Republican farmer., 1918-02-01
AMERICAN
TRENCHES
:RA|DED D
Two u. S. Soldiers Kill
ed, One Missing and
Four Wounded in
Enemy Attack.

With the American Army in
France, Wednesday, Jan. 81
(By the Associated Press)-
An American position on a GER
tain section of the French front
was raided during a heavy fog
shortly after daylight this
morning. The attack was pre-
ceded by a violent artillery
barrage. Two Americans were
killed and four wounded. One
soldier is believed to have been
captured.
Casualties have been occurring al
most daily for several days on this
sector. 1t now is permitted to dis
close that all the recent casualties
given out from Washington occurred
in this sector. The deaths were caus-
ed by shell fire, mostly shrapnel.
Last night was fairly quiet
throughout the American sector. The
! usual number of shells came over, do
| ing no damage, and there were the
| customary sporadic outbursts of ma
chine gun fire from both sides at
points where the opposing lines are
nearest. e.
At daybreak this morning the heavy
| fog that had been enveloping the
whole position and the country for
miles around for several days, became
still thicker, blotting out all except
the nearest enemy positions. At 7
o'clock three muffled reports sounded
through the fog. There were three
whistles, followed quickly by three
shell bursts. The projectiles explod-
| ed on three sides of an American
listening post just outside the wire
ENHANCEMENT, within As feet of an
enemy listening post
Then He'll broke loose" said one OF
the men there. For 10 minutes the
| enemy broke hundreds of high eX-
plosive mines around the post and the
surrounding ground, cutting off the
men there. Two of them were killed
| in the first few minutes.
Another man who was at the POS;
told the correspondent later, as he
was lying on a cot in field hospital
that he saw four Germans approach.
ing out of the fog as the barrage lift
ed. He brought his automatic rife
into play and saw two of the Ge--
mans fall. He kept on firing unit
shell splinters hit him in the heat
and arm.
THE last 1 remember, in the time
before I reached the hospital sait
another wounded man, lis seeing
something moving through the fog.
determined to get some Germans ant
put my rife to my shoulder, but neve,
pulled the trigger. There was =;
deafening explosion behind me
Frozen earth, ice, stone and shel
splinters came my way"
Inspection of the scene of the raiC
showed that the ground was plowet
up by the explosion of shells.
One of the men wounded was hi
by a snipers bullet. He fell in {
. trench filled with water and almos
, drowned before he was rescued by hi
captain. Several of the wounded haC
been listed as accidental woundings
+ These were mostly wounds on tn
hands
1t is certain that the enemy casual
+ ties from the American cannon ant
machine gun fire has been as great o
greater than ours
The casualties given out in Wash
ington recently occurred over a Ger
tain recent period. The dead wer
buried within the sound and range o
, the guns. One man was blown t.
9 pieces by shell in a regimenta
headquarter town as he was follow
p ing his colonel into a dugout.
a Three men were killed by one shel
! that fell in a trench and another die
of wounds in a hospital. Quite fey
of the men sent to hospitals wer
, wounded in the upper part of tn
: body or on the head by shrapnel.
q For military reasons it has bee
: advisable not to send earlier or othe
. details.