uns and return the fire. The order would be given to temporarily
abandon the position and the men would be withdrawn a safe distance. The
German battery that was firing would be responded to, two to one, by
other American batteries located nearby and which did not happen to be
under fire at the time. By this system we conserved our strength.

Our infantry was strong in their praise of the artillery. I observed
this particularly one day on the Toul front when General Pershing
dropped in unexpectedly at the division headquarters, then located in
the hillside village of Bourcq. While the commander and his party were
awaiting a meal which was being prepared, four muddy figures tramped
down the hallway of the Chateau. Through the doorway the general
observed their entrance.

The two leading figures were stolid German soldiers, prisoners of war,
and behind them marched their captors, two excusably proud young
Americans. One of them carried his bayoneted rifle at the ready, while
the second carried the equipment which had been taken from the
prisoners. The American commander ordered the group brought before him
and asked one of the Americans to relate the story of the capture.

"We in the infantry got 'em, sir," replied one, "but the artillery
deserved most of the credit. It happened just at dawn this morning. Jim
here, and myself, were holding down an advance machine gun post when the
Germans laid down a flock of shells on our first line trench. We just
kept at the gun ready to let them have it if they started to come over.

"Pretty soon we saw them coming through the mist and we began to put it
to 'em. I think we got a bunch of them but they kept on coming.

"Then somebody back in our first line shot up the signal for a barrage
in our sector. It couldn't have been a minute before our cannon cut
loose and the shells began to drop right down in the middle of the
raiding party.

"It was a good heavy barrage, sir, and it cut clean through the centre
of the raiders. Two Germans were ahead of the rest and the barrage
landed right in back of them. The rest started running back toward their
lines, but the first pair could not go back because they would have had
to pass through the barrage. I kept the machine gun going all the time
and Jim showed himself above the trench and pointed his rifle at the
cut-off pair.

"They put up their hands right quick and we waved to 'em to come in.
They took it on the jump and landed in our tr