e town held by unmounted French
cavalry made it impossible for the Germans to reach the village, but
their "snipers" had ensconced themselves in some farm buildings to the
northeast, making it extremely hazardous for supplies to reach the
advanced British posts.

"About twenty of the Canadians," said the wounded guardsman, "managed to
gain the ruins at the extreme end of the village during Christmas night
and when daylight came they accounted for practically all the German
'snipers' and dashed back into safety before the German artillery fire
was directed to the stronghold."

SERVIANS REOCCUPY BELGRADE

Just when it appeared likely that Servia might share the fate of
Belgium, a turn in the fortunes of war changed the entire situation of
affairs in the little Slav kingdom. Aided by a fresh advance of Russian
troops across the Carpathians, which caused the hurried withdrawal
of three Austrian army corps from Servian territory to defend the
threatened cities of Hungary, the Serbs again took the offensive and,
inspired by the presence in the field of old King Peter, a gallant
soldier of France in 1870, they reoccupied Belgrade and drove the
Austrians before them in a disorderly rout, so that by December
Servia was free of the Austrian enemy. Budapest, capital of Hungary,
became panic-stricken at the Russian advance and the Servian victory,
and the year 1914 closed with every evidence that the people of Austria,
at any rate, were tired of the war, discontented at the prospect, and
desirous of peace.

GERMAN ATTACK ON BRITISH COAST

For the first time in history since the days of the American commander,
Paul Jones, British coast towns were bombarded on December 16, when a
squadron of German cruisers, slipping across the North Sea in a fog,
from their Heligoland base, appeared off Scarborough, Hartlepool and
Whitby, on the eastern coast of England, and shelled each of them in
turn. The loss of life in the three towns was about 100 men, women and
children, and a considerable number of buildings were partially wrecked
by the German shells. Comparatively speaking, of course the damage
inflicted was trifling and from a military point of view the incident
was unimportant, the German ships disappearing in the fog after a
half-hour's bombardment But the moral effect upon the British public was
tremendous. The event came as a distinct shock to their over-confidence
and as a reminder that the German navy was still to be reckoned