Battle of the Somme 90th Anniversary July 1st

[Mister Underhill]

I too think a dream is more likely.

The entry does say that the story is a "recurring nightmare" of Tolkien's at its outset, though it gets confusing later when the author adds a "fortunately for Tolkien..." which suggests that the prof was in real danger. Though I'm no Squatter, I'd deem it extremely unlikely that this tale describes events that really happened.

EDIT: Cross-posted with davem. This story is so outrageous that I'm sure it would have been mentioned before in legitimate sources if it had actually occurred. I'd say the chances of "accidentally" ending up behind enemy lines on horseback in 1916 were extremely small.