R. W. Campbell

“ Look at Cheerall! He’s an absolute treat! There are hundreds of men like him in the Old Army and the New Army. We fellows, who are new to the business, don’t give a tinker’s damn whether an instructor or a staff-officer is a Cecil or a Henderson. We want the goods. We’re willing to learn. We’d pawn our boots to go and hear men like Allenby, Robertson, and Wilson; but we’ve got a contempt for all those old blighters who sneer at us, who think we’re not gentlemen, and regard us simply as cannon-fodder. The army isn’t democratic enough. ”

“ Much better to speak the truth, to show war in all its vile nakedness—show it in operation with blood, bayonets, and a brutal barrage blowing horses and men to bits, and motor-cars sky-high. Britishers can face this, for we are a race of stoics. But what Britishers cannot understand is that extraordinary diplomacy which says we must camouflage heavy casualties, hide disasters, whitewash blunders, and instil in the minds of a shivering British public that the Front is really ‘not so bad as they say.’ The Front is a vile and a hellish place. ”

“ We were not blind, and all of us had ‘been out.’ If we were deficient in higher strategy, we had a share of common-sense. Had a War Office inspector tumbled into our midst disguised as a cadet, he would have heard frank appreciation of all that was good, and a damning indictment of all that was bad. The greatest weakness of the military system is that it declines to be told, seldom asks for suggestions, and is up against an intellectual aristocracy. This fear of intellect has been our curse in this war. And only one statesman has fought for ‘The New School.’ That man is David Lloyd George. ”

“ They died for LOVE. They died that we might live. And their brothers to-day are dying in France. Side by side are those wonderful Canadians, glorious Newfoundlanders, gallant South Africans, brave Indians—indeed, all nations under the British flag. They have not rendered lip-service. They have given the flower of their land that this Old Country, the mother of Democracy, the breeder of nations, and fount of tolerance, shall keep her lamps burning brightly and repel the hordes who would destroy the Crucifix and deify the sword. You can understand this devotion only by a study of the past. ”

“ And no man has a better opportunity to exploit the science than the army officer. He commands all types, all creeds. In his daily work he is rubbing against the efficient and the inefficient, the alert and the lethargic, the successful and the failure. If you, as future officers, will make it your duty to observe the mental meanderings of your units, you will quickly discover the road to high command. By knowing your men, you can handle them. By classifying and treating them as mere units, you will eventually cause anything from a mutiny to a disaster in face of the enemy. ”

“ He was no sneak. There was nothing petty in his decisions, and little things revealed a passionate love of his ‘boys’ rather than a selfish love of his job. In his day he had been a gallant soldier and ‘a bit of a lad.’ As a man of the world, he understood human nature, and his one desire was to have a happy and successful unit.
He had a hard-working but not a brilliant staff. Brilliant men are scarce as instructors in cadet schools. The military system, even to-day, is not kind to brilliance. It is afraid of genius. Genius even in this war has too often been attacked and destroyed. ”

“ Time and again he resisted tempting opportunities for a general action, till the Marne was reached. Then, when the German General Staff was drunk with victory, when their line was lengthened, their munitionment and rationing tedious and difficult, their troops tired with their hitherto magnificent marching, he launched his blow—faulty in parts, but staggering and effective as a whole. With a crash he killed the Paris dream. With a bound he swept corps after corps of the hardest-trained troops in the world into a tragic rout and irredeemable disaster. The Marne was the defeat of Germany. ”

“ Far better to have the Democracy of the trenches than the Anarchy of Trotsky. For Heaven’s sake, be wise!
Such is the mentality of our brave boys. Fools will fear it, but straight men will rejoice. The Church can take heart, for the university of war has quickened spiritual thought. Blind as many of these men are, they are seeking, groping for light. Their eyes are scanning the horizon for the idealism which can heal their sorrows and lighten the daily load. The madness of war is causing them to search for gladness. ”

“ Our King, our Empire, and ‘the Correct Thing’ have nothing to do with the making of this war. It is the Germans’ war—the Kaiser’s war. Lip-service is of little use to the monarchy or the Empire. We are not flag-waggers. We are plain, home-loving shopkeepers in arms. We do not question the right of King George or ignore the Empire’s existence; but we are all determined, with the aid of God, bayonet, and high explosive, to root out the Kaiser, his chiefs, and all their works, because they and their foul gospel mean the moral ruin and the brutal domination of the world. ”

“ My successor is Captain Cheerall. This officer is of the Old Army, yet of the New. To me he has been a loyal colleague, a zealous friend, and an invaluable assistant. He is an extraordinary compound of intellect and emotion. Every time he talks to me, I feel I must clap him on the back. The school is, therefore, in good hands. When I have gone, perhaps the intellectuals will not feel so bored.’
‘You never bore us, sir,’ shouted Ginger, and all of us gave a cheer. ”

“ CHAPTER XXI. HISTORY AND ESPRIT DE CORPS.
‘It is a good thing, gentlemen, to cull the best from the past, and never to ignore it,’ said Captain Cheerall at another lecture. ‘If our fathers frequently blundered through, they did so heroically. No army is blessed with such high traditions, such records of chivalry and glory, as ours; yet, like all other armies, it has frequently failed. We do not claim to have been invincible. We have no desire to get out on the house-tops to boost our army. But we have a right to know and be proud of the battle honours on our flags. ”

“ Tosher, Beefy, Nobby, Ginger, Billy, and myself—thanks to the good offices of Captain Cheerall—were to be gazetted to the same battalion. This was a piece of luck. But there were other good friends who were being scattered to the four ends of the earth. Many were bound to be killed; others we might never come across again. They were our brothers-in-arms, and [255] we loved them as only men can love. The war and the army had opened our hearts. We men of all classes, all professions, have been linked into a loving community, which only death can sever. ”

“ All your Tory Government did when in power was to change the design of Tommy’s shirt-tail and hand out caps made in Germany. You’re great fellows for political swank and eye-wash, but you haven’t the brains of a hen. And even in your Tory Coalition Government you’ve got to get Lloyd George to pull you through.’
‘Nobby!’ cried Ginger.
‘What?’
‘I’m fighting your constituency at the next election. You’re a pest, a peril, and a blighter. And if the Boche doesn’t kill you, I’ll smite you dead on the platform as soon as you whisper Free Trade. Free Trade will ruin the Empire. ”

“ Push-and-go is not appreciated by certain soft-jobbers in the Home Commands; and they have a quiet but brutal way of dispensing with men who want to be ‘American’ and revolutionise our whole system of military education.
It is imagined by military mandarins that we cadets don’t know and don’t see anything. What a blunder! At our school, and at every other cadet school, you can find the cream of intellect studying for commissions. The nation is in arms. And many a lecturer ignores the fact that he is talking to men with the highest university degrees. ”

“ Noise is the worst feature of war, and in military hospitals you find patients reverting again and again to this theme. And seldom do our men profess a liking for war. The experiences of Billy, Nobby, and Ginger are characteristic of thousands. They carry on out of a sense of duty, a love of country, and an innate conviction that the only way to end this horrible scourge is to punish its authors and apostles. The world will never be clean and joyful until we absolutely crush the horrible mentality of the ruling German. The sword is not a good investment. He who lives by it, perishes by it. ”

“ You will feel at sea for a long time, but in the end your eye and brain will enable you to see the hero and the fool, and instinctively to sense the coming thought or action of an opponent. Psychology gives you the wisdom of the old, the touch of the blind, the sense of the tried, and a general strength which is irresistible. This gift will enable you to create an uncomfortable apprehension in the mind of the enemy—a sense of something tragic ”

“ A navy we have always regarded [143] as an expensive business, the army as a luxury, war as a d—— nuisance and a most uncomfortable affair. War interferes with our commerce, our studies, our games, and our pleasures. War kills and mangles men who have been made in the image of God. It wrecks nations, countries, and homes; brings into millions of lives suffering, poverty, anger, despair, madness, and soul-racking sorrow. It is the most foul, ghastly, ungodly thing that man ever created. ”

“ And we have always been civilising, always pioneering, always trying to leave the world a little cleaner, a little better, than we found it. This work has been supported and made possible by the splendour of British arms.
‘What you must take from the past is the spirit of your fathers—the simple faith, the sense of duty, the code of honour, and the love of country which have been shown by the best of our men in all our wars. And I do believe no man is cultured or efficient unless he has a knowledge of history. ”

“ Our discipline is the firmest, yet the kindest, in the world, simply because cadets and all officers have had their noses shoved on the grindstone by sergeant-majors, lecturers, and seniors, who insist that if you fail in your duty, and neglect to cultivate the love and the friendship of your men, then you are absolutely no use to the British Army. ”

“ You’re old; but yet you’re green. This island is a happy hunting-ground for Jews, Germans, and assassins. But we can’t see you fall. The Old Land is Our Land. It’s the Old Home, Billy, and that’s why I’m in. God help the Huns when I go out! I’ll go “West” before this land goes “West.” But, say, I’ve got to go. I’m dining with a real live lord. He wants to see a bucking broncho from the West. Cheerio, boys!’ and Tosher stepped out into the night.
‘Well, that’s the greatest artist Canada has produced,’ said Ginger.
‘That’s the true Imperialism,’ shouted Nobby, ‘but you don’t understand it. ”

“ While we hate militarism, we have a deep and lasting affection for many of the professional soldiers. And it is this personal bond between officers and men that has helped to make the New Army effective. Their views are not our views, but their personal devotion and example are priceless assets in such a war. Indeed, the good officer is usually a good man. What always impressed us was the strong religious convictions of men like Maude, Kitchener, and Robertson. Example is the keynote of the true British officer. ”

“ It is no crime to be a well-dressed man. Even to-day it is most important that an officer should look the picture of a clean, alert, and well-groomed British gentleman. That is an aid to discipline. Every Tommy is an aristocrat. As one of my men once remarked, “I likes my orficer to look a ruddy toff.” Of course, there was a great weakness in this system. It was overdone. We concentrated on brass bands, pipeclay, and eye-wash. The men were mere automatons; the discipline was harsh, in some cases brutal; while strategy and tactics were not worshipped as we worship them now. ”

“ If I, your colonel, have the courage to come and tell you of my own deficiencies, surely you boys will have the pluck to do a little heart-searching. You must also study the Service as a whole, and not in parts. Believe me, the British Army is a proud and glorious institution. The traditions are high. Great men have come from our ranks. In this war our arms are belaurelled with chivalry. Ours is no mercenary host, no band of knaves or babe-assassins. We fight a good fight. ”

“ Man to man, he is not our equal in bayonet-fighting. It may be lack of training, but I imagine it really is due to the fact that he is flabby and no sportsman. For example, in the one bayonet-fight which I was in, not one of the Huns stood up to us. They flung their rifles away and squealed like pigs. Cold steel to a German is worse than gas or shells. The Hun is terror-stricken when he sees the knife of the Gurkha.’
‘Who do you think are really best with the bayonet, Nobby?’ asked Billy. ”

“ You can’t expect barmaids and ballet-girls to have souls. They trade their charms and squander their affections, but the real decent kind are not half-bad. I’ve a weakness for the opposite sex.’
‘Oh, you’re a ruddy idealist. You’re always up in the moon. You’re too trusting. One can’t trust a woman. If I had my way, I’d go over to the system of the Moslems.’
‘You’re blasé, Beefy. You have had such a good time that you think the world has gone wrong. What’s the good of being a cynic? I’m not posing, old chap, but I do think there’s a lot of goodness in modern girls if you care to search for it. ”

“ An officer must form his own opinions, and if I am going to be of any use in this military business, I must riddle the wheat from the chaff, and gather the harvest into my store. To be independent in thought is not uppish. It is personality! Personality is the whole thing in war, but never despise—the other fellow.
Now I have to make a confession. Before the war, when I was blundering around with golf-clubs and feminine charmers, the Brigade of Guards often passed my way. ”