Post by Balkaneros on Jan 22, 2013 11:43:34 GMT -5
THE SERBS - THE GUARDIANS OF THE GATE
Oxford University Press London Edinburgh Glasgow New Tork Toronto Melbourne Cape Town Bombay Humphrey Milford Publisher to the University 1918
HISTORICAL LECTURES ON THE SERBS BY R. G. D. LAFFAN, C.F.
FELLOW OF QUEENS' COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE
*************
1918
FOREWORD by Vice-Admiral E.T. Troubridge
"The Serbians are a people but little known in Great Britain. This extremely interesting book by the Rev. R. G. D, Laffan, C.F. will, I am confident, help our nation to understand them better, and, in understanding, to appreciate the sterling qualities that underlie their national character.
I have lived among the Serbians during the past three years, in days, and under circumstances, which encourage the revelation of every human attribute: in the days immediately following their first success, when they triumphantly flung out of Serbia the 'Punitive expedition' of their powerful neighbour and relentless enemy: in long and weary days of tenacious defence: in the days of overwhelming and treacherous attack upon them, with hope of succour growing less and less: in days of terrible marches in a fighting retreat through their beloved country under moral and physical conditions surely never paralleled in the history of any nation: in the days of regeneration of all that was left of them: and finally in days of eager and reckless fighting to regain that which they had lost. The qualities which they have displayed throughout these fateful years should especially appeal to the inhabitants of our Empire.
A love of freedom and country as deeply implanted as our own. A loyalty to friends that does not falter under the greatest temptation, and a chivalry so innate that hundreds of our countrywomen could walk hundreds of miles through a great army in a harassed retreat, through a fleeing peasantry in a disorganized and strange land, and yet fear no evil.
From such experiences a judgment can be formed; I permit myself, with the Serbians, to believe in a Serbia great and flourishing in the future, pursuing her national development and ideals in peace and quietness, bound to Great Britain in the closest ties of friendship, and once more — as for centuries past — holding the gate of freedom of life, of freedom of thought, against the sinister forces of moral enslavement.
Serbia has indeed well and bravely answered the great question He asked: 'What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?'"
E. T. Troubridge 1918
***************************
PREFACE to “The Serbs – The Guardians of the Gate”
by R.G.D. Laffan, C.F.
The title, “The Guardians of the Gate”, is borrowed from a phrase applied to the Serbs by several speakers, in particular by Mr. Lloyd George [British Prime Minister] in his speech on August 8. It is a summary of the services which the Serbs have always done their best to render to Christendom : for their country is, indeed, one of the gateways of civilized Europe. Despite their unhappy divisions and their weakness in numbers they have never ceased to struggle against the barbarisms of Turkestan and Berlin, which at different times have threatened to overflow the Western nations and the Mediterranean lands.
*******************************
"In the past most Englishmen, who have spoken to me about the Balkans, have expressed very decided views. Nine out of ten have said that all the Balkan nations were as bad as each other; that, as between Turks and Christians, it was six of one and half-a-dozen of the other; that all were savages and cut-throats and past praying for. The tenth man has usually been a philanthropic crank, who would only see good points in his own pet Balkan nation, and who wished to make it by industrialization and party politics into an imitation of Great Britain."
"Now, when we return to England, we shall, at any rate, be in a position to declare that we found one Balkan race, the Serbs, to consist of the best of fellows. Our companies have had Serbs attached to them, as guards or drivers, and very sorry we were when they were withdrawn. Though most of us could not say anything to them except 'Dobro' (‘Good’), we managed to understand them, and to make ourselves understood. They were always cheerful, kindly, helpful, with a skill in many handicrafts that made camp-life more comfortable for themselves and us. And I think we may flatter ourselves that they liked us and our ways, and found the British character sympathetic with their own."
"But, though first-hand acquaintance with some Serbs is essential to any knowledge of the people, I believe that you would like also to understand something of the nation's past and of the mental background from which the Serbs view the world. It is for that reason that I have undertaken to deliver these lectures. They will deal with the history of the Serbs in recent times; because it is impossible to understand the characteristics and point of view of a people, especially a people so nationalist and traditionalist as the Serbs, apart from their history…"
"…It will be necessary throughout to remember that the Serbs look back with pride to the great days of their independence in the Middle Ages, and to their empire which once embraced the whole Balkan peninsula, except southern Greece and the coast-towns."
"They were a great people six hundred years ago. Never have they been more glorious than in their present humiliation, exile, and disruption. But, please God, that spiritual glory which encircles them to-day will soon be expressed in the 'outward and visible signs' of material greatness, and they will again take their place among the mighty nations of the earth."
R.G.D. Laffan
******
In researching the history of the Serbians, the “old” books, now often out of print but still available if you search for them, are invaluable. Given the particularly volatile relationship the Serbs have had with the British over the years, it’s important to consider just how highly the Brits regarded the Serbs BEFORE the poison of Communism and political expediency entered into and compromised that relationship.
R.G.D. Laffan was one of several Britons who publicly shared their experiences with the Serbs in World War One and documented them in print. I’m very grateful that they did so, because what they had to say was from the heart and reflects an image of the Serbians as the people and the heroes that they really were.
quote:
"General, Please Ask the Serbs to Slow Down…”
90 years ago, on September 13 1918, at dawn, the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces in the Balkans, French General Franchet d’Espérey, ordered the final offensive for the breakthrough of the Thessaloniki front. Serbian Army which led the offensive on the ground played the key role in a battle studied even today at countless military academies throughout the world, as a shining example of*glorious victory.
At 5:30 a.m. the Serbian troops began and unstoppable surge from the Greek border back in to Serbia, to free their motherland, pushing the Austrians, Germans and Bulgarians out of their country. In 12 days they advanced 800 miles on foot, forcing the French general to telegraph his counterpart in the Serbian Army, General Stepanovic: “General, please ask the Serbian infantry to slow down, the French cavalry cannot keep up the pace!”
The command issued by General Zivojin Misic to the Serbian Army at the dawn of the battle was brief and clear:
On September 13 1918, the state which was at the brink of complete destruction in the fall of 1915 — occupied by the most powerful empires, left without the army, government and king — rose up from the ashes and amazed the world with its courage and willingness to sacrifice for freedom.
quote:
- French General Franchet d’Espérey, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied troops in WWI.
Serbian World War One campaign
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_Campaign_(World_War_I)
Oxford University Press London Edinburgh Glasgow New Tork Toronto Melbourne Cape Town Bombay Humphrey Milford Publisher to the University 1918
HISTORICAL LECTURES ON THE SERBS BY R. G. D. LAFFAN, C.F.
FELLOW OF QUEENS' COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE
*************
1918
FOREWORD by Vice-Admiral E.T. Troubridge
"The Serbians are a people but little known in Great Britain. This extremely interesting book by the Rev. R. G. D, Laffan, C.F. will, I am confident, help our nation to understand them better, and, in understanding, to appreciate the sterling qualities that underlie their national character.
I have lived among the Serbians during the past three years, in days, and under circumstances, which encourage the revelation of every human attribute: in the days immediately following their first success, when they triumphantly flung out of Serbia the 'Punitive expedition' of their powerful neighbour and relentless enemy: in long and weary days of tenacious defence: in the days of overwhelming and treacherous attack upon them, with hope of succour growing less and less: in days of terrible marches in a fighting retreat through their beloved country under moral and physical conditions surely never paralleled in the history of any nation: in the days of regeneration of all that was left of them: and finally in days of eager and reckless fighting to regain that which they had lost. The qualities which they have displayed throughout these fateful years should especially appeal to the inhabitants of our Empire.
A love of freedom and country as deeply implanted as our own. A loyalty to friends that does not falter under the greatest temptation, and a chivalry so innate that hundreds of our countrywomen could walk hundreds of miles through a great army in a harassed retreat, through a fleeing peasantry in a disorganized and strange land, and yet fear no evil.
From such experiences a judgment can be formed; I permit myself, with the Serbians, to believe in a Serbia great and flourishing in the future, pursuing her national development and ideals in peace and quietness, bound to Great Britain in the closest ties of friendship, and once more — as for centuries past — holding the gate of freedom of life, of freedom of thought, against the sinister forces of moral enslavement.
Serbia has indeed well and bravely answered the great question He asked: 'What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?'"
E. T. Troubridge 1918
***************************
PREFACE to “The Serbs – The Guardians of the Gate”
by R.G.D. Laffan, C.F.
The title, “The Guardians of the Gate”, is borrowed from a phrase applied to the Serbs by several speakers, in particular by Mr. Lloyd George [British Prime Minister] in his speech on August 8. It is a summary of the services which the Serbs have always done their best to render to Christendom : for their country is, indeed, one of the gateways of civilized Europe. Despite their unhappy divisions and their weakness in numbers they have never ceased to struggle against the barbarisms of Turkestan and Berlin, which at different times have threatened to overflow the Western nations and the Mediterranean lands.
*******************************
"In the past most Englishmen, who have spoken to me about the Balkans, have expressed very decided views. Nine out of ten have said that all the Balkan nations were as bad as each other; that, as between Turks and Christians, it was six of one and half-a-dozen of the other; that all were savages and cut-throats and past praying for. The tenth man has usually been a philanthropic crank, who would only see good points in his own pet Balkan nation, and who wished to make it by industrialization and party politics into an imitation of Great Britain."
"Now, when we return to England, we shall, at any rate, be in a position to declare that we found one Balkan race, the Serbs, to consist of the best of fellows. Our companies have had Serbs attached to them, as guards or drivers, and very sorry we were when they were withdrawn. Though most of us could not say anything to them except 'Dobro' (‘Good’), we managed to understand them, and to make ourselves understood. They were always cheerful, kindly, helpful, with a skill in many handicrafts that made camp-life more comfortable for themselves and us. And I think we may flatter ourselves that they liked us and our ways, and found the British character sympathetic with their own."
"But, though first-hand acquaintance with some Serbs is essential to any knowledge of the people, I believe that you would like also to understand something of the nation's past and of the mental background from which the Serbs view the world. It is for that reason that I have undertaken to deliver these lectures. They will deal with the history of the Serbs in recent times; because it is impossible to understand the characteristics and point of view of a people, especially a people so nationalist and traditionalist as the Serbs, apart from their history…"
"…It will be necessary throughout to remember that the Serbs look back with pride to the great days of their independence in the Middle Ages, and to their empire which once embraced the whole Balkan peninsula, except southern Greece and the coast-towns."
"They were a great people six hundred years ago. Never have they been more glorious than in their present humiliation, exile, and disruption. But, please God, that spiritual glory which encircles them to-day will soon be expressed in the 'outward and visible signs' of material greatness, and they will again take their place among the mighty nations of the earth."
R.G.D. Laffan
******
In researching the history of the Serbians, the “old” books, now often out of print but still available if you search for them, are invaluable. Given the particularly volatile relationship the Serbs have had with the British over the years, it’s important to consider just how highly the Brits regarded the Serbs BEFORE the poison of Communism and political expediency entered into and compromised that relationship.
R.G.D. Laffan was one of several Britons who publicly shared their experiences with the Serbs in World War One and documented them in print. I’m very grateful that they did so, because what they had to say was from the heart and reflects an image of the Serbians as the people and the heroes that they really were.
quote:
"General, Please Ask the Serbs to Slow Down…”
90 years ago, on September 13 1918, at dawn, the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces in the Balkans, French General Franchet d’Espérey, ordered the final offensive for the breakthrough of the Thessaloniki front. Serbian Army which led the offensive on the ground played the key role in a battle studied even today at countless military academies throughout the world, as a shining example of*glorious victory.
At 5:30 a.m. the Serbian troops began and unstoppable surge from the Greek border back in to Serbia, to free their motherland, pushing the Austrians, Germans and Bulgarians out of their country. In 12 days they advanced 800 miles on foot, forcing the French general to telegraph his counterpart in the Serbian Army, General Stepanovic: “General, please ask the Serbian infantry to slow down, the French cavalry cannot keep up the pace!”
The command issued by General Zivojin Misic to the Serbian Army at the dawn of the battle was brief and clear:
“Boldly press forward, without rest, to the utter limits of the human and horse strength. To death, just don’t stop! With the unwavering faith and hope: Heroes, forward! to the fatherland!”
On September 13 1918, the state which was at the brink of complete destruction in the fall of 1915 — occupied by the most powerful empires, left without the army, government and king — rose up from the ashes and amazed the world with its courage and willingness to sacrifice for freedom.
quote:
“These Serbs are tough in trouble, sober, modest, unbreakable. They are the free men, proud of their nation and the masters of their fields… For the freedom of their homeland these peasants instantly turned into the most courageous soldiers, the most persistent, the best of all soldiers,”
- French General Franchet d’Espérey, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied troops in WWI.
Serbian World War One campaign
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_Campaign_(World_War_I)