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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5e1e7ca --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #60155 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60155) diff --git a/old/60155-0.txt b/old/60155-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 098128c..0000000 --- a/old/60155-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1665 +0,0 @@ -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 60155 *** - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 60155-h.htm or 60155-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/60155/60155-h/60155-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/60155/60155-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/penpicturesofbri00londiala - - - - - -PEN PICTURES OF BRITISH BATTLES - -Painted by Author -and Artist. - - - - - - -London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, Ltd. -1917. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - I.--THE VICTORY OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS 5 - _By Dr. Richard Wilson._ - - II.--THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE 11 - _By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle._ - - III.--A GLIMPSE OF CANADA IN FLANDERS 17 - _By Lord Beaverbrook._ - - IV.--THE SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES 23 - _By John Buchan._ - - V.--THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND BANK 29 - _By H. W. Wilson._ - - VI.--THE CHARGE AT LOOS OF THE LONDON IRISH 39 - - VII.--THE LANDING AT V BEACH, NEAR SEDD-EL-BAHR 43 - _By John Masefield._ - - VIII.--THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS AT THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME 49 - _By Philip Gibbs._ - - IX.--THE MOONLIGHT BATTLE FOR BAGHDAD 53 - _By Edmund Candler._ - - X.--THE BATTLE OF ARRAS 59 - _By Philip Gibbs._ - - XI.--WARFARE UNDER WATER 67 - _By Rudyard Kipling._ - - - - -EDITOR’S NOTE. - - -_Though Sir Walter Besant called War correspondents “the scene painters -of history,” it may be questioned whether any pen or brush, trained on -the land, sea and air battles of the present War, can depict more than -a corner of the great devastating drama._ - -_This little book, embracing extracts from famous books, may help the -reader to visualise some of the outstanding battles in which Britain -has played a not inconspicuous part; and if they inspire those still -fighting, and those behind them in support, with a firmer confidence -and a greater endurance--if, too, these records of undaunted heroism, -often against odds, enlighten readers in other lands as to the -character of British fighting men--their publication in this informal -style will be justified._ - -_Full acknowledgment is here made to the authors and publishers who -have kindly permitted quotation; and to the proprietors of two great -illustrated weekly papers who have lent for reproduction original -sketches appearing in their pages._ - -_April, 1917._ - - - - -[Illustration: THE BRITISH VICTORY OFF THE FALKLANDS: FIRST STAGE OF -THE ACTION BETWEEN BRITISH BATTLE-CRUISERS AND THE GERMAN ARMOURED -CRUISERS. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”_] - - -I. - -THE VICTORY OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS.[A] - -By RICHARD WILSON, Litt.D. - - [A] _From “The First Year of the Great War.” By Richard Wilson, - Litt.D. (W. & R. Chambers.)_ - - -The affair off Coronel put the heads of the British navy upon their -mettle, and within forty days it was followed by a counter-stroke, -complete and effective. Silently and with steady determination, -preparations were made to deal with the _Scharnhorst_ and her -companions; and the man who was entrusted with the work was -Vice-Admiral Sir F. C. Doveton Sturdee. - -To the east of the southern portion of South America lies the British -group known as the Falkland Islands. Due east of the large island -called East Falkland, Sturdee’s squadron came within sight of Von -Spee’s cruisers, the British admiral having been helped in finding the -“quarry” by the clever wireless signalling of a lady and her servants -who lived on the islands, and who were afterwards presented with -valuable gifts by the British Admiralty as some slight acknowledgment -of their timely help. - -After the battle off Coronel, the _Glasgow_, along with the battleship -_Canopus_, had put into the harbour of Port Stanley, in East Falkland. -The former vessel had been damaged, but she was quickly repaired; and -when Admiral Sturdee arrived from home, she took her place in his -squadron, her officers and men being eager to set things right with the -Germans. It was reported that Von Spee’s squadron was going to make -a raid on the Falklands; but when he came round Cape Horn he found -awaiting him eight British ships of war, and, so far as we know, this -was a complete surprise to him. - -At about half-past nine in the morning the _Gneisenau_ and the -_Nürnberg_ drew near to Port Stanley Harbour with their guns trained -on the wireless station. Between them and the harbour was a long low -stretch of land running eastward, behind which lay the _Canopus_. The -surprise of the Germans must have been great when they were met by a -smart fire across this low-lying land at a range of about six miles! -The two ships stopped, considered, and turned away, hoisting their -colours, however, as they did so. About the same time the _Invincible_ -sighted other hostile ships between nine and ten miles distant; and in -a short time the British squadron was moving from the harbour towards -the enemy’s five ships, which could be plainly seen to the south-east. -The day was fine, with a calm sea, a bright sun, a clear sky, and a -light breeze from the north-west. - -The British vessels at once began a chase in extended order, and the -hearts of our men must have been deeply stirred by the admiral’s -simple signal, “God save the King!” One of the signallers afterwards -wrote: “It was taken up and flung far and wide through space by each -of the fleet in turn, until it seemed as though it would never cease. -I consider it a privilege to have been one of the few to bear the -signal.” A little after noon Admiral Sturdee came within suitable range -of the five enemy ships, and decided to attack with the _Invincible_, -the _Inflexible_, and the _Glasgow_. How the officers and crew of the -last-named vessel had longed for this happy moment! - -The signal was given, “Open fire and engage the enemy,” and the -_Inflexible_ began the battle, followed a few minutes later by the -_Invincible_. This firing was at a range of about nine miles--no -opportunities for boarding here, cutlass in teeth, and pistols in both -hands!--but the British gunnery was so good that three of the German -ships turned away. Then the _Glasgow_, with the _Cornwall_ and the -_Kent_, gave chase. We shall follow their work when we have considered -that of the heavier craft. - -The _Invincible_ engaged the enemy’s flagship, the _Scharnhorst_, and -the _Inflexible_ the _Gneisenau_, the fight being a running one, and -the range varying from about eight to nine miles. Before long the -German flagship took fire, lost one of her funnels, and slackened her -firing. “The effect of our fire,” writes Admiral Sturdee, “became more -and more apparent in consequence of smoke from fires, and also escaping -steam. At times a shell would cause a large hole to appear in her side, -through which could be seen a dull red glow of flame.” Yet the German -kept grimly on with her work. - -The _Gneisenau_ now gamely faced the _Invincible_ and the _Inflexible_, -but about 5 o’clock she lost one funnel and was on fire in several -places. She continued, however, to reply to the British gunners with a -single gun, until, an hour later, she suddenly heeled over and sank. -Here is an entry in the diary of one of her officers: “5.10, Hit, hit! -5.12, Hit! 5.14, Hit, hit, hit again! 5.20, After turret gone. 5.40, -Hit, hit! On fire everywhere. 5.41, Hit, hit! Burning everywhere and -sinking. 5.45, Hit! Men dying everywhere. 5.46, Hit, hit!” - -After this the officers had something else to do than make entries -in a diary. Boats had been lowered from the _Invincible_ and the -_Inflexible_, life-buoys and ropes were thrown into the water, and -about 300 men were saved, “including their captain--a tall man with a -black beard.” - -Meanwhile the _Glasgow_ and the _Cornwall_ had fought and sunk the -_Leipzig_. Like the other German ships, she took fire fore and aft, -and as the shades of night were closing in she turned over on her port -side and disappeared. The _Cornwall_ began to lower boats when the -_Leipzig_ was settling down, but the British Captain leant over the -rail of the bridge and said, “It’s no good; she’s going.” - -While this was going on the _Kent_ was dealing with the _Nürnberg_, -after a desperate chase with only a small amount of fuel to rely upon. -When the engineers had done their best and worked up the speed well -above the rate which the _Kent_ could do “officially,” they reported -that their coal was almost used up. Then the captain suggested that the -boats might prove useful in such a case! No sooner said than done! The -boats were promptly broken up, the pieces smeared with oil, and packed -by the stokers into the furnaces. - -This use of the boats had suggested other means of providing fuel, and -soon the men were hurrying to the furnaces with officers’ armchairs, -chests, ladders, and anything which would burn. So the speed limit was -much further exceeded, the _Nürnberg_ was caught and sunk, but not -before she had put up a stiff fight. Fire was stopped on the _Kent_ -when the German hauled down her colours, and every preparation was made -to save life. As the ship sank the British sailors saw a group of men -waving a German ensign fastened to a staff. Only five Germans were -rescued alive from the doomed ship. - -Only one of the German ships, the fast cruiser _Dresden_, escaped from -the battle, the clouds which overcast the sky in the evening assisting -her in getting clear away. The darkness closed in, but near midnight -Admiral Sturdee received a message from H.M.S. _Bristol_ to the effect -that during the action two enemy transports had been destroyed near the -Falklands, their crews being removed before the ships were sunk. So -ended a memorable day in British naval history. - - - - -[Illustration: DESPERATE STRUGGLE FOR THE CHÂTEAU DE MONDEMENT DURING -THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”_] - - -II. - -THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE.[B] - -By SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. - - [B] _From “The British Campaign in France and Flanders.” By Sir - Arthur Conan Doyle. (Hodder & Stoughton.)_ - - -On September 11 the British were still advancing upon a somewhat -narrowed front. There was no opposition, and again the day bore a -considerable crop of prisoners and other trophies. The weather had -become so foggy that the aircraft were useless, and it is only when -these wonderful scouters are precluded from rising that a general -realises how indispensable they have become to him. As a wit expressed -it, they have turned war from a game of cards into a game of chess. It -was still very wet, and the Army was exposed to considerable privation, -most of the officers and men having neither change of clothing, -overcoats, nor waterproof sheets, while the blowing up of bridges on -the lines of communication had made it impossible to supply the wants. -The undefeatable commissariat, however, was still working well, which -means that the Army was doing the same. On the 12th the pursuit was -continued as far as the River Aisne. Allenby’s cavalry occupied Braine -in the early morning, the Queen’s Bays being particularly active, but -there was so much resistance that the Third Division was needed to make -the ground good. Gough’s Cavalry Division also ran into the enemy near -Chassemy, killing or capturing several hundred of the German infantry. -In these operations Captain Stewart, whose experience as an alleged -spy has been mentioned, met with a soldier’s death. On this day the -Sixth French Army was fighting a considerable action upon the British -left in the vicinity of Soissons, the Germans making a stand in order -to give time for their impedimenta to get over the river. In this they -succeeded, so that when the Allied Forces reached the Aisne, which is -an unfordable stream some sixty yards from bank to bank, the retiring -army had got across it, had destroyed most of the bridges, and showed -every sign of being prepared to dispute the crossing. - -Missy Bridge, facing the Fifth Division, appeared at first to be -intact, but a daring reconnaissance by Lieutenant Pennecuick, of the -Engineers, showed that it was really badly damaged. Condé Bridge was -intact, but was so covered by a high horse-shoe formation of hills upon -the farther side that it could not be used, and remained throughout -under control of the enemy. Bourg Bridge, however, in front of the -First Army Corps, had for some unexplained reason been left undamaged, -and this was seized in the early morning of September 13 by De Lisle’s -cavalry, followed rapidly by Bulfin’s 2nd Brigade. It was on the face -of it a somewhat desperate enterprise which lay immediately in front of -the British general. If the enemy were still retreating he could not -afford to slacken his pursuit, while, on the other hand, if the enemy -were merely making a feint of resistance, then, at all hazards, the -stream must be forced and the rearguard driven in. The German infantry -could be seen streaming up the roads on the farther bank of the river, -but there were no signs of what their next disposition might be. Air -reconnaissance was still precluded, and it was impossible to say for -certain which alternative might prove to be correct, but Sir John -French’s cavalry training must incline him always to the braver course. -The officer who rode through the Boers to Kimberley and threw himself -with his weary men across the path of the formidable Kronje was not -likely to stand hesitating upon the banks of the Aisne. His personal -opinion was that the enemy meant to stand and fight, but none the less -the order was given to cross. - -September 13 was spent in arranging this dashing and dangerous -movement. The British got across eventually in several places and by -various devices. Bulfin’s men, followed by the rest of the First -Division of Haig’s Army Corps, passed the canal bridge of Bourg with -no loss or difficulty. The 11th Brigade of Pulteney’s Third Corps got -across by a partially demolished bridge and ferry at Venizel. They -were followed by the 12th Brigade, who established themselves near -Bucy. The 13th Brigade was held up at Missy, but the 14th got across -and lined up with the men of the Third Corps in the neighbourhood -of Ste. Marguerite, meeting with a considerable resistance from the -Germans. Later, Count Gleichen’s 15th Brigade also got across. On the -right Hamilton got over with two brigades of the Third Division, the -8th Brigade crossing on a single plank at Vailly and the 9th using -the railway bridge, while the whole of Haig’s First Corps had before -evening got a footing upon the farther bank. So eager was the advance -and so inadequate the means that Haking’s 5th Brigade, led by the -Connaught Rangers, was obliged to get over the broad and dangerous -river, walking in single file along the sloping girder of a ruined -bridge, under a heavy, though distant, shell-fire. The night of -September 13 saw the main body of the Army across the river, already -conscious of a strong rear-guard action, but not yet aware that the -whole German Army had halted and was turning at bay. On the right -De Lisle’s cavalrymen had pushed up the slope from Bourg Bridge and -reached as far as Vendresse, where they were pulled up by the German -lines. - -It has been mentioned above that the 11th and 12th Brigades of the -Fourth Division had passed the river at Venizel. These troops were -across in the early afternoon, and they at once advanced, and proved -that in that portion of the field the enemy were undoubtedly standing -fast. The 11th Brigade, which was more to the north, had only a -constant shell-fire to endure, but the 12th, pushing forward through -Bucy-le-long, found itself in front of a line of woods from which there -swept a heavy machine-gun and rifle-fire. The advance was headed by the -2nd Lancashire Fusiliers, supported by the 2nd Inniskilling Fusiliers. -It was across open ground and under heavy fire, but it was admirably -carried out. In places where the machine-guns had got the exact range -the stricken Fusiliers lay dead or wounded with accurate intervals, -like a firing-line on a field-day. The losses were heavy, especially in -the Lancashire Fusiliers. Colonel Griffin was wounded, and five of his -officers with 250 men were among the casualties. It should be recorded -that fresh supplies of ammunition were brought up at personal risk by -Colonel Seely, late Minister of War, in his motor-car. The contest -continued until dusk, when the troops waited for the battle of next day -under such cover as they could find. - -The crossing of the stream may be said, upon the one side, to mark -the end of the battle and pursuit of the Marne, while, on the other, -it commenced that interminable Battle of the Aisne which was destined -to fulfil Bloch’s prophecies and to set the type of all great modern -engagements. The prolonged struggles of the Manchurian War had prepared -men’s minds for such a development, but only here did it first assume -its full proportions and warn us that the battle of the future was -to be the siege of the past. Men remembered with a smile Bernhardi’s -confident assertion that a German battle would be decided in one -day, and that his countrymen would never be constrained to fight in -defensive trenches. - -The moral effect of the Battle of the Marne was greater than its -material gains. The latter, so far as the British were concerned, did -not exceed 5,000 prisoners, 20 guns, and a quantity of transport. The -total losses, however, were very heavy. - -Apart from the losses, the mere fact that a great German army had -been hustled across 30 miles of country, had been driven from river -to river, and had finally to take refuge in trenches in order to hold -their ground, was a great encouragement to the Allies. From that time -they felt assured that with anything like equal numbers they had an -ascendancy over their opponents. - - - - -[Illustration: WAR IN THE AIR: A DUEL OVER THE FIRING LINE. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”_] - - -III. - -A GLIMPSE OF CANADA IN FLANDERS.[C] - -By LORD BEAVERBROOK. - - [C] _From “Canada in Flanders” (Vol. I.). By Sir Max Aitken. - (Hodder & Stoughton.)_ - - -The end of the month was marked by one or two very daring -reconnaissances by Lieutenant Owen, of the 7th (British Columbia) -Battalion, up the bed of the Douve River, and by a great aeroplane -battle. - -The aeroplane battle occurred upon a morning warm and bright with -sunshine. The conditions were admirable for flying and observing, and, -as usual, a German Albatross took advantage of them. Soaring high -against the warm blue of the sky, over Bailleul, over the headquarters -of a division, over our brigades and trenches and back again, it -glinted like silver in the morning sun. The snow-white blobs of -bursting shrapnel from our anti-aircraft guns followed its graceful -sweeps and curves--followed and followed, but never caught it up; and -thousands of our men stared after it. But a more dramatic spectacle was -in store for the watchers on the brown roads and in the brown trenches. - -A British machine appeared suddenly low against the blue, mounting -and flying out of the west. The men in the Albatross were evidently -so intent on their task of observing the landscape beneath them and -keeping well ahead of our blossoming shrapnel that they failed to -observe the approach of the British ’plane as soon as they should have -for their own good. They were heading west when they saw their danger, -and instantly the Albatross swerved round and sped towards home. But -the British flier had the heels of the German and the advantage of the -position. It circled and dipped, and down through the clear air aloft -came the rippling “tap-tap-tap” of the aërial machine-guns. Again and -again the enemy’s frantic efforts to escape were frustrated by the -skill and daring of the British pilot and the hedging fire of the -British guns. Suddenly the gun of the German ’plane jammed and ceased; -the pilot was hit and wounded; the Albatross commenced a rapid descent, -in which it was followed by the British ’plane to within 1,000 feet -of the ground. Then, under heavy shell-fire from German batteries the -victorious machine rose and flew away undamaged, and the unfortunate -Albatross struck the earth between the front and support trenches of -the 14th (Montreal) Battalion and turned turtle. The German pilot was -dead; the observer, slightly wounded, crawled to our support trenches -and surrendered. The German batteries kept up a hot fire of high -explosives and shrapnel on the machine with the object of smashing it -beyond hope of repair before the Canadians could salvage it. They made -several direct hits, but our men sapped out to the wreck and managed -to bring most of it in, piece by piece. Among the articles brought in -was the machine-gun that had jammed in the heat of the fight. This was -found to be a Colt gun. Closer examination proved it to be one of the -original guns of our 14th Battalion--to whose lines it had just made -such a dramatic return! The gun had been abandoned during one of the -desperate and confused fights of the Second Battle of Ypres half a year -before. - -In these months of September and October great efforts were expended -on improving the line. Work in the front positions was done by the -occupying battalions, and the troops in reserve came up night after -night to assist their labours and to create new secondary positions -and drive through fresh communication trenches. Even the training of -new units was occasionally and rightly sacrificed to the performance -of this essential task. The weather was, on the whole, favourable for -these operations, with the exception of three days of rain early in -September and a wet week late in October. The 1st Division, long on -the ground and fortified by the experience of what good trenches mean -for comfort and safety, was pre-eminent in these exertions, as would -be proved by the trench-map with its continuous increase, month after -month, in the black and zigzag lines of new work. Each tiny scrawl on -the surface of such a map represents the labours of hundreds of men, -extended over many nights. Second and third lines grew apace, so that -a sudden attack of the enemy would still leave trenches to be held and -would reduce the German bite to mere nibbles at the forward trench. -The communication trenches are driven true and straight from well in -the rear, and up these the ration parties toil in safety night after -night under their burdens of food, water, ammunition, and R.E. material -to feed the front line. These parties know well enough the difference -between well-made lines and bad ones. Stooping under the heavy weights -as they struggle on through the dark, they will bless in army fashion -a smooth and dry surface underfoot and a sound high parapet which -protects them from the casual German shells which are searching for -them, or the intermittent whistle of the long-range bullet humming on -its errand in the dusk. Messengers or stretcher-bearers with their -burdens can move backwards or forwards even by day along the well-built -hollow, and all those who pass are protected both from the arrow that -flieth by night and the terror which walketh in the noonday. Very -different is the story of a badly-kept line. It finds carrying parties -struggling in, hours late, exhausted by wading through mud and water, -and delayed by continually climbing out and walking outside the trench -to avoid impassable sections. Here an unlucky shell or a casual bullet -may take its toll. The men struggle back with difficulty, arriving -hardly before the dawn, and with their period of supposed rest and -recuperation turned into the most arduous of labours. It is not too -much to say that the efficiency of a regiment or division can be tested -by a comparison between the state in which it takes over and that in -which it leaves its trenches. - -The creation of secondary positions is as important as that of -communication trenches, and on this task the Canadian Corps worked -unsparingly throughout the autumn. - -The disposition of a brigade is two, or on occasion three, battalions -in the front line and one or two in support or reserve trenches. But -in most cases even the leading regiments will not have their whole -strength in the firing trench. One or two companies lie close up in -support or reserve to reinforce any threatened point. The nearness of -these supports is a very present help in time of trouble, and gives -confidence to officers and men, who would be nervous if they knew that -no assistance was nearer than a mile away in distance and an hour in -time. But these lines must be dug under cover of dark, so the men -toiled with the spade through the nights of autumn and blessed the -dawn which put a term to their labours. Their record is written on -the scarred earth from St. Eloi down to Ploegsteert. Let us hope that -the corps which took their place in March was duly grateful for the -blessing of a well-constructed line. - - - - -[Illustration: YPRES AFTER BOMBARDMENT. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Sphere.”_] - - -IV. - -THE SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES.[D] - -By JOHN BUCHAN. - - [D] _From “The History of the War.” By John Buchan. (Thos. - Nelson & Sons.)_ - - -The present writer first saw Ypres from a little hill during the later -stages of the battle. It was a brilliant spring day, and, when there -was a lull in the bombardment and the sun lit up its white towers, -Ypres looked a gracious and delicate little city in its cincture of -green. It was with a sharp shock of surprise that one realised that it -was an illusion, that Ypres had become a shadow. A few days later, in -a pause of the bombardment, he entered the town. The main street lay -white and empty in the sun, and over all reigned a deathly stillness. -There was not a human being to be seen in all its length, and the -houses on each side were skeletons. There the whole front had gone, and -bedrooms with wrecked furniture were open to the light. There a 42-cm. -shell had made a breach in the line, with raw edges of masonry on both -sides, and a yawning pit below. In one room the carpet was spattered -with plaster from the ceiling, but the furniture was unbroken. There -was a Buhl cabinet with china, red plush chairs, a piano, and a -gramaphone--the plenishing of the best parlour of a middle-class home. -In another room was a sewing-machine, from which the owner had fled in -the middle of a piece of work. Here was a novel with the reader’s place -marked. It was like a city visited by an earthquake which had caught -the inhabitants unawares, and driven them shivering to a place of -refuge. - -Through the gaps in the houses there were glimpses of greenery. A -broken door admitted to a garden--a carefully-tended garden, for the -grass had once been trimly kept, and the owner must have had a pretty -taste in spring flowers. A little fountain still plashed in a stone -basin. But in one corner an incendiary shell had fallen on the house, -and in the heap of charred débris there were human remains. Most of the -dead had been removed, but there were still bodies in out-of-the-way -comers. Over all hung a sickening smell of decay, against which the -lilacs and hawthorns were powerless. That garden was no place to tarry -in. - -The street led into the Place, where once stood the great Church of -St. Martin and the Cloth Hall. Those who knew Ypres before the war -will remember the pleasant _façade_ of shops on the south side, and -the cluster of old Flemish buildings at the north-eastern corner. -Words are powerless to describe the devastation of these houses. Of -the southern side nothing remained but a file of gaunt gables. At the -northeast corner, if you crawled across the rubble, you could see the -remnants of some beautiful old mantelpieces. Standing in the middle -of the Place, one was oppressed by the utter silence, a silence which -seemed to hush and blanket the eternal shelling in the Salient beyond. -Some jackdaws were cawing from the ruins, and a painstaking starling -was rebuilding its nest in a broken pinnacle. An old cow, a miserable -object, was poking her head in the rubbish and sniffing curiously at a -dead horse. Sound was a profanation in that tomb which had once been a -city. - -The Cloth Hall had lost all its arcades, most of its front, and there -were great rents everywhere. Its spire looked like a badly-whittled -stick, and the big gilt clock, with its hands irrevocably fixed, -hung loose on a jet of stone. St. Martin’s Church was a ruin, and -its stately square tower was so nicked and dinted that it seemed as -if a strong wind would topple it over. Inside the church was a weird -sight. Most of the windows had gone, and the famous rose window in the -southern transept lacked a segment. The side chapels were in ruins, -the floor was deep in fallen stones, but the pillars still stood. A -mass for the dead must have been in progress, for the altar was draped -in black, but the altar stone was cracked across. The sacristy was -full of vestments and candlesticks tumbled together in haste, and all -were covered with yellow picric dust from the high explosives. In the -graveyard behind there was a huge shell crater, 50 feet across and 20 -feet deep, with human bones exposed in the sides. Before the main door -stood a curious piece of irony. An empty pedestal proclaimed from its -four sides the many virtues of a certain Belgian statesman who had been -also mayor of Ypres. The worthy mayor was lying in the dust beside it, -a fat man in a frock coat, with side-whiskers and a face like Bismarck. - -Out in the sunlight there was the first sign of human life. A -detachment of French Colonial _tirailleurs_ entered from the -north--brown, shadowy men in fantastic weather-stained uniforms. A -vehicle stood at the cathedral door, and a lean and sad-faced priest -was loading it with some of the church treasures--chalices, plate, -embroidery. A Carmelite friar was prowling among the side alleys -looking for the dead. It was like some _macabre_ imagining of Victor -Hugo. - -The ruins of old buildings are so familiar that they do not at first -dominate the mind. Far more arresting are the remnants of the pitiful -little homes, where there is no dignity, but a pathos which cries -aloud. Ypres was like a city destroyed by an earthquake; that is -the simplest and truest description. But the skeletons of her great -buildings, famous in Europe for 500 years, left another impression. -One felt, as at Pompeii, that things had always been so; one felt that -they were verily indestructible, they were so great in their fall. -The cloak of St. Martin was not needed to cover the nakedness of his -church. There was a terrible splendour about these gaunt and broken -structures, these noble, shattered _façades_, which defied their -destroyers. Ypres might be empty and a ruin, but to the end of time she -would be no mean city. - -One of the truest of our younger poets, Rupert Brooke, who died while -serving in the Dardanelles, wrote in his last months a sonnet on the -consolation of death in war:-- - - “If I should die, think only this of me: - That there’s some corner of a foreign field - That is for ever England. There shall be - In that rich earth a richer dust concealed.” - -In the salient of Ypres there are not less than a hundred thousand -graves of Allied soldiers, sometimes marked by plain wooden crosses, -sometimes obliterated by the _débris_ of ruined trenches, sometimes -hidden in corners of fields and beneath clumps of chestnuts. That -ground is for ever England; and it is also for ever France, for there -the men of Dubois died around Bixschoote and on the Klein Zillebeke -ridge. When the war is over this triangle of meadowland, with a ruined -city for its base, will be an enclave of Belgian soil consecrated as -the holy land of two great peoples. It may be that it will be specially -set apart as a memorial place; it may be that it will be unmarked, and -that the country folk will till and reap as before over the vanishing -trench lines. But it will never be common ground. It will be for us -the most hallowed spot on earth, for it holds our bravest dust, and -it is the proof and record of a new spirit. In the past when we have -thought of Ypres we have thought of the British flag preserved there, -which Clare’s Regiment, fighting for France, captured at the Battle -of Ramillies. The name of the little Flemish town has recalled the -divisions in our own race and the centuries-old conflict between France -and Britain. But from now and henceforth it will have other memories. -It will stand as a symbol of unity and alliance--unity within our -Empire, unity within our Western civilization--that true alliance and -that lasting unity which are won and sealed by a common sacrifice. - - - - -[Illustration: BATTLE OF JUTLAND: FIRST SIGHT OF THE ENEMY’S HIGH SEAS -FLEET. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”_] - - -V. - -THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND BANK. - -By H. W. WILSON. - - -The chase and destruction of an enemy takes many hours. Nelson began -his battle at Trafalgar at noon, or soon after; the Germans took good -care not to engage before the afternoon was well advanced. There was -enough time to destroy a detachment, but not enough to complete the -destruction of a large fleet. The mist further diminished the advantage -which the British possessed in their heavy guns, and enabled the -Germans to count on using their numerous 6-in. weapons with success. - -Contact with the enemy was obtained. At 2.20 p.m. Admiral Beatty -received reports from his light cruisers indicating the proximity of -the enemy, and at 2.35 the smoke of a considerable fleet was seen -to the E. A seaplane was sent up from a seaplane-carrying ship to -reconnoitre the enemy, and transmitted back the first reports about -3.30. - -Admiral Beatty at once formed line of battle, steering E.S.E. at 25 -knots, with the Fifth Battle Squadron 10,000 yards off to the N.N.W. -The enemy (five battle-cruisers under Vice-Admiral Hipper, with light -cruisers and destroyers) was now 23,000 yards distant. Admiral Beatty -seems to have decided that it would be unwise to wait till the Fifth -Battle Squadron could join up with him and form into line with his six -ships. - -The enemy, on seeing him, had turned S. toward the German Battle Fleet, -which was steaming up from the S. some 50 miles off, and he followed. -At 3.48 Beatty opened fire at a range of 18,500 yards (or rather more -than 10½ land miles), and the enemy did the same. Six British ships -with broadsides of 32 13·5-in. and 16 12-in. guns were now shooting -at five German ships, whose broadsides were 16 12-in. and 28 11-in. -guns. Beatty slowly closed on the enemy till a distance of 14,000 yards -parted the squadrons; meanwhile the light cruisers were engaged with -craft of their kind. - -It was in this preliminary action with the odds in our favour that two -of Admiral Beatty’s splendid battle-cruisers--the _Queen Mary_ and -_Indefatigable_--were destroyed. - -The loss of these two ships reduced Admiral Beatty’s armoured ships to -four and his weight of metal to an approximate equality with the German -battle-cruiser squadron, which was still five ships strong, no single -vessel in it having as yet been put out of action. At 4.8, Beatty was -in some degree supported by the fire of the 15-in. guns in the Fifth -Battle Squadron, which opened at 20,000 yards--a long range in misty -weather--and the enemy’s fire seemed to slacken. A submarine attack was -beaten off by the vigilance and skill of the British destroyers, which -soon after 4 were flung in on the enemy in a great attack, meeting in -their impetuous charge a German light cruiser and 15 destroyers. - -All through this encounter the battle-cruisers were still pounding -one another and rapidly nearing the German Battle Fleet. From 4.15 to -4.43 he reports that the fighting was “of a very fierce and resolute -character,” but at 4.18 the third enemy ship was seen to be on fire. -The haze had now thickened, and the enemy could only be dimly made out. -At 4.38 the German Battle Fleet emerged from the mist to the S.E., and -was seen and reported by the Second Light Cruiser Squadron, scouting in -advance, to Admiral Beatty, who at 4.42 turned in his course, steaming -N.W. instead of S.E., towards Admiral Jellicoe and the British Battle -Fleet. - -The Germans turned in the same way, their battle-cruisers taking -station at the head of the enemy’s line and pursuing Beatty. As they -executed this turn, the Fifth Battle Squadron closed them, steaming -in the opposite direction, engaged them with all its guns, and then -turned and fell in astern of Beatty, who now had eight ships in line, -proceeding at a speed of something over 21 knots. The enemy’s battle -fleet was in action, and the Germans had concentrated in superior -force on a part of the British Fleet. - -The range was 14,000 yards and the enemy was getting heavily hit, while -he was apparently not making many hits on the British ships. After -5, one of the German battle-cruisers--perhaps the _Lutzow_, which, -according to the enemy, received 15 or 16 heavy shells--left the line -damaged. At 5.10 the sixth ship in the German line--a Dreadnought--was -reported to have been hit by a torpedo, and it is just possible that -she sank, as a huge cloud of smoke and steam was seen just after where -she had been. The Germans were now edging off to the E., learning -either from Zeppelins or their light cruisers that the British Battle -Fleet was coming up to the N.W. Admiral Beatty reports that “probably -Zeppelins were present,” though they appear to have been seen only by -neutrals in the first stage of the battle. - -The head of the German line at this part of the battle was getting -severely punished, and a second of the German battle-cruisers had -vanished, leaving only three enemy battle-cruisers in line. The first -stage of the battle was over. Beatty had led the Germans to the British -Battle Fleet, which was sighted at 5.56 10,000 yards away to the N. - -The position of the Fleet was as follows:--Beatty, with four -battle-cruisers, and astern of him the four fast battleships of the -Fifth Battle Squadron, was now turning sharply eastwards to pass -across the head of the German Fleet and prevent it from edging E. and -getting away in that direction. This movement of his would have enabled -him to “cross the T” of the enemy’s line--_i.e._, to pass at right -angles across it, raking the ships as he passed, which is regarded as -the most advantageous position that can be obtained in battle--if the -enemy had not turned. N. of Admiral Beatty’s ships was the British -Battle Fleet, with three battle-cruisers under Hood on one wing, and -three or four armoured cruisers under Arbuthnot on the other. On a -line generally parallel to Beatty’s was the whole force of German -battle-cruisers (3) and battleships (22), slightly astern of him, so -that the German ships at the southern end of the line were out of the -battle--too distant to fire. The head of the enemy line was some 12,000 -yards from him, and about 22,000 yards from the British Battle Fleet. - -Beatty’s eastward turn compelled the enemy to turn, and enabled the -British Battle Fleet, if it desired, to move in behind the High Sea -Fleet and cut it off from its bases. To reinforce Beatty in these -critical moments, Hood steamed in fast with his three battle-cruisers, -and swung magnificently into position at the head of Beatty’s line. -There he received a terrific fire from the enemy, 8,000 yards away, -and a few minutes later the _Invincible_, his flagship, was struck -by the combined salvoes of the German Fleet and she sank. Three -battle-cruisers were gone, and of their combined crews of 2,500 -men a mere handful were saved. Beatty at 6.35, about the time when -the _Invincible_ sank, turned S.E. A little earlier, Rear-Admiral -Arbuthnot, with three weak armoured cruisers, struck the German -Battle Fleet, which was apparently almost hidden in smoke. His -intervention prevented a dangerous German torpedo attack on the British -battle-cruisers, but in rendering this last service he perished. - -The _Black Prince_ was very badly hit. The _Warrior_ was disabled, -and in extreme danger. Probably the German ships were attacking these -vessels with concentrated salvoes--battleships of the super-Dreadnought -class firing at pre-Dreadnought armoured cruisers. The German shooting -must have begun to deteriorate, as the _Warspite_ was quickly got under -control, and with but slight damage rejoined the Fifth Battle Squadron, -which was now taking station astern of Admiral Jellicoe’s Fleet. - -At 6.17 this Fleet entered the battle. The First Battle Squadron was -the first to engage at 11,000 yards, closing the enemy slowly to 9,000 -(which is very short range indeed, and would allow the Germans to use -their 6-in. guns). The light was very bad. The Germans were shrouded -in haze; their destroyers sent up thick clouds of coal smoke, which -obscured an atmosphere already choked with the fumes of bursting -shells, and the smoke from the numerous fires in the ships engaged. -From the van of the Battle Fleet never more than five German ships -could be seen, and from the rear never more than twelve. The British -constantly strove to close, but were eluded by the enemy, who utilised -destroyer attacks to cover his retreat. But, difficult though it was to -shoot with accuracy, Sir J. Jellicoe reports that in this phase of the -battle the enemy ships were repeatedly hit, and one at least was seen -to sink. - -The _Marlborough_, in the First Battle Squadron, specially -distinguished herself, firing seven salvoes (if with all her guns -about 70 13·5-in. shell) at a battleship of the _Kaiser_ class; at -6.54 she was so unlucky as to be hit by a torpedo fired from a German -light cruiser, which she sank. She was the only British ship to suffer -in this way. A great cloud of smoke rose from her and she listed -violently, then recovered, and nine minutes later re-opened fire. At -7.12 she poured 14 salvoes with great speed upon a battleship of the -_König_ class, and drove her from the line. - -The flagship, _Iron Duke_, at 6.30 engaged a Dreadnought of the -_König_ class in the German Fleet, hitting her at the second salvo, -which was a remarkable gunnery performance at a range of 12,000 yards -and in the clouds of smoke. The enemy turned away and escaped. The -other ships of the Fourth Battle Squadron were mainly engaged with -the German battle-cruisers. The Second Battle Squadron attacked the -German battleships, and also fired at a damaged German battle-cruiser, -from 6.30 to 7.20; at 7 p.m. the British Fleet turned S., and shortly -afterwards S.W. The battleship engagement closed about 8.20, when the -enemy disappeared in the smoke and mist. He lay to the W. of Admiral -Jellicoe’s Fleet, and orders were issued to the British torpedo craft -to attack him. About 8.20 Beatty pushed W. in support of the light -cruisers which had been ordered to locate the enemy’s position, and -came upon two battle-cruisers and two battleships, which he attacked at -a range of 10,000 yards. The leading German ship was struck repeatedly, -and turned away sharply with a very heavy list, emitting flames; -the _Princess Royal_ set a three-funnelled battleship (possibly the -_Helgoland_) on fire. A third ship was battered by the _Indomitable_ -and _New Zealand_, and was seen heeling over, on fire, drawing out of -the line. Then about 8.38 the mist came down so thickly that the battle -was broken off, the enemy fleet being last seen by the larger British -ships about 8.38, steaming W. - -At 8.40 a violent explosion was felt by the British Fleet. This was -probably caused by the destruction of a big ship. - -Beatty steamed S.W. till 9.24, when having seen nothing more of the -enemy, he assumed that the Germans were to the N.W., and proceeded -N.N.E. to the British Battle Fleet. He says: “In view of the gathering -darkness, and the fact that our strategical position was such as to -make it appear certain that we should locate the enemy at daylight -under most favourable circumstances, I did not consider it proper or -desirable to close the enemy battle fleet during the dark hours.” - - - - -[Illustration: STORMING THE VILLAGE OF LOOS: HAND-TO-HAND FIGHTING IN -THE STREETS. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Sphere.”_] - - -VI. - -THE CHARGE AT LOOS OF THE LONDON IRISH - -(18th London). - - -A vivid account of an incident at Loos, which has become historic, was -given by one of the London Irish Regiment who was wounded during the -charge:-- - -“One set of our men--keen footballers--made a strange resolution; it -was to take a football along with them. The platoon officer discovered -this, and ordered the football to be sent back--which, of course, was -carried out. But the old members of the London Irish Football Club were -not to be done out of the greatest game of their lives-the last to some -of them, poor fellows--and just before Major Beresford gave the signal -the leather turned up again mysteriously. - -“Suddenly the officer in command gave the signal, ‘Over you go, lads!’ -With that the whole line sprang up as one man, some with a prayer, not -a few making the sign of the Cross. But the footballers, they chucked -the ball over and went after it just as cool as if on the field, -passing it from one to the other, though the bullets were flying thick -as hail, crying, ‘On the ball, London Irish!’ just as they might have -done at Forest Hill. I believe that they actually kicked it right into -the enemy’s trench with the cry, ‘Goal!’ though not before some of them -had been picked off on the way. - -“There wasn’t 400 yards between the trenches, and we had to get across -the open--a manœuvre we started just as on parade. All lined up, -bayonets fixed, rifles at the slope. Once our fellows got going it was -hard to get them to stop, with the result that some rushed clean into -one of our own gas waves and dropped in it just before it had time to -get over the enemy’s trench. - -“The barbed wire had been broken into smithereens by our shells so -that we could get right through; but we could see it had been terrible -stuff, and we all felt we should not have had a ghost of a chance of -getting through had it not been for an unlimited supply of shells -expended on it. - -“When we reached the German trench, which we did under a cloud of -smoke, we found nothing but a pack of beings dazed with terror. In -a jiffy we were over their parapet and the real work began; a kind -of madness comes over you as you stab with your bayonet and hear the -shriek of the poor devil suddenly cease as the steel goes through him -and you know he’s ‘gone west.’ The beggars did not show much fight, -most having retired into their second line of trenches when we began -to occupy their first to make it our new line of attack. That meant -clearing out even the smallest nook or corner that was large enough to -hold a man. - -“This fell to the bombers. Every bomber is a hero, I think, for he -has to rush on, fully exposed, laden with enough stuff to send him to -‘kingdom come’ if a chance shot or stumble sets him off. - -“Some of the sights were awful in the hand-to-hand struggle, for, -of course, that is the worst part. Our own second in command, Major -Beresford, was badly wounded. Captain and Adjutant Hamilton, though -shot through the knee just after leaving our trench, was discovered -still limping on at the second German trench, and had to be placed -under arrest to prevent his going on till he bled to death. - -“They got the worst of it, though, when it came to cold steel, which -they can’t stand, and they ran like hares. So having left a number -of men in the first trench, we went on to the second and then the -third, after which other regiments came up to our relief, and together -we took Loos. It wasn’t really our job at all to take Loos, but we -were swept on by the enthusiasm, I suppose, and all day long we were -at it, clearing house after house, or rather what was left of the -houses--stabbing and shooting and bombing till one felt ready to drop -dead oneself. We wiped the 22nd Silesian Regiment right out, but it was -horrible to work on with the cries of the wounded all round.” - - - - -[Illustration: BRITISH TROOPS IN ACTION ON THE GALLIPOLI PENINSULA. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”_] - - -VII. - -THE LANDING AT V BEACH, NEAR SEDD-EL-BAHR.[E] - -By JOHN MASEFIELD. - - [E] _From “Gallipoli.” By John Masefield. (Heinemann.)_ - - -The men told off for this landing were: the Dublin Fusiliers, the -Munster Fusiliers, half a battalion of the Hampshire Regiment, and the -West Riding Field Company. - -Three companies of the Dublin Fusiliers were to land from towed -lighters, the rest of the party from a tramp steamer, the collier -_River Clyde_. This ship, a conspicuous seamark at Cape Helles -throughout the rest of the campaign, had been altered to carry and land -troops. Great gangways or entry ports had been cut in her sides on the -level of her between decks, and platforms had been built out upon her -sides below these, so that men might run from her in a hurry. The plan -was to beach her as near the shore as possible, and then drag or sweep -the lighters, which she towed, into position between her and the shore, -so as to make a kind of boat bridge from her to the beach. When the -lighters were so moored as to make this bridge, the entry ports were -to be opened, the waiting troops were to rush out on to the external -platforms, run from them on to the lighters, and so to the shore. The -ship’s upper deck and bridge were protected with boiler plate and -sandbags, and a casemate for machine guns was built upon her fo’c’sle, -so that she might reply to the enemy’s fire. - -Five picket-boats, each towing five boats or launches full of men, -steamed alongside the _River Clyde_ and went ahead when she grounded. -She took the ground rather to the right of the little beach, some 400 -yards from the ruins of Sedd-el-Bahr Castle, before the Turks had -opened fire; but almost as she grounded, when the picket-boats with -their tows were ahead of her, only 20 or 30 yards from the beach, every -rifle and machine gun in the castle, the town above it, and in the -curved, low, strongly trenched hill along the bay, began a murderous -fire upon ship and boats. There was no question of their missing. They -had their target on the front and both flanks at ranges between 100 -and 300 yards in clear daylight, 30 boats bunched together and crammed -with men and a good big ship. The first outbreak of fire made the bay -as white as a rapid, for the Turks fired not less then 10,000 shots -a minute for the first few minutes of that attack. Those not killed -in the boats at the first discharge jumped overboard to wade or swim -ashore. Many were killed in the water, many, who were wounded, were -swept away and drowned; others, trying to swim in the fierce current, -were drowned by the weight of their equipment. But some reached the -shore, and these instantly doubled out to cut the wire entanglements -and were killed, or dashed for the cover of a bank of sand or raised -beach which runs along the curve of the bay. Those very few who reached -this cover were out of immediate danger, but they were only a handful. -The boats were destroyed where they grounded. - -Meanwhile the men of the _River Clyde_ tried to make their bridge of -boats by sweeping the lighters into position and mooring them between -the ship and the shore. They were killed as they worked, but others -took their places; the bridge was made, and some of the Munsters dashed -along it from the ship and fell in heaps as they ran. As a second -company followed, the moorings of the lighters broke or were shot; -the men leaped into the water, and were drowned or killed, or reached -the beach and were killed, or fell wounded there, and lay under fire, -getting wound after wound till they died; very, very few reached the -sandbank. More brave men jumped aboard the lighters to remake the -bridge; they were swept away or shot to pieces. The average life on -those boats was some three minutes long, but they remade the bridge, -and the third company of the Munsters doubled down to death along it -under a storm of shrapnel which scarcely a man survived. The big guns -in Asia were now shelling the _River Clyde_, and the hell of rapid -fire never paused. More men tried to land, headed by Brigadier-General -Napier, who was instantly killed, with nearly all his followers. -Then for long hours the remainder stayed on board, down below in the -grounded steamer, while the shots beat on her plates with a rattling -clang which never stopped. Her twelve machine guns fired back, killing -any Turk who showed; but nothing could be done to support the few -survivors of the landing, who now lay under cover of the sandbank on -the other side of the beach. It was almost certain death to try to -leave the ship, but all through the day men leaped from her (with leave -or without it) to bring water or succour to the wounded on the boats -or beach. A hundred brave men gave their lives thus; every man there -earned the Cross that day. A boy earned it by one of the bravest deeds -of the war, leaping into the sea with a rope in his teeth to try to -secure a drifting lighter. - -The day passed thus, but at nightfall the Turks’ fire paused, and the -men came ashore from the _River Clyde_, almost unharmed. They joined -the survivors on the beach, and at once attacked the old fort and the -village above it. These works were strongly held by the enemy. All had -been ruined by the fire from the Fleet, but in the rubble and ruin of -old masonry there were thousands of hidden riflemen backed by machine -guns. Again and again they beat off our attacks, for there was a bright -moon and they knew the ground, and our men had to attack uphill over -wire and broken earth and heaped stones in all the wreck and confusion -and strangeness of war at night in a new place. Some of the Dublins -and Munsters went astray in the ruins, and were wounded far from their -fellows, and so lost. The Turks became more daring after dark; while -the light lasted they were checked by the _River Clyde’s_ machine guns, -but at midnight they gathered unobserved and charged. They came right -down on to the beach, and in the darkness and moonlight much terrible -and confused fighting followed. Many were bayoneted, many shot, there -was wild firing and crying, and then the Turk attack melted away, and -their machine guns began again. When day dawned, the survivors of the -landing party were crouched under the shelter of the sandbank; they -had had no rest; most of them had been fighting all night; all had -landed across the corpses of their friends. No retreat was possible, -nor was it dreamed of, but to stay there was hopeless. Lieut.-Colonel -Doughty-Wylie gathered them together for an attack; the Fleet opened a -terrific fire upon the ruins of the fort and village, and the landing -party went forward again, fighting from bush to bush and from stone to -stone, till the ruins were in their hands. Shells still fell among -them, single Turks, lurking under cover, sniped them and shot them; but -the landing had been made good, and V beach was secured to us. - -This was the worst and the bloodiest of all the landings. - - - - -[Illustration: THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME: THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS’ SPLENDID -CHARGE. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”_] - - -VIII. - -THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS AT THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME.[F] - -By PHILIP GIBBS. - - [F] _From “The Battles of the Somme.” (Heinemann.)_ - - -And now I must tell a little more in detail the story of the Guards in -this battle. It is hard to tell it, and not all can be told yet because -of the enemy. The Guards had their full share of the fighting, and of -the difficult ground, with strong forces against them. They knew that -would be so before they went into battle, and yet they did not ask -for better things but awaited the hour of attack with strong, gallant -hearts, quite sure of their courage, proud of their name, full of trust -in their officers, eager to give a smashing blow at the enemy. - -These splendid men, so tall and proper, so hard and fine, went away as -one might imagine the old knights and yeomen of England at Agincourt. -For the first time in the history of the Coldstreamers, three -battalions of them charged in line, great solid waves of men, as fine -a sight as the world could show. Behind them were the Grenadiers, and -again behind these men the Irish. - -They had not gone more than 200 yards before they came under the -enfilade fire of massed machine guns in trenches not previously -observed. The noise of this fire was so loud and savage that, although -hundreds of guns were firing, not a shot could be heard. It was just -the stabbing staccato hammering of the German Maxims. Men fell, but the -lines were not broken. Gaps were made in the ranks, but they closed up. -The wounded did not call for help, but cheered on those who swept past -and on, shouting “Go on, Lily-whites!”--which is the old name for the -Coldstreamers--“Get at ’em, Lily-whites!” - -They went on at a hot pace with their bayonets lowered. Out of the -crumpled earth--all pits and holes and hillocks, torn up by great -gun-fire--grey figures rose and fled. They were German soldiers -terror-stricken by this rushing tide of men. - -The Guards went on. Then they were checked by two lines of trenches, -wired and defended by machine guns and bombers. They came upon them -quicker than they expected. Some of the officers were puzzled. Could -these be the trenches marked out for attack--or other unknown trenches? -Anyhow, they must be taken--and the Guards took them by frontal assault -full in the face of continual blasts of machine-gun bullets. - -There was hard and desperate fighting. The Germans defended themselves -to the death. They bombed our men, who attacked them with the bayonet, -served their machine guns until they were killed, and would only -surrender when our men were on top of them. It was a very bloody hour -or more. By that time the Irish Guards had joined the others. All the -Guards were together, and together they passed the trenches, swinging -left inevitably under the machine-gun fire which poured upon them from -their right, but going steadily deeper into the enemy country until -they were 2,000 yards from their starting place. - -Then it was necessary to call a halt. Many officers and men had fallen. -To go farther would be absolute death. The troops on the right had been -utterly held up. The Guards were “up in the air” with an exposed flank, -open to all the fire that was flung upon them from the enemy’s lines. -The temptation to go farther was great. The German infantry was on the -run. They were dragging their guns away. There was a great panic among -the men who had been hiding in trenches. But the German machine gunners -kept to their posts to safeguard a rout, and the Guards had gone far -enough through their scourging bullets. - -They decided very wisely to hold the line they had gained, and to dig -in where they stood, and to make forward posts with strong points. -They had killed a great number of Germans and taken 200 prisoners and -fought grandly. So now they halted and dug and took cover as best they -could in shell-craters and broken ground, under fierce fire from the -enemy’s guns. - -The night was a dreadful one for the wounded, and for men who did their -best for the wounded, trying to be deaf to agonizing sounds. Many of -them had hairbreadth escapes from death. One young officer in the Irish -Guards lay in a shell-hole with two comrades, and then left it for a -while to cheer up other men lying in surrounding craters. When he came -back he found his two friends lying dead, blown to bits by a shell. - -But in spite of all these bad hours the Guards kept cool, kept their -discipline, their courage, and their spirit. The Germans launched -counter-attacks against them, but were annihilated. The Guards held -their ground, and gained the greatest honour for self-sacrificing -courage which has ever given a special meaning to their name. They took -the share which all of us knew they would take in the greatest of all -our battles since the first day of July, and, with other regiments, -struck a vital blow at the enemy’s line of defence. - - - - -[Illustration: THE ADVANCE ON BAGHDAD: BATTLE ON THE DIALA RIVER. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Sphere.”_] - - -IX. - -THE MOONLIGHT BATTLE FOR BAGHDAD. - -By EDMUND CANDLER. - - -The last fighting before Baghdad is likely to become historic on -account of the splendid gallantry of our troops in the crossing of -the Diala River. After the action at Lajj the Turkish rearguard fell -back on Diala, destroying the bridge which crosses the stream at its -junction with the Tigris. We pushed on in pursuit on the left bank, -sending cavalry and two columns of infantry to work round on the -right bank, and to enter Baghdad from the west. Speed in following up -was essential, and the column attacking Diala was faced with another -crossing in which the element of surprise was eliminated. The village -lies on both banks of the stream, which is 120 yards wide. The houses, -trees, nullah, and walled gardens made it impossible to build a road -and ramps quickly and to bring up pontoons without betraying the point -of embarkation. Hence the old bridgehead site was chosen. The attack on -the night of the 7th was checked, but the quality of courage shown by -our men has never been surpassed in war. Immediately the first pontoon -was lowered over the ramp the whole launching party was shot down in a -few seconds. It was a bright moonlight, and the Turks had concentrated -their machine guns and rifles in the houses on the opposite bank. - -The second pontoon had got into the middle of the stream, when a -terrific fusillade was opened on it. The crew of five rowers and ten -riflemen were killed and the boat floated down the stream. A third got -nearly across, but was bombed and sank. All the crew were killed. But -there was no holding back. The orders still held to secure the passage. -Crew after crew pushed off to an obvious and certain death. The fourth -crossing party was exterminated in the same way, and the pontoons -drifted out to the Tigris to float past our camp in the daylight -with their freight of dead. The drafts who went over were raised by -volunteers from other battalions in the brigade. These and the sappers -on the bank share the honour of the night with the attacking battalion. -Nothing stopped them, save the loss of the pontoons. A Lancashire man -remarked: “It is a bit hot here, but let’s try higher up,” but the -gallant fellows were reduced to their last boat. Another regiment, -which was to cross higher up, were delayed, as the boats had to be -carried nearly a mile across country to the stream. After the failure -of the bridgehead passage the second crossing was cancelled, but the -men were still game. - -On the second night the attempt was pursued with equal gallantry. This -time the attack was preceded by a bombardment. Registering by artillery -had been impossible on the first day in the speed of the pursuit. It -was the barrage that secured us the footing--not the shells, but the -dust raised by them. This was so thick that you could not see your hand -in front of your face. It formed a curtain behind which ten boats were -able to cross. Afterwards, in clear moonlight, when the curtain of dust -had lifted, the conditions of the night before were re-established. -Succeeding crossing parties were exterminated, and pontoons drifted -away, but a footing was secured. The dust served us well. The crew of -one boat which lost its way during the barrage were untouched, but they -did not make the bank in time. Directly the air cleared a machine-gun -was opened on them, and the rowers were shot down, and the pontoon -drifted back ashore. A sergeant called to volunteers to get the wounded -out of the boat, and a party of twelve men went over the river bank. -Every man of them, as well as the crew of the pontoons, were killed. - -Some 60 men had got over, and these joined up and started bombing -along the bank. They were soon heavily pressed by the Turks on both -flanks, and found themselves between two woods. Here they discovered -a providential natural position. A break in the river bund had been -repaired by a new bund built in a half-moon on the landward side. This -formed a perfect lunette. The Lancashire men, surrounded on all sides -but the river, held it through the night, all the next day, and the -next night against repeated and determined attacks. Those attacks were -delivered in the dark or at dawn. The Turks only attacked once in the -daylight, as our machine guns on the other bank swept the ground in -front of the position. Twenty yards west of the lunette there was a -thin grove of mulberries and palms. The pontoon was most vulnerable -on this side, and it was here that the Turkish counter-attacks were -most frequent. Our intense intermittent artillery fire day and night -on the wood afforded some protection. The whole affair was visible to -our troops on the south side, who were able to make themselves heard by -shouting. Attempts to get a cable across with a rocket for the passage -of ammunition failed. - -At midnight on the 9th and 10th the Turks were on top of the parapet, -but were driven back. One more determined rush would have carried -the lunette, but the little garrison, now reduced to 40, kept their -heads and maintained cool control of their fire. A corporal was seen -searching for loose rounds and emptying the bandoliers of the dead. -In the end they were reduced almost to their last clip and one bomb, -but we found over 100 Turkish dead outside the redoubts when they -were relieved at daylight. The crossing on the night of the 9th and -10th was entirely successful. With our cavalry and two columns of -infantry working round on the right bank the Turks were in danger of -being cut off, as at Sanna-i-Yat. Before midnight they had withdrawn -their machine guns, leaving only riflemen to dispute the passage. The -crossing upstream was a surprise. We slipped through the Turkish guard. -He had pickets at both ends of the river salient where we dropped -our pontoons. But he overlooked essential points in it which offered -us dead ground uncovered by posts up and down stream. Consequently -our passage here lost us no lives. The other ferry near the bridge -was also crossed with slight loss, owing to a diversion up-stream. -The Turks, perceiving that their flank was being turned, effected a -general retirement of the greater part of their garrison between the -two ferries. Some 250 in all, finding us bombing down on both flanks, -surrendered. The upper crossing was so unexpected that one Turk was -actually bayonetted as he lay covering the opposite bank with his rifle. - -By 9.30 on the morning of the 10th the whole brigade had crossed. -Soon after 11 the brigade was complete and the pursuit continued. -The Turks continued their rearguard action, and in the afternoon -there was fighting in the palm groves of Saida, and the Turks were -cleared with the bayonet, after artillery had combed the wood. The -main body was holding the El Mahomed position, one and a half miles -further north--a trench line running nearly four miles inland from the -Tigris. We attacked this in front, while another column made a wide -turning movement on the flank, and the enemy evacuated it at night. -On the morning of the 12th we entered Baghdad. Our force on the right -bank, after defeating the Turkish rearguard in two actions, reached -the suburb on the opposite side of the Bridge of Boats. A brigade was -ferried across in coracles, and at noon they hoisted the Union Jack on -the citadel. Meanwhile the cavalry continued the pursuit and occupied -Kazimain after slight resistance. Four damaged aeroplanes and 100 -prisoners were taken, in addition to the 300 captured on the left bank. -The gunboats are still in pursuit of the enemy, who are reported to -be entrenching 16 miles north of Baghdad, covering the entrainment of -troops. - - - - -X. - -THE BATTLE OF ARRAS.[G] - -BY PHILIP GIBBS. - - [G] _From the “Daily Chronicle” and “Daily Telegraph.”_ - - -To-day, at dawn, our armies began a great battle, which, if Fate has -any kindness for the world, may be the beginning of the last great -battles of the war. Our troops attacked on a wide front between Lens -and St. Quentin, including the Vimy Ridge, that great, grim hill -which dominates the plain of Douai and the coalfields of Lens and the -German positions around Arras. In spite of bad fortune in weather at -the beginning of the day, so bad that there was no visibility for the -airmen, and our men had to struggle forward in a heavy rainstorm, the -first attacks have been successful, and the enemy has lost much ground, -falling back in retreat to strong rearguard lines, where he is now -fighting desperately. The line of our attack covers a front of some 12 -miles southwards from Givenchy-en-Gohelle, and is a sledge-hammer blow, -threatening to break the northern end of the Hindenburg line, already -menaced round St. Quentin. As soon as the enemy was forced to retreat -from the country east of Bapaume and Péronne, in order to escape a -decisive blow on that line, he hurried up divisions and guns northwards -to counter our attack there, while he prepared a new line of defence, -known as the Wotan line, as the southern part of the Hindenburg line, -which joins it, is known as the Siegfried position, after two great -heroes of old German mythology. He hoped to escape there before our new -attack was ready, but we have been too quick for him, and his own plans -were frustrated. - -So to-day began another titanic conflict which the world will hold its -breath to watch because of all that hangs upon it. I have seen the fury -of this beginning, and all the sky on fire with it, the most tragic and -frightful sight that men have ever seen, with an infernal splendour -beyond words to tell. The bombardment which went before the infantry -assault lasted for several days, and reached a great height yesterday, -when, coming from the south, I saw it for the first time. Those of us -who knew what would happen to-day, the beginning of another series -of battles greater, perhaps, than the struggle of the Somme, found -ourselves yesterday filled with a tense, restless emotion, and some of -us smiled with a kind of tragic irony because it was Easter Sunday. In -the little villages behind the battle lines the bells of the French -churches were ringing gladly because the Lord had risen, and on the -altar steps the priests were reciting the splendid old words of faith. -“Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum. Alleluia” (“I have arisen and I am with -thee always. Alleluia”). The earth was glad yesterday. For the first -time this year the sun had a touch of warmth in it, though patches of -snow still stayed white under the shelter of the banks, and the sky was -blue and the light glinted on wet tree-trunks and in the furrows of the -new-ploughed earth. As I went up the road to the battle lines I passed -a battalion of our men, the men who are fighting to-day, standing in -hollow square with bowed heads while the chaplain conducted the Easter -service. Easter Sunday, but no truce of God. I went to a field outside -Arras and looked into the ruins of the cathedral city. The cathedral -itself stood clear in the sunlight, with a deep black shadow where its -roof and aisles had been. Beyond was a ragged pinnacle of stone, once -the glorious Town Hall, and the French barracks and all the broken -streets going out to the Cambrai road. It was hell in Arras, though -Easter Sunday. - -The bombardment was now in full blast. It was a beautiful and devilish -thing, and the beauty of it, and not the evil of it, put a spell upon -one’s senses. All our batteries, too many to count, were firing, and -thousands of gun flashes were winking and blinking from hollows and -hiding-places, and all their shells were rushing through the sky as -though flocks of great birds were in flight, and all were bursting over -the German positions with long flames which rent the darkness and waved -sword-blades of quivering light along the ridges. The earth opened, and -great pools of red fire gushed out. Star shells burst magnificently, -pouring down golden rain. Mines exploded east and west of Arras and in -the wide sweep from Vimy Ridge to Blangy southwards, and voluminous -clouds, all bright with a glory of infernal fire, rolled up to the sky. -The wind blew strongly across, beating back the noise of the guns, but -the air was all filled with the deep roar and slamming knocks of the -single heavies and the drum fire of the field guns. - -The hour for attack was 5.30. Officers were looking at their wrist -watches as on a day in July last year. The earth lightened. A few -minutes before 5.30 the guns almost ceased fire, so that there was a -strange and solemn hush. We waited, and pulses beat faster than the -second-hands. “They’re away,” said a voice by my side. The bombardment -broke out again with new and enormous effects of fire and sound. The -enemy was shelling Arras heavily, and black shrapnel and high explosive -came over from his lines, but our gunfire was twenty times as great. -Around the whole sweep of his lines green lights rose. They were -signals of distress, and his men were calling for help. - -It was dawn now, but clouded and storm-swept. A few airmen came out -with the wind tearing at their wings, but could see nothing in the -mist and driving rain. I went down to the outer ramparts of Arras. The -suburb of Blangy seemed already in our hands. On the higher ground -beyond our men were fighting forward. I saw two waves of infantry -advancing against the enemy’s trenches, preceded by our barrage of -field guns. They went in a slow, leisurely way, not hurried, though -the enemy’s shrapnel was searching for them. “Grand fellows,” said -an officer lying next to me on the wet slope. “Oh, topping!” Fifteen -minutes afterwards groups of men came back. They were British wounded -and German prisoners. I met the first of these walking wounded -afterwards. They were met on the roadside by medical officers, -who patched them up there and then before they were taken to the -field hospitals in ambulances. From these men, hit by shrapnel and -machine-gun bullets, I heard the first news of progress. They were -bloody and exhausted, but claimed success. “We did fine,” said one of -them. “We were through the fourth lines before I was knocked out.” -“Not many Germans in the first trenches,” said another, “and no real -trenches either after shelling. We had knocked their dug-outs out, and -their dead were lying thick, and the living ones put their hands up.” -All the men agreed that their own casualties were not high, and mostly -wounded. - - _The Next Day._ - -By three in the afternoon yesterday the Canadians had gained the whole -of the ridge except a high strong post on the left, Hill 145, which -was captured during the night. Our gunfire had helped them by breaking -down all the wire, even round Heroes’ Wood and Count’s Wood, where it -was very thick and strong. Thélus was wiped utterly off the map. This -morning Canadian patrols pushed in a snowstorm through the Farbus Wood, -and established outposts on the railway embankment. Some of the bravest -work was done by the forward observing officers, who climbed to the top -of Vimy Ridge as soon as it was captured, and through a sea of heavy -barrage reported back to the artillery all the movements seen by them -on the country below. - -In spite of the wild day, our flying men were riding the storm and -signalling to the gunners who were rushing up their field guns. “Our -60-pounders,” said a Canadian officer, “had the day of their lives.” -They found many targets. There were trains moving in Vimy village, and -they hit them. There were troops massing on the sloping ground, and -they were shattered. There were guns and limbers on the move, and men -and horses were killed. Beyond all the prisoners taken yesterday by the -English, Scottish and Canadian troops, the enemy losses were frightful, -and the scenes behind his lines must have been and still be hideous in -slaughter and terror. - -The Battle of Arras is the greatest victory we have yet gained in this -war and a staggering blow to the enemy. He has lost already nearly -10,000 prisoners and more than half a hundred guns,[H] and in dead and -wounded his losses are great. He is in retreat south of the Vimy Ridge -to defensive lines further back, and as he goes our guns are smashing -him along the roads. It is a black day for the German armies and for -the German women who do not know yet what it means to them. During last -night the Canadians gained the last point, called Hill 145, on the Vimy -Ridge, where the Germans held out in a pocket with machine guns, and -this morning the whole of that high ridge, which dominates the plains -to Douai, is in our hands, so that there is removed from our path the -great barrier for which the French and ourselves have fought through -bloody years. Yesterday, before daylight and afterwards, I saw this -ridge of Vimy all on fire with the light of great gunfire. The enemy -was there in strength, and his guns were answering ours with a heavy -barrage of high explosives. - - [H] Increased to 19,343 prisoners and 257 guns on 2nd May. - -This morning the scene was changed as by a miracle. Snow was falling, -blown gustily across the battlefields and powdering the capes and -helmets of our men as they rode or marched forward to the front. -But presently sunlight broke through the storm-clouds and flooded -all the countryside by Neuville-St. Vaast and Thélus and La Folie -Farm up to the crest of the ridge where the Canadians had just fought -their way with such high valour. Our batteries were firing from many -hiding-places, revealed by the short, sharp flashes of light, but -few answering shells came back, and the ridge itself, patched with -snowdrifts, was as quiet as any hill of peace. It was astounding to -think that not a single German stayed up there out of all the thousands -who had held it yesterday, unless some poor wounded devils still -cower in the great tunnels which pierce the hillside. It was almost -unbelievable to me, who have known the evil of this high ridge month -after month and year after year and the deadly menace which lurked -about its lower slopes. Yet I saw proof below, where all the Germans -who had been there at dawn yesterday, thousands of them, were down in -our lines, drawn up in battalions, marshalling themselves, grinning at -the fate which had come to them and spared their lives. - - - - -[Illustration: THE GREAT EXPLOIT OF E. 11: TORPEDOING AN ENEMY VESSEL -OFF CONSTANTINOPLE. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”_] - - -XI. - -WARFARE UNDER WATER.[I] - -BY RUDYARD KIPLING. - - They bear, in place of classic names, - Letters and numbers on their skin. - They play their grisly blindfold games - In little boxes made of tin. - Sometimes they stalk the Zeppelin, - Sometimes they learn where mines are laid - Or where the Baltic ice is thin. - That is the custom of “The Trade.” - - [I] _“Sea Warfare.” By Rudyard Kipling. (Macmillan.)_ - - -No one knows how the title of “The Trade” came to be applied to the -Submarine Service. Some say the cruisers invented it because they -pretend that submarine officers look like unwashed chauffeurs. Others -think it sprang forth by itself, which means that it was coined by -the Lower Deck, where they always have the proper names for things. -Whatever the truth, the Submarine Service is now “the Trade”; and if -you ask them why, they will answer: “What else could you call it? The -Trade’s ‘the trade,’ of course.” - -It is a close corporation; yet it recruits its men and officers from -every class that uses the sea and engines, as well as from many classes -that never expected to deal with either. It takes them; they disappear -for a while and return changed to their very souls, for the Trade -lives in a world without precedents, of which no generation has had -any previous experience--a world still being made and enlarged daily. -It creates and settles its own problems as it goes along, and if it -cannot help itself no one else can. So the Trade lives in the dark and -thinks out inconceivable and impossible things, which it afterwards -puts into practice. - - -_Four Nightmares._ - -Who, a few months ago, could have invented, or, having invented, would -have dared to print such a nightmare as this: There was a boat in the -North Sea who ran into a net and was caught by the nose. She rose, -still entangled, meaning to cut the thing away on the surface. But a -Zeppelin in waiting saw and bombed her, and she had to go down again at -once, but not too wildly or she would get herself more wrapped up than -ever. She went down, and by slow working and weaving and wriggling, -guided only by guesses at the meaning of each scrape and grind of the -net on her blind forehead, at last she drew clear. Then she sat on -the bottom and thought. The question was whether she should go back -at once and warn her confederates against the trap, or wait till the -destroyers, which she knew the Zeppelin would have signalled for, -should come out to finish her still entangled, as they would suppose, -in the net. It was a simple calculation of comparative speeds and -positions, and when it was worked out she decided to try for the double -event. Within a few minutes of the time she had allowed for them, she -heard the twitter of four destroyers’ screws quartering above her; -rose; got her shot in; saw one destroyer crumple; hung round till -another took the wreck in tow; said good-bye to the spare brace (she -was at the end of her supplies), and reached the rendezvous in time to -turn her friends. - -And since we are dealing in nightmares, here are two more--one genuine, -the other, mercifully, false. There was a boat not only at, but _in_ -the mouth of a river--well home in German territory. She was spotted, -and went under, her commander perfectly aware that there was not -more than five feet of water over her conning-tower, so that even a -torpedo-boat, let alone a destroyer, would hit it if she came over. But -nothing hit anything. The search was conducted on scientific principles -while they sat on the silt and suffered. Then the commander heard the -rasp of a wire trawl sweeping over his hull. It was not a nice sound, -but there happened to be a couple of gramophones aboard, and he turned -them both on to drown it. And in due time that boat got home with -everybody’s hair of just the same colour as when they had started! - -The other nightmare arose out of silence and imagination. A boat had -gone to bed on the bottom in a spot where she might reasonably expect -to be looked for, but it was a convenient jumping-off, or up, place for -the work in hand. About the bad hour of 2.30. a.m. the commander was -waked by one of his men, who whispered to him: “They’ve got the chains -on us, sir!” Whether it was pure nightmare, an hallucination of long -wakefulness, something relaxing and releasing in that packed box of -machinery, or the disgustful reality, the commander could not tell, but -it had all the makings of panic in it. So the Lord and long training -put it into his head to reply: “Have they? Well, we shan’t be coming -up till nine o’clock this morning. We’ll see about it then. Turn out -that light, please.” - -_He_ did not sleep, but the dreamer and the others did, and when -morning came and he gave the order to rise, and she rose unhampered, -and he saw the grey, smeared seas from above once again, he said it was -a very refreshing sight. - -Lastly, which is on all fours with the gamble of the chase, a man was -coming home rather bored after an uneventful trip. It was necessary for -him to sit on the bottom for awhile, and there he played patience. Of a -sudden it struck him, as a vow and an omen, that if he worked out the -next game correctly he would go up and strafe something. The cards fell -all in order. He went up at once and found himself alongside a German, -whom, as he had promised and prophesied to himself, he destroyed. She -was a mine-layer, and needed only a jar to dissipate like a cracked -electric-light bulb. He was somewhat impressed by the contrast between -the single-handed game 50 feet below, the ascent, the attack, the -amazing result, and when he descended again, his cards just as he had -left them. - - -_The Exploit of E 11._ - -E 11 “proceeded” in the usual way, to the usual accompaniments of -hostile destroyers, up the Straits, and meets the usual difficulties -about charging-up when she gets through. Her wireless naturally takes -this opportunity to give trouble, and E 11 is left, deaf and dumb, -somewhere in the middle of the Sea of Marmara, diving to avoid hostile -destroyers in the intervals of trying to come at the fault in her -aerial. (Yet it is noteworthy that the language of the Trade, though -technical, is no more emphatic or incandescent than that of top-side -ships.) - -Then she goes towards Constantinople, finds a Turkish torpedo-gunboat -off the port, sinks her, has her periscope smashed by a six-pounder, -retires, fits a new top on the periscope, and at 10.30 a.m.--they must -have needed it--pipes “All hands to bathe.” Much refreshed, she gets -her wireless linked up at last, and is able to tell the authorities -where she is and what she is after. - - * * * * * - -In due time E 11 went back to her base. She had discovered a way of -using unspent torpedoes twice over, which surprised the enemy, and she -had as nearly as possible been cut down by a ship which she thought -was running away from her. Instead of which (she made the discovery at -3,000 yards, both craft all out) the stranger steamed straight at her. -“The enemy then witnessed a somewhat spectacular dive at full speed -from the surface to 20 feet in as many seconds. He then really did turn -tail and was seen no more.” Going through the Straits she observed -an empty troopship at anchor, but reserved her torpedoes in the hope -of picking up some battleships lower down. Not finding these in the -Narrows, she nosed her way back and sank the trooper, “afterwards -continuing journey down the Straits.” Off Kilid Bahr something -happened; she got out of trim and had to be fully flooded before she -could be brought to her required depth. It might have been whirlpools -under water, or--other things. (They tell a story of a boat which once -went mad in these very waters, and, for no reason ascertainable from -within, plunged to depths that contractors do not allow for; rocketed -up again like a swordfish, and would doubtless have so continued till -she died, had not something she had fouled dropped off and let her -recover her composure.) - -An hour later: “Heard a noise similar to grounding. Knowing this to be -impossible in the water in which the boat then was, I came up to 20 -feet to investigate, and observed a large mine preceding the periscope -at a distance of about 20 feet, which was apparently hung up by its -moorings to the port hydroplane.” Hydroplanes are the fins at bow and -stern which regulate a submarine’s diving. A mine weighs anything from -hundredweights to half-tons. Sometimes it explodes if you merely think -about it; at others you can batter it like an empty sardine tin and it -submits meekly; but at no time is it meant to wear on a hydroplane. -They dared not come up to unhitch it, “owing to the batteries ashore,” -so they pushed the dim shape ahead of them till they got outside Kum -Kale. They then went full astern, and emptied the after-tanks, which -brought the bows down, and in this posture rose to the surface, when -“the rush of water from the screws together with the sternway gathered -allowed the mine to fall clear of the vessel.” - -Now a tool, said Dr. Johnson, would have tried to describe that. - - - _Printed in Great Britain by Eyre & Spottiswoode, Ltd., - East Harding Street, London, E.C.4_ - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber’s note: - -Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a -predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they -were not changed. - -Simple typographical errors were corrected. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 60155 *** diff --git a/old/60155-h/60155-h.htm b/old/60155-h/60155-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 119f8aa..0000000 --- a/old/60155-h/60155-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2616 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> -<head> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; 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- margin-bottom: 1em; - padding: .5em; - } -} - - - h1.pg { line-height: 1; - margin-top: 0em; } - hr.full { width: 100%; - margin-top: 3em; - margin-bottom: 0em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - height: 4px; - border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ - border-style: solid; - border-color: #000000; - clear: both; } - </style> -</head> -<body> -<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 60155 ***</div> -<h1 class="pg">The Project Gutenberg eBook, Pen Pictures of British Battles, by Various</h1> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - <a href="https://archive.org/details/penpicturesofbri00londiala"> - https://archive.org/details/penpicturesofbri00londiala</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="max-width: 25em;"> - - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="552" height="800" alt="Cover" /> -</div> - -<h1 class="wspace">PEN PICTURES<br /> -<span class="xsmall">OF</span><br /> -BRITISH BATTLES</h1> - -<p class="p2 center vspace larger wspace">Painted by Author<br /> -and Artist.</p> - -<p class="p2 center vspace"><span class="small wspace">LONDON: EYRE AND SPOTTISWOODE, LTD.<br /> -1917.</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">3</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS.</h2> - -<table id="toc" summary="Contents"> - <tr class="nobpad"> - <td> </td> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="smcap">Page</span></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">I.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Victory of the Falkland Islands</span><br /><i class="in1">By Dr. Richard Wilson.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_I">5</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">II.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Battle of the Marne</span><br /><i class="in1">By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_II">11</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">III.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Glimpse of Canada in Flanders</span><br /><i class="in1">By Lord Beaverbrook.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_III">17</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">IV.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Second Battle of Ypres</span><br /><i class="in1">By John Buchan.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_IV">23</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">V.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Battle of Jutland Bank</span><br /><i class="in1">By H. W. Wilson.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_V">29</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">VI.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Charge at Loos of the London Irish</span></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_VI">39</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">VII.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Landing at V Beach, near Sedd-el-Bahr</span><br /><i class="in1">By John Masefield.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_VII">43</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">VIII.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Coldstream Guards at the Battle of the Somme</span><br /><i class="in1">By Philip Gibbs.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_VIII">49</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">IX.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Moonlight Battle for Baghdad</span><br /><i class="in1">By Edmund Candler.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_IX">53</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">X.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Battle of Arras</span><br /><i class="in1">By Philip Gibbs.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_X">59</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">XI.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Warfare under Water</span><br /><i class="in1">By Rudyard Kipling.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_XI">67</a></td></tr> -</table> - -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">4</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="EDITORS_NOTE">EDITOR’S NOTE.</h2> - -<p><i>Though Sir Walter Besant called War correspondents -“the scene painters of history,” it may -be questioned whether any pen or brush, trained -on the land, sea and air battles of the present -War, can depict more than a corner of the great -devastating drama.</i></p> - -<p><i>This little book, embracing extracts from famous -books, may help the reader to visualise some of -the outstanding battles in which Britain has played -a not inconspicuous part; and if they inspire -those still fighting, and those behind them in support, -with a firmer confidence and a greater endurance—if, -too, these records of undaunted heroism, often -against odds, enlighten readers in other lands as -to the character of British fighting men—their -publication in this informal style will be justified.</i></p> - -<p><i>Full acknowledgment is here made to the -authors and publishers who have kindly permitted -quotation; and to the proprietors of two great -illustrated weekly papers who have lent for reproduction -original sketches appearing in their pages.</i></p> - -<p><i>April, 1917.</i></p> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter b1" id="CHAP_I"> - -<div id="ip_4" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 40em;"> - <img src="images/i_005.jpg" width="630" height="354" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>THE BRITISH VICTORY OFF THE FALKLANDS: FIRST STAGE OF THE ACTION BETWEEN BRITISH -BATTLE-CRUISERS AND THE GERMAN ARMOURED CRUISERS.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">5</span></p> - -<h2 id="I" class="vspace" title="I. THE VICTORY OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS">I.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE VICTORY OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS.<a id="FNanchor_A" href="#Footnote_A" class="fnanchor smaller">A</a></span></h2> - -<p class="p1 center">By <span class="smcap">Richard Wilson</span>, Litt.D.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_A" href="#FNanchor_A" class="fnanchor">A</a> <cite>From “The First Year of the Great War.” By Richard -Wilson, Litt.D. (W. & R. Chambers.)</cite></p></div> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="firstword">The</span> affair off Coronel put the heads of the -British navy upon their mettle, and within -forty days it was followed by a counter-stroke, -complete and effective. Silently and with steady -determination, preparations were made to deal -with the <i>Scharnhorst</i> and her companions; and -the man who was entrusted with the work was -Vice-Admiral Sir F. C. Doveton Sturdee.</p> - -<p>To the east of the southern portion of -South America lies the British group known -as the Falkland Islands. Due east of the large -island called East Falkland, Sturdee’s squadron -came within sight of Von Spee’s cruisers, the -British admiral having been helped in finding the -“quarry” by the clever wireless signalling of -a lady and her servants who lived on the islands, -and who were afterwards presented with valuable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">6</span> -gifts by the British Admiralty as some slight -acknowledgment of their timely help.</p> - -<p>After the battle off Coronel, the <i>Glasgow</i>, -along with the battleship <i>Canopus</i>, had put into -the harbour of Port Stanley, in East Falkland. -The former vessel had been damaged, but she -was quickly repaired; and when Admiral Sturdee -arrived from home, she took her place in his -squadron, her officers and men being eager to -set things right with the Germans. It was -reported that Von Spee’s squadron was going -to make a raid on the Falklands; but when he -came round Cape Horn he found awaiting him -eight British ships of war, and, so far as we -know, this was a complete surprise to him.</p> - -<p>At about half-past nine in the morning the -<i>Gneisenau</i> and the <i>Nürnberg</i> drew near to Port -Stanley Harbour with their guns trained on -the wireless station. Between them and the -harbour was a long low stretch of land running -eastward, behind which lay the <i>Canopus</i>. The -surprise of the Germans must have been great -when they were met by a smart fire across this -low-lying land at a range of about six miles! -The two ships stopped, considered, and turned -away, hoisting their colours, however, as they -did so. About the same time the <i>Invincible</i> -sighted other hostile ships between nine and -ten miles distant; and in a short time the -British squadron was moving from the harbour -towards the enemy’s five ships, which could<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">7</span> -be plainly seen to the south-east. The day was -fine, with a calm sea, a bright sun, a clear sky, -and a light breeze from the north-west.</p> - -<p>The British vessels at once began a chase -in extended order, and the hearts of our men -must have been deeply stirred by the admiral’s -simple signal, “God save the King!” One of -the signallers afterwards wrote: “It was taken -up and flung far and wide through space by -each of the fleet in turn, until it seemed as -though it would never cease. I consider it a -privilege to have been one of the few to bear -the signal.” A little after noon Admiral Sturdee -came within suitable range of the five enemy -ships, and decided to attack with the <i>Invincible</i>, -the <i>Inflexible</i>, and the <i>Glasgow</i>. How the officers -and crew of the last-named vessel had longed -for this happy moment!</p> - -<p>The signal was given, “Open fire and engage -the enemy,” and the <i>Inflexible</i> began the battle, -followed a few minutes later by the <i>Invincible</i>. -This firing was at a range of about nine miles—no -opportunities for boarding here, cutlass in -teeth, and pistols in both hands!—but the British -gunnery was so good that three of the German -ships turned away. Then the <i>Glasgow</i>, with the -<i>Cornwall</i> and the <i>Kent</i>, gave chase. We shall -follow their work when we have considered -that of the heavier craft.</p> - -<p>The <i>Invincible</i> engaged the enemy’s flagship, -the <i>Scharnhorst</i>, and the <i>Inflexible</i> the <i>Gneisenau</i>,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">8</span> -the fight being a running one, and the range -varying from about eight to nine miles. Before -long the German flagship took fire, lost one -of her funnels, and slackened her firing. “The -effect of our fire,” writes Admiral Sturdee, -“became more and more apparent in consequence -of smoke from fires, and also escaping steam. -At times a shell would cause a large hole to -appear in her side, through which could be seen -a dull red glow of flame.” Yet the German -kept grimly on with her work.</p> - -<p>The <i>Gneisenau</i> now gamely faced the <i>Invincible</i> -and the <i>Inflexible</i>, but about 5 o’clock she lost -one funnel and was on fire in several places. -She continued, however, to reply to the British -gunners with a single gun, until, an hour later, -she suddenly heeled over and sank. Here is -an entry in the diary of one of her officers: -“5.10, Hit, hit! 5.12, Hit! 5.14, Hit, hit, -hit again! 5.20, After turret gone. 5.40, Hit, -hit! On fire everywhere. 5.41, Hit, hit! Burning -everywhere and sinking. 5.45, Hit! Men -dying everywhere. 5.46, Hit, hit!”</p> - -<p>After this the officers had something else to do -than make entries in a diary. Boats had been -lowered from the <i>Invincible</i> and the <i>Inflexible</i>, -life-buoys and ropes were thrown into the water, -and about 300 men were saved, “including their -captain—a tall man with a black beard.”</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the <i>Glasgow</i> and the <i>Cornwall</i> had -fought and sunk the <i>Leipzig</i>. Like the other<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">9</span> -German ships, she took fire fore and aft, and -as the shades of night were closing in she turned -over on her port side and disappeared. The -<i>Cornwall</i> began to lower boats when the <i>Leipzig</i> -was settling down, but the British Captain -leant over the rail of the bridge and said, “It’s -no good; she’s going.”</p> - -<p>While this was going on the <i>Kent</i> was dealing -with the <i>Nürnberg</i>, after a desperate chase with -only a small amount of fuel to rely upon. When -the engineers had done their best and worked -up the speed well above the rate which the <i>Kent</i> -could do “officially,” they reported that their -coal was almost used up. Then the captain -suggested that the boats might prove useful in -such a case! No sooner said than done! The -boats were promptly broken up, the pieces -smeared with oil, and packed by the stokers -into the furnaces.</p> - -<p>This use of the boats had suggested other -means of providing fuel, and soon the men were -hurrying to the furnaces with officers’ armchairs, -chests, ladders, and anything which would -burn. So the speed limit was much further -exceeded, the <i>Nürnberg</i> was caught and sunk, -but not before she had put up a stiff fight. -Fire was stopped on the <i>Kent</i> when the German -hauled down her colours, and every preparation -was made to save life. As the ship sank the -British sailors saw a group of men waving a -German ensign fastened to a staff. Only five<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">10</span> -Germans were rescued alive from the doomed -ship.</p> - -<p>Only one of the German ships, the fast cruiser -<i>Dresden</i>, escaped from the battle, the clouds -which overcast the sky in the evening assisting -her in getting clear away. The darkness closed -in, but near midnight Admiral Sturdee received -a message from H.M.S. <i>Bristol</i> to the effect that -during the action two enemy transports had -been destroyed near the Falklands, their crews -being removed before the ships were sunk. So -ended a memorable day in British naval history.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_II"> - -<div id="ip_10" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 24em;"> - <img src="images/i_011.jpg" width="375" height="467" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>DESPERATE STRUGGLE FOR THE CHÂTEAU DE MONDEMENT -DURING THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">11</span></p> - -<h2 id="II" class="vspace" title="II. THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE">II.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE.<a id="FNanchor_B" href="#Footnote_B" class="fnanchor smaller">B</a></span></h2> - -<p class="p1 center">By <span class="smcap">Sir Arthur Conan Doyle</span>.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_B" href="#FNanchor_B" class="fnanchor">B</a> <cite>From “The British Campaign in France and Flanders.” -By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. (Hodder & Stoughton.)</cite></p></div> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="firstword">On</span> September 11 the British were still -advancing upon a somewhat narrowed -front. There was no opposition, and again the -day bore a considerable crop of prisoners and -other trophies. The weather had become so -foggy that the aircraft were useless, and it is -only when these wonderful scouters are precluded -from rising that a general realises how indispensable -they have become to him. As a wit -expressed it, they have turned war from a game -of cards into a game of chess. It was still very -wet, and the Army was exposed to considerable -privation, most of the officers and men having -neither change of clothing, overcoats, nor waterproof -sheets, while the blowing up of bridges -on the lines of communication had made it -impossible to supply the wants. The undefeatable -commissariat, however, was still working -well, which means that the Army was doing -the same. On the 12th the pursuit was continued -as far as the River Aisne. Allenby’s cavalry<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">12</span> -occupied Braine in the early morning, the -Queen’s Bays being particularly active, but there -was so much resistance that the Third Division -was needed to make the ground good. Gough’s -Cavalry Division also ran into the enemy near -Chassemy, killing or capturing several hundred -of the German infantry. In these operations -Captain Stewart, whose experience as an alleged -spy has been mentioned, met with a soldier’s -death. On this day the Sixth French Army -was fighting a considerable action upon the -British left in the vicinity of Soissons, the -Germans making a stand in order to give time -for their impedimenta to get over the river. -In this they succeeded, so that when the Allied -Forces reached the Aisne, which is an unfordable -stream some sixty yards from bank to bank, -the retiring army had got across it, had destroyed -most of the bridges, and showed every sign of -being prepared to dispute the crossing.</p> - -<p>Missy Bridge, facing the Fifth Division, -appeared at first to be intact, but a daring -reconnaissance by Lieutenant Pennecuick, of the -Engineers, showed that it was really badly -damaged. Condé Bridge was intact, but was so -covered by a high horse-shoe formation of hills -upon the farther side that it could not be used, -and remained throughout under control of the -enemy. Bourg Bridge, however, in front of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">13</span> -First Army Corps, had for some unexplained -reason been left undamaged, and this was seized -in the early morning of September 13 by De -Lisle’s cavalry, followed rapidly by Bulfin’s -2nd Brigade. It was on the face of it a somewhat -desperate enterprise which lay immediately -in front of the British general. If the enemy -were still retreating he could not afford to slacken -his pursuit, while, on the other hand, if the -enemy were merely making a feint of resistance, -then, at all hazards, the stream must be forced -and the rearguard driven in. The German -infantry could be seen streaming up the roads -on the farther bank of the river, but there -were no signs of what their next disposition -might be. Air reconnaissance was still precluded, -and it was impossible to say for certain which -alternative might prove to be correct, but Sir -John French’s cavalry training must incline him -always to the braver course. The officer who -rode through the Boers to Kimberley and threw -himself with his weary men across the path of -the formidable Kronje was not likely to stand -hesitating upon the banks of the Aisne. His -personal opinion was that the enemy meant to -stand and fight, but none the less the order was -given to cross.</p> - -<p>September 13 was spent in arranging this -dashing and dangerous movement. The British -got across eventually in several places and by -various devices. Bulfin’s men, followed by the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">14</span> -rest of the First Division of Haig’s Army Corps, -passed the canal bridge of Bourg with no loss -or difficulty. The 11th Brigade of Pulteney’s -Third Corps got across by a partially demolished -bridge and ferry at Venizel. They were followed -by the 12th Brigade, who established themselves -near Bucy. The 13th Brigade was held up at -Missy, but the 14th got across and lined up with -the men of the Third Corps in the neighbourhood -of Ste. Marguerite, meeting with a considerable -resistance from the Germans. Later, Count -Gleichen’s 15th Brigade also got across. On -the right Hamilton got over with two brigades -of the Third Division, the 8th Brigade crossing -on a single plank at Vailly and the 9th using -the railway bridge, while the whole of Haig’s -First Corps had before evening got a footing -upon the farther bank. So eager was the -advance and so inadequate the means that -Haking’s 5th Brigade, led by the Connaught -Rangers, was obliged to get over the broad and -dangerous river, walking in single file along -the sloping girder of a ruined bridge, under a -heavy, though distant, shell-fire. The night of -September 13 saw the main body of the Army -across the river, already conscious of a strong -rear-guard action, but not yet aware that the -whole German Army had halted and was turning -at bay. On the right De Lisle’s cavalrymen had -pushed up the slope from Bourg Bridge and -reached as far as Vendresse, where they were -pulled up by the German lines.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">15</span> -It has been mentioned above that the 11th -and 12th Brigades of the Fourth Division had -passed the river at Venizel. These troops were -across in the early afternoon, and they at once -advanced, and proved that in that portion of -the field the enemy were undoubtedly standing -fast. The 11th Brigade, which was more to the -north, had only a constant shell-fire to endure, -but the 12th, pushing forward through Bucy-le-long, -found itself in front of a line of woods -from which there swept a heavy machine-gun -and rifle-fire. The advance was headed by the -2nd Lancashire Fusiliers, supported by the 2nd -Inniskilling Fusiliers. It was across open ground -and under heavy fire, but it was admirably -carried out. In places where the machine-guns -had got the exact range the stricken Fusiliers lay -dead or wounded with accurate intervals, like -a firing-line on a field-day. The losses were -heavy, especially in the Lancashire Fusiliers. -Colonel Griffin was wounded, and five of his -officers with 250 men were among the casualties. -It should be recorded that fresh supplies of -ammunition were brought up at personal risk -by Colonel Seely, late Minister of War, in his -motor-car. The contest continued until dusk, -when the troops waited for the battle of next -day under such cover as they could find.</p> - -<p>The crossing of the stream may be said, -upon the one side, to mark the end of the battle -and pursuit of the Marne, while, on the other,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">16</span> -it commenced that interminable Battle of the -Aisne which was destined to fulfil Bloch’s prophecies -and to set the type of all great modern -engagements. The prolonged struggles of the -Manchurian War had prepared men’s minds for -such a development, but only here did it first -assume its full proportions and warn us that the -battle of the future was to be the siege of the -past. Men remembered with a smile Bernhardi’s -confident assertion that a German battle would -be decided in one day, and that his countrymen -would never be constrained to fight in defensive -trenches.</p> - -<p>The moral effect of the Battle of the Marne -was greater than its material gains. The latter, -so far as the British were concerned, did not -exceed 5,000 prisoners, 20 guns, and a quantity -of transport. The total losses, however, were -very heavy.</p> - -<p>Apart from the losses, the mere fact that a -great German army had been hustled across -30 miles of country, had been driven from river -to river, and had finally to take refuge in trenches -in order to hold their ground, was a great encouragement -to the Allies. From that time they -felt assured that with anything like equal numbers -they had an ascendancy over their opponents.</p> - -<hr /> -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_III"> - -<div id="ip_16" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 25em;"> - <img src="images/i_017.jpg" width="364" height="458" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>WAR IN THE AIR: A DUEL OVER THE FIRING LINE.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">17</span></p> - -<h2 id="III" class="vspace" title="III. A GLIMPSE OF CANADA IN FLANDERS">III.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">A GLIMPSE OF CANADA IN FLANDERS.<a id="FNanchor_C" href="#Footnote_C" class="fnanchor smaller">C</a></span></h2> - -<p class="p1 center">By <span class="smcap">Lord Beaverbrook</span>.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_C" href="#FNanchor_C" class="fnanchor">C</a> <cite>From “Canada in Flanders” (Vol. I.). By Sir Max -Aitken. (Hodder & Stoughton.)</cite></p></div> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="firstword">The</span> end of the month was marked by one -or two very daring reconnaissances by -Lieutenant Owen, of the 7th (British Columbia) -Battalion, up the bed of the Douve River, and -by a great aeroplane battle.</p> - -<p>The aeroplane battle occurred upon a morning -warm and bright with sunshine. The conditions -were admirable for flying and observing, and, as -usual, a German Albatross took advantage of -them. Soaring high against the warm blue of -the sky, over Bailleul, over the headquarters of a -division, over our brigades and trenches and back -again, it glinted like silver in the morning sun. -The snow-white blobs of bursting shrapnel from -our anti-aircraft guns followed its graceful sweeps -and curves—followed and followed, but never -caught it up; and thousands of our men stared -after it. But a more dramatic spectacle was in -store for the watchers on the brown roads and -in the brown trenches.</p> - -<p>A British machine appeared suddenly low -against the blue, mounting and flying out of the -west. The men in the Albatross were evidently<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">18</span> -so intent on their task of observing the landscape -beneath them and keeping well ahead of our -blossoming shrapnel that they failed to observe -the approach of the British ’plane as soon as -they should have for their own good. They were -heading west when they saw their danger, and -instantly the Albatross swerved round and sped -towards home. But the British flier had the heels -of the German and the advantage of the position. -It circled and dipped, and down through the -clear air aloft came the rippling “tap-tap-tap” -of the aërial machine-guns. Again and again the -enemy’s frantic efforts to escape were frustrated -by the skill and daring of the British pilot and -the hedging fire of the British guns. Suddenly -the gun of the German ’plane jammed and ceased; -the pilot was hit and wounded; the Albatross -commenced a rapid descent, in which it was -followed by the British ’plane to within -1,000 feet of the ground. Then, under heavy -shell-fire from German batteries the victorious -machine rose and flew away undamaged, and the -unfortunate Albatross struck the earth between -the front and support trenches of the 14th -(Montreal) Battalion and turned turtle. The -German pilot was dead; the observer, slightly -wounded, crawled to our support trenches and -surrendered. The German batteries kept up a -hot fire of high explosives and shrapnel on the -machine with the object of smashing it beyond<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">19</span> -hope of repair before the Canadians could salvage -it. They made several direct hits, but our men -sapped out to the wreck and managed to bring -most of it in, piece by piece. Among the articles -brought in was the machine-gun that had jammed -in the heat of the fight. This was found to be -a Colt gun. Closer examination proved it to be -one of the original guns of our 14th Battalion—to -whose lines it had just made such a dramatic -return! The gun had been abandoned during -one of the desperate and confused fights of the -Second Battle of Ypres half a year before.</p> - -<p>In these months of September and October -great efforts were expended on improving the line. -Work in the front positions was done by the -occupying battalions, and the troops in reserve -came up night after night to assist their labours -and to create new secondary positions and drive -through fresh communication trenches. Even -the training of new units was occasionally and -rightly sacrificed to the performance of this -essential task. The weather was, on the whole, -favourable for these operations, with the exception -of three days of rain early in September and a -wet week late in October. The 1st Division, long -on the ground and fortified by the experience -of what good trenches mean for comfort and -safety, was pre-eminent in these exertions, as -would be proved by the trench-map with its -continuous increase, month after month, in the -black and zigzag lines of new work. Each tiny<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">20</span> -scrawl on the surface of such a map represents -the labours of hundreds of men, extended over -many nights. Second and third lines grew apace, -so that a sudden attack of the enemy would still -leave trenches to be held and would reduce the -German bite to mere nibbles at the forward trench. -The communication trenches are driven true -and straight from well in the rear, and up these -the ration parties toil in safety night after night -under their burdens of food, water, ammunition, -and R.E. material to feed the front line. These -parties know well enough the difference between -well-made lines and bad ones. Stooping under -the heavy weights as they struggle on through -the dark, they will bless in army fashion a smooth -and dry surface underfoot and a sound high -parapet which protects them from the casual -German shells which are searching for them, or -the intermittent whistle of the long-range bullet -humming on its errand in the dusk. Messengers -or stretcher-bearers with their burdens can move -backwards or forwards even by day along the -well-built hollow, and all those who pass are -protected both from the arrow that flieth by -night and the terror which walketh in the noonday. -Very different is the story of a badly-kept -line. It finds carrying parties struggling in, hours -late, exhausted by wading through mud and -water, and delayed by continually climbing out -and walking outside the trench to avoid impassable -sections. Here an unlucky shell or a casual bullet -may take its toll. The men struggle back with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">21</span> -difficulty, arriving hardly before the dawn, and -with their period of supposed rest and recuperation -turned into the most arduous of labours. It is -not too much to say that the efficiency of a -regiment or division can be tested by a comparison -between the state in which it takes over and that -in which it leaves its trenches.</p> - -<p>The creation of secondary positions is as -important as that of communication trenches, -and on this task the Canadian Corps worked -unsparingly throughout the autumn.</p> - -<p>The disposition of a brigade is two, or on -occasion three, battalions in the front line and -one or two in support or reserve trenches. But -in most cases even the leading regiments will not -have their whole strength in the firing trench. -One or two companies lie close up in support or -reserve to reinforce any threatened point. The -nearness of these supports is a very present help -in time of trouble, and gives confidence to officers -and men, who would be nervous if they knew -that no assistance was nearer than a mile away -in distance and an hour in time. But these lines -must be dug under cover of dark, so the men toiled -with the spade through the nights of autumn -and blessed the dawn which put a term to their -labours. Their record is written on the scarred -earth from St. Eloi down to Ploegsteert. Let -us hope that the corps which took their place in -March was duly grateful for the blessing of a -well-constructed line.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">22</span></p> - -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_IV"> - -<div id="ip_22" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 41em;"> - <img src="images/i_023.jpg" width="650" height="354" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>YPRES AFTER BOMBARDMENT.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Sphere.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">23</span></p> - -<h2 id="IV" class="vspace" title="IV. THE SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES">IV.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES.<a id="FNanchor_D" href="#Footnote_D" class="fnanchor smaller">D</a></span></h2> - -<p class="p1 center">By <span class="smcap">John Buchan</span>.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_D" href="#FNanchor_D" class="fnanchor">D</a> <cite>From “The History of the War.” By John Buchan. -(Thos. Nelson & Sons.)</cite></p></div> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="firstword">The</span> present writer first saw Ypres from a -little hill during the later stages of the -battle. It was a brilliant spring day, and, when -there was a lull in the bombardment and the -sun lit up its white towers, Ypres looked a -gracious and delicate little city in its cincture -of green. It was with a sharp shock of surprise -that one realised that it was an illusion, that -Ypres had become a shadow. A few days later, -in a pause of the bombardment, he entered the -town. The main street lay white and empty in -the sun, and over all reigned a deathly stillness. -There was not a human being to be seen in all -its length, and the houses on each side were -skeletons. There the whole front had gone, and -bedrooms with wrecked furniture were open to -the light. There a 42-cm. shell had made a -breach in the line, with raw edges of masonry -on both sides, and a yawning pit below. In one -room the carpet was spattered with plaster -from the ceiling, but the furniture was unbroken. -There was a Buhl cabinet with china, red plush<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">24</span> -chairs, a piano, and a gramaphone—the plenishing -of the best parlour of a middle-class home. -In another room was a sewing-machine, from -which the owner had fled in the middle of a -piece of work. Here was a novel with the reader’s -place marked. It was like a city visited by an -earthquake which had caught the inhabitants -unawares, and driven them shivering to a place -of refuge.</p> - -<p>Through the gaps in the houses there were -glimpses of greenery. A broken door admitted -to a garden—a carefully-tended garden, for the -grass had once been trimly kept, and the owner -must have had a pretty taste in spring flowers. -A little fountain still plashed in a stone basin. -But in one corner an incendiary shell had fallen -on the house, and in the heap of charred débris -there were human remains. Most of the dead -had been removed, but there were still bodies -in out-of-the-way comers. Over all hung a -sickening smell of decay, against which the lilacs -and hawthorns were powerless. That garden was -no place to tarry in.</p> - -<p>The street led into the Place, where once -stood the great Church of St. Martin and the -Cloth Hall. Those who knew Ypres before the -war will remember the pleasant <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">façade</i> of shops -on the south side, and the cluster of old Flemish -buildings at the north-eastern corner. Words<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">25</span> -are powerless to describe the devastation of -these houses. Of the southern side nothing remained -but a file of gaunt gables. At the northeast -corner, if you crawled across the rubble, -you could see the remnants of some beautiful -old mantelpieces. Standing in the middle of -the Place, one was oppressed by the utter silence, -a silence which seemed to hush and blanket the -eternal shelling in the Salient beyond. Some -jackdaws were cawing from the ruins, and a -painstaking starling was rebuilding its nest in -a broken pinnacle. An old cow, a miserable -object, was poking her head in the rubbish and -sniffing curiously at a dead horse. Sound was -a profanation in that tomb which had once -been a city.</p> - -<p>The Cloth Hall had lost all its arcades, most -of its front, and there were great rents everywhere. -Its spire looked like a badly-whittled -stick, and the big gilt clock, with its hands -irrevocably fixed, hung loose on a jet of stone. -St. Martin’s Church was a ruin, and its stately -square tower was so nicked and dinted that it -seemed as if a strong wind would topple it over. -Inside the church was a weird sight. Most of -the windows had gone, and the famous rose -window in the southern transept lacked a segment. -The side chapels were in ruins, the floor was deep -in fallen stones, but the pillars still stood. A -mass for the dead must have been in progress, -for the altar was draped in black, but the altar<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">26</span> -stone was cracked across. The sacristy was full -of vestments and candlesticks tumbled together -in haste, and all were covered with yellow picric -dust from the high explosives. In the graveyard -behind there was a huge shell crater, 50 feet -across and 20 feet deep, with human bones -exposed in the sides. Before the main door -stood a curious piece of irony. An empty pedestal -proclaimed from its four sides the many virtues -of a certain Belgian statesman who had been -also mayor of Ypres. The worthy mayor was -lying in the dust beside it, a fat man in a frock -coat, with side-whiskers and a face like Bismarck.</p> - -<p>Out in the sunlight there was the first sign -of human life. A detachment of French Colonial -<i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">tirailleurs</i> entered from the north—brown, -shadowy men in fantastic weather-stained uniforms. -A vehicle stood at the cathedral door, -and a lean and sad-faced priest was loading it -with some of the church treasures—chalices, -plate, embroidery. A Carmelite friar was prowling -among the side alleys looking for the dead. It -was like some <em>macabre</em> imagining of Victor Hugo.</p> - -<p>The ruins of old buildings are so familiar -that they do not at first dominate the mind. -Far more arresting are the remnants of the -pitiful little homes, where there is no dignity, -but a pathos which cries aloud. Ypres was like -a city destroyed by an earthquake; that is the -simplest and truest description. But the skeletons -of her great buildings, famous in Europe for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">27</span> -500 years, left another impression. One felt, -as at Pompeii, that things had always been so; -one felt that they were verily indestructible, -they were so great in their fall. The cloak of -St. Martin was not needed to cover the nakedness -of his church. There was a terrible splendour -about these gaunt and broken structures, these -noble, shattered <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">façades</i>, which defied their -destroyers. Ypres might be empty and a ruin, -but to the end of time she would be no mean -city.</p> - -<p>One of the truest of our younger poets, -Rupert Brooke, who died while serving in the -Dardanelles, wrote in his last months a sonnet -on the consolation of death in <span class="locked">war:—</span></p> - -<div class="poem-container"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="iq">“If I should die, think only this of me:<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That there’s some corner of a foreign field<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That is for ever England. There shall be<br /></span> -<span class="i2">In that rich earth a richer dust concealed.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="in0">In the salient of Ypres there are not less than a -hundred thousand graves of Allied soldiers, sometimes -marked by plain wooden crosses, sometimes -obliterated by the <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">débris</i> of ruined trenches, -sometimes hidden in corners of fields and beneath -clumps of chestnuts. That ground is for ever -England; and it is also for ever France, for there -the men of Dubois died around Bixschoote and -on the Klein Zillebeke ridge. When the war is -over this triangle of meadowland, with a ruined -city for its base, will be an enclave of Belgian -soil consecrated as the holy land of two great -peoples. It may be that it will be specially set<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">28</span> -apart as a memorial place; it may be that it -will be unmarked, and that the country folk -will till and reap as before over the vanishing -trench lines. But it will never be common -ground. It will be for us the most hallowed -spot on earth, for it holds our bravest dust, and -it is the proof and record of a new spirit. In the -past when we have thought of Ypres we have -thought of the British flag preserved there, which -Clare’s Regiment, fighting for France, captured -at the Battle of Ramillies. The name of the little -Flemish town has recalled the divisions in our -own race and the centuries-old conflict between -France and Britain. But from now and henceforth -it will have other memories. It will stand -as a symbol of unity and alliance—unity within -our Empire, unity within our Western civilization—that -true alliance and that lasting unity which -are won and sealed by a common sacrifice.</p> - -<hr /> -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_V"> - -<div id="ip_28" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 24em;"> - <img src="images/i_029.jpg" width="370" height="470" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>BATTLE OF JUTLAND: FIRST SIGHT OF THE ENEMY’S HIGH SEAS FLEET.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">29</span></p> - -<h2 id="V" class="vspace" title="V. THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND BANK">V.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND BANK.</span></h2> - -<p class="p1 b2 center">By <span class="smcap">H. W. Wilson</span>.</p> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="firstword">The</span> chase and destruction of an enemy takes -many hours. Nelson began his battle at -Trafalgar at noon, or soon after; the Germans -took good care not to engage before the afternoon -was well advanced. There was enough time to -destroy a detachment, but not enough to complete -the destruction of a large fleet. The mist further -diminished the advantage which the British -possessed in their heavy guns, and enabled the -Germans to count on using their numerous 6-in. -weapons with success.</p> - -<p>Contact with the enemy was obtained. At -2.20 p.m. Admiral Beatty received reports from -his light cruisers indicating the proximity of the -enemy, and at 2.35 the smoke of a considerable -fleet was seen to the E. A seaplane was sent -up from a seaplane-carrying ship to reconnoitre -the enemy, and transmitted back the first reports -about 3.30.</p> - -<p>Admiral Beatty at once formed line of battle, -steering E.S.E. at 25 knots, with the Fifth Battle<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">30</span> -Squadron 10,000 yards off to the N.N.W. The -enemy (five battle-cruisers under Vice-Admiral -Hipper, with light cruisers and destroyers) was -now 23,000 yards distant. Admiral Beatty seems -to have decided that it would be unwise to wait -till the Fifth Battle Squadron could join up with -him and form into line with his six ships.</p> - -<p>The enemy, on seeing him, had turned S. -toward the German Battle Fleet, which was -steaming up from the S. some 50 miles off, and -he followed. At 3.48 Beatty opened fire at a -range of 18,500 yards (or rather more than -10½ land miles), and the enemy did the same. Six -British ships with broadsides of 32 13·5-in. and -16 12-in. guns were now shooting at five German -ships, whose broadsides were 16 12-in. and -28 11-in. guns. Beatty slowly closed on the -enemy till a distance of 14,000 yards parted the -squadrons; meanwhile the light cruisers were -engaged with craft of their kind.</p> - -<p>It was in this preliminary action with the -odds in our favour that two of Admiral Beatty’s -splendid battle-cruisers—the <i>Queen Mary</i> and -<i>Indefatigable</i>—were destroyed.</p> - -<p>The loss of these two ships reduced Admiral -Beatty’s armoured ships to four and his weight -of metal to an approximate equality with the -German battle-cruiser squadron, which was still -five ships strong, no single vessel in it having as -yet been put out of action. At 4.8, Beatty was -in some degree supported by the fire of the 15-in.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">31</span> -guns in the Fifth Battle Squadron, which opened -at 20,000 yards—a long range in misty weather—and -the enemy’s fire seemed to slacken. A submarine -attack was beaten off by the vigilance -and skill of the British destroyers, which soon -after 4 were flung in on the enemy in a great -attack, meeting in their impetuous charge a -German light cruiser and 15 destroyers.</p> - -<p>All through this encounter the battle-cruisers -were still pounding one another and rapidly -nearing the German Battle Fleet. From 4.15 to -4.43 he reports that the fighting was “of a very -fierce and resolute character,” but at 4.18 the -third enemy ship was seen to be on fire. The -haze had now thickened, and the enemy could -only be dimly made out. At 4.38 the German -Battle Fleet emerged from the mist to the S.E., -and was seen and reported by the Second -Light Cruiser Squadron, scouting in advance, -to Admiral Beatty, who at 4.42 turned in his -course, steaming N.W. instead of S.E., towards -Admiral Jellicoe and the British Battle Fleet.</p> - -<p>The Germans turned in the same way, their -battle-cruisers taking station at the head of the -enemy’s line and pursuing Beatty. As they -executed this turn, the Fifth Battle Squadron -closed them, steaming in the opposite direction, -engaged them with all its guns, and then turned -and fell in astern of Beatty, who now had eight -ships in line, proceeding at a speed of something -over 21 knots. The enemy’s battle fleet was in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">32</span> -action, and the Germans had concentrated in -superior force on a part of the British Fleet.</p> - -<p>The range was 14,000 yards and the enemy -was getting heavily hit, while he was apparently -not making many hits on the British ships. -After 5, one of the German battle-cruisers—perhaps -the <i>Lutzow</i>, which, according to the -enemy, received 15 or 16 heavy shells—left -the line damaged. At 5.10 the sixth ship in -the German line—a Dreadnought—was reported -to have been hit by a torpedo, and it is just -possible that she sank, as a huge cloud of smoke -and steam was seen just after where she had been. -The Germans were now edging off to the E., -learning either from Zeppelins or their light -cruisers that the British Battle Fleet was coming -up to the N.W. Admiral Beatty reports that -“probably Zeppelins were present,” though they -appear to have been seen only by neutrals in -the first stage of the battle.</p> - -<p>The head of the German line at this part of -the battle was getting severely punished, and -a second of the German battle-cruisers had -vanished, leaving only three enemy battle-cruisers -in line. The first stage of the battle was over. -Beatty had led the Germans to the British -Battle Fleet, which was sighted at 5.56 10,000 -yards away to the N.</p> - -<p>The position of the Fleet was as follows:—Beatty, -with four battle-cruisers, and astern -of him the four fast battleships of the Fifth<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">33</span> -Battle Squadron, was now turning sharply eastwards -to pass across the head of the German -Fleet and prevent it from edging E. and getting -away in that direction. This movement of his -would have enabled him to “cross the T” of the -enemy’s line—<i>i.e.</i>, to pass at right angles across -it, raking the ships as he passed, which is regarded -as the most advantageous position that can be -obtained in battle—if the enemy had not turned. -N. of Admiral Beatty’s ships was the British -Battle Fleet, with three battle-cruisers under -Hood on one wing, and three or four armoured -cruisers under Arbuthnot on the other. On a -line generally parallel to Beatty’s was the whole -force of German battle-cruisers (3) and battleships -(22), slightly astern of him, so that the -German ships at the southern end of the line -were out of the battle—too distant to fire. The -head of the enemy line was some 12,000 yards -from him, and about 22,000 yards from the -British Battle Fleet.</p> - -<p>Beatty’s eastward turn compelled the enemy -to turn, and enabled the British Battle Fleet, -if it desired, to move in behind the High Sea -Fleet and cut it off from its bases. To reinforce -Beatty in these critical moments, Hood -steamed in fast with his three battle-cruisers, -and swung magnificently into position at the -head of Beatty’s line. There he received a -terrific fire from the enemy, 8,000 yards away, -and a few minutes later the <i>Invincible</i>, his flagship,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">34</span> -was struck by the combined salvoes of -the German Fleet and she sank. Three battle-cruisers -were gone, and of their combined crews -of 2,500 men a mere handful were saved. Beatty -at 6.35, about the time when the <i>Invincible</i> -sank, turned S.E. A little earlier, Rear-Admiral -Arbuthnot, with three weak armoured cruisers, -struck the German Battle Fleet, which was -apparently almost hidden in smoke. His intervention -prevented a dangerous German torpedo -attack on the British battle-cruisers, but in -rendering this last service he perished.</p> - -<p>The <i>Black Prince</i> was very badly hit. The -<i>Warrior</i> was disabled, and in extreme danger. -Probably the German ships were attacking these -vessels with concentrated salvoes—battleships of -the super-Dreadnought class firing at pre-Dreadnought -armoured cruisers. The German shooting -must have begun to deteriorate, as the <i>Warspite</i> -was quickly got under control, and with but -slight damage rejoined the Fifth Battle Squadron, -which was now taking station astern of Admiral -Jellicoe’s Fleet.</p> - -<p>At 6.17 this Fleet entered the battle. The -First Battle Squadron was the first to engage -at 11,000 yards, closing the enemy slowly to -9,000 (which is very short range indeed, and -would allow the Germans to use their 6-in. guns). -The light was very bad. The Germans were -shrouded in haze; their destroyers sent up -thick clouds of coal smoke, which obscured an<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">35</span> -atmosphere already choked with the fumes of -bursting shells, and the smoke from the numerous -fires in the ships engaged. From the van of -the Battle Fleet never more than five German -ships could be seen, and from the rear never -more than twelve. The British constantly strove -to close, but were eluded by the enemy, who -utilised destroyer attacks to cover his retreat. -But, difficult though it was to shoot with accuracy, -Sir J. Jellicoe reports that in this phase of the battle -the enemy ships were repeatedly hit, and one -at least was seen to sink.</p> - -<p>The <i>Marlborough</i>, in the First Battle Squadron, -specially distinguished herself, firing seven salvoes -(if with all her guns about 70 13·5-in. shell) at -a battleship of the <i>Kaiser</i> class; at 6.54 she was -so unlucky as to be hit by a torpedo fired from -a German light cruiser, which she sank. She -was the only British ship to suffer in this way. -A great cloud of smoke rose from her and she -listed violently, then recovered, and nine minutes -later re-opened fire. At 7.12 she poured 14 salvoes -with great speed upon a battleship of the <i>König</i> -class, and drove her from the line.</p> - -<p>The flagship, <i>Iron Duke</i>, at 6.30 engaged a -Dreadnought of the <i>König</i> class in the German -Fleet, hitting her at the second salvo, which was -a remarkable gunnery performance at a range -of 12,000 yards and in the clouds of smoke. The -enemy turned away and escaped. The other -ships of the Fourth Battle Squadron were mainly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">36</span> -engaged with the German battle-cruisers. The -Second Battle Squadron attacked the German -battleships, and also fired at a damaged German -battle-cruiser, from 6.30 to 7.20; at 7 p.m. the -British Fleet turned S., and shortly afterwards -S.W. The battleship engagement closed about -8.20, when the enemy disappeared in the smoke -and mist. He lay to the W. of Admiral Jellicoe’s -Fleet, and orders were issued to the British -torpedo craft to attack him. About 8.20 Beatty -pushed W. in support of the light cruisers -which had been ordered to locate the enemy’s -position, and came upon two battle-cruisers and -two battleships, which he attacked at a range -of 10,000 yards. The leading German ship was -struck repeatedly, and turned away sharply with -a very heavy list, emitting flames; the <i>Princess -Royal</i> set a three-funnelled battleship (possibly -the <i>Helgoland</i>) on fire. A third ship was battered -by the <i>Indomitable</i> and <i>New Zealand</i>, and was -seen heeling over, on fire, drawing out of the line. -Then about 8.38 the mist came down so thickly -that the battle was broken off, the enemy fleet -being last seen by the larger British ships about -8.38, steaming W.</p> - -<p>At 8.40 a violent explosion was felt by the -British Fleet. This was probably caused by the -destruction of a big ship.</p> - -<p>Beatty steamed S.W. till 9.24, when having -seen nothing more of the enemy, he assumed that -the Germans were to the N.W., and proceeded<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">37</span> -N.N.E. to the British Battle Fleet. He says: -“In view of the gathering darkness, and the -fact that our strategical position was such as -to make it appear certain that we should locate -the enemy at daylight under most favourable -circumstances, I did not consider it proper or -desirable to close the enemy battle fleet during -the dark hours.”</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_VI"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">38</span></p> - -<div id="ip_38" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 23em;"> - <img src="images/i_039.jpg" width="365" height="478" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>STORMING THE VILLAGE OF LOOS: HAND-TO-HAND FIGHTING IN THE STREETS.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Sphere.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">39</span></p> - -<h2 id="VI" class="vspace" title="VI. THE CHARGE AT LOOS OF THE LONDON IRISH">VI.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE CHARGE AT LOOS OF THE LONDON IRISH<br /> - -<span class="smaller">(18th London).</span></span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap a"><span class="firstword">A vivid</span> account of an incident at Loos, -which has become historic, was given by one -of the London Irish Regiment who was wounded -during the <span class="locked">charge:—</span></p> - -<p>“One set of our men—keen footballers—made -a strange resolution; it was to take a -football along with them. The platoon officer -discovered this, and ordered the football to be -sent back—which, of course, was carried out. -But the old members of the London Irish Football -Club were not to be done out of the greatest -game of their lives-the last to some of them, -poor fellows—and just before Major Beresford -gave the signal the leather turned up again -mysteriously.</p> - -<p>“Suddenly the officer in command gave the -signal, ‘Over you go, lads!’ With that the whole -line sprang up as one man, some with a prayer, -not a few making the sign of the Cross. But -the footballers, they chucked the ball over and -went after it just as cool as if on the field, passing -it from one to the other, though the bullets were -flying thick as hail, crying, ‘On the ball, London<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">40</span> -Irish!’ just as they might have done at Forest -Hill. I believe that they actually kicked it right -into the enemy’s trench with the cry, ‘Goal!’ -though not before some of them had been picked -off on the way.</p> - -<p>“There wasn’t 400 yards between the trenches, -and we had to get across the open—a manœuvre -we started just as on parade. All lined up, -bayonets fixed, rifles at the slope. Once our -fellows got going it was hard to get them to -stop, with the result that some rushed clean into -one of our own gas waves and dropped in it just -before it had time to get over the enemy’s trench.</p> - -<p>“The barbed wire had been broken into -smithereens by our shells so that we could get -right through; but we could see it had been -terrible stuff, and we all felt we should not have -had a ghost of a chance of getting through had -it not been for an unlimited supply of shells -expended on it.</p> - -<p>“When we reached the German trench, which -we did under a cloud of smoke, we found nothing -but a pack of beings dazed with terror. In a jiffy -we were over their parapet and the real work -began; a kind of madness comes over you as -you stab with your bayonet and hear the shriek -of the poor devil suddenly cease as the steel goes -through him and you know he’s ‘gone west.’ -The beggars did not show much fight, most -having retired into their second line of trenches -when we began to occupy their first to make it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">41</span> -our new line of attack. That meant clearing -out even the smallest nook or corner that was -large enough to hold a man.</p> - -<p>“This fell to the bombers. Every bomber is -a hero, I think, for he has to rush on, fully exposed, -laden with enough stuff to send him to ‘kingdom -come’ if a chance shot or stumble sets him off.</p> - -<p>“Some of the sights were awful in the hand-to-hand -struggle, for, of course, that is the worst -part. Our own second in command, Major Beresford, -was badly wounded. Captain and Adjutant -Hamilton, though shot through the knee just -after leaving our trench, was discovered still -limping on at the second German trench, and had -to be placed under arrest to prevent his going -on till he bled to death.</p> - -<p>“They got the worst of it, though, when it -came to cold steel, which they can’t stand, and -they ran like hares. So having left a number -of men in the first trench, we went on to the -second and then the third, after which other -regiments came up to our relief, and together -we took Loos. It wasn’t really our job at all -to take Loos, but we were swept on by the -enthusiasm, I suppose, and all day long we were -at it, clearing house after house, or rather what -was left of the houses—stabbing and shooting -and bombing till one felt ready to drop dead -oneself. We wiped the 22nd Silesian Regiment -right out, but it was horrible to work on with -the cries of the wounded all round.”</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_VII"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">42</span></p> - -<div id="ip_42" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 25em;"> - <img src="images/i_043.jpg" width="365" height="422" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>BRITISH TROOPS IN ACTION ON THE GALLIPOLI PENINSULA.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">43</span></p> - -<h2 id="VII" class="vspace" title="VII. THE LANDING AT V BEACH, NEAR SEDD-EL-BAHR">VII.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE LANDING AT V BEACH, NEAR SEDD-EL-BAHR.<a id="FNanchor_E" href="#Footnote_E" class="fnanchor smaller">E</a></span></h2> - -<p class="p1 center">By <span class="smcap">John Masefield</span>.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_E" href="#FNanchor_E" class="fnanchor">E</a> <cite>From “Gallipoli.” By John Masefield. (Heinemann.)</cite></p></div> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="firstword">The</span> men told off for this landing were: -the Dublin Fusiliers, the Munster Fusiliers, -half a battalion of the Hampshire Regiment, -and the West Riding Field Company.</p> - -<p>Three companies of the Dublin Fusiliers were -to land from towed lighters, the rest of the party -from a tramp steamer, the collier <i>River Clyde</i>. -This ship, a conspicuous seamark at Cape Helles -throughout the rest of the campaign, had been -altered to carry and land troops. Great gangways -or entry ports had been cut in her sides on the -level of her between decks, and platforms had -been built out upon her sides below these, so -that men might run from her in a hurry. The -plan was to beach her as near the shore as -possible, and then drag or sweep the lighters, -which she towed, into position between her and -the shore, so as to make a kind of boat bridge -from her to the beach. When the lighters were -so moored as to make this bridge, the entry -ports were to be opened, the waiting troops<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">44</span> -were to rush out on to the external platforms, -run from them on to the lighters, and so to the -shore. The ship’s upper deck and bridge were -protected with boiler plate and sandbags, and -a casemate for machine guns was built upon -her fo’c’sle, so that she might reply to the enemy’s -fire.</p> - -<p>Five picket-boats, each towing five boats or -launches full of men, steamed alongside the <i>River -Clyde</i> and went ahead when she grounded. She -took the ground rather to the right of the little -beach, some 400 yards from the ruins of Sedd-el-Bahr -Castle, before the Turks had opened fire; -but almost as she grounded, when the picket-boats -with their tows were ahead of her, only -20 or 30 yards from the beach, every rifle and -machine gun in the castle, the town above it, -and in the curved, low, strongly trenched hill -along the bay, began a murderous fire upon -ship and boats. There was no question of their -missing. They had their target on the front -and both flanks at ranges between 100 and -300 yards in clear daylight, 30 boats bunched -together and crammed with men and a good -big ship. The first outbreak of fire made the -bay as white as a rapid, for the Turks fired not -less then 10,000 shots a minute for the first few -minutes of that attack. Those not killed in -the boats at the first discharge jumped overboard<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">45</span> -to wade or swim ashore. Many were killed in -the water, many, who were wounded, were -swept away and drowned; others, trying to -swim in the fierce current, were drowned by -the weight of their equipment. But some reached -the shore, and these instantly doubled out to -cut the wire entanglements and were killed, or -dashed for the cover of a bank of sand or raised -beach which runs along the curve of the bay. -Those very few who reached this cover were -out of immediate danger, but they were only -a handful. The boats were destroyed where -they grounded.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the men of the <i>River Clyde</i> tried -to make their bridge of boats by sweeping the -lighters into position and mooring them between -the ship and the shore. They were killed as -they worked, but others took their places; the -bridge was made, and some of the Munsters -dashed along it from the ship and fell in heaps -as they ran. As a second company followed, -the moorings of the lighters broke or were shot; -the men leaped into the water, and were drowned -or killed, or reached the beach and were killed, -or fell wounded there, and lay under fire, getting -wound after wound till they died; very, very -few reached the sandbank. More brave men -jumped aboard the lighters to remake the bridge; -they were swept away or shot to pieces. The -average life on those boats was some three minutes -long, but they remade the bridge, and the third<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">46</span> -company of the Munsters doubled down to death -along it under a storm of shrapnel which scarcely -a man survived. The big guns in Asia were now -shelling the <i>River Clyde</i>, and the hell of rapid -fire never paused. More men tried to land, -headed by Brigadier-General Napier, who was -instantly killed, with nearly all his followers. -Then for long hours the remainder stayed on -board, down below in the grounded steamer, -while the shots beat on her plates with a rattling -clang which never stopped. Her twelve machine -guns fired back, killing any Turk who showed; -but nothing could be done to support the few -survivors of the landing, who now lay under -cover of the sandbank on the other side of the -beach. It was almost certain death to try to -leave the ship, but all through the day men -leaped from her (with leave or without it) to -bring water or succour to the wounded on the -boats or beach. A hundred brave men gave their -lives thus; every man there earned the Cross -that day. A boy earned it by one of the bravest -deeds of the war, leaping into the sea with a -rope in his teeth to try to secure a drifting lighter.</p> - -<p>The day passed thus, but at nightfall the -Turks’ fire paused, and the men came ashore -from the <i>River Clyde</i>, almost unharmed. They -joined the survivors on the beach, and at once -attacked the old fort and the village above it. -These works were strongly held by the enemy. -All had been ruined by the fire from the Fleet,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">47</span> -but in the rubble and ruin of old masonry there -were thousands of hidden riflemen backed by -machine guns. Again and again they beat off -our attacks, for there was a bright moon and -they knew the ground, and our men had to -attack uphill over wire and broken earth and -heaped stones in all the wreck and confusion -and strangeness of war at night in a new place. -Some of the Dublins and Munsters went astray -in the ruins, and were wounded far from their -fellows, and so lost. The Turks became more -daring after dark; while the light lasted they -were checked by the <i>River Clyde’s</i> machine -guns, but at midnight they gathered unobserved -and charged. They came right down on to the -beach, and in the darkness and moonlight much -terrible and confused fighting followed. Many -were bayoneted, many shot, there was wild -firing and crying, and then the Turk attack -melted away, and their machine guns began again. -When day dawned, the survivors of the landing -party were crouched under the shelter of the -sandbank; they had had no rest; most of them -had been fighting all night; all had landed across -the corpses of their friends. No retreat was -possible, nor was it dreamed of, but to stay -there was hopeless. Lieut.-Colonel Doughty-Wylie -gathered them together for an attack; -the Fleet opened a terrific fire upon the ruins -of the fort and village, and the landing party -went forward again, fighting from bush to bush -and from stone to stone, till the ruins were in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">48</span> -their hands. Shells still fell among them, single -Turks, lurking under cover, sniped them and -shot them; but the landing had been made -good, and V beach was secured to us.</p> - -<p>This was the worst and the bloodiest of all -the landings.</p> - -<hr /> -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_VIII"> - -<div id="ip_48" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 40em;"> - <img src="images/i_049.jpg" width="625" height="356" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME: THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS’ SPLENDID CHARGE.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">49</span></p> - -<h2 id="VIII" class="vspace" title="VIII. THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS AT THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME">VIII.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS AT THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME.<a id="FNanchor_F" href="#Footnote_F" class="fnanchor smaller">F</a></span></h2> - -<p class="p1 center">By <span class="smcap">Philip Gibbs</span>.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_F" href="#FNanchor_F" class="fnanchor">F</a> <cite>From “The Battles of the Somme.” (Heinemann.)</cite></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap al"><span class="firstword">And</span> now I must tell a little more in detail -the story of the Guards in this battle. -It is hard to tell it, and not all can be told yet -because of the enemy. The Guards had their -full share of the fighting, and of the difficult -ground, with strong forces against them. They -knew that would be so before they went into -battle, and yet they did not ask for better things -but awaited the hour of attack with strong, -gallant hearts, quite sure of their courage, proud -of their name, full of trust in their officers, eager -to give a smashing blow at the enemy.</p> - -<p>These splendid men, so tall and proper, so -hard and fine, went away as one might imagine -the old knights and yeomen of England at Agincourt. -For the first time in the history of the -Coldstreamers, three battalions of them charged -in line, great solid waves of men, as fine a sight -as the world could show. Behind them were -the Grenadiers, and again behind these men<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">50</span> -the Irish.</p> - -<p>They had not gone more than 200 yards -before they came under the enfilade fire of massed -machine guns in trenches not previously observed. -The noise of this fire was so loud and savage -that, although hundreds of guns were firing, -not a shot could be heard. It was just the stabbing -staccato hammering of the German Maxims. -Men fell, but the lines were not broken. Gaps -were made in the ranks, but they closed up. -The wounded did not call for help, but cheered -on those who swept past and on, shouting “Go -on, Lily-whites!”—which is the old name for -the Coldstreamers—“Get at ’em, Lily-whites!”</p> - -<p>They went on at a hot pace with their bayonets -lowered. Out of the crumpled earth—all pits -and holes and hillocks, torn up by great gun-fire—grey -figures rose and fled. They were German -soldiers terror-stricken by this rushing tide of -men.</p> - -<p>The Guards went on. Then they were checked -by two lines of trenches, wired and defended -by machine guns and bombers. They came upon -them quicker than they expected. Some of the -officers were puzzled. Could these be the trenches -marked out for attack—or other unknown -trenches? Anyhow, they must be taken—and -the Guards took them by frontal assault full in -the face of continual blasts of machine-gun -bullets.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">51</span> -There was hard and desperate fighting. The -Germans defended themselves to the death. They -bombed our men, who attacked them with the -bayonet, served their machine guns until they -were killed, and would only surrender when our -men were on top of them. It was a very bloody -hour or more. By that time the Irish Guards -had joined the others. All the Guards were -together, and together they passed the trenches, -swinging left inevitably under the machine-gun -fire which poured upon them from their right, -but going steadily deeper into the enemy country -until they were 2,000 yards from their starting -place.</p> - -<p>Then it was necessary to call a halt. Many -officers and men had fallen. To go farther would -be absolute death. The troops on the right had -been utterly held up. The Guards were “up in -the air” with an exposed flank, open to all the -fire that was flung upon them from the enemy’s -lines. The temptation to go farther was great. -The German infantry was on the run. They -were dragging their guns away. There was a -great panic among the men who had been hiding -in trenches. But the German machine gunners -kept to their posts to safeguard a rout, and the -Guards had gone far enough through their -scourging bullets.</p> - -<p>They decided very wisely to hold the line -they had gained, and to dig in where they stood, -and to make forward posts with strong points.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">52</span> -They had killed a great number of Germans and -taken 200 prisoners and fought grandly. So now -they halted and dug and took cover as best they -could in shell-craters and broken ground, under -fierce fire from the enemy’s guns.</p> - -<p>The night was a dreadful one for the wounded, -and for men who did their best for the wounded, -trying to be deaf to agonizing sounds. Many of -them had hairbreadth escapes from death. One -young officer in the Irish Guards lay in a shell-hole -with two comrades, and then left it for a -while to cheer up other men lying in surrounding -craters. When he came back he found his two -friends lying dead, blown to bits by a shell.</p> - -<p>But in spite of all these bad hours the Guards -kept cool, kept their discipline, their courage, -and their spirit. The Germans launched counter-attacks -against them, but were annihilated. The -Guards held their ground, and gained the greatest -honour for self-sacrificing courage which has ever -given a special meaning to their name. They took -the share which all of us knew they would take -in the greatest of all our battles since the first -day of July, and, with other regiments, struck -a vital blow at the enemy’s line of defence.</p> - -<hr /> -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_IX"> -<div id="ip_52" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 40em;"> - <img src="images/i_053.jpg" width="631" height="281" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>THE ADVANCE ON BAGHDAD: BATTLE ON THE DIALA RIVER.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Sphere.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">53</span></p> - -<h2 id="IX" class="vspace" title="IX. THE MOONLIGHT BATTLE FOR BAGHDAD">IX.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE MOONLIGHT BATTLE FOR BAGHDAD.</span></h2> - -<p class="p1 b2 center">By <span class="smcap">Edmund Candler</span>.</p> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="firstword">The</span> last fighting before Baghdad is likely -to become historic on account of the -splendid gallantry of our troops in the crossing -of the Diala River. After the action at Lajj -the Turkish rearguard fell back on Diala, destroying -the bridge which crosses the stream at its -junction with the Tigris. We pushed on in -pursuit on the left bank, sending cavalry and -two columns of infantry to work round on the -right bank, and to enter Baghdad from the west. -Speed in following up was essential, and the -column attacking Diala was faced with another -crossing in which the element of surprise was -eliminated. The village lies on both banks of -the stream, which is 120 yards wide. The houses, -trees, nullah, and walled gardens made it impossible -to build a road and ramps quickly and -to bring up pontoons without betraying the -point of embarkation. Hence the old bridgehead -site was chosen. The attack on the night -of the 7th was checked, but the quality of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">54</span> -courage shown by our men has never been -surpassed in war. Immediately the first pontoon -was lowered over the ramp the whole launching -party was shot down in a few seconds. It was -a bright moonlight, and the Turks had concentrated -their machine guns and rifles in the houses -on the opposite bank.</p> - -<p>The second pontoon had got into the middle -of the stream, when a terrific fusillade was -opened on it. The crew of five rowers and -ten riflemen were killed and the boat floated -down the stream. A third got nearly across, -but was bombed and sank. All the crew were -killed. But there was no holding back. The -orders still held to secure the passage. Crew -after crew pushed off to an obvious and certain -death. The fourth crossing party was exterminated -in the same way, and the pontoons -drifted out to the Tigris to float past our camp -in the daylight with their freight of dead. The -drafts who went over were raised by volunteers -from other battalions in the brigade. These -and the sappers on the bank share the honour -of the night with the attacking battalion. Nothing -stopped them, save the loss of the pontoons. -A Lancashire man remarked: “It is a bit hot -here, but let’s try higher up,” but the gallant -fellows were reduced to their last boat. Another -regiment, which was to cross higher up, were -delayed, as the boats had to be carried nearly a -mile across country to the stream. After the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">55</span> -failure of the bridgehead passage the second -crossing was cancelled, but the men were still -game.</p> - -<p>On the second night the attempt was pursued -with equal gallantry. This time the attack was -preceded by a bombardment. Registering by -artillery had been impossible on the first day -in the speed of the pursuit. It was the barrage -that secured us the footing—not the shells, but -the dust raised by them. This was so thick that -you could not see your hand in front of your face. -It formed a curtain behind which ten boats were -able to cross. Afterwards, in clear moonlight, -when the curtain of dust had lifted, the conditions -of the night before were re-established. Succeeding -crossing parties were exterminated, and pontoons -drifted away, but a footing was secured. -The dust served us well. The crew of one boat -which lost its way during the barrage were -untouched, but they did not make the bank -in time. Directly the air cleared a machine-gun -was opened on them, and the rowers were shot -down, and the pontoon drifted back ashore. A -sergeant called to volunteers to get the wounded -out of the boat, and a party of twelve men went -over the river bank. Every man of them, as well -as the crew of the pontoons, were killed.</p> - -<p>Some 60 men had got over, and these joined -up and started bombing along the bank. They -were soon heavily pressed by the Turks on both -flanks, and found themselves between two woods.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">56</span> -Here they discovered a providential natural -position. A break in the river bund had been -repaired by a new bund built in a half-moon -on the landward side. This formed a perfect -lunette. The Lancashire men, surrounded on -all sides but the river, held it through the night, -all the next day, and the next night against -repeated and determined attacks. Those attacks -were delivered in the dark or at dawn. The -Turks only attacked once in the daylight, as -our machine guns on the other bank swept the -ground in front of the position. Twenty yards -west of the lunette there was a thin grove of -mulberries and palms. The pontoon was most -vulnerable on this side, and it was here that the -Turkish counter-attacks were most frequent. Our -intense intermittent artillery fire day and night -on the wood afforded some protection. The -whole affair was visible to our troops on the -south side, who were able to make themselves -heard by shouting. Attempts to get a cable -across with a rocket for the passage of ammunition -failed.</p> - -<p>At midnight on the 9th and 10th the Turks -were on top of the parapet, but were driven -back. One more determined rush would have -carried the lunette, but the little garrison, now -reduced to 40, kept their heads and maintained -cool control of their fire. A corporal was seen -searching for loose rounds and emptying the -bandoliers of the dead. In the end they were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">57</span> -reduced almost to their last clip and one bomb, -but we found over 100 Turkish dead outside the -redoubts when they were relieved at daylight. -The crossing on the night of the 9th and 10th -was entirely successful. With our cavalry and -two columns of infantry working round on the -right bank the Turks were in danger of being -cut off, as at Sanna-i-Yat. Before midnight -they had withdrawn their machine guns, leaving -only riflemen to dispute the passage. The crossing -upstream was a surprise. We slipped through -the Turkish guard. He had pickets at both -ends of the river salient where we dropped our -pontoons. But he overlooked essential points -in it which offered us dead ground uncovered -by posts up and down stream. Consequently -our passage here lost us no lives. The other -ferry near the bridge was also crossed with slight -loss, owing to a diversion up-stream. The Turks, -perceiving that their flank was being turned, -effected a general retirement of the greater part -of their garrison between the two ferries. Some -250 in all, finding us bombing down on both -flanks, surrendered. The upper crossing was -so unexpected that one Turk was actually bayonetted -as he lay covering the opposite bank -with his rifle.</p> - -<p>By 9.30 on the morning of the 10th the whole -brigade had crossed. Soon after 11 the brigade -was complete and the pursuit continued. The -Turks continued their rearguard action, and in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">58</span> -the afternoon there was fighting in the palm -groves of Saida, and the Turks were cleared -with the bayonet, after artillery had combed the -wood. The main body was holding the El -Mahomed position, one and a half miles further -north—a trench line running nearly four miles -inland from the Tigris. We attacked this in front, -while another column made a wide turning -movement on the flank, and the enemy evacuated -it at night. On the morning of the 12th we entered -Baghdad. Our force on the right bank, after -defeating the Turkish rearguard in two actions, -reached the suburb on the opposite side of the -Bridge of Boats. A brigade was ferried across -in coracles, and at noon they hoisted the Union -Jack on the citadel. Meanwhile the cavalry -continued the pursuit and occupied Kazimain -after slight resistance. Four damaged aeroplanes -and 100 prisoners were taken, in addition to -the 300 captured on the left bank. The gunboats -are still in pursuit of the enemy, who are -reported to be entrenching 16 miles north of -Baghdad, covering the entrainment of troops.</p> - -<hr /> -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_X"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">59</span></p> - -<h2 id="X" class="nobreak vspace" title="X. THE BATTLE OF ARRAS">X.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE BATTLE OF ARRAS.<a id="FNanchor_G" href="#Footnote_G" class="fnanchor smaller">G</a></span></h2> - -<p class="p1 center"><span class="smcap">By Philip Gibbs.</span></p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_G" href="#FNanchor_G" class="fnanchor">G</a> <cite>From the “Daily Chronicle” and “Daily Telegraph.”</cite></p></div> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="firstword">To-day,</span> at dawn, our armies began a great -battle, which, if Fate has any kindness -for the world, may be the beginning of the last -great battles of the war. Our troops attacked -on a wide front between Lens and St. Quentin, -including the Vimy Ridge, that great, grim hill -which dominates the plain of Douai and the -coalfields of Lens and the German positions -around Arras. In spite of bad fortune in weather -at the beginning of the day, so bad that there -was no visibility for the airmen, and our men -had to struggle forward in a heavy rainstorm, -the first attacks have been successful, and the -enemy has lost much ground, falling back in -retreat to strong rearguard lines, where he is -now fighting desperately. The line of our attack -covers a front of some 12 miles southwards -from Givenchy-en-Gohelle, and is a sledge-hammer -blow, threatening to break the northern end -of the Hindenburg line, already menaced round -St. Quentin. As soon as the enemy was forced -to retreat from the country east of Bapaume -and Péronne, in order to escape a decisive blow<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">60</span> -on that line, he hurried up divisions and guns -northwards to counter our attack there, while -he prepared a new line of defence, known as -the Wotan line, as the southern part of the -Hindenburg line, which joins it, is known as -the Siegfried position, after two great heroes -of old German mythology. He hoped to escape -there before our new attack was ready, but -we have been too quick for him, and his own -plans were frustrated.</p> - -<p>So to-day began another titanic conflict which -the world will hold its breath to watch because -of all that hangs upon it. I have seen the fury -of this beginning, and all the sky on fire with -it, the most tragic and frightful sight that men -have ever seen, with an infernal splendour beyond -words to tell. The bombardment which went -before the infantry assault lasted for several -days, and reached a great height yesterday, -when, coming from the south, I saw it for the -first time. Those of us who knew what would -happen to-day, the beginning of another series -of battles greater, perhaps, than the struggle -of the Somme, found ourselves yesterday filled -with a tense, restless emotion, and some of us -smiled with a kind of tragic irony because it -was Easter Sunday. In the little villages behind -the battle lines the bells of the French churches -were ringing gladly because the Lord had risen,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">61</span> -and on the altar steps the priests were reciting -the splendid old words of faith. “Resurrexi -et adhuc tecum sum. Alleluia” (“I have arisen -and I am with thee always. Alleluia”). The earth -was glad yesterday. For the first time this -year the sun had a touch of warmth in it, though -patches of snow still stayed white under the -shelter of the banks, and the sky was blue and -the light glinted on wet tree-trunks and in the -furrows of the new-ploughed earth. As I went -up the road to the battle lines I passed a -battalion of our men, the men who are fighting -to-day, standing in hollow square with bowed -heads while the chaplain conducted the Easter -service. Easter Sunday, but no truce of God. -I went to a field outside Arras and looked into -the ruins of the cathedral city. The cathedral -itself stood clear in the sunlight, with a deep -black shadow where its roof and aisles had been. -Beyond was a ragged pinnacle of stone, once -the glorious Town Hall, and the French barracks -and all the broken streets going out to the -Cambrai road. It was hell in Arras, though -Easter Sunday.</p> - -<p>The bombardment was now in full blast. It -was a beautiful and devilish thing, and the -beauty of it, and not the evil of it, put a spell -upon one’s senses. All our batteries, too many -to count, were firing, and thousands of gun -flashes were winking and blinking from hollows -and hiding-places, and all their shells were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">62</span> -rushing through the sky as though flocks of great -birds were in flight, and all were bursting over -the German positions with long flames which -rent the darkness and waved sword-blades of -quivering light along the ridges. The earth -opened, and great pools of red fire gushed out. -Star shells burst magnificently, pouring down -golden rain. Mines exploded east and west -of Arras and in the wide sweep from Vimy -Ridge to Blangy southwards, and voluminous -clouds, all bright with a glory of infernal fire, -rolled up to the sky. The wind blew strongly -across, beating back the noise of the guns, but -the air was all filled with the deep roar and -slamming knocks of the single heavies and the -drum fire of the field guns.</p> - -<p>The hour for attack was 5.30. Officers were -looking at their wrist watches as on a day in -July last year. The earth lightened. A few -minutes before 5.30 the guns almost ceased fire, -so that there was a strange and solemn hush. -We waited, and pulses beat faster than the -second-hands. “They’re away,” said a voice -by my side. The bombardment broke out again -with new and enormous effects of fire and sound. -The enemy was shelling Arras heavily, and -black shrapnel and high explosive came over -from his lines, but our gunfire was twenty times -as great. Around the whole sweep of his lines -green lights rose. They were signals of distress, -and his men were calling for help.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">63</span> -It was dawn now, but clouded and storm-swept. -A few airmen came out with the wind -tearing at their wings, but could see nothing in -the mist and driving rain. I went down to the -outer ramparts of Arras. The suburb of Blangy -seemed already in our hands. On the higher -ground beyond our men were fighting forward. -I saw two waves of infantry advancing against -the enemy’s trenches, preceded by our barrage -of field guns. They went in a slow, leisurely -way, not hurried, though the enemy’s shrapnel -was searching for them. “Grand fellows,” said -an officer lying next to me on the wet slope. -“Oh, topping!” Fifteen minutes afterwards -groups of men came back. They were British -wounded and German prisoners. I met the -first of these walking wounded afterwards. They -were met on the roadside by medical officers, -who patched them up there and then before -they were taken to the field hospitals in ambulances. -From these men, hit by shrapnel and -machine-gun bullets, I heard the first news of -progress. They were bloody and exhausted, but -claimed success. “We did fine,” said one of -them. “We were through the fourth lines -before I was knocked out.” “Not many Germans -in the first trenches,” said another, “and no -real trenches either after shelling. We had -knocked their dug-outs out, and their dead were -lying thick, and the living ones put their hands -up.” All the men agreed that their own casualties -were not high, and mostly wounded.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">64</span></p> - -<p class="p1 sigright"><i>The Next Day.</i></p> - -<p>By three in the afternoon yesterday the -Canadians had gained the whole of the ridge -except a high strong post on the left, Hill 145, -which was captured during the night. Our -gunfire had helped them by breaking down all -the wire, even round Heroes’ Wood and Count’s -Wood, where it was very thick and strong. -Thélus was wiped utterly off the map. This -morning Canadian patrols pushed in a snowstorm -through the Farbus Wood, and established outposts -on the railway embankment. Some of -the bravest work was done by the forward -observing officers, who climbed to the top of -Vimy Ridge as soon as it was captured, and -through a sea of heavy barrage reported back -to the artillery all the movements seen by them -on the country below.</p> - -<p>In spite of the wild day, our flying men were -riding the storm and signalling to the gunners -who were rushing up their field guns. “Our -60-pounders,” said a Canadian officer, “had the -day of their lives.” They found many targets. -There were trains moving in Vimy village, and -they hit them. There were troops massing on -the sloping ground, and they were shattered. -There were guns and limbers on the move, and -men and horses were killed. Beyond all the -prisoners taken yesterday by the English, Scottish -and Canadian troops, the enemy losses were -frightful, and the scenes behind his lines must<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">65</span> -have been and still be hideous in slaughter and -terror.</p> - -<p>The Battle of Arras is the greatest victory -we have yet gained in this war and a staggering -blow to the enemy. He has lost already nearly -10,000 prisoners and more than half a hundred -guns,<a id="FNanchor_H" href="#Footnote_H" class="fnanchor">H</a> and in dead and wounded his losses are -great. He is in retreat south of the Vimy Ridge -to defensive lines further back, and as he goes -our guns are smashing him along the roads. -It is a black day for the German armies and -for the German women who do not know yet -what it means to them. During last night the -Canadians gained the last point, called Hill 145, -on the Vimy Ridge, where the Germans held -out in a pocket with machine guns, and this -morning the whole of that high ridge, which -dominates the plains to Douai, is in our hands, -so that there is removed from our path the -great barrier for which the French and ourselves -have fought through bloody years. Yesterday, -before daylight and afterwards, I saw this ridge -of Vimy all on fire with the light of great gunfire. -The enemy was there in strength, and his -guns were answering ours with a heavy barrage -of high explosives.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><span class="btd"><a id="Footnote_H" href="#FNanchor_H" class="fnanchor">H</a> Increased to 19,343 prisoners</span> and 257 guns on 2nd -May.</p></div> - -<p>This morning the scene was changed as by a -miracle. Snow was falling, blown gustily across -the battlefields and powdering the capes and -helmets of our men as they rode or marched -forward to the front. But presently sunlight<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">66</span> -broke through the storm-clouds and flooded all -the countryside by Neuville-St. Vaast and Thélus -and La Folie Farm up to the crest of the ridge -where the Canadians had just fought their way -with such high valour. Our batteries were -firing from many hiding-places, revealed by the -short, sharp flashes of light, but few answering -shells came back, and the ridge itself, patched -with snowdrifts, was as quiet as any hill of peace. -It was astounding to think that not a single -German stayed up there out of all the thousands -who had held it yesterday, unless some poor -wounded devils still cower in the great tunnels -which pierce the hillside. It was almost unbelievable -to me, who have known the evil of -this high ridge month after month and year after -year and the deadly menace which lurked about -its lower slopes. Yet I saw proof below, where -all the Germans who had been there at dawn -yesterday, thousands of them, were down in -our lines, drawn up in battalions, marshalling -themselves, grinning at the fate which had come -to them and spared their lives.</p> - -<hr /> -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_XI"> -<div id="ip_66" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 40em;"> - <img src="images/i_067.jpg" width="627" height="359" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>THE GREAT EXPLOIT OF E. 11: TORPEDOING AN ENEMY VESSEL OFF CONSTANTINOPLE.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">67</span></p> - -<h2 id="XI" class="vspace" title="XI. WARFARE UNDER WATER">XI.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">WARFARE UNDER WATER.<a id="FNanchor_I" href="#Footnote_I" class="fnanchor smaller">I</a></span></h2> - -<p class="p1 center"><span class="smcap">By Rudyard Kipling.</span></p> - -<div class="poem-container"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">They bear, in place of classic names,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Letters and numbers on their skin.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">They play their grisly blindfold games<br /></span> -<span class="i2">In little boxes made of tin.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Sometimes they stalk the Zeppelin,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Sometimes they learn where mines are laid<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Or where the Baltic ice is thin.<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That is the custom of “The Trade.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_I" href="#FNanchor_I" class="fnanchor">I</a> <cite>“Sea Warfare.” By Rudyard Kipling. (Macmillan.)</cite></p></div> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="firstword">No</span> one knows how the title of “The Trade” -came to be applied to the Submarine -Service. Some say the cruisers invented it -because they pretend that submarine officers look -like unwashed chauffeurs. Others think it sprang -forth by itself, which means that it was coined -by the Lower Deck, where they always have -the proper names for things. Whatever the -truth, the Submarine Service is now “the -Trade”; and if you ask them why, they will -answer: “What else could you call it? The -Trade’s ‘the trade,’ of course.”</p> - -<p>It is a close corporation; yet it recruits -its men and officers from every class that uses -the sea and engines, as well as from many classes -that never expected to deal with either. It -takes them; they disappear for a while and -return changed to their very souls, for the -Trade lives in a world without precedents, of -which no generation has had any previous experience—a -world still being made and enlarged -daily. It creates and settles its own problems -as it goes along, and if it cannot help itself -no one else can. So the Trade lives in the dark<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">68</span> -and thinks out inconceivable and impossible -things, which it afterwards puts into practice.</p> - -<h3><i>Four Nightmares.</i></h3> - -<p>Who, a few months ago, could have invented, -or, having invented, would have dared to print -such a nightmare as this: There was a boat -in the North Sea who ran into a net and was -caught by the nose. She rose, still entangled, -meaning to cut the thing away on the surface. -But a Zeppelin in waiting saw and bombed -her, and she had to go down again at once, -but not too wildly or she would get herself more -wrapped up than ever. She went down, and by -slow working and weaving and wriggling, guided -only by guesses at the meaning of each scrape -and grind of the net on her blind forehead, at -last she drew clear. Then she sat on the bottom -and thought. The question was whether she -should go back at once and warn her confederates -against the trap, or wait till the destroyers, -which she knew the Zeppelin would have signalled -for, should come out to finish her still entangled, -as they would suppose, in the net. It was a -simple calculation of comparative speeds and -positions, and when it was worked out she -decided to try for the double event. Within -a few minutes of the time she had allowed for -them, she heard the twitter of four destroyers’ -screws quartering above her; rose; got her -shot in; saw one destroyer crumple; hung -round till another took the wreck in tow; said -good-bye to the spare brace (she was at the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">69</span> -end of her supplies), and reached the rendezvous -in time to turn her friends.</p> - -<p>And since we are dealing in nightmares, -here are two more—one genuine, the other, -mercifully, false. There was a boat not only -at, but <em>in</em> the mouth of a river—well home in -German territory. She was spotted, and went -under, her commander perfectly aware that there -was not more than five feet of water over her -conning-tower, so that even a torpedo-boat, let -alone a destroyer, would hit it if she came over. -But nothing hit anything. The search was -conducted on scientific principles while they sat -on the silt and suffered. Then the commander -heard the rasp of a wire trawl sweeping over -his hull. It was not a nice sound, but there -happened to be a couple of gramophones aboard, -and he turned them both on to drown it. And -in due time that boat got home with everybody’s -hair of just the same colour as when they had -started!</p> - -<p>The other nightmare arose out of silence and -imagination. A boat had gone to bed on the -bottom in a spot where she might reasonably -expect to be looked for, but it was a convenient -jumping-off, or up, place for the work in hand. -About the bad hour of 2.30. a.m. the commander -was waked by one of his men, who whispered -to him: “They’ve got the chains on us, sir!” -Whether it was pure nightmare, an hallucination -of long wakefulness, something relaxing and -releasing in that packed box of machinery, or the -disgustful reality, the commander could not tell, -but it had all the makings of panic in it. So -the Lord and long training put it into his head<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">70</span> -to reply: “Have they? Well, we shan’t be -coming up till nine o’clock this morning. We’ll -see about it then. Turn out that light, please.”</p> - -<p><em>He</em> did not sleep, but the dreamer and the -others did, and when morning came and he gave -the order to rise, and she rose unhampered, and -he saw the grey, smeared seas from above once -again, he said it was a very refreshing sight.</p> - -<p>Lastly, which is on all fours with the gamble -of the chase, a man was coming home rather -bored after an uneventful trip. It was necessary -for him to sit on the bottom for awhile, and -there he played patience. Of a sudden it struck -him, as a vow and an omen, that if he worked -out the next game correctly he would go up -and strafe something. The cards fell all in order. -He went up at once and found himself alongside -a German, whom, as he had promised and prophesied -to himself, he destroyed. She was a mine-layer, -and needed only a jar to dissipate like a -cracked electric-light bulb. He was somewhat -impressed by the contrast between the single-handed -game 50 feet below, the ascent, the -attack, the amazing result, and when he descended -again, his cards just as he had left them.</p> - -<h3><i>The Exploit of E 11.</i></h3> - -<p>E 11 “proceeded” in the usual way, to -the usual accompaniments of hostile destroyers, -up the Straits, and meets the usual difficulties -about charging-up when she gets through. Her -wireless naturally takes this opportunity to give -trouble, and E 11 is left, deaf and dumb, somewhere -in the middle of the Sea of Marmara, -diving to avoid hostile destroyers in the intervals<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">71</span> -of trying to come at the fault in her aerial. (Yet -it is noteworthy that the language of the Trade, -though technical, is no more emphatic or incandescent -than that of top-side ships.)</p> - -<p>Then she goes towards Constantinople, finds -a Turkish torpedo-gunboat off the port, sinks -her, has her periscope smashed by a six-pounder, -retires, fits a new top on the periscope, and at -10.30 a.m.—they must have needed it—pipes -“All hands to bathe.” Much refreshed, she -gets her wireless linked up at last, and is able -to tell the authorities where she is and what she -is after.</p> - -<div class="tb">* * * * *</div> - -<p>In due time E 11 went back to her base. -She had discovered a way of using unspent -torpedoes twice over, which surprised the enemy, -and she had as nearly as possible been cut down -by a ship which she thought was running away -from her. Instead of which (she made the discovery -at 3,000 yards, both craft all out) the -stranger steamed straight at her. “The enemy -then witnessed a somewhat spectacular dive at -full speed from the surface to 20 feet in as many -seconds. He then really did turn tail and was -seen no more.” Going through the Straits she -observed an empty troopship at anchor, but -reserved her torpedoes in the hope of picking -up some battleships lower down. Not finding -these in the Narrows, she nosed her way back -and sank the trooper, “afterwards continuing -journey down the Straits.” Off Kilid Bahr -something happened; she got out of trim and -had to be fully flooded before she could be brought -to her required depth. It might have been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">72</span> -whirlpools under water, or—other things. (They -tell a story of a boat which once went mad in -these very waters, and, for no reason ascertainable -from within, plunged to depths that contractors -do not allow for; rocketed up again like a swordfish, -and would doubtless have so continued till -she died, had not something she had fouled -dropped off and let her recover her composure.)</p> - -<p>An hour later: “Heard a noise similar to -grounding. Knowing this to be impossible in -the water in which the boat then was, I came -up to 20 feet to investigate, and observed a -large mine preceding the periscope at a distance -of about 20 feet, which was apparently hung -up by its moorings to the port hydroplane.” -Hydroplanes are the fins at bow and stern which -regulate a submarine’s diving. A mine weighs -anything from hundredweights to half-tons. -Sometimes it explodes if you merely think about -it; at others you can batter it like an empty -sardine tin and it submits meekly; but at no -time is it meant to wear on a hydroplane. They -dared not come up to unhitch it, “owing to -the batteries ashore,” so they pushed the dim -shape ahead of them till they got outside Kum -Kale. They then went full astern, and emptied -the after-tanks, which brought the bows down, -and in this posture rose to the surface, when -“the rush of water from the screws together -with the sternway gathered allowed the mine -to fall clear of the vessel.”</p> - -<p>Now a tool, said Dr. Johnson, would have -tried to describe that.</p> - -<p class="p2 center smaller"> -<i><span class="bt">Printed in Great Britain by Eyre & Spottiswoode, Ltd.,</span><br /> -East Harding Street, London, E.C.4</i> -</p> - -<div class="chapter"><div class="transnote"> -<h2 id="Transcribers_Notes" class="nobreak p1">Transcriber’s Note</h2> - -<p>Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made -consistent when a predominant preference was found -in the original book; otherwise they were not changed.</p> - -<p>Simple typographical errors were corrected.</p> -</div></div> - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 60155 ***</div> -</body> -</html> - diff --git a/old/60155-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/60155-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 320fe60..0000000 --- a/old/60155-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60155-h/images/i_005.jpg b/old/60155-h/images/i_005.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 82fe07a..0000000 --- a/old/60155-h/images/i_005.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60155-h/images/i_011.jpg b/old/60155-h/images/i_011.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 759bbda..0000000 --- a/old/60155-h/images/i_011.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60155-h/images/i_017.jpg b/old/60155-h/images/i_017.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 145935b..0000000 --- a/old/60155-h/images/i_017.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60155-h/images/i_023.jpg b/old/60155-h/images/i_023.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 4c9653d..0000000 --- a/old/60155-h/images/i_023.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60155-h/images/i_029.jpg b/old/60155-h/images/i_029.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d0ec474..0000000 --- a/old/60155-h/images/i_029.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60155-h/images/i_039.jpg b/old/60155-h/images/i_039.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 6e0d120..0000000 --- a/old/60155-h/images/i_039.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60155-h/images/i_043.jpg b/old/60155-h/images/i_043.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 34b77e1..0000000 --- a/old/60155-h/images/i_043.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60155-h/images/i_049.jpg b/old/60155-h/images/i_049.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index f98bc6c..0000000 --- a/old/60155-h/images/i_049.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60155-h/images/i_053.jpg b/old/60155-h/images/i_053.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 59d71dd..0000000 --- a/old/60155-h/images/i_053.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60155-h/images/i_067.jpg b/old/60155-h/images/i_067.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 040b247..0000000 --- a/old/60155-h/images/i_067.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/old/60155-0.txt b/old/old/60155-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2af05c0..0000000 --- a/old/old/60155-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2062 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Pen Pictures of British Battles, by Various - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Pen Pictures of British Battles - - -Author: Various - - - -Release Date: August 23, 2019 [eBook #60155] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PEN PICTURES OF BRITISH BATTLES*** - - -E-text prepared by Brian Coe, Charlie Howard, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 60155-h.htm or 60155-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/60155/60155-h/60155-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/60155/60155-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/penpicturesofbri00londiala - - - - - -PEN PICTURES OF BRITISH BATTLES - -Painted by Author -and Artist. - - - - - - -London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, Ltd. -1917. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - I.--THE VICTORY OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS 5 - _By Dr. Richard Wilson._ - - II.--THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE 11 - _By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle._ - - III.--A GLIMPSE OF CANADA IN FLANDERS 17 - _By Lord Beaverbrook._ - - IV.--THE SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES 23 - _By John Buchan._ - - V.--THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND BANK 29 - _By H. W. Wilson._ - - VI.--THE CHARGE AT LOOS OF THE LONDON IRISH 39 - - VII.--THE LANDING AT V BEACH, NEAR SEDD-EL-BAHR 43 - _By John Masefield._ - - VIII.--THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS AT THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME 49 - _By Philip Gibbs._ - - IX.--THE MOONLIGHT BATTLE FOR BAGHDAD 53 - _By Edmund Candler._ - - X.--THE BATTLE OF ARRAS 59 - _By Philip Gibbs._ - - XI.--WARFARE UNDER WATER 67 - _By Rudyard Kipling._ - - - - -EDITOR’S NOTE. - - -_Though Sir Walter Besant called War correspondents “the scene painters -of history,” it may be questioned whether any pen or brush, trained on -the land, sea and air battles of the present War, can depict more than -a corner of the great devastating drama._ - -_This little book, embracing extracts from famous books, may help the -reader to visualise some of the outstanding battles in which Britain -has played a not inconspicuous part; and if they inspire those still -fighting, and those behind them in support, with a firmer confidence -and a greater endurance--if, too, these records of undaunted heroism, -often against odds, enlighten readers in other lands as to the -character of British fighting men--their publication in this informal -style will be justified._ - -_Full acknowledgment is here made to the authors and publishers who -have kindly permitted quotation; and to the proprietors of two great -illustrated weekly papers who have lent for reproduction original -sketches appearing in their pages._ - -_April, 1917._ - - - - -[Illustration: THE BRITISH VICTORY OFF THE FALKLANDS: FIRST STAGE OF -THE ACTION BETWEEN BRITISH BATTLE-CRUISERS AND THE GERMAN ARMOURED -CRUISERS. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”_] - - -I. - -THE VICTORY OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS.[A] - -By RICHARD WILSON, Litt.D. - - [A] _From “The First Year of the Great War.” By Richard Wilson, - Litt.D. (W. & R. Chambers.)_ - - -The affair off Coronel put the heads of the British navy upon their -mettle, and within forty days it was followed by a counter-stroke, -complete and effective. Silently and with steady determination, -preparations were made to deal with the _Scharnhorst_ and her -companions; and the man who was entrusted with the work was -Vice-Admiral Sir F. C. Doveton Sturdee. - -To the east of the southern portion of South America lies the British -group known as the Falkland Islands. Due east of the large island -called East Falkland, Sturdee’s squadron came within sight of Von -Spee’s cruisers, the British admiral having been helped in finding the -“quarry” by the clever wireless signalling of a lady and her servants -who lived on the islands, and who were afterwards presented with -valuable gifts by the British Admiralty as some slight acknowledgment -of their timely help. - -After the battle off Coronel, the _Glasgow_, along with the battleship -_Canopus_, had put into the harbour of Port Stanley, in East Falkland. -The former vessel had been damaged, but she was quickly repaired; and -when Admiral Sturdee arrived from home, she took her place in his -squadron, her officers and men being eager to set things right with the -Germans. It was reported that Von Spee’s squadron was going to make -a raid on the Falklands; but when he came round Cape Horn he found -awaiting him eight British ships of war, and, so far as we know, this -was a complete surprise to him. - -At about half-past nine in the morning the _Gneisenau_ and the -_Nürnberg_ drew near to Port Stanley Harbour with their guns trained -on the wireless station. Between them and the harbour was a long low -stretch of land running eastward, behind which lay the _Canopus_. The -surprise of the Germans must have been great when they were met by a -smart fire across this low-lying land at a range of about six miles! -The two ships stopped, considered, and turned away, hoisting their -colours, however, as they did so. About the same time the _Invincible_ -sighted other hostile ships between nine and ten miles distant; and in -a short time the British squadron was moving from the harbour towards -the enemy’s five ships, which could be plainly seen to the south-east. -The day was fine, with a calm sea, a bright sun, a clear sky, and a -light breeze from the north-west. - -The British vessels at once began a chase in extended order, and the -hearts of our men must have been deeply stirred by the admiral’s -simple signal, “God save the King!” One of the signallers afterwards -wrote: “It was taken up and flung far and wide through space by each -of the fleet in turn, until it seemed as though it would never cease. -I consider it a privilege to have been one of the few to bear the -signal.” A little after noon Admiral Sturdee came within suitable range -of the five enemy ships, and decided to attack with the _Invincible_, -the _Inflexible_, and the _Glasgow_. How the officers and crew of the -last-named vessel had longed for this happy moment! - -The signal was given, “Open fire and engage the enemy,” and the -_Inflexible_ began the battle, followed a few minutes later by the -_Invincible_. This firing was at a range of about nine miles--no -opportunities for boarding here, cutlass in teeth, and pistols in both -hands!--but the British gunnery was so good that three of the German -ships turned away. Then the _Glasgow_, with the _Cornwall_ and the -_Kent_, gave chase. We shall follow their work when we have considered -that of the heavier craft. - -The _Invincible_ engaged the enemy’s flagship, the _Scharnhorst_, and -the _Inflexible_ the _Gneisenau_, the fight being a running one, and -the range varying from about eight to nine miles. Before long the -German flagship took fire, lost one of her funnels, and slackened her -firing. “The effect of our fire,” writes Admiral Sturdee, “became more -and more apparent in consequence of smoke from fires, and also escaping -steam. At times a shell would cause a large hole to appear in her side, -through which could be seen a dull red glow of flame.” Yet the German -kept grimly on with her work. - -The _Gneisenau_ now gamely faced the _Invincible_ and the _Inflexible_, -but about 5 o’clock she lost one funnel and was on fire in several -places. She continued, however, to reply to the British gunners with a -single gun, until, an hour later, she suddenly heeled over and sank. -Here is an entry in the diary of one of her officers: “5.10, Hit, hit! -5.12, Hit! 5.14, Hit, hit, hit again! 5.20, After turret gone. 5.40, -Hit, hit! On fire everywhere. 5.41, Hit, hit! Burning everywhere and -sinking. 5.45, Hit! Men dying everywhere. 5.46, Hit, hit!” - -After this the officers had something else to do than make entries -in a diary. Boats had been lowered from the _Invincible_ and the -_Inflexible_, life-buoys and ropes were thrown into the water, and -about 300 men were saved, “including their captain--a tall man with a -black beard.” - -Meanwhile the _Glasgow_ and the _Cornwall_ had fought and sunk the -_Leipzig_. Like the other German ships, she took fire fore and aft, -and as the shades of night were closing in she turned over on her port -side and disappeared. The _Cornwall_ began to lower boats when the -_Leipzig_ was settling down, but the British Captain leant over the -rail of the bridge and said, “It’s no good; she’s going.” - -While this was going on the _Kent_ was dealing with the _Nürnberg_, -after a desperate chase with only a small amount of fuel to rely upon. -When the engineers had done their best and worked up the speed well -above the rate which the _Kent_ could do “officially,” they reported -that their coal was almost used up. Then the captain suggested that the -boats might prove useful in such a case! No sooner said than done! The -boats were promptly broken up, the pieces smeared with oil, and packed -by the stokers into the furnaces. - -This use of the boats had suggested other means of providing fuel, and -soon the men were hurrying to the furnaces with officers’ armchairs, -chests, ladders, and anything which would burn. So the speed limit was -much further exceeded, the _Nürnberg_ was caught and sunk, but not -before she had put up a stiff fight. Fire was stopped on the _Kent_ -when the German hauled down her colours, and every preparation was made -to save life. As the ship sank the British sailors saw a group of men -waving a German ensign fastened to a staff. Only five Germans were -rescued alive from the doomed ship. - -Only one of the German ships, the fast cruiser _Dresden_, escaped from -the battle, the clouds which overcast the sky in the evening assisting -her in getting clear away. The darkness closed in, but near midnight -Admiral Sturdee received a message from H.M.S. _Bristol_ to the effect -that during the action two enemy transports had been destroyed near the -Falklands, their crews being removed before the ships were sunk. So -ended a memorable day in British naval history. - - - - -[Illustration: DESPERATE STRUGGLE FOR THE CHÂTEAU DE MONDEMENT DURING -THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”_] - - -II. - -THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE.[B] - -By SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. - - [B] _From “The British Campaign in France and Flanders.” By Sir - Arthur Conan Doyle. (Hodder & Stoughton.)_ - - -On September 11 the British were still advancing upon a somewhat -narrowed front. There was no opposition, and again the day bore a -considerable crop of prisoners and other trophies. The weather had -become so foggy that the aircraft were useless, and it is only when -these wonderful scouters are precluded from rising that a general -realises how indispensable they have become to him. As a wit expressed -it, they have turned war from a game of cards into a game of chess. It -was still very wet, and the Army was exposed to considerable privation, -most of the officers and men having neither change of clothing, -overcoats, nor waterproof sheets, while the blowing up of bridges on -the lines of communication had made it impossible to supply the wants. -The undefeatable commissariat, however, was still working well, which -means that the Army was doing the same. On the 12th the pursuit was -continued as far as the River Aisne. Allenby’s cavalry occupied Braine -in the early morning, the Queen’s Bays being particularly active, but -there was so much resistance that the Third Division was needed to make -the ground good. Gough’s Cavalry Division also ran into the enemy near -Chassemy, killing or capturing several hundred of the German infantry. -In these operations Captain Stewart, whose experience as an alleged -spy has been mentioned, met with a soldier’s death. On this day the -Sixth French Army was fighting a considerable action upon the British -left in the vicinity of Soissons, the Germans making a stand in order -to give time for their impedimenta to get over the river. In this they -succeeded, so that when the Allied Forces reached the Aisne, which is -an unfordable stream some sixty yards from bank to bank, the retiring -army had got across it, had destroyed most of the bridges, and showed -every sign of being prepared to dispute the crossing. - -Missy Bridge, facing the Fifth Division, appeared at first to be -intact, but a daring reconnaissance by Lieutenant Pennecuick, of the -Engineers, showed that it was really badly damaged. Condé Bridge was -intact, but was so covered by a high horse-shoe formation of hills upon -the farther side that it could not be used, and remained throughout -under control of the enemy. Bourg Bridge, however, in front of the -First Army Corps, had for some unexplained reason been left undamaged, -and this was seized in the early morning of September 13 by De Lisle’s -cavalry, followed rapidly by Bulfin’s 2nd Brigade. It was on the face -of it a somewhat desperate enterprise which lay immediately in front of -the British general. If the enemy were still retreating he could not -afford to slacken his pursuit, while, on the other hand, if the enemy -were merely making a feint of resistance, then, at all hazards, the -stream must be forced and the rearguard driven in. The German infantry -could be seen streaming up the roads on the farther bank of the river, -but there were no signs of what their next disposition might be. Air -reconnaissance was still precluded, and it was impossible to say for -certain which alternative might prove to be correct, but Sir John -French’s cavalry training must incline him always to the braver course. -The officer who rode through the Boers to Kimberley and threw himself -with his weary men across the path of the formidable Kronje was not -likely to stand hesitating upon the banks of the Aisne. His personal -opinion was that the enemy meant to stand and fight, but none the less -the order was given to cross. - -September 13 was spent in arranging this dashing and dangerous -movement. The British got across eventually in several places and by -various devices. Bulfin’s men, followed by the rest of the First -Division of Haig’s Army Corps, passed the canal bridge of Bourg with -no loss or difficulty. The 11th Brigade of Pulteney’s Third Corps got -across by a partially demolished bridge and ferry at Venizel. They -were followed by the 12th Brigade, who established themselves near -Bucy. The 13th Brigade was held up at Missy, but the 14th got across -and lined up with the men of the Third Corps in the neighbourhood -of Ste. Marguerite, meeting with a considerable resistance from the -Germans. Later, Count Gleichen’s 15th Brigade also got across. On the -right Hamilton got over with two brigades of the Third Division, the -8th Brigade crossing on a single plank at Vailly and the 9th using -the railway bridge, while the whole of Haig’s First Corps had before -evening got a footing upon the farther bank. So eager was the advance -and so inadequate the means that Haking’s 5th Brigade, led by the -Connaught Rangers, was obliged to get over the broad and dangerous -river, walking in single file along the sloping girder of a ruined -bridge, under a heavy, though distant, shell-fire. The night of -September 13 saw the main body of the Army across the river, already -conscious of a strong rear-guard action, but not yet aware that the -whole German Army had halted and was turning at bay. On the right -De Lisle’s cavalrymen had pushed up the slope from Bourg Bridge and -reached as far as Vendresse, where they were pulled up by the German -lines. - -It has been mentioned above that the 11th and 12th Brigades of the -Fourth Division had passed the river at Venizel. These troops were -across in the early afternoon, and they at once advanced, and proved -that in that portion of the field the enemy were undoubtedly standing -fast. The 11th Brigade, which was more to the north, had only a -constant shell-fire to endure, but the 12th, pushing forward through -Bucy-le-long, found itself in front of a line of woods from which there -swept a heavy machine-gun and rifle-fire. The advance was headed by the -2nd Lancashire Fusiliers, supported by the 2nd Inniskilling Fusiliers. -It was across open ground and under heavy fire, but it was admirably -carried out. In places where the machine-guns had got the exact range -the stricken Fusiliers lay dead or wounded with accurate intervals, -like a firing-line on a field-day. The losses were heavy, especially in -the Lancashire Fusiliers. Colonel Griffin was wounded, and five of his -officers with 250 men were among the casualties. It should be recorded -that fresh supplies of ammunition were brought up at personal risk by -Colonel Seely, late Minister of War, in his motor-car. The contest -continued until dusk, when the troops waited for the battle of next day -under such cover as they could find. - -The crossing of the stream may be said, upon the one side, to mark -the end of the battle and pursuit of the Marne, while, on the other, -it commenced that interminable Battle of the Aisne which was destined -to fulfil Bloch’s prophecies and to set the type of all great modern -engagements. The prolonged struggles of the Manchurian War had prepared -men’s minds for such a development, but only here did it first assume -its full proportions and warn us that the battle of the future was -to be the siege of the past. Men remembered with a smile Bernhardi’s -confident assertion that a German battle would be decided in one -day, and that his countrymen would never be constrained to fight in -defensive trenches. - -The moral effect of the Battle of the Marne was greater than its -material gains. The latter, so far as the British were concerned, did -not exceed 5,000 prisoners, 20 guns, and a quantity of transport. The -total losses, however, were very heavy. - -Apart from the losses, the mere fact that a great German army had -been hustled across 30 miles of country, had been driven from river -to river, and had finally to take refuge in trenches in order to hold -their ground, was a great encouragement to the Allies. From that time -they felt assured that with anything like equal numbers they had an -ascendancy over their opponents. - - - - -[Illustration: WAR IN THE AIR: A DUEL OVER THE FIRING LINE. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”_] - - -III. - -A GLIMPSE OF CANADA IN FLANDERS.[C] - -By LORD BEAVERBROOK. - - [C] _From “Canada in Flanders” (Vol. I.). By Sir Max Aitken. - (Hodder & Stoughton.)_ - - -The end of the month was marked by one or two very daring -reconnaissances by Lieutenant Owen, of the 7th (British Columbia) -Battalion, up the bed of the Douve River, and by a great aeroplane -battle. - -The aeroplane battle occurred upon a morning warm and bright with -sunshine. The conditions were admirable for flying and observing, and, -as usual, a German Albatross took advantage of them. Soaring high -against the warm blue of the sky, over Bailleul, over the headquarters -of a division, over our brigades and trenches and back again, it -glinted like silver in the morning sun. The snow-white blobs of -bursting shrapnel from our anti-aircraft guns followed its graceful -sweeps and curves--followed and followed, but never caught it up; and -thousands of our men stared after it. But a more dramatic spectacle was -in store for the watchers on the brown roads and in the brown trenches. - -A British machine appeared suddenly low against the blue, mounting -and flying out of the west. The men in the Albatross were evidently -so intent on their task of observing the landscape beneath them and -keeping well ahead of our blossoming shrapnel that they failed to -observe the approach of the British ’plane as soon as they should have -for their own good. They were heading west when they saw their danger, -and instantly the Albatross swerved round and sped towards home. But -the British flier had the heels of the German and the advantage of the -position. It circled and dipped, and down through the clear air aloft -came the rippling “tap-tap-tap” of the aërial machine-guns. Again and -again the enemy’s frantic efforts to escape were frustrated by the -skill and daring of the British pilot and the hedging fire of the -British guns. Suddenly the gun of the German ’plane jammed and ceased; -the pilot was hit and wounded; the Albatross commenced a rapid descent, -in which it was followed by the British ’plane to within 1,000 feet -of the ground. Then, under heavy shell-fire from German batteries the -victorious machine rose and flew away undamaged, and the unfortunate -Albatross struck the earth between the front and support trenches of -the 14th (Montreal) Battalion and turned turtle. The German pilot was -dead; the observer, slightly wounded, crawled to our support trenches -and surrendered. The German batteries kept up a hot fire of high -explosives and shrapnel on the machine with the object of smashing it -beyond hope of repair before the Canadians could salvage it. They made -several direct hits, but our men sapped out to the wreck and managed -to bring most of it in, piece by piece. Among the articles brought in -was the machine-gun that had jammed in the heat of the fight. This was -found to be a Colt gun. Closer examination proved it to be one of the -original guns of our 14th Battalion--to whose lines it had just made -such a dramatic return! The gun had been abandoned during one of the -desperate and confused fights of the Second Battle of Ypres half a year -before. - -In these months of September and October great efforts were expended -on improving the line. Work in the front positions was done by the -occupying battalions, and the troops in reserve came up night after -night to assist their labours and to create new secondary positions -and drive through fresh communication trenches. Even the training of -new units was occasionally and rightly sacrificed to the performance -of this essential task. The weather was, on the whole, favourable for -these operations, with the exception of three days of rain early in -September and a wet week late in October. The 1st Division, long on -the ground and fortified by the experience of what good trenches mean -for comfort and safety, was pre-eminent in these exertions, as would -be proved by the trench-map with its continuous increase, month after -month, in the black and zigzag lines of new work. Each tiny scrawl on -the surface of such a map represents the labours of hundreds of men, -extended over many nights. Second and third lines grew apace, so that -a sudden attack of the enemy would still leave trenches to be held and -would reduce the German bite to mere nibbles at the forward trench. -The communication trenches are driven true and straight from well in -the rear, and up these the ration parties toil in safety night after -night under their burdens of food, water, ammunition, and R.E. material -to feed the front line. These parties know well enough the difference -between well-made lines and bad ones. Stooping under the heavy weights -as they struggle on through the dark, they will bless in army fashion -a smooth and dry surface underfoot and a sound high parapet which -protects them from the casual German shells which are searching for -them, or the intermittent whistle of the long-range bullet humming on -its errand in the dusk. Messengers or stretcher-bearers with their -burdens can move backwards or forwards even by day along the well-built -hollow, and all those who pass are protected both from the arrow that -flieth by night and the terror which walketh in the noonday. Very -different is the story of a badly-kept line. It finds carrying parties -struggling in, hours late, exhausted by wading through mud and water, -and delayed by continually climbing out and walking outside the trench -to avoid impassable sections. Here an unlucky shell or a casual bullet -may take its toll. The men struggle back with difficulty, arriving -hardly before the dawn, and with their period of supposed rest and -recuperation turned into the most arduous of labours. It is not too -much to say that the efficiency of a regiment or division can be tested -by a comparison between the state in which it takes over and that in -which it leaves its trenches. - -The creation of secondary positions is as important as that of -communication trenches, and on this task the Canadian Corps worked -unsparingly throughout the autumn. - -The disposition of a brigade is two, or on occasion three, battalions -in the front line and one or two in support or reserve trenches. But -in most cases even the leading regiments will not have their whole -strength in the firing trench. One or two companies lie close up in -support or reserve to reinforce any threatened point. The nearness of -these supports is a very present help in time of trouble, and gives -confidence to officers and men, who would be nervous if they knew that -no assistance was nearer than a mile away in distance and an hour in -time. But these lines must be dug under cover of dark, so the men -toiled with the spade through the nights of autumn and blessed the -dawn which put a term to their labours. Their record is written on -the scarred earth from St. Eloi down to Ploegsteert. Let us hope that -the corps which took their place in March was duly grateful for the -blessing of a well-constructed line. - - - - -[Illustration: YPRES AFTER BOMBARDMENT. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Sphere.”_] - - -IV. - -THE SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES.[D] - -By JOHN BUCHAN. - - [D] _From “The History of the War.” By John Buchan. (Thos. - Nelson & Sons.)_ - - -The present writer first saw Ypres from a little hill during the later -stages of the battle. It was a brilliant spring day, and, when there -was a lull in the bombardment and the sun lit up its white towers, -Ypres looked a gracious and delicate little city in its cincture of -green. It was with a sharp shock of surprise that one realised that it -was an illusion, that Ypres had become a shadow. A few days later, in -a pause of the bombardment, he entered the town. The main street lay -white and empty in the sun, and over all reigned a deathly stillness. -There was not a human being to be seen in all its length, and the -houses on each side were skeletons. There the whole front had gone, and -bedrooms with wrecked furniture were open to the light. There a 42-cm. -shell had made a breach in the line, with raw edges of masonry on both -sides, and a yawning pit below. In one room the carpet was spattered -with plaster from the ceiling, but the furniture was unbroken. There -was a Buhl cabinet with china, red plush chairs, a piano, and a -gramaphone--the plenishing of the best parlour of a middle-class home. -In another room was a sewing-machine, from which the owner had fled in -the middle of a piece of work. Here was a novel with the reader’s place -marked. It was like a city visited by an earthquake which had caught -the inhabitants unawares, and driven them shivering to a place of -refuge. - -Through the gaps in the houses there were glimpses of greenery. A -broken door admitted to a garden--a carefully-tended garden, for the -grass had once been trimly kept, and the owner must have had a pretty -taste in spring flowers. A little fountain still plashed in a stone -basin. But in one corner an incendiary shell had fallen on the house, -and in the heap of charred débris there were human remains. Most of the -dead had been removed, but there were still bodies in out-of-the-way -comers. Over all hung a sickening smell of decay, against which the -lilacs and hawthorns were powerless. That garden was no place to tarry -in. - -The street led into the Place, where once stood the great Church of -St. Martin and the Cloth Hall. Those who knew Ypres before the war -will remember the pleasant _façade_ of shops on the south side, and -the cluster of old Flemish buildings at the north-eastern corner. -Words are powerless to describe the devastation of these houses. Of -the southern side nothing remained but a file of gaunt gables. At the -northeast corner, if you crawled across the rubble, you could see the -remnants of some beautiful old mantelpieces. Standing in the middle -of the Place, one was oppressed by the utter silence, a silence which -seemed to hush and blanket the eternal shelling in the Salient beyond. -Some jackdaws were cawing from the ruins, and a painstaking starling -was rebuilding its nest in a broken pinnacle. An old cow, a miserable -object, was poking her head in the rubbish and sniffing curiously at a -dead horse. Sound was a profanation in that tomb which had once been a -city. - -The Cloth Hall had lost all its arcades, most of its front, and there -were great rents everywhere. Its spire looked like a badly-whittled -stick, and the big gilt clock, with its hands irrevocably fixed, -hung loose on a jet of stone. St. Martin’s Church was a ruin, and -its stately square tower was so nicked and dinted that it seemed as -if a strong wind would topple it over. Inside the church was a weird -sight. Most of the windows had gone, and the famous rose window in the -southern transept lacked a segment. The side chapels were in ruins, -the floor was deep in fallen stones, but the pillars still stood. A -mass for the dead must have been in progress, for the altar was draped -in black, but the altar stone was cracked across. The sacristy was -full of vestments and candlesticks tumbled together in haste, and all -were covered with yellow picric dust from the high explosives. In the -graveyard behind there was a huge shell crater, 50 feet across and 20 -feet deep, with human bones exposed in the sides. Before the main door -stood a curious piece of irony. An empty pedestal proclaimed from its -four sides the many virtues of a certain Belgian statesman who had been -also mayor of Ypres. The worthy mayor was lying in the dust beside it, -a fat man in a frock coat, with side-whiskers and a face like Bismarck. - -Out in the sunlight there was the first sign of human life. A -detachment of French Colonial _tirailleurs_ entered from the -north--brown, shadowy men in fantastic weather-stained uniforms. A -vehicle stood at the cathedral door, and a lean and sad-faced priest -was loading it with some of the church treasures--chalices, plate, -embroidery. A Carmelite friar was prowling among the side alleys -looking for the dead. It was like some _macabre_ imagining of Victor -Hugo. - -The ruins of old buildings are so familiar that they do not at first -dominate the mind. Far more arresting are the remnants of the pitiful -little homes, where there is no dignity, but a pathos which cries -aloud. Ypres was like a city destroyed by an earthquake; that is -the simplest and truest description. But the skeletons of her great -buildings, famous in Europe for 500 years, left another impression. -One felt, as at Pompeii, that things had always been so; one felt that -they were verily indestructible, they were so great in their fall. -The cloak of St. Martin was not needed to cover the nakedness of his -church. There was a terrible splendour about these gaunt and broken -structures, these noble, shattered _façades_, which defied their -destroyers. Ypres might be empty and a ruin, but to the end of time she -would be no mean city. - -One of the truest of our younger poets, Rupert Brooke, who died while -serving in the Dardanelles, wrote in his last months a sonnet on the -consolation of death in war:-- - - “If I should die, think only this of me: - That there’s some corner of a foreign field - That is for ever England. There shall be - In that rich earth a richer dust concealed.” - -In the salient of Ypres there are not less than a hundred thousand -graves of Allied soldiers, sometimes marked by plain wooden crosses, -sometimes obliterated by the _débris_ of ruined trenches, sometimes -hidden in corners of fields and beneath clumps of chestnuts. That -ground is for ever England; and it is also for ever France, for there -the men of Dubois died around Bixschoote and on the Klein Zillebeke -ridge. When the war is over this triangle of meadowland, with a ruined -city for its base, will be an enclave of Belgian soil consecrated as -the holy land of two great peoples. It may be that it will be specially -set apart as a memorial place; it may be that it will be unmarked, and -that the country folk will till and reap as before over the vanishing -trench lines. But it will never be common ground. It will be for us -the most hallowed spot on earth, for it holds our bravest dust, and -it is the proof and record of a new spirit. In the past when we have -thought of Ypres we have thought of the British flag preserved there, -which Clare’s Regiment, fighting for France, captured at the Battle -of Ramillies. The name of the little Flemish town has recalled the -divisions in our own race and the centuries-old conflict between France -and Britain. But from now and henceforth it will have other memories. -It will stand as a symbol of unity and alliance--unity within our -Empire, unity within our Western civilization--that true alliance and -that lasting unity which are won and sealed by a common sacrifice. - - - - -[Illustration: BATTLE OF JUTLAND: FIRST SIGHT OF THE ENEMY’S HIGH SEAS -FLEET. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”_] - - -V. - -THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND BANK. - -By H. W. WILSON. - - -The chase and destruction of an enemy takes many hours. Nelson began -his battle at Trafalgar at noon, or soon after; the Germans took good -care not to engage before the afternoon was well advanced. There was -enough time to destroy a detachment, but not enough to complete the -destruction of a large fleet. The mist further diminished the advantage -which the British possessed in their heavy guns, and enabled the -Germans to count on using their numerous 6-in. weapons with success. - -Contact with the enemy was obtained. At 2.20 p.m. Admiral Beatty -received reports from his light cruisers indicating the proximity of -the enemy, and at 2.35 the smoke of a considerable fleet was seen -to the E. A seaplane was sent up from a seaplane-carrying ship to -reconnoitre the enemy, and transmitted back the first reports about -3.30. - -Admiral Beatty at once formed line of battle, steering E.S.E. at 25 -knots, with the Fifth Battle Squadron 10,000 yards off to the N.N.W. -The enemy (five battle-cruisers under Vice-Admiral Hipper, with light -cruisers and destroyers) was now 23,000 yards distant. Admiral Beatty -seems to have decided that it would be unwise to wait till the Fifth -Battle Squadron could join up with him and form into line with his six -ships. - -The enemy, on seeing him, had turned S. toward the German Battle Fleet, -which was steaming up from the S. some 50 miles off, and he followed. -At 3.48 Beatty opened fire at a range of 18,500 yards (or rather more -than 10½ land miles), and the enemy did the same. Six British ships -with broadsides of 32 13·5-in. and 16 12-in. guns were now shooting -at five German ships, whose broadsides were 16 12-in. and 28 11-in. -guns. Beatty slowly closed on the enemy till a distance of 14,000 yards -parted the squadrons; meanwhile the light cruisers were engaged with -craft of their kind. - -It was in this preliminary action with the odds in our favour that two -of Admiral Beatty’s splendid battle-cruisers--the _Queen Mary_ and -_Indefatigable_--were destroyed. - -The loss of these two ships reduced Admiral Beatty’s armoured ships to -four and his weight of metal to an approximate equality with the German -battle-cruiser squadron, which was still five ships strong, no single -vessel in it having as yet been put out of action. At 4.8, Beatty was -in some degree supported by the fire of the 15-in. guns in the Fifth -Battle Squadron, which opened at 20,000 yards--a long range in misty -weather--and the enemy’s fire seemed to slacken. A submarine attack was -beaten off by the vigilance and skill of the British destroyers, which -soon after 4 were flung in on the enemy in a great attack, meeting in -their impetuous charge a German light cruiser and 15 destroyers. - -All through this encounter the battle-cruisers were still pounding -one another and rapidly nearing the German Battle Fleet. From 4.15 to -4.43 he reports that the fighting was “of a very fierce and resolute -character,” but at 4.18 the third enemy ship was seen to be on fire. -The haze had now thickened, and the enemy could only be dimly made out. -At 4.38 the German Battle Fleet emerged from the mist to the S.E., and -was seen and reported by the Second Light Cruiser Squadron, scouting in -advance, to Admiral Beatty, who at 4.42 turned in his course, steaming -N.W. instead of S.E., towards Admiral Jellicoe and the British Battle -Fleet. - -The Germans turned in the same way, their battle-cruisers taking -station at the head of the enemy’s line and pursuing Beatty. As they -executed this turn, the Fifth Battle Squadron closed them, steaming -in the opposite direction, engaged them with all its guns, and then -turned and fell in astern of Beatty, who now had eight ships in line, -proceeding at a speed of something over 21 knots. The enemy’s battle -fleet was in action, and the Germans had concentrated in superior -force on a part of the British Fleet. - -The range was 14,000 yards and the enemy was getting heavily hit, while -he was apparently not making many hits on the British ships. After -5, one of the German battle-cruisers--perhaps the _Lutzow_, which, -according to the enemy, received 15 or 16 heavy shells--left the line -damaged. At 5.10 the sixth ship in the German line--a Dreadnought--was -reported to have been hit by a torpedo, and it is just possible that -she sank, as a huge cloud of smoke and steam was seen just after where -she had been. The Germans were now edging off to the E., learning -either from Zeppelins or their light cruisers that the British Battle -Fleet was coming up to the N.W. Admiral Beatty reports that “probably -Zeppelins were present,” though they appear to have been seen only by -neutrals in the first stage of the battle. - -The head of the German line at this part of the battle was getting -severely punished, and a second of the German battle-cruisers had -vanished, leaving only three enemy battle-cruisers in line. The first -stage of the battle was over. Beatty had led the Germans to the British -Battle Fleet, which was sighted at 5.56 10,000 yards away to the N. - -The position of the Fleet was as follows:--Beatty, with four -battle-cruisers, and astern of him the four fast battleships of the -Fifth Battle Squadron, was now turning sharply eastwards to pass -across the head of the German Fleet and prevent it from edging E. and -getting away in that direction. This movement of his would have enabled -him to “cross the T” of the enemy’s line--_i.e._, to pass at right -angles across it, raking the ships as he passed, which is regarded as -the most advantageous position that can be obtained in battle--if the -enemy had not turned. N. of Admiral Beatty’s ships was the British -Battle Fleet, with three battle-cruisers under Hood on one wing, and -three or four armoured cruisers under Arbuthnot on the other. On a -line generally parallel to Beatty’s was the whole force of German -battle-cruisers (3) and battleships (22), slightly astern of him, so -that the German ships at the southern end of the line were out of the -battle--too distant to fire. The head of the enemy line was some 12,000 -yards from him, and about 22,000 yards from the British Battle Fleet. - -Beatty’s eastward turn compelled the enemy to turn, and enabled the -British Battle Fleet, if it desired, to move in behind the High Sea -Fleet and cut it off from its bases. To reinforce Beatty in these -critical moments, Hood steamed in fast with his three battle-cruisers, -and swung magnificently into position at the head of Beatty’s line. -There he received a terrific fire from the enemy, 8,000 yards away, -and a few minutes later the _Invincible_, his flagship, was struck -by the combined salvoes of the German Fleet and she sank. Three -battle-cruisers were gone, and of their combined crews of 2,500 -men a mere handful were saved. Beatty at 6.35, about the time when -the _Invincible_ sank, turned S.E. A little earlier, Rear-Admiral -Arbuthnot, with three weak armoured cruisers, struck the German -Battle Fleet, which was apparently almost hidden in smoke. His -intervention prevented a dangerous German torpedo attack on the British -battle-cruisers, but in rendering this last service he perished. - -The _Black Prince_ was very badly hit. The _Warrior_ was disabled, -and in extreme danger. Probably the German ships were attacking these -vessels with concentrated salvoes--battleships of the super-Dreadnought -class firing at pre-Dreadnought armoured cruisers. The German shooting -must have begun to deteriorate, as the _Warspite_ was quickly got under -control, and with but slight damage rejoined the Fifth Battle Squadron, -which was now taking station astern of Admiral Jellicoe’s Fleet. - -At 6.17 this Fleet entered the battle. The First Battle Squadron was -the first to engage at 11,000 yards, closing the enemy slowly to 9,000 -(which is very short range indeed, and would allow the Germans to use -their 6-in. guns). The light was very bad. The Germans were shrouded -in haze; their destroyers sent up thick clouds of coal smoke, which -obscured an atmosphere already choked with the fumes of bursting -shells, and the smoke from the numerous fires in the ships engaged. -From the van of the Battle Fleet never more than five German ships -could be seen, and from the rear never more than twelve. The British -constantly strove to close, but were eluded by the enemy, who utilised -destroyer attacks to cover his retreat. But, difficult though it was to -shoot with accuracy, Sir J. Jellicoe reports that in this phase of the -battle the enemy ships were repeatedly hit, and one at least was seen -to sink. - -The _Marlborough_, in the First Battle Squadron, specially -distinguished herself, firing seven salvoes (if with all her guns -about 70 13·5-in. shell) at a battleship of the _Kaiser_ class; at -6.54 she was so unlucky as to be hit by a torpedo fired from a German -light cruiser, which she sank. She was the only British ship to suffer -in this way. A great cloud of smoke rose from her and she listed -violently, then recovered, and nine minutes later re-opened fire. At -7.12 she poured 14 salvoes with great speed upon a battleship of the -_König_ class, and drove her from the line. - -The flagship, _Iron Duke_, at 6.30 engaged a Dreadnought of the -_König_ class in the German Fleet, hitting her at the second salvo, -which was a remarkable gunnery performance at a range of 12,000 yards -and in the clouds of smoke. The enemy turned away and escaped. The -other ships of the Fourth Battle Squadron were mainly engaged with -the German battle-cruisers. The Second Battle Squadron attacked the -German battleships, and also fired at a damaged German battle-cruiser, -from 6.30 to 7.20; at 7 p.m. the British Fleet turned S., and shortly -afterwards S.W. The battleship engagement closed about 8.20, when the -enemy disappeared in the smoke and mist. He lay to the W. of Admiral -Jellicoe’s Fleet, and orders were issued to the British torpedo craft -to attack him. About 8.20 Beatty pushed W. in support of the light -cruisers which had been ordered to locate the enemy’s position, and -came upon two battle-cruisers and two battleships, which he attacked at -a range of 10,000 yards. The leading German ship was struck repeatedly, -and turned away sharply with a very heavy list, emitting flames; -the _Princess Royal_ set a three-funnelled battleship (possibly the -_Helgoland_) on fire. A third ship was battered by the _Indomitable_ -and _New Zealand_, and was seen heeling over, on fire, drawing out of -the line. Then about 8.38 the mist came down so thickly that the battle -was broken off, the enemy fleet being last seen by the larger British -ships about 8.38, steaming W. - -At 8.40 a violent explosion was felt by the British Fleet. This was -probably caused by the destruction of a big ship. - -Beatty steamed S.W. till 9.24, when having seen nothing more of the -enemy, he assumed that the Germans were to the N.W., and proceeded -N.N.E. to the British Battle Fleet. He says: “In view of the gathering -darkness, and the fact that our strategical position was such as to -make it appear certain that we should locate the enemy at daylight -under most favourable circumstances, I did not consider it proper or -desirable to close the enemy battle fleet during the dark hours.” - - - - -[Illustration: STORMING THE VILLAGE OF LOOS: HAND-TO-HAND FIGHTING IN -THE STREETS. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Sphere.”_] - - -VI. - -THE CHARGE AT LOOS OF THE LONDON IRISH - -(18th London). - - -A vivid account of an incident at Loos, which has become historic, was -given by one of the London Irish Regiment who was wounded during the -charge:-- - -“One set of our men--keen footballers--made a strange resolution; it -was to take a football along with them. The platoon officer discovered -this, and ordered the football to be sent back--which, of course, was -carried out. But the old members of the London Irish Football Club were -not to be done out of the greatest game of their lives-the last to some -of them, poor fellows--and just before Major Beresford gave the signal -the leather turned up again mysteriously. - -“Suddenly the officer in command gave the signal, ‘Over you go, lads!’ -With that the whole line sprang up as one man, some with a prayer, not -a few making the sign of the Cross. But the footballers, they chucked -the ball over and went after it just as cool as if on the field, -passing it from one to the other, though the bullets were flying thick -as hail, crying, ‘On the ball, London Irish!’ just as they might have -done at Forest Hill. I believe that they actually kicked it right into -the enemy’s trench with the cry, ‘Goal!’ though not before some of them -had been picked off on the way. - -“There wasn’t 400 yards between the trenches, and we had to get across -the open--a manœuvre we started just as on parade. All lined up, -bayonets fixed, rifles at the slope. Once our fellows got going it was -hard to get them to stop, with the result that some rushed clean into -one of our own gas waves and dropped in it just before it had time to -get over the enemy’s trench. - -“The barbed wire had been broken into smithereens by our shells so -that we could get right through; but we could see it had been terrible -stuff, and we all felt we should not have had a ghost of a chance of -getting through had it not been for an unlimited supply of shells -expended on it. - -“When we reached the German trench, which we did under a cloud of -smoke, we found nothing but a pack of beings dazed with terror. In -a jiffy we were over their parapet and the real work began; a kind -of madness comes over you as you stab with your bayonet and hear the -shriek of the poor devil suddenly cease as the steel goes through him -and you know he’s ‘gone west.’ The beggars did not show much fight, -most having retired into their second line of trenches when we began -to occupy their first to make it our new line of attack. That meant -clearing out even the smallest nook or corner that was large enough to -hold a man. - -“This fell to the bombers. Every bomber is a hero, I think, for he -has to rush on, fully exposed, laden with enough stuff to send him to -‘kingdom come’ if a chance shot or stumble sets him off. - -“Some of the sights were awful in the hand-to-hand struggle, for, -of course, that is the worst part. Our own second in command, Major -Beresford, was badly wounded. Captain and Adjutant Hamilton, though -shot through the knee just after leaving our trench, was discovered -still limping on at the second German trench, and had to be placed -under arrest to prevent his going on till he bled to death. - -“They got the worst of it, though, when it came to cold steel, which -they can’t stand, and they ran like hares. So having left a number -of men in the first trench, we went on to the second and then the -third, after which other regiments came up to our relief, and together -we took Loos. It wasn’t really our job at all to take Loos, but we -were swept on by the enthusiasm, I suppose, and all day long we were -at it, clearing house after house, or rather what was left of the -houses--stabbing and shooting and bombing till one felt ready to drop -dead oneself. We wiped the 22nd Silesian Regiment right out, but it was -horrible to work on with the cries of the wounded all round.” - - - - -[Illustration: BRITISH TROOPS IN ACTION ON THE GALLIPOLI PENINSULA. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”_] - - -VII. - -THE LANDING AT V BEACH, NEAR SEDD-EL-BAHR.[E] - -By JOHN MASEFIELD. - - [E] _From “Gallipoli.” By John Masefield. (Heinemann.)_ - - -The men told off for this landing were: the Dublin Fusiliers, the -Munster Fusiliers, half a battalion of the Hampshire Regiment, and the -West Riding Field Company. - -Three companies of the Dublin Fusiliers were to land from towed -lighters, the rest of the party from a tramp steamer, the collier -_River Clyde_. This ship, a conspicuous seamark at Cape Helles -throughout the rest of the campaign, had been altered to carry and land -troops. Great gangways or entry ports had been cut in her sides on the -level of her between decks, and platforms had been built out upon her -sides below these, so that men might run from her in a hurry. The plan -was to beach her as near the shore as possible, and then drag or sweep -the lighters, which she towed, into position between her and the shore, -so as to make a kind of boat bridge from her to the beach. When the -lighters were so moored as to make this bridge, the entry ports were -to be opened, the waiting troops were to rush out on to the external -platforms, run from them on to the lighters, and so to the shore. The -ship’s upper deck and bridge were protected with boiler plate and -sandbags, and a casemate for machine guns was built upon her fo’c’sle, -so that she might reply to the enemy’s fire. - -Five picket-boats, each towing five boats or launches full of men, -steamed alongside the _River Clyde_ and went ahead when she grounded. -She took the ground rather to the right of the little beach, some 400 -yards from the ruins of Sedd-el-Bahr Castle, before the Turks had -opened fire; but almost as she grounded, when the picket-boats with -their tows were ahead of her, only 20 or 30 yards from the beach, every -rifle and machine gun in the castle, the town above it, and in the -curved, low, strongly trenched hill along the bay, began a murderous -fire upon ship and boats. There was no question of their missing. They -had their target on the front and both flanks at ranges between 100 -and 300 yards in clear daylight, 30 boats bunched together and crammed -with men and a good big ship. The first outbreak of fire made the bay -as white as a rapid, for the Turks fired not less then 10,000 shots -a minute for the first few minutes of that attack. Those not killed -in the boats at the first discharge jumped overboard to wade or swim -ashore. Many were killed in the water, many, who were wounded, were -swept away and drowned; others, trying to swim in the fierce current, -were drowned by the weight of their equipment. But some reached the -shore, and these instantly doubled out to cut the wire entanglements -and were killed, or dashed for the cover of a bank of sand or raised -beach which runs along the curve of the bay. Those very few who reached -this cover were out of immediate danger, but they were only a handful. -The boats were destroyed where they grounded. - -Meanwhile the men of the _River Clyde_ tried to make their bridge of -boats by sweeping the lighters into position and mooring them between -the ship and the shore. They were killed as they worked, but others -took their places; the bridge was made, and some of the Munsters dashed -along it from the ship and fell in heaps as they ran. As a second -company followed, the moorings of the lighters broke or were shot; -the men leaped into the water, and were drowned or killed, or reached -the beach and were killed, or fell wounded there, and lay under fire, -getting wound after wound till they died; very, very few reached the -sandbank. More brave men jumped aboard the lighters to remake the -bridge; they were swept away or shot to pieces. The average life on -those boats was some three minutes long, but they remade the bridge, -and the third company of the Munsters doubled down to death along it -under a storm of shrapnel which scarcely a man survived. The big guns -in Asia were now shelling the _River Clyde_, and the hell of rapid -fire never paused. More men tried to land, headed by Brigadier-General -Napier, who was instantly killed, with nearly all his followers. -Then for long hours the remainder stayed on board, down below in the -grounded steamer, while the shots beat on her plates with a rattling -clang which never stopped. Her twelve machine guns fired back, killing -any Turk who showed; but nothing could be done to support the few -survivors of the landing, who now lay under cover of the sandbank on -the other side of the beach. It was almost certain death to try to -leave the ship, but all through the day men leaped from her (with leave -or without it) to bring water or succour to the wounded on the boats -or beach. A hundred brave men gave their lives thus; every man there -earned the Cross that day. A boy earned it by one of the bravest deeds -of the war, leaping into the sea with a rope in his teeth to try to -secure a drifting lighter. - -The day passed thus, but at nightfall the Turks’ fire paused, and the -men came ashore from the _River Clyde_, almost unharmed. They joined -the survivors on the beach, and at once attacked the old fort and the -village above it. These works were strongly held by the enemy. All had -been ruined by the fire from the Fleet, but in the rubble and ruin of -old masonry there were thousands of hidden riflemen backed by machine -guns. Again and again they beat off our attacks, for there was a bright -moon and they knew the ground, and our men had to attack uphill over -wire and broken earth and heaped stones in all the wreck and confusion -and strangeness of war at night in a new place. Some of the Dublins -and Munsters went astray in the ruins, and were wounded far from their -fellows, and so lost. The Turks became more daring after dark; while -the light lasted they were checked by the _River Clyde’s_ machine guns, -but at midnight they gathered unobserved and charged. They came right -down on to the beach, and in the darkness and moonlight much terrible -and confused fighting followed. Many were bayoneted, many shot, there -was wild firing and crying, and then the Turk attack melted away, and -their machine guns began again. When day dawned, the survivors of the -landing party were crouched under the shelter of the sandbank; they -had had no rest; most of them had been fighting all night; all had -landed across the corpses of their friends. No retreat was possible, -nor was it dreamed of, but to stay there was hopeless. Lieut.-Colonel -Doughty-Wylie gathered them together for an attack; the Fleet opened a -terrific fire upon the ruins of the fort and village, and the landing -party went forward again, fighting from bush to bush and from stone to -stone, till the ruins were in their hands. Shells still fell among -them, single Turks, lurking under cover, sniped them and shot them; but -the landing had been made good, and V beach was secured to us. - -This was the worst and the bloodiest of all the landings. - - - - -[Illustration: THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME: THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS’ SPLENDID -CHARGE. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”_] - - -VIII. - -THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS AT THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME.[F] - -By PHILIP GIBBS. - - [F] _From “The Battles of the Somme.” (Heinemann.)_ - - -And now I must tell a little more in detail the story of the Guards in -this battle. It is hard to tell it, and not all can be told yet because -of the enemy. The Guards had their full share of the fighting, and of -the difficult ground, with strong forces against them. They knew that -would be so before they went into battle, and yet they did not ask -for better things but awaited the hour of attack with strong, gallant -hearts, quite sure of their courage, proud of their name, full of trust -in their officers, eager to give a smashing blow at the enemy. - -These splendid men, so tall and proper, so hard and fine, went away as -one might imagine the old knights and yeomen of England at Agincourt. -For the first time in the history of the Coldstreamers, three -battalions of them charged in line, great solid waves of men, as fine -a sight as the world could show. Behind them were the Grenadiers, and -again behind these men the Irish. - -They had not gone more than 200 yards before they came under the -enfilade fire of massed machine guns in trenches not previously -observed. The noise of this fire was so loud and savage that, although -hundreds of guns were firing, not a shot could be heard. It was just -the stabbing staccato hammering of the German Maxims. Men fell, but the -lines were not broken. Gaps were made in the ranks, but they closed up. -The wounded did not call for help, but cheered on those who swept past -and on, shouting “Go on, Lily-whites!”--which is the old name for the -Coldstreamers--“Get at ’em, Lily-whites!” - -They went on at a hot pace with their bayonets lowered. Out of the -crumpled earth--all pits and holes and hillocks, torn up by great -gun-fire--grey figures rose and fled. They were German soldiers -terror-stricken by this rushing tide of men. - -The Guards went on. Then they were checked by two lines of trenches, -wired and defended by machine guns and bombers. They came upon them -quicker than they expected. Some of the officers were puzzled. Could -these be the trenches marked out for attack--or other unknown trenches? -Anyhow, they must be taken--and the Guards took them by frontal assault -full in the face of continual blasts of machine-gun bullets. - -There was hard and desperate fighting. The Germans defended themselves -to the death. They bombed our men, who attacked them with the bayonet, -served their machine guns until they were killed, and would only -surrender when our men were on top of them. It was a very bloody hour -or more. By that time the Irish Guards had joined the others. All the -Guards were together, and together they passed the trenches, swinging -left inevitably under the machine-gun fire which poured upon them from -their right, but going steadily deeper into the enemy country until -they were 2,000 yards from their starting place. - -Then it was necessary to call a halt. Many officers and men had fallen. -To go farther would be absolute death. The troops on the right had been -utterly held up. The Guards were “up in the air” with an exposed flank, -open to all the fire that was flung upon them from the enemy’s lines. -The temptation to go farther was great. The German infantry was on the -run. They were dragging their guns away. There was a great panic among -the men who had been hiding in trenches. But the German machine gunners -kept to their posts to safeguard a rout, and the Guards had gone far -enough through their scourging bullets. - -They decided very wisely to hold the line they had gained, and to dig -in where they stood, and to make forward posts with strong points. -They had killed a great number of Germans and taken 200 prisoners and -fought grandly. So now they halted and dug and took cover as best they -could in shell-craters and broken ground, under fierce fire from the -enemy’s guns. - -The night was a dreadful one for the wounded, and for men who did their -best for the wounded, trying to be deaf to agonizing sounds. Many of -them had hairbreadth escapes from death. One young officer in the Irish -Guards lay in a shell-hole with two comrades, and then left it for a -while to cheer up other men lying in surrounding craters. When he came -back he found his two friends lying dead, blown to bits by a shell. - -But in spite of all these bad hours the Guards kept cool, kept their -discipline, their courage, and their spirit. The Germans launched -counter-attacks against them, but were annihilated. The Guards held -their ground, and gained the greatest honour for self-sacrificing -courage which has ever given a special meaning to their name. They took -the share which all of us knew they would take in the greatest of all -our battles since the first day of July, and, with other regiments, -struck a vital blow at the enemy’s line of defence. - - - - -[Illustration: THE ADVANCE ON BAGHDAD: BATTLE ON THE DIALA RIVER. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Sphere.”_] - - -IX. - -THE MOONLIGHT BATTLE FOR BAGHDAD. - -By EDMUND CANDLER. - - -The last fighting before Baghdad is likely to become historic on -account of the splendid gallantry of our troops in the crossing of -the Diala River. After the action at Lajj the Turkish rearguard fell -back on Diala, destroying the bridge which crosses the stream at its -junction with the Tigris. We pushed on in pursuit on the left bank, -sending cavalry and two columns of infantry to work round on the -right bank, and to enter Baghdad from the west. Speed in following up -was essential, and the column attacking Diala was faced with another -crossing in which the element of surprise was eliminated. The village -lies on both banks of the stream, which is 120 yards wide. The houses, -trees, nullah, and walled gardens made it impossible to build a road -and ramps quickly and to bring up pontoons without betraying the point -of embarkation. Hence the old bridgehead site was chosen. The attack on -the night of the 7th was checked, but the quality of courage shown by -our men has never been surpassed in war. Immediately the first pontoon -was lowered over the ramp the whole launching party was shot down in a -few seconds. It was a bright moonlight, and the Turks had concentrated -their machine guns and rifles in the houses on the opposite bank. - -The second pontoon had got into the middle of the stream, when a -terrific fusillade was opened on it. The crew of five rowers and ten -riflemen were killed and the boat floated down the stream. A third got -nearly across, but was bombed and sank. All the crew were killed. But -there was no holding back. The orders still held to secure the passage. -Crew after crew pushed off to an obvious and certain death. The fourth -crossing party was exterminated in the same way, and the pontoons -drifted out to the Tigris to float past our camp in the daylight -with their freight of dead. The drafts who went over were raised by -volunteers from other battalions in the brigade. These and the sappers -on the bank share the honour of the night with the attacking battalion. -Nothing stopped them, save the loss of the pontoons. A Lancashire man -remarked: “It is a bit hot here, but let’s try higher up,” but the -gallant fellows were reduced to their last boat. Another regiment, -which was to cross higher up, were delayed, as the boats had to be -carried nearly a mile across country to the stream. After the failure -of the bridgehead passage the second crossing was cancelled, but the -men were still game. - -On the second night the attempt was pursued with equal gallantry. This -time the attack was preceded by a bombardment. Registering by artillery -had been impossible on the first day in the speed of the pursuit. It -was the barrage that secured us the footing--not the shells, but the -dust raised by them. This was so thick that you could not see your hand -in front of your face. It formed a curtain behind which ten boats were -able to cross. Afterwards, in clear moonlight, when the curtain of dust -had lifted, the conditions of the night before were re-established. -Succeeding crossing parties were exterminated, and pontoons drifted -away, but a footing was secured. The dust served us well. The crew of -one boat which lost its way during the barrage were untouched, but they -did not make the bank in time. Directly the air cleared a machine-gun -was opened on them, and the rowers were shot down, and the pontoon -drifted back ashore. A sergeant called to volunteers to get the wounded -out of the boat, and a party of twelve men went over the river bank. -Every man of them, as well as the crew of the pontoons, were killed. - -Some 60 men had got over, and these joined up and started bombing -along the bank. They were soon heavily pressed by the Turks on both -flanks, and found themselves between two woods. Here they discovered -a providential natural position. A break in the river bund had been -repaired by a new bund built in a half-moon on the landward side. This -formed a perfect lunette. The Lancashire men, surrounded on all sides -but the river, held it through the night, all the next day, and the -next night against repeated and determined attacks. Those attacks were -delivered in the dark or at dawn. The Turks only attacked once in the -daylight, as our machine guns on the other bank swept the ground in -front of the position. Twenty yards west of the lunette there was a -thin grove of mulberries and palms. The pontoon was most vulnerable -on this side, and it was here that the Turkish counter-attacks were -most frequent. Our intense intermittent artillery fire day and night -on the wood afforded some protection. The whole affair was visible to -our troops on the south side, who were able to make themselves heard by -shouting. Attempts to get a cable across with a rocket for the passage -of ammunition failed. - -At midnight on the 9th and 10th the Turks were on top of the parapet, -but were driven back. One more determined rush would have carried -the lunette, but the little garrison, now reduced to 40, kept their -heads and maintained cool control of their fire. A corporal was seen -searching for loose rounds and emptying the bandoliers of the dead. -In the end they were reduced almost to their last clip and one bomb, -but we found over 100 Turkish dead outside the redoubts when they -were relieved at daylight. The crossing on the night of the 9th and -10th was entirely successful. With our cavalry and two columns of -infantry working round on the right bank the Turks were in danger of -being cut off, as at Sanna-i-Yat. Before midnight they had withdrawn -their machine guns, leaving only riflemen to dispute the passage. The -crossing upstream was a surprise. We slipped through the Turkish guard. -He had pickets at both ends of the river salient where we dropped -our pontoons. But he overlooked essential points in it which offered -us dead ground uncovered by posts up and down stream. Consequently -our passage here lost us no lives. The other ferry near the bridge -was also crossed with slight loss, owing to a diversion up-stream. -The Turks, perceiving that their flank was being turned, effected a -general retirement of the greater part of their garrison between the -two ferries. Some 250 in all, finding us bombing down on both flanks, -surrendered. The upper crossing was so unexpected that one Turk was -actually bayonetted as he lay covering the opposite bank with his rifle. - -By 9.30 on the morning of the 10th the whole brigade had crossed. -Soon after 11 the brigade was complete and the pursuit continued. -The Turks continued their rearguard action, and in the afternoon -there was fighting in the palm groves of Saida, and the Turks were -cleared with the bayonet, after artillery had combed the wood. The -main body was holding the El Mahomed position, one and a half miles -further north--a trench line running nearly four miles inland from the -Tigris. We attacked this in front, while another column made a wide -turning movement on the flank, and the enemy evacuated it at night. -On the morning of the 12th we entered Baghdad. Our force on the right -bank, after defeating the Turkish rearguard in two actions, reached -the suburb on the opposite side of the Bridge of Boats. A brigade was -ferried across in coracles, and at noon they hoisted the Union Jack on -the citadel. Meanwhile the cavalry continued the pursuit and occupied -Kazimain after slight resistance. Four damaged aeroplanes and 100 -prisoners were taken, in addition to the 300 captured on the left bank. -The gunboats are still in pursuit of the enemy, who are reported to -be entrenching 16 miles north of Baghdad, covering the entrainment of -troops. - - - - -X. - -THE BATTLE OF ARRAS.[G] - -BY PHILIP GIBBS. - - [G] _From the “Daily Chronicle” and “Daily Telegraph.”_ - - -To-day, at dawn, our armies began a great battle, which, if Fate has -any kindness for the world, may be the beginning of the last great -battles of the war. Our troops attacked on a wide front between Lens -and St. Quentin, including the Vimy Ridge, that great, grim hill -which dominates the plain of Douai and the coalfields of Lens and the -German positions around Arras. In spite of bad fortune in weather at -the beginning of the day, so bad that there was no visibility for the -airmen, and our men had to struggle forward in a heavy rainstorm, the -first attacks have been successful, and the enemy has lost much ground, -falling back in retreat to strong rearguard lines, where he is now -fighting desperately. The line of our attack covers a front of some 12 -miles southwards from Givenchy-en-Gohelle, and is a sledge-hammer blow, -threatening to break the northern end of the Hindenburg line, already -menaced round St. Quentin. As soon as the enemy was forced to retreat -from the country east of Bapaume and Péronne, in order to escape a -decisive blow on that line, he hurried up divisions and guns northwards -to counter our attack there, while he prepared a new line of defence, -known as the Wotan line, as the southern part of the Hindenburg line, -which joins it, is known as the Siegfried position, after two great -heroes of old German mythology. He hoped to escape there before our new -attack was ready, but we have been too quick for him, and his own plans -were frustrated. - -So to-day began another titanic conflict which the world will hold its -breath to watch because of all that hangs upon it. I have seen the fury -of this beginning, and all the sky on fire with it, the most tragic and -frightful sight that men have ever seen, with an infernal splendour -beyond words to tell. The bombardment which went before the infantry -assault lasted for several days, and reached a great height yesterday, -when, coming from the south, I saw it for the first time. Those of us -who knew what would happen to-day, the beginning of another series -of battles greater, perhaps, than the struggle of the Somme, found -ourselves yesterday filled with a tense, restless emotion, and some of -us smiled with a kind of tragic irony because it was Easter Sunday. In -the little villages behind the battle lines the bells of the French -churches were ringing gladly because the Lord had risen, and on the -altar steps the priests were reciting the splendid old words of faith. -“Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum. Alleluia” (“I have arisen and I am with -thee always. Alleluia”). The earth was glad yesterday. For the first -time this year the sun had a touch of warmth in it, though patches of -snow still stayed white under the shelter of the banks, and the sky was -blue and the light glinted on wet tree-trunks and in the furrows of the -new-ploughed earth. As I went up the road to the battle lines I passed -a battalion of our men, the men who are fighting to-day, standing in -hollow square with bowed heads while the chaplain conducted the Easter -service. Easter Sunday, but no truce of God. I went to a field outside -Arras and looked into the ruins of the cathedral city. The cathedral -itself stood clear in the sunlight, with a deep black shadow where its -roof and aisles had been. Beyond was a ragged pinnacle of stone, once -the glorious Town Hall, and the French barracks and all the broken -streets going out to the Cambrai road. It was hell in Arras, though -Easter Sunday. - -The bombardment was now in full blast. It was a beautiful and devilish -thing, and the beauty of it, and not the evil of it, put a spell upon -one’s senses. All our batteries, too many to count, were firing, and -thousands of gun flashes were winking and blinking from hollows and -hiding-places, and all their shells were rushing through the sky as -though flocks of great birds were in flight, and all were bursting over -the German positions with long flames which rent the darkness and waved -sword-blades of quivering light along the ridges. The earth opened, and -great pools of red fire gushed out. Star shells burst magnificently, -pouring down golden rain. Mines exploded east and west of Arras and in -the wide sweep from Vimy Ridge to Blangy southwards, and voluminous -clouds, all bright with a glory of infernal fire, rolled up to the sky. -The wind blew strongly across, beating back the noise of the guns, but -the air was all filled with the deep roar and slamming knocks of the -single heavies and the drum fire of the field guns. - -The hour for attack was 5.30. Officers were looking at their wrist -watches as on a day in July last year. The earth lightened. A few -minutes before 5.30 the guns almost ceased fire, so that there was a -strange and solemn hush. We waited, and pulses beat faster than the -second-hands. “They’re away,” said a voice by my side. The bombardment -broke out again with new and enormous effects of fire and sound. The -enemy was shelling Arras heavily, and black shrapnel and high explosive -came over from his lines, but our gunfire was twenty times as great. -Around the whole sweep of his lines green lights rose. They were -signals of distress, and his men were calling for help. - -It was dawn now, but clouded and storm-swept. A few airmen came out -with the wind tearing at their wings, but could see nothing in the -mist and driving rain. I went down to the outer ramparts of Arras. The -suburb of Blangy seemed already in our hands. On the higher ground -beyond our men were fighting forward. I saw two waves of infantry -advancing against the enemy’s trenches, preceded by our barrage of -field guns. They went in a slow, leisurely way, not hurried, though -the enemy’s shrapnel was searching for them. “Grand fellows,” said -an officer lying next to me on the wet slope. “Oh, topping!” Fifteen -minutes afterwards groups of men came back. They were British wounded -and German prisoners. I met the first of these walking wounded -afterwards. They were met on the roadside by medical officers, -who patched them up there and then before they were taken to the -field hospitals in ambulances. From these men, hit by shrapnel and -machine-gun bullets, I heard the first news of progress. They were -bloody and exhausted, but claimed success. “We did fine,” said one of -them. “We were through the fourth lines before I was knocked out.” -“Not many Germans in the first trenches,” said another, “and no real -trenches either after shelling. We had knocked their dug-outs out, and -their dead were lying thick, and the living ones put their hands up.” -All the men agreed that their own casualties were not high, and mostly -wounded. - - _The Next Day._ - -By three in the afternoon yesterday the Canadians had gained the whole -of the ridge except a high strong post on the left, Hill 145, which -was captured during the night. Our gunfire had helped them by breaking -down all the wire, even round Heroes’ Wood and Count’s Wood, where it -was very thick and strong. Thélus was wiped utterly off the map. This -morning Canadian patrols pushed in a snowstorm through the Farbus Wood, -and established outposts on the railway embankment. Some of the bravest -work was done by the forward observing officers, who climbed to the top -of Vimy Ridge as soon as it was captured, and through a sea of heavy -barrage reported back to the artillery all the movements seen by them -on the country below. - -In spite of the wild day, our flying men were riding the storm and -signalling to the gunners who were rushing up their field guns. “Our -60-pounders,” said a Canadian officer, “had the day of their lives.” -They found many targets. There were trains moving in Vimy village, and -they hit them. There were troops massing on the sloping ground, and -they were shattered. There were guns and limbers on the move, and men -and horses were killed. Beyond all the prisoners taken yesterday by the -English, Scottish and Canadian troops, the enemy losses were frightful, -and the scenes behind his lines must have been and still be hideous in -slaughter and terror. - -The Battle of Arras is the greatest victory we have yet gained in this -war and a staggering blow to the enemy. He has lost already nearly -10,000 prisoners and more than half a hundred guns,[H] and in dead and -wounded his losses are great. He is in retreat south of the Vimy Ridge -to defensive lines further back, and as he goes our guns are smashing -him along the roads. It is a black day for the German armies and for -the German women who do not know yet what it means to them. During last -night the Canadians gained the last point, called Hill 145, on the Vimy -Ridge, where the Germans held out in a pocket with machine guns, and -this morning the whole of that high ridge, which dominates the plains -to Douai, is in our hands, so that there is removed from our path the -great barrier for which the French and ourselves have fought through -bloody years. Yesterday, before daylight and afterwards, I saw this -ridge of Vimy all on fire with the light of great gunfire. The enemy -was there in strength, and his guns were answering ours with a heavy -barrage of high explosives. - - [H] Increased to 19,343 prisoners and 257 guns on 2nd May. - -This morning the scene was changed as by a miracle. Snow was falling, -blown gustily across the battlefields and powdering the capes and -helmets of our men as they rode or marched forward to the front. -But presently sunlight broke through the storm-clouds and flooded -all the countryside by Neuville-St. Vaast and Thélus and La Folie -Farm up to the crest of the ridge where the Canadians had just fought -their way with such high valour. Our batteries were firing from many -hiding-places, revealed by the short, sharp flashes of light, but -few answering shells came back, and the ridge itself, patched with -snowdrifts, was as quiet as any hill of peace. It was astounding to -think that not a single German stayed up there out of all the thousands -who had held it yesterday, unless some poor wounded devils still -cower in the great tunnels which pierce the hillside. It was almost -unbelievable to me, who have known the evil of this high ridge month -after month and year after year and the deadly menace which lurked -about its lower slopes. Yet I saw proof below, where all the Germans -who had been there at dawn yesterday, thousands of them, were down in -our lines, drawn up in battalions, marshalling themselves, grinning at -the fate which had come to them and spared their lives. - - - - -[Illustration: THE GREAT EXPLOIT OF E. 11: TORPEDOING AN ENEMY VESSEL -OFF CONSTANTINOPLE. - -_Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”_] - - -XI. - -WARFARE UNDER WATER.[I] - -BY RUDYARD KIPLING. - - They bear, in place of classic names, - Letters and numbers on their skin. - They play their grisly blindfold games - In little boxes made of tin. - Sometimes they stalk the Zeppelin, - Sometimes they learn where mines are laid - Or where the Baltic ice is thin. - That is the custom of “The Trade.” - - [I] _“Sea Warfare.” By Rudyard Kipling. (Macmillan.)_ - - -No one knows how the title of “The Trade” came to be applied to the -Submarine Service. Some say the cruisers invented it because they -pretend that submarine officers look like unwashed chauffeurs. Others -think it sprang forth by itself, which means that it was coined by -the Lower Deck, where they always have the proper names for things. -Whatever the truth, the Submarine Service is now “the Trade”; and if -you ask them why, they will answer: “What else could you call it? The -Trade’s ‘the trade,’ of course.” - -It is a close corporation; yet it recruits its men and officers from -every class that uses the sea and engines, as well as from many classes -that never expected to deal with either. It takes them; they disappear -for a while and return changed to their very souls, for the Trade -lives in a world without precedents, of which no generation has had -any previous experience--a world still being made and enlarged daily. -It creates and settles its own problems as it goes along, and if it -cannot help itself no one else can. So the Trade lives in the dark and -thinks out inconceivable and impossible things, which it afterwards -puts into practice. - - -_Four Nightmares._ - -Who, a few months ago, could have invented, or, having invented, would -have dared to print such a nightmare as this: There was a boat in the -North Sea who ran into a net and was caught by the nose. She rose, -still entangled, meaning to cut the thing away on the surface. But a -Zeppelin in waiting saw and bombed her, and she had to go down again at -once, but not too wildly or she would get herself more wrapped up than -ever. She went down, and by slow working and weaving and wriggling, -guided only by guesses at the meaning of each scrape and grind of the -net on her blind forehead, at last she drew clear. Then she sat on -the bottom and thought. The question was whether she should go back -at once and warn her confederates against the trap, or wait till the -destroyers, which she knew the Zeppelin would have signalled for, -should come out to finish her still entangled, as they would suppose, -in the net. It was a simple calculation of comparative speeds and -positions, and when it was worked out she decided to try for the double -event. Within a few minutes of the time she had allowed for them, she -heard the twitter of four destroyers’ screws quartering above her; -rose; got her shot in; saw one destroyer crumple; hung round till -another took the wreck in tow; said good-bye to the spare brace (she -was at the end of her supplies), and reached the rendezvous in time to -turn her friends. - -And since we are dealing in nightmares, here are two more--one genuine, -the other, mercifully, false. There was a boat not only at, but _in_ -the mouth of a river--well home in German territory. She was spotted, -and went under, her commander perfectly aware that there was not -more than five feet of water over her conning-tower, so that even a -torpedo-boat, let alone a destroyer, would hit it if she came over. But -nothing hit anything. The search was conducted on scientific principles -while they sat on the silt and suffered. Then the commander heard the -rasp of a wire trawl sweeping over his hull. It was not a nice sound, -but there happened to be a couple of gramophones aboard, and he turned -them both on to drown it. And in due time that boat got home with -everybody’s hair of just the same colour as when they had started! - -The other nightmare arose out of silence and imagination. A boat had -gone to bed on the bottom in a spot where she might reasonably expect -to be looked for, but it was a convenient jumping-off, or up, place for -the work in hand. About the bad hour of 2.30. a.m. the commander was -waked by one of his men, who whispered to him: “They’ve got the chains -on us, sir!” Whether it was pure nightmare, an hallucination of long -wakefulness, something relaxing and releasing in that packed box of -machinery, or the disgustful reality, the commander could not tell, but -it had all the makings of panic in it. So the Lord and long training -put it into his head to reply: “Have they? Well, we shan’t be coming -up till nine o’clock this morning. We’ll see about it then. Turn out -that light, please.” - -_He_ did not sleep, but the dreamer and the others did, and when -morning came and he gave the order to rise, and she rose unhampered, -and he saw the grey, smeared seas from above once again, he said it was -a very refreshing sight. - -Lastly, which is on all fours with the gamble of the chase, a man was -coming home rather bored after an uneventful trip. It was necessary for -him to sit on the bottom for awhile, and there he played patience. Of a -sudden it struck him, as a vow and an omen, that if he worked out the -next game correctly he would go up and strafe something. The cards fell -all in order. He went up at once and found himself alongside a German, -whom, as he had promised and prophesied to himself, he destroyed. She -was a mine-layer, and needed only a jar to dissipate like a cracked -electric-light bulb. He was somewhat impressed by the contrast between -the single-handed game 50 feet below, the ascent, the attack, the -amazing result, and when he descended again, his cards just as he had -left them. - - -_The Exploit of E 11._ - -E 11 “proceeded” in the usual way, to the usual accompaniments of -hostile destroyers, up the Straits, and meets the usual difficulties -about charging-up when she gets through. Her wireless naturally takes -this opportunity to give trouble, and E 11 is left, deaf and dumb, -somewhere in the middle of the Sea of Marmara, diving to avoid hostile -destroyers in the intervals of trying to come at the fault in her -aerial. (Yet it is noteworthy that the language of the Trade, though -technical, is no more emphatic or incandescent than that of top-side -ships.) - -Then she goes towards Constantinople, finds a Turkish torpedo-gunboat -off the port, sinks her, has her periscope smashed by a six-pounder, -retires, fits a new top on the periscope, and at 10.30 a.m.--they must -have needed it--pipes “All hands to bathe.” Much refreshed, she gets -her wireless linked up at last, and is able to tell the authorities -where she is and what she is after. - - * * * * * - -In due time E 11 went back to her base. She had discovered a way of -using unspent torpedoes twice over, which surprised the enemy, and she -had as nearly as possible been cut down by a ship which she thought -was running away from her. Instead of which (she made the discovery at -3,000 yards, both craft all out) the stranger steamed straight at her. -“The enemy then witnessed a somewhat spectacular dive at full speed -from the surface to 20 feet in as many seconds. He then really did turn -tail and was seen no more.” Going through the Straits she observed -an empty troopship at anchor, but reserved her torpedoes in the hope -of picking up some battleships lower down. Not finding these in the -Narrows, she nosed her way back and sank the trooper, “afterwards -continuing journey down the Straits.” Off Kilid Bahr something -happened; she got out of trim and had to be fully flooded before she -could be brought to her required depth. It might have been whirlpools -under water, or--other things. (They tell a story of a boat which once -went mad in these very waters, and, for no reason ascertainable from -within, plunged to depths that contractors do not allow for; rocketed -up again like a swordfish, and would doubtless have so continued till -she died, had not something she had fouled dropped off and let her -recover her composure.) - -An hour later: “Heard a noise similar to grounding. Knowing this to be -impossible in the water in which the boat then was, I came up to 20 -feet to investigate, and observed a large mine preceding the periscope -at a distance of about 20 feet, which was apparently hung up by its -moorings to the port hydroplane.” Hydroplanes are the fins at bow and -stern which regulate a submarine’s diving. A mine weighs anything from -hundredweights to half-tons. Sometimes it explodes if you merely think -about it; at others you can batter it like an empty sardine tin and it -submits meekly; but at no time is it meant to wear on a hydroplane. -They dared not come up to unhitch it, “owing to the batteries ashore,” -so they pushed the dim shape ahead of them till they got outside Kum -Kale. They then went full astern, and emptied the after-tanks, which -brought the bows down, and in this posture rose to the surface, when -“the rush of water from the screws together with the sternway gathered -allowed the mine to fall clear of the vessel.” - -Now a tool, said Dr. Johnson, would have tried to describe that. - - - _Printed in Great Britain by Eyre & Spottiswoode, Ltd., - East Harding Street, London, E.C.4_ - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber’s note: - -Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a -predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they -were not changed. - -Simple typographical errors were corrected. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PEN PICTURES OF BRITISH BATTLES*** - - -******* This file should be named 60155-0.txt or 60155-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/0/1/5/60155 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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- margin-bottom: 1em; - padding: .5em; - } -} - - - h1.pg { line-height: 1; - margin-top: 0em; } - hr.full { width: 100%; - margin-top: 3em; - margin-bottom: 0em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - height: 4px; - border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ - border-style: solid; - border-color: #000000; - clear: both; } - </style> -</head> -<body> -<h1 class="pg">The Project Gutenberg eBook, Pen Pictures of British Battles, by Various</h1> -<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States -and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no -restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: Pen Pictures of British Battles</p> -<p>Author: Various</p> -<p>Release Date: August 23, 2019 [eBook #60155]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: UTF-8</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PEN PICTURES OF BRITISH BATTLES***</p> -<h4>E-text prepared by Brian Coe, Charlie Howard,<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive<br /> - (<a href="https://archive.org">https://archive.org</a>)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - <a href="https://archive.org/details/penpicturesofbri00londiala"> - https://archive.org/details/penpicturesofbri00londiala</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="max-width: 25em;"> - - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="552" height="800" alt="Cover" /> -</div> - -<h1 class="wspace">PEN PICTURES<br /> -<span class="xsmall">OF</span><br /> -BRITISH BATTLES</h1> - -<p class="p2 center vspace larger wspace">Painted by Author<br /> -and Artist.</p> - -<p class="p2 center vspace"><span class="small wspace">LONDON: EYRE AND SPOTTISWOODE, LTD.<br /> -1917.</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">3</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS.</h2> - -<table id="toc" summary="Contents"> - <tr class="nobpad"> - <td> </td> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="smcap">Page</span></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">I.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Victory of the Falkland Islands</span><br /><i class="in1">By Dr. Richard Wilson.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_I">5</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">II.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Battle of the Marne</span><br /><i class="in1">By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_II">11</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">III.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Glimpse of Canada in Flanders</span><br /><i class="in1">By Lord Beaverbrook.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_III">17</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">IV.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Second Battle of Ypres</span><br /><i class="in1">By John Buchan.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_IV">23</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">V.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Battle of Jutland Bank</span><br /><i class="in1">By H. W. Wilson.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_V">29</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">VI.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Charge at Loos of the London Irish</span></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_VI">39</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">VII.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Landing at V Beach, near Sedd-el-Bahr</span><br /><i class="in1">By John Masefield.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_VII">43</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">VIII.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Coldstream Guards at the Battle of the Somme</span><br /><i class="in1">By Philip Gibbs.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_VIII">49</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">IX.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Moonlight Battle for Baghdad</span><br /><i class="in1">By Edmund Candler.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_IX">53</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">X.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Battle of Arras</span><br /><i class="in1">By Philip Gibbs.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_X">59</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">XI.—</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Warfare under Water</span><br /><i class="in1">By Rudyard Kipling.</i></td> - <td class="tdr rpad"><a href="#CHAP_XI">67</a></td></tr> -</table> - -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">4</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="EDITORS_NOTE">EDITOR’S NOTE.</h2> - -<p><i>Though Sir Walter Besant called War correspondents -“the scene painters of history,” it may -be questioned whether any pen or brush, trained -on the land, sea and air battles of the present -War, can depict more than a corner of the great -devastating drama.</i></p> - -<p><i>This little book, embracing extracts from famous -books, may help the reader to visualise some of -the outstanding battles in which Britain has played -a not inconspicuous part; and if they inspire -those still fighting, and those behind them in support, -with a firmer confidence and a greater endurance—if, -too, these records of undaunted heroism, often -against odds, enlighten readers in other lands as -to the character of British fighting men—their -publication in this informal style will be justified.</i></p> - -<p><i>Full acknowledgment is here made to the -authors and publishers who have kindly permitted -quotation; and to the proprietors of two great -illustrated weekly papers who have lent for reproduction -original sketches appearing in their pages.</i></p> - -<p><i>April, 1917.</i></p> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter b1" id="CHAP_I"> - -<div id="ip_4" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 40em;"> - <img src="images/i_005.jpg" width="630" height="354" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>THE BRITISH VICTORY OFF THE FALKLANDS: FIRST STAGE OF THE ACTION BETWEEN BRITISH -BATTLE-CRUISERS AND THE GERMAN ARMOURED CRUISERS.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">5</span></p> - -<h2 id="I" class="vspace" title="I. THE VICTORY OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS">I.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE VICTORY OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS.<a id="FNanchor_A" href="#Footnote_A" class="fnanchor smaller">A</a></span></h2> - -<p class="p1 center">By <span class="smcap">Richard Wilson</span>, Litt.D.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_A" href="#FNanchor_A" class="fnanchor">A</a> <cite>From “The First Year of the Great War.” By Richard -Wilson, Litt.D. (W. & R. Chambers.)</cite></p></div> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="firstword">The</span> affair off Coronel put the heads of the -British navy upon their mettle, and within -forty days it was followed by a counter-stroke, -complete and effective. Silently and with steady -determination, preparations were made to deal -with the <i>Scharnhorst</i> and her companions; and -the man who was entrusted with the work was -Vice-Admiral Sir F. C. Doveton Sturdee.</p> - -<p>To the east of the southern portion of -South America lies the British group known -as the Falkland Islands. Due east of the large -island called East Falkland, Sturdee’s squadron -came within sight of Von Spee’s cruisers, the -British admiral having been helped in finding the -“quarry” by the clever wireless signalling of -a lady and her servants who lived on the islands, -and who were afterwards presented with valuable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">6</span> -gifts by the British Admiralty as some slight -acknowledgment of their timely help.</p> - -<p>After the battle off Coronel, the <i>Glasgow</i>, -along with the battleship <i>Canopus</i>, had put into -the harbour of Port Stanley, in East Falkland. -The former vessel had been damaged, but she -was quickly repaired; and when Admiral Sturdee -arrived from home, she took her place in his -squadron, her officers and men being eager to -set things right with the Germans. It was -reported that Von Spee’s squadron was going -to make a raid on the Falklands; but when he -came round Cape Horn he found awaiting him -eight British ships of war, and, so far as we -know, this was a complete surprise to him.</p> - -<p>At about half-past nine in the morning the -<i>Gneisenau</i> and the <i>Nürnberg</i> drew near to Port -Stanley Harbour with their guns trained on -the wireless station. Between them and the -harbour was a long low stretch of land running -eastward, behind which lay the <i>Canopus</i>. The -surprise of the Germans must have been great -when they were met by a smart fire across this -low-lying land at a range of about six miles! -The two ships stopped, considered, and turned -away, hoisting their colours, however, as they -did so. About the same time the <i>Invincible</i> -sighted other hostile ships between nine and -ten miles distant; and in a short time the -British squadron was moving from the harbour -towards the enemy’s five ships, which could<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">7</span> -be plainly seen to the south-east. The day was -fine, with a calm sea, a bright sun, a clear sky, -and a light breeze from the north-west.</p> - -<p>The British vessels at once began a chase -in extended order, and the hearts of our men -must have been deeply stirred by the admiral’s -simple signal, “God save the King!” One of -the signallers afterwards wrote: “It was taken -up and flung far and wide through space by -each of the fleet in turn, until it seemed as -though it would never cease. I consider it a -privilege to have been one of the few to bear -the signal.” A little after noon Admiral Sturdee -came within suitable range of the five enemy -ships, and decided to attack with the <i>Invincible</i>, -the <i>Inflexible</i>, and the <i>Glasgow</i>. How the officers -and crew of the last-named vessel had longed -for this happy moment!</p> - -<p>The signal was given, “Open fire and engage -the enemy,” and the <i>Inflexible</i> began the battle, -followed a few minutes later by the <i>Invincible</i>. -This firing was at a range of about nine miles—no -opportunities for boarding here, cutlass in -teeth, and pistols in both hands!—but the British -gunnery was so good that three of the German -ships turned away. Then the <i>Glasgow</i>, with the -<i>Cornwall</i> and the <i>Kent</i>, gave chase. We shall -follow their work when we have considered -that of the heavier craft.</p> - -<p>The <i>Invincible</i> engaged the enemy’s flagship, -the <i>Scharnhorst</i>, and the <i>Inflexible</i> the <i>Gneisenau</i>,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">8</span> -the fight being a running one, and the range -varying from about eight to nine miles. Before -long the German flagship took fire, lost one -of her funnels, and slackened her firing. “The -effect of our fire,” writes Admiral Sturdee, -“became more and more apparent in consequence -of smoke from fires, and also escaping steam. -At times a shell would cause a large hole to -appear in her side, through which could be seen -a dull red glow of flame.” Yet the German -kept grimly on with her work.</p> - -<p>The <i>Gneisenau</i> now gamely faced the <i>Invincible</i> -and the <i>Inflexible</i>, but about 5 o’clock she lost -one funnel and was on fire in several places. -She continued, however, to reply to the British -gunners with a single gun, until, an hour later, -she suddenly heeled over and sank. Here is -an entry in the diary of one of her officers: -“5.10, Hit, hit! 5.12, Hit! 5.14, Hit, hit, -hit again! 5.20, After turret gone. 5.40, Hit, -hit! On fire everywhere. 5.41, Hit, hit! Burning -everywhere and sinking. 5.45, Hit! Men -dying everywhere. 5.46, Hit, hit!”</p> - -<p>After this the officers had something else to do -than make entries in a diary. Boats had been -lowered from the <i>Invincible</i> and the <i>Inflexible</i>, -life-buoys and ropes were thrown into the water, -and about 300 men were saved, “including their -captain—a tall man with a black beard.”</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the <i>Glasgow</i> and the <i>Cornwall</i> had -fought and sunk the <i>Leipzig</i>. Like the other<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">9</span> -German ships, she took fire fore and aft, and -as the shades of night were closing in she turned -over on her port side and disappeared. The -<i>Cornwall</i> began to lower boats when the <i>Leipzig</i> -was settling down, but the British Captain -leant over the rail of the bridge and said, “It’s -no good; she’s going.”</p> - -<p>While this was going on the <i>Kent</i> was dealing -with the <i>Nürnberg</i>, after a desperate chase with -only a small amount of fuel to rely upon. When -the engineers had done their best and worked -up the speed well above the rate which the <i>Kent</i> -could do “officially,” they reported that their -coal was almost used up. Then the captain -suggested that the boats might prove useful in -such a case! No sooner said than done! The -boats were promptly broken up, the pieces -smeared with oil, and packed by the stokers -into the furnaces.</p> - -<p>This use of the boats had suggested other -means of providing fuel, and soon the men were -hurrying to the furnaces with officers’ armchairs, -chests, ladders, and anything which would -burn. So the speed limit was much further -exceeded, the <i>Nürnberg</i> was caught and sunk, -but not before she had put up a stiff fight. -Fire was stopped on the <i>Kent</i> when the German -hauled down her colours, and every preparation -was made to save life. As the ship sank the -British sailors saw a group of men waving a -German ensign fastened to a staff. Only five<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">10</span> -Germans were rescued alive from the doomed -ship.</p> - -<p>Only one of the German ships, the fast cruiser -<i>Dresden</i>, escaped from the battle, the clouds -which overcast the sky in the evening assisting -her in getting clear away. The darkness closed -in, but near midnight Admiral Sturdee received -a message from H.M.S. <i>Bristol</i> to the effect that -during the action two enemy transports had -been destroyed near the Falklands, their crews -being removed before the ships were sunk. So -ended a memorable day in British naval history.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_II"> - -<div id="ip_10" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 24em;"> - <img src="images/i_011.jpg" width="375" height="467" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>DESPERATE STRUGGLE FOR THE CHÂTEAU DE MONDEMENT -DURING THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">11</span></p> - -<h2 id="II" class="vspace" title="II. THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE">II.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE.<a id="FNanchor_B" href="#Footnote_B" class="fnanchor smaller">B</a></span></h2> - -<p class="p1 center">By <span class="smcap">Sir Arthur Conan Doyle</span>.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_B" href="#FNanchor_B" class="fnanchor">B</a> <cite>From “The British Campaign in France and Flanders.” -By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. (Hodder & Stoughton.)</cite></p></div> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="firstword">On</span> September 11 the British were still -advancing upon a somewhat narrowed -front. There was no opposition, and again the -day bore a considerable crop of prisoners and -other trophies. The weather had become so -foggy that the aircraft were useless, and it is -only when these wonderful scouters are precluded -from rising that a general realises how indispensable -they have become to him. As a wit -expressed it, they have turned war from a game -of cards into a game of chess. It was still very -wet, and the Army was exposed to considerable -privation, most of the officers and men having -neither change of clothing, overcoats, nor waterproof -sheets, while the blowing up of bridges -on the lines of communication had made it -impossible to supply the wants. The undefeatable -commissariat, however, was still working -well, which means that the Army was doing -the same. On the 12th the pursuit was continued -as far as the River Aisne. Allenby’s cavalry<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">12</span> -occupied Braine in the early morning, the -Queen’s Bays being particularly active, but there -was so much resistance that the Third Division -was needed to make the ground good. Gough’s -Cavalry Division also ran into the enemy near -Chassemy, killing or capturing several hundred -of the German infantry. In these operations -Captain Stewart, whose experience as an alleged -spy has been mentioned, met with a soldier’s -death. On this day the Sixth French Army -was fighting a considerable action upon the -British left in the vicinity of Soissons, the -Germans making a stand in order to give time -for their impedimenta to get over the river. -In this they succeeded, so that when the Allied -Forces reached the Aisne, which is an unfordable -stream some sixty yards from bank to bank, -the retiring army had got across it, had destroyed -most of the bridges, and showed every sign of -being prepared to dispute the crossing.</p> - -<p>Missy Bridge, facing the Fifth Division, -appeared at first to be intact, but a daring -reconnaissance by Lieutenant Pennecuick, of the -Engineers, showed that it was really badly -damaged. Condé Bridge was intact, but was so -covered by a high horse-shoe formation of hills -upon the farther side that it could not be used, -and remained throughout under control of the -enemy. Bourg Bridge, however, in front of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">13</span> -First Army Corps, had for some unexplained -reason been left undamaged, and this was seized -in the early morning of September 13 by De -Lisle’s cavalry, followed rapidly by Bulfin’s -2nd Brigade. It was on the face of it a somewhat -desperate enterprise which lay immediately -in front of the British general. If the enemy -were still retreating he could not afford to slacken -his pursuit, while, on the other hand, if the -enemy were merely making a feint of resistance, -then, at all hazards, the stream must be forced -and the rearguard driven in. The German -infantry could be seen streaming up the roads -on the farther bank of the river, but there -were no signs of what their next disposition -might be. Air reconnaissance was still precluded, -and it was impossible to say for certain which -alternative might prove to be correct, but Sir -John French’s cavalry training must incline him -always to the braver course. The officer who -rode through the Boers to Kimberley and threw -himself with his weary men across the path of -the formidable Kronje was not likely to stand -hesitating upon the banks of the Aisne. His -personal opinion was that the enemy meant to -stand and fight, but none the less the order was -given to cross.</p> - -<p>September 13 was spent in arranging this -dashing and dangerous movement. The British -got across eventually in several places and by -various devices. Bulfin’s men, followed by the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">14</span> -rest of the First Division of Haig’s Army Corps, -passed the canal bridge of Bourg with no loss -or difficulty. The 11th Brigade of Pulteney’s -Third Corps got across by a partially demolished -bridge and ferry at Venizel. They were followed -by the 12th Brigade, who established themselves -near Bucy. The 13th Brigade was held up at -Missy, but the 14th got across and lined up with -the men of the Third Corps in the neighbourhood -of Ste. Marguerite, meeting with a considerable -resistance from the Germans. Later, Count -Gleichen’s 15th Brigade also got across. On -the right Hamilton got over with two brigades -of the Third Division, the 8th Brigade crossing -on a single plank at Vailly and the 9th using -the railway bridge, while the whole of Haig’s -First Corps had before evening got a footing -upon the farther bank. So eager was the -advance and so inadequate the means that -Haking’s 5th Brigade, led by the Connaught -Rangers, was obliged to get over the broad and -dangerous river, walking in single file along -the sloping girder of a ruined bridge, under a -heavy, though distant, shell-fire. The night of -September 13 saw the main body of the Army -across the river, already conscious of a strong -rear-guard action, but not yet aware that the -whole German Army had halted and was turning -at bay. On the right De Lisle’s cavalrymen had -pushed up the slope from Bourg Bridge and -reached as far as Vendresse, where they were -pulled up by the German lines.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">15</span> -It has been mentioned above that the 11th -and 12th Brigades of the Fourth Division had -passed the river at Venizel. These troops were -across in the early afternoon, and they at once -advanced, and proved that in that portion of -the field the enemy were undoubtedly standing -fast. The 11th Brigade, which was more to the -north, had only a constant shell-fire to endure, -but the 12th, pushing forward through Bucy-le-long, -found itself in front of a line of woods -from which there swept a heavy machine-gun -and rifle-fire. The advance was headed by the -2nd Lancashire Fusiliers, supported by the 2nd -Inniskilling Fusiliers. It was across open ground -and under heavy fire, but it was admirably -carried out. In places where the machine-guns -had got the exact range the stricken Fusiliers lay -dead or wounded with accurate intervals, like -a firing-line on a field-day. The losses were -heavy, especially in the Lancashire Fusiliers. -Colonel Griffin was wounded, and five of his -officers with 250 men were among the casualties. -It should be recorded that fresh supplies of -ammunition were brought up at personal risk -by Colonel Seely, late Minister of War, in his -motor-car. The contest continued until dusk, -when the troops waited for the battle of next -day under such cover as they could find.</p> - -<p>The crossing of the stream may be said, -upon the one side, to mark the end of the battle -and pursuit of the Marne, while, on the other,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">16</span> -it commenced that interminable Battle of the -Aisne which was destined to fulfil Bloch’s prophecies -and to set the type of all great modern -engagements. The prolonged struggles of the -Manchurian War had prepared men’s minds for -such a development, but only here did it first -assume its full proportions and warn us that the -battle of the future was to be the siege of the -past. Men remembered with a smile Bernhardi’s -confident assertion that a German battle would -be decided in one day, and that his countrymen -would never be constrained to fight in defensive -trenches.</p> - -<p>The moral effect of the Battle of the Marne -was greater than its material gains. The latter, -so far as the British were concerned, did not -exceed 5,000 prisoners, 20 guns, and a quantity -of transport. The total losses, however, were -very heavy.</p> - -<p>Apart from the losses, the mere fact that a -great German army had been hustled across -30 miles of country, had been driven from river -to river, and had finally to take refuge in trenches -in order to hold their ground, was a great encouragement -to the Allies. From that time they -felt assured that with anything like equal numbers -they had an ascendancy over their opponents.</p> - -<hr /> -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_III"> - -<div id="ip_16" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 25em;"> - <img src="images/i_017.jpg" width="364" height="458" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>WAR IN THE AIR: A DUEL OVER THE FIRING LINE.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">17</span></p> - -<h2 id="III" class="vspace" title="III. A GLIMPSE OF CANADA IN FLANDERS">III.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">A GLIMPSE OF CANADA IN FLANDERS.<a id="FNanchor_C" href="#Footnote_C" class="fnanchor smaller">C</a></span></h2> - -<p class="p1 center">By <span class="smcap">Lord Beaverbrook</span>.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_C" href="#FNanchor_C" class="fnanchor">C</a> <cite>From “Canada in Flanders” (Vol. I.). By Sir Max -Aitken. (Hodder & Stoughton.)</cite></p></div> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="firstword">The</span> end of the month was marked by one -or two very daring reconnaissances by -Lieutenant Owen, of the 7th (British Columbia) -Battalion, up the bed of the Douve River, and -by a great aeroplane battle.</p> - -<p>The aeroplane battle occurred upon a morning -warm and bright with sunshine. The conditions -were admirable for flying and observing, and, as -usual, a German Albatross took advantage of -them. Soaring high against the warm blue of -the sky, over Bailleul, over the headquarters of a -division, over our brigades and trenches and back -again, it glinted like silver in the morning sun. -The snow-white blobs of bursting shrapnel from -our anti-aircraft guns followed its graceful sweeps -and curves—followed and followed, but never -caught it up; and thousands of our men stared -after it. But a more dramatic spectacle was in -store for the watchers on the brown roads and -in the brown trenches.</p> - -<p>A British machine appeared suddenly low -against the blue, mounting and flying out of the -west. The men in the Albatross were evidently<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">18</span> -so intent on their task of observing the landscape -beneath them and keeping well ahead of our -blossoming shrapnel that they failed to observe -the approach of the British ’plane as soon as -they should have for their own good. They were -heading west when they saw their danger, and -instantly the Albatross swerved round and sped -towards home. But the British flier had the heels -of the German and the advantage of the position. -It circled and dipped, and down through the -clear air aloft came the rippling “tap-tap-tap” -of the aërial machine-guns. Again and again the -enemy’s frantic efforts to escape were frustrated -by the skill and daring of the British pilot and -the hedging fire of the British guns. Suddenly -the gun of the German ’plane jammed and ceased; -the pilot was hit and wounded; the Albatross -commenced a rapid descent, in which it was -followed by the British ’plane to within -1,000 feet of the ground. Then, under heavy -shell-fire from German batteries the victorious -machine rose and flew away undamaged, and the -unfortunate Albatross struck the earth between -the front and support trenches of the 14th -(Montreal) Battalion and turned turtle. The -German pilot was dead; the observer, slightly -wounded, crawled to our support trenches and -surrendered. The German batteries kept up a -hot fire of high explosives and shrapnel on the -machine with the object of smashing it beyond<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">19</span> -hope of repair before the Canadians could salvage -it. They made several direct hits, but our men -sapped out to the wreck and managed to bring -most of it in, piece by piece. Among the articles -brought in was the machine-gun that had jammed -in the heat of the fight. This was found to be -a Colt gun. Closer examination proved it to be -one of the original guns of our 14th Battalion—to -whose lines it had just made such a dramatic -return! The gun had been abandoned during -one of the desperate and confused fights of the -Second Battle of Ypres half a year before.</p> - -<p>In these months of September and October -great efforts were expended on improving the line. -Work in the front positions was done by the -occupying battalions, and the troops in reserve -came up night after night to assist their labours -and to create new secondary positions and drive -through fresh communication trenches. Even -the training of new units was occasionally and -rightly sacrificed to the performance of this -essential task. The weather was, on the whole, -favourable for these operations, with the exception -of three days of rain early in September and a -wet week late in October. The 1st Division, long -on the ground and fortified by the experience -of what good trenches mean for comfort and -safety, was pre-eminent in these exertions, as -would be proved by the trench-map with its -continuous increase, month after month, in the -black and zigzag lines of new work. Each tiny<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">20</span> -scrawl on the surface of such a map represents -the labours of hundreds of men, extended over -many nights. Second and third lines grew apace, -so that a sudden attack of the enemy would still -leave trenches to be held and would reduce the -German bite to mere nibbles at the forward trench. -The communication trenches are driven true -and straight from well in the rear, and up these -the ration parties toil in safety night after night -under their burdens of food, water, ammunition, -and R.E. material to feed the front line. These -parties know well enough the difference between -well-made lines and bad ones. Stooping under -the heavy weights as they struggle on through -the dark, they will bless in army fashion a smooth -and dry surface underfoot and a sound high -parapet which protects them from the casual -German shells which are searching for them, or -the intermittent whistle of the long-range bullet -humming on its errand in the dusk. Messengers -or stretcher-bearers with their burdens can move -backwards or forwards even by day along the -well-built hollow, and all those who pass are -protected both from the arrow that flieth by -night and the terror which walketh in the noonday. -Very different is the story of a badly-kept -line. It finds carrying parties struggling in, hours -late, exhausted by wading through mud and -water, and delayed by continually climbing out -and walking outside the trench to avoid impassable -sections. Here an unlucky shell or a casual bullet -may take its toll. The men struggle back with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">21</span> -difficulty, arriving hardly before the dawn, and -with their period of supposed rest and recuperation -turned into the most arduous of labours. It is -not too much to say that the efficiency of a -regiment or division can be tested by a comparison -between the state in which it takes over and that -in which it leaves its trenches.</p> - -<p>The creation of secondary positions is as -important as that of communication trenches, -and on this task the Canadian Corps worked -unsparingly throughout the autumn.</p> - -<p>The disposition of a brigade is two, or on -occasion three, battalions in the front line and -one or two in support or reserve trenches. But -in most cases even the leading regiments will not -have their whole strength in the firing trench. -One or two companies lie close up in support or -reserve to reinforce any threatened point. The -nearness of these supports is a very present help -in time of trouble, and gives confidence to officers -and men, who would be nervous if they knew -that no assistance was nearer than a mile away -in distance and an hour in time. But these lines -must be dug under cover of dark, so the men toiled -with the spade through the nights of autumn -and blessed the dawn which put a term to their -labours. Their record is written on the scarred -earth from St. Eloi down to Ploegsteert. Let -us hope that the corps which took their place in -March was duly grateful for the blessing of a -well-constructed line.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">22</span></p> - -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_IV"> - -<div id="ip_22" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 41em;"> - <img src="images/i_023.jpg" width="650" height="354" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>YPRES AFTER BOMBARDMENT.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Sphere.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">23</span></p> - -<h2 id="IV" class="vspace" title="IV. THE SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES">IV.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES.<a id="FNanchor_D" href="#Footnote_D" class="fnanchor smaller">D</a></span></h2> - -<p class="p1 center">By <span class="smcap">John Buchan</span>.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_D" href="#FNanchor_D" class="fnanchor">D</a> <cite>From “The History of the War.” By John Buchan. -(Thos. Nelson & Sons.)</cite></p></div> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="firstword">The</span> present writer first saw Ypres from a -little hill during the later stages of the -battle. It was a brilliant spring day, and, when -there was a lull in the bombardment and the -sun lit up its white towers, Ypres looked a -gracious and delicate little city in its cincture -of green. It was with a sharp shock of surprise -that one realised that it was an illusion, that -Ypres had become a shadow. A few days later, -in a pause of the bombardment, he entered the -town. The main street lay white and empty in -the sun, and over all reigned a deathly stillness. -There was not a human being to be seen in all -its length, and the houses on each side were -skeletons. There the whole front had gone, and -bedrooms with wrecked furniture were open to -the light. There a 42-cm. shell had made a -breach in the line, with raw edges of masonry -on both sides, and a yawning pit below. In one -room the carpet was spattered with plaster -from the ceiling, but the furniture was unbroken. -There was a Buhl cabinet with china, red plush<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">24</span> -chairs, a piano, and a gramaphone—the plenishing -of the best parlour of a middle-class home. -In another room was a sewing-machine, from -which the owner had fled in the middle of a -piece of work. Here was a novel with the reader’s -place marked. It was like a city visited by an -earthquake which had caught the inhabitants -unawares, and driven them shivering to a place -of refuge.</p> - -<p>Through the gaps in the houses there were -glimpses of greenery. A broken door admitted -to a garden—a carefully-tended garden, for the -grass had once been trimly kept, and the owner -must have had a pretty taste in spring flowers. -A little fountain still plashed in a stone basin. -But in one corner an incendiary shell had fallen -on the house, and in the heap of charred débris -there were human remains. Most of the dead -had been removed, but there were still bodies -in out-of-the-way comers. Over all hung a -sickening smell of decay, against which the lilacs -and hawthorns were powerless. That garden was -no place to tarry in.</p> - -<p>The street led into the Place, where once -stood the great Church of St. Martin and the -Cloth Hall. Those who knew Ypres before the -war will remember the pleasant <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">façade</i> of shops -on the south side, and the cluster of old Flemish -buildings at the north-eastern corner. Words<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">25</span> -are powerless to describe the devastation of -these houses. Of the southern side nothing remained -but a file of gaunt gables. At the northeast -corner, if you crawled across the rubble, -you could see the remnants of some beautiful -old mantelpieces. Standing in the middle of -the Place, one was oppressed by the utter silence, -a silence which seemed to hush and blanket the -eternal shelling in the Salient beyond. Some -jackdaws were cawing from the ruins, and a -painstaking starling was rebuilding its nest in -a broken pinnacle. An old cow, a miserable -object, was poking her head in the rubbish and -sniffing curiously at a dead horse. Sound was -a profanation in that tomb which had once -been a city.</p> - -<p>The Cloth Hall had lost all its arcades, most -of its front, and there were great rents everywhere. -Its spire looked like a badly-whittled -stick, and the big gilt clock, with its hands -irrevocably fixed, hung loose on a jet of stone. -St. Martin’s Church was a ruin, and its stately -square tower was so nicked and dinted that it -seemed as if a strong wind would topple it over. -Inside the church was a weird sight. Most of -the windows had gone, and the famous rose -window in the southern transept lacked a segment. -The side chapels were in ruins, the floor was deep -in fallen stones, but the pillars still stood. A -mass for the dead must have been in progress, -for the altar was draped in black, but the altar<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">26</span> -stone was cracked across. The sacristy was full -of vestments and candlesticks tumbled together -in haste, and all were covered with yellow picric -dust from the high explosives. In the graveyard -behind there was a huge shell crater, 50 feet -across and 20 feet deep, with human bones -exposed in the sides. Before the main door -stood a curious piece of irony. An empty pedestal -proclaimed from its four sides the many virtues -of a certain Belgian statesman who had been -also mayor of Ypres. The worthy mayor was -lying in the dust beside it, a fat man in a frock -coat, with side-whiskers and a face like Bismarck.</p> - -<p>Out in the sunlight there was the first sign -of human life. A detachment of French Colonial -<i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">tirailleurs</i> entered from the north—brown, -shadowy men in fantastic weather-stained uniforms. -A vehicle stood at the cathedral door, -and a lean and sad-faced priest was loading it -with some of the church treasures—chalices, -plate, embroidery. A Carmelite friar was prowling -among the side alleys looking for the dead. It -was like some <em>macabre</em> imagining of Victor Hugo.</p> - -<p>The ruins of old buildings are so familiar -that they do not at first dominate the mind. -Far more arresting are the remnants of the -pitiful little homes, where there is no dignity, -but a pathos which cries aloud. Ypres was like -a city destroyed by an earthquake; that is the -simplest and truest description. But the skeletons -of her great buildings, famous in Europe for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">27</span> -500 years, left another impression. One felt, -as at Pompeii, that things had always been so; -one felt that they were verily indestructible, -they were so great in their fall. The cloak of -St. Martin was not needed to cover the nakedness -of his church. There was a terrible splendour -about these gaunt and broken structures, these -noble, shattered <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">façades</i>, which defied their -destroyers. Ypres might be empty and a ruin, -but to the end of time she would be no mean -city.</p> - -<p>One of the truest of our younger poets, -Rupert Brooke, who died while serving in the -Dardanelles, wrote in his last months a sonnet -on the consolation of death in <span class="locked">war:—</span></p> - -<div class="poem-container"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="iq">“If I should die, think only this of me:<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That there’s some corner of a foreign field<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That is for ever England. There shall be<br /></span> -<span class="i2">In that rich earth a richer dust concealed.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="in0">In the salient of Ypres there are not less than a -hundred thousand graves of Allied soldiers, sometimes -marked by plain wooden crosses, sometimes -obliterated by the <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">débris</i> of ruined trenches, -sometimes hidden in corners of fields and beneath -clumps of chestnuts. That ground is for ever -England; and it is also for ever France, for there -the men of Dubois died around Bixschoote and -on the Klein Zillebeke ridge. When the war is -over this triangle of meadowland, with a ruined -city for its base, will be an enclave of Belgian -soil consecrated as the holy land of two great -peoples. It may be that it will be specially set<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">28</span> -apart as a memorial place; it may be that it -will be unmarked, and that the country folk -will till and reap as before over the vanishing -trench lines. But it will never be common -ground. It will be for us the most hallowed -spot on earth, for it holds our bravest dust, and -it is the proof and record of a new spirit. In the -past when we have thought of Ypres we have -thought of the British flag preserved there, which -Clare’s Regiment, fighting for France, captured -at the Battle of Ramillies. The name of the little -Flemish town has recalled the divisions in our -own race and the centuries-old conflict between -France and Britain. But from now and henceforth -it will have other memories. It will stand -as a symbol of unity and alliance—unity within -our Empire, unity within our Western civilization—that -true alliance and that lasting unity which -are won and sealed by a common sacrifice.</p> - -<hr /> -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_V"> - -<div id="ip_28" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 24em;"> - <img src="images/i_029.jpg" width="370" height="470" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>BATTLE OF JUTLAND: FIRST SIGHT OF THE ENEMY’S HIGH SEAS FLEET.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">29</span></p> - -<h2 id="V" class="vspace" title="V. THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND BANK">V.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND BANK.</span></h2> - -<p class="p1 b2 center">By <span class="smcap">H. W. Wilson</span>.</p> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="firstword">The</span> chase and destruction of an enemy takes -many hours. Nelson began his battle at -Trafalgar at noon, or soon after; the Germans -took good care not to engage before the afternoon -was well advanced. There was enough time to -destroy a detachment, but not enough to complete -the destruction of a large fleet. The mist further -diminished the advantage which the British -possessed in their heavy guns, and enabled the -Germans to count on using their numerous 6-in. -weapons with success.</p> - -<p>Contact with the enemy was obtained. At -2.20 p.m. Admiral Beatty received reports from -his light cruisers indicating the proximity of the -enemy, and at 2.35 the smoke of a considerable -fleet was seen to the E. A seaplane was sent -up from a seaplane-carrying ship to reconnoitre -the enemy, and transmitted back the first reports -about 3.30.</p> - -<p>Admiral Beatty at once formed line of battle, -steering E.S.E. at 25 knots, with the Fifth Battle<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">30</span> -Squadron 10,000 yards off to the N.N.W. The -enemy (five battle-cruisers under Vice-Admiral -Hipper, with light cruisers and destroyers) was -now 23,000 yards distant. Admiral Beatty seems -to have decided that it would be unwise to wait -till the Fifth Battle Squadron could join up with -him and form into line with his six ships.</p> - -<p>The enemy, on seeing him, had turned S. -toward the German Battle Fleet, which was -steaming up from the S. some 50 miles off, and -he followed. At 3.48 Beatty opened fire at a -range of 18,500 yards (or rather more than -10½ land miles), and the enemy did the same. Six -British ships with broadsides of 32 13·5-in. and -16 12-in. guns were now shooting at five German -ships, whose broadsides were 16 12-in. and -28 11-in. guns. Beatty slowly closed on the -enemy till a distance of 14,000 yards parted the -squadrons; meanwhile the light cruisers were -engaged with craft of their kind.</p> - -<p>It was in this preliminary action with the -odds in our favour that two of Admiral Beatty’s -splendid battle-cruisers—the <i>Queen Mary</i> and -<i>Indefatigable</i>—were destroyed.</p> - -<p>The loss of these two ships reduced Admiral -Beatty’s armoured ships to four and his weight -of metal to an approximate equality with the -German battle-cruiser squadron, which was still -five ships strong, no single vessel in it having as -yet been put out of action. At 4.8, Beatty was -in some degree supported by the fire of the 15-in.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">31</span> -guns in the Fifth Battle Squadron, which opened -at 20,000 yards—a long range in misty weather—and -the enemy’s fire seemed to slacken. A submarine -attack was beaten off by the vigilance -and skill of the British destroyers, which soon -after 4 were flung in on the enemy in a great -attack, meeting in their impetuous charge a -German light cruiser and 15 destroyers.</p> - -<p>All through this encounter the battle-cruisers -were still pounding one another and rapidly -nearing the German Battle Fleet. From 4.15 to -4.43 he reports that the fighting was “of a very -fierce and resolute character,” but at 4.18 the -third enemy ship was seen to be on fire. The -haze had now thickened, and the enemy could -only be dimly made out. At 4.38 the German -Battle Fleet emerged from the mist to the S.E., -and was seen and reported by the Second -Light Cruiser Squadron, scouting in advance, -to Admiral Beatty, who at 4.42 turned in his -course, steaming N.W. instead of S.E., towards -Admiral Jellicoe and the British Battle Fleet.</p> - -<p>The Germans turned in the same way, their -battle-cruisers taking station at the head of the -enemy’s line and pursuing Beatty. As they -executed this turn, the Fifth Battle Squadron -closed them, steaming in the opposite direction, -engaged them with all its guns, and then turned -and fell in astern of Beatty, who now had eight -ships in line, proceeding at a speed of something -over 21 knots. The enemy’s battle fleet was in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">32</span> -action, and the Germans had concentrated in -superior force on a part of the British Fleet.</p> - -<p>The range was 14,000 yards and the enemy -was getting heavily hit, while he was apparently -not making many hits on the British ships. -After 5, one of the German battle-cruisers—perhaps -the <i>Lutzow</i>, which, according to the -enemy, received 15 or 16 heavy shells—left -the line damaged. At 5.10 the sixth ship in -the German line—a Dreadnought—was reported -to have been hit by a torpedo, and it is just -possible that she sank, as a huge cloud of smoke -and steam was seen just after where she had been. -The Germans were now edging off to the E., -learning either from Zeppelins or their light -cruisers that the British Battle Fleet was coming -up to the N.W. Admiral Beatty reports that -“probably Zeppelins were present,” though they -appear to have been seen only by neutrals in -the first stage of the battle.</p> - -<p>The head of the German line at this part of -the battle was getting severely punished, and -a second of the German battle-cruisers had -vanished, leaving only three enemy battle-cruisers -in line. The first stage of the battle was over. -Beatty had led the Germans to the British -Battle Fleet, which was sighted at 5.56 10,000 -yards away to the N.</p> - -<p>The position of the Fleet was as follows:—Beatty, -with four battle-cruisers, and astern -of him the four fast battleships of the Fifth<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">33</span> -Battle Squadron, was now turning sharply eastwards -to pass across the head of the German -Fleet and prevent it from edging E. and getting -away in that direction. This movement of his -would have enabled him to “cross the T” of the -enemy’s line—<i>i.e.</i>, to pass at right angles across -it, raking the ships as he passed, which is regarded -as the most advantageous position that can be -obtained in battle—if the enemy had not turned. -N. of Admiral Beatty’s ships was the British -Battle Fleet, with three battle-cruisers under -Hood on one wing, and three or four armoured -cruisers under Arbuthnot on the other. On a -line generally parallel to Beatty’s was the whole -force of German battle-cruisers (3) and battleships -(22), slightly astern of him, so that the -German ships at the southern end of the line -were out of the battle—too distant to fire. The -head of the enemy line was some 12,000 yards -from him, and about 22,000 yards from the -British Battle Fleet.</p> - -<p>Beatty’s eastward turn compelled the enemy -to turn, and enabled the British Battle Fleet, -if it desired, to move in behind the High Sea -Fleet and cut it off from its bases. To reinforce -Beatty in these critical moments, Hood -steamed in fast with his three battle-cruisers, -and swung magnificently into position at the -head of Beatty’s line. There he received a -terrific fire from the enemy, 8,000 yards away, -and a few minutes later the <i>Invincible</i>, his flagship,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">34</span> -was struck by the combined salvoes of -the German Fleet and she sank. Three battle-cruisers -were gone, and of their combined crews -of 2,500 men a mere handful were saved. Beatty -at 6.35, about the time when the <i>Invincible</i> -sank, turned S.E. A little earlier, Rear-Admiral -Arbuthnot, with three weak armoured cruisers, -struck the German Battle Fleet, which was -apparently almost hidden in smoke. His intervention -prevented a dangerous German torpedo -attack on the British battle-cruisers, but in -rendering this last service he perished.</p> - -<p>The <i>Black Prince</i> was very badly hit. The -<i>Warrior</i> was disabled, and in extreme danger. -Probably the German ships were attacking these -vessels with concentrated salvoes—battleships of -the super-Dreadnought class firing at pre-Dreadnought -armoured cruisers. The German shooting -must have begun to deteriorate, as the <i>Warspite</i> -was quickly got under control, and with but -slight damage rejoined the Fifth Battle Squadron, -which was now taking station astern of Admiral -Jellicoe’s Fleet.</p> - -<p>At 6.17 this Fleet entered the battle. The -First Battle Squadron was the first to engage -at 11,000 yards, closing the enemy slowly to -9,000 (which is very short range indeed, and -would allow the Germans to use their 6-in. guns). -The light was very bad. The Germans were -shrouded in haze; their destroyers sent up -thick clouds of coal smoke, which obscured an<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">35</span> -atmosphere already choked with the fumes of -bursting shells, and the smoke from the numerous -fires in the ships engaged. From the van of -the Battle Fleet never more than five German -ships could be seen, and from the rear never -more than twelve. The British constantly strove -to close, but were eluded by the enemy, who -utilised destroyer attacks to cover his retreat. -But, difficult though it was to shoot with accuracy, -Sir J. Jellicoe reports that in this phase of the battle -the enemy ships were repeatedly hit, and one -at least was seen to sink.</p> - -<p>The <i>Marlborough</i>, in the First Battle Squadron, -specially distinguished herself, firing seven salvoes -(if with all her guns about 70 13·5-in. shell) at -a battleship of the <i>Kaiser</i> class; at 6.54 she was -so unlucky as to be hit by a torpedo fired from -a German light cruiser, which she sank. She -was the only British ship to suffer in this way. -A great cloud of smoke rose from her and she -listed violently, then recovered, and nine minutes -later re-opened fire. At 7.12 she poured 14 salvoes -with great speed upon a battleship of the <i>König</i> -class, and drove her from the line.</p> - -<p>The flagship, <i>Iron Duke</i>, at 6.30 engaged a -Dreadnought of the <i>König</i> class in the German -Fleet, hitting her at the second salvo, which was -a remarkable gunnery performance at a range -of 12,000 yards and in the clouds of smoke. The -enemy turned away and escaped. The other -ships of the Fourth Battle Squadron were mainly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">36</span> -engaged with the German battle-cruisers. The -Second Battle Squadron attacked the German -battleships, and also fired at a damaged German -battle-cruiser, from 6.30 to 7.20; at 7 p.m. the -British Fleet turned S., and shortly afterwards -S.W. The battleship engagement closed about -8.20, when the enemy disappeared in the smoke -and mist. He lay to the W. of Admiral Jellicoe’s -Fleet, and orders were issued to the British -torpedo craft to attack him. About 8.20 Beatty -pushed W. in support of the light cruisers -which had been ordered to locate the enemy’s -position, and came upon two battle-cruisers and -two battleships, which he attacked at a range -of 10,000 yards. The leading German ship was -struck repeatedly, and turned away sharply with -a very heavy list, emitting flames; the <i>Princess -Royal</i> set a three-funnelled battleship (possibly -the <i>Helgoland</i>) on fire. A third ship was battered -by the <i>Indomitable</i> and <i>New Zealand</i>, and was -seen heeling over, on fire, drawing out of the line. -Then about 8.38 the mist came down so thickly -that the battle was broken off, the enemy fleet -being last seen by the larger British ships about -8.38, steaming W.</p> - -<p>At 8.40 a violent explosion was felt by the -British Fleet. This was probably caused by the -destruction of a big ship.</p> - -<p>Beatty steamed S.W. till 9.24, when having -seen nothing more of the enemy, he assumed that -the Germans were to the N.W., and proceeded<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">37</span> -N.N.E. to the British Battle Fleet. He says: -“In view of the gathering darkness, and the -fact that our strategical position was such as -to make it appear certain that we should locate -the enemy at daylight under most favourable -circumstances, I did not consider it proper or -desirable to close the enemy battle fleet during -the dark hours.”</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_VI"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">38</span></p> - -<div id="ip_38" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 23em;"> - <img src="images/i_039.jpg" width="365" height="478" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>STORMING THE VILLAGE OF LOOS: HAND-TO-HAND FIGHTING IN THE STREETS.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Sphere.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">39</span></p> - -<h2 id="VI" class="vspace" title="VI. THE CHARGE AT LOOS OF THE LONDON IRISH">VI.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE CHARGE AT LOOS OF THE LONDON IRISH<br /> - -<span class="smaller">(18th London).</span></span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap a"><span class="firstword">A vivid</span> account of an incident at Loos, -which has become historic, was given by one -of the London Irish Regiment who was wounded -during the <span class="locked">charge:—</span></p> - -<p>“One set of our men—keen footballers—made -a strange resolution; it was to take a -football along with them. The platoon officer -discovered this, and ordered the football to be -sent back—which, of course, was carried out. -But the old members of the London Irish Football -Club were not to be done out of the greatest -game of their lives-the last to some of them, -poor fellows—and just before Major Beresford -gave the signal the leather turned up again -mysteriously.</p> - -<p>“Suddenly the officer in command gave the -signal, ‘Over you go, lads!’ With that the whole -line sprang up as one man, some with a prayer, -not a few making the sign of the Cross. But -the footballers, they chucked the ball over and -went after it just as cool as if on the field, passing -it from one to the other, though the bullets were -flying thick as hail, crying, ‘On the ball, London<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">40</span> -Irish!’ just as they might have done at Forest -Hill. I believe that they actually kicked it right -into the enemy’s trench with the cry, ‘Goal!’ -though not before some of them had been picked -off on the way.</p> - -<p>“There wasn’t 400 yards between the trenches, -and we had to get across the open—a manœuvre -we started just as on parade. All lined up, -bayonets fixed, rifles at the slope. Once our -fellows got going it was hard to get them to -stop, with the result that some rushed clean into -one of our own gas waves and dropped in it just -before it had time to get over the enemy’s trench.</p> - -<p>“The barbed wire had been broken into -smithereens by our shells so that we could get -right through; but we could see it had been -terrible stuff, and we all felt we should not have -had a ghost of a chance of getting through had -it not been for an unlimited supply of shells -expended on it.</p> - -<p>“When we reached the German trench, which -we did under a cloud of smoke, we found nothing -but a pack of beings dazed with terror. In a jiffy -we were over their parapet and the real work -began; a kind of madness comes over you as -you stab with your bayonet and hear the shriek -of the poor devil suddenly cease as the steel goes -through him and you know he’s ‘gone west.’ -The beggars did not show much fight, most -having retired into their second line of trenches -when we began to occupy their first to make it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">41</span> -our new line of attack. That meant clearing -out even the smallest nook or corner that was -large enough to hold a man.</p> - -<p>“This fell to the bombers. Every bomber is -a hero, I think, for he has to rush on, fully exposed, -laden with enough stuff to send him to ‘kingdom -come’ if a chance shot or stumble sets him off.</p> - -<p>“Some of the sights were awful in the hand-to-hand -struggle, for, of course, that is the worst -part. Our own second in command, Major Beresford, -was badly wounded. Captain and Adjutant -Hamilton, though shot through the knee just -after leaving our trench, was discovered still -limping on at the second German trench, and had -to be placed under arrest to prevent his going -on till he bled to death.</p> - -<p>“They got the worst of it, though, when it -came to cold steel, which they can’t stand, and -they ran like hares. So having left a number -of men in the first trench, we went on to the -second and then the third, after which other -regiments came up to our relief, and together -we took Loos. It wasn’t really our job at all -to take Loos, but we were swept on by the -enthusiasm, I suppose, and all day long we were -at it, clearing house after house, or rather what -was left of the houses—stabbing and shooting -and bombing till one felt ready to drop dead -oneself. We wiped the 22nd Silesian Regiment -right out, but it was horrible to work on with -the cries of the wounded all round.”</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_VII"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">42</span></p> - -<div id="ip_42" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 25em;"> - <img src="images/i_043.jpg" width="365" height="422" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>BRITISH TROOPS IN ACTION ON THE GALLIPOLI PENINSULA.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">43</span></p> - -<h2 id="VII" class="vspace" title="VII. THE LANDING AT V BEACH, NEAR SEDD-EL-BAHR">VII.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE LANDING AT V BEACH, NEAR SEDD-EL-BAHR.<a id="FNanchor_E" href="#Footnote_E" class="fnanchor smaller">E</a></span></h2> - -<p class="p1 center">By <span class="smcap">John Masefield</span>.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_E" href="#FNanchor_E" class="fnanchor">E</a> <cite>From “Gallipoli.” By John Masefield. (Heinemann.)</cite></p></div> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="firstword">The</span> men told off for this landing were: -the Dublin Fusiliers, the Munster Fusiliers, -half a battalion of the Hampshire Regiment, -and the West Riding Field Company.</p> - -<p>Three companies of the Dublin Fusiliers were -to land from towed lighters, the rest of the party -from a tramp steamer, the collier <i>River Clyde</i>. -This ship, a conspicuous seamark at Cape Helles -throughout the rest of the campaign, had been -altered to carry and land troops. Great gangways -or entry ports had been cut in her sides on the -level of her between decks, and platforms had -been built out upon her sides below these, so -that men might run from her in a hurry. The -plan was to beach her as near the shore as -possible, and then drag or sweep the lighters, -which she towed, into position between her and -the shore, so as to make a kind of boat bridge -from her to the beach. When the lighters were -so moored as to make this bridge, the entry -ports were to be opened, the waiting troops<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">44</span> -were to rush out on to the external platforms, -run from them on to the lighters, and so to the -shore. The ship’s upper deck and bridge were -protected with boiler plate and sandbags, and -a casemate for machine guns was built upon -her fo’c’sle, so that she might reply to the enemy’s -fire.</p> - -<p>Five picket-boats, each towing five boats or -launches full of men, steamed alongside the <i>River -Clyde</i> and went ahead when she grounded. She -took the ground rather to the right of the little -beach, some 400 yards from the ruins of Sedd-el-Bahr -Castle, before the Turks had opened fire; -but almost as she grounded, when the picket-boats -with their tows were ahead of her, only -20 or 30 yards from the beach, every rifle and -machine gun in the castle, the town above it, -and in the curved, low, strongly trenched hill -along the bay, began a murderous fire upon -ship and boats. There was no question of their -missing. They had their target on the front -and both flanks at ranges between 100 and -300 yards in clear daylight, 30 boats bunched -together and crammed with men and a good -big ship. The first outbreak of fire made the -bay as white as a rapid, for the Turks fired not -less then 10,000 shots a minute for the first few -minutes of that attack. Those not killed in -the boats at the first discharge jumped overboard<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">45</span> -to wade or swim ashore. Many were killed in -the water, many, who were wounded, were -swept away and drowned; others, trying to -swim in the fierce current, were drowned by -the weight of their equipment. But some reached -the shore, and these instantly doubled out to -cut the wire entanglements and were killed, or -dashed for the cover of a bank of sand or raised -beach which runs along the curve of the bay. -Those very few who reached this cover were -out of immediate danger, but they were only -a handful. The boats were destroyed where -they grounded.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the men of the <i>River Clyde</i> tried -to make their bridge of boats by sweeping the -lighters into position and mooring them between -the ship and the shore. They were killed as -they worked, but others took their places; the -bridge was made, and some of the Munsters -dashed along it from the ship and fell in heaps -as they ran. As a second company followed, -the moorings of the lighters broke or were shot; -the men leaped into the water, and were drowned -or killed, or reached the beach and were killed, -or fell wounded there, and lay under fire, getting -wound after wound till they died; very, very -few reached the sandbank. More brave men -jumped aboard the lighters to remake the bridge; -they were swept away or shot to pieces. The -average life on those boats was some three minutes -long, but they remade the bridge, and the third<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">46</span> -company of the Munsters doubled down to death -along it under a storm of shrapnel which scarcely -a man survived. The big guns in Asia were now -shelling the <i>River Clyde</i>, and the hell of rapid -fire never paused. More men tried to land, -headed by Brigadier-General Napier, who was -instantly killed, with nearly all his followers. -Then for long hours the remainder stayed on -board, down below in the grounded steamer, -while the shots beat on her plates with a rattling -clang which never stopped. Her twelve machine -guns fired back, killing any Turk who showed; -but nothing could be done to support the few -survivors of the landing, who now lay under -cover of the sandbank on the other side of the -beach. It was almost certain death to try to -leave the ship, but all through the day men -leaped from her (with leave or without it) to -bring water or succour to the wounded on the -boats or beach. A hundred brave men gave their -lives thus; every man there earned the Cross -that day. A boy earned it by one of the bravest -deeds of the war, leaping into the sea with a -rope in his teeth to try to secure a drifting lighter.</p> - -<p>The day passed thus, but at nightfall the -Turks’ fire paused, and the men came ashore -from the <i>River Clyde</i>, almost unharmed. They -joined the survivors on the beach, and at once -attacked the old fort and the village above it. -These works were strongly held by the enemy. -All had been ruined by the fire from the Fleet,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">47</span> -but in the rubble and ruin of old masonry there -were thousands of hidden riflemen backed by -machine guns. Again and again they beat off -our attacks, for there was a bright moon and -they knew the ground, and our men had to -attack uphill over wire and broken earth and -heaped stones in all the wreck and confusion -and strangeness of war at night in a new place. -Some of the Dublins and Munsters went astray -in the ruins, and were wounded far from their -fellows, and so lost. The Turks became more -daring after dark; while the light lasted they -were checked by the <i>River Clyde’s</i> machine -guns, but at midnight they gathered unobserved -and charged. They came right down on to the -beach, and in the darkness and moonlight much -terrible and confused fighting followed. Many -were bayoneted, many shot, there was wild -firing and crying, and then the Turk attack -melted away, and their machine guns began again. -When day dawned, the survivors of the landing -party were crouched under the shelter of the -sandbank; they had had no rest; most of them -had been fighting all night; all had landed across -the corpses of their friends. No retreat was -possible, nor was it dreamed of, but to stay -there was hopeless. Lieut.-Colonel Doughty-Wylie -gathered them together for an attack; -the Fleet opened a terrific fire upon the ruins -of the fort and village, and the landing party -went forward again, fighting from bush to bush -and from stone to stone, till the ruins were in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">48</span> -their hands. Shells still fell among them, single -Turks, lurking under cover, sniped them and -shot them; but the landing had been made -good, and V beach was secured to us.</p> - -<p>This was the worst and the bloodiest of all -the landings.</p> - -<hr /> -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_VIII"> - -<div id="ip_48" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 40em;"> - <img src="images/i_049.jpg" width="625" height="356" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME: THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS’ SPLENDID CHARGE.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">49</span></p> - -<h2 id="VIII" class="vspace" title="VIII. THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS AT THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME">VIII.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS AT THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME.<a id="FNanchor_F" href="#Footnote_F" class="fnanchor smaller">F</a></span></h2> - -<p class="p1 center">By <span class="smcap">Philip Gibbs</span>.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_F" href="#FNanchor_F" class="fnanchor">F</a> <cite>From “The Battles of the Somme.” (Heinemann.)</cite></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap al"><span class="firstword">And</span> now I must tell a little more in detail -the story of the Guards in this battle. -It is hard to tell it, and not all can be told yet -because of the enemy. The Guards had their -full share of the fighting, and of the difficult -ground, with strong forces against them. They -knew that would be so before they went into -battle, and yet they did not ask for better things -but awaited the hour of attack with strong, -gallant hearts, quite sure of their courage, proud -of their name, full of trust in their officers, eager -to give a smashing blow at the enemy.</p> - -<p>These splendid men, so tall and proper, so -hard and fine, went away as one might imagine -the old knights and yeomen of England at Agincourt. -For the first time in the history of the -Coldstreamers, three battalions of them charged -in line, great solid waves of men, as fine a sight -as the world could show. Behind them were -the Grenadiers, and again behind these men<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">50</span> -the Irish.</p> - -<p>They had not gone more than 200 yards -before they came under the enfilade fire of massed -machine guns in trenches not previously observed. -The noise of this fire was so loud and savage -that, although hundreds of guns were firing, -not a shot could be heard. It was just the stabbing -staccato hammering of the German Maxims. -Men fell, but the lines were not broken. Gaps -were made in the ranks, but they closed up. -The wounded did not call for help, but cheered -on those who swept past and on, shouting “Go -on, Lily-whites!”—which is the old name for -the Coldstreamers—“Get at ’em, Lily-whites!”</p> - -<p>They went on at a hot pace with their bayonets -lowered. Out of the crumpled earth—all pits -and holes and hillocks, torn up by great gun-fire—grey -figures rose and fled. They were German -soldiers terror-stricken by this rushing tide of -men.</p> - -<p>The Guards went on. Then they were checked -by two lines of trenches, wired and defended -by machine guns and bombers. They came upon -them quicker than they expected. Some of the -officers were puzzled. Could these be the trenches -marked out for attack—or other unknown -trenches? Anyhow, they must be taken—and -the Guards took them by frontal assault full in -the face of continual blasts of machine-gun -bullets.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">51</span> -There was hard and desperate fighting. The -Germans defended themselves to the death. They -bombed our men, who attacked them with the -bayonet, served their machine guns until they -were killed, and would only surrender when our -men were on top of them. It was a very bloody -hour or more. By that time the Irish Guards -had joined the others. All the Guards were -together, and together they passed the trenches, -swinging left inevitably under the machine-gun -fire which poured upon them from their right, -but going steadily deeper into the enemy country -until they were 2,000 yards from their starting -place.</p> - -<p>Then it was necessary to call a halt. Many -officers and men had fallen. To go farther would -be absolute death. The troops on the right had -been utterly held up. The Guards were “up in -the air” with an exposed flank, open to all the -fire that was flung upon them from the enemy’s -lines. The temptation to go farther was great. -The German infantry was on the run. They -were dragging their guns away. There was a -great panic among the men who had been hiding -in trenches. But the German machine gunners -kept to their posts to safeguard a rout, and the -Guards had gone far enough through their -scourging bullets.</p> - -<p>They decided very wisely to hold the line -they had gained, and to dig in where they stood, -and to make forward posts with strong points.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">52</span> -They had killed a great number of Germans and -taken 200 prisoners and fought grandly. So now -they halted and dug and took cover as best they -could in shell-craters and broken ground, under -fierce fire from the enemy’s guns.</p> - -<p>The night was a dreadful one for the wounded, -and for men who did their best for the wounded, -trying to be deaf to agonizing sounds. Many of -them had hairbreadth escapes from death. One -young officer in the Irish Guards lay in a shell-hole -with two comrades, and then left it for a -while to cheer up other men lying in surrounding -craters. When he came back he found his two -friends lying dead, blown to bits by a shell.</p> - -<p>But in spite of all these bad hours the Guards -kept cool, kept their discipline, their courage, -and their spirit. The Germans launched counter-attacks -against them, but were annihilated. The -Guards held their ground, and gained the greatest -honour for self-sacrificing courage which has ever -given a special meaning to their name. They took -the share which all of us knew they would take -in the greatest of all our battles since the first -day of July, and, with other regiments, struck -a vital blow at the enemy’s line of defence.</p> - -<hr /> -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_IX"> -<div id="ip_52" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 40em;"> - <img src="images/i_053.jpg" width="631" height="281" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>THE ADVANCE ON BAGHDAD: BATTLE ON THE DIALA RIVER.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Sphere.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">53</span></p> - -<h2 id="IX" class="vspace" title="IX. THE MOONLIGHT BATTLE FOR BAGHDAD">IX.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE MOONLIGHT BATTLE FOR BAGHDAD.</span></h2> - -<p class="p1 b2 center">By <span class="smcap">Edmund Candler</span>.</p> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="firstword">The</span> last fighting before Baghdad is likely -to become historic on account of the -splendid gallantry of our troops in the crossing -of the Diala River. After the action at Lajj -the Turkish rearguard fell back on Diala, destroying -the bridge which crosses the stream at its -junction with the Tigris. We pushed on in -pursuit on the left bank, sending cavalry and -two columns of infantry to work round on the -right bank, and to enter Baghdad from the west. -Speed in following up was essential, and the -column attacking Diala was faced with another -crossing in which the element of surprise was -eliminated. The village lies on both banks of -the stream, which is 120 yards wide. The houses, -trees, nullah, and walled gardens made it impossible -to build a road and ramps quickly and -to bring up pontoons without betraying the -point of embarkation. Hence the old bridgehead -site was chosen. The attack on the night -of the 7th was checked, but the quality of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">54</span> -courage shown by our men has never been -surpassed in war. Immediately the first pontoon -was lowered over the ramp the whole launching -party was shot down in a few seconds. It was -a bright moonlight, and the Turks had concentrated -their machine guns and rifles in the houses -on the opposite bank.</p> - -<p>The second pontoon had got into the middle -of the stream, when a terrific fusillade was -opened on it. The crew of five rowers and -ten riflemen were killed and the boat floated -down the stream. A third got nearly across, -but was bombed and sank. All the crew were -killed. But there was no holding back. The -orders still held to secure the passage. Crew -after crew pushed off to an obvious and certain -death. The fourth crossing party was exterminated -in the same way, and the pontoons -drifted out to the Tigris to float past our camp -in the daylight with their freight of dead. The -drafts who went over were raised by volunteers -from other battalions in the brigade. These -and the sappers on the bank share the honour -of the night with the attacking battalion. Nothing -stopped them, save the loss of the pontoons. -A Lancashire man remarked: “It is a bit hot -here, but let’s try higher up,” but the gallant -fellows were reduced to their last boat. Another -regiment, which was to cross higher up, were -delayed, as the boats had to be carried nearly a -mile across country to the stream. After the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">55</span> -failure of the bridgehead passage the second -crossing was cancelled, but the men were still -game.</p> - -<p>On the second night the attempt was pursued -with equal gallantry. This time the attack was -preceded by a bombardment. Registering by -artillery had been impossible on the first day -in the speed of the pursuit. It was the barrage -that secured us the footing—not the shells, but -the dust raised by them. This was so thick that -you could not see your hand in front of your face. -It formed a curtain behind which ten boats were -able to cross. Afterwards, in clear moonlight, -when the curtain of dust had lifted, the conditions -of the night before were re-established. Succeeding -crossing parties were exterminated, and pontoons -drifted away, but a footing was secured. -The dust served us well. The crew of one boat -which lost its way during the barrage were -untouched, but they did not make the bank -in time. Directly the air cleared a machine-gun -was opened on them, and the rowers were shot -down, and the pontoon drifted back ashore. A -sergeant called to volunteers to get the wounded -out of the boat, and a party of twelve men went -over the river bank. Every man of them, as well -as the crew of the pontoons, were killed.</p> - -<p>Some 60 men had got over, and these joined -up and started bombing along the bank. They -were soon heavily pressed by the Turks on both -flanks, and found themselves between two woods.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">56</span> -Here they discovered a providential natural -position. A break in the river bund had been -repaired by a new bund built in a half-moon -on the landward side. This formed a perfect -lunette. The Lancashire men, surrounded on -all sides but the river, held it through the night, -all the next day, and the next night against -repeated and determined attacks. Those attacks -were delivered in the dark or at dawn. The -Turks only attacked once in the daylight, as -our machine guns on the other bank swept the -ground in front of the position. Twenty yards -west of the lunette there was a thin grove of -mulberries and palms. The pontoon was most -vulnerable on this side, and it was here that the -Turkish counter-attacks were most frequent. Our -intense intermittent artillery fire day and night -on the wood afforded some protection. The -whole affair was visible to our troops on the -south side, who were able to make themselves -heard by shouting. Attempts to get a cable -across with a rocket for the passage of ammunition -failed.</p> - -<p>At midnight on the 9th and 10th the Turks -were on top of the parapet, but were driven -back. One more determined rush would have -carried the lunette, but the little garrison, now -reduced to 40, kept their heads and maintained -cool control of their fire. A corporal was seen -searching for loose rounds and emptying the -bandoliers of the dead. In the end they were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">57</span> -reduced almost to their last clip and one bomb, -but we found over 100 Turkish dead outside the -redoubts when they were relieved at daylight. -The crossing on the night of the 9th and 10th -was entirely successful. With our cavalry and -two columns of infantry working round on the -right bank the Turks were in danger of being -cut off, as at Sanna-i-Yat. Before midnight -they had withdrawn their machine guns, leaving -only riflemen to dispute the passage. The crossing -upstream was a surprise. We slipped through -the Turkish guard. He had pickets at both -ends of the river salient where we dropped our -pontoons. But he overlooked essential points -in it which offered us dead ground uncovered -by posts up and down stream. Consequently -our passage here lost us no lives. The other -ferry near the bridge was also crossed with slight -loss, owing to a diversion up-stream. The Turks, -perceiving that their flank was being turned, -effected a general retirement of the greater part -of their garrison between the two ferries. Some -250 in all, finding us bombing down on both -flanks, surrendered. The upper crossing was -so unexpected that one Turk was actually bayonetted -as he lay covering the opposite bank -with his rifle.</p> - -<p>By 9.30 on the morning of the 10th the whole -brigade had crossed. Soon after 11 the brigade -was complete and the pursuit continued. The -Turks continued their rearguard action, and in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">58</span> -the afternoon there was fighting in the palm -groves of Saida, and the Turks were cleared -with the bayonet, after artillery had combed the -wood. The main body was holding the El -Mahomed position, one and a half miles further -north—a trench line running nearly four miles -inland from the Tigris. We attacked this in front, -while another column made a wide turning -movement on the flank, and the enemy evacuated -it at night. On the morning of the 12th we entered -Baghdad. Our force on the right bank, after -defeating the Turkish rearguard in two actions, -reached the suburb on the opposite side of the -Bridge of Boats. A brigade was ferried across -in coracles, and at noon they hoisted the Union -Jack on the citadel. Meanwhile the cavalry -continued the pursuit and occupied Kazimain -after slight resistance. Four damaged aeroplanes -and 100 prisoners were taken, in addition to -the 300 captured on the left bank. The gunboats -are still in pursuit of the enemy, who are -reported to be entrenching 16 miles north of -Baghdad, covering the entrainment of troops.</p> - -<hr /> -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_X"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">59</span></p> - -<h2 id="X" class="nobreak vspace" title="X. THE BATTLE OF ARRAS">X.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE BATTLE OF ARRAS.<a id="FNanchor_G" href="#Footnote_G" class="fnanchor smaller">G</a></span></h2> - -<p class="p1 center"><span class="smcap">By Philip Gibbs.</span></p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_G" href="#FNanchor_G" class="fnanchor">G</a> <cite>From the “Daily Chronicle” and “Daily Telegraph.”</cite></p></div> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="firstword">To-day,</span> at dawn, our armies began a great -battle, which, if Fate has any kindness -for the world, may be the beginning of the last -great battles of the war. Our troops attacked -on a wide front between Lens and St. Quentin, -including the Vimy Ridge, that great, grim hill -which dominates the plain of Douai and the -coalfields of Lens and the German positions -around Arras. In spite of bad fortune in weather -at the beginning of the day, so bad that there -was no visibility for the airmen, and our men -had to struggle forward in a heavy rainstorm, -the first attacks have been successful, and the -enemy has lost much ground, falling back in -retreat to strong rearguard lines, where he is -now fighting desperately. The line of our attack -covers a front of some 12 miles southwards -from Givenchy-en-Gohelle, and is a sledge-hammer -blow, threatening to break the northern end -of the Hindenburg line, already menaced round -St. Quentin. As soon as the enemy was forced -to retreat from the country east of Bapaume -and Péronne, in order to escape a decisive blow<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">60</span> -on that line, he hurried up divisions and guns -northwards to counter our attack there, while -he prepared a new line of defence, known as -the Wotan line, as the southern part of the -Hindenburg line, which joins it, is known as -the Siegfried position, after two great heroes -of old German mythology. He hoped to escape -there before our new attack was ready, but -we have been too quick for him, and his own -plans were frustrated.</p> - -<p>So to-day began another titanic conflict which -the world will hold its breath to watch because -of all that hangs upon it. I have seen the fury -of this beginning, and all the sky on fire with -it, the most tragic and frightful sight that men -have ever seen, with an infernal splendour beyond -words to tell. The bombardment which went -before the infantry assault lasted for several -days, and reached a great height yesterday, -when, coming from the south, I saw it for the -first time. Those of us who knew what would -happen to-day, the beginning of another series -of battles greater, perhaps, than the struggle -of the Somme, found ourselves yesterday filled -with a tense, restless emotion, and some of us -smiled with a kind of tragic irony because it -was Easter Sunday. In the little villages behind -the battle lines the bells of the French churches -were ringing gladly because the Lord had risen,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">61</span> -and on the altar steps the priests were reciting -the splendid old words of faith. “Resurrexi -et adhuc tecum sum. Alleluia” (“I have arisen -and I am with thee always. Alleluia”). The earth -was glad yesterday. For the first time this -year the sun had a touch of warmth in it, though -patches of snow still stayed white under the -shelter of the banks, and the sky was blue and -the light glinted on wet tree-trunks and in the -furrows of the new-ploughed earth. As I went -up the road to the battle lines I passed a -battalion of our men, the men who are fighting -to-day, standing in hollow square with bowed -heads while the chaplain conducted the Easter -service. Easter Sunday, but no truce of God. -I went to a field outside Arras and looked into -the ruins of the cathedral city. The cathedral -itself stood clear in the sunlight, with a deep -black shadow where its roof and aisles had been. -Beyond was a ragged pinnacle of stone, once -the glorious Town Hall, and the French barracks -and all the broken streets going out to the -Cambrai road. It was hell in Arras, though -Easter Sunday.</p> - -<p>The bombardment was now in full blast. It -was a beautiful and devilish thing, and the -beauty of it, and not the evil of it, put a spell -upon one’s senses. All our batteries, too many -to count, were firing, and thousands of gun -flashes were winking and blinking from hollows -and hiding-places, and all their shells were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">62</span> -rushing through the sky as though flocks of great -birds were in flight, and all were bursting over -the German positions with long flames which -rent the darkness and waved sword-blades of -quivering light along the ridges. The earth -opened, and great pools of red fire gushed out. -Star shells burst magnificently, pouring down -golden rain. Mines exploded east and west -of Arras and in the wide sweep from Vimy -Ridge to Blangy southwards, and voluminous -clouds, all bright with a glory of infernal fire, -rolled up to the sky. The wind blew strongly -across, beating back the noise of the guns, but -the air was all filled with the deep roar and -slamming knocks of the single heavies and the -drum fire of the field guns.</p> - -<p>The hour for attack was 5.30. Officers were -looking at their wrist watches as on a day in -July last year. The earth lightened. A few -minutes before 5.30 the guns almost ceased fire, -so that there was a strange and solemn hush. -We waited, and pulses beat faster than the -second-hands. “They’re away,” said a voice -by my side. The bombardment broke out again -with new and enormous effects of fire and sound. -The enemy was shelling Arras heavily, and -black shrapnel and high explosive came over -from his lines, but our gunfire was twenty times -as great. Around the whole sweep of his lines -green lights rose. They were signals of distress, -and his men were calling for help.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">63</span> -It was dawn now, but clouded and storm-swept. -A few airmen came out with the wind -tearing at their wings, but could see nothing in -the mist and driving rain. I went down to the -outer ramparts of Arras. The suburb of Blangy -seemed already in our hands. On the higher -ground beyond our men were fighting forward. -I saw two waves of infantry advancing against -the enemy’s trenches, preceded by our barrage -of field guns. They went in a slow, leisurely -way, not hurried, though the enemy’s shrapnel -was searching for them. “Grand fellows,” said -an officer lying next to me on the wet slope. -“Oh, topping!” Fifteen minutes afterwards -groups of men came back. They were British -wounded and German prisoners. I met the -first of these walking wounded afterwards. They -were met on the roadside by medical officers, -who patched them up there and then before -they were taken to the field hospitals in ambulances. -From these men, hit by shrapnel and -machine-gun bullets, I heard the first news of -progress. They were bloody and exhausted, but -claimed success. “We did fine,” said one of -them. “We were through the fourth lines -before I was knocked out.” “Not many Germans -in the first trenches,” said another, “and no -real trenches either after shelling. We had -knocked their dug-outs out, and their dead were -lying thick, and the living ones put their hands -up.” All the men agreed that their own casualties -were not high, and mostly wounded.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">64</span></p> - -<p class="p1 sigright"><i>The Next Day.</i></p> - -<p>By three in the afternoon yesterday the -Canadians had gained the whole of the ridge -except a high strong post on the left, Hill 145, -which was captured during the night. Our -gunfire had helped them by breaking down all -the wire, even round Heroes’ Wood and Count’s -Wood, where it was very thick and strong. -Thélus was wiped utterly off the map. This -morning Canadian patrols pushed in a snowstorm -through the Farbus Wood, and established outposts -on the railway embankment. Some of -the bravest work was done by the forward -observing officers, who climbed to the top of -Vimy Ridge as soon as it was captured, and -through a sea of heavy barrage reported back -to the artillery all the movements seen by them -on the country below.</p> - -<p>In spite of the wild day, our flying men were -riding the storm and signalling to the gunners -who were rushing up their field guns. “Our -60-pounders,” said a Canadian officer, “had the -day of their lives.” They found many targets. -There were trains moving in Vimy village, and -they hit them. There were troops massing on -the sloping ground, and they were shattered. -There were guns and limbers on the move, and -men and horses were killed. Beyond all the -prisoners taken yesterday by the English, Scottish -and Canadian troops, the enemy losses were -frightful, and the scenes behind his lines must<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">65</span> -have been and still be hideous in slaughter and -terror.</p> - -<p>The Battle of Arras is the greatest victory -we have yet gained in this war and a staggering -blow to the enemy. He has lost already nearly -10,000 prisoners and more than half a hundred -guns,<a id="FNanchor_H" href="#Footnote_H" class="fnanchor">H</a> and in dead and wounded his losses are -great. He is in retreat south of the Vimy Ridge -to defensive lines further back, and as he goes -our guns are smashing him along the roads. -It is a black day for the German armies and -for the German women who do not know yet -what it means to them. During last night the -Canadians gained the last point, called Hill 145, -on the Vimy Ridge, where the Germans held -out in a pocket with machine guns, and this -morning the whole of that high ridge, which -dominates the plains to Douai, is in our hands, -so that there is removed from our path the -great barrier for which the French and ourselves -have fought through bloody years. Yesterday, -before daylight and afterwards, I saw this ridge -of Vimy all on fire with the light of great gunfire. -The enemy was there in strength, and his -guns were answering ours with a heavy barrage -of high explosives.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><span class="btd"><a id="Footnote_H" href="#FNanchor_H" class="fnanchor">H</a> Increased to 19,343 prisoners</span> and 257 guns on 2nd -May.</p></div> - -<p>This morning the scene was changed as by a -miracle. Snow was falling, blown gustily across -the battlefields and powdering the capes and -helmets of our men as they rode or marched -forward to the front. But presently sunlight<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">66</span> -broke through the storm-clouds and flooded all -the countryside by Neuville-St. Vaast and Thélus -and La Folie Farm up to the crest of the ridge -where the Canadians had just fought their way -with such high valour. Our batteries were -firing from many hiding-places, revealed by the -short, sharp flashes of light, but few answering -shells came back, and the ridge itself, patched -with snowdrifts, was as quiet as any hill of peace. -It was astounding to think that not a single -German stayed up there out of all the thousands -who had held it yesterday, unless some poor -wounded devils still cower in the great tunnels -which pierce the hillside. It was almost unbelievable -to me, who have known the evil of -this high ridge month after month and year after -year and the deadly menace which lurked about -its lower slopes. Yet I saw proof below, where -all the Germans who had been there at dawn -yesterday, thousands of them, were down in -our lines, drawn up in battalions, marshalling -themselves, grinning at the fate which had come -to them and spared their lives.</p> - -<hr /> -<div class="chapter" id="CHAP_XI"> -<div id="ip_66" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 40em;"> - <img src="images/i_067.jpg" width="627" height="359" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>THE GREAT EXPLOIT OF E. 11: TORPEDOING AN ENEMY VESSEL OFF CONSTANTINOPLE.</p> - -<p><cite>Reproduced by permission of “The Illustrated London News.”</cite></p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">67</span></p> - -<h2 id="XI" class="vspace" title="XI. WARFARE UNDER WATER">XI.<br /> - -<span class="subhead">WARFARE UNDER WATER.<a id="FNanchor_I" href="#Footnote_I" class="fnanchor smaller">I</a></span></h2> - -<p class="p1 center"><span class="smcap">By Rudyard Kipling.</span></p> - -<div class="poem-container"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">They bear, in place of classic names,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Letters and numbers on their skin.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">They play their grisly blindfold games<br /></span> -<span class="i2">In little boxes made of tin.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Sometimes they stalk the Zeppelin,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Sometimes they learn where mines are laid<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Or where the Baltic ice is thin.<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That is the custom of “The Trade.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a id="Footnote_I" href="#FNanchor_I" class="fnanchor">I</a> <cite>“Sea Warfare.” By Rudyard Kipling. (Macmillan.)</cite></p></div> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="firstword">No</span> one knows how the title of “The Trade” -came to be applied to the Submarine -Service. Some say the cruisers invented it -because they pretend that submarine officers look -like unwashed chauffeurs. Others think it sprang -forth by itself, which means that it was coined -by the Lower Deck, where they always have -the proper names for things. Whatever the -truth, the Submarine Service is now “the -Trade”; and if you ask them why, they will -answer: “What else could you call it? The -Trade’s ‘the trade,’ of course.”</p> - -<p>It is a close corporation; yet it recruits -its men and officers from every class that uses -the sea and engines, as well as from many classes -that never expected to deal with either. It -takes them; they disappear for a while and -return changed to their very souls, for the -Trade lives in a world without precedents, of -which no generation has had any previous experience—a -world still being made and enlarged -daily. It creates and settles its own problems -as it goes along, and if it cannot help itself -no one else can. So the Trade lives in the dark<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">68</span> -and thinks out inconceivable and impossible -things, which it afterwards puts into practice.</p> - -<h3><i>Four Nightmares.</i></h3> - -<p>Who, a few months ago, could have invented, -or, having invented, would have dared to print -such a nightmare as this: There was a boat -in the North Sea who ran into a net and was -caught by the nose. She rose, still entangled, -meaning to cut the thing away on the surface. -But a Zeppelin in waiting saw and bombed -her, and she had to go down again at once, -but not too wildly or she would get herself more -wrapped up than ever. She went down, and by -slow working and weaving and wriggling, guided -only by guesses at the meaning of each scrape -and grind of the net on her blind forehead, at -last she drew clear. Then she sat on the bottom -and thought. The question was whether she -should go back at once and warn her confederates -against the trap, or wait till the destroyers, -which she knew the Zeppelin would have signalled -for, should come out to finish her still entangled, -as they would suppose, in the net. It was a -simple calculation of comparative speeds and -positions, and when it was worked out she -decided to try for the double event. Within -a few minutes of the time she had allowed for -them, she heard the twitter of four destroyers’ -screws quartering above her; rose; got her -shot in; saw one destroyer crumple; hung -round till another took the wreck in tow; said -good-bye to the spare brace (she was at the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">69</span> -end of her supplies), and reached the rendezvous -in time to turn her friends.</p> - -<p>And since we are dealing in nightmares, -here are two more—one genuine, the other, -mercifully, false. There was a boat not only -at, but <em>in</em> the mouth of a river—well home in -German territory. She was spotted, and went -under, her commander perfectly aware that there -was not more than five feet of water over her -conning-tower, so that even a torpedo-boat, let -alone a destroyer, would hit it if she came over. -But nothing hit anything. The search was -conducted on scientific principles while they sat -on the silt and suffered. Then the commander -heard the rasp of a wire trawl sweeping over -his hull. It was not a nice sound, but there -happened to be a couple of gramophones aboard, -and he turned them both on to drown it. And -in due time that boat got home with everybody’s -hair of just the same colour as when they had -started!</p> - -<p>The other nightmare arose out of silence and -imagination. A boat had gone to bed on the -bottom in a spot where she might reasonably -expect to be looked for, but it was a convenient -jumping-off, or up, place for the work in hand. -About the bad hour of 2.30. a.m. the commander -was waked by one of his men, who whispered -to him: “They’ve got the chains on us, sir!” -Whether it was pure nightmare, an hallucination -of long wakefulness, something relaxing and -releasing in that packed box of machinery, or the -disgustful reality, the commander could not tell, -but it had all the makings of panic in it. So -the Lord and long training put it into his head<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">70</span> -to reply: “Have they? Well, we shan’t be -coming up till nine o’clock this morning. We’ll -see about it then. Turn out that light, please.”</p> - -<p><em>He</em> did not sleep, but the dreamer and the -others did, and when morning came and he gave -the order to rise, and she rose unhampered, and -he saw the grey, smeared seas from above once -again, he said it was a very refreshing sight.</p> - -<p>Lastly, which is on all fours with the gamble -of the chase, a man was coming home rather -bored after an uneventful trip. It was necessary -for him to sit on the bottom for awhile, and -there he played patience. Of a sudden it struck -him, as a vow and an omen, that if he worked -out the next game correctly he would go up -and strafe something. The cards fell all in order. -He went up at once and found himself alongside -a German, whom, as he had promised and prophesied -to himself, he destroyed. She was a mine-layer, -and needed only a jar to dissipate like a -cracked electric-light bulb. He was somewhat -impressed by the contrast between the single-handed -game 50 feet below, the ascent, the -attack, the amazing result, and when he descended -again, his cards just as he had left them.</p> - -<h3><i>The Exploit of E 11.</i></h3> - -<p>E 11 “proceeded” in the usual way, to -the usual accompaniments of hostile destroyers, -up the Straits, and meets the usual difficulties -about charging-up when she gets through. Her -wireless naturally takes this opportunity to give -trouble, and E 11 is left, deaf and dumb, somewhere -in the middle of the Sea of Marmara, -diving to avoid hostile destroyers in the intervals<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">71</span> -of trying to come at the fault in her aerial. (Yet -it is noteworthy that the language of the Trade, -though technical, is no more emphatic or incandescent -than that of top-side ships.)</p> - -<p>Then she goes towards Constantinople, finds -a Turkish torpedo-gunboat off the port, sinks -her, has her periscope smashed by a six-pounder, -retires, fits a new top on the periscope, and at -10.30 a.m.—they must have needed it—pipes -“All hands to bathe.” Much refreshed, she -gets her wireless linked up at last, and is able -to tell the authorities where she is and what she -is after.</p> - -<div class="tb">* * * * *</div> - -<p>In due time E 11 went back to her base. -She had discovered a way of using unspent -torpedoes twice over, which surprised the enemy, -and she had as nearly as possible been cut down -by a ship which she thought was running away -from her. Instead of which (she made the discovery -at 3,000 yards, both craft all out) the -stranger steamed straight at her. “The enemy -then witnessed a somewhat spectacular dive at -full speed from the surface to 20 feet in as many -seconds. He then really did turn tail and was -seen no more.” Going through the Straits she -observed an empty troopship at anchor, but -reserved her torpedoes in the hope of picking -up some battleships lower down. Not finding -these in the Narrows, she nosed her way back -and sank the trooper, “afterwards continuing -journey down the Straits.” Off Kilid Bahr -something happened; she got out of trim and -had to be fully flooded before she could be brought -to her required depth. It might have been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">72</span> -whirlpools under water, or—other things. (They -tell a story of a boat which once went mad in -these very waters, and, for no reason ascertainable -from within, plunged to depths that contractors -do not allow for; rocketed up again like a swordfish, -and would doubtless have so continued till -she died, had not something she had fouled -dropped off and let her recover her composure.)</p> - -<p>An hour later: “Heard a noise similar to -grounding. Knowing this to be impossible in -the water in which the boat then was, I came -up to 20 feet to investigate, and observed a -large mine preceding the periscope at a distance -of about 20 feet, which was apparently hung -up by its moorings to the port hydroplane.” -Hydroplanes are the fins at bow and stern which -regulate a submarine’s diving. A mine weighs -anything from hundredweights to half-tons. -Sometimes it explodes if you merely think about -it; at others you can batter it like an empty -sardine tin and it submits meekly; but at no -time is it meant to wear on a hydroplane. They -dared not come up to unhitch it, “owing to -the batteries ashore,” so they pushed the dim -shape ahead of them till they got outside Kum -Kale. They then went full astern, and emptied -the after-tanks, which brought the bows down, -and in this posture rose to the surface, when -“the rush of water from the screws together -with the sternway gathered allowed the mine -to fall clear of the vessel.”</p> - -<p>Now a tool, said Dr. Johnson, would have -tried to describe that.</p> - -<p class="p2 center smaller"> -<i><span class="bt">Printed in Great Britain by Eyre & Spottiswoode, Ltd.,</span><br /> -East Harding Street, London, E.C.4</i> -</p> - -<div class="chapter"><div class="transnote"> -<h2 id="Transcribers_Notes" class="nobreak p1">Transcriber’s Note</h2> - -<p>Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made -consistent when a predominant preference was found -in the original book; otherwise they were not changed.</p> - -<p>Simple typographical errors were corrected.</p> -</div></div> - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PEN PICTURES OF BRITISH BATTLES***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 60155-h.htm or 60155-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/0/1/5/60155">http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/1/5/60155</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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