Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-01-11

as 4 snail, ready 10 strafe you. anc
tho moment YOU turn 10 strafe hin
instead, out will jerk the sickening
whine, az IL he were your brother
But must relate instead the stor.
OF tho big fight | was in.
Ia seen lot and endured lot in
The interval. but this racket, | think
scrt OF compressed all tho terrors OF
war into ono h!deous whole
1t was at tho taking OF certain
, village
First came the artillery.
Now I've witnessed the German artil.
lcry score OF times at this work Of
destruction. and have thought it some
spectacle. as il no doubt was; bu:
when our boys got on to this small
place. tho German artillery seemed
poD-Eunny by comparison.
That's n fact.
! The place was pretty much in ruins
before we began. but the point was
that every single building. ruined or
whole, was rnachinc-Eun fort, which
had to be cleared. II possible. before
W. went over.
! The big howitzcEs took up the job
FIRST, I'll never forget that experience.
AS We crouched there the shells wen.
over our heads like beer barrels. and
every one seemed to turn the whole
village upside down.
S;ruih. i! was terrible.
One momen, you'd see a block OF
houses The next thing there was a
new street down tho middle Of them
4 l,nn I,
next shell would strip a series Of roof.
and send them flying like papers in
storm The next again would buckle
all the gables together like a con-
certina.
The noise OF every beer barrel
passing overhead was like stray
cyclone. And when they struck. what
between tho crash of the she'll itself
aud tho Ions roll or falling masonry,
it was absolute pandcmonium.
In the name OF fury. thought l, how
can human beings live there?
Well they didn't exactly live there"
bat they lived under" there.
Deep down in cellars they must have
been. waiting till the storm passed.
Many must have been buried alive. but
before VIC got over, others were up.
had their machine guns whipped into
position amons TIC ruins. and were
ready 10 give Us hell.
i, was srcat fight that.
Over stones. through doors. round
corners. we chased. harried, bombed.
shot and bayonctcd them until We had
the whole internal place cleared. and
that almost before the dust u the
bombardmcnt had cleared from the air
FIGHT NOT OVER WHEN
HUNS EVACUATED VILLAGE
And the i!pht wasn't over
ON no.
rho village stood on ridge.
h'Eoad that "as twisted hollow
riS!hs TO ano'L.r ridge. The Huns
We're no *oonc" knocked out OF the
. Niiia%" than they began to pack tn.u
TIC hollow, Which was one fearful maze
- communication trenches leading to
III" village itself. Word was sen,
. t'ck TO he gums to drop on this rally.
'ns ground. but whether it was the lie
OF the land or what-thc hollow. as /
say. was all twisted and terribly nwk-
W"Fd Tor the artillcry--and shells did
i. not seem to be doing the necessary"
oar officers quickly spotted what was
, "'uhS' ord was given us to clear
back BIT. and hardly had we done
/ so IMAM up gailopod our light artillery
wheels in air half the time. and the
drivers stretched Hat on their fur.ousIv
racing 6tccds.
what sight! And what a sigh,
was 10 follow.
tel you our artillery has nothing
! !" iearn. Before We knew that the
1 mad gal!op was over. these guns wer.
fakIns that hollow right and left. IN
anu Gown cr!sS-cross, till it was moth
F, ing but steaming cry furnace
e. guns they were. but these artillcrymcn
could handle them equal to ANYTHING
+ me French scvcnty-nvo boys can do.
nat battery ratified like a mammoth
machine gun.
Then, suddenly, it ceased The dram,
was over. And that counterat,ack
never began.
Why.
II! tell you.
+. We had to cross that hollow 500,
after To the other ridge. We rnr,,d
inc place SHAMELESS. Those gums h,I
caught the Germans in masses. and
made graveyard of tho spot from
""'.n 'hey had hoped to wrest VIC
'"'F from US.
though, that was the finish o,
Franco for me.
"o went up on TO the other ridge
AFTER our guns had cleared tn. Gcr-
! man trenches. and taking possession of
| tue place which had been cvacuaicd
we settled down once again to rcroI
! tho countcrattacks
This time. though. we could SEQ ho,.
ter what Fritz intended 20 do ma
YOU bet we never let him do l.. S.v-
era! times he massed for the at,acl,.
hNt our guns spoke. and he was scat-
Tered like chan Al! the same. n, 90,
III come nasty whacks at us win h,4
own artillery.
TELLS Of HIS EXPERIENCE
WITH THE Hun PRISONERS
som" OF the experiences have had
"Nn German prisoners have been Of
som" what quaint character.
ON on" occasion | took rcrnarilahIy.
INC type "f German as prisoner. n.
Wa q ""n-Set-up chap OF more than
average intelligence. and had a y.rv
pfctiF turn of wit. This was dcc,d,d
contrast 10 many whom came jntn
contact out IN France. This particul,r
= 'h"p Was very chatty gave him >
c'Ea'"''o as lie seemed a ,horot,,,hl,
He'eui chap anil after wc had t,Ii,cd
Tor som" time on thugs In general 7
'alu 10 'a'G: Look her. 'ri,z vho,.
Is an tina darrca SCRAP going to cna %,
o' course, this was only nv yy,v g.,
nic}n@ but he wasn't having INK.