Why the Fifth Fell Back
Why the Fifth Fell Back is an article published in the Daily Express on 5 september 1919.
Why the Fifth Fell Back
STAUNCH DEFENCE OF GEN. GOUGH BY SIR A. CONAN DOYLE.
SEQUEL TO RUSSIAN TREATY.
A striking feature of the fifth volnme of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "History of the British Campaign, 1918" (Hodder and Stougthton, 7s. 6d. ; published to-day), is his defence of Lieut.-General Sir Hubert Gough, who commanded the Fifth Army in the second battle of the Somme, and was withdrawn from that command after the sensational retirement.
"General Gough,"
says Sir Arthur,"was sacrificed without any inquiry, with regard to the dominant force which he had to face, or to the methods by which he mitigated what might have been a really crushing disaster. It can be safely stated that, in the opinion of many of those who are in the best position to know and to judge, there was absolutely nothing on the military side which could have been bettered, nor has any suggestion even been made of anything which was left undone."
After dealing with the extensive entrenching which was carried out for months, and which evoked loud protests from the men Sir Arthur states that the extension of the front was too long for the number of men who had to cover it; "but this was done at the express request of the French, who had strong military reasons for drawing out and training a number of their divisions."
"ROGUES AND FOOLS."
The road traffic bridges were blown up effectively, but for reasons unexplained the railway bridges were taken out of the hands of General Gough. The reserves were insufficient and were kept too far back, but man-power was the primary weakness.
"Nowhere can one lay one's hand upon any solid ground for complaint, save against the rogues and fools of Brest-Litovsk, who by their selfish and perjured peace enabled the Germans to roll a tidal wave of a million men from east to west, with the certainty that they would wash away the first dam against which they struck.
"If there is any military criticism to be made it lies rather in the fact that French help from the South was nearly sixty hours before it made itself felt at the nearest part of the British line, and also to the surprising number of draft reserves kept in England at that date. Within a month of the battle 350,000 had been sent to the front — a very remarkable omission."
The harassing "if" is here introduced by Sir Arthur; if ten emergency divisions had been made by the most forward of these drafts; if they had been held ready in the rear zones; if the actual reserves had been pushed in to the front, "it is safe to say that the German advance would have been stopped earlier, and would probably not have got beyond the Peronne-Noyon line."
WEAK MAN-POWER.
Again, "if," as was stated in Parliament, "it was confidently expected that the German attack would strike exactly where it did," then it does seem deplorable that the nearest reserve to the Fifth Army, a single division, had, through our weak manpower, to be kept at a three days' journey from the point of danger."
"If,"
says Sir Arthur finally, "instead
of searching the record of the general for some trace of weakness, his critics had realised the rapidity of his decision, with the moral courage and grasp of actuality which he showed by abandoning his positions — no easy thing for one of his blood and record — and falling back unbroken upon a new line of defence beyond the German heavy artillery, they could not have failed to admit that the country owes a deep debt of gratitude to General Gough. Had he hesitated, and had his army been isolated and destroyed, the whole war might well have taken a most sinister turn for the worse."
In summing up this dreadful but fascinating phase of the war, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle draws attention to results in our favour. We inflicted a loss of 180.000, the Germans were drawn away from their famous lines, to which they did not return till they were so weak that they could not hold them, and "it led to that concentration of power in the hands of Marshal Foch which was worth many sacrifices to attain."
In connection with this Sir Arthur pays tribute to the nobility of character of Sir Douglas Haig, who, by his service and experience, might well have claimed supreme command, but it was in response to his telegram to the Prime Minister, in which he named Marshal Foch for the position, that the chance was eventually carried through.
The book contains numerous instances of forlorn hopes, bull-dog tenacity, splendid sacrifices, and true comradeship. Those who were there will fight their battles over again as they read, and those who were not there will not fail to realise as they turn each page what they owe to the men who fought with their backs against the wall.
