The first day I went quietly into the fight with an indifference which astonished me. Today, for the first time, in advancing, when my comrades on the right and left were falling, I felt rather nervous. But I lost that feeling again soon. One becomes horribly indifferent.
I picked up a piece of bread by chance. Thank G.o.d! At least I have something to eat.
There are about 70,000 English who must be attacked from all four sides and destroyed. However, they defend themselves obstinately.
XII.
*Attacked by 750,000 Germans.*
[Official Summary, Dated Dec. 3.]
Col. E.D. Swinton of the Intelligence Department of the General Staff of the British Expeditionary Force in France and Belgium, in a narrative dated Nov. 26, gives a general review of the development of the situation of the force for six weeks preceding that date.
There has recently been a lull in the active operations, he says. No progress has been made by either side, and yet there has come about an important modification comprising a readjustment in the scope of the part played by the British Army as a whole. He explains the movement from the River Aisne to the Belgian frontier to prolong the left flank of the French Army, and says that in attempting this the British force was compelled to a.s.sume responsibility for a very extended section of the front. He points out, as did Field Marshal Sir John French, Commander in Chief of the British forces, that the British held only one-twelfth of the line, so that the greater share of the common task of opposing the enemy fell and still falls to the French, while the Belgians played an almost vital part.
With the fall of Antwerp the Germans made every effort to push forward a besieging force toward the west and hastened to bring up a new army corps which had been hastily raised and trained, their object being to drive the Allies out of Belgium and break through to Dunkirk and Calais.
Altogether they had a quarter of a million of fresh men. Eventually the Germans had north of La Ba.s.see about fourteen corps and eight cavalry divisions, that is, "a force of three-quarters of a million of men with which to attempt to drive the Allies into the sea. In addition, there was immensely powerful armament and heavy siege artillery, which also had been brought up from around Antwerp."
The official eye-witness tells of the blows delivered by the Germans at Nieuport, Dixmude, and Ypres, where "at first the Allies were greatly outnumbered." For a whole month the British army around Ypres succeeded in holding its ground against repeated onslaughts made by vastly superior forces. The writer goes into details of the German attacks and describes how they were frustrated by the Allies.
The British force, says Col. Swinton, which consisted all along of the same units, had "to withstand an almost continuous bombardment and to meet one desperate a.s.sault after another, each carried out by fresh units from the large numbers which the Germans were devoting to the operation." Finally the French came to their a.s.sistance, and "never was help more welcome; for by then our small local reserves had again and again been thrown into the fight in the execution of counter-attacks, and our men were exhausted by the incessant fighting."
The British front now has been considerably shortened and in addition has been reinforced, while a lull in the activity has enabled the British to readjust their forces, strengthen their positions, and bring up reserves. There has, therefore, "been a great general improvement in the conditions under which we are carrying on the fight". Of the fighting which preceded this reorganization the writer says it is due solely to the resource, initiative, and endurance of the regimental officers and men that success has lain with the British. He continues:
"As the struggle swayed backward and forward through wood and hamlet, the fighting a.s.sumed a most confused and desperate character. The units became inextricably mixed, and in many cases, in order to strengthen some threatened point or to fill a gap in the line, the officers had to collect and throw into the fight what men they could, regardless of the units to which they belonged. Our casualties have been severe; but we have been fighting a battle, and a battle implies casualties, and, heavy as they have been, it must be remembered that they have not been suffered in vain.
"The duty of the French, Belgians, and British in the western theatre of operations has been to act as a containing force; in other words, to hold on to and to keep occupied as many of the enemy as possible while the Russians were attacking in the east. In this we have succeeded in playing our part, and by our resistance have contributed materially toward the success of the campaign. Moreover, our losses have not impaired our fighting efficiency. The troops have required only a slight respite in order to be able to continue the action with as much determination as ever. They are physically fit and well fed and have suffered merely from the fatigue which is inseparable from a protracted struggle such as they have been through. The severest handling by the enemy has never had more than a temporary effect on their spirits, which they have soon recovered, owing to the years of discipline and training to which the officers and men have been accustomed.
"The value of such preparation is as noticeable on the side of the enemy as on our own. The phenomenal losses suffered by the Germans" new formations have been remarked, and they were in part due to their lack of training. Moreover, though at the first onset these formations advanced to the attack as gravely as their active corps, they have not by any means, shown the same recuperative powers. The Twenty-seventh Corps, for instance, which is a new formation composed princ.i.p.ally of men with from only seven to twelve weeks" training, has not yet recovered from its first encounter with the British infantry around Becelaere, to the northeast of Ypres, a month ago. On the other hand, the Guards Corps, in spite of having suffered severely in Belgium, of having been thrown headlong across the Oise River at Guise and of having lost large numbers on the plains of Compiegne and on the banks of the Aisne River, advanced against Ypres on the 11th of November as bravely as they did on the 20th of August."
The Allies, continues Col. Swinton, have made great sacrifices to defend against tremendous odds a line that could only be maintained by making these sacrifices; but the fact that the situation has been relieved is no reason for a.s.suming that the enemy has abandoned his intention of pressing through to the sea. The writer points out that the Germans continue to attack with great courage, but little abated by failure, and, while they have not succeeded in gaining the Straits of Dover, they have been enabled to consolidate their position on the western front and retain all but a small portion of Belgium.
"As well as they have fought, however," continues the narrative, "it is doubtful if their achievements are commensurate with their losses, which recently have been largely due to a lack of training and a comparative lack of discipline of the improvised units they put in the field."
Col. Swinton concludes with the statement that, as the war is going to be one of exhaustion, after the regular armies of the belligerents have done their work it will be upon the raw material of the countries concerned that final success will depend.
XIII.
*The Lull in November.*
[Dated Nov. 29.]
General inactivity is recorded along the English front, with the Germans pressing the attack in one quarter against the Indian troops, who have been extending their trenches in an endeavor to get in close quarters with the enemy. There has been some sh.e.l.ling of the rear of our front line south of the Lys, but this form of annoyance diminishes daily along the whole front. Sniping, however, is carried on almost incessantly.
There seems to be little doubt that the Germans are employing civilians, either willingly or unwillingly, to dig trenches; some civilians have been seen and shot while engaged in this work.
While it is necessary to accept the evidence of all prisoners with caution, there is a change in the views expressed by some officers captured recently which appears to be genuine. They admit the failure of the German strategy and profess to take a gloomy view of the future. At the same time it must be confessed that as yet there is no sign that their view is that generally held by the enemy, nor has there been any definite indication of a lack of morale among the German troops.
The highways of Northern France are crowded with men responding to the various mobilization orders issued by the French Government.
Thousands of such troops were encountered in the course of a short automobile trip. The strange procession includes a curious mixture of types. A considerable proportion of these new drafts are composed of middle-aged men of good physique and likely young men from the countryside.
The change within the last few days of what may be termed the atmosphere of the battlefield has been marked. The noise of the cannonading has now decreased to such an extent that for hours at a time nothing is heard but the infrequent boom of one of the heavy guns of the Allies, the occasional rattle of machine guns, and the intermittent fire of snipers on either side. So far as the use of explosives is concerned, the greatest activity is found in local attacks with hand grenades and short-range howitzers. The enemy has practically ceased his efforts to break through the line by a.s.saults, and he is now devoting his energies to the same type of siege operations which have been familiar to the Allies since the beginning of the battle of the Aisne.
Subterranean life is the general rule in the neighborhood of the firing line. Even those men not actually engaged in fighting live in underground quarters. Some of these quarters, called "funk-holes" are quite elaborate and comfortable and contain many conveniences not found in the trenches on the firing line. They communicate with the firing line by zigzag approach trenches which make enfilading impossible.
Attacks are made on the firing line trenches by blind saps, which are constructed by a special earth borer. When this secret tunnel reaches the enemy"s trench, an a.s.sault is delivered amid a shower of hand grenades. The stormers endeavor to burst their way through the opening and then try to work along the trench. Machine guns are quickly brought up to repel a counter attack. Most of this fighting takes place at such close range that the guns on either side cannot be fired at the enemy"s infantry without great risk of hitting their own men. Bombs have come to take the place of artillery, and they are being used in enormous quant.i.ties.
The short-range howitzers are of three types, and those used by the Germans have come to be termed the "Jack Johnson" of close attack. The smaller bombs and grenades thrown by hand, although local in action, are very unpleasant, particularly between the inclosed s.p.a.ce of a trench.
These grenades are thrown continuously by both sides, and every trench a.s.sault is first preceded and then accompanied by showers of these murderous missiles. This kind of fighting is very deadly, and owing to the difficulty of observation it is at times somewhat blind. This difficulty has in a measure been decreased, however, by the use of the hyperscope, an instrument which works very much like the periscope on a submarine. It permits an observer to look out over the top of a parapet without raising his head above the protection of the trench.
*THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY.*
By EDWARD NEVILLE VOSE.
THE old year dies "mid gloom and woe-- The saddest year since Christ was born-- And those who battle in the snow All anxious-eyed look for the morn-- The morn when wars shall be no more, The morn when Might shall cease to reign, When hushed shall be the cannons" roar And Peace shall rule the earth again.
As we from far survey the fray And strive to succor those who fall, Let each give thanks that not today To us the clarion bugles call-- That not today to us "tis said: "Bow down the knee, or pay the cost Till all ye loved are maimed or dead, Till all ye had is wrecked and lost."
Should that grim summons to us come G.o.d grant we"d all play heroes" parts, And bravely fight for land and home While red blood flows in loyal hearts.
But now a duty n.o.bler far Has come to us in this great day-- We are the nations" guiding star, They look to us to lead the way.
They look to us to lead the way To liberty for all the world, The dawning of that better day When war"s torn banners shall be furled-- The day when men of every race Their right divine shall clearly see To rule themselves by their own grace, Forever and forever free.
*"Human Doc.u.ments" of Battle*
*By Men Who Saw or Took Part./*
_Written in the hurry and confusion of battle, and without the opportunity at hand to check up the impressions given, it is of course likely that these dispatches from special correspondents may contain many things which history will correct. But as human doc.u.ments they have no equal, and history will not be able, however she may correct matters of detail and partisan feeling, to offer anything which will give a more vivid impression of the glare and roar of battle than do these letters, penned by men actually in or near the firing line at the moment of great events. As such_ THE TIMES _offers them, not as frozen history, but as history in the making, and has no apologies to make for an error of fact here and there, for those very errors are in a way testimony that adds value to the story--the story of honest and hard-driven human beings writing what was pa.s.sing before their eyes._
*The German Entry Into Brussels*