Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-09-21
Germans Attempt to Recover
Ground Lost Along the
River Aisne.
REPELLED FOOT BY FOOT
SAYS BRITISH NARRATOR
Long Drawn Battle Yielding to Ex-
haustion Rather Than Shot and
Shell-Furious Fighting.

I.oNlb)N, september 2l-ine CORE
spondent of the Times at La Ferte- Mi
Ion. under date of Friday. gives j de-
s"ription of the German counter attack
made Wednesday to recover ground
lost on the Aisne. He says:
They came on singing with their
drums beating behind them. Even at
night they had their band to play
them to the attack.
We met them in the holes they had
themselves dug. and a French soldier
who told the story said
You know in fight like we had
we had them at an advantage for our
"ayonets are longer than theirs, only
all these straps about our chests and
shoulders get in our way and hinder
our movement The Germans are bet
TOR Off IN that respect and so are your
soldiers. as they use their arms freely
The Germans would break for a while
and go back. but as soon as we sent
'hem running another lot would come
on, and SO it went time after time"
Beaten Back Foot by Foot.
Another correspondent of the Times
sends the following dispatch from be-
hind the British lines" dated Septem-
Der 19:
The great battle draws to a close.
Exhaustion rather than shot and shell
has wrought a terrible peace along the
river banks--a peace which my expert
ence of the last few days leads me to
believe may be the herald of victory
mat, at least, is how ] read the situa-
ton.
nave seen our troops and the
Yyato
rot as worn and weary men, but as
conquerors. I have seen them return
wounded from this valley of death
with the conauerinG spirit famed to
herce fury. Here is a typical de-
scription from the trenches from the
great struggle.
1--WE are slowly beating them back,
We have to do it foot by foot. for they
have huge guns and their shell fire is
terrible. But We keep pegging away
How" Well, We dig ourselves in-we
British lads have learned that lesson
and then We go on fighting and fight
ing until the moment comes when we
can make a small advance. We crawl
up again and dig ourselves i'll, and so
on.
".At the end it. of course. comes to
cold steel. We are all right there
Sight Appalling Beyond Words.
The scene on the river at night was
magnificent and appalling beyond
words. The whole valley was swept
with a blaze of searchlights from
darkness until dawn. Great beams
moved up and down, searching the
skies and trenches and revealing
masked batteries on the heights. and
dark forms lying along the ridges.
Here and there a lurid flash, the
bursting OF : shell or wisp of fire
yollyy from some concealed vantage
and over all rolled the perpetual
thunder of the guus-a fierce and
thrilling accom- paninent.
An incessant rain, TOO, flooded the
treat river, making the work OF the
heroic engineers u veritable task of
Hercules.
This was i battle TO the last ounce
Of strength in which men and horses
poured out their whole lives in few
frenzied moments Day and night the
combat RACES without internission,
ebbinE and flowing like the tide. seeth-
ing like a caldron. And into the hell
strong men went down-oh, it was
brave sight 70 see them go. sayly and
Iizht-heartedIy, to return perhaps in
p few hours broken for life, or II may
he never to return at all. for the loss
was terrible
The battle westward by The Forest
OF AigIe has been carried back from
kilometers (about six miles). But at
scissors the enemy still hold their
ground. Here in the stone quarries
above the town they have massed
pou erfuI battery of artillery of such
heavy metal that our guns have not
been strong enough TO cope with II.