The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-03-17

when the signal came Some of the
men gave their bayonets last fond
rub and / looked to bolt action TO
see that 1t worked well. ] had ten
rounds in the magazine and I didn't
intend to rely too much on the bay |
onet. At a few seconds Of l l l looked
at the wrist watch and was affected
again with that empty feeling IN the
solar plexus Then the whistles
shrilled, / blew mine and over we
went,
To disinterested spectator who was
far enough up in the air to he out
OF range it must have been wonder
ful spectacle to SEES those thousands
OF men go over. wave after wave
The terrain was level out to the
point where the little hill Of high wood
rose covered with the splintered poles
OF what had once been a forest. This
position and the supports to the left
and rear OF It begun to fairly helch
machine gun and shell fire. If Fritz
had been quiet before he gave Us
all he had now.
our bait went over the second
trench and we got the cream OF 1t.
Tho tanks were just ahead OF us and
numbered along in an imposing row
( They lurched down into deep craters
and out again. tipped and reeleo ana
listed and sometimes seemed as
though they must upset, but they
came up each time and went on and
on. And how slow they did seem
TO move Lord, I thought we should
never cover that five or six hundred
yards.
The tank machine guns were spit
ting fire over the heads OF our nrst
wave; and their Hotchkiss guns were
rafting beautiful creeping bar
rage preceded us. Row after row Of
! an ellis burst at just the right distance
ahead. spewing gobs of smoke and
nashea Of fame, made thin by the
bright sunlight Half dozen air
planes cfrcled like dragonfips up there
in the blue.
TANKS MOVE like SNAIIaS.
There was tank just ahead OF me.
7 got behind 1t. And marched there.
slowi God. how slow ANYHOW u
kept off the machine gun bullets; but
NOT the shrapnel. The were break
fne It over us in clouds I felt the
stunning pattar of the fragments on
INV tin hat, cringed under 1T and Won
dered vaguely why 1t didn't do me IN.
Men in the front wave were going
down like ten pins or there dlagon-
aUv to the right and forward /
gIimpse7 a binding burst ana as
much as whole platoon went down,
Around me men were dropping aH
the time-men ! knew sa" Dolo-
sic claging at his throat as he reeled
forward. falling / saw NicEere double
up. drop his rife and somersault'
hanging on to his abdoplen.
hundred yards away, To the right
an officer walked backwards with an
automatic pistol balanced on his nm
ger. smiling, pulling his men along
like a drum major. A shell or some
thing hit him He disappeared in a
welter Of blood and half dozen OF
the front file fell with him.
I thought we must be nearly there
and sneaked a look around the edge
Of the tank A traversing machine
I gun raked the mud, throwing up
handfuls. and / heard the gruf row
row. of flattened bullets as they
ricocheted off the steel armor /
ducked back and on we went.
Slow Slow! ] found myself plan
ming what / would do when ! got to
the front trenches--if we ever did
, There would be a grand rumpus and
/ would click a dozen or more.
, And then we arrived
, / don't suppose that trip across No
! Mans Land behind the tanks took
over FIVE minutes. 1t seemed like an
, hour.
AT the end of it my participation
in the battle OF High wood ended. No.
: l wasn't wounded. But when VIC
t reached the Boche front trenches a
, strange thing happened. There was
' no fight worth mentioning. The tank
T stopped over the trenches and blazed
. away right and left with their all
around traverse.
Il A few Boches ran out and threw
7 silly little bombs at the monsters.
The tanks smiled and moved slowly
t on. And then the Graybacks swarm ed
I up out OF shelters and dugouts lit
! orally in hundreds and held up their
/ hands. whining Mercy kamarad."
a BOCHETS SURRENDER BEIFORE
, TANKS.
We took prisoners by platoons.
t BlofeId grabbed me and turned over
= a gang OF thirty TO me. We searched
r them rapidly. cut their suspenders
e and belts and 1 started to the rear
with them. They seemed glad to go.
Z So was /.
As we hurried back over the 500
o yards that had been no mans land
q and was now British ground, I looked
8 back and saw 4kfe irresistible tanks
e smashing their way through the tree
stun1ps of High wood, still splitting
/ death and destruction In three direc-
( tions
? Going back we were under almost
D as heavy fire as we had been COM
2 ing up. When we were about half
way across shrapnel burst directly
over our party and seven Of the
t prisoners were killed and half dozen
wounded. / myself was unscratched.
t stuck my hand inside my tunic and
I patted Dinky on the back-Dinky's
t lmy mascot--sent up prayer for some
\ more luck like that and carried on.
2 After getting my prisoners back to
rlthe rear 1,came Va again but couldn't