Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-30
FOE LACKS FOOD,
SOLDIER WRITES
Tells Philadelphian Fleeing
Germans Had Little
but Bread
WOMEN CUNNERS TAKEN
Six Captured by French; One
Killed on Refusal to
Surrender

Surrender
The Germans have plenty of loot but
little food. according to Corporal John
T. O'Donnen. Of the l0ith Infantry,
who served six consecutive months at
the front
In a letter tu friend in this city the
corporal gives an intimate view Of some
phases of the war The letter follows:
"Our preliminary training was had in
woods near Belleau. where We were
under shell fire an the time. We went
out one night to dig reserve trench
and though the Hun shells fell within
fifty yards Of Ms at times, We knew they
were only feeling for US. II was pitch
dark of course. and we labored for
eight hours' with picks and shovels, and
then returned to our durouts to get our
one meat of the day. For. Of course,
owing to the observation the Germans
had our ration wagons could not move
until after . at night. So we had to he
content with n half-pint Of coffee Two
slices Of bread. two small slices Of meat
and three small potatoes This. with q
quart of water for bathing and shaving.
was our entire outlay for the day. And
during the day every now and then they
deluged the woods with shrapuel ard
occasionally with gas.
Germans Hammer Trenches.
The night after we dug the support
trench the hoChe aViators took a peep
at il. and that night they hammered
the life out of those trenches How
ever, we were not to be caught mapping
We were 500 yards away listening to
the bombardment and hoping they would
not shift the range. Well. the next
morning friend Henie came over to see
the damage. and when hr lamped The
new trenches his rage was furious We
dug new line through solid rock.
Seven planes came over. hoping to catch
us in the act. and they dropped gigantic
flares that lit M the. earth like three
ring circus. We We're safe inside the
woods laughing at them.
We were pretty sick Of hiding in the
woods. and when We go, word We were
going over the top We were more than
glad, We marched out late one night,
and were sheiled for the entire dis
tauce. We reached our objective after
an hour of hiking, carrying our combat
packs, which consisted Of reserve ra-
tons. a small pick. a large shovel and
shelter half and rancoat
I'm addition, We had our masks. ZOO
extra rounds of ammunition. a rife
hayonet and trench knife. We had to
climb hill with a slope Of about forty
degrees, and the tir-ng on the reverse
slope was, nothing compared TO the top.
Directly opposite was the Hun position
on heavily wooded hill and our salient
tt1 IL. .inpr lIfi l.
, lery fire we had seen in long time. The
whiz-bangs were coming over knee
high new Hun trick, and It was like
walking to your own funeral. But no
one hesitated.
Walking ten Yards, clsuherng over
fallen trees, while an inferno of shells
shrieked all around and men fel
! wounded on al sides expected to
go, mine every minute and | was pray
ing that the Lord would Keep me from
showing a yellow streak And when an
lrshman prays like that You can bet
that something is happening ahead of
him
our artillery concentration wa" per
feet, and We knew the Hun was getting
two shots to every one that he sent
but that did not encourage US a. al
AT that moment Somehow we managed
TO make the base Of the hill, formed in
wheat field, and went over the top
\ creeping barrage preceded US. and We
covered the 600 yards without losing a
man. capturing the town at the point
of the bayonet, and dug ourselves IN
while the barragc continued for tel
minutes McNichol Brothers certa My
would feel proud of the trench We dur
in fifteen minutes.
After sixteen Hours
I'VE lay there for sixteen hours whit,
the machine guns raked the top of oul
parap"t and the high explosives anC
trench mortar" tried 20 dislodge us THAI
was my idea Of IA good time. The mex
morning at daypreak we took the hil
and put the boche on the run.
There were So many things tha
happened in the next five days that
can hardly remember half Of them. Mos
vividly 1 remember standing three dayi
and nights in a canal without sleep o
eats and combating patrols, gas at.
tacks and shells alternately II IN
poor underpaid men in the factories wli,
are striking because their $40 or SEQ
week is insufficient, could only hav.
been there with us then. perhaps the
views on the subject of war would hav
undergone radical cnange.
~ had the good fortune TO he clos
behind the French when they made ;
surprise attack on the Hun after break
fast one morning. Heinie fed In a ter
rible hurry, leaving everything behin
him. looked through his dugouts, am
was surprised TO find very little foo
there, although the rucksacks we tor
open had all sorts of plunder from tn
towns in the neighborhoOd of Chateal
Thierry, mostly stun intended for tn
folks at home, one enterprisng Hu
, was even sending home hairpins an
rugs
Plenty of Wine.
"Of course, they had plenty Of tobacc
, and wine, but their reserve ratons wer
canned goods pillaged from Russian
and the only other edible stuff we foun
2 were beans and the terrible boch
bread. The French cavalry pursued III
Huns when the infantry tired, bu, the
; returned and sad. the Huns ran 5
e fast that their horses were lame.
: "Our regiment has performed br,
= liantly every time IT has been call6
, on. and our division certainly has dor
: fine work as a whole. In fact, cur gei
:. eral has a chest as big az an e!ephan
. but for us. the more fighting W. 10 II
more they give us. The country
i flooded with troops, and do not $,
= how friend Heine is going to sta
4 through until Christmas, for he ge
= ! no rest night and day and when II
real drive starts. in which, | venture