Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1915-07-22
LONG RANGE BoMBARDING.
Terrible Force of Shells Fired at a
Distance of % Miles.


A thrilling story of the havoc
wrought in Dunkirk by the huge Ger
man guns that shelled that town from
point % miles away is told by John
+. Brady, Chicago newspaper man
who returned this week from the war
zone. Brady was in Dunkirk during
the second bembardment with John
Borden, the Chicago millionaire and
member of the New York yacht club.
There were two bombardnaents,s
said Mr.. Brady. The first took place
on April % and %, and .he second on
April 30 and 3d. We we're in DunkirlE
when the second bombardment COM
menced at 1880 o'clock on the 29th-
1t lasted that day until 2:30 D. M,
during which time 20 shells of a di-
annetAr Of 19 LIZ inches were hurIeT
INTO the town. The first GheI1 struck
in front in the plaza of front of our
hotel, about $50 yards from us. ana
very close to the arsenal at which thss
Germans were aiming. 1T killed 20
soldiers and woman
Whenever shell struck it made &c
Tremendous hole, and all fen within
an area of square mile. The vacuum
caused by the explosion of the shell
was so strong that it literally sucked
up those in the vicinity and threw
them to the ground.
1.-TWO shells struck a house. next to-
the military hospital, completely de-
molishing it. The concussion caused
by the explosion was so great that 40
seriously wounded soldiers in the hos
pital were killed.
!, Another shell hit the railroad sta
stion and killed 8 men. One struck the
Casino and killed several. / afterward
went into this building. The effect OF
the explosion had been so TREMENDOUS
that the bones of one victim had been
driven into the woodwork.
zone she'll chugged into the bay and
a second later the waters of the harbor
seemed to heave upward in solid
body. All the torpedo craft lying
there Immediately put to sea at full
speed.
The second day only, eight shells
were fired. Throughout the lombard
ment a German Taube aerop1a1le cir
cled above the city signaling to the
distant gunners. The French gunners
trained their anti-aircraft guns and
rifles at the aviator, but tailed To drive
him or
"The result of the bombardment
from a military view was entirely sat
;sfactory Dunkirk has been render
ed untenable as base. All the sol
diers have evacuated the barracks and
the wounded also have been removed
~The gun was stationed 28 miles
away, just beyond Dixmude. It was
apparently fired from a concrete base
which, according to military n1en, hasE
not thoroughly set The charge used
to hurl the projectile over this tremen
dous distance was some form OF high
1y explosive gas.
I'm ali about 300 were either killed
or wounded as result of this bonn
bardment The military authorities
enjoined strict silence and refused to-
allow any details to be printed. Wien
we arrived in London + offered the
story to the Daily Mail. but was told
they could not print it. /"
Mr.. Borden. who returned with
Brady, said:
THE most surprising thing about
the battle fields in France is the rapid
manner. in which all battle scars are
removed as soon as an action is over
Soldiers and civilians alike set to work
after a shell has landed
to clear away the debris and. removes
all trace" -