Cavalry Movements
8th September 1914, Roeselare.
II Cavalry Corps had not charged for the coast, instead their advance had been methodical. They had probed each village and town, suppressing resistance effectively and where it was offered by civilians with a brutal finality. Their role was to guard the flank of the First Army and unhinge the Entente defences. The commander of the Cavalry Corps General von der Marwitz had formerly been the inspector general of cavalry for the German Army, his initial deployments had been conventional, almost traditional cavalry tactics, reliant on shock and speed to overcome lightly held positions. His forces had been bloodied during the advance on Brussels after the fall of Liege, a short but brutal engagement to capture the town of Diest had cost his corps the best part of 750 casualties. They had advanced with lance and sabre against dug in Belgian cyclists and dismounted cavalry, the effective rifle and machine gun fire combined with the destruction of a key bridge had resulted in a tactical defeat.
Since then, his men had for the most part been much more cautious, they had been blooded several times by ambushes, by both Belgian and also more ominously British troops. He had even received reports that the British had shot up a column using machine guns mounted in automobiles. Having learnt of the risk of just charging anything that looked like a threat the General had issued his orders, his three constituent divisions would advance towards the coast, but they would remain in contact with each other.
Roeselare had fallen without much fighting, his men had surrounded the town before dawn and invited it to surrender. The small number of defenders surrendered and the town had been spared any damage beyond a by now brutal gleaning for food and supplies, a small garrison of reservists and Landswehr would take control of the city and the advance would continue. The General was intent on reaching the coast at Nieuwport, by doing this he would be separating the British forces in Belgium from those in France.
II Cavalry Corps had not charged for the coast, instead their advance had been methodical. They had probed each village and town, suppressing resistance effectively and where it was offered by civilians with a brutal finality. Their role was to guard the flank of the First Army and unhinge the Entente defences. The commander of the Cavalry Corps General von der Marwitz had formerly been the inspector general of cavalry for the German Army, his initial deployments had been conventional, almost traditional cavalry tactics, reliant on shock and speed to overcome lightly held positions. His forces had been bloodied during the advance on Brussels after the fall of Liege, a short but brutal engagement to capture the town of Diest had cost his corps the best part of 750 casualties. They had advanced with lance and sabre against dug in Belgian cyclists and dismounted cavalry, the effective rifle and machine gun fire combined with the destruction of a key bridge had resulted in a tactical defeat.
Since then, his men had for the most part been much more cautious, they had been blooded several times by ambushes, by both Belgian and also more ominously British troops. He had even received reports that the British had shot up a column using machine guns mounted in automobiles. Having learnt of the risk of just charging anything that looked like a threat the General had issued his orders, his three constituent divisions would advance towards the coast, but they would remain in contact with each other.
Roeselare had fallen without much fighting, his men had surrounded the town before dawn and invited it to surrender. The small number of defenders surrendered and the town had been spared any damage beyond a by now brutal gleaning for food and supplies, a small garrison of reservists and Landswehr would take control of the city and the advance would continue. The General was intent on reaching the coast at Nieuwport, by doing this he would be separating the British forces in Belgium from those in France.