Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-09-24
WATCHING BOCHES
COMMIT SUICIDE
Prussians Ordered to March on
Guns Against Terrible
Odds
By HENRI BAZIN

star Correspondent Of the Eucning Ledger trith
the American Army in France
| AMERICAN HEADQUARTE IN
FRANCE Aug. II
T HAVE come over from the French front
L where intended stopping a little before
returning to the American entraining camp
direct to the Canadian front. I say Cana
dlan although It is, so far as know, a nom
existing front, since Canadians are Britons
But they surely are real bunch, these
"bluenoses," and, all by my lonesome,
tag them with front Of their own.
Shortly after dawn this morning I saw
those half-Americans finish up a battle
begun in September, 1915, the battle Of Loos,
then only half won and now entirely so.
have looked upon nothing moro spectac-
ular in all this wars work These soldiers
from across the Atlantic stormed and took
the whole Of Hill 20, famous in earlier days
for one OF the toughest struggles ever fought
by men. Then, as now, the enemy were,
in the main, Prussan Guards. Only now
they were the verest cream of all that is
left OF the German army.
A 2O0O-Yard Advance
It was not any tea party The Canadian
attack covered front of two and n half
miles, extending north from Victor Hugo
wood, where the Lens salient begins to out
line itself, and reaching full way on the
south to Lens itself, embracing the whole of
two villages Cite st. Emile and Cite Saint
Laurant Something in the last name for
a Canadian, through whose land runs the
St. Lawrence to the sea.
The depth OF the advance before me was
perhaps 1000 yards, and the go and come,
tho give and take, to be compared to naught
else than : cracking whip in its sinuous
lines and curves OF fighting men.
Most OF the Boche neither fought nor
surrendered on their part of the field when
they broke before the bayonet onslaught of
the Canadians. and as / looked from a
height and witnessed through my glass the
guard breaking saw some of them fall
in a barrage hre-they ran into the very
thick of it. One becomes accustomed to
seeing men die, and one takes It as part
Of the game. thought this as looked and
shuddered bit at my nonchalance. Out
there mothers sons were giving their life
blood My mind went back to the mental
impression It would have made upon me two
years ago, and It frightened me. had
not hardened. had only seen so very often
how millions Of men consider honor greater
than love of life and made no hesltancy of
choice between
The Old, Stupid Boche Way
I saw one thing I had seen before on the
French and again on the English front and
which I expect to see still again. The
Prussian Guard double counter-attack after
repulse, counter-attack I'm the old stupid,
arrogant Boehs way. Their efforts were
magnificent, but surely not war as war is
fought in these days. They marched out as
on parade, in column OF fours, to find the
north Of their own line so exposed to a
hell OF British Are that they could not deploy
and were forced to walk on 10 their death
or die in their tracks They chose the for
mer. or their goading officers chose for
them. the ancient Prussian thing pure ana
simple.
Under direct nre they kept on, decreasing
IN numbers yet keeping stilI on Il was
truly magnificent but horribly suicidal
meyer saw an ndvance pFdeg paoh terrific
"A A Who'll, body u .sfelal thousand
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