Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-03-21
WELLS CONTAMINATED
BY FLEEING SOLDIERS
Germans Ordered to Leave Nothing
That Might BE Useful TO the
French and British.
DESTRUCTION Is COMPLETE
Fires Now Seen Far Beyond St.
Quentin-Cainbrni Line, Where II
Is Known Main Forces Had Been
Installed for Defense.

CFrom STAFF Correspondent, of the Asso-
ciated Fress.p
TlSH HEADQUARTERS IN
FRANCE. March 30 (via London>-
The pursuit OF tho Germans by the
British troops continues, and M places
sharp fighting cnsued to-day. This
was particularly true of the neighbor-
hood OF Croisiles (nor,hcast Of ST
LeEcr, which is still strongly held by
the machine gun companies The ar
mics have been in such close touch
at other places that field fighting tao
ties have been employed. the mon firing
from skirmish lines
Wherever the British troops pcnc-
trated territory formerly held by :hc
Germans they encountered the same
conditions OF destruction and dcvasta-
tion as in Bapaumc and Peronnc Only
few villages have escaped. the Ger
mans in these instances having been
compelled to leave before their plans
to lay waste could he carried out.
GERMANS SURPRISED
BY USE or CAVALRY
The use of cavalry by the British
and French seems to have taken the
Germans by surprise, upsetting some
OF their calculations. In one village.
supper, which had been laid out. was
abandoned. together with much am
munition. and in other places newly
opened boxes of high explosives were
found. with which the Germans had
planned to destroy the villages before
leaving.
That tho wholesale destruction was
syStematized in a manner charactcris-
tic of German thoroughness was shown
by captured orders on the subiact
These directed the blowing I'M of all
houses. wells and cellars EXCEPT those
occupied by rcar-guard outposts. tho
rear guard being held Responsible for
making their shelters uninhnbitoblo
before s.llinS back. All farming i'm
plemcnts were burned or destrov.d
Wherever a building is spared. il Is
hrst rendered filthy. The orders also
directed the assembling of ni,h I'm tbc
neiEhb"rhood Of all wells for the nur-
pose of contaminating the water.
The destruction OF fruit trees now
apparently covers the entire balt ,f
evacuated territory. even those cIinr-
ing |" the walls have been stripDcd off
IN one abandoned position a large black
cat was found nailed TO an upripht
board cap was on it's head and u
cigar was in its mouth
OBSERVATION PARTY
ATTACKED BY AIRpI,>NEs
british mounted observation partv
working forward to-day was attacked
with machine gnn fire by three German
hirplanes, which swoopcd very low. but
ialled 10 hit any member of the party
l'r,SonerS recently taken appcnr en-
tirciy bcwildercd when told Of the ex-
tent OF the German retirement They
sald they thought ii II great Joke when
they first heard of the German retire
ment; they supposed IL was solely for
the purpose of getting the British
deeper and deeper into the mud OF the
Somme But when it came to nban-
donine positions that had been forti-
fed with months and years OF labor.
there was much depression in the
ranks. Most OF the German guns that
formerly doomed along the Sommc
seem To have been utterly swallowed
up
There is no longer doubt that the
main German forces had already in
stalled themselves OF a long line he
fore Cambrai and 81. Quentin. but to-
day fires could IL seen beyond this
line, as IL the retreat had not yet been
carried out to the full limit. In the
meantime. the movement has given
the British army wonderful Joy