The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1917-07-14
which should certainly never be able
10 find again.
Hold Reoina Trench at asst

10 find again.
Hold Regina Trench at Last.
The Regina trench had been taken
and lost three times by tho British.
We took it that day and held it. We
went into action with fifteen hundred
men Of all ranks. and came out with
six hundred. The position which was
the objective OF our battalion was op.
posite 10 and only twelve hundred
yards distant from the town Of Pys.
which, II you take the English mean
ing OF the French sound. was Il highly
inappropriate name for that particular
village. During 4 good many months,
for good many miles round about
that place, there wasn't any such
thing as peace" From our position
.we could see a church steeple in the
town of Baupaume until the Germans
found that our gunners were using !;
as zero" mark. and blew il down
with explosives.
have said that because We were
on the extreme right Of the line We
had the hottest little spot in France to
hold for a while. You see. We had 10
institute a double defensive. As we
had the Germans on our front and on
our flank. the whole length Of The
trench TO the right Of us being still
held by the Germans. There We had
To form block" masSinG our bomb
ers behind barricade which was
only fifteen yards from the barrlcade
behind which the Germans were fight
ing. Our flank and the German flank
were in rontact as fiery as that OF two
live wire ends. And meanwhile the
t'ritzes tried TO rush us on our front
with nine separate counter attacks.
Only one Of them got up close 10 US.
and we went out and stopped that
with the bayonet. Behind our block
barricade there was the nearest ap'
proach to an actual fighting hell that
| had seen.
And yet a man who was in the
midst of it from beginning 10 end CAME
out without scratch. He was a tall
chap named Hunter. For twenty-four
hours. without interruption. he threw
German egg shell" bombs from po-
sition at the center of our oarricade
He never stopped except tn light
cigarette or yell for someone 10 bring
more bombs from Fritzs captured
storehouse. He projected a regular
curtain Of fire OF his own. I've no
doubt the Germans reported he was
couple of fire platoons, working in al
ternate re!iefS. He was awarded the
D. G. NJ. for his services in that fight,
and though. as said. he was IN
wounded. half the men around him
were killed, and his nerves finished
in scuh condition that he had 10 be
sent back to England.
The Big Cumberland What 1t Cost.
One Of the great tragedies or the
war resulted from Bit OF careless
ness when. couple of days later, the
effort was made 70 extend our grip be,
vond the spot which we took in that
first fight. Plans had been made FOR
the forty-fourih battalion Of the Tenth
Canadian brigade to take by assault
the trench section extending to the
right from the point where we had
est ablished the, block on our flank.
The hour for the attack had been
fixed. Then headquarters sent ont a
order. Something
wasn't quite ready.
The orders were sent by runners. as
all confidential orders must be. Te!e-
phones are Of no avail any more. as
both our people and the Germans have
an apparatus which needs only to be
attached TO metal spike In the
ground TO pick up" every telephone
message within radius Of three
miles. When telephones are used Tor
important. MESSAGES are sent
in code. But Tor any FltailH import
AM communication which might Cost
serious losses if misunderstood, old
style runners are used. just as they
were in the days when the fie Id tele-
phone was unheard of. 1t is tn" rule
TO dispatch two or three runners ny
different routes. SO that one, at least.
will be- certain "a arrive. In the case
of tho coun,ermanding Of the order for
the Forty-fourth battalion to assault
the German position on our flank
some officer al headquarters thought
that ono messenger to the lieutenant
colonel commanding tho Forty-fourth
would b. sufficient. The messenger
was killed by 4 chance shot and his
message was undelivered. The Forty.
fourth. in ignorance of the change or
plan, went over" There was no bar
rage fire 10 protect them. and their
valiant effort was simply a wholesale
suicide. Six hundred out Of eight
hundred men were on the ground IN