Great Britain -- Defenses; Imaginary wars and battles
All was confusion at Bordon, where men were arriving in hundreds on foot
and by the service of motor omnibuses, which the War Office had on the
day before established between Charing Cross and Aldershot. Perspiring
staff officers strove diligently, without much avail, to sort out into
their respective units this ever-increasing mass of reservists.
There was perfect chaos.
Before the chief constituent parts of the division--that is to say,
regiments who were stationed elsewhere--had arrived little could be done
with the reservists. The regiments in question were in many cases
stationed at considerable distance, and although they had received
orders to start, were prevented from arriving owing to the universal
interruptions of the railway traffic south. By this, whole valuable days
were lost--days when at any hour the invaders might make a sudden swoop
on London.
Reports were alarming and conflicting. Some said that the enemy meant to
strike a blow upon the capital just as suddenly as they had landed,
while others reassured the alarmists that the German plans were not yet
complete, and that they had not sufficient stores to pursue the
campaign.
Reservists, with starvation staring them in the face, went eagerly south
to join their regiments, knowing that at least they would be fed with
regularity; while, in addition, the true patriotic spirit of the
Englishman had been roused against the aggressive Teuton, and everyone,
officer and man, was eager to bear his part in driving the invader into
the sea.
The public were held breathless. What would happen?
Arrivals at Aldershot, however, found the whole arrangements in such a
complete muddle that Army Service Corps men, who ought to have been at
Woolwich, were presenting themselves for enrolment at Bordon, and
infantry of the line were conducted into the camp of the Dragoons. The
Motor Volunteer Corps were at this moment of very great use. The cars
were filled with staff officers and other exalted officials, who were
settling themselves in various offices, and passing out again to make
necessary arrangements for dealing with such a large influx of men.
There were activity and excitement everywhere. Men were rapidly drawing
their clothing, or as much of it as they could get, and civilians were
quickly becoming soldiers on every hand. Officers of the Reserve were
driving up in motor-cars and cabs, many of them with their old battered
uniform cases, that had seen service in the field in distant parts of
the globe. Men from the "Junior" and the "Senior" wrung each other's
hands on returning to active duty with their old regiments, and at once
settled down into the routine work they knew so well.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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