The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-03-31
STORY OF TORREON BATTLE.
Told by q Newspaper Corresponds
Who Was There.

STORY OF TORREON BATTLE.
Told by Newspaper Correspondent
Who Was There.
Ell Paso. March GA tale of rebel
, reverses and rebel luck was brought
here from the front by John Reed, cor
respondent Of the New York World.
and Robert Dorman. a photographer.
The stories are the first unbiased ac-
counts of eye witnesses since the at
tack on Gomez Palacio, Lerdo and Tor
reon began. They left the front late
Saturday at which time they estimated
that the rebel loss was 1000 in killed
and wounded.
I'VE were whipped twice at Gomez
Palacio," Dorman said, but the feder-
ais did not have the good sense to fol-
low up their advantage and Villa re-
turned to the attack after recognising
and ultimately occupied the city. We
We're whipped right there, but Velasco,
the federal commander, did not know it.
Federal prisoners whom We captured
said that Velasco later went insane In
the trenches. The prisoners told US he
went mad at Gomez Palacio and went
raging up and down the lines, cursing
and issuing the most absurd orders.
under restraint.
Our attack on Gomez Palacio was
conferred on the hill known as Cerro
De La Pillar. 1t is precipitous and we
made seven assaults before taking it.
The line of each six assaults which
were unsuccessful could be discerned
after the battle by the rings Of dead
rebels. Their bodies distinctly marked
the line where they were repulsed.
The home made shrapnel of the reb-
els had much TODD with their early
repulses at Gomez Paiacio. Only about
one in thirty exploded.
General Villa is a fighting man. He
was everywhere and his greatest de-
light was to join the assaults on foot
and throw hand grenades himself.
ultimately he will take TOrreon.
When we left Saturday morning fight
for possession of Torreon was in prog
ress. 1t was slow, stubborn work, as
the rebels had to fight from house to
house, the enemy retreating from posi-
ton to position through holes knocked
through the mud houses which are
built one against another"
Reed and DOrman, like other pho
tographers and correspondents, were
not only forbidden to send out news
after the attack on Torreon began,
but they were themselves forbidden
to leave.
According to Reed, they bribed a
section hand to allow them to use a
gasolene-propelled rail vehicle, which
carried them to Bermejillo. There
they caught a hospital train which
carried them to chihuahua. All
questioned but they still had their safe
conduct passes from Villa and man.
aged to get through as the verbal or
der against their departure had not
been properly promulgated. In Juarez
they were stopped twice but their
passes carried them through.
Wounded Thrown on Train.
I'VE alphabetically slept-on the
roof of the caboose to Chihuahua -
related Reed. 1T is true the sleep was
much broken but still we slept In
our waking moments we could hear
the groans and cries Of the wounded,
especially when the train stopped and
it was still otherwise in the desert
As the wounded died they were simply
showed out OF the cars by the side of
the track. We did not stop to bury
them"
Reed and Dorman agreed that the
superiority of the federals' artillery
should have given them permanent
victory but for velasco's failure to
follow up his ADVANTAGE
The rapid fire guns accurately
trained on obstacles put in the way of
the rebel advance, did the most dam
age, they said. The rebels simply fell
in windrows before the barbed wire
Villa was able to retreat without pur-
suit and reform the men His valor
was unaffected by their repulses or
by their hunger
All the correspondents were made
sick by drinking contaminated water
from the Irrigation bitches and John
w. Roberts. correspond Of the Ell
the hospital at the time Reed and
Dorman departed. Other CORE
spondents and photographers had re-
covered.