The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-02-04

ole. Infantry are now only used
! homeopathic doses by careful gen.
rails. to hold ground after an IN
ense artillery attack. But even with
III this care the losses arc heaVy
nough.
The young French recruits life is
most carefully looked after and safe
guarded When he is called up he
spends a year at his regimental depot
learning everything that experience
has proved to be essential in warfare.
Physical training. handling of LIS rifle,
digging bomb throwing, bayonet
work. taking cover, etc When MS
year is UP he is drafted to a regiment
In one of the quiet sections OF the line
Here ne spends a varying period. but
generally six weeks to two months
Rattalions of veterans are thus leaven-
81 with the newcomers. The old SOL
tiers, and you come across many who
have been twice or thrice wounded.
take the youngsters in hand In That
paternaI manner in which the French
are so inimitable.
There are many things in warfare
the young recruit cannot learn at the
depot. His senses and his nerves can
only he trained In actual contact with
the enemy The first time a shall
passes overhead he ducks and is hope
lessly scared, because he is only
human being He sees the veteran
next to him remain stolid and not
bulge an inch, and he is ashamed of
his nervousness. After short period
he finds the shells make a great deal
more noise than they can do harm
when you are In a we'll made trench.
He soon acquires that contempt which
the veteran loves to show. The Of
fccrs keep these young men constant
~ under their eye in their daily
rounds OF the trenches. They explain
and reason with them. They point out
me why and wherefore Of everything
that happens in the daily life of a
soldier.
Training a Recruit.
One night his lieutenant says, AT
midnight You will form part OF
patrol which is to so out between the
lines repairing our wire and IL pos
sible to cut the enemy's,'
There follows some terribly excit-
ing hours for the young men. But
4At.p-aEn- treasured BY the attitude Of
the veterans, who coke and smoke
their pipes as if nothing out of the
ordinary were about to happen,
At midnight the small selected body
assemblies and climbs The parapet \
cold shiver steals down the tTro's
spine He finds himself for the first
time in that awful No Mans Land With
IS decaying carCasses. its debris of
war it's barhea wire, its she'll holes
and its thousand and one proofs Of
former comhats.
Now for The first tine he has moth
ing between him and the enemy, This
hou9d sensation: The moon
seems To shine with brightness he
has never noticed before. The re-
cruit Crawls and wrigEles after his
section leader, expecting every minute
to hear the rattle OF a machine gun.
The cnenIv's star shells and very pis
tolls send streams of bright liEht over
him. and during these moments he
must lie stiIl on the grounds still
as the dead lying there. Tho recruits,
noticing how calm the veterans are
remain calm too. They or WI for
ward within reach OF the enemy and
hurl bombs into his trench.
There is wild outburst OF indis-
criminate FIRE and Il man or two sinks
wounded. Now the recruits recalls his
orders. When man is wounded on
night patrol the first thing is TO stop
VA, svnosa ~ ,oSition If NO whole
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One day there is a buzz OF excite
ment In the trenches. The order
comes that the regiment is TO move.
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