The Washington herald., 1916-06-20
Germans Flight to Verdun
Furnishes Very Few Thrills
Correspondent Makes Trip in One of the Kaiser's
Planes, but Is So Occupied with Personal
Impressions He Sees Little of What
Passes Far Below in Trenches

work We nod to one another. He points
into the depth. Below lies Metz, 400
meters beneath us.
We make mighty loop over the old
fortress. and take a westward course.
Where are the hills? They lie far be-
meath us, flattened out. sun rays dancing
on them. Now and then a little cloud
shadow glides over them.
Seven forty-fve. The altimeter shows
800 meters Larger and larger grows the
world wider and wider. Clouds all around
rs. clouds of all sorts. The East stearns
and smokes heavenward as If out Of a
hundred thousand Smokestacks. That Is
Germany, the iron fstherland with Its
thousands OF industrious factories and
homes.
Beside us. at the same heisht, files the
second machine. Eighteen hundred
meters Are we flying? Are we making
headway? TWO thousand meters says the
altlmetcr. To me it seems as If We were
standing still. immUva5ls.
Now Over Nerdun.
turn. The cold wind Jerks at my
helmet, | fell as II must hold on to ii.
The flyer behind me opens his mouth. he
says no. he yells:
"Verdun,"
l hear his voice as If through very
tIllNk wall, n "dll lTllChtT lHdll llS iAChtl
of aerial space that separates us.
So here, on this little spot of peace
fully summed earth. Frances combined
leCions are fighting the giant battle OF
the world war! The whole fortress area
now tiny.
Eight o'clock We have reached a
height OF two thousand. six hundred
meters. turn TO the northwest. Where
is the destruction of war The miserable
frOF1
this height like perfectly peaceab!e spots.
But at closer scrutiny one sees that only
the skeletons of buildings line the streets
and the public square. There's a larger
city. II must be Etain. Yes. Etain,
yells my guide And soon after, TO the
left Vaux,
Vaux- -DOua umont. This bulwaTk of the
fortress armor has been burnt up b.
the war Brown, shattered lie the
bowels OF the earth. over valley and
hills the devouring fire has swept like
lava. No tree greens here, no bush. The
wondrously live earth carpet below US
shows a bald, eaten-out wound The
overwhelming vitality OF spring Whicn
has attractively ornated the fighting
zone in the Woevre had to make halt
here before its oonqueror-war.
Cannot Hear Firing.
ne front Altt uiluct HtdN ,
fire. l hear no sound, | only see the
giant earth founts rise Underneath the
clouds there Ia lightning. artillery Is
doing its morning exercises.
We turn back. straight toward Metz.
On the railroad which We are following
stands a train. Why does it stand stili
in the middle Of the sector? Oh, it is
going. really-but 1t moves like a worm.
And across a white bridge Crawls an
auto.
We are descending, lower and lower we
sink, 100 metres. 1,2n0 metres. now it $
only a 100. Here are the forts Of Metz
again. the old battlefield with the
trenches the villages between vine ten
drills and blOssoming fruit tress.
The motor stops. Like a huzzard the
"doppeldeCker" plunges to earth, as II i
would settle upon the roof OF its hangar.
In the very last minutes il changes Its
mind. glides smoothly across the plain
now it has gained a foothold The ap'
paratus shakes. trembles, dawdles-stO2s.
The earth has US again. 1t Is S:35
O'Clock.