The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1918-08-09
JOB OF TACKnNG
THE machine GUNS.
MEANS DEATH TO MOST OF THE
MEN WHO FACE THEM.

1 talked with one who had taken
part in the horrors that were staged
at Epieds. He was Lieut. Allen Dex-
ter, OF BroOkline. Mass He wore a
croix de Guerre gained in Lorraine
across the back Of his neck was the
red trail OF a machine gun bullet.
a flesh wound he had not thought i'm
portant enough TO have treated. though
IL must have been extremely painful
lie gave me a clearer understanding
OF what taclkIing a machine gun nest
means in this fighting than all the
talks on the subject / have had with
expert tacticians.
They usually have three of them.
he observed, '-set about thirty feet
apart I'm a triangle. When we attack
one the other two pepper US with cross
fire IL we don't watch out That was
tie way IL was when my platooo went
after some CT them In the woods porth-
east Of Epieds, One o. my automatic
rife teaTls crawled straight taward
the only gun we had definitely located
so as 10 draw it's fire feontally while
the rest Of US SKINNED along a shallow
rayine hoping TO &c; at them from
the FEAR.
Everything BOXED fine until two
other machine guns, whose where
abouts were unknown TO US. cut loose
at both our automatic rifIemen and
the remainder OF my platoon hundred
yards away. Say. could have crawl
ed into a match II It had been hollow
/ ed out, things got so hot saw there
was nothing for IL but straight 'front.'
al attack II was pretty costly, be-
Iieve mel don't know how many OF
us got through. but IL worked.
Killed Gun Crews
I'VE erenadeS. the life out OF the
machine gun crew. then got the gun
firing in the general direction of the
other two hidden machine guns which
were still FOSTERING US nightly. While
| a few OF US kept that on busy the 9TH
ers ducked around and by good luck
stampeded the third machine-gun out
fit from the rear. There again nc
Boche stayed alive long enough to be
| taken prisoner.
/ But by that time there were not
enough of US left to go after the gun
that was still firing We just lay low
and prayed All Of a sudden the boche
/ firing stopped. As soon as IL got darl'
went over there with half a dozen
men and found the gun and two dead
Germans alongside Of it-just got cold
feet guess Well. that was good en-
Ough for me. especially when I learn
ed later that all Of them had met uT
with one OF our patrols and been tax
en- prisoner
| Putting GerTnal Shippers out Of COM
mission is a less hazardous but an
equally arduoous task Individual
rabbit hunting. Private Edward Hol-
mes. of Newcastle. Pa. called il and
told me about his friend from New Ha-
ven. who was lying slightly wounded
in shell hole when a dozen Prussianz
came along this way. Their Ieadei
caught sight OF him. threw up his hands
fell on his knees and bleated. NE
| good American prisoner The 9TH
ers wavered and soon began to movs
hack discreetly-
From his shell hole the New Haven
boy dispatched four with his rifle and
two with his revolver the rest escaped
leaving their chieftian prone on tbs
ground sagerIy awaiting shipment &c
the concentration camp and still chat
tering. ME good American prisoner
Lincoln Eyse in New York World