The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1915-07-24
close range of two hundred yards In
the wood beyond TIE crest.

the wood beyond the crest
The telephones wor,-el .aacs~antly.
Each of the batts ior soaman1ors re-
ported in turn-Cne that his machine
guns had been put ont of action, an
other that there was a gap in his line.
a third that he was holding good at
full strength. The colonel explained
that his last reserves were engaged.
/ A message came that his right flank
| was open and was being turned. He
/ seized the telephone and called 1.-TWO
4 companies forward at the double." re
| porting his action directly to the staff
of the division.
/ There was a peculiar humanness
about all these messages; in form
they were just ordinary courteous con.
versations. The question which
| brought the most disquieting answers
was, How are your connactions?"
The colonel on the left reported that
his line was penetrated at more than
OhO POlnL Uut WGS nOIQlHS OuIs ut
right wing telephone gave no answer
at all. Life there was unliveable; and
heard from soldiers a report that
they had seen the Austrians in the
Russian trenches.
Shells and shrapnel were crashing
all round us, especially in our rear,
hut that I had passed on the way
down broke out in full flame. Nearer
down there fell four black explosives
| at regular distances of fifty yeards,
1.-THE four packets" as one officer call
| ed it. Our cover would all have gone
with a single shot, and the men
crouched to avoid the falling splinters
from each she'll
In this most depressing atmosphere
went on the conversation between the
colonel and the divisional staff. 81
can get no track of the right wing.
Cavalry is reported on both of my
tanks. The right has had to retreat"
| The answer was an order to retire at
nightfall Three hours at least to
wait.
The orders were communicated in
French over each battalion telephone.
mentary French; it was anyhow the
French of brave man.
AS disquietude increased permits
SIGN came to retire at once; but the
colonel answered that this could not
! be done; he was in hot defensive ac-
ton, and the enemy would follow on
his heels; at present he was holding
his own.
| Ny hosts argued me to go. The
situation was getting too serious for
a non-combatant. 1t was with an i'll
/ feeling that turned for the slope As
began to reach shelter, | suddenly
saw on the hills to the west men run
ming down the slope towards us. "Per-
haps ours, perhaps the enemy said
my Cossack escort But We reached
| the crest unmolested and were now in
| comparative safety; for we were out
of the line of fire, and the valley to
the north of us was full of our own
people.
Here there was a long train Of
wounded and we found our automo
bile in the midst of it. We packed in
| the men with the worst wounds that
we noticed; they lay without a grOan,
! and one said, Thanks be to the Lord
and eternal gratitude to you" A
young soldier told us that no living
man could have driven troops on the
right wing from their positions; but
| that the whole area was covered With
| shells till trenches and men were
leyeled out of existence. The com
panies left comparatively intact had
all joined the center. OF this section
of the line we could only hear vague
rumors.
Late in the day we reached the de-
serted school house to which the staff
had retired.
| By morning the lines lay just out
| side the town, AM the Germans and
| Austrians were making tremendous
attack on them, pounding them with
| the heaviest artillery and advancing
in close column again and again.
The leader of The division is fight
MAR nFhTH