THE "CONTEMPTIBLE" ARMY.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 59, 9 November 1914, Page 3

THE "CONTEMPTIBLE" ARMY.

I WHAT THE GERMANS THINK, l I BRITISH ARE EVERYWHERE, LONDON, November 1. Further evidence of the Germans’ newly acquired respect for the British Army is provided in a conversation which a newspaper correspondent had with half a dozen wounded French soldiers. “ You cannot imagine,” said one of them, “ how the Germans hate and fear the English. They admit that they are terrified of them, and do not like even to hear their name mentioned. If they could, they would mask the British Army, anything rather than fight with it in the open. “ First of all, the English are splendid shots while the Germans cannot shoot at all. When an Englishman fires he puts a bullet into the body of his adversary, while the German fires ton s of lead into the ground and at best wounds a man in the foot or the legs “ Then, they move about quite as quickly as the Germans. All the German impetimenta are brought up by motor transport, and so they seem to be everywhere. But the English are a match for them. They have motor transport, too, and khaki uniform, which offers no target, and once they get in contact with the enemy there Is no shaking them off. “ The German miachine-guns were too good for us, but the English maxims are more than a match for them and ever so much better served. Then, though the English seem to be everywhere they are so calm and deliberate; they defend a position all day long, simply mowing down the Germans and then retire quite contentedly to -.he next line of retrenchments, as cheerfully as though they had won a great victory. “ Anyone but the English soldier is depressed at retreating, but he seems to look upon it as a mere matter of business. What was it one of them said to me when we were retreating: 1 It is all in the business of the day.’ ”