The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1918-04-11

push We did, ana the Germans hadn't
been able to put up much wire. What
a. NJ BE-.
Trench, Mortar Work.
IT was good little T. Al. battery We
had in that bitso the line. The officer
In charge Of them was Yorkshireman
one OF those keen chaps that are al
our regiment but he'd have been q
credit 10 IN * he had. He damned it
into the Gerrtes the whole day, and OF
course II meant that they hit back. They
strafed us with five-nines. and that was
e bit deadly: still. suppose you've got
to take that as It COMES. Anyhow. this
=. NJ. battery officer was a pretty fair
dodger. He would give the German
trenches two bombs md the wire one.
They thought he was after their blood.
wire he was at, He blew two or three
>clean paths, through the wire. He was
a Workman, q journeyman at his job,
that T. NJ battery officer.
The Raid.
We knew that the Gerrtes would be
out mending their line that night. put
ting up wire and that. So our officers
arranged that the raid was to come off
as soon as it was dark. It was very
well done. The T. NJ. battery officer
kept banging away until the dark was
Just coming on, on. then started ed, 70 - cas
bursts at odd times. Half an hour. q
burst, 10 minutes. another, Is minutes.
another. with odd bombs In between.
The Gerries must have been wondering
after Z O'Clock when we crept out, while
the mortars blew over few bombs,
natural like.
I'VE were out for the usual thing,
sheer devilment In the German line:
damage dugouts. take prisoners and
led the way. as usual. had couple
OF bombs though I'm bayonet man.
but q bombs a handy thing TO have
aboAt you. We nipped into the German
among them. There was a bit Of
'Kamerading' and bit Of fight, too.
1t was strong point in the German
| line, with two or three machine gun
emplac ements. One OF the machine
guns started to play on US and let
| drive with the bomb into the post. Then
we rushed it and landed into a bunch
with a bit Of fight in them. There was
q tidy nixup then, and engaged q fell
low with the bayonet: He fired at me
a point at him. Whether it was being
| hit or IL slipped don't know, but
got him in the shoulder when meant
| to get his chest. He did the Kane
rad act, and took him prisoner. He
talked good English, too.
Light Duty" for Wounded.
1.-THE sergeant saw was hit, and told
me to take four Gerries back with my
1 prisoner. ] could hardly breathe with
| the packet had, so made the Ger
4 mans pull me out OF the trench and
/ lead the way to our lines. Behind us
/ oh y,1a ia devil with
the German trench and machine gun
posts, stink bombs in the dug outs,
good charges under the machine gun
enplacsments, general bedevilment-
that is what these tip and run raids are
for.
"The prisoner took spoke good Eng
( fish. He'd been butter merchant in
Hanburg-never been in England
though he could speak the language
so we'll He was a sort of corporal OF
grudge for my packet, but gave him
4 a casper to smoke when we went down
to the dressing station, to show him il
/ was all right. That loosened his
tongue and he talked a lot.
HE had the hump about Germany
He said that they seemed to have LOT
of victories, but none that led to any
thing, and he said the news from his
home was very bad. His fathers
! business had all gone, and food was
Lots Of his relations were sick and
couldn't get better, and it seemed to bt
pretty general in Germany all over
He said that the Gerries in the firing
line were fed up with the letters the1
got from home, always grousing abou
no food and about being sick.
AToo Many Victories"
'He couldn't understand how 1t wa.
Il IL they were winning such a lot o
, victories that there was no peace.
! told him they'd had no victories worth
talking about, and asked him abou
Vimy and Messines. He said it wa
just because we had such a lot Of gun
that no troops on earth could stand thu
fire. Then l spoke about Cambria will
: no artillery fire. and he seemed t,
,, think that they'd won all the groun,
back I told him what little bit i
was they'd taken back, and that
didn't make much difference, as w
We're still holding Mr.. Blooming Hin
: denburg's line-only spoke respectful
: like ABOUT Hindenburg. 1 didn't Xix
: to hurt chap that was down and
!. prisoner. 1t wouldn't be good man
7 ners-we leave that sort Of thing t
the Gerries.
3 "He praised up Hindenburg, but sti
could see that he was not too sur
! everything was all right; he seemed t
think that the Germans We're bein
l diddled by their superiors. He wa
. a decent enough chap, that Gerry, an
: had the makings of a good soldier. FL
said queer thing. too, something abou
me making our wounds a bond G
= sympathy He couldn't get over m
being decent to him though he'd she
me in the side.
aT canpof understand vn,, Epp1icl