Battle Histories > Western Front > The Battles of La Bassée, Messines and Armentières, 12-18 October 1914
The Official History describes these battles as lasting into November, which is concurrent with the First Battles of Ypres. However, as they are geographically immediately adjacent to those actions and each had an effect on the other, the actions from 18th October 1914 onwards are described with the Ypres actions. This page covers the actions up to that date.
'The (2nd Royal Welsh) Fusiliers, whom I accompany, are followed by a section of two field guns ready to unlimber instantly and open fire. Steenwerck is occupied after a trifling engagement in which the Welshmen account for an entire German patrol. Cantering back on 'Ginger' to report this news to HQ, I am smilingly accosted by Heywood who asks if my message is so urgent that I must gallop. I reply in the negative; whereupon he quite properly reminds me that save when urgency demands it, our Training Manuals forbid staff officers to ride faster than a trot in order to avoid the risk of unsettling troops'  
Staff Captain (later Brig.-Gen) James Jack, 19th Brigade
15th October 1914.
From General Jack's Diary, ed. John Terraine, Eyre & Spottiswoode 1964.
This battle followed the Battle of the Aisne and Defence of Antwerp
The senior British commanders responsible for this action
No image available
John French
Commander in Chief
Edmund Allenby
Cavalry Corps
Horace Smith-Dorrien
II Corps
William Pulteney
III Corps
James Willcocks
Indian Corps
Despatch
Read Sir John French's detailed account of this battle
The British Order of Battle

The Battle of La Bassée - 12th October - 2nd November 1914

2nd Cavalry Brigade

3rd Division and 5th Division of II Corps

The Secunderabad Cavalry Brigade, and the Lahore and Meerut Divisions of the Indian Corps


The Battle of Messines - 12th October - 2nd November 1914

1st and 2nd Cavalry Divisions, now formed into the Cavalry Corps

1st Bn, the Northumberland Fusiliers and 1st Bn, the Lincolnshire of 3rd Division and 2nd Bn, the King's Own Scottish Borderers and 2nd Bn, the KOYLI of 5th Division of II Corps

The Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars, the 1/14th Bn, the London Regiment, the 2nd Bn, the Essex and the 2nd Bn, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers of 4th Division of III Corps


The Battle of Armentières - 13th October - 2nd November 1914

Including the capture of Meteren

III Corps : 4th and 6th Divisions

3rd Bn, the Worcesters of 3rd Division and 1st Bn, the Dorsets of 5th Division of II Corps

Why did the British Army fight this battle?

The strategic move of the BEF from the Aisne to an area that placed it once again on the left flank of the French Army and shortened its lines of communication was clearly sensible, necessary and efficiently executed. Placing it to the north of the line that now ran continuously from the Champagne was an entirely logical attempt to outflank the Germans. But German efforts to do exactly the same thing meant that the two armies clashed, and no outflanking was going to be achieved. The planned advance in French Flanders and into Belgium was a part of this movement; but pushing the BEF eastwards towards the River Lys was, unknown to GHQ, decidedly risky. The Germans were assembling a mighty force, and the British units near the Lys found themselves probing forward towards an enemy in overwhelming strength.

During 8 and 9 October 1914, II Corps under General Smith-Dorrien detrained at Abbeville, having been brought up from the Aisne.

On the 9th, the two Cavalry Divisions, also moving up through Picardy, were formed into a Corps, under General Allenby.

Sir John French ordered II Corps forward - by bus - to the line on the left of the French XXI Corps who were in the area Bethune-Fruges. The Cavalry Corps was ordered to extend the line to the left, past Merville and Hazebrouck and on to the high ground of the Monts des Flandres and to the canal near Ypres. The general intention was for the line to advance eastwards.

I Corps was at this time still on the Aisne, and III Corps detraining at St Omer. IV Corps had landed for the Defence of Antwerp, and was now near Ghent. The Indian Corps was disembarking at Marseilles.

 

A rough outline of the deployment in Flanders
Landscape for battle

North from Bethune to Armentières, both of which towns had light industries, the land is flat and marshy, intersected by many drainage ditches and canals. The area was farmland except near Bethune and the Aire-La Bassée canal, where there was intensive coal mining and associated havy engineering. There are many villages, hamlets and orchards here. In general the roads were utterly inadequate to support lorry-borne traffic. North of Armentières the ground rises into the Flemish Hills, a drier region that is critical to observation towards Ypres.

 

Click here for a virtual tour of the battlefield

 

The weather was very poor, with heavy rain and fog.

Typical landscape near Neuve Chapelle
Typical landscape of the La Bassee - Armentieres region; this is at Neuve Chapelle
What happened?

On the front of II Corps

On 12 October it was reported that the French had lost Vermelles, which left Smith-Dorrien with a problem. He could either move all of his forces north of the La Bassée Canal to attempt a north-easterly advance as ordered, or move south to close the gap left by the French withdrawal, and attempt to advance eastwards. He chose the latter, leaving five infantry Brigades of 3rd and 5th Divisions facing four enemy Cavalry Divisions and more infantry than he had himself; and placed the rest of II Corps to the south of the Canal. The Corps began to advance in long continuous lines. Beating off some enemy counter-attacks the advance this day was successful, reaching the line Noyelles - Givenchy - Lacouture.

 

The advance continued on 13 October but after heavy fighting there was no concrete result. British losses amounted to around 1,000, many of which were incurred in a heavy German bombardment of Givenchy. On 14th and 15th, there was continuous fighting on both sides of the canal. British losses were again around 1,000, although heavy losses were inflicted on the enemy, particularly near Cuinchy. By the end of this period, the British had advanced the line some 6 miles in 4 days.

The advance continued slowly from 16 to 18 October, with the loss of another 1,000 men, and in the face of stiffening German resistance. Givenchy was recaptured on 16th, and held. On 17th, a foothold was gained on Aubers Ridge. Next day, a bridge over the canal 0.75 miles east of Givenchy was captured: this was the furthest the British would advance in this sector until 1918.

Enemy fire from the positions known as the Brickstacks and Railway Triangle halted further advance on both sides of the canal. On 19th, after a French failure, the 2nd Royal Irish Regiment became surrounded and more than 300 men (nearly all wounded) surrendered after a very stiff fight at Le Pilly on the Aubers Ridge. This battalion was withdrawn to be rebuilt shortly after this affair.

On 21 October, an enemy counter-offensive begun the previous day hit the 3rd Division hard, but after heavy fighting it was repulsed. Losses and an untenable tactical position forced the retirement of the Division, giving up ground on the Aubers Ridge that would be the scene of fierce efforts in Spring 1915. On 22 October, the left of the II Corps line had to wheel back, in view of its exposed position, to form a defensive flank. A German attack near Violaines succeeded in driving the 1st Cheshires out of the village.

On the front of III Corps

The 4th and 6th Divisions of Lt-Gen. Pulteney's III Corps concentrated near Hazebrouck on 12-13 October after their journey from the Aisne. They were given the distant objective of the line Armentières-Wytschaete, with the Cavalry Corps to their North covering the area extending up to Ypres, the objective of units of Rawlinson's IV Corps which were at this time still covering river and canal crossing in Flanders, allowing the continued retreat of the Belgian Army from Antwerp. The area into which III Corps was to advance was crossed by the low ridges of spurs of the line of the Flemish Hills, which were good defensive positions for the German units already in the area. In particular, it was vital for the commanding height of the Mont des Cats to be captured, which was achieved by dismounted 4th Hussars, 5th and 16th Lancers together with D Battery RHA in the dusk of 13 October.

Advanced patrols of the Corps found the Germans well entrenched on the far side of the Meterenbeek stream. Corps ordered both Divisions to make a general attack on the position: this was the first formal attack made by the BEF in the war. Going in at 2pm, the attack was successful but slow and difficult. The weather was poor, being misty and wet. By dusk, Outtersteene, Meteren and Mont Noir had all been captured. III Corps suffered 708 casualties; the Germans fewer, for they executed a skilful withdrawal. On this day, Lille fell to the enemy. RFC observers reported a Division of German infantry moving up from Douai through Lille, heading for Armentieres. Pulteney ordered a vigorous continuation of the advance, aiming to reach the Lys, Armentieres and the Messines ridge before the enemy.

 

14 October was a day of heavy mist and rain. Air reconnaissance was impossible, and artillery badly hindered. However, there was little fighting as the Germans withdrew. Bailleul was occupied easily, as was Dranoutre, Kemmel, Neuve Eglise, Wulverghem, Messines and Wytschate - all places that would become familiar to hundreds of thousands of British troops in the coming years - and the graves of many too. The German units had come under orders to hold the line La Bassée - Armentières - Menin, awaiting reinforcement and the formation of the new Fourth Army, which would advance on Ypres and the Channel, extending northward in the final attempt to outflank the Allies on the Western Front. On this day, units of the Cavalry Corps met with the 3rd Cavalry Division South of Ypres, completing a tenuous line of BEF from south of the La Bassée canal to Ypres.

 

The general advance continued next day, with some crossings of the Lys being secured after overcoming German rearguards. Ostende was occupied by the German units advancing along the coast in pursuit of the Belgian troops.

 

On the rest of the BEF front

On 16 October, John French's GHQ Orders for the first time included Rawlinson's Corps. The forward movement of the III and Cavalary Corps to the Lys would be continued, and 7th Division would fan out of Ypres and take up a line from Zandvoorde, through Gheluvelt, to Zonnebeke. The weather was very poor, with heavy rain and fog. In many places the fields were inundated, with the streams and ditches rising, and little practical progress was made. In the afternoon, the Germans made a heavy attack against the French and Belgian units holding the salient around Dixmude. Next day, the 17th, the advance continued as before, and the small industrial town of Armentieres was occupied, with advance units also capturing Houplines, Le Gheer and Ploegsteert. The 7th Division dug in on their salient around Ypres, although 20th Brigade pushed forward a mile or so to counter nuisance sniping, occupying positions near Kruisecke.

Tactics
These actions were among the last to be fought using pre-war fire-and-movement tactics.
Casualties
BEF casualties in these actions were approximately 5,000.
Senior officer casualties
Major-Gen. Hubert Hamilton, OC 3rd Division, died as a result of a shrapnel wound received near Bout Deville on 14th September 1914. His body was moved to England, where is is buried at Cheriton St Mary Churchyard.
Major Edward Daniell, OC 2nd Royal Irish Regiment, died in the fighting at Le Pilly. His body was lost and he is commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial to the Missing.
Lt-Col Bertram Ward, OC 1st Middlesex, died of wounds in an ambulance train near Boulogne on 22nd October 1914, of wounds received near La Boutillerie the previous day. He is buried at Boulogne Eastern Cemetery.
Lt-Col Walter Venour, OC 57th Wildes Rifles (Frontier Force), died as a result of a snipers bullet to the head on 31st October 1914. He is buried in Bethune Town Cemetery.
Lt-Col Henry Anderson, OC 9th Bhopal Infantry, died on 2nd November 1914. He is buried at Pont-du-Hem Military Cemetery, La Gorgue.
Lt-Col Charles Swanston, OC 34th Prince Albert Victor's Own Poona Horse, died near Neuve Chapelle on 2nd November 1914. He is buried at Rue-Petillon Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix.
Other notable casualties
Prince Max of Hesse was among German casualties suffered in the British capture of Mont des Cats.
Bernard Montgomery, later to become famous in WW2, was seriously wounded while serving with the Royal Warwickshires at Meteren.
Winning the Great War
The clash of the British Corps with the advance of the German Army in the area of the River Lys and as far north as Messines could be said to be part of the epic First Battles of Ypres. As early as 18 October, the Western Front had become unbroken and continuous, and the problem turned from mobile attempts to turn the enemy's open flank into the insuperable difficulty of breaking through powerful defences by frontal assault. This was the key problem that devilled both sides until 1918. The Battles of La Bassée, Messines and Armentières were the last of the mobile battles of 1914.