The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-06-09
MORALE OF
FRENCH ARMY
Is EXCELLENT
Three Years of Severest
Kind of Warfare Has Not
Jaded Spirits
ORGANIZE TRENCH
RAIDS FOR SPORT
Little Sallies Serve to Harry
Enemy and Keep Him
Guessing

French Front, June (Correspon-
dence of The Associated Press.)-If
the morale" of troops may be based
on the initiative they display in face
Of the enemy, then that of the French
soldiers at all points of the front
must be regarded as excellent. Three
years of the severest kind of warfare
has not faded them. In fact, the spirit
of attack has, If anything increased
among them. The recruits of the
younger classes learn quickly to pront
from the. experience of their comrades
who have become veterans and past
masters in the art Of furnishing sur
prises to the enemy, and after their
Incorporation into the lighting units
in the trenches, where they rapidly &C
quire the routine of continual watch
fitness, they lose no time in demon
strating their desire to carry out some
act of individual daring. ~
Living among them, as the writer
has done throughout the great opera
tions of the Somme, in the Argonne,
on the Aisne, in Champagne, in Al
SAGE and around Verdun, one acquires
an unbounded admiration for the un-
ceasing activity and virility OF the
French soldiers of all branches of the
service. Even during the intervals be-
tween great attacks and battles, when
it would be expected they would be
only too eager to seek repose and re-
taxation from the hardships and per-
lis of trench life, there are always to
be found daring men among them
who voluntarily go out towards the
German lines in search OF adventure
always with the hope of bringing back
some prisoners or disturbing the
enemy's plans.
Organize Trench Rsids.
One outlet for their ovcrfiowing &C
tivity is the organization or trench
raids in which only few men COM
pose the attacking force. In these min
or affairs, whose effect on the general
situation at the front is more import
ant than at first would appear. since
they carry the enemy and keep him
constantly guessing and worrying as
to what may follow, the French SOL
diers have become expert, and they
rarely return to their trenches with
out some prisoners and some valuable
information as to conditions in the
opposing lines.
The commander of the army is not
consulted as to the carrying out OF
these raids. Each colonel of a regiment
has the finaI word as to whether his
men shall take the risk, and the
colonels take good care not to dis
COuIdEe IIlGII IlCh 4AOAlA NA@RA~S@%%S
their individuality.
Overcome Barbed Wire.
The problem of overcoming the net
work of 'barbed wire protecting the
front lines of the enemys position
presented difficulties at the beginning
of the campaign, but artillery has now
acquired the mastery of that obstacle,
and as a consequence the enemy no
longer tnds himself in security be-
hind it. All the French colonel wants
to. know, when a raid is about to be
undertaken, is the hour at which 1t is
intended to start. A few minutes SUI
ices to make penetration by resolute
infantrymen possible. Sudden out
breaks of artillery fire are so frequent
that the enemy often pays no more
attention to them than to return some
shells, while the troops manning his
front trenches seek shelter in their
dugouts until the shower or steel mas
stopped.
The enemy's uncertainty as to what
is to happen frequently leads to his
undoing, for before he has made up
his mind that the French guns have
decided to cease firing, and that 1t is
safe to come out from the shelters
again, he finds French soldiers leaping
into the trenches and throwing gren-
AIDES into the mouths of the dugouts
while calling on their occupants to
surrender. Refusal or hesitation means
a further volley of grenades and all
most certain severe injury or death
to those inside. Therefore they shout
'Kamerade!" throw down their arms
and come out to be chased before their
captors back through the broken net
work of barbed wire to the French
lines.
Makes Speciality of Raids.
In one division the regiments made
a speciality Of surprise trench raids,
and acquired almost unbelievable skill
in carrying them out almost without
loss to themselves. One regiment, in
the course of the last month. had to
its credit ten such raids, as result
Of which, besides killing many enemies,
they captured 33 German prisoners,
without the loss Of single French
man.
The French and German lines are
so close that raid takes no more than
ten minutes-just the time to race
across the open, make the haul OF
prisoners and race back with them
again. Night or day makes no differ
ence-the main idea is to go over the
top and get back to the French lines
with the prisoners after causing as
much damage as possible before the
Germans have time to throw in rein
forcements to their front trench.