Evening star., 1914-12-31
Troops of Allies Proceed
Against Germans With
Extreme Caution.
FIGHTING IN DAYLIGHT
HAS GREAT HAZARDS
Troops Forced to Spend Long Hours
in Trenches, Work at First
Being Enervating.

MONT SAINT ELOI, Department of
December 80, delayed in transmission.
German artillery today again bonn
barded, at long range, the double
lowered church and the fifteenth CEN
tury abbey here, but without doing
great damage.
Night attacks have become the sole
method of making an advance in this
underground war, as all attempts to
assault the positions in the daytime
fail before the terrific rife and machine
gun fire.
When night falls tho artillery
usually ceases fire, and all becomes
momentarily silent. Then begins the
task of relieving the men in the dug
outs. Companies and battalions which
are about to take turn on the firing
line warily approach the serpentine
parallels leading to the advanced
trenches.
Long Hours in Trenches.
The first platoon advances and makes
it's way through the zigzag sunken
path to a trench out of which the SOL
diers, who have been there in most
cases forty-eight hours, make an exit
covered with mud from head to foot.
Ambulance men follow out of the
bitches with the wounded borne on
their shoulders, as stretchers are un-
able to pass through the narrow par
allels. Shortly after the operation of
relief has been completed the new
been refreshed in the rear, start
movement.
A scouting party, generally composed
of five or six volunteers, leaves the
trench to reconnoitre.
Each man is armed with a revolver
and a rifle, a bayonet and a pair of
shears. Creeping fiat they proceed in
direct line toward the German
trenches, their movements being as
slow and as silent as possible because
the slightest noise brings forts fusil-
lade of bullets.
Make Wills Before Starting.
The men make their wills and hand
them to their comrades before Starting
on daring exploit. as it is likely that
some of the soldiers will never return.
Scouts often succeed in evading the
German sentinels and cut the wire en-
trenches, thus preparing the way for
general attack before dawn. Those
left of them who return to the allies
trenches make a report Of the result of
their operations Then a whispered
command passes along and a company
chambers out and makes its way
crouchingly in an advance. If the COM
pany reaches the vicinity of the Ger
man position without discovery, and
before the opposing machine guns can
be brought into play. the men leap into
and capture the trench at the point of
the bayonet.
Short Gains Are Made.
When prisoners are taken by the
French they are grouped under a
guard at one end of the trench, while
half Of the attacking force, with in
trenching tools, hurriedly builds up an
earthen shelter at the rear of the cap
tured trench and consolidates the posi-
tion against a possible counter attack.
The other half of the force opens fire
trenches. A gain of sometimes fifty
and sometimes 100 yards is made in
this way during the night.
Young soldiers going for the first
time into the trenches declare that the
work is extremely enervating, but that
they soon become accustomed to their
Their excitement when
leaving the trenches to attack the Ger
mans soon resolves itself, they say,
into peculiar calmness. Each soldier,
when he sees his opponents, appears to
select the man who apparently is max
ing directly for him with a weapon.
and if he misses he dashes forward and
Or his man in nRrSnna1 corOhat