The Forgotten Angels of Mons
Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 11:14 am
In August 1914, war broke out in Europe. It seemed like everyone wanted a war, and since it was inevitable, why not go for it.
England has a large army, but they are scattered all over their empire so they can only send a small force immediately to France. Unexpectedly, Germany attacks neutral Belgium and in a matter of days sweeps through it and is poised to attack and capture Paris.
Tens of thousands of British men volunteer but they are raw and need six to ten weeks of training before they will be ready to send into combat. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, they request volunteers and a force of some 3,000 Irish volunteers are sent into the fray, with no military training at all. They are assigned to different units and about 500 are sent to the 4th Dubliners, assigned to a bridge across a major canal.
Some 200,000 Germans are rushing to the canal and the Allies defending it number no more than 30,000.
Somehow, the ill-equipped outnumbered Allies manage to stop the Huns and hold the defensive line at the canal. The powers that be decide the Allied forces are too weak to hold this ground so they order a retreat. They order their forces to fall back almost 200 miles to a defensive perimeter they are establishing around Paris. The 4th Dubliners and one or two other units and ordered to cover the withdrawal and to almost everyone's surprise, they do a splendid job and perform as if they were a much larger, well-trained unit rather than the ragtag assembly they were. The British public hears news of the magnificent stand and it blossoms into a much bigger " victory" than it really was.
And then things got strange.
England has a large army, but they are scattered all over their empire so they can only send a small force immediately to France. Unexpectedly, Germany attacks neutral Belgium and in a matter of days sweeps through it and is poised to attack and capture Paris.
Tens of thousands of British men volunteer but they are raw and need six to ten weeks of training before they will be ready to send into combat. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, they request volunteers and a force of some 3,000 Irish volunteers are sent into the fray, with no military training at all. They are assigned to different units and about 500 are sent to the 4th Dubliners, assigned to a bridge across a major canal.
Some 200,000 Germans are rushing to the canal and the Allies defending it number no more than 30,000.
Somehow, the ill-equipped outnumbered Allies manage to stop the Huns and hold the defensive line at the canal. The powers that be decide the Allied forces are too weak to hold this ground so they order a retreat. They order their forces to fall back almost 200 miles to a defensive perimeter they are establishing around Paris. The 4th Dubliners and one or two other units and ordered to cover the withdrawal and to almost everyone's surprise, they do a splendid job and perform as if they were a much larger, well-trained unit rather than the ragtag assembly they were. The British public hears news of the magnificent stand and it blossoms into a much bigger " victory" than it really was.
And then things got strange.