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' "MENAGERIE LET LOOSE."
A little corporal, bandaged liead 'ancr
foot, practically .paralysed/. and minus
anvarm, lias returned from ?Loos.vr' Ho
sivid: "Everyone itched for - a scrap.
When the- word to advance came 'wo
wevo like a menagerie let 'loose, and
sprintod towards t!lie enemy's trenches:
I selected a fellow u? powerful looking
? as Jack Johnson. 1 dodged a" Wow
Xrom the butt of his, ride, bayoneted
him, and took.on another. Down-he
1 wont. My third encounter looked
n.ore like a patriarch-than a soldier.
'Oh, don't, , he cried,.as I dashed at him.
1 hadn't-the heart'to finish lho_joT>.
On we went to trench- after trench, un
til the Germans, were piled thick. A
terrific machine-gun fire swept us. I
saw 'strong -German forces .advancing.
Wo dashed among them " with terrible
effect. Our artillery wrought fearful
hnvoc. The enemy'was literally blown
to pieces.. Six Goimans assailed one
of our men. ITe accounted for all of
them. ' Hie ibravest among us were" the
eluiplrtins, who .stuck out on tho sides
vlicro tho fighting wa's fiercest,"
SWIFT AND COSTLY. ?
Tho -Gcrinnn dead wore piled\ four
deep in many parts of Loos. The vil-'
lago a\ as wrecked and the church v was
converted into a shapeless mass of
bricks. Houses were blown to pieces,
mid hundreds wore buried in tho ruins.
Tho- principal line of tho German resist
imico in the Champagno included two of
live trenches, stretching back 200 to 500
yf.rds. There was a mass of-entanglo
lr-ents, fortlols, trenches, and veritable
labyrinths.- Thcvsecond defence line
dominated the south bank of the river.
The ofl'eet of the .latost croatioiis of the
French 'artillery on obstacles and) dug;
outs was terrible, whilo the long-range
guns cut off tho reserves and supplies'
foi , 4S hours. '
At the hour appointed, for the attack
a human wave on a 25 kilometre front
fell on the Gorman trenches, enveloping
and overpowering them, 'i Seven such"
wnvos swept forward.
An American correspondent, says that
30,000 Germans fell along a sixteen-mile
front. The retreat ? was swift and
Mostly/ especially northward of Beau So- , "
join , . Tho slaughter on the hill abovo
thu Dormoise River was appalling. T,hc
Frenchmen's impetuosity drove- the
enemy "from tho crest of the hill .and
ii>toi the river. The victors' shouts
niingled with the screams' of the fugi
tives as they wero swept off, clutching
ond- nnothor in a dcaih At cov
taiu points tho stream was fordablo
cor 4 piled bodies..
' ' GERMANS SURPRISED.
Undoubtedly the Gorman's wore sur
prised'and demoralised by the rajridly
sweoping strongth of the attack. Tlioy
surrendered wholosale A midget High
landor appeared in n doorway, and shot
down three Germans. The remaining
30...cried'?for. mercy. In sohio places
resistance was prolonged, ra.pid lire from
cellars? Causing.honvj r losses among tho
besiegers. The cullnre were.now full of
dead, ithe result of bombing parties
flinging grenades from thohead of stair
flinging grenades from the head of stair
talions to. enter Loos established l a sig
nal station in a convenient house, which
was soon a target-for th3 German guns.
Suspecting treachery, lie searched tho
cellars, and found three Germans.
Later he discovered an officer in a
deeper cellar, telephoning, directing the
gunfire.' The incident reveals the
highest form of courage. A lucky shot
Mould have meant the German's death,
as well as the" British. Tho .German
officer died bravely, making a supreme
sacrifice with courage.
The battalions having fought through
Loos, struggled ahead towards Hill 70,
a mile distant, on rising ground, from
where the Germans swept the road with
machine guns and shrapnel. An inces
sant, storm of fire from the windows or
cottages raked our approach. The llrst
of the British roached Hill 70 at 10
o'clock, and clung to their positions all
day with heroic endurance. Fresh
troops relieved them at 11 in tho even
ing, carrying on the struggle on Sunday,
when the position was organised, anct
the advance continued with varying
success...
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