The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1917-11-08
Army Officers Explain How the.
Capture Of II Men, Killing
Of Three and Wounding Of
Five Probably Occurred.
BELIEVE sENTRIEs SLAIN
Others Taking Refuge From
Shells Likely Given Choice
of Death or Sur
render.

Washington, u. G., Nov. c.--Amerl-
can troops captured by the Germans in
the trench aid on the morning of No.
vember 3, probably were trapped in
their dugouts and forced to surrender
or be blown to pieces, with hand
grenades. without q chance for their
lives.
This is the only explanation which
occurs to army officers today. lacking
any details OF the fight.
Barrase Cuts Off Men.
General Pershing's brief report
merely stated that the German ar
tillery a dropped a heavy barrage
fire about a sector of the trench, cut
ting the men off from help. No ex-
PLANTATION Of the eight casualties and
the IL men taken prisoners was re-
ceived. The fact that one wounded
German was captured, however, indi-
Gated that tho trench had beer re-
occupied by the American forces. Z
Whether the men killed and wounded
received their injuries in hand to hand
fighting with the raiding German in
fantrymen or were struck down by
shrapnel is not known. A single shell,
scoring a direct hit in the trench,
might have caused al! the casf.l:ties.
That would not explain, howeve the
surrender of the remaining men. tnder
anything short of positive orders, the
II would have been expected TO offer
desperate resistance to the Germans
crawling up through the darkness to
jump into he trench and thus would
there have been more than one wounded
German left behind when the raiders
retired.
Isolated BY Artillery.
The general practice of trench. raid
ing all along the front, however, seems
to offer a possible explanation. 1T has
been customary for French, British or
German raids to be carried out with an
intense barrage fire, seeking to isolate
the small sector Of the army line which
1t was planned to invade. AS additional
protection for the raiders the artillery
lire has covered a far wider portion OF
the front than that which constituted
h real objective of the raid. The object
OF the fire is to conceal from the de-
tenders the exact point OF attack until
the raiders arrive there.
Presumably the American trench
raided was an advance post, with only
20 men in it. It could not have had a
front OF more thar SO or 60 feet. Pos
sibly 1T was h head Of a sap driven
out INTO No Mans Land at right angles
with the general trench line to be used
as a listening n observation post. In
that case the barrage fire of a few guns
could cut the sector off absolutely from
Its support. The thin line of the COM
munication tre1ch would be impossible
a Shrapnel shower.
Believe Sentries@ Struck Down.
With 20 men On d small front pro-
vision undoubtedly would be made for
relief of sentries posted on the firestep
OF the trench watching for an attack.
Under shell fire the remainder would
seek shelter in dugouts. 1t appears pos
sible that the three men killed and five
wounded may have been sentries over
whelmed by the rush of the German
raiders in the dark and that The other
IL were in their shelters, tosbe hailed by
an unseen enemy n toll to come out
or bombs would be hurled in among
them. There would be no choice for
them but to surrender. A majority Of
the Germans captured by the British
and French in trench raids are taken in
this way.
The list vas accompanied by the fol-
lowing announcement:
THE war department has received a
dispatch from the commanding general
OF the American eX~peditionary forces
which states that before daylight No
vember 3 a salient occupied for instruc-
ton by a company of American in
fantry was raided by Germans. The
enemy put down a heavy barrage fire,
cutting off the salient from the rest of
the line.
Our losses were three killed, five
wounded and IL captured or missing.
The enemy's losses are not known. One
wounded German was taken prisoner"