"G.H.Q."

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 47, 19 November 1917, Page 6

"G.H.Q."

A GLIMPSE OF SIR DOUGLAS HAIG

BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE BRITISH HEADQUARTERS

I Imd, of courso, heard a groat deal of Sir Douglas Haig before 1 saw him (writes Mr. I. F. Jlarcosson, in the "Philadelphia Ledger," of a glimpse he was privileged to have behind the scenes at British Headquarters). The world had come to know him as a man of action aud achievement. His name ran like a strain up and down tho far-flung lighting-line. "Buggy" and "D.H." is the way the "Tommies" refer to him in affectionate intimacy. Yet not one out of ten soldiers in the Army has ever eeen him. To them he is a sort of great, directing mystery and force. For days and nightsQ had beea with his lighting legions, The~ whole world seemed an immense battlefield shaken by a tremendous din. Then, on a brilliant sunlit' day, I left the tumult and the crash behind mo and made my way to a very modest chateau that stood oft' the beaten road almost hidden by trees. If had an atmosphore of brooding peace rather than any suggestion of being tho very nervecentre of one mighty phase of the mightiest war the world has ever known. Behind me on the dusty roads I had left the marching troops, the endless ammunition trains, tho trailing squadrons of motor-trucks, the rattling processions of artillery. It all seemed vory far away. I entered what seemed to be the usual charming interior of the conventional French country house. But there was this difference. There was an almost incessant rattle of a typewriter, and, down the hall, a telephone bell jangled constantly. Orderlies oame and went. Through tho open door you saw officers at work. Still there was nothing to indicate strikingly that this secluded building was tho headquarters of a conductor of war, who at tlmt very moment -was shifting the pawns of life and death. Ot.tsido a rooster crowed, a do? barked;'' you heard the familiar sounds of the country. Tt was one of the many contrasts "of this great conflict that is one dramatio succession of contrasts.

"G.H.a." This was genoral headquarters, or "G.H.Q." as it is more familiarly known. The moment you entered you. i'elt that you were establishing a contact with something significant. It was not the dealt, tho maps, the tolephone, the typewriters, or the movement of soldiers to and fro. It was the personality of tho man who dominated tho establishment, and, instinctively yoir acknowledged this unseen authority. I was talking with one of the young staff officers in an anteroom when the buzzer on his desk barked. It was the signal for my entry to the office of the Com-niander-in-Cliief. In a moment I found myself facing one of the handsomest men I have ever seen. He was tall, lithe, well-knit. Without the slightest clue to i his vocation, von would have unconsciously siz--ed - him up as a soldier. Dignity, distinction, and yet a- gracious and charming reserve mingled in his bearing. His hair and moustache are fair. His clear steely-Muo eyes search you. Kis chest is bitiad and deep, yet scarcely broad enough for the rows of service and order ribbons that plant a mass of colour against the background of khaki. He is the personification of grace and enso. His cavalry training is instantly evident. It shows in tho long shapely outlines of his legs and the rounded calves encased in porleotly polished bootaj When he walks, it is with the .rangy, swingy stride of the man who rides muoh. Such is Sir Douglas Haig as he is. You know that he is a real person the minute you enter his presence. After the preliminary greeting he sat down at a plain, flat-topped desk. Just at this moment ail -officer entered with a paper to be signed. I looked around the office. It was the drawing-room of the chatouu, und, with a few exceptions, maintained the integrity of its original furnishings. The old family portraits still looked down from the walls; the ancient works of art stood upon tho fine old marble mantelpiece; in the corners were brocaded divans, where iu other and happier days young lovers had whispered jtlieir tender "words. Now these soiafl were used b { Y smart and businesslike men in khaki. The lovers they succeeded had been torn asunder by the Groat War; the men to fight or die, tlfo women to wait or weep. Nevertheless, this conventional room was a soldier's workshop, and his tools were close at hand.- Chief among them was an immense relief-map of v the whole Soinmc district, which stood on a large table jlist*behind tho Field-Marshals desk. I had more than one opportunity later to study, that map. Every time I looked at it there arose in my .mind a picture of Sir Douglas Haig, poring over the green and red lines that told the wholo triumphant story of tho advance of the British Army, and which, incidentally, put the Haig name brilliantly into the world's news for the first time. The first battle 'of the Somme .was his initial operation as Comniander-m-Chiet, and much of it was planned from this | simple room with its distinct and picturesque Old-World setting. • Like most of the outstanding soldiers that I have met in this war, Haigs whole personality suggests the very human thing rather than the inhuman business which he directs. For one thing, his voice is most attractive. It is low, deep, musical, with a hint of the Fife country that gave him birth. He is sparing of Iwords as he W of men. Therefore, he is one of most difficult of men to interview. ' He asked me among other things what outstanding fact had impressed me most anion,? his armies. I told him that it was the extreme youth of his men, and especially the Eoyal Hying Corps, where the average is/from eighteen to nineteen years. c "Yes," he replied, this is a war ot youth. It takes youth to win." ' One thing that he'said made a very deep impression on me, and it is of especial interest now that our own fighting men are in France. It dealt witn the men who had risen from the ranks and with that old but ever-interesting insti-tution-opportunity. ' "Every man in this war has a'-chance, said Sir Douglas. "Effioiency counts above all other things." •

War a Business. Mr. Marcossom desoribes Haig as the incarnation of efficiency and the biography of his day's viork as the narrative of well-ordered and ceaseless effort that sheds light upon that most fascinating mystery of this present crowded hour—how war is waged: Here you get one of the many parallel to the con-< duct of war with the conduct of business. The headquarters establishment is the first instance. In other days tho centres of war-operations often proclaimed the work inside. Flags waved, orderlies dashed up on foam-flecked hoTSCS; you got some of tho thrill of went or impoding events. Haig, as you have already seon, i 6 ensconced in the most modest and unassuming of places, without splash or spectaclo, and this .epreijents the quiet concentration essential to war-operations. ■ When couriers are needed, the motorcyclist is used. These messengers, I, might add, one of the most daring and unsung adjuncts of tho war. Day and night I have seen them rattling along the roads of France at what was literally breakneck speed. In wet and dry, sleet and slush, heat and cold, these men keep to their path. I have often marvelled how they managed to do it, and also how they managed to get f.way with their lives. Not all of them do, because scores of them have been killed either in collision with heavy motortrucks in the dark or by skiddim: oft the road into trees aUd fences. These aro the men who help to keep Haig supplied with certain information, and who sometimes transmit his orders, straight to tho front when the telephono wires are 6hot away. • To return to Ttaig's day. Its routmo is as rigid as if be and every member of the establishment punched a timeclock The man who controls tho destinies of the nritish armies in tho field is up at 7 o'clock, and has had a brisk constitutional before his breakfast which is served promptly at 8. By 9 o clock ho has read his mail and is at his desk. t From that time until the luncheon gong sounds promptly at 1.30 o'clock he is constantly occupied. Tho moyiins is devoted to tho reception of the chiefs of the different deparl-

ments, who are located in a small, iown less than fivo miles from the charming chateau which houses the Commander-in-Chiof. This js the real business office of tho head of tho British Army in tho field. From it ho gets the reports of tho operations of Iho night before, which, during the course of tho day, go flashing forth throughout tho world with their news of advance or reverse, and with them, those casualty-lists that aro the price of glory. Like many of our own captains of industry, Sir Douglas Haig depends on experts. He believes in specialists, and ho has rallied about him the masters of modern warfare. Some of them aro ojd campaigners; others are yonng men swiftly grown to military manhood in this great war. They are attached to his personal staff or in responsible posts in the various armies under him. Ono conspicuous trait of ITaig is that ho is tho perfect listener. That is why they call him the "Silent Haig." He lets a man exhaust himself, or think ho has exhausted himself, in' conversation. Then with a swift and searching question he gets at the whole rect of the matter. Non-essentials havo no interest for him. He pares the business at hand down to the bone. Like all really big men, Haig is not only simple, but he is always open to suggestion. Evory one of the experts who assemble in his council-room has the freest possible speech, and any civilian who happens to be at "G.H.Q." is invited to make any comment the service that is based upon his observation in the field or upon his business or professional experience. Knowing, these facts, you realise that war is not only work, but team-work of the highest order. Sir. Douglas, for example, never orders any action until he lias had the widest possible information and has garnered the 'tfery best judgment of. his associate!?., The great battle of the Somme is typical of his procedure. _ He devoted, months to patient preparation.

Tou may well imagine that • after such a morning as I havo described Sir Douglas Haig is ready to welcome the lunch-gong, which sounds at 1.30 o'clock. After lunch Haig does a very characteristic thing. He isolates himself in his study, and it is ;ne of the unwritten of General Headquarters that he is. not to be disturbed. In this period of meditation he Teally sifts out all that, lie has heard during the morning and plans the fateful orders that leap up and down the battle-line before the day is ended.

Keeping Fit. How does a man keep fit under the racing anxieties siiicli as beset Sir Douglas Haig? The next step in his daily procedure is the answer. After his quiet hour, Haig gets his only play. Being a horn cavalryman, it naturally follows that his chvf recreation is horseback riding. Promptly at 3.30 o'clock his horse is I brought up, and, attended by one or two I young (itaft officers and sometimes by a !few of his own Seventeenth.Landers, lie goes oil for a gallop along unfrequented roads. He rides superbly. Sometimes he devotes part of the afternoon to inspection at the various army headquarters or to a visit to the headquarters of one of his French Allies. On such trips ho uses a long motor-car—the only one at the frbnt that flies a small British flag. When the Tommies see this brilliant bit ot' colour flashing by they stand at attention with more than usual Tigidity, for thev know that the leader of them all is out. This car has the supremo right of way, and, when you follow it, you go at lightning speed. Heme from the ride, whether horseback or motor, there are more wmterences that continue through the inevitable tea-time and almost jip to the dinner hour. If any meal might be cal.ed festive at General Headquarters it is the evening one. Then there is talk of tho outer world so far removed; of new books, plays, or of the trend of woi Id politics. Very often the Commander-in-Chief has conferences after dinner. When there is no formal conference Sir Douglas leaves his guests early. But it is not to seek his bed. If you should be strollui„ up-and down the quiet garden that flanks the chateau, you are more tlum likely to see the light burning in the Field-Marshal's study, and you know without being told that the Commander-in-Chief is keeping a solitary vigil ot some map or studying some report or working out a bit ot strategy that, before fortv-eight hours'have passed will be translated into action on some liariii'ougiit field. '