The Old Contemptibles

by Robin Neillands

  The Battle of La Bassée ended with the retirement of II Corps to their new defence line on 22 October. In spite of German pressure, the Smith-Dorrien Line was held. Meanwhile, farther north, III Corps were engaged in two battles: the Battle of Armentières (13 October-2 November) and the Battle of Messines (12 October-2 November). It will be noted that the dates of all three battles overlap; the fighting was continuous along the BEF line during this time.

  IIICorps was at St Orner on the night of 11 October when, in accordance with Field Marshal French's directive for an advance in the direction of Lille, Pulteney's Corps was tasked to occupy the line Armentières-Wytschaete with Allenby's Cavalry Corps extending their left flank as far as Ypres. It was hoped that II Corps, shortly to be engaged at La Bassée, would be relieved by the French and move north into the position between the two BEF corps currently occupied by the two French cavalry corps of Conneau and Le Mitry. II Corps and these French cavalry would change places and the BEF would then form a continuous line between the French and the Belgians. However, owing to the difficulties encountered by II Corps at La Bassée, this transfer did not take place.

  General Pulteney's Corps had a further problem - the ground. On the left of the line chosen for the III Corps advance and therefore directly across the line of advance of Allen by's Cavalry Corps, lay the 130-metre (400-foot) high range of steep-sided hills running from the Mont des Cats to Kemmel. Quite apart from the physical difficulty they presented to any assault, these hills offered the enemy superb artillery observation over the area of the proposed advance. Further problems existed in the series of steep ridges projecting south from the main line of hills, which provided the enemy with a perfect set of defensive positions and plenty of 'dead ground' for the deployment of artillery and the movement of reserves.

  Clearly, the first task was to take the high ground before III Corps went forward. On 12 October the 3rd Cavalry Brigade was ordered to dismount and take the Mont des Cats, a task it accomplished that evening with very little opposition; it appeared that the enemy had not yet had time to occupy these positions in strength. Pulteney wisely decided to push ahead before the enemy did so, ordering his corps to advance on Bailleul while the Cavalry Corps on their northern flank completed the capture of the high ground east of the Mont des Cats. This advance duly began on 13 October - and ran into a strong German force entrenched along the ridge astride the village of Meteren, a mile west of Bailleul.

  This position extended to the north, and the enemy were clearly determined to hang on to it; at 0900 hours RFC patrols noted the movement of a German battalion and two artillery batteries from Bailleul. The Cavalry Corps were unable to turn the Meteren pos­ ition from the north and soon had their own problems; by early afternoon Allenby was asking Pulteney for infantry support. Pulteney therefore decided to put in a full III Corps assault against the Meteren position, sending in both divisions on a five-mile front- an assault which the Official History describes as 'the first formal British attack of the war'. (18)

  Formal or not, this attack was quickly organized. The advance began at 1400 hours and in that close country rapidly developed into an infantry battle, to which the artillery observers, confused by the mixture of hop fields and small woods on a wet and misty day, could give very little assistance. Progress was therefore slow and costly; the German trenches, mostly occupied by dismounted cavalry troopers from four German cavalry divisions, were well sited and barely visible. The Germans also enjoyed the advantage of superb artillery observation from the church tower in Meteren, and when III Corps finally rushed the main German position that evening the enemy quickly disengaged and faded away into the dusk, having cost III Corps 708 casualties in a few hours of battle. German losses were later estimated at around a thousand.

  Among the soldiers wounded that day was Lieutenant Bernard Montgomery of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Warwickshire Regiment-' Monty' to a later generation of British soldiers. Then aged twenty-six, Montgomery was shot in the chest leading his platoon into the attack and lay out in No Man's Land for many hours before his men brought him in; for his part in this action Montgomery was later awarded the DSO, a high award for a junior officer.

  October 3 brought bad news for General Joffre and Field Marshal French: the Germans had now occupied Lille, one objective of this Anglo-French offensive in the north; RFC patrols reported that part of the town was in flames and that a large German column, presumably from the force that had taken Lille, was now marching in the direction of Arrnentieres. General Pulteney therefore decided to push his troops on towards Bailleul and Messines before the enemy also occupied those places.

  The morning of 14 October arrived with thick mist and a steady rain, which grounded all RFC patrols until the late afternoon. Autumn was now arriving in northern France and Flanders, bringing fresh problems for the troops, but cavalry patrols established that the Germans had withdrawn from Meteren and Bailleul to somewhere beyond the River Lys.

  This withdrawal did not mean that the Germans had abandoned their strategic plan for a turning movement in the north; far from it. If the Anglo-French line could be turned at all the Franco­ Belgian border was the place to do it. To this end the Germans had now put together a new army, the Fourth Army, which was to launch an attack between Menin and the North Sea and turn the Allied line at Ypres.

  While the Fourth Army, composed of troops released by the fall of Antwerp plus four newly raised reserve corps composed of young civilian volunteers, was forming and corning up, the German forces currently on this front, the VII, XIII, XIX and Cavalry Corps of the Sixth Army, were to go on to the defensive and hold the line La Bassée-Arrnentières-Menin against anything the Franco-British armies could throw against it. This was the final stage of the Race to the Sea; these German corps had already checked the advance of II and III Corps but both sides were about to extend their flanks to the north and try again. The French and British hoped to attack east from Ypres before the Germans consolidated a front line running all the way from Belfort on the Swiss frontier to the North Sea.

  Frank Richards recalls the creation of the Western Front by his battalion:

  We moved off at daybreak and relieved some French troops on the further side of the Belgian frontier; two days later we retired back through Fromelles and dug our trenches about four hundred yards this side of that village. Little did we think when we were digging those trenches that we were digging our future homes; but they were the beginnings of the long stretch that soon went all the way from the North Sea to Switzerland and became our homes for the next four years. (19)

  This trench system was not yet a continuous line, and in many places it never became one. Richards records: 'Each platoon dug in on its own, with gaps of about forty yards between each platoon ... We dug those trenches simply for fighting; they were breast high with the front parapet at ground level and in each bay we stood shoulder to shoulder.' (20)

  For a brief moment in mid-October the advantage lay with the Entente powers at the northern end of the line. North of Armentières the British had Rawlinson's IV Corps, two strong, fresh regular divisions, one infantry, one cavalry, with Haig's I Corps coming up to join them, plus two French Territorial divisions and the six divisions of the Belgian Army. Estimates of enemy strength were not complete - and the existence of the Fourth Army as yet unsuspected- but they seemed to have just two corps at Ypres, the III Reserve Corps and the XIX Corps, totalling five divisions. With support from the French and Belgians, surely two BEF corps could overwhelm this German force? Perhaps, if III Corps to the south could get forward and cover their flank.

  Pulteney's next task was to occupy Bailleul and beat off any German attempt at eviction, but on the night of 13/14 October word came that II Corps had been obliged to evacuate Givenchy and would appreciate some assistance. Pulteney decided that the best way to assist II Corps was by pushing on, in step with the cavalry and IV Corps, and enveloping the enemy left in front of Smith-Dorrien's troops. With French's agreement, III Corp
s duly advanced during the afternoon of 14 October and entered Bailleul about 1630 hours. That evening the 19th Infantry Brigade took up a position south-east of the town astride the Bailleul-Armentières road.

  The next BEF task in this push to the east began on 15 October, with an advance to the line of the River Lys by Allenby's Cavalry Corps, tasked to move up to the river between Estaires and Menin. The river line was duly reached but the Germans were found to be in firm possession of the bridges. However, at 1200 hours, French held a conference with Pulteney and Allenby at Hazebrouck and ordered Pulteney to occupy Armentières, clear and if necessary repair the Lys bridges, and push on north and east, towards Lille.

  Orders for this advance were issued on the afternoon of 15 October and the advance began that night when the 6th Division secured bridges over the Lys at Sailly and Bac St Maur against light opposition. Though these bridges and those as yet untaken were still under German fire, Field Marshal French issued orders for a general advance across the Lys and on to north of Lille. His orders encompassed Rawlinson's troops around Ypres, and this general BEF advance was to be supported by an attack east from Ypres by the French and Belgians. At last, or so it appeared, the Allied armies were acting in concert.

  The Field Marshal had found the recent actions and advance of III Corps very gratifying. It appeared that the enemy was falling back steadily before this corps, while only three German divisions were threatening Ypres. This being so, he now intended to move east with all his power, 'attacking the enemy wherever met'. (21) With Foch supporting this move, the chances of a breakthrough in the north had never been better.

  French's orders for this attack were as follows. The Cavalry Corps on the left (north) of III Corps were to cross the Lys between Armentières and Lille and screen the left flank of the advance. III Corps was to move north-east, astride the Lys, and make contact with Rawlinson's troops - now IV Corps - near Ypres. The 7th Division of IV Corps was to move east between Courtrai and Roulers, keeping ahead of III Corps but in contact with the Belgian Army; Field Marshal French was always very careful about his flanks. As for II Corps, Smith-Dorrien was directed to shift its left flank north towards III Corps, a move he was unable to make. Otherwise, the BEF advance was carried out as ordered; led by the cavalry, the BEF began to push east at 0600 hours on 16 October ... and quickly ran into trouble.

  The first problem was the ground. The Lys is a narrow, fairly shallow stream, around 15 metres (50 feet) wide and two metres (seven feet) deep. This created a barrier passable only at the bridges, which had already been destroyed by the enemy. The ground before Armentières was marshy, a mix of small fields and scattered farmhouses, cut about with dykes and streams, fences and hedges, all of which impeded the cavalry. The enemy defending this ground fell back steadily, contesting the BEF advance with artillery and machine-gun fire. The German strongpoints in houses overlooking the Lys bridges could not be reduced by the 13-pounder guns of the cavalry. This task had to wait for the ar­ rival of III Corps' infantry, which was able to force a passage over the Lys by nightfall, but not without loss.

  Rawlinson's IV Corps also made steady progress, reaching a line from Zandvoorde via Gheluvelt t to Zonnebeke, two miles due east of Ypres, and on the crest of the surrounding ridge. There the 7th Division halted and began to dig in, covered by two French Territorial divisions in Ypres and Poperinge and Sir Julian Byng's 3rd Cavalry Division to the north-east of Ypres around Roulers. The German reaction to these early moves created the general impression among the British commanders that the enemy was on the defensive and would fall back farther if pushed hard.

  This hopeful impression did not survive the first day. At around 1600 hours a heavy bombardment was opened on the Anglo­French lines followed by a strong infantry attack on the French positions at Dixmude, north of Ypres. This was beaten off, but German attacks on Dixmude, a point at the junction of the French and Belgian line, continued throughout the night of 16/17 October and petered out only at dawn. Unperturbed by this hold­up, French ordered the BEF advance to continue, and by midday on 17 October III Corps had a brigade of the 4th Division in Armentières and other units of the 6th and 4th Divisions occupied a line from the Bois Grenier, south of Armentières, north to Houplines and Ploegsteert Wood, just inside the Belgian frontier. This advance brought the BEF to positions the British Army would occupy or fight over for the next four years - and which would become the graveyard of the original BEF.

  October 17 was spent consolidating these positions, and by 18 October the BEF was established on a jagged line, circling Ypres to the south, east and north, with the various corps and divisions deployed as follows: II Corps was south of Ypres on a line from Givenchy to Herlies. III Corps, positioned astride the Lys, had the 6th Division screening Armentières, with the 4th Division line running north from Frelinghien to Messines. Here the Cavalry Corps took over the front between Messines and Hollebeke and held it to the east, past Zandvoorde to Kruisecke, where IV Corps took over, facing east, while, running north, the 7th Division held the line from Polygon Wood to Zonnebeke. Here Haig's newly arrived I Corps took over the front, the 2nd Division extending the line north to Langemarck, where the 1st Division of Haig's corps, currently en route from the Aisne, would take over the line as it ran north-west to link up with de Mitry's four-division-strong cavalry corps, the 84th Territorial Division and the Belgians at the Ypres Canal.

  The line now occupied by the BEF ran along the low hills surrounding Ypres, a position that was later to become known as the Ypres salient. These hills, low as they are, at around 75 metres (200 feet), provided the troops holding them with a strong defensive position, good views over the ground to the east and perfect observation over the low country surrounding Ypres; whoever held the salient had the town of Ypres in their gift.

  On 18 October, Field Marshal French issued orders for the renewal of the BEF advance. II Corps were again to move on La Bassée while III Corps were to push along the Lys and IV Corps to capture Menin. The units of I Corps already in position at Ypres were to hold their ground until the rest of Haig's troops arrived, while the French and Belgians, acting in concert with the BEF, would move on Roulers. Plotting these moves on the map, it is clear that French was aiming to swing the Allied line east and south, pivoting on Ypres and rolling up the German line from the north.

  There was, inevitably, a snag. To move east down the Lys valley, III Corps had first to clear the Perenchies Ridge and secure the village of Frelinghien, five kilometres {three miles) east of Armentières, where there was a useful bridge. The attack by Keir's 6th Division went in at 0630 hours on 18 October and quickly ran into stiff opposition on the Perenchies Ridge and in the nearby villages of Premesques and Perenchies. The 6th Division was held up here by heavy fire, but by mid-morning III Corps HQ had convinced itself that there was little opposition in front of the 6th Division and ordered Keir to push on, over the ridge to the Deule stream, driving the enemy before him.

  Keir tried; indeed he and his men kept on trying for most of the day, without success. Losses mounted; the 2nd Yorks and Lancaster Regiment and the 1st Buffs were held up by machine­gun fire and counter-attacked when they went to ground, suffering 174 casualties; on their left, in the 18th Infantry Brigade, the 1st East Yorks and the 2nd Durham Light Infantry lost 175 men, and none of these battalions had made much ground. When night fell, the 6th Division was only two miles east of Armentières and its right-hand battalion from the 17th Infantry Brigade, the 2nd Leinsters, says the Official History, 'had got nearer to Lille than British troops were to be for many a long day'. (22)

  Meanwhile, to the left of the 6th Division, the 4th Division had been tasked to move out of Armentières astride the Lys and capture the village of Frelinghien. This attack was led by Brigadier General Aylmer Haldane's 10th Infantry Brigade supported by the entire divisional artillery. This support proved useful, for it quickly became apparent that Frelinghien was part of the main German defences west of Lille, and the Sixth Army had no int
ention of giving it up. As farther west, the country here was threaded with streams and dotted with barns and farmhouses, each one a German strongpoint. The leading battalions of the 10th Brigade­ the 2nd Seaforths, 1st Royal Irish Fusiliers and 2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers - soon ran into machine guns and a determined, well­entrenched enemy. With a dug-in enemy to its front and right flank, the 4th Division could make little progress; by 2000 hours on 18 October III Corps was ordered to hold any ground already gained and dig in.

  Matters had not gone much better for the Cavalry Corps. The enemy defences to their front proved 'too strong and too well organized' (23) for the forces sent against them, and Rawlinson's IV Corps was equally short of success. Following GHQ's order, to 'advance on Menin', the 7th Division moved out at 0600 hours and, finding no opposition, soon reached a line three kilometres (two miles) to the east and in front of the main German positions covering Menin.

  Here the 7th Division halted. General Capper somehow believed that GHQ did not intend them to advance into Menin that day, and that his division was to take up a defensive position prior to an all-out attack by IV Corps the following day. Further orders arrived at around qoo hours, for the advance to continue into Menin, the 7th Division keeping in line with the French to their left. Unfortunately, by the time this order reached the forward units it was too late to attack again that day and the advance was put off until the following morning. The overall picture on 18 October is of the BEF attacking strongly, but making little progress.