1914: THE LAST STAND OF THE THIN RED LINE 119
major conflict, the Boer War, roughly 40 percent of the Crosses awarded
went to acts that somehow contributed to victory. The tenor of heroism
was more aggressive in 1914, with some 56 percent of the medals going
to war-winning acts. Whereas 53 percent of the Crosses in the Boer War
went for some form of life-saving, only 30 percent of those in 1914 were
earned for rescuing or tending the wounded.
Among the officers, captains proved to be the largest group of Cross
winners, with just under 20 percent of the total VCs. They were second only
to privates, the largest group overall, at 33 percent. During the nineteenth
century most officer Crosses were earned by lieutenants. The shift from
lieutenants to captains gathering more awards can be explained by the tactical
structure of the BEF. In the colonial campaigns organization was looser and
formations employed were smaller. In such an environment a subaltern was
more likely to exercise greater authority and command responsibility, and
thus be in the position to display the initiative required to win a Cross. This
was not the case on the Western Front.
Surprisingly, the casualty statistics for the 1914 campaigns easily fall
within the range established in the previous century, particularly those of
the Boer War era, after posthumous VCs became a reality. Before 1890,
65–70 percent of winners per decade were not wounded in the process
of winning the award. During the Boer War that figure dropped to just
under 60 percent, with slightly over 30 percent wounded and 8 percent
either killed in action or died of wounds. 1914 generated 50 percent
unwounded, 24 percent wounded, and 19 per cent killed in action or
died of wounds. Twice as many winners died in the process, but it must
be remembered that the posthumous option was not available until well
into 1900.
While in absolute percentages fewer 1914 heroes got through their
exploits unscathed, during the nineteenth century a severely wounded
man was unlikely to be recommended at all. With the relaxation of the
posthumous restriction at the turn of the century soldiers severely wounded
or killed outright could be safely recommended. Thus, the higher percentage
of casualties in 1914 is probably a reflection of the administrative changes
made in the Boer War rather than an indication of a rising standard of
ruthlessness in heroism. That would come later.
This was not the only change in the works during the 1914 campaign.
Even as the traditional paradigm of heroism gave a VC to Captain John
Franks Vallentin for doing nothing more than getting shot in proper military
fashion^44 new ideas about the role of the hero were forming. Officers
like Lieutenant James Leach were being awarded for bayoneting the enemy
lily
(lily)
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