The Advance on Ypres
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CHAPTER XLVIII. THE ADVANCE ON YPRES THE PLAN OF THE ALLIED ADVANCE- THE FRENOH CAVAI,RY GROSS .THE LYS-THE ATTACK ON THE ,GERMAN LINE BETWEEN ESTAIRES AND LA BASSEE-THE FIELD OF BATTLE-THE BATTLE OF LA BASS~E-THE FALL' OF LILLE- THE MOVEMENT 0 :" YPRES- AcTIONS OF METEREN AND MONT-DES-CATS-OCCUPATION OF YPRES, BAILLEUL, AND ARMENTTERES-ATTEMPT TO CROSS THE LyS NEAR MENIN-END OF THE ALLIED OFFENSIVE. HILE the Belgian Army was with banks of the Upper Lys. The comparatively drawing to the banks of the Yser small Allied forces north of the Lys were, W and the British IV. Corps (Sir therefore, fully employed, and the only Henry Rawlinson's) was protect hope fQr Lille lay in the now rapidly ing the flank of the retiring divisions by occu- approaching Il., Ill. and Cavalry Corps of the pying the country between Bruges and Ypres, British Expeditionary Force coming from the . the third attempt of General J ofire to turn the Aisne. right wing of the main German army was in It will be remembered that on the 8th General progress. Lille, the importance of which to the Foch had arranged at Doullens with Sir John French was explained in Chapter XL VI., French that Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien with the p. 479, had been bombarded on October 10. Il. Corps should arrive on the line Aire As detachments of Germans had passed west Bethune by the 11th. This corps was to ward between this town and the Lys and were prolong Maud'huy's Army to ' the north and, to the north of the St. Omer-Aire-Bethune-La pivoting on the French position to the west of Bassee-Lille Canal in the vicinity of Merville, La Bassee, attack in, flank the German troops and as the right wing of the army opposing stationed there. The Cavalry Corps tmder Maud' huy extended to La Bassee, Lille ran the General Allenby, of which the 2nd Division risk of being completely isolated and its garrison (General Gough' s) had marched from Com of French Territorials captured. To obviate piegne on October 3, was, with General this disaster the offensive had promptly to be Conneau's Cavalry Corps, to protect Sir Horace resumed. It had been brought to a standstill Smith-Dorrien's left flank from the attack of after Maud'huy's unsuccessful advance through the Geqnans north and south of the Lys. Arras. "Vhen the Ill. Corps (General Pulteney's) had For a renewed offensive there were available detrained at St. Omer, north of the Lys, which on the 9th the skeleton army of General d'Urbal would not be till the 12th, Allenby-but not based on Dunkirk and the British 7th Infantry Conneau-was to move to Pulteney's left Division and 3rd Cavalry Division round wing, General d'Urbal's 87th and 89th Ten'l Bruges. Ypres was in the hands of the Ger torial Divisions under Genery Bidon, to be mans and the latter were operating on both supported later by four French Cavalry Divisio~s 15 16 THE TIMES HISTORY OF THE WAR. l.mder General de Mitry, the British Cavalry fOl't.re::;.·cs, and the s uppression of recruit in g in France for twenty.Ave years. Corps and the Ill. Corps were to sweep the 5. An a lli an ce with GeJ'rnan~ ' Il~ai n s t Great Britain Germans east of the line Dixmude-Ypres ~md Russia, and a commerciru trea,ty with Gernlany Conunes and effect a jlmction with the British for twenty-five years. l Jnrier t he CO llllll e- rcia l tr ~aty , German merchandise was to enter Fran ce free of dut,y, IV. Corps (Sir Hem'y Rawlinson's) and t.he and French patent fees ,\'ere not to Le pa,vable by Belgian Army. Into Dix~nude were to be Germans. thrown a body of :B rench Marines under R ear ' Vhether .M. Clmnenceau were ill-informed or Admiral Rornarc'h; into Nieuport, at the not as to Count B ernstorff's statements, there m.outh of the Yser, a division of Fren ch troops could be little doubt that if the Allies were commanded by General Grossetti. defeated and France conquered, a treaty on Obviously, this plan for the employment of some such lines as the above would be imposed the British Expeditionary Force--mimts the on the French. " France," had written General 1. Corps (Sir Douglas Haig's), which it was Bernllardi, "must be so completely crushed calculated would not reach St. Omer till about that she can never again cross our path." October 19-contemplated, besides the saving On October 9, 2,000 French Dragoons froHl of Lille, the probability that the Germans north Aire were ordered by General Conneau to dis of the Lys might make a rush for Calais and lodge the German cavalry lining the south bank Dunkirk or endeavour to envelop and destroy of the Lys from Merville to Estaires. The the British IV. Corps and the Belgian Army crossings at those places were covered by retiring behind 'it. Otherwise the _ Corps of machine guns, and after sunset they were· Allenby and Pulteney would have remained illuminated by searchlights. The French corll south of the Lys, and supported Smith-Dorrien mander assembled his men on the nort.h bank in his advance on Lille. at a point west of Merville where the current. Foch's decision to leave Smith-Dorrien with was very swift and the water deep. The Ger Maud'huy to save, if they could, Lille, was a mans had regarded the river as unfordable at wise one. The misty weather had hampered this point, but a trooper who was a good aerial reconnaissance, and the numbers of the swin~er stripped and, pulling after hin'! a. Germans north of t.he Lys could only be guessed. liO'ht line swam to the right bank. The line V\T eighed against the preservation of the Belgian a: the ot~er end was tied to a heavy rope and Army, of Rawlinson's Corps, the forces of when the dripping soldier stepped out of the d'Urbal, oi. Calais and Dunkirk, the safety of water he hauled the rope across and fastened Lille and its garrison had to be subordinated to it securely to the trUIlk of a tree. The other the major interests of France and the Allies. end was similarly secured and, assisted by the The stakes were too tremendous for senti rope, the men on horseback filed one by one Inen1Jal reasons connected with Lille to affect across the river during the night. At daybreak Joffre and Foch. Nearly the whole of B elgiUIn (October 10) t h e whole force had passed safely had been overrun by the Germans and, accord and the hostile horsemen retired in the direction ing to M. Clemenceau, Count Bernstorff, the of Estaires. * German Ambassador at Washington, had de The character of the fighting m \vhich clared that t.he only conditions of peace which Conneau 's Cavalry was engaged was ,veIl the Kaiser would grant. to France were: 1 The cession to Germany of all the territory north * It was east of Estaires, at Sailly, that Lie utenant. • and· e~;;t of a straight lin e dr~wn from the mouth of the vVallon. the well-known rider. feU a victilfl t.o German Sornrne to Lyons-in other words, the reduction of perfidy. He was advancing with some D:.agoons to millions of French Olen and women to a worse position seize the crossing of the Lys; at that pomt. Some than that of the Alsatians before the war; the loss of distance from the village which was held hy the Germans some of the most venerated p laces and monuments in t,he party entrenched itself. They beat off an a,ttack Franoo--e.g., the battlefields of Valmy and Montmirail, and shot several German scouts. Soon eleven " pea. the Cathedral of Reims and the cottage of J oan of Arc; sants" with pie'ks a nd spades over their shoulders were the acquisition hy the Germans of the rich coal country £een moving towards the French, VI'hen these round Lille, of the vineyards of Champagne and Bur " peasants" were within 40 yards or so of the trenches, gundy, and the extension of the German frontier to the they suddenly dropped their st.olen impleme?t." and outskirts of Paris and 'Lyons. drawing concealed revolvers emptied th~rrl tnt,o. the 2. The surrender to Germany of Algiers, Tunis, and French while t,heir comrades in front of the vlllage all other French Colonies, and also the French Pro opened' a general fusilade. A ball struck Lieutenant tectorate of Morocco. Wallon in the chest. He dropped to the ground. 3. The payment to Germany of a vVar Indemnity of Sergeant Rossa, in spite of the w.otmded z.nan' s protests, £400,000,000. dragged him to the rear and placed hlm on a cart. 4. The transfer to Germany of 3,000,000 rifles, 3,000 Shortly after he expired. The eleven " peasants" were guns, and 40,000 horses; the dismantling. of all French shot and the village taken. THE TIMES HISTORY OF THE WAR. 17 FRENCH INFAN1RY GUARDING THE RAILWAY LINES SOUTH OF LA BASSEE. described in the Standard on the antl:ority of through its lines, in gaining ground without a w01.mded French officer. " There are no arousing the attention of the .enemy, obtains longer," h e said, "massed charges in which an indisputable advantage." He illustrated t housands of 11.1.e11.