Jackson County journal. (Sylva, N.C.) 19??-19??, 1918-08-09

non and front-line trenches, making
note of unusual occurrences, and ar
[estlng anyone who should, to us, APP
pear to be acting in suspicious man
aer. We slept during the day.
behlnd the lines there was great &C.
eiVlty, supplies and ammunition pour
ing IN, and long columns of troops con-
stantly passing. We were preparing
Tor the big offensive, the forerunner
OF the battle of the Somme or big
PUSH"
Inc never-ending stream of men,
supplies, ammunition and guns pour.
ing into the front lines made mighty
spectacle, one that cannot be de-
scr1Ded. 1t has to be witnessed with
your own eyes to appreciate it's vast
ness.
AT our part of the line the influx of
supplies never ended. It looked like |
huge snake slowly crawling forward,
never hitch or break, a wonderful
tribute to the sy.xem and efficiency of
Great Britain's "contemptible little
army of five millions of men.
huge fifteen-inch guns snaked along,
foot by foot, by powerful steam tract
tors. Then long line of flour point
nve"- 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 1 could plainly read
on the name plate, made in U. s. A."
and l would remember that if wore
name plate it would also read, "From
the o. S. A." Then would stop to
think how thin and straggly that
mighty stream would be if all the
made in U. S. A." parts of it were
withdrawn.
Then would come hundreds of linn
bers and &c. S." wagons drawn by
sleek, well-fed mules, ridden by sleek,
well-fed men, ever smiling, although
grimy with sweat and covered with the
fine, white dust of the marvelously
well-made French roads.
What discouraging report the Ger
man airmen must have taken back to
their division commanders, and this
stream is slowly but surely getting big
| ger and bigger every day, and the pace
is always the same. No slower, no
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 60 over in
the first waves were sent back fol
three days to study these trenches, en-
gage in practice attacks and have nigh
maneuverS. Each man was required tt
make map of the trenches and ia
miliarize himself with the names ant
location of the parts his battalion wa!
to attack.
In the American army nOncOmmis
stoned officers are put through cours
of map making or road sketching, an,
during my six years service in tn
United States cavalry l had plenty 0
practice in this work, therefore mar
ping these trenches was a compare
; lively easy task for me. Each ma
}. had to submit his map to the compan
commander to be passed upon, and
J was lucky enough to have mine selec
ed as being sufficiently authentic to us
in the attack.
) No photographs or maps are Above
1 to leave France, but in this case it al
pealed to me as a valuable souvenir c
the great war and managed to smul
l gle it through. At this time it carrie
no military Importance as the BIRTHS
= lines, 1 am happy to say, have sine
E been advanced beyond this point, S
|. in having it in my possession am ne
4 breaking any regulation or caution
t Of the British army.
The whole attack was rehearse
: and rehearsed until we heartily curse
t the one who had conceived the fde
The trenches were named accOrdiI
to system which made it very simp
3 for Tommy to find, even in the dar
s any point in the German lines.
r These imitation trenches, or trent
d models, were we'll guarded from Obse
s walton by numerous allied plan
- which constantly SRcled above thel
d No German airpiane could approa'
e within observation distance. A r
n stricted area was maintained and !
civilian was allowed within thr
miles, so we felt sure that we had
great surprise in store for Fritz.
CTO BE CONTINUED)