Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

lMI " ; L - y* ■ 1 ' v r V " ' ■ ' THURSDAY, FEHRyARY 24, lfI7. THKBARNWB.L ^■OHWNTWBt. ■AKWWELL. SOUTH CAROLINA iy FIX BAYONETS! TUWmmtCbml ■tfthtUmmm CtfL JOHN W, THOMASON, Jr. (© by th« B«U SyodtcctR. Inc.) - ' SYNOPSIS CHAPTER I.—Th« author describaa fc#w the First battalion of th« Fifth marines are quartered near Martgnjr durins the first part of June. 191*, when they are suddenly sent up north to relieve the First division, bearing the brunt of a tidal wave of Germans Just breaking through for a great of fensive. Part of the Flftt) wrest Hill 142 from the enemy and wilt there for the German counter offensive they «an see forming. While they lie pep pering the Boche a detachment of Second engineers comes to •Istance. CHAPTER II.—A terrific German aV taek soon develops, wreaking fearful havoc among the marines, but not dis lodging them. In the Immediate vicin ity other fierce encounters are reduo- lag the American troops and forcing the necessity of replacements which arrive presently. On the ,si»th of June the Fifth runs Into bitter fight ing in the vicinity of Champlllon . . . for hours they try to oust the Boche from his stronghold In tb* woods “nd succeed commendably, but at «at_cost. CHAPTER III.—This narrative cen ters about the activity of the marines hut really stands as a cross section of all the fighting done by Americans. acquitting themselves marvel ously at the Bols de Relleau and Hill 142 early in June, 1*1*. the First re-* celved replacements to cover horrible losses, fight some more and then are relieved, somewhat compensated for their heavy losses by a notable tribute to their fighting qualities Issued by the general commanding the St*th French •rmy. but the liberty In Paris which the battalion would have preferred Is not r forthcoming CHAPTER IV Ominous Events Leading Up to the Charge at Soissons. The First battalion lay In Croutto- •nr-Marne. It drank deep of tho gold en July weather, and awam nolally In the Marne, which swung a blue and shining loop below the town. The battalion took bat little Interest In the war, whirl) could be heard growl ing and muttering Intermittently to the north and east. Indeed, the tin- pleasant Rols-de-Belleau-Boureschoa J ,n ** WM ortly » few hours’ march distant, and Chateau-Thierry was Just up the rlver. # The guns were loud and continuoua In that dlrectlrfn. . But the Se«*ond American dtvlglon —marines and troops of the regular -army—had Just finished a hitch of thirty eight days attacking and hold ing and attacking again, from Hill on the left, through that ghastly wood which the French now called the “Bols de la Brigade de Marine,** to Vaug, on the right; and In this battalion, as In the other units of the division, such men as had service , "*** quite willing to think of sorae- UUn* else. July 14 came. “Sort o* Frog Fourth o’ July," explained a learned corporal, standing In line for morning chow. But Croutte took on this day no es pecial Joy In the far-off fall of the « istille. In the afternoon a Boche came out • cloud and shot down In flames the fat observation balloon that lived Joat up the river from Croutte. Cer tainly there grew to be a feeling In the air. . . . About one o’clock the morning of -* the 15th the Boche dropped nine-inch shells Into the town. The battalion was turned out, and stood under arms In the dark while the battalion gas officer sniffed around busily to see If the shells were the gas variety. They were not, but the battalion, * after the shelling stopped and the casualties were attended to, observed that in the east a light not of the dawn was putting out the stars. The eastern sky was all aflame with gun- 1 flashes, and a growing thunder shook the still air. The flies remarked that they were, glad not to be where all that stuff was llghtln*, and after breakfast pro jected the usual swimming parties. Aquatic sports were then vetoed by regretful platoon commanders, since It appeared-that BattalloftrH. Q. had directed the companies to hold them selves Ip readiness for Instant move ment to an unspecifled place. There upon the guns, eastward took on a more tfcan professional interest. The civilians looked and listened also. Their faces were anxious. They had heard that noise before. The hot July hours passed; the battalion continued to be held In readiness, and got prac tically • ho sleep In consequence. ,There was further shelling, and the guns were undoubtedly louder—anfl nearer. Breakfast on the 16th was scant, }d the cooks held out little encour- lement for lunch. Lunch was an 4 hour early, and consisted of beans. The shadows were lengthening when the bugles blew “assembly” and the companies‘fell In, taking the broad white road that led down the river. At tha next town—towns were thick along tha Marne from Chateau- Thlfrrrw ** thmj bm—d through. Um other battaliop* of the Fifth marines; Jeeringiy at aaae be side tilt road. . Beyond them was the Sixth regi ment of marines, arms stacked In the fields by the river. Each battalion took the road in torn, and pre^tptly the whole mgrtne brigade was swing ing down the Marne In the slanting sunlight Very solid and businesslike tha brigade was, keen-faced and hard from , the great fight behind them, and flt and competent for great er battles yet to ceme. The compan ies were under strength, but they had the quality, of veterans. . They had met the Boche and broken him, and they knew they cbuld do It again. The rumble of the guns was behind them, and the rumor of the leave area still ran strong enough to main tain a slow volubility among the squads. They talked and laughed, but they did not" sing. Veterans do not sing a great deal. It was getting dusk when the First battalion of the Fifth, leading, round ed a turn in the road and came upon an endless column of camions, drawn up along the river road as far as one could see. The companies became silent “Camions 1 They rode us to Chatto- Terry In them bussos—*? “Yeh! an* It was a one-way trip for a hell of a lot of us, too 1” “Close up! jDlose up an’ keep to tha right of the road.” “Camions 1 That’s a sign they want us bad, somewhere on the Une,“ com mented the lean first lieutenant who hiked at the head of the Forty-ninth company. “Walter,”—the officer be side him—“I wonder what happened yesterday an’ today, with all that shooting.” “Don’t know—but this Chateau-Thierry salient Is mighty deep ap* narrow, unless the Boche spread hi nisei f yesterday. ... If we were to break Into it, near one of the corners. . . “ “Yes! Well, we’re right on the tip of It here— can Jump either way—Lord 1 there’s a lot of these conveyances.” Later the battalion knew what had happened on July 15, when the Boche made his final cast across the Cham pagne country toward IlheJms anff Epernay; and bis storm divisions surged to tl^e Marne, and 'srttyed, and lapped around the foot of the gray mountain of Khelmg, and stayed. Just now the battalion cared for none of these things. It had had no supper; It faced a crowded trip of uncertain duration, and was assured of various discomforts after that. Well accustomed to the ways of war, the men growled horribly as they crammed Into their appointed chariots, while the officers Inexorably loaded the best part of a platoon Into each camion, the dusk hiding their watched the files pass with locurldus eyes. They bad taken many men up to battle. . (Company by company, the First bat talion pasted on, and behind them the other' battalions of the Fifth marines took tho road find, after them, the Sixth. “None of the wagons, or the galleys—don’t see the machine-gun outfits, either,” observed the lieuten ant of the Forty-ninth company, looking back from the crest of the first low' hill. Here the battalion halted, having marched for half an hour, to. tighten sllnga and settle equipment for the real business of hiking. “Th4y may get up tonight chow and all—wonder how far we came, an’ where, we’re goln’. No, ser geant—can’t send for water here—my canteen’s empty, too. All I know about It Is that we seem to be lo t hurry." p The battsllon moved off again, and the major up forward set a pare ail disproportionate to his abort legn. When the first halt came, the usual ten-minutes rest out of the hour was cut to five. “Aw hell I forced march I" “An’ the lootenant had forgot every thing but ‘close up I close-up!”— Listen at him—” • The camions had set them down In a gently rolling country, -unwooded,< and fat with ripening wheat Far across It to the north, blue with dls- Bringing In German Prisonsra at fit Mlhlsl. grip* of sympathy. "Get aboard I get aboard! Where’ll you put yo’ pack? Now what the hell do I know about yo’ pack—want a special stateroom an’ a coon vallay. do yuh, yuh—!" The sergeants dMn’t grin. They swore, and the men swore, and they raged altogether. •• But in much less time than It took to tell about it af terward. the men were loaded du. The officers were skilled and prompt In such matters. Wizened Annamltes from the eolo, nies of France drove the camions. Presently, with clangor and much dust they started their engines, and the camion train Jolted off down the river road. They left the river, and by the tes timony of the stars It seemed to tho lieutenant of the Forty-ninth that they were hurrying north. Always, on the right, the far horizon glowed with the fires of war—flares, signal lights, gun-flashes from hidden batteries; the route paralleled the line. The Heater^ tance, stood a great forest, and to ward this forest the battalion marched, talkative, as men are la the first hour of the hike, before tha slings of the pack begin to cut into your shoulders. . . . “Look at them popples In the wheat”— “They ain’t as red as the popples were the mornln’ of the 6th of June, when we went up to Hill 142—” “Yep! beglnnln’ to fade some. It’s gettln’ late la the season.” “HI—I’m beglnnln’ to fade some my self—this guerre Is wearln’ on a man . . . remember how they looked In the wheat that mornln’, Just before we hit the Maxim guns?—red as blood—" “Pore old Jerry Finnegan picked one and stuck it In the buckle of his helmet—I seen It In his tin hat after he was killed, there behln’ the hill— m always think about poppies an’ blood together, as long as I lire—’’ this last from little Trttt, the lieutenant’s orderly. * “Long as you live—that’s good!” gibed Corporal Snalr of the company headquarters group. “Don’t you know by now how expendable #you bucks are?”—the lieutenant h4ard, and re membered It,, oddly enough, J, ln a crowded moment the next day, wh'eb he lost the two of them to a hard- fought Maxim gun. ~ No wind moved across the lonely wheatfleld; the bearded stalks Waved not at all, and the sun-drenched air. was hot and dead. Sweat made muddy tunnels thrqugh the* thl£k white dust that ^aaaked the fare* of the men.. Cpnrersario* languished; what was said was in profane mono syllables. Clouds came op, and there were showers of rain, with hot sun shine between. Uniforms steamed after each shower, and thirst became a torture. The man who had the vln blanc In his cantesn fell out and was quite 111. “Hikin’—in. . . ” After Interminable hours the col- umn came to the forest and passed from streaming annshlne Into sultry shades. It was a nqfde wood of great high-branching trees, clean of under brush as a park. Something was doing In the forest Small-arras am munition was stacked beside the road, and there were dumps of shells snd bombs undsr the trees. And French soldiers everywhere. This road presently led into a great paved highway, and along It were more of the properties of- war—row upon row of every caliber of shell, orderly stacks of winged aerial bombs, plla after pile of rifle and machine-gun ammunition, and cases of hand-gren ades and pyrotechnics. There wero picket-lines of cavalry, and park after park of artillery, light and heavy. Thera were Infantrymen with stacked rifles. The highway led straight through tho forest Many roads emptied Into It and from every road debouched a stream of horses, men, and gunfi. The battalion t went Into column of twos, then Into column of files, to make room. On the left of the road, abreast of the marines, plodded another col umn on foot—strange black men. In the blue greatcoats of the French Infantry and mustard-yellow uniforms under them. The sultry afternoon passed wearily, and at six o’clock the batUrilob turned off the road, shambling and footsore, and rested for two hours. They found water and filled canteens. A few of the hardier made shift to wash. “Gonna smear soapsuds an’ lather all over me—the hospital corps men say • » wm dark when the battalion fell In and took the road again. They went Into single file on the right, at the, vary edge of it. for the highway was Jammed with three columns of traffic, moving forward. It began to rain, and tho night, there under the thick branches, was Inconceivably Mack. The files couldn’t see the man ahead, and each mag Caught hold of the pack In front and went feeling for the road with hie feet, clawing along with the wheela and the artillery horses and machine-gun mules. " On tho right was a six-foot ditch, tooj* deep -In mud to march In. Tho rain increased to a sheeted down pom: end continued all .night, with long TOls ofi thunder, and white atabs of lightning! that Intensified the dark. picked, might of France and AmerlA* tolled on the road through the ViUgrs-CSt- terets forest that night Uke«a great flowing river of martial fores. No battle ever tried them half as Jjard as the night road to Solssotfc. * . The rain ceased, snd the sky. grew gray with dawn. The traffic thinned, and the battalion turned off 7 op a smaller road, closed op, snd hurried on. Five minutes by the side of the road to form combat packs and strig to rifle snd bayonet “Fall InqufAdy 1 Forward I” y Jt-jT Overhead the clouds were ^gone; a handful of stars paled and went pot: flay was coming. The ^battalion, lightened, hastened. They pdeceived fllmly, through a mist of fatigue, that a cloudless day was promised and that the world was wontidrfully new washed and dean—and quiet! Not a gun anywhere, and th^ mud on Use road muffled the sound of hob-nailed boots. “Double .timeI '‘•Close up! Closeup, there!” Vf There had been fighting here; there were shell-holes, scarred and splin tered trees. The battallokgpanted to a crossroads where stofifi bolldlngs lay all blasted by some ^ale dR shell fire. And by the road what looked like a well I The files swayecTtoward It, clutching at dry canteens—“Back In ranks! Back In ranks, you—^ Then, barbed wire across the road- wsy, and battered shallow trenches to right and left, and a little knot of French and American officers. Major Turrlll standing forward. The lead ing company turned off to tfffe'left,. along the trenches. The FsAy-nlnth followed In column. “Turnfil^re," or dered the major. “Keep on to the left until you meet the Moroccafs,*’ and <^go forward. . The Forty-nlntfi Vent beyond the trench still In col umn of route, picking Its way throygh the woods. The lieutenant l«*fted hafik.At his men as he went;>gfrelr faces were gray and drawn an<Sld; they were staggering with weariness — "Fix bayonets!—” snd the? Ary click of the steel on the locking ring ran along the ragged column, ioqd In the hush of dawn. " e (CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.) — ■ ant visualized , his ihap: “Following lt . off mustard-ga*” But most the salient around—to the north—the ? ? D ? en dr f I>ped wll * r « the pla- .. toon broke r on Ira an/1 r>_. the north—Soissons way, or Montdidler. . . . The Boche took Soissons. . . ." Quiet French villages along tho road, stone houses like gray ghosts under the pale moon, and all lights hooded against Boche planes. Long, empty stretches of road. Shadow col umns of French Infantry, overtaken and passed. Horse-drawn batteries of 75s on the move. Swift staff cars that dashed by, footing. Then, long files of horsemen, cloaked and t>el- meted, with a ghostly glint of^hnee- heads over them—French civalry. Presently, dawn, with low clouds pil ing up In the rosy sty. It was mid-forenoon when (he train stopped,'and the battalion climbed out on cramped legs. “Fall In on the right of the rdad. , . Platoon com manders, report . . * Keep fifty yards’ distance between platoons. . . Squads right .. . March!” and the companies moved off stiffly, go empty stomachs. The Uttje dark Annamltee toon broke ranks and slept Battal ion H. Q. sent for all company com manders. Presently the lieutenant of the Forty-ninth returned, with papers and t m*P- H* called the company offi cers afoond him, and spread the map on the ground. He spoke briefly. “We’re In the Vlllers-Cotterets wood*—the Foret de Betz. At H hour on D day, which I think la tomorrow morning, although the major didn’t say, we attack tbs Boche here”— —pointing—“and go on to here—past the town of VIerzy. Eight or nine kilometer*. Three objectives—marked —so—and *o. The Second division with one ot the Infantry regiments leading, find the Fifth Marines, at tacks with the First Moroccan divi sion on our left The Frog Foreign Legion Is somewhere around, too, and the First American d!vision. It’s Min fin's Colonial army—the bird they call tha butcher. . . .• How Doctors Treat *\ Colds and die Flu To break up a cold overnight o? to cut short an attack of prqyjpe, in fluenza, sore throat or tonsillitis, phy sicians and druggists are novr*recoir. mending Calotabs, the purified am refined calomel compound tablet tha; gives you the effects of calomel am salts combined, without the tnjplVac ant effects of either. One or two Calotabs at ^ed-tiir with a swallow of water,—that’s ai No salts, no nausea nor the sli^hje.- interference with your euy'ng. woi or pleasure. Next morning yWh-co’- has vanished, your system u thor* oughly purified and you are feelim fine with a hearty appetite for break fast. Eat what you please,—no dan ger. Get a family package, containing full directions, only 35 cents. At a: drug store. (air KODAKERS! Send your films to us for develop ing and printing. One day servlca. Writa for prices. Loll&r’s Studio 1423 Main Street COLUMBIA SOUTH CAROLINA We sell Eastman Films 6 6 6 is a Prescription for Colds, Grippe, Flu; Den gue; Bilious Fever and Malaria. It Kills the Germs RHEUMATISM Whik in France with the American Army I obtained a noted French pre scription for the treatment of Rhea- matisf and Neuritis. I have given this to thousands with wonderful re sults. The prescription cost me noth ing. I ask nothing for it I will mail It if you will send me your address. A postal will bring t. Write today. PAUL CASE. Dept. #-348, Hbrag bg PAUL CASE V -wr “i ■** >' J -i v. Newspaper May Be Better THAN YOUR TOWN, BUT YOUR TOWN IS RARELY* BETTER THAN YOUR NEWSPAPER. AND YOUR NEWSPAPER WILL DO MORE TO BUILD AND BETTER THE JOWN THAN ANY OTHER AGENCY. • , • * • HENCE, SUPPORTING Y O 0 R * ^ PAPER IS BUILDING YOUR TOWN. COUNTING THE VALUE OF SPACE DEVOTED TO UPBUILDING BARN WELL, THE PEOPLE-SENTINEL’S DO- NATION TO THE PUBLIC GOOD IS MANY TIMES THAT OT ANY OF ITS \ 1 • ■GOOD CITIZENS ’ * j THIS SERVICE IS RENDERED CHEERFULLY. W EONLY ASK YOUR GOOD WILL AND BUSINESS IN RE TURN. The Barnwell