 |
 |
|||
 |
||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
THE WAR THE INFANTRY KNEW 1914 - 1919 (EXCERPT)
A CHRONICLE OF SERVICE IN FRANCE AND BELGIUM WITH THE SECOND BATTALION HIS MAJESTY'S TWENTY-THIRD FOOT, THE ROYAL WELSH FUSILIERS : FOUNDED ON PERSONAL RECORDS, RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS, ASSEMBLED, EDITED AND PARTLY WRITTEN BY ONE OF THEIR MEDICAL OFFICERS
[By J.C. Dunn]
P.S. King & Son. LTD, London,
Men must endure Their going hence, even as their coming hither, [preface] [chapter 9] [chapter 10] [chapter 11]
PREFACE
War will always interest men.
There is no end to the output of books about the Great War. Setting aside technical books, most of them have come from writers whose emotions have been quickened by the penitential mood that follows all great wars, or from writers turning to account that mood and the relaxation of age-long, wholesome usages needful to community life, which is another common sequel of great popular upheavals. A picture of the War from the front-line standpoint, made without afterthought, will neither tickle a taste for foulness nor slake a thirst for pomp if it is drawn from what was seen and felt, and noted, at the time. War in the battle-zone between antagonists of equal tenacity and resource is prolonged drudgery -- that is what many people say about life in general -- but drudgery with fearful moments; and, as in everyday life, there is very much that is trivial, or seems so. War is neither a glitter of high lights nor a slough of baseness, it calls forth the best that is in the human spirit: its worst aspects are found far from the battle-line.
This Chronicle is offered as an authentic record of the comings and goings, the chances, deeds and moods of the Second Battalion of His Majesty's 23rd Foot, the Royal Welch Fusiliers; it tells of blissful and what were counted humdrum days as well as of fevered hours and minutes. To begin with, it was an abstract of day-to-day notes made during the long middle period of the War; two narratives from diaries of the early weeks were the first additions, then a collection of still clear memories was wrought in, and an outline of the last phase was joined on. Yielding to the wish of a few interested correspondents I set myself the task of welding the parts in narrative form and of finding witnesses to fill serious gaps. Contributions, long and short, have come from some fifty sources in the course of years. The bulk of the story consists of notes which, though expanded later, were made within twenty-four hours, at most, of the events described; contemporary letters, operation orders, messages, and Battalion Intelligence maps which have escaped destruction have been drawn upon. Someone with first-hand knowledge has given they detail of each incident or phase, or has added to it, and readers with equal knowledge may have checked it. A sentence may be a compound of three sources. Plain has been preferred to colored in the telling of incident. Guess-work has not been taken. Vagueness or omission is not owing to want of candor, but to want of evidence : distance has made it difficult to trace or tap likely witnesses; many men will talk, and talk vividly, but not write. The ambit of anyone's observation is limited, especially during action. At all times food and warmth occupy much of the front-line man's thoughts -- indeed, the private soldier's thoughts, as one of them wrote, are largely bounded by these needs; and when things are moving his load or peril engrosses him. Impressions of happenings are consequently blurred, they become mingled, and are soon lost by the great majority of men. The facts about which witnesses have written or spoken are stated on their authority, but quotation marks have been used sparingly because the original text is seldom given in its verbal integrity, although the idiom of most sources is in great part original and the tone altogether so. The brevity, inconstant tense, and disjointedness of diaries have not been quite expunged.
The actions and locations of other units are sketched sufficiently to introduce the action of the Battalion which followed, or as part of its coincident action; but, since it is seldom easy to learn what other units really did, the sketches are not always to be taken as conclusive: even within a unit a carried story may take on a twist.
Events are dealt with at greatly varying length, chiefly owing to a relatively unequal supply of data. Tactical importance and length of treatment have no relation here. In war incidents and events may signify much to a battalion, and be of no account in the operations of an army: sometimes a few men do a great thing unwittingly. A sense of proportion can be had only by comparison with large-scale accounts; such a comparison is beyond the intended scope of these personal impressions and reflections. Nowhere has the story been adjusted to any official view; it remains throughout a series of records of individual observation and, in the main, of common outlook and talk in billet and trench. The views are mostly repetitions of casual talks, of gossip during reliefs and at other times when news was exchanged; they reflect front-line knowledge and attitude, and express its mood. As a consequence lower and higher staffs may object to various statements, to some of which there is necessarily another side. Divergences from official reports may be found in several passages. Recorded history, which is mostly of Official origin, is not always a recital of what happened -- there are many reasons for that.
My service of nearly three years with the Battalion, or in its Brigade, was a time of trench warfare with eruptions of great violence, of waning morale, of increasing vexation and heartache. This is largely a record of a long spell of duty done in the face of difficulty and discouragement which, perhaps, demanded more leading and gallantry than actions of which more has been heard, more made. The Battalion was always used late in action. Attacks had to be made with the knowledge of others' failures, and over their dead. Such a lot called for a full measure of steadfastness and devotion, and yielded no redeeming spectacular repute. What was achieved is made radiant in my memory by the gay self-sacrifice of junior officers and of non-commissioned officers; by the resource and cheerfulness in discomfort of the men of our Old Army, and their prompt answer to every call, confident in themselves and in each other: beside them the Territorial and New Army personnel had the native virtues common to all, good nature and endurance.
[preface] [chapter 9] [chapter 10] [chapter 11]
