Explaining The Angelic Intervention In The Battle of Mons 1914

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The Angels of Mons - A First World War Story
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In August 1914, as the British Expeditionary Force conducted a fighting retreat from the Germans following the Battle of Mons, a strange story began to circulate.
Outnumbered and in danger of being overrun by the Kaiser’s army, the British were saved by a supernatural army that descended on the advancing Germans.
Some said this army consisted of English bowmen from Agincourt, others claimed that it was winged angels led by St. George or the Archangel Michael.
But what was the truth?
This is the story of the Angels of Mons.
Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:15 The battle of Mons
2:05 Retreat from Mons
2:51 Ghostly Archers
5:12 Angels of Mons
6:43 Fact v Fiction
9:38 God as Propaganda
12:03 Maybe God did smile
#angelsofmons #battleofmons #ww1
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My name is Chris Green and I love to share stories from British history. Not just because they are interesting but because, good or bad, they have shaped the world we live in today.
History should not be stuffy or a long list of dates or kings & queens.
So rather than lectures or RU-vid animations, I tell stories that bring the past to life.
My aim is to be chat as if I were having a coffee or meal with you. Jean in Maryland, USA recently wrote: "Chris, is the history teacher I wish I had at school!"
Just for the record, I do have a history degree in Medieval & Modern history from the University of Birmingham.
Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Chris Green Communication Ltd t/a The History Chap. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Chris Green Communication Ltd does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.

Опубликовано:

16 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 451

@ropeburnsrussell 9 месяцев назад

The British army has always been saved by angels. They are called noncommisioned officers.

@kenattwood8060 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for the compliment: I've never been called an 'angel' before... It was usually something more pointed.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Good shout!

@mebymyself2816 9 месяцев назад

@@kenattwood8060 it was normally beginning with B and ending in D said when they thought you might not hear or get away with it.

@ThePiratemachine 9 месяцев назад

My Dad would have found that quite amusing.

@aaropajari7058 9 месяцев назад

I couldn't agree more if I tried a thousand years. Superb!

@adrianwoodward6781 9 месяцев назад

My grandfather fought at Mons in 1914 and claimed to have seen the angelic host. My dad fought in Belgium in 1940 and said that some Brits had seen similar apparitions. Dad worked in gas engineering and said that methane is often given out by badly drained land and this is quite common in the Low Countries. He said that when you are cold, scared, hungry and battle fatigued you often can semi hallucinate. But added that God moves in mysterious ways and whatever gets you through. On a similar note, my great uncle fought the Bolsheviks in the Polish Army at the Battle of the Vistula in 1920. The Poles were outnumbered by a better armed Russian force who threatened to overrun Warsaw. On 15th August 1920, the day marking the Ascension of the Blessed Virgin Mary, there appeared a vision of the Madonna in the skies outside Warsaw. This rallied the Polish troops and marked the start of a famous victory. Again Poland is flat marshy and methane is not uncommon. Whether its God's work or man's interpretation of nature, possibly both, angelic apparitions have certainly helped the good guys.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for sharing

@adrianwoodward6781 9 месяцев назад

No problem. It has always been a family debate/ discussion. My dad always took a rationalist approach towards such matters. Yet as a lad who lied about his age to volunteer for WW1 and a veteran of WW2 with numerous lucky escapes, both in civilian and military life, he always felt something was looking after him. He, like many vets, suffered survivor guilt and trauma from various experiences. It was only when I joined up that he would talk about his experiences.

@Liam1304 9 месяцев назад

When I was a boy I spoke with the dear old man who lived next door about angels in WW1. We are in New Zealand, I was 7 or 8 and my neighbour seemed to me as old as God in the late 1960's. He was not a church goer although his wife was. He did not say the year or the battle but he did tell me of a time when all the NZ soldiers were waiting for the signal to attack the Germans and they were all very nervous about how it would go. Then he said they looked up and saw angels and chariots in the sky above them flowing towards the German positions. They all saw it he said. Then they knew they would win the battle. I believed him and subsequent experiences of my own in the years following proved to me that God and angels are real. He was a simple and good man and what he told me was right.

@beachcomber1able 9 месяцев назад

You must be simple if you believe in deities and angels.

@Liam1304 9 месяцев назад

@@beachcomber1ableThank you. I hope I am a simple and straightforward person. And yes, I've seen and experienced far too much in my 62 years to deny the existence of either angels or Jesus. Far too much. All the best.

@beachcomber1able 9 месяцев назад

@@Liam1304 What exactly have you seen and will you be taking the James Randi challenge?

@Liam1304 9 месяцев назад

@@beachcomber1able I don't claim to have supernatural or paranormal powers so it seems that challenge is not for me. Regarding experiencing God & angels though, I have seen far too much to put in this comment: the presence of angels, demons, Jesus; heard the audible voice of God on one occasion. I have also picked up a couple of theological degrees over the years, so if you have a genuine question I will do my best to engage. If you just want to insult me you won't hear from me again though. All the best

@beachcomber1able 9 месяцев назад

@@Liam1304 The significance of you mentioning having theological degrees escapes me. Was it just for your confirmation bias quest? Religion to critical thinking humans in these enlightened times will always be bunkum.

@robertbarfoot741 9 месяцев назад

Interesting this, my mum who was German from Munster had an uncle who fought on the German side at the battle of Mons and she told me that her uncle told her the story about seeing angels over the battlefield at Mons, so interesting to see this here.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Fascinating. Thanks for sharing

@jhnshep 9 месяцев назад

When I was in the Legion we were out on exercise in Djibouti, 3 days going without sleep and little food, live fire exercises and night marches, going by night under a full moon it was like being in a black and white film, I noticed guys side stepping and avoiding something, when I asked he said watch out for the hole, nothing was there, later I seen a woman with her daughter, I'm irish they looked like famine victims from the 1840s I stopped to ask if they were ok, I was pushed, asked what ye up to? I looked back and they were gone. when we got to the coast someone asked if anyone seen anything strange. the whole platoon came out with stories, everything from greek columns carved into the rocks to children playing ball, surreal is an understatment.

@jon9021 9 месяцев назад

That’s interesting.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks from r sharing

@vincenthigginbotham8729 7 месяцев назад

Halucniations

@jhnshep 7 месяцев назад

@@vincenthigginbotham8729 hallucinations yup due to fatigue and hunger

@johnbrereton5229 9 месяцев назад

My grandfather served with the 1st Battalion the Middlesex regiment with the BEF during WWI. Before that he had served in India and was present at the Dehli Durban when the King was crowned Emperor of India. He was also involved in the retreat from Mons and latter won the Military Medal during the bloody battle of the Somme for delivering ammunition underfire to the forward trenches. He was demombed in 1918 and his first child my father was born in 1919 and only 20 years later he returned with a new BEF in 1939 to continue the fight against the Germans. Lest We Forget ! 🌹🇬🇧

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

What incredible service

@mikeycraig8970 Месяц назад

Same my great grandfather. He was in the Liverpool- Scottish, saw action during WWI. Awarded some medals. Then in WWII he joined the Merchant Navy, and went through hell all over again. He got a K.B.E (something B.E, it might not have been the Knight variant, I just forget which) for that.

@crunch4308 9 месяцев назад

Another excellent episode. I too was a child when I 1st heard about the angels. It’s always fascinated me, I know with modern scepticism we are lead to believe religion to be less important. But in 1914 this was still a very religious country and I like to believe the angels had the BEF’s back

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

French soldiers claim to have seen similar ghosts led by Joan of Arc.

@Hartley_Hare 9 месяцев назад

Here's a random story. My great grandad was in the Royal Scots during the Great War, having initially joined the Sherwood Foresters and been remustered after the Scots had taken horrific casualties. He was a good man with many sterling qualities, but he wasn't gifted with great powers of imagination or storytelling. Despite that, he maintained, until his dying day, that he'd seen an angel over one of the battlefields he'd slogged through. My great grandma would say 'Tell them about the angel, Johnny,' and he'd tell the story to anyone who wanted to listen. I like to believe it's true and that the angel was there for everyone, British and German, to gather them safely home, but I know I sound foolish.

@olwens1368 9 месяцев назад

Not at all. And its a good story.

@stephenbaker7079 9 месяцев назад

@@Hartley_Hare I don't find it hard to believe!

@davidrudd9846 9 месяцев назад

I believe the BEF saved its self through the efforts of great leadership and having the most professional proficient and dedicated soldiers in the world and wee bit of help from the Lord

@Nekofemme 9 месяцев назад

Amen!

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for taking the time to comment

@ThePiratemachine 9 месяцев назад

In Marshal Foch's memoirs he said of the extraordinary event that occurred against all expectations of how what was left of the French army and the BEF down to "the last gasp" ( as Churchill called it ) stopped The Germans in 1918 - "God was there."

@ytxmak 9 месяцев назад

Pity 'god' didn't lift a divine finger to help those 6 millions murdered in the Holocaust, right?

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for sharing

@matthewstott1661 8 месяцев назад

@@ytxmakThat would be because the gods which made not the heavens shall be utterly destroyed from under these heavens. As for Almighty God.......tremble before Him and enquire respectfully, for the scorner seeks for wisdom and finds it not.

@rextucker3184 9 месяцев назад

"And did those feet in ancient time Walk along England's mountains green? And was the Holy Lamb of God On England's pleasant pastures seen?" A small excerpt from Brother William Blakes 'Jerusalem' that told of where Christ may have traveled during his 'missing years'. England loved it so much, another time and place where miracles may have happened.

@mauricefrost8900 9 месяцев назад

Who was the very wise 19th century cleric who said that the answers to the questions in the first verse were No, no, no and no, while the appropriate response to the requests in the second verse was Fetch them yourself! If people want to sing Jerusalem then knock yourselves out Just keep it out of Christian worship

@rextucker3184 9 месяцев назад

He's very lazy in general, you've made that obvious, and good show, but it's hard to make any connection other than that, old trout.

@anthonyeaton5153 9 месяцев назад

There are four questions in that hymn and the answer to all 4 is No!😅

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Another possible story for my production list.

@mebymyself2816 9 месяцев назад

Many years ago I read an article about the bowmen of mons, in it a person tried to explain it away as being the fledgling army air corp dropping fletchetts (like oversized weighted darts dropped from aircraft in the early part of the war) on the advancing german army by the box load, but this was countered by a report from a german field doctor who said he knew the types of wounds the fletchetts caused and these where not the wounds he was treating.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

@isengard1500 9 месяцев назад

Imagine the BEF are the new incarnation of the Angels of Mons, ready to aid a British unit at their dying moment in some far off land?

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Interesting thought. Possible novel there.

@SafavidAfsharid3197 9 месяцев назад

@@TheHistoryChaphope you cover anglo-marathas or anglo-mysore wars.

@kenattwood8060 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for this, Chris, I remember hearing about the Angels when I was very young (seventy or so years ago). As a former soldier I don't actually disbelieve it, I came across some pretty wierd things when I was serving... I'd like it to be true... But who knows?

@KopperNeoman 9 месяцев назад

The Lord knows. 😀

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for watching and for taking the time to comment.

@ThePiratemachine 9 месяцев назад

I've never served - not in the forces anyway - but in living I've been what I would call saved from a couple of situations that looked inevitably fatal - like drowning and an accident. I believe someone looked over me so.......I liked your comment.

@Frank_nwobhm 9 месяцев назад

Great video and history lesson!! As an American, I wasn't familiar with this story and legend, but I am familiar with a 1982 song by the obscure British rock band Shiva. The song is called "Angel Of Mons" It tells the story of a young British soldier and a protecting angel. The lyrics below. >>As darkness came to wash the carbide smell From a day which had seen no peace In muddy trenches, frozen to the bone We lay in our thousands alone Young Tommy groaned as the stones turned red From an Englishman's veins bled dry By a rain of lead dreamt in the General's head Which was never on the line Oh - no survivors Oh - no survivors And there was my Angel On that night when only the stars shone My vision of safety Are you lost to me now? Lost to me now Are you lost to me now? Lost to me now Oh - my Angel My Angel of Mons Now again as the swords are drawn The lion comes in from the cold To lay before the leaders of the kingdom The preophecy's foretold No-one heard me as I shouted at the night The streets were empty but the guns were in sight They watched for shadows that were out of place The silence stiffened lines across my face

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Glad you enjoyed it

@wilsontheconqueror8101 9 месяцев назад

Filmaker John Ford once said "When presented with a story of Legend or truth,print the Legend!" Well done as always sir!

@greggweber9967 9 месяцев назад

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance starring John Wayne, James Stewart, and Lee Marvin as Liberty Valance.

@greggweber9967 9 месяцев назад

But in the Babylon 5 TV show, Londo Molari saw nothing.

@ThePiratemachine 9 месяцев назад

@@greggweber9967 And the beautiful Vera Miles as Halley. My favourite actress.

@greggweber9967 9 месяцев назад

@@ThePiratemachine I couldn't think of the name, had to draw the line somewhere, and felt constrained of time. Thanks.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for watching

@Johnny-Thunder 9 месяцев назад

A while ago I read the book Thuvia, Maid of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the 4th book in the Barsoom series, written in 1916. In this book there is a city of Red Martians who are almost extinct, but they managed to develop the ability to make anything they imagine become reality, and so they conjure up armies of bowmen to defend themselves from the marauding hordes of four-armed Green Martians. A little later I read the story about the Angels of Mons and suddenly I knew were Edgar Rice Burroughs got that idea from.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thank you for sharing

@BoerChris 9 месяцев назад

Sleep deprivation can play odd tricks on the mind. A friend of mine told me how, while on an arduous exercise and not having slept for 48 hours, he saw a brightly-lit funfair on the Aldershot training area.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for sharing

@BradBrassman 9 месяцев назад

My father during his National Service took part in Sleep Deprevation experiments and, when on guard duty, said he saw an Ice Cream van quite clearly come round the corner with the usual music on! Fancying a 99 he reaced for change in his pocket to buy an one, but when he looked up it was gone. He said during these experiments he and some of his mates saw all sorts of things!

@sobieski478 9 месяцев назад

Fantastic content. A part of me really wants the "Angels/Archers of Mons" were real. Keep up the good work. 👍

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for watching

@dougearnest7590 9 месяцев назад

There's more to Heaven and Earth, Horatio ... On the other hand, I've never thought of the First World War as a fight between good and evil.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thank you for taking the time to comment

@AlbertComelles1970 9 месяцев назад

Beautifully explained as usual, thank you very much Chris!

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

My pleasure

@georgegeyer3431 9 месяцев назад

As someone who studies the Great War, I have never heard this story. You gave an excellent 👏 lesson on the First World War.😊

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Glad you enjoyed ot

@davidberlanny3308 9 месяцев назад

Hi Chris, well told story as always. And very interesting how the human mind works when under extreme pressure. My ears pricked up when you mentioned the various pals regiments that signed up at the start of the war. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of WWI the names of all the soldiers who signed up in Pompey Pals were sewn into the shirts of the football club. The Pompey Pals, the 14th and 15th battalions of the Hampshire Regiment, recruited heavily at Fratton Park, Portsmouth Football Clubs ground till this date. 1,400 making the ultimate sacrifice. RIP. A great gesture from the club. Have a great weekend!!

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Great comment. Thanks for posting

@aBRUSHforCONFUCIUS 9 месяцев назад

My favorite British actor, Ronald Colman was wounded at Mons. It destroyed his left ankle and he walked with a severe and painful limp, the rest of his life. You should do a series of British actors and poets, who fought in the first World War. Basil Rathbone, Claude Raine and perhaps the poets Wilfred Owen and Rupert Brooke, the later, I greatly admire. Owen, was killed in action one week before the end of the war. What a waste!

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for sharing

@davidreid8075 9 месяцев назад

Dont forget Edward Thomas..

@vixtex 9 месяцев назад

Basil Rathbone’s younger brother is buried in France.

@martinhogg5337 9 месяцев назад

Great story! Thanks for retelling it. Lest we forget!

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Glad you enjoyed it!

@peterbarker3433 9 месяцев назад

Once again, excellent work, Chris.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for your support.

@heinzh5687 9 месяцев назад

I believe it is plausible- my reasoning is: when Israel had their 6 day war there are first hand accounts of Israel's enemies claiming to of seen similar things. There are some interviews that were done with those soldiers. They may still be here on RU-vid, it was about 10 years ago when I listened to the interviews. I hope for those interested they can find them. It's fascinating

@Lassisvulgaris 9 месяцев назад

Might be, but I think bad disipline and drugs may have caused that explanation....

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts

@williamtraynor-kean7214 9 месяцев назад

Serving with L(Nery) Battery RHA in the 70s it was thought that if there had been an Angel at Mons it was definitely a Gunner Angel.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Chuckling

@Thomo2461 9 месяцев назад

Amazing story. Thanks Chris.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Glad you enjoyed it

@Katmando376 9 месяцев назад

Fascinating story Chris. Thank you

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Glad you enjoyed it

@minuteman4199 9 месяцев назад

I've seen troops so exhausted and hungry after days of sleepless marching that they hallucinated, and no one was shooting us, we were only on training exercises.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for taking the time to comment

@bensalfield397 9 месяцев назад

My maternal grandfather was there... he was a Yorkshireman who only ever left Sheffield to fight. Re the angels, he said "there are bleedin' softies in every walk of life" :) He would subsequently fight in the Somme - against my other grandfather.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

That last bit of your comment is a fascinating little story in its own right.

@paulwilson7234 9 месяцев назад

An excellent video.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Many thanks.

@garybroad4092 9 месяцев назад

Brilliant Chris (yet again!) Thanks so much! Gary B

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

My pleasure. Thank you for watching

@nathanappleby5342 9 месяцев назад

Good story! When I go to heaven and I fully intend to, this story is one of a number of things I intend to ask God about, see if they are true. I hope to see another in-depth video on Mons as it is one of rare times in that point in history where rifles are used closer to their true ranges.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for watching, Nathan.

@nathanappleby5342 9 месяцев назад

@@TheHistoryChap You're Welcome!

@krupadrum 9 месяцев назад

I believe anything is possible. Anything. God save us all 😔

@gabrielrousseau958 9 месяцев назад

Fascinating as always Chris.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for watching. I appreciate your support.

@peterwilson5528 9 месяцев назад

My Irish Guard grandfather had the Mons Star.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for sharing

@stigg333 9 месяцев назад

Another superb story, thank you and stay well.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Glad you enjoy it. Thanks for watching.

@Ro6entX 9 месяцев назад

I just recently saw video the other day about strange things happening in WW1. In the battle of Ypres, the story goes that soldier saw ghost that closely resembled his friend who had died shortly before, in a trench. The next day or so, the same soldier had another guy with him, the ghost appeared again and pointed at spot in the trench, then disappeared. Soon after a group of soldiers dug in that spot and discovered a tunnel that the Germans had dug, and had bunch of explosives set up.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for sharing

@vonsprague7913 9 месяцев назад

Soldiers love a good tall tale, we also like to believe that we are on the side of good. Yes many had marched vast distances in the Boer War but many were older reservists recalled, older and out of shape. Add to this that the saving of the BEF was considered a miracle it builds a whole myth. Is it a story, probably but it's a great one. 🇬🇧

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for sharing your thoughts

@richardshowers 9 месяцев назад

If there was a supernatural entity capable of intervening in a battle, then perhaps diverting the course of a bullet in Sarajevo may have been more effective.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Interesting perspective.

@simonh6371 9 месяцев назад

I think WW1 would have happened regardless, even people at the time observing events in Europe knew it was on the cards. Something else would have triggered it if the Sarajevo assassination hadn't.

@joeritchie4554 9 месяцев назад

Another very interesting story of British military history. Another story that I have heard for the first time.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Glad you enjoyed it

@janlindtner305 9 месяцев назад

A good story to boost morale, all tricks work. 👍👍👍Chris

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Absolutely

@FilipDePreter 9 месяцев назад

Never heard that story. Thanks, great episode.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Glad you enjoyed it

@davymckeown4577 9 месяцев назад

The Third Man phenomenon may be responsible for the origin of the story, this psychological effect is well documented amongst climbers, polar explorers and other adventurers. Exhausted, dehydrated and sleep-deprived men have reported the presence of someone or something urging them on, to keep going, to survive. The phenomena has been reported by Sir Ernest Shackleton, Everest climber Reinhold Messner, Joe Simpson (of Touching the Void fame) and many others. TS Elliot includes it in his epic poem The Waste Land; Who is the third who walks always beside you? When I count, there are only you and I together But when I look ahead up the white road There is always another one walking beside you. At this point in the poem the protagonists are crossing a desert, exhausted and without water. Psychologists think it may be some kind of survival mechanism and being a sceptic, I'm inclined to agree. It's worth pointing out that the Germans also believed that god was on their side. I nonetheless enjoyed your telling of the story, thanks.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for commenting

@icecoffee1361 9 месяцев назад

Definitely one of those funny old stories of divine/ghostly interventions but as a moral boast was what the tools needed. As always great episode

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for watching

@philiphughes2780 2 месяца назад

My great grandfather died from wounds received at the Battle of Mons. He was wounded but didn't die until October 31st a few months later. He fought with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.

@TheHistoryChap 2 месяца назад

Thank you so much for taking the time to share a little piece of your family History

@brucekinghorn4961 5 месяцев назад

My grandfather was awarded the Mons Medal. He always asserted that the legend was true and that the army had supernatural support.

@TheHistoryChap 3 месяца назад

Thanks for watching my video & for taking the time to share your family story.

@erikM64 9 месяцев назад

The "Angels of Mons" story is one of the very first I read about WW I, some time during the 1970's. It was re-told in Swedish Journalist Jan Olof Olsson's or "JOLOS" books entitled "1914" and "Den Okände Soldaten" ("the unknown soldier") which appeared in 1964 and 1969 respectively - they are now seen as classics, and have influenced the Swedish outlook on WW I history ever since. JOLO himself was also a great Anglophile, and did include many first-hand accounts, newspaper clippings, original illustrations etc from British as well as German sources into his books - I stole my father's copies from his studio, and secretly read them in bed...

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

What a great story. Thanks for sharing.

@charlesarmstrong5292 9 месяцев назад

My namesake and paternal uncle Charles was there. Upon return from the War, he related to my dad, that he`d seen the Angels. Many may scoff but I choose to believe a miracle happened out there.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for sharing. Shame some of the comments are so damning in f soldiers like your relative.

@carlospagi 9 месяцев назад

Excellent, thanks very much!

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

My pleasure

@FranciscoPreira 9 месяцев назад

"Divine Intervention" in battles is "per se" a great subject of study, we portuguese have a number of such legends, since the times of our first king Afonso I. Great video sir, I already knew about this particular episode, the "Angels of Mons", come across it in a book, the tittle, I can not recall just now, but nevertheless congratulations for another excellent information video. Thanks for sharing.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for sharing

@chrisoffer3074 9 месяцев назад

That story would make a brilliant film

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Interesting idea.

@markdonovan500 9 месяцев назад

Think this is a great story, the British army saving itself against the odds. Would make a great film.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Probably not PC to make a film like that now🙄

@ColonelBummleigh 7 месяцев назад

Cor,another sizzler! Nice work as always.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Very kind of you. If you haven’t already, please make sure you subscribe to my channel, so you don’t miss future videos

@josephforrest9472 9 месяцев назад

At the battle of Mons the British infantry had been trained in a technique of deadly accurate, rapid rifle fire. The Brit soldiers used their little fingers to pull the trigger so they could instantly eject the spent round & fire again. The tightly packed advancing Germans soldiers sometimes as many as three of them struck by the same British bullet piled up high. German soldiers swore that every British soldier at Mons was using a machine gun. The Brits needed to retreat 'cos they were running out of supplies.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for commenting

@ludwigderzanker9767 9 месяцев назад

Thx a lot Chris, I like it. Some how I think to remember a similar action from the german Ostfront 1917...? Nice idea, archers and of course the best at their time, vs MG ,I 'm your fan...❤ Best regards from Northern Germany Ludwig.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for watching Ludwig.

@awedgewood 9 месяцев назад

I think that's the most diplomatic conclusion I've read! :)

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thank you for watching

@caractacusbrittania7442 9 месяцев назад

I think it does the British soldiers on the fighting retreat, a great disservice, saying that they were saved by some supernatural event, when in fact, they saved themselves by their own dogged resistance even though they were outgunned, against overwhelming odds, and out flanked.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

So I wonder why the British population embraced it with such enthusiasm?

@aa64912 9 месяцев назад

I believe it

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for sharing.

@davidwoods7720 9 месяцев назад

Thanks Chris

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

My pleasure. Thanks for watching.

@malcolmboyd3503 7 месяцев назад

Wonderful

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thank you

@xvdd1 9 месяцев назад

This story seems to have influenced the film "Edge Of Tomorrow" , a character was nicknamed "The Angel Of Verdun" : "Losing battle after battle over five years, the NATO-led United Defense Forces finally win a victory at Verdun, France, utilizing new mechanized "jacket" combat suits. UK Special Forces soldier Sgt. Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) is hailed as "The Angel of Verdun" after killing hundreds of Mimics single-handedly."

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for taking the time to write

@deeperry8341 8 месяцев назад

My grandfather saw the angel of Mons.He told my grandma about his experience. As he died before I was born I could never ask him about it

@TheHistoryChap 8 месяцев назад

Fascinating. I bet you would’ve loved to have heard the story from the man himself.

@deeperry8341 8 месяцев назад

@@TheHistoryChap as I understood it the smoke above that battle area formed the shape of an angel. Which is probably how the legend started. My grandfather was in the Cornwalls. You would know if they were actually at Mons. Please let me know

@georgebailey98 9 месяцев назад

Perhaps it was an Army of the Dead raised by Aragorn?

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Maybe?

@user-yx6ry5ow2r 9 месяцев назад

My Grandad on my mothers side told me (when I was about 14) that he was at Mons in 1914. He smiled when I asked him did he see the angels. All he said after that was it wasn’t a nice time. He would not say any more about the First World War.

@mishadeschreider8267 4 месяца назад

Thank you very much! (from Belgium)

@TheHistoryChap 3 месяца назад

Glad you enjoyed it.

@nehemiahmathews8683 9 месяцев назад

How haunted are those battlefields? I mean not just world war one but for how many generations were blood spilled on those grounds. That's probably half the reason there's so much discord in the world

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Interesting thought

@michael5265 9 месяцев назад

The Angels of Mons where the SMLE MK 1 & .303 MK VII SAA Ball plus better rifle training.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for sharing

@LeslieDevoe 4 месяца назад

I also had a book on the tales of "le fantastique". Quite enjoyable.

@TheHistoryChap 4 месяца назад

Thanks for watching my video.

@alanelliott3608 6 месяцев назад

Sir, my grandfather was at the battle of Mons. he was part of #13 Ambulance unit responsible for picking up the wounded. He told me in 1965 that many of the soldiers he retrieved kept going on about the angels that defended the British line. He said he did not actually see them himself but heard, not just a few, but many wounded men go on about them. My grandfather was not a religious man but it did make him wonder. Is it by coincidence that the German army, which was winning, suddenly and inexplicably stopped their advance?

@TheHistoryChap 6 месяцев назад

Thank you so much for sharing your family story.

@formwiz7096 9 месяцев назад

An American vet of WWI, telling the history of the US Army in the post Civil War Indian Wars, compared the Sioux Ghost Dancers to the British at Mons in their desperation for divine intervention.

@tonysmith2721 9 месяцев назад

“An American vet of WW1”. How long was he in France? Four months.

@Frank_nwobhm 9 месяцев назад

@@tonysmith2721 Read again what be posted. You'll see.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for sharing

@billydonaldson6483 9 месяцев назад

The DLI club in Sunderland has a large painting of a single Angel over the battlefield.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for sharing.

@NigelDeForrest-Pearce-cv6ek 9 месяцев назад

A Fascinating Story!!!

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thank you.

@philipnorris6542 9 месяцев назад

Maybe something otherworldly happened, maybe it didn't; I do believe in God and His angels so I don't rule it out entirely (the ghostly bowmen seem less likely). One thing is for certain: At the going down of the Sun and in the morning we will remember them.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for taking the time to comment

@claykennedy6790 2 месяца назад

Arthur Machen was a huge influence not only on Stephen King, but on H.P. Lovecraft as well. Lovecraft was a tremendous fan of Machen's novel The Great God Pan, such that he created his own version of the story with The Dunwich Horror. Through his influence on those two writers alone, Machen is arguably the second most important horror writer to ever live, aside from Poe.

@TheHistoryChap 2 месяца назад

Thanks for watching my video, & your comment.

@Mriss10 9 месяцев назад

Hi sir. Can you cover a story about the Perak War that happened in 1875 in the Malay State of Perak between the British army and the Malay rebels due to the murder of a British administrator named J.W.W. Birch? Thank you sir 😃

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

I will add to my never-ending list of requests

@casperdog777 9 месяцев назад

The Dunkirk ''Miracle of Deliverance'' in 1940 might be a good topic for you ? There was a national day of prayer and many Christians believe that Dunkirk was a true miracle. What do you think ?

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Someone else has also suggested. I will add to my list.

@sasapetrovic1084 9 месяцев назад

Well done. We have something similar

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for commenting

@lindafox5612 3 месяца назад

My grandfather was in the BEF 2nd Bedfordshire battalion at Mons. He said there were no angels. Sounds a bit like the hysteria that occurred with the radio broadcast War Of The Worlds.

@TheHistoryChap 3 месяца назад

Thanks for watching my video & for taking the time to share your family story

@SSGTStryker 8 месяцев назад

I immediately researched to see if a film or tv series has ever been produced about the Angels of Mons. Looks like one is in preproduction.

@TheHistoryChap 8 месяцев назад

Thank you for sharing

@Al-iv3mb 4 месяца назад

Thank you for clarifying a story of which I knew nothing other than the name

@TheHistoryChap 4 месяца назад

Thanks for watching my video. If you haven't already, please subscribe to my channel so you don't miss future videos.

@Jon.A.Scholt 9 месяцев назад

When I think of a ghostly, supernatural army, I immediately think of the ghostly army in Return of the King.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Maybe it’s acted as an inspiration

@michaelmalone9062 4 месяца назад

My WWI uncle gave me a German belt buckle. On it was written: Gott mit Uns. The Germans though that God was on their side. History Chap, thanks for an interesting story.

@TheHistoryChap 3 месяца назад

Glad you enjoyed my video

@jon9021 9 месяцев назад

Up there with the “missing battalion” at Gallipoli.

@chrisholland7367 9 месяцев назад

Would that have been the Sandringham Company?

@jon9021 9 месяцев назад

@@chrisholland7367 yes it is.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Another great story.

@nairbvel 9 месяцев назад

From the Theosophy Wiki: "An *egregore* (pronounced egg’ gree gore) is a group thought-form. It can be created either intentionally or unintentionally, and becomes an autonomous entity with the power to influence. A group with a common purpose like a family, a club, a political party, a church, or a country can create an egregore, for better or worse depending upon the type of thought that created it.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

@johna1160 9 месяцев назад

9:13 Curious about what appear to be ear flaps on the caps of several soldiers in this photo. I've never seen them before. Were they a winter time accessory?

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Not sure.

@user-xh3lz9xt4l 9 месяцев назад

I heard about the Angels of Mons and have a copy of the Warriors Prayer to Archangel Michael on my office wall

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for sharing

@jimmyoconnell6167 9 месяцев назад

Remember reading about it

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

It has fascinated me since I was about 10 years old.

@jimmyoconnell6167 9 месяцев назад

Same here I read lots kept to myself I do believe something happened I am a former soldier myself paras been out long time now

@recusantpiper 9 месяцев назад

I wonder if Arthur Machen had 2 Kings 6: 8-17 in mind when he wrote that story.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Interesting thought

@recusantpiper 9 месяцев назад

@@TheHistoryChap It would explain, perhaps, why so many clergy of the day jumped on the story. It had precedent, of a sort.

@davidcollins2648 9 месяцев назад

The angel of Mons says more about the christian faith of the soldiers and the public from before the war that would shatter the beliefs of many in it's horrific aftermath.

@Lassisvulgaris 9 месяцев назад

Espescially since the Germans had "Gott mit uns" on their beltbuckles....

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for posting

@simon112 9 месяцев назад

Angels of mons I think we would all like to belive this story, maybe just maybe it could be true, I'd like to think so but sadly we will never know.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Rather like the Loch Ness monster, it’s probably not true, but a little bit of us wants to believe it is

@jackpayne5101 9 месяцев назад

I would so love this to be true and I do believe in Angel's as it happens.😇

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

I hope you enjoyed the video

@ebf5026 7 месяцев назад

Bedknobs and broomsticks!!

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Great film, especially when the Germans are defeated by the ghostly army at the end. Also enjoyed seeing Bruce Forsyth as the gangster

@70galaxie 8 месяцев назад

ah remember a song Ghost Writers in the Sky

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

I wonder if the story inspired them, even slightly?

@70galaxie 7 месяцев назад

@@TheHistoryChap inspiration is a bit of an inverted pyramid. Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,1948 for example. I adore good acts of faith. I loathe falsehood. Really became greatly interested in the true & discovery of the not true,in about 1973(Roe vs Wade),I was 12

@Lassisvulgaris 9 месяцев назад

Interesting story, but I doubt it can be confirmed by German sources.... As far as I recall, Thehistorysquad has a similar video on his channel, while Metatron has one on angels in general....

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for taking the time to share your comment

@Tim67620 9 месяцев назад

"All the little Angels rise up high!" Sing!

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

Thank you for taking the time to comment

@Tim67620 9 месяцев назад

@@TheHistoryChap A soldiers song from 'Night Watch' by Terry Pratchett.

@philvanderlaan5942 9 месяцев назад

If it was fatigue inspired hallucinations that spread through hungry tired soldiers at the time and not suggestions in the newspapers that played on faulty memories of troop exhausted at the time it was supposed to take place by soldiers probably exhausted while reading the stories. I would say yes these angels and archers did save the army , morale is a funny thing , it can break an well equipped superior force or can make a small almost broken unit fight to the last man and last bullet. Of course maybe it was a supernatural army things can only be proven by physical existence not disproven by a lack of that evidence

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

I like your take that hallucinations in themselves can raise morale and save an army. Thanks for commenting.

@philvanderlaan5942 9 месяцев назад

@@TheHistoryChap well don’t know if you ever have seen the tv show M*A*S*H but in one episode they are under friendly artillery fire ( by mistake obviously) and they need something that is in another area , Captain Pierce uncharacteristically goes out and gets it and his response when told ‘ that’s really not like you ‘ is , ‘ sometimes a hero is someone that is tired enough, hungry enough and scared enough, that they just don’t care anymore. ‘ Sometimes the mind will grasp at anything to keep from giving up , it doesn’t devalue the soldier if they get help from unconventional sources whether that source it the almighty or the brain lying to itself.

@lesliemaitland3551 9 месяцев назад

Reminiscent of the story of the crucified Canadian. In the last days of the war, it was alleged that German troops had captured a Canadian soldier and nailed him to the side of a barn and left him to die. This was in Belgium. So incensed was the Canadian government that they sent investigators. Everywhere they went, every soldier they interviewed, every farmer, all swore it was true. No, they hadn't seen it themselves, it was always one farm over. But so complete was the believe in this story that even German prisoners of war swore it was true. Conclusion of the invesitgators: no body, no first hand evidence, not true. Some kind of mass hysteria.

@TheHistoryChap 9 месяцев назад

It’s amazing how powerful myths and legends can become, even without very much evidence. Loch Ness monster?