The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-01-09
AMERICAN TELLS OF
SLAUGHTER AT L9OS
A. j. Tuck. Dartmouth Grad
uate. Describes Charge of
His Brigade.
RECEIVED TWO WOUNDS

HANOVER. y. H.. jan. S.--AleNander
]. NJ. Tuck, a Dartmouth graduate oi
the class Of 1914 and "A fraternity brother
Of Richard Melville Hall, the Dartmouth
man who was killed recently In the
Vosges when a shell hit the ambulance
which nc was driving. in an article in
the Dartmouth Alumni Mdgosine gives
Graphic picture of the battle around
Loos, In which the British losses. Just
ofhciaily announced In London. were
close TO $4,000 men. Tuck was wounded
In this fighting.
Alexander Tuck after graduating from
Dartmouth went to oxford University
ana was there when the war broke out
He received u commission as second
lieutenant In the Seventh Battalion OF
the Kings own Scottish Borderers
After nve months of training, during
which he was made one OF the two ma
chine CUR officers which each battalion
he's. tho battalion was sent to the Con-
tinent.
I'VE were told" Tuck writes. "ths,
IN attack would take place on September
rs. 1t was preceded by four days and
four nights of heavy bombardment. This
was to break up the enemy's barbed
wire and was to be followed by a forty
minute gas attack. On the night OF the
24th We took u places In the ternches
relieving an outgoing battalion. Orders
had been given as follows:
Rum Ration for Troops.
"Our brigade was TO attack to the left
OF Loos. taking a half right wheel. and
finally to take Hin 20 the next brigade
on our right had the village of Loos IL.
self to invest and the third brigade of the
division Was to support these two at
tacks.
I'VE did not take our places in the
trenches until about midnight on the
2<th. The rest Of the night we spent IN
dealing out the rAtions and in filling the
new machine CUR magazines. All
through the night there was a steady
drizzle and then when IA hopeless dawn
broke upon us every one was wet through
and felt anything but like an attack.
For this great attack the breakfast
IN an ounce and IA half OF rum for
each man. This allowance varies both
~ TO its frequency OF issue and amount
and ID usually put in the tea to prevent
IN hhoi iiOHi " ulllS u up diiu INdhlIs
an occasion of its consumption at the
q Of the month. That morning IL was
given to us neat. and well we needed II.
AT B 40 We started our gas and huge
gusts OF this yellowish green yapJr
started drifting coward the enemy
trenches. Our battalion had the honor
OF leading the attack on Hill 20 and We
were to be the first out of the trenches
No sOoner had our gas started than a
veritabie hail Of German machine gun
IRE could be heard on the parapet OF
our trench. BY his time the Germans
could no longer see our trel ches. but
having previously tiXed their guns on our
trenc plrapets their fire was only too
accurate. At the same time their guns
started bursting shrapnel over US with
equal accuracy.
THE orders started coming down the
trenches. Fix bayouets' WAS the first
order. and this was hastily complied with.
Then the cry came down. Remember
the Twenty-ffth.' for this was the num-
Der OF our regiment as IL was known in
the old days. The next order came,
Put on gas helmets and then We knew
that only a few minutes separated Us
from the comparative safety of our
trench and the ycritable sheet of lead
outside.
THE air by this time reeked Of a
sickening sweet smell of high explosives
and shrapnel shells. and the atmosphere
wa even more Clouded by the faint
smoke of these.