# IX explained — Now It Can Be Told

> Chapter companion for Now It Can Be Told by Philip Gibbs.

## What happens

The narrator reflects on the war correspondents' relationship with the British high command, from Sir Douglas Haig's initial hostility and condescension to his eventual recognition of their role in sustaining morale and honoring the troops. The chapter culminates in a victory address on the Hohenzollern Bridge in Cologne, where the Field-Marshal thanks the correspondents for their service.

## Themes in this chapter

### Propaganda and Deception

The correspondents navigate censorship and Haig's initial view of their work as mere 'bright stories' for the public, while they see themselves as a spiritual force and chroniclers of truth.

### Betrayal by Leadership

The troops' 'deadly hatred of G.H.Q.' and the correspondents' struggle against Haig's restrictive policies reflect a sense of betrayal by the high command.

### Postwar Disillusionment

The narrator's weariness and the 'backwash of agony' that overwhelmed his soul, even in victory, underscore a deep disillusionment with the war's cost.

## Character check-ins

### Sir Douglas Haig

Initially hostile to war correspondents as First Army commander, later as Commander-in-Chief he meets them, initially misunderstanding their work but eventually relaxing censorship and acknowledging their contribution.

### General Charteris

Chief of Intelligence, acts as intermediary between Haig and the correspondents, nervous at their frankness.

### Unknown Narrator

A war correspondent who recounts the evolving relationship with G.H.Q. and the emotional weight of documenting the war.

### The British

The troops whose morale and recognition the correspondents sought to support through their reporting.

### The Germans

Groups of Germans observed peering through the escort of Lancers on the Hohenzollern Bridge in Cologne.

## Key lines

> You want to get hold of little stories of heroism, and so forth, and to write them up in a bright way to make good reading for Mary Ann in the kitchen, and the Man in the Street.

Haig initially believed correspondents only sought trivial anecdotes for popular entertainment.

_Haig's condescending view of war reporting as superficial, which the correspondents strongly resented._

> while the war lasts one must put one's own soul under censorship.

Bernard Shaw advised that personal conscience must be suppressed during wartime.

_The narrator justifies self-censorship to avoid denouncing the war's horrors and generalship._

> Gentlemen, you have played the game like men!

Haig later praised the correspondents for their honorable conduct.

_A later, more respectful acknowledgment from Haig after the correspondents' persistent efforts._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ix
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters