Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-06-09

tnS great Dattle VI 1uuKSudy, uuihS
which the British forces blasted the
Germans out Of their positions on the
Wytschaete salient and captured the
positions which have dominated west
ern Flanders since the time the dead
lock on the western front started. The
description is written by staff CORE
spondent of the Associated Press who
was an eyewitness of the titanic strug-
gle in its entirety.
British Headquarters in France, via
London, June 9.-The attack began at
dawn, and its setting was as pictur-
esaue as can well be imagined The
day before had been hot and, sultry.
Toward evening there was series of
thunderstorms which extended well
into the night. the lightning mingling
with the flashes of the guns, but the
thunder being virtually unnoticed amid
the din of the cannon. A full moon
struggled continuously to break thru
the heavy clouds which scudded across
the velvety night sky.
On the way to the front We're all the
trains OF motor trucks, all varieties of
horse equipment. including old limbers
and wagons handed down from civil
war days, the British soldiers march
ing to battle light of heart and singing
songs familiar in every American COM
munity.
The steel shrapnel hats are uncom-
monty hot, so in last nights humidity
most of the soldiers were tramping
along bareheaded. loath to don this
impeachment until compelled to by prox-
unity to threatening shells.
Guns Flash At Night.
In the shadow of an old windmill
which has withstood the storms of a
century and been undaunted by nearly
three years of war the correspondent
witnessed the last phases of the seven
day preliminary bombardment and the
final outburst of the guns which sent
the British infantry confidently on
their way to new successes in fighting
the greatest military nation the world
has ever known.
, The guns were. flashing all along the
ten mile front at.midnight. just as they
had been flashing for a week past.
From the German line the same lazy
looping rocket signals were ascending
to illuminate the treacherous bit of
ground between the trenches known as
No Mans Land. This nightly "straf-
ing" had been going on so long that
the enemy considered i: entirely nor
NAL and took no alarm.
Occasionally blue and yellow rockets
would be flung into the air by Germans
holding the front line The Germans
are always so prodigal in their use OF
illuminants that the British never
bother about such details in the
trenches. leaving all this necessary but
somewhat boring work to the enemy.
LuIl Before the Storm.
The nights are short IN these north
ern European ATTITUDES. and dawn
comes at an early hour. 1t was Just
after half past O'clock that the Brit
ish guns began to cease fire. as II the
nightly demonstration Of hate" was
ended. To those who knew. however,
this sudden and strange silence had the
same meaning as similar period OF
quietude just before the battle of Arras
broke into flaming fury two months
ago. So
One by one the guns became silent.
There was the old grandmother" how
itzer of enormous caliber. which kept
breaking the peace at five minutes in
tervals, the shock of each succeeding
explosion and the shrek of the heavy
shells being emphasized by the silence
which lay all over the surrounding
country.
In this silence could also be heard an
onlinous sound which hitherto had been
completely submerged in the roar OF
the British guns. It was a spiteful
swish and spit of the German shrapnel
breaking above the British battery
petitions.
Silence 10 Oppressive.
After the British guns had been still
twenty minutes or so even this sound
ceased. the German gunners evidently
considering they had effectually 81.
fenced all the opposing batteries. Fol
about ten minutes the silence became
intensely oppressive. In the east
streaks of dawn were showing pale
thru riffs in the storm clouds which
lurked along the horizon in all direc.
tons.
High in the heavens the full moor
struggled for supremacy over the thir
veil of clouds which all but hid the
brilliant stars. Somewhere in the dis.
lance cock crowed, a strange SOUND
to be heard in the very storm center o.
the world. Then followed the clang Of
| the triangle-an alarm that enemy ga.
shells were about. The old grand.
mother howitzer was again maintain.
Ia nA ON I.1 - He~
Then the Earth Rocked.
Day was scarcely breaking when
from the dimly visible ridge. a score o
fiery volcanoes seemed suddenly Il
spring from the earth. The night hat
been filled with strange noises and
still stranger sights, but these magse,
Of flames, leaping from the ground, hat
a meaning all their own. They wer,
the spectacular outward and visibl,
evidence Of more than a million pound.
OF high explosives, which had beer
buried deep in mines below the enemy
positions for months.
All the world appeared lurid and hor.
rfble under the sinister glow. TIL,
earth shook, as II torn by a grea
seismatic disturbance. Il was not I
single shock. The force Of the explo
sion set the earth rocking to and fro
and under the influence Of the gian
gums, which Immediately began to roa,
from far. and near, the trembling con
tinued indefinitely. VI
It was ten minutes past 3 o'clocl
las this final, terrific bombardment be
gan.
Nothing Ever Like It.
- q 80 - - = -
Somme attained the ultimate In tn
L Al 1sy - Ne,