Albuquerque morning journal., 1916-12-24
.OUTPOSTs CLOSE
TOGE THEIR ALONG
FRENCH FRONTIER
Se0trieS Of Opposing Armies
Can Hear Each Other on
Summit of AISatian Noun
taini Dig Trenches in Snow
,Assoclated Pres. Corrospondence)

on the Summit Of Hartmannsweil
crkOpf, Alsacc, Nov 29.-Dcep in the
snow the listening posts of the French
and the Germans are within few
Yards Of each other on the slopes Of
the Hartmannswcilerkopf with the
French in possession Of the dominat-
Ing position For many months this
part Of the front has been the quiet
est portion of the line, although the
opposing troops are in such close
touch. Sometimes days pass without
q shot being fired, but lust ON the day
| when the Associated Press IoorreS-
pondcnt visited the most advanced
line daring raid was carried out by
| a French detachment. The object
was to capture Il German prisoner in
| order to discover the composition OF
| the forces In front Of the French posi-
| tOns. The exploit was accomplished
| so well that a party Of fifteen prison
crs was brought back and not a man
! Of the French detachment was in
| iured.
The lines Of the French ana Ger
! mans on this height are so near to-
| gethcr that the troops occasionally
! engage in a sharp battle with stones
| ntermingled often with hand gfcnadcs
and these encounters are intcrspcrsed
| by short artillery duels which without
| exception conclude by the slenclng OF
| the German guns
Summit Not ImpOrmnt.
The summit OF the mountain, in the
hands Of the French since last Janu-
ary. has been mentioned probably as
guFiD
to the fierccness OF the fighting for
it's possession If is not, however con
sidered Of prime importance from a
strategic 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
German trench and was able to study
at close hand the system of defense
introduced 10 meet conditions quite
different from those prevailing at
those sectors o. ihe line where the
fighting men face each other under
normal conditions of Wodon war
fare
TO arrive at the front line on the
HWtmannsweilerkOpf long climb up
sharply winding paths has TO be un-
dertalen. Mile after mile along the
edge OF steep precipices and slopes
sometimes bare and sometimes cover
ed thickly with pines and firs brings
one at last to the zone whore the
armies watch closely each others
movements Dotted here and there
are huts and shacks and battery posi-
tions so well hidden that their pres
cnce is not discenblc until pointed
out
Ground Broken by Trenches
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 |
trnches and rocky heaps, Scattered /
about in sheltered positions are de- .
taGhments of troops always on the (
alert. Some portions are exposed to |
direct fire from German batteries on |
other and lower srmmits Of the sur
rounding hills.
When the correspondent visited {
the mountain in the last days of NO /
vember snow covered the ground to
depth of nearly "A foot He and his /
companions with guldes-tho party
was made as small as possible owing l.
TO the risk involved made their way !
toward the front trench.
From this the German line could
easily he distinguished and stretching /
away for miles on either side could +,
be seen the tops Of the posts support (,
ing field of bartCd wire Cutanglc-
mcnts buried partly i'm snow, which in l.
the bright sunshine took on a reddish 4
color
In spite of the haCdships brought
about by the cold and wind in tho
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
periods Of rest accorded to the fight
Ing forces.
shelter of DugOuts,
The men in the front line, like their
at other parts of the front
from switzerland to the
North sea- have to content themselves
with the shelter afforded 10y dugouts.
There they keep warm by means of
heavy clothing, as there is peril in
ighting fires even under cover. Tho
conformation of the ground, however,
permits the approach of supply de-
ails and under most circumstances at
east one hot meal daily is provided
rhe cold is SO piercing that II has