El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-08-09
MEN KEEN FOR
THE BIC PUSH
Leap From Trenches With
Joy to Go at Germans; All
Tired of Trench Life.

IH6Q OF trench Lille.
London. Eng. Aug. ct used to be
said that trench warfare had ten
dency to destroy a soldiers keenness in
attack Nobody who talks WITH the
wounded can think II has this effect
on the new army Officers and men all
speak with excitement and delight OF
going over" That is the universal
phrase.
one officer put It, Going over means
to US the dash into open air and free
dom after the tedious camping lie OF
. the trenches We are all fed up with
trench life We had been shut up be
hind the bars of our trench all these
months. and now we were free. There
was no need TO urge the men on " hen
they We're climbing on and up. They
were wild to get out" and This was
the view of a man from Bedford who
was full of enthusiasm for the great
push.
1T was as though the war had be-
come sleepy he said and il was
time something was done TO it, The
bOmbardment was wicked We fired
20 times to their once But the noise
was cruel We felt II. / can tell you
ana SO Tor the Germans. Rutn We LoOh
them il seemed as if the sound % the
guns had got into their heads. They
We're dazed. more like children than
men. Whenever you got near them.
they began crying. Mercy. kamerado.'
Like School Boys.
But when the bOmbardmenr ceased
and we left the trenches We We're like
school boys I had been waiting for
this for a year I shall never forget
it. We had been afraid we We're never
going to get al the Germans, and there
we were in among their trenches
Didn't we let them have a bomb or
two.
In the same strain an officer from
Kent spoke Of the fascination Of raid
ing These little raids are regarded
as sort Of picnic amid the tedium OF
trench life and q fairly cheaD picnic
too He had taken IS men out on one
Of these expeditions near Armentieres,
and had brought them all back again.
one man with bullet in the leg and
himself with a bullet in the shoulder.
The excitement becomes q kind Of pas
sion. he explained. and there is ire
mendouS keenness among the men for
the job. Some soldiers want to be al
ways at it The fun OF the whole thing
is the look on the faces OF the Germans
when you get TO their trenches. He
though these rsidinC tactics one Of the
happieSt inspirations Of the war. They
had broken the mOnotony Of trench
life and kept the Germans in perpetual
suspense
People used TO wonder how the clerks
and factory workers Of Lancashire
would stand military life and what
kind Of soldiers they would make
There can be no doubt OF the answer
after the wonderful fighting of the
MancheSterS- I was talking TO a
wounded man Of the regiment. one Of
ten men employed in a weaving mill
before the war His battalion was u
start at $50 to take a village. another
battalion starting at 1870 To take the
bridges across the trenches when they
had taken them. and the $50 men We're
10 follow on and sweep over the
trenches into the village.
Germans Happy Over Capture.
me flrst rush was an immediate I
success, and before the $50 men
started German prisoners were coming
IN IN great numbers It was "A curious !
spectacle, for the German prisoners
We're so relieved to find themselves
our OF the hombardment that they were 7
Ia uShlnS and Joking and the Man 4
cnesterS began 10 think that perhaps B
the Germans holding the village would I
be Just as happy TO he made prisoners Z
or they started, and they ran straight 4
mo storm Of machine gun fire But !
they went on IN little groups OF five !
or sIN, with ciEarets between their lips
and Lancashire jokes in their mouths
OF course. they had casualties my
friend among them-but not man 4
An officer in the Lancashire regi-
ment gave an amusing description OF a /
scene in trench abandoned by the
Germans The officers were described |
as looking as If they We're dressed for
parade, with their uniforms quite clean |
The trench and dusouts were fitted (
10 like dressing rooms in a hotel !
There was electric light. great water ]
pump, and abundance Of clean clothes.
shirts. linen. boots. washing and SHAY /
ing gear. cigars. ciSarets and food. II 1
looked as If the German officers had I
expected 10 be there for many d long /
month
Strange Incident in Big Push
An officer with an eve for the mys-
terious noted two strange incidents in 1
the great push just before the often !
slVe four dogs came ont Of the German /
lines and crossed over TO our lines
The Germans whistled and shouted. bur !
the deserters held steadily on. our
men, OF course, hailed il as an omen.
The other incident was still more
curious In the war scourged zone
there IS road called Crucifiction ave /
nue. When our men reached this road |
they found every tree destroyed bv the 1
Dcmbardment tthe road had been /
Thanked by trees on both sidesD Ruf
the large crusifix still stood there. and !
when II was examined closely l. WIS
impossible % find a single trace OF |