New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-01-01
MEN MAKE WILLS
AS SORTIE BEGINS
French Volunteers Take
Precaution Before Oar
ing Exploits.

Mont-St -Eloi, Department Of Pas de
Calais, France, Dec. 30.-Germsn artil-
lery again bombarded to-day at long
range the double lowered church and
the fifteenth century 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 ma
chine gun fire. When night falls the
artillery usually ceases fire and all be-
comes 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 serpen-
tine parallels leading to the advanced
trenches.
The first platoon advances and makes
its 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 para.
/ lels. Shortly after the operation OF
relief has been completed the new oc-
cupants of the trenches, who have been
refreshed by rest in the rear, start
a movement.
A scouting party, generally COM
posed of five or six volunteers, leaVes
the trench TO reconnoitre. Each man
is armed with a revolver and rlne'
a bayonet and pair OF shears. creep
ing fiat, they proceed in direct hne
toward the German trenches, their
movements being as slow and as silent
as possible, because the 7lightest noise
brings forth fusillade of bullets.
The men make their wills and hand
them to their comrades before starting
on a daring exploit, as it is likely that
SOL of the soldiers will never return.
Scouts often succeed in evading the
German sentinels, and cut the wire en-
tanglements in front of the German
trenches. thus preparing the way for a
general attack before dawn. Those left
/ of them who return TO the Allies
trenches make a report OF the result
of their operations.
! Then whispered command passes
along and a company chambers out ana
makes it's way crouchingly in. an ad-
vance. II the company reaches tne
vicinity of the German position win
out discovery and before the opposing
machine guns can be brought INTO pay
the men leap into and capture the
trench at the point Of the bayonet.
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 en-
/ trenching tools, hurriedly builds up an
earthen shelter at the rear of the capt
Iured trench and consoidates the posi-
ton against possible counter attack
The other half of the force opens hre
/ on ,he Germans in the next line o.
trenches. A gain of sometimes hity
and sometimes one hundred yards is
made in this way during the night
Young soldiers going for tne DTS
time into the trenches say tnat the
work is extremely enervating; but tnat
they soon become accustomed 10 tneir
surroundings. Their excitement wneh
/ leaving the trenches TO attack the Ger-
mans soon resolves itself, they say,
INTO a neculiar calmness. Each soldier
when he sees his opponents, appears
70 select the man who apparently Is
r,otino directly for him with a weapon.
/ lilo taxes steady aim with his rifle, and
/ II he misses he dashes forward and
engages his man in personal combat
j