https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-17/register/two-great-attacks-zzxzq7hmn
The system of rapid counter-attacks which the Germans have devised appears to be conspicuously wasteful of men, and though it leads sometimes to the temporary recovery of lost ground, it produces no permanent results. The massing of reserves for early counter-attacks can doubtless be practised best when an offensive limited to one area has to be met. When, however, our troops begin attacks at widely separate areas, a much heavier strain is placed upon the dwindling resources of Germany. How great that strain has become is indicated by the numbers of German boys of the 1919 class in the battle-line.
Such an example of the heavy simultaneous attack was furnished yesterday, when the third battle of Ypres was renewed on an extensive scale. The central feature was the capture of Langemarck. This represents perhaps the most notable gain yet effected in the whole of the Ypres operations. It was made under very difficult conditions, for the ground is exceptionally swampy.
We are now in the principal stage of the summer campaign in the West, and the enemy are being subjected to a pressure exceeding anything they have known this year. Our advances are methodical and carefully defined beforehand. There is no expectation of attaining overwhelming results by a sudden rush, but it is reasonable to assume that the full fruits have still to be gathered. At Lens and before Ypres great issues are in the balance, but Sir Douglas Haig’s plans are steadily moving towards attainment.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-18/register/a-battlefield-of-mud-5tcbxvj79
The concrete “pill-boxes” on which the German defence chiefly depends, while sometimes enabling the defenders to hold out for a long time, are often mere traps because, being isolated as they are, our men push round and encircle them and either kill the garrison within or compel it to surrender. One such post held out until one man with a Lewis gun crept up and got the muzzle of the gun to a loophole and played into the interior, when 20 men surrendered.
We have found in advancing across the Steenbeek quite a number of German guns embedded in the mud. The Germans could not remove them, nor are we attempting to at the moment. They have been abandoned and useless since the attack of July 31. With them also are a much larger number of machine guns and quantities of ammunition and other stores, which in his retirement the enemy was quite unable to get out of the slime and sloughs in which they were stuck.
The French airmen had complete supremacy in the air yesterday, patrolling ahead of their infantry at heights generally below 1,000ft, and keeping off all interference from, or observation of, enemy aeroplanes. The French engineers seem to have done equally well, pushing roads up through the unspeakable slush. In all departments, in fact, the French have been model Allies. Nothing could be more cordial than the relations between the two Armies.
On the French right, where Langemarck was captured by Light Infantry and English county regiments, the awful character of the ground made advance extremely difficult. The whole region is a swampy waste pitted with shell-holes which are deep ponds, marked only by a shattered line of tree-stumps. Langemarck itself is a mere collection of partially submerged hummocks of ruins.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-19/register/services-at-cricket-7fcbk5jsv
About 5,000 people were present, including Admiral Sir John Jellicoe. The name of the match was a trifle misleading. Only one South African — Lieutenant W Bell — took the field in company with 10 Australians, but it so happened that he had a big share in winning the game.
The cricket was marked by sharp contrast. Up to a certain point runs were hard to get, the damp wicket helping the bowlers, but the ground, under the influence of a strong breeze, dried so nicely that as time went on batsmen found their task very much easier. The Englishmen suffered in batting first, but they were fairly outplayed and deserved to lose. The English innings lasted until nearly 3 o’clock, but the total only reached 106. Hardinge, Jennings, and Ernest Tyldesley were out with 21 on the board and from this bad start there was no recovery. Captain Warner made a gallant effort, staying in while 46 runs were added, but Captain Franklin alone seemed at ease with the excellent bowling. Of course, C G Macartney and T J Matthews are Test Match bowlers. But for the war Major Massie would have earned the same distinction. When at the start of the Colonial innings two wickets were lost for 11 runs there seemed every chance of an exciting finish, but Lieutenant Kelleway and Gunner Taylor wore the bowling down and took the score to 63. They were firmly set when a brilliant catch at short leg by Hardinge sent Taylor back. Two wickets fell to Lieutenant Knox in one over at 74, but from this point the character of the cricket underwent a complete change. Captain E P Barbour and Lieutenant Bell quickly hit the bowlers off their length and scored at such a rate that in an hour they put on 101 runs. The hit that carried the score past the English total was a 6 by Captain Barbour just in front of square leg off Blythe. Captain Barbour had the satisfaction of getting his 100 before being caught at the wicket. During the 95 minutes he was in he played with consistent brilliancy. He is an attractive player to watch, and deadly on the short-pitched ball.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-21/register/a-tank-victory-66vbvkm8c
Yesterday’s operation was a trial of strength between our movable landships and the stationary concrete forts, and the latter were hopelessly outmatched. Before the Germans knew anything was happening each fort had one or two Tanks sitting on its doorstep. In several cases the mere sight of the monsters looking in at the windows was enough, and the garrisons surrendered out of hand. Some tried to get out by the back doors and run for it, and our machine-gunners had their chance. The presence of another Tank behind was always enough to prompt surrender.
One Tank got into trouble 200 yards before reaching its objective, so it made itself into a stationary fort and opened fire with all its guns when the Germans came pouring out. Our infantry coming close behind dealt with them, and then the crew of the Tank got out and, taking their machine-guns with them, went on to new conquests, just as Marines from a real ship might do, or dismounted cavalry.
So great was the terror spread among the enemy by this novel invasion that our men saw the Germans running far off in the distance from positions which it was not part of our programme to attack. In several of the forts the Tank crews found the Germans just about to begin breakfast, and our men sat down and ate the meals gratefully.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-22/register/the-sound-of-gunfire-v58vst6vn
Sir, I have read with interest Mr Sleggs’s letter, “A Paradox of Audibility”. He is a scientific man and I am not; but these few points may be interesting, though what he says is entirely correct as far as my knowledge goes, which is more practical than theoretical.
I have had considerable experience now in France, and these few points have always struck me very vividly. While at Lydd I found that often by getting underground you could distinctly hear the sound of gunfire, whereas standing in the open you could not hear it, while in France I have noticed this rather interesting point.
Very often during a heavy bombardment you could not hear it at a certain distance, yet if you went farther back, and to a lower altitude, you could hear the bombardment quite distinctly. To my mind it appears that the sound of such bombardments is carried to a greater extent not by sound waves through the air, but by strata in the ground. The sound is passed through the ground, and if you happen to be on a different stratum you may not hear the gunfire, but if you are standing on a continuation of the same stratum as that on which the gunfire is taking place you will probably hear it quite distinctly, though much farther away.
My most vivid experience of this was on the Somme. During one of the bombardments I was some 30 miles behind the line and could hear nothing, though I knew the bombardment was talking place. My errand necessitated me going to a village some eight miles farther from the front line, and when I reached there I was astounded to find that I could hear the bombardment distinctly. On my return journey I found that quite suddenly the sound failed until I was close again to the front, when I heard it by sound waves.
To make sure of my doubts I made inquiries and found that the bombardment had not ceased for one minute during my absence. This firmly implies that the sound is carried more by the earth’s strata than by sound waves through the air. May this not be a more plausible reason for the sound of gunfire in England?
A South African gunner officer.
August 21.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-23/register/aerial-combat-seen-from-deal-0w78378vw
Margate has come off practically unscathed so far as material damage is concerned, and there has been no loss of life from the raid, the second within ten days on this coast. The invading squadron met with a hot reception from the anti-aircraft guns. The marksmanship was splendid, and one of the raiders was seen falling in flames inland. A second raider fell into the sea headlong. Three calcined bodies and the framework of the machine which fell on the land lie at the rear of the town, and one man who was rescued by a patrol boat from the aircraft which fell in the sea is a prisoner. The other two members of the crew were drowned. Some onlookers declared that this man descended in a parachute, and it is a fact that his overcoat was picked up by some Margate residents who were in a small fishing boat off the shore. The coat and his watch, which was still going, are in the possession of the police. People rushed from the view of the enemy machine that was falling on the land side to look at the one which was descending headlong into the sea, and the cheers that went up were heard from one end of the town to the other.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-24/register/the-sound-of-gunfire-s06kqbhzp
Sir, In support of the theory advanced by “A South African Gunner Officer” in The Times of today, that gunfire sounds are to a certain extent conveyed by strata in the ground, it may be of interest to record that on Sunday afternoon, June 24, at the time of a heavy bombardment in France, I was lying full length with my head on the ground at the top of Blackdown Hill, in Sussex, when I very distinctly heard or felt the reverberation of guns. I drew the attention of my companion to the fact, but she protested that she heard nothing until I made her also lie down on the ground, whereupon she also distinctly heard the sound. On resuming the sitting position we again heard nothing. We repeated this again and again, with the same result each time.
(HON) MAUD RITCHIE
8 Walton Place, SW3. Aug 22.
Sir, I write to corroborate the view of “A South African Gunner Officer” that the sound of heavy gunfire is largely, if not mainly, carried through the ground; at any rate, it is so carried through chalk strata. I am quartered at Chatham on chalk. At certain spots gunfire is always audible; these spots are, several of them at least, just below the highest point of a slope. Twenty or thirty yards away you can hear nothing. The sound is not affected by the direction of the wind. At Cobham, on the other side of the Medway, similar effects occur. A friend there told me that a hole was dug in the ground close to his house. No sound was audible on the surface, but as soon as the chalk was reached the noise of gunfire became extraordinarily loud.
S R JAMES
Senior Chaplain to the Forces, Staff Officers’ Mess, Chatham Barracks. Aug 22.
Sir, It may be of interest to add to the discussion in your columns the fact that the gravedigger here, digging a deep grave last week, stated that the sound of the guns at the bottom of the grave was tremendous as compared with the sound above ground. This certainly seems to add confirmation to the theory that the sound which reaches us is conveyed more by the earth than by the air.
REV B F RELTON, Rusthall. Aug 22.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-25/register/a-cruise-in-a-tank-7h9dszqj8
It was an interesting ride, for after the stretch of shell-ploughed ground we had to cross the Ypres Canal. Three years of war have made the canal a sad sight, with its battered banks, surmounted here and there with ragged shreds of trees. At a bit of swampy land the monsters became amphibious and churned their way through mud and water with as little trouble as would a dogcart on macadam. It was my first trip on something approaching a battle ground inside a Tank, and it has immensely increased my admiration for them and for the men who go down in them to battle. For a summer outing a man might reasonably prefer a caravan, for they are not luxuriously appointed. But the manageability of the great beasts is wonderful, and they waddled together yesterday over shell-holes and hummocks and things which would make any caravan shed its tires in horror. Apart from the noise of the guns it was a peaceful and very novel, if jolty, summer ride.
Ypres grows more battered and sadder in its beauty every day — literally, for there is never a day when the German does not shell its ruins, and there has not been for some 900 days or so. Pathetic are the silence and emptiness of the streets, now mere spaces between shapeless piles of ruins. Rarely have I seen a more beautiful sight than the jagged ruins of the Cloth Hall and the Cathedral were today. In the weird half-sunlight of a thundery afternoon against the blue sky the ruins stood up white, with a translucent purity unmatchable, I think, except by the Parthenon in moonlight. And as I write, the Germans are undoubtedly shelling the place again, mangling once more the fair body which they seem to hate so much for its very fairness.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-25/register/a-cruise-in-a-tank-7h9dszqj8
The most notable of the new cases are those of two officers, both flying men, who escaped from Holyport prisoners’ camp at Maidenhead. Wilhelm Heinrich Jensen and Max Ammerlich, two members of a Zeppelin crew, who escaped from Stobs internment camp last week, have not been recaptured. It is thought that Flink and von Scholtz, the two airmen who left the Holyport camp, intend, if possible, to steal an aeroplane and fly home to Germany. Their descriptions are:
Lieutenant Josef Flink aged 23, height 6ft 1in, complexion fresh, hair dark brown, eyes dark grey, slight build, dressed in uniform but may be wearing flannel trousers. Mark, gunshot wound, which shows in the palm of his left hand. Speaks very little English.
Orburn Alexander von Scholtz. aged 22, height 6ft, complexion sallow, hair dark brown, slight build, dressed in uniform, may be wearing flannel trousers. Mark, side whiskers. Speaks very little English.
Two German officers escaped on Saturday evening from a large number who are interned at Sandhill Park, Bishops Lydeard, six miles from Taunton. The fact, with descriptions of the men, was immediately circulated to all the police stations in the district and on the road to Bristol, but up to yesterday morning they had not been discovered. It is possible that they are hiding in the Quantock Hills, which are only a couple of miles away, and in many places are covered with dense woods.
The following are the descriptions of the officers:
Lieutenant Block, aged 23, height 6ft 6in, swarthy complexion, black hair, brown eyes, slim build, speaks English slightly.
Second Lieutenant Herzog, aged 25. height 5ft 7in, fresh complexion, dark brown hair, grey eyes, well built, speaks English slightly.
Both are in grey-blue uniform and neither has any body marks.
Gesche Loy Ehlers, the German ship’s officer who escaped on Friday from Oldcastle internment camp, West Meath, Ireland, has been recaptured.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-28/register/the-issues-at-moscow-3w6zfvx7s
august 28, 1917
The meeting was called to order by M Kerensky, who delivered a declaration lasting an hour and a half. A well-packed house cheered occasionally, but without much enthusiasm. The head of the Government said nothing new. He neglected a unique opportunity of calling a truce to party differences, although he recognized that the country is in deadly peril. He blamed the “old generals” for the breakdown of Russia’s military efficiency, which, in his opinion, could be restored only with the help of commissaries who would keep the generals in the right path, and committees which would stimulate the moral of the men. He had restored the death penalty in the Army. He would not permit an assault upon the freedom of the nation from the Left or from the Right. Let those who dreamed of reaction with the aid of bayonets abandon their hopeless attempts. Only once did the audience cheer with real enthusiasm; that was when M Kerensky declared that he would not tolerate separatist tendencies.
If M Kerensky’s utterance is an indication of future Government policy we need not expect any change from its present course. Plaintive reproaches to the nation for insufficient support, mildly diluted by vague threats on the one hand and a menace to influences from the opposite direction, do not constitute a programme of government. The general impression is one of disappointment.
A soldier standing guard at the theatre probably expressed the sole interest felt by the masses who waited quietly and patiently outside.
He asked me, “Did M Kerensky say anything about the war?” There was an eager expectancy in his voice.
“Nothing new,” I said. He understood. “It goes on, then?”
Yes it goes on, and no amount of words will stop it.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-29/register/joy-riding-in-wales-mp5wwd7pc
The first defendant was Mr Herbert De La Rue, a Justice of the Peace for Cambridgeshire. A constable stated that he saw the defendant alight from his motor-car and walk towards the race-course. When interrogated, he said, “ Yes, that is right, I shall continue to do so.” The defendant denied this, calling the statement “a stretch of the constable’s imagination”. He admitted motoring from a business trip, alighting near the races and walking thither. He protested against the difficulty the Order caused.
The justices declined to advise on hypothetical cases put by the defendant, advising him to forward protests and inquiries to the Board of Trade. They reminded him that the Order had appeared in newspapers and the defendant retorted, “I don’t read all the papers. I should read a nice lot of rubbish if I did.” A penalty of £5 was imposed.
Other defendants were fined similar amounts. Pleas were raised of ignorance of the Order, difficulty in understanding it, and the impossibility of keeping up with orders “as numerous as leaves in Vallambrosa.”
Extensive inquiries into the misuse of petrol in South Wales have been made by the Western Mail. It is obvious that “joy-riding” has been revived to a regrettable degree during the summer. Motor-cycles and motor-cars of all kinds have swarmed over the countryside in recent weeks. Those who oppose the needless use of petrol argue that, with the struggle for air supremacy, the need of petrol will certainly become more urgent, and the situation may become serious unless economy is rigidly enforced.
At Porthcawl 500 pleasure cars were counted during one Sunday. On another day 112 cars were seen near the golf club house. It is a modest estimate to say that 1,000 gallons of petrol were wasted in one day by cars visiting that one small resort. It is pointed out, however, that Government employees are the chief offenders. Military and naval officers use high-power cars to take them to and from their offices several times during the day when tramcars could be used with almost equal facility.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/register/what-the-cinematograph-may-become-tmzkpgddz
AUGUST 17, 1917
Two great attacks
In the last 48 hours two great and successful attacks have been delivered by the British forces on the Western front. At dawn on Wednesday the Canadians advanced on a wide front north of Lens, and carried the famous Hill 70. They also destroyed the bulk of the 4th Division of the Prussian Guard while it was making a counter-attack in close formation. Yesterday English and Irish units in Flanders, with the French on their left, attacked on a front which extended from the Polygon Wood, east of Ypres, to the flooded area beyond Bixschoote. Much ground was gained. Meantime the French advanced on the heights north of the Aisne and west of Craonne. The offensive initiated at the end of July before Ypres is evidently part of larger plans.The system of rapid counter-attacks which the Germans have devised appears to be conspicuously wasteful of men, and though it leads sometimes to the temporary recovery of lost ground, it produces no permanent results. The massing of reserves for early counter-attacks can doubtless be practised best when an offensive limited to one area has to be met. When, however, our troops begin attacks at widely separate areas, a much heavier strain is placed upon the dwindling resources of Germany. How great that strain has become is indicated by the numbers of German boys of the 1919 class in the battle-line.
Such an example of the heavy simultaneous attack was furnished yesterday, when the third battle of Ypres was renewed on an extensive scale. The central feature was the capture of Langemarck. This represents perhaps the most notable gain yet effected in the whole of the Ypres operations. It was made under very difficult conditions, for the ground is exceptionally swampy.
We are now in the principal stage of the summer campaign in the West, and the enemy are being subjected to a pressure exceeding anything they have known this year. Our advances are methodical and carefully defined beforehand. There is no expectation of attaining overwhelming results by a sudden rush, but it is reasonable to assume that the full fruits have still to be gathered. At Lens and before Ypres great issues are in the balance, but Sir Douglas Haig’s plans are steadily moving towards attainment.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-18/register/a-battlefield-of-mud-5tcbxvj79
August 18, 1917
A battlefield of mud
The dominating feature of the battlefield is the mud. This is bad everywhere, but on the left, along the course of the Steenbeek and the Maartje Vaart, it is appalling. The advance was difficult for our men, and escape was even harder for the enemy. A great number of Germans, who on dry ground might have made good their escape or been quickly rounded up, were killed in the blind scattered fighting amid the swamps and flooded shell-holes.The concrete “pill-boxes” on which the German defence chiefly depends, while sometimes enabling the defenders to hold out for a long time, are often mere traps because, being isolated as they are, our men push round and encircle them and either kill the garrison within or compel it to surrender. One such post held out until one man with a Lewis gun crept up and got the muzzle of the gun to a loophole and played into the interior, when 20 men surrendered.
We have found in advancing across the Steenbeek quite a number of German guns embedded in the mud. The Germans could not remove them, nor are we attempting to at the moment. They have been abandoned and useless since the attack of July 31. With them also are a much larger number of machine guns and quantities of ammunition and other stores, which in his retirement the enemy was quite unable to get out of the slime and sloughs in which they were stuck.
The French airmen had complete supremacy in the air yesterday, patrolling ahead of their infantry at heights generally below 1,000ft, and keeping off all interference from, or observation of, enemy aeroplanes. The French engineers seem to have done equally well, pushing roads up through the unspeakable slush. In all departments, in fact, the French have been model Allies. Nothing could be more cordial than the relations between the two Armies.
On the French right, where Langemarck was captured by Light Infantry and English county regiments, the awful character of the ground made advance extremely difficult. The whole region is a swampy waste pitted with shell-holes which are deep ponds, marked only by a shattered line of tree-stumps. Langemarck itself is a mere collection of partially submerged hummocks of ruins.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-19/register/services-at-cricket-7fcbk5jsv
AUGUST 19, 1917
Services at cricket
A match was played at Lord’s on Saturday between the Navy and Army and the Australian and South African Forces, in aid of Lady Lansdowne’s Officers’ Families’ Fund. The result was an easy victory for the Colonial side by 136 runs.About 5,000 people were present, including Admiral Sir John Jellicoe. The name of the match was a trifle misleading. Only one South African — Lieutenant W Bell — took the field in company with 10 Australians, but it so happened that he had a big share in winning the game.
The cricket was marked by sharp contrast. Up to a certain point runs were hard to get, the damp wicket helping the bowlers, but the ground, under the influence of a strong breeze, dried so nicely that as time went on batsmen found their task very much easier. The Englishmen suffered in batting first, but they were fairly outplayed and deserved to lose. The English innings lasted until nearly 3 o’clock, but the total only reached 106. Hardinge, Jennings, and Ernest Tyldesley were out with 21 on the board and from this bad start there was no recovery. Captain Warner made a gallant effort, staying in while 46 runs were added, but Captain Franklin alone seemed at ease with the excellent bowling. Of course, C G Macartney and T J Matthews are Test Match bowlers. But for the war Major Massie would have earned the same distinction. When at the start of the Colonial innings two wickets were lost for 11 runs there seemed every chance of an exciting finish, but Lieutenant Kelleway and Gunner Taylor wore the bowling down and took the score to 63. They were firmly set when a brilliant catch at short leg by Hardinge sent Taylor back. Two wickets fell to Lieutenant Knox in one over at 74, but from this point the character of the cricket underwent a complete change. Captain E P Barbour and Lieutenant Bell quickly hit the bowlers off their length and scored at such a rate that in an hour they put on 101 runs. The hit that carried the score past the English total was a 6 by Captain Barbour just in front of square leg off Blythe. Captain Barbour had the satisfaction of getting his 100 before being caught at the wicket. During the 95 minutes he was in he played with consistent brilliancy. He is an attractive player to watch, and deadly on the short-pitched ball.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-21/register/a-tank-victory-66vbvkm8c
August 21, 1917
A tank victory
The ground taken yesterday, which was north and north-east of St Julien, included a number of strong points, among them being the Mont du Hibou and Triangle Farm, both particularly formidable obstacles to our advance. At both places the foundations and cellars of old farms had been converted by the lavish use of ferro-concrete into really strong fortresses. The concrete is sometimes 8ft and upwards thick, and in the best form is strengthened with layers of iron rods of hairpin shape embedded in the material. When a supply of rods of the proper shape was not available the Germans made use of all sorts of strange makeshifts, like the frames of iron bedsteads, stoves, fenders and similar articles of furniture gathered among the local ruins, all welded in the solid mass of one huge thickness of concrete. Though the results are formidable defensive works, they are also traps for their garrisons when our men come along.Yesterday’s operation was a trial of strength between our movable landships and the stationary concrete forts, and the latter were hopelessly outmatched. Before the Germans knew anything was happening each fort had one or two Tanks sitting on its doorstep. In several cases the mere sight of the monsters looking in at the windows was enough, and the garrisons surrendered out of hand. Some tried to get out by the back doors and run for it, and our machine-gunners had their chance. The presence of another Tank behind was always enough to prompt surrender.
One Tank got into trouble 200 yards before reaching its objective, so it made itself into a stationary fort and opened fire with all its guns when the Germans came pouring out. Our infantry coming close behind dealt with them, and then the crew of the Tank got out and, taking their machine-guns with them, went on to new conquests, just as Marines from a real ship might do, or dismounted cavalry.
So great was the terror spread among the enemy by this novel invasion that our men saw the Germans running far off in the distance from positions which it was not part of our programme to attack. In several of the forts the Tank crews found the Germans just about to begin breakfast, and our men sat down and ate the meals gratefully.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-22/register/the-sound-of-gunfire-v58vst6vn
AUGUST 22, 1917
The sound of gunfire
To the Editor of The Times.Sir, I have read with interest Mr Sleggs’s letter, “A Paradox of Audibility”. He is a scientific man and I am not; but these few points may be interesting, though what he says is entirely correct as far as my knowledge goes, which is more practical than theoretical.
I have had considerable experience now in France, and these few points have always struck me very vividly. While at Lydd I found that often by getting underground you could distinctly hear the sound of gunfire, whereas standing in the open you could not hear it, while in France I have noticed this rather interesting point.
Very often during a heavy bombardment you could not hear it at a certain distance, yet if you went farther back, and to a lower altitude, you could hear the bombardment quite distinctly. To my mind it appears that the sound of such bombardments is carried to a greater extent not by sound waves through the air, but by strata in the ground. The sound is passed through the ground, and if you happen to be on a different stratum you may not hear the gunfire, but if you are standing on a continuation of the same stratum as that on which the gunfire is taking place you will probably hear it quite distinctly, though much farther away.
My most vivid experience of this was on the Somme. During one of the bombardments I was some 30 miles behind the line and could hear nothing, though I knew the bombardment was talking place. My errand necessitated me going to a village some eight miles farther from the front line, and when I reached there I was astounded to find that I could hear the bombardment distinctly. On my return journey I found that quite suddenly the sound failed until I was close again to the front, when I heard it by sound waves.
A South African gunner officer.
August 21.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-23/register/aerial-combat-seen-from-deal-0w78378vw
August 23, 1917
Aerial combat seen from Deal
Never have the people on this part of the coast had a finer view of a squadron of raiding aeroplanes than they did this morning. The sun was blazing with almost tropical fierceness. Visitors were out in large numbers on the parade, beach, and pier; children were paddling and playing on the beach, and many persons were enjoying their morning dip. The scene of enjoyment was changed into one of consternation when the blast of the sirens gave warning of danger. Bathers quickly left the water, mothers snatched their children up from the beach and hastened to places of safety, but many remained and scanned the sky for signs of the raiders. Telescopes were hastily commandeered, and with their aid one could distinctly see a fierce aerial fight in progress, between 20 and 30 machines. It was obvious that a raid on a large scale was in progress; and loud cheers were given when one of the raiders was seen to wobble, burst into flames, and nose-dive to earth. After this, nine of the machines were observed to detach themselves from the main body. As they got closer one could see that they were of the Gotha pattern.Margate has come off practically unscathed so far as material damage is concerned, and there has been no loss of life from the raid, the second within ten days on this coast. The invading squadron met with a hot reception from the anti-aircraft guns. The marksmanship was splendid, and one of the raiders was seen falling in flames inland. A second raider fell into the sea headlong. Three calcined bodies and the framework of the machine which fell on the land lie at the rear of the town, and one man who was rescued by a patrol boat from the aircraft which fell in the sea is a prisoner. The other two members of the crew were drowned. Some onlookers declared that this man descended in a parachute, and it is a fact that his overcoat was picked up by some Margate residents who were in a small fishing boat off the shore. The coat and his watch, which was still going, are in the possession of the police. People rushed from the view of the enemy machine that was falling on the land side to look at the one which was descending headlong into the sea, and the cheers that went up were heard from one end of the town to the other.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-24/register/the-sound-of-gunfire-s06kqbhzp
August 24, 1917
The sound of gunfire
To the Editor of The TimesSir, In support of the theory advanced by “A South African Gunner Officer” in The Times of today, that gunfire sounds are to a certain extent conveyed by strata in the ground, it may be of interest to record that on Sunday afternoon, June 24, at the time of a heavy bombardment in France, I was lying full length with my head on the ground at the top of Blackdown Hill, in Sussex, when I very distinctly heard or felt the reverberation of guns. I drew the attention of my companion to the fact, but she protested that she heard nothing until I made her also lie down on the ground, whereupon she also distinctly heard the sound. On resuming the sitting position we again heard nothing. We repeated this again and again, with the same result each time.
(HON) MAUD RITCHIE
8 Walton Place, SW3. Aug 22.
Sir, I write to corroborate the view of “A South African Gunner Officer” that the sound of heavy gunfire is largely, if not mainly, carried through the ground; at any rate, it is so carried through chalk strata. I am quartered at Chatham on chalk. At certain spots gunfire is always audible; these spots are, several of them at least, just below the highest point of a slope. Twenty or thirty yards away you can hear nothing. The sound is not affected by the direction of the wind. At Cobham, on the other side of the Medway, similar effects occur. A friend there told me that a hole was dug in the ground close to his house. No sound was audible on the surface, but as soon as the chalk was reached the noise of gunfire became extraordinarily loud.
S R JAMES
Senior Chaplain to the Forces, Staff Officers’ Mess, Chatham Barracks. Aug 22.
Sir, It may be of interest to add to the discussion in your columns the fact that the gravedigger here, digging a deep grave last week, stated that the sound of the guns at the bottom of the grave was tremendous as compared with the sound above ground. This certainly seems to add confirmation to the theory that the sound which reaches us is conveyed more by the earth than by the air.
REV B F RELTON, Rusthall. Aug 22.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-25/register/a-cruise-in-a-tank-7h9dszqj8
AUGUST 25, 1917
A cruise in a tank
No considerable infantry movement has taken place on the Ypres or Lens front, though local fighting continues in several places. I spent a large part of yesterday in a Tank helping in the salvage of a crippled sister Tank from the crater area. The good ships Greville and Gibraltar — which are not their names — though splashed with bullet marks were stanch and sound, but Gibraltar unhappily had had an accident to her steering gear, and had to heave to and wait for help. Greville hitched on with a 3in steel hawser, and the crippled ship got safely into port.It was an interesting ride, for after the stretch of shell-ploughed ground we had to cross the Ypres Canal. Three years of war have made the canal a sad sight, with its battered banks, surmounted here and there with ragged shreds of trees. At a bit of swampy land the monsters became amphibious and churned their way through mud and water with as little trouble as would a dogcart on macadam. It was my first trip on something approaching a battle ground inside a Tank, and it has immensely increased my admiration for them and for the men who go down in them to battle. For a summer outing a man might reasonably prefer a caravan, for they are not luxuriously appointed. But the manageability of the great beasts is wonderful, and they waddled together yesterday over shell-holes and hummocks and things which would make any caravan shed its tires in horror. Apart from the noise of the guns it was a peaceful and very novel, if jolty, summer ride.
Ypres grows more battered and sadder in its beauty every day — literally, for there is never a day when the German does not shell its ruins, and there has not been for some 900 days or so. Pathetic are the silence and emptiness of the streets, now mere spaces between shapeless piles of ruins. Rarely have I seen a more beautiful sight than the jagged ruins of the Cloth Hall and the Cathedral were today. In the weird half-sunlight of a thundery afternoon against the blue sky the ruins stood up white, with a translucent purity unmatchable, I think, except by the Parthenon in moonlight. And as I write, the Germans are undoubtedly shelling the place again, mangling once more the fair body which they seem to hate so much for its very fairness.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-25/register/a-cruise-in-a-tank-7h9dszqj8
august 26, 1917
Escape of two German airmen
Four German prisoners of war escaped during the weekend from their places of internment in this country, bringing the number now at large to 16, one of the 13 previously announced having been recaptured.The most notable of the new cases are those of two officers, both flying men, who escaped from Holyport prisoners’ camp at Maidenhead. Wilhelm Heinrich Jensen and Max Ammerlich, two members of a Zeppelin crew, who escaped from Stobs internment camp last week, have not been recaptured. It is thought that Flink and von Scholtz, the two airmen who left the Holyport camp, intend, if possible, to steal an aeroplane and fly home to Germany. Their descriptions are:
Lieutenant Josef Flink aged 23, height 6ft 1in, complexion fresh, hair dark brown, eyes dark grey, slight build, dressed in uniform but may be wearing flannel trousers. Mark, gunshot wound, which shows in the palm of his left hand. Speaks very little English.
Orburn Alexander von Scholtz. aged 22, height 6ft, complexion sallow, hair dark brown, slight build, dressed in uniform, may be wearing flannel trousers. Mark, side whiskers. Speaks very little English.
Two German officers escaped on Saturday evening from a large number who are interned at Sandhill Park, Bishops Lydeard, six miles from Taunton. The fact, with descriptions of the men, was immediately circulated to all the police stations in the district and on the road to Bristol, but up to yesterday morning they had not been discovered. It is possible that they are hiding in the Quantock Hills, which are only a couple of miles away, and in many places are covered with dense woods.
Lieutenant Block, aged 23, height 6ft 6in, swarthy complexion, black hair, brown eyes, slim build, speaks English slightly.
Second Lieutenant Herzog, aged 25. height 5ft 7in, fresh complexion, dark brown hair, grey eyes, well built, speaks English slightly.
Both are in grey-blue uniform and neither has any body marks.
Gesche Loy Ehlers, the German ship’s officer who escaped on Friday from Oldcastle internment camp, West Meath, Ireland, has been recaptured.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-28/register/the-issues-at-moscow-3w6zfvx7s
august 28, 1917
The issues at Moscow
A motley throng of delegates representing all classes of the community in Russia, filled the boxes, stalls and galleries of the great Moscow theatre when the National Conference opened at 3 o’clock this afternoon. Diplomatists occupied the former Imperial box. Famous generals, among them General Alexeieff and General Kaledin, were seated in a stage-box. M Kerensky, wearing khaki, and his colleagues, sat on the right of the stage. Behind were ex-deputies and the Press.The meeting was called to order by M Kerensky, who delivered a declaration lasting an hour and a half. A well-packed house cheered occasionally, but without much enthusiasm. The head of the Government said nothing new. He neglected a unique opportunity of calling a truce to party differences, although he recognized that the country is in deadly peril. He blamed the “old generals” for the breakdown of Russia’s military efficiency, which, in his opinion, could be restored only with the help of commissaries who would keep the generals in the right path, and committees which would stimulate the moral of the men. He had restored the death penalty in the Army. He would not permit an assault upon the freedom of the nation from the Left or from the Right. Let those who dreamed of reaction with the aid of bayonets abandon their hopeless attempts. Only once did the audience cheer with real enthusiasm; that was when M Kerensky declared that he would not tolerate separatist tendencies.
If M Kerensky’s utterance is an indication of future Government policy we need not expect any change from its present course. Plaintive reproaches to the nation for insufficient support, mildly diluted by vague threats on the one hand and a menace to influences from the opposite direction, do not constitute a programme of government. The general impression is one of disappointment.
A soldier standing guard at the theatre probably expressed the sole interest felt by the masses who waited quietly and patiently outside.
He asked me, “Did M Kerensky say anything about the war?” There was an eager expectancy in his voice.
Yes it goes on, and no amount of words will stop it.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2017-08-29/register/joy-riding-in-wales-mp5wwd7pc
august 29, 1917
‘Joy riding’ in Wales
Fines amounting to £45 were imposed at Newmarket Police Court for using petrol for travelling to and from the recent race meeting.The first defendant was Mr Herbert De La Rue, a Justice of the Peace for Cambridgeshire. A constable stated that he saw the defendant alight from his motor-car and walk towards the race-course. When interrogated, he said, “ Yes, that is right, I shall continue to do so.” The defendant denied this, calling the statement “a stretch of the constable’s imagination”. He admitted motoring from a business trip, alighting near the races and walking thither. He protested against the difficulty the Order caused.
The justices declined to advise on hypothetical cases put by the defendant, advising him to forward protests and inquiries to the Board of Trade. They reminded him that the Order had appeared in newspapers and the defendant retorted, “I don’t read all the papers. I should read a nice lot of rubbish if I did.” A penalty of £5 was imposed.
Other defendants were fined similar amounts. Pleas were raised of ignorance of the Order, difficulty in understanding it, and the impossibility of keeping up with orders “as numerous as leaves in Vallambrosa.”
Extensive inquiries into the misuse of petrol in South Wales have been made by the Western Mail. It is obvious that “joy-riding” has been revived to a regrettable degree during the summer. Motor-cycles and motor-cars of all kinds have swarmed over the countryside in recent weeks. Those who oppose the needless use of petrol argue that, with the struggle for air supremacy, the need of petrol will certainly become more urgent, and the situation may become serious unless economy is rigidly enforced.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/register/what-the-cinematograph-may-become-tmzkpgddz
august 30, 1917
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