The Washington herald., 1914-11-22
ARMORED CARS
CARRY Death
Observer Writes of Slaughter
Wrought by These
Devices.
BATTLE GREAT ODDS
Amid Hail of Destruction from Rapid
Fiirers Trains Shell Position
of Enemy.
BATTLE GREAT ODDS
spszal Csbls to The Washington Haah.

SpsGal Gable to The Washington Heah.
Paris, Nov. H--Remarkable work is be-
ing done by armored trains in this war.
An observer who was aboard one of these
death-dealing devices on a foray near the
German lines gives the following descrIp-
ton:
''As the train approaches the river, un-
der shell fire the car is cracking with the
constant thunder of our guns on board,
right, left and ahead. It is amazing the
angle through which the guns can be
swung, in view OF the frail support that
the bogey cars can maintain against the
recoil in any direction but straight ahead.
Overhead passes the continual shrek
and whine of shell and projectile; from
the enemy; from our own hank-cross
firing from our own ships-raldng the
country diagonally above our heads.
Overhead, again every now and then, the
whirl and moan of the rival aeroplanes
almost disregarded now in the general
presence of peril.
Besides us, as we crawl up, snufilng
the line with our guns like dogs on q
scent, the grim trainloads OF wounded
wait soundlessly in sidings. Further up,
the lines Of ambulances are running
slowly back. The bullets Of machine
guns begin to rattle on our armor coat
their noses and bay, we are racing In
view.
Lone Car Saves Troops.
Now and again there is a shout from
a mitrailleuse car rearing through the
lanes. The stormy petrols of this war,
led by their dauntless chief, the ''bravest
of the brave" they have been known to
rush in ahead, alone, upon a whole bat
talon of Germans and sweep them from
wood or ambuscade.
Not only once has a single car swept
past in front of a large body Of our finest
troops and saved them by furious pace
and deadly fire from being cut of and de-
stroyed by a larger German force in am
bush. Shells we learn to disregard. But
the machine gun is master of this war.
The Germans are over on our bank, en-
filading lines of our allies trenches.
Steadily we creep up. The noise and tur-
mol of explosion is inextricably mingled
No time to distinguish between the death
falling round US and the death We dis
patch. Perhaps our fire has turned the
the trenches, crushed to the bank, scat
tered and smashed by pursuing hail of
iron.
Enemy in Retreat.
Our allies are after them with a free
haNOhet charge. Ihey never wait LOT II.
ON to the bridge. and now swept away
by the deadliest destroyer of all, the pro-
tected machine guns. bubbling demoni-
C;Illy from the entertainments.
Ten minutes. half an hour, of furious
fire and counter-fire from either bank,
and comes a deafening thunder. The
bridge is blown up-by us? by the enemy?
by projectile or dynamite? Who can say?
VapOr, smoke and fragments tear the
sunlit sky and precede an instant's inter-
ruption and startling silence in the long
mOnOtony of numbering sound. Then it
begins again.
only a narrow river between. On this
side our raised bank and trench. on that
side theirs head raised, a hand eX-
posed for an instant, and man sinks for
ward or slips down. Quick as they fall
they are dragged back till the pile waiting
for the stretchers seems inconceivable.
Others come up the line and take their
place, in this nerve-shattering sound and
presence of death it seems almost as IN
conceivable that men can be found to do
il. But there is never a pause.
I'VE are told We are winning here. The
enemy is beyond the river. We hear later
he is back four miles. Four miles! Dug
out OF the sentient vitality of human
hodies of civilized brains.''