Peter Rhodes on sieges, refugees and chilling echoes of 'the war to end wars'
I suggested recently that history does not always repeat itself. Yet Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a re-run of Germany's invasion of Belgium in 1914. First the rise and rise of an all-powerful dictator: in 1914 Kaiser Wilhelm, in 2022 Vladimir Putin.
Next, the pretext for war: in 1914 an assassination in Sarajevo, in 2022 the non-existent “genocide” of Russian-speaking minorities.
Next, the unleashing of overwhelming firepower: in 1914 the massive siege guns of the Kaiser's army, in 2022 the thermobaric warheads of Putin's invaders.
Next, the atrocities committed against civilians: in 1914 German firing squads in Belgian towns. In 2022 Russians shelling civilians trying to escape and the destruction of a maternity hospital and a monastery sheltering children.
And today, another echo from the First World War: the vast crowds of desperate refugees. At the fall of Belgium in 1914 about 250,000 Belgians fled to Britain. At first they were welcomed. But as time passed officials reported anti-Belgian sentiment. Some folk accused the Belgians of not resisting the German invasion or of being ungrateful.
But the most prescient echo from 1914 must be the words of the doomed poet Rupert Brooke who, as a soldier, saw the siege of Antwerp and witnessed the vast, pitiful refugee columns pouring out of Belgium. He called the German invasion “one of the greatest crimes in history.” He wrote: “Three civilians have been killed to every one soldier. Has ever a nation been treated like that? And how can such a stain be wiped out?”
How indeed can the world ever recover a semblance of trust and co-operation between nations? How do we re-set the world order? How do we wipe out the stain of Putin's war?
Meanwhile, if 1914 is any guide, do not expect Putin to acknowledge that he is fighting an unwinnable war. In September 1914 after just six weeks of combat, the German commander Moltke the Younger knew his invasion plan had failed. He told the Kaiser: “We have lost the war.” Yet the so-called “war to end wars” raged on for four more years.
After all this bad news, the good news is that next Sunday, March 20, is the United Nations' International Day of Happiness. You couldn't make it up.
