Grand Forks daily herald. (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1914-1916, 1914-10-13

sAsSAeoS VI d great battle as. ought
IN the year 1914: MI. Won :Weigand
to reach the kusso-German battle
line. His story. while. passed by Brit
ish censors tor publication for use in
Inc United States, has been forbidden
to be printed in England. This is be-
to be N indication hat the
British censors are beginning, in so
tar as neutral countries are concerned,
to relax the rigid censorship which
has heretofore. been imposed.
(By Karl H. Won Wiegand.)
on the firing line. near Wirballen.
Russian Poland (Via The Hague and
Lohdon), Oct. 13.-At sundown satur-
day, after. four days Of constant fight
ing the German army holds its STRAIT
esic n strongly entrsnched position
west OF Wirballen. AS 1 write. this. in
the glare Of IN auto headlight, several
hundred yards back from the German
trenches. I a catch the occasional
high notes of a soldier chorus. For
four days the singers have lain cramp-
ed In those muddy bitches, unable to
move or stretch except under cover
Of darkness. And still they sing. They
believe they are on the. eve Of a great
victory. D .
omcers Aid Correspondent. -"
II reached the battlefield Of Wirbal-
len shortly before daylight. armed
with q. paper: issued by the general
staff and accompanied by three off,
cera. assigned to "'chaperon". me and
furnish technical information. We
had travelled three days by auto and
were within three: Males Of the rig
wing of the German position when
went ahead on foot.
Today I, saw a wave :of Russian
flesh and blood against a wall OF Ger
man steel. The wall stood. The wave.
broke-was shattered and hurled.
back. Rivulets. 81. blood trickled back
slowly in its wake. Broken, bloody
bodies, wreckage OF the wave, strewed
the. breakers. Tonight /. know why.
correspondents are not wanted on any,
Of the battle lines. Descriptions and
details of battles fought in the year :of
Our Lord, 1914, do not make. nice
reading, ID: go. ~: ..:-: =.
Troops Up Before Daylight.
We struck the firing line at q point
near the extreme right of. the German
position shortly before daylight and
breakfasted. with the. officers COM
mandipy a held battery. -.
Before the -hrst, ~criuisoniug Of the
plies OF ammunition bought up dur
ing the night were being slowed
away in the caissons and cases. Empty
shells were being thrown back out Of
the way. An artitlefyman with a
shovel wen, about throwing. loose soil
over dark SLIPPERY spots about tone ...tof
the guns: Law sinailas. shoveiefs en-
gaged@several times during the day. u
Screech of Shell Heard.
As daylight. came, I saw that the
gums were on the everse side. OF a.
hill with their muzzles: apparently
pointing directly up the =. ascending
slope. !: -: j.. =.
While Twas still matve,ing. at the
umbe Of details requiring attention.
! this highly-spseialized business of
man, I was. yanked out of my reverie
by 'swierd, tooth-edging; .spfne-chill-'
ing. whistling screech. overhead. The.
fact that the.Ahel1 was from. five huns
dred- to one thousand feet above me
and probably away before my ear reg
istered It's flight, did not prevent my.
ducking my head and giving my off,
Ger .chAperons Q chance to laugh.-+A
Q many shells had passed over my
head before I could lose an almost ir-,
resistible desire to hug the ground :
German Battery Answers. ..
For half an hour the German bat
terry paid no attention to the: shells
passing overhead and. vi of range.
Finally a soldier with a telephone. in
stalled on IN empty ammunition box
which the commander 81. the battery.
scanned hastily. A word OF command
and a lieutenant Ealloped along the
line gtvtn8. varying ranges to the .dlf-
ferept battery Commanders. !Th
crews teaped to their. positions and
the battery went into action. The. FIR.
Ing continued tor perhaps fifteen min
utes, when there was a halt more tel:
a new aof"nf :rn oOoo $nH
some Of the guns and resumption OF
firing. =. -" --. -
Guns Hidden Four Days. -.
The position of the 'neavy German
battery. was we'll chosen. The mask
was ideal and in the four days fight
Ing the Russians had not succeeded
In locating It's position. It. vas only
q chance shell. or strapnel'that broA
within. the danger zone. But aside
from watching the German guns IN
action. there was. nothing to see At
this point-not even the objective o:
the ,nrp, so, with my ohfcer escort,;'w WI
moved up to the crest of the hill,"1ol.
lowing the line Of the. field teAer
to the point from which half. q dozen
German officers were Watching the ef-
feet and directing the nre.
Now both the German and Russian
shells were screeching and screaming
overhead in q most uncomfortable II
undangerous fashion.
In the morning sunlight from the
summit OF the hill, I got my, first view
tory. 80 -:
A. far a. the field glasses would
carry, In a-great, irregular semicircie,
the irregularity being caused by. the
efforts OF both. armies to keep to. htsh
ground with their main iihes., were the
trenches Of the two. 4rmies: As.we
watched, the entire fire Of the Russian
artillery seemed to- be diverted: on Z
village situated. ON a low plain about
two Thousand yards to the, northward
OF our position: The vitiage-already
under a deluge of Iron. and steel. The
ruins were in flames. - After half an
hour, the reason for Smelling the. de-
serted village became evident. "A gem
eral advance against the German cen
ter was launched ard the Russians
were making certain that the Village.
directly in the. line of advance. had
not been occupied by, the German
guns during the night.
Unable TO See Russians.
30 tar, although 4 had been wit.
Messing q battle Of obviously :.trewens
dous- MAGNITUDE, 7 had not seen. the
enemy: From orr. position. sifghtly..tn
the reAr. tina ,German.dank,. t.!wAa
comparatively easy to .tracs aOur own
limo. through the .gl4lses;: but sthe gen.
eraf, line of. the Russians. wxs hard
to determine. being indicated only. by
o~ccast0na1s Aasheh Of gun Are with
the start OF the Russian. attempt on
the German CENTER however. the en-.
tire ecsue changed s.a..s