Evening star., 1918-04-07
MIGHTY GUNS WORK
IMPERFECT UNISON
Correspondent Tells Of Sue
,oessful French Artillery At
tack on Verdun Front.
BATTLE IN TERRIFIC FIRE

y ~ PAUL SCOTT MoWnER.
foe.~.s>s~Ae,es sR IAe 8un6ay star
- 6Ae CAieaEs Daily MswsJ
WITH THE WRENCH ARMIES. March
s1-rnres successful operations IN
which the French expended more than
le~.ooo shells At cost Of something like
akooo. 900 have Just been carried out on
the yerdun front west Of the Meuse.
The artillery preparation for all three
operations was simultaneous ana lasted
six hours, but whereas the first attack
was made at Choppy woods toward
evening at the height Of the prepara-
tions, the other two-one at Vauquois
and the other at Malancourt woods
were made By surprise on the following
morning after . night Of absolute quiet.
The object In each case was the same
q dash to penetrate the enemys de-
fensss to . considerable depth. destroy
the defensive Organisations. ascertain
II possible what offensive preparations
were under wsy and return with pris-
e1SrA
I was able to witness the third and
most Important Of these operations.
that sftected at dawn on an 1.S00-yard
front at the Malancourt woods. In .
ssgiss Of brief pen pictures VIII at
ssif. second. the prisoners. and third the
msn who made the attack.
.Ths point from which chose to view
the attack was on q hillside overlook
ing the lines. In order to see better
I 1eft the trenches and. crawling out
amcag the fallen boughs, stretched my
0eH At full length on the ground. It
Was am. had come early for one
never knows what may happen.
Waited in Trenches to Strike.
ne troops which would make the at
tack had already gone through tho
boyanx, and were now crowded in the
shelesrs Of the arst line trenches. wait
ing Ike myself for the determined hour.
OnA Of the pictures imagined was the
concerted attitude which Lallement. the
champion grenade thrower Of the I'd
ba&tnlion, would be obliged to assume
% ns to dispose Of his six feet three
jnobD Of long limbs and sloping shoul-
derb in the corner of the dugout in
yhtch had coiled myself. Everybody
lfke4 LAllement.4 He was also droll a.
~ vas tall. and courageous A. he WAS
e1opohing and careless. II the Germans
had suspected their presence these man
would have been shelled and the at
At PRESENT. ssve for the nervous bark
OF m occasional machine gun, all was
stiQ From time to time rockets
roa6 In long defy arcs, burst with n
rsSss :SSn :aS .s,s for f;S y. s
The place II still known rs 36aian-
ooYeE woods. but hardly stump of tree
renesns. In the battles of the last two
ridGeg and spotted with lfteen-foot
eAA holes. Nor n this all soil and clay.
The ground holds the water perfectly
en4Heonstantly each shell hole II . little
la1p deep enough for man to drown
In. I'm wet weather 1t 10 impossible to
m0ve here. for in picking ones way
aloAg the marrow ridges separating the
.A4lholes ones feet slip ~ II on butter.
sssepfsd the sky for an hour. there % va:
much concern at the corps headquar-
tors but now the heavens were clear.
Over the Germans lines the northern
ooneesl1ations twinkled brightly-eig-
ma the dipper and the paler pole star.
asrman Battery Opens Fire.
Asseld east wind drove the dead leaves
about my ears. The damp Of the earth
pe4Deyatsd my thick overcoaf and now
anA then rose to my feet and tried
eaufiousiy to warm myself by moving
"
hours kept lonely Vigil over the long
grim hiilsides ON the verdun front.
About o'clock in the morning, sud.
Ael5y and unexpected ~ dash Of light
ninE. . German battery hung thirty
ehe1ls In quick succession at the foot Of
the slope right before me. My ears rang
vita the din and my heart beat fast,
but quite a. suddenly as It had been
digDetsed silence returned. Along the
whete front there was not . sound. The
00mARn To A
band Of Hight, almost imperceptible,
Gtfetched above the horizon. Forms Of
nearby stumps and branches. Of which
] bad hitherto 6ssn unconscious. began
TO SnDsrge from the gloom. Dawn was
ES&ctly at $50 q violent cannonade
breke out away to the left. The opera
tfon at AaIanc0urt woods had begun.
direction was impeded by q fold in the
earth I was unable to keep from turn
ing my eyes toward that riotous thun-
der. Was ell going well? Would the
sound awaken the vigilance of the Ger
mans here and hamper our own attack? ?
NY mind was occupied with these futile
speculations when the world seemed to
collapse. My heart gave leap and for
moment lay as II stunned. not real
ixing exactly what had happened.
seemed to be in the center Of some uni
versal catastrophe. The ground shook.
the sky was tumult, the air Quivered
and quick shuddering winds ran here
Columns Of Earth Spout Ekyward.
Littls by little I perceived that I
woe surrounded by volcanic ires. Tho
ent1re hori1on behind me from the far
right to the far left ran ruddy light
Ming with fash Of cannon. Before
: me. right across the internal region
called the Malancourt woods, the dre
aDpoAred a. II struck from the ground.
Columns Of earth spouted skyward
and great showers Of sparks furrowed
tho gloom. and banks Of dense black
smoke were formed. 1t was 5:55. The
surprise attack had begun. From the
trench behind me q poilu crawled and
lay down by my side. his eyes shining
with excitement. which these great
oo@eArdments stir in even the dullest
blood.
'.Beautifu1!" he cried, sweeping his
eyes around the eruptive horizon. and
thsn, after moment Of grinning and
shouting in my ear at the top of his
volee In order to be heard. he added:
1T 10 batter to give than reeeive."
Tea In this case, II was certainly far
better to give than to receive.
3vory one Of the hundreds Of can
nop which the French had accumulated
for this purpose had opened nre at ex-
aetiy the same instant, each having q
eAsU11lly allotted task to perform
0one were showering shells on the