If ever a man's life truly contained 'the best of times and the worst of times', the military career of Sir Henry Rawlinson in the two long years between 1916-1918 (1864-1925, pictured) uniquely epitomizes the depths of tragedy and the heights of triumph..
After impressing his senior British officers at Omdurman (Sudan) in 1898 and in South Africa during the Boer War (1899-1902), Rawlinson was prepared to assume a significant role in Allied operations against the German army in World War I. As the head of the British IV Corps, Rawlinson was asked to carry out a massive assault against the German line at near the River Somme in northern France in the summer of 1916. The strategy, conceived by French military leader Joseph Joffre (1852-1931) and British General Sir Douglas Haig (1861-1928), was based on two flawed assumptions. First, the military commanders, especially Haig, failed to appreciate the effectiveness of new battlefield technology - namely machine guns and tanks. Secondly, they believed a war of attrition would wear down and eventually break the will of the Germans to fight after a series of full-scale attacks. In short, Allied commanders were guilty of 'fighting the last war' with old plans and outmoded thinking. As a result, Henry Rawlinson was set up to fail on a scale never before witnessed in war.
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After weeks of shelling to 'soften up' German positions across the front line, tens of thousands of British, French soldiers attempted to break the enemy on 1 July. While charging over the trenches, the men were gunned down by German machine guns and thrown back by German tanks. At the end of the first day alone, Britain suffered 58,000 casualties with nearly 20,000 killed. Undaunted, Rawlinson pressed the engagement. When the Battle of the Somme finally ended, combined British and French casualties reached a staggering 620,000. More than half a million Germans were also either killed or wounded. Rather than victory, Rawlinson had only managed to devastate his army and failed to change the course of the war. From the surreal and senseless slaughter at the Somme, the reputation of Henry Rawlinson was seemingly ruined.
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British military leadership stood by Rawlinson. In their view, flawed strategies and tactics were as responsible - or perhaps more responsible - for the carnage than any errors of judgment made by the British IV Corps leader. Instead of making Rawlinson a scapegoat, British commanders planned to return Rawlinson to command at some point in the future. No one had ever questioned his loyalty to the British crown or his bravery in battle. He loved his country, and he loved his men. Two summers later, Rawlinson earned a perfect opportunity to reclaim his good name.
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The Battle of Amiens, 8 August 1918
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When Lenin came to power and took Russia out of the war in 1917, the Germans began the process of transferring units from the former Eastern Front to France. Before Berlin could achieve numerical superiority, Allied commanders decided to conduct a new type of campaign on the Western Front to forestall the likely prospect of being outnumbered. This revolutionary strategy came from an unlikely source - the discredited Henry Rawlinson. Since the disaster at the Battle of the Somme, Rawlinson had carefully evaluated every aspect of the failed operation and outlined a visionary and achievable plan . Rather than shelling the enemy days before the battle, which ultimately announced an attack was imminent, Rawlinson conceived of an assault where a heavy artillery barrage would proceed concurrently with a mass ground attack.
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In a thick fog at 4:20am on 8 August 1918, British, French, Canadian and Australian forces began an enormous coordinated operation to seize the vital transportation hub of Amiens. Tanks and small squadrons of soldiers pierced enemy defenses as bombs rained down over the German lines. Thrown into a frenzy, the Kaiser's armies were forced to concede eight miles of territory to the Allies in the initial fighting - a hitherto unequalled achievement by either side. As entire German units had surrendered or had been forcibly captured, the Allies had successfully regained both a strategic advantage and the overall momentum. Moreover, American troops, who had been landing in greater numbers by the day for months, had yet to be fully unleashed against the German war machine.
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Erich Ludendorff (1865-1937), a prominent member of the German High Command, immediately understood the significance of Amiens. Time, strategy and manpower were all on the Allies side, and Germany would have no other choice but to negotiate a surrender. Three months later, on 11 November 1918, World War I ended. The Allies had won the war, and Sir Henry Rawlinson had earned three victories - one as a military commander at Amiens, one as a patriot and hero with the people of Britain and one as a human being for overcoming unthinkable adversity.
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Lessons Learned From Henry Rawlinson
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Beyond gaining a bit of knowledge on a largely forgotten World War I figure, how can the 1916-18 military career of Henry Rawlinson be made relevant to an individual in the 21st century?
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After the Battle of the Somme, Rawlinson must have spent an untold number of sleepless nights drowning in remorse and sorrow for the tens of thousands of lives lost and the hundreds of thousands of soldiers wounded under his command. Surely, the rationale that 'people die in war' did not wholly assuage his pain. Rather than resign his post or blame others, he carried on for the higher purpose of defending his country and defeating the enemy. Rawlinson proved that an old dog can indeed learn new tricks. After studying the flawed Somme battleplan, he revised his strategy and the tactics needed to emerge victorious on another day.
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In a sense, nearly every human being, regardless of country of origin or century of birth, has a 'Rawlinson Moment'. After making a poor decision that results in harming oneself or others, regret inevitably ensues. Many a good man and woman have drowned in their own regret - only to compound the tragedy. Instead of falling into a vicious circle of self-pity, Rawlinson re-invented himself and made every effort to contribute to the well-being of his fellow man. Of course, war is a detestable endeavor. However, his foresight at Amiens broke the German resolve and shortened the most terrible war in history up until that time. Hence, Rawlinson's decision to fight through torrents of pain and regret to serve a greater cause ultimately spared many more young men from early deaths on the killing fields of France.
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No one is born with a natural ability to live well with regret. It can only be acquired through time and reflection. As Rawlinson remained focused on the larger task at hand - freeing Europe from German militarism - so too must each person in the 21st century remain focused on making a contribution to society by helping to end war, poverty, discrimination and injustice of any kind in some small way. For the sake of mankind, man (and woman) must learn to forgive himself. For the sake of man, mankind must practice forgiveness. It is a universal value that liberates people and bonds nations together.
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As Henry Rawlinson never quit on his men, one must never quit on mankind.
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J Roquen