Polk County news-gazette. (Benton, Tenn.) 190?-191?, 1914-10-15
BATTLE OF SCISSORS AS SEEN
BY WRITER ON FIRING Line
BY JOHN ASHTON
sreeiai Correspondent Of the Chicago
Tribune.

Tribune
Paris.-I have Just returned TO
Paris to rest up a day or two and get
a few necessaries after a week at the
front Of the left wing Of the allied
armies who are facing General Won
Klucks army.
Farther to the east in line ex-
tending from Reims to near Nerduh
the French are holding their ground
against a fierce onslaught of the Ger
mans under the prince OF Wurteih-
burg -.
will recount what l have VIII
Messed during the last few days:
Leaving Meaux, we made our way
through Varennes and Lily, the scene
of fierce fighting during the battle OIL
tbe Marine. some details of which l
gave in my first letter. All the dead
have now been inferred and the
wounded removed from the seVerai
deserted villages through which we
passed.
Find Wrecked German Plane.
Before arriving at Leerte Milon we
which had been brought down by the
British. The English flying squad
have been doing grand work IN the
air not only as scouts but in attacking
hostile air craft. 1t is reported that
no less than seventeen German ava
tors have fallen victims to the Eng
fish flying men.
On approaching Villers-CotteretS' III
the middle of the forest of that haLhe'
we came across several military auIo-
mobiles. living by the side of the route
which the Germans had abandoned III
their hurried flight to the north. IVY
Of these were marked Field POST
field or military post. A little 1ar-
Their on we encountered six large Ue!
man motor trucks which mad e'l-
IDENTIFY been destroyed by the Ger
mans; everything was burnt up eA'
cept the iron work. These wagons
had been left in the road to delay
pursuit. but the French had over
turned them into the ditch on each
side of the road.
Meet German Prisoners.
1t was dark when we arrived a'
VilIers- Cotterets. Before we nad tlhie
to get out of our auto | heard cry
Wolfe les Allemands!" (here come
the Germans!) and, indeed, moving
gray mass soon came into sight, sur
rounded by a cavalry escort. There
were about 100 of them, prisoners,
marching in the cold rain Many o.
them wore Red Cross arm bands, ana
/ noticed a few officers among the
punch Their expressionn was sour
nrR sullen, but considering their PR
cotons, they looked fit enough phys
, tineg
l\esglese we're men that had got lost
III the forest and failed to catch up
with their columns. Many prisoners
are taken in a similar way on both
sides sometimes they come strag-
Cling in half starved to death
Pass Night in Chateau.
We passed the night in an old chat-
eau. The town was full Of troops
and the hotels packed with officers
SO we we're very lucky to get under
cover at all. A few days previously
the Germans had occupied the town.
the staff having made their headquar-
tiers at this same chateau. The cham
Der maid left in charge or the mousse
(the owner and his wife having heo1
told us that the Germans had taken
away some valuable Gobelin tapes
tries; the smaller tapestries had been
left. They had also taken away some
silver plate, but had left behind many
pieces of considerable value.
We slept on the floor In the IL
brary, in a separate building, one OF
the finest private libraries have ever
seen. containing several thousand vol
umes. A very elegant secretaire IN
the library had been forced up, the
contents ransacked, and the top |
wrenched off and thrown on the moor.
| had nothing to cover me with, and |
as it was cold l slept very little.
We could hear the guns booming
the greater part Of the night.
Approach the Firing Line.
Starting out early in the direction
of scissors, we came upon the Thir-
teenth regiment of French artillery,
at but five miles from the latter town.
We could hardly believe we were so
close to the firing line, but there they
were, twelve guns (known as the Sew
enty-hve), pounding away across the
valley to where the Germans were in
trenched
We stopped our auto at respect |
able distance and approached the bat
teries on foot The ammunition wag- |
ons and extra horses and men we're
all drawn up silent and motionless !
behind hedge a short distance from
the guns There was no danger then,
as the Germans were replying only to
other French batteries lower down the |
valley.
Very soon the men not busy at the |
guns began to surround us, begging |
tobacco and cigarettes. 1t is an aw-
full thing for these poor soldiers to be !
deprived of the comforting. weed |
saw great deal of this later, on the
field and at hospitals.