Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-07-12
1OO, 900 Germans Killed and Taken.

IL,
| correspondent of the Associated
Press today went through five or six
| miles of the trenches formerly held by
the Germans. and reconstructed by the
| French. who now have abandoned
them to move forward. Upward of
100000 Germans have fallen or been
ca ptured in these trenches. according
| to the French official count since the
second week of March. The French
| losses, the correspondent was conf
dentiaily informed. while serious. have
been much smaller than those of the
| Germans. There are thickets of little
crosses made of twigs tied together
marking the graves between the
trenches Some of these graves have
been torn up by the shell fire.
Almost every square yard OF this re-
gion is marked by miniature craters
caused by exploding shells. Spots
where shells penetrated the earth with
out exploding are indicated by signs
bearing the words live she'll"
One line of the German works was
Just below the summit of a steep slope
which, from the nature of the ground,
could not be shelled without danger to
the French position little higher up
The Germans were sheltered in dug
outs under the hillside and their
French assailants. sliding or jumping
down into the trenches, were shot or
bayoneted from caves. The line final
" was taken by tossing grenades by
| the basketful into the trenches until
so many of the defenders in the con-
caved shelters were killed or wounded
that they were too weak to resist an
assault. Every curve or angle in the
miles of labyrinthian cuttings has It's
story of tragedy and heroisr
Bombs Burst Near Civilians.
In the party which went over this
ground and into the firing trench
within calling distance of the German
lines with the Associated Press cor
respondent were Owen Johnson. Arnold
Bennett, Walter Hale. the artist, and
George H. MAR of the British foreign
office. AS they approached the lines
one shell from a four-inch gun burst
within twenty-five yards of them.
while others exploded only thirty or
forty yards away The soldiers in the
trenches laughed heartily at the en-
barrassment of the civilians.
The visitors were invited by the SOL
diers into their shelters, which are dry
caves with narrow entrances and with
clay floors covered with mating or
sacking and family Illuminated by the
light which filters in from the entrance
or by bits of candle on me inside. Men
who had been on dut.r tn. Dug nout the
night were sleeping in these caves.
The men on the hrInS line express
the utmost confidence that what was
done yesterday or this morning they
can keep on doing until the war has
been won. They never hear the vague,
unverified reports circulated in Paris,
sometimes of tremendous and impossi-
BILE victories or sinister hints OF disas-
ter. They know what they have done
since March 8, when ordered to act
upon this part of the Aisne. They talk
as matter of course of another WIN
ter campaign. because, they say. 1t Will
take another year to break the Ger
man power.
The principal occupations of the SOL
diers when off duty, instead Of worry
ing about the war. are eating and
sleeping. The visitor hears more
hearty laughter in an hour at the front
than in a week behind the lines
Extreme Watchfulness Necessary.
Extreme watchfulness Is exercised
on both sides of the line. German ar
tillerists shell even one man sighted
walking within three or four miles OF
their front. Powerful glasses are used
by the French. graduated lines on the
lenses showing within fifty yards the
location of an object or an individual
While the members of the party
were waiting at the rendezvous at the
time agreed upon. four automobiles
came within German range at dust