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diff --git a/43644.txt b/43644.txt deleted file mode 100644 index fa7d447..0000000 --- a/43644.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7844 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of G. H. Q., by Frank Fox and G.S.O. - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: G. H. Q. - (Montreuil-Sur-Mer) - -Author: Frank Fox - G.S.O. - -Release Date: September 5, 2013 [EBook #43644] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK G. H. Q. *** - - - - -Produced by Bruce Albrecht, Max Jackson and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - G. H. Q. - - (MONTREUIL-SUR-MER). - - [Illustration] - - - - - G. H. Q. - - (MONTREUIL-SUR-MER) - - BY - - "G. S. O." - - WITH A MAP AND THIRTY-TWO ILLUSTRATIONS. - - [Illustration] - - LONDON: - PHILIP ALLAN & CO., - QUALITY COURT, CHANCERY LANE, W.C. - 1920. - - - - - PRINTED BY - WHITEHEAD BROS., WOLVERHAMPTON. - - - - - TO - THE PEOPLE AT HOME - WHOSE UNBENDING RESOLUTION - AND UNGRUDGING GENEROSITY - UPHELD THE SOLDIERS' CONFIDENCE - THIS BOOK IS GRATEFULLY - DEDICATED BY THE - AUTHOR. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I.--BEFORE G.H.Q. WENT TO MONTREUIL 1 - - The first stages of the War--"Trench War," a good - German invention--The Battle of Eyes--Waiting for - the Big Push--The Loos disappointment--Moving G.H.Q. - to Montreuil. - - II.--MONTREUIL AND THE MONTREUILLOIS 16 - - How the Montreuillois once learned to hate the - English--Early history of the famous town--Its link - with the early Roman-British Empire--A border town - in the Anglo-French Wars--When G.H.Q. was bombed. - - III.--G.H.Q. AT WORK 29 - - The Functions of G.H.Q.--The varying conditions to - be met--The working hours--The organisation of a - branch--The Chief's system. - - IV.--G.H.Q. AT PLAY 47 - - The walks on the Ramparts--The "Monks" of Montreuil - had little time for sport--Precautions against - "joy-riding"--The jolly Officers' Club--Watching the - Map--Ladies at G.H.Q. - - V.--THE MUNITIONS OF THE WAR 66 - - The Shell shortage--When relief came--The dramatic - Tanks--Bombs--Some ammunition figures--The ingenious - inventor. - - VI.--THE MEDICAL SERVICES 80 - - The magic-workers of the war--Fighting the - Germans--Concerning the Victorian primness of - conversation and the present popularity of "v.d." as - a theme for small talk--The Army and "v.d."--The - etiquette of hospitals and the ways of matrons--The - war against Trench Feet--Mustard gas in 1918. - - VII.--THE ANIMALS OF THE FORCE 98 - - A happy lot--The mud season in Flanders--The effects - of mustard gas--The character of the mule--Forage - difficulties--The French object to our horse - ration--The Americans side with us--The animal - record in 1918. - - VIII.--THE FINANCIAL SERVICES 116 - - The generosity of the British People--G.H.Q. was not - a spendthrift--The Pay system--Curiosities of - banking in the field--Claims of the civilian - inhabitants--The looted rabbit. - - IX.--THE ECONOMY SERVICES 129 - - What the German submarines taught us--The Salvage - Organisation--O.C. Rags, Bones and - Swill--Agriculture's good work and hard luck--The - Forestry Directorate--Soldiers learn economy in a - stern school. - - X.--THE COMFORTS OF THE FORCE--SPIRITUAL AND OTHER 144 - - The Padres--The semi-religious organisations--E.F.C. - Comforts--Studying the Fighting man--The Great Beer - Save. - - XI.--THE LABOUR AUXILIARIES 155 - - The queer ways of the Chinks--How to bury a Chinaman - properly--The Q.M.A.A.C.s and their fine - record--Other types of Labour auxiliaries--The - Labour Directorate. - - XII.--G.H.Q. AND THE "NEW ARMY" 169 - - What G.H.Q. thought of the "Temporaries"--Old - prejudices and their reason--The material of the - "New Armies"--Some "New Army" Officers who did not - play the game--The Regular Army Trade Union accepts - its "dilutees." - - XIII.--G.H.Q. AND THE DOMINION ARMIES 183 - - Our Parliament at the Club--A discussion of the - Dominions, particularly of Australia--Is the - Englishman shy or stand-offish?--How the "Anzacs" - came to be--The Empire after the War. - - XIV.--EDUCATING THE ARMY 197 - - The beginning of an interesting movement--The work - of a few enthusiasts--The unexpected peace--Humours - of lectures to the Army--Books for the Army--The - Army Printery. - - XV.--THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT 209 - - The disappointments of 1916 and 1917--The collapse - of Russia--The Cambrai Battle--The German - propaganda--Fears of irresolution at - Home--Reassurances from Home--Effects of the - Submarine war--An economical reorganisation at - G.H.Q.--A new Quartermaster General--Good effects of - cheerfulness at Home. - - XVI.--ENTER THE AMERICANS 235 - - How the Germans were misled about the - Americans--Early American fighters--The arrivals in - May, 1918--American equipment--Our relations with - the Americans and what they thought of us--The - Portuguese. - - XVII.--THE GERMAN SPRING OF 1918 254 - - Was G.H.Q. at fault?--Where we could best afford to - lose ground--Refugees complicate the - situation--Stark resolution of the French--All - Pas-de-Calais to be wrecked if necessary--How our - railways broke down--Amiens does not fall. - - XVIII.--THE MOTOR LORRY THAT WAITED 272 - - How a motor lorry waited at the Ecole Militaire to - take away the maps to the Coast--The Motor Lorry - Reserve--An "appreciation" of the position--Germany - lost the War in the first three months--Some notes - of German blunders. - - XIX.--THE UNITY OF COMMAND 283 - - Was it necessary?--Was a French Generalissimo - inevitable?--Our share in the guiding of the last - phase of the campaign--Points on which the British - had their way. - - XX.--THE COMING OF VICTORY 293 - - The June Position--German attempts to pinch out our - lines of supplies--The attacks on hospitals--The - glorious last 14 weeks--G.H.Q.'s share. - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - TO FACE PAGE - - THE CHIEF _Frontispiece_ - - THE BOULOGNE GATE 1 - - THE CAVEE SAINT FIRMIN 14 - - OUTSIDE THE RAMPARTS 20 - - THE MARKET 26 - - LT.-GEN. THE HON. SIR H. A. LAWRENCE 30 - - LT.-GEN. SIR G. H. FOWKE 38 - - THE GRANDE PLACE 42 - - THE RAMPARTS 48 - - THE THEATRE 50 - - IN THE OFFICERS' CLUB 54 - - THE PLACE GAMBETTA 60 - - THE FOSSE 72 - - A BY-WAY 80 - - A ROYAL VISIT: DECEMBER, 1918 90 - - THE EAST RAMPARTS 102 - - THE ARMY COMMANDERS 110 - - MAJOR-GEN. SIR C. A. BRAY 122 - - MAJOR-GEN. L. B. FRIEND 126 - - AN ARMY POSTER 132 - - BRIG.-GEN. THE EARL OF RADNOR 136 - - AT FORESTRY H.Q. 140 - - BRIG.-GEN. E. G. WACE 168 - - THE BOULOGNE GATE (FROM THE TOWN) 182 - - MAJOR-GEN. C. BONHAM-CARTER 198 - - LIEUT.-COL. D. BORDEN TURNER 202 - - CAPTAIN H. P. HANSELL 204 - - ON THE RAMPARTS 210 - - LIEUT.-GEN. SIR TRAVERS CLARKE 226 - - THE ECOLE MILITAIRE 272 - - AT THE CHIEF'S CHATEAU 284 - - "SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE" 292 - - MAP AT END - - - - -FOREWORD. - - -That fantastic life at G.H.Q., so greatly detached from the normal--the -life of the men whose words had power to send Armies into and out of -action, to give this Division rest and surcease from the agony of the -struggle, to assign to that Division the stress of a new effort; the men -into whose hands the nation poured millions without stint and at whose -call the whole world moved to spin or dig or forge--will it be of -interest now to recall some of its memories, to attempt an intimate -picture of its routine? - -Fantastic the life was truly. One man of imagination, who had done his -work in the line so well as to win a reputation for great courage and -administrative ability, and had carried through with a quiet skill and a -simple dutifulness the responsibilities of the "small family" of a -regiment, found, when he was transferred to G.H.Q., that the sense of -responsibility was too great for his temperament. He was not a very -important cog of the machine. But the feeling that the motion which his -hand started set going so great a series of actions got on his nerves -to the extent that he could neither sleep nor eat with comfort, nor -decide the simplest matter without torturing doubt as to whether it were -right or wrong. He "moved on" within a few days. - -Fortunately that sense of vision was rare. The average man was content -to "carry on" with his task with what good judgment Heaven gave him, -deciding as the established routine, or the common-sense shift of a new -emergency, dictated. - -But looking back, reflecting on all the woeful results that might have -sprung from a careless blunder, from too great haste, from too -deliberate hesitation, from over fear or over confidence, it is to be -seen how fantastic, how abnormal was the life centred in that little -walled town of Montreuil, the focus of a spider's web of wires, at one -end of which were the soldiers in their trenches, at the other the -workers of the world at their benches. Yet we ate, drank, slept, played -a little and talked, very much as if we were workers in some commercial -house, directing coffee from a plantation to a warehouse and then to a -breakfast table, instead of dealing in blood and tears, drawing without -stint on human life and human hope so that the idea of Right and Liberty -might be saved in the world. - -It is well that Imagination went to sleep, or was lacking. For so the -work could be done and the war directed to its safe conclusion. But a -record of the life we lived seems now, in retrospect, almost indecorous. -It is as if we should not have munched food, talked trivialities, while -before our eyes and under our hands was played out the greatest tragedy -Man has known; as if it would have been more fitting if we had gone from -uneasy couches, tight-lipped and anxious, to our desks, haunted always -by a sense of doom. - -It was not like that. And, such as it was, I attempt to record it--a -serious enough life in any sense of the word, monkish in its denial of -some pleasures, rigid in discipline, exacting in work, but neither -austere nor anxious--such a life as studious boys might live in a Public -School, if there can be imagined a Public School in which sport was -reduced to the minimum essential to keep one fit for hard "swotting." -But a life with some relaxations, and some pleasures, cheerful, actually -light-hearted. - -Questions of the conduct of the war must obtrude somewhat in this book, -but it will be only in so much as they are a necessary background to the -story of the life of G.H.Q.--of G.H.Q. in its later phase when it had -moved from St. Omer to Montreuil and had become what it was in the final -result, a capable Board of Directors of as glorious a company of -soldiers as the world has known. There will be no attempt at a history -of the war, no battle pictures, which are usually vain efforts to -measure the immeasurable. Yet it is hoped that the reader will get from -it some idea of the character and the complexities of the struggle. - -Already fogs of controversy are obscuring many of the facts of the war. -There is a controversy whether the first Commander-in-Chief should have -been recalled when he was; about the merits of the second -Commander-in-Chief; about the "unity of command" decision; about the -relative merits of a strategy which would concentrate everything for a -supreme effort in France and a strategy which would seek a "back door" -to the German citadel; about the actual cause and duration of the shell -shortage. In accordance with our British custom we are mostly taking -sides, following some leader and putting our faith in his views, and all -his views, implicitly. Thus are formed parties. I claim with honesty, -and perhaps with correctness, not to belong to any of the parties. I -have set down these observations on G.H.Q. without a thought of whether -they may support this view or that view on the conduct of the war. - - THE AUTHOR. - -[Illustration: THE BOULOGNE GATE] - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -BEFORE G.H.Q. WENT TO MONTREUIL. - -The first stages of the War--"Trench War," a good German invention--The -Battle of Eyes--Waiting for the Big Push--The Loos disappointment--Moving -G.H.Q. to Montreuil. - - -It was the task of General Headquarters to try to see the War as a -whole, to obtain a knowledge not only of the strictly military situation -but, to an extent, also of the moral and the political situation of the -enemy and of our own forces. In the later stages of the campaign that -task was being done, _pace_ all the critics, with an efficiency that was -wonderful, seeing that before the Great War the British nation did not -allow its Army any chance at all of war practice on a big scale. Our -Generals, whatever skill they might have won in studying the theory of -war, had had no opportunity to practise big movements. They were very -much in the position of men trained in the running of a small provincial -store who were asked suddenly to undertake the conduct of one of the -mammoth "universal providers." - -It is of G.H.Q. in the later stages of the war that I write, not G.H.Q. -of the earlier stages, when our Army was finding its feet. But a slight -generalisation regarding those earlier stages is necessary to an -understanding of the subsequent growth of the Army organisation and of -its Board of Directors at G.H.Q. - -The small Army which crossed to France in 1914 was organised as an -Expeditionary Force for a war of movement. It did gallant work in the -first phase, as all have admitted. When the war of movement stopped and -the struggle settled down to the War of the Trenches, though that gave a -good opportunity of recruiting, it brought up an entirely new set of -problems, for which our organisation had made no provision at all and in -which British natural gifts did not have the best chance of display. -Indeed our training system at home refused in 1914-15 to "recognise" -Trench War. The New Armies were trained on the same lines as the old -Regular Army, but of course more hurriedly, more intensively, less -efficiently. They learned Trench Warfare--an almost entirely different -game--when they got out to the Front. A reversal of the process--to have -taught the much simpler Trench Warfare in the home camps and left the -teaching of movement warfare to training intervals in France--was an -obviously more economical system, and it was that adopted at a later -stage. - -When a considered history of the war comes to be written, probably it -will give to the German High Command high praise for this period of -"Trench War." It was the one conspicuously good invention of the enemy. -It enabled him almost completely to stop the war in the one theatre -where he had to meet troops superior to his own, whilst his forces -ranged round Europe winning cheap victories and finally (though too late -as it proved) vanquishing opposition elsewhere. There is no doubt that -the Trench War device baffled our side for a time. I like the story of -Marshal Joffre explaining the position to an American war correspondent -and adding: - -"You see there is nothing to be done." - -"No. I suppose nobody could do anything?" - -"Nobody." - -"Not even Napoleon?" - -But Marshal Joffre paused at that, and after a moment's reflection said: - -"Yes, I suppose Napoleon could do something." - -Finally the "something" came in the shape of the "Tank." - -When Field Marshal Earl Haig took over the chief command he adopted the -system of frequent "raids" to give to the Trench War some of the -character of moving war, and that proved a highly useful step. Still, -this Trench War was not of the genius of our people; and it was very -dull. If I were seeking the fit adjective which could be applied to it -in its superlative it would certainly not be "exciting" nor yet -"dangerous." The life was exciting and it was dangerous--a little. It -was, however, neither very exciting nor very dangerous. But it was very, -very curious. Trench war had its moments, its hours of high emotion, of -intense excitement, of crowding dangers. Its routine--on the Western -front--was laborious, almost to the point of tediousness, demanding a -sober and constant carefulness in detail, and--provided you watched the -minutes and the winds, the twigs and the sky, had eyes, ears, and nerves -always on the alert--it was reasonably safe. - -Trench War exciting? No; you could not allow it to be. The moments were -rare (to the majority of officers they never came) when the call was for -a gallant shout and a forward rush in which leadership took its most -obvious and its easiest form. The hours were always when, with cool, -suspicious, deducting mind, you were watching a sector, awaiting the -enemy's raiding attack or directing your own. Stalking and being -stalked, it was interesting, absorbing, but you could not allow it to be -exciting, or you would not do your work properly. War was robbed, in -that phase of the struggle, of most of its fascinations by the -spectacled Germans who had spent the previous half-century in the -counting house, the laboratory, and the cellar, preparing to destroy the -humanities of civilisation. Trench War was a grubbing kind of business. - -Dangerous? Naturally, to an extent. But not nearly so dangerous as one -might judge from the lurid accounts of imaginative writers. It had its -hours of peril, of horror. But it was not all the time dangerous. For -six days out of seven, on an average, a soldier, if he observed the -strictest caution, was "following a dangerous trade," nothing more. On -the seventh day--I speak in averages--he had his risk about doubled. On -very rare occasions he had to take the risk of a fireman who goes into a -blazing house to rescue a child, or a policeman who stops a madly -bolting horse. Ordinarily one had to be careful "to watch the traffic;" -that was all. If you wished to take a long lingering look at the enemy's -trench you used a periscope. For a brief glance (to get a wide field of -view) you looked over the parapet. There were differing estimates of the -length of time it was safe to show your head over the parapet. Some said -five seconds, others twenty-five. - -"The German is slow in the up-take," remarked the officer who insisted -that twenty-five seconds was quite a safe time to look over the parapet. - -Behind the parapet it was almost as safe--and on dry days as -pleasant--as on a marine parade. A solid fortification of sandbags, -proof against any blow except that of a big high-explosive shell, -enclosed on each side a walk, drained, paved, lined with dug-outs, in -places adorned with little flower beds. I write, of course, of the -Trench War in its "settled" stage--not of those grim struggles around -Ypres in the Autumn of 1914. - -Not exciting, not as dangerous as one would imagine, the Trench War was -more curious, more "uncanny," than it is possible to describe. Try to -imagine the huge ditch, some 300 miles long, from the North Sea to the -Swiss lakes, which was our trench, facing another ditch which was their -trench, all lined with Eyes, thousands, millions of Eyes. All day, all -night, these Eyes stare and stare. At night the hands serving them break -up the dark with star shells, and the brains behind them welcome the -day, only because it makes the scrutiny of Death more easy. On the front -edge of each ditch the Eyes are thick in line; farther back, in every -possible post of observation, are groups of Eyes, and Eyes soar up into -the air now and again to stare into the secrets concealed on the other -side. There are Eyes of infantry, Eyes of artillery, Eyes of airmen. The -scrutiny never pauses for an instant. Let an Eye blink a moment and it -may mean catastrophe, a stealthy rush on a trench or a flood of -poisoning gas. The great dark gutter stretching across Belgium and -France was fringed with staring Eyes; and every Eye had to record its -message to G.H.Q. - -Carefulness, tedious, monotonous carefulness, absolute punctuality, and -grave attention to every detail--these were the warrior qualities in the -Trench War period. The minutes had to be watched, the grass watched lest -you trod down a path and gave away some secret to the Eyes yonder. All -the minute details of life were hedged in with precautions and -penalties. - -This tedious Trench War was not the game for British blood, though on -the whole it was done well, especially after Loos when the raiding -policy was instituted. But it was tedious; and very clearly it was -impossible to win while it lasted. For victory the Germans had to be -turned out of those trenches. So, during the tedium of the Trench War we -would comfort ourselves with the thought that very soon the Big Push -must come. Often the most definite news came that it was fixed for the -next month. This very definite news was usually traced back to some -signaller who had overheard something on the telephone. Perhaps -Divisional H.Q. had a Member of Parliament (doing a "Cook's tour" of the -Front) to dinner and peremptory messages were going down to the Coast -asking for lobsters to be sent up. Now a guileless signaller would never -imagine that Generals and the like were interested in lobster. If he -thought of their diet at all he probably imagined they lived on trench -maps--of which the consumption was certainly huge. Thus the signaller, -hearing strange peremptory messages about lobsters, might conclude that -this was some very secret code, and, the Big Push being in all our -thoughts, that it would have reference to that most certainly. But for -many months it was not the Big Push; it was only the lobster, which was -the standard of gaiety and dissipation at a Mess Dinner. - -At the time of the Loos attack it did really seem that the Big Push had -come. But we were disappointed. Perhaps at the Front we were as -impatient at the result as the people at home, but we could soothe our -impatience with the thought of the greatness of the technical -difficulties of arranging an advance with a battle-line hundreds of -miles in length, all entrenched (difficulties which did not occur to -those gentlemen who wrote weekly expert articles, to show how it should -be done). It was clear that if we could push forward a little at certain -vital points, a rich reward would be reaped. We knew that what would -seem the obvious thing--to press along the whole line and break through -in the weak parts--would have only landed us in a number of advanced -salients which would be hard, or impossible, to defend when they came -under enfilade fire. There were scores of places in which the German -would willingly have let us through; to destroy the advanced party -afterwards. We had to aim to push in wedges at our own selected points -where the salient thus formed could be defended and could seriously -threaten a German line of communication. It was not easy, for the number -of those points was limited and the German knew them all. - -Loos showed very plainly what we were "up against." There was a long -pause for further preparation, a pause which seemed unendurably long at -the time when the French were taking such a hammering at Verdun and we -were going on with tedious Trench War and still more tedious -preparations behind the lines. - -Criticism of the British military effort at this stage of the war was -fairly general and sometimes very hostile. Some assumed that we had -tried our last blow at Loos and that we would never do more than hold a -trench sector until the French could finish the war. At Home there were -critics who argued that the British military effort would have been more -wisely directed if, in the first stage of the war, the British -Expeditionary Force had been kept at home and used as the nucleus for -training a great continental army, ignoring the pressing circumstances -of August, 1914. - -Undoubtedly in that way a great British Army could have been far more -quickly raised. Undoubtedly, too, the task of forming the new British -Army was very seriously handicapped by the draining away to France of -practically all the fully-trained men of military age in Great Britain. -But with a choice of two courses Great Britain took the more daring and -the more generous one; and that in human affairs is generally the better -one. The material help which the Five Divisions of the British Army gave -to the French was not negligible. The moral help was much greater. The -lack of those Divisions might have lost Paris to the French and left the -Germans in control of all France north and east of the Seine; and that -event might have ended the war--it would certainly have prejudiced -seriously the French recovery. - -The risk taken by Great Britain in stripping her own territory of its -only efficient army was not inconsiderable. Direct attack by Germany was -seriously feared then. A bolder German naval policy, indeed, might have -secured an invasion of England. Plans were drawn up in England at one -time on the supposition of a German descent on our coasts being -successful in its first stages, and it was proposed to meet this by -converting a wide coastal section of England into a desert. - -Criticism was to be silenced in time, for presently we were to open that -giant battle which was not to finish until November, 1918, and which -was then to finish with the British Army the most important force in the -Field. - -G.H.Q. moved to Montreuil on March 31st, 1916. On the same date, it may -be said, the British Army in France came to man's estate. It had been up -to this an "auxiliary army" holding a small section of the front, and a -"training army" getting ready to take over--as ultimately it did take -over--the main burden of the war; for, counting its captures of -prisoners and guns from August, 1918, to November 11th, 1918, the -British Army's share in the final victory was almost equal to that of -the French, American and Belgian forces combined. - -G.H.Q. came to Montreuil because St. Omer, the old G.H.Q. town, was no -longer suitable as the centre for the vast operations pending. It had -served well enough when we formed the left wing of the French battle -line. Now we were to be the spear-head of the thrust against Germany. - -Look back upon the little British Army of at first four and then five -Divisions, which in 1914 took rank alongside the French by Mons, and -fell back fighting until the rally of the Marne; and then upon the Army -of 1916 of ten times the strength, which was directed from Montreuil. -The growth shows as marvellous, and especially so to those who -understand how an army in the field is comparable to an iceberg at sea, -of which the greater part is unseen. For every rifleman in the trenches -and gunner in the gun-pits there are at least three other people working -to keep him supplied with food, clothing, ammunition, and on -communications. So an Army's growth demands a growth behind the line -three times as great as that in the line. And this growth is not merely -a matter of the multiplication of riflemen and gunners and auxiliaries, -a heaping up of men. It must be an organic growth to be effective at -all; an adding one by one of highly complex and yet homogeneous units. - -A "Division" is the integral unit of any Army, and a Division must have -in the field its infantry battalions, cavalry or cyclist companies, -field batteries, signallers (with "wireless," telephone and telegraph -service), engineers, transport and supply services, medical and -ambulance services. All told, it numbered about 17,000 officers and men -at the close of the war, but in 1914 the strength of a Division was -nearer to 20,000. And this body of 20,000 was not a mob, nor a crowd, -nor yet even a simple organization such as a band of factory employees. -It was a nation in microcosm, its constituent numbers covering almost -the whole of the activities of life. It had to be organised to fight, to -keep up communications, to manufacture and repair, to feed itself and -its horses, to keep good health conditions in its camps and to succour -its sick and wounded. Besides fighting men it had doctors, vets., -sanitary engineers, mechanics of all kinds, chemists, electricians. -Behind the line the Division's supports, its munition and clothing -factories, its food providers, had to be organised just as carefully. - -Nothing can be made without making mistakes, and in the carrying out of -this giant task of making the Army of the British Empire there were many -mistakes of detail. It is in the nature of the human mind to see such -mistakes in high relief, as the human eye sees small patches of stone -stand out from a vast field of snow. But, making the worst that can be -made of the mistakes, if they are seen in proper perspective they cannot -blur the dazzling brilliance of a marvellous achievement. - -Most of the mistakes, moreover, were direct consequences of that -innocence of warlike intention and that passion for human right and -liberty which was common to Great Britain as to the rest of Western -Europe, and on which, clearly, the German Powers had counted as -sufficient to paralyse effective resistance to their deliberate and -designed preparation. Hindering those good qualities of peacefulness -proved to be, but not paralysing. After all, the task was done. That -most dangerous first rush of German militarism was stayed. The powerful -beast was kept within bounds whilst weapons were forged for his -destruction. In vain were all his efforts, backed by the skill of half a -century of preparation and Spartan discipline. - - * * * * * - -Montreuil was chosen as G.H.Q. for a wide variety of reasons. It was on -a main road from London to Paris--the two chief centres of the -campaign--though not on a main railway line, which would have been an -inconvenience. It was not an industrial town and so avoided the -complications alike of noise and of a possibly troublesome civil -population.[1] It was from a telephone and motor transit point of view -in a very central situation to serve the needs of a Force which was -based on Dunkirk, Calais, Boulogne, Dieppe, and Havre, and had its front -stretching from the Somme to beyond the Belgian frontier. - -[Footnote 1: The population of Montreuil in 1906 was 2,883.] - -A great general, asked to define in a phrase what was wanted for a -Headquarters, said "A central remoteness." It was urged that this seemed -an oxymoron. "Well then, if you like, a remote centrality." The finality -of that allowed of no further argument. Montreuil provided both a -central position and a position remote from the disturbances and -distractions of traffic, of a large population, of gay social interests. -The great Ecole Militaire offered accommodation for the chief offices. -There was sufficient billeting accommodation in the town houses and -the neighbouring chateaux. - -[Illustration: THE 'CAVEE' SAINT FIRMIN] - -G.H.Q. of course was never a great camp. Its total military population -was never more than 5,000, including those G.H.Q. troops who were needed -for guards and who were drawn first from the Artists' Rifles, then from -the Honourable Artillery Company, then from the Newfoundland Regiment, -and finally from the Guernsey Regiment. Accommodation at Montreuil was -reinforced somewhat by hutments in 1917-18, but on the whole the town -was big enough for its purpose. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -MONTREUIL AND THE MONTREUILLOIS. - -How the Montreuillois once learned to hate the English--Early history of -the famous town--Its link with the early Roman-British Empire--A border -town in the Anglo-French Wars--When G.H.Q. was bombed. - - -Military convenience alone dictated the choice of Montreuil as the site -of the General Headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force in France -as soon as that Force reached to such a strength as to take its full -share in the campaign. But the choice might well have been influenced by -a sentimental desire to make this town, which was so intimately -associated with the old enmity between England and France, the centre of -the Great Reconciliation. Montreuil and the Montreuillois for many -centuries cordially hated England, and not without good reason. In -April, 1369, they chased the English from the town with hoots of "_A la -queue, a la queue les Anglais._" After 550 years, in April, 1919, they -saw the British G.H.Q. leave Montreuil with what different feelings! - -Very curious is the way in which Montreuil has been linked up with -Anglo-French history. In the days of the Roman occupation of Gaul the -Roman Empire had a naval station close to, or actually on, the great -fortress rock which guarded the mouth of the Canche and which was then a -peninsula jutting out into the sea. This station, no doubt, Julius Caesar -used in his expedition against Britain. Later Carausius, a Roman Briton, -revolted against the Roman Empire and, by winning the command of the -Channel with his Fleet, maintained for a time an independent Britain. He -assumed the state of Caesar and founded a Roman-British Empire. The -_Classis Britannica_ of the Roman Empire had had its chief station at or -near Montreuil. With the revolt of Carausius there was no longer a -"British Fleet" of the Roman Empire, and the _Classis Samarica_ (the -Fleet of the Somme) was organised to hold the coasts of Gaul for the -Roman Power against the British rebel, Carausius. This Fleet of the -Somme had a station on the Canche, at or near Montreuil. Doubtless in -those very early years of the Christian era there was many a naval -action between the British sea forces and those of the Romans stationed -on the Canche. - -Of any actual Roman buildings on the hill of Montreuil there exists -to-day no trace. But it may be accepted as certain that the Gauls had -fortified this great hill at the mouth of the Canche and that the Roman -Conquerors did not neglect its strategical advantages. It is well within -the bounds of the historic imagination to picture Carausius, the man who -first taught England that her fate depended on the holding of the Narrow -Seas, looking with vain hostility on a well-fortified Roman naval -station at Montreuil which often sent harassing expeditions against his -coast. In later years of Anglo-French enmity Montreuil was -Montreuil-sur-mer only in name, for the sea had retreated ten miles, and -Etaples was the port at the mouth of the Canche; but in the Roman days -and for some centuries after, Montreuil was a good harbour for trade or -for war. - -When the barbarian invasions overwhelmed the Roman Empire, Montreuil -disappeared from history until the Seventh Century, when the monk St. -Saulve (subsequently Bishop of Amiens) built a monastery on the great -hill. From this monastery, without much doubt, the name of Montreuil -comes; for in all old French manuscripts it is spelt "Monstereul," which -is an easy step from "Monasteriolum," "the place of the monastery." In -St. Saulve's day Montreuil appears to have been a bold promontory at the -edge of the sea, with the River Canche running close to its base and a -thriving village at its foot. According to some accounts, St. Saulve's -first monastery was built on the ruins of an earlier castle; if so it -would probably have been a castle of Roman origin. - -Montreuil became a famous shrine, and reports came from it of many -miracles. The Saints Omer, Riquier, Bertin and Josse, whose names are -kept on record in St. Omer and other neighbouring towns and villages, -were monks of the Montreuil monastery. There is a Forest of Josse just -near Montreuil, and I regret to say that some American officers were -persuaded to believe that it got its name from being the site of a -Chinese Labour Joss-house, to the lessening of the glory of St. Josse. - -With the ravages of the pirate Northmen another period of darkness falls -upon the town of Montreuil until the 9th century, when the famous Count -Hildgood (that is to say "hold-good," a stubborn man in the fight) -resolved to make head against the Northmen, and in defence of his county -of Ponthieu built on Montreuil Hill a strong fortress. Traces of this -fortress still exist in the town. The Hotel de France (which was a -meeting place for officers of G.H.Q. when a dinner away from Mess -formalities was desired) stands on part of the site of "Hold-good's" -fortress. - -Count Hildgood was something of a statesman as well as a soldier, and -encouraged a civilian population to collect at the foot of his fortress, -and used the glory of St. Saulve's monastery to attract to the place -other religious communities from Brittany and elsewhere. Montreuil -became thus a famous strong-point. It developed on the familiar lines of -a mediaeval city with its well-established local rights, those of "the -peers of the peerage of Montreuil." The ravages of the Northmen in the -surrounding country continued, but Montreuil was too strong for them and -grew into a city of refuge, giving hospitality to many religious refugee -communities even from as far away as Brittany. - -It remained without dispute a part of the county of Ponthieu until 939, -when, as related by the monkish historian Richer, it was coveted by the -Count of Flanders and captured through the treachery of the governor, -Robert le Chepier. (One of the towers of the existing fortifications -still bears his name). The children of the Count of Ponthieu were taken -captives and sent to the English Court to be held as prisoners--giving -rise to one of the first of the many grudges that the good Montreuillois -had against England. The Count of Ponthieu appealed for help to the then -Duke of Normandy (William of the Long Sword). The help was given, -Montreuil was wrested from the Flemings, and handed back to the Count of -Ponthieu according to some accounts, held by the Normans according to -other accounts, which have a greater air of reasonableness, for the -Normans were good at taking and slow at giving back. - -[Illustration: OUTSIDE THE RAMPARTS] - -But all disputes as to the possession of Montreuil between the Counts -of Ponthieu and Flanders and the Duke of Normandy were settled by the -King of France, Hugo Capet, who made the town part of the Royal Domain -of France and built a great fortified chateau by the side of the old -citadel. A part of this chateau still remains, "the Tower of Queen -Bertha," so-called from the unhappy fate of Bertha, Queen of Philip I. -of France. She was the daughter of the Count Florent I. of Holland, and -had borne Philip three children when he became enamoured of the wife of -the Count of Anjou and shut his own wife up to die in Montreuil. To -quote the old chronicle: "Il la mist en prison en un fort chastel qui a -nom Monstereul-sur-la-mer." The poor lady seems to have been most -harshly treated, and was left dependent on the charity of the townsfolk -for her food. The children of Montreuil recall the story to this day -when begging for money for the churches with the cry "Give, give, to -your Queen." - -By this time the Norman Conquest had given England a place in European -politics. The 13th Century brought Montreuil under the English Crown. -Jeanne, Countess of Ponthieu and Montreuil, had married the King of -Castille and Leon. Their daughter Eleonora of Castille married Edward -I., King of England, and part of her dowry was Montreuil. Edward I. came -over in 1279 to take over his new possession, and promised the -Montreuillois to safeguard all their local rights and privileges. But -the good folk of the town did not like the English of that day, and -disputes were constant. They rejoiced when war broke out between France -and England (a war in which the French had the Scots as allies and the -English the Flemings); for the King of France exempted Montreuil from -her feudal duty to the English King. - -That war was stopped by the intervention of Pope Boniface, and a Peace -Conference assembled at Montreuil. One of the peace conditions was that -the Prince of Wales should marry the daughter of the King of France, and -this marriage was celebrated with great magnificence at Boulogne, the -young princess passing through Montreuil to the wedding. She received as -her pin-money from her husband the revenues of Ponthieu and Montreuil. - -But that marriage did not make for peace. On the contrary its fruits -were a new series of wars interrupted by an occasional truce or brief -peace. Crecy and Agincourt were both fought almost in sight of -Montreuil. The district round was ravaged again and again by the English -forces, and several times the town itself was besieged in vain. After -Crecy, Edward tried to take it and failed. An incident of one of the -peace treaties was the visit of Chaucer, the poet, to Montreuil as an -English plenipotentiary. An incident of one of the wars was the passage -through Montreuil of the funeral procession of King Henry V. - -So through the years Montreuil was in the very heart of the struggle -between English and French. It was in a manner the border town between -the territory in France which was admitted to be English, and the -disputed territory. Thus it learned a deep hatred of the English. Often -as a condition of peace it was handed over to English domination; never -was it content with that destiny. Finally, the ambition of the English -Kings to add France to their realms--an ambition which was as bad for -England as it was for France--was definitely frustrated. Montreuil, -passionately French in spirit, "the most faithful town in all Picardy," -as Henry of Navarre called it, was no more to be vexed either by English -governors or English marauders. - -But Montreuil cherished its dislike of the English, and probably had -never been so happy for centuries as when in 1804 it was the -headquarters of the left wing of Napoleon's Army for the invasion of -England. General Ney was the officer in command at Montreuil, and his -brilliant receptions brought back to the town some of its Middle Ages -pomp. It was from Montreuil that in 1804 General Ney addressed to -Napoleon a memorial begging him to take the Imperial Crown for the sake -of France. Napoleon himself visited Montreuil more than once, and a -house in which he slept is still shown in the Place Verte. - -Little or nothing of this was in the minds of our Staff in deciding upon -Montreuil as a site for G.H.Q. It was convenient (as its choice in old -times for Peace Conferences between England and France clearly shows) to -London and to Paris. It was off any main traffic route, and promised -quiet for telephone services. The feelings of the inhabitants were -presumed to be friendly, and the presumption was justified, though -curiously enough there was in 1918 a slight revival of the old -anti-English feelings, and I even heard whispered again "_a la queue les -Anglais_." It all arose from what must be admitted to have been rather -an undignified incident. - -There used to be a fable--no one was fonder of giving it circulation -than the Red Tabs--that there was a mutual agreement between the Germans -and ourselves that G.H.Q. on both sides was to be spared from air raids. - -"The arrangement is a classic instance of our stupidity," the Red Tab -humorist would remark, "for the German scores both ways." - -"How is that?" - -"Well, his Staff is spared, which is valuable to him. And our Staff is -spared, which is also valuable to him." - -Staff officers, B.E.F., could afford to pass on gibes like that in -1917-18 when British Staff work was the model which the new American -armies set themselves to imitate. - -But as a matter of fact in the summer of 1918 G.H.Q. was bombed pretty -regularly by the enemy. Those who lived there had unhappy proof of that. -There were several deaths from bombs in and near the town. After the -first bombing attacks orders were issued that no soldier, except -sentries and officers on night duty, was to be allowed to sleep in -Montreuil. The whole garrison was to go into the woods at night, or to -take refuge in the deep dug-outs which were tunnelled under the city. -Hardly a night passed without a bombing raid, until the tide of battle -turned and the German bomber had neither heart nor means for nocturnal -wanderings. - -There was no doubt that a good motive inspired the orders for the -nightly evacuation of the town by officers and soldiers except those -actually on duty. It was thought that the Germans had discovered G.H.Q. -and had resolved one night to "wipe it out." A really determined raid -concentrated on a small walled town might have effected that. But the -nightly march out of the troops did not impress favourably the -inhabitants, who mostly had to stay. Some of them openly jeered; others -made less parade of their feelings, but had them all the same. - -"Where are the English?" - -"The English are in the woods of Wailly." - -That was a favourite street-corner gibe. - -Most officers who did not get direct orders to leave the town of nights -kept to their billets, but all the rank and file were marched out, or -rather driven out by motor lorries. The Officers' Club closed early of -evenings so that the Q.M.A.A.C.s might be evacuated to a camp outside -the town. At this camp they evidently did not have the same conveniences -as in the town for dressing their hair and so on; and they had to start -off very early in the morning to be in time to wait at breakfast. -Tempers as well as coiffures were a little ragged in consequence. - -[Illustration: THE MARKET] - -One advantage that we won from the bomb 'scare' (if that word is -justified) was that it gave a stimulus to archaeological research in the -town. There was at G.H.Q. at the time, as a Major, R.E., that fine -"sport" Professor David of Sydney University. Professor David has a -great celebrity as a geologist. His birth year was 1858, so he is not -exactly a youngster except in heart. But the spirit of adventure and -patriotism which sent him out to the South Pole with the Shackleton -Expedition in 1907-1909 sent him from Australia to this war. He did -useful work with an Australian Tunnelling Company in connection with the -famous Messines mine, and his knowledge as a geologist was afterwards -of great use to G.H.Q. in matters of mines, of water supply, and the -like. Now he was asked to take in hand the task of providing good -under-ground dug-outs for the Montreuil garrison. His researches -disclosed some very interesting old galleries or quarries under the -citadel. Passages were cut through to these from points in the Ramparts, -and I believe that even the good citizens of Montreuil did not disdain -to take advantage of the English "dug-outs" when the German bombs began -to fall. - -All the same, when that nightly march out of the town was dropped we -were all very glad; and our relations with the townspeople were restored -to their old serenity. - -At the worst the hostile section was not a very large one. Many officers -who were at G.H.Q. have memories of warm personal friendships with some -of the French residents, who did all that was in their power to make -them feel that France was a second home. At one residence (where I was -billetted for a time, that of M. Laurent and his wife) the lady had -established a homely little _salon_, which was quite a student's centre -not only for officers but for other ranks. Mme. Laurent spoke English -well, and it was her hobby to teach French to any willing pupil of the -British Army and to interest soldiers in the history of the old town. -There were many others who took the same kindly interest in our mental -welfare. - -The good Montreuillois of 1919 certainly did not hate the English as -their ancestors had done. They considered that the five years since 1914 -had washed out all old injuries.[2] - -[Footnote 2: See Appendix.] - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -G.H.Q. AT WORK. - -The Functions of G.H.Q.--The varying conditions to be met--The working -hours--The organisation of a branch--The Chief's system. - - -To the very end of the war, no doubt, an occasional young regimental -officer could be found who knew exactly what G.H.Q. did: "They swanked -about in Red Tabs and cars: had a gorgeous 'mike,' and, to keep up a -show of work, issued all kinds of fool orders which nobody in the -trenches had any time to read." - -This theory of the functions of G.H.Q. had quite a vogue in "regimental -circles" at one time. It was not, of course, founded on any mental -process or it would be deeply interesting to investigate how these -gentlemen came to think that ammunition and supplies could arrive -fortuitously, that a concentration of troops or of Tanks could "just -happen." - -[Illustration: LIEUT-GENERAL THE HON. SIR H. A. LAWRENCE (Chief of -the General Staff)] - -But, apart from that sort of thoughtless talk, there was, even among -senior officers, some lack of knowledge as to what exactly the hermits -of Montreuil did. They knew of them as issuing General Routine Orders in -the name of the Commander-in-Chief (some 5,000 of these G.R.O.s were -issued in the course of the war); as circulating, more privately, secret -orders and instructions, and perhaps of making occasional appearances on -the battle-field, though probably the majority of regimental officers -never saw a G.H.Q. officer. In brief summary, the more important -functions of G.H.Q. were: - - 1. G.H.Q. was the link between the B.E.F. and the British - Government. The War Cabinet sitting in London was the supreme - authority. The Secretary of State for War was its spokesman and, - with the War Office Staff, its adviser. The Commander-in-Chief was - the Army's spokesman and, with his G.H.Q., the negotiator with the - Secretary of State for War. In the final result the B.E.F. had to - do what it was ordered to do by the Secretary of State, but the - Commander-in-Chief was usually consulted beforehand, and had always - the right of discussion and of remonstrance. The relations between - the Home Government and the Army were recognised as the most - important matter dealt with by G.H.Q., and War Office letters had a - special priority. No one except the Commander-in-Chief communicated - directly with the War Office. - - 2. G.H.Q. was the link between the British Army in the Field and - the Allied armies--the French, American, Belgian and - Portuguese. Relations between these were maintained through - Military Missions, we keeping a Mission with the G.H.Q. of the - Allied Army, they keeping Missions with our G.H.Q. There was, quite - apart from big questions of operations, discussion of which was - confined to the Chief of the General Staff and the heads of the - foreign Missions, an immense amount of technical transport, supply - and finance work between the Allies. There was hardly an officer of - G.H.Q. who did not in some detail come into relations with the - foreign Missions. - - 3. G.H.Q. had to decide the strategy of the campaign in its - relation to the British sector. After the unity of Command there - was a somewhat lessened responsibility in this matter, but the work - was practically the same. The Commander-in-Chief, in consultation - with his Chief of Staff, his Quartermaster-General and his - Adjutant-General, decided when and with what forces we should - attack, when adopt a defensive policy. To come to those decisions a - close and constant study was necessary by the various branches of - G.H.Q. of the state of the enemy's forces, our own numbers and - _morale_, our possibilities of transport and supply. - - 4. G.H.Q. had to arrange the supply, from Home and from its own - workshops and local civilian workshops, of all the wonderful - equipment of the forces, from a Tank and a 15-inch howitzer to a - tin of dubbin; all the ammunition and all the food supplies to man - and beast. There came to the ports of France every month for the - B.E.F. about 800,000 tons of stuff. The men to be fed totalled over - 2,000,000 and the animals to be fed about 500,000. A month's supply - of ammunition weighed about 260,000 tons. - - 5. G.H.Q. managed a transport system which used constantly about - half a million horses and mules and about 20,000 motor lorries, - running over 9,000,000 motor miles per month; which carried on its - light railways about 544,000 tons a month and ran every day 250 - trains on broad gauge lines. - - 6. G.H.Q. was constantly building new railways and new roads, and - developing new harbour facilities. It ran big canal and sea - services, forestry and agricultural services, repair shops, - laundries, etc., on a gigantic scale. - - 7. G.H.Q managed the vast medical services for wounded and sick, - the veterinary services, the laboratories for the defence of our - men and animals against poison gas and for the gas - counter-offensive. It was responsible for the organisation of the - Chaplains' services, for educational work and the amusement of the - men. - -Such was the work of G.H.Q. It was carried on under these varying -conditions: - - 1. Maintaining a stabilised position. This was comparatively easy. - Wastage of men, horses and material could be calculated with some - certainty and replaced by a routine process. - - 2. Preparing for a big attack. This made the greatest strain on - Transport and Supply, and the necessary conditions of secrecy added - complications and difficulties. In preparing an offensive the - Traffic more than doubled per Division. The necessary making of new - railways and new roads and the accumulation of defence material to - fortify a new line were responsible for most of this. But the - accumulation of a big head of ammunition was also a factor. On a - quiet sector two Divisions could get along with about three trains - daily. For the purposes of a big attack ten Divisions might be - concentrated on that sector and those ten Divisions in the - preparatory stage of the attack would need about 33 supply trains a - day, and during the offensive about 27 trains a day. Put the - problem into terms of civil railway administration. Tell the - manager of the London to Brighton line that next week he must carry - 15 times the normal traffic for a number of days and that it is - extremely important that people observing his termini and his lines - should not notice anything unusual. - - 3. Resisting a big attack. The most difficult element of this was - its unexpectedness. The total provision needed for it was less than - for an offensive. The amount of supplies necessary to go up by - train per Division from Base would be 25 per cent. less than in the - case of the preparation of a big attack. We always carried a good - reserve stock of ammunition, food, and engineering stores close - behind the line, and a further reserve of ammunition already loaded - on trains at appropriate railway centres. In case of emergency, - ammunition could start moving up in just the time necessary to - hitch a locomotive on to a standing train. Experience of the German - offensive in 1918 showed that we carried near the front line too - great reserves, and we lost a good deal of food, stores and - ammunition in consequence. That big attack indeed disclosed several - chinks in our armour. It showed that in some cases during Trench - War units had allowed themselves to become immobile. (To give one - example, many Casualty Clearing Stations had burdened themselves - with surgical stores and equipment which should be reserved for - stationary hospitals. Thus burdened, they were tempted to evacuate - too soon). There were weaknesses, too, in Ammunition Columns, and - the railway system was not nearly elastic enough. But we pulled - through, largely because the British officer and soldier has always - a bit in reserve and never thinks so quickly or acts so bravely as - when in a tight corner. - - 4. Carrying on a general offensive. This was the supreme test of - the British Staff from August, 1918, to November, 1918. It called - for an effort that put in the category of easy things all that had - gone before. The effort was gloriously successful. The British Army - succeeded where the German Army in 1914, under far more favourable - circumstances, had failed. - -I have given only the most important of the functions of G.H.Q. and a -very inadequate idea of the conditions under which it had to carry on -its tasks, yet for all this there were only 300 officers at Montreuil -and 240 officers at the outlying directorates. - -It did not leave much chance for idleness! At G.H.Q., in my time, in my -branch, no officer who wished to stay was later than 9 a.m. at his desk; -most of the eager men were at work before then. We left at 10.30 p.m. if -possible, more often later. On Saturday and Sunday exactly the same -hours were kept. "An hour for exercise" in the afternoon was supposed -to be reserved, in addition to meal-hours; but it was not by any means -always possible. During the worst of the German offensive in the spring -of 1918 Staff officers toiled from 8.30 a.m. to midnight, with half-hour -intervals for meals. I have seen a Staff officer faint at table from -sheer pressure of work, and dozens of men, come fresh from regimental -work, wilt away under the fierce pressure of work at G.H.Q. - -The extreme character of the strain at G.H.Q. used to be recognised by a -special allowance of leave. A short leave every three months was, for a -long time, the rule. With pressure of work, that rule fell in abeyance, -and a G.H.Q. Staff Officer was lucky to get a leave within six months. -In the case of the big men at the head of the departments leave was -something to be talked of, dreamt of, but never realised. Compared with -conditions at G.H.Q. regimental work was care-free and pleasant. - -G.H.Q. was organised in this fashion. At the head was the -Commander-in-Chief and his personal staff consisting of an Assistant -Military Secretary, a Private Secretary, a Medical Officer, an Officer -in charge of escorts and five A.D.C.s. Attached to this personal staff -were an American and a French Staff Officer. There was one officer of -the Dominions on the Chief's personal staff, Captain Botha, a son of -the late General Botha, Prime Minister of South Africa. With his -personal staff the Commander-in-Chief was quartered at a chateau near -Montreuil. - -One rarely saw "the Chief." He seldom had occasion to come to the -offices in the Ecole Militaire, and it was only the highest officers who -had to go to confer with him. But his presence was always felt. There -was no more loyal band of brothers than the Grand Staff of the British -Army in 1918, and the humblest member at G.H.Q. expressed the spirit of -the Commander-in-Chief, and, within his sphere, was trying to do exactly -as the Commander-in-Chief would do. When "the Chief" did appear at -Montreuil all felt they had the right to desert work for five minutes to -go to a window to catch a glimpse of him as he passed from one side of -the Ecole Militaire to the other, or stopped in the great courtyard to -chat for a moment with one of his officers. - -Under the Chief the staff was divided into branches. There was the -"Military Secretary's Branch," a small branch under Major-General H. G. -Ruggles-Brise, whose duties were to look after honours, promotions, etc. -There was the General Staff Branch, under Lieut.-General the Hon. Sir H. -A. Lawrence, divided into the Operations Section, under Major-General J. -H. Davidson (having charge of the actual strategy and tactics in the -campaign); the Staff Duties Section, under Major-General G. P. Dawnay; -and the Intelligence Section, under Brigadier-General G. S. Clive -(having charge of the collection of information as to the enemy's -movements, dispositions, intentions, etc.). There was the -Adjutant-General's Branch, under Lieutenant-General Sir G. H. Fowke -(having charge of discipline). There was the Quartermaster-General's -Branch, under Lieutenant-General Sir Travers Clarke (having charge of -supply and transport). Finally there were certain officers with special -duties attached to G.H.Q. but not directly under any of these branches, -such as the Officer Commanding Royal Artillery, the Inspector of Machine -Gun Units, the Engineer-in-Chief, the officers in charge of Mines and -Searchlights, the Inspector of Training, the Chief Chaplains, the -Provost Marshal, and the Deputy Judge Advocate-General. - -[Illustration: LIEUT-GENERAL SIR G. H. FOWKE (Adjutant-General, B.E.F.)] - -Of the branches of the Staff, the Quartermaster-General's was far the -greatest, for under it came all the transport and supply services. This -was the formidable list: - - Director of Agricultural Production (Brig.-Gen. the Earl of - Radnor). - - Director of Army Postal Services (Brig.-Gen. Price). - - Deputy Controller of E.F. Canteens (Col. E. Benson). - - Director of Engineering Stores (Brig.-Gen. Sewell). - - Director of Forestry (Brig.-Gen. Lord Lovat). - - Director of Hirings and Requisitions, and President of Claims - Commission (Major-Gen. Rt. Hon. L. B. Friend). - - Controller of Labour (Brig.-Gen. Wace). - - Director of Ordnance Services (Major-Gen. Sir C. M. Mathew). - - Paymaster-in-Chief (Major-Gen. Sir C. A. Bray). - - Director of Remounts (Brig.-Gen. Sir F. S. Garrett). - - Controller of Salvage (Brig.-Gen. Gibb). - - Director of Supplies (Major-Gen. Carter). - - Director of Motor Transport (Major-Gen. Boyce). - - Director-General of Transportation (Major-Gen. Crookshank). - - Director of Veterinary Services (Major-Gen. Moore). - - Vice-Chairman Imperial War Graves Commission (Major-Gen. Ware). - - Director of Works (Major-Gen. Sir A. M. Stuart). - -Nor does that finish the list, for subsidiary directorates under the -Director-General of Transportation were: - - Director of Construction (Brig.-Gen. Stewart). - - Director of Docks (Brig.-Gen. Wedgewood). - - Director of Inland Water Transport (Brig.-Gen. Luck). - - Director of Light Railways (Brig.-Gen. Harrison). - - Director of Railway Traffic (Brig.-Gen. Murray). - - Director of Roads (Brig.-Gen. Maybury). - -The Transportation Directorate was, so to speak, a sub-branch of the -Staff. It had a great standard-gauge railway system which kept 900 -locomotives running, which in one day could send 196 trains from the -Bases to railheads (this irrespective of trains on lateral lines) and in -one week once moved 439,801 troops and in one month 1,539,410 troops. -Its railway system was constantly being pushed forward, being -duplicated, and being furnished with "avoiding lines." Further, -Transportation had a light railway system which carried 174,923 tons a -week. Those were only two of its activities. On inland waterways, -Transportation carried 293,593 tons a month, and it worked, in addition, -a coastal barge traffic, a cross-Channel barge service, and a -cross-Channel Ferry. Of roads, it maintained about 4,106 miles and was -always making new ones; and it took 4,400 tons of material--much of it -imported by sea--to make a mile of new road. - -These figures are impressive enough in themselves and yet give little -real sense of the full task of the Transportation Services. That can -only be realised when it is kept in mind that practically all the work -had to be carried out under conditions of shock and violent movement. It -was not a matter of peacefully carrying on a routine business. At every -point there was a constant liability to interruption and destruction by -enemy action. At every hour there was some new development requiring -some change of method, of destination. The vast machine had to be as -elastic as it was powerful. - -Yet that was only one sub-branch of the Staff. - -It will be of interest to note how all the directorates of the Q Branch -of the Staff were co-ordinated so that the man at the top could keep -control and yet not be smothered under a mass of detail. Under the head -(Lieutenant-General Sir Travers Clarke) of this Branch of the Staff were -two deputies (Major-General Ford and Major-General May). Under these -deputies were five Brigadier-Generals, and under them nine -Lieutenant-Colonels, and these Lieutenant-Colonels divided between them -82 subjects. A table showing the distribution of these subjects was -circulated throughout the Staff, and most matters got to the right -officer from the beginning, and if they were of a routine nature were -dealt with at once without further reference. Very important matters, or -new questions arising, went up to one of the Deputies and were referred, -or not, to the Q.M.G. as the circumstances dictated. Attached to the -Branch and directly under its head was an officer who had charge of all -orders and all publications. Nothing could be sent out as an order from -the Q.M.G. Branch, or nothing printed as an instruction from the Branch, -until it had gone through his hands; and it was his duty to see that one -section of the Branch did not tread on the toes of another, that orders -and publications did not overlap, and that an order in which several -directorates were interested was drafted in accordance with the views of -all of them. - -Other Branches of the Staff did not call for such elaborate -organisation, for their duties were not so various. But all worked on -very much the same plan--of delegating authority so that once a line of -action on any particular point was decided upon, a comparatively junior -staff officer could "carry on" without worrying his superiors by -frequent references. - -A G.H.Q. officer was distinguished not only by his red staff badges but -by a red and blue arm-band. An "attached officer," _i.e._, an officer -who was working with the staff as a learner or a helper and was perhaps -graded for pay, etc., as a staff officer, did not wear these -distinctions until he was actually appointed to the Staff. - -[Illustration: THE GRANDE PLACE] - -The red and blue arm-band was a chromatic outrage--its glaring colours -of course had a purpose--and quite spoiled the appearance of a tunic. -But it was dearly prized and as a rule was worn on leave, though it had -then no usefulness. In the field the distinguishing arm-band was of -great use, to indicate to officers and men the officials to whom they -could appeal in case of need. There were all sorts of arm-bands with -various colour symbols and initials in addition to the G.H.Q. one. A -list of them will indicate the complexity of the task of a modern army -in the field. Special arm-bands of different designs were authorised to -distinguish: - - General Headquarters. - Army Headquarters. - Army Corps Headquarters. - Corps Machine Gun Officers. - R.A.F. Headquarters. - Cavalry Divisional Headquarters. - Divisional Headquarters. - Tank Corps Staff. - Tank Headquarters. - Tank Brigade. - Cavalry Brigade. - Infantry Brigade. - Cavalry Divisional Artillery Headquarters. - Divisional Artillery Headquarters. - G.H.Q. Troops Headquarters. - Lines of Communication. - Provost Marshal and his assistants. - Signal Service. - Military Police. - Railway Transport Officers. - Embarkation Staff. - Staff, Directorate of Light Railways. - " " Roads. - " " Docks. - " " Transportation. - " " Inland Water Transport. - " " Broad Gauge Railways. - Light Railways District Superintendent. - " Inspector. - " Yardmaster. - " Controlman. - " Guard. - Officers, Staff Inspector War Trophies. - Servants to Military Attaches. - Stretcher bearers. - All medical personnel. - Press correspondents and servants. - Train Conducting Officers. - Checkers. - Town Majors. - Traffic Control. - Agents de Police Special. - Instructors of Machine Gun School, Lewis Gun School, - and Machine Gun Corps Base Depot. - H.Q. Corps Heavy Artillery. - Special Brigade. - Area Commandants. - Billet and Camp Wardens. - Corps Chemical Advisers. - Divisional Gas Officers. - Instructors of Divisional Gas Schools. - Camouflage Officers attached to Corps. - Salvage Corps. - Civilian Platelayers. - Intelligence Police. - Sanitary Sections. - Belgian Civ. Rly. Staff. - M.L.O. Staff at Ports. - N.C.O.s and men of Intelligence Corps. - N.C.O.s and men of Dock Directorate. - Sentries on Examining Posts. - Interpreters, Indian Labour Corps. - Interpreters, Chinese Labour Corps. - -The Military Police were supposed to be able to keep all these in memory -and an officer in the field had to know the chief ones; and he took care -to know at least that for G.H.Q., for it represented the ultimate source -of honour and blame. Nothing important could happen to him except -through G.H.Q., and that ugly red and blue arm-band always demanded -attention, sometimes, no doubt, mixed with a little resentment, because -of the idea that G.H.Q. had nothing much to do except to bother the -unhappy regimental officer. - -We all tried to "live up to" our arm-bands in the crude -stained-glass-window colours. The Commander-in-Chief set a high example -by choosing his men carefully, giving them their particular jobs and -trusting them. He was not one of those fussy souls who want to oversee -every detail. The men who worked under him knew that whilst they did -their work conscientiously and carefully he would back them against any -niggling criticism and against any back-biting. It was a good policy -judged by its results. G.H.Q., B.E.F., France, in the summer of 1918 had -probably reached as high a summit of soldierly scientific skill as the -grand Staff of any Army in the world. The business of improvisation -which had been begun in 1914 was finished, actually finished. From -G.H.Q. was directed day by day a fighting force which met the chief -brunt of the last German attack, held it; then, while it absorbed a -great flood of recruits and helped to equip and train the American Army, -prepared to take the chief part in the final victorious offensive. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -G.H.Q. AT PLAY. - -The walks on the Ramparts--The "Monks" of Montreuil had little time for -sport--Precautions against "joy-riding"--The jolly Officers' -Club--Watching the Map--Ladies at G.H.Q.? - - -There was precious little play-time at G.H.Q. But there was some. It was -spent very innocently; not to say stodgily. A walk on the Ramparts was -the chief recreation of the great majority of the officers. - -What a boon those Ramparts were! Within a minute from the Ecole -Militaire one could get on the broad walk which crowned the old walls -and could follow it round the whole circuit of the town for a mile or -more. From every point there was a rich and ample prospect; southward -over the swelling downs and little copses towards the forest of Crecy; -westward over a richer and more luxuriant plain towards the sea; -northward across the woods and marshes of the Canche; eastward along the -valley of the river and its bordering hills. On a fine day at the coming -up and the going down of the sun, and every hour between, there was a -constant festival of light and colour. Stormy and rainy skies gave -another beauty to the wide prospect. To see a storm march up in grand -procession and pass with its sombre pomp was a fearful joy; and there -was a wild beauty, too, in looking out from the walls on the beating of -the obstinate rains against hill and plain. Painters from all over the -world used to come to Montreuil to attempt to put on canvas the glow of -its summer scenes, the wild grandeur of its winters. No day was without -its special beauty, and the beauty was ever renewed afresh. - -In the early spring the chinks and crannies of the old walls burst into -bloom of gillyflowers which hung them with tapestries of gold and red -and brown, contrasting gaily with the bright green foliage of the trees -growing at the base of the Ramparts and throwing their branches up to -their very top. As the season advanced the birds came to build in the -trees, and you might peep down into their nests and hear their indignant -chirrups at being so closely overlooked. With summer and autumn came new -colours, but always splendour and glow and movement. The country around -carried that wide variety of crops in which the French peasant's thrifty -and careful culture delights. There were beans and oats and wheat and -corn and flax and mustard and bits of pasturage, and of fodder crops, -weaving their many colours into a delightful carpet pattern which -changed with every day of the year and almost with every hour of the -day. - -[Illustration: THE RAMPARTS] - -Had it not been for those Rampart walks the toilsome life of G.H.Q. at -Montreuil would have been hardly possible. The road from anywhere to -anywhere, if time allowed, was by the Ramparts. Going from the Ecole -Militaire to the Officers' Club was three minutes by the street, seven -minutes by the Ramparts, and most went by the Ramparts unless work was -hideously pressing. For those with a little more time to spare there -were enchanting rambles around the base of the Ramparts along the Canche -valley or in the old fosses of the fortifications. - -Riding was not a common exercise. Horses were scarce. Very few officers -had their own chargers; and those who had could not find time to -exercise them properly. So most of the horses at G.H.Q. were pooled, and -an officer having time and inclination took what horse was available. -There were many pleasant rides, the favourite one being a shady stretch -along the bank of the river. - -At one point of the fortifications an old fosse had been converted into -hard tennis courts, and these were used a little, but not much. It seems -tiresome to be always repeating the same fact but really there was not -time to follow tennis or any other sport. At the Officers' Club there -was not such a thing as a billiard table; and I never saw a game of -cards played there. In some of the private messes there was a feeble -attempt to keep up a Bridge or a Poker circle. But to begin to play at -cards at 11 p.m. with the knowledge that the office is calling for a -clear rested brain by nine the next morning, needs far more than -ordinary enthusiasm. I can remember playing cards only three nights -during all my time at Montreuil. - -There was a theatre at Montreuil, usually given up to cinema shows but -occasionally visited by the variety companies which were organised for -the amusement of the troops and occasionally also converted into a -lecture hall. It was well patronised on special occasions, but in the -course of a year made little total demand on officers' time. When, as -was usually the case, the theatre was given up to "the pictures" it was -filled by "other ranks." The non-commissioned officers and privates who -were clerks in the various departments had generally just as little -leisure as their officers, but some of the military population had more -time to spare; what section I do not know, for even the grooms and the -batmen had not easy places. Officers junior to the rank of -lieutenant-colonel were not allowed a batman to themselves, but one -soldier acted for two or three officers and had various fatigue duties -in addition. - -[Illustration: THE THEATRE] - -Just outside the town, G.H.Q. Recreation Ground provided a lumpy -football ground and a still more lumpy cricket ground. Both our national -games languished, however, for the stock reason--want of time. There -were teams, and occasional matches, and sometimes an enthusiastic -sportsman would send an urgent whip round to call attention to our -deplorable neglect of the games that made England great. He would get a -few half-hearted promises of reform, but there was no hope in fighting -against the great obstacle. It was like a college in which every one was -a "swotter." - -So the 300 or so Monks of Montreuil lived their laborious lives. The -balance of G.H.Q. staff, some 250, scattered about the environs of -Montreuil with their offices at Paris Plage or Le Touquet or the Forest -of Crecy, could follow a somewhat milder discipline. They were "Second -Echelon" mostly. Current operations had not much concern for them and it -was possible to take horse-back exercise, to keep up football and -cricket and even tennis and golf. At Le Touquet, which was a well-known -pleasure centre before the war, there were good golf links and some -excellent tennis courts. On occasions the Commander-in-Chief decided to -think out his problems over a round of golf, and a little bungalow was -maintained at Le Touquet for his convenience. - -Paris Plage was a splendid beach, but so far as G.H.Q. officers were -concerned its attractions were wasted. Occasionally an officer having -business at one of the Directorates near by would spare an hour for a -swim, but it was not possible on a hot Saturday or Sunday to suspend the -battle, or the preparation for the battle, in progress and adjourn as a -body to the seaside. Not only time but transport was lacking. The only -means of getting down to the beach--a distance of about twelve -miles--was by motor-car, and regulations against "joy-riding" were -strict. Not only were there regulations; there were also precautions to -see that the regulations were kept. A car could go out from G.H.Q. -garage only on an order from the officer in charge of cars, and it was -his business to get a chit as to what was the reason for the journey. -Occasionally police patrols would be stationed on the roads with -instructions to stop every car and examine its papers. This was excused -as a precaution against espionage. It was designed more to be a -precaution against waste of petrol or "joy-riding," as a few officers -found to their cost. - -So the life of the Montreuil officer resolved itself ordinarily into -this simple routine: he worked and he walked on the Ramparts. But there -was one fine relief to tedium for the majority--a dinner-party every -night. The big generals, because they had to, and a few unwise souls, -because they chose to, favoured private messes and confronted at dinner -at night the same men as they met in the office all day; and, without a -doubt, found it rather monotonous. The majority of the officers messed -at the Officers' Club, which had a couple of hundred members and could -rival the old reputation of the House of Commons as "the finest Club in -Europe." - -The qualification for joining the Officers' Club was to be an officer of -the British Army or of an Allied Army stationed at Montreuil. The -subscription was five francs per month, and for that and a ridiculously -small sum per day the Club gave members three square meals a day and -afternoon tea. The Club kept up a good cellar, and to the very last, -when good wine was almost unprocurable in London or Paris except at -exorbitant prices, the Officers' Club, Montreuil, could sell a vintage -claret or burgundy at nine francs a bottle, a decent wine at five francs -a bottle, and champagne at fifteen francs a bottle. The Expeditionary -Force Canteens were the caterers, and aimed at only a nominal profit. -Once a week there was a fixed guest night and a band, but members could -bring guests at any time. Waiting was done by Q.M.A.A.C.s, neat deft -little ladies who brought a hint of home to the exiles. - -Custom was against forming coteries. So there were constantly differing -dinner-parties, and the conversation was rich in variety and interest. -The backbone of the Mess were the Regular Army officers, the majority of -them colonels, with a sprinkling of brigadiers, a few majors and a few -captains. The majority in the Mess, however, were temporary officers, a -few of senior rank, mostly staff captains or attached officers. There -were always some visitors, a politician or some other personage from -home, staff officers from the War Office or from the various Armies, -regimental officers having business at G.H.Q., guests from the various -private messes at Montreuil. - -Talk ranged from the most serious shop to the most airy nothings. There -were experts there in almost every department of human knowledge, men -who had seen many cities and known the minds of many men. The -representatives of the Allied nations gave an extra note of variety. You -might sit at the same table with an American one night, an Italian -another, or a Frenchman or Belgian or Portuguese. The majority of men -present were distinguished men either in the Service or in some civil -profession or business. Travel, science, art and literature, were all -well represented. - -[Illustration: IN THE OFFICERS' CLUB] - -Smoking was prohibited in the Officers' Club until a certain hour, and -the Q.M.A.A.C. waitresses had no difficulty in seeing that the rule was -kept by all ranks. At an earlier date, when a sergeant-major with men -orderlies had charge of the waiting, discipline on this point was not -so easily maintained. Any junior officer lighting up before the hour was -promptly checked. But a sergeant-major found it difficult to take -"disciplinary action" against an officer of General rank. One evening a -very lofty general indeed, a visitor to the Mess, started a huge cigar -at 8 o'clock. Smoking was not allowed until 8.20. The sergeant-major was -a man of resource. Bringing in a ladder, he mounted to the Mess clock -and solemnly set it on to 8.20. A General was smoking, therefore it must -be 8.20. - -As I have said, they fed us very well at the Mess. But of course we -grumbled at the food and found one point of criticism in the fish. -Montreuil being practically a seaside town, the fish was naturally not -good, authority having transferred to this English colony in France the -invariable tradition of British seaside resorts to send all the fresh -fish away and consume the refuse. Our fish was always plaice, and it was -often plaice that had known better days. One wag spoke of it as the -"vintage plaice," professed to know that it had been "laid down" the -year the war started, and that the "bins" would not be exhausted until -the war ended. - -But the plaice was never a really serious grievance. It gave -opportunity, but not valid cause, to grumble, and discussion of it died -away after an officer one night quoted mock heroically: - - Ah, friend--had this indubitable fact - Haply occurred to poor Leonidas - How had he turned tail on Thermopulai! - It cannot be that even his few wits - Were addled to the point that, so advised, - Preposterous he had answered--"Cakes are prime, - Hearth-sides are snug, sleek dancing-girls have worth, - And yet for country's sake, to save our gods - Their temples, save our ancestors their tombs, - Save wife and child and home and liberty,--I - would chew sliced-salt-fish, bear snow--nay, starve - If need were--and by much prefer the choice!" - -After dinner the routine was to go and look at the map before settling -down again to work. Military Intelligence, in one of its rooms, kept -up-to-date hour-by-hour a map of the fighting front, and after dinner we -would crowd to this room to see the latest official news put up on the -map and to hear the latest unofficial stories which embroidered the -news. One evening, as a great advance on our part was marked up on the -map, the clerk, moving the flag-pins, announced: - -"They say the enemy cleared out so quickly that they left the hospitals -behind, and the Australian corps has captured 50 German nurses. They -report that they are looking well after them." - -A titter went round the group of officers. It happened to be the night -after the story had circulated--a story which President Wilson has since -adopted among his family of anecdotes--that the Australians, having the -Americans to co-operate with, had had to remonstrate with them for their -undue rudeness to the Germans. The Australians had a reputation for -being quite direct enough in their method of teaching the Boche not to -be a Boche. - -The titter, perhaps, had an injurious inference to some ears, for a -General officer remarked, a little sternly: - -"Gentlemen, the Australians are a gallant race. The German--er--ladies -will be quite safe with them." - -So, of course, it proved. It was fiction that any Colonial troops showed -an undue sternness to prisoners. The average German knew that he was -quite safe in the hands of any British unit--whether it was from -Australia, Canada, or the Motherland. - -The after-dinner peep at the map was a great finish to dinner. When the -Armistice was signed officers were disconsolate for the loss of their -ten minutes in the M.I. room. "I miss," said one, "our pleasant daily -habit of advancing ten kilometres on a front of fifty kilometres." - -No, life at G.H.Q. was sober and strenuous, but it was not dull or -tedious. If a man has good work to do, lovely aspects of Nature to look -upon, interesting company at his meals, he has all the real essentials -of contentment; well, most of them. - - * * * * * - -Ladies at G.H.Q.? An almost accurate chapter might be written on this -point on the lines adopted in that exhaustive and conscientious book on -Iceland, which had a brief chapter: - - _The Snakes of Iceland._ - - There are no snakes in Iceland. - -There were no ladies at G.H.Q., not at any rate in the sense that would -be in the mind of the average inquirer. On the too rare occasions when I -was able to get a leave from G.H.Q., or was sent over to London on a -task, the civilians I encountered in London exhibited a considerable -interest in the ladies that were thought to haunt G.H.Q. - -This was by no manner of means an entirely or indeed a mainly feminine -curiosity. Many people have an ineradicable idea that an Army on a -campaign ravages the hearts of all the female population of the occupied -territory, as well as drawing on the beauty of its own land to recruit -charming camp followers. I can recall, on returning from a small war -some time before 1914, attending a dinner-party in London and being -tremendously flattered at the fact that as soon as the ladies went -upstairs all the men (some of them very distinguished men) crowded -round me in a spirit of inquiry. With all the resources at my disposal I -framed in my mind a brief and vivid appreciation of the campaign. -But--they did not want to know why the Turkish Army failed or the -Serbian Army succeeded. Someone rather well known in London had got into -a scrape in the course of the campaign, and there were some very -scandalous details alleged. My eager inquirers wanted to know all those -scandalous details, and were obviously disappointed to learn that there -was no reasonable foundation for them, and at once lost all interest in -the campaign. My "appreciation" had not the chance to be uttered. - -Probably they concluded I was rather an unintelligent person not to have -discovered all the horrid details. Certainly those to whom I told the -truth about the ladies and G.H.Q. thought I was either very sly or very -unobservant. Indeed one very hearty old gentleman, with a great passion -for horrid details, patted me on the back publicly. - -"That's right, that's right. I admire you for sticking to your friends. -But of course we do not believe you." - -Categorically, it is _not_ a fact that "beautiful leaders of British -society" constantly graced G.H.Q. with their presence. In the very early -stages of the war some of the "Smart Set" considered it rather the -thing to get over to the battlefields and make a week-end sensation of a -glimpse at the Calvary of Civilisation. They usually got over through -the influence of political friends, and most often by way of the Belgian -section of the Front, which was not so sternly guarded as the British or -French sections. Military authority discountenanced these -visits--however "fashionable" and beautiful the visitors--and soon put a -stop to them. After 1914, except nurses and Q.M.A.A.C.s it was very rare -for a woman to enter British Army areas. Those few who did come had very -definite business and were expected to attend very strictly to that -business and then to move off. - -There was a suspicion that some few, a very few, "workers" were in -France not so much for work as because they found it amusing. These got -no further than the Base ports as a rule, and were not officially -encouraged. The vast majority of the women workers in France were there -for patriotism's sake, attended strictly to their business, and had no -time (or inclination, presumably) for frivolity. - -All this is very disappointing, I am aware. But it is true. The life we -lived at G.H.Q. was truly monastic. We never saw an English woman unless -she were a nurse or Q.M.A.A.C. or some other uniformed fellow-officer or -fellow-soldier. - -[Illustration: THE PLACE GAMBETTA] - -Nor was there any idle local feminine society to take the thoughts of -officers from the stern tasks of war. Montreuil was very, very prim and -dull even for a small French provincial town. There may still be some -people whose ideas of French social life are based on those quarters of -Paris whose theatres, books, newspapers, restaurants, manners are shaped -by the wishes (or fancied wishes) of the floating population of visitors -and of a small section of idle and worthless French. But I fancy that in -these days such people are few; and most people know that the average of -French life is not at all like Montmartre or the Latin Quarter, which -are less typical of France than, say, Piccadilly Circus is of England. -For thorough straight-laced respectability there is nothing to beat a -small French provincial town. - -Montreuil was the most respectable place one could imagine before the -war. It sheltered a small colony of artists in the summer, attracted by -the wonderful panoramas from the ramparts; but they came to work, and -did not bring with them what is supposed to be the atmosphere of the -Latin Quarter. The local population was exceedingly decorous and rather -inclined to be clerical in sympathy, for Montreuil was a great centre -for schools. - -During our occupation of the town as the home of G.H.Q. there might be -noted occasionally the arrival from Paris, or elsewhere, of some gay -young lady or couple of ladies who, having heard that the British Army -had its headquarters there, had decided, from motives of patriotism, of -_camaraderie_, or from less admirable motives, to come and enliven the -dullness of the place. Departure would follow with ungallant -promptitude. The same day, or the next, the lady would move away, with a -gendarme to see that she did not miss her train. - -The monastic severity of life at G.H.Q. relaxed a little, I think, when -the immediate environs of Montreuil were passed. Then you had got out of -the area of First Echelon G.H.Q. and were in that of the Second Echelon, -which was largely made of subsidiary services not so directly concerned -with the administration of the fighting Army. Life was a little less -strenuous, and perhaps Aphrodite was not altogether neglected for Ares. -Here conditions reflected the average attitude of the British Army -administration in the matter of morals, which was practically that of -British civilian life, with somewhat more precaution and guardianship -but no grandmotherly supervision. The female personnel of the Army was -very carefully safeguarded. The male personnel, if it were absolutely -bent on it, could find opportunities for mischief in some of the Base -towns. G.H.Q. itself--partly perhaps because of the necessity of extreme -safeguards against espionage--was expected to lead a strictly single -life; to conform to the perfect standard that was supposed to rule in -the Provost Marshal's branch. That rigour, of course, was dictated not -by an exceptional prudery in the P.M. authorities but by military -convenience. Ordinarily, outside of G.H.Q. and the Provost Marshal's -branch, there was a margin allowed for human error. - -Paris Plage, the jolly beach at the mouth of the Canche near Montreuil, -was for a long time "out-of-bounds" to all British troops. Paris Plage -had, in pre-war days, rather a "Montmartre" reputation in Paris. It was -the beach for the cheap tripper. It was the beach to which the -hardworking _bourgeois_ of the city who had to stick to his bureau -during the summer sent his wife, and came down to see her on Sundays. It -was also the beach for the Don Juan of modest means to visit with his -temporary Juanita. Not this Paris reputation reacting on the traditional -British hypocrisy caused the long-standing ban on Paris Plage, but -practical sanitary reasons. It had not then a good reputation from the -point of view of health. But as the size and the activities of G.H.Q. -increased and it was necessary to find places for new departments near -Montreuil, Paris Plage had to be utilised. After being subjected to a -drastic sanitary inquisition it was thrown open to the troops and became -the headquarters of several minor departments. - -But of course the old gay life did not return. It was no longer a suburb -of Montmartre. Still it preserved a certain air of rakishness. Going -through there in a car one day with another staff officer we noticed a -little shop in the windows of which were displayed very coquettishly two -or three filmy articles of feminine _dessous_. A lightning glance -through the door showed that there was quite a bevy of fair shop -assistants--about three assistants to each item of merchandise. In the -window there was this simple device, in English: - - CHEQUES CASHED. - -We dared not investigate further. A G.H.Q. car is so clearly -recognisable as such that it could not stop outside, and the subterfuge -of drawing up at the Directorate of Inkstands and making a -reconnaissance on foot we felt to be _infra dig_. It was only possible -to pass the shop slowly on the return journey, and to look out for it -the next month when going that way again. It was still open, still bore -its artless device. It was a little bit of the old life of Paris Plage -that had escaped the shocks of war. - -In very truth we were a dull lot from one point of view. Even the -conversation at meals was ordinarily wanting in that type of anecdote -which--as Walpole said when he was asked why it was rife at his table, -where sat the greatest men of Europe, who should have had something -better to talk about--is popular "because every man understands it." -Perhaps the propriety of our conversation was partly due to the fact -that there was nearly always a padre within earshot. Perhaps I may dare -the explanation of the general absence of "sex interest" in our lives, -that here were gathered together a band of men with very exacting and -very important work to do, and that they simply had not time nor -inclination to bother about what is usually an amusement of idle lives. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE MUNITIONS OF THE WAR. - -The Shell shortage--When relief came--The dramatic Tanks--Bombs--Some -ammunition figures--The ingenious inventor. - - -As soon as any subject is involved in political discussion the facts -about it are apt to be distorted in the interests of some particular -view. The "Shell shortage" in the early stages of the war has become in -a sense a political issue; and that I do not intend to discuss. But some -facts about munitions supply must be given--for that was the very pivot -of the war--irrespective of what political case they help or harm. - -The British Force at the outset of the war suffered from a shell and gun -shortage as compared with its enemy, because it had been trained and -equipped for a different type of warfare from that which actually came. -It had very little high explosive shell, and what it had was rarely -"high explosive" in the real sense of the term. The patient search for a -foolproof fuse had been so successful that our H.E. shell was -comparatively inoffensive when it reached the enemy's lines. It -spluttered off rather than shattered off. All this was put right in -time. But the difficulties which the Munitions Supply Department had to -face at the outset were enormous. There were, considered in the lights -of the needs of this war, practically no shells, no guns, and no -machinery for making them. Essential material was lacking in many cases, -and the only source of quick supply was Germany, which alone in the -world had organised for war. - -But all difficulties were overcome. How great the growth some -comparative figures will show. The production of high explosive in 1914 -was almost negligible. The year's supply would not keep the guns of 1918 -going for a day. In 1915 we began to produce high explosive on a large -scale, and in amounts which made the 1914 output seem contemptible, but -still in quite inadequate quantities. In 1916 we had increased the 1915 -amount sevenfold. In 1917 we had increased that 1916 amount fourfold. -From March, 1915, to March, 1917, the increase was twenty-eight fold. Of -machine-guns we made samples in 1914 and we began to manufacture -quantities in 1915. In 1917 we made twenty times as many as in 1915. Of -aeroplanes the figures mounted in steep flights. In 1916 we seemed to be -producing vastly. In 1917 the rate of production for the first six -months had increased fourfold as compared with the previous year, and -another great acceleration was in progress. - -In the end we were enormously superior to any other Army in the field in -the matter of munitions. To the very day of the Armistice improvements -in the quality and rate of productions were still going on in -preparation for the Spring, 1919, campaign, which it was anticipated -would end the war. The German threw up the sponge before then. If he had -waited he would have been literally blown out of his trenches and his -chief cities. - -In one sense, of course, we never had enough, but if I were asked to -name a date on which a serious shortage of munitions ceased I should say -September 19th, 1915, on the eve of the battle of Loos. On that date, a -year after Trench War began, word was passed around to the batteries of -the British line in a phrase copied from the provision shops of London: -"Ammunition is cheap to-day." Every gun-pit stocked up with shell. The -gates of the dumps were opened and shell fairly poured out. Battery -Commanders, who knew the days when one shell per gun per day was the -limit allowed, saw with joy thousands of shells, and, as they began -eagerly to fire them off, thousands more coming. - -On the 23rd of September a regular bombardment of the whole German line -facing the British line began. The artillery was undertaking the -preliminary work of wire-cutting and parapet pounding. The 18-pounders -with shrapnel, the howitzers with high explosive, started at dawn, and -all through the day systematically smashed away at the German's -defences. That went on for two more days. The fourth day we intensified -our shell-fire. Along many sections of the Front the German wire was -down, and the parapet of the German trench breached. The enemy increased -his artillery fire, too, attacking our trenches and searching for our -observing stations and batteries, but on the whole getting the worst of -the artillery duel. On the morning of the 25th the final artillery duel -began. It was the greatest artillery bombardment in history up to that -date, though afterwards so eclipsed by the records of the Somme, the -Ancre and of Messines as to be remembered as a mere splutter. But at the -time it was vastly impressive. - -The morning was dull but the flashes of guns were so continuous as to -give a light which was almost unbroken. It flickered, but it never -failed. The earth itself quivered and shook with the repeated shocks of -the guns. The air became a tattered hunted thing, torn wisps of it blown -hither and thither by the constant explosions. - -The Battle of Loos did not give us the break-through we expected, but, -in so far as my observation is worth anything, the reason was not lack -of munitions. Loos showed that the task was a more complicated one than -merely smashing down the front line of enemy trenches. "Trench War" was -resumed, whilst the British Army prepared for the next phase opening in -July, 1916, with the first Battle of the Somme. By then munitions supply -had grown gigantically and in the mechanics of war we were far ahead of -the Germans. This was not only in artillery but in infantry equipment -and in our unique weapon the "Tank," which was the mechanical -contrivance having the most decisive results on the issue of the war. -These appeared in September, 1916, two years after "Trench War" had -begun, and were ultimately destined to make that sort of war impossible, -a task which the German poison gas had failed to accomplish. - -As a race we are never consciously dramatic, or I would have imagined on -that September 1916 morning that the arrival of the Tanks on the Somme -front had been carefully timed and stage-managed. The morning was dull -and misty. Over the seared and terrible land little wisps of fog rose -and fell. All likeness to our gentle mother earth had been battered out -of the fields, which were rubbish-heaps of churned-up debris of bodies, -dust, weapons--hideously pock-marked by the eruption of the shells. -Where had been villages were dirtier patches of desolation. Where had -been woods, groups of splintered stumps. It was an abomination of -desolation, like as when the earth was first formed out of the void. In -the midst of this desolation out of the mist came, crawling uncouthly, -the Tanks, like prehistoric saurians. - -The German forces were obviously frightened by the Tanks, which climbed -over their trenches, and impervious to rifle bullets, smashed up -machine-gun emplacements and redoubts. But that Tank of 1916 was nothing -like the perfected machine of 1918. Its rear steering wheel was a -weak-spot liable to be shot away. Its pace was too slow for it to keep -up with charging infantry. No real tactics had been evolved for its use. - -But, such as it was, that Tank at first brought alarm to more than the -enemy. In going to and from the battle front it "got the wind up" many a -British dug-out. Here is an artillery officer's yarn of the first "Tank -night": - -"Our 'Mess' was a roofed-over shell-hole a mile or so in front of -Martinpuich. The roof would keep out shrapnel bits but was no use -against a direct hit from a shell. I was Orderly Dog for the night and -it was my business to take action, when, outside, a strange spluttering, -growling, scratching, spitting sound broke into the steady barking of -the guns. It was like a thousand cats, a hundred dogs, and a sea-sick -elephant or two scrambling and squabbling together in a dust-hole. I -went to investigate. A Tank wandering home was within ten yards of our -Mess, heading straight for it. With all the _insouciance_ I could -command at such a crisis I begged the Tank to stop; urged that our roof -was designed to keep out splinters only and was neither shell-proof nor -Tank-proof; pointed out that if it persisted in its course seven -artillery officers, some of whom had wives and children, and all of whom -had mothers, would be pulped. Then I became calmer and told the Tank -that there was some wine in the Mess and even some whisky and soda, if -the Tank would now stop and have a drink. Fortunately a Tank is a slow -mover and my cooler arguments had effect by the time it had got within -five yards of our roof-tree. Then it backed water and we were safe. The -Tank is a noble animal, but it adds a little to the anxieties of life -underground." - -[Illustration: THE FOSSE] - -"The Tank" was the great mechanical find of the war, and it was an -all-British find. High authority had many fine name-proposals for the -useful monsters, but Tommy took the matter into his own hands and coined -the word "Tank," and "Tank" it remained. Those who are interested in -matters of language may note that the French do not use the word "Tank" -but describe a "Tank" as a _char d'assaut_, which is accurate, but has a -weak look. It is an illustration of their jealous and admirable care -of their language. They will not allow foreign words to intrude if that -can be avoided. We, on the other hand, are quite careless about our -language. The orders of our Army in France were bespattered with French -words and phrases for which there were quite good English equivalents. -(_Gare regulatrice_ for "distributing station" is one of the many scores -of cases in point.) It is a pity that we are so careless in regard to -our mother tongue. I made an effort once to persuade G.H.Q. that British -Army orders and instructions should be put out in English without any -foreign admixture, but met with little sympathy. The intrusion of French -words was not so bad, but German words had an almost equal degree of -hospitality. - - * * * * * - -But to return to our munitions. The hand bomb was a weapon which by 1914 -we had allowed to fall out of use. The British Grenadiers no longer -threw grenades. But Trench War brought back the bomb as a weapon, and -our bomb was soon better than the German bomb. At the first Somme battle -(1916) we showed a definite superiority in bomb supply and bomb use. -This development was altogether in our favour. The bomb--beastly weapon -as it is, and beastly as are the wounds it inflicts--lends its favour to -the quicker brain, the prompter courage, the keener leadership. The -football field and the cricket green both give a good foundation for the -murderous art of bombing. As soon as we had the bombs our bombing -superiority grew with every day. - -An instance to illustrate bombing: For the taking of the village of -Contalmaison (1916) a preliminary task was the capture of Horse Shoe -trench. The attack on this was prospering when it was held up at a -critical point by the unmasking of a German machine gun on our right -flank. To the fire of this gun we were fully exposed, and its effect was -murderous. A young cricketer rose to the occasion. Single-handed he -rushed the gun with a bag of bombs, got to his distance and destroyed it -with a couple of "hot returns from the outfield." - -In using ammunition the B.E.F. put up some startling records. On August -8th, 1918, when our big final thrust began there were used 15,598 tons -in a single day. On September 29th, 1918, there were used 23,706 tons. -Here are some other big figures: - - Date. Battle. Amount. - - 1/7/16 Somme 12,776 tons - 9/4/17 Vimy 24,706 " - 3/6/17 Arras 17,162 " - 7/6/17 Messines 20,638 " - 31/7/17 Ypres 22,193 " - 20/9/17} Polygon Wood 42,156 " - 21/9/17} - -In the depots in France we kept a reserve of 258,000 tons of ammunition, -and the issues in a normal month ran to about that figure though it -varied a good deal month by month. Thus the average expenditure during -the last months of 1918 was: May, 5,478 tons daily; June, 4,748 tons -daily; July, 5,683 tons daily; August, 9,046 tons daily; September, -8,576 tons daily; October, 4,748 tons daily; November, 3,158 tons daily. -On November 11th, the last day of the war, we used 233 tons of -ammunition. - -Different varieties of ammunition had widely different rates of use. The -gigantic 15-inch howitzer on some days did not fire a single round. It -was a "big day" when it fired fifty rounds. It was just as well that it -was not a gun which indulged in thousands of rounds, for a ten-ton -broad-gauge railway truck would only take twelve rounds for it. The -18-pounder field gun would shoot 100,000 rounds on a normal day, and on -a heavy day would use 200,000 rounds. The cost of ammunition was, in a -time of heavy fighting, up to 3,000,000 pounds _per day_. - -A heavy item in munitions was for defence against poison gas and for our -own poison gas service. We entered with extreme reluctance into the -ghastly business, but once we started we soon made the German sorry that -he had brought that element into the war. Our gases were more potent and -more plentiful than his. For lack of material he could not give his men -perfect gas protectors, while to our men we could and did. - -The last loathsome trick of the enemy in this direction was the -introduction of mustard gas, a powerful corrosive which was discharged -from shells. The use of mustard gas by the enemy raised a number of -problems for Supplies as apart from the Medical Staffs. The disinfection -with chloride of lime of ground contaminated with the gas, a prompt -change of clothing and bath treatment for men affected, proved -efficacious in dealing with mustard gas. There was, too, safety in -protective overalls of oilskin. Mustard gas affected the Veterinary -Service heavily, there being many casualties to horses and mules through -passing over ground infected with the gas. - - * * * * * - -The inventive spirit was naturally strong in the Army, and some of the -most useful of the new ideas in the way of munitions or equipment came -from men in the Field. These ideas were tested in the Army workshops, -and occasionally there was a certain amount of waste owing to the same -idea, or nearly the same idea, being experimented with simultaneously in -more than one Army. So an Army Order from Home recalled the King's -Regulation that War Office approval must be obtained before experimental -work was done in regard to any invention. But this, it was urged from -G.H.Q., would act prejudicially to the interests of the Force in France, -since many very useful inventions regarding stores and material had come -from officers and men of the Force and it was not in the best interests -of the public to put any obstacles in the way of future inventions. This -was recognised, and a subsequent Army Order gave authority to the -Commander-in-Chief of any Expeditionary Force to authorise trials of -inventions; but precautions were taken in regard to duplication and -overlapping. - -There were not in the Field so many foolish inventors as at Home. No -such merry idea came to G.H.Q. as that anti-submarine device with which -the Admiralty was plagued--a liquid air shell which on being exploded -anywhere in the vicinity of a submarine formed an extensive iceberg -(through the lowering of the surrounding temperature by a release of the -liquid air from pressure). On this iceberg the submarine would be -brought to the surface. The next step would be easy: open with an oyster -knife, sprinkle with pepper and salt and a dash of lemon juice, and -serve. - -The B.E.F. had never anything quite so naive as that. Its limit was the -inventor who claimed to be able to project an X-ray from an electric -battery so that it would kill anything within 1,000 yards. This -invention would have been a great war-stopper. It would have been only -necessary to set up a sufficient number of the projectors along our -Front, switch on the current and march on to Berlin. It was offered at a -time when inventions were rather the fashion, and it needed courage to -scoff at even the most curious notion. So it actually got to the stage -of a trial with a High Authority present. The inventor set up his -projector; an animal was let loose within its deadly range and, surely -enough, dropped dead. Unfortunately for the inventor a medical scoffer -subjected the animal to a _post mortem_ examination and found that it -had evidently resolved on suicide, for it had taken a large dose of -strychnine. This discouraged further trials of the X-ray device. - -The inventor with a "wireless" device for exploding enemy magazines also -cropped up. You projected a wireless ray and it blew up a dump. This -invention could be very convincingly demonstrated within your own lines. -All that was necessary was to provide in the dump a certain amount of -loose explosive, a fulminate, and a receiver tuned to receive your -wireless message. We were not on sufficiently good terms with the -Germans to persuade them to arrange their ammunition depots in this way -for our convenience. - -There was a close _liaison_ kept up between the B.E.F. and the Ministry -of Munitions. When Mr. Winston Churchill was Minister of Munitions he -was over in France so frequently that a small chateau was kept up for -him at G.H.Q. He was wont to come into the Officers' Club for his meals. -There was always an air about him that he would have liked to be in the -jack-boots of his famous ancestor and give the world a spectacle of -another Marlborough winning victories in Flanders. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE MEDICAL SERVICES. - -The magic-workers of the war--Fighting the Germans--Concerning the -Victorian primness of conversation and the present popularity of "v.d." -as a theme for small talk--The Army and "v.d."--The etiquette of -hospitals and the ways of matrons--The war against Trench Feet--Mustard -gas in 1918. - - -Probably more than half the men at G.H.Q. had been "crocked" at one time -or another during the campaign, from wounds or one of those fevers of -the battlefield born of mud and filth and fatigue. Some came to work on -the Staff whilst still under medical treatment, and there was a local -hospital at Montreuil which was a boon to those out-patients needing -massage for their scars or quinine for their fevers. - -Apart from the doctors of this hospital only the very big men of the -medical services appeared ever at G.H.Q. It was a pleasure not easily -won to persuade them to talk over their work. But when they did talk, -what wonders they had to tell of! - -[Illustration: A BY-WAY] - -Socrates in prison, when the fetters were taken off his legs, as he -rubbed them to make the blood run freely again, speculated on how -pleasure always followed pain, so that the two seemed to be linked -together by some unbreakable bond. One would like to hear Socrates -to-day, as his limb, injured in Flanders, was rubbed back to usefulness, -talking to his masseur on the good that will follow the evil of the -Great War as surely as if the two had been linked together and one was -the consequence of the other. Matter for a fine homily there from the -stubborn old hero with the divinely clear mind! - -Those optimists who thought that a new heaven and a new earth would come -at the end of the war, and that even all politicians would become -sincere, alert, and vigorous in the public service, were perhaps not -reasonable and may be disappointed in some measure; but no one can -observe closely the phenomena of the war without being sure that from -its sacrifices and lessons much good will come. The dreadful fire that -had to be kindled to burn out the cancer of Germanism burned out evil -too in the nations that were the instruments of vengeance. Peoples who -went into war iron will come out steel ultimately; for the war, as well -as being preservative, will prove regenerative. - -There is no better proof of this than in the tale of our campaigns -against the germs, those pitiless enemies who are always attacking -human content and happiness. It was a wonderful part of the war, that -defensive and offensive against Disease, with its trench systems which -hold up foes whom we cannot destroy with our present weapons; its -Intelligence Department, spying with a thousand microscopes into the -designs and dispositions of the enemy; its clever diplomatic service, -always raising up allies in our blood against germ invasion; its long -illustrious roll of heroes who have given up life or health to hold -positions against odds or to go out on forlorn hopes. - -In this the benefits springing out from the Great War show splendid and -palpable. In the process of beating the Germans we made such great -advances in the war against the germs that we greet peace as a -definitely healthier people, organised to save, in a generation or two, -for service in this world, more than the total of all those who went to -a Higher Service from the fields of France and Belgium. - -Because the war has given a sounder national discipline, because it has -cleared so many obstacles from the path of medical organisation, the -world's death-rate, according to sound calculations, will in future -years show a substantial decrease. The toll taken by the Germans will be -more than made up by the lives saved from the germs. The British -Medical Service, following in the path of the victorious British Army, -and wielding an authority that it never knew before, carried on a war -against disease in Europe, Asia, and Africa that is now saving thousands -of lives, and will save millions in the ultimate result. Enteric, -cholera, dysentery, scurvy, small-pox, beri-beri, malaria, phthisis were -fought successfully. Even that national British disease, rheumatism, was -pushed back from some of its trenches and compelled to surrender not a -few of its ridges. - -Fascinating as a fairy tale, absorbing as a good detective story, -stimulating as the records of a stubborn battle, will be the record of -British medical work in the Great War when it comes to be written. It -will not be a story merely of drains and drugs and dressings, but also -of kindly amulets and beneficent golden fishes; of wicked germs who -chalk their throats to deceive with soft talk little red corpuscles; of -fairy princes who destroy wicked enchantments with spells from tiny -glass tubes. Those attentive gentlemen experimenting with neck ribbons -smeared with potent charms have not come to their second childhood; they -are on the track of the perfect cimicifuge which will keep lice off the -body and, keeping off lice, will reduce the range of typhus and other -diseases. A great tank of little live fish sent out to a malaria Front -does not mean that we are relapsing into the old Chinese school of -medicine (which prescribed a live mouse to be swallowed whole as a -remedy for one complaint), but that these little fish love to eat the -eggs of the anopheles mosquito, which spreads malaria. It lays its eggs -in ponds; the fish eat the eggs; the eggs don't hatch; the mosquitoes -don't come; and there is less malaria. - -If your mind is more attracted by detective stories than by fairy tales, -turn to a bacteriological laboratory and watch the tracking down of the -Hidden Hand that is responsible for odious diseases; for example, that -one known popularly as spotted fever, a very deadly disease of -over-crowding. A cunning criminal is the spotted fever germ, and he has -not yet been quite fully identified and convicted. A victim of spotted -fever has in his throat and spinal fluid the causative germ; but this -germ hides behind a smoke cloud of other germs and must be placed quite -definitely before it can be destroyed. It was found that it is a germ -shaped like a double bean, that it is to be distinguished from other -germs of the same shape by the fact that its hide is impervious to a -certain stain which those other germs will absorb. It was further found -that this spotted fever germ would not increase and multiply at a warmth -of 23 degrees C., whilst otherwise similar germs would. There certain -knowledge stopped for a time. Other double-bean, non-staining, -non-growing at 23 degrees C. germs existed, among whom the real criminal -lived and hid. Finally, four bad brother germs were found and are now -being dealt with, and the disease is no longer a serious menace. - -The divine purpose for good that runs stubbornly through life and has -made it impossible for the murderous German plans to thrive in spite of -all our neglects and stupidities, crops up insistently in the story of -the British medical campaign in this war. Thus, chlorine gas came into -the field first as the poison gas of the Germans; it remained in the -field on the British side chiefly as a means for purifying water. - - * * * * * - -One interesting result of the war which we noticed at G.H.Q. was the -abandonment of the Early Victorian primness in conversation in England. -Soldiers going home on leave noticed it from 1916 onwards; and on the -balance of the evidence I do not think they were at all responsible for -it. They would go away from Boulogne, after an extra careful bath and -the putting on of a clean tunic, with a steady resolution to put away -from their thoughts and their tongues all the coarseness of the camp; -and find themselves at their first dinner party in England tackled by -some young lady in her teens on the subject of lice; or by some matron -not yet in the thirties on the subject of venereal disease at the Front. -They would come back often with a distinct feeling of shame-shock, to -welcome the comparative reticence of Mess conversation. - -It was my duty once to see the representative of an organisation that -wished to have lectures delivered to all the soldiers on the subject of -"v.d." To my surprise the representative proved to be a lady--and a -young and attractive lady at that. She plunged into her subject without -the least trace of embarrassment. She wanted lectures, with pictures, in -every recreation hut of the B.E.F., France, and was firm to brush away -the objection that "the men might not like it," and scornful of the -reservation that if the lectures were permitted they were not to be -"parade lectures," _i.e._, the men were not to be compelled to attend. - -Finally, discovering that though the lady wanted "pictures" she had not -the pictures but expected the Army to supply them, I took refuge in a -subterfuge. "Very sorry, very sorry indeed, but there is no Vote out of -which we can get the pictures." - -But the lady was insistent. She knew that there were cinematographs -provided for the soldiers. - -"Oh, but that is not my department. That is Amusements." - -"Very well," she said firmly. "I'll see Amusements." - -And she went away to convince some other Staff Officer that universal -lectures on v.d., with pictures, would be an appreciated Amusement. - -I do not know where the idea sprang from that v.d. was very common in -the Army. So far as my observation went, and from what inquiries I made -of medical officers, the opposite was the case. Among the officers with -whom I came into touch during the campaign--many hundreds in the -aggregate--I only heard of one case. Among the men of my battery before -I was on the Staff I never heard of one case during 18 months of -regimental life. - -The Army's standard of health in this respect was better than that of -the average of the civilian population. There were some tragic -outbreaks--one in Cairo, another (of much less seriousness) with Amiens -as its focus--but on an average the record was good. - -British ideas did not favour the degrees of regulation and interference -in this matter that other countries tolerate. But the soldier had some -safeguards which the civilian had not. For instance it was the duty of -the Assistant Provost Marshal of a Division, whenever a man reported -sick from v.d., to go to the hospital, interview the patient and try to -find out the _fons et origo_. If his mission were successful the person -responsible was promptly expelled from the Army area. - -One of the Dominion Corps adopted the method of advising prophylactic -precautions (and supplying the means of prophylaxis). The British Army -on a whole did not follow that course, though in the later stages of the -campaign the means of prophylaxis were available if applied for. - -But enough on that point. It was the surgical rather than the medical -side of the R.A.M.C. that interested G.H.Q. So many had "taken a knock" -and put in a spell at a hospital. Opinion was practically unanimous that -"Hospital" was a place of real human sympathy as well as devoted skill, -and that "sister" was the best pattern of womankind. - -It is etiquette in the Army to call her always "Sister," though -technically "sister" is an intermediate grade between "nurse" and -"matron." Matron is a great dignitary. She has, in the language of the -Bar, "taken silk," and when her silk gown rustles into the room it is -etiquette for officers to stand up, provided they have legs and strength -to stand up. Otherwise you "come to attention" by smiling as well as you -can; a respectful, cheerful, but not an hilarious or free-and-easy -smile. It should convey the message that you are having the time of your -life in the best possible of hospitals under the best possible of -matrons. The Sister whose patient you are will be very much hurt if you -do not smile properly at Matron. "Sister" is of many different grades of -skill, but of an almost unvarying grade of devotion, the highest. - -A "strafer," in hospital language, is a Sister who by ten years or so of -hard anxious work and self-denial has reached to the height of an office -boy's wage and a professional skill which saves lives daily and cuts -weeks off one's stay in hospital. You are always glad when she has gone -away from your wound, but at the back of your gladness is the knowledge -that you want her for next dressing. A good "strafer" goes over a wound -with the enthusiasm of a thrush with a large family going over a lawn -for worms. She examines, searches, squeezes, probes, looking out for -shed pieces of bone, for "proud flesh," for odd corners where -inflammatory matter might lurk. She is looking for mischief, and any -mischief found is promptly "strafed." If it is bad she calls in the -doctor; if it is minor she has her own little armoury of -mischief-breakers, scissors, pincers, nitrate of silver, and the like. - -Matrons are easily offended. At a certain hospital in France the King -was half expected as a visitor. The Matron at once had a bad attack of -decoration fever. As I was a lightly-wounded that time I assisted her -policy of deceiving his Majesty into thinking that the hospital was -always a fairy bower by going out and "finding" some flowers. Then -Matron had clean quilts on all the beds, and the order went forth that -these were to be kept creaseless and smooth. But one patient would -persist in crooking up his knees. Matron argued with him. He disloyally -pleaded that he was much more comfortable that way. Now, having got the -flowers for the ward, I thought I had the right to give advice as a sort -of accomplice, and I suggested mildly: "Better break his knees, Matron." - -She was offended. Then the King did not come after all; and I think she -was inclined to blame me for that. - -But matrons are not altogether an evil; like the Staff and adjutants and -brigade majors, they are at the worst necessary evils, at the best quite -good sorts. But there is one matron-habit that should be dealt with -sternly by regulation. If a very pretty nurse were posted to a hospital, -Matron generally tried to assign her to the sick sisters' ward. -Obviously that was bad strategy. The prettiness of their nurse would -have no cheering effect on sick sisters, but to sick officers a pretty -sister irresistibly suggests the wisdom of getting well quickly. -Fortunately the supply of pretty sisters is too great to allow of their -all being absorbed in wards for sick sisters. - -[Illustration: A ROYAL VISIT, DECEMBER 1918] - -What reconciles one to Matron is the discovery sooner or later that, -despite silk gown and awe-inspiring manner, she is at heart still -"Sister," ready with skilful aid and encouraging sympathy in case of -need. It is a nice etiquette that makes the title "Sister" general, for -it is just sisterly affection which makes the atmosphere of a military -hospital so cheering and recreating. - -Distinctions of rank are abrogated in a military hospital to a large -extent. The officer of general rank has a special quarter where he meets -only other highnesses; but, for the rest, colonel and "pip-squeak" (the -odious term which is vainly designed to lessen the self-importance of -the second lieutenant) usually fraternise in a common cheerfulness. -There are no rank badges on pyjamas. But one distinction has -intruded--that between surgical cases and medical cases. The medical -case must bear himself very humbly if he gets into a ward where there -are surgical cases. Even that kindly authority "Sister" will in some -unguarded moment, unless she is very, very careful, refer to him as -"_only_ a medical case." - -One medical case, taught cunning by circumstances, discovered when he -was being moved from one hospital to another that a special sort of -headache he suffered from could be relieved by a large, impressive -bandage. With this head adornment he successfully deceived us at ---- -Hospital. A rumour went around that he was a trepanned case, and as -Rumour stalked from bed to bed the size of the silver plate in his skull -grew and grew until it was almost the size of a dinner plate. His -shameful secret was at length discovered; he was only a fever or a heart -or something, and, whilst we were all sorry for him, he no longer -disputed favour with our ward pet--a delightfully cheerful pip-squeak -whose body was so be-stitched that we felt sure they had a sewing -machine in the operating room for him. - -It is etiquette in a military hospital to be very much interested in -one's neighbour's wounds and to affect to hold lightly one's own. It is -very bad form to hint that your lot is more severe than his lot. - -"Oh, I am all right, thanks," (you say in answer to his first advances); -"except for a bit of my liver and a few yards of lung blown away, I'm as -fit as can be. But that looks an awful leg of yours." - -"Not at all, not at all. It is almost certain now to stay on. But it -must be horribly interesting to have a body wound." - -And so the ghoulish chat goes on. - -Quite half of G.H.Q. had hospital reminiscences to exchange; indeed a -spell in hospital with a bad wound was often the clinching argument -leading to "red tabs" if an officer were qualified for the distinction; -and Medical Boards in England were quite willing to certify a man as -fit for France if he was marked for a Staff Appointment even though his -category was "light duty." - - * * * * * - -"Trench Feet" gave the Medical Services more trouble than any other -single disease, and almost as much trouble as the shells of the enemy. -In the winter of 1915 a pilgrim to Flanders (supposing him to have a -military permit) might have observed in the rest camps behind the -British lines companies of men with bare feet, and officers bending down -anointing them. And he might have perhaps concluded that this was some -religious ritual of humiliation, such as the theatrical washing of -beggars' feet by the late Austrian Emperor once a year. But such a -conclusion would have been wrong. The proceeding was religious -certainly, in the highest sense, but in no way theatrical. It was -"Trench Feet" treatment. - -The disease known as "Trench Feet" was one of the most serious -developments which the Army on the Western Front had to face when the -Germans, beaten in the field, "dug in," and Trench War began. The -struggle with the disease was a long and strenuous one, taxing to the -utmost the resources of the British Army Medical Service. - -The causes of the disease were not plain at the outset, and inquiry -proved them to be various. Everybody knows that it is uncomfortable -and, to a certain extent, unhealthy to stand for too long at a time. -(The social legislation that shop employees must be allowed seats is an -indication of this). The soldier in the trenches must often stand for -long periods. That makes him to some extent liable to foot trouble. -Again, tight boots and tight bandages round the legs are bad for the -blood circulation, and can make foot trouble without any other cause. -The soldier used to be rather careless as to whether his boots were of a -proper fit, and he was apt to bind his puttees too tightly. - -Here were the beginnings of "Trench Feet." To have the feet wet, to have -the feet cold for long spells, will cause chilblains, _i.e._, local -inflammations showing first as red itching lumps, afterwards if -neglected, developing into open sores. Long periods of standing, and any -constriction of the circulation from tight boots or tight puttees, help -cold and damp to cause chilblains; and chilblains used to be almost -invariably neglected by the soldier. Then came the final aggravating -cause--the filth of the Flanders mud getting into the sores of the -broken chilblains, and, behold, a typical case of Trench Feet. - -In the early days cases were often of dreadful severity, sometimes -leading to amputation. In one of my billets at Montreuil was a French -soldier who had lost both his feet from this cause. Later, both -treatment of the disease and, more important, the prevention of it, -were so perfected that really bad cases were rare. - -The story of the fight against "Trench Feet" is one of the many fine -stories of the war. In the main it was, of course, a story of medical -skill and devotion, but also it was a story of unstinted generosity on -the part of the War Office, and of admirable and intelligent service on -the part of regimental officers. The medical staff told me that it would -have been impossible to carry on to success the campaign against "Trench -Feet" if they had not been intelligently and perseveringly backed up by -regimental officers, and if the War Office had not poured out very many -thousands of pounds sterling for the furtherance of every approved -preventive measure. - -Preventive measures covered a wide field; precautions against tight -boots and tight puttees; increased provisions of socks; increased -bathing facilities; provision of waterproof rubber boots for men while -in the trenches (these boots were of the high wader type); paving of the -trenches with "duck-boards" which gave a dry standing; more frequent -reliefs in wet trenches. These were material provisions. To second them -there was an active propaganda in personal hygiene, and here the -regimental officer and non-commissioned officer were enlisted to help -the medical staff to make the men understand that the smallest sign of a -chilblain was to be met with prompt treatment. A whale oil ointment was -provided both as a prophylactic and as a curative for mild chilblains. -When necessary this was reinforced by spirituous lotions. On officers -was put the responsibility of seeing that their men's feet were kept -clean and well anointed with oil, and that any breach of the skin tissue -was promptly treated. So officers became chiropodists, and you might see -enthusiastic company commanders assisting their men to wash and anoint -their feet, to show them how it should be done. - -The winter of 1917-1918 put to a severe test the precautions against -"Trench Feet," for in almost every part of the Western Front the British -had pushed the Germans back, and there was no longer the old organised -trench system. Nevertheless the British hospital records show that the -disease was held. It was still a trouble; but, thanks to the plentiful -supply of comforts and preventatives, and to the scrupulous care -demanded by regimental and medical officers, it was no longer a grave -menace. - - * * * * * - -The fight against mustard gas in 1918 was another fine achievement of -the Medical Services. But this subject of the medicine of the war calls -for a volume to itself. Let me only add here that the successful medical -results won in this war were largely due to the fact that--contrary to -the system of other wars--the doctor had a real influence and power at -G.H.Q. In his own department he was supreme. So were solved successfully -the vast medical problems which the Great War presented. The greatest -armies known to history grappled in a continuous and furious struggle, -not for a day or a night or a week, but for months. The wounds caused by -hand grenades and high explosive shells were often of terrible extent. -The battlefield to a depth of five miles was under constant shell fire, -and transport of the wounded for that distance was therefore always -under fire, and roads were torn up almost as soon as made. Conditions of -infection were extraordinarily favourable. Traffic regulation had to -overcome the most serious obstacles, since railways, roads and tracks -had to provide for the constant reinforcements, for the frequent passage -to and fro of relieving Divisions, for food and water for men and -horses, and also for ammunition unprecedented in quantity. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE ANIMALS OF THE FORCE. - -A happy lot--The mud season in Flanders--The effects of mustard gas--The -character of the mule--Forage difficulties--The French object to our -horse ration--The Americans side with us--The animal record in 1918. - - -No two officials at G.H.Q. had a better right to be proud of their -departments than the Director of Veterinary Services (Major-General -Moore) and the Director of Remounts (Brigadier-General Sir F. S. -Garratt). These two were responsible for the welfare of the half million -animals of the B.E.F., and there was never a collection of war animals -that had a better time. - -It was a commonplace of German criticism of Great Britain's military -position before 1914 that the possibilities of a big quickly-trained -British Army were negligible, because, whilst rank and file might be -raised quickly enough, three things could not be improvised in a hurry: -knowledge of staff work, of gunnery, and of horse-mastery. The German -now knows that he was wrong, and in no particular was he more wrong -than in regard to horse-mastery. It is admitted over all the Continent -of Europe that horse-mastery in the "improvised" British Army reached -the highest standard of the campaign. - -In this matter the horse markets of Europe spoke after the Armistice -with no uncertain voice. When the British Army was disposing of its -superfluous horses, everybody rushed to buy them. Prices touched a truly -extraordinary level. The unhappy taxpayer amid all his burdens saw a -golden stream flowing into the Treasury, because his Army was a humane, -conscientious, and skilful horsemaster. The military advantage to -transport through keeping the Army's animals fit and well is so obvious -that it need not be dwelt upon. The advantage to the _morale_ of the men -is not so generally appreciated, but was none the less real. It helped -to keep our men in good heart that the animals who worked with them, and -for them, were in good heart and condition. To British men with their -fine tradition of humanity to animals it would have been demoralising to -have seen their brutes hungry and suffering. Finally, the world markets -came forward with their evidence that the British Army policy of -kindness to its animals was not only good for transport and good for -_morale_ but also good for business. - -By the Spring of 1919 we had sold out of the Army 252,676 animals -(horses and mules), of which 235,715 were sold for work and 16,961 for -meat. The total realised was 8,493,920 pounds, of which 8,081,607 pounds -was realised from the working animals and 412,313 pounds for those -animals which, because of old age or disablement, it was more merciful -to send to the slaughter-house. In addition a small item of 18,696 -pounds had been realised from by-products, for our Army administrators, -whatever might be thought to the contrary, did study economy, and the -animal which fell by the wayside was usually put to some use. At least -its hide was saved, and, if transport were available, its fat and bones -also figured in a "salvage" return. - -This money was mostly foreign money, too. It was the policy of the Army -not to "profiteer" in the United Kingdom. Indeed, within our home -borders it was rather to help the small farmer with cheap animals than -to seek to get the best out of the market. - - * * * * * - -The mobilisation of the horse strength of Great Britain in 1914 was -wonderfully assisted by the willing and instructed patriotism of -farmers, landowners, and hunting men. It yielded far better results than -were anticipated. One calculation makes it that 17 per cent. of the -total civilian horse strength of the country was mobilised. - -But, of course, there was a tremendous gap between this result and the -needs of the New Armies. A wise prescience at the very outset decided to -reinforce horse strength with mule strength. Before the end of 1914 -mules imported from abroad were being tried as substitutes for horses in -the Army. Some of the experiments did not give promising results. The -mule, for example, did not prove possible in gun teams. But it -established itself in a very wide range of general utility and -materially helped to win the war. - -The improvisation of remount depots and of training centres for horses -and for men who for the first time had to handle horses was the first -big problem. The winter of 1914-15 was a hard time. But extraordinary -results were won by the cordial co-operation of the "horsey" men of the -country. The hunting, coaching, and racing stables were great pillars of -strength. By the spring of 1915 the position in the United Kingdom was -good. - -In the winter of 1915-16 most of the difficulty had to be faced by the -B.E.F., France. We had a great concentration of troops in Flanders. The -mounted units were made up in the main of men new to horse-management. -The animals had to be nursed through a winter in what was the wickedest -country conceivable for horses. Stable accommodation was, of course, -absent. Not 1 per cent. could be housed in existing stables. Labour and -material were lacking for the building of new stables. Most of the -animals spent the winter in the open. The mud was a cruel enemy. In that -highly manured country a horse standing out in the mud had its hoofs -attacked at once. A "greasy heel" soon became a purulent sore. - -The "Mud Season" opens in Flanders in October and lasts until June; and -Flanders mud has a body and aroma all its own. A great French Marshal of -a by-gone age committed himself without reserve to the opinion that -"Flanders was no place to fight in." Thomas Atkins, as he pushed -obstinately and irresistibly through the mud towards some pill-box -objective, has endorsed that high strategical judgment. Perhaps in a -future war, if there is going to be a future war, Flanders will be a -closed area and no Army will be allowed to go there to fight under -penalty of a _proces-verbal_. That should be done if only for the sake -of the horses. - -[Illustration: THE EAST RAMPARTS] - -As every civilian stay-at-home knows, the Army is an entirely foolish -organisation with no knowledge of practical affairs. But I doubt whether -any civil organisation would have carried the same number of horses -through the same conditions with the same small percentage of losses. -The Army did not tackle the problem in any hide-bound way. A good deal -was left to the initiative and enthusiasm of individual officers. -Some general principles were set down. Within the boundaries of those -principles there was wide scope for personal ingenuity, and as the good -thing that one officer worked out soon became the property of all the -Division, a very high standard of horse-management was reached. - -Will it shock some old retired officers to hear that authority, the -highest authority, abolished the clipping of horses that year in -Flanders? Horse-clipping was once a sacred institution, with its fixed -dates and ritual, in the Army. That year in Flanders horse-clipping was -abolished, and the horses became wild and woolly but withal happy. I -used to love to see their flowing locks streaming in the cold wind as -they stood out in the lines, coated like St. Bernard dogs, and quite -comfortable. "Stables" became more arduous as horse-coats became longer, -but the horses flourished in the open with just break-winds, and -sometimes thatch rain-shelter overhead. I would never want to see a -finer lot of horses than those of the early Spring of 1916. They were -hairy and they were lean, and they would eat their nosebags, if given a -minute's grace after the feed was finished; but they were full of heart -and of work. - -The enemy was the mud. We found that if the horses were given good -standings and their feet kept out of the mud the rain did not trouble -them at all, and the wind troubled them little. But once off the pave -roads all Flanders was semi-liquid, and the problem at horse-lines was -first to secure a solid "standing," next to secure a solid road in and -out to that standing, and finally to secure a solid road to and from a -solid watering place. A unit that built for its horses elegant brick -standings in the middle of a field, and forgot the rest, found after the -first rain that its lines were surrounded by a sea of mud. Then the -horses had to be given temporary refuge in the paved street of an -evacuated town, whilst a saddened unit faced scorn and obloquy and the -necessity of constructing another brick standing on another site, _not_ -an island site this time. - -Standings were usually made of bricks, and the Army requisitioned all -the brick yards in the occupied area. Shell-ruined villages were another -source of brick supply. Rubble brick was of no use for standings; the -bricks had to be set properly; rubble was lost in the soil within a day. -One officer got excellent results by preparing a well-sloped bed; -enclosing it with great logs, treating it with a thin layer of straw, -and close-setting the bricks over that. It seemed a poor use to put -straw to, but that stand lasted out the winter wonderfully well. - -The difficulty of getting good accessible watering places was very -great. Water, of course, there was in abundance, but the horses would -ordinarily have to go up to their bellies in mud to get at it. To set up -troughs accessible by some firm road was necessary, and the site of the -troughs had to be soundly paved. One Pioneer officer settled his -watering problem ingeniously. He had secured a pump and some hose, and -he sank a little well just on the edge of his horse-lines, and was able -to water by troughs set up on the brick standing. Watering by bucket was -forbidden except on the road, for the reason that there was never any -certainty by bucket watering that a horse would get enough to drink, and -a horse kept short of water for long is soon a lost horse. - -Losses from enemy action were not very high among the horses until the -last phase. There was, on the whole, little cavalry work except at the -end of the campaign and at its very beginning. Our air supremacy usually -saved horse-lines in the rear of our lines from very severe shelling. -But horse and mule losses increased greatly when the enemy began to use -mustard gas. That proved deadly to animals. The ground where a mustard -gas shell had fallen was infected for many hours afterwards. If horses -were picketed on it, or even passed over it, casualties were high. The -irritant poison of the gas attacked their skins wherever the hair was -thin, and caused the most dreadful wounds. Precaution, however, was -prompt, and an effective curative treatment was found in a dressing, -the chief ingredient of which was chloride of lime. - -From the spring of 1918 the British Army horse had to suffer severe -attacks from the air. We had by then established a very great transport -superiority, and the enemy devoted a good deal of his air strength to -bombing attacks on our horse-lines, with a view to lessening our -transport strength. At first these attacks were very deadly. But the -position was soon met. Horse-lines were cleverly concealed. The animals -were separated into small groups. The lines were protected by bomb-proof -traverses of earthwork, which localised the effects of explosions. - -In the summer of 1918 the wastage of animals had been cut down to the -lowest percentage reached in the whole campaign. This meant that battle -losses were being compensated for by a very low sickness rate, achieved -by careful and skilful horse-mastership. The British Army, which had -been always an army of horse-lovers, was now also an Army of skilled -horse-masters, and in spite of bombing raids, of long-distance shelling, -and of poison gas, the death rate kept dwindling. At this time forage -difficulties were acute, but there had been close organisation to grow -fodder in Army and Line of Communication areas, and our animals always -had a decent ration. - -But it was through the unsparing work of the men, with brain and hand, -that the horses were so happily situated. The public at Home can never -express sufficient gratitude for that work--work which had little -glamour or hope of reward, but which was as necessary to victory as that -of rifleman and gunner. - -The final triumph of our Army horse administration was in the summer of -1918, when it was able to take up a big part of the burden of horsing -the American units arriving in France. That, again, was a factor of -victory. Without transport or gun-horses the American troops could not -have given their magnificent help in the last stages of the campaign. - -In the sum the story of the British Army horse in the Great War is a -thrilling one. Our Home horse-lovers opened the chapter gloriously. The -British Navy followed up by making it possible to transport remounts -from all parts of the world. Then the men of the Old Army and of the New -Armies showed what grit and resource and kindness could do. So we rode -home to victory. - -The record of the animals of the B.E.F. should do something to dissipate -the marked prejudice against the mule in Great Britain. People here do -not understand its virtues as a draught animal. Granted that the mule is -not suitable for heavy draught work and may prove a serious nuisance on -a farm if it cannot be kept within its proper bounds--for a mule has an -omnivorous appetite--still there is a very wide field of usefulness for -this animal in city work, such as bread and milk and parcel carriage and -light van work generally; also as a transport animal for the small -farmer. The mule eats much less than the horse, has a longer working -life, is less liable to disease, needs less attention. The mule's rough -commonsense, which teaches him to be very careful of himself, is a -positive advantage. Given decent treatment, a mule is a reliable, -good-natured, and likeable animal. He has not the same charming manners -as a well-trained horse, but he has plenty of character, and it is -mostly good character. - -The wicked mule does exist, but he is the exception, not the rule. One -champion wicked mule I can recall. He was as big as a horse, black in -colour, and on the near side had a blood-shot fiery eye which was a good -danger signal. On the off-side he had a white eye. This was a deceptive -white-flag signal, for the beast kicked with equal viciousness on both -sides. Likewise he bit from all points of the compass. The one thing -that soured his life was the fact that he couldn't sting with his tail. -To groom Belial--that was his name--he had to be put in slings. But he -was an easy animal to shoe. Hold a shoe with the nails fixed in the -proper position, and the animal would attach itself firmly to the shoe -with one kick. An occasional Belial excepted, the mules were a pleasant -lot. - -The mule is a hard worker but a sensible worker. He will not try to -overtax his strength, and he goes on strike firmly if asked to do too -much. "I may be a bit of an ass," the animal tells you, "but none of -this heroic business of the Arab steed breaking his heart with a mighty -effort for _me_." - -This attitude is not poetic, but it is practical. And the mule -compensates by standing mud better, eating less, and putting up with -poorer food than the horse. The mule, however, is very particular about -what he drinks. Water that the horse will swallow greedily the mule will -turn up his Roman nose at. If you are watering mules and horses at the -same stream, the mules must have first drink, for they will not touch -the muddied water, though horses have no objection to it. - -G.H.Q. during the last stages of the campaign had a hard task to keep -the animals of the B.E.F. properly fed. At the outset of the War the -horse ration erred, if anything, on the generous side, and a good deal -of it wandered into the mangers of the civilian animals of the country, -much to their contentment. As the war dragged its exhausting length -along, money became scarce, food supplies scarcer still, and transport -facilities scarcest of all. Then the ration of the animals had to be -cut to a point which represented just sufficient and nothing more. Even -so, it was a much better ration than the French gave their horses, and -there were repeated efforts by the French Authorities to persuade us to -come down to their animal ration. Those efforts naturally had a much -greater chance of success when the union of the command made Marshal -Foch the Generalissimo of all the Armies in France. - -But our High Command was stubborn in its championship of the animals. -There was a very strong representation of the cavalry on the Staff; and, -besides, the British as a race have a sentiment about animals which is -not shared to the full by the Latin races. The average British soldier -would as soon go short of food himself as see his animals hungry. At one -time the British War Cabinet yielded to the strong representations that -were being made that the British Army wasted resources and transport in -its feeding of the animals, and ordered a heavy reduction of the horse -ration. Even then the British Command in the Field did not give up the -cause for lost, continued to argue the matter, and by pointing out that -a vast amount of extra work was just then being thrown upon the animals -by the reduction of Field Artillery ammunition teams from six horses to -four, secured a compromise decision which made a much smaller reduction -in the ration. - -[Illustration: THE ARMY COMMANDERS] - -The French Authorities without a doubt honestly believed they were in -the right and that we were "coddling" our brutes, for they made another -effort to get "unity of animal ration" as a kind of logical sequel to -"unity of command." This time they made an agreement with the Americans -that the latter should come down to their scale of animal ration. -Without a full knowledge of what they were doing, the Americans agreed -at first; and it looked as if the British horse also would have to have -his ration reduced. But with more complete knowledge of the facts the -American Army reversed its previous decision and decided that it could -not come down below the British animal ration. A whinny of joy would -have gone round the British horse lines at this decision if it had been -promulgated in horse language, for it saved the situation. I am honestly -of opinion that it had its effect, too, in bringing the campaign to its -triumphant conclusion. In the last stages between August and November, -1918, I do not think that the rapid pursuit of the enemy would have been -possible if the horse ration had been reduced further than it was in -July, 1918. As it was, that reduction put a stop to the decline in the -sickness rate and caused it to increase slightly. - -G.H.Q. did its best to make up for the reduced ration by organising -local growth of fodder crops wherever there was a chance, and there was -instituted an Inspectorate of Horse Feeding and Economies. The -I.Q.M.G.S. had to oversee all animals, except those on charge of -Director Remounts and Director Veterinary Services, to advise on all -matters of forage, to seek means of economy and generally to supervise -the "horse-mastery" of units. - -Horse-masters can best judge the rights of the fodder position for -themselves by noting the actual animal ration. Taking an average of -25,000 horses, light _and_ heavy, the weight of the rations at the time -of the controversy was: - - lbs. - American 23.6 - British 22.2 - French 16.1 - -Twenty-two pounds weight of food per day is not excessive for a horse -doing hard work; and that was the _average_. After the heavy horses had -their higher ration the light horses had to be content with less. - -Probably the French never saw our point of view and suspected that there -was not much more than English obstinacy in this determined stand for -the welfare of the dumb beasts. But the controversy was carried on with -good humour all the same, and in the end "those curious English" had -their own way. - -Whenever questions such as this arose between the Allied Forces it -proved in practice that the Americans usually had the deciding voice. -Perhaps it may be recorded without hurting anyone's feelings that the -American as a matter of instinct was inclined usually to take the French -side, because his stronger sympathy was in that direction; after -experience he was inclined usually to take the British side, for his -manner of thinking was more on our lines. - -The animal record for the last year of the war was a fine one. The -sickness rate was brought down to a figure practically as low as that of -a big stable under peace conditions, and this--the result of good -horse-mastery--helped to make up for battle casualties and casualties -from bombs. (It was in January, 1918, that the enemy first instituted a -definite policy of searching out our horse-lines and subjecting them to -aeroplane attack in order to cripple our lines of supply). In June, -1918, the sickness rate was actually lower than at any period in the -history of the force (7.7 per cent. as against 12.05 per cent. in May, -1917). Losses of animals in battle showed a marked reduction. The -general reduction in losses was partly due to a decrease in the losses -from enemy bombs, as a great deal of work had then been done to conceal -and protect horse-lines from aircraft attack. - -In July, 1918, the horse situation was even better, and the sickness -rate for the month was 7.5 per cent. (compared with 7.7 per cent. in -June and 8.73 per cent. in May). Unfortunately it was necessary that -month to reduce the hay ration by one lb. per day. (A more considerable -reduction proposed was abandoned, as I have pointed out). The shortage -in the supply of animals as compared with requirements, a shortage -principally due to the needs of the new American units, was met by -various expedients. Nearly 25,000 animals were made available by -reductions of the horse strength of artillery units. A further 14,000 -were saved by giving 6-inch howitzer and some 60-pounder batteries -mechanical transport. Another means of economy in horse-flesh was worked -out--the setting up of a "Category B" in animals. Those which were not -quite fit for arduous work with a fighting unit were withdrawn to units -whose demands on them were less exacting. - -In August, 1918, when our great attack began, the animals with the Force -had heavy losses. Battle casualties were high, partly because of the -large employment of cavalry, partly because of the intensive war from -the air against horse-lines. The precautions against this kind of attack -which we had developed could not be kept up during the rapid advance, -and horses in the fighting line suffered severely from bombs as well as -shell fire. But that was part of the necessary price of victory. What -was a matter for real regret, however, was the increase in the sick rate -which accompanied the revival of intensive operations. We all felt sorry -that the forage ration had been reduced, even though slightly, for there -was reason to think that even this slight reduction in the forage ration -had made it impossible in some cases to keep the animals up to the best -standard of condition. Very hard work was being done on a ration which -was cut very fine. - -After November 11th, when the Armistice was signed, our animal sickness -rate was only 9 per cent., and later, as we began to sell off our -animals, the advantage of humane treatment told in the market rates. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE FINANCIAL SERVICES. - -The generosity of the British People--G.H.Q. was not a spendthrift--The -Pay system--Curiosities of banking in the field--Claims of the civilian -inhabitants--The looted rabbit. - - -The financial side of the B.E.F. was one of the triumphs of G.H.Q. "Yes, -in spending money," someone may remark, thinking gloomily over his -Income Tax assessment. But the triumph I refer to is in the dealing with -vast sums with so little loss from peculation or from mistake. - -An Army in the Field should not be pinched for money if it is to work -with confidence and economy of life. Very often in the history of war a -"ragged Army" has done wonders, and the praise of those wonders has led -to some minds confusing raggedness with heroism, thinking that desperate -impoverishment is a good thing for an Army. It might have been sometimes -in the old days, when the sack of the enemy's country was the reward of -victory and it was a case of fight or perish. In modern times it is a -sound principle of warfare that the better an Army is supplied with the -means of warfare the less will be the cost of life in achieving its -purpose. - -The soldiers of the British Army in France have reason to feel grateful -to the people of Great Britain that there was never any sparing of money -at the expense of their comfort and safety. No Army at any known period -of the world's history was more lavishly provided for in food, clothing, -munitions and pay. To illustrate on one point only, that of munitions. -In the British Army 100,000 men in a day used 410 tons of munitions, in -the French Army the same number of men in a day used 246 tons. Part of -the disparity might be accounted for by superior economy on the part of -the French. Most of it was due to the fact that the British people were -able to supply, and did supply, their troops with far greater quantities -of shell, etc., so as to take as much of the burden of war as possible -off the flesh and blood of the soldier. - -The taxpayer for his part can be comforted with the knowledge that, so -far as the Army in the Field was concerned, there was an honest effort -to guard against waste. Of course war is a wasteful business, -essentially, and no possible precaution can guard against some losses. -Often the position is that a great amount of material has to be devoted -to a certain purpose though it is very likely to be wasted, because the -alternative is to incur a greater risk of life. It was always the -British system, a system which Parliament insisted upon equally with the -Generals in the Field, that any sacrifice of money and material was to -be preferred to a useless sacrifice of life. - -In peace times the Finance Branch of the War Office had a long-standing -reputation for artful meanness. It was accused of working on the -principle that an officer in the Army was always possessed of abundant -private means and therefore never really wanted any Army money, and that -a private soldier was clearly a fool and a failure for being in the Army -at all and therefore deserved little or no consideration. If he were -allowed money to spare he would waste it on dissipation. - -Certainly F. Branch War Office showed itself time and again very sharp -at construing the Pay Warrant to the benefit of the Treasury, but it was -never quite as bad as that. In the Field the spirit of economy had to -give place to the spirit of efficiency and of _morale_. Nevertheless, a -very tight check was kept on the money-bags to prevent dishonesty or -extravagance. The Financial Adviser at G.H.Q. was a potentate of great -ability and of enormous authority. No order which involved the spending -of money could go out without being referred to him and winning his -approval. He had the right of access to the Commander-in-Chief at all -times. It was said that since as a civilian he did not get prompt and -full respect from sentries, or from officers who did not understand his -position as Chancellor of the Army Exchequer, he was made a General in a -single day, and that when he first walked abroad as a General and -sentries presented arms to him he was greatly perturbed, thinking that -this might be the first step in an outbreak of personal violence. But -that was by way of _persiflage_. All officers who came into contact with -him recognised a man of ability and of sympathy. - -It was the Army Pay Department that most closely touched the lives of -the soldiers in France. It had to pay a total of about two and a half -million people of all kinds--officers who were either affluent or -careful and gave no trouble at all; officers who were neither and whose -impecuniosity had to be guarded against; a very few officers who were -actually dishonest; "other ranks" in whose pay there were infinite -complications due to separation allowances and the like; and furthermore -the women of the various auxiliary corps, the Labour Corps of various -nationalities, civilian auxiliaries and the like. As the war progressed -"Pay" had to act as money-changer, dealing with almost all the -currencies of the world, and as a Savings Bank and as liquidator of all -kinds of claims and as a third party in those highly convenient -transactions in which an officer bought clothes and other necessities -from "Ordnance" at a price which was sometimes less than half that -charged by London stores. - -The Army Pay Department in the Field was not the final paymaster. It -gave advances on account only, leaving the final adjustment to the Pay -office at Home. But during the war and up to the end of 1918 (by which -time demobilisation had broken up most of the units in France) it had -paid out nearly four thousand million francs, and its total losses from -forgeries, war losses, bad money, etc., were quite insignificant. At one -period in 1918 when an analysis was made, it was found that the bad -money passed off on to the Pay Department had averaged only eight francs -per week. - -The financial arrangements of the old Regular Army had to be modified -very considerably, especially in regard to officers, as the war -continued, though at first an attempt was made to apply them in their -entirety. The Army Pay Agents soon found out that a number of the new -officers who had come into the service had little or no sense of -financial responsibility, and the Pay Department had to tighten the -reins considerably. Exceedingly liberal arrangements had been made at -the outset to meet the convenience of officers. Thus any Branch of the -Bank of France would cash an officer's cheque up to 5 pounds, and any -Field Cashier--each Division had a Field Cashier--would cash his chit to -the same amount. Also, he might draw his allowances by cheque monthly, -and this cheque was good at any Field Cashier's office. - -Some early developments were startling. There is a tale of one officer -(he was in a position which gave him a wide range of movement) -collecting 125 pounds in one day before going on leave. He had a "good -leave" presumably, but he had at the time only 3 pounds due to him at -his Army Agent's, and it took some time for him to make up the balance -on his pay as lieutenant. To meet the case of gentlemen "raising the -wind" on this scale there was instituted an "Officer's Advance Book," -the conditions of obtaining and using which were gradually tightened, so -that it was only possible for an officer below "field" rank to obtain -three advances in a month of 125 francs each. That still left one -loop-hole for improvidence or dishonesty--cashing cheques at a Bank of -France after drawing the three advances. But not very many officers -could get to a bank except during a "leave," and a certain "overrunning -of the constable" was expected then and could be adjusted afterwards. -Officers who consistently drew beyond their means after warning were -looked upon as having dishonest intentions and were put on a "black -list." They could not draw cheques, and were deprived of their "Advance -Books" until they were in credit again. - -There was no serious amount of financial delinquency. At the worst the -"black list" just crept over the 100 limit. One incorrigible -spendthrift, having been deprived of his Advance Book, tried to obtain -another from a Field Cashier in another centre on the plea that his -previous book "had been captured by the enemy." - -It was very human, the Pay Department, for all its strictness, and in my -experience never refused an officer who was going on leave a "bit extra" -if he had a good financial name. One of its very kind customs was to -arrange for wounded officers evacuated to "Blighty" to be met in England -by Pay Agents who pressed on them change of a little cheque to meet -possible incidental expenses in hospital. It had, too, a nice habit of -watching the tactical situation and acting accordingly. After the great -German onrush of the Spring of 1918 many hundreds of officers were -destitute, their kits abandoned to the enemy. Pay Department promptly -relaxed all its rules to enable them to outfit again promptly; and, of -course, there was ultimately reimbursement to the officers of the value -of their kits. Up to the conclusion of the war "Pay" reimbursed nearly -20,000 officers for loss of kit. - -[Illustration: Photo by J Russell & Sons - -MAJOR-GENERAL SIR CLAUDE A. BRAY (Paymaster-in-chief, B.E.F.)] - -"Pay" changed any sort of money into French currency; and it had to deal -with many varieties. Serbian, Egyptian, Nova Scotian, Greek, Kruger -money (from South Africa), Australian bank notes, Italian, Russian, -American, Canadian, local French "Bank of Commerce" notes (which were -monetised in some cases by the Bank of France), Mexican dollars--all -came to its counter and were duly honoured. But it turned up its nose at -American Confederate Bank notes and assignats of the First French -Republic (both useless except for wall paper). - -Various currency problems had to be solved by "Pay." The Bank of France -was always in a state of worry over the huge consumption of 5 francs -notes by the British Army. These were the most favoured units for paying -the men; they seemed to disappear from currency at a quick rate, and -they were expensive to print. The situation was improved by the adoption -of the suggestion of "Pay" that a 10-francs note should be issued. -Probably the Bank of France would have been quite content if they had -thought that the 5 francs notes were destroyed. But they knew that they -were being hoarded up by the French peasants, who absorbed every bit of -silver as soon as it was put into circulation, and, after silver, -favoured for their hoards notes of small denominations. At the time of -the German advance in the Spring of 1918 "Pay" had a curious -illustration of the hoarding ways of these French peasants. That advance -let loose a flood of silver coinage. The people who lived in districts -which might have to be evacuated changed their hoarded silver for notes, -which would be more handy to carry away. - -"Pay" at an early stage of the war put forward an interesting -proposal--the issue of International Army Notes in various denominations -which would be good in any one of the Allied Countries. The proposal was -never carried through, but its idea is being revived in the financial -world to-day by the proposal for an International Bank to take over some -or all of the war debts of the Allies and issue a paper currency good in -any one of the Allied Countries. - -The encouragement of thrift among the soldiers was part of the work of -"Pay." In August, 1915, it secured soldier subscriptions to the War Loan -to the extent of 25,200 pounds. The next year it established Savings -Banks, and in 1918 it set up agencies at all Army Post Offices for the -sale of War Savings Certificates. But its greatest achievement in the -way of thrift was the Chinese Savings Bank, which was started in August, -1918, and in a fortnight had deposits of 400,000 francs. - -The last welcome task of "Pay" was to establish Field Cashiers in -Germany and to fix a rate of exchange for German money, which was -started at five marks=2s. 8d. - -The Claims Commission (established in December, 1914) was another branch -of the financial organisation. Its business was to decide upon claims -for damage done by the British Army to the property of civilians, French -or Belgian. The British Army paid for everything, even to an orchard -tree that an Army mule had nibbled at. Claims made were sometimes -ridiculous in character and in extent. In my regimental experience I -remember a market gardener claiming 200 francs on account of damage done -by a horse which had wandered into his potato patch for a few minutes. -The claim was very amicably settled on the spot by the payment in cash -of two francs. On an average, "Claims" paid about one fourth of the -total asked for, and the civilian population did very well indeed on -that. - -In the very early days of the war the civil population of France, filled -with relief and gratitude at the arrival of the British Force, of whose -coming they had almost despaired, greeted officer and soldier with the -most generous hospitality. Indeed as the "Old Contemptibles" marched -through Boulogne women stripped off their rings to give them to the -marching soldiers. Wine, fruit, and other delicacies were pressed on -everybody without payment. That generous enthusiasm could not last -through a four years' war, but to the very end the best of the French -population recognised a duty of hospitality to their British guests. It -was only natural, however, that many of the peasants and small traders, -hard hit by the war, should take advantage of their opportunities to -make profit out of our Army. This was particularly noticeable after the -coming of the Colonial troops, who were just as lavish in spirit as the -British Tommies and had a good deal more pay to spend. - -[Illustration: MAJOR-GENERAL L. B. FRIEND (President of Claims -Commission)] - -The Claims Commission, which in the later stages of the war had its -headquarters at Paris Plage and Le Touquet, did its work to the -satisfaction of everybody. At first its responsibilities were confined -to paying claims for damage done. Later it took over all the financial -adjustments in connection with the hiring and the requisition of -civilian land and property. Its tasks called for a great deal of tact -and a wide variety of resourcefulness. In the Spring of 1918 the -abandonment in evacuated areas by civilians of wine and portable -property caused trouble. The events at Amiens illustrate the position. -As soon as the city came under enemy shell fire the civil authorities -left, and with them most of the respectable inhabitants. Less -respectable people remained, and probably were guilty of some excesses. -The British Army Authorities, however, were prompt in taking over -control, and on April 3rd the city was quiet and orderly. But very -serious reports of damage by British troops were put into circulation. -On investigation by the Claims Department the actual cases resolved -themselves into two: in one house three doors had been broken down; in -the other case the British Army had stolen a rabbit "which had been -abandoned by its owners." These were the only two charges definitely -preferred. But it was, seemingly, a fact that in some villages outside -of Amiens regrettable incidents arose from the fleeing civilians -abandoning stores of wine or disposing of them to the troops at -sacrifice prices. The French Authorities were asked to assist in -forbidding the importation by civilians of intoxicants into threatened -areas. - -Towards the end of the war some of the French towns which had been -sheltering large numbers of British troops raised the question of the -payment of octroi duties on the goods consumed by the troops. As I -suppose is well known, French towns have local customs duties (called -octroi because the right to collect them for local purposes was -originally a concession from the King). All food, etc., coming into the -town pays a small tax. Supplies for the British Army did not pay this -tax, and the towns complained of the loss thus caused to their municipal -revenues. G.H.Q. willingly conceded the payment of octroi. A lump sum -was allowed for the past period, and an arrangement made for the future -payment of so much per head every half year for each soldier billetted -within the town boundaries. The _per capita_ charge varied greatly. A -few French towns refused to make any claim, saying that they were well -content to make that concession to their British guests. - -On the whole the financial record of the British Army in France is -something to be proud of. We paid justly--sometimes generously--for -everything, and no civilian was left with a legitimate grievance. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE ECONOMY SERVICES. - -What the German submarines taught us--The Salvage Organisation--O.C. -Rags, Bones and Swill--Agriculture's good work and hard luck--The -Forestry Directorate--Soldiers learn economy in a stern school. - - -There is a sort of grim pleasantry in the fact that the German submarine -war, which was to bring Great Britain to her knees, only brought her to -a school of economy where she learned some lessons which will be very -useful in the future, once the after-the-war phase of reckless -extravagance has passed away. When the cumulative effect of the -unlimited submarine war made itself felt in 1918 it did not stop -operations, though it may claim some of the responsibility for the -extent of the German success in the Spring of that year, which might -have been much more limited if we had had full supplies of wire and -other defence material. What it did do was to set G.H.Q. to devising -valuable economies. - -The German was in effect too late with this, as with his other desperate -steps. At the outset of the war, with an inferior sea power, Germany -had yet the chance of using sea forces with great, and perhaps decisive, -effect by raids on the British supply routes with light cruisers and -converted merchantmen. She had prepared for this but neglected the one -necessary act of forethought and daring by not sending out to sea her -commerce destroyers. Such a sea policy would, of course, have been -ruthless; but it could have been made effective without violation of sea -law and without outrages on neutrals. After August, 1914, Germany sought -vainly to repair her initial lack of sound naval sense by the submarine -naval war, in which every canon of sea law and every sentiment of -justice and humanity were violated. The more the submarine war showed -signs of failing the more atrocious and reckless it became, until in its -final shape it set almost all the world against the German Empire. Yet -withal the U-boat atrocities went for nothing. The German people must -see now that their Prussian masters put them very much in the position -of the innkeeper of the old creepy German story. He and his wife -resolved to kill in his sleep and rob a chance traveller who had come to -their inn. They killed him and found that his purse was empty and that -he was their own long-lost son. - -On the debit side, as a result of the German submarine war we had in -1918 a lack of certain material--particularly of chocolate, biscuits, -and tinned fruits in the canteens. On the credit side we had those fine -economy organisations, Salvage, Agriculture and Forestry, the effect of -which was not only to make savings at the time but also to teach the -soldier a fuller appreciation of his civil duties. - -"Salvage" explained itself very clearly in its official publication: - - "The world shortage of almost every kind of raw material used for - war supplies makes Salvage an important Administrative Service. - Without a well-organised and thorough Salvage system, the full - maintenance of our Force in the Field would be made difficult. - - "The co-ordination of all Salvage work is in the hands of the - Controller of Salvage at G.H.Q. His duties include the inspection - of executive Salvage work, the arrangements for the disposal of - Salvage material, the investigation of methods for recovering - bye-products, and keeping of statistical records showing the amount - of material salved and disposed of and the resultant gain to the - State. - - "The Salvage Organisation is not intended to take the place of, or - in any way discourage, a consistent effort on the part of every - supply department to recover for repair and re-issue its own - articles and its own empties. It is intended to supplement that - effort; to collect and put to use what would otherwise become - derelict; to ensure that nothing utilisable is allowed to go to - waste. - - "To this end it is necessary to arrange, in the first place, for - the collection of unserviceable or derelict material, and, in the - second, for its disposal so that it may be brought again into use - with the least delay and to the best advantage." - -[Illustration: AN ARMY POSTER.] - -"Salvage," in order to secure a practical interest in its work, used to -issue statements to the soldiers showing how salved articles were -utilised. Some examples: - - Clothing: Cleaned and repaired - locally. If beyond repair, - sent to the United - Kingdom as rags. - - Sacking: Sent to the United - Kingdom. - - Entrenching tools: Heads cleaned and - sharpened. If irreparable, - disposed of as scrap. - - Steel helmets: Cleaned and relined. If - irreparable, indiarubber - pads in lining removed - and utilised for lining - serviceable helmets. Chin - strap sold as old leather, - and helmet disposed of as - scrap steel. - - Rubber (gum boots, Sent to Paris for classification - tyres, etc.): and repair. If - irreparable, sent to the - United Kingdom. - - Mess tins, camp Cleaned in caustic soda, - kettles, field reblocked, resoldered if - kitchen boilers: necessary, and retinned. - If irreparable, disposed - of as scrap steel. - - Water-bottles: Old felt removed--bottles - cleaned, recovered with - new felt and recorked. - Old felt sent to the United - Kingdom. Water-bottles - not fit for re-issue as such - are used for packing small - quantities of oil or paint - for the Front. - - Web equipment, Broken into component - cotton bandoliers, parts--dry-cleaned on - etc.: motor-driven brushes, - darned and repaired. If - irreparable, sent to the - United Kingdom as cotton - rags, after brass or metal - fittings have been removed. - - Leather equipment, Broken down into component - harness, saddlery, parts, washed with - etc.: soft soap in lukewarm - water, dried in a drying - cupboard at 100 deg. F., - treated with fish-oil and - repaired. If irreparable, - sent to United Kingdom - as old leather after brass - or metal fittings have been - removed. - - Boots: Classified, repaired and - passed through fish-oil - baths. The uppers of - irreparable boots as far as - possible made into shoe - laces or heel lifts and used - for filling. - -"Salvage" had to suffer much from kindly "ragging." It was known as -"Rags and Bones," and as "Swill." It was the favoured sport of the -humourist to devise new salvage dodges, one of which I recall as holding -the record for sheer asininity. It drew attention to the fact that the -little circles of paper, punched out of folios so that they could be put -on files, might be collected and sold as confetti! - -But with all this "ragging," G.H.Q. had a very real respect and liking -for Brigadier-General Gibbs and his Salvage Corps, and recognised fully -the solid and practical patriotism which made them devote a passionate -interest to the recovery of solder from old tins, to collecting waste -paper, old boots, nails, horseshoes, rags and buttons. "There is -nothing of the debris of the battlefield which we cannot put to some -use," General Gibbs announced; and by his personal enthusiasm he made -Salvage collection quite a popular sport in the Army. - -Some of the items of salvage value from a return will show the wide -range of the department: swill for piggeries, value 16,000 francs; -solder from old tins, value 91,000 francs; cotton waste, 14,000 francs; -tin-plate (won by unrolling old biscuit tins, etc.), 61,000 francs; old -lead, 10,000 francs; various bye-products 7,000,000 francs. The old rags -collected did a great deal to help the cloth shortage at Home, as they -made the best kind of shoddy. The old bones collected helped to find the -glycerine for explosives. - -But perhaps the moral effect of the Salvage department was even more -valuable than its excellent material results. War is a wretchedly -wasteful business and must inculcate in soldiers a spirit of waste. But -in the final phase of this campaign every soldier had brought home to -him most urgently the wisdom of saving and the real value of what seemed -to be waste bye-products. Many of them must have learned the lesson and -carried it home with them to the advantage of the general community. - -Agriculture was another economy organisation that we owed to the German -submarine war. It had begun in a small way towards the end of 1917; -indeed its germ was alive before then, for from the first our units had -helped the French with labour and horses during harvest time, and some -units enjoying a certain security of tenure had established flower and -vegetable gardens. But in December, 1917, the world's food position -suggested an earnest effort to utilise spare labour and spare land -within army areas in France to grow food. Major-General Ellison and Dr. -Keeble came over to G.H.Q. from the War Office, and a scheme was drawn -up to cultivate 50,000 acres of land. In January, 1918, an Agriculture -Directorate was formed under Brigadier-General the Earl of Radnor, and -search was made for a suitable area for a big farm. The quest was not a -simple one. We could not poach on land that the French might want. We -wished to avoid selecting an area which might be needed for a manoeuvre -ground for our troops in the carrying out of the next Big Push. In -seeking to avoid these two rocks we landed on a worse one. The area -selected around Roye-Nesle was the area which the Germans were going to -over-run in their Spring offensive. All unconscious of that, we began -ploughing in February, 1918. The Home authorities had supplied an -abundance of excellent machinery, and labour was quickly collected and -trained. By March 21st we had got up to a record of ploughing 300 -acres per day and a total of 4,742 acres had been turned over. Then -the German came. - -[Illustration: BRIG-GENERAL THE EARL OF RADNOR (Director of Agricultural -Production)] - -By a fine feat of organisation and courage the Agriculture Directorate -saved most of its machinery. Some of the agricultural tractors came in -useful as aids to the heavy artillery in the retreat. Others, charging -for home at their best speed, were mistaken for German Tanks and in one -or two cases fired on by our troops. - -Despite that unlucky experience with the big farm, Agriculture put to -its credit some useful work. It had promoted vegetable gardens in Base -Camps, and the total area of those gardens was 7,496 acres and their -products did much to help out the rations. Soon, too, "Agriculture" -found that though it had not sown on its big farm it might still reap in -other quarters. The German onrush had brought a great area of French -cultivated land within army areas, some of it actually within the zone -of fire. Since every ear of wheat was precious, Agriculture organised to -save this part of the French harvest, and actually reaped the product of -18,133 acres. It was gallant work, done mostly by fighting men in the -intervals between their turns in the trenches. Sometimes the area to be -reaped was under the fire and the observation of the enemy, and the crop -was cut at night. The enemy used gas shells to prevent this work, and -the reapers had to work in gas masks. One area of six acres of corn was -so close to the enemy trenches that the idea of saving it seemed a -desperate one. But volunteers were found, and one night seventeen men -with scythes cleared the whole six acres, in the three hours of darkness -that were available. I own that such acts of heroism impress me more -than deeds done in the heat and ardour of battle. - -In the Autumn of 1918 the enemy were in full run for the Rhine, and the -Agriculture Directorate resolved to make another attempt at cultivating -a big farm. An area of 20,000 acres was chosen, this time near Corbie. -The site had been desolated by the Somme battles, and the work of -preliminary clearing (which was done by Prisoners of War) was the -hardest part of its preparation for agriculture. But when ploughing -began with tractors other unexpected difficulties cropped up. The big -armour-piercing shell with delay-action fuse, when it missed the -emplacement for which it was designed and struck the ground, penetrated -to a great depth, exploded there, and often formed a big subterranean -cavern without showing any crater on the surface. A heavy tractor going -over one of these caverns would break through and disappear. Digging it -out would then be a laborious task. - -When the Armistice came the Corbie farm was, in accordance with the -wishes of the French Government, passed over to it. So the Agriculture -Directorate never got in a big crop of its own sowing. But it had done -excellent work on its farm gardens and in saving the French crop within -the battle area. - -Forestry was another department which we owed to the German submarine -war. In 1916 shipping losses were already so great as gravely to -prejudice the prospects of bringing in timber from Scandinavia. It was -Scandinavia which felt the earliest effects from the submarine campaign; -Norway, especially, which with fine courage had refused to allow its -mercantile shipping to take refuge in harbour. - -The Norwegian paper _Tidens Tegn_ published an optimistic statistical -review of the position as regards Germany's submarine war on October -9th, 1917. This, covering a wide period and dealing with a mercantile -service which the German pursued with particular venom, attracted great -attention at the time. Pointing out that for the week ending October 9th -not one Norwegian vessel was sunk by German submarines, the _Tidens -Tegn_ commented that this was the first time for a year that such a -thing could be said. It gave then in detail the record of U-boats' -ravages on Norwegian shipping from May, 1917, until October, 1917, the -record showing a steady decrease of losses. But the sad truth was that -the Norwegian shipping had suffered such terrible losses that there was -not much left of it to destroy. - -As early as November, 1916, owing to the difficulties in getting -Scandinavian timber, we had decided to draw our timber supplies chiefly -from the French forests and from Switzerland, Spain, and Great Britain. -Our Forestry Department started with a Canadian lumber-men's unit. -Brig.-Gen. Lord Lovat was Director. In October, 1917, a fresh agreement -was made with the French Government for the exploitation of French -forests for the benefit of the Allied Armies. The magnitude of the -operations can be gauged from the fact that the Forestry Directorate -grew to 425 officers and 11,000 of other ranks, and employed in addition -about 6,000 prisoners of war. But perhaps the public, with Whitehall -departments in its mind's eye, may object that employment figures are no -sound indication of work accomplished. But the production figures admit -of no cavil. From November, 1917, to November, 1918, the Forestry -Department produced from French forests 2,065,074 tons of timber. This -was four-fifths of the total needs of the Army. Reference will be found -in a subsequent chapter to our shortage of barbed wire in the Winter and -Spring of 1918. Forestry did a great deal to fill the gap, producing -90,000 tons of defensive pickets between February and May, 1918. - -[Illustration: AT FORESTRY H. Q., THE KING AND A MASCOT] - -In addition to its productive work Forestry was a valuable Directorate -in the teaching of economy in forest exploitation. If the lessons it -inculcated are not wasted, British forestry should benefit greatly in -the future. - - * * * * * - -Salvage, Agriculture, and Forestry were the three chief "Economy -Directorates" of G.H.Q.; and if their spirit can be carried back into -civil life by the demobilised soldier it will prove of real value in -making up for the economic wastage of the war, vast as that has been. I -wonder if those people who are celebrating peace with a long-drawn-out -carnival of slackness and extravagance recognise as clearly as we were -made to do at G.H.Q. in 1918 the extent to which the world is short of -everything! Of course it is difficult for those who are not accustomed -to give close attention to the problems of production to appreciate how -deeply a world war of four years' duration affects every industry; and -especially so when on one side the war was waged on the principle of -destroying everything that could be got at, whether it was military or -civil property, whether it was an enemy or a neutral possession. -Germany, making a ruthless and unlimited war on "sink without trace" -lines, forced practically the whole world to band against her in -self-defence; and over practically the whole world labour and capital -were largely withdrawn from production for purposes of defence. - -In the days when the builders of Jerusalem worked with the trowel in one -hand and the sword in the other, it may be concluded that progress was -slow. For years a great deal of the world had the rifle in one hand and -the gas mask in the other, figuratively or literally. It could do little -in the way of normal production, because its chief energies were taken -up with defence. - -In regard to any industry, trace step by step the effect of a war such -as this war. The first and most palpable loss is that of the labour -directly withdrawn for armies and navies. That would be serious enough -if it were the sole loss. But it was only one of many losses. A modern -industry depends as much almost on capital as on labour. Capital was -withdrawn from production and devoted to destruction at an appalling -rate. That meant that industry was starved of machinery, of -communications, of nutriment generally. Like a human body deprived of -proper nourishment, it began to suffer from debility. Every neglect to -replace machinery, to repair roads or to open up necessary new roads, -every draft, too, made on the administrative staff, is just as much a -weakening of an industry as the direct loss of hand workers. A healthy -industry should be able to withstand for some time these losses, just as -a healthy human body should be able to withstand some period of -privation and even of actual starvation. But there is a limit to the -power of endurance in both cases. It is quite clear that in many world -industries (and most particularly in those industries which are -connected with the great staples of human comfort, the food industries, -the clothing industries, the transport industries) that limit was -reached long before the war was over, and the world began to suffer from -a constitutional enfeeblement of its powers of production; something -more serious than the temporary interruption of production, something -which makes now a restoration of prosperity difficult and tedious. - -All this is so true as to be truism. But it does not seem to be so -clearly recognised by the people who stayed at home as by the people who -went to war. Perhaps as the returned soldier makes his influence felt -more strongly he will have his value in bringing the nation to a sense -of the duty of economy. It was not possible to have two views about the -need of economy when you had to forage the battlefield for old bits of -metal and rags. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -THE COMFORTS OF THE FORCE--SPIRITUAL AND OTHER. - -The Padres--The semi-religious organisations--E.F.C. Comforts--Studying -the Fighting man--The Great Beer Save. - - -"There has never been an army that had more chaplains, or that needed -them less." That was the verdict of one American observer on the British -Army--a sound one. The British Army was notably well supplied with -chaplains--"padres" as the soldier knows them; but this was not in -answer to a call for spiritual leaders to combat a special degree of -wickedness. Quite the contrary. The Army was a very well-behaved, -sober-minded institution on the whole, as if it recognised the solemnity -of its task and fitted its conduct accordingly. To this fact the French -population can bear witness. The French villagers among whom the British -soldiers have been quartered came to a view of them which was once -eloquently expressed: "They are lions in the trenches and lambs in the -villages." - -So the padre went out for duty with the troops having no task of leading -a forlorn hope against ramping wickedness. His trouble was rather in the -other direction. "I don't see how I can have the 'front' to preach to -these men," said a padre attached to an Artillery Division one day: "I'd -rather they preached to me." - -It really was a difficult task--that of the padre at the Front, and only -the best type of clergyman made a success of it. His attitude to life -had to be manly, his character brave. But the padre who ran risks just -for the sake of running them was often more of a bother than a help. The -best padre's spirit was that of the careful soldier who will face any -danger that comes in the way of duty, but will not go looking for danger -in a spirit of bravado. The padre could make two mistakes. He could take -things too easily and just be a parson available to conduct Divine -service when he was wanted to; or he could try to do too much, to -interfere too much and become a nuisance in the fighting line. The good -padre struck the happy mean. He had the knack of being there when he was -wanted, but he recognised that the Army's first duty was to fight, and -he did not get in the way of its fighting activities. Above all he did -not try to arrange a church parade for the morning after tired troops -from the line had reached rest billets. - -One of the most successful padres in France was known as "the Lost -Sheep." He had a Mess to which he was properly attached and this Mess -was responsible for having a comfortable billet for him. But he was -rarely "At home." He wandered all over the district, picking up a meal -here and there and sleeping wherever he found himself after dinner. At -first it was thought to be fecklessness on his part. As a matter of fact -it was artfulness. Moving about as he did, taking a meal and a bed -anywhere, he got to know everybody and found out who needed him as -padre. - -The actual organisation of the padre service was a little difficult for -the layman to understand. The "Principal Chaplain" with the Forces was a -Presbyterian clergyman, the Rev. J. M. Simms. Under him came all the -padres, including Roman Catholic priests, except the padres of the -Church of England, who had a separate organisation under a Deputy -Chaplain General, Bishop Gwynne, who had been Bishop of Khartoum before -the war. What was the exact reason for the division of authority I could -never quite make out. There was no ill-feeling at all or jealousy -between the various padres. The Principal Chaplain had his headquarters -at Montreuil and was a regular visitor to the Officers' Club. The Deputy -Chaplain General had his headquarters at Paris Plage. - -Of the typical padre it was said that he was responsible for at least -as many sports meetings in rest camps as Divine services, but was a -genuinely spiritual man withal. There was credited to one the aphorism -that the men did so much worshipful work in the trenches that in rest -camps the first thing to be rightly thought of was relaxation. - -G.H.Q. Staff I fear were poor Church-goers. The Commander-in-Chief set a -good example by attending Divine Service almost every Sunday at -Montreuil, but most of the Staff Officers followed the maxim "_laborare -est orare_" and were at their desks on Sunday. The padres understood the -position and there were no reproaches. - -At meals at the Officers' Club there were always a few padres. We were -not expected to make too much concession to "the cloth" in the way of -conversation, and the average padre stood his chaffing with the best of -them. - -I noted one, who had a rather pontifical manner (though he was a -thoroughly good fellow at heart), take a hard hit in a sporting fashion. -The conversation had turned on Lord Roberts' campaign before the war to -try to arouse the British people to a sense of the imminence of the war -and the necessity of preparation. The padre blundered in with: - -"It seems to me that Lord Roberts and his friends must have been -singularly lacking in clearness of argument and persuasiveness seeing -that, knowing the truth as they did yet they were not able to convince -the people." - -"Yes," retorted an officer, "arguing on the same lines, quite a number -of excellent gentlemen seem to have been singularly lacking in clearness -of argument and persuasiveness for nearly 2,000 years, seeing that, -knowing the greatest truth of all, they have not yet been able to -convince the world." - -The padre took it in the right spirit and owned that it is not -necessarily a reflection on a preacher if his hearers will not listen. -Lord Roberts' name was venerated by most officers, and the Army was glad -that when the time came for the good old man to lay down his sword it -was from among old comrades at G.H.Q. that he passed away. - - * * * * * - -In addition to the padre service the British soldier in the field had a -great number of semi-spiritual organisations looking after him. These -followed a sound rule, generally, of providing hot coffee and harmless -recreation as the best missionary work. G.H.Q. recognised the Y.M.C.A., -the Church Army and the Salvation Army as semi-religious agencies, and -all these bodies did excellent work in providing rest huts and reading -and recreation rooms for the troops, and thus keeping them out of -mischief when they had idle times. Satan, when he came roaming round, -found the British Army well dug in, and plenty of wire out. - -To some proposed forms of guarding the welfare of the soldier G.H.Q. had -to refuse sanction. There were many cranks with very curious notions on -this point. Perhaps the most remarkable proposal was that which came -from a lady, the goodness of whose intentions was obvious but who had "a -marked moral strabismus," as a Scots doctor pawkily observed. She wanted -to form an organisation of ladies (and said she could do so) to meet -soldiers at the ports of disembarkation and take them to homes where -would be provided all the comforts of domesticity. I believe that some -such organisation once actually existed in an Eastern country whilst it -was at war. But so far as the B.E.F. was concerned it had to be -discouraged. - -The last line of entrenchments against ennui and discomfort was provided -by that wonderful organisation the Expeditionary Force Canteens. It -provided for officers and men cheap shops, good rest and recreation -centres, and for officers excellent hotels. The officer thus had never -to wander to strange places. From the Expeditionary Force Canteens -during the greater part of the time you could buy cigars, cigarettes, -chocolate, sweets, all kinds of canned goods and so on, duty free, and -at prices far lower than those of the London shops. Whisky and beer -could be bought, too, duty free, under some restrictions. The E.F.C. -was, in short, the great comfort-bringer to the soldier at the front. I -say comfort-bringer, for all necessities were supplied by rations. - -Just consider what Tommy got from the country he was serving: an ample -supply of meat (fresh meat in the main), and bacon and cheese, of bread, -and of biscuit; a fair supply of vegetables, of butter, of jam, of tea, -milk and sugar; a moderate supply of tobacco and cigarettes; a small -ration of rum. I know from my own experience that one could live -excellently on the men's rations. Nothing was actually needed to -supplement them. But comforts, well, they were comforting; and the -E.F.C. by bringing them almost up to the front trenches (as they did) -helped materially to win the war. - -The Expeditionary Force Canteens organisation was formed early in 1915 -for the supply of canteen facilities to the troops in the field. Its -operations commenced in France, but were subsequently extended to all -theatres of war. The undertaking was from its commencement conducted by -Sir Alexander W. Prince and Colonel F. Benson, both of whom -patriotically gave their services. In due course the organisation took -on various other functions, but its canteen business alone made it by -far the biggest shopping concern in the world. The "supplies and -shipping" department of the E.F.C. had for canteens alone an average -annual turnover of approximately 500,000,000 francs. From three to four -thousand lines appeared on the stock sheets, ranging from a packet of -pins to officers' equipment. - -The tonnage handled was enormous, and during the month of November, -1918, it reached nearly twelve thousand tons, representing 320,000 -cases. But the record week was that ending March 16th, 1918, just prior -to the great German offensive, when 3,643 tons of canteen supplies were -landed, and a turnover amounting to 10,586,407 francs was reached. The -tonnage off-loaded for the year 1918 was 121,000 tons, and comprised -over three million packages. - -Here is a table of figures of total sales at canteens and depots:-- - - Half-year ended Francs. - - June, 1915 3,283,641 - December, 1915 18,207,427 - June, 1916 48,629,071 - December, 1916 104,288,430 - June, 1917 150,786,105 - December, 1917 191,063,817 - June, 1918 223,931,847 - December, 1918 223,247,454 - ----------- - Total to end of December, 1918 963,437,792 - ----------- - -The E.F.C. was in business for the good of the troops, not to make -profits for anyone. All profits that were earned will go back to the -soldiers. But profits were kept to a strict minimum. By a happy decision -prices for the same goods were the same on every Front. You bought a tin -of tobacco at Baghdad for the same price as at Boulogne. Thus the -soldier on the more comfortable nearer-home Fronts was able to feel that -the little percentage of profit charged to him was helping his mate in -Mesopotamia. - -Yet another fine feature of the E.F.C. work was that it served the man -in the front line first and the man at the Base second. In 1917-1918 the -shipping position was so bad that economies had to be effected in every -possible direction. E.F.C. supplies had to suffer with the rest, and the -complaint came that what supplies did come over were largely absorbed at -Base and on Lines of Communication, and the men in the front line got -very little. The Q.M.G. got rid of that complaint very simply. An order -went out that: (1) certain luxuries which were in very short supply -should go only to front area canteens and not at all to the Base; (2) -other goods should go in the proportion of four to front areas and one -to the Base. As a consequence our Montreuil canteens were very poorly -stocked, for G.H.Q. of course did not count as a front area. But the -simple justice of the step was recognised. - -In 1918, the Home Government was forced to the conclusion that the -shipping position was so bad that no more beer could be consigned to the -troops. Beer was a very bulky article and its shipping space must be -saved. G.H.Q. did not like the prospect of stopping the soldiers' beer -just at a time when they had plenty of other troubles. Perhaps G.H.Q. -remembered a much earlier B.E.F. in Flanders in the reign of Henry -VIII., which did very badly until that great War Minister, Cardinal -Wolsey, took the matter of supplies in hand and saw that the Army was -well supplied not only with arrows but with beef and beer. Thereafter -that early B.E.F. retrieved its reputation. It occurred to G.H.Q., -B.E.F., 1918, that whilst beer is a very bulky article, most of the bulk -is water. Accordingly the Q.M.G. took over, in part or in whole, -breweries in our Army areas and arranged to brew beer locally, importing -only from England the malt and the hops, which were not particularly -bulky. - -I do not know whether the decision of the Home Government was in part a -concession to teetotalism and in part only governed by shipping -considerations. If so the teetotallers were disappointed. The British -Army in 1918 continued to number beer among its comforts. - -On the whole ours was the most comforted and comfortable Army in the -Field, as all _liaison_ officers from allied units agreed. The -Americans were as well off in most respects, but being a "dry" Army -interfered somewhat with the comfort of its majority. The average -American was not a teetotaller and did not object to wine and beer or -even an occasional whisky. At his own canteens he had to be. The French -of course always had a wine ration, but in other respects their -"comforts" were not up to our standard. The privilege that was extended -to French _liaison_ officers of dealing at our canteens was very highly -appreciated. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE LABOUR AUXILIARIES. - -The queer ways of the Chinks--How to bury a Chinaman properly--The -Q.M.A.A.C.s and their fine record--Other types of Labour -auxiliaries--The Labour Directorate. - - -The Great War revived, to a degree that few dream of, methods of very -old campaigns, when the hero had his attendant myrmidons and the Spartan -foot soldier his helots. Study a "ration strength" return of the B.E.F., -France, 1918, and discover how the actual fighting men in trench or -gun-pit had to be supported not only by Base soldiers but by British -non-combatant labour companies, by French civilian labour companies, by -Q.M.A.A.C.s, by prisoner-of-war labour companies, by Indian, West -Indian, Fijian, and Chinese labour companies. It was a big business, -this organisation of the labour behind the fighting area. - -Chinese labour was of very notable help to the British Army. At its best -it was the most efficient and hard-working force imaginable. At its -worst it was at least a good source of fun. The Chinaman came over to -the war with very definite ideas of making as good a thing out of it as -possible. "I sell my labour" was his formula in signing the contract, -and, though he probably would not recognise as his own the old British -law formula _caveat emptor_, that was the principle on which he acted. -If the buyer of his labour was fool enough to pay the price and not get -the work that was the buyer's look-out. - -Every Chinese coolie on arrival (as we soon found out) was "put wise" by -the representative of his secret society, his "Tong," that "this is a -good place. You have only to pretend to work." He acted on that, and -unless the people in charge knew how to deal with Chinese, so little was -done as to make the most finished British exponent of "ca-canny" go -green with envy. But, given an officer who knew his business, knew how -to get the Chinese headmen to get the Chinese coolies to work, and the -results were splendid. - -The Chinaman knew that by his contract he was not to suffer war risks, -that he was not supposed to work under shell-fire, and he was soon -sufficiently advanced to interpret an occasional air bombardment as -"shell-fire," and to give it as a reason for demanding more pay. As a -rule he was willing to take risks, if he were paid extra. When sick or -wounded he was a great nuisance, for if a Chinaman died of sickness -whilst in charge of the white man the conclusion was that he had been -done to death. Ordinarily a sick Chinaman demobilised two -workers--himself and some member of his own secret society who had to -accompany him to hospital to see that all was fair. - -The most earnest effort was therefore made to keep the Chinaman from -dying, not only from ordinary motives of humanity, but because as a -corpse he was an even greater nuisance. A British soldier might be -buried in a blanket, but the Chinese dead had to have wooden coffins, -and their graveyards had to be chosen with great care--preferably in a -valley with a stream running through it. All this to satisfy the -spiritual world of the Chinese, which seems to be very exigent in such -matters. The official instructions regarding Chinese graves stated: "The -ideal site to secure repose and drive away evil spirits is on sloping -ground with a stream below, or gully down which water always or -occasionally passes. The grave should not be parallel to the N.S.E. or -W. This is specially important to Chinese Mohammedans. It should be -about four feet deep, with the head towards the hill and the feet -towards the water. A mound of earth about two feet high is piled over -the grave." - -In matters of finance the Chinaman was also a little bothersome. He had -to have his pay right down on the nail; he distrusted any white man's -savings-bank or any system of deferred pay. In time Chinese -savings-banks were instituted, and these solved the difficulty that the -Chinaman would not let the white paymaster keep his money for him, and -if he had it in personal custody gambled it away. - -Keener even than his passion for gambling was the Chinaman's passion for -decoration. Was it in a sense of real fun on his part or was it an -accident that his taste for decoration culminated in the two "grand -passions"--an Australian hat and a Scotsman's kilt? If either of these -came within his reach the Chinaman knew real bliss. One Chinaman who -managed to get hold of both at once, and paraded a Base town in their -joint glory for a full half-hour was the legendary hero of all the -Chinese coolies in France. Of course to be in possession of an -unauthorised article of military equipment was an offence, and the -Chinaman going out in a kilt or an Australian hat, or a general's -red-haloed cap, knew that he was in for severe punishment. That was no -deterrent if his ingenuity could secure, by theft or purchase, such -glory. As often as it did the Chinaman was quite willing to stand the -subsequent racket. One Chinese coolie used to light up a quarter of -Boulogne with a decoration that challenged military discipline -successfully. He had secured one of those brass basins still used in -places as barbers' signs, had fixed this on his ordinary coolie hat, -polished it resplendently, and sported it with Celestial pride. His was -the brassiest hat of any brass hat in France; but the basin was not an -article of military equipment, and authority decided to wink at it. In a -hot sun you had to wink with both eyes. - -Discipline was good with the Chinese coolies if the controlling officers -knew their business and took care to "save face" of the headmen of the -gangs. An officer had to see that the headman did not fool him or -ill-treat the coolies and then to back up the headman always. If the -coolies got to think that the headman was out of favour with the white -boss nothing could be done with them. In matters of prohibitions the -Chinese language showed a strange inadequacy. It was decided to forbid -smoking in labour camps, and a notice "Smoking is Prohibited," was -printed in English, German, and Chinese, to be affixed in the compounds. -After some months a distinguished visitor, who was (or thought he was) -skilled in the Chinese language, pointed out to high authority that the -literal translation of the Chinese notice was "Do not get caught -smoking." The educated Chinese who had drawn up the notice originally -was sent for. He blandly insisted that that was the only way to say -"Smoking is Prohibited," in Chinese, and that the Chinese coolie would -understand nothing else. - -On the whole the Chinaman was a cheerful soul. He organised his own -theatrical companies and enjoyed those interminable Chinese operas which -are familiar to travellers in the East and to visitors to the Chinese -quarters of American or Australian cities. - -The "Chink" gambled as much as the regulations allowed him to. But he -could stand up to a hard day's work with constant cheerfulness, and, -apart from his craze for some prohibited military decoration, contrived -to make his uniform picturesque enough. The barber was an important unit -of every camp, for Chinese head-dressing is a matter of complicated -ritual. - -Taking one consideration with another, Chinese labour in France was a -success. It released many scores of thousands of men for the fighting -line. If the Germans had not thrown in their hand at the time they did, -it is probable that another 100,000 coolies would have been recruited in -China for France, though most other types of coloured labour were being -dispensed with as not being worth while. - -Chinese labour has a way of cropping up in British history. It might -have lost the Mother Country a whole continent of colonies at one time, -when Sir Henry Parkes, a leonine Norfolk peasant who had become Prime -Minister for New South Wales, dared Great Britain to veto Australian -exclusion of Chinese immigrants. Later it loomed, with vast -possibilities of mischief, over South African history. In the Great War -Chinese labour appeared again, but this time with no sinister threat of -trouble, but very helpful in matters of railway-building and -ship-building, and lightening, with a touch of Celestial humour, the -grim business of putting the German in his place. - -The Labour Directorate had control not only of Chinese Labour but of all -other non-combatant working units, except the W.A.A.C.s (or Q.M.A.A.C.s -as they came to be called when, as a reply to base gossip about their -morals, Queen Mary took nominal command of the corps and they became -Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps). Distinctly cruel--though it was -probably not meant to be cruel and was only thoughtlessness--was the -gossip about the W.A.A.C.s. According to some London scandal-mongers a -very large proportion of the Corps qualified for a maternity hospital -almost as soon as they got to France. As a matter of fact the standard -of conduct among them was very high. They represented at least the -average of British womanhood, probably they were ahead of the average, -and it would be a libel on our race to discredit them with a charge of -looseness. - -Nor was it a fact that the W.A.A.C.s were in a position unusually open -to temptation; it was quite the contrary. They were busy. The soldiers -among whom they worked were busy, and it wasn't a case of the Devil -having idle hands at his mercy. Further, the system of supervision was -well thought out and excellently administered. The W.A.A.C.s had better -guardianship than in the average British home. They lived in -settlements, with their own recreation rooms. These settlements were -strictly out of bounds for soldiers. All private houses, cafes, -restaurants, etc., were "out of bounds" to the W.A.A.C.s. Nor could a -W.A.A.C. "walk out" with a soldier in her leisure time except by -permission of her officer. - -At G.H.Q. there were very few W.A.A.C. clerks or telephone orderlies; -but there was a little band of W.A.A.C. waitresses at the Officers' -Club. A better set of girls it would be hard to find, and it is hardly -necessary to say that they were always treated with respect and courtesy -by the officers. A saying at G.H.Q. was that if you wanted to be sent -away suddenly there were two short courses to that undesirable end: one, -to curse your general to his face in public, the other to be caught -winking at a W.A.A.C. G.H.Q. did not wink at the W.A.A.C.s. We had too -much respect for them, too much gratitude for the spirit of -sportsmanship and patriotism that led them to come out to France to lead -a dull and laborious life for our comfort. It is difficult to imagine -what a touch of "England, Home and Beauty" those deft young women gave -after experience of soldier orderlies as waiters. - -From personal knowledge I can only speak of the W.A.A.C.s at G.H.Q. But -I had the best of means of judging their general standard of conduct -throughout France. In case of a lapse from grace a W.A.A.C. was retired -from the Corps, her uniform was withdrawn and she had a grant of 5 -pounds to enable her to buy a civilian costume. There were not many -cases of that 5 pounds being paid. - -But the W.A.A.C.s, as I have said, did not come under the Labour -Directorate but under their own Administrator. Every one else whose job -was to work rather than to fight did, and that made "Labour" an -extraordinarily interesting department. It had under its control: - - (_a_) The Labour Corps, including: - (_i_) Labour Companies. - (_ii_) Divisional Employment Companies. - (_iii_) Area Employment Companies. - (_b_) Canadian Labour Battalions. - (_c_) Middlesex (Alien) Labour Companies. - (_d_) South African Native Labour Corps. - (_e_) Cape coloured Battalion. - (_f_) Egyptian Labour Corps. - (_g_) Chinese Labour Corps. - (_h_) Fijian Labour Detachment. - (_i_) Indian Labour Corps. - (_j_) Non-Combatant Corps. - (_k_) Prisoner of War Companies. - (_l_) French and Belgian Civilian Labour. - -The core of the organisation was British loyal labour, men who were too -old or too decrepit to fight but who "did their bit" behind the lines, -making roads or working at various Army jobs. These were excellent stout -fellows, and as they did not object to taking the risk of death for -their country, they could be, and were, employed in areas of danger. -Another type of British Labour, not so admirable, were the Conscientious -Objectors. A few groups of these were employed in France as burial -parties, etc. Yet another type was known as the Middlesex -Contingent--why that county should have been associated with them I know -not. They were men British-born but of German parentage, whose loyalty -was suspect. They could not be trusted in the army; they were used for -some types of labour, but were not allowed near ammunition dumps or -other points where they might do mischief. - -Second in order of merit came French and Belgian civilian labour, men -too old or decrepit for the fighting line, but willing to work for a -wage. It was a condition of their employment that they should not be -stationed within range of long-distance shell fire, but this condition -was sometimes relaxed at their own wish and with the consent of the -French Government. At first the British Army insured these French -workers against accident, illness, and death through the French State -Insurance Department. Subsequently it was found more economical to -insure them directly. - -German prisoners of war labour was under the Labour Directorate, and in -the organisation of it some very good work was done. Prisoners were very -plentiful from 1916 onwards, and the Labour Directorate, when a new push -was mooted, made its plans to have skeleton prisoners-of-war companies -ready to be filled by the new prisoners as they arrived. I think the -record was in one case when three days after some Germans arrived at our -"cages," they were at work on the roads at the rear of the Army. It was -the law that prisoners of war should not be employed anywhere near the -firing line, and on the British side this law was very strictly -observed. - -My impression of the Germans as road labourers was not very favourable. -They seemed to loaf as much as they could. But some of the German -prisoners of the artisan class did excellent work in our various shops -and factories at Base. In tailoring shops, motor repair shops, etc., -there were many German prisoners who seemed to take a delight in -intelligent industry. German prisoners were very well treated and got on -very well with their guards. - -Now to the various classes of coloured labour. The Chinese I have -already dealt with. They were quite the most satisfactory on the whole. -The Indian labour was willing enough but did not stand the climate so -well. Kaffir labour proved on the whole unsatisfactory, and so did -Egyptian labour. A West Indian contingent did fairly good work. A model -lot were the Fijians, all volunteers (and all Christians, by the way), -and wonderfully good stevedores. Unfortunately there were very few of -them and they did not stand the climate well. One of the Fijian Labour -Corps left his studies at Oxford University to join up. - -The Labour organisation had two main objects: - - (a) To release the fighting soldier for his legitimate work. - - (b) To assist the Services and Departments to carry out their - tasks. - -Nine hours was the normal working day, exclusive of the time occupied -for meals and for going to and from the place of work. If the distance -from the place of parade to the work was more than 1-1/2 miles, the time -taken to march the excess distance was deducted from the hours of work. -For labour of low medical category the normal working day was eight -hours. - -Excellent work was done by the Labour Corps. Its _morale_ was carefully -studied and it was part of the instructions to officers that: - - All ranks should have briefly explained to them the object of the - work, for what, and by whom, it will be used, what purpose it will - serve, and, especially, that all the work is being done for the - prosecution of the war and is not merely a "fatigue." A few minutes - spent in rousing the men's interest in their work is usually time - well spent. A healthy spirit of emulation should be created by - pointing out the quantity of work of any kind which should be done - per day, and the amount done by other and better Companies. Above - all the men must be made to understand that whether they are - working on time, or on task work, no slacking can be allowed. The - men in the fighting line depend on the men of the Labour Corps to - keep them supplied with all they require. - - Our Allies are just as anxious for victory as we are. The French - and the Belgians have suffered more than we have, but, in spite of - it, never complain. Hence they should receive every consideration - at our hands. As we are in their countries we should respect their - customs and wishes as much as we can. In all our relations with any - of our Allies, it is obviously desirable for us to be polite and - courteous in our dealings with them. It must be borne in mind that - every misunderstanding or unpleasantness tends to weaken our - alliance and to help the enemy. - -The Labour Directorate, with many different races to manage, their -religions and food habits to study, had one of the difficult tasks of -the war; and carried it out on the whole very well. The chiefs of the -directorate in my time at G.H.Q. were Colonel (now General) E. G. Wace, -Lieut.-Col. S. G. L. Bradley, and Lieut.-Col. H. A. H. Newington, with -Colonel Fairfax as Adviser, Chinese Labour, and Colonel Pritchard as -Adviser, South African Labour. The staff was about equally divided -between big business men and typical Oxford men. It was always a -pleasure at dinner to sit at the same table with the "Labour" people. -They hunted, or rather dined, in couples as a rule, a leading light of -the commercial world pairing off with one of the "Oxford group." So one -could always reckon on good talk and argument from opposite points of -view. - -At the summit of its strength the Labour Corps mustered 387,000, a great -Army in itself, and it had representatives of almost every European -nationality, Chinese, West Indians, Pacific Islanders, Kaffirs, Zulus, -Burmese, Egyptians, Maltese and almost every Indian race including -Nagas, Pathans, Chins, Manipuris, Bengalis and Santals. And the Labour -Corps' patriotism cost it dear at times; for sometimes it had over a -thousand casualties in a month. - -[Illustration: Photo by Bassano Ltd. - -BRIG-GENERAL E. G. WACE (Controller of Labour)] - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -G.H.Q. AND THE "NEW ARMY." - -What G.H.Q. thought of the "Temporaries"--Old prejudices and their -reason--The material of the "New Armies"--Some "New Army" Officers who -did not play the game--The Regular Army Trade Union accepts its -"dilutees." - - -What did G.H.Q., whose view may be taken as the authoritative one, think -in 1918 of what used to be known as "the New Army?" G.H.Q. in 1918 -represented in the main the pick of the old Regular Army. Nearly all its -senior officers were "Regulars." The majority of the junior officers -were "Temporaries." What was the feeling between them after the mutual -knowledge that the years had brought? - -Often I talked this over at dinner, sometimes with men whose opinions I -had known in 1914 and 1915. There was H----, for instance, who, in those -early years of the war, was an unsparing critic of the "New Army" which -was, he used to say then, slovenly and a makeshift sort of show and -could not salute properly, and suffered, and always would suffer, from -the "non-military mind." - -The non-military mind, according to him, was an affliction which was -born in one, like original sin, and could only be exorcised by going to -a Military Academy and becoming a Regular Soldier. I used to be very -meek and long-suffering with him (he was senior to me) and only -occasionally mentioned people like Blake (a civilian whom Cromwell made -a General, and afterwards an Admiral, and a right good General and a -right better Admiral he was) or non-militarily-minded men like Botha and -Smuts. - -But to what argument I did venture upon he was impervious. I noted that -fact for him and quoted it as, perhaps, a characteristic of the mind -which was _not_ non-military. And altogether we had some charming -quarrels, as amusing, almost, as those of old men in their clubs, who if -they could not bicker could not digest their dinners, and then where -would they be? - -Now H---- takes it all back. He is at last convinced that the New Army -is all right. Of course it is. Why should it not be? Is not the British -Empire all right? And is not the New Army a sort of Representative -Assembly of the British Empire? - -G.H.Q. in 1918 saw clearly enough that never before in the history of -any Empire was such splendid raw material for an Army gathered together -as in Great Britain in 1914-1918. There were things to offend dainty -tastes in the recruiting campaign of which the New Armies were the -harvest. But nothing can spoil the value of the result, that many -hundreds of thousands of the best men who ever served in an Army joined -the colours. - -Judge the New Army by the standard of the "Regulars." - -The soldiers of the first Expeditionary Force (the "Regulars," the men -who, despite the booming of certain special units, did the greater part -of the heroic work of Lord French's command up to Loos) have proved -themselves so nobly that it is possible to say now, without fear of -offence, that if they had been judged as individuals before they joined -the Army, they might not have been held to represent the best average of -the British people. There is nothing ungracious in saying this now, when -even the furious and blinded foe is compelled to admit their excellent -virtue. The men of the old Regular Army themselves would admit almost -unanimously that it was the Army that made them, and that they -occasionally took the King's shilling for lack of prospect of another -shilling. The people of England must confess, on their part, that they -rather boasted of "not being a military nation" and were content with an -army system which did not seek to levy fairly upon the average manhood -of the nation but trusted chiefly to the patriotism and instinct for -rule of an officer class. - -The material of the ranks was not bad material, nor even poor material. -The British blood is a good brew. For it has tapped the most adventurous -and hardiest veins of the Celt, the Anglo-Saxon, the Scandinavian, and -the Norman; and this British blood learned by some subtle alchemy to -draw always fresh savour and wholesomeness from the girdling sea. Put -out of consideration a few criminal degenerates, and the mentally -emasculated politicians who used to preach the gospel of no nationalism, -and no British stock is actually bad stock, as can be seen from the -superb young nations that have sprung, partly from its lees, in the -Dominions. - -But the raw material of the New Armies represented a great improvement -on the raw material from which was built up the old army. Other things -being equal, therefore, the New Armies could be expected to beat the -Expeditionary Force. Other things, unfortunately, were not equal, such -as officers' education and time of training. But in all the -circumstances the New Armies, after some blooding, might be expected to -attain, and actually did attain, the high standard set in the field by -the British Regular. - -The material of the New Armies was such as no recruiting sergeant in -1913 could have hoped to secure. In a fairly typical batch of recruits -which I had to take over one day were engine-fitters, brass finishers, -coal miners, agricultural labourers, gamekeepers, two foremen, one -compositor, one valet, one pugilist (a champion), one stud groom, one -cycle mechanic, one clerk. The wages of these men before they joined was -high, and only two out of thirty-eight had been of the "usually -unemployed" class. Among these men, accustomed to the discipline of the -workshop, many of them with experience as gangers or foremen, possible -non-commissioned officers were sprinkled thickly. I have seen batches of -recruits for the old army just when they joined, and they looked usually -rather forlorn--men accustomed to be unemployed, men at a loose end, -disappointed men, with just a sprinkling of eager men taking to the -soldier's life for the love of it. Only after three months of the -wholesome life, the wholesome food, the kindly discipline of the Army, -would they fairly compare in physique, manhood, and intelligence with -the recruits of the New Armies. - -A well-marked stream coming to join the flood of New Army recruits was -that of British men from overseas. The British blood is strangely -responsive to the magic of the seas. Send a careless young Englishman -abroad to Australia, South Africa, or to some foreign land such as China -or the Argentine, and the salt air of the seas as he traverses them -seems to set tingling in his blood a new keenness of Imperial pride. His -outlook comes closer to that of the Elizabethan Englishman. Perhaps it -is from the first actual consciousness of what it means to be one of a -nation which is mistress of the seas. Perhaps one must seek deeper for a -more transcendental explanation, finding it in something analogous to -the Greek myth of the giant who renewed his strength whenever he touched -Mother Earth. - -Let the reason be what it may, the fact is clear enough. Of British men -abroad--I speak now of British born, not of those born citizens of the -Dominions--one can dare the guess that ninety-nine out of a hundred -turned their thoughts at once to the joy of service on the outbreak of -this war. - -In a city of China I know there were 18 young Englishmen in various -commercial houses. Of them 17 came away home to the war. In most cases -it meant abandoning their positions and all their future prospects. -Money was scarce, and the little band travelled steerage. To realise how -great a sacrifice that was, one must know the tropics and the disgusts -of having coolies for fellow-travellers. From the Argentine, from Canada -and the United States, from New Zealand and Australia, the English -streamed home to serve. From such a place as the Argentine there was -almost a stampede of British men of fighting age. - -Starting with a big handicap of quality in their favour, the men of the -New Armies very soon found that it was all necessary if, within the -much briefer time allowed them to become fit for the fighting line, they -were to succeed in keeping level with the soldiers who would be their -comrades. The recruits of the old Regular Army before the war came into -an organisation which was officered, from brigade generals down to -junior subalterns, by specialists. Officers were drawn mostly from a -class with a tradition of rule, and were given a very close training. -Those who came in as officers from circles which had not that tradition -were in a minority, and during their course of training learned to -conform to the pattern set. Very much of the success of the British Army -has been due to the qualities of courage, coolness, and _noblesse -oblige_ of the officers. As a class they gave the best of leads--a far -better lead than did the generally domineering, sometimes brutal, German -officers. The recruits to the New Armies did not have the advantage of -coming to an organisation fully officered by men with this tradition of -command and technical knowledge of their work. They had to rely for -officers on material which was slightly poorer on the average. - -The officers of the New Armies came from five sources:-- - - 1. A few officers spared from units at the Front and devoting - themselves to the dull but glorious duty of helping on the new men. - These were usually first class. - - 2. "Dug-outs." A "dug-out" is not a form of entrenchment or shelter - but an officer who, having completed, as he thought, his soldier's - work, volunteered back to service in the New Army. Some of the - dug-outs were up to the standard of the Regular Army and, having - kept abreast of modern military progress, were able to "take post" - from the outset. Other dug-outs were more or less behind-hand with - modern military science. A few were frankly deplorable. But the - "dug-out" in the majority of cases made an excellent officer after - a little schooling (sometimes without). Lots of him were at G.H.Q. - Sometimes he proved valuable only for the preliminary work of - regimental organisation, and was then remorselessly passed over - when his unit was finally put into shape for the Front. He - bombarded the War Office with furious protests, then took up the - licking into shape of another raw unit. - - 3. Promoted non-commissioned officers from the Regular Force, - nearly always proficient in their technical work, and in the - majority of cases with also a sound instinct of leadership. - - 4. Recruited officers from the Universities and the public schools. - Almost invariably they had a sense of leadership. They had learned - a tradition of rule. In most cases they soon learned the technical - part of their work. - - 5. Recruited officers from the bulk of the community: in many cases - very good; sometimes just passing muster; in a few cases distinctly - poor. The necessity of a weeding-out was soon recognised. - -Summing up in regard to the officers of the New Armies it has to be -admitted that they came below the standard of the Expeditionary Force, -but not much below the standard: and that they got to the standard of -the Territorials. - -Put to the test of getting a post at G.H.Q., which was supposed to be -the crowning test of efficiency, the New Army Officers did not do badly. -I made a rough poll one night at the club dinner. More than half the -officers present were "New Army" men. In what may be called "specialist" -branches New Army men predominated. - -The very wide sweep of the net which gathered in recruits gave the New -Armies a very varied stock of knowledgeable men to draw upon. The ideal -army officer should be, besides a gentleman and a skilled tactician, a -good horse-master, a good house-keeper, and a clever mechanician, able -to train men, to repair a telephone, a saddle, a cooking-pot or a wagon. -No one man can have all that knowledge in perfection, but with the New -Armies it was possible to get within a unit men trained in civil life -to every form of skill wanted. A regiment, with average luck, would have -recruits from the most varied industries and trades, and the picked -specialists in time got to "staff jobs" as a rule. - - * * * * * - -The "Regular" in 1914 and early 1915 was, I suppose, pretty generally -convinced that there was not much hope in the "Temporary." Especially -was this conviction firm in the mind of the very junior Regular. The -"Shop" boy, the young second lieutenant just from Woolwich, had a -blighting scorn for the "Temporary," whom he called a "Kitchener" and -often affected to regard as not an officer at all but some sort of -stranger whom you had to admit to Mess and tolerate in uniform because -authority said so, but who obviously was not a "pukka" military man, for -he could not talk about his "year" or exchange stories about wonderful -"rags." The average senior Regular probably thought very much the same -sort of thing, but, having cut his wisdom teeth, did not allow it to -show so palpably. - -There was a certain amount of justification for this feeling, for the -advent of the huge number of "New" officers made a vast change in the -social conditions of the Army. It soon became obviously necessary that -the Temporary "Pip-Squeak" should come under a severely motherly -eye--that of the War Office and of various private philanthropic -agencies who would have us all dull and good (and if we cannot be both -we can be the one at least). That eye then also glared upon the -Temporary lieutenant and other Temporary officers of more exalted grade, -and also, to their intense disgust, on permanent officers, who professed -to understand why the "Temporary" should be the victim of sumptuary -regulation, but not the "pukka commission" man. All these officers -agreed that it was the wickedness of the Temporary Second Lieutenant -(otherwise Mr. Pip-Squeak) that had caused all the trouble, and could -not understand why authority did not recognise this view and make their -new rules apply only to the most junior officers. But the rain of rules -fell on the just and the unjust alike, and some of the just were wroth. - -I could sympathise a good deal, even if I laughed a good deal more, at -the officer who found himself "treated like a child," as he put it. The -dignity of the position of a British officer in the old Regular Army -_qua_ officer was remarkable. His officer's rank gave him the confidence -of his banker, of his tradesmen, of society generally. To see a British -officer in uniform with doubtful company or under doubtful circumstances -was almost unknown. The tradition of the officer clan was jealously -guarded by the system of training. When at last, having got his -commission, Mr. Regular Pip-Squeak reported to his regiment in the old -days he found himself still very much in leading strings. Until he had -won six months' standing his safest attitude, even in Mess, was that of -"don't speak unless you are spoken to." Justice he could expect from his -brother officers, and sympathy too, but the sympathy was tempered by -severe snubbings to restrain any tendencies to effervescence. Above all -things, he was trained to respect his uniform; and as he had generally -the right to wear mufti when off duty, this high respect was more easy -than in war time, when uniform had to be almost constantly worn. - -With the first recruiting of the New Armies, commissions were freely -issued to men with no training, and in some few cases with no manners. -For a little while a bewildered public did not appreciate the change, -and bankers, tradesmen, hosts, had some unhappy experiences. But what -may be called the "commercial" aspect of the question was soon put -right. Officers' rank ceased to give credit rights. Socially, the -readjustment was far less easy. The War Office was at last compelled to -assist that process of readjustment with various restrictive orders. - -"We have been asking for it," commented one officer grimly when some -particularly repressive regulations were published. And without a doubt -we had been asking for it--that is to say the conduct of some officers -had made not merely advisable but necessary a degree of motherly (or -grandmotherly) supervision. Exhortation preceded regulation by many -months. - -Afterwards commissions were only granted after some service or a Cadet -term of training. But the stringent regulations, which offended the -dignity of some "Regulars," remained. It was not that a milk-sop -standard was aimed at. It was not the case that leave was only given to -go out to Mothers' Meetings, Sewing Circles, and High Teas in -Presbyteries. It was recognised that boys will be boys. But there is a -time when parents must be parents; and the War Office was in this case -_in loco parentis_. - - * * * * * - -But all that in 1918 was an old tale and mostly a forgotten tale. At -G.H.Q. there was no scorn at all left for the Temporary who had done his -share of fighting, even when he joined the scarlet-tabbed ranks of the -elect. He was accepted as a brother officer with the fullest cordiality. - -"Very much more interesting show, the Army is now," confessed one -Regular Colonel to me. "Talk in Mess now _is_ talk. You've no idea how -solemn and stuffy a Regular Mess could be, say in India or in a garrison -town." - -There remained a little good-humoured chaff still for the Temporary who -had jumped to a high appointment without any real soldier life at all. -Brigadier-General ----, the eminent expert in ----, who became a General -very suddenly, was reported to go around partly in dreadful, partly in -proud anticipation of a guard turning out for him when he wandered from -G.H.Q. area. - -The chaff was good-humoured. It was never put under the nose of its -object. So it did not do much harm. In truth I was struck by the general -good temper with which the Trade Union of Officers ultimately took its -"dilutees." - -But without a doubt the Officers' Trade Union, or rather the Amalgamated -Society of Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, and Men of the Regular -Army, was rather inclined to give the cold shoulder to the "dilutees" in -Lord Kitchener's time. These New Army people had not put in their proper -term of apprenticeship, had not paid their Union fees. Should they be -treated as full members of the Society? But that feeling died away as -the blood-bond of a stubborn campaign broadened and stiffened. It could -not even be kept alive by the somewhat silly advertisement in some -quarters of Territorial units and New Army units and Colonial units at -the expense of their Regular brethren. - -[Illustration: THE BOULOGNE GATE From the town] - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -G.H.Q. AND THE DOMINION ARMIES. - -Our Parliament at the Club--A discussion of the Dominions, particularly -of Australia--Is the Englishman shy or stand-offish?--How the "Anzacs" -came to be--The Empire after the War. - - -It was quite a little Parliament in its way, the Officers' Club at -Montreuil, and one of its pet subjects of discussion was the Dominion -soldier and the effect that the campaign would have on British Imperial -relations. The talk covered a wide field and was sprinkled with -anecdotes; it came up many evenings out of all sorts of incidents. - -"The Dominion men, many of them, are too touchy," says an officer who -has come back from a _liaison_ visit. "A Canadian officer--the talk -arising out of I do not know what incident--complained to me to-day: -'The Canadians do not seem to take on with the English.' 'Well, the -Canadians have a very taking way with them at the Front,' I replied, -hoping the allusion to Vimy Ridge would soothe him. But it didn't. I -hear from the Australians, too, the same complaint--that the English -people 'do not like them.'" - -"What greedy young men they are," comments another. "What more do they -want than the abject Anzac-worship and Canadian-worship among the -British people? If anything ever went to the heart of the old Mother -Country and dimmed her spectacles for her, it was the way in which the -colonial troops came into the fighting line." - -A Dominion officer at the table hazards that the British do seem -"stand-offish" until you know them. - -A British officer explains that the English are a shy people and a -people with a high ideal of personal liberty and individualism; that the -Englishman loves a corner seat in a train not so much because it is more -comfortable but because it leaves his shyness, and his desire to keep -himself to himself, safe on one side; that he does not like to be -bothered, that he is very shy from the fear of bothering other people. -"Those cold English passing you awkwardly by, my huffy Australians or -Canadians, are very proud of you, and they do not go up to shake you by -the hand and say so because they fear you would take it as a liberty." - -A staff officer who did _liaison_ work between Australians and the -British during the first battle of the Somme thinks that one of the -results of the Somme was the moulding during its course of a truly -Imperial Army. Forces of differing types went into the cauldron. One -type came out. All did a full share in the offensive, and by what they -taught and by what they learned had their influence in moulding this -"Imperial" Force. He blamed some newspapers for having devoted well -meant but mischievous energy to spoiling the work of this amalgamation. -A good deal of newspaper effort, if it had been taken seriously, he -says, would have fostered among the various troops a spirit of -third-class theatrical jealousy, as if they were a mob of people -competing for public favour and public notice: "Since the issue has been -raised in other quarters, let it be said that between Dominion troops -and British troops there was a fine emulation in skill and courage, and -that no sound judge could give the palm to any one section over another. -There were differences in method of courage and skill, no differences in -degree." - -We all agreed on that; and that the spirit of comradeship between all -was firm. Someone noted as a curious thing that there seemed to be an -understanding that what is known among soldiers as "chipping" should be -dropped in inter-imperial relations. A Durham might explain--with no -real but all apparent seriousness--how lucky it was for the Yorks to -have the Durhams to lean upon; and the Yorks would respond in kind. In -the next trenches a New-South-Waler might, with a vigour that concealed -well the want of earnestness in his _blague_, explain the hopelessness -of the Victorians. But between British, Canadian and Australian this -"chipping" was dropped. They were good comrades, but felt that their -mutual intimacy had not yet grown to a stage which allowed of "ragging" -or "chipping." - - * * * * * - -Officers' Club G.H.Q. was inexhaustibly interested in the "Anzacs." They -were frequently under discussion. There was far more talk of them than -of their fellow colonials, the Canadians. They seemed to have more -dramatic interest. Their rakish hats challenged notice, and their rakish -actions. - -Almost every day there was some fresh yarn of the Anzacs, a yarn of some -fine feat told admiringly, a yarn of some classic bit of impudence told -tolerantly. One tells a tale of the Anzacs' curious ideas of discipline. -Another caps this with the reminder that the Australian corps has the -best Salvage Record in the Army--that is to say is the most industrious -in rag-picking, shell-case gathering, waste-paper collecting, and so on. - -"I don't wonder," the first speaker retorts. "They're always after -records. They'd go over and raid the Boche trenches for Salvage sooner -than play second fiddle." - -"They did marvels saving the French harvest this year under shell-fire." - -"Yes, they are all right if you keep them busy. But they are the very -devil in rest camp. Now in Cairo----" - -But the table refuses to hear the story of Cairo again, because it is -not a very pleasant story. - -The conclusion I came to is that the British officer had really a very -soft spot in his heart for the "wild Colonial boys"--Canadians and -Australians. I was always being appealed to, as knowing Australia, to -"explain" the Anzac, which I did at great length on various occasions, -and here is the substance of it all: - -The Anzac striding--or limping--along with rakish hat and challenging -glance, for the first time brought Australasia actually home to the -Mother Country. These Australasians, the men of the Bush, were as -remarkable, as significant almost, as the Dacians in the army of another -Imperial nation two thousand years ago. Easily can they be picked out. -They walk the streets with a slightly obvious swagger. When they are -awed a little, it is a point of honour not to show it. When they are -critical a little, it peeps out. Two by two, they keep one another in -countenance and are fairly comfortable. Catch one alone and you may see -in his eyes a hunger for a mate, a need for some other Anzac. For all -his _bravura_ air, the Anzac has no great self-confidence; and he has a -child's shy fear of making himself ridiculous by a false step. The same -fear makes him difficult to know. He will often set up, as a protective -barrier against a real knowledge of him, a stubborn taciturnity, or a -garrulous flow of what Australasians call "skite" and Londoners call -"swank." - -In pre-war days an Australian in England might have felt himself a -little of the barbarian in so smooth a comity, where people loved -moderately and hated very moderately; walked always by paths; were -somewhat ashamed of their own merits and suavely tolerant of others' -demerits; and were nervous of allowing patriotism to become infected -with the sin of pride. But England at war understood them better--the -Anzacs, the young of the British. The young of the British, not of the -English only, though that is the master element of the breed. The Anzac -is a close mixture of English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh colonists, with -practically no foreign taint. - -There is, however, a wild strain in the mixture. One of the first great -tasks of Australasia was to take the merino sheep of Spain and make a -new sheep of it--a task brilliantly carried out. A concurrent task was -to take black sheep from the British Isles and make good white stock out -of them. The success in this was just as complete. The "rebels" of the -Mother Country--Scottish crofters, Irish agrarians, English Chartists -and poachers--mostly needed only full elbow room to become useful men. -Even for the Micawbers a land of lots of room was regenerative. - -Was it Charles Lamb's quip that the early population of the British -Colonies should be good "because it was sent out by the best judges?" -That was a truth spoken in jest. The first wild strain was of notable -value to a new nation in the making. It came to Australasia not only -from the original settlers but also from the rushes to the goldfields. -And--note here the first sign that the Anzac people were to be dominated -by the British spirit and were to keep the law even while they forgot -conventions--there was never a Judge Lynch in an Australasian mining -camp. The King's writ and Trial by Jury stood always. - -The Anzac started thus with good blood. To carry a study of the type to -the next stage, to note how the breed was influenced by environment, it -is necessary at the outset to put away the idea that the Australasian -people are engaged, to the exclusion of all other interests, in the task -of subduing the wildnesses of their continent. They have done, continue -to do, their pioneer work well, but have always kept some time for the -arts and humanities. To ignore that fact is, I think, a common mistake, -even in the days when every European opera-house of note had heard an -Australasian singer or musician, every European salon had shown -Australian pictures, and there was even a tiny representation of -Australian Art in pre-war Montreuil. - -"Does anybody in Australia then have time to read Greek?" a -schoolmaster's wife in England asked once with surprise. - -She was answered with another question: "Who is the great Greek scholar -of the day?" - -"Professor Gilbert Murray." - -"Well, he is an Australian." - -It was a specious argument, for one swallow does not make a summer. But -the truth--that Australasia produces at a high rate mental as well as -physical energy--could have been proved categorically. - -The Australian is not only a pioneer wrestling with the wilderness. He -is a creature of restless mental energy, keenly (perhaps with something -of a spirit of vanity) eager to keep in the current of world-thought, -following closely not only his own politics but also British and -international politics; a good patron of the arts; a fertile producer -and exporter of poetasters, minor philosophers, scientists, writers, and -artists. There is nothing that the Anzac, nationally, resents more than -to be regarded as a mere grower of wool and wheat, a hewer of wood and -digger of minerals. He aspires to share in all the things of life, to -have ranches and cathedrals, books and sheep. Above all, perhaps, he has -a passion for _la haute politique_. - -All this was in the blood. The "wild strain" was not only of men who -found in the old country a physical environment too narrow. It was -partly of men who desired a wider mental horizon. Some very strange -minor elements would show out in a detailed analysis of early -Australasian immigration--disciples of Fourier who gave up great -possessions in England to seek an idealistic Communism in the Antipodes: -recluse bookworms who thought they could coil closer to their volumes in -primitive solitudes. But one element was strong--the political and -economic doctrinaire; and the conditions of the new country encouraged -the growth of this element particularly, so that Australia soon won -quite a fame for political inventions (_e.g._, the "Australian Ballot" -and the "Torrens Land Title"). But the general growth of what may be -termed a "thinking" class was encouraged by the very isolation which, it -would seem at first thought, should have an opposite effect. Whilst -other young countries lost to older and greater centres of population -their young ambitious men, Australasia's antipodean position preserved -her from the full extent of the drain of that mental law of gravity -which makes the big populations attract the men who aspire to work with -their brains more than with their hands. Australasia will always be -claiming attention not only as a producer of wheat, wool and well-knit -men, but also of ideas. - -The ideas of this young nation of the British, nurtured in the -Australasian environment, would strike the pre-war England of five years -ago as naively reactionary. The Anzac, faced by natural elements which -are inexorably stern to folly, to weakness, to indecision, but which are -generously responsive to capable and dominating energy, had become more -resourceful, more resolute, more cruel, more impatient than his British -cousin. The men who followed the drum of Drake were much akin to the -Australasian of to-day. - -Australian Imperialism, in truth, must have had for some years past a -fussy air to the cooler and calmer minds of England; though the good -sense and good humour of the Mother Country rarely allowed this to be -seen. When New South Wales insisted on lending a hand in the little -Soudan War she was not snubbed. Nor was Victoria, pressing at the same -time a still more unnecessary naval contingent. In the South African War -Australian eagerness to take a part was more than generously recognised, -and when Australia next insisted on giving help also in the suppression -of the Boxer Rising, room was patiently found for her naval contingent. - -About this here is an illustrative story, which is welcomed as "quite -Australian." When the Australian Gunboat "Protector" arrived in Chinese -waters the British admiral went on board to pay his compliments and was -not stinting in praise of Australian military and naval prowess. -Thereupon the Australian band is said to have struck up with a tune from -"The Belle of New York:" "Of course _you_ can never be quite like us." - -It is perhaps a true story; certainly possible. There is a touch of gay -impudence in the Australian character which an ex-Governor confessed he -loved "because it was so young." - -Always one comes back to that word "young." It is the key to an -understanding of the Anzac--youth with its enthusiasms, rashnesses, -faults, shynesses; youth, raw, if you will, but of good breed and high -intentions. - -Australasian life leads to a certain hardness of outlook. Life is -prized, of course, but its loss--either of one's own or of the other -fellow's--is not regarded with any superstitious horror. Certainly it is -not regarded as the greatest evil. To go out with a mate and to come -back without him and under the slightest suspicion of not having taken -the full share of risk and hardship would be counted greater. Living -close up to Nature (who can be very savage with tortures of fire and -thirst and flood), the back-country Anzac--who sets the national -type--must learn to be wary and enduring and sternly true to the duties -of mateship. The Bedouin of tradition suggests the Anzac in his ideals -of mateship and of stoicism. The Anzac follows the same desert school of -chivalry in his love for his horse and dog and his hospitality to the -stranger within his gates. He will share his last water with the animal -he is fond of; and in the back-country the lonely huts of the boundary -riders are left open to any chance caller, with a notice, perhaps, as to -where to find the food stores, and to "put the treacle back where the -ants cannot get to it." It is, of course, a point of honour not to take -except in case of need. - - * * * * * - -An English padre who put in two years in the "Back of Beyond" of -Australia as a "Bush Brother" confesses that his first impression was -that the Anzac of the Bush was cruel and pagan. His last impression was -that the Anzac was generally as fine a Christian as any heaven for human -beings would want. An incident of this parson's "conversion" (he -related) was the entry into a far-back town of a band of five men -carrying another on a stretcher. The six were opal miners with a little -claim far out in the desert. One had been very badly mauled in an -explosion. The others stopped their profitable work at once and set -themselves to carry him in to the nearest township with a hospital The -distance was forty-five miles. On the road some of the party almost -perished of thirst, but the wounded man had his drink always, and always -the bandages on his crushed leg were kept moist in the fierce heat of -the sun. One of the men was asked how they had managed to make this -sacrifice. - -"It was better to use the water that way than to hear the poor blighter -moan." - - * * * * * - -Many a night we speculated to what degree the different Dominion types -will approximate as a result of this war. Certainly when the Dominion -and British troops were in contact tidal currents of knowledge flowed to -and fro which left both the gainers. Points which had been particular -property became common: regarding economy in the use of the -water-bottle, the art of making a bed in a shell-hole, informal methods -of acquiring horses, the best tracks towards the soft side of Ordnance, -the true dignity of salutes, sniping as a sport, the unpatriotism of -recklessness, and other matters. Slang was pooled and trench language -much enriched. In all things the essential kinship of the British race -was disclosed. - -We agree that after the war, the British Empire will have more of a -general likeness. Colonial ideas will have penetrated more strongly into -the Mother Country. British ideas will have permeated the Colonial -restlessness and impatience. What an ideal race the British could be -with a constant coming and going from the Mother's home to the -children's houses; an exchange of good grey wisdom with eager -enthusiasm, the equable spirit of green and cloudy England mingling with -the ardency of the Dominions. - -Finally a Dominion officer sums up:-- - -"I do not think an Empire managed on the old British lines could survive -another great shock. It is charming to be so equable and good-tempered -and to love your enemy as yourself and to do good to those who hate you. -But it brings a nation too close to the fate which overcame the -Peruvians under the Incas (they were a charmingly equable and -good-tempered and confiding race). Yet those who hope for an Empire -managed on Canadian lines, or on Australian lines, leave me cold. I want -good wheat crops and cathedrals, the best of the new and of the old -spirit. And just as the sole real advantages of being rich are that one -can be honest and generous, there would be no use at all in being a -great Empire and yet not feeling strong enough to 'play the game' fairly -and chivalrously. I hate hearing the talk--which is the swing back from -the excess of British tolerance--of a cold-blooded and merciless -efficiency as the ideal of national life. Better to perish than to be a -German Empire trampling on the faces of women and babes to the throne of -power." - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -EDUCATING THE ARMY. - -The beginning of an interesting movement--The work of a few -enthusiasts--The unexpected peace--Humours of lectures to the -Army--Books for the Army--The Army Printery. - - -In the last phase of the war G.H.Q. saw a remarkable new development in -Army organisation: the inclusion of civic education as part of the -soldier's Army course. Before this war, of course, there had been Army -schoolmasters, and these in peace time did valuable work in teaching -illiterate soldiers. Cobbett, we know, owed his education to the Army; -so did one of the famous Generals of this war, Sir William Robertson; -and once we had as a visitor and lecturer at G.H.Q. an American -University Professor whose first education had been won as a ranker in -the British Army. - -But the new Education Scheme had a much wider scope than the old Army -schools. The plan in brief was to make civic education a definite and -compulsory part of Army life, so that every man joining the Army should -have a course of humane and technical or professional education. The -plan is now in course of being carried on to successful fruition, and in -the future the Army will be a Continuation School as well as a defence -service. - -This may prove to be one of the most useful results of the war. It was -due to the enthusiasm of a little band of soldiers and civilians, the -leaders of which were Colonel Borden Turner, Major-General -Bonham-Carter, Colonel Lord Gorell and Sir Henry Hadow. - -The Army Educational movement had a small beginning with the -organisation of lectures. After the fighting of 1917 it was felt that -something more than the usual round of cinema shows and the performances -of Divisional theatrical troupes was necessary to help to recreate the -fighting value of the Army, and that what was required was something -more solid and intellectual, something that would raise an interest in -civic subjects quite apart from the war. It was therefore decided to get -as many scholars as possible to come out and give lectures to the men. -During the previous winter the Y.M.C.A. had arranged for a few lecturers -to come out and lecture in back areas, and they had machinery already -existing for looking after them in France. The Y.M.C.A. now again -undertook the work of housing, feeding, and transporting the lecturers -in France, and for all arrangements for getting them to the country. -Major-General Bonham-Carter persuaded some of the Government offices, -viz., Reconstruction, Food Control, Pensions, Labour, Education, to send -out men who could help the movement; and Lieutenant-Colonel (then -Captain) Borden Turner came to G.H.Q. to supervise the details. All -arrangements for lectures were made by the General Staff with the -Y.M.C.A. Lecturers were sent to units in the fighting areas rather than -to the Lines of Communication. - -[Illustration: MAJOR-GENERAL C. BONHAM CARTER] - -Later on it was decided that we must have an organisation to carry out a -big scheme of general education directly an armistice was declared, so -that the time of the men might be profitably employed while waiting for -demobilisation after the fighting was over. This decision was made in -December, 1917. Major-General Bonham-Carter and Captain Borden Turner -worked out a scheme with this idea, and Sir Henry Hadow, an -educationalist of great renown, gave his assistance. - -Already efforts in this direction had been made in England and in the -Canadian Corps and elsewhere by individuals, to provide facilities for -education and hold classes, and a few voluntary classes were being held -by the Y.M.C.A. There was, however, no organised effort anywhere except -in the Canadian Corps. - -In January, 1918, it was decided to get the scheme started as early as -possible and not wait for the Armistice. But at that time there was a -great shortage of men, and naturally any scheme which demanded new -establishments met with objections. For this reason things moved slowly. -However, a scheme was got ready, waiting for the favourable moment to -arrive. It arrived sooner than was expected. At an historic dinner one -night at Lord Haig's chateau his personal enthusiasm was aroused, and he -gave orders for the preparation of a scheme for general education -throughout the Army in France with the object (1) of making men better -citizens of the Empire, by widening their outlook and knowledge, (2) of -helping them by preparing them for their return to civil life. - -Lord Haig approved of the scheme that had already been prepared, but it -was put into force slowly, because very few men could be spared from -fighting and Lines of Communication work to fill the establishments -required. But a start was made. The scheme arranged for the work to be -administered by General Staff officers and attached officers in all -Formations, but on the Lines of Communication the Y.M.C.A. carried out -all teaching work as agents of the General Staff. - -In April, 1918, it was realised that the efforts in France would be -greatly hampered if they were not co-ordinated with those in England and -elsewhere. The War Office was therefore urged to undertake this -co-ordinating work. Lord Gorell, who was at that time working under -Major-General Bonham-Carter in the Training Branch at G.H.Q., was -appointed to the War Office for the purpose. - -The Army Education movement had warm sympathy from those at the head of -affairs. The Commander-in-Chief when once it was put before him was -enthusiastic. So was Lord Milner, then Secretary of State for War; and -Sir Travers Clarke, Q.M.G. and Major-General Daunay (Staff Duties) gave -it every support. But it was a movement from below rather than from -above, a movement springing from a widely-spread feeling amongst the -soldiers that they should win some better outlook on life from their -term in the Army. - -If one man more than another should be singled out in this movement, -which really sprang from spontaneous generation, it would be Borden -Turner. He had the crusading spirit and preached Education to every -authority until what was a vague aspiration came to be a concrete fact. -Certainly Borden Turner was a scarcely tolerable friend to many of the -already over-busy officers at G.H.Q. He was always urging them to give -lectures, to take on classes. At this time there was practically no -"Establishment," and the only hope was to get officers to give spare -time to educational work. They had no spare time, but at the -remorseless urging of Borden Turner they stole hours from sleep or from -the Ramparts and gave lectures or took classes. - -Before the Armistice the Organisation of the Education Branch had -progressed to some extent. Lord Gorell had gone to London and found a -sympathetic leader in Major-General Lyndon Bell, the Director of Staff -Duties, War Office, and S.D. 8 was established, having as its chief -officers under Lord Gorell, Sir Henry Hadow, Colonel Sir Theo. Morrison, -Major Basil Williams (the writer of a famous Life of Chatham), and Major -Frank Fox. General Bonham-Carter and Lieutenant-Colonel Borden Turner -remained in France, and the work of the new branch was being established -and co-ordinated with that of the Y.M.C.A. and with the Canadian, -Australian, and New Zealand Army Education schemes when the German -unexpectedly threw in his hand. A feverish rush for demobilisation at -once set in. As a consequence of newspaper agitation the original -demobilisation plans were seriously upset, and one of the worst -sufferers was the Army Education movement. Still an amount of useful -work both on the humane and the technical side was effected. Best of -all, the principle was firmly established that if a nation takes away a -young citizen from civil life it owes it to him that when the time comes -to send him back to civil life it will not be into a blind alley; his -term in the army will be employed to make a sound citizen of him and to -give him training in some vocation. - -[Illustration: LIEUT-COLONEL D. BORDEN TURNER] - -The Army Education organisation set itself to search out teaching talent -in the Army before calling in outside assistance, and it made some -interesting finds. Many a University don was discovered in a very humble -position. A gentleman described as "one of the most learned men in -Europe" was a bombardier in a battery. N.C.O.s and rankers who were -Fellows of famous colleges were common enough. Most of them were drawn -into the Education organisation. - -One of the officers taken by Education from G.H.Q., where he was a staff -captain in the Adjutant General's Branch, was Captain Hansell, who had -been the Prince of Wales' tutor in his student days. Hansell, in -addition to his scholarship, is a sagacious urbane diplomat with a deep -and sympathetic knowledge of French life. He would have been best placed -on the Military Mission to the French Army. But that would have been a -serious loss if it had taken him away from G.H.Q., where his -after-dinner talk cheered the seniors and his artful unobtrusive -tutelage helped the juniors. Captain Hansell took charge of the -Lecturers' Headquarters for Education, and the task must have made a -very heavy demand on his tact. Lecturers of all kinds were being sent -out to France to address the troops, some of them with very vague -notions of what was required of them in the way of kit. One lecturer -vastly pleased his soldier audiences, but imposed a heavy strain on -transport by always appearing on the platform in full evening dress. -Another lecturer went out--in a Flanders winter--with a frock-coat as -his warmest garment, "and it was the thinnest frock-coat in -Christendom," observed a sympathiser. Of course a very great deal of -"roughing it" was the lot of the lecturer going from unit to unit to -troops living under active service conditions. - -Moreover organisation was not perfect at the time. At one period a -steady stream of lecturers was arriving at Lecturers' Headquarters but -none was going out to lecture, because all transport for the time was -absorbed in a particularly heavy phase of demobilisation. The lecturers, -on whose damask periods idleness was as a cankering worm in the bud, got -into a sad state of impatience and were threatening to lecture one -another, or do something else desperate, when the position was saved by -a timely visit to them of the Prince of Wales and his brother, Prince -Albert, who had tea with them, chatted over their work, and convinced -them that they were not out on a fool's errand. Shortly afterwards the -transport situation was relieved, and the lecturers rushed to their -audiences and peace reigned again. But it is dreadful to think of what -might have happened if there had not been the urbane and diplomatic -Captain Hansell smoothing over troubles. A mutiny of lecturers would -have afforded some puzzling problems to the Provost-Marshal. - -[Illustration: CAPTAIN H. P. HANSELL] - -Before the Army Education organisation was born a great number of men in -the Army did some good solid reading. The Camps Libraries organisation -in England sent out to every unit parcels of books. Most of these were -of the opiate class, light magazines and light stories intended to -bemuse and not to educate the mind. But a proportion of good books -slipped in and were warmly appreciated by some. - - * * * * * - -The Army itself had a very fecund printing press, but it was devoted -almost solely to the production of books of orders and regulations and -text books. Regimental annuals of a humorous kind existed but were not -encouraged. As a rule they were printed in England, not in France, and -the conditions of censorship--more perhaps than the taste of writers and -readers--confined them as a rule to somewhat feeble japes. - -There were very often mooted proposals for a G.H.Q. Monthly. It might -have drawn on a very distinguished band of writers. But authority -contrived that these proposals should never come to maturity. The -expenditure of time and material was grudged, and G.H.Q. was naturally -very nervous on points of "Intelligence." There are a thousand and one -ways in which military secrets can be given away with quite harmless -intent. An Intelligence General's aphorism on this point ran: "We find -out far more from the stupidity of our enemies than from the cleverness -of our spies." - -It is clear that silence is the one sound policy. If a man says nothing, -nothing can be discovered from him. If he will speak, even if it is only -with the intention of deceiving, he may disclose something. British -diplomacy abroad (which was not such a foolish show as some critics say, -or else how comes it that the British Empire, from the tiny foundation -of these islands, has come to its present greatness?) was always the -despair of the inquisitive Foreign Correspondent, for it never said -anything. An Embassy or Ministry which would tell a lie, especially an -elaborate lie, was far preferable, for from something you may deduce -something; from nothing, nothing. G.H.Q. acted with a sound discretion -in smothering all proposals for a G.H.Q. Monthly. - -The Army did most of its own printing, of maps, orders, forms, and -training books. Maps were done by the R.E. mapping section, other -printing by the Army Printing and Stationery Services under Colonel -Partridge. This was a highly efficient department with printing presses -of the most modern type at Boulogne, Abbeville, and elsewhere. A.P. and -S.S. printed daily General Routine Orders and, as occasion demanded, -poured out in millions Army Forms, posters, pamphlets, and books. Both -the French and Americans used its services. It could print in Chinese -and Arabic as well as in European characters, and some of its -achievements in the way of quick and good printing would do credit to a -big London printing house. - -The Boulogne Printing Press, which was under the care of Major Bourne, -was a particularly up-to-date establishment much praised by the -Americans and the French as well as by our own Army. It put a strain -once, however, on the politeness of the French. The French Mission at -G.H.Q. wanted a book printed giving a record of its organisation. A.P. -and S.S., in the right spirit, did its best to make the book a handsome -one, and designed a special cover with _fleur-de-lys_ decorations. The -French Mission, with tact but with firmness, pointed out that France was -now a Republic and a monarchical symbol could hardly be permitted on an -official publication. It might give rise to a suspicion that the Army -contemplated a _coup d'etat_. The printers regretted and tried again. -The second cover design bore the good old Roman Republican device of -the lictors' fasces. But they were shown reversed. The French were -desolated at being so exiguous, but could something else be tried, just -plain type? The printers were determined, however, to give the good -French something to show what an artistic people we English really are, -and made a third effort at a decorated cover. This showed a really -charming design in which the Gallic Cock strutted triumphantly along a -rose-point border. The French were enchanted, so enchanted that they -found reason to have another book, an annexe to the original book, -printed with the same cover. - -American Army publications were normally somewhat more solemn and staid -than our own. Occasionally, however, the American humour broke out, as -in the gas warning leaflet, which had not, perhaps, the sanction of -American G.H.Q. but was widely (and usefully) circulated in the -trenches. It began:-- - - In a Gas Attack - There are only Two Crowds - The Quick and the Dead - Be Quick and get that Gas Mask on! - -After the Armistice, the Printing Services, no longer so much pressed -with other Army work, were able to undertake some purely educational -printing. But by this time demobilisation was sweeping away the classes, -and the best of the opportunity had passed. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT. - -The disappointments of 1916 and 1917--The collapse of Russia--The -Cambrai Battle--The German propaganda--Fears of irresolution at -Home--Reassurances from Home--Effects of the Submarine war--An -economical reorganisation at G.H.Q.--A new Quartermaster General--Good -effects of cheerfulness at Home. - - -The Somme campaign, 1916, had been begun with very high hopes. The main -conception of it was a sound one, to attack the German line at the point -of junction between the French and British forces, the point where, -according to all the accepted principles, the Allied line should have -been weakest but actually was not. That was the only way to bring an -element of the unexpected into a grand attack in those days of long and -laborious artillery preparations. (The Tank did not appear on the scene -until the Battle of the Somme was two months old and did not develop its -usefulness as a substitute for artillery preparation until nearly a year -later). - -For the Somme battle an enormous artillery concentration was made, and -a special "Army of Pursuit" was trained in the rear of our lines to -follow through when the German line had been breached. Then there was a -preliminary bombardment of the German positions from the sea to beyond -the Somme, and, amidst many feint attacks, the British and the French -offensive north and south of the Somme was launched. - -The First Battle of the Somme made the walls of Jericho quake but just -failed to bring them down. The Army of Pursuit was given no chance of -pushing to the Rhine; its energies had to be diverted towards sustaining -the attack. The fighting season closed in 1916 with the Germans still -holding their main defences but convinced, so far as the reasonable -section of their leaders were concerned, that the game was up and that -the best thing to do was to work for a peace on the best terms possible. - -[Illustration: ON THE RAMPARTS] - -Thus 1916 was a somewhat disappointing year; 1917 was even more so. The -fighting season, that year, closed with the Allied cause in a worse -position than in 1916 and with Germany correspondingly encouraged. There -would have been some reasonable excuse if in the winter of 1917-18 tails -drooped at G.H.Q. The weather was particularly vile. Every day the winds -that howled over the bleak hill-top seemed to have come straight from -Russia and Germany, bringing with them a moral as well as a physical -cold. The casualty lists of the Autumn were not cheerful to ponder over; -and it was singularly depressing to hear from Home that in some -political circles those casualty lists were being conned over with the -idea of founding on them a case against the Army. - -Nobody was inclined to try to represent the late Autumn campaign as -altogether satisfactory. But it was felt by the soldiers that "they had -done their durn'dest, angels can do no more;" and that there was not -sufficient appreciation of the fact at Home that with Russia down and -out, France in a very bad way, Italy tottering, the British Army had had -to step into the breach, had had to take a gruelling without being able -to accomplish much more than defence. - -It had seemed in 1916 that the time had arrived for Germany to pay the -penalty. But a triumph not of a military kind came to her rescue. The -German methods of espionage and civil corruption were on the whole as -blundering and as disastrous as her other methods during the Great War. -They helped to alienate practically all the civilised neutral world. But -in Russia--mystic, generous, trusting Russia--they had an unhappy -success. In the Autumn of 1916 this first showed. Roumania at that time -joined in the war against Germany, and this new accession of strength -apparently marked the near end of the war. But Russia mysteriously -collapsed owing to the effects of German corruption. Roumania was left -"in the air," and a large part of her territory was over-run. From this -date, though many of the gallant soldiers of Russia made heroic efforts -to safeguard their country's honour, that great Ally was practically out -of the fight. By the winter of 1917-18 she was quite out. The French had -had grave troubles. The Italians had had to send out an S.O.S. signal. - -We should have been more cheerful if the Cambrai attack, 1917, had had -the full success it deserved. That really was in its conception and -execution a very fine affair. At the time Germany was drawing troops and -guns from the Russian Front and pouring them on to our Front in -wholesale fashion. Both France and Great Britain had had to send Armies -to the help of Italy. Our Battle of Passchendaele was not exactly -flourishing. To undertake a new battle was the last development the -enemy expected of us; and to do what is absolutely unexpected is to do -the big thing in war. The British command collected an Army ostensibly -for Italy, made a great secret assemblage of Tanks, and suddenly -attacked the Germans in the strongest part of their Hindenburg line. -Their line was particularly strong at that point. It comprised three -series of defences each one covered by triple barriers of wire from 50 -to 60 yards deep. A system of dug-outs (constructed with the labour of -Russian prisoners) at a depth of 50 feet below the surface made an -underground city with water and electric light installations, kitchens, -drying-rooms and the like. Above the surface the houses were closely -packed with the earth removed from the excavations, and thus became -great earthworks indestructible by any shell-fire. - -All this the British Third Army, in a surprise attack carried out by the -Tanks and the Infantry, over-ran and captured in a day's attack. So -fierce was the British advance and so feeble the German defence _when -taken by surprise_ that we almost got into Cambrai. If that centre had -been won the German Front in the West would have been deprived of its -central pillar. The German defence, however, rallied in time to avoid -absolute disaster. When the German military mind was given time to think -it could always make a good show, and the _riposte_ to our Cambrai -attack was a good one. We lost most of the fruits of a dramatic _coup_. -It was more than annoying to think that just when we had successfully -solved the problem of a break-through we had not the means, owing to -commitments elsewhere, to push the thrust home. - - * * * * * - -Cambrai was a good deal "boomed" in the English Press at the time on -"popular" lines. But I do not think that the skill of generalship and -organisation that it showed were quite appreciated. The favourite -British pose of being a complete ass, altogether inferior to the "other -fellow," used to be pushed to the extreme point in regard to military -matters. The British had a quaint humility in respect to their military -skill. In a shame-faced kind of way they admitted that their soldiers -were brave; but for examples of military genius they always referred to -the "other fellow." Yet one may be daring enough, perhaps, to say -something on the other side; and to suggest that in the Great War the -German was really surpassed in most points of military skill by the -British. The difference was not always great, but where the difference -was greatest was just in those points of invention, of new tactics and -new strategy, which show the better brain. Heresy it will seem; but the -truth is that from 1914 to 1918 the British military system showed -itself superior to the German in resource and sagacity. Perhaps it would -be better to say the British-French military system, for it is difficult -to separate the achievement of one from the other. - -Consider one by one the main features of the great campaign. The warfare -in the air was its most dramatic feature. Everything of air tactics and -strategy that the German used he copied from the British and French. It -was the British who originated aeroplane attack with incendiary bullets -on captive balloons, aeroplane escort of attacking infantry, aeroplane -sallies at low altitude on enemy trenches, and the various combinations -of observing machines with fighting machines. In the first battle of the -Somme, when the British and French first disclosed their sky tactics, -the German was absolutely driven out of the air. He had then to learn to -copy all our methods; and he originated none of his own. - -Another dramatic feature, the complicated and terribly effective -artillery curtain fire, was evolved by the British-French command. It -was copied by the Germans, who themselves contributed nothing new to -artillery science during the war. Yet another leading feature was the -Tank, the Tank which made its real value first felt at Cambrai. This was -a purely British invention, evolved during this war for the needs of -this war. - - * * * * * - -Our "Winter of discontent" was not made any sweeter by the suspicion -that existed of a possible yielding on the part of the political powers -at Home to German propaganda. This German propaganda took the form of -blazoning the preparations for a sensational Spring offensive in 1918; -it was trumpeted like a Fat Woman at a Fair, and supplemented by an -almost equally strident advertisement of a gigantic defensive. In -addition to preparing a great on-rush in which Calais, Paris, Rome, and -perhaps London were to be captured, the German High Command wished the -world to know that it was also preparing a mighty series of defensive -positions back to the Rhine. Wonderful showmen! They had not only the -most marvellous Fat Woman, but also a miraculous Skeleton Man. And the -prize they wished to win, by bluff if not by fighting, was agreement to -an inconclusive peace. - -The soldiers were not affected much by these tactics. They took solid -comfort from two facts. The first fact was expressed in the homely -proverb "Much cry, little wool." Had the Germans been confident that -they could smash through the steel wall which barred them on the West -from the sea, from the capitals of civilisation, and from the supplies -of raw material for which they were starving, there would have been no -preliminary advertisement. The effort would have been made, and -Germany's enemies would have had to abide by the result. There would not -have been any compunction at the consequent cost in blood. The mere -extravagance of the advertisement of the German plans was proof to the -soldiers at G.H.Q. that those plans were recognised not to have a solid -enough military foundation, and had to be reinforced by showy bluff. - -The second fact which gave solid comfort was that in any comparison at -all of forces the German group was inferior to the West -European-American group. There was not any doubt at G.H.Q. Indeed the -more the Germans protested of what they were going to do in the Spring -of 1918 the more firm was G.H.Q. in believing that the enemy was at last -coming to the end of his resources and was anxious to "bluff" a peace -rather than "show" a weak hand. - -But it was feared that the people at Home might take the other view, and -it had to be admitted that the German put up a very strong bluff. -Perhaps its cleverest form at the time was in the discussion of "peace -terms"--a discussion in which it was presumed that the German would -impose a victorious peace before the summer of 1918. A characteristic -discussion--G.H.Q. kept a close eye on the German press and minutely -examined every German paper published during the war--would begin with -some Prince pointing out the minimum indemnity that Germany should exact -from her foes, and explaining in what form it should be exacted. -Germany's need, it would be pointed out, would be for raw materials, -food, cotton, wool, rubber, tobacco, silk and the like. It was these -that must be supplied to Germany by way of indemnity. They would have to -be supplied not free, but at a price 20 per cent. lower than the current -market price, and the annual value of this discount would only reach -the modest sum of 50,000,000 pounds a year. - -To have had to provide yearly a tribute of any kind to Germany would of -course have taken away the independence of the Allies completely. They -would have been put in the position of admitting a German suzerainty, -and would have become as the oppressed Christian provinces of the old -Turkish Empire. But to provide this tribute of raw material, the -discount on which at 20 per cent. would be 50,000,000 pounds a year, -would have been to engage to send to Germany yearly raw materials of her -choice to the value of 250,000,000 pounds. This would have been the -first call on the farms, the mines, the shipping of the Allies, and only -after that call was met would the Allies have been able to begin to -supply their own larders and their own factories. - -That was one direction the German Peace Propaganda took. The idea of it -was, presumably, to strike terror into our hearts, to make us welcome -with something like relief the actual official terms of a peace -negotiation when they came to be promulgated. - -Then someone in Germany would take the other side. Assuming with -absolute cock-sureness that Germany must win the war in the Spring of -1918, this publicist would affect to regret the savage terms of peace -imposed upon Russia. These terms, it was argued, did not represent the -considered wishes of the German people. But in war the wisdom of the -statesmen was pushed aside by the eagerness of the soldiers. The German -politicians were overwhelmed in regard to the Russian peace because the -Russian had allowed things to go too far. But if only the Western Powers -would agree to negotiate for peace _now_, the "reasonable German -politicians" would be able to assert their authority. There would be no -ruthless military conditions such as were imposed upon Russia. Sweetly -and moderately the Germans would frame their terms; but the Powers of -the Entente must "put the war into liquidation at once." Delay would -mean that the "reasonable German politicians" would lose their power to -restrain the military party. - -G.H.Q. remembered the old fable about certain trustful animals being -invited to pay friendly visits to the cave of a beast of prey. One wise -animal noticed that whilst there were many tracks of visitors going into -the cave there were no tracks of visitors coming out. We had noticed -that a free Russia went into negotiation with Germany to conclude a -friendly and reasonable peace on terms of "no annexations and no -indemnities." No free Russia came out. - -But G.H.Q. was honestly alarmed for a time that resolution would be -shaken at Home, and welcomed with joy (as the Germans did with rage), -the firm declarations of the Versailles Council of the Allies and the -unshaken confidence and resolution shown in the speech from the Throne -at the prorogation of the British Parliament. - -As soon as the Home political situation was seen to be clear, G.H.Q. set -about preparing for the "wrath to come" with a good deal of cheerfulness -and with some amusement that the German propaganda should, as a final -kick, make a strong though forlorn effort to revive the old story that -Great Britain contemplated the seizure from France of Calais and the -department of Pas-de-Calais. "Even," said the German Wireless about this -time, "if it is not openly admitted that the English will never -voluntarily evacuate the French port of Calais, which they have -occupied--" etc., etc. - -This lie revived in our Mess between British and French _liaison_ -officers an old topic of humorous conversation. For when this particular -lie was burdening the German Wireless some time before, a British -General was showing to a French General the arrangements of the British -Base at Etaples. He exhibited with pride the great bath houses for the -men, built of concrete and "good for a hundred years." "Ah yes, very -solid--good for a hundred years," said the French General, laughing. -Then they both laughed. - - * * * * * - -Christmas, 1917, was celebrated with the usual British merriment at -G.H.Q., and on New Year's Day everybody's cheerful greeting was "That -this year may see the end of the war." But I think there were few -officers of standing who thought that a peace Christmas was possible in -1918. No one would contemplate the possibility of losing the war, of -stopping on any terms short of a German surrender; but few could see any -possibility of victory near ahead. There were thick clouds all round the -horizon. Russia was finished. Italy was not cheerful. France was -recovering but not yet showing sure signs of emergence from that fit of -depression out of which M. Clemenceau was to pull her--the soul of a -Richelieu in his frail body. - -The worst symptom of all from the point of view of the British Army was -the threat of a shortness of supplies. Just when the collapse of Russia -had allowed the enemy to concentrate his full strength on the Western -Front, the great reservoir of British wealth, which was the main -financial resource of the Alliance, showed signs of not being -inexhaustible. There was a call at the same time for greater preparation -and greater economy. From the beginning of 1918 there were two great -cross-currents of correspondence between G.H.Q. and the Home Government, -one demanding new weapons, new defences, new equipment, the other -demanding rigid economy in steel, in timber, in shipping space, in -food, in oil, in expenditure generally. This was partly due to actual -lack of money and of credit. But in the main it was the result of the -submarine war. - -It was at the end of 1915 that the German Admiralty prepared a -memorandum arguing that if unrestricted submarine war were adopted as a -policy (_i.e._, sinking everything, hostile or neutral, warship or -passenger ship), then Great Britain would be compelled to sue for peace -within six months. The memorandum gave various statistics regarding food -supplies, tonnage, etc., to prove this hypothesis. The memorandum was -forwarded to the Imperial Chancellor, and by him sent to Dr. Helfferich, -Secretary of State for Finance, for a report. Dr. Helfferich reported -adversely. He was not convinced that Great Britain would be brought to -her knees. He feared the effect upon neutral nations of such a policy. - -The German Admiralty persisted in its view. Thereupon the matter was -submitted for report to ten experts representing finance, commerce, -mining, and agriculture. These experts were asked to advise (1) as to -the probable effect upon Great Britain (2) as to the probable effect -upon Germany's relations with neutrals and (3) as to how far the -situation in Germany demanded the employment of such a weapon. - -All these experts agreed that the effect on Great Britain would be to -force her to sue for peace within six months or less. Indeed, Herr -Muller, President of the Dresden Bank, thought that Great Britain would -collapse within three months. All the experts also agreed as to the -third point of reference, arguing that Germany's position was so -difficult that the most desperate measures were necessary to end the -war. Herr Engelhardt, of Mannheim, Councillor of Commerce, thought the -economic position of Germany so bad that a few weeks' delay might render -even ruthless submarine war useless. On the second point, the effect on -relations with neutrals, the experts were divided. Some thought that the -United States would be driven to war, others thought not. In all cases -they did not see a reason against ruthless submarine war in their -possible relations with any neutral. - -But the fateful decision was not taken until February, 1917, when the -destruction of peaceful shipping, whether of enemy or of neutral -countries, was ordered. It did not end the war in six months, nor in -twelve months; but by the beginning of 1918 there were some very serious -difficulties of supply just when the strictly military position demanded -the most generous effort. - -I wonder if those experts who bandy to and fro explanations and -accusations in regard to the German break-through in the Spring of 1918 -ever have looked at the matter from the point of view of supply, of the -supply, say, of one sternly necessary item of defence, wire? At a -careful computation we wanted 12,000 tons of barbed wire in January, -1918, and 10,000 more tons in February, 1918, to give our men a -reasonable chance of holding the line which we knew to be threatened. Of -that total of 22,000 tons we actually got 7,700 tons, _i.e._, 35 per -cent. of what was needed. - -I do not quote this fact to start another quarrel, shuttle-cocking blame -from soldier to politician. I am more than ready to believe that the -people at Home were then doing their best (as, _pace_ all grousers, I -believe they did their best from August, 1914, to November, 1918). But -you cannot spin out wire like you spin out talk, especially barbed wire. -The British soldier can, with his mere flesh and blood, and that gay -courage of his, do wonders in the way of making up for want of material. -But he could not hold up the attacked sector in the Spring of 1918 -against overwhelming odds; and one of the reasons was that he had not -enough wire in front of him. He had not the wire in front of him because -it had not been, _could not be_, supplied. - -How anxious was the task of G.H.Q. at the dawn of 1918 may be -illustrated with these heads of correspondence, in and out. - -To G.H.Q. from Home. - - The greatest economy in steel is urged. - - The position in regard to shipping is serious; the strictest - economy in everything is necessary. - - Lubricants are hard to get. We urge the greatest economy. - - -From G.H.Q. to Home. - - More machine-guns are urgently needed. - - There is a shortage of blankets; there is a shortage of 8,000 - tons of barbed wire. New searchlights are needed; 300,000 box - respirators are needed for the American Forces. - -I could fill many pages with matter of the same sort. The poison of the -submarine war began to have its cumulative effect just when we were -getting the most peremptory reminders that Supply was going to be the -determining factor of the final struggle, that war had become more and -more a matter of striking at the enemy's life by striking at "the means -whereby he lives." Munitions, food, equipment, railways, roads, -ships--these had become the most important factors, and victory would -incline to the Force which could best concentrate the means to maintain -an overwhelming force at some particular point, which could best -develop, conserve, and transport its material. The field for the -strategist had moved more and more from the Front line towards the Base. - -Fortunately, the British Army in France had for its Q.M.G. at this -crisis a man with the courage and the knowledge to carry through a -drastic reorganisation of the Supply and Transport services. -Lieutenant-General Sir Travers Clarke, who took over as Q.M.G., France, -at the end of 1917, was a daring experiment on Lord Haig's part; for he -was a comparative youngster to be put into a post which was then the -most anxious and onerous in the Army, and his actual substantive rank -was that of a major; but he was an acting Major-General with a fine -record in a minor theatre of the war. Lord Haig knew his man well, -though, and, what was just as necessary, knew how to back his man. He -put Sir Travers Clarke in the saddle and kept him there in spite, I have -no doubt, of many thunderous protests from influential quarters, for Sir -Travers Clarke was a ruthless reformer and a stubborn upholder of any -course of action he thought necessary. A character sketch of him that -appeared in the _Morning Post_ in 1919 is worth quoting in part: - -[Illustration: LIEUT-GENERAL SIR TRAVERS CLARKE] - -"'That big young man,' was a leading American officer's term to describe -Sir Travers Clarke after he had met him in France in Conference, and had -not caught his name. British G.H.Q. perhaps only learned to appreciate -the Q.M.G. fully from the comments of foreign officers who came into -touch with him in 1918. The masterful man took his power so quietly, -came to big decisions with such an air of ease, such an absence of -anything dramatic or violent, that it was a little difficult to -understand his full strength. - -"'T.C.'--as often before remarked, the British Army must reduce -everything and everyone to initials--as a regimental officer in the -'Nineties never seemed to get an opening. Nor did his early Staff work -bring him much recognition. But an officer of his to-day, who was a -clerk under him when he was first a Staff Captain, insists that he -always gave the impression of great power in reserve. 'He believed in -the British Army, in hard work, and in himself.' That was the foundation -of the career of a man who, once an opening showed, forged ahead with -marvellous speed to his destiny. - -"It took 'T.C.' ten years to become a major; within the next ten years -he had become Lieutenant-General and Quartermaster-General to the -British Armies in France. One year in that post, a year in which were -crowded all the experiences that a great Army could have, marked him as -a great leader of men and a superb organiser. How much the Allied -victory owes to him a grateful country will not appreciate fully until -not only the British but also the French and American campaigns are -analysed. - -"'T.C.' had the ideal personality for a military leader. You were always -dreadfully afraid of him and sincerely fond of him. No general ever -made sterner demands on his officers and men. If you could not stand up -to a gruelling day's work and come up smiling for the next day's and the -next day's, until the need had passed, you were no use, and you moved on -to some less exacting sphere. But you were working under a worker, and -you found yourself part of a massive machine which was rolling flat all -obstacles. That made it easy. Further, there was the most generous -appreciation of good work and a keen personal sympathy. - -"Sir Travers Clarke has one rule to which he never permitted an -exception: that it is the fighting man who has to be considered first -and last. In France he was quite willing that the Staff should labour to -the extreme point of endurance to take any of the load off the man in -the trenches. He did not like about him men, however clever, who had not -seen fighting. It was the first duty of the Staff, he insisted, to enter -with the completest sympathy into the feelings and the difficulties of -the fighting man. 'Bad Staff work mostly arises from not knowing the -differences between an office and a trench,' was one of his aphorisms." - - * * * * * - -This is not a history of the war; nor a contribution to any of the -numerous war controversies; it is merely a sketch of life at G.H.Q. as -it appeared to a Staff Officer; but I cannot help obtruding a reply to -some current criticisms of Lord Haig: that he was too inclined to stand -by his officers, that he was reluctant to "butcher" a man, and that in -consequence he did not get the highest standard of efficiency. -Faithfulness to his friends and servants was certainly a marked -characteristic of Lord Haig as Commander-in-Chief. He chose his men -cautiously and, I believe, with brilliant insight. Having chosen them he -stood by them faithfully in spite of press or political or service -thunderings, unless he was convinced that they were not equal to their -work. - -It is a characteristic which, even allowing that there was an odd case -of over-indulgence, of giving a man a little too much benefit of the -doubt, worked on the whole for the good. Men do not do their best work -with ropes round their necks; and I believe that a great newspaper -magnate whose motto at first was "Sack, Sack, Sack," very soon found out -that it was a mistake. - -In this particular instance I suppose the Commander-in-Chief had -powerful urging often enough to "butcher" his Q.M.G., who did things of -so disturbing a character. He did not; and the event proved him right, -as it did in practically every one of his great trusts during the war. - - * * * * * - -Reorganisation of Supply and Transport filled the attention of G.H.Q. -during the early months of 1918. Over a curiously wide range of subjects -swept a wave of reform and retrenchment. As I have already told, there -was a definite organisation to collect the salvage of the battlefields, -an organisation which saved millions of money in rags, bottles, -waste-paper, swill, bones and grease as well as in the more obvious -matters of shell-cases and derelict arms and ammunition. An Agricultural -Directorate was set to work to grow potatoes and oats and vegetables and -other food stuffs behind the lines. Rations were judiciously reduced, a -substantial difference being left in favour of the man in the actual -fighting line as compared with the man at the Base. The supply of -certain luxuries at the E.F. canteens was stopped or limited, but it was -provided that the man in the fighting line should suffer less from this -than the man at the Base. Weekly conferences were instituted to discuss -the most economical use of labour, of material and of plant. Every -matter great and small had searching attention, and the British Army -began to be run like an up-to-date competitive business. Some of the -injudicious laughed. They christened the General in charge of Salvage -"O.C. Swills" and "Rags and Bones." They could not "see" a Colonel whose -mission in life was to cut down laundry costs and arrange for the -darning of the men's socks when they came out of the wash. - -But all these things had to do with the winning of the war. It is a fact -that if the lavishness of 1914-15-16-17 had been carried into 1918 we -could not have won the war, because we should have been bankrupt of -material. - -G.H.Q. at the dawn of the Spring of 1918 was very serious in mind, but -not so much so as to fail to get some amusement as well as interest out -of the various new ideas in military administration; and fully confident -now that the people at Home were going to stick it out. In this -connection there was often mentioned with cheerfulness a London -bye-election towards the end of 1917 for an area which had had special -attention from the German air-raids. Some rather expected to see a -candidate come forward from among the little group known as "Pacifists," -who would seek votes on the plea that the best way to stop air-raids -quickly and to get out of the discomforts of the war would be to meet -half-way the proposals of the Germans who were trying for an -inconclusive peace. - -What actually happened was quite different. A candidate came forward -under the banner of the Government, pledged to the Government's -programme of carrying on the war until German militarism was crushed and -Germany made reparation for the ruin she had wrought in Europe. This -candidate had the support of both the old political parties. Against him -there came out another candidate. Did this candidate seek to win votes -by pleading for a friendly consideration of Germany's hypocritical peace -proposals? He did not. From what one could gather of the feeling of the -electorate, if he had done so he would have been ducked in the nearest -pond. No, his appeal was based on the plea that the Government candidate -did not go far enough in hostility to Germany, and that that gentleman -was not fully in favour of carrying to German homes the dastardly -air-war which Germany waged on a civilian population. - -Then a third candidate appeared on the scene. He was not for any -half-hearted policy. His cry to the electors was that neither of the -other two candidates was sufficiently earnest in regard to the war -against Germany. His programme was of one clause only, the necessity of -bombing Germany out of her barbarism. He did not believe that any method -of sweet reasonableness was of any use. A thousand tons of bombs daily -on Berlin, and a ration in proportionate scale on other German towns, -was his idea. - -Women speakers came to take part in the contest. Did they advocate -making concessions to the German desire to sneak away from the -consequences of the crime of 1914? They did not. They were more vigorous -than any of the men speakers in demanding a full measure of reprisal on -Germany. No one throughout the whole contest whispered "peace." - -It was altogether inspiriting. Here was a chance to see what the people -of England, the people who stood behind the Army and the Navy and were -our ultimate supports, felt about the war. We could see that they were -utterly resolute, with not a sign of weariness, nor of fear, nor of -tolerance for a craven peace. Their message was "Fight on, Fight on. -Bring us home a real peace. We will put up with everything the Boche can -do; we will carry on. But no palter, no surrender. Finish the job you -are at." - -The English people terrorised? Not a bit of it. They were only getting -their blood up. And G.H.Q. saw that and was comforted. - -There was also a good deal of solid comfort in the way that London took -the bitter experience of "rations." We never had any food scarcity in -the Army and, going on leave, officer or soldier had a food card that -guaranteed him a good holiday supply. So we were in the best position to -appreciate the cheerful way in which Great Britain took the very thin -gruel of ration times. Every officer coming back from leave expressed -his glowing admiration of civilian patience. - -Those German agents in London who relieved the tedium of the war for the -Allies by reporting to Berlin such "happenings" as the Battle of Oxford -Street and the destruction of whole quarters of London by air attacks, -set out, for the fooling of the German public, some fine accounts of -dismay and discontent caused by food tickets. But as a matter of truth, -London on rations surprised and gratified the most cheerful optimists. -The old city "took her medicine" not only with patience but with an -actual gaiety. - -To sum up: between the close of the fighting season of 1917 and the -beginning of that of 1918, G.H.Q. was at first a little depressed at the -thought that political developments would prevent the Army from seeing -the job through in a satisfactory way; was subsequently reassured as to -the feeling of the civilian population; and thereafter faced the future -with complete confidence. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -ENTER THE AMERICANS. - -How the Germans were misled about the Americans--Early American -fighters--The arrivals in May, 1918--American equipment--Our relations -with the Americans and what they thought of us--The Portuguese. - - -There are many claimants for the honour of being the War Winner. When I -was in Italy in February, 1918, I found a very genuine belief there that -the Italians were the genuine war winners; that they brought the -decisive weight to bear. Without denying the very useful effect that -Italian neutrality had in the first stages of the war, and Italian -participation at a later date, I think it would be hard to convince, -say, the French of the soundness of the Italian claim. The British might -be more inclined to agree; for they still keep up the curious pose of -being a poor feckless people who never do anything or know anything. -Another claimant for the pride of first place in the Grand Alliance is -Greece; and I believe that Portugal has some idea of putting in a claim. - -But on the whole, taking all the circumstances into account and -reckoning not war services only but war effect, the actual final blow to -the Germans' hopes was delivered when the United States of America -declared war. It was when Germany made that declaration necessary, in -spite of the sincere wish of the Americans to keep out of the war, that -all hope vanished of Germany securing an arranged peace. From that -moment it was clear that ultimately she would have to take exactly what -was handed out to her at the conclusion of the war. - -It is hard to believe that the German leaders ever seriously believed -the stuff and nonsense that they gave out to comfort their people on the -subject of American participation in the war. But having blundered by -bringing the United States in they had to try to cover up their -blunders. - -German diplomacy was not without successes of a kind in the preparation -and prosecution of the war. If it is the function of diplomacy to plot -murders and strikes and arsons in neutral countries, to bribe Oriental -despots such as those of Turkey and Bulgaria into betraying their -people, German diplomacy had a proud record. But concerning the -sentiments and opinions of honourable communities German diplomacy -showed always an abysmal ignorance. In no respect was this more clear -than in its dealings with the United States of America. - -At first German diplomacy adopted the idea which was embodied in the -German phrase "those idiotic Yankees"--the idea that the United States -was a kind of Wild West Show, whose simpleton rulers could be fooled -without trouble by the intelligent, the super-intelligent, Germans. When -that idea was exploded, the next to take its place was equally -foolish--that anyhow the antagonism of the United States did not matter, -for she would not make war, and if she made war the effort would be so -feeble as not to be worth considering. - -Then when the grim shadow of the great American preparation was already -over the German despotism, and the greatest single white nation of the -world was seen preparing its mighty strength to the full, the German -people were asked to take comfort from yet another delusion, that the -American nation would prove to be a "quitter," that it would be -frightened off the field by the German offensive of the Spring of 1918. -The _Hamburger Echo_ voiced that delusion when it announced: "It is -curious that at this critical moment American war experts are reported -to be planning an inspection trip of the Front. It looks as though -American capitalists were growing nervous. The dollar-republic has -stolen ships which ensure her a great Fleet, but American capital is not -unlimited, hence the liquidation of the war may be contemplated." - -How different the truth about that "inspection trip" which had the -effect, certainly, of impressing the American Staff with the extreme -seriousness of the campaign, but led to the result not of "quitting" but -of brigading the American troops temporarily with those of the Allies. -It was an instance of a sensible sacrifice of national vanity that has -probably no parallel in history--that decision of the Americans to allow -their soldiers to fight under British and French flags while they -learned their business. - -Unhappy German people to have been fed by their leaders with such -delusions! The United States a "quitter"! Had any German read the -history of the 18th and 19th centuries--heard of Washington, of -Hamilton, of Lincoln? If the German had searched back only so far as -1861 he would have found that the nation which he was told might throw -up the sponge at the first hint of hardship and danger, faced a war -which probably, for nerve strain and call for grim resolution, surpassed -even this great war. The United States had then to fight not a foreign -foe but domestic discord. It had to set its teeth through a series of -great military disasters. It had to hold firmly to a forlorn hope, -whilst it was faced by the ever-present prospect of foreign -interference. No nation in modern times has been put to a harsher test -of courage and resolution than the United States in 1861 and the -following year. No nation in history showed a more indomitable courage. -And this was the nation that the German leaders would fain persuade -their people was likely to prove a "quitter!" I ventured to say at the -time that before the German military despotism was through with the war -it would recognise that the reluctance of the United States to enter the -war would be matched by the reluctance of the United States to go out of -the war until its purpose was finally accomplished. - - * * * * * - -To tell the story of the American participation in the war does not come -within the province of this work, but some of the facts can be told of -that most dramatic feature of the last stages of the Great War. - -There was a very elaborate and very successful mystification of the -enemy over the time, the extent, and the equipment of American arrivals -on the Western Front. The American "Intelligence," in co-operation with -our own and the French Intelligence Branches, managed to surround these -matters with so much mystery that some of our own high Staff Officers -never knew the exact position, and strangely over-estimated the strength -of the American Force on the Western Front. There is good reason to -believe that the German High Command was completely deceived and found -its difficulties increased accordingly. - -From almost the first day of the war there were a few individual -Americans fighting for the Allies. In September, 1914, I encountered two -personally with the British Army, and I suppose the actual total number -was some hundreds. Later a great many came over with the Canadian -contingents; and there was also a flying unit, which made a fine -reputation for itself. This began with a small group of Americans in the -Foreign Legion of the French Army. In the spring of 1915 the formation -of an American squadrilla was decided upon. At first the French Minister -of War was not inclined to sanction the proposition, but afterwards -decided that no international law prevented Americans from enlisting -voluntarily, in spite of their country's neutrality. The squadrilla was -to be known as the "Escadrille Americaine," and to be commanded by a -French captain. On November 16th, 1916, Colonel Bares, Chief of the -French Aviation at General Headquarters, decided that the name -"Escadrille Americaine" must be dropped and the official military -number, N124, used in future. The reason given was that Bernstorff had -protested to Washington "that Americans were fighting on the French -Front, that the French _communiques_ contained the name 'Escadrille -Americaine,' and that these volunteer Americans pushed their brazenness -to the point of having a red Sioux Indian in full war-paint depicted on -their machines." Captain Berthaud, at the Ministry of War, suggested the -adoption of the name "Escadrille de Volontaires," but the name finally -adopted was "Lafayette Escadrille." More than 200 American volunteers -entered the Lafayette Escadrille before America joined in the war. Some -remained in the squadrilla, others were transferred to various French -units, where they frequently distinguished themselves by the brilliance -of their exploits. - -All these troops, however, were strictly unofficial and of course -discountenanced by the American Government. After the American -declaration of war, American help was confined for a long time to labour -units, forestry and railway workers. It was not until May, 1918, that -there was any really considerable American fighting force in France, and -not until June, 1918, that it began to have any weight in the fighting -line, and then only as units brigaded with British and French troops. It -was the usual plan--a plan made possible by the admirable and -business-like lack of false pride among the Americans--to split up their -troops among other troops, allow them thus to be "blooded," and after -experience as platoons, companies, brigades, to retire to their own -training grounds and form "pukka" Divisions of their own. - -By April 25th, 1918, there were 12,700 American troops in our lines in -France, by May 25th 79,000, by June 25th 188,000. Then the Second Army -Corps was formed and absorbed 95,000 men. The May, 1918, programme -provided for the arrival of six American Divisions within the British -zone of operations, and there actually were 108,921 American troops -attached to the British Army at the end of that month. The British Army -took responsibility for the feeding and equipment of these troops. The -system was adopted of assigning to each American Division as it arrived -a British "mother" Division, to see it through its early troubles of -transport, equipment, food and accommodation. The system worked -admirably and there was very little friction in connection with the -settling down of the Americans. Yet the task of adjustment was not easy. -The American troops had to be equipped with almost everything except -uniforms, badges and caps. The things they had were almost as much a -cause of trouble as the things they had not. The American troops had to -be gently separated from huge kits of unnecessary articles at the same -time as they were provided with necessities. - -Judging from the mountainous kits of the American soldiers as they -arrived it was thought that each man carried a roll-top desk, a -typewriter, and a dictagraph in his roll. It was found impossible for -the men to march with their kits, though they were splendid physical -types and full of keenness. I saw one Division disentrain at a station -on Lines of Communication and begin a march to its camp, a distance of -about ten miles. Before half the distance had been covered a great -proportion of the men had had to give up their kits to be stored by the -road side. - -One American camp was formed at Samer near Montreuil; and the town's -name was pronounced near enough to "Sammie" to make it easy to persuade -some of the soldiers that it had been named in their honour. - -The Americans at first had a natural love for their own methods and -their own wonderful kit; but they were very soon convinced of what were -the practical needs of the campaign and came in time to a whole-hearted -admiration of British methods, which was perhaps the finest testimonial -that G.H.Q. could have had. These Americans coming from a great business -country confessed quite frankly that the "effete" Britisher had "got -them all beat" on questions of supply and transport; and they took over -our system in almost every detail. - -Perhaps some of the points that arose will be of interest. The great -underclothing controversy was one of the most amusing. The British Army -had evolved a very practical system of keeping the troops in clean -underclothing without adding to the weight of their kits. A soldier -went up to the trenches or to his unit wearing a clean suit of -underclothes. On the first opportunity, usually within a week, the -soldier went back (on relief if he were an infantry man, on roster if he -were a special unit man) to the Baths which were set up in every -Divisional area. Here he stripped for a hot bath, and whilst he was in -the bath his uniform was cleaned, deprived of any insect population, and -pressed, and his underclothing was taken away to the laundry. He never -saw that underclothing again but drew a new suit, or a clean suit, as he -went out of the baths; and so he marched off spruce and smart. The suit -of underclothing he had left behind was thoroughly disinfected, washed, -repaired if necessary, and went then into the general stock to be issued -again. - -At first the Americans could not see that such a system would work. -Their idea was for every man to carry three suits of underclothing, one -on his body two in his kit. Presumably he was expected to change in the -midst of the ghastly mud of a Flanders trench. Also presumably he was -expected to carry about his dirty suits with him, which showed a curious -degree of trust in human nature. It was objected to the British system -that "all men were not the same size," and in response it was pointed -out that neither were all the suits of underclothing kept in stock at -Divisional Baths, but that with a fair attention to the law of averages -and a reasonable surplus allowance no thin man had to go away with a fat -man's suit and no tall man with a short man's. The British system was -finally adopted and won full American approval. - -Boots caused another difficulty. The British issue was one pair per man; -the American, two, the spare pair being carried in the kit. The -Americans finally agreed that if they could get for their men boots of -British quality (which was conspicuously better than the American -quality) the one pair issue would suffice. - -It would be impossible to praise too highly the common-sense and -civility of the American _liaison_ officers who had to argue out these -points with our officers. They were never unreasonable, and were very -prompt in crediting our officers with politeness and good-will. That -Americans and British can get on very well together this campaign has -proved. I think that in every case where an American and a British -Division were thrown together they parted company with a marked increase -of mutual good-will and respect. - -Optimism was the prevailing fault in the American organisation. They -thought that the fighting was a much simpler matter than it actually -proved to be. They thought a man could and would carry an unduly heavy -pack. They were very optimistic in the matter of accoutrements and were -anxious to use their own accoutrements when they had a barely sufficient -supply for the strength of a unit, and no reserve. They were ultimately -convinced that accoutrements in warfare have a way of disappearing, and -without a strong reserve no item of accoutrement can be kept up. When -there was no reserve of some item, British accoutrements were -substituted. It is a testimony to the quality of British equipment that -the American troops showed a desire to be provided with British articles -in substitution for their own, even when the change was not necessary. -British puttees and British breeches were cases in point. - -The American troops got British rations, except that coffee took the -place of tea. One coffee-grinder per 250 men was provided. Perhaps -civilian England was puzzled over the fact that in 1918 it was -impossible to buy a coffee-grinder in this country. Now they know why. -They had all been bought up for the American troops. In all things -G.H.Q. did its very best for the Americans. They had a fancy for an -increased scale of Machine-Guns; the Machine-Guns were found for them, -though they were a precious and scarce commodity at the time and we -could not give our own Divisions the increased scale. To provide horse -transport for the Americans we stripped our Field Artillery of two -horses out of every ammunition team of six. The general principle was -that if the Americans wanted anything it had to be found somehow and -found in a hurry. Probably we won an undeserved reputation for slickness -in some matters (such as printing Army publications), for it was the -established rule to give American orders priority. - -American _liaison_ officers at G.H.Q. "made good" with the British Staff -very quickly. They had a downright earnestness of manner which was very -engaging. The American Staff seemed to have been chosen strictly for -efficiency reasons and, there being no obstacles of established custom -to overcome, the best men got to the top very quickly. The appointment -of Mr. Frederick Palmer, the famous war correspondent, to a high post on -General Pershing's Intelligence Staff was an example of their way of -doing things. Colonel Palmer as war correspondent had seen much of this -and of many other wars. For his particular post he was an ideal man. But -it would be difficult to imagine him stepping at once into so high a -position in a European Army. - -American rank marks were puzzling to British officers at first. An -American _liaison_ officer obliged me with a mnemonic aid to their -understanding. - -"You just reckon that you are out to rob a hen-roost. Right. You climb -up one bar; that's a lieutenant. You climb up two bars: that's a -captain. When you get up to the chickens, that's the colonel" (the -colonel's badge was an eagle on the shoulder-straps). "Above the chicken -there's the stars" (a star was the badge of a general). - -To the same officer I was indebted for a flattering summing up of -British character. - -"I don't say you British people are over-polite. But you are reliable. -Go into a pow-wow and a British officer may strike you as a bit surly. -But if he says he'll do a thing you can reckon that thing done and no -need to worry. Some other people are very polite; and they say awfully -nicely that they'll do anything and everything you ask; and six months -after you find nothing has been done." - - * * * * * - -The Americans, when they got into action, first as auxiliaries of -British and French Divisions, then in their own Army organisation, were -fine fighters. Their splendid physique made them very deadly in a close -tussle, and they had a business-like efficiency in battle that did not -appeal to the Boche. A favourite American weapon at close quarters was a -shot gun sawn off short at the barrel. It was of fearful effect. The -enemy had the sublime impudence to protest against this weapon as -"contrary to the usages of civilised warfare." This was cool indeed from -the folk who made us familiar with the murder of civil hostages, the -use of civilians as fire-screens, and the employment of poison-gas as -methods of warfare. The Americans answered the impudent protest with -peremptory firmness, and kept the shot gun in use. - -It was stated, too, and generally credited, though this matter did not -come within my personal observation, that the American Divisions in -their sector set up and maintained a law in regard to Machine-Gun fire. -They did not consider it fair war that a machine-gunner in an entrenched -position should keep on firing to the very last moment and then expect -to be allowed to surrender peaceably. - -The Americans played the game, but they did not play it on "soft" lines, -and the enemy soon got a very wholesome respect for them. There was, in -the early stages of the American participation, an evident attempt on -the part of the German Intelligence to encourage an "atrocity" campaign -against the Americans. German atrocities had a way of casting their -shadows before. A usual method was to accuse Germany's foes in advance -of doing what the Germans proposed to undertake themselves. That was the -way in which Germany ushered in her lawless use of prisoners of war in -the firing line, and her enslavement of the civil population of occupied -Belgium and France. When the German Press engaged in "propaganda" work -on the subject of the American forces coming into action, it took the -line of representing the Americans as altogether despicable and -murderous adventurers, who had come into the war to kill Germans without -any reason whatsoever and when taken prisoners wondered "that they were -not shot on the spot, as the French had told them they would be." As one -German paper put it: "To the question why America carries on the war -against Germany they knew no answer. One can feel for our soldiers who -become enraged against this alien hand which fights against us for no -reason. Our men believe the French fight for glory and to wipe out the -stain of 1870, that Britain struggles for mastery on the sea and to -prove which of the two giants is the stronger. But the American! Our -field-greys despise him and do not recognise him as a worthy opponent, -even though he may fight bravely." - -But that sort of talk was soon dropped--as was the suggestion that -American prisoners should get "special treatment" when captured. It was -rather amusing to watch from our Intelligence side the manoeuvres of the -well-drilled German Press on the subject of the Americans. Early in 1918 -there was a general disposition in the German papers to write of the -Americans as tomahawkers and "scalpers" and so on. Then we learned from -our tapping of German field reports that officers commanding German -units complained that this sort of propaganda was having such a bad -effect on their men, that they "got the wind up" as soon as they knew -that Americans were in front of them. As a result a great silence -suddenly fell upon the German papers on this point. - -After the Americans had formed their own Army system we did not hear so -much of them at Montreuil. But they were naturally always in close touch -with G.H.Q., and to the very end the British Administrative services -were able to give a helping hand to the American allies. - - * * * * * - -The Portuguese contingent remained with the British Army to the end, and -it did very well, as might have been expected; for as a race the -Portuguese have a proud record of heroism and knightly adventure. In the -Indies, the South Pacific, and the Americas, Portuguese valour has left -imperishable monuments. The British Empire in particular owes much to -such great sea captains as the Portuguese Vasco di Gama (who discovered -the sea route to India), Torres (who discovered and named Australia), -Magellan, Quiros, and Menezes. - -We heard much amusing gossip at G.H.Q. from the soldiers at the Front, -who, after a critical weighing of the facts, arrived at the conclusion -that the Portuguese were "good sports." That conclusion was not come to -all at once. The British soldier is very conservative, and he was -inclined to be, for some reason or other, critical of his new allies at -first. In time "Tommy" forgave the Portuguese for having names "that -sounded like blooming prayers," which was one of his early reasons for -doubt. Here is one incident that helped to determine a favourable -verdict: - -A forward post held by the Portuguese was subjected to a furious -bombardment late one afternoon by the Germans. After a while a polite -note came down from the Portuguese officer in charge of the sector -informing the British Commander that: "The enemy are heavily bombarding -our position. Accordingly we have evacuated it." - -There was some inclination to criticise; it was not the withdrawal; the -best soldiers on earth have to withdraw sometimes. But the polite little -note with its "accordingly" suggested what it was not intended to -suggest, and what was not the fact at all. However, plans were at once -put in hand for artillery action, preparatory to restoring the position -next morning. But some time after nightfall those plans were put aside -on receipt of another polite little note: - -"The enemy has ceased bombarding our position. Accordingly we have -re-occupied it." - -When the full facts of the incident came out there was a cheer for the -Portuguese. It seems that the officer in charge was a bit of a -tactician and knew his men well. The post he had to hold was very -advanced and poorly fortified. When the enemy began to flood it with -shells he withdrew his garrison to a safe spot that he had selected, and -waited until nightfall. Then, without any artillery preparation, he led -his men forward and, with the bayonet and those deadly little daggers -that the Portuguese soldiers carried, restored the position. - -An earlier incident of the Portuguese co-operation was humorous in -another way. "Tommy" had, of course, found a name for the new arrivals, -a name which was more humorous than respectful. Like all Tommy's -word-coinages it was a good one and spread into common use. High -Authority, fearful that offence would be given, issued an order, a very -portentous order, which noticed with reprobation "the habit which had -grown up" of referring to "our noble allies" as "the ---- ----." The -Order concluded with the usual warning of disciplinary action. It was to -be circulated secretly by word of mouth from officer to officer, but -some unfortunate adjutant circulated it in battalion orders so that all -could read--including the Portuguese. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE GERMAN SPRING OF 1918. - -Was G.H.Q. at fault?--Where we could best afford to lose -ground--Refugees complicate the situation--Stark resolution of the -French--All the Pas-de-Calais to be wrecked if necessary--How our -railways broke down--Amiens does not fall. - - -To affirm that a great German attack was expected in the Spring of 1918, -and that the site of the attack was not altogether unexpected, seems to -imply a very serious criticism of G.H.Q. That being so, why did the -Germans succeed in breaking through and winning such an extent of -territory and coming within a narrow margin of gaining a decisive -advantage? - -The question is natural, especially as one soldier in high command has -stated--or is reported to have stated--that he knew exactly the spot -where the Germans were going to attack. Some day there will be an -exhaustive inquiry into all the circumstances of the Spring of 1918. -Probably as a result it will be found that no serious blame can be -attached in any quarter, but that what happened was the result of a -series of events which were mostly unavoidable. - -For the first time Germany could concentrate her whole strength on this -Front. Yet our strength was at the lowest point it had reached for many -months and, since we had just taken over a new sector of the line, our -defence was thinner on the average than it had ever been since 1915. -Further, we were definitely short of some essential defence material. If -we had strengthened the sector where the chief attack came we should -have had to weaken another sector. Then the Germans would have attacked -that sector. They chose, and chose naturally, the point where our line -was thinnest. If it can be shown that the sector where our line was -thinnest was the sector in which we could best afford to lose ground, it -will have to be admitted that, in the main, G.H.Q. had made the best -dispositions possible with the means at hand. - -A glance at the map of France will show that pretty clearly. Put in a -phrase, the German plan was to push the British Army into the sea. In -the north our line was dangerously close to the sea. Our most northern -port, Dunkirk, was actually under shell-fire and in consequence could be -very little used. A very small gain of territory by the Germans in the -north would have brought Calais and Boulogne under shell-fire. Then our -existence as an Army north of the Somme would have become impossible. We -could not have kept an adequate force there in supplies. In the north -every yard of territory was of the greatest strategic value. As our line -ran south the French coast bulged out. We had more room to manoeuvre -there; loss of ground was not so vital. If the Germans had won on the -line Ypres-Armentieres the same depth of territory that they won on the -line Arras-Peronne, we should have had to evacuate all France north of -the Somme. - -In short we took the biggest risk of loss of ground where the loss was -least dangerous to the vital plan of the campaign. In the light of the -man-power available it was probably the best course that could have been -pursued. We knew we had to lose ground, probably a good deal of ground, -and decided to lose it where it mattered least. We had very good ideas -as to where. - -For proof of this look up the representations as to civilian evacuations -which were made by G.H.Q. to the French authorities in February, 1918. -Those representations, by the way, were not given any attention at all -in some cases; at the best only perfunctory attention. The result was -that when the German attack came, civilian refugees added to our -difficulties and anxieties. If the prompt and complete evacuation of all -civilian refugees from threatened areas and from areas close behind the -front line, which were urgently needed for the accommodation of troops, -could have been effected, the Army's tasks would have been much -simplified. But that proved impracticable. Civilians were generally -unwilling to abandon their homes voluntarily. The French authorities -were reluctant to enforce evacuation. A civilian quitting his home -voluntarily was responsible for his own keep. A civilian forced to quit -became a charge on the French Civil Authorities. This naturally led to a -wish that civilians as far as possible should be compelled to quit their -homes by force of circumstances rather than by order of the authorities. - -As far back as February, 1918, pressure was brought to bear on the -French Authorities to agree to defined measures to meet the emergency of -a withdrawal of part of our line, which was then foreseen as a -probability. But it was not found possible to secure prompt assent to -the steps which were necessary. There were all sorts of complications. -For one thing it was feared that to set up the machinery of evacuation -would spread dismay among the French civilians. Another obstacle was the -financial one which I have already mentioned. Yet another was that -created by the status of the miners in threatened areas. These were -mobilised men under French Military Command; their wives and children -were civilians. If their wives and children were evacuated the miners -would not stay. - -Later, arrangements were agreed to between the British Force and the -French Authorities for the systematic evacuation, with their live stock -and supplies, of civilians in threatened areas. But the early -difficulties considerably hampered operations. I mention this not at all -by way of a tilt against the French Authorities, whose reluctance to -make provision for evacuations was natural enough, but to show that -G.H.Q. was not "caught napping," and to illustrate also the difficulties -which an Expeditionary Force operating in a friendly country has to -meet. - -There are, of course, many advantages springing from the fact that the -country in which you are quartered is friendly. But I am not sure that -the disadvantages are not almost as great. In an enemy country you know -at any rate where you are; military safety, military convenience are the -supreme law; and the civilian population have only to be considered to -the degree that the laws of war and the dictates of humanity decide. In -a friendly country, where the old civil government remains in operation, -an Army is hampered at many points. There are various actions which -military convenience prompts but which cannot be taken without the -assent of the civilian authorities; and perhaps cannot be urged with the -weight of the full facts on those civil authorities. This evacuation -difficulty is an instance in point. If G.H.Q. had had its way the -Germans would have won far less material in their advance; and perhaps -their advance would have been stopped at an earlier stage if our -operations had not been hampered to some extent by the crowding of the -road with civilian refugees. - -Still, on the big issues the French were splendid. What, for example, -could have been more heroic than the decision they came to a little -later: that, in case of the German advance continuing, the whole of the -Pas de Calais province was to be destroyed, the harbours of Dunkirk, -Calais and Boulogne wrecked, the dykes and locks destroyed so that the -country would have been generally inundated? - -To some degree defensive inundations were actually carried into effect, -but with fresh water only. The responsibility in the main rested with -the British Army which was holding the threatened territory. The only -saving stipulation made by the French, who thus offered in the cause of -the alliance to give up for half a century the use of one of their -fairest provinces, was that before the sea was let in to devastate the -land, Marshal Foch should give the word. It was on April 12th, 1918, -that the Allied Commander-in-Chief gave orders for defensive inundations -to stop the Germans from getting to the Dunkirk-Calais region; and on -April 13th the Governor of Dunkirk began to put these into effect. There -were two schemes of inundation, one for a modified flooding with fresh -water of certain limited areas; the other for a general flooding, with -sea-water as well as fresh water, of all low-lying areas around Calais -and Dunkirk. - -It is impossible to praise adequately the stark courage that agreed to -this step. It was courage after the antique model, and it showed that -France was willing to make any sacrifice rather than allow the wave of -German barbarism to sweep over civilisation. The effect of letting the -sea in on Pas de Calais and destroying the canal locks and the harbours -would have been to make this great province a desert for two -generations. The effect of allowing it to fall into German hands, with -all its canal and harbour facilities, would have been to give new life -to the submarine war, to make the bombardment and ultimately the -invasion of the English coast possible. - -At one time it seemed almost certain that an evacuation of at least part -of Pas de Calais would have to be carried out; and arrangements were -made in detail: that in any area which was evacuated, either -deliberately or in consequence of direct enemy pressure, the most -thorough destruction should be carried out to deny to the enemy any -stores of material or facilities of transport. The method of every -destruction and the unit responsible for it were arranged in advance. - -The main lines of a policy of destruction were laid down in the event -of:-- - - 1. A withdrawal to the Calais--St. Omer defensive line; - - 2. A withdrawal to the line of the Somme; - - 3. An enemy advance along the line of the Somme, cutting off - Flanders and Pas de Calais from the South. - -Provision was made for the using up or removal of all possible stores; -for the destruction of the remainder; for the destruction of all -railroads, water-ways, signalling systems, factories, etc. Where British -and French troops were operating together in a fighting zone, their -respective responsibilities were delimited. Arrangements were also made, -in case of withdrawal, to clear from certain water-ways all canal craft -which might serve the enemy as bridge material over inundations. - - * * * * * - -Certainly it was not "gay," as the French say, this preparation for -destroying the property of an Ally. But we took comfort from the fact -that after all the position was better than in 1914. Then a German -victory seemed possible. Now in 1918 the only question was what -sacrifices we should yet have to make before achieving victory. In 1914, -after 50 years of intensive preparation, the German had rushed upon an -unsuspecting Europe. He neglected nothing in preparing for victory. He -threw overboard every scruple in order to secure a rapid triumph, -violating the neutrality of Belgium and Luxemburg merely because by so -doing he gained a better field of deployment. His objective was Paris, -and, according to authoritative accounts, his plan on reaching Paris was -to divide it up into twelve quarters and burn down a quarter every day -that the French Army delayed to surrender. The terms of surrender were -to include the giving up of the French Fleet and the French ports for -use in an invasion of England. - -The danger at that time was very real. Germany was the only country -adequately armed and organised. The British people had had to sacrifice -in great measure the Regular Army to stay the first German onset. France -was strained to a point which to any other country would have meant -exhaustion. We could recall the preparations that had to be made to meet -the imminent fear of an invasion of the British coast; the desperate -shifts and expedients which had to be adopted in the first stages of the -organisation of the New Armies; the peremptory demands for guns and -shells when there were no factories to make either in anything like the -quantity demanded. That was a time when it needed the highest of moral -courage to remain calm and confident. - -The Spring of 1918 is not a pleasant thing to think about; but it is -hardly endurable, even now in safe retrospection, to think on the -position of Great Britain at home or in the field from October, 1914, to -September, 1915. It was that of an unsuspecting man before whose feet -suddenly a pit of destruction opens. He falls scrambling, struggling -down, and at last reaches a little ledge which gives a momentary safety. -But it is still a desperate task merely to hang on. Far up, remote -almost as a star, shines safety. Below are his friends of civilised -Europe, all worse situated than himself, some at the point of complete -destruction. From above a fierce storm of missiles rains on his head. -From below come piteous appeals for help. To hold on to his little -ledge, to help the friends below, to climb up and throttle the foe -above--he has all these to do and little time to think before he acts. -Hardly endurable, yet necessary to think over, so that the greatness of -the danger into which the world was plunged by German militarism can be -gauged. - -In 1914 an occupation of the French Channel Ports with England almost -entirely unarmed might have been a very serious thing. The serious view -taken of it in Great Britain can be judged from the preparations which -were made to devastate a great area in the South and East of England so -as to give to the Germans only a desert as a foothold. In 1918 if the -Germans had got Pas de Calais they would not have got any ports with -it, and an invading force arriving in England would have met a force at -least equal to it in equipment and war experience. - -So we waited in some confidence for another Marne to follow another -Mons, and smiled a little grimly at the change of tone in Germany. The -Kaiser, cock-a-whoop again, was declaring now for a "strong German -Peace." In one office, side by side with the "situation map" which -showed from day to day the depth of the German advance, there were stuck -up in derision extracts from the most vituperative of the German press. -Here is one from the _Deutsche Zeitung_: - - "Away with all petty whining over an agreement and reconciliation - with the fetish of peace.... Away with the miserable whimpering of - those people who even now would prevent the righteous German hatred - of England and sound German vengeance. The cry of victory and - retaliation rages throughout Germany with renewed passion." - -This from _Germania_: - - "There can be no lasting peace and no long period of quiet in the - world until the presumptuous notion that the Anglo-Saxons are the - chosen people is victorious or defeated. We are determined to - force with the sword the peace which our adversaries did not see - fit to confide to our honest word. We Germans are an incomparably - strong nation." - -These horrible threats remained on the notice-board until long after the -tide of battle turned and the German was in full retreat back to his -lair. - -And we rather liked the story which the German press had to the effect -that a deputation of German business men had put before Hindenburg in -February the gloomy prospects of the country's food supplies, -concluding: "In May, Germany will be almost without food." Hindenburg -thereupon replied: "My reply is that I shall be in Paris on April 1st." - -The date chosen seemed so appropriate! - -Still, it would be foolish to say that we had no anxieties. Some of our -stoutest fellows were up at "advanced G.H.Q.," a temporary H.Q. near -Amiens, from which most of the really exciting work was done. At -Montreuil we had not the exhilarating feeling of being within the sound -of the guns, but had to face perhaps the hardest of the toil. It was -rare for an officer in some branches to leave his room before midnight, -and the usual hour for starting work was 8.30 a.m. Meals ceased for a -time to be convivial affairs. One rushed to the table, ate, and rushed -back to work. - -The work was so overwhelming because of a combination of circumstances. -The character of the War had changed from stationary to moving over -almost all the British Front, calling for a return to the mobile system -of supply and for new classes of material. British reinforcements were -arriving from other Fronts, sometimes without their full supply train -and without the full equipment for our Front, and not familiar with its -system of working. There were large movements of French troops into -British Areas, and in some cases these French troops relied upon British -sources for some of their supplies and transport, and in all cases their -line of supply had to be dove-tailed in with ours. American troops were -moved into British Areas and relied upon British sources for many items -of equipment, transport and supplies. British Administration was thus -being called upon for supplies to British, French, American and -Portuguese troops, at the same time as our lines of supply had to be -re-organised and co-ordinated with the new French lines of supply. -Further difficulties were created by the necessary frequent changes of -railheads and the great movements on the roads of civilian refugees. -Territory threatened by the enemy had to be evacuated as far as possible -of civilians, and of civilian goods and stock likely to be of use to the -enemy in case of capture. - -The extent of this accumulated difficulty from a transport point of -view can be gauged from the fact that a British Army needs on a day of -intense fighting 1,934 tons of supplies of all kinds _per mile of -front_. - - * * * * * - -The railways came as nearly as possible to a complete breakdown under -the strain. After the first Battle of the Somme, our military railway -system in France was thoroughly reorganised by civilian experts. It was -a reorganisation which followed, I believe, the best models of the great -railway companies of England, and it coped with the very heavy traffic -during the period of fixed or Trench War quite well. Unfortunately it -was not a system adapted for moving warfare. - -A civilian railway expert would doubtless find many reasons for amused -criticism in a military railway system in the running. It would appear -to be rather haphazard, to be run a good deal on the principle of a -train getting there if it could, and to be very faulty in the matter of -time-tables and so on. Well, the German advance in its brutal practical -way simply riddled with holes that admirable railway reorganisation -which the civilian experts had conferred on the B.E.F., France. - -Perhaps it was only to have been expected. Trench War in its railway -requirements was deceptively like peace. You had your railway termini, -and the requirements of a Division were fairly stable. You ran so many -trains a day and, except for an occasional rush on some sector when -fighting warmed up suddenly, there were no problems that differed -greatly from those say of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. - -In moving war it is different. Then a railway system must be elastic -enough to stand such a series of shocks as would be conveyed to the L.B. -and S.C. manager if at 9 p.m. he were told: "It is Bank Holiday -to-morrow. Provide for carrying 100,000 extra passengers, about 10,000 -horses and 4,000 carriages." Then at 10 p.m. he learned: "You can't -shunt any trains at Lewes; and you can only run trains through with -luck. It is under heavy shell-fire." Then every half-hour subsequently -he got a new order, diverting traffic from one point to another, -changing the destinations of his trains and so on. - -The transport situation for the moment was saved by the Motor Transport. -But the Commander-in-Chief had to act promptly and set up a "jury-mast" -arrangement for railway control to tide over the crisis. In effect he -took the supreme control of the railways out of the hands of the -Transportation Directorate and put it under a "Board of Directors" -meeting daily, at which the Q.M.G. presided. A later development made -the Chief of General Staff Chairman of this Board. Then, when things -settled down, the system that had been set up by the civilian experts -was largely scrapped. Military Railways were again put under the control -of the Quartermaster-General. The "stupid soldiery" did rather well with -them, not only in the period of pause that came between the German -advance and our great counter-attack, but in the gigantic task of -following up our advance. - -The task of pulling together the railways was not an easy one. The enemy -advance had caused a direct loss of some light railway systems, and on -the broad-gauge systems important engine depots were lost, and our front -lateral line was brought at several points under the fire of the enemy's -artillery. Use of this front lateral line had thus become precarious. -The results of this were felt in every part of the railway system. Good -circulation is the essence of railway working; and a block at any point -has an effect similar to that of an aneurism on a human artery. Because -of the loss of engine depots, and the hindrances to circulation on the -front lateral line, the back lateral line along the coast became -seriously congested. This congestion reduced the capacity of every -engine by an average of 15 per cent. - -Further, our rear lateral line had two particularly vulnerable points, -one at Etaples, where it crossed the Canche, and the other at -Abbeville, where it crossed the Somme. Upon these points enemy aircraft -made frequent attacks, imposing delays, occasionally causing minor -destruction, always adding to the effects of the existing congestion. An -excellent piece of work reduced very considerably the effect of one -successful enemy air-raid. Half an hour after midnight, one night in -May, the Canche railway-bridge at Etaples was damaged. At once an -avoiding line--constructed for such an emergency--was put into -operation, and trains were running through at 2 a.m. - -On one of the worst nights of the German advance, when we went up to the -situation-map without any enthusiasm, half afraid of what we should see, -young Captain Hannibal Napoleon deepened our gloom by declaring -oracularly: - -"If we hold on to Amiens we shall be all right. If Amiens falls to the -Germans it is goodbye to Montreuil, and no more Paris leave for a few -years." - -Hannibal Napoleon (that, of course, was not his name) was very junior -and very confident of his strategical genius. It was a favourite -amusement to "pull his leg" and draw from him an "appreciation" of the -situation, which he was always willing to give with the authority of a -Commander-in-Chief. - -This oracle was displeasing, because on the appearance of things that -night we had not an earthly chance of holding Amiens. But the -unexpected happened. Not very many hours afterwards the news came -through that a successful stand was being made in front of Amiens; and -young Hannibal Napoleon was able to crow like a Gallic cock over his -profound strategical judgment. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE MOTOR LORRY THAT WAITED. - -How a motor lorry waited at the Ecole Militaire to take away the maps to -the Coast--The Motor Lorry Reserve--An "appreciation" of the -position--Germany lost the War in the first three months--Some notes of -German blunders. - - -One night in the Spring of 1918 a mysterious motor lorry drew up in the -yard of the Ecole Militaire at Montreuil. Its driver reported and was -ordered to stand by. He stood by all that night; and in the morning was -relieved by another driver. But the empty lorry still waited. At night a -relief driver came on duty. But the empty lorry still waited. - -[Illustration: THE ECOLE MILITAIRE] - -Lorries in those days were precious. Because the German had seized many -of our light railways, had put under his shell-fire our main front -lateral line and had brought our whole railway system to a point -perilously close to collapse, the fate of the British Army was to a -great extent dependent on its motor lorries. By an intuitional stroke -of genius, or of luck, the new Quartermaster-General had just brought to -completion one of his "gyms"--the building up of a G.H.Q. reserve of -motor lorries. There had been all kinds of explanations of that -reserve--mostly of the humorous-malicious order. It had been said that -they were intended to carry about the baggage of the G.H.Q. Generals; -that the reserve had no other reason for being than to find a soft job -for some potentate near to the golf links of the coast. But whether it -was just a guess or a bit of far-seeing on the part of Sir Travers -Clarke, that G.H.Q. Motor Lorry Reserve had been built up; and it was -available to rush into the breach when the railways could not face the -task of supply. - -Very nobly the Motor Transport--including that reserve--did its duty. -There were drivers who held the wheel for thirty-six hours at a stretch, -and were lifted from their seats fainting or asleep; a few--who carried -on until no longer able to see through their bloodshot and torturing -eyes--ran their cars into trees or walls or ditches. There were many -casualties, but the situation was saved. - -It was just at this time, when a motor lorry was above rubies in value, -that an entirely healthy, well-preserved example, with driver attached, -was ordered to remain in the yard of the Ecole Militaire. - -Everyone wanted to know the reason why. The position was then at its -very worst, so the humourist who surmised that it was "waiting for the -wine orders of the ---- Mess," for once found his jape fall flat. The -truth was for a long time known only to a select few. That motor lorry -was told off to carry away the maps and important papers from Montreuil -to the coast, since the evacuation of the town and of all France north -of the Somme was possible at an hour's notice. - -So critical was the position for some days that that motor lorry was -never off duty night or day. - -But G.H.Q. went about its work unperturbed to all outward seeming, and -there was not a whisper of losing the war, not even from those who knew -what would be the full consequences of evacuating Pas de Calais. One -officer--he would not like his name to be published even now--spoke with -the most frank recognition of facts and yet with a robust confidence -that was distinctly comforting: - -"If we go behind the Somme it will give the Germans the Coast from the -Canche right up to the Scheldt for their submarines. That is the most -serious factor. We won't leave them much in the way of harbour works, of -course; but still they will be able in a year or two to restore things a -bit." - -"In a year or two? But will it last...?" - -"Oh yes, you can give the war another ten years at least in that event. -For there won't be any American Army to speak of; no port to land them -or supply them from. Our British Army will have to come down in strength -for the same reason. You can't keep a bigger army anywhere than you can -keep supplied with food and shells. Look at the ports and the railways. -There will be Havre, Brest, Cherbourg, Bordeaux as ports of supply and -the railways from them as the channels of supply to the front line. No -good talking of millions of Americans pouring in. They can't pour. -Funnel's too narrow." - -But there wasn't in that officer's mind a hint of the possibility of -failure. - -"It's only a question of organising to get at them. In time weight must -tell. The Germans and their friends are, say, 140,000,000 in population. -The allies who are in the war against them have 600,000,000 of -population and another 400,000,000 of reserve population if Japan came -in fully, and China, and Brazil. I count Russia on neither side, but she -is still a liability more than an asset to the Germans. In money and -resources the odds against them are even greater. I like to go back to -the simple basis of arithmetic sometimes. Of course weight doesn't tell -against skill. But now the skill is about even. The Germans had their -one and only chance at the beginning, the very beginning, of the war; -because they were ready and no one else was. They had to win by -Christmas, 1914, or not to win at all." - -He went on to sketch vividly the story of the war up to that date, the -very nadir of our depression. He argued that the enemy had obviously -committed some tremendous blunders. The Prussian military leaders had -been very clever in securing spectacular victories (generally after a -preliminary corruption of some weak section of their opponents) and thus -the military position was not easy to see in its true proportion. But -even a surface consideration must show that whilst Germany was always -announcing victories, she was never really within sight of victory. - -"In the first instance the Prussian Empire had made no sound reckoning -of the forces she had to meet. That was the first elementary duty of the -strategist. The man who goes out to fight ten thousand and finds he has -to fight twenty thousand has blundered irreparably. In 1914 Prussia -calculated that Great Britain would not participate in the war, and -would consent not only to the destruction of France but to the betrayal -of her obligations towards Belgium. The bewildered dismay with which -Germany learned that Great Britain would not look upon the treaty with -Belgium as a 'scrap of paper,' the wild hatred toward England which -found one expression in the 'Hymn of Hate,' were the screams of a -savage creature caught in a trap. - -"She had then one slender chance, a rush attack on Paris. But the Battle -of the Marne killed that chance. Then the only hope of saving Germany -was to make peace. But she had made the ghastly blunder of the Belgian -atrocities. - -"When a man goes out to fight ten thousand and finds himself confronted -by twenty thousand it is common prudence to strive to make the stakes as -low as possible, the penalty of failure as small as possible. There was -a chance that, if that policy had been followed, the war would have come -to an end soon after the Battle of the Marne, an end not favourable to -Prussian ideas of European domination, giving those ideas a severe -check, but still not wrecking them irrevocably nor exacting a very heavy -penalty. But the Prussian spirit added blunder to blunder. Having -launched a hopeless war it set itself to give that war an 'unlimited' -character. Instead of going through Belgium as a reluctant trespasser, -the Prussian army trampled through as a ravaging devastator in full -blast of frightfulness. By the time Prussia had fought and lost the -Battle of the Marne she had steeled her enemies to an inflexible -resolution against a compromise peace." - -Prussia, he argued, thus early by two blunders of the first magnitude -(1) entered into a campaign against an alliance which ultimately could -command vastly superior forces, and (2) embittered the conditions of the -campaign so that her withdrawal from it was made exceedingly difficult. -Several blunders of a lesser order marked the first stages of the -campaign. Belgium having been attacked and Liege taken, the Prussian -army showed a strange hesitancy and lack of enterprise when faced by the -little Belgian army on the line Haelen-Tirlemont-Namur. Precious days -were lost in pottering. Whether it was expected that the Belgian nation -would give way after one defeat, or it was thought that French and -British armies had been pushed up into Belgium, the German millions were -held up an unduly long time by the Belgian thousands. - -At Mons the German Army neither crushed the French-British force nor -pushed it back so quickly that the main deployment was harassed. Whether -this failure of the German Army was due to its bad handling or to the -excellent virtues of the French-British force, did not matter. But the -Battle of Mons frustrated the only hope that was left to Germany at that -time--a successful rush on Paris opening the way to a quick peace. It -proved that there was no military genius at the head of the German -invaders. Then the Army which had been delayed in Belgium was defeated -on the Marne and had to fall back on the Aisne. The explanation for -this given in some German quarters was that the Army had outstripped its -big guns and ammunition supplies. That was as good as any other. No -explanation would clear the Prussian Military Command from the stigma -that it failed when there was that one remaining desperate chance of -success. - -And having failed on the Marne and retreated to the Aisne the German -strategic plan lost all coherency. True, the war was lost so far as any -hope of winning European dominancy was concerned. But there was still as -a possible objective a peace which would secure Prussia something in -return for the territory which she had overrun. Such a peace had been -made difficult by the cold rage inspired by Prussian frightfulness. But -it was the only possible aim left and, from a military point of view, it -could only be pursued in one way, by a definite hammering at some vital -point to secure a decisive result, with a defensive stand in other -quarters. A defensive campaign in the East with a determined offensive -in the West, or a defensive on the West with a resolute offensive on the -East. - -The Prussian vacillated between the two; his effort was always -shuttlecocking East to West, West to East, getting a decisive result -nowhere. Like a baited bull in the arena Prussia was constantly making -sensational rushes here and there, gratified often by the sight of -fleeing foes, but never breaking out of the arena of doom, and always -losing blood. - -"The first three months of the war," he concluded dogmatically, "were -decisive. They do not redound to the military glory of Prussia. During -those three months the disciplined and trained devotion of the German -troops worked wonders in the battle line. But indecision at Headquarters -prevented the proper concentration of their efforts. Prussia had failed -to conquer Europe unprepared. She was afterwards face to face with the -task of conquering Europe prepared; and her indecision increased. She -was always looking for success in a new quarter and never finding it. -Recklessness and vacillation and impatience are not sound military -qualities, but they mark the whole military history of Germany since -November, 1914. Recklessness of ultimate consequences was shown in such -matters as the bringing of poison gas into use. Vacillation was shown by -the effort which was organised to take the French Channel ports at all -costs, and, failing, was diverted to the Eastern Front, and back again -to this Front, and then again to the Balkan Front, and back to this -Front and then to the Italian Front and finally back to this Front. -Impatience was shown in the general failure to push any effort to its -logical conclusion, and in details, such as the haste with which poison -gas was put into use on a small and ineffectual scale instead of being -kept in reserve for a great and possibly decisive effort." - -"Take it year by year," this officer concluded, "it has been always the -same. Germany has added always to the area of destruction. She has never -got nearer to victory. It will be the same with this Push. If that motor -lorry has to carry away the maps from Montreuil it may be another ten -years before we beat the Germans, but we will beat them." - -"But if France gives in?" - -"France won't give in. Look at her now, ready to smash up all Pas de -Calais--to blow up every harbour and canal and road. That does not look -like giving in. Even if she were forced to it we could go back to our -island and carry on the fight from there." - -Then we talked of lighter things. - -Going out from dinner my friend reverted to the war position. - -"Anyhow that lorry is not going to take the maps. I bet you a cigar to -nothing." - -He was right. Going up to the map room on the Intelligence side we heard -that our troops were holding in front of Amiens. We had actually passed -the lowest point of our fortunes, and within a week the motor lorry had -gone. - -I asked one of the drivers detailed to it, who either did not know or -wisely professed not to know what he had been kept in waiting for, what -he thought about it all. He replied with that sound philosophy of the -British soldier: - -"It was a splendid 'mike,' Sir." - -"Mike," it need hardly be explained, is a trade term in the Army for a -soft job. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -THE UNITY OF COMMAND. - -Was it necessary?--Was a French Generalissimo inevitable?--Our share in -the guiding of the last phase of the campaign--Points on which the -British had their way. - - -The "unity of command" achieved in the Spring of 1918 caused hardly a -ripple of comment at G.H.Q. Some days after it had happened we learned -that Lord Milner (then Secretary of State for War) had been over, and -that, with the approval of Lord Haig, Field Marshal Foch had become -Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies. - -I suppose that in their secret hearts many officers felt a little sad -that the honour of the united command had not fallen to a British -General. But there was no question as to the wisdom of the choice nor as -to the wisdom of the step itself. It was one of the early misfortunes of -the campaign that the British Government in 1914 had insisted very -strongly on keeping our Army as an absolutely independent unit in -France. The reasons, one may presume, were political rather than -strategical; and that there was still some remnant of the old prejudice -against "continental entanglements." I do not suppose that if the issue -had been left to the soldiers themselves there would have been any doubt -but that the small auxiliary British Force would have "reported to" the -main French Army and acted under its direction. That would have been the -natural military course. But the position became more difficult as the -importance of the British Army grew. At the time that the united Command -was achieved the British Army was in fighting force an equal unit to the -French. - -Two questions are often raised in connection with this decision of 1918: -Was it necessary? Was it inevitable that the united command should go to -Marshal Foch? Both questions may be answered with "yes;" though in each -case the "yes" needs to be qualified with some explanation. - -[Illustration: AT THE CHIEF'S CHATEAU] - -It is, for instance, hardly correct to say that the decision to unite -the command "won the war;" though it is probably correct that it -hastened the date of victory. Before it was achieved there was good -co-operation, though not perfect co-operation, between the Allied -Forces. After it was achieved there was maintained a certain -independence of outlook and of policy on the part of the British Command -which was a great factor in the speedy consummation of victory. If -that independence had not been maintained, the operations of 1918 would, -almost certainly, not have been so gloriously decisive. This aspect of -the final campaign has never been discussed to my knowledge, yet a -knowledge of it is important if the events of 1918 are to be viewed in -their proper perspective. - -I suppose the average "man in the street" takes the view that early in -1918, the British Army, which had been blundering along up till then, -was put under French Command and straightway the war was won. But it was -not at all like that. The British Army command, whilst giving the most -loyal support to the French Generalissimo and bowing to his decisions -when they were finally made, read it as its duty still to keep a share -in the conduct of the campaign; and in many most important conclusions -it upheld its own view as against the French view. The final result in -some matters showed that the British view was the right view, and that -if it had not been taken the victorious advance would not have been -possible. - -In an earlier chapter I have given the facts about the forage ration. It -was not exactly a matter of the first importance, some may say. But if -the French view had been accepted and the British and American horse -ration had come down to the French level our horse transport would not -have been able to carry on as wonderfully as it did from August to -November, 1918. As things were, it had nothing to spare during the last -week, as our pursuing troops can tell. The French with their logical -minds argued that if their horses could do with a certain ration, ours -could. In this case the apparently logical conclusion was not the sound -one; for it left out of consideration some factors--as to whether we did -not use our horses more, and as to whether our men could get, or would -try to get, the same work out of ill-fed horses. In this matter it was -well for the Allied cause that the British had their way. - -In another matter logic threatened to lead to a step which might have -proved disastrous. The French saw, as the logical corollary of the -united command, a union, a pooling of all the supply and transport -departments. Not only should the Armies fight under one strategical -direction but they should share and share alike all their resources. A -decision to this effect was actually come to, the Americans agreeing -with the French view. It was logical without a shadow of doubt. But -British common-sense recognised that if this radical reorganisation were -attempted in 1918 it would be 1920 before the Alliance would have been -ready for a great Push. The British Army--let it be confessed with -appropriate candour and shamefacedness--was much more exigent in its -demands than the French. It needed, or thought it needed, more food, -more clothing, more comforts, more ammunition, more transport. It had -evolved for itself during the campaign a system of "housekeeping" which -was over-liberal, perhaps, as compared with the French, but which was -mainly a result of the generosity of the Home people, and was so deeply -rooted in our Army organisation that to have torn it up in 1918 would -have caused all kinds of trouble. - -In June, 1918, the "Executive Inter-Allied Committee on Supply" was -formed by an agreement between the French and the American governments, -to which the British government at first (apparently) assented. It -was to take over control of all Supply, Storage, and Transport, and -to have executive functions, _i.e._, its decisions would be binding -on all the Armies. The British Command at once saw that this was -impracticable--that it was impossible in the very midst of the -preparations for the Great Push to throw into a common pool so much -of the actual equipment of the Army. The Allied Command was very -stubborn in supporting its plan. But in time British common-sense -proved stronger than abstract logic, and in July all was made happy -by a decision that the functions of the Board were to _advise_ on -matters of Supply and Storage and methods of utilising material, as far -as practicable, for the common benefit of the Allies. The Board, in -short, was to have its scope in assisting to maintain the excellent -understanding which already existed between the Armies of the Allies in -regard to Supplies and Services. - -The position was not at all that the British Army wanted to wallow in -luxury whilst its Allies went short, for it was always willing to help -in every possible way; but that its command knew that the essentially -national system of "housekeeping" which had been set up, could not be -thrown down at an hour's notice without grave danger. - -The same sort of problem was always cropping up on a smaller scale in -areas where French troops were fighting with the British. The French had -at first a logical aspiration for an identity of supply systems. Our -view was that when British and French troops were operating together, it -was not possible to serve both from a common stock, nor by a common -railway service. Ammunition and Supplies differed in almost every -respect, and the systems of Supply could not be identical. Except in -regard to a few items, one Army could not supply the other -satisfactorily. Therefore, each Army should have its own depots, -railheads, and--for the sorting of supplies--its own regulating -stations, which would receive from Base full trains loaded with -particular items of supply and send out to Divisions full trains loaded -with the necessary assortments of different items. Something could be -done in the way of pooling bulk stores, such as forage, coal, and -petrol; but for most things there must be different channels of supply. - -British policy was that a British Force in a French area should provide -completely for its own maintenance, and organise its supply lines and -depots accordingly. Ultimately it was recognised on both sides that this -was the only possible policy, and that the trouble of providing separate -regulating stations, separate railheads, and depots must be faced. Any -half-way policy was seen to be fraught with too many possibilities of -dangerous failures. - -To cite yet one more instance of the British policy proving the sounder: -In July, 1918, there were very strong indications that the German power -of offensive had passed its zenith and that the enemy might be forced -shortly to a great withdrawal. There was set on foot in the British Army -at the earliest opportunity an examination of the measures of Transport -and Supply which would become necessary if the Germans were forced to -withdraw their line. In 1916-1917 the enemy had been able to avoid, to a -great extent, the consequences of his defeats on the Somme and the Ancre -by retiring his line; a promptly effective pursuit was hindered by lack -of the necessary material on our part. A foreseeing preparation would -enable a better harvest of victory to be reaped if the position of -1916-1917 were reproduced in 1918. We wanted to be sure of being able to -follow up with about 2,000 tons of supplies per day per mile of front to -carry our troops over the Hindenburg Line. - -There was found to be a divergence of view as to the best means of -following up. The French were inclined to put their faith chiefly in -light railways. The British idea was that light railways could be -overdone; that there was not a full appreciation of the modification in -the role of the light railway consequent on the change from trench to -moving warfare; that there was a tendency for light railways to attempt -to duplicate the work of broad-gauge railways; and a hint of a tendency -to look upon light railways as a substitute for, instead of a -reinforcement of, roads in the forward area. - -The British "pursuit policy," to put it briefly, was to concentrate all -available labour on pushing forward with the broad-gauge railways and -the roads forward from them, trusting to motor transport and to horse -transport to pick up the burden from broad-gauge railhead. This was -maintained to be a superior policy to concentrating on light railways, -which could not allow so much freedom in lines of advance. - -The British view prevailed in our sector, and in the Great Pursuit it -proved to be sound. The Germans were followed up on our sector of the -Front in really fine fashion. In the Somme sector of the Front between -August 8th and September 8th our broad-gauge railheads were pushed -forward an average of 30 miles. To these new railheads, all kinds of -traffic could go direct from the Base to meet there our Motor Transport -(and, of course, light railways; these were not neglected but given -secondary importance). - -It was at first the French idea to "sandwich" the various Divisions of -the two Armies, to have a British Division or Corps side by side with a -French wherever possible. This again would have been a beautifully -logical illustration of the complete identity and fraternity of the two -armies, but it was not business. It multiplied difficulties of -administration, and it was finally abandoned, much to the advantage of -the common cause. - -These matters I cite not with the idea of deprecating the French General -Staff--there were presumably as many instances in which their view was -right and ours was wrong--but to show that it is not fair to our G.H.Q. -to assume, as many do assume, that the British High Command had little -or nothing to do with the planning of the great victory. Marshal Foch is -prompt to resent that view when it is obtruded. He would, without a -doubt, agree that the British were most loyal in service, and also very -independent and stubborn (and often prevailing) in council. Probably -looking back upon the great victory which was won under his _baton_ he -is profoundly grateful that the British were so forthright in helping to -keep the Allied operations on the best track. - -The other question, asked at the beginning of this chapter, needs to be -explained. Was it inevitable that Marshal Foch should be chosen as -Generalissimo? It is quite certain that no other choice was possible in -view of all the circumstances. There is no need to come to the question -of who was the more renowned soldier, or to argue that if Lord Haig had -been given the same chance he would probably have achieved the same -result. Personally I think that the British Army in 1918 was in respect -of Generalship as in other respects equal to any in the Field. But that -was not the issue. We were fighting on French soil and had to demand -great sacrifices from the French civilian population, which a French -Generalissimo could best get. It was quite certain that the British Army -would fight with exactly the same enthusiasm under a French -Generalissimo; it was not possible to be so certain that the French Army -would under a British Generalissimo. - -There was no contested election for the post. Lord Haig as well as -General Pershing supported Marshal Foch's claims. It was the work and -not the glory of the work which was the first consideration. - -[Illustration: "SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE"] - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -THE COMING OF VICTORY. - -The June Position--German attempts to pinch out our lines of -supplies--The attacks on hospitals--The glorious last 14 weeks--G.H.Q.'s -share. - - -By June, 1918, it was fairly evident that the German attack to drive the -British to the sea had exhausted itself. The enemy had attempted to push -through along the Somme line, separating the British and the French -Armies. Foiled in that by the stubborn defence in front of Amiens, he -tried a push towards the Channel ports, which really gave more anxiety -at G.H.Q. than the earlier move, for there we were working on such a -very narrow margin of safety that every yard lost was a grave peril. - -The final effort of the enemy was to pinch us out of territory which he -could not push us out of, and this effort, though it led to no great -battles, was a very serious menace. During the month of June there was -not a day's respite from the pertinacious efforts of the enemy to -strangle our arteries of supply. Having arrived, at some places, within -range of our front lateral railway line, the enemy sought by continuous -bombardments to stop or at least hamper traffic, at the same time -constantly attacking with aircraft our rear lateral railway line at its -most sensitive points, the Somme and the Canche crossings. The ports of -entry and the supply depots were also repeatedly attacked. -Inconvenience--serious at times--and loss followed from these attacks, -but there was never an actual stoppage of essential traffic. Provision -had been made to prevent any blows that the enemy was able to deliver -being really effective Alternative avoiding lines took up promptly the -task of broken channels of traffic, and strenuous work in repair and -good emergency organisation prevented congestion ever reaching the stage -of paralysis. At one time during this month it was necessary to stop for -a few days all but absolutely essential traffic from North to South. -That was the limit of the enemy's success, though he was aided in some -degree by an influenza epidemic (which sadly reduced the supply of -labour for railway and dock work). - -One line of German tactics at this time was rather "over the edge" as -Tommy put it. That was to attack the Base hospitals by aircraft. One at -Etaples was set on fire and destroyed. There is, I admit, some room for -a shadow of a doubt as to whether the German deliberately attacked the -hospitals or only accidentally. That shadow of a doubt must be granted, -because it was a fact that several of our hospitals were near to large -railway junctions and camps, though always clearly marked and separated -from other military installations. I am not prepared to question the -good faith of those who give the Germans the benefit of the doubt, -though I cannot agree with them. The attacks on the hospitals came in -June, just when the Germans concentrated their strategy on trying to -cripple our means of supply. They inflicted grave embarrassment on our -resources, for, at a time when material was very short and lines of -transport fearfully congested, we had to construct new hospitals and -move patients and staffs. A note made in July on the point reads: - -"Good progress is being made with the transfer to other areas of -hospitals which were rendered necessary by enemy aircraft attacks. -Though there is very little doubt possible that the enemy does not -intend to respect hospitals, wherever they may be sited, in his bombing -raids, the precaution is being taken of choosing new hospital sites well -away from any point of military importance. No hospital will be -established near military camps, important railway junctions, or -bridges." - -If it was by a series of accidents that the Germans succeeded in hitting -a number of hospitals in June, 1918, they were singularly fruitful -accidents for him. The difference, from a "results" point of view, in -bombing a camp and a hospital is this: if you bomb a camp you kill a few -men but the camp does not move; if you bomb a hospital you kill a few -patients, nurses, and doctors, and you force the hospital to move, if it -can move, to an apparently safer place. - - * * * * * - -In June there was cause for anxiety in the whole supply position. Seeing -that the existence of the armies depended on maintaining to the full the -huge rate of supply which modern war demands, and that the enemy was -obviously trying immediately behind our lines the policy (which was -exactly the same as the policy of his submarine campaign) of pinching -out lines of supply, it was judicious to try to extend the margin of -safety. One way of effecting this which was explored was to extend -"Lines of Communication" to England, and to keep in England at places -handy for shipment to France one half the reserve stores of the Army. In -most items the Army worked on a month's reserve margin. The storing of -this month's reserve in the comparatively narrow strip of France which -we held, subject to constant bombing, was becoming a matter of extreme -difficulty. The retreat of the Germans began, however, before any -definite steps in the direction of setting up reserve stores on the -coast of England were taken. - -There was no idea that the enemy was going to collapse so suddenly. -G.H.Q. expected to drive him back to the Hindenburg line in 1918 and to -finish him off in 1919. In the middle of July, 1918, the matter was -before the General Staff with the discussion of plans founded on the -postulate that the Germans might withdraw to the Hindenburg line, and -that a prompt following up in full force was intended. An instruction to -the Director General of Transportation asked for facts as to new railway -material that would be needed in such a contingency. The problem of -effective pursuit, it was recognised, would be largely one of Supplies -and Transport. If our Army could be brought up to the new German line -promptly, and maintained there with all the means of vigorous attack, -all kinds of pleasant results might be hoped for. But nobody really was -so optimistic as to think that the enemy would throw in his hand before -the winter. But we prepared for the best as well as for the worst. - -The task of getting ready to put Pas de Calais in ruins in case of a -German advance was pleasantly interrupted by the now more urgent task of -getting ready to follow up the enemy with horse, foot, artillery, and -with some scores of thousand of tons of supplies daily. The fruits of -this were reaped in August, when all agreed that the troops had been -well followed up. Cases of real hardships were very rare. Some admirably -prompt work was done in railway construction, road restoration, and -canal clearing. One great main road was opened to traffic two hours -after its capture. Traffic on the Albert line was restored to Corbie and -Heilly the day after capture. The water supply difficulty was great, and -in many cases water for both men and horses had to be sent up by motor -and pack transport. But on the territory won our old water bores were -found in most cases intact, and were promptly restored to usefulness by -the R.E. Baths and laundries followed in close contact with our -advancing troops, and with them in some cases harvesting machinery to -win from waste the crops. - -But that, whilst preparing for all possibilities, we were not such -optimists as to believe in an Autumn victory, is shown by the fact that -arrangements were well in hand to secure suitable training areas for the -British troops during the Winter, 1918-1919. For the previous two years, -circumstances had not allowed the British Forces adequate opportunities -for re-training. But, with the character of the war changing radically, -it was thought necessary that they should have opportunities to carry -out extensive training programmes in offensive operations of quick -movement during the Winter. Adequate manoeuvre areas for each Army -close behind its Front were sought. It is a coincidence that just after -this matter was put in hand military experts on the enemy side were -comforting their newspapers with arguments that the new style of Tank -attack evolved by the British required very special training of the -infantry, and that it could not be expected that any large proportion of -the British Army had, or could have, the necessary training. - -G.H.Q., when the critical history of the war comes to be written, will -surely win high praise for its 1918 work. It took a hard knock in the -early Spring and was faced simultaneously with the tasks of holding on, -of re-organising a shattered railway system, of training and equipping -reinforcements from America and from our own distant Fronts, of -preparing for the effective destruction of Pas de Calais, and of -organising new lines of supply in case a further retreat was inevitable. -From these tasks it had to switch off suddenly to prepare for a great -pursuit instead of a great retreat, and did so with such skill and care -as the result showed. - -How wonderfully, too, the successive blows of the British Army were -timed and driven home! As Marshal Foch recognised, it needed supremely -good staff work on the part of the British to control that deadly -rhythm. Beginning on August 8th, 1918, in four days the British Army -cleared the enemy from the Amiens Front. That restored our old lateral -line Boulogne-Amiens-Paris and added enormously to our transport -strength. We could now hit towards the north, and from the 21st to 31st -August we fought the last and most happy battle of the Somme, driving -the enemy to the east of the river. His position then was attacked -concurrently from the north, and by September 3rd he was back on the -Hindenburg line, and our Army, flushed with victory and its supply lines -working admirably, simply could not be stopped. The bustled enemy did -his best to make a stand on the Hindenburg line, and shortened his front -so as to allow of a stronger holding there, leaving to us without a -battle all of Belgium that he had won in the Spring offensive. But that -gave us a new railway advantage, and on September 18th, 1918, the Battle -of Epehy carried the advanced posts of the Hindenburg line. - -Quickly the home thrust followed. Between September 27th and October -10th the German centre was shattered and the rest of the campaign on our -Front was merely a matter of "mopping up." From August 8th to November -11th the British Army took 188,700 prisoners and 2,840 guns. (The -French, American and Belgian armies combined took 196,800 prisoners and -3,775 guns during the same period). When the Armistice was signed on -November 11th, the British Army was still full of fight and it had still -the means for a further advance, though its horse transport was very -weary and the men were having a really hard time in regard to rations -and water. But it is safe to say that it was in better plight than any -of the other armies. - -How different November, 1918, from November, 1914! In 1914 so far as the -British nation at large was concerned it was a time of desperate shifts -and expedients. The lame and the halt and the blind who had fallen out -of the Regular ranks in olden days had come back to train recruits for -the New Armies. A great new industry of munition-making was being -founded. It had to make its machines and its tools before it could make -guns and shell. So far as the Army in the Field was concerned it held on -against heavy odds and with the scantiest supply of shell to answer the -well-supplied German Artillery. Whilst the Germans could send a deluge -of shells over we could reply with a bare sprinkle. And we had our cooks -and batmen fighting in the trenches whilst the Germans were confidently -calculating that the plan of training a new British Army had been -irretrievably compromised by the heavy losses which the British Regular -Army had suffered, and that a descent on the English coast with a very -small force would be sufficient to occupy London and end the war. - -There is a legend that the German military plan from the Battle of Mons -to the Battle of the Marne in 1914 was prejudiced by the "political" -consideration of a desire to crush the British Army out of existence; -that to the attack upon the British detachment were devoted forces and -energies out of proportion to its military importance. A part, though -not an essential part, of this legend is the story of the Kaiser's -reference to the "contemptible little army" of Britain. Perhaps the -truth or otherwise of this legend will be established when there is a -full disclosure of events from the German side. It is not unreasonable -in itself, for the presence of the Kaiser with the German Army, and the -presence of his sons, without a doubt interfered often with the military -dispositions of his generals. In an earlier campaign (that of Napoleon -against Russia in 1812) a condition precedent to the ultimate Russian -success was that the Czar Alexander should leave his army to its -commanders, because he could not act as General-in-Chief himself, and -whilst he was with the Army no one else could. The German Kaiser's -emotional hatred of the British might well have led to an unbalanced -effort against the British Force. - -In 1918 it was not the vanguard of a "contemptible little Army" that -heard the "cease fire" at Mons. It was an Army 64 Divisions strong, and -in all the fighting from August 8th, 1918, to November 11th, 1918, -those Divisions had been winning great battles from superior numbers of -German Divisions. At the Battle of Amiens we had 16 Divisions to the -German's 20 Divisions; at the Battle of Bapaume our 23 Divisions faced -35 German Divisions; at the decisive Battle of Cambrai-St. Quentin our -38 Divisions, with two American Divisions, drove 45 German Divisions out -of the Hindenburg line. - -November 11th, 1918, saw the culmination of a great military -achievement. Of the glory of this achievement the chief share must go to -the British soldier, whose cheerful and imperturbable courage and -individual intelligence made him a perfect instrument of warfare; but a -large share remains for the guiding brain of British generalship in the -Field, with its centre at G.H.Q. - -THE END. - - - - -Printed by WHITEHEAD BROS., WOLVERHAMPTON. - - - - -APPENDIX. - - -M. Henri Potez, in a farewell article in _Le Journal de Montreuil_ (30th -March, 1919), paid the following eloquent tribute to G.H.Q.:-- - - "We know indeed that quite a host of painters, coming from beyond - the Channel, have sung the praises of our familiar surroundings, of - our clear and happy countryside, of our changing light. Montreuil, - little by little, was becoming a kind of English Barbizon. - - "Then the War broke out. The presence of the General Headquarters - of our Allies made of Montreuil, so to speak, the brain of the - British Army. What with telegraphic and telephonic lines, and - wireless telegraphy installations, a whole collection of nervous - threads radiated from Montreuil, carrying incessantly news and - orders. For some months we have been one of the mysterious centres - of the great epic. And the silhouette of the Supreme Chief has - often been marked on our vast horizons. Our heroes have appreciated - the loyalty and the bravery of our Allies on the fields of battle. - Side by side the two nations have withstood the most terrible - trials in defence of the same ideal. The two great liberal peoples - of the West have been the martyrs of Right and of Civilization. At - the time of the heavy offensives in Artois, we have seen the - splendid troops, who, having set out full of animation and - enthusiasm, returned to their camps reduced to mere handfuls of - men. These are the memories that can never be forgotten. - - "Behind the front, the civilian populations have, on many - occasions, praised the affability of our friends, their courtesy - and their liberality. War has its exigencies; but it must be - recognised that they have shown the best of goodwill to mitigate - them. Their kindness on several occasions towards the old people - and the children, who had flocked here before the tempest of war, - has often been manifested. - - "Let us not forget, either, in our farewell compliments, and our - wishes for a safe return, those of our Allies who have been - represented here by the Missions--Americans, Italians, and - Belgians. It is more than desirable, it is necessary, that the - great union of the West should outlast the war. It is necessary - that the differences and divergencies which may be brought about by - the settlement of this crisis should not be allowed to embitter or - envenom; but that they should be treated, governed, and regulated - with moderation, kindness, and a reciprocal generosity. In that - lies the future of humanity. - - "'You live at Montreuil,' a University man who was employed as an - Officer Interpreter at Lille, recently remarked to me; 'the English - speak of it as if it were a kind of magnificent country, a dream - city ... they like its peace, its originality, its memories.' Many - of those who have lived amongst us propose to pay us a return - visit. We shall receive them cordially. We also hope to see again, - in closed up ranks, the pacific Army of the olden days, that Army - which carried easels as its bucklers, and pencils and brushes as - its lances and halberds." - - HENRI POTEZ. - -[Illustration: MAP--VICTORY YEAR, THE SUCCESSIVE BRITISH FRONTS] - - - - -Philip Allan & Co., Publishers, - -_To be Published shortly._ - -AN INVALUABLE REFERENCE BOOK. - - A CONCISE CHRONICLE - OF EVENTS OF THE - GREAT WAR - - BY - - R. P. P. ROWE, - - M.A. (Oxon), Captain, late of the Royal West Kent Regt., and of - the Military Intelligence Directorate. - -This is a STANDARD WORK, which will find a place on every desk and every -shelf of reference books. The compiler has had access to official -records, both naval and military, and to sources not available to the -general public. A feature is the very complete INDEX, and the APPENDICES -contain the VERBATIM TEXTS of the most important documents of the War. - -Large Post 8vo. (8-1/4 x 5-1/2), 12s. 6d. net. - -Quality Court, Chancery Lane, W.C. 2. - - - -Philip Allan & Co., Publishers, - -A FINE NOVEL. - - The Barber of Putney - BY - J. B. MORTON. - -"A faithful image of certain enduring human characteristics, affection, -comradeship, simple endeavour.... Mr. Morton has written with a -refreshing simplicity."--_The Times._ - -"A direct tale, grim, humorous, shrewd by turns, instinct with right -feeling throughout ... art is also brought to it by Mr. Morton, whose -hand is almost unfailingly sure and sincere."--_The Morning Post._ - -"It is one of the best novels which has been written about the -war."--_The Globe._ - -"There is a simple directness of observation and description and a quiet -breath of feeling about this story ... that give it a distinction of its -own."--_The Westminster Gazette._ - -"I own that I began THE BARBER OF PUTNEY with much doubt and misgiving. -But before I had gone far I found myself held by a description ... as -good as anything of the kind I have ever seen. Curly, the 'old sweat,' -the Mons man, is an excellent portrait. Tim's adventure with the German -sniper, whom he bayonets, is admirably described.... The retreat is -given in a very vivid and credible way; and the scenes out of the line -and in billets are equally good.... Mr. Morton has written an excellent -and readable book."--_Land and Water._ - -"A fine piece of work."--_The Birmingham Post_. - -Quality Court, Chancery Lane, W.C. 2. - - - - -TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE - - -Apparent printer's errors have been retained, unless stated below. - -Punctuation and capitalization have largely been made consistent. - -Page 18, "Montrueil" changed to "Montreuil" for consistency. (In later -years of Anglo-French enmity Montreuil was Montreuil-sur-mer only in -name) - -Page 75, "gun" changed to "guns". (The 18-pounder field guns would shoot -100,000 rounds on a normal day, and on a heavy day would use 200,000 -rounds.) - -Page 83, "cilicifuge" changed to "cimicifuge". (they are on the track of -the perfect cimicifuge which will keep lice off the body) - -Page 205 "humourous" changed to "humorous" (annuals of a humorous kind) - -Page 218 "suzerainity" changed to "suzerainty" (of admitting a German -suzerainty) - -Page 240 "Barres" changed to "Bares" ( Colonel Bares, Chief of the) - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of G. H. Q., by Frank Fox and G.S.O. - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK G. H. 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