The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1916-07-13
THE THIRD BATTLE OF YPREs
A Letter Written TO r. H. Osborne,
Toronto, Canada, by his friend
w. J. Garvook, a private in
the Canadian Army
France, June 10, 1916.

Hdu COine Oub VI tiiC nlVob t'iihho
experiences. and suffered the fiercest
bombardment that the battalion has
undergone since IL arrived here
eighteen months ago.
The daily papers will have given
you full details about the part play
ed by the Canadians in the third
battle of Ypres. A modern battle
in trench warfare is so extensive
that one sees only what happens
in his immediate vicinity. The
forces engaging change radidly,
so severe and tremendous is the on
slaught of a modern bombardment.
So all can do is TO give you some
detached scattered impressions Of
The fight as il appeared to me.
Our Company was in the front
line holding the left Of the frontage
assigned TO our battalion. A marsh
separated us from the battalion on
our left. Our bay of the trench gut
ted out from the marsh trench and
was named after a certain part OF
the anatomy which I possessed once,
but which I was relieved of after an
operation one fine day in Fort Will
liam. II was called the appendix.
Thursday night, June 4, was ex-
ceptionally quiet along the front.
Now and again a flare went up from
Fretz's trench, but not a rifle shot
cracked the darkness in the trench
opposite us. The silence was omin-
Gus.
Next morning about nine o'clock
the enemy began the bombardment.
Every caliber of gun seemed to be
used from the heavy howitzers to
trench mortars. Not only did they
shell the front line trenches but
also the communication trenches
and supports, and kept up a curtain
of fire on the roads in the neigh
borhood to prevent reinforcements
coming up. The Smelling was
continuous. II was a steady roar
so that the earth shook with the re-
verberations.
The din became monOtonous, we
tould only patiently wait for the
Smelling to cease or for our artil-
lery to silence the Hun batteries.
This is when one feels the strain
most. The shells explode all around
one and one can do nothing but
stand it. When one is active he
does not notice things happening
around him.
The bombardment lifted about
two o'clock in the afternoon and the
BOsches came over and occupied
part of our trenches away on our
right. BY this time we heard that
the Company on our right was WHIP
ed out. We were glad to learn
afterward that this was not correct.
Our Company was completely cut off
from communication with other
troops and was the only Company
in what originally was our front
line.
We kept close watch thru the
periscope for any move on Fretz's
part in the trench opposite. Crack,
went our periscope. We put up
another one. II met the same fate
as the first one. The Hun sniper
was on his job. No sooner had my
chum, Sherwood, taken his posi-
tion at the new periscope when he
exclaimed. "Lbok Bill p! There's
raft of Huns looking over the para
pet" / was oiling some bombs at
the time. | left my task and peer
ed through the periscope. The
trench opposite seemed TO be filled
with men. Their blue caps bobbed
up and down over the parapet like
floats in wave. Then a face ap-
peared. Next, one fellow nervier
than the others raised himself on
the parapet as il he were about to
lead a charge. We took our places
in the bay prepared TO meet Fretz
with fixed rifles and bombs. But he
never came. We breathed more
easily.
Turnout the afternoon we could
hear the shells from our batteries
whistling high above. Nothing I'M
toward happened in the evening.
Then as soon as darkness covered
the land, He'll broke loose in all its
ferocity. Star shells or flares went
up from Fretz's trench by the thous-
and. Red, green and white lights
squirted from his trench and spread
their rays Of light like streams
from an electric fountain, making
the night almost like day. "Tat
tat the musketry ratified all along
the line. Then above all was the
deafening crash OF bursting shrap-
mel and high explosives. The air
was filled with Opaque smoke pune
tured with vivid flashes OF explod-
ing shFaDnpl Affair half m bonn