Show SLAUGHTER AT CHARLEROI IS GREATEST IN HISTORY by FRANKLIN P MERRICK MER ICK international news service carls burned villages and heaps of bodies lying on oil belgian soil boll around charleroy charleroi Char lerol leroi show the ferocity with which 1 the allied french and british troops opposed the wave of german gennan troops that rolled them over and drove them hack back to france for ten hours the tide of battle ebbed and flowed at charleroy charleroi Char lerol leroi tile tho town being taken and retaken alvo times before tile the allies withdrew part of tho the city was waa wrecked according car ling to reports received by tile tho war office the villages of March lennes monceau chatelet and dandelles landelles Lan dellea delles were burned citizens killed though tile the inhabitants of the peaceful little villages had been warned that tile the conflict was coming scores remained in their homes and perished in tile tho flames or were killed under tinder tile the rain of at shot and shell that swept the streets when they were driven from the shattered structures fierce hand to hand fighting took place in charleroy charleroi Char lorol leroi the french were the first to occupy the town but they were driven out by a bombardment from the german artillery tile the germans then entered by the left bank of the river cambre but within a short time more of tho the allies troops arrived and the conflict was renewed the germans sought ought cover in the houses bouses in tho the lower part of tho the town and to dislodge them the french were forced to sweep that section with their artillery wounded fill town the lower part of the town was soon in flames and the germans were forced into the streets back and forth through these surged the contesting soldiers fighting desperately for victory the dead lay thick when tile the french were finally forced to withdraw for three days wounded soldiers have been pouring into maubeuge Mau Maull beuge euge the monastery a and nd nunnery there are filled the inhabitants have given up their ho homes mes to the wars victims on sunday the germans drove the french troops through the town of charleroy charleroi Char leroi back to the second defensive position on tile the line defined by the towns of avesnes Av esnes and me dle fleres recaptured by french the french artillery from the heights now a furious cannon ading abing on Char charleroy charleroi Charie leroi roi which had been bombarded previously by ahe ho germans front from the other side the german position was so weakened by the deadly accuracy of the french gunnery that a counter attack by the allies was ordered and at daylight on oil monday the entire line advanced charged the german position and recaptured charleroy charleroi Charie Char leroi roi the conflict probably was unequaled in history in ill severity and casualties the germans must have succeeded in bringing up tip reserves for early on tuesday they made a successful counter attack along the whole battle line fan and 1 I retook charleroy charleroi Char lerol leroi driving till the french back to an in trenched position which they held until the morning of at tile second lay retreat in good order the retreat was made in ili good order tile the main forces of the r rench french remaining intact both armies suffered terrific losses the battle has not lot yet finished the german catapult cata cat avult is hammering at the french and british allies again trying to tn batter its relentless way to parts paris there is desperate fighting along the belgian frontier at several points and french victories are reported at two places charleroy charleroi Char lerol leroi and though nothing official has been given out turcos burcos charge battery at the beginning of tho the combat the french made a sortie in a medieval manner with the object of surprising the lie enemy the latter were found in number far exceeding the french expectations p e stations and the attempt to rout them failed then the turcos burcos in the face of NL ul withering fire charged a german battery at tile the point of the bayonet avo hundred of these brave french soldiers from north africa left on the charge only returned their sortie had no effect against the steady german advance which continued to creep step by step through the outskirts of Char charleroy charleroi Charie leroi roi before the railway station the germans fought for two hours in an effort to capture the bridge their losses were enormous but the bridge was captured french beaten rapidly after the teutonic advance overwhelmed wh elined the bridge tile the germans gennana gained ground rapidly taking in succession the villages of March lennes kandelis Land Ian plis delis and and the country as far as walcourt balcourt Wal court later tile the french artillery opened fire on charleroy charleroi Char lerol leroi and the french infantry advanced under tinder this cover the tide of battle appeared to favor the tricolor tri color but not for long french infantrymen declared th the 9 roofs became so BO jammed with dead that the victims of battle remained standing where they were shot and were used by the living as breastworks from behind which to fire on the enemy the last stand of the french was along alo ng the liny line between thuan and mettet at nightfall the fighting ended both sides fides tired beyond endurance monday manday morning tho the french returned to the attack deitering ottering ott eit ering the town in the face of a withering fire from machine guns mounted in ili tile the steeples and driving the german defenders in confusion across tile the river cambre many houses house in flames they found many houses smoldering or in id plaines ll nines tho the inhabitants terror stricken were in ili tile the cellars german officers and soldiers eold lers were found dead in ili the streets bide by side with frenchmen who had bad fallen before or afterward one german officer was shot ahot while lie he was ft as washing ills his face and lits hie head bead was bowed over oer a basin while his bill face was covered with soap another had been lifting a cup of 0 coffee to ills his lips when a french bullet brought death lie he was found lying face downward across n table tile the broken cup beside him on the floor german losses enormous an idea of the enormous losses of the germans in fit tho the great battle in southwestern belgium and of the bravery of tile lie kaisers keisers kai sers soldiers Is given in the story of a returned traveler who witnessed part of tile tho fighting along the cambre river southwest of charle rol roi 1 I was near fereuc in a region covered with dense woods while tho the fighting was taking place said he be 1 I could hear the sound of cannon away to the east and know knew that a big battle was waa raging from ray my place in the forest I 1 suddenly saw the advance guard of a german arroy army approaching along a roadway which skirted the trees there seemed to be an endless procession of soldiers all dressed in a uniform of gray rank hank after rank passed by and I 1 thought that the end would never come there was no hesitation the men swung forward with quick steps and I 1 saw officers galloping along the lines urging them forward french open fire suddenly there was a fresh sound bound of battle this time in front of me and I 1 knew that the french artillery had opened upon the advance guard of the germans I 1 moved cautiously forward to a point where I 1 could get a view of the battle scene it was a view which seared itself into my memory the french guns were hurling a hurricane of steel and flame into the german ranks but the soldiers pushed forward with their battle shouts on their lips straight into that pit at 0 destruction rushed the advancing troops men fell on every hand it seemed that whole platoons melted away over the bodies of the dead ana wounded pushed tile rear ranks of the invading army rushing with fixell bayonets upon the smoking muzzles of tile the french artillery it was a superb picture of gallantry aeroplane Is smashed near erquelinnes I 1 saw a german nero aeroplane plane brought down the military aviator was flying high in the air taking a reconnaissance of the allies positions the specially construct ed guns designed to attack air craft were turned upon tile the aeroplane but the aviator continued ills his work suddenly I 1 saw the machine lurch flew and then the shattered machine began to drop it had been si smashed nashed by a projectile |