The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-05-13
DEAD IN HEAPS
ON YPRES field
British Action Resolves Itself
Into Pure Killing" Writes
EYEWITNESS"
GERMANS LOSE HEAVILY
Attempt to Crush English Left Beaten
Back with Terrible
Slaughter.
GERMANS LOSE HEAVILY

eyewitness writes the following accoun
| OF the recent bloody fighting AROUND
| Ypres:
Early on Saturday the Germans were
preparing an attack in strength agains
! our line running east and northeast o.
Ipres and were concentrating under cover
! of a violent artillery fire. At 10 a. m
the battle began. The earnest Germani
| attacked our line from the Ypres-Poel
Chappelle road to within a short distance
of the Menin highroad.
Evidently their intention was to breai
! our front in the vicinity of the Ypres
Roulers Railway. to the north and south
| of which their most determined attack.
were delivered. Under this pressure oul
front was penetrated at some point.
around FreZenberg. At 4:30 p. m. we
made a counter-attack between the Son
nebecke road and the railway to recover
the lost ground. Our advance was CON
Quoted most calamity. but was checked
before long by machine guns.
Fresh Attack Launched.
In the meanwhile the enemy launched
another attack through the woods south
of the Menin road. and at the same time
threatened our left north of Ypres with
fresh masses. Most desperate fighting en-.
! sued. the German infantry coming again
and again and gradually forcing our
troops back. though only for short dis
lance, in spite of the repeated counter
attacks.
During the night the fighting continued
to rage with increasing fury. Our line
was broken at different points. At one
time the enemy's infantry poured through
along the Poel-Chappelle road and even
got as far as Wieltje.
At 9 p. m. there was also a considerable
gap on our front about Frezenberg, where
hostile attachments had penetrated. At
both points counter-attacksw were organ
lied without delay.
The Germans were first driven back to
FreZenberg. There they made a firm
stand. and under the pressure Of fresh
re-enforcements We fell hack again to-
ward Nerlorenhaek. Another attack car
ried out by us was more successful. Our
troops swept the enemy out of Wieltje at
the bayonet's point. leaving the village
strewn with German dead. Pushing on.
We regained most of the ground north of
that point.
Farms and Villages Blaze.
So the fight surged ITO and fro
throughout the night. All around the
scene of conflict the sky was lit up
ny tHe VI GUNS, thC uidZihe
of villages and farms Against this
background of smoke and flame, LOOM
ing in the murky light over the crumb-
ling ruins of the old town, rose the
battered wreck of the cathedral tower.
When Sunday dawned, there came
short respite. Firing for time
died down. The comparative lull en-
abled us to reorganize and consolidate
our position on the new line to OBJ
tain rest after the fatigue and strain
of the night 1t did not last long.
however. In the afternoon the climax
of the battle was reached.
Under cover of an intense artillery
fire the Germans launched five sepa-
rate assaults on the south. On the
Menin road the fighting was especial
ly fierce. Masses of infantry were
hurled on with absolute desperation
and beaten off with corresponding
slaughter. At one point, north Of the
town, 500 of the enemy advanced from
a wood. 1t is affirmed by those pres
ent that not a single man escaped.
At $50 .. m. an endeavor was made
to storm the ground of the Chateau
HODGE, north of the Menin road, but
the force attempting 1t fell back I'M
der the hail of shrapnel poured upon
them by our guns.
On this side. where they had to face
A concentrated fire Of guns, Maxims,
and rifles again and again in their ef-
fort to break through. the Germans
incurred their heaviest losses. The
ground was literally heaped with dead.
AS the night came on the fury of their
offensive gradually slackened, the
hours of darkness passing in quiet
ness.
EnEIi.h Line Intact.
c. <,r ,, .ho vnroa repion Ia con.
cerned, this was for us. our most sue
cessful day. Our line remained intact.
our losses were comparatively slight.
and. owing to the targets presented by
the enemy, the action resolved itself on
our part into pure killing.
The reason for this determined ef-
fort to crush our left on the part OF
the Germans Is not far to seek. 1t Is
probable that for some days they have
been in possession Of information
which led them to suppose that We in
tended to apply pressure on the right
OF our line. and their great attack upon
Ypres was undertaken with the view
Of diverting us from our purposes. The
Germans rightly held that the best
OF meeting an expected hostile
offensive is to forestall 1t by attacking
in another quarter.
In this instance their leaders acted
with the utmost determination ana en-
ergy. and the soldiers fought with the
greatest courage. The failure OF their
effort was due to the splendid endurance
Of our troops. who held the line under
fire which again and again blotted out
whole lengths OF defenses and killed the
de blenders by scores. Time after time
were the parapets destroyed. and time
after time did the thinning Survivors
build them again and await the next On
set as steadily as before.
Meanwhile. on Sunday, another strug-
gle had been in progress on a portion
Of the front covered by the right OF our
line and the left of the French. a tre-
cannonade was suddenly start
ed by the artillery OF the allies twenty
miles to the south. At a. m. the bonn
bardment began. slowly at first. and then
growing until the whole air quivered
with the rush Of the larger shells. and
the earth shook with the conclusion Of
the guns. In a few minutes the whole
Of the distant landscape disappeared in
smoke and dust.
Shortly before s o'clock our infantry
advanced along that part Of our front
between the Bots Grenier and Festubert
On our left, north Of Fromelles, We
stormed the German first line trenches.
Hand to hand fighting went on for some !
time, with bayonet. rife and hand gre /!
made. but we continued to hold on to the |
position throughout the day and caused |
he enemy very heavy loss. Not only |
we're many Germans killed In the bonn |
oardment, but their repeated efforts to |
lrive US from the captured position |
proved costly.
On our r,1ht north of Fesfuherf our