Madisonville High School - Annual Yearbook (Madisonville, OH)

Page 61 text:

Teuton much discomfort. Stones, earth, fragments of woodeand, God forbid, of men rained down from above, and their loud thumps as they continually struck the haystack were a grim accompaniment to the bombard- ment. For an hour, this inferno blasted out young lives, wrecked strong bodies, and destroyed all within the first line of the trenches. Then, at Von Teslefs command, the dread explosions ceased, and an unearthly silence reigned over the shattered area. The lieutenant waited patiently for the smoke to rise so that he could see the result of the deluge of great shells. A dreadful sight met his eyes. The heaped up line of the first trench had entirely disappeared. Great smoking holes, choked with dead and dying men, marked the place it had been. The whole field between the hay- stack and the trench was covered with debris blown there by the heavy explosions and it marred the before verdant beauty of the field. And the horror of it-vfragments of men were also scattered over the battered section in ghastly heaps. Such is war! Good work! Von Tesler remarked laconically to himself, as he viewed the destruction that had been wrought at his bidding. Von Tesler now watched the moves made by the enemy in the other sections of the trenches farther up the ridge, and smiled with amusement at the confusion he had caused. The ambulance and Red Cross corps invaded the destroyed trench on their errands of mercy immedi- ately, and a. host' of brown-clad soldiers worked with renewed alacrity on the other works. New machine guns were hastily mounted, the artillery was unlimbered and pegged securely down in the most advantageous positions and strong bodies of skirmishers were thrown out all along the lines. The troops in the village were marching with all haste into the trenches, and new bat- teries of artillery were riding furiously into position. 59 That the Allies were preparing for and were expecting an infantry attack all along the front was evident. Between the village and the ridge ran a gully between two rolling hummocks which were wooded heavily and almost impossible to heavy artillery. The new batteries were using the gully to approach their positions on the ridge, as it was much shorter and better driving than skirting the hammocks. Von Tesler noticed a battery of heavy French 75s following the gully toward the ridge, and like a flash, he calculated their range and sent it in. Range 8000 meterSwwest by nor'west! The immediate rumbling of the German cannon fol- lowed and again the horrible, nerve-rending screech of the great shells warned the Allies of a second bombardment. The battery was at once enveloped in a cloud of fire and smokeein an inferno beyond even the fertile imagination of Dante. Great spurts of flame and dirt, mingled with fragments of men and horses, leaped up as the living hell broke loose. Von Tesler could not see, but he knew well enough what was going on. He mentally pictured the terriiied plunging of the horses, the desperate, struggling men, the terrible blasts of destruction and death, the cries, the shrieks, the frenzied curses, and the relentless doom raining down from above. He had seen it often since a certain fatal August. Now and then, a cassion or a gun broke out of the chaos, to be immediately swallowed up again. Time and time again, the smoke lifted and he caught a fleeting glimpse of the terrible destruction going on. Brave men! Despite the perfect hell that was being rained upon them, they came forward-always forwardeand not a one tried to retreat. Into the teeth of the plunging and exploding shells, right amidst the bursting, flaming death falling before them they rode onedriving their frantic horses viciously and beating them mercilessly. Now and then one would escape for a momentebut why prolong it?

Page 60 text:

have to retire. The real struggle will be in capturing the ridge. He next whirled his glasses on the little village of M and the road that led toward Paris. The road was choked with advancing infantry and galloping cavalry, while motor supply trucks rushed continually into the village. Von Tesler nodded his head knowingly. Re-inforeements! They mean business! A queer smile of triumph and satisfaction spread over his boyish features. Let them work! Let them prepare! H e had their range and he could frustrate their best built plans with a simple pressure of his finger. 3!: :k 1: Fl! :1: The end of two hours found the range of every im- portant point marked down in his notebook. They needed only testing out with a few shells and then the doom of the almost impenetrable position was sealed. The lieutenant turned to his instrument after another brief survey of the first line of the trenches, and in a moment he was satisfied that he had plenty of power for sending a message. Range! he ticked off, due west-SOSO meters! A minute passed. Then a dull rumble broke out from a great distance toward the east and a great shell screamed and shrieked overhead a second later. The huge projectile plunged over the Allied works and ex- ploded with a terrific roar 500 meters beyond. A quick glance showed Von Tesler the length of the miss, and he corrected it immediately. Try 7500 meters-due west, he again ticked off. Again the screaeh of a. great shell followed the distant report, and this time it plunged down within fifty meters of the works. The shell exploded with a terrible detona- tion and the earth fairly rocked. A great crater was torn in the ground and fragments of stone and dirt fell for several minutes afterward. ttFifty meters short, sent Von Tesler over the wire. This time, the great shell plunged directly into the trench and exploded with deadly effect. A full twenty yards of the trench was destroyed and the sand bag de- fenses, the wire entanglements, and yeHven men, were wiped out of existence. A rush of ambulance corps was made for the shattered trench, and they immediately began their ghastly Work, while Von Tesler, smiling and grinning at his success, carefully made a few changes in his notebook. Now he had every bit of information he desired. He had the range of the first trench, of the defenses on the slope, of the batteries crowning the ridge, of the road crowded with the reinforcements, of the bivouac of the supply trainwyes, of every point he' had the knowledge that spelt its doom. The time for action had arrived. nRange! was the single word that formed his next message. That was all that was necessary. Almost immediately a series of heavy concussions broke out, and the scream of a score of shells followed. The doomed trench was deluged with a rain of fire and death, and the detonations of the exploding shells rocked the ground. Great clouds of smoke hid What was being enacted in the trench, but Von Tesler knew well enough. Too often had he seen it in the past year. Dimly through the white, suifocating mist, Von Tesler' could see the great confusion that his sudden bombardment had caused. Troops of men spurred furiously over the 10w hillsides-re-inforcements were rushed hurriedly ins the Allies, artillery began to boom forth in futile defiance and the aer0planes of two air scouts circled swiftly up to reconnoitre. The surprise caused by the sudden attack was complete. The din was deafeningehellish. The. earth shook and quivered from the heavy explosions and Von Tesler plugged up his ears with cotton. Clouds of irritating powder fumes penetrated the hay and caused the young

Page 62 text:

At the end of ten minutes the brave company lay scat- tered and torn over the gutted valley and not a man lived or a gun reached the ridge to tell the story of that brave squad. I 4: 1i 1? Ii Von Tesler now sent in the ranges of the various positions, designating carefully the positions of the ar- tillery and the fortified ridge, giving a detailed note of the strength and importance of each position. He also gave the range of the village and of the road, still full of marching troops, for division after division were marching into the trenches for a determined stand. He gave information, also, valuable to the Germans in arranging their formation for the drive after the great bombardment of the entire worksethe bombardment which was to be unparalleled in the history of the war. He had hardly sent in the information, with orders to await his word before starting the general shelling, before he heard voices. Several men, talking in English, were apparently approaching the haystack, and Von Tesler nestled down securely in the straw. As he understood English perfectly, he listened with eager ears to what was being said. The newcomers stopped by the haystack. itBy gad, exclaimed a voice in an almost awed tone, did you ever see such diabolical accuracy? Man, I tell you its uncanny-it isnlt human! Not a man left of MacKregor-ls Battery. Com- pletel y wiped out? put in another, his voice full of wonder. They must have our exact range for such shooting as that. One of the men laughed queerly. It gives me what the Yankees call the 'Jimmiesf I can stand a fight as Well as the best of 'em, but gad! a thing like this gets on my nerves, he said. They certainly are wonders, agreed a fourth. Its a mystery how they dug out our range with such accuracy. 60 If, by any chance, that ridge falls, it's another big re- treat all along the line. If they get the range of that road down there and shell it as they did the battery, it will be a regular slaughter. There is no way out of it. said the first. Pd give a fortune to discover the secret of their range finding. I honestly believe that they have it in their power to shell those positions all to pieces, another stated. Oh, youlre getting nervous, Allan, scoffed one of the others, but his voice did not ring true. Did you notice the beginning of the firing on the trench? The first shell was 500 meters over the mark, the second fell short fifty meters, and then the third scored a perfect bull's-eye. They not only knew when they missed, but just how much they missed, the one named Allan continued emphatically. Von Tesler smiled at the astonishment of the officers, and a keen sense of satisfaction filled his whole being. itWell, it's my opinion-good God! men, look here, cried a voice. Von Tesler started. He knew instinctively what had happened and an icy chill ran up his spine. However, he touched the key of his field set resolutely and awaited further developments. They were not long in coming. A wire-a telegraph wire, came a hoarse whisper. A moment of deadly silence followed. Surround the stack, snapped out a commanding voice. Hubert, you go get a file of troopers. We'll get this bird! A dreadful calm settled over Von Tesslerls face and then suddenly he came to a decision. He was discovered -he would be captured and would suffer the fate of a spy-unless- He made a rapid calculation.