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Show DESCRIEESIBATTLE ilN THE BELGIAN COUNTRUl f- OsUnd Correspondent of Daily Mall Telia of Incident When Conflict Began London, Aug.- 27. At last the British Brit-ish army is at grips with the Hermans, Her-mans, says the Ostend correspondent of the Dally Mall. It was a great moment when the British general staff with their men arrived. The Inhabitants went mad with enthusl asm. The British army has come to Belgium exclaimed the townspeople gleefully and nothing was too good for them. They1 had no difficulty in obtaining needy provisions. The populace pop-ulace was eager to provide for the visitors, who requisitioned eggs, bread, butter and coffee. All requlsl tions were paid for in gold. The civil population was ordered tc retire In tho direction of France. The people regretfully shouldered thett bags of belongings and passed silently silent-ly down the road. The troops advanced to battle positions po-sitions at 3 o'clock In tho morning. At 4 o'clock eight German aeroplanes Appeared whereupon a flock of British eroplanes- rose liko birds to drive them away. , Then the artillery began to take and tho air became thick with cannoy powder. The great' battle had begun. be-gun. Forward went the Infantry. Rilte fire and Maxim fire added to the boom of the big guns. Sunrise mingled with the glow of' burning, forests and the flash of guns. This was Monday. The battle continued con-tinued Tuesday and probably will continue for eeveral, days, elthc alone or merging with the battles on the left and right. The great battle which is now in full swing along tho wholo French, IfkUBlilJintliiBaJgteX U9il iFfify. lesjof linked battles forming ,wbat tvll be tho' decisive engagement of I western Europe, it Is a supremo effort ef-fort by Germany to break Into Franco an effort which If stopped must mean disaster to thrco quarters of a mil-"Hon mil-"Hon Gorman soldlcrB. There seem to be no soldiers left to gunrd the German lino of communication. commun-ication. All Is being hazarded on thf success or the fnlluro of this blow. The German advance has been rapid rap-id and steady. Their columns huve nveraged twenty miles n day slnco thoy reached Brussels. |