| Show Destruction of Hun Lines by U. U S. S Guns Told by Eyewitness I I Correspondent Goes Over German Front in Observation Observation Observation Ob Ob- Ob- Ob Biplane and Views Effect of Shells I I By Henry G. G Wales b International News New Service Staff Correspondent THE AMERICAN AMERICA W WITH AR ARMY Y IN FRANCE FRA March 12 Delayed I Delayed I have been two miles mUes Inside the German lines today at a height he of or feet I flew lew over the American American American Amer Amer- ican lines on the Toul front cro crossed se l no mans man's land hand and penetrated penetrated penetrated pen- pen as far as ns the enemy's second sec eec end ond line defenses I saw some destruction Inflicted by bursts of or gunfire by the American American Amerlean Amer Amer- ican lean batteries during the last for for- ty eight hours and even while oer oVer the German positions I saw American shells drop there silently silent silent- ly then explode dustily sending up an upheaval of or brown dirt mixed with smoke I made mado the flight tIght which Is made b by civilians newspaper civilians newspaper correspondents correspondents correspondents corre corre- or otherwise over otherwise over the actual fighting lines since the outbreak outbreak outbreak out out- break of or the war In one of ot the En English two-seater two observation bi biplanes biplanes biplanes bi- bi planes used by American ers er regulating reg the American ar artillery artillery ar- ar tillery fire tire The machine was piloted d b by a. a French who usually takes up p American observers The only difference was that the time twin machine guns were not for foi my trip a as they are when a a. combination of observers and machine machino machino ma- ma chino chine gunners goes up CONDITIONS EXCELLENT It was 8 just after allor 4 o'clock sun time and the weather was excellent and clear for observation purposes TIme The strapped me inc to the bucket E seat at deep down in the fuselage so 50 that Just m my head showed ant and I looked squarely at atthe atthe the time pilots pilot's cranium Just showing in front of me me Wo We raced down th the field and und picked up a mile mUe a minute gait then rose lose softly The first I 1 knew was that the hangars hangar and buildings were dropping bo- bo low Jow We Vc Ye circled over the field banking steeply on turns so ko to make height as the field is very near the time front and an airplane airplane airplane air air- plane must be high to cross the lines otherwise it is dangerous business iu s i ness Mounting to feet we started started start start- ed J toward the time front traversing roads loads and villages I knew well from passing through them dally daily in the correspondents' correspondents automobile As A we gained height and gathering gather gather- In hug ing speed the latter iatter now being two miles a minute the wind pressure became greater and it seemed as though we were standing stock still Gazing through the glass floor noor plates at the objects on the earth It seemed as aa if lr we were barely creeping aJon along Just making headway headway head head- wa way against some raging gale though in i reality there was scarcely scarcely scarce scarce- ly hp an any breeze But gradually we passed landmark after landmark I 1 knew and I r realized we were wore really moving fast fait MOVING VERY FAST Then far tar to the right I saw lIaw another French airplane at about the same level also apparently stationary although in rea reality 11 t moving mo as fast as we WO were We Vo were so 80 far tar above the earths earth's sur sut- surface ur- ur face one lost all aU sense of or movement movement movement move move- ment except that the tho air was rushIng rushing rushing rush rush- ing past pMt filling the lungs with great gasps of or oxygen n Scrutinizing the la landscape lI cape be below below below be- be low I passed the time r rearmost American Amerlean Amer Amer- lean ican arm army zone which Is out of ot dan langer el except from long range ranga Huns gulls Then Ihen gradually the tho war warzone warzone zone zon crept in almost Imper The first thing I noticed was the shadows invariably cast e even 11 by the mo most t ur- ur ranged camouflage Then I noticed how mere manmade manmade manmade man- man made camouflage cant can't copy na nature nature na- na ture turo exactly no matter how hard the effort All through this zon zons were defensive positions such as exist along the entire front on both sides ides of or the line Soon however I saw th the commencement commencement com corn of or the communication tren trenches trench s. s Then rhen instead of oC v villages a I Ba saw merely clumps of or ruined d shell shell- torn stone hou houses es the result of or two forty months of ot intermittent artillery fire ire HIGHWAYS LIKE GUIDE POSTS Always Alnas AI as however the thu wonderful French highways stretched clear clE-ar and clean cut ribbon like under ludE th time the eye so o I could tell where I Y was s by their thell configuration from the pilots pilot's map I carried And it was the roads that showed first when we approached the actual fighting zone There the roads road widened and lost their thell per- per vanished like ribbons like liko tiny strands at the thc end The thoroughfares gradually lost themselves them them- selves In I a a. wide bare v strip of or j brown brown h-brown marking no mans man's land between the opposing trenches Through powerful binoculars I looked hooked down upon a 11 maze of or American tr trenches and arid interlocking seated a Do considerable consid consid- arabIc erable depth In the tho earth behind a Un tiny like hair line that marked the advanced firing tiring trench I could dimly make out through the lenses lense little HUf cv c n rows row marking the tho posts supporting the barbed wire win entanglements nt This was so shell pitted that it resembled the footprints of or a u thousand dogs In Inthe th the tho and nand on some seaside No mans man's land as far as one could see sec was barren empty up- up torn tom yet et with certain landmarks i. t still left such as a tattered shell 1 stone farmhouse and an old cow stable whose walls were still sun standing at a feeble height Those These places are favorite rendezvous rendezvous rendezvous ren ren- for Cor night patrols Then I passed over oyer the advanced German German German Ger Ger- man lines It looked exactly like the time American line Une with the endless endless end end- less scroll of ot trenches SEE EFFECT OF SHELLS We Ve steered to the loft left and then sa saw w the spot where the American bombardment prepared the way war for Cor yesterday esterday mornings morning's raids The Time effects of ot the latest rain oC ot shells also were plainly visible some craters showing up bolder and deeper than others which had been created in former days Passing over the first networks I of German trenches I noticed communicating positions leading back toward the second organized positions There too I saw clumsily clumsily clums clums- ily camouflaged and lookIng looking look look- ing at my map found them accurate accurately accurately rate noted there for Cor our gunners gunners gunners' gun gun- ners' ners information The villages behind the enemy's lines were crumbling and shot- shot torn the same as those behind our own lines JInes and the roads began again from nothing assuming shape and form forni and developing into flue fine highways a little way further in Puffs Putts of or white smoke showed oed that our machine was being fired at by high angle anti-aircraft anti guns but we ve were not hit We Ye did not go straight ahead but obliquely so 80 we could veer peer and double back the moment hostile fighting planes appeared We Ve saw a couple of German two seater observing machines regulating German artillery artiller- They were vere about our level evel but they minded their and we wo paid no attention to them WATCHES U. U S. S SHELLS Gazing earthward I saw shells coughed up from the throats of or American guns far behind saw them plump into the time enemy's s position tion burst and throw up clouds of black and brown dirt an and smoke Once when we were furthest Inside inside in- in side the enemy's line lIn-e I looked back toward the time German Gennan lines Jines and amid saw several flashes which I afterward learned were from trench mortars throwing throwIng- over flying pigs pigs' toward the American line In all that journey I had not seen a single moving human being even through my m glasses g despite the fact tact that the subterranean po positions positions po- po beneath teemed 1 with it h armies of fighting men And in all advanced positions on both sides I dl did not see ee a single moving mo vehicle although far tar of off back of the German Gennan lines I did s see soe e dust clouds thrown up up by convoys cOO on the move We Va turned slightly tilting steeply steep steep- ly on one wing wing amid and soared homeward homeward home home- ward The Time pilot signaled to me to look lookdown lookdown lookdown down Staring through h the floor glass I saw another French machine machine ma ma- chine much lower than we were Almost at t the same time a dull thud penetrated d the time noise of or whirling and the pilot motioned me mt again I saw sa a fluffy white cloudlet of or antiaircraft shrapnel enem enemy gunners were tr ln to las lav th time the ran rani- ranion on our cr crr r b Th comrade There w were e al almost al most a n. dozen audible thuds thud and I saw a string of these fluffy shrapnel shrapnel shrapnel nel cloudlets hanging In th the air all along the pathway the time French machine machine machine ma ma- chine below hail had been taking But Buthe Buthe Buthe he was far tar away away ime he wing Jg slipped turned and escaped en en- en NO MANS MAN'S LAND Although we were less than 2000 a o feet up in imm this region the enemy antiaircraft gunners did not choose us for a target and we re- re crossed no mans maims land Again p passIng passIng pass pass- 8 in Ing oven the American battery batter positions po po- I saw jaw ominous flashes from the gun sun breeches but I did not hear a shot fired tired and didn't hear hea a ash ashell ashell sh shell whistling through the air We e retraced out way apparently apparent Iy ly not moving moving- and fighting In the time teeth of or a howling wind while the terrain below slipped by imper Imper- We Ve passed over an American AmerIcan Amer Amer- ican lean observation balloon and finally finally final final- ly reached the time aviation field alighting at eighty eight miles an hour I I looked at m my watch we hud hail been gone sone thirty five minutes but It seemed beamed a ages es because of ot the persistent persistent per per- idea that ve wo had bad been battling bat bat- thing Against a on head-on gale comit con con- t I lyDid ly Did you OU see that t G German single single- seater above us Just before beCore W wo we turned back a asked ked the tenant pilot hopping from his Imis seat I think he hp saw we didn't have havea a machine gun and thought us easy pre prey as he was on his wa way homo home and then turned turne and chased us a little way Ta Otherwise I would hu have hue e taken you OU over to another nother sector and shown up the time German n positions there thre with the big guns uns mou mount mounted n ted d |
