Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1917-09-05
WHEN Gen. HAIG
TURNED THE TIDE
Goodness on Menln Road
Saved tho Day at yprss.
WORKED PASSAGE TO SEA


Frying Pan For tbs Rifle Achieved
Record For Bravery a. lmpsrishabIs
~ That Of Comrads Trained to Fight.
OF the two heroic army corps-the
famous First Seven divisions
Lord French took to the rescue in
France In that historic August Of
1914 (the intrepid array, by the way,
that the kaiser called the contempt
Bile little English army Haig CON-
manded the first, which included much
Of the cavalry, says Isaac F. Marcos
son In Everybody's Magazine.
From Mons to Ypres he was In the
thick Of battle, never depressed, never
elated, his courage and example act
ing like talisman of strength on tired
and war worn troopers who fought
valiantly against odds the like Of which
had hardly been recorded since Their
mopylae.. II was such continuous
tale Of heroism, In which the humblest
Tommy had his full share, that it is
difficult to extract single incident
Out Of ali that welter Of work and
fight let US take one story which, al
most more than any other, reveals the
grit and stamina that are Sir Douglas
Haig's. 1t was at the first battle of
Ypres, when that immortal thin line of
British khaki, bent but not broken,
stemmed the mighty German avalanche
and blocked the passage to the sea.
Outnumbered more than ten to one
In some places, 1t fought with that
desperate and logged tenacity which
has always been the Inheritance Of the
British soldier Every impromptu
trench was valhalla of English gal
lantry. Deeds that in other wars
would have stood out conspicuously
were here merged into an endless sue
cession Of deathless glory.
Lord French, the commander In
chief, had been down to the front line.
I'VE can't hold out much longer" said
a colonel 1T Is impossible"
Il only want men who can do the
impossible replied Lord French.
You must hold" And the line held.
To the right Of Ypres things were
going badly. The deluge Of German
shell was well nigh unbearable. Even
the most heroic courage could not pre-
vail against such an uneven balance OF
strength. The cry was for men. and
yet every man was engaged.
1t was on that memorable day-for-
ever unique in the history Of British
arms-that cooks, servants and order
lies went up in the firing line. and the
man who exchanged the frying pan for
the rifle achieved a record Of bravery
as imperishable as his comrade long
trained to fight. Still the lines shook
under that mighty Teutonic assault
1t seemed more than human endurance
could possibly stand
Meanwhile Sir Douglas Haig had
been ordered into the shambles with
the first corps. They manned the
bloody breach and won for all time to
como the title Of the Iron Brigade,
even as Haig himself In other and
equally strenuous days had gained the
sobriquet Of 'Ironsides." The old met
al rang true.
Now came the event which bound
the silent Fifer to his men with bands
Of steel. For twenty-four hours the
furies OF battle had ragged. The Ger
man bombardment was now hideOus
storm Of dripping death. The Prus-
sian guard rose like magic legions out
OF the ground. They had just broken
through one British line, and small
parties OF khakied troops were in re-
treat
Suddenly down the Menin road. with
Ypres silhouetted behind like a mystic
city shrouded with smoke, rode Sir
Douglas Haig-trim. well grOOmed. Sc
rene, sitting his horse erect and I'M
afraid, and with an escort Of his own
Seventeenth lancers as perfectly turn
ed out as on peace parade. Overhead
was the incessant shrek Of shells. and
all around carnage reigned. A thrill
of spontaneous admiration swept those
tired and battered troops, for the spec
tacle they beheld was as unlike war as
night is unlike day.
The effect of that calm and confident
presence acted like a cooling draught
on a parched tongue. 1t galvanized
the waning strength in the CORY
trenches; the retreat became an ad-
vance, ana the broken line was restor-
ed. Haig had turned the tide!
| have seen that Menin road down
which Haig rode with his unuttered
message Of faith. Two years had pass
ed. but 1t was still the highway of
death, for shrapnel rained all around.
1t was accessible to the civilian only II
he was willing to take his own risk.
How much more deadly was It on that
day when the blue eyed man who now
rules the British armies In France gave
that amazing evidence Of his disregard
Of danger!