haelen
(august 12, 1914)
by colonel baltia, chief of staff of the 1st cavalry division
after defending liége, the 3rd division rejoined the belgian army, which had taken up its position on the gette. the 1st, 3rd, and 5th divisions were placed in the first line; the 2nd and 6th in the second line, whilst the 4th defended namur. these forces were covered by the cavalry division which was first placed at waremme. it fell back on st. trond and then on the left of the army, thus lengthening the line from tirlemont to near diest.
on the 12th of august, the enemy cavalry endeavoured to force the passage of the gette at haelen. against six regiments of the 2nd and 4th divisions of german cavalry, supported by the 7th and 9th battalions of chasseurs and by three batteries, that is 4000 horsemen, 2000 foot-soldiers, and 18 cannons, the belgian cavalry opposed victoriously 2400 horsemen, 410 cyclists and 12 cannons.
(see army commandment report.)
for several days, detachments of the enemy cavalry had made daring attempts at all the points of our line of defence along the gette, but had found it well guarded everywhere.
on august 12th, our intrepid reconnaissances, consisting of officers of the guides and lancers, in[pg 64]formed us that the enemy had been reinforced everywhere, and we had the distinct impression that an effort to pierce our line would be made at haelen. we were on our guard and if the division of german cavalry hoped to pass there, it would meet the principal mass of the cavalry division of the belgian army. the enemy imagined that we were scattered all along the river, as we had been the preceding days, from diest to drieslinter, but it did not know that, by a skilful manoeuvre, lieutenant general de witte, only leaving the minimum of our forces at the secondary points of the passage of the river, had constituted an important reserve, which was in readiness to receive the enemy.
whilst this mass was forming, general de witte gave into the hands of the colonel of the 5th lancers the standard which this newly-formed regiment had just received. on that very day, this valiant troop won the honour of having "haelen" inscribed on the immaculate silk of that standard.
the battle ground
the sun, which on rising had appeared sulky, now burst forth in all its splendour, lighting up the farms and the white farm-houses scattered along the road which unites loxbergen and haelen and winds between fertile fields, which were still partially covered with their rich harvests of corn and oats. the division had made its headquarters on the border of loxbergen, from which spot there is an extensive view. to the left is a narrow valley encircled with poplars and willows. here and there are to be seen the red roofs of houses. on the brow of the hill[pg 65] dominating the valley, a belgian battery was installed. the bells of the church steeples of diest rang out clearly and solemnly. in the distance could be seen the outline of the little, low-built church of haelen. this little straggling town, almost unknown hitherto, was destined to be the witness of the violent, brutal effort of the german cavalry to dislodge the belgian cavalry and open a way for itself into the heart of the country, after reaching the flank of the belgian army covered by the cavalry division. the germans counted on having their revenge this time for all the successes that the belgian division had won during the first eight days of the campaign. they expected to avenge themselves on the belgians, who had swept away their reconnaissances, their patrols, their posts of liaison and their centres of information and entirely disorganised their clever but fragile lookout system.
the first firing
presently, the lights of an incendiary fire were to be seen. it was the signal given by the german reconnaissances to let their army know that we had baffled their plans.
our brave cyclist-carabineers were already at work, valiantly defending the position they occupied. with the help of the cyclist pioneer pontonniers, they had made excavations, deepened the ditches, arranged hedges and fences, barricaded the roads and paths, installed their machine-guns in favourable positions, and were now determined to inflict a severe punishment on the invaders.
as soon as the first squadrons of dragoons and hussars appeared, the firing broke loose. the enemy[pg 66] hesitated a moment and then, urged on by their chiefs, took fresh courage and fired on our little cyclists with their rifles, machine-guns, and cannons. the cowardly cads who led, or rather pushed them on, had protected themselves by placing unoffensive inhabitants of the villages whom they had hunted up, in front of them.
our riflemen, well hidden, took aim calmly, and at every shot, a pointed helmet, a colbak or a schapska rolled on the ground and a man, dressed in grey uniform, fell among the harvest. our "diables noirs" fell back, step by step, defending every furrow of ground and every bush.
german cavalry charges
suddenly, the avalanche of german squadrons appeared and, in a wild gallop, rushed on the foot-soldiers, who sustained the shock without flinching, replying with their guns and bayonets.
the squadrons, excited by their gallop, continued their way until they came to the belgian lancers, who had alighted behind the cyclists and who now received the charge with a running fire at short distance.
the gallop of these yelling, clanging masses shook the very ground, and the long, piercing lances looked as though they must overturn everything in their way, but at the first discharge of our lancers' carbines, aided effectually by the four machine-guns manipulated calmly by lieutenant scouvemont and lieutenant ouverleaux, and by the firing of three squadrons of the 1st guides, stationed to the right of the battle-field, the mass whirled round and was scattered. the first squadrons were followed by others. the second[pg 67] charge was received in the same way as the first one, and the third one like the second. seven charges one after the other were broken up.
the moment was a tragic one. a quantity of horses was tearing wildly about, mad with terror and pain, and red with blood. some of them came rushing against the horses of our lancers. the panic spread among these, and, in a moment, an immense troop of horses was tearing about the plains amidst the firing of guns and the dry bursting of the shrapnels. our soldiers, unmoved, reloaded their guns and prepared to repulse any further attacks, scarcely stopping to give a pitying glance at the dead bodies of friends and enemies around them, or at the wounded, who were groaning in pain.
fresh attacks of the enemy
those in command of the german cavalry, recognising the inefficacy of their charges, sent no more horses, but their horsemen on foot, with carbines, supported by their machine-guns.
these men advanced over the plain, creeping in amongst the corn, crouching down in every shelter offered by the ground, and hiding behind the sheaves to escape the terrible fire of our courageous and skilful men.
six regiments of dragoons, hussars, and cuirassiers were already engaged and were advancing with great difficulty, when the help of two battalions of chasseurs was sent to them.
our artillery then entered into action. the first horse battery, manipulated by an energetic officer quite sure of himself, sent his shells and shrapnels[pg 68] with straight aim on to the cavalry and foot-soldiers covering the plain and, at the same time, covered with his destructive shells the haelen bridge and the village, in which the fresh cavalry regiments were massed together which had come to reinforce and support their comrades. under the pressure of superior numbers, our cavalry had hard work to hold out, but it did not budge an inch whilst giving our infantry time to arrive.
arrival of our first reinforcements
it was three o'clock in the afternoon when our first help appeared: three battalions of the 4th regiment and two of the 24th, accompanied by a group of artillery. these troops had started from hauthem-st. marguerite at 10.30. part of the infantry was sent to velpen, to reach haelen from there, and the other part was sent, as a reinforcement to the defenders of the yserbeck farm.
the artillery supported these two attacks, but unfortunately, of the two batteries which took position at the loxbergen mill, only one could open fire without being immediately counter-attacked by the german artillery, which was in position to the north of velpen.
whilst the infantry was on its way to velpen and yserbeck farm, the 1st cavalry brigade took to horse and went in the direction of the left wing of the battle-field.
the 2nd brigade, which had been in action for seven long hours, now went in search of its horses.
at 7 o'clock, yserbeck farm, or rather the smoking ruins of this farm, were retaken by the leconte[pg 69] battalion, and velpen was reconquered by the rademaekers battalion.
all around us were horses with broken limbs, blood streaming from their nostrils and wounded sides. some of them were dying in the ditches by the roadside, or in the fields. others were galloping wildly about, their saddles swinging between their legs.
then began the pitiful procession of the wounded, who, with haggard faces, were dragging themselves with difficulty towards the rear. some of them went along, bent nearly double, walking in the ditches. others were supported by the ambulance men, or by priests of the ambulance contingent. some, too, were carried on stretchers, or even in their coats held at the four corners.
standing up, in the middle of the road, disdainful of the destructive shells which struck horses quite near them, or of the shrapnels which hit the horses they were leading, or of the bullets which whizzed through the branches, general de witte and his staff watched the various phases of the struggle, giving to the troops a fine example of fearlessness in the midst of danger. débris of all kinds strewed the ground, ammunition waggons came galloping along the road, bringing fresh supplies, whilst along the whole front, fires lighted by the shells sent up their sinister light and bitter smoke towards the clear sky above.
victory!
the battle seemed still undecided when the sun was sinking in the horizon, but just then, our artillery men noticed a retreating movement of the enemy's line, which, driven by our infantry, was beginning to[pg 70] fall back towards the bridge and village of haelen. our men immediately opened fire, with all their cannons, in the direction of the passage along which the fugitives were pouring. the latter, in spite of the efforts and threats of their officers, drew away with them the cavalry regiments that had just come to their rescue. the retreat, as night came on, degenerated into a wild helter-skelter, which went on as far as hasselt and herck-st. lambert, where the defeated troops fortified themselves hastily, in order to be able to oppose an eventual pursuit.
the dismal croaking of the crows could now be heard in the night which was already almost dark. the galloping of the frightened horses, spurred on cruelly by their riders, hammered on the pavement. under the ceaseless rain of projectiles from the belgian guns, the ten german regiments, magnificent as they had been in the morning, formed now only a disorderly mob trampling on the foot-soldiers, the dead, and the wounded, and abandoning their officers and even their generals. at the other extremity of the battle-field, could be heard the songs of victory of the belgian troops, triumphing in their first feat of arms.
the night after the combat
gradually, the battle-field became silent, a veil of darkness, of mourning, and of terror covered this ground, where so many young men, who only the day before were so happy to live, were now sleeping their last sleep, or moaning in pain, abandoned to their fate.
the silence of night, which followed the hell-like noise of the day before, seemed more profound than ever. the stars, which were already twinkling, and[pg 71] the moon, shining in all its brilliancy, were a startling contrast to the horrors before our eyes. our thoughts became clearer as we walked slowly along in the direction of our quarters. the tension of our nerves was at last relaxed. many of us had not found our horses again. they had disappeared, and some of them had been killed in the tumult. this walk in the darkness of night gradually soothed our minds, and the memories of all that had happened became clearer.
heroes. courageous deeds of our soldiers and officers
we thought of that cyclist, brave royer, belonging to the cavalry division of the staff. he had gone out resolutely, in the very midst of the fight, to bring in an officer, lieutenant waepenaere, who had been wounded in the thigh when he was leading out some timid foot-soldiers to the fray, young men who had not been under fire before. this brave soldier went back a second time into the furnace to get a machine-gun that had been abandoned and that he had to bring back on a cart. he then returned a third time to shoot two german cavalry men with his revolver. he had seen them hiding behind the sheaves and they had fired on him when he was bringing back his lieutenant, and again when he was returning with the machine-gun. he brought their two helmets with him on his last expedition.
this intrepid young man was from liége and he performed these three courageous acts in the most natural manner possible, convinced that he had merely done his duty as a soldier. he was very much surprised when he was appointed corporal for his fine conduct. later on, he was always ready, day or night,[pg 72] for the most dangerous expeditions. his career ended gloriously, for he was killed in an army motor-car expedition, during the pellenberg fight.
we thought, too, of that young soldier who had been horribly wounded and whose arm was all slashed. with his valid arm, he held out a piece of his gun to his general, crying out: "i still have my gun!" then, too, there was that other one who had to be helped along by two of the ambulance men, but who insisted on carrying his trophy, which was a german lance.
we thought, too, of those other courageous ones: thiery and prince baudouin de ligne. they had both enlisted as motor-car volunteers for as long as the war should last. they obtained permission to go to the firing lines with the foot-soldiers, whom they stimulated by their example. they had made a trench, six of them together, had occupied it and, for an hour, had held out against superior forces, whilst endeavouring to take a machine-gun.
our thoughts went out to many, many heroes, whose brave deeds we cannot relate here. among them were major bourgouis and major stacquet; commanders demaret, vandamme, and wacquez; captains lequeux, panquin, van vlierberghen; lieutenant stoops and sub-lieutenant marrée, who were killed, and major rademaekers, commander dujardin, lieutenants mortier, m. van damme, a. desmet, ch. albert and chevalier de waepenaere, all of whom were wounded.
our belgian race and our corps of officers gave proof, during that first shock, from the first moment of their baptism of fire, of all the bravery of their cool energy and of their unflinching tenacity.
[pg 73]
after the victory
it was broad daylight, the following morning, when we moved onwards towards haelen. there was intense activity at loxbergen; motor-cars and ambulances were taking their loads of wounded men to the infirmary that had been installed in the school. they were laid there, side by side, on straw that was soon stained with blood. the atmosphere was impregnated with the odour of disinfectants. sisters of mercy, priests, doctors, and ambulance men lavished every care on them, seeking to alleviate their sufferings, to console them, to bring a gleam to their dim eyes by the mention of their absent families, of their homes, of their wives and children.
the most hardened heart would have given way at the sight of those poor naked bodies, writhing with pain, of those mutilated limbs, of those twisted arms, and of those beseeching looks, there, in the midst of all the rags and bandages, uniforms, boots, and weapons flung in a heap in the corner, or on the school desks, where only a few days before, happy belgian children were learning to read and to love their country.
the battle-field
on leaving that den of pain and suffering, we felt a sort of relief in the open air, but this was not of long duration, as the sight of the battle-field filled us once more with anguish.
in front of the church of this little village, and already covered with dust, dead horses were lying, overturned carriages, trampled straw, remains of food, and of fires, and all the vile chaos that an army leaves behind it.
[pg 74]
on the outskirts of the village, on the haelen road we saw the first dead bodies of germans, with their faces tumefied and their limbs rigid. they were lying in the most extraordinary positions. a cuirassier was still holding on to a charger supplied with ammunition; farther on a dragoon was lying face downwards, his leg bent backwards.
presently we reached the little farm which had been fought for all the day. the house was torn asunder by shells and the barn reduced to ashes. the pigs were loose and wandering round the ruin.
as we advanced towards haelen, the number of corpses increased. at the spot where the encounter between the riflemen had taken place, an almost continuous line of german and belgian corpses showed what desperate fighting there had been. an officer of our 24th line regiment and a dragoon officer were lying there, side by side. which of the two had lived to see the other die? what drama was hidden under the contact of these two bodies?
at haelen, the drama was poignant. in most of the houses there were gaping holes and the walls were all knocked about.
the street was covered with débris of all kinds. hundreds of horses were lying with their heads crushed, their bodies open, or their backs broken. a nauseous odour almost choked us.
the courageous inhabitants had already buried the dead in huge graves, which they had dug near the village, and they were now beginning to take away the dead bodies of the horses.
at the corner of the street, a waggon with its cannon had been abandoned, as the wheels were broken. a little further on was another waggon, containing[pg 75] ammunition, which would have to be drowned in the little river. in a wide ditch, was the dead body of a horse almost covering the body of an officer of the dragoons, whose head alone was visible, emerging from the stagnant water.
on the square, we picked up the belgian flag, which had been floating at the municipal building. it had been snatched down by the prussians, torn and dragged through the mud. we had it put up again, just as it was, and we saluted it with deep respect, little thinking then that it would soon be the emblem of our poor country, torn, violated, and trampled under foot by a barbarous soldiery.
on our return, we took the tragic path where our indomitable cyclists had held out so heroically. the broken bicycles, the dead bodies of our "diables noirs" and of their adversaries, proved their courage, and the punishment they had inflicted on these germans, particularly on those of the 17th dragoons, that famous regiment, composed of the flower of the mecklenburg nobility.
a little farther on, we met some soldiers carrying a ladder, on which a sub-officer of our lancers was lying. he had been wounded in the knee. "i have spent a terrible night," he said, with a smile on his lips. "i was wounded and lying in a beet-root field by the side of a german sub-officer. after insulting me, he fired on me three times with his revolver, and lodged his last ball in his own head. he is still there in the field."
how long this walk back seemed to us! we would willingly have closed our eyes. we could not help thinking of the mothers, sisters, and families of all those we had just seen there, men who had died for[pg 76] their country, victims of a sanguinary, brutal, perjured despot. the thought of these poor families threw a sombre veil over our pride in the memory of our first victory!
