Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1916-05-20
French Resistance Described
by Lieutenant, Later Taken
Prisoner, as Being "Mon-
strouSIy Stubborn"
FIRE OF DEFENDERS
STEADY AND MERCILESS
1--WE Prefer to Suffer From
Hunger Than to Go After
Anything TO Eat" Writes
. Officer.


Paris May 12.--The following let
ters found upon officers ana soldiers
of the German army takea prisoner
around Verdun, are given out al
french Headquarters as indicating the
safe of mind of the officers since the
failure of the first assault and of the
feeling of the soldiers families al
home.i
letter written by Lieutenant
Hordes of the Slst Germany infantry
to his parents says:
"Our losses in officers are so con-
siderable that | was obliged to take
command of the Sth company We
are now in the first line. and am
crouched in little mud-hole that
must protect me from the fragments
Of the enemys shells that come unin-
terruptedly. I have seen great
deal in The course of this war. but I
had not yet been in situation to in
descrihaby frightful We are day
and night under a frightful artillery
fire.
French Resistance Monstrous.
'srhe French are making a mon
st1ously stubborn resistance. On tho
nth, when we made an assault upon
the French trenches after consid-
cradle artillery preparation of twelve
hours we found the French machine
guns we're stlli absolutely intact, so
that our first wave of assalants was
Immediately moved down on leaving
the trench At the same time, the
French opened up a barring fire tina
made it impossible to think of am
further attack.
we were unable and are still un-
able to bury our dead. There they
lie, i most lamentable sight, the
poor devils. in their muddy holes, for
all the routes are swept without ceas-
ing by the French artillery. We have
dead and wounded every day. Wheth-
er we are taking our wounded back
to safety. or whether we are gong
back for our rations two miles IN the
rear to the movable kitchen, the dan.
ger of death is the same, until our
men prefer to suffer from munger
than to 20 after anything to eat. In
addition to the danger of death from
shell fire. nearly every man in the
company is i'll, exposed as they are
to the rain all day and obliged to lie
in the mud all night during elsht
consecutive days and nights ! nope
that l Will have the good luck to get
out of here alive, because there is no
means here of being properly buried.
Woman Slaps High Official.
A letter from woman in Apler-
back to a soldier made prisoner, re-
counts ineidepts indicating very ef-
fervescent state of mind among the
population at Dortmund: "A woman
asked for more help, because her
husband is in the army aud she IS
unable to support her six children.
AS further help was refused. she
slapped the commissariat of police.
who killed her A crowd Of women
collected in the Lentenstrasse to wait
for the commissariat of police, but
mounted soldiers came and dispersed
them. Here at Dortmund and at
Cologne and the environs, the popula-
ton is very excited on account of the
lack of provisions. If IL continues
thus something will happen. we
have had enough Of misery"
Another lette~ dated Loham, March
10th. says: sunday a long train fuli
Of grievously wounded arrived at
Straubing from Nerdun. Things are
very bad for us here. We can get
no meat except with The meat cards
and no one has the right to kill any
more hogs. A young pig now costs 50
to 30 marks, while a milk COW costs
from 500 to 1000 marks.