Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-09-23
No Wonder Germany Quit
BY MAJOR FRANK G. NlAHIN
or the Army Recruiting Station

The moon was going to be full
to be clear, so | took my maps and
went down to call on my scout lieu
tenant. Spreading out my maps and
laying a couple of aerial photo
graphs on top of them l told him
that we were certain that this par
ticular house, pointing it out on the
map and photographs, was the head
quarters of a Boche battalion. The
house was on the edge of the viii
lage of Menil about 1,100 yards
back of the Boche trenches. Menil
was one of the villages in the Vosges
that was never shelled. On our side
was a place called Moyenmontier
and vice versa. l suggested casually
to my lieutenant that l did not te-
lieve he had nerve enough to go
over to Menil that night and nab the
Boche Major in his nightie and
bring him back as exhibit A. AS
l had hoped and intended the as
pensions on his nerve made my
young friend quite peevish to say
the least. Seeing that / had his
goat l proceeded to outline my plan
and showed him on the map and tho
photos just how he could get INTO
the village and get away again. We
talked it over at length and then
sent for his sergeant and corporal
and went over the scheme with them
until they too thoroughly under
stood what was wanted. To be
perfectly frank, I never dreamed
they would succeed in reaching the
i'oehe headquarters, bu it was worth
try, because if we succeeded in
kidnapping our beer-drinking friend
in his pajamas it would be the
joke of the whole West Front and
incidentally be a wonderful thing
for the Allied morale and mighty
bad thing for the Boche. Well! ut
dusk about twenty of my men
started for Menil. A couple OF
groups were left at certain points
in the Boche trenches to cover the
retirement of the lieutenant and his
six picked men who were to do the
kidnapping. About one O'Clock every
thing along the front was dead quiet
the full moon was hanging IN the
western sky. flooding with irs white
light the forest clad mountain sides
and the open yellow fields surround
ing Menil. (Oh!. Boy! some Eng
! lish) Suddenly the calm peace of
the beautiful night was shattered
| by a volley of shots. Close to the
house where slumbered restfully the
stout Boche major, the night was
split by the spiteful flash of Amer
lean AS automatics and then by the
answering spit of German rifles.
! Anxiously we waited for news of
! our daring comrades. A moment or
| two and rockets began to roac up
into the sky from the Boche trenches
machine guns to vomit their bullets
| in a searching death dealing spray
across the landscape, and then the
crash of bursting shells as the Boche
laid down their barrage in No Mans
Land. For a few minutes the night
was made hideous with the reveuge-
full din of the enraged Boche and
then as they still didn't know what
all the excitement was about things
uuieted down to a desultory splitting
of machine guns. But all joking
aside, that patrol got back safely
| and reported they crawled through
the belt of barbwire surrounding
4 Menil, got into a shallow drainage
ditch and crept towards the house
they wanted to raid. In the moon
light they could see sentry march,
/
house, big, black bearded man.
They hoped to ,reach the shadow of
the house before he saw them and
then jump out and bean him with
n u.stol butt, but no such luck. He
saw them moving in the ditch and
came over to investigate. AS he
az III cached his figure was silhouet-
tod against the setting moon and
seven Yank pistols were covering
/ him. When he got within fifteen
feet seven shadowy figures rose ur
and a low voice said Pat em up
you Boche, blankety, blank, blank
Evidently he did not understand
English for instead of putting en-
.up., he raised bugle to his lips and
gave one toot which was the sig.
nal for seven chunks of Yank lead
to go tearing through his body. The
com animation of the toot and the
volley was too much. Sleepy Bocht
came boiling out of the houses. Gel.
lars. dugouts and trenches, running
towards the scene of action. Oul
patrol hastily decided that he whC
runs away will i've to eight another
day. so they high tailed II in u gen
erai souther,y direction at the ut
lmost limit rf their ability. which
same ability proved sufficient t.
. bring them safely. although some
I ...1~lzH horE IN n.Ir