When Hitler Took Cocaine and Lenin Lost His Brain (6 page)

With the fall of Communism came recognition in her own land: many of Poland's highest honours were bestowed on her. In 2007, she was even nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. But she did not win: the prize went to former Vice President Al Gore for his work on climate change.

Irena remained modest to her dying day. When asked about her work, she said simply: ‘Every child saved with my help is the justification of my existence on this Earth, and not a title to glory.'

 

PART V

Man's Best Friend

America entered the war … and Stubby came to the conclusion that he ought to do his bit by his country.

NEW YORK TIMES
OBITUARY OF SERGEANT STUBBY, THE MOST DECORATED DOG IN AMERICAN HISTORY, APRIL 1926.

 

13

The Real War Horse

He stood fearless and proud in readiness for the battle ahead. He had already braved four years of warfare, including the Battle of the Somme in 1916. He had also survived the muddy hell of Passchendaele. Now, on 30 March 1918, Warrior was to face his toughest assignment. The ten-year-old chestnut-brown gelding was to lead one of the last great cavalry charges in history.

His mission was to stop the German Spring Offensive of 1918 and his adventures were to prove every bit as extraordinary as those of Michael Morpurgo's fictional warhorse.

Warrior was one of the million horses sent to France between 1914 and 1918. Only 62,000 of them ever returned home. They are forgotten victims of a conflict that pitted defenceless animals against tanks and machine guns.

Warrior belonged to General John Seely, one of Churchill's closest friends, and both he and his horse were born survivors. Warrior had proved his mettle on numerous occasions since arriving in France in the summer of 1914. That autumn, he narrowly escaped capture by the advancing German army. In the following year, the horse next to him was killed when a shell exploded and ripped it in two. Warrior was extremely fortunate to escape unscathed.

A few days later, his stable was destroyed within seconds of him leaving it. On another occasion, he had to be dug out of mud that was several feet deep.

In February 1915, General Seely (and Warrior) were put in command of the Canadian Cavalry, a ragbag force of ranchers, Mounties, Native Americans and a thousand horses. After three years proving their worth on the battlefield, they were given a mission of vital strategic importance. The German war machine had broken through the Allied front line and taken more than 100,000 prisoners, many of them members of the British Fifth Army. Buoyed by this victory, the Germans were intent on pushing even further west.

It was vital that their advance should be checked as soon as possible. Allied forces were to take the offensive at Moreuil Wood on the banks of the Avre River. Victory here would not only secure the river but it would also stop the German thrust westwards.

The woodland attack was to take place on 30 March and to be led by Warrior and eleven other horses. Their initial task was to plant a red pennant on the hill above the river. This would act as a guide for the rest of the cavalry.

‘[Warrior] was determined to go forward,' wrote Seely, ‘and with a great leap started off. All sensation of fear vanished from him as he galloped at racing speed. There was a hail of bullets from the enemy as we crossed the intervening space and mounted the hill, but Warrior cared for nothing.'

Warrior made it to the hilltop and the pennant was planted. Seconds later, there was a loud thundering as a thousand other horses followed him into battle.

Squadron after squadron rode into the chaos. Shells rained down on them and gunfire came spurting from every angle.

Warrior and his fellow horses advanced under protective covering fire from men of the Royal Flying Corps. More than 17,000 rounds were fired at the Germans. But it was to little avail: hundreds of horses were mown down by the German machine guns.

The battle continued into the late afternoon. Rain sluiced down from the metal-grey sky and the light soon began to fade. Warrior continued to lead the mounted brigade forward under continual fire until the battle slowly began to turn.

By nightfall, the wood had been captured and the Germans forced back. But victory came at a heavy price. A quarter of the men and more than half the horses had been killed in the bloodbath.

There was no respite for Warrior. He was called back into action on the following day in order to lead an attack close to the village of Gentelles. But he soon suffered such injuries that he had to be withdrawn. General Seely was also wounded and unable to continue the fight.

Warrior made a remarkable recovery and lived until 1941, too old to re-enter service in the Second World War. Besides, warfare had changed beyond all recognition in the intervening years. Cavalry charges belonged to the past and there was no longer a place for warhorses like Warrior.

He remains one of the unsung heroes of the Great War: a faithful, devoted and extraordinarily courageous warhorse who helped to secure victory on the Western Front.

 

14

Pigeon to the Rescue

Major Charles Whittlesey knew that the situation was desperate. Just twenty-four hours earlier, on 2 October 1918, he and his men had been ordered to advance against heavily fortified German positions in the Argonne Forest in Northern France. It was part of the biggest operation undertaken by the American Expeditionary Force in the First World War.

Charles Whittlesey was serving in the 77th Division, a motley band who were known as the Metropolitans, a reference to the fact that they had been drawn from New York's multi-ethnic Lower East Side. Between them they spoke forty-two languages.

The linguistic diversity did not hide the fact that most of the men were inexperienced soldiers. After brief but intensive training at Camp Upton in New York, they had been shipped to France. Some had not even learned how to throw a hand grenade.

Major Whittlesey was in command of 554 soldiers attacking the German front line. The strength of the enemy made this a perilous task, but what made it even more deadly was the hostile terrain.

The Argonne is an area of deep ravines and high bluffs of rock. It is easy to defend and almost impossible to attack. Whittlesley sniffed at the danger and sensed a tough time ahead. But orders were orders. On 2 October, he and his men moved forward.

They proved remarkably successful in penetrating the Argonne's ravines. Indeed, their initial success was to prove their downfall. The Allied units on their flanks were unable to make such rapid progress and it was not long before Major Whittlesey's men found themselves cut off. They had made the classic mistake of advancing too far.

The German counter-attack was devastating. Soldiers hidden on the high bluffs began firing downwards on Whittlesey's exposed positions, picking off the men below. They had no chance of firing back because the rocky pinnacles were two hundred feet high.

Whittlesey knew that any attempt to retreat would be tantamount to suicide. His men would be cut down by German machine guns. His only option was to sit tight until American forces could come to their aid.

His wireless equipment was unable to function in the gorge and his only means of contacting battlefield headquarters was to use one of the three carrier pigeons he had brought with him. When he learned that three hundred of his men had been killed, he sent one of the pigeons to headquarters with the message: ‘Many wounded. We cannot evacuate.'

The pigeon was immediately shot down by the Germans. They were determined to prevent additional troops coming to Whittlesey's rescue.

The major sent his second pigeon: ‘Men are suffering. Can support be sent?' It was all to no avail: the second bird was also shot down.

Whittlesey had just one pigeon left, his prize bird, Cher Ami. He now desperately needed to send a message, for as well as being attacked by the Germans, his men were also coming under friendly fire from American artillery.

Whittlesey placed a note inside a canister and then attached it to Cher Ami's leg. ‘We are along the road parallel to 276.4. Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heaven's sake, stop it!'

The men watched anxiously as Cher Ami began flying out of the ravine. He represented their last hope of salvation.

He was scarcely above the line of trees when he was spotted by German gunners. There was a burst of gunfire as they turned all their weaponry on him, firing wildly in an attempt to bring him down.

Cher Ami continued flying through the hail of bullets until disaster struck. The bird was hit and could be seen dropping to the ground. Major Whittlesey's men were devastated. They now knew that they were destined to die in this Argonne hellhole.

But no sooner had the gunfire stopped when there was a collective gasp. Cher Ami had struggled back into the air and was once again flying through the ravine. This time, he made it out alive.

Sixty-five minutes later, divisional headquarters sighted a carrier pigeon approaching its loft. It was Cher Ami. When they went to look for the message, they discovered he'd been shot through the breast and was blinded in one eye. One of his legs, the one carrying Major Whittlesey's message, was hanging from a single tendon. Divisional headquarters acted immediately and ordered an immediate halt to the bombardment.

The troops in the ravine managed to hold out for a further four days before the Allies finally sent in a relief force. The Germans retreated and Whittlesey's Lost Battalion, as it was already being called, was finally safe. Whittlesey returned to America a war hero. His stand in the Argonne became the stuff of legend.

Cher Ami was also to become a national hero. One of six hundred pigeons used by the United States Army Signal Corps, he had already delivered twelve important messages at Verdun. Now, his rescue of the Lost Battalion was his finest hour.

His leg was so damaged that it had to be amputated; a wooden leg was specially carved for him. And then he sailed back to America, with General John J. Pershing seeing him off personally.

On arrival, he was awarded the Croix de Guerre medal with a palm Oak Leaf Cluster; he would later become an exalted member of the Racing Pigeon Hall of Fame.

Cher Ami died on 13 June 1919, from wounds received in battle. He was stuffed by a taxidermist and placed on display in the Smithsonian, alongside another famous hero from the First World War, the mongrel dog Sergeant Stubby. Both of them remain there to this day.

 

15

Barking for Victory

It was a most unusual way to join the US Army. But then again, he was a most unusual recruit. Stubby sauntered onto the Connecticut training ground of the 102nd Infantry Division, wagged his tail and signalled his desire to serve in the First World War. It was the beginning of a long and illustrious canine military career.

Stubby was a brindle puppy with a short tail. Homeless and apparently ownerless, he was adopted by Private J. Robert Conroy and began training with the 102nd Infantry's 26 Yankee Division.

He proved quick to learn. Within weeks he knew all the bugle calls and drills and had even learned to salute his superiors, placing his right paw on his right eyebrow.

The time soon came for the Infantry Division to sail for France. Stubby ought to have been left behind, but Private Conroy smuggled him aboard the
SS Minnesota
. He was kept hidden in a coal bin until the ship was far out at sea; he was then brought out and introduced to the sailors, who were amused by his canine salutes.

When the ship arrived in France, Private Conroy smuggled him ashore. His commanding officer was minded to have the dog sent back on board, but he changed his mind when Stubby gave him a full military salute.

The Yankee Division headed for the front lines at Chemin des Dames, near Soissons, in the first week of February 1918. Stubby was allowed to accompany them as the division's official mascot. Under constant fire for over a month, he soon became used to the noise of shelling.

His first injury came not from gunfire but from poison gas. He was rushed to a field hospital and given emergency treatment. The gassing left him sensitive to even minute traces of the substance in the atmosphere. When the Infantry Division was the target of an early morning gas attack, the men were asleep and their lives were at great risk. But Stubby recognized the smell and ran through the trench barking and biting the soldiers in order to wake them. In doing so, he saved them from certain death.

Stubby also proved extraordinarily talented at finding wounded soldiers lying out in no man's land between the trenches of the opposing armies. He would stand by the body, barking loudly until stretcher bearers were able to rescue the injured person.

On one occasion, while serving in the Argonne, Stubby stumbled across a German soldier-spy who was in the process of mapping the layout of the Allied trenches. He understood what the man was doing and began barking wildly.

The German spy realized that his cover was blown and started to run back to his own trenches. But Stubby chased after the man, gnawing his legs and causing him to fall to the ground. He then pressed home his attack until American troops arrived and captured the spy.

Stubby's heroism in the face of extreme danger caused a sensation. He was immediately promoted to the rank of sergeant by the commander of the 102nd Infantry.

A few months later, Sergeant Stubby was badly injured during a grenade attack and received a large amount of shrapnel in his chest and leg. He was rushed to a field hospital for emergency surgery then taken to a Red Cross hospital for additional treatment. When he was well enough to wander through the wards, he visited wounded soldiers, boosting their morale.

By the end of the war, Stubby had served in seventeen battles and four major offensives. He also played an important role in liberating Château-Thierry. The women of the town were so grateful that they made him a special chamois coat on which he could pin his many medals.