History abounds in cases showing the apparent intrusion of spiritual
help in time of trouble, and in the annals of military history these
accounts are not lacking. On several occasions the Crusaders thought
that they saw angelic hosts fighting for them--phantom horsemen charging
the enemy, when their own utter destruction seemed imminent. In the wars
between the English and the Scotch, several such cases were cited, and
the Napoleonic wars also furnished examples. But the most striking
evidence of this character--because the newest--and supported,
apparently, by a good deal of first-hand and sincere testimony, is that
afforded by the Phantom Armies seen in France during the retreat of the
British army from Mons--the field of Agincourt. Cut off by overwhelming
numbers, and all but annihilated, the British army fought desperately,
but the 80,000 were opposed by 300,000 Germans, backed by a terrific
fire of artillery, and were indeed in a critical position. They were
only saved, as we know, by the heroism of a small force of men--a
rear-guard--who were practically wiped out in consequence. At the most
critical moment came what appeared to be angelic assistance. The tide of
battle seemed to be stemmed by supernatural means. In a letter written
by a soldier who actually witnessed these startling events, quoted by
the Hon. Mrs. St. John Mildmay (_North American Review_, August, 1915),
the following graphic account is given. Our soldier writes:
"The men joked at the shells and found many funny names for them, and
had bets about them, and greeted them with music-hall songs, as they
screamed in this terrific cannonade. The climax seemed to have been
reached, but 'a seven-times heated hell' of the enemy's onslaught fell
upon them, rending brother from brother. At that very moment, they saw
from their trenches a tremendous host moving against their lines. Five
hundred of the thousand (who had been detailed to fight the rear-guard
action) remained, and as far as they could see the German infantry was
pressing on against them, column by column, a gray world of men--10,000
of them, as it appeared afterwards. There was no hope at all. Some of
them shook hands. One man improvised a new version of the battle song
Tipperary, ending 'and we shan't get there!' And all went on firing
steadily. The enemy dropped line after line, while the few machine guns
did their best. Every one knew it was of no use. The dead gray bodies
lay in companies and battalions, but others came on and on, swarming and
advancing from beyond and beyond.
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