The conflict raged, roughly speaking, along the triangle Auchyles-In-Bassée, Cuinchy and Given: chy and it is plain that the Germans had for days been massing men behind this part of their lines in preparation for a special effort which they regarded ae of first-class importance.
A glance at the map explains why. Bethune and La Basaés, both of which are held by the Allies, are linked together by a railway line running parallel with a canal a few yards to the north. The German: hoped to get astride of the railway and so cut through an essential section of the Allies' communications.
Just before Christmas, it will be remembered, they made a big effort to capture Givenchy and for the moment succeeded, the Indian troops who held the town being driven out A counter-attack, which the Manchesters took a' glorious part, retook the place and for nearly a month the Germans sat looking at their objective, shelling it but getting no arts to wresting it from the All By the end of January, however, they were ready for another attempt, and this was how it began About ten past seven on the morning of the 25th, ® certain private was just ning to think about fast in mud-lodging, when to his astonishment a German soldier came tumbling over the top of the trench, It was a Hanoverian, and in a moment he wi soldi Gesed his errand by giving. himoclt a fas a prisoner and declaring he vas sic war and typhoid.atricken trenches when another Tommy began wield & beyond threateningly: thet grand attack by the German army had been planned for 7.30 a.m.
The deserter wan speaking the trath, for just 28 our men were starting hi fast in the fighting trenches, only arty varda distant at the nearest points from een "tihooeted on the top of the ad-'8 cloud of men were vanced an trenches, "As the front ver into the open, the British sentin "shots rang out, and battle was joined.
Tu a moment the regiments holding our advance posts were ready, and the dense masa of grey reeled under a withering rifle and machine-gun fire.
Bat the grey wave swept on over a sea. of corpses, and those that first managed to get unscathed to within 15 yards of our trenches threw grenades which wrought death and destruction in our ral Then the grey. flood swept into our advanced line, 1g through by sheer weight of numbers.
Then followed a mortal combat at close quarters, The rattle of musketry gave place to the hoarse cries of gasping men, stabbing and thrusting, and next these sinister sounds of battle were drowned by the thunderous diapason of heavy guns.
Numbers and Cold Steel.
It seems plain that the Germans relied, on this occasion as on many others, on sheer weight of numbers. And at first the numbers told. The Allies' front lines had to fall back. In anticipation of this the enemy started to sweep the space between the firing and support trenches and two companies of a Scottish regiment were almost wiped out "Jack John: sons" fell thick and fast and dense masees of German infantry came swarming up under cover of them, suffering terribly, however, fr m the response made by the' Allies' big guns.
Then that happened which, apparently, neither Hanoverian nor Bavarian oan stand any more than is boastful brother Prussian. can German hordes, who broke and were Our, reinforced, fell upon the crumpled up, many of them surrendering in groups. When the battle finished at about 11 o.m.—after 3} hours of "all serta of hell"—to uso the expressive phrase of an officer who has seen some of the fiercest fighting of this war—we had retaken our trenches, but whether we Pressed our counterattack further and seized part of the German position Iam unable to ascertain.
Part of the German position was, in point of fact, seized though the messages announcing it were as laconic as the one which heads this column. The account concludes Yesterday's battle, in which probably not fewer than 25,000 men were engaged, both sides included, may be summed a severe reverse to the was perhaps only a "fede Titanic conflict being waged slong 20 many hundreds of miles, but proved very costly to the enemy both in blood and Prestige.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.