El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-03-07
STEEL TANKS IN
THE GREAT WAR.
Corporal Holmes Tells of
Their First Appearance
Against Germans.
Continued from Page L

1t is a wonder there weren't more
Of these accidents as Tommy was for
ever throwing away his Millses.
The Mills bomb fires by pulling out
a pin, which releases a lever, which
explodes the bomb after the thrower
has had time to count four. Lots Of
men never really trust bomb II
you have one in your pocket, you feel
that the pin may somehow get out
and II IT does you know that you'll
go to glory in small bits. always
had that feeling myself and used to
throw away my Millses and scoop
hatful of dirt over them with my
foot
This particular bomb killed one
man, wounded several and shocked
all Of US. Two of the men managed
to Swing" a "blighty' case out Of it.
TOmmy's Greatest JOY.
I think ought to say a word right
here about the psychology of the
Tommy in swinging q -blighty" case
sent back to London.
1t is the one first, last and always
of the Tommy to get back
to blighty." Usually he isn't "out
there" because he wants to be but
because he has to be- He will fight
like a bag of wildcats when he gets
where the fighting is but he isn't go
ing around looking for trouble He
knows that his officers will find that
for him aplenty.
When he gets letters from home
and knows that the wife or the old
mother is sick he wants to go home.
And so he puts in his time hoping for
z wound that will be "cushy" enough
not to discommode him much and that
viii be bad enough to swing blighty
on. Sometimes when he wants very
much to get back he stretches his
conscience to the lfmit-and II is
pretty elastic anyhow-and he fakes
all sorts of Illness
Charging the Enemy.
We had been on Mills street a day
and q night when an order came for
our company TO move up TO the sec
ond line and to be ready to go over
the top the next day. At first there
was the usual grousing as there
seemed to be no reason why our COM
pany should be picked from the whole
battalion We soon learned that all
hands were going over and after that
we felt better.
We got our equipment on and
started up to the second line. It was
right here that I got my first dose Of
zeal honest to goodness modern war.
The big push had been on all summer
and the whole OF the Somme district
was battered and smashed.
Going up from Mills street there
we're no communication trenches We
we're right out in the open exposed TO
-ifle and machine gun fire and to
ihrapnel; and the boches were fairly
aiming it in on the territory they had
1een pushed back from and Of which
hey had the range to an inch.
Charging Under Fire.
We went up under that heavy fire
or a full hour. The casualties were
leavy. and the CALLING part of It was
hat we couldn't hurry. It was so
lark Every time a shell burst over
lead and the shrapnel battered in the
". Men kept falling and I wished
hadn't enlisted.
When we finally got up to the
rench, believe me, we didn't need any
riders TO get in We relieved the
black Watch, and they encouraged us
" telling US they had lost over half
heir men in that trench and that
fritz kept a constant fire on it They
idn't need to tell US The big boys"
we're coming over all the time.
The dead here were enough to give
ou the horrors. I had never seen so
many before and never saw more
fterward- They were all over the
lace, both theirs and ours The
round was covered They hung into
he trench, half in, half out; legs and
rms protruded from the walls. They
we're in khaki in kits and in gray.
condition Of mutilation.
Dead Make Him Sick
1 Immediately got sick and dizzy
nd faint and had a mad desire to
IN I think If 1 hadn't been a nom
ON with a certain small responsible
ty TO live up to 1 should have gone
ray I managed to pull myself to-
ether and placed my men as COM
Ortably as possible. The Germans
we're 500 yards away and there was
title chance Of an attack. so compare
lively few had to "stand to-" The
est took to the shelters.
I found a little two-man shelter
hat everybody else had avoided and
rawled in There was a dead Ger
nan in there and I crawled out again.
his time 1 simply couldn't smother
~ impulse TO run, and run did. into
he next traverse. where I sunk weak |
nd faint on the fire step. ! sat there |
he rest of the night. regardless Of |
hells. my mind milling wildly on the
roblem Of war.
1t was very early in the morning
7hen Wells shook me up with, Hi /
ye. Darby, wot the blinkin' blazes |
; that noiseT'
Steel Monsters in Action.
We listened and away from the rear |
ame tremendous whirring, burning, |
umbling buzz like a swarm of giant |
ees. I thought of everything from
Zeppelin 10 q QOHkty euSlnc UlL |
Ouldn't make IT out Blofeld ran /
round the corner Of a traverse and |
old US to get the men out. He didn't |
now what was coming and wasn't |
aking any chances.
It was getting a little light though |
cavity misty. We waited; and then |
ut of the gray blanket of fog wad- |
led the great steel monsters that |
re were to know afterwards as the |
tanks" I shall never forget it.
In the half darkness they looked |
vice as big as they really were
hey lurched forward. slow. clumsy |
ut Irresistible. nosing down into |
he'll holes and out. crushing the IN
uried dead, sliding over mere |
renches as though they did not exist |
There were five in all. One raised |
irectly over US We scuttled out of |
he way and the men let go a cheer. |
or we knew that here was some |
hing that could and would win bat l
les.
The tanks were an absolutely new