Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1916-11-14
UNDERGROUND CITIES
OF THE FEuDAL DAYS

| With the French Armies on the
Somme, Oct. 20.--Letter to the Free
man-Tribune from Henry Wood,
United Press Correspondent: While
the cave warfare which has been
adopted by the Germans as their lat
est style of defensive tactics is being
greatly facilitated at the southern
lextremity of the Franco-British Of
fensive by the existence of caves dug
by the Hugenots, it is being even
more facilitated at the northern ex-
tremity of the "big push by the ex-
listence of entire underground vii
lagos.
The caves, cellars and vaults, dug
by the Hugenots in the province of
Santerre, both for refuge and for
concealing their valuables, date back
to the religious wars which were
waged in France several centuries
ago. The subterranean villages iL
the northern part of Picardy are OF
more antique origin and go back to
feudal times. AS rule, they are dug
into solid rock, and the French Gen
|eral Staff has reason to believe that
their existence was not only long
ago known to Germans, but long ago
counted upon by the German Gener-
|al Staff as definite means for cling
ling onto the soil Of France.
There is now every reason to be-
lieve that the series of underground
villages in Picardy is to be utilized
largely by the Germans in constitut-
ing a new line Of defense against
the Franco-British drive that has
now pushed them entirely out of
their three line trench defenses
which they had regarded an abso-
lutely untakeable.
BY combination of circumstan
ces, the immense navigable canal
which was being dug in the north
ern part of France when the war be-
gan, and which was to have been one
of Frances greatest inland water
ways, skirts the district of under
ground villages on the west and con-
stitutes an additional asset to the
Germans for their new line of de-
tense. This canal starting from Per-
onne, where it was to connect up
with the Somme canal already in ex-
istence, traverses the northern half
of the pathway of the Allies often
sive, cutting the Bapaume-Cambra
road near Hovrins court.
At the moment war was declared
this canal was practically completed
and ready to have the water turned
in. At the foot of Mount Saint
Quentin, the French have already
reached the banks of this canal, and
it has been ascertained that the Ger
mans are utilizing the big ditch for
their new line of defenses. This
does not constitute serious fact for
the French General Staff, as it is of
course in possession of all the details
of the canals construction. What it
does regret, however, is that it's oc-
cupation by the Germans will I'M
questionably force its complete de-
struction by the Allies heavy artil
lery and the years of time and mil
lions of francs spent in it's construc-
ton will be entirely wiped out.
Along the line of this canal are
also to be found the underground
villages of feudal times which it is
now known are being organized by
the Germans with machine guns for
ia final resistance. One of the most
famous of these subterranean VIII
lagos is at Hermies, on the banks of
the canal. The village is dug in the
solid rock, and consists of lis cham
bers with about 500 alcoves. The