The officer is despondent over the future, but thinks that the German
right intends to stand in the positions prepared during the advance and
await reënforcements.
AIRMEN DODGE BULLETS
The London _Daily Mail’s_ Petrograd correspondent sends a description of
M. Poiret, a French aviator who is serving with the Russian army, of a
flight over the German position, accompanied by a staff captain:
“I rose to a height of 5,000 feet,” said Poiret. “Fighting was in full
swing. The Captain with me already had made some valuable observations
when the Germans, noticing my French machine, opened fire on it.
“A number of their bullets pierced the wings of the aeroplane and others
struck the stays. We still flew on, however, as it was necessary to
obtain the exact position of the enemy. Then the German artillery began.
Their shells burst near the aeroplane and each explosion caused it to
rock. It was difficult to retain control as pieces of shells had
seriously damaged two of the stays. The fantastic dance in the air
lasted twenty minutes.
“The Captain was wounded in the heel but continued to make observations.
Finally I turned the machine and landed home safely. I found ten bullet
marks and two fragments of shells in the machine.”
GERMAN SPIES RECKLESS
“The German attempts at spying are amazingly daring near Toulon. Attempt
follows attempt with an incredible indifference to the sudden death
which follows capture,” writes a correspondent.
“One of the patrol thought he saw a movement down among the vines on the
side of a deserted road and knew that something was wrong. He
immediately gave a hail. As there was no reply he fired two shots among
the vines. Some one gave a scream, and the soldier ran up with his
bayonet at the ready.
“Three men jumped out from among the vines and one of them fired twice
at him with a revolver or automatic pistol. He was not hit and went
right at them with his bayonet, firing again as he ran. He killed one
man. More soldiers ran up and they chased the two men that were left
down the deserted road to the little bay. There was a small petrol
launch lying close in shore. Immediately afterward the launch put her
bow around and went out to sea.
“But that’s not the most dramatic part of this evening’s business. It
was suspected that more men had come ashore from the launch. A general
alarm was sent out immediately. This precaution was well justified, for
two men were caught trying to blow up one of the railway bridges.
“These two men were given exactly one minute to prepare themselves. They
were shoved against the pier of the bridge and the firing party shot
them from so close a distance that one man’s clothes caught fire. He
didn’t seem to know that he was hit at first, for he started trying to
put out the places where his coat and vest were burning. Then he went
down plump on the ground. The other man died instantly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account