Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-02-15

french order OF
battle, wherein the writer allowed Is
srensdes for each meter of trench at
the place OF attack! And those were
not divided throughout the whole day,
but for perhaps one or two hours!
The speed Of firing was like that Of
machine gun excepting that these were
not infantry shots, but grenades of ev-
cry caliber. Drum fire" we called this
kind Of artillery nre, and it's results
were fearful The wire entanglements
We're totally destroyed, as II wiped out,
the trenches were turned into flat
trougns, the shelters were broken to
pieces, no method of fertilization was
able to hold out even for a short time
against such fire.
One thing only did hold out: Ger
man discipline. German faith, German
couragei Whenever such q drum fire
began, there rose from our mounds a
gigantic wall of smoke. chalk, dust and
fragments of she'll which cut off the
outer world. Seen from the rear it was
a picture to shudder at
rEPELLED THE ATTACKS
In addition there was an intermittent
rolling, laundering, crashing, which
even miles away sounded like a heavy
thunderstorm. 1t seemed impossible that
any living thing could endure in that
hell. And if the firing stopped suddenly
or seemed to hesitate and a French in
fantry attack followed, then out of the
hollows, from half-destroyed shelters
from torn sacks of sand, our brave mus
keteers, grenadiers, or fusiliers rose, fix
ed their weapons, wiped the dust from
their eyes, and repealed the attack. And
not only once, but dozens of times did
they do thisi
But If it CHANGED that one of our
trenches under fire was emptied in or
der to diminish our losses, sometimes
a Frenoh infantry attack under protec-
ton of the artillery carried the empty
trench, especially since there was no
longer any hindrance. Then straight
way our brave men in fleld-gray leaped
out Of the nearest trenches with bayou
cts and hand grenades fixed for attack,
and nearly always threw out the enemy
with heavy losses or killed them.
But If this attack was for some rea-
son postponed for one or two hours, the
result short time sufficed for the French
who are very clever at making any sort
of defenses, to seize quickly for their
purpose the captured trench and to build
il up to bring up several machine guns,
to erect on each side a barrier and sand
bAgs-and the so-calied French nest"
was ready.
Then our regiments had the heavy
task of again taking this nest" after
long hard battle, sometimes lasting
several weeks. We went at the enemy,
with mines. while he threw from above
shells, hand grenades and bombs. Then
If we thought the nest was ready, a
group of volunteers made ready to
storm II, led by officers, at the head Of
a group of pioneers armed with grenades
and implements to tear away the SAND
bag protection, and on both sides the
storrning began at the same time.
Usually these attacks took place at
night. When the grenades had explod-
ed, our troops stormed up with utter dis
regard of death, and there arose rag
ing hand-to-hand battle, wherein bayonet
and hatchets, bootheels and spade edges
carried on a murderous work, until the
enemy was killed or surrendered
With what terrible bitterness it was
fought, the following examples will
show:
A rnuslxeteer from a Rhinish infantry
regiment had his thumb completely Bit
ten of by a Frenchman. 1t was the
hand in which he carried his Ratchet
The brave man concealed his pain, took
his Ratchet In his left hand, and with ~
smashed the head Of the Frenchman and
the man behind him.
-. THREE CLOSE TOGETHER.
In another regiment three men mad
come so close together that they looked
like a clover leaf The middle one, the
hooked together shields intended as "a
protection against machine guns, and in
his right hand a Ratchet. Right and
left close behind him followed the other
two; one of whom carried a goodly
amount of grenades, while the other
was armed with a bayonet This strange
cloverleaf went along, making a bloody
way by stabbing and hurting grenades,
strongest, carried in his left hand two
TO the terror of the French, and it did
us a wonderful service The shield
bearer announced himself every evening
willing to do the dangerous duty. When
asked it he did not want a respite, or
whether he wanted to work with bay
onet or grenades, he merely said that
no one could serve with the shield as
we'll as he could, that that was his
duty; that others could do the other
things as well as he.
So our brave regiments had TO fight
in close night conflicts. but during the
day they had TO let the inhuman fire
from grenades pass over them and in
the pauses of the firing they had to
fight of the attacks of the enemy; but
this was not all, for the positions that
were shot TO pieces during the day had