Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-10-31
S. Troops Facing Foe
Get Real Taste Of War;
Samn1ieS Shell Germans

fire.
INTO GERMANY.
Strictly speaking, the first shot,
which was In the nature of a tryout
for the gun, simply went into Ger
many. The sergeant put a high ex-
plosiye shell there at 6:16 in the
Another officer here took up the
narrative.
=! was in an observation point" he
said. There was a fog as the first
shot went singing over. Suddenly the
FOG lifted saw a group Of Ger
mans. I directed my gun at them.
The shrappel burst overhead and they
Q a div into the ground like SO
The lieutenant grinned broadly,
shook the water DIFF his shrapnel he'll
met and. using both clenched fists to
punctuate his remarks, said express
lively: 1T was great"
He paused for a moment, pointed to
the field filled with fresh craters, and
continued: We had a hot time there
asst, night. Fritz tried to get that
gun on the hill there and put all those
shells behind 1t. So we let the Ger
mans have shot for shot. That's the
game out here-give them as many as
INFANTRY FOUND
IN TRENCHES.
The gun itself gave visible and aud
iPle proof the next second that the
Germans did not get it or any Of the
gunners serving 1t.
From the artillery lines to the in
m YTAnNn 0A y0n - - hi
distance over more muddy hills. The
correspondaMtss.foun the infantry in
side h trenches. There also were
many wires which ran into switch
boards. and American and French op-
orators were sitting side by side di-
rectaing operations.
"A guide Is necessary to reach the
first line. especially when some of the
trenches resemble irrigation bitches.
The trenches the Americans are oc-
cupying begin from a screened posi-
ton. On the way there shovels and
tools were piled high below a hill on
which there was a great bell for Civ
ing n alarm in case of a gas attack.
There. under were the company
cooks, busy warming up food that
had 3beenAbrought up in wagons. The
work Of small twigs so it was fairly
dry.
Following the guide. the way winds
in and out from left to right for many
yards between interviewer branches
that have been pla :ed OH the sides Of
the trenches. Every now and then a
section opens up a machine gun en-
placement.
American privates in the front
sometimes getting a footing on step
ping stones in the muddy water and
sometimes not. The trench turns
sharply to the right and a voice
warns: Keep your head down."
and the rest of the way the walking
is difficult. Hating near a machine
gun, the GermanI positions directly
opposite on a hil1ecould be. seen across
the barbed wire of No Mans Land.
TOWNS OVER LINE
NOT TO BE SHELLED.
There is a sort of gentleman's
agreement in this sector that towns
ver the line are not to be shelled.
If one side violates the agreement the
other side promptly fires shell for
shell into a hostile town.
The correspondent visiting the Ann
erican batteries found the mud-caked
gunners in cleverly concealed pits on
lAlC SAASo VI AIl ouI1uOu
where by freshly dug mine craters.
showing where the German retalia-
tory fire had dropped projectiles. 1t
was against his fire that the guns,
including the one which fired the first
shot, kept plugging away a good part
of the afternoon.
''FTNE. BUT AS =
WET AS HE'LL"
The correspondent asked a passing
~o%~N1 1Nry ho lSLn1 - III Nnrvf06 tn
soft southern accent. Fine. but it
is wet as hell. isn't it? Virginia
: would certainly look good"
Another. hearing the conversation,
ehimed in: my little old fiat in the
Bronx would be plenty good enough
on an evening like this" 81.
Another patrol was leaning against
the MILDLY side of the trench, his
the muddy side of the trench. his
whistling softly a tune from a Broai-
way musical comedy.
General Sibert. who has just COM
pleted a tour of the trenches. was
! asked how the morale of the Ameri-
cans in the trenches was. He re-
piled: Morale? How could the To-
good" =
All the officers never. failed to; re-
IlbhI n I'LL AZ = az ~ 0Sp9
and their anxiousness to get at the
enemy. but they are technically under
/ directions so they are restrained. All
the men are eager to get on patrol
duty which affords a welcome change.
AMERICAN ENGINEERS
ARE KEPT BUSY.
American engineers attached to the
sector have been busy. In wet wealth
er their duty is to repair trenches
which have fallen in and to tackle
similar jobs. Aside from n husky
sergeant. remarking that he would
like to have something more to eat.
the only complaint heard a one
uttered by a youthful engineer. He
was all alone in. a great mud waste
and was trying to locate his billet. He
had difficulty in keeping his feet on
account of the slippery mud. and aft
err taking a tumble. turned and said:
Sherman certainly knew what he was
talking about. I'll bet 1t "a muddy
like this when he made his famous
remark"
these man having mt frl1v