Read Ebook: The Illustrated War News Number 15 Nov. 18 1914 by Various

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It has been pointed out by a Naval correspondent that the German bayonet of which one edge is a saw is not really quite the barbarous weapon it seems, but is similiar to that carried by pioneers in British naval landing-parties, for use in sawing wood. The toothed edge, he mentions, is so far from the point that only by the rarest chance could it enter the body of an enemy. It would be interesting to know whether the two bayonets British and German--are exactly similar. Another account of the German weapon states that the saw-edge begins only six inches from the point, quite near enough thereto, one would imagine, to "enter the body of an enemy." Inset is an enlargement of the German saw-bayonet--

Dixmude, the name of which little West Flanders town on the Yser all the world knows now, after being heroically defended against persistent night-and-day attacks and bombardments at all hours, was taken by the reinforced Germans after a forty-hours renewed attack on November 11. The defenders, however, held out in the outskirts of the town, and could not be dislodged. The post is not part of the Allied main line, but rather of value as a bridge-head over the river. The French naval officer who sent the photographs shown above was one of the defenders until he had to withdraw wounded. When he was there Dixmude had been defended by 6000 French sailors, reinforced at the end of October by 1500 Algerian soldiers.

One of War's "little ironies" finds illustration in our photograph. A great conflict such as that now being waged is full of contrasts: grins, pathetic, sometimes not without a suggestion of humour. That the German Marine should be told off in a pretty rural district to round up cattle for food for the German troops is a case in point. The sleek and shapely kine which these sturdy fellows are commandeering plod peacefully along in happy ignorance of the fact that they are prisoners of war being led to their doom by an armed guard. If it were not for the significance of the weapons borne by the Marines, the scene would be as purely pastoral as that immortalised by Gray. It suggests the "lowing herd"--with a difference.--

The "Pegasus," an old and small cruiser, was attacked and disabled by the German cruiser "K?nigsberg" , a modern ship of larger size and much heavier metal, at daybreak on September 20, while anchored in Zanzibar harbour to clean boilers. The "K?nigsberg" stole up during the night, sheltered behind an island off the shore and, easily outranging the guns of the "Pegasus," shelled her helpless opponent. After that the German ship drew off, leaving the "Pegasus" in a sinking condition and with 26 men killed and 53 wounded. Our photograph, which has just been received here, shows the "Pegasus'" wounded being transhipped to the Union Castle liner "Gascon," serving as a hospital-ship to take the injured to the Cape.

The armed liner "Carmania," in her hour and a-half's fight of September 14 with the German armed liner "Cap Trafalgar," was hit by 73 of her opponent's shells, the splinters making, it is stated, some 380 holes all over the vessel. Offering so large a target to gun-fire as did the "Carmania"--a ship of great length, standing 60 feet out of the water--she was saved from suffering more damage by the seamanship of Captain Noel Grant, R.N., her Captain, who kept her end-on to the enemy. Our photograph of the navigating bridge of the "Carmania," with the engine-room telegraphs wrecked and fragments of metal strewn about, will give an idea of what those on board went through. It has just reached this country.--

It is clear that the German incendiary outrages in Belgium and France were premeditated, and German scientists devised special apparatus for setting fire to buildings. Our informant, who bought some incendiary disks from a German soldier near Antwerp, states that every man carries twenty bags, each containing about 300 disks. Mr. Bertram Blount, the analyst, found the disks consist of nitro-cellulose, or gun-cotton. They may be lit, even when wet, with a match or cigarette-end, and burn for eleven or twelve seconds, emitting a strong five-inch flame, and entirely consuming themselves. The Germans throw them alight into houses. The photographs show a bag of disks as supplied to German soldiers; a disk burning; and a disk, actual size, before being used.

The German heavy "batteries of position" are for the most part armed-with the 15 cm., or 6-inch howitzer, throwing a shell of 90 lb. with an approximate range of 6650 yards. The howitzer type of mobile heavy gun is much favoured for defensive work in both the German and the Austrian armies. The howitzer is capable of elevation up to 65 deg., the idea of this high elevation being, it is stated, to obtain a steep angle of descent for the shells at comparatively short ranges, in combination with a high remaining velocity so as to ensure the penetration of overhead cover. These howitzers are also employed in siege and fortress defence warfare. They have been used along the Aisne positions as auxiliaries to the giant Krupp siege-howitzers.

Cavalry engaged in the Belgian frontier battles are fighting in all sorts of ways: repeatedly, for example, as infantrymen in the trenches. On occasion, also, they have even charged on foot, with bayonet or with their lances. The Life Guards, according to a letter from the front, charged the German trenches the other day with bayonets. A squadron of French dragoons dismounted and crept through a wood on foot, surprising a German infantry company and overpowering them in close-quarter fight with lances and clubbed carbines. With

lances, also, as our illustration shows, some of our Bengal cavalry, in action on foot, on October 24, at Ramscapelle, near the Yser, recaptured the village from the Germans. Dismounting near by, they charged the enemy lance in hand, driving him from his trenches. Following up their success, they then forced their way into the village, smashing in doors and windows and storming house after house in spite of fierce resistance until, assisted by other troops, they forced the enemy out, capturing guns and many prisoners. The action was particularly notable.

There is something gruesomely appropriate in this photograph of the wreckage of a destroyed German motor-transport wagon train, or convoy, grouped in a sort of hollow square about the graves of the officers and men involved in the destruction of their charge. The place is in the Argonne district, the tract of rough country, between the sources of the Aisne and the Meuse, through which the high road from Paris to Verdun passes. How catastrophe befell this particular German convoy we can guess. More than one of the enemy's transport trains, moving in this part of the country, are recorded to have fallen victims to long-range bombardments by the French artillery as the result of aeroplane reconnoitring activity--

Like his father and brothers, Prince Eitel Fritz, the Kaiser's second son, has received the Iron Cross. It has not been made known over here how the Prince won it. Our illustration, reproducing a picture from a German paper, may solve the difficulty. Says the legend: "The Prince seized the drum of a fallen soldier and led his troops, beating the charge."

One of the curious fictions about England now going round in Germany is one that Sir John Jellicoe's fleet keeps in hiding lest it should meet the German fleet. German war-ships, indeed, scour the North Sea at all hours to give the Grand Fleet battle! Our illustration, from a serious painting published in a German paper, shows them at it.

Early in the war, the Kaiser commissioned various painters to produce battle-pictures of German prowess. The royal house of Bavaria has apparently followed suit. More recently the Kaiser expressed a wish that the British might meet the Bavarians "just once" and his wish was gratified. In depicting a Bavarian cavalry fight with French dragoons, the Bavarian artist naturally represents the enemy as going down like nine-pins. Prince Heinrich, who figures in the drawing, is the only son of the late Prince Francis Joseph of Bavaria, first cousin of Prince Rupprecht, the Bavarian Crown Prince, who recently exhorted his troops to conquer "our most hated foe." He also highly extolled the Bavarian cavalry, who, he said, have fought "with the greatest fearlessness and extraordinary dash."

It is said that the German garrison at Tsing-tau, which surrendered to the Japanese and British on November 7, included five battalions of infantry, fire battalions of marine artillery, one battalion of mechanics, and about 2500 reservists. After the surrender of the garrison a number of German soldiers are said to have escaped in native boats, but were recaptured. The defences were under naval control. Tsing-tau was strongly fortified and had about 600 Krupp guns of various calibre. The photographs show men of the Third Sea Battalion. On the march in Tsing-tau; and Entrenched with a machine-gun. Our correspondent states that the photographs were taken since the siege began; otherwise the dark band round the helmet-covers might be taken for a manoeuvres badge.

At midnight on November 6--seven hours before the German garrison of Tsing-tau surrendered, the central fort was captured by the Japanese, who took 200 prisoners. The Germans had made great efforts to repair their batteries, but the shell-fire from the Japanese guns was too heavy. After the central fort had fallen the Japanese captured at the point of the bayonet other forts and the strong field-works connecting them. It was stated that some 2300 German prisoners were taken when Tsing-tau surrendered. The German garrison, it is said, included four companies of seaman gunners, an equal force of Marines, some cavalry and field gunners, and a company of sappers. Probably the garrison increased after the war began, as Germans from all parts of China gathered at Tsing-tau for protection.

Considering the amount of discussion--not to say, in some quarters, apprehension--to which the Zeppelins have given rise, singularly little has been heard of them so far during the war, and, apart from the Antwerp exploits, they have done practically no damage. On the other hand, several have been destroyed: the number has been variously estimated from two to six. One, said to be the "LZ10," was brought down in October at Grandvilliers, ten miles from Belfort. Our photographs show: debris of the shattered framework; and wreckage of the cars. Another Zeppelin was destroyed in October by the fire of Russian batteries near Warsaw, and its broken remains were taken to Petrograd to be examined. The British air-raid on D?sseldorf also accounted for one or possibly two.

After the fall of Tsing-tau on November 7 the Admiralty cabled to the Japanese Minister of Marine: "The Board of Admiralty send their heartiest congratulations to the gallant Army and Navy of Japan on the prosperous and brilliant issue of the operations which have resulted in the fall of Tsing-tau." The Japanese began the blockade on August 27, occupying some neighbouring islands as a base. Mine-sweeping was the first task, and then, on September 18, the Japanese troops landed safely at Lao-shan Bay. They fought with great valour and suffered considerable losses. Their casualties up to November 6 were given as 200 killed and 878 wounded. In the final assault they had 14 officers wounded and 426 men killed and wounded. The number of Germans captured was 2300.--

In his telegram to the Japanese Minister of War after the capture of Tsing-tau, Lord Kitchener said: "Please accept my warmest congratulations on the success of the operations against Tsing-tau. Will you be so kind as to express my felicitations to the Japanese forces engaged? The British Army is proud to have been associated with its gallant Japanese comrades in this enterprise." The British force, under Brigadier-General N. Barnardiston, Commanding the Forces in North China, landed in Lao-shan Bay on September 24. Some Indian troops also took part in the fighting. The Emperor of Japan sent a message to the British force saying that he "deeply appreciates the brilliant deeds of the British Army and Navy co-operating with the Japanese."--

Our first photograph shows where the "Emden" met her fate after landing a party to destroy the wireless station, the pole of which is seen to the left centre of the photograph. The Cocos group are a British possession, and lie in the Indian Ocean, south-west of Sumatra. Our second photograph shows the "Emden," whose depredations have cost nearly two and a quarter millions sterling. She was a light cruiser of 3350 tons and 25 knots speed, carrying ten 41-inch guns. Captain Karl von M?ller, the "Emden's" Captain, who carried out his enterprises with a fine spirit of chivalry and daring which we acknowledge, was a native of Blankenburg, in Brunswick, and was formerly a captain in the Hansa Line. He is a prisoner, unwounded, and keeps his sword.

H.M.S. "Sydney" caught the commerce-raiding "Emden" at Keeling Cocos Island and forced a sharp action upon her, with the result that the German ship was driven ashore and burnt. The "Chatham" found the "K?nigsberg," the ship, it will be recalled, which attacked the "Pegasus," hiding in shoal water up the Rufigi River, German East Africa, with part of her crew entrenched on the banks. Unable to get at her, she bottled up the "K?nigsberg" by sinking colliers in the only navigable channel. The "Sydney" is a light cruiser of 5600 tons, launched, as was the "Chatham," in 1911. The "Chatham" was practically a sister ship of the "Sydney," but rather smaller, displacing 5400 tons, The "Emden" was of 3650 tons; the "K?nigsberg" displaced 3400 tons.--

"In this quarter," says Eye-Witness of the fighting near Ypres on October 29, "we experienced ... the action of the 'minenwerfer,' or trench-mortar. This piece, though light enough to be wheeled by two men, throws a shell weighing 187 lbs. The spherical shell has a loose stem which is loaded into the bore and drops out in flight. It ranges about 350 yards at 45 deg. elevation. The shell is a thin-walled mine-shell containing a large charge and is intended to act with explosive effect, not splinter-effect." The diagram on the left shows one of the shells and its stem in their most up-to-date form; in the centre is the trench-mortar with a shell in place; below this are three shells without their stems; on the right is a shell and its stem.

The Germans, according to paragraphs from their newspapers reprinted here, sneer at the way London is guarding against hostile aircraft by mounting quick-firing guns and searchlights and putting out many street lamps. They are doing much the same themselves, however, in the cities nearest their western frontier. At Cologne, ever since August, there has been constant nervousness as to possible air-raids, and searchlights from elevated points in the city have swept the sky nightly, and machine-guns have been set up on tall buildings. At D?sseldorf when our airmen destroyed a Zeppelin, the aviators were fired at by machine-guns from all over the city. Our illustration shows German machine-guns in temporary use as anti-aircraft guns.--

Among the French Colonial troops, the Senegalese have done excellent work, both on the Aisne and, more recently, in Belgium. Our photograph was taken near Pervyse, a village on the railway between Dixmunde and Nieuport, which has been the scene of many fierce encounters. In the Battle of the Aisne, when much night fighting took place, the Senegalese, it was reported, whose dark complexions rendered their faces less visible, proved very useful, and showed extraordinary daring. A favourite ruse was to send them forward at night, and when they had crawled near to the German lines, to turn powerful searchlights on the enemy, who, blinded by the glare, could not see whence the attack came. The Senegalese would then charge with the bayonet--

Martial Law was officially proclaimed by the British authorities in Egypt on November 2, as the first and immediate result of the outbreak of hostilities with Turkey. For some time before that, however, the authorities had been taking precautionary measures in consequence of the ubiquity and restless activity of the horde of German secret agents and spies known to be busily at work, seeking to spread sedition and disaffection among the natives. To prevent the transmission of military and other intelligence to Constantinople by their emissaries, severe restrictions have had to be imposed along the land-frontiers and in particular at ports such as Alexandria, Port Said and Suez on all persons entering or leaving the country. All passports and credentials are subjected to a close scrutiny.--

On Sunday, November 15, that brave soldier Albert King of the Belgians was thirty-nine, and a solemn Mass was celebrated at Westminster Cathedral. Cardinal Bourne assisted at the service, and the ceremonial was of a most impressive and ornate character, gorgeous vestments, beautiful music, and the gleam of many lights combining to make a tout ensemble that suggested some great occasion of national thanksgiving, as, indeed, it was. Scarlet and green were the brilliant colour-notes of the function. The celebrant of the Mass was Mgr. Canon Moyes, other dignitaries taking part in the service. Amongst the congregation were the children of the King of the Belgians--Prince Leopold, Duc de Brabant; Prince Charles, Comte de Flandre; and Princess Marie-Jos?, of all of whom we give portraits.--

The King recently presented the white goat shown in the above photograph to the 7th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers, who, since they were raised, have been in training at Newtown, Montgomeryshire. The Welsh Fusiliers have always had a white goat as a mascot, drawn from the famous herd of Cashmere goats which also supplied the King's gift. The animal given by his Majesty to the new battalion was taken from Windsor to Newtown under escort, and was received at the station by two men of the 7th Royal Welsh Fusiliers, who stood with fixed bayonets. On the left in the photograph are Lady Magdalen Herbert, sister of the Earl of Powis, and the Earl's young daughter, Lady Hermione Herbert. On the right are Captains J.H. Addie and Oswald Davies.--

Nieuport has been badly damaged by the German bombardment, and it is said that half the houses in it appear to have been struck by shells, yet that it has not been so utterly ruined as some of the surrounding villages. The worst loss as regards buildings at Nieuport has been the destruction of the church, which, as many photographs show well, has been almost completely demolished. It was a fine specimen of one of the few stone churches found in that part of the country, with twelfth-century Gothic windows. The walls and pillars stand bare, the roof has gone, and half the tower, whose bells lie buried on the ground amid the wreckage. Desultory fighting continued at Nieuport after the main German attack shifted south to Ypres.--

The inhabitants of those parts of France and Belgium which are still groaning under the German incubus are greatly to be pitied. Beyond the terrible agony inflicted by the invaders upon defenceless populations, in the form of executions and house-burnings and various forms of outrage, there is a great mass of less drastic but still intolerable misery to be borne by those unfortunate householders who are compelled to house and feed the soldiers of the enemy. Some idea of the nature of the infliction to which they are subjected can be gathered from such a drawing as that here reproduced. It shows some officers of the motor-corps of the Nineteenth German Army Corps asleep in a house upon which they have been billeted. The drawing is by a German artist.

Much hard fighting on the Yser and elsewhere in West Flanders has fallen to the lot of the French bluejackets of the Naval Brigade, a strong force of whom were brought up from Brest to reinforce the Belgians in their defensive battles near the coast after the retreat from Antwerp. Attacking side by side with the British, they retook Ypres on October 13, and after that held Dixmude for weeks.

"The Kaiser," according to an American who was recently permitted to visit the Imperial headquarters in a "small city" on the Meuse, is a good deal altered in his appearance. "He wears a dirty green-grey uniform, and has an intense earnestness of expression that seemed to mirror the sternness of the times." He "lives in a little red-brick house such as one would rent in a London suburb for ?50."

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