Newark post., 1919-02-12

had been kept in the dark as to
when we would get into action, but
now we knew we were going over
to meet "Fritz" in his own garden.
Just before we left the woods our
battalion was drawn up in a circle
and our Chaplain gave US a little
talk and made a very touching
prayer, and before he had finished
there were tears in the eyes of
nearly every man there, as he be-
gan to realize the seriousness Of
the mission that he was about to
undertake, and also to realize that
many would not come back. but
who it was that must pass over the
great beyond, it was we'll for us
that we could not know. We start
ed toward the front lines when the
evening shadows were silently
falling thick and fast over our lit
tie world. can yet feel the thrill
and the stir Of it, awakened as we
had been by our Chaplain. We ar
rived at the place where we were
to start our advance about II
o'clock.
Preparing for the Advance
1t was q beautiful night. a full
moon lighted up everything almost
like day and made US think Of dear
old America and home with great
er longing than ever before, and
as we waited beside a hill it was
hard to believe that we were about
to take a part in one Of the hardest
and most decisive battles of the
war. Many of the boys, however
were lying around talking and
laughing till you might have
thought they were on a picnic. The
advance was to start on a sixty
mile front that morning, the
French on one side, the British on
the other with the Americans in,
the center. The barrage opened at
II o'clock, and just imagine a line
of cannon almost touching hubs,
for fifty or sixty miles, and of all
calibres from one of the British
monster 16 or IS inch guns to the
little French 75's and you may get
some idea of the intensity Of the
barTage. The earth trembled and
shook as though in an earthquake;
the powder smoke hung over us
like clouds from hi shutting out
light of moon and substituting b,
reflection the weird and uneartly
light of the continuous flashing of
mighty guns till the very heavens
seemed on fire. 1t was one of the
greatest, if not the greatest, bar
rage Of the war and cost many
thousands Of lives and several mil
lions of dollars. 1t was a wonder-
full experience to have seen and
lived through it, but | never want
to witness another like it. I can
still hear those thousands of shells
roaring, screeching and screaming
as the great guns hurled them over
our heads and far into the ranks
Of the demoralized Germans.
We went over the top at o'clock
in the morning, and like many
other inexperienced troops we ex-
pected to meet opposition the first
thing, but we kept going and 60
ing and the only things we ran
into were a few snipers with their
machine guns, and who would fire
until the very last moment and
then come out with their hands up
shouting Kamerad! Kamerad! but
that was the last word that many
of them ever uttered. They tried to
kill as many of us as possible and
when they saw they were done for,
couldn't possibly hold out any
longer, would come out and expect
US to take them prisoners. The
great barrage in this case had been
our salvation.
We captured the great Argonne
Forrest, in which the French lost
so many Of their brave troops in
1914, and the Germans now had to
abandon what had been their home
for four long years. Hundreds of
terrified prisoners were taken out
! of their numerous dugouts in the
forrest, and lots of the German
dead were seen all through the
wood, showing they had to leave
in such a hurry that they did not
have time to take all their dead
with them. The first night after
the capture we laid right out in
! the omen fields with olr rain coats