Mexico Missouri message., 1918-05-16
HAIG'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.

Fought at Great Odds.
The thrilling story Of the Halg re-
treat In the terrific battle I'm Picardy IS
most interestingly detailed by First
Lieutenant Roswell T. Petit, NJ. o.
II. c., Of Ottawa, H., 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 II was detailed
Immediately after he had passed
through the terrible experience and be-
fore his impressions had been dulled
by time. His letter:
Lieutenant Pettlps Letter.
March 30.
Denr Father: Now that the show Is
over for me for the time being and
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 I know you will be
interested in knowing what did in the
affair.
OF course, the things saw we're but
an intintesimal part Of a gigantic
whole and 1t would be impossible for
me to give correct description of the
battle. And as l write this, I do It
with no knowledge whatever of what
has been going on even few miles
from me.
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 a great
naval battle has been fought in the
North sea.
All know is that on this part Of the
front the Germans attacked us in over
whelming numbers, in places ten divl-
siors 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,
rear guard action, we have retired
about 10 miles in a straight line.
For a week before the battle started
we had been expecting it; we were
ready 20 move on 80 minutes no
tlce. I had been out with combatant
as well as medical officers on tours of
reconnaissance, definite methods 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. an
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 &c
minutes. 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 nortf
of us and then suddenly It switched t.
the south.
Our balloons were up as soon as 4
was light and the airplanes were buz
zing over our heads. The ground mis-
gradually cleared and the German!
put a hail of shrapnel on our CAM
and we all took cover, but three mel
were hit. Why 1t is q fellow always
feels safer with a roof over his head
even II he knows bullets and shrapne
and pieces of shell will go through
boards and corrugated iron just Tx,
paper.
Ordered to Move.
Our orders to move finally came an
we marched off to the brigade assem-
bly, point several miles away. This as
sembly point was In a little bunch O
trees about the size of Allen park an
behind and separated from large
wood in front. In the larger WOO
there was battery OF heavy artiller
and shells were dropping In there tw
or three to a minute, and 1t was heav
stuff, too.
Sometimes they overshot the bi
wood and shells were landing in tn
open around the little wood where m
brigade had its assembly point. A
We approached our little copse W
could make all this out from some dii
lance away and it wasn't a pleasar
sensation to feel that we were marcel
ing straight into 1t.
All the battalions arrived and In this
little copse there must have been q
least two thousand men. What