This week Sabine’s battlefield guide is going back to Zonnebeke
How Zonnebeke ended up in German hands for a short while October 1914
Wednesday 21 October
After a night of little sleep, the remaining civilians are led to Frezenberg where they are released with the message to move on to Ypres. After the British soldiers had left, a few of them had to try and head for Zonnebeke again. French dragoons on patrol send them back. A few of them succeed, among them Emiel Priem and his servant, they reach the farm where they find a milk jug with money and papers, the dogs that stayed behind start barking and the two men are found by French soldiers. You could hear the bullets whistling , the grenades exploding along the railway embankment and the two flee. The military police again searches the entire village, everyone who stayed behind is now considered a spy. Again a group of people are found on some remote farms, among them Alois Callewaert a farmer from Broodseinde. They are all taken to the Frezenberg, their identities noted, a first interrogation conducted and led under heavy guard to the Ypres prison where they remain for two days. By noon the British had got permission to retreat to the station of Zonnebeke. By midnight the leave there first position and the whole centre of the village.. Broodseinde has fallen into German hands. The first battalion of RIR 238 had been fighting non-stop for 14 hours, able to move forward and are close to the village. The Hamlet ‘ de katte’ is where Lt. Mattenklott is able to capture 115 British soldiers and 3 officers who were still in the gendarmerie. At the church 3 supply vehicles were stopped. The whole village is in German hands after midnight.
Thursday 22 October
It doesn’t look good, since the Germans got into the village last night . In Ypres a meeting is held between Marshals French, Haig, Rawlinson, General Mitry and General Bidon, they are considering a withdrawal of troops west of Ieper. Joffre has promised extra help from the French 9th army corps but they will only be there by the 24th. 300 kilometres away between Reims and Chalons sur Marne The French 77 infantry regiment is taking the train, happy to leave the Champagne area. None of them actually know where Zonnebeke is, Somewhere in the Nord, but by the end of next month it will be more than just a village for the regiment.
That 9th army corps existed of the 17th and 18th division = 4 brigades so 8 infantry regiments, every regiment had about 40 officers, 200 NCO’s and about 3000 soldiers divided over 3 battalion’s and 12 companies. Each brigade had a field artillery regiment ( 75 mm)
There were also two cavalry divisions
Looking into the 8 regiments I found that the majority came of the train( Hazebrouck, Boeschepe, bailleul, all French towns) and were transported by car or bus, this way of transport, proves of how urgent they were needed at the front. 2 regiments came a day later than expected because of two train derailments.
Friday the 23 of October
During the night the first French troops have arrived in Ieper, but the message general Guinabaudet get ( 17th division) that he and his troops immediately have to move towards Passendale and Moorselede is based on the fact that the English are still holding Zonnebeke. What is not the case anymore. A confused situation, and so critical around Zonnebeke. The 22 brigade is still holding the line at the railway line. In front of this position the French will find over 600 dead Germans a few days later. The 114th French infantry regiment chooses the direction of Zonnebeke to attack, this attack is supported by two batteries using 75 mm canons. The German artillery is giving them a hard time, but also the Germans hidden in the houses in the village are giving them hell. The previous night the Germans had kind of fortified the village. So the first French attack failed.
Source : Zonnebeke 1914-1918 by Aleks en Andre Deseyne, De vergeten winter 1914-1915 Aleks Deseyne
Images : convent Zonnebeke, French soldiers RI 68 in Westouter 23/10/1914 on their way to Zonnebeke
I originally planned to end the Zonnebeke blogs here but I ended up in the French regimental histories and then found a book about RI 77 so we will have to continue next week, we just need to know how the village is recaptured.