Angels-BATTLEFIELD, ANGELS ON THE

In times of war, soldiers often embrace a stronger bond with religion
and the supreme being, which may be due to the closeness and possibility
of death in battle. It is not unusual, therefore, for soldiers to witness
apparitions of holy figures that can be interpreted as needed guidance.
While most of these visions are witnessed by one person, and
can be regarded as either hoaxes or products of an overactive imagination,
there are a number of cases where apparitions of angels, saints,
and other religious figures during battles have been documented by a
large number of people.
Many warring nations, especially those with Christian populations,
often call upon patron saints to guide their forces during battle.
For example, England calls upon St. George, while Spain enlists the
guidance of St. Leo the Elder, and St. Michael and Joan of Arc are driving
forces in France. Moreover, there have also been a number of
angelic appearances. Both the Old and New Testament contain such
stories. However, many more such cases have occurred since the writings
of these books and are documented in other historical records.
During the fifth century A.D., Attila and his tribe of Huns battled
Romans and other European civilizations. When he and his forces
were threatening Rome, he was approached by Pope Leo who pleaded
for the safety of the city. Attila immediately removed his army from
the vicinity, claiming that as the Pope was speaking, he witnessed
“two shining beings not of this earth” standing beside him. The figures
had flaming swords, and threatened Attila with death if he proceeded
further. The Church later was convinced that the two figures were
Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
When the Goths invaded Gaul in A.D. 433, St. Albin (who was
then archbishop of the city of Embrun) called upon and prayed to St.
Marcellinus for the protection of the city. The Goths had laid siege to
the city, and eventually reached the immediate fortifications. During
the battle, a vision of St. Marcellinus appeared with a legion of angels,
which threw the assailants from the walls and turned the Goth’s
weapons against them. The Goths were slaughtered, and the survivors
fled in panic.
In A.D. 624, at the battle of Bedr, Mohamet and his army of about
three hundred soldiers defeated the Koreishites, which numbered in
the thousands. According to reports, leading Mohamet’s army on a
white horse was the archangel Gabriel.
In the middle part of the sixteenth century, the Asian tribe of
Badagars were intent on killing a local missionary named Francis
Xavier and wiping out all Christians in the nearby settlements of
Trauancor and Comorinum. When Xavier learned of their plan, he
went alone to confront them. As he appeared before the army of
Badagars, the army’s officers claimed that a large figure stood beside
Xavier, with lightning coming from his eyes. At that point, the army
was ordered to retreat.
On October 7, 1571, the navy of Selim II, sultan of the Turks, was
defeated at the battle of Lepanto. The battle is always ascribed to Pope
Pius V, who, during a Rosary procession on that date, suddenly opened
a window and announced to participants, “It is now time to give
thanks to God for the great victory He has granted to our arms.” Official
records state that at the same time the Pope made his announcement,
the Turkish navy received its defeat. Turkish sailors taken pris
oner avowed that they witnessed Jesus Christ, Saint Peter, Saint Paul,
and an army of angels with swords in hand fighting against the Turks.
The angels blinded the Turks with the smoke of their own cannons.
This incident helped confirm Pius for canonization in 1712.
The twentieth century is not without its share of appearances by
angelic figures during battles. One of the most famous sightings
occurred during the First World War at the Battle of Mons in 1914
(see Angels of Mons). Another account occurred in July of 1918, in a
battle near Béthune, France. British soldiers watched in amazement as
German artillery began shelling some open ground between the front
lines of the two armies. When the shelling stopped, the German
infantry rose up from their trenches and began marching toward the
field in mass formation. Suddenly, they halted, then retreated in confusion.
Accounts from German prisoners state that they witnessed a
brigade of cavalry approaching the German lines across the open field.
The Germans thought that they were colonial militia, as they were all
dressed in white and were mounted on white horses. As they got into
range, the cavaliers were then attacked with machine gun fire. However,
not one mounted soldier nor horse fell from the onslaught.
When the troops were within clear view of the Germans, it was noted
that the whole cavalry brigade was being led by a golden-haired rider
carrying a sword at his side. The Germans fled in panic.
During the end of World War II, the Russian army was advancing
through Danzig, East Prussia (now Gdansk, Poland). Children were
temporarily living in a makeshift schoolhouse, which although in peril
of being bombarded by Russian artillery, survived and was known as
“the island of peace.” One evening, during a prayer service at the
schoolhouse, a young boy who had no religious upbringing began verbally
pressing upon one of the nurses, saying, “It came up to here on
them” as he tapped his breastbone. When the nurse asked what he
meant, the boy explained he had seen men ablaze with light in every
corner of the building, and that they were so tall the gutters on the
roof came up to their chests.
The continent of Africa has seen a lot of violence within the past
few decades due to political and social turmoil. In one instance during
the Jeunesse Rebellion in the Congo, a rebel army advanced upon a
school where approximately two hundred children of missionaries
lived, with the intent of killing everyone at the residence. The school
was only protected by a fence and a few soldiers, while the rebels numbered
in the hundreds. For three days, the rebels attempted to storm
the school, but each time they approached, they would suddenly stop
and retreat. One wounded and captured rebel, when asked why his
army did not attack, stated that each time they approached the school, they witnessed hundreds of soldiers dressed in white surrounding
the compound.