Evening star., 1943-11-12
Nazi Chiefs Afraid
Troops Are Talking
When Captured
BY JOHN LARDNER.

WITH THE ARMERICAN 5th
ARMY ADVANCED FORCES IN
ITALY, Nov. 9.-(By Wireless to
N.AN.A)-(Delayed) Till recently
German prisoners have talked q bit
scornfully of the American infantry.
That is because they have suffered
most under the weight Of our ar
tillery and have met few doughboys
hand to hand. The latest attack
over the north fork of the Volturno
River, however. which is still In
progress, has changed their minds
Here we have won infantry victories
We have even used the bayonet sue
cessfully.
There are other things about the
Allied soldier which the Germans
here are now beginning to respect
and emulate. Beside the body Of q
very dead German dispatch rider
by the roadside across the river
from here I found bundle of leaf
lets printed in German. These leaf
let's indicate two things: Allied pris-
oners of Germans are holding their
tongues, and German prisoners,
whose morale is low on this front,
are hlabbing. The German COM
mand doesn't like 1t. The leaflet
reads roughly as follows, under the
title, Il can't say It,"
Point to Allied Soldiers.
'Why do Englishmen and Ameri-
cans when taken prisoner give us
the answer to all questions, I can't
say itr That is their reply to every
question. That watchword has been
drilled into them. To every inter-
rogation it is their answer: I can't
say it!'
Now you, too, can come into
situation where you will be asked
to give answers. To every question
by the enemy you must give one
single answer: I can't say It, You
must say nothing, that your regi-
ment is in such and such a place,
and this must also be your answer
to questions about your equipment.
morale, commanders name, and 50
forth.
You must give only your own
name. rank, birthday and residence.
BY any other answers you make to
the enemy you are the murderer Of
your comrades. To all questions give
this answer and this alone: I can't
say it,"
Your correspondent can testify
that this advice is badly needed on
this front from the viewpoint Of the
German command.
Mule Causes Sensation.
There are dead mules as we'll as
dead Germans hereabouts. Though
they cannot climb where our troops
have now climbed, our mules do get
on the firing line and one Of them
caused local sensation by the man
ner of his death at the Volturno
crossing last week. Hit directly by
mortar shell he splashed his
American groom head to foot with
blood and his severed head struck
the soldier on the head with a daz-
ing effect. When the soldier went to
the field hospital his appearance
was so gruesome doctors prepared
for life or death operation. Be-
fore they could draw their tools,
however, the soldier asked a nurse
for two aspirins, received them and
wandered away to cure his head
ache, still drenched all over with
blood.
If you follow this war on your
map or score card you know the
Volturno River has two forks, like
the Shenandoah in Virginia and
West Virginia and these separate
forks curl and double back on
themselves repeatedly. The common
soldier here has no map or score
card and the question one of them
asked of 1t. Edward Curtin of Hart
ford, Conn.,, the other day shows
the kind of typographical turmoil
some of our troops are in.
Whats the name Of this river?"
he demanded after the third bloody
crossing of the month.
The Volturno," said the lieuten-
ant.
why in hell do they call every
river in Italy by the same name?"
said the soldier, and a good point,
too.
(Copyrisht. 1e43, by the Bell Syndicate,
1ncD