Great Britain -- Defenses; Imaginary wars and battles
we could see company after company making their way to Waltham Abbey.
"At three the order for a general advance on Waltham Abbey was issued.
As the enemy seemed to have few, if any, guns at this place, it was
determined to make use of some of the new armoured motors that
accompanied the Army. Von Kronhelm, who was personally directing the
operations from Copped Hall, had caused each Corps to send its own
motors to Epping, so that we had something like thirty at our disposal.
These quaint, grey monsters came down through the Forest and advanced on
Epping by two parallel roads, one passing by the south of Warlies Park,
the other being the main road from Epping. It was a weird sight to see
these shore-going armour-clads flying down upon the enemy. They got
within 800 yards of the houses, but the enemy contrived to block their
further advance by various obstacles which they placed on the roads.
"There was about an hour's desperate fighting in the village. The old
Abbey Church was set on fire by a stray shell, the conflagration
spreading to the neighbouring houses, and both British and Germans being
too busy killing each other to put it out, the whole village was shortly
in flames. The British were finally driven out of it, and across the
river by five o'clock. In the meantime every heavy gun that could be got
to bear was directed on the fort at Monkham's Hall, which, during the
afternoon, was also made the target for the guns of the Garde Corps,
which co-operated with us by attacking the lines at Cheshunt, and
assisting us with its artillery fire from the opposite side of the
river. By nightfall the fort was a mass of smoking earth, over which
fluttered our black cross flag, and the front of the IVth Corps
stretched from this to Gillwell Park, four miles nearer London.
"The Xth Corps was in support in the Forest behind us, and forming also
a front to cover our flank, reaching from Chingford to Buckhurst Hill.
The enemy was quite demoralised in this direction, and showed no
indication of resuming the engagement. As for the IXth Corps, its
advanced troops were at Lamboume End, in close communication with
General Frölich, who had established his headquarters at
Havering-atte-Bower. We have driven a formidable wedge right into the
middle of the carefully elaborated system of defence arranged by the
English generals, and it will now be a miracle if they can prevent our
entry into the capital.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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