The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1917-10-05
GETTING USED To
THE WAR GAME
Our Young Men in the Training
Camps Will Feel at Home
in Europe

The following letter from one of
our young men taking instruction at
one of the officers training camps
shows what our boys are going thru
in order to prepare for the real thing.
His letter gives a good idea of what
all the men, officers and privates, are
going thru, except that the enlisted
men do not have to take the course of
study that is put up to the prospec-
tive officers.
Dear, Folks: Another week gone,
and believe me it has been some week.
Every one in our company heaved a
huge sigh of relief when the last for
nation was over today. It is always
"blue Monday" in camp. We started
off with new non-coms so the drill all
day was rotten. Incidentally it rain
ed, so at night every one was tired.
We had just settled down to a COM
paratively comfortable evening when
the call sounded "Fall in under arms"
We assembled in the company street
and were issued ten rounds of blank
cartridges and were told we would at
tack the line of trenches which were
occupied by the second battalion. We,
of course, had our full packs, so
pounds, slung to our backs. We start
ed out to circle the trenches. We had
about a mile and half to go right
through the woods. Everything was
absolutely quiet and we took care not
to even snap a twig. Bear in mind it
was still raining to beat the devil. We
advanced until within about 500 yards
Of the enemy's outposts, then laid fiat
on the ground. The men in the
trenches were on the alert for any
movement so you had to even breathe
with care. Of course / managed to
draw some extra dirty work. 1t was
my pleasure to scout ahead for their
outpost, to locate flares, barbwire,
etc. | mean that l had to crawl a
couple of hundred yards on my hands
and knees and stomach through wet
| woods, always on the alert to avoid
coming into contact with any outpost,
for to be captured or seen meant the
failure of the move. | was fairly sue
cessfuI and got back to my lines all
right. Then the attack began or
rather the advance. We managed to
! get within about rs or 80 yards of
the front line trenches before one of
our men stepped on a flare trap In
the dark. "a ''fare trap" or "fare"
is a sort of skyrocket, roman can
/ die, pinwheel arrangement that gives
off a tremendously high-powered
/ Light. In a second everything was
as light as high noon. 1t was then
/ bang! bang! and we went at them.
| Actual battle would have been no diff
ferent in effect You forget every
thing except the desire to close with
| your man and to close as quickly as
possible Our bayonets were fixed,
but sheathed, in order to injure no
one, so that the last few feet was
hand to hand, gun against gun. 1t
was intensely exciting. You forgot
| it was play for the moment.
The umpires decided that our at
| tack was to a large measure success
! full but that we would have had SER
ious losses. Tuesday it rained, and
we had regular work.
Wednesday we relieved the second
/ battalion in the trenches, 1t was a
! fairly decent day. Everything done
| in regard to the trenches is under the
command of two French officers, so it
must be done exactly as If we were in
France During the day we repair
/ ed trenches in the rear while the
other companies were up in the fire
trenches. About $50 we moved a
platoon at time up to relieve the
men in the first and second fire
trenches Every sound was repressed
as we moved silently up. Any noise
would have Immediately drawn heavy
rife and artillery fire from the en-
emy. The relief was successful and