Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-02-28
BATTLE OF SCISSORS
DESCRIBED IN LETTER
It's Desperate Character Revealed i'm
Simplicity OF Epistlc OF French
Private.
SOLDIERS PREPARE FOR DEATH
For Two Days Men Eat Nothing and
Confidence Is Never Lost, and Fire.
..HuC1t Fierce German Attacks Are
Successfully Rcpulsed.

Especial Cable to The Times Dispatch
| PARIS, February 27.-'rhc following
letter from a French private Describes
the desperate battle of scissors Tho
simplicity of il. and it's sincerity. re-
veal the character of this lighting more
vividly than could be written in OIL
cial dispatches:
My very dear Yvonnc:
Thanks TO God I am still hero and
my health is good. As every one cx-
pectcd. tn" days Of sacrifice kavc come.
Know my Yvonne Is strong In spirit.
and That she has no false illusions. So
that you may understand am going
TO tell you frankly about the terrible
days of the Sth and 9th.
"As I told you. we were at N
from the evening OF the LIST OF Janu
AIRY. Happy and calm. we enjoyed
wcll-carned rest. ON the evening OF
the 9TH an unexpected order comes
along: Everybody to be ready, without
| haversack. and with 300 cartridges
AT about o'clock in the evening; off
we go, cross $ and get on the
plateau. the rest OF the night being
spent in the grottocs. Here We are
then fixed up: We have got to attack
and take the German trenches.
That night did not sleep. by the
light of my little lamp ! arranged my
small affairs, and was not alone in
this work. Nearly the whole company
felt the need of writing and OF self
| expression. Between the comrades
! there was gripping OF hands. and wc
conforted each other. Eight o'clock in
the morning comes our artillery
opens fire and for an hour sprinklcs
the enemy's trenches with more than
1000 shells. During this time our own
battalion gets into the trenches. The
German trenches arc only fifty metres
away. Tho artillery comes TO dead
! stop; 1t is now o'clock
,r,IRI
IS QUICKLY CAPTURED
But our commandment. a man with
soul, wants TO profit by the moral
effect which our artillery has produced
on the Germans. lie orders the charge
! TO be sounded, and darts forward first.
followed by the two companies. In
twenty minutes the first line OF
trenches was captured. The fine en-
ample given by our commandant Is
great, but II cost him his lie. and his
adjutant was killed By his side.
Our losses in the attack were not
very large. But the counterattack OF
| the Germans was Inevitable. 1t was
then that the ninth and tenth compan-
les came inc action. 1t is ten o'clock
at night. The order comes to occupy
the captured trenches. Until 3
o'clock in the morning the positions
are strengthened. The crumbling
trenches are dug out, and we get rid
the corpes. German and French.
"All Of sudden great cry is raised
by a thousand voices:
THE Bosches are coming on at the
charge"
Everybody leaps up The Germans
are already on the edge of the trench
Oh. dear Yvonne: Oh, the horrible
| vision. the horrible carnage.
Every one has understood and knows
that he has TO defend his life. At
every turn the Germans are killed; the
bayonet works. They are impaled. For
my part saw red Death scared over
my head and did not think about it,
The edge Of the trench is liberated
But how can | describe this scene to
YOU. and how Is il that am not mad?
! 1t is terrifying; the crying of the
wounded, the shouting OF defenders and
| assailants. AT last the Germans
fall back. The lieutenant proves him
self worthy of his task; In clear
voice ne orders vollcy firing. But the
'Bosches' reply. and they come back
crawling on all fours How many of
us fell under the bullets!
| NOTHING nut HEAP
Of CORPSES IN CORNER
In our corner there is nothing but
n heap OF corpres. There Is the smell
of blood. The screaming of the wound
ed tears your heart out But all that
puts us in n rage. In volleys we keep
on firing Dawn comes to deliver us.
The enemy was thrust back. OH How
our hcad were reNcnScd! over the
parapct of the trench in the field one
can only see corpscs. corpscs which
are going TO stay where they lie. This
savage war does not allow the burial
of the dead.
About midday tho Germans renew !
their attack. This time we can see |
them advancing in close order. With n
grip on our rifles we wait for them. !
for they were too far away TO be fred !
at They are going to swarm upon
us, but wc shall defend ourselves. sud
denly our scvcnty-hvc begins to vo7nit