| Show STRANGE BATTLE E IN AISNE WOOD germans come out of shelters after french pass and attack rear FIND themselves IN A TRAP search of captured wood reveals reveal NU no berou merou hiding places where go ger m man still held holdout out merve A of F field aid fortifications fortification behind the pre net front in cham chain the french troops that made a big dent in the german line lie just wt west ot of berry barry on au bac and not far fro from at rhelma rheims more than a year ago go and who be had chafed chafee under the necessity esit of walking marking time ban there ever since espe pa bially 1 bince ie the battle battla of verdun began b go were to allowed the Bati satisfaction fact ton re bently of attacking a little wood the germana german still held that thera bad between badim im the aisne aasne and the little i town e of villes bois boia this diversion developed an ac tion of co considerable imp importance ace that did not SO get into to a official it has been described 1 la the dec press by a staff officer wood strongly a gly fortified TO the wood cud strongly fortified by the germans emean made me do it impossible so a long as aa the held it tor for the tha french to rectify and pro properly perly to consolidate their front frone at that flint point when the attack upon I 1 eldun developed great 9 trop rations it 11 was waa decided to prepare thia 1 1 operation both as 0 a desirable 1 a 1 im in provement pro of the french position tim and ad as aa a diversion ft hat would held have been bee considered an uner unprecedented a rd concen of artillery both heavy guna and field pieces piece before th the verdun d du on orations no was effected finest immediately diat ly AD be mad hind the front while the ind infantry try be bur rowed deeper and ties deeper par into their underground shelters a half ere orders old ere were given for the opening or of tire at ar seven 0 clock on the me morning g of A april april 25 5 and the lire fire increased in rapidity and intensity until fit f tour four 0 clock la in the art aft arjoon the germans replying feebly until the tha entire wood was waa being swept and symptoms of an approaching at tack became apparent then their heavy balmy pieces from the tha heights height of if lra cm onne ones began a heavy has shelling of the trenches from which an attack might have been supposed to annta last the french infantry well protected train from into shelter belter la in their deepened sigm waited tied until mall 11 the or ar tillery till ery lengthened len alti e bcd tho the ran ranges and ad ead wept the approach trenches and a sol A ill al quarters tl in 11 11 the rear or ot ime the ger man position at 1 4 jig 30 the first dav 1 of if assailants t climbed out of their that us un berg der ground ld shelters and ad threw them selves let into tile the wood all the germans arms remaining in the firstal first line a trenches were killed or made p prisoner r fee and the french line pro proceeded crude d on to tho the east ern am edge of the woods where they rapidly organized their defenses against in the counter caunter attack find hiding biding places at the same time special detach m ments ants explored the interior of the wood searching subterranean Bub shelters 1 in which h ch german intent infantry had bad sought bought refuge during attim the b bombardment ard L thai operation perot I 1 we was boon interrupted am more IS than two companies of go german r let antan t try ry that the french had ed do d over in their rush rueh seat feeding feeing that their adver gariea had reached the eastern edge of the wood came out of their blockhouses and dugout and ad took the french infantry in the rear th the attacking party we was fr for m mo ment menaced with envelopment but recovering from their surprise they turned their machine guns guna upon the assailants taking them in the reir rear the search of the woods wood then re ev fumed uncovered little imad companies of germans hidden underground tto in all corners cornela their resistance was waa prompt ly overcome by the use ot of hand ire grenades it and ad 60 more prisoners ners were taken fr from A t the it a underground shelter eh eltera which on an inspection were are found to he be marvels of field fortification a they ra ran fro from alx 1 to eight yards yarda la in depth dept most of them and some ome of them wl went 0 dug to a depth of ten fee yards with an such ch supports support that they were able to resist the largest and most meet powerful pro datil lectura |
