Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1914-12-12
FROM. FIRE
IN HILLSIDE CAVERNs
Men, Horses and Supplies of German
Armies Occupy Former Stone
Quarries.
ONLY 200 YARDS FROM ENEMY
Soldiers Smiling and Well Fcd--No
Indication That Nerves Are Break
ing Under Strafn-Health Condi-
ttons Remarkably Good.

HEADQUARTERS OF A CERTAIN
GERMAN ARMY, IN FRANCE. Decem-
Der II forwarded by automobile
courier to Berlin, thence to London,
All A. MA correspondent of the
Associated Press in the field of opera
tions has been the guest of General Won
Heerinsen, formerly War Minister, and
now commanding the Seventh Army:
General Won zwehl, tho capturer Of
Maubeuge. and General Won Emmich,
conaueror of Liege and Namur.
Several hours were spent in the
trenches in picturesque old town
where German rifemen and French
legionaires play grim practical jokes
of war upon each other from positions
a scant 200 yards apart. Mon, horses.
hillside caverns, formerly stone quar-
riee. absolutely protected from even the
most powerful shell fire.
The morning was passed in an artil-
lery observation stand opposite Rheims
where a powerful stereoscopic tele-
scope, through which the fire of tho
artillery Is directed, brought the OBJ
server within 100 yards of the city and
the cathedral, and enabled him to SEQ
that tho cathedral and It's towers were
standing fairly intact, although black
ened by fire.
SOLDIERS FOUND LIVING
IN COMPARATIVE COMFORT
Inspection was made Of labyrinth of
field fertilization approaches along
the Aisne at It's nearest point to Paris.
where the lines are normally 200 or 800
yards apart. The soldiers. even in the
foremost trenches. were found living
I'm comparative comfort. They are well
supplied with blankets. food. water and
clothing. and are In good spirits. De-
sultory infantry fro Is always In prog
ress here and occasionally the rattle
of machine guns breaks out The artil-
lery on both sides has thrown tons of
iron daily. but there have been no great
fights OF late hereabouts.
OF all the Impressions OF tho trip.
one of the most striking is that left
by the countless stacks Of unthreshed
grain, stretching for miles in every
direction throughout this granary Of
Northern France. More than 100 Ger
man threshing machines are working
in the region occupied by tho army,
to-day plugging forward to reinforce
the others. The army Is not only liv-
ing on supplies of -four and meat de-
rived from this section of the country,
but is actually sending wheat and flour
back to Germany.
The German soldier at the front Is
smiling and we'll fed. as he has one
more warm meal daily than In peace
time Tho lean greyhounds seen after
. the dash on Paris are again rounding
out into portly Germans.
NO INDICATION THAT
NERVES ARE BREAKING
Tho normal soldier at the front does
not sing as much as formerly. partly
| perhaps because he has sung himself
| out. and partly because singing in the
immediate vicinity of the enemy is apt
to draw fire. but he is neither dlscour-
aged nor exhausted. There is no In
dication whatever that his nerves are
| breaking under the strain. .
Health conditions are remarkably
! good, the surgeons state, even better
than In peace times. There has been
considerable typhoid, but this is now
| well in hand, owing to the vigorous
use Of the antityphoid serum. The
| medical department now is cleaning
I out three villages In the immediate vi
entity OF headquarters. which were
found to be typhoid centres. The sur
geons are isolating or vnccinating the
Inhabitants of suspected villages.
| The Germans evidently are prepnr
ing for an extended occupation. French
peasants. under the supervision and to
certain extent tho mild compulsion
of the Germans. have planted winter
crops. and are working in the fields
Important bridges destroyed during the
occupation operations are everywhere
being permanently rebuilt with steel
| from Germany. The roads are being
maintained as usual by French labor
and in some cases factories arc being
reoDened