BATTLE STORIES.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15768, 8 December 1916, Page 9

BATTLE STORIES.

flow THE BRITISH TOOK eaucourt. (fEOil OCR omr COKRESPOKDENT.) LONDON, October 24. i„ extremely virid story of the ' " ; nff 0 f Kaucourt l'Abbaye is reJJJJby a Corporal who took part m advanced through a bar- „ s hcll and machine-gun. fare to S,l£,= ' s »» s «> i rhiD" their own jokes. Eaurf l'Abbave was their objective, and S'Lok it in dashing style with bombs and cold steel. , "Some hours before they 'went over _ nuns were pounding the German lines to a pulp, anjd the old Abbey al«i«t disappeared from the landscape. Masses of metal fcll incessantly upon "hat pi!" heaped up mud and stones. After a while our barrage of flying tcel was lilted about three or ioui hundred vard*, and the points of flame flashed out ot the log of ram beyond tbe Abbey. At a given signal our men jumped over the parapet mto what Sed like certain death, while the German gunners threw hundreds of .hells of all calibres at their advancing linee and peppered them with machine. ~u n6' The mud was thick and sticky, ?nd it clung round their ankles all too affectionately, making their progress extremely difficult. _ "The German barrage, though thick enough," said the Corporal, "was nothing like the awful curtain of concentrated shell-fire in which •we enveloped their attacking Avaves, and it did us good to hear the protecting roar of our guns in the rear. They pushed on through this fire-blast from Hell ■to within 50 yards of the Abbey, and then had orders to lie down while a tank got astride the position 1 led" my bombing party through the maze "of intricate trenches that twisted and turned bewildcringly around tho outskirts of the abbey," continued tho corporal, "and when we had cleared these to our satisfaction wo bombed our way down into the huge Taults which served as luxurious dugouts and dining halls for the officers. One of tho saddest sights 1 saw down there—a sight that prompted our fellows to take off their caps even in those strenuous moments —was the body of a woman who had apparently been killed by shell-fire, and that of a little, fair-haired boy about five years oldffliey were in a corner of one of the outer vaults, with their arms clasped tightly round each other, and the expressions of agonised terror on their dead faces was terrible to sen;.'' Our troops then fought the Germans from cellar to cellar. These subterranean funk-holes .sheltered near);- a whole battalion of Bavarians, who liicl in dark corners and crevices -waiting for tho intruders with bombs and rifles. Lt must havo required men of 110 mean courapo to explore the winding underground passages when desperate enemies lurked in every shadow. But they were equal to the task, and the party that was left behind for the purpose cleared tho place in a few hours. THE FIGHT FOR SAILLY. Tho capturo on Sunday of tho south- ' Testern half of tho joint village of SaillySailliscl was a considerable battle in Itself. The place had been subjected lor 40 hours to a shattering concentration of French heavy gunfire, under which no fixed works could stand. And, in fact, tho infantry part of one of General Fay olio's army corps, consisting mainly of men from Auvergno, got comparatively easily over tho intermediate 200 yards of trenches, including two concrete redoubts which wero completely smashed in. In ono large ddg-out 200 Germans were found to have been suffocated by the fumes of exploded sheik. "When the Frcnch reached the bro- . ken.houses of the village," writes .nr .8. H. Perris in the "Daily Chronicle" : - ''they found that the greater part of the garrison had been able to find shelter against the cannonade, and for several hours tho most desperate hand-to-hand fighting took place"The village forms a rough cross, of chich tho head, consisting of the chateau and a ruined chapel, lies at the west sido of the Bethune high road, while tho tail t consisting of the single street of Saillisel, stretches eastward. The head and arms of the cross wore attacked by three converging columns, the northernmost of which was chiefly intended to jirevent reinforcements from coming un from La Transloy. "Rarely havo the Germans put up a better fight. The chateau, a large eountry house which onco had 26 Aviridows in its two-storey front*, was the rentre of the struggle. Machine-guns pointed their deadly little mouths from every heap of bricks and rubble. The pojlus had to bear several reverses ere they carried this place, and then they jhaa to penetrate a series of deet> trenches connecting the chateau with the middle of tho village. . "Hardly less severe was the combat further northward amid the ruins of tho old church. Theso also passed from hand to hand several times, beforo tho enemy gave up, and it was the same dreadful story with every block of houses on tho west sido of the Bapaume road, where tho conflict reached its-limit." "The Germans delivered determined counter-attacks, but all failed. Tho superior speed, accuracy, and mobility of the French 3-in field-guns have something to say for the failure of these atv tempts, but principally, without a doubt, it was due to the superior will, the swift, steely daring of the French 'nfantry. In such a feat as this tho *orld has never seen their like."