Identifier: literarydigesthi05hals (find matches)
Title: The Literary digest history of the world war, compiled from original and contemporary sources: American, British, French, German, and others
Year: 1919 (1910s)
Authors: Halsey, Francis W. (Francis Whiting), 1851-1919, comp
Subjects: World War, 1914-1918
Publisher: New York, London, Funk & Wagnalls Company
Contributing Library: Columbia University Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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ssart andCardonnerie Farm the British had to give ground. Atcrossings on the Lawe and Lys rivers the fighting was espe-cially heavy. South of Armentieres the Lys was crossed inseveral places. But every foot of that region was familiarto the defenders. In the fall of 1914 it had been a centerof action in the race for the sea, which the Germans lost,altho having a greatly superior force. At that time theBritish were often reduced to desperate straits for want of 62 LUDENDORFFS COLOSSAL DRIVE IN THE WEST reinforcements, divisions dwindling to skeletons of brigades,regiments to little more than corporals guards,, while wholebattalions virtually disappeared. Nevertheless, remnantsheld on and saved the day. In this battle there wa^ a disparity of numbers in favorof the Germans, but it w^as probably not so great as in 1914,when at times there w^ere eight Germans to each Britishsoldier in the field, and often four or five. The British nowhad abundant ammunition and had superiority in the air.
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C£) COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION ENTENTE SOLDIERS RETALIATING WITH POISON GAS The weight of the initial attacks, the intensity of the bom-bardment and the determination with which the Germanstried to develop their first successes, suggested that theyattached as much importance to this new venture in southernFlanders as they had to their first advance westward acrossthe Somme. The fighting continued almost w;ithout inter-ruption for thirty hours. There was a sanguinary struggleon the slopes of Messines Ridge, w^here some of the Germansreached the village of that name, but only to be flung out.German shock troops w^ere sent dribbling through the broken 63 ON THE WESTERN FRONT trenches in the region of Ploegsteert and around the northside of Armentieres toward the Bailleul road. Eightdivisions formed the narrow head of a thrust behind abarrage of unprecedented density. The aim of the attack atthe beginning was to break the front held ))y the Portugueseon both sides of Neuve Chapelle,

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