TERRITORIALS IN ACTION

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2307, 14 November 1914, Page 7

TERRITORIALS IN ACTION

LONDON SCOTTISH IN A TIGHT CORNER. OFFICIAL NARRATIVE The following message has been receievd by_ the Prime Minister:— London, November 12. Official.—An eye-witness with tlis Headquarters Staff reports; Before the chronological.. record of the course of events is resumed a .short description should be given of the part taken in the battle which took place on October 31 by the London Scottish Rifles. Reference has already been made to the action in the Commander-in-Chief's message, and the officer in command has been quoted, but no details of what happened had been given. The event forms an epopli in the' military history of the British Empire,, as it marks the first time that a complete unit of the Territorial Army has been thrown into a fight alongside, sister units of Regulars. Briefly, what happened is this: Saturday: Being ordered to take 'up a section of the firing line in support of our cavalry, and having advanced to a position under heavy fire from field funs, howitzers, and machine guns, the attalion reached a point where further movement forward was impossible. There it maintained itself until dusk, when it proceeded to entrench. From 9; at night until 2 o'clock on Sunday the Germans made numerous attacks on the Scottish line, which were all repulsed by rifle fire. At 2 o'clock they mado a great effort, and assaulted our front and left position in great force. A considerable number succeeded by a detour in getting round the flank of the regiment. A large proportion of these were engaged by the onmpa'nies in support and resorve. The others penetrated between the first and second lines of trenches, and assailed the ; firing _ line from the rear, while fighting with riflo and bavonet on both the front and immediately behind the firing line. A reserve company still farther behind made bayonet charges against the enemy who got round, and 6o prevented an entire envelopment of the battalion. Enemy on the Flanks. At dawn it was discovered that large numbers of the enemy had, according to custom, worked round the flanks with machine guns. A retirement was carried out. This was effected under a cross-fire from machine guns. Naturally, in an encounter of this nature, the battalion suffered heavy loss through being unable to maintain its position. It acquitted itself gallantly and.with coolness in a situation of peculiar difficulty. It inflicted far more damage on the enemy than it received. Sunday: The full violence of the enemy's attack fell on our left. Their main efforts were directed slightly south of Ypres, and such was the force of the onslaught and the weight of artillery supporting it that our line was temporarily driven back. It was soon readjusted, however, and by evening the situation in this quarter was the same as it had been twenty-four hours earlier. That- night shells wero thrown into Ypres. 1

Farther south the Germans, during the previous night, had retaken the village of Messines and captured Wytschaeto. By 11 o'clock our cavalry, working in co-operation with the French, drove them from the latter pjaco by a brilliant bayonet charge, but aid not occupy it. A few prisoners were taken. They wore onlv seventeen years of age, and 6aid they had had practically no training and little food. Some had never fired a rifle.

The fact that Messines was still retained in hostile hands necessitated a slight adjustment of our front and Centre. Apart from this there was no change in this quarter. Tlio bombardment continued all day during action round these villages, and the Germans moving across the front suffered greatly from the massed fire of our horse artillery at short range. Though they fell literally in heaps, , they stll came on with admirable determination. South of the Lys the trenches which had been lost the previous night were recaptured, otherwise the situation remained unchanged. • No attacks were delivofed against lis, and the enemy contented himself by bombarding tho trenches. A heavy battery was knocked out by our artillery fire.

Ono prisoner, captured on the first day 'lie entered tlie field, stated that in his opinion German}' realised phe had failed in her object, and was only fighting to obtain good terms.

During the afternoon a German aeroplane was captured quite uninjured. •

Struggle Near Ypres.

Monday.—On our Left the pressure was kept up towards. Ypres. First one line was forced .back, anfl then restored towards evening by a vigorous advance carried on in co-operation with the French, who rendered .very timely assistance. Tho maximum effort of the Germans was to the south of Ypres, as if to drive a wedge between tho town of North Armontieres and the South. The bombardment of Our positions in this quarter was especially heavy, though well replied to by tho> concentric fire of our guns.

The French counter-attacked in the direction of Wytsc'hacte, which remainfed disputed ground, fiercely blazing amidst a hail of sliell from Kith sides, la the poutfi thg {4)ianqed, R

force, but was checked. Farther towards our right a hostile attack in the neighbourhood of Armentieres met the same fate. On the extreme right several assaults were repulsed, though at one or two points tho Germans pained slightly, obtaining possession of Neuvo Chapelle. The inundation of Nieuport reached the enemy's trenches. It is stated that two heavy guns of the field artillery; were abandoned at Mun.

Tuesday.—A comparatively uneventful day enabled our troops to have much-needed rest. In front ofYpres the German infantry movement ceased, but in the fouth, in the neighbourhood of Wytschaete and Hollebeke, it made unsuccessful attempts to go- forward, effective counter-attacks being deliveredby the French and : British..,.; v ''] In this quarter-the fighting was eg-' vere. South, of the river, -minor attacks against our trenches - were-beaten off.-) It seemed as if the violence of the Gerv man efforts was abating, ! even' tiffi' canncnado being less heavy: '•

The towns mentioned in the a,b'ov<L message lie at various "points: between] Armentieres and Ypres, a distance oi/ about twelve miles. • . . -