Show RAIN OF Df STONES AN AO G EARTH fROM im MINE mm ON Correspondence A AI Associated so Press Pross HAMBURG IBURG Germany Dec 27 liar Har Harrowing rowing and exciting details of ot mining and up trenches aro are told by a German German German Ger Ger- man officer In a letter to a local newspaper newspaper news news- paper 0 1 describing In particular the capa capture cap cap- ture or of a strong stron position held h by b the French In tho the Ar Argonne forest Many Jan of or orthe the French soldiers were killed and the others were captured captured d. d The crown prince sent sont blanket blankets blankets' and wine to the men who accomplished this feat reat The fhe letter follows fol tot lows By December 1 lour our company hat been under fire for tor the tiro fifth time and the distance between our trench and that thai of ut the French ha hid had decreased from t feet et to from tom to fifteen feet teet But nut the company on our left was separated from tram the French b by a n vale valc on the far Car farside farside side of which the enemy had laid out three lines lints of trenches Wo had come Corne to consider the tho PO position pose pose- lion tion as 18 Impregnable but progress had hall to tobe tobo tobo bo be made modo Our pioneer r detachment detachment detach detach- ment there therefore tore dc to mine tho the French trenches near the position of oC our company which as RB already stated tsar wn only from nine to fifteen feet teet awn away Some of uc us feared that tho the French rench would be doing the same thing and would I tI try to blow us up first Our men orl l worked d hard hart for tor this reason renson and on December 1 the th mine was tad ready At all In the morning our first trench was cleared o ofton of ton on and at 1045 all 11 of ot our out trenches were empty It was exactly 11 1119 1 when tit the pioneer lieutenant placed his thumb on th Rhe elt c electric button Then n followed a dc- dc onn loud land enough o to o herald the end of ot the world In front of or us shot up II a large e column of or earth and gases it was fully GOO feet teet hl high h an and when It collapsed a 1 arain arain rain of ot earth fell down on us Our men II had lad taken cover In tho ho woods and It was well that they had hud done one so For or about two minutes It rained great chunks of ot earth and rock When It was n again aln safe tato In the open our companies a advanced through h the hole which had been Leen 1 blown n In tho the French position The first trench was full of ot dead soldiers and some somo who had been burled alive In the second antI anil third trenches the tho French eru so 80 rattled tHat they surrendered easily Inside or half hair an nn hour we had taken tho the entire force Corce of or the three trenches II eight ht officers nn and men Two officers wore among tho the dead We c al also o took three mine C catapults I Irom from rom the French Our losses were three dead ead ant and seven wounded But wo we w were re luck lucky Indeed Among the French I prisoners pris pris- onus we wo took were some plon pioneers ers who who told toW us that thc they had mined our trenches trencher at nt tight eight points mints but had not been able PO so far to place the mines The They had attempted attempted attempted at at- tempted too much and had lost zest Tills Is one of or the biggest events o In Inthe Inthe the thc Ar Argonne forest fighting When hen the thc crown prince heard of It he sent bla blankets blan blan- hots and to each a 1 liter of wino |