The Washington times., 1917-11-24
GERMAN A|RMEN
FORCE REMOVAL
OF RESCUE UNIT

NEW YORK Nov. 2A-During the
recent lighting on the western front
the Red Cross has been experiencing
considerable difficulty In carrying on
its work Immediately behind the lines
because Of the attacks BY German
airmsn on the hospitals. according TO
. letter from Kenneth CASTOR. son Of
Mrs. L P. Gaston Of somsrville. N. J.,
who IL . member Of the Harvard unit.
In the Immediate neighborhood whore
they are working. he said. II was
necessary to close i've hospitals
within Q week and they were finally
driven to sstablIsh themselves In ne
woods, A letter from Mr.. 0aston to
his mother reads: -
"As you see, We have moved. We
had to. The night afle- last wrote
you our hospital was raided nercely.
For three hours ariators were over
Us all the time. shooting or dropping
bombs. Two surgeons were killed,
and hve more were wounded. two Of
the big tents riddlsd. some small tents
blown up. bic. holee put In the roads
-altogsther II was complste job.
orAsrsa % Evaeaatsr
'It ended all usefulness OF the VII
lags. for the next day orders came TO
evacuate the entire village. hospitals.
depots. barrscks. and AL. We and
the brahcardisrs had 10 stay on two
nights more while the hospital was
taken down and earted way. We
didn't relish these nights much
h'The drst night Affer supper every
body trailed out into the nslds carry
ing their blankets. Some slept under
haystaeks, some in trenches, a Few
went to fort near by and slept In
the ammunition room eighty feet un-
derground. BY the time the big har-
vest moon rose there wasn't . sign
of nfa $50
"The second night four OF US stayed
In the tent. I let my bed down on
the ground and we built . barricade
Of timbers to keep or small eclats.
then Wsnt to, bed early and got to
sleep before the visitors arrived. That
night they made special visits to the
two hospitals to witch we evacuated |
our badly wounded several nights be-
fore, and a. q result one OF them |
had to be closed They seem to be
carrying on . special campaign |
against hospitals, hve in this imms-
diate nsighborhood have been cIosed |
within q week. don't see what they |
will DO with the wounded now. for |
ell the hospitals near the front are
closed.
Hids Hospital In weeds.
eve drove in convoy to our new
quarters. As . convoy we are quite
Imposing. frst the stan car, then
twenty ambulances, an enormous
truck with q kitchen trailer, q
q camionette, and the French
stan car. We drove about twenty
miles, almost parallel to- the front,
70 that we are stili about fifteen Kill
ometers from the lines. but we are
In a big forest very well concealed.
There is no sheIlfre at that distance
IN this sector, and the aviAtors have
little chance to see anything. so we9
feel much more at ease, although It
Is just q temporary resting place.
This aerial raiding business as
Q town on our way here
where $50 bombs had been dropped in
one night. When you consider that
m aerial torpedo IL about fve feet
ong and six inches In diameter, and
hat one would be sufficient to blow
but the whole front of our house,
you can understand that there L. not
much left Of that little town.
"If they hit on soft ground they
ire comparatively harmless for they
penetrate ten feet or more and blow
,ut q hole like a well, straight up
nto the air. A man can be within
! few feet OF the mouth of the hole
md be perfectly safe. But II they hit
lard ground. . road, or q brick house,
hey make q little hole about \ foot
ieep and spread stdewise, and then
hey kill at a hundred yards.
But the sclats OF the bombs are
mall, rarely more than an inch or
wo long. while big shell will burst
nto jagged pieces two and three feet
ong that will cut clean through Q
louse. The dope 10 70 pick out q spot
n soft ground and get nat on the
urface, then only . direct hit can
'et you, and there isn't . chance in
million OF that"