CARNAGE AT THE YSER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 151, 2 December 1914, Page 6

CARNAGE AT THE YSER.

AN INFERNO OP BATTLE. THE TERRIFIC "JACK JOHNSONS." (By E. Ashmead Bartlett, correspondent of tlie London Daily Telegraph). * In Belgium, October 25.—The Belgian lAriny, supported by the French, is holding the extremo left of the Allies' lines from Nieuport on the suacoast front. Their army is covered by the river Jfrcr and a network of canals. The country is absolutely flat.

I'.'or the last two days the German army set free by the fall of Antwerp and assisted by fresh corps which apparently came from Brussels, has been leaking thy most desperate elt'orts to break through the line of the Yser and turn the Belgian-French forces out of Dixmude. Their c,Torts culminated yesterday in one of the fiercest and bloodiest engagements of the war. BATTLE SPECTACULAR. The battle, which for spectacular and dramatic effect; it would be hard to excel, arrived at the picturesque Flemish town of Furnes on Tuesday, October 20. AU through the night the windows at Furnes vibrated from the concussion of heavy guns, which kept up a steady bombardment all along the line from Nieuport to Dixmunde. On the following morning, Wednesday, I climbed the tower of an old • church to have a look around. As far as the eye could reach, nothing could be seen excepting bursting shells and burning' villages. , In the market place I was fortunate enough to encounter M. do Broqueville, son of the Minister of War for Belgium, who two days before had given me a pass to join the Belgian armies and go exactly where I liked. SI. de Broqueville said: "1 am just leaving for the front with Dr. Mur.ro in a flying ambulance to bring some wounded English to a hospital which has been established in town. Why don't you come along with us in your ear?"

I was introduced to the members of Dr. Munro's Hying ambulance and to my amazement found the doctor's dressers to be two English women arrayed in most up-to-date khaki "uniforms.

They were Lady Dorothy Fielding and iliss Chisholm. Our party, consisting of two motor ambulances and four cars lead by De Broqueville, left town for headquarters of the division near Nieuport, where the chief medical officer of the division referred us to the general commanding the division. He ordered De Broijueville to tnke the whole convoy towards Dixmunde. CARS TACK EOADS. On the way we passed French troops pouring to the support of the liardpressed Belgian army. While making our way to the front, for the first time we realised how completely the motor ear had revolutionised warfare. Every road to the front was packed with cars. At different villages a few kilometres from the front hundreds of ears were packed under a medical o(n----•cer, -who, on receipt of instructions despatched them to any point; indicated by a motor-cyclist messenger. Alxnit tv/o miles in front; a continuous lino of smoke completely blotted all else beyond. Imagine shells screaming and bursting over every village and farm.

Everywhere you saw white puffs of shrapnel and great black clouds rising in spirals as the "Jack Johnsons" blew houses, churches, and plots of mother earth into smithereens.

Then from .this inferno was wafted back to you such an infernal din that it sent vibrations rocking bade and forth through your addled brain. WHOLE STREETS BLOWN UP. Just outside Oude Cappelle both these stream!), one going, and one returning, suddenly erased. The road lay perfectly straight. Three kilometers to the right lfiy Dixmunde, the objective of the German attack. German shells were bursting all over it in such numbers that it was impossible to count how many there were to the minute.

Every now anil again great sheets «f flame glowed out as one of the "Jack Johnsons'' set fire to some new building. You simply knew that the town had existed from the flames and smoke clouds rising above.

Outside Oude Cappelle, wo halted. Soldiers were drifting in from the front with awful tales of what was happening; of hundreds of mangled wounded lying unattended along the roads leading to and in Dixmunde itself. They told, too, of tli" terrible numbers of Germans; of hr hey continually came in great wave; y to be driven back again.

Above it all ■ ■ shell fire which all felt the mo3t. 'ihe Belgians had only a few field batteries with which to reply to the immense number of the the field with their heavy howitzers. Whenever one of the Belgian batteries attempted to reply, it was simply smothered by "Jack Johnsons."

FATE OF A BATTERY. Off we started down the road amidst bursting shells expecting each moment to receive a knock-out from our old friend, ''Jack Johnson." j Driving at a terrific speed to minis' m ' Kl! ris ; k > we W1!r « getting along i spiuiulidiy when we were suddenly pull--5 cd up short by finding the road comi Pftt'jy blocked by an obstacle the like 4 of which I have never seen before, j A Belgian battery making its way to ( . front "to"*? the road. only twenty j minutes before had been unlucky enough to have one of these great shells burst right m its midst. The destruction was complete. All six horses and one of the, guns had been blown into mangled heaps. With them lay a Belgian San- j ner completely cut m two and the car- I riage ol a gun overturned and smashed, j force of the explosion had blown ' up some of the shells in the lumber.' Amidst t he dead horses were masses of | biscuits, tinned meats, coffee, su"ar I ami the personal possessions of the un- ' fortunate gunners. A little farther on j IZi """I*]' WhlC ! l ovid ™% had man- i aj,ul to gallop a short distance, lay dead '