Recognising the Hand of Judgment. Ch.22

 

The Angels of Mons and the White Cavalry.

1914 - 1918

 

     The British Government never anticipated the conflict of the first world  war  to  become  anything but  a  short  conflict.  The  Foreign Secretary at the time, Sir Edward Grey, who in his leisure hours was an ornithologist  and  fisherman,  had sent the Government's ultimatum  to Germany,   demanding  an  end  to  the  violation  of  neutral  Belgian territory.  The  ultimatum  expired on August 4th.  On  August  3rd  he reminded  the  House of Commons of Britain's obligations to France  and Belgium, and said, "If we are engaged in war we shall suffer but little more than if we stand aside."

 

     The  next day he watched the gas lights being dimmed in  Whitehall and said,  "The lights are going out all over Europe.  We shall not see them  lit  again  in our lifetime." It has been said that  this  was  a gloomily enigmatic remark from a gloomy and enigmatic man.  But whether he  understood the force of what he was saying or not,  his words  were nevertheless  amazingly accurate.  Europe has never been the same since that  day,  and never will be.  Whether this is a good or a  bad  thing depends on how one views pre-1914 Europe.

 

     King George V,  whose second son was in the Royal Navy,  expressed his feelings on that memorable morning. 

 

     "TUESDAY AUGUST 4th. I held a Council at 10.45 to declare war with Germany.  It  is a terrible catastrophe,  but it is not our  fault.  An enormous  crowd  collected outside the Palace;  we went on the  balcony both  before  and  after dinner.  When they heard  that  war  had  been declared,  the excitement increased & May & I with David went on to the balcony;  the cheering was terrific.  Please God it may soon be over  & that he will protect dear Bertie's life." 

 

[David  was King George's eldest son,  who was to become Edward VIIIth, and Bertie, his second son, was to become King George VIth]

 

     But the war turned out to be an unimaginable horror of a type that had  never  before  been witnessed.  Trench warfare  was  a  very  poor exchange  for  the dashing campaigns of great armies that everyone  had expected. Even at sea there were unexpected setbacks, when on September 22nd one German U-boat sank three British Battlecruisers,  and when,  a month later,  another U-boat penetrated the defences of the great naval base at Scapa Flow, the Battleship Audacious was lost.

 

     Only  days after the outbreak of war,  King George Vth called  the country to a national day of prayer because the massive German advances in Belgium were such that vast numbers of Belgian,  French and  British troops  were likely to be massacred.  The result of that day of  prayer may  best be judged by the account of a principal witness,  written  by Captain Cecil Wightwick Hayward, who was Staff Officer in the 1st Corps Intelligence, British Army Headquarters. He wrote as follows:-

 

     The  first of these visions was near the town of Mons,  during the battle  of  that name between the German forces and the  British  Army, towards  the end of August 1914.  The German army,  after sweeping  all resistance  aside,  had  advanced  on a wide front into  the  heart  of Belgium and France. Although the Belgians, French, and British put up a stout defence, it was principally against the British that the heaviest enemy attacks were launched.  Our troops, greatly outnumbered, had been fighting continuously for several days, with little or no rest, and our men  were  almost  dropping from fatigue after  a  prolonged  rearguard action during which we had lost numbers of men and guns. Serious defeat appeared  inevitable,  especially  as  we had practically  no  reserves ready.  It was realised that a "Day of Trouble" had arrived,  and  that God  alone could help us.  Churches were crowded with the whole of  the British nation at prayer.

 

     Then  occurred the event afterwards known as the appearance of the "Angels  of  Mons" in answer to National Prayer.  Of  several  accounts referring to the appearance of "Angels" the following two are  typical, both  having  been  related  by British soldiers who  vouched  for  the occurrences as having been observed by them personally.

 

     While  a detachment of British soldiers was retiring through  Mons under very heavy German artillery and machine-gun fire in August  1914, they  knelt behind a hastily erected barricade and endeavoured to  hold up the enemy advance.  The firing on both sides was very intensive, and the air reverberated with deafening crashes of exploding shells.

 

     Suddenly,  firing  on both sides stopped dead and a silence  fell. Looking  over  their barrier,  the astonished British saw four or  five wonderful  beings  much bigger than men,  between  themselves  and  the halted Germans. They were white robed and bareheaded, and seemed rather to  float than stand.  Their backs were towards the British,  and  they faced the enemy with outstrected arm and hand as if to say, "Stop! Thus far  and  no further!" The sun was shining quite brightly at the  time. Next  thing  the British knew was that the Germans were  retreating  in great disorder.

 

     On  another  occasion,   the  British  were  in  danger  of  being surrounded by the Germans,  and had lost numbers of guns and men.  Just when  matters seemed hopeless,  the heavy enemy fire  suddenly  stopped dead and a great silence fell over all.

 

     The  sky  opened  with  a  bright shining  light  and  figures  of "luminous  beings" appeared.  They seemed to float between the  British and the German forces, and to prevent the further advance of the enemy. Some of the German cavalry were advancing and the officers and men were unable to get their horses to go forward.

 

     Before  the  surprised  British  were able  to  realise  what  had happened,  the  whole  of the apparently victorious  enemy  force  were retreating  in  great  disorder.  This allowed the British  and  Allied Armies  to re-form and fall back upon a line of defence  several  miles further  west,  where  they  "dug in".  Then began a period  of  trench warfare which continued for over three years,  with varying fortunes to either side until the spring of 1918.

 

     Notice  these last words by Captain Hayward.  The  trench  warfare dragged  on for three years.  It was a deadlock.  What about the Angels who helped?  Didn't the message get to the nation that had  prayed?  Oh yes.  The news was in the papers.  It became a talking point throughout the  nation.  Two  years  later a piece of music was composed  by  Paul Paree,  and published by Lawrence Wright Music Co., entitled The "Angel of Mons" Valse. On the front cover was depicted a splendid drawing of a winged angel-knight upon a white charger,  suspended in the clouds  and surrounded by a heavenly host.

 

     If this was so,  then why didn't the prayer barrage continue?  Why didn't  the King and Parliament order a further day of thanksgiving for heavenly help,  and a plea for continued prayer by the nation?  British people  of  those  days had been bred on Bible  stories,  and  the occasion when Israel was in a similar position to the British army  was well known.  They were fighting against Amalek, a bitter foe, and Moses held up his arms, and the Israelites were victorious. But as soon as he lowered his arms,  Amalek gained ground. And so Joshua and Hur held his arms  up until Israel was wholly victorious.  The occasion was unique, but  sufficient to prove that the forces of righteousness can  only  be victorious  when "upheld" by godly men at prayer.  Could it be that the nation had sunk too low, and therefore we were handed over to the fiery ravages of trench warfare,  because we were already beginning to forget the God of our fathers?

 

     In the spring of 1918,  in France, a similar situation occurred to that in Mons in 1914.  British troops were worn out, and it seemed that the  enemy was about to overwhelm us.  Captain Hayward again takes  up the tale:-

 

     The following account of what occurred between the months of April and August 1918,  I can personally vouch for as being true;  as far  as that  area  of  the front line trenches  is  concerned,  lying  roughly between  the town of Bailleul,  some 15 miles south of Ypres,  and  the town of Arras, some 15 miles south of Bethune, in La Bassee, France.

 

     It  was an anxious time for Great Britain.  The British troops had been in the trenches fighting for weeks without rest or  relief,  owing to the fact that reserves were practically exhausted.

 

     Although  by  the middle of May the Unites States of  America  had decided  to join Great Britain and her Allies,  their troops were still being  formed,  though the first contingent was on its way  across  the Atlantic.  Later on they came over at the rate of 50,000  weekly,  but these  reinforcements were not available for the front line much before the middle of June.

 

     As things stood, owing to vigorous enemy action against the Allied lines  to  the north of Bethune,  the line from La Bassee to  Lens  and Arras was left in a "pocket" which was liable to be "hemmed in" at  any moment,  with  all  the  troops,  ammunition,  arms  and  equipment  it contained.

 

     In Britain everyone was asking,  "Would the Germans get through to Paris?"  "Would  the Americans arrive in time to check their  advance?" "Will the English ports be shelled  shortly by German big guns from the coast of France?"

 

     But then we [i.e.,  the nation] remembered the "Angels of Mons"  and once  again  the  whole British Nation was called to  prayer  [by  King George  Vth]  and  the  President of the  Unites  States  summoned  the American people to do likewise;  and united prayer went up from all the English-speaking peoples.

 

     In  the  meantime  the enemy shell fire,  which had  been  largely directed  against the shattered town of Bethune,  suddenly  lifted  and began to burst on a slight rise beyond its outskirts.  This open ground was absolutely bare of trees,  houses,  or human beings,  yet the enemy fire  broke  on  it with increasing fury,  and was augmented  by  heavy bursts of massed machine guns which raked it backward and forward  with a hail of lead. We stood looking on in astonishment.

 

     "Fritz has gone balmy, Sir," said the Sergeant; "what in the world is he peppering that naked ground for?"

 

     "I  can't think," I replied,  "Get along down to the canal and see what is happening there."

 

     I followed him shortly afterwards,  being eager to see for myself, as there were obviously no troops within sight against whom the Germans could be directing their fire.

 

     As  I made my way over the scattered debris of the ruined  houses, the enemy's fire suddenly ceased and a curious calm fell on everything. I went on,  wonderingly, and got outside the town. Then a lark suddenly arose from the remains of a meadow,  and soared up,  up,  up, singing a trilling song which rings on my inward ear today when I think of it.

 

     I  saw  my Seargent and men standing on the edge of a  shell  hole waving their tin hats. They shouted out, "Fritz is retiring!"

 

     Indeed  he  was.  Outlined  on the slight rise by  the  La  Bassee village, and as far as we could see, was a dense line of German troops, who a short time before had commenced a forward movement to victory, in mass formation. This line suddenly halted, and as we watched, we saw it break!

 

     Before  our  astonished  eyes,  that  well-drilled  and  seemingly victorious army broke up into groups of frightened men who were fleeing from  us,  throwing  down their arms,  haversacks,  rifles,  coats  and anything which might impede their flight.

 

     It was not long before my Seargent arrived with two German officer prisoners,  and he was soon followed by Tommies bringing in batches  of twenty  or  so  at a time.  Briefly,  the statement the  senior  German officer  made was as follows:- The order had been given to  advance  in mass  formation,  and our troops were marching behind us singing  their way to victory, when Fritz, my lieutenant here, said, -

 

     "Herr Kapitan, just look at that open ground behind Bethune, there is a brigade of cavalry coming up through the smoke drifting across it. They  must be mad,  these English,  to advance against such a force  as ours  in  the  open.  I suppose they must be cavalry of  one  of  their Colonial forces, for see, they are all in white uniform and are mounted on white horses."

 

     "Strange," I said,  "I never heard of the English having any white uniformed cavalry, whether Colonial or not. They have all been fighting on  foot  for several years past,  and anyway,  they  wear  khaki,  not white."

 

     "Well, they are plain enough," he replied. "See, our guns have got their range now; they will be blown to pieces in no time."

 

     “We  saw  the shells bursting amongst the horses and their  riders, all  of  whom  came forward at a quiet  walk  trot,  in  parade  ground formation,  each man and his horse in exact place.  Shortly afterwards, our machine guns opened a heavy fire, raking the advancing cavalry with a dense hail of lead.  But they came quietly forward, though the shells were bursting amongst them with intensified fury,  and not a single man or horse fell.

 

     “Steadily they advanced,  clear in the shining sunlight,  and a few paces  in  front  of them rose their Leader - a fine figure of  a  man, whose hair,  like spun gold,  shone in an aura round his bare head.  By his  side  was a great sword,  but his hands lay  quietly  holding  his horse's reins,  as his huge white charger bore him proudly forward.  In spite  of  heavy shell,  and concentrated machine gun fire,  the  White Cavalry advanced,  remorseless as fate,  like the incoming tide over  a sandy beach.  Then a great fear fell on me,  and I turned to flee; yes, I,  an Officer of the Prussian Guard,  fled, panic-stricken, and around me were hundreds of terrified men,  whimpering like children,  throwing away  their arms and accoutrements in order not to have their movements impeded - - all running. Their intense desire was to get away from that advancing  White  Cavalry;  but most of all  from  their  awe-inspiring Leader.  That is all I have to tell you. We are beaten. The German Army is  broken.  There may be fighting,  but we have lost the war.  We  are beaten - by the White Cavalry - - I cannot understand."

 

     During  the following few days I examined many prisoners,  and  in substance,  their  accounts  tallied with the one given here.  This  in spite  of the fact that at least two of us could swear that we  saw  no cavalry in action,  here or elsewhere, at that particular time. Neither did  any  of  us  see so much as a single white horse  either  with  or without a rider. But it was not necessary for us to do so, the evidence of their presence had to come from the enemy.

 

     Shortly  after  this the American forces came into action  on  the whole  front,  and  about the second week in July there was  a  general advance  which resulted in the capture of over 4,000 enemy and 100 guns on the sector between Bethune and Ypres during the ensuing weeks.

 

     It is interesting to note that official reports give July 11th  as the  date of the Allied advance,  for by November 11th 1918 at 11  a.m. the  war had ended and an Armistice was declared.  Between those  dates the  British  and Allied forces captured 385,000  prisoners,  and  over 5,000 guns.

 

     The  above  testimony has been taken from "This  England",  winter 1982 edition.  In the same edition,  a number of letters were  printed. The following one was from Mrs.M.C.Williams, Cape Town, South Africa.

 

     Sir:  Years after the 1914-1918 war a great friend of mine married a German Officer who had seen the Vision of the "White Cavalry", and he told  her  the story just as you can read it in a booklet entitled  "We Have a Guardian",  compiled by W.B.Grant.  In that booklet you will see how  down the ages Britain has been guarded by Almighty God and  always after  days  of  National Prayer, miracles  or  something  special  have happened.

 

     We  shall have occasion to return to war-time miracles in a  later chapter, entitled MIST AND RAINBOWS, there to refer to the testimony of W.B.Grant, whom Mrs.Williams quoted in her letter.

 

     In  recording the incidents of this chapter,  some may obtain  the feeling  that we are setting the British nation up to be a  "righteous" nation,  whereas  Germany  represents  the Devil's army.  This  is  not correct.  The Scriptures declare with emphasis, "Righteousness exalts a nation,  but sin is a reproach to any people." Only from this point  of view can the incidents in the first world war be evaluated. Our nation, and  later Britain and America,  gave themselves to prayer,  beseeching God on behalf of the "defenders" rather than the "aggressors",  and  He heard  from  heaven and answered in dramatic fashion.  It  is  doubtful whether the same Holy God would stand by Britain in her present godless state  UNLESS - - UNLESS - - first of all He sees a mighty  repentance. Those of us who still care about the fate of our own country might like to ponder the need,  in prayer, of a God-given miracle of intervention, which will jerk our people into the sudden realisation that God exists, and  that He calls for the attention of all those whom He has  created. Then,  and only then,  shall we begin to see once again miracles of deliverance in our land.