Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1916-09-14
COURIERS OF VERDUN
Theirs Is Dangerous Task
Requiring Men Of Real
Courage to Succeed.
MUST FACE ENEMY SHELLS

Correspondence of The Associated Press)
Paris, July 2l.-The unexamplcd
conditions of fighting before Verdun
have developed a new type of soldier
called the ''couriers of Verdun." They
are the men who maintain commune
cation between the troops in the
midst of the melecs and officers COM
handing from the rear, The battle
field into which they dart with orders
or after information is a desolate
zone where nothing but thick smoke,
sometimes black, sometimes white,
gives appearance Of life; excepting
during the brief time of an infantry
attack, il is to all appearances de-
serted, the sharpest eye discovers
no movement OF humanity. The
earth is everywhe. furrowed by
freshly stirred earth, but no one sees
the hand that stirred ii.
Occasionally form is seen going
over this desert land something after
the manner Of a rabbit bounding into
sight out OF the herbs and above I'm
even ground to disappear again; leap
ing from obstacle to obstacle, from
ditch to ditch, from she'll hole to shell
hole as il approaches the front line, al
times vaulting, at others crawling
and sometimes kept motionless for
considerable periods by showers OF
projectiles sent over from the other
side OF the line for his personal bene.
| fit, This is the messenger of modern
battle, he was never more needed nor
more useful than at Nerdun and the
type will probably bear the name for
years to come of "the courier of Yer
Gun"
Too Hot for Wire.
Not telephone line can resist the
incessant bombardment that digs up
the soil and levels all field work
along the whole line in front Of this
fortress, consequently to assure com.
munications between the front and
the rear is difficult problem. Com.
munications by carrier pigeons are
very uncertain and optical signals are
insufficient for various reasons. Moth,
ing Is certain excepting the man him.
self and to transmit information and
orders across the beaten field require.
something extraordinary in the wa,
Of man. He must be an athlete with
good lungs and above all, he mus
have.a stout heart.
The courier of Verdun is unable tc
use the communicating trenches
where he would be out of sight oi
the enemy because that line is
crowded always with soldiers going
| to or from the front line, with the
wounded being carried back, with
men Of the commissary department
carrying provisions to the men or
guard. That is too slow a route fol
the courier of Verdun; he must take
his chances Of being sighted and hi
above ground.
Drum Fire. ..,
The most Formidable. obstacle tc
pass is the zone that Is beaten By
drum fire." where 8-inch, 6-inch ant
4-inch shells are bursting with for
middle explosions, sending showers
OF shrapnel over the whole zone. II
going through this ordeal, the cour
| Ter sees everywhere the spectacle 0
death, stumblcs over corpses, some
times runs into cloud of poison
vapor before he has crossed it; ono,
through, be is within range OF I'll.
smaller German guns and the quicl
firers.
During the whole distance of ;
mile or two miles, according to tn,
position, his nerves are at the high
est tension, with his mind on the enc
OF his mission and at the same tim,
on the obstacles that are multiplied
each instant in his path.
Some OF these couriers get through
untouched, others crawl back to tn.
starting point bruised or manned
Some OF them never come back t
tell the story OF their heroic effort.
The couriers OF Verdun maintained
communication for the rear with tn,
heroic troops under the orders o
Commandant Raynal--a company o
the l42d infantry and machine gur
section Of the 53d--who held the for
OF Vaux several days against over
whelming numbers Of ASSISTANTS. The,
were all volunteers selected from ;
considerable number OF men who Of
fered themselves for the dangerous
mission. One Of them was a boy o
the contingent OF 1916, OF childish as