Stenay - augustus 1914
de srijd om de westelijke Maasoever
The French Fourth Army withdrew slowly, and in the
closing days of August, 1914, made a stand on the Meuse. On August 27 the 87th
Infantry Brigade, which had been in reserve near Beaufort and Beauclair, moved
forward to take over a sector generally extending between Cesse and the Forêt
de Jaulnay. Its mission was to prevent the enemy from debouching west of the
Meuse. Limits of the sector were not precisely defined. It was understood that
French outposts held the line of the Meuse. Fourteen batteries of field
artillery under an artillery regimental commander were attached to the 87th
Brigade for the operation. The brigade itself
consisted of the 120th Infantry and the 9th and 18th Chasseur Battalions. The
18th Chasseurs were directed to occupy the woods just south of the Forêt de
Jaulnay; the 9th Chasseurs were ordered into a position south of the Maison
Blanche Inn; and the 120th Infantry was held in reserve. The forward movement to
these locations was made in a dense fog. The question of positions for the
artillery was difficult. The woods were very thick, and from their edge the
ground descended to the Meuse. It was finally decided to place all the
artillery in a clearing about 800 yards wide in the Forêt de Dieulet. This
position afforded excellent observation to the front. As the result of previous
successes in which artillery had played a large part, the 87th Brigade
commander was strongly impressed with the necessity for artillery support of
the infantry. About 8:00 a.m. the fog
lifted. German heavy artillery near Cervisy shelled the French position, blew
up a caisson, and caused some losses. Because of the long range, the French
artillery did not reply. Through his field glasses
the brigade commander noted some dark uniforms to the left front and,
accompanied by the artillery colonel and a signal detail, went in that
direction on a personal reconnaissance. He thought the troops seen were his own
18th Chasseurs. Instead he found troops of the II Colonial Corps, the unit on
his left. He met a lieutenant whom he
asked to explain the situation. "General, we are at the
place where the Beaumont-Stenay road enters the Forêt de Jaulnay. The Maison
Blanche Inn is 500 yards from here. Two kilometers farther in the same
direction you can see some houses. That is the village of Cesse. The Forêt de
Dieulet is behind us, and to our left front is the Forêt de Jaulnay. We have a
post of Colonial infantry at Maison Blanche. A battalion of the regiment of
Colonel M, which occupies those trenches to your right toward that hill, 19o,
furnishes the post at Maison Blanche. "I belong to the
regiment of Colonel L. We have one battalion in the Forêt de Jaulnay which is
to advance in the woods as far as the Inor bend, while the other two battalions
under the colonel attack in the direction of Luzy, with their left flank on the
edge of the Forêt de Jaulnay. Luzy is just behind that crest you see on the
horizon." "What information have
you of the enemy?" "Cesse, Luzy, the Inor
bend of the Meuse, and Pouilly are occupied by the enemy. Our outposts have
been driven from that crest this side of Luzy and the colonel is moving out to
attack the crest which he wants to hold. The Germans are on the military crest
now." "Tell your colonel to
hold up his attack until my artillery can get in liaison with him and support
his attack," directed the brigade commander. The artillery colonel who
had accompanied the brigade commander had a telephone wire connecting him with
his batteries in the clearing. He installed a telephone at an O.P. and began to
describe the situation to his commanders. The lieutenant reached the
Colonial colonel in time to stop the attack. The colonel rushed to join the
87th Brigade commander, and a new plan was arranged. Two artillery battalions
were to shell the Luzy crest while a third shelled the edge of the Forêt de
Jaulnay. The patrols of the Colonial
infantry had moved forward in a thin line. The military crest of the ridge west
of Luzy was held by a strong German firing line supported by several machine
guns. This line opened a heavy fire on the French patrols. The French Colonial
infantry waited in rear, while the French batteries registered on the crest. After a few minutes word
came back from the artillery that everything was ready. The artillery knew the
infantry plan and could open fire for effect at a moment's notice. "You can go now,
Colonel," the 87th Brigade commander told the Colonial. But before the French
movement could get under way, the Germans attacked. Their firing line executed
rapid fire for two minutes and then rushed forward. Behind the crest that had sheltered
them the German supports and reserves followed. The three German lines were
about 300 yards apart. The French artillery was silent until the German
reserves had gotten well beyond the crest. Then the French artillery opened
fire for effect. Heavy losses were inflicted and the Germans thrown into
confusion. The French infantry now attacked, completely scattering the dazed
Germans. In less than twenty minutes the French were near Luzy. Their losses
were slight. Since the Germans still
held Cesse, the 87th Brigade commander decided to attack this village with the
9th Chasseurs and one battalion of Colonials. "It's going to be
tough," a Colonial remarked to the brigadier. "There's a whole line
of walls there near the village. The Germans sheltered behind them will shoot
us up." The brigade commander
wished to humor the Colonials and restore their confidence. They had met with a
disaster a few days before. "Not at all," he
replied. "You will go into Cesse with your hands in your pockets, and I
will go with you, my hands in mine." The two attacking
battalions formed; the artillery was informed of the plan. The entire fourteen
batteries supported the attack by fire on Cesse and its environs. The Germans
in Cesse were taken under a powerful concentration and sustained severe losses.
To quote the French brigade commander: "We reached Cesse with our hands in
our pockets." From "Une Brigade au
Feu," by General Cordonnier, French Army.
www-cgsc.army.mil
The site of: Command and General Staff College - USA
Duplication or reproduction of the contents of this web site,
including,but not limited to,
content, graphics and source code,
is prohibited without expressed written consent by Betula Alba ©.