A BRAVE BAND.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXV, Issue 8206, 2 August 1915, Page 5

A BRAVE BAND.

' SPLENDID. FIGHT AGAINST heavy.-opus;

(Received August 2, 8.35 a.m.) LONDON, August 1. Router gives details of a plucky straggle in the North .Cameroons, in which three Englishmen and 36 natives. maintained for seven hours a fight against 400 natives and 16 'German officers, with Maxims. The British occupied a mud fort, and lost two Englishmen early in. the action; tho third, J. Fitzpatrick, who i was not a soldier, and did not know the native troops, carried on the. fight. The Germans attacked on all sides. Sometimes they got within 4.00 yards land concentrated tho Maxims on the wall. Our men only had rifles, but | fought with splendid confidence. If a I bullet passed through a loophole, tho

men only wiped the dust from their eyes and changed the damaged rifle for another.

Late in the afternoon nearly 800 other Germans approached, but apparently they were short of ammunition, and were unable to persuade the men to risk a bayonet charge, and retired after looting the village and murdering four villagers.

The German casualties were three Europeans and "33 natives killed and four Europeans and 28 natives wounded. The British losses were four killed and 11 wounded.