the sart-tilman combat
from an account given by père de groote, army chaplain to the 1st regiment of unmounted chasseurs and completed by major n—— of the 4th regiment of unmounted chasseurs
on august 4, 1914, the inhabitants of charleroi crowded to the streets, windows, and balconies to cheer the 1st regiment of chasseurs which was starting, preceded by the band, to take part in the defence of belgium.
"long live the king! hurrah for belgium! hurrah for the soldiers!"
every man shouted the words that came first to his lips, and the soldiers, with bright eyes and smiles, marched proudly along, under a shower of flowers and tricolour ribbons.
pushing through the ranks, a woman held a little girl of three or four years of age up to one of the volunteers, and the father, with tears in his eyes, kissed his child for the last time, amidst the frantic cheering of the crowd.
just at this moment, the people rushed forward on to the horse-road, surrounding the soldiers, and commenced filling their pockets with tobacco, chocolate, and a hundred other dainties. the officers, half-[pg 25]laughing and half angry, endeavoured to re-establish order. as for me, i had great difficulty to get along, for people i did not know at all clutched me, grasped my hands and, recommending their sons to my care, forced money upon me with the words, "take it, take it, it is for the soldiers." i managed to get free of the mob and rushed home. to my great annoyance, my appointment as army chaplain had not yet arrived. what was i to do? the soldiers wanted me to be with them and it seemed to me that, at such a time, i could not desert them. i did not hesitate long, but rushed off to the station and took my seat in a compartment with eight officers.
after two hours' journey, the train stopped and we were at huy. after organising the bridge-head and protecting the destruction of the engis and hermalle bridges, the regiment was sent by train to liége in the afternoon of august 5th. we arrived at the longdoz station and were greeted here, too, with cheers. the enthusiasm increased when the crowd discovered a priest in the ranks. we were stationed on the road which leads from jupille to bellaire, as reserves, behind the 11th brigade, which was then fighting furiously in the vicinity of the barchon fort. the soldiers piled arms and lay down on the roadside. presently a line regiment passed. from horseback, i addressed a few patriotic words to the brave fellows, who seemed to appreciate what i said. they knelt down and asked for my blessing. i prayed that god would give them the victory.
towards evening, we returned to liége, went through to fragnée and halted in a meadow. it was then ten o'clock. i lay down on the grass by commander henseval. i had not closed my eyes for[pg 26] three nights and was dead tired. the commander, who was preparing his stylograph, in order to write to his wife, noticed my exhaustion. "go to sleep," he said; "in case anything happens, i will wake you." i did not need telling twice, but alas, ten minutes later, there was an energetic call: "to arms! to arms!"
i sprang to my feet and rushed forward to find out what had occurred. the german staff, having failed in its plans to the east, was employing one of its favourite man?uvres and developing action by means of its left wing, in the direction of a more vulnerable sector, that of embourg-boncelles. from our position at fragnée, we could already see the light of the bursting shells, here and there, in the direction of boncelles.
we were sent with the 4th chasseurs to ougrée. i was at the head of the column, behind general massart. it was raining in torrents and the water was streaming down our faces. this mattered little to us and we continued our march along the white road bordered by two rows of trees.
suddenly, a motor-car arrived, travelling at full speed. commander marchand was in it. he belonged to lieutenant-general leman's staff.
"our men are outflanked at sart-tilman," he said to the general; "the chasseurs must defend the hamlet at any cost."
"you mean a sacrifice?"
"yes, general."
"good, agreed! forward!"
the commander of the regiment, colonel jacquet, went quickly from rank to rank of the soldiers, stimulating their enthusiasm and telling them how proud he was to be marching at their head. as he wished[pg 27] to add example to precept, he went straight to the vanguard and advanced cautiously along, for the ground was hilly and it was quite possible that enemy patrols might have penetrated there. sart-tilman is the key of a wooded table-land, the entrance to which was crowned by a series of redoubts and hastily prepared trenches, but the firing range was not sufficiently cleared. it was nearly midnight when we passed through the hamlet.
the major of the 1st battalion placed three companies between the redoubts, facing the st. jean and sclessin woods and kept one company back as a reserve. the noise from this side was deafening. everything seemed to be rumbling together, guns, machine-guns, and cannons, and, in the midst of the darkness, the bursting of the shrapnels illuminated the sky with their blood-red lights. to the right and left, the boncelles and embourg forts seemed to be wrapped round with a girdle of flames. from time to time, we could hear, in the still night, the doleful sound of the fifes sounding the rally and the march forward. it was a grand and thrilling sight. it was war in all its tragic beauty. the deployment of the chasseurs was carried out just as though it had been on the drilling ground. they climbed the slopes in files. here and there, lay the dead body of a belgian soldier.
"halt!" came the order and, when once they were established in an advantageous position and sheltered as much as possible, they fired by guess and for a good reason. it was impossible to see a single one of the enemy soldiers. they were all hidden in the trenches and their heads scarcely came up to the parapet.
[pg 28]
suddenly, some soldiers, dragging with them their machine-guns, rushed away, crying, "the germans are there. each man for himself!" it was impossible to stop them and there was a veritable helter-skelter. we discovered afterwards that these men were germans, disguised as belgian soldiers, in order to create a panic amongst us. there was a slight hesitation and then our officers rushed amongst the sharp-shooters and led them forward, to the positions they were to occupy. a violent musketry fire greeted them, coming chiefly from the st. jean wood, a part of which had not been felled. scattered about, our chasseurs continued to advance, sheltering behind one tree after another, in spite of the ceaseless firing. the balls whizzed along and, with a dry crackle, cut down the branches or entered the trunks of the trees. i can still see a young corporal, who had been hit in the head and chest with a ball and was red with blood, walking towards major le doseray.
"i have done my duty, major," he said, "haven't i? are you satisfied with me?" the major had only just time to grasp his hand, when the poor fellow sank down. i rushed to him, but he was dead.
the battle developed with great violence. the german scouts, who preceded their columns, were driven off; but our company to the right, under captain commander rochette, had suffered terrible losses and he asked for reinforcements. the reserve of the 1st battalion and two companies of the 2nd battalion soon formed part of the chain, and the struggle continued until break of day with alternative calm and violence. the germans found a way of creeping into our thickets, thus obliging our regiment reserve[pg 29] patrols to explore our positions on each side and even at our back.
the chasseurs were congratulating themselves on having accomplished their mission and they believed that the victory was theirs, when, just at dawn, on our left wing, the boches waved white flags and the bugle rang out, "1st chasseurs, cease firing!" our officers were amazed and, for an instant, our firing stopped. we understood immediately, though, that it was only another ruse and that the germans had imitated our bugle call. the fight began once more, and very soon after, groups of the enemy who, during the darkness had crept into some of the sart-tilman houses that were still intact, took our trenches and our explorers from behind. there was a moment's consternation, as one of our men fell face downwards at the colonel's feet, declaring that he had been shot in the back by his comrades. by way of restoring confidence, the commander of the 2nd battalion sent a platoon to reconnoitre in the direction of the cense-rouge farm. it came back without discovering anything, after losing some men who were also shot in the back. another platoon inspected the field of oats adjoining the farm. our adjutant-major went himself into the gardens. in the houses, there were soldiers dressed remarkably like our chasseurs. the colonel told them to come out and join in the shooting. they refused and we broke down the doors, but the point blank firing of these imitation chasseurs obliged our men to fall back. captain fleuracker, captain rochette, lieutenant sohier, lieutenant pereaux, and lieutenant dufrane were killed. our reserve had to be withdrawn and the houses had to be attacked one after another. we[pg 30] were not supplied with incendiary and asphyxiating means, as the germans were.
the battle continued to rage and some german machine-guns, stationed four hundred yards north-east of sart-tilman and protected by barbed wire, fired volleys into the hamlet and its neighbourhood. captain vergeynst, followed by a few courageous men, rushed forward and succeeded in bringing down the boche commander and his gunners, but, unfortunately, the losses in our ranks were considerable. the regimentary reserve, which for a time had been dispersed, now rallied round the officers, whilst the first line executed a furious counter-attack. this continued until towards five o'clock, when the 3rd battalion, with the flag, the machine-guns, and the artillery of the 15th brigade came from the st. laurent wood and began to attack the trenches we had had to leave. these were soon retaken.
just at this moment captain henseval, commanding the 3rd company of the 3rd battalion, noticed a white flag in the midst of a group of germans who, with hands up, were crying, "kamarades! kamarades!" a sign was made for them to approach, but, as they did not move, henseval, accompanied by about ten men, advanced towards them in order to take them. he had almost reached them, when the germans flung themselves down on the ground, discovering a machine-gun which mowed down the little group of belgians, including the captain, who received several balls in his chest. of all this brave group, only one man escaped.
to the left, in the direction of boncelles, grey masses could be seen treading down the beet-root fields. they were the 73rd and 74th regiments of german[pg 31] infantry, marching in close ranks, shouting "hurrah!" and attacking the fort. our shells and machine-guns made great gaps in their columns. at the command of their officers, the battalions closed up the gaps and continued their march forward. three times their lines were broken and three times they re-formed them. finally, decimated, they broke up near the moats. only a hundred men remained on foot. without their officers, and completely demoralised, they waved a white flag. captain lefert, in command of the fort, and lieutenant montoisy, climbed on to the benches and, when the germans saw them, they held up their hands. just at that moment, two shots were fired from somewhere and the captain fell, a ball in both thighs. the germans gave themselves up all the same, and disappeared in indian file inside the fort. the assault had failed and the enemy fell back towards seven o'clock and attempted nothing more than a few counter-attacks at intervals.
the chasseurs were masters of the place and their flag flew over sart-tilman.
i went out at once to the battle-field. what an abominable sight it was! around the trenches, were the dead bodies of belgians and germans, piled up and forming parapets three yards high. i went down into one of the trenches; it was a pool of blood, with a heap of bodies entangled with each other. alas, how many of our brave young chasseurs were there, poor fellows whom anxious mothers were expecting back home! stepping over the dead bodies, i dressed the wounds of our men and said a few words to encourage them. they were resigned and bore their suffering without any complaint, but what anguish i read in the eyes that were already becoming dim![pg 32] how fervently they clasped their hands together in a last prayer!
when i spoke a few words in their own language to the german wounded, what a deafening noise began! they cried, moaned, pitied themselves and, imagining that i was one of their countrymen, gave me farewell messages for their relatives, their wives, and their children. they clung to me, kissed my hands, beseeched me not to leave them. i hurried away from this hell and made my way up and down the battle-field, in search of wounded men to relieve and dying ones to whom to administer the last sacraments. there in front of me, lay more than five thousand soldiers of the brandenburg, hanover, and pomeranian corps. the ground was covered with a grey cloak, relieved here and there by the dark patches of our chasseurs' uniforms. from this field of suffering, could be heard groans, sobs, and the death-rattle. it was horrible, frightful! lying on his back, with a fearful wound, a poor young volunteer of some seventeen years old, was calling out, piteously, "mother, mother, i want to see you!" i knelt down beside him and the poor boy held out a silver coin of fifty centimes to me. "it is all i have," he said; "i want to send it to the church where i was baptised."
i was moving on, when a commander suddenly forbade me to go forward. "as long as there are any wounded, i have a mission to fulfil," i protested. he finally yielded and gave me two soldiers for protection. this precaution was wise, as, a minute later, a german officer, who appeared to be dead, fired two shots from his revolver at me, but fortunately he failed to hit his mark. after this i was extremely cautious in approaching any officers of the[pg 33] enemy. however serious their wounds might be, they always clutched their swords in disdainful silence, in order to avoid the humiliation of being disarmed. "i wish to be buried with my sword and decorations," said a dying german captain. i promised him that his wish should be respected and he died contented.
with the most admirable devotion, the nurses carried the wounded soldiers to the ambulances and, very soon, a long convoy was moving along the angleur road. at every jerk, cries and groans could be heard.
towards evening, i was alone on the battle-field. a gloomy twilight lit up this plain of the dead. disagreeable odours mingled with the sweet scent of the woods. there was not a murmur, not a rustle or sound, everywhere peace and silence! on the torn-up, hollowed-out ground, were heaps and heaps of dark-looking, horrible terrifying things....
