Omaha daily bee., 1918-05-12
CHAPTER XVI.
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This was not big battle. There
were, % / have said, only four bat
talions engaged on our side. The
affair was more or less Of an expert
ment. The pill-boxes were q new
German defensive and had never
been thoroughly tried out. We were
the goats. The little forts were to
be given a chance to rake US and see
how we stood It.
II had been proved pretty clearly
already that the boxes were the most
effective defense ever devised. They
were simply fortified she'll holes.
Now, for some strange reason,
shells rarely strike twice in the same
place. We had found that out when
we were lying in the holes. Shells
would burst all about Us, but only
once in . hundred times would there
be q direct hit over an old hole.
II follows that IL you fortify an old
hole 50 that il takes two or more hits
to dislodge the machine gun that you
have placed there, why, your machine
is going to be in commission and
dangerous ever under an extraordin-
ary heavy and we'll directed she'll FIRE,
and 10 going to be hard thing to take.
Well, on this attack. our orders
were very simple. They were to 60
over and take those pill-boxes. That
was oil. The boxes were In 4 row
about 800 yards away. They were in
groups Of FIVE, about 10 or Is yards
apart. and ! gap Of perhaps so yards
with : section OF sap or trench.
Our artillery commenced siam
ming them the night before and kept
It up hard and fast up to 7:30 In the
morning, when we were TO 60 over.
About 7 / took 4 look through the
periscope and studied out the terrain
in front. 1t was level and muddy and
pitted with shell holes, and away off
there the white steeples OF Passchen-
daele showed dim against the haze.
To the rear and to the left and nearer,
the jagged, black ruins Of "Wipers"
broke the skyline.
In the foreground the low boxes
were splitting FIRE regularly, unharmed
after 4 night Of 1t. Shells burst al
around them, tossing of lumpy clouds
of gray smoke with daubs Of red
fame In the middle, and up above air.
planes circled ready to chase the
Boche fliers II they should come out
to take I hand.
This was our frst 20 at the pill
boxes, and In our sick and discour-
aged condition we fully expected I
washout. The four Of u, in our Mole,
had no officer with u. but we ar
ranged our tactics ourselves. Two
OF 40 were to bomb the box through
the gun slots. And two--I was one
OF these--were to 60 around to the
gear. where we assumed there would
be : door, and prod the outcominR
Boche in his tcnderest parts.
| The fact 10 we didn't any Of No sx-
pect to get halfway across. About
five minutes before xero--startinr
time--our artillery laid down Z smoke
barrage In front Of us. When we
went over We couldn't zee the boxes
and they couldn't zee ~. Il worked
beautifully. They raked the ground
with the machine guns, but they were
shooting IN the dark. The mud was
kicked up oil around us for $50 yards,
but nobody was hit. We advanced
slowly behind the barrage. Hallway
across, Jackson, one of the bombers,
eopped his, . piece Of shell that took
his head nearly of, and he pitched
forward beside me, face down. We
didn't stop.
Then the barrage stopped and we
found that we were right on top OF
the boxes. / saw Green throw 4
bomb, but il didn't 20 in the run
slots, and bounced Of. The third
man and I dropped on our bellies to
get under the gun FIRE and crawled
rapidly forward. Green threw . cou-
pie more bombs which went over. BY
this time was right under the box
and ! pulled the pin out Of bomb
with my teeth and reached up and
dropped il in. It seemed to be the
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