In Belgium.

Levin Daily Chronicle, 9 October 1917, Page 4

In Belgium.

REGIMENTS OVERWHELMED. BATTLE ON THE DUNES. MEN WHO WOULD NOT SURRENDER. Heavy, broken fighting, in snatches — a few hours here and there —has made the last few days memorable on the western front, writes a correspondent in France towards the end of July. Haig's infantry has not sought it. The great new battle for the Flemish coast has already begun in the air, and many squadrons go across the lines nightly to destroy the enemy's depots. But the infantry, engineers and artillery are still busy upon preparations. Tho iniative has" come this time from the Germans. Why? It is two years since tliey have launched an attack upon British lines. It is a full year since they showed anything like a definite offensive against the French. Throughout his reign Hindenburg has been clinging to the sheer defensive idea —"hang on to give the U-boats a chance." Four days ago he suddenly broke loose. It may be that the political crisis now shaking the Fatherland demanded a victory. It may be that at a Potsdam council table tho falling von Bethiuaiin-Holhveg taunted him with a string of defeats. Or it may be that he wished to go as far as he dared to re-establish tho tradition of the offensive in the German armies and policy. In any case he struck shrewdly and fiercely He chose his spot well. He has long known, as nearly all Europe lias known, that. Haig contemplates a set battle on a long front for the Flemish coast. By tearing from us our small perch on the- north bank of the Yser River—the bloodiest river in history— the German commander hoped to lind out much about our plans, to destroy gun emplacements and perhaps mine galleries, and to take away one of our jumping-oll' grounds. Here, between the Yser and the sea we held a wedge-shax>ed tract of sand dunes. It is a winding stretch of hillocks and gullies —dunes rising to 50ft. above sea level, rank, tall grass in sparse patches varying the monotonous sandy hue. Storms toss the sand about, floods wash away the defences. It is all so barren of protection that a visitor must leave his car several miles behind the lines, for the country is so flat that every movement outside the trenches can be seen. Like much of this Belgian country, fighting upon it requires amphibians. Long-range guns from the sea come into play, inundations and canals have their part in oll'ence and defence. Were it not that Great Britain

is the Great Amphibian, and has its

predominant navy to back up its growing army, we should probably have never attempted to hold this place. Monitors with their .11-inch guns were always ready to protect its flank and cover its front.

But there came a day when storms deprived the defenders of the navy's protection. And on that day without warning a heavy bombardment from a great collection of guns —evidently 5.9incli guns brought up in unsuspectedly large quantities to await our offensive. For three hours a terrible fire rained upon our positions. They form au isolated sector of our front, as I liavo said, separated by the Yser from the next sector, and then separated by the whole 17 miles of Belgian army front from the next British troops. The breast parapets, which take the place of trenches in these areas, wore battered down. Many of our machine-gun posts were destroyed. Support lines were

wrecked. We had two battalions of infantry holding the lines —Xortliamptons and King's Royal liifles—and both battalions headquarters were shelled out. One stall' went to an old tunnel near the sea, where it re-established communications. The last seen of this staff was six gallant officers, revolvers in hand, back to hack, surrounded enemies, selling tlieir lives as dearjy as possible.

Both battalions were doomed from the moment that the German army commander decided to attack. He had the weapons, the men. and the will, and he did on a small scale to two battalions what we had Gone on a large scale to divisions at Vimy and Messiues. After intense aad methodical bombardment, accurate to a degree, supremely concentrated, he sent out his infantry in three waves behind a curtain barrage, and they cleaned up what was left. Our successful methods of southern offensives were copied to the minutest degree. There was systematic bombardment of strong points with heavy shells, a varied bombardment, to affect the nerves of defenders, a curtain lire, and a liltering through of men to encircle and then "pinch out" the defenders. Tlie difference in fighting here and at Vimy was that our men sold their lives where the Germans under similar circumstances freely surrendered. FIGHT TO THE DEATH. f Many striking deeds were accomplished during those few crowded hours. Mr Pirrie Robinson, correspondent of the ''Times," telis of one: "The breastworks in the direction of Lombaertzyde were levelled and as it was now evident that the bombardment was the prelude to an infantry attack, a sergeant of the Northamptonshire Kegiment, who volunteered for the task, was sent out to warn the regiment to the right that there was danger of their being cut off, since all the bridges over the Yscr were now destroyed and it was impossible to bring up reinforcements. Although wounded, the gallant fellow swam the river, as being the only practicable means of getting to the regiment, and delivered his warning, with the result that a bombing barrier was hurriedly thrown up and machine-guns got into position, and the attack, when it came, was prevented from spreading beyond this point. But few men that day were not heroes of similar type. Every man had been under a bombardment almost without parallel—a rain of heavy metal upon a narrow strip less than 400 yards long and perhaps 700 deep. Shells had blown men to fragments even in the dug-outs. Yet the survivors held on —there was no talk of retreat across the Yscr.

Mr Pirrie Robinson lulls of "the remains of two platoons, funning the largest body which maintained toucli, who wore surrounded :ui<l fouglit until the lust m;m fell amid a circle of dead and wounded Germans." Another correspondent writes of "a gunner wlio lay by the side of his machine-gun, hit twice by shells, so that he could not work it. One of his comrades waiitco. to drag him off to the canal bank, in the hopo of swimming back with him. To linger there a minute seemed certain death. 'Don't mind about me/ said the machine-gunner of the Northamptons, 'smash my gun and get back.' There was no time for both, so the gun was smashed, and the wounded man stayed on the wrong side of the bank." Many such stories were told by the little band which, when the Germans had conquered the place, got across the Yser by a rope which a soldier had swum across with. They are sad stories but stimulating. THE ENEMY'S TACTICS, llindenburg needed a victory, so lie says lie took .1,250 prisoners. Our General Headquarters-doubts if he took a dozen. There was certainly not I.fSOO men in the line-;. 'I'iie lli:n's boast is as wild as some of those he made about the Australian front in March and Ap-

ril. But that lie scored a substantial J gain is undeniable. He took from us a slice of coastal territory which, though | difficult to defend, was worth its pricc to us. And lie poured death upon two battalions of gallant men at a time when every trained soldier is an asset. It showed once again the Hun's sol- | dierly cleverness, and the strength of his armies. Hiiulenburg this year has more men in his forces than any German generalissimo has had at any previous time. And this episode of the dunes, glorious though it is as a record of British gallantry, reminds every man that tho German power is far from broken. It was a thrilliug feat for the defenders. They knew that every bridge on the Yser for a mile inland was destroyed —they were clean cut oft'. They had to take a bombardment so intense that its noise reached even their homes in England. Their lines were wiimowed with high explosive and sown with shrapnel. They could scarcely sec, and had nothing to light with, for their guns were choked with sand or blown to atoms. Yet they fought. "No hand went up," says Mr Beach Thomas; "no one ran." They preferred to perish where they stood, and take toll before their end.