IN

Their general, who also commanded the British, sent
the Coldstreams, only 600 strong, alone to the assault.
It was impossible to carry the entrenchments. The
regiment was cut up severely. But it could not be
dislodged from the wood.

A vigorous attack was now made upon the German
lines. The position was rushed at the point of the
bayonet. Unsupported by artillery, the British met
with a heavy rifle and shell fire before they reached the
enemy's trenches. Tremendous hand-to-hand fighting
followed. Fourteen years before, stout Boer burghers,
impervious to fear of the bullet, had fled in terror at
the flash of the deadly bayonet. The Germans had so
far shown a partiality for artillery duels, for steady
advance in packed masses, for the weight of numbers.
They were not accustomed to calculate, nor inclined
to rely, upon the dash and the elan, as the French
say, of a charge with the cold steel. Unable to with-
stand the furious British assault, they abandoned five
guns in a hurried retreat ; 280 prisoners were taken to
the rear by the Sussex Regiment, 47 by the Scots
Guards.

The capture of the factory could only be ejffected
after a desperate struggle and with considerable loss.
The Loyal North Lancashires lay opposite the position.
It presented difficulties, indeed, which might well
cause misgivings to the bravest. Every door was sure
to be bolted and barred. Death lurked behind every
window. But the Loyal North Lancashires could not
hesitate while other regiments on their right and left
were striking vigorously at the foe. A party of them
forced a passage over shattered doors and barricades,
over ruined furniture, over the piled corpses of the
slain. Some prisoners and several machine guns fell

THE BATTLE OF THE AISNE 113

into their hands. The position thus won was held by-
men of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment throughout
the day.

The morning, which had dawned amid the roar of
action, was cold and windy, and showed the British
how formidable was their task. The line to which the
Germans had retreated was strong. Concealed artillery
strengthened their entrenchments, which covered a long
stretch of rising open ground. The fusillade recom-
menced and continued with renewed violence. At
about nine o'clock the screech of shells coming from
the British lines announced that at last the British
artillery was able to render the infantry effective
support.

Our purpose is merely to record the operations which
took place in the neighbourhood of Troyon on
September 14. But it is necessary to mention the
position of the Allies on either flank of the brigades
engaged, which belonged to the 1st Division. To the
right of the line of the 1st and 2nd Brigades, on the
further side of the spur of hills to the east of Troyon,
the troops from French Morocco were entrenched in
echelon. They came, indeed, from a region on which
Germany had once cast covetous eyes. She had had,
however, when she sent the Panther to Agadir, good
reason to desire to make dependents, or at least
allies, of the Moroccans. For they had proved terrible
foes. On the left of the 1st Division the 2nd Division
had been advancing since an early hour towards
Ostel and Brave. The 6th Lifantry Brigade, the right
wing of the 2nd Division, at nine o'clock reached
Tilleul. Here its progress was checked by that
artillery and rifle fire which had checked effectually the
progress of the brigades north of Troyon. A dangerous

18 H

114 TROYON : AN ENGAGEMENT IN

interval of ground disconnected the firing lines of these
two forces. Sir Douglas Haig grasped the importance
of covering this interval. It was more than likely that
the enemy would choose a point so vulnerable for counter-
attack. The 3rd Infantry Brigade was at hand. At
six o'clock it had left Bourg, where it had been billeted
during the night, and had at ten o'clock reached a point
one mile south of Vendresse. It was immediately
ordered to continue the line of the 1st Brigade and to
connect with and aid the right of the 2nd Division.
This disposition was speedily justified. No sooner had
the 3rd Brigade covered the interval, than a heavy
shrapnel fire was opened upon them, and a strong hostile
column was found to be advancing.

The commanding officer of the 3rd Brigade, Brigadier-
General James Landon, took prompt and decisive
action. Two of his battalions made a vigorous counter-
attack. A battery of field-guns was rushed into action,
and opened fire at short range with deadly effect.
The German artillery, hurling a continuous shower
of shells during the whole day upon and around
Vendresse, could not inflict on the British such
slaughter as one deadly hail of shell and bullet could
inflict upon the close masses of German infantry.
The advancing column, menaced on either flank, hastily
recoiled.

Both British and German lines were now strongly
held. The fighting during the whole of the morning
and till late in the afternoon continued to be of a most
desperate character. Both the opposing forces con-
tinually delivered attacks and counter-attacks. British
and Germans advanced and retired in turn, surging
and receding like breakers on a sea-coast. The men in
the firing lines took turns in the dangerous duty of

THE BATTLE OF THE AISNE 115

watching for advancing enemies, while the rest lay low
in the protecting trenches. Artillery boomed continually
from the hill-sides. Maxim and rifle fire crackled cease-
lessly in the woods and valleys. At times a sonorous
unmistakable hum swelled the volume of sound. The
aeroplanes, despite rain and wind, were continually
upon the alert. The troops on solid ground watched
them circling at dizzy heights amid the flashes of
bursting shells, and marvelled at the coolness, the
intrepidity, and the skill of those who controlled levers
and recorded observations as they hovered, the mark
for every hostile gun, in the open sky. No ditch or wall
Bcreened the airmen from the most certain and the
most horrible of deaths. Only their speed and their
good fortune could elude the stray bullet and the
flying splinter of shell which would send those delicate
mechanisms hurtling to earth. During the course of
the struggle a German aeroplane flew at a great height
over the British lines. It was well out of reach of fire.
A British machine rose, swept in a wide semicircle
around its opponent, and mounted steadily. The
German, becoming alive to these movements, made
efforts to attack his adversary from above. He swooped
suddenly and fired. The British swerved giddily
upwards, and gained the same altitude as the German.
Those who watched from below that remarkable duel
could see the two machines manoeuvring at a great
height for the upper place, and could hear distantly
the sound of shots. The airmen showed superb nerv@r
The struggle ranged up and down for some minutes.
Then the British seized a sudden advantage of superior
height. The machines seemed to close. The German
staggered, its pilot struck by a revolver shot. His slow
descent to earth left his adversary in possession of the

H2

116 TROYON: AN ENGAGEMENT IN

air. The British aeroplane, skimming and humming
downwards amid the cheers of thousands, could well
claim to have marked a signal instance of that personal
ascendancy which Sir John French so emphatically
extols, and which seems to offer chances of Great
Britain adding the dominion of the air to her world-
wide domain of the seas/

Many instances are recorded of the successes and
checks of that strenuous day. At one point the enemy
were shelled out of their trenches and abandoned two
machine guns. Fifty of them surrendered at the call
of ten British. At another point a battalion of the
Guards, the Camerons, and the Black Watch delivered
in turn a fierce assault upon the German lines. It was
necessary to traverse about half a mile of open ground.
They went off with a cheer. The air was full of the
scream of shrapnel and the whistle of bullets. So hot
and so concentrated w^as the fusillade that the British
were compelled to retire with severe loss. Equally
unsuccessful but not less heroic was a charge of the
Welsh Regiment. That occasion was rendered memor-
able by the gallantry of the captain who, struck down
while leading the charge and laying about him with
an empty rifle, kept uttering dying exhortations of
'Stick it, Welsh!' 'Stick it, Welsh!' His men
were, indeed, compelled to retire over his body. But
such was the devotion he had inspired that his soldier-
servant, afterwards rewarded for his courage with the
Victoria Cross, ran out about a hundred yards, exposed
to heavy fire, to pick up and bring back to cover his
mortally wounded captain. The energy and tenacity

* It cannot be claimed as certain that this occurrence took place
on September 14. Nevertheless, the evidence is sufficiently strong
to warrant its insertion in the narrative of that day's events.

THE BATTLE OF THE AISNE 117

with which they were assailed, however, prompted
some Glermans to faU back upon a base expedient.
A white flag was seen to flutter out at one point in the
German lines. It was the token of surrender. A body
of the Coldstreams, Grenadiers, Irish Guards, and
Connaughts went forward to take the prisoners. No
sooner were they well in the open than out burst a ring
of fire from concealed artillery. The Germans who had
affected to surrender poured in a hot rifle fire. The
British, caught in a trap, were cut up in face of a wither-
ing fusillade. They perished as martyrs to the unsus-
pecting faith of chivalry, and as victims of the most
disgraceful form of treachery.

It was about four o'clock in the afternoon before
a perceptible weakening of the German counter-attacks
and resistance indicated that a general advance might
safely be undertaken. Sir Douglas Haig ordered his
whole corps to push forward. The enemy still offered
considerable opposition, and maintained very heavy
artillery and rifle fire. It was not found possible to
advance far. Cerny was in possession of the Germans.
The day had been long and strenuous. The enemy
had been forced back a considerable distance. The
troops were very weary. Nevertheless, most of the
contested ground, from the Chemin des Dames on
the right to Chivy onwards, was occupied by the British
before night fell.

The 1st Army Corps, and particularly the 1st Division
of that Corps, had, indeed, good reason to be satisfied
with the result of the day's operations. They had
gained a very considerable stretch of difficult and
dangerous ground, covered with woods that harboured
the infantry and concealed the artillery of the enemy.
They had had to contest every yard, to dig trenches

118 TROYON

continually, to creep forward slowly, and occasionally
to retire. They had captured 600 prisoners and twelve
guns. They had repulsed repeated and prolonged
attacks. The Commander-in-Chief asserted in a dispatch
that the advanced and commanding position they had
won alone enabled him to maintain his ground for
more than three weeks of very severe fighting on the
northern bank of the Aisne. The casualties had indeed
been severe. One brigade alone had lost three of its
four colonels. But the captured trenches showed that
the Germans had suffered far more heavily.

GHELUVELT

THE CRISIS OF THE FIRST BATTLE FOR
YPRES

' Perhaps the most important and decisive attacks (except that of
the Prussian Guard on 15th November) made against the Ist Corps
during the whole of its arduous experiences in the neighbourhood of
Ypres took place on the 31st October. ... I was present with Sir
Douglas Haig at Hooge between two and three o'clock on this day,
when the 1st Division were retiring. I regard it as the most critical
moment in the whole of this great battle. The rally of the 1st Division
and the recapture of the village of Gheluvelt at such a time were
fraught with momentous consequences.' — Sir John French, in his
dispatch dated November 20, and published November 29, 1914.

The line of trenches which stretches from the sea at
Nieuport to the Swiss frontier runs, in its course through
Flanders, not through Ypres, but in a distinct curve
around it. At the end of October 1914 the east abut-
ment of this salient was formed by a trench-line crossing
the Menin road east of Zonnebeke, of Gheluvelt, and
of Zandvoorde, the salient curving back west on either
flank, the southern ' re-entrant ' from Zandvoorde, the
northern from Zonnebeke. The German attacks upon
Ypres during the first period of their assault, from
October 20 to November 17, took three directions, and
had two objects : upon the northern and southern
re-entrants in an effort to break through and to cut off
from the city the British defending the easterly part
of the salient ; and against the east abutment itself in
a direct attempt to drive the defenders back westwards
through the city. The first attacks, October 21-3,

122 GHELUVELT : THE CRISIS OF

were made against the northern re-entrant in the neigh-
bourhood of Bixschoote, held partly by British and
partly by French, and against the east abutment in the
neighbourhood of Becelaere, defended wholly by British.
After its successful repulse the French reHeved the
British of part of their northern re-entrant front. A
few days later, on October 29, the Germans commenced
a series of fierce and unremitting assaults upon the
eastern line of the salient, and upon the southern re-
entrant in the neighbourhood of Hollebeke and Messines,
where the London Scottish, the first Territorials to join
battle with the enemy, won honour by a famous charge.
The writer's purpose is to describe the fighting which
raged, chiefly on October 31, in the neighbourhood of
Gheluvelt. That fighting consecrated to British hearts
a district, already old in history, many of whose villages
and features, Klein Zillebeke and Kruiseik, the Zand-
voorde ridge, the woods of Polygone and of Veldhoek,
will take rank with the most honoured battle-names in
the story of our country. It added also to the desola-
tion which hideous war had wrought upon a district
of well cultivated fields, of windmills, of canals, of
slow-moving streams winding between rows of pollards,
of cottages nestling among fruitful gardens and orchards,
of country-houses embowered in woods and pleasure-
grounds, and of quaint villages with mediaeval churches
whose spires, not too sacred for miHtary necessity, rose
prominently above the wide plains.

South-east of Ypres runs a canal to Comines. The
Ypres-Moorslede road, passing through Zonnebeke, pro-
ceeds in a north-easterly direction, and the angle between
this and the canal is bisected by the Ypres-Menin road,
with the villages Hooge and Gheluvelt upon its line.
The rough quadrilateral formed by this angle and by

THE FIRST BATTLE FOR YPRES 123

lines joining Zonnebeke to Kruiseik, and E^uiseik to
the canal near Hollebeke, constituted, during the final
days of October, the area covered by the British 1st Corps,
to which were attached the 7th Infantry Division and
the 3rd Cavalry Division. It is an area broken by
numerous ridges and small hills, and covered by many
woods. It has become an area of depopulated villages,
of naked ruins, of shattered bridges, of fields of trampled
crops, of improvised graveyards where the sods lie fresh
and rough upon close-packed and numberless graves ;
an area where cattle wander uncared for, where farm-
steads lie open to the sky, with pigs and fowls roaming
wild over scenes of waste and disorder. The gaunt ruins
of old churches rear themselves amid havoc-stricken
villages : beautiful houses, with every cupboard, every
drawer ransacked, their rooms littered with broken
furniture and tumbled garments, and everywhere, it is
said, hundreds of empty bottles, stand with great
chasms, where projectiles have struck, gaping in roof
and walls. The woods are raked by shell-fire, the ground
is pitted with huge shell-holes. Everywhere this corner
of the wide plain of West Flanders bears marks of war
more savage and more ineffaceable than those stamped
upon it by the brutal soldiery of the Inquisition, or by
the seven sieges which reduced Ypres from a city more
populous than Cardiff to a town as sparsely peopled as
Harrow or Pontefract. Every village, Kruiseik, Klein
Zillebeke, Veldhoek, Hooge, Gheluvelt, lies bleak in
death and ruin, and deserted except, where British
head-quarters are placed, for numerous motor transport
vehicles, and busy staff officers and orderlies. It was
this area that Sir Douglas Haig, by a line of trenches
stretching from Zonnebeke round the woods to the
cross-roads a mile east of Gheluvelt, over the fields to

124 GHELUVELT : THE CRISIS OF

Kruiseik Hill, and westwards along the ridge of Zand-
voorde to the chateau east of the village, was called
upon to defend. He took over this position on October 27.
Two days later there burst upon his front the opening
phases of a storm of unprecedented force and fury.

October 29 dawned, crisp, clear, and sunny. Troops
of the 1st Division in the trenches which crossed the
Menin road about a mile east of Gheluvelt, watching for
the shadows to rise, were soon greeted, as a morning
welcome, by the roar of the enemy's artillery and the
screech and explosion of shell. They were not, indeed,
unaccustomed to the dangerous visitors which they
termed derisively ' Jack Johnsons ' or ' Black Marias ',
diggers of vast pits, ' Little Willies ' or ' White Hopes '.
But the cannonade soon became exceptionally heavy ;
and after some time the grey-clad forms of German
infantry were seen advancing.

For a while it was the turn of the British. Machine-
guns, massed at various points, were brought to bear
on the enemy with terrible effect. The Germans, dash-
ing boldly forward across the open, fell in such numbers
that wounded and dead piled themselves into heaps.
Nevertheless, the enemy continued to advance in force,
and heavy fighting went on for several hours. At length
parts of the British line were penetrated, and some
trenches were occupied, among them those of the Gordon
Highlanders and the Yorkshire Regiment, who, however,
recovered their ground by gallant charges. Sir Douglas
Haig was informed that a portion of his front line had
been forced back. The centre of attack was the Menin
road ; upon the right of this road lay the 7th Division
and the 3rd Cavalry Division, upon the left the 1st
Division and, farther on, the 2nd Division. The General
counter-attacked, nearly the whole of his forces being

THE FIRST BATTLE FOR YPRES 125

involved. The 7th Division, supported on its right by
the cavaky, advanced upon Kruiseik, where trenches
had been lost, and upon the German front from there
to the Gheluvelt cross-roads, while the 1st Corps struck
at the opposing lines east of the Polygone Wood, on the
other side of the road. But the enemy resisted stub-
bornly, and it was two o'clock before signs of their
giving way offered encouragement to the British. The
latter pressed their assault, and, as the day advanced,
the issue of the struggle became decisive. Kruiseik Hill
was recaptured. Most of the line to the north of the
Menin road was recovered, and in some places advanced,
the enemy retaining possession at one point alone. By
nightfall the position was much the same as upon the
previous evening. Rain had begun to fall heavily at
about six o'clock, and the night, without a moon to
throw a ray of comfort to the men in the sodden trenches,
was as black as pitch. A terrific thunderstorm broke ;
and heaven's artillery, perhaps to show Heaven's anger,
for a while silenced the artillery of man. Soon, however,
the Germans, taking advantage of the conditions,
emerged from the darkness and fell upon the British
lines at several points. They were repulsed, but con-
siderable fighting occurred throughout the night upon
the Menin road. It gradually lessened until, shortly
after daylight, a tremendous artillery fire was opened
upon the cavalrymen defending the Zandvoorde ridge.
The 3rd Cavalry Division was commanded by Major-
General the Hon. Julian Byng. It consisted of the
6th Brigade, containing the ' Fighting Tenth ' Hussars,
the 1st Dragoons, the 3rd Dragoon Guards ; and of the
7th Brigade, containing the 1st and 2nd Life Guards
and the Royal Horse Guards. It had accompanied
General Sir Henry Rawlinson in his operations around

126 GHELUVELT : THE CRISIS OF

Ghent and Antwerp, and, as became the reputations of
the regiments it included, had fought gallantly and
suffered heavily in the severe fighting which had been
necessary to stave off the German advance upon Ypres
until supports arrived . The praise later bestowed upon the
cavalry by Sir John French for the way in which they took
turns in the trenches in the absence of reinforcements on
no occasion more justified itself than upon the morning of
October 30. Kavanagh's 7th Brigade occupied the front
line upon the Zandvoorde ridge, with Makins's 6th Brigade
as reserves in the rear. The Hussars and Dragoons were
bombarded heavily, yet showed no sign of weakness.
But at length many of the trenches were completely
blown in, one troop being buried alive. Zandvoorde
was shelled, whole houses lifting momentarily, it seemed,
into the air, and falling, masses of pulverized masonry
and debris, amid the roar of great explosions, and with
columns of black smoke streaming upwards from their
ruins for a hundred feet. The cannonade became so
violent and the casualties so great after a while that
Byng was compelled to withdraw. All the battles in
his Egyptian campaigns put together could not form
a shrieking inferno such as this. He moved back his
division a mUe or more as far as Klein ZUlebeke. The
Germans made a rapid advance, and took possession of
the Zandvoorde ridge.

Sir Douglas Haig saw that the position was serious.
The withdrawal of the cavalry to Klein Zillebeke in-
volved the right wing of the 7th Division, which had
to retire through the woods to conform with the new
line. That line stretched now from Gheluvelt to where
the canal turned westwards near Klein Zillebeke. Much
ground had been lost, ground, moreover, the strategical
value of which made it dangerous to relinquish. Sir

THE FIRST BATTLE FOR YPRES 127

Douglas sent urgent orders to General Byng and to
Greneral Capper, the commander of the 7th Division,
that the line from Gheluvelt to the corner of the canal
must be consolidated and held at all costs. The Scots
Greys and the 3rd and 4th Hussars, belonging to the
1st Cavalry Corps, were moved up to Klein Zillebeke
as reinforcements. A battalion of the 2nd Brigade was
placed in reserve behind the line in the woods about
a mile south of Hooge, and the rest of this brigade was
directed to concentrate in rear of the 1st Division and
of the 4th Brigade, on the other side of the Menin road,
where the Overmans had also been pressing their attacks.
But here on the left of Haig's line they had made only
two efforts to advance, and had in both cases been
stopped by wire entanglements and repulsed by close
rifle -fire.

The enemy now continued to assail the cavalry line.
The whole 15th Army Corps, with many guns, were in
action at this part of the field, and it was the weight of
their numbers that had caused the retirement from
Zandvoorde. They were troops of the German Active
Army, and had only just come up to reinforce the
14th Corps, which had delivered the attack of the
previous day. A strong force of artillery was now
brought into play, and a very heavy bombardment
was maintained, many of the telephone cables which
communicated with head-quarters being cut. The
6th Cavalry Brigade occupied the front line, with the
Greys and the 3rd Hussars on their left, the 4th Hussars
on their right. The defence was stubborn, and the
Germans could make no headway. Little change took
place in the situation during the rest of the day, and
at dusk Lord Cavan came up with his 4th Infantry
Brigade to relieve the weary cavalrymen, who retired

128 GHELUVELT : THE CRISIS OF

for the night to a spot near their head-quarters at
Zillebeke. Sir Douglas Haig took various precautions
after nightfall to protect his right flank at lOein Zille-
beke. General Moussy, sent by the commander of the
French 9th Corps, came up in support with three bat-
taUons of infantry and a brigade of cavalry. The night
was fine, and the moon shone brightly. Stretcher-
bearers moved rapidly and silently in the darkness,
carrying away those who had fallen. The outposts of
the two opposing armies lay almost within a stone's
throw of each other. German bands, not superior in
tunefulness, it was noted in the trenches, to the kind
familiar to English ears, sounded continually from the
enemy's lines. In places the gramophone offered a
tolerable substitute. Magnesium flares, which illumined
the trenches and gave every object a ghastly hue, con-
tributed also to the evening entertainment of the Ger-
mans ; while firing, rifle and artillery, was kept up at
some parts of the line.

Sir John French was fully alive to the dangers likely
to arise from the withdrawal of his line between Gheluvelt
and the canal. Just to the south, moreover, the 3rd
Cavalry Brigade had been forced to retire at midday
from HoUebeke, in face of heavy German infantry
attacks. This advance of the enemy in the direction
of the canal threatened the communications of the
1st Corps through Ypres. In view of this the Field-
Marshal, after a close survey of the positions, issued
orders that every efiort must be made to secure the line
then held, and that, as soon as this had been thoroughly
done, perhaps by morning, the 1st Corps must take the
offensive, in order to relieve the pressure upon General
Allenby on the opposite side of the canal. Meanwhile,
a proclamation which had been discovered on the person

THE FIRST BATTLE FOR YPRES 129

of a Grerman prisoner was brought to Sir John French's
notice. It indicated that the 2nd Bavarian and the
German 13th and 15th Corps were entrusted with the
task of breaking through the line to Ypres : the Emperor
himself, it urged, considered the success of this attack
to be of most vital importance. It was signed by the
German commander, General von Deimling.

Von Deimling had come to be obsessed by a single
purpose, the capture of Ypres at all costs. The Emperor
and his General Staff had grasped the importance of
this northern area of war. Calais had become their
great objective. The deadlock into which the situation
was threatening to develop could hardly be regarded
by them with complacency. Their troops had first
attempted to break the Allied line between Nieuport
and Dixmude, where the Belgian Army, the 42nd
French Division under General Grosetti, and the 7,000
Breton marines of Admiral Ronarc'h, held the line.
Fierce fighting had followed, and supreme courage had
been shown on both sides. It is said that, upon one
occasion, the gigantic and genial Grosetti sat in an
armchair for two hours near the ruined church of
Pervyse, exposed to a rain of shell, as an encouragement
to his men. The German assault had finally been
repelled by the opening of the sluices and the flooding
of the dunes. Ypres had thus become now the gate to
Calais, and the vital importance of its capture was
repeatedly urged by Berlin upon the German generals
in Belgium. Fifteen army corps and four cavalry corps,
under the Crown Prince of Bavaria, the Duke of Wiir-
temberg, General von Fabeck, and General von Deimling,
were assembled there. If the Germans, by the weight of
overwhelming numbers, could hack their way through
the British line, could seize Ypres, could push on with

18 I

130 GHELUVELT : THE CRISIS OF

all speed through the gap, the whole Allied line would
be thrown back, the French and Belgians to the north
of the city would be threatened with envelopment,
and the way to Dunkirk and Calais would be open.
The hated English in their snug island across the narrow
seas would realize with fear and trembling that the
army of Germany was almost within sight of their
shores. Northern France would lie practically defence-
less before the conquering hosts of the Rhine. Von
Deimling, with the 2nd Bavarian and the 13th, 14th,
and 15th Army Corps, lay immediately to the east of
Ypres, and theirs would be the privilege of taking the
city. But von Deimling knew the difficulty of attempt-
ing, as he had been attempting for many days, with
disheartening failure, to pierce that obstinate British
line. The latter was composed of tried and well-
trained troops : his own forces were made up mainly of
new and reserve formations, though he had, it was true,
several great advantages. He could mass his men at
a point for purposes of offensive by reason of his great
numerical superiority. The immensely powerful arma-
ment of siege artillery which had wrought the destruc-
tion of Antwerp had been moved westwards to the
support of the troops attacking Ypres. In this con-
nexion, however, there was a consideration which
gunners must bear carefully in mind. The Kaiser in
person was coming to the scene. His Imperial Majesty
specially desired to be present when Ypres was taken,
and to have the peculiar satisfaction of viewing the
discomfiture of the British. It was fitting that the
War Lord of the Fatherland should be among the first
to enter in triumph the last city of Belgium in hostile
hands, and should return thanks on the spot for the
complete deliverance of so fair and so rich a land from

THE FIRST BATTLE FOR YPRES 131

the lawless tendencies of a progressive democracy to
the influence of the rule of ' kultur '. But it certainly-
must not be a deserted and gutted mass of ruins from
which he would proclaim with befitting ceremony and
splendour, as it was said he desired to do, the annexation
of the country. Artillerymen must therefore place
special restraints upon their soldierly zeal, and must see
to it that no shell fell upon the city, save at strategical
points. After the visitation of the Emperor, indeed,
in order to secure discipline amongst the populace,
or if, by any chance, the attack failed, the imposing
old mediaeval buildings, the magnificent Cloth Hall,
with its frescoes and its statuary, the Cathedral of
St. Martin, with its paintings, its pulpit of rich Baroque
carving, its gorgeous rose window, its altar of Carrara
marble, might then, perhaps, be given over to destruc-
tion. But at present German hands must be stayed.
The artillery must busy themselves in earnest upon the
enemy's lines, for it wanted but one day to the end of
October, and the Kaiser had considered it specially
desirable that the city should be won within the month.
The morrow should see the final great assault, delivered
with irresistible force : and the morrow would decide
whether glory or dishonour, the price of failure before
the Emperor's eyes, would be the portion of von
Deimling and his army.

No sooner had the sun risen on the fateful last day
of October than Haig's battle-line stirred into life.
The rumbling of distant cannon soon became as insistent,
the discharges of neighbouring guns as violent, as ever.
His line had, indeed, changed considerably during the
preceding twenty-four hours, and now stretched in
a curve from Zonnebeke around Gheluvelt to the bend
of the canal. At the latter point, on the extreme right,

12

132 GHELUVELT : THE CRISIS OF

lay General Moussy with the French troops who had
come up as reinforcements on the previous evening.
Moussy, in accordance with Sir John French's instruc-
tions, moved forward early in the morning to attack
the enemy. After a preliminary bombardment he left
his trenches and advanced across the open. The French
ranks were scattered by shrapnel and rent by a fierce
rifle and machine-gun fire. It soon became obvious that
the Germans were massed very thickly in front. Moussy
was brought to a complete standstill, but was able, in
spite of heavy shelling accompanied by infantry attacks,
to maintain his ground.

Meanwhile, Byng was mustering his 3rd Cavalry
Division, then acting as reserves, near Hooge. It was
a few minutes after eight o'clock upon a grey, murky,
autumn morning. As the division transport was moving
out of Zillebeke, the head-quarters, many shells began
to drop upon the village. Violent explosions shattered
every window-pane in the place, and many buildings
were devastated. The transport successfully cleared
the danger-zone, however, after suffering some inevitable
losses. In about an hour's time a message was brought
to General Byng : AUenby's cavalry corps on the other
side of the canal was being heavily attacked again, and
was sorely in need of assistance. The 7th Brigade were
immediately dispatched, rode off as fast as the wooded
country rendered possible, and were placed on the left
of AUenby's line, which they held till nightfall. Some
time later the 6th Brigade received a further message
that sent them galloping down the Menin road to
Veldhoek. The line of the 1st Division had been broken,
and Gheluvelt was in the hands of the enemy.

Troops of the 3rd Brigade, under Brigadier-General
Landon, had been defending the village. On their

THE FIRST BATTLE FOR YPRES 133

right lay General Capper's 7th Division, on their left
more troops of the 3rd and 1st Brigades. It was not
long after daybreak when artillery thundering just south
of Gheluvelt betokened the advance and assault of
Moussy. Presently the cannonading spread to where
the 3rd Brigade was posted. An artillery bombardment
was maintained for some time, until the advance of
German infantry along the Menin road brought about
sharp hand-to-hand fighting in the neighbourhood of
the famous cross-roads just east of the village. The
struggle for some hours swayed to and fro in attack
and counter-attack. The booming of guns, the shells
soaring overhead, the explosions, the crackling of rifles
in the woods, the deep droning note of aeroplanes,
formed a medley of sound nerve-shattering to the
spectator, but unheeded by the combatants in deadly
warfare of point-blank rifle-shot, of bayonet or sword.
At length, however, the German assault began suddenly
to develop. British counter-attacks could make no
headway. Great forces of the enemy swarmed forward,
following the direction of the Menin road, and within
a short time, in spite of desperate resistance, at some
places swept over the trenches like a tide. The Cold-
stream Guards were cut up terribly : the Royal West
Surreys, driven in on both flanks, were nearly sur-
rounded, and lost their colonel. In the village itself
the Welsh Regiment could hardly hold their own. The
line was broken, and the danger was great. But Lomax
and his 1st Division had been through the retreat from
Mons, and knew the secrets of orderly and timely
retirement which, even while dissolution threatened,
would wrest victory from their foes. Each regiment had
a record that for retreat had precedents, but for rout
none : and each upheld that record upon this day.

134 GHELUVELT : THE CRISIS OF

Lomax extricated his two brigades, hard pressed, and
retired westwards from Gheluvelt. The 6th Cavahy
Brigade came galloping down to their support. Other
reserves there were none to spare, for every portion of
Sir Douglas Haig's line was now engaged, and south
of the Menin road the 7th Division and the 2nd Brigade,
on General Moussy's left, were being heavily shelled.
Meanwhile, the Germans had swept forward, and had
taken possession of Gheluvelt. As their advance
threatened the left wing of the 7th Division, retirement
became imperative, and Capper drew back on this
flank, though not without loss. The Royal Scots
Fusiliers, of the 21st Brigade, had, upon the retirement
of the 1st Division, remained doggedly in their trenches.
The Germans began to close round their rear. Brigadier-
General Watts, upon receiving orders to retreat, tried
to telephone to Colonel Baird-Smith, the battalion
commander, but the wire had been cut by shrapnel.
Two orderlies were dispatched, who, however, met
death or wounds upon the way, and Baird-Smith,
receiving no instructions to withdraw, held his ground.
For a long time the Royal Scots made a gallant but
unavailing stand, fighting, hemmed in on all sides,
desperately to the end. It is recorded that, when later,
with a few survivors, Baird-Smith had been taken off
as a prisoner, a German general came up and con-
gratulated him, with words expressing wonder how his
men had held out so long. Meanwhile, the retirement
of the rest of the brigade had been conducted successfully.
No sooner, however, had Capper extricated and secured
his left wing, than masses of German infantry began to
assail desperately his right.

It was now well after noon. The 1st Division was
still struggling hard to maintain ground, but was being

THE FIRST BATTLE FOR YPRES 135

driven back slowly by overwhelming numbers of the
enemy. A desperate conflict raged for a long time in
the Polygone Wood. To Lomax, and to Monro of the
2nd Division, the seriousness of the position was
apparent. The messages that flashed continually along
the wires to their head- quarters at Hooge spoke always
of tremendous odds and of inevitable retirement. The
air, even around the Generals' head-quarters, was alive
with shell and shrapnel. Shortly before two o'clock the
building was struck. Whether spy or aeroplane
signalled the range to the German artillery, that range
was effectually mastered, and shells began to fall upon
the head-quarters with deadly accuracy. Plans, maps,
and papers were scattered amid the debris. Lomax
was wounded, struck by a fragment of shell, and six
staff officers, three of the 1st and three of the 2nd
Division, fell, killed outright. Monro, dazed by the
shock, staggered about in the smoke and fumes, and fell
unconscious. Orderlies and ambulance men hastened
up. Brigadier-General Landon for a time assumed
command of the 1st Division, attacks upon whose front
were still being pressed as violently as ever. Fighting
was raging fiercely in the woods of Veldhoek, scarred
and torn by shrapnel. But so severe was the pressure
that the British were forced steadily back.

Meanwhile, the enemy had been assailing the right
of the 7th Division, constituted by the 22nd Brigade,
holding a line in the neighbourhood of Klein Zillebeke.
This division, which gained, during its operations with
Sir Henry Rawlinson in the neighbourhood of Ghent,
and with Sir Douglas Haig in the neighbourhood of
Ypres, a fame as glorious as that of any other division
in all British military annals, was commanded by
a general of unusual characteristics and attainments.

136 GHELUVELT : THE CRISIS OF

Known familiarly among his men as ' Tommy ', Major-
General Thompson Capper, shortly afterwards raised to
knighthood, was essentially a fighting leader, so much
so, indeed, that he laid himself open to the reproach of
spending too much time in the fighting line with his
men, and too little time at his own head-quarters. He
gloried to be fighting in the cause of freedom, for which
he considered any life cheap. His division in its
operations during October and November 1914 was
reduced to a fifth of its numbers : Capper himself met
death, to which he was stoically indifferent, nearly
a year later at the Battle of Loos. On this day, however,
between the 7 th Division and the French under Moussy
were the 2nd and 4th Brigades, under Major-General
Bulfin. Beneath a hail of exploding shells, of bursting
shrapnel, of whistling bullets, the British held their
ground for some time, but at length the 22nd Brigade
was forced back. General Capper, however, had
brought up his reserve battalions to this right flank,
and he hurried them forward to restore the line. Before
they came into action, Bulfin realized that his left flank,
the 2nd Brigade, which had touched the right of the
22nd Brigade, was exposed to the enfilade fire of the
enemy bursting through the gap. His line lay upon
a ridge, and he could not fight upon two fronts : he was
therefore forced to withdraw. Meanwhile, Capper's
counter-attack, after a sharp action in Avhich several
machine-guns were captured, had proved successful, and
thus the right of the 7th Division advanced as the left
of the 2nd Brigade retired. The former troops, regaining
their old trenches, found their right wing exposed.
The Germans, however, were not pressing their attack
so heavily, and the British were able to maintain the
recovered ground. But the gap formed between Bulfin

THE FIRST BATTLE FOR YPRES 137

and Capper had enabled large bodies of the enemy to
penetrate into the heavily wooded ground east of
Zillebeke and in Moussy's rear. One large force, a
battalion strong, soon began to advance upon the
village of Zillebeke itself.

It was now after two o'clock, and the Commander-in-
Chief himself, alive to the grave danger of the position,
had come upon the scene. Haig's centre was being
driven in : his right wing was hard pressed, and one
portion had withdrawn : large numbers of the enemy
had penetrated into the woods in the rear, and were,
did they but know it, within reach of Sir John French
himself at Hooge. There were no reserves available
to relieve this perilous situation. The shadows of
disaster seemed to be gathering thickly around. But
there was one chance, however slender, of retrieving
the day. Though the right and centre were being
hotly attacked, the left was only slightly engaged.
A thick column of the enemy had torn its way through
the centre and pressed on. If troops on the left,
comparatively fresh, could strike hard at the right
flank of that protruding column, if they could cut
through it, could recapture Gheluvelt, could check the
advance of the enemy, large forces of the latter would
be surrounded, their offensive would be broken, and
time, if only a breathing-space, would be gained in which
to re-form the scattered lines, and to seek reinforcements
from the French. Those scattered British lines were,
indeed, in need of reforming. In the stress of counter-
attack, of continual retirement, of fierce hand-to-hand
fighting, many units had become inextricably mixed,
and at some threatened points officers had had to collect
and throw into the fighting whatever men they could,
regardless of regiment or brigade. English, Scottish,

138 GHELUVELT : THE CRISIS OF

Irish, or Welsh would be jumbled hopelessly together
in the same trench under the orders of some unknown
subaltern : or a brigadier might at one time find himself
in command of a few companies, at another time in
control of a division. Monro's 2nd Division was, how-
ever, in more or less good formation. While part of
his force could check by hot enfilade fire the advance of
the Germans against the retreating 1st Division, other
battalions must deliver at once that flank attack upon
which the very existence of the 1st Corps was staked.
It might not be unwise, in case of failure, for some
artillery batteries to withdraw already behind Ypres
to cover any retreat. But there was no time to lose.
A little while later, at about half-past two. General
Lomax, who had, in spite of his wound, resumed com-
mand of the 1st Division, reported to Hooge that he was
again moving back, and that the enemy were coming
on in great strength. He was ordered to take up a line
roughly constituted by the road which ran from Frezen-
berg through Eksternest southwards to the Menin road.
This line must be held at all costs.

Von Deimling had reason to congratulate himself
now on being almost in sight of complete success. His
objective seemed within easy reach. His men were
swarming on, and the British were going back. He
could already look forward to honours more to be
desired even than the Iron Cross, distributed as it was
rather too lavishly among fellow generals much less
worthy than himself, and to imperial congratulations
for a victory Avon before the War Lord's eyes. Germany
might mourn great losses : but the name and the fame
of von Deimling would resound from the Vistula to the
Rhine.

Meanwhile, some extraordinary happenings were in

THE FIRST BATTLE FOR YPRES 139

progress on the right of Haig's line. General Moussy
had discovered the presence in his rear of large bodies
of the enemy, and he was soon informed that one
detachment was making for Zillebeke. The French
Ganeral was in great straits, for every available man
he had was already in the fighting line. He sent back
for reinforcements, but in vain. Finally, forming a
desperate resolve, he ordered the corporal of his escort
to collect whatever men he could, whether armed or
unarmed, no matter what their business. Moussy had
seen eight campaigns during nearly sixty years of life,
and if this was to be his last he intended that France
should not be able to reproach his name with neglect of
any possible expedient that might avert the threatened
disaster. The corporal and his men scoured the imme-
diate countryside and appealed to every man they met
with. Cooks in the bivouac and Army Service Corps
men, hewers of wood and drawers of water, were requisi-
tioned for the enterprise, and paraded, mostly, it is said,
without arms, to the number of some 250, before the
General. The 65 Cuirassiers of his escort were dis-
mounted. Their gleaming breastplates and helmets
with flowing mane, their high cavalry boots and their
sabres, set off effectually the motley appearance of their
ill-equipped comrades. Moussy guided his detachment
stealthily towards Zillebeke, and caught the Germans,
a battalion strong, by surprise. The French swept
forward shouting, led by the General and his corporal,
and the demoralized Germans fled before them as
Englishmen had once fled before the camp-followers of
Bruce at Bannockburn. They retired to the woods in
disorder. There they still constituted a danger, but
Moussy was soon relieved from anxiety on this score.
Eight squadrons of the 6th Cavalry Brigade came

140 GHELUVELT : THE CRISIS OF

galloping down to clear the woods. Their services as
supports to the 1st Division had been dispensed with ;
for Gheluvelt had been recaptured, and the German
assault had been broken.

French's plan had succeeded. The right wing of the
2nd Division and part of the 1st Division had advanced
rapidly from the north, and had fallen upon Gheluvelt
and the German right flank. There was a series of
fierce bayonet charges, with the Worcesters to the fore.
The regiment which Wellington had named the best in
the army gained laurels now equally as honourable as
those which had drawn such praise in the Peninsular
campaigns. Closely supported by the 42nd Artillery
Brigade and the Oxfordshire Light Infantry, the
Worcesters, led by Major Hankey, rushed doAvn upon
Gheluvelt under a very heavy fusillade. They forced
the Germans out of the Chateau and its grounds at the
point of the bayonet, and fierce fighting followed in the
streets. But the issue Avas never in doubt, and the
enemy were soon driven headlong from the village.
At other points the counter-attack had been equally
successful. The 1st Division rallied, in accordance with
orders, on the line of the woods east of where the Menin
road bent round towards Ypres, and here stood their
ground stubbornly, until presently the expected enfilade
fire from the north checked assaults upon their front.
The Germans were now in danger of being cut off by
the capture of Gheluvelt, and the British attack from
the north had prevailed. Everywhere the enemy's
offensive was broken and his discomfited infantry forced
to withdraw. The 7th Division followed in their wake
almost as far as its original line, where it entrenched,
while the 1st Division advanced and re-established
connexion on the left. The menace of the enemy in

THE FIRST BATTLE FOR YPRES 141

the woods between Hooge and Klein Zillebeke was at
once dealt with. Two regiments of Makins's 6th Cavalry
Brigade, in eight squadrons, were sent in this direction,
and had a short but most successful engagement.
Advancing with dash and vigour, some mounted, others
dismounted, they took the enemy by surprise, and
killed and wounded large numbers. The woods having
been cleared effectually, the cavalry occupied the gap
between the 7th Division and the 2nd Brigade. The
line was now quite restored, and the crisis was over.
Long and terrible had been the struggle, and those who
survived it could justifiably feel that hardly any other
conflict in the war had been more desperately fought,
or had had issues more momentous in the balance.
As evening drew on, the enemy were forced back steadily
from the woods in front of the 7th Division, where they
threatened to concentrate, and by ten o'clock prac-
tically all the line as held in the morning had been
reoccupied. To the south, as the weary men sought
what rest was possible, guns thundered and battle raged
as loudly as ever : the Germans, by the light of a blazing
haystack, had come into touch with the London Scottish.

JUAN FEHNANDEZ I?
• ^Juan Fernandex.

Mae a Fuera

ort Stanley

S^C Horn

SOUTHERN SOUTH AMEZRICA

CORONEL AND THE FALKLAND
ISLANDS

THE STRUGGLE FOR THE PACIFIC TRADE
ROUTES

In 1592, John Davis, the arctic explorer, after whom
the strait between Greenland and the North American
mainland is named, made an attempt, in company with
Thomas Cavendish, to find a new route to Asia by the
Straits of Magellan. Differences arose between the two
leaders. One was an explorer : the other had a tendency
towards freebooting. They parted off the coast of
Patagonia Davis, driven out of his course by stormy
weather, found himself among a cluster of unknown and
uninhabited islands, some three hundred miles east of
the Straits of Magellan. This group, after many
changes and vicissitudes, passed finally into the hands
of Great Britain, and became known as the Falkland
Islands.

They consist of two large islands and of about one
hundred islets, rocks, and sandbanks. The fragments
of many wrecks testify to the dangers of navigation,
though masses of giant seaweed act as buoys for many
of the rocks. So numerous are the penguins, thronging
in battalions the smaller islands and the inland lagoons,
that the governor of the colony is nicknamed King of
the Penguins. As New Zealand is said to be the most
English of British possessions, the Falklands may

144 CORONEL AND THE

perhaps be appropriately termed the most Scottish. Their
general appearance resembles that of the Outer Hebrides.
Of the population, who number some 2,000, a large
proportion are of Scottish extraction. The climate is
not unlike that of the north-west of Scotland. The
winters are misty and rainy, but not excessively cold.
So violent are the winds that it is said to be impos-
sible to play tennis or croquet, unless walls are erected as
shelter, while cabbages grown in the kitchen-gardens of
the shepherds, the only cultivated ground, are at times
uprooted and scattered like straw. The surface, much
of which is bogland, is in some parts mountainous, and
is generally wild and rugged. Small streams and
shallow freshwater tarns abound. A natural curiosity,
regarded with great wonder, exists in ' stone-rivers ' ;
long, glistening lines of quartzite rock debris, which, with-
out the aid of water, slide gradually to lower levels.
There are no roads. Innumerable sheep, the familiar
Cheviots and Southdowns, graze upon the wild scurvy-
grass and sorrel. The colony is destitute of trees, and
possesses but few shrubs. The one tree that the Islands
can boast, an object of much care and curiosity, stands
in the Governor "s garden. The seat of government,
and the only to^n, is Port Stanley, with a population
of about 950. Its general aspect recalls a small town
of the western highlands of Scotland. Many of the
houses, square, a\ hite-washed, and grey-slated, possess
small greenhouse-porches, gay with fuchsias and pelar-
goniums, in pleasing contrast to the prevailing barrenness.
A small cathedral, Christ Church, and an imposing
barracks, generally occupied by a company of marines,
stand in the midst of the town. The Government
House might be taken for an Orkney or Shetland
manse. The administration of the colony and of its

FALKLAND ISLANDS 145

dependencies is vested in a Governor, aided by a Colonial
Secretary, and by an executive and a legislative council.
The Governor acts as Chief Justice, and the Colonial
Secretary as Police Magistrate. There is a local jail,
capable of accommodating six offenders at a time. Its
resources are not stated, however, to be habitually
strained. Education is compulsory : the Government
maintains schools and travelling teachers. The inhabi-
tants are principally engaged in sheep-farming and
seafaring industries. The colony is prosperous, with
a trade that of late years has grown with extraordinary
rapidity. The dividends paid by the Falkland Islands
Company might excite the envy of many a London
director. Stanley's importance has been increased by
the erection of wireless installation; and as a coaling
and refitting station for vessels rounding the Horn, the
harbour, large, safe, and accessible, is of immense value.
To this remote outpost of empire came tidings of
war in August, 1914. Great excitement and enthusiasm
prevailed. News was very slow in getting through :
the mails, usually a month in transit, became very
erratic. But the colony eagerly undertook a share in
the burden of the Empire ; £2,250 was voted towards
the war-chest ; £750 was collected on behalf of the
Prince of Wales's Fund. Detached, though keen, interest
changed, however, as the weeks passed, to intimate
alarm. The Governor, Mr. Allardyce, received a wire-
less message from the Admiralty that he must expect
a raid. German cruisers were suspected to be in the
neighbourhood. Never before had the colony known
such bustle and such excitement. They, the inhabitants
of the remote Falklands, were to play a part in the
struggle that was tugging at the roots of the world's
civilization. The exhilaration of expectancy and of

IS j^

146 CORONEL AND THE

danger broke suddenly into their uneventful, though
not easy, lives. But there was cause for keen anxiety.
The colonists were, however, reassured for a time by
a visit from three British warships, the cruisers Good
Hope, Monmouth, and Glasgow, with the armed liner
Otranto.

The Good Hope had, at the declaration of war, been
patrolling the Irish coast. She was ordered to sweep
the Atlantic trade routes for hostile cruisers. She
reached the coast of North America, after many false
alarms, stopping English merchantmen on the way,
and informing the astonished skippers of the war and
of their course in consequence. When forty miles east
of New York, Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock
came aboard with his staff, and hoisted his flag. The
Admiral turned southwards, sweeping constantly for
the enemy. Passing through the West Indies, he
proceeded to the coast of Brazil. Here he was joined
by the Glasgow. The Good Hope had picked up the
Monmouth previously. The three ships, accompanied
by the auxiliary cruiser Otranto, kept a southerly course.
The discovery at Pernambuco of twenty-three German
merchantmen snugly ensconced behind the breakwater,
in neutral harbour, proved very galling. The Straits
of Magellan and the cold Tierra del Fuego were at length
reached. The squadron was on the scent of three
German cruisers, the Leipzig, Dresden, and Nilrnberg.
It was suspected that they had gone to coal in this
remote corner of the oceans. Their secret and friendly
wireless stations were heard talking in code. The
British made swoops upon wild and unsurveyed bays
and inlets. The land around was covered with ice and
snow, and the many huge glaciers formed a sight
wonderful to behold. But the search had proved fruit-

FALKLAND ISLANDS 147

less. After rounding the Horn several times, the
squadron had turned towards the Falklands.

The inhabitants could not long rely, however, upon
these powerful guardians. The squadron, after coaling,
departed, again bound for the Straits of Magellan and
the Pacific. Its strength was certainly adequate to
tackle with success the three German ships believed to
be in the vicinity. The colony could depend upon
Admiral Cradock to protect it to the best of his ability.
But it was not improbable that the enemy might evade
the patrolling cruisers, and descend upon the hapless
Falklands without warning. The Governor saw the
advisability of instant preparation. On October 19 he
issued a notice that all women and children were to
leave Stanley. Provisions, stores, and clothes were
hastily removed into the interior, which was locally
termed the ' camp '. The colony possessed a Volunteer
Rifle Company, some 120 strong, and two nine-pounder
field-guns. Further volunteers were enrolled and
armed. Suddenly, on November 3, an alarming wire-
less message was received. The Good Hope and the
Monmouth were reported to have been sunk off the
coast of Chili. It was unsigned. There was no proof
of its authenticity. But the next day another message
followed from the captain of the Glasgow. The disaster
was confirmed. The Glasgmv, in company with H.M.S.
Canopus, was running with all speed for the Falklands.
They were probably being followed by the victorious
Germans. Four days of acute suspense followed. The
situation seemed critical. The Governor passed several
nights without taking off his clothes, in expectancy of
wireless messages that needed instant decoding. People
slept beside their telephones. Early in the morning of
Sunday, November 8, the two warships arrived.

K2

148 CORONEL AND THE

The Glasgow was badly damaged. An enormous hole,
three feet by nine feet, gaped in her side. A shell had
wrecked Captain Luce's cabin, giving off fumes such as
rendered unconscious several men who rushed in to put
out the fire. The vessel had escaped any serious out-
break, however, and had suffered only four slight casual-
ties. Warm tributes were paid by the captain to the
cool and disciplined conduct of both officers and men.
The Canopus had not been engaged. But a narrative
of the preceding events may now be appropriate.

Vice-Admiral the Graf Maximilian von Spec was in
command, at the outbreak of hostilities, of the German
China fleet stationed at Tsing-tao. A successor, indeed,
had been appointed, and Avas on the way to relieve him.
But just before war was declared von Spec and his
squadron steamed off into the open seas. To remain
at Tsing-tao while vastly superior forces were closing
in upon him would be to little purpose. Commerce
raiding offered a field for rendering valuable service tc
the Fatherland. The Emden was dispatched to the
southern seas. The Leipzig and the Nurnberg proceeded
across the Pacific, and began to prey upon the western
coast of South America. Half the maritime trade of
ChiU was carried in English ships. Many of them
might be seized and destroyed at little risk. The
Admiral, with his two remaining vessels, the Sdiarnhorst
and the Gneisenau, successfully evaded the hostile fleets
for some time. On September 14 he touched at Apia,
in German Samoa, familiar to readers of Robert Louis
Stevenson. It could be remembered how, fifteen years
before, this colony, shortly to fall before a New Zealand
expeditionary force, had been a bone of contention be-
tween Great Britain and Germany. Captain Sturdee,
whom von Spee was soon to meet in more arduoug

FALKLAND ISLANDS 149

operations, had on that occasion commanded the British
force in the tribal warfare. Eight days later, on Sep-
tember 22, the two German cruisers arrived off Papeete,
in Tahiti, one of the loveliest of Pacific islands. A small
disarmed French gunboat lying there was sunk, and the
town was bombarded. The Admiral, planning a con-
centration of German ships, then steamed east across
the Pacific. He got into touch with friendly vessels.
By skilful manoeuvring he finally brought five war-
ships, with colliers, together near Valparaiso.

The German ships were all of recent construction.
The Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau were armoured
cruisers of 11,600 tons. The Leipzig, the Nurnberg, and
the Dresden were light cruisers of about 3,500 tons.
The armament of the larger vessels included eight
8'2-inch and six 6-inch guns. The smaller relied upon
either ten or twelve 4-inch pieces. Each ship carried
torpedo tubes, and the speed of each was about twenty-
two or twenty- three knots an hour. The Dresden,
however, could go to twenty-seven knots. The squadron
possessed all-important allies. Several German mer-
chant-marine companies, notably the Kosmos, pHed
along the Chilian coast. The tonnage of their vessels,
indeed, amounted to no less than half that of the
English companies. The advance of German enterprise
in Chili in recent years had been very marked. Von
Spee's great stumbling-block was coal. The laws of
war prevented him from sending more than three of
his warships into a neutral port at the same time, from
staying there more than twenty-four hours, from
taking more coal than was necessary to reach the
nearest German harbour, from coaUng again for three
months at a port of the same nationality. But if Ger-
man merchantmen, hampered by no such restrictions,

150 CORONEL AND THE

could constantly renew his supplies, the difficulty
of fuel could be to some extent met. Provisions and
secret information as to British movements could also
be obtained through the same source. Such employ-
ment of merchantmen, however, being contrary to
international law, would have to be clandestine. The
great Pacific coast offered numerous harbours and
abundant facilities for being utilized as a base under
such conditions. It showed many historic precedents
for bold and adventurous exploits which could not fail
to appeal to an admiral whose family, ennobled by the
Emperor Charles VI, took pride in its ancient and
aristocratic lineage. The occasion seemed opportune,
moreover, for the accomplishment, by himself, his
officers, and men, of deeds which should inspire their
posterity as British naval traditions, for lack of other,
at present inspired them. They could recall how, on
this very coast, in 1578-9, Drake, the master raider,
had seized a Spanish treasure-ship off Valdivia, had
descended like a hawk upon Callao, had pounced upon
another great galleon, taking nearly a million pounds
in gold and silver ; and how the intrepid mariner,
sailing off into the unknown ocean, had circumnavigated
the globe, while the furious de Toledo waited, with
eleven warships, in the Straits of Magellan. Why,
indeed, should not the Germans imitate, in the twentieth
century, the deeds of Drake in the sixteenth ? If they
preyed ruthlessly upon English merchantmen, laden
with the wealth of the West, if they made a descent
upon the Falkland Islands, if then they were to dis-
appear into the wide Pacific, a career of sj)lendid adven-
ture and of unbounded rsefulness would earn for them
both the respect and the plaudits of the world. Australian
and Japanese warships were sweeping the eastern Pacific

I

FALKLAND ISLANDS 151

for them. Many British vessels, called from useful
employment elsewhere, would have to join in the search
for them. But so vast was the area that they might elude
their enemies for months. British ships were already
cruising near the Horn, possibly unaware that a con-
centration of the Germans had been effected. It was not
unHkely that von Spee might be able to cut off and to
destroy stray units of the patrolling squadrons. The Graf
could see many opportunities of serving effectively the
cause of the Fatherland. He must utilize them to the full.
Sir Christopher Cradock, meanwhile, had rounded
the Horn once more, and was cruising northwards up
the coast of Chili. That coast, indeed, once the haunt
of corsairs and filibusters, was rich in historic associa-
tions and in natural beauties. An element of grandeur
and of mystery seemed to hover around the countless
ridges and peaks of the Andes, stretching, with the
gleam of their eternal snows, for four thousand miles,
and gazing down across the illimitable waters of the
Occident. Upon the plateaux, miles above sea level,
stood old stone temples and pyramids which rivalled
in massiveness and ingenuity those of Egypt and of
Babylon. The student of ancient civilizations could
trace, in the mystic deities of the Incas and Araucanians,
a strange similarity to the deities of the Chaldeans and
Babylonians. Speculation upon this analogy formed
a fascinating theme. This coast, too, was sacred to
memories that could not but be dear to sailors as
gallant and daring as Cradock, since his services in
China, in 1900, was known to be. Among other
familiar British names, Cochrane, Lord Dundonald,
had won enduring glory in the struggle for Chilian
independence, nearly a hundred years before. The
conditions of naval warfare had, indeed, through the

152 CORONEL AND THE

introduction of armour and the perfection of weapons,
radically changed since Cochrane, in a series of singularly
audacious exploits, had overcome the fleets of Spain.
Sea-fighting had become purely a matter of science. The
object of strategy was to concentrate faster ships and
more powerful guns against weaker force. The odds
with which Cradock was to contend against the Germans
were greater in proportion, if less in bulk, than the odds
with which Cochrane had contended, with his peasant
crews and his hulks, against the Spanish ' wooden-
walls '. Admiral Cradock now knew that there were
two more cruisers in the neighbourhood than had at
first been supposed. The Canopus had accordingly
been sent to join his squadron. But she was a battle-
ship, and much slower than the cruisers. She could
travel no faster than at eighteen knots. Cradock pro-
ceeded northwards, ahead of the Canopus, made a
rendezvous off Concep9ion Bay for his colliers, and
went into Coronel and on to Valparaiso to pick up
news and receive letters. The squadron then returned
to the rendezvous and coaled. This completed, the
Admiral directed the Glasgow to proceed again to
Coronel to disj)atch certain cables. Captain Luce duly
carried out his mission, and left Coronel at nine o'clock
on Sunday mornhig, November 1, steaming northwards
to rejoin the other ships. A gale was rising. The wind
was blowing strongl}" from the south. Heavy seas
continually buffeted the vessel. At two o'clock a wire-
less signal Mas received from the Good Hoj^e. Appar-
ently from wireless calls there was an enemy ship to
northAvard. The squadron must spread out in line,
proceeding in a direction north-east-by-east, the flag-
ship forming one extremity, the Glasgow the other. It
was to move at fifteen knots. At twenty minutes past

FALKLAND ISLANDS 163

four in the afternoon, smoke was observed upon the
horizon. The Glasgow put on speed and approached.
Officers soon made out the funnels of four cruisers.
It was the enemy. The Germans, their big armoured
cruisers leading, and the smaller behind, gave chase.

The Glasgow swept round to northward, calling to
the flagship with her wireless. Von Spee, anticipating
this move, at once set his wireless in operation, in order
to jamb the British signals. Captain Luce soon picked
up the Monmouth and the Otranto, and the three ships
raced northwards towards the flagship, the Glasgow
leading. At about five o'clock the Good Hope was seen
approaching. The three ships wheeled into line behind
her, and the whole squadron now proceeded south.
Von Spee, coming up from that direction in line ahead,
about twelve miles off, changed his course and also
proceeded south, keeping nearer to the coast. The
wind was now blowing almost with the force of a hurri-
cane. So heavy was the sea that small boats would
have been unable to keep afloat. But the sky was
not completely overcast, and the sun was shining.
Firing had not opened. The washing of the seas and
the roaring of the wind deafened the ear to other sounds.
The warship of to-day, when her great turbines are
whirling round at their highest speed, moves without
throb and almost without vibration through the waves.
The two squadrons, drawing level, the Germans nearer
to the coast, raced in the teeth of the gale, in two
parallel lines, to the south.

Sir Christopher Cradock could not but realize that the
situation was hazardous. He had three vessels capable
of fighting men-of-war. The Otranto was only an armed
liner, and must withdraw when the battle developed.
The Good Hope displaced some 14,000 tons, and was

154 CORONEL AND THE

armed with two 9-2-inch and sixteen 6-inch guns. The
Monmouth, with a tonnage of 9,800, carried fourteen
6-inch pieces, but the Glasgow, a ship of 4,800 tons, had
only two of the 6-inch weapons. It was certain that the
German 8-2-inch guns, if the shooting was at all good,
would be found to outrange and outclass the British.
Cradock was certainly at a disadvantage in gun-
power. His protective armour was weaker than that
of the enemy. Nor did his speed give him any
superiority. Though the Glasgow was capable of twenty-
six knots, the flagship and the Monmouth could only go
to twenty- three. But there was another consideration
which the Admiral might weigh. Coming slowly up
from the south, but probably still a considerable distance
ofE, was the battleship Canopus. Her presence would
give the British a decided preponderance. She was
a vessel of some 13,000 tons, and her armament included
four 12-inch and twelve 6-inch pieces. How far was she
away ? How soon could she arrive upon the scene ?
Evening was closing in. Cradock was steering hard in
her direction. If the British, engaging the enemy
immediately, could keep them in play throughout the
night, when firing must necessarily be desultory, perhaps
morning would bring the Canopus hastening into the
action. It was possible that the Germans did not know
of her proximity. They might, accepting the contest,
and expecting to cripple the British next morning at
their leisure, find themselves trapped. But in any case
they should not be allowed to proceed without some
such attempt being made to destroy them. It must
not be said that, because the enemy was in greater force,
a British squadron had taken to flight. Perhaps it
would be better, since darkness would afford little oppor-
tunity of manoeuvring for action, to draw nearer and to

FALKLAND ISLANDS 165

engage fairly soon. It was about a quarter past six.
The Germans were about 15,000 yards distant. Cradock
ordered the speed of his squadron to seventeen knots.
He then signalled by wireless to the Canopus, ' I am
going to attack enemy now '.

The sun was setting. The western horizon was mantled
by a canopy of gold. Von Spee's manoeuvre in closing
in nearer to the shore had placed him in an advantageous
position as regards the light. The British ships, when
the sun had set, were sharply outlined against the
glowing sky. The Germans were partly hidden in the
failing light and by the mountainous coast. The island
of Santa Maria, off Coronel, lay in the distance. Von
Spee had been gradually closing to within 12,000 yards.
The appropriate moment for engaging seemed to be
approaching. A few minutes after sunset, about seven
o'clock, the leading German cruiser opened fire with
her largest guns. Shells shrieked over and short of the
Good Hope, some falling within five hundred yards. As
battle was now imminent, the Otranto began to haul
out of line, and to edge away to the south-west. The
squadrons were converging rapidly, but the smaller
cruisers were as yet out of range. The British replied
in quick succession to the German fire. As the distance
lessened, each ship engaged that opposite in the line.
The Good Hope and the Monmouth had to bear the brunt
of the broadsides of the Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau.
The Glasgow, in the rear, exchanged shots with the light
cruisers, the Leipzig and the Dresden. The shooting was
deadly. The third of the rapid salvos of the enemy
armoured cruisers set the Good Hope and the Monmouth
afire. Shells began to find their mark, some exploding
overhead and bursting in all directions. In about ten
minutes the Monmouth sheered ofE the line to westward

156 CORONEL AND THE

about one hundred yards. She was being hit heavily.
Her foremost turret, shielding one of her 6-inch guns,
was in flames. She seemed to be reeling and shaking.
She fell back into line, however, and then out again
to eastward, her 6-inch guns roaring intermittently.
Darkness was now gathering fast. The range had
narrowed to about 5,000 yards. The seven ships were
all in action. Many shells striking the sea sent up
columns of white spray, showing weirdly in the twilight.
It was an impressive scene. The dim light, the heavy
seas, the rolling of the vessels, distracted the aim.
Some of the guns upon the main decks, being near the
water-line, became with each roll almost awash. The
British could fire only at the flashes of the enemy's guns.
Often the heavy head seas hid even the flashes from the
gunlayers. It was impossible to gauge the effect of
their shells. The fore-turret of the Good Hope burst
into flames, and she began to fall away out of line
towards the enemy. The Glasgow kept up a continual
fire upon the German light cruisers with one of her
6-inch guns and her port batteries. A shell struck her
below deck, and men waited for the planks to rise. No
explosion nor fire, however, occurred. But the British
flagship was now burning brightly forward, and was
falling more and more out of line to eastward. It was
about a quarter to eight. Suddenly there was the roar
of an explosion. The part about the Good Hope's after-
funnel split asunder, and a column of flame, sparks, and
debris was blown up to a height of about two hundred
feet. She never fired her guns again. Total destruction
must have followed. Sir Christopher Cradock and
nine hundred brave sailors went down in the stormy
deep. The other ships raced past her in the darkness.
The Momnouth was in great distress. She left the line

FALKLAND ISLANDS 167

after a while, and turned back, steaming with difficulty
to north-west. She had ceased firing. The vessels had
been travelling at a rate which varied from seven to
seventeen knots. The Glasgow, now left alone, eased
her speed in order to avoid shells intended for the
Monmouth. The Germans dropped slowly back. The
Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau now concentrated their
salvos upon the Glasgow. The range was about 4,600
yards. A shell struck the second funnel : five others
hit her side at the waterline, but fortunately not in
dangerous places. Luce, her captain, since the flagship
was no more, was senior officer. He brought his vessel
round and moved rapidly back.

The Monmouth had now fallen away to a north-
easterly course. Luce stood by signalling, Could she
steer north-west ? She was making water badly
forward. Captain Brandt answered, and he wanted to
get stern to sea. The enemy were following. Luce
signalled again. There was no reply. The Glasgow
steamed nearer. The Monmouth was in a sinking
condition. Her bows were under water, and the men
were assembled at the stern. The sea was running very
high. Rain and mist had come on, though a moon was
now rising. The enemy had altered course, and were
approaching in line abreast about 6,000 yards away.
A light kept twinkling at regular intervals from one
of the ships. They were signalling in Morse, and
evidently were forming plans of action. Firing was
still proceeding intermittently. It was about half -past
eight. Captain Luce could see nothing for it but to
abandon the Monmouth to her fate. To rescue her crew,
under such conditions, was impossible, while to stand
by and endeavour to defend her would be folly. The
Glasgow was not armoured, and could not contend with

158 CORONEL AND THE

armoured vessels. Of the two guns she possessed
capable of piercing the enemy's armour, one had been
put out of action ten minutes after the start. If she
stayed and fought to the end, 370 good lives, in addition
to the sufficiently heavy toll of 1,600 in the Good Hope
and the Monmouth, would be needlessly sacrificed.
The Ganopus, moreover, must be warned. She was
coming up from the south to sure destruction. She
could hardly be expected successfully to combat the
whole German squadron. Nevertheless, it must have
been with heavy hearts that the men of the Glasgow
turned away to seek safety in flight. It is recorded
that, as they moved off into the darkness, a cheer broke
forth from the Monmouth's decks. Before the sinking
vessel became lost to sight another and a third went up.
At about a quarter past nine the Niirnberg, which had
not been engaged in the main action, came across the
Monmouth. It is said that, though in a sinking con-
dition, the British ship attempted to ram her enemy.
But the Nurnherg began to bombard her, and she
capsized.

The Glasgow steamed off in a north-westerly direction.
A few minutes before nine the enemy became lost to
sight. Half an hour later many distant flashes of
gunfire, the death-struggle of the Monmouth, were seen.
The play of a searchlight, which lasted a few seconds
and then disappeared, was also observed. The vessel
bore round gradually to the south. Her wireless was
put into operation, and she made efforts to get through
to the Ganopus. But the Germans had again set
their apparatus in motion, and the messages were
jambed. Only after some hours was the Glasgow
successful. Steaming hard at twenty-four knots through
the heavy seas, her engines and boilers fortunately being

FALKLAND ISLANDS 159

intact, she at length joined the battleship. The two
ships made straight for the Falkland Islands.

The news of the disaster stirred great alarm in the
colony. Before the day on which the ships arrived was
out the dismay was further increased. The Canopus
at first expected to stay ten days. Her presence
provided substantial relief. If the enemy appeared, she
and even the damaged Glasgow could give a very good
account of themselves. But during the morning
Captain Grant of the Canopus received a wireless
message from the Admiralty. He was to proceed
immediately to Rio de Janeiro with the Glasgow. The
Brazilian Government had granted the latter permission
to enter the dry dock there to make urgent repairs.
But seven days only were allowed for this purpose.
In the evening the warships cast off, and steamed away
to northward.

Stanley was now in an unenviable situation. A power-
ful German squadron, flushed with victory, was probably
making for the Islands. The colony was almost defence-
less. All the opposition that the enemy would meet
would be from a few hundred volunteers. A wireless
message that came through emphasized the imminence
of the danger. Warnings and instructions were outlined.
If the enemy landed, the volunteers were to fight. But
retiring tactics must be adopted. Care should be taken
to keep out of range of the enemy's big guns. The
Governor at once called a council of war. There could
be little doubt that a descent would be made upon the
colony. The position was full of peril. But resistance
must certainly be offered. The few women, children,
and old men who still remained at Stanley must be sent
away immediately. Fortunately the time of year was
propitious. November is, indeed, in the Falklands

160 CORONEL AND THE

considered the only dry month. The ground is then
covered with a variety of sweet-scented flowers. Further,
all the stores it was possible to remove must be taken
into the ' camp '. Quantities of provisions must be
hidden away at various points within reach of the town.
In order to add to the mobility of the defending force,
it would be well to bring in another hundred horses from
the ' camp '. Every man should be mounted. These
measures were duly carried out. Every preparation
was made and every precaution taken. Everybody
began to pack up boxes of goods. Clothes, stores, and
valuables were all taken away to safety. Books, papers,
and money were removed from the Government offices,
and from the headquarters of the Falkland Islands
Company. What was not sent away was buried. The
official papers and code-books were buried every night,
and dug up and dried every morning. The Governor's
tablecloths gave rise to much anxiety. It was thought,
since they were marked ' G. R.', they would be liable
to insult by the Germans. They were accordingly
buried. This conscientious loj^alty, however, proved
costly. The Governor's silver, wrapped in green baize,
was, unfortunately, placed in the same hole. The table-
cloths became mixed up with the baize. The damp got
through, and the linen was badly stained. There was a
feeling that the attack would come at dawn. People sat
up all night, and only went to bed when morning was
well advanced. All offices were closed and business was
suspended. This state of tension lasted several days. At
length, from the look-out post above the town, a warship,
apparently a cruiser, was seen making straight for the
wireless station. When she got within range she turned
broadside on. Her decks were cleared for action.
There was a call to arms. Church and dockyard

FALKLAND ISLANDS 161

bells pealed out the alarm. Non-combatants streamed
out of the town into the * camp '. The volunteers
paraded, and lined up with their horses. It would soon
become a question whether to resist a landing or to
retire. In any event the men were ready and provided
with emergency rations. But no firing sounded. Signals
were exchanged between the vessel and the shore. It
was a false alarm. The newcomer was H.M.S. Canopus.

She had proceeded, in accordance with her orders,
towards Rio de Janeiro with the Glasgow. When two
days' journey ofiE her destination, however, she received
another message. She was directed to return and to
defend the Falklands in case of attack. These instruc-
tions were received with mingled feelings. To fight
alone a powerful squadron was by no means an attractive
prospect. Duty, however, was duty. The Canopus
turned about, and retraced her passage. She set her
wireless in operation, and tried to get through to Stanley.
But for some reason she was unable to do so. It was
concluded that the Germans had made a raid and had
destroyed the wireless station. Probably they had
occupied the town. The outlook seemed serious. The
Canopus had her instructions, however, and there was
no drawing back. The decks were cleared for action.
Ammunition was served out. Guns were loaded and
trained. With every man at his post the ship steamed
at full speed into the harbour. Great was the relief
when it was found that all was well.

The inhabitants were not less relieved. The presence
of the battleship was felt to add materially to the
security of the town. The Germans would probably
hesitate before attacking a ship of her size. If they
sustained damage involving loss of fighting efiiciency,
there was no harbour they could turn to for repair,

18 T

162 CORONEL AND THE

except so far as their seaworthiness was affected.
Nevertheless, it was almost certain that some raid upon
the Islands would be attempted. Guns were landed
from the ship, and measures were taken to make the
defence as effective as possible. Perhaps if the enemy
blockaded Stanley, the British would be able to hold
out until other warships, certain to be sent to avenge
the defeat, arrived. Relief could hardly be expected for
two or three weeks. The Falklands formed a very
distant corner of the Empire. It was doubtful, indeed,
whether even the ubiquitous German spy had penetrated
to these remote and barren shores. It could, however,
be recalled that, in 1882, a German expedition had
landed on South Georgia, a dependent island of the
Falklands, eight hundred miles to their south-east, to
observe the transit of Venus. Upon that same island,
indeed, another and a quite unsuspicious expedition had
landed, early in that very month, November. Sir Ernest
Shackleton, the explorer, had left Buenos Ayres on the
morning of October 26, on his way across the antarctic
continent. His little vessel of 230 tons, the Endurancey
passed through the war zone in safety, and reached
South Georgia on November 5. He remained for about
a month before leaving for the lonely tracts for which
his little party was bound. The island was his last link
with civilization. Though sub-antarctic, it possessed
features as up-to-date as electric -light, universal even in
pigsties and henhouses. And the march of man, it was
observed, had introduced the familiar animals of the
farmyard, and even a monkey, into a region whose
valleys, destitute of tree or shrub, lay clothed with
perpetual snow.

Meanwhile, November passed into December without
any appearance of the Germans off the Falklands. The

FALKLAND ISLANDS 163

tension became very much relieved. Women and
children were brought back to Stanley, after being
away a month or six weeks. Messages emanating from
the hostile squadron, registered by the wireless station,
indicated that the enemy were still in the vicinity. But
the condition of the colony became again almost normal.
The relief and security were complete when, at length,
on Monday, December 7, a powerful British squadron,
under Vice-Admiral Sir Doveton Sturdee, arrived at
Port Stanley. There were seven warships, besides the
Canopus. The Invincible and the Inflexible had left
Plymouth on November 11, and had proceeded to the
West Indies. Their mission was to avenge Coronel.
They had picked up at Albatross Rock the Carnarvon,
Cornwall, Bristol, Kent, Glasgow, now repaired, and
Macedonia, an armed liner. All had then steamed
southwards towards the Falklands. The vessels started
coaling. Officers came ashore to stretch their legs.
Certain stores were laid in. It was anticipated that the
squadron would depart in search of the enemy on the
evening of the following day. That search might,
indeed, be a matter of months. Early next morning,
December 8, at about eight o'clock, a volunteer observer
posted on Sapper's Hill, two miles from Stanley, sighted
two vessels upon the horizon. Twenty minutes later the
smoke of two others came into view in the same direc-
tion. They were soon recognized as German cruisers.
The excitement was intense. The news was immediately
carried to the authorities. It was hastily signalled to
the fleet. Most of the ships were at anchor in Port
William, the outer entrance to Port Stanley. Some of
the naval officers were aroused from their repose. It is
recorded that, upon hearing the news, the flag-lieutenanfc
dashed down to Admiral Sturdee's cabin, clad in his

L2

164 CORONEL AND THE

pyjamas. Sir Dove ton was shaving. The lieutenant
poured forth his information. * Well,' said the Admiral,
dryly, ' you had better go and get dressed. We'll see
about it later.' ^

The Graf von Spee had, meanwhile, after the Battle
of Coronel, been devoting himself to harrjdng maritime
commerce. The Falklands could wait for the present.
Since the beginning of hostilities the work of his light
cruisers had been moderately successful. The Nilrnberg
had cut the cable between Bamfield, British Columbia,
and Fanning Island. The Leipzig had accounted for
at least four British merchantmen, and the Dresden for
at least two more. The armed liner Eitel Friedrich
had also achieved some success. Several traders had
had narrow escapes. The Chilian coast was in a state
of blockade to British vessels, the ports being crowded
with shipping that hesitated to venture forth into the
danger zone. The Germans were masters of the Pacific
and South Atlantic trade routes. The Straits of Magellan
and the Horn formed a great waterway of commerce,
which for sailing vessels was, indeed, the only eastern
outlet from the Pacific. But completely as he had the
situation in hand, von Spee was experiencing increasing
problems and difficulties with regard to supplies of coal
and provisions. Without these he was impotent. He
had been employing German merchantmen to great
advantage for refueling. But trouble was brewing
with the Chilian authorities. Many signs were leading
the latter to suspect that, contrary to international

^ The writer cannot vouch for the truth of this anecdote, which
he merely records as given in a letter published in the press. But
the source from which it was taken, together with many of the
preceding details of the condition of Stanley daring the period of
tension, has proved so accurate in essential points of fact, that their
insertion seems justifiable.

FALKLAND ISLANDS 165

law, German traders were loading at Chilian ports
cargoes of coal and provisions, contraband of war, and
were transferring them at sea to the German warships.
There were other causes of complaint. Juan Fernandez,
the isle of romance and of mystery, the home of the
original of Kobinson Crusoe, was said to have been
degraded into use as a base for apportioning the booty,
coals and victuals, among the belligerent vessels. The
island was a Chilian possession. It was practically
certain that von Spec's squadron had stayed there
beyond the legal limit of time. A French merchantman
had, contrary to rule, also been sunk there by the
Dresden, within Chilian territorial waters. Inquiries
in other quarters were being made, moreover, as to the
friendly wireless stations which the Germans had been
utilizing secretly in Colombia and Ecuador ; while a
rumour was current in the United States that neutral
vessels had been seized and pillaged on the high seas.
Von Spec soon found that he was nearing the end even
of his illegitimate resources. He had tried the patience
of the Chilian authorities too far. About the middle
of November they suddenly prohibited, as a provisional
measure, the vessels of the Kosmos Company from
leaving any Chilian port. On November 24 a Govern-
ment ship was sent to Juan Fernandez to investigate,
and to see that Chilian neutrality was upheld. Many
such signs seemed to warn von Spec that the time was
appropriate to a sudden disappearance. He gathered
his squadron for a descent at last upon the Falklands.
His plans must be, not merely for a raid, but for an
occupation. There were probably two or three small
ships there. They should be sunk. The wireless station
must be destroyed. The Islands, after a landing had
been effected and the defence reduced, could be used

166 CORONEL AND THE

as a base for the German operations. There were large
quantities of coal and stores at Stanley. The harbour
possessed facilities for refitting. To dislodge a strong
German naval force, with adequate guns, placed in
occupation of the colony, would be a difficult task for
the enemy. The Falklands had many possibilities.
According to von Spec's information they were feebly
defended and would fall an easy prey. At length, early
in the morning of December 8, the Admiral brought
his fleet off Stanley. His five cruisers approached
from the south. They were, of course, observed. A
warning gun, probably from one of the small ships
which he would shortly sink, sounded the alarm
inside the harbour. There was no need, however, for
haste. At twenty minutes past nine the Gneisenau
and the Number g moved towards the wireless station,
and brought their guns to bear upon it. But suddenly
from inside the harbour there came the thunder of
a big gun. Five shells, of very heavy calibre, screamed
in quick succession from over the low-lying land. One
of the vessels was struck. Surprise and bewilderment
took the Germans. This was most unexpected. The
Gneisenau and the Nilrnberg hastily retired out of
range.

Sir Doveton and his fleet, meanwhile, had gone to
breakfast. Steam for full speed was got up as rapidly
as possible. Coaling operations had recommenced at
6.30 that morning. The colliers were hurriedly cast
off, and the decks were cleared for action. Officers and
men were delighted at the prospect of an early flght.
The Germans had saved them a long cold search around
the Horn by calling for them. There was going to be
no mistake this time. The enemy could not escape.
Sturdee's squadron was superior both in weight and

FALKLAND ISLANDS 167

speed to the German. It consisted of two battle-cruisers
of over 17,000 tons, the Invincible and Inflexible ; of
three cruisers of about 10,000 tons, the Carnarvon, Kent,
and Cornwall ; and of two light cruisers of 4,800 tons,
the Glasgow and Bristol. The primary armament of
the Invincible and Inflexible was eight 12-inch guns ;
of the Carnarvon, ioux 7-5-inch ; of the Kent and Cornwall^
fourteen 6-inch ; of the Glasgow and Bristol, two 6-inch.
The speed of the battle-cruisers was twenty-eight
knots ; of the three middle-class cruisers, twenty-two
to twenty-four knots ; and of the light cruisers, twenty-
five to twenty-six knots. In size, in armament, in
speed, the British squadron would decidedly prepon-
derate. Admiral Sturdee, however, though confident
of victory,- was determined to take no risks, and to
minimize loss in men and material by making full use
of his superior long-range gunfire, and of his superior
speed. He would wait, screened by the land, until
the Germans had drawn nearer. Everything should
be got ready carefully. Undue excitement was to be
deprecated. Meanwhile, he watched the enemy closely.
At about a quarter to nine. Captain Grant of the Canopus
reported that the first two ships sighted were now
about eight miles away : the other two were still at
a distance of some twenty miles. The Kent passed
down the harbour and took up a position at the entrance.
Five minutes later the smoke of a fifth German vessel
was observed. When, in about half an hour's time,
the two leading enemy ships made a threatening move
in the direction of the wireless station, the Admiral
ordered a swift counterstroke. Officers upon the hills
above the town signalled the range, 11,000 yards, to
the Canopus. She opened fire with her 12-inch guns.
The Germans hoisted their colours and drew back.

168 CORONEL AND THE

Their masts and smoke were now visible from the
upper bridge of the Invincible across the low land
bounding Port William on the south. Within a few
minutes the two cruisers altered course and made for
the harbour-mouth. Here the Kent lay stationed. It
seemed that the Germans were about to engage her.
As, however, they approached, the masts and funnels
of two large ships at anchor within the port became
visible to them. The Gneisenau and the N umber g
could hardly expect to contend alone with this force.
They at once changed their direction, and moved back
at increased speed to join their consorts.

The morning was gloriously fine. The sun shone
brightly, the sky was clear, the sea was calm, and
a breeze blew lightly from the north-west. It was
one of the rare bright stretches that visit the Islands,
for usually rain falls, mostly in misty drizzles, on
about 250 days in the year. At twenty minutes to ten
the Glasgow weighed anchor, and joined the Kent at
the harbour-mouth. Five minutes later the rest of the
squadron weighed, and began to steam out. The
battleship Canopus, her speed making her unsuitable
for a chase, was left in harbour. The Bristol and the
Macedonia also remained behind for the present. By
a dexterous use of oil fuel the two battle -cruisers were
kept shrouded as much as possible in dense clouds
of smoke. The enemy for some time could not gauge
their size. But as vessel after vessel emerged. Admiral
von Spec grew uneasy. The English were in altogether
unexpected strength. His squadron could not cope
with such force. He had played into the enemy's
hands, and unless he could outspeed their ships, the
game was up. Without hesitation, he steamed off at
high speed to eastward. The British followed, steaming

FALKLAND ISLANDS 169

at fifteen to eighteen knots. The enemy, to their
south-east, were easily visible. At twenty past ten an
order for a general chase was signalled. The Invincible
and the Inflexible quickly drew to the fore. The Germans
were roughly in line abreast, 20,000 yards, or some
eleven miles, ahead. The morning sunlight, the gleam-
ing seas, the grey warships, white foam springing from
their bows, tearing at high speed through the waves,
formed a magnificent spectacle. Crowds of the inhabi-
tants of Stanley gathered upon the hills above the town
to view the chase. The excitement and enthusiasm
were intense. The vessels were in sight about two
hours. At about a quarter past eleven it was reported
from a point in the south of East Falkland that three
other German ships were in sight. They were probably
colliers or transports. The Bristol signalled the informa-
tion to Admiral Sturdee. He at once ordered her,
with the armed liner Macedonia, to hasten in their
direction and destroy them. The newcomers made
ofi to south-west, and the British followed. Meanwhile,
the rest of the squadron, now travelling at twenty-
three knots, were slowly closing upon the enemy. The
distance had narrowed to 15-16,000 yards. The British
were within striking range. Nevertheless, Sturdee
decided to wait till after dinner before engaging. His
guns could outdistance those of the enemy. It would
be advisable for him to keep at long range. The Ger-
mans, on the other hand, would be forced, when firing
commenced, to alter course and draw in, in order to
bring their own guns into play. The men had their
midday meal at twelve o'clock as usual. It is said
that comfortable time was allowed afterwards for a
smoke. The Invincible, Inflexible, and Glasgow at about
12.30 increased their speed to between twenty-five

170 CORONEL AND THE

and twenty-eight knots, and went on ahead. Just after
a quarter to one there was a signal from the Admiral :
' Open fire and engage the enemy.' A few minutes
later there were sharp commands. The ranges were
signalled, and the bigger guns were laid. Fiery glares
and dense clouds of smoke burst suddenly from their
muzzles. The air quivered with their thunder. Shells
went screaming in the direction of the nearest ligHt
cruiser, the Leipzig, which was dropping rapidly astern.
The firing was uncomfortably accurate. The three
smaller German cruisers very soon left the line, and
made an attempt, veering ofE to the south, to scatter
and escape. Flame and smoke issued from the Leipzig,
before she drew clear, where a shell had struck. Sir
Doveton Sturdee directed the Glasgow, Kent, and Cornwall
to pursue the German light cruisers. With his remaining
vessels, the Invincible, the Inflexible, and the slower
Carnarvon, he turned upon the Scharnhorst and the
Gneisenau, and began operations in earnest.

The interval of sunlight which had opened the day
with such promise was of short duration. The sky
became overcast. Soon after four o'clock the air was
thick with rain-mist. From 1.15 onwards for three
hours a fierce duel was maintained between the two
British battle-cruisers and the two German armoured
cruisers. The enemy made every effort to get away.
They replied to the British fire for some time, having
dropped back to within 13,500 yards. But shortly
after two o'clock they changed their course, and began
to haul out to south-east. The Invincible and the
Inflexible had eased their speed, and the range now
widened by about 3,000 yards. A second chase ensued.
A full-rigged sailing-ship appeared in the distance at
about a quarter to three. Her crew must have beheld

FALKLAND ISLANDS 171

an awe-inspiring scene. Shortly before the hour firing
recommenced. The action began to develop. Great
coolness and efficiency were shown on board the British
vessels. Every man was at his battle-station, behind
armour. Fire-control parties were at their instruments.
Water from numerous hoses was flooding the decks
as a precaution against fire. The roaring of the dis-
charges, the screaming of the shells, the clangour of metal
upon metal, the crashes of the explosions, made up
a tumult that was painful in its intensity. During
intervals in the firing came the rushing of the waves
and of the breeze, and the grinding and grunting of the
hydraulic engines in the turrets, where swung, training
constantly upon the enemy, the greater guns. The
Germans soon began to show signs of distress. The
Scharnhorst particularly suffered. Dense clouds of
smoke, making it difficult for the British accurately to
gauge the damage, rose from her decks. Shells rending
her side disclosed momentarily the dull red glow of
flame. She was burning fiercely. The firing on both
sides was deadly, though the German had slackened
considerably. But the British vessels, through their pre-
ponderance in gunfire, suffered little damage. Their 12-
inch guns hit their marks constantly, while the 8-2-inch
guns of the Scharnhorst were accurate, but ineffective.
She veered to starboard at about 3-30, to bring into
play her starboard batteries. Both her masts and three
of her four funnels were shot away. At length the
German flagship began to settle down rapidly m the
waters. It was about a quarter past four. There was
a swirl of the seas and a rush of steam and smoke.
The Scharnhorst disappeared. She went down with
her flag flying to an ocean grave, bearing 760 brave
men and a gallant admiral, whose name will deservedly

172 CORONEL AND THE

rank high in the annals of German naval history. The
Gneisenau passed on the far side of her sunken flag-
ship. With the guns of both battle-cruisers now bearing
upon her alone, the German was soon in sore straits.
But she fought on gallantly for a considerable time.
At half-past five she had ceased firing, and appeared
to be sinking. She had suffered severe damage. Smoke
and steam were rising everywhere. Her bridge had
been shot away. Her foremost funnel was resting
against the second. Her upper deck was so shattered
that it could not be crossed, and every riian upon it
had been killed. An exploding shell had hurled one
of the gun-turrets bodily overboard. Fire was raging
aft. Her colours had been shot away several times,
and hoisted as often. One of the flags was hauled
down at about twenty to six, though that at the peak
was still flying. She began to fire again with a single
gun. The Invincible, the Inflexible, and the Carnarvon,
which had now come up, closed in upon the doomed
vessel. Firing was recommenced. The Gneisenau was
not moving. Both her engines were smashed. Shells
striking the water near her sent up colossal columns
of water, which, falling upon the ship, put out some
of the fires. She soon began to settle down in the waves.
All her guns were now out of action, and Sturdee
ordered the ' Cease fire '. There could be little doubt
that her stubborn resistance was nearing its end. The
German commander lined up his men on the decks.
The ammunition was exhausted. The ship would soon
go down. Some six hundred men had already been
killed. The survivors had better provide themselves
with articles for their support in the water. At six
o'clock the Gneisenau heeled over suddenly. Clouds
of steam sprang forth. Her stem swung up into the

FALKLAND ISLANDS 173

air, and she sank. Large numbers of her crew could
be seen floating in the icy waves, hanging on to pieces
of wreckage, and uttering terribly uncanny cries. The
sea was choppy. Drizzling rain was falling. The
British steamed up immediately. All undamaged boats
were got out. Ropes were lowered. Lifebuoys and
spars were thrown to the drowning men. But many
of them, numbed by the freezing water, let go their
hold and sank. About 180, among them the captain
of the Oneisenau, were saved. It is said that much
agreeable surprise, upon the discovery that their anticipa-
tions of being shot would not be realized, was manifested
by the German sailor^.

Meanwhile, battle had been in progress elsewhere.
The Bristol and the Macedonia had overtaken the
transports Baden and Santa Isabel, had captured their
crews, and had sunk the ships. The armed liner
accompanying them, the Eitel Friedrich, had, however,
made off and got away by means of her superior speed.
The Kent, Glasgow, and Cornwall had pursued the
German light cruisers in a southerly direction. The
Dresden, the fastest, proved too speedy a vessel to
overtake. She was ahead of her consorts, upon either
quarter, and made her escape whilst they were being
engaged. The Kent gave chase to the Nilrnberg. The
Glasgow, in pursuit of the Leipzig, raced ahead of the
Cornwall, and by about three o'clock in the afternoon
had closed sufficiently, within 12,000 yards, to open fire
with her foremost guns. The German ship turned every
now and then to fire a salvo. Soon a regular battle
began which was maintained for some hours. Shells fell
all around the Glasgow. There were several narrow
escapes, but the casualties were few. Shortly after six
a wireless message was received from Admiral Sturdee,

174 CORONEL AND THE

announcing that the Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau had
been sunk. A cheer surged up, and the men set to work
with renewed spirits and energy. The Cornwall had
come up some time before, and the Leipzig was now
severely damaged. But she fought on for three more
hours. Darkness came on. The German cruiser began
to burn fore and aft. It was nine o'clock before she at
last turned over and sank.

The British vessels had, during the course of the
action, steamed miles apart, and far out of sight of land.
During the evening and night they began to get into
touch with one another and with Stanley by means of
their wireless. All the ships except the Kent were
accounted for, and reported all well. But no reply was
forthcoming to the numerous calls, ' Kent, Kent, Kent ',
that were sent out. She had, in chase of the Niirnbergy
lost all touch with the rest of the squadron. There was
great uneasiness. It was feared that she had been lost.
The other ships were directed to search for her, and for
the Niirnberg and the Dresden. Late in the afternoon
of the following day, however, she entered Stanley
harbour safely. Her wireless had been destroyed, but
she had sunk the Niirnberg, after a very stern struggle.
The German captain, Schonberg, is reported, indeed, to
have said at Honolulu, ' The Niirnberg will very likely
be our coffin. But we are ready to fight to the last '.
He had fought and died true to his words. The German
ship was ordinarily more than a knot faster than the
British. But the engineers and stokers of the Kent rose
magnificently to the occasion. Fuel was piled high. Her
engines were strained to the utmost. Soon she was
speeding through the waves at twenty-five knots, a knot
and a half more than her registered speed. The Niirnberg
drew nearer. At five o'clock she was within range, and

FALKLAND ISLANDS 175

firing was opened. A sharp action began which lasted
some two and a half hours. The Kent was struck many-
times, and lost several men. She had one narrow
escape. A bursting shell ignited some cordite charges,
and a flash of flame went down the hoist into the ammu-
nition passage. Some empty shell bags began to burn.
But a sergeant picked up a cordite charge and hurled
it out of danger. Seizing a fire hose, he flooded the
compartment and extinguished the fire. A disastrous
explosion, which might have proved fatal to the vessel,
was thus averted. Her silken ensign and jack, presented
by the ladies of Kent, were torn to ribbons. The
gallant captain collected the pieces, some being caught
in the rigging, and carefully preserved them. The
Nurnberg, however, was soon in sore straits. Many
shells struck her, and she was set afire. Day drew into
evening, and darkness deepened. The Germans ceased
firing, and the Kent, within about 3,000 yards, followed
suit upon the enemy's colours being hauled down. The
Nurnberg sank just before half -past seven. As she
disappeared beneath the surface, men upon her quarter-
deck were waving the German ensign. The Kent, after
picking up some survivors, put about, and returned to
Stanley.

Here the rest of the squadron soon gathered. Con-
gratulatory telegrams began to pour in to Sir Doveton
Sturdee. And the curtain closed, in the flush of triumph,
upon the most memorable and most dramatic episode
in the history of the Falklands.

One further episode remains to complete the story.
The Dresden and the armed liner Eitel Friedrich, the sole
survivors of the German squadron, made once more for
the Pacific. They were lost sight of for many weeks.
Suspicious movements and activities on the part of

176 CORONEL AND THE

German merchantmen were, however, again observed.
The Government wireless station at Valparaiso inter-
cepted messages from the Dresden summoning friendly
vessels to bring her supplies. Persistent rumours began
to be circulated that she was hiding in the inlets of
southern Chili. During January, 1915, the Eitel
Friedrich seized and destroyed six vessels, chiefly sailing-
ships, some in Pacific, most in Atlantic waters. In
February she accounted for four more. Towards the
end of the month a British barque was sunk by the
Dresden. The position was again rapidly becoming
troublesome. The movement of British shipping on the
Chilian coast had to be suspended. But the Glasgow
and the Kent were on the Dresden's track. The Kent
entered Coronel on March 13, coaled, and departed the
same night. The Eitel Friedrich, meanwhile, had
arrived at Newport News, a United States port, with her
engines badly in need of repair. Much indignation was
aroused among Americans by the announcement that
one of her victims had been an American vessel. The
German liner had many prisoners on board Declara-
tions of a resolve, if he had been caught by the British,
to have sunk fighting to the last, were repeatedly and
emphatically declaimed by the German captain. Five
days later he learned that the Dresden had tamely sur-
rendered off Juan Fernandez after a five minutes' action.
The Kent, at nine o'clock on the morning after she had
left Coronel, together with the Glasgow and the auxiliary
cruiser Orama, came up with the Dresdennesn the island.
A sharp encounter followed. The German cruiser was
hit heavily. Fire broke out. In five minutes' time she
hauled down her colours and hoisted a white flag. The
crew were taken off. The Dresden continued to burn
for some time, until finally her magazine exploded and

FALKLAND ISLANDS 177

she sank. The German officers contended that their
vessel was sunk within Chilian territorial waters. It
had not hitherto been noticeable that their consciences
were concerned to maintain Chilian neutrality inviolate.
The Battle of the Falkland Islands was the first
decisive naval contest of the war. It removed a formid-
able menace to the trade routes. It relieved British
convoys and transports from danger of interruption.
It freed many battleships and cruisers, engaged in
sweeping the oceans, for other usefulness. It gave
Great Britain effective mastery of the outer seas.
Henceforth German naval ambition, frustrated in its
endeavour to disorganize the trade routes, was forced,
within the limits of the North Sea and of British waters,
to seek less adventurous but more disreputable ends.
A series of bombardments of coast towns was planned.
A preliminary success was followed by a galling disaster.
Foiled a second time, Germany is attempting now to
terrorize British waters, by deliberate submarine piracy,
to all maritime commerce. Her project has elicited the
protests of neutral States. It has excited no dismay
among the allied nations.

18

// .v. HiMui

THE BATTLE OF NEUVE
CHAPELLE

I

The Battle of Neuve Chapelle is in many ways not
only more remarkable and more obscure than, but
equally important as, any engagement that the War
has seen. Its purpose and its conduct still dwell to
a great extent in deep mystery : its result has been
largely misconstrued. Undoubtedly it constituted,
nevertheless, one of the principal factors which deter-
mined British strategy for many months of 1915.
What was its issue ? London hailed it as a glorious
victory : Berlin acclaimed it as a British defeat. But
in effect it was indecisive. It sundered for 4,000 yards
and hollowed to a depth of 1,200 yards the German
line, it brought about the capture of a village, of impor-
tant fortified positions, of some 1,700 prisoners, of many
machine-guns, it cost nearly 13,000 British casualties,
and probably some 18,000 German. It resulted, how
ever, in no great British forward movement, as had
been confidently hoped, by which whole German armies
would have been forced, through threatened communi-
cations, to retire for many miles. Nor even was Sir
John French's first strategical objective, the capture
of the Aubers ridge, attained. The tactics by which
he won Neuve Chapelle were successful, but the strategy
by which he purposed to gain the dominating heights
beyond was disappointed. The conditions, the mis-
carriages, the evil chances of battle, the mistakes, which

M2

180 NEUVE CHAPELLE

frustrated his strategical purpose still appear to the
public eye, and rightly so, as through a glass, darkly. No
better summary of the battle than a simple narrativre of
its events and phases, so far as various sources, chiefly
unofficial, have revealed them, is as yet possible. Only
to the casualty lists can we turn for substantial fact.
At Neuve Chapelle about a tenth of the total British
casualties up to that time were sustained. It is doubtful
whether the moral and material gain was so propor-
tionate to the cost in life and limb as to make the
engagement, close, involved, bitter, and prolonged as
it was, a real success. The loss seems greater than the
gain. The chief value of the battle lies no doubt in the
lessons it taught and in the experience it afforded. But
the knowledge was dearly bought.

On March 8, 1915, in a simple little room above whose
mantelpiece Nelson's prayer was displayed. Sir John
French met the corps commanders of Haig's 1st Army.
These were Sir Charles Monro, Sir Henry Rawlinson,
and Sir James Willcocks, commanding respectively the
1st, 4th, and Indian Corps. The Field-Marshal outlined
plans which he had been maturing for over a month for
a great onslaught upon the German defensive line. All
England had been waiting and hoping for the great
Allied offensive which, it was confidently asserted, the
warm spring weather would bring, as the real beginning
of the war. March had now come, and spells of bright
and dry weather were succeeding to the damp and chill
of winter. Expectations were to be fulfilled by a deter-
mined assault at a certain point in the hostile trench
lines. A secret memorandum setting forth the object,
nature, and scope of this attack, and giving instructions
for its conduct, had been communicated to Sir Douglas

NEUVE CHAPELLE 181

Haig a fortnight before, while full directions for assisting
and supporting it were being issued to the general
officers commanding the troops of the 2nd Army.
Many vital considerations had arisen, in connexion with
the aspect of the Allied situation throughout Europe,
which called for the immediate execution of the plan.
Not only were the Russians, with marked success,
repelling the violent onslaughts of Marshal von Hin-
denberg, but the French, with the object of holding as
many hostile troops as possible in the Western theatre,
were attacking vigorously at Arras and in Champagne.
It was important that the British should lend support
to the efforts of their allies ; moreover, it was vital that
the offensive spirit should be rekindled in the rank and
file, whose morale, indeed, could not but have suffered
to some extent after the severe trench warfare of winter.
The enemy seemed to be weakening on the British front,
while the latter had been enormously strengthened.
Now was the time and here was the opportunity to
deliver the tremendous thrust which was to sunder that
massive band of steel and fire stretching from the shores
of the North Sea to the foothills of the Alps. No time
was to be lost : within forty-eight hours a blow was to
be struck at the village of Neuve Chapelle, near La
Bassee ; while diversions were to be made at St. Eloi,
L'Epinette, and Givenchy. Six miles east of Neuve
Chapelle lay Fournes, with Lille eight miles beyond,
and a ridge of hills, extending between these two towns,
at Fournes divided into two spurs, before whose fork
lay the Bois du Biez and Neuve Chapelle itself. If,
after a bombardment so close and shattering as utterly
to destroy the German lines, troops of the British
1st Army, descending like an avalanche upon the village
and the wood, could gain the heights in front and on

182 NEUVE CHAPELLE

either flank ; if, in the impetus of the advance and
before the enemy had recovered, they could win the
whole of the ridge, they would command, from the
dominant summits, a wide and wealthy plain stretching
far into the enemy's acquired territory, and immediately
below, the important towns of La Bassee and of Lille.
Such a position would probably compel the withdrawal
of the enemy's line for many miles. It was protected
from seizure at present by strong entrenchments and
works : the whole of the 4th and the Indian Corps,
with infantry of the general reserve, supported by the
2nd Cavalry Division and a brigade of the North Midland
Division, would have to be employed for their reduction,
i^rrangements had already been made by which great
forces of British and French artillery, heavy and light,
were now secretly massing before the village ; on the
night of March 9 the reserves of the 1st Army would be
brought up. Next morning a sudden terrific bombard-
ment, unprecedented for power and concentration,
Avould prelude, at a specified hour, a rapid rush forward
of the infantry ; success and opportunity granted, the
cavalry would be thrown through the gap formed, and,
overrunning the country beyond, would disorganize the
enemy's resistance, and embarrass the advance of
hostile reinforcements. Calculation showed that before
these could be brought up in substantial numbers at
least thirty-six hours must elapse. The success of the
operations was essentially dependent upon every move-
ment being made to exact time and without a hitch.
Sir Douglas Haig would give full directions : it was
vital that they should be carefully observed.

If in later years, when the wounds have healed and
the tears are dried, our sons raise, whether by accident
or design, a new Neuve Chapelle upon the now blasted

NEUVE CHAPELLE 183

foundations which shall form an exact replica of the
old, before bombardment wrought upon it, through
the alien dwellers who had sought its shelter, the fate
of Sodom and Gomorrah, the traveller who comes to
view the famous field will behold none of the customary
stern features of heroic lore, neither massive castle,
treacherous morass, nor frowning crag, but, settled in the
smiling meadow-land, merely an unimportant collection
of houses and small farms, scattered about a junction of
country roads, and centring upon a church. It will be
seen to be a small place, very like any other in this part
of Flanders, and covering, owing to the universal ten-
dency of these villages to straggle, each house being
apparently built without reference to its neighbours,
a considerable extent of ground. Neat villas, with
gaudy shutters, line the main streets, in which stand
a brewery and half-a-dozen estaminets. On the eastern
side a row of old cottages rises, interspersed with a few
modern red-brick houses ; and on the western side some
detached dwellings of a better class, surrounded by
enclosures and orchards bounded by tall hedgerows,
look down upon where, some hundreds of yards across
the open space west of the village, the trench lines of
British and Germans, just before the battle, were drawn.
A little old white chateau appears on the northern out-
skirts, where a small piece of ground, covered by enclo-
sures and encompassed on three sides by roads, will
perhaps be pointed out as having figured prominently,
known as the ' Triangle ', in the fighting of October
1914 ; while at the cross-roads in the south the famous
' Port Arthur ' will also attract attention. The country
surrounding Neuve Chapelle forms mainly an expanse of
pasture and heavy arable land, flat and uninteresting : but
the Bois du Biez, a small, rectangular wood of saplings,

184 NEUVE CHAPELLE

planted very close and interspersed with a few taller trees
as is usual in these parts, lies about a thousand yards
to south-east. High hedges and pollarded trees all
around the village restrict the view. Away to north-
east, however, may be seen a prominent landmark, the
sinister Moulin de Pietre, while about a mile and a half
beyond this the red roofs of Aubers crown the long ridge
dominating all the lower ground to the east. One other
feature should be observed. The village is separated
from the ridge and from the Bois du Biez by the River
des Layes, a stream broad and deep.

Such was the battlefield of Neuve Chapelle. The
possession of the village itself secured to the Germans
a strong defensive position, the numerous scattered
houses affording excellent vantage points at which to
place machine-guns. Preponderance in these weapons
was more essential to the defenders than preponderance
in numbers, a fact which the battle emphasized. On
the morning of March 10 the German forces before the
prepared British front of attack, stretching from just
south to a short distance north of Neuve Chapelle,
amounted to only three infantry battalions. It is
stated, on the authority of a captured German officer,
that three German princes, including Prince Leopold
of Hohenzollern, were serving with one of these. Only
one German army corps, indeed, the 7th, or Westphalian,
forming part of the 6th Army, which Prince Rupprecht
of Bavaria commanded, garrisoned the trenches before
the whole line of the two British armies ; this was the
same army corps, troops of which had, four and a half
months earlier, expelled a British force from Neuve
Chapelle. It was doubtful whether there were more
than four battalions of reinforcements which could be
hurried to the danger-point within twenty-four hours

NEUVE CHAPELLE 185

of the beginning of the attack. Early on that fateful
morning, however, so secretly and skilfully had the
British made their preparations, the Germans manning
the trenches before the village were quite unconscious
of their danger. At one point, indeed, a German captain
perceived that something was wrong. Signs of unusual
movement could be observed opposite : the British
trenches were full of men. He sent back an urgent
message to this effect to the commander of his support-
ing battery. The artillery officer was polite, but unap-
preciative : he unfortunately had strict injunctions
not to open fire without express orders from the corps
commander. Nothing occurred for some time which
seriously belied this attitude of false security. Spas-
modic shells soared across from the British lines at
intervals : that these were ranging shots, and preluded
a bombardment then unparalleled in warfare, was not
suspected.

Meanwhile, since midnight the British forces detailed
for the attack had been mustering. The numerous
heavy hoAvitzer and field-gun batteries, forming an
armament of probably over 300 guns, were already in
position. The bulk of the infantry battalions arrived,
in accordance with orders, between 2 and 3 a.m. Endless
files of men came marching in strict silence across the
desolate approaches to the firing line, and were grouped
in prepared ditches or trenches behind sandbag breast-
works at allotted points. The night, fortunately, was
very dark. Many a famous regiment, from every part
of the British Isles, or from the hills and plains of India,
lined the roadways. It was realized that this was the
eve of a great movement. Suppressed excitement and
eager expectation were in the atmosphere. Hot coffee
served out to the troops in the early hours contributed

186 NEUVE CHAPELLE

to heighten their spirits and their confidence : army-
orders exhorting duty and courage were also distributed.
Many of the men got a few hours' sleep, but it was still
dark when they stood to arms. Dull with sleep, and
weighted with equipment and ammunition, men stumbled
up into their places, and tireless non-commissioned officers
bustled them into wakefulness. At length dawn, grey
and ashen, streaked the horizon with silvery light. The
hour of attack was not yet at hand, for the artillery
bombardment was not timed to open till haK-past seven.
Guns began to boom intermittently miles away. As the
shadows lifted and the light strengthened, British aero-
planes soared over the lines, drawing hostile fire, on
preliminary reconnaissance. It was now six o'clock.
For a long time guns continued to fire at intervals,
registering their respective ranges. Preparations for the
attack were now consummated. Thousands of men were
lining the breastworks and trenches, awaiting the ap-
pointed hour. For many it was to be the hour of death.
Exactly at half -past seven a sudden tearing thunder-
peal, followed for thirty-five minutes by a tumult like
a hundred thunder-claps a second, so loud, so incessant,
so startling, so immense, that the senses and brains of
men were dulled and rendered inert by its shock and
volume, rended the morning calm. A sea of appalling
sound, wild and measureless, thundering upon rocks in
splintering, explosive crashes, drowned the mind as it
swelled and broke : or a thousand Vulcan's hammers,
wielded by Titans before their roaring forges, clanged and
clamoured upon a thousand giant anvils. A dense pall
of smoke, in which red flashes leapt high with each
explosion in a long line of fire, a sight fearful and grand,
hung over the German lines after the first shells had
plunged, casting up clouds of earth and debris, into the

NEUVE CHAPELLE 187

trenches. The British infantry, waiting to assault,
watched the bombardment with excitement that grew
to fever heat as the minutes, wearing on, drew nearer
the time for advance. It is said that in some places
they jumped up on the parapets brandishing their
rifles towards the Germans and shouting remarks that
were drowned in the thunder of the batteries. It was
a dramatic moment. Sickening lyddite fumes were
wafted back by the breeze. Where the opposing
trenches, usually divided here by 100 or 150 yards, lay
closer, the troops were smothered with dust and earth,
or even spattered by blood from mangled remains
hurtling through the air. Many of the shells, so low
was their trajectory, screamed by only a few feet above
the British trenches ; since the main object of the
gunners was to tear away the formidable barbed wire
defences that barred advance. Right along the front
of attack, for two miles, this object, save at the extreme
northern and southern ends, was in a few minutes effec-
tually achieved. The entanglements, severed like twine
or blasted from the ground, lay scattered over wastes
of tumbled earth and broken pits strewn with dead and
wounded which marked where the German lines of
entrenchment had been drawn. But in this connexion
there arose some unfortunate miscarriages : these proved
of vital moment to the issue of the battle. Considerable
sections of barbed wire, at important places, were un-
accountably missed by the artillery. At the extreme
north of the front of attack, and to a less extent at the
extreme south, portions of the enemy's line had, by
five minutes past eight, escaped serious damage. That
moment had been fixed for the cessation of the shelling
of the trenches, to permit of an infantry advance, and for
the opening of the bombardment of the village itself, where

188 NEUVE CHAPELLE

the German supports were quartered. Exactly to time,
along the whole front, the gunners lengthened their
fuses and lifted their shells upon the buildings of Neuve
Chapelle. Debris flew upwards as masonry and stone
were blown asunder, and soon a cloud of smoke and
dust rendered the havoc invisible. Meanwhile, the three
front British infantry brigades had clambered from
their trenches for advance. Whistles were sounding
along the line.

The northern wing of the attacking army was formed
by the 23rd Brigade, made up of the second battalions
of the Cameronian, the Devon, the West Yorkshire, and
the Middlesex regiments. At this part, just north of
Xeuve Chapelle, the British trenches ran along the line
of the Rue de Tilleroy, a bare and ugly highway, opposite
which lay the main section of German barbed wire en-
tanglements only partially destroyed by the artillery. In
front of the Cameronians and the Middlesex the wire
barrier was quite unbroken, that before the latter, where
the surface dipped a little, being concealed in a fold of
ground. The gunners had now lengthened their ranges,
and the time had come for the infantry to advance.
Orders could not be disregarded, in spite of the unbroken
wire. It was a terrible ordeal. The brave men went
forward to their deaths, and a lane of dead and wounded,
wide and thick-strewn, across the 120 yards between
the opposing trenches, marked their impotence and
their glory. The Middlesex, on the right of the Camer-
onians, were somewhat crowded as they left their
trenches and dashed forward. Two hostile machine-
guns swept away the leading ranks, but the Middlesex,
unwavering, struggled up to the wire, at which they
tore with naked hands or hacked with bayonets. Three
times they essayed to force a passage, but at length,

NEUVE CHAPELLE 189

their colonel having sent back a message to the artillery,
they withdrew and lay down, exposed to shot and shell,
among the dead in the open. Powerful artillery support
was presently forthcoming. The gunners shortened
their fuses, and shrapnel was soon ripping up the barbed
wire. Meanwhile, the Cameronians, a famous old regi-
ment, better known as the Scottish Rifles, whose battle
record, from Blenheim to Spion Kop, indicated their
temper, had also been checked by the unbroken entangle-
ments. Of the two front companies, A and B, while the
latter was able, where the wire was partly destroyed, to
get through with little difficulty, A Company, finding
undamaged wire and a prepared enemy, met with a
storm of machine-gun and rifle fire. Lieutenant -Colonel
Bliss and his adjutant fell side by side leading the attack.
Like the Middlesex, the Scottish Rifles, with fearful loss,
reached the wire barrier, before which, impotent, but
clutching and tearing desperately with bare hands and
rifles, they were mercilessly shot down. There was no
alternative but to withdraw and take what little cover
the open and the bodies of the dead afforded. Even-
tually, however, bomb-throwers, working their way
slowly along the section of trench taken by B Company,
drove out the Germans and enabled the troops held up
by the wire to advance. It was about half -past ten
before it was possible to move forward. Terrible loss
had been sustained by the Scottish Rifles ; at the close
of the battle, indeed. Lieutenant Somervail and about
150 men only survived. Nor had the other regiments
of the Brigade escaped lightly. The Devons, pouring
through gaps in the German entrenchments closer to
the village, stormed a large orchard around a farm-
house strongly defended by the enemy, and a fierce
struggle ensued. Presently the Middlesex, whom now

190 NEUVE CHAPELLE

more complete artillery preparation had enabled to
advance, joined them. In advancing, a bombing party
of the Middlesex, composed of an officer and six men,
came across some Germans in an intact trench who,
having signified their readiness to surrender, upon
noticing the number of the party took cover and
reopened fire. These the British, closing immediately,
chased into the open, where a maxim gun was waiting.
It was now nearly eleven o'clock. The orchard still
defied all attempts at capture, though the 24th Brigade
had advanced from the Rue de Tilleroy, and joined in
the attack. With this exception resistance in this
quarter, just north of Neuve Chapelle, was now ceasing :
for the 25th Brigade, immediately to the south of the
much harassed 23rd, had made such progress as to turn
the fiank of those German forces opposite the latter
brigade.

While unbroken barbed wire had impeded advance
at the northern end of the front of attack, the artillery
had, in the centre, and at the southern end save for
one small portion, accomplished their task so effectively
that at first negligible resistance was encountered.
The 25th Brigade held the centre, and an Indian brigade,
the Garwhal, the southern wing. Upon the deflection
of the artillery fire at five past eight, these two brigades
swept forward, and carried the enemy's entrenchments,
save at one point in the extreme south of the front of
attack, without difficulty. So effective had been the
British bombardment that the greater portion of the
defences were blown into unrecognizable ruin ; while
only a few Germans, nerveless with shock, and ghastly
yellow with lyddite dust, remained of the defenders.
Some of these, utterly dazed, crawled painfully from
their trenches and knelt on the ground, holding up

NEUVE CHAPELLE 191

their hands. The leading half of the 25th Brigade, the
Lincoln and the Berkshire regiments, having taken the
first line of trenches opposite their section of the Rue de
Tilleroy, swerved to right and left respectively in order
to afford passage for the remaining battalions, the Royal
Irish Rifles and the Rifle Brigade. Each regiment met
with some opposition, the Berkshires encountering two
German officers who fought with stubborn gallantry,
serving a machine-gun, until bayoneted. Many prisoners
were taken, both now and later during the attack upon
the village, one regiment capturing a Prussian colonel,
who, seemingly deUghted to be taken, formed up his
fellow prisoners on his own initiative, and marched them
back through the British lines. While many of the
captured Germans were being assembled, the Rifle
Brigade and the Royal Irish Rifles came up, ready for
the advance upon the village just beyond, which was,
however, still being bombarded by the artillery. Some
time elapsed before the shelling was completed effectually,
during which the captured lines were cleared of prisoners
and wounded. The infantry detailed for the next attack
waited, laughing and cracking jokes amid the uproar
and rattle of the firing. At length, at 8.35, an advance
upon Neuve Chapelle was made.

The Rifle Brigade is credited with being the first
regiment to enter the village. They viewed, rushing
headlong through the ruins, a scene of utter chaos and
desolation. Falling tiles and tottering walls endangered
the search for stray parties of Germans hiding in cellars
or basements. Not an edifice but was shattered, not
a street but was blocked and almost obliterated by
masses of rubble and bricks. It seemed as if an earth-
quake, dissolving all in ruin, had shaken down the
very features and soul of the place, yet had left standing.

192 NEUVE CHAPELLE

by divine ordinance, amid havoc and violence indescrib-
able, the symbol of Christian faith and suffering. Two
large wooden crucifixes alone of all around them re-
mained intact, one standing in the graveyard of the
church, whose devastated pile reared itself from a waste
of overturned tombs and effigies, the broken coffins, cast
\ip from the depths, mingling their desecrated dead
with the fresh corpses of German soldiers, half interred
or re -interred by the fallen masonry of the edifice ;
and the other crucifix, a dead German prostrated at its
foot, standing erect at the cross-roads near the chateau
just north of the village. Among the stricken dwellings
dazed German soldiers met the eyes of the advancing
British. Many surrendered without a blow, but num-
bers, peering and dodging through the smoke of the
shells that still hung heavily around, began fixing from
windows, from behind carts, or even overturned tomb-
stones. From some houses in the Rue de Bois, on the
farther southern outskirts of the village, some machine-
guns opened fusillade until, as the Rifle Brigade advanced
in their direction, their sound ceased suddenly. Pressing
onwards, the Riflemen found that the maxims had been
silenced by a battalion of the Garhwal Brigade, advanc-
ing from south-west, the 3rd Gurkhas. With the latter
the Rifle Brigade had, by curious coincidence, been
recently brigaded in India. Enthusiastic greetings were
exchanged, and the two battalions, jovial in the flush
of victory, cheered themselves hoarse until, military
necessity overriding social amenities, they had to con-
tinue the advance towards where, outlined against the
sky not far beyond, a fringe of scraggy trees marked
the Bois du Biez. Meanwhile, though most of the
Garwhal Brigade, which included, in addition to the
3rd Gurkhas, the 2nd Leicesters, and the 1st and 2nd

NEUVE CHAPELLE 193

39th Garwhalis, were now pressing in this direction,
with one of its battalions things were going awry.

A group of ruined buildings, known by the sinister
name of ' Port Arthur ', stood on the extreme right of
the front of attack, at the angle of the cross-roads south
of the village, where the 1st 39th Garwhalis were posted.
Elaborate defences, the work of months, had been
constructed at this point. The Garwhali was a tribes-
man of sturdier build, owing to a strong Mongolian
strain, than the Gurkha, but in cast of features and in
characteristics akin. When the battalion attempted to
advance at the preconcerted hour, they were faced by
the same unfortunate circumstance that was impeding
their comrades at the extreme north of the line. Two
hundred yards of barbed wire stretched intact and
guarded before them. On the left the Leicesters went
through the enemy with a rush, but the 1st 39th Gar-
whalis, trained to hill warfare in the best of all schools,
the Punjab frontier, were met by a withering fusillade
from behind the untouched wire. The officers lead-
ing the charge ahead of their companies were all
killed. An artillery lieutenant, employed as observing
officer, at once proceeded to lead one line forward, but
also fell after twenty yards. The battalion, losing its
direction, swung to the right, where, after a fierce
struggle with bayonet and knife, it captured a section
of trench. In this position, however, the Garwhalis
were cut off, with the enemy to right and left. The
Leicesters, meanwhile, having broken through on the
other side of ' Port Arthur', found themselves checked by
this obstacle, and noticed the plight of the Garwhalis.
Bomb -throwers, creeping down the trenches, imme-
diately made efforts to eject the enemy and to establish
contact with the Indians. For hours a hard struggle

18 N

194 NEUVE CHAPELLE

raged around the spot, and all progress here was checked.
Reinforcements had soon to be brought up. In the
meantime the rest of the Garwhal Brigade, with the
^oth Brigade, having gained a solid footing, were
engaged in clearing Neuve Chapelle and its environs of
the enemy, whose gunners, indeed, were still so taken
by surprise that British supports were able to move up
the roads in fours. The Germans were effectually
prevented from sending up reinforcements by a curtain
of shrapnel fire interposed by the artillery between the
village and the country beyond. The fire of one heavy
howitzer was directed on Aubers with a remarkable
result, a prominent tower suddenly jumping skywards,
and descending, dissolving in mid-air, in clouds of dust
and rubbish. It was some time before resistance was
completely stamj)ed out. At the north of the attacking
line, moreover, most of the 23rd Brigade were, until
about 10.30, held up before the unbroken wire entangle-
ments ; and the orchard previously referred to, defying
capture for hours, threatened the flank of any advance
upon the Aubers ridge : while in the south ' Port Arthur '
held out stubbornly. But by eleven o'clock the whole
of the village of Neuve Chapelle and the roads containing
its eastern side, running to north and to south-west,
were in British hands.

II

There is no greater problem in modern warfare than
the difficulty of inter-communication between the firing
line of infantry and batteries or head-quarters far in rear.
Flag-signalling is at the mercy of the weather ; dis]3atch-
carr3dng is unavoidably slow ; telephone wires, even if
triplicated, are frequently severed by exploding shells.
But inter-communication, both for the guidance of the

NEUVE CHAPELLE 195

artillery and for the direction of the operations, is
vitally essential. Battery-commanders must be kept
constantly informed of the positions of the advanced
infantry : head-quarters — brigade, divisional, corps, and
army — must keep in close touch with all units to ensure
that each is fulfilling its allotted part and is adequately
supported. The Battle of Neuve Chapelle found this
problem as vital as ever and as troublesome as ever,
artillery observation being difficult owing to the flatness
of the country. Severed wires, as soon as the German
artillery, recovering from surprise, brought guns to
bear on the British position, interrupted communication
between front and rear, in spite of the promptness and
courage with which signallers went out repeatedly to
repair the damage. The result was that the leading
infantry brigades, greatly disorganized by their rapid
and violent advance, could not be co-ordinated without
considerable delay. The 23rd and 25th Brigades formed,
with the 24th Brigade, the 8th Division, which with the
7th Division, comprising the 20th, 21st, and 22nd
Brigades, constituted the 4th Army Corps, under the
command of Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Rawlinson.
Not only was the 23rd Brigade held up for a long time
through inadequate artillery preparation, but the 25th
Brigade, becoming involved in this miscarriage, moved
its fighting line northward out of its proper direction
of advance. Neuve Chapelle was, however, in British
hands by eleven o'clock. Why Sir Henry Rawlinson
was unable to bring the reserve brigades of his corps
into action until half -past three is as yet obscure.
Delay, occasioned not only by the checks at the extreme
north and extreme south of the attacking line, but also
by the absence of reserves to carry forward the advance
while the scattered leading brigades were readjusting

N 2

198 NEUVE CHAPELLE

themselves and consolidating the ground won, proved
fatal to greater success. It enabled the Germans to
organize a stubborn resistance along the Pietre road
and the fringe of the Bois du Biez. The clear directions
of Sir Douglas Haig should, according to the Com-
mander-in-Chief, have precluded the necessity for this
delay. When advance was continued at 3.30 the enemy,
at little damaged and important points in rear of where
the British artillery had failed to shatter the entangle-
ments, were prepared and active, though indications
that in parts the German resistance was temporarily
paralysed were not lacking. The two principal points
which, strongly placed and defended, now impeded all
advance were the Moulin de Pietre and a certain bridge
over the River des Layes. These two points were
connected by the stream, along whose line the British
were held up. The bridge, which crossed the river in
the south of the front of attack, formed, apparently^
the only available structural passage to the opposite
side : the enemy, anticipating its immediate seizure >
took instant measures to secure it, and it became
speedily the crucial point of the battle-line. During the
rest of the day, and for the following two days, fighting
raged chiefly about these two ]3ositions : the Moulin de
Pietre lay to north-east of Neuve Chapelle, in rear of
where the Scottish Rifles and the Middlesex had struggled
impotently before unbroken wire ; and the bridge lay
to south-east, in rear of where the undamaged entangle-
ments of ' Port Arthur ' throughout the first day
checked the Leicesters and the 1st 39th Garwhalis.

Between 3 o'clock and 3.30 the brigades of the famous.
7th Division, to whose steadfast bravery the Battle of
Ypres in the previous October had borne witness, came:
forward into the battle-line. Not a shot was fired at

NEUVE CHAPELLE 197

the 21st Brigade as it formed up in the open on the left,
and the German resistance seemed for the time being
to be nerveless in this quarter, where the orchard so
strongly defended by the enemy had some while before
been taken. The Devons and the Worcesters had at
length penetrated the defences, and, pursuing the
defenders round the scarred trees with the bayonet, had
killed or captured all. The brigade proceeded to
advance in the direction of the Moulin de Pietre, making
for some time good progress. But on the left the 22nd
Brigade, where its right flank faced prepared entrench-
ments centring upon a strongl}^ held redoubt, was soon
held up. Machine-gun fire from the redoubt, moreover,
began to enfilade the 21st Brigade. As the latter
pushed its way towards the Moulin de Pietre fusillade
from houses in front and from the redoubt on the left
became so determined and severe that the four battalions
were at length brought also to a standstill. To the
south the 24th Brigade, whose objective was the village
of Pietre, was similarly checked. At a road junction
about a third of a mile north-west of this village galling
fire from trenches and houses, in which troops had
hastily been massed and machine-guns placed, barred
advance. Nor was the southern attacking wing, where
the Indian Corps were posted, faring better. The
brigade which had led the assault, the Garwhal, had
now, with the aid of the Bareilly Brigade, firmly estab-
lished and consolidated much of the new line gained,
and was still assailing ' Port Arthur '. But the
remaining infantry brigade, the Dehra Dun, of their
division, the Meerut, in advancing to the attack of the
Bois du Biez found itself enfiladed by machine-gun fire
from a bridge over the River des Layes. Despite the
support of the JuUundur Brigade of the Lahore Division,

198 NEUVE CHAPELLE

the Indians were held up along the line of the broad
stream, whose greenish-yellow waters, five feet deep,
stretching north-east and south-west, divided them
from the cover of the woods beyond. Not only the
Dehra Dun and the Jullundur Brigades, but also the
bulk of the 25th Brigade, between the 24th and the
Indians, had all their efforts to advance impeded by
this obstacle, the j)osition of the bridge and its neigh-
bourhood enabling the Germans to sweep with their fire
considerable stretches of the river and its opposite
banks. Some companies of the Lincolns, indeed, who
had found a plank sufficiently stout and long to bridge
the water, and had crossed to form a firing line on the
opposite side, had to recross to gain the advantage of
a slight rise in the rear ; though close by the Royal
Irish Rifles, having crossed, succeeded in entrenching
and maintaining themselves on the further bank.
Farther to the north some battalions were able to wade
the stream, its waters reaching their necks, and, advanc-
ing under fire across open fields and ditches, where the
morning's curtain of shrapnel fire had fallen and had
left its mark in an upheaval of earth, stones, and debris,
they drew their firing line a considerable distance beyond.
Immersion in the stream could not damp the spirits
of the men, who, in all parts of the battlefield, were
elated beyond measure at the success that so far had
attended the engagement. Many wounded men insisted
on remaining in the front line despite their hurts. It
was afterwards remarked, indeed, that this battle filled
the hospitals and ambulances with the cheeriest lot of
wounded ever previously observed : and on the very
battlefield injured men talked and laughed gaily as they
limped back out of the firing line, each with the eternal
cigarette in his mouth. Many, to whom it was the first

NEUVE CHAPELLE 199

occasion of their being in action, were to be seen laden
with inchelhauhen and other trophies.

However, it soon became evident that this point, the
bridge over the River des Layes, was considerably more
important than had been previously realized. A message
was sent back to the artillery, but circumstances-
militated against its support being effective : for not
only had the ranges to be ascertained under difficult
conditions, the bridge being beyond the village and
presenting little mark for fire, but the danger of hitting
friendly troops, separated from hostile only by a stream^
was considerable. Two Indian battalions, indeed, the 2nd
and 9th Gurkha Rifles, of the Dehra Dun Brigade, which
succeeded eventually in penetrating into the Bois du
Biez, had to be withdrawn on this account. Sir Douglas
Haig, watching the operations at this point closely,,
saw that the support of infantry as well as of artillery
was needed. Afternoon was now passing into evenings
and it was doubtful whether much more could be done
that day. But reinforcements from the 1st Corps,
entrenched in the neighbourhood of Givenchy, which
lay some miles south, were available, and the General
directed that one or more battalions of the 1st Brigade
should be sent up. During the morning the 1st Corps had,
while the assault on Neuve Chapelle was in progress,
delivered from Givenchy simultaneously a supplementary
attack, which, however, accomplished nothing more
than the holding fast of the enemy in front, the German
wire being insufficiently cut. Three battalions could be
spared, and were accordingly sent to Richebourg St»
Vaast as supports for the Indians. But the sun, blood-
red against the ruined village, was declining, and
darkness was beginning to settle. Meanwhile, at half-
past five ' Port Arthur ' had fallen. Reinforcements

200 NEUVE CHAPELLE

from general reserve, including the Seaf orth Highlanders
and the 3rd Royal Fusiliers, had been brought up. The
Highlanders delivered a notably dashing charge, and
the stronghold was at length stormed successfully at
the point of the bayonet. But no further progress had
been made at the bridge, which the Germans, who had
brought up some reinforcements, were defending more
strongly than ever. Nor had the brigades attacking
Moulin de Pietre been more successful, the enemy
having firmly secured themselves at the threatened
points. Night coming on gradually brought operations
to a standstill. The Indian and the 4th Corps proceeded
to consolidate the positions they had gained, which,
however, included little more than the village and its
outskirts.

Fighting continued long after darkness had set in,
but died away towards midnight. Flares were sent up
into the sky, and occasionally searchlights, illuminating in
their cold beams the battered parapets, the dark patches
of blood, and the still forms of the dead, played across
the battlefield. The water filling many of the trenches,
ditches, and shell craters glittered back their radiance.
It was still dark when the troops again stood to arms,
and twilight saw a reopening of the battle. Within the
next few hours reserves and battalions from the 1st
Corj^s, deployed in line of platoons with bayonets fixed,
came hurrying up to reinforce the front line, and met,
in their rough passage in short rushes over the pitted
ground, withering fusillades from the enemy, who, also
reinforced and with recovered nerve, were now pre-
pared to offer desperate resistance. The events of the
day, indeed, gave proof of this, for little headway
could be made by the British at any point. It became
obvious that further advance would be impossible until

NEUVE CHAPELLE 201

the artillery had dealt effectively with the various
houses and defended spots which held up the troops
along the entire front. But efforts made accordingly
to direct the fire of the guns encountered an unfortunate
mischance. Mist had allied itself with the difficulty of
broken wires, severed over and over again under the
heavy cannonading now brought to bear by the rein-
forced Germans, to render impossible accuracy or
skilful distribution of fire by means of aerial observation
and telephonic communication. The artillery duel
proved a trying ordeal to the infantry. All day long
the great guns, whose tremendous detonations, in rapid,
merciless succession, boomed or banged to the accom-
paniment of hammering, racketing maxim fire, roared
and bombarded, with shrapnel wailing and bullets
whistling overhead. Men lay with nerves and senses
jangled painfully by the ceaseless din. Once or twice
only during those weary hours was there a minute's
silence, when somewhere far above a lark was actually
heard singing. But to bring fire to bear with sufficient
accuracy on the vital points, the Moulin de Pietre and
the bridgehead, was found impossible. Little progress
could be made : the enemy were too strongly entrenched
in front. And even where the British here and there
succeeded in advancing and in occupying some ruined
building, they had to be withdrawn owing to the
difficulty of warning the batteries far in rear of their
new positions. The Germans attempted several counter-
attacks, repulsed with loss, especially in the neighbour-
hood of the Bois du Biez, upon which, however, the
British opened so effective an artillery fire that the
enemy finally would not emerge from its shelter. Two
regiments are believed to have been decimated here ;
and for days afterwards the Germans were observed to

202 NEUVE CHAPELLE

be bringing bodies out of the wood and burying them
in its rear. ToA^ards the end of the afternoon there
came a hill. Those wounded who could dragged them-
selves painfully to the rear, where, among the ruins of
Neuve Chapelle, the Medical Corps were working under
great difficulties. And at length, with the thunder
of the guns lessened, but still growling, the shadows of
night came stealing again over the battle-ground.

Between 4.30 and 5 o'clock next morning, just at
dawn, shouts of ' Stand to ! ' at many points in the
line, whose hasty entrenchments had during the night
been strengthened with barbed wire defences by the
engineers, roused the British from their uneven slumbers.
The Germans were counter-attacking on left, front, and
right. A tremendous bombardment preluded their
infantry attacks, but at every j)oint they were repelled
easily and with heavy loss. It was hoped that during
this day, March 12, the British offensive might be
resumed with favourable results : and the 2nd Cavalry
Division, with one Brigade of the North Midland
Division, were placed at Sir Douglas Haig's disposal in
order to render, should opportunity offer, immediate
support to the infantry in their struggle for the Aubers
ridge. The cavalry were accordingly moved forAvard
during the afternoon with this purpose in view, an
attempt, which proved, however, abortive, then being
made to carry the enemy's positions along the Pietre
road. But the initiative had by now been lost, and the
battle was to take a different turn.

It assumed, during the greater portion of the day,
the form of incessant efforts on the part of the enemy
to regain what had been lost. Reinforcements, Bavarian
and Saxon regiments, were hurried into the fighting.
These regiments, indeed, expressed great indignation at

NEUVE CHAPELLE 203

the manner in which they were flung into action during
counter-attacks from the Bois du Biez. Behind the
German lines, notably at Lille, something like a panic
had occurred when the news of the British onslaught
became known. Many German officers billeted at Lille
retired to Tournai to sleep, and the large hospitals in
the town were also removed there. But the Bavarians
and Saxons had been billeted at Tourcoing, where they
were resting after a spell in the trenches before Ypres.
They were told that a slight mishap had occurred, and
that a few British soldiers had penetrated into Neuve
Chapelle, out of which these were to be driven. The
orders given them were to reinforce the firing line,
which, however, on advancing from the wood, they
could not find, but discovered instead that they were
alone and unsupported. In consequence the German
attacks showed indications of half-heartedness as well
as of exhaustion, and there were many surrenders in
mass. On more than one occasion the men of the attack-
ing line lay down and held up their hands as soon as fire
was opened upon them. In this quarter, the Bois du Biez,
one Bavarian force met with fearful losses at the hands
of the Worcesters. It is recorded that, expecting
apparently to find the British much farther back, they
advanced in column of route, an officer on horseback
with drawn sword in their midst, and a non-commis-
sioned officer using a whip to spur them forward.
Blundering into the fire of twenty-one machine-guns,
their ranks dissolved into piles of convulsive forms.
Nor were other attempts in this neighbourhood more
successful. Near the cross-roads south of the village,
in front of ' Port Arthur ', some seventy of the enemy
who had got into a communication trench were cap-
tured in a body. Only at several points on the left of

204 NEUVE CHAPELLE

the British line, not far from the Moulin de Pietre, did
the Germans succeed in reaching the opposite trenches,
from which, instantly expelled, they were pursued
towards their own lines. The men of one British bat-
talion, who had just had dinner and a rum ration served
out to them, were attacked as they settled down to the
meal and forced to evacuate their trench by Germans
armed with bombs. A few moments later the indignant
men retook the trench in a counter-attack of unparalleled
fury, a substantial number of the enemy being captured.
Little of the dinner remained, however, and nothing of
the rum.i Another assault upon a second trench taken
by the Germans gained the Victoria Cross for a brave
captain, Avho, after one counter-attacking party of
twenty-one men had been almost annihilated, dashed
forward with eight men, under heavy fire, attacked the
enemy with bombs and caj^tured the position, with the
fifty-two Germans occupying it. At various points in
the line of battle, where hostile attacks grew feeble as
the day advanced, the British took the ofEensive. No
small hopes were raised by the evident exhaustion of
many of the German troops. Prisoners stated that
their trenches had been full of water, that they had been
for days without food, that all their officers had been
killed, that whole battalions had been destroyed. Xever-
theless, while the enemy showed this exhaustion in some
places, at other places their determined and active resist-
ance prohibited progress. The battle degenerated into a
fierce trench engagement, and artillery duels, Avith in-
fantry attacks and counter-attacks, displaced manoeuvring
upon any set jolan. The broken German line had been
able to readjust itself ; and deadlock once more set in.

^ It is not clear whether this incident took place on this day
or on that preceding : but March 12 seems the more likely.

NEUVE CHAPELLE 205

The Moulin de Pietre and the bridge over the River
des Layes still formed the bases of the German resis-
tance, Avhich thick mist, as on the day before, hindered
the artillery from shelling. But all the characteristic
difficulties of warfare on these fiat plains asserted them-
selves also. Comparatively small parties of Germans,
posted in groups of isolated houses or hasty entrench-
ments, were able to cause advancing forces infinite delay.
They made special use of houses so situated that machine-
guns, skilfully placed, could sweep with their fire the
adjacent fields : and these buildings, in some of which
half a dozen maxims had been placed, had to be taken
one by one after desperate fighting at close quarters.
Under such conditions heavy British losses were inevit-
able : it was, indeed, during the two last days of the
battle that the principal casualties were sustained, those
of the first day numbering, it is said, not more than
2,500. Early in the afternoon, however, a general
assault, which it was hoped, if successful, cavalry could
follow up, was made against the German positions on
the Pietre road. The Rifle Brigade, in face of a devas-
tating fusillade, won the trench in their front, though
impeded by wire entanglements, for cutting which two
non-commissioned officers, who rushed forward volun-
tarily, were awarded the Victoria Cross ; and other
battalions worked their way, with serious losses, up to
the houses about the Moulin de Pietre. Here the
6th Gordons lost their commander, Lieutenant-Colonel
Maclean, to whom a subaltern, hastening up and finding
him lying in the open still alive, brought morphia to
ease his suffering. ' Thank you,' the dying man said ;
' and now, my boy, your place is not here. Go about
your duty.' Some of the houses were stormed, and about
fifty British armed with bombs rushed another trench

206 NEUVE CHAPELLE

and took eighty prisoners. But all other efforts at pro-
gress were resolutely blocked. When Sir Philip Chet-
wode, with the 5th Cavalry Brigade, reached the Rue
de Bacquerot at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, he was
informed that the situation was not sufficiently favour-
able to make cavalry co-operation advisable. At night-
fall it was decided, since the shattered buildings and
flooded trenches won gave the British little advantage,
to withdraw to the original position.

The long-drawn-out battle had slowly spent its force.
The day had seen the maintenance of all the ground
previously won, and the taking of a little more of the
ground so tenaciously held by the enemy. The charac-
teristics of interminable trench Avarfare had reasserted
themselves : and with mingled feelings, no doubt. Sir
John French, after surveying the position carefully
that evening, ordered the suspension of further offensive
operations.

FEINTED IN ENGLAND
AT THE OXFOED TJNIVEESITY PEESS

i

PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY

D Hilditch, A. Neville

521 Battle sketches 1914-15

H5

r