The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1916-03-04

New ~York.-ft is doubtful II since
the beginning OF the wal there a
come to New York a discharged sol
der in any Of the armies engaged,
whose record of actions and expert
ences qualified him to give as clear in
sight into the great struggles as can
Corporal David Robinson Williams OF
the Second Royal rifles. Corporal Will
liams enlisted at the beginning of the
wal and served in some of the most
important battles up to last August.
During that time he suffered three Sc
rious wounds and finally was dis
charged after months of suffering
from gas poisoning. He has seen
practically all there is to see for the
men of the ranks in the land fighting
and he is able to tell a splendid and
: connected story of his part of the
fighting.
Another factor in Mr.. Williams abil-
fly to tell what he saw is that he
served in the British army for three
years up to 1902 and that his observa-
tions are those of a soldier who knows
the routine of army life and who is
interested in nothing but the real ac-
ton of a war and has an idea about
when his own commanders are doing
well or i'll and what the caliber of the
enemy is. In this connection 1t may
be stated that he believes that the
Germans can fight, that they have
been guilty of some frightful atrocities
and that among them are thousands
of fellows who are heartsick of the
war, not for lack of courage but be
cause of supreme good sense. Incl
dentally some Germans he has met in
conflict are as fine as any men he ever
cares to meet.
Battle of the Aisne.
Mr.. Williams left New York, after
working here for three years, on Au
gust 5, 1914, and after enlisting was
sent to a mobilization camp On August
90. His regiment was Immediately
sent to the front, and the first action
they took part in was the battle of the
Aisne. Mr.. Williams was in Company
c of the Third division of the Seventh
brigade, and the sector in which they
were stationed was a mass of chall
hills and caves. For fourteen days
after they made the trenches they
were exposed to a d%renching rain, anC
as there was evidence of confusion II
the handling of the forces they re
manned hidden away from an intermit
tent fire without advancing or taking
definite action.
In the heaviest %downpour of rail-
they would occasionally see Taubei
floating high above them, making OBJ
servations and since guns ~unsuited TO,
the work were turned upon them onl!
one of the cores they saw was brough
down. That one landed within tive
hundred feet of where Corporal vii
liams was stationed, and he saw i
burn to ashes over the mangled crew
which fell with it. Soon after this in
cident the order to advance was given
with the arrival of re-enforcements
but the Wiltshire Fusileers and til
Irish rifles could make no impression
against the German position. The,
were confronted with a heavy fire ant
nearly three hundred men went GU
of action.
On October 3 the Rifles altered thei
position and were ordered to Bethune
where they waited for reinforcement
and then advanced to ~Richebourg.
was here that Corporal Williams say
he saw the first indication of the atroC
tiles which refugees at all point
complained tearfully of. He and
party of soldiers came to a farmhous
as five German Uhlans left it. TIL
party opened fire and killed all bu
one of the Uhlans. and upon enterin
the house found a young woman VIII
had been subjected to frightful afro
cities for six days in the enforce
presence of her aged mother.
Moved to Neuve chapelle.
The Rifles devoted two weeks to dis
ging trenches in the village of Richie
bourg and then went to Neuve Cha
pelle and got into the hardest kind of
fight. They found trenches alread
dug for them as they had left trenche
for others at Richebourg, and as the
were exhausted they fully expecte
that a real rest awaited them,
I'VE got no rest, though" said Coz
poral Williams. "As soon as it wa
dark we we're put at work stringin
barb wire entanglements-and tn
word passed around that the German
were making ready and that our oil
servers had reported that we wer
to be attacked in force that night.
was october 26, and | have good caus
to remember it. At ten o'clock tn
artillery fire began and it was clea
at once that the Germans had tn
range on the first try. We could hea
the screams in the reserve trench a
the big shells exploded, and we wer
crazy to advance or be killed or som
thing Inactivity becomes torture