Part 9

There are many other local forces in our various lands. Here for instance are some Sikhs of the Hong Kong Regiment, and then we have a private of the Malay States Guides. Then, crossing half the world, from the east to the west, we come to a soldier of the West Indian Regiment, who serve both in the West Indies and in West Africa. This man we may note is a sergeant, and he wears the Victoria Cross for conspicuous courage. The Victoria Cross may be won either by an officer or a private, a soldier or a sailor, of any race throughout the world which serves in the Armies or the Navy of our Emperor.

[Sidenote: 28. West African Frontier Force.]

[Sidenote: 29. Soldier of West African Frontier Force.]

[Sidenote: 30. Mounted Infantry in the Kano-Sokoto Expedition, 1903.]

There are other forces in West Africa besides the West Indian Regiment. Here, for instance, is the Lagos Battalion of the West African Frontier Force drawn up on the Parade Ground at Lagos. And here is a soldier of the Gambia Company of the same force. There are frequent small wars in the wilder parts of the West African Colonies and Protectorates, one of which, Nigeria, is half as large as India, though of course not so populous.

Here is a scene typical of the varied difficulties which have to be met by the very varied army of our King. Mounted Infantry of West African soldiers, commanded by white officers, have arrived at some wells, one of which is to be seen at the foot of the officer on the right. Unfortunately on this occasion a caravan with cattle had passed and drawn all the water, so that the column had to move on another 10 or 12 miles. Such are the difficulties to be encountered on the frontiers of the Empire. It is evident that local men will meet these difficulties most easily. Each race knows its own land best. Therefore, while the King has one Navy to defend the whole Empire, he has many Armies in its different parts. Both the Navy and the Armies are essential to one another. As long as the Navy keeps the sea, no great force can invade the British Empire, except on its two land frontiers. On the other hand, the Navy can only be free to command the sea if the King’s subjects in each land are prepared to defend the Naval Bases should it be necessary.

[Sidenote: 31. Map of World showing position of important campaigns on land since 1660.]

There is one thing more, however, to be added. Battleships and cruisers can sail over all the ocean, except where covered with the northern and the southern ice. Three-quarters of the world, therefore, lies open to them. But battleships and cruisers cannot sail over the plains and the mountains. It is, hence often necessary, when the enemy has been defeated at sea, to land a British Army in order to achieve a given end. In this map each red dot, and you see how many there are, marks the position of a land campaign fought by Britain in the last two centuries and a-half. The most striking fact is that no dot is placed in the British Isles. There were a few small battles fought in Britain during the first hundred years of this time, but no great campaigns in the sense that there were British campaigns on the mainlands of Europe, Asia, Africa and America. Had all the small wars been inserted, some parts of the continents would have been coloured red all over, for the dots would have joined. Now I think we may draw this conclusion from the map--that the British Navy has saved the British Isles from war on land, but that the British Army has often carried war into the country of its opponents. The Army is now stationed chiefly in India, because of the Indian Land Frontier in the north-west, and in the British Isles, but portions of it are also in Gibraltar, in Malta, in Egypt, in South Africa, and in other parts.

You will remember, of course, that when we visited London in the second of these Lectures, we came repeatedly to the names Trafalgar and Waterloo. Trafalgar was Britain’s culminating victory on the ocean. It was fought by a fleet of battleships in order to free the ocean from Britain’s enemies, and to allow her commerce to grow and her Colonies to have peace, although there was war on the continent of Europe. The battle of Waterloo was Britain’s great victory on the land, fought in Europe by her Army and that of her allies ten years after Trafalgar. The Colonies had peace by reason of Trafalgar, but Waterloo brought the war to an end.

[Sidenote: 32. Battle of Trafalgar, showing types of ships.]

[Sidenote: 33. Death of Nelson, showing types of sailors.]

[Sidenote: 34. Wellington at Waterloo.]

[Sidenote: 35. Battle of Waterloo, British squares prepared to resist cavalry.]

[Sidenote: 36. South African Battlefield--soldiers taking cover on the Veldt.]

[Sidenote: 37. South African Light Horse crossing a River.]

[Sidenote: 38. A Field Battery fording a River.]

[Sidenote: 39. Royal Engineers building a Bridge.]

[Sidenote: 40. Night-Signalling from an Armoured Train.]

[Sidenote: 41. Armoured Train under Fire.]

Let us look for a moment at the kind of Navy and Army which won these victories. Here is an old print of the Battle of Trafalgar, showing the sailing ships, and the many guns in their sides. Here is the copy of a picture of the death of the great Admiral Nelson, who fell in the moment of victory at Trafalgar, giving his life for his King. Here next is a picture of Wellington at the battle of Waterloo. The battles of those days were strangely different from the battles of our time, for rifles and guns had not then a precise aim. Here, for instance, are the close ranks of the British infantry, formed in square at Waterloo. That is Wellington, on horseback, speaking to them. Now look at the next picture. It is a battle-field in South Africa. The men do not even stand up; they lie apart from one another, each taking shelter behind some convenient obstacle. In this particular case the obstacles are ant-hills, which are frequent in the veldt of South Africa. Here are other scenes in the South African War. First we have South African Light Horse crossing a river; then a field battery fording a river. The uniforms of the men are not red, as we saw them at Waterloo, but “khaki,” that they may be indistinguishable from the ground, and may not present a target for the hostile marksmen. Here are Royal Engineers building a bridge, with floating pontoons, in the case of a river which is too deep to be forded. And so we come to scenes in which greater and greater skill and science are needed and not courage alone. It is for this reason that preparation is needful, and that the Army must be trained and maintained during peace. We have, for instance, here an armoured train on the railway, bearing an electric light, wherewith in the night-time it searches the ground for opponents, and by throwing the beam of light on to the clouds, signals to friends in the distance. Here is the same train under attack.

[Sidenote: 42. Firing big Gun on Land.]

[Sidenote: 43. Cavalry charging at Laing’s Nek.]

In the South African War more powerful guns were employed than ever before on land. Here is one borrowed from a great cruiser for the defence of Ladysmith. Here, in contrast, is a charge of cavalry. The chief function of cavalry is to obtain information, and to screen the movements of infantry by repelling hostile cavalry. In fact, the action of cavalry is not very unlike that of cruisers at sea.

There is a splendid side to war. There are occasionally magnificent scenes in it. There is always room for skill and courage. But it is none the less horrible. Some people have thought that it might be possible to carry on government without wars and to maintain no Navy or Army. Heavy taxation would be avoided and much suffering escaped. As yet, however, no one has shown how this can be accomplished. The map of the world which you had before you just now, sprinkled with red dots, each marking a long campaign and many battles, is evidence of what Britain has gone through in the defence of her Empire during the last 250 years. The world changes slowly, and there is at present no likelihood of wars ceasing. If that be so, the wisest and the most humane course is to be strong so that enemies may shrink from attack, and peace may be preserved. It is for this reason that membership of the British Empire is a high privilege.

[Sidenote: 44. Ambulance at Magersfontein.]

Something, however, may be done to alleviate sufferings in war, and by agreement among the nations a red cross on a white flag raised on the battlefield secures the immediate neighbourhood from being aimed at intentionally, for it indicates that the wounded are collected there and that the surgeons are at work.

[Sidenote: 45. Troops embarking to go Abroad.]

[Sidenote: 46. Shropshire Light Infantry on Parade.]

[Sidenote: 47. Northumberland Fusiliers on Parade.]

[Sidenote: 48. Black Watch--Types of Men.]

[Sidenote: 49. Royal Artillery--Gun Drill.]

Lastly, let us look for a few moments, as we did in the case of the Navy, at the daily life of the soldier in peace time. We have him here leaving England in a trooping steamer for foreign service. Here is an infantry battalion on parade at home, and here another battalion with its camp in the background. Next we have some men of the regiment called the Black Watch. They wear a Scottish uniform--once the garb of the Highlanders who dwell in those far northern regions of Britain where, as we saw in the third Lecture, are still to be found the great red stag and the golden eagle. This is a group of Artillery at gun drill.

One fact more. The British Army is small among the armies of the world. The aim of Britain is not to attack any other power, but merely to defend her Empire. Moreover, Britain can perhaps afford to have a small army because she has a great fleet. Under ordinary circumstances she may count on preventing an enemy from invading most of her territories, in force at any rate, by the help of her fleet alone. This is the basis of the British Peace. The use to which Britain puts her strength is to carry the idea of justice, which her children learn at home, through all the lands whose happiness has, in the course of history, been entrusted to her.

[Sidenote: 50. Holyrood Palace, with Troops on Parade.]

[Sidenote: 51. Trooping of the Colour.]

[Sidenote: 52. Sailors Marching Past.--Birthday Review.]

[Sidenote: 53. The Emperor-King in Naval Uniform.]

The Army and the Navy, as everything else in the Empire, are headed by our Emperor-King. For one last moment let us return from the Empire to Britain itself. Here is one of the King’s Highland Regiments before his Scottish palace at Holyrood on his birthday. Here on the same occasion are his Guards in London, and here his sailors at Portsmouth. For the sake of order, of justice, and of peace the subjects of the King are loyal, and recognize the duty of obedience. Here, finally, is our Emperor-King Edward, as Admiral of the British Fleet.

[Sidenote: 54. The Flag of the British Empire.]

What is the chief lesson we should carry away from these Lectures? Is it not that the Empire can only be defended as a whole, and with the full co-operation of all its citizens? Surely then it is the duty of each of us to uphold the flag and to learn something of the defences of the Empire, and of the way it should be guarded and its rights and honour maintained before the world.

_Waterlow & Sons Limited, Printers, London Wall, London._

Transcriber’s Notes

Inconsistencies in hyphenation and spelling such as “battle-field/battlefield” and “hay-stack/hay stack” have been maintained.

Multiple punctuation errors, such as missing periods, have silently been corrected.

Contents: Changed page “22” to page “32”.

Page 2: Changed “moutains” to “mountains”.

Page 27: Changed “Pekin” to “Peking”.

Page 32: Added “a” to “take train”.

Page 41: Changed “Phillipines” to “Philippines”.

Page 70: Changed “V irginia” to “Virginia”.

Page 90: Changed “closelv” to “closely”.

Page 93: Changed “snores” to “shores”.