BATTLE OF THE AISNE

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2264, 25 September 1914, Page 5

BATTLE OF THE AISNE

OFFICIAL NARRATIVE FIRST FIVE DAYS OF THE STRUGGLE

The Prime Minister has received the following telegram from the High. Commissioner, dated London, September "Official;— The following descriptive account from General Headquarters, dated September 18, supplements and continues'the account published on September 18 of the movements of the British force and French armies in immediate touch with it, and covers'the period from the 14th to the 18th, inclusive :— "On September 14-the Germans were making a determined resistance along the River Aisne. The opposition was at first thought to be possibly of a rearguard nature, not entailing material delay to our progress, but has developed and proved more serious than at first anticipated. The action now being fought by the Germans along their line may have been undertaken in order to gain time for some strategic operation, and may not be their main stand. "The fighting is naturally on a scale which, as to the extent of ground covered and duration of resistance, makes it undistinguishable in its progress from what is known • as a 'pitched' battle, though the enemy certainly showed signs of considerable disorganisation during the early days of their retirement. Whether it was originally intended by them to defend the position they took up as strenuonslv as they have done, or whether the delay gained for them during the 12th and 13th by thoir artillery has enabled them to 7 develop their resistance and reinforce their line to an extent not originally contemplated, cannot yet be said. "We are fighting just across the Aisne River, along the whole of our front. To tlio east and west the struggle is not confined to the valley of that river, though it will probably bear its name. British Cross the Aisne. "On 'the 14th those of our troops which _ had on the previous day crossed the Aisne, after driving in the German rearguards on that evening, found'portions of-the enemy's forces in prepared defensive positions' on a plateau on the right bank, and could do little more than .secure a footing north of the river. This, however, they maintained in.spite of two counter-attacks delivered at dusk and 10 p.m., in which the fighting was severe. "During the 14th strong reinforcements of our troops were passed to'tho' north bank, the troops crossing by ferry, by pontoon bridges, and by the remains of the permanent bridges. Close cooperation with the French forces was maintained and the general progress made was good 1 . Although the opposition was vigorous and tlio state of the I roads, after heavy rain, made moveI ments slow,- one division alone failed ,to secure the ground expected.' "The Ist Army Corps, after repulsing repeated attacks, captured 600 prisoners and 12 guns. The 1 cavalry also took a number of prisoners. Many of tlio Germans belong to the Reserve and. Landwohr formations, which fact appears to indicate that the enemy has been compelled to. draw on the older classes of soldiers to fill the, gaps in the ranks. There was heavy- rain throughout tlio night of the 14th-15fch. During the 16th the situation of the British forces underwent no essential change, hut it becamo more _ ovident that the defensive preparations made by the enemy were moro extensive than was at first apparent. , "In order to counterbalance these, measures were made by us to economise troops. To secure protection from the hostile artillery fire, which'was very fierce, our men continued to improve their entrenchments./ , German Attacks Fall. "The Germans bombarded our lines nearly all day, using heavy puns Drought from before Maubeuge. All their counterattacks failed, although in some cases repeated six times. One made on the 4th Guards Brigade was repulsed with heavy slauchter. An attempt to advance slightly, made by part of our line, was unsuccessful as regards gain in gronnd. but led to the withdrawal of part of the enemy's infantry and artillery. A further counter-attack, made during the night, was beaten off. Rain came towards the evening and continued intermittently during the evening of the 16th. Besides adding to the discomfort' of the soldiers holding the open trenches in the firing line, the wet weather hampered the motor transport service, which was also hindered by broken bridges. "On the 16th there was little change in the situation. The efforts made by the enemy were less active than on the previous day, though their' bombardment continued throughout the morning and evening. Our artillery fire drove ! defenders off one of the salients of their position, but they returned in the evening. Forty prisoners were taken by the 3rd Division. "On the 17th the position still remained unchanged lii essentials. The German heavy artillery fire was more active than on the previous day. The only infantry attacks made by the enemy were on the extreme right- of our position, and were repulsed with heavy loss, chiefly by our field artillery. Nature of the Fighting, "In order to convey some idea of the nature of the fighting along the greater part of the front: The Germans nave been driven back from the forward slopes on the north of the river. Their infantry are holding strong lines of trenches amongst and along the edges of numerous woods which crown those slopes. These trenches aTe elaborately constructed, cleverly concealed; In many cases there are wire entanglements and lengths of -rabbit fencing, both in the woods and in the open,- carefully aligned so that they can be swept by rifle fire and machine-guns, which are invisible from cur side of the valley. The ground in front of the infantry trenches is, as a rule, under cross-fire from artillery placed on neighbouring features, and under high-angle firo from pieces placed well back behind the woods on tho top of the plateau. "The feature of this aotion is the use made by tho enemy of numerous heavy howitzers, which are able to direct long-Tauge firo all over tho valley and right across it. Upon theso they place great reliance. Where our men are holding tho forward ridges of the high ground on the north side they are now strongly entrenched. They are well fed, and, in spite of"the wet weather of the past week,' cheerful and confident. "Tlio bombardment, on both sides has been vefv hnnvv, and oil Sunday, Mon» dasv and Tuesday was. jxracywJjy con-

tinuous. In spite of the general din caused by tlio reports of an immense number of heavy guns in action along our front on Wednesday, the arrival of the French forces acting against the German right flank was at once announced on the east of our front some miles away by the continuous roar of their quick-firing artillery, with which their attack wa6 opened. Allies Slowly Cain Cround. "So far as the British are concerned, the greater part of this week has been passed ill bombardment, then gaining ground by degrees, and in beating back severe counter-attacks, with neavy slaughter. Our casualties are severe, but it is probable that those of the enemy are heavier. The rain caused a great drop in the temperature. "On. our right and left the French have been fighting fiercely, gradually gaining ground. One village already during this battle has been captured and recaptured twice by each side. At the time of writing it remains in the hands of tho Germans. Fighting has been close and in most quarters of a desperate nature. The streets of the' village are filled with tho dead of both sides. - - • .- "As an example of the spirit which is inspiring our Allies, the following translation of an 'Ordre du Jour' (Order of the Day) published on September 0, after the battle of Montmirail, by the Commander of the French sth Army, is given:— , "Soldiers I upon memorable fields —on Montmirail .and. Vauchamps, on Clianvpaubert—which a century ago witnessed victories of our ancestors over Blucher's Prussians, your vigorous offensive has triumphed over the resistance of the Germans. • Held on his flanks, his centre broken, tho'enemy is nowretreating towards the east and v north by forced marches. The most i renowned army corps of old Prussia, contingents of Westphalia, of | Hanover, of Brandenburg, have retired in haste before you.-- This first success is no more than a prelude. The_ enemy is . shaken, but . not yet decisively .beaten. . You have . still to undergo severe 'hardships, to make long marches, to fight hard battles. May the image of our country, soiled : by barbarians, always remain..,, before -your eyes. Never was it more necessary to sacrifice all for her. Saluting the heroes who have fallen in tho fighting of the last fow days, my thoughts turn towards you, victors in the next battle. Forward, soldiers I For France!" "The Germans are formidable, welltrained, long prepared, and brave. Their soldiers are carrying on the contest with' skill and valour. Nevertheless, they are fighting to win anyhow, regardless of all the rul©3 of fair play. There is evidence that they do not hesitate at anything in order to gain I victory. A largo number of the tales I of their misbehaviour are exaggeraf tions. Some of' the stringent precautions they have taken to guard themselves against the inhabitants of tho areas traversed are possibly justifiable measures in war, but it has been definitely established that they have committed atrocities on many occasions, and have bean guilty of brutal conduct. A German Soldier's Letter. "So many letters and statements of our own wounded soldiers have been published in our newspapers that the following epistle from a. German soldier of tho 74th Infantry to his wife may be interesting:— "'I have just heen living through days that defy the imagination. I should never , have thought that men could stand it. Not a second has passed but my_ life has been in dahgor, yet not a hairof my head has been hurt. It was horrible, it was ghastly, but I have been saved for you and for out happiness: Take heart again, although I am still terribly unnerved. On September 5 the enemy were reported to be taking up a position near Ejt. Prix, near Pans. The corps, which had made an astonishingly rapid advance, of course attacked. The steep slopes led up to heights- which were held in considerable force. With our weak detachments of the 74th and 91st Regiments we readied the crest, and came under a terrible artillery fire that mowed us down. However, we entered St. Prix. Hardly had we done so than we were met with shell fire and a violent fusillade from the enemy's infantry. Our colonel was badly wounded; he is the third wo have had. Fourteen men were killed round me. Wo got away on a hill without being hit. On September 7, 8, and 9 we were constantly under shell and shrapnel fire, and suffered terrible losses. I was in a house which was hit several times. Our heavy artillery was being used for the siege of Maubeuge. We wanted it badly, as the enemy had theirs in force, and kept up a furious bombardment. For four'days I was under artillery fire. It is like hell, but a thousand times worse. On the night of the 9th the order was given to retreat, as it would have been madness to attempt to hold our position with our few men. The First and Third Armies. had:not been able to attack with us," as wo had advanced too rapidly. Our. morale was absolutely broken: in'spite of unheard-of sacrifices we had achieved nothing. I cannot understand how our army; after fighting three great battles and being terribly weakened, was sent against a position which the enemy had proparoa for_ three weeks, but naturally I know nothing of the intentions of our chiefs. They say that nothing has been We retired towards Cormontreuil and Reims by forced inarches by day and night. We hear that three armies are going' to get into line, entrench, and rest, and then start afresh our victorious march on Paris. It was not a defeat, but only a strategic retreat. Our First Battalion, which has fought with unparalleled bravery, is reduced from 1200 to 194 men.' A Treaoherous Ruse. "During a counter-attack by the German 53rd- Regiment on portions of the Northampton and Queen's Regiments on tho 17th, a force of 400 of the enemy were allowed to approach right up to a trench occupied by the platoon of the former'regiment, owing to the fact that they had hold up their hands and made gestures interpreted as signs that they wished to stop. When they were actually on the parapet of the trench hold by tho Noi'tlmmplons ihoy opened fire on.our men. at point-blank range, Un-

luckily for the enemy, flanking them, and only 400 yards away, there happened to be a machine-gun manned by a detachment of the Queen's. This at once opened fire, cutting a lane through their mass, whioh fell back to their own trench with great loss. Shortly afterwards they wore driven further back, with additional loss, by a battalion of the Guards, which came up in support. Aerial Operations. "On August 28, during the battle fought along the Oise, between La Fere and Guise, the French commander desired to make an air reconnaissance.- It was found, however, that no observers were available. Wishing to help our Allies as much as possible, a-British officer attached to this particular French Army volunteered to go up with a pilot to observe. He had never been aeroplane, but he made tho ascent and produced a valuable reconnaissance report. Incidentally he had a duel in the air at an altitude of 6000 ft. with the observer of a German Taube monoplane which had approached. He fired several shots and drove off tho hostile aeroplane. His action was imich appreciated by the French.'' _ "In view of many statements made in the Press as to the U6e of Zeppelins against us, it is interesting to note that the Royal Flying Corps, who have been out on reconnaissance overy day since their arrival in France, have never seen a Zeppelin, though airships of a nonrigid type havo been seen on two occasions to stop near Mame late in the evening. Two such being observed over tho German forces, aeroplanes were dispatched against them, the darkness our pilots were uncertain of the airships' nationality, and did not attack. It was afterwards made cleaV that they could not have been French. A week later an officer reconnoitring to the flank saw an airship over the German forces opposite the French. It had no distinguishing mark, and it was assumed that it belonged to the latter, though it is now known that it must have been a German craft. Tho orders of the Royal Flying Corps are to attack Zeppelins at once, and there is some disappointment at the absence of those . British Troops Congratulated. "The following special order has been issued to the troops:— " 'Once more I have to express my deep appreciation'of the splendid behaviour of the officers and men of tho Army under my command throughout the great battle of the Aisne, which has' been in • progress since the evening of the -12th inst. The battle of the Mame, which lasted from the morning of the 6th to the evening of the 10th, had hardly ended in the precipitate flight of the enemy when we were brought face to face' with a position . of extraordinary strength, carefullyentrenched and prepared for defence by Army and Staff, which are thorough adepts in such work. .Throughout the 13th and 14th that position was most gallantly attacked by. the British,, and tho passage of tho Aisno effected. This is the third day the troops have been gallantly holding the position they have gained against most desperate counter-attacks and a hail of heaVy artillery. I am unable to find adequate words to express the admiration I feel for their magnificent ( conduct. The' French armies on our right are making good progress. 1 feel sure we have only to hold on with tenacity to the ground l , wejiave won for' a very short time finger when the Allies will bo again in full ■ ■ pursuit of the beaten enemy. Tho self-sacrificing devotion and splendid spirit of tho British Army in Franco, will carry all before it.— FRENCH. Field-Marshal.' " """