The Hound of Mons

During the First World War, many lost their lives in bloodshed and carnage in a terrible battle. The whole concept of war was changed forever. It was the first time modern machines (machine guns, explosives, ect) and modern weapons was used. British soldiers used archaic tactics that were centuries old. So many men were killed and so many horror stories come from that period. Beside the terrible bloody events, were mysterious new legends that emerged, from angel sightings to phantom knights and hell hounds.

Who was this hound?
One of the hell hound legends is called "Hound of Mons" because it took place during the Battle of Mons in a place called No Man's Land. This is an unoccupied space between the trenches of warring enemies, divided with barbed wire fences, land mines and armed guards. Germans were present in Belgium and the British soldiers had arrived with boosted morale. It ended up as a very bloody battle with enormous casualties.

The nightmare
From this came the legend of a huge wolflike hound that stalked both German and British soldiers, devouring the dead and creating an added supernatural terror to the everyday horrors of war. A Canadian called F.J.Newhouse, a soldier, first brought this story to the public's attention in 1919 after publishing it in a newspaper. Some believe there is "truth" behind the legend as a patrol of London Fusiliers vanished into thin air, and showed up dead a week later. Whatever killed them wasn't ammo or bullets. They were half eaten. Shortly after this particular gruesome event, both Germans and British often heard chilling howls at night. More patrols disappeared and were found dead later, in the same way as the others. Throats and bodied ripped as if soemthing with razor sharp teeth and claws ravaged them. It wasn't just the British who were losing soldiers in this way. German soldiers suffered similar fates.

The howls became more frequent and the terrified soldiers kept down. Many witnessed glimpses of a large greyish wolf, or a massive light coloured dog with enermous fangs in No Man's Land. It's something that frightened the men so much that they didn't go out, and it wasn't just to avoid being shot at. Something else besides the battle, which had been otherworldly, scared them senseless. This mysterious hound haunted the trenches and No Mans Land for two more years. Then it was gone when the war was about to end.

This was no regular dog, or wolf
It's possible that there was a real vicious and frightening hound in the trenches. The war resulted in devastation, bodies, hunger and imagine how this would've impacted on the wildlife. Wolves have only strayed into human territory at times of disaster, and when there are no people left in a village. It's unusual for a lone wolf to intrude amongst humans and so more incredible for a lone wolf to appear in the middle of a battle. A regular dog would've been killed instantly, and so would a hungry wolf, if it ever ventured near them. This doesn't seem to be normal for a dog and wolf to behave like the mysterious Hound of Mons. A pack of wolves may strike someone but not attack a number of men with guns. This is where the legend makes no sense with the natural world.

My final Opinion
It's either a legend or based on something else. Some say the hound was a scientific monstrosity but I don't think so due to the fact such a thing would've been impossible for the era to successfully make. And even so (a big "if") the thing would've been put down instantly in No Mans Land or not survived the walkies. I believe that the Hound of Mons was a supernatural creature, and perhaps more than one of them. The battle ground was a hunting ground.