The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1918-08-07

Copyright 1918. by tho New York Times.
the chicago Tribune and tha OhuhomR
City TlmesD
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY
ON THE AISNE-VESLE FRONT,
Aug 6.-Ludendorif in his statement
Yesterday said If it were German vii
lagos which were being left behind il
would be dolorous but fortunately the
villages left were not German. Per
haps a civilized person would have
said any villages behind the German
retreat would be dolorous villages
Frankly what the German invaders did
10 the French villages south of the
Vesle, the American and French shells
completed. II seemed almost sacrilege
TO level so many pretty little places,
but Foch knew n was a greater Sacri-
lege TO allow the Hun to stay in them
and lay plans against Paris.
Countryside Pockmarked.
The whole countryside is pockmarked
with shell holes by the tens of thou-
sands Many formerly fair fields have
so many she'll holes one can step from
one to another Some of these fields
are bloody fields.
Rows of Dead.
One I saw yesterday can never for
get From cast to west on the north
road lay wheat field from which the
hochc had harvested grain before the
battle came. To the south of the road
a hundred yards away lay a stretch of
woods. North OF the wheat field was
a large woods In small field south
of the road lay a row Of American
bodies where German machine guns on
the south side Of the road had opened
On them What could cause a Lreatcr
thrill than TO walk forward to the road
and see bodies of German machine gun
ncrs in their nests dead from bayonet
wounds. Then on the north side of the
road were duRouts with American
spades living about which told our boys
had made and then fifty yards away
and stretching back lay the dead Ger
mans.
That scene along the road told an elo-
quent story. Americans had charged
toward the road TO be met bv German
machine gun fire Rushing on and sus-
tanning losses they had bayonetted the
boche and put the others to flight.
They had then taken positions on the
north side Of the road and met a bochc
counter attack. killing the Germans
which | saw living north Of the road
Battle Story Told.
The whole story Of the battle lay
taere plainly. For north Of the road
out of the wheat field could be seen
rows OF she'll holes where our ever ac-
curate artillery had laid down a creep
ing barrage behind which our men crcpt
10 boche positions on the edge Of the
woods. Here and there lay a body OF
a boy in brown who had paid the great
price.
Dead Fills Pit
On 10 the edge Of the wood walked
and there the picture will ever linger.
In a pit perhaps fifty feet long and
twenty feet wide and fifteen feet deep
the Germans had established a strong
position with placements in the sides
for machine Runs-probably twenty Of
them. There in the bottom OF the pit
in the utmost confusion lay perhaps
fifteen dead Germans and probably ten
more or fifteen dead Americans. In
front of the pit lay line OF dead
douehboys. Our lads had charged those
machine guns and even into the pit
where they mixed hand-to-hand with
the boche II seems that while fight
ing there in the cockpit shell had
fallen amidst them All along the edge
of the woods smaller machine gun
nests had been broken up
Shell Wipes Out Fifty Huns.
A more cheerful story is told by the
scene inside the wood where saw
fifty or sixty boches in hundred
square yards killed by high explosives