The Dermott news., 1918-05-09
HAIC'S RETREAT E
 VIVIDLY PICTURED
Storm of Shell Fire Described by
 Illinois Officer.
HUN SLAUGHTER WAS GREAT
First lieutenant Petit of Ottawa. In Letter to His Father Gives Details of Battle in Which British
 Fought at Great Odds.

The thrilling story of the Haig re- treat in the terrific battle in Picardy Is tn@z' interestingly detailed by First Lieutenant Roswell T. Petit. NJ. O. k. G7 of Ottawa, H., In letter to his f1ther, pr. J. ". Petit of the Ottawa tuberculosis colony and published in the Chicago Tribune. For nine days the American officer was in the thick est of the fighting. and during the re- treat If the British Fifth army from hefere St. Quentin. His account of the battle thrills with the stress of the hNrcu'ean conflict. as it was detailed immediately after he had passed through the terrible experience and be- fore his impressions had been dulled by time His letter:
 Lieutenant Pettits Letter.
 March 30.
 Dear Father: Now that the show Is over for me for the time being, and have time to breathe and sleep and eat and write. I'll try and tell you about the battle. Before you receive this you will have had the whole story from the papers, but I know you will be 4ntereSted In knowing what did in the affar
 Of course, the things saw were but an ntiniteSimal part of gigantic whole and it would he impossible for me 10 give q correct description of the battle. And as 1 write thiS, I do 1t with no knowledge whatever of what has been going on even a few miles from me
 have not seen paper In eight days: l: l have received no mail and the only Information we have received has been by word of mouth. and most of what we hear must he wild rumorS For ex- ample: The French have advanced 20 miles at Verdun. the Ameri- cans have taken 0Stend and are on their way to Zeehrugge. and a great naval battle has been fought In the North sea.
 All know is that on this part of the front the Germans attacked us in over whelming numbers. in places ten divi- sionS to our one: that they suffered terrible losses. but finally broke through our lines of defense. one aft~r another and fighting for the nest part, rear guard action. we have retired about 13 miles in a straight line
 For a week before the battle started we bad been expecting it; we were f~ea1y 10 move on 30 minutes uo- vice. l had been oHt with comhatant s4S well as medical officers on taars If reconnaissance, definite methods of evacuation of the wounded had bean worked out. and our p'anN of conu'rr- attaek heen made. After four or five days af waiting fhe storm finally Nrel.e.
 7hr Roche opened up on u~ at 2 q. u.. March T with the heaviest barrale hqya ever hcara stand fo.e was sounded. We turned ou, dressed. and haa au#oU equipment packed in &o suuutes. Then we sat down and waited fer orders te move. THe har- rage kept up continuously sometimes heavier and then of less intensity, sometimes if seemed to bp 10 the north of u~ aa3 tbon suddenly it switched to the saufh
 ta} balloons were# #ap as soen as # was Iieht and the airnIaucS were bug ztug aNcr our heads The ground mist gradually cleurcd and the Germans put hail of shrapnel on our camp and We all took cover. but three men were hit. Why il Is a fellow always ree,S safer with roof over his head. even if he knows bullets and shrapnel and pieces of shell will go through honrls and corrugated iron just like paper.
 Ordered to Move.
 Our orders to move finally came and Ne marched off 10 the brigade assem- hy point several miles away. This as scmhly point was in little bunch of trees about the size of Allen park and hohnd and separated from n larger wood in front In the larger wood there WAS q battery of heavy artillery aud shells were dropping in there two or three to a minute. and it was heavy stun, loo.
 Sometimes they overShot the big wood and shells were landing in the open around the little wood where my