From Mons to Loos, being the diary of a supply officer . ast and Vieille Chapellein support, the Indian troops being keptfor the assault on Neuve Chapelle, whichwas planned for the following day. Artillery was lent by the French andalso by the 5th Division, and at the 28th eighty guns concentrated theirfire on Neuve Chapelle. Under that bom-bardment of shrapnel and high explosivethe village disappeared from view under apall of smoke and debris. It seemed as ifnothing could exist in that hail of steel;but shrapnel is of little use against thickwalls and well-constructed trenches, a
From Mons to Loos, being the diary of a supply officer . ast and Vieille Chapellein support, the Indian troops being keptfor the assault on Neuve Chapelle, whichwas planned for the following day. Artillery was lent by the French andalso by the 5th Division, and at the 28th eighty guns concentrated theirfire on Neuve Chapelle. Under that bom-bardment of shrapnel and high explosivethe village disappeared from view under apall of smoke and debris. It seemed as ifnothing could exist in that hail of steel;but shrapnel is of little use against thickwalls and well-constructed trenches, andat this early stage of the war the value ofhigh-explosive shells from big-calibre gunswas perhaps not sufficiently realised. As soon as the bombardment ceased the47th dashed forward to the attack, led bytheir white officers and supported by the 9thBhopals and the Sappers. No finer sighthas been witnessed in the war than thecharge of the Sikh soldiers. With splendidela7i and little loss they entered the village,bayoneting every German they encountered. o -a NEUVE CHAPELLE. 155 as they emerged from the shelters mtowhich I they had crept when the bombard-ment connnenced. At the end of the street, however, theGerman machine - guns still remained un-harmed, and these deadly weapons nowswept all approaches with a hurricane oflead. In face of that awful tornado noman could live, and those splendid Indianwarriors melted away before the storm ofbullets. The attack was broken, and the survivorsdispersed, having lost more than half theirwhite officers and many of their comrades. Such sadly glorious episodes there willbe in every war, but the pity of such sacri-fices must force a tear from the eye of eventhe hardest-hearted. This severe check at such a time wasvery depressing, but help was at Lahore Division had arrived. Itsleading battalions, the Seaforth High-landers and 2nd Gurkhas, were speedilyon the scene, and joined the 2nd CavalryBrigade in the trenches, reinforcing ourg
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectworldwar19141918
