Evening star., 1914-10-24
Writer With British Army De.
scribes Effect of Arrival
of Reinforcements.
ACCOUNT OF OPERATIONS
GIVEN BY EYEWITNESS
Nsrrates Action in Two Western
Theaters Of War, From Nieu-
port South and Along Aisne.

LONDON, October 24.-The official in
formation bureau has given out another
account OF recent operations by an eye
witness. This recital is dated october
II. and explains at the outset that with
the arrival of reinforcements the British
have been able to play more prominent
part in exerting pressure on the enemy
and in the gradual extension to the
northward, which has thrown British
troops to the Franco-Belgian border
up till recently" says this state
ment. "the extension northward had been
carried out by the French alone.
The narrative goes on to explain that
there have been actions in the two west
ern theaters of the war. from Nieuport
south and along the Aisne. and con-
tinues as follows:
| In both these theaters the results
attained. without being in any way de-
cisive, have been entirely satisfactory,
and in furtherance of the general
scheme which the allied armies are car
rying out in cooperation.
In the southern Of the two spheres in
which We have been engaged. on the
Aisne. our right wing has been main
tanning its pressure without actually
moving forward, while in the northern
sphere our left wing has advanced a
considerable distance in face of some
opposition.
Weather flinders Operations.
"On the Aisne, since the repulse In
flicted on the enemy the night Of oc-
tober 10, there has been no serious
fighting and less artillery action than
usual for the reason that the misty,
and occasionally rainy. weather has
rendered observation almost fmpos-
9Th IND ifofa cd nSf PmnlOY.
ment of guns. On the night OF October
1914 the enemy commenced an attack
which was not pushed through, ana
which may be regarded as demon
with the bayonet at night. and they
have accounted for numerous small
parties of German infantry left to oc-
cupy their front trenches. But the po-
sitions Of the opposing forces have re-
mafned practically unchanged.
I'm the north of France the fighting
SO far has been of a preparatory ma
ture alone. AS stated, ground has been
gained by Us. but the misty weather
has hampered aerial reconnaissance
and at times rendered artillery cooper.
alton almost impossible, which factors
taken together with the nature of the
terrain, has made progress somewhat
slow.
Before the actual course of events
in this quarter Is recounted it will
assist to an understanding of what our
troops are doing IL .he country in
which they are operating is described u
Country Makes Activity Difficult.
The narrative here describes the ma
ture of the country along the Belgian
frontier. explaining that hedges are
frequent, that trees often restrict the
view and that means Of communication
are bad.
"It 10 in a blind country Of this ma
ture," the narrator goes on. that our
advanced guards near the Belgian from
tier are engaging the advanced troops
Of the enemy. The latter consists in
some places OF cavalry supported by
lager and Schultz detachments, with
large numbers Of machine guns and
others with larger bodies of infantry.
AS was the case in our advance up
to the Aisne, the enemy is making
every effort to delay our progress. no
doubt to give time for the stronger
forces behind to perfect their arrange
ments. In general they take every ad-
vantage that is to be obtained from the
ground and conceal themselves we'll,
making use Of bitches and hedges and
the villages they hold, together with
buildings. many Of which have been
placed in a state Of defense: further
more. they occupy narrow trenches
with inconspicuous parapets on our
side Of the villages. Machine guns
often are placed in the center of rooms
whence, through a window. they can
command an approach
so far in our advance we have in
flicted considerable loss on these de-
tachments, in spite of the fact that they
retreat under cover of darkness when
ever this Is possible. But their re-
sistance Is by no means passive. and
they have made several determined
counter attacks in order to free them
selves and throw us back. Many of
the prisoners falling into our hands
have expressed surprise at being op-
posed by the British in this quarter.
Enemy Driven Back.
ITO the north of the Lys. although.
for reasons already given. an adequate
reconnaissance ahead has been prac-