The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1918-02-01
TEUTONS RAID
u. S. TRENCHES
Two Dead, -Four Hurt and One
is Missing.
HUNS seen TO FALL
Enemy in Force Rush v. S. Listening
Post on French Front Under Heavy
8arraee Fire.

W the American Army in France,
Feb. An American position on a
certain sector Of the French front was
raided during a heavy fog shortly
after daylight Wednesday morning.
The attack was preceded by a vio-
lent artillery barrage.
Two Americans were killed and
four wounded. One soldier is missing.
He is believed TO have been captured
by the enemy.
Casualties haze been occurring al
most daily for several days in this
sector. 1t is now permitted to dis
close that all the recent casualties
given out from Washington occurred
here. The deaths were caused by
shell fire, mostly shrapnel.
Tuesday night was fairly quiet
throughout the American sector. The
usual number of shells came over,
doing no damage. There were the
customary sporadic outbursts Of ma
chine gun fire from both sides at point
where the opposing lines are nearest.
At daybreak the fog which had en-
veloped the whole position and the
country for miles around for several
days became still thicker. 1t blotted
out all except the nearest enemy po-
sitions.
At seven o'clock three muffled re-
ports sounded through the fog. There
were three whistles, followed quickly
by three shell bursts. The projectiles
exploded on three sides of an Ameri-
can listening post, just outside the
barbed wire. This was within forty
five feet of an enemy listening post.
Then hell broke lose" said one of
the men there. For fifteen minutes.
the enemy broke hundreds of high ex-
plosive us around the post and the
surrounding ground 1t cut off the
men there. Two were killed in the
first few minutes.
Another man at the post said later,
in the field hospital, that he saw four
Germans approaching out of the fog
as the barrage lifted. He brought his
automatic rifle into play. He saw two
Of the Germans fall. He kept on fir
ing until shell splinters hit him in the
head and arm.
The last I remember in the time
before l reached the hospital" said
another wounded man, sis seeing
something moving through the fog.
I determined to get some Germans and
put my rifle to my shoulder. I never
piled the trigger. There was a deaf
ening explosion behind me- Frozen
earth, ice, stones and shell splinters
came my way"
Inspection of the scene of the raid
showed the ground was plowed up by
the explosion of shells.
One of the man Wounded was ifit by
a sniper's bullet He fell in a trench
filled with water. He almost drowned
before he was rescued by his captain
Several of the wounded had been list
ed as accidental woundings. These
were mostly wounds on the hands.
II is certain the enemy casualties
from American cannon and machine
gun fire has been as great or greater,
than ours.
The casualties given out in Wash
ington occurred over a certain recent
period. The dead were buried with
in sound and range, of the guns. One
man was blown to pieces by shell
in a regimental headquarters town.
He was following his colonel into a
dugout.
Three men were killed by one shell
which fell in a trench. Another died
If wounds in a hospital Quite few
Of the men sent to hospitals were
wounded in the upper part of the body
OF on the head from shrapnel.