NEW 20-INCH GUNS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 165, 18 December 1914, Page 6

NEW 20-INCH GUNS.

FIVE DAYS WITH THE OERMAX.S. ! KAISER TO "SURPRISE THE WORLD." An Express special correspondent who left Ghent last Saturday after living daring the first five days of German occurs, tion, has written the following intoivsiing uarniihi' (if itT-s experience'! i:> the invaded tvrrilory, and the German preparations for a nvw campaign H!jai:i.st the' Allies. Hi", account of Ii■ in Fbnde:'; n;vl..r Cer::!;:n rule k: the.first has rc.ie'.i -i' the outside world s::w.s the occupation of Ghent on October 12. I'c'r obvious reasons his name must be . sunpressed. j * Brills, October 17. I I left Ghent ti>U morning after iivia;; I there u;'i!.-r German military law since ' the waui-al!:.-.! e: xhe city on Monday last. Troops t»avc been passing tlirr/ajrh Ghent all tile week in the direction of the coast —some of tliein coming direct from Berlin. An enormous number of men have been poured into Western Flanders in order to turn, the Allies' flank, make good the occupation of the coast, and prepare for a new phase of the campaign which is to be directed ! against England. During my stay in Ghent I heard a : number of German officers refer boast- • fully to the coming "conquest of Britain." I quote the statement of one of them-Oberlicutena 111 Berckman—attached to the General Staff, whom I met in the Ganda Cafe, Ghent, last Wednesday. A BOASTER. ! Said tlie oberlicutcnant, who was i rather drunk, and offensively comtmmiI cative:— i i "Have you seen our troops passing j through Ghent all day? Have you no- ; ticed that they are young men—-and ! first line troops Ho you know where ' they are going? To Calais; then to Eng- | land. < "We shall occupy Bruges and Ostcnd. . j (Bruges was occupied the same day, and ■ j Ostend the next morning.) Then we, shall ' • continue our march to Calais, where we > shall surprise the world. 1 1 "It is true that we have 52-centimetre ! j siege guns, and they are to be mounted j behind the dill's at Calais, where emI j placements are ready for them. We ■ I shall be. able to bombard Dover and com--1 mand the Channel while our submarines • make a concerted attack on th" jiritish Fleet, and our aerial fleet beg):..; dropping 'postcards' over London and other English cities." ! None of the 52-centimetre guns have '■ passed through Ghent, but a man, whom I I believe to be trustworthy, told me before I left the city that two new 42J centimetre (l(!.4in) gims were being j transported across Eastern Belgium i fapm Essen on Monday. t FLOOD OF TROOPS. I At least two full army corps have 1 ' passed through Ghent in the direction ' ! of the coast, including the 7th, and a ' j third —the 2lith Corps, composed of re- > | servists—is quartered around the city, ' waiting to advance. L The flood of troops began on Monday ; afternoon, a few hours after the formal occupation of the city. There wore many curious hitherto unJ related incidents connected with the occupation itself. The first German soldier who appeared from the direction of the German lines at . 8.30 a.m. on Holiday morning was a very , excited cyclist, apparently in fear of his 5 j life, who pedalled along the road lead- , ing from Lokeren into Client, waving his • hand at the people standing in the doors j. of their bouses, and motioning them to r go indoors. He saw the arms of Holland over the residence of the Dutch Consul, stopped, knocked at the door, and appealed ; breathlessly to the Consul to assist him I to get the road clear before the first , cavalry appeared. [ The. Consul sent liis servants down the ( street with the cyclist, and they shouted P to the spectators to go in their houses ' and close the doors. , Tho first cavalry pat Tola and a motorcar containing two very jovial officers! who smiled and joked during their journey through the streets, arrived in , > front of the town hall at 9.15. Two | great Danish hounds, the property of the I officers, were led by their orderlies. Many officers appear to carry pet dogs with them when campaigning. Not a transport column or field battery passed that did not have one or more dachshunds or terriers riding on the waggons or the gun limbers, some of them barking furiously at the populace, to the keen delight of the soldiers in charge of them. The ceremonial parade of troops through the town began at 2.30 p.m. It was much more impressive and gaudy than the entry into Brussels. ■General von Werder, who took the salute, drew up liis staff outside St. Bavon's Cathedral, and the troops passed "goose-stepping" for a distance of 50 yards. They were led by General von Bi'seler, who was the first commander of the town. There were probably 15,000 men in 'tho first German column, with four batteries of six-inch guns. The men looked quite fresli and smart. They had flowers stuck in their helmets and their gunbarrels, and nearly all the horses were similarly decorated. As the men marched through the streets they sang German patriotic songs.