The Parker post., 1915-09-25
HIS FIRST CHARGE
Britisher's Experience of the
Realities of War.
Hesitated In Thick of Battle at First
Opportunity to Take Human Life
-"SaW Red" When His Com
rade Was Shot Down.

Paris.-Lying in a hospital here a
young British soldier who had been a
London broker few months ago, told
the story of his first bayonet charge.
It will be his last, too, for he will
never be we'll enough again to be sent
back to the front.
"We had gone into the trenches
round Ypres only few days before"
he said, "and my first experience Of
the realities Of war was to lie patiently
suffering an awful inactivity while the
artillery on both sides belched de-
struction on the men facing each
other in the trenches.
"As dawn broke I felt an uncon-
trollable desire to climb out of the
trench into the open, but I knew it
was counting death, as I saw the next
moment. The man nearest me raised
his head above the parapet, and in an
instant was bagged by a sniper. He
rolled over with stifed murmur, and
lay quite still with his face buried in
the soft red earth. I turned him over
and spoke to him, but he was dead,
with a hole in his forehead.
"The day passed fairly quiet until
dusk, when we received the order that
in an hours time we were to storm
one Of the enemy's advanced positions.
The next hour seemed lifetime. The
noise Of the bombardment swelled
louder and louder, but l hardly no.
ticed it. The men around me showed
their emotions in their faces. Some
were excited and showed an almost
exaggerated enthusiasm for the work
in hand. The majority were strangely
silent. I can honestly say 1 felt no
actual fear, but could not help re-
membering that in short time our
numbers would probably be reduced
by half, and was prepared for the
worst.
In five minutes the order would be
given and the thought of what was
coming made my blood boil. I, too,
became impatient to get out into that
stretch of open ground which separated
us from our goal. 1t was dark now,
and the enemy's searchlight began to
sweep our positions. Two more min
utes and we should leap from our
trenches.
"The bombardment reached its
height, and with a wild, vicious final
roar which seemed to open the
heavens it ceased. The moment had
arrived. The order was given. and
scrambling over the parapet, we
emerged into the shell-swept zone. The
enemy's guns began to spit fire among
our ranks, but no one wavered. If we
had felt any fear it had now left US.
Men fell on all hands, but with yell
we rushed forward with barred steel
towards the raised ground.
"Our artillery had done its work
we'll, for we found the wire defenses
almost completely blown away. We
reached the enemy's front trenches,
and l raised my bayonet as big Ba-
varian made to fire at me.
"Then something within me made
me hesitate, and a comrade laid the
man out just in time. In the thick of
the fight it had just dawned on me
that was about to take human life
for the first time, and I had felt a
momentary repugnance.
"The next instant, however, one of
our men next to me fell in heap and
bullet whizzed past my face. Then
! knew what it was to see red With
yell / bayoneted the German who
had shot the man, and had soon ac-
counted for three more. The place was
like shambles. The German front
line trenches were filled with heap
of torn and bloody corpses and we
were now attacking the rear trenches.
"Then suddenly felt a pain in my
shoulder, but / rushed on. I tried to
raise. my rifle, but found / could not,
and the next moment was hit stimuli
taneously in the arm and the jaw. The
pain was terrible, but as I lay on the
ground l tried to shout for Joy. I was
infected with the fever of our success,
for knew that the position was won.
Then lost consciousness and woke
up in the field hospital"