New Britain herald., 1915-08-04

ming down the slope towards us Per- haps the enemy said my Cossack escort. But we reached the crest un- molested and were now in compara- tive safety; for we were out of the line of fire. and the valley to the north of us was full of our own people. Covered With Shells.
 Here there was a long train of wounded and we found our automobile in the midst of it. We packed in the men with the worst wounds that we noticed; they lay without a groan, and one said: Thanks De to the Lord, and eternal gratitude to you." . A young soldier told us that no living man could have driven the troops on the right wing from their positions but that the whole area was covered with shells till trenches and men were leveled out of existence. The com- panies left comparatively intact had all Joined the center. Of this section of the line we could only hear vague rumors.
 Late in the day we reached, the de- serted school house to which the staff had retreated.
 By morning the lines lay just out side the town, and the Germans and Austrians were making tremendous attack on them, pounding them with
 the heaviest artillery and advancing in
 close column again and again.
 The leader of this cIvIsion is a fighting general, robust and active
 The staff was very close up to the
 front, and from the balcony of the
 school house the general viewed the lines and gave orders Many parts of
 the lines were now non-existent hav- ing been reduced to a series of she'll
 pits by the German artillery.
 Making my way to the advanced lines, I found a Brigadier General and got leave to accompany an attempted advance. It was the first regiment of the famous Caucasian corps just ar rived after an all night march, and going up to the attack. A battalion commander stood just below the hut, putting his men in position. He was a quiet little man, already elderly and with an old voice. that sounded vigorously, however, across the slope. The men made their way by com. panies up the different clefts in the hollow and soon lined the bridge be- yond The commander moved about among them at an easy walk direct Ing some, hurrying on others.
 Advance on KOvccs.
 The men went forward on their knees, separating off into what the Russians call a chain where any one with initiative, by finding cover little further forward, gives lead to all the rest. The officers walked upright throughout. When the crest was lined, the commander went for
 ward in different directions
 On his return he gave few orders
 to his officers; one of them was little excited, and called out II have
 an instinct that it will go right; Cod
 grant that it is a true one'' and turn-
 ing to his men he shouted God is
 with us.' Except for this, nothing
 broke the atm osphere of the evening
 stiffness.
 We'll children said the command
 CT, What shall I say to you? With
 God! forward!'
 Smiles as ShrapneI Lands.
 One company went off to the wood on the right, and after few minutes another with the commander and myself moved forward over the bare. hill, leaving two others to follow hi reserve. The men advanced in little groups creeping in line with each other; the officers walked about free ly, often in advance of the men, , encouraging any that showed too much caution. The commander and branched off into the edge of the wood ;s he turned and smiled to mo as the shrapnel tore away some of the boughs. At the bottom the ma- chine guns were hurried up, and we ascended the further slope.
 W e> &txwn rx now On faSa harn hoiOht
 which was like a tongue projecting forward, and ! hot musketry fire was opened on us. A man near me called out that he was wounded and rolled himself down to the hollow where a bearer set about bandaging him; a shell burst beyond us and an other called out. One could see what happened to the men nearest to one.
 The commander continued to stroll about among the. men, in the same way as he would have done out of action; several of the men begged him to lie down. We went round the height and he brought his men everywhere to the edge of 1t and told them to entrench themselves which they set about doing at once. We could see where the bullets came from, on the low ground in front To our left was a ridge with trees, s,along which we could see men on horse- back coming from the direction of the enemy. To our right, beyond the wood. was high ridge covered with men, who appeared to be advancing upon Us but did not open fire.
 sH Austrian Column Disappears.
 Suddenly column of blue figures was seen coming up close on our front In what seemed a minute, two of our machine guns had been moved to this side. Round some brush wood thirty wards away came fha ar-xf