Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-11-23
CHAPTER VIII.
Second Battle For Calais,

lV1 short, and / was back on the
job at Poperinghe all too
Ypres, which was six miles away
had been comparatively quiet all win
ter. In fact, it had been SO quiet that
u Twenty-seventh divisional head.
quarters had moved in there. AS the
spring drew near the Germans began
to shell around the city again, but
very few shells landed directly in the
city proper.
There was a big gas tank on the out.
skirts down toward Krustadt, and
around this place the shell fire would
be rather heavy at times. The city
was much knocked about even then,
but it was nothing to what 1t was at
the end of the second battle for Ca
lais."
Before the beginning of this battle
the kaiser was quoted as having said
that IL he failed to break us this time
he would lay the city of Ypres to the
ground street by street. He failed to
break us, all right, and he kept his
word, for today the fine old city of
Ypres Is nothing but a shapeless heap
of broken bricks.
For weeks before the attack u air
men were bringing in reports that the
Germans were massing heavy bodies
of fresh troops just in front of our po-
sition. All our transport trains went
through the city, our men We're billeted
there, and one of our divisional head
quarters had moved into the city.
The Germans still continued to bonn
bard positions in this vicinity, but
they left the city itself severely alone.
All winter 1t had been as safe to go
through Ypres as 1t would be to go to
church, consequently an order to go to
Ypres did not bother anybody very
much.
/ was at the divisional headquarters
in Ypres with a staff officer on the aft
ernoon the bombardment started. We
had gone to the city On horses, and we
naturally expected to come back that
way. l suppose 1t was about 2 o'clock
when we arrived there, and / put the
horses In the yard behind several build
fngs.
AS l was still on duty, I didn't dare
go very far away, for l didn't know at
what moment the officer might show
up. The first inkling / got of anything
unpleasant was when l heard the
scream of several shells coming through
the air at once.
Right then l acted on the impulse
that seizes every one at such a time
and wen through the nearest cellar
window, where l landed on a pile of
potatoes. I was content to stay there.
too, until an orderly found me and told
me that my officer wanted me. The
Germans had been bombarding us
about half an hour then, and there was
no sign of any letting up yet.
The orderly told me that the shells
were dropping In at the rate of forty
one TO the minute, and l remember
wondering who on earth would be fool
enough to count the number of shells
falling. I reported to my officer and
found him as cool as a cucumber. He.
asked me where the horses We're, and
when l told him he said for me to leave
them there and to go and find a car of
some kind.
1 knew 1t was mighty serious when
he would abandon the sborses, and |
started out with tie, fear of God In my
heart and wondering where In the dick
ems I would find a ear in that inferno.
As a matter Of fact, l did find one, or
at least it had been a car at some time
or other. 1t was an ambulance which
had had the body blown off, and some
one had built a couple Of little bucket