Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1915-10-06
German, Were Fixed For WIlter
Had Cement LINED Dugou;s and Were Com
t0nab'Y Hou. ed.


France, Sunday, Oct. 3, via
London Oct 4.-The scene of
the British attacks in the
Lens region is a fiat mining
country-slag heaps, mine
pits, ruined buildings, splint>
cred aud felled trees and
earth works chnrned by ex
plosions, with slightly rising
ground toward Loos and
Lens.
Nothing is visible except
the soft puffs of shrapnel
bursting and volumes Of black
smoke from British and Ger
man nigh explosive shells,
marking positions where the
British troops are organizing
their gains and the Germans
are preparing a new defensive
line.
1t is with infinite satisfac-
ton to the British, who had
long looked at the eye-sore
twin towers Of the mining
works at Loos, that they now
have in their possession this
German position. The church
at Los, which had been used
as an observation post, is a
heap Of stone as the result Of
the bombardment preceding
the attack.
The normal population at
Loos is 10000 miners and
their families Three hum
dred of these remained dur~
ing the battle, taking shelter
in the cellars Of their wrecked
miserable homes.
AS the skirmish line ap>
preached the town, it saw six
women ard a child coming
toward it in the midst Of the
battle. Some of the British
soldiers tried to rescue them,
but before they could get the
women to a shelter two or
three were wounded.
The elahorateness and per-
manency cf the German
trenches indicated the appar-
ent conviction of the Ger
mans in the security of their
line. Dugouts, often 80 feet
deep, were cemented and con-
tanned electric lights and arm
chairs Some Of them were
impenetrable even to high ex~
plosive shells Of big caliber
The British bombardment
cut the wire in front of the
German trenches to bits and
battered the firing trenches
and traverses into irregular
piles of earth, Under slch
a failing of shells it was sui~
cidal for the Germans to at
tempt to remain outside the
dugouts or to try to man their
machine guns. or use their
rifles.
When the artillery work
was perfected the British in
fantry sprang over the para
pets :at a given moment.
Sprinting toward the German
trench they arrived almost
without opposition, Then
the German trench was theirs
with the Germans who w5re
alive huddled in their caves.
Some Of the dugouts had
their openings blown in by
shell explosions, and their oc-
cupants were either buried or
suffocated.
Where a dugout had teen
unharmed the British sol>
diers, with bayonets ixe1 or
bombs in hand, appeared at
the entrance to find the Ger
mans still inside or perhaps
just starting out. All in the
dugout might surrender, or
on the other hand, if a Brit
lsh soldier started to enter or
even showed himself he was
received with a fusilade. In
case Of refusal to surrender
bombs were thrown into the
dugouts. The Germans sur
viving the explosion usually
gave in, though not always
for some of them died to the
last man.
Some incidents had a hu~
Jnorous as we'll as a tragic
side. In these sudden en-
counters at close quarters
where the charging Briton
met a German emerging from
his dugout the bayonet,
bombs and even fists were
sometimes brought into play
In the ensuing melee.
One difficulty was The
gathering and guarding Of
u prisoners in such a confined