New-York tribune., 1915-03-18

thev lost there; but the line remainpa
,,i.,,,aII,, IA IL had been when Haig
moved nm his 1st Corps. The BrItlsn
hoId IN and continued 10 dig IN. lhese
rnoro days of incessant battering anu
continual losses; the hospital trains
mining back to the base carrled as
many as four thousand wounded III one
| day. a.. A.. .rrcioi dav
for England.
Germans Make Supreme Effort.
Tho attacks had been growing
,,ronoer: across the lines the BRUSH
heard the Germans singing as thoug"
workinp themselves up, German Iash
ION 10 a Berserk courage; captureu
/ orders showed that the Kaiser had eon
manded a great assault when sno'''
clear the way to Calais and 70 far.S.
Rofore the sun was high, on tna'
uorninp of the 3lst. British aviator
yolnIaned down to his own line WIN WIZ"
a wing damaged by shrapneI; he
dronped from his seat pale and shaker.
"a close CALI" they asked. 1t ish
| that,v he said, "it's what I've seen
three corps, | tell you-against Our
Ist," Sc he jerked out his story ne
nod soon the roads and ridges ike anu,
hills and antruns with men; ne hau
snon new batteries going into position; |;
be had seen. far away, the craving
orav serpents, which were stlll more
| German regiments going TO theil
Slaughter. "And we're so thin from uP
therel" he said. "And they're so manyi;
! Hard on this came hurried news TO heau-
quarters from the front. The German
artillery and massed attack OF "et-
man infantry had broken the ISL Dl-
vision of the 1st Corps, near pres
the division was going back; , NE
French support was going back. " We
must have reinforcements, saIo sao
message. 81 can send you my TWO sen
tries" replied French. Disaster sIeea
diraster followed. The Royal oIoe.
Fusiliers, remaining too long III nG'
place. were for their very vaior cuI on'
The Germans had found new artllieiyi
had found new artillery positions, hau
shelled General Douglas Haig heau,
quarters. A shell had burst IN tme
house. Haig was outside at the Ii,to,
but nearly every staff oihcer OK TG Tne
lst Corps was killed or woundeu;, nv
army up there was almost heauIe;s
WAS fighting as individuals o' p''"'
tive fighting instinct. v &,
8
tho ford where, 1000 years ago, Casar
had his close call from the NerVi'
That was the battle where Cesar
snatching a shield from soldier. MN
saIf nlunped into the thick or Things
and acting as line officer and genera
oil ar once. rallied the Roman army
General French did the same IN mou-
crn fashion. He jumped into his auto
mobile and rushed to the line OF the
Ist Division. He had not so far TO go
"a bo thought. The line had retlred
four miles. Through his glasses ne
could see the close-locked quadrupie
ranks of German infantrymen attacN- :
ING everywhere. And everywhere the
/ Enelish were fighting valiantly' DuC
without method. They were in TO the
last man-even the regimental COOKS.
The officers OF infantry and cavalry
we're firing with the men, their ser
wants loading spare rifles behind them
Wins with Broken Weapon.
French. assisted by Haig, became a
beadouarters staff himself. 1hey say
| that he risked his life twenty times
/ that afternoon, as his motorcar tooe
| him from focus of trouble to FOCUS oI
more trouble. lie gave an order mere, ere
he encouraged an otflcer there' no
rallied part of the broken ISL DiVI-
sion and threw it at the flank OF a
| German attack which was proGeeIinS
ON the reckless theory that the Ehgllsh
were totally beaten. The Eermalis
broke: the British retook GheluVei', VI,
the original line. On this starr, stu shu
partly by move after move ol tm,
closest and vet most daring strategy
hut partly by the spirit of an army
which begins to see victory, french
snatched back the positions lost OF,
that four-mile retirement and restcd
hv midnight on the original line.
The English had merely held, teen
nicallv. Really, they had won the cil-
macteric action in that long oattIe
which must determine the future
course of this war. The cost OF 1t was
no less than the cost of other famous
J y;c,orics The Scots Guards went into
that campaign eleven hundred strons;
] Tbcv came out but sevcnty-three. Ana
most Of their lost thousand went do"i.
tbat dav before Ypres. A regiment OF
the Grenadier Guards took l,3oO men
to tho western front. They had less
than three hundred when the battle OF
Ynros was won. Most of them, too, Ie!i
in this action Of October 81.
In old wars a battle lasted day or
.vo. victory came in an hour, and 1t
was all over but the pursuit; the
courier went forward to the capltal'
there were illuminations and bell ring
inps. In this new war, no one, not
even the commander, may know the de-
cisivc moment; the day OF real victory
blends into days where the hght sun
goes on: to none of these modern bat
! Ties is there as yet an end. october 81
was the decisive point OF this action
before Ypres; but no one knew II them
| The attacks and counter attacks, the
digging in, went on. French troops be-
gan arriving in force to strengthen and
make sure the line.
Despairng Effort Fails.
Nevertheless. the Germans had one
more great assault on their pro-
Qramme. Ypres is the old historic capt.
tai of French Flanders, and the Brit
ish observers noted a curious fact
about the operations against (pres'
! However heavy the German lombard
ment, the famous old Cloth Hall, the
most beautiful building of its kind IN
Flanders, went unscathed by shells. II
was saved, We know now, for spe-
cial purpose. Kaiser Wilhelm hlmseli
was moving forward with a special
force TO a special assault which should
finally and definitely break the allied
line at Ypres. To do this was 70 clear
Flanders of the Allies; and then. as
by custom he might, he intended to
annex Belgium in the Cloth Hall OF
Ypres. He came with his own Prusslan
Guard; It was that guard which, on the
18th, led another terrible massed at
tack. 1t was no less vigorous than the
attack of the 31st, but the English, re-
inforced now by the French, met il
better. Again the dense masses poured