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[Illustration: cover--THE CHILDREN'S STORY OF THE WAR
By Sir Edward Parrott, M.A., LL.D.]
[Illustration: British Soldiers crossing the Aisne. (_See page 244._)]
THE CHILDREN'S STORY OF THE WAR
by
SIR EDWARD PARROTT, M.A., LL.D.
AUTHOR OF "BRITAIN OVERSEAS," "THE PAGEANT OF ENGLISH LITERATURE," ETC.
From the Battle of Mons to the Fall of Antwerp.
THOMAS NELSON AND SONS
LONDON, EDINBURGH, DUBLIN, AND NEW YORK
_Sound, sound the clarion, fill the fife!_
_To all the sensual world proclaim,_
_One crowded hour of glorious life_
_Is worth an age without a name._
Sir Walter Scott
CONTENTS.
I. The French Army 1
II. The First Clash of Arms 11
III. The Fall of Namur 17
IV. The Battle of Mons 26
V. Soldiers' Stories of the Battle of Mons 33
VI. The Russian People 44
VII. The Russian Army 49
VIII. The Eastern Theatre of War 54
IX. Victory and Defeat 65
X. Stories of Russian Soldiers 77
XI. The Fighting Retreat 81
XII. A Glorious Stand 91
XIII. "The Most Critical Day of All" 97
XIV. Stories of the Retreat from Mons to St. Quentin 106
XV. Valorous Deeds and Victoria Crosses 113
XVI. Arras and Amiens 125
XVII. The French Retreat 129
XVIII. "Those Terrible Grey Horses" 138
XIX. The Story of Battery L of the R.H.A. 145
XX. More Stories of the Retreat 152
XXI. The Beginning of the War at Sea 161
XXII. The Battle of Heligoland Bight 177
XXIII. The Turn of the Tide 193
XXIV. The Crossing of the Marne 205
XXV. The Battle of the Marne 209
XXVI. Stories of the Battle of the Marne 220
XXVII. More Stories of the Battle of the Marne 225
XXVIII. The Aisne Valley 236
XXIX. The Crossing of the Aisne 241
XXX. The Battle of the Aisne 250
XXXI. Soldiers' Stories of the Battle of the Aisne 257
XXXII. Verdun and Rheims 273
XXXIII. The Race to the Sea 289
XXXIV. The First Russian Advance to Cracow 297
XXXV. Antwerp as it was 305
XXXVI. The Siege and Fall of Antwerp 310
[Illustration: THE
CHILDREN'S
STORY OF
THE WAR
VOLUME II.]
CHAPTER I.
THE FRENCH ARMY.
In Chapter XXIII. of Volume I. I told you that the French began their
raid upon Alsace on August 7, 1914. At this time some of the Liége forts
were still holding out, and the great German advance through Belgium had
not yet begun. As the French were able to push into the enemy's country
thus early in the war, you may imagine that they were quite ready for
action before Belgium was overrun. Not, however, until August 22 were
their preparations so far advanced that they could begin the business of
war in real earnest.
Before I tell you the story of the first real battle of the war, let us
learn something of the French army. In Chapters IV. and V. of Volume I.
you read an account of the little man, with the pale face and cold blue
eyes, who made France the greatest fighting nation of the world. He
became, you will remember, master of continental Europe, and his legions
marched in triumph through Berlin, Vienna, Naples, Madrid, Lisbon, and
Moscow. He taught the art of war to all Europe, and France under his
rule rose to the highest pinnacle of military glory.
When Napoleon fell, Frenchmen turned in loathing from the work of war.
They remembered the awful waste of life and the terrible misery which
had resulted from his campaigns, and they longed for peace, during which
they might build up the nation anew. The French army, therefore, became
a mere shadow of what it had been formerly. Under Napoleon III.,
however, there was a revival of military spirit. His army, as you know,
fought well in the Crimea[1] and in Italy,[2] but it suffered hopeless
defeat in the war of 1870-1 against the Germans.[1] The French took to
heart the fearful lessons of this war, and began almost at once to put
their military house in order.
In 1872 they passed a law which was supposed to compel every young man
to serve as a soldier for twenty years--five years with the colours, and
then four years in the Reserve; five years in the Territorial Army, and
six years in the Territorial Reserve. But this law was not fully
enforced. The men called up each year were divided by lot into two
groups, and one of these groups, in time of peace, was let off with only
one year's service in the Regular Army. Whole classes of persons, such
as breadwinners and teachers, were free from service altogether, and any
man could escape with one year's training by paying a certain sum of
money. This plan proved very unsatisfactory, and in 1889 a new law was
passed by which every young man was forced to serve twenty-five
years--three years with the colours, seven years in the Reserve, six
years in the Territorial Army, and nine years in the Territorial
Reserve. By this means France hoped to raise her total number of trained
men to 3,000,000.
Up to the year 1893 France and Germany had about the same number of
soldiers on a peace footing; but very soon Germany began to forge ahead,
chiefly because her population grew so rapidly. Soon it was clear that
France could not hope to raise so large an army as Germany; so in 1897
she made an alliance with Russia, by which each Power agreed to take
part in the other's quarrel if either of them should be attacked. In
1905 France again altered her army law by reducing the time of service
with the colours to two years, and by increasing the period of service
with the Reserve to eleven years. But even this arrangement did not give
her all the soldiers which she needed; so in 1913 she decreed that every
Frenchman found fit for service must join the colours at the age of
twenty, spend three years in the Regular Army, eleven years in the
Regular Reserve, seven years in the Territorial Army, and seven in the
Territorial Reserve. Thus every strong and able-bodied Frenchman became
liable for military service from his twentieth to his forty-eighth year.
Roughly speaking, this new law enabled France to put into the field, a
month or so after the beginning of war, about 4,000,000 trained men.
This gave her a first line army of about 1,500,000, a second line of
about 500,000, and a reserve of about 2,000,000. Germany feared that
this new law would so strengthen France that she and Russia combined
would be more than a match for her; and one of the reasons why she
declared war on August 1, 1914, was to crush the French before the new
arrangement could come into full working order.
[Illustration: Recruits in the Streets of Paris.
_Photo, Sport and General._]
Every year in the month of February a Council sits in Paris and in the
provinces, and before it all youths of twenty must appear to pass the
doctor. If they are found "bon pour le service," they are told what
regiment they must join and the place where they are to undergo their
training, and in the following October they join their depots.
Frequently the young men so chosen pin big paper favours on their coats
and hats, and, thus decorated, march about the streets. Outside the
hall in which the Council is sitting there are almost sure to be a
number of stalls loaded with these blue, white, and red decorations.
When the young soldier arrives at the barracks he is given three suits
of clothes, one of which is his drill dress, another his walking-out
dress, and the third his war dress. These clothes he keeps on a shelf
above his bed, and he so arranges his garments that the French colours,
blue, white, and red, are clearly seen. In summer he rises at 4 a.m.,
and in winter at 6 a.m., and he goes to bed at 9 p.m. all the year
round, except when he is on sentry-go, or has permission to stay out
late. Every day the barrack-room is inspected, to see that the beds are
properly made, that the men's clothes are in good order, and that the
room is clean and tidy. The "little breakfast," which consists of coffee
and a roll, is served at 5 a.m.; lunch is eaten at ten o'clock, and
dinner at five. The meals usually consist of soup, meat, vegetables, and
fruit. On great occasions wine is supplied, and cigars are handed round.
The conscript's pay consists of one sou (a halfpenny) a day, and his
tobacco. Some of the men receive money from their parents and friends;
others have to make shift on the trifling allowance which the Government
gives them.
The men who begin their service in a particular year are known as the
"class" of that year. Thus the men who joined the colours in 1914 belong
to the class of 1914. Frenchmen fix all their dates by reference to "la
classe." When two Frenchmen meet almost the first question they put to
each other is, "Of what class are you?" When two or three men who have
served their time in the same regiment come together they are like old
schoolfellows; they love to recall their experiences, and chat about the
jokes and tricks and scrapes of their soldiering days.
If you were to see a regiment of conscripts on the march[3] you would
not be much impressed. Compared with the well-set-up, smartly-uniformed
British soldiers, they would seem to you to be badly drilled and badly
clothed, and to slouch along in any sort of order. You would perhaps
smile at their blue overcoats buttoned behind the knees, and their
ill-fitting red trousers; but you must remember that the French do not
believe in the pomps and vanities of military show, but in making men
fit for the actual work of war. Battles are not won by clothes, but by
the men who wear them. The French soldier is very brave, a great lover
of his country, and a splendid fighter, even though he may not look the
part in your eyes.
The officers are educated for their profession at one or other of the
great military schools, and they must pass difficult examinations before
they receive their commissions. Infantry officers are trained at the
famous school of St. Cyr, which was founded by Napoleon in 1806.
Foreigners are admitted to this school, but not Germans or Austrians.
All French officers must learn to speak German, and this knowledge of
the enemy's language has more than once proved useful in the present
war. Some time ago a French officer captured one end of a field
telephone unknown to the Germans at the other end. He replied in German
to the questions addressed to him, and was told that a train of
reinforcements would pass a certain station at a certain time. At once
he made his plans, and before the train reached the station it was blown
up.
You know that in the German army the officers belong to the higher
classes of society, and that few if any of them have risen from the
ranks. In France any man who has the ability may rise to the highest
posts in the army. There is a great gulf fixed between the private
soldier and the officer in Germany; but in France there is a strong
spirit of comradeship between all ranks, and this knits them together
far better than the iron discipline of the Germans.
The army of France is inferior in numbers to that of Germany, but it
easily ranks as the second of the armies of the world. Our regular army,
as you know, is trained in India; France uses her North African colony
of Algeria for the same purpose. Her infantry have long been renowned
for their dash and spirit, and they are, next to our own regulars, the
best marchers in Europe. The Zouaves, with their baggy red trousers and
short blue jackets, are picked men. They are to the French army what the
Highlanders are to our army--men of the most fearless bravery, and
almost irresistible at the charge. The bayonet, which the Highlander
calls the "wee bit steel," is their favourite weapon; the Zouave calls
it by the poetical name of "Rosalie."
[Illustration: Cuirassiers leaving Paris.
_Photo, Central News._]
French cavalry have always been famous, and it is said that they were
never better than in 1914. The riding was good and the horses were
excellent. What are known as the Chasseurs d'Afrique are perhaps the
best of all French horse soldiers. At Sedan their furious charges almost
turned the fortunes of that black day. The Cuirassiers[4] wear a brass
helmet, from which a tail of horsehair hangs down the back. The helmet
is covered with gray cloth in time of war.
French artillery is generally thought to be the best in Europe. What is
known as the 75-millimetre gun[5] is a very rapid quick-firer, and is
wonderfully accurate; no better piece of artillery has ever been known
in the history of warfare. French generals show great ability in using
their artillery to cover the advance of infantry.
What is known as the Foreign Legion is peculiar to the French army; no
other army in the world has anything like it. The men who serve in the
twelve battalions of this Legion are not Frenchmen but foreigners, who
for one reason or another have taken service in the French army.
Englishmen, Americans, Spaniards, Italians, Germans, and Russians rub
shoulders in the ranks; and most of them have enlisted under false
names. No questions are asked of any man who wishes to join the Legion;
if he is strong, and can ride and shoot, and is willing to "rough it,"
he is promptly enlisted.
[Illustration: Infantry of the Line leaving Paris.
_Photo, The Sphere._]
The men of this Legion have been called the "scallawags of Europe," and
the story of their past is usually sad and painful. Some have committed
crimes; some are bad characters who have been driven out of society or
have been thrown over by their friends; others have held honourable
positions, which they have lost by wicked or foolish conduct; and many
of them are desperate men, who hope to find death as quickly as
possible. Like the "free lances" of the Middle Ages, they are prepared
to sell their swords to any country that will employ them, and they will
fight as fiercely against their own land as against any other. They have
only their lives to sell, and, as a rule, they are prepared to sell them
as dearly as possible. They are not easy to discipline; but it is said
that they are always courteous to women. One of the rules of the Legion
is that its members shall always lead the "forlorn hope;" refusal to do
so means the punishment of death. For this reason they are always placed
in the firing line at the most dangerous point, and they ask for
nothing better. In peace time two-thirds of them serve in the French
possessions in the Far East, and the remainder in North Africa.
Before I close this chapter, I must tell you something about the
colonial troops of France. Just as we form native armies in our overseas
possessions, so the French make soldiers of the black and brown races in
their colonies. Their chief colony is Algeria, in North Africa; but they
also rule over Morocco, and have large possessions in West Africa and in
Indo-China. The French colonial troops are chiefly Arabs and Berbers
from Algeria, Moors from Morocco, and Senegambians from Senegal. The
native troops of Algeria are known as Turcos and Spahis.[6] The Turcos
are chiefly Berbers,[7] and they are trained on the same lines as the
Zouaves.
The most picturesque of all the native troops of France are the Spahis,
who are mainly Arabs mounted on white Arab steeds. The Arabs are a
fiercely warlike people, and France conquered them only after a long
struggle. They are Mohammedans, who believe that death in battle is a
sure passport to heaven.
[Illustration: Arab Cavalry (Spahis) at the Front.
_Photo, Underwood and Underwood._]
The Spahi is as much at home on horseback as the cowboy of the prairies,
the Cossack of the steppes, or the Hungarian of the plains. As a light
horseman he has few superiors. Each man wears on his head a white felt
cap covered by a _haick_, or long strip of woollen gauze which hangs
flat at the back of the head, covering the neck and shoulders. The haick
is attached to the cap by twenty or thirty twisted coils of camel's-hair
rope, and a fringe of it is allowed to fall on the forehead to shade the
eyes. The body garment, or _gandoura_, is a gown of white woollen
material, bound round the waist with a broad silk sash. Over all is worn
a hooded cloak, or _burnous_, which is usually made of white or fine
blue cloth. Red leather top-boots complete the costume. Many of the men
are very tall and of a strikingly noble cast of feature. They carry
themselves with great dignity, and are very grave and sparing of speech.
Their love for their horses has been the subject of many a song and
story.
* * * * *
Never before in the history of warfare have so many men, of such widely
differing races, creeds, and colours, been gathered together into such
an army as that which is upholding the cause of the Allies on the fields
of France and Flanders. When the Romans were masters of Britain they
garrisoned the Great Wall from the Tyne to the Solway with men from
nearly all the countries of Europe; but the motley array which then
struggled to beat back the "slim" Pict cannot compare for a moment with
the medley of races now under arms in the western theatre of war.
Britain and France hold empires which Cæsar never knew, and they are
thus enabled to draw troops from every continent on the face of the
globe. Englishman, Scot, Welshman, Irishman, British and French
Canadian, Australian, New Zealander, Frenchman, and Belgian, stand
shoulder to shoulder with Pathan, Gurkha, Sikh, Bengali, Baluchi,
Senegambian, Arab, Berber, and Moor--Christian, Mohammedan, Hindu, and
heathen--all united in a vast army determined to overthrow the nation
which aims at nothing less than the mastery of the whole world. Such a
remarkable gathering of races in one army has never before been seen.
[Footnote 1: See p. 89, vol. i.]
[Footnote 2: See chaps. x. and xi., vol. i.]
[Footnote 3: See p. 8.]
[Footnote 4: See p. 5.]
[Footnote 5: See p. 199, vol. i.]
[Footnote 6: This is really the same word as "sepoys," by which the
native soldiers in India were first known to Europeans.]
[Footnote 7: Original inhabitants of Algeria and Morocco. Three-fifths
of the Algerians are Berbers.]