The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-11-21
Lived in Shallow bitches,
With Mud and Water,
and Withstood Forces
JAM POT ARTILLERY
AN EARLY FEATURE
Signaller Who Saw 13
Months Service, Here
With Mission

Sergeant B. Murphy, one OF tht
hundred or even fewer survivors OF
the famed Princess Pats, Winnipeg's
crack bQttalion that went into ac-
ton ''over there" along in the latter
part of 1914, now a member OF the
British mission touring the United
States in search Of British citizens
who are being placed in the Can
adian army. says blum won the bat
pure blur. nothing else. said
Sergeant Murphy to The Forum this
morning.
why, say. we were so few over
there in those days. that some OF our
trenches were held by only two or
three men. We had man every
eight, ten or q dozen yards.
And to keep up a front, we used
to put two men in a trench and they
had orders 10 keep shooting all
night long, so the Germans would
think there were thousand Of u.s..
.'well. how did you keep the Ger
mans from Calais, Sergeant Mur-
ply was asked.
sBluff, Just Bluff"
Bluff, Just blufT. for we didn't
have much else In those days.
Why, when the Germans came az
whoop, and shoot, and raise general
Cain. The Germans didn't know
what 10 make OF il. and not sure Of
their ground. they failed to put their
plan over.
ssThe German soldier is cog In a
machine. He Is trained to do a GER
tain thing. III something goes wrong
with the machine, he is Of little
value. The British soldier is train
ed both as a unit in the machine, and
es an individual. That's why the
British or French Canadian soldier
generally gets the best OF a German
when they meet. He's an individual
Trenches Were Msno bitches.
"But talking about those first
days. ] landed in the trenches in
December, 1914. Trenches? Well.
TO two feet six inches deep, and wet
end muddy. II was like living in a.
sewer trench that is being dug. Ale
ways there was the mud. and the
dead bodies OF men and animals.
Dead bodies everywhere. That was
the condition when the Princess
Pats arrived. And we lived in IL
for months. When the sand bags
came, we filled them half full with
mud, and then threw them up in
front OF as. The bags we're so big
we couldn't fill them to the top as
they would be too much OF a load.
Seooped Bodies Into Sacks.
That's the way We worked. we
scooped the soft mud into those
sacks, and sometimes we scooped
parts OF the dead bodies Of soldiers
into those sacks. They were buried
everywhere.
Sometimes. we could remove a
mans body intact. Then we would
throw it over the back Of our trench.
and leave II there till we could get
around to bury II. We were think
ing then only OF the living. The dead
corld take care Of themselves.
The trenches when first arrived
we're wide enough TO lie down in.
They were not made deep enough
for a man to stand upright, till long
into the year of 1918.
Had the Germans captured Calais,
they probably would have driven the
British army back to the island
Then It would be q matter for the
navy, and England would have had
to train her army back Of the navy.
But she would have done IL, and She
win 60 through this war 20 victory.
Break Came al the Marne,
1T was at the Marne that the
break came. The Germans, thought
all along that they were invincible,
were stopped, and thrown back.
They had gone too fast. And then
it settled down to trench warfare,
and from that day. the result Of this
war was sealed It means work. and
e means sacrifce. but the allies will
win. Germany never can be permit
ted 10 win this war.
Only liz Left.
1T was at ST. Jean. northwest OF
Ypres, that the Princess Pats were
almost annihilated. We went into
that tight, $50 strong. We were 112
when roll was called. Killed, cap-
tured or wounded. Lord knows what
happened TO the rest They're gone.
The newspaper accounts OF the
fight mean little AL quiet on the
west front. son have read in the dis
patches. That means the boys were
being put out OF action at the rate OF
000 70 5000 In the day. Over 20,-
600 3 week, are the British casual
ties.
eAnd that's what they mean when
they say, all quiet on the west
'front.'
Insanity Is Common.
Insanity Is common as q result |