Evening star., 1918-06-14
us. MEN EAGER
TO GET AT HUNS
Graphic Picture of American
!, Soldiers Behind the
: Somme Front.
EXPECT EARLY FINISH
ny HERBERT COREY.

E BY HERBERT COREY.
JUST BEHIND THE SoMME
FRONT, May 12.-For two weeks we
tho regimental ''we"-have been
waiting for orders. The men are get
ting on edge. They are as nervous
and fldgety as is the small boy who
10 told to sit on the floor and look at
the pretty pictures, and for precisely
the same reason. They are SO full Of
Jazz and ginger that they are hungry
for action.
81 hope we viii not pay on the men
before we go forward" said an off,
cor apprehensively an hour ago. ut
would- be like throwing hunks of raw
meat into cage Of tigers"
Days March From Front.
Every one wants TO SO forward.
Every ntsht we see the flashes and all
day and night long we hear the suns.
The front is hu. days march ahead
OF US row and on thst front are other
American units which have been we'll
tried by their experience of the last
two weeks They have been sheiied
and sasaed ana raiaed. and they have
ehe.led and Eassed and ra!6ed back.
Once they heard = German patrol on
the wires at night. and . sergeant
and . secsd s-a~asd into the might
and got behind the eocnes ard might
herded~ them right into our own lines.
These were tie Srst prisoners taken
ca this particular part Of the front,
and through them the hrst inforrla-
tton Was secured as 70 the German
units which ccnfrented the mingled
American and French line. Naturally
the Americans we're set UP over IL.
But the men in front have suffered.
and one would rot think that our men,
In perfect safety well behind the line.
would be anxious TO get forward and
suffer also. Yet they are. They are
not afraid Of the German or Of any
thing the boche can do 20 them Nor
am fearful for them 1t Is impossible
to believe that any men on earth can
whip this bunch Of young meat eaters.
There Is not one who does not believe
himself more than the equal Of the
biggest guardsman Prussia ever bred
t'stick the Boche First.
Yesterday the game Of two-old-cat
on the sunny lawn back of the Y.
were reading papers ard writing let
ters home under the shadow Of the
big rse-gathered, and even the crap
shooters stopped their game while q
sergeant talked:
Them boche," said the sergeant,
ethsy're-just as strong as we are, but
they think like a bunch of caterpil-
fArs-sAe? We're quicker'n they are.
An we got to do is to stick 'em first,
Mingled with this is a healthy de-
sire to -vAip the Germans "and get 1t
over-fcr nine men out Of ten believe
the rumor that As soon as the next
battle Ii over the troops will be put
On ships and sent home for a rest
There Is even a story that a grand
seAnd has been built on 9Th avenue
and thaestrings of electric lights are
being pi1cd on the Liberty statue in
honor of the homecoming. They know
they know-that they will make a
Better showing than the outfits which
are In line now.
we get it on them guys forty
Ways. is the manner in which this
rivalry p usually .phrased. We'll
ehow 'efn up"
"A lot Of boneheads," is the un-
oharttabfe verdict of our men. wait
Until we. get up there. Wen show
Il isn't as though they did not know
what they. were going into. They
turned nice, quiet, almost q domes-
no sector near Toul into q roaring
nell when they held the line over
mere They know what a man looks
Ike who has been torn by shell frag-
ments. and they know the effects Of
gas. and they know that the men ON
ahead have been under a continuous
smell nre. They know that the men
on ahead live in shell holes when on
the line, and in cellars and burrows
Sno ougouts when in reserve. They
have heard what the percentages Of
easualties is already-and instead of
betng frightened they are peeyish and
1retIuI because they cannot be on
their way to have a little Of the same
thing.
Want to Attack the Hun,
II 1t were put to a vote, however.
mey would rather take part in an
c6en:ive movement. 1t is the ma
lag itself in the expressions OF these
ooys. They do not fancy sitting tieh,
u the trenches and Just taking II !"
Iney can sit tight-no men can sit
tignser-put every mothers son of
tssm pictures to himself the day when
the whistle will sound and he viii
hop over,s and what he will do when
Ne gets to that German trench. Thev
NOV perfectly well that the losses
n De heavy. and they give that
Phase 5ust as much thought as q fish-
SSsman -. "a 1oss to the prospect Of a rainy
aay. They want to carry the fight to
She German. They do not bother with
parties Id the bayonet drill, but they
nave the Dab down fine.
This 10 not highly colored picture
81 the American private. have been
IN close contact with him for months
and know him well. The noise of
ne cnariots and the shouting of the
SSptains are music in his ears. When
me time Tor going forward is near the
e. w. y. LIS disappear. The men ara
nappy ana contented. They are going