Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-05-28
AMERICANS LAUNCH MAD RAID
TO MARK NATIONS WAR ENTRY
Spontaneous Attack Made Upon German Trenches
When News Was Observation-Disclosures Assault
Without Usual Artillery Preparation

behind the lines. where they can learn much
Of actual modern trench warfare by being
In the real positions that have been taken
and by mingling with the boys who have
taken them. They can learn more in this
way than by listening to lectures from in
struCtors for n year All they need is to
learn how to overcome the million and one
obstacles Fritz puts in their way: II will
have a good moral effect for them to see
some Of the so-caled impregnable German
trenches that have been taken
The unfurllng Of Old Glory beside the
Union Jack, the French Trcolor and the
italian, Belgian, Russian and Serbian flags
has had a wonderful effect IN encouraging
the troops on the western front.
That battle OF Nimy was surely an earth
quake. | spoke to artilcrymou who fought
at both Nmy and on the Somme and they
all said the bomhardment Of Nimy was far
more terrific than that of tho Sommc. For
nine days and nights we were throwing
over an average OF 1000 shells minute
You could read a newspaper at any time
| during the night from the flashes Of the
guns. our bomhardnent certainly had the
desired effect Rolls Of harhcd wire I'm front
Of the German trenches were swept away
and the trenches were virtually blasted
| into Smithcreens.
ON the night Of April We were as
signed to the part Of the front we were To-
! take and that night we slept. or tried to
! sleep, IN q cave Wnelt inc tIClCn lldu bIStu
| 900 Germans when they sacrificed 10000
men in a fruitless assault ON this position
/ last year We were all anxious for the
| zero" time to arrive That's the time you
| leap over top with the best Of luck" You
! know it's coming, nut you never know at
what minute. It happened at 30 a. m
| April Q We went over with the second wave
| and our object was a German signal dug
| ont in their third-iue trenches the lOCa.
tion Of which we had learned from German
prisoners In fifteen minutes We had eStab-
llshcd communications back to the Gave
| Of Death" whore our reserves were waiting
! orders. The reserves came over and re-
| lievcd us and we pushed on to Thclus VII
! lage. "A stronghold held by the Germans
since October. 1914. and established COM
| muuicatiCns there in half an hour.
! The Germans had a very comfortable
dugout thirty feet deep. but they had II
| registered and when they got ready t.
countcr-attack placed a large shell righ
at the entrance and buried us. Although
we were all stunned, we were soon able
to use our cntrenching tools and help tn,
boys who were digging from the Other
end to extriCate ourselves. Thanks TO the
ingenuity of the German engineers tn,
dugout Vas so strongly built that it die
not cave in entirely.
There is burning desire among tn,
Canadian troops that the United State
troops fight alongside Of them. EVcryvhor,
the hope is expressed that they may stauC
shoulder to shoulder with the men Of Uncl
Sans army but nowhere Is the dcsir
more kccnly felt than among what is lcf
of the boys of the American Legion.
We have heard stories Of how the Ger
mans treat American prisoners. If tn
Americans happen to have the stars ant
Stripes tattooed on their arms, the Ger
mans cut out the tattoo marks.