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Файл:The Great War. Part I
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THE GREAT WAR
consisted very often of less than a normal company, commanded,
perhaps, by two junior offi cers. The 4th Brigade of Guards was also
heavily engaged this day, and so were the cavalry of the Third Division. The general locale of the action was the same as that which
had been so often fought over before, the Second Corps being to
the south of the Ypres-Menin road, with Lord Cavan’s Guardsmen
upon their right and the cavalry upon the right of the Guards. After
a severe shelling there was a serious infantry advance, about one
o’clock, which took some trenches, but was fi nally driven back and
chased for a quarter of a mile. McCracken’s 7th Brigade bore a chief
part in this fi ghting, and the 1st Wiltshires particularly distinguished themselves by a fi ne charge led by Captain Cary-Barnard.
The 2nd Grenadiers did great work during the day.
An even heavier advance was made in the afternoon to the
south of that which was broken in the morning. This involved an
oblique advance across the British front, which was stopped and destroyed before it reached the trenches by the deadly fi re of rifl es
and machine-guns. Over a thousand dead were left as a proof of the
energy of the attack and the solidity of the resistance. Farther to the
south a similar attack was beaten back by the cavalry after a preliminary shelling in which the 3rd Dragoon Guards suffered severely.
This attack was repelled by the Third Cavalry Division, to which the
Leicestershire and North Somerset Yeomanry were now attached.
The latter did fi ne service in this action. Altogether, November 17
was a good day for the British arms and a most expensive one for the
Germans.
We have now reached the end of the Battle of Ypres, which attained its maximum fury, so far as the British line was concerned,
from October 29 to November 11. This great contest raged from
the sand dunes of the north, where the Belgians fought so well,
through the French Marine Brigade at Dixmude, and the Ninth
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ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
French Corps, to General Haig’s Corps, which was buttressed on the
right towards the latter part of the battle by the Sixteenth French
Corps. Farther south yet another French corps supported and eventually took the place of the British cavalry opposite the lost villages
of Wytschaete and Messines. From there ran the unbroken lines of
the imperturbable Third Corps, which ended to the south in the
trenches originally held by the Second British Corps, and later by
the Indians. Across the La Bassée Canal the French once again took
up the defence.
It is not an action, therefore, which can be set down to the exclusive credit of any one nation. Our Allies fought gloriously, and
if their deeds are not set down here, it is from want of space and of
precise information, not from want of appreciation. But, turning to
the merely British aspect of the fi ght – and beyond all doubt the
heavier share fell upon the British, who bore the brunt from the
start to the end, – it may be said that the battle lasted a clear month,
from October 12, when Smith-Dorrien crossed the La Bassée Canal,
to November 11, when the German Guard reeled out of the Nonnebusch Wood. We are so near these great events that it is hard to
get their true proportion, but it is abundantly clear that the battle,
in its duration, the space covered, the numbers engaged, and the
losses endured, was far the greatest ever fought up to that time by
a British Army. At Waterloo the losses were under 10,000. In this
great fi ght they were little short of 50,000. The fact that the enemy
did not recoil and that there was no sensational capture of prisoners and guns has obscured the completeness of the victory. In these
days of nations in arms a beaten army is buttressed up or reabsorbed
by the huge forces of which it is part. One judges victory or defeat
by the question whether an army has or has not reached its objective. In this particular case, taking a broad view of the whole action,
a German force of at least 600,000 men set forth to reach the coast,
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THE GREAT WAR
and was opposed by a force of less than half its numbers who barred
its way. The Germans did not advance fi ve miles in a month of fi ghting, and they lost not less than 150,000 men without any military
advantage whatever, for the possession of such villages as Gheluvelt,
Wytschaete, or Messines availed them not at all. If this is not a great
victory, I do not know what military achievement would deserve the
term. Ypres was a Plevna – but a Plevna which remained for ever
untaken.
On November 15 Lord Roberts died whilst visiting Army, having such an end as he would have chosen, within earshot of the guns
and within the lines of those Indian soldiers whom he loved and
had so often led. The last words of his greatest speech to his fellowcountrymen before the outbreak of that war which he had foreseen,
and for which he had incessantly tried to prepare, were that they
should quit themselves like men. He lived to see them do so, and
though he was not spared to see the fi nal outcome, his spirit must at
least have been at rest as to the general trend of the campaign. The
tradition of his fascinating character, with its knightly qualities of
gentleness, bravery, and devotion to duty, will remain as a national
possession.
About this time, though too late for the severe fi ghting, there
arrived the Eighth Division, which would enable Sir Henry Rawlinson to complete his Fourth Corps.
The Eighth Division was composed as follows: –
We have now arrived at what may be called the great winter
lull, when the continuation of active operations was made impossible by the weather conditions, which were of the most atrocious
description. It was the season which in a more classic age of warfare was spent in comfortable winter quarters. There was no such
surcease of hardship for the contending lines, who were left in
their trenches face to face, often not more than fi fty yards apart,
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ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
and each always keenly alert for any devilry upon the part of the
other. The ashes of war were always redly smouldering, and sometimes, as will be seen, burst up into sudden furious fl ame. It was
a period of rainstorms and of frost-bites, of trench mortars and of
grenades, of weary, muddy, goat-skinned men shivering in narrow
trenches, and of depleted brigades The fi rst resting and recruiting
in the rearward towns. Such Ypres. was the position at the Front.
But hundreds of miles to the westward the real future of the war
was being fought out in the rifl e factories of Birmingham, the great
gun works of Woolwich, Coventry, Newcastle, and Sheffi eld, the
cloth looms of Yorkshire, and the boot centres of Northampton.
In these and m any other places oversea the tools for victory were
forged night and day through one of the blackest and most strenuous winters that Britain has ever known. And always on green and
waste and common, from Cromarty to Brighton, wherever soldiers
could fi nd billets or a village of log huts could be put together, the
soldier citizens who were to take up the burden of the war, the men
of the Territorials and the men of the new armies, endured every
hardship and discomfort without a murmur, whilst they prepared
themselves for that great and glorious task which the future would
bring. Even those who were too old or too young for service formed
themselves into volunteer bands, who armed and clothed themselves at their own expense. This movement, which sprang fi rst
from the small Sussex village of Crowborough, was co-ordinated
and controlled by a central body of which Lord Desborough was
the head. In spite of discouragement, or at the best cold neutrality
from Government, it increased and prospered until no fewer than
a quarter of a million of men were mustered and ready entirely at
their own expense and by private enterprise – one of the most remarkable phenomena of the war.
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THE GREAT WAR
HAIG'S FIRST
CORPS
August 22
Get into position to the east of
Mons,
covering the line Mons – Bray.
August 23
Artillery engagement, but no severe attack.
Ordered to retreat in conformity
with Second Corps.
August 24
Retreat with no serious molestation upon Bavai.
Here the two Corps diverged and
did not meet again
till they reached Betz upon September 1.
August 25
Marching all day.
Overtaken in evening at Landrecies and Maroilles
by the German pursuit. Sharp
fi ghting.
August 26
Rearguard actions in morning.
Marching south all day, halting at
the Venerolles line.
August 27
Rearguard action in which Munsters lost heavily.
Marching south all day.
SMITH-DORRIEN'S SECOND
CORPS
Get into position to the west of
Mons,
covering the line Mons – Condé.
Strongly attacked by Von Kluck's
army.
Ordered to abandon position and
fall back.
Retreat followed up by the Germans.
Severe rearguard actions at Dour,
Wasmes, Frameries.
Corps shook itself clear and fell
back on Bavai.
Marching all day.
Reinforced by Fourth Division.
Continual rearguard action
becoming more serious towards
evening, when Cambrai –
Le Cateau line was reached.
Battle of Le Cateau.
German pursuit stalled off at
heavy cost of men and guns.
Retreat on St. Quentin.
Marching south. Reach the line
Nesle – Ham – Flavy.
Battle of Le Cateau.
265
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
August 28
Cavalry actions to stop German
pursuit.
Marching south on La Fère.
August 29, 30, and 31
Marching on the line of the Aisne,
almost east and west.
September 1
Sharp action at Néry with German
vanguard.
Later in the day considerable infantry action
at Villars – Cotteret. Unite at Betz.
September 2
Crossed the Marne and began to
fall back on the Seine.
Halted near Presles.
Marching south, making for the
line of the Oise near
Noyon. Light rearguard skirmishes.
Crossed Oise. Cavalry continually
engaged.
General direction through Crépyen-Valois.
Retreat upon Paris continued.
Late this night the two Corps
unite once more at Betz.
Crossed the Marne and began to
fall back on the Seine.
X.
A RETROSPECT AND GENERAL
SUMMARY
Position of Italy – Fall of German colonies – Sea affairs – Our
Allies
THERE has been no opportunity during this somewhat breathless narrative of the great events which ever be associated with the
names of Mens, the Marne, the Aisne, and Ypres to indicate those
factors which were infl uencing the course of the war in other regions. They do not come properly within the scope of this narrative, nor does the author profess to have any special information
concerning them, but they cannot be absolutely omitted without
interfering with a correct view of the general situation. They will
therefore be briefl y summarised in retrospect before the reader is
carried on into a more particular account of the trench warfare of
the early winter of 1914.
The most important European event at the outbreak of the war,
outside the movement of the combatants, was the secession of Italy
from the Central Powers on the grounds that her treaty applied only
to wars of defence whilst this was manifestly one of aggression. Italian statesmen could speak with the more decision upon the point
since the plot had been unfolded before their eyes. A year previously
they had been asked to join in an unprovoked attack upon Serbia,
and in refusing had given clear warning to their allies how such an
267
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
outrage would viewed. The Central Powers, however, puffed up general by their vainglory and by the knowledge of their secret preparations, were persuaded that they had ample strength to carry out
their intentions without aid from their southern ally. Italy, having
denounced the treaty, remained a neutral, but it was always clear
that she would sooner or later throw in her strength with those who
were at war with Austria, her secular enemy. It was not, however,
until May 1915 that she was in a position to take a defi nite step. It
should be remembered to her eternal honour that the time at which
she did eventually come in was one which was very overcast for the
Allies, and that far from fulfi lling the cynical German prophecy
that she would “hasten to the assistance of the conqueror,” she took
grave risks in ranging herself Fall of upon the side of her Latin sister.
Upon August 24 colonies. Japan also declared war, and by November 7 had completed her share of the common task, for Tsingtau, the
only German colony in Eastern Asia, was captured by a Japanese expeditionary force aided by a British contingent. Already the vast Colonial erection of Germany, those numerous places in the sun which
she had annexed all over the globe, were beginning to crumble. The
little Togoland colony fell upon August 26. New Zealand took over
German Samoa upon August 31. The Australians occupied the Bismarck Archipelago upon September 7, and New Guinea upon the
25th. These smaller twigs were easily lopped, but the main boughs
were made of tougher stuff. A premature attack upon German East
Africa by an expeditionary force from India met with a severe check
immediately after landing. In South Africa the Germans succeeded
in blowing into a small fl ame the smouldering ashes of the old Boer
War. De Wet and others broke their oaths and took up arms, but
the majority remained splendidly loyal, and by the beginning of December Botha had brought the insurrection to an end, and was able
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THE GREAT WAR
henceforth to devote his grand powers of leadership and organisation to the extinction of the enemy’s south-western colony.
A word, too, about sea affairs before we turn to the further detailed account of the British winter upon the Continent. In good
time the Fleet had been ordered to her war-stations at the north and
east of Scotland, with the result that German ocean commerce was
brought to an immediate and absolute stop. The German ships Goe-
ben and Breslau, which were cut off at the outbreak of the war in
the Mediterranean, succeeded in a very clever fashion in reaching
the Dardanelles and safety. Having taken refuge at Constantinople,
these ships played a prominent part in determining Turkey to take
action against the Allies on October 31, a most disastrous decision
both for Turkey, which met her ruin, and for the Allies, who found
their task greatly increased through the excellent fi ghting power of
the Turkish forces.
A brisk action was fought upon August 28 in the Heligoland
Bight, when Admiral Beatty with his cruiser-squadron and a number of light craft visited the enemy in his own waters, sinking three
German warships and sustaining no losses himself. Among the prisoners was the son of Chief Admiral Von Tirpitz. Numerous minor
actions led to no noteworthy result, but the power of the submarine, already prophesied before the war, speedily made itself manifest. Several small British cruisers were destroyed by these craft, and
fi nally a considerable disaster occurred through the sinking of the
three cruisers, Hogue, Aboukir, and Cressy, upon September 22. This
dashing and cool-headed exploit was brought off by a young Lieutenant named Weddigen. Much as we suffered from his action, it
was recognised in Britain as having been a remarkable deed of arms
upon a very different plane to those execrable murders of civilians
with which the German submarine service was afterwards associated. Some months later Weddigen’s submarine rose amongst the
269
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
Grand Fleet whilst it was in motion, and was rammed and destroyed
by the Dreadnought.
The outbreak of war had seen a considerable number of German
cruisers at large, and these would undoubtedly have been strongly
reinforced had it not been for the speed with which the British Fleet
took up its war-stations. As it was, the amount of damage to commerce was not serious, and by the New Year all the wanderers had
been rounded up. The most successful raider was the Emden, under Captain Müller, which captured and destroyed numerous British merchant-ships, bombarded the Madras gas-works, and sank by
a surprise attack a small Russian cruiser and a French destroyer before it was fi nally cornered and sunk by the Australian cruiser Syd-
ney off Cocos Island upon November 10. Captain Müller, though
forced by circumstances to adopt certain measures not recognised
in honourable naval warfare, behaved on the whole in the manner
which one associates with the term naval offi cer. The Karlsruhe had
also considerable success as a naval raider, but met her end through
an unexplained explosion some little time after her consort the Em-
den. On the whole, the damage infl icted by German commerce destroyers was very much less than had been anticipated.
On November 1, Admiral Craddock’s squadron, consisting of
the Monmouth, the Good Hope, and two small vessels, was engaged
by a superior squadron under Admiral von Spee at Coronel off the
coast of Chile. The result was a British defeat, the two cruisers being sunk by gun-fi re with all hands. This disaster was dramatically
revenged, as within six weeks, upon December 8, a special cruisersquadron dispatched from England under Admiral Sturdee entirely
destroyed the fl eet of Von Spee in the Battle of the Falkland Islands.
The British Fleet was considerably stronger, and little credit can be
claimed save for the admirable strategy which enabled Sturdee to
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