Christ figure and
soldiers, sketch by Jamie. taken
from original images of Neueve Chapelle at
http://pippopluto2.altervista.org/lettguerra/owen.htm
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/08/the-cross-at-neuve-chapelle/373454/
By close of first day's
By close of first day's
Fight, success
and failure
Came at Neuve
Chapelle -
Success made by objectives
Gained - as
communication
Failures made advanced
delays.
Germans gained
their aims
For the night
into 11 March -
Working on their
second lines
Of defences -
hours worked
During night,
completed strong
Points and
connecting them
With the trench
lines.
Their delayed
second aim
Was for rear
troops readied
For counter
attack - but they
Remained too far
back - to leave
20 battalions to
hold their line.
By 7 p.m. on the
10th, Haig
Sent out operational
orders,
For 6.45 a.m. on the
11th -
A bombardment on
Germans,
To allow IV corps
and Indian
Attacking fronts
- but morning
Mists hindered
observations,
So shells missed
trenches
Only to hit their
strongpoints.
An onslaught was needed
To hit the German
defences,
Sufficient enough
to break
Them, yet the Corps
divisions
Being bogged in the
mud,
The Meerut Indian
Division,
Awaited the 8th
to move - but
Unable to the
Indian forces
Did not move -
despite other
Attempts through
the day.
German firing had
succeed
To cut the
telephone wires
Of batteries and
observers -
The day moved to
evening
When General Haig,
in an
Appearance, ordered
that
They would only resume
The next day at
10.30 a.m.
So allowing the
German
Presence, to
prepare for
Their dawn
counter attack.
4.30 a.m. a ready
German
Artillery, ahead
of game, started.
But shells fell
far to the back,
To hit on the reserves
troops.
A 'four pronged'
German move
At 5 a.m.
launched into mists
But for most part,
driven back
At Moated Grange
- then north
Of Neuve Chapelle
and south
Where Garhwal
Brigade were
Warned - ready
and waiting.
The case was very
similar
About Port Arthur,
in holding
Back the German
attacks
Yet the mist was
not clearing
Sufficiently for
the British
Plan - delaying their
barrage
To midday - by
12.30 p.m.
The attack would
finally start.
Events then went disastrously
Wrong, with enemy
guns near
Layes Bridge
wired and built
Defences lay
untouched by
Artillery. With
machine gun
Cross fire,
holding back Indian
Troops, only slow,
confused
Information returned
to HQ.
Misled by rumours
of success
Haig gave orders
for Indians
To push through,
regardless.
Haig went to the
Indian HQ
To learn truth - now
the Indian
Force was to turn
right to Boiz
Du Biez - but the
plan could
Not be worked to
organise this.
So by 21.00 hours
the General
Gave orders went
out that
All attack
attempts were to stop.
Another part of
front remained
In confusion - as
information
And orders could
not get back
Or forth - with
darkness falling
By 18.15 hours, when
divisional
Officers had all
been gathered,
No reconnaissance
could be
Made - so
commanders of 8th
Division went to
gather the men.
The men's
exhaustive state
Meant that they
were prone
To falling asleep,
only woken
By force - a
great many dead
Were lying about,
so time
Was lost in officers
trying
To wake up the
dead men.
Despite various problems
All the leading
battalions
Were mustered and
ready
To hit back - at 21.30
hours
They waited north
of village
Of Neuve Chapelle
-
As time moved to
zero hour
Of 23.30, Haig at
22.40
Made communications
With Indian and
Corps HQ,
To be informed
that no further
Positions had
been made,
So cancelled his
instruction
To attempt to
break through -
Across from Neuve
Chapelle
Would bring no
advantages.
Now the allies
were to hold
Neuve Chapelle ,a
defensive
Line to be
secured and held.
With no further
advances
To be attempted
on the next
Day, the fight
was ended.
Both sides
claimed success.
For the British, ground
had
With three objectives
been
Taken, despite
higher losses
Than the enemy
and the fact
Of failure to
breakthrough
To Lille; it
could only be a bitter
Victory - The
French though
Now held a higher
regard
Of British army,
to see how
The enemy could
be breached.
Neuve Chapelle,
for Germany
Was a victory, in
their ability
To man second defence
lines,
After their
enemy's break-in.
Their policy of
losing frontline
Was not serious,
proving their
Theory right -
any loss of control
Helped by the
British slowness.
Neuve Chapelle ended
in
Something a
balance act -
Tipping a little
in either favour -
Something of an
experiment,
Yet the allied
made neglect
Of results - in
their ignoring
The use of
surprise, after brief
Bombardment - in preference
For shell fire
after shell fire.
by Jamie Mann.
BAYNES, J.
Lieutenant-Colonel (1966) Neuve
Chapelle. Purnells History of the First World War. Volume 2
(Part/Month unknown). P. 741-743
Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal
communication, 14 March 2015).
#WW1 #WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #WW1centenary
#worldwarone #worldwaroneremembered #WW1NeuveChapelle
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