THE SACRIFICE IN THE BALKANS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 152, 22 March 1919, Page 7

THE SACRIFICE IN THE BALKANS

STOKi' OP BRITISH HEROISM-

In a dispatch- from Salonika,-General Milne, coniiiuiuder of tho British force, shows the self-sacrificing part our troops' took in tho offensive in September, when, at heavy cost, but fiiicccsslully, tlioy pinned'down and "destroyed the Bulgarian reserves near Lako Doiran, preparatory to the Allied breakthrough in tho mountains farther west. General Milne says'.-"Shortly before dawn on the Jfcth the iiiith infmtijr Briuii'do advanced-with consummate sellsacrifice and gallantry, Here the cftcmy had 'established three strong lines teeming with-concrete, machine-gun emplacements. After revere fighting tho 12th Battalion Cheshire Regiment, and the flth Battalion South Lanes Regiment, supported 1 by the Bth Battalion King's Shropshircs,. succeeded in reaching the third line.; At" this point they came under devastating .machine-gun fire and, unable to make further progress, were compelled to fall back to their original position. In their heroii. attempt they had lost about fia per cent, of their strength, including Lieutenant-Colonel. Hon.-AV-R'. Clegi; Hill, D.5.0., and Lieu-tenant-Colonel'Mi. fc\ Bishop, M.C., who fell at the head of their battalions. In the centre. ■ Hellenic and Welsh troops assaulted, tho'.network of hills and trenches' .between P Ridge and Grand Cou- • roiln<>, and penetrated lo a depth of about onoj'nile. Severe loss was inflicted on the enemy, who offorcd a desperate resistance! In spite of this the. lower slopes of Grand Couronnc were, readied. But the lack of success on the 1' Ridge (whi.cli the GGtli Brigade had assaulted)' made it impossible to retain the ground so hardly' wou, and tho battalions gradually fell back to their former lines, the last io leave being, the survivors of the 7lh Battalion, South Wales Bordcrers--1!) un'woundcd men and one wounded oflicer. ~ . ' "At 5 a.m. on tho Ifllli the 115 th Infantry Brigade, which h-ul moved up rapidly during the night from an influenza observation camp, twice gallantly tried alone to capture 1' llidge, but were driven back by overwhelming fire from tho enemy At midday on tho 19th I decided to hold and consolidate the ground won. . This included Petit Couronnc. Teton llill, and Doiran Town. P R-idste and Grand Couromio had not been taken, but the enemy was severely shaken. What was more important, the whole of .his reserves, which might have been employed (iHactively elsewhere, had boon pinned down to this front, and had suffered so severely that they were now ineffective." In a later passage tho dispatch says:— "Malaria and influenza had takon a very heavy toll both in strength and in numbers; but rather than miss the opportunity for which they had wailed three years, nftieers and men • remained in llie ranks till often tliey dropped from sheer exhaustion.

"I cannot close this report without expressing my higli appreciation of the splendid spirit and devotion to the service of their country shown by nil ranks of this army, the ••nii|>.n , i:y of whom vill return to' their homes with constitutions shuttered' by a prolonged stay ill this malarious and inhospitable country."

The British Government are aiming at an output of 1000 new cottages a day, a maximum of-30.0,000.in a.year.