The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-04-17
CQL0N|ALS HELD
At Ia POMPE[LE
Repulse Heavy Drive of En-
envy With Fierce COun-
ter Attack
PREVENT. CAPTURE
OF FORT NEAR RHEIMS
Two Battalions of Prince Frederick S
Selected Troops Were Unable to Hold
Ancient Stronghold Which They Cap
tured at Great Cost.

FRENCH FRONT, April 17-Only
the heroic tenacitv Of small body of |
French troops in holding the fort OF
La Pompel1e southeast of Rheims pre-
vented a strong force of Germans from
capturing that old and longdis |
mantled work on March l.
After pouring over 10000 shells Of
| all calibres on to the position and
pumping over all the surroundings thick
clouds Of the most deadly, poisonous
gases, two battalions of Crown Prince
| Frederick 8 selected troops advanced
to the attack. All the barbed wire
acknowledgements had been uprooted dur
ing the bombardment and the centers
of resistance in front Of and around
tie fort had been demolished when the
assaulting infantry waves came for.
ward.
The ground and the trenches forming
the only obstacles between the German
lines and the French positions had been
Eleveled and the few French advanced
posts had retired first on to their sup
ports and then into the classmates of
the fort itself, where with the rest Of
the small garrison they prepared to fight
20 the last.
As tine churning up of the ground
about the fort had DISTRACTED the field
Of fire of the machine guns, the Ger
mans met with only slight resistance
until they had reached the moat. This
was more than half filed with debris
! resulting from the heavy bombardmcnt
! and the attacking troops were able to
advance to the stone walls. There,
however, they stopped in spite of their
liquid fire machines.
One of these implements was tried
l on a heavy timber door leading into
!, the southern side OF the fort, but the
: door held firm. Meanwhile from be
hind a shelter Of sandbags at one end
: of the moat, a group of hardy spirits
: of the garrison opened fire on the Ger
mans with machine gun and killed OF
+. put out of action all who were attempt
!, ing TO place cans of high explosives
;. against the walls of the fort.
4 The garrison consisted of colonia
r troops of tried courage and they fought
il up 70 the traditions Of the corps. Sool
V tho enemy found their efforts were
doomed to failure and retired to the ad
yanced work which, together with sew
n eral bastions, they retained for som,
d hours.
&c The defenders communicated witt
h their comrades in the rear. a counter
s attack was organized and, although TIL
fighting which cnsued was of the ferc
est kind, the Germans were driven on
~ Of every inch of trench they had occu
y pied and forced TO flee in disorder t
~ their own lines.
|. Evidence of the nature of the strue
- gle were still to be found when TIL
: correspondent of The Associated Pres
-, arrived at the fort soon after the ce.
: sation of the bombardment In tn
barbed wire, fronting the enem
! trenches, were the bodies of dozens Z
~ Germans shot down as they fed. Tn
he systems Of barbed wire ENHANCEMENT
ar which had formerly prevented az
ad Iproach to the fort were almost none,
as istent. most Of them having bee
ne buried under heaps Of earth All abot
ng were dead rats killed by the fumes {
n the German gas.
nd The communication trenches ha
e. crumhled under the hail of projectil
and to 90 from one spot to another
OF was necessary to cross the open und
IA immediate observation from the domi
nc ating heights of Nogent-l 'Abesse al
ny BeTru whore the Germans have bee
p installed since 1914.
'os The Germans were evidently st
n chagrined at the defeat of their car
~ fully planned attack and as the corr
~ spondent with some colleagues was e
al aiming their lines, only a hundr,
wards or SO away, they opened fire al