Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-03-04
FIND MAP OF TRENCHES
ON DEAD HUN CAPTAIN
Every Machine Gun Emplaccment
and Depression in Ground
Is Noted.
-FOUR REnEAKsALs ARE HE'LL
Troops That Raided American Sec
tor Last Week Were Selected From
New ArrivalS-PrisoncrG Glad Sam
mics Captured Him, lie Says.
nv Associa,cd Prcrs.l


WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN
FRANCE. Saturday. March "a plan
Of attack, including a map OF the
American positions. indicating every
duEcut. which was removed from the
body OF tho Prussian captain who led
the recent assault upon the sector
northwest OF Toul, shows how COM
plctcly the Germans prepare their
raids-if. in fact. this was but n sim
pie raid not having as its ultimate
object the retention of Il portion of the
salient
The map goes into such detail as TO
show every machine gun cmplacemcnt,
every trench and every depression in
the ground within tho American lines.
At the bottom there is simply IA line
drawn. labeled our front line" Along
this line arc five shaded portions, each
marked Nest"
-Four rchcarsals were held for the
attack. and the troops who made it
were specially picked from new ar
rivals Of fresh troops in tho sector.
They were told that the Americans
were in front of them.
After the artillery had nearly levcled
the American position, the Germans
started out from their nests, each OF
which contained forty infan,rymen, one
lieutenant and three pioneers to pre-
cede the infantry and five to follow
1t. The TWO groups upon the American
extreme right went around this flank
and the group upon the extreme left
carried out Il similar movement there.
AMERICAN DEFENSES FORCE
TEUTONS TO CHANGE PLANS
The two groups in the center had
planned to attack directly, but the
American defense changed all the
plans. When they were met by the
heavy machine gun fire from the Ameri-
can lines they saw ii would be impossi-
BILE to gain Il footing there. changed
their direction and followed the other
groups around the flank. The duty OF
the pioneers preceding the infantry
was to clean up any wire that had not
been broken by' the artillery. while
the pioneers who followed carried large
Quantities OF explosives for the pur-
pose Of cleaning up the dugouts.
Official reports OF the Interrogation
of the prisoners taken by the Ameri-
cans show that all of them did not
believe Germany would win the war.
one of the men told the intelligence
officer he presumed that the Ameri-
cans. like the Germans, did not want
10 fight but had to. The officers
quickly changed the Germans view
point by informing him that all OF the
troops in the attacked positions were
volunteers.
One prisoner, whose home is in
German Lorraine. said he thought tho
fathcrland would lose the war. but he
hoped not He knew nothing about the
Americans except that they were in the
war. the German newspapers not print
ing much upon the subject. he said.
and being slow in reaching the front
lines because of mail congestion.
This prisoner said he was convinced
that tho recent strikes In Germany
were caused by desire for peace. adding
that all Germany wanted the war to
end. He was certain that an offensive
was coming. but did not believe ii
would be launched before April /.
None of the prisoners had seen any
German tanks, they said. All of them
added they were glad 10 have been
taken prisoner, especially by the Ameri-
cans, because they believed they would
be we'll treated.
The prisoners accounts showed that
the sector opposite the American posi-
ton was commanded by General Stalz-
mann.