Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1918-02-12
BRITISH AVIATOR IS
HERO OF DEFENSE AT
BATTLE OF CAMBRIA

SS.-A stirring story OF how one Brit
ish aviator, hke a guardian angel
held up fer day repeated enemy al
tacks upon a weak and crumbsing
British line at Cambria in the height
Of the desperate struggle there by
using four airplanes enc after another
as they were torn and crippled by
enemy fire. has Just come to light
II shows that some OF the most Gar
ing and dangerous airplane work of
the past year has been in the new
field Of attacking enemy infantry from
the air.
The Germans were trying TO recOv-
er a portion of the lost Hindenburg
line, pushing with a great weight OF
men and guns at 2 point where it vas
very difficult for the British to bring
up reserves. The British battalion op-
posing the attack had gone TO earth
in little isolated groups among the
shell holes. grimly determined to hang
On TO the end
The German masses had already
moved across No Mans Land into the
Z battered earthwOrks that once formed
I the British firing line Other masses
were moving up in support. and al
ready the nearest shell holes we're
I heaving and boiling over with the
restless heads and shoulders of men
about to renew the advance. The bar
rage of the British guns was heavy.
but at close quarters only infantry
can stop the progress OF infantry. and
the fire from the British shell holes
had grown weak and struggling. II
looked as if the scanty British line
would be overwhelmed by sheer
weight Of numbers.
The fire from the Germans increas-
ed until the air was alive with their
bullets. II was the concentrated fire
which always precedes the rush to
close quarters The blue-gray figures
were already beginning to appear
above the she'll holes. their loose
Tapping uniforms and hideOus gas
masks giving them the appearance
Of demons. when suddenly into the
smoke and murk of battle there dived
q British airplane-
Fifty feet from the ground it Tat
tened out and skidded along the me.
dropping its bombs among the Devil
dered Germans. Wheeling swiftly az
the flank of the attack. it came skim
ming back like swallow charging a
swarm OF flies, its machine guns en-
flading the advancing foe and driving
him hack TO his burrows.
A storm of German bullets swept f.
through the planes, and black flame
centereG burst of enemy shrapneI
smOthered the airplane in vapOr. The
watching infantry saw splinters fan
from its quivering frame and the sill
very fabric of the underwings was
torn in several places by shell splin-
ters- But the daring pilot finished his
course and vanished into the smoke
clouds, leaving the Danic-stricken en-
envy clinging to his shell holes, toe
shaken and thinnei TO press the at
tack further
Little by little, however. the Ger
man supports came up. advancing by
short rushes over the open. reinforc-
ing their comrades by twOs and
threes in spite of British fire. Scores
and scores of their dead Uttered No
Mans Land. but gradually the
strength of the attacking line was
made good. and the shell holes again
began to heave and boil. as men rose
from the lower cover and laid hold
of the rims to assist them over the
top.
Then suddenly they were over and
away. little spurts of humanity belch-
ed cut of the crater field. coales sing
into a seething blue-gray. rushing
mass. hopelessly outweighing the
handful OF British defenders. But be-
fore the mass could gain full mOmen-
tum 2 familiar snoring hum sounded
above the din of battle. and out of the
lOw-lying haze swept the covering air
plane machine, a new machine. but
S-ith the same pilot as before. His
bombs dropped among the advancing
Germans, dispensing those who Is
caped the flying fragments. and his
macAine guns swep; them out Of sight
into the shell holes
\ half hour passed. and again the
enemy attempted 70 attack. this time
hesitatingly and with diminishing
spirit Again the airplane appeared,
and the first rattle OF his guns sent
the Germans into cover again 4 Ger
man airplane dashed down TO drive
him away, but another British m2-
chine from the protecting patrol came
down on the Germans tail and sent
him cGrtwheeling behind his own lines
There were other German machines
in the offing, but the vatchful British
fighters made the enG-ly sirmen shy
Of losing their altitude and the darin-
British pilot kept his guard over the
threatened line without further inter
ference.
Many times he swept down on the
Germans that day. crumpling up every ,
attempted attack with his fire. rem ,
derins portions of their positions I'M
teEable with ais bombs: often rocking
madly in the air gusts from barrage !
salvO, Just as often performing wilder |
10 confuse the gunners and Z
riflemen who searched for him incss-
sanity. Three times his airplane was
so badly damaged that he had to nurse -.
its failing strength back to his aero 7
dome. But each time he returned on i
a new machine. enOcuraeing the Brit a
Ish infantry by his example, and scat a
.ering death and confusion amOng '
their foes. s
He was flying his fourth machine I
when darkness settled down. putting J