Daily Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1918-191?, 1918-03-31

on. according TO the code names on
our map. Then 90 rub II In. they
hoisted Some more signs which read.
Come On, We are ready. stupid Eng
lish."
II Is stlll mystery to me how they
obtained this knowledge. There had
been no raids O. prisoners taken. so
u must have been the work OF spies
In cur own lines.
Three or four days before the big
push we tried to shatter Fritz's nerves
by felnt attacks. and partially sue
ceeded as the official reports OF July
show.
Although we were constantly bonn
harding their lines day and night. still
we fooled the Germans several times.
This was accomplished by throwing
an intense barrage into his lines
then using smoke shells we would put
a curtain OF white smoke across No
Mans Land, completely obstructing
his view Of our trenches, and
would raise our curtain Of fire
~ "a III w hNAuhi uAlhNhs M
down our trenches the men would
shout and cheer. and Fritz would turn
loose with machnc-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 0:iO 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 reply
ing. Although we were sending over
ten shells 10 his one, our casualties
were heavy. There was a constant
stream Of stretchors coming out OF the
communication trenches and burial
parties were n common sight.
In the dugouts the noise OF the guns
almost hurt You had the same sensn-
tlon us when riding on the subway you
enter the tube under the river going
10 Brooklyn-a sort Of pressure on the
ear drums, and the ground constantly
trembling.
The roads behind the trenches were
very dangerous because BOche shrap-
mel was constantly bursting over them.
We avoided these dangerous spots by
crossing through open nelds.
The destruction In the German lines
was awful and I really felt sorry for
them because realized how they must
be clicking II.
From our frontline trench. every
now and again, we could hear sharp
whistle blasts In the German trenches.
These blasts were the signals for
stretcher bearers, and meant the
woundlng or killing OF some German ia
the service OF his fntherland.
Atwell and | had a tough time OF IT,
patrolling the different trenches at
night, but after awhile got used 20 Il.
My old OUTFIT the machine gun com
pany, was stationed In huge elephant
dugouts about four hundred yards be-
hind the front-line trench-they were
In reserve. Occasionally ] would stop
In their dugout and have a confab with
my former mates. Although we tried
20 be jolly. still. there was a lurking
feeling Of impending disaster. Each
man was wondering. n. after the
slogan. "Oycr the top with the best OF
luck" had been sounded. would he sim
be alive or would he be lyiag "some-
where In France" In an old dllapldnted
house, the walls OF which were scnrred
with machlne-gun bullets. No. Sec
ton OF the machine gun company had
lts quarters. The c0mpany's cooks pre-
pared she meals In this billet. ON the
hfth evening OF the bombardment a
German elght-inch shell registered a
direct HIT on the billet and wiped out
ten men who were asleep In the sup
posedly bomb-proof cellar. They were
buried the nsxt day and l atteaded the
funeral