1914: THE LAST STAND OF THE THIN RED LINE 115
Major [Charles Alix Lavington] Yatewhen all other officers had been
killed or wounded and ammunition exhaustedled his 19 survivors
against the enemy in a charge in which he himself was severely wounded.
He was picked up by the enemy and subsequently died as a prisoner
of war.^23
The government gave him a Victoria Cross for destroying what remained of
his command in a pointless and futile gesture of defiance. It was a portent
of things to come.
Not all gestures of defiance and perseverance were wasted or futile. A
case in point is the action of ‘L’ Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, at Nery on
1 September. Le Cateau had forced another pause in German First Army
operations and the gap between the retreating British and their pursuers
had widened, inducing perhaps a hint of complacency in the BEF. Whether
it was complacency or exhaustion, ‘L’ Battery and the 1st Cavalry Brigade
were caught by surprise as they broke camp that morning.^24
The Germans managed to deploy artillery, machine guns, and riflemen
on a low ridge about 600 yards away under the cover of darkness. Enemy
artillery knocked out three guns before they fired a shot; crews scrambled
to control horses and bring the remaining three guns into service. Two
managed a few rounds before bullets and shrapnel swept the gunners from
their lanyards. The last gun, served by the remaining three gunners (Captain
Edward Kinder Bradbury, Battery Sergeant-Major George Thomas Dorrell,
and Sergeant David Nelson) maintained a one-sided duel with the 12 Krupp
77mm pieces on the ridge.^25 They fought for nearly an hour before a round
finally put them out of commission, killing the captain. Their survival
had occupied the attention of the German gunners, however, allowing the
cavalry time to assemble and work their way around the German flank. Rein-
forcements arrived and helped push the Germans off the ridge, capturing all
12 of the abandoned 77s in the process.^26 The three artillerymen received
the VC.
The British retreat continued into the first week of September. French’s
nerve was gone; convinced the BEF was far too damaged to be effective, he
astounded his allies by announcing plans to disengage entirely and withdraw
behind the Seine. Only the personal intervention of Lord Kitchener prevented
the move and kept French in the field.^27
While the commander of the BEF suffered a crisis of confidence, the same
could not be said of the men he commanded. Many of their letters, diaries,
and comments would do justice to a Henty hero. Many like Captain Julian
lily
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