The Brigade de fusiliers marins: A Brief Overview of Flanders in World War I

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  • The Brigade de fusiliers marins (Rear-Admiral Pierre Alexis Ronarc'h) were sent to Flanders in October 1914. They comprised six battalions and played a crucial role in the Battle of Dixmude.
  • Flanders, a region in northern France and north Belgium, was an important battleground during World War I. It was characterized by flat plains, canals, and low hills, which presented challenges to military operations.
  • The Flanders Plain was bordered by canals and had a coastal strip close to sea level. The terrain was mainly meadows, woods, and small fields, divided by hedgerows. The lack of observation and limited views made it difficult for infantry and artillery actions.
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The Brigade de fusiliers marins (Rear-Admiral Pierre Alexis Ronarc'h were sent from Pierrefitte, near Paris, on 7 October, to Flanders and by18 October were at Dixmude. The fusiliers marins comprised six battalions of mostly reservists, with 6,670 men of whom 1,450 were fusiliers, a machine-gun company (16 guns) and four machine-guns in each battalion. Part of northern France and the north Belgium from the Pas-de-Calais to the Scheldt estuary had been known as Flanders since the eleventh century. West of a line between Arras and Calais in the north of France, lie chalk downlands covered with soil sufficient for arable farming and east of the line, the land declines in a series of spurs into the Flanders plain. By 1914, the plain was bounded by canals linking Douai, Béthune, Saint-Omer and Calais. To the south-east, canals run between Lens, Lille, Roubaix and Courtrai, the Lys river from Courtrai to Ghent and to the north-west lies the sea. The plain is almost flat, apart from a line of low hills from Cassel, east to Mont des Cats, Mont Noir, Mont Rouge, Scherpenberg and Mount Kemmel. From Kemmel, a low ridge lies to the north-east, declining in elevation past Ypres through Wytschaete, Gheluvelt and Passchendaele, curving north then north-west to Dixmude where it merges with the plain. A coastal strip about 10 miles (16 km) wide, is near sea level and fringed by sand dunes. Inland the ground is mainly meadow, cut by canals, dykes, drainage ditches and roads built up on causeways. The Lys, Yser and the upper Scheldt have been canalised and between them the water level underground is close to the surface, rises further in the autumn and fills any dip, the sides of which then collapse. The ground surface quickly turns to a consistency of cream cheese and on the coast troop movements were confined to roads, except during frosts. The rest of the Flanders Plain is woods and small fields, divided by hedgerows planted with trees and cultivated from small villages and farms. The terrain was difficult for infantry operations because of the lack of observation, impossible for mounted action because of the many obstructions and difficult for artillery because of the limited view. South of La Bassée Canal around Lens and Béthune was a coal-mining district full of slag heaps, pit heads (fosses) and miners' houses (corons). North of the canal, the cities of Lille, Tourcoing and Roubaix form a manufacturing complex, with outlying industries at Armentières, Comines, Halluin and Menin, along the Lys river, with isolated sugar beet and alcohol refineries and a steel works near Aire. Intervening areas are agricultural, with wide roads on shallow foundations, unpaved mud tracks in France and narrow pavé roads along the frontier and in Belgium. In France, the roads were closed by the local authorities during thaws to preserve the surface and marked by Barrières fermėes, which in 1914 were ignored by British lorry drivers. The difficulty of movement after the end of summer absorbed much of the civilian labour available on road maintenance, leaving field defences to be built by front-line soldiers.

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>The Brigade de fusiliers ~ four machine-guns in each battalion.  Part of northern France ~ into the Flanders plain. ⇒火打石銃兵水夫の旅団(後衛提督ピエール・アレクシス少将)は10月7日にパリ近郊のピエールフィッテからフランドルに派遣され、10月18日までにディクスムードに入った。この火打石銃兵水夫隊は、大半が予備軍の6個大隊からなっていたが、全体の所属兵6,670人のうち1,450人が火打石銃兵であった。そして、各大隊が機関銃1個中隊(16丁の銃)と、そのほかに4丁の機関銃を擁していた。  パス‐ド‐カレー(カレー道)からシェルド河口までのフランス・ベルギー北部は11世紀以来フランドルとして知られていた。フランス北部アラス・カレー間戦線の西側は、耕作に十分な土壌で覆われた白亜層の低地にあり、その戦線の東側は一連の山脚が急降下でフランドル平原につながっていた。 >By 1914, the plain was ~ merges with the plain. ⇒1914年の頃、この平原はドゥエ、べトゥン、サン‐オメル、カレーを結ぶ運河でつながっていた。南東にはレンズ、リール、ルーベ、クルトレの間を走る運河が通り、リース川がクルトレからゲントへ流れ、そして北西には海が広がる。カッセルから続く低い丘の線を別にすれば、平原はほぼ平坦である。カッセルは東のモン・デ・キャッツ、モン・ノワール、モン・ルージュ、シェルペンベルク、ケメル山につながる。ケメルから北東に伸びる隆起部は、下りながらイープルを過ぎてウィツシェト、ゲルベルト、パシェンデレを貫通して北に曲がり、北西のディスムドで平野と合流する。 >A coastal strip about 10 miles ~ except during frosts. ⇒幅約10マイル(16キロ)の沿岸帯の海抜は、ほぼ海面と同じで、砂丘に囲まれている。内陸の地面は主に牧草地で、運河、堤防、排水路および土手道に築かれた道路によって切り取られている。リース、イゼール、上流のシェルドは運河化されており、それらの間の地下(道水路の)水位は地表に近く、秋にはさらに上がるので、水面がいっぱいになると水面は崩壊して溢れる。(すると)地表はすぐに一様のクリームチーズ様に変わり、海岸では霜の時を除いて軍隊の動きは道路上に限られていた。 >The rest of the Flanders Plain ~ a steel works near Aire. ⇒フランドル平原の残りの部分は森や小さな畑であって、栽培畑に植えられた木々や生け垣によって小さな村や農場が区切られていた。地形については、観測不足のため歩兵隊の作戦行動が困難であり、多くの障害物のために騎馬隊の戦闘行動は不可能であり、視野が限られているため砲撃は厄介であった。レンズやベトゥーン周辺のラ・バセ運河の南は、ぼた山(炭鉱の残岩)、坑道出入口、鉱山労働者の家でいっぱいの炭鉱地区であった。運河の北、リール、トゥルコアン、ルーベの各都市は、製造複合施設を形成していた。リス川沿いのアルマンティエール、コミンズ、ハルイン、メニンには郊外産業があって、それは、孤立したテンサイ(砂糖大根)畑、アルコール精製所、エア近くの製鉄所などであった。 >Intervening areas are agricultural ~ by front-line soldiers. ⇒中間帯にある地域は農地で、広い道路があるが、それは、フランス(域内)では浅い基礎の上に造られているか、さもなければ未舗装の泥道であった。狭い舗装道路がベルギーの国境や国内を走っていた。フランスでは、路面を保護するために融雪(ぬかるみ)の間は地方自治体によって道路が閉鎖され、「バリエール・フェルメー」(閉鎖障壁)という標識が付いていたが、1914年ごろの英国の大型トラック運転手には無視されていた。夏の終わり以後は、移動が困難なので、道路維持のために利用できる市民労働力の多くがそれ(道路補修)に吸収され、前線の兵士による戦場の防衛施設は手つかずのまま残った。

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    The main weight of attack was between Arras and a few kilometres south of St. Quentin, where the 18th Army had 27 divisions. Forty-four divisions were allocated to Operation Michael and called mobile divisions, which were brought up to full strength in manpower and equipment. Men over 35 years old were transferred, a machine-gun unit, air support and a communications unit were added to each division and the supply and medical branches were re-equipped but a chronic shortage of horses and fodder could not be remedied. Around the new year the mobile divisions were withdrawn for training according to Der Angriff im Stellungskriege und einige Verfügungen, die in den Erfahrungen über den Angriff ihren Niederschlag finden (The Offensive in Trench Warfare and Some Regulations that reflect Lessons Learned about the Offensive). Training emphasised rapid advance, the silencing of machine-guns and maintaining communication with the artillery, to ensure that infantry and the creeping barrage moved together. Infantry were issued with light machine-guns, mortars and rifle grenades and intensively trained. Thirty divisions were trained in the new tactics but had a lower scale of equipment than the elite divisions and the remainder were stripped of material to supply them, giving up most of their remaining draught animals. In the north, two German armies would attack either side of the Flesquières salient, created during the Battle of Cambrai. The 18th Army, transferred from the Eastern Front, planned its attack either side of St. Quentin, to divide the British and French armies. The two northern armies would then attack the British position around Arras, before advancing north-west to cut off the BEF in Flanders. In the south, it was intended to reach the Somme and then hold the line of the river against any French counter-attacks; the southern advance was extended to include an advance across the Somme. In the north, the Third Army (General Julian Byng), defended the area from Arras south to the Flesquières Salient. To the south, the Fifth Army held the line down to the junction with the French at Barisis.

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    After HKK 4 moved south of the Lys again on the night of 14/15 October, the 3rd Cavalry Division concentrated around Armentières, with the 6th Cavalry Division to the west and the Bavarian Cavalry Division around Sailly-sur-la-Lys and then withdrew to an area between Armentières and Laventie a day later, before being replaced by infantry units of the 6th Army as they arrived and retiring to Lille. As XIX Corps occupied Lille on 12 October, each side began a final effort to round the northern flank of its opponent. With Lille secure, the 6th Army moved the XIII Corps west around Lille, units of the 26th Division moving north of the town to occupy Menin on 14 October and began a march towards Ypres. Patrols reached Gheluvelt and Becelaere as British forces began to advance eastwards from Ypres, which according to the plans laid by Falkenhayn, were not to be opposed but allowed to advance into a trap to be sprung by the 4th Army as it advanced from Ghent into the flank and rear of the Allied armies. As the 6th Army was to operate defensively during this period, more infantry was needed in the south of the army area. Falkenhayn ordered the right flank units to form a defensive flank in the north, from La Bassée to Armentières and Menin, coinciding with a growing artillery ammunition shortage, which reduced the offensive capacity of the 6th Army in any case. XIX Corps was ordered to send the 40th Division round the north of Armentières and the 24th Division to the south, which led to several engagements with the British 4th Division near Le Gheer and Ploegsteert. By 15 October, the infantry regiments of the 40th Division had reached the Lys and deployed southwards from Warneton to La Basseville and Frélinghien. The infantry dug in on rises to gain a better view of the surroundings. Soon afterwards, outposts were established at Pont Rouge and Le Touquet, to coincide with a general attack by the 4th Army further north. The 4th and 6th divisions advanced on 13 October and found German troops dug in along the Meterenbecque. A corps attack from La Couronne to Fontaine Houck began at 2:00 p.m. in wet and misty weather, which by evening had captured Outtersteene and Méteren, at a cost of 708 casualties. On the right, the French II Cavalry Corps (de Mitry) attempted to support the attack but with no howitzers could not advance in level terrain, which was dotted with cottages improvised as strong points by the Germans; on the northern flank the British cavalry took Mont Noir near Bailleul.