The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-11-24
PATHETIC SCENES IN THIAUCOURT AS
 AMERICANS ENTER
For Four Years the Inhabitants Had Been Without Proper Food
 and Clothing

With the American Forces In France october .-CCorrespondence of the As sociated Press. )--It was three American privates who gave the French civilians
 of the German occupied villages of Thi-
 auaourt the greatest thrill of their lives. i For four years they had been waiting
 and then the Americans came.
 When the three privates-an ad-
 vance guard of swarms of other Amer leans in their wake--swung into the
 war-torn village of Thiaucourt, not a soul was in the streets. But within a
 few minutes news spread among the 1 IOO civilians that the Americans were
 there and men and women and children came in droves from cellars where they
 had been hiding in terror for two days
 and nights. And from other cellars
 and dugouts there came 500 German soldiers who were delighted with the
 idea of giving up.
 | The offensive of the First American
 army, which wiped out the St. Mihiel salient, began on Thursday morning
 and it was Saturday afternoon when , the weary Americans reached Thiau- court, hungry and fatigued from fast walking in their eagerness to keep pace wit hthe fleeing Germans As the Americans poured into the vil- lage and the French realized more and more that again Thiaucourt had, come Into her own, men stood in the streets and cried openly and women sat about Ion doorsteps and bits Of wreckage caused by shells and wept until near eX- haustion And in thee onfusion the children cheered but even some of them, the older ones, realizing what it all
 meant cried too and kissed the hands of the officers and men.
 What food they had on hand the French turned over to the Americans, the villagers insisting upon the Amer iean taking all they wanted of what they had. So in the streets and in the houses some of them occupied only few hours previously by German of- ficers and men,@ the Americans made themselves at home, for short breath ing spell, and the French population of the village endeavored to satisfy the appetites of their deliverers.
 From the time the Germans reached IThiaucourt in September, 1914, until a few days after the village had been retaken by American troops the ciyil- ians were entirely without fresh meat of any kind, excepting now and then a chicken or a rabbit, which were raised in cellars without the Knowledge of the Germans. All the cattle in the lregion of Thiaucourt were taken by the Germans. but two cows being left to furnish milk for babies.
 Until the United States entered the war food was sent to Thiaucourt by way of the Netherlands by the Ameri- can relief committee and later by a Spanish relief committee. This con sisted principally of bacon, flour, sugar, rice, beans, peas and some cocoa Two boxes of condensed milk were received in Thiaucourt each month and new and thenya shipment of salt meat. Twice
 several boxes of American shoes arrived for the inhabitants and at long inter Iyals there were small shipments of cloth- ling.
 During the four years occupation by the Germans none of the civilians was allowed to leave the town. However, on one or two occasions individuals were permitted to visit nearby village Ito attend the funeral of relatives, ac- companied by soldier guard.