Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-02
By PHILIP GIBBS

, Some OF tneT pdtrOis Hdu ohtcheu
Riencourt, while on the right Of this
line of attack some Liverpool and
other English troops had entered
Ecoust, Dongatte and v~racourt.
That was the situation on Thursday
and Friday. but under a fierce coun.
ter-attack this part of our line was
hard pressed, and not all the ground
we had made could be kept. 1t threat.
ened the enemy's main line Of defense
in the Drocourt-Queant line, Of
which this is a switch. and he sent up
a fresh division-the Fifty.eighth-to
strengthen mixed units of the Thirty
sixth and Twelfth reserve divisions,
which had been badly shattered and
demoralized.
German Cavalry In Line
For the first time also our men
came up against dismounted German
cavalry, including the Fifteenth ORA
goons and men Of the Seventh Cav
airy Division, whose presence shows
the enemy Is in desperate need Of re-
serves. They fought hard and reso.
lutely, and by desperate assaults
gained back part of B%ullecourt, Ecoust
and other ground.
Around Bullecourt there are w
strong earthworks into which the
enemy had crowded machine-gun
teams, one called the factory redoubt
and the other the station redoubt, by
a railway embankment. and 1t was
these places which gave the London
regiments and others their hardest
hours.
From the factory redoubt the enemy
swept the troops on our right with
m~achine-gune fire and the Londoners,
who failed for the time to clear it out
in spite of repeated efforts. were or
dered to draw back some hundreds Of
yards from Bullecourt to avoid the
severe fire which was being poured
upon them and to prepare for a new
assault.
Whippets Hunt Machine Guns
On Friday night the enemy, who
brought up many new batteries in this
direction, suspected this intention and
put down a very heavy barrage of fire
in depth in order to prevent our new
assaults. but yesterday morning the
london troops, with Liverpool men
on their right and other Lancashire
men on their left. gave battle again,
They had the support of a number of
tanks which advanced with them and
made direct attacks upon the German
redoubts, while our light whippets
hunted around to destroy machine
gun and sniping posts.
The Middlesex,men took the factory
redoubt. with some prisoners. and
other Londoners were successful in
storming the station redoubt on the
south without heavy loss. Here the
whippets were Of great service. work
ing close up and keeping the redoub,
under fire Of their light guns. -Four
hundred prisoners Of the German ORA
goons were captured in that hornets
nest.
Meanwhile on the right the Liver
lgoot AliCiA oSulIl opoII AoII
) gate and Ecoust and stormed some
trenches which previously had beer
taken by eastern county troops in the
earlier fighting and took prisoners
well east of Ecoust. But all this
ground was still holly contested and
the enemy renewed his counter
attacks in great strength, so there i.
, fighting in and out Of the,villages. ant
, from one hour to another there Is nj
certainty as to their possession or
either side.
: Close.range fighting by bombing
down trenches and struggling fol
E yards Of ground was resumed, but /
: seems that Sunday morning the Lon
I doners again took full possession o
|. Bullecourt and other English bat
i talions gained Hendecourt and Rien
. court.
Worst Form Of Fighting
1t was the worst form of fighting
: and our men ouch prefer the free
sweeping movements of the wide ad
vances. But here they were right VI
against the enemy's main division pc
s~itions, for which he will fight will
all his powers of resistance, knowinl
that II he Is beaten there his Hinden
burg line will be in dire jeopardy.
I So the boys of old London-Londor
. = which on Sunday evening was in it
best clothes. with the church bell
ringing and all it's pretty girls in tn
$ parks. where nc shell fire slashe
through the trees-were in the thicl
OF 1t.
Under abominable b~ombardment il
bitches which they had taken b,
: bloody fighting and with machinery
bullets flying like swarmps of wasp
on all sides of them, they had Tough
gloriously through the rough miles o
; enemy ground since the Esd o
August. when they went through
, the line OF Boyelles and Becquerelle
: and broke the Hindenburg line as bs
: fore in April Of last year.
4 Every day since they had fought tn
battle, and all the pluck and pride tina
live In London streets in peace as 4
war, God knows, have been reveale
,IN L. -