The Oskaloosa herald., 1918-01-24
A WINTER VISIT
To THE TRENCHES
REPORTER TELLS THRILLING
STORY OF EXPERIENCES.
WITNESS TO AN AIR CONFLICT
Party Is Under Shell Fire-Greets
Soldiers In Their Shelter Dug
Outs and Return Unframed
to the Rear.
(By L. Walter.l

7 London, JAN ga modern battle
field in winter is realization of some
&C Dante's most impressive descrip
lions of frozen hell. Our motor car
)ok us first through a mile of purga
9rial country, dotted with tree
stumps and shell holes and SCARED
Ky old trenches, arrived at the foot OF
"a; long incline, and was topped by a
sentry.
/ Cars not permitted beyond this
point" he said. They are Smelling
the ridge"
! Very WELL" said the Captain as we
| got out. We'll so and see the
Shells"
After putting on our steel helmets
AID Singing out gas masks into po-
sition for immediate use, we set out
afoot on the rest of the road to
Nytschaete, commonly known as
Witchet. Our objective was the strip
of high land between this village and
Messines, the Messines Ridge, SO OPP
portuneiy under shell fire.
over Historic Ground.
This is the ground over which the
fiercest engagement was fought in
! the early stages of the elaborate plan
for the capture of the much higher
ground of the Passchendaeie Ridge
ten miles to the northeast. Every
thing about us was in the most des-
perate state to which shell fire and
shovel can reduce a countryside; on
ly the road we were on, new and
broad and smooth, gave any evil
dence that civilization was not a
destructive ploughing became. more
intense'as we began to reach the top
of the slope, more like bit of high
prairie land than a ridge. On every
side were shell holes of various sizes,
from small holes such as gardeners
make for planting shrub to craters
as wide as an ordinary living room,
many of them intersecting each 9th
er, others connected by rough bitches
| that once had been neat German
+ trenches. Nearly every shell hole
was frozen pool with ice an inch
thick on it, out OF which stuck up
tangles of barbed wire, remains of
cartridge belts and other parts of
uniforms; and one of them / shall
never forget, for above the ice there
rose what must have once been a
human shoulder Bones, too, were
| strewn about among these strange
circular untitled graves where shells
| had sought out a burying ground as
if to kill again the sleeping dead.
Enemy Flyers Sighted.
Ones eyes sought the heaven of
cloudless blue for relief from these
savage details. Far in the distance
over the German lines a sight remind
! ed us that we must not look there
| for peace. A squadron of airplanes
was coming in our direction in battle
! formation.
"Boche," said the Captain.
lnstinctively | thought Of London
air raids and was interested to find
out what was etiquette at the front
when the enemy came overhead. They
might or might not be bombing
planes, probably not. The only way
to find out was to wait and watch.
AS the squadron came over our
lines little white clouds like powder
puffs suddenly dotted the blue sky
below them, a long way below them
il seemed, and yet another group of
! clouds appeared nearer the mark be-
fore the sound of the first ones reach
es our ears. They were flying too
high to be disturbed by shrapnel
Presently they were Immediately
overhead.
There are batteries all around
u.s." said the Captain They might
try to drop bomb or two on them
but it isn't likely"
Turned and Fled.
1t is surprising how big one feels
when standing in the middle of an OBJ
en- road with enemy planes overhead.
But We had no time for such refiec-
tons, for our interest was captured
Dy seeing one OF the planes suddenly
wheel out Of the formation leaving
trail of smoke in long curve behind
it. We could not tell whether it was
"a hit or only engine trouble. II took
"a direct course for Hun-land; and
only just in time; British planes were
already up and about and one of them
was after II. We heard the chat
chat-chat of machine guns in the air.
But the Boche had been too cautious
for our airmen and was soon safely
out Of sight behind his lines. Mean
while the rest OF the squadron, with
out having been able to descend low
encrgh for Photographic observation,
had wheeled about in the other direc-
ton and were already mere specks
in the northern sky. The reason for
their retreat was soon obvious; ii
was first announced by great in
crease Of the droning sound thai fill-
ed the air and then By the sight Of al
Nedge-shaped squadron of Britiah
planes coming from the sdifh They
chased the Boche Ear over his own