The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1914-11-11
H|DEOUS SCENES
ON BATTLE LINE
Where Piles Of Dead Halt
the Germans.
BATTLE Of FLANDERS FAMOUS
As the BIOodiest 10 History
Fields Are Uttered
With Dead.
TORNADO OF MORTAL TERROR

Northwestern France. Nov. -
The battle OF Flanders now has been
in progress for twenty days.
The German raid on the three
coast towns OF this part of France
Dunkirk. Calais and Boulogne-has
not only been frustrated but the
would-be raiders have been punish
ed.
Yesterdays sun sank, ana the two
wearied armies welcomed the dark
ness. Here and there under its COW
er the Germans abandoned lines of
trenches: but this did not mean re-
treat. Before the morning light IL
Illuminated the field of carnage the
guns were at il again with redoubled
vigor, shaking the windows of
houses within a radius of twenty
miles.
The artillery duel opened anoth-
er terrible day. Hardly was it light
when great masses of Germans were
attacking once more. Undoubted-
ly extremel ystrong REINFORCE
ments had arrived. 1t was not
merely a local attack: il extended
along the whole front on Belgium
and then spread itself away beyond
Lille. to the south and southwest of
which il ragged with particular vio-
lence.
The battle of Flanders will un-
doubtedly go down in history as
the most sanguinary in the first
three months of the war. Before
the struggle for the road to Calais
is ended-and ended am sure il
will be at an early date-the battle
will almost certainly be marked
down with the hideous fame of the
bloodiest in history.
Those who have been in the bat
tie tell me the grimmest stories of
the slaughter of the past week. The
fields and swelling seaside dunes
are Uttered with the dead. Death |
has come in wholesale fashion and |
filed the trenches. The Yser-a
name always to be remembered in |
history-has. it can be- said with
out exaggeration, run with blood.
The canals in some places can be
bridged with dead bodies.
The area which has been flooded |
between Newport and Dixmude is
an inferno which words fail to de-
scribe. The water is thick with |
corpses and made muddy from the
splash of shells.
Ii was a terrible sight, an officer
tells me. to see the Germans caught
in their intrenchments when the
flood came rushing in upon them.
Just at that time fire from the fleet
and from the batteries of the allied
forces was increased very greatly in
intensity.
On the edge of the flood infantry
was at work with bullet and bayo-
net. Between fire and water In a
tornado of terror which no one who
saw it can ever possibly wipe out of
MS memory, trench after trench was
aiken. and a deep wedge was driven
INTO the German positions.
talked with a soldier of the
Black Watch. Its hell back
here" he said. He sat down and /:
Ne listened to the booming of the
guns. He told me how the guns of
he monitors raked the trenches.
Why he said, there have
'een more shells thrown between
he sea and Dixmude during the last
week than were fired during the
Whole of the Boer war. was in
me trench which was charged by
he Germans fifteen times in two
lays and a night without success.
after that it was simply impossible
o charge any more. as the ground '
vas strewn SO thickly with dead I
'odies. 8
Seven of the charges were made {
t night and during the last six or {
even days most of the heaviest |
ghting has been done after dark. {
hose Germans are brave-one I
must say that. But when they see !
he CLINT OF the British bayonets l
hey simply turn and run" I
The artillery fire both from sea
nd land has exceeded In intensity .
verifying In the war The Eng I
Ssh artillery has done extraordi- \
arily effective work. Captured Ger ,
IAN officers express their surprise !
I the volume OF fire from the Eng [
sh positions, and at the amazing I
ccuracy OF the fire. n
Belgian and French officers have
iven vivid accounts of the night at 5
acks. The scenes In the trenches &
the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES darkness Al