In The Firing Line - free ebook by Arthur St. John Adcock

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In The Firing Line

Arthur St. John Adcock

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IN THE FIRING LINE

IN THE FIRING LINE

HOW THE WAR BEGAN By W. L. COURTNEY, LL.D., and J. M. KENNEDY THE FLEETS AT WAR By ARCHIBALD HURD THE CAMPAIGN OF SEDAN By GEORGE HOOPER THE CAMPAIGN ROUND LIEGE By J. M. KENNEDY IN THE FIRING LINE By A. ST. JOHN ADCOCK GREAT BATTLES OF THE WORLD By STEPHEN CRANE Author of “The Red Badge of Courage.” BRITISH REGIMENTS AT THE FRONT The story of their Battle Honours. THE RED CROSS IN WAR By Miss MARY FRANCES BILLINGTON FORTY YEARS AFTER The Story of the Franco-German War. By H. C. BAILEY. With an

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I The Baptism of Fire

I The Baptism of Fire

The War Correspondent has become old-fashioned before he has had time to grow old; he was made by telegraphy, and wireless has unmade him. The swift transmission of news from the front might gratify us who are waiting anxiously at home, but such news can be caught in the air now, or secretly and as swiftly retransmitted so as to gratify our enemies even more by keeping them well-informed of our strength and intentions and putting them on their guard. Therefore our armies have rightly gone forth

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Letter 1.—From Sapper George Bryant, Royal Engineers, to his father, Mr. J. J. Bryant, of Fishponds:

Letter 1.—From Sapper George Bryant, Royal Engineers, to his father, Mr. J. J. Bryant, of Fishponds:

Aug. 17.—Sailed from Southampton, on Manchester Engineer , 4.45 a.m. Aug. 18.—Landed Rouen, 6.20 a.m. Proceeded to rest camp at the Racecourse, Rouen. Aug. 19.—Left camp 9 p.m., and entrained to Aulnoye. Aug. 20.—Marched to Fiezines. Aug. 21.—Marched to Mons, and proceeded to the canal, to obstacle the bridges and prepare for blowing up. Barricaded the main streets. Saw German cavalry, and was under fire. Aug. 22.—Severe fighting and terrible. Went to blow up bridges with Lieut. Day, who was sho

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Letter 2.—From Driver W. Moore, Royal Field Artillery, to the superintendent of the “Cornwall” training ship, of which Driver Moore is an “old boy” still under twenty:

Letter 2.—From Driver W. Moore, Royal Field Artillery, to the superintendent of the “Cornwall” training ship, of which Driver Moore is an “old boy” still under twenty:

It was Sunday night when we saw the enemy. We were ready for action, but were lying down to have a rest, when orders came to stand at our posts. It was about four a.m. on Monday when we started to fire; we were at it all day till six p.m., when we started to advance. Then the bugle sounded the charge, and the cavalry and infantry charged like madmen at the enemy; then the enemy fell back about forty miles, so we held them at bay till Wednesday, when the enemy was reinforced. Then they came on to

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Letter 3.—From Private G. Moody, to his parents at Beckenham:

Letter 3.—From Private G. Moody, to his parents at Beckenham:

I was at Mons in the trenches in the firing line for twenty-four hours, and my regiment was ordered to help the French on the right. Poor old A Company was left to occupy the trenches and to hold them: whatever might happen, they were not to leave them. There were about 250 of us, and the Germans came on, and as fast as we knocked them over more took their places. Well, out of 250 men only eighty were left, and we had to surrender. They took away everything, and we were lined up to be shot, so a

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Letter 4.—From a Lincolnshire Sergeant to his brother:

Letter 4.—From a Lincolnshire Sergeant to his brother:

It came unexpectedly. The first inkling we had was just after reveille, when our cavalry pickets fell back and reported the presence of the enemy in strength on our front and slightly to the left. In a few minutes we were all at our posts without the slightest confusion, and as we lay down in the trenches our artillery opened fire. It was a fine sight to see the shells speeding through the air to pay our respects to Kaiser Bill and his men. Soon the Germans returned the compliment; but they were

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Letter 5.—From Private Levy, Royal Munster Fusiliers:

Letter 5.—From Private Levy, Royal Munster Fusiliers:

We were sent up to the firing line to try and save a battery. When we got there we found that they were nearly all killed or wounded. Our Irish lads opened fire on the dirty Germans, and you should have seen them fall. It was like a game of skittles. But as soon as you knocked them down up came another thousand or so. We could not make out where they came from. So, all of a sudden, our officers gave us the order to charge. We fixed bayonets and went like fire through them. You should have seen t

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Letter 6.—From Sergeant A. J. Smith, 1st Lincolnshire Regiment:

Letter 6.—From Sergeant A. J. Smith, 1st Lincolnshire Regiment:

We smashed up the Kaiser’s famous regiment—the Imperial Guards—and incidentally they gave us a shaking. They caught me napping. I got wounded on Sunday night, but I stuck it until Thursday. I could then go no further, so they put me in the ambulance and sent me home. It was just as safe in the firing line as in the improvised hospital, as when our force moved the Germans closed up and shelled the hospitals and burned the villages to the ground. We started on Sunday, and were fighting and marchin

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Letter 7.—From Private J. R. Tait, of the 2nd Essex Regiment:

Letter 7.—From Private J. R. Tait, of the 2nd Essex Regiment:

We were near Mons when we had the order to entrench. It was just dawn when we were half-way down our trenches, and we were on our knees when the Germans opened a murderous fire with their guns and machine guns. We opened a rapid fire with our Maxims and rifles; we let them have it properly, but no sooner did we have one lot down than up came another lot, and they sent their cavalry to charge us, but we were there with our bayonets, and we emptied our magazines on them. Their men and horses were

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Letter 8.—From an Oldham Private to his wife at Waterhead:

Letter 8.—From an Oldham Private to his wife at Waterhead:

We have had a terrible time, and were in action for three days and nights. On Wednesday the officers said that Spion Kop was heaven to the fighting we had on that day. It is God help our poor fellows who get wounded in the legs or body and could not get off the battlefield, as when we retired the curs advanced and shot and bayonetted them as they tried to crawl away. They are rotten shots with the rifles. If they stood on Blackpool sands I don’t believe they could hit the sea, but they are very

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Letter 9.—From a private of the 1st Lincolns to friends at Barton-on-Humber:

Letter 9.—From a private of the 1st Lincolns to friends at Barton-on-Humber:

Just a line to tell you I have returned from the front, and I can tell you we have had a very trying time of it. I must also say I am very lucky to be here. We were fighting from Sunday, 23rd, to Wednesday evening, on nothing to eat or drink—only the drop of water in our bottles which we carried. No one knows—only those that have seen us could credit such a sight, and if I live for years may I never see such a sight again. I can tell you it is not very nice to see your chum next to you with half

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Letter 10.—From one of the 9th Lancers to friends at Alfreton:

Letter 10.—From one of the 9th Lancers to friends at Alfreton:

I was at the great battle of Mons, and got a few shots in me. Once I was holding my officer’s horse and my own, when, all of a sudden, a German shell came over and burst. Both horses were killed. I got away with my left hand split and three fingers blown in pieces. I am recovering rather quickly. I shall probably have to lose one or two of my fingers. I had two bullets taken from my body on Tuesday, and I can tell you I am in pain. I think I am one of the luckiest men in the world to escape as I

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Letter 11.—From a wounded Gordon Highlander to his father, Mr. Alexander Buchan, of Monymusk:

Letter 11.—From a wounded Gordon Highlander to his father, Mr. Alexander Buchan, of Monymusk:

We had a pretty stiff day of it last Sunday. The battalion went into small trenches in front of a wood a few miles to the right of Mons, and the Germans had the range to a yard. I was on the right edge of the wood with the machine guns, and there wasn’t half some joy. The shells were bursting all over the place. It was a bit of a funny sensation for a start, but you soon got used to it. You would hear it coming singing through the air over your head; then it would give a mighty big bang and you

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Letter 12.—From Private J. Willis, of the Gordon Highlanders:

Letter 12.—From Private J. Willis, of the Gordon Highlanders:

You mustn’t run away with the notion that we stand shivering or cowering under shell fire, for we don’t. We just go about our business in the usual way. If it’s potting at the Germans that is to the fore we keep at it as though nothing were happening, and if we’re just having a wee bit chat among ourselves we keep at it all the same. Last week when I got this wound in my leg it was because I got excited in an argument with wee Georgie Ferriss, of our company, about Queen’s Park Rangers and their

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Letter 13.—From Private G. Kay, of the 2nd Royal Scots, to his employer, a milkman, at Richmond:

Letter 13.—From Private G. Kay, of the 2nd Royal Scots, to his employer, a milkman, at Richmond:

You will be surprised to hear I am home from Belgium in hospital with a slight wound in my heel from shrapnel. I had a narrow escape in Wednesday’s battle at or near Mons, as I was with the transport, and it was surrounded twice. The last time I made holes in the stable wall, and had a good position for popping them off—and I did, too; but somehow they got to know where we were, and shelled us for three hours. Off went the roof, and off went the roof of other buildings around us. At last a shell

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Letter 14.—From Sergeant Taylor, of the R.H.A.:

Letter 14.—From Sergeant Taylor, of the R.H.A.:

Our first brush with the enemy was on August 21st, about thirty miles from Mons, but Mons, my goodness, it was just like Brock’s benefit at Belle Vue, and you would have thought it was hailing. Of course, we were returning the compliment. The Germans always found the range, which proved they had good maps, yet in their anxiety they tried to fire too many shells, the consequence being that a lot of them were harmless, and they did not give themselves time to properly fuse them. Only on one day—fr

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Letter 15.—From Private J. Atkinson, of the Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, to his wife at Leeds:

Letter 15.—From Private J. Atkinson, of the Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, to his wife at Leeds:

Talk about a time! I would not like to go through the same again for love or money. It is not war. It is murder. The Germans are murdering our wounded as fast as they come across them. I gave myself up for done a week last Sunday night, as we were in the thick of the fight at Mons. Our regiment started fighting with 1,009 and finished with 106 and three officers. That made 109, as we just lost 900. It was cruel. At one place we were at there were six streets of the town where all the women were

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Letter 16.—From Private Robert Robertson, of the Argylls, to his parents at Musselburgh:

Letter 16.—From Private Robert Robertson, of the Argylls, to his parents at Musselburgh:

The poor Argylls got pretty well hit, but never wavered a yard for all their losses. The Scots Greys are doing great work at the front—in fact they were the means of putting ten thousand Germans to their fate on Sunday morning. I will never forget that day, as our regiment left a town on the French frontier on Saturday morning at 3 o’clock and marched till 3 a.m. on Sunday into a Belgian town. I was about to have an hour in bed, at least a lie down in a shop, when I was wakened to go on guard at

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Letter 17.—From Private Whitaker, of the Coldstream Guards:

Letter 17.—From Private Whitaker, of the Coldstream Guards:

You thought it was a big crowd that streamed out of the Crystal Palace when we went to see the Cup Final. Well, outside Compiègne it was just as if that crowd came at us. You couldn’t miss them. Our bullets ploughed into them, but still they came for us. I was well entrenched, and my rifle got so hot I could hardly hold it. I was wondering if I should have enough bullets, when a pal shouted, “Up, Guards, and at ’em!” The next second he was rolled over with a nasty knock on the shoulder. He jumpe

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Letter 18.—From a private in the Coldstream Guards to his mother:

Letter 18.—From a private in the Coldstream Guards to his mother:

First of all I sailed from Southampton on August 12th on a cattle boat called the Cawdor Castle . We sailed at 9.30 at night, and after a passage of 14½ hours landed at Le Havre, on the coast of France. We went into camp there, and then left on August 14th, getting into a train, not third class carriages, but cattle trucks. We were on the train eighteen and a half hours, and I was a bit stiff when I got out at a place called Wassigny. Then we marched through pouring rain to a village, where we s

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Letter 19.—From a wounded English Officer, in a Belgian hospital, to his mother:

Letter 19.—From a wounded English Officer, in a Belgian hospital, to his mother:

I do not know if this letter will ever get to you or not, but I am writing on the chance that it will. A lot has happened since I last wrote to you. We marched straight up to Belgium from France, and the first day we arrived my company was put on outposts for the night. During the night we dug a few trenches, etc., so did not get much sleep. The next day the Germans arrived, and I will try and describe the fight. We were only advanced troops of a few hundred holding the line of a canal. The enem

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Letter 20.—From W. Hawkins, of the 3rd Coldstream Guards:

Letter 20.—From W. Hawkins, of the 3rd Coldstream Guards:

I have a nasty little hole through my right arm, but I am one of the lucky ones. My word, it was hot for us. On the Tuesday night when I got my little lot, what I saw put me in mind of a farmer’s machine cutting grass, as the Germans fell just like it. We only lost nine poor fellows, and the German losses amounted to 1,500 and 2,000. So you can guess what it was like. As they were shot down others took their place, as there were thousands of them. The best friend is your rifle with the bayonet.

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Letter 21.—From Sergeant Griffiths, of the Welsh Regiment, to his parents at Swansea:

Letter 21.—From Sergeant Griffiths, of the Welsh Regiment, to his parents at Swansea:

The fighting at Mons was terrible, and it was here that our 4th and 5th Divisions got badly knocked, but fought well. Our artillery played havoc with them. About 10 o’clock on Monday we were suddenly ordered to quit, and quick, too, and no wonder. They were ten to one. Then began that retreat which will go down in history as one of the greatest and most glorious retirements over done. Our boys were cursing because our backs were towards them; but when the British did turn, my word, what a game!

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In Hospital.

In Hospital.

(1) At Southampton. The first batch of wounded soldiers arrived at Netley on the 28th August, coming from Southampton Docks by the hospital train. A Daily Telegraph correspondent was one of a quiet band of people who had waited silently for many long hours on the platform that runs alongside the hospital for the arrival of the disabled soldiers who had fought so heroically at Mons; and this is his account of what he saw: Colonel Lucas and staff were all in readiness. Here were wheeling chairs, t

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In Hospital.

In Hospital.

(2) At Belfast. About 120 officers and men arrived in Belfast on August 31st, direct from the Continent. They were brought here, says the Daily Telegraph local correspondent, to be near their friends, for the men had been in Ulster for a long time before leaving for the front, being stationed in Belfast and later in Londonderry. They sailed from this city for the theatre of war on August 14th, to the number of 900. It was remarkable to note how many of them were injured in the legs and feet. All

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In Hospital.

In Hospital.

(3) At Birmingham. About 120 English soldiers who had been wounded in and around Mons arrived in Birmingham on September 1st, and were removed to the new university buildings at Bournbrook, where facilities have been provided for dealing with over 1,000 patients. The contingent was the first batch to arrive. Though terribly maimed, and looking broken and tired, the men were cheerful. About twenty had to be carried, but the majority of them were able to walk with assistance. In the course of conv

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In Hospital.

In Hospital.

(4) At London. All the heroism that has been displayed by British troops in the present war will never be known. A few individual cases may chance to be heard of. Others will be known only to the Recording Angel. Two instances of extraordinary bravery are mentioned by a couple of wounded soldiers lying in the London Hospital in the course of a narrative of their own adventures. One of them, a splendid fellow of the Royal West Kent Regiment, told a Daily Telegraph reporter: We were in a scrubby p

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III The Destruction of Louvain

III The Destruction of Louvain

The stupid arrogance of the German military caste has always made them ridiculous in the eyes of decent human creatures; it was surprising, amusing, and yet saddening, too, to see an intelligent people strutting and playing such war-paint-and-feathers tricks before high heaven, but it appears that the primitive impulses that survive in their character are stronger and go deeper than we had suspected. There are brave and chivalrous spirits among Germany’s officers and men; that goes without sayin

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Letter 22.—From Albert Roper, first-class petty officer of H.M. cruiser “Talbot,” to his brother at Leeds:

Letter 22.—From Albert Roper, first-class petty officer of H.M. cruiser “Talbot,” to his brother at Leeds:

I cannot give you any news about our movements. It is against the rules to do so, and it’s a jolly good job, too, for if it was not so, things would leak out, and that is just what we do not want. We are waiting patiently for Willie’s fleet to come out to enable our chaps to have a little practice. We try to make ourselves as happy as we can in the shape of a sing-song occasionally. These evenings are well appreciated....

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Letter 23.—From Seaman Wilson, of the “Bacchante,” to his wife at Hunslet:

Letter 23.—From Seaman Wilson, of the “Bacchante,” to his wife at Hunslet:

You will have read of our victory in the North Sea. It was fine. Our ship brought the dead and wounded and the prisoners back. A grim job it was, too. I only wish the whole German fleet would come out. We may get a chance of coming home soon. Their firing is rotten, whilst our men behind the guns are perfect. They get a hit every time. The bounders won’t come out. That was the reason our ships had to try and drive them out. You see the place is all mined, and if a ship runs into one of these min

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Letter 24.—From a Welsh gunner on the “Arethusa”:

Letter 24.—From a Welsh gunner on the “Arethusa”:

Just a few lines to let you know how the war is going on. I cannot say much, as correspondence is strictly secret and letters are likely to be opened. The Commodore turned over to this ship last Wednesday, and we were in action on Friday at 7.45 a.m. and finished a stiff eight-hours’ engagement, our loss being eleven killed and fifteen injured in this ship alone. We were done after the fight, engines disabled, and had to be towed to Chatham. One man was all that was left at my gun. But still, af

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Letter 25.—From Gunner John Meekly, of Leeds:

Letter 25.—From Gunner John Meekly, of Leeds:

Been in battle, and, wonder of wonders, haven’t scored a scratch. My ship, as you know, is the Arethusa —“Saucy Arethusa” as history knows her. She was the first there, and the first that shot home. It was her that made them come out, and her that took the most prominent part, as all the ship’s company know only too well. Now we are in dry dock. We had to sacrifice ourselves almost to do what we did do—to get them out of their shells. Not only were submarines and mines a menace, but also the fir

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Letter 26.—From Midshipman Hartley, of H.M. battle-cruiser “Lion,” to his parents at Burton-on-Trent:

Letter 26.—From Midshipman Hartley, of H.M. battle-cruiser “Lion,” to his parents at Burton-on-Trent:

At last we have had a taste of gunfire, but it was only a taste. We ran into three light German cruisers. Two of them were sunk, and one managed to make off in a sinking condition and badly on fire forward and aft. Of course, their guns had about the same effect on us as a daisy air-rifle. The funny thing, which you should have seen, was all the stokers grubbing about after the action looking for bits of shell. The Germans fought awfully well and bravely, but the poor beggars hadn’t a dog’s chan

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Letter 27.—From a Scottish seaman (Published in “The Scotsman”):

Letter 27.—From a Scottish seaman (Published in “The Scotsman”):

It was a sight worth seeing. We chased two German destroyers of the “S” class, one of which went on fire, and the other was sunk by eight British destroyers, including the Defender . We chased them for about four hours, and one showed great pluck as the crew refused to haul down the flag, and she sank with the German flag flying. When she sank, and even before it, the sailors were swimming towards the British ships, shouting in broken English that they had surrendered, and appealing for help. It

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Letter 28.—From a gun-room officer on H.M. battle-cruiser “Invincible,” to his parents at Hove:

Letter 28.—From a gun-room officer on H.M. battle-cruiser “Invincible,” to his parents at Hove:

The particular ship we were engaged with was in a pitiful plight when we had finished with her. Her funnels shot away, masts tottering, great gaps of daylight in her sides, smoke and flame belching from her everywhere. She speedily heeled over and sank like a stone, stern first. So far as is known none of her crew was saved. She was game to the last, let it be said, her flag flying till she sank, her guns barking till they could bark no more. Although we suffered no loss we had some very narrow

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Letter 29.—From a Bluejacket in the North Sea, to his friends at Jarrow:

Letter 29.—From a Bluejacket in the North Sea, to his friends at Jarrow:

On August 24th we made a dash for the German coast and were lucky enough to come across two German cruisers. Then the fun started. We pursued one, and when I tell you we can do thirty knots, you can imagine what chance she had of getting away. She was a heavier boat than us, and the engagement lasted four hours. At the end of that time she was a terrible sight. She was on fire from stem to stern; the Germans were jumping overboard, and at the finish only seventeen out of 400 were saved. It is a

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Letter 30.—From Seaman-Gunner Brown, to his parents at Newport, Isle of Wight:

Letter 30.—From Seaman-Gunner Brown, to his parents at Newport, Isle of Wight:

We and another ship in our squadron came across two German cruisers. We outed one and started on the second, but battle-cruisers soon finished her off. Another then appeared, and after we had plunked two broadsides into her she slid off in flames. Every man did his bit, and there was a continuous stream of jokes. We pencilled on the projectiles. “Love from England,” “One for the Kaiser,” and other such messages. The sight of sinking German ships was gloriously terrible; funnels and masts lying a

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Letter 31.—From a man in a warship’s engine-room:

Letter 31.—From a man in a warship’s engine-room:

We stayed down there keeping the engines going at their top speed in order to cut off the Germans from their fleet. We could hear the awful din and the scampering of the tars on the deck as they rushed about from point to point. We could hear the shells crashing against the side of the ship or shrieking overhead as they passed harmlessly into the water, and we knew that at any moment one might strike us in a vital part, and send us below never to come up again. It is ten times harder on the men

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Letter 32.—From Seaman Jack Diggett, of West Bromwich, to his brother:

Letter 32.—From Seaman Jack Diggett, of West Bromwich, to his brother:

You will have heard of our little job in the North Sea. We sank five ships and ran a few off. Of course it was only a trial spin. We kicked off last Friday about six in the morning, and we won 5—nil. Not bad, considering we are playing “away.” Their goalkeepers could not hold us, we were so hot. Our forwards shot beautifully, and our defence was sound. We agreed to play extra time if we had not finished, but we had done in time. It must not be thought that we had it all our own way, for they wer

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Letter 33.—From a seaman on H.M.S. “Hearty”:

Letter 33.—From a seaman on H.M.S. “Hearty”:

The destroyer Laurel seems to have suffered the most. She had one funnel carried right away and the others riddled like a pepper-box. One shell struck her right forward, went through her bulkhead, through one galley door, and out through the other. The cookie was in there at the time, but it missed him and cut through the other side of the ship. That cook was born under a lucky star. It’s on the bridge and around the guns where they suffered most. On the Liberty’s bridge, everybody except one wa

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Letter 34.—From a seaman on H.M. destroyer “Lurcher,” to a friend at Bradford:

Letter 34.—From a seaman on H.M. destroyer “Lurcher,” to a friend at Bradford:

We had orders to pick up prisoners. As we steamed up dead bodies were floating past the ship. We went up alongside the German cruiser Mainz just before she sank, and it was an awful sight. We got 224 prisoners in a most terrible state, and most of them died. It is impossible to describe it all on paper. Our decks were red with blood, and you see we are only a destroyer, so you may tell what a mess we were in. All the Germans seemed quite happy when we got them on board. The worst job of all was

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Letter 35.—From a Naval Lieutenant to a friend:

Letter 35.—From a Naval Lieutenant to a friend:

That was all. Remains only little details, only one of which I will tell you. The most romantic, dramatic, and piquant episode that modern war can ever show. The Defender , having sunk an enemy, lowered a whaler to pick up her swimming survivors; before the whaler got back an enemy’s cruiser came up and chased the Defender , and thus she abandoned her whaler. Imagine their feelings—alone in an open boat without food, 25 miles from the nearest land, and that land the enemy’s fortress, with nothin

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Letter 36.—From a seaman on one of the British destroyers:

Letter 36.—From a seaman on one of the British destroyers:

We have at last had an innings at the Germans. It was a go. Fully seven hours we fought shot for shot. I had the pleasure of seeing four German ships go down. We never knew but it might be our turn next, as great shells were falling all around us. Several shells went just over our heads, whistling just like a needle on a broken record. Would you believe it, one of our boats had actually stopped to pick up German wounded when the Germans fired on her? I think all our men took it just as though we

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Letter 37.—From a seaman on H.M.S. “New Zealand” to his uncle in Halifax:

Letter 37.—From a seaman on H.M.S. “New Zealand” to his uncle in Halifax:

The torpedo craft had rather a hot time with the enemy in the early morning, but suddenly we appeared out of the mist. To say that they were surprised is to put it mildly, because before they knew where they were we were playing our light cruisers, and the destroyers worried them like terriers. Then for us to come along and give them the coup de grace was absolutely It . Two of their ships, I am convinced, would have been floating to-day, but as our small ships gathered round them to take off th

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Letter 38.—From a seaman on board the flagship of the first destroyer squadron, to his friends at Wimbledon:

Letter 38.—From a seaman on board the flagship of the first destroyer squadron, to his friends at Wimbledon:

We had a very decent splash last week off Heligoland, as doubtless you have read. Our ship was not hit at all, though some shots were pretty near. It was a fine sight to see the Lion demolish one cruiser. We could see her (the cruiser’s) shots falling short, but still the Lion did not fire. For fully ten minutes the cruiser belted away without getting a hit. Then the Lion , who was leading the line, hoisted “open fire,” turned slowly and majestically round and fired her broadside—once. It was qu

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Letter 39.—Front leading telegraphist H. Francis, of Croydon:

Letter 39.—Front leading telegraphist H. Francis, of Croydon:

We had the first taste of blood on Friday, and I can tell you it was O.T. The battle lasted from 6.30 a.m. till one p.m., going at it hammer and tongs all the time. We came back with sixty prisoners, one of them being Admiral von Tirpitz’s son, who was second-lieutenant in the Mainz . We were within twenty yards of her when she went down, and I can tell you it was a grand sight. Their officers were shooting the men as they jumped overboard, and one chap on the bridge was beckoned to by our comma

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Letter 40.—From Gunner T. White:

Letter 40.—From Gunner T. White:

We didn’t waste more shots than was necessary on the Germans off Heligoland. One of their destroyers was knocked over first shot. It was one of the cleanest shots you ever saw, and the man who fired it is the proudest man in our ship to-day. Next time I fancy the Germans will want to make it a rule of the fight that a German ship must be allowed at least ten shots to one of ours before the knock-out is fired. Of course, it’s very hard on the rest of us, because it simply means that the gunner wh

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Letter 41.—From Private Smiley, of the Gordon Highlanders, to his brother, Mr. G. A. Smiley, of Chepstow:

Letter 41.—From Private Smiley, of the Gordon Highlanders, to his brother, Mr. G. A. Smiley, of Chepstow:

On Sunday, 23rd, at Mons, we rose at four a.m. and marched out 1,100 strong. We took up ground on the extreme flank of the British force. Immediately we started to entrench ourselves, and to the good trench work we did we put down our freedom from casualty. Later in the day a hellish tornado of shell swept over us, and with this introduction to war we received our baptism of fire. We were lining the Mons road, and immediately in our front and to our rear were woods. In the rear wood was statione

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Letter 42.—From Corporal W. Leonard, of the Army Service Corps (a South African War reservist) to his mother at Huddersfield:

Letter 42.—From Corporal W. Leonard, of the Army Service Corps (a South African War reservist) to his mother at Huddersfield:

I know that you will all excuse me for not receiving a letter from me this long time, but I hope that you will excuse me. Don’t, whatever you do at home, don’t worry about me. If I just thought that you won’t worry at home I shall be all right. You know, mother, I know more about war this time than I did last, and the conditions also. It’s all right when you know the ropes, and my African experiences are serving me in good stead here, so I hope and trust that you at home are not worrying about m

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Letter 43.—From Corporal Edward Hood, to his father, at Taunton:

Letter 43.—From Corporal Edward Hood, to his father, at Taunton:

The fighting lately has been hot all round, and the French have had much harder than us in some places, but they’re sticking at it manfully, and they deserve to win a victory that will wipe the Germans off the map. The French make a lot of us in camp, and when we pass each other in the field, no matter how busy the Frenchman may be, they give us hearty cheers to encourage us on our way. There’s plenty of friendly rivalry between us when there’s hard fighting to be done, and when we do get there

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Letter 44.—From Private William Burgess, of the Royal Field Artillery, to his parents at Ilfracombe:

Letter 44.—From Private William Burgess, of the Royal Field Artillery, to his parents at Ilfracombe:

We left our landing place for the front, on the Tuesday, and got there on Saturday night. The Germans had just reached Liège then, and we got into action on the Sunday morning. The first thing we did was to blow up a bridge to stop the Germans from crossing. Then we came into action behind a lot of houses attached to the main street. We were there about ten minutes, when the houses started to fall around us. The poor people were buried alive. I saw poor children getting knocked down by bursting

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Letter 45.—From a Corporal in the King’s Royal Rifles, now at Woolwich Hospital:

Letter 45.—From a Corporal in the King’s Royal Rifles, now at Woolwich Hospital:

I was in three engagements, Mons, Landrecies, and Cambrai, but the worst of all was Mons. It was on Sunday, the 23rd of August, and I shall never forget the date. They were easily twenty-five to one, and we eventually had to retreat with just over a thousand casualties, but heavens, they must have had a jolly sight more. At Landrecies, where we arrived at 7.30, we thought we were going to have a night’s rest, though we were wet through and no change, but we hadn’t been there long before they (th

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Letter 46.—From Lieutenant O. P. Edgcumbe, of 1st Battalion D.C.L.I., to his father, Sir Robert Edgcumbe, Commandant at Newquay:

Letter 46.—From Lieutenant O. P. Edgcumbe, of 1st Battalion D.C.L.I., to his father, Sir Robert Edgcumbe, Commandant at Newquay:

29th August, 1914. For the last week or ten days we have been fighting hard and are now for one day resting. Altogether, during five days and five nights, I got six hours’ sleep, and so am rather weary. However, bullets and a real enemy are a wonderful stimulant, and I feel as fit as anything. Do all of you write as often as possible, and send me some newspapers. It does not matter whether there is any news—the sight of a letter from home is very cheering. All our men are somewhat fatigued, but

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Letter 47.—From Private D. White:

Letter 47.—From Private D. White:

German airships we seldom see now, though we used to have them every day over our heads. They are finding the French more than a match for them, and they most likely prefer to rely on their ordinary spies, of whom they have thousands. They are found often among the men engaged for transport work, but they are such clumsy bunglers that they give themselves away sooner or later. Some of us who haven’t the heart to drown a cat never turn a hair when we see these scum shot, for they richly deserve w

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Letter 48.—From Private Spain, of the 4th Guards Brigade (late police-constable at Newry):

Letter 48.—From Private Spain, of the 4th Guards Brigade (late police-constable at Newry):

We have had three engagements with the Germans since I arrived, and I came out quite unhurt. The two first were fought on Sunday and Monday following. You see I cannot give date or place. Secrecy is our motto re war and movement of troops for international purposes, etc. Our third engagement was nearly fatal. We arrived at the town of ——, very much fatigued, and fully intending to have a good rest. It was a fine town, about as big as Newry, but more compact, with many fine buildings. We were jus

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Letter 49.—From Corporal Sam Moorhouse, of the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, to his wife at Birkby:

Letter 49.—From Corporal Sam Moorhouse, of the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, to his wife at Birkby:

Our company were reserves, and came under fire about noon. We were in a ditch—as we thought safe—when “Ping! ping!” came the bullets, and off we shot across the open, under a railway embankment. On the way we passed four artillery horses shot dead with shrapnel. Then we took up a position on a hillside, when round the corner, 700 yards away, came a German maxim gun. They were busy getting it ready for firing on us, and we were firing at them, when our artillery—which was only half a mile away—se

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Letter 50.—From Private E. W. Dyas, of the 11th Hussars, to his parents at Mountain Ash:

Letter 50.—From Private E. W. Dyas, of the 11th Hussars, to his parents at Mountain Ash:

We landed at Havre, and travelled up country. We were under fire for about twenty minutes on the first day, and the shells were bursting like rain all around us. We got away with only one horse killed. It was marvellous. We are continually under fire by day and travelling by night. It is awful to hear the artillery booming death night and day. We were fighting day and night for three days. The slaughter was terrible. I took a dispatch across the battlefield when the Germans were retiring, and I

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Letter 51.—From Lieut. Oswald Anne, of the Royal Artillery, to his father, Major Anne, of Burghwallis Hall:

Letter 51.—From Lieut. Oswald Anne, of the Royal Artillery, to his father, Major Anne, of Burghwallis Hall:

Dear Dad.—Just got yours of the 13th inst. Battling yesterday and the day before. I had a pal killed in another battery—five bullets in him. I have just seen the first Sausage-maker prisoner in hands of some infantry. They had the greatest difficulty in stopping the French populace from knifing him. The German shrapnel is very dangerous stuff, having high explosive in it. It bursts backwards, and so nullifies our frontal shield. No more time or news. August 29th. The boom of French guns is now i

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Letter 52.—From a reservist in the Royal Field Artillery (Published in the “Glasgow Herald”):

Letter 52.—From a reservist in the Royal Field Artillery (Published in the “Glasgow Herald”):

I got a nasty hit with a shell on the thick of the leg. The Germans caught us napping on Wednesday, and what slaughter! It was horrible to witness. The Germans came along the village, killing the poor women and children and burning all the houses. Our division could not hold out. We were expecting the French troops to meet us, but they were two days late. Our battery had a lucky escape of being cut up. We entrenched our guns to come into action next day, but somehow or other we cleared out, and

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Letter 53.—Front Trooper S. Cargill:

Letter 53.—Front Trooper S. Cargill:

The Germans let all hell loose on us in their mad attempt to crush us and so win their way to Paris. They didn’t succeed, and they won’t succeed. I saw one ghastly affair. A German cavalry division was pursuing our retiring infantry when we were let loose on them. When they saw us coming they turned and fled, at least all but one, who came rushing at us with his lance at the charge. I caught hold of his horse, which was half mad with terror, and my chum was going to run the rider through when he

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Letter 54.—Front an Irish soldier, to his sister in County Cork:

Letter 54.—Front an Irish soldier, to his sister in County Cork:

I am writing this on a leaf out of a field service pocket-book, as notepaper and envelopes are very scarce, and we are not allowed to send picture postcards of places as they give away where we are. Well, this is a lovely country. The climate suits me very well. Everything grows like mad here. It is rather like Ireland, only ten times as rich. All that I have seen yet—and that is a good lot—is far and away better than the best part of the county Limerick. I think it would be a pleasure to farm h

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Letter 55.—From Private Carwardine, to the father of a comrade-in-arms:

Letter 55.—From Private Carwardine, to the father of a comrade-in-arms:

I am very sorry, but I don’t know for sure about your Joe. You see, although he was in the same company as me, he was not in the same section. I only wish he had been. The last I saw of him was when we were in the firing line making trenches for ourselves. He was about 600 yards behind us, smoking, and I waved to him. Then all of a sudden we had to get down in our trenches, for bullets started coming over our heads, and shells dropped around us. We were fighting twelve hours when I got one in th

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Letter 56.—From Private G. Dunton, of the Royal Engineers, to his family at Coventry:

Letter 56.—From Private G. Dunton, of the Royal Engineers, to his family at Coventry:

I am in hospital, having been sent home from France, wounded in my left hand. I have got one shrapnel bullet right through my hand, and another through my middle finger against the top joint. I was wounded at Cambrai last Wednesday. I have been in four hospitals in France, but had to be removed on account of the Germans firing on the hospitals. I do not think much of them, for if it was not for their artillery they would be wiped out in quick time. No doubt our losses are great, but theirs are f

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Letter 57.—From a Manchester soldier, in a French hospital:

Letter 57.—From a Manchester soldier, in a French hospital:

There was a young French girl helping to bandage us up. How she stood it I don’t know. There were some awful sights, but she never quailed—just a sweet, sad smile for everyone. If ever anyone deserved a front seat in Heaven, this young angel does. God bless her. She has the prayers and the love of the remnants of our division. All the French people are wonderfully generous. They gave us anything and everything. You simply cannot help loving them, especially the children....

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Letter 58.—From Private A. McGillivray, a Highlander, to his mother:

Letter 58.—From Private A. McGillivray, a Highlander, to his mother:

Of my company only 10 were unhit. I saw a handful of Irishmen throw themselves in front of a regiment of cavalry who were trying to cut off a battery of horse artillery. It was one of the finest deeds I ever saw. Not one of the poor lads got away alive, but they made the German devils pay in kind, and, anyhow, the artillery got away to account for many more Germans. Every man of us made a vow to avenge the fallen Irishmen, and if the German cavalrymen concerned were made the targets of every Bri

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Letter 59.—From Private W. Bell, of the South Lancashire Regiment, to his wife:

Letter 59.—From Private W. Bell, of the South Lancashire Regiment, to his wife:

I shall never forget this lot. Men fell dead just like sheep. Our regiment was first in the firing line, and we were simply cut up. Very few escaped, so I think I was very lucky, for I was nearly half-a-mile creeping over nothing but dead men. In the trenches, bullets and shells came down on us like rain. We even had to lift dead men up and get under them for safety. When we got the order to retire an officer was just giving the order to charge when he was struck dead, and it is a good job we di

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Letter 60.—From Corporal T. Trainor:

Letter 60.—From Corporal T. Trainor:

Have you ever seen a little man fighting a great, big, hulking giant who keeps on forcing the little chap about the place until the giant tires himself out, and then the little one, who has kept his wind, knocks him over? That’s how the fighting round here strikes me. We are dancing about round the big German army, but our turn will come. Last Sunday we had prayers with shells bursting all around us, but the service was finished before it was necessary for us to grapple with the enemy. The only

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Letter 61.—From an Artilleryman, to his wife at Sheerness:

Letter 61.—From an Artilleryman, to his wife at Sheerness:

I am the only one left out of my battery; we were blown to pieces by the enemy on Wednesday at Le Cateau. We have been out here twenty-eight days all told, and have been through the five engagements. I have nothing; only the jacket I stand up in—no boots or putties, as I was left for dead. But my horse was shot, and not me. He laid down on me. They had to cut my boots, etc., off to get me from under my horse....

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Letter 62.—From Lance-Corporal J. Preston, of the 2nd Battalion Inniskilling Fusiliers, to his wife at Banbridge:

Letter 62.—From Lance-Corporal J. Preston, of the 2nd Battalion Inniskilling Fusiliers, to his wife at Banbridge:

I did not get hit at Mons. I got through it all right. We encountered the Germans on Sunday at Mons, and fought on till Monday night. It was on the retreat from Mons that I was caught. They had about one hundred guns playing on us all the time we were retiring. We had a battery of artillery with us. They were all blown to pieces, men and guns and all. It was a most sorrowful sight to see the guns wiped out, and the gunners and men lying around them. The whole plain was strewn with dead and wound

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Letter 63.—From a Corporal in the Motor Cycle Section of the Royal Engineers:

Letter 63.—From a Corporal in the Motor Cycle Section of the Royal Engineers:

Last night the enemy made an attempt to get through to our base in armed motors. Myself and two other motor-cyclists were sent out to look for them. It was a pitch-black night, with a thick fog. One of our men got in touch with them, and was pursued. He made for a bridge which had been mined by the engineers, and that was the end of the Germans.... The German artillery is rotten. Last Saturday three batteries bombarded an entrenched British battalion for two hours, and only seven men were killed

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Letter 64.—From Corporal J. Bailey:

Letter 64.—From Corporal J. Bailey:

It’s very jolly in camp in spite of all the drawbacks of active service, and we have lively times when the Germans aren’t hanging around to pay their respects. It’s a fine sight to see us on the march, swinging along the roads as happy as schoolboys, and singing all the old songs we can think of. The tunes are sometimes a bit out, but nobody minds so long as we’re happy. As we pass through the villages the French come out to cheer us and bring us food and fruit. Cigarettes we get more of than we

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Letter 65.—From a Sergeant in the Royal Field Artillery:

Letter 65.—From a Sergeant in the Royal Field Artillery:

If the French people were mad about us before we were on trial, they are absolutely crazy over us now when we have sort of justified our existence. In the towns we pass through we are received with so much demonstration that I fancy the French soldiers must be jealous. The people don’t seem to have eyes for anybody but us, and they do all they can to make us comfortable. They give us the best they can lay hold of, but that’s not much after the Germans have been around collaring all they could. I

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Letter 66.—From Private J. Toal:

Letter 66.—From Private J. Toal:

It’s tired we all were when we got through that week of fighting and marching from Mons; but after we’d had a taste of rest for a day or two, by the saints, we were ready for the ugly Germans again, and we’ve been busy ever since drilling holes in them big enough to let out the bad that’s in them. You wouldn’t believe the way they have burned and destroyed the holy churches everywhere they went, and there’s many an Irish lad betwixt here and the frontier has registered a vow that he will not res

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Letter 67.—From Private W. Green:

Letter 67.—From Private W. Green:

We see more Germans than you could count in the day, but they are now very funky about it, and they will never wait for a personal interview with one of our men, especially if he has a lance or a bayonet handy, and naturally you don’t go out German-hunting without something of the kind with you, if only just for luck. When they must face us they usually get stuck away somewhere where they are protected by more guns than you ever set eyes on, and likewise crowds of machine guns of the Maxim patte

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Letter 68.—From Private G. A. Turner, to his father, Mr. J. W. Turner, of Leeds (Published in the “Leeds Mercury”):

Letter 68.—From Private G. A. Turner, to his father, Mr. J. W. Turner, of Leeds (Published in the “Leeds Mercury”):

I am still living, though a bit knocked about. I got a birthday present from the Kaiser. I was wounded on the 23rd. So it was a near thing, was it not? I got your letter at a place called Moroilles, in France, about five miles from Landrecies, where our troops have retired. On Sunday, 23rd, we had rifle inspection at 11 a.m., and were ordered to fall in for bathing parade at 11.30. While we were waiting for another company to return from the river the Germans commenced to shell the town. We fell

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Letter 69.—From an Infantryman in hospital (Published in the “Aldershot News”):

Letter 69.—From an Infantryman in hospital (Published in the “Aldershot News”):

I found myself mixed up with a French regiment on the right. I wanted to go forward with them, but the officer in charge shook his head and smiled, “They will spot you in your khaki and put you out in no time,” he said in English; “make your way to the left; you’ll find your fellows on that hill.” I watched the regiment till it disappeared; then I made my way across a field and up a big avenue of trees. The shells were whistling overhead, but there was nothing to be afraid of. Halfway up the ave

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Letter 70.—From Sapper H. Mugridge, R.E., to his mother at Uckfield:

Letter 70.—From Sapper H. Mugridge, R.E., to his mother at Uckfield:

We met the Germans at Landrecies on Sunday. We had a fifteen-hour battle. It was terrible. There were 120,000 Germans and only 20,000 of us, but our men fought well. We blew up six bridges. Laid our charges in the afternoon, and the whole time we were doing it were not hit. After we had got everything ready we got back into cover and waited until 1.30 on Monday morning, until our troops had got back over the river, and then we blew up the bridges. We retired about thirty miles. The town where we

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Letter 71.—From Sapper H. Mugridge, R.E. (Second letter, published in the “Sussex Daily News”):

Letter 71.—From Sapper H. Mugridge, R.E. (Second letter, published in the “Sussex Daily News”):

We were laying our gun cotton—ten of us were the last to leave, and the Germans stopped us. We had to run for it down the main street of the town of Landrecies, and, being dark, we could not see where we were going. We got caught in some telegraph wires which had been put across the street. We had to cut them away with our bayonets. On Monday morning, when things were quieter, we went nearly into the German lines. We could hear them giving orders. Our job was to put barbed wire across the road.

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Letter 72.—From John Baker, of the Royal Flying Corps, to his parents at Boston, Lincolnshire:

Letter 72.—From John Baker, of the Royal Flying Corps, to his parents at Boston, Lincolnshire:

While flying over Boulogne at a height of 3,000 feet, something went wrong with the machine, and the engine stopped. The officer said, “Baker, our time has come. Be brave, and die like a man. Good-bye,” and shook hands with me. I shall always remember the ten minutes that followed. The next I remembered was that I was in a barn. I was removed to Boulogne, and afterwards to Netheravon, being conveyed from Southampton by motor ambulance....

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Letter 73.—From Private G. Rider:

Letter 73.—From Private G. Rider:

The Germans are good and bad as fighters, but mostly bad so far as I have seen. They are nearly all long distance champions in the fighting line, and won’t come too near unless they are made to. Yesterday we had a whole day of it in the trenches, with the Germans firing away at us all the time. It began just after breakfast, and we were without food of any kind until we had what you might call a dainty afternoon tea in the trenches under shell fire. The mugs were passed round with the biscuits a

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Letter 74.—From Private Martin O’Keefe, of the Royal Irish Rifles, to his friends at Belfast:

Letter 74.—From Private Martin O’Keefe, of the Royal Irish Rifles, to his friends at Belfast:

Our part in the fighting was limited almost entirely to covering the retreat by a steady rifle fire from hastily-prepared trenches. We were thrown out along an extended front, and instructed to hold our ground until the retiring troops were signalled safe in the next position allotted them. When this was done our turn came, and we retired to a new position, our place being taken by the light cavalry, who kept the Germans in check as long as they could and then fell back in their turn. The German

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Letter 75.—From Sergeant W. Holmes:

Letter 75.—From Sergeant W. Holmes:

We are off again, this time with some of the French, and it’s enough to give you fits to hear the Frenchmen trying to pick up the words of “Cheer Boys, Cheer,” which we sing with great go on the march. They haven’t any notion of what the words mean, but they can tell from our manner that they mean we’re in good heart, and that’s infectious here. We lost our colonel and four other officers in our fight on Tuesday. It was the hottest thing we were ever in. The colonel was struck down when he was g

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Letter 76.—From Corporal J. Hammersley:

Letter 76.—From Corporal J. Hammersley:

The Germans in front of us are about done for, and that’s the truth of it. They have got about as much fighting as humans can stand, and it is about time they realised it. I don’t agree with those who think this war is going to last for a long time. The pace we go at on both sides is too hot, and flesh and blood won’t stand it for long. My impression is that there will be a sudden collapse of the Germans that will astonish everybody at home; but we are not leaving much to chance, and we do all w

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Letter 77.—From Lance-Corporal T. Williams:

Letter 77.—From Lance-Corporal T. Williams:

We are now getting into our stride and beginning to get a little of our own back out of the Germans. They don’t like it at all now that we are nearer to them in numbers, and their men all look like so many “Weary Willies”; they are so tired. You might say they have got “that tired feeling” bad, and so they have. Some of them just drop into our arms when we call on them to surrender as though it were the thing they’d been waiting for all their lives. One chap who knows a little English told us he

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Letter 78.—From a Non-commissioned Officer of Dragoons:

Letter 78.—From a Non-commissioned Officer of Dragoons:

All our men—in fact, the whole British Army—are as fit as a fiddle, and the lads are as keen as mustard. There is no holding them back. At Mons we were under General Chetwode, and horses and men positively flew at the Germans, cutting through much heavier mounts and heavier men than ours. The yelling and the dash of the Lancers and Dragoon Guards was a thing never to be forgotten. We lost very heavily at Mons, and it is a marvel how some of our fellows pulled through and positively frightened th

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Letter 79.—From Private Tom Savage, to his relatives at Larne:

Letter 79.—From Private Tom Savage, to his relatives at Larne:

At Sea. Just a line to let you know that we are landing outside ——. They kept us without any knowledge of how and where we were going till the last moment. I am quite well and extra specially fit. It is good fun on a troopship, and we are going to have a nice little holiday on the Continent. I’ll be able to “swank French” when I come back. I’ll write a good long letter when I settle down. I’m writing this at tea time just before we land. I have got two very nice chums, Jack Wright, the footballe

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Letter 80.—From Mons. E. Hovelange, of Paris, written on August 30th, to Sir William Collins (Published in the “Sussex Daily News”):

Letter 80.—From Mons. E. Hovelange, of Paris, written on August 30th, to Sir William Collins (Published in the “Sussex Daily News”):

How serious the situation is here it is hard for you to realize in London. We may be encircled at any moment by these hordes of savages. Such murderous cruelty has never been seen in the annals of war. The Turks and the Bulgarians were no worse. It is the rule to fire on ambulances and slaughter the wounded. I know it from eye-witnesses. The Germans are drunk with savagery. It is an orgy of the basest cruelty. They are rushing Paris at all costs, squandering their men recklessly in overwhelming

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Letter 81.—From a young officer who has been through the whole campaign, from the landing of the British at Boulogne:

Letter 81.—From a young officer who has been through the whole campaign, from the landing of the British at Boulogne:

I wish you would try to make the people in England understand that they should be most exceedingly thankful that they are living on an island and not in the midst of the dreadful things which are happening on the Continent. Do enforce upon the public that England must fight this thing out, and must conquer even if it has to spend the blood of its young men like water. It will be far better that every family throughout England should have to sorrow for one of its members than that England should

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IN HOSPITAL.

IN HOSPITAL.

(1) At Salisbury. A non-commissioned officer of the Royal Field Artillery, invalided home with shrapnel wounds in the thigh, from which he hopes soon to recover, has given this vivid description of his experiences at the front after passing north of Amiens, to a Daily Telegraph correspondent: Pushing forward from our rest camp, covering from twenty to thirty miles a day, with the infantry marching in front and cavalry protecting us on either flank, we received information that we were within a f

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IN HOSPITAL.

IN HOSPITAL.

(2) At the London Hospital. By a Daily Telegraph correspondent. A description of a thrilling fight in the air, which had a dramatic climax, was given to Queen Alexandra when her Majesty paid a visit to the London Hospital. Among the wounded soldiers there is a private of the Royal Engineers, who was himself witness of the incident. He said that following a very hard fight on the day before, he was lying on the ground with his regiment, resting. Suddenly a German aeroplane hove in sight. It flew

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IN HOSPITAL.

IN HOSPITAL.

(3) From a “Daily Telegraph” correspondent at Rouen : It was known that there were British wounded in Rouen—I had even spoken to one of them in the streets—but how was one to see them? The police commissaire sent me to his central colleague, who sent me on to the état major, who was anxious to send me back to him, but finally suggested that I should see the military commissary at one of the stations. He was courteous, but very firm—the authorisation I asked for could not be, and was not, granted

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VI The Spirit of Victory

VI The Spirit of Victory

Even through those three weeks when they were retreating before the enemy, the whole spirit of the British troops was the spirit of men who are fighting to win. There is no hint of doubt or despondency in any of their letters home. They talk lightly of their hardest, most terrible experiences; they greet the unseen with a cheer; you hear of them cracking jokes, boyishly guying each other, singing songs as they march and as they lie in the trenches with shells bursting and shots screaming close o

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