The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1916-02-19

could continue 10 Indlllldli IhlS NSo
crate rate of retirement with our for
nations still intact we could hope LOT
salvation, for we knew that REINFORCE
ments were due.
THE night of the eth the Bulgars
made a 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 8th the force of the Bulgar at
tacks had spent itself. They still
shelled our line and sent forward their
infantry to the charge, but the sting
had gone out of their efforts and we
were able with comparatively little
difficulty 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 a 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
advantage 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 di-
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
that 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 il
fought against odds of eight to one.
THE Tenth division outlived the
horrors of Sulva; it outlived the days
and nights of biting cold on the Serb
ian frontier ranges, and it finished the
miracle. to quote the official phrase
by sustaining violent attacks deliv
cred by the enemy in overwhelming
numbers The slow, Furnishing, rear
J guard action it fought allowed the
, allies to withdraw all their accumu
lated stores and munitions and to fal
back without congestion into Greel
territory again.
1.-THE Tenth division saved the situa
ton by display of courage and dog
ged heroism that cannot be too highl!
praised One of these days we shall
be told what the general said to thu
thinned units when he met them agair
at Saloniki. At the moment all tina
can be said is that they were higl
words of praise.
They have brought the wounded
Connaughts, MINISTER'S, Inniskillings
West Kents and the rest to Plymouth
and you will find them distributed owe
the various wards Of the military hos
pital. A CHEEKY, goOd-humored bod.
of men they are, disposed to max
Light of their experiences.
1T is hard to explain how the Tent
division, encompassed as it was, wol
through, and perhaps the most salts
factory thing to do is to fall back o.
the explanation of a Munster Fangel
whose only grumble is that he wa
kept twelve hours in those terribl
forty-eight hours fighting withou
food: They beat us with numbers w
couldn't hope to hold up against tn
crowd they sent against us. draf
clumsy gang of men. We gave 'eI
4 hell, but their numbers beat us. Blu
i two days wasn't much of a time
H give themselves to make US see W
were beaten, and so we got away wit
j. them still coming after us. You'd &c
2, to be there to see what happened
y sounds very much like an anti-clima,
3 but it is really what happened. Tn
e Tenth division escaped because
e hadn't time to know that by all tn
n rules it was beaten"