pped shells on the Hun batteries.

It was just about 5:45 in the morning when our artillery ceased firing
and our boys advanced again. This time our objectives were only about
two kilometers in back of the German front trenches. We met with
stubborn resistance at first, but with the usual American
determination and pluck, we soon forced the Boche back.

It was here that I first saw the German minnewafers and trench mortars
at work. The shells thrown from the minnewafers are as much feared as
any German weapon of war. They are thrown from a large gun with a
smooth bore and short barrel. The projectile is shaped like a rolling
pin, though it is much larger. In each end, or handle of the shell, is
a cap, which explodes as the handle strikes the ground. As the
projectile somersaults as it travels, one handle or the other is sure
to hit the earth, so there are no "duds" that I saw among these
shells. They explode with a terrific racket and tear up the earth for
a great distance around the spot where they land. They are not thrown
very high in the air, and are intended for use in close fighting, that
is to say, two or three hundred yards. As the shells whirl through the
air, you can plainly hear them whistling, and if you look sharply you
can occasionally see them coming. These minnewafers and mortars are of
various ranges--from three and four inches up to twelve and fourteen
inches. Aside from these trench guns, the Germans in this fight also
resisted heavily with machine gun nests and one pounders.

In going over the top this time, we did not have the protection that
we did when the St. Mihiel drive started. In other words, we did not
have any tanks or any aerial protection, but had to advance with only
such help as the artillery could give us.

The Germans were well protected and it took clever work to outwit
them. Their machine gun nests were always cleverly concealed. Many of
them were concealed in trees, and it was a common sight to see our
infantrymen advance unseen by the machine gunners, and then with their
rifles, shoot them out of the trees. I had seen machine gun nests in
trees before, but never so many as this time. Not only were they
numerous, but they were so well provided with ammunition that they
could fire thousands of rounds of shells, if necessary. I have seen
long belts of cartridges hanging to limbs of trees, all ready for use
on the part of the gunners. I have also seen many of these belts
attached