El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-12-24

In War Time
LEAVES FROM AN
OVERSEAS NOTEBOOK
~

The Overseas Notebook" contains q
variety Of material gathered By the editor
and after. EIcsrpta VIII be- publiahed 10
this column daily during the next several
months. roday's inatallnent. continuing
the general narrative. relates experiences
active phases o. the great battle Of SEP
Il e sugssstsd that readers clip these
articles each day and paste them IN scrap
boolzss they VII not be reprinted and back
numbers cannot Be suppied-
CEPTE8IBER % was tolerably quiet,
y but at 10 p. m. a terrific lombard
ment began; heaviest guns Of both
sides; lasted intensely 3 hours, then
died down somewhat, but at 5 g. m.
"a September the enemy opened heavy
shelling Of the river towns in our lines
and the roads in our back area used
for supply transport and troop cireu-
lation and kept It up for an hour. Part
Of the time the shells came at the rate
Of one per second Later the Smelling
began again and a shell was dropped
every five seconds for some minutes.
The sight and sound during the
/ bombardmeut were very impressive.
I The explosions Of the big shells shook
the earth and echoed far in the hills.
In the haf-hght Of early morning the
bursts Of fire made a fascinating if
. terrible spectacle, and in light Of day
{ the columns Of debris and smoke and
dust, taWny. OF black and tawny, rose
/ high IN air at each hit, while the con-
cussions and echoes merging suggested
sensations Of being in the midst Of a
[ furious electric storm in the high noun
tains where one can feel the very
granite crack asunder under the strokes
Of Thor's hammer.
The day, bright and cold, went by
with only ordinary activity.
. September l9lS-Bright and crisp
cold; very heavy dew. Enemy threw
many shells into the Moselle river
towns early this morning, as yester-
day. This region is still very beauti-
full with Midsummer vsrdure and
flowers.
20 September I9ls-HeaEy firing
from both sides since midnight last
night, continuous and extraordinary.
At $3.50 a. m, when scarcely light, our
division makes a demonstration in
force, attacking with about 1900 men
from the four infantry regiments In
dense fog the fighting goes oni our
force makes strong push with sue
cesses, but at cost Of very heavy -easu-
alties, nearly every company and bat
talon officer in come Of the regimental
detachments being killed or wounded
and losses among the men SO heavy
that the provisional force is hiclCnamed
the goat battalion Entire companies
are practically annihilated.
The object Of the offensive was to
divert the eneuIyis attention from the
rs.
west Of Nerdun BY part Of the First
army. Several divisions on our part
Of the line attacked simultaneously IA
demonstrations or raids similar 70 ours.
The Germans evidently thought all he'll
bad broken loose again over here for
they never stopped throwing shells and
gas over our way the whole day long.
We hear Of big and successful advance
miles.
CThis action was an essential part
Of the great 4iump-off7 Of % Septem-
Der which marked the beginning Of the
great battle Of the Argonne-M euse.
The diversion on the line east Of Verdun
had the effect desired. which was to
cause the Germans to hold their de-
fences in that area with first class di-
visions and prevent them from sending
reserves to avert the disaster west Of
Nerdun.l
The enemy IS now throwing big
shells from long range guns into the
valley towns and near rs, the shells
now coming from the north instead Of
from the east.
In afternoon, enemy shells drop on
crossroads in woods two miles from
Us. and kin and wound many msn;
traffic Jam observed BY enemy planes.
The wounded are brought % the TRACE
here without even first aid having been
rendered, and some Of them are hor-
ribls to see. One man Of about so
years, Of powerful stature and appear
anee Of exceptional intelligence and
fineness, lies on his face on the litter,
his forehead on his left hand bent IN
der, his right arm close down against
his side. The receiving room is al
ready filled with wounded and this lit
ter IS set down in the mud outside the
door as It is removed from the ambu-
lance. The soldier is seen 70 culver
little. Suddenly with spasmodic mo-
ton he lifts his right arm and stretches
II out stiffly forward alongside his
head. We now see that the mans right
side from armpit to hip Is entirely
shot away BY a piece Of shell. We see
his lungs exposed and expanding and
contracting with the short quick
breaths, and other vital organs scarce
" displaced. but with no bony struc-
ture or flesh OF skin to veil them, OF
to protect them from the rain which
is falling. Only a minute or two
elapses while others are being cared for,
and then bearers carefully lift the lit
ter and start in with the still living
burden. A corpse they find when they
set the litter down on the floor in the
little receiving aleOve; for with one
convulsive gasp he had given up the
fight, and we saw him relax to rest
and to sleep, and We felt It was merci-
ful that he should 60. There were no
ehoirs to sing the Requiescats but here
Of a certainty was peace in the midst
Of war.
Bow quickly a man becomes q Teas
ualty" and is no longer even g Cease"
The mind necessarily becomes duhed
to the number and variety Of the
shattered bodies. No complaining is
heard among the wounded; no com
planning is heard anywhere except now
and then among the vel, and the well
fed
Continued tomorrow
NOTES on NEW FICTION.