South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-12-26
NARRATIVE GIVEN
BY EYE WITNESS
Germans Are Making Deter
mined Effort to Regain
Ground and Partially Sue
Ceed BY Stronger Force.

LONDON. Dec. %. - Col E. d.
Swinton, attached TO Field Marshal
Sir John French's staff as official "eye
witness" OF the British expeditiOnary
force in France and Belgium. sends
the following narrative of events sup
plementing and continuing that fur
nished to include the activities of Dec
Is. The narrative which is dated
Dec. p. follows:
Our army which commenced on
Dec. Il in conjunction with the pres
sure brought 10 bear by our allies
along the whole line has continued.
"On Friday, the 18th, on our right
center we progressed by capturing
some sapheads and % prisoners. Both
TO the north and to the south the
French continued to gain ground and
took many prisoners and several ma
chine guns.
The Germans are making deter
mined efforts to regain the ground
they have lost and by sheer weight of
numbers they have partially succeed
ed.
Call Armistice.
After one OF our attacks on the
18th made in the center or the line
there occurred an innovation in our
relations with the enemy A kind of
armistice was concluded in order to
permit the burying OF the dead on
both sides.
The employment of bombs has un-
doubtedly been the chief feature or
the recent action. The throwing of
large bombs from trench mortars and
smaller missiles from rifles or by hand
has now become general all along the
line,
When the lighting reaches the
stage OF trench warfare at short range
these missiles take the place OF the
projectiles hurled by the longer range
weapons which cannot be used with
safety owing 70 the propinquity to
each other of the front lines of either
side.
THE great use made by the Ger
mans of these engines OF destruction Is
only one sign of the reliance they
place upon every possible means Of
helping their infantry and artillery in
the bombardment Of their enemys po-
sitions.
view from high land this style of
warfare furnishes a most impressive
sight After short burst of fire
lasting perhaps only three or four
minutes the hostile trenches are OBJ
secured by a pail OF smoke in the midst
OF which can be seen a series Of
flashes as the shrapnel bursts. Nina
ture volcanoes appear i'm the earth
Wnele Ine nlBn explosive common
shells burst in the soft clay soil.
CannOnade Ceases.
Then if an infantry attack is to be
launched the cannonade suddenly
ceases. There is a moment of sus-
pense and then a swarm of khaki fig
ures springs from the trenches and
rushes across the fire-swept zone for
possible hundred yards
Instantly there breaks out the rat
tie OF machine guns and musketry
and there is a perceptible hesitation as
the stormers reach the enemy's wire
entanglements
Then if the assault succeeds they
disappear into the enemy's trenches
leaving few or many scattered bodies
lying in the track Of their advance.
Save for such moments as these
there is no movement whatever in the
battle zone for generally there is not
a man, a horse or a gun to be seen
Then again there are periods of absO-
lutte silence when except for the sight
of the deserted and ruined hamlets
the scene is one of peace and agri-
cultural prosperity"