Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-11-18
POSTBAG FROM
WAR ZONE
kifst-hand Accounts of Land
and Sea Conflicts Told by
the Fighting Soldiers and
Sailors Themselves.

Sailors Themselves.
----l-
rae real todr correspondents Of the
rf1teHt European stfuO0le are the
Mtn y the trenches aud tie men on
tRe qaorter deck Professional torit-
efN ars not permitted at the front
An thep know Is tchat they can 0ledn
trop, the sounded occupants Of am
5Hloaces taken TO the rear The
hetHiag Ledger ,ctH print from time
g time the only intimdte side of the
wcr--the reflections Of soldiers aud
e9ticfs n their letters home. German
ktfsfs, Uhen obtdtHdble, d0 t0cl as
those ef the Aihes, ,oiu be printed.l
IN letter TO his parents at Frickley
Hail. Captain w. ST. A. warde-Aldam
tinentloned In dispatches for bravery on
tho AiEne) tells the following story OF the
l4st hours OF Lieutenant Allan w. G.
campbell, Conservative candidate for
DoncaSter:
we fought a severe action on septem-
Der II, during which Lieutenant Camp
bell took hts full share OF nghting.
Nhcugh he was too modest to talk much
about Il. After this action the battalion
vas IN support on the side Of a hill Tho
weather was very wet During these
days Lieutenant Campbell was in the
company next mine, and he and 1, with
ether officers. lived and fed together.
end all slept huddled up in the same
thick bed OF hay to keep us warm. On
September 10 we moved into the advanced
trenches, and during the day VIC had
1nd time from the German shells
Lieutenant Campbell and two other off,
GERS we're struck by the same shell; he
had both legs badly broken. / under
stood from the doctor that he collapsed
rather suddenly. and died OF shock the
next day. He did not die In pain and
was quite cheerful towards the end He
y buried in the little village Of Troyon,
about three feet from the south side OF
the now nearly ruined church. A stone
has been placed there by n man In the
Royal Army Medical Corps He now
rests In hallowed ground close to the
scene Of his last earthly labors"
Surgeon Lieutenant C. S. Aiken. r. A.
NJ C., writing TO his relatives at Shelf
held. concerning the battle of the Aisne,
eayH:
II wonder how long this show is 20
Ing to last. These Germans are wonder
ful lighters. strategists and organizers,
and they aren't going to chuck IT, until
Il pays them TO do So OF one thing
can assure you, and that Is that they
are cruel and INSCRIPTIONS as a rule.
DO not think II is that the officers are
such brutes. but when they get into n
town they fill their skins with drink, 60
TO bed early. and then the men 60 out
on the loose and play absolute h.. The |
stories you get In the papers are not ex- |
aERerated. ! went into a monastery yes |
terday to collect some wounded, and |
though the place had not been defended |
the Germans had deliberately shelled 1t, |
and they had done II thoroughly I can |
tell you. Drink is giving us heaps of |
priaoners every day. These fellows wake
up and find that the town is now I'm the
hands OF the British most exciting rat
hunts ensue with rifle shots flying all
ever the place"
A letter from cavalry officer says:
up at s:45 and acted as infantry all
day. One squadron had orders TO work |
three miles away. We knew there were
Germans about and that they were en-
trenching themselves somewhere near the
place TO which we were going.
I'VE worked our way along gradually
with artillery firing over us and even
tuaiiy got to the village we had been
ordered to, which was on a bit OF a rise.
We could see the Germans about 500
yards away hard at work digging their
trenches. or rather most OF the men
they had digging were civilians caught
in the villages round and made to work |
for them. So we couldn't fire very much
However, we discovered the exact po-
sition OF their trenches and let the gum
ners know. We hung on there all the
afternoon and then got word that we
were going 10 attack tne town on our |
right, which was still held by the Ger |
mans. who had Maxims there.
TT was beginning to be dark when we
started to attack. We rushed the streets
and got about half the town. Whenever
any OF us showed ourselves beyond a
certain limit in the main street there was
a burst of hre and a perfect hail of {
bullets spattering round us on the cob
blea. BY this time Il was a pitch inky-
black night and you didn't know any one '
was near you till you touched him.
I'VE had to go round breaking into
houses expecting to find Germans in
each one. Not a pleasant job! One I
house was full of them and we were
lucky to have only a few casualties.
The Germans then sent up magnesium
flares. lighting up the whole town and
nrinK al any one showing themselves. d
They then set nre to their end OF the c
tewn; u was the same one they had q
started burning yesterday. And this 5
snded our nights amusement"
How Cossacks crawled on their hands v
and knees up a steep hill protected by II
wire entAnglements and steel stakes I'M c
sedded Ia the ground, and then carried o
no position by storm, Is told In details of n
he aghtlng about Goldap, In East Prus-
Ia. received In a letter by the family OF a
..rhe main defense of Goldap was taken
~ direct assault" the soldier writes.
we took the Germans completely by
urpFise by our rapid advance. After
lsht days OF lighting about BakalarJevo I
Fe arrived within two miles OF Goldap
STORE a German aeroplane scout discov-
red our dragons and artillery. who were
hen ordered 70 make iank attack This p
Eas carried out with the greatest dash L
nd bravery. 4 hill regarded theoreu- W
ally as impregnable was carried by a
.oru. n
-The dsrmans were intrenehed on three a
laea ef this hill. II was also protected II
y ingenious entanglements. Several OF p
he Cassacks' mounts fell on concealed al
pixies imheddsd In holes before they were
laeoversd Then all dismounted Crawl
X np the hill on all fours, they cut the
afbed wire entangiements and pressed
i. Ieading their horses. The advance
a. made IN tbs way until our forces r
sached q position within 800 yards OF the A,
|sflnNn trenches There they mounted, n
formed. charged the trenches and drove n
- e. I