Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1914-11-28
SING AS THEY DIE |
Bravery Of the German Soldiers
EvokeS Warm Praise.
English staff Officer, In His Descrip.
ton of the Desperate Fighting In
Northern France and Belgium,
Pays Tribute to Foe.

Iondon.-The Germans chanted
their national song as they marched
to certain death in the deadly fighting
on the Franco-Belgian frontier. High
tribute Is paid to the heroism of the
Teutonic invaders by an eyewitness
on the staff of Field Marshal Gen.
Sir John French, in an account OF
the operations of the British expedi.
tionary force in northern France anC
western Belgium, issued by the press
bureau.
1t gives a graphic account of the
struggle In that region.
Beginning at the point where the
British troops were being transferred
from the region of the Aisne to the
north to combat the onrush of a fresh
German army, the report says:
Despite the difficulties the whole
strategic operations of transferring
large numbers of troops from the
Aisne was carried out without loss.
After the fall of Antwerp there was
q gradual increase in the strength OF
the opposition met by US. The re.
sistance of these attachments grew
more determined until October 20,
when, with the arrival opposite us OF
a large portion of new formations and
a considerable number of heavy guns,
the enemy was enabled to assume the
offensive against practically the whole
of our line"
This was the real beginning Of the
Germans drive toward the coast. For
the report continues:
simultaneously they (the Germans)
attacked the Belgans, who were ly-
ing between us and the coast. From
chat date up to October 25 the opera
tions assumed fresh complexion.
That the losses were tremendous In
the hard fighting which ensued is
shown by the account
Then followed a tribute to German
aa,0r
fiercely contested action took
c rear Lagheir, which village was
a.ured in the morning by the enemy
III lhen retaken by us. The German
aalties here were very heavy. They
ne m with the greatest bravery in
rms only to be swept away by
ire, One battalion of the One
red and Fourth regiment was
'iaally wiped out.
our left our troops advanced
ft he Germans Twenty-sixth re
~ ,orps near Passchendaele and
~ net by a determined counter
.H However the enemy was
.r T. 1cak leaving many dead
on The field.
nd II October there was
Of the German pressure
IS but we succeeded in hold
.-g s.,.ad IN Yearly every quar-
ter IN The evening the Germans ad
vanced against our center and were
EU f4r I'd back, although they
gained ONE Ut our trenches, driving
the aetenA2r, nut.
D ''sa vas a bad day for the
,,elu,ans they retreated and our
guns did great execution. They aft
>rwaro made five desperate assaults
/, sainst Dul trenches, advancing in a
mass and singing as they came The
attacks were all repulsed, our troops
waiting until the enemy was within
range of their rifles before opening
fire. The rife and Maxim gun fire
caused terrible havoc in the solid
masses OF the enemy.
Son the night of the 23rd, as we'll
as on the night of the 22nd, the Ger.
man losses were extremely heavy.
Much Of the slaughter was due to
the point-blank magazine fire Of our
men, while the field guns and howitz-
ers, working in perfect combination,
did their share when the enemy be-
gan to fall back
ION the 23rd we captured more
than six hundred prisoners and found
1900 dead an wounded. The troops
suffered severely, especially the TWEEN
ty-third corps, one of the new Ger
man formations"