Bureau._]




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THE ILLUSTRATED WAR NEWS, DEC. 30, 1914--[Part 21]--9


[Illustration: SHELLED, BURNED OUT, AND FINALLY TAKEN BY STORM: ALL THAT
REMAINS OF THE FAMOUS CHÂTEAU OF VERMELLES.]

Less than three months ago a charming French country mansion amidst its
beautiful gardens and park, all that remained at Christmas of the Château
of Vermelles is the shell here shown. Fate made the Château, with the
small adjoining village, for upwards of eight weeks a disputed tactical
point between the Germans and the Allies, a narrow strip of only 150 yards
of ground intervening between the trenches. The Germans held Vermelles
from October 16 until early in December, fortifying the Château and
grounds. They had to be shelled out By October 21, the Château was only
smouldering walls, and French engineers were mining approaches to it. Then
an English heavy battery bombarded Vermelles. Finally the French "in a
very brilliant attack," stormed and took Vermelles, village and château.




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10--THE ILLUSTRATED WAR NEWS, DEC. 30, 1914.--[Part 21]