The Washington herald., 1915-05-16
WINTER WEAKEVS
PRINCES army
Bertelli Says French Troops
Have Best Equipment in
the World.
GERMANS USE GRENADES
Science of Man Killing Reaches Its
Highest Point in This Strife.
Declares Witness.
GERMANS USE GRENADES
Bye. F. BERTELLI.

opening Of Gen Jofrre's great spring cam
| paign. which has been rewarded with
ma gniicent initial success north Of Ar
ras. I was privileged. by the invitation
Of the war ONCE. to make thorough
study of the temper. equipment and fight
ing resources Of the French army after
| its winter campaign.
For the last four days I have had the
unprecedented privilege Of sharing every
detail Of the life of the commander OF
the French army operating between
Champagne and Verdun. Now that the
long winter months have given ample
time to the French war ONCE to COM
piete in full the preparation osthe repub-
lies army for modern warfare. nothing
Is kept secret from neutral observers.
l saw an army which. for its efficiency
in weapons. ammunition, machinery. sup
plies and Red Cross organization. have
no hesitation In describing as perfect to
the smallest detail. %
Network Of Deathtraps.
This Is all the more significant mas
much as the Argonne country Is con-
glomerate mass Of billo~ing slopes and
treacherous woods-a network OF death
traps in unquestionably the most DIM
cult fighting ground along the 5oo-miie
western front.
AltnOuSn tne oeth
necessarily waged In Argonne since the
battle of the Marine is not SO picturesque
as in other parts OF the line, nowhere
have the rival armies been locked in such
a desperate. relentless grip as here. The
struggle goes on INCREASINGLY day and
night. and along a good part of this front
the space between the rival trenches Is
no wider than Wall street.
After an exhaustive study OF the
French positions and those Of the
Kron Prinz's army facing US. as seen
through field glasses and stan maps
drawn from aerial photographs. ! am
bound to say the situation along here
Is tactically extremely favorable to
Gen. SarraiL I am convinced he holds
the power Of initiative and that what
ever efforts the Kron PrinI (whose
headquarters are now at Stendy) may
make are foredoomed TO check.
T. Destrsction . Science.
My dominating impression, after
four days continuous contact with
every branch of this army, Is that
the science Of man killing has no
where been more developed. In am
munition depots and trenches I have
seen the greatest variety Of trenches
and air bombs and hand-grenades
that the ingenuity of man ever de-
vised. Several Of them show a dis
tinct return to medieval methods of
warfare. All of them were devised by
the Germans and now they have been
copied and improved by the French
army engineers.
The ancient Greek IRE has been re-
placed by the Germans with hand
grenades which at the moment OF
plosion shot out sheets Of ha~e of
tremendous innammatory force. Inn
agine yourself surrounded by sudden
ly bursting flames and you will have
an idea of the effect fhese missiles
produce when they explode in the
trenches.
Here also the Germans are employ
ing asphyxiating gases, as in the
north. The inhuman sufferings they
cause in many cases, despite the very
eficient respirators supplied to the
troops. are beyond description in
newspaper
Also Use Gas Bonb.
To these the French are replying
with bombs which at the moment OF
explosion emit a Supplying gas 1t
was invented three years ago for use
against criminals and successfully
utilized in the capture of some auto
mobile. bandits. fhis gas causes irri-
tation of all glands and infiames the
eyes so as TO render the victims pow
erless for about an hour.
The French are not yet as expert
in throwing these missiles as the Ger
mans.
Looking through glasses ! saw some
Germans. stripped to the waist. hurting
bombs into the opposing trenches with
the deadly accuracy Of baseball
pitcher. According to information ex-
tractcd from prisoners and deserters.