The Franco-German War of 1870-71 Part 32

The convalescents who were fit for service joined the ranks. Only weak detachments were left at Amiens, and because of the approach of the XIIIth Corps from the Sarthe to the Lower Seine, it was now safe to transfer the 3rd Grenadier Regiment and a heavy battery from thence to the Somme.

The departure of the French from Albert and the march of their Corps on Combles and Sailly Saillisel were soon reported by the cavalry in observation. The newly-formed Brigade Pauly occupied Bapaume, and the Brigade Isnard entered St. Quentin, whence General zur Lippe (commanding the 12th (Saxon) Cavalry Division detailed from the Army of the Meuse) retired on Ham in accordance with orders. General von Goeben now moved eastward, using the roads on both banks of the Somme so that he might the sooner reach the enemy.

_January 17th._--The 12th Cavalry Brigade moved further to the right on La Fere, the 16th Division to Ham. The 3rd Reserve Division and the Guard Cavalry Brigade arrived at Nesle; the 15th Division and the Corps Artillery, at Villers Carbonnel. An Army-Reserve had been formed of the troops last brought up from Rouen, and it followed to Harbonnieres. On the northern bank, the detachment under Count von der Groeben moved to the vicinity of Peronne.

The four French Divisions had so far advanced on Vermand as to be able to unite next day near St. Quentin. The XXIIIrd Corps was to move straight upon the town, the XXIInd to cross the Somme lower down, and take up a position south of St. Quentin.

_January 18th._--On the German side, the 16th and the 3rd Reserve Division moved by the south bank of the Somme to Jussy and Flavy, the Army-Reserve to Ham. The 12th Cavalry Division at Vendeuil found the country east of the Oise still free from the enemy.

With the object of obtaining touch of the approaching enemy, the 15th Division was on its part to cross the Somme at Brie, and, together with the troops of General Count von der Groeben, to advance on Vermand and Etreillers. General von k.u.mmer was enjoined, in case he found that the French had taken up a position, merely to watch them and to follow them should they retire northward, but should they march towards the south, to attack them with all his force.

At half-past ten, the 29th Brigade came up on the hither side of Tertry with the rear-guard of the XXIInd Corps and its trains. The Hussars charged one of the battalions guarding the latter, and drove the waggons in the greatest disorder back on Caulaincourt, but had to abandon prisoners and prize under the fire of the approaching infantry. The French brigade had turned about, and it advanced to an attack on Trescon. This was resisted by the 65th Regiment and three batteries until after two o'clock, when General du Bessol reached the scene of the fight and ordered the French brigade to resume its march on St. Quentin.

The XXIIIrd had also halted and detached a brigade against the left flank of the 15th Division. This, however, on reaching Cauvigny Farm, came upon two German battalions, which after a protracted fire-fight pursued the retreating enemy and entered Caulaincourt at half-past three, making 100 prisoners and capturing fourteen provision-waggons.

Meanwhile Count von der Groeben had hurried forward at the sound of firing. The General realized that he could help most efficaciously by marching straight on Vermand. Four batteries came into action against Poeuilly, which was occupied by the enemy, and when the 4th Grenadier Regiment pa.s.sed to the a.s.sault the French retreated, losing some prisoners. Many Gardes-Mobiles were dispersed by the Uhlans. About Vermand the whole of the XXIIIrd Corps was now in the act of beginning to march off.

Count von der Groeben therefore posted his troops behind the Poeuilly bottom, thereby r.e.t.a.r.ding the withdrawal of the enemy by forcing him to halt and form front against each display of pressure. The 15th Division took up quarters about Beauvois and Caulaincourt.

The sole aim of the French Generals on this day seemed to be to reach St. Quentin. They neglected the opportunity of falling with their two Corps upon the single 15th Division. The XXIIIrd Corps pa.s.sed the night in and westward of St. Quentin, and the XXIInd, after crossing the Somme at Seraucourt, southward of the town. A further advance either on Paris or on the German lines of communications depended now, when the latter had approached so close, on the issue of a battle; and this General Faidherbe wished to await at St. Quentin.

It was important to hold on here in case the sortie of the Paris Army should result in success. The ground offered certain advantages--the heights in front of the town gave a free range of fire and afforded a sheltered position for the reserves. It was true that the Somme divided the army in two halves, but the bridge of St. Quentin made mutual a.s.sistance possible. The enemy also occupied both sides of the river, and including the Isnard and Pauly Brigades which had come up, he finally counted 40,000 men, opposed to an enemy numerically weaker.[73]

The Germans, all told, numbered exactly 32,580 combatants, of whom nearly 6000 were cavalry.

FOOTNOTES:

[71] Who had succeeded General Manteuffel in the command of the Ist Corps, when at the beginning of December the latter found oppressive the command of a Corps along with the Command-in-Chief of the Ist Army.

[72] Commanding the 7th (Rhineland) Uhlan Regiment, the officer who so long and so gallantly defended Saarbrucken on his own responsibility in the earliest days of the war.

[73] Whether the author intends, in the two first sentences of this paragraph, that the advantages of the St. Quentin position should be enjoyed by Faidherbe or Goeben, appears somewhat obscure. The third sentence certainly refers to the German Army, as the succeeding one clearly shows. But this being so, there is a discrepancy between the text and the _Staff History_, as regards the side which the bridge of St. Quentin would serve in the battle. The following is quoted from that work: "Moreover, the German troops were separated by the Somme, whilst the bridges at St. Quentin enabled the French Corps to afford one another easy support."

BATTLE OF ST. QUENTIN.

(January 19th.)

General von Goeben had ordered the general attack for this day.

Covered by the occupation of Seraucourt, General von Barnekow advanced along the southern bank of the Somme, with the 16th and the 3rd Reserve Divisions from Jussy through Essigny; the 12th Cavalry Division advanced on the road leading from La Fere.

The French columns were still on the march to take up their position with its rear towards the town; and Grugies was already occupied by them. While the 32nd German Brigade advanced northward of Essigny the Reserve Division halted behind the village, and the 31st Brigade at a quarter to ten advanced on Grugies.

This attack was taken in flank on its left by the French Brigade Gislain, which had meanwhile occupied the hamlets of Contescourt and Castres. It was met in front by the Brigades Foerster and Pittie which had promptly come into action.

The fire of the German batteries was at once returned vigorously from Le Moulin de Tout Vent. At eleven o'clock the second battalion of the 69th Regiment marched in company columns across the entirely open ground against the heights on the hither side of Grugies; but the attempt, renewed four times, was frustrated by the destructive cross-fire of the enemy. The ammunition of the isolated battalion was nearly exhausted, and only when followed by six fresh companies of the 29th Regiment did it succeed in forcing the French back, after a desperate hand-to-hand fight: but the latter held their ground in front of Grugies and in the sugar-factory there.

On the right wing, the 12th Cavalry Division were advancing on the La Fere road. The French Brigade Aynes, hitherto held in reserve, rushed forward at the double to encounter it, and as Count zur Lippe had at disposition but one battalion of infantry, his advance at first was arrested at Cornet d'Or. But when at noon the Division was joined by reinforcements from Tergnier, the Saxon rifles stormed the park by the high-road, and the Schleswig-Holstein Fusiliers carried La Neuville. The French, with the loss of many prisoners, were vigorously pursued back to the suburb of St. Quentin, where first they found shelter.

Meantime, the 31st Brigade was engaged in a hot fight on both sides of the railway-line in front of Grugies; behind its right wing was the 32nd in the hollow ground on the high-road, where it suffered severely from the enemy's sh.e.l.l-fire; and on the left, the detachment advancing from Seraucourt did not succeed in entering Contescourt. And now the French made so determined and overwhelming an attack from Grugies, that the 16th Division had to be withdrawn as far as Essigny.

When after noon General Faidherbe joined the XXIIIrd Corps, he had reason to hope that the XXIInd Corps would be able to maintain its position. But certainly the most important result was to be looked for on the northern section of the battle-field.

Here the Division Robin had taken up a position between Fayet and Francilly. The Brigade Isnard had marched up it on its left, and the Brigade Lagrange of the Division Payen extended as far as the Somme. The Brigade Michelet remained in reserve, and the Brigade Pauly at Gricourt secured the communications rearward.

On the German left, so early as eight o'clock, General Count von der Groeben set out from Poeuilly with eight battalions and twenty-eight guns and advanced along the Roman road; the Cavalry Brigade accompanied the march on the left.

The East-Prussians[74] immediately hurled the French back from Holnon, cleared them out of Selency, and then advanced against Fayet and on to the heights of Moulin Coutte. A gun in action, ammunition-waggons, and many prisoners were there taken from the enemy.

By degrees the twenty-eight guns were ma.s.sed on the Windmill Height and entered into a contest with the artillery of the Division Robin. But in the course of half an hour the ammunition failed, since the waggons which had been sent on the previous day to the ammunition column of the VIIIth Corps had not yet come up with the reserve supply. The batteries, which were moreover suffering from infantry fire, had to retire to Holnon, and as Francilly, immediately on the flank and to the rear, was still occupied by the enemy, a further advance was temporarily postponed.

On the right, General von k.u.mmer with the 15th Division, marching from Beauvois, had reached Etreillers at ten. The King's Hussars cut in upon the enemy's horse in retreat, and drove them back upon L'Epine de Dallon, and the 29th Brigade entered Savy. North of that place three batteries opened fire against the artillery of the Division Payen, and then the 65th Regiment pa.s.sed to the attack of the forward-lying copses.

The smaller one to the south was carried, but here, as at Francilly, the Brigade Isnard maintained itself in the larger one to the north.

At noon the Brigade Lagrange also advanced once more on the small copse and forced its way into it for a short time, but was again driven back by the 65th.

The 33rd Regiment was posted in readiness on the threatened right flank of the 29th Brigade, and near it stood in action two heavy batteries of the Corps Artillery just arrived at Savy. At the same time the 30th Brigade also advanced through Roupy on the right of the 29th.

Meanwhile Colonel von Ma.s.sow at one o'clock renewed the offensive on the much more advanced left wing. Six companies of the 44th Regiment advanced on Fayet, and after firing into them at the shortest range, drove the French from the place. Two batteries followed, and resumed action against the enemy's great artillery position at Moulin de Cepy.

General Paulze D'Ivoy, who saw the communications of his Corps with Cambrai in such imminent danger, had already called up the Brigade Michelet from its reserve post west of the town, and thus reinforced now advanced on Fayet. The Prussian detachments that were in the place had to be withdrawn to Moulin Coutte; but the further advance of the enemy towards these heights was arrested by a flank attack from Selency, and at the same time the farmstead of Bois des Roses was carried. The French again withdrew on Fayet.

There, at Francilly, and in the northern copses, they still held their own at half-past one, while at that hour, on the German side, all three brigades had been brought up into the fighting-line. The Army-Reserve had arrived from Ham at Roupy, but General von Goeben, who from the latter place had been watching the slow progress of the 16th Division, had already sent it at eleven o'clock through Seraucourt to the support of that Division.

Colonel von Boecking (commanding the Army-Reserve), with his three battalions, three squadrons, and two batteries, advanced from Seraucourt against Contescourt. Hastening forward with the cavalry, he brought his artillery promptly into action; and then the 41st Regiment, immediately on its arrival, pa.s.sed to the attack. The battalion of the 19th Regiment which was already on the spot, joined in the fighting, and the enemy with the loss of many prisoners, was at one o'clock driven out of Contescourt and of Castres as well, towards the heights of Grugies.

Against these heights the fire of the artillery, which had gradually been increased to thirty guns, was now directed.

Bent on further disputing the position, General Lecomte brought up several battalions from the brigades of Pittie and Aynes for the reinforcement of the Brigade Gislain. The East-Prussian Regiment (41st) succeeded, nevertheless, by half-past two o'clock, in hurling the enemy by an outflanking attack from the heights into the hollow in front of Grugies. Colonel von Boecking's vigorous attack made itself felt throughout the whole front of fight.

With a view to renewing a general advance, General von Barnekow had ordered up his last reserves from Essigny, when towards three o'clock the Brigade Pittie unexpectedly pushed forward an attack along the railway line. Its right scourged by artillery fire from Castres, it found its left taken at unawares by the charge of five squadrons of reserve cavalry from the Urvilliers hollow. Simultaneously Colonel von Hartzberg advanced with the 32nd Brigade, and drove the enemy back to Moulin de Tout Vent.

The Brigade Foerster, south of Grugies, had still held out stubbornly, although now seriously threatened on the right from Giffecourt, as well as by the 12th Cavalry Division on its left flank. Its left flank now completely uncovered by the retreat of the Brigade Pittie, and its last strength exhausted by a long struggle, the brigade found itself finally forced to evacuate its long-held position. The 31st Brigade advanced along the railway-line as far as the sugar-factory, and Colonel von Boecking drove the last French detachments out of Grugies. He then prepared with his artillery the attack upon Moulin de Tout Vent. Against these heights the 41st Regiment, the battalions already ordered up from Essigny, and the 32nd Brigade advanced to a concentric attack. The French did not prolong their resistance, and indeed were already in retreat. The entire German fighting line, with the 12th Cavalry Division on its right, moved forward on the town, which was now reached by the fire of the artillery posted at Gauchy. The cavalry repeatedly broke in on the retreating hostile bodies; and the railway-station and suburb, in which was found only the rear-guard of the XXth French Corps, was occupied after a short struggle.

Whilst on the southern section of the battle-field the action took this turn, on the northern side the attacks were also being pushed.

By two o'clock the 28th Regiment advancing from Roupy by the road from Ham had carried the farmstead of L'Epine de Dallon; and almost simultaneously Count von der Groeben's infantry came up to renew the offensive.

Whilst on the right some companies of the 4th and 44th Regiments opposed the advance of French detachments from the larger copse, Major von Elpons with six companies of the Crown Prince Grenadiers, advanced from Holnon and Selency upon Francilly, and, notwithstanding the hot fire of the defenders, forced an entrance into this very straggling village, in which many prisoners were made. As, however, the East-Prussian Regiment then advanced further south of the Roman road, it had in its turn to sustain a formidable attack.

To cover its threatened line of retreat, the Brigade Michelet once more advanced from Fayet, and the Brigade Pauly also marched from Gricourt upon Moulin Coutte. This position, which had in the meantime been strengthened by artillery, was, however, obstinately held by the 44th Regiment, and when the Grenadier companies poured in leftward towards the Roman road, the enemy's attack was here also repulsed.

Meanwhile the 29th Brigade, followed by the 30th, had already advanced in the direction of St. Quentin, the 33rd Regiment on its right and the 65th Regiment on the left. The latter regiment now took complete possession of the larger copse, and forty-eight guns were brought up on both sides of the road from Savy. The further advance of the infantry was effected in column of companies and on an extended line, because of the heavy sh.e.l.l fire of the French. The Brigades of Lagrange and Isnard did not await the shock, but at four o'clock retired on St. Quentin with the loss of one gun.

Their artillery once more took up a position at Rocourt, but at five o'clock had to abandon it abruptly, and the French now confined themselves to the defence of the barricaded accesses into the St. Martin suburb of St. Quentin.

Six Prussian batteries were brought up against these, and the 29th Brigade for some time maintained a stationary fire fight on the strongly held buildings and gardens; but presently several companies from Rocourt established themselves in the suburb, in which street-fighting was still continued, even after Lieutenant-Colonel von Hullessem had succeeded in crossing the ca.n.a.l bridge and entering the town itself.