Audregnie

[le ulhan]

The Battle of Audregnies

Summary of the Battle of Audregnies.
The Battle of Audregnies follows the Battle of Mons. The German 1st Army sets off in pursuit of the retreating English army.
On August 24, 1914, around 11:45 a.m., General Fergusson, commander of the British Vth Division, understood that his retreat was threatened by German forces advancing from the north. Immediately, he asks the cavalry to turn around and create a left flank guard. He also informs Colonel Ballard, commander of Norfolk, to stop the enemy in order to protect the retreat of the Vth Division. The Norfolk accompanied by the Chershire advance towards the north, but their counter-attack is very quickly diverted towards a position west of Elouges.
Summary of the Battle of Audregnies.
The battlefield forms a rectangle of 3 km from north to south and 4.5 km from west to east. It is delimited to the north by the Grand-route from Mons to Valenciennes, to the south by the road from Elouges to Audregnies, to the west by the Honnelle valley and to the east by the road from Elouges to Thulin.
The battlefield is crossed by a local railway line going from Elouges to Quiévrain and serving a coal mine. Parallel to the Honnelle runs the Chaussée Brunehault, which cuts the road from Mons to Valenciennes to the east of Quiévrain. There is a sugar factory along the chaussée Brunehault, north of Audregnies and several slag heaps.
Two English batteries take position behind the hill, along the road from Elouges to Audregnies. Battery 119 occupied the right flank, near the colliery railway line, and the battery was on the left, near Audregnies.
The two cavalry regiments are behind Audregnies, at the start of the Roman road. The 9th Lancer occupies the right.
Three Norfolk companies held the front between the Elouges-Baisieux road and the colliery railway, the fourth was near the bridge over the Elouges-Audregnies road.
The Cheshires are to their left, their front extending to the northern suburbs of Audregnies.
Two machine guns are placed in an abandoned dwelling near the mill.
During the meeting between General Fergusson and Colonels Ballard of Norfolk and Boger of Cheshire, he had a misinterpretation of orders from Ballard and Boger: the Norfolks were given a flank-guard mission and clearance to retreat if necessary, the Cheshires to resist at all costs.
 
Summary of the Battle of Audregnies.
All of the German IVth Army Corps approaches with confidence given their great superiority in manpower. The 8th division in the west coming from Quiévrain and Quiévrechain with 9 artillery batteries. The 7th Division to the east, it crosses the road and the railway south of Thulin and goes towards Audregnies.
Around 12:30 p.m., German artillery and musketry were unleashed from the northwest, the Germans began their attack which developed into two parts, one coming from Baisieux, northwest of Audregnies, the other coming from of Quievrain.
The English machine guns opened fire on the approaching enemy, an English cannon was put out of action.
The 119th English battery concentrates its fire on the line of German batteries located on the road from Quiévrain to Boussu, the L battery fires on the 72nd and 93rd German infantry regiments which emerge from the Bois deduced south of Quiévrain.
The 72nd and 26th German regiments went on the attack in close masses as in Mons.
On the English side, General de Lisle (2nd Cavalry Brigade) decided to attack on horseback to the north in order to take the German offensive from the flank and thus relieve Cheshire.
the 9th Platoon Reinforced Lancer

[le ulhan]

Little is said about it, but it is here that there was the first great charge of English cavalry, the majority of the corps are in Baisieux to the east of Quievrain

[PRC]

A quick forum search brings up:-

Cheers,
Peter

[le ulhan]

Yes, it's very good, but I move for photos, it's better, no!