The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-12-21
TOpekan Tells of Soldier Luck
at the Front.
Edward w. Thompson Is With
Thirty.Fifth Division.
WAS IN TWO BIG BATTLES
Tells of Taking Hill in just
Four Hours.
Wait in Little Village for Sign
ing Of Peace Terms.

Edward w. Thompson, who is with
the army in France, has written to
his father, w. M. Thompson. Of 100
West Sixth street. Topeka. telling Of
He is with the Thirty-fifth division.
and took part in the fighting at st.
Mihiel, the Argonne forest. and other
fields. He tells of taking hill. one
of the finest bits OF German de-
fensive works. The men took it in
four hours, whereas the French had
told them that 1t would not fall short
of "a hours Smelling. He toldsof the
dugouts captured behind the hill, and
of the hospitals for the wounded. The
November "a. After spending short
time at Camp Mills, Thompson went
abroad, last summer. His letter is.
in part, as follows:
Landed at Liverpool.
1--WE landed at Liverpool. and then
those comical little European cars.
At Southampton we met little,
bent old man who recited to us about
Rodney on the mud. Southampton
on the stones and showed us the
exact location where Cromwell, in
and fired into the town. On the
north side Of the old church, where
the dead are inferred under tablets
inscribed in Latin, there were many
little nOleS ana pieces OIL SIOI dE6 StAAA
in the walls. We marched to South
ampton and crossed the channel In
the night in a fine little steamer fin
ished in walnut wood. and landed at
LIE Havre. We stayed there two days
in some English barracks. then took
! had been bombing this place. espec-
| tally the railroad yards, but allied fly
| ers were keeping them so busy they
| didn't drop any shells on us.
"At this time the French were a
little dubious as to what Uncle Sans
soldiers could do, but we soon began
showing them. We went into Alsace
| to get a little preliminary training for
| the harder fighting up north. and
| while there the 36th started little
| rough house all its own with the Ger
| mans who had been using that sector
only for resting purposes.
I'VE took over a good French evacu-
alton hospital at Bussang, then we
moved UP around Nancy and Toul.
with q few stops in between for the
fifth division was held in reserve. The
heaviest barrage I ever heard occur
red there.
"Our division was in on the start
| Of the Argonne drive and had some
Of the toughest fighting on the whole
Fifth Prussian guards, the toughest
| fighters the crown prince had, and
several other reserve troops. At the
end of six days we were Withdrawn to
recuperate, but we had broken thru
one of the strong defensive points that
the Germans had, and which they had
| told the French could never be taken
We took hill by artillery fire in four
hours which the French said could
only be taken after seventy-two hours
of steady Smelling.
Got Fresh Milk.
| ION the opposite side Of this hill
| were dugouts galore all connected
| with a corridor which ran almost the
whole length of it and lighted by cleo
| tricity. In one place we found a COW
| which had not been MIXED yet, sc
half a dozen doughboys had a taste
of fresh milk.
1.-TWO days later the engineers were
| cleaning out and looking for mines
| They set off several boche machine
guns and out came fifty or sixty Ger
mans who had been hiding in the hill
while we were operating the hos
pital at Neuvilly. we were OVERLOADED
| with patients, but managed to take
| care of them all. There were several
Germans in the hospital also, and al
most every hour of the day squads OF
prisoners could be seen passing down
the road.
I'VE have made several moves since
| then, and now here we are in a small
village waiting for peace terms to be
signed"