GERMAN NIGHT ATTACK.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2344, 29 December 1914, Page 6

GERMAN NIGHT ATTACK.

STAND BY BRITISH CAVALRY MOST FRIGHTFUL FIGHT.An account of recent fighting near the Lys is given in the following letter from an- officer: — "November 3, 1914. "Just a line to tell you that we have had a most frightful fight last Saturday night and then again on Sunday morning. It happened liko this: Since Friday we held two miles of country near the Eiver Lys in front of a village called Wytshate, and during the first day we were there nothing happened much except that we sniped a few Germans at long range, but during the second night, about two in the morning, the Germans delivered a terrifio attack, which was directed almost entirely against this regiment. Perhaps, as a sight, I have never seen anything better, as the Germans advanced in the most gallant way, shouting and screaming at the top of their voices, and in numbers they seemed to come just like a lot of locusts, and in the light of the moon they seemod to bo never-ending. Our position on the whole, I think, was a goodish one, except just where my trench was placed, so B gave me another troop, so that I had 60 rifles to sweep tho ground in front of me. The reason why my position was bad was because I had a wood within 200 yards of me and a small farm behind, which the Germans might reach without being seen. I was woke up about 2 a.m. by one of the sentries an my trench, who told me he thought tho Germans were going to make au attack, so, standing to our arms, we heard shouting and screaming, which seemed to como from some 700 or 800 yards away. We stayed perfectly quiet for. about ten minutes, listening to a perfeot babel of voices, which sounded as if thousands or drunken men were coming towards us, and then within the wood in front of us we saw line after line of German infantry advancing, the main body of which swung off loft-handed in front of the Ist Life Guards' trench. We then let them come within 20 yards of us, and let drive into them aa quick as we oould shoot, and you could really see them fall in thousands. But there were too many of them; it did not seem to make much difference; and tin they came till they reached the Ist Lifo Guards' trench, where a devil of a bayonet fight started, when, pressed back by numbers, they wore eventually driven out (Ist Life Guards), but, rallied again by M W , who was already shot in the side, they made a counter-attack, and drove the Germans out again in the most gallant way. "Meanwhile the Germans got past our trench, not in it, and started shooting at us from behind, so wo had to retire left-handed through a tobacco plantation, where we wont through Wytshate and found'P who told us to hold the firing end while ho wont back to the other to tell T G that we were there, and that ho could retire through us if things got too hot for him. it was at this minute that poor P got captured, as, instead of -il — beiug * llere tllG German s were, fhe worst of it was that we never realised that P was a prisoner till ten minutes or so later, when wo realised that instead of P being at tho other end of the village, the Germans were there. It was then quito hopeless to do anything, as there wero only thirty of us all told, as the other threo troops of our lot had gone off in another direction." :

A German Decoy. "Wβ then retired through tho village, after firing, a-few shots at.- the onemy, and found outside a company of the North Stalfordshires, • whom we formed up with, and were able, during the rest of the night, to keep tho Germans in the village. About six in the morning, however, out came the Germans, and we had to retire a quarter of a mile, whore we found that half a battalion of North Staffordshires and one battalion of Leicester had just arrived. Wo then determined to attack the village again, and see if we could not get into it, so, reinforced by these we ran under a good heavy fire again towards Wytshate, whero eventually the leading company managed to get in. The most disgusting thing I nave ever seen them started, as 1 think the Germans had rather, decoyed us in lhe result was that the leading company, as well as 200 wore practically killed to a man, and half tho support 'Company, with which I was, as they had the range of the ground where we wero with a machine gun, and all the men who didl not happen to be behind good cover were killed to a man. Luckily I and about 12 Blues who were with me got behind a house, but the who gallantly lined a hedge, were practically exterminated. I never want to see anything like it again; they wero simply killed like so many sheep, and the sighte made one, even in tue excitement of the moment, quite sick. "The cheery subaltern in command of _ the half company which I was with said to me: 'What are we to do; wo cannot get on, and we obviously can't get back ?' and so I said: 'Wβ must try and l get out and ruu like fun. . So back we went, and I do not think, except perhaps the occasion of a fortnight ago down by the Lys, I have run so fast in my life. After we had run back to our old position we found the Brigadier with the rest of the brigade, and we were able, till French reinforcements came up, to hold the Germans back. ■ The next day the 12th Lancers made a counter-attack over the ground we had held, and they said l the ground in front of our position was simply covered with dead Germans. They said that in front of us alone there must have been at least 700 dead. How many of the poor brutes wont away wounded I do not know, but I should think perhaps a couple of thousand, as they came on eo thick you simply cquH not miss them Wβ were told officially next day that we had! been attacked by sixteen infantry battalions, that is about 16,000 men. This, of course, means our brigade. A great communique came round tho following day from Gough, congratulating the brigade on the way it' had foueht. I think B —- will be mentioned in dispatches, and quite rightly, too, as ho behaved splendidly."