Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-08-02
MESSINES HORROR
TOLD BY TEUTONS
Half Mad Under Awful Brit.
ish Fire They Huddled
in Shell Holes
Correspondence of the Associated
Press.)

Correspondence of the Associated
Press.)
WITH THE BRITISH ARMIES IN
FRANCE, July SIT is one thing to
stand beside or lie in front of the
British guns and watch them hugl
their daily tons of hate into the Ger
man lines. 1t is quite something else
again to be a German and have all
this hate hurled at you. The British
remember the days when they were
all but gunless and the Germans
turned upon them their torrents of
explosive fire. To-day. and every day
they are paying off that old score
with compound interest.
German prisoners tell more and
more of the horror of existence with
in their lines when the British guns
the growing strain upon body and
mind. of the life they are compelled
to live as deep in the bowels of the
earth as they can grovel. often fight
ing for the safer places at the lower
levels. All this is having it's effect
upon the enemy morale.
1t was a magnificent battle spec
tacle to watch day after day the
British artillery preparation for the
fighting at Messines Ridge on June
9TH. 1t is far more interesting, how
ever, to read the story from the
other side" as told in the translated
copy of a German Corporars diary
from May 28th onward. Here 1t Isl
Horrors of Messines
May 2Sth-The English have be-
come more active in the Wytschaete
salient. At 6.35 we proceeded by
forced marches to Menin. where the
division assemblies. We reach the
support lines at Confines and are at
once greeted by a round of shrapnel.
On we go to mergency and alarm
quarters. lying in the meadows, as
it is too dangerous in a house. In
the. night the firing was almost in
supportable, yet 1 slept tolerably we'll
June 2d-We visit the reserve po-
sitions. 1t is an absolutely terrible
corner into which we have come. a
regular rat-trap. I doubt If we ever
get out safe. We move off and take
our quarters in a cellar on the cha
teau road. From 2 p. NJ. the English
commence an intense fire on back
areas and batteries. AS we are lying
just in front of a battery we are un-
der heavy fire. Every minute we are
ready to bolt.
Heavy Casualties
June 3d-Heavy fire all the night.
Sometimes the back area is gassed.
In front they say things are in a
frantic state, no longer any trace
of trenches. The First Battalion has.
heavy casualties. What happened at
Arras will happen to us here. About
IL o'clock the English gave us drum
fire. At o'clock a great hurricane
of fire directed nthe front trenches;
in the evening again heavy fire on all
communication trenches. At night
gas shells are fired on a large scale;
the whole place stinks of gas.
June 4th-Midday. heavy fire in
front. In the afternoon increased ar
tillery activity, in the evening heavy
bursts of firing in front, and every
thing is again heavily gassed. Lively
fire continues the whole night. Many
The men of the Krieg-
schulz course are melting away con-
tinually. 1t is regular plague spot
they have pushed us into again, worse
than Arras. The mood of all troops
is almost one of despair under the
heavy English fire. =
June 5-Throughout three nights
artillery activity has been intense
Tonight we go uD in relief. Who
knows what fate has in store for u.s.
We are half mad with the firing. If
only the English would come soon;
then the whole thing would be set
tied and this hell have its end. The
four lays up in front fill me with
horror. Toward midnight the bonn
bardment increases and all the routes
of approach are kept under fire by
the English.
"We Are All Half Crazy"
at IL o'clock our relief comes and
we are obliged to advance in the
mcst. violent shrapnel and shell fire.
In spite of the mad fire we go on.
At 1890 we reach the gigantic Raab-