TALES OF HEROES.
Before I proceed with the story of the critical day in the great
struggle for Ypres, let me give you a few soldiers' stories of the
fighting which took place during the month of October. Hundreds of
attacks and counter-attacks were made and repelled during that terrible
month, and a thousand deeds of the utmost gallantry were performed. Some
of them won the highest award of valour, as we shall learn at the close
of this chapter; but hundreds of others, equally splendid, went
unrecorded and unrecognized, probably because they were not witnessed by
superior officers. We must always remember, when we read accounts of
gallant deeds done in battle, that they are but few out of many which
deserve to be inscribed on the roll of fame. It has been well said that
during the month of October 1914 the Victoria Cross was won a dozen
times every day.
Here is a story of a boy hero, a private in the D Company of the 2nd
Manchesters, of whose exploits you have already read. His name was
Preston; he was eighteen years of age, and was known as the "baby" of
his regiment. On 20th October the Manchesters were surrounded, and their
trenches were enfiladed by German fire. First the lieutenant was
wounded, then the sergeant, and the company was left without a single
officer in command. While the men were wondering what to do, Private
Preston threw up his cap and shouted, "Fix bayonets, lads!" The company
obeyed his order, and he led them in a wild and successful charge
against the enemy. Six days later this gallant and resourceful boy was
killed in action.
[Illustration: The R.A.M.C. rendering First Aid in the Trenches.
_By permission of The Sphere._]
* * * * *
A private of the South Wales Borderers tells how some Germans disguised
as gravediggers attempted to rush a British trench. "We knew that the
Germans had a recognized corps of gravediggers," he says, "but we found
that the supposed gravediggers now advancing were armed not only with
picks and shovels, but with rifles also. When they came within range
they fired. We did likewise, and soon saw their backs. Later we caught
three of them--an officer and two privates. The officer was a tall,
brawny fellow, six feet in his stockings. A little Cockney in our
regiment went up to the German officer, and, not supposing that he would
be understood, said fiercely, 'For two pins I'd knock your blooming head
off.' Imagine his surprise when the German giant, looking down upon him,
replied in perfect English, 'Don't! I can't help this war. Like
yourself, I must fight for my country.'"
* * * * *
You have already heard from Mr. C. Underwood of the fine work done by
Lieutenant Jardine of the R.A.M.C. on the Gheluvelt-Menin road during
29th October. An eye-witness says: "There was a man of small stature,
Lieutenant Jardine, of the 21st Field Ambulance, who made frequent
journeys from the shelter of a château at Gheluvelt to the trenches. He
continually faced a hurricane of fire, and to see the little man coming
back with a heavy burden on his shoulders was a sight not to be
forgotten. After he had visited the trenches a number of times he had
the appearance of a butcher straight from the slaughter-house. Many men
owe to him the fact that they are alive to-day." Nor must we forget the
Field Ambulance men, who "time after time came into the open to carry
the more seriously wounded from the trenches."
* * * * *
Don't forget that there is plenty of opportunity for the display of
courage, even behind the firing line. The following little story
illustrates the steadfastness and resource of a man in the Army Ordnance
Corps--that is, the branch of the service which conveys ammunition to
the places where it is needed. Five motor lorries conveying ammunition
had been cut off by the Germans. The men in charge of them blew up the
ammunition and made off across country. One, however, refused to leave,
and remained hidden in a wood near the side of the road. The Germans,
finding the ammunition destroyed, passed on, and the hidden soldier came
out of his hiding-place. Finding the wheels of the lorries intact, he
managed to start one of the motors. He then hitched the other four
lorries behind, and slowly brought the convoy safely into the British
camp.
* * * * *
Major Viscount Dalrymple, of the Scots Guards, the first member of
Parliament to be taken prisoner, gives the following account of his
adventures:--
"We came out in a great hurry in the dark and pouring rain on the night
of 25th October, having heard that a trench held by Major Willie Holbeck
and a platoon on the right flank had been overwhelmed. It was a beastly
trench, next to the one I was in on the previous day, and by nightfall
the Germans were entrenched only 100 yards in front of it. Willie was
shelled and shot at in it all day, and they rushed him in large numbers
in the dark of the evening. He and Corporal Maclean and a few others
bolted back a hundred yards or so, and then tried to retake it with the
bayonet, but failed. Major Hugh Fraser and I, with the remainder of the
right flank and the left flank under Captain Fox, hurried off to the
village, and when we got there we heard that a lot of Germans--more than
1,000--were marching along the street away from us.
"We were not sure whether to try to clear the village first, or whether
to try to retake the lost trench. Eventually Major Fraser and Major
Holbeck started up the track straight to the lost trench. When Fraser
got fairly near the trench he found it full of Germans. He shouted,
'Have a go at them!' and charged practically by himself. He was shot at
once, as were, I think, most of his men. Major Willie Holbeck had his
right thigh bone broken by a bullet. I did not hear much firing, and had
no idea of what had happened until Holbeck crawled back.
"Meanwhile I had discovered that a house near by us was full of Germans,
so I sent Captain Fox along the road nearly opposite, and advanced on it
myself with a platoon and a few more men. When we got within twenty
yards or so they started firing at us. I shouted to the men to charge,
and rushed over the hedge at the enemy. I was just going to bayonet an
officer, when my men shot him, and he pulled me over by the leg as he
fell. Then the Germans came out of the house, swarms of them. Some gave
themselves up, while others fired at us out of a wood alongside, only
about five yards away; until I got hold of a prisoner, and, pushing him
round in front of me, told him to tell the others to surrender. He did
so, and they surrendered to the number of 188 men and seven officers.
Two of their officers had been killed, and a good many of their men; but
I had two of my best sergeants and I don't know how many men killed and
wounded. It took the whole left flank company to take the prisoners
away, and I was not left with enough to attack the lost trench.
"About 7 a.m. on the 26th the shelling began, and there was a lot of
sniping from the village at my right rear. Presently I saw about sixty
Germans, who had been hiding, bolting across our rear, and I think,
between our fire and the German shelling, they must have been wiped out.
Then the shelling got terrific, absolutely all over us. At one time for
two consecutive minutes I counted over sixty shells a minute bursting
within fifty yards or so of my trench. I was twice hit by pieces, which,
however, did no harm, and none of my little section were touched. Our
trench got pretty uninhabitable--fired at from front and rear and on one
flank, the shells coming thick all the time.
"Then word came from the trench on my left, held by a mixture of
Staffords and Grenadiers and my men, that the Grenadiers on the left had
retired. I shouted back that it was nonsense, and to stick to the
trenches and fire whenever opportunity offered. I did not think there
could be any genuine attack until they stopped shelling us.
"About 3.30 I suddenly heard a bugle sounding 'Cease fire,' or something
or other, on our right, and saw the next trench on the right full of
Germans, and our people surrendering. . . . The Germans were all round
except on the left, and I think our people had gone from there; so I
told our men to lie low in the trenches, in case the Germans did not
come so far, which they unfortunately did." Viscount Dalrymple and his
little force were surrounded and forced to surrender. "I was marched off
with about sixty men, mostly Staffordshires and King's Company
Grenadiers, only about eight of my own, and one Staffordshire subaltern.
At a village some way off I found the rest of our people.
"Eight of us were in a second-class compartment for forty-eight
hours--that is, every seat full--and were not allowed to lie down, stand
up, or look out of the windows. If we opened a window it was generally
shut again. After we had been in this compartment for about thirty hours
we were given a plateful of potato soup with a little meat in it. We had
not had anything to eat or drink for twenty-four hours previous to being
captured, and had been under heavy fire the whole of the time."
* * * * *
Private G. Owen of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, who was mentioned in
dispatches for conspicuous bravery on the field, thus describes the
incident which won him the proud distinction:--"You will be surprised to
hear about me getting mentioned in dispatches for helping a wounded
comrade who had been shot in the leg and had had his thigh broken. I
will tell you shortly how it happened. We had been warned to draw
rations from a farmhouse just on the other side of our trenches, which
was being shelled, and had a Maxim playing on it. Well, we had drawn tea
for our comrades, and we had to go back for some eatables. We made a run
for it. I was first, and got through the gate into the field, when I
heard a shout of 'O Jerry, I'm hit!'
"I ran back, and saw my mate lying in the road with his thigh broken by
a bullet from the sniper with the Maxim. I caught hold of him the best
way I could, and got him to safety with the help of the officer in
charge, while the bullets and shells were screaming round for more
victims."
* * * * *
A newspaper correspondent tells us of a little Welshman who made a great
reputation as a sniper[70] during the fighting in front of Ypres. "If
there is one thing," he says, "that the German soldier is beginning to
be an adept in it is sniping. He has learnt many tricks, and the British
soldier in the trenches pays him the utmost respect. He climbs trees, he
worms along the ground, sometimes as stealthily as a Gurkha; in a field
of roots he sticks a turnip on the spike of his helmet, and, thus
disguised, sends quick death among an incautious enemy. He shoots
straight, and is not afraid. But this little Welshman is claimed by his
comrades to be king of them all. He spends each night at it, and his
regiment's trenches are now rarely disturbed by even the most
venturesome German sharpshooters. He steals forward as lightly as a cat,
fires, and, slipping aside, awaits the enemy's reply. The flashes of
their rifles give him a mark. He shoots at the nearest, and repeats the
performance as often as the enemy will oblige him by disclosing their
positions.
"A London scoutmaster was sent out one night to ascertain the enemy's
intentions. He found the Welshman ahead, and in whispers explained his
object. The sniper bade him follow, and the scoutmaster quickly found
himself less than twenty yards from the German trenches, undiscovered
and unsuspected. This little Welshman in private life is a revivalist
preacher."
* * * * *
An American correspondent who witnessed the British monitors[71]
shelling the German trenches tells us the following story of a gallant
British naval officer who fell while trying to aid the stricken
Belgians. "As we watched the fighting we were joined by a Belgian
captain, who told us the story of an English lieutenant[72] who had
landed that morning. This officer came ashore from the monitor _Severn_
with twenty men and three machine guns. Reaching Nieuport, he saw that
the Belgians by losing a farm that morning had weakened their position.
Accordingly he started with his twenty men across the bullet-swept area
right to the trenches. Men who saw him say he walked as calmly as if on
a tour of inspection, calling orders to his men, and signalling with his
hands. In vain the Belgian officers shouted that their position was
already occupied by Germans. Either he did not hear or he was determined
to accomplish the task at all costs. When fifty yards from the coveted
goal the young officer fell dead, a bullet having struck him between the
eyes. The men retreated, carrying with them the guns and the memory of a
hero worthy in all respects of the high traditions of the British navy."
[Illustration: French Officers examining a German Prisoner.
(_Photo, Central News._)]
* * * * *
A lance-corporal of the 2nd South Lancashire Regiment describes how he
and his comrades saved a gun which they were working in the loft of a
cottage. Some 200 Germans having broken through the British lines, tried
to rush the cottage. "I crept on my stomach," says the lance-corporal,
"and made for my gun, which was nicely pointed at them, fetching them
down like sheep, thinking every minute they would get at me, especially
when I heard footsteps on the stairs. Two of my comrades now came to my
assistance. When they saw who it was they patted me on the back, and one
of them said, 'Let's have a go at the gun, Len;' which I was glad of, as
I was nearly done up. My chum did splendid work, fetching the remainder
down. While he was firing Lieutenant Fulcher went downstairs just in
time, as five Germans had got round without being seen. The brave
officer killed the five, and returned to us in the loft. . . . Then,
seeing we were all right, he once more returned to headquarters.
"Half an hour later we were surrounded with shells . . . A piece struck
the sergeant. Without delay we carried him into the house and did our
very best for him. It was a pity that he should come to his end, as only
the day before he received a telegram congratulating him on his splendid
previous work, for which he was mentioned in dispatches.
"We gave the alarm to the men down the cellar. It must have been God who
told me to shout them up. In one more minute there would have been
another seven killed, as no sooner had they got up than a shell burst in
the cellar. I told the men to make for headquarters, which they did
under heavy shell fire. How they got there without being hit I do not
know. Myself and two others stopped, as we had our best friend in the
roof (the gun). Another shell came and took the two men off their feet,
luckily doing no harm; only I got a few splinters after the falling of
the house. I found that I was the last, so I crawled out in the smoke
and the dust, and made for headquarters. I reported to Lieutenant
Fulcher that the sergeant was killed, and had died in my arms, and that
I had been forced to leave the gun. There were tears in his eyes. He
told me to lie down, but I could not, and he asked where I had left the
gun. I told him, and said, 'I expect it is smashed.' He then asked for
volunteers to go and fetch it, and two other lance-corporals at once
offered to go with me. We saved the gun, everything else being smashed,
and got back without being hit. General Haldane congratulated us, and
granted us six days' special leave to England."
* * * * *
The following story comes from the German side. There are three
characters in it--a Bavarian lieutenant, Sepp his servant, and Caro his
dog. "Sepp could play the mouth organ[73] beautifully, rendering folk
songs, dances, etc., and we had many a pleasant hour with his music. One
day, when the shells were bursting not far from us, the lieutenant said
to his servant, 'Sepp, if I am ever hit, play my burial song for me, as
you know how, and send my mother a remembrance. Everything else,
including money, you can keep.' The dog Caro was not allowed to go into
action, but had to march all day with the baggage, and at night slept at
his master's door, allowing no one save Sepp to enter. Often he managed
to get loose from the baggage carts, and, in spite of the colonel's
scolding, reached the firing-line, where he shared the danger with his
master.
"One fine day on the Yser a hostile bullet struck our dear young
lieutenant in the forehead, so that he never moved again. On his face
there was a pleasant smile, such as we had never before seen on the
dead. Our grief was great; but a soldier never has much time for
weeping. We dug his grave in a small pleasure garden, and laid the young
hero to rest. We doffed our helmets, while some one said a brief prayer.
On the mound we laid a last rose, and the soldiers made a cross. When
the captain had said the last word Sepp at once began to play, more
beautifully than we had ever heard before. No organ music had ever
pleased me so much. Tears stood in the eyes of us all. Again and again
he played funeral hymns and soldiers' songs, until we had to go.
"We could not get Sepp away from his master's grave. He continued to sit
there, weeping and playing on his mouth organ all the songs his master
had loved best. Just as we were going, up came the dog Caro from
somewhere, as though he knew of his master's death. He whined and
howled, while all about this farewell scene the guns thundered and rifle
bullets whistled. Deeply moved, we went away. The English made an
attack, but still in the twilight Sepp continued to play, until he had
to be removed forcibly to prevent him from falling into the enemy's
hands. Only Caro remained; he would not budge.
"When, two days later, we had beaten the English and came back past the
same spot, there lay the faithful Caro, dead on his master's grave. We
knew not whether he had perished of hunger and grief, or whether a
fragment of shell had struck him, but we found no wound on his body. We
buried the faithful animal at his master's feet. Since that day Sepp has
never played another tune."
* * * * *
I will conclude this chapter by giving you a brief account of the heroes
who were awarded the Victoria Cross between October 1 and 30, 1914. They
are as follows:--
Private Henry May, 1st Battalion the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). On
October 22, 1914, at a village about four miles south-west of
Armentières, he went out of his own free will, and under a heavy
cannonade tried to rescue a wounded man who was, unhappily, killed
before he could save him. Later, on the same day, he carried a wounded
officer a distance of 300 yards into safety, while exposed to very
severe fire.
Drummer William Kenny, 2nd Gordon Highlanders. On 23rd October, near
Ypres, Drummer Kenny, an Irishman, whose parents live at Drogheda,
showed wonderful bravery in rescuing wounded men on five different
occasions. Each time he carried his life in his hand, and showed the
most fearless courage. Twice previously he had saved machine guns by
carrying them out of action, and frequently he had conveyed urgent
messages over fire-swept ground. Like all true heroes, Drummer Kenny
showed himself the most modest of men. Here is his own account of his
repeated acts of bravery: "There were men lying about wounded, and I
simply brought them in. The Maxims had to be fetched, and I did
it--that's all."
Lieutenant Arthur Martin-Leake, R.A.M.C. This gallant officer was the
first man in the British army to be awarded the Victoria Cross for
conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty in two separate campaigns.
During the South African War he went out into the firing-line to dress a
wounded man while forty Boers, who were only 100 yards off, rained
bullets on the position. When he had done all he could for the stricken
soldier he went over to a badly wounded officer, and while trying to
place him in a more comfortable position was shot three times. He only
gave up his merciful work when thoroughly exhausted, and even then he
refused water until other wounded men had been served. For this splendid
self-sacrifice and steadfast bravery he was rightly awarded the Victoria
Cross. During the Balkan War he served with a British Red Cross
contingent, and throughout the present war, and especially at Zonnebeke
between October 29 and November 8, 1914, he repeatedly went out under
heavy fire to bring in wounded men, some of whom were lying close to the
enemy's trenches. Again the coveted distinction was awarded to him, and
a clasp was added to the Cross which he had won in South Africa.
Lieutenant James Leach and Sergeant John Hogan, 2nd Battalion the
Manchester Regiment. Lieutenant Leach had only received his commission a
few days before he won the Victoria Cross on October 29. "When I joined
the Manchesters," he said in an interview, "there were only six officers
and forty-five men, whereas the proper strength of the battalion was 30
officers and 1,100 men. The regiment had been badly cut up at Le Cateau
and La Bassée. On joining the regiment I was immediately put in command
of a company which was in an advanced trench near Festubert.[74] The
trench was large enough to hold thirty-five men; it was about 150 yards
from the main trench, and 120 yards from the German trenches.
"At seven o'clock on the morning of 29th October I had just started to
have my breakfast, when a man to the right of me shouted, 'Look out,
sir, look out; they're coming,' and began firing as fast as he could. I
looked over the parapet, and saw about 250 of the enemy with fixed
bayonets approaching the trench at the double, firing as they came on,
and making a peculiar wailing noise. Before the Germans reached the
trench we shot down something like 150 of them. With only such a short
distance to cross from their trenches to ours, about 100 of the enemy
managed to reach our trench and jump into it. By sheer weight of numbers
they carried the trench, and killed about twelve of my men.
[Illustration: How Lieutenant Leach and Sergeant Hogan recaptured a
Trench from the Germans.
(_From the picture by F. Matania. By permission of The Sphere._)]
"At nine o'clock I called up the communication trench, and asked how far
the enemy had got, and found they were occupying three of the four
traverses.[75] When I went up again by myself two hours later, I found
the Germans were occupying all the four traverses. Well, I thought, if
we leave it much longer they will be down the communication trenches
into the main trench.
"The same evening we heard we were to be relieved by the Gurkhas, and I
felt it would be rather bad on my part to leave the recovery of the
trench to them. I therefore determined about two o'clock to regain the
trench before dark. Calling for volunteers, Sergeant Hogan and ten
others came forward, and we began to crawl up the communication trench.
I fired anywhere with my revolver, only exposing my hand, with the
intention of pushing back the enemy along the trench as far as we could.
The idea was to force them to run back to their own trenches, so that we
could shoot them down as they went.
"All along the trench we crawled over dead and wounded Germans, so you
see my revolver had been doing some execution. When we got to the left
traverse I was surprised to hear an English voice round the corner
shout, 'Don't shoot, sir.' I chanced this being a bit of treachery, and
was surprised to see one of my own men coming round the corner. He had
been captured in the morning rush, and he said a wounded German officer
round the corner had asked him to tell me that they wanted to surrender.
"I went round the corner, and found sixteen Germans on their knees with
their hands up, shouting, 'Mercy.' I told the officer that he and his
men had got to go into the main trench. This they did after they had
taken off their equipment, holding up their hands as they went. About
twenty wounded Germans crawled in with them. . . . Was I surprised when
I heard I had been awarded the Victoria Cross? Yes, I was. I was
mentioned in dispatches, and there I thought the matter had ended."
Sergeant Hogan, when interviewed, showed the same pleasing modesty as
Drummer Kenny. "I only did," he said, "what others would have done, and
what others have done."
A few further details as to this remarkable feat may be added. The
following account is taken from the _Manchester Guardian_:--"Lieutenant
Leach and Sergeant Hogan left the main trench with ten men, and,
crawling along the communicating trench, they established themselves at
a point where the trench, which had been captured by the Germans that
same morning, turned sharply at right angles. Leach and Hogan then
advanced. The aim of the two men was to drive the Germans back along the
narrow trench to the opposite end, from which there was no exit. Leach
and Hogan commenced from their corner. Leach, being armed with a
revolver, could reach his hand round the corner and shoot along the
sections without exposing his body; whilst the German soldiers, armed
only with rifles, could not fire without exposing part of their bodies.
"While Leach was shooting along the section Hogan watched the parapet to
ward off attacks from above, as the Germans might crawl over from the
section attacked and shoot them down from above or take them in the
rear. Leach had now to fire with his left hand. When the section had
been cleared by the two men, they took their stand at the next corner,
and repeated the manoeuvre. As they advanced, section by section, Hogan
put his hat on the end of his rifle and raised it above the parapet, to
indicate to his platoon how far progress had been made, so that his
comrades would not fire at that part of the trench that had been
retaken." This went on, corner after corner being captured, until the
two men heard one of their comrades who had been made prisoner that
morning cry out, as described above by Lieutenant Leach.
Lieutenant James Anson Otho Brooke, 2nd Gordon Highlanders. This officer
received the Victoria Cross for conspicuous bravery and great ability
near Gheluvelt on 29th October, when he led two attacks on the German
trenches under heavy rifle and machine-gun fire, and regained a lost
trench at a very critical moment. By his marked coolness and alertness
he prevented the enemy from breaking through our line[76] at a time
when a general counter-attack could not have been made. Lieutenant
Brooke made the supreme sacrifice that day: he gave his life to save his
fellows.
[Illustration: Diagram to illustrate Trench Warfare.]
[Footnote 70: Sharpshooter, who hides himself outside the trenches and
fires on the enemy when occasion offers.]
[Footnote 71: See p. 92.]
[Footnote 72: Lieutenant Wise.]
[Footnote 73: British soldiers are also fond of performing on the mouth
organ.]
[Footnote 74: See map, p. 59.]
[Footnote 75: A study of the diagram on p. 128 will explain the meaning
of "communication trench" and "traverse." Lieutenant Leach's company
was holding a trench such as that marked A on the diagram.]
[Footnote 76: See p. 108.]