The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1914-12-28
FRENCH DIG WAY
INTO TRENCHES
Of THEIR FOES
Wounded Officers Tell of Fierce
Hand to Hand Fight
With Bombs.
WIVES RISK THEIR LIVES
Meet Soldler-H Husbands at Front Just
for Kiss or a Word as They
Pass Through a Town
Pathos In Many Reunions.
BY RENE ARGOS.

oy uGN6 SAuSS0s
Correspondent OF Chicago Daily News)
Near the French Front.-Two
wounded French officers have given
me an account OF the recent fighting
near Berry.au-Bac. They came and
pounded on the door of this wayside
inn IL kilometers az miles) behind
the firing line late at night The pro-
prietress, fearing that gendarmes had
come to arrest her for selling drinks
after eight o'clock, did not answer
at first, but new pounding, kicking
and shouting caused her to change
her mind.
There entered second lieutenant
and an adjutant, both wounded. one
supporting the other. One was wound
ed In the arm and one in the
leg. The second lieutenant was
gay and looked well, but how shall
describe the poor adjutant? A
rough beard filled the hollows Of his
cheeks and his pale blue eyes shone
with fever. He fell moaning into a
chair and seemed to lose conscious.
ness until plate of steaming soup
was placed under his nose.
Wounded Soldiers Tell Stories.
Wine and the warmth of the room
gradually terminated him and he be-
gan to relate his exploits. Both Off
GERS belonged to the same regiment
of infantry and both were wounded
the day before. The lieutenant's first
words were:
"You cannot imagine how strange
It seems to see civilian again. For
three months I have seen nothing
but French and German soldiers and
l had begun to believe that there was
not a civilian left in the world"
These men had been fighting vir.
tually every day and night in the
last two months. Their trenches had
been advancing steadily at the rate
of about fifty yards a week. They
had attacked the German trenches
hundreds of times and been attacked
an equal number of times. Proiec-
tiles had torn their uniforms. Their
regiment, digging underground, had
here and there burst into the midst
of the German trenches. The other
evening a section of their comrades
of so men had been sur
prised and captured. The adjutant
could not get over this.
"Those lazy rascals fell asleep de-
spite the music of the shrapnel." he
said. ut is true they had not slept
for several days and nights before"
Attack the German Trenches.
The lieutenant then related how he
and his companion were wounded. To-
ward ten o'clock on the preceding
evening it was decided to attack the
German trenches. The French ST.
lently left their underground coyerts
and crept forward. They were dis.
covered when few yards from their
goal. but 1t was too late and the Ger.
mans were overwhelmed.
1--WE saw them running like rats
into their hole" said the lieutenant.
Having advanced so yards at one
stroke. it was necessary for us to
hold this precious gain. Naturally,
the German trenches were arranged
for defense toward the French
trenches. Now the French set to
work to make the trenches defens-
ible from the other side. Sacks of
cement we're hastily brought, dipped
into water and laid end to end along
the trenches and packed with dirt.
The French then desired to rest a
little. but the Germans. wishing to
win back the lost position before the
French completed the defenses,
poured out Of their earthworks and
advanced.
Hurl Grenades as Foes Advance.
"'Don't speak word ordered our
captain. Keep still. bring up some
boxes of preserves quietly and wait