The Detroit times., 1915-02-22

lSt0H CO5cSpOHoSHt CHstcu FTcSS.J
WITH THE BELGIAN ARMY
HEADQUARTERS AT --, Feb.
7.--(By mail to New York. did you
ever, In the most hideous nightmare
|of your life dream of what hell In
like. with the river Styx running with
dead bodies floating In the stream.
and miles and miles OF ooze and mud,
and stencil and ruin and desolation
along It's shores! II you have. you
can picture what things are like here
along the User, where the Belgian
army II lighting the oldest, most
gruesome and most frightful battle
the world ever has seen.
Elsewhere along the great line OF
trenches there In slush and mud. for
this winter has broken records for
rainfall. And everywhere the troops
are suffering war at It's worst. But
the worst conditions at other points
would be the best In Flanders, where
the whole country In one vast marsh.
full OF wreck and ruin. dead men and
dead animals. all putrefying together.
whore few months ago were bean
tiful farms, not to be bought for $500
m acre.
Determined to drive the Germans
out of their country. new Belgian
army has sprung up. II gets its In
spiration from King Albert. who re-
fuses now, an he has refused all along
TO acknowledge defeat. To free Bel
gium. or to die under its floods II tho
kings slogan. so his men say. and
with him stands every able-bodied
Belgian, facing this scene Of surpass-
lng desolation with q fevor almost
uncanny. The king has become al
most a God to the Belgians; patriot
ism q religion; the army q church;
death q glory 10 aspire 70. The Bei-
gian story of the battle of the User,
still in progress, In here set forth for
the hrst time. II was told me by one
of the kings principal aides.
Following Antwerp the Belgian
army Of so 900 men of all arms re-
tired down the coast of the North sea
closely pursued by the Germans. The
Belgians were given no rest They
had no reserves and with q light artii
lery could do little against the heavy
German field pieces. Also the Ger
mana had pitted against the Beigians
at this time, by their own ofiicial re-
ports, 10000 men.
When the User was reached the
Beigians were ordered to hold their
positions for three days at any cost
until the allies could send reinforce
msnts. This was on Oct. II. Instead
of three days they hold out for SIX.
IL was Liege all over again with the
Bolgians bearing the brunt. On tho
twenty-second the Germans broke
through by sheer weight Of numbers.
On the twenty-third the French came
up at Lombaertsyde. but the Belgians,
worn out though they we're. instead
OF resting, fell back on their own CEN
ter and aided In checking the Ger
mans.
II was now decided TO food the
country. The User 10 small Missis-
sippi. in that its bed 10 higher than
1.-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 rcNs
| trapping the Germans who bravely
| fought forward instead Of savine
| them selves a. they 90 easily could
have done by retrsatins. Belgian ON
cers make no pretense OF hiding theii
| praise and admiration Of the Germans
TOR this feat :.
Tor two weeks in the rising food,
the Germans tried TO advance to high
Ground on the Aiiiss' side OF tho river
leaving thousands Of dead, much am
munition and stores Of all sorts, can
non and transport 10 be covered by
the enoroaching river and sea. A let
ter found on the body of the dead
German oficer described the Nighttime
as far worse than anything he hat
seen during the battle OF the Marne
1T was simply he'll" he said. ".Th,
food all about us, getting deeper al
tho time, the enemy In front shooting
We dying In punches. and no help fol
e an"
This was how the Germans wer'
checked. reinforcement brought VI
On both sides have not MATERIAL,
ehsnged the situation beyond thu
steady but necessarily slow drivini
back OF the Teutons,
Today the floods have reached thei'
highest. They eStsnd tens of miles
IN eysry direotioa from the User
Roads. built higher than the country
side, criss-cross the foundations iiks