THE MARCH OF THE GUARDS DIVISION INTO GERMANY, AND THE RETURN HOME
The Guards Division 1918.
After an impressive thanksgiving service at Maubeuge, the march into Germany began, and the Guards Division moved by stages to Cologne. The weather broke, and on several days the men were soaked before they reached their billets in the evening. At first the advent of the British troops was hailed with enthusiasm by the inhabitants of the towns and villages, and the people on whom the men were billeted vied with each other to make things as comfortable as possible for their visitors. Flowers were thrown at the men, speeches were made, and cheering crowds of peasants greeted the Battalions as they arrived, but as the march continued, and they reached the Flemish part of Belgium this good feeling changed to one of apathy, bordering at times on incivility. The people of this district had been untouched by the war, and regarded the mass of troops who swarmed into their houses as an intolerable affliction.
When the British troops arrived at the frontier of Germany, they supposed that the march would be continued through a hostile population, but so far was this from the truth, that the people of Germany cringed before the British soldier, and seemed only surprised at the considerate manner in which they were being treated. Whether the Germans expected to be as brutally treated as the Belgians had been by their own soldiers, or whether they were under the impression that their conduct would in some way affect the peace terms it is difficult to say; but the fact remains that the British troops received nothing but kindness at the hands of the inhabitants. In some of the towns that were passed through, the inhabitants did not appear to grasp the fact that they belonged to a conquered nation, and that the best they could do was to remove their hats respectfully, as the Commanding Officers rode past at the head of their Battalions, but the escorts had much pleasure in teaching them manners, by knocking off their hats and caps as they passed.
The routes taken by the four Battalions were as follows:
1st Batt.
The 1st Battalion
2nd Batt.