Lloyd George's Postwar Anti-Haig Offensive

In 1933–38, former British prime minister David Lloyd George published—in six successive volumes—his War Memoirs. The first 600 pages deal with the period 1914–1916, concentrating mainly on his impressions of the politicians of the time and their conduct of the war, and including 200 pages on his work at the Ministry of Munitions.  The remaining 1,400 pages of the War Memoirs. deal with the war in great detail. While not of the literary quality of, say, Winston Churchill's writings, their combative tone, lively personality sketches, and his "ringside seat view" of all the war's events made them highly readable.

After deciding to write his memoirs in 1922, he had spent the remainder of the decade gathering information. He seems to have drawn on his political allies, key historians, and the entire British Civil Service for support. Lloyd George was, of course, driven by a desire to defend his own record of wartime leadership and to shift responsibility for the nation's stupendous casualty count to other parties.

Lloyd George did not publicly criticize Haig in the war's aftermath, when Haig was widely revered across Britain as a national hero, spending his retirement championing the welfare of veterans through the Royal British Legion. Haig, by most accounts, experienced mostly positive press during the 1920s. Nor did Haig choose to complain about his former prime minister. Their personal contacts during this period have been described as "formal," "cold," and an "armed truce." This long period of surface calm  contributed to the power and shock of a no-holds-barred attack on Douglas Haig, which Lloyd George would launch almost 20 years after the Armistice.

David Lloyd George’s postwar indictment of Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig stands as one of history's most influential and scathing political assassinations of a military reputation. Published as part of his multi-volume War Memoirs during the latter 1930s, the former British prime minister fiercely condemned the commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) for his handling of World War I. LLoyd George did not begin writing the work until 1931, three years after Haig's death, fully aware that—while the late field marshal would surely have his defenders—no one approaching his own stature as Britain's successful wartime leader would be able to effectively challenge his allegations.

David Lloyd George and Field Marshal Douglas Haig

In these writings, Lloyd George labeled Haig a "second-rate Commander" who was "intellectually and temperamentally unequal to the command of an Army of millions." He accused him of  failing to comprehend modern mechanized warfare. He claimed Haig mistakenly chose to fight devastating machine guns and artillery with sheer manpower and outdated cavalry tactics. Haig's offensives, he wrote, were, "heavy-footed and clattering movements" characterized by "long laborious and noisy preparations" that completely threw away the element of tactical surprise.

The thoroughness of the assault, rather than the substance of the charges has become its own object of study for historians.  In his 1997 Liddell Hart Centre Lecture, Professor Brian Bond detailed Lloyd George's criticisms of Field Marshal Haig made in the memoirs.

The work which surely did most damage to the generals and their part in winning the war was Lloyd George's Memoirs, published in six volumes between 1933 and 1936. The former Prime Minister, assisted by Liddell Hart, clearly delighted in demolishing the reputation of Field Marshal Earl Haig, by then safely dead. Haig's entry has five columns in the index, including this sample:

 His reputation founded on cavalry exploits.

 Insists on premature use of tanks.

 His refusal to face unpleasant facts.

 his limited vision.

 Viciously resists Lloyd George's attempts to get unity of command.

 His stubborn mind transfixed on the Somme.

 Prefers to gamble with men's lives rather than to admit an error.

 Completely ignorant of the state of ground at Passchendaele.

 Painstaking but unimaginative.

 Narrowness of his outlook.

 Incapable of changing his plans.

 His liking for great offensives.

 Unequal to his task.

 Did not inspire his men.

 His ingenuity at shifting the blame to other shoulders than his own.

 Only took part in two battles during the war.

So, it is clear, the Prime minister was not wholly satisfied with his Commander-in-Chief! But  note also two further entries:

 Lloyd George had no personal quarrel with...

 (and) No conspicuous officer better qualified for highest command than.

One should also not miss the index entries on 'Military Mind' which include:

 Military Mind, narrowness of.

 Stubbornness of, not peculiar to America.

 does not seem to understand arithmetic.

 Represented by Sir Henry Wilson's fantastic memorandum.

 Obsessed with the North-West Frontier of India.

 Impossibility of trusting.

 Regards thinking as a form of mutiny.

The Most Famous Photograph of Haig and Lloyd George Together

When the memoirs were published, the British nation's attitudes about the war were already shifting dramatically. The crusade against Kaiserism and Militarism was long forgotten. The postwar rituals of sacrifice and remembrance had been fulfilled with memorials and cemeteries—well, everywhere. And veterans, including the mutilated and psychologically damaged, were writing memoirs, and novels, and poems about a vast "Cockup" and a "Great Betrayal."  All that was needed to perfect a mythic entity of an utterly evil and pointless war was to personalize it with a villain, and Lloyd George provided him with Field Marshal Haig.

Lloyd George's writings were essential to permanently shape a new historical narrative, giving birth to a popular "lions led by donkeys" myth that portrays British soldiers as brave heroes pointlessly sacrificed by incompetent generals. This viewpoint—although still widespread and influential in popular culture—is, however, uniquely British. Other participants in the war had brutally unsuccessful generals—Cadorna of Italy, Neville of France, Conrad von Hötzendorf of Austria—but none of them were attacked with the peculiarly intense vehemence that Lloyd George showed towards his  nation's senior field commander.  

Sources:  JohnClare.net; The First World War by Stuart Robson; Liddell Hart Centre

J.M. Barrie's Wartime Plays — Echoes of the War

Echoes of the War

J.M. Barrie

Leopold Classic Library, 2016 

Playbill from an Off-Broadway Production

Originally published in 1918, this collection of four short plays,  from the pen of J. M. Barrie, the beloved author of Peter Pan, is set against the backdrop of World War I and captures the emotional depth and human spirit of those enduring the trials of war. Each story delves into the lives of ordinary people, their hopes, fears, and unwavering resilience amidst the chaos.

• The Old Lady Shows Her Medals: Follow the touching journey of Mrs. Dowey, an elderly charwoman who invents a son fighting at the front to gain respect among her peers, but, then, the imaginary son becomes a reality. 

• The New Word: Explore the strained yet tender relationship between a father and his son as they grapple with the impending separation due to the son's enlistment. 

• Barbara’s Wedding: Witness the story of Barbara, whose marriage is shaped by the shadow of war.  

• A Well-Remembered Voice: A mother hears the voice of her deceased son. 

Critic Jenna Kubly nicely summarized the unifying qualities of the four pieces:

A reading of these four one-acts reveals a narrative of wartime Britain: the collection begins with one family sending their son off to war and ends with another family that must come to terms with loss and an awareness of changing times. Each play deals with a different family, but collectively they suggest an “Every Family,” peopled not with unbelievable heroes and heroines (as was often typical of drama depicting war), but more realistic characters, neither perfect nor immortal. Barrie’s wartime drama, often considered quaint and sentimental, has largely been ignored by scholars, but a reconsideration demonstrates that his works are of critical merit, insightfully depicting aspects of the British experience of the Great War. . .

Without resorting to the formulaic plots that so many other wartime plays followed, Barrie’s plays supported the British cause. Without being truly unpatriotic, his dramas did not deny the humanity of the enemy and contained moments of subtle doubt. His dramas explored the shifting attitudes of Britain to the war, emphasizing recurring themes of sacrifice, patriotism, and the breakdown of class structure. . . The reactions to the war that Barrie portrayed ranged from distrust of the Germans to realism about the war and its effects on families, from determination that the war must continue at all costs to a nostalgic looking back to pre-war Europe with a desire that things could have remained unchanged.

 

Order HERE

Sources: Publisher provided information; Jenna Kubly's comments are from Humor, Entertainment, and Popular Culture during World War.

Charles Whittlesey and His Ancestors Have Left Lasting Contributions to American Life

Major General Clarence R. Edwards pinning the Medal of Honor on
Lieutenant Colonel Charles W. Whittlesey,  Boston Common, 24 December 1918

By Philip R. Devlin

Few stories of World War I are better known than the story of the Lost Battalion, a unit in the 308th Infantry of the 77th Division commanded by Major Charles W. Whittlesey. Numerous books and at least two movies exist to tell the dramatic story of the Lost Battalion. Few people realize, however, the remarkable story of the Connecticut 17th Regiment during the Battle of Long Island on 27 August 1776. Like Major Whittlesey’s World War I unit, the Connecticut 17th, a unit of about 300 men, was cut off from the rest of its army. It was surrounded by thousands of British and Hessian soldiers; nevertheless, the 17th inflicted more casualties on the enemy that day on Battle Hill than any other patriot unit. Most importantly, it guarded the flank of the Maryland 400, enabling that valiant unit’s rearguard action to effect the successful retreat of Washington’s army from Brooklyn.

One member of the Connecticut 17th was Private Duren Whittlesey of Haddam, Connecticut, a third cousin four generations removed from Major Charles W. Whittlesey. It is simply an amazing historical coincidence that these distant cousins, both directly descended from John and Ruth Whittlesey, 17th-century settlers of Old Saybrook, Connecticut, found themselves in desperate, parallel circumstances in their respective wars.

Major Whittlesey’s battalion of 554 men was ordered to attack a heavily fortified German line on 2 October 1918, during the Meuse-Argonne campaign. When French units on either side of the 308th withdrew under heavy fire, Whittlesey’s unit was cut off in the Charlevaux Ravine in the Argonne Forest and surrounded by German attackers. The 308th refused to surrender and withstood withering attacks for five days—including friendly fire—before being rescued. Just 194 men of the battalion were able to walk out of the ravine.

Following his unit’s valiant five-day ordeal, Major Charles W. Whittlesey was promoted to lieutenant colonel and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Feeling personally responsible for the loss of so many of his men, he was besieged by both survivor guilt and incessant media attention for being a hero. Whittlesey finally died by suicide in 1921, jumping off the stern of a boat bound for Havana, Cuba. The Williams College and Harvard Law School graduate was only 37 years old.

Private Duren Whittlesey (1726-1776) was raised in Old Saybrook, but he spent his adult life in Haddam, Connecticut, raising five sons and contributing to the local community as both  a farmer and a tradesman. (Whittlesey is a DAR Patriot Ancestor #A125571.) Duren Whittlesey died as a result of the Battle of Long Island (sometimes also called the Battle of Brooklyn.) The exact circumstances of his death are unknown. He may have died on the battlefield; more likely, he died in captivity as a POW under the brutal circumstances of the notorious British prison ships in New York.

Commemorative Stamp for the Battle of Brooklyn (Long Island)

The small town of Haddam, Connecticut, paid a severe price during the American Revolution, losing 35 of its soldiers. Private Duren Whittlesey was one of 19 men from Haddam who died as a result of the Battle of Long Island, the largest open field battle of the entire American Revolution. It should be noted also that two of Duren’s nephews, John and Stephen Whittlesey, were both killed in action during the Fort Griswold Massacre in Groton on 6 September 1781, an attack that was led by General Benedict Arnold. John was 23 and was bayoneted to death; Stephen, just 16, was shot through the forehead. Duren’s cousin, Captain Asaph Whittlesey, served with the 24th Connecticut Militia Regiment and was killed in Pennsylvania in the infamous Wyoming Valley Massacre on 3 July 1778.  Asaph’s brother, Martin, was with Washington in the defense of New York where he suffered a wound so severe that he collected an invalid pension for the rest of his life. Wars have indeed taken a heavy toll on the Whittlesey family.

Captain Gordon Buell
(Key In-Law)

Both Duren and Charles Whittlesey have numerous interesting connections to other well-known historical figures. Duren’s younger sister, Martha, married a Revolutionary War officer from Killingworth, Connecticut, named Captain Gordon Buell. They were the parents of Sarah Josepha Hale. Sarah not only was the author of the verse “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” but she is also known as the “Mother of Thanksgiving.” Sarah began a letter writing campaign to presidents, starting in 1846 with Polk, advocating for Thanksgiving to become a national holiday. President Lincoln liked her idea, thus Thanksgiving became a national holiday in 1863. As an editor of Godey's Magazine and Godey's Lady's Book—the first female editor in American history—Sarah Josepha Hale might be regarded today as an “influencer,” as her articles about Thanksgiving in that popular magazine have established most of our Thanksgiving traditions, especially traditional Thanksgiving meals.

Mother of Thanksgiving
Mary Josepha Hale

The Whittlesey family is also connected to Ulysses S. Grant. Duren’s son, Samuel, married Anna Grant from Windsor, Connecticut—the ancestral home of President Grant. Anna was a cousin of our famous Civil War general and 18th president.

Duren’s youngest son, William, married Mehitable Fitch, the great-grandmother of John Fitch, now thought by many to be the first inventor of the steamboat. Yet another Charles Whittlesey (1808–1886), a Civil War colonel from Ohio as well as a geologist and historian, published a lengthy defense of John Fitch as the first inventor of the steamboat.

Model of John Fitch's Steamboat
(Library of Congress)

Interestingly, Private Duren Whittlesey of Haddam had two grandsons and three great-grandsons who were graduates of Williams College, the alma mater of Major Charles W. Whittlesey of World War I fame! Furthermore, another relative of Duren Whittlesey who fought in the American Revolution was also named Charles Whittlesey. Charles served as a lieutenant in Colonel Charles Webb’s 19th Continental Regiment. His captain in that unit was none other than Nathan Hale!

Despite all of these interesting historical relationships among members of the Whittlesey family, nothing, however, tops the simply amazing coincidence of two distant cousins—Duren and Charles—who found themselves fighting for two valiant cut-off units in their respective wars 142 years apart!

The Kurds and World War One

A Troop of Kurdish Tribesmen During the War

The Rise of Kurdish Nationalism

The idea that Kurds deserve their own independent homeland started to flourish during the late 19th century. "The Kurdish nation is a nation apart," one Kurdish sheikh wrote in 1880. "We want to take matters into our own hands." However, as the site Kurdish/ Kurdistan History states: "Before WWI, Kurdish society was divided between tribal authority, religious sheikhs, Ottoman loyalists, autonomists and separatists. After World War I, the Kurdish nationalist movement would experience a brief peak of hope followed by deep fragmentation."

War and the Sick Man of Europe

During World War I, several Kurdish rebellions erupted across the Ottoman Empire between 1914 and 1918, driven by forced conscription, heavy taxation, wartime famine, and a growing desire for regional autonomy. These uprisings severely threatened the Ottoman rear, forcing the empire to divert troops from the front lines to suppress internal unrest. In 1916, under the Sykes-Picot Agreement, Britain and France secretly agreed to divide much of the Ottoman Middle East into future spheres of influence. 

President Woodrow Wilson, however, argued during the Paris conference that the Kurds deserved a sovereign state and the Allied powers (primarily Great Britain, alongside France) agreed in principle. It was even specified by the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres, one of the spin-off agreements of the Treaty of Versailles. But when the dust settled and the borders of the Middle East had been redrawn, the Kurds were to be left out. 

Atatürk Meeting with Kurdish Tribesmen

 

Kurdish aspirations were ultimately defeated by the new post-Ottoman government of Turkey, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, which forcefully rejected any Kurdish claims on Anatolia where the most of the Kurds lands lay. This position was buttressed by memories of the Kurds open rebellions and passive resistance during the war, as well as their treasonous aid to the Russian enemy. These activities included:

Rebellions

• 1914 (Bitlis Uprising): Orchestrated by Kurdish tribal leaders just before the outbreak of global hostilities, this early revolt was quickly suppressed by Ottoman authorities. 

• 1915–1916 (Botan and Dersim): Widespread armed resistance broke out in the Botan and Dersim regions. The Ottomans retaliated harshly, burning villages and initiating mass deportations of Kurdish populations. 

• 1917 (Summer Waves): Twin waves of rebellion hit the regions of Kharput, Mardin, Diyarbekir, and Bitlis. The August uprising notably received tactical military support from advancing Russian forces. 

• 1918  (Barzanji Autonomy): Just before the Armistice of Mudros in October, Kurdish leader Mahmud Barzanji broke away from Ottoman rule in Sulaymaniyah. He established a short-lived, quasi-independent Kurdish state under British supervision. 

Indirect Opposition

Beyond direct military confrontations, many Kurdish civilians engaged in subversion against the Ottoman war effort. Thousands of Kurds, for instance, actively resisted Ottoman military drafts, choosing to flee or join rebel factions rather than fight on the front lines.

Some Kurdish tribal units became entangled in the Ottoman destruction and displacement of Armenian populations. Disapproving of state actions, other Kurdish communities hid and adopted Armenian refugees to protect them during the Armenian Genocide. 

[Note: The war was also devastating for Kurdish civilians. Nearly 700,000 Kurds were forcibly removed from their homes by Turkish forces; as many as 400,000 are believed to have died.]

Aid for Russian Forces 

Many Kurdish tribal leaders and irregular cavalry initially supported the Ottoman war effort against Russia and Britain, expecting regional autonomy or protection in return.  In the eastern theater, some Kurdish tribes provided intelligence and logistical support to the advancing Imperial Russian Army. This was not easily forgotten by the Turks.

The Treaty of Sèvres Would Have Resulted in a Large Kurdish Nation

 

Summing Up

The chaos of the war initially opened doors for Kurdish self-determination. The 1920 Treaty of Sèvres—signed by the defeated Ottoman Empire—included concrete provisions for an autonomous or independent Kurdish state.  The Treaty was  signed by Sultan  Mehmet VI on 20 August 1920 between the Allied Powers and the Ottoman Empire. It was, however, never ratified—primarily because of intense internal, nationalist opposition led by Kemal.  Following the Turkish War of Independence, the new nationalist government demanded renegotiated terms. The 1923 Treaty of Lausanne fully replaced Sèvres, entirely omitting any mention of a Kurdish homeland and partitioning traditional Kurdish lands among Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Iran.  The erasure of  Kurdistan from the final war settlement laid the groundwork for decades of subsequent interwar revolts.  

Much of  what was to be Kurdistan remained in Turkey, which was now ruled by a nationalist movement. President Atatürk announced, "The state which we have just created is a Turkish state." The Turkish government—promoting a policy of assimilation—initially insisted that the Kurds were "mountain Turks" and banned Kurdish schools, publications and religious bodies. Later, open resistance and  heavy handed responses from the government became regular.

Since World War I, the relationship between the Turkish government and its Kurdish population has been defined by forced assimilation, state-led denial of a distinct Kurdish identity, major tribal and political uprisings, and a decades-long bloody armed conflict.

Sources: "Kurds at the Crossroads", Frontline World; Kurdish History; History Guild; The Council on Foreign Relations. The map is a 1992 product of the  the CIA.

World War One and the Shock of the New [Art] from Robert Hughes (Video)

 

The first 10 minutes with Hughes visiting the Somme battlefield is absolutely stunning. MH

From Eddie Rickenbacker's Photo Album

 

Eddie Rickenbacker (second from left) with four members of the 94th Aero Squadron standing beside an unidentified plane.  American ace James Meissner is on the far left, the others are unidentified.

Because of his family's trust in his biographer, Dr. W. David Lewis of Auburn University, Eddie Rickenbacker's papers were eventually entrusted to the professor's college. Much of the holding, including, hundreds of photos, can be accessed online HERE. Below is a selection from the photographic collection.  The images are displayed in 580px width and can be enlarged to 800px if you click on them. Unlike many photo sets, the archivists provide a brief description for each image, which has been included.

Eddie Rickenbacker, Age 13

Just in case you've never heard of "Capt. Eddie"

Eddie Rickenbacker (1890–1973), the American Ace of Aces for World War I, was born in 1890 to William and Elizabeth Rickenbacker, in Columbus, Ohio. He was the third of eight children. When his father died in 1904, he started working any job he could find in order to support his family. It was through these jobs that he landed in the growing automobile industry. This, combined with his interests in technology and speed, led him to seek out automobile racing. 

In 1917, Rickenbacker enlisted in the Army after Major Lewis Burgess asked him if he would like to be one of General Pershing’s chauffeurs. Rickenbacker enlisted in May 1917, arriving in France on June 26 as a part of the American Expeditionary Force. His first assignment was as a driver for General Pershing, himself. However, his goal was to fly. 

With the help of higher ranked officials, such as Major Billy Mitchell, Rickenbacker was able to get into flight school and become a pilot in the U.S. Army. Rickenbacker was assigned to the 94th Aero Squadron, the first American Squadron to see combat in WWI.  On April 29, 1918, Rickenbacker downed his first enemy aircraft, a two-seater Pfalz reconnaissance aircraft. Rickenbacker’s 25th and 26th confirmed kills, the last ones he would ever get, came about on 30 October 1918. He was originally awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) in 1918 for his solo attack against seven enemy aircraft over the St. Mihiel sector. Twelve years later, in 1930, the U.S. government officially upgraded that existing DSC to the Medal of Honor.

After World War I, Eddie Rickenbacker became an automotive entrepreneur, owned the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and emerged as an important driving force in the growth of  American commercial aviation. He survived a 1942 Pacific plane crash and being lost at sea for 22 days during World War II.  He served as the long-time head of Eastern Air Lines in 1963.  He passed away in 1973.

Eddie Rickenbacker and his riding mechanic Eddie O'Donnell in a Mason race car in Elgin, Illinois. From 1912 to the end of 1914, Rickenbacker worked for Fred and Augie Duesenberg building and driving Mason race cars (later called Duesenbergs).  

Rickenbacker [arrow] as a driver for General Pershing

Pilot Trainee Eddie Rickenbacker

Eddie Rickenbacker (second from left) with a group of officers from the 94th Aero Squadron at an aerodrome in France.

Eddie Rickenbacker in a flight suit standing in front of his SPAD XIII.

 Citation for Bravery, Army of the East, awarded to Eddie Rickenbacker, dated 11-30-18.

Rickenbacker's return home to Columbus, Ohio [Mother Elizabeth with head turned]

Eddie Rickenbacker and Wife Adelaide Frost Durant standing beside a fence during their courtship.

The Rickenbacker Motor Company was a technical success but a commercial failure, lasting only from 1922 to 1927. Founded by World War I ace Eddie Rickenbacker, it built over 27,000 to 35,000 advanced cars, pioneered four-wheel brakes, but suffered from fierce rival smear campaigns, rising prices, and bankruptcy.

Eddie Rickenbacker with his sons, David and William.  The boys are sitting in a race car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Rickenbacker bought the Speedway in 1927.  He sold it in 1945.

Eddie Rickenbacker and fellow crew members being transported in a car after their rescue from the Pacific. Rickenbacker was lost at sea for three weeks after the B-17 he was on went down in the Pacific.

Eddie Rickenbacker with an unidentified man at Eastern Air Lines' 1947 inaugural flight from Los Angeles, California, to Miami, Florida to New York City. They are standing in front of a Constellation and a biplane.

Eddie Rickenbacker standing with a group of men beside a World War I vintage plane at the Selfridge Field 50th Anniversary celebration in Michigan.  Left to right are: Rickenbacker, Reed Chambers, Edwin (Ed) Greene, and Doug Campbell. All were members of the 94th Aero Squadron during World War I.  Rickenbacker, Chambers and Campbell were American aces.  Campbell was America's first ace.  He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Croix de Guerre avec palme. He became president of Pan-American Airways in 1948.  Chambers was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Legion d'Honneur. He formed Florida Airways with Rickenbacker.

Eddie Rickenbacker points at a "Hat-in-the-Ring" collage on the wall of his Eastern Air Lines office.

Sources: Auburn University Digital Collections; U.S. Army Heritage Center

Remembering a Veteran: Petty Officer George Samson, HMS River Clyde, VC & White Feather

 

Petty Officer George Samson,  HMS River Clyde, VC 

While helping soldiers ashore from his ship, HMS River Clyde, the 26-year-old seaman  George McKenzie Samson (1889-1923)  attended to a tide of wounded for an entire day, hauling them to safety despite being wounded himself in a constant hail of machine-gun fire. It was only when he was cut down by as many as 19 bullets that the Scot, who had led an extraordinary existence working as a cowboy in South America and a train driver in Turkey, was finally pulled from the battlefield and treated for 19 wounds.  H was not expected to survive. The ship’s surgeon, Dr P Burrowes Kelly, commented: “Whether he lived or died, I knew he won the VC.”

Evacuated by hospital ship, he spent three months in Port Said undergoing treatment before being shipped home. He was recuperating in Aboyne when news reached his family that he had been awarded the VC. He then received a civic reception, and on 5 October 1915 he went to Buckingham Palace to receive the VC from King George V. He was then promoted to chief petty officer and was a guest at the 110th anniversary celebrations marking Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar.

In October 1915,  while he was home on leave wearing his civilian garb, a woman approached  Samson in his native Carnoustie and handed him a white feather. He became one of thousands of men out of uniform who were humiliated on the streets of First World War Britain by being publicly given the symbol of cowardice.

HMS River Clyde Under Fire, V Beach, 25 April 1915

The symbolic slandering of a war hero was an extreme, though by no means unheard of, example of a practice which had first emerged as early as 1914 thanks to the efforts of Admiral Charles Fitzgerald, a retired naval officer based in Folkestone, Kent, who founded the Order of the White Feather. Supported by a number of prominent female writers and leaders of the Suffragette movement, the Order encouraged young women to hand out white feathers to young men spotted on the streets out of military uniform.

Petty Officer Samson was by no means the only serviceman to be wrongly singled out for a feather, which were also handed out by supporters of Christabel Pankhurst, the daughter of Suffragette leader, Emmeline.

Samson's Burial Site, Bermuda

When he returned to service, the now married Samson's wounds continued to trouble him—only a fraction of the metallic pieces his body had received at Gallipoli had been removed—and he eventually finished the war out of uniform for the government. Postwar, his love of the sea drew him back to merchant marine work. Sadly, in early 1923 he began to feel unwell, and if they encountered another ship it was likely he would be transported home. Shortly afterwards, he was put aboard the SS Strombus and taken to Bermuda. Tragically, it was too late. He succumbed to double pneumonia in St George’s Hospital on 23 February 1923, and was buried with full military honours in the Methodist Cemetery, St George’s, Bermuda.

Sources: The Independent, 11 May 2014; VictoriaCrossOnline.co.uk.

"March or Die" — A Tradition of la Légion étrangère Meets Trench Warfare

Legionnaires on a Desert March in Algeria, 1905 

"March or Die" — A Tradition

“March or die” (Marche ou crève) is the famous unofficial motto and operational ethos of the French Foreign Legion. Rooted in 19th-century North African colonial campaigns, it symbolizes extreme physical endurance, absolute mission completion regardless of hardship, and the consequence of failing to keep pace in harsh desert environments. The ethos dictates that legionnaires push past physical breaking points because abandoning a comrade or failing a designated task is completely unacceptable.

The Legion famously marches at 88 steps per minute  (the pas légionnaire), much slower than the standard 120 steps per minute of regular French military units. This deliberate, heavy cadence reflects a history of moving steadily through deep desert sand and an attitude of not rushing toward mortal danger. Because of its marching speed, the Foreign Legion is always the last unit marching in any joint parade of the French Army.

During World War I, the French Foreign Legion shifted from colonial policing to intense trench warfare on the Western Front. Over 43,000 global volunteers—including Italians, Russians, and Americans—joined specialized marching regiments, suffering catastrophic casualty rates while earning some of the French army’s highest military honors. On the Western Front, Legion units fought heavily in Champagne, Artois, Verdun, and the Somme, often assigned to high-risk assault objectives. In late 1914, Italian volunteers of the unique Garibaldian Legion (Légion Garibaldienne) fought valiantly in the Argonne before disbanding. Smaller Legion deployments fought in Serbia, Salonika, and Gallipoli. By November 1915 two Foreign Legion units had been merged into the “Régiment de marche de la Légion étrangère” (Foreign Legion Marching Regiment, RMLE) .

In Alsace, a Group of American Volunteers Pose for a Photo, 1915

March or Die on the Western Front

Did these new Foreign Legionnaires, who served in Europe during the Great War adhere to the standards of "March or Die" as followed by the Legion's old veterans of Morocco or Indochina?  Recruits underwent intense conditioning focused on long-distance endurance with heavy field packs, rigid unit synchronization, and the signature slow ceremonial pace of 88 steps per minute set to their iconic anthem Le Boudin. 

Additionally—in regards the marching part—we have this 1914 account from famed American volunteer Alan Seeger's diary that seems to resoundingly answer "Yes".

11 October

[A] seven-hour march

20 October

Short walk of 16 Kilometers in morning

9.8 km later in the day

22 October

30 km Hautvilliers to Verzy

Later, short march to Verzenay [2.4 km]

28 October

A long day's march was promised us to counteract the comfort of marching without sack. It was in fact the hardest day we have had. We marched with small and few interruptions from 6.30 in the morning to 10.30 at night, in which time we covered probably about 55 kilometers. No food except the scraps we had in our musettes. . . Arrived at Fismes after nightfall and exceedingly fatigued, expected to be cantonned there, but kept on marching through the town and out into the dark country again. . . At 10.30 we halted and were told to spread our blankets in the field beside the road. . . At midnight I lay down on the wet ground and managed to get some sleep before three, when we got up again and continued the march 10 or 12 kilometers to this wretched village, where we are lodged for the day in a dirty stable. . . Here we are just behind the lines. We are resting and go into the trenches tonight. At last we shall be under fire. [Editor's comment: This last sentence sounds like a sigh of relief.]

A RMLE Detachment on Parade, 1918

Combat, of course, provided its own tests of the mettle of the Legion's men. Because they were repeatedly sent into the bloodiest sectors of the front lines, entire units were often wiped out and had to be repeatedly reconstituted with fresh drafts of international volunteers. Towards the end of the war, however, a serious dearth of recruits would jeopardize the Legion’s continued presence at the Western Front. Officially 4,116 members of the Foreign Legion were killed on the Western Front and another 1,200 in other theaters of war. Thus, roughly 10 percent of those serving in the Legion between 1914 and 1918 lost their lives.

It was not by chance, therefore, that the Legion would not be affected by the general morale crisis and mutinies of the French army in spring 1917. While roughly half of the conventional French divisions on the Western Front experienced collective indiscipline or refusals to attack after the failed Nivelle Offensive, the Régiment de marche de la Légion étrangère maintained its high morale, discipline, and commitment to combat.  While they weren't marching across the Sahara, the core demand of the tradition—absolute compliance, relentless stamina, and a willingness to face certain death for France—remained unchanged in the mud and barbed wire.

The Scramble for Africa (1862–1912)

Thomas Pakenham

Random House, 1991

Compilation of Reviews

German Schutztruppe Patrolling Near Kilimanjaro 

The Scramble for Africa (1876–1912) is a comprehensive history of the colonisation of African territory by European powers between 1876 and 1912. The book was written by historian and arborist Thomas Pakenham and published in 1991, by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in the United Kingdom and Random House in the United States.

The book juxtaposes the motives of missionary David Livingstone, King Leopold II, and other leading figures in the southern African land-grab of the late 19th and early 20th century. Pakenham details the famous battles and short wars, such as the battles of Rorke's Drift and Isandlwana of the Anglo-Zulu war. The author explores how the different powerful figures dealt with the conflict and its ultimate consequences on the region.

Winner WH Smith Literary Award and the Alan Paton Award, 1992
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Reviewers mostly thought highly of The Scramble for Africa:

The “Scramble for Africa” began, according to Thomas Pakenham, in 1876. The Germans had a handy word that summed it up more succinctly--the Torschlusspanik-- the “door-closing panic.”

There the continent lay, ripe for exploitation, and nobody wanted to miss out. Europeans had been there for many years, of course, but only on the fringes--in Lagos, Zanzibar and Alexandria, for instance--where trade and climate had made a settlement necessary and possible. As the last quarter of the 19th Century approached, however, they queued up, in an unseemly turmoil, like avid shoppers on the opening day of a sale, to see what they could lay their hands on. .  . There was land to be grabbed, vast tracts of it, and, so they believed, unimaginably large amounts of money to be made. In their train came the added bonuses of strategic and political influence, of setting the agenda for the power struggles of the new century. And so they moved in on Africa: Britain, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Germany all at once found themselves involved in an extraordinary “Sale of the Century.” A whole continent was available, and surely everyone would be able to claim a piece of the action. . . Thomas Pakenham’s fine book tells the story of this particular gold rush with admirable and judicious poise. These four decades of European colonization contain some of the best-known episodes of 19th-Century history as well as some of the most mythologized and colorful characters the world has ever seen. . . It was all about the greater greed and glory of Britain and France, Germany and Belgium and the other Europeans participating in the carve-up. The Africans did not feature in the equation at all.

William Boyd, Los Angeles Times, 1991 

If ever there was an over-used phrase, it is "Tour de Force". I've probably over-used it myself over the years, along with everybody else. However, if any book truly deserved to have  that phrase applied to it, it is surely this one.

A View Over the Bell, 2026

Not everyone agreed, of course:

Pakenham has written a book that contributes nothing of significance to our understanding of the scramble. More damagingly, the work perpetuates and popularizes an outdated view of both African and imperial history.

Tony Hopkins, 1993