Current Information:

Enlisted-London

The Race to the Sea. September-October 1914

By the middle of September 1914, the Aisne battlefield had stagnated into trench warfare and in order to break this impasse, both sides tried to outflank each other in a general movement northwards. Moving up through Picardy, Artois and Flanders the race was over by 19^th October when the North Sea was reached. The Western Front, a line of trenches stretching from Belgium to Switzerland, was now a reality. Initially it was the French army that conducted this movement whilst the British Expeditionary Force remained on the Aisne but by 6 October British reinforcements were needed to help beat off German attacks around Lille. They moved north and along with reinforcements from Britain, they took up new positions in Flanders, on the left of the Allied line and much closer to the Channel ports.

The Battle of Armentières  12^th October-2^nd November 1914

The official History pinpoints the battle of Armentières to a series of battles that took place between the river Douve and a line between Estaires and Foumers. It was part of the Race to the Sea and it determined the line of the Western Front in that sector. It was fought by III Corps which was made up by 4th and 6th Divisions plus 19 Brigade.

On 18^th October, 6th Division were ordered to capture the northern edge of the Lille ridge, the high ground on either side of the Armentieres to Lille road. At 6.30 am, 17 and 18 Brigades  moved against the sectors La Vallée to Paradis, and Prémesques to Pérenchies.  18 Brigade gained all their objectives but 17 Brigade met stiff opposition and their advance was held up. At midday, 16 Brigade from reserve was sent forward to Radinghem and as they approached thevillage, the 2nd York & Lancaster and 1st East Kents (Buffs) battalions encountered rifle and machine gun fire. Despite this they eventually took Radinghem where they then entrenched to face the enemy who were holding the woods and the Chateau de Flandres to the south-east.  When 16 Brigade next advanced across open ground they came under heavy machine gun fire and were immediately counter attacked.  This potentially serious situation was averted when the right of 2^nd York & Lancaster, moving directly on the chateau, threatened to outflank the Germans thus causing them to withdraw  The two battalions entrenched a short distance south of the village and dealt with their casualties of nearly two hundred. One of these was Frank Usher.