Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-03-18
Admit Enormous Losses, But
Claim Germans Suffered
Even More Severely.
NEUvE CHAPELLE'S RUIN
is TERMED A SHAMELESS
Captured Germans Say British Artil-
lery Fire Is Not War, But
Plain Murder.

| LONDON. March I8.-The full
import of the British victory at
Neuve Chapelle is only now be-
ginning to be grasped by the pub
lie. 1t has greatly cheered both
troops and civilians as confirming
the belief that the German line
can be broken if the allies care to
pay the price.
Several thousand men from
this battlefield already have ar
rived in England, five trainloads
having reached Brighton during
the twenty-four hours ended last
evening.
Village Now Shambles.
The village Of Neuve Chapelle, con-
verted into a shaInbles by the lombard
ment of the British, now is a heap OF
ruins thickly strewn with bodies. ac-
cording to the description of the Brit
ish operations in that region written by
an eyewitness and given out today
by the press bureau. Although the
Germans were inferior to their antag-
onists both in numbers and In artillery.
the eyewitness declared, they offered
heroic resistance, using machine guns
effectively.
At the end of March 10 the bodies of
1000 German soldiers had been found in
the section south Of the village. In
front of one British battalion east OF
the village, the statement asserts. 500
more were counted, which did not in
clude the large number buried In the
ruins of the village.
Planted Explosive Dummy.
During the night a curious device Of
the enemy was discovered by a Brit
ish patrol. The men came upon dunn
my figure stuck in the ground in front
of the German trenches. Upon being
moved the figure exploded and one of
the British soldiers was injured
Describing the shelling Of towers by
says a certain tower which was promi-
nent feature of the landscape. was
suddenly projected into the air. 1t
dissolved in midair and came down In
Prisoners who have been all through
the war declare that never have they
experienced such bombardment as
that which preceded the assault upon
sian officer declared Indignantly: You
do not fight, you murder. My regi-
ment never had chance from the first.
Nothing could live under such fire."
British Artillery Resented.
The resentment of prisoners against
the British artillery has been fire.
quently expressed.
In spite of their exhaustion, the as
pect of the prisoners spoke highly Of
German discipline. Their persons were
extraordinarily clean land most of them
were fresh shaven. They were unani-
mously optimistic that they soon would
finish with the Russians, and that they
then would crush France and Great
Britain.
One officer stated that three German
princes. including Prince Leopold of
Hohenzollern, were serving in one of
the battalions at Neuve Chapelle. This
prisoner expressed the belief that all
three princes had been killed
In conclusion, the witness SAYS he
believes the Germans lost $4,000 men
at Neuye Chapelle.
British Losses Heavy.
The British casualty lists for the five
days from March 10 to March IA, in
elusive, during which the battles of
Neuye Chapelle and ST. Eloi wore
fought, show that H. officers were
killed or died from wounds and that
1873 officers were wounded or are miss
ing.
The list of casualties among tho men
has not been published as yet. nor
have any figures been given out, but
some competent critics estimate them
at about two-thirds Of those suffered
by the Germans. which Field Marshal
Sir John French, the British command
chief. said were between 1900
and $4,000.
One Canadian officer was killed in the
fighting and three Canadian officers
were wounded.
Germans Strengthen Lines.
GENEVA, via Paris, March 1s.-
German troops have been energetically
engaged for the past few days fortify-
ing all the valley of the Largue be-
tween Moos St. Louis and Loerrach.
says the Lausanne Gazette. A compli-
Gated system of barbed wire entanxle-
ments has been placed.
The environs of Volkensberg and
Ferrette are defended by intrench-
| ments and blockhouses. Work is
being fastened on the intrenchments
| on the line from Saint Louis to Muel-
hau ausen and on the defenses at Alt
! kirch. In the Anspach and the Burn
haupt region, c %nefe IRE an important an
| C;errnans have dug additional trenches
| and placed heavy artillery on care