The day was August 26, 1914 during an English-German battle in World War I, and it was only the intervention of heavenly angels which saved the British Expeditionary Force from being overrun by the German army. There were many witnesses to this event on both the English and German sides of the battle.
This is not some account from a fringe religious source or some tabloid newspaper. This account is taken from an authoritative military history publication, Military Heritage, a subscription magazine with extraordinarily-detailed accounts of ancient battles with historical accounts of the commanders, the weaponry, the tactics utilized, etc. It is a magazine with definitive accounts of the military history of empires and nations in both ancient and modern times. Some newsstands in large cities will have copies for sale, and some libraries will likely have the back issues archived. The particular account on which my blog is based is from the August, 2005 issue of Military Heritage, and the article was written by Robert Barr Smith in the Soldiers feature of the magazine (pages 14-17, 76). I acknowledge I have been a subscriber to the magazine for years, and I recommend it to those interested in the subject of military history.
With that introduction, let’s examine the details of the battle that day during World War I. It took place when the German Army was on the offensive and advancing against the allied French and English armies. It was early in World War I, and there was then only a small British Expeditionary Force (BEF) fighting alongside the French army. During a battle fought near Mons, Belgium, the French army retreated and the small British force took the brunt of the advancing Germans. The article in Military Heritage states that “The odds were 4-to-1 against the BEF in infantry, plus the usual German superiority in guns.” Although the British fought bravely as they attempted an orderly retreat in the face of superior numbers, they finally reached the point where “the Germans were coming on in such overwhelming numbers that rifles and courage could not hold them any longer.” Then, according to many witnesses who were actually particpants in the battle, a miracle occurred. The angels came.
The article contains numerous, first-hand accounts of British soldiers who witnessed the events that day. Some angels were described as a “shadowy army…of bowmen,” and other British soldiers witnessed “unearthly figures materialze…above the German lines. They were winged like angels.” There were accounts that the angelic army was led by a “tall, yellow-haired man on a white horse, wearing golden armor and wielding a sword.” There were reports of hails of arrows being unleashed by the angelic bowmen which “cut down the enemy en masse.” According to the article, “the German General Staff [found] the bodies of hundreds of their men lying on the battlefield with no discernible wounds…” It was not only common footsoldiers who saw the angels, but NCOs and officers did as well. A British colonel is quoted as saying “…the thing happened. You need not be incredulous. I saw it myself.” The article also mentions a confirming account by a Captain Hayward, an intelligence officer with British I Corps who saw “four or five wonderful beings” and “figures of luminous beings.” The article also cites confirming evidence by German prisoners in the battle who also saw the angels. (
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