A comment by Snow.

[armourersergeant]

I read a quote from General Snow today and i para phrase as its on one of my dictaphone tapes and i know not where but it goes like this.

"All is going well, nobody minds the casualties so long as we keep moving"

As i could not find the entry for this quote which was on what i assume was an exhibition card in with his papers i assume it was in a letter sent to his wife.

Question.

Do you find this a callous thing to say or a realistic appraisal of the conditions that generals have to work with to conduct their battles. I was ataken back at first but after reading some of his entries seem to see this as a realistic statement and not meant to belittle the lives of those serving in the trenches. He seems on occasions to officially praise his men and their contribution in his 'successes'. On occassions though he has been known to come out with some real clangers.

i am trying to keep a balanced view of him and would like some feeed back to how others see this comment.

Arm.

[Will O'Brien]

I wonder when he states

"All is going well, nobody minds the casualties so long as we keep moving"

does he really mean casualties are acceptable as long as they do not exceed sustainable levels.

[armourersergeant]

Will,

Try as i might i could not find the entry in his letters so i am assuming that it cmae from these but whilst they were brilliant finds for me they had to be viewed to be believed. they were a hogpot of illustrations and scribble and i was running out of time and desperatley trying to decipher.

I would assume that it was during the Somme offensive though i did cover the first few days of this in his letters when 7th coprs was committed to the gommecourt battle. So it may have been later?

sorry.

Arm.

[michaeldr]

Question.

Do you find this a callous thing to say or a realistic appraisal of the conditions that generals have to work with to conduct their battles.

Another good topic Arm.

To a lowly NCO rtd. [that's me] the responsibilities of high command provide an interesting field to go digging around in. Personally, I think its all a matter of both degree and context

Hunter-Weston's "Casualties? What do I care about casualties!" is unforgivable when you realise that he does not appear to have learnt from his mistakes and that in the battles before Krithia he just kept on time after time putting his men up into harms way in the same fashion time after time.

On the other hand, a realistic commander also knows that with the best will in the world, some of his force will not return, no matter how well he and his staff do their homework

One aspect of this which I found particularly interesting was illustrated by the musings of (sorry) either B. Freyberg or A. M. Asquith, when they had to decide which junior officers should take part in a push. The commander must understand that some will not return and he must therefore also ensure that enough of a reservoir of talent is left for the next battle. He therefore sends into this scrap a mixture of not only his best, but also his worst officers, knowing that if heaven forbid none return then he has left behind some men of ability upon which to rebuild.

The point I am trying to make is that casualties are inescapable; the best commander realises this and plans not only for their limitation but for their inevitability.

Regards

Michael D.R.