British valour

Defence of Ypres

Three weeks rain of shells German infantry dashed

Superstitious folk remembering all the dreadful things attached to November and noting that today is the 13th will be on the look out for bad news, but so far this morning there is precious little to warrant these forebodings.

On the other hand there is intelligence which should make every Briton thrill with pride.

As has already been shown the centre of the struggle for a long time past has been Ypres, the defence of which, we are officially told will certainly be reckoned in history as one of the most striking episodes in the history of the British army.

Fore more than three weeks that position which projects like a bastion into the enemy’s lines has been held under a rain of shells which has hardly ceased by day or by night.

During this time the enemy has poured successive waves of infantry against it only to see them break to pieces one after the other.

Eleven days ago the Kaiser irritated at the obstinacy of the defence, issued the order that Ypres should be taken at a all costs.

That order has been attended by the same fate which awaited other instructions of a similar nature and the Paris official communique of yesterday afternoon show us that the flower of the German army, the Guards corps, or what was left of it was hurled at the British lines early on Wednesday.

It was a vain effort and one wonders what order will next be issued by the Kaiser.

Throughout the fight that has raged along the Yser the losses of the allies have been heavy but the slaughtering the ranks of the enemy has been terrific.

German officers themselves put the figure at 90,000. In one case a regiment of infantries had only 80 men left. On November 7 the French killed 8,000 Germans in ten minutes.

How long will the enemy be able to stand this kind of thing?

With the exception of one point the allies line has withstood all attacks ans remains as strong as a rock.

The enemy is being allowed to wear himself out. The Times military correspondent remarks that the situation is becoming a terrible one for Germany. She has gambled on a great success in the west and has lost. She scarcely dares to go back because the bankruptcy do Prussian strategy would be laid bare to the whole world if she did and because she would be compelled to release her shameful grip of Belgium little by little and be exposed to the derision as well as the revenge of her injured victims.

What will it avail her to hold a part if Belgium while Silesia and East Prussia are overrun and the German empire is stricken at the heart?

All this talk of millions of German troops over in the east, is pure bluff – they are not enough to hold the Russians back and Germany has to choose between the invasion of her own territory and the abandonment of her pretensions in the west.