Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-12-15
5coMmEnps BRITISH SOLDIERS.

coMMENDs BRITISH SOLDIERS.
German offlesr Tells Of Rsseuresfui.
ness and Bravery Of Enemy.
Correspondence OF Associated Press.1
Berlin, Nov. 2S- English soldiers
are good fighters and resourceful. an
editor Of the Zeitung Am Mittag. who
Is serving as a first lieutenant in the
German army, writes his paper in an
account Of the engagements around
Ypres.
Full Of fight and confident Of easy
victory" he says, "our young regiments
started to march against the enemy
We were quite certain that providence
had endowed the English with long
legs to facilitate their running away
the faster. Thus we advanced by long
and short marches thru Flanders, the
great cemetery. We were delighted
with the beautiful Flemish landscape
and with the inhabitants, whose Ian
guage we soon managed to understand,
even as they speedily came to under
stand ours.
I'VE thought Of the English soldiers
as the comic papers are wont to por-
tray them. There were a few who
warned us against possible underesti-
nation of the enemy. but their mis-
givings were quieted by our pointing
out that these were mercenary troops,
hired at few pence a day, bare of
patriotism and inca pable of sacrifice.
Sooner than we thought we were
upon the enemy. First we came upon
dead Englishnan, then two wounded
English soldiers, then an English pris-
oner. The prisoner naturally was of
great interest to our soldiers. Won
der il the mercenary can shoot?' we
asked ourselves. An hour later some
Of his comrades gave us an answer to
that question. They gave us clear,
practical demonstration-such a clear
demonstration that our battalion was
reduced to half it's original size in a
few encounters. We suddenly realized
that the English mercenaries could not
be routed with mere hurrahs, and that
these smooth faced gentlemen used the
long legs not always for running away
but sometimes for desperate and dam
gerous charges.
'The English infantry which opposed
us at Ypres must be considered among
their best troops. They defended their
position with energy and skill and
when driven back tried again and again
to recover the lost ground. In these en-
deavors they were supported efficiently
by the fire Of their field artillery They
had also transported heavy naval guns
to Ypres. and the English shells and
shrapnel caused enormous damage
among our troops.
"As the surrounding Of the English
t,1,r a }tdo1P
and more felt, the English infantry
tried again and again to break thru
our lines, particularly in the vicinity
Of Becelaere, tho without success. In
one Of these attacks five hundred Eng
lish soldiers and twenty officers fell in
to our hands.
"The English trenches were mostly
arranged as to be quite invisible to
the naked eye. When we had.got into
the first trenches we were astonished
at their systematic construction as re-
CARDS depth, side protection against
splintering of shells breastwork and
all excellently arranged for long
stand. We were particularly aston
ished at the iron and steel work built
into the breastworks. The floors were
designed with an eye to maximum COM
fort. Our men captured there a great
store Of excellent preserves, corn beef
and ham, and many also secured one
of the shaving outfits which every
soldier carries.
when we had taken a position 1t
frequently occurred that we found
number Of dead to the
very few living defenders We soon
discovered that large number of the
dead were shan1ming and these were
easily tickled into life with a bayonet.
I'm some cases the English had dug
trenches but had not occupied them,
and to deceive us had put large round
turnips and similar objects along the