Evening star., 1917-10-21

Bayoneting Dummy Huns.
A portion Of the valley is lined with
! trenches. and as we came up squad oa
| men were preparing to carry there
| trenches with the bayonet. At the word
Of command they ieaped from thelr
| own trench and charged Across at thesr
objective. jumping in and out Of the
trenches on the way. bayoneting saw
asely dummy figures Of Germans that
| lay in the trenches, and shouting ~
each bayonet thrust was driven home,
Our mornings visit finished at the
range where men were practiclug In.
dividual hre. The shooting was good
and accurate. and In this work. a.
throughout. one could not but be struck
by the keenness and intensity Of pur.
pose that was apparent. Another no.
table point, again. was the amount OF
individual initiative left to tho men.
When a man knows what to do, or
ders for the most part are not given.
and the men carry out their work ST.
lently. in much the same way as work
is done silently in suoh q highly or
ganiZed unit as a salvage vessel.
British as Instructors.
1t is common knowledge that a cer-
tain number OF British instructors have
been lent to the American force by the
British army. and in the afternoon WIS.,
tied a squad of young officers who were
being trained by British drill sergeants.
1t is in teaching the men how to cap
ture trench that the lesson OF Ger
man killing is most thoroughly empha-
sized.
AS we saw the work there was y
squad of men assembled at the head OF
, trench, and in every recess OF II were
dummies representing Germans They
trench. for the theory was that 1t was
a surprise attack. and every detail OF
their movements was controlled ana
criticised. They were shown how to
avoid letting their bayonets be seen.
and each man was encouraged to simu-
! late battle hate" as he stuck his Ger
man dummy.
And the sergeant kept UP running
fire of comment. thus; Make q good
boche, and there's no good boche. but
a dead boche." Thee are two Of them
there; one has got soms rum and the
other a sandwich. you take the eand "
wich and I'll have the rum. Don't
make a mistake about It; Fritz Is no
him." What you've got to do IL to Kill
Fritz as many Fritzes as you can" :"
That's 1t" {as a bayonet thrust went
home); pull 1t out and make good
In a short. hurried visit 1t is not pos
sible to gain more than a few general
impressions.
The frst and most striking point 10
the splendid physical appearance Of
their constitution.
Physically they are already perfectly
trained. and they are acquiring their
military knowledge with q speed that
delights and astonishes their ofhcsrs
and their critics.
Constant Good Humor.
They show. too. no signs whatever Of
staleness. but a constant good humoy
that has been proof against the dis.
comforts of rain and mud and Of I'M
provised quarters. Their discipline IL
free and easy, except when actual work
is concerned. and At work they obey
instantly and intelligently the orders
given them.
Throughout all ranks there 10 an
eagerness to proceed instantly to the
front. and the mems own view that
they are perfectly prepared Is fault
on the right side.
Throughout the visit I was greatly
struck by the modesty OF Officers Of all
ranks. Their attitude to the war here
is that they have come to learn tho art
Of warfare as it is fought In modern
conditions in Europe. and they are de-
termined that it will be neither their
fault nor the fault Of their men II they
do not give good account Of them
selves. They are accepting with grati-
tude all assistance that can be given
hem by the French and by the Eng
.ish. and they are fully conscious OF
the weight of the task that lies before
them and before the American people,