The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-03-14
EYEWITNESS TELLS
 HOW THE BRITISH
 SCORED VICTORY
German Troops Are Fairly Beaten for First Time of War-Allies Are
 Advancing

London, March 13,-d0:10 p. m.)-The British offensive, which resulted in the capture of Neuve chappelle and the coun- try beyond it, began early March 10. with bombardment by many guns and howit- gers, according to an eyewitness with the British expeditionary force in France.
 Our men in the trenches" he says, describe this fire as being the most tre- mendous, both in point of noise and in actual effect they have ever seen or heard. The shrieking of the shells in the air their explosion and the continuous thun- der of the batteries were all merged into one great volume of sound. The dis charges of the guns were so rapid that they sounded like the fire of gigantic machine gun
 During the B minutes it continued our men could show themselves freely and even walk about in perfect safety. Then the signal for the attack was given and in less than half an hour almost the whole of the elaborate series of German trenches in and about Neuve Chappell was in our hands.
 Except at one point there was scarcely any resistance, for the trenches in places were literally plotted out were filled with dead and dying, partly buried in the earth and debris and the majority of the survivors were in no mood for further fighting.
 Hold for Time
 ITO the northeast of the village, how ever. a body of Germans ensconced in some enclosures still continued to hold out for few hours. Three attacks, in spite of the extreme gallantry with which they were conducted, failed to dislodge them, but by about noon the arrival of endorsements drove the Germans from their last stronghold in the village
 This part of the fighting was remark able for the manner in which every part of the attacking line afforded one another mutual support.
 Meanwhile. on the right, from the di- rection of Richebourg, a similar advance had been made towards Bois Du Bfez, small rectangular wood lying about 1000 yards to the southeast of Neuve Chap belle. Here, also, little resistance was met with, and our line reached a point about 400 yards from the wood.
 ''In the afternoon the troops who had seized Neuve Chappelle advanced still fur ther to the east, gaining nearly 400 yards while on their left again, north of the village, our forward movement progressed for considerable distance and the fight ing continued long after darkness had set in
 Germans Surrender
 ''The enemy were by this time thorough ly shaken and in some parts of the field were surrendering in groups. Through out the day the Germans continued to hold out in a strong position at the angle of the cross roads south of the village, where they were established in a perfect net of trees and barbed wire. This posi- ton had been known as Port Arthur, and a hard struggle ragged for some hours around it, until at 5:3o in the evening, when it was stormed at the point of the bayonet.
 By niehtfall we were in possession of all of the enemy's trenches on front of 4000 yards, representing an advance of more than 1900 yards from our original trenches at the furtherest point. The number of prisoners captured is officially reported to be 750 but there is reason to believe that others were taken who have not yet been sent in.
 During the day two remarkable feats were performed by our airmen. One fly ing at a height of only 150 feet, in order to make sure of his mark. dropped bomb on the important railway bridge at Menin, destroying one of the piers, Another, flying over the Courtrai rail- way junction. dropped a bomb on the station and completely wrecked it. These two points are of vital importance to the German communications.
 The German batteries on this day made no effective reply to our artillery fire.
 "On Thursday, March Il, the fighting continued almost rercely as on the previous day. The enemy atterfpted coun- ter attacks at various points and espe- cially from Bois Du Biez, but our guns opened on the wood with so much effect that the Germans did not emerge from it's shelter. A little ground was gained at various points. but on the whole the situation remained very much as it was on the previous day.
 Resistance Stiffens
 The enemys resistance had stiffened, but all his efforts to drive us from the positions we had gained were repulsed with loss. The German artillery had now become more active; Neuve Chappelle was heavily shelled and the whole line was swept with shrapnel.
 "It is difficult to give an idea of the result of this striking success upon our men. They have been paying off old scores; they have now Inflicted on the enem, something of that ordeal which he inflicted upon us in the earlier stages of the war by dint of superior numbers and weight of artillery. The enemy fdr the time being was beaten and on the run. It was the Consciousness of this which filled the hospitals and ambulances with the cleeriest crowd of wounded ever seen there.
 'If any further proof of this was want ed it could be found in tie spectacle of an 1rishnan, shot through the chest, re- counting his experiences to delighted audience, in a stentorian voice. audible in the furtherest corner of the large clearing hospital; it could be found also in the sight of groups of injured men on the roads, talking and laughing as they limped back to our firing line.
 'The columns of prisoners as they marched back, threading their way through ambu;ances and transport and between the waiting ranks of our re- serves, afforded no little encouragement. The faces of many of them were bright yellow from the effects of the lyddite; the majority looked shaken, and all admitted