Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-30
By PHILIP GIBBS


Continued from RAGE One
abou,s or gauge ones risk OF hostile
fire.
Germans Lose Target
Immense shall claters an one patch
OF ground year ones position at the
showed that the German guns
had marked down this place, and that
their shells had furred there a little
while before going blind one listened
and there was a sense Of reinsurance
because only rarely did n hear the
whine OF hostile shells or the snarl
OF German shrapnel. All shells hut A
few were going one way. and 1t was
. tho British way. forward from the.
British guns.
There are hundreds Of guns firing
of this southern front. They had been
firing this morning when the at.
tack began for forty.eight hours with.
out cessation and then for hours the
British gunners fired gas shells over
the German lines. so that we must
have spread a death zon over a wide
territory. Thousands OF rounds Of
aas shells were flung over the German
batteries and assembly places. Then
the assault began with a few minutes
hurricane. bumbardment before the in.
fantry moved forward behind the
c%recping barrage.
A hundred tanks or 50 had gone Far
forward in the night. hiding themselves
until they crawled out al the first
glimpse OF light today. and when the
infantry made for that canal de Les
caut. or the Scheldt. as We call it. which
IL hut a few yards wide where 1t goes
above ground.
To cross II would be a military feat.
as great as anything in the history OF
the war, more difficult even than crossing
the anal du Nord. which the British
did on Friday morning. For five kilo-
meters north Of Bellicourt the canal
goes underground. but this is defended
by the H~indenburg line. immense belts
OF wire and deep. wide trenches. and a
network Of e~arthworks.
ON the extreme right OF the line
English divisions-South Midland with
the First and sixth divisions from left to
right-set out again to gain the crossings
by Bellenglinse and build brtdgese to
carry tanks and guns. The enemy knew
our attack was imminent. The BRUSH
had warned him by all their fire. To
check IL he had fred heavily back sat
urday night and sunday morning. ospe-
cially in Ascension Valley, out TINS
Smelling was powerless TO break the
British plans and the German gun
powder was feeble compared with the
terrible British bombar0ment. winch
opcncd on him with a hurricane IRE alter
those two days of steady slogging.
Through the white fog went the
British men and their tanks, ana AT 10
not much more than an hour atter the
attack began. it was reported hack 10
their HEADQUARTERS that they had secured
n crossing and were vel on tiis other sue
of tho canal. with many prisoners IN the
hands OF the South Midland men. Some
of the British say they actually swan
tho canal under cover Of the fog. ana
In ice cold water.
The main ilindcnburc line on MS
sector WAS broken trough and Rrtisr
troops ar" So muc,i past i al many
points that it Is now only OF !r"n'ca'
memory and the enemy must rely on
MYTHICAL lines to hide his fears and ms
defeat.
Prisoners Almost Maddened
saw patches of prisoners cominl
back from canal banks with vet chalk OF
their uniforms. but the chalk was NJ
whittier Than the faces Of these men. VINO
had beer under two days bombardmcn
and had Ncen almost maddened by 1t, OF
nj Ieas. stunned and dazed.
The English Tommies grouped around
;hc forward cages, all in the mist
and shouted out questions to the prison
ers as tlci. came w, and made CHEEKY
remark TO them, u II to ease them o
their fears. II was a queer scene in thu
midst of the fog and more fantastic
than many things ! have seen on days
OF battle.
North of the Ninth Corps, on the righ
of the attack, Australians and Americans
stormed the canal, where a thousand
yards were above the ground on iheil
front aud q thousand yards below. uorti
and south Of Bell'court. Their left boun
diary was iu:T below N~andeauville, wher,
Other English roops formed the NAM
and tried To bridge the canal.
Tho line n from, Of the American ant
Australian front was terrific in it's orig
iral strength. for besides the wide cana
there was II . eat bel, of wire and man!
trenches. However. the wire had beer
well cut by the English guns. and tank
were with the British to force a passage
beyond and keep down machine-gun mr.
II they could get across.
Marvellous Vsior Displayed
They went across by the marvelou!
valor Of the men, who established thei
bridge in spite OF the heavy German
barrage. This by good luck fell mostl,
behind them. and few of the British
wounded were hurt in their desperate
eagerness to keep close to their owl
barrage fire. the Americans being lest
experienced IN this than the Australians
who were mostly veterans.
notwithstanding the annihilating Bri
fish bombardmen there was "A tirec'
machine-gun fire from the enemy ant
the British had hard going at first. bu
they broke down all resistance and
- having passed to the other side of thu
canal, went ahead with the tanks aroun'
II Bony and Bellicourt. where they hal
their worst sighting, and toward th'
next organized line of German resist
ance known as the Masineres-Beaure
voir line.
Prisoners taken on this side say "
to that time this line had not beef
manned, but observers report the rapi'
movement OF German trains westward
showing that the enemy il rushing n
re-enforcements TO hold this position
where probably a great battle will b
fought. once through that line tn
Allies are out In the open country an
anything may happen then.
H aolf tRnAAa ATAR. l1NHa atn SnH