New-York tribune., 1918-05-12
AMERICAN BOYS WAIT HOPEFULLY FOR HE'LL. TO BREAK
Life in the Trenches
Consists in WAITING
in Ditch and Due.
out Till Something
Happens

the resurrection Of spring and the sias-
ing of the meadow larks was like :
faint protest against the uninterrupted
boom, boom Of the guns.
Terrors of Boche
Bombardment
We went back to the front line dug
out and passed the hours in talking ia
the patrols and listening to the snores
of the sleepers. which were more real
to US than the shells breaking far away.
About o'clock in the morning we
received intimation that "hell might
break loose" The bursts Of Bochs
shells began to outnumber and outsoar
all other sounds. First they came one,
two or three at time, boom-boom-
boom-boom- boom boom. More Boche
guns entered the concert each min
ute. It was soon impossible to tell
one boom from another. It was long
drawn-out "whoohoohooh" Of mingled.
doubled explosions, ceasing only sec
ond, which was filled with rasping
splutters of machine guns. The shells
and bullets were over us.
Through the opening we could see
the machine gun steel pattering on the
parapet and behind it. The grenades
and big shells were falling on or near
| our trenches, in our wire and behind
| us. There was no doubt it was our
| company front they were trying to
obliterate.
| Our walls sheok. The candle wick
| trembled and the flame danced hysteyl-
cally. The sleepers on the hunks were
! Jared into awakening.
"Is it an attack?"
| Each waking man asked the question.
Each moved his mouth, but only one
or two were heard to speak amidst the
thunder.
Damn the Boche!"
The sergeant's expression filled one
! slight pause in the bombardment.
". won't attack-men weren't
ready-trenches empty-sure-yes"-
These bits of sentences from men,
bers Of the patrol party Of that even
ing.
But the shelling grew stronger, near
! er. The greater the noise outside, the
| quieter and tenser the men in the dug
out. Cigarettes were passed, accepted
thankfully.
A fearful conclusion. The dugout
not only shook, it seemed to swing
from right to left, from front to rear.
Minnie" said the sergeant.
One of the German minenwerfers
2O0-pounders, had gone off near by, the
kind that dig eight-foot holes, circum-
ference fifteen feet.
"Wonder if''-
At that instant another earthquake
occurred. The candle was blown out.
Down the entrance of our dupout
| ~, roI %nv, $xxyo nf Nd lakr NJ
with a rumbling thud and crash.
while upon US fell mud and boards and
the loose things that hung about the
cave.
In the darkness there were calls and
cries and unintelligible sounds. Things
were crumbling, earth was slipping and
the muffled thuds, which only human
bodies make in falling. gave those Of
US who knew we were alive the sensa-
"Strike a ht-light-light!"
In the quaking cave some one pro-
duced a box of matches and lit one.
The flare showed US for a moment, hud.
died men amidst the wreckage. The
light went out. Others were struck
Finally the candle was lit.
"Who's hurt-hurt-hurt?
Again the sergeant's strong voice.
Some one was putting the brazier up,
and keeping the red Goals from setting
fire to the blankets. The men were
extricating themselves, questioning each
other. One of the sleepers on the
bunk was pulling mud from his face,
his hands, his eyes and his mouth.
"Who's hurt?"
One of the men had an arm caught
in some timber. A steel bar used as
lever raised him. He worked his
arm several times. "Only q few
scratches and bruises"
"Close CALL" said the sergeant.
We were all spattered and shaken,
but every one laughed.
Cant hit the same place twice.
said the sergeant.
At the entrance two men were work
ing at the mud with shovels, clearing
passage. Our improvised flue having
been lost, the brazier smoke blinded
us, set US coughing and weeping.
But it was growing quieter
Waiting for the
Raid in Vain
Every man seized his rife. The
sergeant led the way, for this dugout
party. was ready now to deal with
Fritz's raid
AS the bombardment passed, and the
Ao~oA aoACC Cauc, no enemy Idl0 Oc~
veIoped and eventually we went back
| to the dugout. But not before there
was a general exchange Of news be-
tween all the dugout squads and men
from the posts.
Ten minutes later normal dugout life
had been resumed.
"Oh, boy, if I ever get back to the
States, it'll be Cleveland for me the
rest of my life. I'll never want to
travel again." said the gun crew boy
who had been relieved and had Joined
US.
"Oh, if could only be walking up
Chestnut Street at noon tomorrow
sighed the ex-Philadelphia theological
student.
81 wish we'd get some mall" said
the sergeant, as he cleared the dirt
off his bed and hung up some things
on nail
And SO the night passed. We had
three casualties in our company. All
were injuries, none serious. A machine
! gun bullet had penetrated a helmet,
but only fracture resulted. A piece
OF shell had hit man in the leg.
The third was a wound through the
hand.
"C'est la guerre" ("There's a war
on"), said the sergeant. II suppose
some. one will get hurt before it's
over"
"We1l get them for this. You just
wait until our c. friends start
their artillery" said guardsmsn with
\ an Italian rr~orf