Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-10-10
Cdmbrdi Climax
of Big Campaign
Nv PHILIP GIBBS


tontinucd from Fage One
young officers of the English. Irish ana
Scottish. W slsh, Canadian. Australian
New Zealand and American torces
who. with untiring courage nave
fought every yard of this way hoSe
stormcd the strongest lines ever 'nau,
in war. and beaten down every uSau
ly obstacle with which the enemy ""s
tried to bar their way. g.,
went toward the CltN 20" c"''! "
know whether Il was taken. ana ever,
after ! had been into It's streets an"
out again | met machine gunncrs on th'
outskirts who did not know ana were
amazed when told them ! had com.
out of the place and that II was tui'
Of our troops
The long straight road from Bapau'ne'
through Fontaine \otre Dame, NhoSt
ruins still reek of human STRIFE ana
past Bourbon Wood where tnV l",t'I'"
trees are hung with ycllowing 'o'ast
were deserted. except for rev So
diers trudging forward ANA mere 'u"
there u lorry driving daringl! ne"I W
the noise of the guns. our guns were
firing from woods and hidden places
and their shells were howling oNelhcad'
but AS / drew nearer to the city ! saw
a number of our field gun batteries on
the eastern edge Of it and they were
opening rapid fire.
walked on with u friend If mine
and We stood above some German aug
outs where some of our men Crouched
over their breakfast. and from hloll
We looked closer at tambrai than hhd
ever been in this battle, because, whcre
we stood. no man could have stood ana
lived q day ago
Behind us ON our right was La rome
wood and just a little way aheau were
the suburbs Of ST. ole ana the SchcIdl
Canal. which is the western boundary
Of the city. Before US were the houses
and spires of Cambrai under clear
sky with sunlight streaming on the
roofs Clouds OF smoke. rose-coloreu
and tawuy. wCllcd w from the center "i
the city. and from its eastern streets =
Eight breeze caught it as 1t gushed out
Of gulfs of ruin and folded 1t Ike
long pail above the tallest spires
Many Buildings Untouched
They have burned the place was
the bitter thought that came to Us ana
a Canadian officer described how. all
through the night. he had watched the
red flames licking mp from buildings
there.
At 10 o'clock some mHchne gunnerS
told me. the German artillery had begun
bomhardment of the outskirts and
there was wild work Of lights and ilarcs
above the city. but a little later. when
we heard from dispatch rider that our
troops were inside. and when we walked
into the streets we found that the fires
were only here and there. and we were
rejoiced to see that there were many
streets and large numbers of houses
l,tf1 hardly touched hN
he trace of war.
Along the straight road going TO the
entrance of the city on the western sid,
dead horses lay. killed few hours
before by shell fire. and in one place
there was pile Of dead horses whcl
| some of our men covered with brush
| wood to hide their bloody and manglcC
bodies Further along. 10y some ruined
| cottages on the waysidc. two Germans
! lay. their field gray uniforms stained
red in patches, They seemed like tn,
! last two guards of the city gates. There
! we're no living Germans to bar our way
/ in making our way across the Scheld
canal
We got into the outer streets of th'
/ city. Canadian soldiers were alread,
working as though they had been ther'
| for days instead Of an hour or two. ant
| some of them were collecting fish TO
breakfast That was an eAraordnar!
| thing. Explosives, the charges fired b.
Germans to blow up the bridge. hat
killed many fish and hundreds of then
lay dead on the surface of the cana
washed up by the locks as the breez
made "A surrent in the water.
There was something uncanny AM
sensational in walking to Cambria 70