FIFTH ARMY MEMORIAL

Evening Star, Issue 22975, 4 June 1938, Page 24

FIFTH ARMY MEMORIAL

PROPOSED WARDS IN LONDON HOSPITAL A proposal for the erection of a tablet and the. endowment of two wards in St. Mary’s Hospital, London, as a living memorial to the men of the sth Army, recalls one of the darkest chapters in the history of the Great War. It was this Army, commanded by General Sir Hubert Gough, that bore the brunt of the desperate attack by the Germans on the Somme in 1918, in an endeavour to separate the French and the British and seize the Channel ports. The collapse of Russia in 1917 had not only saved the Central Powers from defeat, but held out promise of a positive success in 1918, with the realisation of their most ambitious hopes. It raised the German strength in the west to 197 divisions, with 1,500,000 rifles and) 16,000 guns, against an Allied strength of 169 divisions, with about 1,400,000 rifles and 16,400 guns. The weakest part of the front ivas that held by the sth Army, and its men were called upon to defend a 40-mile front with inadequate numbers against the mainattack of the enemy. Against sheer weight of numbers the sth Army was gradually forced back, and the extremity of weariness to which the strain of 10 days’ continuous fighting and marching, with probably a fifth of the normal relief of sleep, reduced its infantry, may well be imagined. Though it was believed that the Army was completely disorganised, its unrelieved remnant stubbornly held an almost equally exhausted enemy, and, in maintaining one condition vital to its side—a generally unbroken front—it was entirely successful. Fresh troops from the north, among them the Australians and New Zealanders, were brought in to relieve the defenders, and succeeded in holding up the attack. Though there have been criticisms of the sth Army;, calm reflection later showed that its men faced overwhelming odds with a courage beyond the power of words to praise, and that, had the front not held, the Germans would have attained' a strategical position which would have meant a continuation of the war for very much longer. General Gough has sent copies of the apneal for funds for the memorial to the daily papers of the Empire, knowing that they will be glad to ma'ke known to_ ex-service-men overseas who served in the sth Army the object of the appeal, which has been received with much approval by their friends and comrades at Home. It is estimated that £25,000 will be required to endow.the wardsand provide the cost of the memorial. St. Mary’s Hospital, the president of which is Queen Elizabeth, will give two wards, one for men and one for women, where dependents of those who died, and survivors and their dependents, will receive care and attention when they are in need of hospital treatment* ' ,