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Файл:The Great War. Part III
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ARTHUR
CONAN DOYLE
THE GREAT WAR
PART III
THE BRITISH CAMPAIGN IN FRANCE
AND FLANDERS
VOLUME V & VI
Москва, 2018
УДК 82
ББК 84(0)
Arthur Conan Doyle
The Great War. Part III / A. C. Doyle. – М. : T8RUGRAM,
2018. – 566 с.
ISBN 978-5-521-07192-0
Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 – 1930) was an English writer
best known for his detective stories about Sherlock Holmes.
“The Great War” is a monumental six volumes description of
the events of World War I. Doyle did a great job interviewing
numerous soldiers and generals, reading their letters and diaries
to get a full picture of the events. These books cover all the main
battles of the British Army, including detailed descriptions of
bravery and courage.
УДК 82
ББК 84(0)
BIC FC
BISAC FIC000000
ISBN 978-5-521-07192-0 © T8RUGRAM, 2018
CONTENTS
VOLUME V
PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
I. EVENTS UPON THE BRITISH FRONT
UP TO MARCH 21, 1918. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
II. THE SECOND BATTLE OF THE SOMME. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
III. THE SECOND BATTLE OF THE SOMME. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
IV. THE SECOND BATTLE OF THE SOMME. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
V. THE SECOND BATTLE OF THE SOMME. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
VI. THE SECOND BATTLE OF THE SOMME. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142
VII. THE SECOND BATTLE OF THE SOMME. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160
VIII. THE SOMME FRONTFROM APRIL 1 ONWARDS . . . . . .183
IX. THE BATTLE OF THE LYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199
X. THE BATTLE OF THE LYS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .230
XI. THE BATTLESOF THE CHEMIN DES DAMESAND
OF THE ARDRES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .272
VOLUME VI
I. THE OPENING OPERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .299
II. ATTACK OF RAWLINSON’S FOURTH ARMY . . . . . . . . . . . .319
III. CONTINUATION OF THE OPERATIONS
OF RAWLINSON’S FOURTH ARMY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .335
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ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
IV. THE ATTACK OF BYNG’S THIRD ARMY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .367
V. THE ADVANCE OF HORNE’S FIRST ARMY . . . . . . . . . . . . . .416
VI. THE OPERATIONS OF RAWLINSON’S
FOURTH ARMY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .425
VII. THE OPERATIONS OF RAWLINSON’S
FOURTH ARMY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .453
VIII. OPERATIONS OF BYNG’S THIRD ARMY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .474
IX. OPERATIONS OF BYNG’S THIRD ARMY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .493
X. THE ADVANCE OF HORNE’S FIRST ARMY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .516
XI. OPERATIONS OF THE SECOND
AND FIFTH ARMIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .537
XII. THE END . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .552
APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .558
VOLUME V
PREFACE
THIS fi fth volume deals with one of the most tremendous episodes in history, when the vigour of the German attack and the
desperate resistance of the British both on the Somme and in Flanders, held an awestruck world in suspense. A million men released
from the Russian front, rolled across Europe and, swelling that
great tide which was already banked up before the British breakwater, it washed over all the front line barriers and threatened at
one time to sweep down to the sea. The account of how the British Army, upon which incomparably the greater pressure fell, rose
to the occasion and fi rst slowed and then held the terrifi c fl ood is
one of the most wonderful of military epics. At the same time every
credit must be given to the loyalty of the French commanders who,
while guarding their own extended lines, endeavoured to spare all
possible help to their hard-pressed Allies. This volume carries the
story of the German attack to its close. The next and fi nal one will
describe the enormous counter-attack of the Allies leading up to
their fi nal victory.
The Chronicler has been faced by many obstacles in endeavouring to preserve both accuracy and historical proportion while writing contemporary history. He would gratefully acknowledge that his
critics in the press have shown a kindly indulgence, which arises, no
doubt, from an appreciation of these diffi culties. There has, however,
been one conspicuous exception to which he would desire to call attention, since a large question of literary etiquette is involved. From
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ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
the beginning a series of unfl attering and anonymous articles have
appeared in The Times Literary Supplement, commenting adversely
upon each volume in turn, and picking out the pettiest details for
animadversion. Upon enquiry, these articles – in whole or part –
are admitted to have been written by the Hon. J.W. Fortescue, who
is himself the offi cial historian of the War. On being remonstrated
with, this gentleman could not be brought to see that it is not fi tting
that he should make anonymous attacks, however bona fi de, upon
a brother author who is working upon the same subject and is therefore in the involuntary position of being a humble rival.
Having stated the facts they may be left to the judgment of the
public.
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
Crowborough, May 1, 1919
I.
EVENTS UPON THE BRITISH
FRONT UP TO MARCH 21, 1918
The prospects of the Allies – Great dangers from the Russian
collapse – State of the British line – Huge German preparations –
Eve of the Great Offensive
THE New Year of 1918, the fourth of the world war, opened
with chequered prospects for the Allies. Upon all subsidiary fi elds of
action the developments were good. In Palestine, General Allenby,
the victor of Arras, had shown himself to be a fi ne soldier upon the
larger scale, and. had fought his way up the old highway of history
which leads from Egypt by Gaza to Jerusalem. Homely crusaders in
tattered khakI stood where once Godfrey de Bouillon and his chivalry had worshipped before the shrine of religion, and the cavalry
of Australia, the yeomen of the Shires, and the infantry of London
won once more the ground which Richard of the Lion Heart with
his knights and bowmen had contested in the long ago. Surely in all
the strange permutations and combinations of the world war there
could be none more striking than that! By April the British force covered all the northern approaches to the city and extended its right
wing to the Jordan, where our Arab allies in the land of Moab were
pushing the Turks back along the line of the Damascus railway.
On another road of world conquest, that from Bagdad to
Nineveh, the British and Indian columns were also both active and
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ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
victorious. The knightly Maude had perished from cholera contracted by his own courtesy in drinking a proffered cup of village water.
His successor, General Marshall, formerly his Chief of Staff, and as
such conversant with his aims and his methods, carried on both one
and the other, moving his men north until the spectator who compared their numbers with the immensity of the spaces around them,
was appalled at the apparent loneliness of their position. By May
his raiding cavalry were not far from the Turkish supply depot of
Mosul, where the barren mounds, extending over leagues of desert,
proclaim both the greatness and the ruin of Nineveh. Salonica continued in its usual condition of uneasy and malarial somnolence,
but gratifying reports came of the belated rally of the Greeks, who,
acting with the French, won a smart little victory against their Bulgarian enemies upon May 31. German East Africa had at last been
cleared of German forces, but General Lettow-Vorbeck, to whom we
cannot deny remarkable fortitude and leadership, wandered with
his piebald commands in the depths of the forests and marshes of
Mozambique, still evading his inevitable capture, and master only of
the ground on which he camped.
But these distant campaigns had only a remote and indirect effect upon the war in Europe. Here the late winter and the early
spring of 1918 saw the balance tilted against the British and their
comrades in the West; through causes over which they had no control. Russia had completely broken down. In her case, with a rapidity which made it diffi cult to realise the situation, autocracy had
changed to liberty, liberty to license, and license to chaos. The absolute dissolution of all fi ghting power was partly due to national
folly and partly to deliberate treachery. The leaders of the extreme
party had arrived from Switzerland with a free pass granted by the
German authorities. Instantly they set to work to subvert the comparatively sane government with which the name of Kerensky is
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