"HALF A FURLONG OF GRAVES."

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 103, 24 September 1914, Page 7

"HALF A FURLONG OF GRAVES."

DINANT AND ILAELLN BATTLES. NEWS BY MAIL. London, August 9. The correspondent of the Times at Namur, describing the plan of battle at Dinant on Saturday, wnen he says the French defeated the Germans and drove them from tho place, states:— "The general scheme of the French ]lan seemed to turn the Germans out out of Dinant by a crushing force after having first allowed tihem to enter it, and secondly, to drive them liack generally towards Roehcfort, u, tovn '2li miles south of Huy. "In both objects I believe they succeeded. It was a magnificent sight to sec the French advance, looking like a huge flock of crows on a yellow field.

FIGHTING LASTED ALL DAY. "The ibaftlo occupied a whole day, but was made up of two acLions. The 'first continued from morning until i o'clock in the afternoon. Th© second occupied tho remainder of the afternoon. From early morning from when the Germans took possession, of a part of Dinant, on the 4eCt bank of the Mouse and a Tegument of French infantry advanced at the same time from the south to the, north and occupied the other side of the town, skirmishers between the two forces .proceeded throughout the! forenoon. In Ulie afternoon the lighting tool; the form of an artillery engagement. The French infantry withdrew from, the town into the woods at the s'ule of the Meuse four miles from the river.

•The artillery then took charge of the battle at the same moment that a French infantry regiment advancing along the _M<usc', on the right 'Wink from llouv, at the .south of Namur, flung itself on the 'Germans in the town, and. aided by the artillery drove tl-eni oil'. '

ARTILLERY DUEL. "Then from J! o'clock vnlil t'i the two armies were, engaged in an artillery duel across the town. It wa* always the Germans who were retiring along the hills to the south of the town and always the French who moved forward their" batteries little bv little. (If-ad-er.llv, the French drove the. Germans southward probably along the road to Hansur-T.e-fc, pursuing all tihe time with infantry and clniisonr-. "To all appearance the French artillery made better practice Gum the German. The number of killed and wounded must have been heavy.

r.OMD* DnOVPKD OX NAMfR. "Several aUf-niptri have hoi'ii made by the CcnnaJis to destroy Jfnmiir hy nicans of an attack with aeroplane bombs- within the. past few days. On Friday an aviator dropped tiiiroe bombs during a fast flight across the rountrv, "bne of those fell on a sidewalk of the bridge d'Oinalius, injuring five nir.n. The other bombs did no damage. ■ ~ :

I 1 "Saturday, <a bomb struck the roof ] 'of the railway station, injuring one ,'nnan, but doing slight damage to the !' building." l' A trip over l)he battlefield] of Diest, /Belgium, is described by the Brussels I 'correspondent of the Daily News. He I say*:— HAELEN BATTLEFIELD. '{ "I rewiom'bC'r best a brown stretch of /harrowed ground, half a furlong iu ' length, which is 'the grave of 1200 Gur- ' roans who fell in the fighting on WedI aesd&y. All over the field are other J /graves, eomte of Germans, som© of Bel''gians, and some of horsea. ,' "When I reached the place men with 'lorg spades were still engaged in the 'work of burial. The battle ground is 'about three miles long, with the vil- ' lago of Haele-n at one end. The vil- ' lago ia haireMy scarred. Its 'howes are j .pierced with bullet holes. Hardly a pane j 'of glass remains. The church spire is ' tumbled over and the town clock j ' wrenched from its place. '" GERMANS WORN OUT. ' "As I (passed across the battlefield a 'German biplane swept by like a carrion .crow, seek other victims. ' "Later in the day I visited the Tirniges prison, where 400 Germans are ■''held. I never saw mietn sleep as these 'men did. They Lay like logs', after ■seven days and nightß of almost eom- ' start duty on the field of battle. Those 'prisoners mo. nio cowards. They surrendered only when no other course was possible. They were Victims of the ■Gorman, military system which drills '■men out of all independence."