The challenge of the dead : $b A vision of the war and the life of the common soldier in France, seen two years afterwards between August and November, 1920Graham, Stephen
History
The challenge of the dead : $b A vision of the war and the life of the common soldier in France, seen two years afterwards between August and November, 1920
Graham, Stephen
World War, 1914-1918
perished in the first enthusiasm of the war with a bright starry faith
in Russia, her Church and her Tsar, of the Grand Duke Oleg for instance,
that young hero whose warm blood grew cold whilst the street-bred people
of Berlin knocked nails in great Hindenburg's wooden statue--to think of
these first Russians who lay dead with their weapons beside them in
1914-15, and then to think of the hideous revolution and those murders
in Ekaterinburg when all Russia fell; to think of the fine youth of
England and Scotland, of France, of Serbia, who died in the faith not
only of national victory but of a victory for humanity, the boys whose
fragment of iron destiny clove their brains or rived their hearts at the
outset of the fray, and then to think of that sordid clash of
selfishness at Versailles and of the untamed menagerie of Europe let
loose in 1920. The spiritualists quickly claimed to get special messages
from the dead. But did the dead only speak to the spiritualists? Did
they say nothing more than was said to them? Most of us alas, hear
nothing or only a "Dinna ye hear it?" a wailing of the pipes at an
infinite number of poor soldiers' funerals.
Well, the war enters a new phase in the summer of 1915. It will be
fought in a larger more terrible way, the number of millions of deaths
will begin after a while to seem not so far off. Killing becomes the
religion of the hour.
The first hundreds of thousands of the volunteers roll up. The old
Seventh Division which we have been following is broken up and
reconstructed. The Guards Division was formed. So Scots Guards and
Grenadiers marched away to join new comrades, to leave behind brave
Borders and Gordons and Devons and Duke of Wellingtons. The 92nd feted
the Scots, the Devons the Grenadiers; the Gordon pipers played all the
laments of the clans and "_Will ye no come back again!_"
And they went to Wizernes to prepare for the battle of Loos--a conflict
which the gallant Highland lads were destined to enter first and the
bright polished Guards but second, yet both to shine and die.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account