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Authors: Griff Hosker

1914 (British Ace) (9 page)

BOOK: 1914 (British Ace)
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“Yes sir.”

He turned to Lieutenant Ramsden, “And lieutenant, keep in close contact with the rest of the regiment.”

“Yes sir.”
We could all hear the warning in the colonel’s words.

I was happy to have the freedom to ride across the open fields.  It meant we were less likely to run into an enemy ambush.  I knew that it would be unlikely that they would set up an ambush; they were chasing the French and British towards
Paris.  Once again we had to find a way through the German Corps.

I had already checked the map out and saw a number of places where we could cut across country where the roads curved.  It was an uneventful patrol until early in the afternoon.  Doddy suddenly hissed, “There Corp, sorry, Sarge.”

I saw where he was pointing.  There were lances visible above the hedgerow which lined the road. “Jack, ride back to Sergeant Armstrong and tell him there are lancers on the road ahead.  The brigade will have to head further west.” I quickly scanned the map.  They would be able to take a side road but it would add another five miles to our journey.  The colonel had hoped to rejoin the army by nightfall.

I took out my rifle and the rest followed suit. “Let’s get a closer look at them. Keep low in the saddle.”

Once again our brown uniforms helped us to blend in with the freshly tilled field over which we rode. Soon we could see the grey uniforms riding along the road. I dismounted and handed my reins to Doddy.  I whispered, “Keep the men here.”

I trotted over to the hedge which was thirty yards away and peered through.  I could see down the road and this looked to be the lead regiment.  They were Uhlans, much like the ones we had encountered the first day. As I peered left I could see the infantry stretching away to the north.  If the sergeant and the regiment had continued on their road they would have run slap bang into them.

I turned and ran back to Caesar. Suddenly there was the crack of a rifle.  I had been spotted.  I leapt on Caesar’s back.  If we rode back to the troop then I would be leading the Germans to the regiment.  I had to lay a false trail and that meant heading south. A line of Uhlans emerged through a gap lower down the field.

“Give them five shots and then follow me.” I knew that we could not hope to hit many but I wanted them to be wary of us. I aimed at the lead rider and
then lowered my gun slightly.  I fired five times and then shouted, “Follow me!” We had managed to hit a couple of them but they were now galloping obliquely to cut us off.  I put my rifle in its boot and urged Caesar on.  I kept glancing over my shoulder.  Caesar could out run anything and I had to keep my patrol together. 

I saw a fence looming up and we soared over it.  My handpicked men were also good riders and they followed suit. 
The Uhlans were no slouches when it came to riding but they had lances and they came over slightly slower than we had. A lead began to open.  A second fence was cleared and I began to think that we might escape. Suddenly we struck the road and another squadron of Uhlans was hurtling down towards us. They must have taken the road to cut us off.

“Doddy, lead them west.  I’ll follow.” I took out my rifle.  I had five shots left in the magazine and I emptied them in the direction of the Germans.  A horse and rider fell. I booted my rifle and turned to follow my men. I soon caught up with Robbie who was at the rear.  The going was easier but the hedgerows on both sides prevented an easy escape.  I glanced over my shoulder and saw that the leading lancers were closing fast.  I took out the Luger.  As I turned I saw that the lance with its fluttering guidon was barely five feet from Caesar’s rump.  I opened fire with the gun and saw the horror on the German’s face as four shots struck him and his horse.  They tumbled to the ground and the others had to slow to clear the dead horse and rider. Once again I had bought us some time but I had emptied my gun.
My only weapon now would be my sword and that would be no match for the lances.

I began to overtake my men; Caesar was eating up the ground.  I saw a gap in the hedge ahead. 
“Doddy! Take the gap!” He raised his hand in acknowledgement and the patrol hurtled through.  I saw, ahead, a derelict barn. We would have to hold them there.  I needed to make sure that the brigade could slip by this German advance.

“Head for the barn.
  Take cover and then fire at the Uhlans.” I was counting on the fact that they might only have handguns.  It also meant we would give the horses a breather.  This could be a long chase.

The barn had broken doors at each end.  We had an escape route if we needed it. As soon as we were through we flung ourselves from our mounts.  Doddy and Tiny were already firing even as I tied Caesar to a wooden rail.  I drew my rifle and began loading the magazine. As soon as it clicked home I brought the
gun up and fired at the grey uniforms heading towards us. The nine rifles spat lead at a prodigious rate.  The Uhlans were in a single column and the wall of bullets scythed through the leading riders. The ones at the rear broke away and spread around the barn.

“Doddy, you and Tiny stay here with Robbie.  The rest of you come with me.”

We ran to the rear doors and reached it just as the lancers wheeled around the side of the barn.  We had no time to aim.  We just fired at them. Inevitably some of the shots hit horses but we hit enough Uhlans to make them withdraw. I saw Eddie Low holding his leg. “What’s up Eddie?”

“Bloody German stuck me with his pig sticker!”

“Robbie, put a dressing on it.”

I went to the door and peered out.  The Uhlans were heading for the far side of the field.  They had us surrounded.  “How many
Germans are on your side, Doddy?”

“Forty or so!”

“There are only twenty this side. Reload, then mount up and be ready to charge these twenty. Hold your fire until we are on top of them.”

Caesar was still not breathing normally but I knew he would cope.  I was not so sure about the other horses. “Robbie, keep your eye on Eddie.”

“I’m alright sarge.  It’s just a scratch!”

I kicked Caesar on and the others followed.  The Uhlans just charge
d in a line directly at us. They outnumbered us and they knew how hard it was to fire a gun from the back of a moving horse. I held the Lee Enfield in both hands.  I aimed at the leading rider. I waited until the barrel was pointing down and fired. Caesar’s movement brought the barrel up and the bullet smashed a hole in the German’s horse’s head.  As the animal fell the Uhlan was pitched forward.  There was a sickening crunch as Caesar’s hoof shattered his skull. My second shot winged an Uhlan who dropped his lance and then I was through.  I reined Caesar around.  I saw one Uhlan about to spear Doddy in the back. I fired and the bullet cracked into his leg and he too dropped the lance.  The rest were all through although I could see Robbie holding his arm.  He had been wounded as well.

We headed through the gate and found a road. The sun was lower in the sky and I led the patrol west to find the regiment. The Germans had had enough.  There was no pursuit.

Two miles down the road we halted to apply a field dressing to Robbie’s arm. “We were lucky there sarge.  If they had had guns then we would have been dead.”

“I know Robbie. I am just glad that the cavalry we have met have been lancers.”

I had sent Doddy ahead to scout out the land before us.  When he returned he shook his head.  “No sign of the regiment.” He shrugged.  “They could be anywhere.”

“No they couldn’t.  They have to head south and then east to reach the BEF.  We will take the next road which goes south and then try to find one that goes south east.” As the patrol mounted I examined the map.  We had changed directions so many times that I had no real idea of where we were.  My best guess was that we were north of Amiens.  If we couldn’t find the regiment then I would head there and wait.

We heard guns as we found a road going southeast.  From the signs I knew that it ended up at Amiens.  “Keep your eyes peeled for any signs that our lads have passed down this road.”

Suddenly we heard the sound of hooves coming along the road behind us. “Sarge, there are riders approaching!” Surely the Germans hadn’t picked up our trail again? Fortunately we had all reloaded and could use our awesome firepower if it was the Uhlans again.

“About face and have your guns ready!”

We w
heeled our horses along the road and waited for whoever came thundering down the French road. To our relief it was Jack Lynch and the rest of the troop.

Sergeant Armstrong had a grin on his face.  “We heard the firing in the distance and wondered if it was you.” He noticed the bandaged troopers and said, “I see you were lucky again.”

“Report, Sergeant Harsker.” The lieutenant’s whine snapped my head around.

I saluted the lieutenant, “Sir! We ran into some Uhlans and some infantry.  I decided not to head back to the brigade and we led them away.  After a skirmish we lost them and made our way here.”

He frowned, “If you had led them to the brigade we might have had a great victory.”

I saw George roll his eyes
as I continued. “The trouble was, sir, that we didn’t know how many infantry there were with them.  It looked to be the same Uhlans we met the other day and that means they are Von Kluck’s Corps.”

“Hm, well next time find the exact numbers.  That is, after all, what a scout is supposed to do. I will report to the colonel.  Carry on Sergeant Armstrong.”

As he rode away George said, “What a waste of space he is. He hasn’t the first clue.  You did the right thing and the major will agree with you.”

“The trouble is, when you are out in front you have to make instant decisions.  I don’t know if they are right or not.”

“They are, so don’t worry about it.” He pointed down the road, “What about Amiens?”

“We were heading there. As the Germans are behind us then perhaps it is still in our hands.”

George looked at me, “You and your lads take it easy.  The rest of the troop will scout.  It’s time we shared it around.”

“I don’t mind
, George.”

“I know but that doesn’t make it right.  There are troops behind us who have done nothing but erect tents since we arrived here.  Some of them don’t even know there is a war on.” He turned to his men, “Right then you lazy buggers,
let’s see how this is done.”

It felt strange to ride knowing that we would have warning of any trouble.  When Lieutenant Ramsden reached us he asked, “Where is Sergeant Armstrong?”

“Scouting sir.  He said we deserved a rest.”

“Hm, I think that should have been my decision.”

Lieutenant Ramsden sounded so petty as he sulked that it was pathetic. I tried to keep the derision out of my voice when I said, “Well sir, you weren’t here so I think he took the decision himself.”

I consciously kicked Caesar on and rode next to Robbie
..  “How’s the arm?”

“Just feels numb sarge. It was stupid really I should have leaned out
of the way.  I could see the lance heading for me.  I was sort of frozen. I felt stupid when the blood flowed.”

“I know.  I had no idea I had been hit by the shrapnel either.  I think we are all going to learn to be quick or we’ll soon be dead.”

As night began to fall I wondered if the colonel would camp for the night.  Luckily we reached the outskirts of Amiens before the decision was taken. We found Sergeant Armstrong having a cup of tea with a gun crew. The sergeant saluted, “Looks like we still hold Amiens, sir.”

“Jolly good sergeant.  Wait here and I’ll go and tell the colonel.”

The artillery sergeant shook his head. “He looks like an arse licker to me.”

George nodded, “He’s always keen to give the colonel any news he can.” He pointed to the east.
“Seems like we have given the Hun a bloody nose yonder.”

“Don’t count on any rest, pal. We will be falling back soon.  There are thousands of Germans out there and they have much bigger guns than these pea shooters.
You donkey wallopers are lucky; you can ride faster than their infantry can attack.”

As if to emphasise the point there was a sudden screech and scream as a German gun hurled a shell over our heads to explode a mile or so closer to Amiens.

“See what I mean?  The bastards do that every so often. I bet they are laughing their heads off.”

We waited until the colonel arrived.  “Well done you lads. We have finally managed to reach our lines.  I just hope that this is the last time we have to retreat.”

Having spoken to the sergeant of artillery I was not too sure but we made our way to Amiens. The Military Police directed us to a field south of the town where we could erect our tents.  It was not a perfect site but it was dry.  As the war went on then mud began to play an increasing part.  But on that last day of August the ground was dry and the weather was clement.

The colonel went to a briefing with the local commander. The
Griffin
soon followed his return.  The rest of the BEF were much further east and we were amongst the only British forces in the middle of the French Sixth Army. Our camp would, perforce, be a temporary one and we prepared to leave early the next day. There was a regiment of French Cuirassiers close to us and they looked to be a throwback to the days of knights. They had breastplates and metal helmets I wondered how they would cope with machine guns. That night we heard that our Cavalry Division, with the best cavalry in the country, had been defeated at Le Cateau.  It did not bode well for the future.

BOOK: 1914 (British Ace)
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