Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-09-21
GUNS TRANSFORM
BEAUTIFUL VALLEY
INTO AN INFERNO
Aisne River Losses Colossal, I,
Says Correspondent Who
Followed Armies From the
Marne.
LONDON, Sept. 21.


English correspondent, who sends his
story from La Ferte-Nilon south of
Scissors. He says:
From the battlefield of Marne ! worked
my way northward through Chantily and
! Senlis to Crepy-en-Valois to this valley
of death. came by night through lands
wasted by the feet of tens of thousands
of armed men and by innumerabe wheels
of the worlds greatest armies.
II have seen on this road sights that
convince me that the retreat was not only
swift but precipitate to point of actual
panic. 1t was Aisne or destruction. 1t is
necessary to realize that just as the allied
army, on It's way from Mons to Paris,
was in danger of the German fanking
| movement which threatened to overwhelm
| 1t, so was General Won Kluk's right
| flank in its retreat from Paris TO Aisne
| in extreme danger To avoid annihilation,
| he fled position of tremendous strength
| toward the west. 1t was absolutely
essential to his safety to gain the position
| of Aisne.
"One must not lose sight of the supreme
| fact that of the present situation just
| as the junction of the Ourcq and Marne
at Meaux made that town the key of
encounter last week. so the junction of
the Disc and the ASne at Compiegne has
endowed the latter with cardinal import
ance. Once across the Aisne, the German
army had the River Oise on its right, and,
for the moment, the danger of being out
hanked was averted.
This was the position on Sunday, Sep
teinber 10. the first day of the great
frontal battle.
| Al, ,.t,y lapa IN In
ferno. From height to height the great
guns belched forth their fire in terrific
fashion Huge shells went shrieking
across the river and the river meadows.
The army poured a whitening fire upon
the allied troops and engineers that were
engaged In building pontoon bridges The
pontoons are carried on wagons espe-
cally constructed for their transportation.
1t is necessary to bring these pontoons
to the waters edge, launch them and then
lash them together.
ALLIES BEGIN ADVANCE.
",The whole operation of building the
pontoon bridges was carried on while
hell OF fire rained down on the men, rifles,
mitrailleuses and the heavier guns con-
| tributing At one time the enemy's fire
had grown so deadly and had worked
such destruction among the forces en-
! gagged in building the pontoon bridges that
! the work had to be suspended tempor-
arily.
FINALLY the allied army, foot by foot,
/ began to advance toward the river banks.
/ Thanks to the presence of the small un-
broken bridge, the English troops were
! able to effect crossing of the river
! comparatively early, while the French,
| showing great bravery, began crossing
the river in single file by using the steel
| girder In the meantime the engineers
| renewed their task of pontoon bridge
building. and columns of troops crossed
the river BY nghtfall the crossing of
the river had been effected. and the
/ enemy was forced to retire.
monday the Germans opened a heavy
bombardment along the heights eastward
| toward Scissors On Tuesday afternoon
a very severe attack was made by the
! eneny, who evidently had been rein
forced and who seemed determined to
break through the allied lines between
! Vic-sur-Aisne and Soissons This at
| tack was heralded by a tremendous out
| burst of the heavy German artillery. fol-
| lowed by a systematic advance OF the
| infantry. The infantry of the Allies,
| aided by machine guns, stood their
| ground. however. in most splendid fash
| ion, pouring a deadly fire into the at
| taoking Germans. At certain points the
| Allies repulsed the Germans at the point
of bayonets
with unabated fury this battle con-
| tInued all night and throughout Wednes-
/ day and Thursday. The Germans were
! hurled at the allied troops In close for
nation, with extreme recklessness as to
/ human life. Summed up in a word, 1t
/ seemed as IL the German strategy was
| weight
| GERMANS FALL BACK.
The first sign of weakening on the
mart of the Germans was noticed Thurs
! day afternoon after their fierce attacks
| on that day had been repulsed with huge
| losses.
| "As night fell on Thursday the Allies
began to drive back the Germans along
/ the extreme west of the position
| from the river bank-that is, Noyon. The
work was slow and laborious and the
I Germans contested every inch of the
way, but the attack of the Allies was
| relentless and foot by foot the Ger
mans backed away. At last the Allies
gained six miles and took the heights
above the river.
"The Allies took 800 prisoners and
number of fine machine guns. They
then made several charges on the
| heights, facing the terrible fire of the
/ Cnemy's artillery from the district of
Noyon, Laon and Fontenoy. The charges
fairly staggered the enemy because of
/ their UtTCentSS ana suuutHHeSst anu IneS
accomplished their object
"a German prisoner told me that the
courage and the recklessness of the
French and British during those charges
amazed the Germans.
{ "At Scissors was the only place that
only a slight advance was made by the
/ Allies This was due TO the fact that
the Germans had artillery placed in the
quarries which form a strong natural
position, and by virtue of their big guns
| and their position were able to hold the
allied troops partly in check.
T "As l write the impression exists that
I the enemy's resistance is weakening
Men in the trenches state that the fire
! OF the Germans has died down some
what.
"Soissons has suffered terribly. 1t was
subjected 10 daily bombardment by the
great German guns. Almost iTrsparable
damage has been done to the famous
Z Cathedral and 10 the Church of st. Jean
/ des Vignes 1t is expected that if the
F hombardment continued the town will be
reduced 10 ruins but the havoc wrought
i'm scissors. so far as the battle of the
Aisne Is concerned, matters not at all
once the enemy Is dislodged from the
stone quarries the whole German line
must fall back, just as the right wing
+ fell back at Compiegne. 1t Is a question