CONSPICUOUS GALLANTRY.

Evening Star, Issue 15777, 14 April 1915, Page 3

CONSPICUOUS GALLANTRY.

Some further details of the recent lighting in tho La Bassce urea arc now available. It will bo remembered Unit on' February 1, after recapturing a trench which the Germans had taken, item ns a few hours before, wo gained by successive attacks two posts on the canal bank. As a- matter of fact, on-oof those had been taken from us a short time before, and was not a German post as stated in the Liter of February 2. In the first .rush on the nearest work one of those unforeseen but dramatic incidents occurred which often imperil even the best-laid schemes. As tho storming party _ were on the point- of dashing forward, just at tho moment, when delay might have been fatal—for it might just have given the enemy, who were much shaken by our artillery tiro, time to- recover—a man dropped a box of hand grenades, some of winch were detonated. For otto instant there was bewilderment and some hesitation, no ono quite knowing what had happened. Fortunately the ollfccr who was leading tho storming party rushed ahead and his men followed him ana carried the enemy’s position at the point of the bayonet with very slight loss. After this the Germans were kept on tho run. Our supports came up, and passing through tho first lino holding the recovered trench, rushed tho next post ; (hen the party which had made tho original assault advanced through these aga-in and cap-

tuned tho second post. During this fight oiio of our men showed tho most conspicuous gallantry. , Charging ahead of his comrades, ho took up his position on a mound and shot several of tho fleeing Germans at point-blank range as they ran past him. Ho then ran on up to a barricade where two of tho enemy were manning a machine gun, and kept them in play until the rest of our men came up and captured it. “Eye-witness” with tho IfeadQuarteis Staff.