The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-03-26
Spectacular
War Returns
Out Of Past
German Retreat Brings War
Pictures Resembling For
gotten Battles.

With the British Armies in France.
Saturday. March "a, Via London.
March 25.-(From a Staff Correspond
ent of the Associated Press. 1.-The
open fighting of the last ten days dur
ing the German retreat has presented
war pictures fascinatingly spectacular
and closely approximating the older
ideals of martial splendor. The roads
or, more exactly, the remnants of
roads--in some Of the stricken dis
tricts Of France have been fairly
choked with troops on the move.
From an eminence on a recently
evacuated German stronghold could
be seen today seemingly endless
column of cavalry coming over a
distant hill. dipping down into a
beautiful valley and rising again by
a winding road on a broad, open field
where camp was pitched for the night.
At times the brown hued horses and
brown-clad men We're almost invis-
ible against the brown winter land
scape. At points farther forward. in
fantry detachments could be seen dis
appearing in the distance, skirnish-
ing, lodging, one unit covering an
other, until it seemed almost as if the
days of Indian fighting had returned.
This open movement Is striking
change from the deadly staleness and
the depression of fixed trench fighting.
On the other hand, it is wonderful how
the men long Injured to trench fight
ing have come to love the holes in
the ground. During the rest period, on
long marches. many of them can be
seen sitting in deep shell craters, in
preference to the pave droadside. There
is warmth below the surface and 4
protection from the wind which Tom
N.Y. had learned to appreciate.
Following the German wake it il
difficult to understand why the re-
firing army gives up without a fight
some of the enormously strong po-
sitions that now are in British or
French hands. OF course the positions
including the high barriers of the
stroyed by sufficient concentration of
gunfire, as were the positions that
the Germans We're forced to relin-
qush along the Ancre and the CONNIE
but the retirement has saved the al
lies tons of ammunition.
Miraculous Adaptations.
The changes that have occurred
within a few days in the territory re-
Gently occupied by the Germans are
almost miraculous. Ruined villages
which two days ago seemed isolated
within the zone of deadly desolation,
had military traffic policemen on duty
on their main streets today. Advanced
hospitals have been established and
divisional and brigade headquarters
taken up, while in the corners of the
shattered villages blacksmith shops
were ringing with the sound of the
hammer upon the anvil, and soup
kitchens were sending out their sa-
worry odors. Everywhere were visible
the activities of a great army moving
forward.
Major generals and brigadier gen.
erals. who a few days ago were oc-
cupying comfortable houses behind the
old fixed positions are directing oper-
ations today from huts and dugouts
and thoroughly enjoying the change
Motoring over pontoon bridges hastily
thrown across streams to replace the
permanent structures blown up by the
Germans was one of the many novel
ties offered by the present situation.
Another has been to see Indian
| sheiks, khaki-clad and with immense
| khaki turbans on their heads, moving
forward as patrols.