Semi-weekly herald., 1915-03-01

rainfall. And everywhere inc troops
are suffering war at its worst. But
the worst conditions at other points
would be the best in Flanders, where
the whole country is one vast marsh,
full of wreck and ruin, dead men and
dead animals, all purifying together,
where few months ago were beau
tiful farms rot to be bought for 5000
an acre.
Grimly determined to drive the Ger
mans out of their country a new Bel
gian army has sprung up. 1t gets its
Inspiration from King Albert, who
refuses now, as he has refused all
along, to acknowledge defeat. To
free Belgium or to die under its
floods is the kings slogan, so his men
say, and with him stands every able
bodied Belgian facing this scene of
surprising desolation with fervor
almost uncanny The king has be-
come almost a God to the Belgians,
patriotism a religion, the army
church, death a glory to aspire to.
The Belgian story of the battle of the
User, still in progress, is set forth
for the first ime. 1t was told me by
one of the kings principal aides.
Following Antwerp the Belgian
army of G0,000 men of all arms retir-
ed down the coast of the North sea
closely pursued by the Germans. The
Belgians were given no rest. They
had no reserves and with a light ar
tillery could do little against the
heavy German field pieces. Also the
Germans had pitted against the Bel
gians at this time by their own Off
cial reports 100000 men.
When the User was reached the
Belgians were ordered to hold their
positions for three days at any cost
until the allies could send reinforce
ments. This was on October II. In
stead of three days they held out for
six 1t was Liege all over again, with
tie Belgians bearing the brunt. On
the 22nd the Germans broke through
by sheer weight of numbers. On the
2Srd the French came up at Lom-
baertzyde, but the Belgians, worn out
though they were, instead of resting,
fell back on their own center and aid
ed in checking the Germans.
1t was now decided to flood the
country. The User is small Mis-
sissippi in that its bed is higher than
the surrounding country.
The sea, too, is higher. SO the
gates in the dykes were raised and
the water was let in, flooding and
running thousands of fertile farms
for years to come. Slowly but surely
the waters rose, trapping the Ger
mans, who bravely fought forward in
stead of saving themselves as they
so easily could have done by retreat
ing. Belgian officers make no pre-
tense of hiding their praise and adj
miration of the Germans for this feat.
For two weeks in the rising flood
the Germans tried to advance to high
leaving thousands of dead, much am
munition, and stores of all sorts, can
non and transports, to be covered by
the encroaching river and sea. A let
ter found on the body of dead Ger
man officer, describing the fighting
as far worse than anything he had
seen during the battle of the Marne
at was simply hell" he said. "The
flood was all about us, getting deep.
er all the time; the enemy in front
shooting; we dying in punches and nc
help for it at all"
This is how the Germans were
checked. Reinforcements brought ut
on both sides have not materially
changed the situation beyond tn,
steady but necessarily slow driving
back of the Teutons,
Today the floods have reached theii
highest. They extend tens of mile!
in every direction from the User
Roads, built higher than the country
side, criss-cross the inundations lik,
strips of crust across pie. Her
and there are farm houses in ruins
occupying islands, scarcely above tn
water. Most of the trees are nov
prone in the mud and ooze, the grount
having become too soft to hold tn
roots firmly An occasional windmill
is sceen lying on its side in the wa
ter.
| Wagons, carts, caissons or cannon
haymows and wheat dot the wastes
AS one looks about the expanse, h
does not see single living thing saw
a water fowl.
"This is the scene of the fghtin il
Flanders. Both the Germans and tn
Belgians have built up, rather thai
dug trenches along roads and ever,
intersection is small fort. Through
out the day the artillery is pounding
away, but very seldom does the infan
try come into action so long as tn,
daylight lasts. When they do it i
to fight in water waist deep will
occasional tumbles into the drainage
bitches with which the always some
what wet farms were literally cut be
fore the war.
The slightly wounded falls strangl
ing to death in the water. Infantry
engagements, because of the floods
must necessarily be along the road!
where machine guns play havoc Sur
prise attacks are practically impossi
bl. unless a commander wishes to sec
his men annihilated.
| Dark, even stormy nights are best
for this kind of fighting and a bright
moon puts stop to storming eXpedi,
| tions.
But rain or moon, the night is kept
fairly light by means of aerial bombs
which the Germans shoot hundred
feet into the air. When they explode
noiselessly they leave a great white