The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1917-10-05
STARVED AND FRANTIC
7EU7ON SOLDIER TRIED
TAKE BREAD FROM DOG
Feature of Letter Received From Grant
Willard, Who Is On French
Battle Front
BOCHE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
From SATURDAYS Daily.

From Saturdays Daily.
How a wounded and starving Ger
man soldier attempted to seize bread
! that was thrown to dog by a
French army officer is one of the
features of a letter just received by
Mr.. and Mrs. W. d. Willard from
their son, Grant Willard who is serv-
ing with an ambulance corps in
France. The letter follows:
Tuesday, August %, 1917.-Our
sector is called the Verdun sector.
Have you ever heard of that place?
Our posts are all north and bit east
of that famous city. In other words
our territory is from Fort de Vaux
west to the Meuse river. Now then,
Beaumont has long been a French
| objective. Beaumont is about five
! kilometers northwest of Donaumont.
To get Beaumont the French must
push the Boche line back about three
kilometer. That doesn't sound like a
great distance nor hard task to one
who desn't know conditions, but as
a matter of fact this drive necessi-
tates the biggest preparation ever
made. We arrived just in the midst
! of the preparation. Roads were al
most impossible because of miles and
miles of artillery and provision
wagons passing forward necessarily.
About a week after we arrived here
August 20 the big push started. Every
i car in our section was busy. Before
that day was up Hill 304 had been
taken by the French, lost and retaken.
! Between 5000 and 5000 Boche pris-
oners were captured and compare
lively few lives lost on the part of
the French. Our division, No. AZ,
did the big work and we are proud to
be attached to them. The Germans
were utterly unprepared for such an
attack. One of their aviators had
: the audacity to drop a note near one
of our posts saying that they were
prepared for the big drive to be
! started August 20. The next day
carried q load Of five Boche wounded
down to Souilly. AS we were waiting
for our men to- be loaded by the
brancardiers French officer tossed
about a quarter of loaf of bread to
dog. O-If.t a.. D p. ....
Tried to Get Bread From Dog.
The Boche wounded actually tried
to get the bread away from the dog.
They were starving. One of the
Bcche was an officer and spoke very
good English. l asked him if he was
hungry He said yes" Some OF
the Frenchmen got them some meat
and potatoes and I never saw food
disappear SO rapidly. They were
starved. After the officer had eaten
not his fill, but all the French would
give him, he said that their superior
officers, had told their men that
France" was sick, starving, and
physically unable to succeed in
this attack. But the French artillery
fire preceding the actual attack was
so severe that the Boche lines o.
communication had beeen completed!
cut off and they had been without
, food for three days. His men re-
, fused to fight That was indeed in
. teresting. The prisoners seem to BIZ
receiving exceptionally fine treatmen
: in the hands of the French and mos
, il of them seem glad to be out of the
, mess. l asked the German officer i
, he was glad it was over as far al
, he was concerned and he said, "No
oh no! l can't say that. | am al