Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1916-12-26
FOES MEET ON TOP
OF HIGH MOUNTAIN
French and German Soldiers
Only Few Yards Apart as
They Shoot.
FRENCH HOLD THE SUMMIT

cihOpi, HlSdCe, NOV. Zo.-Deep III
snow the listening posts of the French
and Germans are within a few yards
of each other on the slopes of the
Hartmannsweilerkopf, with the
French in possession of the domini-
mating 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 with
out shot being fired, but just on
the day when The Associated Press
correspondent visited the most adj
vanced line a daring raid was carried
out by a French detachment, The
object was to capture German pris-
oner in order to discover the COM
position of the forces in front of the
French positions. The exploit was
accomplished so we'll that a party OF
fifteen prisoners was brought back
and not man of the French detach-
ment was. injured.
The lines of the French and Ger
mans on Sthis height are so near to-
gether that the troops occasionally
engage in a sharp battle with stones
intermingled often with hand gre
nades, and these encounters are in
terspered by short artillery duels,
which, without exception, conclude
by the silencing OF the German guns.
The summit Of the mountain, in the
hands, of the French since last Janu-
airy, has been mentioned probably as
often as any part of the line owing
to the ferceness of the fighting for
its possession. 1t is not, however,
considered of prime importance from
stragetc point Of view, although its
ownership permits the troops in oc-
cupation to see all the surrounding
country. The effect OF holding it is
greater for the moral value than from
any other consideration.
The correspondent was permitted
to advance even beyond the front Ger
man trench and was able to study
at close hand the system Of defense
introduced to meet conditions quite
different from those prevailing at
those sectors of the line where the
fighting men face each other under
normal conditions of modern warfare
Hidden Batteries.
To arrive at the front line on the
Hartmannsweilerkopf long climb up
sharply winding paths has to be un-
dertaken. Mile after mile along the
edge of steep precipices and slopes,
sometimes bare and sometimes COW
cred thickly with pines and frs,
brings one at last to the zone where
the armies watch closely each other S
movements. Dotted here and there
are huts and shacks and battery posi-
tions so we'll hidden that their pres
ence is not discernible until pointed
out.
When the danger zone is reached
the character of the scenery changes.
Much Of the summit is clear OF trees,
which have been either felled or shot
away. The ground is broken up by
trenches and rocky heaps. Scattered
about in sheltered positions are de-
tachments of troops always on the
alert Some portions are exposed to
direct fire from German batteries on
other and lower SUBMITS of the SUR
rounding hills.
When the correspondent visited the
mountain in the last of November
snow covered the ground to depth
of nearly foot. He and his conf
panions with guides the party was
made as small as possible owing to
the risk involved-made their way
cautiously toward the front trench.
From this the German line could
easily be distinguished and stretching
away for miles on either side could
be seen the tops of the posts support
ing field of barbed wire entangle-
ments buried partly in snow, which in
the bright sunshine took on reddish
color.
Men Like Warfare.
In spite OF the hardships brought
about by the cold and wind in the
hills, together with the arduous work
of making roads and bringing up sup
plies over the rocky hillsides, many
of the officers and men have become
SO accustomed to their surroundings
that they decline to be relieved and
sent to the rear to enjoy the rare Pc
RODS of rest accorded to the fighting
forces.
The men in the front line, like their
comrades at other parts of the front
stretching from Switzerland to the
North Sea, have to content themselves
with the shelter afforded by dugouts.
There they keep warm by means OF
heavy clothing, as there is peril in
lighting fires even under cover. The
conformation OF the ground, however,
permits the approach of supply de-
tails and under most circumstances at
least one hot meal daily is provided.
The cold is so piercing that it has
been found necessary to shorten the
period of duty in the open. Even the
hardy mountaineers composing the
troops employed here cannot resist
the sharp frosts while standing rigid
ly on guard for many hours at a
time. The new system of quick re-
liefs has been found to work very
we'll and there is astonshingly little
suffering and no complaint on the
part of the men.
Further down the hill slopes, in
the second and third lines the men
are we'll housed in comfortable
| shacks, which they find a way OF
heating. Here the men gather when
their daily duty Of building roads
digging trenches and transporting
| supplies is finished and they contriye
to make themselves quite at home.
The chaplain with the regiment
now on duty in thc front line has
been on the mountain side and sum-
init four months without once de-
scending to the valley. He has
started, for the benefit Of the men a
| ro-ooer,t;ye store which he has es.