The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1918-05-10
.HA|C's RETREAT IS
WILDLY PICTURED
Storm of Shell Fire Described by
Illinois Officer.
HUN SLAUGHTER WAS GREAT
First Lieutenant Petit of Ottawa. in
Letter to His Father Gives Details
OF Battle in Which British
Fought at Great Odds.

|
The thrilling story of the Haig re-
treat in the terrific battle i'm Picardy is
most Interestingly detailed by First
Lieutenant Roswell T. Petit, NJ. o.
K. C., of Ottawa, ILL.,, in letter to his
father, DIR. j. w. Petit of the Ottawa
tuberculosis colony, and published in
the Chicago Tribune. For nine days
the American officer was in the thick
est of the fighting, and during the re-
treat of the British Fifth army from
before st. Quentin. His account of the
battle thrills with the stress of the
herculean conflict, as it was detailed
Immediately after he had passed
through the terrible experience and be-
fore his impressions had been dulled
by time. His letter:
| Lieutenant Pettit's Letter.
March 80.
Dear Father: Now that the show is
over for me for the time being, and I
have time to breathe and sleep and eat
and write, I'll try and tell you about
the battle. Before you receive this
you will have had the whole story from
the papers, but / know you will be
interested in'knowing what did in the
affair." "a
OF course, the things | saw were but
an 'nfnitesimal part of a gigantic
whole and it would be impossible for
me to give correct description Of the
battle. And as l write this, do it
with no knowledge whatever of what
has been going on ever few miles
from me.
l have not seen paper in eight days;
| have received no mail. and the only
information we have received has been
by word of mouth, and most of what
we hear must be wild rumOrs. For ex-
ample: The French have advanced
20 miles at Verdun, the Ameri-
cans have taken Ostend, and are on
their way to Zeebrugge and great
naval battle has beer fought in the
North sea-
All know is that on this part of the
front the Germans alta cked us in over
whelming numbers, in places ten divi-
sions to our one; that they suffered
terrible losses, but finally broke
through our lines of defense. one after
another, and fighting for the most part,
a rear guard action. we have retired
about 10 miles in a straight line.
For week before the battle started
we had been expecting it; we were
ready to move on 80 minutes no
tice. I had been out with combatant |
as well as medical officers on tours of |
evacuation of the wounded had been |
worked out, and our plans of counter
attack been made. After four or five |
days of waiting, the storm finally |
broke.
The Boche opened up on US at ) a. M,
March 81, with the heaviest barrage /
have ever heard. ''Stand to-" was /
sounded. we turned out dressed, and
had all our equipment packed in 80 |
Then we sat down and
waited for orders to move. The bar
rage kept up continuously sometimes
heavier and then of less intensity,
sometimes it seemed to be to the north
Of us and then suddenly it switched to
the south.
Our balloons were up as soon as 1t
was light and the airplanes were buzz
ling over our heads. The ground mist
gradually cleared and the Germans
)ut hail of shrapnel on orr camp
md we all took cover, but three men
we're hit. Why it is fellow always
a. fo, u |
wen if he knows bullets and shrapnel
md pieces of shell will go through
,oards and corrugated iron just like
,aper.
Ordered to Move.
Our orders to move finally came and
We marched off to the brigade assem-
ly point several miles away This as ,
emily point was in little bunch of
rees about the size of Allen park and
ehind and separated from a larger ,
-ood On front. In the larger wood I
here was battery of heavy artillery {
nd shells were dropping in there two :
r three to a minute, and it was heavy
tuff. too. I
Sometimes they overshot the big | c
'ood and shells were landing in the t
pen around the little wood where my g
rigade had its assembly point. As b
e approached our little copse we &
)uld make all this out from some dis
Ince away and 1t wasn't pleasant n
,nsation to feel that we were march II
g straight into it. C
All the battalions arrived and in that II
tile copse there must have been at s.
asst two thousand men. What a b