Chapter 50: Annihilation Of The Cavalry Division, Capture Of Bailleul
December 21st, 4:30 a.m.
Northwest of Bailleul Town, about 3 kilometers from the town.
Commander of the British 1st Cavalry Corps, Lieutenant General Edmund Allenby（see diagram below）, was personally leading his 2nd Cavalry Division and 3rd Cavalry Division, having just arrived at the battlefield.
Originally, something had happened at Bailleul Town, so the nearby Stenford garrison troops, namely the 1st Canadian Division and 2nd Canadian Division, should have come to reinforce.
But Lord Canna reacted slowly, with chaotic management and no prior combat experience. In the haste, Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force Marshal French had no choice but to assign this emergency task to the cavalry troops.
Thus, Lieutenant General Allenby had no choice but to rush over more than 30 kilometers overnight, first detouring from Poperinge to Stenford, then heading south from Stenford to here.
“I heard the enemy only has some small-scale infiltration assault troops? These sneaky mice darting around are indeed suitable for our cavalry to catch.”
Lieutenant General Allenby first looked through his telescope at the still-smoking Stenford-Bailleul section of the railway bombing site, seeing several train cars still burning fiercely. He knew the enemy must still be nearby and couldn’t have withdrawn far.
He immediately dispatched several cavalry companies for net search and fire reconnaissance, striving to quickly ascertain the enemy’s defensive positions.
His subordinate cavalry officers were also very brave, resolutely executing this order.
As if to confirm Lieutenant General Allenby’s guess, shortly after the cavalry companies spread out to the southwest, crackling gunfire like popping beans came in.
Lieutenant General Allenby frowned, raising his telescope again to personally observe while calculating in his mind:
“It seems the enemy really isn’t many; this firepower density is only a few hundred people, probably not exceeding a thousand.
Even just this infiltration harassment force made the Bailleul garrison afraid to counterattack. Has Putney gone senile!”
Allenby inwardly criticized his old colleague Putney, who was the commander of the 3rd Infantry Corps.
How could he know that Putney hadn’t launched any counterattacks that night; it was just that the previous counterattacks had mainly been toward the direction of the German Army’s main force and had all been repelled.
As for this infiltration enemy at the far rear, Putney’s troops were all infantry—who would dare to spread out and pursue in the dark? Even if they encountered them, they couldn’t call friendly forces for a quick encirclement; wouldn’t that just be delivering themselves up?
Since he knew the enemy was so elite, Putney would definitely leave such an annihilation task to the cavalry friendly forces.
Allenby still hadn’t realized the severity of the problem, so he immediately ordered: “Major General Gough, take your 2nd Division for envelopment right away. I heard this enemy has some automatic firepower, but its range seems short.
Cavalry charging enemy positions with dense firepower would be at a disadvantage, so we must disperse our formation and envelop from multiple directions! Fortunately, the enemy numbers are few, so they definitely won’t be able to attend to everything; if we all charge together, we can absolutely annihilate this elite enemy force!”
Schubert Gough, division commander of the 2nd Cavalry Division, did not dare to be complacent but still carried out the corps commander’s order, detaching one cavalry brigade for a wide envelopment while he himself led another brigade as reserve, also moving west.
The corps commander said “the enemy’s automatic firearms seem to have short range,” which was intelligence heard from the Commander-in-Chief, reported by the 3rd Corps guarding Bailleul. For such second- or third-hand information, Schubert definitely couldn’t fully believe it and needed to verify personally.
In 1914, British Army cavalry divisions each had 2 brigades under them, each brigade had 3 regiments, each regiment had 3 companies（infantry and artillery have battalions, cavalry has no battalions, directly from regiment to company）
Each division had over 9,000 men, including 1,200 artillerymen divided into two artillery battalions, each with 24 mobile light field guns, totaling 48—however, in actual combat, for long-distance mobile operations, field guns’ mobility was definitely slower than cavalry, and they needed time to deploy positions after arriving at the battlefield. So in urgent fights, artillery often couldn’t catch up to the first round of combat.
Additionally, the whole division had 600 communications, engineers, logistics, and other support soldiers.
The remaining 7,200 were all cavalry, so one brigade was 3,600 cavalry, regiment 1,200 cavalry, company 400 cavalry.
After Division Commander Schubert detached one brigade for probing envelopment and approach, they quickly engaged Lelouch’s battalion in combat.
After some personal verification, although the British Army cavalry paid the price of over a hundred cavalrymen killed, they roughly ascertained the enemy’s position distribution. More crucially, his subordinates really confirmed an important piece of intelligence:
“Division Commander, the enemy really is equipped with that new type of small automatic weapon that can continuously fire pistol rounds! That is, the ‘submachine gun’ reported by the 3rd Corps! After our soldiers’ probing attack failed, as long as they retreat beyond 200 meters, they’re absolutely safe, but still be careful of the enemy’s rifles.”
Schubert completely relaxed: “So this gun really only has a range of less than 200 meters! Then no problem, they have few people; in a bit, we’ll surge from all directions and absolutely wipe out these so-called German Army elites!
Give you another half hour to get into position for envelopment; attacking now is a bit early, but don’t drag until full daylight, when the enemy’s visibility improves.”
In complete darkness, large-scale dense cavalry charges risk colliding with friendly forces and causing friendly fire chaos. But full daylight isn’t good either, so just after 5 a.m. in the dim dawn is best.
Everything was settled just like that.
……
“Why not let the MG15 light machine gun teams open fire? Company Commander, the enemy is charging up!”
Second Lieutenant Dieter, skilled at commanding machine guns, was anxious after seeing the enemy repelled several probing contacts and kept requesting Lelouch, eager to show himself immediately.
But Lelouch’s military discipline was extremely strict; if he said to maintain machine gun fire silence, it must be silent, no premature exposure allowed.
“Dieter! Stay calm! Our continuous offensive tempo yesterday was very fast; the machine gun teams actually had few chances to shine! The submachine gun teams shone brightly instead, attracting the enemy’s fear.
Now the enemy dares to counterattack us with a cavalry corps, meaning they never expected our fast-mobile infiltration troops to be equipped with machine guns as a formed unit! Stay calm, lure the enemy to charge fully! Unless they’re coming with a whole division or brigade, don’t expose the machine guns!”
Thus, the German Army assault battalion’s units continued to endure, and the camouflaged firepower points were also extremely patient. Company commanders like Rommel and Lister strictly restrained their subordinates just like Lelouch.
The British Army cavalry’s offensive preparations grew more sufficient, the encirclement tighter and tighter; gradually, a few British Army cavalry 13-pounder light field guns had arrived at the battlefield, completed deployment, and begun bombarding the German Army assault battalion!
Fortunately, the firepower density of this bombardment wasn’t great; the cavalry’s 13-pounder guns were about 70mm caliber, and after a night’s forced march, only a few had arrived.
On Lelouch’s side, the positions were built very solidly, personnel dispersed, hiding in trenches not seriously threatened by 70mm small guns.
This “cowardly” appearance of only countering the bombardment with submachine guns or even grenade launchers further fueled the British Army cavalry’s arrogance.
“Whole army charge! Fire signal flares!”
Finally, the British Army cavalry couldn’t hold back from the occasional German grenade launcher shots either; seeing the first ray of dawn in the east, Lieutenant General Allenby and Major General Schubert successively issued the general offensive order.
Thousands of British Army cavalry began charging toward the seemingly weak German Army assault battalion!
In Earth’s history, that classic scene from the Battle of Ypres where the British 2nd Cavalry Division suffered over half casualties, even featured on the big screen《war horse》,
unexpectedly happened by a twist of fate in a different location, playing out in the small woods and fields north of Bailleul Town!
“Finally took the bait! All MG15 light machine gun teams, open fire! Fire at will!”
After holding out so long under the enemy’s few 70mm guns’ bombardment, Lelouch almost felt his internals slightly shaken; fortunately, persistence paid off, and the enemy finally took the bait!
He shouted the order loudly, expelling the stale air from his chest, then grabbed his submachine gun, not daring to expose himself above the trench, just raising it overhead and firing blindly in the modern “black uncle faith shooting” style, spraying 9mm pistol rounds “da-da-da” at the enemies outside the trench.
Each company had 16 MG15 light machine guns, theoretically over 60 in the whole battalion. All surviving machine gun teams madly poured bullet storms at the enemy cavalry.
The light machine guns, originally unable to sustain fire without water-cooling jackets,
thanks to the cold late December combat environment and snowy weather, had no worries about sustained firepower at all!
No water cooling? We have snow cooling! Directly shovel snow to bury the barrel and shoot!
“Da-da-da! Ka-ka-ka!” A metallic storm like gale and rain, like raging waves and tides, swept toward the light cavalry.
Countless cavalry didn’t even have time to scream before being riddled with blood holes, instantly falling dead from their horses.
And their war horses were also massively mowed down, with casualty rates no lower than the men on horseback.
Screams and neighs of agony resounded across the entire field for a time.
The battalion where Lelouch was positioned had originally chosen a slightly arc-shaped terrain, relying on two small woods.
This terrain caused part of the enemy forces to naturally enter the concave arc during the attack, like drilling into a natural pocket.
Among the British Army cavalry, the one playing the role of entering the pocket was one brigade of Major General Schubert’s 2nd Cavalry Division.
Thus, this brigade bore the brunt, almost continuously crossfired by dozens of light machine guns from left, right, and front!
Moreover, the British Army in 1914 had poor adaptability; officers were generally stubborn, “heroically” resolutely executing orders.
Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been that scene in the movie《war horse》 touting knightly sense of honor but actually mindless suicide.
The enemy’s rigidity was all reaped by Lelouch!
One brigade of the 2nd Cavalry Division was almost cross-killed in this area in less than ten minutes! Even if originally understrength, not reaching 3,600 cavalry, at least over 2,000 were killed!
Later postwar statistics showed at least 2,700-2,800 dead cavalry bodies collected on this arc-shaped concave position! The entire brigade, except a very few deserters, was completely annihilated here!
And the other brigade of the 2nd Cavalry Division, as well as the entire 3rd Cavalry Division, suffered similarly heavy losses.
It was just that these units had time to react, realize something wrong, and hurriedly flee, with the fast ones escaping.
Major General Schubert’s other brigade, having charged in several waves and left some reserves, only had the frontmost 6 cavalry companies ambushed and heavily damaged, halved in losses while fleeing in defeat.
The remaining 6 companies’ reserves dared not advance again, all trying to pull back distance.
But from the start, the German Army deliberately showed weakness, letting them close in to hit; the MG15 light machine gun’s effective kill range was no inferior to its heavy machine gun prototype, still able to kill at 1,500 meters.
The cavalry companies fled in repeated defeat, inevitably chased and shot from behind all the way, with soldiers nonstop taking back hits and falling from horses, wailing for nearly half an hour before fully disengaging.
The 3rd Division personally led by Lieutenant General Allenby fared slightly better, but not by much.
……
Just half an hour later, inside Ypres City.
The telephone on the desk of Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force, Marshal John French, rang.
The old marshal with his thick pure white mustache picked up the receiver; after just one sentence, his hand trembled, and the receiver fell to the ground, smashing its casing.
“Marshal, what’s wrong? Are you alright?” The nearby staff officer hurriedly helped him sit, thinking the old marshal had high blood pressure and lost control.
“This… this is impossible! The enemy is just a few battalions of infiltration troops, yet they almost annihilated Major General Schubert’s cavalry division! And crippled another division of Lieutenant General Allenby!”
“What?” The nearby staff officers were all shocked.
This was absolutely the greatest loss since yesterday’s campaign began.
The Bailleul front had fought desperately for so long, impossible to have over 10,000 total casualties! No matter how hard, total losses were still controlled in four figures.
But in just half an hour, the cavalry corps lost several thousand lives, over 10,000 counting wounded!
This was the result of cavalry simultaneously impacting dense heavy machine gun positions from all directions?
But even if cavalry wasn’t suited for modern war, shouldn’t it be fought by maneuvering? How did they fall into such a trap?
“Impossible! Infiltration troops, how could they equip so many heavy machine guns! Everyone knows German Army heavy machine guns weigh 70 kilograms!
Tell me, how can such infiltration troops carry 70-kilogram guns everywhere, and not just one or two, but over a hundred!”
No wonder the cavalry troops underestimated the enemy; no one could have imagined this.
Such a disastrous defeat had already thrown the British Army headquarters into considerable chaos.
……
Outside Bailleul City, in the division headquarters of German 6th Army Group Baria’s 12th Division.
Lelouch’s direct superior, Division Commander Major General Karl Ludport, was clearly in the opposite mood to Marshal John French at this moment.
“Almost annihilated an enemy cavalry division? Heavily damaged another cavalry division? Excellent! Notify Army Group Headquarters immediately! Also, quickly have the front line set up megaphones to shout at the Bailleul garrison, strike and shake their morale!
Also, take those few newly arrived ‘smoke throwers’ for throwing gas canisters, remove the charges, stuff them with leaflets! No time to print? Handwrite if no time to print! The content isn’t hard—just tell them the British Army headquarters’ reinforcements sent to aid Bailleul have been besiege the point and strike the reinforcements-ed by our army!
Their railway has been blown up by us! Supplies can’t be transported! Now reinforcements are all dead; do they still want to hold this town!”
Major General Karl’s series of basic operations were solid. All matters were arranged per his instructions.
The German Army’s flanking besieging troops began new artillery fire preparation bombardment on the town. Soldiers at the front used every available megaphone equipment to shout across.
A few hours later, handwritten leaflets were also scattered into the town via airburst gas canisters. Though few in number, it was enough to create turmoil in the enemy morale.
“British Army officers and soldiers opposite! You have no hope! Your reinforcements are annihilated! Railway blown up! The Empire’s great army has surrounded this town!”
And in fact, the German Army certainly hadn’t surrounded it, let alone the hillside north of Bailleul toward the Ypres Highlands impossible to surround.
Even the northwestern area along the railway had at most two regiments of German Army infiltration.
But the problem was the British Army in Bailleul Town didn’t know; they were trapped in constant bad news and fake messages, in panic and unease.
Ultimately, they only held out desperately for one more day.
When night fell again, 3rd Corps Commander Lieutenant General William Putney could no longer control the extremely demoralized remnants.
Thousands of new recruits headed north along the hillside terrain, climbing to Kemmel Hill on the edge of the Ypres Highlands, withdrawing into the British 1st Corps’ defensive zone.
That place called a hill had a highest point of only 155 meters elevation; in other places, it wouldn’t qualify as a hill at all, only in the Lowland countries counting as one, with vast negative-elevation swamps nearby.
On Kemmel Hill, the British Army discovered their own fleeing soldiers surging up; at first tried shooting warnings. Finally, with numbers overwhelming law, they had to let it go.
1st Corps Commander Lieutenant General Douglas Haig, upon hearing the situation, personally came to the main position on Kemmel Hill to inspect and enforce military discipline, ordering the deserters first confined to a stockade.
With the situation deteriorated to this extent, 3rd Corps’ Lieutenant General William Putney could no longer hold Bailleul Town and could only lead his team to withdraw to the Ypres Highlands.
But as the main commander, to maintain dignity, he withdrew with the last rearguard regiment.
And just a few hours later, at dawn on the 22nd. Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force Marshal French woke up to hear the 3rd Corps had abandoned the important position without orders and withdrawn to the hills; he was furious.
He ordered Lieutenant General Putney disarmed, along with a batch of disobedient poorly commanding officers, sent back to London for military court trial.
……
Shortly after Lieutenant General Putney led the routed army up Kemmel Hill.
Troops from German 6th Army Group 12th Division and 6th Division also surged into Bailleul Town like a tide, reaping this fruit of victory.
And charging at the forefront were the two assault battalions of Major Bock and Major Rundstedt.
The company commanded by Lelouch was again charging at the forefront of those two assault battalions.
——
PS: No splitting chapters on weekends; one big chapter to taking the town, lest everyone get impatient.
Also, control word count today not to exceed 200,000 whole, to avoid wasting a day on new book list early.（Theoretically new book list until August 4th, but tomorrow definitely over 200,000 words, wasting a day. After this update, card at 199,000 words）
