Berkshire Chronicle Reading 03-1915

w!ll:e
,oWft. TIlE!'
, I ~he ' 'GerDlILn' trl,n~the'8
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battl<l WM
moment of
to sooMSR. 't'~::n:~:~~r~l~j:l~!(ti
of ,50,000 r'<

..... IRn''''~

Nethe

f:tP:i~~
on
No the

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, ~inbardment
ig~Dlj . q~he area.
,WQB tel1rfble.
.
tremendon.,.
,T)ie '1' G'ermans ,
stunned by )' it. Their ..h'e lters
p~rl;s ' were ,~ocked in. I , • ' , .
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"When thp .Jle~ks lind Lineolns advanced tbey .
met wi~b;:81)1~e .sli!ghtj:,oPpQsition. from .. ,Â¥!,e\:line\
guD and 'Some '!-,If.l~~en wlio hod 001: 'copped..! the
snellB. ·
1 I·
.
", A seCon~ bombardment, equally ' ferrible, on
Neuf'll Ch~P911e will! . the 6~cq1}d ,p.base. .T he vil·
lage hlUl lieen put lOtO ' 8' state,!Qf ·strong defence
by ' the <Mrmans. li':J'om our' advan~ll~ p ositi~
we. couldl seel the Ger/!la,1)8 :reti~ing ftito a wood.
They Drought up fi eld guns' and ~ opeb'ed fire on
1.18. Our heaviest guns played ,on thei~ poeition.
" I saw· 'an ihstance o~ G"r~an brave~y. .'Two
guns were served by an officer ' and a Blan, who
br~ught ammunition from behirld 8: )fuine4 house.
They would fire an<l. then run bOOlitlJ ·· the house..
"Germans with heavy guns I ata,r't<ld plu,),ing
on our supperts and' fire , trenclt~8. ·By their fire
th'er tried to, st?P our rei."fore~m.euts."

elle,

,
.uperiarity in numben!,
of ' ur air service ~on this
harmonious combin ..tion
by wonderful aLtention to
ItjV
pr<lliminary reheaTSal. ThAt
mire,cle
ol [.Neuve Chapelle, and th ..t is wh:r:
epic of
Neuva Chapalle .,.ilI ao~a.I'9 ...lIrith '.Any story ' of
B1tiah ha.rdihood in the .. lan8u~~.'l. ". .'
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THE 2nd B~RKS IN A~TIQN.
After ileecrihing the terrible ~ l&rlillery . bolli'
bardmeut by 350 m~, gunll with wh.ich t.he
b~e opened, the . .,citer eaye: I'·' At · ' S.5 (011,
lfl'r<lh 10th) thoe gunsrlifte.d !'ram I the Germ .. n
trencbes ..nd poured on th<l villagl' . of ' Ne.u t&'
ChapeUs proper.
Th<l Berks ' ana Lincciln8
clamhered over their breastworks, usin~ little
ladders previously placed in .position , aj,Hl ra.o~
for the German tr<lll£b~. bayonetilng all :who lit;ll
had resietll.nce left in them, and t~kinp: ~"ison,erR .
thooe whom the bombardment', h~ left !trpp an~
appinently lifeless. With · them .r~9nt other regt·
mente , and in an inoredibly .sho~t time '- three
line;; of en<lmv trenoh es were In of hands .. <Well
bofore mne o'cI"ck wo h.d taloen . hese 'pOSltl0!lS.
finding mostly the'Dlen who hOO 1 h~e .. ml!:nRlDg
them either deed or dying. an~ 'I n till~ny c""es
buried under blown·in 8OOtions ,f the dug~~t8.
ThOBe of the e nemy tort alive. mo~t of them great,
brawny Bava,ian gianL!!. seemed t:o<> stupefied to
say or do anylhing, aDd oould , nRt even. hold up
their hands in token of ~Ilrroende~, • and It was a
long time before this saMe of dll.'z8d",a~ wore off.
011

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WINNING THE VILLt GE:"

"So 1M' wi th tbe exception of " on~ regimen~
whose att~ck was ltung up owing ta the fact that

the guns had lallek! ta cut a part of the enemy's
wire entanglemenw. our looses hed been rom·
paratively Iml, but the battle h~ "Only just be·
gun.

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"The fog by now had disappeared, . and. a ';'nrm
Bun Bhqne In the lIkies, which ",.ere white ftecked
with ' blue. In front of the trenches,;a ' melan,
choly sight met the eve-hUDd!od~ of djlad1hodies
scorched and feartul\y mutilated. '
~ .... ' .
" Once in the trenches our men pr.oceadejl ta
organiae them for d efensive purposes: SheIla
w.re now ftvin-g thick and ' faet over Neuve
Chapelle. Housas Woare being blown up' In ' the
air;, walls could be Been toppling and. ~nemy reo
doub\.s being diasolved inta' dust . . Sometimes I ' II
shell would strike the red roof of a building
and a cloud of ' red dust would 8,BCond; at otber
times' on/l could sce nothing hut the yellow SlJloke
of the lyddite, whose pungent 'odour 8mot~ tbe
nostrilll.
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A DESPERATE .RALLY.
"Tbe order ' was;' :' Take the ~iIIage: and 8~1'
Illlltly tho .men resoonded.
They drovo" tne
enemy before. them, capturing ~ Btr"gillers "l~ the
way. Where rellist..nce WAS ' met the bay nllt,
quick and cle,an. fo;ced R
As our , m.en
fell so othecs took their
our casu ~1~le8
were still few. ·To the
of the vi~lage,
howe"",r. a1ormr~able
made. He.r~ th'1
I met, lind ~ ~ur
roade leading from ' ',1\0
edva.nce was /contested by
rifle and maQbine
J(un fir'e, which made great
in our ranks,
The- enemy :, at this point
the u~moet
br&very. imd it took :us ,the
of ~hree
bours to diB'lodge them.
one 'place,
they fell. ba"ck on '
the enemy
crowded into tb..
~niped I at
our . men, and
clelOl"ed , tqem'

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SIGNALLER ALBERT· JAMES CUR·T lS. 2nd
Royal
Berks Rogim4nt. of ,'191. Southllmpton
Street, Reading ; reported killed at N euve
Cha\letle.
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oU,t;, After ... ~~nguinary I;l,1asle
men reached, the ' Gennan
'
wbere they found a.·huge qu"n,t~ty
thoUBands of bombs, en
..nd sapping . toOls, bridg
for putting ;-0 the
wards the afternoon the
in ou'r handa, and we had' re,.h~led
trencbes ' ori~ine.lIy occupied .
October laat. .
~' In tIle ad vance 'the men
seeing the pin~ fI .. g" ·,of .the
riRht. The ' Indian :corpa ha.d
with the ~ enemy, and the men
flags had b~n told oft to """:" )lint
c{)mmuni!cation trenches.
seen ~Oil1~ about' their work I
like fAsh lop: .
, "We h¥ every 1"2: 8.800 , for 1f'<>,ogir.I>\,ul:ati?!'
the da.\il /laine. Wi" had
the villar." I and had ex1.~endedj
cl06e to It~<l formidable
storm ser'lral pc6itioJl6
enp.my

hMi'consi-deTr4 ;mnr",,"i"~,IA.

fighti1}g bocurred in th\,
where a,' deadly
vias
ing partte~, who, howp.velr·~
'Wade w~ I Witb the
"Th.e l1ext dav' the
>expected, Imade' fi~pce
e.rt.i\lerV'1 kept them
strenp;th, . and ..ollr . nr.fta,"""""
thou/lh 'we hiul.
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;
SERGT . EDWARD BURGESS, of the Is Royal
Berks, Lower ' Armou~ Road, TII.hurst.
I-Ie
waa wounded In . the~fate en the 20th February.
He has receIved the mC . M: He helped' to fur- '
nlsh the · Guard of
onour to . the · .Klng . and
Qiucttf at The ·Durb'ar.1 He has been with the
regIment now over !twelv6 years. He 1. doIng
welt at a prlvllh , house at Leicester.
.
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PRIVATE BENJAMIN
. Coldatream Guards. son of Mr. W. Walker.
10, Cattlerine
prl.,
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,. A !,BERKS
OFFICER.
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GALLA.NT eRA.RGE JJY THE qOUNTY
, , , j, REGIMENT. ' , .
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