31st August 1914, Ghent.
The Duke of York’s Own Loyal Suffolk Hussars were maintaining a screen in front of the main British line. The regimental headquarters in a big farm surrounded by woods ½ a mile out of Gontrode, HQ was 2 miles or so behind the edge of the screen. A, C and D squadrons were providing the screen, B squadron was standing by near regimental headquarters both to provide a reserve and to give some additional security to the headquarters. The Machine gun section was also attached to B Squadron to give some additional punch. Each Squadron headquarters was likewise positioned back from the edge of the screen with one troop attached to the squadron and the other 3 troops forward. Each troop had made every effort to ensure they were well concealed, whilst most of the men had never faced battle a few were veterans of the Boer War. They had learnt the hard way the value of concealment and they passed on these hard-earned lessons to their comrades. One such man was Major Walter Guinness, he had served in South Africa with the Imperial Yeomanry serving with distinction, having been Mentioned in Dispatches. He was commander of A Squadron and his squadron was based on a farm to the north of Gontrode overlooking the Brussels-Ghent Railway line.
Major Guinness had already checked the positions his men were occupying, he had ensured that they had clear fields of fire and good escape routes, their job was to provide advance warning to the infantry divisions behind them and to blind any German scouting units trying to gain intelligence on their positions. They had not seen any action yet, a near continuous stream of Belgian refugees had been seen fleeing the advancing armies. They were already causing havoc in the rear areas and placing the civilian infrastructure under great strain, blocking roads, virtually destitute they were begging for food and other support, the cruelty of this war was crystal clear to every British soldier, regular or territorial. The refugees brought rumours of German war crimes, of shooting the survivors of Liege and executing men, women and children. Guinness had heard these tales, he discounted most of them, he knew that war abounded in rumours, in lies and in propaganda, to read the Boer propaganda in the South African campaign it was to have your stomach turned. It had been a hard and cruel war but not the charnel house many described it as.
As he pondered that campaign and the absolute difference with the war he was about to fight, he heard a familiar sound the crack of rifle fire. Intelligence had placed the Germans approximately 5 miles to his north, obviously those estimates were wrong. Guinness was inclined to move forward, but the closer he got to the front the harder it would be to respond to the needs of his other units. The rifle fire was not from his men, the sound was wrong. The crack of the Mauser rifles, he knew so well from the veldt was the sound of the German army, but duller boom was something else. There were no regular Belgian units between him and the Germans but it was possible indeed probable that the firing he could hear was a Garde Civique unit retreating from Aalst toward Ghent. What he had seen of the Garde Civique gave him no confidence that they would hold the Germans, but they were certainly brave men and many of the Garde had died already, some in action but many in German reprisals as they rounded up those they viewed as little better than Francs-Tiruers. The obsolete equipment they carried was no help, he had seen one unit in Bruge standing guard over the railway station equipped with single shot breech loaders like the old Martini Henry he remembered from cadets at Eton all those years ago. He looked across at his own men, they carried the Lee Enfield Mk1*, not the more recent SMLE but firing the same 303 round as the rest of the Army.
With the firing continuing and if anything growing in intensity, Guinness felt it was likely that his men would shortly be in action. He gave a quick order for his Officers, Squadron Sergeant Major and Gallopers to join him. He ordered one galloper to ride for regimental HQ and inform them of firing to his front, he then sent a galloper forward to each of the three troops forward of his HQ. They were ordered to hold in place and try to remain concealed for as long as possible, sending back information on the disposition of the German units as soon as possible.
As a mounted infantry unit his men were trained to fight on foot but use their horses for mobility, the problem with this was one man in four was required as a horse holder, reducing the strength in the line. While he waited for more information Guinness considered his options, his orders were to form part of the screen and ensure that no German reconnaissance units penetrated his line.
The main road from Aalst was wide enough for two carts to pass side by side, with hedges on either side, the land was flat with a variety of crops, interspersed with shallow drainage ditches, with small hamlets or clusters of brick built houses every half mile. The going of the roads and tracks was soft and not suited to wheeled vehicles, the Guinness expected the Germans to keep to the roads. If they did, he might be able to ambush at least some of them. Whilst he waited the firing seemed to die down, he did not hear his own troops engage the Germans, instead quite descended.
After 20 minutes the Galloper that he had sent to First Troop returned saying, “I passed on your orders, the Troop is standing to, observing and reporting”
With that Guinness decided that he should get up to the front and see what was happening.
He reached the Troop Commander an enthusiastic young man from Felixstowe, his father owned a Cannery but the young man more than passed for a gentleman and was a good young officer as well. If anything on exercises he was a little inclined to think he was a cavalry man, not mounted infantry. When the Squadron had been called on to volunteer for overseas service he had virtually jumped out of his skin with enthusiasm, he had deployed with a massive cavalry sword of some antiquity that had, according to the story he told been carried by some ancestor of his mother during the Napoleonic wars.
Just now though he was giving a competent briefing to his squadron commander as they observed the enemy, the young man being of more than adequate means had equipped himself with a fine pair of binoculars currently being used by his commander as he spoke. “the firing we could hear was a troop of German Hussars engaging some Garde Civique that had been trying to escape down the main road. The Cavalry have paused about 800 yards from our lines, they seem to be holding waiting for further orders and are not making any particular effort to advance further down the road.”
As they watched them the Germans seemed to shake out of their torpor, the cavalry remounted their horses and formed back up, shaking out into open order what appeared to be a full squadron then began to trot down the road directly towards First Troop. Guiness ordered up Four Troop in response, they arrived within minutes, occupying some houses that overlooked the road. As the German Cavalry came down the road, they were not making any efforts to secure their flanks or scout ahead, they were behaving as if on parade. The enemy squadron was a loose mass of men stretching over about 160 yards, their formation was as lax as their scouting. They were not a compact mass of horses and men that could use shock to punch through an ambush nor spread out sufficiently to ensure that they could maneuvere against one when it was initiated.
Guinness would wait until the enemy squadron was within 100 yards before initiating the ambush. With two troops available he could put 50 rifles into the firing line. The horse holders were 100 yards back from the firing line and out of direct sight. As the Germans got closer and closer their fatigue became apparent, half the men seemed asleep and their horses looked in poor condition with staring coats and worn equipment.
Guinness issued his last orders as the enemy continued their oblivious advance, “aim for the horses” “Fire”
With that a steady rattle of aimed rifle fire broke out, 10-15 rounds per man, virtually volley fire to begin with but settling down within a minute or so to individual aimed shots as the cavalry squadron was virtually shot to pieces. By aiming at the horses to begin with they choked the road with carcases, panicked the horses and totally disrupted any order within the enemy ranks. Plus horses are a nice big target for territorial soldiers to shoot at. Once they had initiated the ambush section commanders, sergeants and troop commanders began to direct the firing in a more systematic and methodical manner. They had been careful to make sure that the back markers were also brought under fire, this precluded retreat and sewed even more chaos.
The German cavalry with rifles slung and totally unprepared were virtually destroyed, a few men managed to shoot back but they lacked the rifle drill that was the hallmark of the British soldier and they were drastically out numbered.
With the ambush a success Guinness sent word back to regiment of what had been achieved, he also sent forward a small patrol to gather any intelligence and take any survivors prisoner. His own losses were one man slightly wounded, he had been hit by a chunk of brick from a near miss and had bruising and cuts to the head.
