The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1915-12-30
HOW EUROPEAN BATTLE
AFFECTS SOLDIERS.

Many facts of extraordinary IN
terest were observed by DR. Grille
during the fighting and are describ-
ed by him in his book in a manner
which would only be possible to a
very skilful and scientific surgeon.
For instance, he tells how and why
men slept on the march and even
when severely wounded. He tells US
how and why men sustained terrible
wounds without feeling any pain and
in some cases without being con-
scious of it.
Perhaps one of the greatest re-
treats in history was that of one OF
the allied armies from Mons to the
Marne. After a sustained and heavy
action at Mons, being overpowered
by the enemy, the French and Brit
ish armies began their retirement,
which continued for nine days and
nights. One hundred and eighty
miles of marching, without making
camp, was accomplished in that great
retreat,i in which the pace was set by
the enemy. Only rarely were suth-
GENTLY long halts made for the men
to catch a few moments OF rest.
Food and water were scarce and ir-
regularly supplied.
1T has been shown" says DR.
Grille; that animals subjected to the
most favorable conditions, kept from
exertion or worry. supplied with
plenty of food and in good hygienic
surroundings, do not survive longer
than from FIVE to eight days without
sleep. The mere maintenance of the
conscious state is at the expense OF
the brain, the adrenals and the liver.
And these changes are identical with
the changes in these organs wrought
by exertion, infection and emotion.
The changes wrought by these acti-
vators can be repaired only during
sleep. Sleep. therefore, is as essen
tial as food and air. In this retreat
from Mons to the Marne we have an
extraordinary human experiment in
which several hundreds of thousands
of men secured but little sleep dur
ing nine days. and in addition made
forced marches and fought one OF
the greatest battles in history.
There is no reason to believe that
man could live nine days without
sleeping, and these soldiers solved
the problem by sleeping while they
marched. Sheer fatigue slowed down
their pace to a rate that would per-
NIT them to sleep while walking.
When they halted. they fell asleep.
They slept in water and also on rough
ground, when suffering the pangs of
hunger and of thirst. and even when
severely wounded.
They passed through villages
asleep. When sleep deepened and
they began to reel they were awak-
ened by their comrades. They some
times fell down asleep in water, on
stones, in brush, or in the middle of
the road, as if they had suddenly
fallen in death. Any man who
dropped out of the ranks was lost to
the army, for no matter on what pre-
text he fell out, sleep conquered him
and the enemy captured him in that
condition. That artillerymen slept
on horseback is shown by the fact
that every man lost his cap.
DR. Gros, of the American Ambu-
lance, who went to the battlefield of
the Marne, in the rear of the re-
treating French army. to collect
wounded, gives some extraordinary
incidents concerning the power of
sleep. When the ambulances arrived
at Meaux at midnight they found
the town in utter darkness. Not a
sound was heard in the street, not a
light was seen. The only living
things were hundreds of cats. The
surgeons called, they shouted, they