As an example of the tremendous fury with which such a hand-to-hand
fight raged I will cite one instance. A grenadier of one of our Rhenish
regiments, who carried a pick-axe, had the thumb of his right hand,
which carried the weapon, bitten right off by a Frenchman. The German
soldier, writhing with pain, contrived to change the pick-axe to his
left hand, killed both the Frenchman who had maimed him and his comrade.
In another regiment three men had discovered that in making these
nocturnal attacks they could work together to splendid advantage. The
strongest man of the three took the centre. In his left hand he carried
two steel shields from machine guns lashed together. In his right hand
he held his weapon, bayonet or pick-axe. His two companions kept to
either side of him, as closely as possible. One carried as many hand
grenades as he could manage, the other was equipped with a bayonet.
Thus accoutred, this strange trio proceeded, striking, thrusting and
throwing grenades, and literally hacking its way through the ranks of
the enemy and striking terror to the hearts of the foe.
Excellent service these three men rendered. Evening after evening the
man who carried the steel shields volunteered for the difficult and
hazardous task. He was asked if he did not feel the necessity for
resting up, or if he did not prefer to serve the hand grenades or to
wield the bayonet for a change. He replied that less powerful men than
he could not as easily carry the steel shields and the pick-axe as
well, while the bayonet work and the throwing of hand grenades could be
done readily by the others.
The sharpshooters of the Imperial Guard had formed an entire company
of volunteers, who, led by officers, were always sent to perform
particularly dangerous and difficult tasks. They performed deeds of
incredible valour, and the "Tschakos," as Germans call this picked
corps, will not soon be forgotten by the French.
The men of the Saxon Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 107 were adepts in
taking French prisoners. They had a system of their own and found it
infallible.
Thus, at night, our brave fellows had to engage in hand-to-hand
encounters, at day had to endure the frightful fire of the French
artillery, and when the firing ceased there was still not a moment's
rest for them, for they then had to repulse the onslaughts of the
French infantrymen.
Nor was that all. The positions which had been shot to pieces by the
enemy by day in the field, had to be rebuilt, as far as was possible,
at night. The reserves were requisitioned to assist in this work,
although they had really been sent back of the firing line to rest up.
The Reserves were also frequently called upon at night to help defend
with the bayonet any menaced point. Thus their supposed "resting-up"
in the protected zone was somewhat problematical in nature, not alone
because they were frequently called upon to help out, but because the
French had a pretty trick of training their heavy artillery fire, night
and day, upon these outlying points, positions and roads. Unbelievable
as it seems, the men in the trenches actually suffered less from the
artillery fire at night than did the men in the rear.
Alternately fighting and working by day and by night, our brave men
performed the work of supermen. Each man was actuated by one thought
only--to defend his position to the last, to overcome the enemy, to
endure through it all, no matter what happened. Each leader, each
division, conceived it to be a task of honour to hold the position, or,
if it had been lost, to regain it.