THE HOUSE OF DEATH.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14448, 7 November 1917, Page 8

THE HOUSE OF DEATH.

GRIM, INCIDENTS OF BATTLE FOR

LANGEMARCK

C'OXCK-ETE PRISON

Received by Mail.— By Percival Phillips. With the British Northern Armies.

The ground m front of Langemarck, churned by men and shells into the -'onsistency of -stiff porridge,- is bedded with corpses, broken machine guns, cartridge alips arid cases, bent helmets, and odd remnants of equipment. This horrible slough leads into a group of shapeless mounds and gapirig concrete shelters that- mark the site of Langemarck, and beyond it — nearly *ial7 a. mile across another such swamp — you will find the. new- British front line weflged-V m the. . Germaii trench system that was designed to break our gveatefct assault. ■•.-..•■:•

•Here, m the remains of enemy dugouts and small houses and towers of the inevitable concrete, our men sat stolidly throughout a 1 night of fierce "shelling.

,t Until .darkness, came- they :^yere. lying in-.tlija mud '"potting"- at the .distracted figures - of their. foes beyond the. marshes of the flooded 'VLaudetbeek— one of the maaiy rhnilets that trickle through the Flemish farms m dry seasons and _ swell unevenly into ponds and treacherous lagoons 'when tho. rains are excessive. : From this, Langemar'ck trench sysoem they could sco the. frequent .sallies of the \Vurtemberg infantrymen ftmpng the farms^beyondi ;Gruvterziile and iypekuit, and the,: spasmodic * ; mov'.ement of .their transport, bar ts ■ along, tlie. country roads

„ A WILDERNESS, ;.... . Tlie enemy country," beyond Langemarcilc .i* lessi .^ieil r^o^iT.ed than the ground \yc took yesterday, but it is already sh'OAving rents andi creases where our ginis— brought forAvardi iii the early hours of yesterday's attack Avith fine precision ancl effects-have made their mark oii the- Him "redoubts and. ma/chine-gun posts. We are approaching the edge of the AvildernesYdf concrete. enemy 'hits not rebuilt all the farms on his prepared lines beyond, and it is possible to look from the ground be yond Lanoemarck' into green and cultiA'ated' country. ' ,' Hie. great - Forest of HoUthulst lcomr directly Tn.'f roiit of bur outposts, less than a mile and a quarter at prig the "-reclined. highway, 'and "nVadiii^ 'ottt of it and intersecting the*, main " 'rotates are otliei* paved and solid roads, driven .with charaaterist.ic Belgian eiiiotitude between red-topped ''farms* and whitewashed cottages. V, . . ■'"' ' ,';' " ' One cannot "get a wide glimpse of invaded Belgium from thb captured. Ger--nrfii "tr&iches beyondi Langeiharck, bu. it'is an' abrupt' aiid welcome' cHaiige from the - limited 1 view the men Had yester da t V whert .'they floundered through the mire. fro : m' : the'*Steeiibeek to the'ruihs ot

the" church. •" - ' '■' t- "FILTH AND WATER

They -could see nothing '- save" the sod^ -leii fields.; ironed ifttp one mass of filth and water' by the terrific weight of thc bbnib^rdiirent^riO" ho'flses, rid roads, nc firm ' boundariesr On their right • two lines of blackened stumps' marked the' ouried Lftrigemarck road. In front werr a few 'toothed fragments of an orchard, .'with a lo^ mound beyond— the village church. A v patch of green water on the left was the lake m the chateau grounds hat cutlastedi the chateau itself.

I; The-; "chateau" lake was one of "many \ pools. •Directly m- front- of jt rose the one" d'pmifiant' object m this - desolate •cene— a broad, squat structure 1 solidly m the marsh; apparently -withoin doors -or yiridoWs. ! . 7 .-..'• - ;

i jSlabhirie guns were spitting into the, »hud, and the slow-moving figures ap 'oi'oaohing' this" sinister -building realised that the bullets, raining about came from its hidden .occupants. It waf ■"lei-res Farm— a 7 farm, no iQnger, but f.' fort of -concrete, biiilt on old foundations--1 commanding all the ground between; i tlangemarck arid the .Steenbeek. over; which dur inieh had to pass.,.-; -;. \ .. There* was a similar.. Tedoubt — a broad, drab buildirig. capable pf ..holding: forty; or fifty nien— ldtver dovin, ..near .... theeastern" barik' of i_ the -Steenbeek itself, that had given " great; trouble a' little while befoijfrY Heavy 'shellrap--parently held no 'effect -on its massive, walls,- and the guns; it held were unchecked until the infantry -attacked. It bore the strangely. inappropriate.. name of- An ■JJon Cite (good' cheer), the. name bein;the only survival, of .a Y 1-padside estarniriet that , cnce"- stood there for- the re-. •freßhment of peasants, dn their way frpm the railway ..station of Langemarck tc fcheiivfarrns. ;V- "? .-. •,.'.;'■ -.. ;,- No * more .inappropriate name . could ,'hay.c been "chesenvf pi', this lipuse of death. fhe ! uneasy ,• tenants appai*ently^.opened the massive iron : dopr . to", admit their refugee comrades f rorji the .craters and barfed it -again "against the dreaded Englishmen, y . •■"." ,' ..- f . \.f .;:'''" When pur men sought admission they found tlie redoubt sealed ,-*• and .there . was not an opening to. be found '.where^bomb? might b,e intrpducey. V Bpt the, House of Good Cheer did 'not long hold out.-/.. ''."■■' An (Officer, -who* . passed that way and enrne back, the same afternoon with a wound told ni.e that . he . saw ; some men sitting -ari<"l expectariEly around the house, with bdmbs^poiged, reminding him for all the world.:. of .hungry, dogs waiting at the exit of a rat-hole- < /T.hey were rewarded.. The occupants of , the .redoubt. finally mustered sufficient courage to bp^n the" dooiy and those who tried to. escape were jkilled". . 7. Reitres; 'Farm, /.hovcevei*, ' colrlained Pr,ussiahs with Mbiiter hearts, and ., they raked the thin liiies pf advancing khaki rr-ybu 'couldjapthave: see'ri^the khaki for the-, riiiid that^^ pjast^i'ied itYAp.t'H t-H.e "i?" gpt very, close.7, , „;' ,'." " "', '■'■, '■■'■' V ,''""'. STORM Of BULLETS. /

Their ordeal ,-was one that is. almost beyond ''description ;. The - bullets sa, ng about their ears lil?e. a horde Of angry bees, flicking mud' intoi their faces, snipV ping' away buttons, and denting their hei-" mets— ''gave riie a rotten headache, -i : said ■one young subaltern' Who ,ha6!j ■'&; score -d*. - ' hmr's-br'ieadthV espape?. is this; - gun ' barrag&— splaying , fa'ntastici . tricks without , hurting them, sending others suddenly' into ' the -water - and slime, where they lay very" still.' " '""•"' ; V ! ■ ; Yet ihey , went *o*ii," each 'fresh step taking them- ' thigh-deep - in** the morass They went on aroun'a' Reitr'es Farm, and against the deadly face"; of it one man; ot lrdVi, nursing his- Lewis' gun : afc carefuljly , through' this agony as.' though it 'were an orily Child, brought it sla'fely at "last agaih'st the redoubt, thrust it through a loophole,! 'and fired. ]"""'. ... Almost' ininiediately a strip 6'f white cloth was pushed through another open ing— : dne wonders' whether they kept, it ready for the inevitable;'' surrender— and the fa'rni re'do'iibtwas ours,- V

Still only another 'stage of the journey,;'and there were other forts to 'be conquered. Machine guns' still'" barbed m a great chorus from the new habitations of ' Lanpe'marck and froni' the oiit-. tying 'posts which swept our advance Dn both sides of the Thoiii'diit railway lihe. ''The station' building^ ori the left of Reitr'es Farih' as *W'6 '•apprdaobed the" village" gave .cover to" sofno "gUnners, aiid disused battery pits' "along the railway itself were as effectively utilised; "•- ;

"■■' X'K ' ! -'~ "'' , SNIPERS. , "■' ' ; '' - The Xahgemarck' trench system sweeps round 'the village m- a rough 'crescent; half a mile* behind it, and it was dotted with 'the ; usiial groups of 'snipers. ; Undoubtedly we suffered to, soirio extent from' snipers who had net been 'detected and deklt'with by the 'firkt waves of. -rifantjy. In the ' -'smoke', arid haze' it is very .easy to overlook' stray marksmen

URIC AOID IS THEY , CHIEF CAUSE OF RHE%MATI^I . AND KmpRED DISI^ES:', KhoAving-Uils, why-con?-tinue ito, suffer •igony 7 When. RHIJUaiO >el.dom . fails to cure? It" remoyies' the; excess;. Uric Acid from , the Blood, thiis giving'. permanent "relief. 2/6 and 4/6. "',, Baiii-a,clough's jSrpei*vine v stops'. Toothache. At a- qpst of £.118,000,: a landed estate; near- Goole, ' England, '..has been- acquired by.-the.Co-qperatiye .Wholesale ■ Society 4qv ; the- development -of- the •productive pide; of t]ie movement. V . .- J2AB^YCJ,OSINO. Now that the -early closing of shops is m vogue, it is necessary that .householders shb'ulu. replenish their supplies of "Much- ; •foi" during the daytime.* A bottle rshould be kepf m. -every household,' for emergencies. Spiff up for colds, gargle for throats and y swallow" f6r feverish chills, is 6dv, 3S'6d.^' : ! * •■■■' ■■■'■ ;.•". ' ' 7"--' ' ■;;

who lie very still until the British havo passed, and then, m accordance with the enemy scheme of defence, begin shooting them m the back.

The "nioppers^up" had plenty of work m some parts of the swamp where snipers found a foothold m artificial craters and were purposely so coated with mud that they melted imperceptibly into the morass itself.

This is a very inadequate description of the difficulties and hardships that marked the taking of Langemarck. When it is possible to get all the details from the battalions engaged, the complete story of this feat should thrill every Briton with pride. A high officer said to me yesterday : "I hope you will tell how the'meri'.went through the mud, and of their extraordinary resolution. Human beings could not have done more. It is amazing they could have done so much. jfThe lads who took Langemarck deserve all praise." i•' : / '"' ': ( INITIATIVE. ' l -

Again, as m tho first day of the battle, men exercised their initiative, m emergency, and did not rely blindly on others for help.

Again there were instances of privates commanding companies when all the officers ahd non-commissioned officers had been killed or wounded. /

A wounded officer whom I' saw last evening a;t a dressing, station told me that' as he' advanced with liis men to attack a fortified farm, a private — he thought he was one of the Berkshires — came, up to him,, saluted, and said: "I have' Some men with me, sir. All my officers are out of action. CaVi we join you?" /;, ""*]"■■ /'V.V '/V "I am • afraid- - T..fcari ? t' look after you," replied the officer;" "you had better carry on."

"Very good, sii'Y replied the private, and he disappeared ill tlie smoke 'with his handful of men.

A sergeant-major found himself m charge of a. body of men m the. "advance north of St. Julien. A shell .burst and blew off his legs. "Look after the men," he called to a corporal, the only other non-commissioned officer. "Get on with them, and don't stand staririg at me like a b fool!"

He died, and the h-en went on

tOST MORTARS

One striking feature of the battlefield round Langemarck was the unusual number of German trench .mortars; lying 1 m the mud: . The enemy has been. de- a pending more arid more on this ' light; weapon, and when his guns were withdrawn from positions, behind Langemarck the supply, of ; ' mirienwerfers -was ' ' increased, t •

Prisoners from Langemarck I saw today included a number of boys of the 1919 class. They were well-disciplined,, stood to attention smartly . when examined, and worked with almost pathetic eagerness and docility when put to carrying arid opening boxes of bully beef and other tasks m the' collecting cage where I found them.

Nor did they look starved or even 111---ridtffish'gdyr,-;;_, The worst of them physically- ""-w&s V '"fjfnite 1, : ; able to make the long t.nd;' ; fatiguing journey from the battleeljdj^ana ol*^ soldiers m the cage, seemed tc?<be-as-/goipd^ specimens of infantry as doiild hk found 'm any first-class army /Yet the youths were not dependable One pf /'their non-commissioned officers, ai.i'dgular who has served throughput the ,^ar 1 7Said.^rtrti^t'e t frankly:— ';"THBy- tl have"' ■ been underfed fPr twe fe s *Sfs," : ahd th'eyhave net the stamina for "}"his/\Yprk. They may look all right, but' tftey cannotl' stand hardships, and oie'y h^tve no spirit. When you attacked they wanted to surrender. What can orie* do Avith*-sttc*fi children?". , 1 The '"* 26th (Wurtemberg) Division, *>vhich iS^vnow fajcing the conquerors of Lahgenia'r'ck, are), far better stuff. We metfthejn, at Le» Transloy and elsewhere on the Somme, where they fought with great determination. They were coihing* into the lme when our attack was 'made, 1 and, as usual, we took prisoners of both divisions. -

They were completely '• surprised, notwithstanding the boasts of some prisoners taken at Langemarck yesterday that the British plans were known the night before. It is "true : they, expected we would try -d*adv!ah'ce' when the weather improved, but the belief somehow became firmly fixed m the minds of their officers that the attempt would be made on the night of the 15th, and when we did not leaye our trenches they concluded that the attack would be postponed another forty-eight hours' on acccurit" pf th.e-mud.' '

We had leg's success dn the 1 right 'of yesterday's - attack; where "'.-'the heaviest fighting was for ''the possession -bf'Yhf high' ground-' riorth r of the 'Meriiri " road'V biit the day's wbrk.itv Polygon' Woo d7an6* rourid about is' a^' story. o^. 'splendid effort, and"! one of which tliei troops 'concerned need not" be ashamed. '" -'.

GAi-LAI^T .' LQNDPNERS.' ; *

London -battalions were engaged m this desperate struggle for commanding earthworks in 'the.; wooded country, behind ¥"pve§. -They got 'into Polygon Wppd- and beyond ther. smaller tract east, of' it, known as the - "Nuns' "^VoodYall they sot out to do-7-and this hardly-won prize was relinquished only when heavy counterattacks from two directions could not be withstood. •''."■- ,

Tl*ie London men, who lay below GlehcorseWqod at the moment; of the attack, found themselves under a sfcrdrig machine-gun fire from Hatherriage Wdpd tihd Inverness Copse, " on } their riglr^t. Immediately *they Vsidvahced. .VThen ,a powerful German barrage, fell oii Vthern! 'V . Stilly they struggled bctoss the h'eayy ground', raked from all "angles .by eilfetny strong points, and subjected tp ; a ■gali'ling frontal" fire from Polygon Wood. The triangular Nuns^ - Wood masks half sdf Polygon Wood, ahd the ; 7Lohdoners ip; eluded it m their 'objective, bii.t'' pwirig to the floods -the greater part df it wis under water, "v : ; "'; .;■'.' "' ,■ • ■.*; ; II

The men' had a very difficult jbiirnqy Avading through, because 'of hidden stumps and hblfes.- They' :, founi_ 'a little fort at " the northern : "end '" of the \vo6^.. tucked, away among shattered trees' , 'arid bombed its occupants. '- J -- T V

Another machine-gun group was un earthed on the Zorinebeke— Gheluyell road, which runs along the eastern face of the Nuns' Wood, and its destructidh helped to relieve the pressure: on theii" cbmi'aides, who Av&re -ploughing^determinedly into ' Polygon "Wood. - '""" ',' '• VDespite the German fire, 'which'"' increased as they Avent .on; London detachments' reached the belt' of trees and continued through it,/ with their bayonets and bbmbs, driving before them- the Germans' avlio had held' the trenches at the edge : of the 'ivoodY '

GQALi REACHED

Thus soriie Of the Londoners ( reached the goal set for them, fighting grimly across every barrier, until they were at one end of the great -racecourse * iii; the centre of. the. wood. Not only did .they gain their, objective, but.p risoners were sent back frbm the wood, arid 'through out yesterday ; morning the - Londoners held their thin line m the wilderness, although steadily . and powerfully shelled and beset by snipers. V Gradually the Germans lurking beyond took heart and came creeping up. Little knots, of infantry straggled into the she'll holes round the wood and formed for counter-attacks. Tj^ey began _at two o'clock"' fi*oth the south; where f 7"eneriiy stritiiighdlds iii Hatherriage''"■ 'Wood gave cover . i"o J . stormiiig'trobps, arid' from Zorinebeke on tHe,,noi'£li,-V Tlie LohdoheVs ' jriet' them well, 'but they- could not stand indefinitely agaMst successive shocks, arid unwillingly fhey camfe'back;, Some' of them were surrounded, arjd. they fought, until surrender; wag inevitably. . •- . . ;

I have been told 'of one boy commanding- ten men at the last who signalled back a message telling his division that .fhe Germans were advancing and sweeping his little party, with machine-gtin lire from all sides, and that he regretted the only cotirso left 'to linn, was V.tb J (surrender. - The pnly activity of importance ori the French front., to-day -vyas an attack ori the pocketed redoubt Renown ', as , Les Lelas. about, a. thousand yards- south-west of St d«inshpek, on the' left 'ban]? qf 'the iit. Janshpek Oliver. V . t " In their adyance yesterday the French infantry gtfrj pupded this , position and wen^t:'beyond; v ;and the, 'garrisp.n coritinued to' fight dririivg/tli'e.^ night. * ' ,v ' T -h ?-' G ?^^ M&d Jto" crtiniple ;up the French' ri^ht '.Jastriiight, but.the attack I failed, a'nd'..per|ect;.!CQh ( tact was" maintain-' 1 ;^llie^; 'amies. '