The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-04-25
BATTER At PEAK
FOR MANY WEEKS
Battle for Hartmannsweil-
erkopf Continuous for
Three Months.
SURPRISED IN DUGOUTS
Germans Unaware of Approach of
French Chasseurs Until Too
Late to Recover.

srrcial Gable TO The Washington Herald
Basic. Switzerland, April 4.-The fight
for the possession of the famous Hart
nannsweilerkopf lasted, one may say,
for three months, and the advantages
gained by the French are enormous II
gives them command of the German
lines of communication to Sulz. Unholz
Bollweiller. Sennheim, and Wittelsheim.
and endangers all the German positions
halfway to Mulhausen, which Is only
sixteen miles away.
The summit is S56 meters above the
level Of the sea, and from this point OF
vantage the French can survey the en-
tire Sungau and plain Of Upper Alsace
almost to the Rhine.
The French already held the famous
summit last autumn, but at the end OF
December, owing to the difficulties Of re-
victualling over the snow-covered noun
tain routes, they left only a small out
post force of Chasseurs Alpins to guard
it. On the night of January 10 the
handful of French Chasseurs was sur
prised by a large German attacking
force, which captured the point.
Mountain Top Taken.
Other French outpost forces returned
to the attack for several days in sue
cession, in the hope Of recapturing the
summit, but they failed. The struggle
was resumed when the French worked
round gradually from Thanh and the
valley of St. Amarin. and. after defeat
ing the Germans in the course of nu-
merous and almost daily battles in the
valleys and on the heights round about,
succeeded at last. on March IS. in &C.
cupying the top of the mountain.
The area thus recovered Is only some
six or eight miles broad, but 1t repre-
sents a great success for the French.
Extraordinary stories have been told
of the bravery of the French Chasseurs
Alpins who attacked this summit which
was defended by an entire German brig
ade. composed. however, chiefly of Wur-
temberg and Bavarian Landsturm men.
who were exhausted by a long winter
campaign. They were unable to meet
the furious rush with cold steel of the
French mountain troops, who seemed to
spring out of the ground, climbing over
precipitous rocks, and actually dropping
down from the trees on the supplied
Germans.
The latter had dug trenches and blasted
passages in the rocks. and even laid
electric wires to light up their subter-
ranean galleries. when these passages
were suddenly barred at each end by
the French. So complete was the surprise
that a number of German officers were
captured before they could bring their
men into line.
No Rest for Weeks.
In the central Vosges. and as far as
the Valley of the Woevre, the battle
has been intense for the last few weeks.
The severity Of the fighting may be
judged from a letter which a German
soldier sent to his brother in Basic. He
says that they had no rest in the Woevre
for weeks, the alarm being sounded at
all hours Of the day and night. Fifty
of them lay in trench, snatching a
few minutes sleep now and then, on
bags filled with straw. The shower of
shells went on without interruption. For
weeks he had been unable to write a
line, and he was then writing at o'clock
at night. during a short respite.
He continues:
We are trying to hold an advanced
position in the Woevre. To the west, the
hills rise with very steep slopes. and to
the south We can see Chatel, Hatton-
willie, Cillydur-Cete, St. Maurice and
Thillaut. At Combres, not one stone is
left on the other. The number of troops
massed by the French at all strategic
points is incredible. They always herald
attack by an unusually heavy artiI-
lery fire. The loss of our position at
liit spun VI tnc "otNTt wOulu ne
disastrous for U.S. 1t would mean the re-
treat of our forces on Metz, when the
French guns would play havoc with all
our laboriously organized defenses.
Rombardment of us Guns.
Yesterday afternoon the French artil- !
lery opened up such a bombardment as
none OF us had ever witnessed before. 1t
shook some of the oldest campaigners |
We learned later that lis guns had tax
en- part in the cannonade. They were
all sorts. heavy, middling and light |
and, with their successive discharges the |
earth quaked Black clouds of smoke |
mingled with the white puffs of bursting |
shells. and dimmed the view. We often
heard from five to ten guns discharge
their shells simultaneously.
THE first line of trenches was held
by Bavarians and the hail of shells be-
came such that the trenches had to be
evacuated. The position was no longer
tenable Between and 6 in the after
noon We counted that some 1000 shots
had been fired. We made a stand at
Nationwide. where we were Joined by
the Bavarians. They were a sight /
shall never forget: soiled, wearied. and
bleeding. their clothes In tatters 1t was
the climax of a three-day and three
night uninterrupted battle. and the won
der is that We have been able to hold
our ground" III