American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1917-11-06
GERMANS KILL AND CAPTURE
AMERICAN SOLDIERS
Three Killed, Five Wounded and Four
teen Captured While on Duty in
Front Line Trenches in France.

The official casualty list of the los
ses of American troops in France in
the first clash with the Germans was
issued Monday.
The list was accompanied by the
following announcement:
The war department has received a
dispatch from the commanding gen
Neral of the American expeditionary
forces which states that before day
light November a salient occupied
for instruction by company of Amer
ican infantry was raided by the Ger
mans. The enemy put down a heavy
barrage fire, cutting off the salient
from the rest of the line. Our losses
we're three killed, five wounded and
twelve captured or missing. The
enemy's losses are not known. One
wounded German was taken prisoner.
American troops captured by the
Germans in the trench raid on the
morning of November 3 probably were
trapped in their dugouts and forced
to surrender or be blown to pieces with
hand grenades without a chance for
their lives.
This is the only explanation which
details of the fight.
General Pershing's brief report
merely stated that the German artil-
lery had dropped heavy barrage fire
about a sector of the trench, cutting
the men off from help. No explana
ton of the eight casualties and the
twelve men taken prisoners was re-
ceived. The fact that one wounded
German was captured, however, indi-
Gated that the trench had been reoc-
cupied by the American forces.
Here is the official casualty list:
Killed-Private Thomas F. Enright,
Pittsburg; Private James B. Gresham,
Evansville, Ind; Private Merle d..
Eay, Glidden, Iowa
g Wounded-Private John J. Smith,
Ludington, Mich; Private Charles ].
Hopkins, Stanton, Texas; Private
George L. Box, Altus, Oklahoma; Pri-
vate Homer Givens, Cloverdale, Ala. /;
Private Charles L. Orr, Lyons, Kan
sas.
Captured or Missing-Sergeant Ed
gar NJ. Halyburton, Stony Point, n. c.;
Corporal Nicholas L. Mulhall, Jersey
City; Corporal Edwin H. Haines,
Woodward, Okla; Private Herchel
Godfrey, Chicago, Private Vernon NJ
Kendall, Roll Okla. Private William
P. Grigsby, Louisville, Ky; Private
Frank E. McDougal, Maryville, Mo-;
Private Daniel B. Gallagher, BlOckton
Ala; Private John P. Lester, Tutwiler
Miss; Private Harry Langhman, Chi
cago; Private Dewey D. Kern, Collins
Iowa: Private -= Reckon. cannot be
identified.
Whether the men killed and wound
ed received their injuries in hand-to-
hand fighting with the raiding German
infantrymen or were struck down by
shrapnel is not known. A single
she'll scoring a direct hit in the
trench, might have caused all the cas-
ualties. That would not explain, how
ever. the surrender of the remaining
y twelve.
Under anything short of positive
orders, the twelve would have been ex
pected to offer desperate resistance Il
the Germans crawling up through thu
darkness to jump into the trench anC
there probably would have been more
than one wounded German left be
hind when the raiders retired.
The general practice of trench raid
ing all along the front, however. Seems
to offer a possible explanation. l
has been customary for French, Brit
ish or German raids to be carried ou
with an intense barrage fire used t
isolate the small sector Of the enem,
line which it was planned to invade
AS addition protection for the raiders
the artillery fire has covered ia
wider portion of the front than tha
which constituted the rail objectiv
of the raid. The object of the fire /
to conceal from the defenders the exac
point of attack until the raiders ar
rive there.