Evening star., 1927-12-29
RN REN\ETT j. NOTY.
Written exclusively for The Star and
American Newspaper Alliance.

Written exclusively for The Star and North
American Newspaper Alliance.
Next day we made our first recon
| n3issance. ! was not in this action
hut it gave us our first taste Of the
lpruse. The patrol for the 19th Com
pany and squadron Of cavalry serv.
ing as q screen moved over a range
ot hills in front Of the camp to oh
serve the movements Of the enemy.
The patrol occupied a native village
already bombed by French aviators
As our men moved in the triheSmen
opened a hot fire. 1t showed that the
enemy was in much greater numbers
than Wa had imagined. The patrol
fought the assault off. hut il would
have been madness Ia go on. The cap
tain was able Ia bring off his COM
mand with tho loss of one man, a ser
Seant, shot out OF the saddle
This action lectrticd the camp. We
knew We were in a real row. That
night | slept beside stone wall with
my gun strapped 20 my arm, MS did all
my fellow leEionnaireS. Guards were
tripled and machine gun crows slept
beside their pieces. The night was bit
iarlv cold. our outfit was spread in
half moon formation before Nous.
ecifre
Attacked i'm Wee Hours.
At $50 in the morning-it was Sep.
tember la sergeant heard the
tramping of hoofs and the rafting Of
stones from the direction of the enc
my. Facing us was a small rocky hill
Aux armes." rang out.
We leaped 10 our feet. rifles ready.
over the hill the Druse were pouring
down upon US. 5000 of them. on horse
and afoot. Rifle flashes stabbed the
dark l could hear the Druse camels
grunting and hubbling and the barbar
ous hattie cry of the enemy.
The hrunt Of the attack fell upon
the advance point held by the other
half OF my company. We met the
Druse with machine gun firing. 1t
was SO dark the gunners could shoot
only at rife flashes. The Druse were
pientifully supplied with rotato-nash
er grenades ami modern magazine
rifles For 10 minutes we suffered
more casualties than al any time later
in this fighting.
Charge ] ike Fanatics.
The Druse first line clashed with the
adNa nee point. hut meeting with a fies-
perate resistance yaered off and drove
in Al a point between our flank and
the original center OF attack. 1t was
getting light and We could see the
enemy. They We're coming on with
faratical recklesxneSs. black ban
in the advance. They were led by the
Emir Mounted on a pure. .hlooded Ara.
bian horse and clad in an ancien, suit
of chain mail. gorgeous with silver
and precious stones, he looked like
warrior OF the truSadeS.
The Druse rush carried them into
the village. The Emir took n position
on a high mound and directed the at
tack with green and black banners
planted about him and his hodyguard
protecting him from close fighting.
This rush cost the DruSe dear. We
were firing on Them from 10 and 20
feet. One tribcsman charged ma
cfire gun and died cIutching the wall.
There were 80 bullets in him.
Druse snipers occupied the fat
roofs of the houses. Others ambush
ed themselves behind store walls and
house corners They were able TO
pour a biisfering fre directly into our
camp. Twenty nine Cossacke guard.
ing the stables were killed almost be.
fore they knew what happened. Sixty
of the one hundred and twenty horses
in the stables were driven out. Rather
than let the Druse have them, we
shot most OF them.
Battle Lasts Three Hours.
While this was going on other de-
tachments rushed our camp, protect.
ed bv the fire Of their snipers They
would rush from wall 10 wall. taking
shelter behind them from our volleys
We met them with rife fire. and
grenades and rife grenades. Machine
guns and automatic rifles raked them.
For three hours the rushing attack
continued Fighting like this was the
Legion meat All our men except
| about 90 had done the same kind io
Norocco. While the Drasc We're pump.
| ing bullets into tis from behind stone
| walls we held our fire, but the minute
they hegan to charge we ie, go with
| everything. Wave after wave ad.
vanced ~ far as the stone wall pro,
teciIng us only TO he literally blast ed
| away. My rife was so no, threw
| II down and snatched one from dead
man. Discouraged finally by the in,
| fiexbl" opposition. the Druse with
| drew 20 or 30 yards tn a stone wall
| from which they kept up scattering
| fire.
II was now 9 O'Clock In the morn.
| ing. Between the heat of battle and
| the nofmaI temperature of Syria, MOST
|