Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-11-16
TWO-MAN TANKS
RAN INTO SOME
GODDARD WORK

with the American Forces in
France, Oct 25.-(Correspondence
of the Associated Press. )-American
fighters in the French two-man tanks
ran into some hot work in front Of
RomaEne during the American
army's advance along the west bank
Of the Meuse early in october, and
Sergeant James AVERT of Birming-
ham, Ala, with his buddy" did
their share in giving the Hun his due.
Avertt's Buddy" was killed in the
thick Of the fight by d bullet that en-
tered a peep hole in the side Of the
tank and struck him fair in the face.
1t was during the American
push in the Argonne sector.
Avertt's tank went along with a lot of
other brother tanks in line with the
American infantrymen crowding
them in the rear. Avert was the ma
chine gunner of his tank, while his
buddy ran the engine and steered
the tank.
II was so near a number Of Ger
mans encountered in a shallow
trench that I could see the terror on
fly bullets almost in their very faces"
Sergeant AVERT said. These were
the first Boobies I ran into on. this
drive and I certainly let them have it
as fast as my old machine could fire,
and hat was some fast, and / just
kept going ahead and pounding away
until every last one Of them was
stretched out on the ground.
Passing beyond this hastily dug
trench, I in the meantime watching
my brothers on my right and left
the doughboys coming up, I got sight
of a little batch of Germans behind
a hump in the hill along the road
way, or what, had been a roadway
before our heavy artillery opened up
that morning. These were machine
gunners, I soon learned, and bullets
began to splash off the tanks sides,
particularly those which struck q
glancing blow.
II ordered my tank buddy at the
wheel to keep after those gunners II
and we went up after them sort of
sideways, and I got around on to the
side of that hump, n my brother
on the other side was doing the same,
and we wiped that bunch out in a
jiffy-I believe it was by enfilading
fire, as the officers call it,"
Sergeant AVERT explained that the
tank men, all of whom were Ameri-
cans using two-men tanks invented by
the French, always watched each
other closely, or endeavored to, the
idea being to keep a hundred yards
or so apart for their mutual protec.
ton, and it being important also thai
they not get too far ahead of the in.
fantry.
"Just beyond the hump was g
clump Of woods, and we began t.
pour bullets into that" Sergean'
AVERT continued, land for a tim.
there was some smoke arising allow
the treetops so we knew there were
Boches in there. About four Of vi
opened up in full force and showeret
that woods with lead.
1.-THE machine u answers wert
!, pretty stiff for a while, as we wen
!, forward. but L just kept pepperint
!, away and talking to my buddy al
the time and telling him what W,
were going to do-clean out tina
woods. My brothers on either sid,
someway had the same bunch. TIL,
doughboys back of me too were fir
ing right along with us and tn,
!, Boche in that thicket must hav,
thought all hell had broken loose, be
cause first thing I knew the firinl
virtually stopped and I figured all tn,
Boobies had been killed or had de
cided to beat it before we all go
there in force.
"Along about this time 1 noticed
that the tank boys on the right wer'
swinging around the side Of tn
clump of trees, and from the position
of their guns and the speed Of theil
!, tanks I judged that they were givini
fits to some Fritzes running away.
then switched sc as to run alongsid,
the thicket, at a distance, and joined
the tank boys going around the end
, "Just about that time there was
volley of machine gun bullets ant
some anti-tank stuff, too, from a hill
a bit to my left. Suddenly my tanl
just began to tremble or something
and then stopped, and shuddered al
over. I looked down and my buddy
was limp in his seat. One of thos,