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Action at Néry
The Action at Néry was a skirmish fought on 1 September 1914 between the British Army and the German Army, part of the Great Retreat from Mons during the early stages of the First World War. A British cavalry brigade preparing to leave their overnight bivouac were attacked by a German cavalry division of about twice their strength shortly after dawn. Both sides fought dismounted; the British artillery was mostly put out of action in the first few minutes, but a single gun of L Battery, Royal Horse Artillery successfully kept up a steady fire for two and a half hours against a full battery of German artillery. British reinforcements arrived at around 8 am, counter-attacking the German forces and forcing them to retreat; the German division was routed and did not return to combat for several days. Three men of L Battery were awarded the Victoria Cross for their part in the battle, and the battery itself was later awarded the honour title of "Néry", the only British Army unit to have this as a battle honour.
==Background==
(詳細はBattle of Mons on 23 August 1914, the outnumbered British Expeditionary Force had begun to fall back in front of a stronger German army. The two clashed again at the Battle of Le Cateau on 26 August, after which the British again retreated towards the River Marne. The retreat was orderly and disciplined; the German command mistakenly believed the British force was shattered and so neglected to aggressively harass them as they withdrew. As a result, the bulk of the Expeditionary Force was able to retreat for several days without engaging in any major fighting; the German pursuit was leisurely, and most engagements were skirmishes between rearguard units and cavalry patrols, rarely more than a battalion in strength.〔Farndale, pp. 54–55〕
On 31 August, the Expeditionary Force continued falling back to the south-west, crossing the River Aisne between Soissons and Compiègne, with a rear guard provided by the brigades of the Cavalry Division. The day's march was cut short by the warm weather, which exhausted the already fatigued infantry, and they halted for the night just south of the Aisne. The I Corps bivouacked north of the forest around Villers-Cotterêts, with the II Corps to their south-west at Crepy-en-Valois, and the III Corps further to the west around Verberie.〔Edmonds, pp.230–231〕 This left a gap of around five miles between the II and III Corps, which was filled by the 1st Cavalry Brigade, stationed at the village of Néry. The brigade had spent the day scouting for the German vanguard to the north-west of Compigne, and did not reach its rest area until dusk, around 8.30pm.〔Edmonds, p. 232〕 The British plan for the following day was for a march of ten to fourteen miles southwards to a new defensive line, which called for an early departure from their rest areas; the III Corps rearguards were expected to pass through Néry by 6 am, which would already have been vacated by the cavalry. However, most units had reached their overnight stations quite late on the 31st, and so General Pulteney, the corps commander, ordered a later departure.〔Edmonds, p. 236〕
Behind the retreating British forces, the German First Army on the right wing had begun to swing south, aiming to cross the river Oise around Compiègne, with the goal of cutting off the retreat of the French Fifth Army and isolating Paris.〔Edmonds, p. 234〕 On the afternoon of 31 August, the 5th Division was identified about eight miles north-west of Compiègne and heading southwards, whilst the leading cavalry divisions of the army crossed the Oise north of Compiègne around the same time.〔 The German units were on a forced march, ordered to reconnoitre towards Paris with all possible speed, and had begun moving at 4 am that morning. Many would continue through the following night; some prisoners at Néry said that they had been travelling for twenty-six hours without sleep.〔Edmonds, p. 289〕 However, they pressed on regardless of fatigue; one regimental commander responded to complaints that his men were being pushed too hard with the curt remark that "sweat saves blood".〔Edmonds, pp. 232–233. The officer quoted is the commander of the ''12. Grenadier-Regiment'', in 5th Division.〕 The first contact between the armies that evening was just after nightfall, when the 2nd Royal Welsh Fusiliers of III Corps encountered a patrol of the 8. Husaren-Regiment, of the 9th Cavalry Division, outside Verberie, on the extreme west flank of the British force.〔Edmonds, p. 232. Edmonds quotes the ''8. Husaren'' as part of the 4th Cavalry Division, but per Viser, they were assigned to 9th Cavalry Division.〕
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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