The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1916-02-11

barrier and sand bags-and the So.
called French NEST" was ready.
Then our regiments had the heavy
task OF again taking this NEST, = after
long hard battle, some tlmes lasting
several weeks. We went at the enc
my, 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 1t, led by officers. at
the head OF, q group'of pioneers armed
with grenades andsimpl ements to tear.
away the sand bag protection, and on
both sides the storming began at the
same time.
| Usually these attacks took place at
night; When the grenades. had ex-
ploded, our troops stormed up with
utter disregard of death, and there
arose raging hand-to-hand battle,
wherein bayonet and matches, boot
heels 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:
B a musketeer from a Rhinish infan-
try regiment had his thumb complete.
lily bitten of by Frenchman. It was
4 the hand in which he carried his
IShatchet. The brave man concealed
4 his pain, took his Ratchet In his left
Inland, and with it smashed the head
of the. Frenchman and the man be-
| hind him.
| In another regiment three men had
come so close together that they look.
ed like clover leaf The middle one,
the strongest, carried in. his left hand
two hooked together shields as q pro-
4 lection against machine guns, and in
his right hand Ratchet Right and
left close behind him followed, tho
other two, one OF whom carried a
goodly amount OF grenades, while the
other was armed with bayonet. This
strange clover.leaf went along MAX
| ing q bloody way by stabbing and hurl-
| ing grenades, to the terror Of the
Frenche. and it did us wonderful ser.
vice. The shield bearer announced
himself every evening willing to do
this dangerous duty. When asked il
/ he did not want respite, or whether
he wanted to work with bayonet or
grenades, he merely said that no one
| could serve with the shield as well
as he could, that that was his duty:
that others could do the other things
Us well as he.
So our brave regiments had to fight
in close night conflicts. but during the
day they had to let tho inhuman fire
from grenades pass over them and in
the pauses OF the firing they had to
Tight on the attacks of the enemy; but
this was not all. for the positions that
were shot to pieces during the day
had to be replaced during the night
as far as was possible and with all
their available strength. And the re-
serves too had to help in this work,
men who really should have had a
chance to refreshen themselves farth-
er back In addition to this they were
often alarmed during the night in or
der to bring their bayonets to some
endangered spot, and their rest in the
rear shelters was Of little duration.
We can divide the French attack
methods into divisions and mass at
tacks. The first mentioned always
! went in advance Of the latter; the
i strength OF the troops thus related
| fluxuated from company to division
strength; their real aim was as fol-
lows: after shattering drum fire they
attacked position in order to get
possession of a trench. II they got
themselves securely into one, they
then tried to take another one few
hundred meters OFF, and then, by fight
ing along the sides, they tried to
unite these two trenches, or else they
used the captured trench as the spot
for a mass attack, which had as its
aim the making Of breach, thing
which the division attack never tried
to do. With these mass attacks the
French acted according to their well