Jackson County journal. (Sylva, N.C.) 19??-19??, 1918-08-16
CHAPTER XxV-Continued.

When we took over the front lin,
We received an awful shock. The
Germans displayed signboards over
the top of their trench showing thu
names that we had called theil
trenches. The signs read Fair
Fact" Fate" and Fancy" and sc
on, according to the code names on
our map. Then to rub it in, they
hoisted some more signs which read
Come on, we are ready, stupid Eng
lish."
1t is still mystery to me how they
obtained this knowledge. There had
been no raids or prisoners taken, so
IT must have been the work of spies
In our own lines.
Three or four days before the big
push we tried to shatter Fritzs nerves
by feint attacks, and partially sue
ceeded as the official reports of july
l show.
Although we were constantly bonn
Dardlng their lines day and night, still
we fooled the Germans several times.
1ns was accomplished by throwing
an intense barrage into his lines
then using smoke shells we would put
Il curtain of white smoke across No
Mans Land, completely obstructing
Ills view OF our trenches, and
would raise our curtain of fire
as II in an actual attack. All
down our trenches the men would
shout and cheer, and Fritz would turn
loose with machine-gun, rifle. and
shrapnel fire, thinking we were com.
ing over
After three or four of these dummy
attacks his nerves must have been
near the breaking point.
On June "a, 1916, at 9:4O in the
morning our guns opened up, and hell
was let loose. The din was terrific. a
constant boom-boom- boom in your ear.
AT night the sky was a red glare.
our bOmbardment had lasted about
TWO hours when Fritz started replv.
Ing. Although we were sending over
ten shells to his one. our casualties
were heavy. There was a constant
stream OF stretchers coming out of the
communication trenches and burial
parties were common sight.
In the dugouts the noise of the guns
almost hurt. You had the same sens.
ton as when riding on the subway Won
enter the tube under the river going
10 Brooklyn-a sort of pressure on the
ear drums, and the ground constantly
trembling.
Inc roads behind the trenches were
very dangerous because Boche shran.
mel was constantly bursting over them
we avoided these dangerous spots by
crossing through open fields
Inc destruction in the German lines
was awful and l really felt sorry for
them because l realized how they must
be clicking it,
FROM our front-line trench. every
now and again, we could hear sharn
whistle blasts in the German trenches
Ihese blasts were the signals for
stretcher bearers, and meant tho
woundlng or killing of some German in
Inc service of his fatherland.
Atwell and had a tough time of if
patrolling the different trenches at
hgnt, but after awhile got used TO if
My old outfit, the machine gun com
)any, was stationed in huge elenhan+
iusouts about four hundred wards no.
ma the front-line trench-they wero
n reserve Occasionally 1 would ston
their dugout and have confab with
ny FORMER mates. Although we tr;od +;
o De Jolly, still, there was a lurking /
eellng of impending disaster. Each
nan was wondering, if. after tbe
logan, over the top with the hest ~
uch' had been sounded, would he still
e aiive or would he be lying "some-
mere IN france" In an old diIanido+od
ouse, the walls Of which were scarrod
Nth machine-gun bullets, No. 3 soo-
ION or the machine gun COMPANY had
s quarters. The company's cooks nro-
ared the meals in this billet IN 49,
TN evening Of the bOmbardment
erhian elght-inch shell registered o ,
rect nit on the billet and wiped ont ,
IN men who were asleep in the SIM !,
oseoly bomb-prOof cellar. They woro
urled the next day and l attended tho i.
lneral. 'iie