Diary 2014

Commemoration

August 4th 2014

So, we are busy "commemorating" the first world war. I don't imagine we will hear all that much about "war". I am reading John Keegan's history and this where I have arrived, referring to the battle at Loos:

"The German defenders were astounded by the sight of 'an entire front covered with the enemy's infantry'. They stood up, some even on the parapet of the trench, and fired triumphantly into the mass of men advancing across the open grassland. The machine gunners had opened fire at 1,500 yards' range. 'Never had machine guns had such straightforward work to do...with barrels becoming hot and swimming in oil, they traversed to and fro along the enemy's ranks; one machine gun alone fired 12,500 rounds that afternoon. The effect was devastating. The enemy could be seen falling literally in hundreds but they continued their march in good order and without interruption' until they reached the unbroken wire of the German's second position: 'Confronted by this impenetrable obstacle the survivors turned and began to retire.'

The survivors were a bare majority of those who had come forward. Of the 15,000 infantry of the 21st and 24th Divisions, over 8,000 had been killed or wounded. Their German enemies, nauseated by the spectacle of the 'corpse field of Loos', held their fire as the British turned in retreat, 'so great was the feeling of compassion and mercy after such a victory'.

......

Major John Stewart, of the 9th Black Watch, wrote to his wife after the battle, 'the main thing is to kill plenty of Huns with as little loss to oneself as possible; it's a great game and our allies are playing it top hole'..... It would be a year or more before the ardour of either army was quenched by the deluge of pointless losses."

The First World War - John Keegan