The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-02-04
THE RICHMOND vIRGINIAN-sUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1917

Some OF the big shells which hurtle
through the air on the somme front
weigh ton AMI half. They can be
thrown sixteen miles. Throughout
the night and day, without ever re-
spite the air Is filled with these steel
monsters varying in weight from If
teen pounds to over a ton. What
chance has the poor infantryman got?
A very poor one.
Yet. with millions in the field. when
you are actually on the battlefield you
hardly see soul. Behind the lines
there are crowds at work on various
jobs. They have to keep above
ground and take their chances with
the shells. But this monstrous ac-
cumulation of heavy guns has turned
the habits of men into those Of rab-
bits. The fighters are all below the
surface. The huge devastated front
Is merely mass of shell holes look
Ing like a photograph of the moon.
carets, smudges. of what were once
villages and woods and serried with
white or gray lines which mark the
trenches. Except when the infantry
crawl from their trenches to take
over the enemy's the battlefield re-
sembles a ruined waste still shoulder
ing from some giant fire, absolutely
deserted and lifelcss.
The science of digging in has"
reached it's zenith. There are under
ground palaces thirty feet below the
surface. many rooms, several exits,
hot and cold water and III by cleo
tricity. There are tunnels almost as
wide as the tube connecting one line
Of trenches with another Every
device that can give some protection
against the shells is being utilized.
The Germans have been working
like ants on their defenses this win
ter. They declare they are so strong
that We shall never break through.
Our generals think otherwise, and the
French are supremacy confident.
Digging in can be overdone Very
often tho more elaborate the dcfenses
the more easily they are taken by
assault For this reason during those
terrible bombardments which prccede
an assault the infantry have to keep
below, otherwise they would he an
initiated.
II IL only human nature TO remain
under cover under such conditions
Thus when the assault comes its wave
passes over the top before the de-
lenders can come out. MANY arc re
luctant TO leave cover. The brave
alone die at their machine gun posts
Thus IN our last attack, north OF the
-hA'NA = t'iii Al tttF TWO ASSAULTS
at Nerdun, thousands of prisoners
were taken before they could FIRE
a shot. In one instance two British
hrigades passed over a position and
occupied the enemy's second line be-
fefe-th defenders f-tft @.-Ars.--lii inc
came out from their underground
iabyrinths and commenced to fight.
Thus the heaviest losses fell on our
third brigade, which had to. retakc
n first liza 4N,
elaborate underground works
II Is not the actual defenders of u
position who can check the first waves
OF an attack. Ii is the harrage fire
which the enemy guns concentrate on
our trenches the moment our infantry
are seen TO leave cover. = IL this
which infitcts such heavy losses The
Germans call this a drum FIRE" The
waves Of shells falling simultaneously
in lines like the beats on giant
drum. Their drum fire collapsed last
summer and autumn under that of
our counter batteries. or, AZ least. it
was spasmodic and irregular aud i'll
aimed. because they had los, control
OF the air and the!r heavy artillery
was firing blind, This winter they
have been bringing up more heavy
guns and accommodating vast supplies
Of ammunition. They say their drum
fire" this spring ard summer will
crush our attacks But Viii II"
Their underground trenches have nnt
stopped us in the past and gun for
gun. VIC shall he mere powerful tb}s
year than last. Once again our atr
service should speedily drive theirs
from the skies We are confident we
can bring about the same old condi-
tons and that our great attacks must
succeed This will show who was right
and who was wrong.