“Balls to that, sir!”
“Which is what I said, though not in thoseexact words, Baker. I believe every brigadier made the same response.”
“Is there any prospect of the cavalrybeing dismounted, sir? The extra men could be useful in the lines, relievingmen more frequently. At minimum, could the RHA be released to do somethinguseful?”
“No and no, Baker. The cavalry are vitalto the winning of the war and must be held intact, ready to make the great advance.The RHA are, as their name tells us, mobile horse artillery and must again beheld back for the war of movement that must inevitably come if only the infantrywill do their job.”
“I lost eighty-seven men attempting to dothe job in this poorly-planned, ill-thought out cock up the General called abattle, sir. I must of course ask for replacements, hoping they will come throughbefore bloody conscription comes in! Three of them were second lieutenants, inthe nature of things.”
“I shall try, Baker. All three of mybattalions suffered heavy losses, though nothing like we took at NeuveChapelle, of course. I have put in for three hundred and fifty men and eightjunior officers. Word from Division is that we might get the officers and fiftymen before Christmas. The New Year sees conscription coming in. What the plansare then, I do not know for sure. It is not unlikely that conscripts will be givenbasic training and sent out raw to fill gaps in the ranks. Might be they willsee as little as eight weeks before coming out.”
“They will be useless, sir.”
“Up to you to make something of them, Baker.That’s what you are getting. About the only good thing to say will be that youwill get a good number of them. You may well end up oversize, in fact.”
Richard was even less impressed – being oversizedwould simply mean that he had more unwilling bodies to train and make useful, inan environment which was discouraging to the keenest young soldier.
“What will the rules be, sir? Who will weget?”
“Good question! As it stands, andaccording to current plans – which will probably change daily – it will besingle men between twenty and forty years of age. That excludes widowers withchildren, by the way. Not many of them but they obviously cannot be taken awayfrom their family. There will be exemptions for necessary workers – presumably skilledmen in their trades. Conscientious objection will be permitted, if the man canprove it to be legitimate. Religion, I suppose that will be. Might be a fewpolitical types who believe the war is wrong, or that all war is wrong – don’tknow anything about them, meself! On top of it all, of course, they have topass a medical.”
“I have been told that more than a half ofvolunteers to the Boer War failed the medical, sir.”
“So I believe. Figures have been betterthis time round. Thing is, Baker, a lot of young men will have known they couldnot pass and have not volunteered as a result. Bringing them up for conscriptionwill be a waste of time because they won’t make the grade. We don’t want themif they are consumptive – every man in the Trenches would catch the diseasefrom them! That must be half a million men on its own. They tell me the diseaseis rife in the industrial towns of the North Country. I was talking to the MO afew days back and he says he's worried about the men’s well-being as it is.Another cold winter out in their dugouts might break many of the men. Bad chests,you know.”
Richard was dismissive.
“If the problem is known, sir, then theArmy should deal with it. More coal. Paraffin heaters. An extra thick jumperfor the men to wear. Waterproof galoshes. More blankets. Woollen hats, what dothey call them, ‘balaclavas’, isn’t it? Mittens. It is not impossible to keepmen warm.”
“Cost, Baker! It would add so much to thebills. Add to that, the generals do not wish to coddle the men and make themsoft. They think that hardship makes for better soldiers.”
“That’s ripe, sir! Coming from men sat ontheir fat arses in chateaux eating seven course dinners every day! If they’reright, then they should all be put out to live in tents and fed bully beef –might make them into useful generals!”
“Calm down, now, Baker! You may well beright. No gain to shouting it out where anybody can hear you. Can’t afford tohave you superseded, sent back home as unreliable. I need you to set theexample to the brigade, to give us all a lead. Where you go, other officers follow,you know. In fact, if you had not come to me today, I was to call you down,Baker. Awards have just come in. You have another Mention for your trench raidand a DSO for your leadership up to and including Neuve Chapelle. You can putthe ribbon up. Might be able to organise an investiture for the Corps sometimein the next month or so. It all adds up. The newspapers will have it today.”
“Give a dog a good name, sir?”
“What? Oh, I see. Clever comment. Don’tthink it’s so. Just no alternative – you must be recognised again. Wouldn’t besurprised if you picked up a knighthood in a year or two. You present a bit ofa problem, you know. With the VC already, it’s a bit silly to give you aMilitary Cross. DSO is different, being for leadership as well as gallantry.Can’t just ignore the things you have done, got to find the correct way ofnoticing them. My congratulations, again, Baker – you know my opinion about
