The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-07-07
BpLAINS FALL
Of PORTUGUESE
IN FLANDERS
BETTER Trops Could Not
Have Stood Fire, Says
Swiss Observer.
ENGLISH NOT TO BLAME
0perations Leading to Fall Of
Mount KENNEL Are
Described.
ENGLISH NOT TO BLAME

fAird OF SERVES o. oTttCtes " Con poH
Wotter,cyl. military correspondent Of
the "Thwooaser ze'ft~0," Stc1ss netos-
nooey that appears to have friendly ar
rnroernents ,ctth the Germom General
sto6. IN the jolIototn0 article Col. von
Votten,op describes the operations leod-
an up TO the capture Of Mount KornusSl
N, ne Ger,ndns und the torrtbie havoc
.eroaoht BY the German artillery osnon0
ths Portuguese troops occupying post
nens betsoecr Loventte-Ne,tve ChopeIle
ssd Asbers last April
fhs article 70 Interesting IN that u
dsscrtbes the circSsn sfaNcos IN sohtoh the
gsrmons .cere able to take 5000 prts-
oxers, and tends to dtsproVs tho stote-
~ent that the British fauwe to cover
tAe Portuguese flarks .oos rcsponstbIe.
Bpen better troops than the Portuguese,
saws the ,priter, Dould not h0ve bsen
By COL. Won wATTENwYL.
Corrsspoxdent Of the "Thuroauer Zett-
un0," SsoitserIamd.
On the southern slopes OF the hills be-
tween Bailleul and Nieuwe Kerke traces
OF the recent battle were still plainly
visible April is. To the south the Eng
lish had no fortifications to speak Of
Little holes in the ground hurriedly dus
had been the only protection for British
infantry.
In these holes dead soldiers were still
lying or sitting. In other places we
found the dead bodies Of soldiers who
had been seeking shelter behind some
hedge or wall and were killed Just be-
fore reaching 1t. Elsewhere again we
saw groups of German soldiers who had
fallen where they were struck by the
Are Of machine guns hidden behind a
hedge
In the afternoon Of April Is the whole
ridge south OF the Douve, between
Nieuwe Kerke and Bailleul, was taken
By storm This not only sealed the fate
Of the city Of Bailleul but also was the
preparatory step In the taking of Mount
KENNEL German artillery could now
be placed in position In the valleys Of
the Douve and the Lys. This bringing
up Of artillery was going on while we
were visiting that section.
Germans Hold Their Fire.
The Germans did not do much firing I;
they were afraid to attract too much at
tention. However. English aviators were
cruising above In large numbers. watch
ing every move, SO far as the April
weather with its change Of snow and
rain would permit. Machine gun fre
was directed at the fiers to chase them
away and the black spots where the big
guns shells would strike became more
and more visible.
All Of US correspondents reached the
conclusion that Mount KENNEL, forti-
ned by the English since 1914. would
fall within the next few days. We knew
i; would be taken by assault from the
In N a
in German hands. Those German bat
talions which had stormed the steepest
heights in the Venetian Alps. took Cal
most without effort) the famous hilltop
in Flanders, protected by their artillery
advancing from the east and the south
The commander Of the southernmost
group OF the army Of Sixt Won Arnim
Gen. Won Eberhardt, gained some ex-
perience during all the years he was
fighting French Aipini In the Vosges. So
he knew how to defend his positions
against the onrushing FreAch. who at
tempted TO regain the mountain. He not
only held the fort but seemed to be In a
good position 10 take also the heights to
the west.
Flames Caused By GanfiPe.
Coming closer to the front we saw
black clouds issuing from Meteren. A
gigantic fire had been kindled by gun
IRE Shells came flying thick and fast
and closer and closer. Our guide. ar
"f'icer Of the general stan, would moi
shoulder the responsibility OF letting U,
proceed any further and had the auto.
turned back.
only seven kilometers distant from Haze
DFOuCk tyf,ns IN Mt luva nd
junction. When the German advance
made such great strides April 10 w
had hoped We could visit Hazebrouck
but April 10. when we were there, II wa.
still impossible. But the town wak
within the range OF straight firing heavy
guns and even OF mortars OF medium
calibre So It did not surprise US wher
We heard from the French side Haze
orouck had been evacuated.
N1t only Hazebrouck but also it's com
munications, so important to the whole
English front in Flanders. were reached
by German shells. Isbergues, southeas
. OF Are. was also shelled by heavy gyms
lSbsrgues Is city In which the larges
Neel works OF France are situated. 81
me German advance In this sectior
means deadly blow to French war in
dustricS.
Defeat Of the Portuguese.
visiting the headquarters of Gen. vor
carlowitz We heard many interesting
"DETAILS OF the fight that led TO the pierc
ing OF the Portuguese lines.
One OF the Portuguese brigade com
manders had been taken prisoner In tn,
mousse where we stopped. We took {
"Trip to Aubers. but soon left the cal
ana footed 1t. to get closer view o
sAe Portuguese positions. The German
mad attacked, April .. between Fro
nelies and La Basse Canal on a from
Twelve h!ometers wide. with eight di
VISIONS In the first line. Here as else
"here one division had to cover abou
one and one-haif kilometers Of front dur
ing the assault.
We were told the Germans had use,
100 guns per kilometer. In addition I,
mis- they used quite number of heav,
NINE throwers- The result we could se,
.or ourselves when we inspected tn,
portuguese positions between Layentie
Neuve Chapelie and Aubers. The we
trenches. which must. have been bas
enough originally, were a terrible sight
u was hard job to md you way be
,ween tine crater holes and to keep you
balance.
Better troops than the Portuguese
would have probably lost their powe