Halen 19 – Second Charge -1
Returning to the point where we had left Velpen unoccupied by the Guides, Van Overstraeten was convinced that this hamlet was indeed defended, because Capt.-Commandant Tasnier, a member of de Witte’s staff, had so assured him. According to Van Overstraeten, this deployment was not executed in the sunken Betserbaan but—much to his dissatisfaction—beyond it. The Cyclists would pay a high toll; the German Jäger had not stayed inactive. According to some reports, German infiltrators had even managed to sneak as close as the Betserbaan. From this natural trench, they fired at the Cyclists, who suffered heavy casualties. The Jäger Bn Nr 9 history did not mention whether they had ever reached the Betserbaan.
1215 Hours. Lt. Robin noted that the Jäger Battalion was emerging from the village. “At the western exit of Halen—where the house is with ‘1911’ in white digits on the roof—now appear gray silhouettes that advance in skirmisher formation [tirailleurs]. . . . A salvo of four rounds causes them to disperse.”
1245 Hours. “The battery opens fire. The shells crash down east of Halen.”
1250 Hours. De Witte transmitted a telegram to the 1st Army Div commander to signal that 4th Mixed Bde had not yet reached Kortenaken, and that he had been attacked and shelled fiercely by the enemy. The answer was transmitted at 1307 hours: “4th Mixed Bde that had left Sint-Margriete-Houtem at 0900 hours must be close to Kortenaken now.”
In the end, there were two shortfalls of the Belgian position: The Cyclist Bn was deployed in the open between Halen and the defensive line centered on the IJzerwinning Farm; and the carbines in the main defensive line were out of range of the exits from the village of Halen. Of approximately 250 Cyclists, 30 were killed and 100 wounded. This heavy toll amounted to 52 percent of the battalion—in comparison, Belgian cavalry units suffered 3 percent casualties.
1330 Hours. While 2nd Squadron impaled itself against the Zelk barricade position, 1st Squadron/Dr Nr 17 prepared to charge and destroy the Mettenberg artillery. At the small Halen railroad station, 1st Squadron stood at the wide loading wharf between the few houses that lined the Stationstraat. This was the lifeguard squadron of Mecklenburg. They were closely attached to the Grand Duke.Their horses swayed their heads impatiently, as if already able to sniff death. Their riders could barely calm them. The cavalry troopers wore the black helmet with a sharp spike on top. The helmet sported a twelve-pointed star with the Mecklenburg-Schwerin coat of arms. From where they stood, they could see the outline of the Mettenberg Hill very clearly: small figures running around, moving bundles of straw. Jäger of Bn Nr 9, who sat smoking pipes, told them that the artillery firing on the village must be positioned there—not long before, they had seen black smoke rising from there. Squadron Commander Rittm. Erhard Graf von Kalnein had heard the incoming shells as he rode through the built-up area of Halen. Some shells had crashed nearby, but the only damages were some frightened horses. Kalnein had been unable to determine from where the shots had come.
In Kalnein’s eyes, the terrain lay open before him—especially on the right. Flat country stretched out as far as the Mettenberg Hill. A few features rose up in front of him, but for approximately 200-300 meters he could see no obstacles with his binoculars. On his left seemed to be a few more trees and buildings, so he decided to shift to the north into the most open terrain. This would be his last decision—he died a few minutes later. His grave marker, shaped as an iron cross, marked his resting place for years at the IJzerwinning “Ehrenfriedhof Nr. 223” and is now kept in the Halen museum as a last reminder.