Read Online Casca 21: The Trench Soldier by Barry Sadler - Free Book Online
Authors: Barry Sadler
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order: large wire entanglements were set up, machine guns were emplaced and well provided with ammunition and water, wounded were removed to the base hospital, and the troops fed and rested. The "contemptible little army" was ready for whatever the dawn might bring.
And what the morning brought was a truly massive artillery barrage followed by a determined infantry assault that cost many lives on both sides but failed to dislodge the Tommies from their positions.
At Le Cateau a similarly determined German offensive tore holes in Smith-Dorrien's lines but did not succeed in overrunning them.
The vicious fighting went on all day with scarcely a pause, and at sunset the positions of the two armies were much the same as they had been the previous evening.
The next day the Germans brought up fresh troops and succeeded in forcing the British back to the next line of trenchworks and that afternoon forced a farther retreat. The following day they forced a withdrawal to the next line and then to the next. And the next day to another that had been readied in the interim north of the Marne River.
The German attacks continued, each with more troops than the last, and the British and French were forced to continually retreat. The withdrawals were orderly, however, and more costly to the attackers than the retiring defenders.
A few days later, the French government did, in fact, abandon the capital and withdraw to Bordeaux, leaving Paris under the control of a military governor, General Gallieni. The Germans had now driven all French forces out of Lorraine and had taken Namur, Longuy, Montmedy, Soissons, Laon, Rheims, and Maubeuge.
On the Eastern Front, the Battle of Tannenberg had resulted in a crushing defeat for the "Russian steamroller" that had been partly offset by the successful defense of Poland, inflicting even greater losses on the Austrian forces.
With German forces only fifteen miles from Paris, the military governor saw that the city was gravely threatened and urged General Joffre to mount a general counteroffensive. On September fifth, Joffre attempted to outflank the entrenched Germans, while they made a similar move against the well dug-in French troops and the shrinking British contingent.
The Battle of the Marne raged for five days with neither side able to gain any territory but with enormous casualties on both sides. The French army continued to pour more and more men into action. Eventually, on September ninth, both the army of General Kluck, the conqueror of Belgium, and that of General Bulow fell back; the whole German line withdrew west of Verdun.
Both the French and the British forces hesitated then advanced cautiously. The German line withdrew farther, and the allies made another wary advance. By September thirteenth, the Germans had been pushed back north of the Aisne River where they made a stand.
The allies stayed cautious. The German withdrawal had been orderly, and, it seemed likely, pre-planned. They had yielded perhaps five miles of territory but might now be better established in previously prepared defenses. These defenses would surely be hardened with every day that passed.
In the British lines the soldiers argued among themselves, mostly coming down on the side of action. No doubt the same discussions were going on at HQ, but coming down on the side of caution.
An artillery sergeant major appeared and several companies were paraded before him. He addressed them as if they were schoolboys, informing them of some of the intricacies of artillery operations, particularly the need for detailed knowledge of the location of the enemy and of his movements. He said that it had been realized that experienced infantrymen made better observers than artillerymen who rarely saw what they were firing at and so lacked the background for accurate recognition and reportage.
"We need a volunteer," he finally smiled, "for a light-duty job. Nothing too much and right out of the firing line."
Even the rawest
And what the morning brought was a truly massive artillery barrage followed by a determined infantry assault that cost many lives on both sides but failed to dislodge the Tommies from their positions.
At Le Cateau a similarly determined German offensive tore holes in Smith-Dorrien's lines but did not succeed in overrunning them.
The vicious fighting went on all day with scarcely a pause, and at sunset the positions of the two armies were much the same as they had been the previous evening.
The next day the Germans brought up fresh troops and succeeded in forcing the British back to the next line of trenchworks and that afternoon forced a farther retreat. The following day they forced a withdrawal to the next line and then to the next. And the next day to another that had been readied in the interim north of the Marne River.
The German attacks continued, each with more troops than the last, and the British and French were forced to continually retreat. The withdrawals were orderly, however, and more costly to the attackers than the retiring defenders.
A few days later, the French government did, in fact, abandon the capital and withdraw to Bordeaux, leaving Paris under the control of a military governor, General Gallieni. The Germans had now driven all French forces out of Lorraine and had taken Namur, Longuy, Montmedy, Soissons, Laon, Rheims, and Maubeuge.
On the Eastern Front, the Battle of Tannenberg had resulted in a crushing defeat for the "Russian steamroller" that had been partly offset by the successful defense of Poland, inflicting even greater losses on the Austrian forces.
With German forces only fifteen miles from Paris, the military governor saw that the city was gravely threatened and urged General Joffre to mount a general counteroffensive. On September fifth, Joffre attempted to outflank the entrenched Germans, while they made a similar move against the well dug-in French troops and the shrinking British contingent.
The Battle of the Marne raged for five days with neither side able to gain any territory but with enormous casualties on both sides. The French army continued to pour more and more men into action. Eventually, on September ninth, both the army of General Kluck, the conqueror of Belgium, and that of General Bulow fell back; the whole German line withdrew west of Verdun.
Both the French and the British forces hesitated then advanced cautiously. The German line withdrew farther, and the allies made another wary advance. By September thirteenth, the Germans had been pushed back north of the Aisne River where they made a stand.
The allies stayed cautious. The German withdrawal had been orderly, and, it seemed likely, pre-planned. They had yielded perhaps five miles of territory but might now be better established in previously prepared defenses. These defenses would surely be hardened with every day that passed.
In the British lines the soldiers argued among themselves, mostly coming down on the side of action. No doubt the same discussions were going on at HQ, but coming down on the side of caution.
An artillery sergeant major appeared and several companies were paraded before him. He addressed them as if they were schoolboys, informing them of some of the intricacies of artillery operations, particularly the need for detailed knowledge of the location of the enemy and of his movements. He said that it had been realized that experienced infantrymen made better observers than artillerymen who rarely saw what they were firing at and so lacked the background for accurate recognition and reportage.
"We need a volunteer," he finally smiled, "for a light-duty job. Nothing too much and right out of the firing line."
Even the rawest
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