The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1917-05-24
AMERICAN TELLS
Of VERDUN BATTLE
MINNESOTA BOY, AMBULANCE
CORPS DRIVER WITH FRENCH
WRITES WILDLY
ALLIES TAKE MANYPRISONERS
NUMBERS OF AMERICAN DRIV-
Frs DOING WORK WITH THE
RED CROSS DIVISION

The Herald publishes herewith the
story of the Battle of Verdun, written
by Minnesota boy, Luther Nelson,
of Slayton, an eye witness, the young
man having been connected with the
American Ambulance division of the
Red Cross as an automobile driver.
The Herald is indebted to William
Parker for the paper containing this
interesting story wrich follows:
"Section Sanitarie Americana, No. 5.
"Formation Harjes, B. C. M. Paris,
Convois Automobiles, February "a, IT..
GAS 1 have little spare time this
evening, l will write you a few lines
regarding my work.
Undoubtedly you will recall that l
have been for the last six months on
the French front, driving a motor
ambulance for American Red Cross.
On the French front there are now
about twelve American sections of am
bulance, supported and manned by
Americans. Some of these sections
are known as American Ambulance
sections and others as sections of the
American Red Cross.
each section is composed of twenty
ambulance cars, with a truck for the
transport of tires, essence and sup
| plies, work shop truck for the TAX
ing care of repairs, truck serving as
| a portable kitchen and a staff tour
ing car to be used by the chief of
the section to permit him to make his
rounds of inspection.
"The personnel of each section is
composed of about 40 Americandriv-
ers, an American commanding chief
and French officer, through whom
the section is responsible to the French
army, and several French mechanics,
helpers and cooks. Except when it is
impossible, because of the lack of
men, two American drivers are on
| each ambulance car in order that when
working through long periods of siren
uous work the drivers may change off
and also in case of breakdown or &C.
cident to the driver or car, the assist
ing driver will be ready to render as
sistanc.
each section is attached to divis-
ion of the amy and follows this divis-
ion, for which it does all the sanitary
transport work. Thus, an ambulance
company goes from one part Of the
front to another, and for this reason il
must have facilities for living on the
march.
cit might be interesting to you il
I tell you a little of our work in the
vicinity of Verdun. About the middle
of the month of December the French
troops made memorable advance be
fore Verdun. In this attack they drov'
the Germans back three kilometer
along front of ten, took two vii
lagos and made seven thousand five
hundred German prisoners. Our sec
ton was working in this attack an
the work was most strenuous an
exciting that have yet engaged in.
cit happened that our section wa
CHARTERED in a rather favorable place
so we could see certain extent tn
: region of activity. There were man
observation balloons in the air, in fac
one could follow with the eye, nearl
l the entire front before Verdun, b
5 gazing at these captive balloons tia
I swayed high in the air. The aero
n planes were especially numerous an
one noticed beside the big, slow-fl!
ing observation the smaller fightin
planes that shot around at meredith
Q speed. We could hear the rapid frin
q of the aeroplane guns high above l
! and out over the lines we saw niue
of the black smoke from burstin
n German shrapnel shells shooting {
r our planes and only occasionally di
r an enemy plane get over our lines {
d that the French anti-aircraft CUR
: shot shrapnel at them.
S about ten o'clock in the mornin
4 of the day of attack the French a
e tillery started it's ctr de birrage" {
0 curtain fire. A curtain file is Inc {
S curtain fire. A curtain fire is line {
fire, which exists when the artlller
: directs it's shells to certain poir
and these exploding shells are so nun
, erous and fall so quick that it
! impossible for any living thing to pas
all barbed wire ENHANCEMENT defense