CHAPTER III
Preliminary Atrocities--Bravery of the Belgians--Battle of Haelen-Diest
At this stage of the fighting numerous circumstantial stories of German atrocities began to filter through, though for various reasons large portions of them were deleted by the Censors. They were generally summed up in an official statement by the Belgian Government which is quoted in a subsequent chapter. Dr. Dillon, telegraphing on August 11th, asserted that it was still impossible to throw any light upon the military operations, which might culminate on Thursday or Friday in a terrific collision between the forces of disruption and those of civilisation. Never before, not even during the Japanese campaign against Russia, had the movements of an army been shrouded in such impenetrable mystery. Considering the number, audacity, and ingenuity of the German agents still in Belgium, these precautions were indispensable. Anyhow, the War Office, the only source of intelligence, contented itself with a brief assurance that the news was satisfactory, or that there was no news of importance to communicate. Concrete facts were learnt mostly from Paris or Holland.
Another fact which was beginning to dawn upon the public was that the heroic resistance of the Belgian army had been offered hitherto to covering troops only, and that the enemy's losses did not exceed 5,000, although three German army corps had been thoroughly beaten. It was believed in Brussels that the hostile main armies would be ready any time after Wednesday night, August 12th. On the 11th several detachments of German covering troops were sent forward to the Belgian advanced posts as feelers. The Belgians when possible concealed themselves in thickets or in fields, and captured a considerable number of the invaders.
One Belgian lancer, named Bogaerts, deserves especial mention. His habit was to sally forth alone, lance in poise, and dash forward against the Uhlans, one of whom he generally killed or wounded, whereupon the remainder gave themselves up. In this way he took fourteen prisoners, wounded several Uhlans, and killed three, without suffering the slightest injury.
Encounters became frequent in the district stretching from Liège to Tongres, Hannut, and Tirlemont, whither two divisions succeeded in penetrating on the 11th.
Already the airships of the different combatants were floating gracefully into the visual range of the Brussels population, but at such a height that one could only conjecture the nationality of each; and the authorities warned the public neither to fear nor attack the Uhlans.
Anxiety respecting Holland's neutrality was not yet wholly dispelled. Nobody doubted the firm resolve of the Dutch Government to maintain its right to hold aloof from the war, but certain misgivings were entertained as to the adequacy of the troops stationed in the district where the violation of territory by the Germans was most probable. Some months previously Dutch Limburg, possessing only a few squadrons of cavalry, was practically defenceless. Since then a number of infantry battalions were stationed along the frontier from Maastricht to Venloo, together with several companies of the local Landwehr. If, as many military men believed, these troops were the only obstacle to a German advance in Holland, they constituted an inducement rather than a deterrent, it was thought.
German spies and secret agents were still numerous and audacious. Ten days before the declaration of war all trees near the sources of water in the forest of Soignes, outside Brussels, had notices posted up in German, with the words, "Potable water." The Mayor of Brussels had these placards removed, but they were afterwards found posted up anew. On August 12th when a representative of _The Daily Telegraph_ was leaving the American Legation, he saw two municipal guards arresting a lady, whom they politely conducted to the police-station. His chauffeur cried, "That's no lady. He is a German spy." A couple of men hearing this rushed up and attempted to maltreat the prisoner, but the guards protected their charge effectually. At the station the prisoner, who looked quite collected, was found to be a male German agent possessed of apparatus for cutting telegraph wires and also of compromising documents. Belgian treatment of Germans, said the correspondent, whether civilians or prisoners, erred on side of humanitarianism if it erred at all.
On the night of August 12th the Press Bureau stated:
Of the twenty-six German army corps the bulk have now been definitely located, and it is evident that the mass of the German troops are concentrated between Liège and Luxemburg.
The number known to be on the Western side proves that in the Eastern theatre of war the frontier, as far as Germany is concerned, is comparatively lightly guarded, unless by reserve troops.
At this time, beyond some unimportant outpost fighting near Liège, the position in Belgium was quiet. "A sense of stagnation," as Dr. Dillon expressed it, was creeping over the public. Of the troops massing behind the various cavalry covers, of the enemy's numbers, whereabouts, and plans, nobody but the General Staff knew anything. The vaguest of conjectures were the sole substitute for knowledge. Some held that the Germans, disheartened by their failure to traverse Belgium in three days and by the severe defeat of three army corps, were preparing for the defensive. This view, taken in official circles, was borne out by the circumstance that they were entrenching themselves on the River Ourthe, employing the peasants to make routes in the south of the province of Liège and in Luxemburg, bringing up fresh troops for the reinforcement of the line Maestricht-Liège, and withdrawing most of their covering cavalry regiments.
Passing from the region of conjecture to that of fact, it was soon learnt that the enemy's cavalry which advanced on Monday into Belgium to see how the land lay threw out feelers from Hannut and Saint Trond towards Tirlemont, Hougaerde, and Jodoigne. They came with artillery and machine guns, occupied Landen, Neerwinden, Pellaines, and other places, burning houses and hayricks as they passed. A regiment of Belgian lancers met them at Dormael, where a sharp encounter gave a momentary advantage to the defenders, whom the German artillery, which was opened shortly afterwards, forced to retire.
The Germans then proceeded to shoot seven inmates of the houses on an unproved charge of firing. They also burned the houses of the village of Orsmael, and shot three brothers, peasants, on a like allegation.
Universal execration followed the German troops in Belgium, where all observers were unanimous in accusing them of cruelty towards civilians, unwarranted by the attitude of the population and forbidden by the rules of war. Wherever they tarried peaceful inhabitants were shot down on charges which were emphatically denied by their neighbours. At Dormael a Uhlan, seeing a priest go forward to administer the last sacraments to the agonising wounded, cut him down as if he too were a combatant.
Having compelled the Belgian lancers to retire from Dormael, the German cavalry advanced in the direction of Tirlemont to the number of about 2,000. Arriving at Bost, which is a mile from Tirlemont, they found their further advance barred by Belgian infantry, whereupon they fell back upon Saint Trond and Waremme.
The Belgian troops did not begin the pursuit of the enemy's cavalry until August 11th, when they drove it beyond Waremme.
Liège became a new centre of an artillery action, both offensive and defensive. The Germans pounded away at the forts, their shells exploding on the cupolas and around these, while the forts responded with vigour unimpaired. Meanwhile the invaders began to construct a pontoon over the Meuse at Lixhe, for troops and trains of ammunition and provisions. It was believed that they were also preparing to cross the river above Liège, for they were forwarding heavy war material in the direction of Engis.
Meanwhile, the French cavalry showed themselves to the population of Brussels, who gave them a warm ovation.
The second general engagement in the struggle for the possession of the Liège forts took place on Wednesday, August 12th, and lasted until the early morning of the 13th. The Germans attempted a "reconnaissance in force," and attacked the Belgian army at two points.
Again, however, the Belgian soldier proved more than a match for the most highly trained troops of the Kaiser. The reconnaissance in force failed utterly. Two of their finest cavalry divisions and two regiments of Jaegers suffered heavy losses in killed, wounded, and prisoners.
The attack was made at two points, one to the north of Namur and the other near Diest, which is a railway junction. About ten in the morning cavalry patrols reported the advance of the enemy towards Haelen, a village about three miles south of Diest. At the head of the force rode the famous 17th Dragoons; behind them marched a regiment of Jaegers with a battery of artillery and machine-guns. Belgian carbineers awaited them at Zelck and succeeded in checking the advance until they could retire on Haelen, which was formerly a fortress.
With reckless courage the Dragoons galloped into what was an armed cul de sac. In front of them was a battery on the mound of the fort, and the road was trenched and barricaded. The Belgians opened fire from buildings which had been loopholed to meet an attack from that quarter. Under cover of artillery fire and aided by machine-guns the cavalry attempted to carry the position by assault. It was an enterprise that did more credit to the courage than to the judgment of the German soldier.
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Mr. William Maxwell, who communicated these facts, added:
At manoeuvres in Germany some years ago I remember the Kaiser asking Sir Ian Hamilton what he thought of the infantry formation. Sir Ian ventured to suggest that the formation was too dense. Whereupon the Emperor rebuked him with these words: "Half of those men would be killed, but we can afford to lose them." The cavalry seem to act on this principle. Without a pause they rode upon the barricade, which they attempted to leap. I counted seven dead horses close to the barricade, while others lay writhing a hundred yards off, bearing testimony to the bravery of two-score men who now lie side by side awaiting burial. So stout was the resistance of the 700 Belgians who held this position against a division of cavalry and a regiment of infantry that the enemy soon found it prudent to withdraw. Not allowed to retire unmolested, though pursuit beyond Zelck would have been folly, they left behind about forty dead, many wounded, and 300 prisoners.
It was remarkable, according to the accounts of eye-witnesses, how readily some of these brave men surrendered. One Belgian officer captured three officers. The first question they asked was, "What is England doing?" They were evidently ignorant that England had declared war. Their second question was, "What of our fleet?" The wounded were treated not only with skill and kindness, but even luxury.
The object of this raid was to feel the nature and strength of the opposing force, and, if possible, to capture points on the railway as well as to threaten the capital in order to strike terror--a phrase so often on the lips of their War Lord--into the heart of the people.
A more detailed version of the Haelen-Diest fight on the road to Louvain says that the encounter lasted all day. The Germans were supported by a battery of artillery. The Belgian field forces fought desperately, and Lieutenant Van Doren even enlisted the Diest fire brigade against the enemy, whose loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners was comparatively heavy.
Many of the prisoners were fainting, and the horses were dying from hunger. The German attacking party had probably been detached from the Liège right wing for an audacious raid on Louvain and Brussels.
Further details about the Haelen-Diest combat showed that the German losses must have approached 3,000.
The action, when the German mitrailleuses (machine-guns) were captured, took place north of Eghezée, on the road from Liège to Namur. Of course, the main German forces continued to be arrested before Liège, but they sent forth detachments in every direction to make believe that they had carried everything before them in their rear and to create popular panics. Each of these detachments was gradually beaten in its turn, and this slowly weakened the large forces intended for the great general battle, and estimated at about seven army corps, or about 250,000 men.
The following official statement was issued at Brussels on Thursday, August 13th:
The victory gained by the Belgian troops yesterday is now officially confirmed. The Belgian troops engaged were only one cavalry division and a brigade of all arms. The German losses were very heavy, and it is believed that about three-fifths of the enemy engaged was put out of action. The Belgian losses were relatively slight, only a few men being killed.
The Belgian cavalry division this morning took up the offensive against yesterday's defeated troops, in order, it is believed, to pick up the dead and wounded and to collect the abandoned war material. No German surprise is expected.
Another encounter took place this morning in the south with the German troops reported yesterday to be marching towards Eghezée. These were attacked by our troops and repulsed with very heavy losses. We captured a number of machine guns mounted on motor-cars.
There is no reason to fear any German cavalry movement on Brussels from the south, all roads to the capital being guarded by the army and by the Garde Civique.
The military situation at the time was summed up as follows by Mr. E. Ashmead-Bartlett, _The Daily Telegraph's_ military expert:
Every single account of conversations with wounded German soldiers or prisoners serves to show that the rank and file of the German army have not the smallest idea for what they are fighting, and that all profess not to have the smallest desire to invade either France or Belgium. In the war of 1870, the situations were reversed. Every German knew that the future of his country as a world Power depended on victory, and all marched to the front with a determination to conquer or to die. The French, on the other hand, had no idea for what they were fighting, and their purely professional army left for the war amidst vague cries of "À Berlin!" buoyed up by no moral principle. These factors must bear a very far-reaching effect on the eventual outcome of the campaign.
In a recent journey through France, I noticed nothing so remarkable as the intense seriousness of the people. Frenchmen will tell you there has been nothing like it since the Revolutionary wars, prior to the Napoleonic epoch, when the levée en masse crushed the invader at Valmy and Jemappes. The French have entered into this struggle through no love of fighting, but because they know their existence as an independent nation is at stake. One other fact must also be noted before the chances of the opposing armies are examined. In 1870 the French regular army, which should have had a peace strength of 400,000 men, only numbered 270,000, whereas the Germans, at the very start of the campaign, stood at a total war strength of over 1,200,000 men.
This inequality no longer exists. On paper Germany has a considerable superiority of numbers, namely twenty-five army corps against twenty-one, and her reserves are probably more numerous and better organised than those of the French. On the other hand, she is, according to the most reliable information, keeping four corps on the Russian frontier, and, therefore, the numbers available against France should certainly not show any superiority, and will probably show an inferiority when the Belgian and British armies are united along the line of the Meuse. For years German strategists have reckoned on having to fight both France and Russia at the same time, and they have professed themselves as being confident of undertaking such a gigantic task. Four corps especially trained under Von der Goltz to fight in more open formations were to hold the Russians, whilst the remaining twenty-one were to be flung with such rapidity against France as to obtain a decisive success before Russian intervention could make itself seriously felt.
It is one thing to have twenty-one army corps ready to invade France, and quite another to find a suitable front on which to deploy them for such an invasion. All the time-honoured old routes for the invasion of France are practically closed to modern armies by the chain of fortresses which the French have constructed, and, vice versa, the old roads to Germany are closed to a French invasion. Therefore, French, German, and Belgian strategists have long recognised that the only route by which a modern German army could invade France and march on Paris would be via Belgium, and that declarations of neutrality would count but little in the strategic scale. It was to resist such a menace that the Belgians constructed two fortified camps at Liège and Namur. The old routes of 1870 present too many formidable obstacles to be overcome. A direct advance into France from Alsace would have found itself faced by the fortified front Belfort-Epinal-Toul, and Verdun, four formidable fortified camps, supported by forts on the heights overlooking the Moselle and Meuse.
There are only two routes by which this line can be passed. That by way of Charmes, between Epinal and Toul, protected by the fort of Manonvillers, which would enable the Germans to enter Haut Marne and to gain the valley of the Seine, and the road to Paris via Bar-le-Duc, St. Dizier, and Troyes. This is the theatre of war of 1814, and also the road used by the Crown Prince after Froeschwiller, in 1870. But an invading army would have to take or mask all these entrenched camps, which would take a very long time, or else have his communications continually threatened.
The other road is that by Dun-Stenay, north of Verdun, passing through the defiles of Côtes-de-Meuse and the forest of Argonne to the open country round Valmy. But this country is extremely difficult for military operations on a large scale. It was used by the Duke of Brunswick in 1792.
The Germans confidently expected to overrun the whole of Belgium and to gain the French frontier before a single French corps could be concentrated to offer any serious resistance. They reckoned on two factors which have turned out the reverse of what they hoped. They relied on a partial break-down in the French mobilisation, especially on the railway lines. In this supposition they have been completely mistaken. Nothing so far has been so remarkable as the smooth working of the railway service, and, consequently, the rapid concentration of the French armies. The second factor on which the Germans relied was the readiness of the Belgians to see their country overrun by a swarm of invaders or else their inability to resist such an invasion. The quickest route into Belgium is to cross the Meuse at Liège, and from there to march south by the left bank along the Mons-Charleroi road, and to gain the French frontier between Maubeuge and Valenciennes. Of recent years the Germans have made every preparation for such a move. They have organised depôts for troops and collected large masses of stores, and have quadrupled lines at Aix-la-Chapelle, Malmedy, St. Vith, Bitburg, and Trèves. They can thus rapidly concentrate immense numbers of troops from Dusseldorf, Cologne, and Coblenz in front of Liège.
But the stubborn and unexpected defence of Liège has thrown all their plans for a direct advance into Belgium via the Liège-Namur line out of gear, and, to judge from the meagre reports which are coming through slowly, they have entrenched that line strongly, and are holding it on the left bank of the Meuse with the two corps which were so roughly handled while the bulk of their forces are preparing to cross the Belgian frontier further north on the line Maestricht-Roermonde, and to march on Brussels through the Duchy of Limburg. We read of constant cavalry engagements in this district and of partial defeats of the German troops, but these stories must not be taken too seriously, as the German cavalry is merely being used as a screen to cover the concentration of immense masses of infantry who will soon be making their presence felt.