Evening star., 1914-09-27
GERMANS UNAFRA|D
Of BAYONET CHARGE
Returned British Soldiers Say
Hans Is Absolutely
No Coward.
TELLS OF THE RETREAT
OF ENGLISH AT MONS
Kaiser's Men Just Run Over Their
Opponents, Unmindful of Their
Losses, They Say.
BY HERBERT COREY.

BY HERBERT COREY.
LONDON. September 15.-Tommy is
getting to know Hans better. Groups
of slightly wounded men are being
sent back from the shattered British
front east of Amiens. Every man has
been told by his officers that he must
not talk for fourteen days. even OF his
personal adventures. The impossibly
stupid British censor office would have
all knowledge of this war kept from
the world.
You can talk about the Dutchmen,''
I suggested to one chap I met at the
Charing Cross station. ''Thatn do no
harm"
He agreed with me. He was a nice
clean-cut boy-Private Harry Clark
of the Staffordshire regiment-and no
was just sweating to talk. A hole
through his arm only inconvenienced
him. He was smoking a huge pipe.
They fight well,' said he. They're
not afraid of nothing. They come on
when the dead are lying in heaps be-
fore them"
The war Office has persistently put
out stories that the Germans cannot
stand the bayonet, along with COM
panion piece that the Germans ham
What, they cawn't stand the bayo-
net" said Private Clark. They don't
know what 1t is to be a-feared. They
keep a-coming on, and just trample all
over u.s."
Clark's regiment was intrenched
somewhere on the front at Mons. The
British had been forced to bear the
brunt of the German attack through
out this first great battle. Long before
they first came in contact with the foe
they had been cheered by the war Of
hce statement that the Germans are
| afraid of the cold steel. The war Of
| fee has also said that the Germans are
inferior as to field artillery and in
| rife practice.
Their guns was bloody good" said
Private Clark. I'VE used just to get a.
| hole dug for ourselves and they'd shell
| US out of it. / didn't tn nix much of
| their shrapnel. Seemed to me it didn't
have much force. But they could sure
it u.s."
practiced upon Clark and his comrades
| was not composed of sharpshooters,
| according to the Briton. For an hour
| they lay in their trenches and fired
at each other. On the other hand, other
soldiers have asserted the Ger man
| shooting is quite up to the b itish
| standard. Then the Germans scrambled
| out of their trenches and started on g.
dog-trot across the field.
Moving Them Down Like Hay.
Looked as though they said to them
selves. You bally beggars. we'll myke
you get out of that" said Private
Clark.
The English lay in their trenches and
fired their rifles until they became al
| most too hot to hold. They were sup
po.ted by a company Of French light
/ artillery.
You couldn't miss EN-" said Private
Clark. 1T was like shooting at Wall,
they were that close together. They
| didn't 'ardly extend their order at all"
He could see through the thin smoke
of the modern refe men falling IN
groups But the Germans kept right
| on. The field pieces cut holes through
] their mass, but they did not halt. 1t is
Private Clark's own opinion that no
| braver men ever charged under fire.
They wasn't 'ardly fifty feet away
when l slipped some more cartridges in
my rifie." said he. "and 1 emptied 'em
all before they got to me. 1 know
1 accounted for some in that mess, sir.
You couldn't 'ardly miss 'em il you
tried"
But the Germans kept on coming.
Clark could see them falling as they
came. but they kept on coming. They
the British force by sheer weight.
They aren't fawncy with tn bayonet
like we are" said Clark. They just
dig in like they were pitching hay"
Germans Do Not Fear Cold Steel.
No one will ever make him believe
that the German has a distaste for cold
steel any more. The Germans went on
and over the Britons. Clark found
himself where the British line had
ended and near a clump of small trees.
ut weren't no good angling" said he,
land SO 1 ran. l thought those trees
would myke a nice cover for me-"
More than one hundred other English
soldiers had been taken with the same
thought. The trees were not big
enough to hide a cow. But they all got
away. What's more, they all had their
guns, and as soon as they came to COW
er they reformed and hiked on until
J they came to another British unit.
five Germans fell to every Englishman
in that charge. His estimate is not far
out of the way. as the Englishmen were
in a ditch until they were routed out
But that didn't myke no difference"
said Clark. They don't mind being
killed. those beggars. They gave it to
clark's story is merely sample OF
other stories that are being told by
other men who have been invaded
home; T. is Of value val Just for this.
have been persistentiy circulated. with
the APPROVAL of the war office censors.
to the effect that Hans is a coward and
afraid Of the steel Innumerable stories
, have also been printed that the Ger
mans have been hamstringing wounded
men. or cutting the tendons OF their
wrists.
"I don't believe that" said Clark
Lots OF our chaps believe IL. but
'aven't seen any one who saw IT done.
There was one chap on our train with
a ole through his thigh. and when he
saw a German coming to him where he
was he fixed himself to shoot first. But
the Dutchman shook his head.
"''Ave a drink says this Dutchman
And blessed II e didn't give our chap @
drink out of his own bottlew