Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-09-05
No Wonder Germany Quit
By MAJOR FRANK @. MAHIN
or the Army Recruiting Station

"One of the things everyone
learned very, very quickly in the
Zone of the advance in France was
not to make any light during the
night. We soon found that even
striking a match on road miles
behind the lines might bring down
aerial bombs on our heads, and at
ter a couple of those had exploded
close by, no one cared to take
chance on drawing any more. OF
course in the villages and towns
within the Zone of aerial activity,
there We're guards who inspected all
night long to see that not a ray of
light shown from any house. No
matter how cold it might be the
old fashioned camp fires passed out
of existence and we all lay around
and shivered, and no one growled,
because it was somewhat better to
be chilly for a few hours than dead
through eternity. l actually believe
we all got cats eyes for going with
out light for it wasn't many months
before we got so we could find our
way, through dense woods, even IN
the Very blackest of nights. And
the chauffeurs! Well! a chauffeur
who couldn't see in the dark didn't
live long enough to realize his dlf-
ficiency. Imagine driving u car
along rough road on a rainy night,
a road you had never been over be-
tore, a road on which troops were
marching, trucks, wagons, carts,
motorcycles, passenger cars, every
conceivable kind OF a vehicle was
moving and not a sign OF light
anywhere. 1t would be bad enough
W along
nrobably you had thirty minutes iii
which to go fifteen miles so you had
70 move right along. Furthermore,
every vehicle was either camo"-
tagged or painted olive drab ana OIL
course all the troops were IN UNI
form. all of which added most ap-
preciably to their invisiblllty. IL the
chauffeur couldn't see in the oark Ee
would either pile into the rear ehu
of n column of infantry and XIII q
bunch of men or he would run
head on into q truck or tank ana
kin himself. Nevertheless, risk or
no risk, everything had to move ana
il had to move without lights. but
there was one time when we really
nut one over on the smart Boche.
AS everyone who participated IN the
IMeuse-Argonne offensive knows II
got bitterly cold the latter part Oh
Sentennber and never did warm up
till the Armistice. The nlghts es-
necially were simply arctic. Early
IN October when we were held up Il
counle of miles north of Montfaucon
while fresh troops were coming up
to hit the Boche another wallop,
our artillery, together with couple
of thousand French guns moved up
as far as they dared in order to be
ready for the next push. Just south
of Montfaucon was a long valley
winding nearly east and west, anu
in this valley we had massed all the
heavy guns, thousands of them,
with only a few feet between guns.
AS they wanted a great concentra-
ton of artillery the guns were IN
three rows, one close to the north
edge of the valley, one along the
center, and third row in the south
edge, Bivouaced in the valley were
the tens of thousands of artillery
men. right out in the open without
dugouts or other rrotection against
the enemy. And furthermore, the
| infantry moving to the front and
those coming back, were bivouacing
on both sides of the valley, so that
that particular area, within easy
range of the Boche guns, was sure
a fertile one for the Boche to shell.
| One night it got particularly cold
! and q bunch of fool" American Ar
tillery men decided they would
rather be dead than be so cold, so
| they gathered a lot of wood and
made a big bonfire. Everyone net
within the immediate warmth OF tho
fire promptly beat it at least a half
q mile and then waited to see the
fire and environs blown to bits. 4
half hour passed and nothing hap
pened. Within few minutes
more there were thousands of fires
burning merrily throughout the
length and breadth of that valley
Thousan nds OF Doughboys came down
from the hi'1a TO join the artillery
men around their fires and still
nothing happened. For one night
ut least. everyone was warm and
comfortable and never shell came
into that valley all night long. What
Is the exclamation for our irrun.
ity? We doped it out that the Borhe
had gotten so fed M on Yankec
tricks that he figured all these fires
were simply another American tricf
~ get him to waste n whole lot oi
valnph ammunition on an on ir
which there was nothing to rage
as no human heing with an m n
sense would build n fire in plact
IiLa that and then stay within s
lnile OF it. But I can assure vol
wa navAr tried fool trick like tha'