The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1915-01-01
AND FLOOD
WORK HARDSHIP.
.ONlTHESOLD|ERS.
TRENCHES FALL IN, AND MEN
FIND THEMSELVES BURIED
IN COLLAPSED EARTH.
sHARPsHooTERs FROM ENEMYs
LINES ARE ALWAYS ON
LOOKOUT.
MAKES IT DANGEROUS TO PUSH
ONES HEAD TO THE SUR.
FACE LINE.

LONDON, Jan. 1t Correspondence
Of the Associated Press.l-The fol.
lowing account of life at the front is
from a correspondent who volunteer
ed for service at the beginning of tho
war and has since been promoted to
the rank of an officer.
During the latter part of Novem-
Der the army in the trenches was well
nigh perlshinES with cold; since early
December 1t las been the victim Of
persistent rail- and flood. Night after
night whole companies are flooded
out OF their trenches, while rear
rangement of tho forces has made 1t
impossible to give the men their for
mer weekly three days Of rest in the
villages behind the lines. All the ad.
vanced forces will remain in their
trenches now for eighteen days; then
they hope to have q brief relief.
at Is difficult to give an idea OF
what rain means in the trenches. The
lines under frosty conditions seem
such an orderly, permanent and town
like series of cubby holes that when
they all start to melt away and cave
in under the influence of thaw and
rain, It is as IL one were trying to
travel through pitch dark London in
ruins. Officers who were glorying III
fine new dugouts equipped with all
the trench comforts. suddenly found
themselves buried in mass Of col
lapsed earth of the consistency Of
thick paint.
1.-THE latest gossip here is that the
Indian division and the Germans were
so close to each other a day or two
ago that they used the same parapet
for their trenches and took turns at
firing through their mutual loopholes.
That, OF course, Is little exaggerat.
cd, but serves to illustrate the man
ner in which the two armies keep con-
tinually getting closer and closer.
Hand grenades and home made bombs
fashioned of biscuit tins can be used
advantageously at many points.
Generally, however, the front
trenches are about two hundred yards
apart in this section. That gives tho
sharpshooters plenty Of chance to get
in their Ono, work, and It is dangerous
to push ones head above q trench ev.
en- to sight a rifle. Many OF the sharp.
shooters are using periscopes much
like those Of the submarines, and with
these they can sight and shoot accur.
ately without coming anywhere near
the top of the trench. The opposing
sharpshooters of course delight in eff.
forts to hit the tube of the periscope,
and frequently succeed.
"Since the rains and floods came the
communication trenches have largely
oozed away. Some of them are like
rivers, others are knee deep with
pasty mud Of exactly the same consls.
tency as bakers dough. A regiment
which passed through one such trench
a day or two ago left three men behind
and had to send relief party back
to dig them out.
Under such circumstances the la
Dor of bringing up ammunition and ra-
lions from the rear is terrific. and the
men assigned to this labor reach their
destination in a state OF utter fatigue,
nevertheless they have to take their
turn at sentry duty later in the night.
1.-THE enemy is very businesslike and
misses no chance to shoot any man
who exposes himself. Today, for In.
stance, an English soldier was up in
willow tree cutting withes. A shot
passed him. and he sportively signal.
led, "A miss; left A second shot
came, and he signalled, "A miss; right
The enemy proflted by his advice. and
the third shot passed straight through
his head.
There are the strictest orders
against men exposing themselves. but
some Of the careless one are surpris-
fngly disregardful Of their safety Yes,
terday private vino was dragging
a sack of coal walked slowly along the
top Of communicating trench for
considerable distance in full view of