Weekly journal-miner., 1918-11-20
TANK FIGHTERS RUN INTO SOME
 HOT WORK
SERGT. AVERTT TELLS OF THE TERRIBLE EXECU- TON WROUGHT BY EN- CINE OF WAR IN THE FRONT OF ROMAGNE.
(From Sundays Daily)

CES IN FRANCE, Nov. 16-Ameri- can fighters in the French two-man tanks ran into some hot work in front of Romagne during the American army's advance along the west bank of the Mouse early in October and Sergeant James Avertt, of Birming- ham, Alabama, with his buddy" did their share in giving the Hun his due Avertt's buddy" was killed in the thick of the fight by bullet that en- tered a peep hole in the side of the tank and struck him fair in the face.
 It was during the American push in the Argonnc sector. Avertt's tank wen. along with a lot of other brother" tanks in line with the American infantrymen crowding them in the rear. Avertt was the ma chine gunner of his tank while his buddy ran the engine and stcered the tank.
 II was so near number of Ger mans encountered in a shallow trench that 1 could see the terror on their faces when my gun began to let fly bullets almost in their very faces, Sergeant Avertt said. These were the first Boches l ran into on this drive and l certainly let them have 1t as fast as my old machine could fire, and that was some fast, and just kept going ahead and pounding away until every last one of them was stretched out on the ground.
 Passing beyond this hastily dug trench, I in the meantime watching my brothers on my right and left and at the same time keeping tab on the doughboys coming up, l got sight of a little batch of Germans be- hind a hump in the hill along the roadway. or what had been roadway before our heavy artillery opened up that morning These were machine gunncrs. I soon learned, and bullets began to splash off the tanks sides particularly those which struck glancing blow.
 "I ordered my tank buddy at the wheel to keep after those gunners ii it cost us all four wheels. He did. and we went up after them sort of sideways. and I got around on the side of that hump. and my brother OI LllC OAllfI s4lN AdS AOAttE laAN SeiAAANe and We wiped that bunch out in jiffy-I believe it was by enfilading fire, as the officers call it.
 Sergeant Evertt explained that the tank men. all of whom were Ameri- cans using two men tanks invented by the French, always watched each other closely, or endeavored to, the idea being to keep a hundred yards or so apart fer their mutual protec- ton, and it being. important also that they not get too far ahead of the in fantry.
 Just beyond the hump was clump of woods, and we began to pour bullets into that" Sergeant Avertt continued, "and for a time there was some smoke arising above the trcetops SO we know there were Bochcs in there. About four of us opened LID in full force and showercd that woods with lead.
 "The machine gun answers were pretty stiff for awhile, as we went forward, but I just kept peppcring away and talking to my buddy all the time and telling him what we were going to do-clean out that woods. My brothers on either side eoncvav had the same hunch The doughboys back of me too were fir ing right along with us and the Roche in that thickct must have thought all hell had broken loose. be- cause first thing I knew the firing virtually stopped and I figured all the Bochcs had been killed or had decid- ed to beat it before we all got there in force.
 "Along about this time I noticed that inc tank boys on the right were swinging around the side of the clump of trees, and from the position of their guns and the speed of their tanks I judged that they were giving fits 10 some Fritzes running away. I then switched so as to run along side the tliickct, at distance, and joined the tank boys going around the end.
 Lust about that time there was a volley of machine gun bullets, and some anti-tank gun stuff too, from q hill bit 10 my left, suddenly my tank just began to tremble or some thing. and then stopped. and shudder- cd all over. I looked down and mv buddy was limp in his scat. One of those damned bullets had come in through my 'buddy'S' peep hole and hit him square in the face.
 My buddy was dead. His final clutch on the throttle shut off the gas and the old tank stopped, and there ! was. and the other boys went on. That's about all I know about that fight, or whatever it was This tank business is great business for the boys who like 10 shoot"
 Avcrtt said that when he went into action he determined to keep count of the number of Germans his ma chine gun touched off but when he began 10 use his gun he could think of nothing but a purpose 10 spread death and destruction and that he quickly lost count of the num- Der he saw fall.
 LUDWIZ IS LOST
 AMSTERDAM. Nov. 15. - The ,.-i.r,-f,,rt. ,f trf,,-fy tbp Third