Stenay - augustus 1914 - bezetting
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."
www-crsc.army.mil
The site of: Command and General Staff College - USA.
