Few families but have had some members in either Navy or Army, and as parents have said good-bye to their sons they have known that a hearty Christian welcome awaited them where they went, and that they might safely leave them to the kindly ministry of willing hearts and hands. The motto of everyone, high and low, has been Ich dien—I serve.
CHAPTER II[ToC]
EARLY DAYS AT THE FRONT
If Minister Shoots Minister!—A Brighter Side—A Beautiful Story—Pastors and Members in the Firing Line—A German Pastor—The Retreat through Belgium—The Work of Heroes—A Rear-guard Action—Seeking the Wounded—Refugees Stupid with Terror—Behind the Rear-guard—A Narrow Escape—A Night to be Remembered—The Man who Saved the British Army—God has been with Me—The British Soldier will Joke—Why Not?—Awful Experiences—A Monotony of Horror—Picking up Wounded Stragglers—Lines of Broken Men—Still Retreating—A Wonderful Triumph of Will—Thirsty Heroes—The Ambulance Found—The End of the Retreat—Mentioned in Despatches—No Parade Services.
Viewed from a Christian standpoint, the most distressing things about this war are: (1) That Christian nations are engaged in a life and death struggle. It is a lamentable confession, an awful fact. Two thousand years of Christian teaching have absolutely failed to keep Christian nations at peace.
And yet are these nations Christian? Has not Germany by its adoption of a false philosophy forfeited the title of Christian? So far as its military class is concerned I fear we must say "Yes," but so far as hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants are concerned we rejoice to believe we can still answer "No." They are fighting because they must, and because they do not understand. And we are fighting in another sense because we must. Like Luther, "We can no other." May God forgive us if we are wrong! We believe—with all our hearts we believe—our cause is just.