![]() As the raiders headed back to the wire, they encountered the men in the guard posts, where a short firefight ensued. The Est trench raiders captured around a dozen Americans and drove off others, while two Americans were killed. One group rushed Boyau Nord, killing a sentry and driving off some Americans. Combining the element of surprise with the sheer shock of having enemy forces in the trench, these raids were surprisingly successful on many occasions. Experienced German trench raiders came through the wire near the juncture of Est and Boyau Nord Trenches, infiltrating the Allied line. After twenty minutes the barrage shifted south slightly, giving these engineers the chance to blow paths in the wire. While the barrage occurred a specialized German assault company with combat engineers approached the French wire in front of Artois. The lines to their rear were French units of similar size. With these positions facing northeast, another platoon to their left faced north in “Boyau Nord” Trench. A hundred yards in front of them, behind the barbed wire, were fifteen more men spread out in three guard posts. The “Est” (East) Trench of the “Artois” strongpoint held 20 men. Infantry battalions of the American 1 st Division had been assigned a short period in the trenches among French troops. Unbeknownst to the Allies, the Germans did this to set-up a trench raid, a common tactic in World War I to obtain intelligence and intimidate the enemy through bold action. German artillery began a harassing barrage of Allied forces about a mile southeast of Arracourt, France.
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