98
THE YPRES TIMES
the condition of affairs during the First Battle of Ypres. The Kaiser was at
Thielt, arranging a triumphal entry into the city, confident that his chosen troops
would easily walk through Sir John French's contemptible little Army."
The Germans, inspired by the presence of the All Highest," fought with
unheard-of frenzy and a complete disregard of losses, and succeeded in breaking
the thin British line many times. On the fifth day of the battle one regiment was
surrounded, but fought on for several hours, charging the enemy time after
time until their ammunition was nearly spent; what remained of them were relieved
as by a miracle. Other units in a similar plight, with no earthly prospect of help
and no order to retire, surrendered only to death. Again and again the Germans
poured down in masses, shoulder to shoulder, upon our ever-thinning line, but so
deadly was the British fire that they were piled up before the trench they had been
unable to secure. Little wonder the Germans thought they were up against army
corps where there were only battalions, and that our men were well supplied with
machine gunsso wonderful was the rapid fire of our Old Army.
As the battle proceeded the British trenches were smashed to pieces, until
scarcely one remained, and the remnant of our men had to find what shelter was
available in shell holes. Nearly half of our forces engaged were wiped out in the
first week; but the crisis was still to come, and whereas one man had been holding
eight yards of trench, in places this was more than doubled. The situation was
indeed desperate, our men were in a pitiable state, wholly exhausted, with scant
cover, constantly under heavy shell fire, and then at this critical stage it became
necessary to limit each gun to a daily ration of ten shells. The position was well-
nigh hopeless, but there still remained the unconquerable will and courage of the
British race. As was so often the case in later days, the 28th was a day of
ominous quiet, but at dawn the following morning the storm broke with even
greater fury on all that was left of the gallant British Expeditionary Force.
Following an intense bombardment the Germans again swarmed down on our
scantily held line, driving out the 1st Division, which, assisted by the 2nd Division,
almost immediately rallied, counter-attacked and again secured the line. All day
long the line was swaying backwards and forwards as the Germans attacked and
were counter-attacked, until the enemy eventually withdrew in the firm belief that
they had been up against a superior forcebut the superiority was not numerical
The Germans, thinking that their Intelligence system had erred regarding the
weakest place in the line, decided to try elsewhere, and attacked that portion of
the line held by the 7th Division and the cavalry. The attack was so fierce that
nothing human could withstand the shock, but our men fought gamely, disputing
every foot of the ground, charging the enemy frequently and hanging on whenever
possible until an infantry battalion, noticing their precarious position, charged the
Germans and completely routed them. Time and again the enemy hurled their
whole weight against our men, until daylight faded into night and the British still
held the line, their ranks sadly depleted but the survivors grimly determined to
win through. Now battalions are reduced to companies, the line is no more a
line, but there is no help for themalone they must hold on. Dawn comes at last,
and the German batteries again open out their remorseless firing as a fresh attack-
develops. The best defence is attack, and our men charged the enemy as they
advanced, the opposing forces meeting in a desperate hand-to-hand encounter, the
odds, as usual, being heavily against us. Right along the line the attack
proceeded, the Germans advancing only to be driven back again, and so all day
the line swayed backwards and forwards until dusk. Every man was in the line,
some armed only with pick or shovel, some with sticks, some entirely unarmed'
At one point a whole German army corps penetrated our line and attacked some
of our regiments in the rear. Our poor fellows could not understand how machine
guns came to be firing into their ranks from behind, and it was impossible to see
