Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1914-08-30
BRITISH FORCE
ABOUT Wiped OUT
Survivor Says Out of 1000
Men Only Thirty Els
capped Death.

London, Aug. 29-The Chronicles
Boulogne correspondent sends the
personal story of wounded soldier
who has arrived there and who de-
clared he was one of the thirty sur
vivors of British force of 1000 prac
tically wiped out by German artillery
His story follows:
I'VE were five solid days in the
trenches and moved backward and
forward all that time with the vary
ing tide of battle. y was about 2
o'clock in the morning when the end
came. Things had got quieter and
told us to get some sleep. We were
preparing to obey when a light or
something else gave us away and we
found ourselves in al inferno of bnl-
lets. We could do nothing. Down
upon us the shrapnel hailed and we
fell by the score. Practically at the
same time the enemy's maxims open
ed fire. We were almost without shell
ter when we were caught and we
crawled along in front to find cover.
Leave everything and retire was
the order, and we did what we could
to obey. l don't know how long it
lasted, but when dawn came l could
not see more than thirty men left in
the various section of the field. Thirty
at the most were left out of about
1000.
81 wandered about from the others
and eventually found myself at -
with single companion. That was
the first time tx, German artillery
really got US; AS a rule their gun
fire was mighty poor" ~.
In the foregoing story the censor
has eliminated the name of the town
near which the fighting occurred.
overwhelmed at Journal.
The Daily Nails Boulogne cores
pendent, writing of the battle of Tour
mai, says:
1.-The battle of Journal should go
down in British history beside Rorkes
Drift and Magersfontein as a revela-
ton of the prowess of the British
army. At Journal a German cavalry
force of 5000 men overwhelmed a
British force of 700 which hourly ex-
pected relief which never came.
1.-The Germans we're victors at a
terrible price and only after their own
ranks had been sadly thinned. The
British stood thier ground until all
hope was lost and only 300 remained.
They they retired calmly and coolly.
carrying their wounded and harassing
their pursuers all the way.
1.-The story of this last stand is
somewhat beclouded by the British
charge that the Germans finally turn
ed thetide of battle by mounting firers
in Red Cross wagons. The British
survivors fell back on Wednesday af-
4ternoon, the fighting having lasted
from 1880 in the morning. Here is
the story of Journal in BRIEF.
"On Wednesday morning our troops
had taken positions slightly to the
rear of the town of Journal upon high
ground. Our artillery fired effective
ly at first upon the German advance
but later lost the range. Toward
o'clock our position became critical
AS every vital moment slipped by
anxious eyes looked back for the
promised help that was never to
come. Even at the tirrible 1isadvan-
tage of more than ten to one IN ...-
fantry and artillery were holding
their own when hordes or herman
cavalry seemed suddenly to swoop
down from nowhere.
Through the town they galloped
with an amazing disregard for them
selves and up to the very muzzles of
our field guns. Their losses were ap-
palling, but survivors insist that the
British stood their ground mill
armed ambulances, at least three in
number, made their appearance with
rapid-fire guns mounted on them. To-
ward o'clock the survivors began to
retire."
We a1ah pive eomninfe aafisfa ction