Middletown transcript., 1918-09-28
HUNS NEAR METZ. :.
ACCEPT, DEFENSIVE
Bombardment Of U. s. Lines
Perfunctory.
IN SEC0ND.LlnE TRENCHES
oaiy At Rare Intervals Does Rnemy
Fire Give impression That Con-
certed Effort 70 Being
Made.

American Forces in Lorraine.-En
trsnched in the second lines of the
Hindsnburg system, the Germans
aleng the front southwest Of Metz ap
pear to have accepted the new situa
ton. The tactics they are employing
are wholly defensive ones.
The Germans are carrying out q
Aalf-hsartsd and seemingly perfume.
tory bombardment Of tho American
hnss. Even challenges by American
and French patrols are refused by
he enemy except where . conflict is
Inevitable.
Shells from German n calibre guns
are reaching the American forward
positions, while those from the loss
and the 1905 are falling in the back
areas. From time to time the shells
reach points throughout the sector,
but only 1T rare intervals does the
enemy IRE give the impression that
. concerted effort is being made.
A bombardment that is heavy
enough at times to be called q bar
rage. 10 laid down early in the morn
Ing. It Is followed by another some
hours later. The remainder of the day
% devoted to occasional shots and at
tenpts against the active Allied air.
DlaneA
American observers, both aerial and
those at fixed posts, report decreased
activity behind the German lines. This
= taken to indicate that the units
battered in the American advance have
b<en relieved by fresher troops.
A German trick designed to deceive
the Allies has been discovered in the
g. M1hiel salient, where the Germans
abandoned large quantities of decoy
artillery, big guns, little guns, NOR
tars and even machine guns, made of
wood and sheets Of iron and tin. This
dummy artillery has been found in
various sections, for the most part in
places where it could be plainly seen
BY Photographic observers.
It IL assumed that the Germans be-
neve the Allies can be deceived by
camouflaged artillery and had hoped
that the Allies would plan heavy
attack on the sectors where the dunn
my artillery was located. Some of
the larger guns" were made Of sheet
iron mounted on WORKOUT wheels
that were scarcely able to stand even
light use In one town a shop where
this decoy artillery was manufactured
has been found.
Five persons were captured by the
Americans southeast Of the village of
Wool They belonged to the 18th
Storm Battalion and all agreed that
even these crack troops are discour-
aged by the Franco-American sue
cesses north of the Marine and around
st. Mihiel.
A night patrol Of Americans cap
tured the Germans without firing
shot. The Germans were sleeping
when the Americans crept up around
them and captured them. They said
that the majority of the men in their
company had been withdrawn from
this region when the Americans began
their concentration a few days ago.
The low morale Of the German Army
was the reason that the resistance
encountered by the Americans was not
stronger, the prisoners declared.
One prisoner, socialist, said the
civilians in Germany are discouraged
with the way the war is going and
look upon the struggle as capitalistic
effort. There Is great depression in
oil parts of Germany as the result of
che recent successes of the British.
French and Americans, he said.
Germans everywhere are at last
realizing the fact that the Americans
are good fighters" he continued;
"they appreciate the fact that the
American successes are encouraging
to the Allies and discourag:ng to the
German soldiers" He said that the
German troops estimated the Amer
cans equal to the Germans as they
were in 1914.