WAR-RAVAGED BELGIUM.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16507, 7 August 1919, Page 3

WAR-RAVAGED BELGIUM.

ITS RECONSTRUCTION. A JOURNEY (F/TER THE COCK-PIT OF BATTLE. A graphic of the devastations of war in the coastal regions of Belgium, at Os&nd and, Zeebrugge, and also at such places further inland as Ypres, Houthdst Forest, and Pervyse, is given by Reuter’s special correspondent, who travelled recently over this cook-pit of battle. The correspondent also describes the work ' of restoration now in progress. Seen from the sea, he says, the whole coast lines bear’s evidence of the_ terrific bombardment from sea and air to which it has been subjected. The various pleasure resorts between Calais and Ostcnd are little more than shattered walls. Great hotels, casinos, summer villas stand gaunt against the blue sky. These areas’that have been levelled to the ground are pointed out as being the positions of the great batteries that the enemy had placed along the whole stretch of coast from Nieuport to the Dutch frontier. Nothing, says the writer, seems • to have taken such a hold of the Belgians along the coast as the deathless story of the Vindictive, whose rusty and twisted hull lies half exposed even at high water. Within a few yards of where the famous ship lies is a hotel that has been renamed Hotel Vindictive. In Ostend the work of reparation is proceeding with rapidity. It is now possible to enjoy a recherche dinner in a restaurant filled with a fashionable crowd, while the buildings on either side are reminiscent of Ypres. In every case, the robbery of the Germans has been complete, and furniture, mirrors, etc., have been taken away, i But the whole of Ostend is now a scene of ceaseless activity. Workmen are engaged in repairing the ravages of war. An evidence of the hopefulness and enterprise of the people is the opening of the Casino and the resolve of the Administration to have a season this year. In less than 12 weeks a miracle has been accomplished, and visitors to the Casino will scarcely realise that anything has happened since 1914. As for the season generally,' fetes, regattas, horseraces, and displays or every description are being freely advertised. Much progress has been made in restoring the railways of Belgium, and the electric coastal railway system, along xvhich the rails had been torn up and the motor installation wrecked, is now working.

At Zeebrugge the work of restoration is also progressing rapidly. Most of the cranes, railway material, and other obstacles thrown into the harbour by the Germans have now been removed. Work is in progress on the Thetis, which it is expected will be afloat in a w ; eek and taken to England. Captain Eryatt’s ship Brussels is, still visible at the entrance to the Mole, but it is feared that it will not be possible to raise her.

i I spent a morning climbing into the turrets and descending into the tun- ■ nols of the amazing lines of forts that > the Germans had constructed for the j defence of the Belgian, coast. For a dis- ' tanoe of over 30 miles battery after ■ battery had) been placed in position, the s guns protected from attack by concrete walls and bastions of immense i thickness. At Conskelaere, on the Ostende Thoront road, there is to be seen one of the great Berthas, whose function . it was to bombard Dunkirk. The monster, a 1-1-inch gun, 58 feet in length, rested on a. cement bed in the centre of a well 20 feet deep and 50 feet in diameter. Its breech had been removed by the Germans, who before leaving had also exploded part of the fort* J ress. Beneath was the electrical instal* lation by which the gun could he lower* j ed into the pit so as to place it at an 1 angle of. 80 degrees. The gun weighed i 77 tons, and its complete crew- numi bered a hundred officers and men. An old peasant woman stated that the Gen. mans started to build the gun in 1916, and, after nine months’ work, first fired it in July, 1917. A Belgian officer who was at Dunkirk when Bertha was bombarding it said that one day he counted forty shots, which were fired at an exact interval of eight minutes. We next proceeded; to Ypres, traversing an area of awful devastation entirely unpopulated, whore every tree had been blasted by poison gas. The great forest of Houthulst was a. howling wilderness. At one part of the route we passed nine British tanks half buried in the mud, rusting in the sun, and shattered by shot and shell... For miles the country was dead , Not a living soul was to' be seen, and of • human habitation there was not a- sign, but continually we saw humble little crosses, some surmounted by tin helmets and 1 machine-gun belts, marking the last resting-place of some British hero. Fur. ther on we went by carefully-tended and fenced cemeteries, noticing in the distance the khaki figures of British officers directing the operations of Chinese and other labourers who are engaged in reverently removing to their final rest-ing-place the British soldiers who had fallen and been buried by the wayside. As the car pulled up in the Market Place of A'pres we saw much evidence of life in death. Under the very walls of the ruined Cloth Hall is a Church Army hut, and everywhere we found the cheerful presence of the British Tommy, who is extremely active “cleaningvup the moss.” Just behind the devastated cathedral what will be a sort of garden city has been commenced. Under the direction of the Belgian Ministry of the Interior, streets of picturesque four-roomed: cottages are being constructed and gardens being laid out. One street already exists. In various parts of the country 16,000 of - these dwellings are to be erected. The walls are made of concrete blocks manuj factored at Richborough and shipped thence to Belgium. _ This is to be known as New Ypres. No one on the spot seemed quite certain whether the ruined town is to be preserved in its present condition as a lasting warning of the horrors of war. At Pcrvyao wo inspected the ruins of the church that had been the centre of many a bloody conflict.. On the roadside wo noticed a recent mound not much larger than a dining-table with an inscription, “Here rest 115 Germans.” Next wo entered' the inundated area, ' where the opposing forces' faced one i another for four years. The scene is - one of utter desolation, and for many miles there is no evidence of life in any of its forms. Occasionally one sees the giant wreck of an aeroplane; but what ! tills vast swamp contains will only be partially revealed if it ever becomes worth while to plough the soil. To the tourist I can imagine nothinjf of greater interest than a journey swt as I have tried to describe. It can be accomplished in three or four days at a small cost. The Belgians feel very strongly that passport regulations should be modified in such a way aa.fto enable the public of tbo Allied countries to see for themselves what the destruction of a “scrap of paper” has meant to them, and bow the people ot that are-striving to make gccd.