Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-01-22

It's brink. lay long limo OF dead men.
They HAD turned FOR last stand
against the advancing Germans. and
| had met death They made no att Tempt
to rush down the declivity to tempo
rary safety. The bayonets on All their
rifles were fixed, and in Il number OF
| cases the chambers OF their pieces still
held exploded shells. Two or three
rifles were found with stocks broken
off ut the grip. evidence or severity of
| the hand-to-hand lighting.
There was little feeling Of horror or
| revulsion at the sight OF these hun
dreds of corpses; their very rumber
took away the impression Of human
slaughter. They seemed like figures In
huge panoramic painting Of :, battle.
HUMAN NOTE REVEALED
IN CONTENTS vi LETTERS
The human note, however. often came
out when one was told OF the cont tents
of the letters found in knapsacks or
Brasped In the hands of these dead
1t was the duty of the intelligence oiii-
Ger in the party with which the CORE
spondent travelled to glance ut such
letters for the sake of military infor-
nation they might contain. But of this
there was little.'- Far oftener he found
letters from home with sentences about
the health of the children anu refer
ences to little presents and deIicacies
on the way to the soldier There often
were expressions of anxiety for the
safety of husband or father. and al
ways the hope for the cnl OF this
terrible war" and the safe return of
the loved one.
caution over the battlefield. as i,ban-
doned hand grcnades were sown thick
~. ready TO explode at any moment
from careless footstep. German
burial parties collected thousands OF
the weapons. which are square boxes
OF explosive bound to wooden handles
eighteen inches long.
Most Of the captured cannon already
had been removed from the battlefield.
the German captors being anxious TO
send them In and receive the reward
given each unit making a capture But
In the ravine OF La Moncel. on the
eastern extremity Of the battlefield
there stlli were siege guns, which the
French had not been able to remove
in time. A detachment OF German ar
tillcry experts was busy completing the
interrupted task Of transferring this
heavy artillery to. wheels for trans
portation TO the reaC
While the captain In charge was ex-
hibiting his prizes and explaining that
they were fifteen tlmetre coast
defense weapons. calling attention at
the same time to the stores of am
munition also taken By his men. the
French suddenly opened fire on these
guns and on the road to the rear of
them. Evidently they had conjcctured
that an attempt wouldebe made to re-
move them. and. knowing their exact
location, they were able TO make II
warm for the German artillerymcn
engaged in this task.
This fire was n signal for the open
Ing OF further general boinba rdment
all along the line. 1t was the first
activity since termination of the battle
three days before.
The return to the automobile through
the approaches to the trenches was
most difficult and cxhaustins. The
trenches themselves and the approaches
afforded complete protection against
shrapnel- fire, but their bottoms were
mass OF sticky clay, in which ones
feet sank at every step from fifteen
to eighteen inches. Plodding through
miles Of such trenches had been the
daily task of thousands OF soldiers en-
gagged for four months In this FORTRESS
warfare on the north bank OF the
Aisne.