This book wore me out!
I was there at Mons, having travelled all the way from Le Harve, fought a battle with a huge German army outnumbering us by 6 or 7 to one. We shot them down at 6 or 7 to one in response. The British soldier in 1914 could manage 15 rounds a minute, he needed that talent at Mons. I then participated in the military withdrawal from Mons to Le Cateau. Here with the guns, I fought all day once again against overwhelming odds. All around bodies lay, some dead, some groaning, all the while shells exploded over us and bullets buzzed through the air.
Again we took to marching, though 'marching' is the wrong word.
Back we went, mixed in with refugees pushing prams and carts, encouraging sheep or cattle before them, weary soldiers, hungry and desperately thirsty under the blazing sun. All the while the enemy followed, rest was impossible, an hour here, a two hour stop there, then kicked back to feet and slog on. The quartermaster had wisely dumped tins of 'Bully Beef' and Biscuits along the road. The Corned beef, if you could get the 7lb tins open, swam under the hot sun. The biscuits, hard for dogs to eat had no liquid to aid them.
The withdrawal continued, occasional fights with enemy forces, sometimes shooting at enemy planes dropping coloured markers for the artillery, often just slogging along, too weary to grumble, boots causing blisters, blood seeping through many, some foolishly removing boots and unable to replace them afterwards.
The British withdrawal, one of the most successful military withdrawals in history, saved the remnant of the British Regular Army. All the while informed they were drawing the enemy into a trap, all the while more willing to fight than walk, all the while the discipline almost continued. Rare to find officers receiving back chat, though officers were also in the march and shared the problems, only at St Quentin did a problem arise, and wise leadership took the reluctant tired soldiers, bleeding feet and all, back to their destination at the Marne.
The troops had retreated reluctantly, this was not in their nature, but sheer overwhelming numbers beat them. I slept soundly after reaching the Marne, 'Bully' never tasted so good.
Soon however, a good feed, but little in the way of new items of clothing, we returned from whence we had come. Though weary the idea of chasing Germans appeared to increase the troops morale. As they marched towards the Aisne the supplies and equipment dropped by the men on the retreat was found dumped by the enemy also. Many foodstuffs were made use of and much encouragement found in watching German equipment dumped by the enemy as they ran. However they stopped high above the River Aisne and dug in. With too little in the way of guns or indeed shells for the guns, it was impossible for the weakened tired force to deal with them. The enemy remained there in that position until 1918.
By now, I am sick of corned beef and dry biscuit, even though occasional locals offer bottles of wine, and the weight of this book is making my arms ache, it is only a paperback! Luck then enables us to travel to the north west!
Once fed and watered, equipment mostly replaced, travelling slowly to deceive the enemy, the French relieve us as we move to prevent the enemy taking the channel ports. The handful of men in the are have careered about in cobbled together machine gun carriers, giving the impression of a large force in the region. In fact there was only a handful of vehicles and 300 men! Eventually a Yeomanry Cavalry arrived to join in and the 7th Division, full of well dressed 'spick and span' Territorial's arrived to fill the gap.
By the time we had made our way to the north the war was in full swing. Once again the German tactics were to send large numbers of men, fronted by massive bombardment of shrapnel and heavy artillery, to attack the small number of defenders. Once again they were pushed back, this time stopping at a Flanders town called Ypres. Unable to pronounce the name the troops quickly referred to this place as 'Wipers' and thus it has remained ever since.
The 1st Battle of Ypres caused terrific damage to the remnants of the British Army. Once again they fought doggedly against the enemy, often pushed back but never giving up. This time retreat meant defeat, the town must be held.
Various things appear here. The first German army comprised the volunteer students who, full of patriotism, linked arms and sang their patriotic song as they advance.
The British soldier looked at them aghast, then shot them down.
A whole generation of highly intelligent young men, the intellectual future of Germany, fell foolishly and for nothing at this point. Few survived, those who did would never forget this ordeal. Shell and bullet left heaps of dead, so many that occasionally a cry would rise as a sentry mistook the pile of grey clad for an advancing army. If ever war is called a waste it can be seen here. This act damaged the future of Germany in so many ways.
No matter how out numbered, no matter the cost, the British tenaciously endured, not just taking the attacks but counter attacking when possible. Eventually, after the Germans had replaced the students with higher class soldiers, and saw most of them treated with the same disdain by the defenders, the Kaisers Guard were sent in. The battle drew to a close soon after they entered Non Bossen Wood and were met by a string of soldiers, gunners, the remnants of the Ox & Bucks, stragglers and men from the rear who fought them off with rifle fire and then charged into the woods bayonet first. Outnumbered again by 5 to one by the 6 foot tall Guards the handful of determined men sent the Kaisers men home again. After 23 long days of non stop action the dwindling numbers, regiments of a thousand men now numbered around 70 or 80 men, officers mostly dead or wounded, even the Divisional Commander had died when a shell landed on his HQ taking several top staff men with him.
The French had arrived with their guns to the south, ensuring no more attacks would be considered.
New men arrived from home, the wounded were collected if possible, firing continued all winter, and the British army, with about 120,000 men had suffered 90% losses. Numbers always vary in the Great War but the Germans possibly lost 300,000 men in 1914, dead, wounded and missing.
Many, from all sides remain lost to this day.
This is a great book.
Lyn Macdonald spent time interviewing these men for the BBC many years ago. Since then she has produced many books on the Great War, each full of the words of the men themselves. Lyn adds to this a great narrative that combines the facts with the experience of the individual men, their battalions and their guns. The fast moving action takes you right into the war, I kept ducking as I passed the window, and found it hard to return to the real world as bullets kept flying around my head.
It is no wonder this books, which first appeared in 1987, still sells today. Lyn Macdonald's books are all 'must reads' for those studying the war and wanting to know more about the men who served.
Some things come to mind. The first is the soldier I met in 1974 in the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh. He had been to the X-ray department and I had to escort him back. He had been found living rather rough in a caravan in a field at the edge of the city and we were giving him a check over. He must have been around 80 years of age and his memory of the retreat from Mons was clear even 60 years on! He began talking about the war I have no idea why old men do this and claimed "We said we'll make the Germans run" as we marched up to Mons "And we did - after us!" The he mentioned the retreat he groaned a long heartfelt groan, that remains with me still, and then spoke of the heat and weariness the details I can no longer remember. However 60 years on he remembered that retreat well!
Another point is the way men were so keen to participate in the army and happy to kill people. No moral doubt as to whether this was right or wrong though army propaganda obviously told you the army fought for the 'right!' When we were kids we played soldiers games and we killed one another day after day noisily and with no rebuke from politically correct mothers. Watching me die on TV films or programmes it was always 'us and them' with little appreciation of the cost. Now it is clear 1914 soldiers had been reared in a climate of military passion, jingoism had arisen long before and was to continue for some time, though abated after the Great War. That said there was little revulsion at killing Germans. Of course once the battle began and your men suffered revenge and many other emotions and reactions take over. At one point at Ypres it was seen the Germans were killing wounded men, it was not recorded if 'our boys' did similar. On occasion mercy is seen, water given to the wounded enemy and always stretcher bearers would collect wounded, ours first then theirs, both sides usually doing this, and acts of mercy were seen often throughout the war, just as often as barbarism occurred.
Many criticise the British Generals for the losses to their men, few contemplate losses elsewhere. Throughout 1914 it was clear German strategy included launching vast numbers of soldiers at the enemy. After 1914 similar attacks abounded, usually counter attacks wasting lives retaking positions lost. The French inept attack in the east cost more lives than the British lost in the second world war, yet no-one challenges their handling of the war. The grumbles re Haig and his generals all come from Lloyd George, Haig's enemy, and Haig's greatest mistake, Passchendaele. 1914 reveals how the generals did well, some dying and others coming close to death, General Munro for one. The quality of the British Army in 1914 was great, much improved since the Boer War, it was that dogged determination, that musketry ability, the leadership and the discipline of the Regular army that saved the war from being lost in 1914. They paid a heavy price for their courage.
