The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1917-11-30
j. s. ENGINEERS
AID IN BREAKING
H|NDENBURG LINE
AMERICANS HAVE LARGE PART
IN PUSHING UP VITAL RAIL
WAYS FOR BRITISH.
UNDER SHELL FIRE
First "a Hours Of Great Offensive, Men
From United States Worked All Day
on Tracks and AL Night As Stretcher
Bearers On Battlefield.
By the Associated Press

British Army Headquarters in France,
Monday Nov. 26.-American engineers,
the first American troops to be engaged
in military operations on the British
front, took a prominent part in the
breaking Of the Hindenburg line by Gen
eral Byng last week. Military necessity
has made it impossible to speak OF their
presence before, but it is now possible
to inform the people of the United
States that engineers Of the American
army had large part in pushing up
the vital railways behind the advancing
British soldiers.
engineers have been laboring on the
roads through the devastated battle
fields on the same district for nearly
four months, and two of their men, who
were wounded. were the first American
casualties announced from Washington.
Work With Great Speed.
The speed with which the lines have
been laid I'D through the broken Hin
denburg defenses during the past week
has called forth the highest praise
from the British authorities. The Am
ericans have been working in shifts,
twenty-four hours a day, and no such
amount of track has been laid in this
region i'm so short time before. The
manner in which they stood up under
the strain has led to their being dub
bed the force of American athletes
For these unfiring soldiers are today as
ct and as willing as they were before
the battle began.
Naturally, the Americans for long
time have been working under the
range of enemy artillery and more
than once they have come under heavy
Af hA OF r
sights along the front has been that
of the engineers laboring coolly at their
tracks while great shells were bursting
one hundred yards away.
Enemy Tears Up Track.
At one time. the Germans cut loose
with their guns on a section OF the
tracks and tore up three miles of rails
which had been laid with much labor,
but they scarcely had finished this
bombardment when the twin lines OF
steel began to move forward once more.
After the engineers had reached point
where they were exposed on the sky
line it was necessary to work at night
or on foggy days, in order to avoid
enemy observation.
There have been three forces Of Am.
orleans employed in this region since
about August l. Two of them have
been occupied with tne operation anu
maintenance of light railways and the
other has been constructing narrow
gauge lines. The Importance of this
work hardly needs emphasis, for il is
well known that over these railways
food. ammunition and material OF all
sorts are poured TO lend support to the
fighting forces.
On Battlefield
Some of the engineers had an un-
usual experience, much to their liking,
on the first day of the offensive. The
British called for volunteer stretcher
bearers to go forward to the battlefield
and bring in wounded British and Ger
mans. A large number of the Ameri-
can engineers offered their services,
which were accepted. They just finish
ed a hard days work on the railway,
but they gladly undertook the new, ar
duous and dangerous task and labored
through the night getting injured sol
diers back to the dressing stations.
The Americans were highly compli-
mented by the British for their effic-
iency in this line of service, which was
rather a far reach from building rail-
roads.