In Through These Pale Cold Days – “Operation Michael” – The German Spring Offensive of March 21, 1918, I touched upon the life of artist and poet Isaac Rosenberg, who, serving as a Private in the 1st Battalion of the King’s Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment), was killed in action on April 1, 1918, in a defensive action against German troops during the great German offensive otherwise known as Operation Michael.
Though vastly more could be said (and, has been said) about Rosenberg’s life and poetry, it was; it is, adequate enough to begin that post with his last poem, penned during the final week of March, 1918: “Through These Pale Cold Days”.
The text follows…
Through these pale cold days
What dark faces burn
Out of three thousand years,
And their wild eyes yearn,
While underneath their brows
Like waifs their spirits grope
For the pools of Hebron again –
For Lebanon’s summer slope.
They leave these blond still days
In dust behind their tread
They see with living eyes
How long they have been dead.
The poem directly expresses Rosenberg’s yearning to return to Eretz Israel, and, serve in a specifically Jewish military unit. As discussed in Joseph Cohen’s Journey to the Trenches, the poet was not at all passive in his hope: He persistently applied for a to transfer to the Judeans, the Jewish volunteer battalions organized by Vladimir Jabotinsky, then serving in Egypt and the Yishuv.
Sometimes, the wishes of men are fulfilled.
And yet sometimes, they are…
The following account is a case in point. Published in the Wilkes-Barre Record on December 17, 1918, it’s the story of the departure for the Jewish Legion, and, eventual military service in Egypt and the Yishuv, of George G. Korson, (by then!) a former reporter for the Record. Korson’s biographical details appear in this document from Ancestry.com, found among records of “US Residents Serving in the British Expeditionary Forces 1917-1919”.
Not actually focusing on military training or military duty as such, the article is primarily Korson’s own story of his departure from England, and equally, a description of the optimism and hope felt by the group of Legion soldiers prior to their departure.
Interestingly, the article makes several mentions of the word “Hatikooh”, a misspelling (or variant of translation?!) of the title of Israel’s national anthem Hatikvah, which was penned in 1878. (Rabbi Avraham Isaac Kook proposed an alternative version of an Israeli national anthem, entitled HaEmunah, “The Faith”. Which, I didn’t know about until creating this post…!)
So, Private Isaac Rosenberg’s dream did not come true.
So, Private George S. Korson’s did.
But, in a sense much larger, both dreams did come true, as some dreams – in their own time; in their own way – eventually do.
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ON WAY TO EGYPT
Wilkes-Barre Record
December 17, 1918
Former Record Reporter Describes Final Days in England of Jewish Legionnaires
Describing his final days in England before departing with the Jewish Legion for Egypt and the Holy Land George Korson, a former reporter on the Record staff, writes two interesting letters from England. Korson was born in Russia, raised in America, trained for army life in Canada, Wales and England and is now going to Egypt with the hope of eventually remaining in Palestine, as a permanent member of the new Zionist nation. He writes:
Good-bye England; Hello Egypt
“November 11, 1918.
“A few hours more and it’s good-bye England and hello Egypt for me. Final Inspection of our battalion was made by the brigadier-general this morning. Our impression on the old man was a favorable one. We spent many a nerve-wracking hour preparing for this day. ‘As fine a looking lot as I ever saw,’ he pronounced us.
“The inspection took up three hours, the whole of which we stood at attention with rifles and packs on our backs. Packs, I should explain, is another word for equipment, a matter of but ninety-eight pounds, no more.
“Shortly after the inspection, dressed in full marching order, the battalion went out on a ‘practice’ march, the flag of Zion leading us. Twelve miles was the length of the march. The packs were weighty and perspiration flowed freely. But the charm of the English countryside, in a sense unloosened our loads, or was it the music sent up by our band that had this effect? I am sure that our hearts would have been heavier than our packs at the end were it not for the inspiring airs. With the flag of Zion before us and the ‘Hatikooh,’ the battle cry of Israel in the air, who would not go to the bottomest depths of Hades for the cause?
“As the columns of the ‘Modern Macabees’ swung down the country roads and village streets it somehow gave me the feeling that with an army to defend its honor, the first in 2,000 years, Israel was well on its way to the return to the ancient home.
“The battle cries of our ancient warriors were the songs that were sung by us this morning. Villagers crowded the walks, jostling one another in the effort to gain vantage points. The applause and cheers of the spectators revealed to us their opinion of us. No wonder the general said we were as fit a looking lot as he ever saw.
To Do Garrison Duty in Palestine
“The spirit among the Jewish Legionnaires is admirable. In our eagerness to get across, we are unanimous. The disappointment in not being able to see active service on the field of battle is almost universal among us. The fact that we are going to do garrison duty in Palestine is some consolations anyhow.
“The trip to Egypt promises to be an interest one. If we should follow the routes of previous drafts we would pass through France and Italy with stopover privileges in Paris and Rome. The trip will probably take three weeks. I will write upon my arrival.
Farewell Dinner
“November 21, 1918.
“The happiest moments of my life passed last night. The occasion was a farewell dinner given departing Jewish Legionnaires by the British Zionist organization, of which Lord Rothschild is the president. The affair is beyond doubt the best reception tendered the Legion and I can assure you fine receptions have been given it both in American and in England. With the departure of our battalion the last of the Jewish Legion will have left Britain’s shores. Perhaps this is a reason that led the English Jews to sacrifice so much in our behalf.
Conditions in Holy Land
“At any rate the dinner will not be easily forgotten. A representative of the recent British investigation committee to Palestine addressed us. He told us of conditions in the Holy Land. The colonists who at the beginning of the war were driven out of the country by the Turks have returned and are going about their pre-war occupations quite well. Bridges, water works, highways, irrigation, railroad building and other improvements are being made by a British engineer corps for the return of the Jewish people to their ancient homeland. Touching, indeed, was his description of the colonists’ reception of the Jewish Legionnaires. Old men in their praying shawls and women fell to the ground and literally kissed the feet of their deliverers and future defenders. Children fought one another in the efforts to carry part of the soldiers’ equipment. The colonists tried to outdo one another to provide comforts for these Maccabees. Doors were thrown wide open. ‘What is mine is also thine,’ was the common word, the speaker declared.
Inducements to Stay
“The Zionist organizations, he said, is going to offer excellent inducements to the members of the Jewish Legion upon their discharge from the British army. If I were to speak my heart, I hope the inducements are good.
“The speaker also brought us the news that the Zionist organization has deposited with the commanding officer, Col. Miller, the sum of £250 ($1,250) to provide comforts for our battalion on our approaching journey to Egypt.
Flags of Eleven Nations
“The hall was fittingly decorated. The flags of eleven nations, from which the various Jewish Legions present had come, waved through the room. A big camp band enlivened the evening with music, in which the guests occasionally joined.
“Besides the speech of the British committeeman, talks were given by our colonel and officers. The officers are heart and soul in the cause of the Jewish people and last night expressed their willingness to go with their men to Egypt, thence to Palestine,
“The climax of the evening came with the call for the ‘Hatikooh,’ Israel’s ‘Song of Hope’. Most of the Jewish Legionnaires, typical of the Jewish race in the last 2,000 years, were wanderers, born in one country, raised in another and living in a third, etc. Not a few had come from Russia where they had undergone all the hardships and suffering that result from a cruel government. In a word, the gathering was made up of men who had gone through something and consequently whose feelings and emotions were pent up.
Tears Drip on Banquet Table
“At the singing of the ‘Hatikooh,’ all stood at attention. It is unnecessary to state that the nation was sent out with feeling. As the anthem went on one could see tears coming to the eyes of the men, some young, middle-aged, and elderly; some of them hard-hearted business men in civil life. At the conclusion tears were literally dripping on the banquet table. Can you imagine now the spirit of the Jewish Legion?
“Private George Korson, No. 2476
28-40 Batt. R.F. Co. G
“E.E.F., Egypt”
Some References…
Adler, Michael, and Freeman, Max R.G., British Jewry Book of Honour, Caxton Publishing Company, London, England, 1922 (Republished in 2006 by Naval & Military Press, Uckfield, East Sussex)
Cohen, Joseph, Journey to the Trenches – The Life of Isaac Rosenberg, 1890-1918, Basic Books, Inc., New York, N.Y., 1975
Jabotinsky, Wladimir, Die jüdische Legion im Weltkrieg, Jüdischer Verlag, Berlin, 1930