E

Action of July 9-10 STABLISHED in reserve in the village of Flaucourt, which had been captured by comrades, and upon which without truce poured the heavy projectiles of the German artillery, the regiment awaited its turn. During the night, in order to make sure of the coming action by reducing the distance of the assault as much as possible, it had, on the right half of its front, driven the enemy from the BarleuxBiaches road, and pushed him some distance to the east, a little beyond the crest of the hill. Thus, on the long ridge running north and south which stretches from the Bazancourt Farm to Barleux, its line lay extended for about 1,500 paces. On the left side its position was slightly behind the military crest; on the right side, a little beyond it. Thus the distance of the assault increased gradually from the left to the right, and varied for the first objective from 250 to 650 paces. The extreme vigilance of the enemy had made it shorten it.

impossible to

Powerful German Defenses

In the morning the regiment was stationed facing its objectives. It had to seize 97-Meter Hill, (170 feet above the level of the Somme,) whose summit, a remarkable point of outlook, giving views over Péronne and the Somme Valley, is slightly to the west of the powerful centre of resistance formed by the château of La Maisonnette, with its dependencies and village, and the orchards to the east, which form a veritable wood prolonged on the slopes descending toward the river. The position was preceded by four lines of trenches; the cellars of the houses had been turned into fortresses and gave shelter to artillery of the heaviest calibre, to the posts of

the German command and to their reserves; finally, the edges of the orchards and those of the Blaise Wood, to the north of the village, were nests for flanking parties, stuffed with machine guns. By the organizations of the Blaise Wood, La Maisonnette was linked on the north with the village of Biaches; by a strongly held trench called the "Trench of the Porpoises," placed on the counterslope of the ravine which bounds the 97meter plateau to the southwest, it communicated with the defenses of Barleux. The whole system, so powerful that the German officers who were captured there affirmed that they had not believed it would be possible for us to take it, was nevertheless carried very swiftly, and by a sudden attack.

In the morning, then, our infantrymen saw the day dawn over the ground of their assault. Facing them, they saw the belfry of Biaches and a factory chimney, the wooded heights of the Valley of the Somme, orchards gloomy-looking in the morning dusk, meadows with gentle slopes, scattered houses, the great trees of the park and the château of La Maisonnette, whose pink stones were struck by the rising sun. Before them spread yellowing fields of wheat and oats, and, among the corn, the Germans.

The Plan of Attack

To succeed in his manoeuvre-to turn La Maisonnette and the Blaise Wood by the south and east after having carried the first enemy lines-the commander had constituted two groups of his regiment. The northern group had as its mission to seize La Maisonnette directly, first carrying a defensive system which was deeply built, an operation demanding much order and method. It was made up wholly of European troops. The southern group had only one trench to

carry, the trench of the Porpoises, but it had a long distance to cover under fire. It was composed of Senegalese contingents, admirable in a fundamental action against a clear and simple objective.

The zone of attack had been well studied; all the observation points had been occupied and used, and, in spite of the fact that the condition of the crops made it possible to judge of the enemy's preparation only along short fractions of the front, we had recognized excellent breaks in the German nets and had cleared out, by a patrol, an unsuspected flanking post, which might have proved awkward for our advance.

Between noon and 2 o'clock, the heavy artillery and the field guns had poured in a violent and concentrated fire; finally, the 58s, uncovered at the last moment, delivered a rapid and sustained fire whose effect on the German trenches, which lacked deep shelters, must have been as demoralizing as could be desired.

An Exciting Charge

At 2 o'clock, preceded by wirecutters and bombers, the companies of the first line started for the assault. Holding their line firmly, well apart, the men march, shouting and singing. The infantry action of modern warfare, fragmentary, rapid and violent, has be

gun.

On the front of one company, a few seconds before the hour, a hare started up and ran through the wheat, fleeing toward the Germans. "There is the signal!" cried a soldier, and the "Porpoises" bounded forward with fixed bayonets, in pursuit of the hare; in this way they reached the first trench.

Enemy groups, terror-stricken, are already surrendering. The wide breaches which the French artillery has opened in the barbed-wire entanglements make it possible for our first wave to carry the trench without breaking their rush; in the ravine to the west of our line of departure, the Germans establish a violent barrier fire, but this fire does not disturb our progress. Nevertheless, on the left, while our men are running toward their goal, a German group which has prob

ably not been reached threatens to check the rapid advance by a flanking fire.

the

Lieutenant Laurent recognizes danger; he takes a half company and runs toward this kernel of resistance, whose defenders are immediately bayoneted or made prisoners. Unfortunately, Lieutenant Laurent himself was killed in the course of the action; an eloquent mention in the Order of the Day will commemorate his courage.

Leaving a certain number of trenchcleaners behind it, the first wave, intact, pushes on to the second line, seizes it, and makes numerous prisoners there also. Meanwhile, the flank guard detachment has cleared the Triangular Wood (southwest of Biaches) of German patrols, and has got as far as the Biaches graveyard, from which it has driven a small enemy post.

The serious difficulties of the northern group only begin after gaining the second line, whose garrison, less shattered than the preceding, keeps up a violent fire; to the left, the machine guns of the Maisonnette orchard show themselves; to the right, other machine guns take us in the

rear.

But the advance is not broken; at most, it is a little slackened on the two wings. In the centre, Lieutenant Carlotti is killed instantly as he is shouting, "Forward! Long live France!" turning toward his men, and he lies on the ground, his arms stretched out toward the enemy. His whole company, with the company officers leading, rushes forward against La Maisonnette, which it penetrates from the south. The neighboring elements, their difficulties lessened by this forward movement, reach the orchard; the machine gun section which was there is overcome by the bayonet.

Death of a Brave Captain

At the same moment the southern end of the third trench to the west of the position falls into our hands, and Captain Quod, the company commander, dies rejoiced by this picture of victory. He had gone ahead of his men, his whistle between his teeth; he had armed himself with a big German sword, found close to the parallel. "With this sword," he had told his men, 66 we shall take their

trench!" As soon as he was hit, he understood that he must die. He then had himself set with his back against a telegraph post, facing the foe, and continued to encourage his soldiers. He shouted: "Fire! Fire! Look at them, the cowards, they are fleeing in every direction!" Then Captain Quod ended his command and his life, as the French penetrated the village.

All feel their victory; the enthusiasm is admirable. Corporal Millas shows unequaled daring; he tells his comrades, "You shall see how prisoners are taken," and, slinging his rifle, he pulls out a pistol and goes off alone through a field of oats in which some of the enemy are hiding terror-stricken, and three times, by the mere threat of his little pistol, he brings back a prisoner.

Patrols began to search the village. At the moment when a cellar is about to be bombed a German Major comes out headlong, escorted by 6 officers and 150 men. All hold up their hands. The Major advances toward the Sergeant, who is leading the group of grenadiers; he pulls out his pocketbook and offers it to him, thinking to arouse pity in his conquerors. But, in words without sweetness, the Sergeant refuses. Then the German has brought from the cellar cases of wine, of champagne, cigars, biscuits. Prodigally he wishes to distribute everything, his broad face all smiles, and his tranquillity returns when he sees that his presents are accepted. This limpness of the enemy strikes and encourages the French.

Some of the prisoners repeat: "End war. Always boom! boom! not caput!" and they are delighted. Some of them rush to our men and wish to shake hands with them. One even shouts, "Bravo, Frenchmen. " His comrades approve. The Porpoises answered these flatteries with "Paws down!

Taken by Surprise

The surprise is such among the enemy that when the French are entering La Maisonnette there are still, on the other side of the Somme, in the nearby supply station, trains made up ready to start. Seven engines pull out, immediately followed by our fire, and an immense quan

tity of war material remains on the platforms, where our artillery destroys it.

In short, at 3:15 we are in possession of the village and the château; we hold the eastern edge of the orchard, the southeastern horn of the Blaise Wood, and the Biaches road toward the northwest entrance of La Maisonnette.

At 4 o'clock, at the moment when we are beginning to organize the edge of the orchard, a violent counterattack comes out of the Blaise Wood. Once more the Germans make use of the dishonorable method that is customary with them, and which they were to employ several times more in the course of the fighting at La Maisonnette. A company comes through the wheat field in the direction of the orchard. The under officer in command of them shouts, "We are coming to surrender." Several times he is ordered to lay down his arms, but he makes believe not to understand, and the troop continues to advance, holding up its guns, and as the French are about to advance with the bayonet, these soldier felons uncover machine guns and open point-blank fire. Thus were killed two French officers and fifty men. This act of treachery, combined with an outflanking movement, obliges our line to bend back for a short time to the edge of the Blaise Wood. But the enemy is soon driven out and punished. By evening the northern group has taken and held everything that it was to take.

Charge of the Senegalese

Like those of the northern group, the waves of the southern group begin the assault at 2 o'clock, preceded by their patrols. The first wave arrives without loss at the bottom of the valley; but, beginning from this moment, it is caught by the enfilading fire of machine guns hidden at the bottom of the ravine, and suffers heavy losses while crossing the glacis leading to the trench of the Porpoises. Reduced to some forty men, it takes shelter behind a steep slope about sixty paces from the German position, and even while trying to dig out shelters this handful of heroes installs itself in such a way as to keep under its fire the defenders of the trench of the Porpoises. The second wave comes for

ward to reinforce the first, and its losses are equally cruel; it has watched its comrades falling in front of it, but nothing could turn it aside from its course. When a man falls, automatically the ranks are closed up and the survivors continue to advance.

While this weak line is fastening itself upon the Germans, an intense artillery preparation is resumed, and a platoon proceeds to the north of the trench of the Porpoises, where a kernel of resistance still exists. A bombing contest begins between 6 and 7 in the evening, and is closed by the capture of two machine guns and some thirty men.

It is now 8 o'clock; the bomb contest seems to be drawing near the trench of the Porpoises; the enemy seems to be growing weaker. The moment has come to avenge their comrades, for the heroes who, for hours under an infernal bombardment and under a crossfire of flanking machine guns, remained fixed and bent upon their goal. At the signal of their leaders, Lieutenant Meyer and Sergeant Mamadou-Diarra, they spring up and leap into the trench. The Germans surrender; a single group, urged on by an officer, defends itself to the last; it is exterminated.

Watching the Prisoners

The night has come; the prisoners continue to arrive, frightened, and file toward the rear. Sentinels are placed in advance of the position so valiantly won; the sharpshooter Moussa Tissako has been picked out by the confidence of his Sergeant to watch the movements of the enemy. He has been at his post for some time when the Sergeant calls in a low voice: "Moussa! Moussa!" "Here I am!" And in fact there Moussa is. He is holding two Germans, half upset on the slope; his big, knotty hands grasp their necks and their heads are bent down to

ward the ground. Moussa loosens his hold; the Germans tumble over, and he explains: "They come. They talk. Then I said, 'Makou,' (silence.) They not know, then I choke a little, a little. Perhaps they gone dead." Sergeant Mamadou approves: "Very good," and goes on his rounds. He can safely leave Moussa to watch over the trench.

At the same time that the survivors of the two waves of the Senegalese assaulting party leaped into the enemy position, European elements had been moved forward to support them. It has been enough for their leader to ask: "Are you ready?" All had understood their duty, and all had started. Without heeding the hollows dug on all sides of them, they had entered the German trenches. They had thus contributed to the success; they were to have their share in the defense.

The night passed in a relative calm; at dawn the Germans make a new effort to deprive us of our conquest. At 6 in the morning, on July 10, a half section established before La Maisonnette falls victim to the enemy, who have repeated the sinister comedy of "kamerade."

At the same time a violent counterattack is launched against the trench of the Porpoises, and is renewed during three hours. Ceaselessly the Germans spring up in the wheat forty paces before our men. But the Porpoises are electrified by their victory. Men stand up on the parapet and shout: "We'll get them!" Others sing while they are exterminating the enemy with rifle and bomb. The machine guns work wonders; sharpshooters who have fired their last cartridges fight with German weapons and munitions. In vain the enemy fights with desperation. He is compelled to give up the struggle. On the 9th the regiment has taken all that it was told to take; on the evening of the 10th it had maintained its conquests intact.

F

OR several days, beginning with Aug. 10, bad weather, which brought heavy fogs to the valley of the Somme and its plateaus, was a hindrance to operations. Nevertheless the French made interesting progress to the north of the Somme.

During the afternoon of Friday, Aug. 11, after two days devoted to destructive firing, we directed an attack to the south of Maurepas, between the valley traversed by the Combles narrow-gauge railroad and the road from Maurepas to Cléry. Almost the whole of this ground was carried, as well as a strongly fortified quarry, and two small woods to the north of Hem. The Germans, having attempted to retake the quarry, were repulsed. The positions thus won, and organized immediately, enabled us to undertake on the following day (Saturday, Aug. 12) the attack of the German third line. It was a widespreading movement, on six and a half kilometers, (four miles,) from the slopes of Hardecourt as far as the Somme. The assault carried us forward to a depth of from 600 to 1,000 yards, and at one point even to a depth of 1,500 yards. Maurepas was reached; the most important part of it, with the church and cemetery, fell into our hands.

On Wednesday, Aug. 16, new gains, even more important, were made after lively fights.

To the south of the Somme, a German reconnoissance, coming forward under the protection of flaming liquids, was dispersed to the west of Vermandovillers. Two days later, on Aug. 12, the Germans, who had bombarded La Maisonnette, sketched an assault which the fire of our guns and machine guns immediately broke. To the south of the road from Péronne, between Estrées and Soyécourt,

we carried several elements of trenches on Aug. 13. On Aug. 16 we won 1,300 yards of trenches to the south of Belloyen-Santerre.

On the English front our allies had to meet frequent attacks. They, on their part, progressed between Pozières and Thiepval, and to the north of Bazentinthe-Less.

During the period beginning Aug. 17 the struggle was concentrated between Maurepas and Guillemont, where our troops were operating in conjunction with the English. The village of Maurepas, in large part occupied by us the week before, had been the object of vigorous efforts on the part of the Germans. On Friday, Aug. 18, we resumed the offensive and carried the northern part of the village by an assault which gave us 200 prisoners. On the following night the enemy launched several successive counterattacks from Maurepas to the Somme, near Cléry. Our machine guns and the skill of our grenadiers broke all these efforts; the enemy was able to occupy only one trench element, which was taken from him again on Saturday morning, Aug. 19. This success was followed up on Sunday, Aug. 20, by the capture of a little wood between Maurepas and Guillemont, which gave us eight 77-milimeter guns; this operation was followed by an artillery duel.

A further cannonade, begun on Tuesday, Aug. 22, to the south of the loop of the Somme, toward Belloy-en-Santerre and Estrées, preceded an attack which permitted the Germans to gain a footing in one part of the trench elements which we had won the day before.

During these days the English seem to have been more active than ourselves. Each day saw the Germans undertake