THE BRITISH GUARDS IN ACTION

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2884, 23 September 1916, Page 9

THE BRITISH GUARDS IN ACTION

A THRILLING STORY SPLENDID CHARGE UNDER '. i- DEADLY FIRE Australian-New. Zealand Cable AEeoclatlon. (Rec.' September 22, 9.35 p.m.) London, September. 22. Mr. Philip. Gibbs tells a thrilling . story of the tight by the Guards on. September 15. "They faced most difficult ground and particularly strong forces'of the enemy. For the first time iii their ihistory the Ooldstrcams charged in line. Behind were the Grenadiers, then the Irish. They had! not gone tiro hundred yaids before they came upon enfilade fire. from massed! macliinc-gtma. Men fell, but the lice . was unbroken, and closed, ranks swept •forward. The grey-coated Germany . were terror-stricken, and jumped front •'■ their pjts and shell-craters and fled. • The Guards kept on until they reached! - two lines of trenches, with entanglerhents, machine-gun posts, and bombers. They took the trenches by ai ■ frontal assault, full in the face of-blasts from the machine-guns. The Germans defended themselves to the death. It was a battle of bombs against bayonets. "The Irish Guards now., joined the Coldstrearas and Grenadiers, and all advanced until two thousand yards from,the starting point. -It then became necessary to call "a halt. -Many - of the officers and men had fallen, the Britishers on the right had been held up, and the Guards were exposed . on their flank. ,The temptation to go further was great, as the German infantry was on the run, dragging their guns away,' but the kept their' posts to safeguard the rout, and the Guards wisely" decided to dig, in. The Germans launched counterattacks throughout .the night,-but thesa were annihilated."". - ■'■ •-'.• - -