Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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BARNWELL SBNtTWK., BARNWELL, SOUTH CAROLINA *401 TWO shir. Kyery one Instlnrri vely recoiled' and then— " Crush! . * 1 — No fflore Observation Post Five of us^^ivent" down in n heap nttnuinlrTuK with a hummel blow. .’I'hry* was iC jrr»*n't.* enveloping timse: with tie smash ami mirk of walls. the-Hying ol 6 thrir tIn* hpyfce.of ton* FRENCH MAKING A TRENCH RAID IN THE SNOW ' * ' . ' ' / • . i fragments, nn 'of rirriTi. mortar a ini masonry. plqw *-d tip by the' hii/o* missile i.+—- It hail strni k that observation post, jflst l.'i feet away, which wr were about to rntrr. -There was' no mom* observn-. tlpn post; It was swept clean. Hut fortunately tin* slmli hail gone straight thrnftgh, battering down massive walls ami di/glng a drop trench into ihr earth w here it had exploded under ground, throw ink' up gfeat geysers. Mu! wliih* tin* earth ami stout' lb*vv like ’lui.il/ the .rimlcjigi-ound i \p’osH»n had In*Id ,tl(e*sir'cir fragments. StuntUd as we^vvcro. tin* first impulse wiis of self- preservation. .A hasty gin nor shown I no on«* was seriously injurrfTT though the-trickle of I dob'd on the right tem ph* of om* of tin* party told that a tly Ink' slum* had found a mark. “'rimy IniAr, this range,/ said the es- eort as /\ve struggled to our feet, “and one sjmt means tlwf another will fol low.” . There was a hasty serapihle from the hattlenient, over the tons of debris thrown .up’ which now ' completely blocked the three-foot path skirting {Fie wall.' t ■ '~r The shell IiihI suddenly "brought to a close our observation, of the battle froiit with all its tragedy and majestic beauty; Mut-worst of ad, it put an end to all trips to ’MpiTt'z. for ’Hte officer ■suld-.no further chances of tlils^ kfml could be taken. It was just as well., for now the great offensive of the enemy burst unexpectedly, and with it came tin/ retreat from the Moritz line. Fortunately or un-fortunntely. ,1 had seen it at tin* last moment • w hen the tide wsis turning. , Situation 'Explained. At tin* **:if« .her** we went for hincj# the officer from headquarters laid out ’flu* big military map on the table and explained tbe military situation. * It was this: Tin* 'enemy- was bringing great masses of men t*» tin* north of the Miansiz/.a plateau. His design was evident. 'The.J.tnliaiis by their hist ad vance had swung a ring which was threatening Trieste. To save Trieste tin* enemy must fm*ce tin* 11:i|li:• ns hack to tin* Isonzo*-river. nsvanother Italian offensive would clear Hie Vnrso range Correspondent Sees Stiell-Ba tered City Just Before the Italians Retreated. reiiuinnts of that crossing. The lug raUrniid bridge was lying in a wreck /ruin-jutiMet .v fire. I'lii-her on was flu* massive stum*, bridge. w ith one/>f ijs main arches lilown to pieces, Near | these bridges Jjc several important pu- p«i L iniTls, w here paper is mail** for gov* i crnmCid not* .'., All these mills, were iu j s still standing among tile delinks. . .Moritz itself was finder the ralii yd' territic iHimhaidniciit. for flu*-fuW force of-tin* great offensfc-* was now only a lew hours off. >'S / -' - f r And y«*t .with the imminent ((anger ; mnn.v penom's still dung to thefr names j ami ligkiiiglngs with that'‘sum* tenacity , which makes tin; Wstivlan peasants .ii.lhig tu t In* mountainside when tin* voi- 1 < ano is raging and threat* tiing to bury j- them.’ Mut most of these people- on ‘ tIn* >tre**ts nrc the fioor wlm could not' get a wary anrDlhe small sliopkeepers | | who cannot .gifftird" to-ttbamhiu their . ! goods. The hig ^stores are ail closed ami tlie place lias-an air ob a descried | ••ity, withHilly a few stragglers bring ing .up the rear. Moritz had Ito.noo people; but only .Toon are left, and these make'only if scattered showiug -in—the widemain street fr.inged oii-l either side witli its-shcll-torn fronts. M :iYPls.rhi'iung hard and thlsTicjded tu<lhe. lug u hr ions sp**ctncle. Filtering (Tie «• i 1 > w«* passed the **x | tensive Jesuit establishment whore *»<MJ ‘ semimirJans-are lqcati*<l. Hue eortm.ri w as knoek**d off, t In* I cornices w <;r** j luiiiging and: -several hig holes told 'where tin* shells had* found a mark. ■The main contour of tin* sjreet was liced nfl preserved. and tin* liuihliiigs w‘«*re iu- tact as a wlude, hut every*.yentlid or „ third luid been hit. some collapsing en tirely, others wiili tli«*ir front wall; gone and their upper rooms with house- j hold goods showing from tin* street. ! Mut there was no vast area of coin- i pletcly leveled ih-hris, ns at Verdun or Motiastir. jThe opitlines of a eity w**rel still tlnn*. h.ui it was. a city sb*ved by! honibArdhienl. i r „ Trip to the Citadel. ‘ TJn* trip to the citadel was th** event of tin* day. This is a huge pile, with old-time 'moat and battlements ami a great tower dominating tin* whole eouiYiry for miles around. Here We were to* view Mount Hahriel. Mount Mi- % cad. tin* Miansizza plateau ami tin* 1 whole range ground which luid passed through this upheaval. It was uphill or* tiff* citadel. Kverylhlug showed tin* havoc of long continued lire. In om* great court there was a which had * nine T,he snowfall id l , 'ranu* lias been unusually heavy and tin* soldiers in tin* trenches are experiencing, besides, tin rigors of tin* Weather, which in many cases are harder to hear. As this photo-shows, the Modus are not luMing tup on the ifhx jies, despite, the snow and the cold. They are making v n raid on the -enemy trenches over tin* snow-covered fields in the Oise district/ The men In the foreground are evidently trem h (Tenners. ’ COMFORT SPOTS” AND “COZY CORNERS”’FOR THE FIGHTERS AfttYt C.ENS mi \ mho! of The roar of tin* great Ansiro-w**i man offensive already had enmifieticed. though I'm the moment it "as taketr for a spasmodic renewal nf the rannon- edc which Inol he«*n gotiJibuti for w**eks. Within twenty four hours the enemy had crosseii tin* Isonzo !•» miles further north, turned the Italian Jett "iiig, beaten ha*‘k tin* second army tinder dcncral <'ap i cll<*. thr**nta*ii«mI to **nvelop tin* third army under tin* link** of Aos ta. brother of tin; king of Italy, and put in execution that gigantic hammer stroke by which they Imped to finish Italy and cripple tin* wind** entente. Roads Left Clear. My trip was maui* by invitation of tin* supreme command.. with staff **dj- tor from headquarters ns escort. As we sped along tin* road in the hig army automobile I noted troops along flu* fields as on** sees ftwyw.'. wyyw.'MVi o emit nr amfrwam AuiAjnn DR. VAN HYKF A CHAPLA l*u*‘t i y through tin* ordeal untouched, though all a round' was a wreck. .duct; upon tin* battlements ,* a com uuimliug view vyas ahead. Then* was one point” of vantage wh«*re this « was jiarlicularly good, known ns the observation post. We Imlted a monienf. about to «*nt**r tin*-post, hut others whdM^l to push <>n to the very front <»f tin* wall, and this view prevailed. It was a most fortunate decision, as we smm after had reason to know. , i nn the biitt'emeiijs a-splendid view str«*fch»**l <iut for mil«N over this hat- , tlegroimd of mount a i Ho, valleys and , plains, with tin* • *it^ houses *'lust**ml ' below and the roads winding off through tin* valley n and f<o*,hills: There in front was Mou'ip Mahriel. this side , held 1 *\ the Italians, the other by the .^nst^ians.. . J ‘Thcr** runs flic dividing ILne'/*' said ill** escort, pointing to a tf'ne of tr«*«*s dud depressions near the summit. , The Italian t,r**nche<Tould he plainly seen; lull there Wjas no need of indi- cati.ng a dividing line, for the hursts of j smoke along one side of the summit ** j ami the answering 'hursts from tin* otln*r sii|(> told vv Iter**/the line was. gorn months. They felt the blow coining. On the corner there wen* two women of the working class talking together under an umbrella, for it wiis raining Hard. Their indifference- to tin* shew ing seemed strange, and I stopped to ask Them if tin* bombardment did not frighten them and keep them awake at «■ yvciV no road and bordering approaching Verdun or in th** Somme or Flanders. This ulu- sence of troops in the rear was part of tin* system adopted, it was c\plaincd. All the reprovisiouittg «if the army' Was don** at ...night and tile roads were l«*ft dear by day most of the time. Ten miles out vv** dossed tin* Ital ian- Aiistriaii frontier, iiui.l tji|cr*‘<| Aus trim At < 'orm*>iis. an Austrian village on tlie load, the sign- above the diops • wore all in Italian, showing the Ital ians were i iglif in the claim that all this section was racially Italian. The cannonade hegnp to l>** h«*ar«l for the lirst time ten miles ovist of Mo ritz a low riunhlt* to tin' north mid cast ; . with now and then tlic^umlMcd- boom of a great gun. Ihiy by day-fill*- lire wn^ getting h**ii_vi**r. said our es cort. who knew the ground by heart, ami In* hnlded that the enemy forces' had been increased from I/O battalions '!*» /.do batJulioiis. ' /...__ j .; ^ A \v we pass*';«l through the .towirHf l.m inieo. a far out *-ul>urh of tioritz. it w as s**eti to he half dost roye*). .Along the timiii st i «*ct ran rows **f halt**r**d Imildijigs with walls Imif down and* shell holes inakbjg ugH' 1 gas|i»*>. tint Tms~niess w as going—cut—m**H-- ■w**r**- at, 4hi* cafes ami women and girls stndfed the street uticom **rn**diy. Now the au tomobile turned tip the stee[i' sTTle 'of cMmtgcra'tittl, one pf th** outer def**nses iff Moritz vv1i«*re bloody hand to hand lighting o*<urr«*<l. "One could See the old trench and wire system, now grass grown. All this hill had been syvept ban* l>> shell Jire. hut .nature bad kind fy* obliterated tire-sea us and tin* hillside wa*- again smiling witli its verdure. The sound jd' tiling had now.increased to an enormous roar its w»* passed Mad They w ere puzzled for a moment, as .null not comprehending-such nn 1n- quiry. an shoUhliTS I i > s(i|:ir<lllli > li *««•*-»!. IV in o.ll A i iLci i * 'll n a it-mea pr a«• t i«s • this si/.za plateau was on to ■me ten. ami, through the mist .were tin* dim out- -4——-—h-»- \ . v e Hn***- of siiovv-topped Mount Nero that outpost of the Italian adyauce. * As we stood surveying' this seen** jjier** was tlie sternly' rumble of guns/ with' the cniek-(illa}.ujA*tpJir**rs njul then tlie Huig “whiz" «*f ever-passing shi*ffs. Hut t,her«* was ohe “vvhjz* yv hu h in statbly ..engaged every atteutluil^ \V** could liear It eojnitig. luut li vyus not going over, not ..under qor. at eiliicr HE IS A GERMAN PRISONER OF WAR __ I a ny t-r i 'olo. r rom .SIP TTS—n—pre* i ' >, *‘t 1 ' 'M • H <tr< esialdisldiient to' ■$/>*• a vve«*k tdiinist in a plant that b on war ‘nmiiitmiis-yts the sin, of Miss Titianin Mittner. pr* teen-.Vear-oltl Deliver girl. I*r. Henry'Van Dyke, mmier I'nited Srsitesr. minister t*T"’ilu* .Netherlands and/one of t|ie most noted literary fig ured in .the-country, is now serving as chaplain af the Mharlcstow n, .Mass., ■navy yarsl. ; I>r. Van Dyke was ap- lointed t»y .Secretary Daniels ittid Imn- or***| with ih«* rank of lt**uten;ytu cotu- iimnder. He will visit nil the nayal stations ip t-he Fast ami hopes to be assigned tii a tightiHg ship. The noteil author-plans to deliver u short seri**s of seiTtloiis to tlie h*)\s at the various OBSERVATION POST IN THE VOSGES Tmining the, ««>i n**r of a shattered j wall ’we saw tin isonzo riyve lying i alieml. and nn lie* ftirthej side Muritz rising in v**rra«><'s witli the hug** haftl**- metits of th* ? citmhT lovv**ritig on tin* • right. The river looked^ .-(larut the— width of.tin* Motomac ;Jt Washingtpii , hut with swifter etirr* nt frmu the\ mounttlin feeders. Ab*ng the edge of’, tin* river ran rows of shell-tom wjills with gaping windows. This whole wfc-T llw froi'il had been t<irn-ao pieces tind l yet many of the demolished rf^iiiiants J of the buildings were occupied and work along tin* river wharves whs pr*» : veedtng. ~ " Old Bridges RepJRced. , The Isonzo river was crossed.by th»* woodfb bridge which Itiilian etqjineers built after all the old bridges hud been blown up. On one ?lde* lay the wrect of a big pontoon. It was on pontood ■*-v- - . **V /j| This ia\a \ve!1-orgunlzed observuti**n post of l^e French in llje '’♦»** inountalna. : .J . ^ ItMIISH MC.CIAl. ASOIOgl ;0«4ef»»«d t i