The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-08-21

fronts. Human flesh is undergoing at
Ferdun and on the Somme conditions
which were not only unbelievable be-
fore the war but which were impossi-
BILE at the beginning of the war be-
cause it was necessary for the con-
tending armies to be educated and &C
customed to the increasing vioien.
scale of the fighting.
The Somme battle after Verdun
proves that artillery prepOnderance is
rot the decisive factor because with
the entertainments completely flat
tened out and only shell hole shelters,
it is the human flesh and the deter
mining spirit of sacrifice that holds
out in open defiance of the unceasing
tornado of bursting shells.
Night attacks are increasingly re-
sorted to on account of the heat and
also to minimize the effect of the ma
chine guns. All night the French and
German lines are ablaze everywhere
with fire tongues from the mouths of
guns and flashes of shell bursts.
Where the contending lines approach
one another the landscape disappears
in a volcano. The whole region is
wrapped in a cloud of red, green and
yellow fumes from high explosives and
binding stencil and tearing shells.
necessarily the artillery sledge ham,
mer pounds upon the infantry hanging
on to the ground with all the might of
soul and nerves amid conditions too
hellish to describe. The fuses of pro-
Jectors sweep the ground necessarily
but the smoke cloud is so dense that
masked patrols are necessary to assure
linking of the units. The incessant
cannon roar is so deafening that
shouts and whistles are not heard at
all.
Artillery plays a tremendous part
but its contest of nerves and STAN
ina" said a wounded participant, add
ing the ground is so plowed that in
the dugouts the sensation is like that
in a storm bound cabin
The allied troops show an unques-
| tionable superiority in morale. The
Germans are relying mainly on thei1
artillery.
Germany has made stupendous eff
forts to keep her superiority in wal
machinery, not only constructing Al
high pressure but also having achieved
projections and inventions of new
| types. AS a result the Germans have
! since the outbreak of the war, bu
| also bettered it.
New Monster Gun.
| The new 100 millimeter gun which
! the "Poilus'' have christened "Theo
! dule" is a remarkable weapon of sucI
| high speed of initial velocity that :
shell travels as fast as the sound ant
| eXplOueS at the same Tune as the start
| ing sound is heard, thus preventin,
| timely refuge to shelter.
The usual development of the bat
ties on the Somme is this: A forrnid
able artillery preparation by the allie
enable their troops to capture tn
| German first line. The next day tn
Germans reply with a formidabl
| long distance cannonade, Smelling evel
the allies artillery which prepared tn
| attack on the evening before Tn
| allies often find it too difficult to bea
| the German big guns before it is posi-
BILE for their artillery to find the rang
of the German batteries The enorm
Gus masses of artillery employed o.
| the Somme and at Verdun heights tn
| special requirements of the gifts of a
artillery general directing immens
| groups of many calibers and differen
| kinds of shells in the course of tn
| titantic duel. Whereas in the previou
! offensive one mile was allotted per bal
terry for barrage fire, the average no,
is 500 feet.