Battle of Germantown

“ The loss of the Delaware frigate, and of Billingsport, greatly discouraged the seamen by whom the galleys and floating batteries were manned. Believing the fate of America to be decided, an opinion strengthened by the intelligence received from their connections in Philadelphia, they manifested the most alarming defection, and several officers as well as sailors deserted to the enemy. This desponding temper was checked by the battle of Germantown, and by throwing a garrison of Continental troops into the fort at Red Bank, called Fort Mercer, the defense of which had been entrusted to militia. ”

“ BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN. "Those fellows look very neat and prim; they march well, and their muskets are polished very bright. I wonder how they would stand fire," said Higgins, after the party had seated themselves.
"I doubt if they would like it as well as parading the streets; but there may be some stout hearts among them," replied old Harmar.
"They should have been at Brandywine or Germantown. At either place they would have had a chance to prove their stuff. Fife and drum would have been necessary, I think, to stir them up," said Wilson. ”

“ With much labour General Dickinson assembled two other corps amounting to about nine hundred men, with whom he was about to cross the Delaware when intelligence was received of the arrival at New York of a reinforcement from Europe. He was detained in Jersey for the defence of the state, and the militia designed to serve in Pennsylvania were placed under General Forman. About six hundred of them reached the army a few days before the battle of Germantown, immediately after which they were permitted to return. ”

“ Battle of Germantown in 1777--Maneuvers of the two Armies on the Schuylkill--Washington's Plan of attacking Germantown--Calls Council of Officers, 315; Americans approach the Village--Sullivan attacks British Pickets at Mount Airy--Enemy retreat--Engagement ensues near the Schuylkill--Enemy retreat to Chew's stone House, 316; Discharge of Musketry upon Americans from within--Lieutenant Smith sent with Flag, demanding Surrender--Shot by British--Chew's House attempted to be tired--The Incendiary shot--Approach of General Greene--Severe Conflict ensues, 317 ”

“ In this battle, the Americans were unsuccessful, and soon after the British army took possession of Philadelphia, and the American army took their position at Germantown, which is six miles northwest from Philadelphia. Here again the Americans are repulsed, and each army retires to winter quarters, the British to Philadelphia, the American to Valley Forge. ”

“ Dividing forces in the face of an enemy to make several simultaneous attacks is dangerous, because it is almost impossible to secure a proper coöperation between the attacking units. A skilful general will concentrate his force upon the separately approaching and more or less isolated units and beat them in detail. Washington’s tactics at Germantown were similar to 236those of Custer ”

“ The extended line of operations, which embraced nearly two miles, the unfavorable nature of the ground in the environs of Germantown for the operations of the troops, a large portion of whom were undisciplined, the ground being much cut up, and intersected by stone fences and enclosures of various sorts, the delay of the left wing under Greene in getting into action—all these causes, combined with an atmosphere so dense from fog and smoke as to make it impossible to distinguish friend from foe, produced a retreat in our army at the moment when victory seemed to be within its grasp. ”

“ The planters who had survived the attack were hastily called in to Jamestown, and their homes and fields abandoned, so that of the eighty recent settlements only six remained. Some of the people were bold enough to refuse to obey the order, arming their servants, mounting cannon, and preparing to defend their own homes. One of these bold spirits was a woman. But the authorities at Jamestown would not permit this, and they were all compelled to abandon their strongholds and unite for the general defence. ”

“ As we approached Germantown, we found an evidence that the enemy were aware of our vicinity, and Wayne determined to attack at once. Just at dawn of day, a party of Sullivan's troops attacked the picket at the end of the village, and our whole division rushed on as the picket was driven in. The surprise was complete. The enemy could not make a stand. They were broken and routed, and their tents and marquees burnt. We pushed on, took some prisoners, and drove the British from behind fences and houses where they had taken shelter. ”

“ Of the English battalion. Captain Adnet and 15 rank and file were killed; Mr. Macguire, the paymaster, and Mr. Johnstone, the commissary, who joined the grenadiers, two officers, and 20 of the rank and file were wounded; the sepoys had 100 killed and more wounded. No victory could be more complete; Mr. Conflans, the commander of the French army, changing horses, arrived on the full gallop at Rajahmundrum before midnight, although the distance is 40 miles from the field on which the battle was lost ”

“ With such tactics, against a spirited and determined foe, the losses of the attackers were naturally enormous. In fact, it was estimated that the casualties suffered by the Germans during the first few days of such fighting amounted to 250, men. But, driven on by ruthless commanders, they continued to advance in masses, though mowed down by the British at every successive step.
"All the German storm troops, including the guards, were in brand-new uniforms," said the correspondent of the New York Times. "They advanced in dense masses and never faltered until shattered by the machine-gun fire. ”

“ Forty thousand men, unsupported as we were, could not have carried the position at Gettysburg. The enemy was there. Officers and men knew their advantage, and were resolved to stay until the hills came down over them. It is simply out of the question for a lesser force to march over broad, open fields and carry a fortified front occupied by a greater force of seasoned troops.
Referring to the proposed move around the Union left to cut the line of communication, a parallel in the Franco-German war is appropriate. ”

“ Either a sanguinary battle, like those of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania, where the rebels, [Pg 174] strongly intrenched, had all the advantages on their side must be fought, or Grant must try another move by the left and seek a more favorable battle ground. But that meant a move to the James river; since between the White House and the James there could be no new base of supply. Furthermore, the ground further to the south and nearer the James, was known to be fully as difficult as that on which the army now stood and was, presumably, as well fortified. ”

“ A mile beyond Fairfax Court House, on the Warrenton Turnpike, is Germantown. It is here that Tyler's Division has rested, on the night of the 17th. At 7 o'clock on the morning of Thursday, the 18th, in obedience to written orders from McDowell, it presses forward, on that "Pike," to Centreville, five miles nearer to the Enemy's position behind Bull Run—Richardson's Brigade in advance—and, at 9 o'clock, occupies it. ”

“ Not only did these American soldiers hold the German onslaught where it was but, in a sudden, fierce, resistless counter-thrust they drove back in defeat and confusion the Prussian Guard, the Pommeranian Reserves, and smashed the morale of that German division beyond hope of resurrection.
The news of that exploit sped from the Alps to the North Sea Coast, through all the camps of the Allies, with incredible rapidity. “The Americans have held the Germans. They can fight,” ran the message. ”

“ But should we draw him far away from the defenses of his capital, and defeat him on a field of our own choosing, his army would be irretrievably lost, and the victory would be attended with results of the utmost importance." Gettysburg and York were designated as points suitable for such a battle. With such prospects in the range of possibility, any commander might be willing to risk for a time his communications, especially when the theatre of operations abounds in supplies, and the invading army is accompanied by a powerful cavalry. ”

“ Undismayed by this repulse, the enemy sent another body of troops to attack the American positions south of the highway, where, on the edge of a wood, the Americans had posted many machine guns. The gunners allowed the Germans to advance a certain distance and then rained their fire upon them. More than a hundred German dead covered one small field swept by the American bullets. The enemy was halted and driven back by a rush of Americans from their trenches in the face of a hail of bullets showered upon them from behind the German lines. ”

“ In the meantime, the Fifty-first Pennsylvania and Twenty-first Massachusetts kept up an incessant fire upon the rebels, who had withdrawn their artillery, and commenced to retreat in good order. The Sixth New Hampshire had steadily advanced in line to the left of the road, and when within about two hundred yards poured in a deadly volley, which completely demoralized the enemy and ended the battle. ”

“ The Americans opened fire upon the fort, and for four days ineffectually hammered the walls with cannon-shot. It is not easy to understand why the position they had gained on Mount Defiance did not prove as advantageous to them as it had been to the British. They withdrew to the foot of Lake George, and then, embarking on the captured gunboats, attacked Diamond Island, where a quantity of stores was guarded by two companies of British regulars and several gunboats. The Americans were repulsed with some loss. ”

“ After they had gone some distance the first ranks of infantry lay down, and permitted other waves of men to pass through their ranks. Great numbers of three-inch guns and small cannon on low carriages that could be swiftly moved were now brought up behind the infantry and the attack went on.
The German attack was directed against the center of the Allies' position. Their aim was to drive a great salient on a front of fifty or sixty miles through the occupied lines which would divide the French and British, after which they were to be dealt with separately. ”

“ Meanwhile, despite the threatening character of the Allied offensive on the Somme, German assaults on the Verdun front continued unabated during July, and there was little evidence of the withdrawal of German troops from that point to reinforce the army opposed to the British. But except at Verdun, Germany was at bay everywhere, and the situation was recognized in the Fatherland as serious. Never before had the Allies been able to drive at Germany from all sides at once. ”

“ The fourth day dawned—the appointed day for final victory—and still the struggle continued, fiercer than ever. Slowly, slowly, the German infantry pressed forward, leaving behind them a sea of helpless bodies—a grey carpet as perceived from a distance. The artillery fire swelled and mounted in paroxysms of incredible violence, the German guns hammering in savage persistence, the French batteries lurking for their target, overwhelming it in a deluge. On and on pressed the grey infantry, thrust dangerously as night fell straight at the heart, towards Fort Douaumont. ”

“ The north side of the village was given a great bombardment, and at eleven o'clock the sun came through, the fog cleared, and the infantry attack began. The artillery had now played its part, but, to assist in the assault, one gun of the 41st Battery was pushed forward to the junction of the Armentières and La Bassée roads. From this point of vantage it was able to work considerable execution on the German infantry massed in the north-east corner of the village, but, as an inevitable consequence, was itself singled out for special attention on the part of the enemy. ”

“ At some points, however, the Germans had converted their positions into regular fortresses, and here there was desperate fighting with grenade and rifle. The French cleared out these strongholds and made their way slowly up the slopes toward the objective. During the fight French aeroplanes circled overhead watching the movements of the Germans behind the points attacked. Not a German machine was visible, but some were hidden among the snow clouds, for the rattle of machine guns, heard at times, denoted their presence above the battle field. ”

“ A deep hollow way passed along the skirt of the camp, behind which appeared a considerable number of Europeans regularly drawn up, as if to defend the passage of the hollow way, and several shot were fired from heavy cannon planted to defend the approach. Just as the English troops came near, and the first division of the Europeans stept out to give their fire, the field-pieces were arrived within shot; on which all the enemy went to the right-about, abandoned their camp, and retreated, seemingly every man as he listed, in the utmost confusion ”

“ Those divisions were hurriedly transported across the base of the V-shaped salient and thrown into the attack to the east and the southwest of Rheims.
The Germans found the Allied line prepared to receive them. Their attacking waves were mowed down [358] with terrific machine gun fire from French and American gunners, while at the same time heavy artillery barrages played upon the German back areas with deadly effect in the massed ranks of the reserves. The fighting was particularly vicious. It was destined to be the Germans' last action of a grand offensive nature in the entire war. ”