Evening star., 1915-12-22

STAR, WEDN
afrair.> The first troops went over in
barges, in the face of a terrific 1n1an-
try, artillery and machine gun nre;
Many man went down and seVeTa,
| boats sank but the first who LANDED
| rushed the Serbian infantry positions
with hand grenades. displaying de
fance of death that thrilled to the
core those privileged to view the oper
alton from comparative safety. as qua
| a German pioneer officer who tod the
story. The various organizations IL
vailed with one another in the dash.
men were seen to fall wounded, but
rather than remain useless, they
| crawled after their comrades on All
fours. The resistance of the SERBS
though desperate. was soon broken,
and here. as further upstream, the CEN
trail powers troops obtained firm
footing which later developed into
valley of the Morava and the heart of
Serbia.
Brought Up s'Busy Berthas."
At Semendria a crossing had been ef-
fected in much the same way. But in
that town. which the correspondent
visited. the terrible work of modern
heavy artillery played a greater part.
The Serbs seem to have had the plan
of holding the old citadel. The Ger
mans brought up a few 42-centimeter
pieces single shot made a section of
the fortress untenable. 1t hit the base
of a tower. sending fra gments of ma
sonry broadcast, and drove every Serb
into another part of the position. To-
day the tower leans at dangerous
angle. Another az" shell hit a para
pet wall tearing a large breach in IT:
The yard of the citadel is a series of
craters deep and large enough to hide
companies in them.
On the whole waterfront of Semen
dria not a single building was left in
tact Under the shock of the heavy
shells houses crumbled like egg shells.
With the citadel disposed of, the Ger
man and Austrian troops rushed the
Serbian positions west of the town. The
hills. on which the Serbs were to make
their last stand, We're we'll fortified.
Seven lines of trenches and obstacles
lie behind one another. but so cruelty
effective was the artillery fire of the
Austrians and Germans that the Serbs
were obliged TO retreat long before the
central power troops developed their
attack to its maximum shock. In one
section of the position the Associated
Press correspondent noticed that every
she'll from across the river had hit ex-
actly into the Serbian infantry trench.
1t is inconceiva BILE that artillery fire
at the range which obtained could be
so accurate. and the conclusion is,
therefore. justified that here we deal
with a remarkable freak
Pontoon Bridges Span River.
Near Semendria two pontoon bridges
connect the banks One is built of
barges, and carries a railroad track,
while the other, of military pontoons,
serves as foot and wagon bridge.
Much has been said of the destruction
h,r ha
artillery in Belgrade. A days inspec-
tion of the city shows that the damage
done to city buildings of any sort is
virtually nil. An expenditure of $4,000
would make good whatever masonry
and window glass there was destroyed.
But the old fort. Kale Megdan, Jared
worse. Its ancient walls were no match
for the modern shell. The deep moats
are filled with broken and powdered
brick. Kale Megdan today is good only
for exhibition purposes, though for CEN
turies it held it's head high among the
strong places that could not be reduced.
The strong walls and deep bitches pre-
sent sorry spectacle. Parts of the
walls were carried off bodily to great
distances, and the park in which the
Belgradians used to listen to good mill
tary. concerts is Uttered with bits of
brick and rock which the 30.5 and the
AZ projectiles sent flying. At the head
of a walk stands monument COM
memorative of Serbias delivery from
Turkish rule: The various types OF
Serbia s civil classes are shown in
alteration of a figure above them, the
last being peasant, hard of face and
raw of bone. Through the muscular
leg and the sinewy arms bits of steel
have crushed, emblematic OF Serbia's
fate, perhaps.
The Konaks. old and new. have not
suffered by the bomba rdment, as, in
deed, has none of the city's other big
or prominent buildings. But Belgrade
or
paved and cleanly kept, remind one of
early Sunday morning in any swell
regulated city. Few people were in
the streets, and the shutters of the
kept by the Austro -Hungarians, and to
safeguard the health of their troops
and give the poor a chance to earn a
little money, streets were being swept
by men and women. though there
seemed to be no need for it.
1000 Yards Wide at Belgrade.
West of Belgrade, across the Save,
which is here about 1000 yards wide,
owing to high water. the Austrian pio-
neers have constructed another bridge
partly pontoon and partly trestle. Work
on the big permanent railroad bridge,
which was dynamited first by the Serbs
and later by the Austrians, is in prog
ress. Within month the structure
will be rebuilt. The old bridge was
constructed by Austrian engineers, and
the plans of it were still in existence,
so, with foresight that deserves being
called remarkable, the Austrians re-
constructed every part of the bridge
long before the offensive began, and
today the parts need merely to be
placed where they belong.
The correspondent had many oppor-
tunities to talk to German and Austro-
Hungarian officers and men who had
been at the Serbian front. 1t would
seem that the first shock proved too
much for the Serbs While occa SION
ally a desperate resistance is still Of
fered,. the Serbs generally are unable
today to hold a position long. They
have begun to realize that their cause
is lost. 1t can be attested, on the other
hand, that the central power troops,
especiaIIy the Austrians are generous