The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1918-08-01
CHAPTER XIV.

OiOWu ~ HtCtS WncH we aITINtu.
Everywhere was artillery. which main
tained a fire on the villages behind the
enemy's positions.
One of the many batteries which we
constantly had to pass on our march
from the camp to the front, was in ac-
tion when we reached II.
asked one of the gunners what his
objective was and he replied that II
was any village within range.
A substitute first lieutenant. In
charge of the battery. stood nearby.
One of my comrades asked him II he
did not think there might be women
and children in those villages.
"Thnt would make no difference"
rhe first lieutenant replied Women
| md children are French. so what does
I muifrr? This breed has to be ex-
riainnfcd In order that this nation
. of war again for q CEN
This day was Designated for q
storming attack and we were obliged
to be in our positions at seven O'Clock
in the morning. Promptly st 8 80 regi-
ment No. 81 was ordered to attack.
Pioneers led the way. They were sup
piled with hand grenades. These week
ly attacks were opened half an horr
before the infantry went over by n
storm of artillery fire. The artillery
action required very careful calcula-
ton because the distance which sepa-
rated our position from the enemy's
to one hundred meters; never any
a 81 a.. ..l-x a
the distance was 20 meters.
Promptly at eight O'Clock the artil-
lery started. The first three shells
struck ditch. but the following ones
hit fairly. that is, right In the French
trenches. Once the artillery had the
proper range whole salvos of batteries
descended upon them with admirable
exactness. The cries of the wounded
were heard once more, a sign that
many had been hit.
An artillery officer acted as observer
I in the foremost sense and directed the
{ fire by phone. Promptly at 80 O'Clock
the artillery fires stopped and we at
tackled. The eleventh company OF the
1 Sixty-seventh regiment. of which
spoke before. came under the IRE of
the eDemy's machine guns and IS of Its
.aAn we're killed after thev hsd ~niv
1 proceeded a few steps ou
trench.
/ Dead and wounded men lay among
I the branches and the trees everywhere
( on the ground. Every man who was
| able to run sped forward to reach the
! enemy trench as quickly as possible. A
| part of the enemy defended itself des-
I perately In a trench filled with water
! and mud. A terrible hand-to- hand fight
/ resulted. We stood in water up to our
knees.
Men, severely wounded. lay in the
mud. holding their mouths and noses
above the water. During the fighting
they were trampled more deeply into
the dirt under our feet for we could
not see where we were going; we could
only "roll up" the entire trench.
The section won was fortified with
1 all possible haste. Once more we had
I acquired at n heavy cost in human life
few meters of the Argonne forest.
! This french, which we took, had
1 changed hands many times and even
! now we were preparing for the usual
counter-attacks.
Presently the "jackasses" went into
action. The "jackasses" are the guns
OF the French mountain artillery. They
were so named because they were
drawn by mules. They are guns of fat
trajectory. kept from 80 to 100 meters
behind the enemy lines. The shells
from these cannon flew directly over
our hends and cut their way through
the branches at a high rate OF speed.
Because OF the high velocity of the
shell and the short distance 1t travels
the defamation when the shot is fred
and the noise OF the explosion, sound
almost Mt the same instant. These
'Jackasses" are grently feared by the
| German soldiers because they are kept
working day and night
1t was winter and very cold. The
trenches had been filled with water
and were now nothing except deep
bitches Of mud. Under these condl-
tions, through the ice-cold nights, our
routine consisted of 48 hours duty
and II hours rest. Every week q storm
ing attack was made, the success Of
which was entirely out OF proportion
to the enormous losses. In all Of the