Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-05-22
VIVID STORY OF BATTLE
OF LANGEMARCK BELGIUM
Told by Major p. A. Guthrie Who Fought with
the 10th Battalion, Canadian Volunteers,
Which Came Out in Blaze of Glory-An In
ferno of Artillery and Gunfre Which Wreck
ed the Nerves and Carried Death Broadcast


er of Fredericton. n. B. will be Of
great interest to the large number
in this section who have relatives and
friends with the Canadian troops. The
writer. Major Guthrie, is also broth
er Of Mrs. John H. Buzzell Of Augusta,
which will give added interest II is
here reprinted in full:
Having narrowly escaped being
blown TO pieces, when shell fell in
front Of the dugout. being occupied
by a number of officers and men. as
well as himself. Major P. A. Guthrie.
| who is now on the firing line in Bel
GUM with the 10th Battalion, writes
TO his wife in this city Of his expert
ences in the trenches during the past
two weeks.
Major Guthrie's letter is in the form
OF diary Of his work from April 18th
to 23rd and is the most complete let
ter that has been received here re-
garding the work Of the Canadians in
Belgium. around Ypres and at LANCE
marcke.
1t is during a bombardment of the
trenches occupied BY the 10th Battal-
| ion that Major Guthrie had the mar
row escape from being killed, but as
he explains. this is only one of the
narrow escapes along our line to
date" Major Guthrie in his letters
gives graphic description Of a bonn
| bardment Of a town by the Germans
and the flow of refugees resulting,
when the Huns broke through the Al
lies lines in Belgium
The extracts from Major Guthrie's
letter follow:
April lS.-"Last night nothing star
Ting happened. The weather was
fine, the stars bright and the shells
( few. Today was a day of excitement
f-something doing all the time. This
morning about 100 o'clock we were
standing too there came on gentle
breeze. From over the hills the
sound Of voices, which as they swelled
in volume We could easily distinguish
as the singing Of hymns at a German
| church service. Then there was a lull
and l suppose their chaplain was
preaching. Once more We heard sing
ing, then a slight pause and then
what we took to be their National
anthem. All the men seemed deeply
interested and personally l was much
moved by the novelty OF it all.
Germans Start Smelling.
| Just as the last words of the an
thems died away in the distance the
! whole earth seemed to totter with the
crash Of many guns and over and
around US in salYoS Of threes and
fours burst along, our whole front,
shrapnel and trench mortar shells.
The air was full of fire, mud and
debris as the ground was torn up and
tossed heavenward and as we took
this to be a prelude to an attack we
stood with rifles over the parapet mo-
mentarily expecting to see swarmlns
down on US an avalanche OF Huns
The attack was not made but the in
o ferno continued for some time; then
= died as suddenly as it had conEnenc-
ed. The parapet TO our left had been
? torn away and the men covered up 1T
9 the mud They dug themselves on,
and as our dugout was the nearest
0 place of refuge they crawled in with
us. There being no attack the boys
fell to their morning meal.
Major Guthris's Narrow Escape.
t In order to give more room l crawl
q and lay my head on my blankets
which were wadded up in rough
bundle Lieut.. Thompson wishing tc
make room for another crawled over
me and jokingly pushed me TO the
foot, lying in my place. No sooner
: had he settled down, leaning partly or
n me- than another crash came from
the hillside and l got whack on the
q shoulder which felt just like blow
: from a heavy piece Of deal ano
Thompson. his right sleeve torn tc
! pieces, went sprawiing from the force
!. Of the blow into the outer part OF the
g dugout. l brought up against an up
| right post. The impact OF the shell
n tossed the men about like ninepins
J, but luckily did not explode or J.
Of us would have blown to pieces
Major Lightfoot was standing about
three feet from us. crouched in the
| opening, where he had gone to lool
> along the lire to see how his boys
had Jared He took Thompson into
. the telephone dugout nearby ane
dressed his wound which was about
q eight inches long by four wide and II
to the bone. No groan OF pain es'
a capped him from the pain and the cour'
age he showed was almost unimagln-
t able. Soon afterwards we got another
: busting and three shells buried them
|. selves in the face OF our dugout, bu