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- float: left; - margin-right: 1em } - -.align-right { clear: right; - float: right; - margin-left: 1em } - -.align-center { margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto } - -div.shrinkwrap { display: table; } - -/* SECTIONS */ - -body { margin: 5% 10% 5% 10% } - -/* compact list items containing just one p */ -li p.pfirst { margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0 } - -.first { margin-top: 0 !important; - text-indent: 0 !important } -.last { margin-bottom: 0 !important } - -span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 1 } -img.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.5em 0 0; max-width: 25% } -span.dropspan { font-variant: small-caps } - -.no-page-break { page-break-before: avoid !important } - -/* PAGINATION */ - -.pageno { position: absolute; right: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.pageno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.lineno { position: absolute; left: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.lineno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.toc-pageref { float: right } - -@media screen { - .coverpage, .frontispiece, .titlepage, .verso, .dedication, .plainpage - { margin: 10% 0; } - - div.clearpage, div.cleardoublepage - { margin: 10% 0; border: none; border-top: 1px solid gray; } - - .vfill { margin: 5% 10% } -} - -@media print { - div.clearpage { page-break-before: always; padding-top: 10% } - div.cleardoublepage { page-break-before: right; padding-top: 10% } - - .vfill { margin-top: 20% } - h2.title { margin-top: 20% } -} - -/* DIV */ -pre { font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.9em; white-space: pre-wrap } -</style> -<title>DAYS TO REMEMBER</title> -<meta name="PG.Id" content="49540" /> -<meta name="PG.Title" content="Days to Remember" /> -<meta name="PG.Rights" content="Public Domain" /> -<meta name="DC.Language" content="en" /> -<link rel="coverpage" href="images/img-cover.jpg" /> -<meta name="DC.Title" content="Days to Remember The British Empire in the Great War" /> -<meta name="PG.Producer" content="Al Haines" /> -<meta name="PG.Released" content="2017-07-28" /> -<meta name="DC.Creator" content="John Buchan" /> -<meta name="DC.Creator" content="Henry Newbolt" /> -<meta name="DC.Created" content="1922" /> - -<link href="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" rel="schema.DCTERMS" /> -<link href="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/" rel="schema.MARCREL" /> -<meta content="Days to Remember The British Empire in the Great War" name="DCTERMS.title" /> -<meta content="/home/ajhaines/days/days.rst" name="DCTERMS.source" /> -<meta scheme="DCTERMS.RFC4646" content="en" name="DCTERMS.language" /> -<meta scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" content="2015-08-02T15:02:13.887450+00:00" name="DCTERMS.modified" /> -<meta content="Project Gutenberg" name="DCTERMS.publisher" /> -<meta content="Public Domain in the USA." name="DCTERMS.rights" /> -<link href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49540" rel="DCTERMS.isFormatOf" /> -<meta content="John Buchan" name="DCTERMS.creator" /> -<meta content="Henry Newbolt" name="DCTERMS.creator" /> -<meta scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" content="2017-07-28" name="DCTERMS.created" /> -<meta content="width=device-width" name="viewport" /> -<meta content="Ebookmaker 0.4.0a5 by Marcello Perathoner <webmaster@gutenberg.org>" name="generator" /> -</head> -<body> -<div class="document" id="days-to-remember"> -<h1 class="center document-title level-1 pfirst title"><span class="x-large">DAYS TO REMEMBER</span></h1> - -<!-- this is the default PG-RST stylesheet --> -<!-- figure and image styles for non-image formats --> -<!-- default transition --> -<!-- default attribution --> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="container language-en pgheader" id="pg-header" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States -and most other parts of the world 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 </span><a class="reference internal" href="#project-gutenberg-license">Project Gutenberg License</a><span> included with -this ebook or online at </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license">http://www.gutenberg.org/license</a><span>. If you -are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws -of the country where you are located before using this ebook.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<div class="container" id="pg-machine-header"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>Title: Days to Remember -<br /> The British Empire in the Great War -<br /> -<br />Author: John Buchan and Henry Newbolt -<br /> -<br />Release Date: July 28, 2017 [EBook #49540] -<br /> -<br />Language: English -<br /> -<br />Character set encoding: UTF-8</span></p> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-start-line"><span>*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>DAYS TO REMEMBER</span><span> ***</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-produced-by"><span>Produced by Al Haines.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span></span></p> -</div> -<div class="container titlepage"> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold xx-large">DAYS TO REMEMBER</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="x-large">THE BRITISH EMPIRE IN -<br />THE GREAT WAR</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">BY</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">JOHN BUCHAN</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">AND</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">HENRY NEWBOLT</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">THOMAS NELSON AND SONS, LTD. -<br />LONDON, EDINBURGH, NEW YORK -<br />TORONTO, AND PARIS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<div class="container verso"> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="small">First Impression 1922 -<br />Second Impression 1923 -<br />Third Impression 1925 -<br />Fourth Impression 1925 -<br />Fifth Impression 1928 -<br />Sixth Impression 1935 -<br />Seventh Impression 1937</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CONTENTS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>PART I.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>INTRODUCTORY.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<ol class="upperroman simple"> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-causes-of-the-war">THE CAUSES OF THE WAR</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#a-bird-s-eye-view-of-the-war">A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE WAR</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-turn-at-the-marne">THE TURN AT THE MARNE</a></p> -</li> -</ol> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>PART II.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<ol class="upperroman simple" start="4"> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-worcesters-at-the-first-battle-of-ypres">THE WORCESTERS AT THE FIRST BATTLE OF YPRES</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-canadians-at-the-second-battle-of-ypres">THE CANADIANS AT THE SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-taking-of-loos">THE TAKING OF LOOS</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#delville-wood">DELVILLE WOOD</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-third-battle-of-ypres">THE THIRD BATTLE OF YPRES</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-tanks-at-cambrai">THE TANKS AT CAMBRAI</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-south-africans-at-marrieres-wood">THE SOUTH AFRICANS AT MARRIÈRES WOOD</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-battle-of-the-lys">THE BATTLE OF THE LYS</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-second-battle-of-the-marne">THE SECOND BATTLE OF THE MARNE</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-beginning-of-the-end">THE BEGINNING OF THE END</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-australians-at-mont-st-quentin">THE AUSTRALIANS AT MONT ST. QUENTIN</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-last-battle">THE LAST BATTLE</a></p> -</li> -</ol> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>PART III.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>THE "SIDE SHOWS".</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<ol class="upperroman simple" start="16"> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-landing-at-gallipoli">THE LANDING AT GALLIPOLI</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-landing-at-gallipoli-continued">THE LANDING AT GALLIPOLI (continued)</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-departure-from-gallipoli">THE DEPARTURE FROM GALLIPOLI</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-capture-of-jerusalem">THE CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#allenby-s-great-drive">ALLENBY'S GREAT DRIVE</a></p> -</li> -</ol> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>PART IV.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>THE SILENT SERVICE.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<ol class="upperroman simple" start="21"> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-silent-service">THE SILENT SERVICE</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#coronel">CORONEL</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-falklands">THE FALKLANDS</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#mystery-ships">MYSTERY SHIPS</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#jutland">JUTLAND</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-british-submarine-service">THE BRITISH SUBMARINE SERVICE</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-british-submarine-service-continued">THE BRITISH SUBMARINE SERVICE (continued)</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-mercantile-marine-and-fishing-fleets">THE MERCANTILE MARINE AND FISHING FLEETS</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#zeebrugge">ZEEBRUGGE</a></p> -</li> -</ol> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>PART V.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>BEHIND THE LINES.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<ol class="upperroman simple" start="30"> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#behind-the-lines-and-at-home">BEHIND THE LINES AND AT HOME</a></p> -</li> -</ol> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>PART VI.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>VICTORY.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<ol class="upperroman simple" start="31"> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-last-day">THE LAST DAY</a></p> -</li> -<li><p class="first noindent pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#looking-backward">LOOKING BACKWARD</a></p> -</li> -</ol> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>PORTRAITS.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#field-marshal-sir-john-french">Field-Marshal Sir John French</a><span> (Earl of Ypres)</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#field-marshal-sir-douglas-haig">Field-Marshal Sir Douglas Haig</a><span> (Earl Haig of Bemersyde)</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#marshal-foch">Marshal Foch</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#field-marshal-sir-edmund-allenby">Field-Marshal Sir Edmund Allenby</a><span> (Viscount Allenby of Megiddo)</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#admiral-sir-john-jellicoe">Admiral Sir John Jellicoe</a><span> (Viscount Jellicoe of Scapa)</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#admiral-sir-david-beatty">Admiral Sir David Beatty</a><span> (Earl Beatty of the North Sea)</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#field-marshal-earl-kitchener">Field-Marshal Earl Kitchener</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>MAPS.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-critical-day-in-the-first-battle-of-ypres">The Critical Day in the First Battle of Ypres</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-second-battle-of-ypres">The Second Battle of Ypres</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#battle-of-loos-advance-to-loos-and-hill-70">Battle of Loos: Advance to Loos and Hill 70</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#battle-of-the-somme-longueval-and-delville-wood">Battle of the Somme: Longueval and Delville Wood</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#cambrai-the-advance-of-the-infantry-divisions">Cambrai: the Advance of the Infantry Divisions</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#id2">The Second Battle of the Marne.</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#first-stages-of-the-last-allied-offensive">First Stages of the last Allied Offensive</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-landing-beaches-at-gallipoli">The Landing Beaches at Gallipoli</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#evacuation-of-the-gallipoli-peninsula">Evacuation of the Gallipoli Peninsula</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#palestine-the-decisive-battle">Palestine: the Decisive Battle</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#battle-of-coronel">Battle of Coronel</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#battle-of-the-falkland-islandsfirst-phase">Battle of the Falkland Islands—First Phase</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#battle-of-the-falkland-islandssecond-phase">Battle of the Falkland Islands—Second Phase</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#battle-of-the-falkland-islandslast-phase">Battle of the Falkland Islands—Last Phase</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#battle-of-jutland-track-chart">Battle of Jutland: Track Chart</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#id3">Zeebrugge.</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-front-on-the-eve-of-the-allied-offensive-and-on-the-day-of-the-armistice">The Front on the Eve of the Allied Offensive, and on -the Day of the Armistice</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-causes-of-the-war"><span class="bold large">PART I.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold medium">INTRODUCTORY.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold x-large">DAYS TO REMEMBER.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER I.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE CAUSES OF THE WAR.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It is never easy to fix upon one cause as the origin of a -great war, and the war of 1914 was the outcome of several -causes combined. For twenty years there had been growing -up in Europe a sense of insecurity; the great Powers had -become restless and suspicious of one another, and one Power, -Germany, was seriously considering the possibility of some -bold stroke which would put her beyond the reach of rivalry. -Germany, since her victory over France in 1870, had become -a very great and rich nation; she had spread her commerce -over the world; and she was anxious to create an empire -akin to those of Britain and France. But she began the task -too late in the day; she could succeed only at the expense -of her neighbours. The ambition of Germany was, therefore, -one perpetual source of danger.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Another danger was her nervousness, which frequently -accompanies ambition. There was an alliance between -France and Russia, and a growing friendliness between -Britain and France, and Germany feared that her rivals -were combining to hem her in and put a stop to what she -considered her natural development. Russia had fallen very -low after the war with Japan, but was rapidly recovering -both in wealth and armed strength. France was making -strenuous efforts to increase her army, so that she should -not be at a disadvantage as compared with the far greater -population of Germany. Britain had no ambitions of -conquest; her aim was the peaceful development of her Empire. -But that was an oversea Empire, and she required a large -navy; and the size of this navy seemed to Germany to be a -menace to her future.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The result was that in the summer of 1914 the rulers of -Germany had decided that some great effort must soon be -made; they must put their land in such a position that for -the future it would have no cause to dread the aggression, or -even the rivalry, of other Powers. If they delayed too long -they feared that the growing wealth of Russia and the -increased military strength of France would make such an -effort for ever impossible.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On June 28, 1914, the Archduke Francis Ferdinand, -the heir to the Austrian throne, was murdered, along with -his wife, in the little Bosnian town of Serajevo. Austria -had long been jealous of the movement towards unity among -the Slav peoples in the Balkans, with Serbia at their head, -and she believed, or pretended to believe, that the murder -had been connived at by the Serbian Government. Germany, -for reasons of her own, was equally desirous to -see the power of the Balkan states diminished. She had -a grandiose design of extending her influence eastward -through Constantinople to the Persian Gulf, with Turkey -as her ally or her tool, and planting a German outpost on -the flank of our Indian Empire; and a strong Serbian -kingdom, or a union of Slav peoples, would effectually bar -the way. With the approval of Germany, therefore, Austria -sent an ultimatum to Serbia, demanding certain concessions -which would have made Serbia no longer a sovereign -state. Serbia, while willing to grant most of the demands, -was compelled to refuse others, and Austria promptly -declared war.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Russia now interfered in support of Serbia, and mobilized -her armies on her southern frontiers. Every attempt was -made by the statesmen of Western Europe, and notably -by the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, to limit -the quarrel and to persuade Austria to listen to reason. -Germany, however, had no desire for a peaceful settlement. -She induced Austria to refuse all mediation, and presently, -after a peremptory request to the Tsar to demobilize, she -declared war upon Russia. Russia and France were allies, -and war with France followed naturally within twenty-four -hours.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The position of Britain had become extremely difficult -She had no formal alliance with France, but in her own -interests she could not allow her nearest neighbour to be -crushed, and the balance of power in Europe to be entirely -changed. Britain had never seriously considered the -possibility of a European war, and was extremely averse from -interfering in a quarrel in which she had no direct concern. -She might well have hesitated till it was too late to act with -effect, or have blundered into some foolish compromise with -Germany.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The situation was saved by Belgium. The German scheme -of attack on France was based upon a sudden invasion from -the north, and for this a march through Belgium was -essential. The neutrality of Belgium had long before been -guaranteed by all the great Powers, but Germany argued -that her necessity must override the law of nations, and -demanded a passage through Belgium. This was refused. -The invasion of Belgium accordingly began on Sunday, -the 2nd August, and this outrage determined the policy of -the British Government and the British people.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On Monday, the 3rd August, Sir Edward Grey announced -that the fleet and the army had been mobilized, and that -Britain proposed to defend with the sword her treaty -obligations to Belgium. That evening an ultimatum was sent to -Germany demanding her immediate withdrawal from -Belgium; next day we were at war with Germany. On the -same afternoon the German Imperial Chancellor made a -speech defending his violation of Belgian neutrality. "He -who is threatened, as we are threatened, can have but the -one thought—how he is to hack his way through." The -German Government had believed to the last that Britain -would remain neutral, and her entry into the conflict for a -moment dashed their zeal for war. "The British change -the whole situation," the Emperor told the United States -Ambassador. "An obstinate nation! They will keep up -the war. It cannot end soon."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Britain had no great military force to throw into the -balance, such as the armies of France and Russia. Her -small regular army was little more than a garrison for -her Oversea Dominions, and her Territorial Force was -intended for home defence. But Lord Haldane, when Secretary -for War, had foreseen the possibility of a Continental -struggle, and had prepared plans by which an Expeditionary -Force of about 100,000 men could be placed on the -Continent of Europe in a very short time. This force was, -for its size, probably the most expert army in the world. -It took its place on the left of the French line, and, -though small in comparison with the mighty levy of France, -it was fated to play a leading part in the first decisive -battles.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Behind the regular army was our second line of defence, -the Territorials, nominally 300,000 strong. But it was very -certain that as soon as war was declared the whole manhood -of Britain would be called upon, and that many hundreds -of thousands of young men would be eager to serve. Lord -Kitchener was appointed Secretary for War, and under his -direction recruiting began. Before Christmas nearly two -millions of our men were under arms.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Britain's main weapon was her navy, which was by -far the strongest in the world. After that came her wealth -and her great manufacturing capacity, by which she could -supply the munitions of war required both for her own -forces and for those of her allies. If her navy could dominate -the seas, then her commerce would go on as before, while -that of Germany would cease, and her troops and those of -her allies could be moved about the world at her pleasure. -"He who commands the sea," as Francis Bacon said long -ago, "hath great freedom."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Germany was prepared for a war which she had always -foreseen, and had the greater strength; but if the Allies did -not suffer an early defeat, their strength was certain to -grow with every month, while that of Germany must decline. -But if the Allies were thus to grow in power they must be -able to maintain free communications with the outer world -and with one another, and for this they must rely on the -supremacy of the British fleet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the very first days of war events happened which proved -that the German Emperor was right in dreading the entry -of Britain into the struggle. The British Empire overseas -awoke to action like a strong man from slumber, and there -began an epic of service which was to grow in power and -majesty up to the last hour of the campaign. No man can -read without emotion the tale of those early days in August, -when from every quarter of the globe there poured in appeals -for the right to share in Britain's struggle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The great free nations of the Empire—Canada, South -Africa, Australia, and New Zealand—prepared to raise and -send troops, and the smallest Crown colonies made their -contributions in money or supplies. India, whom Germany -believed to be disloyal, at once agreed to send two infantry -divisions and one cavalry brigade, and all the native rulers -and princes placed their resources at the King-Emperor's -call. Almost every Indian chief offered personal service in -the field.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This rally of the Empire aroused a sense of an immense -new comradeship which stirred the least emotional. The -British Commonwealth had revealed itself as that wonderful -thing for which its makers had striven and prayed—a union -based not upon laws and governors, but upon the deepest -feelings of the human spirit. The effect of the muster was -not less profound upon our ally across the Channel. No -longer, as in 1870, did France stand alone. The German -armies might be thundering at her gates, but the ends -of the earth were hastening to her aid, and the avenger was -drawing nigh.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-bird-s-eye-view-of-the-war"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER II.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE WAR.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Germany had foreseen and prepared for just such a conflict -as now began, and was able to put into the field in the West -larger forces than those of France and Britain combined. -These forces were also better trained and better supplied -with transport, artillery, and machine-guns. Her plan was -to defeat France and Britain in the first month, and then to -turn her main armies against Russia, for she assumed that -Russia would be slow to mobilize her gigantic numbers. -But if the first attack on France should fail the situation -would be changed, and Germany would be compelled to fight -on two fronts at once, the East and the West.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>If the conflict was protracted Germany would lose the -advantage of numbers, for then the greater united manpower -of the Allies could be trained for the field, and if the -British navy continued to rule the seas those new armies -could be supplied and moved at the Allies' will. Moreover, -though Germany could produce most of the necessaries of -life and the apparatus of war within her own borders, yet -the Allied control of the sea would cut her off from certain -vital kinds of war material.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Great War falls therefore into three stages. At -the start Germany, with the advantage of surprise and -long preparation, embarked on a war of movement in the -hope of immediate victory. She failed in this, and the -campaign then became a siege in which the Allies sat round -her entrenched stronghold. That vast stronghold embraced -half of Europe and part of Asia; it could produce most -things that it needed, and carry on its normal life. Brilliant -sallies were made, which more than once nearly dispersed -the besiegers; but, nevertheless, for three and a half years -the Teutonic Powers were as the garrison of a beleaguered -city. Then came the short, last stage, when the outworks -of the fortress crumbled, and the Allies pressed in and forced -the garrison to surrender.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Germany began the war with Austria as her ally. Within -three months she had been joined by Turkey, and by the end -of the first year of war Bulgaria mustered on her side. The -Allies at the start were France, Britain, Russia, Belgium, -Serbia, and Japan; in May 1915 Italy joined them, and in -August 1916 Rumania. Before the end Portugal and Greece, -among the European Powers, were added; the United States -of America joined in April 1917; and in the last year of the -war there were altogether eleven Powers in Europe, Asia, -and America on their side. The main battles were fought -on the Continent of Europe, and the main belligerents, from -start to finish, were the European nations. The accession -of America, however, was vital for the Allied victory, as it -counterbalanced the failure of Russia, which, after the -revolution in March 1917, rapidly went to pieces and dropped out -of the fighting line.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Before telling of any special incidents of the great struggle -it is desirable to have before our minds a general bird's-eye -view of the whole war. Germany's first plan of an -immediate conquest was defeated by France and Britain at the -First Battle of the Marne in September 1914. She made a -second attempt upon the shores of the English Channel, -which was foiled before Ypres in November of the same year. -After that her policy was to stand on the defensive in the -West and to aim at the destruction of Russia. In this, -during 1915, she nearly succeeded. The Russian armies -were driven out of Poland, but they established their line -during the autumn, and Germany's ambitious strategy had -once more failed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In 1916 the Allies were ready for a combined advance, -Germany was aware of their policy, and tried to anticipate -it by her great attack on Verdun in February of that year—a -battle which was fiercely contested for months, and finally -ebbed away about midsummer. By that time Austria's -attack on Italy had also failed and the Allied advance begun. -The Russians won great successes in Galicia, and the British -and French on the Somme dealt the German armies a blow -from which they never really recovered. In Rumania, on -the other hand, Germany had a temporary success; but by -the close of 1916 it was clear to her commanders that unless -some miracle happened the war would end with an Allied -victory during the following year.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That miracle happened, in the form of the Russian -revolution in the spring of 1917. Thereafter Germany was -able to get rid of the war on her eastern frontier and to -throw all her strength against the West. During that spring -and summer she staved off the French and British attacks -at Arras, at Ypres, and on the Aisne, and in the autumn of -1917 she was ready to begin her own offensive. Her first -blow was directed against Italy, whom she drove back fifty -miles from the Isonzo to the Piave, with immense losses. -In March 1918 she struck her great blow in the West. With -a large superiority in men and guns, she attacked the British -at St. Quentin, and forced them to retreat almost to the -gates of Amiens.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a success, but only a limited success, and with -this last stroke her energy began to ebb. Foch was now -Commander-in-Chief of the Allies, and with great skill he -maintained a stubborn defensive till such time as he had -gathered strength for a counter-attack. Meantime the new -armies of America were arriving in France at the rate of -10,000 a day. In July Germany struck her last blow on -the Marne in a frantic effort to reach Paris. That blow was -likewise warded off, and three days later the Allied -counter-offensive began.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then in a series of great attacks all the prepared German -defences were broken down. By the early days of October -Turkey and Bulgaria had been defeated in the East, and the -surrender of Austria followed before the end of the month. -Finally, on November 11, 1918, Germany herself was forced -to sue for an armistice in order to save her armies from -destruction. An armistice was granted, but its terms -involved an unconditional surrender to the will of the Allies.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The episodes contained in the following chapters have -been chosen as examples of the achievements of Britain and -her Oversea Dominions in the Great War. They are notable -episodes, which stand out from the day-to-day routine of -the fighting. They are exploits, each of which materially -contributed to Germany's defeat. But the qualities which -they reveal in the men who shared in them were not -confined to those men; they are typical qualities, and were -possessed in no less degree by hundreds of thousands of men -who fought in obscurity, but whose unrecorded service was -equally the cause of victory. A war is won not only by the -shining deeds of the few, but also by the faithfulness of the -many, though it is the brilliant deeds which stand out most -clearly in the world's memory and become the symbols and -memorials of all the unrecorded faithfulness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Most of the chapters belong to the attacks during the time -of siege warfare, for it was by those attacks that the heart -was taken out of the enemy. But we must not pass over -the marvellous story of how Germany was reduced to a state -of beleaguerment, and why she did not succeed in her first -plan and win in a war of movement. The reason of this was -a great battle, in which France played the chief part, but -in which the small British army had also an honourable share. -Before we begin our record, then, let us look at the stand on -the Marne which wrecked the first hope of a German victory -in the war.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-turn-at-the-marne"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER III.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE TURN AT THE MARNE.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Germany, as we have seen, began the war in the West with -larger forces than those of France and Britain. She had -also prepared definite plans of action, most of which she had -managed to conceal from her opponents. General Joffre, -the French Commander-in-Chief, was aware of her main -intention—to outflank the French left wing by a drive through -Belgium; but he did not guess how strong the enemy right -wing would be, or how wide its wheel. His own plan was to -strike first, and to attack the enemy's left and centre in -Lorraine and in the Ardennes, where he supposed the German -front would be relatively weak.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was wrong, for he had under-estimated the number -of trained divisions which Germany could place at once in -the field. His attacks were repulsed both in Lorraine and -in the Ardennes. At the same moment he found that the -German right wing, sweeping round through Belgium, was -double the strength he had expected. He hurried up troops -to meet it, but at Charleroi his Fifth Army was beaten, and -the British on its left were compelled to retreat along with -it. The result was that on Monday, August 24, 1914, all -the armies of the Allies were falling back from the northern -frontiers. The men did not know what had happened; but, -weary and bewildered, they kept their discipline. That -the retirement was achieved without serious losses was a -proof of the stoutheartedness of the armies of France and -Britain.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Joffre was now compelled to make a new plan. He had -to find reserves, and these would take time to collect; he -could not get reinforcements brought up to his armies in -time, so the armies must fall back to the reinforcements. -For nearly a fortnight the retreat went on. Notable -exploits were performed by every army, and the record of the -retreat from Mons contains the fine defensive battle fought by -the British at Le Cateau. The Allies lost heavily in the -retirement, but it enabled them to reach their supports, while -the enemy had weakened his strength by his long advance. -On the 4th September the Allies, who at the start had been -outnumbered, were now slightly more numerous than the -Germans.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On that day, the 4th September, Joffre halted the retreat. -He was now ready to turn and strike back. The enemy -forces lay in a huge arc 200 miles wide and 30 deep—from -the eastern skirts of Paris to Verdun. On the German -right was Kluck, who had led the great wheel through -Belgium, and next to him in order towards the east were the -armies under Bülow, Hausen, the Duke of Wurtemberg, and -the Imperial Crown Prince. Beyond the Meuse lay the -detached German left wing, under the Crown Prince of -Bavaria, threatening Nancy. The German plan was for -Kluck to turn the left, and Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria the -right, of the French line, while their centre broke the French -centre in Champagne.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 57%" id="figure-241"> -<span id="field-marshal-sir-john-french"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="FIELD-MARSHAL SIR JOHN FRENCH (EARL OF YPRES)." src="images/img-015.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">FIELD-MARSHAL SIR JOHN FRENCH -<br />(EARL OF YPRES).</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Allies had been forced into a difficult position. From -the south of the Marne their line extended to Verdun, -consisting of the British Army under Sir John French, and the -armies of Franchet d'Esperey, Foch, Langle de Gary, and -Sarrail; while facing the Bavarians at Nancy were the armies -of Castelnau and Dubail. In the meantime a new French -army, the Sixth, had been formed, and this, under Maunoury, -lay on the extreme left, covering Paris, and was thus in a -position to threaten Kluck's right flank and rear. Joffre's -new plan was to strike hard with his left, on the flank of the -invader, and for this purpose he had gravely thinned the rest -of his front so as to strengthen the forces of Maunoury and -Franchet d'Esperey. It was a great hazard, for if the -Bavarians forced the gate of Nancy the French right would -be turned, and if the German centre broke through the -weak French centre the battle would be lost, whatever -happened on the French left.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was one of the moments of crisis on which the world's -history depends. The captains who were to win the war -for the Allies were all in the field—Foch with an army, -Haig with a corps, Pétain and Mangin and Allenby with -divisions. Joffre told his men that on the coming fight -depended the salvation of their country, and every private -in the ranks felt the gravity of the hour. France was -fighting on the old ground where, long centuries before, the Hun -invasion had been rolled back by Theodoric the Visigoth, -and the spirit of her men was kindled to a flame.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The First Battle of the Marne was won not, as many believed, -by any single exploit, but by the faithful performance -of its duty by each section of the long-drawn line. Let us look -first at the French right flank in Lorraine. There the battle -began on the 4th September, and three days later came the -crisis when, by the slenderest margin, the enemy failed to -break Castelnau on the ridge called the Grand-Couronné. -The Kaiser himself was a spectator of the fight, for Germany -had counted on forcing the pass; but by the 8th she had -failed, and by the 9th Castelnau had firmly barred the gate.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The French centre, under Foch, Langle de Gary, and -Sarrail, had a longer period of trial. Sarrail, at Verdun, -was all but broken on the 8th, and was compelled to fall -back to the west bank of the Meuse. All through the 9th -and 10th the desperate struggle continued, and by the -evening of the last day the French general was preparing -for retreat. Suddenly, however, he found the attack ebbing, -and by the 12th the enemy was mysteriously withdrawing. -Farther west Langle de Gary had his worst moment on -the 8th; on the 9th he received reinforcements which eased -his position, and on the 10th he too felt the strange -weakening of the enemy. The left centre under Foch had the -sternest fight of all. He had against him the bulk of Bülow's -and Hausen's armies, and on the 8th he found his flanks -turned and his whole front split into gaps. Nevertheless -he prepared to attack on the 9th with his last ounce of -strength. All that day his centre and right were falling back -before the enemy's thrust, but he still persevered in his -purpose and marched the single division he could muster -to the point where he thought he could strike with the -greatest effect. The blow was never delivered, for on the -evening of the 9th the apparently triumphant advance halted -and ebbed. Like Sarrail and Langle de Gary, Foch, having -resisted to the limit of human endurance, discovered that the -enemy was miraculously disappearing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The cause of the miracle was the doings of the French left -wing. Joffre had hurled Maunoury on Kluck's flank and -rear, while Sir John French and Franchet d'Esperey attacked -in front. Kluck met the threat with vigour and resolution. -He formed front to flank, as the phrase goes—that is, he faced -round to what had been his wing—and in the three days' -fighting all but defeated Maunoury. On the night of the 7th -the outflanking French left found itself outflanked in turn, -and its attack turned into a desperate defence. But on the -9th came salvation. Kluck's manoeuvre had left a gap of -30 miles between himself and Bülow, and into this gap were -pouring the British force and that of Franchet d'Esperey. -Suddenly Maunoury discovered that certain villages in front -of him were evacuated, and his airmen told him of enemy -convoys moving to the north. At 1 p.m. that day Bülow -began his retreat, and Kluck was forced to follow suit. Sir -John French and Franchet d'Esperey had pierced the enemy -front, and the retreat of the German right caused the retreat -of all the German armies. They fell back to a line along -the Aisne, through Champagne, and down the east bank of -the Meuse—a strong line, which for four years was never -really broken. But, none the less, it was a retreat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The First Battle of the Marne may well rank as the greatest, -because the most critical, contest of the war. It was decisive -in the sense that it defeated Germany's first plan of campaign. -She had hoped for a "battle without a morrow"; but the -battle had been fought and the morrow was come. She -was now compelled to accept the slow war of entrenchments, -and to see every week bringing her nearer to the condition -of a beleaguered city. The immediate cause of victory was -Maunoury's flank attack, which opened the way for the -British and Franchet d'Esperey. But without the daring -strategy of Foch and the stubborn endurance of Langle de -Gary and Sarrail—above all, without Castelnau's epic -resistance at Nancy—the chance in the West could not have been -seized, and the Marne might have realized Germany's hopes. -It was in a sense the last battle of the old régime of war, a -battle of movement and surprise and quick decisions; it was -fought and won not by the army as a military machine but -by the human quality of the soldier. In the last resort the -source of victory was the ancient and unconquerable spirit -of France.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-worcesters-at-the-first-battle-of-ypres"><span class="bold large">PART II.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">THE WESTERN FRONT.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER IV.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE WORCESTERS AT THE FIRST BATTLE OF YPRES.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Battle of the Marne defeated the great plan of the -Germans, and their next object was to hold what they had won. -The line to which they had retired was open to attack on the -west, as was also that of the French, and hence there came a -period of rapid movement on both sides, each attempting to -outflank the other. It became a "race for the sea," and -ended only when the entrenched lines on either side reached -the Belgian coast. The enemy then attempted to break -through the left of the Allied front, and to seize the Channel -ports, so as to threaten the British lines of communication. -He transferred large numbers of his best troops to the north; -between Armentiéres and the sea he had a total of 402 -battalions of infantry and an immense superiority of guns. -Two hundred and sixty-seven battalions were all that the -Allies could fling into the gap, and their cavalry were -outnumbered by two to one.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Germany struck at various points; but being checked at -Arras and on the sea-coast, she made her main effort in the -last week of October against the British Army, which held the -salient east of the city of Ypres. The battle, which is known -as the First Battle of Ypres, began on the 21st of the month, -and the crisis came on the 29th, when General von Fabeck -attacked with a "storm group" of specially selected -regiments.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On Saturday, the 31st October, after a furious bombardment, -it seemed that the end had come. For eleven days our -little army had been holding its own against impossible odds. -At the point of the Salient, north of the Menin road, lay the -2nd and 1st British Divisions, and south of them the 7th -Division and Byng's cavalry. The men were very weary -and their ranks terribly thinned. The 7th Division had -fought for nearly two days on a front of 8 miles against forces -of four times their number. The desperate character of the -fighting was only fully known when the losses came to be -reckoned up. That division had 44 officers left out of 400, -and 2,336 men out of 12,000. The 1st Brigade of the 1st -Division had 8 officers left out of 153, and 500 men out of -5,000. The 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers, to take one battalion, -was reduced to 70 men commanded by a junior subaltern. -That is the price which must be paid for fighting one against -four. Major Bellenden in </span><em class="italics">Old Mortality</em><span> considered one to -three the utmost possible odds, and "never knew any one -who cared to take that except old Corporal Raddlebanes." At -the First Battle of Ypres the British Army would have -welcomed the Major's odds as a relief.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On that Saturday morning things had grown very desperate. -The 1st and 3rd Brigades of the 1st Division were -driven out of Gheluvelt, our line gave way, and soon after -midday we were back among the woods towards Veldhoek. -This retirement uncovered the left of the 7th Division, which -was then slowly bent back towards the Klein Zillebeke -ridge. The enemy was beginning to pour through the Gheluvelt -gap, and at the same time pressed hard on the whole arc -of the Salient. We had no reserves except an odd battalion -or two and some regiments of cavalry, all of which had -already been sorely tried during the past days. Sir John -French sent an urgent message to General Foch for reinforcements -and was refused. At the end of the battle he learned -the reason. Foch had none to send, and his own losses had -been greater than ours.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 62%" id="figure-242"> -<span id="the-critical-day-in-the-first-battle-of-ypres"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="The Critical Day in the First Battle of Ypres." src="images/img-023.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">The Critical Day in the First Battle of Ypres.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>Between 2 and 2.30 p.m. Sir Douglas Haig, commanding -the 1st Corps, was on the Menin road watching the situation. -It seemed impossible to stop the gap, though on its northern -side some South Wales Borderers were gallantly holding a -sunken road and galling the flank of the German advance. -He gave orders to retire to a line a little west of Hooge and -stand there, though he well knew that no stand, however -heroic, could save the town. He considered that a further -retirement west of Ypres might be necessary, and with this -Sir John French agreed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The news grew worse. The headquarters of the 1st and -2nd Divisions at Hooge Chateau had been shelled. The two -commanders had been badly wounded and six of the Staff -killed. Brigadiers took charge of divisions, and during that -terrible afternoon officers were commanding any troops that -happened to be near. It looked as if fate had designed to -lay every conceivable burden on our breaking defences.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then suddenly out of the mad confusion came a -strange story. A breathless Staff officer reported that -something odd was happening north of the Menin road. The -enemy advance had halted. Then came word that our 1st -Division was re-forming. The anxious generals could scarcely -believe their ears, for it sounded a sheer miracle; but presently -came the proof, though it was not for months that the full -tale was known.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This is what had happened. Brigadier-General the -Hon. Charles FitzClarence, V.C., commanding the 1st (Guards) -Brigade in the 1st Division, had sent in his last reserves, and -had failed to fill the gap in our line. He then rode off to the -headquarters of the 1st Division to explain how desperate -was the position. But on the way, at the south-west corner -of the Polygon Wood, he stumbled upon a battalion waiting -in support. It was the 2nd Worcesters, who were part of the -right brigade of the 2nd Division. FitzClarence saw in them -his last chance. They belonged to another division, but it -was no time to stand on ceremony. Major Hankey, who -commanded them, at once put them under FitzClarence's -orders.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The rain had begun and the dull wet haze of a Flanders -autumn lay over the sour fields and broken spinneys between -Hooge and Gheluvelt. The Worcesters, under very heavy -artillery fire, advanced in a series of short rushes for about -1,000 yards between the right of the South Wales Borderers -and the northern edge of Gheluvelt. There they dug -themselves in, broke up the German advance into bunches, opened -a heavy flank fire, and brought it to a standstill. This allowed -the 7th Division to get back to its old line, and the 6th Cavalry -Brigade to fill the gap between the 7th and 1st Divisions. -Before night fell the German advance west of Gheluvelt was -stayed, and the British front was out of immediate danger.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That great performance of an historic English county -regiment is one of the few instances in any campaign where -the prompt decision of a subordinate commander and the -prowess of one battalion have turned the tide of a great -battle. It was the crucial moment of the First Battle of Ypres. -Gheluvelt was lost, but the gap was closed, and the crisis was -past. Eleven days later FitzClarence fell in the last spasm -of the action—the fight with the Prussian Guard. He had -done his work. Ypres was soon a heap of rubble, and for -four years the Salient was a cockpit of war, but up to the -last hour of the campaign no German entered the ruins of the -little city except as a prisoner.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-canadians-at-the-second-battle-of-ypres"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER V.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE CANADIANS AT THE SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Salient of Ypres was to be a second time the scene of -a heroic stand against hopeless odds. In April 1915 the -front of the Salient was held by the French on the left, the -Canadian Division and the British 28th Division in the -centre, and the 27th Division on the right. On the 20th the -Germans suddenly began the bombardment of the town with -heavy shells. It was a warning to the British Command, -for all their roads of supply for the lines of the Salient ran -through Ypres, and such a bombardment must herald an -attack on some part of their front.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The evening of Thursday, the 22nd, was calm and pleasant, -with a light, steady wind blowing from the north-east. About -6.30 our artillery observers reported that a strange green -vapour was moving over the French trenches. Then, as the -April night closed in and the great shells still rained upon -Ypres, there were strange and ghastly scenes on the left -between the canal and the Pilkem road. Back through the -dusk came a stream of French soldiers, blinded and coughing, -and wild with terror. Some black horror had come upon them, -and they had broken before a more than human fear. Behind -them they had left hundreds of their comrades stricken or -dead, with horrible blue faces and froth on their lips.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The rout surged over the canal, and the roads to the west -were choked with broken infantry and galloping gun teams -lacking their guns. Most of the French were coloured troops -from Africa, and in the early darkness they stumbled upon the -Canadian reserve battalions. With amazement the Canadians -saw the wild dark faces, the heaving chests, and the lips -speechless with agony. Then they too sniffed something in -the breeze—something which caught at their throats and -affected them with a deadly sickness.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 60%" id="figure-243"> -<span id="the-second-battle-of-ypres"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="The Second Battle of Ypres." src="images/img-027.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">The Second Battle of Ypres.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>The immediate result of the stampede was a 5-mile breach -in the Allied line. The remnants of the French troops were -thrown back on the canal, where they were being pushed -across by the German attack, and between them and the left of -the Canadians were five miles of undefended country. Through -this gap the enemy was pouring, preceded by the poisonous -fumes of the gas, and supported by heavy artillery fire.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Canadian front was held at the moment by the -3rd Brigade under General Turner on the left and the 2nd -Brigade under General Currie on the right. The 1st Brigade -was in reserve. The 3rd Brigade, on which the chief blow -fell, had suffered from the gas, but to a less degree than the -French. With his flank exposed General Turner was forced -to draw back his left wing. Under the pressure of the four -German divisions the brigade bent backwards till its left -rested on the wood east of the hamlet of St. Julien. Beyond -it, however, there was still a gap, and the Germans were -working round its flank.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In that wood there was a battery of British guns, and -the Canadians counter-attacked to save the guns and find -some point of defence for their endangered flank. Assisted -by two battalions from the 1st Brigade they carried the wood. -A wilder struggle has rarely been seen than the battle of that -April night. The British reserves at Ypres, shelled out of -the town, marched to the sound of the firing, with the strange -sickly odour of the gas blowing down upon them. The roads -were congested with the usual supply trains for our troops -in the Salient. All along our front the cannonade was severe, -while the Canadian left, bent back almost at right angles, -was struggling to entrench itself under cover of counter-attacks. -In some cases they found French reserve trenches -to occupy, but more often they had to dig themselves in where -they could. The right of the German assault was already in -several places beyond the canal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Canadians were for the most part citizen soldiers -without previous experience of battle. Among their officers -were men from every kind of occupation—lawyers, professors, -lumbermen, ranchers, merchants. To their eternal honour -they did not break. Overwhelmed by superior numbers of -men and guns, and sick to death with the poisonous fumes, -they did all that men could do to stem the tide. All night -long with an exposed flank they maintained the gossamer -line of the British front.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Very early in the small hours of Friday morning the first -British reinforcements arrived in the gap. They were a -strange mixture of units, commanded by Colonel Geddes -of the Buffs—to be ever afterwards gloriously known as -Geddes's Detachment. But our concern for the moment is -with the Canadians. The reinforcements from the 1st Brigade -counter-attacked, along with Geddes's Detachment, early -on the Friday morning. Meantime the Canadian 3rd Brigade -was in desperate straits. Its losses had been huge, and its -survivors were still weak from the effects of the gas. No -food could reach it for twenty-four hours. Holding an acute -salient, it was under fire from three sides, and by evening was -driven to a new line through St. Julien. The enemy had -succeeded in working round its left, and even getting their -machine-guns behind it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About 3 o'clock on the morning of Saturday, the 24th, -a violent bombardment began. At 3.30 there came a -second gas attack. The gas, pumped from cylinders, rose -in a cloud which at its greatest was 7 feet high. It was -thickest close to the ground, and filled every cranny of the -trenches. Instinct taught some of the men what to do. -A wet handkerchief wrapped round the mouth gave a little -relief, and it was obviously fatal to run back, for in that -case a man followed the gas zone. Its effect was to produce -acute bronchitis. Those smitten by it suffered horribly, -gasping and struggling for breath, and in many cases becoming -temporarily blind. Even 1,000 yards from the place of -emission troops were afflicted with violent sickness and -giddiness. Beyond that distance it dissipated itself, and -only the blanched herbage marked its track.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That day, the 24th, saw the height of the Canadians' -battle. The much-tried 3rd Brigade, now gassed for the -second time, could no longer keep its place. Its left fell back -well to the south-west of St. Julien. Gaps were opened in -its front, and General Currie's 2nd Brigade was now left in -much the same position as that of the 3rd Brigade on the -Thursday evening. About midday a great German attack -developed against the village of St. Julien. The remnants -of the 13th and 14th battalions—the Royal Highlanders -of Montreal and the Royal Montreal Regiment—could not -be withdrawn in time, and remained—a few hundred men—in -the St. Julien line, fighting till far on in the night their -hopeless battle with a gallantry which has shed eternal -lustre on their motherland. Not less fine was the stand -of the 8th Battalion (the 90th Winnipeg Rifles) in the 2nd -Brigade at the very point of the Salient. With its left in the -air it held out against crazy odds till reinforcements arrived.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The battle was now passing from the Canadians' hands. -On the Saturday the 3rd Brigade was withdrawn, and the -2nd followed on the Sunday evening. But on the Monday -the latter, now less than 1,000 strong, was ordered back to -the line, and to the credit of their discipline the men went -cheerfully. They had to take up a position in daylight and -cross the zone of shell-fire—no light task for those who had -lived through the past shattering days. That night they were -relieved, and on Thursday, the 29th, the whole division was -withdrawn from the Salient, after such a week of fighting as -has rarely fallen to the lot of any troops of the Empire.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Canadian Division was to grow into an Army, and to -win many famous triumphs before the end of the war. But -in the hectic three days between Thursday, the 22nd April, -and Monday, the 26th, when the Second Battle of Ypres was -decided, the soldiers of Canada performed an exploit which no -later achievement could excel. Three battalion commanders -died; from the 5th Battalion only ten officers survived; five -from the 7th; seven from the 8th; eight from the 10th. Of -the machine-gun men of the 13th Battalion thirteen were left -out of fifty-eight, and in the 7th Battalion only one. Attacked -and outflanked by four divisions, stupefied by a poison of -which they had never dreamed and which they did not understand, -with no heavy artillery to support them, they endured -till reinforcements came, and they did more than endure. -After days and nights of tension they had the vitality to -counter-attack, and when called upon they cheerfully returned -to the inferno which they had left. If the Salient of Ypres -will be for all time the classic battle-ground of Britain, that -blood-stained segment between the Poelcappelle and Zonnebeke -roads will remain the holy land of Canadian arms.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With the Canadians must rank the men of Geddes's -Detachment. They were eight battalions, picked out from -anywhere in the line—the 2nd Buffs, half of the 3rd Middlesex, -half of the 2nd Shropshires, the 1st York and Lancaster, -the 5th Royal Lancaster, the 4th Rifle Brigade, the 9th Royal -Scots, and the 2nd Cornwalls. Their instructions were to -hold the gap on the Canadian left and bluff the enemy. The -leading half-battalions were thrown in in twos and threes -into the gap, and had to keep up the appearance of an offensive, -while the other half of each battalion dug a new line. The -duty of the attacking halves was to get as far forward as -possible before they fell, and to try not to fall before evening.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All the day of Friday, the 23rd, without guns and -without supports, about 2,000 men covered a gap 8,000 yards -wide and held up the victorious Germans. Behind them the -remaining 2,000 dug the new line, which was to hold fast till -the end of the war. Of the half-battalions concerned in this -marvellous bluff but little was left. One company of the -Buffs entirely disappeared. The men of the 1st York and -Lancaster lay all day in their firing lines—immovable, for every -one was dead or wounded. The Cornwalls lost all their -officers but one, and all their men but ninety-five.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But they succeeded. Colonel Geddes was killed by shellfire -on the 28th April, when he was withdrawing his men, but -he died knowing that his task had been accomplished. The -Second Battle of Ypres lasted far on into May, but the enemy -failed on that day, Friday, the 23rd—St. George's Day—when -the road to Ypres was barred by two Canadian Brigades -and a handful of British regulars and Territorials.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-taking-of-loos"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VI.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE TAKING OF LOOS.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The battle of Loos, which began on Saturday, September 25, -1915, was part of the first combined Allied offensive. It -was remarkable among other things because it saw the -first appearance in a great battle of the troops of the New -Armies raised in response to Lord Kitchener's appeal, and -in it more than one new division gained a reputation which -made their names become household words.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The battle, though it won much ground for the Allies, -failed to break the German front. But it shook that front -to its foundations, and indeed at one point came very near -to being a decisive victory. It is the story of that point with -which this chapter is concerned—the attack of the Scottish -15th Division against the village of Loos. The 15th was a -division remarkable for physique and spirit, but as yet -untried in war, for it had only been some three months in -France. The men were of every trade, rank, and profession, -and drawn from all Scotland, both Lowlands and Highlands. -On its left was an old regular division, the 1st, and on its right -the 47th—a London Territorial Division. The orders of the -15th were to take Loos and the height beyond, known as Hill -70, which looked down upon the northern suburbs of Lens.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Saturday, the 25th, was a drizzling morning, with low -clouds and a light wind from the south-west. The attack -of the division was made by the 44th Brigade on the right -and the 46th on the left, with the 45th Brigade in reserve. -At ten minutes to six gas was discharged from our front, -but the breeze caused it to eddy back from the hollow round -Loos and trouble the left brigade. There Piper Laidlaw -of the King's Own Scottish Borderers mounted the parapet -and piped his men forward to the tune of "Blue Bonnets over -the Border."</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 58%" id="figure-244"> -<span id="battle-of-loos-advance-to-loos-and-hill-70"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="Battle of Loos.—Advance to Loos and Hill 70." src="images/img-033.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">Battle of Loos.—Advance to Loos and Hill 70.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>At 6.30 whistles blew and the leading battalions left -the trenches. We are concerned particularly with the attack -of the 44th Brigade, which had the 9th Black Watch and the -8th Seaforths in front, the 7th Camerons in support, and the -10th Gordons following. A wild rush carried the Highlanders -through the whole German front line. Below in the hollow -lay Loos with the gaunt Colossus of the mining headgear, -which our men called the Tower Bridge, striding above it. -In front of the village was the German second line, about -200 yards distant from the crest of the slope. Its defences -were strong, and the barbed wire, deep and heavy, had been -untouched by our artillery, except in a few places.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After winning the first line the attack was rapidly -reorganized, and our men went hurtling down the slope. They -had a long distance to cover, and all the time they were -exposed to the direct fire of the German machine-guns; but -without wavering the line pressed on till it reached the wire. -With bleeding faces and limbs and torn kilts and tunics the -Highlanders forced their way through it. These decent -law-abiding ex-civilians charged like men possessed, singing and -cheering. One grave sergeant is said to have rebuked the -profanity of his men. "Keep your breath, lads," he cried. -"The next stop's Potsdam."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At 7.30 the second line was theirs, and a few minutes -later the 44th Brigade was surging through the streets of -Loos. Here they had the 47th Londoners on their right, -and on their left their own 46th Brigade, and they proceeded -to clear up the place as well as the confusion of units -permitted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the Highlanders had not finished their task. It was -not yet 9 o'clock, Loos was in their hands, but Hill 70, the -gently sloping rise to the east of the village, was still to be -won. The attacking line re-formed—what was left of the -Black Watch and Seaforths leading, with the 7th Camerons -and 10th Gordons. Now, the original plan had been for the -attack to proceed beyond Hill 70 should circumstances be -favourable, and though this plan had been modified on the -eve of the battle, the change had not been explained to all -the troops, and the leading battalions were in doubt about -their final objective. The Highlanders streamed up the hill -like hounds, with all battalion formation gone, the red tartans -of the Camerons and the green of the Gordons mingling in -one resistless wave. All the time they were under enfilading -fire from both south and north; but with the bayonet -they went through the defences, and by 9 o'clock were on -the summit of the hill.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the top, just below the northern crest, was a strong -redoubt, destined to become famous in succeeding days. The -garrison surrendered—they seemed scarcely to have resisted—but -the Highlanders did not wait to secure the place. They -poured down the eastern side, now only a few hundreds strong, -losing direction as they went. They had reached a district -which was one nest of German fortifications. The Highlanders -were far in advance of the British line, with no supports -on south or north; in three hours they had advanced -nearly four miles, and had reached the skirts of the village -called Cité St. Auguste.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The colonel of a Cameron battalion took command on -Hill 70, now strewn with the remnants of the two brigades, -and attempted to recall the pursuit, which was lost in the -fog and smoke of the eastern slopes, and to entrench -himself on the summit. But very few of the Highlanders -returned. All down the slopes towards Lens lay the -tartans—Gordon and Black Watch, Seaforth and Cameron—like the -drift left on the shore when the tide has ebbed, marking out -a salient of the dead which, under happier auspices, might -have been a living spear-point thrust into the enemy's heart.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The rest of the doings of the 15th Division—how they -held the line of Hill 70 for forty-eight hours longer till they -were relieved by the Guards—does not belong to this story. -Our concern is with that wild charge which from the beginning -was foredoomed to failure, for the Highlanders had no -supports except the divisional reserves. The Guards were -then 11 miles away, and the two New Army divisions which -were brought up—divisions which later on won great glory—were -then only raw recruits. The brilliant advance was not -war, but a wild berserk adventure—a magnificent but a -barren feat of courage.</span></p> -<p class="pnext" id="id1"><span>And yet, looking back from the vantage ground of four -years of campaigning, that madness of attack had in it the -seeds of the Allies' future success. It was the very plan -which Ludendorff used against them with such fatal effect -in March 1918. Of what did those German tactics consist? -Highly-trained troops attacked various sections of the front, -found weak spots, summoned their reserves by special signals, -and forced their way through. In this way the front was -not only pierced, but crumbled in long lengths. The -Highlanders at Loos were the first to employ this deadly process, -which the French called "infiltration." They were picked -troops beyond question; but there was no serious plan to -follow up their success, and no support provided. Yet, even -as it was, that lonely charge struck fear into the heart of -the whole German line from Douai to Lille. There was no -prophetic eye among us which could see what was implied by -it, and it was set down as a glorious failure. Four years -later, when we had learned all that the enemy could teach -us, the same method was applied by the master hand of -Foch to break down in turn each of the German defences.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="delville-wood"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VII.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">DELVILLE WOOD.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Battle of the Somme was the first great British attack -to be made with ample supplies of guns and shells, and -continued, not for days or weeks, but for months. Slowly we -pressed forward to the crest of the ridges between the Somme -and the Ancre, and we know from Ludendorff's own -confession that we then dealt a blow at Germany's strength -from which she never recovered. The third stage of that -great battle, which won many miles of the German second -position, began on July 14, 1916. The one serious check was -on the right wing, where it was necessary to carry the village -of Longueval and the wood called Delville in order to secure -our right flank. There the South African Brigade entered for -the first time into the battle-line of the West, and there they -won conspicuous renown.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The place was the most awkward on the battle-front. It -was a salient, and, therefore, the British attack was made -under fire from three sides. The ground, too, was most -intricate. The land sloped upwards to Longueval village, a -cluster of houses among gardens and orchards around the -junction of two roads. East and north-east of this hamlet -stretched Delville Wood, in the shape of a blunt equilateral -triangle, with an apex pointing north-westwards. The place, -like most French woods, had been seamed with grassy rides, -partly obscured by scrub, and along and athwart these the -Germans had dug lines of trenches. The wood had been for -some days a target for our guns, and was now a maze of -splintered tree trunks, matted undergrowth, and shell-holes. -North, north-east, and south-east, at a distance of from 50 -to 200 yards from its edges, lay the main German positions, -strongly protected by machine-guns. Longueval could not -be firmly held unless Delville was also taken, for the northern -part was commanded by the wood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the 14th July two Scottish brigades of the 9th -Division attacked Longueval, and won most of the place; -but they found that the whole village could not be held -until Delville Wood was cleared. Accordingly, the South -Africans—the remaining brigade of the division—were -ordered to occupy the wood on the following morning. The -South African Brigade, under General Lukin, had been raised -a year before among the white inhabitants of South Africa. -At the start about 15 per cent. were Dutch, but the -proportion rose to something like 30 per cent. before the end of -the campaign. Men fought in its ranks who had striven -against Britain in the Boer War. Few units were better -supplied with men of the right kind of experience, and none -showed a better physical standard or a higher level of -education and breeding.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Two hours before dawn on the 15th July the brigade -advanced from Montauban towards the shadow which was -Delville Wood, and the jumbled masonry, now spouting fire -like a volcano, which had been Longueval. Lieutenant-Colonel -Tanner of the 2nd South African Regiment was in command -of the attack. By 2.40 that afternoon Tanner reported to -General Lukin that he had won the whole wood with the -exception of certain strong points in the north-west, abutting -on Longueval and the northern orchards.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the problem of Delville was not so much to carry -the wood as to hold it. The German counter-attacks began -about 3 o'clock, and the men who were holding the fringe -of the wood suffered heavy casualties. As the sun went -down the enemy activity increased, and their shells and -liquid fire turned the darkness of night into a feverish and -blazing noon; often as many as 400 shells were fired in a -minute. The position that evening was that the north-west -corner of the wood remained with the enemy, but that all -the rest was held by South Africans strung out very thin -along its edge. Twelve infantry companies, now gravely -weakened, were defending a wood a little less than a square -mile in area—a wood on which every German battery was -accurately ranged, and which was commanded at close -quarters by a semicircle of German trenches. Moreover, -since the enemy had the north-west corner, he had a covered -way of approach into the place.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All through the furious night of the 15th the South Africans -worked for dear life at entrenchments. In that hard soil, -pitted by unceasing shell-fire, and cumbered with a twisted -mass of tree trunks, roots, and wire, the spade could make -little way. Nevertheless, when the morning of Sunday, -the 16th, dawned, a good deal of cover had been provided. -At 10 a.m. an attempt was made by the South Africans and -a battalion of Royal Scots to capture the northern entrance -to the wood. The attempt failed, and the attacking troops -had to fall back to their trenches, and for the rest of the day -had to endure a steady, concentrated fire. It was hot, dusty -weather, and the enemy's curtain of shells made it almost -impossible to bring up food and water or to remove the -wounded. The situation was rapidly becoming desperate. -Longueval and Delville had proved to be far too strongly -held to be over-run at the first attack by one division. At -the same time, until these were taken the object of the battle -of the 14th had not been achieved, and the safety of the -whole right wing of the new front was endangered. Longueval -could not be won and held without Delville; Delville -could not be won and held without Longueval. Fresh troops -could not yet be spared to complete the work, and it must -be attempted again by the same wearied and depleted -battalions. What strength remained to the 9th Division must -be divided between two simultaneous objectives.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That Sunday evening it was decided to make another -attempt against the north-west corner. The attempt was made -shortly before dawn on Monday, the 17th July, but failed. -All that morning there was no change in the situation; but -on the morning of Tuesday, the 18th, an attempt was made -to the eastward. The Germans, however, in a counter-attack, -managed to penetrate far into the southern half of -the wood. The troops in Longueval had also suffered -misfortunes, with the result that the enemy entered the wood -on the exposed South African left.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 59%" id="figure-245"> -<span id="battle-of-the-somme-longueval-and-delville-wood"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="Battle of the Somme.—Longueval and Delville Wood." src="images/img-040.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">Battle of the Somme.—Longueval and Delville Wood.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>At 2.30 that afternoon the position was very serious. -Lieutenant-Colonel Thackeray, of the 3rd South African -Regiment, now commanding in the wood, held no more than -the south-west corner. In the other parts the garrisons had -been utterly destroyed. The trenches were filled with -wounded whom it was impossible to move, since most of -the stretcher-bearers had themselves been killed or wounded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That evening came the welcome news that the South -Africans would be relieved at night by another brigade. -But relief under such conditions was a slow and difficult -business. By midnight the work had been partially carried -out, and portions of the 3rd and 4th South African regiments -had been withdrawn.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But as at Flodden, when</span></p> -<blockquote> -<div> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span>"they left the darkening heath</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span>More desperate grew the strife of death."</span></div> -</div> -</div> -</blockquote> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The enemy had brought up a new division, and made -repeated attacks against the South African line. For two -days and two nights the little remnant under Thackeray still -clung to the south-west corner of the wood against -impossible odds, and did not break. The German method of -assault was to push forward bombers and snipers, and then -to advance in mass formation from the north, north-east, -and north-west simultaneously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Three attacks on the night of Tuesday, the 18th, were -repelled with heavy losses to the enemy; but in the last of -them the South Africans were assaulted on three sides. All -through Wednesday, the 19th, the gallant handful suffered -incessant shelling and sniping, the latter now from very close. -It was the same on Thursday, the 20th; but still relief tarried. -At last, at 6 o'clock that evening, troops of a fresh division -were able to take over what was left to us of Longueval -and the little segment of Delville Wood. Thackeray marched -out with two officers, both wounded, and 140 other ranks, -gathered from all the regiments of the South African Brigade.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The six days and five nights during which the South -African Brigade held the most difficult post on the British -front—a corner of death on which the enemy fire was -concentrated from three sides at all hours, and into which fresh -German troops, vastly superior in numbers, made periodic -incursions, only to be broken and driven back—constituted -an epoch of terror and glory scarcely equalled in the -campaign. There were other positions as difficult, but they were -not held so long; there were cases of as protracted a defence, -but the assault was not so violent and continuous.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Let us measure it by the stern test of losses. At -midnight on the 14th July, when Lukin received his orders, -the brigade numbered 121 officers and 3,032 men. When -Thackeray marched out on the 20th he had a remnant of -143, and the total ultimately assembled was about 750. Of -the officers, 23 were killed or died of wounds, 47 were wounded, -and 15 were missing. But the price was not paid in vain. -The brigade did what it was ordered to do, and did not yield -until it was withdrawn.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There is no more solemn moment in war than the parade -of men after a battle. The few hundred haggard survivors -in the bright sunshine behind the lines were too weary and -broken to realize how great a thing they had done. Sir -Douglas Haig sent his congratulations. The Commander of -the Fourth Army, Sir Henry Rawlinson, wrote that "In -the capture of Delville Wood the gallantry, perseverance, -and determination of the South African Brigade deserves -the highest commendation." They had earned the praise -of their own intrepid commanding officers, who had gone -through the worst side by side with their men. "Each -individual," said Tanner's report, "was firm in the -knowledge of his confidence in his comrades, and was, therefore, -able to fight with that power which good discipline alone -can produce. A finer record of this spirit could not be found -than the line of silent bodies along the Strand,[#] over which -the enemy had not dared to tread." But the most impressive -tribute was that of their Brigadier. When the remnant -of his brigade paraded before him, Lukin took the salute -with uncovered head and eyes not free from tears.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[#] The name of one of the rides in the wood.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-third-battle-of-ypres"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VIII.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE THIRD BATTLE OF YPRES.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Third Battle of Ypres was in many ways the sternest -battle ever fought by British troops. It was not a defence, -like the two other actions fought at Ypres, but an attack. -It was an attack against the success of which the very stars -in their courses seemed to fight. Everything—weather, -landscape, events elsewhere on the front—conspired to -frustrate its purpose. It was undertaken too late and continued -too long; but both errors were unavoidable. All the latter -part of it was a struggle without hope, carried on for the -sake of our Allies at other parts of the line. To those who -fought in it, the Third Battle of Ypres will always remain -a memory of misery and horror.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The British scheme for the summer of 1917 was an offensive -against the enemy in Flanders, in order to clear the -Belgian coast and turn the German right flank in the West. -It was a scheme which, if successful, promised the most -far-reaching results; but to be successful a beginning must be -made as early as possible in the summer, when the -waterlogged soil of Flanders became reasonably dry. But the -whole plan was altered for the worse at the beginning of the -year. The first stage, the Battle of Arras, began too late -and, through no fault of the British Command, lasted too -long. It was not till June that Sir Douglas Haig was able -to begin operations in Flanders and make his preliminary -attack upon Messines, and it was not till the end of July -that the great battle was begun in the Ypres Salient. By -that time the revolution which began in Petrograd in March -had broken up the Russian armies and prepared the way -for the triumph of Bolshevism; Russia was in ruins, and -Germany was moving her troops rapidly from the East to -the West. The battle was, therefore, a struggle against -time—against the coming of enemy reserves and of the -autumn rains.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The famous Salient of Ypres had, during three years, -been drawn back till the enemy front was now less than -two miles from the town. For twelve months that front -had been all but stationary, and the Germans had spent -infinite ingenuity and labour on perfecting their defences. -In the half-moon of hills round the town they had view-points -which commanded the whole countryside, and especially the -British lines within the Salient. Any preparations for attack -would therefore be conducted under their watchful eyes. -Moreover, the heavy waterlogged clay of the flats where our -front lay was terribly at the mercy of the weather, and in -rain became a bottomless swamp. Lastly, the enemy was -acutely conscious of the importance of holding his position, -and there was no chance of taking him by surprise.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 57%" id="figure-246"> -<span id="field-marshal-sir-douglas-haig"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="FIELD-MARSHAL SIR DOUGLAS HAIG (EARL HAIG OF BEMERSYDE)." src="images/img-045.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">FIELD-MARSHAL SIR DOUGLAS HAIG -<br />(EARL HAIG OF BEMERSYDE).</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>If the British were to succeed at all they must succeed -quickly. The high ground east of the Salient must be won -in a fortnight if they were to move against the German bases -in West Flanders and clear the coast. This meant a -gamble against the weather, for the Salient was, after Verdun, -the most tortured of the Western battlefields. Constant -shelling of the low ground west of the ridges had blocked -the streams and the natural drainage, and turned it into a -sodden wilderness. Weather such as had been experienced -the year before on the Somme would make of it a morass -where transport could scarcely move, and troops would be -exposed to the last degree of misery. Moreover, the "tanks," -which had been first used on the Somme the year before, -and had done wonders at Arras in breaking through barbed -wire and silencing machine-guns, could not be used in deep -mud. Whatever might be the strength and skill of the -enemy, it was less formidable than the obstacles which nature -herself might place in the British path.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the German commanders were no despicable antagonists. -In Flanders the nature of the ground did not -permit of the kind of defence which they had built on the -Somme. Deep dug-outs and concrete trenches were impossible -because of the waterlogged soil, and they were -compelled to employ new tactics. Their solution was the -"pill-box." This was a small concrete fort situated among the -ruins of a farm or in some piece of shell-torn woodland, -often raised only a yard or two above the ground-level, and -bristling with machine-guns. The low entrance was at the -rear of the pill-box, which held from eight to forty men. -Such forts were easy to make, for the wooden or steel -framework could be brought up on any dark night and filled with -concrete. They were placed with great skill, and in the -barbed-wire defences alleys were left so that an unwary -advance would be trapped and exposed to enfilading fire. -Their small size made them a difficult mark for heavy guns, -and since they were protected by concrete at least 3 feet -thick they were impregnable to ordinary field artillery.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The enemy's plan was to hold his first line—which was -often a mere string of shell craters—with few men, who would -fall back before an assault. He had his guns well behind, -so that they would not be captured in the first rush, and -would be available for a barrage if his opponents became -entangled in the pill-box zone. Lastly, he had his reserves -in the second line, ready for the counterstroke before the -attack could secure its position. Such tactics were -admirably suited to the exposed and contorted ground of the -Salient. Any attack would be allowed to make some advance; -but if the German plan worked well this advance would be -short-lived, and would be dearly paid for. Instead of the -cast-iron front of the rest of the battleground, the Flanders -line would be highly elastic, but after pressure it would spring -back into position with a deadly rebound.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The action began on 31st July, and resulted at first in a -brilliant success. But with the attack the weather broke, -and so made impossible the series of blows which we had -planned. For a fortnight we were compelled to hold our -hand; till the countryside grew drier, advance was a stark -impossibility.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The second stage began on 16th August, and everywhere -fell short of its main objective. The ground was sloppy -and tangled; broken woods impeded our advance; and the -whole front was dotted with pill-boxes, against which we -had not yet discovered the proper weapon. The result was -a serious British check. Fine brigades had been hurled in -succession against a solid wall, and had been sorely battered. -They felt that they were being sacrificed blindly; that every -fight was a soldier's and not a general's fight; and that such -sledge-hammer tactics could never solve the problem. For -a moment there was a real wave of disheartenment in the -British ranks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sir Douglas Haig took time to reorganize his front and -prepare a new plan. Sir Herbert Plumer was brought -farther north, and patiently grappled with the "pill-box" -problem. He had them carefully reconnoitred, and by directing -gun fire on each side enabled his troops to get round their -undefended rear. Early in September the weather improved, -the mud of the Salient hardened, and the streams became -streams again, and not lagoons.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On 20th September the third attack was launched, and -everywhere succeeded. It broke through the German -defence in the Salient, and won the southern pivot, on which -the security of the main Passchendaele Ridge depended. -Few struggles in the campaign were more desperate or -carried out on a more gruesome battlefield. The maze of -quagmires, splintered woods, ruined husks of pill-boxes, -water-filled shell-holes and foul creeks, which made up -the land on both sides of the Menin road, was a sight which -to most men must seem in the retrospect a fevered -nightmare. The elements had blended with each other to make -of it a limbo outside mortal experience and almost beyond -human imagining.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But successful though the advance was, not even the -first stage of the British plan had been reached. During the -rest of September and October, however, attack followed -attack, though the main objective was now out of the -question. It was necessary to continue the battle for the sake -of our Allies, who at the moment were hard pressed in other -areas; and, in any case, it was desirable to complete the -capture of the Passchendaele Ridge so as to give us a good -winter position.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The last stages of this Third Battle of Ypres were probably -the muddiest combats ever known in the history of war. -It rained incessantly, sometimes quieting to a drizzle or a -Scots mist, but relapsing into a downpour on any day fixed -for our attack. The British movements became a barometer. -Whenever it was more than usually tempestuous it was -safe to assume that some hour of advance was near. The -few rare hours of watery sunshine had no effect upon the -irreclaimable bog. "You might as well," wrote one observer, -"try to empty a bath by holding lighted matches over it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the 30th October our line was sufficiently far advanced -for the attack on Passchendaele itself. On that day the -Canadians, assisted by the Royal Naval Division and London -Territorials, carried much of the Ridge, and won their way -into the outskirts of Passchendaele village. Some days of -dry weather followed, and early in the morning of 6th -November the Canadians swept forward again and carried -the whole main ridge of West Flanders. By this achievement -the Salient, where for three years we had been at the -mercy of the German guns, was no longer dominated by the -enemy position.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Third Battle of Ypres was strategically a British -failure; we did not come within measurable distance of -our main purpose. But that was due to no fault of -generalship or fighting qualities, but to the malevolence of the -weather in a country where the weather was all in all. We -reckoned upon a normal August, and we did not get it. -The sea of mud which lay around the Salient was the true -defence of the enemy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ypres was to Britain what Verdun was to France—hallowed -soil, which called forth the highest qualities of her -people. It was a battleground where there could be no -retreat without loss of honour. The armies which fought -there in the Third Battle were very different from the few -divisions which had held the fort during the earlier struggles. -But there were links of connection. The Guards, by more -than one fine advance, were recompensed for the awful -tension of October 1914, when some of their best battalions -had been destroyed; and it fell to Canada, by the victory -of Passchendaele, to avenge the gas attack of April 1915. -when only her dauntless two brigades stood between Ypres -and the enemy.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-tanks-at-cambrai"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER IX.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE TANKS AT CAMBRAI.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>During the Battle of the Somme a new weapon had -appeared on the Allied side. This was the Tank (so called -because some unrevealing name had to be found for a device -developed in secret). It was a machine shaped like a -monstrous toad, which mounted machine-guns and light artillery, -and could force its way through wire and parapets and walls, -and go anywhere except in deep mud. Its main tactical -use was to break down wire entanglements and to clear out -redoubts and nests of machine-guns. When first used at the -Somme the Tanks won a modified success, and in the following -spring at Arras they fully justified themselves. Presently -they began to develop into two types, one remaining heavy -and slow and the other becoming a "whippet," a type which -was easy to handle and attained a fair speed. Ultimately, as we -shall see, they were to become the chief Allied weapon in -breaking the enemy front, and also to perform the historic task of -cavalry and go through the gaps which the infantry had made. -In September 1917, while two British Armies were fighting -desperately in the Ypres Salient for the Passchendaele Ridge, -Sir Julian Byng's Third Army, on the chalky plateau of -Picardy, was almost idle. An observer might have noticed -that General Hugh Elles, the commander of the Tank Corps, -was a frequent visitor to Sir Julian's headquarters at Albert. -The same observer might have detected a curious self-consciousness -during the following weeks at Tanks headquarters. -Tanks officers, disguised in non-committal steel -helmets and waterproofs, frequented the forward areas of the -Third Army. Tanks motor-cars seemed suddenly to shed -all distinguishing badges, and their drivers told lengthy -and mendacious tales about their doings. Staff officers of -the Tanks were never seen at any headquarters, but -constantly in front-line trenches, where, when questioned, they -found some difficulty in explaining their business. At the -headquarters of one Tanks brigade there was a locked room, -with "No Admittance" over the door, and inside—for the -eye of the possible enemy spy—a quantity of carefully marked -bogus maps. Some mystery was being hatched, but, though -many hundreds suspected it, only a few knew the truth.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the 20th October it had been decided to make a -surprise attack towards Cambrai, and to prepare the way for -the infantry by Tanks instead of guns. The Third Battle -of Ypres had brought the reputation of these machines very -low. They had been used in the bottomless mud of the -Salient, where they had no chance of being successful, and the -generals in command had reported adversely on their merits. -It was argued that they could not negotiate bad ground, that -the ground on a battlefield must always be bad, and that, -consequently, they were of no use on the battlefield. The -first statement was doubtful, and the second false; but -certainly if all battles had been like the Third Battle of Ypres -the conclusion would have been justified.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At Cambrai the Tanks were on their trial. It was their -special "show," and if they failed now they would fail for -good. Their commander, General Elles, took no chances. -With three brigades of Tanks he was to break through the -enemy's wire, cross the broad trenches of the Hindenburg -Line, and open the way towards Cambrai for the two Army -Corps following. The enemy defences were the strongest -in the West. There were three trench lines, each of a width -extending to 15 feet, and with an outpost line thrown -forward as a screen. In front of the main line lay barbed wire -at least 50 yards wide, which sometimes jutted out in bold -salients flanked by machine-guns. It was calculated that to -cut that wire with artillery would have taken five weeks and -cost twenty millions of money. The trenches were too wide -for an ordinary Tank, so immense bundles of brushwood -were made up, which a Tank carried on its nose and -dropped into the trench to make a crossing. Each bundle, -or "fascine," weighed a ton and a half, and it took twenty -Chinese coolies to roll one of them through the mud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The attack was to be a surprise, and therefore there was -to be no preliminary bombardment. Secrecy was so vital, -and the chances of discovery so numerous, that the -commanders spent anxious days prior to the 20th November. -Flotillas of Tanks were assembled in every possible place -which afforded cover, notably in Havrincourt Wood. The -Tank is not a noiseless machine, and it says much for the -ingenuity of the Third Army that the enemy had no inkling -of our business. A single enemy aeroplane over Havrincourt -might have wrecked the plan. On the night of the 18th an -enemy raid took some of our men prisoners, but they must -have been very staunch, or the German Intelligence Service -very obtuse, for little appears to have been learned from -them. The weather favoured Sir Julian Byng. The days -before the assault had the low grey skies and the clinging -mists of late November.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the dark of the evening of the 19th the Tanks nosed -their way from their lairs towards the point of departure, -going across country, since the roads were crowded, and -running dead slow to avoid noise. That evening General -Hugh Elles issued a special order announcing that he proposed -to lead the attack of the centre division in person, like an -admiral in his flagship. At 4.30 on the morning of the 20th -a burst of German fire suggested that the enemy had -discovered the secret, but to the relief of the British commanders -it died away, and the hour before the attack opened was -dead quiet.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 58%" id="figure-247"> -<span id="cambrai-the-advance-of-the-infantry-divisions"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="Cambrai—the Advance of the Infantry Divisions on November 20." src="images/img-053.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">Cambrai—the Advance of the Infantry Divisions on November 20.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>Day dawned with heavy clouds that promised rain before -evening. At 6 o'clock a solitary gun broke the silence. -It was the signal, and from just north of the Bapaume road -to the hamlet of Gonnelieu in the south, a stupendous -barrage crashed from the British line. The whole horizon was -aflame, and volcanoes of earth spouted from the German -lines. Wakened suddenly from sleep, and dazed with the -gun-fire, the enemy sent up star shell after star shell in -appeal to his artillery; but, as he strove to man his trenches, -out of the fog of dawn came something more terrible than -shells—the blunt noses of 350 Tanks tearing and snapping -the wire and grinding down the parapets. The instant -result was panic. In a few minutes the German outposts -fell; presently the main Hindenburg Line followed, and -the fighting reached the tunnels of the reserve line. By -half-past 10 that also had vanished, and the British infantry, -with cavalry close behind, was advancing in open country.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>General Elles, in his flagship "Hilda," was first in the -advance, and it was reported that he did much of his observing -with his head thrust through the hatch in the roof, using -his feet on the gunner's ribs to indicate the direction of -targets. The "Hilda" flew the flag of the Tank Corps; -that flag was several times hit, but not brought down. Comedy -was not absent from that wild day. One member of a Tank -crew lost his wig as his head emerged from the man-hole, -and the official mind was racked for months with the problem -whether this came under the head of loss of field equipment, of -a limb, or clothing. Nor was heroism wanting on the enemy's -side. The British official dispatch records one instance. -"Many of the hits upon our defences at Flesquières were -obtained by a German artillery officer who, remaining alone -at his battery, served a field-gun single-handed until killed -at his gun. The great bravery of this officer aroused the -admiration of all ranks."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The trial of the Tanks was over. The Battle of Cambrai -did not realize to the full the expectations of the British -Command. Great successes were won, but our reserves were -too scanty to maintain them, and before the battle died -away we lost much of the ground we had gained. But of -the success of the Tanks there was no question. They stood -forth as the most valuable tactical discovery of the -campaigns, the weapon which enabled a commander-in-chief to -obtain the advantage of surprise and to attack swiftly and -secretly on new fronts. It was this weapon which, in the -hand of Foch, was destined to break in turn each section of -the German defences, and within a year from Cambrai to -give the Allies victory.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-south-africans-at-marrieres-wood"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER X.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE SOUTH AFRICANS AT MARRIÈRES WOOD.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>In the spring of 1918, owing to the Russian Revolution, -the Germans were able to concentrate all their strength in -the West. Their aim was to break the Allied front by -separating the French and the British before the United -States of America could send her armies to the field. The -attempt came very near success. The first blow fell on -Thursday, 21st March; by the Saturday evening Sir Hubert -Gough's Fifth Army was in retreat, and it seemed as if -nothing could save Amiens.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The South African Brigade was part of the 9th Division, -on the extreme left of the Fifth Army. It was in action -from the first hour of the battle, and for two days, at the -cost of some 900 casualties, it prevented a breach opening -up at the worst danger-point—the junction of the armies -of Byng and Gough. On the Saturday it was given a short -time in reserve, but that afternoon it was again called into -the fight. That evening General Tudor, commanding the -9th Division, visited its Brigadier, General Dawson. The -9th Division was holding an impossibly long line, and both -its flanks were in the air. The South Africans were -instructed to withdraw after dark to a position just west of -the Arras-Péronne road and the village of Bouchavesnes. -The orders were that this line was to be held "</span><em class="italics">at all -costs.</em><span>" Dawson accordingly began to withdraw his men about -9.45, and by 3 a.m. on the morning of Sunday, the 24th, -the brigade was in position in the new line.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the Sunday dawned the two regiments of South -Africans were holding a patch of front which, along with -Delville Wood, is the most famous spot in all their annals. -The ground sloped eastward, and then rose again to another -ridge about a thousand yards distant—a ridge which gave -the enemy excellent posts for observation and machine-gun -positions. There were one good trench and several bad -ones, and the whole area was dotted with shell-holes. -Dawson took up his headquarters in a support trench some three -hundred yards in rear of the front line. The strength of -the brigade was about five hundred in all. Dawson's only -means of communication with divisional headquarters was -by runners, and he had long lost touch with the divisional -artillery.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a weary and broken little company which waited -on that hilltop in the fog of dawn. During three days the -five hundred had fought a score of battles. Giddy with lack -of sleep, grey with fatigue, poisoned by gas and tortured -by the ceaseless bombardment, officers and men had faced -the new perils which each hour brought forth with a fortitude -beyond all human praise. But wars are fought with the -body as well as with the spirit, and the body was breaking. -Since the 20th of March, while the men had received rations, -they had had no hot food or tea. Neither they nor their -officers had any guess at what was happening elsewhere. -They seemed to be isolated in a campaign of their own, -shut out from all knowledge of their fellows and beyond the -hope of mortal aid.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Soon after daylight had struggled through the fog the -enemy was seen massing his troops on the ridge to the east, -and about 9 o'clock he deployed for the attack, opening -with machine-gun fire, and afterwards with artillery. -Dawson, divining what was coming, sent a messenger back to -the rear with the brigade records. He had already been -round every part of the position, and had disposed his scanty -forces to the best advantage. At 10 o'clock some British -guns opened an accurate fire, not upon the enemy, but upon -the South African lines, especially on the trench where -brigade headquarters were situated. Dawson was compelled -to move to a neighbouring shell-hole. He sent a man on -his last horse, followed by two runners, to tell the batteries -what was happening, but the messengers do not seem to have -reached their goal, and the fire continued for more than an -hour, though happily with few casualties. After that it -ceased, because the guns had retired. One of our heavies -continued to fire on Bouchavesnes, and presently that, too, -became silent.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was the last the brigade heard of the British artillery.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meantime the enemy gun-fire had become intense, and -the whole position was smothered in dust and fumes. Men -could not keep their rifles clean because of the debris filling -the air. The Germans were now some 750 yards from our -front, but did not attempt for the moment to approach closer, -fearing the accuracy of the South African marksmanship. -The firing was mostly done at this time by Lewis guns, for -the ammunition had to be husbanded, and the men were -ordered not to use their rifles till the enemy was within 400 -yards. The Germans attempted to bring a field-gun into -action at a range of 1,000 yards, but a Lewis gunner of the -1st Regiment knocked out the team before the gun could be -fired. A little later another attempt was made, and a -field-gun was brought forward at a gallop. Once again the fire -of the same Lewis gunner proved its undoing. The team -got out of hand, and men and horses went down in a struggling -mass.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This sight cheered the thin ranks of the defence, and -about noon came news which exalted every heart. General -Tudor sent word that the 35th Division had arrived at -Bray-sur-Somme, and had been ordered to take up position 1,000 -yards in rear of the brigade. For a moment it seemed as -if they still might make good their stand. But the 35th -Division was a vain dream; it was never during that day -within miles of the South Africans. Dawson sent back a -report on the situation to General Tudor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was the last communication of the brigade with the -outer world.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At midday the frontal attack had been held, an attack -on the south had been beaten off, and also a very -dangerous movement in the north. The grass was as dry as -tinder. The enemy had set fire to it, and, moving behind -the smoke as a screen, managed to work his way to within -200 yards of our position in the north. There, however, -he was again checked. But by this time the German thrust -elsewhere on the front was having successes. Already the -enemy was in Combles on the north, and at Péronne and -Cléry on the south. The 21st Division on the right had gone, -and the other brigades of the 9th Division on the South -African left were being forced back. At about 2.30 an officer, -with some 30 men, began to withdraw on that flank, under -the impression that a general retirement had been ordered. -As they passed headquarters, Major Cochran and Captain -Beverley, with Regimental Sergeant-Major Keith of the -4th Regiment, went out under a concentrated machine-gun -fire to stop them. The party at once returned to the firing -line, and were put into shell-holes on the north flank. -Unhappily Cochran was hit in the neck by a machine-gun -bullet and died within three minutes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Early in the afternoon Dawson attempted to adjust his -remnant. The enemy now was about 200 yards from his -front, and far in on his flank and rear. Major Ormiston took -out some 25 men as a flank-guard for the left, in doing which -he was dangerously wounded. All wounded men who could -hold a rifle were stopped on their way to the dressing-station -and sent back to the front line, and in no single instance did -they show any reluctance to return. Ammunition was conserved -with noble parsimony, and the last round was collected -from those who had fallen. But it was now clear that the -enemy was well to the west of the brigade, for snipers' fire -began to come from the rear. Unless the miracle of miracles -happened, the limit of endurance must be reckoned not in -hours but in minutes. For the moment the most dangerous -quarter seemed to be the north, and Lieutenant Cooper of -the 2nd Regiment, with 20 men, was sent out to make a -flank-guard in shell-holes 100 yards from brigade -headquarters. The little detachment did excellent work, but -their casualties were heavy, and frequent reinforcements -had to be sent out to them. Lieutenant Cooper himself was -killed by a fragment of shell.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As it drew towards 3 o'clock there came a last flicker of -hope. The enemy in the north seemed to be retiring. The -cry got up, "We can see the Germans surrendering," and -at the same time the enemy artillery lengthened their range -and put down a heavy barrage 700 yards to the west of the -brigade. It looked as if the 35th Division had arrived, and -for a little there was that violent revulsion of feeling which -comes to those who see an unlooked-for light in darkness. -The hope was short-lived. All that had happened was that -the enemy machine-guns and snipers to the west of the -brigade were causing casualties to his own troops to the -east. He therefore assumed that they were British -reinforcements.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About this time Lieutenant-Colonel Heal, commanding -the 1st Regiment, was killed. He had already been twice -wounded in the action, but insisted on remaining with his -men. He had in the highest degree every quality which -makes a fine soldier. I quote from a letter of one of his -officers: "By this time it was evident to all that we were -bound to go under, but even then Colonel Heal refused to be -depressed. God knows how he kept so cheery all through -that hell; but right up to when I last saw him, about five -minutes before he was killed, he had a smile on his face and -a pleasant word for us all."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All afternoon the shell-fire had been terrific. A number of -light trench-mortars were also firing against the north-east -corner of our front and causing heavy losses. The casualties -had been so high that the whole line was now held only by a -few isolated groups, and control was impossible. About -4 o'clock Christian made his way to Dawson and told him that -he feared his men could not hold out much longer. Every -machine-gun and Lewis gun was out of action, the ammunition -was nearly gone, the rifles were choked, and the breaking-point -of human endurance had been reached. The spirit was -still unconquered, but the body was fainting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Dawson had still the shadow of a hope that he might -maintain his ground until dark, and then fight his way out. -Like all good soldiers in such circumstances, he was harassed -by doubts. The brigade was doomed; even if the struggle -could be protracted till dusk, only a fragment could escape. -Had he wished to withdraw he must have begun in the early -morning, as soon as the enemy appeared, for once the battle -was joined the position was a death trap. He had orders -from the division to hold his ground "at all costs"—a -phrase often given a vague meaning in war, but in this case -taken literally. He wondered whether the stand might be -of value to the British front, or whether it was not a useless -sacrifice. He could only fall back for comfort on his -instructions. He wrote thus in his diary: "I cannot see that -under the circumstances I had any option but to remain -till the end. Far better go down fighting against heavy -odds than that it should be said we failed to carry out our -orders. To retire would be against all the traditions of the -Service."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Some time after 4.15, enemy masses appeared to the -north-east of brigade headquarters. It was the final attack, -for which three fresh battalions had been brought up, and the -assault was delivered in close formation. There were now -only 100 South Africans, some of them already wounded. -There was not a cartridge left in the front line, and very few -anywhere except in the pistols of the officers. Had they had -ammunition they might have held even this last attack; -as it was, it could be met only by a few scattered shots. -The South Africans had resisted to the last moment when -resistance was possible; and now they had no weapon. -The Germans surged down upon a few knots of unarmed men. -Dawson, with Christian and Beverley, walked out in front of a -group which had gathered round them, and was greeted by -the Germans with shouts of "Why have you killed so many -of us?" and "Why did you not surrender sooner?" One -man said, "Now we shall soon have peace," at which Dawson -shook his head. Before he went eastward into captivity he -was allowed to find Cochran's body and rescue his papers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In all that amazing retreat, when our gossamer front -refused to be broken by the most overwhelming odds, no -British division did more nobly than the 9th. It held a crucial -position in the line, and only by its stubborn endurance was -a breach between Gough and Byng prevented. Among the -brigades of the 9th, the chief brunt was borne by the South -African.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Let us take the testimony of the enemy. During the -German advance, Captain Peirson, the brigade major of -another division, was taken prisoner. When he was examined -at German headquarters an officer asked him if he knew the -9th Division; for, said he, "we consider that the fight put -up by that division was one of the best on the whole of your -front, especially the last stand of the South African Brigade, -which we can only call magnificent." In the course of his -journey to Le Cateau Captain Peirson was spoken to by many -German officers, all of whom mentioned the wonderful resistance -of the South Africans. There is a still more striking -tribute. On the road to Le Cateau a party of British officers -was stopped by the Emperor, who asked if any one present -belonged to the 9th Division. "I want to see a man of that -division," he said, "for if all divisions had fought as well as -the 9th I would not have had any troops left to carry on the -attack."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was no piece of fruitless gallantry. Dawson, as he was -tramping eastwards, saw a sight which told him that his -decision had been right, and that his work had not been in -vain. The whole road for miles east of Bouchavesnes was -blocked by a continuous double line of transport and guns, -which proved that the South Africans had for over seven -hours held up not only a mass of German infantry, but all the -artillery and transport advancing on the Bouchavesnes-Combles -highway. Indeed, it is not too much to say that on -that feverish Sabbath the stand of the brigade saved the -British front. It was the hour of Von der Marwitz's most -deadly thrust. While Gough was struggling at the Somme -crossings, the Third Army had been forced west of Morval -and Bapaume, far over our old battle-ground of the First -Battle of the Somme. The breach between the two armies -was hourly widening. But for the self-sacrifice of the brigade -at Marrières Wood and the delay in the German advance at -its most critical point, it is doubtful whether Byng could ever -have established that line on which, before the end of March, -he held the enemy.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-battle-of-the-lys"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XI.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE BATTLE OF THE LYS.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>By 6th April 1918 the great German thrust towards Amiens -had failed, and for the moment the gate of the Somme was -closed. The city was under fire, the enemy was before its gates, -but his strength was exhausted and he could not advance. -Therefore his chief plan—of separating the French and the -British—had come to nought. Brought to a standstill, he -cast about for a diversion, for he could not permit the battle -to decline into a stalemate, since he was fighting against time. -His main purpose remained the same, but he sought to -achieve it by a new method. He would attack the British -elsewhere, on some part of the front where they were -notoriously weak, and compel Foch to use up his reserves in its -defence. Then, when the Allied resources had shrunk, he -would strike again at the weakened door of Amiens. On the -German side the operation was meant to be merely subsidiary, -designed to prepare the way for the accomplishment of the -main task farther south. They proposed to choose a -battle-ground where even a small force might obtain important -results. But so stoutly did the meagre British divisions resist -that the enemy was compelled to extend the battle well into -May, to squander thirty-five of his fresh divisions, and to -forfeit for good his chance of final victory.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The new battle-ground was the area on both sides of the -river Lys, between the La Bassée Canal and the Wytschaete -Ridge. The German Staff knew that our front line had -already been thinned to supply ten divisions for the struggle -in the south, and at the moment it was weakly held, mainly -by troops exhausted in the Somme battle. The enemy Staff -chose their ground well. They had the great city of Lille -behind them to screen the assembly. Certain key-points, -such as Béthune and Hazebrouck, lay at no great distance -behind the British front. The British communications were -poor, while the German were all but perfect. If the enemy -could break through at once between La Bassée and Armentières -and capture Béthune, he could swing north-westward -and take Hazebrouck and the hills beyond Bailleul, and so -threaten the Channel Ports, on which the British armies -depended for supplies.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The attack began on Tuesday, 9th April. A Portuguese -division south of the Lys was driven in at the first thrust, -and through the gap the enemy streamed in. At a quarter-past -ten that morning he was more than a mile to the rear -of the division holding the left of the gap, which was accordingly -compelled to retreat. On the right of the gap, covering -Béthune, lay the 55th West Lancashire Division. The story -of the Lys is a story of the successful defence of key-points -against critical odds, and Givenchy, where the men of West -Lancashire stood, was most vital, for unless it fell Béthune -could not be taken, and unless Béthune were captured at -once the enemy attack would be cramped into too narrow a -gate. The 55th Division did not yield though outnumbered -by four to one. They moved back their left flank but they -still covered Béthune, and their right at Givenchy stood like a -rock. By noon the enemy was in the ruins of Givenchy; -in the afternoon the Lancashire men had recovered them; -in the evening they were again lost, and in the night retaken. -This splendid defence was the deciding event in the first stage -of the battle. It was due, said the official report, "in great -measure to the courage and determination displayed by our -advance posts. Among the many gallant deeds recorded of -them, one instance is known of a machine-gun which was -kept in action although the German infantry had entered the -rear compartment of the pill-box from which it was firing, -the gun team holding up the enemy by revolver fire from the -inner compartment."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Next day, 10th April, a new German army attacked north -of the Lys, captured Messines, and was pouring over the -Wytschaete crest. But at Wytschaete stood the 9th Division, -which we have previously seen in action on the Somme at -Marrières Wood. There its South African Brigade had been -completely destroyed, but a new one had been got together, -and this second showed all the heroism of the first. That -night they retook Messines, and during the evening cleared -the Wytschaete Ridge. That stand saved the British northern -flank and gave its commander time to adjust his front. -For thirty hours the Germans were held up on that ridge, -and when they finally advanced the worst danger was past.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The situation was still most critical. The French were -sending troops, but with all possible resources utilized we -were still gravely outnumbered, and the majority of the men -were desperately weary from the Somme battle. On the -11th Sir Douglas Haig issued an Order of the Day, in which -he appealed to his men to endure to the last. "There is no -other course open to us than to fight it out. Every position -must be held to the last man; there must be no retirement. -With our backs to the wall and believing in the justice of our -cause, each one of us must fight on to the end." Not less -solemn was Sir Arthur Currie's charge to the Canadian Corps -before they entered the battle. "Under the orders of your -devoted officers in the coming battle you will advance or -fall where you stand, facing the enemy. To those who fall I -say, 'You will not die, but will step into immortality. Your -mothers will not lament your fate, but will be proud to have -borne such sons. Your names will be revered for ever and -ever by your grateful country, and God will take you unto -Himself.'" It is a charge which has the noble eloquence of -Cromwell or Lincoln.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Within a week it seemed as if the enemy had succeeded. -On the evening of 15th April the Germans entered Bailleul, -and the next day we withdrew from the ground won in the -Third Battle of Ypres to a position a mile east of that town. -By the 17th the enemy was in both Meteren and Wytschaete, -and this meant that the northern pillar of our defence had gone. -The next step for the Germans was to seize Mont Kemmel, -the highest ground between them and the Channel, and a -position which would presently give them Hazebrouck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The 17th and 18th of April were perhaps the most critical -days of the whole battle. The enemy had reached his greatest -strength, and the British troops were not yet reinforced at any -point within sight of security. On the 17th the Germans had -failed in an attack on the Belgians north of Ypres, and next -day they failed no less conclusively in a movement on Béthune. -This gave us a breathing space, and by the morning of Sunday, -the 21st, French troops had taken over the defence of Mont -Kemmel, and we had been able to relieve some of the divisions -which had suffered most heavily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That day saw the end of the main crisis of the battle. -Mont Kemmel was lost and regained more than once, but -the enemy was quickly becoming exhausted, and his gains, -even when he made them, had no longer any strategic value. -By the end of April he had employed in that one area of the -line thirty-five fresh divisions, and nine which had been already -in action. These troops were the cream of his army, and could -not be replaced. Moreover, an odd feature had appeared -in the last stages of the Lys battle. In March the enemy had -succeeded in piercing and dislocating the British front by -a new tactical method applied with masterly boldness and -precision, the method which has been described as -"infiltration."[#] But as the Lys battle dragged on the Germans -seemed to have forgotten these new tactics, and to have fallen -back upon their old methods of mass and shock. The reason -was that the new tactics could only be used with specially -trained troops, and with fresh troops; they put too great a -strain on weary divisions and raw levies; therefore, as the -enemy's losses grew, his tactics would deteriorate in the same -proportion.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[#] See p. 36.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>If we take 5th May as marking the close of the Battle of -the Lys, we may pause to reflect upon the marvels of the -forty-five preceding days, since the enemy torrent first broke -west of St. Quentin. More history had been crowded into -their span than into many a year of campaigning. They had -seen the great German thrust for Amiens checked in the very -moment of success. They had seen the last bold push for -the Channel Ports held up for days by weak divisions which -bent but did not break, and finally die away with its purpose -still far from achievement. In those forty-five days divisions -and brigades had been more than once destroyed as units, -and always their sacrifice had been the salvation of the -British front. The survivors had behind them such a record -of fruitful service as the whole history of the war could scarcely -parallel.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-second-battle-of-the-marne"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XII.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE SECOND BATTLE OF THE MARNE.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The First Battle of the Marne meant the frustration of -Germany's main battle purpose, and the disappearance for ever -of her hope of a complete and decisive victory. The Second -Battle of the Marne in July 1918 was the beginning of -Germany's defeat. In both battles the armies of Britain -contributed to victory, but in both battles, as was right and -proper, the main work was done by the French, and with -them lies the chief glory.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In March Haig had been forced back to the gate of Amiens, -and Foch, at last appointed Commander-in-Chief of all the -Allies, had for nearly a month looked into the eyes of defeat. -But slowly the tide ebbed. Foch was able not only to repel -the German assaults but to nurse and strengthen his own -reserves. In spite of the desperate crises on the Lys and the -Aisne midsummer found him rapidly growing in strength. -And as the Allies grew, so the enemy declined.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 59%" id="figure-248"> -<span id="marshal-foch"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="MARSHAL FOCH." src="images/img-069.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">MARSHAL FOCH.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>For the first time Foch had the advantage of numbers, -and by June there were more than half a million Americans in -France. Moreover, he had devised an answer to the German -tactics, and in his new light tanks he had a weapon which -would give him the advantage of surprise. But like a great -and wary commander, he waited till the enemy had struck -yet again, so that he might catch him on the rebound. -Germany still maintained her confidence. Her press announced -that unless the American army could swim or fly it would -never arrive in Europe—that at the best the men of the -United States were like the soldiers of a child's game, made -of paper cuttings. The battle staged for July was to bring -the Germans to Paris. One army was to strike east of Rheims -and cut the railway from Paris to Nancy. Another was to -press across the Marne. When Foch had hurried all his forces -to the danger points a third army would break through at -Amiens and descend on the capital from the north. Then the -British would be finally cut off from the French, the French -would be broken in two, and victory, complete and indubitable, -would follow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The enemy was so confident that he made no secret of his -plans, and from deserters and prisoners Foch learned the main -details long before the assault was launched. The French -general resolved to play a bold game. He borrowed a British -corps from Haig, and he thinned the Amiens section so that -it was dangerously weak. His aim was to entice the enemy -south of the Marne, and then in the moment of his weakness -to strike at his undefended flank.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At midnight on Sunday, 14th July, Paris was awakened by -the sound of great guns, and knew that the battle had begun. -At 4 a.m. on the 15th the Germans crossed their parapets. -The thrust beyond the Marne was at once successful, for it -was no part of Foch's plan to resist too doggedly at the -apex of the salient. On a front of 22 miles the Germans -advanced nearly three. But the attack east of Rheims was -an utter failure. Gouraud's counter-bombardment dislocated -the attack before it began, and with trifling losses to himself -he held the advance in his battle zone, not losing a single gun. -In the west the Americans stood firm, so that the enemy -salient could not be widened. These were the troops which, -according to the German belief, could not land in Europe -unless they became fishes or birds. The inconceivable had been -brought to pass—"Birnam Wood had come to Dunsinane."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In two days the German advance had reached its limit—a -long narrow salient south of the Marne, representing a -progress at the most of 6 miles from the old battle-front. The -time had now come for Foch's counterstroke. He had -resolved to thrust with all his available reserves against the -weak enemy flank from Soissons southward. There, in the -shelter of the woods of Villers-Cotterets, lay the army of -Mangin, who first won fame at Verdun.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The morning of the 18th dawned after a night of -thunderstorms and furious winds. There was no gunfire on the -French side, but at 4.30, out from the shelter of the woods -came a great fleet of French light tanks, and behind them on -a front of 35 miles the French and American infantry crossed -the parapets. Before the puzzled enemy could realize his -danger they were through his first defences.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The advance of the 18th was like a great bound forward. -The chief work was done by Mangin's left wing, which at -half-past 10 in the morning held the crown of the Montagne de -Paris, on the edge of Soissons. All down the line the Allies -succeeded. Sixteen thousand prisoners fell to them and some -50 guns, and at one point Mangin had advanced as much -as 8 miles. Foch had narrowed the German salient, crumpled -its western flank, and destroyed its communications. He had -wrested the initiative from the Germans and brought their -last offensive to a dismal close.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He had done more, though at the time no eye could pierce -the future and read the full implications of his victory. -Moments of high crisis slip past unnoticed. It is only the -historian in later years who can point to a half-hour in a -crowded day and say that then was decided the fate of a -cause or a people. As the wounded trickled back through -the tossing woods of Villers-Cotterets, spectators noted a -strange exaltation in their faces. When the news reached -Paris the city breathed a relief which was scarcely justified -with the enemy still so strongly posted at her gates. But the -instinct was right. The decisive blow had been struck. -When the Allies breasted the Montagne de Paris that July -morning they had, without knowing it, won the Second -Battle of the Marne, and with it the war. Four months earlier -Ludendorff had stood as the apparent dictator of Europe; four -months later he and his master were fleeing to a foreign exile.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 100%" id="figure-249"> -<span id="id2"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="The Second Battle of the Marne." src="images/img-072.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">The Second Battle of the Marne.</span></div> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-beginning-of-the-end"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIII.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE BEGINNING OF THE END.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The attack on the German flank on the morning of 18th -July had put an end to the enemy's hope of an advance on -Paris, and had forced him to assume the defensive. But in -this he still persevered. His plan now was to defend the line -of the Aisne, in the hope that the French would break their -teeth on it, and that the battle would then decline into a -fruitless struggle for a few miles of trench, like the other -actions of the long siege warfare. He hoped in vain. Foch -had no mind to waste a single hour in operations which were -not vital. As early as 23rd July the Allies' great scheme for -the autumn battles was framed, and on Thursday, 8th August, -Sir Douglas Haig opened the attack.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Foch's plan was to give the enemy no rest. He was -like a swordsman who avoids his antagonist's sledge-hammer -blows, who with lithe blade pinks him again and again and -draws much blood, who baffles and confuses him, till the -crushing weight of his opponent has been worn down by -his own trained and elastic strength. It was his business to -wear down the enemy continuously and methodically by a -series of attacks on limited fronts, aiming at strictly limited -objectives, and to keep him ceaselessly harassed over the -whole battle-ground. The campaign had developed like -a masterly game of chess. From 21st March to 18th July -Foch had stood patiently on the defensive. From 18th -July to 8th August he had won back his freedom of action, -cleared his main communications, and hopelessly dislocated -the German plan. From 8th August to 26th September it was his -task to crumble the enemy's front, destroy the last remnant -of his reserves, force him beyond all his prepared defences, -and make ready for the final battle which would give victory.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On 8th August Haig's striking force was the British Fourth -Army, under Sir Henry Rawlinson, and part of the French -First Army, under General Debeney. The front of attack -was east of Amiens, astride the valleys of the Avre, the Luce, -and the Somme. Haig's immediate aim was to free his -communications—that is, to push the enemy out of range of the -main railways behind his front—as the French had done on -the Marne, and to this end the enemy must be driven out of -range of Amiens.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The preparations for the attack were most cunningly -concealed, and infinite pains were taken to make the surprise -complete. By an elaborate piece of "camouflage" the enemy -was induced to believe that an attack in Flanders was -preparing. The Canadians, who, along with the Australians, -were the principal British attacking troops, had been secretly -brought down from the north a few days before, and only -came into line just before the battle. For the action Sir -Douglas Haig had accumulated not less than 400 Tanks, many -of the light "whippet" type and most of the newest pattern. -He was to employ Foch's tactics in their purest form. There -was to be no artillery bombardment except just at the moment -of advance; the ground had been perfectly reconnoitred from -the air; the objectives to be secured were ambitious but -strictly defined; and the troops to be used were among the -</span><em class="italics">corps d'élite</em><span> of the army.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the first week of August much rain fell, and on the -night of the 7th a heavy mist hung over the ground. Just -before daybreak on Thursday the 8th an intense bombardment -was opened, so intense that the enemy's defences -disappeared as if wiped out by a sponge. Four minutes later -the bombardment stopped, and the Tanks and infantry moved -forward. Rawlinson advanced at 4.20 a.m.; Debeney some -twenty minutes later.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Success was immediate and continuous. The Canadians -and Australians, pressing along the two great Roman highways -to St. Quentin and Roye, marched steadily towards their -final objectives, and these they reached long before noon. -The enemy was completely surprised. At one place the -Tanks captured an entire regimental mess at breakfast. At -another the whole staff of a division was seized. In some -villages the Germans were taken in their billets before they -knew what had happened, and parties of the enemy were -actually made prisoners while working in the harvest field. -The Canadian cavalry passed through the infantry and -captured a train on the railway line near Chaulnes. Indeed, -that day the whole British cavalry performed miracles, -advancing 23 miles from their point of concentration.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 59%" id="figure-250"> -<span id="first-stages-of-the-last-allied-offensive"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="Map showing the ground regained and the New Front reached in the First Stages of the last Allied Offensive." src="images/img-076.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">Map showing the ground regained and the New Front reached in the -<br />First Stages of the last Allied Offensive.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>This success at the beginning of the last battle of the -war was due partly to the brilliant tactical surprise, partly -to the high efficiency of the new Tanks, and also in some -degree to the evident deterioration in the quality of the -German infantry in that part of the front. The enemy -machine-gunners did not display their old tenacity. The -Allied casualties were extraordinarily small, one Canadian -division, which was in the heart of the battle, losing only -100 men. It was very clear that the fortitude of the German -line was ebbing, and this more than any other fact -disturbed the minds of its commanders. Ludendorff has -recorded in his Memoirs that after the battle of 8th August -he realized that Germany was beaten.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Tanks played a brilliant and dramatic part in the -day's success. One Tank captured a village single-handed, and -its wary commander solemnly demanded a receipt for the -village before he handed it over to the Australians. But the -chief performance of the day was that of the "whippet" -Tank "Musical Box," commanded by Lieutenant C. B. Arnold, -and carrying as crew Gunner Ribbans and Driver Carney. -This Tank started off at 4.20 a.m. in company with the others, -and when she had advanced the better part of 2 miles -discovered herself to be the leading machine, all the others -having been ditched. She came under direct shell-fire from -a German field battery, and turned off to the left, ran diagonally -across the front of the battery at a distance of 600 yards, -and fired at it with both her guns. The battery replied with -eight rounds, fortunately all misses, and the Tank now -managed to get to the battery's rear under cover of a belt -of trees. The gunners attempted to get away, but "Musical -Box" accounted for them all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>If a Tank can be said to go mad, this Tank now performed -that feat. She started off due east straight for Germany, -shooting down Germans whenever she saw them. The -Australian infantry were following her, and for some time -she was also in touch with two British cavalry patrols. -Seeing a party of the enemy in a field of corn, she charged down -upon them, killing three or four. She found a patrol of our -cavalry dismounted and in trouble with some Germans on -a railway bridge, so she made for the bridge and dispersed -the Germans. She moved still farther east, and approached -a small valley marked on Lieutenant Arnold's map as -containing German hutments. As she entered the valley the -Germans were seen packing their kits and beginning to move, -and "Musical Box" opened fire. There was a general flight, -but this did not prevent her guns from accounting for a -considerable number. She now turned a little to the left across -open country, firing at retreating German infantry at ranges -of from 200 to 600 yards, and being heavily fired on by rifles -and machine-guns in reply. Unfortunately she was carrying -petrol tins on her roof, and these were perforated by the hail -of bullets, so that the petrol ran all over the cab. The great -heat from her engines and guns, which had been in action -for nine or ten hours, made it necessary at this point for the -crew to breathe through their box-respirators.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was now about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and "Musical -Box" was still moving east, shooting at anything she could -see, from motor transport to marching infantry, and getting -heavily peppered in return. At last Lieutenant Arnold was -compelled to withdraw the forward gun. The fumes and -the heat were stifling, but the crew managed to endure it -till suddenly the gallant "Musical Box" was struck by two -heavy shells following close one upon the other, and the -cab burst into flames. Carney and Ribbans reached the door -and collapsed. Lieutenant Arnold was almost overcome, but -managed to get the door open and fall out upon the ground. -He was then able to drag out the other two men. Burning -petrol was running on to the ground where they were lying, -and the clothing of all three was on fire. They struggled -to get away from the petrol, and while doing so Carney -received his death wound. The enemy were now approaching -from all quarters, and, having been thoroughly scared, -they not unnaturally treated the two survivors somewhat -roughly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lieutenant Arnold and Gunner Ribbans, badly burned, -incredibly dirty, half-suffocated, and fainting with fatigue, -were led off into captivity, after having completed such an -Odyssey of devastation as perhaps befell no other two men -in the war.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-australians-at-mont-st-quentin"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIV.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE AUSTRALIANS AT MONT ST. QUENTIN.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Close to the spot where the South Africans made their great -stand in the retreat of March 1918, it fell to the lot of troops -from another of our Dominions to perform an almost miraculous -exploit in the advance eastward to victory. By 30th August, -as we have seen, the tide had fully turned. All the British -armies were pressing back the enemy over the old Somme -battlefield, and that enemy was struggling desperately to -hold on to key positions long enough to enable him to -retire in good order to the Hindenburg Line, where he hoped -to stand on the defence over the winter. But these key -positions were now being rushed too fast to permit of an -orderly retreat, and so the Hindenburg defences proved of -no avail, and before the end of October the Germans were -a defeated army.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of all the key positions the strongest was that of Mont -St. Quentin, which commanded the old town of Péronne -on the north. Péronne, as readers of Sir Walter Scott will -remember, was the scene of some of the adventures of Quentin -Durward. It had fallen into British hands in March 1917, -when the Germans first retired to the Hindenburg Line. It -had been lost in the great enemy onslaught of the following -March. It was a very strong place, defended on the south -and west by the links of the marshy Somme, and on the -north by the low ridge called Mont St. Quentin, which -provided superb gun positions. The place was held by one of -the best of the German Divisions brought up from the reserve, -the 2nd Prussian Guards. Their orders were to maintain it -at all costs, for unless Mont St. Quentin was held, Péronne -would fall, and if Péronne fell it would be a very battered -remnant that would struggle back to the main Hindenburg -Line.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sir Henry Rawlinson, the commander of the British -Fourth Army, believed that the fight for Péronne would be -long and difficult, and he entrusted it to the Australian -Corps, who were unsurpassed for their fighting quality by -any army in the world. This corps now performed the -impossible, and in a single day's fighting, and with few -losses, swept the enemy from Mont St. Quentin, took Péronne, -and shook the German II. Army to its foundations. Sir -Henry Rawlinson has described their exploit as the finest -single action in the war.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>No man who once saw the Australians in action could -ever forget them. In the famous landing at Gallipoli, in a -dozen desperate fights in that peninsula, in the fight for -Pozières during the First Battle of the Somme, at the Third -Battle of Ypres, and in the action at Villers-Bretonneux just -before the final advance, they had shown themselves -incomparable in their fury of assault and in reckless personal -valour. They had more than gallantry; they had a perfect -discipline and a perfect coolness. As types of physical -perfection they have probably not been matched since the time -of the ancient Greeks—these long, lean men, with their slow, -quiet voices, and often the shadows of great fatigue around -the deep-set, far-sighted eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Their first task was to cross the Somme—no easy task, -since Mont St. Quentin commanded every reach of it. Sir -John Monash, the Australian commander, decided not to -attempt to force the river south of the town; but in the -darkness of night a brigade of the 2nd Australian Division -managed to cross and seize the German trenches at Cléry. -This placed two of the three Australian Divisions of attack on -the east of the river, directly under the ridge of St. Quentin. -General Rawlinson visited the Australian headquarters that -evening, and whetted their keenness by frankly expressing -his disbelief in their success on the morrow. "You think -you are going to take Mont St. Quentin with three battalions! -What presumption! However, I don't think I ought to -stop you. Go ahead and try."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Very early on the morning of 31st August the Australian -2nd Division lay just under the ridge, with the 3rd Division -on its left, and on its right the 5th Division south of the -Somme. The plan was that the 2nd Division should take -Mont St. Quentin, while the 3rd Division completed the -capture of the high ground towards Bouchavesnes on the north, -and the 5th Division passed troops across the river for the -assault on Péronne. There were no Tanks to assist the -infantry, and very few heavy guns, for the men had marched -far ahead of the artillery.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At 5 a.m. on the 31st, while the morning was still quite -dark, the 5th Brigade of the 2nd Division opened the attack. -It advanced straight up the hill with the bayonet, and at -8 a.m. Sir John Monash was able to report to General -Rawlinson that his men had obtained a footing on Mont -St. Quentin. All day the heroic brigade beat off desperate -counter-attacks, and by nightfall it still maintained its -position.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meantime the 14th Brigade from the 5th Division crossed -the Somme, and passed through the 2nd Division area for -the assault on Péronne, for Monash had determined that the -right course was to take the defences of the town by a rush -while they were still being organized by the enemy. The -14th Brigade had a march of 7 miles before it could be -in position to deploy for the attack. It was ten hours on -the road, and reached its jumping-off ground in the darkness -of the night. There it had on its left the 6th Brigade of the -2nd Division, whose business was to complete the capture -of Mont St. Quentin.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The final success came on 1st September. The 6th Brigade -advanced well over the crest of Mont St. Quentin, and that -fortress was now wholly in British hands. The 14th Brigade -took Péronne. Ever since the attack of 8th August it had -been the misfortune of that brigade to be the reserve unit -of its Division, and therefore it had not shared in any serious -fighting; but this day it made up for lost opportunities. -"You see," said one company commander, "we had been -trying to buy a fight off the other fellows for a matter of -three weeks, and that day we got what we had been looking -for, so we made the most of it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meantime the 3rd Division, on the left, completed the -capture of the Bouchavesnes spur. By 3rd September the -whole of the Péronne area was in British hands, and the -enemy was in headlong retreat. It was clear that he could -find no resting-place short of the main Hindenburg Line, -and a month later Sir Douglas Haig proved that not even in -that position was there an abiding sanctuary.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The actual capture of Mont St. Quentin was achieved by -two brigades. It was a straightforward fight with the -bayonet—the cream of the British Army against the cream -of the enemy. For so resounding a success it was singularly -economical of human life; on the hill itself nearly 2,000 -prisoners were taken at the expense of some 200 Australian -casualties.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-last-battle"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XV.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE LAST BATTLE.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>By the 25th of September the German armies were back on -the great line devised by Hindenburg in the autumn of 1916. -The one chance left to them was to hold out there during -the winter, in the hope that they might be able to bargain -with the Allies. If the Allies attacked, there were two -sections which Ludendorff viewed with anxiety. One was his -left wing on the Meuse, where, if the Allies broke through, -the Hindenburg Line would be turned on its flank. The -other was the German centre from Douai to St. Quentin, -the main Hindenburg Line, which was not only the fortress -where he hoped to pass the winter, but the one protection -of the great railway from Lille by Valenciennes to Mezières, -on which his whole position depended. He therefore laboured -to keep his left and centre as strong as possible; for, in spite -of his experience in August and September, he could not -conceive the possibility of an assault on every section.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For Foch this was to be the crowning battle of the war. -If he could break through the German centre, and at the -same time turn the German left, defeat would stare the enemy -in the face, and there would be victory long before Christmas. -If the Americans on the Meuse succeeded, they would make -retreat imperative; but if Haig in the centre succeeded, -he would make retreat impossible, and disaster must follow. -The British were assigned the most difficult part. They had -to attack in the area where the enemy defences were most -highly organized and his forces strongest. If the Hindenburg -Line held, the German courage might yet recover, and -a new era of resistance begin. Haig's armies had already -borne the heaviest share of the summer fighting, and every -division had been sorely tried. Yet the attempt must be -made, for it was the essential part of the whole strategy, -and the measure of difficulty was the measure of the honour -in which Foch held the fighting qualities of his British -allies.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In deciding to make the attack, and to break the Hindenburg -Line at one blow, Sir Douglas Haig stood alone. So -difficult seemed the operation that the British Government -were in the gravest doubts, and left the burden of -responsibility upon the Commander-in-Chief. Even the French -generals hesitated. The movement was undertaken on Sir -Douglas Haig's initiative; he bore the whole burden of it; -and therefore to him belongs the main credit of what was -destined to be one of the decisive actions of the war.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Foch began on his right flank, and on 26th September -the American army attacked on the Meuse. Next day, the -27th, Haig struck towards Cambrai. The two main defences -of the Hindenburg Line were the Canal du Nord, and, -behind it, the Scheldt Canal, the latter forming the outwork -of the system. The principal German trenches were on -the east bank; but on the west bank lay advanced posts, -skilfully placed. In one section the canal passed through -a tunnel 6,000 yards long, connected by shafts with the -trenches above. In another part it lay in a deep cutting, -the sides of which were honeycombed with dug-outs. The -fortified zone was from 5 to 7 miles wide, and culminated -on the east in what was known as the Beaurevoir Line, -strongly wired double-trench lines of the same type as those -on the western side.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the 27th the Third Army under Byng, and the First -Army under Horne, attacked on the left, crossed the Canal -du Nord, and by the evening had reached the edge of the -Scheldt Canal. Next day that canal had been partially -crossed, and Cambrai was menaced from two sides. These -events roused acute apprehension in the mind of the German -Staff. The crossing of the Canal du Nord by Tanks on the -backs of Tanks, and the passing of the Scheldt Canal at its -northern end, had shaken their confidence in the outer -Hindenburg defences. Next day, the 29th, came Haig's crowning -blow. He struck at the strongest part, and it crumbled -before him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The attack was made by Rawlinson's Fourth Army. -For two days his guns had not been silent; the enemy's -garrisons were forced into tunnels and deep dug-outs, and -the transport of food and ammunition was made all but -impossible. The Germans were, therefore, in a state of -confusion and fatigue when Haig attacked at 10 minutes to 6 -on the morning of Sunday, the 29th.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This action was one of the greatest of the campaign, -whether we regard the difficulties to be faced or the strategic -value of the gains. Ludendorff was fighting for his last -hope, and he had warned his men accordingly. One captured -order reminded his troops that "Our present position is our -winter position." Another ran: "There can be no question -of going back a single step further. We must show the -British, French, and Americans that any further attacks on -the Hindenburg Line will be utterly broken, and that that -Line is an impregnable rampart, with the result that the -Entente Powers will condescend to consider the terms of -peace which it is absolutely necessary for us to have before -we can end the war." Germany was already busy with -peace proposals, and she had nothing to bargain with except -these defences in the West.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The key of the position was the angle of the Scheldt Canal -where it bent east, with the village of Bellenglise in its bend, -for if the canal were forced there the defences on either side -would be turned. The work was entrusted to the 46th -Division of North Midland Territorials, which had a long and -brilliant record in the war. Theirs was an amazing -performance. The canal before them was some 50 to 60 feet -wide, the water in some parts being as much as 10 feet deep. -and in others a mere trickle. It was a morning of thick fog -when behind the tornado of the barrage the Midlanders, -carrying life-belts and mats and rafts, advanced to the attack. -Since parts of the canal were impassable, the crossing had to -be made on a narrow front. Swimming or wading, and in -some cases using foot-bridges which the enemy had left -undestroyed, they passed the canal west and north of -Bellenglise, swarmed up the farther bank, and took the German -trenches beyond. Then, fanning out, they attacked in rear -the positions to the south, capturing many batteries still in -action. That day this one Division took over 4,000 prisoners -and 70 guns.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was the same everywhere else on the British front. -The main Hindenburg defences had been breached, and all -next day the Fourth Army pressed through the gap. The -greatest battle of the war was now approaching its climax, -and the whole 250 miles of front, from the Meuse to the sea, -were ablaze. Ludendorff could not have withdrawn even if -he had wished it. By 7th October Haig had broken through -all the front Hindenburg Line, and was pressing upon the last -defences. The time was therefore ripe for a great -movement on the broadest possible front, which would destroy -the whole zone. For, in the words of the official dispatch, -"Nothing but the natural obstacles of a wooded and -well-watered country lay between our armies and Maubeuge."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The great movement was begun by Haig early on Tuesday, -8th October. It was a wild, wet, autumn morning when -Byng at 4.30 and Rawlinson at 5.10 attacked on a 17-mile -front, while a French army extended the battle 4 miles -farther south. The enemy resisted desperately, but nothing -could stay the rush of the Allied infantry and the deadly -penetration of their Tanks. By the evening Haig had -advanced between 3 and 4 miles, and the Hindenburg zone -was no more. The enemy was falling back to the Oise and -the Selle, and for the moment his organization had been -broken. Every road converging on Le Cateau was blocked -with transport and troops, and our cavalry were galloping -eastward to confuse the retreat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sir Douglas Haig's battle, which ended on the 10th -October, may be considered the determining action in the -campaign, and it has been described by Foch as "a classic -example of military art." It had no defect either of plan -or of execution. The enemy was fairly and clearly defeated -in a field action. Foch had played on the whole front a -crescendo of deadly music, and the enemy's strategic position -was now so desperate that no local stand could save him. -There was talk at the time of a German retreat to the Meuse. -but it was an idle dream. Long before her broken divisions -could reach that river Germany would be upon her knees.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-landing-at-gallipoli"><span class="bold large">PART III.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">THE "SIDE SHOWS."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XVI.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE LANDING AT GALLIPOLI.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Early in 1915 it seemed to the British Government that, -since there were no longer any flanks to be turned on the -Western front, the lines in France and Flanders were settling -down to a siege and a war of positions. They therefore looked -elsewhere for some more promising area of battle, since, if -the front door of a fortress is barred, there may be an entrance -by a back door. The place which promised best was the -narrow straits called the Dardanelles, which led from the -Ægean into the Sea of Marmora, and so to Constantinople. -There full use could be made of the British fleet. The -capture of the Straits would involve the fall of the capital, and -this might drive Turkey out of the war. Success there -would bring over to our side the hesitating Balkan neutral -states. It would open the road for Russia to import -munitions of war, and to export her accumulated supplies of -wheat. Lastly, Russia was being hard pressed, and had -appealed to the Western Allies for aid, and her request could -not be refused.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Accordingly, it was decided to make an attempt upon the -Dardanelles. The first effort was made by ships alone. But -the Turks had powerful forts on both sides of the straits -which could not be destroyed by naval guns. It was clear -that the Dardanelles could not be opened until the Gallipoli -Peninsula on the north side was captured. Unfortunately, -the naval attack had forewarned the enemy, and he had -enormously strengthened his position on the Gallipoli heights.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The forces put at Sir Ian Hamilton's disposal for the -enterprise were the 29th Division of regulars and Territorials, -two divisions from Australia and New Zealand, the Royal -Naval Division, and a French brigade. Of these troops only -the 29th Division had had any experience in war. Sir Ian -Hamilton decided that the only possible landing-places were -the beaches at the south-west end of the Peninsula, and -another beach at Gaba Tepe, some distance up the northern -side. His aim was, by landing at the point, to fight his way -to Krithia village, and carry the Achi Baba ridge, while the -Australians from Gaba Tepe could turn the right wing of -the Turkish defence. Once the Achi Baba heights were -captured the Straits would be ours.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The day originally fixed for the attempt was 23rd April. -But on the 20th a storm rose which for forty-eight hours -lashed the Ægean. On the 23rd it abated, and that afternoon -the first of the black transports began to move out of -Mudros harbour. Next day the rest of the force followed, -all in wild spirits for this venture into the unknown. They -recalled to one spectator the Athenians departing for the -Sicilian expedition, when the galleys out of sheer -light-heartedness raced each other to Ægina.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The morning of Sunday, the 25th, was one of those -which delight the traveller in April in the Ægean. A light -mist fills the air before dawn, but it disappears with the sun, -and all day there are clear skies, still seas, and the fresh, -invigorating warmth of spring. At the butt end of Gallipoli -there are five little beaches, originally nameless, but now -for all time to be known by the letters affixed to them on -the war maps of the British Army. Beginning from the left, -there is Beach Y, and, a little south of it, Beach X. -Rounding Cape Tekke, we reach Beach W, where a narrow valley -opens between the headlands of Tekke and Helles. Here -there is a broad semicircular stretch of sand. South of Helles -is Beach V, a place of the same configuration as Beach W, -but unpleasantly commanded by the castle and village of -Sedd-el-Bahr at its southern end. Lastly, inside the Straits, -on the east side of Morto Bay, is Beach S, close to the point -of Eski Hissarlik. The landing at Gaba Tepe, on the north -side of the peninsula, was entrusted to the Australian and -New Zealand troops; that at the Helles beaches to the -29th Division, with some units of the Naval Division. It -was arranged that simultaneously the French should land -on the Asiatic shore at Kum Kale, to prevent the Turkish -batteries from being brought into action against our men -at Beaches V and S.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Let us assume that an aeroplane enabled us to move up -and down the shores of the peninsula and observe the progress -of the different landings. About one in the morning the -ships arrive at a point 5 miles from the Gallipoli shores. -At 1.20 boats are lowered, and the troops line up on the decks. -Then they embark in the flotillas, and steam pinnaces begin -to tow them shorewards in the hazy half-light before dawn. -The Australians destined for Gaba Tepe are carried in -destroyers which take them close in to the shore.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The operations are timed so that the troops reach the -beaches at daybreak. Slowly and very quietly the boats -and destroyers steal towards the land. A little before 5 -an enemy's searchlight flares out. The boats are now in -shallow water under the Gaba Tepe cliffs, and the men are -leaping ashore. Then comes a blaze of rifle-fire from the -Turkish trenches on the beach, and the men who have -landed charge them with the bayonet. The whole cliff -seems to leap into light, for everywhere trenches and caverns -have been dug in the slopes. The fire falls most heavily on -the men still in the boats, who have the difficult task of -waiting as the slow minutes bring them shoreward.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Australians do not linger. They carry the lines on -the beach with cold steel, and find themselves looking up at -a steep cliff a hundred feet high. In open order they dive -into the scrub, and scramble up the loose yellow rocks. -By a fortunate accident their landing is farther north than was -intended, just under the cliffs of Sari Bair. At Gaba Tepe -the long slope would have given the enemy a great advantage -in defence; but here there is only the 40-foot beach and then -the cliffs. He who knows the Ægean in April will remember -those fringed sea walls and bare brown slopes. From a -distance they look as arid as the Syrian desert, but when the -traveller draws near he finds a paradise of curious and -beautiful flowers—anemone, grape hyacinth, rock rose, -asphodel, and amaryllis. Up this rock garden the -Australians race, among the purple cistus and the matted creepers -and the thickets of myrtle. They have left their packs at -the foot, and scale the bluffs like chamois. It is an -achievement to rank with Wolfe's escalade of the Heights of -Abraham. Presently they are at the top, and come under the -main Turkish fire. But the ground gives good cover, and -they set about entrenching the crest of the cliffs to cover the -boats' landing. This is the position at Sari Bair at 7 a.m.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As we journey down the coast we come next to Beach -Y. There at 7 a.m. all is going well. The 1st King's Own -Scottish Borderers and the Plymouth battalion of the Naval -Division, landing at a place which the enemy thought wholly -impracticable, have without difficulty reached the top of -the cliffs. At Beach X things are even better. The </span><em class="italics">Swiftsure</em><span> -has plastered the high ground with shells, and the landing -ship, the </span><em class="italics">Implacable</em><span>, has anchored close to the shore in six -fathoms of water. With scarcely a casualty the 2nd Royal -Fusiliers have gained the cliff line.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 61%" id="figure-251"> -<span id="the-landing-beaches-at-gallipoli"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="The Landing Beaches at Gallipoli." src="images/img-095.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">The Landing Beaches at Gallipoli.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>There has been a harder fight at Beach W, between Tekke -and Helles, where the sands are broader. The shore has been -trenched throughout, and wired and mined almost to the -water's edge, and in the scrub behind are hidden the Turkish -snipers. Though our ships have bombarded the shore for -three-quarters of an hour, they cannot clear out the enemy, -and do not seem to have made much impression on the wire -entanglements. The first troops have landed to the right -under the cliffs of Cape Helles, and have reached the top, -while a party on the left has scaled Cape Tekke. But the -men of the 1st Lancashire Fusiliers who landed on the shore -itself have had a fiery trial. They suffered heavily while -still on the water, and on landing came up against unbroken -lines of wire, while snipers and concealed machine-guns -rained death on them. Here we have had heavy losses, -and at 7 a.m. the landing has not yet succeeded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The case is more desperate still at Beach V, under -Sedd-el-Bahr. Here, as at Beach W, there are a stretch of sand, -a scrubby valley, and flanking cliffs. It is the strongest of -the Turkish positions, and troops landing in boats are -exposed to every type of converging fire. A curious expedient -has been tried. A collier, the </span><em class="italics">River Clyde</em><span>, with 2,000 men of -the 2nd Hampshires, 1st Dublin Fusiliers, and 1st Munster -Fusiliers on board, and eight boat-loads towed by steam -pinnaces, approached close to the shore. The boat-loads—the -rest of the Dublin Fusiliers—suffered horribly, for when -they dashed through the shallows to the beach they were -pinned to the ground by fire. Three lines of wire -entanglements had to be forced, and a network of trenches. A -bank of sand, 5 or 6 feet high, runs at the back, and under -its cover the survivors have taken shelter. In the steel side -of the ship doors have been cut, which open and disgorge -men into the lighters alongside, like some new Horse of -Troy. But a tornado of shot and shell rained on her, and of -the gallant men who leaped from the lighters to the reef and -from the reef to the sea, very few reached the land. Those -who did have joined their fellows lying flat under the -sand-bank on that beach of death. At Beach S, in Morto Bay, -all has gone well. Seven hundred men of the 2nd South -Wales Borderers have been landed from trawlers, and have -established themselves on the cliff tops at the place called -De Totts Battery.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-landing-at-gallipoli-continued"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XVII.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE LANDING AT GALLIPOLI (</span><em class="bold italics medium">continued</em><span class="bold medium">).</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Let us go back to Sari Bair and look at the position at -noonday. We are prospering there, for more than 10,000 -men are now ashore, and the work of disembarking guns -and stores goes on steadily, though the fire from inland is -still deadly. We see a proof of it in a boat full of dead men -which rocks idly in the surf. The great warships from the -sea send their heavy shells against the Turkish lines, -sea-planes are "spotting" for them, and wireless stations are -being erected on the beach. Firing from the ships is not -easy, for the morning sun shines right in the eyes of the -gunners. The Royal Engineers are making roads up the -cliff, and supplies are climbing steadily to our firing line. -On the turf of the cliff top our men are entrenched, and are -working their way forward.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Unfortunately the zeal of the Australians has outrun -their discretion, and some of them have pushed on too far. -They have crossed three ridges, and have got to a fourth -ridge within sight of the Straits. In that broken country -such an advance is certain death, and the rash attack has -been checked with heavy losses. The wounded are being -brought in, and it is no light task getting them down the -cliffs on stretchers, and across the beach and the -bullet-splashed sea to the warships. Remember that we are holding -a position which is terribly conspicuous to the enemy, and -all our ammunition and water and food have to be dragged -up these breakneck cliffs. Still, the first round has been -won, Indian troops are being landed in support, and we are -firmly placed at Sari Bair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As we move down the coast we find that all goes well at -Beach X, and that the troops there are working their way -forward, but that at Beach Y the Scottish Borderers are -being heavily counter-attacked and are making little progress. -The </span><em class="italics">Implacable</em><span> has knocked out of action a Turkish battery -at Krithia which gave much annoyance to our men at Beach -X. At Beach W we have improved our position. We have -cleared the beach and driven the Turks out of the scrub at -the valley foot, and the work of disembarking men and -stores is proceeding. Our right wing—the 4th Worcesters—is -working round by the cliffs above Cape Helles to enfilade -the enemy who are holding Beach V, where our men are still -in deadly jeopardy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The scene at Beach V is strange and terrible. From the -deep water the </span><em class="italics">Cornwallis</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Albion</em><span> are bombarding the -enemy at Sedd-el-Bahr, and the 15-inch shells from the </span><em class="italics">Queen -Elizabeth</em><span> are screaming overhead. The Trojan Horse is -still lying bow on against the reefs, with her men unable to -move, and the Turkish howitzers playing on her. If a man -shows his head he is picked off by sharpshooters. The troops -we have landed lie flat on the beach under cover of the sand -ridge, unable to advance or retreat, and under a steady -tornado of fire. At Beach S things are satisfactory.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meantime the French landing at Kum Kale has achieved -its purpose. Originally timed for 6 a.m., it did not take place -till 9.30. They had a skirmish with the Turks, partly on -the height at Kum Kale, and partly on the Trojan plain. -Then they advanced along the swell of ground near the -coast as far as Yeni Shehr. Next evening they re-embarked -and joined our right wing at Beach S. They took 500 -prisoners, and could have taken more had there been room -for them in the boats. The Turk, who showed himself a -dauntless fighter, surrendered with great good-humour when -the game was up. He had no crusading zeal in the business.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As darkness fell on that loud Sabbath, the minds of the -Allied Staff may well have been anxious. We had gained -a footing, but no more, and it was but a precarious lodgment. -The complexity and strength of the enemy's defence far -surpassed our expectation. He had tunnelled the cliffs, and -created a wonderful and intricate trench system, which took -full advantage of the natural strength of the ground. The -fire from our leviathans on the deep was no more effective -against his entrenched positions than it had been against -the forts of the Straits.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Let us resume our tour of the beaches about 10 o'clock -on the morning of the 26th. At Sari Bair the Australians -are facing a counter-attack. It lasts for two hours, and is -met by a great bombardment from our ships. The end -comes when, about noon, the Australians and New Zealanders -advance with the bayonet, and drive back the enemy. But -all that day there is no rest for our troops, who are perfecting -their trenches under a deluge of shrapnel. Their flanks are -indifferently secured, and they have but the one landing-place -behind them, from which their front line is scarcely -1,000 yards distant. They are still clinging precariously to -the coast scarp.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At Beach Y things have gone badly. Our men there had -advanced during the Sunday afternoon, and had been -outflanked and driven back to the cliff edge. The Scottish -Borderers lost their commanding officer and more than half -their men. It was decided to re-embark and move the -troops to Beach X, and as we pass the retreat is going on -successfully under cover of the ship's fire. At Beach X there -has been a hard struggle. Last night we were strongly -attacked there, and driven to the very edge of the cliffs, -where we hung on in rough shelter trenches. This morning -we are advancing again, and making some way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At Beach W, too, there has been a counter-attack. Yesterday -afternoon our right wing there, which tried to relieve -the position on Beach V by an enfilading attack on the -enemy, got among wire, and was driven back. During the -night the Turks came on in force, and we were compelled to -fling our beach parties into the firing line, bluejackets and -sappers armed with whatever weapons they could find. This -morning the situation is easier, we have landed more troops, -and are preparing to move forward.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At Beach V the landing is still in its first stage. Men are -still sheltering on the deadly beach behind the sandbank. -We have gained some positions among the ruins which were -once Sedd-el-Bahr, but not enough to allow us to proceed. -Even as we look a final effort is beginning, in which the -Dublin Fusiliers and the Munster Fusiliers distinguish -themselves, though it is hard to select any for special praise -among the splendid battalions of the 29th Division. It -continues all morning, most gallantly directed till he fell by -Lieutenant-Colonel Doughty-Wylie of the Headquarters Staff, -and about 2 p.m. it is successful. The main Turkish trenches -are carried, the debris of the castle and village are cleared, -and the enemy is in retreat. The landing can now go forward, -and the men, who for thirty-two hours have been huddled -behind the sandbank, enduring torments of thirst and a -nerve-racking fire, can move their cramped limbs and join -their comrades.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By the morning of Tuesday, the 27th, all the beaches—except -Beach Y, which had been relinquished—were in -working order, and the advance could proceed. Next morning -it began, and by the evening of the 28th we had securely -won the butt of the peninsula, and our front ran from 3 -miles north-west of Cape Tekke to a mile north of Eski -Hissarlik.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So ended the opening stage of the Gallipoli campaign—the -Battle of the Landing. It was a fight without a precedent. -There had been landings—such as Abercromby's at Aboukir -and Wolfe's at the cove west of Louisburg—fiercely contested -landings, in our history, but none on a scale like this. Sixty -thousand men, backed by the most powerful navy in the -world, attacked a shore which nature seemed to have made -impregnable, and which was held by not inferior numbers -of the enemy, in positions prepared for months, and -supported by the latest modern artillery. The mere problem of -transport was sufficient to deter the boldest. Every rule -of war was set at nought. On paper the thing was impossible, -as the Turkish army orders announced. According to the -text-books no man should have left the beaches alive. We -were fighting against a gallant enemy who was at his best in -defence and in this unorthodox type of battle. That our -audacity succeeded was due to the unsurpassable fighting -quality of our men—the Regulars and Territorials of the -29th Division, the Naval Division, and not least to the dash -and doggedness of the Australasian corps. The Gallipoli -campaign was to end in failure, but, whatever be our -judgment on its policy or its consequences, the Battle of the -Landing must be acclaimed as a marvellous, an unparalleled -feat of arms.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-departure-from-gallipoli"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XVIII.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE DEPARTURE FROM GALLIPOLI.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>By September 1915 it was clear that the Gallipoli expedition -could not succeed. All summer the hopeless struggle had -continued for the heights of the peninsula. In July -reinforcements arrived, and in August these new divisions, -together with the Anzacs,[#] made an attack, that of the left -wing at Suvla Bay being designed to turn the enemy flank. -This supreme effort failed. There was no chance of further -reserves, for the entry of Bulgaria into the war meant that -the Allies must send troops to Salonika to help Serbia if -possible, and in any case to protect the northern frontier of -Greece. Only one course was possible—to get off the peninsula -as best we could.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[#] So called from the initial letters of the first -Australasian Corps—"Australian and New Zealand Army Corps."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>After much discussion it was decided to evacuate the -positions at Suvla and Anzac, and to retain those at Cape -Helles. Nearly everybody concerned in the matter assumed -that this would entail a heavy loss. Many estimated it at 15 -per cent., and the most hopeful were prepared for the loss of -at least one division. An embarkation in the face of the -enemy had always meant a stiff rearguard fight and many -casualties.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the 8th December Sir Charles Monro, who was then in -command of the British troops in the Ægean, issued orders -for evacuation. The difficulties were enormous. It was a -question of embarking not a division or two, but three -army corps; it was impossible to move them all at once -with the available transports; there must be a gap between -the operations, and this meant that the enemy would -probably be forewarned of the later movements. Moreover, -a lengthy embarkation put us terribly at the mercy of the -winter weather. Even a mild wind from the south or -south-west raised a swell that made communication with the -beaches precarious.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The plan was to move the war material, including the -heavy guns, by instalments during a period of ten days, -working only at night. A large portion of the troops would -also be got off during these days, certain picked battalions -being left to the last. Everything was to be kept normal -during the daylight, and every morning before daybreak -the results of the night's work must be hidden. Success -depended upon two things mainly—fine weather and secrecy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>From the 8th December onward the troops, night after -night, watched the shrinkage of their numbers. There was a -generous rivalry as to who should stay till the last—a proof -of spirit, when we remember that every man believed that -the rearguard was doomed to death or capture. Soon only -those in the prime of health and strength were left; all the -weak and sickly had gone aboard the transports, which -nightly stole in and out of the moonlit bays. Soon the -heavy batteries had gone. Then the field guns began to -disappear, leaving only enough to keep up the daily pretence -of bombardment. It was an eerie business for the last -battalions as they heard their protecting guns rumbling -shoreward in the darkness. Then the horses and motor-cars -were also shipped, and by Friday, the 17th December, very -few guns were left. To the Turkish observers the piles of -boxes on the beaches looked as if fresh supplies had been -landed and we were preparing to hold the place indefinitely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The weather was warm and clement, with light moist -winds and a low-hanging screen of cloud. Coming in the -midst of an Ægean winter it seemed to our men a direct -interposition of Providence. It was like the land beyond -the North Wind, which Elizabethan mariners believed in, -where he who pierced the outer crust of the Polar snows -found a country of roses and eternal summer. No fisherman -ever studied the weather signs more anxiously than did the -British commanders during these days. Hearts sank when -the wind looked like moving to the west. But the weather -held, and when the days fixed for the final embarkation -arrived, the wind was still favourable, skies were clear, -and the moon was approaching its full. Nature had joined -the daring conspiracy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On Saturday, the 18th December, only a few picked battalions -held the Suvla front. The final embarkation had been -fixed for the two succeeding nights. The evening fell in a -perfect calm. The sea was still as a mill-pond, and scarcely -a breath of wind blew in the sky. Moreover, a light blue -mist clothed all the plain of Suvla, and a haze shrouded the -moon. At 6 p.m. the crews of the warships went to action -stations, and in the darkness the transports stole into the -bay. Not a shot was fired. In dead quiet, showing no lights, -the transports moved in and out. Every unit found its -proper place. By 1 a.m. on the morning of Sunday, the 19th, -the bay lay empty in the moonlight.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That Sunday was one of the most curious in the war. -Our lines looked exactly as they had done during the past -four months. We kept up our usual fire and received the -Turkish answer, but had any body of the enemy chosen -to attack they would have found the trenches held by a -mere handful. There were 20,000 Turks on the Suvla and -Anzac fronts, and 60,000 in immediate reserve. Had they -known it, they had before them the grand opportunity of -the campaign. Night again fell with the same halcyon -weather. The transports—destroyers, trawlers, picket boats, -every kind of craft—slipped once again into the bay, and -before midnight the last guns had been got on board. By -3.30 a.m. the last of the troops were on the beach, and long -before the dawn broke all were aboard. One man had been -hit in the thigh by a bullet, but that was the only casualty.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 58%" id="figure-252"> -<span id="evacuation-of-the-gallipoli-peninsula"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="Evacuation of the Gallipoli Peninsula." src="images/img-105.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">Evacuation of the Gallipoli Peninsula.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>The operations at Anzac were conducted on the same -lines. The beaches at Suvla were 5 miles from the enemy -and open to observation; at Anzac, in places they were -less than 2 miles distant, but were concealed from view -under the steep seaward bluffs. Some of our gun positions -there were on dizzy heights, down which a gun could only be -brought part by part. The work was brilliantly performed. -On the Saturday night three-fifths of the entire force were -got on board the transports. On Sunday night the rest -were embarked, with two men wounded as the total casualties. -By 5.30 a.m. on Monday morning the last transports moved -away from the coast, leaving the warships to follow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then on the 12 miles of beach, from Suvla Burnu to Gaba -Tepe, there was seen one of the strangest spectacles of the -campaign. The useless stores left behind had been piled -in great heaps on the shores and drenched with petrol. -Before the last men left parties of Royal Engineers set time -fuses. About 4 a.m. on the Monday morning the fires were -alight, blazing most fiercely near Suvla Point. As the beach -fires flared up, the enemy, thinking some disaster had befallen -us, shelled the place to prevent us extinguishing the flames. -The warships shelled back, and all along that broken coast -great pillars of fire flared to heaven like giant beacons in -some strife of the Immortals. Up to 8 o'clock picket boats -were still collecting stragglers; by 9 a.m. all was over, and -the last warship steamed away from the coast which had -been the grave of so many high hopes and so many gallant men.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>We were just in time. That night the weather broke, -and a furious gale blew from the south which would have -made embarkation impossible. Rain fell in sheets and -quenched the fires, and soon every trench at Suvla and -Anzac was a torrent. Great seas washed away the landing -stages. The puzzled enemy sat still and waited. He saw -that we had gone, but he distrusted the evidence of his eyes. -History does not tell what fate befell the first Turks who -penetrated into our empty trenches, or what heel first tried -conclusions with the hidden mines.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The success—the amazing success—of the Suvla and Anzac -evacuation made the position at Cape Helles more difficult. -No one believed that a similar performance would be possible -there after the enemy had been so fully warned; but on the -27th December it was decided to evacuate Helles, and the -work went on during the last days of the month and the first -week of the new year. On Friday, January 7, 1916, there -was a Turkish attack, which the few men remaining managed -to repel. Next day, Saturday, the 8th, was calm and fine, -and all was ready for the final effort.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About 4 o'clock in the afternoon the weather changed. -A strong south-westerly wind blew up; by 11 p.m. it increased -to a gale of 35 miles an hour. This storm covered our -movements from the enemy, but it nearly made retirement -impossible. On some beaches the piers were washed away and no -troops could be embarked. Nevertheless by 3.30 the last -men were on board.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All night the Turks gave no sign, but when the transports -had moved off the stores left behind were fired simultaneously -by time fuses. Red lights instantly burned along the enemy -lines, and a bombardment began which continued till sunrise. -The Turks proclaimed that the retreat had been attended -with desperate losses and great captures of guns. The claim -was an absurd falsehood. We blew up and left behind the -ruins of seventeen old worn-out pieces. Our total casualties -at Helles amounted to one man wounded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To avoid the disastrous consequences of a defeat is, as -a military operation, usually more difficult than to win a -victory. There is less chance of the high spirit of the attack, -for such is the generosity of the human spirit that safety is -less of an incentive to effort than the hope of victory. To -embark so great an army secretly and without loss in -mid-winter was an extraordinary achievement. It was made -possible only by an almost miraculous series of favourable -chances, and by the perfect organization and discipline of -our men. We had failed at Gallipoli, but we had escaped the -worst costs of failure. We had defeated the calculations of -the enemy and upset every precedent.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Across the ribbon of the Dardanelles, on the green plain -of Troy, the most famous war of the ancient world had been -fought. The European shores had now become a no less -classic ground of arms. If the banks of Scamander had seen -men strive desperately with fate, so had the heights of Achi -Baba and the loud beaches of Helles. Had the fashion -continued of linking the gods with the strife of mankind, what -strange myth might not have sprung from this rescue of the -British troops in the teeth of winter gales and uncertain seas I -It would have been rumoured, as of old at Troy, that Poseidon -had done battle for his children.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-capture-of-jerusalem"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIX.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>At the outset of the war the conquest of Egypt was an -important aim of the Turkish Government and their German -masters. But early in 1915 the Turkish invasion was scattered -on the banks of the Suez Canal, and hopes of an easy victory -were shattered. Nevertheless, the defence of Egypt remained -an anxious problem for Britain. That country was the base -both for Gallipoli and for Mesopotamia, and moreover, as -Moltke pointed out long before, was the key of Britain's -Eastern possessions. It was soon realized that Egypt could -not be properly defended on the Canal, but only on the -Palestine frontier, beyond the Sinai Desert.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>During 1915 and 1916 Turkey and Germany projected -many schemes for an Egyptian invasion, and the British -generals in Egypt were no less busy. If the war was to be -carried into Palestine railways and water pipes must be laid -across the desert. Slowly the British front crept eastward. -The Turks were defeated in various desert battles, and in -the spring of 1917 the British army crossed the frontier of -Palestine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The British purpose had somewhat changed. The offensive -had been substituted for the defensive. So far as possible -it was desired to do in Palestine what Sir Stanley Maude was -doing in Mesopotamia—to pin down large Turkish forces, -and so alarm Turkey about the safety of certain key points -in her territory that she would demand aid from Germany -and thus confuse the plans of the German General Staff.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The land from the Wadi el Arish—the ancient "River of -Egypt"—to the Philistian Plain had for 2,600 years been a -cockpit of war. Sometimes a conqueror from the north or -the south met the enemy in Egypt or in Syria, but more -often the decisive fight was fought in the gates. Up and -down the strip of seaward levels marched the great armies -of Egypt and Assyria, while the Jews looked fearfully down -from their barren hills. In the Philistian Plain Sennacherib -smote the Egyptian hosts in the days of King Hezekiah, only -to see his army melt away under the stroke of the "angel -of the Lord." At Rafa Esarhaddon defeated Pharaoh, and -added Egypt and Ethiopia to his kingdoms. At Megiddo, -or Armageddon, Josiah was vanquished by Pharaoh Necho, -who in turn was routed by Nebuchadnezzar. At Ascalon, -during the Crusades, Godfrey of Bouillon defeated the -Egyptians, and 150 years later that town fell to the Mameluke -Sultan after the battle of Gaza. In this gate of ancient feuds -it now fell to Turkey's lot to speak with her enemies.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But at first the British advance was checked. In March -and April 1917 two battles were fought at Gaza—two frontal -attacks which failed. During the summer Sir Edmund -Allenby was appointed to the chief command, and slowly and -patiently he perfected his plans. He saw that a direct attack -on Gaza was likely to fail, but far to the east he observed a -weak point in the enemy front where the town of Beersheba -constituted a detached and separate defensive system. If -Beersheba could be taken, the whole Gaza position could be -turned on the flank.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Beersheba was duly taken at the end of October 1917, -and on the 7th November Gaza followed. The enemy suffered -severely, and was in full retreat, almost in flight. Sir -Edmund Allenby's objective was now Jerusalem, and his -problem was less one of manoeuvres than of supply. His -troops would advance just as fast as water and food could -be brought up behind them.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 59%" id="figure-253"> -<span id="field-marshal-sir-edmund-allenby"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="FIELD-MARSHAL SIR EDMUND ALLENBY (VISCOUNT ALLENBY OF MEGIDDO)." src="images/img-111.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">FIELD-MARSHAL SIR EDMUND ALLENBY -<br />(VISCOUNT ALLENBY OF MEGIDDO).</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>The advance was made in two main directions—one from -Hebron due north towards Bethlehem; the other by the -coastal plain, aiming at the junction where the Jerusalem -railway joined the main line to Damascus. The Turkish -army was split into two parts, retreating in different directions. -Though Enver came from Constantinople and Falkenhayn -from Aleppo it was difficult for them to devise a defence. -Allenby seized Jaffa, and then swung eastward into the -Judæan highlands. Now the progress became slow, while -squalid little villages, whose names are famous throughout -the whole Christian world, fell to the British troops. On the -30th November the British line had the shape of a sickle, -with the centre of the curve flung far forward towards -Jerusalem, and it was necessary to bring up the handle, which -consisted of the cavalry and infantry which were at Hebron. -By the 7th these had taken Bethlehem, and by the 8th -British troops were before Jerusalem on the south and west, -and within a mile and a half of its walls.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Turkish garrison did not await the attack. In the night -preceding Sunday, the 9th December, the day of the festival -of the Hanookah, which commemorates the recapture of the -Temple by Judas Maccabæus, detachments of broken Turkish -soldiers poured in at the western or Jaffa Gate, while an -outgoing stream flowed eastward across the valley of Jehoshaphat. -Early in the morning the enemy sent out a white flag -of surrender, and before noon British patrols were in the city.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Two days later Sir Edmund Allenby entered by the Jaffa -Gate. Close by was the breach made in the walls to admit -the German Emperor when he made his foolish pilgrimage in -1898. Far different was the entry of the British general. It -was a clear, bright day, and the streets and housetops were -thronged with black-coated, tarbushed Syrians and Levantines, -picturesquely-clad peasants from the near villages, and -Arabs from the fringes of the desert. There was no display -of bunting and no bell-ringing or firing of salutes. On foot, -accompanied only by his Staff, the commanders of the French -and Italian detachments, and the military attachés of France, -Italy, and the United States, he was received by the newly -appointed Military Governor of the city, and a guard -representing all the nationalities engaged in the campaign. He -turned to the right into the Mount Zion quarter, and at -the Citadel, at the base of the ancient Tower of David, his -proclamation was read to the people.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then he quietly left the city. Yet no conqueror had -ever entered it with more prestige. For centuries there had -been current an Arab prophecy that a deliverer should come -from the West, and in 1898 the people of Palestine had asked -if the Kaiser was indeed the man. But the prophecy foretold -that such would not be the manner of his coming, for the true -saviour would bear the name of a Prophet of God, and would -enter Jerusalem on foot, and that he would not appear till -the Nile flowed into Palestine. To the peasants of Judæa -the prophecy now seemed to be fulfilled, for the name of the -English general was in Arabic "the Prophet," and his men -had come into the land bringing with them the waters of -Egypt.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="allenby-s-great-drive"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XX.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">ALLENBY'S GREAT DRIVE.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The capture of Jerusalem on December 9, 1917, left a -curious military situation. The Turkish army was split into -two parts, with its right wing north-east of Jaffa and its left -to the north and east of Jerusalem, and between these lay a -patch of rocky country without communications. Clearly -the next step for Allenby was to cross to the east of the -Jordan and cut the Hedjaz railway, with the assistance of -the Arab army from the south. If traffic on this railway were -interrupted the Turkish forces in Arabia would be at his -mercy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But first he had to secure his advanced bases at Jaffa -and Jerusalem. This work was done before the close of the -year. He then turned his attention to safeguarding his right -flank by driving the enemy beyond the Jordan. Jericho fell -to the Australians on the 1st February, and the move eastward -across the river began. It proved, however, unexpectedly -difficult. The promised Arab assistance was not forthcoming -in time, and early in May the British troops, except for a -bridge-head garrison, were again on the west side of Jordan. -Allenby for a time was compelled to hold his hand. The -grave situation in France made it necessary for him to -reorganize his forces, for all white troops that could be spared -were ordered to the Western front. In their place he received -cavalry and infantry from Mesopotamia and India.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>We come now to what must rank as one of the most -dramatic tales in the whole campaign—an exploit undertaken -at the precise moment when its chances were brightest and -its influence on the general strategy of the war most -vital—an exploit, moreover, which was perfectly planned, perfectly -executed, and overwhelming in its success. The little -campaign which began three years before on the banks of the -Suez Canal had grown slowly to a major operation. In face -of every difficulty the Allies had crept forward, first across -the Sinai Desert, then, after long delays, through the Turkish -defences of the south, and then in a bold sweep to the gates -of the Holy City.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This campaign had always been fought with only the -margin of strength which could be spared from the greater -contests in the West. But it had moved patiently to its -appointed end, for it was carried on in the true tradition of -those dogged earlier wars of Britain which had created her -Empire. Our feet might be stayed for a season, or even retire, -but in the long run they always moved forward. The Last -Crusade was now approaching its climax, and the Crusaders -were such as would have startled the souls of St. Louis and -Raymond and Richard of England, could they have beheld -that amazing army. For only a modest portion of it was -drawn from the Western peoples. Algerian and Indian -Moslems, Arab tribesmen, men of the thousand creeds of -Hindustan, African negroes, and Jewish battalions were among -the liberators of the sacred land of Christendom.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In September 1918 the Turkish armies of Syria held a -front from the coast north of Jaffa through the hills of Ephraim -to a point half-way between Nablus and Jerusalem, and thence -to the Jordan, and down its eastern bank to the Dead Sea. -On the right lay the VIIIth Turkish Army, in the centre -the VIIth, and east of Jordan the IVth. Far on their left -flank they were threatened by the Arabs under Sherif -Feisal and Colonel T. E. Lawrence. Allenby's plan was to -defeat the enemy west of Jordan, and so either to isolate or -compel the retreat of the IVth Army. The communications -of the Turkish centre and right wing were poor, and if their -front could be broken and our cavalry sent through, it was -possible that these might be cut. Allenby therefore thinned -his front elsewhere, and concentrated his main energies on -breaking up the VIIIth Army in the Plain of Sharon, and -thus opening the route for his cavalry.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At 4.30 on the morning of the 19th September British -cavalry attacked and won an immediate victory, sweeping -through the enemy's defences in the Plain of Sharon. The -VIIIth Army was in utter rout, pouring along the northern -roads, while the main body of our cavalry was riding for -Esdraelon to cut them off. That night the VIIth Turkish -Army was also pressed back in the centre. By noon that day -the leading troops of our cavalry were 18 miles north of their -old front line; that afternoon they were through the barrier -of the Samarian hills; and early next morning they reached -Nazareth, and all but captured the German commander-in-chief. -On the night of the 20th one cavalry division reached -Beisan, 80 miles from their starting point, and so shut the -last outlet from the south. In thirty-six hours the trap had -been closed. Every track and road was choked with the rout. -Camps and depots were in flames, and our airmen steadily -bombarded each section of the retreat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There now remained only the IVth Army, east of the -Jordan. Till the third day of the battle it had shown no signs -of moving, but on the morning of the 23rd it began a leisurely -retreat. Meantime the British had joined hands with Feisal's -Arabs, and pressed the fugitives along the Hedjaz railway. -The game was now wholly in Allenby's hands. His next step -was to move on Damascus, and so intercept what was left of -the IVth Army in its northward flight. On the afternoon -of the 25th, the 4th Cavalry Division moved out of Beisan -on its 120 miles' ride, and the Australian Mounted Division -followed next day by the northern route. On the 30th -British cavalry lay 12 miles south-west of Damascus, and all -the northern and north-western exits had been closed. At 6 -o'clock on the morning of the 1st October the British and -Arabs entered the city.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 61%" id="figure-254"> -<span id="palestine-the-decisive-battle"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="Palestine—the Decisive Battle." src="images/img-117.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">Palestine—the Decisive Battle.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was the twelfth day from the opening of the attack. -Three Turkish armies had melted away, over 60,000 prisoners -and between 300 and 400 guns were in Allenby's hands, and -the dash for Damascus had destroyed the faintest possibility -of an enemy stand. All that remained was a mob of 17,000 -Turks and Germans, fleeing north without discipline or purpose.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of the many brilliant episodes of those marvellous twelve -days, perhaps the most brilliant was the converging movement -of the British Desert Corps and Feisal's Arabs on the most -ancient of the world's cities. Damascus had been an -emporium when Tyre was young, and she was still a mighty city -centuries after Tyre had become a shadow. Rich in holy -places, she had one shrine of peculiar interest for this last -crusade. Within her walls lay the tomb of Saladin, the -greatest of those who fought in Palestine in the battle of Asia -against Europe. One of Feisal's first acts was to remove -the tawdry bronze wreath with which the German Emperor -in 1898 had seen fit to adorn the sleeping-place of the great -Sultan.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Allenby did not rest upon his laurels. On the 8th he was -in Beirut, on the 11th in Baalbek. The next and last stage -was Aleppo, that mart through which in the Middle Ages the -wealth of Asia flowed to Venice and the West. A cavalry -division went forward, and on the 26th October entered the -town. Patrols advanced 15 miles farther, and occupied Muslimie -railway junction. This last was a fitting conclusion to a great -exploit, for it meant the cutting of the Bagdad railway, -the line which was to link Berlin with the Persian Gulf and -threaten our Indian Empire. Four days later Turkey signed -the Armistice which was her surrender. Bulgaria had already -laid down her arms, Austria was on the eve of collapse, -and Germany was left without allies, and with her front -crumbling before Foch and Haig.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-silent-service"><span class="bold large">PART IV.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">THE SILENT SERVICE.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXI.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE SILENT SERVICE.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The British Navy earned during the war the title of "The -Silent Service," and the phrase needs a word of comment, -for it is full of meaning. There has always been a feeling -in the Service that sea-power is the one thing vitally necessary -to the safety of the Empire, and that so long as this is being -maintained the less talk about it the better; for where the -life of nations is daily and hourly in trust, all advertisement -is unworthy and all description inadequate. Then the Great -War came, and the landsmen, who form the bulk of our people -all over the world, naturally wished to know how the Sea -Service was handling the affair; but the rule of silence still -held. For the Navy, besides their old tradition, had now the -reason of policy on their side; operations at sea can be, -and must be, kept secret to a degree which is not possible -in a land campaign. To inform the public at home would -be to take the chance of being overheard by the enemy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Moreover the work of the Navy is so multifarious, so -technical, and so far-sighted in its aims, that by far the greater -part of it would always be difficult to grasp. The ordinary -news-reading citizen must be content to judge of it by its -results, and he is not always capable of doing even that. -Neither in this country, nor in the Dominions overseas, still -less in the outer world, has the supreme importance or the -decisive achievement of our naval Service been realized. -Yet to those who understand, the influence of sea-power on -history has never been so conclusively demonstrated. In this -war, as in the war of a hundred years before, it was from -first to last our ships that lay between a military despot and -the domination of the world.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To prove this it is only necessary to make a plain statement -of the tasks which the British Navy had to undertake -in August 1914, to mark the fact that a failure in any one -of them would have involved the ruin of the Allied cause; -and to remember that no such failure occurred. The gigantic -scope of the effort may then be seen; but even then only -by those whose vision is wide enough to survey the whole world -at once as one vast field of conflict.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>First, then, our Fleet undertook to blockade the enemy; -to drive his commerce from the seas; to stop his sea-borne -supplies, especially foodstuffs, cotton—the raw material of -explosives—and munitions of all kinds; also to disable his -credit by the stoppage of his export trade.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Secondly, the protection of our own commerce necessitated -the control of all the seas of the world. The Atlantic was our -main avenue of supply, but we had also to maintain and guard -the routes to and from Australia, New Zealand, India, and -China; and a Northern Patrol was necessary to ensure the -passage from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the north of -Russia.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thirdly, the enemy's main naval force had to be put out -of action: that is to say, the North Sea must be effectively -controlled by a Grand Fleet capable of dealing with the -German High Sea Fleet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Fourthly, the transfer of enemy troops across the sea -must be made impossible; and, in particular, strong flotillas -and secondary fleets must be maintained on our own coasts -as a guard against possible attempts at invasion.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 61%" id="figure-255"> -<span id="admiral-sir-john-jellicoe"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="ADMIRAL SIR JOHN JELLICOE (VISCOUNT JELLICOE OF SCAPA)." src="images/img-123.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">ADMIRAL SIR JOHN JELLICOE -<br />(VISCOUNT JELLICOE OF SCAPA).</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>Fifthly, the transport of our own troops and of those of -our Allies must be covered from attack. Under this head -alone there were included before the end a number of -simultaneous operations entirely beyond example in the history -of war. An army of some six millions was passed oversea -from the British Isles, from India, from Australia, and New -Zealand (and at last more millions from America) to France, -to India, to Africa (East and West), to Egypt and Palestine, -to Gallipoli and Salonika.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sixthly, the supplies to all these forces, and to most of -them simultaneously, had to be maintained for more than four -full years and on a scale hitherto unimagined.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Seventhly, in several campaigns the Navy had to co-operate -in the military operations, notably in Gallipoli, in -battles near the Belgian coast, and in the attack on the -fortified harbour of Zeebrugge.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>These seven heads cover every recognized department -of naval war; but it must be added that when this latest war -changed its character and became an unrestricted submarine -campaign, new developments were necessary and were -immediately carried out. Under the second and third of the -above headings, an entirely new fleet of mine-sweepers, trawlers, -and anti-submarine patrols had to be provided, manned, and -equipped, to secure the safety both of our ships of war and -of our mercantile marine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It will be seen that these tasks, taken altogether, formed -a work of which only one Power in the world was capable; -while taken separately they appear plainly as seven threads -upon every one of which the fate of the common cause -depended absolutely. The effort of the Allies in this war was -distinguished first by the early heroism of the Belgian, Serbian, -and Russian troops; then by the long and desperate endurance -of the French, British, and Italian armies; finally, it was -reinforced by the large contingent of late-comers from America, -and carried to victory by the supreme genius of Foch. But -behind and beneath all these lay another force, scarcely thought -of at the time, and since almost forgotten, though to it they -all owed the very possibility of their military existence. -During those four years the British Fleet never ceased to -carry great armies over sea; to sweep every ocean clean, and -guard the territories along their shores; to shut up the hostile -Empire within an impassable barrier. In a word, it retained -every day and every night, from the first hour of the war -to the last, that control which was the most vital condition -of success.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In so doing it suffered some losses and achieved stirring -successes, of which one or two are related in the pages -which follow. But it must always be remembered that these -are but incidents; the business of the British Navy is the -right use of the sea, and not conquest or display. For it, -therefore, victory is not the affair of a day here or a day -there, however rousing to the blood: it lies rather in what -is neither spectacular nor resounding—in the monotonous -but manifold perfection of an indispensable service.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="coronel"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXII.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">CORONEL.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The battle of Coronel will always have a peculiar interest -for us: there is a mystery about it which can never be finally -cleared up. At the outbreak of war a British admiral, Sir -Christopher Cradock, was in charge of a large and important -area off the coast of South America. It was his business to -keep this area clear of the enemy squadron under Admiral -Graf von Spee, which was much stronger than his own, but -was believed to be scattered on the trade routes. In the end -Cradock found the enemy squadron united and in much -superior force. He instantly attacked, and went down in -the action, with two of his ships.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The problem is to ascertain what were his motives for this -swift decision to fight against overwhelming odds. Not a -man in the flagship survived, and we must do the best with -what evidence we have before us. We know the admiral's -general idea of the work he had to do; we know what his -instructions were, what force he asked for and what was -given him; we know the speed and gun-power of the enemy -ships, and what he as an experienced commander must have -thought of them. Finally, we know the nature of the choice -which was open to him; and in face of all this the mystery -remains.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The key to it probably lies in the character of the man -who had to make the decision; and from this point of view -the story is a fine one. While every one is free to form an -opinion on the facts, the judgment of those who knew Cradock -best is the simplest and the most favourable one. A certain -margin of discretion must be allowed to every admiral in -time of war; and at the moment of crisis a man of powerful -character and vision may go even further, and take the -great responsibility of departing from the line of strict -obedience to orders. To Cradock's friends it seems clear -that he saw himself and his squadron as representing the -prestige of his country in combat with a superior force which -might be disabled, if it could not be destroyed; he saw that -duty might be fulfilled, and honour and success attained, -though victory should be impossible. So he hunted his great -enemy both skilfully and fearlessly, but relied at a pinch -rather on courage than on caution.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>From the outbreak of war the German China Squadron, -as we now know, was never wholly dispersed: Spee detached -ships from time to time to the coast of South America, but -remained himself with the strongest part of his force in the -Pacific, where he was heard of only at intervals. He might -possibly be intending to go westwards and raid the Indian -Ocean, as the </span><em class="italics">Emden</em><span> actually did. He moved, in fact, on -Samoa, but when he arrived there on September 14, 1914, -he found Apia already safe in the hands of the New Zealanders, -and not a ship in the harbour. He left again for Suvarov -Island, coaled in the Society Islands, bombarded the French -capital Papieté on the 22nd September, and appeared to be -making for South America; he might be thinking of a dash -through the Magellan Straits to attack our trade on the -eastern coast.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The British Admiralty knew the danger of this. Spee's -two principal ships—the </span><em class="italics">Scharnhorst</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Gneisenau</em><span>—were -fast ships and well armed, with prize gunnery crews. To -hunt them satisfactorily a pair of battle-cruisers were required, -and these could not well be spared from the Grand Fleet. The -</span><em class="italics">Indefatigable</em><span> was therefore ordered out from the Mediterranean, -with the fast cruiser </span><em class="italics">Defence</em><span>; but the Cabinet refused to -spare the </span><em class="italics">Indefatigable</em><span>, and the </span><em class="italics">Canopus</em><span>, an old and slow -battleship, with 12-inch guns, was sent, with the </span><em class="italics">Defence</em><span> to follow. -Admiral Cradock was ordered to concentrate meanwhile at the -Falkland Islands, with his flagship, the </span><em class="italics">Good Hope</em><span>, the cruisers -</span><em class="italics">Monmouth</em><span> and </span><em class="italics">Glasgow</em><span>, and some ships of inferior armament.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">Canopus</em><span> was a whole week late in arriving. Cradock -was most anxious to prevent Spee from coming round the Horn -to raid the east coast, and he feared that if he kept the old -12-knot battleship with him he might be too late to bar the -enemy's passage. In this crisis he took his first great risk: -he sent the </span><em class="italics">Canopus</em><span> by the shorter way, through Magellan's -Straits, and took the weaker ships boldly round the Horn. -Spee, however, was not in the south; he had spent six days -in concentrating at Easter Island, and was at this moment -making for the island of Mas-a-Fuera, 500 miles west of Valparaiso.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cradock now had the </span><em class="italics">Canopus</em><span> with him again. His instructions -were that he was not expected to act without her; -but her slow speed continued to hamper him in carrying out -his definite orders to search for the enemy and destroy them. -He accordingly ordered the </span><em class="italics">Defence</em><span> to join him from the east -coast, where she had been sent by the Admiralty, and went -north in the meantime to find the cruiser </span><em class="italics">Leipzig</em><span>, which was -believed to be in front of him, operating alone. Unfortunately -the </span><em class="italics">Canopus</em><span> was once more in need of repairs, and had -to be left behind for twenty-four hours.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 59%" id="figure-256"> -<span id="battle-of-coronel"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="Battle of Coronel." src="images/img-129.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">Battle of Coronel.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>The two squadrons, British and German, were now, without -knowing it, in the act of converging upon one another. -Each admiral believed himself to be in pursuit of a single -ship, for, while Cradock was after the </span><em class="italics">Leipzig</em><span>, Spee was in chase -of the </span><em class="italics">Glasgow</em><span> (Captain Luce), who had been sent on to Coronel -on the west coast with a message. The force of the opponents -was as follows: Admiral von Spee had two powerful ships, -the </span><em class="italics">Scharnhorst</em><span> (flagship) and the </span><em class="italics">Gneisenau</em><span>, each of 11,420 -tons, armed with eight 8-inch and six 6-inch guns; and their -gunners were of high repute. His other ships, the </span><em class="italics">Leipzig</em><span>, -</span><em class="italics">Dresden</em><span>, and </span><em class="italics">Nürnberg</em><span>, were light cruisers, each carrying ten -4-inch guns. Against these Cradock had the </span><em class="italics">Good Hope</em><span>, a -twelve-year-old cruiser of 14,000 tons, armed with two -9.2-inch guns; the cruiser </span><em class="italics">Monmouth</em><span>, with 6-inch guns only; -the </span><em class="italics">Glasgow</em><span>, a light fast cruiser, with two 6-inch and ten 4-inch -guns, and the auxiliary cruiser </span><em class="italics">Otranto</em><span>, which was not -sufficiently armed to take part in an action. He knew, as well -as any one living, what was the meaning of these figures, -and he must have been hoping that the </span><em class="italics">Canopus</em><span>, with her -12-inch guns, would rejoin him before he met his enemy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">Glasgow</em><span> despatched her message from Coronel, and at -2.30 p.m. on the 1st November she rejoined her squadron. -Cradock was still steaming north when, at 4.40, she sighted -and reported to him the </span><em class="italics">Scharnhorst</em><span>, </span><em class="italics">Gneisenau</em><span>, and </span><em class="italics">Leipzig</em><span>, -visible to the east. He had found the ship he was chasing, -but he had found her in company with her powerful consorts; -and the </span><em class="italics">Dresden</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Nürnberg</em><span> were, in fact, also -present, though they were not yet in sight.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Cradock had but a few minutes in which to make his -decision. Was he to fight or run? Even the three enemy -ships which were in sight were more than a match for his -own. His two big guns might make a few lucky hits, but -they could not keep down the fire of eight times their number, -laid by prize gunners with the choice of range and position. -To fight was highly dangerous; yet the alternative evidently -looked to him still less attractive. The enemy was nearly -due east; the </span><em class="italics">Canopus</em><span> was coming up slowly from the south, -250 miles away; if he were to turn and run he might be able -to join her in nine hours or even in eight. But Spee had -the position of advantage inshore; he would be racing down -the shorter side of the triangle, and with his 23 knots could -overtake the </span><em class="italics">Monmouth</em><span> for certain, and possibly cut in -between the others and the </span><em class="italics">Canopus</em><span>. During the chase he -would have a fighting light for three hours, and after that -a moonlight equally to his advantage.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>We cannot tell whether Cradock weighed these considerations -anxiously, or whether he instinctively felt that the -tradition of the Navy would be more injured by his flight -than by his own defeat and death. He does not seem to -have hesitated. At 5.10 p.m. he signalled to his squadron -to concentrate on the </span><em class="italics">Glasgow</em><span>—the ship nearest the enemy—and -attempted to cross Spee's line so as to gain the inshore -position. The German admiral, however, kept away successfully, -and at 6.18 Cradock made a wireless signal to the -</span><em class="italics">Canopus</em><span>, giving his position, and adding, "I am going to -attack enemy now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At 7 o'clock the sun set, and Spee, having now every -advantage of light, opened fire at 12,000 yards. The </span><em class="italics">Good Hope</em><span> -in reply made a hit or two, but her forward 9.2 gun was soon -knocked out, and the ship set on fire. The </span><em class="italics">Monmouth</em><span> was -also burning within three minutes. The </span><em class="italics">Glasgow</em><span> was engaged -by both the </span><em class="italics">Leipzig</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Dresden</em><span>, but was saved by the -German smoke which drifted towards her. With the sunset -glow behind them, our ships were a fair target, while the -British gunners could no longer see anything but the flash -of the enemy's guns. Both the </span><em class="italics">Good Hope</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Monmouth</em><span> -were continually on fire, and at 7.45 the flagship blew up with -an explosion which sent up flames 200 feet high. By 8 -o'clock the </span><em class="italics">Monmouth</em><span> too was silenced and sinking in the -heavy seas; as the moon rose the German ships could just be -seen closing on her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Captain Luce, left alone with the </span><em class="italics">Glasgow</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Otranto</em><span>, -had now to face the most painful duty of his life. His ship -had been hit by only five shells out of the six hundred aimed -at her, and he was in a position to make use of her superior -speed by going to warn the </span><em class="italics">Canopus</em><span> of the danger towards -which she was heading. He steered north-west into the -darkness, intending to turn south as soon as he was out of -sight. The </span><em class="italics">Monmouth's</em><span> men were all crowded on her -quarterdeck, and they cheered the </span><em class="italics">Glasgow</em><span> as they saw her going -away—a cheer that should never be forgotten when the tale is -told. At 9.20 firing was heard again, and from the </span><em class="italics">Glasgow</em><span> -seventy-five flashes were counted—"No doubt," says Captain -Luce, "the final attack on the </span><em class="italics">Monmouth</em><span>." She went down, -like the </span><em class="italics">Good Hope</em><span>, with all hands.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So ended Cradock's forlorn hope, and the mystery of it -will remain with us. One thing is certain, that whatever -was the motive for his decision, it could not have been a -discreditable one—a man does not fling away his command, -his professional chances, and his own life out of sheer -recklessness. We may safely infer, then, that Cradock was -attempting the best that was possible for his country at the -hazard of everything that he valued most. For this he took -the final responsibility of disobeying his orders; and for this -he paid the full price. It is difficult to think him wrong, -and not difficult to hold him justified. He gave something -to the enemy, but far more to his own Service. When -darkness fell on Coronel, Spee's triumph had but thirty-seven -days to run. The tradition of Cradock's unflinching devotion -will last as long as the British Navy; and it is by such -traditions that sea power is built and sustained. Naval -supremacy will never be won or kept by the consistent -refusal of unequal fights.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-falklands"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXIII.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE FALKLANDS.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>News of Coronel was received by the Admiralty on the 4th -November; it was given to the public unofficially on the 5th -and officially on the 17th. By that time the counterstroke -had been not only prepared, but launched. Speed and -secrecy were an urgent necessity, for the Falkland Islands, -a valuable coaling-station with a wireless installation and a -fine double harbour, were certain to be in danger from the -victorious enemy. The population numbered only 2,000, -mostly Scottish shepherds, and the inhabitants of the capital, -Port Stanley, proposed to abandon the town and take refuge -on the moors. But on the 8th November the </span><em class="italics">Canopus</em><span> and -the </span><em class="italics">Glasgow</em><span> ran in on their way north, and on the 12th the -</span><em class="italics">Canopus</em><span> returned with orders to remain and defend the -coaling-station. Captain Grant grounded his ship on the -harbour mud, disguised her by dazzle-painting, and made her -into a fort. The work took three weeks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the meantime the new Board of Admiralty were taking -action on the plan originally proposed by their predecessors. -The Grand Fleet had now been reinforced, and could spare -the battle-cruisers </span><em class="italics">Invincible</em><span> and </span><em class="italics">Inflexible</em><span>. These two ships -came round to Devonport on the 8th November for repairs. -On the 9th Admiral Sturdee was appointed Commander-in-Chief -in the South Atlantic and Pacific—from Pernambuco to -China. The service in hand demanded perfect secrecy and -perfect efficiency: a sudden and irresistible counterstroke -was to be delivered, and the two principal ships were to be -returned immediately with unimpaired fighting value. It -was a mission offering unique powers and responsibilities.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The admiral had all the qualities necessary for success -and one gift more—that of complete and invariable good -fortune. He was to concentrate either off the Panama -Canal or the islets known as the Abrolhos Rocks far down -towards Rio, according as he could best guess at Spee's -intentions. He guessed right, and chose the latter rendezvous, -where, on the 26th, he met Admiral Stoddart with the -</span><em class="italics">Carnarvon</em><span>, </span><em class="italics">Cornwall</em><span>, </span><em class="italics">Defence</em><span>, </span><em class="italics">Kent</em><span>, </span><em class="italics">Bristol</em><span>, and </span><em class="italics">Orama</em><span>.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 57%" id="figure-257"> -<span id="battle-of-the-falkland-islandsfirst-phase"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="Battle of the Falkland Islands—December 8. First Phase—8 a.m." src="images/img-134.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">Battle of the Falkland Islands—December 8. -<br />First Phase—8 a.m.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the same day, as it happened, Spee was moving south -from St. Quentin Bay for an attack upon the Falklands, and -Sturdee was receiving final orders to base himself upon the -Falklands and search for Spee round the Horn. The meeting -was therefore certain; but the fate of Port Stanley -depended on the race between the two opposing squadrons. -Fortune again favoured Sturdee: he was delayed at first -by false reports, but Spee lost four full days in capturing -and plundering a British collier. When he appeared off the -Falklands in the early morning of the 8th December, Sturdee -had already been nearly eighteen hours in harbour, and his -ships had been busily coaling all night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When Spee was sighted from Port Stanley his arrival was -a surprise to the British squadron. The battle-cruisers had -not yet received their full supply of coal. But their oil supply -was untouched, and by the admiral's foresight steam had been -ordered at half an hour's notice for the </span><em class="italics">Kent</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Inflexible</em><span>, -and at two hours' for the rest. The signal to prepare -to weigh and to raise steam was made at 8.14 a.m. The -</span><em class="italics">Gneisenau</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Nürnberg</em><span>, after sheering off at a couple of -salvos from the </span><em class="italics">Canopus</em><span>, came on again at 9.30 to attack the -</span><em class="italics">Kent</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Glasgow</em><span>, who were already on guard outside the -harbour. The German ships were immediately recalled—their -admiral may not have known yet that the battle-cruisers -were there; but the report he received convinced him that he -was in the presence of a superior force, and must therefore avoid -action if possible, in accordance with German naval orders or -tradition. He was a brave and chivalrous commander, and it -was his misfortune that he was not at liberty to stand in to -the harbour mouth and fight his enemy at close range while -the squadron was coming out ship by ship. His own armour -was superior to that of the battle-cruisers, and his guns were -effective up to 13,000 yards; he could not have avoided -destruction, but he could certainly have inflicted serious -damage.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Instead of acting thus, he signalled to raise steam and -steer east with all speed. The battle-cruisers were now out -of harbour, and visible to him; the </span><em class="italics">Glasgow</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Kent</em><span> -were ahead, keeping touch, and Admiral Sturdee made the -signal for "General Chase." The five German ships were hull -down on the horizon, but the sky was clear; there was a light -breeze and a calm sea; visibility was at its maximum: a -combination fatal for the pursued. More fatal still was the -character of the pursuer: a scientific seaman and tactician, -a commander spirited and self-confident, cool and decisive. -There would be difficulties from wind and smoke, and from -the differences in the speed of his ships; but Admiral Sturdee -had his chance before him, complete though not perfect, and -he would grasp it with no uncertain hand.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 57%" id="figure-258"> -<span id="battle-of-the-falkland-islandssecond-phase"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="Battle of the Falkland Islands—December 8. Second Phase—11 a.m." src="images/img-136.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">Battle of the Falkland Islands—December 8. -<br />Second Phase—11 a.m.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>He began by taking the battle-cruisers ahead at 26-½ -knots; then slowed down, cleared for action, and piped the -men to dinner at 11.30 as usual; changing course at the same -time to converge upon the enemy. At 12.20 he increased to -25 knots, and opened fire on the </span><em class="italics">Leipzig</em><span>, now within 15,000 -yards. She was soon on fire, and at 1.20 turned away -south-west with the </span><em class="italics">Nürnberg</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Dresden</em><span>. Admiral von Spee -was dividing his squadron, in hope of saving some part of it. -But Admiral Sturdee had foreseen this move. Without any -fresh signal, the </span><em class="italics">Glasgow</em><span>, the </span><em class="italics">Kent</em><span>, and the </span><em class="italics">Cornwall</em><span> at once -followed the light cruisers; Captain Luce was to have the -honour of a separate action to himself, while the -battle-cruisers and the </span><em class="italics">Carnarvon</em><span> held on after Spee.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The main action began with an experimental stage; the -German ships concentrated their fire on the </span><em class="italics">Invincible</em><span>, but -could not reach her. On the other hand, her smoke was -smothering the </span><em class="italics">Inflexible</em><span>. At 2.5 Sturdee began to close, and -Spee, covered by his own smoke, turned to starboard, and -went off at full speed after his light cruisers. By 2.45 he was -again overtaken. He then turned to port, and reduced the -range; he had decided that the time was come to do what -damage he could before the inevitable end.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He opened fire with every gun he had; but here, as in -the fight of the </span><em class="italics">Sydney</em><span> against the </span><em class="italics">Emden</em><span>, and afterwards at -Jutland, the German gunners, though highly trained, could -not long keep their accuracy under British fire. The duel was -practically decided in the first ten minutes: the </span><em class="italics">Gneisenau</em><span> -was badly hit by the </span><em class="italics">Inflexible</em><span>, the </span><em class="italics">Scharnhorst</em><span> was set on -fire and lost a funnel; both were staggering and smoking -desperately. Sturdee seized his advantage, turned eighteen -points, and crossed their wake; under his raking fire the -</span><em class="italics">Gneisenau</em><span> listed till her 6-inch guns could no longer fire, the -</span><em class="italics">Scharnhorst</em><span> lost all her funnels and all her port guns. Spee -turned gallantly to bring his fresh broadside to bear, but at -4.0 his flagship ceased fire suddenly, and lay down on her -beam ends; soon she heeled over, her stern rose steeply, and -she went down head foremost. Admiral Sturdee's chivalrous -dispatch records that Admiral von Spee's flag was flying to -the last.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>None of the sinking crew could be saved, for the </span><em class="italics">Gneisenau</em><span> -was still fighting. The three British ships concentrated on her -from three sides; at 5.8 her forward funnel fell, and her fire -slackened; at 5.15 she hit the </span><em class="italics">Invincible</em><span> with a single shell; -at 5.30 she turned round and stopped dead. At 5.40 she -ceased firing, and hauled down one of her two flags; at 5.50, -while her three enemies were rushing in at 20 knots to save -life, she lay down on her beam ends very suddenly and -plunged. Of her complement of 800, some 200 were still -alive, and nearly all of these were rescued: 166 recovered; -14 who died of exhaustion were buried next day with full -military honours.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sturdee's next thought was for Captain Luce and his -ships. He gave them his own news by wireless, and asked -for theirs. The </span><em class="italics">Glasgow</em><span> replied that she and the </span><em class="italics">Cornwall</em><span> -were over 70 miles to the south, and the </span><em class="italics">Kent</em><span> out of sight -and hearing of them. It seemed not impossible that the -</span><em class="italics">Nürnberg</em><span> had disposed of her by throwing mines overboard -during the chase. But this was not so; Sturdee's good fortune -was not to be broken. The </span><em class="italics">Dresden</em><span>, it is true, evaded him, -but only because her superior speed and 12 miles' start enabled -her to abandon her squadron when she pleased. The other -two light cruisers fought gallantly, but failed to escape -destruction. In their flight they separated, and the two defeats -must be separately described.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the </span><em class="italics">Dresden</em><span> decided to run out of action at 27 knots, -after the first turn away, Captain Luce wasted no time in -chasing her, but laid himself alongside of the </span><em class="italics">Leipzig</em><span>, the rear -ship, in hope of tempting her consorts to fall back to her -support. His manoeuvre was to close her repeatedly, engaging -with his forward 6-inch gun, and forcing her to turn her -broadside to reply. Each time she did so, the </span><em class="italics">Kent</em><span> and the -</span><em class="italics">Cornwall</em><span> drew nearer, till at 3.36 they could attack the -</span><em class="italics">Nürnberg</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Leipzig</em><span> respectively. The </span><em class="italics">Dresden</em><span> refused to -turn back: she disappeared into the mist, not to be seen -again till March 1915, when she surrendered and blew up -after a five minutes' action with the </span><em class="italics">Kent</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Glasgow</em><span>, -who had caught her at anchor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">Nürnberg</em><span> now turned away east, pursued by the </span><em class="italics">Kent</em><span>; -the </span><em class="italics">Cornwall</em><span> began to hit the </span><em class="italics">Leipzig</em><span>, who was already -engaged with the Glasgow. Captain Luce, having here the -superior speed, turned right round and passed under his enemy's -stern, raking her with his fresh broadside; then circled round -the </span><em class="italics">Cornwall</em><span>, and came again into action ahead of her. At -6.0, after nearly two hours of such tactics, he gave the order -to close; at 6.35 he received the admiral's wireless message of -victory; at 7.17 he saw his own opponent silenced and burning -furiously. He waited half an hour for her surrender, and -then opened fire again. At that she burned green lights, and -he at once lowered his boats. Five officers and thirteen men -had been rescued, when the blazing </span><em class="italics">Leipzig</em><span> turned over to -port and sank.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 63%" id="figure-259"> -<span id="battle-of-the-falkland-islandslast-phase"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="Battle of the Falkland Islands—December 8. Last Phase." src="images/img-139.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">Battle of the Falkland Islands—December 8. -<br />Last Phase.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">Kent's</em><span> success was of a different kind. Normally she -had but 23-½ knots of speed to the </span><em class="italics">Nürnberg's</em><span> 25; but her -engine-room department by consummate skill and energy -forced their lame duck to a speed which at the end of nearly -four hours brought her within 12,000 yards of her enemy. -Both ships opened fire, the </span><em class="italics">Kent</em><span> receiving one hit and making -two. The </span><em class="italics">Nürnberg</em><span> then burst two of her boilers, and dropped -to 19 knots, turned eight points to port, and engaged with -her broadside. Captain Allen accepted the challenge, ran on, -and placed the </span><em class="italics">Kent</em><span> before her beam at 6,000 yards. By 6.10 -he had her burning and almost silenced; he ran on again, -and raked her at 3,500 yards, destroying all her guns forward. -At 6.30 she was silent and motionless. A few more shots, -and she hauled down her flag. Captain Allen hastily repaired -and lowered two of his damaged boats; but before they -could reach her the </span><em class="italics">Nürnberg</em><span> turned over and sank. Twelve -of her men were found, but only seven survived.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Commander Wharton of the </span><em class="italics">Kent</em><span> has memorably described -the final scene. "It was strange and weird, all this -aftermath, the wind rapidly arising from the westward, darkness -closing in, one ship heaving to the swell, well battered, -the foretop-gallant mast gone. Of the other, nothing to be -seen but floating wreckage, with here and there a man clinging, -and the 'molly hawks' (vultures of the sea) swooping -by. The wind moaned, and death was in the air. Then -see! Out of the mist loomed a great four-masted barque -under full canvas. A great ghost-ship she seemed. Slowly, -majestically, she sailed by, and vanished in the night." The -battle-cruisers' fight had been visited, earlier in the day, by -the same ghost-ship; manned, it might easily be imagined, -by phantom seamen of the Nelsonian age.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Not since that age, and seldom even then, had so impressive -a victory been won at sea: it was not a defeat of the -enemy, it was his annihilation. Admiral Sturdee had seized -all his opportunities, surmounted all his difficulties, and -attained all his objects; he was even able to return his most -valuable ships to the Grand Fleet practically intact and in -the shortest possible time. It may be added that in a fine -dispatch he showed once more how a British admiral writes of -his enemy's fate and of his own achievement.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="mystery-ships"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXIV.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">MYSTERY SHIPS.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It was towards the end of 1914 that the German Admiralty -conceived the idea of blockading the British Isles by means -of a submarine fleet. The enterprise was a difficult one; -for the pursuit and capture of commerce a submarine is -very ill fitted. A frail boat with a small crew cannot afford -to hold up and examine a ship on the surface; still less to -put a prize crew on board and send the captured vessel into -port. It was therefore decided that to carry out the -blockade merchant ships must be sunk without examination and -without warning. If crews, passengers, or even neutrals -perished in this process, the "blame," says Admiral Scheer, -"would attach to those who despised our warnings." No -civilized power had ever before threatened to kill non-combatants -on logical principles of this kind, and as soon as it -was seen that the German Admiralty were attempting to -carry out their murderous intentions it became necessary to -devise means of destroying their U-boats wherever they could -be found.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were accordingly hunted by destroyers, by trawlers, -by submarines, and by airships and seaplanes; they were -destroyed by gun fire, by mines, by nets, by torpedoes, and -by depth charges, and all these were used with the greatest -skill and success. Of all the hunting methods, perhaps the -most attractive to the English sporting instinct was that -of the Mystery Ships, or Q-boats. This was at first merely -the use of a simple trap, but was developed by the genius of -a single man into an entirely novel campaign of the most -heroic kind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Special Service ship or Q-boat of 1915 was a tramp -or collier with a concealed armament for the decoying and -destruction of submarines. The first success was achieved -on July 25, 1915, when one of them, the </span><em class="italics">Prince Charles</em><span> -(Lieutenant W. P. Mark-Wardlaw), was pursued and shelled -by U36, near North Rona Island. Her crew abandoned -ship, leaving their gunners concealed on board. The U-boat -thereupon closed; but when she was within five hundred -yards of her apparently helpless prey, the British guns were -suddenly unmasked, and the submarine sank under their -fire, leaving fifteen of her crew to be rescued by the victors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was about this same time that a young lieutenant-commander -named Gordon Campbell put to sea in charge of the -Special Service ship </span><em class="italics">Farnborough</em><span>, formerly a collier, and now -manned from the Mercantile Marine and Royal Naval Reserve. -For six months the cruise was unsuccessful, but in the spring -of 1916 the </span><em class="italics">Farnborough's</em><span> look-out at last sighted a U-boat, -which, after firing a torpedo at her, broke surface within -1,000 yards, and summoned the supposed tramp with a shot -across her bows. Lieutenant-Commander Campbell, who had -trained his crew to a perfect knowledge of the game they -had to play, stopped the ship, blew off steam ostentatiously, -and ordered a "panic abandon ship." The U-boat came -nearer, and reopened fire. Lieutenant-Commander Campbell, -who was still concealed aboard his ship, then hoisted the -white ensign and unmasked his guns. With twenty-one -shots from her 12-pounders the </span><em class="italics">Farnborough</em><span> drove the U-boat -under water, then steamed full speed towards her with depth -charges, and when she reappeared mortally wounded, sent -her to the bottom with five more rounds at point-blank range.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Three weeks afterwards the </span><em class="italics">Farnborough</em><span> had the good -fortune to be attacked by another U-boat, with whom she -fought a surface action at a range of nearly 1,000 yards, -disabling her at the second shot, and finally blowing her up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Germans quickly perceived the deadliness of this -new method, which made every attack on a merchant vessel -a possible disaster for the U-boat, and their press was -instructed to complain of the unscrupulousness of an enemy -who used disguised ships and took the attacker by surprise. -Commanders of U-boats were instructed to use greater -caution in approaching their victims, and it soon became -evident to Commander Campbell that they would no longer -venture to come near a live ship. He determined to tempt -them with a wounded one.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When his new ship, Q5, was attacked by a U-boat early -in 1917, he manoeuvred intentionally to get her torpedoed. -The crew then abandoned ship as before, while Commander -Campbell and his gunners lay hidden in the water-logged -vessel, watching until the timid enemy should venture to the -surface to finish her off. It took the U-boat twenty minutes -to make up her mind. She then came up within 300 yards, -and approached to fire a second torpedo, with her captain -visible on his conning-tower. The first shot fired from Q5 -took off his head, and the boat was then completely shattered; -one officer and one man were picked up alive. Q5, with water -in her engine-room, boiler-rooms, and holds, then signalled for -help, and was taken in tow by Lieutenant-Commander -W. W. Hallwright of the </span><em class="italics">Laburnum</em><span>, with the assistance of the -</span><em class="italics">Narwhal</em><span>, the </span><em class="italics">Buttercup</em><span>, and the trawler </span><em class="italics">Luneta</em><span>; after a night of -heroic exertions and great danger she was brought safely into -port. Commander Campbell received the Victoria Cross. Of -his officers and crew he wrote: "They may almost be said -to have passed through the supreme test of discipline. The -chief engineer and the engine-room watch remained at their -posts and kept the dynamos going until driven out by water. -They then had to hide on top of the engine-room. The guns' -crews had to remain concealed in their gun-houses for nearly -half an hour, where we could feel the ship going down by the -stern. At that time it appeared touch and go whether the -ship would sink before we sank the enemy."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Four months afterwards Campbell and his men were out -again, in the Special Service ship </span><em class="italics">Pargust</em><span>, and were again -successful in being torpedoed. This time the U-boat, after -some hesitation, came within 50 yards, and was so much -injured by the </span><em class="italics">Pargust's</em><span> fire as to be incapable of submerging. -Her crew made tokens of surrender, but when Commander -Campbell ceased fire, attempted to make away upon the -surface. The </span><em class="italics">Pargust</em><span>, of course, could not follow, but by a -lucky shot she exploded a torpedo aboard the U-boat and -destroyed her, saving only two of her crew. She was then -herself towed into port by the </span><em class="italics">Crocus</em><span>. This time the Victoria -Cross was given to Lieutenant R. N. Stuart, D.S.O., R.N.R., -and to Seaman William Williams, D.S.M., R.N.R., to be -worn on behalf of the whole ship's company.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Captain Campbell's next command was the Special -Service ship </span><em class="italics">Dunraven</em><span>, disguised as an armed British merchant -vessel. She was zigzagging at eight knots in rough water, -when a U-boat opened fire upon her at 5,000 yards. Captain -Campbell ran up the white ensign, and returned the fire -with a 2-½-pounder, intentionally firing short, and making -terrified signals for the U-boat's benefit. Then, as the shells -fell closer, he let off a cloud of steam to indicate boiler trouble, -and ordered a "panic abandon ship." The Germans now -became more confident, and began to make hits; one shell -exploded a depth charge on the </span><em class="italics">Dunraven's</em><span> poop, and blew -Lieutenant Charles Bonner, D.S.C., R.N.R., out of his control -station. The U-boat then ceased fire, and came past within -500 yards; but she was partly hidden by the smoke from -the </span><em class="italics">Dunraven's</em><span> burning poop, and though Captain Campbell -knew that his magazine and depth charges must explode -sooner or later, he decided to trust his men and wait until -the enemy gave him a better chance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The U-boat kept him waiting just too long. She was -passing the </span><em class="italics">Dunraven's</em><span> stern, when the poop blew up, hurling -the 4-inch gun and the gun's crew into the air, and starting -the "open fire" buzzers at the guns. The U-boat was hit, -but not fatally, and at once submerged. Captain Campbell -hastily collected his wounded, turned hoses on to the burning -poop, where the magazine was still intact, and signalled to -an approaching warship to keep away and deflect traffic, -as his action was not yet ended. The second stage was begun -by the enemy torpedoing the </span><em class="italics">Dunraven</em><span> abaft the engine-room. -Captain Campbell at once ordered a "Q abandon -ship"—that is, he left his guns visible and pretended that -the concealed gunners were now leaving after being -detected. The ship continued to burn, and the submarine -circled cautiously round, shelling her for forty minutes, -then submerged again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Captain Campbell had still two torpedoes left, and both -of these he fired at the submarine. One just missed her -head, and the other passed two feet abaft her periscope. He -had now lost his last chance of a kill, and signalled urgently -for assistance, preparing at the same time for a last fight -with a single gun. The American vessel </span><em class="italics">Noma</em><span> came up -immediately, followed by the </span><em class="italics">Attack</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Christopher</em><span>. -The U-boat was driven off, the fire extinguished, and the -ship taken in tow by the </span><em class="italics">Christopher</em><span>. During the night it -was found necessary to take off her crew and her wounded, -and the </span><em class="italics">Dunraven</em><span> was sunk at last by a British gunshot.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In reporting this action Captain Campbell brought specially -to notice the extreme bravery of Lieutenant Bonner, -who received the Victoria Cross, and the 4-inch gun's crew, -to whom the same honour was given. "Lieutenant Bonner, -having been blown out of his control by the first explosion, -crawled into the gun hatch with the crew. They there -remained at their posts with a fire raging in the poop below, -and the deck getting red hot. One man tore up his shirt -to give pieces to the gun's crew to stop the fumes getting -into their throats; others lifted the boxes of cordite off the -deck to keep it from exploding; and all the time they knew -that they must be blown up, as the secondary supply and -magazine was immediately below. They told me afterwards -that communication with the main control was cut off, and -although they knew they would be blown up, they also knew -that they would spoil the show if they moved, so they -remained until actually blown up with their gun. Then -when, as wounded men, they were ordered to remain quiet -in various places during the second action, they had to lie -there unattended and bleeding, with explosions continually -going an aboard, and splinters from the enemy's shell-fire -penetrating their quarters. Lieutenant Bonner, himself -wounded, did what he could for two who were with him in -the wardroom. When I visited them after the action they -thought little of their wounds, but only expressed their -disgust that the enemy had not been sunk. Surely such bravery -is hard to equal."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It may be added that such bravery is still harder to -defeat. The discipline and devotion which the genius of this -commander had imparted to his ship's company, when -added to the long-descended seamanship and enterprise of -our Service, proved too much for the unscrupulous courage -and mechanical skill of the enemy. It cannot be doubted that -in any imaginable war at sea the same qualities would produce -the same result; for the mystery, after all, lay rather in the -men than in the ships.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="jutland"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXV.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">JUTLAND.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>On May 30, 1916, the Grand Fleet put to sea for one of -its periodical sweeps. Admiral Jellicoe had information -which gave him some hope that the enemy might at last -be caught in the North Sea; and in fact, on the morning of -the 31st, the German High Sea Fleet did come out, in ignorance -of Jellicoe's move, but in "hope of meeting with separate -enemy divisions." Admiral Scheer had with him the Battle -Fleet of fifteen dreadnoughts and six older ships, with three -divisions of cruisers, seven torpedo flotillas, and ten zeppelins; -and in advance of these was a squadron of five battle-cruisers, -under Admiral Hipper, with his own cruisers and destroyers. -Advancing towards Hipper was the British Battle-Cruiser -Fleet under Admiral Beatty—the </span><em class="italics">Lion</em><span>, </span><em class="italics">Princess Royal</em><span>, </span><em class="italics">Tiger</em><span>, -</span><em class="italics">Queen Mary</em><span>, </span><em class="italics">Indefatigable</em><span>, and </span><em class="italics">New Zealand</em><span>—with the Fifth -Battle Squadron under Rear-Admiral Evan-Thomas—the </span><em class="italics">Barham</em><span>, -</span><em class="italics">Valiant</em><span>, </span><em class="italics">Malaya</em><span>, and </span><em class="italics">Warspite</em><span>; and in front of these -were three light-cruiser squadrons under Commodore -Goodenough, with four destroyer flotillas. Behind, and at a -considerable distance, to avoid alarming the enemy too -soon, came Admiral Jellicoe with the main fleet—twenty-four -dreadnoughts in six divisions abreast of each other, -and each in line ahead. He had with him also the Third -Battle-Cruiser Squadron, three squadrons of cruisers, and -three destroyer flotillas.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The light cruiser </span><em class="italics">Galatea</em><span> first sighted enemy ships at -2.20 p.m. Soon she reported the smoke of a fleet, and at -3.31 Beatty sighted Hipper and formed his line of battle. -At 3.48 the action began at 18,500 yards, Hipper racing back -towards his fleet and Beatty pursuing. The firing on both -sides was rapid and accurate; in twelve minutes the leading -ships on both sides had been seriously hit; six minutes more -and a salvo, which reached her magazine, destroyed the -</span><em class="italics">Indefatigable</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Fifth Battle Squadron now drew up and came into -action. Immediately afterwards the enemy sent fifteen -destroyers and a light cruiser to attack with torpedoes. -They were met by our twelve destroyers, who fought with them -a most gallant battle within the main battle, repulsing them -and forcing their battle-cruisers to turn. The </span><em class="italics">Nestor</em><span>, the -</span><em class="italics">Nomad</em><span>, and two enemy destroyers were sunk; the battle-cruisers -swept on, and the action was resumed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The enemy's gunners now seemed to be losing their first -accuracy, and at 4.18 the third ship of the German line was -burning. But a few minutes later a salvo struck the </span><em class="italics">Queen -Mary</em><span> in a vital part abreast of a turret; in one minute the -ship was gone, and the </span><em class="italics">Tiger</em><span>, her next astern, passed over the -place where she had been, without seeing any sign of her -but smoke and falling debris. Admiral Beatty had lost two -of his six battle-cruisers, and his flagship was damaged; but -his tactics and his fighting spirit were in no way disturbed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Twelve minutes later he was cheered by Commodore -Goodenough reporting the German Battle Fleet. He had -found the enemy at last in the open, and his business now -was to draw them on towards the Grand Fleet. He recalled -his destroyers and turned his whole force northward. Hipper, -still steering south, fought him for a few minutes as they -passed one another on opposite courses, and then turned -north to follow him. The whole German fleet was now in -line; but Beatty, having the superior speed, was able to -overlap their head and keep their tail out of action. He -engaged their five battle-cruisers with his own four, -supported by the </span><em class="italics">Barham</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">New Zealand</em><span>, while the </span><em class="italics">Malaya</em><span> -and the </span><em class="italics">Warspite</em><span> were hammering their leading battleships.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 61%" id="figure-260"> -<span id="admiral-sir-david-beatty"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="ADMIRAL SIR DAVID BEATTY (EARL BEATTY OF THE NORTH SEA)." src="images/img-149.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">ADMIRAL SIR DAVID BEATTY -<br />(EARL BEATTY OF THE NORTH SEA).</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Grand Fleet was now rapidly approaching, and -Admiral Jellicoe had to prepare for the extremely difficult -manoeuvre of joining battle with an enemy of whose position -he was not fully informed. Gun-flashes were reported at -6.5 on the starboard bow, but the only ships visible were -the </span><em class="italics">Lion</em><span> and other battle-cruisers steering east in thick mist. -The admiral lost no time; at 6.8 he ordered two torpedo -flotillas to his port front and one to starboard; then, after -receiving a further report from Admiral Beatty, at 6.16 he -ordered his six divisions of battleships to deploy eastwards, -forming on the port wing column. He thus threatened to -cut off the enemy from his base, and in order to close him the -more quickly the deployment was made by divisions instead -of in succession. The movement was entirely successful. -At the same time the battle-cruisers were getting clear to -the south and east, and Admiral Evan-Thomas's four ships -were forming astern of the fleet. They did this under fire, -but without serious interference; the </span><em class="italics">Warspite</em><span>, whose helm -jammed, was for a few moments carried over towards the -enemy, but the German gunnery was no longer steady -enough to hit her.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 62%" id="figure-261"> -<span id="battle-of-jutland-track-chart"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="Battle of Jutland.—Track Chart." src="images/img-151.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">Battle of Jutland.—Track Chart.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>For the Germans the horizon was now filled with an -unending line of British ships, and the sight, as their own -officers said, "took the heart out of the men." They were -already "utterly crushed" by the masterly way in which -Admiral Jellicoe had brought his huge fleet into action, and -they saw that Admiral Beatty was outflanking them by "a -model manoeuvre, a performance of the highest order."[#] -Their line bent away, first to the east, and then to the south, -suffering heavily as it turned, and making not a hit in return.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[#] Captain von Hase.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>They had, however, inflicted some losses on the British -cruisers while the battleships were deploying. Rear-Admiral -Sir Robert Arbuthnot, who had chased the light cruiser -</span><em class="italics">Wiesbaden</em><span> (with the </span><em class="italics">Defence</em><span>, </span><em class="italics">Warrior</em><span>, and </span><em class="italics">Black Prince</em><span>) and -crippled her between the lines, came under fire from two -German battle-cruisers, and was blown up with the </span><em class="italics">Defence</em><span>, -while the </span><em class="italics">Warrior</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Black Prince</em><span> were badly hit. -Rear-Admiral Hood, too, met his fate; he had been scouting far to -the south with the </span><em class="italics">Invincible</em><span>, </span><em class="italics">Inflexible</em><span>, and </span><em class="italics">Indomitable</em><span>, and -was returning north to take station at the head of Beatty's -line. He executed this manoeuvre in grand style, and at -once engaged the gigantic </span><em class="italics">Derfflinger</em><span>, hitting her repeatedly; -but after two minutes of hard pounding a big shell blew up -the </span><em class="italics">Invincible's</em><span> magazine, and she sank with her admiral.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But by this time the action between the main fleets had -been virtually lost and won. The German battleships at -the head of Admiral Scheer's line had suffered severely -under the fire of the British rear divisions and were turning -away south, while their battle-cruisers were in even worse -plight. Two minutes after the </span><em class="italics">Invincible</em><span> sank, the </span><em class="italics">Lutzow</em><span> was -no longer able to keep station, and Admiral Hipper was -compelled to transfer his flag. But his difficulty was to find a -sound ship; his next astern, the </span><em class="italics">Derfflinger</em><span>, had lost her -wireless and was gaping with a hole 20 feet square in her bows; -the </span><em class="italics">Seydlitz</em><span> had also lost her wireless, and had shipped several -thousand tons of water. After being some time in a destroyer, -the admiral went aboard the </span><em class="italics">Moltke</em><span>, and sent the </span><em class="italics">Derfflinger</em><span> -to lead the line, with only the </span><em class="italics">Von der Tann</em><span> to follow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Half dead though these three remaining ships were, their -hardest task was yet before them. Admiral Scheer was in -a desperate position, outmanoeuvred and outfought, with -the Grand Fleet in the act of forming line between him and -his base; and he is entitled to all credit for the plan which -he adopted to secure his escape from total destruction. At -7.12 he ordered Hipper to attack Beatty in hope of breaking -his encircling movement, and three minutes afterwards sent -his destroyers to hold Jellicoe's line with a torpedo attack, -while he got away his crumpled battle fleet to the westward. -These tactics cost him dear, but he was successful in increasing -his distance and withdrawing his battleships from the fire -which must speedily have overwhelmed them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the torpedo attack not less than twenty of his torpedoes -were seen to cross the British line. All were avoided, for -Admiral Jellicoe, acting on principles adopted by the -Admiralty some time before, ordered his ships to turn away -two or more points as soon as the attack was seen. When -it was over they at once turned back towards the enemy, but -Admiral Scheer had by that time disappeared westward into -the mist. Of his twenty-one battleships twelve had been -seriously damaged, and their united fire had made but a -single hit on the twenty-six British battleships which engaged -them—a hit which wounded three men in the </span><em class="italics">Colossus</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The gallant Hipper suffered even more severely. He had -no sooner started his attack on Beatty when the </span><em class="italics">Derfflinger</em><span> -met more than her match in the </span><em class="italics">Lion</em><span>. In eight minutes she -is reported by her chief gunnery officer, Captain von Hase, -to have received twenty 15-inch shells, which destroyed -turret after turret, carried away her fire control and chart-house, -and set her on fire fore and aft. With only two heavy -guns left, she drew off and went after her fleet, followed by the -</span><em class="italics">Von der Tann</em><span> only. The </span><em class="italics">Seydlitz</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Moltke</em><span> had already -left the line under cover of the smoke from the burning </span><em class="italics">Lutzow</em><span>. -The light was now failing fast; the </span><em class="italics">Lion</em><span> was still hunting, but -could no longer find her prey. In spite of some heavy -hits, her admiral and his command were insatiable, and even -disappointed. But they had, in fact, achieved a day's -fighting which is without a parallel—a battle-cruiser victory -complete in itself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Touch was now lost between the two fleets, and Admiral -Jellicoe had to consider his dispositions for the night. He -had completely succeeded in interposing between the enemy -and their base, and his object was to bar their retreat and -secure a final action next day. He therefore placed his -battleships to the south in four columns a mile apart, his -destroyers 5 miles to their rear, with the battle-cruisers and -cruisers to the west, and two light-cruiser squadrons farther -north and south. Finally, at 9.30, he sent the mine-laying -flotilla leader, </span><em class="italics">Abdiel</em><span>, to lay a minefield towards the Horn -Reef—a precaution which resulted in several explosions -among enemy ships during the night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The German commander-in-chief was well aware that -in a daylight action he could expect nothing but destruction. -He resolved on a rush for home in the dark, and here again -he has the credit of a right decision and a right method. -He sent his ships to make their way through in detachments. -Some three or four light cruisers first ran into our destroyers, -slightly damaged the </span><em class="italics">Castor</em><span>, received a torpedo hit, and -vanished. Another group of cruisers attacked our Second -Light Cruiser Squadron at very short range, inflicted heavy -casualties on the </span><em class="italics">Dublin</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Southampton</em><span>, and disappeared, -but with the loss of the light cruiser </span><em class="italics">Frauenlob</em><span>. The -destroyer </span><em class="italics">Sparrowhawk</em><span> was sunk in action with a third group -of cruisers, and a little later the </span><em class="italics">Tipperary</em><span>. At midnight some -battleships passed near the same flotilla, and one, the </span><em class="italics">Pommern</em><span>, -was torpedoed and sunk. Another battleship squadron -followed soon after, and sank the destroyer </span><em class="italics">Ardent</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At 1.46 a.m. the Twelfth Flotilla, farther north, sighted -six Kaiser battleships and attacked them. Captain Stirling, -in the </span><em class="italics">Faulkner</em><span>, torpedoed one, and some time later -Commander Champion, in the </span><em class="italics">Nomad</em><span>, hit another; but the -Germans claim that both the wounded ships reached port. The -Ninth Flotilla lost the </span><em class="italics">Turbulent</em><span>, rammed by a large unknown -vessel; but at 2.35 the destroyer </span><em class="italics">Moresby</em><span>, of the Thirteenth -Flotilla, attacked four </span><em class="italics">Deutschland</em><span> battleships and torpedoed -one. Lastly, it is believed that the </span><em class="italics">Black Prince</em><span>, who had -been crippled hours before, was seen for a moment under -the searchlights and guns of a number of enemy ships, who -sank her at once. All this battle by night was fought under -the most desperate conditions, the horror of darkness and -the glare and crash of sudden death alternating for five -hours; but it was far more ruinous to the German fleet -than to the British.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When day broke, Admiral Jellicoe formed his fleet in -line ahead and turned north; at 5.15 he called in the -battle-cruisers; at 6 a.m. he sighted his cruisers, and at 9 the -destroyers rejoined. He had now all his force in hand, -except the Sixth Division of six battleships under Admiral -Burney, whose flagship, the </span><em class="italics">Marlborough</em><span>, had been hit by a -torpedo and was now being sent home under escort to be -repaired. This, however, was no cause for delay, and Admiral -Jellicoe patrolled the battle area till noon, in search of -the enemy, moving first north, then south-west, and finally -north by west.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was clear that Admiral Scheer had no intention of -further fighting. He had a zeppelin out scouting, and -admits that she reported to him the position of the British -fleet. But he was in no condition to move. He had -inflicted on us a loss of three battle-cruisers, three armoured -cruisers, and eight destroyers; while of his own ships one -battleship, one battle-cruiser, four light cruisers, and five -destroyers had been sunk. But his effective force had been -diminished out of all proportion to ours; his battle-cruisers -were in no condition to fight; he had discovered that the -whole squadron of pre-dreadnoughts were unable to lie in -a modern line of battle, while six of the remaining fifteen -were unfit to be anywhere but in dock; of his eleven light -cruisers ten had been hit, and four of them sunk. He had, -in short, no fleet to make a fight with; whereas Admiral -Jellicoe had available twenty-six powerful battleships, all but -four of them untouched, six battle-cruisers out of nine, and -all his light forces, except three cruisers sunk and three -hard hit.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>More fatal still, then and for ever, was the injury to the -moral stamina and tradition of the German fleet. In that -one day they passed from the militant to the mutinous state -of mind, and their commander knew it. As Captain Persius -wrote afterwards in the </span><em class="italics">Berliner Tageblatt</em><span>: "The losses -sustained by our fleet were enormous, in spite of the fact -that luck was on our side; and on June 1, 1916, it was clear -to every one of intelligence that this fight would be, and must -be, the only one to take place. Those in authority have -often admitted this openly." The Kaiser did his best to -shout our victory down, and he was seconded, though more -feebly, by German admirals who knew better. But the High -Sea Fleet had failed completely to challenge the control of -the sea, and henceforth degenerated towards the final surrender.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-british-submarine-service"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXVI.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE BRITISH SUBMARINE SERVICE.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The war record of the British submarine service is unique; -the difficulties and dangers which our men faced and -overcame were such as no other navy has attempted. The patrol -of the shallow Belgian coast and the hunting down of U-boats -was a very different task from torpedoing merchant vessels -or hospital ships without warning; and the campaigns in -the Marmora and the Baltic were conducted under conditions -which had no parallel elsewhere.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A glance at the map will show that the Marmora was not -only distant from the British naval base, but that the only -line of approach was of an uncommonly formidable character. -The channel of the Dardanelles is narrow and winding, with -a strong tide perpetually racing down it, and setting strongly -into its many bays. It was, moreover, protected by forts -with powerful guns and searchlights and torpedo tubes, and by -barrages of thick wire and netting; it was also patrolled -constantly by armed ships. Yet all these defences were evaded -or broken through with marvellous courage and ingenuity; -for nearly a year a succession of brilliant commanders took -their boats regularly up and down the passage, and made -the transport of Turkish troops and munitions first hazardous -and finally impracticable. Two battleships, a destroyer, and -five gunboats fell to them, besides over thirty steamers, many -of which were armed, nine transports, seven ammunition -and store ships, and no less than 188 sailing ships and dhows -with supplies. It is hardly necessary to add that in no case -was violence done to neutrals or non-combatants.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The first officer to take a British submarine up the -Dardanelles was Lieutenant Norman Holbrook. It was in -December 1914 that his attempt was made, and after equipping -his boat, B11, with ingenious devices for jumping obstacles, -and running several preliminary trials, he trimmed and dived -for Sedd-el-Bahr at the moment when the searchlights were -extinguished at dawn. Rather more than four hours after -his start he had passed the Straits and was at last able to put -his periscope above water. He found his fortune at the same -moment. There, on his starboard beam, was a large two-funnelled -vessel, painted grey, and flying the Turkish ensign. -At 600 yards he fired his starboard torpedo, and dipped for -a few seconds. An explosion was heard. B11 came quietly -to observation depth again of her own motion, and her commander, -still at his periscope, saw the grey ship firing a number -of guns. His boat dipped again, but he got her up once more, -and this time saw his enemy, the battleship </span><em class="italics">Messudiyeh</em><span>, silent, -and sinking slowly by the stern. He turned for home, dived -into the channel, and ran along the bottom at full speed; -came up to take his bearings, dived again, and by 2 p.m. had -cleared the exit. In ten hours he had proved all the -possibilities of a novel campaign. He had forced the -strongly-barred channel, surprised and sunk a battleship in broad -daylight, and returned to report, though he had gone up -without information and come down with a damaged compass. -Of the boats which followed in the spring and summer -of 1915, the most famous were E14 (Lieutenant-Commander -E. Courtney Boyle); E11 (Lieutenant-Commander M. E. Nasmith); -E12 (Lieutenant-Commander K. M. Bruce); -E7 (Lieutenant-Commander Cochrane); E2 (Commander -David Stocks); and K1 (Lieutenant Wilfred Pirie). In -efficiency all these surpassed everything which had been thought -possible of submarines. Their cruises lasted from a fortnight -at first to thirty days later, and finally to forty and -even forty-eight. During this time they would run 2,000 -miles and more, with no resources for supply or repairs -beyond what they carried on board. When Commander Boyle -brought E14 back to her base in August after her third -cruise, she had done over 12,000 miles since leaving -England, and had never been out of running order—a record for -which her chief engine-room artificer, James Hollier Hague, -was promoted to warrant rank.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It is impossible to relate here the adventures, the -ingenuities, and the brilliant service which these seven -commanders reported in the bald and convincing style of the -British Navy. One example only can be given—a typical and -not an exceptional one. Lieutenant-Commander Nasmith -took E11 up for the first time in May 1915, in succession -to Commander Courtney Boyle, who had just returned, -leaving the Turks under the belief that the Marmora was -infested by a whole flotilla of submarines. By a curious -combination of activity and accident, Lieutenant-Commander -Nasmith at once confirmed this legend.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On his second day out he "dived unobserved into -Constantinople," and torpedoed a Turkish gunboat; five hours -later he stopped a small steamer, whose crew did a "panic -abandon ship," capsizing all their boats as they were put -out. An American gentleman then appeared on the upper -deck and conversed amicably, after which he was sent ashore, -and the ship, being found to contain a Krupp gun and -ammunition, was cleared and sent to the bottom. Two heavily -laden store-ships were then attacked. One was sunk and -the other driven ashore. Under a hurricane of fire from the -shore batteries, the submarine dived and got away towards -the Bosphorus. At Galata there was a panic; all shops -were closed, troops were disembarked from transports, -re-embarked, and again landed. The effect was redoubled next -day when the American gentleman returned to tell his story. -Probably he had inquired the number of the British -submarines on the ground, and had been misunderstood to be -asking for the number of the boat he was aboard; for he -reported—and the news ran through Constantinople—that -there were eleven of our boats in the Marmora, holding up -all ships going to the Dardanelles. And E11 did in fact -achieve this result. Transports lay idle in the Golden Horn, -and as the one real boat and her ten imaginary consorts -patrolled the Marmora, Turks and Americans wondered -where they had their base, and how it had been prepared -in hostile waters.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In August E11 was on duty once more, hunting in couples -with E14. Commanders Boyle and Nasmith rendezvoused -on the 6th, and concerted a plan for shelling troops next day -on the land route to Gallipoli. This operation was very -successful; in less than three hours E11's 12-pounder twice -broke up columns on the coast road. On the following day -Commander Boyle destroyed a 5,000 ton supply steamer -with torpedo and gun-fire, while Commander Nasmith sank -the battleship </span><em class="italics">Haireddin Barbarossa</em><span>. This ship was passing -north-east of Gallipoli, escorted by a destroyer. E11 was -skilfully brought into position on her starboard beam, and two -torpedoes got home amidships. The </span><em class="italics">Barbarossa</em><span> immediately -took a list to starboard, altered course towards the shore, -and opened a heavy fire. But within twenty minutes a large -flash burst from her fore part, and she rolled over and sank.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Turks attempted to conceal the details of this -catastrophe; but they confided to Mr. Einstein of the American -Embassy that a gunboat perished with </span><em class="italics">Barbarossa</em><span>, and -one of two transports which she was convoying, while the -other ran aground. They added that the attack was made -by six submarines, who completely surrounded the battleship -and her convoy. Commander Nasmith afterwards sank -a large collier and two more transports, and then turned his -attention again to cutting the enemy's communications by -land.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His lieutenant, D'Oyly Hughes, volunteered to take the -most dangerous part in an attack on the Ismid railway. A -raft was put together behind Kalolimno Island, capable of -supporting one man, and carrying his equipment and a charge -of explosives. With this Lieutenant D'Oyly Hughes was to -reach the shore, and blow up the railway line, or, if possible, -the viaduct. The risk involved not only the volunteer but -E11 herself, for so long as he had still a chance of returning, -she could not quit the neighbourhood, or even conceal -herself by submerging.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At 2 a.m. Commander Nasmith took the boat inshore till -her nose just grounded, within three feet of the rocks, where -there were cliffs on each side high enough to prevent her -conning-tower from being seen. Lieutenant D'Oyly Hughes -dropped into the water and swam off, pushing his raft -towards a spot about 60 yards to the left. Besides his -demolition charge he had only a revolver, a bayonet, an -electric torch, and a whistle. He found a landing place, scaled -the cliff, and prowled along the railway with his heavy charge -till he was brought up by the sound of voices; three Turks -were sitting by the side of the line. He laid down his -guncotton, and made a wide detour to inspect the viaduct, -roused a small farmyard on his way, and was again stopped -by finding a number of men working a stationary engine -at the near end of the viaduct.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He crept back to his gun-cotton, and decided to blow -up a low brickwork support over a small hollow, only 150 -yards from the men, but a spot where real damage could be -inflicted. He muffled the pistol for firing the fuse, but on -so still a night it made a very loud noise. The three Turks -heard it, and instantly started to chase their enemy down -the line. Lieutenant Hughes had but one chance—to find -his way to the shore and swim off. To gain time, he turned -and fired at his pursuers; they stopped to return his fire, -and he distanced them, gained the shore, and plunged into -the water. As he did so he heard with joy the sound of a -heavy explosion, with the crash of fragments hurled into the -sea. The railway line was effectively cut; but he was -three-quarters of a mile from the bay where E11 was lying hid.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He swam out to sea, and after going some 500 yards -blew a long blast on his whistle; but the boat failed to hear -him. Day was breaking—the time of waiting for him must -be short. He swam ashore again, rested on the rocks, and -plunged in once more. One by one he had to throw away -pistol, torch, and bayonet. At last he rounded the point -and his whistle was heard; but at the same moment shouts -and rifle fire came from the cliffs above. The boat backed -out towards him, determined to save him at any cost.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But now came the most trying part of his adventure. -In the early morning mist the bow, the gun, and the conning-tower -of the submarine appeared to the distressed swimmer -to be three small rowing-boats advancing towards him, and -manned, of course, by enemies. He turned back, swam -ashore, and tried to hide himself under the cliffs. But he -was still cool and clear-headed, and after climbing a few -feet looked back and realized his mistake. One last swim of -40 yards, and he was picked up almost exhausted. He had -run hard for his life and swum a mile in his clothes. "5.5 -a.m.," says E11's log, "dived out of rifle fire, and proceeded -out of the Gulf of Ismid."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She ended her cruise with a brilliant week's work; fought -an action with three armed tugs, a dhow, and a destroyer, -evading the destroyer, and sinking two of the other ships -by gun-fire; torpedoed two large transports; bombarded -the magazine and railway station at Mudania; battered the -viaduct for an hour; and on her return down the Dardanelles -passed the obstacles without assistance or misadventure. -Her final cruise was in November and December, when she -was out forty-eight days, and sank forty-six enemy ships. -Her last companion, E2, was recalled two days later, and the -campaign was over.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-british-submarine-service-continued"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXVII.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE BRITISH SUBMARINE SERVICE (</span><em class="bold italics medium">continued</em><span class="bold medium">).</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The first of our submarine voyagers in the Baltic was -Lieutenant-Commander Max Horton, in E9. He distinguished -himself in the early months of the war by sinking a -German light cruiser and a destroyer in the North Sea. In -January 1915 he entered the Baltic, sank a destroyer on the -29th, a transport on 11th May, and on 5th June another -transport and another destroyer. On 2nd July he torpedoed -the </span><em class="italics">Pommern</em><span>, a 13,000 ton battleship, with 11-inch guns. He -was then joined by E1 (Commander N. F. Laurence), and -on 22nd August by E8, whose log contains the best account -of the long, intricate, and dangerous voyage out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Commander Goodhart started in E8 on 18th August, -with 1,500 miles of adventure between him and his new base -at Reval. He passed warily up the Skagerrack, avoiding -the central line of traffic, and diving once under a whole -fleet of steam trawlers. At 7 p.m. he came to the surface -again, rounded the Skaw at full speed, and entered the -Kattegat. In the fading light several merchantmen were -seen going north; the shore and island beacons began to -twinkle one by one—Hamnskau, Vinga, Skaw, Trindelen, -Anholt. But the night was short; by 3 a.m. he must dive -again and lie on shoal ground while traffic passed above him. -At 5.25 he ventured up, but was put down quickly by a -steamer; to be seen might rouse a hunt. At 7 he came up -again and did a survey of l-½ hours in a friendly mist, then -down again, to crawl at 3 knots till 1 p.m., when he was off -the entrance to the Sound.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Here he must choose between going forward submerged, -or waiting for darkness and attempting the channel on the -surface. He decided to continue his dive into the Sound -and wait for night inside. He went in at 50 feet, came up -to 21 feet to verify his position, down again to 50, and altered -course to pass through the northern narrows. At 4.10 p.m. he -was east of Helsingor Light; at 5.20, after another observation, -he went to bottom in 11 fathoms, to wait for darkness. -At 8.15 p.m. he rose to the surface; the Danish shore -was bright with many lights, the Swedish shore all dark. -He steered south-westward on the surface, altering course -to avoid being seen by two destroyers which were going north -along the Danish shore at a great pace; but now one of -them suddenly turned south and stopped. E8 ran on, but -into still more dangerous waters. The lights of Copenhagen -were bright, and a searchlight was working from Middle -Ground Fort; now and again it swept across the submarine. -Then came several fishing boats, then two red lights moving -south, close over to the Danish shore. There was nothing to -show that E8 had been seen, and she headed boldly for -Flint Channel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Off Malmo the shorelights were dazzling, and it was -extremely hard to fix a position. There were also many -fishing boats about, each carrying two bright lights. -Commander Goodhart ordered the boat to be trimmed down, -with upper deck awash, and proceeded with one engine -only, at 7 knots. He steadied his course through Flint -Channel, passing at least twenty vessels with white lights, -and one making searchlight signals in the air. No sooner -had these been avoided by changing course than a tramp -came along, showing first a green light and then three white -ones. She seemed to have anchored; but now two other -vessels had to be dodged, and then the ship with the -searchlight. Immediately afterwards, when just north-east of the -lightship's three vertical red lights, E8 was viewed at last; -a small torpedo boat sighted her as she was creeping by -within 200 yards.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The hunt was up; the enemy showed red and green -flares, and altered course to chase. E8 dived, and struck -"very strong bottom" at 19 feet, and immediately afterwards -at 14 feet. A succession of bumps brought her to a -stop. It was 11.40 p.m. After an anxious quarter of an -hour Commander Goodhart decided to rise to the surface. -On his starboard quarter was the Drogden lightship, ahead -of him a large destroyer or small cruiser—the ship which had -been signalling with searchlight. She was only 200 yards -away, but the commander trimmed his boat deep, and stole -past. This took four minutes, and he then found another -destroyer right ahead, and within 100 yards. He could but -dive; the boat struck bottom at 16 feet heavily, carrying -away all blades of the starboard propeller. The pursuers -could be heard overhead.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Life was now a matter of minutes and feet. The boat -was still moving; at 12.15 a.m. she was at 18 feet, and -bumping badly; at 12.19 the commander stopped her and -came silently to the surface. The destroyer was still close -on his starboard beam, and in one minute he had dived -again as slowly as he dared; mercifully the water deepened -as E8 glided away. She seemed to be escaping; but at -2.10 a.m. she struck bottom again, and when she ventured -up after an hour, there again was the destroyer on her port -beam. Happily this time she got down without being seen, -and when she came up again at 7.15 there was nothing in -sight.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the danger was not over yet. E8 was nearly out -of breath; her battery was running very low. After diving -again to avoid a steamer and afterwards a destroyer, -Commander Goodhart decided to find a good depth, and lie at -the bottom till darkness gave him a chance of recharging. -For eight long hours E8 lay like a stone in 23 fathoms. -When she came up three or four vessels were patrolling close -by, and the moon was too bright. She tried again, but -was again put down by a shadowy destroyer to the -southward. At last, ten minutes before midnight, she found a -bit of quiet sea where she could take breath.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But only for two hours; daylight comes early in northern -waters. At 2 a.m. Commander Goodhart dived again, and -lay long in 17 fathoms, spending his time in studying the -chart. He was now well out of the Sound, and clear of the -Swedish coast. Right ahead was the island of Bornholm, -and if that could be passed successfully, the Baltic lay open -beyond, a long voyage still, but a less crowded thoroughfare.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At 9 a.m. he came to the surface for three hours. By -noon he was not far west of Ronne, and as he wished to make -sure of getting past Bornholm unobserved, he decided to -remain on the bottom till dark, then slip by and recharge -his batteries for a long run north by daylight. By 7 p.m. he -was on his way; by sunrise on the 21st he was passing -the east coast of the great island of Gotland. At 9.2 p.m. he -dived for a light cruiser, which passed over him; at 10 -he returned to the surface and ran past the entrance to the -Gulf of Riga and the island of Oesel. By 1 a.m. on August -22nd he had to dive for daylight, but at 3 he came up again, -and ran ahead at full speed. At 8.30 a.m. on August 23rd -he sighted Dagerort ahead, and joined Commander Max -Horton in E9, passed with her and a Russian destroyer into -the Gulf of Finland, and by 9 p.m. secured E8 in Reval -harbour. Within twenty-four hours he had docked and -overhauled her, replaced her broken propeller, and reported -her ready for sea.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of the warships sunk by E8 and her consorts, and of -their blockade of the German traffic in the Baltic, there is -no need to speak. Their feats of war, brilliant as they were, -formed only a minor part of the glory of their intricate and -perilous voyages in a hostile sea.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-mercantile-marine-and-fishing-fleets"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXVIII.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE MERCANTILE MARINE AND FISHING FLEETS.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Among the great deeds of the war there is one which, though -hardly to be described in detail, ranks in truth among -the greatest of all. It is a collective deed: the conduct of -the whole British Mercantile Marine and the Fishing -Fleet—Services not less worthy than the professional Navy and -Army to represent the "decent and dauntless people" of -these islands. It had been prophesied before the war that -after three ships had been sunk by enemy submarines no -merchantman would put to sea. The prophet, though himself -a naval man, can have known little of the resourcefulness -of his own Service, and still less of the temper of his -fellow-countrymen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>During the four years of the war, British commerce was -never held up by any unwillingness of our seamen to face -gun-fire or torpedo: skippers, engineers, and deck hands -who had had three, four, or five ships sunk under them -were constantly asking to be employed again before their -clothes were dry. Seventeen thousand of them died in the -9,000,000 tons of shipping that we lost; yet not a man among -the survivors drew back. On the contrary, it must be -recorded that the enemy owed much of his success to the -habitual and imperturbable confidence of the British skipper -in his own ship and his own judgment. The men of the -Mercantile Marine and Fishing Fleets also took their full -share in the work of defending our coasts and hunting down -their lawless and cruel enemies; and in this work they showed -every quality of a great Service. It was in no empty form of -words that the King honoured the memory of "that great -company of our men, who, though trained only to the peaceful -traffic of the sea, yet in the hour of national danger gave -themselves, with the ancient skill and endurance of their -breed, to face new perils and new cruelties of war, and in -a right cause served fearlessly to the end." Of this skill, -endurance, and fearlessness, recorded in a thousand terse -and unpretentious logs, an example or two may be picked -almost at random.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In 1915, when the U-boat war was still a new experience, -a sharp little double action was fought by two armed smacks, -the </span><em class="italics">Boy Alfred</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">I'll Try</em><span>, against two German -submarines. The British boats were commanded by Skipper -Walter S. Wharton and Skipper Thomas Crisp, and were out -in the North Sea, when they sighted a pair of U-boats coming -straight towards them on the surface. The first came within -300 yards of the </span><em class="italics">Boy Alfred</em><span> and stopped. Then followed an -extraordinary piece of work, intelligible only to the German -mind. The U-boat signalled with a flag to the </span><em class="italics">Boy Alfred</em><span> to -come nearer, and at the same time opened fire upon her with -rifles or a machine-gun, hitting her in many places, though by -mere chance not a single casualty resulted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Skipper Wharton's time had not yet come; he was -neither for submission nor for a duel at long range; he risked -all for a close fight. He first threw out his small boat, and -by this encouraged the U-boat to approach nearer. She -submerged and immediately reappeared within a hundred -yards. A man then came out of the conning-tower and hailed -the </span><em class="italics">Boy Alfred</em><span>, giving the order to abandon ship, as he -intended to torpedo. But Skipper Wharton had now the range -he desired—the hundred yards hammer and tongs range so -dear to Nelson's gunners—and instead of "Abandon ship" -he gave the order "Open fire." His man at the 12-pounder -did not fail him; the first round was just short, and the second -just over, but having straddled his target, the gunner put his -third shot into the submarine's hull, just before the conning-tower, -where it burst on contact. The fourth shot was better -still: it pierced the conning-tower and burst inside. The -U-boat, with her torpedo unfired, sank like a stone, and a -significant wide-spreading patch of oil marked her grave.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the meantime the second enemy had gone to the east of -the </span><em class="italics">I'll Try</em><span>, who was herself east of the </span><em class="italics">Boy Alfred</em><span>. He was -still more cautious than his companion, and remained submerged -for some time, cruising around the </span><em class="italics">I'll Try</em><span> with only a -periscope showing. Skipper Crisp, having a motor fitted to his -smack, was too handy for the German, and kept altering course -so as to bring the periscope ahead of him, whenever it was -visible. The enemy disappeared entirely no less than six -times, but at last summoned up courage to break surface. -His hesitation was fatal to him—he had given the smack -time to make every preparation with perfect order and -coolness. When he appeared suddenly at last, his upper deck -and conning-tower were no sooner clearly exposed than -Skipper Crisp put his helm hard over, brought the enemy on -to his broadside, and opened fire with his 13-pounder gun. -At this moment a torpedo passed under the smack's stern, -missing only by 2 feet, then coming to the surface and running -along past the </span><em class="italics">Boy Alfred</em><span>. It was the U-boat's first and last -effort; in the same instant, the </span><em class="italics">I'll Try</em><span> fired her only shot. -The shell struck the base of the conning-tower and exploded, -blowing pieces of the submarine into the water on all -sides.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The U-boat immediately took a list to starboard and -plunged bows first; she disappeared so rapidly that the -smack's gunner had not even time for a second blow. The </span><em class="italics">I'll -Try</em><span> hurried to the spot, and there saw large bubbles of air -coming up, and a wide and increasing patch of oil. She -marked the position with a Dan buoy and stood by with the -</span><em class="italics">Boy Alfred</em><span> for three-quarters of an hour. Finally, as the -enemy gave no sign of life, the two smacks returned together -to harbour. Their skippers were both rewarded for their -excellent work; Skipper Wharton, who had already killed -two U-boats and had received the D.S.C. and the D.S.M. with -a bar, was now given a bar to the D.S.C. Skipper Crisp -already had the D.S.M., and now received the D.S.C.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In another of these fishermen's fights it was the trawl -itself which actually brought on the battle at close quarters -and made victory possible. One day in February 1915 the -trawler </span><em class="italics">Rosetta</em><span>, Skipper G. A. Novo, had gone out to fish, -but she had on deck a 6-pounder gun ingeniously concealed. -She joined a small fleet of four smacks and two steam trawlers -some 45 miles out, and fished with them all night. Before -dawn a voice was heard shouting out of the twilight: it -came from one of the steam trawlers. "Cut your gear away, -there's a submarine three-quarters of a mile away; he's sunk -a smack and I have the crew on board." "All right, thank -you," said Skipper Novo; but to get away from the enemy -was precisely what he did not want to do. For some fifteen -minutes he went on towing his trawl, in hope of being attacked; -but as nothing happened, he thought he was too far away -from the smacks, and began to haul up his trawl. He was -bringing his boat round before the wind, and had all but the -last twenty fathoms of the trawl in, when the winch suddenly -refused to heave any more, and the warp ran out again about -ten fathoms—a thing beyond all experience. "Hullo!" -said the skipper, "there's something funny." He jumped -down off the bridge and asked the mate what was the reason -of the winch running back. "I don't know, skipper; the -stop-valve is opened out full." The skipper tried it himself; -then went to the engine-man and asked him if full steam was -on. "The steam's all right." "Then reverse winch!" said -the skipper, and went to give a hand himself, as was his -custom in a difficulty; the hauling went on this time, all but -to the end.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly the mate gripped him by the arm. "Skipper, -a submarine on board us." And there the enemy was, a bare -hundred yards off on the starboard quarter. "Hard a-starboard, -and a tick ahead!" shouted the skipper, and rushed -for the gun, with the crew following. The gun was properly -in charge of the mate, and he got to it first; but the brief -dialogue which followed robbed him of his glory. "Right, -skipper," he said, meaning thereby "This is my job." But -in the same breath the skipper said "All right, Jack, I got -him! you run on bridge and keep him astern." The </span><em class="italics">Rosetta's</em><span> -discipline was good; the mate went like a man, and the -skipper laid the gun.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was justified by his success. The enemy was very -quickly put out of action, being apparently left altogether -behind by the hurricane energy of Skipper Novo. From the -moment of breaking surface less than sixty seconds had gone -by when the </span><em class="italics">Rosetta's</em><span> gun found the target. The U-boat was -250 feet long and only 300 feet away; every shot was a -hit. The fourth caused an explosion, and flames shot up 4 -or 5 feet above the submarine. Evidently she could no -longer submerge, and she attempted to make off on the -surface. But Skipper Novo was right in his estimate of his -own chance—he had "got him." His fifth, sixth, seventh, -and eighth shots were all direct hits on the receding target, -and at the eighth the enemy sank outright.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">Rosetta</em><span> then spoke the smack </span><em class="italics">Noel</em><span>, which had been -close to her during the action, and now confirmed all her -observations. There was no doubt that the U-boat had been -the obstruction which was tangled in the trawl. She had -carried it all away, and in order to get clear had been obliged -to come to the surface, without knowing where she might find -herself, and there she had met her appropriate fate.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A third of these fights was a miniature fleet action, with -an epic sound about it. In the Downs, and in the first -twilight of a November morning, three of his Majesty's armed -drifters—the </span><em class="italics">Present Help</em><span>, the </span><em class="italics">Paramount</em><span>, and the </span><em class="italics">Majesty</em><span>—were -beginning their daily sweep for mines, when Skipper -Thomas Lane of the </span><em class="italics">Present Help</em><span>, which was spare ship at the -moment, sighted an object a mile distant to the eastward. As -day was breaking, she was quickly marked for a German -submarine—a huge one, with two big guns mounted on deck, -one a 4-inch and one a 22-pounder. Nevertheless the </span><em class="italics">Present -Help</em><span>, the </span><em class="italics">Paramount</em><span>, and the </span><em class="italics">Majesty</em><span> opened fire at once with -their 6-pounders, not standing off, but closing their enemy, -and continuing to close her under heavy fire, until they were -hitting her with their own light guns. Even our history -can hardly show a grander line of battle than those three -tiny ships bearing down upon their great antagonist; and -although U48 did not fall to their fire, her surrender was due -in the first instance to their determined onset.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was the </span><em class="italics">Paramount</em><span> who took and gave the first knocks; -her searchlight was shot away, and in reply she succeeded in -putting one of the enemy's guns out of action. In the -meantime, and none too soon, the </span><em class="italics">Present Help</em><span> had sent up -the red rocket. It was seen by two other armed drifters, -the </span><em class="italics">Acceptable</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Feasible</em><span>, who were less than 2 miles off, -and by H.M.S. </span><em class="italics">Gipsy</em><span>, who was 4 miles away. Skipper Lee, of -the </span><em class="italics">Acceptable</em><span>, immediately sang out "Action," and both boats -blazed away at 3,000 yards range, getting in at least one hit -on the enemy's conning-tower. At the same moment came -the sound of the </span><em class="italics">Gipsy's</em><span> 12-pounder, as she rushed in at full -speed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The U-boat had started with an enormous and apparently -overwhelming advantage of gun-power. She ought to have -been a match, twice over, for all six of our little ships, -but she was on dangerous ground, and the astounding resolution -of the attack drove her off her course. In ten minutes -the drifters had actually pushed her ashore on the Goodwin -Sands—the </span><em class="italics">Paramount</em><span> had closed to 30 yards. Drake himself -was hardly nearer to the Spanish galleons. Then came the -</span><em class="italics">Gipsy</em><span>, equally determined. Her first two shots fell short, -the third was doubtful, but after that she got on to the target, -and the enemy's bigger remaining gun was no match for her -12-pounder. After two hits with common pointed shell, she -put on eight out of nine lyddite shells, smashed the German's -last gun and set him on fire forward. Thereupon the U-boat's -crew surrendered and jumped overboard.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was now 7.20 and broad daylight. Lieutenant-Commander -Frederick Robinson, of the </span><em class="italics">Gipsy</em><span>, gave the signal to -cease fire, and the five drifters set to work to save their -drowning enemies. The </span><em class="italics">Paramount</em><span>, who was nearest, got -thirteen, the </span><em class="italics">Feasible</em><span> one, and the </span><em class="italics">Acceptable</em><span> two. The -</span><em class="italics">Gipsy's</em><span> whaler was got away, and her crew, under Lieutenant -Gilbertson, R.N.R., tried for an hour to make headway -against the sea, but could not go further than half a mile, -the tide and weather being heavily against them. They -brought back one dead man, and one prisoner in a very -exhausted condition; afterwards they went off again and -collected the prisoners from the other ships. Later came the -procession back to port—a quiet and unobtrusive return, but -as glorious as any that the Goodwins have ever seen. Full -rewards followed, and the due decorations for Skippers -Thomas Lane, Edward Kemp, and Richard William Barker. -But their greatest honour was already their own—they had -commanded in victorious action his Majesty's armed drifters -the </span><em class="italics">Present Help</em><span>, the </span><em class="italics">Paramount</em><span>, and the </span><em class="italics">Majesty</em><span>.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="zeebrugge"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXIX.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">ZEEBRUGGE.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>During the years 1916 and 1917 the Belgian ports of -Zeebrugge and Ostend had become more and more important to -the Germans as a base for their submarines. Their loss would -be, as Admiral Scheer said, "a very disagreeable blow to -the U-boat campaign." It was in November 1917 that the -British Admiralty first planned a blow against these ports, -but the favourable opportunity did not present itself until -April 23, 1918. In the meantime, the Allies had succeeded -in bringing the last German offensive to a standstill, and -there was much anxiety as to its possible renewal. The blow -struck by the Navy on St. George's Day was therefore a most -timely one, for it not only increased Admiral Scheer's difficulties -but resounded over the world as a daring feat of arms and a -proof of unbroken national spirit.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The difficulties of the proposed attack were enormous, -and real imagination was needed to cope with them. The -coast was defended by batteries containing in all 120 heavy -guns, some of them of 15-inch calibre. A battery of these -was emplaced upon the Mole at Zeebrugge—a solid stone -breakwater more than a mile long, which held also a railway -terminus, a seaplane station, a number of large sheds for -personnel and material, and, at the extreme seaward end, a -lighthouse with searchlight and range-finder. The attacking -force would also have to reckon with the batteries on shore, -the troops who would reinforce the defenders on the Mole, -and the destroyers which were lying in the harbour. It was -not, of course, proposed to take and hold works so strongly -defended; but an attack was indispensable, for the enemy's -attention must be diverted from the block-ships, which were -to arrive during the fight off both ports and sink themselves -in such a position as to impede the passage of U-boats.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The offensive then was directed against Zeebrugge, and -the plan of attack was to be the seizure of the Mole by a -landing party. They must be strong enough to overrun it, -capture the big guns, and keep off enemy reinforcements by -destroying the railway viaduct which connected it with the -shore. Then, when the block-ships had been sunk, the men -must be re-embarked and brought away.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For the fighting itself there was little need to be -over-anxious; the real problem was concerned with the difficulty -of approaching, throwing the men ashore, and getting them -away again without the transports being sunk by the enemy's -fire. Nothing could be left to luck or the inspiration of the -moment, and the conditions of success were extremely severe. -First, the attacking ships must effect a complete surprise, -and reach the Mole before the guns of the defence could be -brought to bear upon them. The enemy searchlights must -therefore be blinded, as far as possible, by an artificial fog -or smoke-screen; but again this must not be dense enough -to obscure the approach entirely. Secondly, the work must -be done in very short time, and to the minute, for though the -attack might be a surprise, the return voyage must be made -under fire. The shore batteries were known to have a -destructive range of 16 miles; to get clear of the danger zone -would take the flotilla two hours. Daylight would begin by -3.30 a.m.; it was therefore necessary to leave the Mole by -1.30; and as, for similar reasons, it was impossible to arrive -before midnight, an hour and a half was all that the time-table -could allow for fighting, blocking, and re-embarking. To do -things as exactly as this, a night must be chosen when wind, -weather, and tide would all be favourable. The difficulty -of finding so precise an opportunity caused four months' -delay—the expedition had in fact twice started and been compelled -to put back: once it had actually come within 15 miles of -the Mole.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The attack was conducted by Vice-Admiral Roger Keyes, -commanding at Dover; the force employed was a large and -composite one, and required masterly handling. The Ostend -expedition, though highly difficult and dangerous, was an -affair of blocking only, and was comparatively simple; but -for Zeebrugge there were needed, besides the principal ships, -a fleet of smoke-boats for making fog, motor launches for -showing flares and bringing off men in difficulties, monitors -for engaging the batteries, and destroyers for looking after the -enemy ships in harbour; lastly, there was an old submarine, -C3, to be used as a self-propelling mine for the destruction of -the viaduct. The landing on the Mole was to be made from -the </span><em class="italics">Vindictive</em><span> (Captain A. Carpenter), an old light cruiser of -5,720 tons, and she was to be accompanied by two old ferry-boats -from the Mersey, the </span><em class="italics">Daffodil</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Iris</em><span>; the three -destroyers were the </span><em class="italics">North Star</em><span> (Lieutenant-Commander -K. C. Helyar), the </span><em class="italics">Phoebe</em><span> (Lieutenant-Commander -H. E. Gore-Langton), and the </span><em class="italics">Warwick</em><span>, flying the Admiral's flag.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The success which resulted was due not to fortune but -to foresight, and to the accurate timing of the work of the -various units employed. As the flotilla advanced the smoke-screen -craft and motor-boats dashed ahead, laid their screens, -drove in the enemy ships, and made it possible for the -transports to approach the Mole. The Ostend force parted -company at the agreed point, and the monitors opened fire on -the shore batteries. Precisely at midnight the </span><em class="italics">Sirius</em><span> and the -</span><em class="italics">Brilliant</em><span> arrived at Ostend, and at Zeebrugge the </span><em class="italics">Vindictive</em><span>, -emerging from the thick fog of smoke into the brilliant light -of German flares, saw the end of the Mole within 400 yards -of her. She ran alongside at full speed, and returned the fire -of the big guns with her 6-inch and 12-pound armament.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 60%" id="figure-262"> -<span id="id3"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="Zeebrugge." src="images/img-177.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">Zeebrugge.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>To grapple the Mole was very difficult; the outer wall was -high and there was a heavy swell rolling the ships. The </span><em class="italics">Iris</em><span> -was ahead; but the </span><em class="italics">Daffodil</em><span>, being close astern of the </span><em class="italics">Vindictive</em><span>, -was able to push her into place with her bows and hold her -there most gallantly. The </span><em class="italics">Vindictive</em><span> ran out the "brows" or -high gangways with which she was specially fitted, and the -storming parties were ready to land. At this moment a shell fell -among them and killed Colonel Bertram Elliot of the Marines, -while Captain Henry Halanem, who was commanding the -bluejackets, fell to machine-gun fire. But their men were -unchecked. They rushed upon the brows, which were tossing -and crashing on the wall, and with all their heavy -accoutrements, bombs, and Lewis guns, cleared the leap down the -steep fall to the floor of the Mole, and began fighting their way -along it under cover of a barrage from the ship's howitzers. -The </span><em class="italics">Iris</em><span> meantime was grappling the Mole farther ahead, -with dearly bought success; the </span><em class="italics">Daffodil's</em><span> men jumped across -to the </span><em class="italics">Vindictive</em><span> and joined her storming party.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The charge was irresistible; the batteries were taken, -the dug-outs cleared, the hangars fired, the store-sheds blown -up, and those of the enemy who escaped into a destroyer were -sent to the bottom in her by a bombing attack from the -parapet. All this was done in fifteen minutes; then followed -a tremendous explosion at the shore end of the Mole. The C3, -manned by half a dozen officers and men under Lieutenant -R. D. Sandford, R.N., had made straight for the piles of the -viaduct under the searchlights of the enemy, who seem to -have thought that she was bent on passing through to attack -the ships in the harbour, and was therefore sure to be trapped -among the struts and piles. Then, when they saw her crew -reappear in a tiny motor-boat they opened fire with -machine-guns; but they had only wounded and not disabled their -quarry, for immediately C 3 exploded and destroyed the -viaduct and all upon it, cutting off the Mole from communication -with the shore. Lieutenant R. D. Sandford, with his -five companions, was picked up by a steam pinnace -commanded by his brother, Lieutenant-Commander Sandford, -and brought away safely. Both as tactics and as a moral -reinforcement their exploit was of the highest value.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ten minutes afterwards the block-ships, the </span><em class="italics">Thetis</em><span> (Commander -R. S. Sneyd), the </span><em class="italics">Intrepid</em><span> (Lieutenant Stuart Bonham-Carter), -and the </span><em class="italics">Iphigenia</em><span> (Lieutenant V. W. Billyard-Leake), -were seen rounding the lighthouse and heading for the entrance -of the canal. The </span><em class="italics">Thetis</em><span> was leading, and received the -concentrated fire of the enemy; she ran aground on the edge of the -channel and was sunk partially across it, signalling to her -consorts, as she went down, to avoid the nets which had -fouled her own propeller. The </span><em class="italics">Intrepid</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Iphigenia</em><span> -thereupon passed straight up the canal to a point at which -they were two or three hundred yards inside the shore lines -and actually behind the German guns on the Mole. They -were then blown up and sunk across the channel, and their -crews took to the boats and got away out to sea, where they -were eventually taken on board the destroyers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An hour had now passed and the work was done. Even -the lighthouse had been sacked, for Wing-Commander Brock, -who was in charge of the smoke-screen operations, had not -only led the charge into the big gun battery, but had made -a special objective of the range-finder in the lighthouse top -and came down laden with an armful of spoil. He was last -seen lying desperately wounded under the parapet wall of the -Mole; but this was not reported until afterwards, and his fate -remained uncertain. The siren was shrieking the recall, -half drowned by the noise of gun-fire; it was twenty minutes -before the word could be given to cast off.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The </span><em class="italics">Vindictive</em><span>, the </span><em class="italics">Iris</em><span>, and the </span><em class="italics">Daffodil</em><span> got away at full -speed, and the German salvos followed them with remarkable -regularity, but always a few yards behind; the ships were -soon covered too by their own smoke. Of the three destroyers -two came safely off; the third, the </span><em class="italics">North Star</em><span>, was sunk by -gun-fire near the block-ships, but her men were brought away -by the </span><em class="italics">Phoebe</em><span>. Of the motor-boats (under command of Captain -R. Collins) many performed feats of incredible audacity -at point-blank range, and all but two returned. The -co-operation of all forces was from first to last beyond -expectation and beyond praise; a mortal enterprise could hardly -come nearer to perfection, whether of foresight, daring, or -execution.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>During the Zeebrugge attack the wind shifted and blew -the smoke off shore. This helped to cover the retirement, -but at Ostend it caused a partial failure of the blocking -operations. Commodore Hubert Lynes successfully laid his -smoke screen, and sent in the </span><em class="italics">Sirius</em><span> and the </span><em class="italics">Brilliant</em><span> to be -sunk between the piers of the harbour mouth. But the enemy -sighted and sunk the motor-boats and their guide lights; -the block-ships missed the entrance and were blown up -2,000 yards to the east. The Germans, to guard against a -renewal of the attempt, removed the buoy at the entrance -and kept a patrol of nine destroyers in the harbour. But -on the night of 9th May, Commodore Lynes took in a larger -flotilla, and this time the </span><em class="italics">Vindictive</em><span> herself was the block-ship. -In spite of fog and darkness her commander (Godsal, late of -the </span><em class="italics">Brilliant</em><span>), piloted by Acting-Lieutenant Cockburn in a -motor-boat, ran her 200 yards up the channel and then -ordered her to be sunk. He died in the act, but the work was -completed by Lieutenant Crutchley and Engineer-Lieutenant -Bury. The losses were heavy, for the Germans had a fair -target; but even when day broke the nine destroyers made -no attempt at a counterstroke, and the expedition returned -triumphant.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This whole attack was a legitimate enterprise planned only -for a definite and practical purpose, but in the result it proved -a greater affair than had been foreseen: the moral effect of -so splendid a feat of arms came as a timely gift from the -Navy to the Allied cause.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="behind-the-lines-and-at-home"><span class="bold large">PART V.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">BEHIND THE LINES.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXX.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">BEHIND THE LINES AND AT HOME.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"We are fighting," said Lord Curzon in July 1918, "seven -distinct campaigns ourselves—in France, Italy, Salonika, -Palestine, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Egypt, and we have -raised 7,000,000 men. We have been the feeder, clothier, -baker, armourer, and universal provider of the Allies."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The achievement of Britain in the war cannot be judged -only from her successes in the field. In 1914 she set herself -resolutely to prepare a great fighting-machine which would -not only be superior to that of Germany, but which would -also serve the needs of all the Powers who fought by her -side. It was the perfection of this machine, built up through -four patient and laborious years, which enabled her in the -final war of movement to deliver the succession of blows which -led to victory.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Take first the numbers of enlisted men. In August 1914 -the British land forces were made up of 250,000 Regulars, -200,000 trained Reserves, and 250,000 partly-trained -Territorials. Lord Kitchener asked for 100,000 volunteers, and -these were enrolled in less than a fortnight. In one day -30,000 enlisted. By July 1915 there were 2,000,000 men in -arms. In May 1916 the King announced that over 5,000,000 -men had enrolled voluntarily in the army and the navy. In -August 1918, 8,500,000 men were enrolled in the armed forces -of the Crown.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The navy, in August 1914, had 145,000 officers and men -and a tonnage of 2,500,000. Four years later the figures -were 450,000 men and 8,000,000 tons. In one month in the -year 1918 British warships travelled 1,000,000 sea miles in -home waters alone, and in the same period auxiliary vessels -travelled 6,000,000 miles, or 250 times the circuit of the globe. -During the war the British navy transported 20,000,000 men, -of whom only 2,700 were lost by enemy action; 2,000,000 -horses and mules, 25,000,000 tons of explosives, 51,000,000 -tons of oil and fuel, and 130,000,000 tons of food and other -materials. All this was done while fighting a constant -warfare against enemy submarines.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The work of the British people at home in supplying -munitions was one of the main factors in the enemy's defeat. -The Ministry of Munitions was formed in June 1915, and soon -became the largest of the Government departments, controlling -the iron, steel, engineering, and chemical trades, and -employing 2,500,000 men and 1,000,000 women. Over -10,000 firms worked for it, and Government factories -increased from three in 1914 to 200 in 1918. In 1918 the figure -of the first year of war in the production of certain classes of -ammunition was multiplied four hundred times, and in the -production of guns forty times. During the Battle of the -Somme in 1916, Britain issued every week to her armies in -France an amount of ammunition equal to the entire stock -available for her land service at the outbreak of war; and -during the last battles of 1918 the volume of shells fired was -more than double that expended in the Battle of the Somme. -All the railways of Britain were taken over by the State, and -from October 1916 materials for thousands of miles of track, -over 1,000 locomotives, and many thousands of wagons -were shipped to various theatres of war, in spite of the fact -that more than 170,000 railwaymen had been released for -service with the army.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 60%" id="figure-263"> -<span id="field-marshal-earl-kitchener"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="FIELD-MARSHAL EARL KITCHENER." src="images/img-185.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">FIELD-MARSHAL EARL KITCHENER.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>The business of an army in the field is not merely to fight, -or rather, its chief task, fighting, is only possible if there -is a first-class organization behind the lines. How -brilliant and complete that organization was towards the close -of the struggle would take a volume to expound. In France, -for example, the British Army had its own Forestry -Department, and produced from French forests over 2,000,000 tons -of timber. It was its own farmer, and in 1918 it saved the -crops of 18,000 French acres, harvesting them at night. It -did its own tailoring and boot-making. It did all its mending -of every kind, and it saved broken and derelict material to -be remade in the factories at home. It did its own catering, -and there never was a war in which men and horses were -better fed—a remarkable feat when we remember that provision -had to be made for men of different races and tastes—curry -for the Indians, nut-oil for the Chinese, and coffee for the -American soldiers. It did its own banking, insurance, and -printing. Its transport service was a miracle. In 1914 the -Expeditionary Force landed in France with 40,000 horses -and a few hundred lorries, while its railway transport was -managed by the French. In 1918 it ran its own railways, -and it had 500,000 horses and mules, 33,500 lorries, 1,400 -tractors, and 15,800 motor-cars. It did the business of -almost all the trades on earth, and did it with exactness, -economy, and an amazing flexibility, so that whenever a -new call was necessitated by the strategy of the generals, it -was fully and promptly met.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The war was therefore a united effort of the whole British -people. In Cromwell's day the start of one battle was -delayed because it got mixed up with a fox hunt. Even -in the Napoleonic wars there were thousands of families in -England which lived remote from the struggle, and readers -of Jane Austen's novels would not gather from their placid -narrative that her country was involved in a European -campaign. But between 1914 and 1918 every aspect of national -life and every branch of national thought was organized for -the purposes of the war. Hospitals sprang up in every town -and in hundreds of country districts. Articles of food were -controlled to release shipping for war purposes. The country -enormously increased its own food supply, and some 4,000,000 -acres of pasture were brought under tillage. The whole -nation was rationed, so that rich and poor alike shared in -the sacrifice. Schoolboys spent their holidays working on -the land, and the women of Britain, in munition factories, -in land work, and in a thousand other employments, made -noble contribution to the common cause. In 1918 there were -at least 1,500,000 more women working than before the war, -and the tasks on which they were engaged were those which -had hitherto been regarded as work which could only be -performed by men.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-last-day"><span class="bold large">PART VI.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">VICTORY.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXI.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE LAST DAY.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>By the first days of November 1918 the war was won. In -October both Turkey and Bulgaria had been beaten to -the ground. On the 4th of November Austria capitulated. -Ludendorff had resigned, the German Emperor had sought -refuge at Army Headquarters from the troubles of his -capital, the German navy had mutinied, and a revolution -was beginning in Berlin. Foch was on the eve of his last -step in the West. The Americans were moving on Sedan. -Haig was in the position of Wellington on the eve of Waterloo, -when he raised his hat as a signal for "Everything to -go in."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On 1st November Valenciennes fell. On 4th November -Haig attacked on the 30 miles between that city and the -Sambre. Twenty British divisions scattered thirty-two -German divisions, taking 19,000 prisoners and more than -450 guns. That day broke the enemy's resistance. Henceforth -he was not in retreat but in flight, and the two wings of -his armies were separated for ever. There remained only -the 50 miles between Avesnes and Mezières as an avenue of -escape for all the German forces of the south, and Foch was -preparing to swing his right wing north of Metz to close the -last bolt-hole. If a negotiated armistice did not come within -a week there would be a compulsory armistice of complete -collapse and universal surrender. That day Germany -appointed delegates to sue for peace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the 8th, Rawlinson occupied Avesnes and Byng reached -the skirts of Maubeuge. The first week of that month of -November the weather was wet and chilly, very different -from the bright August when British troops had last fought -in that region. The old regular forces which in 1914 had -then borne the shock of Germany's first fury had mostly -disappeared. Many were dead, or prisoners, or crippled for -life, and the rest had been dispersed through the whole -British army. The famous first five divisions, which had -made the Retreat from Mons, were in the main composed of -new men. But there were some who had fought steadily -from the Sambre to the Marne and back again to the Aisne, -and then for four years in bitter trench battles, and had -now returned, after our patient fashion, to their old -campaigning ground. Even the slow imagination of the British -soldier must have been stirred by that strange revisiting. -Then he had been marching south in stout-hearted bewilderment, -with the German cavalry pricking at his flanks. Now -he was sweeping to the north-east on the road to Germany, -and far ahead his own cavalry and cyclists were harassing -the enemy rout, while on all the eastern roads his aircraft -were scattering death.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the 7th the line of the Scheldt broke. On the 8th -Condé fell, and on the 9th the British Guards entered -Maubeuge. On the 7th Pershing and the Americans had reached -Sedan. On the 10th the British left was approaching Mons, -and the centre was close on the Belgian frontier. These -were feverish days both for victors and vanquished. -Surrender hung in the air, and there was a generous rivalry -among the Allies to get as far forward as possible before it -came. Take, for example, the 8th Division of the British -First Army. On the 10th November one of its battalions, -the 2nd Middlesex, travelled for seven hours in buses, and -then marched 27 miles, pushing the enemy before them. -They wanted to reach the spot near Mons where some of them -had fired some of the first British shots in the war; and it is -pleasant to record that they succeeded.</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 60%" id="figure-264"> -<span id="the-front-on-the-eve-of-the-allied-offensive-and-on-the-day-of-the-armistice"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="The Front in July on the eve of the Allied Offensive, and on the day of the Armistice, November 11, 1918." src="images/img-193.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">The Front in July on the eve of the Allied Offensive, and on the day -<br />of the Armistice, November 11, 1918.</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meantime, in Germany, the revolution had begun. On -Saturday the 9th, a republic was declared in Berlin, and -throughout the country, in every State, the dynasties fell. -On Sunday the 10th, the Emperor left the Army Headquarters -at Spa, crossed the Dutch frontier, and sought -refuge in a friend's house at Amerongen. The Imperial -Crown Prince, like his father, found sanctuary in Holland. -The German delegates left Berlin on the afternoon of Wednesday -the 6th, and on the 8th met Foch and petitioned for an -armistice. They received his terms, and communicated them -to Spa and Berlin. On the night of Sunday, 10th November, -the terms were accepted, and at 5 o'clock on the morning -of Monday, 11th November, the armistice was signed. The -acceptance of the terms meant the surrender of Germany to -the will of the Allies, for they stripped from her the power -of continuing or renewing the war. It was an admission of -her utter defeat in the field.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The morning of Monday, 11th November, was cold and -foggy, such weather as the year before had been seen at -Cambrai. The Allied front was for the most part quiet, -only cavalry patrols moving eastwards in touch with the -retreat. But at two points there was some activity. The -Americans on the Meuse were advancing, and the day opened -for them with all the accompaniment of a field action. At -Mons, on the Sunday night, the Canadians were in position -round the place, fighting continued during the night, and -at dawn the 3rd Canadian Division entered the streets and -established a line east of the town, while the carillons of the -belfries played "Tipperary." For Britain the circle was now -complete. In three months her armies had gained seven -victories, each greater than any in her old wars; they had -taken some 190,000 prisoners and 3,000 guns, and they had -broken the heart of their enemy. To their great sweep -from Amiens to Mons was due especially the triumph which -Foch had won, and on that grey November morning their -worn ranks could await the final hour with thankfulness and -pride.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The minutes passed slowly along the front. An occasional -shell, an occasional burst of fire, told that peace was -not yet, but there were long spells of quiet, save in the -American area. Officers had their watches in their hands, -and the troops waited with the same grave composure with -which they had fought. Men were too weary for their imaginations -to rise to the great moment, for it is not at the time -of a crisis, but long afterwards, that the human mind grasps -the drama. Suddenly, as the watch-hands touched 11, -there came a second of expectant silence, and then a curious -rippling sound which observers, far behind the front, likened -to the noise of a great wind. It was the sound of men -cheering from the Vosges to the sea.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="looking-backward"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXXII.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">LOOKING BACKWARD.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The greatness of the contest is not easy to realize, for it was -so much the hugest war ever fought in the history of humanity -that comparative tests fail us. During its four years -it took from the world a far heavier toll of life and wealth -than a century of the old Barbarian invasions had done. -More than 8,000,000 men died in battle, and the casualties -on all fronts were over 30,000,000. If we add deaths from -disease and famine it cannot have cost the population of the -globe less than 20,000,000 dead, and as many more maimed -and weakened for life. At least 40,000 millions sterling of -money were spent by the nations in the direct business of -war. Let it be remembered that this devastation was -wrought not in the loose society of an elder world, but in -one where each state was a highly-developed thing, and -depended for some necessaries upon its neighbour, and where -myriads of human souls could only support life so long as -the machine of civilization performed its functions smoothly -and securely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>We can best grasp the immensity of the struggle by -attempting to grasp the immensity of the battleground. Such -a task is for the imagination only, for the soldier saw only -his little area, and no man's first-hand experience could cover -all the many fields. An observer on some altitude in the -north, like the Hill of Cassel, on some evening in September -1918, could look east and note the great arc from the dunes -at Nieuport to the coalfields about Lens lit with the flashes -of guns and the glare of star-shells, and loud with the mutter -of battle. That was a line of 50 miles—far greater than any -battlefield in the old wars. Had he moved south to the ridge -of Vimy he would have looked on another 50 miles of an -intenser strife. South, again, to Bapaume, he would have -marked the wicked glow from Cambrai to the Oise. Still -journeying, from some little height between the Oise and the -Aisne he would have scanned the long front which was -now creeping round the shattered woods of St. Gobain to -where Laon sat on its hill. From the mounts about Rheims -he might have seen Gouraud's battle-line among the bleak -Champagne downs, and from a point in the Argonne the -trenches of the Americans on both sides of the Meuse, running -into the dim wooded country where the Moselle flowed -towards Metz. Past the Gap of Nancy, and southward along -the scarp of the Vosges, went the flicker of fire and the -murmur of combat, till the French lines stretched into the -plain of Alsace, and exchanged greetings with the sentinels -on the Swiss frontier. Such a battle-ground might well have -seemed beyond the dream of mortals, and yet it was but part -of the whole.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A celestial intelligence, with sight unlimited by distance, -would have looked eastward, and, beyond the tangle of the -Alps, witnessed a strange sight. From the Stelvio Pass in -the Alps to the Adriatic ran another front, continuous through -glacier-camps and rock-eyries and trenches on the edge of -the eternal snows, to the foothills of the Lombard plain, -and thence, by the gravel beds of the Piave, to the lagoons -of Venice. Beyond the Adriatic it ran, through the sombre -hills of Albania, past the great lakes, where the wild-fowl -wheeled at the unfamiliar sound of guns, beyond the Tcherna -and Vardar and Struma valleys to the Ægean shores. It -began again, when the Anatolian peninsula was left behind, -and curved from the Palestine coast in a great loop north -of Jerusalem across Jordan to the hills of Moab. Gazing -over the deserts, he would have marked the flicker which -told of mortal war passing beyond the ancient valleys of -Euphrates and Tigris, up into the wild Persian ranges. And -scattered flickers to the north would have led him to the -Caspian shores, and beyond them to that tableland running -to the Hindu Kush which was the cradle of all the warring -races. Still farther north, his eyes would have seen the -lights of the Allies from the Pacific coast westward to the -Urals and the Volga, and little clusters far away on the shore -of the Arctic Sea.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Had the vision of our celestial spectator been unhindered -by time as well as by space, it would have embraced still -stranger sights. It would have beheld the old Allied Eastern -front, from the Baltic to the Danube, pressing westward, -checking, and falling east; breaking in parts, gathering -strength, and again advancing; and at last dying like a -lingering sunset into darkness. Behind would have appeared -a murderous glow, which was the flame of revolution. -Turning to Africa, it would have noted the slow movement of -little armies in west, and east, and south—handfuls of men -creeping in wide circles among the Cameroons forests till -the land was theirs; converging lines of mounted troopers -among the barrens of the German South-West territory, -closing in upon the tin shanties of Windhoek; troops of all -races advancing through the mountain glens and dark green -forests of German East Africa, till, after months and years, -the enemy strength had become a batch of exiles beyond -the southern frontier. And farther off still, among the isles -of the Pacific and on the Chinese coast, it would have seen -men toiling under the same lash of war.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Had the spectator looked seaward, the sight would have -been not less marvellous. On every ocean of the world he -would have observed the merchantmen of the Allies bringing -supplies for battle. But in the North Atlantic, in the -Mediterranean, and in the English Channel and the North Sea -he would have seen uncanny things. Vessels would disappear -as if by magic, and little warships would hurry about -like some fishing fleet when shoals are moving. The -merchantmen would huddle into packs, with destroyers like lean -dogs at their sides. He would have seen in the Scottish -firths and among the isles of the Orkneys a mighty navy -waiting, and ships from it scouring the waters of the North -Sea, while inside the fences of Heligoland lay the decaying -monsters of the German fleet. And in the air, over land and -sea would have been a perpetual coming and going of aircraft -like flies above the pool of war.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The observer, wherever on the globe his eyes were turned, -would have found no area immune from the effects of the -contest. Every factory in Europe and America was humming -by night and day to prepare the material of strife. The -economic problems of five continents had been transformed. -The life of the remotest villages had suffered a strange -transformation. Far-away English hamlets were darkened -because of air raids; little farms in Touraine, in the Scottish -Highlands, in the Apennines, were untilled because there -were no men; Armenia had lost half her people; the folk -of North Syria were dying of famine; Indian villages and -African tribes had been blotted out by plague; whole -countries had ceased for the moment to exist, except as -geographical names. Such were but a few of the consequences -of the kindling of war in a world grown too expert -in destruction, a world where all nations were part one of -another.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The war was an Allied victory, but let us be very clear -what that means. It delivered the world's freedom from a -deadly danger, and, though the price was colossal, the cause -was worthy. But its positive fruits must be sought -elsewhere—in that impulse to international brotherhood caused -by the revulsion from the horrors of international strife, -and the war's vindication of the essential greatness of our -common humanity. Its hero was the ordinary man. Victory -was won less by genius in the few than by faithfulness -in the many.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The horrors of the four years sickened the world of war, -and made thinking men realize that some other way than -this monstrous folly must be found of settling disputes -between peoples. A League of Nations was one of the first -articles of peace, and the League then founded has already, -in spite of hindrances and setbacks, and the opposition of an -all too narrow patriotism, made itself a power in the world. -If civilization is to endure the League must prosper, for the -world cannot stand another such carnival of destruction. -The League means the enforcement of law throughout the -globe, so that the nations as regards each other shall live -in that state of orderly liberty which a civilized power -ensures for its citizens. That purpose, as we have learned -from bitter experience, is not a dream of idealism, but the -first mandate of common-sense.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>No honest sacrifice can be made in vain. In war sacrifice -is mainly of the innocent and the young. This was true of -every side. Most men who fell died for honourable things. -They were inspired by the eternal sanctities—love of country -and home, comradeship, loyalty to manly virtues, the -indomitable questing of youth. Against such a spirit the -gates of death cannot prevail. We may dare to hope that -the seed sown in sacrifice and pain will yet quicken and bear -fruit to the purifying of the world, and in this confidence -await the decrees of that Omnipotence to whom a thousand -years are as one day.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">THE END.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="small">PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN AT -<br />THE PRESS OF THE PUBLISHERS.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 6em"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="backmatter"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst" id="pg-end-line"><span>*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>DAYS TO REMEMBER</span><span> ***</span></p> -<div class="cleardoublepage"> -</div> -<div class="language-en level-2 pgfooter section" id="a-word-from-project-gutenberg" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<span id="pg-footer"></span><h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><span>A Word from Project Gutenberg</span></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>We will update this book if we find any errors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This book can be found under: </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49540"><span>http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49540</span></a></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. -Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this -license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works to protect the Project Gutenberg™ concept and -trademark. 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