Great Britain -- Defenses; Imaginary wars and battles
"An hour ago another desperate attempt was made on the part of the men
of South London, aided by a large body of British regulars, to regain
possession of the War Office. Whitehall was once more the scene of a
bloody fight, but so strongly does Von Kronhelm hold the place and all
the adjacent thoroughfares--he apparently regarding it as his own
fortress--that the attack was repulsed with heavy loss on our side.
"All the bridges are now open, the barricades are in most cases being
blown up, and people are passing and repassing freely for the first time
since the day following the memorable bombardment. London streets are,
however, in a most deplorable condition. On every hand is ruin and
devastation. Whole streets of houses rendered gaunt and windowless by
the now spent fires meet the eye everywhere. In certain places the ruins
were still smouldering, and in one or two districts the conflagrations
spread over an enormous area. Even if peace be declared, can London ever
recover from this present wreck? Paris recovered, and quickly too.
Therefore we place our faith in British wealth, British industry, and
British patriotism.
"Yes. The tide has turned. The great revenge now in progress is truly a
mad and bloody one. In Kilburn this afternoon there was a wholesale
killing of a company of German infantry, who, while marching along the
High Road, were set upon by the armed mob, and practically exterminated.
The smaller thoroughfares, Brondesbury Road, Victoria Road, Glendall
Road, and Priory Park Road, across to Paddington Cemetery, were the
scene of a frightful slaughter. The Germans died hard, but in the end
were completely wiped out. German-baiting is now, indeed, the Londoner's
pastime, and on this dark and rainy afternoon hundreds of men of the
Fatherland have died upon the wet roads.
"Sitting here, in a newspaper office, as we do, and having fresh reports
constantly before us, we are able to review the whole situation
impartially. Every moment, through the various news-agencies and our own
correspondents and contributors, we are receiving fresh facts--facts
which all combine to show that Von Kronhelm cannot hold out much longer.
Surely the Commander-in-Chief of a civilised army will not allow his men
to be massacred as they are now being! The enemy's troops, mixed up in
the maze of London streets as they are, are utterly unable to cope with
the oncoming multitudes, some armed with rifles, and others with
anything they can lay their hands upon.
"Women--wild, infuriated women--have now made their reappearance north
of the Thames. In more than one instance, where German soldiers have
attempted to take refuge in houses, these women have obtained petrol,
and, with screams of fiendish delight, set the houses in question on
fire. Awful dramas are being enacted in every part of the metropolis.
The history of to-day is written in German blood.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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