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<v Speaker 1>Chapter eleven of the British Army from Within by E.

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<v Speaker 1>Charles Vivian. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.

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<v Speaker 1>Chapter eleven. Active service. The popular conception of active service

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<v Speaker 1>is of a succession of encounters with the enemy, Desperate

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<v Speaker 1>deeds of valor, brilliant charges by bodies of troops, men

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<v Speaker 1>saving other men under fire, the storming of positions, and

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<v Speaker 1>the flush of victory after strenuous action enter largely into

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<v Speaker 1>the civilian conception of war. The reality is a somber

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<v Speaker 1>business of marching and watching, nights without sleep and days

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<v Speaker 1>without food, retracing one's steps in order to execute the

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<v Speaker 1>plan of the brain, to which a man is but

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<v Speaker 1>one effective rifle out of many thousands, marching for days

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<v Speaker 1>and days, seeing nothing more exciting than a burnt out

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<v Speaker 1>house and the marching men on either side and to

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<v Speaker 1>front and rear, And then the contact with the enemy.

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<v Speaker 1>A vision crack from somewhere, or the solid boom of

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<v Speaker 1>a piece of artillery somewhere away to the front or flank.

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<v Speaker 1>Is the enemy and his pieces do damage. In the ranks.

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<v Speaker 1>There is a searching for cover. Some orders are given.

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps a comrade lies utterly still and one knows that

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<v Speaker 1>that man will not move any more. There is a

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<v Speaker 1>desperate sense of ineffectiveness, of anger at this cowardly, as

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<v Speaker 1>it seems, trick of hitting when one cannot hit back.

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<v Speaker 1>There is the satisfaction of getting the range and firing,

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<v Speaker 1>with results that may be guessed but cannot be known

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<v Speaker 1>accurately by the man who fires. There is the curious

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<v Speaker 1>thrill that comes when an angrily singing bullet passes near

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<v Speaker 1>and one realizes that one is under fire from the enemy.

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<v Speaker 1>In a normal action, there is the sense of disaster,

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<v Speaker 1>even of defeat, when one side may in reality be winning.

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<v Speaker 1>For one sees men dying, wounded, lying dead. One knows

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<v Speaker 1>the damage the enemy has inflicted, but has no idea

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<v Speaker 1>of the damage one's own force as inflicted in return. Often,

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<v Speaker 1>when it begins to be apparent that the enemy is

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<v Speaker 1>nearly beaten, there comes the order to retire. One does

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<v Speaker 1>not understand the order, but with a sullen sense of

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<v Speaker 1>resentment at it, retires, ducking at the whizzing of a shell,

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<v Speaker 1>though not all the ducking in the world would avail

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<v Speaker 1>if the shell were truly aimed at the one who ducks,

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<v Speaker 1>or starting back to avoid a bullet that whizzed by,

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<v Speaker 1>as if by starting back one could get out of

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<v Speaker 1>the way of a bullet. After a day of action,

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<v Speaker 1>or after the chance has come to rest for a while.

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<v Speaker 1>After days of action, one gets a sense of the

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<v Speaker 1>horror of the whole business, the tragedy of lives laid

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<v Speaker 1>down in a good cause, certainly, but the men are dead,

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<v Speaker 1>and one questions, almost with despair, if it is worth while.

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<v Speaker 1>So many good men with whom one has joked and

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<v Speaker 1>worked and played in times of peace have gone under,

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<v Speaker 1>and there are probably more battles yet to fight. It

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<v Speaker 1>is not until a war has concluded and men who

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<v Speaker 1>have served are able to get some idea of the

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<v Speaker 1>operations as a whole, that they are able to understand

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<v Speaker 1>what has been done and why it has been done.

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<v Speaker 1>Men who came back wounded from Mons and Charlerois, away

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<v Speaker 1>from the magnificent three weeks retreat that was then in

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<v Speaker 1>progress for the British and French armies were in many

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<v Speaker 1>cases fully convinced that they had been defeated, that their

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<v Speaker 1>armies were beaten and had to retreat to save themselves

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<v Speaker 1>from destruction. The men in the ranks cannot understand the

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<v Speaker 1>plan of the staff who controls him, for he sees

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<v Speaker 1>so very little of the whole. At the most he

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<v Speaker 1>knows what is happening to a division of men. While

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<v Speaker 1>engaged in the retreat to the position of the Marne,

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<v Speaker 1>were at the least twenty divisions on the side of

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<v Speaker 1>the Allies. Had one of these been utterly shattered in

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<v Speaker 1>a set battle, the other nineteen might still have won

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<v Speaker 1>a decisive victory. And if news of that victory had

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<v Speaker 1>not come through for a day or two, the survivors

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<v Speaker 1>from the shattered division would have spread tidings of a

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<v Speaker 1>defeat which it would have been to them. The man

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<v Speaker 1>in the ranks sees so little of the whole. Here,

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<v Speaker 1>the war correspondent makes the most egregious mistakes, For untrained

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<v Speaker 1>in military service himself, he takes the word of the

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<v Speaker 1>man in the ranks. The man on the staff of

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<v Speaker 1>army headquarters is far too busy and far too discreet

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<v Speaker 1>to talk to war correspondents, and out of what the

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<v Speaker 1>man in the ranks has to say, the war correspondent

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<v Speaker 1>makes up his story, though the man in the ranks

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<v Speaker 1>may believe his own story to be true. Though he

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<v Speaker 1>may tell of the operations as he conceives them, he

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<v Speaker 1>may be giving an utterly false impression of what is

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<v Speaker 1>actually happening. The man in the ranks is one cog

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<v Speaker 1>in a machine, and he cannot tell what all the

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<v Speaker 1>ma machine is doing at any time, least of all

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<v Speaker 1>when a battle is in progress. Every battle fought differs

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<v Speaker 1>from all other battles, for no opposing forces ever meet

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<v Speaker 1>under precisely identical conditions twice. Thus it is useless to

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<v Speaker 1>speak of a typical battle except in the broadest general sense,

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<v Speaker 1>and useless to attempt to describe a typical battle or

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<v Speaker 1>action of any kind. Usually, the artillery get into action

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<v Speaker 1>after cavalry have reconnoitered the enemy's position. The guns shell

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<v Speaker 1>the enemy until he is considered sufficiently weakened to permit

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<v Speaker 1>an infantry attack, and then the infantry go forward, even

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<v Speaker 1>up to the rarely occurring bayonet charge. If their advance

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<v Speaker 1>dislodges the enemy, the cavalry are set on to turn

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<v Speaker 1>retreat into route. If, on the other hand, the attacking

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<v Speaker 1>force is compelled to retire, the cavalry cover the retreat,

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<v Speaker 1>and in order to make good in a retreat, part

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<v Speaker 1>of a force is taken back while the remainder hold

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<v Speaker 1>the enemy in check. In modern actions, artillery fire their

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<v Speaker 1>shells over the heads of their own infantry at the

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<v Speaker 1>enemy distance and trajectory permitting of this. By trajectory is

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<v Speaker 1>meant the curve that a projectile describes in its flight.

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<v Speaker 1>Both rifles and big guns are so constructed and sighted

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<v Speaker 1>that they throw their projectiles upward to counteract the pull

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<v Speaker 1>of gravity, and the missile eventually drops down towards its object.

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<v Speaker 1>It does not travel in a perfectly straight line, but

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<v Speaker 1>it is bad for infantry to be in front of

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<v Speaker 1>their own guns with their own artillery shells passing over

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<v Speaker 1>them for too long. Morale suffers from this after a time,

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<v Speaker 1>since a man cannot distinguish in such a case between

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<v Speaker 1>his own artillery shells and those of the enemy. Whenever possible,

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<v Speaker 1>the artillery in rear of an infantry force are posted

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<v Speaker 1>slightly to either flank. Circumstances, however, do not always admit

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<v Speaker 1>of this. On mobilization for active service, the first thing

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<v Speaker 1>that happens in the British Army is the calling up

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<v Speaker 1>of the reserves. All men enlist, in the first case

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<v Speaker 1>for a certain number of years with the colors and

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<v Speaker 1>a further period on the reserve. In this latter force,

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<v Speaker 1>they are free to follow any civilian avocation, but on

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<v Speaker 1>mobilization must immediately report themselves at headquarters, wherever their headquarters

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<v Speaker 1>may be, and take the place appointed to them in

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<v Speaker 1>the mobilized army. Then comes the business of drawing war

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<v Speaker 1>kid and equipment from stores. As a battleship clears for action,

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<v Speaker 1>so the army rids itself for the time of all

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<v Speaker 1>things not absolutely necessary on active service, exchanges blank ammunition

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<v Speaker 1>for ball, sharpened swords and bayonets, and in every way

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<v Speaker 1>prepares for stern business. Each man is issued with a

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<v Speaker 1>little aluminum plate which he is compelled to wear, and

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<v Speaker 1>on which are inscribed such particulars as his name, regimental number, unit, etc.

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<v Speaker 1>So that in case of his being killed on the field,

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<v Speaker 1>he may be identified and the news of his death

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<v Speaker 1>transmitted to his next of kin. Each man, too is

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<v Speaker 1>issued with an emergency ration, which is a compressed supply

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<v Speaker 1>of food amply sufficient for one day's meals, so that

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<v Speaker 1>in any tight corner where provisions are not obtainable, he

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<v Speaker 1>may be able to hold out for at least one

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<v Speaker 1>day without being reduced to starvation. The opening and use

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<v Speaker 1>of this ration, except by permission of an officer, counts

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<v Speaker 1>as a crime in the army unless a man is

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<v Speaker 1>placed in such a position that no officer is at

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<v Speaker 1>hand to sanction the opening of the package, when the

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<v Speaker 1>matter is perforce left to the man's discretion. Marching on

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<v Speaker 1>service is a different matter from marching in time of peace.

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<v Speaker 1>Not only is there the strain of ever possible attack,

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<v Speaker 1>but then there is also for cavalry and infantry the

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<v Speaker 1>weight of service armament and equipment to be considered. Every

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<v Speaker 1>man carries in his bandoliers one hundred and fifty rounds

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<v Speaker 1>of ammunition for his rifle, not a bit too much

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<v Speaker 1>when the rate of fire possible with the modern rifle

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<v Speaker 1>is taken into account. But one hundred and fifty rounds

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<v Speaker 1>of ball cartridge is a serious matter when one has

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<v Speaker 1>to carry it throughout the day, and when active service opens.

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<v Speaker 1>It is easy to understand why only really fit men

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<v Speaker 1>are passed by doctors into the army. So far as

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<v Speaker 1>the rank and file are concerned, it is power to

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<v Speaker 1>endure that makes the soldier on active service. Bravery is needed,

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<v Speaker 1>initiative is needed, but staying power is needed. Most of all,

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<v Speaker 1>There may be days of solid marching without a sight

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<v Speaker 1>of the enemy. One may form a part of a

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<v Speaker 1>flanking force whose business is to march from point to point, fighting,

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<v Speaker 1>but seldom but always presenting a threat to the enemy

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<v Speaker 1>or his lines of communication, and thus ever on the move,

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<v Speaker 1>with very little time for sleeping or eating. Again, one

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<v Speaker 1>may be placed with a force which has to march

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<v Speaker 1>half a day to come in contact with the enemy,

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<v Speaker 1>and to fight the other half of the day. Or

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<v Speaker 1>yet again, it may be necessary to march all night

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<v Speaker 1>in order to take a position, or be shot in

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<v Speaker 1>the attempt at dawn. In time of peace and on maneuvers,

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<v Speaker 1>officers take care the compensating time is allowed to men,

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<v Speaker 1>so as to give them the normal amount of rest

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<v Speaker 1>on active service. The officer commanding a force spares his

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<v Speaker 1>men as much as he can, and gives them all

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<v Speaker 1>the rest possible. But he has to be guided by circumstances,

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<v Speaker 1>or to rise superior to circumstances and cause himself and

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<v Speaker 1>his men to undergo far more than normal exertions. War

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<v Speaker 1>as carried out today requires all that every man has

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<v Speaker 1>to give in the way of staying power. And now,

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<v Speaker 1>as in the days of the battle axe, and longbow.

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<v Speaker 1>Physical endurance as the greatest asset a man can have

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<v Speaker 1>on active service. The hard drinker in time of peace,

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<v Speaker 1>and the man who has been looking for soft jobs

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<v Speaker 1>all the time of his peace service soon go sick

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<v Speaker 1>and become ineffective. They may be just as brave as

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<v Speaker 1>the rest, but they lacked the staying power requisite to

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<v Speaker 1>the carrying on of war. Men's impressions of being under

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<v Speaker 1>fire very so much that every account is of interest.

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<v Speaker 1>My principal impression was that I'd like to run away,

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<v Speaker 1>but there was nowhere to run too, so I stuck

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<v Speaker 1>on and got used to it. After a bit or

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<v Speaker 1>I felt cold and horribly thirsty. I never thought to

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<v Speaker 1>be afraid till afterwards. It is interesting till I saw

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<v Speaker 1>the man next to me rolled over with a bullet

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<v Speaker 1>in his head, and then I wanted to get up

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<v Speaker 1>and go for the devils who had done that. Thus

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<v Speaker 1>spoke three men, when asked how they felt about it.

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<v Speaker 1>My own impression was chiefly a fear that I was

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<v Speaker 1>going to be afraid. I did not want to disgrace myself,

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<v Speaker 1>but to be as good as the rest. One man

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<v Speaker 1>who came back wounded after the day of Mounds described

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<v Speaker 1>how he felt at first shooting a man and knowing

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<v Speaker 1>that his bullet had taken effect. For in the majority

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<v Speaker 1>of cases, with the whole body of men firing, it

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<v Speaker 1>is difficult to tell which of the bullets take effect. This, however,

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<v Speaker 1>was a clear case, and the man could not but

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<v Speaker 1>know that he was responsible for the shot. I had

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<v Speaker 1>four men with me on rear guard, he said, and

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<v Speaker 1>we were holding the end of a village street to

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<v Speaker 1>let our chaps get away as far as possible before

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<v Speaker 1>we mounted and caught up with them. We could see

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<v Speaker 1>German infantry coming on masses of them, but they couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>tell whether the village street held five men or a

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<v Speaker 1>couple of squadrons, so they held back a bit. At last,

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<v Speaker 1>I could see we were in danger of being outflitt

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<v Speaker 1>so I got my men to get mounted, and just

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<v Speaker 1>as they were doing so, a German officer put his

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<v Speaker 1>head round the corner of the house at the end

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<v Speaker 1>of the street, not ten yards away from me. I

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<v Speaker 1>raised my rifle, shut both eyes, and pulled the trigger.

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<v Speaker 1>It was point blank range, and when I opened my

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<v Speaker 1>eyes and looked, it seemed as if I'd blown half

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<v Speaker 1>his face away. I felt scared at what I had done.

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<v Speaker 1>It seemed wrong to have shot a man like that.

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<v Speaker 1>Though he and his kind drive women and children in

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<v Speaker 1>front of their firing lines, it seemed to make such

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<v Speaker 1>a horrible mess. Somehow I got mounted, and just as

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<v Speaker 1>I swung my leg over the horse, a fool of

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<v Speaker 1>a German infantryman aimed a blow at me with the

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<v Speaker 1>butt end of his rifle. I don't know where he

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<v Speaker 1>sprung from, and damaged my arm like this. If he'd

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<v Speaker 1>had the sense, he could have run me through with

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<v Speaker 1>a bayonet or shot me, but I suppose he was

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<v Speaker 1>too flurried. But that officer's face after I had shot him,

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<v Speaker 1>stuck to me, and I still dream of it, and

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<v Speaker 1>shall for some time. Probably he who told this story

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<v Speaker 1>is a boy of twenty two or three, and he

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<v Speaker 1>has gone back to the front to rejoin his regiment,

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<v Speaker 1>now with three stripes on his arm instead of the

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<v Speaker 1>two that were his at the beginning of the campaign.

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<v Speaker 1>On forced marches, and often on normal marches as well,

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<v Speaker 1>all the things that one considers necessities, with the exception

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<v Speaker 1>of sufficient food to keep one in condition, go by

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<v Speaker 1>the board. One sleeps under the stars with no other

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<v Speaker 1>covering than a coat and blanket. One lies out to

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<v Speaker 1>sleep in pouring rain with no more covering. Tents are

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<v Speaker 1>out of the question, for there is no time to

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<v Speaker 1>pitch and strike them. One goes for days without a wash,

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<v Speaker 1>and for days too without undressing. There are two scamps

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<v Speaker 1>in the South African campaign who promised each other for

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<v Speaker 1>some mysterious reason, that they would not take their boots

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<v Speaker 1>off for a month, And they ran into such a

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<v Speaker 1>series of marches and actions that even if the had

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<v Speaker 1>not made the compact, they would only have been able

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<v Speaker 1>to remove their boots three times in the course of

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<v Speaker 1>that month. The smart soldier of peace service goes unshaven, unwashed,

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<v Speaker 1>careless of all except getting enough food and sleep at times,

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<v Speaker 1>and when a lull comes in the operations, so that

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<v Speaker 1>he gets a day or even an hour or two

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<v Speaker 1>to himself. A bath is a luxury undreamed of by

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<v Speaker 1>the man who can have one every morning and consider

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<v Speaker 1>it a mere usual thing. If in time of peace

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<v Speaker 1>the soldier considers a rifle carelessly and even resents having

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<v Speaker 1>to carry it about with him, he looks on it

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<v Speaker 1>differently on service, knowing as he does that his life

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<v Speaker 1>may depend on the quality of the weapon, and his

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<v Speaker 1>ability to use it almost any minute of the day

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<v Speaker 1>or night. The confirmed grouser of peacetime, who will make

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<v Speaker 1>a fuss over having to put twenty rounds of blank

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<v Speaker 1>ammunition in his bandolier to go out on a field day,

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<v Speaker 1>will swing his three bandolis of ball cartridges onto his

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<v Speaker 1>person without a word of complaint, for he knows that

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<v Speaker 1>he may need every round. Values alter amazingly on service.

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<v Speaker 1>The man with a box of matches, when one has

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<v Speaker 1>been away from the base for a few days, is

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<v Speaker 1>a person of importance, and a mere cigarette is worth

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<v Speaker 1>far more than its weight in gold. In General Rundle's

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<v Speaker 1>column during the South African War, half a biscuit was

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<v Speaker 1>something to fight for, and the men who thought it

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<v Speaker 1>such had many a time thrown away the same sort

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<v Speaker 1>of unpalatable biscuits and bought bread to eat instead. An

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<v Speaker 1>ant heap acquired a new significance, for it might be

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<v Speaker 1>the means of saving a man's life at any time.

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<v Speaker 1>And among mounted men, a fresh horse, which might give

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<v Speaker 1>its rider some trouble at the time of mounting, was

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<v Speaker 1>no longer to be avoided, for by its freshness it

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<v Speaker 1>showed that it had plenty of spirit and go about it,

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<v Speaker 1>spirit that might take a man out of rifle range

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<v Speaker 1>at a critical moment when the slower class of mount

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<v Speaker 1>might come out of action without its writer. This reversal

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<v Speaker 1>of the circumstances of ordinary life produces lasting effect on men.

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<v Speaker 1>No man who has undergone the realities of active service

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<v Speaker 1>comes back to the average of life unchanged. The difference

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<v Speaker 1>in him may not be apparent at a casual glance,

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<v Speaker 1>but it is there for the rest of his life.

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<v Speaker 1>He has looked on death at close quarters, and whatever

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<v Speaker 1>his intelligence may be, whether he be guttersnipe or varsity man,

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<v Speaker 1>sage or fool, he has a clearer realization of the

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<v Speaker 1>ultimate values of things. One may count the army in

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<v Speaker 1>peace time as a great training school out of which

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<v Speaker 1>men come molded to a definite pattern, and yet retaining

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<v Speaker 1>their individuality. But active service is a fire through which

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<v Speaker 1>men pass, emerging on the far side, purified of little aims,

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<v Speaker 1>to a greater or lesser extent, according to the material

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<v Speaker 1>on which the fire has to work. For many, all

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<v Speaker 1>honor to them and to those who mourn their loss.

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<v Speaker 1>It is a destroying fire. So far as the limits

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<v Speaker 1>of space will permit. There is set down in these

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<v Speaker 1>pages a record of what military service amounts to for

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<v Speaker 1>the rank and file in peace and war. It is

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<v Speaker 1>necessarily incomplete, for the story of the British Army of

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<v Speaker 1>to day, apart from its history of great yesterdays, is

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<v Speaker 1>not to be told in any one book. There is

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<v Speaker 1>too much of it for that. There are those who

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<v Speaker 1>belittle the Army and its ways and influence on the

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<v Speaker 1>men who serve. But one who has served, with a

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<v Speaker 1>perspective of time to give him clearness of vision, can

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<v Speaker 1>always look back on the army and be glad that

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<v Speaker 1>he has learned its lessons accomplished its tasks. The men

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<v Speaker 1>who would belittle it are themselves very little men, too

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<v Speaker 1>little to be worthy of serious notice. The British Army

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<v Speaker 1>is a gathering of brave men, fighting in this year

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<v Speaker 1>of Grace nineteen fourteen, in a noble cause, and fighting

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<v Speaker 1>as the British Army has always fought, bravely and well.

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<v Speaker 1>End of Chapter eleven. End of the British Army from

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<v Speaker 1>Within by E. Charles Vivian