Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-04-26
Sighted Crowd of Germans.


On another occasion a patrol of four
the evening, sighted crowd of Ger
mans gathered around steaming kitch-
en- wagons beside the road at the edge
of wood. They attacked. Several
Germans were hit and the rest, 1t is
safe 10 say, went hungry that night, for
the kitchens were riddled with bullets.
+. Lieut. Guerin. the French ace. told me
how he spread terror over the Germans
In Noyon during half an hour by curvet-
ting Ike a swallow over the roofs, ex-
streets were filled with ambulances
fresh from the battlefield, but these
naturally were immune from attack
All the Germans. when they heard the
terrifying motor. hid indoors. Except
stretchers beside the ambulances he did
not see human being, but tied along
the wall in the public square were some
sor tbs a Wond h6Fses Is, Presumably u be.
longing to German officers. The Ger
mans are already running short of
horses. Lieut.. Guerin fred and when
Guerin fires he rarely misses.
Guerin's comrade. the clever young
ace, Chaput, described to me the anuse-
rnent he had found IN attacking infantry
columns There were certain periods
during the advance when the enemy in
Ing across the fields by platoons in col
unns OF fours with rifles slung ON the
shoulder or carried easily in the right
hand Chaput discovered several such
less OF the rifle bullets, which began to
zip about him he drove straight at the
nearest column at a speed of about
eighty miles an hour.
He actually few within two or three
yards OF the ground. He saw the Ger
mans start to run and then fling them
selves face downward on the ground an
me angry motor roared just above them.
several never rose again. for Chaput
also understands the use of the machine
sun.
Chaput Continued Charging.
Liking the new sport. Chaput con-
tfnued charging, column after column.
at such low level that only his ex-
: traordinary skill could have kept him
from striking something and killing
himself. The Germans fred hundreds
: OF bullets as he approached and when
ne had passed they began firing again,
out their nerves seemed to have been
30 shaken by Chaput's daring charges
: right in their midst that Chaput was
Jured
, Other French aviators who tried the
: same tactics were less fortunate Sew
eral were wounded by rife bullets. hut
: the loss sustained was much inferior
to the loss inflicted. The allied fighters
/, dred literally millions of cartridges in
those Few days and many took effect
: e,, Mssae the lighting planes were thus
cavalry raiders the big bombarding
: groups were temporarily replacing the
heavy artillery. Their work also was
carefully organized.
eny's lines. they attacked factories.
railway stations and moving trains.
BY day they bombed ammunition dumps
and moving troops. Bombs dropped
from aeroplanes are probably the dead
even than big shells. for the steel ex-
-terfoS. being relatively thin, there is
plenty of room inside for high ex-
plosives. A. machine gun from an aero
plane is bad enough, but a well placed
bomb Is massacre.
French bombers attacked infantry col
umns on the La Fere-Ham road from a
height OF twenty yards. 1t was impos-
1or the asroplanes themselves. as they
might we'll have been upset by the ex-
plosion OF their own bombs. Entire col
Gmns were annihilated. In addition to
these specific attacks regular barrages
bridges and certain important cross
roads. Thus when a mass Of German
troops pouring from st. Quentin south
gouthwest and west. the chief natural
Crozat canal. The four points of pass
Wge are at Ham. ST. Simon, Jussy and
Tergnier. For several days French
planes kept an almost incessant rain OF
bombs on these points.
:, Road Intersection to Noyon.
When. nevertheless. the bulk of til.
German army advanced into the valley
Df the Disc, the chief intersection OF
roads yas in Noyon. Noyon was moi
epareds The French population had
fomRAtely evacuated the town before
tho hemy arrived The only tnhabt.