Saving the Belgian Army — To the Yser!

Belgian Soldiers Defending Antwerp

By David Craig

Often overlooked in any history of the First World War are the events in Belgium between the declaration of war and the stabilization of the Western Front in late October 1914. The Belgian Army was regarded as an irrelevance by German planners. It was their intent to destroy Belgian fortifications that threatened German movement toward France, brushing aside the tiny and poorly trained Belgian Army while dealing with the remainder of Belgium at a later date. The tiny Belgian Army was composed of two parts: the garrison troops, who manned the fortresses on which defense largely relied, and the ground-maneuver troops, who manned entrenched positions between the forts and provided mobile operations.

German plans for dealing with Belgium proceeded as planned. At Liège, the town was taken on 6 August, and the major fortresses, which covered the Meuse crossing, were shelled with newly arrived and specially designed long-range Krupp 420mm siege howitzers on the 12th, the final fort surrendering at 8:30 a.m. on the 16th. On the 19th, the Germans attacked the Namur fortress, again with Krupp 420mm howitzers. By the evening of the 23rd, five of the nine forts at Namur were in ruins. At midnight the survivors of the Belgian garrison made their escape. Any major Belgian threat to the German advance into France was no more.

The Belgian Army retreated into the "National Redoubt" of Antwerp, where it was vainly hoped that the huge double ring of forts would enable a successful defense. The weakness of fortress defenses when attacked by German "super heavy" artillery was added to by the Belgian Army's clearing of the field of fire between the forts, an action which only improved the German ability to spot for their guns, which outranged those of the defense.

On 29 September the Germans attacked the outer ring of forts. By 6 p.m. the first to fall, Wavre-Sainte-Catherine, was so badly damaged it was abandoned. The British Official History remarks that “The German shooting was extraordinarily accurate and was, to all intents, range practice, without hindrance from the Belgians, whose guns were outranged. Practically all hits were on vital parts of the forts.” On the same day Belgian Army headquarters began planning the abandonment of Antwerp and a move to Ostend.

The relief of Antwerp became a major concern. French Supreme Commander Joffre, hard-pressed on all fronts, could promise only a Territorial division and a marine brigade from Le Havre as a French contribution, to arrive around 10 October. The British, at the instigation of Lord Kitchener, undertook to send their 7th Division and 3rd Cavalry Division, both then in England.

National Redoubt Antwerp & the Withdrawal West

Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, and ever a man of action, did have men immediately available, a brigade of Royal Marine Light Infantry under Navy command. Hastily thrown together, this force arrived at Dunkirk on 19/20 August. It had been augmented by Royal Navy aircraft and armored cars. By 30 September this force was patrolling the area between Dunkirk and Cassel. On 3 October, Churchill himself travelled to Antwerp and offered British help to the Belgian government. On the same day, four battalions of the Royal Marine Brigade set off for Antwerp, arriving by train at 6 a.m. on 4 October.

On the night of 7/8 October the British 7th Division and 3rd Cavalry Division landed at Zeebrugge and concentrated at Bruges, with orders to cooperate with French forces in Belgium and support the Belgian Army defending Antwerp. However, on the 6th, the Belgian Field Army had already crossed the Scheldt River to facilitate a withdrawal, and the situation in Antwerp itself had continued to deteriorate. The only good news was that the long-delayed French aid, in the form of a brigade of French Marines, had left Paris on the way to Belgium.

On the morning of 8 October the decision was made to evacuate Antwerp in the face of increasing German pressure. The withdrawal was made in some confusion over the next 48 hours, with the majority of the Royal Marine brigade withdrawn. The British force, which meanwhile had landed at Zeebrugge, was placed under the command of Sir John French of the BEF, moved from Ghent toward Ypres. The remains of the Belgian field army, dispirited and in some disorder, joined civilian refugees clogging the roads to the coast or made their way into Holland. After more than two months of continuous action against overwhelming odds, they were exhausted and needed rebuilding, but they still existed.

When the Germans accepted the surrender of Antwerp on the morning of 10 October, they found only the military governor, his staff officer, and a handful of men from the fortresses. The rest had successfully escaped. The Belgian stand at Antwerp, while failing to hold the city, bought the BEF and the French valuable time and employed large numbers of German troops that would otherwise have been available to fight in the crucial battles on the Marne and Aisne rivers.

The Belgian Army Marching to the Yser

Proposals for the Belgian Army were that it should withdraw west of Calais to regroup. Albert saw two great dangers in this. He knew that any attempt to take his army under French command would be resisted by his Dutch-speaking soldiers (who made up most of the lower ranks), and he also saw that if he abandoned Belgian soil he could be usurped as king. It was finally agreed that the Belgian Army would concentrate in the Dixmude-Nieuport-Furnes area, just inside Belgium, with the French marines of Admiral Ronarch on their right in Dixmude. By the 14th of October, the Belgian Army started to prepare positions along the Yser, and It would be this small strip of Belgium which would be defended by Belgian soldiers, commanded by their own king, until the end of the war.

Map Series #28 Relative Sizes of the European Powers Superimposed on the United States

Click on Map to Enlarge 

Library of Congress Collection

For access to the full map series click HERE.

The Influence of Douglas Haig, The Educated Soldier by John Terraine

 By John Terraine

Cassell, 1963

Commentary by Christopher M. Hand

Generals Haig and Pershing

Much of the controversy that surrounds the late John Terraine (1921-2003) is undeserved. When his work is placed in a larger historical context, his arguments and thesis appear to be consistent, forceful, convincing and above all balanced. He is to be admired for his conviction in the face of what must, at first, have seemed to have been an overwhelming majority opinion against his arguments. That he has stuck with it for over three decades speaks volumes. It is these attributes that have won him his influence. John Terraine's work is essential to any balanced study of the First World War and any work that does not include him is probably incomplete. 

In 1963, John Terraine published Douglas Haig, The Educated Soldier. This is Terraine's first biography and it seems oddly placed. Given the broad scope of his later books one asks if it would not have been better to concentrate on Haig at the end. Regardless, Terraine  chose Britain's most challenging figure as a vehicle to explain the larger issues, and in doing so also attempted to rehabilitate Haig's reputation. It is in this biography that Terraine introduces two of his major themes, his support of Haig as a capable and competent commander and his views on the Western Front and the BEF as being instrumental in defeating the Germans. The reviews were mixed. An American review by Elbridge Colby in Best Sellers calls it "unabashedly partisan"  and criticised the book  and Terraine for being anti-American. The Economist found it thorough but not a lively read and accused Terraine of being to quick to praise Haig. "He [Haigl deserves rehabilitation but not an accolade; and in seeking the first objective, Mr. Terraine has been perhaps a little too willing to award the second distinction."  

. . . One of the more interesting insights was made in the Times Literary Supplement where Terraine's Douglas Haig was favourably compared to Duff Cooper's Haig, and claimed that Terraine's book could "take its place beside Cooper's as an outstanding biography, "  as the book made excellent use ofthe sources available. Travers also considers that Terraine's Haig is "pretty good," and that it is well researched, and well written, although he still labels Terraine as an "apologist. "  Dennis Winter in his recent book Haig's Command also accused Terraine of being an apologist for 'Haig the Butcher'. Terraine counters such accusations by stating that he has nothing to apologize for, and neither did Haig.

Whether it was praised or condemned, it was Douglas Haig which created an audience for Terraine's work, and which established him as a historian who's point of view had to be considered. From this point on, his work became increasingly more analytic in nature and began to reflect that wider view of military history championed by Michael Howard. 

Order HERE

To a certain extent Terraine's influence on the historiography of the First World War exists simply because he wrote so much [since his Haig biography], but also because much of what he has written runs contrary to the accepted view of Britain's role in the war. Despite his relatively late start as a publishing historian,  he prove[d] to be a prolific writer. From 1960 to 1982 Terraine published nine books on the First World War along with several other major works, notably his biography of Lord Mountbatten. During that period he was also editor for Brigadier-General J.L. Jack's diary, and J.F.C. Fuller's The Decisive Battles of the Western World and Their Influence Upon History. He also wrote for several journals and is listed as a regular contributor to History Today, Spectator, the RUSI Journal, the Listener and Punch magazine. 

Christopher M. Hand

For more on John Terraine, read my article on my 1989 interview with him, "Tea and Biscuits with John Terraine", HERE. MH

Source: Excerpted from "John Terraine A Study of a First World War Revisionist", Canadian Military History, Volume 6, Number 2, Autumn 1997,

Status Report: The USS Texas Restoration

The Battleship at War

The USS Texas is the only surviving Dreadnought battleship to have served in both World Wars. Texas is owned by the state of Texas and is officially under the jurisdiction of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Everyday operations and maintenance of Texas have been handled by the nonprofit organization Battleship Texas Foundation since August 2020. At the end of August 2022 she was moved to a dry dock in Galveston, Texas, to undergo a $60 million repair project. As of October 2025, the repair project is still underway, but she has moved out of dry dock and is in final stages of restoration.  

Leaving Dry Dock in Galveston

The Battleship Texas Foundation has posted the following information on the status of the project:

What is the current location of USS Texas and where will she berth permanently?

The USS Texas is currently located at the Gulf Copper Shipyard in Galveston, Texas, where it is undergoing a major restoration, including steel work, structural repairs, and deck replacement. The historic battleship is scheduled to be moved to its permanent future home at Pier 15 in Galveston after repairs are completed, with a lease agreement recently approved for the new location. 

What Restoration Work Is Underway for the USS Texas?

The Texas Legislature has funded $60 million of a projected $75 million restoration project for Battleship Texas. On 31 August 2022, Battleship Texas arrived at Gulf Copper and was raised out of the water for repairs. Gulf Copper has repaired and replaced hull plating below the waterline, totally about 700 tons of steel. The ship’s torpedo blisters (sacrificial exterior tanks added in 1925–1926 to protect the ship from torpedoes) have been entirely cut away below the waterline and reconstructed. The new torpedo blisters are of a slightly different design to reduce future maintenance needs and will be coated inside and out to protect from corrosion.

Foretop Under Restoration

After the hull repairs and torpedo blister rebuild were completed, Gulf Copper applied marine grade paint coatings to the hull. The ship is being painted to the historical Measure 21 camouflage scheme, which she wore in the Pacific Theater in 1945. This will mean Navy Blue 5-N on all vertical surfaces and Deck Blue 20-B on all horizontal surfaces.

On 5 March 2024, Battleship Texas left dry dock and moved to another pier at Gulf Copper for pier-side work. This phase of the project includes various repairs to the ship’s superstructure funded in part by the Save America’s Treasures grant (the superstructure is the structures above main deck, such as the masts, smoke stack, and aft fire control tower), replacing some or all of the ship’s wood decking, and cleaning up, restoration, repainting, and installing exhibits in interior spaces. This work will prepare the ship to receive visitors again and we estimate this will take at least a year to eighteen months after Battleship Texas leaves dry dock.

Can the ship be viewed in the shipyard during restoration?

The best place to see Battleship Texas in the shipyard is from Galveston’s Pier 21. 

USS Texas During the Iwo Jima Assault

When will the ship reopen?

We are targeting 2026 for our grand reopening.

What are the planned tours and onboard experiences once Battleship Texas reopens?

The Battleship Texas will become the centerpiece of a world-class museum.  The museum and ship will feature a robust roster of educational and community programing that will include patriotic and historic celebrations such as July 4th, Veterans Day, etc. Overnight experiences and school visits will resume and we will add event rental options for weddings, parties, and business gatherings.

Sources:  Battleship Texas Foundation; Wikipedia

The Telegram No Mother Wished to Receive

Click on Image to Enlarge

Private Theodore (Theo) Colley Williams came into the world in Thomaston, Maine, in 1892.  After his schooling, he worked at the Pratt & Lambert paints in Buffalo, NY, until he was drafted into the army. After training, he volunteered for overseas service and was eventually assigned to Company C, 28th Infantry, 1st Division of the AEF in France. Shortly after his arrival, the 28th Infantry went over the top at Cantigny in May, the first major action of the AEF. 

Theo was killed in action on the second day of the Battle for Soissons, 19 July 1918. Nearly two months later, his mother, Clara, received the above notification. From the comments on the telegram, it appears possible she was read the message via telephone and subsequently had the document mailed to her. Her son was eventually buried in the Thomaston community cemetery.

Clara's Son Theo

Sources:  The Great War Project

All About the Stone of Remembrance at Commonwealth War Graves Cemeteries

Along with the Cross of Sacrifice, the Stone of Remembrance is one of the most common sites in a Commission cemetery. The stone’s origins go back to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s founding in 1917. The then Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC) turned to architect Sir Edwin Lutyens to create a symbolic memorial to commemorate the war dead. The result was the Stone of Remembrance.  The iconic text by Rudyard Kipling reads "Their Name Liveth for Evermore"

Each stone sits within cemeteries containing 1,000 or more casualties, including both war cemeteries and memorials. On the Somme for instance, you will find Stones of Remembrance at over 40 sites, including Thiepval, Pozières, and Delville Wood. The Stone of Remembrance with its common features was designed by Lutyens as a symbol of common sacrifice. Along with the Cross of Sacrifice, the stone symbolizes the many Commonwealth men and women who gave their lives during the world wars.

Every Stone of Remembrance displays Lutyen’s original design features:

• The stones are typically made from the same Portland stone as the majority of CWGC headstones.

• They measure 3.5m long and 1.5m in height. Each stone is the same size, regardless of the size of the cemetery in which it sits.

• The stone was designed using “entasis,” an architectural technique where the top is slightly curved. This gives the stone a feeling of solidity and gravitas.

• The curved top also helps rain drain away.

• The stone always sits on a platform with no fewer than three steps.

• Unlike the Cross of Sacrifice, which represents the broadly Christian faith of the Great War’s soldiers, the Stone of Remembrance is not overtly religious.

Source: Commonwealth War Graves Foundation 

Barbara Tuchman on a Forgotten but Critical Moment of the 1914 Campaign

Major 1914 Operations—Lorraine Sector

In the fall of 1914, a 40-mile gap, nearly void of attackers or defenders, opened there for a short period of time that no one seemed to have anticipated. In the following scramble, the gap would be closed, but the stabilized section of the front would create a lasting threat for both sides. American sources call the St. Mihiel Sector and most other parties refer to it as the Woëvre Plain. For the Allies, the final line formed a threatening salient into their defenses; for Germany, it was a back door to the Rhine and the heart of the Fatherland. In her classic  history The Guns of August Barbara Tuchman described how while the world's attention was drawn to the actions around Paris, one of the critical moments of the war was transpiring 100 miles to the war.

OHL had convinced itself that a forcing of the Charmes Gap between Toul and Epinal was feasible and would obtain, in Tappen’s words, “encirclement of the enemy armies in grand style and in the event of success, an end to the war.” In consequence, the left wing under Rupprecht was retained in its full strength of twenty-six divisions, about equal to the diminished numbers of the three armies of the right wing. This was not the proportion Schlieffen had in mind when he muttered as he died, “Only make the right wing strong.”

On August 24, having massed 400 guns with additions brought from the arsenal at Metz, Rupprecht launched a series of murderous attacks. The French, now turning all their skills to the defense, had dug themselves in and prepared a variety of improvised and ingenious shelters against shellfire. Rupprecht’s attacks failed to dislodge Foch’s XXth Corps in front of Nancy but farther south succeeded in flinging a salient across the Mortagne, the last river before the gap at Charmes. At once the French saw the opportunity for a flank attack, this time with artillery preparation. Field guns were brought up during the night. On the morning of the 25th Castelnau’s order, “En avant! partout! à fond!” launched his troops on the offensive. The XXth Corps bounded down from the crest of the Grand Couronné and retook three towns and ten miles of territory. On the right Dubail’s Army gained an equal advance in a day of furious combat.

 

Key Commanders in the 1914 Lorraine Battles
Noel Castelnau and Crown Price Rupprecht of Bavaria

 

. . . For three days of bloody and relentless combat the battle for the Trouée de Charmes and the Grand Couronné continued, reaching a pitch on August 27. Joffre on that day, surrounded by gloom and dismay elsewhere and hard put to find anything to praise, saluted the “courage and tenacity” of the First and Second Armies who, since the opening battles in Lorraine, had fought for two weeks without respite and with “stubborn and unbreakable confidence in victory.” They fought with every ounce of strength to hold the door closed against the enemy’s battering ram, knowing that if he broke through here the war would be over. They knew nothing of Cannae but they knew Sedan and encirclement.

By early September the German attack fizzled out. The line in the lower Lorraine that had been established would remain fixed for the remainder of the war.  In the northern Lorraine a troublesome bulge remained in the line that American sources refer to as the St. Mihiel Salient. It would remain as a threat to the Verdun position until September 1918.

 

The Willy-Nicky Telegrams

The Willy-Nicky Telegrams consist of a series of ten messages wired between Wilhelm and Nicholas on 29, 30, and 31 July and 1 August 1914. Their source is The German White Book, a pamphlet of official documents published to justify the German government's position after the outbreak of war.

The Tsar and Kaiser Together Before the War

1.  Tsar to Kaiser, July 29, 1:00 a.m.

Peter’s Court Palais

Am glad you are back. In this serious moment, I appeal to you to help me. An ignoble war has been declared to a weak country. The indignation in Russia shared fully by me is enormous. I foresee that very soon I shall be overwhelmed by the pressure forced upon me and be forced to take extreme measures which will lead to war. To try and avoid such a calamity as a European war, I beg you in the name of our old friendship to do what you can to stop your allies from going too far.

Nicky

2.  Kaiser to Tsar, July 29, 1:15 a.m.

[This and the previous telegraph crossed.]

Berlin

It is with the gravest concern that I hear of the impression which the action of Austria against Serbia is creating in your country. The unscrupulous agitation that has been going on in Serbia for years has resulted in the outrageous crime, to which Archduke Francis Ferdinand fell a victim. The spirit that led Serbians to murder their own king and his wife still dominates the country. You will doubtless agree with me that we both, you and me, have a common interest, as well as all sovereigns, to insist that all the persons morally responsible for the dastardly murder should receive their deserved punishment. In this case, politics plays no part at all.

On the other hand, I fully understand how difficult it is for you and your government to face the drift of your public opinion. Therefore, with regard to the hearty and tender friendship which binds us both from long ago with firm ties, I am exerting my utmost influence to induce the Austrians to deal straightly to arrive to a satisfactory understanding with you. I confidently hope that you will help me in my efforts to smooth over difficulties that may still arise.

Your very sincere and devoted friend and cousin,

Willy

3.  Kaiser to Tsar, July 29, 6:30 p.m.

I received your telegram and share your wish that peace should be maintained. But as I told you in my first telegram, I cannot consider Austria’s action against Serbia an “ignoble” war. Austria knows by experience that Serbian promises on paper are wholly unreliable. I understand its action must be judged as trending to get full guarantee that the Serbian promises shall become real facts. This, my reasoning, is borne out by the statement of the Austrian cabinet that Austria does not want to make any territorial conquests at the expense of Serbia. I therefore suggest that it would be quite possible for Russia to remain a spectator of the Austro-Serbian conflict without involving Europe in the most horrible war she ever witnessed. I think a direct understanding between your government and Vienna possible and desirable, and as I already telegraphed to you, my government is continuing its exercises to promote it. Of course, military measures on the part of Russia would be looked upon by Austria as a calamity we both wish to avoid and jeopardize my position as mediator, which I readily accepted on your appeal to my friendship and my help.

Willy

4.  Tsar to Kaiser, July 29, 8:20 p.m.

Peter’s Court Palais

Thanks for your telegram conciliatory and friendly. Whereas official message presented today by your ambassador to my minister was conveyed in a very different tone. Beg you to explain this divergency! It would be right to give over the Austro-Serbian problem to the Hague conference. Trust in your wisdom and friendship.

Your loving Nicky

5.  Tsar to Kaiser, July 30, 1:20 a.m.

Peter’s Court Palais

Thank you heartily for your quick answer. Am sending Tatishchev this evening with instructions. The military measures which have now come into force were decided five days ago for reasons of defense on account of Austria’s preparations. I hope from all my heart that these measures won’t in any way interfere with your part as mediator which I greatly value. We need your strong pressure on Austria to come to an understanding with us.

Nicky

6.  Kaiser to Tsar, July 30, 1:20 a.m.

Berlin

Best thanks for telegram. It is quite out of the question that my ambassador’s language could have been in contradiction with the tenor of my telegram. Count Pourtalès was instructed to draw the attention of your government to the danger & grave consequences involved by a mobilization; I said the same in my telegram to you. Austria has only mobilized against Serbia & only a part of her army. If, as it is now the case, according to the communication by you & your government, Russia mobilizes against Austria, my role as mediator you kindly entrusted me with & which I accepted at your express prayer, will be endangered if not ruined. The whole weight of the decision lies solely on your shoulders now, who have to bear the responsibility for Peace or War. 

Willy

7.  Kaiser to Tsar, July 31

Berlin

On your appeal to my friendship and your call for assistance, I began to mediate between your and the Austro-Hungarian government. While this action was proceeding, your troops were mobilized against Austro-Hungary, my ally. Thereby, as I have already pointed out to you, my mediation has been made almost illusory.

I have nevertheless continued my action. I now receive authentic news of serious preparations for war on my eastern frontier. Responsibility for the safety of my empire forces preventive measures of defense upon me. In my endeavors to maintain the peace of the world, I have gone to the utmost limit possible. The responsibility for the disaster which is now threatening the whole civilized world will not be laid at my door. In this moment it still lies in your power to avert it. Nobody is threatening the honor or power of Russia who can well afford to await the result of my mediation. My friendship for you and your empire, transmitted to me by my grandfather on his deathbed, has always been sacred to me, and I have honestly often backed up Russia when she was in serious trouble, especially in her last war.

The peace of Europe may still be maintained by you, if Russia will agree to stop the military measures which must threaten Germany and Austro-Hungary.

Willy

8.  Tsar to Kaiser, July 31

[This and the previous telegram crossed.]

Petersburg, Palais

I thank you heartily for your mediation, which begins to give one hope that all may yet end peacefully. It is technically impossible to stop our military preparations, which were obligatory owing to Austria’s mobilization. We are far from wishing war. As long as the negotiations with Austria on Serbia’s account are taking place, my troops shall not make any provocative action. I give you my solemn word for this. I put all my trust in God’s mercy and hope in your successful mediation in Vienna for the welfare of our countries and for the peace of Europe.

Your affectionate, 

Nicky

9.  Tsar to Kaiser, August 1

Peter’s Court Palais

I received your telegram. Understand you are obliged to mobilize but wish to have the same guarantee from you as I gave you, that these measures do not mean war and that we shall continue negotiating for the benefit of our countries and universal peace dear to all our hearts. Our long proved friendship must succeed, with God’s help, in avoiding bloodshed. Anxiously, full of confidence, await your answer.

Nicky

10.  Kaiser to Tsar, August 1

Berlin

Thanks for your telegram. I yesterday pointed out to your government the way by which alone war may be avoided. Although I requested an answer for noon today, no telegram from my ambassador conveying an answer from your government has reached me as yet. I therefore have been obliged to mobilize my army.

Immediate, affirmative, clear, and unmistakable answer from your government is the only way to avoid endless misery. Until I have received this answer, alas, I am unable to discuss the subject of your telegram. As a matter of fact, I must request you to immediately order your troops on no account to commit the slightest act of trespassing over our frontiers. 

Willy

The AEF's II Corps' Remarkable 14-Mile Advance to the River Selle

 

Prisoners Captured by the 30th Division, 8 October 1918

Mitchell Yockelson

Introduction: A number of American divisions trained under the British in 1918 and became involved in the stopgap efforts during midyear to halt the German onslaught. Pershing later pulled back most combat elements, but General Haig convinced him of the necessity of leaving some U.S. units with the British. Two National Guard Divisions, the 27th (New York) and 30th (Tennessee and the Carolinas) without their artillery brigades, the 301st tank battalion (American-operated Mark V British Tanks), and a number of support units would constitute II Corps. These were combined into the U.S. II Corps on the table of organization. Initially deployed to strengthen defenses in Flanders, it was sent to the British Fourth Army in the Somme sector in September to support offensive operations there. At the end of the month the Corps assisted in the spectacular capture of the St. Quentin Canal that allowed the breaching of the formidable Hindenburg Line. That operation seems to garner much attention in histories of the AEF. The subsequent actions of II Corps, however, are just as impressive but seem to be neglected in many histories. For this issue of the Trip-Wire, AEF historian Mitchell Yockelson describes the early stages and central role of the U.S. II Corps of the British Fourth Army's 14-mile advance during two weeks of October 1918. (See map below.) The selection is from his 2008 work Borrowed Soldiers: Americans Under British Command, 1918.

After breaching the Hindenburg Line on 29 September, the Fourth Army continued to push forward. The Beaurevoir Line had not been taken, and Rawlinson was adamant that his army must complete the destruction of the final prepared German defenses just to his east. Once this was accomplished, he would push the Germans back across open country. {After Australian units captured most of the fortified village of Monbrehain] Rawlinson ordered Monash's troops withdrawn from the line, and half of the American II Corps undertook relief of the Australian Corps during the night of 5-6 October. Only the 30th Division was ordered to the front initially, while both brigades of the 27th Division were in corps reserve.

Sector Map (Note Scale & Dates of Advance)

With the German Army now forced into open country, the Fourth Army continued the pursuit, and the Americans would spearhead most of the attacks. Because the 117th occupied a sector too far behind the 118th, it had to straighten its line before the next attack. A minor action was planned for 7 October to make this correction. At 5:15 a.m. a rolling barrage commenced the attack, but the artillery covered only a portion of the front. As a result, the British 25th and 50th Divisions, protecting the American flanks, could not advance. Four hours after the jump-off, 30th Division Commander Major General Lewis halted the attack when the center companies of the 3rd Battalion established liaison with the 118th and stopped near Mannions. Although the battalion had advanced only 500 yards and took heavy casualties, it captured 150 prisoners of the 20th German Division. Lewis blamed the losses on failure of the barrage and a lack of preparation time. His division had been in line less than a day, and it appeared that not all officers knew the battle plan.

On the afternoon of 7 October, the Fourth Army issued an order for the 30th Division to attack again the next day. The 118th would lead the assault, with one battalion of the 117th in support. It first required an advance of 3000 yards on a line running northwest from Brancoucourt. After securing this line, the barrage would halt for 30 minutes, and then the support battalion would pass through and exploit the second objective, requiring a push of 3000 yards to the northeast toward the village of Premont. In the hours preceding the jump-off, the Fourth Army artillery pounded the Germans with 350,000 shells. On 8 October at 5:10 a.m. the infantry moved forward under a barrage, as well as support from a battalion of heavy tanks and two companies of Whippets.

 

Machine-gun fire from the numerous emplacements around the west of Brancourt-le-Grand raked the lead elements, preventing progress. Troops from the 6th Division were held up and could not protect the American flanks. Fortunately, two hours later resistance lightened when the Germans retreated, fighting a rear-guard action. On the right flank, Company C of the 120th Infantry was pulled from reserve and was able to advance enough to fill a gap that developed between the 118th Infantry and the 6th Division. By 7:50 a.m. the 2nd Battalion of the 118th reached its first objective at Brancourt, and by 1:30 p.m. the regiment's 1st Battalion entered the village. There the elements of the 118th mopped up and then consolidated a line and dug in for the night. On this day, the action of three men of the 30th Division earned the Medal of Honor. In one instance, Sgt. Gary Evans Foster accompanied an officer to attack a machine-gun nest in a sunken road near Montbrehain. When the officer was wounded, Foster single-handedly killed several of the Germans with hand grenades and his pistol and then brought 18 back as prisoners.

That evening, II Corps Commander Read again notified the 30th Division there was no time to rest, but to resume attacking at 5:20 a.m. the next morning in the direction of St. Souplet. The eventual object was to secure the Selle River and the high ground from St. Benin to Molain. Such an attack, the American officers were told, would not be easy as it necessitated advancing a great distance through several villages, farms, and woods that probably contained enemy units. Yet, day to day, the Doughboys would continue their advance averaging a mile per day for the next eleven days. The 30th division would be joined by the 27th division for a period and then sent to rest while the New Yorkers carried on beyond the River Selle until it too was exhausted. By the time orders for their relief had come the two divisions had lost 6,100 men, killed and wounded.

27th Division Reinforcements Crossing the Selle,
19 October 1918

The 1st British Division took over the 30th Division sector and the 6th British Division relieved the 27th by 20 October. Although it was not known at the time, the war was over for II Corps. Its 27th Division moved to Corbie, and the 30th went to Querrieu for training. . . considering how the two divisions of the corps were essentially new to combat, compared with their British and Australian counterparts, they had done extraordinarily well. The American infantry and machine-gun units had received good instruction from the British and Dominion forces and were able to apply what they had learned in this final operation. This was done against a German opponent that was far from collapsing. A historian of the operation writes, the Germans “fought hard and skillfully used defense-in-depth doctrine. Their position and intervention units were well organized, and the position divisions were relatively strong in manpower.”

Mitchell Yockelson's Borrowed Soldiers can be ordered HERE.

Our Desperate Hour – A Novel of the Great War

By John F. Andrews

46 North Publications, LLC, 2024

David F. Beer, Reviewer

First Aid Station by George Harding

The army lied to me. And I think it’s about to get worse.

Although Our Desperate Hour is premised on the search of a father for his estranged son in the madness of World War I, it is also a detailed look at varied military personalities and the brutal human cost of the battle for Belleau Wood. Failed communication—and outright deception—are additionally revealed as piercing flaws that beset military endeavors and cause numerous deaths.

You’ll meet an assortment of characters in this book, from Major Ab Johnson to Medical Corpsman Lyle McCormack, and most are either Marines or Naval medical personnel. Each chapter is related in the present tense by different voices, although Major Johnson dominates the narration. Many of these figures are based on real men who in one way or another took part in the actual combat, although here their words are fictionalized. You will also meet some of the same people who appear in the two other novels by this author.

In some ways this is a shocking novel. Most of us have read various accounts of the events at Belleau Wood and perhaps have some idea of the military incompetence that resulted in carnage that to some extent should have been avoided. The author skillfully includes within the novel’s plot the great difficulty of dealing not only with the French military but also with our own. As Major Johnson observes:

I manage to get a shower, then talk with several neatly attired staff officers over breakfast. They’re out of touch with the battlefield. Their bravado is typical of those in the rear echelons. One thing I noticed in my first tour of army service is that bravado is proportional to the distance between the man and the battlefield. The longer the distance, the more bravado. Those in the shit rarely brag—most don’t say anything (p. 270).

A short description by a Marine runner, Private Carl Larsen, sums up what portions of Belleau Wood have now turned into: “Human decomposition, dysentery, and the sulfurous smell of gunpowder meld with the musty odor of the residual mustard and phosgene…” (p. 261). That the body parts are primarily those of young Americans who had signed up for the Marine Corps (despite the army’s prejudice against the Corps) effectively enhances our involvement in the novel.

Considerable sections of Our Desperate Hour are devoted to the work of the medical personnel involved in the fighting, from stretcher bearers to surgeons and some Naval ranks. The description of their actions is at times riveting, and all the more realistic due to author John F. Andrews being not only a retired critical care physician but also a down-to-earth and evocative writer. We may have read accounts of the fighting for Belleau Wood in histories, but this work presents not only rare background facts but also feelings, thoughts, fears and raw heroism that perhaps can only be shared through the novelist’s hand.

Order HERE

Our Desperate Hour certainly keeps one’s attention. It is also well worth reading the Afterward the author provides, which in some ways is an effective explanatory abstract of the key points of the book. You will enjoy this fine historical novel. 

David F. Beer

Eyewitness: Soissons–18 July 1918

Leathernecks at Soissons
John W. Thomason, USMC

Corporal Thomas Boyd, 6th Marines, 2nd Division, AEF

When the sun rose they were still working their way through the trees. Unexpectedly the guns in the rear of the moving lines stopped. The battle of Soissons had begun.

The platoon was first apprised of the nearness of the enemy when King Cole raised his rifle and fired quickly. He had seen a soiled gray uniform skirting among the trees a few yards ahead. A quick electric shock ran from shoulder to shoulder along the advancing line. The platoon stopped for a moment as if stunned. Then they advanced without increasing their pace. In their faces a machine-gun spat angrily, the bullets flying past like peevish wasps. Automatic rifles were manipulated in the middles of the automatic rifle squad, and the loaders took their places at the sides of the men who were firing, jamming in one clip of cartridges after another. Rifle bullets fled past the advancing men with an infuriating zing. The Maxim machine-guns kept up a rolling rat-t-t-tat, coldly objective.

The platoon had reached the first machine-gun nest, almost without knowing it. There were three Germans, their heavy helmets sunk over their heads, each performing a definite part in the firing. They, too, were surprised. Pugh, a little in the lead, drew a hand-grenade from his pocket, pulled out the pin, and threw it in their faces. It burst loudly and distinctly. One German fell flat, another grasped at his arm, his face taking on a blank expression as he did so, while the last man threw his hands above his head. Inattentive to his gesture of surrender, the line pushed on.

Location of the Fighting

 

The fighting grew more furious. Germans, surprised, were hiding behind trees and firing their slow-working rifles. When the advancing line would reach them they would receive a charge of shot in their bodies, sometimes before they had fired at the swiftly moving line. Some member of the platoon offered his version of an Indian war-whoop. It was successful in hastening the attack. Exhilarated, but sheerly impotent, one man ran forward blubbering, “You God-damn Germans,” and pointing an empty rifle at the trees. Other men calmly and methodically worked the bolts of their rifles back and forth, refilling the chambers as they were emptied of each clip of five shots. From time to time a man dropped, thinning the ranks and spreading them out to such an extent that contact on the right side of the moving line was lost.

Farther on in the woods a small trench had been dug, but through the fierceness and unexpectedness of the attack most of the enemy had been driven from it. The platoon, moving on feet that felt like wings, dashed toward the trench, some of the men sprawling into it. Before them, a few yards distant, a machine-gun poked its nose from between the crevice of two large rocks. The sight of it infuriated Lieutenant Bedford, who was leading the platoon by a few paces. Then, yards away, he began throwing bombs at it. His last bomb exhausted, he aimed his pistol and chucked the remaining shots at it. Now, almost able to look over the top of the rock and see the gunner, he threw the useless pistol at the heavy steel helmet. The gunner dropped his head, covering it with his hands. When he looked up, the platoon had passed. Farther, the resistance grew less. The bombardment of the night before had taken its toll of Germans. Bodies lay gawkily about on the grass. One body, headless, clutched a clay pipe between its fingers. Another lay flat on its back, a hole in its stomach as big as a hat. A heavy leather pack, which a shell had struck, was the centre of a ring of packages of Piedmont cigarettes which its owner had salvaged from some dead American.

The trees became sparse. Ahead, over an interminably long wheat-field, the platoon could see the horizon. There were no Germans in sight. The platoon, ordered to do so, faced in the direction from which they had come and combed the woods for machine-gun nests which they might have passed unnoticed during the attack.

Hot and tired, knowing nearly every need of the body, the platoon was formed near the place where they had entered the woods late the night before, as the sun was sinking out of sight.

They arrived at a crossroads and turned to the right. Thick woods, green at the fringe and black within, walled the smooth white ribbon of road on either side. Through soft, fluffy clouds that floated over an inanely blue sky the sun volleyed rays of brilliant light. Small, shiny pebbles, reflecting the glint, were transformed into pretty baubles of crystal and amber.

 

Thomas Boyd after the War

 

On the right of the road, moving forward in an unbroken stream, plodded a single file of drab-colored men. From a distance the line looked like a swaying, muddy snake. In the middle of the road, also moving forward, black, roan, and sorrel horses pulled caissons, field kitchens, and supply wagons. Men, returning from the direction in which the main traffic was moving, were on the left. They passed by, dejected, vapid-minded, a look of dull pain in the eyes of each. They were the wounded from the attack. Most spectacular among them were the French Colonials, with their red kepis, their broad chests showing strength and endurance beneath their blue or tan tunics. Occasionally a mass of white, blood-stained gauze would be wrapped around a black, shiny head, and strong white teeth would be doggedly bared with pain. The small carbines and long knives that they carried set them off as a special sort of troops. And then the French, with their horizon-blue uniforms and drooping, inevitable mustaches. Shoulders sagging, they slouched along with bandaged heads and bandaged arms. And the gray of the German uniform and the thump, thump of the leather boots that they wore. Small, hideous caps, round and gray, with a thin red piping circling the top, set awkwardly on their heads, which rose from thick fat necks. Behind them walked surly, wary Frenchmen. A number of English troops were scattered through the unending line. Beside the Americans whom they passed their khaki uniforms looked smart and tailored. In this multicolored canyon no words were exchanged. The Colonials looked sullen, the French beaten and spiritless, the Americans dogged and conscientious, the English expressionless; the Germans seemed the most human of them all. For them the fighting was finished.

 

Thomas Boyd, Through the Wheat, 1923

Lifeboats in the Great War—The HMHS Rohilla Disaster

James Patton 

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the principal lifeboat service operating in Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. Its volunteers fulfill a 24-hour coastal search and rescue mission.

Founded in 1824, it gained royal patronage under George IV that continues to the present day, and the current name was adopted in1854. Since inception, the RNLI  lifeboats and lifeguards have been credited with saving over 146,000 lives.

SS Rohilla at Port Said, 1914

The 460-ft long S.S. Rohilla was built in Belfast by Harland & Wolff for the British India Steam Navigation Co., completed in 1906 for the line’s London-Calcutta service. Since Calcutta is a river port, it must be accessed by shallow draught vessels, which tend to roll a lot in heavy seas, and Rohilla was no exception.  

She was often chartered by the Admiralty for use as a troopship in the Calcutta service from 1908 to 1910. In 1911 she took part in George V’s Coronation Fleet Review at Spithead, carrying members of the House of Commons. At the onset of war in 1914, she was requisitioned by the Admiralty, converted into a hospital ship,  and re-commissioned as HMHS Rohilla. 

A Section of the Wrecked Rohilla

On 30 October 1914, she embarked on her first voyage, from South Queensferry bound for Dunkirk to evacuate wounded soldiers. In the evening of that day, during a full-blown North Sea gale,  HMHS Rohilla ran aground on Saltwick Nab, a reef about a mile SSE of  Whitby harbor. The Nab is more or less perpendicular to the shore, lying about 400 yards offshore and, due to Admiralty orders, the warning buoy had been removed.  

Around Hartlepool, in Yorkshire, the coast line starts to move steadily eastward. With the lighthouses also ordered unlit, the Rohilla’s captain (who was unfamiliar with the North Sea) lost his bearing and was more than a mile west of his plotted course. This was seen from the shore, but attempts to warn the badly rolling Rohilla by signal lights went unnoticed, possibly because there was nobody aboard who was well enough to be a lookout.

After striking the Nab, the ship broke into three pieces, with the stern piece quickly slipping into deeper water. Although the ship had been close to shore, the high seas and strong winds made rescue attempts challenging, but six RNLI lifeboats answered the call. Of the oared craft, two were from Whitby Harbor, one was from Upgang (now part of Whitby) and one from Scarborough (which was towed to Whitby by a steam tug). 

A Line Thrower Rocket Fired to Rohilla

There were also two motorized  lifeboats, one from Teesmouth and a large, powerful one that came  all the way from Tynemouth (44 miles away). The steam trawler Mayfly out of Hartlepool also responded but was too big to be useful. After repeated attempts, the Scarborough boat crew was unable to launch in the surf and the Teesmouth boat was side-lined with a leak, so it was down to the Whitby-area boats until the Tynemouth boat arrived and, with skillful manuevering, was able to rescue the last 50 persons from the wreck.

Over the three days, some persons who attempted to swim to shore in the pounding waves made it, but many who tried were lost. The lifeboat crews and volunteers from Whitby worked over 50 hours straight, including carrying the Whitby No. 2 boat overland in order to successfully launch it, transporting overland and lowering the Upgang boat from the cliffs above Saltwick Bay to launch it, and even trying to form human chains from the shore to the wreck. Due to all of these heroic efforts, 144 persons were saved, including all of the nurses, one of whom was an RMS Titanic survivor,  Mary Kezia Roberts. Sadly, 83 lives were lost. 

On 16 December, raiding German battlecruisers shelled Whitby, causing damage to its famous abbey, already a ruin.

During the First World War, RNLI lifeboats were launched 1,808 times, rescuing 5,332 people. With most of the younger men on active service, the average age of a lifeboat crewman was over 50. 

Prudential, Veteran of the Dunkirk Evacuation

During the Second World War, between 27 May and 4 June 1940, 19 motorized RNLI lifeboats assisted in the the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk. Between them, two large diesel lifeboats, Ramsgate’s Prudential (ON 697), and Margate’s Lord Southborough (ON 688), collected over 2,800 troops from the beach. Not counting Dunkirk, during the war the RNLI saved 6,376 lives, including downed air crew. 

A royally chartered charity since 1860, the RNLI is principally funded by legacies (65 percent) and donations (30 percent). Most of its lifeboat crews are unpaid volunteers, who operate over 400 lifeboats from 238 stations. The RNLI receives no direct government funding. 

____________________________

[Asst. Editor's note: for you tea drinkers, try Lifeboat Tea.  

It's quite good, and your purchase supports RNLI's wonderful work.]

_____________________________

Today, the stern section of the Rohilla is a popular scuba diving site. Most of the remainder of the wreckage was salvaged for scrap after the war, but bits still remain on the reef and can sometimes be seen at low tide. 

Sources include: The Western Front Association, the BBC and the RNLI’s  Lifeboat Magazine archive.