New Britain herald., 1919-01-07

cluding Germany, and we stay cd here 8, couple of days doing nothing. Then one night in pouring rain they hiked us quite bit to a train, which Wo boarded. Three days and three nights we rode on this train, passed right by Paris, saw the EiffeI Tower (which was the nearest I've ever been to the great city), and on the fourth day we got off at little place called Ger tilleux. We were brought to some wooden sheds which the French called barracks and there we laid us down to sleep.
 'FWe stayed here near Neufchateau for three months training with a French outfit in the methods of war fare and stopping around all the time in the mud. It was really pretty place, being situated in the Vosges Mountai but we never had an eye for beauty at the time, We drilled every day, hiked not miles and miles but kilometers and kilometers, and in that way we soon became very pro- ficient in dummy warfare.
 First Trick in Trenches.
 F'nhe 7th Of February, 1918, we left for the trenches by train. We rode
 
 many towns and cities, and finally got off at place called Braisne. This was about 2J ki1ometers from the lines. We h.ked for a good while that day and rested at night in some wood en barracks in the midst of the woods. Next morning we started going again and this time we went into barracks just outside of the town of Chasemy, Iri1 front. Here we stayed for three weeks, drilling every day, and, if you remember, I wrote you about that time telling of the wonderful air bat ties we were seeing, We were spec tators every day of all sorts of battles in the air.
 Well, we went into the trenches after those three weeks were up, about February 24, 1918, in front or little mite Of town which the Ger mans were holding. It's name was Chavigny and just to the right O. us was the town of Craonne. We did hitch here of eight days and nights. It rained and showed all the time, and oh! that mud! After that we were relieved by another company and then we went back to @ place where theru was an immense big mine which the French people called the Elephantine We stayed here a couple of days and then pulled back a few kilometers to q place called Celles. where there was another big mine but not as large as the Flephantine. Here VIC rested a week, when we again were sent to the trenches.
 Take First Prisoners.
 This time we were in the Malnlai- son sector. The Malmaison is 8 large fort on the crest of a very high ridge and in this war many battles have taken place there. The positions we occupied were on the slopes of the hill leading down from the fort, and the Germans occupied a terrain sirni- lar to us. We were directly in front of the city of Laon, which was deliv4 cred not long ago by the French from the hands of the Germans. Here 1t was that our division staged the first a11-American raid of the war, taking 22 prisoners. including two officers, Also our regiment stopped dead 8 German raid. St. Patrick's Day. March IT. saw us under 24-hour gas attack. This is where Callahan got his gassing which put him in the hospital 1 for so long. AS ne says now, | may be Irish. but St. Patricl1's Day doesn't 1 m can q. thing for me-
 1.-TWO days after this we were re- lieved and we hiked back to Chasemy; from there to Braisne. where we l boarded a train which took us on q. l2~ 1 hour trip to Brienne le Chateau. Then l We started to hike and now I have to 1 consult my map to find ouF the names of the places we stopped at, because ] we hiked eight days. and as I kept no ! diary. I haven't remembered the names of the places. We hiked i through Soulaines, Doulevantx le Cha tcau Donmartin le Chateau, JoinVi1le, : Soulaincourt, NulIy, Poissons and , many other small towns until we | reached Brochatnville, Grand, Iiffol le : Grand, which is near Neufchateau. 1 Here we rested two days, one of which ] was Easter Sunday (you sec passed i my birthday on the road hiking with 1