The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1919-01-17
Hun Prisoners Bringing In
American Wounded So
Blood Stained Iden-
ty Uncertain
K. C. Secretary Witnesses Air
Battles. Observes 1000 Hun
Prisoners Going Back to
French Cages.
By E. e. Ditch. X. c. Secretary
with the CoIors Over There.

After lying on the edge OF No
Mans Land, under our great artillery
barrage, till 80 a. m. on the morning
Of Sept. 10Th, I became 50 beastiy
cold that could scarcely talk One
Of the doctors began to insist that
sborid not no over. on account, of not
hav,g Red Cross. brassard on my
arm. and not being armed for defense
He felt sure that there would be
large counter-attack. Thinking |
would freeze before. five o'clock, |
finally consented to try and find shell
ter. My. K c. comrade and ! started
rearward; the Huns at this time had
started to return our fire, and tor
a half-mile we had shells bursting all
around us. We finally entered
shallow cellar Of an old stone build
ing. in the destroyed French village
OF Avocourt. This old building had
only two walls standing. There was
a connecting barn with part OF
shed over it. We had hardly entered
the cellar when one wall came down.
but luckily did not cover the exit.
Some one yelled ito the cave. quick"
We were not aware OF cave near
by, but our signal corps. consisting
Of a phone operator and several
French assistants, had occupied
small cave, dug in the side OF near
by hill, and were managing to keep
communications open to the rear. We
rushed for this cave. and passed
through the barn, where our anmuni-
ton train had unhitched part OF
their seam. They had hidden nine OF
their fine young four-year-old mules
in it. trying to save them. We had
barely reached the CAKE entrance
when the nine mules were all killed.
The bursting of the shells over our
cave and near the entrance made a
fellow feel as if war was going on.
By four o'clock. our barrage had
about silenced all of Fritzie's artille-
ry. and one battery Of French 7ass
that was in sight Of us did wonderful
execution. firing their guns very rap
idly. and keeping it up constantly
from midnight till 2 p. m. on the 10th.
Our big barrage continued until noon
and destroyed everything that was on
the surface before it for distance
of ten miles on IS mile front, here
by making the advance Of our boys
for the first two days practically
easy.
The barrage stopped for five min
utes at 5 a. m, when our men went
over the top, and then our artillery
put over a creeping barrage, throw
ing the shells continually just for
ward of the men, until the guns were
out ranged. / had forgot to men,
tion that l managed to drag along
with me cut of the Hesse forest, six
cartens, so packs. 1900 camel ciga-
rettes which I'intended distributing
at some appropriate time.
About ten a. m, the first batch Of
prisoners-about 200 showed up,
coming over the hill from what that
morning had been No Mans Land.
It was raining and the road was bog
gy, and was almost blocked at some
places on account of the sides Of the
road caving and breaking off. I
stood in the road from the time the
first prisoners began to appear until
early in the afternoon. serving Gig
arettes to our wounded. some walk
ing unattended. and others borne on
stretchers by Hun prisoners. | al
so gave cigarettes to those Of our
boys who had been relieved, those
who were guarding prisoners and in
several instances to Germans on
,stretchers whose uniforms were so
blood-soaked, it was hard at first to
distinguish them from our men. In
every instance Of those Of our
wounded on stretchers, first lit the
cigarette and placed it in their
mouths, bringing a smile Of pleasure
where there was spark Of life.
There was first-aid station on
the roadside at Avocourt. and the
wounded were brought here to re-
ceive treatment before being taken
BY ambulance to hospitals ia thu
sears Many Of our boys, died on
the s.t-.rr-r7 without ev.n hl,nk
s. 'dseny-r fherr ard I assisted. ,