The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-04-02

My first experience with Fritz was
real funny. 1t was a single combat
one Fritz versus yours truly" and
no partridge that ever flew could have
been more anxious to get away from
the hunter-as was-than he proved
to be.
1t happened during a little scrap
we were in. How this Fritzie and be-
came isloated don't know, but all at
once we found ourselves face to face
at a distance of thirty feet or so.
Neither was inclined to give in. It
was to be duel to the death.
What no!
We began with bombs. let Fritz
have one. 1t must have missed by
yards.
Fritz came along with a reply.
1t must have missed by miles.
1 took a step forward Fritz took a
step back.
Thirty feet-not twenty mine
seemed to be his favorite distance.
Again I sent him a bomb, and again
he replied.
Fritz is Shy of Steel
Same result.
1t was getting tedious. slipped for
ward my bayonet. Fritz slipped back
wards-about another thirty feet this
time.
Good" said I.
"Ill keep the steel in front" And
believe me, Fritz became actually ter
rorized.
I don't think he could have thrown
a bomb If he had tried.
Anyhow, he didn't and as soon as
he was too far away for any tricks, !
let drive with my rifle, and winged
him. And brought him back.
Now I'd heard lot about the Huns
being frightened of the steel, and
though 1 reckoned, after seeing the
savage way some of the boys INDUCED
even in practice, that I'd be fright
ened enough to face them myself in
the real thing. I never realized how
true the statement was. But the long
er I fought the more I found that
F'ritz's whole theory of war seemed
to be that Of keeping you at a distance
and killing you at that distance-if he
could-but, for Heavens sake no close
quarters and cold steel!
Oh, no.
| Fritz the F>rightful Is a brave mar
"a mile off. Get near him, and
though he has been trying to do you
| in all the time, the moment his num-
Der Is up its "Kamerad!"
Ugh, we hate him for that.
As If He We're Your Brother
I could give your other instance:
! of his tricks-how at night time wner
out on "saps" he'll come on you, silen1
as a snail, ready to strafe you, anG
the moment you turn to strafe hin
instead, out will jerk the sickeninf
whine, as if he were your brother
But I must relate instead the stor!
of the big fight I was in.
I'd seen a lot and endured a lot IL
the interval, but this racket, I thin
sort of compressed all the terrors O.
war into one hideous whole.
1t was at the taking of a certain
village.
First came the artillery.
Now I've witnessed the German ar
tillery a score of times at this worl
of destruction, and have thought
some" spectacle, as it no doubt was
but when our boys got on to this small
place, the German artillery seemed
Ipop-gunny by comparison.
That's g. fact.
The place was pretty much in ruin
before we began, but the point wa
that every single building, ruined o
whole, was a machine-gun fort, whicl
had to be cleared If possible befor
we went over.
The big howitzers look up the 10
first. I'll never forget that expert
ence.
Shells Like Flying Beer Barrels
| AS we crouched there the shell
. went over our heads like beer barrals
and every one seemed to turn tn
whole village upside down.
S'truth, it was terrible.
One moment you'd see block Q
houses. The next thing there was
new street down the middle of then
A shell had cut it clean out. Then tn
next shell would strip a series of roof:
and send them flying like papers 1
storm. The next again would buckl
all the gables together like a concer
tina.
The noise of every "beer barrel
passing over head was like a stra
cyclone. And when they struck, wha
between the crash of the shell itsel
and the long roll of falling masonry
it was absolute pandemonium.
In the name of fury, thought I, hoy
can human beings live there?
Well, they didn't exactly liv
there" but they lived under" there
Deep down in cellars they mus
have been, waiting till the storm pass
ed. Many must have been buried alive
but before we got over, others wer
up, had their machine guns whippe
into position among the ruins, an
were ready to give us hell.
1t was a great fight that.
Over stones, through doors, roun
corners, we chased harried, bombed
shot and bayoneted them until we ha
the whole internal place cleared, an
that almost before the dust of tn
Commandment had cleared from tn
air.
The Charge
And the fright wasn't over.
Oh, mol
The village stood on a ridge.
Beyond that was twisted hollo'
rising to another ridge. The Hun
were no sooner knocked out OF tn
village than they began to pack Int
the hollow, which was one fearf,
maze of communication trenches leaG
ing to the village itself.