The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1917-08-03

After i had been hit remember feel.
ing relieved that l hadn't been hurt
enough to keep me from going ON with
the men. I'm not trying to make my
self out hero. I'm just trying to tell
you how an ordinary mans mind
works under the stress OF fighting and
the danger of sudden death. There
are some queer things in the psycholo-
gy of battle. For instance. when we
had got into the German trench and
were holding 1t against the most
vigorous counterattacks the thought
which was persistently uppermost lii
my mind was that l had lost the ad-
dress OF girl in London along with
some papers which had thrown away
Just before we started over and which
l should certainly never be able to find
again.
Hold Regina Trench at Last.
The Regina trench had been taken
and lost three times by the British
We took II that day and held It. We
went into action with 1,5OO men Of all
ranks and came out with CO.,
l have said that because we were on
the extreme right OF the line we had
the hottest little spot in France to
hold for awhile. You see, we had to
institute a double defensive, as we
had the Germans on our front and on
our flank, the whole length OF the
oh rt.,hN -
held by the Germans. There we had
TO form a block" massing our bomb
ers behind a barricade which was only
fifteen yards from the barricade be-
hind which the Germans were fighting.
Our flank and the German flank were
In contact as fiery as that OF two live
wire ends. And meanwhile the Fritzes
tried to rush us on our front with nine
separate counterattacks. Only one of
them S2t Up Close 10 us, and we went
out and stopped that with the bayonet
Behind our block barricade there was
the nearest approach to an actual fight
ing hell that / had seen.
And yet a man who was in the midst
OF II from beginning to end came ont
without scratch. He was tall chap
named Hunter. For twenty-four hours,
without interruption. he threw German
"egSshell' bombs from position at
the center OF our barricade. He never
stopped except TO light cigarette or
yell for some one to bring him more
bombs from Fritz's captured store
house. He projected a regular curtain
OF fire OF his own. I've no doubt the
Germans reported he was n couple OF
platoons, working I'm alternate reliefs.
He was awarded the ID. G. NJ. for his
services in that fight, and. though, as
said, he was unwounded. half the
men around him were killed, and his
nerves finished In such condition that
he had to be sent back to England.
The Big Blunder and What 1t Cost.
one of the great tragedies OF the war
resulted from a bit OF carelessness
when a couple OF days later the effort
was made to extend our grip beyond
the spot which we took I'm that first
fight Plans had been made for the
Forty fourth battalion OF the Tenth
Canadian brigade To take by assault
the trench section extending to the
right from the point where we had es-
tablished the "block" on our flank. The
hour for the attack had been fixed
Then headquarters sent out a counter
manding order Something wasn't
quite ready.
The orders were sent by runners. as
all confidential orders must he. Tele-
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 I'm the ground
to pick up" every telephone message
telephones are used for anything i'm
poTtant messages are sent I'm code
But for any vitally important commu,
nication which might cost serious
losses, II misunderstood. old style run
ners are used. just as they were I'm the
days when the field telephone was un.
heard OF. 1t Is the rule to dispatch two
or three runners by different routes SO
that one at least will be certain to ar.
rive. In the case OF the countermand-
ing OF the order for the Fourty-fourth
battalion to assault the German posi-.
tiOn on our flank some officer at head.
quarters thought that one messenger
to the lieutenant colonel commanding
the Forty-fourth would be sufficient
The messenger was killed by a chance
shot, and his message was undelivered
The Forty fourth, In ignorance OF the