# The Germans — Now It Can Be Told character guide > The Germans in Now It Can Be Told by Philip Gibbs. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Germans, The Germans, Some Germans, Silesian Germans, Isolated Germans, Other Germans, Thirty Germans, the last Germans **First appearance:** 0003-i ## Snapshot The enemy across the wire, yet also the wounded Bavarians eating strawberries in a hospital hut and the voices in the same bloodbath, forcing the narrator to see men where propaganda demands monsters. ## Who they are They are the war's other half: the artillery that tears up Delville Wood, the prisoners too ill to move, the Silesians and Würtemburgers whose treatment the narrator stops to ask about in their own language. The tension is between the abstraction of the enemy and the concrete, suffering individual, and the narrator refuses to let the abstraction win. Their presence shadows every British triumph and complicates every justification, making the book less a chronicle of victory than a reckoning with what the war did to everyone caught in it. ## Relationships ### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/unknown_narrator) _rivalry_ The Germans are the primary enemy force opposing the Narrator's side in the war. ### [The Officer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_officer) _rivalry_ The Officer directly engages with German forces as a battlefield adversary. ### [The Australians](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_australians) _rivalry_ The Australians and Germans are direct combatants on opposing sides of the war. ### [Sir John French](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/sir_john_french) _rivalry_ Sir John French, as a British commander, is an adversary of the German forces. ### [The Boy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_boy) _rivalry_ The Boy is a soldier who opposes the German forces in combat. ### [General Haldane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/general_haldane) _rivalry_ General Haldane is a British commander who opposes the German forces in the war. ### [The Colonel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_colonel) _rivalry_ The Colonel is a British officer who fights against the German army. ### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/unknown_narrator) _rivalry_ The Germans are the primary enemy force opposing the Narrator's side in the war. ### [The Officer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_officer) _rivalry_ The Officer directly engages with German forces as a battlefield adversary. ### [General Haldane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/general_haldane) _rivalry_ General Haldane is a British commander who opposes the German forces in the war. ### [Sir John French](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/sir_john_french) _rivalry_ Sir John French, as a British commander, is an adversary of the German forces. ### [The Boy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_boy) _rivalry_ The Boy is a soldier who opposes the German forces in combat. ## In the story ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/v) German defenders inside the château, fighting fiercely before being overwhelmed. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/vi) German gunners are mentioned for their methodical and accurate shelling. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ix) Groups of Germans observed peering through the escort of Lancers on the Hohenzollern Bridge in Cologne. ### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xviii) Referred to as 'old Fritz' or 'the old Hun' by Rawlinson, and as the enemy who turned the Somme into a siege. ### [Part II: The School of Courage](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/part-ii-the-school-of-courage) German prisoners are quoted expressing the same sense of being under a black spell, and German generals later paid tribute to the British Regular Army's efficiency. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/i) German generals later praised the efficiency of the British Regular Army. ### [The New Army Arrives](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/iii) Mentioned as the enemy shelling villages and as prisoners with similar appearance to the Sussex men. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/iv) The men develop a fellow-feeling for German soldiers and would have fraternized if not for regulations. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/v) German gunners and observers who dominated the high ground and shelled British positions with impunity. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/vii) The German gunners shell Ypres and the surrounding area, and German aircraft drop poison bombs on the Grande Place. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ix) German soldiers described as stupefied by bombardment, screeching like pigs in a slaughterhouse, and caught like rats in a trap at the crater. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xii) German soldiers occupy Curlu, observed by the narrator; they engage in small-scale encounters with the British. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xiii) Mentioned as also suffering from lice and organizing their own bathhouses, with a 'delousing station' seen after their retreat. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xiv) German soldiers are in trenches across the fields; Uhlans are mentioned in a peasant girl's story. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xv) German soldiers applaud a concert by the Guards and request 'Annie Laurie'. ### [The Endless War](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xix) German prisoners, including one who speaks English, express the same sense of being under a black spell as the British soldiers. ### [Part III: The Nature of a Battle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/part-iii-the-nature-of-a-battle) German prisoners are described as a mass of slate-gray men lying on wet earth, some weeping and conscience-stricken, others having surrendered from deep dugouts. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/i) Enemy holding Hill 70 and the fortified mining villages. ### [Béthune: The Black Country Capital](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/iii) Cursed by the French as 'sacred pigs' and 'dirty Boches,' blamed for the war and the coming destruction. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/vi) The enemy forces defending the lines, targeted by the subsidiary attacks. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/vii) The German front-line trenches and the Hohenzollern redoubt are mentioned as targets. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/viii) German soldiers defend from cellars and houses; many surrender shouting 'Kamerad!', while a brave officer directs fire until killed. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ix) German soldiers are captured, bayoneted, or surrender; German artillery reorganizes and launches counterattacks. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xi) The mass of German prisoners, described as huddled, exhausted, hungry, and wounded, including a man who refuses water for a comrade. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xii) German guns are captured, and German dead lie in heaps around the Loos redoubt. ### [Part IV: A Winter of Discontent](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/part-iv-a-winter-of-discontent) German forces counterattack with mines, trench-mortars, and poison gas; they reoccupy parts of the Hohenzollern redoubt. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/i) Mentioned as the enemy sharing the same hopelessness, and as counterattacking with mines, trench-mortars, and poison-gas. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ii) German soldiers are depicted as miserable in the trenches, sometimes worse off than the British, and occasionally engaging in fraternization or surrendering. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/iv) The enemy forces defending the Hohenzollern redoubt, described as swarming up communication trenches and using stick-bombs and machine-guns. ### [Christmas in the Trenches, 1915](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/v) The enemy forces, who continue to shell and fire on Christmas Eve, with no truce observed. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/vii) Horrified by the Canadian raid; became reluctant to patrol; targeted by Canadian snipers and machine-guns. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/viii) The German sentry is killed; other German soldiers raise the alarm and fire at the raiders. ### [The Spirit of Ireland in Flanders](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ix) German soldiers are mentioned as listeners to part-songs and as the enemy whose flares and machine-guns threaten the Irish working parties. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xi) German guns target trench J.3, and German miners destroy it with mines. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xii) The Germans launch a massive offensive at Verdun under the Crown Prince, hurling fresh masses of men and guns. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xiv) German soldiers are positioned only ten yards away from the narrator's observation point, and their bombardment has destroyed much of Arras. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xix) Defending the Vimy Ridge craters; suffer heavy casualties from the mine explosions, but later counterattack with bombs and artillery, retaking the craters. ### [The Great Push and the Tragedy of Sanctuary Wood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xx) Launch a massive bombardment and infantry assault on Canadian lines, later endure a retaliatory bombardment and counterattack. ### [The Heart of a City](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/part-v-the-heart-of-a-city) The German advance threatens Amiens, causing panic and retreat among the British and French. ### [The Street of the Three Pebbles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ii) German soldiers under von Kluck occupy Amiens; they laugh at Madame Carpentier's defiance and dance with local women in the Place de la Gare. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/v) The German officer is described as young, chic, and schoolboy-like, but is killed and his personal memento taken. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xiv) Blamed by the mother for the death of her son and the suffering of French soldiers. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xv) German air raids target the railway station near the hospital, causing terror among the patients. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xvi) The advancing enemy forces threatening Amiens, described as having suffered heavy losses but pressing forward. ### [Part VI: Psychology on the Somme](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/part-vi-psychology-on-the-somme) German soldiers are described as gloomy, forced to sing, and suffering heavy losses and low morale. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/i) The Germans are described as shifting their focus eastward after heavy losses at Verdun, and their pilots are noted for cautious tactics. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ii) The Germans are the enemy whose defensive earthworks are thirty miles deep, a maze of trenches and redoubts. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/iv) Referred to as 'the old Boche' in the officers' conversation, indicating the enemy. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/vii) German prisoners are taken, and German dead are seen in the trenches and dugouts. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/viii) German troops emerge from tunnels, fight fiercely with machine-guns and stick-bombs, and later offer a truce for stretcher-bearers. ### [X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/x) German troops, including the 3rd Prussian Guard and the 122nd Bavarian Regiment, are depicted defending tenaciously in dugouts and trenches, suffering heavy losses. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xiv) German dead and prisoners are mentioned; the narrator notes the soldiers' acknowledgment of the enemy's courage and power, and their chivalry toward surrendering Germans. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xvi) Bantams captured enormous Bavarian prisoners; a German officer at Longueval spared Father Hall due to his fearless demeanor. ### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xvii) German prisoners described as decent, simple men, similar to English soldiers, with a shared loathing of war. ### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xviii) Refused to be routed from tunnels at Moquet Farm; counterattacked repeatedly; eventually retreated to Hindenburg line. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xix) The Germans are in retreat to the Hindenburg line, leaving devastation behind; their dead are numerous, and their dugouts are captured. ### [XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xx) German troops suffer staggering losses, low morale, and are forced into suicidal counterattacks. ### [XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xxi) German soldiers are depicted as suffering from low morale, fear, and physical exhaustion, with many writing home about their grim experiences and forebodings of death. ### [The Breaking Point on the Somme](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xxii) German troops on the Somme suffer extreme casualties, desertions, and a breakdown of morale; many refuse to fight or surrender willingly. ### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xxiii) German soldiers write tragic letters describing the unbearable stench of the dead, the ceaseless roar of guns, and their dehumanization. ### [Part VII: The Fields of Armageddon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/part-vii-the-fields-of-armageddon) A German officer's letter is quoted, describing the terror of bombardment and the meaning of Flanders as 'blood and scraps of human bodies.' ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/i) The German military is noted for tactical innovations but also for strategic blunders and callousness toward their own people. ### [The Devastated Region](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ii) German soldiers are described as terrified of Allied gunfire, deserting, and resenting their own commanders; some show kindness to French civilians. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/iii) German gunners conducted 'evening hate' and defended the Hindenburg line; German outposts were sacrificed under the elastic defense system. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/vii) Under General von Marwitz, launched a surprise counterattack on November 30, 1917. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ix) Shown surrendering in batches, shouting 'Blacklegs!' and 'War-prolongers!', and suffering broken morale. ### [After the Armistice: Occupation and Reflection](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/x) German people receive the British humbly; a young waiter converses with British officers about shared combat; German civilians show courtesy and suffer from hunger. ### [Part VIII: For What Men Died](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/part-viii-for-what-men-died) Referred to as the enemy, but also as individuals who loathed the war yet obeyed discipline. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/i) Described as a stunned, betrayed people grappling with defeat, loss of faith, and a sense of victimhood. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ii) Mentioned as a nation that did not denounce its war lords or cruelties. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/iii) Described as wonderfully brave, marching to certain death like martyrs, but their spirit was broken by defeat and starvation. ### [What of England?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/iv) Referred to as 'old Fritz' with a sense of fellow-feeling; prisoners treated with cigarettes and water by British soldiers. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/v) Referenced as the enemy in air raids and as 'devils' in home front rhetoric. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/vi) German soldiers were divided, some shooting Russian fraternizers, others questioning the war. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/viii) The enemy targeted by the cultivated hate and killing. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ix) The Germans are referenced as the defeated enemy whose militarism was supposedly crushed, yet their armaments are now restricted while Britain's military spending soars. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_germans - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters