Today was the day of the liberation of Lille. It was a momentous day for the populace, when the British Fifth Army under General Birdwood entered the city. It was also significant day for Greg: he records for the first time that he was reconnoitring east of Lille, near and around the Fort du Vinage. He noted the destructive trail left by the withdrawing German army, and he reported the newly established German line south of Roubaix.
Log Book
Date: 17.10.18 Time Out: 14.10 Rounds Fired – Lewis: - Rounds Fired – Vickers: - Bombs: - Time on RE8s: 173 hrs 35 mins RE8: E27 Observer: Scarterfield War Flying: 2 hrs 15 mins Height: 2000 Course/Remarks: Reconn. 5000x E of Lille
5000x E of Lille
There is a bit of a puzzle in the log book entry: what does the x denote?
The first issue is what letter it actually is. I have transcribed it as a superscripted ‘x’, as that seems to me to be the most likely option. But it could, just conceivably, be a ‘t’. But in that case, what might a ‘t’ stand for? From the Squadron Record Book (SRB), extracted below, we can establish definitively that it doesn’t mean British troops. The entry clearly states: “No British troops seen East of Lille”. And although German troops east of Lille would be unremarkable, the SRB merely refers to a “few odd German infantry with civilians on road…” The same reasoning would also rule out tanks (if the quantity of 5,000 hadn’t ruled them out anyway).
But in any event, the superscript looks more like an ‘x’ than a ‘t’. And it is hard to think of a plausible word beginning with an ‘x’ that it might stand for.
So what else might ‘x’ mean?
Might it indicate height? 5,000 ft is certainly a reasonable height for an RE8 to fly at. But on this occasion both the log book and the SRB tell us that Greg flew no higher than 2,000 ft. So that’s not it.
My working hypothesis is that ‘x’ indicates distance, specifically yards, on the ground. The maps that Greg was working with all had numbered 1,000 yard sub-squares, within 6,000 yard lettered squares. (See the article on Counter-Battery Patrols for an explanation of how the map reference system worked.) So pilots would be well used to gauging distances in 1,000 yard units. Given the locations that Greg reported on in that patrol (from the SRB again), it is likely that he was flying some five map sub-squares east of Lille, which is to say 5,000 yards east of the city. But even if this is the correct explanation, I don’t know why he wrote ‘5000x‘ and not ‘5000 yds’. Any suggestions or alternative explanations welcome.
Squadron Record Book
Type and Number: R.E.8.27 Pilot and Observer: P. Lt Gregory. O. Lt Scarterfield Duty: Reconnaissance Hour of Start: 1410 Hour of Return: 1625 Remarks: FIRES at the following places:- Farm F.25.d.4.5 Houses K.6.a.4.6 Factory Q.1.b.0.4 " K.20.d.5.0 " K.15.central.) " K.2.c.0.5 ) Commenced during patrol. Enemy trench system in wood at L.22.a.&.b. apparently unoccupied; full of water. Few odd German Infantry with civilians on road L.15.d.& L.16.a. BRIDGE destroyed at:- Railway over road at L.13.d.4.5. " " " K.24.d.6.4. " " " K.23.d.9.3. " " " K.22.b.6.9. All bridges and locks on Eastern water defences [see below] of LILLE destroyed. EXPLOSIONS at:- 1534. K.5.c.6.8. (Apparently dump) 1535. F.26.a.Central. Large fires burning in LANNOY and on Eastern outskirts of ROUBAIX. Bridges along river from L.9 to L.29 all destroyed. Forts BABYLON, du VINAGE, & de MONS [en BAROEUL] occupied lightly by patrols. Fired at with rifles from FORT DU VINAGE. [see below] 1530. Two civilians at Fort roads [sic: cross-roads?] at K.18.central, proceeding from direction of ROUBAIX to LILLE. No British troops seen East of LILLE. Enemy outposts appear to be holding a line roughly running though L.16, R.10 & X.5. Few odd patrols & civilians seen W. of this line. A.A. Vigorous burst of accurate A.A. fire over L.24. & L.29 at 1525. Vis poor. Height 400/2000’. Obs by P.&.O.
This lengthy Squadron Record Book entry confirms that the action was shifting to the east of the city by mid-afternoon. Much infrastructure had visibly been destroyed by the withdrawing German army. It was a remarkable day, given that it had started with the British front line being some 4½ miles (7 km) northwest of Lille, towards Armentières:
And here, on a larger scale map, are some of the locations mentioned in the SRB entry for the mid-afternoon reconnaissance patrol undertaken by Greg and Lt Scarterfield:
Fort du Vinage, and Anti-Aircraft Fire
Greg says that he was fired at with rifles from the Fort du Vinage (also known as the Fort du Haut Vinage). He can’t have been flying too far from it to see this happening. Fort du Vinage is about five sub-squares (5,000 yards) east of the centre of Lille.
Also, he reports a “vigorous burst of accurate A.A. [anti-aircraft] fire over L.24. & L.29 at 1525”. Those sub-squares are about five sub-squares east of Mons-en-Baroeul, on the easternmost outskirts of the city.
These points support the idea that the ‘5000x‘ in the log book is a reference to 5,000 yds east of Lille.
Bridges on Eastern Water Defences Destroyed
The old city of Lille was surrounded by water. Over the last hundred years, Lille has expanded greatly. The southern and eastern water defences of the old city have been filled in and are the course of Autoroutes that form part of the city’s boulevard périphérique. The northern part of the old eastern water defences now also accommodates the high speed rail line from Calais and London and is the site of Lille Europe station (“Lilleurope” as they announce it on the Eurostar trains). Both the tracks at this point and the station are underground.
The German Line
Greg records that “Enemy outposts appear to be holding a line roughly running though L.16, R.10 & X.5”. This line runs more or less due south from Roubaix, some 4 miles (6.5km) east of the centre of Lille. It passes through Anappes and Sainghin. Annappes is now part of Villeneuve-d’Ascq, which is itself part of the Lille-Roubaix-Tourcoing conurbation. Sainghin (today Sainghin-en-Mélantois) is just near the important high speed rail junction southeast of Lille, where the lines from Paris, Brussels and London all meet.
Lille from the Air
Greg had a couple of aerial photographs of Lille in his collection. They are unmarked and undated, so it is hard to know when they were taken. But it is likely to have been today or later, given the occupation of the city beforehand. Possibly they were taken after the armistice. But in any event here they are, with corresponding contemporary views from Google maps:
It is evident from the two 1918 photographs that, although knocked about, Lille did not suffer physical destruction to anything like the same extent as Ypres, some 17 miles (27 km) away to the northwest. The contrast with the aerial photographs in the following post for 28 September 1918 is quite telling:
Liberation of Lille…and Elsewhere
Liberation was in the air, and not only in Lille. In this newly published article, Michael Seymour explains what it meant for the people of Lille and elsewhere: