Redcoats to Khaki June 2008

Post Tour Report

The object of the tour was to consider the lessons learnt and forgot through two defensive campaigns in the same region yet 99 years apart. As with all tours it was felt that to really get under the surface of the battles we needed to venture off the beaten track and walk the ground, this would allow for a realistic ground appreciation together with the opportunity to reach more isolated spots, missed by passing coaches, and so it proved.

On a sunny Sunday afternoon the intrepid group including our Irish brigade of Allan, Kathleen & Don making up 25% of the party (as they did in 1815 & 1914), left Victoria destination Tournai on the French Belgium border. An uneventful journey saw us arrive in good time and the group were delighted to find Tournai in full swing with a folk festival in the impressive medieval town square. While we supped cool Belgium beer under the summer sun Jazz Music floated across the square, interrupted by mechanised Viking long ships passing by bedecked with school children dressed in suitable attire, all in all a very uniquely Belgium experience.

The following morning we departed from our billet (the very welcoming Cathedrale Hotel) destination Waterloo. We were fortunate to be joined by Waterloo authority Frank Toogood, Frank who specialises in the Napoleonic Wars has achieved his coveted Guild of Battlefield Guides Badge and proved to be a very welcome addition to the Battle Honours team, his intimate knowledge of the men, units, equipment, tactics and outcome together with an excellent knowledge of the ground certainly added to our day on the field. First stop we visited Wellingtons crossroads in the centre of his line, here we not only visited the memorials to Pickton and the Inniskilling’s but learnt the value of forming in squares to receive cavalry and in line to receive infantry.  A short stroll to the Gordon and Hannover memorials also allowed us to discuss the fighting in the sandpit and effectiveness of the Baker Rifle, alongside the struggle for La Haye Sainte Farm. We then visited Napoleon’s HQ at La Caillou, now a fascinating museum. As with the Wellington Museum it seems incredible that you can actually lean on the table where Bony briefed his marshals on the eve of the attack. A lively debate on leadership then followed before embarked on our battlefield walk.

Led by Frank we started at the impressive Wounded Eagle Monument in memory of the French Imperial Guard that made their last stand nearby, passing La Belle Alliance for the first time we considered the very important Prussian contribution to the days fighting, made all the more personal by Frank’s Germanic roots. Crossing directly over the main battlefield towards the reverse slope where the majority of British squares were formed up we stopped to discuss the charges by Marshal Ney and the charge of the Household and Union Brigades as the slightly undulating land revealed it self. Dead ground, tree cover and sunken lanes all played their part in the day, just not appreciable from a large vehicle.

We concluded the walk at the point where the old 52nd stood up and let fire into the side of the advancing and so far invincible Imperial Guard. The action under Colonel Maitland was certainly a key moment in the day and one that the same regiment that captured Pegasus Bridge do not receive enough credit for. A relevant discussion did reveal however that the Brown Bess with its very limited range compared to the British use of the Long bow centuries earlier equated to a skills loss on the battlefield. Something that was definitely restored by the men on the canal banks at Mons in 1914 with their SMLE’s.

After a relaxing lunch we spent the afternoon first climbing the Lion Mound (always harder than you think) where at the top Frank was able to convey a concise briefing of the battle, guild standard Frank well done! Next to the Panoramic, this incredible 360 painting is brought alive by the accompanying soundtrack that rises to a crescendo of musket, canon and horses. This excellent addition to the battlefield was completed in the 1912, in keeping with the tour we considered a photograph of some passing BEF cavalrymen taken in August 1914 just before Mons, quite uncanny. We then had our second battlefield walk for the day in and around Hougamont Farm, the action often regarded as the “battle within the battle” is one of the most enduring images of the whole day. From the story of the lone ammunition limber tearing up the track under fire to the vicious fighting for the North Gate and the subsequent lone French drummer boy it was incredible to stand on the actual ground. The farm is under going major renovation work in the lead up to the bi-centenary see  www.projecthougoumont.com for the full details, so access cannot be guaranteed, membership of the respected Guild of Battlefield Guides did however aid our progress and we were able to enter the inner wall and courtyard, even visiting that inspiration to battlefield guides across the globe Edward Cotton, a veteran of the battle who published his memoirs he set up a battlefield tour company in 1828!, surely worthy of honoree membership to GBG. We ended our day in Waterloo itself with a visit to Wellington’s HQ now an interesting museum and the church opposite a shrine to remembrance of men and units that fought in the battle. An excellent day had been experienced by all and we returned to Tournai to sample the delights of the towns numerous bars and restaurants.

The following day we headed the short drive to Mons to study the actions of August 1914, by comparison to later battles Mons was almost a skirmish with only a fraction of units taking part in the initial fighting, the start of the long retreat south. We started at Casteau, on the road outside S.H.A.P.E HQ and heard the story of the first shots, that dramatic action so well described by Major Tom Bridges, with sparks flying off the cobblestones as horses galloped and the flashing blade of Captain Hornby who led the charge together with the first shots fired by the BEF in anger during the Great War what a start to our day. We then walked out to the evocative railway bridge at Nimy on the canal bank; here we studied the actions of the 4/Royal Fusiliers and in particular Captain Ashburner’s Company near to this spot. With the well documented first VC actions by Pte Godley and Maurice Dease we also discussed the bravery of Pte Neymeyer of the German Army who swam across the canal to reach the swing bridge, a key moment in the German assault. We followed with a visit to Obourg and the equally stubborn defence by the 4/Middlesex Regiment in and around the railway station to end our morning. On arrival in the town square a manifestation (strike to you and I) was in full swing, the entire centre of town had been turned into an impromptu beer garden with banners, placards and fire crackers being thrown around. Who were we to do anything but join in with the merriment before seeking refuge in a Basque restaurant for some very good if not typically Belgium food.

Alas the staff of the small but informative Mons Museum were also on strike so we were unable to visit, not disheartened we left the peaceful revolution and headed out to Binche crossroads where we discussed the stand made by the Royal Irish Regiment here, led by the RQMS. Another proud moment for the Irish contingent among us, we than visited the very unique St Symphorian Cemetery, we spent over an hour in our typically unrushed pace as there was so much to see and discuss, an enlightening discussion took place where Frank played the role of Wellington and Clive, Sir John French, it was decided that Wellington could have SMLE’s on the field of Waterloo if he lent the arrival of the Prussians to assist the BEF late on the 23 August. It proved what a fascinating subject history is and with an unhurried itinerary in a small group moments like this can be afforded.

Our last stop of the day studied the small yet important action at Elouges/Audregnies involving the Cheshire’s, Norfolk’s, 119 Battery RFA and the 9th Lancers. From the intimate cemetery at Elouges to the isolated farm buildings on the heart of the battlefield it is such an engaging spot to present history. It was not hard to see the cavalry dashing up the cobbled road or the dismounted riders taking refuge behind the corn stocks as the German gun line grew in strength as the hours passed. A very emotive place to end our day, that night over a beer in the hotel bar our group mingled and plied stories on the occupants of a large coach party that had visited Ypres; it became clear the value of walking the battlefield in a small group is unrivalled for a true battlefield experience.

Our final battlefield day saw us head for Le Cateau, here we picked up where our retreat had left off by following the Mormal Forest before venturing in, in a clearing we studied a very detailed map of the area and discussed some of the isolated actions that took place in and around its environs. The most though provoking being the affair at Landrecies, here the guards made a gallant defence as the approaching Germans were checked, how would history have changed if General Haig, then a Corps Commander had been taken prisoner just a month  into the war. Our Le Cateau walk began in the hamlet of Troisville roughly the centre of Smith Dorrien’s line some isolated burials were encountered in the small communal cemetery, we followed the support lines up the sunken lane to reach the famous Lone Tree (or its modern day equivalent, in the surrounding fields towards the KOYLI fire positions cartridge cases dating from 1913 were found among the freshly ploughed soil. After considering the bravery shown by the Yorkshire men and their nearby gunner comrades we crossed the road and continued onto the Suffolk’s Memorial, this imposing structure is reached via small tracks and field boundaries where we were able to here of a number of incidents in the days fighting, not least the assistance shown by the Manchester’s in the Suffolk’s hour of need. Walking the undulating ground once again proved a key factor in understanding the battle, borne out by those who had previously visited the monument on a brief coach stop. We ended the morning at the impressive Anglo German Cemetery that dominates the battlefield on a high point north of the crossroads, among those buried inside we found a descendant of Robert the Bruce.

As a small group we were well catered for in a roadside tavern on the cross roads Chapeau Rouge, opposite the 1st Division Memorial, a very good Menu de Jour was enjoyed before we continued south to study in detail the story of the Royal Munster Fusiliers at Etruex. For Clive this is a very special place, the defence, in essence to the last man, ranks among the most fascinating tales in the annuls of military history. Spread over a 2 mile area, with 4-5 good stand points, all too often groups visit just the cemetery and head home. It was with great satisfaction then that we started where the first shots were fired on the crossroads, we then continued the story at the Oisy Bridge, blown by the RE’s. The brigade commander was none other than Ivor Maxse, later considered one of the most able and competent commanders of the war. On the outskirts of Etreux we studied the failed attempts by the 2/RMF to break through the barrier set up by the outflanking enemy; with all chance of escape gone the survivors retreated back to the orchard to continue their struggle late into the day. This spot, now the site of the cemetery was a fitting end to our tour… for all the Great War became, with trenches, tanks, barbed wire, mud, gas and ultimate victory, this spot seemed closer to the squares of Waterloo than the total war that lay ahead. The road to Etreux seemed to lead to a new and very different world…