The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1920-02-28
THE PHANTOM TANKS
OF THE ARGONnE

, seems prepOsteious and unbelievs
BILE Nevertheless this il an aciua
fact, and it's aecomp, isbment wa
one Of the most interesting incl
dents OF the whole war.
General PershiDg with the Firs
American Army had just Finished
awakening the German Higl
Command 10 healthy fear of tb,
American soldier by reducing th'
st. Mlhiel Salient, and the plsu,
for the Meuse AreoDne offeDsiv,
were about to he carried int,
execution. In these days Of tb,
aeroplaDe and wireless telegrapby
it seems impossible to deliver .
surprise assault. DeveTt heless M
pans are spared to deceive tb.
enemy ~ to the exact point ol
attack. As = means of covering
the true point of attack, the CbieI
of Tank Corps presented a scheme
which recived the approval Of the
High Command.
AccoI diugly. after The with
drawal Of tbe Tanks from The ST
Mihiel Sector, LIT Higgins with
his platoon Of the 344th Battalion.
Tank Coupe, was, directed to
proceed from this point in Il north
westerly direction along the lines
via narrow gauge railway IL.
was to atop each night and make
a reconnaissance in front of on,
positions with his tanks, aud
Immediately load up aud repeat
the operation the following nigh
further down the line.
On the nineteenth of Septemb.,
the five tanks and their crews
were loaded aud the expedition
started That evening they stopped
IN the rear Of little wood. man,
kilometres vest of st. Mlhiel. OFF
ot the tricky little narrow gauge
fiat cars lruBdIed the tanks, and
nOs-d into The woods fog conceal
meDt About eleven O'Clock all
was ready and the miniature army
started forward on it's mission
Everything went off az scheduled
The tanks rolled through our posi-
lions and into No Mans Lam.
They were operated back anu
forth for half M hour. After this
hey were quietly Withdrawn,
back Oh their little narrow
gauges, aud started merrily on
their way. They timed their work
per fectly. and AS they pulled out
terrific barIage hit the wood they
had left. The only Effect of this
was to elate the
spirits of the adveDlurers who
realized how much they
were worrying HeiDie. From thai
ime Oh the expedition became TO,
hem picnic True it was loaded |
with danger, hard~tlips aud woIidr
)f hard work, but y picnic nevcri
yhe-less.
The following evening the pro-
'edure was repeated. Again the
Dar,age descended too late to hurt |
he jauDty band, and again the
sound OF bursting shells was
greeted with jeers aud shouts OF !,
ierision as the rattling. humping
little train carried them toward
he next nights adventure. Fo,
,ix successive nights the troup.
staged their one Uight stands, aud
he reports all along the srcto,
'bowed tina: the Hun was up ~
he air. All day long the sky war
oil of planes se,chiDg for th.
lrmy of tanks which the enemy
vas sure WAS concentrating OF
his front. All suspicious looking
'laces were bombaIded with th.
usual Hun thorougbness aDd
Intensity. All night long th.
larkness was dispelled by hundred.
Il flares aud rockets. aud al
udications showed that Heini,
vas not going 10 be caugh
lappiDg again. Best OF all, Just
IL the little baud was preparing
o entrain to get into The big show
u the ArgonDe, there came .
MESSAGE from the l0teIligeDc.
section stating "Two German
divisions Withdrawn from ArgouD,
ront. Entrainlpg for your sector
How the little outfit got back I.
he big show, arriving ut tbrp.
hirty on he morning of tb,
weDty six, just IN time to go in t.
onnect up between the 35th aud
'1st Divisions aud incidentally t.
over itself with fame aud glor,
q another story. The expedition
vas over. Its object had bee,
not a shot had II
|red nor a loss bad it suffered.
Tired aud worn out, unshaven,
|irty but supremely happy, they
oaded their tanks, curled up under
hem, and never realized that the
'umpy, NOISY, rafting. j.'ky little
ARROW Rnage that war puffirg
hem back To The big battle wa.
ess 10 be desired az a sleeping
ouch than the once we'll known
eatberbed.