Current History: A Monthly Magazine of the New York Times, May 1918: Vol. VIII, Part I, No. 2 — John Shaqi
Current History: A Monthly Magazine of the New York Times, May 1918: Vol. VIII, Part I, No. 2Various
History
Current History: A Monthly Magazine of the New York Times, May 1918: Vol. VIII, Part I, No. 2
Various
World War, 1914-1918
The brunt of this attack, preceded by colossal gunfire, fell upon London
troops, and against these the German tides dashed and broke. By
artillery fire, machine-gun fire, and rifle fire, the enemy's advancing
waves of men were swept to pieces, and though they came on again and
again this massacre continued until at last it must have sickened even
the high German officers directing the operations from behind. The
attacks died out and the night was quiet around Arras while the enemy
collected his wounded. It was an utter defeat which will at least check
German efforts around Arras.
On this Easter Sunday, under bright sunshine which is breaking through
the storm clouds, the fields of France are strewn with death. A year ago
it was the same around the old City of Artois, for it was on Easter
Sunday, April 2, that we began the battle of Arras and fought over that
ground which is again our battlefield, and it was a great anthem of
gunfire which rose up to the sky on Easter morn.
Apart from all regrets at having had to fall back at all and at having
suffered losses for which there is mourning in our hearts, because so
many splendid men have fallen on the field of honor--that terrible field
of honor which will be watered with tears for all time--we may at least
rejoice that by the skill of our fighting officers and the steady
courage of our men our line was brought back unbroken.
Heroic Cavalry Charge
_Monday, April 1._--The battle of which I have been trying to give a
daily narrative has been on so vast a scale, filled with so many
episodes of terrific adventure and with so many hundreds of thousands of
men moving along its lines of fire that I find it impossible to give a
picture of the emotion and spirit of it. We out here, who knew this
thing was coming upon us, creeping nearer every day with its monstrous
menace, held our breath and waited. When at last the thing broke it was
more frightful in its loosing of overwhelming powers than even we had
guessed. Since then all our armies have lived with an intense
understanding of the greatness of these days, of their meaning to the
destiny of the world, and every private soldier, or transport driver, or
linesman, or laborer, has been exalted by an emotion stronger than the
effect of drugs.
In the wood of Moreuil this morning British cavalry performed a feat as
fine as the Balaklava charge, and this also should be made into a ballad
and learned by heart.
Twelve hundred men who had been riding through the night went forward in
three waves and charged that dark wood next morning at a hard gallop.
The first wave rode to the edge of the wood, and the second to the
centre, and the third wave went right through to the other side, riding
through the enemy and over his machine guns and in the face of a hail of
bullets from hidden machines. They cleared the wood of Moreuil and
brought back prisoners and thirteen machine guns, but there were many
empty saddles, and many men and horses fell.
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