THE INVASION OF 1910.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13234, 20 July 1906, Page 3

THE INVASION OF 1910.

WITH A FULL ACCOUNT OF THE SIEGE OP LONDON'. . , By WILLIAM LE QCEUX. With Naval Chapters by H. W. Wilson. [Copyright hr William I.e Quenx. 1906-3 . THE LAST STAND.

" Geadfai.ia" we : > jw - driven back upon London. Desperately we fought, each one of us. and the person risk of every member of our club, of every other of the ride clubs, and of. the Frontiersmen, for the matter of that, was very great. We were; insufficient in numbers. Had we been more numerous I maintain that we could have so harassed- the enemy that we could have held him in chock for many months. With the few thousands of men we had we made it extremely uncomfortable for Von Kronhelm and bis forces. Had our number been greater we could have operated more in unison with the British regular arms, and .formed a line of defence around London so complete that it could never have been broken. . As it was, however, when r driven in, we were j compelled to take a stand in manning the j forts and entrenchments of .the London lines, I finding : myself in a hastily constructed trench not far from Enfield. While engaged there with the enemy a bullet took°away the little finger of my left hand, causing me excruciating pain, but it fortunately did not place me hors-de-combat. Standing beside me was a costermongor from -street, Whitechapel, who had once been in the militia, while next him was a country gentleman from Hampshire, who was a good shot at grou.se, but who had never before bandied a military rifle. In that narrow trench in which we stood beneath the rain of German bullets we were of a verity a, strange, incongruous crowd, dirty, unkempt," unshaven, more than one of us wearing hastily applied bandages upon places where we had received injiyrvv I had never faced death stolidly like that before, and I tell you it was a weird and, strange experience. Every i man among us knit his brows, loaded and j fired, without speaking a, word, except, per- j haps, to ejaculate a curse upon those who j threatened to overwhelm us and capture our capital. "At hirst though we fought valiantly— three men beside me having fallen dead through injudiciously showing themselves above the earthworks—we were compelled to evacuate our position. . Then followed a, terrible guerilla warfare as, driven in across by Sonthgate to Fincbley, we fell back . south upon London itself. The enemy, victorious, were following upon the heels of our routed army, and it was seen that our last stand must be made at the barricades, which,- wo: heard, . had in our absence been erected in all the main roads; leading, in from the Northern Heights. - "On Humps tend Heath I found about a. dozen or so .of mv comrades, whom 1 had not seen since I had left Hendon, and heard- from them that they had been operating in Norfolk against' the German Guards, who had.landed' at King's Lynn. With them I went through Hampstead and down Haverstock Hill to the great barricade - thai, had been erected across that thoroughfare and Prince of Wales Road. It was a huge, ugly structure, built of every conceivable article—overturned tramcars, furniture, paving stones,. pianos, wardrobes, scaffold boards, in fact everything and anything that came handiest—-while interwined everywhere were hundreds of yards of barbed wire. A small space had been left at the juuetion of the two roads in order to Billow people to enter, while on the top a big Union Jack waved in the light' breeze. In all the . neighbouring houses I saw men with rifles, while from, one house pointed the menacing muzzle of a Maxim, commanding the greater part ' of; Haverstock Hill. There seemed also to be other barricades in -the smaller roads in the vicinity. But the one at which I had been stationed was certainly a- most formidable obstacle. -All sorts and conditions of men manned it. Women, too, were there, fierce-eyed, tousled-haired women, who in -their .'fury j seemed to have become half savage. , Men I shouted themselves hoarse, encouraging the armed citizens to fight, till death. But from the determined look upon their faces no incentive was needed'. They meant, every one of them, to bear their part bravely when the moment came. ■

. '"We've been here three whole 'days awaiting the enemy,' one man said to me, a dark-haired, bearded city man in a serge fiuitj who carried 1 his riflo slung upon his shoulder. . ...

' They'll he here soon enough now, cockie,' ■'remarked a Londoner of the lower class from Netting Dale. 'There'll be fightiii' 'ore before long, depend on it.' " That man was right, lor a. few hours later, when Von Kronhehn appeared upon Hampstead Heath amd launched his infafitry. upon London, our barricade became a. perfect hell.' I was on the roof of a house close by lying full length behind a sheltering chimney-stack, and firing -upon the advancing troops for all 1 was worth. From every window in the vicinity we poured forth a' veritable rain of death upon the Germans, while our Maxim spat lire incessantly, aud the men; at the banicade kept up a splendid fusillade. lire long Haverstock Hill became an inferno. Perched up where I was, I commanded a wide view of all that wa.s in progress. Again and again the Germans . were launched to the assault, but such a withering fire did we keep up that we held them constantly in check. Our Maxim served us admirably, for ever and anon it cut a lane in the great wall of advancing troops, until the whole roadway was covered with dead a.nd maimed Germans. To my own gun many fell, as to those of my valiant comrades, for every one of us had sworn that the enemy should never enter London if we could prevent it. " I saw a woman with her hair dishevelled deliberately mount to the. top of the barricade arid wave a small Union Jack; but next instant she paid for her folly with her life, and fell back crashing upon the roadway below. If the enemy lost heavily, we did ; not altogether escape. At the barricade a.nd in the houses in the immediate vicinity there were a number of dead and a quantity of wounded, the latter being carried away and tended by a. number of devoted ladies from Fitz-john-s Avenue and the better thoroughfares in the neighbourhood. Local surgeons were. also there, working unceasingly. For fully an hour the frightful conflict continued. ' The Germans were dogged in their perseverance, while we were equally active in our desperate resistance. The conflict was awful. The scenes in the streets below me now were beyond description. In Highstreet, Hampstead, a number of shops had been set on fire and were burning; while above the din, the shouts and the crackle of the rifles there was now and then hoard the deep boom of field guns away in the distance. • •-.'-•',

"We had received information that Von Ivronhelm himself was quite near us, up at Jack Straw's Castle, and more than one of us only wished he would show himself in Haverstock Hill, and thus allow us a chance of taking a pot-shot at him.

" Suddenly the enemy retreated up Roslyn Ilill. and we cheered loudly at what we: thought was our victory. Alas! our triumph was not of long duration. I had descended front my position on the root, and was* walking at "'.the 'rear of the barricade, where the pavement; and roadway were slippery with blood,, when of a sudden the big gnus, which it seemed had now been planted on Hampstead Heath, gave tongue, and a shot passed high above us far south into London. In a moment a dozen other guns roared, and within ten minutes we found ourselves beneath a perfect hail of high-explosive projectiles,' though being so near the guns we were comparatively sitfe. Most of ua sought shelter in the

\ neighbouring bous.es, • -So aivetay was m j Hgiit.-for they hadf now gathewdnp their I «■ funded* and" retired' feck ': to • • Hitrop-tedU Their dead they left scattered over the roadway, a grim; awful sight on that bright, sunny inominjr, . - •' * They're- surely, not going to bombard a defenceless ri!y';'* cried a man to me—a man ; whom ! I recognised as' a neighbour of mine at Hcndon- "' They ore bombarding • Tendon because of our defence," I said, and s&M«ly wwe those words out of mr mouth "when . there was a bright red flash, a load report, and the whole front of a neighbouring house was torn out into the roadway, while my friend ami myself reeled by.; force of the terrific explosion. Two men standing near its had been blown to atom®, " Some, of the women about tis now became panic-stricken. But . the; meit; wet* j ! most cool and determined, standing' with- ! ! in tho shelter walls .of the houses, down 1 areas, or in coal cellars brae-alb -the street, ■; Thus for . over three hours we waited under; fire, not knowing from one moment';' to another whether a shell wight not fall among us, ■/■•V- :••.•■.? "Our tears were increased when, soon, after.'four o'clock, the Germans again appeared in Haverstock Hill, this time with artillery, which, notwithstanding the heavy fire we instantly directed upon the in , they established in ■ such a position as to completely command our hastily-constructed defences. The fire from Hampsterrd Heath was slackening when one of those guns before us on Haver stock Hill wist a- shell right into the centre of our barricade. The explosion was awful. The whole front of the house in which I was fell out into the roadway, while a dozen heroic men were blown out of all recognition, and a great breach made in the obstruction. Another shell, another, and another struck in our midst, utterly disorganising our defence, and each time making great, breaches in our huge barricade. Neither Maxim nor rifle was of any use against those awful shells. V. '■■ ;

" I stood in the wrecked room covered with dust and blood, wondering when the end was to be, To. fi.ro my rifle in ".that .moment 'was useless. Not only did the German artillery train their guns upon the barricade, but on the houses which wo had placed in a state of defence. • They pounded j away at. them, and in tv few minutes had reduced several to ruins, burying in. the | debris the gallant Londoners defending them. The house upon the roof of which I had, earlier in the day, taken up my position was struck by two shells in rapid succession, and simply demolished, over forty brave men losing their lives in the terrible catastrophe. Again the enemy, after wrecking our defences, retired smartly up the hill as the terrible bombardment of London ceased. Our losses in the shelling of the barricade had been terrible. The roadway behind us was strewn with dead and dying, and with others I helped to bandage the wounded and remove them to private houses in the Adelaide and King Henry's Roads, where the doctors were attending to their injuries. The pavements were like . a slaughterhouse, and the whole road to be-', yond the Adelaide had been utterly wrecked, there being not a single house intact. " And yet we rallied. Reinforcements came up from the direction of Regent's Park—a great, unorganised crowd of armed men and women, doubly enraged by the cruel bombardment and the burning of their homes. With these reinforcements wo resolved to still hold the debris of our barricade—to still dispute the advance of the invader, knowing that one division must certainly come down, that road. For hours we waited there, until the Kaiser's legions came upon us, sweeping down Roslyn Hill to where we were still making a last stand. Though the street lamps were unlit,- we saw them advancing by the angry glare of the fires of Londou, while we, too, were full in the light, and a murk for them. They fired upon us, and wo returned their fusillade. We stood man to man, concealed behind the . debris wherever we could get shelter from the rain of lead they poured upon ; us. They advanced by rushes, taking our position by storm. I was in the roadway, concealed behind an overturned, tramcar, into the woodwork of which bullets were constantly embedding themselves. The man next me fell backward— without a. word. But I kept on, well knowing that in the end we must give way. Those well-equipped hordes of the Kaiser I saw before me were, I knew, the conquerors of London. Yet we fought on valiantly for King and country— fought even when we came, hand to hand. I shot a standard : beam dead, but in an; instant another took bis place. For a second * the German s tanda "was rampled in the dust, "but next moment it was aloft again, amid the ringing cheers of the conquerors. Again 1 fired, again and yet again; as fast as I could reload, when of a sudden I knew that we were defeated, for our fire had slackened and the Germans ran in past me. I turned, and "as I did so I faced a big, burly fellow with a revolver, I put my hand to my own, but ere I could get it out a light flashed, full in my face, and I knew no more. When I recovered consciousness I found myself in the NorthWest- London Hospital, in Kentish Town Road, with my head bandaged, and a nurse looking gravely into my face. _ , ; " And "that is very briefly my story of how .1 fared during the terrible siege of London. 1 could tell you of many and many horrible scenes of ruthless loss of life, and *of women and children, the innocent victims of, those bloody engagements. ' But why should VI The horrors'of the war are surely known to you, alas! only too well far too well." \ . ■>.

THE OCCUPATION OF LONDON.

THE LORD MAYOR A PRISONER.

The opposition at the barricades having now been thoroughly broken down, ami the defenders dislodged from neighbouring bouses—hundreds of brave Londoners being hounded down and exterminated— Germans had commenced their advance towards the city and Charing Cross.

Down all the main roads from north and east they marched quickly and orderly, past wrecked and binning houses, past the nnburied bodies of hundreds of inoffensive and .non-combatant citizens who had, alas! lost their lives in the bombardment.

On they came, that overwhelming tide of armed men who had swept our beloved country with the scythe of Death. At sight of them everyone iled. That London had actually fallen notwithstanding its gallant fight was patent to all, for German uniforms were seen everywhere in, the -streets, awl low, guttural German was heard spoken on every hand. Orderly and smartly battalion after battalion came down "the Kings] and Road. Mare-street, Essex Road, Upper-street, Old Ford Road, the Mile End Road, Caledonian Road, Hampstead Road, through Regent's Park, and down F.dgware Road—in fact, from every quarter in the north —stepping sharply and full of wonder at the strange aspect" of ' the unlighted streets, now silent and deserted.

The barricades in the northern suburbs onco passed, there was but little in- no opposition. Nov.* and then' a stray shot rang out from the window of some dark, deserted house, and a German dropped, but each incident, of this character drew, upon the house the vengeance of the enemy, and it was promptly set on fire, and, in more than one instance, its inmates burned alive. It wanted still an hour to midnight. London was a city of shadow, of fire, of death. The streets, whence all the inhabitants had fled in panic, echoed to the heavy tread of German infantry, th® clank of amis, and the ominous rumble of guns. Ever and anon An order was shouted in German as the Kaiser's legions went forward to occupy the proud capital of the world. The enemy's plans appeared to have been carefully prepared. The .majority of the troops coming from the direction of Hampstead and Finchley entered Regent's Park, where preparations? were at once commenced for encampment, while the remainder, togethei with those who came down the Camden,-Caledonian, and Hollowav roads, turned along Euston Road and Oxford-street, to Hyde Park, where a huge (-fillip was formed, stretching, from the? Marble Arch right along the Park Lane side away to Knightsbridge. Officers were very soon billeted in the best houses in Park Lane and about- -Slayfair, houses full of works of art and other valuables that had only that morning been left to the mercy of the invaders. From the windows and balconies of their quarters in Park Lane they could overlook the encampment—a position which had evidently been purposely chosen,

Other troops who «w«e in nptr railing ; ! ?J. procession fey Bo# Koaid, Roman' Koatf;, *'' K&*t Iridic Dock Road. Victoria Parte jftnad, M,trf»-tfrm, and Kißgstod Kernel coft' , rergfd into iiK-dly iti&iF, *x<&pit, fifoW -who had wot* fnwa down in* Ktojpi* ■ ; (and Honrl. and 'who. aliaig Old* street and CWkfnirfeU. occapfef th« Char- ': ; L iiojc Qn»s and WexWßfftSlw (JtstmK | >' -i.4 pj:«ni>;ht . a i1~n...» • ->-r.o was #K- ' * stUd »]»«, .in tht» bWl'Ktt gtare of urate ftiS biasing buildings in tiw? vicinity, * tow body of Prince Louis Ferdinand! of I'ressb* ' 2*id, ( Magdeburg flegimenfc. saddeol; lip 1 h wwlneedle-rimt into the great open ' fJhsfpar* Wow th<t Mansion lloav* wivcttna She British flag was, still flying aloft m th« • .*"ji crookc-laden air. They halted actow two ', '1 junction of Cheapskte with Queen Victoria '' strwi. when, at. the.same moment, another >•-?* huge body of th" Vhbrt« «if Alt mark and "•? , Magdeburg Hussars tiidf clattering along JUj CwnhiU, followed « moment later by iij*- $ s'aSioo, alter battalion of t!w 4tU and Rtfr Thnrirtgetv Infantry out of Vlmrrg.ite-sSivet, whose on.i forms showed- plain trace* of the desperate encounter:* of the past w<wS. '/Ma "I he great body of lit-rniais had halted before th* Miutsrooii I tow**, when- C tart ant! Von Kteppeu, • th« commander of the- 4th An rev Corpswho. it will be remembered, ■hud landed at Wevbonnte—accompanied by Ltautens ut - General Von Mtrbnch, oi the 6th • Division', and .Ookmri. Frolich, commander ■ V of the. cavalry brigade, ascended the st r pi of the Mansion Jiou-v and <itt«red. I ; Within, Sir Clnudo Ilsrrfewß, the Lord " Mayor, who wore his robe* 'and jewel -of . 1 Office, received tiinm in that great. «onibre room wherein so many mouwntou* ones- Js? tions concerning the welfare of the British J* , Empire 'had been discussed. The ro|!r*s«H--vf> 'J'IS tative of tlx?. City of Loudon, as short, stout, s grey-haired man,» was .pale and agitated. \ " He bowed, but. he could not- - {km k. ' Von Happen, however, a smart, soldierly figure in Ins service uniform ami many ribJ»ons, bowed in response, and iin very fait TSuglish said; '. ' "I regret, mv XAul Mayor, that it & necessary for us t<iLthti» disturb yon; bnt, |•• " • af< yon are' aware, the British arms have ' ■•'•''.j been defeated, and the Gfernmo army lias entered London, 1 have orders ' from FioW-Mat'shal Von Krcmhelm to place von under arrest and to hold you. as- hostage *:'i for the good behftviour of the city during ljl§§ : the progress of tlm! negotiations.for ; pep^liS©i "Arrest gasped the Lord Mayor. "You intend to amwl rne?" ■- , '-h "It will not be irksome,. I assure you," jTff smiled the German commander gritalv. "i "At least, we shall make it. an comfortable "'X' 3.t possible. ' I vshfsll place a guard here, ® and the only restriction J place upon you is, that you shall neither go out lier hold 1 • - any "communication with anyone outside * ' these walls." ■■ * ' ■ " Ijgjp '* But. my wifeV ' "If her ladyship -is here I would advise ' ? that she leave the place. It is better that, v'jnf for the present, she should be out of Loudon." ■

The civic officials, who hart nil assembled for the dramatic ceremonial, looked lit each > other in blank amazement. ' 'f&lf The Lord Mayor was a prisoner! Sir Claude diverted himself of his jewel - 'Jit of office and handed it. to his servant to | plaice in safe keeping. Then he took off his robe, and having done «> advanced ' S| closer .to; the German officers, who, treat- > ing him with ever} cointcNsy, consulted with * ><" him, expressing regret at* the terrible loss V of life that hud been occasioned by the gallant defence of (the barricades. iitti Von Ivleppen gave th© Lewi Mayor « f || message from Von' Kronhelni, ami urged |• • m him to issue a proclamation forbidding any ||1| further opposition' on the part of the popti- / ~ r lace of London. With the three officers ' , Sir Claude talked for a-qunrtcr of an hour, fill while into the Mansion House there entered " I * a strong guard of men of the 2nd Mugde« -©ill burg, who quickly established * ■themselves _ , | in tho most comfortable quarters, German mm double sentries stood at every exit and In '-t every corridor, and when a," few minutest Inter the British flag was hauled down and the German Imperial stand run up, ; »;! wild shouts of triumph rang from every ' throat of the densely-packed body of : > troops assembled outside. • ' The joyous " lloehs '." reached the Lord Mayor, still in conversation 'with Von , -V'. Kleppen, Von Mirbaeh, and Frolicb, ami ' ' in an instant he knew the truth. The "|S Teutons were rain ling their own st«,nc!-r<J. ' , The British flag bad, either accidentally' , or purposely, been flung down into the roadway below, and was trampled in the 'u dust.'- A hundred enthusiastic Germans, disregarding' the shouts of their, officers, fought for the flag, and it was instantly torn to shreds, arid little pieces preserved ; | - as souvenirs. . , Shout after . shout in German went up* from the wildly-excited troops of the Kaiser when .the light wind -caused their ' ~ % flag to flutter out, and then as with one voice : the whole body of troops united in . singing tho German national hymn. . £ J The scene was weird and most impree- >|| >ive. - London had fallen! - -jg-i ■ ' fes • 1 ■

(To bo continued dally.) %