The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-06

Farther to the east similar attack was made about : D. m, which seems to have been attended with even less success and the assaulting infantry was at once beaten back by our artil- 1ery fire.
 Tt was not long before all our trenches were reoccupied and the whcle line re-established in it's original po- sition. The attack on the French met with the same result.
 "A great deal has been said of the troops on the left which saved the slt- uation on April 22-23 but the se1y- lees rendered by the British infantry farther east were no less remarkable. The area to the north and east of zonnebeke. representing narrow horn of the salient, formed a kind of bas- tion Throughout the lighting this gar rison held firm under a ralSing artil- lery fire from all sides and under re peated assaults which were delivered with so much determination that the enemy more than once reached OH trenches before they were beaten baeN. Repel Attacks Not only was this so but while our
 men in this quarter we're engaged m repellng attacks in front they knew I all the time that the troops on their left were falling back. The test YVES as hard as any soldier can be asked tc | endure"
 The "eyewitnesss then relates incl l dents showing the steadiness of tfe l Indian troops. who, he says, advanced under murderous fire, their war cry swelling louder and louder above the 1 din."
 Prisoners captured in the receni i fighting" the narrative continues stated that one German corps lost l 80 per cent of it's men in the first week
 that the losses from our artillery firt
 ever durlng daxs. wben po 9ttIaaeesflls tIaaesl Yf1f5 Ya15 1 that many of their own men had sar. fered from the effects of the gas.
 Tt would seem that a large number l of infantry who had received orly l three weeks training were brought UT during the battle to replace the cas- l ualties''
 I The "eyewitness'' then quotes Ger
 man brigade order telling the officers to have a field of battle and the ground 1 in the rear patrolled for stragglers. Il complains that many of the soldiers 1 accompany to the rear men who are only slightly wounded.
 This says the eyewitness would impress some as failure in discipline
 on the part of the German soldiers. but under the stress of fighting and in view of the losses and the strain. inn Losed upon the men this is only to be expected
 Considerable Gain
 The writer concludes.
 Tn regard to the recent fighting on our left il is desirable that the Ger man offensive should be viewed in it's true perspective and that it should neither be belittled nor exaggerated Effected in the first instance by sur prise, as a novel form of attack 1t resulted in considerable gain Of ground for the enemy, as measured by the standard of trench warfare, the greater part of which has so far been maintained by such bodies of troops as were available in the neighborhood of the operation.
 Tt seems to have been strong local counter offensive undertaken in reply to the allied offensive at other points and made with the same object as pre- vIous attacks delivered during the last few months. such for instance, as those made in February southeast of Ypres at St. E1oi on the 14th of March and at other points on the French front. Between all these earlier ef- forts and the last there was no diff ference in kind, the only difference being that on this latest occasion the attempt had been carried out with the aid of poisonous gases.
 ''There is no reason why we should' not expect similar tactics in the future They do not mean that the allies have lost the initiative in the western thea tre nor that they are likely to lose