The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-02-16
Sports With the Tommies and Treat
ment of Prisoners Battlecry
"Mineola' and Its Origin

one Oh tHobS bGOWlS WHICH Sccul " w
the bread winner for many a Hun. !
think the Germans are taught from
hnybood up 10 look naughty and shout
and Srowl at each other. A Jerry non
com makes a lot OF fuss over the sim
plest command and the officers almost
froth at the mouth IL something goes
wrong.
Achtung!
Don't tell me about the Twenty
seventh Division" he said. "for know
more about it than you do" And
tried TO look as IL thought this unit
was made up OF redskins from the
F1athead Reservation. The Jerry officer
III pill and stalked up and down the
little room, glancing occasionally as ]
was doing, at map on the table. !
don't remember his exact words. but
he said that he was on the trail Of this
unit as soon as it landed in France
that he was the" man in the German
army whose business it was 10 be able
to tell whether or not Maior-Gen.
o RYAN smoked and the resimental
strength OF coolies. He stated now
that he knew when the Twenty-sev-
enth went in with the British al KEN
mel. when it took over sector on .,S
own. when il went 10 the Cambria
front, for he always followed. he said
Keeping, Of course lot - wire entan-
clements between himself and the
Yankees. He said he knew all about
the officers in the division. the higher
Officers even 10 their parentage.s
Your own Lieut.-Col. Liebmsnrl,"
ne said. was Of German parertaee
and was killed by artillery fire near
Watou."
No Chance for Argument
There was no chance for him to get
an argument out Of me, so he turned
10 the map on the table, which al
ready had tried TO make little study
or This map showed the plan of the
battle at that minute being fought and
the positions and line OF advance of
the Twenty-seventh and Thirtieth d.
visions were printed In red ink.
THE Twenty seventh In an excellent
division the officer said. speaking en-
celent English, although slowly, "and
we nave got TO watch you very
closely"
y little cross, made with ink on the
map, was the exact spot where I was
taken prisoner, He didn't want to
know anything about the Twenty-sev-
enth Division.
But he did want to know how Il
came about that I was captured at a
spot on the outside Of the lines of ad-
Nance-marked in red. I didn't really
know, FOR we had advanced fast and
over unfamiliar ground, but supposed
that the patrol OF which was a men,
Der had left the line OF advance 10
wipe out big machine gun nest which
was pouring in fire from the left
, fankn
L%again called attention to the fact
that the interview had come to a close.
"Ach," he said, and suddenly became
very pleasant. He passed over the
cigarettes, asked me IL was hungry.
| and then followed with a lot of uues-
tons about Americas entrance into
the war and what wilson" intended to
do with Germany. ! could see from the
way he talked that to the Germans
now II was Just a matter OF how lightly
they would get of. I asked him about
the bombing of unde;ended cities. espe-
cially hospitals, and he said that no
German aviator had ever bombed hos
pitfalls unless these hospitals were used
to shield other military work or troops.
For the bombing OF open cities. he
said-Se Germans were sorry 1T had
been their one big-<llstalle.
Finally Got some News.
He then helped me 10 a shed where
|
| and some Tommies. I slept in a room
In the schoolhouse that night, ana the
next day was taken on a transport 10
ANesnes. When | got on an English
hospital boat at Rotterdam in Decem-
Der found number of English and
American papers-and some stories
about the Twenty seventh.
! For every soldier in the Twenty
seventh there is one hardest thing 10
do or face. For some IL Is artillery Are
the crash OF the high explosives. The
ping or machine gun bullets gets the
goat OF lot of doughboys. Some would
be satisfied IL coolies had been born 10
blush unseen-unfelt, at least-and
there are those who SILVER when the
big greasy trench rats go out on their
| "He"'' 'e''H!' VI COURSE tne tnlng
that strikes deepest il the sight OF
dead fanks on tho battlefield and the
cries OF wounded for dressing and
strctchers as the line sweeps forward
But 10 come back, when YOU have
been away from YOUR unit, and face y
casualty list-well, that isn't excellent
pleasant, \ corporal in the Twenty
seventh told me 1t was hardest for him