Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-11-24
BRITISH BEAT OFF
COUNTERATTACKS
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found freedom and many -of them
today still wept with Joy when the
subject of their deliverance was
brought up.
only $50 Germans were holding the
town and all except few left in the
cellars withdrew five minutes before
tho British entered. With the civilians
who greeted the British were two Ger
man soldiers, one from Alsace ana
the other from Lorraine, who mad de-
serted and We're waiting to give them
selves up to the British, with whom
they sympathzed.
During the three years of their
captivity the civilians were fed by
the American relief committee. All
other food was requisitioned by the
Germans, who placed heavy penalties
or those who Cancelled any.
Women Compelled To Work.
The Germans stripped all the houses
of the town Of their furniture as soon
as they entered. Among the houses
thus pillaged were five magnificent
chateaus All men of military age
We're arrested and sent to Germany.
Women were compelled to do all man
ner Of work, such as sweeping streets,
washing clothes of German officers
and waiting on officers.
The mayor declared his belief that
Germany was actually starving. lie
said there seemed to be no doubt that
the civilians in Germany were under
going great hardships.
Among the most interesting Of the
refugees was n man of military age
who had hidden In a cellar for three
years to escape the Germans and had
been fed by his wife with an extra
ration of food allowed her because
she had baby. This man is 30 years
old and in the ordinary course would
have been arrested and sent to a prison
camp as soon as the Germans entered
the town. He did not want 20 leave
his wife and baby and so hid in a Sc
cret place in the cellar. thereby max
ing himself liable to the death penalty
II detected
German officers came to live In his
house and daily he heard them tramp
ing above him. In accordance with
the custom this house and all others
were searched every little while to see
II any one was concealed, but the
Germans never discovered his hiding
place. Each day while the officers
were away his wife smuggled his little
store OF food and water to him.
When the British entered the town
the wife. after making sure that they
were indeed British. went home and
brought out her husband, who had his
first glimpse of the outside world since
August. 1914. The Germans We're to
have searched the house again the day
the British captured the town.
THIS refugee seemed to be in fair
health. Notwithstanding his confine-
ment, but his nerves Were badly shat
tered and he wept continually today as
history was being related. tle was
clinging to bag containing several
hundred francs which he had carried
with him into his cave.
Fritz Hard TO Dislodgc.
1t Is now possible to give more de-
tails OF Tuesdays battle. In the ad-
vance south OF Cambrai the first hard
fighting occurred at Lateau Wood,
which lies on the Cambria highway
south of Masnieres This wood finally
was cleared of Germans and the ad-
vance continued toward Masnieres.
Some opposition was encountered in n
suburb but by | o'clock this had been
overcome and the British had crossed
the v 'EScault canal. The small Ger
man garrison fought bitterly to retain
MasnlereS. The whole place was un-
dermined with dugouts In which the
enemy was hidden with machine guns,
but the Germans were forced TO give
up this place after sanguinary
struggle. altho some of them were still
holding out In the cellars after two
days.
| Marcoing was taken with small re-
sistance on the part of the enemy and
this gave the British a second cross
ing OF the canal. The advancing troops
| forced passage here at the same
! hour as Masnieres was entered. The
| Masnieres- Beaurois trench line north
OF Masnieres apparently had been re-
inforced by Germans from Cambral
and this front held up the advance
temporarily with rifle and machine
gun fire, but the British ultimately
forced the Germans from the trenches
i'm hand-to- hand fighting.
Wednesday the German lines stiff
! fened and hard fighting followed. Ger
| man reinforcements from Lens and
the two companies of invalids already
| mentioned were thrown into the line.
The first counterattack came over
the ridge from the northeast OF Mas
nieres. The enemy advanced in massed
formation as In the early days OF the
war. The British had concentrated "A
large number of machine guns at this
point and were hoping for counter
attack. They permitted the enemy to
advance within one thousand Yards OF
the line before they opened fire. Then
the machine guns and artillery were
| turned on the Germans and they were
smashed in whitening storm.
At ! o'clock an attack on Marcoing
was attempted by the enemy, but as In
the former case they were caught in
a heavy artillery and machine gun
fire and they turned back after suf-
fering severely.
| An hour later a body of Germans
advanced on Noilles. which was held
by one company of British troops.
Here some OF the stiffest fighting of
the battle took place at close quar-
ters. Both sides rushed up reinforce
ments and for two hours the battle
surged back and forth thru the streets