Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1915-09-16
WRITES LETTER
FROM TRENCHES
+. G. HaveIOck Took Active Part
in Battle Of Ypres.

IS serving In the British lines IN
y 'ance:
\ %, 'erything is rather quiet about
he o. vst at present although to the
righ q e French are going to it
hamm, md tongs. We expect that
we will be in the thick of it very
soon. l will try and explain to you
a little about our last battle called
the Second Battle of Ypres." On
May we were moved over to new
line of trenches to the west of Hill
CO.. On that morning, shortly after
dawn, strong German attack took
place. This attack was repulsed with
considerable loss to the Germans,
about 5000 killed and 8,400 wound
ed. After the infantry attack our
artillery started in to blow their
trenches to pieces, which they did to
a nicely. We were relieved that
night by the Shropshires and went
back into reserve. But in this un-
healthy neighborhood no place was
safe by this time. Colonel Buller
lost an eye and was wounded in the
arm. AS luck would have it, our old
favorite, Major Gualt, arrived the
same day and took charge. We were
all in good spirits in welcoming the
return of our wounded major to
whom all of us are attached. After
dark on the evening of the sixth we
returned to the firing line again. We
had roll call that night and we to-
tailed 965 strong. Our trenches
were assailed the entire night by ar
tilery fire and, our artillery ham,
mered theirs. Now that it is all over
l can sit and think of it. 1t was i'm
possible to make anyone hear unless
you shouted in their ear. The fol-
lowing day, the Sth, was the most
critical and the most costly in lives
in the history of the battalion. At
$3.50 the artillery fire grew in inten-
sity and the Germans let loose a
large bunch of gas shells.
Second Battle of Ypres.
BY am. every telephone wire to
headquarters and the trenches had
been cut. All the odd details were
ordered into the trenches. Very
shortly the Germans came forward
enmassed. 1maginesyou see herd
of cattle coming. Our machine guns
opened up and the slaughter was
awful. Every shot accounted for
two or more and a machine gun fires
$50 a minute and we had six of
them. They were piled up like
punches of stones, dead and wound
ed. About seven O'Clock Major
Gault, who had sustained us by his
GOODNESS and example, was severely
wounded in the left arm and thigh
by shrapnel 1t was impossible to
move him and he lay in the trench,
as did many other of my comrades,
in great anguish but without mur-
muir, for over ten hours.
The command OF the regiment
was taken over by Lieutenant Neven,
the only unwounded officer left. Next
the Germans opened up with heavy
howitzers go and other field artil-
lery, using high explosives. They
blew our fine trenches and support
trenches in several places. At 8
O'Clock the shelling decreased in in
tensity and it was the lull before the
storm, for the Germans Immediately
attempted a second infantry attack.
We received the attack with undi-
minished resolution. A storm OF
machine and rifle fire checked them
and they were forced to retire and
take cover. We accounted for a
tremendous amount of them, but at
the same time you must realize we
were also losing very heavily. All
the time they outnumbered us ten to
one. At half-past nine we connected
up with the Yorkshires and rifle bri-
gade, both of which ahd also sur
fered very heavily. The artillery
opened up again very heavily. The
range of our machine guns was taken
to a nicely and all were buried with
out exception. With great GOODNESS
two were dug out again and put into
action. One of these was buried
three times and put into action again
until at last a shell annihilated the
whole section.
Make Third Attack.
Corporal Dover stuck to his gun
throughout and, although wounded,
continued to discharge his duties.
In the explosion that ended his gun
he lost a leg and an arm. He lay
there all day and that evening he
was carried back to the support
trenches, but as his body was being
lowered into the trench bullet put
an end to all life in his bleeding and
mangled body. But no bullet could
put an end to his glory. From noon
until 1880 we held on under the
most desperate difficulties until de-
tachment of the rifle brigade was
sent up to reinforce us. At three
O'Clock the Germans made their
third and last attack. But after hard
f3ohtinp thew were driven back
They penetrated our line at one
place. At this point all of our men
were killed so that that part of the
line was tenantless. That evening
we had another roll call and all that
could be mustered was 102. But
those who had gone under had not
given their lives in vain. Theirs was
q glorious ending amid the scream
ing Of the shrapnel. the roar of the
high explosive shells and the whine
of the rifle bullets. It was q death
worth going to and many in spite OF
their bad wounds and shattered bod