Trench and camp. [volume] (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, 1918-04-03
HOW NOT TO
BE KILLED
Sell Confidence and Obedience
to Commands Absolutely
Necessary.
(By First Lieutenant F. G. Pernet, French
Military Mission, 29th Division n. O.,
CaU7n Hancock


Camp Fiancock.l
A great many boys seem to wonder
how it is possible for man to spend sew
eral years on the front without being,
killed. Personally, 1 have been there for
thirty months, and have been wounded
only on onef th At the outbreak a Of war.
delighted at the thought that was lucky
enough to be among the first French
soldiers who would be able to do some
thing to defend our country against the
Boches. From the very first day, thought
OF the Germans tina II might kill but
never thought that it would be possible
gor them to kill me. And such is the
proper spirit to have; be self-confident:
think of what you can do to them and
DO not forget that il you do it well and
IN Que time, they will not be able to do
anything you,
Be Self Confident and Optimistic.
On the front, 1 have noticed that the
men who were self -confident very sell
dom became casualties. How can a man
be seh-conffdent? To be self-confident
the man must be optimistic; he must not
forget that our leaders, General Pershing
Marshal Douglas Haig, General Petain
and the others, are experts at the game
IhereteTe, whenever they send us an or
der to do something or not to do some
thing, there is reason attached to It,
even II we are not able to SEQ what the
reason IS. The soldiers must not only
trust their army commanders; they must
Tealize that all their officers know a
great many things that enlisted men do
not know; the man who receives a COM
mission understands what he will be re-
sponslbIe for: he knows that he will have
to handle men under fire, he knows how
20 make them go ahead, how to protect
them from artillery and infantry fire. how
20 infIct severe losse4 on the enemy.
therefore, whenever an officer asks you
to do something, you must remember
that it is your interest to obey; discipline
rs the key to success; obedience is an
absolute necessity.
Strive for Strong Morale.
Always be proud Of the regiment you
belong to. and always think that the men
who are with you are excellent II some
OF your comrades are down-hearted, cheer
them up and tell them to be self conf
vent. II their morale is as good as
yours. you win do some very good work;
you win be able to execute all the orders
and you will always reach the assigned
objective.
Lear nto Use Weapons Properly.
Do not forget that the weapons you are
equipped with have been discriminatory
and carefully selected by experts. Know
now TO use them properly; therefore while
sn camps or in training battaiions at the
back of the lines. never say that you are
bored; YOU must like to be drilled and
you must admit that the study of the diff
aerent weapons you are equipped with Is
highly interesting. If ever you have to
Oe at a few yards from a German, you
will always b glad to know how to get
rid of him. Do not give him chance
KIN him. and then XIII another one
nave. seen some boys who declared to
JnS THAT they were anxious. TO go to the
front. They seemed to think tina as soon
as a man Is on the front, he has com
pleted his military studies; they seemed
to think that the men who are in France
spend few weeks in the trenches and
then week or two at the rear, doing
nothing.
Veterans Keep on Drilling.
The French and the English soldiers
who have fought for more than three
years have to be drilled when they are at
the back of the line. Why? They have
TO learn the new methods of combat;
they must keep on learning the new ways
of killing the Germans and the new ways
not to be killed. In this war, there is
continuous fight between offense and de-
Tense; whenever the Grnans find new
trick, we have to study It.
To sum up. If you do not want to be
killed: be self-confident, trust your gem
erals and officers. think that the comrades
OF your regiment are at least as good as
you. always be sure that your weapons
arc the best in the worl If you know how
TO handle them properly, and above all, be
obedient.