The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1918-11-25
where THE YANK
LICKED THE HUN
Battle Scared vauquois Plateau
AWe-lnspiring Sight to
American.
CREST GIVES GREAT VIEW
Lone Ooughboy From Oklahoma Looks
Long and Says: at Sure Is Worth
Coming All the Way
From Tulsa"

With the American Army In the Ar
sonne.-Vauquois plateau. Scared
with -Four years of battle, affords a
wonderful view of the battle-ground
over which General Pershing's First
army Fought Ia the first phase of his
attack. From its highest ridge the
whole fighting field from the Mouse to
The western fringe Of the Argonne, ex-
,epting one small patch blotted out by
Montfaucon on the right, could be
clearly seen by day and the burst of
every Boche shell observed.
Far off to the north a blue line of
hills marked the Boche positions. Dark
columns of smoke announced the ar
rival OF American shells. Two German
balloons, black specks against low
hanging clouds, watched columns of
our transports winding down the
roads.
Far down on the left German
shells were bursting in white puffs
along the road curving down from
Apremont around a hill to Baulny and
then Strengthening out between rows
OF straight little trees to Charpentry,
where our tanks fought so ~valiantly.
Over to the right there were occa-
sional bursts of Boche arrivals on
Montfaucon, golden In the afternoon
sun. Northwest of Montfaucon, more
German shells were breaking in the
woods and along the roads south of
Cierges, just behind our advanced line.
Alive With Activity.
The fiat plain at the foot of Vau-
quois was alive with activity. Auto
mobiles snaked their way in and out
of long columns of trucks. Men gallon
ed to and fro on horseback. Lines of sol
diers went struggling along the roads
unmindful of enemy shells. Sharp
flashes of light with their accompany
Ing crashes signaled the departure
of American ~projectiles. A tiny train
went rafting across the plain carry
Ing munitions toward the front.
Overhead there was a constant whirr
OF airplane motors and occasionally
the whoofs of antiaircrafters as
Boche planes attempted sallies across
u lines.
South Of Cheppy 40 or more dough.
boys squatted along a little road
shooting craps. Two German shells
came In with a whine that hardly
reached our ears on Vauquois. The
d~oughboys scattered quickly into the
underbrush. Then they came out py
twos aad threes and the crap game was
resumed.
Balloon Falls In Flames.
A whole fleet Of our planes passed
over the plateau, swinging off to the
right and passing over Montfaucon
Three minutes later a German bal
loon came down in q pillar of smoke
and fire. The airmen swung back on
their way home.
Fifty or more Yankees stumbled
through the barbed wire entangle.
ments on vauquois plateau itself
searching for souvenirs in the con.
crete dugouts and tunnels the Ger,
mans had bored deep into its side.
They picked up German skulls, relics
of battles since 1915, looked them over
%curiously and threw them aside. They
poked about In the crater of the great
Vauquois mine, exploded by the
French three years ago, and went
sliding down the hillside toward the
rolling kitchens outside the ruins OF
Vauquois village.
One lone doughboy remained
perched upon the biggest rock at the
summit Of the highest ridge, his pacl
at his side, chin in hands, gazing out
over the battlefield in the gathering
darkness.
"Tve been here all afternoon, JUS
sittin' and lookin'," he said. 'It sure
is worth coming all the way from
Tulsa, Okla"