Germans occupy Armentières, Hazebrouck, Merville and Estaires

A British chronicle of the war records under 9 October 1914 the German capture of Armentières, Hazebrouck, Merville and Estaires, towns in French Flanders between Lille and Saint-Omer. In the first half of October there was still no continuous front here. German cavalry corps were roaming the plain along the river Leie (in French, the Lys), trying to outflank the Allied left wing and reach the coast. Local sources and the British official history show, however, that each of these towns had a different fate.

Furthest west went General von Hollen’s IV Cavalry Corps. On 7 October it passed through Ypres, and on the afternoon of 8 October its columns entered Bailleul and set off towards Hazebrouck, an important railway junction. Near the town they ran into French Territorial units and cavalry, and on 9 October the corps fell back to Bailleul. The sources do not confirm that the Germans took Hazebrouck itself at that time. At most, patrols made forays into the area around the town.

On the same day further German forces appeared south of the Lys. XIV Corps arrived at La Bassée and relieved I and II Cavalry Corps, the latter under General Georg von der Marwitz. Both formations moved north to break through between La Bassée and Armentières, but were stopped by the French cavalry. According to the British official history, on 9 October the French held a line from Béthune through Estaires and Merville to Aire. Merville saw cavalry skirmishes at the beginning of October, but from 9 October it remained in Allied hands.

The Germans did not take Estaires until two days later. On 11 October Bavarian cavalrymen tried to cross the bridge over the Lys, driving several dozen civilians in front of them as a human shield. The French dragoons defending the crossing opened fire, and reportedly only three of the hostages survived. The Germans entered the town only after an artillery bombardment. The French cavalry retook Estaires on 15 October.

The only town the Germans really held for any length of time was Armentières, an industrial town on the Lys near the Belgian border. Local sources differ on the date of their entry, giving 9 or 10 October. For several days the Germans levied contributions and requisitions here, and on 17 October the British III Corps entered the town after they had left it. Armentières then remained on the Allied side of the front until the spring of 1918.