The Childrens' Story of the War, Volume 2 (of 10): From the Battle of Mons to the Fall of Antwerp.Parrott, Edward
History
The Childrens' Story of the War, Volume 2 (of 10): From the Battle of Mons to the Fall of Antwerp.
Parrott, Edward
World War, 1914-1918 -- Juvenile literature
The column of German cavalry opposed to Sir Philip Chetwode's brigade
must have numbered about 10,000. The main body was stationed behind a
wood, between which and the British brigade there was a slight valley.
When the attack began our men dismounted and opened a brisk rifle fire
on the advance guard of the Germans, who were hidden amongst the corn
stooks at the top of the opposite slope and amongst the turnips in a
field that lay behind. They had a machine gun with them, and their
horses were picketed at the rear of the wood.
For a time our horse artillery shelled the wood, and our men continued
their rifle fire. Our shells burst over and beyond the wood, and
stampeded the picketed horses. Then came the order to mount and charge.
The 12th Lancers went first, bearing to the right of the wood, and the
Scots Greys followed, bearing to the left. With a wild hurrah they
topped the slight rise, and crashed into the Germans, some of whom were
on the knee trying to defend themselves with their long lances. Others
held up their hands in token of surrender, and the first line of the
gallant Greys dropped the points of their sword and spared their lives.
In many cases, after the first line had passed, the Germans who had
pretended to surrender fired with revolvers, and shot the chivalrous
Scots in the back. The second line of Greys, however, made them pay
dearly for this treachery. They cut down all within reach without mercy,
and, making their horses rear and plunge and lash out with their fore
feet, knocked down and trampled many others. Before the wood was
reached, the German machine gun had been captured, and five hundred of
the enemy had been killed or taken prisoners. They were big men, and
evidently belonged to one of the Kaiser's "crack" regiments.
One of the Greys now reconnoitred the wood, and at the sight of him the
men left in charge of the picketed horses bolted. The Grey followed
them, and to his amazement saw the main body of the German cavalry in
full and disorderly flight. You may be sure that the Greys and the
Lancers were much disappointed that they had no chance of coming to
grips with the fleeing horsemen. By this time they had nothing but
contempt for the German cavalry. You will remember that at the beginning
of the retreat a German cavalry division had declined "to take on" a
British brigade. Sir John French tells us that already our cavalry had
established "a decided superiority over that of the enemy."
[Illustration: The Uhlan's Last Ride.
Armoured motor cars containing sharpshooters play an important part in
the war. This picture shows a car giving chase to a Uhlan patrol. One
man has already been laid low.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account