Chapter XXXVI

THE MARCH OF THE GUARDS DIVISION INTO
GERMANY, AND THE RETURN HOME

[Sidenote: The Guards Division 1918.]

After an impressive thanksgiving service at Maubeuge, the march into Germany began, and the Guards Division moved by stages to Cologne. The weather broke, and on several days the men were soaked before they reached their billets in the evening. At first the advent of the British troops was hailed with enthusiasm by the inhabitants of the towns and villages, and the people on whom the men were billeted vied with each other to make things as comfortable as possible for their visitors. Flowers were thrown at the men, speeches were made, and cheering crowds of peasants greeted the Battalions as they arrived, but as the march continued, and they reached the Flemish part of Belgium this good feeling changed to one of apathy, bordering at times on incivility. The people of this district had been untouched by the war, and regarded the mass of troops who swarmed into their houses as an intolerable affliction.

When the British troops arrived at the frontier of Germany, they supposed that the march would be continued through a hostile population, but so far was this from the truth, that the people of Germany cringed before the British soldier, and seemed only surprised at the considerate manner in which they were being treated. Whether the Germans expected to be as brutally treated as the Belgians had been by their own soldiers, or whether they were under the impression that their conduct would in some way affect the peace terms it is difficult to say; but the fact remains that the British troops received nothing but kindness at the hands of the inhabitants. In some of the towns that were passed through, the inhabitants did not appear to grasp the fact that they belonged to a conquered nation, and that the best they could do was to remove their hats respectfully, as the Commanding Officers rode past at the head of their Battalions, but the escorts had much pleasure in teaching them manners, by knocking off their hats and caps as they passed.

The routes taken by the four Battalions were as follows:

[Sidenote: 1st Batt.]

THE 1ST BATTALION

Nov. 18. Left Maubeuge.
To Villers Sire Nicole.
" 19. " Binche.
" 20. " Marchienne-au-Pont.
" 24. " Châtelet.
" 25. " Fosse.
" 28. " Naninne.
" 29. " Sur Huy.
Dec. 5. " Modave.
" 6. " Ocquier.
" 10. " Grimonster.
" 11. " Lierneux.
" 12. " Rodt.
" 13. " Büllingen.
" 14. " Oberhausen.
" 15. " Sötenich.
" 16. " Schwerfen.
" 17. " Lechenich.
" 18. " Efferen.
" 20. " Cologne.

[Sidenote: 2nd Batt.]

THE 2ND BATTALION

Nov. 18. Left Maubeuge.
To Estinne-au-Mont.
" 19. " Anderlues.
" 20. " Montignies-sur-Sambre.
" 24. " Bambois.
" 28. " Assesse.
Dec. 5. " Verlée.
" 6. " Aisne.
" 7. " Arbrefontaine.
" 11. " Born.
" 12. " Mürringen.
" 13. " Oberhausen.
" 15. " Sinzenich.
" 16. " Lechenich.
" 17. " Efferen.
" 18. " Widdersdorf.
" 20. " Ehrenfeld (Cologne).

[Sidenote: 3rd Batt.]

THE 3RD BATTALION

Nov. 18. Left Maubeuge.
To Rouvcroy.
" 19. " Mont St. Geneviève.
" 20. " Charleroi.
" 24. " Presles.
" 25. " Lesves.
" 28. " Maillen.
Dec. 5. " Havelange
" 6. " Barvaux.
" 7. " Werbomont.
" 10. " Wanne.
" 12. " Deidenburg.
" 13. " Nidrum.
" 14. " Weywertz.
" 15. " Ehrenfeld (by train).

[Sidenote: 4th Batt.]

THE 4TH BATTALION

Nov. 17. Joined Guards Division.
" 19. To Binche.
" 20. " Marchienne-au-Pont.
" 24. " Châtelet.
" 25. " Sart St. Laurent.
" 28. " Dave.
" 29. " Brionsart.
Dec. 5. " Pont de Bonne (Modave).
" 6. " Houmart.
" 10. " Ferrières.
" 11. " Lierneux.
" 12. " Blanche Fontaine.
" 13. " Büllingen.
" 14. " Blumenthal.
" 15. " Scheven.
" 16. " Kommern.
" 17. " Friesheim.
" 18. " Efferen.
" 20. " Kriel (Cologne).

[Sidenote: The Guards Division.]

Cologne, it was feared, might be difficult to manage, for, although the country people had submissively borne the mass of British troops inflicted upon them, it seemed probable that the inhabitants of a large town like Cologne would resent the occupation. The disorderly elements might take advantage of the arrival of troops, belonging to their most hated enemy, to make a hostile demonstration, and even to shoot. But here again a surprise awaited our men, for the greater portion of the inhabitants hailed the Battalions, as the only means of escape from anarchy. The British military authorities found that the population readily submitted to the most stringent measures, that were considered necessary for the maintenance of order.

The life at Cologne was on the whole pleasant, but after a short time monotonous. After the novelty of playing the part of conquerors in a German town had worn off, the men naturally wished to go home. The only event that is worth chronicling was the arrival of the colours of each Battalion in January. Colour parties consisting of picked officers and N.C.O.'s were despatched to London to bring them out: in the 1st Battalion Lieutenant J. A. Lloyd and Second Lieutenant M. G. Farquharson, M.C.; in the 2nd Battalion Lieutenant W. H. S. Dent, M.C., and Lieutenant L. Holbech, D.S.O., M.C.; and in the 3rd Battalion Lieutenant K. A. Campbell, D.S.O., and Second Lieutenant E. L. F. Clough-Taylor.

The 4th Battalion, having been specially raised during the war, had no colours, and was presented with a Union Colour by Major H.R.H. The Prince of Wales. The ceremony took place on the 14th of January, and in presenting the colour His Royal Highness said:

Colonel Pilcher, Officers, Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned
Officers, and Men of the 4th Battalion Grenadier Guards--The
King, the Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment, has commanded me
to entrust to your safe-keeping this colour which His Majesty
has presented to you in recognition of your gallantry. Less
than three months after your formation you were fighting at
Loos. At once you showed how completely you had absorbed
the great traditions of the First or Grenadier Regiment of
Foot Guards. You added fresh laurels to your record in the
great attacks of the Guards Division in the battle of the
Somme in September 1916. In the advance on Passchendaele in
1917, and later in the year at Cambrai, you still further
enhanced your fighting reputation. Your historic stand in
front of Hazebrouck in April last year earned your Battalion
its second V.C., and was largely responsible for checking the
enemy's advance. It is a special pleasure to me to hand you
this colour in the hour of victory, having like yourselves
the honour of serving in this our great regiment. May it be
a perpetual reminder to you of the honour you have won for
yourselves and for the whole regiment in this war.

Colonel Pilcher replied as follows:

Your Royal Highness--On behalf of the Officers, Warrant
Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, and Men of the 4th
Battalion Grenadier Guards, I beg to thank you for the
generous words you have addressed to the Battalion under my
command in presenting this colour, the gift of His Majesty,
the Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment.

This gracious mark of His Majesty's recognition of the
services of the Battalion during the war is most deeply
appreciated by all ranks who are in Your Royal Highness's
presence amongst us here to-day on enemy soil--a memorable
symbol of the completeness of the victory of our arms.

In thanking Your Royal Highness for coming here to-day, may I
request you to beg His Majesty the King, the Colonel-in-Chief
of the Regiment, to accept the grateful and loyal thanks of
the 4th Battalion Grenadier Guards.

In February orders for the Guards Division to return home were received, and one by one the Battalions went to Dunkirk, where they embarked for England. The 2nd Battalion was the first to reach London, and its reception by the crowd, assembled to welcome the men home, was most enthusiastic.

On March 22 all the Battalions had a great ovation when they marched past the King at Buckingham Palace, and afterwards went on to the Mansion House. Though it was a bitterly cold day, thousands of people thronged the streets, and filled the windows and house-tops to cheer the men as they passed. Demobilised officers and men in plain clothes followed their battalions, and all the wounded who were able to march joined the procession, while lorries were provided for those who had lost a leg or who were too badly wounded to march. Even the blind joined in, and marched with men to guide them. The Household Cavalry came first, and were followed by the Battalions of the Guards Division, headed by Lieut.-General the Earl of Cavan and his Staff. Amongst them rode the Prince of Wales, who was greeted with the greatest enthusiasm as he passed. Major-General Feilding and his Staff also rode past, in addition to many Brigadier-Generals, who had commanded one of the Guards Brigades, while officers, who had been in command of the Battalion at any period during the war, rode alongside the officer actually in command.

Representatives of the Artillery with guns, the Engineers with pontoons, the Army Medical Corps, and Army Service Corps, who had been attached to the Guards Division in France, all took part in the procession. In the City the crowds were, if possible, denser and more enthusiastic than in the West End, and the scene at the Guildhall was a sight that no one will forget. After marching through the City the procession returned to the West End, and some battalions went to barracks, while others, not quartered in London, proceeded to the railway station.

After the march every man was handed the following message from the King, bearing a facsimile of His Majesty's signature:

BUCKINGHAM PALACE.

Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, and Men of the Guards
Division--It is with pride and satisfaction that I take the
Salute of the Guards Division on this memorable occasion
of their triumphal march through London, and on the same
spot where Queen Victoria in July 1856 welcomed back three
battalions of Guards from the Crimea.

The Guards Division, first formed in 1915, practically served
in every sector in the Western Front, and my visits to the
British Armies in the field gave me opportunities of seeing
the battle grounds on which it has made so great and enduring
a name.

The Division, which commenced its brilliant career at Loos,
took a prominent part in 1916 in the hard fighting on the
Somme, when on two occasions three Battalions of the same
regiment were in the line together.

At the third battle of Ypres the Division responded to the
call of its Commander by capturing all allotted objectives in
three separate attacks.

The fighting round Cambrai, and the historical counter-attack
which broke up a dangerous German thrust at Gouzeaucourt, will
ever be remembered.

During the critical days of 1918 an heroic resistance was
offered to the vigorous assaults of an enemy numerically
stronger and elated by success, while during our subsequent
rapid advance the efforts of the Division were crowned by the
capture of Maubeuge, the flag of which is carried on parade
to-day, a grateful tribute from its citizens.

Nor do I forget the other Arms which enabled the three
Brigades of Guards for the first time in the history of the
British Army to fight as a Division. The Guards Division Royal
Artillery, composed of the 74th and 75th Brigades of Field
Artillery; the Guards Division Royal Engineers, formed of
the 55th, 75th, and 76th Field Companies; the 3rd, 4th, and
9th Field Ambulances, constituting the Guards Division Field
Ambulance, and the Guards Division Train and Supply Column.

All these, inspired by the best traditions of their respective
regiments and corps, fostered the invincible spirit and dogged
determination of a Division which knew no defeat.

Now, after three and a half years of close co-operation in the
field, through the ever-changing fortunes of war, the units of
the Guards Division are about to separate.

As your Colonel-in-Chief I wish to thank you one and all for
faithful and devoted services, and to bid you God-speed. May
you ever retain the same mutual feelings of true comradeship
which animated and ennobled the life of the Guards Division.

(Signed) GEORGE R.I.

_March_ 22, 1919.