The Pursuit to and Battle of The Aisne, 1914.

The official date of the Battle of the Aisne, 1914, is 12th to 15th September inclusive. The official despatches state that the pursuit of the enemy began on the 11th September, but the 10th is probably a more correct date, for when night fell on the 9th, the Marne crossings were in possession of the B.E.F. and the advance was continued on the following day.

11th September 1914

The 1st Battalion set out from Certigny at 7 a.m., and, marching north via Coulombs, reached Marizy-Ste. Genevieve about 4.30 p.m., where the 19th Infantry Brigade billeted. En route, the cheering news was received that the 1st and IInd Corps had captured "some 1000 prisoners, 7 guns, machine guns and much transport."

On this day Major Ross left the 1st Battalion to take over the duties of Brigade Major, 11th Infantry Brigade, 4th Division. Heavy firing was heard between 6 and 7 p.m. by both 1st and 4th Battalions, but they were not involved.

With the exception of the 1st Division (Ist Corps), whose bivouacs and billets stretched from Bruyères to Rocourt, the tail of the 4th Division column and the 19th Infantry Brigade (at Marizy), the B.E.F., on the night of the 11th had crossed the Ourcq and lay in arrow-head formation with heads of columns at Beugneux (2nd Division), Gd. Rozoy (3rd Division), Hartennes (5th Division), La Loge Fme. and Noroy (4th Division), with the cavalry holding an outpost line at Loupeigne, Branges, Arcy, Droizy and Villemontoire.

12th September 1914

Again on the 12th, the 1st and 4th Middlesex experienced none of the excitements of the pursuit, for as will be seen from the following quotations (all the information contained in both Battalions' diaries for that date) the advance was quite uneventful.

"Marched at 5.30 a.m. for Chouy," records the 1st Battalion, "passed there and into billets at Buzancy. Heavy artillery action heard all day to N. and N.W. 4th Division still in front of us.",

The "heavy artillery action" heard was the French driving the enemy from Mont de Paris back across the Aisne at Soissons, the guns of the 4th Division joining in the action.

The pursuit on the 12th had, however, produced one important result: it had become evident from the enemy's attitude (which had considerably hardened during the day) that he was preparing to defend the crossings over the Aisne River. Both south of Missy and of Vailly, resistance to the advance of the B.E.F. had been considerable; the enemy had apparently arrested his retreat and was determined to dispute the passage of the river.

When darkness fell on the 12th the heads of the 1st and 2nd Divisions (1st Corps) had reached Longueval and Dhuizel respectively; the heads of the 3rd and 5th Divisions (IInd Corps) were at Brenelle and Serches; the 4th Division (3rd Corps) occupied Venizel and Septmonts, whilst the 19th Infantry Brigade (3rd Corps) was back at Buzancy. But during the night, under cover of darkness, mist and rain, the 11th Infantry Brigade of the 4th Division, acting with great boldness, pushed on and, crossing the Aisne unperceived by the enemy, reached Bucy le Long, the first British troops to get across the river-a fact not recorded in the official despatches.

The night of the 12th September was wretched in the extreme. Heavy rain fell and the roads were soon thick with mud. The advance to the river on the morning of the 13th would therefore be under great difficulties. The heads of the three British Corps were directed as follows: Ist Corps on Lierval, IInd Corps on Chavignon, IIIrd Corps on Terny. The advance was to begin at 7 a.m..

13th September 1914

Disposed as above, the British advanced against the enemy on the morning of the 13th September, and the Battle of the Aisne had begun. And here, for a while, it is useful to consider the terrain of the battlefield-to-be, seeing that it was destined not only to be the scene of a stiff struggle for the river crossings, but also the beginning of trench warfare.

From the Official Dispatches of Sir John French

"The Aisne Valley runs generally east and west, and consistsof a flat-bottomed depression of width varying from half a mile to two miles, down which the river follows a winding course to the west, at some points near the southern slopes of the valley and at others near the northern. The high ground both on the north and south of the river is approximately 400 feet above the bottom of the valley, and is very similar in character, as are both slopes of the valley itself, which are broken into numerous rounded spurs and re-entrants. The most prominent of the former are the Chivres spur on the right bank and Semoise spur on the left. Near the latter place the general plateau of the south is divided by a subsidiary valley of much the same character, down which the small River Vesle flows to the main stream near Semoise. The slopes of the plateau overlooking the Aisne on the north and south are of varying steepness, and are covered with numerous patches of wood, which also stretch upwards and backwards over the edge on to the top of the high ground. There are several villages and small towns dotted about in the valley itself and along its sides, the chief of which is the town of Soissons."

"The Aisne is a sluggish stream of some 170 feet in breadth, but, being 15 feet deep in the centre, it is unfordable. Between Soissons, on the west, and Villers, on the east (the part of the river attacked and secured by the British Forces), there are eleven wood bridges across it. On the north bank a narrow-gauge railway runs from Soissons to Vailly, where it crosses the river and continues eastward along the south bank. From Soissons to Semoise a double line of railway runs along the south bank, turning at the latter place up the Vesle Valley towards Bazoches."

"The position held by the enemy is a very strong one, either for a delaying action or for a defensive battle. One of its chief military characteristics is that from the high ground on neither side can the top of the plateau on the other side be seen except for small stretches. This is chiefly due to the woods on the edges of the slopes. Another important point is that all the bridges are under either direct or high-angle fire."

"The tract of country above described, which lies north of the Aisne, is well adapted to concealment, and was so skilfully turned to account by the enemy as to render it impossible to judge the real nature of his opposition to our passage of the river, or to accurately gauge his strength; but I have every reason to conclude that strong rearguards of at least treee Army Corps were holding the passages on the early morning of the 13th."

"On that morning I ordered the British Forces to advance and make good the Aisne."

The 1st Middlesex (in Brigade) had left Buzancy about midday, and, following in rear of the 4th Division, advanced to a position just north-east of Septmonts and there bivouacked. Although heavy artillery fire was heard all day immediately in front, the 19th Infantry Brigade was not engaged and passed a quiet night. Thus, for the two battalions of the Regiment the first day of the Battle of the Aisne was comparatively uneventful.

14th September 1914

By dawn on the 14th the British Expeditionary Force held the following approximate positions (from right to left): The Cavalry Division; the 1st Division and the 5th Infantry Brigade of the 2nd Division were between Paissy and Verneuil, then came a gap of 5 miles; west of the gap were the 8th and 9th Infantry Brigades about Vauxelles, then another gap of 3 miles; west of the latter two battalions of the 13th Infantry Brigade held Missy, and the 14th and 15th Brigades occupied ground from Ste. Marguerite to Crouy. All these units were north of the Aisne. On the southern banks of the river were the 6th and 4th Infantry Brigades (2nd Division) at Vieil Arcy, Dhuizel and St. Mard; the 3rd and 5th Cavalry Brigades and 7th Infantry Brigade at Braisne and neighbourhood, and the two remaining battalions of the 13th Infantry Brigade south of Missy. Both flanks of the B.E.F. were in close touch with the Fifth and Sixth French Armies.

At 12:30 on 14th the1st Middlesex had marched out of Buzancy and proceeded to bivouac behind a wood 1 mile S.S.E. of Venizel. From this position the Battalion, from dawn until 9 a.m., watched the three Infantry Brigades of the 4th Division in action on the high ground on the northern banks of the river. At the latter hour a position was reconnoitred by the Battalion on the southern banks of the Aisne, along the line and in rear of the railway. Here the 1st Middlesex entrenched and remained sheltered from the enemy's shell fire, which all day long searched both banks of the river.

15th September 1914

The 15th September appears to have been a comparatively quietday for both 1st and 4th. Battalions. The 1st Middlesex, under orders, vacated their position along the Aisne at 1.30 a.m. on 15th and retired to bivouacs south of the wood, one mile S. of Venizel. Here the Battalion remained all day in support of other Brigades N. of the River Aisne.

Thus closed the Battle of the Aisne, and so far as the 1st and 4th Middlesex Regiments were concerned, neither Battalion had much of the excitement of battle; the enemy's shell fire causing most of the casualties, of which, however, there are no records in the official diaries.

The close of the battle saw the beginning of trench warfare.

Go to Trench Warfare on the Aisne, 1914 or Back to list of actions