Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1918-07-04
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CHAPTER XIV.
PreparIna bon the eIa Push.


lost at least ten pounds worrying over
the affair.
Beginning az seven In the evening II
was our duty TO patrol all communlca-
tlon and front-line trenches making
note of unusual occurrences, and ar
resting anyone who should. to us, APP
pear to be acting In "A suspicious man.
ner We slept during the day.
Behind the lines there was great nc
tivity. supplies end ammunition pour
ing In, and long columns Of troops con
stantly passing. We were preparing
for the big offensive, the foreIunner
OF the battle Of the Somme or "Big
Push"
The never-ending stream OF men,
supplies, ammunition and guns pour
ing Into the front lines made a mighty
spectacle, one that cannot be de-
scrlbed. II has to be witnessed with
your own eyes to appreciate Its vast
ness.
At our part of the line the influx Of
supplies never ended. II looked like
a huge snake slowly crawling forward,
never a hitch or break. wonderful
tribute to the system and efficiency Of
Great Britaln's contemplate little
army" OF Ave millions of men.
Huge fifteen-inch guns snaked along
foot by foot, by powerful steam tract
tors. Then long line of "four point
Ave" batteries, each gun drawn by six
horses. then couple OF mine point
two" howitzers pulled by immense
caterpillar engines.
When one of these caterpillars would
pass me with Its mighty monster In
tow. flush of pride would mount to
my face, because l could plainly read
on the name plate, "Made In U. 8. A."
and would remember that If wore
name plate II would also read, From
the u. S. A." Then | would stop to
think how thin and straggly that
mighty stream would be IL all the
"Made In U. S. A." parts of 1t were
withdrawn.
Then would come hundreds of linn
bers and sc. s." wagons drawn by
sleek, well-fed mules, ridden by sleek,
wel-fed men, ever smiling, although
grimy with sweat and covered with the
fine, white dust of the marvelouAly
well-made French roads
What dIscouraglng report the Ger
man alrmen must have taken back to
their division commanders, and this
stream Is slowly but surely getting big
ger ana bigger every day, and the pace
is always the same No sloWer, v
faster, but ever onward. ever forward
Three weeks before the big push of
July las the battle of the Somme has
been called-started, exact duplicates
of the German trenches were dug
about thirty kilos behind our lines.
The layout of the trenches was taken
from airplane photographs submitted
by the Royal flying corps The trench-
es were correct to the foot; they
showed dugouts, saps, barbed wire de-
lenses and danger spots.
Battalions that were to go over In
the first waves were sent back for
three days to study these trenches, en-
gage In practice attacks and have night
maneuvers. Each man was required to
make a map of the trenches and ia
mlliarlze himself with the names and
location of the parts his battalion was
to attack. SaSsl4z ses u.-------y-----''-
: In he American army noneommis
stoned officers are put through a course
of map making or road sketching, and
during my six years service in the
United States cavalry | had plenty of
practice In this work, therefore nap
ping these trenches was COMPARE
lively easy task for me. Each man
had to submit his map to the company
commander to be passed upon, and
was lucky enough to have mine select
ed as being sufficiently authentic to use
In the attack.
No photographs or maps are allowed
to leave France, but In this case II APP
pealed to me as valuable souvenir of
the great war and managed to SNUG
gle 1t through. At this time 1t carries
no military Importance as the British
lines, am happy to say, have SINCE
been advanced beyond this point, so
In having 1t in my possession / am not
breaking any regulation or cautions
of the British army.
The whole attack was rehearsed
and rehearsed until we heartily cursed
the ore who had conceived the idea.
The trenches were named according
to a system which made 1t very simple
for Tommy to find, even In the dark.
any point in the Gel nan lines.
The initiation trenches. or trench
modes were well guarded from Obser-
walton by numerous allied planes
which constantly circled above them.
No German airplane could approach
within observation distance. A re-
stricted area was maintained and no
civilian was allowed within three
miles, so we felt sure that we had a
great surprise In store for Fritz.
When we took over the front line
we received an awful shock. The
Germans displayed signboards over
the top Of their trench showing the
names that we had called their