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Military: November by Irene SnattWritten by  Out of battle  In Relic of the Its rusty treads loom over, Threatening. I play with Army buttons, Unwind some tattered puttees. On corners of the shopping streets The blind and maimed Are selling matches. Some veterans march. A brass band plays And Mother sighs and says Before the Before the She watched the boys in khaki March away. By Irene Snatt.  Military: Ruhleben CampWritten by Out of battle In the book “My Four Years in Germany”, James W. Gerard describes the prisoner of war camp for British civilians at Ruhleben. In his own words - “On September ninth, 1913, having resigned as Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, I sailed for Germany, stopping on the way in London in order to make the acquaintance of Ambassador Page, certain wise people in Washington having expressed the belief that a personal acquaintance of our Ambassadors made it easier for them to work together. Two cares assail a newly appointed Ambassador. He must first take thought of what he shall wear and where he shall live. All other nations have beautiful Embassies or Legations in Berlin, but I found that my two immediate predecessors had occupied a villa originally built as a two-family house, pleasantly enough situated, but two miles from the centre of Berlin and entirely unsuitable for an Embassy.” Working for the American Government he paints a realistic picture of conditions for the prisoners of war. “In the autumn of 1914, the British Government... Continues, Read More...Share: Military: Ruhleben CampWritten by Out of battle In the book “My Four Years in Germany”, James W. Gerard describes the prisoner of war camp for British civilians at Ruhleben. In his own words - “On September ninth, 1913, having resigned as Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, I sailed for Germany, stopping on the way in London in order to make the acquaintance of Ambassador Page, certain wise people in Washington having expressed the belief that a personal acquaintance of our Ambassadors made it easier for them to work together. Two cares assail a newly appointed Ambassador. He must first take thought of what he shall wear and where he shall live. All other nations have beautiful Embassies or Legations in Berlin, but I found that my two immediate predecessors had occupied a villa originally built as a two-family house, pleasantly enough situated, but two miles from the centre of Berlin and entirely unsuitable for an Embassy.” Working for the American Government he paints a realistic picture of conditions for the prisoners of war. “In the autumn of 1914, the British Government... Continues, Read More...Share: Military: An Australian at Messines RidgeWritten by Out of battle In his book “WITH OUR SOLDIERS IN FRANCE” - Sherwood Eddy paints some brief sketches of his impression of the work of the war. Here reflecting on the battle of Messines Ridge in 1917 he recalls an account of a simple Australian boy in the front trench: "Fritz had a machine gun to nearly every ten yards. I don't know what became of my friends Hugh and Bill. They were just beside me, but when I looked around both were gone. A shell landed just at the side of me, and I think Hugh and Bill were blown to pieces. I got my wound in the chest and the fragment came out through my back. I thought my last day had come. I dropped into a hole, and no sooner had I got in, than Mack got it through the face. He was able to go back, but I was simply helpless, as my legs refused to move. Anyhow, I pulled the shovel off my back and dug a little ridge in the side of the trench. No sooner had I done this than Fritz started to bombard. One shell fell in the hole in which I was, but exploded in the opposite direction. Then another came and landed just above... Continues, Read More...Share: Military: An Australian at Messines RidgeWritten by Out of battle In his book “WITH OUR SOLDIERS IN FRANCE” - Sherwood Eddy paints some brief sketches of his impression of the work of the war. Here reflecting on the battle of Messines Ridge in 1917 he recalls an account of a simple Australian boy in the front trench: "Fritz had a machine gun to nearly every ten yards. I don't know what became of my friends Hugh and Bill. They were just beside me, but when I looked around both were gone. A shell landed just at the side of me, and I think Hugh and Bill were blown to pieces. I got my wound in the chest and the fragment came out through my back. I thought my last day had come. I dropped into a hole, and no sooner had I got in, than Mack got it through the face. He was able to go back, but I was simply helpless, as my legs refused to move. Anyhow, I pulled the shovel off my back and dug a little ridge in the side of the trench. No sooner had I done this than Fritz started to bombard. One shell fell in the hole in which I was, but exploded in the opposite direction. Then another came and landed just... Continues, Read More...Share: Military: The General InspectionWritten by Out of battle This excellent chapter comes from the book "The Amateur Army" by Patrick MacGill. For the volunteer soldier who joined up to do his bit, general inspection was one of the least agreeable trials. Patrick MacGill paints an excellent and vivid picture of the monthly chore. THE GENERAL INSPECTION One of our greatest trials is the general inspection, which takes place every month, and once Lord Kitchener inspected the battalion, in company with the division quartered in our town. But that was before I joined. It involves much labour in the way of preparation. On one occasion, midnight the night before, a Friday, found us still busy with our work. My cot-mate was in difficulties with his rifle--the cloth of the pull-through stuck in the barrel, and he could not move it, although he broke a bamboo cane and bent a poker in the attempt. "It's a case for the armoury," he remarked gloomily. "What a nuisance that ramrods are done away with! We've been at it since eight o'clock, and getting along A1. Now that beastly pull-through!" What an evening's work! On the... Continues, Read More...Share: Military: Collecting the wounded at nightWritten by Out of battle This letter was published in the Eastbourne Gazette early in October 1914. Captain Arthur Habgood conveys the terrifying circumstances of evacuating the wounded. During the war he gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the service of the Royal Army Medical Corps (Special Reserve). Collecting the wounded at night R.A.M.C . At work under shell-fire. Dr. Arthur Habgood (son of Dr. Henry Habgood Stafford House, Upperton, Eastbourne) Captain in the R.A.M.C., Special Reserve and attached to No. 9 Field Ambulance, 3rd Division, has been on service with the British Expeditionary Force since August 18. Writing home recently from the field of battle, Captain Habgood says: - “My dear Father – This is a great hurry, as a Red Cross car is waiting to take it into Paris. We are at present in billets and are very busy day and night, evacuating wounded and sick - about 1,500 in three days – so you will see we are very busy. Am quite well, but have had a pretty rough time. A big battle is starting, and we have had a little lull in the fighting. For the... Continues, Read More...Share: Military: On a Quiet November EveningWritten by Out of battle This moving article comes from the book On the King's Service Inward Glimpses of Men at Arms by Innes Logan. Innes Logan was Chaplin to the Forces from September 1914 to May 1916. Here he reflects the words of a famous hymn as it drifts on a gentle wind that carried with it the noise of a heavy gun firing a round. “One November evening I was picking my way cautiously through the mud camp near Reninghelst, and hearing the tune of a famous hymn, drew near to listen, for Jock sometimes sings to hymn tunes words that certainly never appeared in any hymn-book, and I wanted to make sure that it was the greatest hymn in the English language which was being sung. It was a quiet night. Now and again a heavy gun fired a round, and infrequently, on a gentle wind blowing from the trenches, was borne the rattle of a machine-gun. From all the camp arose the subdued confused noise of an army settling to rest for the night. Some tents were in darkness, in others a candle burned, and here and there braziers still glowed redly. It was from one of the lighted... Continues, Read More...Share: Military: If Germany Had Won The WarWritten by Out of battle This excellent article was first published in The War Illustrated and is on the brilliant site A Great War in a Different Light. Published in December 1918 it lays out for all to read the territorial ambitions of the Kaiser. If Germany Had Won I saw a leaflet the other day which the German Bolshevists, known as the Spartacus group, had issued. (Spartacus was the leader of a revolt of slaves against the oppression of their Roman masters.) This leaflet sketched the conditions which would be created for Germany by a German victory. The firmer fixing of the Junker yoke upon the people's neck, the intensifying of the "Imperial madness," the triumph of reaction in every form, militarism all-powerful, Germany an armed camp, "holding down conquered Europe by blood and iron," bankrupt in purse, too exhausted by military effort for industry of the wholesome kind, with no shipping, no trade — these were the consequences foretold if Germany should win. Foretold by Germans who had the sense to see through the lies with which the ruling class deluded the... Military: If Germany Had Won The WarWritten by Out of battle This excellent article was first published in The War Illustrated and is on the brilliant site A Great War in a Different Light. Published in December 1918 it lays out for all to read the territorial ambitions of the Kaiser. If Germany Had Won I saw a leaflet the other day which the German Bolshevists, known as the Spartacus group, had issued. (Spartacus was the leader of a revolt of slaves against the oppression of their Roman masters.) This leaflet sketched the conditions which would be created for Germany by a German victory. The firmer fixing of the Junker yoke upon the people's neck, the intensifying of the "Imperial madness," the triumph of reaction in every form, militarism all-powerful, Germany an armed camp, "holding down conquered Europe by blood and iron," bankrupt in purse, too exhausted by military effort for industry of the wholesome kind, with no shipping, no trade — these were the consequences foretold if Germany should win. Foretold by Germans who had the sense to see through the lies with which the ruling class deluded the... |
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