Wednesday, 24 September 2014

Poem ~ End of War? – Thursday, 24 September 1914


Looking to the final outcome of war,
No one in America wavers in the belief,
That the Allies will not gain victory -
Apart From German-American’s who,
Like the Kaiser, feel God is on their side.

In the interests of speculation
Officers of the American army,
Were canvassed for their opinion
Of the European war’s outcome,
By the publishers of New York World.

40 officers above the rank of Captain,
Were asked to answer 2 questions:
How long will the war in Europe last?
Which side will be the victor?
To note twenty officers did not reply.

The overall answers were as follows:
The war will last from nine to eighteen
Months, and then Germany, unless
She is super human, will be defeated.
Among them, one said that Germany
Had a strong fighting chance to win.

Being noted as remarkable,
Was same line of reasoned beliefs -
All agreed that it is a war of all resources.
The fighting will go on, until one side
Has exhausted all their finite energies.

The questions led to a unified conclusion.
From the belligerents manner of force,
And each powers state of mind, prior to war,
This fight is likely to be a death struggle -
Until one side is crushed.  Then it will be
More than fifty years for the loser to recover.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1914. How it will End – American Military Views. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 24 Sept. p.3. Col.1. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11116439/Daily-Telegraph-September-24-1914.html [Accessed: 24th September 2014].

Mann, J., 2014. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 24 September 2014). 



#WW1 #WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #ww1centenary #worldwarone #worldwaroneremembered 

No comments:

Post a Comment