The Anderson daily intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson, S.C.) 1914-1915, 1915-01-09

tigued forces from the German
trenches and relieving them with
fresh troops Is dramatically diacus-
sed by correspondent of the Berlin.
er Tageblatt, who prefaced The stor,
with experiences of himself and col.
leagues in getting into and out of the
firing line.
We could only reach the village
Ecssen,' he writes. Here we had
to leave the automobile in the mud be-
hind church whose. walls showed the
marks of a desperate struggle. Every
where ON tie 6Tound. bandagesfi arms
and parts OF unifOrms-eVerythin
coveveFed with yellow mud. Beside
the church were fresh graves.
From Eessen to Dixmude the road
or three kilometers runs parallel To
the French trenches. Every auto and
every wagon seen on the road is TAX
en under fire from the trenches which
IRE only about 400 yards away.
80 we left the automobile in COW
ar and continued our journey on foot.
Keeping ABOUT 60 feet apart In order
TO be as inconspicuous to the enemy
Is possible. But they had already
5een us. A rolling fusilade began to
sweep the road. We jumped from
tree to tree. and made part Of the
| distance by running in stopped posi-
ton behind q hedge. i".' =. ~.
THE mud was several feet deep I'm
places. and our way lay past trench
cs and dead horses. Many ~ .sn ami.
mails wero chestnuts. deeply imbeda. 4
In the mud, and"their wide-open eyes
stared into the leaden sky liz most un-
canny fashion b. ~! S+tt4
"of a sudden the man ahead of me
shouted and Jumped behind the wall
or building isat had been laid low.
He believed he had Deen hit, but as
luck, would have 1t the bullet Just miss
ed him and had buried itself with a
thud In nearby tree.
His experience induced us to pro-
gress little more rapidly and with
greater caution-from cover to cover.
AFTER while we came to an ex-
posed railroad crossing some 600 feet
from the trenches OF the enemy. First
one man bolted across the open
place, then the other, until we were
all over. The bullets from the French
helped every one to lose no time.
But now we had the protgction OF
the railroad embnnkment. and availins
ourselves OF this we soon reached. the
ruins of Dixfnude. Several streets
and especially the market place iiei
within the fire zone OF the enemy. 2
In this uncahny town dweiis' s'S .rii.' iit
speakRbIe fear. Dixmude has been shot
up as nd other place lii the heatTes OF
war. ftl the shell -furrowed streets
The mud Is sevesal feet deep. and flisffee
appears to be not "a single forse
Essfici has tiiot BEEN hit by shelf. But
III this + EAfnRnotilsure.e DodEifap nom
one street corner TO another! to avoid
thef haifets which seem to hayo a,sors
~ fountain IepS sat ytf1eS end of nach'
street, ;you hay b no time to. smalte
iilaiiy. sor close, observations! At any.
rate the ruifs from little hills one
has difficulty sertihg over: " so s1tS.
1--WE finally etime to the market
place. which lis constantly swcpt by Al
aall OF bullets. In a rush we gain the
aheitsF Of tine @alis OF the c;sT iiaii
on the other side. To one side OF this
are the ruins of ST. Nicholas, recog-
nizable as a church today only by two
Walls and pillar which rear into the
sky like naked giants.
The town Is empty and deserted.
But you become aware OF noiseless.
uncanny sort of life in the houses, 1t
comes from the cellars where our SOL
diers are in quarters
We finally met the commandant of
the place. He had been decorated
with the iron cross, first class, and
showed that he was glad to sec new
faces In this place of desoiation.
As lie explained the situation to u.s.
bullets hit ths walls to the left and
right tof ub. We counted ss5t In one
minute on; the wall of,a building closr
by. Zealously, by day and:night, this
wastea OF aiiimnnitions'goes oa.i.'s q
sa"The only living creatures our men,
found in Dixmude were n. sdbg and
three cats. Three stime5aAf oura times
DiSmude has heeR che centers 6fta bats
tie,s But n6w the; large heap or ruins
o. IA our sbosaAssion. and with IT. uTe
have gained sn point directly on the
Ysef canal, which passes cioseeto the
last houses OF the town on the west.
but we intended to get into the
tranches-thG ffr'aE line.
"Fhe road to lay through a
trench approa, whose wild and
bloods history is not likely to find an
equal even in this war. on we go
through shellewrecled houses. sfun-
nels. cellars. stables. upstairs through
rows OF rooms. then 3 down again
across n narrow street exposed to the
lire or the enemy; through houses and
rooms and acroas yards. and finally
into d long subterrsneah passage from
whose ceiling the water ran Ia
streams. "a, 3.
in the distance we, iinally saw a
light very much aAfone does In eoln4
ii.s TO i the end OF atrniiroad tunnel
sse we're Ia the trench closest to
the enemy. 10; 81 Z. 4