Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-08-24

tie was told me by III of u men,
who said he was there when 1t began.
He said one of the Australians had
c~arelessly remarked that the British
generals had decided it was time to
get through with the sideshow In Bel
GUM, and this was the reason why
they had sent regular troops like the
Australians In to relieve the Canadians.
Then some sensitive Canadian wish
ed the Australians luck and hoped
they'd finish it up as well as they had
the affair in the Dardanelles. After
that our two days rest was made up
principally of beating 1t out of esta-
minas when strategic requirements
suggested a new base or beating 1t into
estaminas when It looked as II we
could act as efficient re-enforcements.
That fight never stopped for forty-eight
hours, and the only places 1t didn't
include were the church and the hos
pitfalls. I'll bet to this day that the
Belgians who run the estam1nas In
Poperinghe will duck behind the bars
II you Just mention Canada and Aus
tralia In the same breath.
But I'm bound to say that 1t was
good, clean fighting. Nobody fred a
shot, nobody pulled a bayonet, and no
body got the wrong idea about any
thing. The Australian heavyweight
champion who landed on me went
right out In the street and saluted n
of our ~lieutenants. We had just n
satisfying reflection after the fight was
over-the Australian battalion that re-
lieved us fell heir to the counterattack
which the Germans sent across to even
up on our bombing raid.
Down to the Somme.
We began our march to the Somme
by a hike to st. Omer, the first Brit
ish headquarters In Europe. Then we
stopped for a week about twenty miles
from Calais, where we underwent a
course of intensified training for open
fighting. The infantry tactics, In
which we were drilled, were very SINH
lar to those Of the United States army,
those which, in fact, We're originated
by the United States troops in the days
Of Indian fighting. We covered most
of the ground around Calais on our
stomachs In open order. While it may
seem impertinent for me, a mere nom
com, to express an opinion about the
larger affairs of the campaign, I think
I may be excused for saying that the
war didn't at all take the course which
was expected and hoped for after the
fight on the Somme. Undoubtedly the.
allies expected to break through the
German line. That is well known now.
While we were being trained neal Ca
lais for open warfare a very large
force of cavalry was being assembled
and prepared for the same purpose. 1t
vas never used.
That was last August, and the allies
haven't broken through yet. Even
tually l believe they will break
through, but in my opinion men who
are drawn for service in the first
half million of our new American
army will be veterans In Europe before
the big break comes which will wreck
the Prussian hope of success In this
war. And if we of the q. S. A. don't
throw In the weight to beat the Prus-
SLAMS now they will not be beaten, and
In that case the day will not be very
far distant when we will have to beat
them to save our homes and our ma
ton. War is a dreadful and inglorious
and i'll smelling and cruel thing. But
If we hold back now we will be in the
logical position of a man hesitating to
go to grips with a drunken, savage,
shrieking, spewing maniac who has all
but whipped his proper keepers and is
going after the onlooker. However, l
wish we had had two months more of
weather on the Somme. There might
have been a different story to tell