Poem ~ Villages Devastated - Friday, 20 April 1917

Source: File: The destruction of the church in Moÿ-de-l'Aisne, February 1917. Available at: <http://02610.moy.free.fr/Moydelaisne/02610.moy/Infos/Municipalite/Moyquand/N23/Lanciers.html> 
[Accessed 18 April 2017]

With the western front in France,

Reaching its 35th week in 3rd

Year of war, devastation of lives

Of the population had no conclusion.

Between the invasion of Germany

Taking over ground of Aisne

And reunification of that area,

Came reports of great annihilation.

Making a visitation of the retaken

Region, Chairman of the Aisne

Refugee Committee D.Camp,

Learned of systematic destruction.

Eleven French towns and villages

Were wiped off the map -

The occupiers had used

Variations of means in process.

Battering rams had been built

To destroy ancient town

Walls; dynamite, petrol tar

All employed to take down houses.

Exteriors of churches still stood

But all contents taken,

Graveyards lay broken -

Opened vaults emptied to bury own.

Some 25 miles from Laon town,

Lay Ugny le Gay - little

More than a hamlet

Of 234 people, lay in persecution.

Germans made tax of exactions.

First demanded monies

February 1915; £140.00 -

The same demand again in August.

September 1915 saw how the Mayor

Of Ugny le Gay and others

Were imprisoned, until

Payment of £500.00 were handed over.

October 1915, £200 fee equivalent

In francs was demanded -

12 months later, October

1916, another extortion sum of £1500.

When finally the Germans were forced

From the area, the people

Found their possessions

Had been seized, pillaged and abused.

Young girls of the village were taken

Away - villagers disinterred as

Germans set homes on fire

Destroying machinery and fruit trees.

Any French people who returned to their

Villages, would have struggled

To see where their homes had

Once stood; to see crushed stone piles.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1917. Devastated France. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 9 April March 1917. P.6. Col.5. Available at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12214440/Daily-Telegraph-April-9-1917.html> [Accessed: 20 April 2017].

Mann, J., 2016. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 20 April 2017). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12214440/Daily-Telegraph-April-9-1917.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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Poem ~ French Fight For Dirt - Tuesday, 11 January 1916

Impression sketch of French Soldiers moving out towards mound of earth - by Jamie.

In the hostilities over lands of 1916,

Each lump of earth was fought for -

Each inch, each foot, every yard

Became a challenge to hold onto.

Between each system of trench

And earthworks, churned ground

Lost or won, over and over again;

Becomes a 'give and take' situation.

For this the fearless enterprises

Of the French solider was priceless

Any taken land they seek to regain;

The poilu never conceived as 'down.'

Within the valley of the Aisne,

On the edge of that named water

Way, was a hummock of earth

Between French and German posts.

With a decision to gain the mound

Of earth, left a non-commissioned

Officer with fifteen poilu, to move

In silent progress from the trenches.

Outward they crawled across

Filth of earth or tangles of wire,

And to wade the river to reach

Their aim - the top of that mound.

In the silent night of darkness,

They dug themselves trenches

And a sturdy dugout - where

They stayed for forty-eight hours.

On the hummock's exposed

Situation, their expectation

For enemy shells to target,

Took a strain on their nerves.

When expected time arrived;

8in German battery began

In burst of shells - the French

Took shelter in their dugout.

Hiss and crash - hiss and crash -

The earth about their bodies

Shook them to the core - almost

To fall on them when fire ceased.

The air likely rang in silence,

As the shaken French emerged,

And looked towards the enemy,

Then to see forty German men.

An enemy thought the French

Had been blasted away - to set

To repair the first French trench,

Taken for their own purposes.

Once repaired the forty figures

Moved towards the next line -

The French dived back into

The dugout and kept a silence.

Just feet away from the French

The Germans looked about

To believe not one was left -

Without bother to check dugout.

The entrance might only allow

One at a time to edge through -

But broken earth suggested how

Shells had driven French away.

From that precarious, surrounded 
position in a possible collapsing

dugout, one voluntary corporal 

Set out to inform French troops.

The bravery of that corporal,

Saw him crawl away across

The ground, sliding into water

Within close enemy proximity.

Wading the river the Corporal

Reached the Commanding Officer,

Who took the message but said

They could give no reinforcements.

'They must do as you have done,'

Were the reported words - thus

The Corporal returned to them

Who anxiously waited for word.

Without debate they complied -

So at two-minute intervals each,

The sixteen slipped by German

Positions and then across river.

When at the point of the last

Man making it back to the line,

Did the Germans realise their

Presence to fire - only too late.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1916. Trench Warfare - Frenchmen's Exploit - Thrilling Adventure. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 11 January 1916. P.5. Col.4. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12085369/Daily-Telegraph-January-11-1916.html [Accessed: 11 January 2016].

Mann, J., 2016. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 11 January 2016). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12085369/Daily-Telegraph-January-11-1916.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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Poème ~ Lutte français Pour Dirt - Mardi 11 Janvier 1916

Impression croquis de soldats français déménager vers monticule de terre - par Jamie.

Dans les hostilités sur les terres de 1916,
Chaque morceau de terre a été battu pour -
Chaque pouce, chaque pied, chaque cour
Est devenu un défi à accrocher.

Entre chaque système de tranchée
Et les travaux de terrassement, rez baratté
Perdu ou gagné, encore et encore;
Devient une situation de 'donner et prendre'.

Pour cela, les entreprises intrépides
Du soldat français était inestimable
Toute terre prises, elles cherchent à retrouver;
Le poilu jamais été conçu comme 'bas'.

Dans la vallée de l'Aisne,
Sur le bord de cette eau nommé
Way, était un monticule de terre
Entre les messages français et allemands.

Avec la décision d'acquérir le monticule
De la terre, à gauche un sous-officier
Officier avec quinze poilu, se déplacer
En cours silencieuse des tranchées.

Outward qu'ils rampaient partout
Filth de terre ou les enchevêtrements de fils,
Et à parcourir la rivière pour atteindre
Leur but - le sommet de cette butte.

Dans le silence de la nuit de l'obscurité,
Ils ont creusé des tranchées se
Et une pirogue robuste - où ils sont restés

Pendant quarante-huit heures.

Sur les buttes exposés
Situation, leur attente
Pour obus ennemis de cibler,
Pris d'une souche sur leurs nerfs.

Quand le temps prévu est arrivé;
8in batterie allemande a commencé
En rafale d'obus - les Français
Ont trouvé refuge dans leur pirogue.

Hiss et de crash - sifflement et accident -
La terre de leur corps
Les secoua à l'âme - presque
Pour tomber sur eux quand le feu a cessé.

L'air susceptibles retentit dans le silence,
Comme émergé les Français secoué,
Et regarda vers l'ennemi,
Puis de voir quarante hommes allemands.

Un ennemi pensait que le français
Avait été soufflé loin - pour définir
Pour réparer la première tranchée française,
Pris à leurs propres fins.

Une fois réparé les quarante chiffres
Déplacé vers la ligne suivante -
Le Français a plongé de nouveau dans
La pirogue et gardé un silence.

À quelques pieds de distance des Français
Les Allemands regarda autour
Pour ne pas croire en restait plus qu'un -
Sans la peine de vérifier pirogue.

L'entrée peut seulement permettre
Un à la fois à bord grâce à -
Mais la terre brisée suggéré comment
Coquilles avaient conduit français loin.

A partir de ce précaire, entourée
position dans un effondrement possible
pirogue, un caporal volontaire
Partez à informer les troupes françaises.

La bravoure de ce caporal,
Saw ramper loin à travers
Le sol, en glissant dans l'eau
A proximité de l'ennemi.

Patauger la rivière, le caporal
Atteint le commandant,
Qui a pris le message, mais dit
Ils pourraient donner aucun renfort.

«Ils doivent faire ce que vous avez fait, '
Étaient les paroles rapportées - ainsi
Le caporal retourné à eux
Qui attendait anxieusement pour mot.

Sans débat, ils respectées -
Donc, à des intervalles de deux minutes chacun,
Les seize glissé par l'allemand
Positions et ensuite à travers la rivière.

Lorsque au point de la dernière
Homme faisant revenir à la ligne,
Les Allemands se rendent compte de leur
Présence au feu - que trop tard.

par Jamie Mann.

Anon. 1916. Guerre des tranchées - Frenchmen exploit - Passionnante aventure. Le Daily Telegraph, [en ligne] 11 Janvier 1916. P.5. Col.4. Disponible à: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12085369/Daily-Telegraph-January-11-1916.html [Consulté le 11 Janvier 2016].

Mann, J., 2016. il ya 100 ans - Poèmes de Jamie Mann. [lettre] (communication personnelle, le 11 Janvier 2016).

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12085369/Daily-Telegraph-January-11-1916.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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Poem ~ Pranks in the Trenches - Friday, 29 October 1914

With talk of entrenchment becoming more

Commonplace, comes humour to involve

French and German soldiers - who have

Already faced each other for many weeks;

Now in set trenches along the banks

Of the river Aisne -  In spite of discomfort

And daily horror, are shared amusements

And even a little pleasantry behaviour.

Sheltering in their concrete lined system

Of ditches, the Germans sent off a joke

Carried on four feet, in chasing a horse

Across to the French Lines – A placard

Had been hung about the horse’s neck

Attached with German newspapers.

The sign the horse carried, read

‘Good day to the Frenchman!

Do you know that Russia is beaten,

All along the line and that Antwerp

Is taken?’ It seems that on seeing

The joke, the French actually smiled.

Elsewhere, soldiers passed the time in

Devising humour – a French junior officer

Spoke of the fact, that the German trench

Is little more than forty yards apart, so when

The Germans began to sing; a competition

Began, as to who can sing the loudest.

The French officer explains how they have

Musicians such as an accordionist and flautist,

Who became accompanists to the songs.

Whenever each side was not shooting

Back at the other side these duets went on. 

Opposing forces are so close, voices carried

Well, so the French clearly heard commands

Given in the German trenches.

The officer admits that tricks and jokes

Are all part of their daily fighting routine.

On that very morning the French officer

Said there was another German prank

Played out – when they sent across

A goat, with a card about its neck saying;

‘And you messieurs les,

Francais How are you?’

The goat was seen as being obstinate

And troublesome - although they called

To the goat to approach, the goat did

Not like the barbed wire and would

Not come nearer for some time - Finally

He arrived on the French side and once

There would not go back to the Germans,

Despite their shouts of ‘Komm! Komm!’ 

It was decided that he was a French goat.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1914. Jokers in the Trenches  - Four-footed Messengers. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 29 Oct. p.13. Col.4. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11186080/Daily-Telegraph-October-29-1914.html [Accessed: 29 October 2014].

Mann, J., 2014. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 29 October 2014). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11186080/Daily-Telegraph-October-29-1914.html

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Poem ~ German Samaritans - Saturday, 17 October 1914

At Hospital in Newcastle,

A Black Watch Private tells his tale.

How battling at the Aisne, 

He lay wounded for hours as heavy,

Fire went on all about.

Emerging from the confusion a German

Soldier came along.

Seeing him lying helpless, he stopped,

And bound his wound.

Making sure the private was 'shipshape,'

The German stood,

As if he was going on, when a stray bullet

Hit him fatally,

That he fell dead, aside the wounded man.

Corporal Houston of the Seaforth Highlanders,

Explained, how at Soissons,

He was lying wounded in the battlefield.

He turned to see

At a short distance, a German standing over

A fellow, wounded soldier.

A young man of the Northamptonshire Regiment.

The enemy infantryman,

Knelt and held a water bottle to the young man's

Lips, attempting to soothe his pain.

Delirious, the wounded soldier kept calling out,

'Mother, are you there?' 

The German appeared to understand, stroking

Gently the lad's fevered brow,

His action of caressing him in such a tender way,

Equal of any woman.

Finally the lad died and Corporal Houston

Watched the German,

Holding the soldier, unable to hide his tears.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1914. Humane Germans. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 17 Oct. p.3. Col.5. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11165466/Daily-Telegraph-October-17-1914.html  [Accessed: 17 October 2014].

Mann, J., 2014. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 17 October 2014). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11165466/Daily-Telegraph-October-17-1914.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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Gedicht ~ deutschen Samariter - Sonntag, 17. Oktober 1914

Am Krankenhaus in Newcastle,
A Black Watch Privat erzählt seine Geschichte.
Wie kämpft an der Aisne,
Er lag stundenlang so schwer verwundet,
Feuer ging alles über.
Hervorgegangen aus der Verwirrung ein deutscher
Soldat kam.
Als sie ihn hilflos, blieb er stehen,
Und gebunden seine Wunde.
Machen, ob der Privat wurde 'shipshape,'
Der Deutsche stand,
Als ob er vor sich ging, wenn eine verirrte Kugel
Traf ihn tödlich,
Dass er fiel tot neben den Verwundeten.

Corp Houston der Seaforth Highlanders,
Erklärt, wie in Soissons,
Er lag auf dem Schlachtfeld verwundet.
Er drehte sich um, um zu sehen
In einem kurzen Abstand, ein deutscher stehend über
Ein Kerl, verwundeten Soldaten.
Ein junger Mann, der Northamptonshire Regiment.
Der Feind Infanterist,
Kniete nieder und hielt eine Flasche Wasser auf den jungenMann
Lippen, der versucht, seine Schmerzen zu lindern.
Delirious, hielt der verwundeten Soldaten rufen,
"Mutter, bist du da? '
Der Deutsche schien zu verstehen, streicheln
Sanft fiebrigen Stirn des Jungen,
Seine Wirkung streichelt ihn in einer solchen AusschreibungWeise
Equal jeder Frau.
Schließlich der Junge starb und Corp Houston
Gesehen die deutsche,
Halten Sie den Soldaten, unfähig, seine Tränen zu verbergen.

von Jamie Mann.

Anon. 1914. Humane Deutschen. The Daily Telegraph,[online] 17. Oktober S.3. Col.5. Verfügbar unter:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11165466/Daily-Telegraph-October-17-1914.html[Stand: 17. Oktober 2014].

Mann, J., 2014. 100 Jahren - Gedichte von Jamie Mann.[Buchstabe] (Persönliche Mitteilung, den 17. Oktober 2014).

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11165466/Daily-Telegraph-October-17-1914.html

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