With The Immortal Seventh Division

T BATTLE

ble buildings, and relics of a past age; but owing to its strategic importance in this war, it has from that time onward

mes of December 16, 1914, in describing the heroic effort of our troops in resisting the furious onslaughts of the Germans in the

FENCE

WORK OF

BBORN VALOUR

r proceed

t the orders which we publish below, with the detailed official narrative of events in Flanders which accompanies

Sir Douglas Haig, published in The Times of November 30, was iss

by all ranks of the Seventh Division from the time of their landing in Belgium. You have been called to take a conspicuous part in one of the severest struggles in t

es, but you have at any rate the satisfaction of knowing that th

valour and endurance in defence, and I am certain that you will only add t

of this order at about the end of November, was of a kind which strains the mental and physical strength of troops, beyond any other form of operations. The two Divisions were sent to the aid of the Naval Division at Antwerp, and they were landed at Ostend and Zeebrugge about October 6. They occupied the regions of Bruges and Ghent, and they had to suffer the initial disappoint

ON OF GR

perate rearguard fight. They had to trek across a difficult country without any lines of communication and without a base, holding on doggedly from position to position, notably at Thielt and Roulers, until they

to their assistance till October 21). Here they hung on like grim death, with almost every man in the trenches holding a line which was of necessity a great deal too long-a thin, exhausted line against which the prime of the German first line troops were hurling themselves with fury. The odds against them were about eight to one, and when once the enemy found

ere only forty-four left, and out of 12,000 men only 2,336. So far, little has been published about the work of these Divisions-probably because the bulk of the various dispatche

ealed to me the splendid heroism of our men, and the carefully thought out disposition of our troops; a heroism so perfect that one attenuated line of khaki, consisting of under 30,000 men, held 240,000 Germ

hought of Regent Street or Cheapside in their work-a-day aspect, or again, the peaceful surroundings of 'home, sweet home,' would find a momentary lodgment in my mind, only to be dispelled by the sounds and signs which betokened that the sternest game of li

re, of belonging to a nation which can produce such men. Even nature presented its remarkable contrast to the clamour of war, for in the in

ion, which had lost all its officers, momentarily broke from the trenches. Quickly gathering the dread import of their act, this young hero rushed into the ruck of men, who amid that awful hell had been seized with panic. Calling to a sergeant he directed him to shoot the first man that came by, then rushing into the disorganized rabble-for it was little else at that time-he shouted to them, 'Men! men! have you forgotten that you ar

daring deeds go far to preserve that glorious spirit of heroic venture which characterizes the whole fighting line of our men. The value of systematic training, which at the time it is being undergone is often regarded as a weariness of the flesh by the men undergoing it, is strikingly exhibited in actual warfare. I was much struck with this late one afterno

here I had been told the body was lying, I was informed that it had been arranged to convey the remains to England. There was nothing for it but to retrace one's steps, but by this time the firing which had been unpleasantly heavy on the way out, had waxed in intensity, when suddenly emerging from the shelter of a wood, I found myself between the two lines of opposing forces.

most correctly determined by aeroplanes. But not only do these war scouts render this important service; from the air they are enabled to d

aced in the hero of real life. Commander Samson was not only a 'flyer' possessed of intrepid courage and great skill, but he further possessed an armour-plated car, in which was a high velocity gun; this he manipulated in a manner which struck terror to the German's heart; and one was not surprised to hear that the Kaiser had offered a reward of four thousand marks to the man who brought him down, or put him out of action. I enjoyed a marked illustration of his prowess one afternoo

we see cocked hat Generals, on the summit of rising ground, spying the position of troops through his field-glasses. To-day some of the most notable actions are fought by a General who the whole time may be three or four miles away from the seat of the struggle. Picture him, pipe in mouth, working out the movements of the troops on a large map in front of him. Every moment the Field telephone is at work; dispatch r

a line of such earth fortifications-for that is what they are-from the summit of a hill, it is very difficult to realize that at one's feet there are thousands of men lying hidden from each other, but ready at a moment's notice to spring into deadly activity

n or lost. To the ordinary civilian mind this all seems very haphazard, but it is not so; every m

ground which has become historic. But October and November, 1914, will ever stand in the annals of war as the occasion

G OFFICER