The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-08-27
GERMAN OFFICERS
SHOT BY THEIR MEN
Continued from First Page.


to point it was not always possible to
keep the men in the front lines supplied
with ammunition, which naturally was
quickly exhausted When the enemy
saw from n slackening OF effort that the
French were running short they
promptly counter attacked II they were
In 4 position to do So For these rea-
sons the French had to fall back at
and isolated positions were lost and
won time and again. But the general
advance continued. with the French
gradually collecting stocks Of supplies
from the enemy. many machine guns
and much ammunition falling into their
hands.
There was one particularly strong
enemy attack on the 14th. In this at
tack the Sixty-ffth and Eghty-fourth
German regiments had orders to recap
ture a part OF the plateau that had been
won by the French. The offort. how.
ever. was a complete failure. the enemy
not being able to advance a yard A
day or two later one Nancy regiment
captured seven men and seven officers
who were making a reconnaissance.
At another point after a small squad
OF Germans had surrendered the cor
poral in command told the French off,
GERS that IL they would follow him he
J would show them where they could cap
ture another bunch OF Germans. They
followed a short distance when the Ger
man stopped and shouted: There's q
machine gun In front OF you. It's now
your turn to yell kamerad." The Ger
man fell with a dozen bayonets in his
body. after which the French stormed
and captured the machine gun position.
Some Of the French officers reported
seeing a German officer draw his re-
volver and shpet German soldier point
blank for refusing to advance. At an
other place they say they saw some
German soldiers shoot their officers. ap-
parently without Interference from the
other officers
At Belval there were violent hand to
hand struggles, Ono Frenchman. seeing
some Germans enter a house, climbed to
the roof and threw hand grenades down
the chimney. On the morning Of the day
the news reached them OF Lassigny's fall
they were ordered TO advance, For the
most part the enemy had cleared out.
but many machine guns remained. Evil
dence OF this resistance was still visible
, when our little party of three happened
to reach there yesterday.
We were the first to reach the town
after its capture, and we found II ex-
actly as the fighting men had left II
except that most of the machine guns
left by the enemy had been collected.
Its condition WAS very different from
| what It was when was there last. in
April The town has changed hands five
times during the war. and I should linz
arine It's part in the great drama is
about over. From time to time the
| enemy still drops shells among the ruins.
, They might just rs well have saved their
ammunition, for the place II like a
desert In the whole town I saw only
| one solitary private.
Amid the Wreckage of War.
As YOU climb to the hill beyond you
can look down on the network OF trenches
which zigzag across the country in all
| directions. being overrun with briars
| In many places, Every few yards is the
mark Of q French or German shell,
and where the trenches are not battered
to pieces they are covered with German
helmets, many OF them pierced by bullet
holes. All around lay the debris OF
| VARIETIES, bits OF shells, broken ma
chine guns and the like. / picked up a
pair OF bsbyR shoes three inches long.
presumably the spoil OF some Teuton
warrior who had planned to send them
home to his own hopeful.
Behind the massif, besides the inevita-
BILE shattered villages and woods and
shell ploughed fields which extend far
back 10 the open. the chalky plateau from
where Gen. Humbert began his advance
there were everywhere great dumps OF
spoils which had been left behind by the
| enemy and which the French had not
| had time to pick up, although they had
managed to collect considerable quanti-
| ties OF their own guns and shells which
In consequence OF the victory had fallen
again into their own hands
Still further back the fields are dotted
with sheaves OF grain which had been
harvested well within range OF the
| enemy's guns. The tide OF war has now
swept far away to the east. and by the
capture of Lassigny and Plemont long
stride has been taken toward a final
victory. Hope Is written on the face u
every French soldier one meets: hope
that before long their devastated lana
will be won back for themselves and
| their chiIren