The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-12-14
3 CHARGES IN DAY.
DcSpcrntc Fighting WnRed TOT
Trcuchc. Near Nprcs.

SDecidi cable Despdtch 70 IHt Sun
IoNpoN. Dec. IA correspondent OF
the Ddiiy Man in Belgium, in a despatch
dated yesterday. says:
desperate lighting which may prove
the early stages Of one OF the greate-t
battles of the war has been taking place
the latter part OF the week along the line
east of Yprcs and Armenticres Inc
Allies and the enemy face each other with
Immense forces In tubs district. Both
sides realize the strategic Importance ot
the land which lies between the User and
the Lys.
Success has attended the Germans
and the French in turn, but the losses OF
the enemy are far greater and the
French have in places gained slight
advantage. This is particularly note
worthy when 1t is considered that the
Germans. on Thursday especially. at
tackled with overwhelming force time
after time.
From the trenches seventy yards away
a shower Of hand grenades came bowl
ING toward the first French trench Many
fell short and few did damage, but the
SHOWER had hardly ended when from tn.
trenches climbed a swarm of Germans
rushing furiously toward the French
men These jumped to the loopholes and
bazed A magazine fire into the raging at
tack. Every bullet seemed To find a
mark II could hardly be otherwise at
such II range.
THE advancing tide wavered stumbled
over the PROSTATE parts of itself, then
swept onward again. There was no time
for the FrenChmen IT, reload their rifles
Besides, they did not want to. They
simply climbed out of the trenches and
met the Germans with bayonets. The
German guns were still roaring to pre-
vent the arrival of French reinforce
ments. but the reenforcements quickly
came through suffering heavily. The
few Frenchnen still struggled sturdily
with their enemies who outnumbered
them three TO one, and eventually the
,,ermans who survived the attack turned
and bolted back to their trenches with
the Freuchmen seeing red at their heels.
II was as furious a fifteen minutes as
could he conceived.
THE no mans land between the
trenches was heaped with men, tangled
and twisted in death or writing with
wounds which numerically let them live
Neither side dared venture across after
these sufferers Red blood was at fever
heat and so they were left in their agony
But this one desperate charge did not
end the days work The French mortars
thumped away necessarily and showers
Of hand grenades were exchanged. one
more attack was made by the befInanS
in daylight, with like result The ground
was piled high IN places with bodies,
"Then when night had fallen yet an
other attack was made one mighty mass
Of Germans came charging over the mar
row space. BY sheer weight Of numbers
they overwhelmed the French and took
the trench for which they had paid such
a CHASTITY price They held it only for a
few hours By convegglng on II from three
points at once the French retook it
shortly after midnight on Friday morn
ing \ wonderful French bayonet charge
at length drove out the Germans who had
fought most calamity and stubbornly
throughout the day.
III the Allies can press forward just
three or four miles before the year is out
they will have done extraordinarily well
Hereabout the German artillery II in
greater strength than anywhere else along
the whole line Of battle
Progress will undoubtedly he slow be-
cause the Germans have taken such tre-
mendous pains to pave, in the literal
sense, with concrete trenches the way of
retreat. our airmen report line upon line
OF intrcnchments where the Germans
have deftnsivcly furrowed the land be-
hind them for miles. AS the Allies adj
vance, aud they undoubtedly will adj
vance, these trenches will IN turn be
stubburnly defended"