The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1915-10-06
MARCH OVER DEAD
FRANTIC FIGHTING In HOUSE
CELLARS OF LOOS TOWN

tEkkANS vi kUVS 1VWN
HEROIC GERMAN OFFICER
British Correspondent Tells How He
Directed German Artillery on the
House He Occupied as Prisoner
Along With English Officers-Dis'
Lodge Germans With Grenades.
The British correspondents at the
headquarters in France have now
been permitted to send descriptions
of exciting phases Of the great battle
of Saturday and Sunday north OF
Lens.
.sNow, after the first rush is over,
writes the Chronicle correspondent
sthere is time to tell the story OF one
of the greatest achievements gained
by British troops in this war. There
were many battalions of the new
arny men among those who led the
attack, and among them were the
Scottish regiments, who had tnell
full share Of horrors in the hrst as
sa1lt.
MANY of them, though belonging
to regiments with famous old tradl-
tions that ha already won glory or
the western front, were recruits ou'
hardly arrived in Flanders.
"These splendid boys listened
through the night of Friday last tc
the intense bombardment which pre-
.ceded the assault, that in itself was
tremendous test of nerve, but at $50
a. m. Saturday, when their Officers
gave the word, the battalions leapec
out of their trenches with a wild hur-
rah.
sThey reached the enemy's lines o.
trenches without suffering many cas-
ualties and found the first two lines
of barbed wire had been effectively
broken down by the artillery bonn
bardment. The third line was uncut
and was very strong wire, with grea'
barbs.
e.The first two trenches were car
ried with rush at the bayonet point
large number of Germans oelns
killed. The uncut wire made the mrs
check, but the British, reckless o.
their lives. attacked it desperately
They stood up under the deadly nre
of machine guns and forced wa.
through the entanglements.
Zone of the most extraordinary ID
cidents among the grim scenes which
took place in the smoke and mis-
came when a company of kilties ad
vancing at the charge came race u
face with g. very tall German VINO
although dead with bullet through
the. brain, stood erect, wedged II
some way in the trench.
cit was so startling and uncann!
that with one accord the wave OF meI
parted and swept on each side OF hin
as though some obscure spectre par
red the way.
Frank after rank streamed up, anc
at last the great tide Of men pouree
through and swarmed forward to tn
village, and then three-quarters OF
mile further on. As they ran, shout
ing hoarsely. they were faced by firs
from an enormous number OF ma
chine guns, and from every part
the village there came the stead!
rattle of these weapons pouring ou
streams of lead.
There were machine guns in tho
windows of many houses and on tor
of the tower bridge the tall min
cranes which rose 500 feet from th'
centre of the village, and in narrov
trenches dug across the streets. II
the cemetery to the southwest or tnt
town which our men had passed
there were no less than 100 machine
guns, so it was in itself a fort
great strength.
cit was s o'clock when those wht
had not fallen reached the outsklrt
of the village Of Loos, and for nearC
two hours there was street fghtIn;
of terrible character. Many oattal
ions were mixed up, many Of their OF
fcers were killed and wounded, ant
the battle was made up of individua
combats, or small groups lighting
way from house to house, and separ
ate encounters in rooms and cellars
.tAlthough the town had been sc
yerely damaged by our she'll hre ant
the church in the centre was IN ruins
no fire had broken out and the she'll
of houses still stood.
"These were crammed with Ger
man troops, who used the cellars a
trenches from which they could hr'
upon the British through aperture
in the street. They also fired through
windows and doorways behind the
shelter of the walls, and some
them had their machine guns in tn
garrets.
Here and there small parties
these German troops defended them
selves with the courage of despai
and would not yield until they were
killed to the last man.
"Others were cunning and ratne
courageous in their methods of fight
ing. A great mass Of them undouot
edly were surprised and demoralize'
by the Tapidity and sweeping strengt
of the British attack and it was b
wholesale surrenders the British too
a large number of prisoners.
Men of this class, after the mrs
resistance at rifle range or with ma
chine guns, seemed to have no flgh
in them at all. In one house entere:
by a little killed signaller thirty Ger
mans, including an officer, surrender