Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1917-11-02
AMERICAN TROOPS
OCCUPY TRENCHES
ACTUAL FRENCH TRAINING IS
BY FRENCH VETERANS.
BY FRENCH VETERANS.
FIRST GUN OF WAR is FIRED
Honor Goes 10 Redheaded Trooper For
Firing First Shot At Germans.
French Soldiers Delighted
With New Allies.

American Field Headquarters, Franc
american troops have gone into &C.
ton, with American shells from Amer
lean guns screaming over their heads.
One OF them has been over the top
and has come back, after elose-quaf-
ters fight in No Mans Land with the
boches, The first she'll was a hit, the
first raid a success, Happy omen!
what the Germans think Of it we
do not know. The only thing they
have done so far is TO fire a few incl
fectual rounds from machine guns.
What Gen Pershtng men think Of
1t is briefly told they are tickJed Tho
lucky $50 they call themselyes) con
tingents selected for the honor Of be
ing the first under the Stars and
Stripes IN the front line trenches
marched through a drenChing rain at
dead OF night, singing They sang III
til they were sIlenced by cautions 10
~ silent. They are well, they are do
ing well, they are as happy as they
never hoped to be,
The first man over the top was a
lieutenant. His adventure, as the in
cident that really opened the war III
E~uropo's battlefields for our army, Is
destined ~ become historic.
American Uses Automatic.
The American contingent entered a
section Of the French line by night, to
relieve the Poilus. In order to keep
the Germans from creeping across
while the change was being made a
French patrol Of 80 men was sent out
into No Mans Land, to grope its way
toward the German front line and see
that all wal well.
The young Lieutenant begged so
hard to be permitted to go along that
he could not be refused. SO they star.
cd. painfully crawling through the
French wire entangelements into the
shell pitted ground beyond. On hands
n knees they made their way for.
ward, with all the stealth the Indians
taught our army In the days before
Custer.
They were almost to the German
Darbed wire when a streak OF flame
leapod out OF the darkness. They had
been discovered by a German patrol
starting out on a mission identical to
their own The night was stabbed
with light and sound. Both boches and
French popped yaliantly with their
rifles. The excitement was too much
for tho young lieutenant, he was no
neutral observer, anyhow,
SO he drew his automatic and blazed
away-twice. Rushing forward with
the rest OF the patrol, he discovered
n German dead and two lying
wounded. Perhaps he accounted for
one Of the three. II never will worry
him If he did. The patrol seuttle0
back to safety-total casualties, one
Frenchman slightly wounded in the
leg.
Perhaps ii wasn't quite fair to say
the first American over the top was
excited, for it develops that amid all
the popping he caught the two shells
from his automatic rs they were eject.
ed. He's going to keep them always,
he says though he may give one
away to "a certain person.
Red Head Fires First Shot
There was not so much thrill and
There was no ceremony at all about
the firing of the first big American
shell by an American gun crew-but
thrill enough for those who reflected
upon what it meant in the world
drama,
An American observer spotted the
Germans working in a salient of tn,
trenches He gave the range. The
gunners slipped the shell in the breech
all with proper n~eatness and dis
patch, just as in drill. 1t was sighted,
"a If in practice. If there were any
excited Yankees, no tremhle of finger
betrayed it.
Ready said the commander
Then at a downward sweep Of his
arm, a red.headed Irish hearty in
khaki pulled a lanyard and Uncle
Sans substitute for his erstwhile
notes was screaming on It's way. From
the trenches in front came back the
faint sound of a cheer. War works
miracles, The infantry with dirt Va.
hind their ears were actually whoop
ing II up from their peace time bar.
rack foes. the artillery.
There was a puff of white smoke
over the German lines and the ohsery.
err, when it cleared away. reported
that the German working party had
disappeared with ii.