Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1919-12-03

The major then sent off a patrol of
| Company B men to our right to re-
connoitre. They returned about four
O'Clock in the afternoon with the re-
! port that the Germans were entrench-
ed also on the flank, which meant
! that we were completely surrounded.
| There was nothing to do, but to spend
| the night as best we could in our
funk holes. About dark the enemy
on the hill behind US began firing at
us with trench mortars; the fire
seemed to come from the northwest
1t kept up its splitting all night
Pigeon Goes to Fritz
"In the morning the major sent a
carrier pigeon with an appeal for ar
tillery support. But to cur dismay
the pigeon started for the German
| lines. The firing from the Hill be-
hind us continued all day. Detach-
ments We're sent to try to take those
| trench mortars, but the enfilading
machine gun fire of The enemy made
! it impossible. Our own machine gun
ners did excellent work in spite of
shortage of ammunition which soon
became so pressing that our brave
gunpers could do very little.
of course many were wounded by
this time. And hunger began to
trouble us all, as the small amount
of bareback, which we brought along
! suiiiced only for the first day There
was not enough of it to economize
with. 1t was to be worse however,
as our seige heightened each day
each night too growing longer and
more wearisome than its predecessor.
! have spoken of the spring and
stream in the valley The stream
| soon became only oozing mud, chiefly
because of the dropping of heavy ar
/ tillery into il. You see the German
artillery back of the enemy's line on
the hill above us kept busy trying TO
| get us. In order not to hit their own
men on the hilltop however, they had
to aim so high that their fire Just
missed us and dropped into the val
/ ley instead. But this bombarding to-
| gether with the constant machine
gun fire made it difficult for us to
get water 1t was almost sure death
10 venture down to the spring to fill
our canteen. an added danger being
the gradual cutting down of the
trees and brush by shells and bullets.
Our position was hardly enviable.
Without food and blankets, practic-
ally without water and eventually
badly short of ammunition, surround
ed by the enemy subjected to his gal
| ling fire, we were confined to a small
plot of ground about three hundred
yards long, and perhaps one hundred
and fifty yards wide, on a brush clad
| hillside.
AT about $50 o'clock in the af-
ternoon of the second day we were
attacked on all sides. From the hill
above came a charging mass, throw
/ ~ tpn taf hawsN In Lid e
| grenade) and such like courtesies,
while attacks were made also on the
side and from behind This game
| lasted about an hour, then Fritz SEEM
| ed to have had enough of it and re-
| treated. All night long our outposts
were on the lookout for another at
tack, but it did not come Every
| now and then, however, machine gun
| fire would sweep along the hillside
! From time TO time we had seen air
| planes, both friend and foe, above us.
! "On October fifth an airplane was
seen to drop box some distance to
| our right. We knew that it contain
| ed food and ammunition, so squad
of men volunteered to get it, They
did not return.
But later in the day, one of them
came in from the German position
20 our left. He told that five of the
| squad had been killed in a fight with
large number Of Germans when
| they attempted to get the box; he
and the other two had been taken
| prisoners and now the Germans, in
| possession of our food and ammuni-
| ton, had sent him over with a mes
sage to the major to surrender. The
ma jor's answer Go To He'll was so
| fnpuafpl that - bac Gil parrtaH
around the world. The word spread
| from funk hole to funk hole and soon
we all raised a defiant shout. We
were mad to think they took us for
| cutters.
Gould the Germans hear it? Why
surely yes. The distances were not
| great We could hear the Germans
| talk on the hillside above. Don't you
know they could never make a sur
/ prise machine gun attack? They
simply couldn't keep their mouths
shut. 1t was Fritz, Karl, Adolph all
/ the time
"What did the Germans answer?
| They must have mistaken our shouts
/ for an invitation for they soon came
over ia great numbers TO pay us
visit We were so mad that we for
/ got hunger and gave them reception
/ that was even warmer tran our wont.
And it's 30 hrag 70 asia that's saying
good deal ,hev retFeatcd after
about an hours hand to hand fight
ing
O,cr Half Casualties
"Om major sent several patrols at
different times TO try I 0 break
through; but the odds We're too great.
III only increased the number Of our
dead and wounded When Fritz
came over again about dusk on De-
tober sixth there were only two hum
dred and thirty four men among US
who were able to use "A rifle. We
numbered six hundred and fifty when
we. four days earlier, had taken the
position which we held Our ammu
milton was now so low that we had
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