France
20/3/17
Dear Everybody,
Its the trenches this time & in a new sector altogether, to my mind a more important one also. We have been in for some days now, & up to the present experienced glorious weather, reminds us very much of our beautiful early spring days in old N.Z. Last night after a nice drying wind it started to rain again, & has been raining off & on all day, with an occasional shower of snow thrown in just to remind us I suppose that winter is not very far behind us yet. We are
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are a little annoyed at the rain of course, enjoying as we were, the idea of everything becoming dry & much more pleasant to work with. We are doing some work too, our men are kept very busy, & sleep is at a premium, averaging only 5 hours a day. That will improve of course when we get out of the line, for we understand that we are going back to very nice billets. The last 10 days the British & Russian Armies have been making history in earnest, & I suppose if the truth were known to us here, are continuing to do so at this moment.
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With the fall of Baghdad is the beginning of an new era in the East, & the dashing to earth of Germanies most cherished dream. Although we are fighting here in France Baghdad is one of the greatest goals Germany had her eyes upon. With England & France hale & hearty the possession of the place would not be of half so much value as if would be if we were out of the running, hence the idea of striking in this quarter. That Germany had hopes of holding the balance of power in
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the East has now been established beyond the least shadow of a doubt, & just how much the fall of Baghdad means to the future conduct of the war is hard to say. It seems to me that the Bosche or the Turk either is going to let the matter rest as it is at present, & that it is pretty nearly certain that an attempt will be made to recapture it. We trust that such an attempt will not be successful, for it would be a pity to spoil the effect of so brilliant a military operation as the taking of it proved to be. Without a doubt it is one of the
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most brilliant operations of the war, & will gain back for us the prestige lost over the fall of Kut. el Amara. Yet that is only one part of the history developed, to think of all the hard fighting that has been going on for so long, that Baghdad, Bappume, Peronne, & a number of other of their strongholds should all fall to us within the short number of days mentioned is extraordinary to say the least of it. At time of writing we are not in possession of the details of the taking of Perrone, but we have been given official
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information to the effect that the Bosche is falling back on a 45 mile front, & that in some places it extends in depth to about 10 miles. That this is true I do not hesitate to believe for once Bapaume & Perrone were our Bosche had to move & move quickly. We here expect now that he will straighten out his line from Arras down. In this retirement forced upon him though it is I am not optimistic enough to say that it is the fore-runner of peace, or that we have the Bosche in a trap. Far from it, he is too much of a soldier to be
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caught napping in such a way, & we will probably find him taking up another strong position, probably as strong as the one he is leaving, perhaps 9 or 10 miles back. This is merely supposition but granting that this may be so, he is not leaving his present position in preference to those he is likely to take up, but because these have been made untenable for him, & he is wise enough to see that it is better for him to go now, or else disaster awaits him. Since writing the above some days have gone by
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& some of my forecasts have already come true. Gradually the enemy’s retirement is becoming more stubborn & signs are not wanting that he is taking up a new position. The point is, is he going to be able to hold them, he is certain to make a big stand in front of St Quintin, Cambrae & Douai, but I think it possible that our cavalry have been following him so closely that it is just possible he may not have time to get settled down. Latest news to hand is to the effect that our cavalry successfully drove in his outposts in front of
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Enough of war, we can wait patiently for the finals to be played off & then say that all we heave written & said, is so much waste energy, for look at the result, something quite different to what we expect. I have had several letters from Kate lately & she seems to be in good form & enjoying herself as much as possible. The Hoopers too always keep me well informed, & I am pleased to hear that the two old people are progressing so well. None of the parcels
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have come to hand since the Xmas cake arrived. As of yore I am not giving up hope, they will turn up in good time. Kate has sent me some nice parcels from Blighty, & all have been very acceptable. Oh! I was nearly forgetting to say that my Captiancy has been made a permanent rank to date from 30/12/16. rather descent isn’t it. The Temp of course dated from 31st Oct. I had a letter from Eileen the other day, & right pleased to hear from her. I am looking forward to hearing the results of her
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exams. Norman aslso seems to be getting on very well, & I suppose we will be hearing more of him in the near future. Now the hour grows late, & as we are parading again early in the morn, I think it would be as well for me to turn in. At present we are in the best billets we have been in in France, alas only for a few days more though. I have not been able to write Mr Diack for some time, so please convey my best regards to him.
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I have a nasty little sore on my eye just now, & the doctor put a pad on it tonight. He says it will be all right in a couple of days, other than that I am as fit as a fiddle. Au Revoir for the present.
Your,
Affect Brother
E.S. McIntyre
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We are just having our supper. Oh! I meant to let you know that I have Norman Forsyth in the Coy now. E.S.McI
