The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-03-16
HALF A vs.skION
LC..1 : THAT DAY
Greatest Battle Of the Euro
pean War Took Place on
October 81, When Ger
mans Were Checked.
HOW FRENCH SAVED IT
Following the Fall Of Antwerp, the
Rush Toward the English Chan
mel Was Started by In
vading Soldiers.

[By William G. Shepherd, United
Press Staff Correspondent
LONDON, March 5. (By mail to New
fork.)-"I was present at Hooge be-
tween and o'clock on this day."
These thirteen words will ring
down through the ages in English his
tory. They were written by Sir John
French in his oftlcial report Of the
battle OF Ypres on October 81.
1t has taken the English people five
months to learn what gigantic crisis
in the history of the empire lies be-
hind this phrase.
They were sixty short terrible min
utes that clinaxed twenty days of ter
rife fighting. Each day had seen a
battle that was historic in its intensity.
The Germans had taken Antwerp
and were swinging down toward the
English channel and Calais. Sir John
French and his men had been entrus.-
ed with the duty of stopping the gap
in the allies lines between Arm en-
there's and Ypres
For twenty days French had been
strengthening his line until he had
10000 men, Dur ddring the same
space Of time. the Germans had been
piling UP their forces, until, on the
morning of October 81, there were
nearly four German army corps fac
ing the center of the English generals
line. This center was held by Frenchs $
first army corp under Sir Douglas
Hais. Four Germans to one English
man were the odds.
General French realized that, after
twenty days of sparring, the Germans
had decided where to strike. The bat
tie began early in the morning with
contests along the whole line. The
neld of Waterloo was as child's
garden, in size, compared with General
French's battle ground.
Back at Ypres, General Fren I'll
studied the battle by means of maps.
Telephones and couriers brought him
news almost every moment. AS the
day advanced toward noon, the fight
ing on the wings grew less: in the cel-
ter it grew fiercer and fiercer; the
burden of the day was falling on the
first army corps. Almost every min
ute some English regiment was either
suffering some catastrophe Or achiev-
ing some feat that would go down in
its history forever.
English history and all military his
annals OF great battles ever had great
er cause for giving up hore than Gen
eral French had at noon on this
great day.
A little later the automobile of
General French whirled into the lit
tie town of Hooge. A short distance
up the Menin road was the very heart
and core of the battle.
To see French come into the heart
of the battle, amid the shells; to
know that he had not given up hope,
was an inspirat ation to the officers. New
life came into the English. French
was spending that famous little hour
"at Hooge between two and three
O'clock
French and Sir Douglas Haig and
their officers hustled from point tol
point At their coming, majors, col
onels, captains, all, were fired with the
greatness of the moment; they be
came privates: they seized rifles and
fought with their men. There was no
longer need for officers; the battle
had become a fight to the death.
1t was shortly before 2:3O that
General French got his first chance to
hit the Germans on their flank. The
side attack fiustered them. With cold
steel alone the Worccstershires retook
Gheluvelt and closed the Menin road
From that moment the tide of battle
turned BY 8 clock when the his
toric visit OF Sir John French cat
Hcoge" had ended, the English sold
iers knew that they had held the Ger
mans back and that the issue had
been decided.
The English lost about $4,000 men
all told on this momentous October
81 and in the days of fighting that
preceded it. The French and Belgians
lost about $4,000 men and the German
losses were estimated about $50 900.
In all. nearly a half million men were
lost The losses of the north in the
entire civil war werc about 100000.
General French's laconic report
merely says:
II was present with Sir Douglas