Good news yesterday, as to moving of German
troops from western frontier. The bill came for the British stand, between 5000
and 6000 losses, but the news that they were thoroughly reinforced was good.
The girls came home with a positive statement from the camp that 160,000
Russians were being landed in Britain, to be taken to France. The colonel had
brought the news from Colchester.
The statement was so positive that at first
I almost believed it. But after about an hour I grew quite sceptical. Only the
Archangel route could have been used. Think of the number of ships and the
amount of convoying necessary. In the end I dismissed it and yet could not help
hoping . . . Rumours in village as to it, also. Debarkation said variously to
take place at Harwich and in Scotland, etc. Numbers went up to 400,000. The
most curious embroidery on this rumour was from Mrs A. W., who told Mrs W. that
the Russians were coming via us to France, where they would turn treacherous to
France and join Germans in taking Paris. ‘We could not trust the Russians.’
This rumour I think took the cake. Yet Mrs Sharpe asked me seriously whether
there was any fear of such a thing,
Arnold Bennett's War Diary - Monday August 31st 1914
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