The Snowflake herald., 1917-11-30


w HEN we took our position in the
wv front line trenches in Belgium
we relieved the TWenty-sixth
Canadian battalion. Scouts from that
organization came back to the villages
of DinkiebuSch and RenninghelSt to
tell US how glad they were to see US
and % show us the way in. AS we
proceeded overland, before reaching
the communication trenches at the
front these scouts paid us the hos
pitable attention due strangers-that
is, one of them, leading a platoon,
would say:
Next 200 yards in machine gun
range. Keep quiet, don't run and be
ready to drop quick if you are
warned"
There was one scout to each platoon,
and we followed him single file, most
of the time along roads or well worn
paths, but sometimes through thickets
and ragged fields Every now and then
the scout would yell at us to drop,
and down we'd go on our stOmachs,
while away off in the distance we
could hear the 'put-put'' of machine
guns, the first sound of hostile firing
that had ever reached our ears.
Its all right" said the scout. "They
haven't seen us or got track of us.
They're just firing on suspicion"
Nevertheless, when our various pla-
toOns had all got into the front reserve
trenches, at about two hours after
midnight, we learned that the first
blood of our battalion had been spilled.
Two men had been wounded, though
neither fatally. Our own stretcher
bearers took our wounded back to the
field hospital at Dinkiebusch. The men
of the Twenty-siXth battalion spent
the rest of the night instructing us
and then left us to hold the position.
We were as nervous as a lot of cats,
and it seemed to me that the Germans
must certainly know that they could
come over and walk right through us,
but outside of a few casualties from
sniping, such as the ore that befell
the Fourteenth platoon man, which |
have told about, nothing very alarm
ing happened the first day and night,
and by that time we had got steady
on our job. We held the position for
26 days, which is the longest period
that any Canadian or British organ
ization has ever remained in a front
line trench.
In none of the stories I've read have
ever seen trench fighting as it was
carried on in Belgium adequately de-
scribed. You see, you can't get much
of an idea about a thing like that
making a quick tour of the trenches
under official direction and escort as
the newspaper and magazine writer's
do. l couldn't undertake to tell any
thing worth while about the big issues
of the war, but | can describe how
soldiers have to learn to fight in the
trenches, and l think a good many Of
our young fellows have that to learn
now. "Over there" they don't talk of
peace or even of tomorrow. They sit
back and take it.
We always held the fire trench as
lightly as possible, because it is a
ueIIlOuSJIdlCu
cannot be successfully defended in a
determined attack. The thing we did
and the thing to do is to be ready to
jump on to the enemy as soon as he
has got into your front trench and is
fighting on ground that you know and
he doesn't and knock so many kinds
of tar out of hirn that he'll have to
pull his load for a spot that isn't so
warm That system worked first rate
with us.
During the day we had only very
few men in the fire trench. If an at
tack is coming in daylight there's al
ways plenty of time to get ready for
it. At night we kept prepared for
trouble all the time. We had a night
sentry on each firing step and man
sitting at his feet to watch him to see
he wasn't secretly sniped. Then we
had a sentry in each 'bay" of the
trench to take messages.
Orders didn't permit the man on the
firing step or the man watching him
to leave post on any excuse whatever
during their two hour "spell' of duty.