A BATTALION'S GREAT STAND

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2492, 21 June 1915, Page 5

A BATTALION'S GREAT STAND

territorials prove their WORTH (Rod. June 20, i p.m.) London, Juue 19. 'An officor of the 13th London Territorials desoribes its share of the advance _ou tho Boisgrenier-Festubert front, in the operations near llichebourg, cabled 011 May 14. He says: "What tlie official arid unofficial reports dismissed with a few liues was to us fifteen and a half hours of desporate and bloody fighting. Our battalion was on tho extreme left, and tho pivot of tho whole attack, and ours was tho only battalion that succeeded in doing the work allotted to it. The moment cur bombardment ceased we were over the parapet, charging right through, and captured three lines of trenches with the bayonet, while two of our companies, turning to right and left, bayonetjed and bombed tho lluns back and along the trenches for two hundred yards on either side. Then wo settled down to hold the ground. "Some regulars who should have advanced in the same way 011 their front 'connected with us, .but wero unable to got through. Meanwhile we held our positions against steadily increasing coun-ter-attacks. We stuck to it grimly for 'eight hours. The guns on both sides wero deafening in their bombardment, and shells were pitching everywhere. iWe met a nasty enfilade .lire of machine guns, which we were unable to locate, nnd snipers. "Then we got the promise of reinforcements, and saw them approach and fade away. As the Germans wero advancing in force on our flanks, wo .were ordered to retire, and had to fight tour way through to our trenches across ground raked with a withering crossfire. "General Rawlinsou, commanding the fourth Army, declared: 'By your splendid attack and dogged endurance, you and your fallen comrades won an imperishable glory for tho 13th Battalion. Its feat had been surpassed by no battalion in this great war.'"