The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1918-01-01
TROOPS IN FRANCE
CONTINUED From First Page.)

misty day like cobwrb spun By giant
spiders.
| saw nothing 1T all Of the Ger
mans.
/ "Where?" | asked again.
That brown-looking ridge yonder.
INTERRUPTED one OF the majors. You
don't see in this war. YOU sense.
That remark HI; The nail on the head
invisible men fighting invisible men.
Once VIC get that idea across III Amer
LEA much has been accomplished TO-
ward victory.
Later in the day | stood before
large map of the entire sector a. the
hradcuarters OF tho artillery brigade
in one Of the towns and saw where
had hccn. There were lines drawn on
| the map in different colors. represent
! Ing the range OF the various-sized guns.
The red lines led out fan-shaped from
one kind Of batteries. the blue from
another type o. guns and so on. II
| was a maze Of. lines and most con-
! fusinS.
Got the battery positions in your
| head?" said the American lieutenant
| In charge. who. incidentally, AFTER
! only two months in France was speak
! Ing French. technical French. with the
ability OF college professor.
NO" answered, 1t Is too much
| for me-"
With his pencil he indicated where
A Battery was going 10 move to IN the
night, position very near TO me
which he said was road. He pointed
, 10 place where c Battery OF our
regiment was to place Its guns. and
the very SPOT where on the day after
the morrow B Battery vas t. start
digging. He also indicated where the
batteries Of light artillery had alreaoy
taken position. and the network OF
trenches where our infantry was To-
Gated under the tutelage o. french
, soldiers.
&C.
! On the map It Was easy enough 70
find the German trench. I was any
! ions to know the place where G Bat
| te-y OF the - light field artiiier!
was 10 start firing in the morning.
A Delicate Apparatus.
! "Right here" he said. showing a
SPOT near a town You 80 In up laiS
road from your town"
! NV town" was The location OF Il
Batterv's billet during rs work on m"
new position. He added "Not a bad
town, Got hotel and d church. win
q score Of buildings rltChether. nc
showed me other towns close against
the forward positions where othc1 ar
tillel.vmen and the infantry were
louartered when not in action, can
now close my eyes and see the EN-
tire district as occupied by the Am ~
lean troops to go und-r fire.
With one OF our leltenants I next
visited sound de6is,ering" stat!oE'
about 1000 yards from the front lines
7 had heard OF the delicate apparatus
by which the French we're able TO 10
cate the exact point from which an
enemy battery fired. out seeing ard
hearing is believing. Necessity Is the
mother OF progress IN warfare. Three
years ago II anybody had said that y
would some day be possible to card
index sound from the air itself. tae
prophet would have been rldiculed IN.
TO technical oblivion. Yet the device
! has arrived and 1t Is practical Tor II
!
works.
! or course. 1.-THE registering or plac-
ing OF the exact spot from which en-
g!nes OF destruction are hurting their
tons Of high explosives is OF vital
worth to an army. 1t lightens the
/ burdens Of the aviators. Should at any
time the enemy gain temporary con-
troll of the air, az, for instance. when
all the available planes are maSsed
in some other sector 10 cover a DIX
! advance, then Sound registering
looms IN majestic proportions.
Come IN gentlemen said a French
captain In excellent English when the
lieutenant and had arrived before Il
concealed dugout which looked down
! from the bank of sleepy stream Into