El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-09-07

president wilson, Long live the
Troops Cheer Heartily.
President poincare was warmly ap-
Slauded and then the oIucers gave
three cheers and q tiger. The cheering
was taken up by the troops IN ~. ne
distance and continued while lne
president and his party were moving
off the reviewing field
He said 4Gfve I'm HE'LL
one noncommissioned officer, VINO
stood near the party during me
men when he rejoined his command
with the question;
What did he say
Il don't know exactly" was the re-
ply. but / think he said to give EN-
..-rhafs the stuffrr yelled a number
of p-ivates in chorus, and the word
ran all up and down the long khaki
lines amid another outbrust OF cheer
Like the asFlyInE Pigs Best.
of all the category Of artillery IRE
which the American troops have wit
messed IN practice, they are most i'm
pressed by the flying pigs, Wnlcn
appeal to them more than the MN
nfewerfers." annihilating lombard
ments and rolling barrages-
Fired from nearby trench mortarS
at very low velocity the flying pork
ers came ambIng through the air al
a most ungainly gait and pace. eN-
pIoding i'm or near the prdcllce
trenches with a roar that filled all the
air and the surrounding hills win
Can see Them Coming.
The soldiers liked these shells, be
cause they could see them coming ana
wait for the big blowup- The trim
true shells from the French 20 guns
-ns.sr9 81 nlas az
without being seen that the troops
rather were inclined to underestimate
their effectiveness until the 0arrage
curtain was fully built and MAIN
tanned across a space or nearly 4yuv
Yards. The flying pigs" rOared with
the explosive force Of a Is inch she'll
calling forth immediate attention and
respect.
study Artillery Preparation
It had been expected that the
French troops might carry out sham
attack under the rolling or creeping
barraCe, but at the last moment the
program was changed, as Il was
thought best that the Americans
should study barrage fire and infan-
try attacks separately, rather than
involve the two
Therefore. the morning was given
over 10 artillery display, including
trench mortar fire, indirect machine
gun fire and all the various examples
Of military preparation. concluding
with the barraEe intended to break
up an enemy counter attack.
soon Tire Of Watching.
Virtually all the American troops
in training saw the demOnstra tons
from neighboriug hill tops. They
were intensely Interested at first, but
toward noon some Of them rolled over
and fell asleep in the midst OF the
dfn-just as tired troopers at the bat
tie front sleep peacefully when all the
massed guns are CATERING out a
song OF hate. 1t is one Of the strange
psychologists OF war that one cannot
long watch even the most intense
bombardment without soon experience
ing a certain amount Of boredom,
the guns seem so precise and the eZ-
plodinE shells far away so 1mpersOnal-
Officers watch Very Closely.
The American officers followed eT-
cry phase Of the demonstration with
studious attention The ordinary SOL
der generally has to get into the
thick Of shell fire before it makes a
particularly personal impression on
him. The infantry attacks this al
ternoon were more TO his liking The
French went over the top IN four
successive waves. taking three lines
OF trenches and beating OF theoretl-
cal counter attacks
French Attacks Realistic.
The French attack was carried out
precisely as If intended Artillery
barrage was being laid and low
flying airplane coOperated, both as an
artillery observer and in liason with
the infantry commander, signaling
him constantly the position Of his
forward units The first system Of
trenches attacked we're known as
Mackensen's trenches. the second Won
Kluck's and the third crown prince
Runprechts. Several strong points or