The 4th Dragoon Guards at Messines, 1914

This article is developed from a study I made for a private client in 2014 of Private 8248 Leonard Partridge of the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards. He lost his life in the desperate fight for the possession of the Messines Ridge and is officially recognised as having died on 1 November 1914. He has no known grave. Leonard had enlisted into the regular army in 1913. He did not go to France with the original contingent of his regiment, being kept back as a first reinforcement. The day after Leonard’s draft crossed the English Channel on 21 August 1914, the regiment had the historical honour of becoming the first British unit to come into contact with the enemy when it engaged at Casteau near Mons.

Leonard (his initial is incorrectly given) featured in the “Exeter and Plymouth Gazette” of 5 February 1915 (British Newspaper Archive)

Background

The 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards was under command of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, the only mounted division of the original British Expeditionary Force. Its movements and actions in 1914 are well described in its war diary (National Archives WO95/1112), but it may help to know that the division is officially recognised as having participated in the following named battles and engagements:

The Battle of Mons (23 August 1914), with the subsequent Action of Elouges (24 August) and Rearguard Action of Solesmes (25 August). These events were the beginning of the long retreat from Mons, which lasted until 5 September and incorporated the next battle:

The Battle of Le Cateau (26 August 1914);

The Battle of the Marne (7-10 September 1914), in which French forces with British support finally held and broke through the German advance, beginning a northward advance back over some of the ground recently lost;

The Battle of the Aisne (12-15 September 1914) and subsequent Actions on the Aisne Heights (20 September), in which British attempts to continue the advance were held by German forces holding high ground along the northern bank of the Aisne.

During early October 1914 the entire British Expeditionary Force left the Aisne sector, their place being taken by French forces. It now moved (mainly by train, although the cavalry made the journey by a series of long marches) northwards to Flanders. This had the dual purpose of re-positioning it on the left of the French ally (as it had been before Mons) and to greatly shorten the supply line from the English Channel. It also formed part of wider movements, as both sides sought to outflank the other, leading to a concurrent series of battles that often goes by the misleading name of the “Race to the Sea”. By 11 October the 1st Cavalry Division was deploying in the area north of Bethune and was soon ordered to advance eastwards with the objective of securing the French city of Lille.

The advance of the British Expeditionary Force ran into a large enemy force moving westwards, and the encounter developed into a parallel series of battles (mainly defined by geography). The largest of these was the First Battle of Ypres, which began on 19 October and lasted until 22 November. To the south of Ypres, the Battle of Messines took place and is officially regarded to have lasted from 12 October to 2 November.

A present day map of the area of relevance. Most of the area depicted lies in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The location of specific interest is the village of Messines (shown here in modern Flemish as Mesen). It lies on the crest of a ridge line that runs down from Ypres, through Wytschaete (now Wijtschate) and Messines towards Ploegsteert Wood (the light green patch at the bottom of the image). There is a gentle slope up to the crest from the east; on the western side it slopes away more steeply. Possession of the ridge gave the occupier an important advantage of observation, and also threatened Ypres from encirclement from the south. It was considered vital to hold.

My photograph taken in Neuve Eglise (Nieuwkerke) looking towards the Messines ridge. Messines is the village on the skyline, right. The church is the middle ground, left, is at Wulverghem. The strategic importance of the ridge can be appreciated from the west (as this is); less so from the east.

On the Messines Ridge

29 October 1914. The area of Messines, shown in a map from the British Official History of Military Operations. British forces are shown in red and German in green. The German attack against Ypres and the Messines ridge had now been underway for over a week and British resources were becoming dangerously stretched. The cavalry – by now organised as two divisions – was ordered to dismount to act as infantry, and hold the line from St. Eloi down to the south of Messines. As the various regiments deployed, they joined scattered elements of an infantry unit of the Indian Army, the 57th (Wilde’s) Rifles. The 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards and the rest of 2nd Cavalry Brigade are not shown on this map, for they were still moving up from the Neuve Chapelle area.

30 October 1914. The German attack continues. are shown as being situated to the south west of Wytschaete. This was the position that the regiment reached by the end of the day. The situation had now become critical, with the fall of Messines seeming imminent. The 4th Dragoon Guards have now arrived and are deployed west of Wytschaete.

31 October 1914, Halloween. This critical day is mainly remembered for the bravery of an advance made by a unit of the Territorial Force, the 14th Battalion of the London Regiment, also known as the London Scottish, which filled gaps that were opening up in the front line between Wytschaete and Messines. The 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards was ordered back from Wytschaete, and then forward – dismounted – to Messines. Their advance is shown: coming from the area of the Spanbroekmolen windmill (left) and through the crossroads at Kruisstraat, “B” and “C” Squadrons carried on towards Messines and reached the western outskirts; “A” Squadron and regimental HQ took up a position west of woods to the north west. The latter joined “B” and “C” Squadrons, by now heavily engaged in the fighting is the streets of the centre of Messines, later in the day. The day ended with the village being the epicentre of fighting, the British holding on to the west and Germans in the east and so near to the regiment that their men could be heard talking.

A wider view of the situation on 31 October 1914.

On 1 November 1914 the German attack continued, finally breaking British resistance at Messines, capturing the remainder of the village and forcing the British down the slope towards Wulverghem. The 4th (Royal) Irish Dragoon Guards discovered early in the morning that the London Scottish and dismounted cavalry on their left (that is, to the north) had been pushed back; this exposed the regiment to an encircling action. Despite elements of thither units being ordered to advance to throw the enemy back in that area, the dwindling British force was in danger of being overwhelmed and the regiment, with others was ordered to withdraw westwards.

From the regiment’s war diary. Crown Copyright.

Casualties

Lieutenant Spencer Julian Wilfred Railston. From “The Graphic” of Saturday 5 December 1914 (British Newspaper Archive). He had been commissioned into the Indian Army in 1907 and was a noted boxer and steeplechase rider. Spencer was the son of Colonel and Mrs. Railston of Stow-on-the-Wold, and formerly of Ascott-under-Wychwood and was 25 when he lost his life. His death was reported in newspapers at home as early as 7 November 1914.

From the “Broad Arrow” of Friday 4 December 1914 (British Newspaper Archive). The information apparently came from other officers and men of his regiment, who wrote to his family.

From the “West Sussex County Times” of Saturday 14 November 1914 (British Newspaper Archive). Powell’s official date of death is 31 October 1914.

The records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission include 12 of the regiment’s “other ranks” with a date of death of 1 November 1914. None of the men have a known grave. They are commemorated at the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres. They were named in the War Office casualty list of 2 December 1914 that was printed in the “Times” of 25 January 1914.

Links

Dragoon Guards

Battle of Messines, 1914

First Battles of Ypres