The presence of part of Earl Kitchener’s new British volunteer army at the western front in Belgium and France was signalized between March and March 16, when the British gained a series of successes that drew marked attention to their operations.  To the south of Ypres in Flanders the British army, which a German attack had compelled to fall back beyond St. Eloi, recaptured that village and almost all of the neighboring German trenches, in spite of several counterattacks.

On March 11 Field Marshal Sir John French described the fighting which led to the capture of Neuve Chapelle in Northern France as follows: 

“Since my last communique the situation on our front, between Armentieres and La Bassee, has been materially altered by a successful initiative on the part of the troops engaged.  Shortly after 8 A.M. on March 10 these troops assaulted and carried German trenches in the neighborhood of Neuve Chapelle.

“Before noon we captured the whole village of Neuve Chapelle.  Our infantry at once proceeded to confirm and extend the local advantage gained.  By dusk the whole labyrinth of trenches on a front about 4, yards was in our hands.  We had established ourselves about 1,200 yards beyond the enemy’s advanced trenches.

“During the 11th the enemy made repeated efforts to recover the ground lost.  All his counter-attacks were repulsed with heavy loss.

“We continue to make steady progress and hard fighting continues.  The local initiative displayed by our troops daily is admirable.  It says much for the spirit which animates the army.  The success achieved on the 10th and 11th is a striking example.”  “THE END OF THE WORLD”

An officer who was wounded in the fighting thus vividly describes the battle of Neuve Chapelle: 

“Modern warfare is such an infernal business that any man who is not killed ought to be cheerful.  It all seems like a wild dream to me.  I never heard such a row in all my life.  And the bullets and the shells—­it was like passing through the most awful hail storm.

“We were in our trenches at dawn when suddenly a most infernal din commenced.  You never saw such a sight; you never heard such a noise.  I heard one of my men say, ‘This is the end of the world,’ and I did not blame him for thinking so.  We could see in the distance great masses of flame, earth and brick in great clouds of smoke, all ascending together as enormous shells screamed over our heads and burst among the German entrenchments and the houses of the village.  At the end of a half-hour’s bombardment the fire ceased as suddenly as it had begun.

“All this time we were awaiting the order to advance towards Aubers.  At length we jumped out into the open.  The air seemed alive with bullets and shells.  There was a buzzing noise, such as you hear in a tropical forest on a hot summer day.  On we moved, until we came to an open stretch, which was being swept by an infernal shell fire.  We crossed this in rushes to gain the shelter of a few houses, losing some 40 or men.  There we remained for some little time, reforming the battalion and awaiting further orders.  When these came we moved forward over rough, open ground, coming upon lots of our poor fellows lying dead.  They were from the only battalion which had preceded us.