The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-12-04
British Eye Witness
Gives More Details
Of Flanders Battle

this organization, the writer says 1t
was due solely to. the resource initia-
tive and endurance of the regimental
officers and men that success has laid
with the British. He continues:
"As the struggle swayed backwards
and forwards through wood and ham
let, the fighting assumed a most con-
fused and desperate character. The
units became inextricably mixed and
IN many cases in order to strengthen
some threatened point or to fill a gap
in the line the officers had TO collect
and throw into the fight what men
they could regardless of the units to
which they belonged. Our casualties
have been severe, but we have been
fighting q battle and a battle implies
casualties, and heavy as they have
been it must be remembered they have
not suffered in vain. ~f
1.-THE duty of the French, Beigians
and British in the western theatre of
operations has been to act as a con-
tanning force. in other words to hold
on to and to keep occupied as many
of the enemy as possible while the
Russians were attacking in the east.
In this we have succeeded in playing
DIR part and by our resistance have
contributed materially toward the, sue
cess of the campaign. Moreover, our
losses have not impaired our fighting
efficiency. The troops have required
only slight respite in order to be bile
to continue the action with as much
determination as ever. They are
physically fit and we'll fed and have
suffered merely from the fatigue which
is inseparable from a protracted strug-
gle such as they have been through.
The severest handling by the enemy
ho. ho5 fhoY q orv.ny- y-xy
effect on their spirits, which have soon
recovered owing to the years of disci-
pline and training to which the officers
and men have been accustomed.
THE value of such preparation is as
noticeable on the side of the enemy as
on our own. The phenomenal losses
suffered by the German new formations
have been remarkable and they were
in part due to their lack of training.
Moreover, though at the first onset
these formations advanced to the at
| tack as bravely as their active corps.
| they have not by any means shown the
same recuperative powers. The XNVII:
corps, for instance, which is new
| formation composed principally of men
with from only seven TO twelve weeks
| training, has not yet recovered from its
/ first encounter with the British infant
| ry around Becelaere to the northeast OF
Ypres a month ago. on the other hand,
| the guard corps, in spite of having suf-
fered severely in Belgium of having
been thrown headlong across the Oise
river at Guise and having lost large
numbers on the Plain of Compiegne
and on the banks of the Aisne river,
| advanced against Ypres on Nov. IL as
! bravely as they did on Aug. 20"
The allies. continues Colonel Swim
\ ton, have undergone great sacri, fees
to defend against tremendous odds q
| line that could only be maintained by
making these sacrifices, but the fact
| that the situation has been relieved is
| no reason for assuming the enemy has
abandoned his intentions OF pressing
through to the sea. The writer points
out that the Germans continue to at
| tack with great courage, but little
abated by failure, and while they have
not succeeded in gaining the Straits OF
Dover, they have been enabled to con-
Continued on Page Four.