100
THE YPRES TIMES
brave man had established himself on the top of the village windmill and continued to
fire at us in spite of being repeatedly called upon to surrender. We set fire to the wind
mill but in spite of this he went on firing until the building collapsed and its brave
defender perished in the flames.
I took some men and went on past a house flying the Red Cross flag, when suddenly
an awful thing happened. From the rear a screaming noise, followed in rapid succession
by others with resounding crashes, as one after another shells landed amongst us. What
had happened In a second it was only too clear. Our guns had mistaken us for
retreating Germans as we were now well ahead of the remainder of the battalion. For
a moment we paused, and then I shouted to the men to get back to the house flying the
Red Cross flag. Back we sprinted, with the exception of a few unfortunate men who
were knocked out, and we got out of the danger zone. On reaching the house a ghastly
sight met my gaze. The entire outer yard and interior of the place was crammed with
German dead, dying and wounded, all lying together on the ground, packed as tightly
as sardines. I also found one or two unwounded Germans hiding amongst the others
so stationing a guard at the exits I proceeded to make a very thorough search. The
result was a bag of twenty men, and as the shelling had now died down I proceeded to
report to headquarters.
Everything was now peaceful on the battlefield and in its neighbourhood. We
had inflicted a crushing defeat on the enemy, and evidently they had not got fresh troops
at hand to counter-attack.
We set to work to consolidate our position and to collect the wounded. Besides
the four hundred odd unwounded prisoners captured, the Germans killed numbered
tour hundred and fifty, and the wounded approximately twelve hundred. This victory
had been dearly bought and cost the battalion six officers (four killed) and one hundred
and seventy five other ranks killed and wounded.
We remained undisturbed in the position we had captured until relieved by the
French on the night of October 24th when we marched to Ypres for a well earned
twenty-four hours' rest.
While we were resting there we were all delighted to receive a Special Order of
the Day from the Brigadier, which read as follows
In spite of the stubborn resistance offered by the German troops, the object of the engagement
was accomplished, but not without many casualties in the Brigade. By nightfall, the trenches captured
by the Germans had been reoccupied, about six hundred prisoners captured, and fully 1,500 German
dead were lying out in front of our trenches. The Brigadier-General congratulates the 1st Loyal
North Lancashire Regiment, the 1st Northamptonshire Regiment and the 2nd King's Royal Rifle Corps,
but desires especially to commend the fine soldier-like spirit of the 1st Loyal North Lancashire Regiment]
which, advancing steadily under heavy shell and rifle fire, and aided by the machine-guns, was enabled
to form up within a comparatively short distance of the enemy trenches. Fixing bayonets, the Bat
talion then charged, carried the trenches, and then occupied them, and to them must be allotted the
majority of the prisoners captured.
The Brigadier-General congratulates himself on having in his Brigade a Battalion which, after
marching the whole of the previous night without food or rest, was able to maintain its splendid record
in the past by the determination and self-sacrifice displayed in the action.
(Signed) E. S. Bulfin, Brigadier-General.
