South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-07-15
SUCCESS IS DUE
TO ALPINE TROOPS
Capture Mountain Businesses
Regarded as lmpregnable
by Germans.
BY Franklin u. Merrick.

-
PARIS. july 15.-Recent successes
won bv the French in Alsace were due
70 the daring assaults of the Alpine
troops. They captured the mountain
| Businesses which the Germans regard
ed as im~pregnable.
Full credit for the Alsace victories
is given TO h Alpine chasseurs IN Of
fetal eyewitness narratives u
by the war office today.
For the attacks upon the German
strongholds upon the crestS OF the
Vosges. the French made long prepa-
! ~rations, building 20 miles Of rall-
road for the transportation of guns
/ and ammunition. one hundred ana
fifty tons of material were carried
over this railroad daily.
The text of the c~Ommunique FOL
lows:
The successes Of the French troops
i'm Alsace around Metzel and Sender
ach were chiefly due 10 the magnlh-
cent courage of the infantry and Al
pine chasseurs. The Germans had &C
cording to prisoners taken by Us for
titled their positions so strongly that
they believed them impregnable.
Around Steinbruck several ines OF
trenches a been dug o each
crest.
THE preparations we made for at
lacking these strongholds were long
and careful. We had to build 20 miles
] of railway lines over which we carried
materials and ammunition weighing
at least $50 tons. We also had TO
build many miles of communicating
trenches.
ION June 10 we delivered an attack
! from both sides of the Fecht valley,
the infantry charging with maSnil-
| cent courage while the bands played
the Marseillaise.' The German artil-
lery deluged our lines with projectiles
but could not break down the attack.
We took a great part of the Braun
kopf trenches and at the crest of mn
No. $50 which we had attacked on
two sides, two German companies fell
into our hands.
Around Eichwalde and Anlass our
advance was less rapid. On Anlass
crest there was trench to trench fight
ing in which hand grenades were
used.
ION June &c we began a new series
of attacks. taking the German posi-
ton at BraunkOpf and thus putting us
i'm a position to open up the road 10
Metzeral. But the Germans still held
a position on the crest of Anlass and
this had to be taken before the road
TO Metzeral could be dominated by
US.
"All our efforts were now Concen-
trated against the crest of Anlass. At
ter a three day battle in which the
fighting was of the most sanguinary
nature our Alpine troops gained the
summit and swept the Germans down
the slope on the other side, captur-
ing six command officers, II non-com-
missiOned officers and 40 ~privates.
"Our Alpine men fought with sub
lime bravery. They refused to sur
render and in one group every man
died fighting. After the battle their
bodies were AL found in a straight
line with the faces turned toward the
German lines. They had refused to
give up or fall back and ach died a
true soldier with his face to the en-
envy.
I'VE then attempted to capture
Metzeral. starting tbs operations on
June p. During that day and the
next we bOmbarded MetZeral with in
cendiary shells. our aim being TO de-
strOy all the houses so hat the Ger
mans could not use them for the on
cealment of machine guns. The Ger
mans could not stand our fire and
they evacuated the town as well as
the forests around Winterhagel and
Sonderbach thus enabling Us TO es-
tablish our front all along the line of
the Fecht river as far as Sonderbach.
I'VE thus reached our goal. In the
operations we took 6S3 men and 70
officers. The losses of the Germans,
according to the bodies found by us
were frightful. They had seven bat
talions in the district when we at
tackled and brought up others. All
the prisoners seemed to be in good
physical condition but depressed and
demOraliZed. All were terrOrized by
our blue devils'-Alpine chasseu -"