The Washington herald., 1914-08-30
mons WOUNDED
DESCRIBE Fight
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE

shoot straight-take careful aim and
watch where you shoot And we did.
THE Germans came up in thousands
i saw ranks and ranks Of them coming
along. We swept away one rank and
there was another; we swept that away
and a third was waiting behind 1t
Only they came on over the bodies OF
their friends, solidly like wooden sol
dlers and as regular as clock, but we
bore into them terribly with our rihes. "
The idea that during the early part OF
the encounter the infantry was not fully
covered by the ARTILLERY seemed to be
strong in the mems minds. The truth nc
doubt Is that the Germans had much
greater number of guns and soswere able
70 infiict terrible loss upon US. IN spite
of the counter attack of our artillery. AL
were agreed in saving that the French
and English gunners worked splendidly,
showing the most deadly marksmanship
and affording great help to the infantry
N their retiring movement
This retiring movement was absolutely
necessary. The Germans were in such
enormous numbers-a proportion estimat-
ed by some as high as TO THAT 1t was
exceedingly difficult to carry II out sue
cessfuIly because the German masses
were constantly pressing behind while
their cloud OF cavalry harrassed the
TANKS. But our cavalry behaved like he
roes. I was told OF one regiment which
rode backward and forward through the
eneiny's ranks, seven times. That regi-
neut, alas, was decimated.
The mass formation of the Kaiser's
army appears to have Impressed the
French and EngIishmen, very deeply.
Il never saw anything like it, one
1T know how
take cover at once-well they didn't. Some
of the fellows said they saw them lie
down but 1 can't say l did. They just
seemed TO roll on and on but we did
hold to our places and that holding
saved us
These are incidents, of course. mar
rated by men whose perspective has
been shortened, but from the mass Of
them one may conjure up a dreadful pic
ture and the chances are that even vivid
imagination will fail of reality.
Our losses were severe 1t is idle
tn blink at this fact. But they were
small compared to the losses Of the
enemy. Moreover our wounded are, in
many cases, only lightly injured. Here
as in Belgium the German bullet seems
to be a less deadly missile than might
be expected.-It is too sharp.
The battle continued with little in
terruptiOn throughout Sunday and
Monday. Our men had now fallen
back to the positions assigned to them
and the enemy gradually ceased to at
tack Apparently they were ex-
hausted.
There can be no doubt that only in
their artillery fire did they really
achieve important success.
Their infantry work is described as
laughable: their cavalry. too. was
much inferior to ours.
The fvlI story Of the work of the
British hussars and lancers has still
to be written. but it was glorious. The
troopers literally flung themselves on
their foes.
Several other incidents more or less
Of detached character were related
to me.
All the wounded seemed to have re-
tanned a pleasant memory of the courage
and kindness of the army medical corps.
Not only had the wounded 10 be brought
in under a hail Of bullets, but there also
was great danger that those wearing the
Red Cross would be singled out for spe-
ciai attention by the enemy.
The fact that our force was drawing
hack, too, rendered the task much more
difficult.
The greatest heroism was displayed by
the doctors and ambulance men in risk
ing their lives again and again to bring
succor to their fallen comrades. They
worked continuously and with remark
able speed.
BY Wednesday noon several train loads
Of wounded had reached Amiens. That
stream Of Red Cross trains still con-
tinues to flow.
The railway stations of France are at
present an object lesson in good organi-
- efficiency
The north of France at this moment is
a land Of terrOr-stricken fugitives. The
platforms and the waiting rooms all are
thronged with hundreds upon hundreds
of men and women and children, tramp
ing YEARLY along with their small
bundles of possessions hUrriedly flung to
gether in the moment of panic which pre-
coded their departure from home.
a sadder sight than this it would be
impossible to imagine. for these unfortu-
mates belong 10 the thriftiest people in
Europe and their harvest fields and
orchards are even now ripe for gathering.
I saw trains full of wounded men,
French and English. and trains full OF
fresh troops on their way to the front.
Several of the wounded raised a ohoer
as their comrades went by. The cheer
was taker up by those going to the
front Alternating with these trains were
others carrying tourists from the south
of France and Switzerland to Boulognc.
Thus one seemed to find all humanity
under one roof, the rich and the poor,
the young and the old. the soldier and
civilian. those going out to battle and
those returning fallen.
A German major taken captive during
the fighting said to a colonel Of French
artillery: Your artillery is not the
artillery of war but of bUtchery."