One of the most spectacular of the valorous deeds in the Champagne
engagement was the single-handed performance of Corporal Fred D.
Hubbell, a Marine, from Toledo, Ohio. He captured and brought in for
delivery nine German officers and twenty-two privates as the result of
a morning’s pastime. It was during the attack on Blanc Mont, and in
some way Hubbell got separated from his company, and in casting about
to recover ground he saw the head of a German soldier pop from a dugout
entrance and promptly duck down again. Hubbell felt a keen interest and
determined to explore. But let him tell his own story, as he did in an
interview reproduced by the _Marine’s Magazine_.
“It was in the morning that the —th Company went forward and had
almost obtained their objective when they ran into a series of dugouts
occupied by German artillery officers. A few prisoners were taken from
one of the dugouts and one of them said that there were no more there.
About half an hour later, the company having been under machine-gun
fire from our left, I happened to be crouching alone behind the
entrance to a dugout waiting for a counter-attack that was reported to
be coming, when I saw a Heinie stick his head out of a dugout.
“I immediately told him to put up his hands, but he jumped back down
the doorway and I heard him speak a few words of English and so
called to him to come out, which he did. He said that there were at
least thirty men in the dugout beside himself, whom he thought would
surrender also, and a couple of officers. I told him that there were
plenty of Americans around and that they might as well surrender
because there was no chance for them to get away, and for them to leave
their firearms all in the dugout and come out at once and they would
not be harmed. He returned to the dugout and said he would go down and
get them to come out. He went down but did not return.
“After a considerable length of time I yelled down and threatened to
throw a hand grenade and waited for them to come up but none came. As
there were several entrances to the series of dugouts I was afraid
that they would catch me from behind, so I moved off to the left under
some shelter where I could get a different view of the entrance and I
had only been there a short time when another Heinie stuck his head up
and I yelled at him, thinking they were all coming out. After waiting
several minutes I became leary that I would be caught from behind and
started for help.
“While on the way I passed another entrance to the series of dugouts
and came upon one of the officers with his pistol in his hand evidently
coming out looking for me. I yelled at him to throw up his hands, but
he did not, instead, fell backward down the stairs in his haste to get
away. Then I ran to the dugout entrance with a grenade in my hand and
ordered them to come out or I would throw it down, and they came up at
once. The German private who spoke English, whom I first caught showing
his head out of the doorway, came up and stood by and passed on the
orders to the officers and men to leave their firearms below and hold
up their hands. Then they all filed out and gave themselves up. There
was one major, one captain and seven lieutenants and twenty-two men in
the party.
“The private told me on the way to the rear that when he told the
officers there was only one American outside they were furious and
refused to surrender, and therefore would not come up, and ordered
the private to sneak out of one of the dugouts and shoot me, but the
private refused. All the privates were willing to give up, but the
officers were not so anxious. They evidently had been caught in their
dugout by the barrage and could not get away without a great deal of
risk.”
[Illustration:
_Drawn by Joseph Cummings Chase._