The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1915-11-26
ANIMATED STORY OF
TERRIFIC FIGHTING
HAND GRENADES WROUGHT TER
RIBLE HAVOC.
Waves of SuffOdlting Classes Swept
Over the Charging Lines in
SOS Territory.

in capturing a part of the foremost
positions of the German lines in Sep
tember, is still the subject of descrip-
tive reports in the press. One of the
most animated of such descriptions is
from the pen of Bernhard Kellerman,
known in America as the author Of
''The Tunnel
He says that after four Gays OF in
,conceivably heavy artillery fire the
British began a gas attack on the
morning of September 25. Four sep
arate waves of gas, alternately white
and dark gray, were blown forward
toward the German lines; and at the
same time the British artillery was
hurting gas bombs upon the Germans.
The latter coughed and held their
ground as long as they could, but
MANY fell. unable to resist the fumes.
In the midst of all this the Germans
were preparing for the expected IN
fantrv attack. Finally the British ap-
peared, emerging suddenly as if from
nowhere, behind cloud Of gas, and
wearing masks They came on IN
thick lines and storming columns.
The first line of the attackers was
quickly shot down by the hail OF rlne
and machine gun bullets that ralned
unon them from the shattered Ger
man trenches; the hand grenades es-
necially wrought terrible havoc, some
of them cutting down six or eight men.
THE dead and wounded soon lay like
a wall before the German position. The
second and third lines of English suf-
fered the same fate. 1t was estimated
that the number of British killed be-
fore this German division alone reach
ed 5000 to 10000.
The fourth line of attackers, how
ever, finally succeeded in overrunnlng
the decimated front line of Germans,
who stood by their guns to the very
last: those of them who had not fallen
were made prisoners. Not one of them
returned to tell what happened in tnls
terrific fighting. On the neighboring
front. too, the British succeeded in
breaking the German first position;
and gained here from 500 to 1000
wards of ground. At the second Ger
man position where their reserves
wero in waiting, tae attack was COM
pleto'v checked The fighting lost
some hing of it's ferceness as the af-
terncon waned; and September 25 end
ed ~'th hand-to-hand encounters and
hard ~~onade attacks at various points
along the front. The Germans made
an attack during the nient. and re-
gained mart of the lost ground.
The British rer"wed the next morn
ing their attempts to break thro' II
~ n"rmau Er"~. They tried with
quite new tactics-or, rather, with very
old tactics that are out of date in this
war. IT was thing holly "roxpect-
ed: and fha staff c+1~n~s '~c'sod on
with oren-mouthe| wondnr Shortly
before noon it wae observed that the
Pritieh thicltv r>~~~"@ ~r1 - oschelon
formation Of eieNt ~"~'-e "e~" advanc-
fne from oos to attack us. Their ar
-,~*+7forv was sending down hail Of
shelIs to beat open path for these
storning masses. At the same time
the enemy mounted artillery, in broad
DAYLIGHT rode IN to take position
''n"" h''1 20 TO the east Of Loos. which
= nr+hin@ more than slight eleva-
+icn in the landscane hardly noticed
in ridino across field The batteries
were carrying bridge material with
+',o~o +n enable &nem to make cross
i"~s over trenches and natural oh
strnctions. Still more-one or two
mounted cavalry regiments were OBJ
se-,-od IN tho nlain far to the rear.
r'"h+ rant,s Of infantry. mounted ar
ti1'erv. cavalry in the background
that was too much! A veritable battle
plan of a past age, the product of
r,ird in its dotage and a half-century
behind the times! Commanders of
armies get out of date in our times
as rapidly as inventions and sciences,
whereas the lesson taught by this war
is that the lives of soldiers should be
entrusted only to the most modern
the most elastic and most highly en-
dowed minds-the very rick of the na-
tons best talent. THE English should