South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-07-20
NAUGHTY BOYS OF
FRANCE ARE BRAVE
Members of Famous Regiment
Sure to Give Battle When
Call Comes.

LONDON. z9.-The Paris CORES
pendent OF London newspaper
writes:
have spoken with many wound
ed soldiers but those who have made
the greatest impression on me were
the men Of the North African diyi-
sion. No matter whether they be
Moors who have in their youth fought
against France in their deserts or
youngsters Incorporated in the ia
nous Bat d Ar the Naughty Boys Of
France they all show a magnificent
courage. The ZOuaves too. the baggy
trousered men with the devil-may-
care air-have fought and bled for
Frsnce and are now in the front line
of the trenches
Limping along on crutches the 9TH
er day ] met a fair haired yOungster
who belongs TO the regiment OF the
Naughty Boys. With "A dreamy look
In his eyes he told me of his adven-
lures since Charleroi which they re-
took seven times at the point of the
bayonet,
After Charleroi during the retreat
they were surrounded by the Prussian
guard. The Naughty Boys hurled their
flag so that it should not fall into the
their way out Of the circle.
Used Machine Guns
Coming down in the retreat they
met the Prussian Guard again near
Rheims just after that regiment had
marched through the town TO the mu-
sic Of the fife and drum. IL was in
the marches Of Saint Gond that the
second encounter took place and
Resale" as they call the bayonet
played another important role This
time they met the advancing gray
coated hOrdes with machine gun fire
and split great holes ia their ranks.
cit was a fine concert said the boy
We began with an overture played
by the mitrailleuses, then we Joined
in with our rifles and little later the
cEef d'orchestra told the sOiXante-
quinze TO play the finale That just
about finished them, but as soon as
the bombardment stopped we were at
them with Resale and made them
and made them dance TO our tune.
The first row of Germans stood
stock still like dummies. We saw
some of those behind begin TO run.
That did IT. We cut right through
them and then charged back again
10 cut down the remaining men. Then
we went back and the artillery pol
ished them off.
After the Marine the Naughty Boys
were sent to help to block the road
10 Calais where q German army
corps were massed for conquest.
When the worst was over in Elan
ders the bat d. Ar were hurried
back in motor cars to Tracy-le- Val TO
bar the way TO Conpiegne Here they
were fated TO meet the Prussian
Guard again.
At this time Tracy-le-Val was the
weakest point in the French line.
Dominated by hills on which the en-
envy had mounted artillery the Ger
mans were able to attack at will but
the Naughty Boys held on. This is
the story of how they held the enemy
at bay:
Germans Retire.
For seven hours the battle ragged
without either side being able to
claim an advantage. Then with their
dead piled high on the field the Ger
mans retired for the last time.
Some Of the individual deeds were
extraordinary. A sergeant engaged in
single fight with a German nOn-com-
missioned officer. They chased each
other round and round tree for 30
minutes Then the sergeant caught
his adversary in the ribs with his bay
Onet and forced him to come into the
open
They struggled like primitive men,
hdlI UEntlng. nalt wrestling They
fell and rolled over and over each
other. All the time the main battle
was raging around them First one
came on top and tried 20 beat the life
out Of the other; then the under man
would give a twist of his limbs and
become top dog
Presently the German became
weaker and weaker and the men re-
manned locked together for some mo-
ments. Not a word was spoken hut
the men seemed TO understand each
other perfectly and they broke away
crawled a few feet apart and sat IN
and smiled.
Go At IL Again.
After a rest they began again
This time the German tried to but
the Frenchman in the stomach witt
his head. a form of attack which
aroused the sergeant's wrath. He
determined to teach the German q
lesson in the art of Ia boxe Ang
laise' as witnessed by him at the Pari.
Wonderland
1T must have been a heroic sigh
that OF these two men engaged in
deadly combat in complete oblivion
OF the grOans of the dying and tn,
bullets flying around
Ia bOXe Anglaise' not meetins
with its anticipated success. the ser