Evening star., 1916-12-24
TROOPS IN CLOSE
TOUCH At FRONT
Summit of Mountain in AIsace
Presents Extreme Situation
for Fighting Force.
of the Associated Press.

| Correspondence of the Associated Press.
| ON THE SUMMIT OF HARTMANNS-
iWE1LERKOPF, Alsace, December 12.-
Deep in snow the listening posts of the
French and Germans are within few
yards of each other on the slopes OF the
Hartmannsweilerkop with the French
, in possession of the dominating position.
For many months this part of the
front has been the quietest portion OF
the line, although the opposing troops
are in such close touch. Sometimes
! days pass without shot being fired.
but just on the day when the Asso-
ciated Press correspondent visited the
most advanced line daring raid was
carried out by French detachment.
| The object was to capture a German
prisoner in order to discover the COM
position OF the forces in front OF the
! French positions. The exploit was ac-
lcomplshed so well that a party of ff-
teen prisoners was brought back and
not a man Of the French detachment
was injured.
| The lines of the French and Germans
on this height axe so near together
that the troops occa sionally engage in
| q sharp battle with stones, interHiEgled
often with hand grenades, and these
encounters are interspersed by snort
artillery duels which without exception
conclude by the si!encing or the German
| guns.
| The summit OF the mountain. in the
| hands OF the French since last January.
has been mentioned probably as often
as any part of the line owing to the
| ferceness of the fighting for its pos
| session 1t is not, however. considered
| of prime Importance from strateHic
point OF view, although its ownership
permits the troops in occupation TO see
all the surrounding country. The eHect
| of holding tits greater for the moral
! value than from any other consldera-
| ton.
The correspondent was permitted 10
advance even beyond the front Ger
man trench and was able to study at
close hand the system of defense ihtro
duced to meet conditions quite diHeIeht
from those prevailing at those sectors
of the line. where the fighting men race
each other under normal cohoit'oh' VI
modern warfare.
Long Climb Necessary.
To arrive at the front line on the
Hartmannsweilerkopf a long ciimp up
sharply winding paths has to be under
taken Mile after mile along the eaee
Of steep precip!ces and slopes some
| time bare and smetimes covered
| thickly with pines and frs brings one
at last to the zone where the armies
| watch closely each others movements.
! Dotted here and there are huts ana
| shacks and battery positions so well
hidden that their presence Is not dis-
cernible until pointed out.
| When the danger zone is reached the
character of the scenery changes @ Much
of the summit is clear of trees, winch
have been either felled or shot away.
The ground is broken up by trehches
and rocky heaps. Scattered apout II,
sheltered positions are detachmehts Oh
| troops always on the alert. Some por-
tions are exposed to direct fire from
Ierman batteries on other and lower
SUBMITS of the surrounding NUS.
When the correspondent visited the
/ 1.,t rIny NJ
ber snow covered the ground to depth
| of nearv a foot He and his companions
with euides-the party was made as
small as possible owing to the risk
involved-inade their way cautiously
! toward the front trench
| From this the German line couid
ga sily be stinguished. and stretching
away for miles on eoither side couid De
seen the tops of the posts Supporting
aeld of barbed wire entangiements
hurled partly in snow, which In the
bright sunshine took on a reddish
color. x,.
| about nv the cold and wind IN the
Kills together with the arduous work OF
making roads and bringing up supphes
over the rocky hillsides. many OF tne
oficers and men have become so accus-
toned to their surroundings tnat '.ss NY
decline TO be relieved and sent to tne
rear to enjoy the rare periods OF rest
accorded to the fighting forces
The men in the front line. like their
comrades at other parts OF the iro.ie .,a !
| stretchine from Switzerland TO 'he
| North sea. have to content themselves
| with the shelter afforded by dusouts:
There they keep warm by means o. W
| heavy clothing, as there is per" ~, ~,
| lighting fires even under cover. The
| conformation of the ground. however.
| nermits the approach of supply details
and under most circumstances at ieaA
one hot meal daily is provided. Inc
| found necessary to shorten the perlod
of duty in the open. Even the hardy
| mountaineers composing the troops
| employed here cannot resist the sharp
| frosts while standing rigidly on guard
for many hours at time. The new
| system of quick reliefs has been found
to work very well. and there is aston
jshingly little suffering and no com
plaint on the part of the men.
| Further down the hillsIopes. in the
second and third lines the men are well
| housed in comfortable shacks, which
thev find a way of heating: Here the
| men gather when their daily duty OF
| building roads. digging trenches and
| trsnsportinS supplies is finished. and
they contrive to make themselves quite
at home.
m duty in the front line has been on
the mountain side and summit four
months without once descending to the
| valley He has started for the benefit
| of the men a cooperative store which
he has established in a hole in the
| rock Here the men are able to pur-
| chase at cost price almost anything in
| the wav of inner comfort and around 1t
| thew gather to read their newspapers
| and letters and to exchange opinions
| on the news of the day. Close by is Il
| email open-air chapel, where the chap
| lain holds Il daily service. When fight
ing IL proceeding the chaplain always
| coes into the front line with the men.
| with whom he is a great favorite.