The edition I read was
reprinted in 1917, and I think originally came out late 1916
(preceding the revolution in Russia and collapse of the Eastern
Front). I believe this book was aimed at older children (it’s a
little similar in style to The Wonder Book of Aircraft). The mindset is fascinating and the writing engaging.
Most
books about The Great War nowadays tend to conjure images of terrible
grind, both in terms of trench warfare not moving very much, and in
terms of immense grimness. And those things are not wrong. But
they’re also not the complete story.
In
the Middle East and Africa, things moved with greater pace, and the
middle of the book is dedicated to stories of naval exploits, many of
which I had no idea about (British submarines getting up to mischief
in the Bosphorus, for example).
The
mentality of the book is of another age, with the start of a battle
described as an adventure beginning. There’s both a recognition of
how terrible war is (quoted below) and a celebration of the human
spirit that can arise in conflict.
Early
on, the book is poignant (a letter home from a soldier the day before
he got killed in one of the many large battles standing out in the
memory). But the overriding sense is of a quite alien attitude to
both Britain and war, the latter perhaps closer to Livy’s
Romanesque glory than today’s immense reluctance. I was wondering
if it would be a parochial book, yet one of the examples of heroism
cited was of a priest who gave the last rites to an enemy soldier,
and whilst there is some German-bashing there’s also praise for
Turkish manoeuvres around Suez, Von Mackensen’s Eastern
shenanigans, and the final chapter is dedicated to heroism from
British allies (Frenchmen, Russians, and Italians singled out, with
kudos also given to the Sikhs, Maoris, and others).
Must admit, I found the
book to have a lively writing style, and yet was perhaps even more
interesting from a psychological perspective. The differing topics of
the various aspects of the naval conflict and doings further afield
ensured that, whilst the focus is on Britain and her Empire, there is
plenty about other arenas where our involvement was either minimal or
non-existent.
I
shall end this review with a few excerpts that I made note of as I
read:
“War
is a terrible, hideous thing.” [A short time later in the same
paragraph]. “Yet there is something even more terrible than war,
and that is the weak and cowardly acceptance of what we believe to be
evil for the sake of saving our skins.”
“We
shall not, therefore, be surprised when we learn that by far the
greater part of British naval strength and resources has in the Great
War been devoted to the efficient maintenance of its patrol services:
and we may well wonder at the weakness of human nature which impels
us to esteem a dashing exploit, carried through in, perhaps, a few
minutes, more highly than we regard the faithful endurance of
hardship and the vigilant discharge of duty continued for long, weary
months amid the stress and perils of the northern seas.”
“Their
brigade was lying in front of Gorizia and was much inconvenienced by
the enemy’s fire from a particular hill that dominated their
position – a hill so craggy, in fact, as to seem quite
inaccessible.”
Thaddeus
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