The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1916-02-19
FIGHTING TENTH
ADDS GLORY TO
I THE IRISH ARMS
Makes Most Remarkable Stand
Against Overwhelming Force
of Bulgars.
DIDN'T KNOW THEY HAD LOST
Allied Division Slowly Pushed Back
but Exacts Awful Toll In slaugh-
ter for Every Yard-Machine
Guns Fire Is Murderous.

London.-Although the government
has repeatedly been pressed to give
the country the story of the stand Of
the Tenth Orish) division against
overwhelming forces of the Bulgars in
Macedonia before the retreat of the
allies to Saloniki, the United Kingdom,
and Ireland in particular, is still wait
ing for the official account Of the ac-
ton, which, though it ended adversely,
will rank among the finest exploits of
British arms.
The Weekly Dispatch publishes the
story of how the Irish regiments stood
their ground against wave upon wave
of Bulgars, moving them down with
rifle and machine guns to the accom-
paniment of shouts of stick it, jolly
boys; give 'em hell, Connaughts!"
The account fills more than a page of
that newspaper, and the following are
the main points of the story.
Officers Were Warned.
"On December 8. which was a Fri
day, the British outposts brought in
six Bulgar deserters, who had much
of interest to tell. They said that the
Bulgars not only had suffered very
heavily in their engagements with the
Serbians, but were losing men rapidly
owing to sickness and frostbite.
What is more to the point. they
warned the officers that a big attack
against our line was impending, that
It had been arranged to take place that
day, but that the severe snowstorm
had caused them to put it off to an
other day, which would not be long
delayed.
These opportune tidings, which. as
events proved, were thoroughly reli-
able, were communicated to h%eadquar-
tiers and the necessary precautions for
battle taken. The outposts were drawn
in and finishing touches given to the
trenches.
Dawn had scarcely broken when
the enemy made his expected attack.
The conditions wholly favored him, for
a fairly dense fog prevailed, and un-
der its cover the Bulgars were able
to get within 300 yards of parts of our
line without being observed. The In
niskillings were the first to be at
tackled; about 5 a. m. their outposts
were driven in n then a great mass
of the enemy swooped down on the
trenches, but were driven back by the
fire of our Maxim guns and by the
steady magazine fire that came from
the trenches.
Mad RueL o. CI.,,
Scarcely had the attack on the ex-
treme right of our line had time to de-
velop when the main body of Bulga-
rians were see running down a deile
leading to the center of our front.
They we're perceived as a long, inter
minable stretch of IN mass of
shadowy figures revealed half dis
tinctly in the mist. AS they reached
the end Of the defile they spread out
as from a bottle neck, and with wild
cheers flung themselves on our line.
But before they had got so far our
guns smashed and battered the thick
procession Of men leaping out Of the
narrow gorge. 1t was impossible to
miss them. British artillery had never
had such a target since the first bat.
tie of Ypres, when the guns literally
moved down the half-trained German
troops who attacked on the User.
"The slaughter Of the guns was mag
niied by the slaughter of the rapid
magazine fire at short range. Wave
after wave of the enemy came on, each
broken as it swept out of the defle,
but the Bulgars were not to be denied.
Though their comrades fell thick and
fast they, came on, and by sheer i'm
petus of numbers reached our
trenches, where awful work was
wrought. It was hand to hand fight
Ing then-terrible to witness, terrible
to think of. The short bayonet of the
Bulgar, however, was of little use In
these trench combats, and man for
man the British won. but the Bulgars
had the numbers and temporarily the
first line of the Twelfth division was
overborne. The British were driven
out.
Wonderful Bayonet Charge.
1.-The British artillery had been do
ing splendid work, but now the enemy
artillery was in full blast, and they
poured a devastating and whitening
hail of fire on our positions. which
through faulty ranging put out of ac-
ton more of the Bulgars than it did
of us. The MINISTERS and the Con-
naughts and the Dublins quickly raj
lied, and with n wonderful bayonet
charge drove the enemy out of their
trenches again. The enemy, massed
in close formation, swarmed in once
more, but against the deadly fire
poured into them they could make no
Roadway for some time. The brave
Irish regiments were pouring lead into
them as fast as they could load their
rifles. They poured into the oncom-
ing masses as much as 175 rounds at
point blank range.
"But II was for all mr. grin, ras;s+