On the Lorraine front, in the environs of Embermenil, Leintrey, and Ancerviller, near Lunéville, the German trenches and works were subjected to heavy fire. Poison shells and liquid fire played an important part in the furious fighting that was gradually developing in the Vosges, and assisted the Germans to gain some initial successes. On the Lingekopf-Barrenkopf front the French were driven out of a first-line trench on the Schratzmannele, but they recovered most of the ground by a counterattack. Similarly on the summit of the Hartmannsweilerkopf, where the Germans had also obtained a footing in the French trenches, they were subsequently ejected again. These trenches had been captured with the aid of blazing liquids. Our first knowledge of this "blazing liquid" (outside of Germany) was derived from a document which fell into French hands early in the war. It was Note 32 of the Second Army, dated October 16, 1914, at St. Quentin. In it were published the following instructions under the heading of "Arms at the disposal of Pioneers (Sappers) for fighting at close quarters":
"The flame projectors (Flammenwerfer), which are very similar to portable fire extinguishers, are worked by specially trained pioneers and throw a liquid which at once catches fire spontaneously. The jet of fire has an effective range of 30 meters. The effect is immediate and deadly, and the great heat developed forces the enemy back a long way. As they burn from one and a half to two minutes, and can be stopped whenever necessary, short and isolated jets of flame are advisable, so that one charge is sufficient to spray several objectives. Flame projectors will be mainly employed in street and house-to-house fighting, and will be kept in readiness at the place from which an attack starts."
There is no doubt that some engines of this nature were employed by the Germans during August and September, 1914, to destroy portions of the towns and villages destroyed by them. One captured apparatus, actually examined, comprised a portable reservoir for holding the inflammable liquid and the means of spraying it. The former, which is carried strapped on to a man's back, is a steel cylinder containing oil and compressed air in separate chambers. The latter consists of a suitable length of metal pipe fitted with universal joints and a nozzle capable of rotation in any direction. When a valve is turned on, the air pressure forces the oil out of the nozzle in a fine spray for a distance of over twenty yards. The oil is ignited automatically at the nozzle and continues to issue in a sheet of flame until the air pressure falls too low or the oil is exhausted. The heat given out is terrific in its intensity. A similar method employed by the German troops consists of a liquid substance which is squirted into the trenches. Bombs are then thrown which on explosion ignite the fluid. Yet another sort of projectile took the form of an incendiary bomb or shell which was discharged noiselessly, possibly from a catapult. It bursts on impact, tearing a hole and burning a circle of ground about eight feet in diameter.
By the middle of the month, September, 1915, the liveliest activity obtained everywhere in the west—each side apparently doing its utmost to harass the other. Nothing of a definite nature was achieved by either. The Germans were merely sitting tight along most of the line while taking the offensive only in those sectors where they had reason to believe the Allies would attempt to strike the great blow. The Allies, on the other hand, endeavored to weaken their opponents as much as possible in order to create an easier passage for the great "drive" they contemplated. The innumerable engagements about this time throughout the western theatre of the war form a bewildering conflict of unconnected and minor battles and skirmishes. When, years hence, the "official" histories are written and published, the student may be able to read the riddle and trace some thread of continuity and intention through the labyrinth of these operations. For the present they must be regarded as mere incidents in the overture leading to a great battle. The actions were described from day to day with some detail by the Allies, and as "unimportant attempts" by the German official communiqués. The latter generally consisted of few words that gave little or no indication of what had happened, and frequently wound up with the phrase: "There was no change on the front." The following translation may be given as a typical example; "The French attempted an attack but were repulsed by our fire. An enemy aeroplane was shot down. We successfully attacked in the Argonne. The situation is unchanged."
On September 18, 1915, the British fleet again bombarded the German defenses on the Belgian coast, in conjunction with the British artillery in the Nieuport district. Unabated fighting raged along the whole front, and it was all summed up in the German official communiqué of September 20, 1915, with commendable brevity:
"The hostile vessels which unsuccessfully bombarded Westende and Middelkerke, southwest of Ostend, withdrew before our fire. Several hits were observed. Along the land front there were no important events."
Nevertheless, important events were shaping themselves about this time. German artillery attacks increased in violence against the British front. Aeroplanes were particularly busy observing all moves on the board. In Champagne the Germans kept the French occupied with heavy shells and "lachrymatory projectiles." These projectiles have been described as "tearful and wonderful engines of war." They are ordinary hand grenades with a charge that rips open the grenade and liberates a liquid chemical. When that happens, the effect of the fumes brings water to the eyes of the men in such quantities that they are quite unable to defend themselves in the event of an attack. Shooting is entirely out of the question. The stinging sensation produced in the eyes is not pleasant, but it is not painful, and the effect wears off in a few minutes. The troops humorously refer to these grenades as "onions."
On September 21, 1915, a party of French airmen carried out the most daring of the many raids on German towns and positions they had hitherto accomplished. An aero squadron flew to Stuttgart, which is about 140 miles due east from Nancy, and dropped thirty shells on the palace of the King of Württemberg and the railway station of the town. They were fired at from many points, but safely completed their double journey of nearly 300 miles. Before this exploit, which was undertaken as a reprisal, the longest distances traveled by raiding squadrons of French aeroplanes were those to the Friedrichshafen Zeppelin factories on June 28, 1915, involving a double journey of 240 miles from Belfort; and to the explosives factory at Ludwigshafen, on the Rhine, which represented a distance of 230 miles from Nancy and back. The Berlin official report thus describes the event:
"At 8.15 this morning enemy airmen with German marks on their aeros attacked Stuttgart and dropped several bombs on the town, killing four persons and wounding a number of soldiers and civilians. The material damage was quite unimportant."[Back to Contents]