American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1917-10-23

AAAt ~ VR1A Will NAtuD nI 1n~
cts. and the khaki-clad swarm came
forward. This stimulated the hesitat-
ing Germans into action. They fired
one volley. sDrang to their feet. and
then went to the right-about. one
line sought 20 cover the retreat. and
with hxed bayonets faced the adyanc-
ing British.
A low murmur OF satisfaction ran
along The British front. Then they
broke into cheers as they closed with
the Germans and bayonet met bay
onet with thrust and parry, a swayjng
mass OF struggling men In khaki and
gray at death grips. IL separated in
TO two lines and then broke clear.
Back went the Germans and in pursuit
the British.
II WAS estimated that the Germans
had concentrated about 400 900 men
between TDres and Arras for a final
effort on the channel ports. They had
enough artillery TO blast away a noun
tain. When the guns on both sides
we're in full activity the detonations.
even from a point sixt miles away. be-
came almost deafening. Ypres. like
every other town IN hat district. was
reduced 20 "a heap of ruins. No army
had had such a test in this district as
the British. Some regiments were
twelve days I'm the trenches without
rest.
During their second drive for Calais
the Germans delivered the most fur
ious Onslaughts of the whole campaign.
Hampered ia their movement against
Newport they urn their forces
against Ypres. upon which, at the ex-
press order or the kaiser, they con
centrated all their efforts. During
these operations half a million men
threw themselves against the wall
formed by the forces of the allies. Here
Is an ccou OF German onslaught as
reDOrfed nj the time.
BY November 9 Ypres was again in
flames and the greater part of the old
Flemish town in uin No one was
killed as the town was completely de-
serted. An officer who was there in
the afternoon said that the only living
things hat he saw were a dog and an
old, crippled Flemish woman who was
trying to quench the flames with
buckets OF water.
After the recapture of Dixmude the
lighting at Ypres continued day and
night and
The condition OF the soldiers had
become something almost beyond be
lief. Because of heavy rains they had
been iving an amphibious life in the
trenches. Many were dghtinp in bare
feet. as their shoes had been reduced
almost to a pulp notwithstanding
the bad conditions, the Germans con-
tinued to hurl themselves at the allied
line, seeking a gap.
Late in November another effort was
made to break through TO Calais. Half
a million troops were 70 be engaged
In il in obedience TO the kaiser's new
decree that Calais must be taken by
December 10.
A conflict on The scale of the battles
OF the Marine. or of the User. or of the
first battle OF Flanders, now began.
The mightiest guns in military history
were brought into action, carrying
death and destruction from fifteen to
eighteen miles from their emplace-
ments. Under cover OF these Infantry
attacks were developed. The German
objective was still Ypres, to capture
which they had already sacrificed
thousands Of lives. Frost had har-
dened the ground so hat both armies
lost no time in snatching new vantage
points for their heaviest artillery.
After three weeks OF observation on
this battle front it appeared to William
=. Simms that Germany was slowly
bleeding TO death" He was con-
vinced that the allies. satisfied with the
situation. were content to let Germany
wear herself out.
Herbert Corey described some of the
scenes in a letter to the New York
Globe:
Imagine a perfectly level field, five
miles long, a mile wide. Picture TO
yourself that the ends bend together
! ike "a strung DOW. NdFUet tn1t neAQ
with dead men. Try to comprehend
that those men have been three weeks
dead. Draw round hat field deep
trenches. from which savag riflemen
face each other across the CHASTITY
chanel patch. That is war. My APP Il
ogy for printing this story from an
eye witness is hat we. you. and 1,
have not as yet v~isualized this horror
that Is going on almost within rel n
OF our finger tips. We do not realize
the sickening %iniquity of 1t all. II has
been to us merely a game of giant
chess outlined in official dispatches.
We have not quite c"omprehended that
these generals Of the battle line are
not moving block of i~nsensate units
here and there. they are dealing with
flesh and blood and agony.
The trenches dug by the French and
English run irregularly across the
field. Twice these trenches have been
taken by the Germans. Twice they
were driven out. In their turn the
French and British had TO abandon
them.
III We rctake those trenches" a
German officer said. 1--WE need only 10
turn the earth back upon them to make
a grave. They are absolutely full OF
dead men. I mean that literally. 1
have seen them. I do not believe that
anywhere in this world there has been
slaughter to approach hat seen upon
his ncld. Men have died an his war
as they have never died in amy war