It sounds a bit silly, doesn’t it, to have a title like this? Since Anzac Day 2013 is after the fact – by several days. But I was suddenly taken back to a time when the world was comparatively innocent; before events made Anzac Day a tragic icon. And all because a newsreader mentioned sabre-rattling in relation to a modern-day emperor!
One hundred years ago, it was one year and a few months away from a war that was so terrible and soul-destroying that we still look back through history in wonder and despair at the dreadful carnage and cruelty, overshadowed by courage and sacrifice that takes the breath away.
Weather conditions, combined with new and diabolical methods of warfare, against old-fashioned defences, all conspired to make the trenches of the Western Front a nightmare to transcend all.
As a child, I was aware of an indescribable feeling compounded of grief, horror and hopeless dread whenever someone mentioned WWI. There were still many people alive who’d gone through it and though they never said anything I picked up this vibe. It was so bad that I couldn’t bear to go there and so never studied it. I cannot, to this day, watch war movies.
When I grew older, I asked the question: “What caused WWI?” No-one could tell me. “It’s complicated,” they said. “There was no one cause.” Still, I couldn’t bear to study it.
Finally, when I got to Book III of the Master of Illusion series (Yes, it’s written.), I knew I would have to face my childhood dread and research the Great War as its backdrop. And guess what? Nothing had changed. That feeling of overwhelming grief and horror that haunted me all my life was exactly what I felt after my actual research. The dreadful loss of life. The terrible damage to those left alive. The futility of it all. The awe-inspiring courage and sacrifice of the young men who went into battle knowing they would die.
Would we line up like that knowing what they knew?
But back to 1913. Life went on as usual in the last year of the Belle Époque: fashions, hedonism; empire building; the usual protests, including women’s suffrage; small wars here and there, nothing serious; a general feeling of progress and well-being.
Yet discerning men were aware that Europe was fraught with tension: a sense that the fire was laid, tinder dry, waiting for a spark to set it off. (The murder on June 28 1914 of the Archduke and Duchess of Austria-Hungary provided it.) Small Emperors posturing, sabre-rattling (those words again); certain countries in terrible poverty, others comparatively rich; powers forming strategic alliances …
If any of this rings uncomfortable bells, it is because history is prone to repeat.
A small fry in the train of a major architect and prosecutor of WWI was an Austrian corporal. As a front runner from HQ he had been wounded, gassed and decorated for bravery. (You know who!)
If he had read his history he would not have attacked Russia and WWII might have had a different outcome. I guess we can be thankful that he didn’t read about Napoleon I. But, despite his experiences, he didn’t learn any lessons from WWI either. Had he done so, he could have saved us the years of misery, loss and destruction of WWII.
Of course, it wasn’t that simple: the seeds were already planted in 1919. A number of factors, including the unfair demands of the Treaty of Versailles, the misery of the people and Hitler’s mental condition led to WWII. (I don’t pretend to have my head around it all.)
It is a good thing to study history to avoid the mistakes of the past. I hope our present leaders have all done so. But just in case they haven’t, I think it would be good for all of us who believe in the power of prayer to pray with diligence for peace and understanding between nations.
I make this plea to our world leaders: Please don’t make us revisit this theatre of horror. Leave war where it belongs – in the pages of history.