New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1917-08-01
BATTLE IN SWAMPS
ARTILLERY CLASSIC
Task Of British and French Great
est Since War Began
NATURE DEFENDS GERMANS

Allied Troops Force Way Over Net
work of Canals-Haig Massing Men
and Munitions for Weeks Preparing
for Drive.
British Front in France and Bel
GUM, Aug. 1 (By the Associated
Press)-Welsh troops yesterday add
ed new star to their crown for it fell
to one of their regiments to admins
ter crushing defeat In General
Ha1g's great offensive on the Third
Battalion of Infantry Guards, which
was Emperor Williams crack body of
troops. The terrain in this new bat
tie soon presented tremendous diff
Guilty for attacking armies. Between
Dlxmude and the point where the
YpresComines canal crosses the lines
on the lower part Of the Ypres salient,
two great forces had been imbedded
for three years and this portion of the
line has come to be looked upon as
impregnable for either side.
The present battle between Dix
nude and Lizerne was mo mans
land" within whose borders lay
marshes and morasses which in win
ter are impossible. This formidable
natural barrier was rendered. still
stronger by the inundation of large
areas by the release of waters from
the canals. The Germans and Allies
alike seeking bits of dry land for a
footing swung so far apart in some
places that the distance between the
lines was nearly three miles.
Below this section opposing lines
followed either bank of the User can
al and then went on to the Ypres sal
lent, face to face. but with the Ger
mans holding the dominating high
land about the salient. The Dixmude-
Lfzerne section of the front is a will
derness of partly inundated and de-
serted farms dotted with pools of
pracklsh water and cut into strange
shapes by drainage bitches. There are
but few remaining civilian habitations
In this no mans land" Crnnh1ine
cottage walls and an occasional roof
les church rose above the flats.
Germans in Control of Saucer Edge.
Neither side feared surprise at
tack or a trench raid. Since Duke
Albrecht's Wurtt emburg troops was
swallowed up in the flood let loose
by opening up the sluice gates in Oc-
tober, 1914, the enemy had not tried
to cross the marshes nor had thev
tried to get over the Ypres since the
Belgians, in the spring of 1915, after
sanguinary fighting, flung them back
across the bridgehead at Lizerne.
The Ypres salient itself furnished as
nasty problem as could be presented
to an attacking army. The country
mere IS saucer-shaped and the Ger
mans had held the lip of this saucer.
All the lower lying land within this
dish had thus been dominated by the
enemy who could pour a stream of
shell and machine gun fire into the
troops and supply columns advancing
across the salient
The situation was rendered still
more difficult by the presence within
the saucer of d large number of wa
terways that must be crossed by
means of bridges which might at any
moment be destroyed by gun fire.
This difficulty, however, was over
come by brilliant feat of the British
engineers who threw II bridges across
the waterways for the advancing
troops, in the face of terrific gun fire.
Similar and equally remarkable work
was done by the French engineers
who We're forced to bridge the User
for their attack.
The Germans little feared apparent
ly that the battle would turn in the
direction of their right wing It was
early i'll June that rumors of the i'm
pending attack began to find their
way to German ears and were voiced
IN Berlin. Gradually the runors as
sumed certainty and the Germans be-
gan feverishly to strengthen their
lines, pouring large numbers of fresh
forces into Flanders and bringing up
all available guns. The surrounding
country was evacuated of civilians and
stripped for the conflict
Soldiers, Shells and Tanks.
The Germans knew they faced an
offensive. They were unable with all
their cunning to gather more than
fragmentary idea of the story of this
preparations which is in itself mar
velous ore. Day after day the build
ing up of new armies continued un-
der cover of a unique concealment in
plans.
Large numbers of great guns made
their way to selected positions and
We're mounted on concrete founda-
tions LAID long before. Millions of
shells which are today turning the
German front into an inferno Of death
and destruction were brought up and
stored while the enemy watched with
unSeeing eyes. Long lines of dreaded
tanks took the road and the living
monsters crawled clumsily but per-
sistently nOrthward to take their
place in the Allied battle formation.
Clearing stations were esta blished at
vantage points and everything posi-
Bile was done to care for the stream
of wounded which was sure to result.
All this and much more went on for
weeks before the offensive was
launched. The Germans were like a