The Robesonian., 1917-12-10
HOW BATTLE LINE LOOKS

HOW BATTLE LINE LOOKS
conceptions From ReadingHistory
Don't Help in Forming Idea of
Battle Line in France-Interest-
ing Letter From Former Prin-
cipal of Antioch High School
Now Somewhere in France.
The following letter from DR.. J. 3.
Evans, formerly principal of the An
tioch (Hoke county, high school. now
somewhere in France, will be found
Of peculiar interest. It was sent to
The Robesonian by Mr.. Fred Brown
OF Antioch, who supplies the follow
ing information: DIR. Evans was prin-
clpal Of the Antioch high school for
Two years, going there after his grad
uatlon at Davidson. He went from
Antioch to Baltimore, where he COM
pleted his medical course. He is a ma
tive Of Abbeville, S. C. In sending
this letter to Mr.. Brown, Dr. Evans
brother, Mr.. G.. B. Evans of Abbeville,
writes that DR.. Evans enlisted as soon
as war was declared and sailed from
New York for France on the End Ju-
ly.
The letter from Dr. Evans was writ
ten to his sister Miss Maggie Evans
and is as follows:
Dear Maggie:
Perhaps you would like to know
just how the battle line here looks
| don't know that I have already tried
to give you some idea of it. First of
all you must forget all former concep-
tlons of a battlefield formed from
reading history.
Had you no ears the approach to
the line would be quite peaceful, for
all about you you see innocent and
harmless looking mounds, something
like the piles of dirt seen about the
roots Of a tree that has blown down.
However, as you happen to have the
sense of hearing you soon learn that
each of these seemingly natural
mounds conceal several guns of the
size that such distance back war
rants. For miles back you see, or
rather hear, these guns. Some have
range of from fifteen to twenty miles.
| have passed through one town that
1 had been heavily shelled though it was
1 | SGVc11CcSIl Illl0S DdCk O1 CIl0 lilies.
AS you go marching up past these
batteries you cannot only be beset by
their noise but the German counter
battries are busy dropping stuff" ov-
er. The air is continually astir with
the shells, both going and coming,
making a peculiar, sinister whistle.
II If you hear a German shell you
know you are safe, for they travel fas-
70 ter than their sound and have usually
struck before you hear them. You
! soon get so you can tell what size shell
| he is sending over and your hear say
| on all sides "a sixty FOUNDER" "a
nine two," ga seventy three, 'etc. Their
/ you will say "a Dud," meaning q
| shell that fails to explode. A "Flying
| Pig" is one that explodes only after
| penetrating to certain depth. "Nine
twos" and "Armour piercing" are the
one that concern you most, for they
stop for nothing short of five fee
of concrete.
Ii You go Oh past battery after bat
terry, each busy, day and night, ane
come up to the communicating trench
1t is sort of a narrow trench built VI
at sides, just wide enough to squeez'
through. This leads up to a serie
of intricate winding and twistin,
trenches. Then another and still an
| other series. All are built up wit
parapet-now and then having
small slit for man to fire his riff
through. Forward of this is IN
Mans Land" Well named too, for
is most dreary, desolate, and plough
ed up piece of land. At different in
tervals along these trenches ''du
outs" are formed, sheltering, some
few, some quite number of men. Th
4 oJofJ o!x OF ynyct>
men in the trenches do nothing bu
| await an attack or make raiding pal
ties. The thing of waiting, waitin!
while all over and around you shell
are bursting, shrapnel screaming, ett
is enough to try a mans nerve. -Th
is nothing compared to their "warn
ing up" before an attack. At the hot
set for attack creeping barragt
is put down. This means every avail
able gun takes one line as it's obje
tive and pours all the lead and ste
it can on that one spot. Then tt
line of fire is raised bit and the i
fantry follows it up and wait till
raises bit further.
You have heard and seen a ha
! storm? Well, the bullets and she]
are thicker than that seems. Y
- have seen chickens escape to coy
through a hail storm? Well, su
pose it is analogous to a human bell
living through a brrage, for it seer
nigh an impossibility. When this
starts, of course the German put do1
an opposing barrage. Lucky you a
if you are caught between these tv
one in front and one behind, for if r
you have to advance through the G.
man barrage-and then you see
sorts of casualties. If you take yo
objective, then try to consolidate
before the German makes count
attack, as he most surely will do.
is in these that he loses so many M
and we wish him to counter alta
again and again.
MI 4ho ,,ooIioo1