Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1916-02-19

file must sweep us back. Always Ii
enemy returned to the charge, und
TERED by heavy losses, uadismayed
our deadly guns and magazine fire.
"In the end we gave the enemy hi
! dearly bought line of trenches an
! SLOWLY fell back to our second line c
positions. where the remainder of tn
division Joined US and helped to bea
off the sustained attacks, which Lacked
naught in violence All day the Bul
CARS alternately bombarded ant
charged us. There semed to be thou
sands and thousands of them. The!
gave MS no rest at night. Wherever
we stood they rained an unceasint
fusillade of shell upon us and followed
each rafale up with determined In
fantry attack
Communicating the Tenth division
in the proportion of at least eight te
one, they were obstinately bent on Its
destruction at whatever cost to them
selves. Their artillery far exceeded
ours in weight of metal but in effec
tiyeness there was no comparison. AL
most all our shells told, while many Of
theirs did no more than splinter the
rocks yards away. So Monday, Deem
Der 6, was passed with the Tenth d.
vision nightly pressed but still well
able to hold its own Tuesday, the
9TH, was an exact replica of the pre-
vious day.
Tenth Held Its Own.
THE Bulgars heavily bombarded our
line; then sent forward strong storm
ing parties before whom we recoiled
q little, but no more. The division
never lost its cohesion, and 1t gave
ground only at the rate of two miles a
day, which Is a proof, If any were
needed, of the splendid rear-guard ac-
ton that this uch-outnumbered force
fought. Our artillery kept them in
sufficient check to give us all the res
pite we needed, and the rife fire of the
different regiments bit gaping wounds
In the enemy mass that helped to
throw them into temporary confusion.
"Teodorow, the Bulgarian general,
Is a great believer in the German
method of attack He reckons no loss
in men is too great il the objective be
gained. The objective in this case
was the defamation of the Tenth d.
vision, and under his orders the Bull
CARS charged and charged until the
snowdrifts over which the battle was
fought was black with the recumbent
forms of his men.
'ln the two days we drew four miles
nearer to the Greek frontier. II we
could continue to maintain this DELHI
crate rate OF retirement with our for
nations still intact we could hope for
for we knew that reinforce
nents were due.
"The night of the 7th the Bulgars
made final attempt to smash our re-
sistance. They redoubled the force of
their bombardment; they increased
still more the momentum of their in.
fantry attacks. They came very near
to achieving their purpose, and there
were hours when one would have
asked prayers for the Tenth division
but British bulldog courage and OBJ
stinacy withstood all the fury of the
enemy's onset, and our mountain ar
tillery always found an easy target
BY the 9Th the force of the Bulgar at
tacks had spent itself They still
shelled our line and sent forward theiI
infantry to the charge. but the sting
had gone out of their efforts and we
were able with comparatively little
to repel them, our machine
guns in particular doing bitter havoc
in their serried ranks. Later our hero
ic Tenth division was placed in sec
ond line. The effect of our REINFORCE
ments was quickly felt on the enemy
who as we continued our retirement
became more cautious, following us
only at respectful distance.
Proved Their MettIe.
"In the two days battle the Tenth
division inflicted on the enemy at least
four times their own number of cas-.
ualties and, what is possibly equally
OF Importance, they taught him the
temper and morale of British infantry.
The Bulgars were fighting on ground
which they knew as we'll as the Innis-
killings knew Ulster. They had the
of our men In artillery, and
beyond all question in numbers. When
they commenced their attack on Mon
day they disposed of at least three d.
visions. the whole of the first Bulgar
army and part of the second. BY the
end of the first day the remainder Of
the second army had formed up SO
hat one division of British was op-
posed to four Bulgar divisions, but the
Tenth division had been thinned down.
and it is no exaggeration to say that 1t
ought against odds of eight to one.
"The Tenth division outNved the
horrors of Sulva; it outlived the days
md nights of biting cold on the Serb.
an frontier ranges, and it finished the
miracle, to quote the official phrase,
" sustaining violent attacks deliv-
red by the. enemy In overwhelming