The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1915-11-17
Within Line Fifteen Miles
Long Million Men Fought
Deadly Conflict; Three Mil
lion Shells Fired.
FRENCH ARTILLERY
FIRE DEVASTATING
German Trenches Literally
Wiped Out in Reckless Ex-
penditure of Ammunition
Which Preceded Assault.

ASSOCIATED Press coFr-spoaaenee1
Chaions. France, oct. 22.-Thero
was stiil wrcckage enough remaining
on the battlefield Of Champagne three
weeks after the battle was fought to
give some idea of the ~ Of de-
struction when IL a fresh after the
advance. Within a space fifteen miles
In length by from one to three In
breadth at least a million men were
engaged on both sides; $4,000 PRISON.
oners were taken. and at least two
or three shells for every man engaged
were fired
That sheet of preparatory shell fire
which had descended upon fifteen
miles OF German front trenches had
meant a swath OF slaughter 10 start
with. For three days. night and day.
this bombardmcnt continued. Ac-
cording to the accounts OF German
prisoners they could only hug the
shelter of their subterranean cham
bers under their crumbling %pdrapets.
4 wall OF artillery fire back % the
trenches kept the supplies from
reaching them In front OF the
trenches the continued crash OF shrap
mel blasts was cutting the barbed
wire. For months the French had
been accommodating ammunition which
they poured out from every calibcr Of
gun.
This shell fire not only killed and
wounded Germans. not only made
the most elaborate trenches into DUST
heaps. but Uttered the field with
smashed German caissons, transport
wagons, clothing, equipment and all
h impcdiments of an army. There
was peace IN the German trenches for
the first time In three days as the
wave OF French infantry rushed fOr
the German trenches. Then the
French guns stopped firing lcst they
Kill their 0wn men. The wave had
not more than goo yards to go. Esti-
mate the time 1t tool the French
soldiers TO reach the wreckaEc whicn
had been the German trenches and
grapple with any survivors In the
dug0uts. In some places the wave
swept on beyond the trench like the
tide running up an inlet The Ger
mans hetwcen uch forces were
caught IN a pair of pincers. This ac-
counted Tor the prisoners who were
taken Ia patches They were sur
rounded by infantry with no way 90
retreat open to them.
"Only the little things now re-
main said a French soldier h was
sulysgins the ruins Of the German
redoubt of la Poche-"Thc Pocket'-
IN the famous Trou Bricot sector. AT
the start, % course. we buried the
dead and gathered up the broSen ma
chine guns which nae been destroyed
10y our gunfire."
The town OF Yprcs In the British
lines probably remains the most CO.
lossal example Of shell fire. hut
Yprcs was a town II was not built
to Withstand shell fire. but as a home
for men Ia time OF peace In T on
Bricot the Germans with the science
and amazing industry which Charac-
tcrizo their operations. had set out to
build themselves a bastion which
would Withstand the kind Of fire they
had visited upon Yprcs, They had
been at work for many months per-
fccting It from time To time. enlarg-
ing and strengthening n. busy us ants
I'm "a hill II was "a vast warren of
sandbags bristling with machine guns
"a knuckle-like salient In the Ger.
man front line. Small forests OF
harhed wire guarded 10 right and lefi.
- NNN HN NAhNA AkNANNAHN EAtA ANfANNN 40
"a slate roof against hail The cxplo-
s.on OF II high explosive shell was
localized In one of "A multitude OF
chambers built with "a view 70 recci,
ing such visitors. shafts In the earth
underneath tho whole offered further
protection. In the wcnter was a sort
Of wen in thpmidst Of the walls al
sandbags whecr the occupants might
D aHsU... la...saAeFa 90. .H..N4.- .-.-.
bumbs from the air.
But the French guns showercd ton,
upon tom OF shells upon La pocht
for thcac three days. When a cham
her was destroyed they gave the Ger.
mans no time To repair u. For sew
cutl two hours the blasts OF cxplo,
sions were tearing az that redoubt-
a hurricane OF all the big calber'
from six to f~fteeu-inch with som,
smaller one thrown in Tor good
p measure. Underneath La FOche aI
tho end of a French mine rested d
huge charge of explosive. THAT wa
fired just before the infantry charged
n carried Germans and sandhag.
/ h-eaVcnward la II cloud two or thrc.
hundred feet high and left "a crate
OF 80 least M hundred feet in deptl
I and one hundred and nfty seet ID
{ width Any Germans who survive,
% were in The pail OF dust from q u
r the French infantry charged yer IN
bare space wheer the haruod wlr
% had been destroyed Ay guns whicI
3 were given this part of the work 4
@ do I'm ten minutes from the time tina
the French infantry lcft their trench
cs they Were in full possession OF l..
= pochr.
ga was easy, monsieur" said
soldier, easier than some niue
simpler Qualifications which Ne fouu
later ON where the shells had not fall
- en- $50 tickly. We rushed IN and W
u looked aruund-tor somebody 90 flgi
2 with But there was no one. Ft
10 the most part there was morning b,
b; the fragments Of men and thei
a were men lying ahout trying 90 app
FIFaf AID fumluuUa aud Ia fgtt 4fuunai