1914 Chapter 4

4. The pursuit of Marne

Dieter Luther, Gefreiter

We got the BEF on the run and was asked to take the front fight towards them. The order was changed from halt to attack. It was not so much a battle but a series of skirmishes while we pursued the BEF. The BEF left small parties of their men as the rear guards. They gave us hell with their ambushes despite their smaller numbers, they displayed professional soldier's training in their fights...

The next the town we hit was Fournaux, and it was like the previous one; all quiet yet deadly. It was a house to house battle as rear guards troop stayed back to harass our advance. The whistles blown by the officers never ceased to be heard by all of us, and we had close our ears to it by now. I was without one so I used my voice as my command.

"Otto, cover me. I need to get across the street." Both of us are crouched against the wall of the building trying to hide from the BEF troops who are holed up in front at about a hundred yards in between some houses. We were moving into this street when one of the men shouted he saw the BEF troops. Our platoon gave chase without orders from the Sergeant. By the time he reacted, half the platoon had run into the side street and we soon find ourselves trapped in there. The first volley took down three of the men, with one injured in the middle of the street. Both Otto and I took refuge on the right while four others were on the other side. I could make out Rudy as he stands behind a doorway. He was holding his rifle as if to shoot but I know he was a hopeless shot at more than twenty yards. He was more useful in the bayonet charge than shooting at running targets.

The injured the guy is one of our new recruits; I think his name is Ben. He is shot in the legs and is whimpering away at the pain. I need to pull him to safety or we would all be demoralized by his cries. The other half of the platoon is held back by the Sergeant from charging in.

"I am going." I ran out to grabbed the injured man by his knapsack and pulled hard. I dragged the man across the street while Otto offered me cover fire. The others did the same when they saw Otto firing at the BEF. But I was surprised that the BEF did not return fire or shoot at me. Somehow, I managed to drag the injured man to the side and Rudy carried him up into the house. I shouted for medic help but none dare to venture forth. I looked at the BEF site and could not see any rifles protruding out. I presume they have left and we are shooting at empty houses.

"Rudy, there are no more enemies there. Can you send the others to recon the area? I need to attend to the wounded." The Sergeant must have heard me for he sent the rest of the platoon to search the houses where the BEF took cover. The Sergeant later walked in on and saw the injured man. He gave me a drill down on my conduct rushing in with the men. I explained I tried to stop them but the trap was set in by then. He also reprimands me on the injured man. He said to shoot the man if he does that again.

"I have no rooms for heroes and boys who fearsome pain." Those were his exact words and yet he risked his life more than once. The Sergeant rejoined the men and despite the reinforcements from new recruits, our original eighteen now stands at twelve with four more new lads. That is before the three that died today and Ben, the one who cries would too often. It seems his wounds are just superficial grazed shots on the leg.

"Sorry, Gefreiter. I am just scared" I looked at the lad and was in between killing him myself or letting him go for his action. He could have got me killed for trying to save him. I hauled him up and said to him to get ready for patrol. He saluted me. The bullet took him in the back of his head.

"Sniper!" I jumped for cover as the second shot rang out at where I was standing. Some of the men shot at the general direction but no one got the sniper pinpointed. Sergeant Bern came up to me and saw the dead man. He cursed under his breath and shouted for us to move on. The rest of the patrol was without any incident except some distance gunshots. Everywhere we go, the local folks gave us their cold reception.

Soon we were marching to Maubeuge; a city by the France-Belgium Border on the side of the Sambre River. The city is known for a large fort that used to serve the town well in previous conflicts. It was considered as strategic that the Belgians actually reinforced the town with fifteen batteries of over four hundred guns around it. It also has a complement of thirty-five thousand troops of mixed French, Belgium and BEF army to defend it. The town is also the main railway hub in the northern region with no fewer than five railway lines. We were soon resorting to fighting for every foot into the town, with door to door fighting.

In the town we met our first encounter with the Belgian Tank, as we called it then; the Minerva Armored Vehicle which comes with reinforced metal plates and a Lewis machine gun in the rear. The Belgian used it as a scout car and on occasion as a raiding vehicle. It was superior to our Calvary and their horses for the sides of the vehicle were steel-plated. What the vehicle fears was a grenade down its top opening when lobbed by the infantry troops.

The vehicle came storming from the side alleys and razed us with the Lewis gun. By the time we reached, the vehicle would be going around the next corner and out of sight.

“Bam and they are gone.” Otto cursed at the departing vehicle.

“We will be better prepared for by then,” I told the platoon. I had a plan in mind and discussed with the Non-Commissions Officers. 

After studying the plans, I decided to plan a trap for this tank if it comes around. I got the rear guy hanging back a little when we do the patrol. He would be ready with a stick grenade to release on seeing the tank. The point guy would have peeked over any new streets or alleys before we advanced past it.

We did not get to use the ploy then. Most times we were covering ourselves from the barrage of cannon shots from the fort where the French have taken refuge.

Peter Weiner, Hauptmann

"Bring up the guns." I shouted to the Artillery squads to unhook their cannons and lined it up on the Fort. The Skoda 30.5 Howitzers were proven at Liege and would then be used here. We were going to compete with the 75mm French Field Gun. The fifty-odd Howitzers lined themselves up for the firing parade. It was a show of class for the Skoda scored more damages than the French pieces.

"Get me 2^nd Platoon." I grabbed hold of the runner and told him my instructions. Half an hour later, Sergeant Bern was at my side. "I want a recon on the walls on the south side. Can you send in your men?"

The The sergeant did not question my orders at all but ran back to his squad. I was exploring all possible breaks to end this siege on the Fort. It was our fourth day and we were still on a stalemate.

1^st Platoon is already on recon at the right end facing north.

"Herr Hauptmann, the Oberst wants to advise on the recon patrols." I looked at the young runner and smiled at him. He was doing his job and if I would to shoot him, it won’t be justified.

"Tell the Oberst; the previous attempts have met with failure. I am sending in a new squad and hope to get the results." It was not a lie for the two previous patrols I sent have come back with half their numbers and no results. The young messenger saluted me and left for the Command Post.

"Herr Hauptmann, our supplies are getting low. We need to re-established supplies." I know what the Sergeant there means. Our soldiers have been on this siege with part of our cooking boys in the advance front line while the rest of us stayed back. Not only was our food reduced, but our ammo was also in question then. Most of the shooters were firing at the thick walls with no or little casualties on the other side.

"Tell them fire only once in an hour and collect the ammo from the dead ones. I will get the others to locate the supply depot. And find me, Sergeant Bern. I need him to find the ammo depot." The Sergeant ran off to tell his men of the new orders and asked the messenger to deliver the message to the 2^nd Platoon.

Dieter Luther, Gefreiter

"He is crazy. He is expecting us to recon and grabbed some ammo back. Do French soldiers use the same ammo as ours? Or is it he wants to us to grab any ammo taken by the French soldiers?" Sergeant Bern was muttering to himself as he was briefing us when the messenger arrived.

"Frag it. We move out on the primary task. Dieter, you take point with your squad. The other squad will follow me in the other direction. We will meet at the rendezvous point. "

I nodded to the new command and got my men together. I had Otto walking in front, followed by Dietrich and later Rudy followed by the others. Ben has been replaced by a new recruit who was also seeing action for the first time. I was walking behind Dietrich and keeping my eyes on the fore and rear. We were walking through the same streets which we patrolled last week but then we were supposed to be occupying the town.

"Sniper!" Otto shouted and all us jumped for cover.

But Otto later shouted back; "False alarm. We move now." It happened as the fore point may see something or someone that resembles a sniper and reacted. It was a split-second decision but on occasions, it may be untrue. But nevertheless, we took cover just in case. I saw the bombed-out houses and partially demolished ones, which may not be evacuated by the residents. These people who remained behind hid behind doors then stared at us from the demolished walls.

"The walls."

We reached our target and we start to spread out to avoid being clustered together for a mass grave. The walls looked ever magnificent although we see it almost every day. It towered us by many heads and looked so formidable. We are on the side of the wall where the guns have taken its toll on it. There were cracks and some places small holes but no big openings. We proceeded ever slowly watching for any openings that we can use.

"Look"; Otto is tapping my shoulder. I looked at the walls. I did not notice the small door on the side of the wall. It opened from inside as a Belgium Army Truck reversed towards it. There is a Minerva Armored Vehicle parked some distance in front of it with the Lewis gun at ready. Some men are loading the truck and soon a man was escorted out into it.

"Leave one man with you. I am going with the rest for the small convoy." I left Otto there and moved with the rest of the squad. We ran ahead but soon found the truck leaving and followed by the Minerva. We moved to intercept the convoy as it passed by this street. We reached it just before the convoy arrived close to our corner. It was touch and go situation and no way we had planned anything.

"Rudy, the Minerva and I will take the truck." Rudy took three men with him and attacked the armored vehicle. They just took their stick grenade and threw it at the armored vehicle. My section of the squad stood out at the front of the truck, shooting their rifles. We took down the driver and co-driver first, and then we surrounded the truck.

"Sortir avec vos mains de haut jusqu'à." I shouted at the rear of the truck. I was expecting shots but there was none. A French soldier came out later with his hands on the back of his head. He was a Corporal and we hauled him to the side. The men raised the rear flap of the truck and we saw the contents of the truck. A German officer was sitting there among the crates of ammo with the mark 'Mauser.'

"Hauptmann Richter, Second Army. Thank you."

We took over the truck and drove it back to our line. We handed over Hauptmann Richer to the Oberst. But much to our surprise that we saw the rescued Hauptmann was later hauled to the wall and shot dead. We were told he was a deserter and was later caught by the French soldiers.

This war was getting to be complicated.

Abel Lenger. Surgeon

I kicked at the the dead man who was at my feet. I am too late to save him from his wounds but he was not my first as that war dragged to no end on both ends. Men came in dying or were dead by the time they were attended. What was worse was the officers with their preferred patients.

They cut the queues or placed their pressure on us to treat their friends. I ignored them most times and continued my works. The officers will rant and rave on them reporting me but none will do it. They need me more than them.

I got a new the patient still breathing while I checked the wounds. It was fatal but he was a younger recruit and was crying then. He was shot in the chest and was bleeding hard. He may live if I could have removed the two bullets. I nodded to the orderlies to take him to the tent. I made my way ahead but another set of orderlies carried forward another patient.

“Make way.” The orderlies called. “Officer in need of surgery.” It was an officer with a wound that may not be recovered. The bullet had pierced the lungs and the blood was flowing like the stream.

"Who ordered this man to be brought here?" I asked of the orderlies.

"The Oberst." So the name was to ring fear in me but I shook my head.

"Prepared the officer." I told the nurses. They did with the usual practice in countless other surgeries. But that time, I held the scalpel firm and did my incision deep into the wound. The blood spurts out like water from the creeks for the cut was deliberate into his main artery. Instead of clotting the flow, I cut another to complete my task.

"Nurse, he is bleeding and I can't stop it. Remove him and bring in my patient." The orderlies came in and removed the dying man.

“Tell the Oberst, the officer died from his wounds,” I called out and then asked for my earlier patient. He was the one I want to save.

“He is dead. I got another for you.” The orderlies told and moved another patient in. It was another young recruit and he was shot in the right hip. That time my blade cut deep but with a precise incision to remove the bullet from the hip area. I did as my expertise allowed me and a life was saved but he won’t walk in his coming years.

That day I saved maybe countless but I also lost more.

It was near dawn when I stepped out of the tent. I removed my apron and threw it to the nearby fire.

“Oberlieutenant, you did all you could for the officer.” I looked at the nurse who was with me when I killed the officer. She then looked away before leaving me there alone. I have just let a man die because I did not like to do the operation.

This was not what I signed up for.

I was to be a healer and not a killer.