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THE GREAT WAR IN ENGLAND IN 1897
_First Edition_ _July 1894._
_Second Edition_ _July 1894._
_Edition de Luxe_ _July 1894._
_Third Edition_ _August 1894._
_Fourth Edition_ _August 1894._
_Fifth Edition_ _September 1894._
_Sixth Edition_ _October 1894._
_Seventh Edition_ _November 1894._
_Eighth Edition_ _December 1894._
[Illustration: BOMBARDMENT OF LONDON: "IN LUDGATE HILL THE SCENE
WAS AWFUL."]
THE GREAT WAR IN ENGLAND IN 1897
BY
WILLIAM LE QUEUX, F.R.G.S.
AUTHOR OF
"GUILTY BONDS" "STRANGE TALES OF A NIHILIST" "CONDEMNED TO SILENCE"
"THE STOLEN SOUL" ETC.
_ILLUSTRATED BY CAPTAIN CYRIL FIELD, R.M.L.I.
AND T. S. C. CROWTHER_
ELEVENTH EDITION
LONDON
TOWER PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED
95, MINORIES, E.C.
1895
[_All Rights Reserved_]
TO
MY FRIEND
ALFRED CHARLES HARMSWORTH
A GENEROUS EDITOR AND PATRIOTIC ENGLISHMAN
I INSCRIBE THIS FORECAST
OF
THE COMING WAR
PREFACE TO NINTH EDITION
In writing this book it was my endeavour to bring vividly before the
public the national dangers by which we are surrounded, and the absolute
necessity which lies upon England to maintain her defences in an
adequate state of efficiency. That my effort has been successful, is
proved alike by the fact that eight editions of the work have already
been exhausted, and by the commendatory and highly gratifying terms in
which it has been criticised by prominent statesmen and leading naval
and military experts, including the Commander-in-Chief of the British
Army. Some professional critics have, it is true, questioned certain
prophetic details concerning naval warfare, but I think the best
possible answer to them is furnished by the results of recent battles in
Chinese waters, which, it is admitted, present to us very serious
object-lessons. A few passages I have revised in order to bring the
events more thoroughly up to date, and in sending my forecast forth
again it is accompanied by a devout hope that ere it be too late our
present insecurity will be remedied, that a national disaster may thus
be prevented, and that England may ever retain her supremacy upon the
sea.
WILLIAM LE QUEUX.
LONDON, _March_ 1895.
CRITICISM BY LORD ROBERTS
UNITED SERVICE CLUB,
PALL MALL, W.
DEAR SIR,--I have read with considerable interest your vivid account of
the dangers to which the loss of our naval supremacy may be expected to
expose us, and the means by which you think we should be able to
extricate ourselves from those dangers. I hardly like to criticise a
work which, to be effective, must to a great extent be imaginative, but
on one or two points I would venture to offer a few remarks:--
_First_, You refer to the assistance the Home Army might receive from
India and the Colonies. I feel confident that in such an emergency as
you portray, the Colonies and Dependencies of the Empire would be most
anxious to assist the Mother Country; but unless our sea power were
assured, it appears to me that they would be unable to do so. Until our
command of the sea had been regained, we should be powerless to move a
soldier either from or to the United Kingdom.
_Secondly_, You very properly lay stress on the part which might be
taken by the Volunteers in the defence of the United Kingdom. No one can
appreciate more fully than I do the gallant and patriotic spirit which
animates the Volunteer Force, and I most thoroughly agree with you as to
the value it might be under such serious circumstances as you depict. In
fact, the _raison d'etre_ of the Force is to be able to defend the
country in the event of an invasion. But to enable our Volunteers to do
all that is expected of them, they must be made thoroughly efficient.
Much has been done of late years to this end, but much more is required
before our citizen soldiers can be depended upon to hold their own
against foreign troops whose training is continually being carried on,
and whose organisation is believed to be nearly perfect. It is very
penny-wise and pound-foolish of us not to do all in our power to render
the Volunteers the serviceable body they might be.
_Thirdly_, You take but little account of the Militia, which the Duke of
Wellington considered to be our mainstay in the event of a threatened
invasion. The Militia would seem to be rather out of fashion at present,
but still it is a very useful force, which only needs encouragement and
development to convert it into a reliable fighting body, capable of
reinforcing and co-operating with our small regular Army.
You will gather from what I have said that, under the conditions
specified by you, I should be inclined to regard your forecast of the
result of the supposed conflict as being unduly favourable. I can only
add that I trust such conditions may never arise, and that your estimate
of the means immediately available for repelling foreign attack may be
more correct than my own.--Believe me, yours very truly,
ROBERTS.
PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.
GENERAL LORD ROBERTS, V.C., on reading this forecast of the Coming War,
wrote as follows:--
Grove Park, Kingsbury,
Middlesex, March 26, 1894.
DEAR SIR,--I entirely concur with you in thinking it most
desirable to bring home to the British public in every possible
way the dangers to which the nation is exposed, unless it
maintains a Navy and Army sufficiently strong and well organised
to meet the defensive requirements of the Empire.--Believe me,
yours faithfully,
[Illustration: Signature of Roberts]
Field-Marshal Viscount Wolseley, K.P., in his _Life of Marlborough_,
speaks plainly when he says--
The last battle fought in England was fought to secure James his
crown. If through the folly and parsimony of our people we
should ever see another, it will be fought in defence of London.
The struggle will be, not for a dynasty, but for our own very
existence as an independent nation. Are we prepared to meet it?
The politician says Yes; the soldier and the sailor say No.
Such outspoken expressions of opinion from two of our chief military
authorities should cause the British public to pause and reflect. On all
hands it is admitted by both naval and military experts, that,
notwithstanding the increase of our Navy by the Spencer programme, our
country is inadequately defended and totally unprepared for war. The
extraordinary preparations now going forward in France and Russia are
being made in view of an attack upon England, and it is ominous that the
downfall of our Empire is a perpetual subject of discussion in the Paris
press. Although a Briton, I have lived long enough in France to know
that the French, while hating the Germans, despise the English, and are
looking forward to a day not far hence when their battleships will
bombard our south coast towns, and their legions advance over the Surrey
Hills to London. When the Great War does come, it will come swiftly, and
without warning. We are accustomed to scoff at the idea of an invasion
of Britain. We feel secure in our sea-girt island home; we have
confidence in our brave sailor defenders, in our gallant Army, and our
enthusiastic Volunteers, and we entertain a supreme contempt for "mere
foreigners." It is this national egotism, this insular conviction that
foreign engines of war are inferior to our own, that may cause our ruin.
Everything we possess, everything we hold dear, our position among
nations, our very life, depends for its safety, firstly, upon the
undoubted predominance of our Navy over any likely or possible
combination of the Navies of Continental Powers; and, secondly, upon an
Army properly equipped and ready to take the field on receipt of the
momentous word "Mobilise"!
Is our Navy, even strengthened by the recent programme, in a
sufficiently efficient state to retain the supremacy of the seas? Let us
face the situation boldly, and allow a well-known and distinguished
officer to reply to that question. Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas
Symonds, G.C.B., writing to me, says--
Our weak Navy, with its inefficient _personnel_, has now to
perform an enormously increased duty, such as defending
increased commerce, food, and coals. Our guns are the worst in
the world in forty-seven vessels, mounting 350 muzzleloaders,
where the French and all foreign Navies use _only
breechloaders_. Dimensions, expense, and very many other reasons
are given for this ruinous custom, but all other Navies mount
breechloaders on vessels of the same dimensions as our own. As
to expenses, such economy (so-called) means the most execrable
parsimony--to ruthlessly murder men and disgrace our flag and
Navy. Our forty-seven feeble vessels, weak in armament, and all
composing them, reduce our Navy to comparative insignificance,
and are a preparation for disgrace and ruin when at war.
Yet we are content to sit idly by, confident in a strength which two
foreign Powers are slowly but surely undermining! Russia and France,
both barely able to sustain their gigantic Armies, are to-day straining
every nerve to enlarge their naval forces, preparatory to a swift
descent upon our shores. This alarming fact we wilfully disregard,
affecting to find humour in the Franco-Muscovite preparations. Thus,
unless we maintain a Navy of sufficient strength to prevent invasion,
War, with its attendant horrors, is inevitable, and the scene of battle
will be England's smiling fields.
Turning to our Army, what do we find? Even the civilian writer who
studies it is amazed at the muddle of insufficiency in which it is
steeped. Our Home Defence Scheme is a very elaborate paper problem, but
as our forces have never been mobilised, its many glaring defects must,
alas! remain unremedied until our highways echo to the tramp of an
enemy. Upon this point a volume might be written, but a few plain facts
must suffice. Military experts will, I think, agree when I assert that
the 2nd Corps, as planned by this grotesque scheme, does not and cannot
exist; and while the 3rd Corps may possibly stand as regards infantry,
because its infantry are all Militia, yet it will have neither Regular
cavalry nor guns. Every one of the staffs is a myth, and the equipment
and commissariat arrangements are a complete guarantee of collapse at
the outset of mobilisation. What, for instance, can be said of a system
in which one unit of the 3rd Cavalry Brigade "mobilises," and obtains
its "personal" and part of its "regimental" equipment at Plymouth; the
other part of its regimental paraphernalia, including munitions, at
Aldershot; and its horses--at Dublin? Practically, half our cavalry at
home are to-day, however, incapable of mobilisation, for, according to
the latest return available, I find that over six thousand cavalry men
have no horses! Again, the Volunteers, upon whom we must depend for the
defence of London, have no transport, and the ammunition columns for
the 3rd Army Corps and the Regular cavalry do not exist. Such staggering
deficits as these are in themselves sufficient to show how critical
would be our position if England were invaded, and in order to give an
adequate idea of what we may expect during that reign of terror, I have
penned the narrative which follows. Some, no doubt, believe that our
enemies will treat us with more mercy than I have shown, but I firmly
anticipate that in the desperate struggle for the supremacy of the
world, towns will be bombarded and international law set at naught where
our invaders see a chance of success. Consequently, the ruin must be
widespread, and the loss of life enormous.
In the various strategical and tactical problems involved, I have
received assistance from a number of well-known naval and military
officers on the active list, whose names I am, however, not at liberty
to divulge. Suffice it to say that, in addition to personally going over
the whole of the ground where battles are fought, I have also obtained
information from certain official documents not made public, and have
endeavoured to bring this forecast up to date by introducing the latest
inventions in guns, and showing the relative strength of Navies as they
will appear in 1897. In this latter I have been compelled to bestow
names upon many ships now building.
To Lieut. J. G. Stevens, 17th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers, who supplied
me with many details regarding the Volunteers; to Mr. Alfred C.
Harmsworth, F.R.G.S., whose suggestion prompted me to write this
narrative; and to Mr. Harold Harmsworth, who on several occasions
assisted me, I hereby acknowledge my thanks. While many readers will no
doubt regard this book chiefly as an exciting piece of fiction, I trust
that no small proportion will perceive the important lesson underlying
it, for the French are laughing at us, the Russians presume to imitate
us, and the Day of Reckoning is hourly advancing.
WILLIAM LE QUEUX.
PRINCE OF WALES'S CLUB,
COVENTRY STREET, W.
CONTENTS
_BOOK I_
THE INVASION
CHAP. PAGE
I. THE SHADOW OF MOLOCH 13
II. A TOTTERING EMPIRE 19
III. ARMING FOR THE STRUGGLE 23
IV. THE SPY 28
V. BOMBARDMENT OF NEWHAVEN 35
VI. LANDING OF THE FRENCH IN SUSSEX 40
VII. BOMB OUTRAGES IN LONDON 44
VIII. FATEFUL DAYS FOR THE OLD FLAG 49
IX. COUNT VON BEILSTEIN AT HOME 56
X. A DEATH DRAUGHT 61
XI. THE MASSACRE AT EASTBOURNE 65
XII. IN THE EAGLE'S TALONS 70
XIII. FIERCE FIGHTING IN THE CHANNEL 75
XIV. BATTLE OFF BEACHY HEAD 85
_BOOK II_
THE STRUGGLE
XV. THE DOOM OF HULL 99
XVI. TERROR ON THE TYNE 110
XVII. HELP FROM OUR COLONIES 125
XVIII. RUSSIAN ADVANCE IN THE MIDLANDS 137
XIX. FALL OF BIRMINGHAM 150
XX. OUR REVENGE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN 162
XXI. A NAVAL FIGHT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 174
XXII. PANIC IN LANCASHIRE 186
XXIII. THE EVE OF BATTLE 193
XXIV. MANCHESTER ATTACKED BY RUSSIANS 200
XXV. GALLANT DEEDS BY CYCLISTS 208
XXVI. GREAT BATTLE ON THE MERSEY 213
XXVII. THE FATE OF THE VANQUISHED 218
_BOOK III_
THE VICTORY
XXVIII. A SHABBY WAYFARER 229
XXIX. LANDING OF THE ENEMY AT LEITH 235
XXX. ATTACK ON EDINBURGH 243
XXXI. "THE DEMON OF WAR" 248
XXXII. FRIGHTFUL SLAUGHTER OUTSIDE GLASGOW 256
XXXIII. MARCH OF THE FRENCH ON LONDON 268
XXXIV. LOOTING IN THE SUBURBS 279
XXXV. LONDON BOMBARDED 284
XXXVI. BABYLON BURNING 291
XXXVII. FIGHTING ON THE SURREY HILLS 299
XXXVIII. NAVAL BATTLE OFF DUNGENESS 304
XXXIX. THE DAY OF RECKONING 312
XL. "FOR ENGLAND!" 324
XLI. DAWN 328
_BOOK I_
_THE INVASION_
THE GREAT WAR IN ENGLAND
IN 1897.
CHAPTER I.
THE SHADOW OF MOLOCH.
War! _War in England!_
Growled by thoughtful, stern-visaged men, gasped with bated breath by
pale-faced, terrified women, the startling news passed quickly round the
Avenue Theatre from gallery to boxes. The crisis was swift, complete,
crushing. Actors and audience were appalled.
Though it was a gay comic opera that was being performed for the first
time, entertainers and entertained lost all interest in each other. They
were amazed, dismayed, awestricken. Amusement was nauseating; War, with
all its attendant horrors, was actually upon them! The popular tenor,
one of the idols of the hour, blundered over his lines and sang terribly
out of tune, but the hypercritical first-night audience passed the
defect unnoticed. They only thought of what might happen; of the dark
cavernous future that lay before.
War had been declared against Britain--Britain, the Empire that had so
long rested in placid sea-girt security, confident of immunity from
attack, was to be invaded! The assertion seemed preposterous.
Some, after reading eagerly the newspapers still damp from the press,
smiled incredulously, half inclined to regard the startling intelligence
as a mere fabrication by alarmists, or a perfected phase of the
periodical war-scare which sensational journalists annually launch upon
the world during what is technically known as the "gooseberry" season.
Other readers, however, recollecting the grave political crises on the
Continent, set their teeth firmly, silent and dumfounded. Upon many
merchants and City men the news fell like a thunderbolt, for financial
ruin stared them in the face.
Evidently a desperate attempt would be made by the enemy to land on
English soil. Already the startled playgoers could hear in their excited
imagination the clash of arms mingling with the triumphant yell of the
victor, and the stifled, despairing cry of the hapless victim. But who,
they wondered, would be the victim? Would Britannia ever fall to the
dust with broken trident and shattered shield? Would her neck ever lie
under the heel of the foreign invader? No, never--while Britons could
fight.
The theatre, in its garish blaze of electricity, and crowded with
well-dressed men and women, presented a brilliant appearance, which had
suddenly become strangely incongruous with the feelings of the audience.
In the boxes, where youth and beauty smiled, the bouquets which had been
provided by the management gave to the theatre a bright, artistic touch
of colour. Yet the pungent odour they diffused had become sickening.
Intermingled with other flowers there were many tuberoses. They are
funereal blossoms, ineffably emblematic of the grave. There is death in
their breath.
When the astounding news fell upon the house the performance was drawing
to a close. A moment before, every one had been silent and motionless,
listening with rapt attention to the tenor's plaintive love song, and
admiring the grace of the fair heroine, but as the terrible truth dawned
upon them they rose, amid a scene of the wildest excitement. The few
papers that had been purchased at fabulous prices at the doors were
eagerly scanned, many of the sheets being torn into shreds in the mad
struggle to catch a glimpse of the alarming telegrams they contained.
For a few moments the agitation nearly approached a panic, while above
the hum and din the hoarse, strident voices of running newsmen could be
heard outside, yelling, "War declared against England! Expected landing
of the enemy! Extrur-speshal!"
There was a hidden terror in the word "War" that at first held the
amazed playgoers breathless and thoughtful. Never before had its
significance appeared so grim, so fatal, so fraught with appalling
consequences.
War had been actually declared! There was no averting it! It was a stern
reality.
No adroit diplomatic negotiations could stem the advancing hordes of
foreign invaders; Ministers and ambassadors were as useless pawns, for
two great nations had had the audacity to combine in the projected
attack upon Great Britain.
It seemed incredible, impossible. True, a Great War had long been
predicted, forecasts had been given of coming conflicts, and European
nations had for years been gradually strengthening their armies and
perfecting their engines of war, in the expectation of being plunged
into hostilities. Modern improvements in arms and ammunition had so
altered the conditions of war, that there had long been a feeling of
insecurity even among those Powers who, a few years before, had felt
themselves strong enough to resist any attack, however violent.
War-scares had been plentiful, crises in France, Germany, and Russia of
frequent occurrence; still, no one dreamed that Moloch was in their
midst--that the Great War, so long foreshadowed, had in reality
commenced.
Yet on this hot, oppressive Saturday night in August the extra-special
editions of the papers contained news that startled the world. It ran as
follows:--
INVASION OF ENGLAND.
WAR DECLARED BY FRANCE AND RUSSIA.
HOSTILE FLEETS ADVANCING.
EXTRAORDINARY MANIFESTO BY THE TSAR.
[REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.]
St. Petersburg, _August 14th_, 4 P.M.
The most intense excitement has been caused here by a totally
unexpected and amazing announcement made this afternoon by the
Minister of Foreign Affairs to the French Ambassador. It appears
that the Minister has addressed to the French representative a
short note in which the following extraordinary passage
occurs:--
"The earnest negotiations between the Imperial Government and
Great Britain for a durable pacification of Bosnia not having
led to the desired accord, His Majesty the Tsar, my august
master, sees himself compelled, to his regret, to have recourse
to force of arms. Be therefore so kind as to inform your
Government that from to-day Russia considers herself in a state
of war with Great Britain, and requests that France will
immediately comply with the obligations of the alliance signed
by President Carnot on February 23rd, 1892."
A circular note has also been addressed by the Russian Foreign
Office to its ambassadors at the principal Courts of Europe,
stating that, for reasons assigned, the Tsar has resolved to
commence hostilities against Great Britain, and has given his
Armies and Navy orders to commence the invasion.
This declaration has, no doubt, been contemplated by the Russian
Government for several days. During the past week the French
Ambassador has twice had private audience of the Tsar, and soon
after 11 A.M. to-day he had a long interview at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. It is understood that the Minister of War was
also present.
No official notification of the Declaration of War has been
given to the British Ambassador. This has created considerable
surprise.
5.30 P.M.
Large posters, headed "A Manifesto of His Majesty the Emperor of
Russia," and addressed to his subjects, are being posted up in
the Nevski Prospekt. In this document the Tsar says--
"Our faithful and beloved subjects know the strong interest
which we have constantly felt in the destinies of our Empire.
Our desire for the pacification of our western frontier has been
shared by the whole Russian nation, which now shows itself ready
to bear fresh sacrifices to alleviate the position of those
oppressed by British rule. The blood and property of our
faithful subjects have always been dear to us, and our whole
reign attests our constant solicitude to preserve to Russia the
benefits of peace. This solicitude never failed to actuate my
father during events which occurred recently in Bulgaria,
Austro-Hungary, and Bosnia. Our object, before all, was to
effect an amelioration in the position of our people on the
frontier by means of pacific negotiations, and in concert with
the great European Powers, our allies and friends. Having,
however, exhausted our pacific efforts, we are compelled by the
haughty obstinacy of Great Britain to proceed to more decisive
acts. A feeling of equity and of our own dignity enjoins it. By
her recent acts Great Britain places us under the necessity of
having recourse to arms. Profoundly convinced of the justice of
our cause, we make known to our faithful subjects that we
declare war against Great Britain. In now invoking a blessing
upon our valiant armies, we give the order for an invasion of
England."
This manifesto has excited the greatest enthusiasm. The news has
spread rapidly, and dense crowds have assembled in the Nevski,
the Izak Platz, and on the English Quay, where the posters are
being exhibited.
The British Ambassador has not yet received any communication
from the Imperial Government.
Fontainebleau, _Aug. 14th_, 4.30 P.M.
President Felix Faure has received a telegram from the French
representative at St. Petersburg, stating that Russia has
declared war against Great Britain. The President left
immediately for Paris by special train.
Paris, _Aug. 14th_, 4.50 P.M.
An astounding piece of intelligence has this afternoon been
received at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is no less than
a Declaration of War by Russia against Britain. The telegram
containing the announcement was received at the Ministry from
the French Ambassador at St. Petersburg soon after three
o'clock. The President was at once informed, and the Cabinet
immediately summoned. A meeting is now being held for the
purpose of deciding upon the course to be pursued with regard to
the obligations of France contracted by the Treaty of Alliance
made after the Cronstadt incident in 1891. The news of impending
hostilities has just been published in a special edition of the
_Soir_, and has created the wildest excitement on the
Boulevards. Little doubt is entertained that France will join
the invading forces, and the result of the deliberations of the
Cabinet is anxiously awaited. President Felix Faure has returned
from Fountainebleau.
[BY TELEPHONE THROUGH DALZIEL'S AGENCY.]
6 P.M.
The meeting of the Cabinet has just concluded. It has been
resolved that France shall unreservedly render assistance to
Russia. There is great activity at the War Office, and troops
are already being ordered on active service. The excitement in
the streets is increasing.
[REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.]
Berlin, _Aug. 14th_, 5.30 P.M.
Telegrams received here from St. Petersburg report that Russia
has unexpectedly declared war against Great Britain, and called
upon France to aid her in a combined attack. The report is
scarcely credited here, and further details are being eagerly
awaited. The Emperor, who was to have left for Bremen this
afternoon, has abandoned his journey, and is now in consultation
with the Chancellor.
Christiansand, _Aug. 14th_, 7.30 P.M.
The French Channel Squadron, which has been manoeuvring for the
past fortnight off the western coast of Norway, anchored outside
the fjord here last night. This morning, according to rumour,
the Russian Squadron arrived suddenly, and lay about thirty
miles off land. Secret telegraphic orders were received at 6
P.M. by the Admirals of both fleets almost simultaneously, and
the whole of the vessels left in company half an hour later.
They sailed in a southerly direction, but their destination is
unknown.
Dieppe, _Aug. 14th_, 8 P.M.
Ten transport vessels are embarking troops for England. Four
regiments of cavalry, including the 4th Chasseurs and 16th
Guards, are--[1]
FOOTNOTE:
[1] The conclusion of this message has not reached us, all the wires
connecting this country with France having been cut.