Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-01-16

ASSOCIATED Press Correspondence
Hanover. Dec. 29.-Though the
modern battlefield at night is the
abode Of terror. it does not lack pic
turesqueness, according to a German
officer whose opportunities to be i'm
pressed have been many. In let
ter to a friend here he wrote:
Being on observation duty at
night is not as lonely job as you
think. Time passes very quickly.
There are nights. however, when
every minute seems an hour-all that
depends upon circumstances and
your own frame of mind.
War here is more intense than it
is in the East. My observation post
lies close to the lines of the French
on hill. From there l report the
movements Of the enemy and direct
our artillery fire. Over me fly hun
dreds of shells and shrapnel from
both sides. A share Of them came
last night.
Until about 10 o'clock all was
quiet. From out Of the dark night
came the usual battlefield noises, if
noises one could call them. Some
where men spoke in an undertone-
what language I don't know. Shen
came the sound Of footsteps. A man
coughed in suppressed manner, and
the steps of another were recorded
by the faint voice Of two metallic
substances striking together. Then
the steps and other sounds vanished
and / replaced my revolver.
There was nothing to be seen, un-
til to my right the rifles in a French
trench began to sputter. Little
tongues of purplish fire seemed 20
leap across the ground, and through
the air went the vail Of thousands
of bullets. What they shot at
could not discover-false alarm, of
course. But they kept it up valiant
ly and the excitement communicated
itself to the trenches in front Of ma
and to those beyond on my left.
In less time than it takes to write
it, the entire field rose from sleep.
Searchlights which had lain still be-
gan to move about frantically. Hero
and there other lights appeared as f
somebody had turned on the electric
current Of a city.
headquarters wanted to know
what was the matter. After confess
ing my ignorance / returned to my
task Of observing things in the dark.
But through my glasses the little
flames Of the rifles became merely a.
trifie larger and more intense, and
the silhouettes and shadows cast by
the searchlights blacker. From near
came the buzzing of an aeroplane
motor-it passed on, which way
cont know
And then greenish flames in the
far-off sky told Of rockets or shrap-
mel, whichever they were. A detona-
ton back of me caused me to loo6
around. Just then two Of our guns
emitted columns of fire. and the next
instant a shell sailed through the AR
above me with An uncanny moan.
Another came. Ahead Of me. in q
rapid succession two sheaf-life flash
es and two explosions that shook the
earth around me.
Soon the fire became general. The
battlefield assumed an aspect which
i would call beautifully-terriblc.
There were moments when it re-
serpbled large city in which the in
Eabitants passed the night by pulling
up and down the shutters Of their
windows. OF a sudden whole rows
Of houses would be lighted up, as the
men in the trenches fired volleys. For
a moment a part Of this city would
lie in utter darkness and then would
rise from it the columns Of fire
emitted by the howitZer batteries.
The pillars of fire would rise almost
perpendicularly, giving the impress
sion that you were looking upon a
vast number of steel-ovens.
"Of man you heard not a sound.
No human voice could be heard in
the din; softly I tried my own. But
the effort mingled with an explosion
nearby.
For some time the fury OF the bat
tie in the dark, about nothing, in
creased.
For the greater part Of an hour
the thrashing continued. Then the
outbreaks lessened in volume and
frequency. and finally died out alto
gether. In the trench in front Of me
men now spoke. but soon it was 50
still again that could hear the tick.
ing Of my watch and the signing OF
the wind in the nearby willows"