Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1918-02-13
CLUB HIS WEAPON
HE GETS REVENGE
British Captain Kills Five Ger
mans as Toll for Manning
His Baby.
Then TAKES MACHINE GUN
Wounded In Fighting. the Captain
Holds His Command Until Relief
comes--Another Hero During
Offensive at Masnierea

Win the British Armies In Franco
| The full story of the heroism of Brit
| ish captain, who was so moved with
hatred of the Germans for Gripping
his child with a bomb that he attacked
and killed five of them with a club
and withstood German onslaught by
his inspiring leadership, has just been
received. The tale has made the cap
tain's name byword of bravery in the
British camp. Here are the facts:
When the Germans delivered their
tremendous assault against Masnieres
and Marcoing during their offensive
on November 80, those two towns and
the territory about them were being
held by a division of English troops.
On the stan of the commanding gen.
eral there was a captain who may be
designated as Captain Black.
Black was a man of long service.
He had been tovial companion until
recently. when during German air
raid over England his baby girl was
crippled for life by bomb. Black
had become bitter against the Ger
mans and had sworn that he would
exact full penalty for the airman's
deed.
Gets His Revenge.
The captain little knew when he
turned In for the night of November
% how soon he would get his revenge
Next morning the Germans attacked
Masnieres. and the brigade to the
right of the troops holding the town
was forced TO fall back. The brigade
In the town, however. stood firm and
fought the enemy of. Meanwhile.
waves of Germans had swept by to
the south of the town and were swarm
ing westward.
Captain Black came out of his head
quarters, south of MareoIng. to find
FIVE Germans already in possession Of
a great dump nearby. Black had In
his hand a heavy waking stick which
was his only weapon. Without a mo-
ment's hesitation he Charged the dump
alone and beat about him so fercely
that he Drained all FIVE opponents be-
fore they recovered from the surprise.
He had made good his vow. but ais
work was not finished.
Other Germans appeared west OF Les
Rues Yertes. a southern suburb OF Mas
nieres. Black collected air the signal
ers, cooks. orderlies and other serv-
ants available, and with two companies
of regulars delivered an attack toward
Rues Vertes. The Germans fell back
and fierce hand-to-hand fighting fol-
lowed Black led his little army from
house to house. and as often as the
Germans made a stand he drove them
out, until finally the whole suburb had
been cleared, with the exception of
one machine gun whose crew of eight
men kept pumping bullets into the
British ranks.
Black charged this machine gun with
one orderly. Four other orderlies had
been shot down beside him previously.
and this one also was caught as the
machine gun was reached. Black then
attacked the Germans with a revolver
In each hand and shot down the last
man of eight. This cleared Rues
Vertes of the enemy and outposts were
established about the place Black
had been wounded during the fighting.
but he held on TO his command until
relief came next day.
Colonel Is q Hero.
This story is not the only one TO be
related of that bitter day about Mas
Hieres. A regiment which had the
stiffest part of the fighting in the town
was made up of troops known as Idle
hards," and they fought all day with
rifles and bayonets at close quarters
and never gave step. During the
fighting the colonel had been wound
ed In one eye. and so serious was his
injury that his other eye became use
less. His troops continued to be so
hard pressed that 1t seemed probable
they would give way.
The colonel knew they needed all the
encouragement possible. He called for
an orderly. and. led by his servant, he
started making d round of the front
line to speak words of encouragement
to his troops For hours this blind
man, with bandaged eyes, kept up his
tramp among his men with his hand In
that of his orderly guide. This heroic
example was the final word for the
Tommies. They loved their colonel,
| and they stood and died for him and
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