The first and last battle of the first world war was fought at Mons
and it significant in the final analysis of the futility of War, that the first and last shots fired by a British soldier in action against the German Army were fired not five yards apart. After four long years of the bloodiest war in History the two opposing armies had not advanced any significant ground.

The war had gone full circle

Not Five Bloody Yards

By M.A.Meddings

Is this what all the sacrafice was for
Not five bloody yards
All those boys slaughtered like lambs
And Not five bloody yards

Whose Idea was it any way
kaiser Bill they say
But I says it takes two to make a fight
And now they want us to stop at 11 o clock
What the hell for?
Why dont we kill some more
After all they are only Germans

And they started it well so they say
I dont care any way
They shot my mate
Because he refused to advance at the Somme
They said he was a coward
But he didnt want to be killed thats all
And neither did the German I bayoneted

But it was him or me cant you see
He would have bayoneted me
Only I was quicker
But the night I did it
There was no one sicker than me

He haunts me even now its nearly over
I hear his pleading for life
Just like I was his brother
But I did him good
With me bayonet thrust
Simply must Kill them all if we have to

One two button me shoe we did it
We gained in four years of bloodshed

Not Five bloody Yards