DEFENCE AT LAST
Late on Wednesday night came tardy news of the measures we were taking
to mobilise.
The Aldershot Army Corps, so complete in the “Army List,” consisted, as
all the world knew, of three divisions, but of these only two existed,
the other being found to be on paper. The division in question, located
at Bordon, was to be formed on mobilisation, and this measure was now
being proceeded with. The train service was practically suspended, owing
to the damage done to the various lines south of London by the enemy’s
emissaries. Several of these men had been detected, and being in plain
clothes were promptly shot out of hand. However, their work had,
unfortunately for us, been accomplished, and trains could only run as
far as the destroyed bridges, so men on their way to join their
respective corps were greatly delayed in consequence.
In one instance, at about four o’clock in the morning, three men were
seen by a constable acting suspiciously beneath the iron girder bridge
of the South-Western Railway spanning the road on the London side of
Surbiton Station. Of a sudden the men bolted, and a few moments later,
with a terrific explosion, the great bridge crashed into the road.
The constable raised the alarm that the fugitives were German spies,
whereupon a few unemployed workmen, rushing down Effingham Gardens,
caught two of the men in Malpas Road. In the hands of these irate
bricklayers the Germans were given short shrift, and, notwithstanding
the protests of the constable, the two spies were dragged along the
Portsmouth Road, pitched headlong into the Thames almost immediately
opposite the water-works, and drowned.
All was confusion at Bordon, where men were arriving in hundreds on
foot, and by the service of motor-omnibuses, which the War Office had on
the day before established between Charing Cross and Aldershot.
Perspiring staff officers strove diligently, without much avail, to sort
out into their respective units this ever-increasing mass of reservists.
There was perfect chaos.
Before the chief constituent parts of the division--that is to say,
regiments who were stationed elsewhere--had arrived little could be done
with the reservists. The regiments in question were in many cases
stationed at considerable distance, and although they had received
orders to start, were prevented from arriving owing to the universal
interruptions of the railway traffic south. By this, whole valuable days
were lost--days when at any hour the invaders might make a sudden swoop
on London.
Reports were alarming and conflicting. Some said that the enemy meant to
strike a blow upon the capital just as suddenly as they had landed,
while others reassured the alarmists that the German plans were not yet
complete, and that they had not sufficient stores to pursue the
campaign.
Reservists, with starvation staring them in the face, went eagerly south
to join their regiments, knowing that at least they would be fed with
regularity; while, in addition, the true patriotic spirit of the
Englishman had been roused against the aggressive Teuton, and everyone,
officer and man, was eager to bear his part in driving the invader into
the sea.
The public were held breathless. What would happen?
Arrivals at Aldershot, however, found the whole arrangements in such a
complete muddle that Army Service Corps men, who ought to have been at
Woolwich, were presenting themselves for enrolment at Bordon, and
infantry of the line were conducted into the camp of the Dragoons. The
Motor Volunteer Corps were at this moment of very great use. The cars
were filled with staff officers and other exalted officials, who were
settling themselves in various offices, and passing out again to make
necessary arrangements for dealing with such a large influx of men.
There were activity and excitement everywhere. Men were rapidly drawing
their clothing, or as much of it as they could get, and civilians were
quickly becoming soldiers on every hand. Officers of the Reserve were
driving up in motor-cars and cabs, many of them with their old battered
uniform-cases, that had seen service in the field in distant parts of
the globe. Men from the “Junior” and the “Senior” wrung each other’s
hands on returning to active duty with their old regiments, and at once
settled down into the routine work they knew so well.
The rumour, however, had now got about that a position in the
neighbourhood of Cambridge had been selected by the General Staff as
being the most suitable theatre of action where an effective stand
could, with any hope of success, be made. It was evident that the German
tactics were to strike a swift and rapid blow at London. Indeed, nothing
at present stood in their way except the gallant little garrison at
Colchester, who had been so constantly driven back by the enemy’s
cavalry on attempting to make any reconnaissance, and who might be swept
out of existence at any hour.
* * * * *
During Tuesday and Wednesday large gangs of workmen had been busy
repairing the damaged lines. The first regiment complete for the field
was the 2nd Battalion of the 5th Fusiliers, who carried upon their
colours the names of a score of battles, ranging from Corunna and
Badajoz, all through the Peninsula, Afghanistan, and Egypt, down to the
Modder River. This regiment left by train for London on Tuesday
evening, and was that same night followed by the 2nd Battalion King’s
Liverpool Regiment and the 1st King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, while
the Manchester Regiment got away soon after midnight.
These formed the second infantry brigade of the 1st Division, and were
commanded by Brigadier-General Sir John Money. They were several hours
getting up to London, whence from Clapham Junction their trains circled
London on to the Great Eastern system to Braintree, where the Horn Hotel
was made the headquarters. By other trains in the small hours of the
morning the last of the Guards Brigade under Colonel (temporary
Brigadier-General) Lord Wansford departed, and duly arrived at Saffron
Walden, to join their comrades on the line of defence.
The divisional troops were also on the move early on Wednesday. Six
batteries of artillery and the field company of Royal Engineers left by
road. There was a balloon section accompanying this, and searchlights,
wireless instruments, and cables for field-telegraphy were carried in
the waggons.
The 2nd Division, under Lieutenant-General Morgan, C.B., was also
active. The 3rd Infantry Brigade, commanded by Major-General Fortescue,
composed of 2nd Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment, the 2nd
Bedfordshire, the 1st Princess of Wales’ Own, and the 1st Royal Welsh
Fusiliers, were preparing, but had not yet moved. The 4th Infantry
Brigade of the same division, consisting of the 3rd and 4th Battalions
King’s Royal Rifle Corps, the 2nd Sherwood Foresters, and the 2nd South
Lancashire, with the usual smartness of those distinguished regiments,
were quick and ready, now as ever, to go to the front. They were
entrained to Baldock, slightly east of Hitchin, where they marched out
on the Icknield Way. These were followed by Fortescue’s Brigade, who
were also bound for Baldock and the neighbourhood.
The bulk of the cavalry and field artillery of both divisions, together
with the divisional troops, were compelled to set out by march-route
from Aldershot for the line of defences. The single and all-sufficient
reason of this delay in sending out the cavalry and artillery was owing
to the totally inadequate accommodation on the railways for the
transport of so many horses and guns. The troop-trains, which were, of
course, necessary to transport the infantry, were not forthcoming in
sufficient numbers, this owing to the fact that at several points the
lines to London were still interrupted.
The orders to the cavalry who went by march-route were to get up to the
line proposed to be taken up by the infantry as quickly as possible, and
to operate in front of it to the east and north-east in screening and
reconnoitring duties. The temporary deficiency of cavalry, who ought, of
course, to have been the first to arrive at the scene, was made good as
far as possible by the general employment of hordes of motor-cyclists,
who scoured the country in large armed groups in order to ascertain, if
possible, the dispositions of the enemy. This they did, and very soon
after their arrival reported the result of their investigations to the
general officers commanding the 1st and 2nd Divisions.
Meanwhile both cavalry and artillery in great bodies, and strings of
motor-omnibuses filled with troops, were upon the white, dusty roads
passing through Staines to Hounslow and Brentford, thence to London, St.
Albans, _en route_ to their respective divisions. Roughly, the distance
was over fifty miles, therefore those marching were compelled to halt
the night on the way, while those in the motor-omnibuses got through to
their destination.
To cavalry, thirty-five miles is a long day’s march, and in view of the
heavy work before them, stringent orders had been given them to spare
the horses as much as possible. The heads of the columns did not,
therefore, pass beyond Hounslow on the first night, and in that
neighbourhood the thousands of all ranks made themselves as comfortable
as circumstances would permit. The majority of the men were fed and
billeted by the all-too-willing inhabitants, and upon their hot march
they met with ovations everywhere.
At last we were defending ourselves! The sight of British troops
hurrying to the front swelled the hearts of the villagers and townsfolk
with renewed patriotism, and everywhere, through the blazing, dusty day,
the men were offered refreshment by even the poorest and humblest
cottagers. In Bagshot, in Staines, and in Hounslow the people went
frantic with excitement, as squadron after squadron rapidly passed
along, with its guns, wagons, and ambulances rumbling noisily over the
stones, in the rear.
Following these came pontoon troops with their long grey wagons and
mysterious-looking bridging apparatus, telegraph troops, balloon
sections, supply columns, field bakery, and field hospitals, the
last-named packed in wagons marked with the well-known red cross of the
Geneva Convention.
No sooner was Aldershot denuded of its army corps, however, than
battalions began to arrive from Portsmouth on their way north, while
troops from the great camp on Salisbury Plain were rapidly being pushed
to the front, which, roughly speaking, extended through Hitchin,
Royston, to Saffron Walden, across to Braintree, and also the high
ground commanding the valley of the Colne to Colchester.
The line chosen by the General Staff was the natural chain of hills
which presented the first obstacle to the enemy advancing on London from
the wide plain stretching eastward beyond Cambridge to the sea.
If this could be held strongly, as was intended, by practically the
whole of the British forces located in the South of England, including
the Yeomanry, Militia, and Volunteers--who were now all massing in every
direction--then the deadly peril threatening England might be averted.
But could it be held?
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| [Illustration] |
| |
| =WE, WILHELM,= |
| |
| =GIVE NOTICE to the inhabitants of those provinces occupied |
| by the German Imperial Army, that--= |
| |
| I MAKE WAR upon the soldiers, and not upon English |
| citizens. Consequently, it is my wish to give the latter and |
| their property entire security, and as long as they do not |
| embark upon hostile enterprise against the German troops |
| they have a right to my protection. |
| |
| GENERALS COMMANDING the various corps in the |
| various districts in England are ordered to place before the |
| public the stringent measures which I have ordered to be |
| adopted against towns, villages, and persons who act in |
| contradiction to the usages of war. They are to regulate |
| in the same manner all the operations necessary for the |
| well-being of our troops, to fix the difference between the |
| English and German rate of exchange, and to facilitate in |
| every manner possible the individual transactions between |
| our Army and the inhabitants of England. |
| |
| =WILHELM.= |
| |
| Given at POTSDAM, _September 4th, 1910_. |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
The above is a copy of the German Imperial Decree, printed in
English, which was posted by unknown German agents in London, and
which appeared everywhere throughout East Anglia and in that
portion of the Midlands held by the enemy.
This was the appalling question on everyone’s tongue all over the
country, for it now became generally known that upon this line of
defence four complete and perfectly equipped German army corps were
ready to advance at any moment, in addition to the right flank being
exposed to the attack of the XIIth Saxon Corps, entrenched on the Essex
coast.
It was estimated that no fewer than two hundred thousand Germans were
already upon English soil!
The outlook grew blacker every hour.
London was in a state of absolute stagnation and chaos. In the City,
business was now at an entire standstill. The credit system had received
a fatal blow, and nobody wanted to buy securities. Had people kept level
heads in the crisis there would have been a moratorium, but, as it was,
a panic had been created that nothing could allay. Even Consols were now
unsaleable. Some of the smaller banks were known to have failed, and
traders and manufacturers all over the country had been ruined on
account of credit, the foundation of all trade, having been swept away.
Only persons of the highest financial standing could have dealt with the
banks, even if they had remained open.
The opinion held in banking circles was that if the invasion should
unfortunately prove disastrous to England, and Germany demand a huge
indemnity, there was still hope, however small. The experience of the
Franco-German War had proved that though in such circumstances the Bank,
for a considerable period, might not be able to resume cash payments,
yet, with sound finance, there was no reason that the currency should
greatly depreciate. During the period of suspension of cash payments by
the Bank of France the premium on gold never went above 1.5 per cent.,
and during most of the period was 5, 4, or even less per mille.
Therefore what the French by sound banking had been able to do, there
was no reason why English bankers could not also do.
At the outbreak of the war of 1870, on August 1 French Three per Cent.
Rentes were at 60.85, and Four and a Half per Cents. at 98. On the
memorable day of Sedan, September 2, they were at 50.80 and 88.50
respectively, and on January 2, 1871, Three per Cents. were down to
50.95. At the commencement of the Commune, on March 18, they were at
51.50 and 76.25, and on the 30th of that month down to 50.60 and 76.25
respectively.
With so little money in England as there now was, securities had fallen
to the value at which holders would as soon not sell as sell at such a
great discount. High rates and the heavy fall in the value of securities
had brought business in every quarter all over London to a standstill.
Firms all over the country were now hard put to it in order to find the
necessary money to carry on their various trades. Instantly, after the
report of the reverse at Sheffield, there was a wild rush to obtain
gold, and securities dropped even a few more points.
Therefore, there was little or nothing for the banks to do, and Lombard
Street, Lothbury, and the other banking centres were closed, as though
it had been Sunday or Bank Holiday. Despair was, alas! everywhere, and
the streets presented strange scenes.
Most of the motor-omnibuses had been taken off the road and pressed into
the service of the military. The walls bore a dozen different broadsides
and proclamations, which were read by the gaping, hungry crowds.
The Royal Standard was flying from St. Stephen’s Tower, for Parliament
had now met, and all members who were not abroad for their summer
vacation had taken their places at the heated debates now hourly in
progress. Over Buckingham Palace the Royal Standard also flew proudly,
while upon every public building was displayed a Union Jack or a white
ensign, many of which had done duty at the coronation of His Majesty
King Edward. The Admiralty flew its own flag, and upon the War Office,
the India Office, the Foreign Office, and all the dark, sombre
Government buildings in Whitehall was bunting displayed.
The wild enthusiasm of Sunday and Monday, however, had given place to a
dark, hopeless apprehension. The great mobs now thronging all the
principal thoroughfares in London were already half-famished. Food was
daily rising in price, and the East End was already starving. Bands of
lawless men and women from the slums of Whitechapel were parading the
West End streets and squares, and were camping out in Hyde Park and St.
James’s Park.
The days were stifling, for it was an unusually hot September following
upon a blazing August, and as each breathless evening the sun sank, it
shed its blood-red afterglow over the giant metropolis, grimly
precursory of the ruin so surely imminent.
Supplies were still reaching London from the country, but there had been
immediate panic in the corn and provision markets, with the result that
prices had instantly jumped up beyond the means of the average Londoner.
The poorer ones were eagerly collecting the refuse in Covent Garden
Market and boiling it down to make soup in lieu of anything else, while
wise fathers of families went to the shops themselves and made meagre
purchases daily of just sufficient food to keep body and soul together.
For the present there was no fear of London being absolutely starved, at
least the middle class and wealthier portion of it. At present it was
the poor--the toiling millions now unemployed--who were the first to
feel the pinch of hunger and its consequent despair. They filled the
main arteries of London--Holborn, Oxford Street, the Strand, Regent
Street, Piccadilly, the Haymarket, St. James’s Street, Park Lane,
Victoria Street, and Knightsbridge, overflowing northward into
Grosvenor, Berkeley, Portman, and Cavendish Squares, Portland Place, and
to the terraces around Regent’s Park. The centre of London became
congested. Day and night it was the same. There was no sleep. From
across the river and from the East End the famished poor came in their
bewildering thousands, the majority of them honest workers, indignant
that by the foolish policy of the Government they now found themselves
breadless.
Before the Houses of Parliament, before the fine new War Office, and the
Admiralty, before Downing Street, and before the houses of known members
of the Government, constant demonstrations were being made, the hungry
crowds groaning at the authorities, and singing “God save the King.”
Though starving and in despair, they were nevertheless loyal, still
confident that by the personal effort of His Majesty some amicable
settlement would be arrived at. The French _entente cordiale_ was
remembered, and our Sovereign had long ago been declared to be the first
diplomat in Europe. Every Londoner believed in him, and loved him.
Many houses of the wealthy, especially those of foreigners, had their
windows broken. In Park Lane, in Piccadilly, and in Grosvenor Square,
more particularly, the houses seemed to excite the ire of the crowds,
who, notwithstanding special constables having been sworn in, were now
quite beyond the control of the police. The German Ambassador had
presented his letters of recall on Sunday evening, and together with the
whole staff had been accorded a safe conduct to Dover, whence they had
left for the Continent. The Embassy in Carlton House Terrace, and also
the Consulate-General in Finsbury Square, had, however, suffered
severely at the hands of the angry crowd, notwithstanding that both
premises were under police protection.
All the German waiters employed at the Cecil, the Savoy, the Carlton,
the Métropole, the Victoria, the Grand, and the other big London hotels,
had already fled for their lives out into the country, anywhere from the
vengeance of the London mob. Hundreds of them were trying to make their
way within the German lines in Essex and Suffolk, and it was believed
that many had succeeded--those, most probably, who had previously acted
as spies. Others, it was reported, had been set upon by the excited
populace, and more than one had lost his life.
Pandemonium reigned in London. Every class and every person in every
walk of life was affected. German interests were being looked after by
the Russian Ambassador, and this very fact caused a serious
demonstration before Chesham House, the big mansion where lives the
representative of the Czar. Audacious spies had, in secret, in the night
actually posted copies of Von Kronhelm’s proclamation upon the Griffin
at Temple Bar, upon the Marble Arch, and upon the Mansion House. But
these had been quickly torn down, and if the hand that had placed them
there had been known, it would certainly have meant death to the one who
had thus insulted the citizens of London.
Yet the truth was, alas! too plain. Spread out across Essex and Suffolk,
making leisurely preparations and laughing at our futile defence, lay
over one hundred thousand well-equipped, well-fed Germans, ready, when
their plans were completed, to advance upon and crush the complex city
which is the pride and home of every Englishman--London.
* * * * *
On Friday night an official communication from the War Office was issued
to the Press, showing the exact position of the invaders. It was roughly
this:--
“The IXth German Corps, which had effected a landing at Lowestoft, had,
after moving along the most easterly route, including the road through
Saxmundham and Ipswich, at length arrived at a position where their
infantry outposts had occupied the higher slopes of the rising ground
overlooking the river Stour, near Manningtree, which town, as well as
Ipswich, was held by them.
“The left flank of this corps rested on the river Stour itself, so that
it was secure from any turning movement. Its front was opposed to and
directly threatened Colchester, while its outposts, to say nothing of
its independent cavalry, reached out in a northerly direction towards
Stowmarket, where they joined hands with the left flank of the Xth
Corps--those under Von Wilburg, who had landed at Yarmouth--whose
headquarters were now at Bury St. Edmund’s, their outposts being
disposed south, overlooking the valley of the upper reaches of the
Stour.”
Nor was this all. From Newmarket there came information that the enemy
who had landed at Weybourne and Cromer--viz., the IVth Corps under Von
Kleppen--were now encamping on the racecourse and being billeted in the
town and villages about, including Exning, Ashley, Moulton, and
Kentford. Frölich’s cavalry brigade had penetrated South, covering the
advance, and had now scoured the country, sweeping away the futile
resistance of the British Yeomanry, and scattering cavalry squadrons
which they found opposed to them, all the time maintaining communication
with the Xth Corps on their left, and the flower of the German Army, the
Guards Corps, from King’s Lynn, on their right. Throughout the advance
from Holt, Von Dorndorf’s motorists had been of the greatest utility.
They had taken constantly companies of infantry hither and thither. At
any threatened point, so soon as the sound of firing was heard in any
cavalry skirmish or little engagement of outposts, the smart motor
infantry were on the spot with the promptness of a fire brigade
proceeding to a call. For this reason the field artillery, who were
largely armed with quick-firing guns, capable of pouring in a hail of
shrapnel on any exposed point, were enabled to push on much farther than
would have been otherwise possible. They were always adequately
supported by a sufficient escort of these up-to-date troops, who,
although infantry, moved with greater rapidity than cavalry itself, and
who, moreover, brought with them their Maxims, which dealt havoc far and
near.
The magnificent troops of the Duke of Mannheim in their service
uniforms, who had landed at King’s Lynn, had come across the wide, level
roads, some by way of Downham Market, Littleport, and Ely, and arrived
at Cambridge. The 2nd Division, under Lieutenant-General von Kasten,
protecting the exposed flanks, had marched _viâ_ Wisbech, March,
Chatteris, and St. Ives, while the masses of the cavalry of the Guard,
including the famous White Cuirassiers, had been acting independently
around the flat fen country, Spalding and Peterborough, and away to
quaint old Huntingdon, striking terror into the inhabitants, and
effectively checking any possible offensive movement of the British that
might have been directed upon the great German Army during its ruthless
advance.
Beyond this, worse remained. It was known that the VIIth Corps, under
Von Bristram, had landed at Goole, and that General Graf Haeseler had
landed at Hull, New Holland, and Grimsby. This revealed what the real
strategy of the Generalissimo had been. Their function seemed twofold.
First and foremost their presence, as a glance at the map will show,
effectually prevented any attack from the British troops gathered from
the north and elsewhere, and who were, as shown, concentrated near
Sheffield and Birmingham, until these two corps had themselves been
attacked and repulsed, which we were, alas! utterly unable to
accomplish.
These were two fine German army corps, complete to the proverbial last
button, splendidly equipped, well fed, and led by officers who had had
lifelong training, and were perfectly well acquainted with every mile of
the country they occupied, by reason of years of careful study given to
maps of England. It was now entirely plain that the function of these
two corps was to paralyse our trade in Yorkshire and Lancashire, to
commit havoc in the big cities, to terrify the people, and to strike a
crushing blow at our industrial centres, leaving the siege of London to
the four other corps now so rapidly advancing upon the metropolis.
Events meanwhile were marching quickly in the North.
The town of Sheffield throughout Tuesday and Wednesday was the scene of
the greatest activity. Day and night the streets were filled with an
excited populace, and hour by hour the terror increased.
Every train arriving from the North was crowded with Volunteers and
troops of the line from all stations in the Northern Command. The 1st
Battalion West Riding Regiment had joined the Yorkshire Light Infantry,
who were already stationed in Sheffield, as had also the 19th Hussars,
and from every regimental district and depot, including Scarborough,
Richmond, Carlisle, Seaforth, Beverley, Halifax, Lancaster, Preston,
Bolton, Warrington, Bury, Ashton-under-Lyne, came battalions of Militia
and Volunteers. From Carlisle came the Reservists of the Border
Regiment, from Richmond those of the Yorkshire Regiment, from Newcastle
came what was left of the Reservists of the Durham Light Infantry, and
the Northumberland Fusiliers, from Lancaster the Royal Lancashires,
while field artillery came from Seaforth and Preston, and small bodies
of Reservists of the Liverpool and the South Lancashire Regiments came
from Warrington. Contingents of the East and North Lancashire Regiments
arrived from Preston. The Militia, including battalions of the Liverpool
Regiment, the South Lancashire Regiment, the Lancashire Fusiliers, and
other regiments in the command, were hurried to the scene of action
outside Sheffield. From every big town in the whole of the North of
England and South of Scotland came straggling units of Volunteers. The
mounted troops were almost entirely Yeomanry, and included the Duke of
Lancaster’s Own Imperial Yeomanry, the East Riding of Yorks, the
Lancashire Hussars, Northumberland Yeomanry, Westmorland and Cumberland
Yeomanry, the Queen’s Own Yorkshire Dragoons, and the York Hussars.
These troops, with their ambulances, their baggage, and all their
impedimenta, created the utmost confusion at both railway stations. The
great concourse of idlers cheered and cheered again, the utmost
enthusiasm being displayed when each battalion forming up was marched
away out of the town to the position chosen for the defence, which now
reached from Woodhouse on the south, overlooking and commanding the
whole valley of the river Rother, through Catcliffe, Brinsworth, and
Tinsley, previously alluded to, skirting Greasborough to the high ground
north of Wentworth, also commanding the river Don and all approaches to
it through Mexborough, and over the various bridges which spanned this
stream--a total of about eight miles.
The south flank was thrown back another four miles to Norton, in an
endeavour to prevent the whole position being turned, should the Germans
elect to deliver their threatened blow from a more southerly point than
was anticipated.
The total line then to be occupied by the defenders was about twelve
miles, and into this front was crowded the heterogeneous mass of troops
of all arms. The post of honour was at Catcliffe, the dominating key to
the whole position, which was occupied by the sturdy soldiers of the 1st
Battalion West Riding Regiment and the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Light
Infantry, while commanding every bridge crossing the rivers which lay
between Sheffield and the invaders were concentrated the guns of the 7th
Brigade Royal Horse Artillery, and of the Field Artillery, the 2nd, the
30th, the 37th, and 38th Brigades, the latter having hurriedly arrived
from Bradford.
All along the crests of these slopes which formed the defence of
Sheffield, rising steeply from the river at times up to five hundred
feet, were assembled the Volunteers, all now by daybreak on Thursday
morning busily engaged in throwing up shelter-trenches and making hasty
earthwork defences for the guns. The superintendence of this force had
merged itself into that of the Northern Command, which nominally had
[Illustration: Battle of Sheffield]
its headquarters in York, but which had now been transferred to
Sheffield itself, for the best of reasons--that it was of no value at
York, and was badly wanted farther south. General Sir George Woolmer,
who so distinguished himself in South Africa, had therefore shifted his
headquarters to the Town Hall in Sheffield, but as soon as he had begun
to get the line of defence completed, he, with his staff, moved on to
Handsworth, which was centrally situated.
In the command were to be found roughly twenty-three battalions of
Militia and forty-eight of Volunteers; but owing to the supineness and
neglect of the Government the former regiments now found themselves, at
the moment when wanted, greatly denuded of officers, and, owing to any
lack of encouragement to enlist, largely depleted in men. As regards the
Volunteers, matters were even worse. During the past five years as much
cold water as possible had been thrown upon all voluntary and patriotic
military endeavour by the “antimilitant” Cabinets which had so long met
at No. 10 Downing Street. The Volunteers, as a body, were sick to death
of the slights and slurs cast upon their well-meaning efforts. Their
“paper” organisation, like many other things, remained intact, but for a
long time wholesale resignations of officers and men had been taking
place. Instead, therefore, of a muster of about twenty-five thousand
auxiliaries being available in this command, as the country would have
anticipated, if the official tabulated statements had been any guide, it
was found that only about fifteen thousand had responded to the call to
arms. And upon these heroic men, utterly insufficient in point of
numbers, Sheffield had to rely for its defence.
It might reasonably have been anticipated that in the majority of
Volunteer regiments furnished by big manufacturing towns, a battalion
would have consisted of at least five hundred efficient soldiers; but
owing to the causes alluded to, in many cases it was found that from one
hundred to two hundred only could “pass the doctor,” after having
trained themselves to the use of arms. The catchword phrase, “Peace,
retrenchment, and reform,” so long dinned into the ears of the
electorate by the pro-German Party and by every socialistic demagogue,
had sunk deeply into the minds of the people. Patriotism had been jeered
at, and solemn warnings laughed to scorn, even when uttered by
responsible and far-seeing statesmen. Yet the day of awakening had
dawned--a rude awakening indeed!
Away to the eastward of Sheffield--exactly where was yet unknown--sixty
thousand perfectly-equipped and thoroughly-trained German horse, foot
and artillery, were ready at any moment to advance westward into our
manufacturing districts!