| Show I I i I j i I LOST BATTAliON BATTALIO J DEFIED ENEMIES i TO BITTER END ENDI I Surrounded by hy Germans and Faced by Death They Stood Firm With tho American Forces Force Northwest O of or Verdun Wednesday Oct Ocl n BS By tim iho Ih Associated Tress Tho Tho brightest spot enot In tho heroic z nd amazing story tor of oC tho the now famous t Io battalion bJ which belonged to th the Seventy seventh division was w tho climax to the Lisa fourth day of the the- troops troops' In th the tuo Argonne forest When hen tho the men were er long footless foodless i and almost t wholly without ammunition I lion tion when many nH were t weak v from i exhaustion but not on ono despairing an I American who had been t taken prisoner prison prison- I I er or b by the Germans suddenly appeared at tho little camp mp surrounded In the tho yaHo valley The man had hati beon been sent blindfolded I from the German headquarters with witha I a typewritten note nob to Major Whittle Whittle- soy sey cy reading rendIng I Americans you ou are arG surrounded etl on 11 ll sides Surrender In 11 tho the name namo of or humanity You will wilt be well vell treated Major Whittlesey did not hesitate t a. fraction of a a. second Go to hell ho he almost shouted Then ho he read the note to those thosa around aroundhim aroundhim him Im and his men cheered ao so loudly that hat tho the Germane heard hear them thorn from their heir observation posts Men len F Fell Feil 11 Into Info Trap TrapA I A composite story gleaned from a a. dozen ozon recitals reveals re that the nat hat allon when ordered to advance last Insl Friday pu pushed Its It wa way Sva rapidly ahead hat I through the for forest st and In Its eagerness eager eager- ness to catch up with the retreating Germans German gradually spread proad out and widened Its ranks This allowed the I Germans tf to Infiltrate unseen behind I ho tho Americans and nd the they fell directly Into nto a cunning trap which tho the Germans Germans Germans Ger Ger- mans had se sot Set for or them The Tho enee enemy had planned to catch tho the thoA Americans ns A 11 In Ina a 11 hollow surrounded on all 11 four tour sides b by heights tho greatest of f which was a n hill hili directly head ahead Tho Americans who were not accustomed to forest fighting and were vere filled rUlef with eagerness dash dashed ell Into nto this hollow without stopping to thInk that tho the enemy enem might b lie be awalt- awalt lag InK ng them Th The members of or the batalion hat hat- alion at nt first checked checkel bv by their OWn wn a artillery r til lory barrage which had worked steadily forward less es It had not not worked t. t rs as fast a as tho the troops troop themselves and tho ho battalion proceeded half wa up th the hill hili and there here they y waited for tor the barra barrage e to In front of them Then they discovered dis- dis covered that thu tho the G Germans on both sides Idea had Jointly flanked tl them and nd had ad closed In upon their rear Sheltered INI only In N on and hasty hast hast- 11 y constructed trenches tr the men w were ro subjected to a a. sniping machine ma- ma chine gun un fire Ire ns as well ell R a tn n n. n trench mortar homb bombardment p. Ar every v ry time th they ma-I ma y showed d Only Onh with the greatest r ate t and with rem extreme o caution could they move o from Crom place to o place and keep guard a. a against surprise sur- sur prise rise attacks Food Supply Short The b battalion had started with meager r rations ration expecting more to reach each them later These Thes of or course could no longer bc be transported to them hem It It was th the greatest good fortune for for- or- or tune tunc uno that the they were verc fairly C well supplied sup sup- plied lied with wa water Nightly and dally daily too thc they s sent nt back ack volunteer scouting parties but hut t if f these reached the positions In the tho rear ear without captured or killed d the they hey could not tell toll for Cor none ever er re- re turned urn ed Daily American aviators searching vainly for them flew Ie overhead o but buto no o outcry the men could make brought anything but a a. aIle volley of shouts and laughter from the Germans In front and nd behind and to the right and left of 0 them The Tho beleaguered men discovered there here were German machine gun Jun nests all 11 11 around them over o every fifteen foot feet or oro orso so 80 o and a It man mn to show ho himself ever evero everso so 80 o briefly was the signal for tor a a. sweepIng sweep- sweep InS InS' ng rain of oC bullets if JC a n man man made maden madean nn an n unusual noise noille trench mortars pounded the vicinity viciously Just for diversion the tho enemy made madea a practice of oC sweeping the the- whole ter- ter the rain aln the hillside where tho the Id I d trenches were located rn and tho the aile valIe In which the tho men crawled to get et leaves s and water water regularly and irregularly with machine machino guns German GUll Guild Pound lound Snipers were constantly on watch German pounded the tho locality and hand land grenades also w were rc hourly In evidence e The Tho Americans had no rockets rock rock- ets ts or other signals and they were wore powerless to attract the tho attention of ot anyone anone but tho the Germans As tho the da days passed the tho Americans grow more and more mor emaciated and more an and 11 moro more bearded but they never nO gave up hope Thore There was nothIng noth- noth In Ing ng but huLa a grim d determination to hold holdout holdout holdout out until th th last man was finished There here was not a man In the tho battalion wounded or otherwise hungry or starved t but scouted the Idea of sur- sur I render Their ammunition was do- do to a n. point whore where the tho few tew m mi- mi I de-I chine guns In tho the outfit had but one belt of cartridges apiece and the rifle ammunition was as running so short that hat they had received rocel orders not to tire fire at anyone attacking attacking- until within such uch short range Tango that hIs hla death or serious Injury was almost Inevitable Major who is a n. well well- known cnown New Ness ew York Yorker r. r had his entire battalion behind him to a man Cap Cap- tam aln Leo Strom of San Bernardino p I Cal told tho the Associated Press his men Jeered at the tho Idea of or surrender and the tho men mn who camo came out of or tho four tour day days days' 0 siege e are arc united In declaring th that hit t they never would havo given ghen up |
