The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1917-06-25
No. 2-THE BOMB RAID

spilled. Two men had been wounded,
though neither fatally. Our own
observation-disclosures took our wounded
back to the field hospital at Dinkie-
busch. The men OF the Twenty.s%th
battalion spent the rest OF the night
instructing us and then left us to
hold the position. We were as nerV-
Gus as lot of cats, and it seemed to
me that the Germans must know tnat
they could come over and walk right
through US, but. outside of few cas-
ualties from shipping. such as the one
that befell the Fourteenth platoon
man, which have told about, moth
ing very alarming happened the first
day and night. and by that time we
had got steady on our job. We held
the position for Is days, which Is the
longest period that any Canadian or
British organization has ever re-
mtlned in a front-lne trench.
In none of the stories I've read have
ever seen trench fighting as 1t was
then carried on in Belgium, adequate
ly described. You see, you can't get
that, making A quick tour Of the
trenches under Official direction and
escort. as the newspaper and maya
zine writer's do. couldn't undertake
TO tell anything worth while about
the big issues Of the war, but ! can
describe how soldiers have to learn
10 fight in the trenches-and I think
good many of our young fellows
have that to learn now. Over there"
they don't talk Of peace or. even OF
tomorrow. They just sit back and
take il.
We always held the fire trench as
liHhtlNI OnSSjhlp hpr i 2 DOM
onstrated fact that the front trench
cannot he successfully defended in de-
termined attack. The thing we did and
the Thing to do Is to be ready 10 jump
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
him that he'll have 10 pull his load for
spot that isn't So warm. That system
worked first rate with us.
During the day we had only very
few mon in the fire trench. II an attack
is coming in daylight there's always
plenty Of time TO get ready for j.. AZ
night We kept prepared for trouble all
the limo. We had a. nigh, sentry on
each firing ster and man sitting at his
foot To watch hi INTO SO" he wasn't So
cretiS Snincd. Then VIC had sentry In
each bay" Of tho trench TO take mes
sagrs.
Orders didn't permit tho man m tia
firing step or the man watching him 10
leave post on any excuse whatever dur
ing their two hour spell Of duly.
Hanging on a string al Ihn elbow Of
each srntry on tn" fro stop was siren
whistle or an empty shell case and hit
IF iron with which 10 hammer on it.
ThiS-whiChcvcr ii might bc-was Tor
tho purpose az spreading tho alarm In
case Of gas attack. Also We had sem
points from twenty 10 nifty yards out in
NO Mans Land" These mon nlackcncd
their faces before they went "nrcr the
Top" and then lax in shcl! holes or nat ,nt
Of them. a baynnct man and a bomber.
From tho listening post wire ran back
to the fire. trench TO h" used in signal
ling. In tho trench a man SAT with this
wire wrapped around his hand: ON" null
meant An q. n" two pulls. lin com.
ing in" three pulls. Enemy in sight"
and four pulls. Sound gas alarm" Tho
fro step in n trench is shelf nm which
soldiers stand 70 look Out ard shoot he
tween tho sand bags On top
In addition 10 these mon We had pa
trolls and scouts out in No Mans Land
tho greater part of the night. with or
dcrs 10 gain any information possible
which might he of value IN battalion.
tiers. They reported on tho condition Of
tho Germans harhed wire. The loca ton
Of machine guns and other iitilo things
like that which might h. Of interest -
some commanding officer twenty nil"S
back Also they wcr" ordered 10 make
every effort 10 capinr" any or the
enemy's scouts or patrols. 50 that we
could got information from them. One
nf the interesting moments in this work
comes when q star shell caught ynu out
in an open spot. If YOU moved ynu
were gone. I've scen mon stand on ono
foot for the thirty seconds during which
n star shell will hmrn. Then. when
scouts or patrols mot in No Mans Lnnd
they always had to fight il out with
hayoncts. Ono single shot would he tho
signal for artillery fire and would moan
the almost instant annihila'ion nt the
men on both sides OF tho fEht. Under
tho necessities of this war many nf our
mon have heel killed by our own shell
fire.
Tho Daylight Hour.
At lirtl" before dnrhrrak came
Stand to-" whom everybody rot BUTTON
cd M and ready for business. because
at rhni hnur most attacks begin. and
also TINT was n" regular time far n
dos" nf "morninc aud evening hate"
otherwise a good lively fifteen minutes
OF shell fire. We had some casualties
every morning and evening. and the
sirntchcr hearers used 10 get ready for
them ms n regular matter of course. For
fifteen minutes al dawn and dusk tn"
Germans usrd tn scnd over "whizhanEs.'
"conl hooks" and "minnicwurfors"
(shclls from trench mortars) IN such 4
liked 10 shoot ON OfT whether they hit
ANYTHING ar not You could always hear
tho heavy stuff coming and "" paid
little attention 10 II. as II WAS used in
efforts 10 reach tho batteries. hack Ut
our lines Tho moor old town Of Rinkie-
busch got IN" full benefit nf It. Whom
p shell would shrink it's way over soma
m