The Twin Falls times. [volume] (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1905-1916, 1916-02-01
'PRINCESS PATS" LAST STAND MADE
IN ROLLING WAVES Of POISON GAS
Ea OF Famous Regiment in FumeFed Trenches at Ypre Told
by Corporal William Kysh, One of the Survivors of the
lips Veteran Fighters Who Joined the Organization
in Canada-How "SIm" Perry Died.

AT AOui CLOCK III the morning the
word came to charge. We scrambled
over the trench and ran toward the
Germans, 90 yards away. They swept
u with machine guns and bored US
with hand grenades. Big Jack John
sons screamed from behind the lines
at us, and over our heads went back
our own artillery's answer. The Ger
mans came up over the trenches to
meet us, and we used the bayonet.
We slipped and fell; rose and fell
again, stabbing and cutting; there
was no chance to shoot.
Cold Steel Routs Germans.
Then the Germans gave way. They
can't eat cold steel They were piled
up in the trenches. dead and dying,
SC thick that it was untenable, and
after a while we had to abandon the
place we'd won. and go back to our
own trench.
I'VE left seven or eight men behind
in the little strip of twisted mud be-
tween the trenches. And from c 10
for days afterward we watched those
fellows lie there and change from
1
nights and see one Of EN-.
We'll, we charged the Germans
again on March 4. We lost more men,
and again had to abandon the trench
we won. The dead were too thick and
the stencil was too terrible. That's
what is meant when they say the
trenches are 'untenable.' In this
charge Colonel Farquhar OF our regi-
ment was killed.
we had to stay in c 10 for six
days after this. We were shelled,
shelled. shelled. Day and night they
rained about US and behind US, cut
ting of relief We lost So raen killed
and a number wounded. Then we got
out and the Kings Royal Rifles re-
lieved us. From then on until May 3
we went back and forth, in and out of
trenches. We mined 'em and blew
efu up; we sniped a little and threw
hand grenades.
And then we we're ordered to
Ypres. We marched into the trenches
there without delay.
I'VE went in in rain OF artillery
fire and got caught in a vortex from
our own artillery and the Germans
, An observer gave the range wrong to
our artillery and we caught it. Cine
hundred and twenty OF our ren went
l down before the range was righted.
: but we kept on and occupied the
> trench The Germans were right
across from us, about 200 yards away.
2 We held a crescent-shaped trench, and
. on May we routed the Germans, but
we had to duck back, for the fire was
C too heavy and their trench was use
less for protection.
From then until May the Ger
D mans shelled US. They poured tons OF
{ lead about us. No one could leave
/ the trench; no one could stick his
$ head out Our nerves went dead from
the conclusions. and our eyes were
o glazed from the sights about u.s. The
+ dead lay under our feet and the
9 wounded crept back as best they could
e to where they could get first aid.
- First Attack by Poison Gas.
Early on the morning of May the
Germans charged. We knew the,
, were coming. and we were waiting
They came over their trenches il
quarter columns. a solid. swaying mas
OF blue gray. They shouted and raj
!, forward as we moved them down Xix,
= grass. Our machine guns, four to thu
section, Just waved in a semicircl'
= and waved back again. We fired on
! Lee-Enfields as fast as we could puml
- them, and no bullet was wasted.
. They lay in piles in front OF tn,
trenches, and the piles were Away
- wriggling around as some OF the in
jured underneath tried to creep out
. A whole battalion OF them were pu
out OF the way before they drew bacl
, ana formed for another charge, be
!. hind cover OF their trenches.
!, And this time we saw poison ga
= fer the first time. 1t was the secon
=, assault about eight o'clock in tn
= morning. We could see that some
thing was coming on and then sud
. denly there spouted up a thick gree
3 cloud, that hid everything in front O
:, us. The fellows under the Germa
. piles wriggleA harder than ever an
,s everybody in our trench asked: Wei
~ what's comm eff anyhow The win
= was wrong for EN-. and the German
=. went back. and there was quiet unit
70 ten O'Clock.
n This time their gas came in.
rolled along the ground like movin
wall about eight feet high. Behind
~ we knew the Germans were coming
4 but we couldn't see them. so we lie
:. fire through the cloud. The gas ha
10 holes blown in it and the force OF tn
IN bullets swayed It bit, but before W
knew it the gas was rolling in tn
% trenches.
It. The End Of princess Pats own"
ID Il heard mel cursing at one end {
Is the trench where the gas struck frs
IS Just as a shell buried me. and then
i'd got the gas myself. l got 1t light. fc
h l was half buried, but the fellow
70 about me screamed and rolled I'D as