The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-06-07

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Low Morale Of Prisoners.
A notable development was the
low morale of the prisoners, all
Of whom are Prussians. They cx-
pressed themselves as tired Of the
war and glad to get out of the
fighting. This was despite the
fact they say that they are fur
nished with food although the
Saxons, the Wuertemberg troops
and others may 60 without. .
1t must not be imagined, how
ever, that they did not put up u
fight this morning for their Off
GERS were among them urging
them on, but the marines dashed
into them yelling like Indians and
plying bayonetsAnd rifle. One
marine who VIII staking back a
prisonersran ifitostwo German Of
ficers md ten, men. He tackled
them single ldcd with his rifle
and bayonet Killed both the Of
ficers and wounded seven of the
men, u
!, Another sergeant was about to
take a prisoner when the German
threw himself on the ground and
discharged his revolver at the
American after calling Kaln-
erad.'' That settled the German,
for the sergeant shot him, as he
did four others. ! who also had sur
rendered but refused to put up
i! their, 2e y 6ahds. " ,5 !.
,a5n, ,a3asy . Forward ] jn. Waves: n
r.. The marines advancing in. the
Belleau wood region went for
ward in four waves in open form
alton. The men in the first wave
were for the most part armed with
rifles and bombs, while the rear
waves were equipped with auto
matte rifles. With them came
squads of machine gunners lug
ging their collapsible guns. They
crossed the open space and toiled
up the slope bent over like
gnomes. The trenches the ma
rines passed over were clearly
visible from below but they hard
ly deserved the name, for they
were simply lines Of little holes,
big enough to hold man, while
barbed wire was lacking. There
was some, however ,interlaced
among the trees Of Belleau wood,
but the marines pushed their way
through it.
= Direct Supporting Fire.
Out in the open field artillery
officers with glasses were direct
ing the supporting fire, while on
the roof Of a nearby farm house
a signal man wig wagged with his
red and white flags. On all sides
the guns were flashing, some OF
them stationed right out in the
field, while others were hidden in
the woods. Looking down into
the valley only a mile away, the
village Of Bussaires could be seen
on fire. As the correspondent
watched the scene the clouds OF
white shrapnel smoke over the vii
lage of Torcy also became brown
ish and flames appeared in that
town.
Preceded Attacks.
The artillery fire that preceded
the attack lasted an hour and was
Of especial intensity for five min
utcs preceding the time when the
marines went over the top. French
and American batteries both took
part in the firing, putting down a
rolling barrage and then shifting
to the roads behind the German
lines. It appears that the marines
in going in forestalled an attack
the Germans had planned. 1t was
to have been carried out by the
Prussians who had been put into
the line for that purpose and was
to have taken place either today
0 rtomorrow. These men had re-
lieved the Prussian guard division
which was badly chewed up in
the fighting Of the last day or
two. They in turn had relieved
the Saxons, just after the Marines
took over the sector, 50 the ma,
(Coninued on page two)