The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-23
All of Ally Woods Now in Hands of the French Following Sanguinary Conflict
ARTILLERY FIRE Is
 LARGE FACTOR USED
 TO DISLODGE ARMY
Germans Had Constructed Barriers of Barbed Wire Which Were Almost Inn penetrable

Paris. April 2e.--ts:4s D. m)--An official eyewitness. describing operations by which the French are menaeing German positions in the wedge of St. Mihiel. says:
 Al the Ally woods. which constituted strong and well fortified support for the Germans. now is entirely in French hands. conquered for the most part by troops from the center of France. after several days of systematic preparations by a heavy artillery fire.
 ''At certain points the Germans had con structed on the front of meats i2 yards wide spiked barriers extending about six feet above the level of the earth. sur rounded by barhed wire entanglements which were so intricate as to make them impervious to any tools
 "A concentration of artillery fire opened large breaches in this defense. parapets were sent crashing to the ground and dlsmembered bodies were blown into the air above the clouds of smoke The earth was strewn with overturned trees and branches.
 Five Mines Exploded
 After five hours of intense fire, five mines, laid under a parapet adjacent to the principal fort hofiing the position, ex- ploded, annihilating tlH garrison and spreading panic in the trenches
 An attack with fixed bayonets then be gan in three lines. preceded by detach- ment with hand grenades. Engineers fol- 1,,t d facilitate passage over the network tf trenches. The order has been given to pass oyer the trenches and take the en- emy in the rear.
 AThree lines of trenches were thns cleared of the Germans. Those whc sought refuge in the underground shelters perished from suffocation through ,he cpl- lapse of the entire earthworks.
 Attempt Counter Attack
 Toward o'clock on April :, the enemy attempted to counter attack, supported by heavy artillery fire, which was oeu- tralized by our batteries. our attack was renewed the following day and developed into furious hand to hand struggle with grenades and cold steel in the narrow lines of trenches. The enemy offered such resistance that the order was given to evacuate part of the ground gained This was then bombarded until the eneinv retired We then held the three main line trenches of the Ally woods
 The enemy's losses were heavy. Ne counted 200 dead on the evening or the bth and on the evening of the oth We found the dead piled iii three rows.
 During the 7th and Sth we repulsfd eight counter attacks. The enemy en- tered one trench, but was unable to hold it. Of the Ally woods there remained rothng but few hacked trunks, and not an inch of ground in it that had not been turned up by explosive. In the strange chaos, stones. corpses and a debris Of limbs lay mingled.
 At 5:30 o'clock on April the enemy began an intensive bombardment. In 9C minutes upon this corner of the woods over front of from $50 to 400 yards deep. 10000 shells were fired: they included all calibres, from to S-inch. The entire hill disappeared in a cloud of smoke. All communicat were cut during this time, and when the fire ceased many men were mentally deranged. They had to he re- moved and required several days for re- covery.
 Again on April 10 the position in Ally woods was subjected ito q bomba rdment. Six German companies. besides the gar rson in the fort, were annihilated in these engagements"