Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-02-11
WHEN KNIGHTHOOD
BOWS TO RABBLE
The Conflict, Begun at Crecy, Will
Be Finished When the Hun
Autocracy Is Crushed
BY LIEUT.. HECTOR MacQUARRIE
Royal Field Artillery

was enjoying a campaign against France.
He had been very successful. had almost
reached Paris, and might have had himself
crowned King in the French capital had
not the Pope interfered with German politics
by deposng the Emperor Lewis, Of Bavaria
This had annoyed the Germans and they
had sought aid from the French King, and
| consequently found themselves helping their
new ally 10 eject the English. Tho matter
seemed extremely simple, otherwise they
would certainly not have been there Number
Ing 500 knights, they were of course great
hep to the French monarch. who was also
able to hire from the Riviera 5000 Genoese
crossbowmen. Edward the English King,
became disturbed and commenced TO retreat
with some difficulty. Forced marches prey
heavily upon modern army; upon n me-
uleVal army with poor communications, n
long forced march was sometimes fatal A
soldier could desert so very easily. and ones
enemy was always willing while he could to
pay fir price for the services of any
hghting man. Hence Edward was In an
extremely awkward position when he reached
Crecy with the huge French host approaching,
consisting of the best-bred men of France
ana Germany all covered in shining armor
with feathers in their helmets.
Dug Trenches for His Army
or course, according 70 tho rules of tho
game, the English King should have surrcnd-
ered. lie was outnumbered. and the great
inass or his army consisted Of canale. rude
churlS from England, Wales and Ireland
mere cannon fodder What right had they
TO fight against gentlemen? However. Ed
ward had to do somethinE-ho fell back upon
irightfulness." Iie chose n position COM
manded by good sort of crest with n
windmill on Its top and dcployod his men
here, Once more forgetting the strict rules
of the game he dsmountcd his men-at-arms
ana made his good English, Irish and Welsh
! boWmen dig in, with ditch and stakes in
'front.' instead of wire cntanglcments.
The howmen had bombardlcrs between
them who sent fire balls among the horses
to frighten them. The whole thing was 50
extraordinary and unusual that Philip had
not time to halt his vast host Commune
| cations as usual broke down, and the French
and Germans came rolling forward the
fenoes" forming AN advance guard just a
| little disorganzed. OF course, Edward was
using the windmill for an observation post
and his communications seem to have been
excellent. Judging by the story of the Black
| Princes spurs. The bowstrngs of the Geno-
| ese had become wet, and after their first
| volcy the English poured mass of arrows.
| as well aimed, right into their mdF, so
| that 1t seemed to snow, so great was the
| slaughter. They boltcd.
Philip was fearfully annoyed with these
churls so he ordered his own knights to kill
| them. This must have been n waste of time
and energy, but after all he stll had his
| knights outnumberlng the English knights
| by six to one and the battle was only be-
| ginning. The French and German noblemen
| came dashng forward just as in Joan the
Woman" They must have looked magnlh-
| cent. The English Were still intrenched
| with their clever King keeping a firm hand
| upon the situation, watching from the obser-
| walton post. one wonders whether his con-
| science did not worry him just little. 1t
was very daring OF him to allow his common
| soldiers to kill gentlemen. OF course, the
slaughter was tremendous. The German and
French knights came on in hordes, only to
| have their horses killed or frightened to
| death by the fire balls and the English
| rows The defeat became n rout Thirty
| thousand footmen and 1900 knights lay dead
upon the battlefield. This was equal to the
whole British host.
The whole thing Is tremendously interest
| ing because It dealt n terrific blow to feudal-
| ism in England, If not in Europe. One can
| imagine the feelings Of those German counts
| and barons when they found themselves being
overwhelmed and steadily exterminated. By
the rude things Of the earth
The Lesson of Crecy
Now. far be It from me to speak slightingly
OF the present German army. There has
never been an army like it at any time but
there is not the slightest doubt that it
failed. and H. failing surely and II Is all
owing to the fact that Germany did not learn
the lesson Of Crecy, Feudalism did not die
in Germany but merely slept. and now
all see its results That the boche army
succeeded at all is owing to the work Of tho
| canale ut Krupps and the wonderful middle
| class organization established throughout the
nation; that 1t has failed is owing to the
power of the Junkers and their ridiculous
| Swagger and musical comedy antics.
And we canaille In Great Britain and
America have got to keep steadily to our
bombardiers with good observers in the wind
mill on the crest and surely and steadily
we will get them. According to the rule
Of the game should sit quietly while the
Huns kill women and children. That is
their right as gentlemen and aristocrats. It
Is just Il little comical. really We folk in
England always regarded tho German no.
blity as hopelessly middle class and rather
impossible, so it is with n certain amount
OF astonishment that see them behaving
as our ancestors behaved in France CEN
turtles ago. | once met a lieutenant in tho
infantry near Armentieres. lie had been
promoted from the ranks l am sure he was
| a delightful liar, but he told me a rather
good story. AS n sergeant he was leading n
| small patrol in No Mans Land and managed
| to capture boche major-a baron Very
pleased, he led the baron into the cooners
| dugout The colonel enjoying a Scotch
when the German was shown in.
| The colonel, noted for correct conduct at
all times, observed that the major did not
salute, but thought poor DEVIL he is dis
turbed and tired" so he said
How dye do will you have a whisky and
sodaY'
| The foolish "aristocrat" replied that he
| could not drink with pig of an Engllsh-
man"
| ThN conversation then seemed to have
| reached an awkward point The colonel was
| at loss for reply, merely said Ser
| geant take charge" The colonel felt il neces-
| sary to have another Scotch. 1t is difficult
| TO understand the German attitude Perhaps
| It is fortunate that they still little me-
| dieval In their ways. 1t gives us our chance
| II shows us the chink In the armor
| And so, like Edward III. we are fighting
| knights in armor brave. of course, but still
| knights and the day is coming fast when we
| will unhorse them and then, heavy with the
| weight of their mall 1t will not be difficult
| to finish them off.
| But there Is still much to be done. for
| unlike Edwards nation we are democraoies
| IN the making and we must have those bonn
| pards made by the men at home and