Halen 14 – German Jaeger’s Consolidate
The gate of the Wauters Brewery, which was the width of a cart, was used to provisionally connect both riverbanks to allow the follow-on German forces to cross. For the Jäger, the crossing was an easy one once the Cyclists had given up the defense. They were a swarm compared to the 200 to 250 Cyclists positioned on the Belgian side. The Jäger Bn Nr 9 accounted, “We attack, 1st and 3rd Kompanie on either side of the road, then comes 2nd Kompanie, the Machinengewehr Kompanie, and 4th Kompanie.” That, altogether, was probably 800 men; as if this would not have been sufficient, there were an additional 200 men of Jäger Bn Nr 7. The Jäger Bn Nr 9 history stated, “Quickly we had taken the south side of the village, still shelled by our artillery because of the barricade in the Dorpsstraat. Through gardens and yards we advanced—house-to-house—with planted bayonet through the village. . . . Nothing could stop us now. The Gete was taken fast.” Jäger Bn Nr 7, operating at the far south, related, “We advanced. No enemy fire. We were supported by a battery of the FAR Nr 3 that shelled Halen. The houses at the outskirts of Halen then started burning.”
The Jäger Bn Nr 9 attacked on both sides of the road with 1st and 3rd Kompanie. The 2nd Kompanie, the machine-gun company, and the 4th Kompanie followed them. Soon the southern edge of the village was reached and a barricade was noticed in the village street. Past gardens and yards jumping from house to house, the Jäger Bn Nr 9 advanced through the village with bayonets fixed. Soon the bridge was taken. A footbridge and the railroad bridge helped us a great deal in crossing the river [Velp Creek was crossed south of the village, after first having crossed the Gete River].
Desiré Hardy, who lived at the main road and across from the road leading to Donk, knew all about it. A German Radfahrer had grabbed thirteen half-baked breads and some eggs from his home.
1030 Hours. The German 17th Kav Brigade was in Waterkant; 3rd Kav Brigade arrived at Landwijk. Here the dismounted troopers of Kürassiere Regt Nr 2 and Ulanen Regt Nr 9 returned to their horses.
The Belgian 4th Mixed Brigade began marching towards Halen. LtC Beernaerts argued in his study that 4th Mixed Brigade could have received the order to advance no earlier than 0915 hours, and the first units arrived at the battlefield no later than 1400 hours. However, due to the deployment and positioning of the troops at Sint-Margriete-Houtem, the order for departure could not have been issued before 1030 hours.