the following despatch from the war correspondent of the "times" with lord byfield was received on the morning of october 5, but was not published in that journal till some days later, owing to the german censorship, which necessitated its being kept secret:—
"willesden, october 4 (evening).
"after a bloody but successful combat lasting from early dawn till late in the afternoon, the country to the immediate west of the metropolis has been swept clear of the hated invaders, and the masses of the 'league of defenders' can be poured into the west of london without let or hindrance. in the desperate street fighting which is now going on they will be much more formidable than they were ever likely to be in the open[251] field, where they were absolutely incapable of man?uvring. as for the saxons—what is left of them—and fr?lich's cavalry division, with whom we have been engaged all day, they have now fallen back on harrow and hendon, it is said; but it is currently reported that a constant movement towards the high ground near hampstead is going on. these rumours come by way of london, since the enemy's enormous force of cavalry is still strong enough to prevent us getting any first-hand intelligence of his movements.
"as has been previously reported, the xiith saxon corps, under the command of prince henry of würtemberg, had taken up a position intended to cover the metropolis from the hordes of 'defenders' which, supported by a small leaven of regulars, with a proportion of cavalry and guns, were known to be slowly rolling up from the west and south. their front, facing west, extended from staines on the south, to pinner on the north, passing through stanwell, west drayton, and uxbridge. in addition they had a strong reserve in the neighbourhood of hounslow, whose business it was to cover their left flank by keeping watch along the line of the thames. they had destroyed all bridges over the river between staines and hammersmith. putney bridge, however, was still intact, as all attacks on it had been repulsed by the british holding it on the south side. such was the general state of affairs when lord byfield, who had established his headquarters at windsor, formed his plan of attack.
"as far as i have been able to ascertain, its general idea was to hold the saxons to their position by the threat of 300,000 defenders that were assembled and were continually increasing along a roughly parallel line to that occupied by the enemy at about ten miles' distance from it, while he attacked their left flank with what regular and militia regiments he could rapidly get together near esher and kingston. by this time the southern lines in the neighbourhood of london were all in working order, the damage that had been done here and there by small parties of the enemy who had made raids across the river having been repaired. it was, therefore, not a very difficult matter to assemble troops from windsor and various points on the south of london at very short notice.
"general bamford, to whom had been entrusted the[252] defence of south london, and who had established his headquarters at the crystal palace, also contributed every man he could spare from the remnant of the regular troops under his command.
"it was considered quite safe now that the germans in the city were so hardly pressed to leave the defence of the thames bridges to the masses of irregulars who had all along formed the bulk of their defenders. the risk that prince henry of würtemberg would take the bull by the horns, and by a sudden forward move attack and scatter the inert and invertebrate mass of 'defenders' who were in his immediate front had, of course, to be taken; but it was considered that in the present state of affairs in london he would hardly dare to increase the distance between the saxon corps and the rest of the german army. events proved the correctness of this surmise; but owing to unforeseen circumstances, the course of the battle was somewhat different from that which had been anticipated.
"despite the vigilance of the german spies our plans were kept secret till the very end, and it is believed that the great convergence of regular troops that began as soon as it was dark from windsor and from along the line occupied by the army of the league on the west, right round to greenwich on the east, went on without any news of the movement being carried to the enemy.
"before dawn this morning every unit was in the position to which it had been previously detailed, and, everything being in readiness, the royal engineers began to throw a pontoon bridge over the thames at the point where it makes a bend to the south just above the site of walton bridge. the enemy's patrols and pickets in the immediate neighbourhood at once opened a heavy fire on the workers, but it was beaten down by that which was poured upon them from the houses in walton-on-thames, which had been quietly occupied during the night. the enemy in vain tried to reinforce them, but in order to do this their troops had to advance into a narrow peninsula which was swept by a cross-fire of shells from batteries which had been placed in position on the south side of the river for this very purpose.
"by seven o'clock the bridge was completed, and the troops were beginning to cross over covered by the fire of the artillery and by an advance guard which had been pushed over in boats. simultaneously very much[253] the same thing had been going on at long ditton, and fierce fighting was going on in the avenues and gardens round hampton court. success here, too, attended the british arms. as a matter of fact, a determined attempt to cross the river in force had not at all been anticipated by the germans. they had not credited their opponents with the power of so rapidly assembling an army and assuming an effective and vigorous offensive so soon after their terrible series of disasters.
"what they had probably looked for was an attempt to overwhelm them by sheer force of numbers. they doubtless calculated that lord byfield would stiffen his flabby masses of 'defenders' with what trained troops he could muster, and endeavour to attack their lines along their whole length, overlapping them on the flank.
"they realised that to do this he would have to sacrifice his men in thousands upon thousands, but they knew that to do so would be his only possible chance of success in this eventuality, since the bulk of his men could neither man?uvre nor deploy. still they reckoned that in the desperate situation of the british, he would make up his mind to do this.
"on their part, although they fully realised the possibility of being overwhelmed by such tactics, they felt pretty confident that, posted as they were behind a perfect network of small rivers and streams which ran down to join the thames, they would at least succeed in beating off the attack with heavy loss, and stood no bad chance of turning the repulse into a rout by skilful use of fr?lich's cavalry division, which would be irresistible when attacking totally untrained troops after they had been shattered and disorganised by artillery fire. this, at least, is the view of those experts with whom i have spoken.
"what, perhaps, tended rather to confirm them in their theories as to the action of the british was the rifle firing that went on along the whole of their front all night through. the officers in charge of the various units which conglomerated together formed the forces facing the saxons, had picked out the few men under their command who really had some little idea of using a rifle, and, supplied with plenty of ammunition, had sent them forward in numerous small parties with general orders to approach as near the enemy's picket line as possible, and as soon as fired on to lie down and open fire[254] in return. so a species of sniping engagement went on from dark to dawn. several parties got captured or cut up by the german outlying troops and many others got shot by neighbouring parties of snipers. but, although they did not in all probability do the enemy much damage, yet they kept them on the alert all night, and led them to expect an attack in the morning. one way and another luck was entirely on the side of the patriots that morning.
"when daylight came the british massed to the westward of staines had such a threatening appearance from their immense numbers, and their fire from their batteries of heavy guns and howitzers on the south side of the river, which took the german left flank in, was so heavy that prince henry, who was there in person, judged an attack to be imminent, and would not spare a man to reinforce his troops at shepperton and halliford, who were, numerically, totally inadequate to resist the advance of the british once they got across the river.
"he turned a deaf ear to the most imploring requests for assistance, but ordered the officer in command at hounslow to move down at once and drive the british into the river. so it has been reported by our prisoners. unluckily for him this officer had his hands quite full enough at this time; for the british, who had crossed at long ditton, had now made themselves masters of everything east of the thames valley branch of the london and south-western railway, were being continually reinforced, and were fast pushing their right along the western bank of the river.
"their left was reported to be at kempton park, where they joined hands with those who had effected a crossing near walton-on-thames. more bridges were being built at platt's eyot, tagg's eyot, and sunbury lock, while boats and wherries in shoals appeared from all creeks and backwaters and hiding-places as soon as both banks were in the hands of the british.
"regulars, militia, and, lastly, volunteers, were now pouring across in thousands. forward was still the word. about noon a strong force of saxons was reported to be retreating along the road from staines to brentford. they had guns with them, which engaged the field batteries which were at once pushed forward by the british to attack them. these troops, eventually joining hands[255] with those at hounslow, opposed a more determined resistance to our advance than we had hitherto encountered.
"according to what we learned subsequently from prisoners and others, they were commanded by prince henry of würtemberg in person. he had quitted his position at staines, leaving only a single battalion and a few guns as a rearguard to oppose the masses of the 'defenders' who threatened him in that direction, and had placed his troops in the best position he could to cover the retreat of the rest of his corps from the line they had been occupying. he had, it would appear, soon after the fighting began, received the most urgent orders from von kronhelm to fall back on london and assist him in the street fighting that had now been going on without intermission for the best part of two days. von kronhelm probably thought that he would be able to draw off some of his numerous foes to the westward. but the message was received too late. prince henry did his best to obey it, but by this time the very existence of the xiith corps was at stake on account of the totally unexpected attack on his left rear by the british regular troops.
"he opposed such a stout resistance with the troops under his immediate command that he brought the british advance to a temporary standstill, while in his rear every road leading londonward was crowded with the rest of his army as they fell back from west drayton, uxbridge, ruislip and pinner. had they been facing trained soldiers they would have found it most difficult, if not impossible, to do this; but as it was the undisciplined and untrained masses of the league of defenders lost a long time in advancing, and still longer in getting over a series of streams and dykes that lay between them and the abandoned saxon position.
"they lost heavily, too, from the fire of the small rearguards that had been left at the most likely crossing-places. the saxons were therefore able to get quite well away from them, and when some attempt was being made to form up the thousands of men who presently found themselves congregated on the heath east of uxbridge, before advancing farther, a whole brigade of fr?lich's heavy cavalry suddenly swept down upon them from behind ickenham village. the débacle that followed was frightful. the unwieldy mass of 'leaguers'[256] swayed this way and that for a moment in the panic occasioned by the sudden apparition of the serried masses of charging cavalry that were rushing down on them with a thunder of hoofs that shook the earth. a few scattered shots were fired, without any perceptible effect, and before they could either form up or fly the german reiters were upon them. it was a perfect massacre. the 'leaguers' could oppose no resistance whatever. they were ridden down and slaughtered with no more difficulty than if they had been a flock of sheep. swinging their long, straight swords, the cavalrymen cut them down in hundreds and drove thousands into the river. the 'defenders' were absolutely pulverised and fled westwards in a huge scattered crowd. but if the germans had the satisfaction of scoring a local victory in this quarter, things were by no means rosy for them elsewhere. prince henry, by desperate efforts, contrived to hold on long enough in his covering position to enable the saxons from the central portion of his abandoned line to pass through hounslow and move along the london road, through brentford.
"here disaster befell them. a battery of 4.7 guns was suddenly unmasked on richmond hill, and, firing at a range of 5,000 yards, played havoc with the marching column. the head of it also suffered severe loss from riflemen concealed in kew gardens, and the whole force had to extend and fall back for some distance in a northerly direction. near ealing they met the uxbridge brigade, and a certain delay and confusion occurred. however, trained soldiers such as these are not difficult to reorganise, and while the latter continued its march along the main road the remainder moved in several small parallel columns through acton and turnham green. before another half-hour had elapsed there came a sound of firing from the advanced guard. orders to halt followed, then orders to send forward reinforcements.
"during all this time the rattle of rifle fire waxed heavier and heavier. it soon became apparent that every road and street leading into london was barricaded and that the houses on either side were crammed with riflemen. before any set plan of action could be determined on, the retiring saxons found themselves committed to a very nasty bout of street fighting. their guns were almost useless, since they could not be placed[257] in positions from which they could fire on the barricades except so close as to be under effective rifle fire. they made several desperate assaults, most of which were repulsed. in goldhawk road a j?egar battalion contrived to rush a big rampart of paving-stones which had been improvised by the british; but, once over, they were decimated by the fire from the houses on either side of the street. big high explosive shells from richmond hill, too, began to drop among the saxons. though the range was long, the gunners were evidently well informed of the whereabouts of the saxon troops and made wonderfully lucky shooting.
"for some time the distant rumble of the firing to the south-west had been growing more distinct in their ears, and about four o'clock it suddenly broke out comparatively near by. then came an order from prince henry to fall back on ealing at once. what had happened? it will not take long to relate this. prince henry's covering position had lain roughly between east bedfont and hounslow, facing south-east. he had contrived to hold on to the latter place long enough to allow his right to pivot on it and fall back to cranford bridge. here they were, to a certain extent, relieved from the close pressure they had been subjected to by the constantly advancing british troops, by the able and determined action of fr?lich's cavalry brigade.
"but in the meantime his enemies on the left, constantly reinforced from across the river—while never desisting from their so far unsuccessful attack on hounslow—worked round through twickenham and isleworth till they began to menace his rear. he must abandon hounslow, or be cut off. with consummate generalship he withdrew his left along the line of the metropolitan and district railway, and sent word to the troops on his right to retire and take up a second position at southall green. unluckily for him, there was a delay in transmission, resulting in a considerable number of these troops being cut off and captured. fr?lich's cavalry were unable to aid them at this juncture, having their attention drawn away by the masses of 'leaguers' who had managed to get over the colne and were congregating near harmondsworth.
"they cut these up and dispersed them, but afterwards found that they were separated from the saxons by a strong force of british regular troops who occupied[258] harlington and opened a fire on the reiters that emptied numerous saddles. they, therefore, made off to the northward. from this forward nothing could check the steady advance of the english, though fierce fighting went on till dark all through hanwell, ealing, perivale, and wembley, the saxons struggling gamely to the last, but getting more and more disorganised. had it not been for fr?lich's division on their right they would have been surrounded. as it was, they must have lost half their strength in casualties and prisoners.
"at dark, however, lord byfield ordered a general halt of his tired though triumphant troops, and bivouacked and billeted them along a line reaching from willesden on the right through wembley to greenford. he established his headquarters at wembley.
"i have heard some critics say that he ought to have pushed on his freshest troops towards hendon to prevent the remnant of our opponents from re-entering london; but others, with reason, urge that he is right to let them into the metropolis, which they will now find to be merely a trap."
extracts from the diary of general von kleppen, commander of the ivth german army corps, occupying london:—
"dorchester house, park lane, oct. 6.
"we are completely deceived. our position, much as we are attempting to conceal it, is a very grave one. we believed that if we reached london the british spirit would be broken. yet the more drastic our rule, the fiercer becomes the opposition. how it will end i fear to contemplate. the british are dull and apathetic, but, once roused, they fight like fiends.
"last night we had an example of it. this league of defenders, which von kronhelm has always treated with ridicule, is, we have discovered too late, practically the whole of england. von bistram, commanding the viith corps, and von haeslen, of the viiith corps, have constantly been reporting its spread through manchester, leeds, bradford, sheffield, birmingham and the other great towns we now occupy; but our commander-in-chief has treated the matter lightly, declaring it to be a kind of offshoot of some organisation they have in england, called the primrose league....
"yesterday, at the council of war, however, he was[259] compelled to acknowledge his error when i handed him a scarlet handbill calling upon the british to make a concerted attack upon us at ten o'clock. fortunately, we were prepared for the assault, otherwise i verily believe that the honours would have rested with the populace in london. as it is, we suffered considerable reverses in various districts, where our men were lured into the narrow side-streets and cut up. i confess i am greatly surprised at the valiant stand made everywhere by the londoners. last night they fought to the very end. a disaster to our arms in the strand was followed by a victory in trafalgar square, where von wilberg had established defences for the purpose of preventing the joining of the people of the east end with those of the west...."
