The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1918-04-04
lover the Top
By An American Soldier
Who Went
ARTHUR GUY EMPEY
Machine Cunner Serofng In France
Copyright, 1917, by Arthur Guy Hmpey)
CHAPTER XII.
Over the Ton,


On my second trip to the trenches
our officer was making his rounds of
inspection, and we received the cheer
ful news that at four In the morning
we were to go over the top and take
! the German front-line trench. My heart
turned to lead. Then the officer car
ried on with his instructions. To the
best of my memory / recall them as
follows AT eleven a wiring party will
go out In front and cut lanes through
our barbed wire for the passage of
troops in the morning. At two o'clock
our artillery will open up with an in
tense bombardment, which will last I'M
til four. Upon the lifting of the bar
rage the first of the three waves Will
go over Then he left. Some of the
Tommies, first getting permission from
the sergeant, went into the machine
gunners' dugout and wrote letters
home, saying that in the morning they
we're going over the top, and also that
II the letters reached their destination
1t would mean that the writer had been
killed.
These letters were turned over to
the captain with instructions to mail
same in the event of the writer's being
killed.. Some of the men made out
their wills In their pay books. under
the caption, "Will and Last Tesla
ment."
Then the nerve-racking wait COM
menced. Every now and then would
glance at the dial OF my wrist watch
and was surprised to see how FIST the
minutes passed by. About five minutes
to two I got nervous waiting for our
guns to open up. could not take my
eyes from my watch. l crouehed
against the parapet and strained my
muscles in deathlike grip upon my
rife. AS the hands on my watch
showed two o'clock binding red flare
lighted up the sky in our rear, then
thunder, intermixed with a sharp, whis.
Ting sound In the air over our heads
Ike shells from our guns were speed
ing on their way toward the German
lines. With one accord the men
sprang up on the fire step and looked
over the top In the direction of the
German trenches. A line of bursting
shells lighted up No Mans Land. The
din was terrific and the ground trem-
bled. Then, high above our heads we
could hear a signing moan. Our big
boys behind the line had opened up
and 9.2's and 15-inch shells commenced
dropping into the German lines. The
flash of the guns behind the lines, the
scream of the shells through the air,
and the flare of them, bursting was
spectacle that put Rain's greatest dis
play into the shade. The constant
zap. pup. of German machine guns aud
an occasional rattle Of rifle firing gave
me the impression of a huge audience
applauding the work of the batteries.
Our 1S-pounders were destroying the
German barbed wire while the heavier
stuff was demolishing their trenches
and bashing In dugouts or funk holes.
Then Fritz got busy.
Their shells went screaming over
head. aimed in the direction of the
flares from our batteries. Trench NOR
tars started dropping "Minnies" in
our front line. We clicked several cas-
ualties. Then they suddenly ceased.
Our artillery had tapped or silenced
them.
During the bombardmcnt you could
almost read n newspaper in our trench.
Sometimes in the flare of n shell-burst
mans body would be silhouetted
against the par0dos of the trench and
1t appeared like huge monster. You
could hardly hear yourself think. When
an order was to be passed down the
hands as a funnel into the ear of the
man sitting next to you on the fire step.
In about twenty minutes generous
rum issue WAS doled out. After drink
ing the rum, which tasted like varnish
and sent a sbudder through your
frame, you wondered why they made
you wait until the lifting OF the bar
rage before going over. At ten min
utes to four word was passed down,
"Ten minutes to got" Ten minutes
to livel We were shivering all over.
My legs felt as If they were asleep.
Then word was passed down: First
wave get on and near the scaling lad
ders."
These were small wooden ladders
which we had placed against the PARA
pet to enable us to go over the top on
the lifting of the barrage. Ladders of
death" we called them, and verltably
they were.
Before a charge Tommy is the po-
litest of men. There is never any push
ing or crowding to be first up these
ladders. We crouched around the base
Of the ladders waiting for the word
to go over. l was sick and faint. and
was putting away at an unlighted flag.
Then came the word, "Three minutes
to go; upon the lifting of the barrage
and on the blast of the whistles, over
the top with the best o. luck and give
them hell" The famous phrase of
the western front. The Jonah phrase
of the western front. To Tommy ii
means If you are lucky enough to come
back you will be minus an arm or
leg Tommy hates 10 be wished the
best of luck so, when peace Is de-
clared, If 1t ever Ia, and you meet
Tommy on thetstreet, Just wish him the
best of luck and duck the brick that