Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-09-17

stone dugouts which the Germans
| had built to protect themselves
| from French airplanes. Shortly be-
fore midnight they heard voices in
emerging found that the Americans
had entered the village from both
| sides. They knew then that 4 great
drive had completed and that the st.
| Mihiel salient had been cut on.
Freshly painted shields in the Ger
sian colors decorated the sides Of the
| church tower. Nearby on the white
| walls Of another building was a
black sign indicating that 1t was a
combination snnsa ton ths.ter and and cansssn'
| original stone building. which was
filled with benches, providing seats
for several hundred persons. The
stage dressing room and the electric
footlights were equal to those found
! cantesn were signs telling the prices
i OF stein Of beer, q glass of schnapps
(whisky) and Of bread, butter. coffee
! and tea, each drink costing two cents
palatable luncheon cooked from ra-
lions which the Germans had aban-
doned.
On the other side Of the village
square were smoldering black rect
angles marking where the soldiers
| VOL owns AAno olOO0. All OulCcTS CluD
and a Y. NJ. c. A. hut for privates
faced the same narrow street. The
omcers' club had not been touched.
but only the bare walls remained
OF the Y. M. c. A. The dishes, plates
and pans were sttll hot. In q corner
bombed loaf sugar. Of which they
evidently had had an abundant sup
ply.
Land Under Cultivation.
Back Of every house were fields
tanning cabbage patches and occa-
| sional stretches Of beets. lettuce and
flowers. I saw q French artillery
train which had halted for q few
minutes. owing to the. congestion in
the roads. It was opposite a cabbage
patch. Instantly every gun caisson
was deserted and the patch disap-
peared in one sweep. Each soldier
remounted with his arms filled with
big-headed vegetables. Every mess
kitchen I passed today, whether
American or French. was savory with
the odor Of steaming cabbage. None
Of this German cabbage will ever
reach the sauerkraut age.
| Between vigneulles and Monsard
stretches q forest which outwardly
within 1t tree-shaded roads are dis
| closed that are as numerous as city
streets. They are bordered by con-
tinuous professions Of entrances to
camps. each with a boastful German
name painted over the rusty gate.
Lanes of white poplar trees lead to
q series Of barracks. each capable Of
sheltering a regiment Of men. These
new highways do not appear on any
| maps.
Narrow-gauge railroads covered
| with roofs Of camoudage SO as not to
i ho NV frn1o fnto rio the for.
est. KAISER Wilhelm Strausse. -
'Unter den Linden" 'Emden
| Strausse," 'Ludendorff Strausse." and
| the names of various cities painted on
big signs identify the new roads.
Have Permanent Bunks.
The canteens and the village bar
racks occupied by the Germans have
| permanent hunks, and the walls are
covered with an extra thickness OF
brush and mud to keep out the winter
| cold. In one place, a soda water fac
tory. on a sign at a branch road were
wohner NIGHT Nit Deutchem Gelde'
(To the Exchange ONCE Soldiers: Dc
| not pay residents in German money!
The Germans left their forest
homes so hurriedly that they did not
have time even to take with them
| their personal possessions. not to
mention destroying their supplies The
infantry captured truck trains of such
articles just as they were starting.
Nearly every letter found ready to
contained a certificate on which were
the Prussian eagle at the top OF the
scroll and the seal of Gen. .Ludendorff
at the bottom acknowledging the
owners subscription Of one to five
is the reading on the scroll: 'In ha-
Der dieser ukrain hat fuer die Luden-
| dorm spende fuer kriegsbeschaedig-
tein mark gespende. 1ch denke dem
gebor in namen seiner kriegsbeshee-
this certificate has donated one mark
to the Ludendorff fund for disabled
soldiers. thank the donor in the
name of his disabled comrades). The
certificate is signed by the representa-
| tive Of Gen. Ludendorn.
Hattonchatel Half Destroyed.
Hattonchatel. with Hattonville mes.
thing at its feet. was once q garden
half destroyed. It gives the Germans
a view to the porth equal to that
which Mount Sec gave the Germans
to the south. st. Benoit, which waa
under shell fire when passed through
It., was q deso!ate mass Of smoking
4
WAS only partially destroyed.
A dozen big-caliber German guns
were standing hitched to their Gals.
sons in the street, indicating the I'M
| expectednese OF the retreat. The
horses Of these Is well as hundreds Of
were apparently amazed and unable
to comprehend from the "giddaps,'
| which they heard who their new mas
ters were. as until last week they had
heard only Germans speak.
Thiacourt is another specimen OF
German incendiarism. It's fate was
similar to Vigneulles. Part of 1t hal
been destroyed and part 10 standing
Smiling refugees hero were talking
| with American soldiers, and the only
/ disconsolate woman seen during the
I entire day was Frau Wihlema Johanns
Depars, q ffty-year-old German so.
| cial worker who had been overlooked
and had not been furnished with
means Of fight in the retreat Of hel
countrymen.
| Soldiers Gather Trophies.
Soldiers who did not secure some
kind Of q trophy must have been i'm
mune from tho souvenir craze. Thou.
sands Of pairs Of new German army
boots had been abandoned. and it wa.
q queer sight to see an American
soldier trudging along with the high
tops over his puttees and kidding
himself into believing that they were
lmore comfortable than his own hob
nailed shoes. There were blucher
helmets and uniforms sufficient to
equip several regiments. Those who
escaped had only what they wore or
their backs.
In contrast with this was an out.
At captured in the village Of Pannes
These men had their personal prop.
erty packed and were waiting to sur.
render to the Americana.