Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-09-21
Joint Work of Kaiser's Avia-
tors and Gunners Causes
Havoc Among British.
WOUNDED ENGLISHMEN
PRAISE CANNONEERS
Say, However, That Enemy's Rife
Firing Is Rotten"
Afraid of Bayonet.
Special Correspondence of The Star.

Special Correspondence OF The Star.
LONDON. September 10.-Could all
the amazing, graphic and thrilling war
stories now being brought back by
wounded British soldiers be compiled
and published they would make highly
interesting reading. Every day hun
dreds of the injured are invaded
home and they all have tales to tell.
All the wounded soldiers who have
arrived at Aldershot have stories of
the remarkable artillery practice by
the German guns. which they ascribe to
the close cooperation between the
guns and aeroplanes.
again and again." said a sergeant
of the Northamptons, the aeroplanes
came circling round over our positions.
but at too great a height for our guns
TO reach them. We watched them, and
whenever futter of white paper or
other material came down from them
a shower OF shrapnel followed imme-
diately, so well aimed that we inva-
riab1y had to move to save ourselves
from being annihilated.
But for the guns we could have held
our positions against twice the num-
Der of German infantry. Their rifle
practice was worse than that of our
third-class shots.
Surprised at Dawn.
A private of the Loyal North Lanca-
shire Regiment, who had a piece OF
shrapnel in his knee. gave graphic
description of a surprise at dawn.
With half q platoon he had been
sent out on outpost duty, somewhere
in Belgium He had no notion OF the
locality. and had seen no large towns
till he was on his way back in the am
bulance.
I'VE went out at dusk under Off
GER he said. land arrived in the dark
at the position We had to take up. Sen,
tries were posted. and nothing happened
during the night to ind cate that the
enemy were within hundred miles AT
dawn We were just boiling water over
campfire to make tea, when, from a posi-
tion 300 yards away, a not rlne nre
was opened on US.
1--WE did not wait for our tea to draw.
but bolted for the nearest cover-the
hedges and bitches of a roadway Ut 1t
was the first time any of our chaps
had been under fire, and we were all
bit scared. but the officer soon got a
grip of US. and We reple ed with we'll
aimed fire, the feeling OF alarm quickly
passing away.
"The German shooting was rotten. and
We were in no great danger. till a shell
pumped down close to US. and another
quickly followed. The officer then
saw 1t was time to go. and gave the
order to retire. 1t was while retiring
that got the wound in my knee
Says Germans Fear Bayonet.
Private P. McGlade writes from
Somewhere in France" to HIS mother
In Ireland:
I'VE were all beat up after four days
Of the hardest soldering you ever
dreamt of. am glad to say we account
ed for our share of the Germans, who
are poor lot when it comes to a good
square ruction in the open.
We tried hard to get at them many
time. but they would never wait for
us when they saw the bright bits of
steel at the business end of our rifles.
Some of them squealed like the pigs
on killing day when they see the steel
ready.
some of our finest lads are now
sleeping their last sleep in Belgium,
but. mother dear. you can take your
sons word for it that for every son
of Ireland who will never come ba TX
there are at least three Germans who
will never be heard of again.
"Before leaving Belgium We arranged
with 4 priest to have masses said for
the souls of our dead. and we scraped
cor-ether what odd money we had, but
his ~everence wouldn't hear of it, tax.
ing our money for prayers for the re-
pose Of the brave lads who had died
so fer from the old land to rid Bel
e.uT1 soil of the unmannerly German
scrubs.
"v-hcn we got here we sang paddles
Eve more" till We were hoarse, and
then we were off 10 chapel to pray
for the souls of the lads that are
gone.
You will probably hear all sorts of
strange stories at home. but it's sure
you may be that we are all in good
heart and only want to get at the
Germans again. Some of them don't
RI y y TT Lt
hard for England. but that just
shows how little they know about us"
Bad Rifle Shots.
A seaforth Highlander. who was
wounded near Namur. said;
'It was something hellish. The Ger
mans only worked their artillery on
ue- They were afraid to get near US.
If they had Done go they would have
got a good 'clapping'
Their rifle firing was simply rotten.
In one instance a party approached
within zoe yards of us, but, although
we were in the open with no cover,
they couldn't hit US. Our artillery
was as good as theirs and made hacks
of them"
A West Kent man who fought IN
South Africa, said:
THE Boer war was a game of skit-
Ties to this. They came at US in great
masses. II was like shooting rabbits,
only as fast as you shot one lot down
another came up. You couldn't help
hitting them.
We had plenty of time to take aim,
and II we weren't reaching Bisley
standard all the time we must have
done a mighty lot of execution. As for
their rifle fire. they couldn't hit hay
stack Some of them fire from their
hips and must have wasted a lot of
ammunition"
The German generals don't seem TO
mind what price their men have to
pay so long as they can break through
our lines. said a young lancer, who
received a sword cut in the neck last
Wednesday. They were cut down like
ripe corn IN harvest time, but they
didn't seem to mind II at all. 1t was
always on. and on again. until they