New Britain herald., 1915-11-23
STIRRING SCENES
 IN SERBIAN BATTLE
Defense of Rajec Gorge by French
 a Sanguinary Affair

haVauar,
 Serbia, Nov. 21, By Courier to Sa-
 loniki Greece, Nov. 22. via Paris, Nov.
 23, 5:05 a. m.--A sanguinary battle
 between the French and Bulgarians
 fh the gorge of the Rajec river, a
 continent of the Cerna, southeastern
 Serbia, has resulted thus far in the
 retirement of the French from
 point north of Drenovo to the right
 bank of the Cerna. The French,
 however. are still holding the Rajec
 Gorge and the important bridge head
 a* Bojharsti, controlling the heights
 opposite Gradisco.
 The Associated Press correspondent
 today visited the French post west of
 the Rajec bridgehead which is de-
 tailed to guard the strong natural
 position in the granite-walled gorge
 This gorge. however, is exposed to
 artillery fire from the surrounding
 heights. Through it runs a narrow
 rapid stream. It is held by infan-
 tY.
 Half an hour later the correspond ent, with party of French officers, watched the battle from neighboring hills. Every detail was visible ex- cept during occasional periods of the lowering of mist from the hill tops. .a3. Opening of Hostilities.
 Hostilities were opened with savage artillery duel. From the Point of observation flashes of flame and puffs of smoke could be seen. re- vealing the positions of the guns on both sides of the Vardar River, which is. joined by the Cerna 8 few miles north of Drenovo. Clouds of smoke. from the bursting shells gave some idea of the effect of the fire Which the Bulgarians concentrated in an, effort to dislodge the French from the Rajec Gorge. Shrapnel was placed successfully within the gorge several times ."' "e
 Soon the whir of machine guns and the popping of rifle fire betrayed the position of the Bulgarian infantry. On the hill behind the gorge moving fig ures could be seen outlined against the sky. They climbed slowly until after a brief struggle with the bayonet. the Bulgarians fled disappearing over the crest 1+
 Ambulances to Scene.
 Meanwhile from the direction of kavadar a train of ambulances sped toward the scene of the battle to col lect French wounded. General - followed in an automobile to take di- rection- Of the action on the ground
 5Ihe Bulgarians are bringing up nEsvy forces from the neighborhood of Frilep. z The French plan of campaign seems to have been to occupy as quickly as possible the maximum num- Der of positions of natural strength l and to take care of their communica- ( lions as effectively as could be done t with the forces available. When one V position thus held is made the object ( of serious attack the French with t draw, as the complete lack of effec- { tive means of transportation renders , the rapid shifting of troops from one i position to another impracticable.
 1 Unlike French Campaign.
 A striking feature of the campaign l In Serbia is its utter unlikeness to that in France. Trenches are constructed for only temporary use in actual bat tle.~ The broken country facilitates the ] of tactical skill, in which l { the French seems to be superior to the { Bulgarians notwithstanding their lack ( of familiarity with the country.
 Neither battlefields nor encamp- ments resemble in the least those in France. The soldiers are camped in tents in the open plain, as the Bull garians thus far have not employed Eaeroplanes. The camps are changed , Frequently to keep pace with the { movements of the battle lines. Artillerymen for the first time since the beginning of the war often have the opportunity of actually seeing the mark at which they are aiming. The Famous French 3-inch guns, firing al- (mose with the rapidity of machine Euns, inflict extraordinary havoc on the Bulgarians. - Aviators Present. French aviators are enjoying the presented by the lack of