On The Right Of The British Line - free ebook by Gilbert Nobbs

ON THE RIGHT OF THE BRITISH LINE

From a photograph by Aylett. Captain Gilbert Nobbs. ToList...

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PREFACEToC

This is my first book. It is also my last. But I have a record to make and a duty to perform. I was five weeks on the firing line; four weeks mourned as dead; and three months a prisoner of war. I have attempted to make a true record of all that happened. The names alone are fictitious (all except that of Saniez), for those days were too full of stirring events which will long live in my memory to need the aid of fiction. If I have dwelt at some length upon my experience in Germany, it is with t

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CHAPTER IToC FOVANT

"The C.O. wants to see you." "What for?" I asked. "I don't know, but he is in the orderly room." It was the adjutant who was speaking, and his manner led me to think there was something in the wind which he did not like to tell me. I left the mess, and a few moments later I was standing before the C.O. "I have just received a telegram from the War Office; you are included in the next reinforcements for France." "I am glad, sir." "You've only forty-eight hours' notice. You are to report at Southa

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CHAPTER IIToC THE SILENT HEROES

I was soon comfortably settled in a first-class compartment and whirling towards Waterloo, with the worst ordeal of all still before me: the breaking of the news at home and the parting while the shock is still fresh. Who are the true heroes of the war? Our fighting men are cheered in the streets; every newspaper and magazine sings their praise; every shop-window reflects their needs; in theatre, pulpit, and workshop their praises are sung. But are they the real heroes of the war? Ask the fighti

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CHAPTER IIIToC DEPARTURE FOR THE FRONT

Waterloo Station in war time presents a picture of unending interest. Here it is that a thousand dramas are acted daily. It is one huge scene of bustle and excitement. The khaki of the soldier, the blue of the sailor; the mother, the wife, the sweetheart; the sad partings, the joyful greetings. The troops entraining, spick and span in their new war kit; the war-worn soldier home on leave, bespattered with the soil of France; troops from the near-by camps on week-end leave, tumbling out of the ca

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CHAPTER IVToC CROSSING THE CHANNEL

Arriving at the dock we reported to the embarkation officer, and were given a pass to leave the dock, but bearing the strict injunction that we must embark at 6 P.M. When you cross to France for the first time you are so nervous about missing the boat and running the risk of a court-martial, or some other such dreadful suggestion, that you hardly dare to leave the dock gates, and you are certainly waiting at the gang-plank a full fifteen minutes before the appointed time. But those who are no lo

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CHAPTER VToC GOING UP THE LINE

Next morning we were disturbed early, and rolled up our kits ready for disembarkation. About 7 A.M. we pulled alongside the wharf, and a light-hearted, jostling crowd struggled for the gang-plank. I have not yet been able to find out why gang-planks are made so narrow, so that only one person at a time dare undertake the passage. Chaos seemed to prevail. The deck suddenly became a struggling mass of humanity, struggling, tugging, and dragging at valises and kit bags. Officers were manfully shoul

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CHAPTER VIToC RATIONS

We arrived at Rouen at 7.30 the following morning. I had to report to the R.T.O. by 9.30, and in the meantime 3,534 rations had to be cut up and distributed on the station platform among 1,178 officers and men. Have you ever had such a problem as that? If not, then avoid it, if it ever comes your way. The train was about twice the length of the platform, so on arrival it was broken in half, and the rear half shunted on to another line. The rations were contained in two trucks, attached to the re

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CHAPTER VIIToC ST. AMAND

We made our way back to the station and secured a very luxurious compartment; and to my intense relief on this occasion I found there was an officer senior to me present, who succeeded to the duties of O.C. train. The duties of O.C. train are a new sensation to most officers; and it is particularly difficult to know just what to do, and how to do it, when you have an unorganised body of men made up of sundries from every part of the British army. Our new O.C. train evidently felt the difficultie

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CHAPTER VIIIToC EARLY IMPRESSIONS

I shall never forget the day I made my first inspection of billets. While walking through the village street I noticed a structure which appeared to be inviting some stray breath of wind to cause it to surrender its last resistance by collapsing into a heap of rubbish. Many years ago, in days of prosperity, it had served the purpose of a covering for cattle, for I believe cattle are not very particular in northern France. It is quite within reason to suppose that, with a view of misleading his c

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CHAPTER IXToC DEPARTURE FOR THE SOMME

On Sunday, September 2, our so-called rest came to an abrupt finish, and we entrained for an unknown destination. Destinations are always a mystery until the train pulls up with a jerk, and peremptory orders are given to get out. The difference in travelling as a civilian and travelling as a soldier is that in the former case you choose your time of departure or arrival at a convenient hour; while in the latter case the most unearthly hour is selected for you. We arrived at Corbie at 2 A.M. Not

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CHAPTER XToC ARRIVAL ON THE SOMME

Late that evening orders came to move into the trenches on the far slope of the Valley of Death. Trenches here, trenches there, trenches everywhere, while we groped around without knowing where the trenches led to, or the position of the German lines. We spent an anxious night, the uncertainty of our position and mystery of those massed guns, thundering their wrath into the darkness of the night, caused a tension which defied any desire to sleep. What was the meaning of it all? What was happenin

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CHAPTER XIToC DEATH VALLEY

The final preparations completed, the first platoon began to move off; other platoons followed at intervals, the column slowly wending its way through the Valley of Death to its mysterious destination. We seemed to be going into the unknown; the air was full of mystery; it was uncanny, unnatural. We were moving over battle-fields. The ground was a mass of shell-holes; progress could only be made by walking in single file along a narrow footpath, which twisted in tortuous persistency between the

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CHAPTER XIIToC OUT IN NO MAN'S LAND

After a strenuous day's work, during which I had only time to take a mouthful of bread and cheese, which I carried in my pocket, I espied an orderly making his way towards me. "The C.O. sent me, sir; you're wanted at once." "Oh! any news?" "I think we are in for a binge, sir." "Which is the way to headquarters?" "About two hundred yards back. Follow that narrow little track which winds around the shell-holes, and you can't miss it. Don't leave the track, or you will lose your way." On arriving a

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CHAPTER XIIIToC A NIGHT OF ALARM

Just then a movement in the rear of my position attracted my attention. A number of men were approaching; then halting, they sat on the ground, while two figures continued on towards me. They were Second Lieutenant Wade, the intrepid scout officer, and Second Lieutenant Brady, in command of the battalion bombers. It was Brady who spoke first: "Hullo! Getting peppered pretty hot, aren't you?" "Rather lively! Where are you off to?" "I've got orders to bomb out that mysterious trench you've heard s

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CHAPTER XIVToC NEXT MORNING

Three A.M. Heavy shell-fire still continues. I have just ordered the men to cease work and take rest. Trench is about two feet deep; men are dead beat. 4 A.M. Have just received three pages of operation orders. We are to attack at 4.45 P.M. in four ways, starting from the trenches we have been digging, and advancing diagonally from the corner of the wood across the open; passing over the mystery trench and taking the central trench. I have only a vague idea at present where that is. Am fervently

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CHAPTER XVToC THE ADVANCE THROUGH LEUZE WOOD

I had hardly closed my eyes when a runner from headquarters came hurrying along the line, and was directed to where I was dozing at the bottom of a trench. "Message from the C.O., sir, very urgent." I signed the receipt and tore the envelope open. Good heavens! new operation orders! I was astounded. I looked again, hardly daring to believe my eyes. Sure enough, there was no mistake about it, three pages of closely written operation orders. The head-line seemed to be mocking me: "Fresh operation

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CHAPTER XVIToC THE ATTACK

Joy! The last leap I took landed me in a trench, and I found to my great relief that it was the lower part of the square which ran through the wood. A few yards along this trench it emerged into the open, where it was in possession of the Germans. Farman and I sat down, side by side, breathing heavily from our exertions. "That was hell, Farman," I said, hardly daring to trust my voice. "Awful!" "I hope the men are still following." "Those that are left." "Have a cigarette; it will buck the men u

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CHAPTER XVIIToC AT ANY COST

At last the thunder of our guns towards the German lines confirmed the hour. Zero hour had arrived; the barrage had begun. "No. 6 Platoon will advance." The front line jumped up and walked into the open. Wonderful! Steady as a rock! The line was perfect. On the left the front line of C Company has also emerged from the wood; the bombers of No. 6 Platoon disappeared along the mystery trench. The tut-ut-ut-ut of machine-guns developed from several parts of the square, while the crack of rifles inc

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CHAPTER XVIIIToC LEFT ON THE FIELD

I was wounded! I was blind! But the moments that followed are clear in my memory. The brain shocked by a blow works quickly and actively in its excited effort to hold its own. I was quite conscious and thinking clearly: I knew what had happened and what would happen; I remembered every detail. My head at the moment was inclined to the right, for I was shouting to the men. Like a flash I remembered that about fifty yards to the left of me there was a "German strong point" still occupied by the Ge

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CHAPTER XIXToC THE JAWS OF DEATH

I did not know at the time, of course, what had become of Arnold; but I found out later. Fearing I was dying when I lapsed into unconsciousness again, after my fit of vomiting, he decided under cover of darkness to try and find his way back to the British lines to bring me aid. After stumbling about in and out of shell-holes, he suddenly saw the barrel of a rifle pointing at him from a trench close by, and following him as he moved; and a moment later he was a prisoner. Understanding German, he

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CHAPTER XXToC AT THE MERCY OF THE HUN—AND AFTER

A moment or two later something occurred which caused my wearied brain to be roused again into activity. What could it mean? I was again thinking hard, listening intently; something undefinable had happened to suddenly revive my mental condition. Had I passed away, and was this the next life? I felt like one who had awakened out of a dream in the dead of night, conscious that some one or something was moving near him. "Englishman! Kamarade!" Great God! I was found! Had I the strength I should pr

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CHAPTER XXIToC ALIVE

It was the first night after my arrival at Hanover that I really fully recovered a state of consciousness. Although I have recorded several incidents of the week which had just passed, they were only occasional glimpses from which I would relapse again into unconsciousness, and it only comes back to me in a hazy sort of way, like dreams through a long night of sleep. But I remember well the moment when I finally awoke and took in my surroundings. It was early in the morning. I seemed to have had

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CHAPTER XXIIToC BLINDNESS

How reckless we are in referring to death! There are many people who would say they would prefer death to blindness; but the nearer the approach of death, the greater becomes the comparison between the finality of the one and the affliction of the other. Those men, however, who have faced death in many frightful forms, and dodged it; suffered the horrors of its approach, yet cheated it; who have waited for its inevitable triumph, then slipped from its grasp; who have lived with it for days, parr

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CHAPTER XXIIIToC THE WOMAN WHO WAITS

Meanwhile, what was transpiring at home? What interpretation had been put upon my absence? Many weeks later, after my first letter had reached home like a message from the dead, a post-card was handed to me from my father, which seemed to echo the sob of a broken heart. It was the first message to arrive from the England I loved so much, and my home, which I yearned for. Letters from every member of my family were hastening towards me; but all were delayed except the single post-card, which told

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CHAPTER XXIVToC WARD 43, RESERVE LAZARETTE 5, HANOVER

Before the war Reserve Lazarette 5 at Hanover was a military school. It is now used for wounded military prisoners, and for German soldiers suffering from venereal disease. The same operating-room is used for all patients; the wounded prisoners receiving treatment in the morning, and the Germans in the afternoon. There is a fair-sized garden, not unattractive, and the wounded are permitted to take the fresh air, and to walk about freely, if they are able to do so. So are the German patients, and

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CHAPTER XXVToC SANIEZ

Reserve Lazarette 5, Hanover, boasted of no hospital nurses. There was no tender touch of a feminine hand to administer to the comfort and alleviate the distress of the wounded. There was no delicate and nourishing diet to strengthen the weak; neither did we expect it. We were prisoners of war, and though our sufferings were great, we were still soldiers. But those who have passed through Ward 43 will always look back with gratitude and admiration on one whose unselfish devotion, tender care, an

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CHAPTER XXVIToC LIFE IN HANOVER HOSPITAL

The diet in hospital can hardly be described as suitable for invalids. At the same time it was substantial as compared with what is received in prison camps. For breakfast we received coffee, with two very small, crusty rolls, each about the size of a tangerine orange; each roll cut in half, and a slight suspicion of jam placed between; for déjeuner one cup of coffee, one roll, and some very strong cheese, quite unfit to eat. The dinner was usually quite good, consisting of soup, a little meat a

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CHAPTER XXVIIToC OBSERVATIONS AND IMPRESSIONS

When I first became aware that there was a probability of my being exchanged I set to work to gather what information I could. I came into contact with a good many private soldiers, and in conversation with them I became deeply interested in the commercial value of prisoners of war; for it appeared to me clearly evident that in a country where there were over a million prisoners, possibilities were unlimited; and the German authorities appeared, with businesslike organisation, to be taking the f

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CHAPTER XXVIIIToC STORIES OF THE HEROES OF MONS

The statements which follow, and which were made to me while I was a prisoner of war in Germany, are not from picked soldiers who happened to have sensational stories. They were the only men whom I met who were prisoners in the early days. Being blind myself, I could not, of course, see the men I was speaking to, but their tone impressed me very much as being men who had suffered in silence. It was necessary for me to study very carefully what they said and impress it on my memory; and I have co

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CHAPTER XXIXToC OSNABRUCK

We looked forward to the journey with a great deal of pleasure, not that I could see where I was going, but the sensation of travelling was a pleasant change. We had about half an hour to wait for our train at the station, to the intense interest of a crowd of 60 or 70 peasants, who gathered around us and gazed in open-mouthed wonder. As a matter of fact I was quite unaware that we were the centre of attraction. I thought we were standing quite alone. It is not a disadvantage to be blind sometim

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CHAPTER XXXToC COMEDY AND DRAMA

When I arrived at Osnabruck, I found three English orderlies, and to my surprise and delight, two were men of my own regiment who had been captured at Gommecourt Wood on July 1. The commandant came up to visit me the following morning, something very unusual; but no blind prisoner had ever been confined within the walls of Osnabruck before, and I suppose I was an object of interest. I heard Rogan say, "Commandant," and click his heels. I stood up and saluted. I was turned around, for, unknowingl

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CHAPTER XXXIToC FREE

I was passed for England! The Examination Board consisted of a Swiss doctor, a German doctor, and the camp commandant. The Swiss doctor was provided with a schedule of disablements under which prisoners could be passed for exchange to their own country, and partial disablements for Switzerland, and frequently objections to a prisoner's application would be made by the German representative. Of our party from Osnabruck, one was rejected, two were passed for Switzerland, and I was passed for Engla

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