Eyewitnesses: The Battle of Amiens Opens — 8 August 1918

A  Battered Amiens at the Time of the Battle

Prelude

Letter from Wolfgang Panzer, Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 56, to his parents and siblings on 3 August 1918

The situation here is more peculiar than anywhere on the front line. In Artois and in French Flanders, villages even kilometres behind the first position were nothing but piles of rubble, and it still occasionally fills me with dread when I look at the map and retrace our steps this spring through the scenes of carnage from the Battle of the Somme.

Everyone in our fatherland should have been there, and then they’d perhaps be better able to judge whether it was a wise move to retreat at the Marne. We look upon the events without surprise and without the slightest fears, and I thank my creator for giving us leaders who have the courage and the sense of responsibility to confidently surrender what could only be retained through senseless bloodshed and for no purpose at all. So, we’re remarkably untarnished, while the enemy, in a blind fury, drives one division after another to their destruction. Everything will turn out for the best. That’s all for today.

Your loving Wolf.

Ammunition Column

Extract from Field Marshal Haig’s diary – 7 August 1918

At 2.45 pm I left for Fléxicourt [sic], where I had a talk with General Rawlinson. Everything is going on without a hitch and the Enemy seems in ignorance of the impending blow! I then went on to HQ Canadian Corps at Dury and saw General Currie commanding the Corps. The latter said it had been a hustle to be ready in time, but everything had been got in except 2 long-range guns. The platforms were ready for them and they would be got in by tonight. Last night was our most critical moment. If the Germans had bombarded the Canadian zone, we could not have retaliated last night.

Tonight the situation is quite different and we are ready!

General Sir John Monash’s message to the troops the day before battle

For the first time in the history of our Corps, all five Australian Divisions will to-morrow engage in the largest and most important battle operation ever undertaken by the Corps. Because of the completeness of our plans and dispositions, of the magnitude of the operations, of the number of troops employed, and of the depth to which we intend to over-run the enemy’s positions, this battle will be one of the most memorable of the whole war. The work to be done to-morrow will perhaps make heavy demands upon the endurance and the staying powers of many of you; but I am confident that, in spite of excitement, fatigue, and physical strain, every man will carry on to the utmost of his powers until his goal is won; for the sake of AUSTRALIA, the empire and our cause.

Mark-Series Tanks Advancing to the Front

The Opening Day

Marshal Foch, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies, to General Debeney 

It is well understood that the French 1st Army must reach Roye as early as possible, and reinforce the IIIrd. When the result has been obtained, the situation itself will indicate what is to be done: halt or move forward again.

It is precisely because one cannot settle it today that no option must be ruled out. With this aim, never must any Infantry Division be sent to the rear. Those which can no longer advance are to be bypassed, pass to the second line, and provide support until the result desired by higher command is obtained.

Therefore: Move quickly, march hard, maneuvering as you advance: support from behind with everybody until the result is obtained. If these conditions are fulfilled, losses will be avoided in a few days.

Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas-Louis Tremblay, 22nd Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, Diary

Last night was quiet; the enemy doesn’t seem to suspect that a terrible attack is imminent. Thousands and thousands of men have been concentrated into our front lines and formidable tools of war are at the ready, awaiting the signal to unleash a terrifying campaign of bombardment against the enemy. Finally at 4:20 this morning, the storm surged with incredible violence and under cover of this steel sheet blowing everything up in the enemy trenches, our infantry advanced, supported by tanks. 

Private Southey, Australian Corps 

The morning of 8th August started very foggy indeed, and as our barrage opened, a tremendous barrage, we were wondering how we were going to get on. But, forward we pushed, and met comparatively slight opposition. Some Germans surrendered quickly, others fought to the end. As we pushed on wondering where we were, the sun broke through and we began to see the countryside that we hadn’t seen for quite a time. It was unscarred, all sorts of cultivated land, and we began to feel, ‘By Jove, the war’s coming to an end. We’re getting through.’ And we had a feeling of great uplift about the whole job.

9.2 Inch Howitzer Preparing to Fire

Tank Commander Wilfred Bion on 8 August 1918 

At 9.50pm Handley Page bombers were due to start flying along the front; the noise of their engines was supposed to cloak the roar of the tank engines so the enemy would not become suspicious. Soon we heard the characteristic pulsating tone. Just then from two miles away we heard the roar of the first tank engine starting up. The tanks, after the first one, helped to screen each other. As each engine started, the driver throttled down to slow speed so that the roar became a diffuse murmur, and the murmur became an undifferentiated noise like traffic on the roads; it was just possible to believe that the enemy would be deceived.

A Canadian Motorized Machine Gun Unit Advancing

Paul von Hindenburg, German Army Chief of Staff,  Extract from Memoirs

On the morning of August 8th our comparative peace was abruptly interrupted. In the southwest the noise of battle could clearly be heard. The first reports, which came from Army Headquarters in the neighborhood of Péronne, were serious. The enemy, employing large squadrons of tanks, had broken into our lines on both sides of the Amiens-St. Quentin road. Further details could not be given.

The veil of uncertainty was lifted during the next few hours, though our telephone lines had been broken in many places. There was no doubt that the enemy had penetrated deeply into our positions and that batteries had been lost.

On this August 8th we had to act as we had so often acted in equally menacing situations. Initial successes of the enemy were no new experience for us. We had seen them in 1916 and 1917, at Verdun, Arras, Wytschaete and Cambrai. We had only quite recently experienced and mastered another at Soissons. But in the present case the situation was particularly serious. The great tank attack of the enemy had penetrated to a surprising depth. The tanks, which were faster than hitherto, had surprised Divisional Staff in their headquarters and torn up the telephone lines which communicated with the battle front.

I had no illusions about the political effects of our defeat on August 8th . . . The failure of August 8th was revealed to all eyes as the consequences of an open weakness. To fail in an attack was a very different matter from being vanquished on the defence. The amount of booty which our enemy could publish to the world spoke a clear language.

Men of the 12th Division

Aftermath

Canon Frederick George Scott CMG DSO, Senior Chaplain – First Canadian Division

Here and there I met wounded men walking back, and many German prisoners. In the fields in different directions I could see rifles stuck, bayonet downwards, in the ground, which showed that there lay wounded men. I found that these were chiefly Germans, and all of them had received hideous wounds and were clamoring for water. Poor men, I was sorry for them, for I knew it would be long before they could be carried out or receive medical attention, owing to the rapidity of our advance. I made my way to each in turn and gave him a drink from some of the water bottles which I carried round my belt. I think all the Germans I saw that morning were dying, having been wounded in the stomach. After attending, as far as it was possible, to their bodily needs, I endeavored to minister to their spiritual. As they happened to be Roman Catholics, I took off the crucifix which I wore round my neck and gave it to them.

They would put up their trembling hands and clasp it lovingly, and kiss it, while I began the Lord’s Prayer in German. This happened many times that day. One man who had a hideous wound in the abdomen was most grateful, and when he handed me back the crucifix he took my hand and kissed it. It was strange to think that an hour before, had we met, we should have been deadly enemies.

Commemorative Tablet
 Basilique Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens

Diary entry of Herménégilde Duchaussoy, Mayor of Amiens, 1916–1919

Thursday 8 August: 

8 August will remain famous in history as the start of a battle which will last three months, first of all freeing Amiens, showing the attrition of the German armies and finally giving us victory.

Saturday 10 August

The communiqué of 10 August becomes, for all the inhabitants of Amiens who have fled, “the finest serial to be continued”. Our troops have captured Pierrepont. During the day, after taking Davenescourt, we attacked south of Montdidier, then set about Faverolles. I had tears in my eyes as I read the communiqué, it is victory and moreover the liberation of Amiens, so one is going to be able to return. We will no longer be refugees! For me, there is no home left, our house being uninhabitable. We will have to look for somewhere else to put up the family.

Source: Selections from the program for the Centenary Commemoration of the Battle of Amiens, 8 August 2018

The Day a Rookie Shot Down an Ace

 

Adversaries: Avery and Menckhoff

On 25 July 1918, 1st Lt. Walter Avery of the U.S. 95th Aero Squadron shot down veteran German ace Oberleutenant Carl Menckhoff (who had 39 victories) near Château-Thierry, France on his first combat mission. He had previously flown with a French squadron charged with the defense of Paris, but had no dogfighting experience. His first dogfight marked Avery's first aerial victory, forcing Menckhoff to crash-land and leading to his capture. Avery described the fight in his war diary:  "Both [my] guns jammed," Mr. Avery wrote in his diary. "While clearing the jams he got on my tail and put two bullets in my left wing. . . I did a retournment and with the resulting speed was able to stand vertically on my tail and give him a good burst. He started to lose altitude and went down in a tight spiral. I followed him, shooting, and saw him crash in the woods." Menckhoff had survived and been taken prisoner by French soldiers.

Aftermath

After Avery had landed,  he clipped a fabric letter "M" from the side of Menckhoff's Fokker D.VII as a souvenir, though he sportingly left Menckhoff's prestigious Pour le Mérite ("Blue Max") medal with him. Carl Menckhoff subsequently escaped from the French prisoner of war camp—post Armistice—and made his way to Switzerland, before returning to Germany.  After some legal trouble with the Nazi regime, he returned to Switzerland permanently to raise a family, never mentioning the war. His son was never aware of his father's wartime achievements. 

After shooting down another opponent, Walter Avery was, himself, shot down and wounded in October. He also finished the war as a POW. Upon his return he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Besides his listing as a  Harvard graduate (1917), there is not much to be found about his later civilian activities.

In Another Century

The piece of fabric sat ignored in a trunk for 60 years until Avery died in 1978.  In May 2007, Avery’s daughter, Bette Avery Applegate, tracked down and met Menckhoff’s son, Gerhard Menckhoff.  During a poignant ceremony, she returned the fabric "M" piece cut from the WWI aircraft to the German pilot's family.

Sources: U.S. Military Forum; The Aerodrome; Harvard Alumni; Washington Times

Love, War, and Sexuality — Only in Paris

Show Catalog

Venue

In 2007, the Hôtel national des Invalides in Paris, presented a delightful exhibition on this topic, Amours, Guerres et Sexualité – 1914–1945, which I had almost forgotten about until I was checking over some old files recently. I had a particular interest in the program since three of our past contributors, Tony Langley, Bert Govaerts, and Olivier Pierrard, not only attended the opening, but made contributions to the displays. Here are the statement of intent from the sponsors and some examples of the specimens displayed, some of which were from my pals.

How and in what ways did the two world wars affect intimate relationships between men and women? At the crossroads of the history of wars and the history of gender, the exhibition Love, wars and sexuality 1914–1945, explores the question through the collections of the Army Museum, the Museum of Contemporary History-BDIC and with the collaboration of researchers from the National Center for Scientific Research. Objects, official and film posters, postcards, paintings, photographs, private correspondence, diaries, press clippings, literary works: in total, more than 400 items have been brought together for this exhibition on a theme that is, it must be said, a first for the Army Museum. Far removed from the "Make love, not war" of the pacifists of the 1960s and '70s, the aim here is to see under what conditions one could do both, or failing that, dream of one and do the other, in the context of a sexuality that was in any case disrupted and placed under strict military control.

Sexy Lady with Poilu Doll

The Line at a Brothel

Romantic Trench Art Shell Casings

Home on Leave

German and French Illustrations with the Same Theme

Touched by the Great War: Remembering Sam Neill

 

Sam Neill (1947–2026)
With Fellow Cast Members of Reilly: Ace of Spies

By Your Editor/Publisher Mike Hanlon

On 13 July, New Zealander and distinguished actor Sam Neill died of pneumonia at age 78.  Over a highly acclaimed half-century, Neill played numerous memorable roles, including a dinosaur chaser in Jurassic Park,  a Soviet naval officer in the Hunt for Red October, and the Anti-Christ in Omen III.  I suspect, however, that most of our readers remember him best as Reilly: Ace of Spies from the 1980s TV series, which featured a lot of  action from the run-up to World War One and post-revolutionary Russia. Mysteriously, the series' chronology of episodes left out the 1914-1917 war years when Reilly was quite active here in the United States and (according to some legends) operating behind lines on the Western Front.  But, even with these gaps in the timeline and—shall we say—some dubious historical stretchings and speculations, the 12-episode series was stupendously entertaining for history enthusiasts.  Sam just "killed" the role of Reilly and he was strongly supported by a top-notch cast playing familiar historical figures, excellent scripts, evocative music, and bevy of  enchanting and sometimes dangerous lady companions for our hero,  (All the episodes are free on YouTube, by the way.)

Sam Neill Visits His Grandfather's Grave at Lijssenthoek Cemetery, Flanders

You could watch that whole television series and most of Sam's movies, however, and never learn he played a major part in his nation's remembrance of its achievements and sacrifices during the struggles of 1914–1918. Multiple members of his family were casualties in the war. His grandfather,  Lieutenant Colonel Robert John Fitzgerald Ingham, Royal Garrison Artillery,  was killed at Messines in 1917. This was an absence that deeply affected Neill's grandmother and left a permanent mark on his family. He also lost a great-uncle and his grandfather's cousin, Lt. Guy Bridgeman, MC, of the New Zealand Field Artillery, who died from illness back home after being badly injured in action.

Sam Neill Before the Sphinx, Anzac Cove, Gallipoli

Neill regularly put his show business expertise to use in supporting commemorative events for the war.  In 2005, with Jeremy Irons, he served as an English language narrator for the Turkish documentary Gallipoli, which examined the 1915  campaign from both sides. Then in 2015, he wrote and presented Why Anzac, an exploration of the realities of the First World War and the Anzac tradition. It was during his location filming that he visited his grandfather's grave in Flanders for the first time. 

Sam Neill at the Podium in His Last Public Appearance

ANZAC Day Commemoration,  April 2026

Right up to his death, Sam also actively participated in remembrance programs in New Zealand and Australia.  Above he is shown reading Laurence Binyon's poem "For the Fallen" at the Sydney Opera House. A video of his reading can be viewed HERE. 

Rest in Peace, Sam

Notes:

1.  The entire documentary Gallipoli can be viewed on YouTube HERE

2.  Sadly, I have been unable to discover a site in North America where his documentary Why Anzac can either be streamed or purchased.  If you have a lead, please share it in the comments.

Censorship and Propaganda in World War I: A Comprehensive History by Eberhard Demm

By Eberhard Demm  

Bloomsbury Academic, 2019

Pip Gregory, Reviewer

The Highly Productive U.S. Committee for Public Information
Leader George Creel on Right

This review originally appeared in the Kent University Blog, 19 November 2019

Eberhard Demm’s Censorship and Propaganda takes on a vast task in attempting to provide a comprehensive insight into First World War propaganda. There is an abundance available out there, across all combatant nations, and its relationship with censorship adds further levels of complexity. There are studies that address aspects thereof, but tying that all together is a daunting task. Demm’s new book builds upon his fabulous articles for the Online Encyclopaedia 1914-1918, plus a number of other works. This new and highly comprehensive volume presents a depth of analysis around propaganda; its design, influence and those who controlled and contributed to it, as well as considering its impact, and legacy that has otherwise been lacking in other studies. Naturally, within Demm’s study of both censorship and propaganda there are aspects for which there is more evidence available, namely the propaganda, and others less so, but what evidence Demm has found he has utilised effectively to demonstrate the value of the widespread of wartime propaganda and its partner in (avoiding) crime, censorship.

Despite the book’s title suggesting equal attention to both propaganda and censorship, the actual discussion is a little one-sided. There is far more analysis of the propaganda, following Demm’s deeper interests for ten of the twelve chapters, with only one chapter outlining censorship specifically in any real detail. That said, the nature of censorship by its very self means the removal of details, and for the historian, piecing those details back together again can be an impossibility. A couple of other chapters link the censor to the propaganda explicitly, while most outline their paired union throughout the war. Nonetheless, the propaganda Demm has chosen is widely varied, and not just another assessment of propaganda posters, of which there are many; this incorporates posters, cartooning and caricature, the theatre, films, operettas, toys and music and the propagandistic influence of each on the public.

In France, Censorship Was Personified by Anastasie

Trying to remain ‘comprehensive’ does mean that there is a lot covered at speed, and sometimes the jumps between nations can be a little disorientating. However, Demm’s relaxed approach to the material eases the reader in, keeping them interested as well as looking for the next anecdote woven into the texture of the book as a whole. There are anecdotal snippets scattered among the more in-depth narratives of statistics and detail, but these as a whole keep the reader conscious of the minutiae that might otherwise have been lost in such a comprehensive volume.

Several chapters open with a quotation or theory relating to their themes, then support or challenge these as the chapter develops. For instance, chapter one begins with a Lloyd George quotation about why the public are not shown the truth through official channels, since, ‘[t]he correspondent don’t write and the censorship would not pass the truth’ [sic]. While chapter three considers the Manichean approach to propaganda along a clear divide of good vs evil, tied to Augustinian principles of who has God on their side. However, Demm’s analysis remains open as right or wrong differed along personal lines depending on which side of the conflict the propagandist supported. Censorship and Propaganda is a welcome addition to analysis in this field, as so many studies of propaganda often fall on one side of the conflict or another and are better able to see their own side as opposed to the opposition’s clearly.

Order HERE

Although this volume provides a significant basis for future works in specifically detailed research on the propaganda of individual nations, for those not looking for explicit detail, it delivers the necessary grounding to raise interest in such analysis without being hindered by innate bias. As such, Demm’s powerful writing continues to inspire and open the way to new thinkers on this topic, no matter their nationality.

Pip Gregory

Captured: Fifteen British Generals

Major General Charles Townshend in Turkish Captivity

By James Patton

About ten years ago now, I wrote a long article for Over the Top about the British defeat at Kut-al-Amara, which had occurred a hundred years previous. As a result, I became fascinated with the subject and particularly with the saga of the commander of the ill-fated first Baghdad offensive, Maj. Gen. Charles Townshend. I thought that Townshend was the highest-ranking British officer taken prisoner during the Great War, but I now know that he was not even the highest-ranking officer captured at Kut. Knowing that six general officers were  taken prisoner at Kut, I decided to find out how many other British general officers had been POWs in the Great War.   

Before proceeding to the list, I should briefly clarify the fluid status of British brigadier generals. During the First World War they were the lowest-ranking general officers. However, since 1928, British brigadiers are now the highest-ranking field officers. They are classified by NATO as level O-6, which puts them on a par with the U.S. “bird” colonel, who typically commands a U.S. brigade, unless the brigade is independent, such as the U.S. Army’s 173rd (Airborne) Brigade. On the other hand, British colonels do not command brigades or any other group of soldiers. Typically, they are staff officers.

Here is my list of POW generals culled from the "List of British Officers Taken Prisoner Aug 1914–Nov 1918":

From the British Expeditionary Force:

Brig-Gen C. D. Bruce (1862–1934), 27 Brig, 9 (Scottish) Div, a New Army unit. Captured at Hulluch Quarries, Battle of Loos,  26 Sep 1915. His was the first K-1 formation to see action on the Western Front. An old China hand, he had previously commanded the British Weihaiwei Regiment (1907–13), which was raised locally to defend that enclave on the Shandong Peninsula. Postwar he lived in Shanghai, sometimes working as a police advisor. He published several works of non-fiction including a comprehensive history of the Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding) Regiment, which recruited in Yorkshire.

Brig-Gen C. Bradley, 1916. I’ve not found any information about this officer. Bear in mind that most of these brigadiers were Temporary at the time of their capture and there is no available list of officers by Temporary rank.

Brigadier-General Victor Arthur Seymour Williams

Brig-Gen V.A.S. Williams CMG (1867–1949), 8 Can Brig, 3 Can Div. Wounded and captured (the CG, Maj. Gen. Malcolm Mercer was killed) during a whirlwind German assault during the Battle of Mont-Sorrel, 2 Jun 1916. He was subsequently released in a POW exchange. Before the war he was in turn the adjutant-general and the camp commandant at Valcartier during the formation of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Promoted to major general after the war, he was subsequently the Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police (1922–1939).

Brig-Gen Vivian Telford Bailey CMG DSO (1868–1947), 142 Brig, 47 (1/2nd London) Div, a unit of second-line Territorials. Wounded, then captured north of Delville Wood on 23 Mar 1918,during Operation Michael. 

Brig-Gen Frederick Stuart Dawson CMG DSO (1873–1920), 1 S. Afr Brig att  9 (Scottish) Div. Captured at Marrières Wood, 24 Mar 1918.  Fought a heroic rearguard blocking action, plugging the gap between armies and delaying the German advance for seven hours, surrendering only when ammunition was exhausted; his brigade had been reduced  from 1,880 to 500 men, only 100 of whom were unwounded.

Brig-Gen Edward Bellingham CMG DSO (1879–1956), 118 Brig, 39 Div, a K-4 “Pals” unit. Captured on 28 Mar 1918 during the during the Battle of Rosières. He was a professional soldier and a baronet in the Irish Peerage. He served in the Royal Air Force in WWII.

Brig-Gen James Dick-Cunyngham CB CMG DSO (1877–1935), 152 Brig,  51 (Highland) Div, a firstline Territorial unit. Wounded and captured at Le Cornet Malo, 12 Apr 1918. Youngest son of a Scottish baronet. He was only in this command for six days. Postwar he served in both the Territorial Force and the Indian Army, and was promoted to major general in 1932. He kept a diary of his POW days which can be read HERE.   

Brig-Gen H. Rees CMG DSO (1882–1948),150 Brig, 50 (Northumbria) Div, also a firstline Territorial unit, captured near Craonnelle during the Blücher-Yorck offensive, 27 May 1918. A regular officer, he was only 34 when he became a temporary brigadier. After his capture he was brought back to Kaiser Wilhelm II on the Plateau de Californie. Wilhelm restricted his questions to those of a personal nature, not seeking any military intelligence. Rees later said Wilhelm stated that he thought Britain and Germany should be friends and noted his admiration for the fighting abilities of British soldiers. Rees’s meeting with Wilhelm was even photographed. Rees later stated he was "furious" about being forced to meet the Kaiser and had felt "humiliated." 

From the British Salonika Army:

Brig-Gen H. Ravenshaw CMG (1869–1920), General Staff, was a passenger on the SS Caledonia when it was torpedoed by U-65 in the Mediterranean, 4 Dec 1917.  Long associated with the Devonshire Regiment, he was recalled to active duty and assigned the command of  the1st Battalion, Connaught Rangers, which was part of the 7th (Ferozepore) Brigade, 3rd (Lahore) Division, Indian Army. He later commanded the 83 Brig, 28 Div and then the 27 Div. He was returning to the UK from Salonika but instead spent the remainder of the war in Austro-Hungarian captivity. In 1920 he died under mysterious circumstances in South Africa.

From the Indian Army:

Maj. Gen. Townshend (center) and the 6th Division Staff
(Most of the Officers Were Likely Captured at Kut)

Maj-Gen. C.V.F.  Townshend KCB DSO (1861–1924) CG 6 (Poona) Ind Div. Surrendered at Kut-al-Amara 29 Apr 1916. His remarkable period as a prisoner of war reads like a novel. After the surrender, Townshend and his entourage were whisked off to Istanbul by boat, auto and train, where they were met at the station by a military honor guard. He was billeted in a confiscated villa on the island of Prinkipo (now Büyükada) in the Sea of Marmara, a short distance from Istanbul. He had servants, good food, plenty of books, breezy sea air, and even received permission to bring his wife and teenage daughter to join him, but they refused. An Ottoman Navy launch was available, he had the freedom of Istanbul, and was a frequent guest of the Sultan. Gen. Enver Pasha was a special pal. Enver called Townshend "Lieut. General," and he took to using  that rank, which promotion he should have gotten when he was put in command of a force larger than a division. 

Townshend regarded himself as the exclusive representative of British interests in Istanbul, and that the negotiation of the Armistice of Mudros was largely his work. However, at one point he spent four months trying to convince Enver that, if repatriated, he would be a tireless and valuable advocate for the Ottoman cause at Whitehall. Townshend never concerned himself with the plight of his soldiers, which he must have known about, even denying that they had been force-marched. 

The year 1917 was a noteworthy one for Townshend. His noble aspiration was derailed, as his cousin, the elderly and ailing 6th Marquess Townshend, had managed to sire an heir. On the other hand, Townshend did  receive his long-coveted KCB;  the notice of which had to come to him via Istanbul’s German-language newspaper Osmanischer Lloyd. Also, the British investigation into the Kut catastrophe was concluded with the incredible finding that fault lay with just about everybody involved excepting Townshend. 

Major General Walter Delamain

Maj-Gen W.S. Delamain (1862–1932) KCB KCMG DSO, 16 (Poona) Brig, 6 (Poona) Ind Div.  Surrendered at Kut al Amara 29 Apr 1916. Long time Indian Army officer who was promoted to major general in recognition of his brigade’s successful occupation of Basra in 1914. He was senior in grade to Townshend. After the war he retired as a lieutenant general.

Brig-Gen U.W.  Evans, 17 (Ahmednagar) Brig, 6 (Poona) Ind Div. Surrendered at Kut-al-Amar 29 Apr 1916. A last-minute replacement, all of his previous service had been in the Royal Engineers.

Brig-Gen H.D. Grier, Chief Royal Arty, 6 (Poona) Ind Div. Wounded and surrendered at Kut-al-Amara 29 Apr 1916. Served with and previously commanded the 1st Indian Mountain Artillery Brig (10 pounders). 

Brig-Gen W.G. Hamilton (1858–1940) CB CSI 18 (Belgaum) Brig, 6 (Poona) Ind Div. Surrendered at Kut-al-Amara 29 Apr 1916. Also a late replacement, he had been the Assistant Quartermaster General for Indian Expeditionary Force D.

Major General Charles Mellis

Maj-Gen Sir C.J. Melliss (1862–1936) VC KCB KCMG, 30 Brig, 12 Ind Div attached to 6 (Poona) Ind Div. Surrendered at Kut-al-Amara 29 Apr 1916. A career Indian Army officer, he was promoted to major general in 1912, thus he was about three years senior in grade to Townshend. Melliss’s VC was awarded for deeds during the Ashanti Campaign of 1900. He fell ill during the Kut siege; he was in hospital at the end. Along with Townshend, he was evacuated to Baghdad by boat. Most of the garrison were force-marched all the way to Anatolia. When he was well enough to travel, he followed the same overland route, but as a general, he was allowed a travel party and given transport and better than average supplies. Along the way, they encountered dead and dying enlisted men who had fallen out from the columns of prisoners. Melliss took survivors he found with him; then at their next each stop he insisted that the rescuees be hospitalized. Here’s a LINK to a great article about him.  

While surrendering six general officers at Kut was the worst toll for the British in the Great War, during the Malayan campaign in 1942, at least 18 British and Australian flag officers were captured by the Japanese, including two lieutenant generals, two major generals, 11 brigadiers, one air vice-marshal and two air commodores. One other major general, the commander of the 8th Australian Division, Gordon Bennett (1887–1962) CB CMG DSO VD, who deserted and crossed the straits the night before the capitulation. He had been the highest-ranking Australian in Singapore. He  eventually got back to Australia and cooked up an incredible story.  

Lonesome Memorial #26: The Lone Tree of Loos

The Lone Tree of Loos Today

The Lone Tree of Loos was a solitary cherry tree in no-man's-land that served as a key topographical marker and grim memorial during the September 1915 Battle of Loos. Located north of Loos between the villages of Hulluch and Vermelles, it acted as a vital reference point on British trench maps and a devastatingly accurate target for German artillery. Its name inspired the series "Lonesome Memorials" for Roads to the Great War.

The 1995 Dedication Plaque

The tree was a prominent feature of Lone Tree Ridge, the site of a tragic assault by the Northamptonshire Regiment during the British Army's first use of poison gas in the war. Heavily shot to pieces by artillery, the tree was mostly cut down by  souvenir hunters. The solitary tree became a profound symbol of resilience and loss, eventually regrowing after 1918 and officially replanted in 1995 to commemorate the battle. A surrounding concentration of more conspicuous memorials, such as Dud Corner Cemetery and Loos Memorial, also honor the 60,000 casualties suffered in this area.

Souvenir Section from the Original Tree

Location:

The Lone Tree is located south of the Vermelles–Hulluch Road (Rue Jules Guesde), on an off-shoot named Chemin du Pont, at coordinates: 50.478250, 2.782073.  It is hard to see from a distance.

Outline of 1915–17 Loos Battlefield with Lone Tree Location

American Dreadnoughts at War

Firing a Broadside Over a Century Ago, the USS Texas Is  Today the World's
Only Surviving WWI Dreadnought Battleship

The legendary Great White Fleet, which sailed around the world from December 1907 to February 1909, had many achievements but came up short on one of President Theodore Roosevelt's list of objectives. In the matter of impressing foreign powers with America' naval power and readiness, all 16 battleships sent on the 43,000-mile voyage were already obsolete. For almost a year, the Royal Navy's revolutionary all-big-gun battleship HMS Dreadnought had been at sea. Other nations, including the United States, were attempting to play catch-up with dreadnoughts under construction, but they were a long way from active service. Consequently, to knowledgeable naval observers, the American fleet seemed less than "top-of-the-line." Reportedly, even Kaiser Wilhelm took to pointing out some of the ships' design flaws.

The Great White Fleet Enters the Golden Gate, 6 May 1908

The first U.S. Navy dreadnoughts, USS South Carolina (BB-26) and USS Michigan (BB-27) would not be commissioned until 1910. The Great White Fleet, had however, succeeded in building public and political support for an accelerated naval building program. Eight more modern battleships were built and launched before August 1914. In April 1917, when the United States officially entered World War I, the U.S. Navy had 14 dreadnought-type battleships active in its battle force. This was still behind Great Britain's 29 dreadnoughts (both battleships and battlecruisers) but close to catching up to Germany's total of 17.

Stern View of a Wyoming-Class Dreadnought

Valuable assets to the balance of naval power, most of the nation's dreadnoughts found service of some type during America's 19 months of war, but they never fought a surface battle.  Ironically, the old ships of the Great White Fleet that were activated for service found a wide range of uses similar to the newer dreadnoughts, like training, convoy escort, and carrying troops. 

Most of the new dreadnoughts would have to wait a quarter-century for major action, some of it tragic. Five would be deemed obsolete before the Second World War came. I thought it appropriate, in any case, that Roads to the Great War recognize their service in the First World War. These all-big-gun capital ships belonged to seven distinct classes commissioned between 1910 and 1916.

South Carolina Class (two ships):

Officers and Crew of USS Michigan, 1918

USS South Carolina (BB-26)

Prewar performed neutrality patrols on the American side of the Atlantic.  In September 1918 became first U.S. dreadnought to escort a convoy part way across the Atlantic. On return trip, lost its port propeller on 8 October. Post-Armistice transported U.S. troops home from Europe. She was sold for scrap on 24 April 1924 and subsequently dismantled.

USS Michigan  (BB-27) 

Michigan had similar duties to South Carolina and also lost a propeller (starboard) when returning home. Also repatriated American troops after hostilities. Michigan was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 10 November 1923 and broken up for scrap the following year.

Delaware Class (two ships):

Japanese Vice-Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō, Victor of Tsushima, after
Visiting USS North Dakota, 1911

USS Delaware  (BB-28) 

When the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, Delaware was initially tasked with readiness training off the East Coast. Late in the year, she was deployed to Europe as part of the U.S. Navy's Battleship Division Nine, under the command of Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman. The force arrived on 7 December and was assigned to the 6th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet. In July 1918, Delaware was withdrawn from overseas service and returned to the United States, where she received an enthusiastic welcome. Delaware was transferred to the Boston Navy Yard, decommissioned on 10 November, and disarmed. She was then sold on 5 February 1924 and subsequently broken up for scrap.

USS North Dakota (BB-29) 

Admiral Rodman specially requested North Dakota not be deployed to Europe. He felt her turbine engines were too unreliable for the ship to be deployed to a war zone.  From 1917, she was employed as a training ship for gunners and engineers. Postwar, North Dakota made a second trip to Europe, primarily to ports in the Mediterranean Sea. During the visit, the ship was tasked with the return of the remains of the Italian ambassador, Vincenzo Macchi di Cellere, who had died 20 October 1919 in Washington, DC. In 1925 North Dakota was converted into a radio-controlled gunnery target ship and eventually sold for scrap in 1931.

Florida Class (two ships):

USS Florida While Serving with Grand Fleet, 1918

USS Florida (BB-30) 

Florida and her sister ship Utah took part in U.S. operations at Vera Cruz in 1914. The two ships landed a total of about 1,000 sailors and marines, who suffered nearly 10 percent casualties. In December 1917 she  joined Battleship Division Nine, which was deployed with the British Grand Fleet. Following training exercises with the British fleet, 6th Battle Squadron was tasked with convoy protection duty on the route to Scandinavia. Following the end of the war, in December 1918, the ship escorted President Woodrow Wilson on his trip to Europe to participate in the peace negotiations. Florida was decommissioned in 1931 and scrapped the next year in Philadelphia.

USS Utah (BB-31) 

After America's entry into the war, Utah trained engineers and gunners in Chesapeake Bay.  On 30 August 1918,  she departed for Bantry Bay, Ireland, with Vice Admiral Henry T. Mayo, commander-in-chief of the Atlantic Fleet aboard. After arriving in Ireland, Utah was assigned as the flagship of Battleship Division 6, commanded by Rear Admiral Thomas S. Rodgers. Division 6 was tasked with covering convoys in the Western Approaches against possible attacks from German surface raiders. Utah served in the division along with Nevada and Oklahoma. Utah also escorted President Wilson on his voyage to France, later returning to New York and regular peacetime duties. The ship performed a variety of duties for the Navy following the First World War and in 1931 was converted to a  radio-controlled target ship, to replace the older North Dakota. Utah also took on the role of  a training ship for anti-aircraft gunners. She was sunk at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Attempts to salvage Utah were not successful. Today, her rusting hulk remains in Pearl Harbor, partially above water, a war grave for the 58 crew members who perished in the attack. The site is now part of the Pearl Harbor National Memorial.

Wyoming Class (two ships):

USS Arkansas (l) & USS Texas (r) Transiting the Panama Canal, February 1919

USS Wyoming (BB-32) 

Early wartime duties for Wyoming focused on training engine-room personnel for the expanding American fleet around Chesapeake Bay. Later assigned to Battleship Division 9 at Scapa Flow, Wyoming and the other U.S. battleships trained with the Grand Fleet for three months. Wyoming  helped escort a convoy to Norway and subsequently patrolled the North Sea, watching for a sortie by Germany's High Seas Fleet, and covered the North Sea minelaying operation. On 14 October, Wyoming replaced the damaged New York as Admiral Rodman's flagship. Postwar, Wyoming served as an escort ship for the High Seas Fleet on its journey to internment at Scapa Flow. After joining the escort detail for President Wilson's arrival, Wyoming sailed for New York, arriving on Christmas Day. Wyoming remained on active duty throughout the interwar period and trained thousands of gunners during WWII.  She was decommissioned in 1947 and sold for scrap.

USS Arkansas (BB-33) 

In 1914 Arkansas participated in the U.S. intervention in Mexico. Relieving USS Delaware, she served as part of Battleship Division Nine, which was attached to the British Grand Fleet. She was transferred to the Pacific post-WWII. Arkansas served in the European Theater at Normandy and the invasion of southern France and then in the Pacific theater. Arkansas was subsequently expended as a target in Operation Crossroads,  the nuclear weapon tests at Bikini Atoll in July 1946.

New York Class (two ships):

USS Texas en route to Its Final Anchorage at Galveston

USS New York  (BB-34) 

The New York Class was the first U.S. battleship  was designed to carry the 14-inch/45-caliber gun. Arriving off Mexico on 4 May 1914, New York served as the flagship for the Special Service Squadron, the force occupying and blockading Veracruz. Deployed to the European Theater as flagship of Battleship Squadron Nine, later re-designated Sixth Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet. During her service with the Grand Fleet, New York was frequently visited by royal and other high-ranking representatives of the Allies. The Duke and Duchess of Atholl visited the ship in May 1918. They were followed by King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium on 9 July; His Majesty King George V on 20 July; and Crown Prince (later Emperor) Hirohito of Japan and his staff on 3 November 1918. 

New York, on 14 October 1918, struck a submerged object while entering Pentland Firth en route to Scapa Flow. She docked at Rosyth, on 15 October 1918, and the squadron flag was temporarily shifted to Wyoming. With those repairs completed, Rear Adm. Rodman returned to New York on 21 October.  New York, with Vice Adm. William S. Sims in command, took up her position in column with the entirety of the Grand Fleet in the Firth of Forth on 21 November 1918 to accept the surrender of the High Seas Fleet. After serving with distinction throughout WWII, New York was designated as a target ship, surviving two atomic detonations and was sunk by gunfire on 7 July 1948.

USS Texas (BB-35) 

When the battleship Texas was commissioned, the United States was entangled in the Mexican Revolution, and the ship was deployed to Veracruz to support the occupation there.  In 1917,  Texas shipped out for the First World War under the command of Captain Victor Blue, Texas’ longest serving commanding officer. Unfortunately, she ran aground on Block Island shortly after leaving Long Island Sound. As the crew lightened her load over several days and worked to get her free, sailors on passing ships would shout “Come on, Texas!” which stuck as the ship’s motto through the rest of her career. Texas later made it across the Atlantic to join the Grand Fleet in January 1918. In 1919, Texas was used in an early naval aviation experiment. On 10 March, a Sopwith Camel was successfully flown off a ramp constructed on top of Turret #2, making her the first American battleship to launch an aircraft. From 1925 to 1927, Texas was heavily modernized.  

When the Second World War broke out in Europe in 1939, Battleship Texas was assigned to neutrality patrol, escorting merchant ships across the Atlantic. Texas continued her patrols until late 1942, when she took part in Operation Torch, the invasion of French North Africa. On 6 June 1944, D-Day, Texas was assigned to support the landings of the Army Rangers at Pointe du Hoc and the landings at Omaha Beach. Texas was straddled by dozens of near misses from artillery and was eventually hit at 13:16. A 240 mm German shell struck the top of the conning tower, wrecking much of the navigation bridge above. Texas later supported Operation Dragoon (the invasion of southern France) and the assaults on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. After the war, the Texas transported troops home from the Pacific Theater during Operation Magic Carpet. After the war, she would be donated to the State of Texas and for many years would be anchored at the San Jacinto Battleground. The ship is now undergoing a massive restoration program in Galveston, Texas, in anticipation of a 2027 reopening.

Nevada Class (two ships):

USS Oklahoma from the Air, Post WWI

USS Nevada  (BB-36) 

Nevada was a leap forward in dreadnought technology; four of her new features would be included on almost every subsequent US battleship: triple gun turrets,[c] oil in place of coal for fuel, geared steam turbines for greater range, and the "all or nothing" armor principle. These features made Nevada, alongside her sister ship Oklahoma, the first US Navy "standard-type" battleships.  She joined the Atlantic Fleet in Newport, Rhode Island on 26 May 1916.  During the last few months of World War I, Nevada was based in Bantry Bay, Ireland, to protect supply convoys that were sailing to and from Great Britain.  Her interwar service was much like the other American dreadnoughts including undergoing a modernization program in the 1930s.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Nevada was the only battleship to get underway during the attack, making the ship "the only bright spot in an otherwise dismal and depressing morning" for the United States. Still, the ship was hit by one torpedo and at least six bombs while steaming away from Battleship Row, forcing the crew to beach the stricken ship on a coral ledge. The ship continued to flood and eventually slid off the ledge and sank to the harbor floor.  Nevada was subsequently salvaged and modernized at Puget Sound Navy Yard, allowing her to serve as a convoy escort in the Atlantic and as a fire-support ship in five amphibious assaults (the invasions of Attu, Normandy, Southern France, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa).

At the end of World War II, the Navy decided that, due to age, Nevada would not be retained as part of the active fleet and she was instead assigned as a target ship for the atomic experiments at Bikini Atoll in July 1946 (Operation Crossroads). The ship was hit by the blast from atomic bomb Able, and was left heavily damaged and radioactive. Unfit for further service, Nevada was decommissioned on 29 August 1946, and sunk for naval gunfire practice on 31 July 1948.

USS Oklahoma (BB-37) 

After suffering a serious fire during her construction, Oklahoma was commissioned at Philadelphia, on 2 May 1916. In 1917 she experienced another refit which delayed her deployment to the war zone.  On 13 August 1918, Oklahoma was assigned to Battleship Division Six  and departed for Europe alongside Nevada. Division Six division remained at anchor, tasked to protect American convoys coming into the area, but was only called out of the harbor once in 80 days. Oklahoma departed 14 December, for New York City, and then spent early 1919 conducting winter battle drills off the coast of Cuba. On 15 June 1919, she returned to Brest, escorting Wilson on a second trip, and returned to New York, on 8 July.

On 7 December 1941, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, several torpedoes from torpedo bombers hit the Oklahoma's hull and the ship capsized. A total of 429 crew died; survivors jumped off the ship 50 feet (15 m) into burning oil on water or crawled across mooring lines that connected Oklahoma and Maryland. Some sailors inside escaped when rescuers drilled holes and opened hatches to rescue them. The ship was salvaged in 1943. Unlike most of the other battleships that were recovered following Pearl Harbor, Oklahoma was too damaged to return to duty. Her wreck was eventually stripped of her remaining armament and superstructure before being sold for scrap in 1946. The hulk sank in a storm while being towed from Oahu, Hawaii, to a breakers yard in San Francisco Bay in 1947.

Pennsylvania Class (two ships):

View from Bow of USS Pennsylvania, Post WWI

USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) 

The Pennsylvania class consisted of two super-dreadnought battleships built for the United States Navy just before the First World War. In service, the Pennsylvania class saw limited use in the First World War, as a shortage of fuel oil in the United Kingdom meant that only the coal-burning battleships were sent initially with  Battleship Division Nine. USS Pennsylvania was  sent across the Atlantic to France after the war for the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and were then transferred to the Pacific Fleet before being significantly modernized from 1929 to 1931. For the remainder of the interwar period, the ships were used in exercises and fleet problems.

Present at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Pennsylvania—in dry dock at the time—received only minor damage. After a refit from October 1942 to February 1943, Pennsylvania went on to serve as a shore bombardment ship for most of the remainder of the war. She was severely damaged by a torpedo on 12 August 1945, two days before the cessation of hostilities. With minimal repairs, she was used in Operation Crossroads, part of the nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll, before being expended as a target ship in 1948.

USS Arizona (BB-39) 

After being commissioned in 1916, Arizona remained stateside during World War I but escorted President Woodrow Wilson to the subsequent Paris Peace Conference. The ship was deployed abroad again in 1919 to represent American interests during the Greco-Turkish War. Two years later, she was transferred to the Pacific Fleet, under which the ship would remain for the rest of her career. In 1934, Arizona became a movie star. The ship was featured prominently in the 1934 James Cagney film Here Comes the Navy.

On 7 December 1941, the USS Arizona was bombed by Japanese aircraft at Pearl Harbor. A 1,760-pound armor-piercing bomb ignited the ship's forward ammunition magazines. The catastrophic explosion sank the battleship in just nine minutes, killing 1,177 crewmen and accounting for over half of the American lives lost that day. Because the damage was too severe to repair, the Navy salvaged parts of the superstructure and armaments but left the main hull resting on the harbor floor. The tragic event became a key rallying cry for the United States' entry into World War II. In 1958 President Eisenhower signed the bill authorizing the construction of the USS Arizona Memorial at the site of the sinking. There was a bit of a fundraising crisis at one point, but Elvis Presley contributed a concert that reignited contributions. The memorial was dedicated on Memorial Day 1962.

USS Arizona Memorial

 

Sources: WikiCommons, U.S. Navy Heritage Command, Wikipedia; Pearlhabor.org