diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/60155-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/60155-0.txt | 1665 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 1665 deletions
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 *** |
