The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1915-07-07

marking the broad highway from
Arras to La Bassee, then the low
wooded heights running to the left
again and stretching to the horizon.
They are held by the Germans.
Behind them, hidden from my
view, lies Neuville. That narrow
strip from Neuville to Souchez is a
reeking graveyard with hardly a
grave; for the living have been too
busy fighting 10 bury the dead.
At least ten thousand French dead
lie out there. the general estimates,
and adds that the air is 81 nestilen-
tiaI that latterIy, he believes, a gen.
lemen's agreement between the foes
has come into force to allow the
burial of the dead upmolested at
night, but only those in immediate
proximity to the rival lines.
There is reason to believe that the
French have bought their gains dear
ly, the general says. He estimates
their losses between thirty and forty
thousand opposite his division, where
they made their most desperate at
lSIupI W UISdh LII ouSA
The French hurled the flower of
their army against US here" he says.
their elite Twentieth Corps, their
Marine Corps, their Alpine Corps. and
their Moroccan Division. The colored
Frenchmen are generally negligible
and don't amount to much; but the
Moroccan division are splendid fight
ers. Regiment after regiment has
made an almost continuous storm of
attacks since May 9. They were
flung upon US bravely, but in vain" "
The German losses also were
heavy. The general made no attempt
to conceal or minimize them. He told
me how many thousands his buffer
division had lost in five weeks, but
asked me to respect his confidence
and not mention the figures, which,
however, were very much lower than
those at which he estimated the
French casualties.
He added thoughtfully: "Ten
French army corps are said to have
been massed against the Germans on
the Neuville-La Bassee line. The cli-
max Of the fierce attacks was reach
ed and safely passed four days ago,
though we never had a moments S
doubt of the outcome"
The general pointed over range
of hills ahead, mentioned the name OF
an invisible village behind the French
lines, and said that the Germans had
information that Gen. Joffre came
there from his headquarters some
days ago and looked the situation
over.
The French artillery is not confn.
ing its attention to narrowing the
German trenches with shell and
shrapnel. They are cropping more or
less bEndly for the cunningly plant
ed German batteries. They are tax
inc no chances, and are shelling all
the villages behind the German lines.
4 see houses in FIVE villages burning
fiercely, with German reserves acting
as ffremen.
The French particularly smother
suspicious-looking patches of woods
under blanket Of exploding steel.
One little wood ahead acts like a
magnet for the French shells that
drop at the rate of two a minute till
a smoke pail hangs over the tree
tops.
Presently energes what looks like
a. runaway. 1t is a team galloplng
madIy to the rear for more ammuni-
ton. Otherwise no traffic is stirring
or1-the roads in the fire zone. Ex-
cept in emergencies, food, ammuni-
ton, and, reserves go out under the
safer cover of night.
From my lofty observation post it
is easy for even civilian to grasp
the preponderating part that ammu-
nition plays and to understand why
the French selected this particular
point for their attempt to break
through the German lines and why
the Germans are grimly endeavor-
ing to stop them at all costs. The
next defensive line is long way to
the rear.
II the French gain all the hills,
their artillery can sweep the plains
ahead. Such success would mean
probably, the loss of Lille, but pos
sibly the rolling-up of the whole Ger
man line. Hence the titanic struggle
But the French artillery is not
having it all its own way. It is the
Mosaic law modernized-an eye for
an eye, shell for shell. Wherever
I look in this sector of heH I see
flashes of flame from the mouths OF
German guns. A never-ending pro-
cession of German shells walls and
shrieks overhead on their way TO-
ward the French lines, and l can see
them strike home on the Lorette
heights and near SoucEez.
The French have a line on one
German mortar battery, but thelI
shells are dropping Just behind 1t.
The German artillerists go right on
serving and firing with the mechani-
cal regularity Of trained factory
hands. Another German battery IS
planted among the gravestones OF a
small village cemetery at the right.
The French shells are beginning to
come most uncomfortably our way.
The general begins to look bit anX-
ious. He is responsible not only for
the life Of correspondent, but also
that of Bavarian prince. He says:
perhaps we'd better go, ii you've
had enough
I linger only long enough to jot
down a summary of my final impress
sions that the Germans are not wor-
ried by the military situation, and
that they are more confident OF VIC
tory than I have ever seen them.
Then the general, the prince and
I climbed down.
MEXIC0'S BANISHED RULER