by David Hough
Wendel saluted again and walked back out of the hotel. He paused on the step, taking in the effect the battle was having upon Ypres, the noise of distant battle, the smell of smoke hovering in the air. There would, he thought, be worse to come, and a sudden sadness filled his head as he strode down to the car.
“Well, sir?” DeBoise eyed him warily. “Where do we go from here?”
“Home, Lieutenant. I doubt we’ll be staying there long, but we’re going home.”
END
Author’s Notes
Prior to the Battle of Mons, Kaiser Wilhelm issued an Order of the Day. It gave rise to a name that has gone down in history.
“Concentrate your energies on one single purpose...” the order stated, “...address all your skill and all your valour to exterminate the treacherous English. Walk over General French’s contemptible little army.”
The order came to the attention of British commanders and, within two weeks, it was being read to British troops. Thus was born the name of the Old Contemptibles, men who prided themselves in being amongst the first to see action in the First World War.
There are some military historians who believe the outcome of that war was sealed not in 1918, but back in October 1914. It is an interesting and, in some ways, compelling idea.
The BEF was forced back two hundred miles after its defeat at Mons, but every mile the British troops retreated meant an extra mile added to the German supply line. And the German army was getting exhausted. As a consequence, German commanders, who had planned to take Paris, had a change of heart. They turned their forces south east, desperate to finish off the retreating BEF. The French army took advantage of the move and successfully attacked the German flank. Overnight, the tables were turned. The BEF stopped running and began to fight back. The front line changed very little after that.
Probably the most important battle in that crucial month in 1914 was fought around the pretty little Belgian town of Ypres. It was a close-run thing. British commanders were to later say, “If only the Germans had known how near they came to breaking through our lines at Ypres!” But the Germans didn’t know, and the salient around the town held for the next four years.
Some of the war’s bloodiest fighting occurred around that salient. A testimony to the appalling loss of life can be seen in the rows of uniform gravestones at war cemeteries such as Tyne Cot. Go there and you will see how many of those graves have no name, just an inscription that says, ‘Known unto God’.
The Worcester Regiment’s assault on the Gheluvelt Château was an act of bravery that has a place in history. When other regiments were retreating, the Worcesters charged over one thousand yards of open ground, losing one hundred men in the process. Breaking through into the Château grounds, they panicked the novice German soldiers of the 16th Bavarian Reserve, the 244th Reserve and the 345th Reserve. Using bayonets, they forced the Germans back and restored the British line.
I have deliberately altered recorded history in crediting Lieutenant DeBoise with the plan to attack the Château. In fact, the order was given to Major Hankey by Brigadier General Charles FitzClarence. And, of course, there were no King’s Own Highland Dragoons to support the Worcesters.
This is a novel and, once again, I have described the events through the eyes of those two fictitious British spies, Victor Wendel and Charles DeBoise. While planning the story, I had to take account of a genuine incident, a serious motor accident suffered by their boss, Commander Mansfield Smith-Cumming. Cumming’s son, Alistair, died in the accident and Cumming lost part of one leg. It put him out of action for weeks. However, it gave me the opportunity to introduce a twist in the plot line that would make life that much more difficult for the two spies.
In case you are wondering, Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, did visit the troops defending Antwerp, and he did untangle a mass of traffic. By starting Chapter One of this book in Antwerp, I have continued the adventures of Wendel and DeBoise from the end point of In Foreign Fields, the first book in the series. Where will they go next? There is ample scope for them to see more action in 1914, let alone the years that follow.
David Hough
Dorset
2015
About the Author
David Hough was born in Cornwall and grew up in the Georgian City of Bath. He spent forty years working as an air traffic controller in Northern Ireland, Scotland and England before retiring early in 2003 and becoming a writer.
David has written over 20 novels and enjoys writing “a rattling good yarn with a dose of hard grit”.
He now lives with his wife in Dorset, on the south coast of England.
“Mr. Hough is an immensely gifted writer with a unique voice and he never disappoints. If you want compelling action, riveting dialogue, and characters you will remember long after you've closed the book, I highly recommend anything by this unforgettable author.” Katherine Smith, an award winning writer
To find about more about David and his books, please visit David’s website, www.TheNovelsofDavidHough.com, and blog, http://acloudofbooks.blogspot.co.uk
More Books by David Hough
In Foreign Fields (The Secret Soldiers of World War 1 – Book 1)
August 1914. The Great War is only just beginning and already things are looking bad. The British Expeditionary Force is retreating in disarray from the Battle of Mons. But, in the midst of the confusion, two British officers on a top secret mission are moving forward, ready to cross the German lines.
To complete his assignment, Captain Victor Wendel knows his life will depend on his cunning and ingenuity as much as his courage. He doesn’t, however, know that he is also at the mercy of a double agent.
Lieutenant Charles DeBoise, a reluctant recruit to British Intelligence, is sent after Wendel to assist him. Will he reach Wendel before the double agent sabotages the mission? And will they be able to complete their task before it’s too late?
Prestwick (aviation thriller)
A freak mid-air collision cripples a trans-Atlantic 747 and a US Air Force jet. Against the clock and overwhelming odds, the planes’ crews – or what’s left of them – struggle to save the on-board survivors. Meanwhile an obsessed narcotics detective tries to pin drug smuggling and murder on two suspects on board the crippled 747.
As the weather deteriorates, most Scottish airports are closed, leaving Prestwick the only airport available for a safe landing. However, Prestwick has its own emergency to deal with, something that overshadows all other problems. Landing permission is refused and more than four hundred people are condemned to an almost certain death over icy, blizzard-swept seas.
Can things get any worse? They can – and they do...
Historical Adventures in Cornwall -series:
In the Shadow of Disgrace
In the year 1789, Jeffrey St Vincent returns to his native Cornwall after being discharged from the Royal Navy in disgrace. While he is contemplating his options, his path crosses with Nell Tregrain, a young woman sailing from London to Penperran with her sick father. She is distrustful of men, but needs the help of someone who can handle her father’s boat.
Jeffrey’s life becomes increasingly intertwined with Nell’s until they both find themselves caught up in grave danger. Can Jeffrey rescue the situation and wipe out the shadow of disgrace that hangs over him? Or will he and Nell fall foul of the harsh hand of eighteenth century law?
In the Shadow of Deception
Pasco Carne, a Cornish village policeman, is good at his job, but unsuccessful in finding long-lasting love. When the woman he wants to marry is killed, he spends more time with her cousin, Morwen Rowse. Inevitably, they begin to fall in love.
However, there is a secret surrounding Morwen’s past and she has no idea what it is. Against a background of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee celebrations, Morwen and Pasco get caught up in a web of lies and deceit spun by those who want to keep that secret to themselves.
Can Pasco and Morwen get to the truth of the matter? Or will the sha
dow of deception cause a permanent rift between them?
In the Shadow of a Curse
Kit Vanson is sickened by the way his father and brothers abuse the slaves on their Alabama cotton plantation. He flees back to his roots on his late grandfather’s sleepy Cornish farm.
He hopes to find peace of mind, but he carries with him a burden of crushing guilt. He is also burdened by a curse, called upon the family by an enslaved shaman who swore to avenge the Vanson’s brutality. Kit tries to atone for the family sins by helping Wenna Lanyon, his attractive neighbour, against a merciless vendetta. Can he make amends? Or will the Vanson Curse prove to be too powerful?
The Hampton Warlock Trilogy:
In a quiet Dorset village three families are faced with a crisis. Secrets long buried come to the surface and family life will never be the same again.
King’s Priory
Family secrets lie hidden within the ancient walls of King’s Priory Manor on the Dorset coast. Plagued by nightmares and doubts about his own future, Colin Portesham tries to unearth those secrets. But the more he discovers, the more he realises that a terrible fate hangs over himself and those he loves.
Something mysterious happened to his grandfather, James Portesham, a wartime fighter pilot. Whatever it was, it now affects the Portesham family in the new millennium and there is nothing Colin can do to stop it. Someone he loves must die and someone else must suffer a terrible injury. And the cause of it was set in train long ago.
The Gallows on Warlock Hill
Ancient conflicts between England and Ireland come back to haunt Rose Greenwood when she sets out to meet the sister she never knew. Unaware of each other’s existence, and brought up in vastly different circumstances, they have little common ground.
When violent circumstances throw them into close contact, their differences threaten to tear them apart. But they need one another more than they realise, and they must learn to get along together. Their lives could depend upon it.
While gradually discovering the history of their ancestors - something that has been hidden for hundreds of years - Rose also learns the truth about her sister. A truth that horrifies her. Equally horrifying is the truth she learns about the man who was hanged on Warlock Hill.
The Long Road to Sunrise
In the sleepy Dorset village of Hampton Warlock, Douglas Hadleigh mistakenly opens a letter addressed to his wife. The contents are destined to reopen old wounds and bring back memories of a tragedy from the past.
So begins an adventure that will take Douglas around the world to Australia and, later, see him embark on a hazardous trek into the Amazon rainforest. Along the way he will learn of the horrors experienced by a young girl lost in the heart of the jungle.
These books are available on Amazon.
To find out more about David’s books and other Cloudberry books, please visit www.cloudberrybooks.co.uk
More Books by Cloudberry
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