Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-05-07
DISPLAY Of VAL0R
UNDER HEAVY FIRE
British Eyewitness De-
scribes Latest Stages of
Battle of the Ypres.
INSISTS GERMANS USED
ASPHYXIATING GASES
Says Turning Point Came April Is,
When Teuton Rush Was Met by
Counter Attack.

LONDON May THAT the Germans
used asphyXiating gases. not only on
the first day of the battle OF Ypres
but repeatedly afterward. and that
many of their infantry were affected
and BILE to join In the charges. is
declared by the British eyewitness
in his story of the latest stages of the
battle.
The turning point in the battle. he
says, came the afternoon of April
Is. when. after the Germans had de
livered a number of fierce assaults and
had pierced the allied lines near
Broodseinde, a strong, combined coun-
ter attack was carried out by the
French and British along the whole
front. from Steenstraate to st. Julien
This caused definite check TO the
German offensive. relieved the pressure
and gained certain amount of ground.
During this counter attack says
the chronicler. the guns concentrated
by both sides on this comparatively
narrow front poured in a great vol
ume of fire. From the right came the
roar of the British batteries: from the
left the rolling thunder of the ,SoiN-
gum. and every now and then, above
the turmoil. rose a duh boom. as a
huge howitzer shell burst in the VI
cinity of .Ypres.
Infantry Storms Trenches.
''On the right our infantry stormed
the German trenches close to ST. Julien,
| and in the evening gained the southern
outskirts of the village. In the cen
ter they captured trenches a little to
the south of the Bots des Cuisiuirs
! S,f
west more trenches We're taken. This
represented an advance of some 500
+; 700 yards. but the gain in ground could
| not at all points be maintained
Opposite st. Julien we fell back
from the village to a position just
south of the place. and in front of
the Bots des Cuisinirs and on the left
| of the line a similar retirement took
| place.
The enemy made extensive use of
his gas cylinders and machine guns
plac in farms and at other points of
vantage. None the less, the situation
| at nightfall was more .satisfa Glory. We
were holding our own well along the
| line. and had made progress at some
points on the right the enemys at
lacks on the front of Grarenstafel
| ridge had all been repulsed.
In the meantime the French had
achieved some success. having retaken
LiZern. and also the trenches around
| Hetsas. captured some 80 prisoners.
| and made progress all along the west
bank of the canal
| Heavy as our losses were during the
! day. there is little doubt that the
| enemy suffered terribly. Both sides
were attacking at different points. The
| fighting was conducted very largely in
| the open. and the close formations Of
| the Germans on several occasions pre-
| scented excellent targets to our artil-
| lery. which did not fail to seize its
| opportunities.
Describes Another Counter Attack.
The eyewitness describes briefly an
other counter attack on the 2Ith. and
adds:
But the situation remained very
much as it had been on the previous
| day. The Germans doubtless We're
much encouraged by their initial sue
cess and their previous holiness in
| attack was now matched by the stub
! born manner in which they chung TO
| their POSITIONS.
After that the Germans did not in
! terfere with the allies. which. says the
chronicler. was not surprising in view
of the fact that they had been fighting
! for over five days.
Pays Tribute to Airmen.
Paying tribute to the work of the
aviators, he particularly mentions an
unnamed airman who lost his life in
raid on Courtrai.
The aviator, says the writer,
| started on the enterprise alone in a
biplane. On arriving at courtrai ne
slided down to height of 300 feet
and dropped a large bomb on the rail-
way junction. While he did this he
was the target of hundred rifles and
ma chine guns and of antl-afrcraft
armament ana was severely wouhued
in the thigh
.Althou-h he might have saved his
life by at once coming down in the
enemy's lines he decided to save ms
machine at all costs. and made for the
British lines. Descending to a height
of only 100 feet. in order to increase
his speed he continued to fly and was
wounded again-this time mortallN ne
sill flew on, however, and withou
aerodromcs went all the way back to
his own base. where he executed y
perfect landing and made his report.
lie died in a hospital not long after
ward
Work of Machine Guns.
Mention also is made of machine
gun detachment, the men IN when
kent their gun in action until all were
dead or wounded
THE gun was stationed in an angle
of the trench says the eyewitness
.Wheu the German rush took place.
on,. man after another of the detach-
,nent was shot, but the gun stlli CON
tinued III action. although hNe podies
ia> .rouud il When the sixth man
took the place of his fallen comrades.
of nom one WAS his brother, the Ger
mans were still pressing on He WAT
ed until they were only lew yafus
away and then poured a stream of bull
lets on the advancing ranks. which
broke and fell back. leaving rows of
dead He was then wounded himself.