The Ghosts of the Great War: Reflections on Belgium

By Joan McMahon Flatt

The destructive story of World War I is still deeply felt in Europe, where bodies, parts of bodies, shells, artillery fragments, live ammunition, and personal items such as letters, books, clothing, and other reminders of war are still being discovered.

But in the United States of America, it’s known as “the forgotten war,” and Joan McMahon Flatt didn’t know much about it before visiting her daughter, grandchildren, and son-in-law, a Royal Air Force major, in the historic city of Mons in Belgium.

With most of Europe commemorating the 100th anniversary of the start of The Great War, the author found herself climbing through trenches, visiting cemeteries, and walking the hallowed grounds around the Somme, Messina Ridge, and other war sites.

A truly spiritual experience enveloped her as she contemplated the futility of a war where millions of lives were needlessly lost in a stalemate that lasted more than four years.

From explanations on the changes in military warfare, to the effects of the Treaty of Versailles on the Middle East and an examination of how the world is once again on edge, you’ll gain valuable knowledge with Reflections on Belgium.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jul 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781532035838

Joan McMahon Flatt

Joan McMahon Flatt is a public speaker, poet, and author of newspaper articles, travel stories, and short stories. She graduated with a degree in English with honors from the University of Texas in Dallas, where she also did her post-graduate studies. She now lives in Dallas with her husband Wayne; she has ve children, two stepchildren, and sixteen grandchildren. She is also the author of Profiles of Political Women.

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Copyright © 2018 Joan Mcmahon Flatt.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-3584-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-3583-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018904533

iUniverse rev. date: 08/21/2018

Contents

Chapter 1 The Ancient City of Mons

Chapter 2 Unsung Heroes Horses, Dogs, Pigeons

Chapter 3 The Shock of World Terrorism

Chapter 4 The Birth of Aerial Warfare

Chapter 5 Background of War

Chapter 6 Naval Warfare Mounts the Waves

Chapter 7 Tank Warfare Thickens the Storm

Chapter 8 Nations Involved in War, Other Fronts

Chapter 9 Reverberations of War

Chapter 10 The Shades of Death in Trench Warfare

Chapter 11 Medical Advances Render a Masterly Hand

Chapter 12 Philosophy of War

Chapter 13 Human Interest Stories Warm Our Hearts

Chapter 14 The World Gone Mad WMD

Chapter 15 A Shock of Terror at Messines Ridge

Chapter 16 Russia’s Death of the Past

Chapter 17 The Masterly Hand of Espionage

Chapter 18 Chinese-Japanese Involvement

Chapter 19 Blockade, Lusitania, U.S. Entry

Chapter 20 The Black Warrior Princes

Chapter 21 America at War

Chapter 22 The Last Days of World War I

Chapter 23 Women’s Role

Chapter 24 Social Changes Turned the World Upside Down

Chapter 25 A Different Way to View the World

Chapter 26 The Arts Forever Changed

Chapter 27 Bloodbaths at Ypres

Chapter 28 The Last Resting Places

Chapter 29 Visit to Waterloo

Chapter 30 More Adventures

Chapter 31 Brussels and Bruge

Chapter 32 World View

Chapter 33 Personal Thoughts

Bibliography

Dedicated to Darlene, Dave, Dean, Madeline, Dillon and Phoebe

1

THE ANCIENT CITY OF MONS

My trip to Belgium proved to be more interesting and challenging than I ever expected. Most importantly I traveled to visit my daughter Darlene, son-in-law Dave and four grandchildren: Dean, Madeline, Dillon and Phoebe. They live in Mons designated Cultural Capital of Europe 2015 (about an hour from Brussels) in the French speaking area of Belgium. Dave is a Major in the RAF posted with NATO SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe). Of course, I spent time on the military base—very interesting. He is involved with security for diplomats worldwide and other aspects of security pertaining to military forces and contractors. There are 28 nations involved with NATO. Schools are provided for all the children of families posted at SHAPE with teachers instructing in their respective languages. Also, foods from all over the world are stocked in the commissaries. Housing is quite diverse, depending on rank and position. The military wing of NATO is in Mons and the diplomatic wing is in Brussels. Darlene and family live on the base in a new five bedroom three bath house in a non-secured area. There is heavy security in certain areas, and my picture and my thumb print were taken each time I entered the base.

How fortunate I was to be staying in the old Roman town of Mons. The Romans were smart; they built their forts when possible on hillsides. Belgium is quite flat except for territory bordering on France. Besides the WWI and WWII cemeteries and war history there is much more history pertaining to Mons.

Darlene and I drove to the main part of Mons on a Sunday afternoon. The clouds were heavy with rain. We ran and ducked between the rain-drops seeking shelter at one point under a restaurant umbrella. The cobble-stone streets belonging to another era were difficult at first to tread. Several points of interest in this ancient town were worth visiting. The La Grande Place is the center of the historic town and the stage for the annual mock-battle of the Lumecon, which is based on the legend of St. George slaying the dragon. The City Hall is located on the Place and was moved from where the Belfry stood in the 13th century. The building we see today dates from the 15th century. In front of it stands a statue of a small monkey, which is said to bring good fortune to those who pat his head; I stroked his head twice. The monkey must be patted with the left hand, not the right, to have luck flow one’s way.

The Belfry nearby dating from the 17th century is classified as a World Heritage Site. Climbing the Belfry renders a panoramic view so wonderful that you see in one glance things you can’t see except one at a time separately. The entire mosaic of the town stretched out before me.

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Mons Belfry Tower (Photo by Joan Flatt).

Van Gogh lived in Mons from 1879-80 and his house was accessible. The Spanish House is an example of a traditional Spanish house dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries. Another gem is St.Waltrude Church an excellent example of Brabantic Gothic architecture. The history of St. Elizabeth Church near the La Grande Place goes back to 1345 when a wealthy widow, Isabeau de Antoing, gave her townhouse to the Catholic Church with the stipulation that the house be replaced by a chapel. Later, the chapel became so important at the end of the 15th and early 16th centuries that a new parish church was built on the site in the Gothic style. It was embellished and transformed in the 17th century. The church is a real jewel: liturgical ornaments and embroidered vestments and religious paintings date as far back as the 16th century. During the French Revolution, the church was no longer used as a church but as a temple to the Goddess Reason. In 1797, it became once again the seat of a parish. The town of today stirred my imaginings to an incomprehensible time long ago.

With Mons receiving the honor of being designated Cultural Capital of Europe 2015, there was much renovation going on in the old quarter. A new quarter is being developed dedicated to theater, exhibitions and music.

Interestingly, I saw the stone marker where Edward Thomas, a Calvary soldier of the 4th Irish Dragoon Guards, fired on August 22, 1914, near Casteau, the first shot in the Great War. He was on patrol during the build-up for the battle of Mons. Here I stood in July 2014 with the sun blazing overhead at the very spot where the war began one hundred years ago and ended in 1918. Shivers up my spine—truly an emotional experience! And I returned there again in April 2015.

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First and last shots of WWI were fired here. (Photo by Joan Flatt).

The cataclysmic, tragic, destructive WWI story does not resonate in America as it does in Europe where bodies, parts of bodies, shells, artillery fragments, live ammunition, and personal items such as letters, books, clothing and other reminders of war are still being discovered. For me a new world opened up in Belgium and without my having ventured there this never would have happened. For many in America, WWI is known as the forgotten war. How true this is for so many of us! I have to admit I didn’t know much about WWI; yet I always long to understand humanity and the world’s history wherever I go. Thus I began my journey into trying to understand the world at the time of WWI.

Dear reader: This is a memoir not a historical document. Some writers are accused of jumping all over the place. You can accuse me of that. I want to share with you and take you on a journey with me to experience some of the knowledge I explored as I delved into my study of WWI. It was as though I climbed the mountain and beheld the burning bush. The more I learned the more I wanted to explore many aspects of the war and the period in which it took place. I have always had a great passion for history since I was a child growing up in the Hudson River Valley, so rich in Revolutionary War history. It seems historians have put much focus on our founding fathers and our democratic republican ideals. Perhaps we need to place more on those who have fought and died for those ideals. So travel with me as I journey down many different avenues. I hope you will derive a bit of knowledge that you didn’t possess before. Perhaps I will plant a nugget of thought that will grow into a tree. Indeed, this has been a great adventure for me. Thousands of books have been written on the subject; I barely touch on my many themes. Then you, if you are so disposed, can further delve more deeply into the subjects introduced that interest you most. It is my intention to shine a light on certain topics and you go from there.

There are monuments in many places and cemeteries where the fallen are honored with great reverence. It was my privilege to visit several of these sites. During this centennial year of WWI, I could not help but be moved by the dedication of the people of Belgium in the manner they honor their war dead. Belgium might have been bent but didn’t break. Gravestones were being replaced with new markers and cemeteries made grander. Memorials and monuments give testimony to the fallen and to those with no known grave. In fact, this was going on all over Europe. There are over 2,500 British cemeteries in France and Belgium; many were buried in mass graves. Almost everywhere the traveler goes in England there is a war memorial honoring the fallen of the Great War. The reader must realize Belgium suffered catastrophic destruction and loss of life both through WWI and WWII. The wars were not fought on American soil, so there is a strong difference in our attitude and interest in both wars.

The pattern of moralistic and idealistic attitudes of why we fight wars is still with us. During and after WWI the world was transformed and changed forever.

Today the Internet has made the world a much smaller place and we keep in touch through social media. Before 1914, railroads, telegraph lines, telephones and radio carried national and international news to the public. Reporters for newspapers and magazines transmitted world-wide coverage thus influencing and helping to form public opinion. Both in Britain and Germany the press played a vital role in how its citizens viewed the world. Never before had the press played such an important role with its propaganda.

There were great changes in how warfare was fought during the nineteenth century. Armies were now transported by train. Formerly the size of armies had been constrained by the supplies they could carry and how much they could forage along the way. Another consideration was how far and how fast the soldiers could march. Thus by the end of the nineteenth century much bigger armies could be transported as well as all their supplies, which were transported from the factories built near the train tracks. Horses, mules, food, ammunition and all kinds of military equipment went by rail. Additionally, automotive vehicles transported all kinds of military equipment and men. Trucks carried the men to and from the lines. All the continental countries had standing armies by the end of the nineteenth century made easier because of the Industrial Revolution and increase in population. Other reserve units spread out in society could be mobilized quickly. Nations in Europe could now mobilize and be ready for war within a week or two. Indeed, men were in units with their weapons all over Europe. Only Britain had a standing volunteer army.

Warfare changed dramatically: tanks, (much like Leonardo de Vinci had designed 400 years before) flashed firing artillery where one gun was placed every six yards for 15 miles with a recoiling barrel where the crews could remain in place. Rapid-fire pivotal machine guns, planes for reconnaissance and bombing, torpedoes, oil-driven-battleships, mechanized automotive vehicles and poison gas were utilized. WEAPONS FROM HELL! Only about 1% of fatalities in WWI were caused by poison gas; most deaths on the battlefield were caused by rapid-fire. The machine gun could fire 600 rounds a minute. Mills grenades and Lewis machine guns brought warfare to a whole new level. New technology stormed the battlefields such as telephones; telegraphs were major players; radio to a small extent was used. The Germans used submarines effectively; they sank about 6,500 Allied ships. The first torpedo attack under the waves revolutionized naval warfare forever. Today we have submarines and mighty warships carrying atomic weapons. The U.S. for the first time effectively used 45 squadrons of fighter planes and bombers. Oil was a great force— the engine of war to this day. Many historians refer to WWI as the beginning of the MODERN AGE.

The Great War was a war of attrition—which side could bleed the other first until bled white.

Aside here: The Armenian Massacres must be mentioned although I’m mainly focusing on the Western Front. The war formed the backdrop for the first full-scale modern genocide in history. In 1915, the Turks killed as many as 1.5 million men, women and Armenian children as the Ottoman Empire crumbled. Others died from abuse: starvation as an example—a purification attempt.

Armenia, a landlocked country, was home in the western part to inhabitants who lived there for thousands of years. Ani was the medieval capital of a powerful, ethnically Armenian kingdom thousands of years old located in the middle of eastern Anatolia on the Asiatic peninsula that makes up most of modern Turkey. It included the northern branches of the Silk Road and rivaled the importance of Constantinople. Now it stands as a crumbling ruin with no evidence of its former glory. It appears the Turkish government intentionally even to this time has striven to obliterate the existence of the Armenian capital, representative of a great culture. Today just about three million Armenians live in Armenia whereas eight to ten million were spread out in the Diaspora.

Early in The Great War the world’s most powerful Muslim state, the multicultural Ottoman Empire, joined forces with Germany. Soon the Muslim state accused the Armenians, most of whom were Christian but also Yazidis, Jews and ethnic Greeks, of siding with the Russian enemy. Thus, the mass extermination and deportation of human beings began and within a decade of the