. . It was
spent by the spring of '15. Its memory remains as the last epic of
those professional soldiers who, through centuries of English history,
took "the King's shilling" and fought when they were told to fight,
and left their bones in far places of the world and in many fields in
Europe, and won for the British soldier universal fame as a terrible
warrior. There will never be a Regular Army like that. Modern warfare
has opened the arena to the multitude. They may no longer sit in the
Coliseum watching the paid gladiators. If there be war they must take
their share of its sacrifice. They must be victims as well as victors.
They must pay for the luxury of conquest, hatred, and revenge by their
own bodies, and for their safety against aggression by national
service.
After the first quick phases of the war this need of national soldiers
to replace the professional forces became clear to the military
leaders. The Territorials who had been raised for home defense were
sent out to fill up the gaps, and their elementary training was shown
to be good enough, as a beginning, in the fighting-lines.
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