London Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 3, 1945, London, Middlesex The revitalized French fight Back nazi As rattlers battling Joes fight cold 1945 the Mew French army Hitler boasted in those Black Days of 1940 that the nations forces were Defeated but today he is eating his words As the Tricolour forges on to Foj i by Lack Caldwell War week staff writer on the French first army winds Cut across the Snow rusted alsatian Plain stretching along the Rhine River from besieged Strasbourg to the historic City of Mulhouse in Eastern France French patrol stealthily mane Vered through enemy artillery fire and deadly machine gun fire to Che main forces located in a fire gutted Village Hoo Yards from the several hours concealed by a blinding a Small nazi m on the making escape Force had crossed the Rhine South of except from the River Side Strasbourg and was dug in the path of the advancing French the germans successful crossing of the River was part of the nazi High com mands carefully plotted plan at i taking the City of important both Lor military and the Jerries fired wildly at the on Rushing but the Battle was realizing their position Hope the besieged germans threw Down their vehemently yelled Kamerad and clambered out of their makeshift fortifications with political political reasons hands clasped tightly Over their its the same old Story every declared russian military observer who has been with the French army since its Day Landing at just As soon As the germans see they Are beaten All fight leaves them and they Are ready to Call it a defender of was High in his Praise for revolving around Germany Long claim to the Alsace Clorraine employing All the patrol tricks Learned from eluding the enemy in North Italy and the White cloaked lieutenant and two enlisted across the Frozen taking advantage of every every Mound of Snow for the return journey was every step was the French carefully carbines were held its a Small he but close to their bodies so As not to form a Silhouette against the sparkling they were within 200 Yards of when the Bullet of a care full concealed sniper in a clump of Trees far off to the left Tore into the Back of one of the enlisted the mortally wounded Soldier sprang from a crouching position took four Steps Forward then slumped into the a burst of machine gun fire from a Crew covering their withdrawal silenced the sniper and enabled the remaining exhausted men to reach their the information they pro sufficient infantrymen were dispatched to annihilate the enemy led by a Young and supported by artillery and mortar the French Force spread out Over the wide Plain to a semicircle around the enemy like a noose drawn around the neck of a condemned they carefully closed what it lacks in numerical strength it More than makes up in fighting Cour at for the French were carrying out the attack against forces Superior in numbers in a Superb these men Are and by far Are better than the beasts of Burden in the Snow covered Vosges mountains that skirt the French German Border along most of the approximately 250mile French army Arab troops stealthily make their Way through narrow Over seemingly in passable these trained Moun Tain fighters Are just As much at Home on the Side of a precipitous Mountain ledge As a Yankee i is in a in these treacherous where a misstep May mean death from a plunge Over a jagged Cliff or from the Bullet of a hidden even the highly vaunted jeep and its reputation of going anywhere and any place has to take a Back seat to the slow plodding but highly reliable the rugged animal is the Supply link for the Mountain packing ammunition and the moroccans and As one Ameri can Liaison officer serving with the French forces put much rather fight than that putting it the arabs in this the major Are picked Mountain fighters accustomed severe very Little food and sleep and the Rigours this Type of they Are attached to but mostly to their own their master and to them symbolizes High officer casualties it is important that they have Good officers and the officers have to be fearless and must always Lead an with the result casualties among officers of Arab units Are one company in this sector has its sixth command ing officer after seven months fighting five predecessors have either been killed or badly in a the major now commanding is the fourth in Many one just returned from the front was asked Why he fights so whether he was driven by his hatred of the nazis or his love of i fight he because my officer fights Battle fatigue appears not to be in either the French or Arab one algerian regiment has been out of the front lines but for 30 Days in the last 13 months and that while it was in route from the italian to the French the same regiment was the first Allied unit to break through the Gustav line in Italy and went on to take weeks later it knifed through the Hitler in France it participated in the libera Tion of Toulon and before going to the regiment fought throughout the tunisian Campaign in North the arabs represent about one four ii of the first army also serving in the sector Are three regiments of the foreign made up mostly of but including a few spaniards and the foreign legion has one motorized and two infantry regi ments and their members Are identified by the traditional Green a hand grenade with seven the legion wore the in Signia on the but since Don Ning i uniforms now display it on the the entire French first army uses mostly american armoured Small arms and but the especially the retain certain tribal characteristics which distinguish themselves from their i comrades in out of uniform the originally a mounted cavalry regiment of coloured but now composed of Wear a red Cap in the crack arabic Mountain fighting unit also in action on this present a picturesque contrast in their Gand a Smock resembling a Burlap bag overcoat which they Wear Over their i Many of the French troops fight in the tradition ally French Beret like hat cocked Over one most of the Arab troops and some French Wear the strip of soft White cloth about eight feet Long and three feet on their head As a turban or around their neck As a the Cheche serves Many uses in addition 10 Protection against desert sandstorms and Winter winds and the Cheche serves Many Pur said an Arab officer who has been in combat since the North african in this snowy terrain it is especially useful in camouflaging the Soldier because the very can be draped Over the body like a Arab also uses it As a face cloth and Towel Coffee is use a Corner of the Cheche As a Coffee dipping it into a canteen cup of boiling another the Arab always sleeps with the Cheche wrapped around his ask me Why he does most of the arabs go into Battle without steel helmets to protect their Heads against preferring in Stead their tribal some Wear steel helmets jauntily Over their Many of their i uniforms Are trousers Bear no sign of a overcoats and quite a few of them have such great admiration for their i blouses they even Wear them in shaggy badly scarred filed Teeth lend to their ferocious the appearance of Many of these troops make any uniform conscious officer moan in said an american lieutenant colonel attached to the French but looks dont make the Soldier when it comes to Matching wits with the germans who have fought against them highly fear tenacious until a few weeks each officer and enlisted Man in the French first army received one pack of cigarettes once in every week or ten now they Are receiving a and american three or four compared to the american stand both the French and arabs require comparatively Litt food for wine and bread Are the main they Are also fed with american Field rations or a Little meat and fresh camels can go a Long Way with out an american Liaison officer but these it can go further and do on very Little just four Days ago a patrol of four arabs set out for the German lines with enough food for just one Halfway decent it want until the following evening they returned from their Mission and instead of diving for the mess Hall after making their they crouched around a tiny fire beneath a clump of then someone brought them a Glass of wine and a chunk of bread and they accepted them just like you might after having eaten a Christmas Din damned if i can figure it
