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Military Operations
France and Belgium, 1914
Mons,
the Retreat to the Seine, The Marne and The Aisne,
August-October 1914
Compiled by
Brigadier-General Sir
James E. Edmonds
C.B., C.M.G., R.E. (Retired), p.s.c.
Maps and sketches compiled by Major A. F. Becke
R.A. (Retired), Hon. M.A.
(Oxon.)
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This is a 1980s reprint of the
first volume of the British Official History
“[Covering] . . . the Battle of Mons and Le Cateau,
the long retreat of the allied armies throughout
August 1914, the crisis of the Marne, and the recoil
of the German forces to the Aisne. The author served
with the 4th division in the early days of the
retreat from Mons: personal recollections combine
with official and unofficial papers from British,
German and French sources to form an unparalleled
and definitive account of one of the crucial periods
of European History.”
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Front cover and spine
Further images of this book are
shown below
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Publisher and place of
publication |
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Dimensions in inches (to
the nearest quarter-inch) |
Woking, Surrey: Shearer Publications |
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5½ inches wide x 8¾ inches tall |
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Edition |
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Length |
Undated but circa 1985, this is a reprint of
the revised third edition originally published in 1935 |
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[xxix] + 592 pages |
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Condition of covers |
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Internal condition |
Original red cloth blocked in gilt on the
spine. The covers are rubbed and a little dull, with a small horizontal
scratch on the centre edge of front cover, but still reasonably fresh having
been protected by the dust-jacket. The spine ends and corners are bumped; in
particular, there is a heavy bumped at the head of the front spine gutter.
There are some indentations along the edges of the boards. |
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Despite only being printed in the mid-1980s
the paper has tanned noticeably with age, particularly in the margins.
Otherwise, the text is clean throughout. The edge of the text block is
dust-stained and lightly foxed, especially the top edge. There is some play
in the inner hinges. |
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Dust-jacket present? |
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Other
comments |
Yes: however, the dust-jacket is chipped and
creased with a large number of tears, the worst being along the top edge and
especially around the head of the rear spine gutter. There is also a hole in
the front spine gutter and a jagged tear on the front top edge. The images
below give a good indication of the current worn and damaged state of the
dust-jacket. |
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There is some
pronounced tanning to the paper, but this is otherwise a clean example of
the 1980s reprint of Volume I, though in a badly torn and damaged
dust-jacket. |
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Illustrations,
maps, etc |
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Contents |
No Illustrations are called for; please see below
for a list of Maps |
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Please see below for details |
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Post & shipping
information |
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Payment options |
The packed weight is approximately
1000 grams.
Full shipping/postage information is
provided in a panel
at the end of this listing.
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International buyers: credit card
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Full payment information is provided in a
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France and Belgium, 1914
Mons, the Retreat to
the Seine, The Marne
and The Aisne, August-October 1914
Contents
INTRODUCTION
The Armies of the Western Allied Forces
:
Great
Britain
France
Belgium
Germany
Chapter I
The Outbreak of War
Progress of Events The British Entry into France
Notes :
I. Alleged German Troop Movements before Mobilization
II. The Schlieffen Plan
Chapter II
22nd August 1914 :
First
Contact with the Enemy
Note
: German Uncertainty as to the Position of the B.E.F.
Chapter III
The Battle of Mons, 23rd August
Note : The German Account of
Mons
Chapter IV
The Retreat from Mons and Action
of Elouges, 24th August
Notes :
I. German Movements on the 24th August
II. Operations of the French Troops on the British Left,
20th-24th August
Chapter V
The Retreat from Mons
(continued), 25th August
Notes
:
I. Movements of the German First and Second Armies,
23rd-25th August .
II. Movements of General Valabregue's Group of Reserve
divisions, on British Right, 21st-25th August
Chapter VI
The Retreat from Mons
(continued), Evening and Night of 25th/26th August :
Maroilles and Landrecies ; Solesmes
Notes
:
I. Movements of the German First Army on 25th August
II. First Belgian Sortie from Antwerp, 24th, 25th 26th
August
Chapter VII
The Battle of Le Cateau, 26th
August. Dawn till Noon
Note
: German Plans for the 26th August
Chapter VIII
The Battle of Le Cateau, 26th
August (continued). Noon to 5 p.m.
Chapter IX
The Close of the Battle of Le
Cateau, 26th August. 5 p.m. to Nightfall
The
Retreat from the Battlefield
The I. Corps on the 26th August
Notes
:
I. German Accounts of Le Cateau
II. General d'Amade's Force on the British Left, 26th August
Chapter X
The Retreat (continued),
27th-28th August :
Smith-Dorrien's Force
Haig's I. Corps .
General Situation, Night 28th/29th August.
Notes
:
I. Movements of the German First and Second Armies after Le
Cateau .
II. Movements of the French Fifth Army from Charleroi to
Guise .
III. General Joffre's Congratulatory Telegram
IV. British Losses, 23rd-27th August
Chapter XI
The Retreat (continued),
29th-31st August :
29th
August
30th August
31st August
Notes
:
I. Movements of the German First and Second Armies,
29th-31st August .
II. The Battle of Guise, 29th-30th August
Chapter XII
The Retreat (continued), 1st
September :
The
Fight at Nery
The Rear-guard Action of Crepy en Valois
The Rear-guard Actions of Villers Cotterets
Notes
:
I. German Movements on 1st September
II. The Army of Paris
Chapter XIII
The Last Stages of the Retreat,
2nd-5th September
Notes
:
I. Operations of the German First and Second Armies, 2nd-5th
September
II. The Genesis of the Battle of the Marne
Chapter XIV
The Battle of the Marne :
6th
September : The Return to the Offensive
The French on the 6th September
Notes
:
I. The German Right Wing on the 6th September
II. The Despatch of General Joffre's Order for the Battle of
the Marne
Chapter XV
The Battle of the Marne
(continued):
7th
September : The March to the Grand Morin
The French on the 7th September
Note
: The German Right Wing on the 7th September
Chapter XVI
The Battle of the Marne
(continued):
8th
September : The Forcing of the Petit Morin
The French on the 8th September .
Note
: The German Right Wing on the 8th September
Chapter XVII
The Battle of the Marne
(concluded) :
9th
September: The Passage of the Marne and the Retreat of
the Germans
The French on the 9th September .
Notes
:
I. The German Right Wing on the 9th September
II. The Second Belgian Sortie from Antwerp, 9th-13th
September
Chapter XVIII
The Pursuit to the Aisne,
10th-12th September :
10th
September
The French on the 10th September
11th September : The Incline to the North-East
The French on the 11th September
12th September : The Advance to the Aisne
The French on the 12th September
Note
: The German Retirement from the Battle of the Marne
Chapter XIX
The Battle of the Aisne, 13th
September :
The
Passage of the Aisne
The French on the 13th September
Note
: The 13th September on the German Side
Chapter XX
The Battle of the Aisne
(continued):
14th
September : The Fight for the Chemin des Dames
The French on the 14th September
15th September : The Deadlock
The French on the 15th September
Note
: The 14th-15th September on the German Side
Chapter XXI
Last Days on the Aisne :
General
Situation
Operations on the Aisne
Note
: The German Strategy during the Battle of the Aisne
Chapter XXII
The " Race to the Sea " and the
Transfer of the B.E.F. to Flanders
GENERAL INDEX.
INDEX TO ARMS, FORMATIONS AND UNITS .
TABLE OF APPENDICES
1. Order of Battle of the British Expeditionary Force, August and
September 1914
2. Notes on the organization of some of the principal formations and
units of the British Expeditionary Force in 1914
3. Order of Battle of the French Armies in August 1914
4. Notes on the organization of some of the principal French
formations and units in 1914
5. Order of Battle of the Belgian Army in August 1914
6. Order of Battle of the German Armies in August 1914
7. Notes on the organization of some of the principal German
formations and units in 1914
8. Instructions to Sir John French from Earl Kitchener, August 1914
9. The French plan of campaign, Plan 17 (translation)
10. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 5, 1 p.m. 20th August 1914
(with march table and allotment of Army troops)
11. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 6, 11.55 p.m. 21st August
1914
12. Sir John French's supplementary instruction to Cavalry Division,
11.35 p.m. 21st August 1914
13. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 7, 8.25 p.m. 24th August
1914
14. Sir John French's Operation 25th August 1914
15. 4th Division Operation Order 1914
16. II. Corps Operation Order No 1914
17. Sir John French's Operation 27th August 1914
18. Sir John French's Operation 28th August 1914
19. Sir John French's Operation August 1914
20. Sir John French's Operation 30th August 1914
21. Sir John French's Operation 31st August 1914
22. G.H.Q. messages to I. Corps anticipating and confirming order to
retire, 1st September 1914 : Order No. 8, 7.30 p.m. No. 1, 5 p.m.
25th August 6, 10.15 p.m. 25th August Order No. 9, 8.30 p.m. Order
No. 10, 11.30 p.m. Order No. 11, 9 p.m. 29th Order No. 12, 5.15 p.m.
Order No. 13, 8.50 p.m.
23. Correspondence with regard to halting on the Marne and the
retreat behind the Seine (translation)
24. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 14, 7.30 p.m. 2nd
September 1914 .
25. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 15, 11.50 p.m. 3rd
September 1914
26. Le General Commandant en Chef au Field Marechal Sir John French,
Commandant en Chef les forces Britanniques, 4th September 1914
27. Letter of Sir John French to Earl Kitchener, 7th September 1914
28. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 16, 6.35 p.m. 4th
September 1914
29. Table giving length of daily marches (in miles) from 20th August
to 5th September (both inclusive)
30. General Joffre's Instruction for the battle of the Marne
(translation)
31. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 17, 5.15 p.m. 5th
September 1914
32. Cavalry Division Operation Order No. 11, 5th September 1914
(with march table)
33. I. Corps Operation Order No. 10, 5th September 1914
34. II. Corps Operation Order No. 15, 5th September 1914
35. III. Corps Operation Order No. 7, 5th September 1914
36. Sir John French's Special Order of the Day, 6th September 1914
37. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 18, 9 p.m. 7th September
1914
38. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 19, 7.30 p.m. 8th
September 1914
39. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 20, 8.15 p.m. 9th
September 1914
40. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 21, 8.15 p.m. 10th
September 1914
41. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 22, 6 p.m. 11th September
1914
42. General Joffre's Special Instruction No. 23 of 12th September
1914
43. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 23, 7.45 p.m. 12th
September 1914
44. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 24, 6 p.m. 13th September
1914
45. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 25, 14th September 1914
46. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 26, 8.30 p m 15th
September 1914
47. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 27, 8.30 p. 16th September
1914
48. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 28, 3 p.m. 1 October 1914
49. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 29, 11 a.m. 21 October
1914
50. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 30, 8 a.m. 4 October 1914
51. Sir John French's Operation Order No. 31, 8.30 a. 5th October
1914
SKETCHES AND MAPS
The Retreat from Mons
General Theatre of Operations (Western Front)
Concentration of the Armies (Western Front)
Operations 4th-22nd August (German Armies in Belgium)
Operations of B.E.F., 23rd-28th August
The Eve of Mons, 22nd August
The Eve of Le Cateau, 25th August
Le Cateau, 26th August
The Battle of Guise, 29th August
Operations, 28th August-5th September (Retreat of B.E.F.)
The German Advance, 17th August-5th Sept.
1st September 1914
The Marne, 5th September
General Joffre's Projects for the Counter Offensive
Operations, 6th-13th September (Advance of B.E.F.)
The Marne, 6th September
The Marne, 7th September
8th September. Situation as known German G.H.Q.
The Crisis, 9th September, crosses the Marne
The B.E.F
The Marne. The German Retreat
The Aisne, 14th September
The Aisne, 20th September
The Extension of the Battle Line north' wards, 15th September-8th
October
The Advance to the Aisne
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France and Belgium, 1914
Mons, the Retreat to
the Seine, The Marne
and The Aisne, August-October 1914
Preface to the Revised Third
Edition of 1935
Since the original edition was
compiled in 1920-21, the battlefields of 1914 have been visited by
many parties of British officers, and much interesting information
has been elicited on the ground. The volumes of the French and
German official histories dealing with the period, besides numerous
regimental histories, French, German and British, have been issued.1
It was therefore thought desirable to carry out a thorough revision
of the text, particularly as the portions of the original dealing
with the French and German forces had been pieced together from
various unofficial books, and were by no means complete. The maps
and sketches have been revised accordingly, and some new ones added,
notably a layered map of the Marne battlefield. No such revision of
the other published volumes of the history will be necessary.
The opportunity has been taken to give in greater detail the
information obtained during open warfare by the Royal Flying Corps ;
for in the first volume of the official history " The War in the
Air," the late Sir Walter Raleigh did not include sufficient for the
purposes of military study. Further particulars also have been given
of the destruction of bridges during the retreat: the work of
collecting information from survivors was undertaken by
Major-General Sir Reginald Buckland, Chief Engineer of the Fourth
Army of the B.E.F., and occupied him two years—which gives some idea
of the labour involved in this kind of work. A summary of his
investigations was published in the Journal of the Royal Engineers.
J. E. E.
August 1933.
Preface to the First Edition
of 1933
This history has been compiled with
the purpose of providing within reasonable compass an authoritative
account, suitable for general readers and for students at military
schools, of the operations of the British Army in the Western
theatre of war in 1914-1918. It is based on the British official
records.
The present volume covers events from mobilization up to the middle
of October 1914 only, a period of two and a half months, and is on a
scale which to a large extent treats the battalion, squadron and
battery records as the basis of the story. In succeeding volumes it
will not be possible or desirable to adhere to this, and
successively the brigade, division and even corps may become the
unit of narrative. For this volume the scale adopted seems
appropriate, in view of the importance of small units in the early
operations, of the lessons to be derived from the study of the work
of these units in open warfare, and of the desirability of leaving a
picture of what war was like in 1914, when trained soldiers were
still of greater importance than material, and gas, tanks,
long-range guns, creeping barrages and the participation of aircraft
in ground fighting were unknown.
The mass of documents to be dealt with was very great, and the
difficulty has been not in obtaining information, but in compressing
and cutting down what was available. The British records comprise
not only the war diaries of every staff and unit engaged, with their
voluminous appendices containing all orders, intelligence, etc.,
received and issued, and detailed reports of actions, but they
include also the General Headquarters files, the
Commander-in-Chief's diary, and practically every telegram and
message despatched and received. These official documents have been
supplemented by private diaries and papers which have been kindly
lent, by regimental records, and by interviews with officers who
took part in the operations.
On a modern battlefield, however, knowledge of events is
extraordinarily local, and the transmission of information
difficult; in addition important witnesses only too often become
casualties. Though written orders and messages are absolutely
reliable evidence of the matters with which they deal, war diaries
and reports of actions, written up immediately after events, are
liable to contain mistakes. Commanders and staffs are naturally more
concerned in finding out and reporting the exact situation and
condition of their troops and of the enemy, in sending up
reinforcements, ammunition and supplies, and recording experience
for future use than in the collection of historical matter. In fact,
even officers well known to be specially interested in military
history have confessed that during the war the idea of collecting or
keeping material for its future historian never occurred to them.
Many incidents deserving of record may therefore have escaped
notice. It will greatly assist in the compilation of monographs or
of a fuller official history in years to come, if readers who can
supply further information or corrections will communicate with the
Secretary of the Historical Section, Committee of Imperial Defence,
2 Whitehall Gardens, London, S.W.1.
The text and maps now presented are the result of the co-operative
labours of the staff, past and present, of the Historical Section,
Military Branch, which, in collaboration with the Disposal of
Records Department, War Office, is also charged with the sorting and
arrangement of the records dealing with operations overseas. This
latter part of its work absorbed most of its energy and time until
well on into 1921. The Branch did not obtain a permanent home until
October 1919 ; thus a large amount of important material did not
become available until it was unpacked and sorted after this date,
and it was then found necessary to re-write an account of the
initial operations already partly drafted.
The British Expeditionary Force in France in 1914 was not acting
independently, and formed only a small part of the Allied Armies
engaged ; it has therefore been necessary to include an account of
the action of the French and Belgian forces sufficient to provide a
proper framework for the British operations. As regards the Belgian
Army, ample material for this purpose has been published by the
Belgian General Staff. The French General Staff has not yet issued
any history, but much information with regard to the French plans
and operations has already been made public : officially in the
reports of Parliamentary Enquiries, semi-officially by historians
like M. Hanotaux, M. Engerand, M. Madelin and General Palat (Pierre
Lehautcourt), and in the form of reminiscences and memoirs by actual
participants, such as Generals Lanrezac, Gallieni, Dubail and Mangin.
It was not, therefore, thought necessary to trouble the French
General Staff except as regards the incident of the assistance
rendered by General Sordet's Cavalry Corps at the battle of Le
Cateau, when a copy of the war diary of the troops concerned was
very courteously furnished. With this exception, it must be
understood that for the French operations the only absolutely
authoritative statements quoted are the orders, instructions,
intelligence reports, etc., received officially by G.H.Q. from the
French Grand Quartier General.
The published German accounts of the early part of the war are very
numerous, and they deal both with the decisions and orders of the
higher commanders and the operations of many corps and even smaller
fighting units. The most notable are the books of the three Army
commanders, von Kluck, von Bulow and von Hausen, the General Staff
monographs "Luttich-Namur " and "Mons," the official list of battles
and engagements, with the names of the formations, etc., present,
entitled " Schlachten und Gefechte," and the stories of participants
like General von Zwehl, General von Kuhl, Hauptmann Bloem (the
novelist) and Hofprediger Vogel.1 It was originally intended to give
the accounts derived from German sources in the form of notes at the
end of each Chapter; but, after consideration, it was decided that
such an arrangement might prove inconvenient, and that it was better
as a general rule to include them in the body of the Chapters, as
close as possible to the events in the British narrative to which
they refer. This arrangement, in view of the difference of the
character of the material, has naturally caused breaks in the style
and scope of the story, but it makes the comparison of the two
accounts easier.
General Freiherr Mertz von Quirheim, the Director of the German
Beichsarchiv, Berlin, which has custody of the war records, has been
good enough to furnish material in order to clear up a few points on
which there seemed insufficient information. As separate histories
of the Royal Air Force and the Medical Services are being compiled,
a detailed account of their work has not been included in the
narrative.
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France and Belgium, 1914
Mons, the Retreat to
the Seine, The Marne
and The Aisne, August-October 1914
Excerpt:
The Battle of
Le Cateau, 26th August (continued): Noon to 5pm
Shortly after noon the situation of
the Suffolk and of the batteries supporting them, on the right of
the line, became serious under the German enfilade fire. The 108th
Heavy Battery, in action well behind the right flank, had silenced
one troublesome group of guns near Croix; but, despite this piece of
good shooting, the hostile artillery still far outmatched the
British. (Apparently the greater part of the artillery of the German
5th and 7th Divisions was in action against the 5th Division. "" F.A.
Regt. No. 18 " (5th Division), p. 21, states that the division
deployed for action about 11 A.M. and one of its artillery brigades
," had to be given up to the IV. Corps, which was engaged in a hard
fight, whilst one battery of the other brigade was attached to the
6th Division. The regimental commander was wounded. ," Regt. No. 26
(7th Division), pp. 57-8, gives the interesting information that the
artillery of the 5th Division about 12.25 P.M. fired on one of its
own battalions and on other infantry of the IV. Corps because ,"
troops of the III. Corps put up artillery screens, painted
black-white-red , on the rear side in order to make clear their
position to the artillery. As our corps did not show their screens,
the III. Corps artillery believed it had the enemy in front of it.
The fire received was " heavy and loss, bringing." The regiment was
also fired on by its own corps artillery, which did not suppose the
attackers had got so far forward.") Reserves there were none, except
the four battalions of the 19th Brigade ; of these the Cameronians
and Royal Welch Fusiliers, in view of the enemy's movement on Ligny,
had at 10 A.M. been moved away westwards to Montigny, behind the
left flank of the II. Corps ; a part of the Argyll and Sutherland
Highlanders had already been thrown into the fight ; and only the
remainder of this battalion, together with the 1/Middlesex, was
available on the right. By the orders of Major-General L. G.
Drummond, commanding the brigade, two half-companies of the Argylls,
with the battalion machine guns, were now sent up the track which
ran over the ridge to the right rear of the Suffolk ; and the
l/Middlesex moved forward into position upon the right of the
Highlanders. The only reassuring feature in the situation of the 5th
Division was that the Germans were not pushing their way up the
valley of the Selle past the right flank of the 14th Brigade with
the rapidity and vigour that might have been expected. Whether the
German III. Corps had been slow in following its advanced troops,
or, as it came upon the field, had been diverted from Le Cateau
westward, in support of the frontal attack on the 14th and 13th
Brigades, was unknown. In any case, the detachment of the Argyll and
Sutherland Highlanders, seeing no German troops in the valley,
turned its machine guns at long range on to the ridge east of Le
Cateau. This drew the fire of the German artillery, which put both
the machine guns out of action. But, at the moment, the danger lay
not in the east but in the north. About noon, General Smith-Dorrien
again visited 5th Division headquarters, and discussed with Sir
Charles Fergusson the question of holding on or retiring. As the
Germans were so near, it was thought that a counter-attack would be
necessary to disengage, and the decision to retire was, temporarily,
postponed.
Shortly before 1 P.M., Sir Charles
Fergusson from his lookout in Reumont village could see that the
right of his division was shaken and might shortly give way, and he
reported in that sense to corps headquarters. A little later he
added that a German division (This was thought to be the head of the
5th Division of the III. Corps, but must have been the 165th
Regiment of the 7th Division (in the same brigade as the 27th). This
regiment went over the high ground east of Le Cateau, deployed south
of the Le Cateau-Maubeuge railway and then, about 4 P.M., turned
towards Honnechy, which it reached as the last British were leaving
the village.) was working round his right from Bazuel. Finally at
1.20 P.M. he suggested that unless material assistance could be sent
to him he had better begin retiring. It seems to have been about
this time, during a lull in the German fire, that the teams of the
11th Battery came up to the guns, and got five of them away, that of
the sixth being shot down. The teams of the 80th and 37th Batteries
also came forward, and brought away five of the guns and four of the
howitzers ; another howitzer as will be seen was recovered later on.
But these three batteries were saved at the cost of the teams of the
52nd, whose guns had consequently to be abandoned. The gunners of
this battery were ordered to retire, but a few remained and managed
to keep one gun in action. Somewhat later, the teams of the 122nd
Battery galloped up through the line of the West Kent, in brigade
reserve, who stood up and cheered them loudly as they dashed between
their trenches and onward down the slope towards their guns. As they
came within view of the enemy, they were struck by a hurricane of
shrapnel and of bullets from the machine guns in the Cambrai road ;
but still they went on. The officer in charge of the teams was
killed, and one team shot down in a heap before the position was
reached ; but two guns of the 122nd Battery were carried off without
mishap. A third was 1imbered up, but the horses went down instantly.
It was an extraordinary sight : a short wild scene of galloping and
falling horses, and then four guns standing derelict, a few 1imbers
lying about, one on the skyline with its pole vertical, and dead men
and dead horses everywhere. It was then decided to abandon the
remaining guns, as also those of the 124th and 123rd Batteries,
which were in an even more exposed position, the breech-blocks being
first removed and the sights smashed. Altogether, twenty-four field
guns and a howitzer were lost in this part of the field ;
considering that the batteries were practically in the firing line,
it is astonishing that any were rescued ; the feat redounds to the
eternal honour of the officers and men of the 5th Division
artillery.
It was now about 2
P.M. At 1.40 P.M., in response to the 1.20 P.M. message, General
Smith-Dorrien had placed his two remaining battalions, the
Cameronians and the Royal Welch Fusiliers, at Sir Charles
Fergusson's disposal, ordering them to move from Montigny to Bertry,
and asking him to hold his ground at any rate a little longer, so as
to allow the preliminary movements of the retirement to take effect;
he was to begin the withdrawal of the 5th Division as soon as he
should think fit : after which the 3rd and 4th Divisions were to
follow in succession. General Smith-Dorrien had already summoned to
his headquarters the G.S.O.1 of the 4th Division-to which he was,
about midday, connected by signal cable-to receive orders. These
were to the same effect as those given to the 5th Division. Roads
were allotted for the retirement to the north-west of St. Quentin,
when it should take place, as follows :
To the 5th Division
and 19th Brigade :
(1) via
Bertry-Maretz, and thence the Roman road to Vermand ;
(2) via Reumont -
Maurois - Busigny - Bohain - Brancourt - Joncourt - Bellenglise.
To the 3rd
Division, via Montigny - Clary - Elincourt - Malincourt (east of the
Church) - Beaurevoir - Gouy - Bony - Hargicourt - Jeancourt.
To the 4th
Division, via Selvigny - Malincourt (west of the Church) -
Aubeneheul - Ronssoy - Templeux - Roisel.
To the Cavalry, any
roads west of the 4th Division.
The pressure upon
the British line immediately west of Le Cateau now became severe,
and it seemed clear that the Germans were preparing for a great
effort. Before the teams of the 122nd Battery advanced, three
platoons of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders had twice made
gallant attempts to reach the trenches of the Suffolk, but had been
beaten back with severe loss by artillery and machine-gun fire. They
rallied under the protection of the 59th Field Company R.E., which
gave up its trenches to them and lay down in the open. So intense,
in fact, was the machine-gun fire upon the whole ridge to the rear
of the Suffolk that the Highlanders had to abandon the line which
they had taken up, and move further down the slope towards the
valley of the Selle. Meanwhile, the German battalions were steadily
gaining ground; in fact, as the last gun team of the 5th Division
artillery was driving off, as described above, they were only four
hundred yards from it, and were only kept back for a time by a party
of the Manchester, which, with the machine-gun detachment, offered
so stout a resistance as to gain a few minutes' respite. During this
brief interval, Captain D. Reynolds of the 37th Battery, having
obtained permission to call for volunteers, came galloping down with
teams to rescue the two howitzers which had been left on the ground.
The German infantry
was then within two hundred yards, yet by the gallantry and devotion
of this little party both howitzers were limbered up; and though one
team was shot down before it could move, the other galloped off with
its howitzer and brought it safely away.
This episode was
the last gleam of light upon this gloomy corner of the field. (It
gained the Victoria Cross for Captain Reynolds and for Drivers Luke
and Drain. Captain Reynolds was killed by gas near Ypres, 1916.)
Between2.30and2.45 P.M. the end came. The Germans had by this time
accumulated an overwhelming force in the shelter of the Cambrai
road, and they now fell upon the Suffolk and Manchester from the
front, right flank and right rear. The turning movement, however,
did not at once make itself felt, and the two battalions and the
Argylls with them opened rapid fire to their front with terrific
effect, two officers of the Highlanders, in particular, bringing
down man after man and counting their scores aloud as if at a
competition. The Germans kept sounding the British " Cease fire "
and gesticulating to persuade the men to surrender, but in vain. At
length a rush of the enemy from the rear bore down all resistance.
The Suffolk and Manchester and their Highland comrades were
overwhelmed. They had for nine hours been under an incessant
bombardment, and they had fought to the very last, covering
themselves with undying glory . . .
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Please note: to avoid opening the book out, with the
risk of damaging the spine, some of the pages were slightly raised on the
inner edge when being scanned, which has resulted in some blurring to the
text and a
shadow on the inside edge of the final images. Colour reproduction is shown
as accurately as possible but please be aware that some colours
are difficult to scan and may result in a slight variation from
the colour shown below to the actual colour.
In line with eBay guidelines on picture sizes, some of the illustrations may
be shown enlarged for greater detail and clarity.
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U.K. buyers:
To estimate the
“packed
weight” each book is first weighed and then
an additional amount of 150 grams is added to allow for the packaging
material (all
books are securely wrapped and posted in a cardboard book-mailer).
The weight of the book and packaging is then rounded up to the
nearest hundred grams to arrive at the postage figure. I make no charge for packaging materials and
do not seek to profit
from postage and packaging. Postage can be combined for multiple purchases. |
Packed weight of this item : approximately 1000 grams
Postage and payment options to U.K. addresses: |
-
Details of the various postage options can be obtained by selecting
the “Postage and payments” option at the head of this
listing (above).
-
Payment can be made by: debit card, credit
card (Visa or MasterCard, but not Amex), cheque (payable to
"G Miller", please), or PayPal.
-
Please contact me with name,
address and payment details within seven days of the end of the
listing;
otherwise I reserve the right to cancel the sale and re-list the item.
-
Finally, this should be an
enjoyable experience for both the buyer and seller and I hope
you will find me very easy to deal with. If you have a question
or query about any aspect (postage, payment, delivery options
and so on), please do not hesitate to contact me.
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International
buyers:
To estimate the
“packed
weight” each book is first weighed and then
an additional amount of 150 grams is added to allow for the packaging
material (all
books are securely wrapped and posted in a cardboard book-mailer).
The weight of the book and packaging is then rounded up to the
nearest hundred grams to arrive at the shipping figure.
I make no charge for packaging materials and do not
seek to profit
from shipping and handling.
Shipping can
usually be combined for multiple purchases
(to a
maximum
of 5 kilograms in any one parcel with the exception of Canada, where
the limit is 2 kilograms). |
Packed weight of this item : approximately 1000 grams
International Shipping options: |
Details of the postage options
to various countries (via Air Mail) can be obtained by selecting
the “Postage and payments” option at the head of this listing
(above) and then selecting your country of residence from the drop-down
list. For destinations not shown or other requirements, please contact me before buying.
Due to the
extreme length of time now taken for deliveries, surface mail is no longer
a viable option and I am unable to offer it even in the case of heavy items.
I am afraid that I cannot make any exceptions to this rule.
Payment options for international buyers: |
-
Payment can be made by: credit card (Visa
or MasterCard, but not Amex) or PayPal. I can also accept a cheque in GBP [British
Pounds Sterling] but only if drawn on a major British bank.
-
Regretfully, due to extremely
high conversion charges, I CANNOT accept foreign currency : all payments
must be made in GBP [British Pounds Sterling]. This can be accomplished easily
using a credit card, which I am able to accept as I have a separate,
well-established business, or PayPal.
-
Please contact me with your name and address and payment details within
seven days of the end of the listing; otherwise I reserve the right to
cancel the sale and re-list the item.
-
Finally, this should be an enjoyable experience for
both the buyer and seller and I hope you will find me very easy to deal
with. If you have a question or query about any aspect (shipping,
payment, delivery options and so on), please do not hesitate to contact
me.
Prospective international
buyers should ensure that they are able to provide credit card details or
pay by PayPal within 7 days from the end of the listing (or inform me that
they will be sending a cheque in GBP drawn on a major British bank). Thank you.
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(please note that the
book shown is for illustrative purposes only and forms no part of this
listing)
Book dimensions are given in
inches, to the nearest quarter-inch, in the format width x height.
Please
note that, to differentiate them from soft-covers and paperbacks, modern
hardbacks are still invariably described as being ‘cloth’ when they are, in
fact, predominantly bound in paper-covered boards pressed to resemble cloth. |
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Fine Books for Fine Minds |
I value your custom (and my
feedback rating) but I am also a bibliophile : I want books to arrive in the
same condition in which they were dispatched. For this reason, all books are
securely wrapped in tissue and a protective covering and are
then posted in a cardboard container. If any book is
significantly not as
described, I will offer a full refund. Unless the
size of the book precludes this, hardback books with a dust-jacket are
usually provided with a clear film protective cover, while
hardback books without a dust-jacket are usually provided with a rigid clear cover.
The Royal Mail, in my experience, offers an excellent service, but things
can occasionally go wrong.
However, I believe it is my responsibility to guarantee delivery.
If any book is lost or damaged in transit, I will offer a full refund.
Thank you for looking.
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Please also
view my other listings for
a range of interesting books
and feel free to contact me if you require any additional information
Design and content © Geoffrey Miller |
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