december 11, 1917
The Capture of Jerusalem
The deliverance of Jerusalem, though its influence on the war may be relatively remote, must remain for all time a memorable event in the history of Christendom. Wherever the Gospel has been preached it has been in all ages the most sacred spot upon earth to countless millions. There the Divine Author of their faith taught the great truths which are the wellspring of all that is holiest, and there He suffered and died. For well-nigh 13 centuries it has remained, with relatively brief intervals, in Musulman hands, and for 400 years Turkish Sultans have been its lords. To Moslem, too, it is a holy place, though the tradition of its sanctity is no longer a living force among them in India and in the outer world. For the Jews, whatever may be the land of their exile, its memories are imperishable. To them it has always remained their providential home and the earthly centre of their ancient religion.
To-day General Allenby makes his entry into the city, and his entry means that the yoke of the Turk is broken for ever. The Sultan will dominate the Holy Places no more; the scattered Jews will have a prospect of returning as a free people to their national home, and a new order will be established, founded upon the ideals of righteousness and of justice.
Whilst the Germans have wantonly destroyed the noblest of Christian churches on the false plea of military necessity, the British General has delayed his operations to save the sacred places in and about Jerusalem from accidental hurt. That is a warrant of the care which will certainly be taken to safeguard the rights and to respect the susceptibilities of every faith.
The great Mosque of Omar and the other sites most intimately associated with the traditions of Islam will, doubtless, be safeguarded and left in Moslem keeping, and the priests and ministers of all communions who are not alien enemies may confidently rely upon the countenance of the conquerors.
The fall of Jerusalem, whatever its military importance, marks the latest stage in a brilliant campaign. It is a sign that the tyranny of the Turk is doomed and that the dawn of a new freedom is rising over his dominions. To all whom he oppresses — Greeks, Armenians, Arabs, Jews and Syrians — it is an augury of deliverance.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/register/a-case-for-inquiry-8pgbg029b
Whilst the Germans have wantonly destroyed the noblest of Christian churches on the false plea of military necessity, the British General has delayed his operations to save the sacred places in and about Jerusalem from accidental hurt. That is a warrant of the care which will certainly be taken to safeguard the rights and to respect the susceptibilities of every faith.
The great Mosque of Omar and the other sites most intimately associated with the traditions of Islam will, doubtless, be safeguarded and left in Moslem keeping, and the priests and ministers of all communions who are not alien enemies may confidently rely upon the countenance of the conquerors.
The fall of Jerusalem, whatever its military importance, marks the latest stage in a brilliant campaign. It is a sign that the tyranny of the Turk is doomed and that the dawn of a new freedom is rising over his dominions. To all whom he oppresses — Greeks, Armenians, Arabs, Jews and Syrians — it is an augury of deliverance.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/register/a-case-for-inquiry-8pgbg029b
December 12, 1917
A case for inquiry
We have said little hitherto by way of comment on the tremendous struggle which broke out to the south of the new Cambrai salient on November 30 and raged during the two successive days. The official communiqués were more than usually laconic. The correspondents have been limited almost entirely to details of individual gallantry. It was hardly possible from day to day to attempt an authoritative account of the situation as a whole, though we can no longer rest satisfied with the fatuous estimates, eg, of German losses in men and moral. But the line is now reconstituted and securely held. The published and censored version is being amplified every day by most disquieting firsthand accounts from officers and men who took part in the actual fighting. It is high time that this mass of partial information should be placed in its true perspective, that the charges of blundering should be sifted, and that the blame, if and where it is due, should take shape in the prompt removal of every blunderer.
We must not be misunderstood. The merest breath of criticism on any military operation is far too often dismissed as an “intrigue” against the Commander-in-Chief; therefore we would say at once that Sir Douglas Haig possesses the undiminished confidence both of the Army and of the Government. But Sir Douglas Haig’s position cannot but depend on his choice of subordinates. His weakness is his devotion to those who have served him longest — some perhaps too long. In the present case it is clear that the Germans took advantage of a brilliant British success to strike back at a wholly unready part of the line. The splendid deeds of valour which ultimately held them cannot obscure the completeness of that initial surprise. To judge only from our Correspondent’s account of its incidents — of Headquarters raided, of generals fighting in their pyjamas, of doctors interrupted in their dressing stations — we may agree that they are all magnificent, but they should never have occurred.
It is here that inquiry is needed — free from all suspicion that those responsible, however remotely, are sitting in judgment on their own miscalculations. We believe that nothing would do more to justify the new and urgent call for reinforcements.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-12-09/register/details-of-grim-fighting-vbp5l3xc6
It is here that inquiry is needed — free from all suspicion that those responsible, however remotely, are sitting in judgment on their own miscalculations. We believe that nothing would do more to justify the new and urgent call for reinforcements.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-12-09/register/details-of-grim-fighting-vbp5l3xc6
December 9, 1917
Details of grim fighting
My dispatch of yesterday ended with a promise of some details of the struggle of November 30 and the following days, but it is difficult to know where to begin. A certain Staff captain’s first intimation of the proximity of the Germans was when he was taken prisoner in the yard of the brigade rear headquarters, south of the Canal at Masnières. He killed a German with his walking-stick and got away. Then he turned to and organized a small party of signallers, runners, orderlies, and anybody he could lay his hands on, and went for the Germans. He hunted them out of the yard and out of the village, and made a hasty defensive position on the outskirts. There was still one machine-gun firing in the village. He started with a party of six to tackle the gun, and five of the six were killed. With one orderly he rushed the gun, and with two revolvers killed the crew of eight. The man with him was killed, and he was alone in possession of the gun. He went round and gathered a few more men, and with them got the gun into a favourable position, turned it on the enemy, and checked the waves which came on to recapture the village. Then he found that he was badly wounded in the leg. But he had certainly saved the local situation and perhaps the whole Masnières position. Yesterday, news came by telephone that, in spite of his wound, he had got permission to report back for duty.
Close by here there was a colonel posted between Marcoing and Masnières who exposed himself with the utmost recklessness until he was severely wounded in the right eye. Not only did he carry on throughout that awful, breathless day, but during the evening and night he insisted on making the rounds of his men, though blind and bandaged, and having to be led by the hand by an orderly. So he went, speaking to the men he could not see, thanking them, and encouraging them to hold on to the last.
There was a captain acting as brigade major who, with his own servant and five others, charged the Germans who had seized a crossing of the Canal at a lock. They took five Germans prisoners and killed the rest. The brigade major had used up all his revolver ammunition, so he grabbed a German rifle and, as his senior officer said: “When I saw him next the bayonet was red.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-12-08/register/a-season-of-simple-family-meals-kdqn63mjh
There should also be simplicity in the home. If there are to be Christmas parties they ought to be on strictly family lines, unless there is a lonely soldier or friend to be invited. We are anxious to discourage children’s treats, parish teas, and other similar functions, if they mean, as they usually do, the consumption of additional food. We are sorry to have to touch the children’s party, but for one year, and in the hope that this will be a “Victory Christmas” in the sense that it may help to pave the way for victory, it ought to go. We do not think it necessary to restrict gifts to the aged poor, and hospitality should be extended to the wounded, and to soldiers and sailors on leave and in training. The soldiers are making their sacrifice in other ways, and, while there must be no waste, they ought to have as good a time as possible. We particularly want to discourage gifts of food — turkeys, game, cheese, whisky, and so forth — by tradesmen to their customers or among private people. Game should be sent to the hospitals. It would be a good thing if banquets and public dinners could be abandoned. If lunches or dinners take place with a business objective the menu should be as simple as possible. For the moral effect it would have I should also be glad if neither sugar nor bread was served at these public meals. No interference is suggested with gifts of food to men in the Army and Navy on active service overseas, but we have urged that there should be no extravagance in this respect.
There was a captain acting as brigade major who, with his own servant and five others, charged the Germans who had seized a crossing of the Canal at a lock. They took five Germans prisoners and killed the rest. The brigade major had used up all his revolver ammunition, so he grabbed a German rifle and, as his senior officer said: “When I saw him next the bayonet was red.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-12-08/register/a-season-of-simple-family-meals-kdqn63mjh
december 8, 1917
A season of simple family meals
Sir Arthur Yapp explained yesterday his wishes in regard to the celebration of Christmas. In view of the seriousness of the food situation he is anxious that anything in the nature of feasting should this year be avoided. We want something like a national Lent he said, and I appeal to the managers of high-class restaurants and hotels, and to their patrons, to keep their arrangements on as simple a basis as possible.There should also be simplicity in the home. If there are to be Christmas parties they ought to be on strictly family lines, unless there is a lonely soldier or friend to be invited. We are anxious to discourage children’s treats, parish teas, and other similar functions, if they mean, as they usually do, the consumption of additional food. We are sorry to have to touch the children’s party, but for one year, and in the hope that this will be a “Victory Christmas” in the sense that it may help to pave the way for victory, it ought to go. We do not think it necessary to restrict gifts to the aged poor, and hospitality should be extended to the wounded, and to soldiers and sailors on leave and in training. The soldiers are making their sacrifice in other ways, and, while there must be no waste, they ought to have as good a time as possible. We particularly want to discourage gifts of food — turkeys, game, cheese, whisky, and so forth — by tradesmen to their customers or among private people. Game should be sent to the hospitals. It would be a good thing if banquets and public dinners could be abandoned. If lunches or dinners take place with a business objective the menu should be as simple as possible. For the moral effect it would have I should also be glad if neither sugar nor bread was served at these public meals. No interference is suggested with gifts of food to men in the Army and Navy on active service overseas, but we have urged that there should be no extravagance in this respect.
In conclusion, Sir Arthur Yapp said it was almost certain that it would be necessary for the public to make far greater sacrifices than they had done in the past if we were to make absolutely sure of victory and a speedy end of the war. Christmas gave the private individual an opportunity to help to bring hostilities to a successful close.
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