Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-07-09
Clashes With the Enemy

Clashes With the Enemy
NUR sharpshooters let go when the big
" German plane came within easy
range
The shooting was wonderfully ac-
curate and put the finishing touches to
the ambition Of the boche aviators to
bomb the American position.
The German machine gunner was seen
to lurch heavily forward as II he had
been badly hit. A bullet from Yankee
rifle smashed through the oil tank of
the airplane. and other bullets fired by
our crack shots riddled the wings of the
machine. The German pilot saw he had
struck a hornets nest. and he turned
tail and hiked back to his own lines.
This incident demonstrated to the Huns
that in the Yankees they are contend
ing with the crack sharpshooters of the
world.
In one place our trenches were less
than sixty feet from those of the Ger
mans. while in another place fully
mile separated the opposing forces Our
trenches were located in marshy ground.
making the use of duck boards" neces-
sary at all times except when the trench
water and mud became frozen in winter.
The trenches were very shallow when
our infantrymen moved in, but they
improve them in other ways.
In every dugout the soldiers worked
almost constantly pumping out the
water which seeped in. The presence of
this water was disagreeable, Of course,
hut in one way It served a good pur-
pose. Rats detest water, and they gave
these damp dugouts a wide berth. for
which our boys were supremely grateful.
Every man in the line at all times
LnyNt ;, alaI ~.
colored rockets. One is green and the
other red. The first means asphyxiat-
ing gas. and the other calls for a bar
rage. And the green light to the men
in the line means more than anything
else for in gas attack they know that
their lives often depend upon the speed
in which the gas masks are adjusted
after an alarm is given.
During November. 1917. the Huns
made several attempts to raid the Amer
lean lines. but were always beaten back
with heavy loss. The Germans made
an attack early in the night of Novem-
Der IL. bringing up five machine guns
and opening cross-fre on the Yankee
lines. Not one of our men was hit.
When the first deluge of bullets came,
the American lieutenant in command
telephoned for the machine guns to
come up on either flank and fire toward
the Germans in No Mans Land. OBJ
servers at listening posts reported that
there were 200 boches in the raiding
party.
Machine Guns Begin PepperinE
Our machine guns began peppering in
less than a minute after the first German
shot was fired. A few minutes later
the artillery In the rear was laying
down barrage where the Germans
were supposed to be. The Yankees in
the trenches. shielding their faces with
their steel helmets. climbed on the
shooting lodges. aiming at the flashes
of the German machine guns. The at
tack was continued for more than a
half hour before the Germans retired.
1t is believed that they timed the raid
to take the Americans by surprise
while a relief was entering the trenches
Both American and French soldiers in
advanced listening posts reported see
ing the returning Germans carrying
bodies. This indicated they had suffered
heavy losses.
In the early morning Of November Is
the Huns attempted another raid and
were repulsed. The Germans moved
several machine guns into No Mans
Land and swept our communicating
trenches with heavy fire in prepara-
ton for an advance. At the same in
stant American flares disclosed the raid
ers and the French and Yankee batter
les dropped grilling barrage in the
midst Of the foe. The Huns retreated,
suffering several casualties.
And all the while the Yankee boys
were fighting coolies as we'll as Ger
mans These little pests are certainly
the bane OF the life of the soldier
Sometimes I think that eventually they
will gobble up all of the German and
Allied soldiers and fight this war out
between themselves.
When the boys got leave from the
trenches the first thing they did was to
go back Of the lines and take a gasoline
bath This rid them of the lice. Then
they would put on new undertaking
and fresh uniforms and feel like men
again.
The American soldier on leave from
the trenches has the time of his life.
His Uncle Sammy has seen to that. The
American Government has taken over
the famous watering place. Aix-les-
Bains. on the borders Of the Alps. and
turned the place into a paradise for
Yankee soldiers For fifty cents a day
the American doughboy is allotted
room which millionaires in ante-bellum
days were glad to secure for $50 a day.
The Y. NJ. c. A. and other organizations
are spending vast sums at Aix-les-Bains
for the entertainment OF American SOL
diers on leave.
Sergeant Marsh spent two months in
the front line trenches and then, one
at o'clock. he was put out Of
in boche gas attack. He
was taken to a hospital and remained
there until he was selected with others
of Pershing's forces to return to America
and aid in the third Liberty Loan cam
paign.
] will now resume the story Of my
experiences with Battery c, Sixth United
States Field Artillery.
After our battery had fired the first
gun and had spent two weeks improving
the position back of the Yankee first
line, we groaned with disappointment
when the order came to move to winter