Daily Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1918-191?, 1918-03-16
CHAPTER xI.


Over the Top.
on my lsecOnd trip t0 the trenches
our officer was making his rounds OF
inspection ard we received the cheer
ful news that az four In the morning
We wcrc "a go over the top and take
the German front-llne trench. My heart
turnedsto lead. Then the officer cur
ried Onl with his Instructions. To the
best OF my memory | recall them rs
follows :'"At eleven n wiring party viii
90 out IN front and cut lanes through
our barisd wire for the passage ~
troops I'm the morning. At two o'clock
our artillery will open up with an In
tense bumbnriment. which Will Inst I'M
m four. Upon the lifting Of the hnr-
rage tho first Of tine three waves w.ll
90 over Then be left Some ~ Tie
Tommlcs. first getting permission from
the sergeant. went iIro the machine
gunucr,,' dugout and wrote letters
home saying that IN the,morning they
were going over the top, and also that
n thcIettors reached their destination
n wouithmean that thervriter had been
killed.
These letters were turned over TO
the cupiuln with instructions TO mail
same inithe eventtof the writer's being
killed Some OF the men made out
their wills in their pay books. under
the caIslon. "will and Last Tesla
ment."
rrbg,, ttba ,,ar-,..-. %, .irf,,,, ,,-ott cam.
menced. Every now and then would
glance at the dial Of my wrist watch
and was surprised to'see how fast the
minutes passed by About fivemlnutes
70 twokI got nervous waiting for our
guns to- open up. I could not take my
eyes from my winch. I crouched
against the pnrapet and strained my
muscles IA dcathlflse grip upon my
rifle. As the hands on my watch
showed two o'clock albllnding red fare
lighted mp the sky IN our rear. then
thunder intcrmixed with a sharp. whls-
Ting sound I'm the alri over our heads.
The shells from our guns were speed
ing on thelriway toward the German
lines. With one accord the men
sprung mp ontthe 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-
| blcd. Then, high above our heads we
could hear IA slghlng1 moan. Our big
| boys behind the linel had opened up
/ and 02's and 15-lnch shells,commenced
dropping into the German Hines. The
fash OF the guns behind the lines. the
scream Of the shells through the mir.
and the flare OF them, bursting was "A
spectacle that put Pains greatest dis.
play into the shade. The constant
pup. pup. OF German machine guns and
an occasional rattle Of. rifle firing give
me the impression Of n huge audience
applnuding the work OF the batteries
our ls-poundcrs were destroying ths
German bnrbed wire, while the heavier
stuff was demollshlng their trenches
and bilshlng IN dugouts 'or funk holes
Then Fritz, got busy.
Their shells went screaming over
head. aimed In the direction OF thu
flares from our batteries. Trench NOR
tnrs started dropping "Minnics" IN
our, front line. We clicked several ems
unItles. Then they suddenly ceased
our artillery had taped or sllence'
them.
During the bombardment you coul'
almost read a newspaper In our trench
Sometimes In the flare OF a shell-bura
a MANS body would be sllhouette'
against the parudos OF the trench an
A. appeared like huge monster. No
could hanily hear yourself think. Whe
an order was 20 be passed down III
trench you had 10 yell u. using you
hands as a funnel into the ear Of IN
man sitting next 10 you on the fire steI
In about twenty .mlnutesj a generou
rum issue was doled out. After drinh
ing the rum. which tastedll like vnrnis
and sent a shudder through you
frame, you wondered why they mad
you wait until the lifting % the bar
rage before going over. AT ten min
utes 20 four word was passed down
Ten minutes 20 goi" Ten minute
10 nvei We were shivering all oveI
My legs felt as n they were asleeI
Then word was passed down; "Firs
wave get on and near the scaling lad
ders."
These were small wooden ladder
which We had placed aEaipst the paru