Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-09-18
GER MANS SCATTER
SHADOWS AND WAGE
WARFARE AT NIGHT
Powerful Illumination Lo-
Gates the Enemy in Dark
ness, Writes Private in
British Army.

LONDON. Sept. II (By Mail to New York
| Sept. 19.
That the Germans are employing
! soarchlights at night to learn the posi-
| ton of the British troops opposing them
| ana use their artillery even after dark
ness has fallen, is shown in n letter re-
ccved here today by the parents of
Private Edward Strong, with the British
army in France.
"The Germans don't seems to care how
much ammunition they waste says the
letter Yesterday they kept blazing
away for nine solid hours at a position
which we had left the day before. The
bullets did absolutely no damage.
"If it wasn't for their artillery l really
don't know where they would be, for
they are little use at any other form of
fighting. We find too. that the Germans
are less inclined to fight and when VIC
approach them, they surrender often,
rather than fight us. l think they have
been badly shaken by their hard march
ing.
"On Sunday. August "a, We came in con-
tact with the enemy unexpectedly at
Mons, not knowing that they had been
victorious at Namur. They outnumbered
us 10 to l. For three hours their shells
were terrific, but toward evening our ar
tilery checked their murderous fire.
Darkness fell at last much to our relief
and the fire slackened considerably, but
not altogether, for the Germans brought
a powerful searchllght into operation and
harassed us through the night
about o'clock we got orders to retire.
1t was then that I felt some pain, and l
had TO hop on one foot until ! reached an
ammunition wagon Daybreak found us
out of danger. Later they came over the
country in massed bodies. They must
have lost terribly. Our losses were in
considerable.
I'VE were firing at 800 yards range, with
fixed bayonets ready to charge, but tho
German infantry didn't want any of this.
They seemed to depend on their artillery
and machine guns
on Monday we had a little respite. On
Tuesday we were into it again. Wednes-
day at daybreak it was started over
again, and here the Germans gave us
what no! our casualties at this point
were awful, about 5000 or more.
j. Harris, of the Worcestershire regi-
ment, writes: IT was in the battle OF
Mons and st. Quentin, and / can tell
you South Africa was a picnic to that.
1t was like hell upon earth for a few
days. but we gave them a lesson they
won't forget That was the first action
for us, and the Germans got quite u
shock when they bumped against Tommy
Atkins.
Their losses were enormous, compared
with ours. They lost at least 10000 in
one day. We simply moved them down
in heaps They had about 100 big guns
along the front turned on us from morn
ing to night and those did the most dam
age to us. Their infantry is a 'washout'
'"rhe Kaiser had his finest troops at
Mons. and told his staff to pay particular
attention to us, but l expect they thought
wo were hot stun after they made our
acquaintance. What we did in that three
weeks English people at home will never
know. We were marching and fighting
Gay and night. l have seen sights never
10 be forgotten among the refugees of
France and Belgium"