Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-08-30
SAMMEES' LABORS
SHOW U. S. TRAITS
Start Trench Making Slowly,
but Finish Job in Burst
of Enthusiasm
FINE AT TARGET PRACTICE
BY HENRI BAZIN


in nature of soil is almost an exact replica
Of a famous front in this war, I saw today
two battalons OF American troops creating
secteur of trenches under instruction
from two battalons of French Chasseurs.
They have been at the Job for four days
steadily and have built first, second and
third line trenches seven feet deep with
communicators between them, the whole
covering depth OF perhaps coo yards and a
length of 200. which means quite some
digging.
In addition to the trenches proper. abris
against bombardment we're built, each
typical OF the real thing to be found in
an active portion of the front. These abris
are twenty feet deep and have entrances
with wooden door castings as If for regular
use against the Boche, They have but
one point OF real difference from many
In use on this front. that being not quite
the same depth into the ground. and con-
sequently with fewer steps But the steps
are as solidly constructed, and as | de-
scended one ! could find no relative differ
cnce from the hundreds | have visited at
different portions Of this front from Yprcs
TO AlsaCe. They needed only electric light
equipment and hunks i'm the officers quar-
ters to take one back to the Somme as !
saw that front many times during the last
year
Inc Sa0lfnceS ulSpldN an interesting
psychological side of American nature in
building these practice secteurs. At the
outset when it is nothing else but dig
brother, dig" they are not at all inter-
ested. But as the work shapes itself into
tangible something their interest in
creases. until at the finish they are as full
of enthusiasm over their work as over
baseball game. An interpreter is assigned
to every sixty feet of the work
The country in which these particular
nature. Directly before the first line there
| are almost ripened fields of wheat growing
| up a gentle rise of ground. Directly be-
! hind the third line there is ravine and
| brook upon the other side of which the land
| takes a sharp rise. This latter gives an
| ideal empacement for mitrailleuse batter.
| les.
| one side. they were given practical object
| lesson in the methods of modern warfare.
| The Chasseurs in quantity of three compa-
! MES took refuge IN the abrs' after which
| the mitrailleuse and six 75s opened fire
! upon the newly made trenches, just as il
! they were the trenches of the Boche. 1t
| did not take long before the hard labor of
| four days had been blown to ruins and
| the trenches demolished to such extent as
| to leave but here and there n semblance of
| their few-mnute before perfection. And
| then the Chasseurs came out of the abris
smoking the inevitable cigarette every man
as good as new, despite the fact that in
| some instances he was unable to step di-
rectly into the floor of trench from the
! abri steps, since it was but q mass of
shel-scarred earth. But the abris were as
good as ever, having well stood the test
| of their construction.
American officers and Sammees were then
| taken through and shown just what hap
pens to trench after bombardment and
just what an abri means in the digging wal
| ha NAr11 htl 4
| August, 1914.
happened to be standing near certain
Irish sergeant, whom I have referred to in
previous story from this camp.
What do YOU think of that, Sarg?" said
"Sure. SIR" he replied, 81 think that an
open, fair fight with a rifle and a bayonet
on the end Of it has that beaten. But, be-
CORY, times Is changed, indade what with
diggin' holes in the ground and wearin' false
faces and iron hats. And since they has, sir
WELL bedad, well fit ourselves TO 'em and
go to it ior the honor of the flag with al
that's in us. The next time the fellow
under me digs one of thin trenches he'll
dig for all he knows how, or he'll know me
small authority"
Later in the afternoon | saw three com.
panies of Chasseurs spring at given order
out OF their trenches, scale their sides In a
jiffy and rush up ravnes side to hill il
attack They did it in the same spirit o
dash that | have so often seen on the actua
front. carrying the objective without resist
ance of course since none existed. Half AZ
hour afterward three companies of Sam
mees did the same stunt. They were no
quite so quick the polus, but that wa'
TO be expected since they had never done 4
before, and the Chasseurs OF this entrainins
division are cracks with the real campaigns
| of this war to their glory and credit. Blu
J they did 1t very well indeed, nevertheless
| on the first try. better on the second ant
almost perfectly on the third And they
did it as though they liked It, What II
more important they did 1t In certainty
of deduction that when they do II in actua
J warfare they will give a real American ac
count of themselves.
Their officers did not seem entirely salts
fed because to the American officer noth
ing counts but perfection in any work al
tached to soldering. But the French ON
| GERS smiled all over their faces, ana u
was easy TO see their thoughts were II
harmony with the last words in the pre-
ceding paragraph of this story. One to whom
| | talked said to me:
Ills sont epatant, vos Americans" C'TheS
are wonders. your Americans'). I'm bu
little while they Will make as fine sol
diers as my Chasseurs. and that mean
they will make as fine soldiers as this wal
| has produced"
Before / came down to this camp 1 hac
looked upon many mitrailleuse squad a
work But they had been blue-clad ant
shooting at the Boche from a trench. So |
was something of a novelty to look upoi
a brown-clad squad shooting In the open a
. a target. And there was a satisfaction il
seeing them take to II as a duck takes t
water and pepper that target full of holes
J Since 1t was but practice at marksman
ship and concerted action by the squad, tn
gun was set upon it's tripod at a fixed place
with the target, a black-and-white circle
set UP against an e1nbankment An office
gave the command after the marksman ha
souatted upon his low iron seat, the frs
and second feeders had taken crouchin
positions to his left and the regulator an
4 extra carrier to the right. II was straigh
fring-that means fixed upon given OF
feet, and not barrage. or. in regular Unite
| States, distributed firing" The first feede
paid In the strips. the second held secon
strip ready close to his mates hand wher
he could grab II in an instant, the regulate
fixed the range and adjusted the dischargel
which expels the empty cartridge cases
while the extra carrier held an ammuntio
case all ready,
5 The target was punctured in all its part
q and when l examined II afterward. wa
!, literally q mass of shreds. For the marks
d man was a sharpshooter and he cricked,
/ -. =. t.aAv AAt.