Battle of Langside

“ Langdon exclaimed in a low, excited voice; “one or two men at a time can probably cross in safety, but no more. There is no other bridge for five miles, and that may be in a similar condition.”
Here indeed was an effective stop to the eager sailors in sight of the battle between their comrades and the bloodthirsty enemy. The volume of musketry fire directed upon the mission had increased alarmingly, and at frequent intervals came the roar of artillery. ”

“ The battle of Langemarck yesterday, and all the struggle southward to the ground about Glencorse Wood and Inverness Copse was one of the most heroic as well as one of the bloodiest days of fighting in all this war. The enemy put up a fierce resistance except at points where underfed boys had been thrust out in shell-holes, as in the neighbourhood of Langemarck, to check the first onslaught of our men if possible, and if not to die. Behind them, as storm troops for counter-attack, were some of the finest troops of the German army. ”

“ When the hour of noon arrived, the din of battle raged wild and fierce round the village of Langaffer. The enemies of the land had arrived from the west with false Colin at their head, and were met by the soldiers in the plain, below the Castle of Ravenspur. With a loud war-cry on either side foe rushed upon foe, and the fight began. Horsemen reeled over and tumbled from their chargers, blood flowed freely on every side, shrieks rent the air; but the strength of the combatants appeared equal. ”

“ Ten days since this uttermost corner of England had stirred to the strange music of men making ready for battle: bugle-calling Cavalry in the new barracks in Eastbourne on the hill; thundering Artillery in the Circular Redoubt at Langney Point; Sea-Fencibles in the martello- towers along Pevensey Levels. Now all was still and dead again. A concentration in force had taken place at Lewes. The Cavalry had been withdrawn to the camp there. A case of cholera had emptied Langney Fort. The Sea-Fencibles had run away. Black Diamond had swept up the blockademen.
Darkness, darkness, everywhere. ”

“ For a fortnight prior to the attack the enemy has maintained a heavy and continuous artillery fire, including an unprecedented use of H.V. guns against back areas and a new form of gas shell, all of which caused severe casualties. Despite this and the fact that the forward area was dominated by the enemy at all points, the necessary preparations for the battle were completed and the difficult forward march and assembly of nine Divisions successfully carried out and the assault launched. ”

“ Facing this left center came General Langle's Fourth French Army, covering the southern side of the plain of Chalons, it lay south of Vitry-le-François, and faced due north. On this army, it was expected, the brunt of the drive would fall. At this point the French battle line made a sharp angle, the Third French Army, commanded by General Sarrail, occupying a base from Bar-le-Duc to Verdun. It thus faced almost west, skirting the lower edge of the Forest of Argonne. ”

“ Frank went on to say. “They’re all as obstinate as they make them; and the chances are, these fellows will just be more bent on shooting Jose up than ever, if, as you say, he’s already pinked a couple of their men.”
“Well, they don’t seem to be clearing out that I can notice, and that’s a fact,” Andy admitted immediately afterward. Frank could himself hear the reports of guns being discharged, and they came so thick and fast that he could almost imagine a battle was being fought between large numbers of enemies on either side. ”

“ Lannes, too, on the left of the French, succeeded in driving back the allied right under Bagration. The victorious French troops were then swung upon the rear of the left of the Allies, and of the unhappy three columns the third was entirely crushed, while the others were shattered into fragments. The battle became a rout, and as the remnants of the Allies fled across the river the French artillery broke the ice and thousands of fugitives were drowned. The Allies lost 35,000 men in killed, wounded, and prisoners, while the French loss was only 7800. ”

“ At length Marshal Luxembourg, by means of an immense superiority of numbers, carried the village of Neer-Winden, forced the position occupied by his opponents, and his numerous cavalry overpowered the squadrons in the right wing of the confederate army. King William instantly ordered the English horse on the left to oppose the victorious career of the enemy; and Langston's Regiment, galloping to the scene of conflict, charged the French horsemen with signal gallantry. ”

“ The number of bullets in the shell is such that troops in the open under effective shrapnel fire must suffer very heavily, and may be almost annihilated. If the enemy is close behind good cover, the bullets, indeed, pass harmlessly overhead. This, however, leads to a very important fact, viz. that artillery can keep down the fire of hostile infantry, “blind” the enemy, in Langlois’ phrase, by pinning it down to cover. Under cover the men are safe, but if they raise their heads to take careful aim, they will almost certainly be hit. ”

“ Kill; kill!” The fierce Cave-men surged about him so furiously that no ax could be brought to bear, so much were one and all of them hampered by the [177] eagerness of their fellows. Above the tumult now thundered the chieftain’s loud command: “Silence! Stand back, all of you,” and as the howls subsided into snarls at his bidding, he stepped forward and shook his ax-blade in Pic’s face.
“Ape Boy? Agh-h! Now we know you—friend of beasts, enemy of men. The Cave Lion is too gentle for such as you. Back to the shelter with him,” he roared. “No beast shall cheat the stomachs of starving men.” ”

“ Often have they been pierced by the bullets, but never sullied by the touch of a foe!"
"We will yield to our ain kindly folk," cried Sergeant Wemyss and several soldiers; "we will yield us to Major Maitland and the Scots Guards."
"You must surrender to the Swart Ruyters alone, my brave hearts!" cried Langstone.
"And what if we do not?" asked Dunbarton.
"Good my Lord, the consequences will be frightful—unconditional surrender, or utter extermination, Dutch terms. On every hand you are hemmed in, and every road to your native land is blocked up by enemies. ”

“ Langres was a very sweatshop in scholastic industry. It was a combination of learning and an infinite amount of clerical detail for men many of whom were used to having their details looked after by clerks. British and French officers, acting as instructors and lecturers, elucidated the problems on the blackboard. As one saturated with war on the Western Front listened to preachment of fundamentals, I was impressed with how much the average man who has not seen war, and has taken his conception of it from a soldier charging or firing a gun, had to learn before he had the a b c's of modern war. ”

“ We were relieved on the night of the 16th/17th July by the 1/4th Royal Lancaster Regiment, about 10 p.m., and moved off to reserve billets near Headquarters. Detachments from A Company, under Second Lieutenant Evans, and C Company, under Second Lieutenant R. A. Ostrehan, garrisoned “fort” supporting points behind the line. There was a heavy trench mortar bombardment of the trenches held by the 2/5th Lancashire Fusiliers on the night of the 19th/20th July, which caused a Brigade “stand-to,” but nothing happened. The 2/5th Lancashire Fusiliers had rejoined the Brigade the week before. ”

“ Langle’s orders were to try to make headway northward, in co-ordination with Sarrail’s attack toward the west. In fact, he was barely able to hold his ground until successes on either side relieved the pressure.
Happily, the German Command had not discovered the weakness of the junction between Foch’s and Langle’s forces; and the Saxons did not at first prove formidable. The 17th Corps was, therefore, able on September 6 to make a short advance west of Courdemanges, nearly to the railway. ”

“ The enemy barrage was promptly opened on the approximate line of our assembly position—a proof that the enemy were fully prepared for the attack. This caused the three rear waves, i.e., the four Companies of the 1/4th Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, to close well up on to the 1/4th Royal Lancaster Regiment, and it appears that in a good many cases this was overdone, causing the two units to be intermingled and considerably undermining the principles of organisation. ”

“ Had James Langdon, the rascal who had made the attack in the night which had just passed, been able to see him he would have laughed, for this sturdy young Englishman, looking so strong and active on this early morning, would hardly have dared to lift his rifle. He was suffering the torment of mind which has come to many a thousand young warriors before him. Not because he wished it, but owing to pure accident, he had the blood of fellow beings on his hands. He had killed men. ”

“ The other regiments engaged did not lose twenty men apiece. The infantry could not keep pace with the pursuit after they reached Langenstein, and the two other corps of cavalry, though they did excellent work in heading back the enemy, never came to close quarters. Lückner's hussars did not lose a man nor a horse, and of the mounted irregulars but twenty-three men and horses were killed or wounded. It was the Fifteenth alone, a young regiment that had never been under fire, which thrice charged five times its numbers of French infantry and rode through them ”

“ Why, the —th Madras Light Infantry—he remembered now—it was Langrishe's regiment. How extraordinary that he should not have remembered before! It was the regiment sent in pursuit. Langrishe would fall in for some fighting—he would find it ready-made to his hand. Those little frontier wars were endless things once they started. And what toll they took of precious human lives! In the last one more young fellows of the General's acquaintance had been killed than he liked to remember. Such deaths, too! Even the bravest soldier might well shrink from the fiendish things the Wazees were capable of. ”

“ Langham caught it by the throat as though it were human, and did not feel the hot metal burning the palms of his hands as he choked it and pointed its muzzle toward the Palace, while the others dragged at the spokes of the wheel. It was fighting at close range now, close enough to suit even Langham. He found himself in the front rank of it without knowing exactly how he got there. Every man on both sides was playing his own hand, and seemed to know exactly what to do. ”

“ He saw with his own eyes knights preparing for war as if it were a hunt; learned men consider the mysteries of religion as fit subjects to exercise one's minds in after-dinner discussions; the chief guardians of the flock busy themselves with their "owelles" only to shear, not to feed them. Meed was everywhere triumphant; her misdeeds had been vainly denounced; her reign had come; under the features of Alice Perrers she was now the paramour of the king!
At all such men and at all such things, Langland thunders anathema. ”

“ The field guns cut wire opposite our front line from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., after which the heavies resumed operations. In the evening a patrol located an enemy sentry post in the Long Sap. On the 22nd the artillery programme was repeated; the enemy retaliated and caused one casuality. On the 23rd the 1/4th King’s Own raided over our heads, entering the enemy trenches and finding them deserted; the enemy retaliated heavily, causing three casualties, one man (Duerden) being killed in the front line by a bit of shell. ”

“ After keen deliberation and two wakeful nights, Rags and Toby had decided on the only plan of action which had a chance. By machine-guns—two, sniping, and luck, the bald head of Old Man Kopje across the river must be kept inviolate as long as could be. Once the enemy succeeded in planting anything over a four-pounder there, the garrison must take to the casemates and dug-outs down the slope, which was sand-bagged and tunnelled into comparative safety. ”

“ The attack to commence with went well, though a great many casualties were inflicted by enemy machine gun fire, which from the start was very well directed. AISNE FARM was reported taken at 6 5 a.m., though a Platoon of the 1/4th Loyal North Lancashires had to give assistance in the attack on this strong point. A message timed 8 17 a.m. stated, “Attack appears to be going well.” ”

“ Friends and enemies alike admitted that they fought like heroes, though some Scottish authorities attribute the defeat to the inefficiency of Langdale's scouts (ib. pp. 434, 436, 442; Clarendon, xi. 48, 75; Burnet, p. 453; Langdale's own narrative is printed in Lancashire Civil War Tracts, p. 267) . Langdale accompanied Hamilton's march as far as Uttoxeter, fled with a few officers to avoid surrendering, and was captured on 23 Aug. ”

“ Take a shot at that crew around the gun."
"I don't like this long range business," Langham answered. "I am going down to join Clay. I don't like the idea of hitting a man when he isn't looking at you."
The engineer gave an incredulous laugh.
"If he isn't looking at you, he's aiming at the man next to you. 'Live and let Live' doesn't apply at present."
As Langham reached Clay's side triumphant shouts arose from the roof-tops, and the men posted there stood up and showed themselves above the barricades and called to Clay that the cannon were deserted. ”

“ Langford suffered him to proceed with the wild and rapid starts to which the vehemence of his passions led him; but when he paused, the prisoner took up the conversation, saying, "I was about to tell you, my lord, that your son did seek a quarrel with me; did draw his sword upon me; did try to induce me to follow his example, but in vain."
"What!" interrupted the peer, "did you refuse to fight him? How was that? a soldier, and a man of your race?" ”