The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-09-30
Intrenchments the Germans
Now Hold Were Sc
lected Early
FORESIGHT OF THE
GENERAL STAFF
Work on Defenses Begun
Even When Battle of
Marine Was On

London, sept 3O.-Ihat the present
battle line of the Aisne river, crossing
France and sweeping south along the
Vosges into Lorraine, was selected long
ago by the German general staff in an
ticipation of just the situation that al
present exists is the opinion of Gen. Sir
John French and his staff. The stubborn
resistance encountered establishes this
fact
The war bureau gave out an addition
to yesterdays report from the front
this one dealing with the operations OF
Sept % and "a. 1t confirmed the inn
preston that the present battle more
closely resembled a siege than anything
else at the time the report was written.
"The operations of the oath and 25th,
says the report, found a growing re-
semblance to a general siege in every
movement against the German positions.
Naturally the chief reason for this is the
fact that the enemy is strongly in
trenched and his army is equipped with
plenty of heavy artillery, all well mount
ed.
1T is very plain from observations
by the British aerial corps that this
position was not selected by chance. In
fact it is certain that the intrenchments
are of an almost permanent nature. The
enemy had sufficient time to solidly in
trench himself more than half way
across France, and the line along the
Aisne had been put in condition by the
German sappers before the battle of
the Marine had entered its decisive
phase.
Because of this fact it is considered
certain that its selection was not
haphazard one. Instead the Germans
knew just where they were going, and
there are abundant evidences that the
position actually was located by the Ger
man general staff in anticipation OF just
what afterward happened
The following continuation of the ac-
count by an eye witness of the fighting
in which the British forces with the
allies in France have taken part has also
been given out by the war bureau:
Wednesday, Sept. %, was a perfect
autumn day. 1t was without any in
cident of comparative Importance in the
major operations, although the enemy
concentrated his heavy artillery on the
platform near Pais~y.
There was an almost complete alb
sence of wind, of which the members of
the Royal British Aviation Corps took
full advantage, gathering much informa
ton regarding the disposition of the |
enemy's forces in our front.
Unfortunately one of our airmen |
who had been particularly active, an
noying the enemy by dropping bombs /
in their camps, was wounded in duel |
in the air. He was alone in single |
seated monoplane and was unable to use |
his rifle. While he was circling above a
German two seated aeroplane bearing
the aviator and an observer in an en-
deavor to get within pistol shot of the
two Germans he was hit by a bullet fred
by the observer in the enemy's machine
HE managed to fly back over our
lines and by great good luck descended
close TO a motor ambulance which con
veyed him to a field hospital"
Against this mishap to the British
aviator may be set off the fact that
our fiers exploded a bomb among the
led artillery horses of the Germans, kill
ing several and stampeding the others
"On Thursday, Sept "a, the fine
weather continued, as did the lull in the
action. The Germans continued their
bombardment with their heavy guns, the
shells falling mostly near Pargnan.
"On Wednesday and Thursday the
weather was so fine that many flights I
were made by aviators of the French 5
and British. The German fiers showed c
themselves in corresponding activity, {
which resulted in several conflicts be- q
tween the opposing air craft.
$50 still and clear was the atmos- !
ohere on Wednesday and Thursday that /
% those not especially on the lookout I
or them the presence of aeroplanes high I
lbove the earth was first made known c
by the bursting of the proiectiles aimed I
It them from the ground batteries. 4
.Puffs of smoke from the decorating o
hells hung in the air for minutes like Q
,alls of tieecy cotton wool before they s
lowly expanded and dissipated a
From the places mentioned as the p
'hief targets for the enemy's heavy
lowitzers it viii be seen that the Ger Z
mans are now inclined to concentrate o
heir fire Systematically upon definite 81
reas where their aviators think they n
AVE located our guns, or upon villages -
where it is imagined our troops are bill II
eted. The result will be to give local %
'uilders work. -
"The growing resemblance of this bat o.
le to a siege has already been pointed p
~