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This week's chapter
examines the Lys battle, the situation on April 12, 1918, the Germans enter
Bailleul, British withdraw on the left, German accounts of the battle,
defence and loss of Mount Kemmel, extent of the northern advance, continued
fighting before Amiens, intervention of the American Army, air work, German
comment, the Australians, "our backs to the wall", lessons of the
Allied defeats, the Single Command under Foch, the Germans twice checked
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"There is no other course open to us but to fight it out.
Every position must be held to the last man; there must be no retirement.With
our backs to the wall, and believing in the justice of our cause, each one of
us must fight on to the end."
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Our backs to the wall
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The eyes of the world are turned towards the northern battle,
where Sir Herbert Plumer is steadfastly endeavouring to stem the oncoming
tide of the German legions
april 13, 1918
‘Our backs to the wall’
In a special Order of the Day to all ranks of the British Army in France and Flanders Sir Douglas Haig says: “There is no other course open to us but to fight it out. Every position must be held to the last man; there must be no retirement. With our backs to the wall, and believing in the justice of our cause, each one of us must fight on to the end. The safety of our homes and the freedom of mankind depend alike upon the conduct of each one of us at this critical moment.”
These grave words reveal the nature of the crisis which is swiftly developing in France. Though meant to inspire our gallant troops, who are fighting desperately for every foot of ground against heavy odds, they must be taken to heart by every man and woman in these islands. “The conduct of each one of us,” both here and across the Atlantic, should be guided by the thought that the whole fortunes of the Allies are now at stake, and that no sacrifice can be too great, no effort too small, in the supreme task of giving help to the brave men who are battling day and night against the overwhelming German hordes. Sir Douglas Haig tersely declares that the objects of the enemy are “to separate us from the French, to take the Channel ports, and destroy the British Army”.
Their leading divisions on the left centre of their battlefront are only forty miles from Calais, a situation without precedent since the war began. While guarding the northern gates, we have still to be prepared for the blow at Amiens and the line of the Somme estuary which may be attempted at any moment. For the present, however, the eyes of the world are turned towards the northern battle, where Sir Herbert Plumer is steadfastly endeavouring to stem the oncoming tide of the German legions. A glimpse of the desperate nature of the fighting is furnished by our Correspondent’s statement that, in opposing von Bernhardt’s troops on the River Lawe, the headquarters staff of two brigades plunged into the struggle with rifles, while one general led his orderlies into the fray. “Each one of us must fight on to the end,” says Sir Douglas Haig, and in this crisis that must be the motto of us all. Heavy though the onslaught of the enemy has been, we believe that our heroic soldiers, and the French hurrying to their aid, will yet save the day. |
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General Foch and the Battle
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The advent of French units in the northern battle signifies
that the old conditions under which the French and British Armies fought on
separate fronts are over
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APRIL 16, 1918
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The British and French governments have now agreed to confer upon General Foch the title and powers of Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies in France. The decision was clearly not premeditated, but has been rendered imperative by the military position in France and Flanders. Until recently the French and British Armies fought, for all practical purposes, in watertight compartments. The point of contact between the two Allied Armies remained clearly marked until the Germans began their great offensive between Arras and La Fère on March 21. In consequence of the retirement of our Fifth Army, and the hasty concentration of French reinforcements, units of both forces found themselves temporarily intermingled. The French were gradually taking over part of our battle line, and very soon were holding about half the battle front. The battle, in short, was at first exclusively British, but it became half French. In these circumstances the compromise adopted by the Supreme War Council at Versailles last winter was rapidly extended, and General Foch, at the joint desire of the British, French and United States Governments, undertook the task of co-ordinating the action of the Allied Armies with the supreme direction of strategy. This arrangement was hardly in working order when fresh complications arose as a consequence of the new offensive initiated by the enemy north and south of Armentières last week. Pressed by superior forces, the British line astride the Lys was slowly withdrawn for a considerable distance, and our Army again became in need of French help. The advent of French units in the northern battle signifies that, for a period the end of which cannot be foreseen, the old conditions under which the French and British Armies fought on separate fronts are over. There has been a fusion of resources, further emphasized by the decision of the United States government to merge many of their available battalions in French and British brigades to complete their training.
The step does not deprive the British Commander-in-Chief of any of his direct authority over the British Army, and we believe that the British peoples will fully share the entire confidence reposed in General Foch by his own countrymen.
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Captain Richthofen killed
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In his Memoirs, published last August, Richthofen paid tribute
to the British airman's love of a fight. "He is a dashing fellow,"
he wrote. "I hardly ever encountered an Englishman who refused
battle."
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april 23, 1918
Yesterday’s German communiqué announced that “Cavalry Captain Freiherr von Richthofen, at the head of his trusty 11th Pursuit Flight, has gained his 79th and 80th victories in the air.” Before that had been published Richthofen was dead. He was brought down behind our lines not far from the Somme, and is to be buried this afternoon. While probably not as brilliant as Captain Ball, all our airmen concede that Richthofen was a great pilot and a fine fighting man. If all the victories credited to him were really personal triumphs and not merely those of the squadron of which he was the leader, then Cavalry Captain Baron von Richthofen was easily the most famous airman that the German Flying Service has produced. Immelmann first, and then Boelke, in whose squadron Richthofen gained his first success, were accounted great pilots, but their exploits were insignificant compared with those attributed by German headquarters to Richthofen. While he was reported, as late as Sunday, to have achieved his 80th victory, Immelmann, when he was killed in June, 1916, had only 15 “enemy machines” to his credit, and Boelke had brought down, officially, only 38, and unofficially 40, when he met his death the following October.
Richthofen’s “star” day was, apparently, April 28, 1917, when it was claimed that he had shot down five machines. In August last year it was reported by captured prisoners, that he was wounded in a fight with a British airman, and his name was absent from German communiqués for September and October. He received a letter of congratulation from the Kaiser, who is said to have looked with special favour upon the airman, and upon whom this month he conferred the Order of the Red Eagle with Crown and Swords.
In his “Memoirs”, published last August, Richthofen paid tribute to the British airman’s love of a fight. “He is a dashing fellow,” he wrote. “He used to come now and then and pelt Boelke’s flying ground with bombs. He simply challenged one to battle, and always accepted it. I hardly ever encountered an Englishman who refused battle. During my whole life I have not found a happier hunting ground than in the course of the Somme battle.” And it was on this battleground he fought his last fight.
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