Mons Fight

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 112, 5 October 1914, Page 8

Mons Fight

MOXS FIGHT.

BLOODY CLASH DESCRIBED.

HEROIC WORK OF BRITISH CAVALRY.

FREDERICK VILI.IERS TELLS Till'

STORY

London, August 31

The following report of fighting on the Belgian frontier has been received from Frederick Villiers. the famous war correspondent and artist, who is at the front representing the Illustrated London News:—

"A long train moves slowly into the station. It is marked with great crosses 5 in red paint on a white base. at. the doors of every compartment, and these compartments are roomy wagons. The floors are covered with eh an straw, laid thickly. They are troweled with men in khaki, men with smiling faces, but every one of them wearing bandages or a sling somewhere on his body. In a wagon which had been drawn up just opposite inc. behind the men who stand, are others who lie (juiet under thick coverings, some moving uneasily and others verv still.

These are. the wounded from (he. hattkifield at Mons, a name which will purely Tank 'high among (be place names of British historic Tire kittle was begun on Saturday, August 22. The first German attack was delivered with great suddenness and terrific- force.

RAIX OF BULLETS AN'D SHELLS.

"We were in the trenches! waiting for them," one of the soldiers .said to" me, "l>ut we did not expect an, thin- like the smashing Wow that struck iw7ill at ouee. The skv began to rain down bullets and shells. •'At first the shells, went very wide, for their lire was bad, but after a time —I think a long time —•! hev got our range. Then they fairly mopped us up. 1 saw shells bursting to'tli,- riHit and to the left of me, and saw many' good comrades go. "But we stuek. |Wc \rerc able to stick because their infantry sboolin" was so poor. It was simuhi laiiidiuble. Tn fact, they could not bit us. though their bullets were singing away over our head* as thick as flies. ''Our officers were grand. Every man was proud of them. All the time t-hev [kept telling us, "Keep your heads -and shoot straight. Take careful aid and watch where you shoot.' We did. RANK ON RANK OF (iERMANR "The Germans) came up in thousands. 1 saw ranks and ranks of lliem coming ;Jong. \W swept away one rank, and there was, another. Wo swept that away, and a third was waiting behind it. On they came over the bodies of their friends, stolidly, like wooden soldiers, and as regular as a clods, but we tore into them with our rides terribly.'' Another soldier described the effect of the Gorman shell fire. "There are Mmdrcds of our fellow,-;," be said, "who have nothing 'but shell wounds—terrible gashes, some of them. Their shelling was dreadful once they got our range, though it took them a long time to get it. We were stretched out in. a place that seemed to be full of coal pit*. Their artillery was on the Height, and had a distinct I'dvaniny,. tlv<l it wa.s more powerful than ours. So far as numbers were concerned, if it had only been a. matter of shootin:} we should have laughed at them.

"But wo realtvi did catch it. AYe did not seem lo Ik> iproperU protected b»' our guns, and I think our ya.ns were too far back Tluiir cavalry I-opt changing ns fiercely. 1 saw one mv.'r rush wnl" —a that brought then, right no lo our linos. Our front ranks stood iu> with their bavonets, and our kick ranks kept ftriin'. We broke tle-'H up. Hundreds of thran fell out of I heir saddles. and the rest dashed off.

BRITISH CAVALRY CLLVIiaK "I saw something of our cavalry, too, and it was splendid. 1 -.:iw a char:;".', which broke, through tin i '■< rman lines. The men simply cut down th ( . oueinv, v\ho turned nnd ran. Tie-v were nearly cut off, ihowcvcr, and had to light their wiiv back again. | "The idea tliat during tiny early pari, of the encounter, the infantry were not ' fully covered hy the artilh ry, seemed to Ihe strong in the men's minds. The I truth, no doubt, is that the KV.'mans I 'had a much greater nu;i;l."r of gun*, and so were aide to inflict terrible )o>s in spite of the eounler-allaok. All were agreed in saying that the- French and llritish gunner,; worked sph'ndidlv, showing the most deadly markmanship, an 1 a Hording great help to !.hu infantry in their retiring movement. ''The retiring movemeni w is absolutely necessary. Tito Oenieiiis were ; n such enormous numbers ,i proportion estimated by some .V h l "'- as three l.n one—that it was exceed i- difficult to cam" it out successfully, lc'causc tim German forces wore con-d.mtly pressing behind with their cloud-, of cavalry bara-wing the flanks. "Hut our cavalry behaved like h.-ro-N. T was to'd of one regime! which vo■'•■ Jnc.kward and forward through the enemy's ranks siven tiines. That regiment,' alas! was decimated."

MASS FORMA'HON. ' ; The mass formation of the Kaiser's army appears to have impressed the French and British very deeply. "I never saw anything like it," one of them told me. "Y<:'.' know how wo take to cover at one/—well, t hey didn't. Some of the fellows said th'-y saw them lie down, but I can't say I did. They ju.it seemed to roll on and <<n, hut we did hold on, and holding saved us." These are incidents, of course, narrated by men whose perspective has been shortened) but from (he mass of them, one may conjure up a dreadful picture, and the chances are that even a vivid imagination will fail of reality.

Our losses were severe. It is idle to Wink at this fact, lint the)' were, small compared to the losses of th<> enemy. Moreover, our wounded are in many eases only slightly injured. Here, as in Belgium, the (Jerman bullet seems (o be a Rss deadly missile than might be expected. It is too sharp.

The battle continued with little interruption throughout Sunday and Monday. Our men had now fallen back to

the positions assigned to thorn, and tha enemy gradually ceased to attack. Apparently they were exhausted. There can be no doubt that only in their artillery fire did they really achieve important success. Their infantry work is described as laughable; their cavalry, too, was inferior.

GLORY OF HUSSARS. Tho full story of the work of the British Hussars and Lancers has still to be written, but it will be glorious. Tne troopers literally (lung themselves on their foes.

Several other incidents more or loss of a detailed character were related to me. One soldier «iid that lie saw a corps of 40 cyclists literally cut to pieces. Only four of them escaped, while another soldier told me u r.markable story which I afterwards heard from another source, but which nevertheless I give with reserve.

A number of British, believing themselves safe, had undressed beside a stream and had entered the water. Just at this moment a party of German lancers appeared over the neighboring crest and charged down on the bathers? Most of the British soldiers were naked and ail ufiarmed. The soldiers sprang for their rifles and knelt down, shooting with what speed they could. .Meanwhile the British cavalry which had witnessed the attack came upon the Germans like a thunderbolt.

The latter, taken by surprise, staved their work to meet the new danger and attacked tile lancers, but our cavalrymen rode through them, indicting terrible losses, and drove them off.

HEROhLW OF AMBULANCE MEN'. All the wounded seemed to have retamed a pleasant memory of 4he course and tondn.ws of the aniiv medio; corps. .Not only imd the wounded to bo Ibrpiwht in under a hail of build,, but the fact that our force was draw"l? tu ,°' IVi; ' ll ' r '' ll lll <' task mi.eb norodilicult. Crcat heroism was displayed by the doctors and amb.iWe men i n risk,,,- t.i.cir lives asraii, ami again to bring A[W( , m . to Uwh . f . li]( comrades. The. uorked cont-irmouslv and worked with s-wed. By U'ednes<hv noon several tra:n loads' of woumVl had reached Ami. ,w. That stream of Red Cross trains -iill continue to flow Tee railwiv s:ni,:..ii.. in Franee are at present an object lesson in eood oronnKation and ellV-at despatch. TERROR STJUi KKN FUG.ITI YES.

Iho north of France ;„ (lt (nig mo . ™"t a land of t.-r.,u'-strie.k l in fugitives J he platforms „„„ ruijn.ad stations are all thronged with hundreds and hundreds of men, women and ohildron tramping wearily along with tlu-ir small 'bundles of possession Hurriedly Hun" together m the moment of jiunic which preceded their dcnartur c from home. A sadder sight -limn this j s impossible to imagine, for the. ii',!',;rtunates belong t„ the thriftiest p !S ~u:!ti-i i:i Europe.' and their harvest li,hi. and orchards arc even now ripe i:- Lutheran;/. [ sawold men and fragiie women and mothers with little children, tired and ihuiirv. dragging at their skirts. I saw an "old vonian who must hr.c been at least 60, sitting on her bo\ a the railway station at Amiens ■wailing' for a train.