five minutes in France they might
have philosophically added "c'est la guerre." The actual individual
responsible has not been worth worrying about. Thus even with regard to
this mere side issue, the author's story reflects a cardinal attribute
of the national character, and therefore in its essence conveys the
truth.

In my opinion, it is not, however, the whole truth. There is no reason
why England in her reconstruction should forget that want of sympathy
with the Territorials, which far too often marked men, to whose hands
their fortunes were from time to time entrusted. This vice should be
borne in mind not because the memory is bitter; but because by
remembrance we may make its repetition in later wars impossible.
Territorials ought never to be ousted from the command of their own
units, or to be excluded from staff appointments, merely because they
are not Regulars or because they fail to comply with needlessly drastic
and therefore non-essential codes of discipline. Discipline is, in fact,
degraded into servitude when it becomes a mere fetish. How fallaciously
it may be construed could often be seen in the tendency among powerful
martinets to "drive a coach and four" through the law and procedure
which regulate trials by Court Martial. The need for the
"standardisation" of all infantry units in France was quite genuine; but
unimaginative men in authority could make "standardisation" a burden to
the spirit, and the picture of some men of this class, which is painted
in A. P. Herbert's novel. _The Secret Battle_, is founded on the truth.
We have all seen such cases. The grinding necessities of the Western
front ended the joyous amateurism, which a Territorial unit was able to
preserve through all its vicissitudes in Eastern warfare, but they did
not require the prevailing banishment of individuality and of the
exercise of intellect from Regimental life.

After landing in France the 42nd Division had to make a new reputation
by rising from the ruck, and it is very notable that the personnel of
the 7th Manchesters, as of the other units in the Division, although
almost completely changed from the personnel of the Battalion when in
Gallipoli and drawn from a later generation of recruits, achieved equal
distinction and much greater technical efficiency. This fact points to
the wonderful resourcefulness of the English people. Historically it
shows how thoroughly our Army of 1917-18 was professionalised.

The later c