El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1921-01-03

In War Time
LEAVES FROM AN
OVERSEAS NOTEBOOK
Ill

IL BY II. ID. SLATER.
s.u-u1r
The Overseas Notebook" contains a
l variety Of material gathered by thu editor
I Of The Herald IN Europe during the war
and after. Excerpts VIII be published IN
l this column daily during the next several
months Today'E instalment. continuing
I the general narrative, relates experiences
[ from the saint 1Iihiai front 20 the 1Iause-
! ArFunne sector.
il is suEgested that readers clip these
articles each day and paste them iu scrap
books; they viii not be reprinted and back
numbers cannot be supplied.
II liter disregard Of an the rules for
! y replacement Of troops in the sec
tor marks the movements Of the
| eth regular division the 9th of October.
Marked contrast with the manner IN
which the 90th came in TO relieve the
I LIST division In August. Open move
ment now by day and gross careless
ness by night. German airmen OBJ
! serve everything at VIII, they make q
I ten-mile flight up and down our for
ward lines in broad day, signaling
I dropping down low 20 make photo
graphs, and taking their time back
and forth; Is anti-aircraft shells fired
at these daring German observers fail
to turn them, and they go back when
/ they get ready.
At night, candles and flashlights
everywhere among these regulars
Machine guns and rolling Kitchens
parked in wide open spaces as far
, away from trees as possible to get;
fires built Ia the open. / confess I do
not understand extreme care one dav
and gross carelessness the next. Some
units Of the 18th division lose their
way in the woods, upsetting replace
ment schedule Tor part of our division.
General effect Of poor discipline in 9TH
division so far as we have been able
TO observe these troops.
10 October l9lS-Aloved TO Blenod-
les-Ioul near some Of the forts Of Toul
and on the high road The division Is
bIleted IN many towns northwest and
southwest Of Toni.
y October l0ls-Nancv furiouslv
bombarded by sirplanes, 200 bombs kill
III persons and wound 800, demolish
many buildings.
IS October l0ls-Smday-R Reports
published that Germany, after ultima
tum to her by Austria and Turkey. has
notified the United States Of accept
ance Of Wilson's principles, any con
ference to be for detailed arrangements
only; that she VIII evacuate all foreign
soil previously to Wilson's Transmitting
armistice proposal 20 the allies; and
that her chancellor represents the people
and government Of Germany; the note
Of Germany does not mention the
kaiser, even Indirectly.
AT $3.50 a. m. hear Of rush order to
move our entire division by motor 20
the Meuse-Argoune sector. I leave
half hour later with advance party
Remarkable trip Of some 70 miles skirt
ing and remaining close 20 former Ger
man lines ali the way around to Yer
dun arriving late at night at Dom
basle- Rainy, muddy, dark night. IN
teresting experience TO participate in
night movement of entire divisions by
motor in both directions, with third
line Of traffic in center. More than
$500 vehicles Of all kinds required TO
move a division The traffic lines
stretch many miles continuously. Move
ment slow but far fewer tie-ups than
one would expect General cheerfulness.
tor truck drivers Of the French who
ignore rules Of the road and Weld only
TO show Of force.
been badly shelled, some entirely de-
str0yed For some miles we passed
over the famous road which for a long
time afforded the sole means Of access
and supply TO Nerdun when the Ger
mans had the stronghold almost COM
pletely surrounded Souily is now
headquarters Of the American First
army Tor these operations and the vast
network Of telegraph and telephone
wires around there gives one a degree
Of comprehension OF the enormous com
pleXity Of detail required in directing
modern warfare Every man in the
army no doubt thinks he is doing it but
the machine isn't running all by itself.
Passed through Commercv, a large
and interesting town where there is
a wonderful bic old church, one OF the
finest we have seen, and remains of
magnificent chateau. COmmercv had
been badly shelled and bombed. Z
Through Naucouleur, where Jeanne
dare often visited and where she out
fitted Tor her great adventure; through /
Pagny and Void, also richly historic
Passed within four miles Of saint
Mihiel and saw the hills which the
French recovered from the Germans !
and held valiantly for many years pre-
venting the enemy from cutting off !
Ferdun
In one town passed through, noted f.
signs posted in English" as follows: |
10 walk IN street if airplanes fly is {
90 TO die"
We are six miles from the jump-off I
line Of the great American attack of I
September 20 and ten miles or more
from the nearest German lines; sound I
of the guns is plainly heard as we get /
into our blankets for the night in the /
dismal, smelly, cold wet, and rat In /
Tested ruins Of a barn. 1t IL good to 1
be back once more where things are I
likely to be doing presently.
Continued tomorrow