The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1914-12-15
HELD USER TRENCHES
AT A FEARFUL COST
French Soldiers Won Hand to Hand
Day aud Night Battle Against
Tremendous Odds.


IN BELGIUM, Saturday, Dec. Il, /
despatch to the London Daily News
Fighting of an exceedingly desperate !
character has been taking place dur !
ing the latter portion eff the week /
along the line which extends between
the User and the Lvs. Success has at
tended the efforts of both Germans and /
French in turn; but the losses of the
enemy have been by far the greater.
and the French have in places gained
Il slight advantage This is particu-
larry noteworthy when it is considered
that the Germans on Thursday espe-
cially attacked in overwhelming force
time after time. Their movement was
concentrated on zigzag line of
trenches not far from the village of
Dchebusch, which, as it happened,
was not particularly strongly held BY
the French
\ terrific prelude to the attack was
made by the German artillery, which
concentrated furious shrapnel fire
upon the French position At this
point the trenches of the Germans
were only 40 yards from the French.
and TOR fear of hitting their own men,
the German guns were aimed fairly
high, SO that the Frenchmen in the
rear trenches suffered most heavily.
Those IN the front trench huddled
iagainst its sides while the storm of
shot and shell ragged over them There
was nothing else for them to do at the
moment, and, as it proved, it was ex-
tremely fortunate for the allies that
the German guns spared these men.
The French seventv-fives raked the
German batteries in answer. and things
were going hot and strong when the
German infantrymcn suddenly became
active. From their trenches seventy
Yards away Il shower of hand grcnadcs
came bowling over toward the first
French trench. Many of them fell
short, aud few did any DAMAGE but
hardly had this second plague come to
an end when out from the trenches
climbed Il swarm of Germans rushing
furiously toward the Frcnchmen At
last the men in that first trench had
something to do. They jumped TO
their loopholes and blazed magazine
, fire into this raging. tearing attack
Every bullet seemed to find its mark
1t could hardly have done otherwise at
such range.
The advancing line wavcrcd, stun
blcd over PROSTATE parts of itself and
then swept onward again. There was
\ lno time for the Frcnchmcu to rcloae
> their rifles. they did not want TO dc
50. They simply climbed out Of the
e. trenches and met the Germans Will
! the bayonCt. The German gums were
D till roaring to prevent the arrival ot
, French reinforcCments; but the rein
. torcencnts came quickly, sufferiu;
> heavily in coming.
The few Trcnchncn still struggle,
IsturJily with their enemies. who out
9 numbered them three to one, and even
I tuallv the Germans who survived tn,
j. lattack turned and bolted back TO thci
trcnehcs, with the Frcnchnese,. secint
red, at their heels. -
g 1t was as furious a fifteen minute
!. rs could he conceived. Thc No Man
!, Land between the trenches was heape
:, with men tangled and twisted in deaf
: or writhing with wounds which unm-i
It cifully let them live. Neither sid
i dared venture across to aid these sut
IS fcrers, so they were left in their agony
II But this one desperate charge Iii
ii net end the day : work. The Frcne
Is mortars thumped away necessarily, an
showers Of hand grenades were t,
changed. One more attack was mad
~ by the Germans in daylight. with
- like result. The ground was piled hi.
=, in places with bodies. Then. whc
> night had fallen. vet another attac
e was made. One mighty mass Of &c
Il mans came charging over the mario
II space BY sheer weight of number
ri they overwhelmed the French and too
IL the trench for which they had pal
III such CHASTITY price. They held
to only Il few hours BY convergiug {
it from three points at once the FrenC
ra retook it soon after midnight,
III On Friday morning Il wonderf
~ French bayonet charge at length drc'
- out the Germans, who had foug
~ most calamity and stubbornly throug
Nc out the day and during the night, al
OF the terrible morning which followc
1t The Red Cross workers were bu
af without ceasing; but many men h;
es bled to death, lacking surgical aid,
that strip of ground between t
7 | trenches.