American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1918-12-10
STORIES FROM THE BAT
TIE FRONT.
!. s.++++++++++++++++ ++ - 4.
WHEN THE TANKS WERE GASSED

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WHEN THE TANKS WERE GASSED
An ingenious defense against tank
attacks, which for the moment put an
end to their usefulness, was used by
the Germans some time ago, accord
ing to Paul S. Bailey, who writes in
the Illustrated World New York, (No-
vember) According to Mr.. Bailey the
unexplained lull in the use of tanks
] by the allies was due to this success
4 full defense, and hence the sudden and
effective renewal of their activity in
recent months must have been caus-
ed by some new devise for nullifying
or overcoming it, altho he does not
even suggest its nature. The German
defense, as described by Mr.. Bailey,
was due to the use of gas-not against
the pilots and gunners in the tanks,
/ but against the motor-mechanism of
the tanks themselves. paralyzing
them and putting them out of commits
sion. How this was possible is des-
cribed by Mr.. Bailey as follows:
"The steel-sided monsters no long
er were the mystery they had been at
the Ancre The Germans had captur-
ed some and even built few ponder
Gus units for their own use. Going
into close action in a tank had be-
come far more risky than it had been
in the months of the inception of the
land dreadnoughts
"The typewriters' still could stutter
ont their leaden hail, and the courage
of the drivers was unimpaired, but
lately the Germans had been match
ing wits against the big machines
with more success than before. They
had been digging chasms in unexpect-
ed places-chasms not very deep, but
wide enough so the caterpillar tread
could not negotiate them. Several
tanks had been caught in this way.
but if the drivers were on the alert
the danger could be avoided
"Near Nancy another expedient had
been adopted by the Huns. Behind a
machine -gun-proof shelter of steel
they had advancved a three-pound
cannon to within open-sight' distance
of the tanks. One of the machines
had been put out of action in this
manner.
The men who manned the tanks in
this action. however, were certain of
disaster from still another source,
provided none of these means sue
ceeded against them. They were go
ing straight into the heart of a mass
attack Men would surround them.
Sooner or later the stanch machine
must succumb to bomb-attack; the
end might come all too speedily if a
skulking enemy could get near enough
10 toss A 'fumer' inside. Their resolve
was to kill enough Huns first so that
their sacrifice would dismay the
enemy.
1T is not possible yet to get the
stories of the men who actually did
60 into action. Those who were not
killed are prisoners in Germany. From
the Allied lines this is the narrative
of what took place:
The heavy tanks rolled and sway
ed over the shell-pits. not particular
" bothered by the barrage that was
falling in front of the advancing ranks
o. field gray. In a few seconds the
'tvpewriters' would have begun their
slaughter.
Suddenly the Huns crouched to
the ground from behind them came a
veritable snare-drum succession of
mild 'Dlops.' In the neighborhood of
tho advancing tanks tons and tons OF
unwieldy projectiles we're dropt
These were apparently innocuous
enough in their action. Each one ex-
ploded with a noise no louder than
that made by a small-calibered pistol.
Not suspecting anything terribly dan
gerous. the tanks continued on their
wav methodically.
THAT is. they continued for about
twenty feet more. Then one after an
other each came to an unexplained
stop. The 'plopping continued. but
with ii now came the sterner voice OF
high explosive. The latter shells To-
Gated the tanks, and destroyed one
after another The big machines
seemed utterly helpless. Most OF them
we're blown to bits. while others. ap-
parently seeing the hopelessness OF ii
all. surrendered.
Some allowances must be made for
1piecing out the story from the tales OF
Hun captives secured later. The ex-
lplanation given, however. is that all
along the line where an attack by
Il tanks had been anticipated by the Ger
; mans. a new defense had been prepar-
ed. Each individual tank was to be
J caught in a slight gully that ran near