The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1916-09-29
TANK" WENT
AFTER KAISER
Did Not Even Wait for the
Infantry at Gueude-
court
BUT GASOLINE
TANK RAN DRY
Germans Tried to Pry Their
Way into the Mon
ster

British front in France, via London
Sept. oe.-In the hull which has occurred
after the great two days battle IN when
five villages and 5000 prisoners were
taken by the allies, the correspondent
OF the Associated Press has had an OPP
portunity to CLEAN many stories from
the participants in the struggle these
stories were not only OF courage ana ne
roism, but of a humor and paradox pos
sibe only in such complicated and re-
morseless warfare.
The most wonderful OF all the tales
told was perhaps that OF one OF the
tanks" or new arm6red motor cars
which started for Berlin on ITS own ac-
count. This monstrous land ship, am
bling and rumbling along, did not wait
on the infantry after the taking OF
Gueudecourt, but rlodded over shell holes
and across lots looking for ITS prey IKE
some prehistoric lizard. In course OF
time it found a German trench, but as
il engaged the occupants with ITS ma
chine gun it ran out OF gasoline.
When the Germans found this strange
creature, with its steel hide impenetra-
BILE to bullets stalled, curiosity and
desire for revenge was iillip 70 their
courage. They went after it with the
aviditv of prehistoric man stalking a
wounded mammoth whose bulk was last
in one of the alleys OF the cave dwellers.
No such game was ever seen on TINS
western front, marked as 1t has been oy
all kinds OF bizarre fighting.
According to the accounts given py
the British officers with veracious sol
emntv. while the tanks machine guns
blazed right and left, some OF the Ger
mans managed to creep along the
trenches under the forelegs and 'hlndlegS
of the crouching beast Then they
swarmed over it looking for an opening
through which to strike at ITS vltals.
They fired their rifles into the Joints and
bombed it all over, but to no more avali
than burglars trying to reach the m
side of a battleship turret with jimmy.
All the while the tanks machine guns
kept busy at the human targets in reach
while its crew. chosen daredevils, con-
cluded to stick until the starved or the
Germans found the proper can-oPener e
get them out
Finally the British infantry in the rear
seeing the tank in distress, refused to
wait on any generals orders that they
should remain at the objective when
thew had gained. They were out to save
that impounded tank, and with eheef
they rushed the Germans and over,
wbelmed them. When the crew heard
the laughing and shouting in English
thew opened the door and called out
"We are all right if you will onl get
us some more juice, so that the old CIR
can have guzzle OF her proper DRINK
and we can take the road again.
So the infantry formed line IN front
of the tank determined to defend her
to the last man, while a runner was
hurried back for can of gasoline Inc
gasoline arrived safely and the beast
having taken a swallow, ambled back
into reserve amidst wild cheering. II
left behind $50 dead Germans, according
to its commander.
Another tank which did well in TINS
fight assisted in the taking of Thiepval
The cellar is still there, rooted by tht
remains of the dwelling bricks, stone, anc
mortar in thick shell of pounded deb
ris which protected it from penetration
by even nine and twelve inch high eX
plosives. Here the Germans waited