This is the Way the War Ends

Monday 11th November 1918

The War is over. At least, that is what seems to have happened. It does not come as a complete surprise as the writing has been on the wall for the German Empire for the last few weeks. Our armies' continued successful attacks, along with those of our allies, have pushed the enemy back relentlessly. It was only in August that our forces lay before Amiens. This morning they are in Mons, a distance of nearly a hundred miles. Nevertheless, the end, now it has come, has come very quickly. It was only at around 7.30 this morning that word reached the troops of the armistice which, we understand, has been under negotiation for the last few days. 

This armistice, we are told, is not a surrender by our foes, but what is termed a ceasefire. There will now be negotiations with the Germans about their inevitable surrender and what terms will be imposed. That, however, is a job for ambassadors and politicians, not for the army. Field Marshal Haig has issued the following orders to commanders:

1. Our own troops will not advance east of a line gained by them at hour when hostilities ceased. Our aeroplanes will keep a distance of not less than a mile behind this line, except for the purpose of driving back hostile aeroplanes as indicated in paragraph 3.

2. There is to be no unauthorised intercourse or fraternisation of any description with the enemy. He will not be permitted to approach our lines and any attempt to do so will be immediately stopped if necessary by fire. Any parties of enemy coming over to our lines under a white flag will be made prisoner and the fact reported.

3. No enemy aircraft will be permitted to cross the line. Should any make an attempt to do so they will be attacked by fire from ground and from the air.

4. All commanders are to pay strictest attention to discipline, smartness and well-being of their troops, so as to ensure highest state of efficiency being maintained throughout British forces. Troops will be given every opportunity for rest, training, recreation and leave.

5. Passage of civilians through our lines in either direction will be regulated in accordance with instructions which will be issued separately. In the meantime no civilians will be permitted to pass in either direction.

I am spending the morning with 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment at le Cateau. As I write these lines I can hear birds, lorries and carts on a nearby road, a man yawning and the low buzz of conversation. What I cannot hear are rifle shots, rumbling tanks, men screaming and the constant grumble of the guns. 

Speaking with officers and men I have found a surprising mixture of feelings. As may be imagined, many men are simply thankful. "Now I can sleep" one of them said to me. Some are disbelieving, especially those few who arrived in Belgium in the autumn of 1914 to be pitched straight into the fight. Some men are angry, feeling that, with the enemy on the run, the army should fight on and drive the enemy in confusion all the way to Berlin. Two men, in  particular, who have recently lost brothers, were of this opinion. A couple of officers, without families, feel they have nothing to go home for and hope to stay in the army. One expressed the intention of joining the British forces fighting the Bolsheviks in Russia. What I have not encountered is any joy. My feeling is that that emotion will come but the men are simply too tired to be capable of feeling it at the moment. 

We may look forward to victory parades, to returning to cherished homes and families, to not ducking when a loud noise is heard, to having children and to making sure they do not experience what we have experienced. For this surely must have been the great war to end all wars. 

A long line of men is waiting in front of the cookhouse for a hot meal and now your correspondent will join them.

The End is in Sight

Saturday 9th November 1918

It seems as if the worries aired in yesterday's piece were unnecessary. The enemy really are finished. Their Kaiser, we understand, abdicated this morning. It is not clear exactly what this means inside Germany but with the despot gone there must be a vacuum at the heart of the state. Clearly Germans themselves believe the war is lost and Willy has paid the price.

In a clearing in the Forest of Compiegne there is a railway car. This morning a German delegation entered this car and heard terms dictated by a delegation of senior allied officers, headed by the allied supreme commander, Marshal Ferdinand Foch. These terms are believed to include complete withdrawal from all occupied territory, including the French provinces of Alsace and Lorraine which they surrendered to Germany after their defeat in 1870. Germany has two days to respond.

At the front today the city of Maubeuge fell to our troops. The 4th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment again attacked and retook Blaugies and moved on to take Sars-la-Bruyere and Quevy-le-Petit, three miles south-west of Mons, for the loss of four men killed and thirteen wounded.

Source: X550/5/3

Austrians Collapse

Sunday 3rd November 1918

As we await the commencement of another allied advance over the next few days we have today heard of the collapse of the second partner in the Triple Alliance. Turkey begged an armistice a few days ago. Last night, we understand, the Austro-Hungarian Empire announced an armistice. Germany is now fighting alone. 

Things are a little confused but it appears that, though the armistice was intended to come into effect tomorrow afternoon at three o'clock the Austrian high command has ordered its troops to cease fighting with immediate effect. This is a triumph for our Italian allies who, following the commencement of the Battle of Vittorio Veneto on 24th October have been advancing with certainty against a tired and demoralised foe. The great Italian victory was assisted by troops from this country and from France.

This great cataclysm of the World began with Austro-Hungarian intransigence and aggression towards its tiny neighbour Serbia in the Summer of 1914. Since then the arrogance and militarism displayed by Austria has caused the deaths of millions. It is a great satisfaction that this reckless empire has reaped the rewards of its evil deeds.

Peace in Palestine

Wednesday 30th October 1918

The armistice with the forces of the Ottoman Empire has taken effect. The Turks have laid down their arms and, in a slightly disbelieving voice the adjutant of 1st/5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, currently at a place called El Hadeth near Beirut, simply said "Our war is over". The battalion will take part in a ceremonial entry into Beirut tomorrow. 

This battalion has been fighting the Turks since late 1915 when they were landed at Gallipoli. They were evacuated to Egypt and, with 54th (East Anglian) Division marched along the Mediterranean coast, through the Sinai peninsula and fought their way up through Palestine to reach their current location. 

It has been a very different war to that here on the Western Front, hotter, more mobile, more flies, more stomach troubles, more fear of the local wildlife, such as scorpions but, it seems, ultimately less bloody. The hard fighting has come, the adjutant reflected, at greater intervals than it has in France and Belgium though when it has come, as at Gallipoli, it has been grim indeed. 

On this day, it seems only right to pause and remember the individual cost of war. My colleagues at The Bedfordshire Times reports on a military funeral at home. Lance Sergeant Arthur Gentle of 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment died at his home in Beeston Green, near Sandy on 18th October and was given a funeral at Sandy with full military honours.

"Full military honours were given to Sergeant A Gentle. The body was conveyed from Chelsea and arrived at his home on Beeston Green on Tuesday. The funeral took place today, when detachments from the 2nd Beds and the Royal Engineers (Signal Depot), with a gun carriage drawn by six black horses, arrived at the home. The coffin, covered with a Union Jack and floral tributes, was conveyed via Girtford Bridge and the High Street, to the parish church and met by Canon A Sloman. The path from the churchyard gate was lined by the Parish Council and the firing party. The Union Jack floated half-mast from the church tower. Whilst the large congregation were being seated the organist, Mrs Kempe, played "O rest in the Lord". The choir consisted of men from the Royal Engineers stationed at Sandy and the hymns "Nearer my God to Thee" and "Peace, Perfect Peace" were sung. The bearers consisted of six men of the 2nd Beds Regiment. En-route from Beeson Green to the cemetery blinds were drawn in all windows. At the cemetery the paths were again lined by the military and civilians. After the committal the firing party fired three volleys and Trumpeter S E Russell gave the Last Post".

Bedfordshire Times 1st November 1918

Source: X550/6/8

Dramatic News from Palestine

Tuesday 29th October 1918

Here in France we have all been caught up in the story of the great allied advance and the wild hope that the war will soon be over. It seems that, in another part of the World, it is over. News has reached us this evening that Turkish forces will declare an armistice and lay down their arms tomorrow.

This news has had an electrifying effect on the men here at the front. Many of them have brothers, cousins, friends in Palestine, in shallow graves in Gallipoli or lying below the desert sand in Egypt. They feel the enemy has "had his hash settled" in no uncertain fashion and see these events as a hopeful prelude to victory here in a few days or weeks.