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The Bulletin of the Birmingham Branch of the WFA Compiled by Bob Butcher |
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October 2009 |
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MYTH AND FACT: 1918 The German Spring Offensive of 1918 gave rise to many myths, mostly derogatory of the British Army. Many have been forgotten with the passage of time but some, including the following persist. The Germans planned to split the British Army from the French and drive for Paris. FACT: Luddendorf's intention was to destroy the British Army and in March one German Army's role was to guard the southern flank of the offensive to prevent French reinforcements reaching the British. In March the Germans broke through the British line and had they still had cavalry to exploit it, there would have been a catastrophe for the British. FACT: There was no break through; the enemy forced the British back a long way but there were always British troops in position in front of them. The British line sagged awfully, but did not break and cavalry could not have been effective in that situation. The Fifth Army was defeated so heavily that it disappeared. FACT: When Rawlinson took over from Gough, the name of the Fifth Army was changed to the Fourth but the troops on the ground remained fighting. There was a failure of generalship which resulted in Gough being relieved of his command. FACT: It is now generally agreed that Gough's conduct of the early stage could not be faulted but the politicians demanded a scapegoat and the bad reputation he had acquired in 1916 and 1917 caught up with him. The German advance was only stopped when it came up against the Australians. FACT: The arrival of the Australians in front of Amiens and, later, Hazebrouck, was certainly timely but British divisions had already halted the German advance in several other places.. COMMENT: Various explanations have been put forward for what went wrong on 21St March, including the fact that the Government had ordered Haig, against his better judgement, to take over more of line from the French. This was aggravated by the shortage of manpower in the BEF together with the reduction of battalions in brigades from four to three. The BEF had just adopted a new defensive system with which neither the generals nor the troops were familiar. Fog on the morning of the 21st materially hampered the defenders. Finally the defences taken over from the French were in a poor state and labour was not available to make them good or construct the additional works required by the new defensive system. All these seem to have some merit but this cannot be said of the charge that Haig's dispositions were faulty for to have attempted to be strong everywhere with the forces at his disposal would have meant being weak everywhere. He believed, correctly, that the March battle was a preliminary and that the real threat would come in the north. He could afford to give ground in the south but not in the north. Most experts believe that he acted correctly. Maybe an attack such as that of the 21st would have gained ground irrespective of the above factors but their presence led to the gain being all that greater. |
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THE FORTUNES OF WAR The so called mystic arts flourished during the Great War despite being illegal. On 29 December 1916 Thomas Morgan alias Professor Melini was tried at Marylebone Police Court, London, on three charges of fortune telling. The first witness journalist Harold Ashton had visited Melini at his Edgware Road, London, premises. Ashton had asked if a man called George was alive or dead. Melini asked Ashton to hold hands with him in front of the fire and they did so. Ashton asked Melini 'Can you find him?' The reply was 'We will try.' Melini went into a semi coma, his hands twitched and his eyelids closed. He told Ashton that he could see the form of a man with a broad forehead and heavy shoulders. He then wrote on a piece of paper 'You can call me George. He is in the spirit life sure. Yes before April 16. But, Yes, Yes. Yes. He is in the spirit life. Yes, Yes, No, Yes.' Harold Ashton asked about his own prospects. He was told that he had been abroad, that there would be some change in his business, that he was in danger of a severe illness in November 1917, that he would come unexpectedly into money, would rise in life and would live into old age. Ashton paid five shillings, about twenty-five pounds in our terms, for these prophecies. Annie Betts of Barnes the second witness had visited Melini who told her that she had three children and was separated from her husband. In fact she had one child and was happily married. She did not pay anything. Nina White the third witness had been told by Melini that she would have three or four children, would go on a long sea voyage, would come into money and marry twice. She paid half a guinea, about fifty pounds in our terms, for these prophecies. Thomas Morgan, alias Professor Melini admitted practicing palmistry, clairvoyance and astrology. He claimed to have studied palmistry and said that he had changed his name because he was a changed man. He compared himself to Saul of Tarus who became Saint Paul. The magistrate Mr Denman said that this case showed what nonsense some people would believe in. He dismissed the charge relating to Annie Betts since she had not handed any money over but convicted the accused on the other two counts. He fined Melini twenty-five pounds on each charge with the alternative of three months in gaol. He said it was irrelevant if the accused was sincere or not and that if the accused re-offended he would gaol him. J.P.Lethbridge
UNIFORMS A recent edition of The One Show on BBC TV included an item about the British Battle Dress worn during WW2. In it an 'expert' compared it with the 1902 Service Dress (SD) in use during the Great War and said that the Battle Dress was the first uniform to be designed solely for field wear and not parade smartness. In fact the 1902 SD was introduced for field wear as indicated by its title, colour, pockets and instructions that the jacket should be a loosely fitting garment. At the time full dress, including scarlet, was still in use for parades and walking out. The SD was only worn when full dress was not suitable, for example on active service. Full dress was discontinued on the outbreak of war: Bob Butcher |