The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1918-02-11
En- ENCH CAPTURE
FOE EYEGLASSES
German Observation Points Are
MethodicaIly Taken In OAR
ing Attacks.
EROIc WORK Of Blue Devils
First spygIass Seizure 10 Credited 20
chasseurs Who, In Sensational A.
tack, Wipe Out Powerfully
Fortified Salient by Surprise.


Fortified Salient by Surprise.
With the French Armies in the Field.
French troops are m~ethodically TAX
Ing away the German spyglasses.
One by one, enemy observation
points or advantageous positions have
been carefully spotted by the French
command and effectively eliminated.
Though French official communiques
issued have registered merely local ac-
lions, these have had for the main OBJ
jective that Of snatching the bin0cu-
lars from the Teuton eyes.
A brief artillery preparation, a
shrill whistle In the first-line trench,
and the Poilus have bounded "over
the top" In actions Of signal impor-
lance In Alsace, north of the Chemin
Deis Danes and north of Verdun at
Hill 344. Nearly 1,4OO prisoners and
valuable war material Is the 'by-prod-
uct" Of these local, strategical drives.
Won by Blue Devils.
The first r'spyglass" seizure was
that Of the "Schonholz." q powerful
fortified German salient jutting into
the French lines In Alsace, serving the
double purpose Of German observation
of the French organizations and pre-
venting the French seeing In the direc-
ton Of Altkirch. On the afternoon Of
November z, after a brief but violent
artillery preparation, three companies
OF the French Chasseurs-Blue Devils
attacked the Schonholz, completely
wilping out the salient In a fierce fight
lasting into the night.
The enemy desperately counter-at-
tackled. but failed, leaving in all 120
prisoners, including six officers. In the
hands of the Blue Devils. Complete
&c rman losses, high because Of their
fierce effort to retain a position which
they knew to be of extreme value, were
estimated at ut least 600 men.
The following day a French general
pinned military medals on the blue
turics of two a%djutants and a cor
poral for exceptional valor. Though
there were no such medals In the dis
| tIlNL th6 ktuChui SCnb ~ LuSt autVAhO~
bile to find them. wherever possible,
and the little presentation ceremony
In an Alsacian village was a happy
aftermath Of q victory that took from
the Germans priceless observations
which had bothered the French for
two years.
The French command next decided
that the Germans were seeing too
much north Of the Chemin Des Danes.
Consequently following a brief artil-
lery deluge, four companies Of Poilus
passed to the attack against the enemy
lines forming a salient between the
small River Misotte and the route of
the German-held village Of Jouvin-
court as far as the village Of Ville-au-
Bots. Here the enemy held valuable
observation posts overlooking Jouvin-
court and ground each Of the MI
cite.
Under low-lying clouds and In a
"pea-soup" fog. the former prevent
ing ell aerial work and the latter pre-
venting enemy observation Of the ad'
vance, the French infantrymen. In less
than an hour swept over positions on
a trent Of 1900 yards and penetrated
to a depth of over half q mile. They
wiped out the salient. took all the OBJ
servatcries and captured Ats prison
ers--a number almost equal to half OF
the entire attacking force. Six Ger
man officers and as under officers fell
into the net.
The third and most important
French action Of November was In q
region where constant hellish lighting
has been the daily routine-Hil S44
on the right bank Of the Meuse, NORTH
of verdun. Here q drumlike artillery
roar has never ceased. night and day
for nearly three months. German at
tacks and French counter-attacks, al
most daily since the latter part Of
August, have had small place In thu
communique because Of their routine
nature. The enemy's positions permit
ted him to make constant infantr!
"nibbles" into the French lines on thu
northern flank Of Hill 844. and to dis
thrb French organization which h
/. cOuIu see In the
Surprise Attack Successful.
French strategy In eliminating tn
eInemy's advantageous positions In tn
region Of Hill 844 has probably neve
b cen employed before In this war. TAX
Ing advantage Of the conditions pecu
liar to the region. French guns of man,
calibers at $50 Sunday, morning, No
vember %. concentrated their delug
OF steel on a three and 0ne-half kilo
! nleter front opposite Hill 844. tn
7 thunder Of this artillery preparation
though violent. was unnoticed amid tn
constant medley Of air vibration
which had become q habit to Germal
/ ears for almost three months.
Just four hours after the begir
! ming Of the concentration OF hrt
screened by its WI habitual noise, z
10 80 a. m. the French guns lengthene'
> their range, and barraged the Germal
rear while the pOiluS went Over tn