the first attack of the retrenched camp of antwerp
(september 4, 1914)
by father hénusse, s.j., army chaplain to the 84th artillery battery
on that day, the staff of the 5th division had decided on an offensive reconnaissance, starting from willebroeck and going towards lippeloo. towards 7 in the morning, we heard that the germans had arrived in force at breendonck. commandant c—— transmitted this information to the staff, who, no doubt, gave orders to the cavalry to verify the information, as the hour fixed for our departure passed, and we were still there for a long time afterwards. the foot-soldiers were yawning behind their piled arms and the gunners were strolling about near the cannons.
towards 10 o'clock, the order finally arrived for us to start, but the itinerary was modified. we were to go by way of sauvegarde and pullaer, instead of leaving willebroeck along the network of barbed wire.
the column set out. the 16th brigade of mixed forces advanced along the narrow road which is the[pg 117] ordinary way to the line of forts. towards 12.30, it was preparing to take up a position, when suddenly, four detonations were heard and four shrapnels exploded in front of the artillery, just near the commander of the group, who saw his cyclist hit, his men wounded, and horses either fall or take fright.
the astonishment was so great, that a slight confusion ensued. an explanation was almost as quickly obtained. the enemy was making a sudden attack on the double interval, breendonck-letterheide-liezele. an order was immediately given to the artillery to occupy the positions organised for the defence of the said intervals. the 84th battery had its sector limited by the canal of willebroeck and breendonck, the 83rd the sector comprised between breendonck and letterheide-liezele, and the 82nd the sector letterheide-liezele.
"wheel round!" was the command given and, on the narrow road, the wheel round took place in perfect order.
whilst the batteries were going to their positions, the commanders went just as quickly to their observation posts. that of the commander of the 83rd was an extraordinary post. between two poplars, a platform, eight yards high, had been made, protected by a shield. it was reached by a huge ladder and was big and strong, as was necessary for the man who was to use it. when he reached it, the balls were already whizzing from all sides and the huge shrapnels were bursting above the forts. it was evident that the germans had begun the attack with their masses, without waiting for the preliminary artillery preparation.
the commander climbed quickly on to his perch[pg 118] and began scrutinising the horizon with his field-glasses. in the direction of breendonck, the firing range had been cleared for about eight hundred yards in advance of the line of forts. all the houses but one had been destroyed. farther away, in the background, there were isolated farms, the roads leading to the village, mills, and clusters of trees; in the foreground, immense fields of asparagus a yard high.
suddenly, a movement was to be seen on the road leading from the village. an enemy column was advancing there. it broke up into little groups, in order to reach sheltered places. this was just the moment to seize the telephone and order a quick fire from the battery 1700 yards in the rear. unfortunately, the telephone had been taken off on account of the reconnaissance that morning, and torture now began for the unfortunate commander.
to have a mass of several thousand men in front of him and, there, behind him, the four fire-spitters which could sow death and carnage among that mass, and not be able to make a sign to them, not be able to transmit the order! tantalus had nothing like this to endure! the commander's eyes were fixed first on the advancing enemy, and then on the plain where the telephonists ought to be unrolling the wire, the precious wire.... he could see nothing but the green grass and the sunshine....
finally, he could stand it no longer and he clambered down from his observatory, saluted by a volley of balls, which only did harm to the poplar branches. he rushed to his horse, which was hidden in the little wood at the back and rode at full speed in the direction of the telephonists. as soon as they appeared, he gave his orders in feverish haste and returned, at the[pg 119] same rapid pace, to his observatory. the question now was would he reach the top of the ladder or not? the balls came whizzing along, hitting the steps of the huge ladder. one, two, three, and he sprang on to it and began to mount. with a thrill of anguish, he continued his way until, at last, he was once more at his post. this time, though, he flung himself down full length on his platform to look through his field-glasses at the horizon. the changes he now saw were that the enemy columns were advancing, in close rank, behind the isolated farms and behind the mills. in the foreground, sharp-shooters were gliding and crawling towards the asparagus fields. hundreds of men were already hidden there. he felt sure of that.
the commander was furious. he remembered a certain shooting-party, when he had had a magnificent animal within his range and it had made straight for his neighbour's vicinity, thus preventing him from shooting, for fear of hitting his fellow huntsman.
it was certainly his fate to play the part of tantalus. he wondered why the telephonists did not arrive, and whether the poor wretches had been shot down? finally, he caught sight of them crossing the railroad, five hundred yards away. he hoped they would stoop down, and crawl if necessary, for the balls were whizzing along all the time. in the meantime, the commander took his measures, noted the distances on the map, and revelled in advance at the thought of massacring the most odious enemies that ever existed, and cutting short their triumph in this sudden attack, which they fancied they were carrying out so well. the minutes seemed endlessly long; his blood was boiling and beating in his heart and brain....
[pg 120]
finally, the telephonists were at the foot of the ladder, the communication was once more set up and the first command sent like lightning. a few seconds passed, and the reply was there. four rapid shrapnels burst above the asparagus, just at the right height, and now, quick, quick, and rapid firing!
the storm continued pouring down on the fields where the boches were crouching and, through his field-glasses, the commander could see hideous things flying in the air: arms, legs, and helmeted heads. at the same time as his orders, the telephone communicated to the battery the result of the firing, and the gunners imagined that they saw with their eyes the magnificent work of death. this excited them and, in glee, they continued their work with enthusiasm and speed.
after the asparagus fields, they attacked the farms. the shells fell there like thunderbolts and fires broke out everywhere. in spite of all this, the balls continued to whizz round the observatory. it was very evident that there were some men hidden who were shooting desperately. the commander searched everywhere and concluded that they were in the one house still standing, the one house that the engineers had not destroyed. it was situated on the road from breendonck to lippeloo and within the last two hours it had been suddenly loopholed. what was to be done? it was too small a building to constitute an objective for indirect aim, and consequently it would have been useless to inform the battery. the breendonck fort, though, could knock it down directly.
it was the telephonist who thought of this and suggested his idea to the commander, who had been obliged to come down once more from his perch, as it[pg 121] was impossible to remain there. the idea was good, but the question was how to communicate with the fort? it was more than eight hundred yards away, and there was almost entirely open ground between them. the telephonist started off on his own account and, less than ten minutes later, the fort opened fire on the house. with the third shell, it was flaming like a huge torch, after which it fell, sending an immense bouquet of sparks up into the air.... the commander once more went back to his observation post, but the fête was over.
the roads were deserted; the asparagus plants on which he turned his glasses were quite still; the farms were smoking and the rumbling of the cannon could only be heard dying away in the distance. over yonder, beyond the village of breendonck, the disorderly retreat of the boches could be imagined, saving their cannons, dragging along their wounded, and hastening to hide their disgrace.
after that our reconnaissances and our ambulances came out, and the sad and glorious balance sheet of the day's work was gradually made out.
the next day we found that, in the asparagus fields, 1100 german identification plaques had been gathered.
the commander, whom everyone was congratulating, grasped the hands of the two soldier-telephonists and said to them: "and all this, thanks to you, my brave fellows!"
