PICTURES OF HORROR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 191, 21 January 1915, Page 3

PICTURES OF HORROR.

LETTERS OF GERMAN SOLDIERS. TALES OF TERRIBLE DE-ASTERS. L 'i'lie following descriptive account which has been communica d by an eye-witness present with general headquarters, continues and supplements the narrative published on November 22 of the movements of the British force and the French armies in immediate touch with it.]

November 21. The following is a collection of extracts from the diaries of German soldiers. Except the last two, they have no special bearing on the present phase of tlie operations, for they refer to a period which has now passed; but they throw some light on the diiferent aspects of the actual fighting, and may, therefore, be of interest to those who have no-first hand experience. They throw light, also on the psycho- ■ logical side of warfare, and on the; manner in which their experiences affect the more impressionable of the men engaged. • j In this connection the effect produced by shell fire on the minds of the writers is somewhat remarkable, though their estimates of the losses suifered may be over the mark. Those of un in the field are sufficiently uncharitable to derive comfort from any revelation of the success of our operations, whether it be in the nature of the actual damage inflicted or of the depression caused thereby. "We (the <Jth Jager Battalion) got our (machine) guns into position, but did not fire, as we were informed that it was our 114 th Infantry Regiment that was shooting at us. It was only by sounding the "Waclit am Rhein" that we were able to bring the fellows to their senses. "The enemy's artillery fire was now directed more to the left.. Our regiment began to retire. How the shells followed us! One exploded three yards from our gun-carriage, and showered earth all over us, but did no further damage. Another dropped just in front, and wounded two men mortally, and then one exploded twenty yards ahead, right in the middle of the column, killing twelve men outright. A horrible sight! "We were retiring on the village of St. Pol. Luckily, the enemy's fire did not follow us here, for there would certainly have been a panic. One company leader, Lieut. Fuclis, was killed by a piece of shell, and our captain is now the only officer we have left. "On this day, our position was literally plastered by the heavy French naval guns. One projectile fell in the trench, killing nine men and wounding several others seriously. Another fell into the trench of the 10th Company, with the same deadly effect. An enormous shell exploded near the 11th Company trench, destroying fifteen yards of it, and burying some twelv: men. One of the howitzer batteries of the 30th (Artillery Regiment suffered very severely. Two of its guns were hit and broken up. At the end of the day we all felt very bad. "The 142 nd Regiment, lying to the right of us, suffered very much, and had to keep on withdrawing, as shell after shell was falling right in its trenches, and the men were absolutely exhausted. "When shells are dropping in front, behind, to the right, and to the left, to remain in suspense, continually in expectation of death or injury, without being able to make any resistance, and to hear the BCreams of the wounded who cannot be attended to in the narrow trenches, is a sensation which can be appreciated by those who have experienced if).

WITH THE FIELD ARTILLERY. "On September 26, a French aviator dropped a bomb on Cambrai, killing four Landwehr men and tearing off the arm of the paymaster. On the 29th we were again sent to Verdun, south of Arlon. "On October 4th in Mons, thence to ■ Lille. On October 8 our second artillery ' suffered heavy losses at Dulle (?), losing seven men and nineteen horses. On the 11th, we did not come into action, but took twenty prisoners."

THE NINTH JAGER BATTALION. "We reached Peronne on September 27. We were then ordered to march on Combre (?), in the Amiens district. We were attached to the Cavalry Division, to support it, and also to cover the flank of the Guard Division. "On October 5 we reached Lens, and the enemy shelled us so heavily all day that Lieutenant 1' gave th> order tj retire at 4 p.m., and we lost touch of ; the other companies. We retreated under terrible rifle and shell fire, and had hardly arrived under cover when

our captain drove us out again to our old position. "The fire was so heavy on our return that I was surprised that we got there at all; it was so terrible that one could imagine hell had opened and was pouring fire t- it of a thousand craters. I spent the .mist terrible hours of my life that day. That awful bombardmerc eonthived. our Kitillery not being abb io give us any protection.

"At noon the. next, day we a w forced to retire. This movement took place under still heavier artillery and machine gun fire. How I survived is a wonder. "We suffered terribly from the enemy's artillery. The village is in ruins, and is like a slaughter-house; dead horses, bodies of men torn to bits, pools of blood—a picture of horror. The sth G. Regiment is marching up to relieve us. This regiment has already! been decimated in the fighting a day or two ago.

A HELLISH FIRE. "The enemy directs a hellish shell fire against ns and our artillery, one battery is destroyed, an ammunition waggon is on fire, wounded are crying out. Even the bravest trembles. My men tell their rosaries continually. Only One above all can help us. "Yesterday one of our sections was surprised by the enemy and was almost annihilated. Only two men survive. "We are now near the town of Arras, in the north-west of France. I am now leader (as sergeant) of my company, as all our officers have either been killed or wounded. We have suffered terrible losses during the last few days. Yesterday I was nearly killed, a bullet hitting 'Jiy belt buckle.''

THE 264t1i RESERVE REGIMENT. "On October 24: we (the 204 th Reserve Regiment) were ordered to be ready for an assault before dawn. We had hardly advanced 500 yards when we were met by a terrific shell lire from the British. "When we were collected again, I found that an awful disaster had overtaken us. Of our battalion scarcely eighty men | camo through." I (Note. —This apparently refers to one of the preliminary attacks in tjie neighborhood of Ypres). "The shooting of tile British artillery is marvellous. They get the right range ' and direct every shot, and place each | shell within a yard of the previous one. They must be well informed They must be wonderfully well inform, ed of our movements. I don't know whether the intelligence is obtained by their aeroplanes, which are always hovering over us, or whether they have telephones behind our lines."