End of the Battle of La Bassée
- Category:
- Military operations
- Front:
- Western Front
- Date:
- 2 November 1914
- Author:
- Natalia
- Battle:
- Battle of La Bassée
On 2 November 1914, according to the British nomenclature of battles, the Battle of La Bassée came to an end. The British II Corps, which three weeks earlier had set out from Béthune to outflank the Germans from the north, had not taken the little town. Exhausted and depleted, it handed over its trenches to soldiers from India. The end of the battle, like that of the simultaneous fighting at Messines and Armentières, is a conventional date: fighting continued on this sector, but the weight of the German attacks had shifted north, to Ypres.
The loss of Neuve-Chapelle
The final weeks of the battle were spent on the defensive. After the withdrawal on the night of 22–23 October, II Corps held a line from Givenchy through Neuve-Chapelle to Fauquissart. The Germans, reinforced by new divisions and heavy artillery, attacked almost daily. On 26 and 27 October they broke into Neuve-Chapelle and after fierce fighting among the ruins took the whole village. On 28 October soldiers of the 47th Sikhs and Indian sappers, among others, counter-attacked. They crossed several hundred metres of flat, open ground and reached the village, but without support they could not hold it. The Sikhs lost more than 200 of their 289 men. Neuve-Chapelle remained in German hands until March 1915.
The Indian Corps takes over the front
From 29 October the trenches of II Corps were taken over by the two divisions of the Indian Corps: the Lahore Division, whose units had been fighting in Flanders for several days, dispersed along the most threatened sectors, and the newly arrived Meerut Division. The relief took two nights, because no communication trenches led to the front line. On 31 October command of the whole sector from Givenchy to Fauquissart was assumed by the commander of the Indian Corps, General James Willcocks.
The soldiers from India immediately had to repel German attacks. On 2 November the Germans struck north-west of Neuve-Chapelle and drove a battalion of Gurkhas out of its trenches, exposing the flank of the neighbouring battalion. The line was restored only by counter-attacks, and over the following days the old trenches were filled in and abandoned. According to English-language studies, by 3 November the Indian Corps had lost nearly 2,000 men.
The balance
According to the British official history, II Corps lost about 14,000 killed, wounded and missing between 12 and 31 October, the 3rd Division alone more than 5,800. Of the 24,000 infantrymen the corps should have numbered, about 14,000 remained. Even so, there was no question of rest. The remnants of the corps were sent north to help the cavalry and III Corps, and its battalions were soon fighting at Messines and Wytschaete.
The Battle of La Bassée ended without a decision. The British did not outflank the German wing, and the Germans, although they had taken Neuve-Chapelle, did not break through the front. La Bassée remained in German hands until October 1918. The line between Givenchy and Fauquissart on which the Indian Corps stood survived almost unchanged until the spring of 1915.
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Meanwhile
(04)Elsewhere in the same days.
- 2 November 1914 · DiplomacyRussia declares war on TurkeyOn 2 November 1914 Nicholas II issued a manifesto of war with Turkey. The Tsar said it would open Russia's way to its Black Sea aims, that is, the Straits.
- 2 November 1914 · Asia and the PacificSinking of the cruiser Kaiserin ElisabethOn 2 November 1914 the crew of the Austro-Hungarian cruiser Kaiserin Elisabeth scuttled her in the harbour of Tsingtao. The sailors fought on ashore.
- 2 November 1914 · Middle EastIndian Expeditionary Force "F" sails for EgyptAt the beginning of November 1914 three new Indian brigades sailed from India for Egypt. They were to defend the Suez Canal against the Turks.
- 2 November 1914 · Middle EastIndia guarantees the inviolability of the holy places of IslamOn 2 November 1914 the Viceroy of India said Britain would not attack the holy places of Arabia and Mesopotamia or Jeddah if the Turks let pilgrims through.
Related events
(04)The same battle, people or subject.
- 11 October 1914 · Western FrontThe British retake MervilleThe British chronology records the recapture of Merville on 11 October 1914. The British 1st Cavalry Division took the Lys town, linking up with the French.
- 10 October 1914 · Western FrontBritish retake Hazebrouck and EstairesThe British chronicle records the recapture of Hazebrouck and Estaires on 10 October 1914. British cavalry entered Hazebrouck; Estaires was still under threat.
- 10 October 1914 · Western FrontBattle of La Bassée beginsOn 10 October 1914 the British II Corps, moved from the Aisne, marched towards Béthune and La Bassée. So began the British fighting in Flanders.
- 11 November 1914 · Western FrontPrussian Guard attack at Nonne BosschenOn 11 November 1914 the Prussian Guard broke into the British line at Ypres. Gunners and an Oxfordshire counter-attack stopped the last great German attack.