The Mankato free press., 1918-10-18
PAP|ER BACHE HEADS
FOOLED TEUTS SN|PER
THESE FIGURES ARE MOUNTED
ON THE LONG POLES
They Have Staring Eyes and
Peer Right Over Imitation
Parapets

Behind the American Lines IN
France, September 25.-Corres-
pondence of The Associated Press.]
Heads of dummy soldiers made of
papier mache and mounted on long
poles peer with staring eyes over
the tops of imitation parapcts in
the American camouf1age station
here. They are decoys for the Ger
man sniper to shoot at ana thus dis 5.
close his hiding place.
Lony lines of these dummy figures
lean against the walls of the "toy
shop" as the soldiers call it. a huge
building where companies and regi-
ments of imitation soldiers are
manufactured. Soldier heads, some
bareheaded and others wearing he'll:
NETS, >are first modelled by sculp-
tors working in soft white clay.
This is repeated in papier mache.
Baked in an Oven
A big oven bakes the papier
mache heads to the required hard
ness. Then they pass to the artists
who put on the natural tint of flesh,
uniform and helmet. Finally they
are mounted on stout poles and are
ready to be held UP as decoys along
the trenches, to draw the fire of the
enemy. Very often an enemy sniper
will disclose his whereabouts by
taking a shot at one of these papier
mache soldiers peering over the
trench front.
Turning from the plaster decoys
Ehe correspondents were suddenly
confronted by whole regiment of
soldiers armed and in full field
equipment, and thrown out in open
order as the men go forward in the
early morning raids. But instead of
being real soldiers, this was a regi-
ment of "silouettes." Each figure
was life size, painted on thin board,
and cut out much as children cut
out paper dolls. Some were kneeling
and firing; others were firing from
the shoulder; and others stood at
rest. They were fine looking men,
every one of them, and the work of
the best artists.
: Means of Camoufage
IhCOC SllOuCIICO dI1 OllC VI OuI
most effective means of camoufage
it was explained. They are used in
the early dawn, when there is a mist
which makes it difficult to detect
the deception. During the night they
are posted in open order far in front.
AS daylight breaks the enemy sees
this array dimly outlined through
the mist. 1t usually draws the fire of
machine guns and batteries, and
gives in advance the main lines of
enemy resistance. With this dis
closed, the men leap forward and
living figures take the place of the
painted silouettes.
Near the silouettes, artists were
turning out number of most ar
tistic tree stumps The stumps
looked very natural, covered with
moss, but each was a handy box
from which sniper could work
with his gun. One of these handy
boxes was inside pile of old tin
cans; and in another, the observer
looked through an orifice of hel
met which had apparently fallen on
the battlefield. But the cans and the
helmet were not real-all camou-
flage.
A very effective camoufage, used
along the top of trenches, is a
simple box of rough, irregular shape
PAINTED to resemble earth and COW
cred with gravel and twigs. This is
set upon the edge of the trench and
looks just like the rest of the earth
but inside there is room for the
head and shoulder of a soldier, who
can look about as, though head and
shoulder above the trench