Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-09-05
Every Day Life of Fighting Man
Not as Correspondents
See It.
KEYNOTE is MoNoToNY
Most Deeds Are Done Without
Enthusiasm, Just as
Other Tasks.
by GEORGE DUFREsNE.

we succeeded In giving a true picture
OF the "po!lu." his life and his thoughts?
Evidently not. IL we are to believe a
typical French "poilu" who spoke his
mind here while on n short leave OF
absence from the front.
We like you correspondents" he
said. land all feel that you want
to describe us just as you find us. but
the picture you have given OF us. Of our
life In the trenches, our thoughts and
feelings Is not quite a true one.
You journalists like to embellish
things 70 use too strong colors and
exaggerate. but perhaps you have to do
so TO make people read what you write.
You never seem to notice anything
except what is extraordinary. You walk
about among US and your experienced
eye very soon reveals to you that the
keynote of our life In the trench is
monotony. cold, gray monotony.
WANT STRONGER CoLoRs
AND PLENTY OF ACTION
This. however. does not appeal to
you. you want stronger colors and
plenty OF action. When you see some
thing unexpected. brilliant or pic
turesque a light comes into your eyes.
When you hear ono Of those remarks
derstood. your pencils get busy, your
imagination gets 70 work Some Of you
even Invent things. but all those beau
tlful details which you put down on
paper do not give the things in their
true perspective and fail to give true
idea Of the monotony Of our life.
We soldiers do everything that must
be done, but most OF the time We do
IL without enthusiasm. like any other
Kind Of work. We know very we'll
that II Is grave and necessary. bu; we
have become hardened and made dull
by habit
II have taken part in many attacks
and assaults upon the trenches Of the
enemy. the last time at Hebuterne, but
not a single one OF these has been
like the descriptions in your papers
We cannot say that we are afraid, but
neither can we say that we are in
spired by that sacred enthusiasm and
love OF lighting OF which you journal
lists often speak. Everything Is far
more simple and at the same time far
more strange.
We stood there. elbow to elbow rife
In hand We know very we'll that we
were going TO attack. For two hours
the big guns had never stopped roaring.
which followed so quickly that thew
were like one prolonged deafen!ng roll
of thunder. Smoke filled the air. and
when the wind drove II into our trench
II made us cough and shed tears
Suddenly n word passed along the
line: In hfteen minutes we go for
them" Then we look at one another
without a single word. but all Of US
did some very fl thinking
We did not IS rule see our colonel
very often. but our major, a very smart
fellow and fine officer. said to us:
we are going for them to recap
ture our homes. children. We must
get through Your wives, your par
ents your children are waiting for YOU
over there. I am right when say
that we must get through. am 1 not,
boys?'
HARDLY HEAR WHAT
THEIR OFFICER is SAYING
Now 1 must add that we all come
from the departments occupied BY the
Germans. so we all shouted Yes. major,
but In reality we hardly heard what he
said. All the boys will tell You that.
but we did do some thinking.
we saw ourselves as bows aeain
We saw ourselves back at school and
thought OF our pranks. rememher
that during that quarter of an hour
thought OF people and things which
had not been in my mind for wears ~
catechism. of an old woman who ,sed
to sell candy outside the school. of
new suit which I tore the first dav
had 1t on. 1 thought OF my wife and
my mother and of my whole life in
one short moment. The fifteen minutes
seemed to pass like flash and still
TO last a whole eternity.
we looked at one another We vera
all good chums. In few moments
many OF us would be lying on the
ground never to rise again. Which
ones?
Finally the word OF command came.
we jumped up across the parapet and
rushed forward We heard bullets,
Sheils cries. From behind us came the
blast or bugles sounding the attack. We
ran. we knew no longer where we were
or what we were doing. can not ex
plain One felt as If one were dead:
one no longer saw those who fell Those
VINO we're wounded often did not know
II themselves. We ran-ran-ran. ever
forward.
We reached the German trench. How
did we get there? We did not know
but there we were. Where were tho
Germans? Oh, there they were, right in
front OF US! Some Of them raised their
hands, fell down on their knees and
cried for mercy. We did not have the
heart to Kill them. but alas for thosb.
we did not see!
still we ran forward Suddenly
stopped short. had run my bayonet
through big German. and that made
me stumble. How did get him on nv
baye met? did not know, / had not
noticed.
And during 1T all the guns contin-
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