Semi-weekly herald., 1914-10-15
BATTLE OF wIRBALLEN
GRAPHICALLY DESCRIBED.

dominos in a row. Those who kept
their feet were hurled back as il by
a terrible gust of wind. Almost IN
the second that pondered, puzzled,
the staecato rattle of machine guns
reached us. My ear answered the
query of my eye.
For the first time the advancing
lines hesitated, apparently be4ildered.
Mounted officers dashed along the
line urging the men forward. Horses
fell with the men. saw n dozen
riderless horses dashlng madly
through the lines, adding new ter
ror. The crucial period lasted prob
ably less than a minute. To my
throtting brain it seemed an hour.
Then, with the whitening fire raking
them even as they faltered, the lines
broke. Panic ensued. 1t was every
man for himself The entire Russian
charge turned and went tearing back
to cover and the shelter of the Rus
sian trenches. swept the entire line
Of the Russian advance with my
glasses-as far as it was visible from
our position The whole advance of
the enemy was in retreat making for
its entrenched position.
After the assault had faileil and the
battle had resumed its normal trend
swept the field with my glasses.
The dead were everywhere. They
were not piled up but Were strewn
over acres. More horrible than the
sight of the dead were the other pic
lures brought up by the glasses
Squirming, writhing, tossing figures
everywhere-th wounded. All who
could stumble or crawl were WORKING
their way back toward their o@n lines
or to the friendly cover OF hills or
wooded spots. But there appeared tc
be hundreds of whor1 was denied
even this hope, hundreds doomed tc
lie there in the open, with wounds
unwashed and undressed, sufferinf
thirst and hunger until the merciful
shadows OF darkness made possibl
their rescue-by the good Samari
tans of the hospital corps. who ar
working on the field of death for tn
third time since Sunday.
After the charge we moved alone
back to the German lines at safe
distance and found the hospital corp
bringing back the German wounded
The number of these was compare
lively slight. due to the strongly en-
trenched positions they had occupied
Nearly all the wounded were hit By
shrapnel as they lay in the trenches
After tour along the rear of the
German position. where we saw the
reserves, ammunition and supply
wagons all drawn up in close forma
tion with the hospital corns in the
extreme rear, we moved up until di
rectly behind the German trenches
The artillerymen had resumed their
duel and as we came up in the lee
of the outbuildings of deserted
farmhouse she'll struck and fired
the farmhouse Immediately in front
of us. As we paused to see if the
shot was chance one, or if the Rus
sian gunners had actually gotten the
range, a regiment of fresh reserves.
young men who had just come up
from the west, passed US on their way
to get their baptism of fire
Their demeanor was more sugges-
tive of group of college students
going to a football game, than the
serious business on which they were
bent. They were singing and laugh
ing and as they went by a non-com-
missioned officer inquired rather rue
fully as to whether there were any
Russians left for them. As we stood
on slight rise overlooking about
three miles of the battle front, a
staff officer came dashing toward US
yelling and pointing to something be-
hind us. we turned, to see shell
burst 800 yards away. A few seconds
later another dropped about 500 yards
then one about 800. When one broke
200 yards away, we understood the
officers frantic gesticulation. We
took it down the hill on the dead run,
and moment later shell burst with
terrific force on the very spot on
which we had stood.
As we worked our way slowly
through a dense wood in the direc-
tion of the German trenches, we were
almost deafened by the shrek and
crash of bursting shells, sweeping
overhead as the Russian gunners felt
out the German position, in an effort
to locate German ammunition train
900 yards to our right, where it prob
ably had been sighted by Russian
aeroplane as we watched the fight
waged from the opposing trenches
and by the artillery. The German
forces seemed content to hold theiI
present position for the time being
and barring few outpost skirm'
ishes made no offensive moves.
Suddenly at sundown, the fighting