Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1919-01-29
DESCRIBES A BATTLE
Letter from Chilly" Hayes

Here is another finely descriptive
letter from w. M Hayes to his faith
er, w. A. Hayes, superintendent of
the Madison division OF the North
western railway:
Neveau, France, December 18th,
1918.-My dear dad To continue
my little story: The Huns said, God
is with us" but they also added that
the Americans were with the AL
lies"
There we were, in our first posi-
ton of the drive which the United
States will never forget. 1t was that
drive that made the whole world
change its opinion of the states as a
fighting power. From this time Oh,
the whole world would know better
than to monkey" with that nation
across the water 1t showed them,
that although these soldiers from
the u. S. did not enjoy war, when the
time came there was no better fight
er in the world.
When we first entered the lines,
Fritz said, "The American infantry is
drunk and the American artillery is
hour of the eleventh day. came, Fritz
had not learned the really "compree"
the soldiers from the other side" 1t
was in this drive that we gave Fritz
his first real dose of American iron.
But getting back to those four lit
tie 75s that were so anxious to speak.
The minute hand had reached and
passed the top number on the dial
several times, and now the hour
hand stood straight up.
We could see Fritz's guns far
ahead, breathe a fame as they start
ed a piece of iron in our direction
then the whiz through the air-then
the burst; first, one in the rear, next
one, just ahead of us, then probably
the next ore would land unhealthily
near US.
Why didn't they send us the dope
and let us get chance to give Fritz
some Of his own medicine?
We knew that the doughboys were
advancing and we also knew that we
would soon be out of range. Almost
in answer to our thoughts. an order
did come, but it was disappoint-
ment. March order was this I'M
welcome command. Fritz was be-
yond reach of our little guns.
The caisson doors were closed, the
sight was put back in it's case, the
muzzle and breech covers were put
in place. The drivers had returned
with their horses from their shelter
ed place in the woods just behind us
we were soon under way, follow
ing Fritz in his rapid advance to the
rear"
But on we went to make the
world safe for the democrats!"
1t was just breaking day. Tired?
Yes, we were tired physically, but
mentally never wider awake. We
met the wounded, returning to first
aid stations. That night that we
had so impatiently spent at the guns,
these men were just ahead of us in
the lines meeting the supreme test.
They had met the Hun machine
gunners. They had met and defeat
ed those that were manning those
'hoses of death" with which Fritz
hoped to stay that advance of the
"Yanks."
Then we met prisoners, real pri-
soners of war, and our own at that.
They were Huns who, although they
had used every cowardly means they
COulQ CIl0k Oh, were uOl HlulDlO lOOL-
ed enough to escape the Yanks.
We were not ten million strong,
hardly ten thousand, and Fritz knew
it. Every foot of ground was stub
bornly fought over. Fritz did not
fear these American fighters as some
people thought He knew from then
on that we were good, but still he
thought that he was little better.
This advance showed us that the
enemy had met great surprise
with luck. Yes; but it was all bad
luck His artillery had met dis
astrous fate. We passed lots of
Krupp specimens, and piles of am
munition which he did not have time
to destroy. He had an urgent en-
gagement somewhere in the rear.
The Yanks also had an appointment
somewhere behind his lines.
The enemy would withdraw the
guns that he could and then retreat
aways, only to attempt to make a
stand a little farther back. But
each attempt was failure. We met
their rear guards each time with a
continuous fire from our famous
75s, hundreds of hand grenades,
rife fire. bayonets and even fists. They
took, held, and left behind, trenches
that crumbled and disintegrated I'M
der the whining hell from the Ger
man artillery. AS the shock troops.
picked from the cream Of the kais-
er's war machine, flung themselves
into the first line of that advancing
Yank army, the Americans con-
verged from their own lines and
fought that last line of Germans with
a fury that sent those not killed. or
wounded Keeling back in stage
bordering on panic. This supposed
1y raw and unframed handful Of
men which had brought sneering
smile to the lips of the super-brute
Hindenburg, when told of their ar