East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1918-03-09

NTHEN we took our position in the
wv front line trenches in Belgium
we relieved the Twenty-sixth
Canadian battalion. Scouts from that
organization came back to the villages
of Dinkiebusch and Renninghelst to
tell us how glad they were to see US
and TO show us the way in. AS we
proceeded overland, before reaching
the communication trenches at the
front, these scouts paid us the hos
pitable attention due strangers-that
is, one of them, leading a platoon,
would say:
u Next 200 yards in machine gun
range. Keep quiet. don't run and be
ready to drop quick if you are
warned"
/ There was one scout to each platoon,
/ and we followed him single file, most
of the time along roads or well worn
paths, but sometimes through thickets
and ragged fields. Every now and then
the scout would yell at us TO drop,
and down we'd 60 on our stomachs,
while away off in the distance we
could hear the ''put-put' of machine
guns, the first sound of hostile firing
that had ever reached our ears.
It's all right" said the scout. "They
haven't seen us or got track of US.
They're just firing on suspicion"
Nevertheless, when our various pla-
toons had all got into the front reserve
trenches, at about two hours after
midnight, we learned that the first
blood of our battalion had been spilled.
Two men had been wounded, though
neither fatally. Our own stretcher
bearers took our wounded back to the
field hospital at Dinkiebusch. The men
of the Twenty-sixth battalion spent /.
the rest of the night instructing us
and then left us to hold the position. |
We were as nervous as lot of cats, |
and it seemed to me that the Germans !
must certainly know that they could |
come over and walk right through u.s.
but outside of a few casualties from
sniping, such as the one that befell
the Fourteenth platoon man, which l
have told about, nothing very alarm
ing happened the first day and night,
and by that time we had got steady
on our Job. We held the position for
26 days, which is the longest period
that any Canadian or British organ
ization has ever remained in front
line trench.
In none of the stories I've read have
| ever seen trench fighting as it was
carried on in Belgium adequately de-
scribed. You see, you can't get much
of an idea about n thing like that
making Il quick tour of the trenches
under official direction and escort as
The newspaper and magazine writer's
10. | couldn't undertake to, tell any
thing worth while about the big issues
of the war, but l can describe how
soldiers have to learn to fight in the
trenches, and think a good many of
our young fellows have that to learn
low. "Over there" they don't talk of
leace or even of tomorrow. They sit
back and tnke it.
We always held the fire trench rs
lightly as possible, because it is a
fact that the front ditch
.annot be successfully defended in
attack. The thing we did
md the thing to do is TO be ready to
ump on to the enemy as soon as he
las got into your front trench and is
lighting on ground that you know and =
le doesn't and knock so many kinds
# tar out of him that he'll have to
,ull his load for spot that isn't so b
warm. That system worked first rate v
With us.
During the day we had only a very l,
ew men in the fire trench. If an at +
ack is coming in daylight there's al
Ways plenty of time to get ready for
t. At night we kept prepared for d
rouble all the time, We had night +
entry on each firing step and a man n
itting at his feet to watch bin 10 see r