Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1915-07-23
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 hospital here
young British soldier who had been a
London broker few months ago, told
the story of his first bayonet charge
1t will be his last too. for he will
never be well enough again to be sent
back to the front.
I'VE 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 il the trenches.
las dawn broke felt an uncon-
trench into the open, but | knew it
was counting DEATH as | saw the next
moment. The man nearest me raised
his head above the parapet, and in an
instant was bagged by sniper He
rolled over with stif1ed murmur, and
lay quite still with his face buried in
the soft red earth. | turned him over
and spoke to him, but he was dead,
with 9 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 a lifetime. The
noise of the bombardment swelled
louder and louder, but / 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. l can honestly say | felt no
actual fear, but l could not help re-
Numbering that in a short time our
numbers would probably be reduced
by half. and l was prepared for the
worst.
in five minutes the order would be
given and the thought of what was
coming made my blood boil |, 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 it's work
we'll, for we found the wire defenses
almost completely blown away. We
reached the enemy's front trenches.
and | raised my bayonet as a 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 l had felt
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 a shambles. The German front
line trenches were filed with heap
of torn and bloody corpses and We
were now attacking the rear trenches,
Then Suddenly | felt pain IN my
shoulder. but | rushed on. tried TO
raise my rife. but found could not
and the next moment ! was hit stimuli
taneously in the arm and the jaW Inc
pam was terrible. but as lay on the
ground l tried to shout for joy. was
infected with the fever of our success
for knew that the position was WOO
Then / lost consciousness and | ToA'
up in the field hospital"