The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1918-02-01
TANK DRIVE MADE BY
BRITISH AGAINST THE BOCF1E
Experiences of Modern Warfare as Told BY
Lieut.. Jno. E. Evans, Who Is Now Some
where In France"

1 spent my time dressing wounded
Tank men.
I stood on top Of this disabled
tank and watched an attack and a
counterattack. 1t was a wonderful
sight. Our men were driven from
one place by simple superiority Of
numbers, the Boche rushing up div
ision after division to this place.
They came back, dug themselves in
and then things came to a standstill.
It was then that we began to suf-
fer, as we were in open view and
they began to shell us heavily. Sew
eral officers and men were killed and
wounded. I had rather hard going,
as the mud stuck to ones feet in
great gobs and if you tried to 60
across fields you would get hope
lessly tangled in barbed wire.
tore my trousers in trying to do so
and as we had no Kit with US
couldn't change or mend them.
We, all this time were covered
with mud from head to foot. Never
had a chance to wash your face, or
shave. You ate with your hands
and on the whole we were Q disrep-
utable bunch, that made one think
we had returned to primitive days
| and had only one object in hfe'
namely, to kill. 81, ~ :. ~
About the sOth we got, orders to
move and we all began to ffeel
CHEEKY over the prospects Of a. bath,
change and rest. This was not
to be realized as we were suddenly
swung about to 60 in line where the
Boche had made fairly success
full counterattack. I remember we
al lhad to wait in an open feld
while the Colonel and other officers
reconnoitered positions. While here
after having riddentall day without
anything to eat, we were so tired we
simply lay down on the ground ut
was still raining) and rested. we
got into position afterwards and we
found a miserable sandbag dugout
that was the filthiest place imagin-
able. It was better than the WIND
and rain, so here we stopped:
| While there we made many
friends. undesirable ones, though,
they were in the form OF vermln
and "creepers." Afew days after
this we moved to a fairly decent
cupola and as i couldn't stand the
wretched "creepers," took bath IN
a bucket, in the open, with shells
bursting all around. Felt quite re-
spectacle again. then. -
We stayed here four days, all the
while getting shelled heavily. Lost
nine horses and one man by one
shell alone. 1t is most distressing
thing to wait and wonder if the next
shell would get you. .:
We then moved to a more quiet
| SPOT some five hundred yards away
but had only bell tents to 1--we H.
It had showed a few days before
and there we were in these tents
with not a fire anywhere near. Your
feet became soaked, then nearly
| froze, and going to bed was your
only hope Of warmth-and there 1t
was freezing. e.. -,
The worst part of medical Off
GERS business is you have to 60 70
man during the worst OF the
shelling when everyone else has
taken cover. I would go, but ten
YOU 1 didn't relish the job. lwouid
leave my medical orderly behind as
it was no use exposing two men to
these shells. The thought, and not
o pleasant one either, would IN
fringe on me: eff I should be hit'
no one would know it, and perhaps
die out alone, or be killed, and mo
trace found, and be reported miss
ing" .,
Well, after the morale and prac-
tically everything else had been
foupht and froze out of US, we were